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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body, which inhibits nonspecific adsorption of a substance relating to a living body such as various species of proteins which are used in clinical diagnostic agents, clinical diagnosis devices, biochips and the like, and to a method for coating an article using said nonspecific adsorption inhibitor. [0003] 2. Brief Description of the Background Art [0004] In recent years, high sensitivity tests are required for the purpose of early stage detection of diseases and the like, and improvement of the sensitivity of diagnostic agents is a serious problem. Also in the case of a diagnostic agent which uses a solid phase such as a polystyrene plate and magnetic particle, for the purpose of improving sensitivity, the detection method is changing from the method which uses an enzymatic color development to a method which uses fluorescence or chemiluminescence from which more high sensitivity can be obtained. However, sufficient sensitivity has not been obtained actually. As a reason of this, in the case of a diagnosis in which a specific substance is detected in the coexistence of living body molecules such as serum, the coexisting living body molecules, secondary antibody, emission substrate and the like adhere nonspecifically to the solid phase, tools, container and the like. As a result, noises are increased to obstruct improvement of sensitivity. Accordingly, in the case of the diagnostic immunoassay, in order to reduce the lowering of sensitivity caused by the nonspecific adsorption of substances other than the specifically binding substance to the surface of the solid phase to be used in the immune reaction, as well as the tools and container, the noises are reduced generally by inhibiting the nonspecific adsorption through the use of a substance derived from organism such as albumin, casein and gelatin as a nonspecific adsorption inhibitor. [0005] However, even when a nonspecific adsorption inhibitor by the conventional method is added, the nonspecific adsorption still remains. Furthermore, when a nonspecific adsorption inhibitor derived from a living body is used, there is a problem of organism pollution represented by BSE. Therefore, the development of a high performance nonspecific adsorption inhibitor by chemical synthesis is required. [0006] As the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor by chemical synthesis, polymers having polyoxyethylene are proposed in JP-A-10-153599 and JP-A-11-352127, and a specific methacrylic copolymer in Japanese Patent No. 3443891. However, their nonspecific adsorption inhibitory effect was insufficient. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] The present invention provides a nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body, which can inhibit nonspecific adsorption of a substance relating to a living body such as protein to the solid phase surface and tools and container which are used in the diagnostic chemiluminescence immunoassay and the like, and a method for coating an article using said nonspecific adsorption inhibitor. [0008] The nonspecific adsorption inhibitor for a substance relating to a living body according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a copolymer comprising a repeating unit (A) represented by the following formula (1): [0000] [0009] wherein R 0 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group and Z represents a group represented by the following formula (1a) or (1b): [0000] [0010] wherein R 1 and R 2 independently represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms or an alkyl group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms which is substituted with at least one group selected from a hydroxyl group, a carboxyl group, an alkoxy group, an acyloxy group and an alkoxycarbonyl group; [0000] [0011] wherein R 3 and R 4 independently represent single bond, methylene, methylene substituted with a hydroxyl group or a carboxyl group, an alkylene group having from 2 to 7 carbon atoms or an alkylene group having from 2 to 7 carbon atoms substituted with a hydroxyl group or a carboxyl group wherein total number of carbon atoms of R 3 and R 4 is from 4 to 10; wherein at least one of R 3 and R 4 may have an ether bond, and Y represents any one of a single bond, O and S and [0012] a repeating unit (B) represented by the following formula (2): [0000] [0013] wherein R 5 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group and [0014] R 6 represents a phenyl group or a group represented by —CO 2 R 7 wherein R 7 represents a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group having from 1 to 12 carbon atoms, an alicyclic hydrocarbon or an aromatic hydrocarbon. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0015] With the aim of solving the problems described above, the inventors of the present invention have found that a copolymerized polymer of a specific composition has a high nonspecific adsorption inhibitory effect on a substance relating to a living body to accomplish the present invention. [0016] According to the present invention, the substance relating to a living body means lipid, protein, saccharides or nucleic acids. [0017] According to the above-mentioned formula (1) of the above-mentioned nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body, R 1 may represent a hydrogen atom or a methyl group and R 2 may represent at least one species selected from a hydrogen atom, a methyl group and a hydroxyethyl group. [0018] According to the above-mentioned nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body, the aforementioned repeating unit (B) may be a structure derived from at least one monomer wherein its solubility in water is less than 20%. [0019] According to the above-mentioned formula (2) of the above-mentioned nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body, R 5 may represent a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, R 6 may represent —CO 2 R 7 group and R 7 may represent at least one species selected from a methyl group, an ethyl group and a methoxyethyl group. [0020] According to the above-mentioned nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body, the aforementioned copolymer may further comprise a repeating unit (C) represented by the following formula (3): [0000] [0021] wherein R 8 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group and R 9 represents an organic group which comprises at least one aldo group or keto group. [0022] According to the above-mentioned nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body, it may further comprise a hydrazide compound (H) which comprises at least two hydrazino groups per one molecule. [0023] The method for coating an article according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a step of allowing an article to contact with a solution comprising the above-mentioned nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body. [0024] The following illustratively describes the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body according to an embodiment of the present invention and the method for coating an article using said nonspecific adsorption inhibitor. 1. NONSPECIFIC ADSORPTION INHIBITOR OF A SUBSTANCE RELATING TO A LIVING BODY 1.1. Construction of the Nonspecific Adsorption Inhibitor of a Substance Relating to a Living Body [0025] 1. The nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body concerned in this embodiment comprises a copolymer comprising a repeating unit (A) represented by the following formula (1): [0000] [0026] wherein R 0 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group and Z represents a group represented by the following formula (1a) or (1b): [0000] [0027] wherein R 1 and R 2 independently represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms or an alkyl group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms which is substituted with at least one group selected from a hydroxyl group, a carboxyl group, an alkoxy group, an acyloxy group and an alkoxycarbonyl group; [0000] [0028] wherein R 3 and R 4 independently represent single bond, methylene, methylene substituted with a hydroxyl group or a carboxyl group, an alkylene group having from 2 to 7 carbon atoms or an alkylene group having from 2 to 7 carbon atoms substituted with a hydroxyl group or a carboxyl group wherein total number of carbon atoms of R 3 and R 4 is from 4 to 10, wherein at least one of R 3 and R 4 may have an ether bond, and Y represents any one of a single bond, O and S and [0029] a repeating unit (B) represented by the following formula (2): [0000] [0030] wherein R 5 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group and [0031] R 6 represents a phenyl group or a group represented by —CO 2 R 7 wherein R 7 represents a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group having from 1 to 12 carbon atoms, an alicyclic hydrocarbon or an aromatic hydrocarbon. [0032] The nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body concerned in this embodiment may contain the above-mentioned copolymer in a part thereof or may be constructed from the above-mentioned copolymer alone. 1.2. Physical Properties and Application of the Nonspecific Adsorption Inhibitor of a Substance Relating to a Living Body [0033] Regarding the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body concerned in the present embodiment, number average molecular weight of the above-mentioned copolymer is generally from 1,000 to 1,000,000, preferably from 2,000 to 100,000, more preferably from 3,000 to 50,000. Additionally, molecular weight distribution of the above-mentioned copolymer is typically from 1.5 to 3 as weight average molecular weight/number average molecular weight. This is because when number average molecular weight of the above-mentioned copolymer is less than the above-mentioned range, there is a case where the nonspecific adsorption inhibitory effect is insufficient. On the other hand, when number average molecular weight of the above-mentioned copolymer is larger than the above-mentioned range, there is a case where it becomes difficult to carry out the coating and handling because of the increased viscosity of the solution. [0034] The copolymer, contained by the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body concerned in the present embodiment, is water-soluble. The “water-soluble” according to the present invention means that, when the copolymer is added to and mixed with water to a 1% polymer solid content at 25° C., it is dissolved therein transparently or semi-transparently as observed with the naked eye. [0035] The nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body concerned in the present embodiment has a high nonspecific adsorption inhibitory effect. The nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body concerned in the present embodiment can illustratively act in the following manner. [0036] According to the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body concerned in the present embodiment, the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor can be adhered to the wall surface of a container, a tool and the like through the hydrophobic bond of the repeating unit (B) of the above-mentioned copolymer, and nonspecific adsorption of protein, lipid and the like can also be inhibited because the wall surface becomes hydrophilic by the repeating unit (A). [0037] Since the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body concerned in the present embodiment shows a high adsorption rate because of the possession of a copolymer in which the repeating unit (A) and repeating unit (B) are balanced, it particularly can effectively inhibit adsorption of protein and the like nonspecific adsorption-causing substances to the wall surface of a container, a tool and the like. [0038] Additionally, according to the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body concerned in the present embodiment, the repeating unit (B) of the above-mentioned copolymer interacts with protein and the repeating unit (A) has the dispersing activity for water. Therefore, it can effect solubilization of protein in an aqueous solvent by preventing change of the protein to hydrophobic nature through its conformational change. [0039] The nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body concerned in the present embodiment shows the effect to strongly inhibit nonspecific adsorption of protein and the like, for example, by a method in which it is coated on a container, a tool and the like or a method in which it is added to a diluent, reaction solvent or preservative of a diagnostic agent. Namely, the method for coating an article according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a step for allowing the article to contact with solution which comprises the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating a living body concerned in the present embodiment. [0040] Also, the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body concerned in the present embodiment can inhibit signals of nonspecific analytes by its use as a diluent of an immuno-diagnostic agent. [0041] Additionally, the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body concerned in the present embodiment has the effect to maintain activity of a protein for a prolonged period of time when it is added to solution of the protein as, for example, a stabilizer of a labeled antibody, a labeled antigen, an enzyme, a primary antibody or a primary antigen to be used as a clinical diagnostic agent, a stabilizer of a protein contained in a blood plasma preparations, a stabilizer of an enzyme or the like to be used in washing contact lenses, and the like. 1.3. Repeating Unit (A) [0042] In the above-mentioned copolymer, the repeating unit (A) represented by the above-mentioned formula (1) can contribute to the expression of high nonspecific adsorption inhibitory effect. [0043] Examples of the substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms represented by R 1 and R 2 in the above-mentioned formula (1a) include a substituted or unsubstituted straight or branched alkyl group, such as a methyl group, an ethyl group, a n-propyl group, an isopropyl group, a n-butyl group, a sec-butyl group, a tert-butyl group, a pentyl group, a hexyl group, a heptyl group, an octyl group, and groups in which these groups are substituted with a functional group such as a hydroxyl group, an alkoxy group and the like. [0044] More illustratively, it is preferable that, in the above-mentioned formula (1), R 1 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group and R 2 represents at least one species selected from a hydrogen atom, a methyl group and a hydroxyethyl group. [0045] Additionally, examples of the ring structure which corresponds to the above-mentioned formula (1b) include a pyrrolidino group, a piperidino group, a morpholino group, a thiomorpholino group and the like. 1.4. Repeating Unit (B) [0046] In the above-mentioned copolymer, the repeating unit (B) represented by the above-mentioned formula (2) can contribute to the expression of high nonspecific adsorption inhibitory effect by shifting the hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance of the copolymer to the hydrophobic side. [0047] Examples of the substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group having from 1 to 12 carbon atoms represented by R 5 in the above-mentioned formula (2) include a substituted or unsubstituted straight or branched alkyl group such as a methyl group, an ethyl group, a n-propyl group, an isopropyl group, a n-butyl group, a sec-butyl group, a tert-butyl group, a pentyl group, a hexyl group, a heptyl group, an octyl group, and groups in which these groups are substituted with a functional group such as a hydroxyl group, an alkoxy group. [0048] Also, examples of the alicyclic hydrocarbon represented by R 5 in the above-mentioned formula (2) include an isobonyl group and a cyclohexyl group, and examples of the aromatic hydrocarbon represented by R 5 include benzyl. [0049] Also, it is preferable that, in the above-mentioned formula (2), R 3 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, R 4 is a group represented by —CO 2 R 5 and R 5 represents at least one species selected from a methyl group, an ethyl group and a methoxyethyl group. [0050] Additionally, in the above-mentioned copolymer, at least one or more species of the repeating unit (A) and repeating unit (B) may be respectively contained. In this connection, the above-mentioned copolymer may contain a repeating unit (C) in addition to the repeating unit (A) and repeating unit (B). 1.5. Repeating Unit (C) [0051] According to the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body concerned in the present embodiment, the above-mentioned copolymer can further contain a repeating unit (C) represented by the following formula (3): [0000] [0000] wherein R 8 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group and R 9 represents an organic group which comprises at least one aldo group or keto group. In the above-mentioned copolymer, the repeating unit (C) can contribute to increase in durability of a formed coating film (a nonspecific adsorption inhibitor layer). [0052] According to the present invention, the aldo group means an aldehyde group bound to a carbon atom, the keto group means a carbonyl group bound to two carbon atoms, and carboxyl group and amino group are not included. [0053] In the above-mentioned formula (3), R 8 is preferably a hydrogen atom. R 9 is preferably an organic group having an aldo group such as formyl group, formylphenyl group, an ester group containing an aldo group represented by the following formula (4): [0000] [0054] wherein R 10 to R 13 are independently a hydrogen atom, a methyl group or an ethyl group; [0000] an amido group containing an aldo group represented by the following formula (5): [0000] [0055] wherein R 14 to R 17 are independently hydrogen atom, methyl group or ethyl group, or the like; [0056] or an organic group having a keto group such as an acetyl group, an acetylphenyl group, an ester group containing keto group represented by the following formula (6): [0000] [0057] wherein R 18 to R 21 are independently a hydrogen atom, a methyl group or an ethyl group; [0000] an amido group containing keto group represented by the following formula (7): [0000] [0058] wherein R 22 to R 25 are independently a hydrogen atom, a methyl group or an ethyl group, or the like [0059] More preferable organic group as R 9 is a formyl group, an acetyl group and an organic group represented by the following formula (8) and most preferable organic group is the organic group represented by the following formula (8): [0000] 1.6. Hydrazide Compound (H) [0060] The hydrazide compound (H) has at least two hydrazino groups per one molecule. Examples of a hydrazide compound (H) include dicarboxylic acid dihydrazide having from 2 to 10, particularly from 4 to 6 carbon atoms in total, such as oxalic acid dihydrazide, malonic acid dihydrazide, succinic acid dihydrazide, glutaric acid dihydrazide, adipic acid dihydrazide, sebacic acid dihydrazide, phthalic acid dihydrazide, isophthalic acid dihydrazide, terephthalic acid dihydrazide, maleic acid dihydrazide, fumaric acid dihydrazide, itaconic acid dihydrazide or the like; hydrazides having three or more of functional groups such as citric acid trihydrazide, nitriloacetic acid trihydrazide, cyclohexanetricarboxylic acid trihydrazide, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid tetrahydrazide or the like; water-soluble dihydrazines such as aliphatic dihydrazines having from 2 to 4 carbon atoms and the like such as ethylene-1,2-dihydrazine, propylene-1,2-dihydrazine, propylene-1,3-dihydrazine, butylene-1,2-dihydrazine, butylene-1,3-dihydrazine, butylene-1,4-dihydrazine, butylene-2,3-dihydrazine and the like, and a compound in which at least a part of hydrazino groups of such a multifunctional hydrazine derivative is blocked by allowing them to react with carbonyl compound such as acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, butylaldehyde, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, diethyl ketone, methyl-n-propyl ketone, methyl-n-butyl ketone, diacetone alcohol or the like, such as adipic acid dihydrazide monoacetonehydrrazone, adipic acid dihydrazide diacetonehydrrazone and the like. Of these hydrazide compounds (H), at least one species selected from adipic acid dihydrazide, sebacic acid dihydrazide, isophthalic acid dihydrazide and adipic acid dihydrazide diacetonehydrrazone is preferable. The hydrazide compound (H) can be used alone or as a mixture of two or more species. [0061] It is preferable that the amount of the hydrazide compound (H) to be used is such an amount that mol equivalent ratio of the total amount of an aldo group and a keto group in the above-mentioned copolymer to the hydrazino group of the hydrazide compound (H) becomes a range of 1:0.1 to 5, preferably becomes a range of 1:0.5 to 1.5, further preferably becomes a range of 1:0.7 to 1.2. In this case, when the hydrazino group is less than 1 equivalent based on 1 equivalent as the total of an aldo group and a keto group, the formed coat (nonspecific adsorption inhibitor layer) becomes inferior in durability in some cases. On the other hand, when it exceeds 5 equivalents, the nonspecific adsorption inhibitory effect lowers in some cases. [0062] Although the hydrazide compound (H) can be blended at an optional step for preparing the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body concerned in the present embodiment, in order to keep polymerization stability at the time of producing the above-mentioned copolymer, it is preferable to blend total amount of the hydrazide compound (H) after production of the above-mentioned copolymer. [0063] The hydrazide compound (H) has the activity to form a hydrophilic network structure to effect crosslinking of the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor layer, through the reaction of its hydrazino group with the keto group and/or aldo group of the above-mentioned copolymer at the drying step after application of the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body concerned in the present embodiment. Although the crosslinking reaction generally proceeds at ordinary temperature without using a catalyst, it can be accelerated by adding catalyst such as a water-soluble metal salt or the like such as zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, cobalt sulfate or the like, or by carrying out drying by heating. 2. PRODUCTION OF NONSPECIFIC ADSORPTION INHIBITOR OF A SUBSTANCE RELATING TO A LIVING BODY [0064] Next, the monomer composition to be used for producing the above-mentioned copolymer is described. 2.1. Monomer (a) [0065] The repeating unit (A) has a structure derived from at least one species of a monomer (a). It is preferable that the monomer (a) is at least one species of monomer selected from acrylamide and N-substituted monomers of acrylamide. [0066] Examples of the N-substituted monomers of acrylamide include N,N-dimethylacrylamide, N,N-diethylacrylamide, N-isopropylacrylamide, N-hydroxyethylacrylamide, acryloylmorpholine, acryloylpyrrolidine, acryloylpiperidine and the like. [0067] More preferable examples of the monomer (a) include at least one species selected from acrylamide, N-hydroxyethylacrylamide and N,N-dimethylacrylamide, and further preferable examples include N,N-dimethylacrylamide or a combination of N,N-dimethylacrylamide and N,N-diethylacrylamide. 2.2. Monomer (b) [0068] The repeating unit (B) has a structure derived from at least one species of a monomer (b). The monomer (b) is at least one species of monomer of which solubility in water is less than 20%. [0069] According to the present invention, the “monomer of which solubility in water is less than 20%” means a monomer in which separation of the monomer from water phase can be confirmed with the naked eye after adding it to water of 25° C. to be a monomer concentration of 20% followed by stirring. [0070] Since solubility of the monomer (b) in water is less than 20%, further high nonspecific adsorption inhibitory effect can be expressed. [0071] Examples of the monomer (b) include methoxyethyl (meth)acrylate, methyl (meth)acrylate, ethyl (meth)acrylate, propyl (meth)acrylate, butyl (meth)acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl(meth)acrylate, lauryl(meth)acrylate, cyclohexyl(meth)acrylate, isobonyl(meth)acrylate, benzyl(meth)acrylate, styrene and the like. More preferable monomer (b) is at least one species selected from methyl methacrylate, ethyl acrylate and methoxyethyl acrylate. 2.3. Monomer Composition and Polymerization [0072] According to the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body concerned in the present embodiment, it may contain a repeating unit (C) and may further contain a repeating unit (D), in addition to the repeating unit (A) and repeating unit (B). [0073] A monomer (c) is a component for forming the repeating unit (C), and a monomer (d) is a component for forming the repeating unit (D). Namely, the repeating unit (C) has a structure derived from at least one species of the monomer (c). The repeating unit (D) has a structure derived from at least one species of the monomer (d). [0074] It is preferable that the monomer (c) is at least one species selected from acrolein, formylstyrene, vinyl methyl ketone, vinyl phenyl ketone, (meth)acrylate and (meth)acrylamides having a group represented by the above-mentioned formulae (4) to (7). It is more preferable that the monomer (c) is at least one species selected from acrolein, vinyl methyl ketone and diacetone acrylamide in view of copolymerizability. It is most preferable that the monomer (c) is diacetone acrylamide in view of the safety of monomer. [0075] When from 1 to 10% by weight of an anionic monomer, particularly styrenesulfonic acid, isoprenesulfonic acid, 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid or the like, is used as the other monomer (d) and copolymerized with the monomer (a) and monomer (b) (further with the monomer (c) as occasion demands) to produce a copolymer, and the product is used as the diluent of an immuno-diagnostic agent, the effect to inhibit signals of nonspecific analytes can be obtained in some cases. [0076] The monomer composition for producing the above-mentioned copolymer is preferably from 30 to 99% by weight of the monomer (a), from 1 to 70% by weight of the monomer (b), from 0 to 49% by weight of the monomer (c) and from 0 to 49% by weight of the other monomer (d), more preferably from 40 to 95% by weight of the monomer (a), from 5 to 60% by weight of the monomer (b), from 0 to 30% by weight of the monomer (c) and from 0 to 20% by weight of the other monomer (d), based on 100% by weight of the total monomers. The monomer composition in the case of particularly requiring durability is preferably from 30 to 97% by weight of the monomer (a), from 1 to 68% by weight of the monomer (b), from 2 to 49% by weight of the monomer (c) and from 0 to 49% by weight of the other monomer (d), based on 100% by weight of the total monomers. [0077] When the monomers (a) and (b) are outside the above-mentioned ranges, the nonspecific adsorption inhibitory becomes inferior in some cases. Also, when the monomer (c) is less than 2% by weight, the durability becomes inferior in some cases, and when it exceeds 49% by weight, the nonspecific adsorption inhibitory becomes inferior in some cases. [0078] The monomers to be used can be used in the copolymerization by purifying those which are available as industrial materials or without purification as such. [0079] Polymerization of the monomers can be carried out by, for example, conventionally known polymerization methods such as radical polymerization, anionic polymerization, cationic polymerization and the like, of which radical polymerization is preferable in view of the easy production. [0080] Additionally, polymerization of the monomers is carried out by stirring and heating them together with conventionally known solvent, initiator, chain transfer agent and the like. The polymerization time is generally from 30 minutes to 24 hours and the polymerization temperature is approximately from 0 to 120° C. [0081] It is preferable that the copolymer aqueous solution after polymerization is purified by dialysis membrane, Dialyzer, Acilyzer and the like. 3. EXAMPLES AND COMPARATIVE EXAMPLES [0082] Although the following describes the present invention further in detail with reference to examples, the present invention is not limited by these. [0083] In the Examples, weight average molecular weight (Mw) and number average molecular weight (Mn) were measured by a gel permeation chromatography (GPC) which uses a monodisperse system polyethylene glycol as the standard, using TSK gel α-M column manufactured by Tosoh Corporation, under analytical conditions of 1 mL/min in flow rate, 0.1 mM sodium chloride aqueous solution/acrylonitrile mixed solvent as the elution solvent and 40° C. as the column temperature. The absorbance was measured by Model 680 Micro Plate Reader manufactured by Nippon Bio-Rad Laboratories. 3.1. Example 1 3.1.1 Synthesis of Nonspecific Adsorption Inhibitor (N-1) [0084] With 900 g of water, 60 g of dimethylacrylamide and 30 g of diethylacrylamide as the monomer (a), 10 g of methyl methacrylate as the monomer (b) and 1 g of cysteamine hydrochloride as a chain transfer agent were mixed and put into a separable flask equipped with a stirrer. With bubbling nitrogen into this, temperature of the contents was risen to be 70° C., 2 g of 2,2′-azobis(2-methylpropionamidine)dihydrochloride was added as an initiator, followed by polymerization for 2 hours. The temperature was further increased to be 80° C. to carry out 3 hours of aging and then lowered to room temperature. The obtained copolymer solution was purified by a Dialyzer and further freeze-dried to obtain 95 g of the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor (N-1) of the Example. [0085] Number average molecular weight of the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor (N-1) by GPC was 8,000, and its weight average molecular weight was 16,000. 3.1.2. Measurement of Nonspecific Adsorption Inhibitory Effect [0086] A 96 well plate made of polystyrene (to be referred to as “96 well plate” hereinafter) was filled with a 0.5% aqueous solution of the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor (N-1) and incubated at 37° C. for 30 minutes followed by washing 5 times with ion exchange water. Next, the 96 well plate was filled with a horseradish peroxidase-labeled mouse IgG antibody (“AP124P” manufactured by Millipore) aqueous solution and incubated at room temperature for 30 minutes followed by washing three times with PBS buffer. Then a color was developed with TMB (3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine)/hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution/sulfuric acid to measure the absorbance at 450 nm. 3.2. Examples 2 and 3 [0087] The same operation as Example 1 was carried out except that monomers were used at the monomer ratios shown in Table 1. 3.3. Comparative Example 1 [0088] A copolymerization polymer (X-1) was obtained by the same method as “3.1.1 Synthesis of nonspecific adsorption inhibitor (N-1)” in Example 1, except that 100 g of diethylacrylamide alone was used as the monomer instead of 60 g of dimethylacrylamide and 30 g of diethylacrylamide as the monomer (a) and 10 g of methyl methacrylate as the monomer (b). [0089] Number average molecular weight of the copolymerization polymer (X-1) by GPC was 5,200, and its weight average molecular weight was 13,000. [0090] Also, the absorbance when the copolymerization polymer (X-1) was used was measured by the same method as the “3.1.2. Measurement of nonspecific adsorption inhibitory effect”. 3.4. Comparative Example 2 [0091] A copolymerization polymer (X-2) was obtained by the same method as “3.1.1 Synthesis of nonspecific adsorption inhibitor (N-1)” in Example 1, except that 100 g of dimethylacrylamide alone was used as the monomer instead of 60 g of dimethylacrylamide and 30 g of diethylacrylamide as the monomer (a) and 10 g of methyl methacrylate as the monomer (b). [0092] Number average molecular weight of the copolymerization polymer (X-2) by GPC was 9,800, and its weight average molecular weight was 20,000. [0093] Also, the absorbance when the copolymerization polymer (X-2) was used was measured by the same method as the “3.1.2. Measurement of nonspecific adsorption inhibitory effect”. 3.5. Comparative Example 3 [0094] In Example 1, bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used instead of the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor (N-1), and the absorbance when BSA was used was measured by the same method as the “3.1.2. Measurement of nonspecific adsorption inhibitory effect”. 3.6. Comparative Example 4 [0095] In Example 1, the same method as “3.1.1 Synthesis of nonspecific adsorption inhibitor (N-1)” was carried out except that 100 g of methyl methacrylate alone was used as the monomer instead of 60 g of dimethylacrylamide and 30 g of diethylacrylamide as the monomer (a) and 10 g of methyl methacrylate as the monomer (b). However, since a large amount of white coagulation were generated several minutes after addition of the initiator, the polymerization was stopped. 3.7. Comparative Example 5 [0096] In Example 1, commercially available polyvinyl pyrrolidone was used instead of the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor (N-1). The absorbance when BSA was used was measured by the same method as the “3.1.2. Measurement of nonspecific adsorption inhibitory effect”. 3.8. Measured Results [0097] Measured results on the nonspecific adsorption inhibitory effect of the above Examples and Comparative Examples are shown in Table 1. [0000] TABLE 1 Molecular Weight Ab- Monomer (a) Monomer (b) (Mn) sorbance Example 1 Dimethylacrylamide Methyl 8000 0.026 Diethylacrylamide methacrylate Example 2 Acryloylmorpholine Methyl 6100 0.060 95 g methacrylate 5 g Example 3 Dimethylacrylamide Methyl 5000 0.081 90 g methacrylate 10 g Comparative Diethylacrylamide none 5200 0.21 Example 1 Comparative Dimethylacrylamide none 9800 1.8 Example 2 Comparative Bovine serum albumin (nonspecific — 0.20 Example 3 adsorption inhibitor) Comparative none Methyl — — Example 4* methacrylate 100 g Comparative Commercial polyvinyl pyrrolidone 40000 2.4 Example 5 (a water-soluble polymer having a ring structure other than that of the present invention in a side chain) [0098] According to Table 1, it was confirmed that the amount of nonspecific adsorption of mouse IgG antibody to the 96 well plate can be markedly reduced by the use of the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body concerned in Examples 1 to 3, in comparison with the case of a high polymer derived from diethylacrylamide or dimethylacrylamide alone which corresponds to the monomer (a) or bovine serum albumin. 3.9. Example 4 3.9.1. Synthesis of Nonspecific Adsorption Inhibitor (N-4) [0099] A nonspecific adsorption inhibitor (N-4) as a copolymerization polymer was obtained by the same method as “3.1.1 Synthesis of nonspecific adsorption inhibitor (N-1)” in Example 1, except that 56 g of dimethylacrylamide and 16 g of diethylacrylamide were used as the monomer (a), and 8 g of methyl methacrylate as the monomer (b) and 20 g of diacetone acrylamide as the monomer (c), instead of the use of 60 g of dimethylacrylamide and 30 g of diethylacrylamide as the monomer (a) and 10 g of methyl methacrylate as the monomer (b). [0100] Number average molecular weight of the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor (N-4) by GPC was 9,000, and its weight average molecular weight was 25,000. [0101] Also, the absorbance when the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor (N-4) was used was measured by the same method as the “3.1.2. Measurement of nonspecific adsorption inhibitory effect”. 3.9.2. Measurement of Nonspecific Adsorption Inhibitory Effect After Washing With Surfactant [0102] A 96 well plate was filled with a 0.5% aqueous solution of the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor (N-4) and incubated at 37° C. for 30 minutes, followed by washing with ion exchange water. The remaining water was blown off with an air gun. It was dried at 40° C. for 3 hours. It was further washed three times with polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate which is a surfactant. Next, the 96 well plate was filled with a horseradish peroxidase-labeled mouse IgG antibody (“AP124P” manufactured by Millipore) aqueous solution and incubated at room temperature for 30 minutes, followed by washing three times with PBS buffer. Then a color was developed with TMB (3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine)/hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution/sulfuric acid to measure the absorbance at 450 nm. 3.10. Example 5 [0103] By adding 1 g of adipic acid dihydrazide to 10 g of the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor (N-4) and by using a 0.55% aqueous solution containing the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor (N-4) and adipic acid dihydrazide, measurement of the nonspecific adsorption inhibitory effect and measurement of the nonspecific adsorption inhibitory effect after washing with the surfactant were carried out. 3.11. Comparative Example 6 [0104] Using BSA, measurement of the nonspecific adsorption inhibitory effect and measurement of the nonspecific adsorption inhibitory effect after washing with the surfactant were carried out. 3.12. Measured Results [0105] Measured results of the above Examples 4 and 5 and Comparative Example 6 are shown in Table 2. [0000] TABLE 2 Nonspecific adsorption inhibitory effect After washing with No surfactant surfactant Example 4 0.024 1.7 Example 5 0.028 0.087 Comparative 0.20 2.4 Example 6 [0106] According to Table 2, it was confirmed that the amount of nonspecific adsorption after washing with the surfactant can be markedly reduced by the use of the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body concerned in Examples 4 and 5, in comparison with the case of the use of BSA in Comparative Example 6. Particularly, according to Example 5, it was confirmed that the nonspecific adsorption after washing with the surfactant can be markedly reduced by the use of the nonspecific adsorption inhibitor containing a hydrazide compound (H). [0107] According to the above-mentioned nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body, it has a high nonspecific adsorption inhibitory effect because it comprises a copolymer comprising a repeating unit (A) represented by the above-mentioned formula (1) and a repeating unit (B) represented by the above-mentioned formula (2). [0108] Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to specific examples in the foregoing, it is apparent to person skilled in the art that it is possible to add various alterations and modifications insofar as the alterations and the modifications do not deviate from the spirit and scope of the present invention. [0109] This patent application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-291793 filed on Nov. 9, 2007 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-61119 filed on Mar. 11, 2008 and the contents thereof are incorporated herein by reference.

a nonspecific adsorption inhibitor of a substance relating to a living body, which inhibits nonspecific adsorption of a substance relating to a living body such as various species of proteins which are used in clinical diagnostic agents, clinical diagnosis devices, biochips and the like, and a method for coating an article using said nonspecific adsorption inhibitor.

TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to machining tools and in particular to an easily set up grinding apparatus. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A manufacture of sophisticated apparatus such as jet engines requires multiple sequential machining operations. Close tolerances must be maintained and it is of course important to efficiently carry out the overall machining process. At one time separate machines were used for drilling, milling, etc. each requiring a new setup as the workpiece was moved to the new machine. Machining centers are now conventionally used which are computer controlled and where with one set up the tools are changed with instructions from a numerical control program that automatically changes tools and stores them within the machining center. The sequential operations are thereby more efficiently carried out and errors in the repeated setup process reduced. Grinding, however, has continued to be a problem and conventionally is not included in the machining center. Conventional grinding wheels have grit discharged from the wheel which can clog up and interfere with the cooling and lubricating system of the machining center. The use of superabrasive wheels such as those of cubic boron nitrite with a steel core and one layer of grit secured to the core with nickel plate has avoided the grit problem, but difficulties in the setup remain. Such wheels require coolant and cleaning fluids to be delivered in proper amounts at proper locations. The process of setting up cooling and cleaning nozzles as dictated by research of super abrasive machining to maximize tool performance is very labor intensive and has not been in wide use in a production environment. This coupled with the hazard of hanging cooling lines has made this an impractical step. Accordingly, it has been conventional to remove the workpiece from the machining center to a separate grinding machine where there is not only a disruption in the flow of material, and a time loss in setting up the new machine, but variations in the setup may produce less than optimum results. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The machining center has a drive spindle and also a supply of high and low pressure coolant. The high pressure coolant passes through the center of the spindle while the low pressure coolant passes through a static connection. Installed into the drive spindle is a tool holder apparatus with a static portion and a rotary portion. The high pressure flow path passes through the centerline of the spindle and rotary portion of the tool holder to the static portion of tool holder while the low pressure flow of coolant passes directly from the machining center into the static portion. The superabrasive grinding wheel is installed with an arbor. Secured to the static tool holder portion is a guard assembly which includes an arcuate frame which will surround an installed grinding wheel. High and low pressure flowpaths in communication with the flowpaths of the static tool holder portion pass through the arcuate frame of the guard. A cooling nozzle connected to the high pressure flowpath is located at one arcuate end of the frame and is directed tangential to the grinding wheel where it will intersect the workpiece. The flow passes in the same direction as the rotation of the grinding wheel and the coolant passes at substantially the same velocity as that of the grinding wheel. A windbreaker is located immediately before this coolant flow area to strip air from the grinding wheel thereby permitting the coolant to more securely contact the grinding wheel for local cooling thereof. The low pressure flowpath through the guard discharges coolant against the grinding wheel at 30 degrees from the radial direction and pointing against the direction of rotation of the wheel. An additional flood nozzle receives low pressure coolant and is adjustably oriented to flood the workpiece in the area of the grinding operation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of the machining center, tool holder, and guard assembly; FIG. 2 is a side elevation in partial section of the tool holder and guard assembly; FIG. 3 is an end view of the guard assembly; and FIG. 4 is a view of the guard assembly through section 4--4 of FIG. 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Machining center 10 includes bed 12 on which the workpiece to be machined is supported and manipulated. Sump 14 collects coolant and lubricant which may have been supplied to the machining operation and may include filters as required. A high pressure pump 16 circulates primary coolant in the form of water soluble oil at a pressure of 1400 kilopascals and at a flow rate of 217 cubic meters per second through an internally piped primary coolant flowpath 18. This coolant is passed through a central opening in spindle 20. A low pressure pump 22 delivers coolant at a pressure of 240 kilopascals and at a flow rate of 3.6 cubic meters per second through a secondary coolant flowpath 24 internally piped to a static flow connector 26. The tool changer 28 is operable to remove tools 30 from tool storage and insert them within spindle 20. Tool holder 32 is shown installed within spindle 20. Tool holder 32 includes a static holder portion 34 and rotary portion 36. The rotary portion is rotatably mounted in the static holder portion with bearings 38. The rotary portion is suitable for mounting in drive spindle 20 and also has a holder primary flowpath 40 through the center of the rotary portion. When installed, this flowpath 40 is in fluid communication with primary coolant flowpath 18. The tool guard assembly 42 is secured to the tool holder at interface 44. The holder primary flowpath 40 through the rotating rotary portion is in communication with annular space 46 and flowpath 48 in the static holder portion. Flow passes outwardly through annular space 50 entering a primary guard flowpath 52 in the guard assembly. Sleeve 54 is biased by spring 56 and with the tool holder installed is forced against a seal and static flow connector 26 of the machining center. This static flow connector not only passes secondary coolant flow from secondary coolant path 24 to holder secondary flowpath 58 within the sleeve, but also operates as stop block to prevent rotation of the static tool holder portion. The holder secondary flowpath 58 is in fluid communication with the interior of sleeve 60 of the guard assembly with the secondary coolant flow passing to a secondary guard flowpath 62 within the guard assembly. Circle 66 indicates an imaginary circle representing a potential grinding wheel and also is representative of the outer edge of an installed superabrasive grinding wheel. Arcuate frame 64 of the guard assembly 42 surrounds wheel 66 through an arcuate portion. Within this frame secondary flowpath 62 continues through flowpath 68 to a cleaning nozzle 70. This cleaning nozzle 70 includes an orifice plate 72 which forms a flat or fan shaped spray covering the width of the grinding wheel 66 directing fluid along centerline 74 which is 30 degrees from line 76 representing the radial direction of the grinding wheel or imaginary circle 66. This spray is directed upwardly toward the direction of rotation 78. A second cleaning nozzle 80 is supplied through a secondary flowpath 82 in parallel flow relationship with cleaning nozzle 70. The secondary flowpath 62 may also include an additional parallel flowpath 84 supplying coolant to flood nozzle 86. This nozzle is supported on an adjustable articular line 88. This permits the flood nozzle to be directed toward the location where the grinding wheel exits the workpiece thereby supplying coolant not only to the grinding wheel, but also to the workpiece. The flexible connection would permit this nozzle to be pushed out of the way should there be any interference with the workpiece. The arcuate frame 64 also includes as a portion thereof an adjustable arcuate member 90 slideably secured by bolt 92 to the other portion of the arcuate frame. Secured to this adjustable portion is coolant nozzle 94 with flow directed along centerline 96 tangentially to circle 66. A wheel of 20 cm in diameter rotating up to 6000 RPM produces a surface velocity of up to 41 meters per second. With 2.7 cubic meters for second of coolant being supplied, the flow area of the nozzle to match the surface velocity is 2.5 square centimeters. Primary coolant entering through annular space 50 passes through primary guard path 52 into and through telescoping connector 98. It thus continues through the adjustable portion of the frame to nozzle 94. FIG. 4 is a view taken through section 4--4 of FIG. 2. This view better illustrates bosses 100 and 102 which facilitate installation of the necessary flowpaths. Referring to FIG. 3, windbreaker 104 is located on the guard frame. This windbreaker extends inwardly to the location of wheel 66. It is intended that this breaker actually touch the wheel and it will be thereby ground back to minimum clearance. The windbreaker is located immediately upstream, with respect to the direction of of rotation, of cooling nozzle 94. As the grinding wheel rotates, air is dragged along its surface. This windbreaker strips the air from the surface thereby permitting more intimate contact between the spray from cooling nozzle 94 and the wheel. Depending upon the depth of cut required, the adjustable portion of the arcuate frame is relocated bringing nozzle 94 upwardly. It can be seen that as this nozzle passes in an arc with the guide it remains directly tangential to the cutting wheel. In operation of the machining center, the tool changing apparatus 28 will select the grinding wheel tool holder and place it within spindle 20. The primary flowpath will automatically be connected through the spindle and rotary portion while the secondary flowpath will be connected automatically through the static connection 26. With a known grinding wheel already installed, nozzles 94 and 86 will already be appropriately located. Accordingly, the setup is quick, precise, and repeatable. The nozzles are located as required for the particular coolant. This coolant may not be the optimum selection for grinding since it also must be used for other operations, the nozzles can be ideally set up to do the best job for the particular coolant. There are no dangling lines or hoses to interfere or get caught in the workpiece. Only articulated line 88 is readily movable, this is not essential to the operation, and any contact will only push the line out of the way. Pressures and flow may be adjusted externally by manipulation of pumps 16, 22, or by throttling of the discharge lines from the pumps.

A tool holder (32) includes a rotary portion (36) securable in a spindle (20) of a machining center (10). A pumped flow of primary coolant (16) is delivered through spindle (20) and rotary portion (36). A pumped flow of secondary coolant (22) is delivered to a static connection (26) and through the static portion (34) of the tool holder. A tool guard assembly (42) secured to static portion (34) surrounds an installed superabrasive grinding wheel (66). It also includes flow paths (50, 52, 98; 62, 68, 82 84) and nozzles (70, 80, 86, 94) to direct coolant to pre-established directions. The tool may be installed automatically in a multipurpose machining center with no additional set up time required.

RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. Ser. No. 12/775,799 filed May 7, 2010, entitled Solvent-Free Organosilane Quaternary Ammonium Compositions, Method Of Making And Use, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the manufacture of solvent-free, storage-stable organosilicon quaternary ammonium compositions (“organosilane quats”, “silane quats” or “silylated quaternary ammonium compounds”), particularly amorphous silane quats, without the need for or use of high pressure vessels, high temperatures, solvents and catalysts. The resulting compounds are pure or substantially pure mixtures of organosilane quats, i.e., “100% active”, solvent-free, storage-stable, non-flammable and essentially free of unreacted chloropropyltrialkoxysilanes and alkylamines. By the practice of this invention, organosilane quaternary ammonium compositions are provided in a more useful form for shipping, storage and handling of the concentrated, 100% active compounds for various end uses including the cleaning of hard and soft surfaces, skin care and multifunctional coating compositions with antimicrobial properties. The cleaning, skin care and coating compositions yield invisible, but extremely durable, water, soil and stain repellent barrier coatings with antimicrobial benefits when applied to siliceous, plastic, metal, textile and skin surfaces. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The utility and commercial potential of quaternary ammonium compounds was recognized, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,108,765 issued in 1938 to Gerhard Domagk. Subsequent research in the field further broadened the understanding, structure and utility of the antimicrobial properties of quaternary ammonium compounds in sanitizers and disinfectants for hands and surfaces. From the 1960s to the 1980s, Dow Corning Corporation, Midland, Mich., undertook the research and development of a new class of silylated quaternary ammonium compounds, which resulted in a series of U.S. patents including the following: U.S. Pat. No. 3,560,385, issued Feb. 2, 1971, discloses siliconized quaternary ammonium salts; U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,701, issued May 1, 1973, discloses the siliconized quaternary ammonium compounds as antimicrobial agents; U.S. Pat. No. 3,794,736, issued Feb. 26, 1974, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,860,709, issued Jan. 14, 1975, disclose siliconized quaternary ammonium compounds for sterilizing or disinfecting a variety of surfaces and instruments; U.S. Pat. No. 3,817,739, issued Jun. 18, 1974, discloses siliconized quaternary ammonium compounds used to inhibit algae; U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,728, issued Feb. 11, 1975, discloses siliconized quaternary ammonium compounds used to treat aquarium filters. These prior art organosilane quaternary ammonium compositions are mixtures of alkylamine starting materials, chloroalkoxysilanes, and solvents as defined by the formula: wherein R 1 =hydrogen and/or C 1 to C 4 alkyl; R 2 =divalent hydrocarbon radical with C1 to C8 carbon atoms; R 3 =hydrogen or C 1 to C 4 alkyl; R 4 =hydrogen or C 1 to C 10 alkyl; R 5 =C 8 to C 22 saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbon radical and X=chloride (Cl—); C 6 H 15 ClO 3 Si=(3-chloropropyl)trimethoxysilane, R 5 —N(CH 3 ) 2 =alkylamines, and CH 3 OH=methanol starting materials. Prior art organosilane quaternary ammonium compounds are manufactured by reacting chloropropyltrialkoxysilanes, typically (3-chloropropyl)trimethoxysilane or (3-chloropropyl)triethoxysilane with mixtures of alkylamines, typically those that are predominantly octadecyldimethylamine, using alcoholic hydrocarbon solvents (methanol or ethanol) and various levels of heat and pressure, with or without catalysts, to enhance the speed and quality of the reaction. Unless extensively fractionated and distilled, alkylamines are invariably mixtures of various derivatives of fatty acids (Table 2) that are converted to alkyl amines and further reacted with methyl chloride to form dimethylalkylamines; each component of which has a distinct molecular weight. Since chloropropyltrialkoxysilanes will react with each component of such amines, heretofore the commercial production of organosilane quaternary ammonium compositions actually yielded mixtures of organosilane quats. Such compositions are inherently unstable and are subject to hydrolysis, cross-linking and crystallization, with limited shelf lives. Current commercial methodology yields organosilane quats that are only 42% or 72% active, with the balance being unreacted chloropropyltrialkoxysilanes, unreacted alkylamines and methanol. Also, these 42% or 72% active compounds are invariably flammable and/or toxic as manufactured and possibly as formulated into the ultimate end-use compositions. Their manufacturers invariably advise users that their products, even though containing 20% to 40% methanol, lack persistent storage stability and are subject to freeze/thaw degradation. Commercially available organosilane quaternary ammonium compositions are offered by the following manufacturers, with activity levels and impurities (unreacted chloropropyltralkoxysilanes, unreacted alkylamines and solvents) as shown: 1. Dow Corning Q9-6346; Aegis AEM 5772; Piedmont Ztrex72; and Flexipel Q-1000—consisting of 72% by weight (3-trimethoxysilyl) dimethyloctadecyl ammonium chloride, 15% by weight (3-chloropropyl) trimethoxysilane, 13% by weight methyl alcohol and dimethyloctadecylamine at 1-5%. 2. Dow Corning 1-6136—consisting of 42% by weight (3-trimethoxysilyl) dimethyloctadecyl ammonium chloride, 8% by weight (3-chloropropyl) trimethoxysilane and 50% by weight methanol. All of the above compositions contain (1) methanol, a solvent that is classified as flammable under D.O.T. Label Code Flammable Liquid and transportation Packaging Group II, and which is poisonous to humans; (2) chloropropyltrimethoxysilane that is toxic to humans and animals, ignitable and requires a Flammable Liquid N.O.S. label for domestic and ocean shipping and Hazard Class 3, Packing Group III, packaging for shipment by air; and (3) alkylamines that are present in unreacted form and which themselves can have toxicological, corrosive, and storage concerns as summarized in Table 1 below: TABLE 1 PRINCIPAL HAZARDS OF METHANOL, ALKOXYSILANES AND ALKYLAMINES Hazard Methanol Alkoysilanes Alkylamines Flammable Yes Yes No Flash Point 54° F. 52° F. >150° C. Eye Irritant Yes Yes Yes Skin Irritant Yes Yes Yes Avoid Inhalation Yes Yes Yes Avoid Ingestion Yes Yes Yes Poison Yes Yes Yes Genetically Active Yes Yes Yes Marine Pollutant Yes Yes Yes Reactive to Acids No Yes Yes Reactive to Bases No Yes No Even though these organosilane quaternary ammonium compositions are generally employed in end-use formulated compositions only to the extent of 0.1 to 1.0% of the active silane quat, the presence of flammable, poisonous solvents and unreacted silanes and amines can pose hazards and undermine their shipping, storage, handling and formulation into various end-use compositions. Methods of making organosilane quaternary ammonium compounds have been described in the patent literature, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,560,385, examples 1-5 disclose the reaction of alkylamines in solvent media at elevated temperatures employing excess chloropropyltrimethoxysilane resulting in compositions equivalent to the above described commercial products with 42%-72% activity levels with unreacted starting materials and solvents. U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,701, Col. 2, lines 44-55, describes the general preparative procedure to make the C11-C22 silyl quaternary amine compounds in which a suitable solvent at ambient pressure is simply warmed with an appropriate tertiary amine and an appropriate silane. Alkylation of the tertiary amine with the alkyl halide occurs and the silyl quaternary amine compound is readily obtained. Col. 2, lines 59-68 acknowledges that the tertiary amines involved may be mixtures of long chain amines derived from natural products such as tallow, fish oils, coconut oil, etc., resulting in mixtures of silylated quaternary alkyl amines. U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,728 also discloses different amine mixtures (Col. 5, line 26 and 62) but does not specify or comment on the stoichiometry involved in the preparation of such compounds. U.S. Pat. No. 4,282,366, in Col. 3, lines 1-16, cites the Dow Corning U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,560,385 and 3,730,701 for making the silylated quaternary ammonium compounds in the conventional manner by heating the reactants at reflux temperatures in a polar solvent such as methanol, ethanol or acetone without reference to the purity or stoichiometry of the reactants. U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,378, in examples 1-2, discloses the reaction of didecylmethylamine with chloropropyltrimethoxysilane to produce organosilane quats containing unreacted silanes and solvent. In summary, after more than 40 years, the prior art manufacturing process for making organosilane quats has remained the same. This is somewhat confirmed by the report by Donghuya University, Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China, and published in CA SELECTS, Volume 2009, Issue 23, Nov. 16, 2009. As reported, current methodology still involves the ongoing use of an excess of chloropropyltrialkoxysilanes for reaction with mixtures of alkylamines thereby resulting in organosilane quats containing unreacted starting materials and solvent. The ongoing practice of using excess starting materials (reactants) in solvents is further confirmed by a report from the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi'an, Peoples Republic of China, and published in CA SELECTS, Volume 2010, Issue 7, Apr. 5, 2010. As reported therein, the optimal reaction for the synthesis of N, N-dimethyl-N-dodecylaminopropyltrimethoxy ammonium chloride was achieved by using the reaction medium dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and a molar ratio excess of 10% of N, N-dimethyl-dodecylamine to y-chloropropyltrimethoxy silane at 120° C. Still today, manufacturers are offering organosilane quats in concentrations of 40-72% in methanol and other solvents, which are flammable, toxic, and poisonous. Moreover, as such concentrated quats age, their viscosities, appearance, color, and compounding ability vary significantly. The need for storage-stable, nonflammable forms of organosilane quats has been addressed most recently in U.S. Pat. No. 7,589,054, which discloses new clathrate forms of the organosilane quats which are storage-stable solids. The solid clathrates provide a new storage-stable, nonflammable, and nontoxic form of the organosilane quat. These urea-organosilane quat clathrates solve a number of problems presently confronting the use of otherwise highly-reactive quats. A clathrate form of the urea-organosilane quats overcomes the problems of lack of storage stability, handling, and shipping hazards associated with the existing 40-72% concentrations in methanol or other solvents. Nevertheless, there is still a need for new methods of making the organosilane quats so that they may be offered in a more acceptable form without the disadvantages and current problems associated with the 40-72% concentrations in methanol, as are now offered by current manufacturers. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In summary, this invention is directed to a more satisfactory solution to the above-discussed problems associated with the production and utilization of organosilane quats. This invention has as one of its principal objectives the preparation of a solvent-free, storage-stable composition comprising a mixture of organosilane quats which is substantially free of alkyl amines, solvent, and chloropropylsilanes. In another of its main aspects, this invention provides for an improved method for the production of organosilane quats which enables an essentially complete reaction of the starting materials without the need for catalysts, solvents, high pressure, or high temperature, as involved in current techniques. A further objective of this invention is to provide forms of organosilane quaternary ammonium compounds that are amorphous, non-flammable liquids or solids, in the form of crystals, oils and waxes, and which are infinitely storage stable, water and/or alcohol dilutable, substantially 100% active and capable of bonding to hard and soft surfaces. Applicants have found that solvent-free, storage stable, amorphous silane quats can be manufactured by using a more precise equivalent weight ratio of reactants and without the need for high temperature reactions and/or solvents that are added to facilitate the reaction and/or to provide storage stability, The inventive method is predicated in part upon the need to first determine the molecular composition and equivalent weight of the mixture of alkyl amines and haloalkyltrialkoxysilane before conducting the reaction. In one form of the invention, hereinafter referred to as the “analytical technique”, this is done by identifying each of the alkyl amines in the amine mixture and the relative percentages by weight of each of the amines, so that the equivalent weight of the entire amine mixture is determined. In another form of the invention, hereinafter referred to as the “nitrogen technique”, the percentage by weight of nitrogen in the amine mixture is used to determine the equivalent weight of the entire amine mixture. This is done by dividing the percentage by weight of nitrogen by the molecular weight of nitrogen. Using either the analytical technique or the nitrogen technique, the equivalent weight is determined as that quantity of the alkyl amine mixture that more precisely reacts with, or is equal to the combining value of, the haloalkyloxysilane in the reaction. The reaction of these equivalent weights produces a solvent-free, storage stable composition of organosilane quats that are essentially 100% active and substantially free of solvent and the alkylamine and organosilane starting materials. Notwithstanding the decades of prior art methodology, it is not been reported that an essentially complete reaction of chloropropyltrialkoxysilanes and alkyl amines can be carried out to produce a substantially pure organosilane quaternary ammonium composition which is essentially 100% active. Such a composition can be effectively diluted with water or solvents to make ready-to-use compositions with activity levels as low as 0.0002% (500 ppm) and with hydrophobic coating effectiveness, on various surfaces, that is superior to existing commercially available impure, solvent-containing compositions and without the need to remove the impurities (i.e., unreacted silanes, amines and solvents). Accordingly, this invention offers a new approach and a satisfactory solution to the problems associated with the manufacture and utilization of organosilane quats. A further understanding of the invention, its various embodiments, and operating parameters will be apparent with reference to the following Detailed Description. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the above summary, the objectives of this invention are to provide solvent-free, storage-stable organosilane compositions and methods for manufacturing them in essentially 100% active form. The most preferred embodiments of this invention are hereinafter described without the need for catalysts, solvents, pressure vessels, or high temperatures. A. Solvent-Free, Storage-Stable Compositions The solvent-free, storage-stable compositions of this invention comprise a mixture of organosilane quaternary ammonium compounds defined by the formula: wherein R 1 =hydrogen and/or C 1 to C 4 alkyl; R 2 =divalent hydrocarbon radical with C 1 to C 8 carbon atoms; R 3 =hydrogen or C 1 to C 4 alkyl; R 4 =hydrogen or C 1 to C 10 alkyl; R 5 =C 8 to C 22 saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbon radical and X=chloride ions, said composition substantially free of alkyl amines, solvent and chloroalkylsilanes. In compositions according to the above formula, R 1 is methyl or ethyl, R 2 is propyl, R 3 is methyl, R 4 is methyl or hydrogen, and R 5 is octyl, decyl, dodecyl, tetradecyl, tetradecenyl, hexadecyl, palmitoleyl octadecyl, oleyl, linoleyl, docosyl, or icosyl. Specific examples of the organosilane quaternary ammonium compounds and mixtures thereof are selected from the group consisting of: 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyldimethyloctadecyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyldimethyldecyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyldimethyldodecyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyldidecylmethyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyltetradecyldimethyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyldimethylhexadecyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyldimethylsoya ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyldimethyloleyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyldimethylpalmitoleyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyldimethylicosyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trihydroxysilyl)propyldimethyloctadecyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyloctyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyldecyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyltetradecyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyltetradecenyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propylhexadecyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propylpalmitoleyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyloctadecyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyloleyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyldocosyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propylicosyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyldimethylmyristoleyl ammonium chloride, and 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyldimethyldocosyl ammonium chloride, and mixtures thereof. Storage-stable cleansing and multifunctional coating compositions for treating a surface, thereby rendering it water and soil repellent, may be formulated as liquid end-use products. When formulated into end-use products, the organosilane quat mixtures are employed with a diluent, preferably water, in concentrations on the order of at least about 0.0002% by weight of the organosilane quats in the diluent based upon the total weight of the quats and diluent. The end-use products may be in the form of a liquid, slurry, cream, or powder. Moreover, concentrates and intermediates, for dilution into end-use products, may be formed wherein the organosilane quat is present in an amount of about 1% or more by weight. Also, end-use products may contain nonreactive abrasive solids in an amount up to 35% by weight. The abrasive solids are selected from a group consisting of coated and uncoated urea, silicas, silicates, metal oxides, metal carbonates, clays, carbides, and plastics. Storage stable additives may also be included in the compositions including those selected from the group consisting of surfactant, thickener, gelling agent, abrasive, lubricant, diluent, and solvents and mixtures thereof. Peroxides such as hydrogen peroxide or complexes thereof may also be added to the basic neat composition, and the peroxide is generally in an amount up to about 8% by weight, or normally up to 3% by weight, with organosilane quats up to about 3% by weight. Accordingly, the compositions may be formulated within the scope of this invention to provide cleansing and multifunctional coating compositions for bonding onto a surface, thereby rendering it (a) water and soil repellent, (b) antimicrobial, and (c) for easier next-time cleaning as disclosed in the Ohlhausen and Ludwig U.S. Pat. No. 6,994,890, filed Oct. 31, 2003, U.S. Pat. No. 7,704,313, filed Jul. 6, 2005, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,754,004, filed May 25, 2007, which are incorporated herein by reference. B. Methods of Making the Storage-Stable Mixture of Organosilane Quats This invention is predicated in part upon the discovery of a new method for making organosilane quats from a mixture of alkyl amines and haloalkyltrialkoxysilanes. This method involves first determining the molecular composition and equivalent weight of the mixture of alkyl amines and the chloroalkyltrialkoxysilane. This is a critical step in the method and, heretofore, has not been reported in the prior art. Two techniques have been found to satisfy this first critical step, as referred to above: B1—Analytical Technique The molecular composition and equivalent weight of the amine mixture is determined by identifying (measuring) the relative percentage by weight of each amine in the mixture to determine the equivalent of the entire mixture. B2—Nitrogen Technique The molecular composition and equivalent weight of the amine mixture is determined by identifying (measuring) the percentage by weight of nitrogen in the mixture to determine the equivalent weight of the entire mixture. Then, at a ratio of 1:1, the equivalent weight of said alkyl amine mixture with the equivalent weight of the haloalkyltrialkoxysilane is reacted to form a storage-stable composition of the mixture of organosilane quaternary ammonium compounds defined by the formula: wherein R 1 =hydrogen and/or C 1 to C 4 alkyl; R 2 =divalent hydrocarbon radical with C 1 to C 8 carbon atoms; R 3 =hydrogen or C 1 to C 4 alkyl; R 4 =hydrogen or C 1 to C 10 alkyl; R 5 =C 8 to C 22 saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbon radical and X=chloride, said composition substantially free of alkyl amines, solvent and chloroalkylsilanes. In accordance with the above method, the haloalkyltrialkoxysilane is selected from the group consisting of a chloro-lower alkyl C 1 to C 8 trialkoxysilane, more preferably selected from the group consisting of chloropropyltrimethoxysilane and chloropropyltriethoxysilane. The alkyl amines may be primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl amines. Examples of amines include: octyldimethyl amine, decyldimethyl amine, dodecyldimethyl amine, tetradecyldimethyl amine, hexadecyldimethyl amine, octadecyldimethyl amine, palmitoleyldimethyl amine, oleyldimethyl amine, icosyldimethyl amine, myristoleyldimethyl amine, dodecyl amine, tetradecyl amine, myristoleyl amine, hexadecyl amine, palmitoleyl amine, octadecyl amine, oleyl amine, icosyl amine, docosyl amine, octyl amine, and decyl amine, and mixtures thereof. In a preferred form, the method is practiced without the need for catalysts, solvents, pressure vessels, or high temperatures. The temperatures normally employed are on the order of about 20° C. to about 120° C. The method will be further understood with reference to the stoichiometry of the reaction between the alkyl amines and chloropropyltrialkoxysilanes as shown by the following equation: The chloropropyltrialkoxysilanes most typically employed are (3-chloropropyl)trimethoxysilane and (3-chloropropyl)triethoxysilane, and are distilled compounds commercially available from various manufacturers of silicones such as Dow-Corning Corporation as Z-6076 and Z-6376, and from Shin-Etsu Silicones as KBM 703 KBM 903, respectively as follows. Chloropropyltrimethoxysilane: Equivalent Weight: 198.72 Formula: C 6 H 15 ClO 3 Si Composition: C 36.3% H 7.6% O 24.2% Cl 17.8% Si 14.1% Chloropropyltriethoxysilane: Equivalent Weight: 240.80 Formula: C 9 H 21 ClO 3 Si Composition: C 44.9% H 8.8% O 19.9% Cl 14.7% Si 11.7% The alkylamines are usually based on the nature and source of the fatty acid employed in the amine synthesis as follows: TABLE 2 Chain Length Distribution of Raw Materials Used for Alkyl Amines Hard Acid Name Coco Palm Tallow Tallow Soya Caproic 0.5 Caprylic 7 Capric 6 Lauric 48 Myristic 19 2 3.5 4.5 Myristoleic 1 Pentadecanoic 0.5 0.5 Palmitic 9 42 25.3 29.3 11 Palmitoleic 4 Margaric 2.5 2.5 Stearic 3 4 19.4 52.7 4 Oleic 6 43 40.8 21 Linoleic 1.5 9 2.5 55.5 Linolenic 8.5 Arachidic 0.5 0.5 Typical Iodine Value 10 50 45 3 140 The alkylamines produced from the foregoing natural fatty acids are further reacted with methyl chloride to provide alkylamines, for example the dimethylalkylamines, used most frequently for the production of the organosilane quaternary ammonium compositions. A broad range of alkylamines is commercially available from manufacturers such as Akzo Nobel, Albemarle Corporation and Corsicana, as mixtures of distilled aliphatic (fatty) amines with varying carbon chain lengths as shown in Table 3, Column 1. TABLE 3 Column 4 Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Equiv. Wt. Product/Composition % Weight Mol. Wt. Moles 1 Mole ADMA 8* Octyldimethyl amine 99.53% 157.30 0.632740 Decyldimethyl amine 0.47% 185.35 0.002536 100.00% 0.635276 157.412 ADMA 10* Octyldimethyl amine 0.08% 157.30 0.000509 Decyldimethyl amine 99.61% 185.35 0.537416 Dodecyldimethyl amine 0.31% 213.40 0.001453 100.00% 0.539378 185.399 ADMA 12* Decyldimethyl amine 0.23% 185.35 0.001241 Dodecyldimethyl amine 98.94% 213.40 0.463636 Tetradecyldimethyl amine 0.83% 241.46 0.003437 100.00% 0.468314 213.532 ADMA 14* Dodecyldimethyl amine 0.64% 213.40 0.002999 Tetradecyldimethyl amine 99.03% 241.46 0.410130 Hexadecyldimethyl amine 0.31% 269.51 0.001150 Octadecyldimethyl amine 0.01% 297.56 0.000034 100.00% 0.414313 241.363 ADMA 16* Dodecyldimethyl amine 0.06% 213.40 0.000281 Tetradecyldimethyl amine 0.67% 241.46 0.002775 Hexadecyldimethyl amine 98.55% 269.51 0.365664 Octadecyldimethyl amine 0.72% 297.56 0.002420 100.00% 0.371114 269.459 ADMA 18* Dodecyldimethyl amine 0.10% 213.40 0.000469 Hexadecyldimethyl amine 1.40% 269.51 0.005195 Octadecyldimethyl amine 98.50% 297.56 0.331026 100.00% 0.336690 297.009 Armeen DMHTD** Tetradecyldimethyl amine 4.00% 241.46 0.016566 Hexadecyldimethyl amine 32.90% 269.51 0.122073 Polmitoleyldimethyl amine 0.30% 267.49 0.001122 Octadecyldimethyl amine 59.80% 297.55 0.200968 Oleyldimethyl amine 2.50% 295.53 0.008459 Linoleyldimethyl amine 0.20% 293.52 0.000681 Icosyldimethyl amine 0.30% 325.62 0.000921 100.00% 0.350790 285.071 Armeen DMOD** Dodecyldimethyl amine 0.50% 213.4 0.002343 Tetradecyldimethyl amine 1.50% 241.46 0.006212 Myristoleyldimethyl amine 0.50% 239.44 0.002088 Hexadecyldimethyl amine 4.00% 269.51 0.014842 Polmitoleyldimethyl amine 4.00% 267.49 0.014954 Octadecyldimethyl amine 14.10% 297.55 0.047385 Oleyldimethyl amine 70.40% 295.53 0.238200 Linoleyldimethyl amine 5.00% 293.52 0.017034 100.00% 0.343058 291.496 Armeen OD** Dodecyl amine 0.50% 185.35 0.002698 Tetradecyl amine 1.50% 231.40 0.006482 Myristoleyl amine 0.50% 211.39 0.002365 Hexadecyl amine 4.00% 241.46 0.016566 Polmitoleyl amine 4.00% 239.44 0.016706 Octadecyl amine 14.10% 269.51 0.052317 Oleyl amine 71.40% 267.49 0.266926 Linoleyl amine 5.00% 265.48 0.018835 100.00% 0.382894 261.169 Armeen 18D** Hexadecyl amine 2.50% 241.46 0.010354 Octadecyl amine 96.60% 267.49 0.358428 Oleyl amine 0.50% 263.76 0.001896 Icosyl amine 0.40% 297.56 0.001344 100.00% 0.372022 268.801 Armeen CD** Octyl amine 5.00% 129.24 0.038688 Decyl amine 6.00% 157.30 0.038144 Dodecyl amine 50.00% 185.35 0.269760 Tetradecyl amine 19.00% 213.40 0.089035 Hexadecyl amine 10.00% 241.46 0.041415 Octadecyl amine 10.00% 269.51 0.037104 100.00% 0.514146 194.497 Manufactured by *ALBEMARLE Amines **AKZO NOBEL Amines C. Operating Examples 1-13 (Analytical Technique) With reference to Operating Examples 1-13 of Tables 4 and 5, the 1:1 molar ratios or equivalent weights of various alkylamine mixtures and chloropropyltrialkoxysilanes as shown were determined using Table 3, as follows. The weight percent of the amine mixtures in Table 3, Column 1, were provided by the manufacturers of particular amine mixtures. Table 3, Column 2 shows the molecular weight of each amine component as determined from its chemical formula. To determine the number of moles of each amine component in the mixture, its percent weight (in grams) was divided by its molecular weight; with the results shown in Table 3, Column 3. The number of moles of each component of the amine mixture were added, and that sum was divided into 100 (grams) to determine the equivalent weight of 1 mole of the amine mixture as shown in Table 3, Column 4. The equivalent weight of chloropropyltrialkoxysilane(s) was determined in the same fashion. To react a specific quantity of an amine mixture with a chloropropyltrialkoxysilane on a 1:1 equivalent weight basis, the amount of amine mixture—in grams—determines the moles of chloropropyltrialkoxysilane required for the reaction, or vice versa as shown in Tables 4 and 5. The reactants were weighed and mixed in glass reaction vessels of varying sizes and capacities such as Erlenmeyer flasks with appropriate stoppers. The vessels were then placed in an air circulation oven and heated to temperatures between 90° C. to 100° C. for the time periods shown in Tables 3 and 4. At approximately 16 hour intervals while heating, the mixtures were assayed for the percent of reaction completion, until 100% was achieved. TABLE 4 EXAMPLES (ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUE) 1:1 EQUIVALENT WEIGHT REACTIONS EXAMPLE No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Amine ADMA 18 ADMA 16 ADMA 14 ADMA 12 ADMA 10 DMOD OD Equivalent Weight 297.009 269.459 241.363 213.532 185.399 291.496 261.169 Grams 194.37 100.00 100.00 99.99 100.00 306.09 150.53 Moles 0.6544 0.37111 0.41431 0.4863 0.53938 1.05007 0.5664 Chloropropyltrialkoxysilane KBM 703 KBM 703 KBM 703 KBM 703 KBM 703 KBM 703 KBM 703 Equivalent Weight 198.72 198.72 198.72 198.72 198.72 198.72 198.72 Grams 130.04 73.747 82.33 96.637 107.19 208.667 114.54 Available Chlorine Atoms - 23.15 13.13 14.65 17.20 19.08 37.14 20.39 Wgt. % Mole(s) 0.6544 0.37111 0.41418 0.4863 0.53938 1.05007 0.5764 Reaction Temp. (° C.) 95° 90° 90° 90° 90° 98° 100° Reaction Time (Hrs) 47 107 107 67 107 101 88 Reacted Product Assay Titration (ppm) 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 % Complete 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% pH Hydrion Quat Chek (ppm) 400-600 400-600 400-600 400-600 400-600 400-600 400-600 Free Chloride Ions - Wgt. % 7.14 7.56 8.03 8.75 9.21 7.22 7.69 (Calculated) Form Hard Wax Soft Wax Soft Wax Oil Oil Oil Soft Wax Non-Crystalline Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Product Performance Aqueous solution @ 500 ppm Clear Clear Clear Clear Clear Clear Clear Barrier coating on glass yes yes yes yes yes yes yes surface Coated glass repels ink yes yes yes yes yes yes yes highlighter TABLE 5 EXAMPLES (ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUE) 1:1 EQUIVALENT WEIGHT REACTIONS EXAMPLE No. 8 9 10 11 12 13 Amine Armeen Armeen ADMA ADMA ADMA ARMEEN 18D CD 18 16 14 CD Equivalent Weight 268.801 194.497 297.009 269.459 241.339 194.487 Grams 150.00 150.00 75.00 150.00 75.00 50 Mole(s) 0.5580 0.7712 0.2525 0.5567 0.31077 0.2571 Chloropropyltrialkoxysilane KB 703 KB 703 Z-6376 Z-6376 Z-6376 KBM 703 Equivalent Weight 198.72 198.72 240.80 240.80 240.80 198.72 Grams 110.9 153.25 60.800 134.05 74.8334 51.091 Available Chlorine Atoms - 19.74 27.28 8.93 19.71 11.001 9.09 Wgt. % Mole(s) 0.5580 0.7712 0.2525 0.5567 0.31077 0.2571 Reaction Temp. (° C.) 100° 100° 90° 100° 90° 108° Reaction Time (Hrs) 88 85 140 81 140 32 Reacted Product Assay Titration (ppm) 500 500 500 500 500 500 % Complete 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% pH Hydrion Quat Chek (ppm) 400-600 400-500 400-600 400-600 400-600 400-600 Free Chloride Ions - Wgt. % 7.57 8.99 6.58 6.94 7.34 8.99 (Calculated) Form Hard Hard Soft Cream Cream Hard Wax Wax Wax Wax Non-Crystalline Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Product Performance Aqueous solution @ 500 ppm Slightly Clear Clear Clear Clear Clear Cloudy Barrier coating on glass yes yes yes yes yes yes surface Coated glass repels ink yes yes yes yes yes yes highlighter D. Operating Examples 14-19 (Nitrogen Technique) With reference to Operating Examples 14-19 of Table 7, the nitrogen technique was employed to conduct 1:1 equivalent weight reactions between the Product/Composition for the amine mixtures identified in Table 6 with the chloropropyltrialkoxy silane identified in Table 7. The Product/Composition of the amine mixtures is set forth in Column 1, and this information was provided by the manufacturers of the particular amine mixtures as identified in the footnotes of Table 6. Table 6, Column 2, shows the percent by weight of nitrogen in the Product/Composition amine mixture information. The percent by weight of nitrogen was determined by the classic Dumas method, with thermal conductivity detection (TCD) using a ThermoFlashEA 1112 analyzer. The method is described in ASTM D5291 (petroleum products). Weighed samples are combusted in oxygen at 950° C. The combustion products (including N 2 and NOx) are swept with a helium carrier gas through combustion catalysts, scrubbers, and through a tube filled with reduced copper. The copper removes excess oxygen and reduces NOx to N 2 . The N 2 is then separated from other gases on a chromatography column and measured with a TCD. The percent by weight of nitrogen was divided by its molecular weight of 14.0087 to determine the number of moles of nitrogen in the mixture, and that number was divided into 100 (grams) to provide the equivalent weight of 1 mole of nitrogen in the Product amine mixture as shown in Table 6, Column 4. Table 7 thus provides the 1:1 equivalent weight reactions for the specific quantity of the amine mixture with a chloropropyltrialkoxy silane on a 1:1 equivalent basis employing the nitrogen technique. The amount of the amine mixture, according to the nitrogen technique, is reacted with the chloropropyltrialkoxy silane as shown in Table 7. The reactions were conducted in a similar fashion as reported for Operating Examples 1-13 at the reaction temperatures and reaction times reported in Table 7. The reaction mixtures were assayed for the percent of reaction completion, until 100% was achieved. In contrast to the analytical technique of Examples 1-13, the nitrogen technique has been found to be a simplified and successful determination of the equivalent weight of one mole of the amine mixture as shown in Table 6, Column 4. TABLE 6 (Nitrogen Technique) Column 2 Column 4 Column 1 % Weight Column 3 Equiv. Wt. Product/Composition % Weight Nitrogen Mole(s) 1 Mole ARMEEN 18D** Hexadecyl amine 2.50% Octyldimethyl amine 96.60% Oleyl amine 0.50% Icosyl amine 0.40% 100.00% 4.58% 0.32694 305.87 ADMA 18* Dodecyldimethyl amine 0.10% Hexadecyldimethyl amine 1.40% Octadecyldimethyl amine 98.50% 100.00% 4.53% 0.32337 309.24 ARMEEN DMOD** Dodecyldimethyl amine 0.50% Tetradecyldimethyl amine 1.50% Myristoleyldimethyl amine 0.50% Hexadecyldimethyl amine 4.00% Palmitoleyldimethyl amine 4.00% Octadecyldimethyl amine 14.10% Oleyldimethyl amine 70.40% Linoleyldimethyl amine 5.00% 100.00% 4.63% 0.330509 302.56 CORSICANA DMOD*** Hexadecyldimethyl amine 3.00% Linolenicdimethyl amine 1.00% Palmitoleyldimethyl amine 6.00% Dimethyllinolenic amine 1.00% Oleyldimethyl amine 81.00% Linoleyldimethyl amine 8.00% 100.00% 4.70% 0.330509 298.51 ARMEEN OD** Dodecyl amine 0.50% Tetradecyl amine 1.50% Myristoleyl amine 0.50% Hexadecyl amine 4.00% Palmitoleyl amine 4.00% Octadecyl amine 14.10% Oleyl amine 71.40% Linoleyl amine 5.00% 100.00% 4.52% 0.322656 309.93 ALBEMARLE 18D* Hexadecyl amine 2.50% Octadecyl amine 96.50% Oleyl amine 0.50% Icosyl amine 0.40% 100.00% 4.58% 0.32694 305.87 *ALBEMARLE AMINES **AKSO NOBEL ***CORSICANA AMINES TABLE 7 EXAMPLES (NITROGEN TECHNIQUE) 1:1 EQUIVALENT WEIGHT REACTIONS EXAMPLE No. 14 15 16 17 18 19 Amine Armeen ADMA Armeen Corsicana Armeen Albemarle 18D** 18* DMOD** DMOD*** OD** 18D* Equivalent Weight 305.87 309.24 302.56 298.51 309.93 306.22 Grams 150 202.37 302.56 298.51 294.74 306.22 Mole(s) 0.4904 0.6544 1.000 1.000 0.951 1.000 Chloropropyltri- KB 703 Z-6376 KB 703 KB 703 KB 703 KB 703 alkoxysilane Equivalent Weight 198.72 240.8 198.72 198.72 198.72 198.72 Grams 97.45 157.58 198.72 198.72 188.98 198.72 Mole(s) 0.4904 0.6544 1.000 1.000 0.951 1.000 Available Chlorine 6.92 10.40 14.10 14.10 13.42 14.10 Atoms - Wgt. % Reaction Temp. (° C.) 100° 90° 100° 90° 90°-100° 90°-100° Reaction Time (Hrs) 21 48 19 48 35 120 Reacted Product Assay Titration (ppm) 500 500 500 500 500 500 % Complete 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% pH Hydrion Quat 400-600 400-600 400-600 400-600 400-600 400-600 Chek (ppm) Free Chloride Ions - 6.92 10.40 14.10 14.10 13.42 14.10 Wgt. % (Calculated) Form Hard Soft Oil Oil Oil Hard Wax Wax Wax Non-Crystalline Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Product Performance Aqueous solution @ Clear Clear Clear Clear Clear Clear 500 ppm Barrier coating on Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes glass surface Coated glass repels Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ink highlighter *ALBEMARLE AMINES **AKSO NOBEL ***CORSICANA AMINES The 1:1 equivalent weight reactions of alkyl amines and chlorpropyltrialkoxysilanes can also be carried out using continuous thin-film reactors at temperatures and flow rates as determine by the size and capability of the thin-film reactor employed. Those schooled in chemical production processes will understand that the manufacture of neat silylated quaternary ammonium compounds can be scaled up with relative ease as long as the 1:1 equivalent weight ratio of the reactants is maintained and the components are mixed as is appropriate to the size/shape of the vessel(s) to ensure uniform heat exchange of the components. Each chloropropyltrialkoxysilane molecule has a chlorine atom. When these molecules are quaternized with alkylamines, the chlorine atom is released as a free chloride ion in what is now an organosilane quaternary composition. One chloride ion is released for every molecule of silane quat that is formed. When the resulting organosilane quat composition is diluted in water, the chloride ion concentration can be measured to determine and confirm the degree of the reaction. To confirm the complete reaction of this neat manufacturing process by either the analytical technique or the nitrogen technique, the resulting siliconized quaternary ammonium compounds were assayed by the Titrimetric Analysis Method developed by CHEMetrics, Inc., Calverton, Va. That method determines the presence of quaternary ammonium compounds in the 100 to 1000 ppm range. For the analysis, a one gram sample was removed from the neat composition and dissolved in one gram of propylene glycol. One gram of the propylene glycol/silane quat solution was dissolved in 1000 grams of pH 3 deionized water to yield a 500 ppm solution of siliconized quaternary ammonium chloride, which is equivalent to a dilution of 2000:1. Being at the mid-range of the detection capabilities of the analysis method, this proves the 100% conversion of the alkyl amines and chloropropyltrialkoxysilane to the desired neat quaternized silane composition of matter. A confirmatory test, utilizing a less sensitive pHydron Quat Check technique measuring from 0 to 1000 ppm, also proved the neat quaternized silane composition to be in the 500 ppm range. Surprisingly, the range of amines listed herein, when reacted with chloropropyltrialkoxysilanes according to the process of this invention, yield fully reacted amorphous organosilane quats that are hard or soft waxes, oils, creams, or other solids that do not crystallize on storage, are freeze/thaw stable, and are infinitely diluteable with water and/or alcohol to make interactive surface-bondable water, soil & stain repellent coatings for hard and soft surfaces. END USES OF THE ORGANOSILANE QUATS The invention may be further understood by the following disclosure and end-uses of the solvent-free, storage-stable organosilane quats. The following terms have been used in this description for the purpose of describing this invention and particular embodiments. “abrasion resistant” refers to a surface, surface coating or finish that is resistant to damage or removal by washing, scraping or scrubbing with a mildly abrasive substance or process without visibly damaging to the surface or finish, as in scratching or blemishing the surface. “active” or “activity” means the percentage of reactive organosilane quaternary ammonium compounds including free chloride ions as manufactured, and which can be diluted into interactive compositions that will react with and bond to a surface. “100% active” means a silane quat composition that does not contain solvents, and which is essentially free of impurities such as unreacted alkylamines and chloropropylsilanes that are present in heretofore commercially available silane quats exemplified by the 42% or 72% active commercial products. “amorphous” means having no real or apparent crystalline form. “antimicrobial” means the elimination, reduction and/or inhibition of microorganism growth such as mold, virus, fungus or bacteria. “bond”, “bonded” or “bondable” means the ability to strongly adhere the composition to the surface, as in the ability to bond a water & soil repellent finish, coating or characteristic to an otherwise water and soil accepting surface. As used herein, the diluted composition made from an essentially 100% active compound is deemed “bonded” or “bondable” when it is resistant to removal by soaps, solvents, detergents or abrasive-type cleansers that would not otherwise stain, blemish or damage an untreated form of the same surface. “chloride” or “free chloride ions” means a chlorine atom with a negative charge. A free chloride ion is a negatively-charged chlorine atom that can freely dis-associate from the positively-charged silane quat manufactured by the process of this invention. “crystal” or “crystalline” means the hard, solidified form of a substance having plane faces arranged in a symmetrical, three-dimensional pattern. As used herein, “non-crystalline” or “amorphous” means a siliconized quaternary ammonium composition that, at any activity level or dilution, does not harden and solidify into such symmetrical, three-dimensional patterns or particles when cooled below 50° F. or when evaporated to dryness. “durable” or “durability” means long-lasting and not easily removed by washing and/or wiping using plain (tap) water, soap solutions, detergent solutions, household or automotive solvents, mildly abrasive (non-damaging) cleansers or conventional cleaner/degreasers. “easier next-time cleaning” means the extent to which surfaces cleaned and protected with water & soil repellent coatings reduce the adhesion and buildup of re-soiling and allow the re-deposited soil to be cleaned/removed with less washing, scraping and scrubbing compared to surfaces that have not been rendered water & soil repellent by the practice of this invention. “equivalent weight” means the quantity of a substance that exactly reacts with, or is equal to the combining value, of another substance in a particular reaction, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. This definition applies to this invention, in this case the reaction of a a mixture of alkylamines and chloropropylalkoxysilanes. “everyday surfaces” as used herein means the full range of surfaces in homes, offices, factories, public buildings and facilities, vehicles, aircraft and ships, and the like. “household soil” means the spills, splatters and blemishes on a surface that result from cooking, eating, drinking, washing, bathing and showering such as milk, coffee, tea, juices, sauces, gravies, food boil over, soap scum, water spots, mineral deposits and tracked-in soil, etc. “multifunctional” means the process of achieving two or more discernable results from a single application of a composition made from the essentially 100% active compound, as in simultaneously or sequentially cleaning and coating a surface whereby the coating also performs the function(s) of rendering the surface water repellent, soil repellent and/or antimicrobial. “surface(s)” means the full range of hard or soft surfaces, rather porous or non-porous, siliceous or non-siliceous, as exemplified by everyday surfaces and such as those used in the examples which illustrate the compositions made from the compound and methods of this invention. Examples of surfaces that can be beneficially treated with compositions made from the compounds and methods of this invention include, without limitation, metal, glass, plastics, rubber, porcelain, ceramics, marble, granite, cement, tile, sand, silica, enameled appliances, polyurethane, polyester, polyacrylic, melamine/phenolic resins, polycarbonate, siliceous, painted surfaces, wood and the like. “reaction” means the extent to which alkylamines and chloropropylalkoxysilanes react with each other to form organosilane quats as a function of the concentration of the reactants, the temperature at which the reaction is carried out, the influence of catalysts and the impact of solvents, if any. “resistant to removal” means a coating or surface finish that is not easily removed by washing or cleaning with conventional soaps, solvents, detergents, mildly abrasive cleansers or clean/degreasers that would otherwise etch or damage an untreated surface of the same composition and construction. “soil repellent” means a surface that exhibits reduced adhesion to, and buildup of, for example, everyday household and vehicular soil both before and after evaporation of the water and/or solvent component(s). “solvent-free” means a free of solvent, typically an alcoholic or other solvent found in prior art products that was added to the reactants to facilitate the reaction, or to make the compound storage-stable following the reaction. “storage-stable” refers to a useful shelf life and activity of the neat organosilanes quat compositions, or their diluted liquid compositional form, when stored in containers under ambient environmental conditions of temperature as found in warehouses, shipping containers, packages, etc., up to 120° F. for months, typically desired for more than six months or at least one year. “vehicular soil” means the spills, splatters and blemishes on the exterior of a vehicular surface that result from rain, sleet, snow, insects, mud and road grim, and on the interior of a vehicular surface from fingerprints, food spillage, plasticizer leaching, smoking, use of hair and deodorizing sprays, dust and air circulation. “water repellent” and “water repellency” means the hydrophobic nature or characteristic of a surface and its ability to repel water as measured by the contact angle of a drop or droplet of distilled water on the surface. (Contact angles measured with rain water, ground water or municipally furnished tap water are typically more variable and non-reproducible, and commonly measure up to 10° less than those using distilled or deionized water.) Generally, the hydrophobicity of a discrete surface is rated in terms of its contact angle to water drops as follows: Excellent—Compact drops, well rounded, with bright sparkles measuring 95° or more. Good—Less rounded drops, but bright sparkles that exhibit slight spread, measuring 85° to 95°. Fair—Visible flattening of the water drops, measuring 70° to 85°. Poor—Relatively flat water drops, exhibiting more spread of the water and measuring 50° to 70°. To qualitatively test the end-uses of 500 ppm solutions for the ability to clean and simultaneously form water, soil & stain repellent coatings on household and vehicular abrasion resistant surfaces, soiled glass mirrors, ceramic tiles, stainless steel panels and plastic laminates were cleaned using “spray & wipe dry” application techniques. The now-cleaned surfaces were examined and found to be free of residual soil and fingerprints, and, when washed with tap water, demonstrated uniform hydrophobicity. To determine the durability of the water, soil & stain repellent coatings that are formed when using the compositions to clean and/or treat surfaces to make them water, soil & stain repellent, glass mirrors, ceramic tiles, stainless steel panels and plastic laminates were scrubbed with Miracle Scrub, a non-scratching, mildly abrasive hard surface cleanser manufactured by Unelko Corporation, Scottsdale, Ariz., using a moist cellulose sponge. After cleansing, those everyday surfaces were rinsed with hot water to remove all cleanser residues, followed by rinsing with deionized water and drying the surfaces with paper towels. When tested with tap water droplets, each of the surfaces still exhibited fair hydrophobicity. The tap water droplets were allowed to air dry for 24 hours, and exhibited the presence of water spots. The end-uses of 500 ppm active silane quat solutions were tested by spraying onto the surfaces and wiped dry with paper towels. The surfaces were judged to be clean (free of water spots), and, when sprayed with tap water, were observed to be hydrophobic (water repellent) in the excellent to good range as evidenced by the roundness of the water drops (high contact angle) with little spreading. When the surfaces were tilted to an incline, the water drops rolled down the surfaces. This demonstrated the presence of a hydrophobic barrier coating formed on the surface while cleaning. The water repellent barrier coating was also confirmed by marking the surfaces with a fluorescent ink highlighter that refused to coalesce on the surface in a uniform line; instead breaking up into discrete droplets compared to the smooth, continuous line formed on an untreated surface. A further advantage of essentially fully-reacted, solvent-free organosilane quaternaries is that they are not as pH sensitive as are conventional organosilane quaternaries. Thus, unlike conventional organosilane quaternaries which must be maintained at pH levels of 3 to 5 when compounding them into end-use products, the essentially fully-reacted, solvent-free organosilane quaternaries are stable across pH levels of about 2 to 9. This allows them to be formulated with additives like surfactants, non-reactive abrasives and quaternary ammonium compounds having alkalinity levels of up to a pH of about 9 to 10. Those of ordinary skill in the art realize that the descriptions, procedures, methods and compositions presented above can be revised or modified without deviating from the scope of the described embodiments, and such do not depart from the scope of the invention.

Non-flammable, VOC-free organosilane quaternary ammonium compositions are provided in the form of pure or substantially pure water-soluble products that have bactericidal, fungicidal and viricidal activity and which are capable of bonding to various surfaces to form durable hydrophobic coatings. The resulting compositions are free of unreacted chloropropyltrialkoxysilanes, alkylamines and organic solvents that would otherwise provide flammable, corrosive, and/or toxic properties thereby inhibiting their safe and effective use in surface care, personal care and coating products.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 60/566,594 filed on Apr. 30, 2004, which is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference. STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT FUNDING [0002] The United States Government has a paid-up license in this invention and the right in limited circumstances to require the patent owner to license others in reasonable terms as provided for by the terms of NIH Grant Nos. RO1GM51449 and RO1A105088. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0003] The present invention is concerned with HSV-1 vectors in which gene expression is controlled using the tetracycline operator and repressor. Expression of sequences coding for the tetracycline repressor is under the control of HSV-1 immediate-early promoters. Because gene expression from HSV-1 immediate-early promoters is significantly enhanced by the HSV-1 virion-associated transactivator VP-16 upon the entry of virus into a host cell, a very high level of repressor expression occurs at the time of infection. As a result, gene expression from promoters under the control of tetracycline operator sequences is essentially completely suppressed. Upon exposure of cells to tetracycline, repressor is released from the operator sequence and gene expression proceeds. Using this system, very high levels of expression can be obtained in neurons in vivo and this expression can be closely regulated. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004] Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a linear double stranded DNA virus with genome size of about 152 kb. The genome of HSV-1 is encapsided by an icosadeltarhedral capsid surrounded by a viral envelope. HSV replicates in epithelial cells and establishes life-long latent infection in neuronal cell bodies within the sensory ganglia of infected individuals. The latent viral genome is maintained in an episomal state and does not ordinarily cause serious disease or interfere with normal cellular function (Rock, et al., J. Virol. 55:849-852 (1985)). These characteristics have made HSV of particular interest for use as a vehicle for gene therapy procedures designed to treat diseases of the CNS (Latchman, Curr. Gene Ther. 2:415-426 (2002); Glorioso, et al, J. Neurovirol. 9:165-172 (2003); Jacobs, et al., Neoplasia 1:402-416 (1999); Advani, et al., Clin. Microbiol. Infect. 8:551-563 (2002); Martuza, et al., Science 252:854-856 (1991)). One difficulty that has been associated with the development of such procedures has been in finding vectors that induce high expression levels of delivered genes and do so in a manner that can be tightly regulated. [0005] During the past decade, significant progress has been made in developing genetic switches that can be used to control the expression of recombinantly delivered genes (Clackson, Gene Ther. 7:120-125 (2000); Gossen, et al., Proc. Nat'l Acad. Sci. USA 89:5547-5551 (1992); Gossen, et al., Science 268:1766-1769 (1995); No, Proc. Nat'l Acad. Sci USA 93:3346-3351 (1996); Wang, et al., Proc. Nat'l Acad. Sci. USA 91:8180-8184 (1994); Rivera, et al., Nat. Med. 2:1028-1032 (1996)). In the case of prokaryotic elements associated with the tetracycline (tet) operon, systems have been developed in which the tet repressor protein is fused with polypeptides known to modulate transcription in mammalian cells. The fusion protein has then been directed to specific sites by the positioning of the tet operator sequence. For example, the tet repressor has been fused to the activation domain of transactivator (VP-16) and targeted to tet operator sequences positioned upstream from the TATA element of promoter of a selected gene (Gossen, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:5547-5551 (1992); Kim, et al., J. Virol. 69:2565-2573 (1995); Hennighausen, et al., J. Cell. Biochem. 59:463-473 (1995)). The tet repressor portion of the fusion protein binds to the operator thereby transporting the VP-16 activator to the specific site where the induction of transcription is desired. An alternative approach has been to fuse the tet repressor to the KRAB repressor domain and target this protein to an operator placed several hundred base pairs upstream of a gene. Using this system, it has been found that the chimeric protein, but not the tet repressor alone, is capable of producing a 10 to 15-fold suppression of CMV regulated gene expression (Deuschele, et al., Mol. Cell Biol. 15:1907-1914 (1995)). One problem with these types of systems is that a portion of fusion proteins corresponding to the mammalian transactivator or repressor trends to interact with cellular transcription factors and cause pleiotropic effects. [0006] Recently, a tetracycline-inducible transcription switch for use in mammalian cells was developed (U.S. Pat. No. 6,444,871; Yao, et al., Hum. Gene Ther. 9:1939-1950 (1998)). This system was highly successful at regulating gene expression and has been used in developing plasmid-based vectors that are now sold commercially (T-REx™, Invitrogen, CA). SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] The present invention is concerned with HSV-1 vectors that can be used for recombinantly expressing a structural sequence in vivo. HSV-1 vectors are recognized in the art as being made up of three components: a capsid, a viral envelope, and genomic DNA. The present invention is particularly concerned with the genomic DNA but it will be understood that the other components which make up the vectors, i.e., the HSV capsid and viral envelope are also present. The term “structural sequence” as used herein refers to a sequence of nucleotides encoding either a polypeptide or an RNA segment, particularly an antisense RNA segment, that is not translated into protein. [0008] More specifically, the invention is directed to a recombinant HSV viral vector containing a genomic DNA construct that includes at least two (and preferably only two) nucleotide sequences coding for tetR, each of which is under the regulation of an VP-16 responsive HSV-1 immediate-early promoter. This promoter may be the HSV-1 ICP-0 or ICP-4 immediate early promoter or a hybrid formed by combining these promoters with the HSV-1 latency-associated promoter LAP2. To make a hybrid promoter between ICP0 and LAP2 (ICP0/LAP2) or between ICP4 and LAP2 (ICP4/LAP2), a DNA fragment containing the LAP2 promoter (Palmer et al., J Virol 74:5604-5618 (2000)) is inserted at about 250-500 bp upstream of (i.e., 5′ to) the TATA element of the ICP0 or ICP4 promoter. [0009] The genomic DNA construct carried by the HSV-1 vector also includes an additional promoter that is characterized by the presence of a TATA element. A tetracycline operator sequence (tetO) is positioned so that the first nucleotide in tetO is between 6 and 24 nucleotides 3′ to the last nucleotide in the TATA element (i.e., counting the first nucleotide 3′ to the TATA element as “1,” the first nucleotide in the tetO sequence would be nucleotide “6”-“24.” Lying 3′ to the tetO sequence is the structural sequence and this is operably linked to the additional promoter, i.e., expression of the structural sequence is under the control of the additional promoter. [0010] The tetO sequence occurs in different forms depending upon the presence or absence of two well recognized tetR binding sites designated as Op-1 and Op-2. The most preferred form of operator for use in the present invention has two Op-2 sites, each such site having the nucleotide sequence: CCCTATCAGTGATAGAG (SEQ ID NO:1). In a preferred embodiment, these two Op-2 sites are joined by a linker sequence 3-10 nucleotides in length, with a linker of four nucleotides being most preferred. [0011] In other preferred embodiments, the additional promoter present in the DNA vector described above is the human cytomegalovirus (hCMV) immediate early promoter or the LAP2/hCMV immediate-early promoter. However, other strong promoters may also be used. In one embodiment, the structural gene whose expression is regulated by the second promoter is LacZ. This gene serves as a marker that can be used for identifying infected cells that are actively expressing genes recombinantly. Methods for producing such vectors and using them to study gene expression in vitro and in vivo are described in detail in the Examples section below. [0012] The HSV-1 vectors described above should, most typically, be replication deficient. The term “replication deficient” as used herein means that the genomic DNA of the virus has been engineered so that it cannot replicate when injected into a subject. As described further in the Examples section, one way of producing a replication-deficient HSV-1 vector is to modify its genome so that it is no longer capable of expressing a functional UL-9 gene. Under these circumstances, vector will only replicate if the UL-9 gene product is provided, e.g., during in vitro culture. [0013] The genomic DNA constructs can be made using standard methods for synthesizing and splicing DNA. Alternatively, viral DNA can be directly altered so that either an endogenous ICP-0 gene or an endogenous ICP-4 gene has been replaced with a sequence coding for the tetracycline repressor. The replacement must occur in such a fashion that tetR is operably linked to either the ICP-0 or ICP-4 promoter and the tetR protein is correctly produced. The virus must also contain at least one recombinant structural sequence located 3′ to a tetO sequence and which is operably linked to an additional promoter. The additional promoter must have a TATA element and the tetO segment must begin 6-24 nucleotides 3′ to the last nucleotide in the TATA element. [0014] Finally, the invention includes methods for recombinantly expressing selected nucleotide sequences in host cells by infecting them with the HSV-1 vectors described above. The selected nucleotide sequence should be present in the virus as the “recombinant structural sequence.” The method is particularly well adapted for obtaining recombinant expression in neurons in vivo. This will provide a means for scientists to determine how on- and off or dose-dependent expression of a variety of recombinant genes affects neuronal growth and development. Infection may also be performed on host cells in vitro which may then be transplanted into an animal or studied directly. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0015] FIG. 1 : Schematic diagram of genomes of HSV-1 recombinants KOR (A) and QR9TO-lacZ (B): UL and US represent the unique long and unique short regions of the HSV-1 genome, respectively, which are flanked by their corresponding inverted repeat regions (open boxes). Replacements of the ICP0 coding sequences in both repeats surrounding UL region with DNA elements encoding tetR (black box) and intron II of the rabbit β-globin gene (obliquely striped box) flanked by ICP0 sequences are shown above the diagram of the HSV-1 genome. An expanded map of the region of UL9 containing the UL9 open reading frame (black line box) and flanking sequences between restriction sites BsiW I and Not I is shown below the diagram. Relevant restriction sites within the UL9 open-reading frame used to construct QR9TO-lacZ are indicated. (B) QR9TO-lacZ was generated by replacing the Xcm I-Mlu I DNA fragment within the UL9-coding sequences of KOR with DNA sequences containing lacZ gene (gray box) under control of the tetO-bearing hCMV major immediate-early promoter (cross hatched box). The line box shows the polyadenylation signal sequence of bovine growth hormone gene. DEFINITIONS [0016] The description that follows uses a number of terms that refer to recombinant DNA technology. In order to provide a clear and consistent understanding of the invention, including the scope to be given to terms, the following definitions are provided: [0017] DNA genomic construct: As used herein, the term “DNA genomic construct” refers to the DNA that is carried by recombinant HSV-1 and which contains a variety of elements that allow for the expression of a structural sequence after the DNA is introduced into a host cell. The expression of the structural sequence is under the control of (i.e., operably linked to) regulatory sequences such as promoters or enhancers. Unless otherwise indicated, promoters may be constitutive, inducible or repressible. [0018] Vector: The term “vector” or “viral vector” is the system for expressing a recombinant DNA sequence in a host cell. As used herein, it refers to a DNA genomic construct-containing HSV viral recombinant which can introduced said genomic construct into a host cell. [0019] Expression: Expression is the process by which a polypeptide is produced from DNA. The process involves the transcription of a gene into mRNA and the translation of this mRNA into a polypeptide. Depending on the context in which it is used, “expression” may refer not only to the expression of polypeptide, but also to the production of RNA, particularly antisense RNA. [0020] Promoter: A promoter is a DNA sequence that initiates the transcription of a gene. Promoters are typically found 5′ to the gene and located proximal to the start codon. If a promoter is of the inducible type, then the rate of transcription increases in response to an inducing agent. [0021] Host cell: A host cell is the recipient of a DNA vector. Host cells may exist either in vivo or in vitro. [0022] Recombinant: As used herein, the term “recombinant” refers to nucleic acid that is formed by experimentally recombining nucleic acid sequences and sequence elements. A recombinant host cell would be a cell that has received recombinant nucleic acid. [0023] Operably linked: The term “operably linked” refers to genetic elements that are joined in such a manner that enables them to carry out their normal functions. For example, a gene is operably linked to a promoter when its transcription is under the control of the promoter and such transcription produces the protein normally encoded by the gene. [0024] Structural sequence: As used herein, the term “structural sequence” refers to a sequence of nucleotides that undergoes transcription. Structural sequences may either encode a polypeptide or an antisense RNA sequence. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0025] The present invention is directed to HSV-1 vectors that can be used to express recombinant sequences in neuronal cells, especially in vivo. Expression is regulated using the tetracycline operator and repressor protein (for sequences see Postle et al., Nucl. Acid Res. 12:4849-4863 (1984); Hillen et al., Ann. Rev. Microbiol. 48:345-369 (1994); Wissmann et al., J. Mol. Biol. 202:397-406 (1988)). General methods for making vectors containing these elements have been previously described (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,444,871) and plasmids which contain the tetracycline-inducible transcription switch are commercially available (T-REx™, Invitrogen, CA). The essential features are the presence of a structural sequence (e.g., a gene sequence that one wants to be expressed in a host cell) which is operably linked to a promoter that has a TATA element. A tet operator sequence is located between 6 and 24 nucleotides 3′ to the last nucleotide in the TATA element of the promoter and 5′ to the structural sequence. When DNA with these characteristics is present in a cell that also expresses the tetracycline repressor, transcription of the structural gene will be blocked by the repressor binding to the operator. If tetracycline is introduced however, it will bind to the repressor, cause it to dissociate from the operator, and transcription of the structural gene will proceed. [0026] The HSV-1 vectors also include at least two sequences coding for the tetracycline repressor and expression of each of these sequences is under the control of either an ICP-0 or ICP-4 immediate early promoter of HSV-1. The sequences for the ICP-0 and ICP-4 promoters and for the genes whose regulation they endogenously control are well known in the art (Perry, et al., J. Gen. Virol. 67:2365-2380 (1986); McGeoch et al., J. Gen. Virol. 72:3057-3075 (1991); McGeoch et al., Nucl. Acid Res. 14:1727-1745 (1986)) and procedures for making vectors containing these elements are described in detail in the Examples section below. These promoters are not only very active in promoting gene expression, they are also specifically induced by VP 16 a transactivator that is released when HSV-1 infects a cell. Thus, transcription from ICP-0 or ICP-4 is particularly high when repressor is most needed to shut down transcription of the structural sequence. [0027] Vectors having the characteristics described above can be produced using standard methods of molecular biology and DNA synthesis. However, it is also possible to produce an appropriate vector by modifying the wild type HSV-1 genome. Specifically, the ICP-0 or ICP-4 genes may be deleted from the viral genome and replaced with a structural sequence in a manner that puts it under the control of the ICP-0 or ICP-4 promoter. Since the HSV-1 genome contains more than one ICP-0 or ICP-4 gene, more than one repressor element will be included in a vector. In the most preferred embodiment, two sequences coding for tet repressor are present. This provides a greater concentration of repressor for binding to the tetracycline operator and shutting off transcription. [0028] The strength with which the tet repressor binds to the operator sequence is, preferably, enhanced by using a form of operator which contains two Op-2 repressor binding sites linked by a sequence of approximately four nucleotides. When repressor is bound to this operator, essentially no transcription of the structural sequence will occur. Many different promoters may be used for controlling the expression of the structural sequence. Examples include the mouse metallothionein I promoter (Hamer, et al., J. Mol. Appl. Gen. 1:273-288 (1982)); herpes virus promoters (Yao et al., J. Virol. 69:6249-6258 (1995); McKnight, Cell 31:355-365 (1982)); the SV 40 early promoter (Benoist, et al., Nature 290:304-310 (1981)); and, especially, the human CMV immediate-early promoter (Boshart, et al. Cell 41; 521-530 (1985)) or LAP2/hCMV immediate-early promoter (Palmer et al., J Virol 74:5604-5618 (2000)). [0029] Once appropriate genomic DNA constructs have been produced, they may be incorporated into HSV-1 viral recombinants using methods that are well known in the art. The most preferred procedure is described in the Examples section, but other methods are also compatible with the present invention. It is preferred that the virus be replication deficient, i.e., incapable of replicating once it is introduced in vivo. Any method for producing a replication deficient virus known in the art may be used. In the case of HSV-1 the most preferred procedure is to either delete or mutate the viral UL-9 gene so that it no longer makes functional protein (for UL-9 sequence, see McGeoch, et al., J. Gen. Virol. 69:1531-1574 (1988)). Again, procedures for carrying this out are described in the Examples section and in references provided herein. [0030] The structural sequence in HSV vectors can encode any protein or RNA sequence that one wants to express in a host cell. For example, HSV vectors in which the structural sequence codes for a marker such as LacZ may be used to study the ability of HSV-1 or another virus to deliver genes to cells in vivo and the extent to which the structural sequence is expressed after delivery. This type of evaluation is very important in the development of methods that can be used in gene therapy. Other genes, e.g., genes coding for growth factors, antisense sequences, cytokines or therapeutic agents, may also be used as the structural sequence and delivered to cells. The ability to turn on and off expression after delivery by administering or withholding tetracycline provides scientists with a way to study the effect of the expressed sequence on cell biology. It also provides a way for evaluating the therapeutic potential of a vector. For example, by studying factors that contribute to neuronal growth and development, procedures may be developed that can be used to help promote nerve regeneration in patients where tissue has been destroyed due to stroke or traumatic injury. Similarly, neoplastically transformed neurons can be targeted with vectors producing agents such as interferons or other therapeutic agents to determine whether there is an effect on tumor growth or metastasis. In addition CNS diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, ALS, multiple sclerosis and Huntington's disease may also be studied and potential therapies for these diseases tested. EXAMPLES [0031] In the present example, a tetracycline-inducible transcription switch is introduced into a novel replication-defective HSV-1 vector, QR9TO-lacZ. Infection of cells with QR9TO-lacZ can achieve a 1000-fold increase in regulated gene expression by tetracycline in mammalian cells. The demonstrated ability of QR9TO-lacZ to deliver very high levels of sensitively regulated gene expression significantly expands the utility of HSV-based vector systems for the study of protein function in the nervous system and their potential in human gene therapy applications. [0032] A. Materials and Methods [0033] Plasmids: pSH is an ICP0-expressing plasmid with flanking sequences 957 bp upstream of the ICP0 open-reading frame to 415 bp downstream of the ICP0 translation stop codon (Cai, et al., J. Virol. 63:4579-4589 (1989)). pSH-tetR is a tetracycline repressor-expressing plasmid in which expression of tetR is under the control of the HSV-1 ICP0 promoter. It was generated by replacing the Nco I-Sal I ICP0 coding sequence-containing fragment in plasmid pSH with the Kpn I-Sal I tetR-containing fragment of pGEM-tetR (Yao, et al., Hum. Gene Ther. 9:1939-1950 (1998)). Nco I linearized pSH was blunt-ended with mung bean nuclease to remove the initiation codon, ATG, of the ICP0 open-reading frame while the Kpn I-linearized pGEM-tetR was blunt-ended by T4 DNA polymerase treatment. The HSV-1 UL9-expressing plasmid, pcDNAUL9, was constructed by inserting the BsiW I-Not I UL9-containing fragment of pL9 (Baradaran, et al., J. Virol 68:4251-4261 (1994)) into pcDNA3 at the Nru I and Not I sites. pcDNAUL9 expresses UL9 from the HSV-1 UL9 promoter with the bovine growth hormone (BGH) polyadenylation signal sequence at its 3′ end. Plasmid p9DNATO-lacZ, which contains the lac Z gene under control of the tetO-bearing hCMV major immediate-early promoter with the BGH poly A signal at the 3′ end of the lac Z gene, was generated by replacing the Xcm I-Mlu I fragment containing UL9 amino acids 217 to 803 in plasmid pUL9-V, with DNA sequences consisting of the tetO-hCMV-lacZ-poly A transcription unit (see FIG. 1 ) pUL9-V is a derivative of pcDNAUL9 with a deletion of a 17-bp Not I-Xba I fragment present in pcDNA3. [0034] Cells: African green monkey kidney (Vero) cells and osteosarcoma cells, U20S, were grown and maintained in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (Yao, et al., J. Virol. 69:6249-6258 (1995)). U20S cells express a cellular activity that can substitute functionally for the HSV-1 immediate-early regulatory protein, ICP0 (Yao, et al., J. Virol. 69:6249-6258 (1995)). U2CEP4R11 cells, a tetR-expressing cell line derived from U20S cells, were grown and maintained in the above-mentioned growth medium in the presence of hygromycin-B at 50 μg/ml (Yao, et al., Hum. Gene Ther. 9:1939-1950 (1998)). [0035] RUL9-8 is a double-stable cell line expressing both tetR and UL9, which was established by stable transfection of U2CEP4R11 cells with pcDNAUL9 using procedures described previously (Yao, et al., Hum. Gene Ther. 9:1939-1950 (1998)). These cells can support the growth of an HSV-1 UL9 insertion mutant hr94 efficiently. [0036] Rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells were grown and maintained in DMEM supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated horse serum (Invitrogen) and 5% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum. For differentiation of PC12 cells, cells were seeded in PC12 cell differentiation medium (DMEM supplemented with 2% heat-inactivated horse serum and 1% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum containing 50 ng/ml of 2.5 S NGF (Upstate Biotechnologies)) at 2×10 5 cells per dish on 60-mm culture dishes coated with collagen I for one week followed by treatment with medium containing 20 μM fluorodeoxyuridine (Sigma) to remove undifferentiated PC12 cells (Su, et al., J. Virol. 73:4171-4180 (1999)). Cells were maintained in PC 12 cell-differentiation medium for an additional 2 days prior to infection. [0037] Viruses: The ICP0 null mutant 7134, in which both copies of the ICP0 coding sequence have been replaced by the Lac Z gene of Escherichia coli (Cai, et al., J. Virol 63:4579-4589 (1989) was propagated and assayed in U20S cells (Yao, et al., J. Virol. 69: 6249-6258 (1995)). Infectious 7134 DNA was isolated from purified 7134 virions according to procedures previously described ((Yao, et al., J. Virol. 69:6249-6258 (1995)). [0038] KOR is an HSV-1 recombinant in which the Lac Z genes of 7134 were replaced by homologous recombination with a DNA fragment containing tetR in pSH-tetR. In brief, U20S cells were co-transfected with the linearized pSH-tetR plasmid and infectious HSV-1 7134 DNA using lipofectin (Yao, et al., Hum. Gene Ther. 9:1939-1950 (1998)). Progeny of the transfection were screened by standard plaque assay in the presence of 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-D-galactoside (X-Gal) at 96 h post-infection (Yao, et al., Hum. Gene Ther. 10:1811-1818 (1999)). White plaques contain virus in which both copies of the Lac Z gene are replaced by the tetR DNA. These were isolated following four rounds of plaque purification to yield KOR. The expression of tetR in KOR was verified by Western blot analysis of cell extracts prepared from mock-infected U20S cells and from U20S cells infected with either 7134 or KOR. The tetR-specific monoclonal antibody used was purchased from Clontech, Palo Alto, Calif. [0039] Infection and β-galactosidase Assay: Vero and PC12 cells were seeded at 1×10 6 cells per 60-mm dish. At 48 h post-seeding, Vero cells were mock-infected or infected with either 3 PFU/cell or 10 PFU/cell of QR9TO-lacZ. For PC12 cells, infections were carried out at 120 h post-seeding with either 1 or 3 PFU/cell. Infections were performed in the absence or presence of tetracycline. Mock-infected and infected cell extracts were prepared for β-galactosidase assays according the protocol described by Invitrogen (Carlsbad, Calif.). Protein concentrations in cell extracts were determined by the Pierce BCA protein assay (Pierce Biotechnology, Rockford, Ill.). β-galactosidase activity was expressed as nmoles of ONPG hydrolyzed/min/mg protein (Invitrogen). For visible X-Gal staining, at various times post-infection, cells were washed with PBS, fixed with 0.05% glutaraldehyde, and stained with X-Gal at 500 μg/ml in PBS solution containing 5 mM potassium ferricyanide and 5 mM potassium ferrocyanide. [0040] Mice: Female CD-1 mice six to eight weeks of age were purchased from Taconic Laboratory (Germantown, N.Y.). Mice were housed in metal cages at four mice per cage and maintained on a 12-h light/dark cycle. Mice were allowed to acclimatize for one week prior to experimentation. Mice were randomly assigned to several different groups and fed with either a normal diet or a diet containing tetracycline at 6 g/kg (Bio-Serv, Frenchtown, N.J.). After 7 days of feeding, mice were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital and inoculated either intracerebrally with 20 μl of QR9TO-lacZ into the left frontal lobe of the brain at a depth of 2.5 mm or by subcutaneous inoculation into hindlimb footpads. Mice were fed ad libitum with either a normal diet or a tetracycline-containing diet. Control mice were inoculated with DMEM. Mouse brains or footpads were harvested on days 1, 2, or 3 post-inoculation. After tissues were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde for 2 h, they were washed with PBS and stained with X-Gal for 3 h at 37° C. [0041] B. Results [0042] Construction of the T-REx™-Containing Single Replication-Defective HSV-1 Vector: [0043] To generate a replication-defective HSV-1 recombinant encoding the newly developed tetR-mediated repression switch, we first constructed a tetR-expressing HSV-1 recombinant, KOR, by replacing both copies of the HSV-1 ICP0 open-reading frame with DNA sequences encoding tetR ( FIG. 1A ). Second, to replace the essential UL9 gene of HSV-1 in KOR ( FIG. 1A ) with the Lac Z gene under control of the tetO-bearing hCMV major immediate-early promoter, we transfected UL9-expressing RUL9-8 cells with linearized p9DNATO-LacZ DNA followed by KOR super-infection. Progeny virus was plaque assayed on RUL9-8 cell monolayers in the presence of tetracycline and X-Gal. Blue plaques, indicating that the UL9 gene had been replaced by the lacZ gene, were isolated and plaque purified four times. QR9TO-lacZ ( FIG. 1B ) is a viral recombinant that exhibits strong X-Gal staining in infected Vero or U20S cells in the presence of tetracycline but little or no staining in the absence of tetracycline, indicating that the expression of Lac Z gene can be effectively controlled by tetracycline in cells infected with QR9TO-lacZ. [0044] The replication-defective nature of QR9TO-lacZ was confirmed by plaque assays on RUL9-8, U20S, and Vero cell monolayers. The plaque-forming efficiency of QR9TO-lacZ on ICP0-complementing U20S cell monolayers was reduced more than 5×10 6 -fold compared with that in RUL9-8 cells. When assayed on non-ICP0 complementing Vero cell monolayers, the plaque-forming ability of QR9TO-lacZ was reduced to less than 1.14×10 −8 PFU/ml. Given that the plaque-forming efficiency of an ICP0 null mutant on Vero cell monolayers is reduced by more than 100-fold relative to U20S cell monolayers, the titer of QR9TO-lacZ on Vero monolayers is less than 5×10 −8 PFU/ml. [0045] Quantitative analysis of tetracycline-regulated β-gal expression in QR9TO-lacZ-infected cells: To assess the efficiency of QR9TO-lacZ in delivering tetracycline-regulatable gene expression in mammalian cells, we compared the levels of lacZ expression following QR9TO-lacZ infection in both the presence and absence of tetracycline by quantitative β-galactosidase (β-gal) analysis. Compared with cells infected in the absence of tetracycline, levels of Lac Z expression in QR9TO-lacZ-infected cells in the presence of tetracycline were increased by 1024-fold and 541-fold at MOIs of 3 and 10 PFU/cell respectively. [0046] An examination of tetracycline-dose-dependent regulation of β-gal expression in QR9TO-lacZ infected Vero cells, showed that levels of β-gal expression in QR9TO-lacZ infected cells can be finely adjusted by varying the dose of tetracycline. Maximum β-gal expression was detected at a tetracycline concentration of 0.5 μg/ml, which was 966-fold higher than that detected in QR9TO-lacZ-infected Vero cells in the absence of tetracycline. [0047] Taken together, these results demonstrate that QR9TO-lacZ, a T-REx™ encoding replication-defective HSV-1 viral recombinant, is capable of delivering robust and tightly regulated gene expression to mammalian cells. [0048] Regulation of β-gal expression in QR9TO-lacZ-infected un-differentiated and NGF-differentiated PC12 cells: In an effort to evaluate its potential application as an efficient vector for delivering regulated gene expression to neural cells, we next infected both undifferentiated and 2.5 S NGF-differentiated PC12 cells with QR9TO-lacZ in the absence and presence of tetracycline. The X-Gal staining experiments showed that, whereas very few X-Gal positive staining cells were detected in undifferentiated and NGF-differentiated PC12 cells infected with QR9TO-lacZ in the absence of tetracycline, close to 50% of undifferentiated and differentiated PC12 cells infected with QR9TO-lacZ exhibited strong X-Gal staining in the presence of tetracycline. No blue cells were observed in mock-infected cells. In addition, on the basis of the similarity of both cell density and morphology between infected cells and mock-infected controls, the study indicated that QR9TO-lacZ exhibits little cytotoxicity in infected, undifferentiated and NGF-differentiated PC 12 cells. [0049] A quantitative analysis of β-gal expression in undifferentiated and NGF-differentiated PC 12 cells was performed after infection with QR9TO-lacZ in the absence or presence of tetracycline. It was found that a 200-fold or greater increase in tetracycline dependent induction of β-gal expression was achieved under the experimental conditions described. Infection of PC12 cells with QR9TO-lacZ at an MOI of 3 PFU/cell yielded a 669-fold increase in β-gal expression by tetracycline. The specific-β-gal activity detected in tetracycline treated QR9TO-lacZ-infected differentiated PC 12 cells at an MOI of 10 PFU/cell was nearly 300-fold higher than that detected in the absence of tetracycline. [0050] Tetracycline-regulated β-gal expression in vivo: CD-1 mice were fed standard food or tetracycline-containing food one week prior to inoculation of the left frontal lobe or the hindlimb footpads with QR9TO-lacZ. X-Gal staining was examined in the brains of mice on days 1, 2, and 3 after inoculation of the left lobe. Direct in vivo delivery of QR9TO-lacZ led to strong X-Gal staining of tissue along the needle tract in brains of mice fed tetracycline. No X-Gal specific staining was detected in brains of mice fed standard food. [0051] X-Gal staining was also examined in footpad tissues (n=6) of mice 48 h post-infection. For each mouse footpad, sagittal or transverse sections were cut at a thickness of 8 μm per section and every sixth section was examined for the presence of X-Gal staining. Large numbers of X-Gal positive staining cells were detected in QR9TO-lacZ-infected footpad tissues of tetracycline-treated mice. We did, however, observe a few X-Gal positive cells in footpad tissues of mice that were not fed tetracycline. These cells exhibited a staining intensity much lower than that observed in footpad tissue prepared from tetracycline-fed mice. The average number of X-Gal-positive cells from a total of 23 sections per footpad was: 0 in the mock-infected group, 6.67±6.121 in the absence of tetracycline and 813.33±777.79 in the presence of tetracycline. [0052] C. Discussion [0053] The hCMV major immediate-early enhancer-promoter is one of the most potent and promiscuous cis-regulatory elements used for enhancing expression of transgenes in both in vitro and in vivo. By inserting the tetracycline operator such that the first nucleotide is positioned 10 bp downstream of the last nucleotide of the TATATAA element (TATA element) of the hCMV major immediate-early promoter, we have shown that the tetracycline repressor (tetR) can act as a potent repressor to down-regulate gene expression from the tet operator-bearing hCMV major immediate-early promoter. It was shown that gene expression from the tetracycline operator-bearing hCMV major immediate-early enhancer-promoter can be regulated by tetR over three orders of magnitude in response to tetracycline, whereas in the absence of tetR, the tetO-bearing hCMV major immediate-early enhancer-promoter exhibits the same promoter activity as the wild-type promoter. [0054] In the present example, two specific strategies were used for introducing the tet-On gene switch into a replication-defective HSV-1 vector. First, based on the fact that the efficacy of T-REx™ in achieving regulation of gene expression is influenced by the levels of tetR within cells and that the HSV-1 immediate-early ICP0 promoter is one of the strongest HSV-1 immediate-early promoters whose activity is significantly enhanced by the virion-associated transactivator VP16, we constructed an HSV-1 recombinant, KOR, encoding two copies of the tetR gene by replacing the ICP0 gene with DNA encoding tetR under control of the ICP0 promoter. This design allows high level of expression of tetR upon virus entry into the cell. Second, given that a combination of the deletion of ICP0 gene with the blockage of HSV-1 viral DNA replication by the dominant-negative HSV-1 UL9 origin binding protein, UL9-C535C, significantly reduces the cytotoxicity of the resulting recombinant as compared with HSV-1 recombinants with a deletion in genes encoding ICP4 or ICP27, we replaced the essential UL9 gene in KOR with DNA encoding the Lac Z gene under control of the tetO-containing hCMV major immediate-early promoter, which renders the resulting recombinant, QR9TO-lacZ, replication-defective in non-UL9 complementing cells. Notably, since QR9TO-lacZ is propagated in non-ICP0-transformed ICP0-complementing UL9-expressing cells, there should be no concern about potential generation of a viral recombinant that contains the wild-type ICP0 gene, which plays a major role in enhancing reactivation of latent HSV. [0055] Analysis of QR9TO-lacZ infection of Vero cells, PC12 cells, and NGF-differentiated PC12 cells revealed a 300- to 1000-fold enhancement in gene expression by tetracycline in these cells. We also showed that expression of the lac Z gene in QR9TO-lacZ-infected cells can be controlled by tetracycline in a dose-dependent manner. This highly efficient means of regulating gene expression can also be achieved in vivo following intracerebral and footpad inoculations in mice, demonstrating its potential utility for regulating gene expression in gene therapy applications and analysis of gene function in the nervous system. [0056] Although available evidence indicates that long-term gene expression can be achieved with the hCMV major immediate-early promoter in replication-defective HSV-1 vectors following intra-articular delivery in rabbits and injection into inguinal adipose tissue in mice, gene expression from the hCMV-immediate-early promoter is generally suppressed in latently infected neurons following HSV vector-mediated gene transfer. This shortcoming can, however, be overcome with the use of the LAP2/hCMV immediate-early promoter, a hybrid promoter between the HSV-1 latency-associated promoter LAP2 and the hCMV major immediate-early promoter. It has been demonstrated that HSV-1 recombinants containing the LAP2/hCMV immediate-early promoter can yield efficient long-term transgene expression in latently infected neurons (Palmer, et al., J. Virol. 74:5604-5618 (2000)). Thus, for achieving potential long-term regulatable gene delivery to the CNS, a QR9TO-lacZ-like HSV vector could be constructed, in which the expression of a target gene is controlled by the tetO-bearing LAP2/hCMV immediate-early promoter, while the tetR gene is under control of the LAP2/hCMV immediate-early promoter, or a hybrid promoter between LAP2 and an HSV-1 immediate-early promoter. [0057] All references cited herein are fully incorporated by reference. Having now fully described the invention, it will be understood by those of skill in the art that the invention may be practiced within a wide and equivalent range of conditions, parameters and the like, without affecting the spirit or scope of the invention or any embodiment thereof.

The present invention is directed to HSV-1 vectors which rely on the tetracycline repressor and operator as a means for regulating expression. The vectors utilize VP-16 responsive promoters of HSV to control expression of the tetracycline repressor. The vectors are of particular interest as vehicles for recombinantly expressing genes in vivo.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] Not Applicable. STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT [0002] Not Applicable. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] The present invention generally relates to a method for transmitting data over a Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) and, more particularly, to a method for providing robust Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) traffic over a SONET network. [0004] Recent years have witnessed an increase in communications network bandwidth demands. The present day T 1 and T 3 communications networks are being supplanted by higher throughput networks such as SONET networks. A Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) is a type of communications network capable of transmitting data in the gigabit per second range in some implementations. [0005] The basic building block in a SONET is the synchronous transport signal level- 1 (STS- 1 ). The STS- 1 is transported as a 51.840 Mb/s serial transmission rate using an optical carrier level- 1 (OC- 1 ) optical signal. Higher data rates are transported in a SONET by synchronously multiplexing N lower level modules (such as STS- 1 s) together to form an STS-N. Each STS-N frame is transmitted in 125 μs so that 8000 frames occur per second. The rate of data transmission over a SONET network may be described as either the rate of electrical transmission (synchronous transport signal level) or the rate of optical transmission (optical carrier level), which are equivalent. Thus, an STS- 1 line rate corresponds to an OC- 1 line rate. [0006] The STS- 1 frame structure has two parts, the transport overhead and the synchronous payload envelope (SPE). The transport overhead occupies the first three columns (bytes) of the 90 column by 9 row STS- 1 frame and the remaining 87 bytes form the SPE. The transport overhead of the STS- 1 frame is allocated as follows. The data payload to be transported is first mapped into the SPE. This operation is defined by the path layer and is accomplished using path terminating equipment. Associated with the path layer are some additional bytes named the path overhead (POH) bytes, which are also placed in the SPE. After the formation of the SPE, the SPE is placed into the frame along with some additional overhead bytes which are named the line overhead (LOH) bytes. The LOH bytes are used to provide information for line protection and maintenance purposes. The LOH is created and used by line terminating equipment such as the multiplexers between optical carriers. The next layer is defined as the section layer. It is used to transport the STS- 1 frame over a physical medium. Associated with this layer are the section overhead (SOH) bytes. These bytes are used for framing, section error monitoring, and section level equipment communications. The physical layer is the final layer and transports bits serially as either optical or electrical entities. There is no overhead at this layer. [0007] Four different size payloads, called virtual tributaries (VT) fit into the SPE of the STS- 1 . These are: VT 1 . 5 , which is 1.728 Mb/s; VT 2 , which is 2.304 Mb/s; VT 3 , which is 3.456 Mb/s; and VT 6 , which is 6.912 Mb/s. Each VT requires a 500 μs structure (four STS- 1 frames) for transmission. [0008] An STS-N is formed by byte interleaving the multiple STS- 1 signals that comprise the STS-N signal. An STS-N may be thought of an N×810 bytes or as an N×90 column×9 row structure. A concatenated STS (STS-Nc) is a number of STS- 1 s that are maintained together. Certain services such as asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) payloads may find such STS-Nc structures appealing because the multiples of the STS- 1 rate are mapped into an STS-Nc SPE. The STS-Nc is multiplexed, switched, and transported as a single unit. [0009] A SONET network is often implemented as a SONET ring. A SONET ring is a series of communication nodes interconnected by links to form a closed loop, where links are fiber optical cables and the nodes are SONET multiplex equipment with additional ring functions. In general, SONET rings are of three types: Unidirectional Path Switched Ring (UPSR), 2-Fiber Bidirectional Line-Switched Ring (BLSR), and 4-Fiber BLSR. All three architectures provide physical circuit protection for improved transport survivability: self-healing via SONET Path Selection on the UPSR and Automatic Protection Switching (APS) on the BLSRs. [0010] An Add/Drop Multiplexer (ADM) is a SONET multiplexer that allows signals to be added into or dropped from an STS- 1 . ADMs have two bidirectional ports, commonly referred to as east and west ports. ADMs may be used in SONET Self-Healing Ring (SHR) architectures. A SHR uses a collection of nodes equipped with ADMs in a physical closed loop so that each node is connected to two adjacent nodes in a duplex connection. Any loss of connection due to a single failure of a node or a connection between nodes may be automatically restored in this topology, although the data traffic sourced or sunk (delivered) at the node is lost. [0011] A UPSR normally has working traffic and protection traffic provisioned such that they travel in opposite directions around the ring and do not traverse the same intermediate nodes. Working traffic may also be set up such that both directions of transmission are bidirectional on the ring. UPSRs are defined for 2-fiber rings: one fiber ring carries a working signal (SONET STS/VT path) in one direction, and the second fiber ring carries an identical “protection” signal in the opposing direction. Because UPSRs carry the same traffic in opposing directions on two different fiber rings, they are sometimes referred to as counter-rotating rings. A UPSR implements “self-healing” by using a Path Selector to compare the working and protection signals (SONET paths) that are terminating at the receiving node in order to select which of the two to drop. [0012] Time-division multiplexing (TDM) is the most common technique in use today. TDM time interleaves the supported channels onto the same transmission medium. TDM requires a rigid allocation of the transmission resource in which the available bandwidth is fully used only if all of the channels are active simultaneously. Therefore, TDM is well suited to support communication services with a constant activity rate for the duration of the connection, as in the case of voice services. Other services whose information sources are active only for a small percentage of time, typically data services, tend to waste transmission bandwidth in TDM networks because the bandwidth is allocated according to peak needs. [0013] The asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) technique is intended to avoid wasting bandwidth by sharing transmission and switching resources between several connections without any static bandwidth allocation to individual connections. Therefore, information from the signal connections may be statistically multiplexed onto the same communication resource, thus avoiding resource waste when the source activity level is low. ATM multiplexing requires, however, that each piece of information be accompanied by the routing information, which is no longer given by the position of the information within a frame, as in the case of TDM. [0014] ATM is a cell switching and multiplexing standard that allows a single switch and transport network to handle all services such as data, multimedia, and image services with one standard. Logical channels are formed using the cell headers. ATM switches in the network act on the headers to logically route the cells through the network. ATM may support variable rate and constant rate traffic and is scalable to support services of different bandwidths. [0015] An ATM cell includes a 5-byte cell header and a 48-byte payload. The cell header includes the following fields: the Virtual Path Identifier (VPI) the Virtual Channel Identifier (VCI), Payload Type (PT), Cell Loss Priority (CLP) and Header Error Control (HEC). Additionally, ATM requires connections to be established prior to data flow. ATM uses routing tables at each node along the path of a connection that map the connection identifiers from the incoming links to the outgoing links. Two levels of routing hierarchies, Virtual Paths (VPs) and Virtual Channels (VCs) are defined for ATM traffic. [0016] A VP is a collection of one or more VCs traversing multiple nodes. Each VP has a bandwidth associated with it limiting the aggregate bandwidth of VCs that may be multiplexed within that VP. Virtual path identifiers (VPIs) are used to route cells between nodes that originate, remove, or terminate the VPs. Virtual channel identifiers (VCIs) are used at end nodes to distinguish between individual connections. It is noted that there is no difference between a VP and a VC when a VP is defined over a single physical link. When a VP is defined over two or more physical links, it reduces the size of the routing tables by allowing a number of VCs to be switched based on a single identifier, that is, the VPI. [0017] Two distinctive features characterize an ATM network: (1) The user information is transferred through the network in small fixed-size units called ATM cells, each 53 bytes long and (2) it is a connection-oriented network. That is, cells are transferred using preconfigured paths identified by a label carried on the cell header. [0018] ATM switches in an ATM network act on the information in the cell headers to logically route the cells through the network and take care of variable bandwidth to the customer on a VP/VC basis. Thousands of VCs may be carried in a VP and hundreds/thousands of VPs may be carried in a physical link. For example, a standard signal rate for carrying ATM cells is a SONET concatenated STS- 3 c signal. The ATM layer is processed by ATM switches that make routing decisions based on the Virtual Path Identifier (VPI) and Virtual Channel Identifier (VCI) bits in the cell headers. [0019] Thus, an ATM network represents flexibility with regards to the type of data traffic that can be supported and the communications bandwidth that may be allocated to a specific application. On the other hand, a SONET network is a fast and high-bandwidth network. Thus, combining the speed of a SONET network with the flexibility of ATM traffic may yield a faster, but yet more flexible network. This is highly desirable. [0020] A SONET ATM virtual path ring (VPR) (either UPSR or BLSR) is generally similar to a SONET based ring with the exception that protection is done in the VP level instead of the VT level. The term VP in the context of the SONET ATM VP ring is the available bandwidth for ATM cells to be transported transparently between a pair of ring nodes. [0021] A SONET Unidirectional Path Switched Ring (UPSR) supporting ATM traffic requires protection at the Virtual Path (VP) level. Providing protection at the VP level instead of at the VT level provides two major benefits. First, the VPR VP level protection allows variable bandwidth size instead of the fixed VT sizes. The VP size is limited only by the physical medial transmission rate. Second, the VPR VP level protection allows for a much greater number of connections on the ring. This is because the variable bandwidth VPs can be much smaller than the smallest VTs. The use of VPs also affords additional flexibility because the VTs are defined in fixed increments which can not be changed. [0022] The basic data transfer vehicle of a SONET network is the Synchronous Transport Signal Level- 1 (STS- 1 ). An STS-N is formed by byte interleaving the STS- 1 signals that comprise the STS-N signal. Each STS-N is partitioned into a transport overhead segment and a synchronous payload envelope (SPE) segment. [0023] VP level protection is necessary to reliably transport ATM traffic within the STS-N envelope. In a synchronous, Time Division Multiplexer (TDM) system such as a SONET UPSR network, a particular connection such as an STS-N or a VT has a single source (ingress) to the UPSR ring and a single destination (egress) from the ring. The VPR feature allows multiple ring nodes to source and receive traffic to and from an STS-N or STS-Nc. A failure on the ring causes the receiving node to receive part of its ATM traffic from the clockwise (CW) direction and part of its traffic in the counter-clockwise (CCW) direction. The STS-N ADM (Add Drop Mux) selects the appropriate STS-N from either the CW or the CCW direction. [0024] While the standard SONET protections are sufficient to protect virtual tributaries (VTs), the standard protection is insufficient to protect VPs. In the TDM world, the VTs within the STS-N are protected based on bridging (traffic is sent on both CCW & CW fibers) the traffic at the ingress and continuously checking the Circular Redundancy Check (CRC) at the egress for both CCW & CW fibers. This is not a feasible implementation for the ATM world because of the nature of the traffic. ATM traffic's bandwidth can vary, and can be bursty in nature. For example, in order to implement a sub-60 ms protection mechanism on a per-VP basis, each VP requires 84.8 kb/s overhead (53 bytes×8 bits/byte div by 5 ms). In this example, the massive number of VPs needing to be protected would consume half the bandwidth on an OC- 3 . In addition, it would require a considerable amount of processing power, both hardware and software, to detect a segment failure. This is not a very cost efficient approach. [0025] Also, once the failure is detected, there is still the need to perform a protection switch quickly. However, a fiber cut can cause thousands of VPs to fail. This would place processing constraints on the network element that exceed commercially available processing resources. A commercially realistic network must be able to both detect a communication failure and perform the UPSR protection switch within a short time, preferably within 60 ms. [0026] Although some initial explorations have begun as to implementing ATM traffic over a SONET network, currently no standards exist for protecting the integrity of ATM traffic on SONET rings. One proposed criteria for implementing ATM traffic in a SONET ring is described in the publication by Bellcore numbered GR-2837-CORE dated Dec. 1, 1994 and titled “ATM Virtual Path Functionality in SONET Rings—Generic Criteria.” (hereafter Bellcore criteria). However, the Bellcore criteria provides no method for protecting ATM traffic on a SONET ring. [0027] A need remains for protection for ATM traffic on a SONET network ring. It is an object of the preferred embodiment of the present invention to meet this need. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0028] One objective of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is to protect ATM traffic on a SONET UPSR ring. A further objective is to implement such protection within 60 milliseconds from a failure. [0029] Another objective of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is to implement ATM traffic on a SONET ring in a manner that may allow better bandwidth management including the ability to handle more connections, the ability to handle connections of variable sizes, the ability to handle “bursty” data transfers, and the ability to allocate bandwidth to connections on an “as needed” basis. [0030] Another objective of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is to provide a more cost effective network. [0031] The preferred embodiment of the present invention relates to the implementation of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) traffic over a Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) Unidirectional Path Switched Ring (UPSR). The ability to transport ATM traffic on a SONET UPSR combines the flexibility of ATM with the speed and high bandwidth of a SONET. However, unlike standard SONET traffic, ATM cells are transported to destinations based on information in cell headers which forms a virtual path between a present location of the cell on the ring and a destination. For the ATM traffic on the SONET network to be robust, a method for regulating the ATM traffic to prevent loss of ATM cells and notification of the failure of the ATM switches is needed. A Virtual Path Ring (VPR) protection method of the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes the elimination of the standard SONET UPSR bridging mechanism in favor of selection of the ATM cell destination at an ingress to the UPSR ring. The VPR protection mechanism also includes the failure detection and notification methods to implement the ingress selection mechanism. [0032] Thus, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a VPR protection mechanism that provides for both the detection of failure for ATM VPs and the protection switch for ATM VPs. Failure detection in this context includes both SONET and ATM failures for the portion of the overall system bandwidth that has been allocated to ATM traffic. [0033] In this embodiment, the detection of SONET failures are based on SONET failure alarms and a user defined signal degradation threshold level. SONET alarms are preferably detected within 10 ms. Signal degradation detection time is variable depending on the user defined threshold level. Detection of the ATM failures (VP failures) uses a “hop verification” mechanism to detect downstream failures and verify downstream integrity preferably within 20 ms. For hop verification, a special OAM cell is generated and sent downstream in both the CW and CCW directions from the node, preferably every 5 ms. The downstream VPR nodes identify a failure condition if none of these special OAM cells are received within a 15 ms window. [0034] The protection switch in the preferred embodiment also includes an Intra-Ring Communication (IRC) protocol designed to inform SONET nodes both upstream and downstream of a potential failure as well as to perform the actual protection switch. The IRC protocol also communicates ring status between nodes on the ring and to all line cards within a node. The IRC protocol includes the following functions: assigning logical sequential numbering of nodes on the ring; adding/deleting a node to/from the ring; notifying other nodes on the ring when either a SONET or an ATM failure has been detected; and notifying other line cards in the node when failure occurs. In the present embodiment, the protection switch occurs at the data source and preferably is completed within 20 ms. [0035] The Distributed Access Switch (DAS) node when equipped with the present VPR feature is capable of residing on an SONET UPSR OC- 3 , OC- 3 c , OC- 12 or OC- 12 c ring. When on an OC- 3 or OC- 12 ring, the DAS node is capable of co-existing with major TDM ADM vendor's commercially available nodes. When on an OC- 3 ring, the VPR feature supports either one or two STS- 1 s. Each STS- 1 is independent of the other (bandwidth can not be shared between the STS- 1 s). When on an OC- 12 ring, the VPR features supports either one, two or three STS- 3 c . The STS- 3 c 's are independent of each other (bandwidth can not be shared between the STS- 3 c ). When on an OC- 3 c or OC- 12 c ring, only DAS nodes are on the ring. Traffic routed between DAS nodes can be based on the VPI field. Any given VP connection has one source (ingress) into the ring and one destination (egress) from the ring. [0036] In the TDM world, the UPSR is protected by sending traffic in both the CCW (counterclockwise) and the CW (clockwise) direction (commonly known as the bridging function). The destination of the traffic determines which path or virtual tributary to select from (selector function). [0037] The present embodiment is a VPR protection mechanism that does not “bridge” the traffic onto the ring. Instead the direction of the ingress traffic is selected to go either in the CCW or in the CW direction. Comparing this to the standard SONET TDM approach, the “bridging” function is eliminated, and the “selector” function is moved from the egress node to the ingress node. Note that the destination node is configured to accept the cells from both the working and the protection direction. Thus, notification of failure to all nodes is required in this VPR protection mechanism. [0038] In the standard SONET TDM UPSR, it is unnecessary for the nodes on a ring to communicate with each other. Each STS-N or VT will determine which of the two input streams to select from using a Circular Redundancy Check (CRC) mechanism. This approach is not feasible with ATM traffic because it would be necessary to implement a CRC mechanism that generates a checksum at the source of the data transmission and verifies the checksum at the destination of the data transmission. This CRC mechanism would need to be done for each VP. In addition to the hardware complexity, this would waste ring bandwidth by adding a great deal of overhead that would have to be transmitted along with the data transmission. Thus, instead of utilizing the UPSR CRC mechanism, the preferred embodiment of the present invention detects the failure and then communicates the failure information to the other nodes on the ring. [0039] These and other features of the present invention are discussed or apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0040] [0040]FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary SONET Unidirectional Path Switched Ring (UPSR) Virtual Path Ring (VPR) according to the method of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; [0041] [0041]FIG. 2 illustrates flowcharts for adding and deleting a SONET node from a SONET ring according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; [0042] [0042]FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart for implementing a protection switch according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; [0043] [0043]FIG. 4 illustrates a Virtual Path Identifier (VPI) table entry, an exemplary Virtual Circuit Identifier (VCI) table entry, an exemplary destination protection table entry, and an exemplary source protection table entry according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; [0044] [0044]FIG. 5 is an exemplary table of the information fields of an entry in the tables of FIG. 4 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; [0045] [0045]FIG. 6 illustrates flowcharts for the response of the UPSR according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention for exemplary SONET failures and path AIS-Ps; [0046] [0046]FIG. 7 illustrates flowcharts for the response of the UPSR according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention for further exemplary SONET failures and path AIS-Ps; [0047] [0047]FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart for the response of the UPSR according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention for a high BER communications link; [0048] [0048]FIG. 9 illustrates the exemplary SONET UPSR VPR of FIG. 1 with a more detailed view of a SONET_S Card according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; [0049] [0049]FIG. 10 illustrates flowcharts for the response of the UPSR according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention for exemplary SONET card failures; and [0050] [0050]FIG. 11 illustrates flowcharts for the response of the UPSR according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention for exemplary switch module failures and line card failures. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0051] [0051]FIG. 1 illustrates a SONET VPR protection method and apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. An exemplary SONET UPSR 100 , includes two Time Division Multiplexer (TDM) Add Drop Multiplexers (ADM) labeled ADM#1 and ADM#2, numbered 110 and 112 , respectively. The exemplary SONET UPSR 100 also includes four Distributed Access Switches (DAS) labeled DAS#1, DAS#2, DAS#3, and DAS#4, and numbered 120 , 122 , 124 , and 126 , respectively. Each DAS 120 - 126 , for example DAS#4 126 , includes a SONET_N card 130 , a SONET_S card 132 , two Line Cards 134 and 136 , and an electronic switch 138 . [0052] Both the ADMs 110 - 112 and the DASs 120 - 126 are generally referred to as SONET nodes 140 - 150 because they are in communication via the SONET UPSR 100 . The physical connections between the SONET nodes 140 - 150 form two rings, one ring with a signal transmission direction in the clockwise (CW) direction 160 and the other ring with a signal transmission direction in the counter clockwise (CCW) direction 162 . Each ring 160 - 162 carries optical signals from one node to the next. The CW ring 160 connects in rotating sequence DAS#2 122 , ADM#1 110 , DAS#1 120 , DAS#4 126 , DAS#3 124 , and ADM#2 112 which connects to DAS#2 122 to complete the ring. The CCW ring 162 connects in rotating sequence DAS#2 122 , ADM#2 112 , DAS#3 124 , DAS#4 126 , DAS#1 120 , and ADM#1 110 which connects to DAS#2 122 to complete the ring. Thus, each SONET node 140 - 150 receives signals via two input ports and transmits signals via two output ports. For example, the SONET node 146 comprised of DAS#3 124 receives a CW input signal 170 from the CW ring 160 and a CCW input signal 172 from the CCW ring 162 . Also, the SONET node 146 comprised of DAS#3 124 transmits a CW output signal 174 onto the CW ring 160 and a CCW output signal 176 onto the CCW ring 162 . [0053] Signals transmitted on the CCW ring 162 are received by the DAS#4's 126 SONET_N card 130 which transforms the optical signal carried on the CCW ring 162 into an electrical signal and then transmits the electrical signals to the line card 134 . The line card 134 formats the electrical signal for transmission to the electronic switch 138 and then transmits the signal to the electronic switch 138 . [0054] The electronic switch 138 either 1) “continues” the traffic to DAS#1 120 or 2) “drops” the traffic off the ring. If the traffic is continued, the traffic passes from the electronic switch 138 to the line card 134 . The line card 134 formats the traffic and passes the traffic to DAS#4's SONET_N card 130 where the traffic to transformed from an electrical signal to an optical signal. The optical signal is then passed from DAS#4's SONET_N card 130 to DAS#1 120 . If the traffic is dropped, then the traffic is not passed to DAS#1 120 . [0055] Signals transmitted on the CW ring 160 are received by the DAS#4's 126 SONET_S card 132 which (like the SONET_N card 130 for the CCW ring 162 ) transforms the optical signal carried on the CW ring 160 into an electrical signal and then transmits the electrical signals to the line card 136 . The line card 136 formats the signal for transmission to the electronic switch 138 and transmits the electric signal to the electronic switch 138 . As above, the electronic switch 138 either continues the traffic or drops the traffic off the ring. Here, the traffic continued by the electronic switch 130 passes to DAS#3 124 . [0056] The optical connections of the CW ring 160 and the CCW ring 162 are not constrained to be any specific throughput (such as OC- 1 /STS- 1 to OC- 48 /STS- 48 ) because the specific data transfer rate is not essential to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The preferred embodiment may be scaled to any data transfer rate. In the SONET UPSR 100 , each DAS node 120 - 126 is given a sequential logical node number around the ring. Each connection between SONET nodes 140 - 150 (DASs and ADM) originates at a transmitting node and is terminated at a receiving node, thus each node provides line termination. [0057] The preferred embodiment of the present invention may utilize an Intra-Ring Communication (IRC) Protocol. The IRC protocol provides for: 1) adding a SONET node to the ring, 2) deleting a SONET node from the ring, 3) communicating ring failure (status) to the other SONET nodes on the ring, and 4) communicating ring failure (status) to all line cards in a SONET node or system. [0058] First, the IRC protocol for adding a node to the ring and the IRC protocol for deleting a node from the ring will be explained. As illustrated in FIG. 2, when adding a new SONET node 200 or deleting an existing SONET node 250 , the IRC mechanism of the preferred embodiment performs the following steps. The process for adding a new node to the ring 200 begins with the physical connection of the new node to the ring 210 . Second, the logical numbering of each node in the downstream direction from the added node (on both the CW and CCW rings) is changed 220 . This numbering is changed because the SONET nodes are numbered sequentially. Next, the Look-Up Tables (LUTs) of each SONET node are updated 230 to reflect the new sequential numbering. However, a newly added SONET node may take a sequential number that had been previously assigned to another node. In that case, all traffic destined for the replaced SONET node is configured to by-pass 240 the added SONET node and travel to the intended node. [0059] The process for deleting a node from the ring 250 begins with the physical elimination of the new node from the ring 260 . Second, the logical numbering of each node in the downstream direction from the deleted node (on both the CW and CCW rings) is changed 270 . As above, this numbering is changed because the SONET nodes are numbered sequentially and a numeric gap may interfere with communication. Finally, the LUTs of each SONET node are updated 280 to reflect the new sequential numbering. [0060] The updating of the LUTs is accomplished so that previously configured VPs are able to either bypass the newly added SONET node (if a node has been added) or are eliminated if destined for a deleted SONET node. Simply bypassing all VPs does not work because of the potential problem that could arise if an ATM cell is accidentally inserted into the ring with an unused VP. The accidentally inserted ATM cell would continuously loop around the ring and could potentially burden legitimate traffic utilizing the ring. [0061] The logical numbering of the node is preferably very straightforward. Preferably, the nodes are numbered sequentially in the CCW direction. The first node on the ring is assigned ring identification number one (ID#1). The second node on the ring is assigned ring ID#2. Each subsequent addition will depend on its relative location on the ring. If a node is added between ring ID#n and ring ID#n+1, the new node is assigned ring ID#n+1. All previous nodes with ring ID#n+1 or higher are incremented by 1. [0062] Referring to FIG. 1, each SONET card 130 - 132 records the ring ID# for that node. For example, when the SONET node 144 comprised of DAS#4 126 is to be deleted, the SONET_N card 130 and SONET_S card 132 for DAS#4 126 broadcast a command to all the other SONET nodes 140 - 142 , 146 - 150 directing the other SONET nodes to decrement their ring ID#s if their current ring IDs are greater than the ring ID of DAS#4 126 , the SONET node that is being deleted. For robustness, each SONET card 130 - 132 of each SONET node periodically checks to ensure that the ring ID# of the SONET card transmitting data to (and the ring ID# of the SONET Card receiving data from) the SONET card in question is of the next sequential order. In the case of adding or deleting a SONET node from the ring, the change is preferably implemented by an operator and the designation of a SONET node as node ID#1 may be arbitrarily chosen. [0063] The IRC protocol also controls detecting SONET and ATM failures and communicating SONET and ATM failure both to the other SONET nodes and to the line cards within the SONET nodes. For example, in FIG. 1, in the event that a SONET card 130 - 132 of DAS#4 126 detects a SONET or an ATM failure, the SONET card 1) notifies the other SONET nodes 140 - 150 on the ring of the failure, 2) notifies the other line cards 134 - 136 in the SONET node of the failure, and 3) preferably repeats the failure notification every 10 ms until the failure is repaired. In the event that one of the SONET cards 130 - 132 of DAS#4 126 detects a failure notification from a SONET card of another SONET node, the receiving SONET card 130 - 132 notifies the other line cards 134 - 136 in DAS#4 126 of the failure. [0064] Notification of failure is sent from the detecting SONET node (for example, DAS#4 126 ) in both the “upstream” and “downstream” directions relative to the detecting SONET node. The failure notification is sent on both the CW and CCW rings 160 , 162 . The failure notification includes both the node on the ring detecting the failure and the direction of failure (i.e., CW or CCW path). The detecting node's identification and failure direction is used by the protection switch mechanism. The failure notification is passed beyond the adjacent upstream and downstream nodes and reaches all DAS nodes 120 - 126 on the SONET UPSR 100 . [0065] Although not essential, the UPSR preferably maintains ring statistics on a per VP basis. The statistics preferably include the duration of failure condition (for the last hour and for the last 24 hours) and the number of protection switches (for the last hour and for the last 24 hours). [0066] Once the SONET nodes have been notified of a failure via the IRC protocol, a protection switch is performed. The most conceptually straightforward way to perform protection switching would be to sequentially update the LUT contents for all affected VPs. That is, once notified of failure, the SONET nodes would determine which VPs are affected and then update the LUTs. However, as mentioned above, this approach is not feasible since there are 32K entries in the LUT and the time to update 32K entries is prohibitively long. Also, as mentioned above, adding complexity to the problem is the multi-ring scenario, the need to know the ring's current topology, and the processing needed to determine if any particular VP is effective. [0067] As shown in FIG. 3, the preferred embodiment described below represents a protection switching method 300 that overcomes the shortcomings of the straightforward approach. First, the ATM traffic carried by the UPSR is received by the SONET card 310 (either a SONET_S Card if the ATM traffic is carried on the CW ring, or a SONET_N Card if the ATM traffic is carried on the CCW ring). The SONET card decodes the optical transmission 320 and sends the corresponding electrical signals to the line card 330 . At the line card, the transmitted ATM cells are intercepted by a Protection Switch Block 340 preferably consisting of a ASIC or PLD and 164 Kbyte of SRAM. [0068] The Protection Switch Block strips off the first four octets of each ATM cell header including the VPI (Virtual Path Identifier) field 350 . Preferably, the Protection Switch Block then uses the 12 bit VPI field to access an external memory and retrieve up to five bytes of information from a 4096X(n) byte table called the VPI table 360 . The Protection Switch Block also adds one cell delay at the ingress to each node. [0069] [0069]FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary entry 400 in the preferred VPI table, an exemplary entry in the Destination Protection Table 425 , an exemplary entry in the Source Protection Table 450 , and an exemplary entry in the VCI Table 475 . The VPI table entry 400 contains the following information fields. The Vc bit 402 is used to select either VP protection or VC protection. The Vc bit 402 selects whether the VP of the present ATM cell is terminated at a single egress point on the ring or is terminated at each DAS node on the ring. The Bd bit 404 controls the broadcast drop of the UPSR. The Bd bit 404 indicates whether the given ATM cell is on a broadcast VP. When the Bd bit 404 is set, the S_node field 405 is used to determine which direction will be selected for dropping the ATM cell. In this fashion, the Bd bit 404 is roughly equivalent to the selector function in the traditional TDM UPSR. The P bit 406 indicates whether the ATM cell is in a protected mode. The protected mode bit 406 is set when the cell is destined for a ring or for broadcast VPs on the ring. The U bit, 410 short for unprotected class of service, is reserved for a future enhancement such as utilizing the protection bandwidth to carry extra traffic in the absence of ring failures. The D bit 408 , short for direction, is the working direction when not affected by a ring failure. The working direction can be craft configurable. This direction determines which protection table entry bit is considered first, the CCW bit or the CW bit. The Alternate VPI field 412 is the replacement VPI (protection VPI) that will be substituted for the original VPI in the event that the preferred route is blocked due to a ring failure. The D_node field 414 is the destination node within the UPSR ring in which the VPI/VCI combination terminates. The D_ring field 416 is the destination ring that the ATM cell will be sent on. The S_node field 405 is the source node of the ATM cell and is used to determine which direction to drop the cell from. [0070] The VCI table entry 475 contains the following information fields. Similar to the VPI table entry 400 , the D_node field 480 is the destination node within the UPSR ring in which the VPI/VCI combination terminates. The D_ring field 485 is the destination ring that the ATM cell will be sent on. [0071] The destination protection table 425 contains CW-bit 430 (clockwise) and CCW-bit 435 (counter-clockwise) information fields. The CW-bit 430 indicates the failure status for a given destination in the CW direction. The CCW-bit 435 indicates the failure status for a given destination in the CCW direction. [0072] The source protection table 450 also contains CW-bit 455 (clockwise) and CCW-bit 460 (counter-clockwise) information fields. The CW-bit 455 indicates the failure status for a given source in the CW direction. The CCW-bit 460 indicates the failure status for a given source in the CCW direction. [0073] The names of the various information fields, as well as a brief description and comments, are summarized in FIG. 5. [0074] The Vc bit 402 is used to determine if the ATM cell (based on VPI/VCI) uses VP or VC protection. The ATM cell uses VP protection if all ATM cells of the VP have a single ingress and a single egress point from the ring. The ATM cell uses VC protection if the VP is terminated at each hop around the ring. [0075] If the ATM cell is protected by VP, the D-node 414 and D-ring 416 data from the VPI table 400 are used to index the destination protection table 425 containing 2 bits for each of the possible combinations of up to 15 destination rings and up to 32 destination (egress) nodes within a destination ring. If the ATM cell is protected by a VC, a the VCI table 475 is accessed via direct map of the VCI in the VPI/VCI combination. The VCI table 475 contains the D-Node 480 and D-ring 485 data for that particular VCI. This data is used to index the same destination protection table as used by the protected VP. [0076] The Destination Protection table 425 preferably is within the PLD or ASIC. It contains two bits which show if the CCW 435 and CW 430 sides of the destination ring have failures. The direction specified by the Direction bit 408 in the VPI table 400 is used if that direction is not blocked. In this case the original 5 octet ATM cell header is passed on unchanged. If the direction specified by the direction bit 408 is blocked, the opposing direction is checked. If the opposing direction is not blocked, the alternate VPI 412 which was configured at call set-up is substituted for the original VPI. The HEC is then recalculated and the new header containing the alternate VPI 412 and correct HEC is passed to the UPC. If both directions are blocked, the cell is discarded. [0077] On the egress (from the ring) VPR module, the VPR SONET card checks the broadcast drop bit 404 . This bit indicates if this VPI/VCI's cell should be “dropped & continued” or just “continued.” The conceptual idea is that only one of the two SONET cards in the VPR pair drops the cell. In order to determine which direction is used to drop the cell, S_Node data 405 from the VPI table 400 is used to index the source protection table 450 which contains 2 bits for each of the possible source nodes. Broadcasting is accomplished by bridging (multicast) at the source node and the source protection table. Note that the last destination node of the broadcast will either “drop” or “discard” the cell. This can also be used to implement “dual homing rings” similar to the “drop & continue” approach used in the TDM world. [0078] The present approach requires that the line card initialize five bytes within the VPI table 400 during call setup. For all VPs destined to a ring node, two paths are configured; one in the working direction and one in the protection direction. Note that the working direction for any given VP can be in either the CW or the CCW direction. The LUT within the line card is updated when notified of ring failure via the IRC protocol. [0079] Turning again to the exemplary SONET UPSR in FIG. 1, each DAS node 120 - 126 has several functions. First, when a SONET Card (SONET_S 132 or SONET_N 130 ) detects a failure, the DAS node notifies all other DAS nodes on the ring of the failure via the IRC protocol. Failure notification occurs in both the downstream and upstream (relative to failure) directions. The DAS node also inserts a Path Alarm Indication Signal (AIS-P) on all downstream STS-Ns that are not configured for ATM traffic. Second, when a SONET Card detects an AIS-P on any incoming STS-N that is configured for TDM traffic, the AIS-P is passed through by the DAS node. If the STS-N is configured for ATM traffic, the DAS node notifies the other DAS nodes on the ring of the failure via the IRC protocol. Failure notification occurs in both the downstream and upstream (relative to failure) directions. Third, the SONET card monitors the BER for all paths (for example, STS- 1 , STS- 3 c , & STS- 12 c ). The path BER threshold is configurable externally. If the threshold is exceeded, an AIS-P is inserted if the failing STS-N is configured for TDM traffic. If the failing STS-N is configured for ATM traffic, the DAS node notifies the other DAS nodes on the ring of the failure via the IRC protocol. [0080] In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, communication failures may be broadly grouped as SONET failures and ATM failures. SONET failures include SONET section or line failures at various points in the ring and path AIS-Ps at various points in the ring. ATM failures include, for example, SONET card failures, line card failures and switch model failures. Although a standard SONET TDM UPSR network may experience and repair some SONET failures as part of its normal operation, these method of dealing with these SONET failures must be changed to take into account the ATM traffic on the SONET ring. ATM failures, of course, only arise through the use of ATM traffic. [0081] SONET failure scenarios include, for example: [0082] First, as illustrated in FIG. 6, if there is a SONET section or line failure 600 (for example a loss of signal) between ADM#1 110 and DAS#1 120 in the CW 160 direction, the SONET_S on DAS#1 120 detects 620 the failure (recognizes that the signal has been lost) and notifies 630 the other DAS nodes via the IRC protocol. The DAS#1 120 SONET_S also transmits 640 an AIS-P on all out-going STS-n that are configured for TDM traffic instead of ATM traffic. The DAS#4 126 and DAS#3 124 pass the AIS-P through to the ADM#2 112 . ADM#2 112 then performs the protection switch if it is the exit node for that particular STS-N. [0083] Second, if there is a path AIS (AIS-P) 650 from ADM#1 110 to DAS#1 120 in the CW 160 direction, the SONET_S on DAS#1 120 detects 670 the AIS-P and notifies 680 the other DAS nodes via the IRC protocol if the path is configured for ATM traffic. If the path is not configured for ATM traffic, the SONET_S on DAS#1 120 passes 690 the AIS-P signal along. The other paths are not affected. [0084] Third, as illustrated in FIG. 7, if there is a SONET section or line failure 700 between DAS#1 120 and ADM#1 110 in the CCW 162 direction, the ADM#1 110 detects 710 the failure and transmits 720 an AIS-P on the STS-Ns that proceed from ADM#1 110 toward DAS#2 122 . The SONET_N on DAS#2 122 detects 725 the AIS-P and notifies 730 the other DAS nodes via the IRC protocol. The SONET_N on DAS#2 122 also passes 740 through any AIS-P on the STS-Ns that are carrying TDM traffic. [0085] Fourth, if there is a path AIS (AIS-P) 750 from DAS#1 120 to ADM#1 110 in the CCW 162 direction, the ADM#1 110 determines 760 if the AIS-P occurs on a VP that is destined to exit at ADM#1 110 . If so, then ADM#1 110 performs a protection switch 765 . If it is not, then ADM#1 110 passes 770 the AIS-P on to DAS#2 122 . Then the SONET_N on DAS#2 122 detects 780 the AIS-P and propagates 790 the AIS-P. The AIS-P is propagated because the AIS-P would not be on an STS-N configured for ATM traffic (or else the VP would have been destined to exit at ADM#1 5 ). Other paths are not affected. [0086] Fifth, as shown in FIG. 8, if there is a high bit error rate (BER) 800 on any STS-N from ADM#1 110 to DAS#1 120 in the CW 160 direction, the SONET_S on DAS#1 120 determines 810 when the user configured threshold has been exceeded. When an STS-N is exceeding the threshold, if the STS-N that is exceeding the threshold is carrying TDM traffic 820 , the SONET_S inserts 830 an AIS-P onto the appropriate STS-N. If an STS-N is exceeding the threshold, and if the STS-N that is exceeding the threshold is not carrying TDM traffic (for example, ATM traffic) 820 , then the SONET_S on DAS#1 120 notifies 840 the other DAS nodes via the IRC protocol. Other paths are not affected. [0087] [0087]FIG. 9 is an illustration of the exemplary SONET UPSR VPR of FIG. 1 with a more detailed view of a SONET_S Card which shows the separate receive and transmit portions of the SONET_S card. In FIG. 9, the SONET_S card 132 of DAS#4 126 has both a receive portion 910 and a transmit portion 920 . The receive portion 910 receives optical signals from the CW ring 160 , transforms the received optical signals carried by the CW ring 160 into electrical signals, and then transmits the electrical signals to the line card 136 . The transmit portion 920 receives electrical signals from the line card 136 , transforms the received electrical signals from the line card 136 into optical signals, and then transmits the optical signals to the CW ring 160 . All SONET_S and SONET_N cards have identical internal structures, consequently only one SONET card need be examined to illustrate the functionality of all SONET cards. [0088] Turning again to FIG. 9, as in FIG. 1, all DAS nodes on the ring are given a logical node number that is sequential around the ring. In FIG. 4, DAS#4 126 has been detailed out for the purpose of explaining the ATM failure direction mechanism. As in FIG. 1, for each DAS node 120 - 126 , there is a SONET_S card in the CW 160 direction and a SONET_N card in the CCW 162 direction. [0089] In addition to the functions described above, each DAS 120 - 126 performs the following. First, preferably every 5 ms, each SONET card transmits a notification signal downstream to verify the integrity of the ATM layer. Note that each SONET card of the SONET node pair transmit a notification signal in opposite directions, thus a notification signal is sent in both the CW and CCW direction. Second, each SONET card receives a notification signal from its upstream neighbor, again preferably every 5 ms. Third, if no notification signal is received within 15 ms, then the SONET card identifies that a failure has occurred and notifies the other SONET nodes on the ring of the failure via the IRC protocol. [0090] ATM failure scenarios include, for example: [0091] First, if there is SONET card failure. A SONET card failure can occur in either the receive portion 910 of the SONET card, the transmit portion 920 of the SONET card or both the receive and transmit portions 910 - 920 of the SONET card. [0092] As illustrated in FIG. 10, if the receive portion 910 of the SONET_S card 132 fails 1000 (ceases to function correctly), a communication failure between the DAS#1 120 and the DAS#4 126 occurs. The DAS#4 126 detects 1050 the failure and notifies 1020 the SONET nodes that are downstream on the CW ring 160 via the IRC. The SONET_S Card 132 also notifies 1030 the SONET_N card 130 within the DAS#4 126 . The SONET_N card 130 then notifies 1040 all the SONET nodes on the CCW ring 162 via the IRC. [0093] If the transmit portion 920 of the SONET_S card 132 fails 1050 , a communication failure between the DAS#4 126 and the DAS#3 124 occurs. The DAS#3 124 SONET_S card 930 detects 1060 the failure and notifies 1070 the SONET nodes that are downstream on the CW ring 160 . The DAS#3 124 SONET_S 930 also notifies 1080 the SONET_N card 940 within the DAS#3 124 . The SONET_N card 940 within the DAS#3 124 then notifies 1090 all the SONET nodes on the CCW ring 162 . [0094] If both the transmit portion 910 and the receive portion 920 of the SONET_S card 132 fail, the DAS#4 126 and the DAS#3 124 both detect the failures. This is a simultaneous failure 1000 - 1050 of both the receive portion 910 and the transmit portion 920 of the SONET_S card 132 , thus both the transmit portion failure procedure described above and the receive portion failure procedure described above take place. Thus, the DAS#3's 124 SONET_S card 930 detects a failure and notifies the downstream nodes on the CW ring 160 . The DAS#3's 124 SONET_S card 930 also notifies the DAS#3's 124 SONET_N card 940 of the failure. The DAS#3's 124 SONET_N card 940 then notifies all SONET nodes on the CCW ring 162 of the failure. Also, the DAS#4's 126 SONET_S card 132 detects the failure and notifies the downstream nodes on the CCW ring 162 . The DAS#4's 126 SONET_S card 132 also notifies the DAS#4's 126 SONET_N card 130 of the failure and the DAS#4's 126 SONET_N card 130 then notifies all SONET nodes on the CW ring 160 of the failure. The nodes receiving the failure notification perform the appropriate protection switch. [0095] Second, when there is a complete SONET switch module failure 1100 , such as the complete failure of the DAS#4 126 . For example, the failure of the DAS#4 126 causes a communication failure in the DAS#4's 126 SONET_N card 130 , the DAS#4's 126 SONET_S card 132 , the DAS#1's 120 SONET_N card 950 , and the DAS#3's 124 SONET_S card 930 . All links into and out of the DAS#4 126 are treated as failed. When the DAS#4 126 fails, the DAS#1's 120 SONET_N card 950 detects 1110 the failure and notifies 1120 the downstream nodes on the CCW ring 162 . The DAS#3's 124 SONET_S card 930 also detects 1130 the failure and notifies 1140 the downstream nodes on the CW ring 160 . [0096] Although the DAS#1's 120 SONET_N card 950 notifies the DAS#1's 120 SONET_S card 960 and the DAS#1's 120 SONET_S card 960 transmits a failure notification in the CW ring 160 direction, the failure notification from the DAS#1's 120 SONET_S card 960 is not transmitted by the DAS#4 126 in the CW ring 160 direction because of the failure of the DAS#4 126 . Also, although the DAS#3's 124 SONET_S card 124 notifies the DAS#3's 124 SONET_N card 940 and the DAS#3's 124 SONET_N card 940 transmits a failure notification in the CCW ring 162 direction, the failure notification from the DAS#3's 124 SONET_N card 940 is not transmitted by the DAS#4 126 in the CCW ring 162 direction because of the failure of the DAS#4 126 . [0097] Third, when there is a line card failure 1150 within a SONET node. For example, if the line card 136 within the DAS#4 126 fails, the DAS#4's 126 SONET_S card 132 and the DAS#3's 124 SONET_S card 930 detect 1160 - 1165 the failures in the CW ring 160 between the DAS#1 120 and the DAS#4 126 and between the DAS#4 126 and the DAS#3 124 . The DAS#3's 124 SONET_S card 930 detects the failure 1165 and notifies 1175 the downstream SONET nodes on the CW ring 160 . Also, the DAS#3's 124 SONET_S card 930 notifies 1185 the DAS#3's 124 SONET_N card 940 and the DAS#3's 124 SONET_N card 940 then notifies 1195 the downstream SONET nodes on the CCW ring 162 . [0098] Also, the DAS#4's 126 SONET_S card 132 detects 1160 the failure and attempts to notify 1170 the downstream SONET nodes on the CW ring 160 of the failure. This failure notification is not successful because the DAS#4's 126 line card 136 has failed. However, the DAS#4's 126 SONET_S card 132 notifies 1180 the DAS#4's 126 SONET_N card 130 and the DAS#4's 126 SONET_N card 130 notifies 1190 the downstream SONET nodes on the CCW ring 162 . [0099] Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, those of skill in the art will recognize that changes may be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

A method and apparatus for the robust implementation and protection of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) traffic over a Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) Unidirectional Path Switched Ring (UPSR). The traditional SONET bridging function is eliminated for the ATM traffic in favor of a selector function. The selector function occurs at the ingress of the ATM traffic to the UPSR and directs the ATM traffic to its destination via a virtual path over the UPSR. The ATM traffic is protected from both SONET failures and ATM failures by means of an Intra-Ring Communication (IRC) protocol. The IRC protocol governs failure detection and the notification of the SONET nodes on the UPSR of the failure and any protection switch that may be necessary.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/683,626, entitled “DYNAMIC MICRO-POSITIONER AND ALIGNER”, filed Oct. 10, 2003, now U.S. Pat No. 6,935,042, which is related to U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/424,741, filed Nov. 8, 2002, entitled IN SITU DYNAMIC FIBER ALIGNER. The entire contents of both applications are incorporated herein by this reference. The Applicants hereby claim the benefits of this earlier pending patent application and its related provisional application under 35 U.S.C. Section 19(e). TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to one or a plurality of micro-positioners used to dynamically align, position or move media(s), mass(es), or component(s) and device(s) related thereto. Such media include, but are not limited to, one or a plurality of fibers, optical fibers, optical elements, tubes or wires, and such components include, but are not limited to, lenses, nozzles, valves, antenna elements and radio frequency (“rf”) stubs. The micro-positioners can be positioned and secured inside a jacket or other self-contained housing adapted to receive and hold the media or securely hold the components. The micro-positioners may also be used to position materials within an integrated package, such as an optical package. DESCRIPTION OF CONVENTIONAL ART The conventional means of aligning a media or component is to statically align the media or component or the mount holding the media or component either passively or actively. Static or statically, refers to the inability to make adjustments to the media after the media and related elements are anchored. To align a media passively, small silicon workbenches are etched into a device using semiconductor technology. Piece parts are then placed upon the etched workbench and secured in place. In the foregoing case, the media could consist of optical fiber. The passive method requires that the optical fiber be precisely located and aligned to a mechanical feature, which can in turn be located in an etched groove within the workbench. The passive method has had limited alignment success because, in many cases, the relationship between the mechanical feature and the optical fiber is not sufficiently precise. Disadvantageously, no adjustment of the optical fiber is possible after placement and anchoring to the final location. The same considerations apply to media other than optical fiber. Because of the cited disadvantageous of the passive method, the active method of aligning a media or component is more widely used. The active method uses complex equipment to move a media, typically an optical fiber, into alignment. The equipment then anchors the media, such as an optical fiber, using glue, solder or welding. While the active method is more precise, successful employment of the active method requires complex equipment and precise piece parts with extremely flat and smooth surfaces. Disadvantageously, manufacturing yields using the active method are typically low and rework of the assemblies is difficult. As in the case of passive alignment, active alignment is static. The present invention comprises a dynamic micro-positioner used to position and/or align media or components and includes a variety of embodiments and applications thereof. The present invention can be used to position and/or align a media or components, such media including, but not limited to, one or a plurality of fibers, optical fibers, optical elements, tubes or wires, such components including, but not limited to, lenses and/or nozzles. With reference to the conventional art, there are disclosed various conventional active and passive means of and apparatus for aligning media and components, typically optical elements and optical assemblies. The MEMS actuator disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,794 to Dhuler et al., uses a silicon substrate upon which a bimetallic material is added. The method of fabricating the actuator of Dhuler applies a separate heater to expand the bimetallic member. Disadvantageously, the member of Dhuler is securely attached to the substrate such that only a minimum amount of displacement can be achieved. Dhuler further discloses a latch mechanism. However the latch is operable only to lock the optical element in a few discrete positions. In contrast to Dhuler, an embodiment of the present invention includes integral heaters to provide expansion and a locking mechanism to allow for a continuum of possible locked positions. Further, the mechanism of an embodiment of the present invention transitions through a sequence of alternating locking positions. This permits large movements, the integrated heaters providing a user defined step size. The apparatus and method of optical switching disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,381,382 B2 to Goodman et al., adds a composition on the sides of a fiber, longitudinally, which contracts or expands with an electrical signal. The invention of Goodman et al., is operable to bend fiber and thus align optics. Disadvantageously, the invention of Goodman et al., requires continuous electrical power to maintain alignment and uses piezoelectric and other materials. Because of local stresses on the fiber, polarization properties of the light signal may be affected. An embodiment of the present invention has integral micro-positioners to move media, such as optical elements, to a desired location. The present invention does not utilize longitudinal actuators attached to fiber, but rather uses a MEMS thermal actuator perpendicular to the fiber. The mounting and alignment structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,487,355 to Flanders discloses a passive alignment and static anchoring structure fine-tuned by flexion. The invention of Flanders does not permit dynamic anchoring. In contrast, the present invention permits active alignment of a media without flexion and permits dynamic anchoring of the media. The fiber optic switching system and method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,062 to LaBudde consists of an optical switch that moves a lens relative to a fixed optical rod between ports to produce a switch wherein alignment is achieved by monitoring a reflection. In contrast, the fiber optic embodiment of the present invention uses free space between two collimators or combination of collimator and fiber. The lens assembly disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,374,012 B1 to Bergmann et al., utilizes a lens within the optical path which, when moved perpendicular to the optical path, causes a change in its pointing angle. The assembly requires external manipulators to move parts to their desired location and incorporates welding, adhesives, or solder to anchor the assembly into position. After anchoring, the elements cannot be further adjusted. In contrast, an embodiment of the present invention utilizes integral micro-positioners to move the elements, such as optical elements, into a desired location. The assembly of the present invention is self-locking in that when power is not supplied, the elements are anchored. Further, the present invention is dynamic in that at any point within the life of the product, power may be applied to move the media, such as a fiber or optical element, to a new setting. The piezoelectric apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,036 to Laor uses a piezoelectric component to bend a fiber thus aligning it. With the invention of Laor, if deformation occurs, then the anchoring is static. If not, then voltage must be maintained to secure alignment. The use of piezoelectric, disadvantageously, requires application and maintenance of high voltages to the piezoelectric element. An embodiment of the present invention uses integral micro-positioners to move media, such as optical fiber or optical components, into a desired location. Further, an embodiment of the present invention is self-locking such that when power is not supplied, the media, such as optical fiber or optical components, remain anchored. The assembly disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/733,049 by Musk uses silicon machined mechanical parts as a means to locate and move optical elements relative to each other. The assembly requires external manipulators to move parts to a desired location and incorporates welding, adhesives, or glass re-flow to anchor the optical elements into position. Disadvantageously, anchoring is static in that after anchoring the alignment, media or elements cannot receive additional adjustment. An embodiment of the present invention has integral micro-positioners to move the media, such as optical fiber or optical elements, into a desired location. Further, the micro-positioners are self-locking. When power is not supplied to the present invention, the media, such as optical fiber or optical elements, are anchored, yet the present invention remains dynamic in that at any point during the life of the product, power may be applied to move the media to a new setting. The method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,205,266 to Palen uses light coupled from the signal path to provide feedback allowing continuous adjustment of a fiber. This method is referred to as active alignment. The invention of Palen requires continuous power to maintain the position of the optical element. In contrast, an embodiment of the present invention allows periodic alignment, anchoring, and realignment, without the need for continuous power to the micro-positioner. Further, while the invention of Palen covers continuous alignment using optical feedback architecture, it does not include an anchoring mechanism, as does the present invention. The apparatus disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/098,742 by Deck et al., applies interferometric methods to actively align and statically anchor optics using external manipulators. In contrast, an embodiment of the present invention uses internal micro-positioners, dynamic anchoring, and remains transparent to the method used to detect alignment errors. None of the following references disclose a method and apparatus for dynamically aligning a media using integral micro-positioners that permit movement of a media, such as an optical fiber or optical element, into a desired location, the micro-positioner assembly being self locking. Further, none of the following disclosed references remain dynamic such that, at any point during the life of the product, power may be applied to implement a new desired setting, such alignment being possible in the field. For example, the method and apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,755 B1 to Joyce et al., utilizes active alignment and static, not dynamic, anchoring using external manipulators and a metal bracket that is deformed to achieve alignment. The optical interface disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,477,303 to Witherspoon uses V-groove technology to achieve passive alignment and static anchoring to facilitate optical backplanes. The invention of Witherspoon is focused on the optical interface between a circuit board and a main-board using micro-machining techniques to chemically etch paths in the substrate to facilitate self-alignment. The method and apparatus for aligning optical components disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,480,651 B1, to Rabinski uses two stages. One stage is used to align the fiber and the second stage is used to adjust, maintain and lock the optical components about a virtual pivot point. The invention of Rabinski is used to align fiber arrays similar to that used in V-groove technology. The apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,240,119 to Ventrudo uses a partial reflector and fiber grating in series with an optical beam to stabilize laser performance. The kinematic mount disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,748,827 to Holl et al., consists of a passive alignment method using a two stage mountable module with a macro-stage and a micro-stage that further includes a fluid flow control channel. The coupling elements disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,506 to Reeve et al., consists of an alignment algorithm and method of using light in a fiber buffer to determine the direction of movement of a fiber needed to achieve alignment. The electrostatic micro-actuator disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,727 to Carr et al., uses an electrostatic actuator for moving a fiber in a switch application. The actuator is specifically designed in an H-shape. The method of Carr et al., restricts the size of motion and requires large enabling voltages. In contrast, an embodiment of the present invention uses a thermal expansion bar, which provides for both large and small step size movements at low voltages. The alignment apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,474,423 also uses light in a buffer glass to align fibers for use, for example, in splicing applications. The polarization state changer and phase shifter disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/150,060 by MacDonald utilizes a method whereby stress is applied to a wave-guide to shift phase or modify the polarization state. The method and system for attenuating power in an optical signal disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/796,267 by Cao et al., utilizes MEMS mirrors in a variable optical attenuator. The structures disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/072,629 by Hsu et al., provides a means of compensating for thermal effects and stress through flexible symmetry. The apparatus and method disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/775,867 by Miracky uses an electrostatic actuator that moves a lens-using comb drive for the actuator for optical lens movement. In “Surface Micro-machined 2D Lens Scanner Array”, Proc. IEEE/LEOS Optical Mems., by H. Toshiyoshi, G. D. J. Su, J. LaCosse, and M. C. Wu (“Toshiyoshi”), an apparatus that uses a stepping motion to move a lens into alignment with another optical device is described. Disadvantageously, the apparatus of Toshiyoshi requires significant voltage to move a comb with etched steps in micrometer step increments. An embodiment of the present invention uses integral micro-positioners to move the optical components to a desired location using a thermal expansion bar. The micro-positioner of the present invention can move media, or components, in very small or large steps and can lock the media or component into position when power is not applied. The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the passive and active alignment methods by providing an inexpensive, dynamic means to align media, such as optical fibers or optical elements, or components. The present invention permits adjustment and alignment of the media or components during subsequent assembly steps and after deployment within a network or apparatus. The apparatus disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 3,902,084 by May discloses a piezoelectric inchworm motor that provides precision motion in one direction. The device does not provide two-dimensional motion, as does the present invention, and is designed to move a cylindrical shaft parallel to piezoelectric actuators. Such a configuration is not suitable in size or orientation to perform the function of an in situ dynamic aligner. In contrast, an embodiment of the present invention uses internal micro-positioners with dynamic anchoring configured for in-situ applications requiring control in a plurality of dimensions. The apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,380,661 by David A. Henderson, also defines a piezoelectric inchworm motor with one dimension operation. The invention uses interdigitated ridges made using MEMS technology and alternating clamping to make linear movements. To maintain a load electrical power must be applied. The present invention permits movements in a plurality of dimensions, does not require power when holding a load, and provides a small configuration compatible with in-situ applications. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The use of fiber optics in telecommunication applications requires the alignment of various optical elements to extremely low tolerances in the range of 0.1 micron. These low tolerances have not previously been encountered in commercial manufacturing. Achieving such low tolerances in alignment of optical fibers and related components requires costly equipment and long manufacturing cycles of optical components. An embodiment of the present invention comprises a component that can achieve low alignment tolerances, while accomplishing optical input/output (“I/O”) objectives. Further, an embodiment of the present invention satisfies a need to dynamically control and tune optical power. Critically low tolerances are required between optical fiber lenses or other optical elements such as planer components. These low tolerances are difficult to achieve in volume manufacturing. An embodiment and application of the present invention which comprises an optical aligner and collimator provides a dynamic means to achieve precise, low alignment tolerances and further provides a means to power tune an optical fiber during the life of the component. One embodiment of the present invention comprises a micro-positioner to align and manipulate an optical fiber, the entire assembly adapted to be positioned in a self-contained housing or in an integrated assembly. Depending on the application, a lens and/or jacket, including a hermetic jacket, may be included as part of the self-contained housing. Lenses can be used on the end of the self-contained housing when an application requires beam conditioning. A metal jacket, case, or package can further be used, as necessary to encapsulate the device, facilitate mounting, and/or provide hermetic sealing. In one embodiment of the present invention, a micro-positioner moves a media or component, such media including, but not limited to, one or a plurality of fibers, optical fibers, optical elements, tubes or wires, such components including, but not limited to, lenses or nozzles media, in one dimension. In another embodiment of the present invention, a micro-positioner moves a media or component, such media including, but not limited to, one or a plurality of fibers, optical fibers, optical elements, tubes or wires, such components including, but not limited to, lenses or nozzles media, in at least two dimensions in the plane of the micro-positioner. An application of the one-dimensional or two-dimensional embodiment of the present invention is as a dynamic collimator. Another application of the one-dimensional or two-dimensional embodiment of the present invention is as a dynamic fiber aligner. A dynamic fiber aligner is similar to a dynamic collimator but the dynamic fiber aligner does not employ a collimating lens. In either of the foregoing applications of the present invention, a dynamic collimator or dynamic fiber aligner is attached to an optical component package by soldering, welding, epoxy or other means. Unlike with conventional collimators or fiber aligning methods, attachment tolerances of the present invention are less critical since the micro-positioner of the present invention is dynamic and may be adjusted electronically to achieve the desired alignment. Active adjustment of the media or component in the present invention is accomplished by applying electrical signals or pulses comprising current through, or a voltage across, micro-positioner arms in certain control sequences to define the direction and distance of the motion of the optic fiber or other media in one or two dimensions. The amplitude or duration of the electrical signals, or pulses, can be used to define the distance traveled. When a signal is not applied, the micro-positioner is locked into position to ensure anchoring at the desired location. An embodiment of the micro-positioner of the present invention is constructed using semiconductor technology. This micro-positioner takes advantage of the measurable thermal expansion characteristics of its expansion bars to cause movement, and hence, positioning and/or alignment, of the media or components. Each expanding, or contracting, expansion bar(s), has a set of corresponding clamps on the ends thereof, and the operation thereof creates a precision stepping motion. At least one expansion bar is required for each degree of freedom desired. Since power dissipated in an expansion bar is proportional to the square of voltage applied, and since thermal expansion is linearly dependent upon power dissipation, expansion or step size is proportional to the square of applied voltage. Thus, the invention has the ability to make large steps, in micrometers, and small steps, in nanometers. Several embodiments of the present invention disclosed herein disclose the use of semiconductors to implement the expansion bars, however, the use of thermal expansion bars can be realized using small mechanical parts assembled without using semiconductor technologies. The micro-positioner of the present invention can be implemented using microelectromechanical systems (“MEMS”) technology, where in the micro-positioner, the expansion bar is replaced with silicon etched gears and/or racks. Alternatively, the present invention can be implemented with piezoelectric or other material that expands with application of electrical current or voltage to effect movement. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG. 1 illustrates schematically a cross-section of a single channel dynamic collimator wherein the micro-positioner moves an optical fiber. FIG. 2 illustrates schematically a cross-section of a single channel dynamic collimator wherein the micro-positioner moves the lens. FIG. 3( a ) illustrates a side view of a multiple channel dynamic aligner/collimator with N×M channels wherein micro-positioners of the present invention adjust and/or align optical fibers independently. FIG. 3( b ) illustrates a front view of the N×M array of FIG. 3( a ). FIG. 4 illustrates schematically a cross-section of a multiple channel dynamic collimator/aligner with N channels in one direction and M in the other wherein the micro-positioner moves the lenses independently. FIG. 5 illustrates the concept of electrical operation of a one dimensional micro-positioner expansion bar. FIG. 6 illustrates a pulse train showing typical control signals to the micro-positioner expansion bar for right movement. FIG. 7 illustrates a pulse train showing typical control signals to the micro-positioner expansion bar for left movement. FIG. 8( a ) is a top view of a first embodiment of the micro-positioner assembly of the present invention. FIG. 8( b ) is an exploded view of a spring, clamp, expansion bar subassembly of the first embodiment of the micro-positioner of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a schematic of the electrical operation of a two-dimensional micro-positioner of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a top view of a MEMS-based stepping and clamping mechanism for the X-translation stage of a micro-positioner of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a top view of a MEMS-based stepping and clamping mechanism for the Y-translation stage of a micro-positioner of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a top view of the integrated stepping and clamping mechanism for the X-Y precision translation stages of a micro-positioner of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a side view of an integrated stepping and clamping mechanism for the X-Y precision translation stages of a micro-positioner of the present invention. FIG. 14 is a top view of a second embodiment of a micro-positioner of the present invention, specifically, a MEMS based mechanism that uses step and clamp motion and slide retainers. FIG. 15 illustrates the use of a pair of micro-positioners of the present invention in self-contained housings used to align optical fibers. FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram that illustrates the electrical operation of a two dimensional micro-positioner expansion bar. FIG. 17 is a logic diagram of the electrical schematic of FIG. 15 . FIGS. 18 and 19 set forth performance and maximum fiber force calculation for an optical fiber embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 20 is a graph illustrating range of control, performance as a variable optical attenuator (“VOA”) as a function of fiber displacement. FIG. 21( a ) is a side view of a lens illustrating a light ray angles from an optical fiber. FIG. 21( b ) is a graph illustrating optical control and collimator performance as a function of fiber displacement. FIGS. 22( a ) and 22 ( b ) are graphs illustrating constraints on performance of fiber optics. FIG. 23 is a top view of a further embodiment of the micro-positioner of the present invention shown in one dimension only. FIG. 24 comprises a top view of an embodiment of the micro-positioner of the present invention designed for x-y motion, said FIG. 24 being provided in subparts (a) and (b) so as to more clearly delineate the reference numerals. FIG. 25 comprises a top view of another embodiment of the micro-positioner of the present invention, said FIG. 25 being provided in subparts (a), (b) and (c) so as to more clearly delineate the reference numerals. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An advantage of the present invention is that each media or component, such as an optical fiber or lens, is independently adjustable. When used with optical fiber, the present invention is operable to permit independent optimization of the throughput light. The jacket or other outer housing of the present invention can be constructed using conventional microelectronic and optical packaging technology and standard sizes. The embodiment of the present invention used with optical fiber can be enclosed such that the fiber guide and micro-positioner are positioned in a jacket. Control, or electrical leads pass through apertures in the jacket or housing so that the micro-positioner therein may be adjusted electrically. Embodiments of the present invention used in optical fiber applications may also utilize a lens or lens assembly. Lenses are used when beam conditioning of the light is desired. Such embodiments of the present invention may be enclosed in jackets or housings. In each optical fiber embodiment, a micro-positioner that adjusts the fiber or other media or lens in at least one dimension is required. In optical applications, critical tolerances are required between the optical fiber and lens or, as in the case where lenses are not required, between the optical fiber and other optical elements such as planar components. Optical fibers and fiber guide are enclosed within the jacket or housing using adhesives or other suitable attachment means. The optical fiber embodiments of the present invention can be constructed such that the optical fiber or other media is stationary and the component, such as the lens, is adjusted by the micro-positioner. In such case, the fiber does not pass through the micro-positioner, but the component, such as the lens, is mounted on the micro-positioner. The appearance and size of the jacket or housing enclosing the present invention are similar to collimators conventionally available, although, as noted, the present invention has control or electrical leads extending through the jacket or housing. The micro-positioner is a multi-dimensional device, which, when electrically activated, moves the media or component in steps of variable step size from a few micrometers to a few nanometers in the desired direction. In an embodiment of the present invention, an exposed end of the optical fiber is threaded through a movable mount located on a shuttle subassembly of the micro-positioner. As the movable mount moves in an X-Y direction, the exposed end of the optical fiber bends. The optical fiber sheath proximate to the exposed end of the optical fiber is firmly attached to a fiber guide within the jacket or housing. Distances between the micro-positioner and fiber guide are very large as compared to the micro-positioner movement so that the change in optical fiber to lens distance is not significant and micro-bending losses are not of concern. In operation, a computer algorithm is used to compute and send control signals to the micro-positioner to achieve the desired positioning and/or alignment of the optical fiber. For purposes of this application and the claims herein, reference to movement in the X-Y direction shall be deemed to include movement measured in a polar coordinate system, such as (r, theta) e.g., radius from an origin, and degrees of rotation from an axis. The optical fiber embodiment of the present invention is operable to define a collimating light path. Advantageously, the present invention adds no optical elements through which the light must traverse. As such, there is no impact upon optical dispersion or polarization. Implementation of the micro-positioner requires no additional surface area or volume within a conventional collimator package. The device enclosing the micro-positioner appears as a collimator with leads. Employment of the present invention only requires replacement of a conventional collimator or fiber anchor apparatus. FIG. 1 illustrates a single channel dynamic collimator 10 embodiment and application of the present invention. As seen therein, the device consists of a conventional buffered fiber that has been stripped of the buffer 11 exposing the optical fiber 12 . The buffered fiber 11 and optical fiber 12 are inserted into fiber guide 13 that aligns the bare optical fiber 12 so it may be inserted into the movable mount of micro-positioner 14 . The micro-positioner 14 is operable to move the optical fiber 12 with precision in two dimensions, Y, which is vertically, and X, which is in and out of the plane of the paper, and lock the optical fiber 12 in place after movement. The buffered fiber 11 , optical fiber 12 , and fiber guide 13 are securely fastened either mechanically, with epoxy, or with other adhesives into the collimator jacket 17 to provide strain relief. A collimating lens 15 , as is required for optical properties, is attached using a hermetic material such as solder and electrical leads 16 are passed through the jacket 17 to permit control or electrical connections to the micro-positioner 14 . FIG. 2 also illustrates a single channel dynamic collimator 20 embodiment and application of the present invention, however, the optical fiber 22 is held stationary and the lens 25 is mounted to the micro-positioner 24 to permit positioning and/or alignment. As seen therein, the device consists of a conventional buffered fiber 21 that has been stripped of the buffer exposing the optical fiber 22 . The optical fiber 22 is inserted into a fiber guide 23 that aligns the bare optical fiber 22 . The micro-positioner 24 moves the lens 25 with precision in two dimensions, Y, which is vertically, and X, which is in and out of the plane of the paper, and locks the lens 25 in place after movement. The buffered fiber 21 , optical fiber 22 , and fiber guide 23 are securely fastened either mechanically, with epoxy, or with other adhesives into the collimator jacket 27 to provide strain relief. A collimating lens 25 is attached as is required for optical properties to the micro-positioner 24 and electrical leads 26 are passed through the jacket 27 to permit control or electrical connections to the micro-positioner 24 . FIG. 3( a ) illustrates a side view of a multiple channel dynamic aligner/collimator with N×M channels wherein micro-positioners of the present invention adjust and/or align the optical fibers. As seen therein, the device consists of a conventional buffered optical fiber ribbon 31 that has been stripped of the buffer exposing a plurality of optical fibers 32 . The optical fibers 32 are inserted into a fiber guide 33 that aligns the bare optical fibers 32 so they may be inserted into the N×M micro-positioners 34 . The micro-positioners 34 can individually move the optical fibers 32 with precision in two dimensions, Y, which is vertically, and X, which is in and out of the plane of the paper, and individually lock the optical fibers 32 or component positions in place after movement. Glass seal 39 may be added to provide a fiber seal. Light exits optical fibers 32 through free space through lens array panel 35 . The buffered optical fiber ribbon 31 , optical fibers 32 , and guide 33 are securely coupled either mechanically or with epoxy 38 into the collimator jacket 37 to provide strain relief. A collimating lens array panel 35 is attached as is required for optical properties and electrical control leads 36 are passed through the jacket 37 to permit electrical connections to the micro-positioner 34 . FIG. 3( b ) illustrates a front view of an N×M array of FIG. 3( a ). More specifically, FIG. 3( b ) illustrates an 8×8 optical fiber array embodiment of the present invention. As seen therein control leads 36 extend from jacket 37 . Light from the terminating end of each individual optical fiber traverses its correlating lens of lens array panel 35 . FIG. 4 shows a multi-optical fiber configuration similar to that of FIG. 3 , however the embodiment comprises a plurality of collimators arranged in an array and an array of single lenses. As seen therein, the device consists of a conventional buffered optical fiber ribbon 41 that has been stripped of the buffer exposing a plurality of optical fibers 42 . The optical fibers 42 are inserted into optical fiber guide 43 that aligns the bare optical fibers 42 . Each micro-positioner 44 of a N×M micro-positioner array adjusts and/or aligns an individual lens 45 with precision in two dimensions Y, which is vertically, and X, which is in and out of the plane of the paper and individually locks each lens 45 in place after movement. The buffered optical fiber ribbon 41 , optical fibers 42 , and optical fiber guide 43 are securely coupled either mechanically or with epoxy into the collimator jacket 47 to provide strain relief. Each collimating lens 45 is mounted on an individual micro-positioner 44 and electrical leads 46 are passed through the jacket 47 to permit control or electrical connections to each micro-positioner 44 of the N×M micro-positioner array. FIG. 5 illustrates the electrical operation of a one-dimensional micro-positioner 50 . As seen therein, when a positive voltage is applied to the direction terminal 56 , the right clamp 53 opens as current flow is determined by diodes 55 . If an additional positive voltage is applied to the axis terminal 57 , then heat is dissipated in the expansion bar 51 by heating resulting from current flow in expansion bar 51 or by current flow through resistors (not shown) coupled to expansion bar 51 , results in the expansion bar 51 expanding to the right since clamp 52 is closed. Reversing the voltage on the direction terminal 56 causes the left clamp 52 to open and the right clamp 53 to close. This holds expansion bar 51 to the right as the expansion bar cools. Voltage to direction terminal 56 is removed and both clamps 52 and 53 are closed locking the bar into position. The bar has moved one step in the right direction. Thus, the sequence and polarity of voltage applied to axis terminal 57 and directional terminal 56 of FIG. 5 , in the manner shown in FIG. 6 , will result in the movement of the expansion bar 51 of FIG. 5 to the right. The sequence and polarity of voltages applied to axis terminal 57 and directional terminal 56 of FIG. 5 , in the manner shown in FIG. 7 will result in the movement of expansion bar 51 of FIG. 5 to the left. Clamps 52 and 53 of FIG. 5 used to hold the expansion bar can also be thermally activated. When no voltage is applied, the clamp, a conductive band, fits tight over the expansion bar. This clamping function can be achieved with various implementations. When voltage is applied to the clamp, the clamp expands and releases the expansion bar. Each time the voltage cycles the expansion bar steps in the direction defined by the direction voltage polarity. The size of the step is proportional to the square of the axis voltage applied as seen in Equation 1 below. Thus, the micro-positioner will make large steps for high voltages and small or fine adjustments for low voltages. This allows for minimum alignment times as well as fine resolution. As can be seen from Equation 1, the constant of proportionality is a function of material properties and configuration. S = α ⁢ ⁢ L ⁢ ⁢ θ R ⁢ V 2 S = step  for  each  voltage  pulse α = Coefficient  of  thermal  expansion L = Length  of  actuator  (Clamp  to  Clamp) θ = Thermal  resistance R = Electrical  resistance V = Applied  Voltage Equation 1—Step Size In operation, the expansion bar must be allowed to heat and cool. The time constant for these transisitons is given in Equation 2 below In practice the bar will cool faster than equation 2 predicts, since equation 2 considers thermal conductivity only when in practice, thermal convection will also occur. λ=θ dC t LWT λ = Time constant C t = Specific Heat d = Density W = Width of expansion bar L = Length of expansion bar T = Thickness of expansion bar θ = Thermal Resistance Equation 2—Time Constants Equations 1 and 2 predict the step length versus voltage and time. Thus, expansion bar motion may be defined as follows for the heating cycle and for the cooling cycle as follows: During  heating: S H = α ⁢ ⁢ L ⁡ ( V 2 ρ ) ⁢ ( 1 K ) ⁢ ( 1 - ⅇ - t λ ) During  cooling S C = S H ⁡ ( ⅇ - t λ ) Where the symbols are as above in Equations 1 and 2 and S H is heating step size, S C is cooling step size, K is thermal conductivity and ρ is electrical resistivity. Employing an expansion bar in two dimensions requires two expansion bars but adds the complication that each expansion bar must have two degrees of freedom. One degree of freedom is needed to accomplish controlled movement and the second is needed to allow free movement in the orthogonal direction. FIG. 8( a ) is a top view of a first embodiment of the micro-positioner 80 of the present invention. As seen therein, micro-positioner 80 is comprised of the following subassemblies, components and elements: shuttle 81 , shuttle springs 82 , x-axis expansion bars 83 ( a ) and 83 ( b ), x-axis bond pads 84 ( a ) and 84 ( b ), x-axis clamps 85 ( a ) and 85 ( b ), x-axis expansion springs 86 ( a ) and 86 ( b ), y-axis expansion bars 87 ( a ) and 87 ( b ), y-axis bond pads 88 ( a ) and 88 ( b ), y-axis clamps 89 ( a ) and 89 ( b ), y-axis expansion springs 810 ( a ) and 810 ( b ), movable mount 811 , and movable mount aperature 812 . In one embodiment of the present invention, the foregoing components and elements are comprised of semiconductor material. The shuttle 81 of micro-positioner 80 is adapted to move in the X direction. Shuttle 81 is attached to micropositioner 80 with eight shuttle springs 82 and the shuttle 81 is adjusted or aligned in the X direction by two expansion subassemblies FIG. 8( b ). Within shuttle 81 are two expansion subassemblies, one for movement in the positive Y direction and one for movement in the negative direction. The X direction expansion subassembly consists of x-axis expansion bars 83 ( a ) and 83 ( b ), two sets of thermal actuated x-axis clamps 85 ( a ) and 85 ( b ) and two sets of x-axis expansion springs 86 ( a ) and 86 ( b ). The Y direction expansion subassembly consists of y-axis expansion bars 87 ( a ) and 87 ( b ), two sets of thermal actuated y-axis clamps 89 ( a ) and 89 ( b ) and two sets of y-axis expansion springs 810 ( a ) and 810 ( b ). Associated with each expansion assembly are a set of bond pads to which electrical connections can be made to the expansion bars and clamps. In the X direction, these comprise bond pads 84 ( a ) and 84 ( b ) and in the Y direction these comprise bond pads 88 ( a ) and 88 ( b ). External analog or logic circuitry (not shown) are coupled to micro-positioner 80 via these bond pads. The micro-positioner 80 can be manufactured as a silicon chip and can be implemented in one or two-dimensional arrays. Alternating the clamping and unclamping of directional clamps as associated expansion bars are powered by the drive stepping motion. FIG. 8( b ) is an exploded view of x-axis expansion assembly consisting of springs 86 ( b ), x-axis clamps 85 ( b ), legs 851 ( b ) of x-axis clamps 85 ( b ), and x-axis expansion bars 83 ( b ) of the micro-positioner 80 of FIG. 8( a ). The other x-axis expansion subassembly and the y-axis subassemblies are substantively similar to the subassembly of FIG. 8( a ), except for their directional orientation. In operation, a voltage differential is introduced across bond pads 84 ( a ). This causes a current to flow through leg 851 ( b ) and leg 852 ( b ) of x-axis clamp 85 ( b ). Due to the size difference in the two legs, leg 852 ( b ) has more resistance than leg 851 ( b ), causing leg 852 ( b ) to heat up more and thus expand. This in turn causes the x-axis clamp 85 ( b ) to bend and open up. This effect is characteristic of any homogeneous material such as silicon of which the x-axis clamp 85 ( b ) is made. Pressure between the clamp 85 ( b ) and the outer edge of x-axis expansion bars 83 ( b ) disengage when x-axis clamp 85 ( b ) bends outward. Similar effects can be caused by introducing voltage potentials at the bond pads of the other expansion subassemblies of micro-positioner 80 . Referring back to FIG. 8( a ), when current flows through x-axis clamp 85 ( b ) it opens while x-axis clamp 85 ( a ), without current, is closed. Simultaneously, current can be introduced through x-axis expansion bars 83 ( a ) to cause them to expand, thus moving the shuttle assembly 81 to the left. Soon thereafter, current flow is stopped through x-axis clamp 85 ( b ) whereby x-axis clamp 85 ( b ) cools and retracts to its original position. Clamp 85 ( b ) applies pressure to the outer edge of x-axis expansion bars 83 ( b ) re-engaging and locking the x-axis expansion bars into place once x-axis clamp 85 ( b ) has cooled. Clamp 85 ( a ) is opened as is claim 85 ( b ) and the current through expansion bar 83 ( a ) is stopped. After expansion bar 83 ( a ) cools, current to clamp 85 ( b ) is removed and the shuttle 81 is locked into place. Similar operation and timing of this procedure on x-axis clamps 85 ( a ), 85 ( b ) and x-axis expansion bars 83 ( b ) causes movement of shuttle 81 to the right. Operation and timing of this procedure on y-axis clamps 89 ( a ), and 89 ( b ) and y-axis expansion bars 87 ( a ) and 87 ( b ) causes movement of movable mount 811 downward. Operation and timing of this procedure on y-axis clamp 89 ( b ), 89 ( a ) and y-axis expansion bars 87 ( b ) causes movement of movable mount 811 upward. When a terminated end of a media is threaded through aperture 812 and secured to movable mount 811 , the movement of shuttle 81 and or movable mount 811 moves the terminated end of the optical fiber. FIG. 9 is a schematic of the electrical operation of the two-dimensional micro-positioner of the present invention. As seen therein, by controlling polarity and sequence of input voltages 99 and 90 , the direction and axis of motion are determined. By controlling voltage amplitude of 90 , step size is determined and the number of voltage pulse determines distance moved. If a positive voltage is applied at 99 , current flows through Y-up 91 and X-right 92 to ground 98 . In other words, current is directed through the up clamps and the right clamps, so those clamps open up. If, then a positive voltage is applied at 90 , current flows through the X-axis expansion bar 93 and causes movement along the X right direction. If a negative voltage is applied at 90 , current flows through the Y-axis expansion bar 94 and causes movement in the Y-up direction. After expansion, the voltage is reversed at 99 so that the appropriate clamps close or open to prevent movement after removal of voltage at 90 and cooling of the expansion bar. When the expansion bar cools, all voltages are removed to lock the axis in place. Similar operation, with reverse sequence at terminal 99 and negative voltage applied at terminal 90 , will provide motion of the y-axis down and with 90 positive, x-axis movement in the left direction occurs. Another embodiment of the present invention uses heaters attached to the expansion bar to cause the adjustment of the micro-positioner. The step size is controlled by the thermal expansion, thermal conductance and electrical resistivity properties of the expansion bar. Application of a heater to the expansion bar increases the types of material that can be used as the expansion bar. For an example, titanium carbide can be used as it has expansion and thermal conductivity advantages over other types of materials. Tantalum nitride resistor elements can be used to provide heat. This combination provides similar step size control and significantly increases micro-positioner speed. FIGS. 10 to 13 illustrate the micro-positioner of the present invention also implemented using MEMS technology. This implementation illustrated in FIGS. 10 to 13 uses differential expansion thermal actuators that are conventionally known in the art to perform the precision translation, through the scanning mechanism, and the precision clamping, through the clamping mechanism. Specifically, FIG. 10 shows a layout of the MEMS-based clamping X-translation stage. FIG. 11 shows a layout for a MEMS-based clamping Y-translation stage. FIG. 12 shows the X-translation stage mounted to the Y-translation stage to form the assembly for a X-Y translation stage. FIG. 13 shows the cross section of the X-Y stage assembly. Micro-positioner 100 is shown in FIG. 10 . As seen in FIG. 10 , by controllably applying electrical signals through electrical connections to the bond pads 101 , the direction and magnitude of scan by scanning mechanism 102 can be controlled in steps for gross positioning or in sub-step distances for fine positioning. This is accomplished by moving the scanner bar 103 to engage the gears with the gears on the scanning mechanism, deflecting the scanner bar 103 in the direction of desired scan, then disengaging the scanner bar 103 . Also by controlling the electrical signal applied to the clamp mechanism 104 , the clamp can be released for X stage motion and reengaged to hold the X scanning mechanism in a fixed position. The clamp mechanism 104 is used to hold the translation stage in place whenever it is not being moved by the scanning mechanism 102 . The retainers 105 are sleeves that are over-the-edge clamps that restrain the motion of the translating component in one direction while allowing it to move freely in the other. The retainers 105 are not physically attached to the translation stages or the clamp mechanisms, but there is a small space between the retainers and the translation stage. Thermal actuators 106 perform translation through scanning mechanism 102 and precision clamping through clamp mechanism 104 . Voltage is varied on the expansion actuators to set the step size. Motions less than a gear step can be made. While gears are shown on the scanning mechanism 102 in FIG. 10 as the means of moving and then locking the scanner bar 103 , they may be removed for finer resolution. FIG. 11 illustrates a micro-positioner 110 of the present invention that is adapted as a Y translation stage. As seen therein, movable mount aperture 112 of movable mount 111 is moved in the Y direction by scanning mechanism 113 through the expansion and contraction of the geared scanner bar 114 , opening and closing of clamp mechanism 115 and retainers 116 . Thermal actuators described earlier in the discussion of FIG. 8( b ) move the scanner bar. While gears are shown in FIG. 11 as the means of moving and then locking the movable mount 111 , they may be removed and replaced by friction contacts for finer resolution. FIG. 12 is a top view of the integrated clamping mechanism 120 for the X-Y precision translation stages of the micro-positioner of the present invention. As seen in FIG. 12 , the X-translation stage 100 and the Y-translation stage 110 are fabricated separately and the X-translation stage is physically attached to the Y-translation stage using standard techniques such as epoxy bonding, atomic bonding, solder reflow, eutectic bonding, or others. Standard silicon-based MEMS fabrication techniques may be used for the fabrication among other methods. For example, standard silicon-on-silicon and/or multi-level fabrication may be used to create the multilevel structure. The fiber relief cavity can be formed using deep reactive ion etching, among other techniques. Other methods of micro-positioner fabrication such as micro machining and LIGA fabricated parts would also provide a multi-dimensional device that when properly electrically activated will step the fiber to the desired position. FIG. 13 is a side view of an integrated clamping mechanism 120 for the X-Y precision translation stages of the micro-positioner of the present invention. As seen therein, X stage 100 is mounted or formed on x-stage substrate 134 , which is mounted on Y stage 110 . The terminated end of a media, such as optical fiber 132 , is threaded through fiber relief cavity 133 of Y stage substrate 131 . Retainers 135 hold the various assemblies and subassemblies of micro-positioner 120 in position. The stages may be retained by other means, such as springs. FIG. 14 is a top view of a second embodiment of the micro-positioner 140 of the present invention. As seen therein, micro-positioner 140 is comprised of the following subassemblies, components and elements: pinion actuators 141 ( a ) and 141 ( b ), pinion drives 142 ( a ) and 142 ( b ), pinion release 143 ( a ) and 143 ( b ), axis hold actuator 144 ( a ) and 144 ( b ), x-axis and y-axis interconnection bond pads 145 ( a ) and 145 ( b ), x-axis slides and y-axis slides 146 ( a ) and 146 ( b ), axis setup actuators 147 ( a ) and 147 ( b ), and a movable aperture 148 . The apparatus of FIG. 14 provides for both X and Y motion without using retention springs as seen in the first embodiment of the micro-positioner. The moving aperture 148 slides and is guided by x-axis slides and y-axis slides 146 ( a ) and 146 ( b ). The pinions 141 ( a ) and 141 ( b ), provide motion as follows: at rest all pinion actuators, 142 ( a ), 142 ( b ), 143 ( a ), 143 ( b ), 144 ( a ) and 144 ( b ) are in contact with and are clamping movable aperture 148 such that the movable aperture is locked into position. When movement is desired, for example, in the X-direction, a voltage is applied to holding actuators 144 ( a ) which expand and release the aperture 148 . An additional voltage is applied to pinion drive actuators 142 ( a ) which expand and push the aperture to the left. After the movement, voltage is removed from holding actuators 144 ( a ) and they contract clamping the aperture. Voltage is then applied to pinion release actuator 143 ( a ), which expands and releases the movable aperture, whereupon voltage can be removed from the pinion drive 142 ( a ), and the pinion 141 ( a ) moves back to its rest position. Voltage is then removed from pinion release 143 ( a ), and the pinion contracts back to clamp the movable aperture. One step is completed. Additional application of the above voltage sequence causes the movable aperture to continue stepping to the left. Right movement is similar except the sequence of voltage application is reversed. In operation, the pin release 143 ( a ) is actuated moving it from movable aperture 148 , the pinion drive 142 ( a ) is actuated moving it to the left, voltage is removed for the pinion release 143 ( a ) and the pinion clamps movable aperture 148 , voltage is applied to the pinion hold 144 ( a ) releasing movable aperture 148 , voltage is removed from the pinion drive and movable aperture 148 is pulled to the right, voltage is removed from the pinion release 143 ( a ) and movable aperture 148 is in its rest state. Additional application of this voltage sequence causes the movable aperture ( 148 ) to move in steps to the right. Movement in the y-direction is achieved by performing the operation and timing of this procedure on Y-axis actuators 142 ( b ), 143 ( b ), and 144 ( b ), which moves movable aperture 148 downward or upward. Prior to using micro-positioner 140 , it may need to be set up. The setup is required for devices that are fabricated using chemical etching procedures. Machining by etching creates gaps between features. As in the case for actuators 143 ( a ), 143 ( b ), 144 ( a ), and 144 ( b ), these gaps prevent firm clamping in the rest case with no voltages applied. The expansion mechanism 147 ( a ) and 147 ( b ) are provided to achieve setup. Expansion mechanism 147 ( a ) and 147 ( b ) consist of four arms, two wide for low electrical resistance and two narrow for much greater electrical resistance, all electrically connected such that when voltage is applied at the corresponding bond pads, current flows through all four arms. Appling voltage to expansion mechanisms 147 ( a ) or 147 ( b ), results in the narrow arm heating and expanding more than the wide arm and the expansion mechanism 147 ( a ) or 147 ( b ) bow. When the expansion mechanism 147 ( a ) and 147 ( b ) bow, they physically contract and move slides 146 ( a ) and 146 ( b ). Slides 146 ( a ) and 146 ( b ) are then moved to place actuators 144 ( a ), 144 ( b ), 143 ( a ), and 143 ( b ) into firm contact with movable aperture 148 . Removing the voltage from 147 ( a ) and or 147 ( b ) results in the assemblies contracting and moving back to their rest position, but since the assemblies are not physically connected to the slides 146 ( a ) and 146 ( b ), the actuators 144 ( a ), 144 ( b ), 143 ( a ), and 143 ( b ) remain in firm contact. The micro-positioner 140 can be manufactured as a silicon chip and can be implemented in one or two dimensions. A sequence of voltage or current pulse applied to the bond pads of the mechanism drives stepping motion in the desired direction. FIG. 15 illustrates one use of aligner 151 and aligner 152 of the present invention to achieve alignment of light paths through optical components 153 . Optical components 153 are housed in case 154 . An in situ dynamic aligner application and embodiment of the present invention utilizing the micro-positioner 80 of FIG. 8( a ), is illustrated wherein aligner 151 is inserted into case 154 at the optical input and aligner 152 is inserted into case 154 at the output. Applying voltages at the leads 156 of aligners 151 and 152 adjust the terminated ends of optical fibers 157 and thus adjust the optical path 155 of a light beam to a desired position. FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram that illustrates the electrical operation of a two-dimensional micro-positioner 160 . The clamp/expansion bar expansion and contraction operation of the X-Y micro-positioner 160 is similar to that of the one-dimensional micro-positioner 50 of FIG. 5 . As seen in FIG. 16 , when a positive voltage is applied to axis terminal 161 , X movement is enabled and when a negative voltage is applied to axis terminal 162 , Y movement is enabled. When a positive voltage is applied to direction terminal 162 , the X-axis direction is to the right or the Y-axis direction is up and when a negative voltage is applied to direction terminal 162 the X-axis direction is to the left or the Y-axis direction is down. FIG. 17 is a logic diagram of the electrical schematic of FIG. 16 . FIGS. 18 and 19 set forth optical performance and maximum fiber force required for an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 18 lists the governing equations relating change in beam pointing angle and lateral displacement as the media, such as an optical fiber, is displaced by a micro-positioner, where b is defined as the fiber displacement, d the beam displacement and φ o is the beam-pointing angle. The equations apply for conventional lenses although gradient index and spherical lenses among others may be used. The formulas of FIG. 19 represent a media, such as an optical fiber, treated as a cantilever beam. One end of an optical fiber is attached and held rigid. The other, terminated end is fitted with the micro-positioner of the present invention that positions and adjusts the optical fiber. That causes a slight arc into the optical fiber, thus a certain amount of force is required to hold it in position. In box 1 of FIG. 18 , W represents the formula for the force required to hold the optical fiber in position, I is the moment of inertia, a is the length of the optical fiber from the point it is in contact with the micro-positioner to the point where it is held or the length to the cantilever beam. Box 2 of FIG. 18 is the formula for I, the moment of inertia, where r is the radius of the optical fiber. The formulas of box 1 and 2 lead to the equation of box 3 , which is the equation that describes the forces necessary to hold the optical fiber in position using the representative parameters of box 4 . As seen in FIG. 18 , the micro-positioner must exert a force of approximately 2.0 milli-newton to hold an optical fiber in place. FIG. 20 is a graph illustrating performance of a VOA, with range of control as a function of fiber displacement. As seen therein, when an optical fiber is moved to one side, insertion loss takes place, and thus the device is acting as an attenuator. In operation, typically there are two such devices, thus, there would be twice the attenuation performance. FIG. 21( a ) is a side view of a lens illustrating light ray output pointing angles and output beam displacement as the fiber is displaced radially. FIG. 21( b ) is a graph illustrating optical control and collimator performance as a function of fiber displacement. As seen therein, FIG. 21( b ) illustrates several optical results of moving an optical fiber using the present invention. These include a change in the pointing angle, the working distance between the optical fiber and lens, and the offset of the beam at the output of the lens. In FIG. 21( b ), the working distance is shown as a line with boxes. Advantageously, working distance changes very little as the optical fiber is displaced. The pointing angle refers to when the light leaves the lens. It is shown as a line with diamonds on FIG. 21( b ). It changes over a range as much as five degrees of point and angle changes. Beam displacement, shown as a line with circles, advantageously tracks substantially linearly as it changes up to about 700 microns. FIGS. 22( a ) and 22 ( b ) are graphs illustrating typical mechanical constraints on design and manufacturing of the in situ fiber aligner embodiment and application of the present invention. These constraints apply to typical applications but they may be violated as an application may require. FIG. 23 is a top view of a further embodiment of the micro-positioner 2300 of the present invention shown in one dimension only. As seen therein, micro-positioner 2300 is comprised of the following subassemblies, components and elements: shuttle or mounting assembly 2301 , and shuttle aperature 2302 , shuttle spring 2303 , scanning bar 2304 , bond pads 2305 , clamps 2306 ( a ), 2306 ( b ), 2306 ( c ) and 2306 ( d ), push/pull arms 2307 ( a ) and 2307 ( b ), and actuators 2308 . The foregoing components and elements can be comprised of semiconductor material. In the embodiment seen in FIG. 23 , shuttle 2301 of micro-positioner 2300 is adapted to move in one direction. As seen therein, shuttle 2301 is attached to micropositioner 2300 with shuttle spring 2303 and shuttle 2301 is adjusted or aligned by scanning bar 2304 . Shuttle spring 2303 is used for retention of shuttle 2301 in this embodiment. Actuators 2308 provide the displacement to (a) release the clamps or (b) move the scanning bar by thermal expansion due to an applied electrical signal. The actuators acting in controlled sequence with the clamps cause the scanning bar to move in the positive or negative direction (along the x-axis). The step drive subassembly consists of two thermal actuated clamps 2306 ( a ) and 2306 ( b ) and two thermal actuated push/pull arms, 2307 ( a ) and 2307 ( b ), mechanically coupled to clamps 2306 ( a ) and 2306 ( b ). The step drive and clamp assembly consists of the step drive assembly just described plus clamps 2306 ( c ) and 2306 ( d ). Associated with the clamp and stepping subassembly are corresponding bond pads 2305 to which electrical connections can be made to the clamps and push/pull arms. External analog or logic circuitry (not shown) are coupled to micro-positioner 2300 via these bond pads 2305 . The micro-positioner 2300 can be manufactured as a silicon chip and can be implemented in one or two-dimensional arrays. Alternating the clamping and unclamping of directional clamps relative to the push/pull actuator pushes or pulls a scanning bar in a stepping motion to change the position of a shuttle. In this implementation, shuttle spring 2303 is used to provide in plane stability to shuttle 2301 and is designed to provide minimum opposing push force to push/pull arms 2307 ( a ) and 2307 ( b ). In another embodiment of the present invention, the micro-positioner 2300 is comprised of all the foregoing components, subassemblies and elements except shuttle spring 2303 is eliminated. In this embodiment, scanning bar 2304 is mechanically coupled to shuttle 2301 . In an exemplary embodiment, the micropositioner can have dimensions of between 1 to 5 mm (1), 1 to 5 mm (w) and 0.1 to 1 mm (h). FIG. 24 comprises a top view of another embodiment of the micro-positioner 2400 of the present invention designed for x-y motion, said FIG. 24 being provided in subparts (a) and (b) so as to more clearly delineate the reference numerals. As seen therein, micro-positioner 2400 is comprised of the following subassemblies, components and elements: thermal actuators 2308 , shuttle or mounting assembly 2401 , shuttle aperture 2402 , springs 2403 , bond pads 2305 , x-axis scanning bar 2404 , x-axis clamps 2405 ( a ), 2405 ( b ) and 2405 ( c ), x-axis push/pull arms 2406 ( a ) and 2406 ( b ), x-axis thermal actuators for setup 2407 , y-axis scanning bar 2408 , y-axis clamps 2409 ( a ), 2409 ( b ) and 2409 ( c ), y-axis push/pull arms 2410 ( a ) and 2410 ( b ) and y-axis thermal actuators for setup 2411 . The foregoing components and elements may be comprised of semiconductor material. Shuttle 2401 of micro-positioner 2400 is adapted to move in the X direction and/or the Y direction. Shuttle 2401 is attached to micropositioner 2400 with two shuttle springs 2403 and shuttle 2401 is adjusted or aligned in the X direction by x-axis scanning bar 2404 and in the Y direction by y-axis scanning bar 2408 . Shuttle springs 2403 are used for retention and restoring force to shuttle 2401 in this embodiment. The X direction step drive subassembly consists of two thermal actuated x-axis clamps 2405 ( a ) and 2405 ( b ) and two thermal actuated x-axis push/pull arms, 2406 ( a ) and 2406 ( b ), mechanically coupled to x-axis clamps 2405 ( a ) and 2405 ( b ). The X direction step drive and clamp assembly consists of the X direction step drive assembly just described plus x-axis clamp 2405 ( c ). The Y direction step drive subassembly consists of two thermal actuated y-axis clamps 2409 ( a ) and 2409 ( b ) and two thermal actuated y-axis push/pull arms, 2410 ( a ) and 2410 ( b ), mechanically coupled to y-axis clamps 2409 ( a ) and 2409 ( b ). The Y direction step drive and clamp assembly consists of the Y direction step drive assembly just described plus y-axis clamp 2409 ( c ). In this embodiment, the x-axis thermal actuators 2407 and y-axis thermal actuators 2411 are used to setup the the clamping and stepping capability. The x-axis clamp and stepping subassembly, the x-axis thermal actuators, the y-axis clamp and stepping subassembly and y-axis thermal actuators have corresponding bond pads to which electrical connections are made to the thermal actuators, clamp actuators and push/pull arm actuators. External analog or logic circuitry (not shown) are coupled to micro-positioner 2400 via these bond pads. Alternating the clamping and unclamping of directional clamps pushes or pulls a scanning bar in a stepping motion to change the position of a shuttle depending on the stepping and clamping sequence. In an exemplary embodiment, the micropositioner can be dimensioned of 1 to 5 mm (1), 1 to 5 mm (w) and 0.1 to 1 mm (h). FIG. 25 comprises a top view of another embodiment of the micro-positioner 2500 of the present invention, said FIG. 25 being provided in subparts (a), (b) and (c) so as to more clearly delineate the reference numerals. As seen therein, micro-positioner 2500 is comprised of the following subassemblies, components and elements: thermal acutators 2308 , shuttle or mounting assembly 2501 , shuttle aperture 2502 , retention springs 2503 , bond pads 2305 , x-axis right side scanning bar 2504 , x-axis left side scanning bar 2508 , x-axis right side clamps 2505 ( a ), 2505 ( b ) and 2505 ( c ), x-axis left side clamps 2509 ( a ), 2509 ( b ) and 2509 ( c ), x-axis right side push/pull arms 2506 ( a ) and 2506 ( b ), x-axis left side push/pull arms 2510 ( a ) and 2510 ( b ), x-axis right side lever arms 2507 ( a ) and 2507 ( b ), x-axis left side lever arms 2511 ( a ) and 2511 ( b ), y-axis top side scanning bar 2512 , y-axis bottom side scanning bar 2516 , y-axis top side clamps 2513 ( a ), 2513 ( b ) and 2513 ( c ), y-axis bottom side clamps 2517 ( a ), 2517 ( b ) and 2517 ( c ), y-axis top side push/pull arms 2514 ( a ) and 2514 ( b ), y-axis bottom side push/pull arms 2518 ( a ) and 2518 ( b ), y-axis top side lever arms 2515 ( a ) and 2515 ( b ), y-axis bottom side lever arms 2519 ( a ) and 2519 ( b ). In one embodiment of the present invention, the foregoing components and elements are comprised of semiconductor material. Shuttle 2501 of micro-positioner 2500 is adapted to move in the X direction and/or the Y direction. Shuttle 2501 is held in plane and adjusted or aligned in the X direction by x-axis scanning bars 2504 and 2508 and in the Y direction by y-axis scanning bars 2512 and 2516 . Shuttle spring 2503 is used for retention in this embodiment. The X direction step drive subassembly consists of four thermal actuated x-axis clamps 2505 ( a ), 2505 ( b ), 2509 ( a ) and 2509 ( b ), four x-axis push/pull arms, 2506 ( a ), 2506 ( b ), 2510 ( a ) and 2510 ( b ) mechanically coupled to x-axis clamps 2505 ( a ) and 2505 ( b ) and 2509 ( a ) and 2509 ( b ), and, four thermal actuated lever arms 2507 ( a ), 2507 ( b ), 2511 ( a ) and 2511 ( b ) mechanically coupled to x-axis push/pull arms 2506 ( a ), 2506 ( b ), 2510 ( a ) and 2510 ( b ). The X direction step drive and clamp assembly consists of the X direction step drive assembly just described plus x-axis clamps 2505 ( c ) and 2509 ( c ). The Y direction step drive subassembly consists of four thermal actuated y-axis clamps 2513 ( a ), 2513 ( b ), 2517 ( a ) and 2517 ( b ), four y-axis push/pull arms, 2514 ( a ), 2514 ( b ), 2518 ( a ) and 2518 ( b ) mechanically coupled to y-axis clamps 2513 ( a ) and 2513 ( b ) and 2517 ( a ) and 2517 ( b ), and, four thermal actuated lever arms 2515 ( a ), 2515 ( b ), 2519 ( a ) and 2519 ( b ) mechanically coupled to x-axis push/pull arms 2514 ( a ), 2514 ( b ), 2518 ( a ) and 2518 ( b ). The Y direction step drive and clamp assembly consists of the Y direction step drive assembly just described plus y-axis clamps 2513 ( c ) and 2517 ( c ). Associated with the x-axis clamp and stepping subassembly and the y-axis clamp and stepping subassembly are corresponding bond pads to which electrical connections can be made to the clamp and push/pull arm actuators. External analog or logic circuitry (not shown) are coupled to micro-positioner 2500 via the bond pads 2305 . Alternating the clamping and unclamping of directional clamps pushes or pulls a scanning bar in a stepping motion to change the position of a shuttle. In another embodiment of the present invention, the micro-positioner 2500 is comprised of all the foregoing components, subassemblies and elements except shuttle springs 2503 are reduced in number from four to one and attached to shuttle 2501 and to micro-positioner 2500 . In an exemplary embodiment, the micropositioner so described can have dimensions of between 1 to 5 mm (1), 1 to 5 mm (w) and 0.1 to 1 mm (h). Advantages of the present invention include (i) substantial cost reduction and improved performance; (ii) during application no human intervention and no specialized equipment are required. The small form factor of the present invention allows several devices per semiconductor wafer in the semiconductor embodiment of the present invention. The present invention is remotely configurable, can be utilized in active and passive network components and meets industry requirements for maintaining alignment during mechanical and thermal stresses. A variety of components can be manipulated by the micropositioner arrangement. These include lenses, prisms, detectors, diodes, laser diodes, sensors, antenna elements, rf stubs, valves or nozzles. The optical embodiment of the present invention can be used in any device requiring an optical interface, such as variable optical attenuators (“VOAs”), demultiplexers, multiplexers, switches, optical amplifiers, filters, transmitters, receivers, modulators and for gain flattening or tilting. The innovative teachings of the present invention are described with particular reference to the embodiments disclosed herein. However, it should be understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art that the several embodiments of the apparatus disclosed herein provide only examples of the many advantageous uses and innovative teachings herein. Various non-substantive alterations, modifications and substitutions can be made to the disclosed apparatus without departing in any way from the spirit and scope of the invention.

A self-contained means to move a media or component, such as fiber ( 12 ) or other miniature object, such as a lens, into a desired position is given. The fiber ( 12 ) or component is moved in various dimensions to achieve the desired location and is locked into position after the move. An input electrical signal, such as a voltage or current controls movement. A thermal actuator comprises the micro-positioner ( 80 ) using semiconductor technology in one embodiment. In another embodiment, of the present invention, a thermal or electrostatic actuator uses mechanical gears to move the fiber. Another embodiment of the present invention is implemented using mechanical technology such as microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology. Another embodiment of the present invention, utilizes piezoelectric materials to facilitate fiber movement.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to a method of using highly enriched 1-acyl chains/2-docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)—containing molecular species of highly pure phosphatidylserine (PS) or highly enriched 1-acyl chains/2-docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)—containing molecular species of highly pure phosphatidylethanolamine; and/or highly enriched 1-acyl chains/2-docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)—containing molecular species of highly pure phosphatidyl-monomethylethanolamine based brain DHA transporters; to promote survival of aged basal forebrain cholinergic neurons (BFCN) through reversing abnormal levels of striatal neural membrane DHA PS species which leads to the activity recovery of both the p75 neurotrophin receptor and choline acetyltransferase in the BFCN. This both prevents and treats age-dependent basal forebrain cholinergic dysfunction related neurodegenerative disorders. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3; DHA) is an abundant component in the brain phospholipids. It plays an important role in prenatal brain development and maintenance of normal brain function. The brain DHA deficiency can reduce normal levels of neural membrane DHA molecular species of phospholipids, leading to markedly influencing optimal learning and memory [Fedorova, et. al., An n-3 fatty acid deficiency impairs rat spatial learning in the Barnes maze, Behav. Neurosci., 123, 196 (2009)] and causing neuronal apoptosis [Kim, et. al., Inhibition of neuronal apoptosis by polyunsaturated fatty acids, J. Mol. Neurosci. 16, 223 (2001)]. [0003] It has been demonstrated that the maintenance of normal levels of neural membrane DHA phosphatidylserine and DHA plasmalogen phosphatidylethanolamine species [Favrelere, et. al., Age-related changes in ethanolamine phospholipid fatty acid levels in rat frontal cortex and hippocampus, Neurobiol. Aging 21, 653 (2001); McGahon, et. al., Age-related changes in synaptic function: analysis of the effect of dietary supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids, Neuroscience 94, 305 (1999)] is essential for keeping normal membrane function [Glomset, Role of docosahexaenoic acid in neuronal plasma membrane. Sci. STKE, page 6, (2006); Salem et. al., Mechanisms of action of docosahexaenoic acid in the nervous system, Lipids 36, 945 (2001)]. Continuous supply of DHA into the brain and unique metabolism of DHA in relation to its incorporation into neural membrane phospholipids plays an important role in maintaining both neural membrane fluidity and gap junction coupling capacity, in order to keep normal expression of neurotrophin receptors and effective retrograde transport of the NGF-neurotrophin receptor complexes from cerebral cortex and hippocampus to basal forebrain [Kim, Novel metabolism of docosahexaenoic acid in neural cells, J. Biol. Chem. 282, 18661 (2007); Champeol-Potokar, et. al., Docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3) enrichment of membrane phospholipids increases gap junction coupling capacity in cultured astrocytes, Euro. J. Neurosci. 24, 3084 (2006); Farooqui, et, al., Biochemical aspects of neurodegeneration in human brain: involvement of neural membrane phospholipids and phospholipase A 2 , Neurochemical Res. 29, 1961 (2004)] in order to inhibit neuronal apoptosis because an important neurotransmitter acetylcholine is synthesized mainly in basal forebrain cholinergic neurons [Terry and Buccafusco, The cholinergic hypothesis of age and Alzheimer's disease-related cognitive deficits: Recent challenges and their implications for novel drug development. The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 306, 821 (2003); Auld, et. al., Nerve growth factor induces prolonged acetylcholine release from cultured basal forebrain neurons: differentiation between neuromodulatory and neurotrophinc influences, J. Neurosci. 21, 3375 (2001)]. It has been reported that acetylcholine synthesis, choline acetyltransferase activity and expression of p-75 neurotrophin receptor in patients with Alzheimer's disease have been found to be markedly reduced at least 40%, compared with controls [Sims, et. al., Presynaptic cholinergic dysfunction in patients with dementia, J. Neurochem. 40, 503 (2006); Mufson, et al., Loss of basal forebrain P75 NTR immunoreactivity in subjects with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. J. Comparative Neurology 443, 136 (2002)]. [0004] The following scheme shows the pathway of biosynthesis and metabolism of an important neurotransmitter acetylcholine in neurons: [0000] [0005] The mechanism of the current drugs for treatment of age-dependent cholinergic dysfunction related neurodegenerative disorders is to inhibit the activity of acetylcholinesterase, in order to decrease further degradation of acetylcholine in the brain [Grutzendler and Morris, Cholinesterase inhibitors for Alzheimer's disease, Drugs 61, 41 (2001)], rather than to promote neuronal survival. Because age-dependent neurodegenerative diseases are a progressive disorder, the cure becomes much more difficult or even impossible if the prevention and treatment start at a later stage of the diseases. However, an ideal drug used for such disorders should enable to both simultaneously delay or halt the underlying pathological process and improve memory and other clinical deficits. [0006] The study further indicates that neuronal apoptosis under adverse conditions can be prevented by DHA enrichment in a phosphatidylserine (PS)—dependent manner, and depletion of DHA from neuronal tissues can influence biosynthesis and accumulation of PS [Kim, et. al., Substrate preference in phosphatidylserine biosynthesis for docosahexaenoic acid containing species, Biochemistry, 43, 1030 (2004)]. Furthermore, it is also important to point out that the provision of docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-6; DPA) in place of DHA is sufficient neither for fully supporting PS accumulation nor for neuronal survival [Kim, et. al., Effects of docosahexaenoic acid on neuronal apoptosis, Lipids 38, 453 (2003); Lim et. al., An extraordinary degree of structural specificity is required in neural phospholipids for optimal brain function: n-6 docosapentaenoic acid substitution for docosahexaenoic acid leads to a loss in spatial task performance, J. Neurochem. 95, 848 (2007)]. [0007] It is clear that DHA positively modulates biosynthesis and accumulation of neural membrane DHA PS species, promoting neuronal survival. Rising the level of PS by DHA enrichment can be observed only in neural cells, representing a unique mechanism for expending DHA PS and PS pools in mammalian neurons, in order to inhibit neuronal apoptosis [Hamilton, et. al., n-3 fatty acid deficiency decreases phosphatidylserine accumulation selectively in neuronal tissues, Lipids, 35, 863 (2000); Guo, et. al., Neuronal specific increase of phosphatidylserine by docosahexaenoic acid, J. Mol. Neurosci. 33, 67 (2007)]. [0008] In summary, a DHA deficient diet can cause brain DHA deficiency, especially in aging adults. Effective supply of DHA to brain tissues in order to keep normal levels of DHA or to reverse abnormal levels of neural membrane DHA PS is of vital importance in the prevention and treatment of age-dependent neurodegenerative disorders [Kim, et. al., Inhibition of neuronal apoptosis by docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3). J. Biol. Chem. 275, 35215 (2000); Kim, Biochemical and biological functions of docosahexaenoic acid in the nervous system: modulation by ethanol, Chem. Phys Lipids, 153, 34 (2008); Editor's Choice, DHA Increases PS to Promote Neuronal Survival, Sci. STKE, 2005, p286 (2005)]. [0009] Because it cannot be synthesized in the brain, DHA has to be supplied entirely from the diet and is then delivered into the brain by plasma [Spector, Plasma free fatty acid and lipoproteins as sources of polyunsaturated fatty acids for the brain. J. Mol. Neurosci. 16, 159 (2001)]. Unlike other tissues, the brain uptake of DHA needs to overcome the blood-brain barrier (BBB). However, to further understand the mechanism by which DHA phospholipid carriers pass across the BBB is important in preparing mechanism-based DHA phospholipid transporters. [0010] Generally, DHA can be delivered into the brain in forms of both non-esterified DHA and phospholipids. The DHA carried by lysophospholipids is preferred transporters to pass across the BBB [Chen and Subbaiah, Phospholipid and fatty acid specificity of endothelial lipase: potential role of the enzyme in the delivery of docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) to tissues, Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 171, 1319 (2007); Lagarde et. al., Lysophosphatidylcholine as preferred carrier form of docosahexaenoic acid to the brain, J. Mol. Neurosci. 16, 201 (2001); Thies et. al., Unsaturated fatty acids esterified in 2-acyl-1-lysophosphatidylcholine bound to albumin are more efficiently taken up by the young rat brain than the non-esterified form, J. Neurochem. 59, 1110 (1992)] because the incorporation of DHA into the brain is approximately 10-fold higher from enzyme-catalyzed 2-DHA lysophospholipids than from non-esterified DHA at various times of analyses [Lagarde, Docosahexaenoic acid: Neutrient and precursor of bioactive lipids, Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol. 110, 673 (2008)]. [0011] For lipids based brain DHA transporters, use of a composition that consists of highly enriched DHA-containing lipid species is a must. Orally administrated DHA triglyceride carriers, which are present in current supplements including fish, algae and krill oils, have shown benefits for the human health, but it is still questionable whether these lipid mixtures are qualified as effective DHA transporters in the delivery of DHA into the brain, especially aged brain [Arendash, et. al., A diet high in omega-3 fatty acids does not improve or protect cognitive performance in Alzheimer's transgenic mice, Neuroscience, 149: 286 (2007); Freund-Levi et al., co-3 fatty acid treatment in 174 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease: Omeg AD study, Arch Neurol. 63; 1402 (2006)]. Because DHA lipid species metabolite differently from others, it is hard to further understand pharmacological and nutritional functions of those DHA lipid species in a mixture form. [Hossain, et. al, Docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid-enriched phosphatidylcholine liposomes enhance the permeability, transportation and uptake of phospholipids in Caco-2 cells. Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, 285, 155 (2006); Chen and Subbaiah, Phospholipid and fatty acid specificity of endothelial lipase: potential role of the enzyme in the delivery of docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) to tissues, Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 171, 1319 (2007)]. Although the ethyl DHA/EPA drug (over 80% purity) may alleviate coronary atherosclerosis, it may not be qualified as brain DHA transporters to overcome the blood-brain barrier (BBB). [0012] On the other hand, the capacity of the brain to convert α-linolenic acid (18:3n-3; ALA) or eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3; EPA) to DHA is limited [Igarashi et. al., Docosahexaenoic acid synthesis from alpha-linolenic acid by rat brain is unaffected by dietary n-3 PUFA deprivation, J. Lipid Res. 48: 1150 (2007)]. For example, converting ALA and EPA to DHA involves more than single desaturation and elongation step, and yields of the DHA formed by this route is very low [Brenna, et. al., alpha-Linolenic acid supplementation and conversion to n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in humans, Prostaglandins Leukot. Essent. Fatty Acids, 80, 85 (2009)]. Due to structural specificity of DHA for brain requirements, the study strongly suggests that a direct supply of DHA to the brain is required against neuronal apoptosis [Kim, et. al., Inhibition of neuronal apoptosis by docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3), J. Biol. Chem. 275, 35215 (2000)]. [0013] Because brain DHA deficiency can cause brain function disorders, particular during periods of brain development and aging, the methods of using various compositions of lipid nutrients and potential drugs have been applied for enhancing levels of DHA in the brain, in order to improve general brain function. [0014] U.S. Pat. No. 5,869,530 discloses a method of using phospholipids as dietary supplements for improving general brain function. Mixtures of phospholipids including phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine are extracted from chicken egg yolk, but DHA molecular species obtained from this natural resource are absent. [0015] U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,614 discloses a method of transporting DHA into the brain by EPA and DHA aminophospholipids-conjugated polycationic carriers (e.g. poly-lysine and poly-arginine or poly-ornithine) rather than highly pure DHA aminophospholipids, in order to improve function of mammalian brain. [0016] Japanese patent 06256179 discloses the method for preparing 1,2-polyunsaturated fatty acids—3-phosphorycholine, or 3-phosphorylethanolmine, or 3-phosphorylserine, or 3-phosphorylinositol for improving learning ability and for treating senile dementia. However, Japanese patent 06256179 does not disclose highly enriched 1-acyl chains/2-DHA—containing molecular species of highly pure phospholipids for promoting survival of aged basal forebrain cholinergic dysfunction related neurodegenerative disorders. [0017] Japanese 06279311 discloses the method of using a mixture of polyunsaturated fatty acids—containing phosphatidylserine species for treatment of senile dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease. However, the said compositions do not comprise a highly enriched 1-acyl chains/2-DHA—containing molecular species of highly pure phosphatidylserine, as well as highly pure phosphatidylethanolamine and highly pure phosphatidyl-monomethylethanolamine, for promoting survival of aged basal forebrain cholinergic neurons to prevent and treat age-related neurodegenerative diseases. [0018] U.S. Pat. No. 6,964,969 discloses a method of treating impaired or deteriorating neurological function using a mixture of n-3/n-6 fatty acids and vitamins. [0019] U.S. Pat. No. 5,668,117 discloses a method of treating age and Alzheimer's disease by administrating Vitamins. Similar effects for treatment of age and Alzheimer's disease using dehydroepiandrosterone has been also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,447. [0020] WO patent 2007/073178 discloses a method of using compositions comprising DHA, proteins and manganese for improving membrane composition. [0021] WO patent 1997/39759 discloses the methods for the preparation of 1,2-DHA-containing phosphatidylcholine species for the treatment of bipolar disorders. However, said compositions do not comprise highly enriched 2-DHA—containing molecular species of highly pure phosphatidylserine, or highly pure phosphatidylethanolamine or/and highly pure phosphatidyl-monomethylethanolamine. [0022] WO patent 2005/051091 discloses a method of developing cognitive and vision functions of infants and children using a mixture of glycerophospholipid in combination with sphingomyelin or cholesterol. [0023] Other published patents also documented methods of using mixtures of phospholipids, sphingomyelins and n-3 and n-6 fatty acids for the treatment of (1) a wide range of diseases [EP patent 1279400], (2) multiple traumata, burns, infections, and chronic inflammatory disease [EP patent 0311091], (3) hepatic cirrhosis and diarrhea, and (4) cancer diseases [EP patent 1426053]. [0024] From above published results, it is clear to see that the prior art does not disclose using highly pure 1-acyl chains/2-DHA aminophospholipids for promoting survival of aged basal forebrain cholinergic neurons. [0025] The research paper and university study also reported the methods of using polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as DHA against excitotoxic brain damage of infant rats [Hogyer, et. al., Neuroprotective effect of developmental docosahexaenoic acid supplement against excitotoxic brain damage in infant rats, Neuroscience, 119, 999 (2003)]. The positive effect of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids on brain function in newborn and aged rats has been shown as well. But the methods of using highly pure 1-acyl chains/2-DHA aminophospholipids to promote survival of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons have not been claimed in the studies. [0026] U.S. Pat. No. 5,654,290 discloses the methods of using polyunsaturated fatty acids based drugs, which include highly pure 2-DHA triglycerides, highly pure 1-short acyl chains/2-DHA PC species, and highly pure 2-DHA lysoPC species, to treat brain disorders. However, highly pure 1-acyl chains/2-DHA PE, highly pure 1-acyl chains/2-DHA PMME and highly pure 1-acyl chains/2-DHA PS are not disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,654,290. Further, the patent does not disclose inhibiting neuronal apoptosis or treating basal forebrain cholinergic dysfunction related neurodegenerative disorders. [0027] A method of using 1-acyl chains/2-DHA phosphatidylserine (PS) species, which is extracted from bovine cortex, as the first DHA phospholipid based drug in Europe to alleviate and treat Alzheimer's disease has been documented [Amaducci, et al., Phosphatidylserine in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease: Results of a multicenter study. Psychopharmacology Bulletin 24, 130 (1988); Crook, et al., Effect of phosphatidylserine in age-associated memory impairment. Neurology, 41, 644 (1991); Effect of phosphatidylserine in Alzheimer's disease, Psychopharmacol. Bulletin 28, 61 (1992); Pepeu, et al., A review of phosphatidylserine pharmaceutical and clinical effects: Is phosphatidylserine a drug for aging brain? Pharmacology Research, 33, 51 (1996)]. Although the purity of the bovine PS drug was over 80%, the percentage of DHA molecular species in the PS drug was about 10% [Chen and Li, Comparison of molecular species of various transphosphatidylated soy-phosphatidylserine with bovine cortex PS by mass spectrometry. Chem. Phys. Lipids, 152, 46 (2008)]. Based on previously used clinical dosage of bovine cortex PS drug (100-600 mg/day), it took at least 60 days to meet the expected effects because the actual amount of the 2-DHA species intake was in the range of 10-60 mg/daily only. The safety of oral administration of phospholipids including PS up to 600 mg/daily has been confirmed [Jorissen, et. al., Safety of soy-derived phosphatidylserine in elderly people, Nutritional Neurosci., 5, 337 (2002)]. [0028] However, the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (Mad Cow Disease) made use of the PS, the first DHA phospholipid based drug, potentially unsafe. Although methods of using alternatives of DHA PS species mixtures, made by transphosphatidylation of squid skin PC [Hosokawa, et. al., Conversion to docosahexaenoic acid-containing phosphatidylserine from squid skin lecithin by phospholipase D-mediated transphosphatidylation. J. Agric. Food. Chem. 48, 4550 (2000)] and fish liver PC [Chen and Li, Comparison of molecular species of various transphosphatidylated soy-phosphatidylserine with bovine cortex PS by mass spectrometry. Chem. Phys. Lipids, 152, 46 (2008)] to improve learning ability of DHA deficient mice have been reported[http://www.issfal.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55 &Itemid=8 7%20#CS6], the maximal percentage of DHA species in the alternatives is approximately 45-55%. The method of using highly enriched 1-acyl chains/2-DHA molecular species (over 70% in the species mixture) of highly pure phosphatidylserine, highly pure phosphatidylethanolamine and highly pure phosphatidyl-monoethanolamine (more than 90% purity) for the purpose has never been reported. [0029] For the preparation of natural source-based highly enriched 1-acyl chains/2-DHA-containing molecular species of highly pure phosphatidylserine (PS), the transphosphatidylation of highly enriched 1-acyl chain/2-DHA—containing molecular species of phosphatidylcholine [Hosokawa, et. al., Preparation of therapeutic phospholipids through porcine pancreatic phospholipase A2-mediated esterification and lipozyme-mediated acidolysis. J. Am. Oil Chemist Soc. 72, 1287 (1995)] can be used; an approach using nonenzymatic synthesis of phospholipids including phosphatidylserine in the presence of DHA-CoA has been described as well [Testet, et. al., Nonenzymatic synthesis of glycerolipids catalyzed by imidazole, J. Lipid Res. 43, 1150 (2002)]. However, these methods are expensive for large scale and/or industrial preparation. [0030] The process for chemically synthesizing highly enriched 1,2-diDHA—containing molecular species of phosphatidylserine (PS) has been reported [Morillo, et., al., Synthesis of 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerolphosphatidylserine from egg phosphatidylcholine by phosphoramidite methodology, Lipids 31, 541 (1996)]]. However, the safety of chemically synthesized diDHA PS has been not documented and therefore questioned. The pharmacological effect of diDHA PS species has never been reported as well. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0031] The disclosed invention relates to a method of treating a subject and preventing in a subject age-dependent basal forebrain cholinergic dysfunction related neurodegenerative disorders, comprising: administering a lipid composition comprising a therapeutically effective amount of highly enriched 1-acyl chains/2-docosahexaenoic acid containing molecular species of highly pure phospholipids to promote survival of aged basal forebrain cholinergic neurons, the phospholipids selected from the group consisting of phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidyl-monomethylethanolamine. [0032] The invention also relates to a composition for treating a subject and preventing in a subject age-dependent basal forebrain cholinergic dysfunction related neurodegenerative disorders, the composition comprising: a lipid composition comprising: a therapeutically effective amount of highly enriched 1-acyl chains/2-docosahexaenoic acid containing molecular species of highly pure phospholipids to promote survival of aged basal forebrain cholinergic neurons, the phospholipids selected from the group consisting of phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidyl-monomethylethanolamine. [0033] In addition, the invention relates to a process for preparing a lipid composition comprising a therapeutically amount of natural source-based highly enriched 1-acyl chains/2-docosahexaenoic acid containing molecular species of highly pure phosphatidylserine to promote survival of aged basal forebrain cholinergic neurons; the process comprising: purifying a natural source-based phosphatidylcholine by silica chromatography; obtaining a related lysophosphatidylserine species by phospholipase A2 catalysis of transphosphatidylated natural source-based phosphatidylserine species; acylating the lysophosphatidylserine species with natural docosahexaenoic acid to form 1-acyl chains/2-docosahexaenoic acid containing phosphatidylserine species; and purifying the 1-acyl cgains/2-docosahexaenoic acid containing phosphatidylserine species by silica chromatography BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0034] FIG. 1 shows the negative-ion electrospray mass spectra of (A) soybean based lysoPE species, and (B) 2-DHA PE, made from the soybean based lysoPE precursors. In FIG. 1A , peaks at m/z 452, 474,476,478 and 480 correspond to 16:0, 18:3, 18:2, 18:1 and 18:0 lysoPE species; in FIG. 1B , ions at m/z 762, 784, 786, 788 and 790 relate to 16:0/DHA, 18:3/DHA, 18:2/DHA, 18:1/DHA and 18:0/DHA PE species, made by the acylation of soybean based lysoPE species with DHA. [0035] FIG. 2 shows the negative-ion electrospray mass spectra of (A) egg PC based lyso phosphatidyl-monomethylethanolamine (PMME) species that are made by phospholipase A 2 -catalyzed transphosphatidylated egg PMME, and (B) 2-DHA PMME, made from egg PC based lysoPMME precursors. In FIG. 2A , peaks at m/z 466, 492 and 494 correspond to 16:0, 18:1 and 18:0 lysoPMME species; in FIG. 2B , ions at m/z 776, 802 and 804 relate to 16:0/DHA, 18:1/DHA and 18:0/DHA PMME species, made by acylation of the lysoPMME precursors with DHA. [0036] FIG. 3 shows the negative-ion electrospray mass spectra of (A) soybean based lysoPS species, and (B) 2-DHA PS, made from soybean based lysoPS precursors. In FIG. 3A , peaks at m/z 496, 518, 520, 522 and 524 correspond to 16:0, 18:3, 18:2, 18:1 and 18:0 lysoPS species; in FIG. 3B , ions at m/z 806, 828, 830, 832 and 834 relate to 16:0/DHA, 18:2/DHA, 18:2/DHA, 18:1/DHA and 18:0/DHA PS species, made by acylation of the lysoPS species with DHA. [0037] FIG. 4 shows the liquid chromatography/negative-ion electrospray mass spectra of (A) 2-DHA PE, made by egg based lysoPE precursors, and related lysoPE species before (B) and after (C) incubation of the 2-DHA PE with pancreatic phospholipase A 2 ; in FIG. 4A , peaks at m/z 762 and 790 correspond to 16:0/DHA and 18:0/DHA PE species; in FIG. 4B , there is no lysoPE species presence after PE incubation without the phospholipase A 2 ; and in FIG. 4C , ions at m/z 452 and 480 are due to 16:0 and 18:0 lysoPE species that are only present after PE incubation with the enzyme. [0038] FIG. 5 shows the liquid chromatography/negative-ion electrospray mass spectra of (A) transphosphatidylated fish liver phosphatidyl-monomethylethanolamine (PMME), and lysoPMME species after incubation of the PMME without pancreatic phospholipase A 2 (B) and with the phospholipase A 2 (C); in FIG. 4A , peaks at m/z 752, 776, 780 and 804 correspond to 16:0/20:5, 16:0/DHA, 18:0/20:4 and 18:0/DHA PMME species; in FIG. 4B , there is no ions due to lysoPMME species before the PMME incubation with the phospholipase A 2 ; and in FIG. 4C , ions at m/z 466 and 494 are due to 16:0 and 18:0 lysoPMME species that are present only after the PMME incubation with the enzyme. [0039] FIG. 6 shows the liquid chromatography/negative-ion electrospray mass spectra of (A) transphosphatidylated fish liver PE (control), and after incubation of the PE with human secretory phospholipase A 2 Group V (B) and Group X (C). In FIG. 6A , peaks at m/z 762 and 790 correspond to 16:0/DHA (24%) and 18:0/DHA PE (10%) species; after incubation of the PE with the GroupV (B) and the Group X (C) enzymes, relative intensities of ions at m/z 762 (16:0/DHA) and 790 (18:0/DHA) are much lower (percentages of 16:0/DHA PE down to 16% (for Group V) and 15% (for Group X), respectively; and 18:0/DHA PE down to 8% (for Group V) and 7% (for Group X), respectively, compared with those from the control sample (A). The results suggest that 16:0/DHA PE and 18:0/DHA PE species are effectively hydrolyzed by the Group V and the Group X enzymes, after the 30-min incubation, to form related lysoPE species. [0040] FIG. 7 shows the negative-ion electrospray mass spectra of (A) 2-DHA PE (an ion at m/z 788), made by acylation of related lysoPE (an ion at m/z 478) with DHA at the different time points (0, 1, 2 and 30 hours); and (B) 2-DHA phosphatidyl-monomethylethanolamime (PMME) (a peak at m/z 776), formed by acylation of related lysoPMME (a peak at m/z 466) with DHA at the different time point (0, 1, 2 and 30 hours), suggesting that the acylation yield of lysoPE and lysoPMME with DHA to form related DHA PE and DHA PMME species are over 95%. Ions at m/z 690 (A; 16:0/16:0 PE) and 634(B; 14:0/14:0 PE) are due to the internal standards. [0041] FIG. 8 shows the negative-ion and positive-ion electrospray mass spectra of (A) 2-DHA PE, acylated from related lysoPE with DHA, (B) 2-DHA PMME, formed by acylation of related lysoPMME with DHA; (C) 2-DHA phosphatidyl-dimethylethanolamine (PDME), produced by acylation of lysoPDME with DHA; and (D and E) comparison of yields of 2-DHA PC by the acylation of related lysoPC with DHA (E) and 2-DHA PE by acylation of related lysoPE with DHA (D). The results indicate that the yield for the formation of DHA PE and DHA PMME by non-enzymatic acylation of lysoPE and lysoPMME species with DHA are much higher, compared with those of the acylation of lysoPDME and lysoPC with DHA. [0042] FIG. 9 shows the liquid chromatography/negative-ion electrospray mass spectra of transphosphatidylated PE species after incubation without human endothelial lipase (EL); (A) and (C), and with EL (B) and (D), suggesting that DHA PE species are good substrate for human EL, evidence by the presence of (D) 2-DHA lysoPE species (an ion at m/z 524), compared with control (C). [0043] FIG. 10 shows the liquid chromatography/positive-ion electrospray mass spectra of fish liver PC species mixture after incubation without human endothelial lipase (EL) (A) and (C), and with EL (B) and (D), indicating that DHA PC species are good substrate for human EL, evidence by the presence of (D) 2-DHA lysoPC species (an ion at m/z 568), compared with control (C). DHA PC can be made from DHA PMME via the PE methylation pathway in vivo. [0044] FIG. 11 shows the liquid chromatography/negative-ion electrospray mass spectra of striatal neural membrane PS molecular species of (A) 21-month old rat (first control), (C) 21-month old rat treated with DHA PS, (D) 21-month old rat treated with DHA PE, (E) 21-month old rat treated with DHA PMME, and (B) 3-month old rat (second control). It is clear to see that after treatment with the highly pure phospholipids, the percentage of 18:0/DHA PS species (m/z 834) is significantly increased, compared with the control. The spectra are obtained based on rising and falling of the negative-ion profile of the ion chromatography of both m/z 788 (18:0/18:1) and of m/z 834 (18:0/DHA). [0045] FIG. 12 shows the profile of the p-75 receptors-immunoreactive neurons in basal forebrain. A-1 (21-month rat control; treatment with saline for 14 days), A-2 (after treatment with PS, 5 mg/kg/daily of intraperitoneal injection for 14 days), A-3 (after treatment with PE; 5 mg/kg/daily of intraperitoneal injection for 14 days) and A-4 (after treatment with PMME; 5 mg/kg/daily of intraperitoneal injection 14 days) are due to the low-power photomicrography of the p75 receptor immunoreactive profiles; Related B-1 to B-4 show the high-power photomicrography of the p75 receptor-immunoreactive profiles, respectively. [0046] FIG. 13 shows the profile of the choline acetyltransferase-immunoreactive neurons of basal forebrain. A-1 (21-month rat control; treatment with saline for 14 days), A-2 (after treatment with PS, 5 mg/kg/daily of intraperitoneal injection for 14 days), A-3 (after treatment with PE; 5 mg/kg/daily of intraperitoneal injection for 14 days) and A-4 (after treatment with PMME; 5 mg/kg/daily of intraperitoneal injection for 14 days) are due to the low-power photomicrography of the choline acetyltransferase-immunoreactive profiles; Related B-1 to B-4 show the high-power photomicrography of choline acetyltransferase-immunoreactive profiles, respectively. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Background of In Vivo and In Vitro Metabolic Fates of Phospholipids [0047] It is an object of the present invention: to discover the methods of using highly enriched 1-acyl chains/2-docosahexaeoic acid—containing molecular species (over 70% in the species mixture) of highly pure aminophospholipids (over 90%), including phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidyl-monomethylethanolamine, based transporters, to supply DHA into aged striatum for promoting survival of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons, in order to prevent and treat age-dependent basal forebrain cholinergic dysfunction and related neurodegenerative disorders. It must be stated here that the lipid composition used is not a mixture of lipids including non-DHA species—containing phospholipids and DHA species-containing triglycerides or phospholipids that contain less than 50% of DHA phospholipid species, so called “conjugated phospholipid DHA mixtures”. [0048] Use of the therapeutic reagents that contain highly pure DHA phospholipid species can significantly improve the pharmacological effects in prevention and treatment of aged-dependent neurodegenerative disorders. [0049] Studies described fates of orally administrated phospholipids, indicating that deacylation/reacylation circle in vivo is a major metabolic pathway [Galli et, al., Prolonged retention of doubly labeled phosphatidylcholine in human plasma and erythrocytes after oral administration. Lipids 27; 1005 (1992); Lemaitre-Delaunay et. al., Blood compartmental metabolism of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in humans after ingestion of a single dose of [ 13 C] DHA in phosphatidylcholine. J. Lipid Res. 40, 1867 (1999)]. For example, most of ingested 1-acyl chains/2-DHA phosphatidylcholine (2-DHA PC) can pass across intestinal barrier with limited degradation [Hossain, et. al, Docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid-enriched phosphatidylcholine liposomes enhance the permeability, transportation and uptake of phospholipids in Caco-2 cells. Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, 285, 155 (2006)]. However, a part of the lipids may be hydrolyzed by pancreatic phospholipase A 2 in small intestine [Arnesjo et al., Intestinal digestion and absorption of cholesterol and lecithin in the human, J. Gastroenterol. 4:653 (1969)], to form lysoPC and free DHA. After absorption, it is expected that lysoPC may be reacylated with the DHA by acyltransferase to reform newly-made 2-DHA PC that can be combined, along with non-deacylated DHA PC, with plasma for further circulation. The second deacylation/reacylation cycle of high density lipoprotein 2-DHA PC species occurs in the liver, followed by formation of 2-DHA lysoPC in the BBB [Chen and Subbaiah, Phospholipid and fatty acid specificity of endothelial lipase: potential role of the enzyme in the delivery of docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) to tissues, Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 171, 1319 (2007); Thies et. al., Unsaturated fatty acids esterified in 2-acyl-1-lysophosphatidylcholine bound to albumin are more efficiently taken up by the young rat brain than the unesterified form, J. Neurochem. 59, 1110 (1992)]. [0050] Studies also reported an alternative pathway of 2-DHA PC synthesis mainly via the PE methylation rather than via the CDP-choline pathway in rat liver [Delong et al., Molecular distinction of phosphatidylcholine synthesis between the CDP-choline pathway and PE methylatoin pathway, J. Biol. Chem. 274, 29682 (1999)]. The biosynthesis of 2-DHA PE via the CDP-ethanolamine pathway is an important route [Tijburg et. al., Biosynthesis of phosphatidylethanolamine via the CDP-ethanolamine route is an important pathway in isolated rat hepatocytes, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 160, 1275 (1989)]. [0051] A pharmacokinetic study of PS clearly figured out in vivo metabolic fate of the exogenous PS species mixture, which include: (i) decarboxylation to phosphatidylethanolamine, and (ii) extensive hydrolytic degradation to other lipids, mainly lysophosphatidylethanolamine [Palatini, et. al., pharmacokinetic characterization of phosphatidylserine liposome in the rat, Br. J. Pharmacol. 102, 345 (1991)]. [0052] Herein, it is very important to state again that the incorporation of DHA into the brain as a function time is about 10-fold higher from enzyme-catalyzed 2-DHA lysophospholipids than from non-esterified DHA at various times of analyses [Lagarde, Docosahexaenoic acid: neutrient and precursor of bioactive lipids, Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol. 110, 673 (2008)], suggesting that lysophospholipids, mainly lysoPC and lysoPE, are the best DHA transporters that may easily pass across the BBB [Chen and Subbaiah, Phospholipid and fatty acid specificity of endothelial lipase: potential role of the enzyme in the delivery of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to tissues, Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 171, 1319 (2007)]. Design of the Brain DHA Phospholipid Transporters on the Basis of the Metabolic Mechanism of Phospholipids [0053] Based on above knowledge of in vivo and in vitro metabolic pathways of phospholipids, a series of ideal brain DHA transporters should be: highly enriched 1-acyl chains/2-DHA-containing molecular species of highly pure phospholipids, which are expected to be not only deacylated easily for the exogenous DHA phospholipid species but also reacylated readily to reform newly-made 2-DHA related phospholipids effectively in absorption step and further circulation, followed by further releasing 2-DHA lysophospholipids that can pass across the BBB easily. [0054] A series of phospholipids based brain DHA transporters can be designed as: (i) 1-acyl chains/2-DHA phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) species, which can be deacylated easily by pancreatic and other phosphalipase A 2 and then reacylated readily to reform newly-made 2-DHA PE in general circulation and partial formation of 2-DHA PC in the liver, followed by further releasing endothelial lipase-catalyzed 2-DHA-lysoPC and 2-DHA lysoPE in the BBB [Kubo et. al., Preferential incorporation of docosahexaenoic acid into nonphosphorus lipids and phosphatidylethanolamine protects rats from dietary DHA-stimulated lipid peroxidation, J. Nutr. 130:1749 (2000); Merkl and Lands, Metabolism of glycerolipids, J. Biol. Chem. 238, 905 (1963); Masuzawa, et. al., Selective acyl transfer in the reacylation of brain glycerophospholipids. Comparison of three acylation systems for 1-al-alk-1′-enylglycero-3-phosphoethanolamine, 1-acylglycero-3-phosphocholine and 1-acylglycero-3-phosphocholine in rat brain microsomes, Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 1005, 1 (1989); Illingworth and Portman, The uptake and metabolism of plasma lysoPC in vivo by the brain of squirrel monkeys. Biochem. J. 130, 557 (1972); Chen and Subbaiah, Phospholipid and fatty acid specificity of endothelial lipase: potential role of the enzyme in the delivery of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to tissues, Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 171, 1319 (2007)]. [0000] (ii) 1-acyl chains/2-DHA phosphatidyl-monomethylethanolamine (PMME) species, which can be deacylated easily by pancreatic phospholipase A 2 in absorption step and then reacylated readily to reform 2-DHA PMME in general circulation, followed by producing 2-DHA PC through the PE methylation in the liver and then further releasing 2-DHA lysoPC in the BBB [Delong et al., Molecular distinction of phosphatidylcholine synthesis between the CDP-choline pathway and PE methylation pathway, J. Biol. Chem. 274, 29682 (1999); Lagarde, Docosahexaenoic acid: neutrient and precursor of bioactive lipids, Eur. J Lipid Sci. Technol. 110, 673 (2008)]; and (iii) 1-acyl chains/2-DHA phosphatidylserine (PS) species, which can be converted into related 2-DHA PE species by decarboxylation in absorption step, and then present in the plasma in the form of related 2-DHA PE species, then following the PE metabolic pathways [Palatini, et. al., pharmacokinetic characterization of phosphatidylserine liposome in the rat, Br. J. Pharmacol. 102, 345 (1991)]. [0055] Applicants have made brain DHA transporters that include: highly pure PE, highly pure PMME and highly pure PS (over 90% of purity) that contain highly enriched 1-acyl chains/2-DHA molecular species (over 70% in the species mixture), as shown in FIG. 1 (DHA PE species), FIG. 2 (DHA PMME species) and FIG. 3 (DHA PS species), which are prepared by acylation of related lysophospholipid species with DHA. Supporting Results Obtained from In Vitro Metabolic Experiments of the Highly Pure Phospholipids [0056] Applicants are the first to discover the methods of using highly pure 1-acyl chains/2-DHA PE species, or highly pure 1-acyl chains/2-DHA PMME species or highly pure 1-acyl chains/2-DHA PS species based brain DHA transporters to promote survival of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons in aged brain, in order to prevent and treat age-dependent basal forebrain cholinergic dysfunction related neurodegenerative disorders. [0057] Based on the metabolic pathway of phospholipids, applicants have found supporting data from in vitro metabolic experiments that highly enriched 1-acyl fatty chains/2-DHA species of both highly pure PE and highly pure PMME are good substrates for pancreatic phospholipase A 2 , evidence by effectively releasing related lysoPE and lysoPMME species present at m/z 452 (lysoPE 16:0) and 480 (lysoPE 18:0), as well as at m/z 466 (lysoPMME 16:0) and 494 (lysoPMME 18:0), after incubation of egg yolk based DHA PE (at m/z 762 due to 16:0/DHA and 790 due to 18:0/DHA) and egg yolk based DHA PMME at m/z 776 (16:0/DHA) and 804 (18:0/DHA) with the enzyme, which are detected by liquid chromatography/negative-ion mass spectrometry (shown in FIG. 4 (PE to lysoPE) and FIG. 5 (PMME to lysoPMME, respectively). [0058] Based on the metabolic pathway of phospholipids, applicants have found supporting data from in vitro metabolic experiments that DHA PE species (over 45%) present in a natural fish liver transphosphatidylated PE species mixture are good substrates for human secretory phospholipase A 2 Group V and Group X, evidence by significantly decreasing the intensity of the two DHA PE species present at m/z 762 (16:0/DHA) and 790 (18:0/DHA), after incubation of the phospholipids with the enzymes, which are analyzed by liquid chromatography/negative-ion mass spectrometry ( FIG. 6 ). DHA PMME species (over 40%) present in a natural fish liver transphosphatidylated PMME species mixture are good substrate as well for the human secretory phospholipase A 2 Group V and Group X (not shown). [0059] Based on the metabolic pathway of phospholipids, applicants have found supporting data from in vitro metabolic experiment that yields in the acylation of lysoPE and lysoPMME species with DHA to form related 1-acyl chains/2-DHA PE species and 1-acyl chains/2-DHA PMME species are over 95% ( FIG. 7A (lysoPE to PE) and 7B (lysoPMME to PMME), which are detected by the liquid chromatography/negative-ion electrospray mass spectrometry. [0060] It also suggests that the yields in the acylation of lyso dimethylethanolamine and lysoPC species with DHA to form DHA phosphatidyl-dimethylethanolamine (30%; FIG. 8C ) and DHA PC (10%; FIG. 8E ) species are relatively poor, compared with those in the acylation of lysoPE ( FIGS. 8A and 8D ) and lysoPMME to form DHA PE and DHA PMME species ( FIG. 8B ). It also explains the fact that 2-DHA PC species can be synthesized in vivo mainly via the PE methylation rather than reacylation [Delong et al., Molecular distinction of phosphatidylcholine synthesis between the CDP-choline pathway and PE methylatoin pathway, J. Biol. Chem. 274, 29682 (1999)]. [0061] Based on the metabolic pathway of phospholipids, applicants have found supporting results from in vitro metabolic experiments that highly enriched 1-acyl fatty chains/2-DHA species of highly pure PE species and highly pure PC species are good substrates for human endothelial lipase, evidence by releasing related 2-DHA lysophospholipid species after incubation, detected by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry method ( FIGS. 9 and 10 ). Supporting Results Obtained from In Vivo Experiments of Highly Pure Phospholipids [0062] From in vivo experiments in 21-month old rats, applicants have found the positive benefits after using highly pure 1-acyl chains/2-DHA aminophospholipids as brain DHA transporters, evidence by observing significant reversal of abnormal percentage of neural membrane DHA PS species in the striatum of 21-month old rats after 14 days of intraperitoneal injection treatment (5 mg/kg/daily), compared with controls. FIG. 11 shows liquid chromatography/negative-ion mass spectra. An ion at m/z 834 corresponds to 1-18:0/2-DHA PS species. After the exogenous introduction of 2-DHA-PS or 2-DHA-PE or 2-DHA-PMME, abnormal percentage of 1-18:0/2-DHA PS species significantly rise to 53% (treated with PS; see Table 1 and FIG. 11C ), 45% (treated with PE; Table 1 and FIG. 11D ) and 45% (treated with PMME; see Table 1 and FIG. 11E ), respectively, compared with controls with 35% from 21-month rat (see Table 1 and FIG. 11A ) and 57% from 3-month rat (see FIG. 11B ). [0000] TABLE 1 Neural membrane PS Species (%) of aged striatum (21-month-rats) after 14 days treatment Molecular Change [M − H] − Species Control PS-treated PE-treated PMME-treated (n = 5) 760.6 16:0/18:1 1.36 ± 0.4 1.73 ± 0.6 1.45 ± 0.2 1.35 ± 0.2  +0.1%** 786.6 18:0/18:2 6.26 ± 0.3 4.33 ± 0.9 4.63 ± 0.5 4.84 ± 0.6  −1.7% 788.6 18:0/18:1 42.3 ± 3.7 29.5 ± 3.7 34.5 ± 7.8 36.8 ± 6.3  −8.7% 810.6 16:0/20:4 8.61 ± 0.4 7.72 ± 1.5 9.01 ± 1.1 7.13 ± 1.1 −0.67% 816.6 18:0/20:1 6.38 ± 0.3 3.06 ± 0.8 3.06 ± 0.2 4.17 ± 0.6  −2.9% 834.6 18:0/22:6 35.1 ± 4.6 53.7 ± 8.9 45.8 ± 5.8 45.6 ± 2.9   +13% (Average) The activity recovery represented on the basis of numbers of both the p75-innunoreactive neurons (Table 2 and FIG. 12 ) and choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-immunoreactive neurons (Table 3 and FIG. 13 ) in 21-month old rats treated with the DHA phospholipids, compared with controls (non-treated 21-month old rats), has been significantly improved after the 14 days treatment. This has been also found that the percentage of DHA plasmalogen PE species in aged striatum is significantly increased after the treatment, compared with controls (Table 4). [0000] TABLE 2 Number of the p-75 receptor-immunoreactive neurons in 21-month rats (n = 3) Neuron Group (Average) Change (%) Saline 24804 0 PS-treated (14 days) 54326  +54 ± 11* PE-treated (14 days) 42207 +42 ± 10 PMME-treated (14 days) 44946 +45 ± 12 *p < 0.05 [0000] TABLE 3 Number of the ChAT-immunoreactive neurons in 21-month rats (n = 3) Neuron Group (Average) Change (%) Saline 46414 0 PS-treated (14 days) 85050  +46 ± 12* PE-treated (14 days) 71914 +36 ± 14 PMME-treated (14 days) 63803 +28 ± 9  *p < 0.05 [0000] TABLE 4 DHA PE in neural membrane of aged striatum (21-month-rats) (14 days treatment) Molecular Change [M − H] − Species Control PS-treated PE-treated PMME-treated (n = 5) 746.6 a14:0/22:6 4.73 ± 0.7 7.13 ± 0.9 6.76 ± 0.8 4.50 ± 0.4 +23%** 762.6 16:0/22:6 2.40 ± 0.3 2.90 ± 0.5 2.70 ± 0.6 1.50 ± 0.8    0% 772.6 p18:1/22:6 3.96 ± 0.5 5.80 ± 0.6 6.70 ± 1.1 7.50 ± 1.0 +41% 774.6 p18:0/22:6 14.2 ± 0.6 20.2 ± 2.9 19.6 ± 1.0 24.1 ± 1.7 +34% 790.6 18:0/22:6 10.7 ± 0.8 13.9 ± 1.3 12.6 ± 0.3 13.7 ± 0.7 +20% (Average) [0063] The method of using highly pure PS or highly pure PE or highly pure PMME (all are over 90% of purity) that contain highly enriched 1-acyl chains/2-DHA molecular species (over 70% in the species mixtures) to promote survival of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons in aged striatum have been demonstrated, evidence by reversal of the percentage of aged striatal neural membrane DHA PS and DHA plasmalogen PE species, and by recovery of the activity of the p-75 neurotrophin receptor and choline acetyltransferase of the neurons, leading to both prevention and treatment of age-dependent basal forebrain cholinergic dysfunction related neurodegenerative disorders. [0064] A major advantage of using the brain DHA transporters for age-dependent neurodegenerative disorders are: (1) fewer side-effects for a long term of administration, compared with use of chemically synthesized drugs; and (2) efficacy in the prevention of age-dependent neurodegenerative disorders through simultaneously delaying the underlying pathological process of neuronal apoptosis. Example 1 Preparation of Highly Enriched 1-Acyl Chains/2-DHA Species of Highly Pure Phospholipids Preparation of Highly Enriched 1-Acyl Chains/2-DHA PE Species (See the Following Chemical Structure) [0065] [0066] Method 1: [0067] PE was purified from crude soybean phospholipids by silica chromatography. About 500 mg of lysoPE species mixture was obtained after PLA 2 treatment of about 5 grams of purified soybean PE (see FIG. 1A ). A solution was made by stirring 550 mg of free DHA (BIOMOL, Plymouth Meeting, PA, USA), 350 mg of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and 200 mg of 4-(dimethylamine) pyridine in 20 mL of chloroform for 60 min [Selinger and Lapidot, Synthesis of fatty acid anhydrides by reaction with dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, J. Lipid Res. 7,174 (1966)], and then added to a container containing about 500 mg of the lysoPE species. The vial was fully filled with argon and then put into another container in which nitrogen was fully filled. It was left to react at 40° C. for 2 hours. The reaction mixture was then applied to an 800-mL silica column equilibrated with chloroform. After removing remained DHA and the chemical reagent by mixtures of chloroform/methanol (95/5 and 90/10; v/v), the 2-DHA PE species was eluted with a mixture of chloroform/methanol (80/20 (v/v)) with over 95% purity (see FIG. 1 ). [0068] Method 2: [0069] About 6 grams of silica column purified PC (from egg yolk or soybean) species were treated with transphosphatidylation, in order to make related PE species. About 500 mg of purified lysoPE species, which are obtained by PLA2-catalyzed purified PE species, were used for the preparation of highly pure 1-acyl chains/2-DHA PE as mentioned above. The products are identified by the negative-ion electrospray mass spectrometry. [0070] Preparation of Highly Pure 1-Acyl Chains/2-DHA PMME Species (See the Following Chemical Structure) [0000] [0071] Method: About 500 mg of PLA 2 -hydrolyzed egg yolk or soybean based lysoPMME species ( FIG. 2A ), which are made by transphosphatidylation of purified egg PC or soybean PC, were used for the preparation of highly pure 1-acyl chains/2-DHA PMME ( FIG. 2B ), as mentioned above in the preparation of related 2-DHA PE products. [0072] Preparing Highly Enriched 1-Acyl Chains/2-DHA Species of Highly Pure PS (See the Following Chemical Structure); [0000] [0073] Method: About 500 mg of PLA 2 -catalyzed lysoPS species, which is produced from transphosphatidylated PS made from purified soybean PC species, was used for the preparation of highly pure 1-acyl chains/2-DHA PS species, as mentioned above in the preparation of related 2-DHA PE products. FIG. 3 shows the negative-ion electrospray mass spectra of (A) soybean based lysoPS species and (B) 2-DHA PS species, made from the soybean based lysoPS(A). Example 2 In Vitro Metabolic Profiles of Highly Pure Phospholipids Incubated with the Pancreatic Phospholipase A 2 , in Order to Evaluate the Specificity of DHA Phospholipid Species for the Enzyme [0074] The experiment was done on the basis of the published method [Singh and Subbaiah, modulation of the activity and arachidonic acid selectivity of group X secretory Phospholipase A 2 by sphingolipids, J. Lipid Res. 48, 683 (2007)]. Briefly, highly pure PE was incorporated into liposome by sonication. The reaction mixture for assay of the pancreatic PLA 2 (2 units) contains 100 μM the DHA phospholipid, 100 mM Tris/Cl (pH 8.0), 0.1% bovine serum albumin, and 10 nM CaCl 2 in a final volume of 200 μl. The incubation was carried out for 30 min at 37° C. After extraction with the method of Blign and Dyer, the lipids were analyzed by the liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. The same experiment was also done using highly pure PMME as substrate, as mentioned above. It is clear to see that the two brain DHA transporters are good substrates for the pancreatic PLA 2 , evidence by releasing related lysophospholipid species ( FIGS. 4 and 5 ), detected by liquid chromatography/negative-ion mass spectrometry. Example 3 In Vitro Metabolic Profiles of Highly Pure Phospholipids Incubated with the Human Secratory Phospholipase A 2 Group V and Group X, in Order to Evaluate the Specificity of DHA Phospholipid Species for the Enzymes [0075] Recombinant human secretory PLA 2 Group V and Group X, which were used in the experiment, can be generated in the mammalian systems and act more readily on lipoproteins and cell membranes [Cho, Structure, function and regulation of Group V phospholipase A 2 , Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 1488, 48 (2000)]. The specific activity of the enzymes was calculated as micrograms of fatty acid released from purified soybean PC and was corrected for the value of the control samples, in which the substrates were incubated in the absence of the two enzymes. [0076] A substrate of PE DHA species in a natural lipid mixture used in experiment was made by transphosphatidylation of fish liver PC [Chen and Subbaiah, Phospholipid and fatty acid specificity of endothelial lipase: potential role of the enzyme in the delivery of docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) to tissues, Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 171, 1319 (2007)]. The reason of using this substrate is that composition of the species mixtures should be closed to the expected DHA PE species present in plasma. After the incubation as mentioned above and lipid extraction, the phospholipids were analyzed by liquid chromatography/negative-ion mass spectrometry. FIG. 6 shows the liquid chromatography/negative-ion mass spectra of control sample (A), the lipids after treatment with sPLA 2 Group V for 30 min (B) and sPLA 2 Group X (C) for 30 min. It is clear to see that DHA-PE species are good substrates of the two human enzymes. The percentage of the two major DHA PE species (at m/z 762 (16:0/DHA and 790 (18:0/DHA) dropped down (see the FIG. 7 and included explanation on it) after the enzyme treatment. [0077] The profile of transphosphatidylated DHA-MMPE species mixture after treatment with the both PLA 2 s is similar to that of transphosphatidylated DHA-PE (not shown). [0078] DHA-PS species are not good substrates for the two enzymes (not shown). So it is also demonstrated indirectly that DHA-PS species cannot be metabolited effectively by human enzymes, as least human sPLA 2 Group V and sPLA 2 Group X. But after decarborxylation to form PE and LysoPE in absorption steps [Palatini, et. al., pharmacokinetic characterization of phosphatidylserine liposome in the rat, Br. J. Pharmacol. 102, 345 (1991)], newly made DHA-PE species may be metabolized as the pathway of DHA-PE species. Example 4 In Vitro Experiment of Acylation of DHA Phospholipids from Related Lysophospholipids by Non-Enzymatic Reaction, in Order to Roughly Evaluate the Reformation of DHA Phospholipids from Acylation of Lysophospholipids with DHA [0079] About 30 mg of a species mixture of lysoPE or lysoPMME or lyso phosphatidyl-dimethylethanolamine (lysoPDME) was mixed with a DHA solution, respectively, which was made by stirring 35 mg of free DHA, 15 mg of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and 10 mg of 4-(dimethylanime) pyridine in 1 mL of chloroform in a vial for 60 min. The vial then was fully filled with argon and then put into another container in which nitrogen is fully filled. It is left to react at 40° C. for 1 hour. After dilution of the mixture with chloroform and methanol, the lipids in the mixture were analyzed by the negative-ion electrospray mass spectrometry ( FIG. 8 ). It is clear to see that the yields of acylation of lysoPE ( FIG. 8A ) and lysoPMME ( FIG. 8B ) with DHA are very high (more than 95%), compared with that of lysoPDME (about 30%). The yield of acylation of a mixture of lysoPE (D) and lysoPC (E) with DHA is very different (over 95% yield for lysoPE species; less than 10% for lysoPC species), suggesting that lysoPE and lysoPMME can be reacylated readily with DHA to further form related DHA PE and DHA PMME. Example 5 In Vitro Metabolic Profiles of the Highly Pure Phospholipids Incubated with Human Endothelial Lipase [0080] Endothelial lipase (EL) is the newest member of the lipase family that is expressed in several tissues including brain. It is unique among the lipases in having a substrate preference predominantly for phospholipids, and in not requiring bile salts or apoproteins for its action on phospholipids. The activity of EL has been shown to be inversely correlated with high density lipoproteins (HDL) levels in the plasma, showing its role in HDL metabolism. Recombinant human endothelial lipase was used in the experiment. The specific activity of the enzyme used in the experiment was 520 nmol fatty acid released/hour/ml of medium, using 16:0-16:0 PE. [0081] Transphosphatidylated fish liver PE species were used as substrates in the experiment [Chen and Subbaiah, Phospholipid and fatty acid specificity of endothelial lipase: potential role of the enzyme in the delivery of docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) to tissues, Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 171:1319 (2007)]. FIG. 9 shows the negative-ion electrospray mass spectra of control sample (A and C), and the DHA species after treatment of the PE with EL for 30 min (B and D). It is seen clearly that DHA-PE species are good substrates for the human EL since the percentage of the two DHA PE species 16:0/DHA at m/z 762 and 18:0/DHA at m/z 790 are down, respectively, evidence by the presence of DHA lysoPE species at m/z 524 ( FIG. 9D ). [0082] FIG. 10 shows the positive-ion electrospray mass spectra of control sample (A and C), and the DHA species after treatment of fish liver PC with EL for 30 min (B and D). It is clear to see that DHA PC species are good substrates for the human EL as well. After the incubation, the percentage of the two DHA PC species 16:0/DHA at m/z 806 and 18:0/DHA at m/z 834 are down, respectively, evidence by the presence of DHA lysoPC species at m/z 568 ( FIG. 10D ). [0083] DHA-PS species are not good substrates for the human EL. After decarborxylation to form PE in the absorption step [Palatini, et. al., pharmacokinetic characterization of phosphatidylserine liposome in the rat, Br. J. Pharmacol. 102; 345 (1991)], derived-DHA PE species are metabolized as the pathway of DHA-PE species. Example 6 In Vivo Profiles of Neural Membrane DHA PS in Aged Striatum Before and After Intraperitoneal Treatment with the Highly Pure Phospholipids [0084] Animal experiments: 21-month old rats (Sprague-Dawley rats; weighted from 200-300 g; 4 rats for controls; 15 rats used for the treatment (5 rats for each group); 3-month young rats (3 rats)) were used in the study. Saline as well as highly pure DHA PS, highly pure DHA PE and highly pure DHA PMME were applied for the intrapreritoneal treatment with 5 mg/kg/daily dosage for 14 days. [0085] After that, a small part of the striatum of the rats was collected, and the lipids in the tissues were extracted by the method of Bligh/Dyes and then analyzed by the liquid chromatography/negative-ion electrospray mass spectrometry. The intensities of the ions were used to calculate the percentage of each PS species in the species mixture (See Table 1 in details). Example 7 In Vivo Profiles of p75 Neurotrophin Receptor- and Choline Acetyltransforase-Immunoreactive Neurons Before and after Intraperitoneal Treatment with the Highly Pure Phospholipids [0086] Profiles (numbers) of the p75 neurotrophin receptor- and choline acetyltransferase-immunoreactive neurons before and after treatment were obtained based on the published methods [Mufson, et al., Loss of basal forebrain P75 NTR immunoreactivity in subjects with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. J. Comparative Neurology 443, 136 (2002); Dowd, et. al., Targeted disruption of the galanin gene reduces the number of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons and impairs learning and long-term potential in an age-dependent manner. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 97, 11569 (2000)]. [0087] Briefly, after picking up a small part of the striatum, the brain samples were injected with an overdose of pentobarbital (40 mg/kg), and followed by treatment with 300 ml of 4% paraformaldehyde in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4), and cryoprotected in 30% sucrose in phosphate buffer at 4° C. Then the brain was cut in frozen at 40 μm thickness with a sliding knife microtome using a uniform and systematic procedure for all cases. The tissue sections were stored at −20° C. for the further use. [0088] The immunohistochemical procedure for the p75 receptor and choline acetyltransforase (ChAT) was continued by using the labeled antibody in which sections was sequentially incubated in the biotinylated goat anti-rabbit IgG (Vector labs. Burlingame, Calif.; 1:200) and then the “Elite” avidin-biotin complex (ABC Kits, Vector labs; 1:500) was separated by washes in a Triton-buffered saline solution containing 0.05% Triton X-100. [0089] Quantitative assessment: the computerized optical dissector system was consisted of a computer assisted image analysis, a microscope, a computer-controlled x-y-z motorized stage, a stereological software program and a high-sensitivity video camera. Prior to the measurements, the instrumentation was calibrated. The average tissue thickness of the sections and the antibody penetration throughout the whole tissue section was measured by dissectors using imaging capture technique. The numbers of the p75 receptor- and choline acetyltransferase-immunoreactive neurons (N) was calculated using the following formula: N=N V ·V; N V is the numerical density, and V is the volume of the p75 receptor or choline acetyltransferase as determined by the Cavarlier's principle. [0090] Statistical analyses: a person blinded to the bio-product treatment and lesion condition will perform all analyses. A repeated measure ANOVA was performed to discern group differences over time. [0091] The molecular species analyses of the phospholipids by liquid chromatography/negative-ion and positive-ion electrospray mass spectrometry were performed on a Micromass Platform LC/MS (Waters, Mass., USA). Normal-phase HPLC was performed with a 3-μm Spherisorb silica column (2.0×150 mm; Waters, Mass.), which was eluted with a linear gradient of 100% solvent A (chloroform/methanol/30% ammonium hydroxide, 80:19.5:0.5, by vol) to 100% solvent B (chloroform/methanol/water/30% ammonium hydroxide, 60:34.5:5:0.5, by vol) for 15 min, then in 100% solvent B for 10 min. 20 μl of the lipids in methanol/chloroform (2:1, by vol) were injected into the liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry system. The flow rate was 350 μl/min. [0092] It should be noted that the terms “first”, “second”, and “third”, and the like may be used herein to modify elements performing similar and/or analogous functions. These modifiers do not imply a spatial, sequential, or hierarchical order to the modified elements unless specifically stated. [0093] While the disclosure has been described with reference to several embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this disclosure, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

A method of treating a subject and preventing in a subject age-dependent basal forebrain cholinergic dysfunction related neurodegenerative disorders, comprising: administering a lipid composition comprising a therapeutically effective amount of highly enriched 1-acyl chains/2-docosahexaenoic acid containing molecular species of highly pure phospholipids to promote survival of aged basal forebrain cholinergic neurons, the phospholipids selected from the group consisting of phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidyl-monomethylethanolamine. A composition for treating a subject and preventing in a subject age-dependent basal forebrain cholinergic dysfunction related neurodegenerative disorders, the composition comprising: a lipid composition comprising: a therapeutically effective amount of highly enriched 1-acyl chains/2-docosahexaenoic acid containing molecular species of highly pure phospholipids to promote survival of aged basal forebrain cholinergic neurons, the phospholipids selected from the group consisting of phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidyl-monomethylethanolamine. A process for preparing a lipid composition comprising a therapeutically amount of natural source-based highly enriched 1-acyl chains/2-docosahexaenoic acid containing molecular species of highly pure phosphatidylserine to promote survival of aged basal forebrain cholinergic neurons; the process comprising: purifying a natural source-based phosphatidylcholine by silica chromatography; obtaining a related lysophosphatidylserine species by phospholipase A2 catalysis of transphosphatidylated natural source-based phosphatidylserine species; acylating the lysophosphatidylserine species with natural docosahexaenoic acid to form 1-acyl chains/2-docosahexaenoic acid containing phosphatidylserine species; and purifying the 1-acyl cgains/2-docosahexaenoic acid containing phosphatidylserine species by silica chromatography.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to building structures based on non-periodic subdivisions of regular space structures with plane or curved faces. In some cases, the fundamental region are subdivided non-periodically and the structures have global symmetry, in other cases the entire polygonal faces of space space structures are subdivided non-periodically and the structures may or may not have symmetry. In addition, this invention relates to further subdivisions of such space structures which are locally periodic. The space structures considered include all regular polyhedra in the plane-faced and curve-faced states, various curved polygons, cylinders and toroids, curved spaced labyrinths, and structures in higher-dimensional and hyperbolic space. The structures can be isolated structures or grouped to fill space. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The use of curved lines (arches, curved beams) and curved surfaces (shells, vaults, domes, membranes) in architecture arises out of several needs. There is the pragmatic need for the efficient use of material to cover space, an idea that becomes increasingly relevant with depleting resources. This economy of material can translate into decreased costs of building. There is the architectural need for "comfort" in inhabiting spaces and structures that are "organic" and mirror the constructions in nature. There is the philosophical need for living in harmony with nature. For these reasons, curved space structures are desirable in architecture. Curved space structures are characterized by curved surfaces and curved lines. The curved surfaces can be single-curved as in cones and cylinders, or doubly-curved as in spheres and saddles. Architectural structures based on singly-curved and doubly-curved surfaces are well-known. In either case, the surfaces can be continuously smooth surfaces as in cast shells made of concrete or plastics, or tensile membranes made of reinforced nylon fabrics. Alternatively, the curved surfaces can be decomposed into polygonal areas which can be manufactured separately as parts of the structure and the entire surface assembled out of these pre-made parts. Such space structures have relied upon a geometric subdivision of the surface into polygonal areas. In all prior art, such geometric subdivision is based on periodic subdivision of the fundamental region of the structure; the fundamental region is the minimum spatial unit of the structure from which the entire structure can be generated using symmetry operations of reflection, rotation, translation and their combinations. In addition, the prior art of modular space structures has retained the global symmetry of the space structure. In contrast to the prior works, this application discloses three new classes of curved space structures not taught by the prior art of building. One class comprises globally symmetric space structures where the fundamental region is subdivided into rhombii in a non-periodic manner. The second class where the entire polygonal faces of symmetric space structures are subdivided non-periodically or asymmetrically into rhombii and the structure retains only partial global symmetry or is completely asymmetric. The third class of structures are those in which the rhombii of non-periodic subdivisions are subdivided further in a periodic manner. The structual advantages of the "new" space structures disclosed here remain to be examined and analyzed. But as the history of building art reveals, new geometries have always led to special architectural, structural, functional, or aesthetic advantages. The aesthetic appeal of non-periodic space structures cannot be overemphasized as these are a marked departure from the conventional space structures which, with recent exceptions, have relied upon periodicity as a device to cover space and span structures. Curved space structures with non-periodic subdivisions are new and are likely to advance the building art of the future. Prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,152 to Penrose which discloses the Penrose tiling, U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,220 to Lalvani which discloses prismatic nodes for periodic and non-periodic space frames and related tilings, U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,635 to Lalvani which discloses periodic and non-periodic curved space structures derived from vector-stars, U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,153 to Baer which discloses nodes of icosahedral symmetry for space frames, the work of T. Robbin which suggests the use of dodecahedral nodes for "quasicrystal" space structures using the De Bruijn method, the work of K. Miyazaki which discloses the 3-dimensional analog of the Penrose tiling. Prior work also includes known plane-faced zonohedra having tetrahedral, octahedral and icosahedral symmetry and derived from corresponding symmetric stars published in H. S. M. Coxeter's Regular Polytopes (Dover, 1973). Other related publications include Lalvani's article `Continuous Transformations of Non-Periodic Tilings and Space-Fillings` in Fivefold Symmetry by I. Hargittal (World Scientific, Singapore, 1992), and citations to Lalvani in J. Kappraff's Connections: The Geometric Bridge Between Art and Science (McGraw-Hill, 1991, p. 246-249). None of the prior art deals with non-periodic subdivisions of the fundamental region of various symmetric space structures, nor does it deal with non-periodic and asymmetric subdivisions of the surfaces of space structures. Further, prior art does no deal with the non-peridic subdivision of architecturally useful curved space structures like domes, vaults and related structures. Going further, the prior art does not teach such subdivisions for higher-dimensional and hyperbolic space structures. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The principal aim of the invention is to provide classes of space structures, here termed `subdivided` structures, derived from known space structures, here termed `source` structures, by a non-periodic subdivision of the source surfaces. The subdivided structures can have plane (flat), curved or a combination of flat and curved surfaces. The source structures, and the derived subdivided structures may be single-layered, double-layered, multi-layered, or multi-directional. The subdivided structures, the object of this disclosure, include the following classes of space structures: 1. Space structures which are globally symmetric but their fundamental region is subdivided in a non-periodic manner with rhombii. All faces of such structures retain their symmetry and the rhombii can be subdivided into two triangles which can be further subdivided into a periodic array of triangles. 2. Space structures obtained by subdividing the polygonal faces of the source space structures in a non-periodic manner using various rhombii. The subdivision is such that the faces lose their overall symmetry. In some instances, the resulting structures are completely asymmetric, in other cases the structures have a reduced symmetry. The rhombii can be subdivided into two triangles which can be further subdivided into periodic arrays of triangles. The source structures include the following: 1. All 2- and 3-dimensional regular space structures, namely, regular polygons and plane tessellations, and regular polyhedra and regular space fillings. 2. All 2- and 3-dimensional projections of regular, higher-dimensional structures (higher than 3-dimensions) in Euclidean space. 3. All regular space structures in hyperbolic 2-, 3- and higher dimensional space. Another aim of the present invention is to provide an alternative to the well-known and successful geodesic dome. While the geodesic dome is based on the periodic subdivision of the triangular faces of regular tetrahedron, octahedron or the icosahedron by using portions of the triangular lattice, the present disclosure subdivides the triangles in a different way. In addition, the present disclosure includes subdivision of the cube and the dodecahedron as other viable alternatives to the geodesic dome. Another aim of the present invention is to provide a variety of curved space structures in the form of cylinders, torii, saddle polygons, vaulted domes, barrell vaults, hyperbolic paraboloids, paraboloids, warped surfaces, and any surfaces of revolution or translation, all based on non-periodic subdivision of the surfaces. These curved space structures can be used as individual units or in collective arrays which are either periodic or non-periodic. Another aim of the invention is to provide a class of space labyrinths with either plane or curved faces with their surfaces subdivided in a non-periodic manner. Related to these labyrinths are close-packings and space-fillings of polyhedra with either plane or curved faces which are also subdivided non-periodically. A further aim of the invention is to provide classes of plane-faced and curved space structures with subdivided surfaces which are double-layered, triple-layered or multi-layered, where the layers are interconnected and suitably stabilized. The invention also provides classes of higher-dimensional space structures and hyperbolic space structures with subdivided surfaces and spaces. Other objects, advantages and salient features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses preferred embodiments of the present invention. DRAWINGS Referring now to the drawings which form a part of this original disclosure: FIG. 1 shows the various rhombii used for the subdivision and derived from an n-star. The rhombii are listed according to n. FIGS. 2a-c shows the dissection of the rhombii of FIG. 1 by the diagonals of the rhombus. FIG. 2a shows a bisection into half-rhombii by one diagonal, FIG. 2b shows the alternate bisection into another set of half-rhombii by the alternate diagonal, FIG. 2c shows the quarter-rhombii derived by the further bisection of the half-rhombii. FIG. 3 shows the periodic subdivision of a rhombus, half-rhombus and quarter-rhombus into smaller self-similar rhombii. These lead to periodic triangulation by inserting the diagonals. FIGS. 4a-d show various types of fundamental regions of regular p-sided polygons. FIG. 4a shows fundamental regions of Type I which is 1/2pth portion of the polygon, FIG. 4b shows fundamental regions of Type II which are 1/pth portion of the polygon, FIG. 4c shows Type III region which is 2/pth fraction of an even-sided polygon, FIG. 4d show Type IV regions which are irregular 1/pth fractions of polygons. FIGS. 5-8 show examples of subdivision of various regular polygons using the rhombii from FIG. 1. FIG. 5a shows the subdivision of an equilateral triangle (p=3) into rhombii from n=6 such that the triangle retains 3-fold symmetry. The triangle uses fundamental region Type I. FIG. 5b shows two different subdivisions of the hexagon (p=6) with a 6-fold symmetry using n=6 rhombii and fundamental region Type I. Two examples of non-periodic subdivisions of a triangle using the same rhombii are also shown. These two are asymmetric. FIG. 6a shows the gnomonic fundamental region using n=4 rhombii. The figure also shows the procedure for self-similar non-periodic subdivision for p=4 and 8 cases. The region shown corresponds to fundamental region of Type I for the p=8 case. FIG. 6b shows four increasing non-periodic subdivisions of a square (p=4) derived from the procedure of FIG. 6a. Also shown is an octagon obtained by truncating the corners of the squares. These examples are bilaterally symmetric and correspond to fundamental region type V. FIG. 6c shows the subdivision of an octagon (p=8) using the n=4 rhombii. Four examples correspond to fundamental region Type I and have 8-fold symmetry and two correspond to fundamental region Type V. FIG. 7a shows the gnomonic subdivision of a fundamental region Type III for p=5 and 10 using n=5 rhombii. The figure also shows the procedure for generating the non-periodic tiling for n=5 case. FIGS. 7b and 7c show the the derivation of decagons (p=10) from the n=5 rhombii using the gnomonic regions (Type III) from FIG. 7a. The example is FIG. 7b is the well-known Penrose tiling and is shown with 5-fold symmetry. The example in FIG. 7c is a new variant of the Penrose tiling in FIG. 7b. Regular pentagons (p=10) are embedded in these two tiling patterns and are shown in dotted lines within the the decagons in FIG. 7b. FIGS. 7d and 7e show the subdivisions of regular pentagons (p=5) of varying sizes using the Penrose tiling of FIG. 7b and retaining 5-fold symmetry. In FIG. 7d, the edges of the rhombii are kept constant, while in FIG. 7e the edge of the pentagons is kept constant. FIG. 7f shows four examples of subdivisions of a pentagon, two without symmetry, and two with 5-fold rotational symmetry having fundamental region Type IV and derived from the Penrose tiling of FIG. 7b. FIG. 8a shows three examples of subdivided heptagons (p=7) using the n=7 rhombii. Two examples have 7-fold mirror symmetry using fundamental region Type I, and one has 7-fold rotational symmetry using fundamental region Type IV. FIG. 8b shows five examples of a 14-sided polygon (p=14) using n=7 rhombii. Two of the examples have a 14-fold symmetry and use fundamental region Type I, and three are asymmetric. FIG. 9 shows a variety of curved polygons with p=3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 sides. The polygons are singly-curved, or doubly-curved. The doubly-curved cases include synclastic (positive) and anti-clastic (negative) curvatures. FIG. 10a and 10b show singly-curved polygons. FIG. 10a shows two examples of curved polygons, one by rolling a subdivided octagon (n=4 case) into a half-cylindrical vault, and the other by curving a subdivided square (n=4 case) into a cross-vault. The cross-vault is also shown triangulated. FIG. 10b shows a periodic array of the cross-vault of FIG. 10a in an isometric view and an interior view. FIG. 11a-e show doubly-curved synclastic polygons having a positive curvature. FIG. 11a shows two examples of a doubly-curved dome obtained by projecting a subdivided heptagon (p=7) and pentagon (p=5) on to a convex curved surface like a sphere. The heptagon is taken from FIG. 8a and has 7-fold mirror symmetry. It is also shown in its triangulated state. The pentagon is taken from FIG. 7f and has no symmetry. FIG. 11b shows two examples of convex domes obtained by projecting subdivided 14-sided polygons (p=14) on to an ellipsoid. The 14-sided polygons are taken from FIG. 8b. One has a 14-fold mirror symmetry and the other is asymmetric. FIG. 11c and 11d are two shallow convex domes with scalloped edges obtained by "inilating" the subdivided decagons (p=10) of FIGS. 7b and 7c. The former is a curved Penrose tiling and the latter is a variant. The two retain global 5-fold symmetry. FIG. 11e is another example of a curved Penrose tiling derived from one of the decagons (p=10) of FIG. 7b. In this example, the curvature is also applied to the plan which has radial and concentric circular arcs. FIG. 12a-c show examples of anti-clastic polygons with a negative curvature. FIG. 12a shows a subdivided saddle polygon with four-sides (p=4) obtained from one of the squares of FIG. 6b. FIG. 12b shows two examples of a faceted version of a six-sided (p=6) pseudo-sphere. These have a tent-like form and have a negative curvature. One has a 6-fold mirror symmetry and uses a subdivided hexagon of FIG. 5b. It is shown in its triangulated state in an upside-down position. The other is completely asymmetric and uses six asymmetrically subdivided triangles of FIG. 5b. FIG. 12c shows a periodic array of the one of the faceted pseudo-spheres of FIG. 12b. Each is rotated randomly while repeating, leading to a completely asymmetric pattern in the plan view. FIGS. 13a-d show examples of subdivided cylinders and torii. FIGS. 13a shows a cylinder by rolling up a portion of the n=4 pattern obtained from FIG. 6a. FIGS. 13b-d show a cylinder and a torus obtained from a portion of the Penrose tiling of FIGS. 7b and the variant Penrose tiling of FIG. 7 c. In each case the net of the cylinder is shown. The cylinder is bent into a torus. FIG. 13d shows their triangulated versions. FIG. 14 shows a table of regular polyhedra and tessellations {p,q}. It includes the 5 Platonic solids, the three regular plane (Euclidean) tessellations, the infinite class of dihedra and digonal polyhedra, and the infinite class of hyperbolic tessellations. FIG. 15 shows one example of a regular tetrahedron {3,3} composed of subdivided faces in its plane-faced and sphere-projected states. A triangulated version is also shown. FIGS. 16a and 16b show two examples of octahedra {3,4} composed of subdivided faces in its plane-faced and spherical states. One retains global octahedral symmetry and the other is asymmetric. The former is also shown as a triangulated geodesic sphere. FIGS. 17a and 17b show two examples of icosahedra {3,5} composed of subdivided faces and shown in their plane-faced and sphere-projected states. One retains global symmetry and is also shown as a triangulated geodesic sphere. The other can be asymmetric or have local symmetry. FIGS. 18a and 18b show one example of a non-periodically subdivided cube {4,3} in its plane-faced and spherical states. FIGS. 19a-e show six different examples of geodesic spheres obtained by subdividing the faces of the dodecahedron {5,3}. The subdivisions of the faces in FIGS. 19a-c correspond to the Penrose tilings of FIGS. 7 a, 7b and 7d and have global icosahedral symmetry. FIG. 19d is a triangulated version of FIG. 19c. FIG. 19e is an asymmetrically subdivided dodecahedron and geodesic sphere. FIG. 20 shows one examples of the hyperbolic tessellation {4,5} where the one-half of the hyperbolic square is subdivided into the hyperbolic Penrose tiling composed of rhombii with curved circular arcs as edges. FIG. 21 shows two examples of digonal pentahedra, shown in their fold-out state, and with fundamental regions subdivided using portions of the Penrose tiling. One example of a side-view of a 7-sided diheron is shown with its subdivided fundamental region. FIGS. 22a and 22b show 3-dimensional cells of higher-dimensional polyhedra composed of subdivided polygonal faces selected from FIGS. 5-7. These are regular in higher space, but become distorted when projected down to 3-dimensions Cells of of various 4-dimensional polytopes are illustrated. FIG. 23 shows a regular dodecahedron with plane faces (in Euclidean space) and its counterpart in hyperbolic (non-Euclidean) space. FIG. 24 shows miscellaneous space structures composed of regular squares, triangles and hexagons. These could be subdivided using the subdivisions of FIGS. 5 and 6. FIGS. 25a and 25b show one example of a curved space labyrinth with a non-periodic subdivision of its saddle hexagonal face. This example corresponds to the minimal Schwartz surface. FIG. 26 shows miscellabeous examples where the subdivided triangles, squares and hexagons could be used as units of curved nets. FIGS. 27a and 27b show a three-dimensionalization of the subdivided surface and its conversion into building structures composed of nodes, struts, panels and blocks. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 1. Family of Rhombii FIG. 1 shows an infinite table of rhombii 1-16 which make up the polygons in the disclosed subdivisions. These rhombii, and the technique of their derivation as described here, is known from prior literature (e.g. Lalvani). The rhombii can be derived from 2-dimensional projections of n-dimensions, where the edges of rhombii are parallel to the n-vectors of generating n-star. The n-star has n directions radiating from a point, and any pair of vectors from these n directions define two of the edges of a rhombus. The remaining two edges of the rhombus are produced in a straightforward manner by adding the new edges to the existing ones keeping their directions parallel to the pair of selected vectors. In the types of subdivisions described here, n-star is obtained by lines (vectors) joining the center of a 2n-sided regular polygon to its n vertices lying on one half-side of the polygon. The angles between adjacent vectors equal A, the central angle of the 2n-sided polygon, such that A=180°/n. It is clear that the angles between any selected pairs of vectors, i.e. the interior angles of a rhombus, will be integer multiples of A. The general expression for the interior angle of a rhombus is a.A, where a=1,2,3,4 . . . n-1. In fact, the number of distinct rhombii obtained from n equals all pairs of values of a which add up to n. For example, in FIG. 1, under column n=4 there are only two rhombii 13 and 18 are possible since the only pairs of integers that add up to 4 are 1 and 3, and 2 and 2. These integers are marked on the interior of each rhombus. In the example cited, the rhombii 13 and 18 are correspondingly labelled as 1-3 and 2-2, respectively. To take another example, under n=5 column, only two rhombii 14 and 19 are possible since 1 and 4, and 2 and 3, are the only pairs that add up to 5. These two rhombii are respectively designated as 1-4 and 2-3. Following this process, the entire table in FIG. 1 can be filled to generate an infinite family of rhombii. For each rhombus, the precise angle can be obtained by multiplying the integers marked on the interior angles of the rhombus with A. The value of A for n=2 through 10 is given within brackets on top of the table in FIG. 1. For n=4 case, A=45°, and the angles of the rhombus 13 are 45° and 135°, respectively, and the the angles of the rhombus 18 are 90° each. Angles for other rhombii in the table can be similarly calculated. 1.1 Subdivided Rhombii 1.11 Triangulation Each rhombus can be divided into two triangles by inserting a diagonal as shown in FIG. 2a which shows the resulting half-rhombii. The half-rhombii for n=4 through 7 are marked 27-36. Alternatively, the second diagonal could be inserted to subdivided each rhombus as shown in FIG. 2b. Here too the half-rhombii for n=4 through 7 are marked 37-46. The edges of all rhombii in FIGS. 1 and 2 are kept 1 unit and the lengths of diagonals are given by the characters a through s. In practice the unit edges can be in any measurement system and can be any length appropriate to the design and size of the structure. All half-rhombii are isosceles triangles with the apex angle equal to the interior angle of the rhombus (i.e. A.a) and the two base angles each equal to half of the other interior angle (the complementary angle) of the rhombus. From this data, the lengths of the diagonals of each rhombus can be determined by the well-known trigonometric equations relating lengths and angles. If the diagonal equals x, then x 2 =2(1-Cos (A.a)) for a rhombus with a unit edge. FIG. 2c shows quarter-rhombii 47-56 obtained by further halving of the half-rhombus. Once again, these are shown for n=4 through 7. Each quarter rhombus is a right-angled triangle with its hypotenuse equal to 1 unit and the other two sides equal to half-diagonals. 1.12 Triangular Grids Each triangle can be subdivided periodically into a triangular grid of any size as shown in FIG. 3. This, in effect, is a way to subdivide the rhombus into smaller rhombii as shown in 57-59, and then subdividing each smaller rhombus into two triangles as shown in corresponding FIGS. 60-62. For the purposes of illustration, the n=4 rhombus 13 and its half-rhombii 27 and 37 are used. In 63, the quarter rhombus is subdivided periodically into other quarter-rhombii 37 and 37' of the same shape but smaller size. In this case, the quarter-rhombii are left-handed and right-handed. 1.13 Non-Periodic Subdivision Each rhombus can be subdivided in a non-periodic manner into smaller rhombii. This will be shown later. 2. Family of Regular Polygons Subdivided into Rhombii 2.1 Fundamental Regions Regular p-sided polygons, composed of p edges and p vertices, contain equal interior angles of 180°×(p-2)/p. All regular polygons can be characterized by their fundamental region. This is well-known from prior literature. This region is the smallest region of the polygon from which the entire polygon can be generated by reflections and rotations, or by rotations only. Four types of fundamental regions are described here. Illustrations 64-72 in FIG. 4a show fundamental region Type I for regular polygons with p=3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12 and 14 sides, respectively, where each polygon is shown with equal sides 120. The polygons are correspondingly identified by numerals 64'-72'. These polygons have a Schlafli notation [p], e.g. a triangle is [3], a square is [4], and so on. In each case the fundamental region is the shaded right-angled triangle BCD sitting on the base of the polygon and is marked 83-91 for each polygon as shown. In each case, this region is bound by the half-edge CD of the polygon, and lines joining the center B of the polygon to the mid-point D of the edge and the vertex C of the polygon. The interior angles of the triangle are as follows: the angle at the center B equals 180°/p, the angle at the mid-edge D is a right angle and the angle at the vertex C equals 180°(1-1/p). From these angles, the ratios between the sides can be calculated, and when any one length is known, the other two can be easily calculated. This type of fundamental region can be reflected around the line BD, then the combined area including the original region and its reflected region can be rotated p-1 times around the center B to generate the entire polygon. The polygon obtained this way has 2p regions. Such polygon also have a mirror-symmetry, where the mirrors are the lines BC and BD and all their replicas. Fundamental region Type II is equal to the doubled portion of fundamental region Type I. This is shown in illustrations 73-79 in FIG. 4b for polygons with p=3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 identified with numerals 64'-70'. The fundamental regions 92-98 are the shaded isosceles triangles BCE with the following angles: angle at the center B equals 360°/p, and angles at the vertices C and E equal 180°(1-2/p). Here the entire BCE can be rotated p-1 times around B to generate the entire polygon. The polygons obtained this way are composed of p regions (shown with dotted lines) and have a rotational symmetry. In addition, in even-sided polygons, the region could be first reflected and then the combined regions rotated p/2 times to generate the entire polygon. In such even-sided cases, the polygons have mirror-symmetry. Fundamental region Type III is a special case of the region Type II. It is restricted to even-sided polygons and is composed of any other (2/p)th portion of a polygon. One example is shown in 80 for p=10 case, the decagon 71', in FIG. 4c, where the shaded fundamental region 99 is the lozenge-shaped polygon BCEF which is 1/5th of the 10-sided polygon. This region must be rotated (p/2)-1 times around B to complete the polygon. In this type of fundamental region, the entire polygon has a rotational symmetry. The general case is when the fundamental region is any fraction which divides p into integers. For example, in the p=9 case, the region could even be 1/3rd, or in the p=20 case, the region could be 1/4th or 1/5th. Fundamental region Type IV is also related to the region Type II. Here it is any 1/pth portion of of an odd-sided or even-sided polygon which must be rotated p-1 times to generate the entire polygon. The resulting polygon has rotational symmetry. Two examples, 81 and 82, are shown for the p=5 case in FIG. 4d. In 81, the fundamental region 100 is the quadrilateral BGEH which is 1/5th of the pentagon 66', and in 82 the fundamental region 101 is an irregular 1/pth part of the pentagon 66'. In the latter case, the curvilinear line BC is the same as the line BE. Fundamental region Type V (not illustrated) is composed of one-half of the polygon. Here the polygon has one mirror-plane which divides the two fundamental regions and the polygon has bilateral symmetry. 2.12 Symmetric Polygons with Asymmetrically Subdivided Fundamental Regions All fundamental regions of regular polygons can be subdivided into rhombii of FIG. 1 in a non-periodic manner. There are several different procedures, all known in prior literature, which could be followed in deriving the subdivision: a) The procedure for subdivision may be in gnomonic increments which are self-similar, i.e. a portion of a tile or tiling is added to an existing portion so that the new combined portion is similar in shape to the original portion but larger in size. There is a built-in fractal-like structure in this procedure. Two examples of such a procedure will be shown later. b) An topological technique, like De Bruijn's `dualization method`, could be used to derive the non-periodic subdivision. This uses n-directional grids composed of n sets of parallel lines in unit increments of distance from an origin, where each set of lines is perpendicular to the n directions of the n-star. The topological dual of this n-grid is a non-periodic tiling. Alternatively, the method used by quasi-crystal scientists, called `cut-and-project` method, could be used. c) A technique using matching rules as in the case of the Penrose tiling could be used. By this technique, the tiles are marked in specific ways to ensure a forcibly non-periodic tiling by matching the markings while tiling the surface. d) An arbitrary non-periodic design could be used instead. Here the tiles could be arranged arbitrarily by fitting them together. The subdivision could be constructed in a trial-and-error manner to fit the rhombii and half-rhombii within the fundamental region. An interesting example of randomly non-periodic design is where tiles are locally rearranged at various places of a source pattern which is derived from rule-based or procedure-based techniques mentioned above. 2.2 Asymmetric Subdivisions of Polygons In contrast to the method of subdividing fundamental regions, entire polygons could be subdivided into rhombii such that the polygons lack an overall symmetry. The procedures described in the last section could be applied for the entire polygons. 2.3 Examples FIGS. 5-8 show an assortment of examples of polygons with p=3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 14 sides, each bound by edges 120. The polygons with p and 2p sides are grouped since from any n, p=n and p=n/2 polygons are possible. For example, polygons with 3 and 6 sides are possible from the rhombii of n=6. The illustrations show polygons with p=3 and 6 in FIG. 5, p=4 and 8 in FIG. 6, p=5 and 10 in FIG. 7, and p=7 and 10 in FIG. 8. The examples of non-periodic subdivisions of the fundamental regions and subdivisions of entire polygons are mixed. The examples are representative and other examples can be found by using similar methods for all values of p greater than 2. 2.31 Subdivided Triangles and Hexagons FIGS. 5a and 5b show subdivisions of triangles 64' and hexagons 67' bound by edges 120 and using the rhombii 15, 20 and 23, the associated half-rhombii 33 and 43, and the quarter-rhombus 53 from the n=6 case. In FIG. 5a, three examples of fundamental regions 104, 104 and 106 along with their corresponding symmetric triangles 103, 105 and 107 are shown. These regions correspond to fundamental region Type I. The region 102 consists of 15/4 rhombii including two full rhombii, three half rhombii and one quarter-rhombus. The total number of rhombii in the triangle equal 45/2. The length of the base CD equals k+3i/2 and the other sides are as marked. The regions 104 and 105 are of the same size with the base CD=3k/2+i+2, and each is composed of 45/4 rhombii in the fundamental region. The derivative triangles have 135/2 rhombii. Alternative regions 108-113 are also shown and generate different subdivisions of the triangle. Regions 108 and 109 are variants of 102. Regions 110,111 and 112 are variants of one another with the base CD=k+i+2 and composed of 8 rhombii. Region 113, the largest shown here, has a base CD=2k+3i/2+3 and is composed of 91/4 rhombii. FIG. 5b shows the derivation of two different hexagons in 115 and 117 obtained from the regions 104 and 106 shown in FIG. 5a. The procedure is shown in 114 where the region 106 (shown here in a different orientation with CD upright) is reflected around CD to the region 106'. In 115, this doubled region 114 is rotated 5 times around the center to generate the hexagon 67' with a side 2k+i+2. The number of rhombii in the hexagon equals 135. The hexagon 117 is derived from 116 which is derived from 104 in a similar manner. 118 and 119 are two examples of arbitrary subdivision of the triangle 64' into rhombii. 118 has the same number of rhombii as 103, and 119 has the same rhombii as 105 or 107. 2.32 Subdivided Squares and Octagons FIGS. 6a, 6b and 6c show examples of subdivisions of squares 65' and octagons 69' bound by edges 120. The subdivisions are composed of rhombii 13 and 14, half-rhombii 27, 31 and 37, and the quarter-rhombii 48 and 51, all belonging to the n=4 case in FIGS. 1 and 2. Some of the examples shown here are procedure driven. The procedure is shown in FIG. 6a. 121 shows the subdivision of the fundamental region 88 of an octagon in gnomonic increments. The fundamental triangle BC 1 D 1 grows to BC 2 D 2 which grows to BC 3 D 3 which grows to BC 4 D 4 , and so on. The base C 1 D 1 of the starting triangle equals 1, the base C 2 D 2 of the second region equals 1+/2, the base C 3 D 3 equals 3+2/2, and the base C 4 D 4 equals 7+5/2. These lengths are part of an infinite geometric series 1, 1+/2, (1+/2)2, (1+/2)3, . . . where each number in the series equals (1+/2) times the preceding number. Since the progression has a irrational number in the series, the division of a line will necessarily be non-periodic. This non-periodicity carries over to division of the plane using the tiles. In 121, squares of increasing size can be seen connected point-to-point along the vertical line BD 4 . These correspond to the rhombus 18 and their sides correspond to the geometric series. In addition, rhombii 13 and half-rhombii 27, 31 and 37 can also be seen in increasing sizes according to the same geometric series. FIG. 6b shows four subdivided squares in 122-125 having increasing sizes extracted from the subdivision obtained in 121. The four squares shown have a mirror-symmetry around the diagonal joining the top right to the bottom left corner of each square and thus have fundamental region Type V. The sizes are marked in each case and b=/2. The octagon in 126 is obtained from 125 by cutting off the corners. A similar truncation of the other squares produces octagons with unequal sizes. FIG. 6c shows a variety of octagons 69' bound by edges 120 and subdivided into the same rhombii, half-rhombii and quarter-rhombii from n=4 as in FIG. 6b. 127-130 show fundamental regions 88 of Type I subdivided in increasing number of rhombii. For the purposes of illustration, the fundamental regions 88 are kept the same size and the rhombii shrink in size with increased subdivision. Region 127 is composed of 5/4 rhombii and has a base CD=c/2. Region 128 is composed of 17/4 rhombii and has a base CD=b/2+1. Region 129 is composed of 29/4 rhombii and has the base CD=c+a/2. Region 130 is composed of 99/4 rhombii and has a base CD=3b/2+2. The subdivided octagon 131 is obtained from 130 by reflecting and rotating as described before. Subdivided octagons 132 and 133 have lost their global symmetry and instead have one mirror-plane which divides them into equal halves. In each half, the subdivision has no symmetry. 2.33 Subdivided Pentagons and Decagons FIGS. 7a-f show pentagons 66' and decagons 70' bound by edges 120 and subdivided into rhombii using a procedure of gnomonic growth. The rhombii used are 14 and 19, and the half-rhombii are 28, 32, 38 and 42, and the quarter rhombii are 48 and 52, all from n=5 case. In FIG. 7a, 134 shows the prior art procedure and the tiling generated is the well-known Penrose tiling. The tiling pattern grows in the golden series 1, o, o 2 , o 3 , o 4 , . . . , here shown with the growth of an equiangular golden spiral. Starting with a half-rhombus 28, the half-rhombus 42 is added as a gnomon to produce a larger o-half-rhombus 28. A o-half-rhombus 42 is added as a larger gnomon to obtain a larger o 2 -half-rhombus 28, and the procedure is continued reiteratively. Since the increments are in golden ratio, an irrational number, a non-periodic subdivision is forced on the lines and the area. 134 shows the half-rhombii 28 and 42 in golden increments and subdivided into smaller self-similar rhombii. The half-rhombus 28 is also the fundamental region 98 (Type II in FIG. 4b, illustration 79) of the decagon and has an acute apex angle of 36°. As the series of increasingly larger golden half-rhombii 28 in 134 are individually rotated around their apex, a series of increasingly larger subdivided golden decagons are obtained. These are shown in FIG. 7b, and the apices or centers of decagons are marked in FIG. 7a. 135 is a o-decagon with an edge equal to o when the edge of the rhombus equals 1. Its center is the point K. 136 is o 2 -decagon with L as its center. 137 is a o 3 -decagon with M as its center, 138 is a o 4 -decagon with N as its center, 139 is a .0. 5 -decagon with O as its center and 140 is a .0. 6 -decagon with P as its center. The dotted line shows the equiangular spiral for reference in each case. The successive decagons alternate between the "infinite sun" and the "infinite star" patterns of Penrose. FIG. 7c shows an alternative subdivision of the series of golden decagons into the rhombii 14 and 19, with half-rhombii 28 and 42 on the periphery. The procedure of generation is identical to that used in FIG. 7b, but the rhombii 14 in 141 are inverted and cluster around the center in a star composed of ten rhombii 14 (compare with 135 where the same rhombii 14 are towards the outside and away from the center). This difference in the initial step is carried throughout the pattern to generate a variant of the Penrose tiling which is characterized by the appearance of star-like clusters of ten rhombii 14 at various places in the pattern. FIGS. 7d-f show subdivisions of pentagons 66' derived from decagons in FIG. 7b. A corresponding set of pentagons can be derived from the decagons in FIG. 7c. FIG. 7d shows the various pentagons bound by edges 120 and composed of fundamental regions 85 of Type I, and where the subdivisions of the fundamental regions are derived from the Penrose tilings in FIG. 7b. The examples of subdivided pentagons 147, 149, 151, 153 156 and 157 shown here have fundamental region Type I shown alongside each. 147, 149, 153 and 157 are derived from the central regions of the subdivided decagons 140 as shown there with dotted lines, and 151 and 155 are derived from the central region of 139 as shown there. The lengths BD of the fundamental regions have the golden ratio in them. The fundamental region 148 of 147 is composed of 3/4 rhombii comprising one half-rhombus 42 and one quarter-rhombus 48. The length of its base CD equals f/2. The fundamental region 150 of 149 is composed of a total of three rhombii comprising one full rhombus 19, two half-rhombii 42, and one each of half-rhombus 28 and 38. The length of its base CD equals f. The fundamental region 154 of 153 is composed of twelve full rhombii, four half-rhombii and one quarter-rhombus as marked making a total of 49/4 rhombii. The base edge CD equals e/2+2f. The fundamental region 158 of 157 is composed of ninety full rhombii, twenty-one half-rhombii an one half-rhombus, making a total of 403/4 rhombii. The base edge CD equals 2e+9f/2. The edges of the four subdivided pentagons 147, 149, 153 and 157 equal f, 2f, e+4f, 4e+9f, respectively. The fundamental region 152 of 151 is composed of a total of 15/4 rhombii comprising one each of the full rhombus 14 and 19, two half-rhombii 42, one half-rhombus 32 and one-quarter rhombus 48. The length of its base CD equals e+f/2. The fundamental region 156 of 155 is composed of twenty-six full rhombii and twelve half-rhombii, making a total of 32 rhombii. The length of the base CD equals 2e+2f. The lengths of the edges of the pentagons 151 and 155 equal 2e+f and 4e+4f, respectively. FIG. 7e shows the six subdivided pentagons in 159-164 with the same subdivisions as the ones in FIG. 7d. The difference is that in FIG. 7e the edges of rhombii were kept fixed and the size of the subdivided pentagon increased, while here the size of the pentagon is kept fixed and the size of the rhombii shrink proportionally. There is a constructional advantage for each type. The former can be constructed out of equal lengths and equal polygons, providing an advantage of modular building system. The latter has a structural difference. The same distance or area can be spanned by a few large heavy members or many small light members. 159 corresponds to 147, 160 to 149, 161 to 153, 162 to 157, 163 to 151 and 164 to 155. FIG. 7f shows miscellaneous examples of other types of subdivisions of the pentagon 66' bound by the edges 120. 165 shows a random reorganization of the rhombii in 151. The number of rhombii is the same in the two cases but 165 is completely asymmetric having lost the 5-fold symmetry present in 151. A similar technique can be applied to any subdivision obtained by rule-based or procedure-based methods. In 166, this method of rearragements of existing pieces is applied to the subdivision in 161. Only six decagons are show to illustrate the method. These decagons are present in the same location in 161 but are divided identically into rhombii and the five surrounding ones have the same orientation. In 166, one decagon 170 has the same subdivision as in the source pattern but is oriented differently. The five decagons marked 169 are subdivided identically but are in different orientation and the subdivision is different from 170. The remaining area 173 could retain the same pattern or be similarly rearranged here and there. This way the resulting subdivision will be completely asymmetric. Note that this method leaves the half-rhombii at the periphery untouched so as to enable matching of two adjacent pentagons in structures composed of several pentagons. The subdivided pentagons in 167 and 168 have a rotational symmetry and their fundamental region corresponds to 100 in FIG. 4d. 167 is derived from the 155, 168 is derived from 157, and the two are shown in dotted lines in the source subdivisions. In 167, the area 171 can be filled with the unit 172, providing an advantage of joining one pentagon with another as described later. This advantage is absent in 168. 2.34 Subdivided Heptagons and Tetrakaidecagons (14-sided) FIGS. 8a and 8b show subdivisions of 7-sided and 14-sided polygons using rhombii 16, 21 and 24, half-rhombii 30,34, 36, 40, 44 and 46, and quarter-rhombii 50, 54 and 56, all obtained from the n=7 case in FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 8a, the subdivided fundamental region 174 corresponds to 87 (in illustration 68 of FIG. 4a) and is composed of five full rhombii, six half-rhombii and one quarter-rhombus, making a total of 33/4 rhombii. The length of its base equals s+q/2 and it generates the heptagon 175. The subdivided fundamental region 176 is composed of eight full rhombii, six half-rhombii and one quarter-rhombus, making a total of 45/4 rhombii. The base CD equals s+3m/2, and it generates the heptagon 177. 178 shows the fundamental region 101 in FIG. 4d. The side of the heptagon equals q+2s. In FIG. 8b, the subdivided fundamental region 179 corresponds to the region 91 in FIG. 4a. It is composed of three full rhombii, eight half-rhombii and one quarter-rhombus as marked, making a total of 29/4 rhombii. Its base CD equals 1+o/2, and it generates the 14-sided polygon 180. The subdivided fundamental region 181 corresponds to the region Type II for p=14. It is composed of ten full rhombii and nine half-rhombii, making a total of 29/2 rhombii. Its base CE equals 1+l+r, and it generates the 14-sided polygon in 182. Subdivided 14-sided polygons 183-185 are three stages in the transformation of 180 by successive "flipping" of rhombii with selected zonogons. In 183, two such flips of rhombi have taken place at two different places, one within a hexagon at the center and the other within an 8-sided zonogon towards the left. In 184, an 8-sided zonogon at the center (on the right) has been flipped, and in 185 another such zonogon has been flipped. The resulting polygon has no symmetry. 3. Curved Polygons and Planar Arrays of Curved Polygons All subdivided polygons described in Section 2 can be converted into curved structures by curving the surface of the polygon. There are numerous possibilities. The polygons could be rolled up into cylinders or parts of cylinders, the polygons could be projected onto any symmetric or asymmetric curved surface, any surface of revolution obtained by revolving a convex, concave or arbitrary curve, any quadric or super-quadric surface, any surface of translation obtained by translating any curve over any other curve, any minimal surface or saddle shape, and any irregular or arbitrary surface. The curved polygons could be portions of a sphere, ellipsoid, cone, conoid, ovoid, catenoid, hyperbolic paraboloid, hyperboloid, paraboloid, pseudo-sphere, or any other singly-curved or doubly-curved surface. The edges of the curved polygons could be straight, convex, concave, bent, or irregular, or in any combination. The surfaces could be shells, curved space frames, tensile nets, membranes or fluid-supported structures. 3.1 Curved Polygons FIG. 9 shows various possibilities of curved polygons. The curved polygons are identified with their planar counterparts in FIG. 4a by a suffix ", e.g. 65" is a curved variant of the plane square 65', and so on for other polygons. 186 is a curved triangle with its three sides 120' (curved edges) as upright circular arches and the curved triangular surface 64" as part of a sphere. 187 and 187 are curved square surfaces 65" which are "inflated", as air-supported structure, and have their edges 120 untransformed. 189-192 show various sections through a sphere or a cylindrical vault, and 93 shows a parabolic profile and 194 is an irregular profile. These could be alternative sections through surfaces like 187 and 188. 195 is a square rolled into a half-cylindrical barrel vault. 196-200 show various saddle polygons. 196 is a three-sided saddle triangle 64" spanned between three parabolic arches, 197 is a four-sided saddle 65" with zig-zag edges, 198 is a six-sided saddle 67" with zig-zag edges, 199 is a saddle octagon 69", 200 is a four-sided hyperbolic paraboloid surface 65". 201-203 are various curved hexagons 67". 201 is a tent-shaped hexagon, 202 is bound by curved arches and six intersecting doubly-curved units, and 203 is an intersection of three inter-penetrating hyperbolic paraboloids. 204 and 205 are four-sided intersecting vaults 65", with 204 having a circular section and 205 having a pointed Gothic arch section. 206 is a hanging pentagon 66". 207 and 208 are two stages in the transformations of a plane square to a plane surface with four circular sides. In 209, this surface is inflated to make a shallow domical surface 65". 210 is a pseudo-sphere 67' with six points on the base plane. 211 is a profile of a drop-shaped section. 212 is a bent half-cylinder with four sides, two upright arches and two concentric curves on the base plane. 213 is a six-sided tensile surface 67" with tensile edges 120' as a variant of the saddle 198. 214 is a saddle octagon 69" inscribed in a cube by joining the mid-points of eight edges of the cube. These examples are representative and other examples can be worked out. The curved polygons can be repeated in periodic or non-periodic arrays to provide structures that enclose larger areas for various architectural uses. 3.2 Curved Polygons with Subdivided Surfaces Various examples of curved polygons with subdivided surfaces are shown in FIGS. 10-12. These examples are obtained by curving the subdivided plane polygons shown earlier in FIGS. 5-8 in various ways. 3.21 Singly-curved Structures Singly-curved structures have a curvature in one direction only. This includes vaults with a variety of profiles. The common examples are cylinders and cones, or portions of either. The general case is where any curved profile is translated over a straight line. For example, in FIG. 9, the curved profiles 189-194 or 211 can be used as the generating curves. Two examples are shown in FIGS. 10a and 10b and correspond to the examples 189-193, 195, 204 and 205 of FIG. 9. In FIG. 10a, 215-218 show the plan view, side view, an isometric view and a section through a cylindrical vault. The subdivided octagon 131 (p=8) in FIG. 6c is rolled into a half-cylinder 131'. Two of the eight edges 120 remain straight, and the remaining six edges are converted into curved edges 120', 219 is a curved version of the subdivided square 124 (p=4) in FIG. 6b. Here its is converted into the curved surface 124', a cross vault. The curved edges 120' are funicular polygons. 220 is a triangulated version of 219 composed of the curved surface 124". The triangulation is obtained by introducing the diagonals in each rhombus and the process is effectively the same as using half-rhombii of FIG. 2. In 220, the groins of the cross vault are visible along the diagonal curved lines. In FIG. 10b, the cross-vault is repeated to produce a periodic array of vaults. 221 shows four such cross-vaults, two of 219 and two of the triangulated version 220. 222 is a interior perspective view of 221. 3.22 Doubly-curved Structures Doubly-curved structures have curvature in two directions. Here there are two types, synclastic and anti-clastic curved structures. In synclastic structures, the two curvatures are in the same direction, and in anti-clastic structures the two curvatures are in the opposite directions. Domes are examples of the first type and saddles are examples of the second type. Examples of subdivided curved polygons are shown for both. 3.223 Synclastic Surfaces FIG. 11a shows two different examples of domes, one based on the subdivided heptagon 177 of FIG. 8a and the other based on the subdivided pentagon 165 of FIG. 7f and bound by curved edges 120'. 223 and 224 are the elevation and isometric views of the curved surface 117' obtained by projecting 177 on to a sphere. 225 and 226 are corresponding triangulated versions seen in a plan view in 227. The 7-fold symmetry is retained in this example. To obtain a smooth surface, the shorter diagonal on the surface is added in the triangulated case. 228 and 229 are an example of a projection of 165 onto a shallow sphere or sphere-like dome. The dome 228 has an asymmetric subdivision. These two examples correspond to the structures 189-193, 206 and 211 in FIG. 9. FIG. 11b shows two more examples of ellipsoidal domes, both based on the 14-sided polygons in FIG. 8b. 230 and 231 show elevation and an isometric view of the projection of the plan 180 of FIG. 8b on to an ellipsoidal surface. 232 is a triangulated version shown with its plan 233. 234 and 235 are projections of the plan 185 of FIG. 8b. This dome is an asymmetric variant of the symmetric dome shown here (compare 231 with 235) and can be derived in the same manner in which the asymmetric plan 185 was derived from the symmetric plan 180. FIG. 11c shows a shallow dome obtained by "inflating" the plane decagon 140 of FIG. 7b such that the edges 120' are scalloped. The curved surface 140' is seen in the two side views, and the plan view 140 is the same as before. FIG. 11d is a similar example obtained from the plane decagon 146 of FIG. 7c. The two examples could be curved according to sections 189-194 or 211 in FIG. 9. FIG. 11e is another shallow dome obtained from the decagon 138 of FIG. 7b. Here the curved surface 138' is not only "inflated" in sections 243 and 244 but also in plan 242. In the plan view, the concentric edges lie on concentric circles, as in a radial grid. This structure corresponds to the illustrations 207-209 in FIG. 9. 3.224 Anticlastic Surfaces FIG. 12a shows a four-sided saddle surface 124' obtained by curving the subdivided square 124 of FIG. 6b 245 and 246 are the two different elevation views and 247 is an isometric vies of the saddle 124'. It is obtained from the source square by raising two opposite corners and lowering the other two opposite corners. 248 shows a periodic array of saddles 124'. The mirror-symmetry of the source square along one diagonal line is retained in the saddle. FIG. 12b shows two examples of faceted versions of a pseudo-sphere with scalloped edges. These two examples correspond to the illustrations 201, 202 and 210 of FIG. 9. 249-251 shows the isometric view, the elevation and the plan of the first example, and 252-254 show the elevation, isometric view and plan of the second example which is an upside-down version of the first. The plan 251 is asymmetric and is composed of six asymmetric triangles 118 of FIG. 5b fitted together in a random manner. The plan 254 is a triangulated version of the subdivided hexagon 115 of FIG. 5b. FIG. 12c shows an array of structures corresponding to 249-251 of FIG. 12b and shown in plan view 255, elevation view 256 and an isometric view from below. In the plan view, the hexagons 251 are rotated randomly to produce a non-periodic design. 4. Cylinders and Torii Portions of subdivision patterns shown and others obtained from the various rhombii of FIG. 1 can be mapped onto cylinders which can then be transformed to torii. Three different examples are shown in FIGS. 13a-d. FIG. 13a shows the pattern from the n=4 case (obtained from FIG. 6a) which has been rolled into a cylinder. 258 can be seen as four squares of edge 4+3/2 joined edge-to-edge and curved. In fact a strip of these four squares can be extracted from a larger portion of the pattern 121. The size of the square matches the subdivided square 124 in FIG. 6b. The pattern 260 in FIG. 13b is extracted from 140 of FIG. 7b. It is a portion of the Penrose tiling which is rolled into a cylinder 261. Notice that the opposite edges 278 of this cut-out match as positive and negative. 261 is bent and its two ends 279 are joined to obtain the torus shown in its plan view 262, elevation 263 and an isometric 264. FIG. 13c shows the identical derivation of the cylinder 266 and the torus 267-269 from the net 265 which is extracted from 146 of FIG. 7c. FIG. 13d shows the triangulated versions of the pair of cylinders and torii of FIGS. 13 b and 13c. The diagonals inserted for the triangulation are such that the new edges correspond to the geodesic curves. 5. Regular Space Structures with Subdivided Faces The subdivided regular polygons as described in Section 2, and their curved variants as described in Section 3, can be used a faces of all regular space structures since regular structures are composed only of regular polygons. All regular space structures are well known. These exist in space of any dimension n. When n=2, we get the familiar 2-dimensional structures, n=3 are 3-dimensional structures, n=4 are 4-dimensional structures, and so on for any value of n. These also exist in Euclidean as well as non-Euclidean space, n-dimensional regular structures in Euclidean as well as hyperbolic space are known. This disclosure suggests that the faces of regular structures of any dimension in Euclidean or non-Euclidean (hyperbolic) space can be subdivided as described in Section 2, and curved variants can be derived for each as described for single polygons in Section 3. Since the number of rhombii is known within the fundamental region, the total number of rhombii can be easily calculated by multiplying this number with the number of fundamental regions which are known for each finite regular structure. 5.1 Regular Polyhedra and Plane Tessellations Polygons, as described are notated as {p} and are classified as 2-dimensional structures. Polyhedra are the next extension in the dimensional hierarchy of structures. Regular polyhedra are 3-dimensional structures composed of p-sided polygonal faces {p}, q of which meet at every vertex of the structure. They are notated by the Schlafli symbol {p,q}. {q} is also called the vertex figure, the structure obtained by joining the mid-points of all edges surrounding a vertex. For the purposes of classification, plane tessellations are also notated as {p,q}. These are considered as degenerate polyhedra and are thus also classified as 3-dimensional structures. The table in FIG. 14 shows the entire range of regular polyhedra and plane tessellations {p,q}, where p and q are integers greater than 1. p is plotted along the x-axis, and q along the y-axis, and are pairs of integers are permissible structures. The five Platonic solids are shown in the table. Three of these lie in the p=3 column: tetrahedron {3,3} composed of 4triangles with 3 per vertex, octahedron {3,4} composed of 6 triangles with 4 per vertex, icosahedron {3,5} composed of 20 triangles with 5 per vertex, the remaining two are in the q=3 row: cube {4,3} composed of 6 squares with 3 per vertex, and the dodecahedron {5,3} composed of 15 pentagons with 3 per vertex. The three plane tessellations are also seen in the table in FIG. 14. The triangle tessellation {3,6} with 6 triangles per vertex, the square tessellation with 4 squares per vertex, and the hexagonal tessellation {6,3} with 3 hexagons per vertex. If p=2 and q=2 structures along with the five regular polyhedra and the three regular plane tessellations are excluded, the remaining structures are plane hyperbolic tessellations. There are composed of hyperbolic triangles which are composed of curved circular arcs. The concept of the fundamental regions still holds, but the sides of the fundamental triangle can now be curved. The table in FIG. 14 shows the hyperbolic tessellations {7,3} composed of heptagons with 3 per vertex, its reciprocal {3,7} composed of hyperbolic triangles with 7 per vertex, and {3,∞} composed of hyperbolic triangles with infinite number meeting at a vertex. The next section describes examples of regular polyhedra, plane tessellations and hyperbolic tessellations in which the polygonal faces are subdivided as per this disclosure. This includes all regular structures {p,q}, where p and q are any pair of numbers greater than 1. Structures with p and q equal to 2 are an infinite family of diagonal and dihedral polyhedra. Polyhedra with plane or curved faces are possible, as in the case of single polygons (except for p=2 cases which cannot exist in plane-faced states). The polyhedra are shown in their plane-faced states along with the corresponding sphere-projected states composed of spherical or warped rhombii. In many instances, the triangulated versions of the sphere-projected states are shown. The triangulation is obtained by inserting the diagonal within each rhombus. To obtain smooth spheres, the shorter diagonal (after sphere-projection) is used. Only a small selection of subdivided polygons is used to illustrate the concept. Other spherical subdivisions can be similarly derived without departing from the scope of the invention. 5.11 Regular Polyhedra with Subdivided Faces FIG. 15 shows one example of a regular tetrahedron {3,3} composed of four subdivided triangles 105 of FIG. 5a. It is shown in its plane-faced state in 278 and 279 where it is viewed along an arbitrary angle and along its 3-fold axis, respectively. It is bound by edges 120. Since the face triangles 105 has a 3-fold symmetry, the tetrahedron retains its overall tetrahedral symmetry. 280 and 281 are the corresponding sphere-projected states composed of curved triangles 105' meeting at curved edges 120'. 282 and 283 are triangulated versions of the spherical states and are composed of triangulated faces 105". FIG. 16a shows one example of a regular octahedron {3,4} composed of eight subdivided triangular faces 105 of FIG. 5a. 284 shows the plane-faced state bound by edges 120 and faces 105, 285 is the same viewed along its 4-fold axis. Since the face subdivision has a 3-fold symmetry, the octahedron retains a global octahedral symmetry. 286 and 287 are corresponding sphere-projected states composed of curved triangles 105' and bound by curved edges 120'. 288 and 289 are triangulated versions of 286 and 287, respectively, and are bound by curved triangulated triangles 105" and curved edges 120'. FIG. 16b shows another regular octahedron {3,4} composed of eight subdivided triangles 118 of FIG. 5b. 290 shows the foldout net of the octahedron composed of triangles 118 bound by edges 120. This net makes it clear that the triangles 118 can be turned to other orientations and still make a match since the three edges of the triangle are subdivided in the same way. This possibility of locally turning the faces is an interesting feature of such types of subdivision. Faces can be locally rotated to change the visual and compositional character of the structure. 291 and 292 are two views of the octahedron obtained by folding the net 290. It is bound by faces 118 and edges 120. 293 and 294 are corresponding sphere-projected states composed of spherical triangles 118' meeting at curved edges 120'. Since the subdivided triangle has no symmetry and the triangles are arranged in an arbitrary manner, the resulting octahedron has lost all symmetry. This is seen in the vertex-first views in 291 and 293 where there is no 4-fold symmetry. FIG. 17a shows a regular icosahedron {3,5} composed of twenty triangles 105 of FIG. 5a. 295 and 296 show the plane-faced versions composed of faces 105 meeting at edges 120. The faces have a 3-fold symmetry and the structure retains its global icosahedral symmetry. The 5-fold symmetry is evident from the view in 296. 297 and 298 are two views of the sphere-projected state corresponding to 295 and 296, respectively. It is bound by spherical triangles 105' meeting at circular edges 120'. 299 and 300 are corresponding triangulated states composed of triangulated faces 105" meeting at circular edges 120'. FIG. 17b shows an icosahedron composed of faces 119 of FIG. 5b in its plane-faced state in 300 and sphere-projected state in 301. Since the face 119 is asymmetric, the other faces can be matched in various ways to either produce a partial symmetry or no symmetry. FIG. 18a shows a regular cube {4,3} derived from six subdivided squares 124 of FIG. 6b. The fold-out net is shown in 306. The net shows the six squares 124 bound by edges 120 which folds to the cube 304. From the net it is easy to see the technique of construction. Any subdivided squares from FIG. 6b, or from the region 121 of FIG. 6a, can be laid out in a net for a cube, or rearranged by rotating each face so the edges match. 302 shows one face 124 of the cube. This face has become a spherical square in 303. A similar procedure transforms 304 to the sphere 305 which is composed of curved faces 124' meeting at circular arcs 120'. In FIG. 18b, 307 shows the same cube 305, but one of the faces marked 124" is triangulated. 308 shows the face-first view of the sphere. There is a local symmetry in the center, but towards the periphery the subdivision is asymmetric. FIGS. 19a-d show examples of a family of dodecahedra {5,3} composed of twelve identical pentagons, where each pentagon is subdivided using the Penrose tiling as shown in FIGS. 7d and 7e. Five examples are shown. These correspond to the subdivided pentagons 147, 149, 151, 153 and 155 of FIG. 7d. FIG. 19a shows three geodesic spheres composed of subdivided pentagons 147, 149 and 151. In each case the fundamental region is shown by itself and its location within the sphere, and the geodesic spheres are shown in their triangulated and untriangulated states. 309, 313 and 317 show the sphere-projected fundamental regions 148', 150' and 151' which corresponds to the plane fundamental regions 148, 150 and 151, respectively, shown in FIG. 7d. Here the full rhombii, also sphere-projected, are shown extending beyond the region instead of the half-rhombii shown earlier. These rhombii are marked 14' and 19'. 310, 314 and 318 show the locations of the subdivided fundamental regions within a sphere subdivided into 120 fundamental regions 85'. When these regions are multiplied to fill the spherical surface, the corresponding sphere projections 311, 315 and 319 are obtained. In the three cases, the spherical pentagonal face is shown in dotted line and marked 147', 149' and 151' and corresponds to the plane pentagons 147, 149 and 151, respectively. The number of rhombii in the three spheres equal 90, 360 and 450, respectively. 312, 316 and 320 are corresponding triangulated versions of the preceding rhombic states. FIG. 19b shows an example of a spherical subdivided dodecahedron composed of 1470 rhombii. The top row shows the 5-fold views, the middle row shows the 3-fold views and the bottom row shows the 2-fold views. In 321, 322 and 323, the subdivided fundamental 154' is shown on a sphere composed of 120 regions marked 85'. 324, 325 and 326 show the entire geodesic sphere obtained by replicating the subdivided region 120 times, as in FIG. 19a. In 324, the spherical pentagon 153' is marked and corresponds to the plane pentagon 153 of FIG. 7d. 327, 328 and 329 show the corresponding triangulated geodesic spheres. FIG. 19c shows another example of a spherical subdivided dodecahedron composed of 3840 rhombii. Each spherical pentagonal face 155' meets at circular edges 120'. The subdivision corresponds to the plane pentagon 155 in FIG. 7d. FIG. 19d shows the triangulated geodesic sphere based on FIG. 19c and composed of triangulated spherical pentagons 155" which meet at circular arcs 120'. FIG. 19e shows an asymmetric subdivision of the dodecahedron into 450 rhombii, the same number of rhombii as the sphere 319. Each of the twelve faces is identical and corresponds to the plane subdivided pentagon 165 of FIG. 7f meeting at edges 120. Since the edges of this pentagon are subdivided symmetrically, the pentagons permit a local rotation of the face to other orientations. This, as in the earlier cases of the octahedron 292 and cube 304, permits many ways to combine the same number of faces with one another, leading to a variety of geodesic spheres. 332 shows an random view, 333, 334 and 335 show the symmetric views corresponding to the 5-fold, 3-fold and 2-fold axes of symmetry. 336-339 are the corresponding sphere-projected states composed of spherical pentagons 165' meeting at circular edges 120'. 5.12 Regular Tessellations with Subdivided Polygons The concept of subdivided polygons can be applied to the three regular tessellations, the triangular tessellation {3,6}, the square tessellation {4,4} and the hexagonal tessellation {6,3}. This was already shown in part with the following examples: 290 (FIG. 16b) which can be easily extended into a triangular array, 306 (FIG. 18a) which can extended into a square array, and 255 (FIG. 12c) which shows a triangular array. Other triangles and hexagons from FIGS. 5a and 5b, and squares from FIGS. 6a and 6b, can be used to generate other tessellations composed of subdivided regular polygons. Curved variants, which are composed of curved polygons with regular polygonal plans, are possible. The array of cross-vaults 221 (FIG. 10b), saddles 248 (FIG. 12a) and hexagonal pseudo-sphere 257 (FIG. 12c) were already shown. Other examples can be similarly derived. 5.13 Regular Hyperbolic Tessellations with Subdivided Polygons In hyperbolic tessellations, known from prior literature, the same concept of the fundamental region applies, but the geometry changes. For example, the right-angled triangle fundamental region of Type I is modified to a right-angled triangle with curved sides such that the sum of the angles within this region is less than 180°. Also, reflections take place across curved mirror planes. The resulting polygons have curved sides made from circular arcs. The techniques of subdivision of the fundamental region, or the entire polygon, into rhombii extends to hyperbolic tessellations. The hyperbolic polygons can be subdivided into hyperbolic rhombii with curved sides. One example of a regular hyperbolic tessellation {4,5} composed of hyperbolic squares with 5 per vertex is shown in FIG. 20. One of the square 341 is divided into two halves, 342 and 343, to show the application of the fundamental region Type V. The region 343 is subdivided into rhombii based on the Penrose tiling taken from the o 3 -half-rhombus KLM. This example will work for all hyperbolic tessellations with an even p and q=5. Other examples can be similarly derived. For example, the hyperbolic tessellations {3,q} with q>6 can utilize the subdivided triangles of FIGS. 5a and 5b. The tessellations {4,q} with q>4 can use subdivided squares, {5,q} can use subdivided pentagons, and so on. 5.14 Digonal Polyhedra and Dihedra with Subdivided Digons The structures {p,2} are an infinite class of dihedra composed of two faces but any number of sides. The reciprocal structures {2,q} are composed of digons with q meeting at each of its two vertices. These structures can also be subdivided with rhombii. In FIG. 21, 344 is a digonal pentahedron composed of five digons 348 meeting at curved edges 120'. 345 and 346 are two nets from the Penrose tiling of FIG. 7b which can be mapped onto 344. There is one vertex in the middle, and the points marked Q will all meet at the other vertex. 345 has a fundamental region 349 which is subdivided to give 350, and the region corresponds to fundamental region Type I. 346 has a fundamental region 351 which is subdivided to give 352. This region corresponds to fundamental region Type II. 347 is an elevation of 7-sided dihedron. The edge 120 divides the two faces. The subdivided curved fundamental region 353 corresponds to the plane region 176 of FIG. 8a. All subdivided polygons can be converted into dihedra. 5.2 Higher-Dimensional Structures with Subdivided Faces The Schlafli symbol extends to higher-dimensional space structures (termed polytopes). The notation {p,q,r} represents all regular 4-dimensional polytopes composed of cells {p,q} and vertex figures {q,r}. Since the cells and vertex figures must be regular polyhedra, the number of possibilities of regular 4-dimensional polytopes are limited to seven, namely, 5-cell {3,3,3} composed of 5 tetrahedra, 8-cell {4,3,3}, also called the hyper-cube and composed of 8 cubes, 16-cell {3,3,4} composed of 16 tetrahedra, 24-cell {3,4,3} composed of 24 octahedra, 120-cell {5,3,3} composed of 120 dodecahedra, 600-cell {3,3,5} composed of 600 tetrahedra, and infinite cubic honeycomb {4,3,4} composed of cubes. All of these structures are known from prior art. This application suggests the use of subdivided polygons as faces of these structures. For example, the subdivided triangles of FIGS. 5a and 5b could be used as faces of the 5-cell, 16-cell, 24-cell and the 600-cell. Similarly, the subdivided squares could be used as faces of the 8-cell and the cubic honeycomb. The subdivided pentagons could be used as faces of the 120-cell. This idea can be extended to 5-dimensional structures where there are six Euclidean cases of which two are honeycombs, but four are composed of triangles, and two are composed of squares. In spaces of dimension greater than 5, there are only four polytopes for each higher dimension. Two of these are the hypercube and hypercubic lattice composed of squares, the other two are finite structures composed of triangles. These higher-space structures are also known from mathematics. A few examples showing the application of the concept described here are illustrated in FIGS. 22a and 22b. When these are built, the regularity of the faces is lost by projection from higher space where indeed the faces are regular. In FIG. 22a, 354 is one tetrahedron of the 5-cell 362 is shown. It of composed of faces 114 of FIG. 5b meeting at edges 120. The faces will get distorted to 114' as shown and the new edges 120' will change lengths when projected to 3- or 2-dimensions. 355 and 366 are two views of the same octahedral cell of a 4-dimensional polytope 16-cell or a 5-dimensional honeycomb. In its projection, it is a distorted version of the regular octahedron 284 of FIG. 16a. 357 is a distorted version of the regular icosahedron 295 of FIG. 17a. It has projected faces 105' and projected edges 120'. The cell shown is a composite if twenty tetrahedral cells like 278, and the cluster is a portion of the 4-dimensional polytope called 600-cell. 358 shows one cube 304' (same as 304 in FIG. 18a) of the 8-cell 363. In its projected state, the cube is a rhombohedron. 359 is the shell of a 4-cube, a 4-zonohedron, where the face is divided differently. In fact, the subdivision of the entire surface is topologically isomorphic to 285. 361 shows 3 dodecahedral cells of the 120-cell. In their 3-dimensional projection, the upper cells are "squished" as shown with respect to the lowest one which is true. The subdivided dodecahedra marked 330', 330", and 330'" correspond to the sphere 330 shown in FIG. 19c. 5.3 Hyperbolic Polyhedra Regular hyperbolic polyhedra, as analogs of the hyperbolic tessellations, exist in 4-dimensional space. There are four of these, namely, {4,3,5} composed of hyperbolic cubes, {5,3,5} composed of hyperbolic dodecahedra, {5,3,4} also composed of hyperbolic dodecahedra, and {3,5,3} composed of hyperbolic icosahedra. These have curved faces and curved edges. In 5-dimensional space there are 5 regular hyperbolic polytopes, and beyond this there are none. All of these cases are known from prior literature. However, if the definition of regularity were relaxed, more examples are permissible. This disclosure suggests that the faces of the these hyperbolic polyhedra could be subdivided polygons as described earlier in FIGS. 5-7. FIG. 23 shows one example of a hyperbolic dodecahedron 265 with subdivided pentagonal faces 155" alongside the regular case shown in 364. The hyperbolic faces 15" are analogous to the plane faces 155 and the spherical faces 155' shown earlier in 330. The hyperbolic edges 120" replace the plane edges 120 or the spherical edges 120'. 6. Other Regular-faced Structures and Variants The subdivided regular polygonal faces of FIGS. 5-7 could be used as faces of any structures composed only one type of polygon. These polygons could be plane or curved and the edges could be straight or curved. Assorted examples shown in FIG. 24 include structures composed only of squares 65' or triangles 64' or hexagons 67' bound by edges 120. The cubic packing 366 composed of cubes 374 or the derivative space labyrinth composed of squares. The "octet" close-packing 366 composed of octahedra 376 and tetrahedra 375 or the derivative space labyrinth. The space labyrinths 367 composed of octahedra 376 connected by octahedra and having selected faces removed, and 368 composed of icosahedra 377 connected with octahedra 376, also with selected faces removed. The tetrahedral helix 369 composed of tetrahedra 375, the octahedral tower 370 composed of stacked octahedra 376, numerous deltahedra composed of only triangles like the bipyramids 371 and 372. The space labyrinth 373 composed of regular hexagons 67' which make up a 3-dimensional unit 378, a truncated octahedron with square faces removed. All structures shown must be imagined to be composed of subdivided polygonal faces as opposed to the plain faces as illustrated. FIGS. 25a and 25b show on example of a curved space labyrinth compose only of hexagons. The base structure is topologically identical with 373 of FIG. 24 and the example corresponds to the known Schwartz surface. The 3-dimensional unit or cell of the surface is shown in 379 and 380, viewed along its "4-fold" and "3-fold views". The cell is composed of 8 saddle hexagons 381 having a minimal surface. 382 is a side view of 381. The plane face version is composed of the unit 122 of FIG. 6b which uses two rhombii from n=4. Here these exist in their curved state 122' and six such pieces make up the hexagon 381 in a manner that the hexagon has a 2-fold symmetry. The single unit 379 is subdivided non-periodically. 383 is a front view of the periodic repeat of the unit 379, and 384 shows another view. FIG. 25b shows an interior view of the space labyrinth. Other ramifications of the present invention include the application of the subdivided polygons to any periodic nets. Several cases are shown in FIG. 26 and are restricted to the triangular, square and hexagonal nets composed of triangles 64', squares 65' and hexagons 67', respectively, and bound by edges 120. The triangle nets are used in the tetrahedron 385 and its concave state 390, the octahedron 386, and the icosahedron 387 along with its convex state 389. The square net is used in the cube 388 and the inflatable 391. The hexagonal net is shown here on a tensile surface in 392 and 393. The subdivided triangles, squares and hexagons of FIGS. 5 and 6 can be applied to each individual triangle, square or hexagon shown here. For example, the subdivided triangle 118 of FIG. 5b could be applied to any of the triangular nets (already disclosed in part in the fold-out pattern 290 of FIG. 16b. Other subdivided triangles from FIG. 5 could be used, and new one developed based on the concept. The triangles could be mixed and matched as lon as the edge conditions permit it. The hexagonal pattern 255 of FIG. 12c could be used for 392 and 393. And so on. 7. Further Subdivisions, Multi-Layering and Changing Lengths A further extension of the concept, briefly described with FIG. 3, is to subdivide the rhombii into smaller self-similar rhombii in a periodic manner. This is shown in 394 for the p=7 fundamental region 174 shown earlier in FIG. 8a. The three types of rhombii are subdivided as shown earlier in FIG. 3. The smaller rhombii are triangulated in 395 to generate locally periodic triangular arrays. This concept permits local periodicity within global non-periodicity. All subdivision described so far were restricted to to a single-layered surface whether plane or curved. The concept can be extended to make the surface into a double-layered, triple-layered or multi-layered structure. The multi-layered structures could be skeletal or space-filled with blocks. In 396, the geodesic sphere 298 of FIG. 17a has been transformed by erecting pyramids on the rhombic faces. Similarly, in 397, the triangulated geodesic surface 300 of FIG. 17a has also been transformed. In schematic section 398, this process is similar to acquiring a second layer if the apices of the pyramids were to be interconnected. Clearly, this process can be continued for any number of curved layers. Alternatively, instead of erecting pyramids, "prisms" could be erected on each rhombus or triangle. The prisms are in fact tapered as shown in the schematic section 399. Through these two techniques, the surfaces could become 3-dimensional. Another variation would be to change the lengths of edges of the rhombii, converting them into parallelograms. One example is shown in 400, where the region 174 is transformed to 174'. Some of the rhombii have unequal lengths. Only the transformed rhombii are indicated. This technique will apply to all examples in this disclosure, whether plane or curved. 8. Applications to Building Systems The geometry of the subdivisions presented here and their mapping onto various types of plane and curved surfaces open up interesting design and architectural applications. All examples of geometric structures can be converted into physical structures by converting the geometric elements into the components of a building system, i.e. the vertices into nodes or joints, edges into struts or linear members of a building structure, faces into surface members of a structure, and cells into the 3-dimensional blocks. From these building components, any combination of components could be used. Different combinations will work for different design situations. Nodes could be connected to other nodes through struts. Suitable means, mechanical or otherwise, of coupling the two could be provided though the use of threads, screws, pins, locking devices, fastening devices, or simply welding pieces together. The linear members could be attached to others without the use of physically present nodes, as in the case when members are cast together. The surface members could be attached to others through linear connectors and attachment devices. The node-and-strut system could be integrated with the panels which could be transparent or opaque. The geometry of subdivision could provide the source geometry of cables nets in tensile structures based on the invention. The tensile nets could be air-supported or hung. Membranes could be integrated with space frames derived from the geometries described herein. The geometry of subdivisions, especially the triangulated cases, could be used to lay down reinforcement inside cast concrete domes and shells. One example of the development of a double-layered space frame geodesic dome structure from the basic geometry is described in FIG. 27b. 401 shows the fundamental region corresponding to the geodesic sphere of FIG. 17a. In 402, all the vertices are replaced by nodes and the edges by struts to give a rhombic space frame. Panels could be inserted in between. In 403, the rhombic space frame is triangulated by inserting appropriate diagonals. Alternatively, in 404, a pyramid is raised on each rhombus of 402. In 405, the outer points of the rhombic caps are joined by additional struts (only partially shown). Alternatively, these could be filled 3-dimensional volumes or blocks. 406-409 show schematic sections through double-layered and triple-layered domes. Two are triangulated in section, the other two are trapezoids in section and could be triangulated if needed. These sections could represent space frames or space-filling with blocks. 410 shows a section through a node 413 which receives the struts 414 through a male-female connection. 411 is an alternative which also shows a pin which connects the nodes 415 to the strut 414. 412 shows a section through strip joint 416 which connects the panels 417. Besides their use as alternatives to the geodesic dome, the structures described herein have an aesthetic appeal. Modularity has become synonymous with repetition. The examples disclosed here show non-repeating designs which not only challenge an established paradigm, but also are intriguing because the "order" in the design is not that obvious. Other applications include tiling designs, where tiles of overall standard shapes like regular polygons could be patterned with a fairly complex design but based on a relatively simple procedure. Non-periodic domes, vaults, various curved surfaces, non-periodic designs on surfaces, and non-periodic spaces are interesting possibilities for advancing the state-of-art of building.

A family of space structures having subdivided faces, where such faces are subdivided into rhombii in non-periodic arrangements. The rhombii are derived from regular planar stars with n vectors, and the source space structures are composed of regular polygons. The family includes: globally symmetric structures where the fundamental region is subdivided non-periodically, or globally asymmetric structures composed of regular polygons which are subdivided non-periodically or asymmetrically. The rhombii can be further subdivided periodically or non-periodically. The family further includes all regular polyhedra in the plane-faced and curve-faced states, regular tessellations, various curved polygons, cylinders and toroids, curved space labyrinths, and regular structures in higher-dimensional and hyperbolic space. The structures can be isolated structures or grouped to fill space. Applications include architectural space structures, fixed or retractable space frames, domes, vaults, saddle structures, plane or curved tiles, model-kits, toys, games, and artistic and sculptural works realized in 2- and 3-dimensions. The structures could be composed of individual units capable of being assembled or disassembled, or structures which are cast in one piece, or combination of both. Various tensile and compressive structural systems, and techniques of triangulation could be used as needed for stability.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a new and improved apparatus for eliminating metallic contaminations from a fibre transporting duct in spinning preparation, within which duct fibre flocks are transported by an air stream. Fibre bales very often contain metallic objects which are pressed into such bales in the form of contaminations which are undesirable during spinning preparation. In modern spinning plants where bale opening is effected mechanically and fibre transport to the individual opening and cleaning machines is effected pneumatically within fibre transporting ducts, the detection and elimination of such metallic objects proves extremely difficult. Furthermore, waste fibres, which are re-processed, also often contain metallic contaminations. Additionally, metallic objects can enter the fibre transporting stream due to personnel negligence. The mentioned metallic objects or the like present a great danger for the plant inasmuch as they can generate sparks and thus can cause fires. Also they can damage the transporting fans or the subsequently arranged processing machines. Therefore, attempts have been made to eliminate metallic objects from the fibre transporting ducts. According to a device which has become known in practise two magnetic plates are arranged in a bend of the duct. These magnetic plates are offset with respect to one another in such a manner that metallic objects not caught by the first plate impact the second plate and adhere thereto. The magnetic plates can be pivotably opened for eliminating the metallic objects. This prior art device, however, presents serious disadvantages. Thus, only magnetic metal objects are held back while all other metallic objects such as, for instance, aluminum, are not eliminated. Furthermore, it can happen that magnetic metal objects can be transported between the plates without being caught. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Hence, it is a primary object of the present invention to avoid these disadvantages and to devise an apparatus for eliminating all types of metals down to the smallest particle size. Another and more specific object of the present invention aims at providing apparatus for effectively eliminating metallic contaminations from a fibre transporting duct in spinning preparation through the use of relatively simple, highly effective and operationally reliable means, requiring a minimum of maintenance and servicing and not readily subject to breakdown or malfunction. Yet a further significant object of the present invention aims at providing apparatus for eliminating metallic contaminations from a fibre transporting duct incorporating structure highly responsive to the presence of any metallic contaminations within the fibre transporting duct, which when activated by-passes the metallic contaminations along with the fibre flocks containing the same into a waste container or the like, thereby safeguarding against possible damage to textile equipment arrangement downstream of the fibre transporting duct. These objects and others which will become apparent as the description proceeds are achieved by means of the inventive apparatus for eliminating metallic contaminations from a fibre transporting duct in spinning preparation, through which duct there are transported fibre flocks by means of an air stream, characterized by the features that at a branching point of the transporting duct leading to a waste duct there is pivotably arranged deflecting means operatively connected with and activated by a drive mechanism. The deflecting means are activated in response to the passage of a metallic object or other metallic contaminations through a section of the fibre transporting duct surrounded by a metal detector arranged upstream of the branching point, by means of a control device connected with a power source and the drive mechanism. Within a short time the deflecting means can be shifted from an idle or ineffectual position, in which the transporting duct is open and the waste duct is maintained closed, into a working position, in which the transporting duct is closed and the waste duct is maintained open. According to an advantageous embodiment of the inventive apparatus a double flap can be provided as the deflecting means and an electro-pneumatic valve can be provided as the control device. The control device can be connected with a source of compressed air serving as the power source and with a pneumatic cylinder serving as the drive mechanism. The distance between the metal detector and the transporting duct branching point can be chosen of such length that the transporting time required for transporting the fibre flocks from the metal detector to the transporting duct branching point exceeds the switching time of the double flap from its idle position to its working position. At a fibre flock transporting speed of 10 m/sec the distance from the metal detector to the branching can be in the range of 3 m at the best. It can prove advantageous to provide an air permeable waste collecting recipient at the end of the waste duct. Some of the more notable advantages attained by the invention is that it is possible to positively eliminate all types of metallic contaminations from the fibre transporting duct, even down to the smallest size metallic particles or contaminants. Textile equipment located downstream of the fibre transporting duct is therefore effectively safeguarded against damage. Further, the system can be easily adapted to different transporting speeds of the fibre flocks moving through the fibre transporting duct without impairing its detection capability. With the use of extremely simple means it is possible to effectively by-pass the metallic contaminants into a waste receptacle or the like following detection thereof upstream of a branching point or branching portion of the fibre transporting duct. Equally, any potential fire hazards which might be caused by the metallic contaminations can be detected early enough to safeguard thereagainst, and even if the metallic contaminations cause burning of the fibre flocks the same can be eliminated from the fibre transporting duct, again safeguarding any downstream arranged textile equipment from becoming damaged. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The invention will be described in greater detail hereinafter with reference to an exemplary embodiment illustrated in the single FIGURE of the drawing. This figure schematically shows a fibre transporting duct equipped with the metal eliminating apparatus constructed according to the teachings of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Describing now the drawing, a fibre transporting duct 1 contains a branching element or branch portion 2 at a branching point of the duct 1 and which is connected with the continuation of such duct 1 and with a waste duct 3. The waste duct 3 leads via an air-mover 4 to an air pervious waste recipient or container 5 which is provided with small openings 6 at least in its upper portion. The waste recipient 5 may be formed of perforated sheet metal, by way of example. In the branching element 2, the cross-section of which preferably is rectangular, there is arranged a double flap defining deflecting means and which contains two plates 7 which are essentially parallel to the upper and lower duct wall. The double flap composed of the two plates 7 is pivotable about hinges 8 or equivalent pivot means. These plates 7 are interconnected by means of a rod 10 which, in turn, is supported on hinges 9. At the upper hinge 9 there is provided a tension spring 11, whereas the lower hinge 9 is connected via a piston rod 12 with a fluid operated, for instance, compressed air cylinder 13 constituting a drive mechanism. Upstream of the branching element 2 a metal detector 14 is arranged on the duct 1. A control part 15 of the metal detector 14 is connected via a circuit 16 with an electro-pneumatic valve 17 constituting a control device. The valve 17, which is connected via a duct 18 with a suitable source of compressed air 19 defining a power source, is connected via a duct 20 and a branching duct or branch line 21 with the compressed air cylinder 13 and by means of a branching duct or branch line 22 is connected with the air-mover 4. The compressed air cylinder 13 is pivotably hinged on a hinge 23. During operation an air stream which transports fibre flocks is sucked through the duct 1 in the direction of the arrows 24, for instance, by means of a fan which has not been particularly shown. The extension (not shown) of the duct 1 can lead to any spinning preparatory machine. In the normal operating state, the spring 11 holds the plates 7 of the double flap in such a manner that the access to the waste duct 3 is kept closed and the fibres are transported without disturbance through the duct 1. The flow connection between the compressed air ducts 18 and 20 is maintained interrupted by the electro-pneumatic control valve 17. Now, if a metal object passes through the duct section surrounded by the metal detector 14, then a current is induced in the metal detector 14. The control part or device 15 simultaneously transmits an electrical signal via the circuit 16 to the electro-pneumatic control valve 17. This control valve 17 immediately switches and provides a flow connection between the compressed air ducts 18 and 20 in such a manner that compressed air passes through the branching duct 22 to the air-mover 4 and by means of the branching duct 21 into the compressed air cylinder 13. The piston rod 12 now is pulled into the cylinder 13, and thus, pivots the double flap-plates 7 against the force of the tension spring 11 until the duct 1 is sealed or blocked by the upper plate 7 and the waste duct 3 is freed or uncovered by the lower plate 7. Since the compressed air flows axially in the direction towards the waste recipient 5 into the air-mover 4, a suction action is generated, owing to the injector action, within the connecting member or portion of the waste duct 3 connected to the branching element 2. Consequently, the fibre and air mixture is sucked from the fibre transporting duct 1 into the waste duct 3 and is transported into the waste recipient or container 5. At this location the transporting air escapes via the openings 6, whereas the entrained fibre flocks are deposited. As the time lag between the detection of a metal particle and the switching of the double flap structure is shorter than the time required for transporting the metal particle to the region of the branching element 2, the metal particle together with the fibre flocks are guided via the waste duct 3 into the waste recipient or container 5. After there has elapsed a time lag, which can be preset at a key 25 or equivlaent structure of the control part or device 15, and during which time lag the metal particle has been positively eliminated into the waste duct 3, the control device or part 15 transmits a further electric signal which immediately causes interruption of the previously established flow connection with the source of compressed air 19 by the valve 17. The tension spring 11 now pulls back the plates 7 of the double flap into their initial position in such a manner that the waste duct 3 again is sealed and the transporting duct 1 again is open. The air displaced out of the compressed air cylinder 13 during this process escapes via the branch lines or branching ducts 21 and 22 into the air-mover 4. In the fibre transporting duct 1 there now again prevails normal operation until a further metal particle transported through the duct 1 again activates the sequence of operations described above. Inductively functioning metal detectors are commercially available. By using such devices there can be detected the smallest metal particles down to a linear dimension of 0.25 mm. By incorporating a device of this type into the apparatus described above, all metal particles constituting a danger for any downstream arranged machine are detected and eliminated. In order to ensure reliable functioning of the metal detector, the duct section on which the detector is mounted should be fabricated from a non-metallic material, for instance a plastic material. For reliable functioning of the described apparatus, the metal detector 14 should be mounted sufficiently far upstream of the branching element 2. If this condition is not fulfilled, it could happen that the metal particle already has moved past the branching element 2 before the double flap composed of the plates 7 has been switched. Experiments have proven that the time lag between the detection of a metal particle and the complete opening of the access to the waste duct 3 by the double flap is in the order of 0.2 seconds. At a transporting speed of the air and fibre mixture in the transporting duct 1 in the order of 10 m/sec. the distance between the metal detector 14 and the branching element 2 thus should be chosen to be greater than 2 meters. If there is provided a suitable safety margin then a distance of 3 meters has been found to be favourable. Furthermore, since larger metal particles tend to move through the fibre transporting duct 1 at lower speeds than the air and fibre mixture, the waste duct 3 also should not be again sealed or blocked too early. Otherwise it could happen that the metal particle passes the branching element 2 only after the waste duct 3 has again been sealed, and thus, is carried on through the extension of the transporting duct 1. Experiments have proven that at a speed of 10 m/sec. of the fibre and air mixture in the transporting duct 1 and if the distance of the metal detector 14 from the branching element 2 is 3 meters, then keeping the waste duct 3 open during 1 second is sufficient for eliminating any metal particle with certitude. This time lag can be pre-set in the control device or part 15 of the metal detector 14, and it can be of course altered if other transporting speeds are chosen to prevail in the transporting duct 1. If the very unlikely case should occur that two metal particles pass through the transporting duct 1 at a very short interval, the metal detector 14 transmits a second signal for maintaining open the waste duct 3 during such time as the second metal particle passes the metal detector. The waste duct 3, which is already opened in this case, remains open until the pre-set time lag has elapsed after the second metal particle has passed the metal detector 14 such that both metal particles are eliminated. Incorporation of an air-mover 4 in the waste duct 3 is required as the fibre flocks are sucked through the transporting duct 1 under the influence of a vacuum. If the transporting duct 1 is sealed off in such a manner that there no longer prevails any suction action, then the air-mover 4, which works according to the injector principle, generates the suction action required in the waste duct 3. Further transport of the fibre flocks downstream of the air-mover 4 into the waste recipient 5 is effected under above-atmospheric pressure as the compressed air enters in axial direction over the circumference of the air-mover 4. Air-movers or equivalent structure also are available commercially. Instead of a waste recipient or container 5 made from perforated sheet metal there also could be used a waste bag or sack made from textile fabrics as the waste recipient or container 5. Sufficient bag fabric porosity or air permeability, however, is required, so that the transporting air can escape and the fibre flocks containing the metal particle are separated in the bag. Additionally, a fire detector 26 arranged upstream of the metal detector 14 can be connected in parallel with the control part 15 of the metal detector 14 in such a manner that if smoke particles are detected by the fire detector 26, then the "burning fibre flock stream" also can be switched or bypassed to the waste recipient or container 5, in which case the resetting of the switching or control device is interrupted. In this manner the expensive machine connected to the transporting duct can be protected against fire damage. While there are shown and described present preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but may be otherwise variously embodied and practised within the scope of the following claims. Accordingly,

An apparatus for eliminating metallic contaminations from a fibre transporting duct in spinning preparation, wherein an air stream transports fibre flocks through the duct. At a branching point of the fibre transporting duct leading to a waste duct there is pivotably arranged deflecting means operatively connected with and activated by a drive mechanism. The deflecting means are activated in response to the passage of a metallic object or other metallic contaminations through a section of the fibre transporting duct surrounded by a metal detector arranged upstream of the branching point, by means of a control device connected with a power source and the drive mechanism. Within a short time the deflecting means can be shifted from an idle or ineffectual position, where the transporting duct is open and the waste duct is maintained closed, into a working position, in which the transporting duct is closed and the waste duct is maintained open.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is a Divisional Patent Application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/788,631, filed on May 27, 2010. BACKGROUND [0002] 1. Field [0003] This application relates to a cascade cooling system, specifically one incorporating a jet ejector compressor and a mechanical compressor. [0004] 2. Prior Art [0005] Air conditioning and refrigeration are among the most energy consuming processes in the developed world. Historically, the terms referred to the application of a colder material, such as ice or water, to absorb heat from a hotter area. Today cooling is more often accomplished using a chemical or mechanical process to forcibly move heat from a colder region to a hotter region. These processes are always energy intensive and become more so as the temperature difference between the colder and hotter areas increase. [0006] Both the need for cooling, and the cost of cooling, increase proportionate to the temperature of the external environment. Given this fact, it is understandable that much effort has been made to find better ways to use heat as an input energy source for cooling systems. While the economic logic behind a heat-powered cooling system is irrefutable, the technology has proven problematic. Heat-powered cooling systems fall broadly into four categories. Absorption systems use heat to separate two chemicals which, at lower temperatures, have a natural affinity strong enough to create a pressure reduction in a sealed system. Desiccant systems use heat to regenerate moisture absorbing chemicals. Vapor expander systems use heat to create a high pressure vapor which, in turn, is used to drive a mechanical compressor. Ejector systems use heat to generate a high pressure vapor which is directed through a venturi ejector to create a low pressure evaporating region. Because the subject invention is related only to the last two technologies, this prior art review ignores absorption and desiccant systems. [0007] The coefficient of performance (COP) describes the overall efficiency of a system. In the case of a cooling system it may be defined as the effective cooling divided by the input energy using the same unit of measure. For example, a cooling system that consumed 500 w of power to transfer 1 kw of heat would have a COP of 2 (1,000/500=2). In general, a high COP is better than a low COP as it means less energy input is required to accomplish the desired cooling. By such measure, heat-powered cooling systems typically fall short of their electrically or mechanically driven counterparts. However, system COP does not describe the economic picture of operating systems which use different types of input energy at different costs. If a heat-powered system is able to use input energy that would otherwise be wasted, then the amount of energy it consumes becomes irrelevant from a financial standpoint so long as the initial purchase price of the equipment required to harness that energy is reasonable. [0008] It is clear that heat-powered cooling systems can make financial sense when a suitable heat energy source is sufficiently plentiful and low in cost. It is not surprising that the primary commercial market for these systems is in manufacturing plants that continuously and reliably generate a large amount of waste heat as a byproduct of other manufacturing processes. Like industrial plants, vehicles powered by internal combustion engines also produce a large amount of waste heat. However, in the case of vehicles, the variable nature of the temperature and quantity of that heat has historically proven to be difficult to economically transform to cooling capacity. [0009] Ejector cooling systems have been beneficially applied for over 100 years to provide cooling in both air conditioning and industrial processes. Early steam-powered trains tapped steam from the motive boiler and directed it though a venturi ejector to create air conditioning for the luxury train cars. The systems were simple and effective although not very energy efficient. With the decline is steam locomotion and an increased awareness of energy efficiency, the ejector systems were eventually replaced by systems using engine-driven or electro-mechanically driven compressors. [0010] All ejector cooling systems require a highly stable source of moderate vapor pressure and temperature. Although there are many ejector-based vehicle air conditioning systems in the prior art. The intermittent and highly variable nature of the waste heat generated by an internal combustion propulsion engine has prevented their wide scale commercial success. Today, mechanical systems which make no use of waste heat at all, remain the dominate method of cooling all types of mobile vehicles. [0011] Stationary applications have the potential to provide the stabile source of motive vapor required by ejector cooling systems. However, the poor energy efficiency of the systems has prevented widespread use of the technology in many of these applications as well. One exception is in factories where industrial processes produce a large amount of waste heat which can be used by the ejector system boiler. In these situations, given that the availability and cost of motive heat is not a restraining factor, ejector systems are both economic and highly versatile. By configuring several ejectors is series (i.e. one ejector as the vacuum source to the outlet of another ejector) multi-stage systems can be created to provide virtually any temperature and capacity desired. The prior art shows many designs for individual ejectors and combinations of ejectors for these applications. [0012] Vapor expander systems are essentially steam engines driving a mechanical compressor. Like ejector systems, they generally have lower energy efficiency than their electrically-driven counterparts when only the amount of energy entering the system and the cooling output is considered. However, in applications such as vehicles, where the cost and inefficiency of producing electrical power is exceptionally high or where the low reliability of belt-driven systems can be very costly, vapor expander systems can be the most cost-effective. The ability of expander-based cooling systems to operate successfully on highly variable vapor pressure and temperature makes them particularly compatible with vehicular application. This ability to operate at high temperatures and pressure, means that they are usually more energy efficient than ejector systems when high-temperature waste heat is available. Yet another advantage is that, when vapor expanders are coupled to positive displacement compressors, they are better able to provide reliable cooling when condensing temperatures are high. These advantages have also made them a preferred choice on higher temperature waste heat applications and concentrated solar thermal-powered industrial sites. [0013] Experimental vapor expander cooling systems have been developed that use waste heat from an internal combustion propulsion engine as a thermal energy source for the boiler. In these systems, high pressure refrigerant vapor drives a small turbine which is connected by a shaft to a centrifugal compressor. Turbine expanders have the advantage of small size but they are unsuited to the low temperature heat of the engine cooling circuit. Therefore, in these systems only the relatively small portion of the waste heat released through the exhaust system can be used. The experiments have not yet provided a system which is commercially viable. [0014] Another system attempts to improve the energy efficiency of the ejector cooling cycle by using a hydrocarbon refrigerant that provides decreased entropy under decreasing pressure. The reliability and stability of the heat source is also improved with the inclusion of a thermal storage means. However, no means is incorporated to provide cooling during extended periods with insufficient thermal input energy. Also, no energy source other than heat can be used to power the system. [0015] Certain cooling technologies perform well in one set of conditions and other technologies perform better in different conditions. Research has been conducted into how different types of cooling technologies can be combined in a single system which performs well in a wider range of conditions. When successful, these systems have a superior energy efficiency and performance in a wider range of applications. [0016] One system on a motor vehicle attempts to offset the advantages and disadvantages of various types of cooling technologies by operating a ejector cooling system in parallel with an engine-driven mechanical compressor system. The ejector side of the system uses waste heat from the propulsion engine to provide air conditioning to the vehicle cabin. When the engine is cold or an insufficient amount of waste heat is available, the engine-driven mechanical system provides the needed cooling power. Such a system would be unsatisfactory for industrial applications since the system input power is limited to the rotary and thermal energy produced from an internal combustion engine power source. Also, while the system does offer reliable and sufficient cooling power, the design does not improve the energy efficiency of either the ejector or the mechanical compressor operation. [0017] Other systems exists which combine a mechanical compressor and an ejector compressor in a common refrigerant circuit in what is know in the industry as a “two-stage” configuration. The ejector compressor applies its vacuum directly to the discharge of the mechanical compressor to reduce its power consumption. In some of these systems the mechanical compressor is electrically powered, in other systems it is engine-driven and in still other systems it is driven by a vapor expander. In all of the systems, both compressors operate from a shared refrigerant charge. This common refrigerant charge eliminates the possibility of optimizing the high-temperature ejector performance and the low-temperature mechanical compressor performance by using different types of refrigerants. [0018] Investigation into the combined use of ejector compressors and mechanical compressors has focused on the use of one compressor in series connection with the other within a common refrigeration circuit—a two-stage system. In some cases, as described above, the mechanical compressor is placed between the vacuum port of the ejector and the system evaporator. In this position, the mechanical compressor boosts the refrigerant vapor from the evaporator pressure to a non-condensing intermediate pressure. vapor at the intermediate pressure enters the vacuum port of the ejector compressor which, in turn, further boosts the pressure to the condensing pressure. [0019] Further research has described a variation in which the role of the ejector and the mechanical compressors are reversed. As with the previously described configuration, the compressors are connected in series within a common refrigerant circuit and therefore, remain a two-stage system. However, in this alternate configuration, the ejector compressor is placed between the evaporator and the suction inlet of the mechanical compressor. The ejector compressor boosts the vapor from the evaporator pressure to a non-condensing intermediate pressure. The mechanical compressor receives all vapor exiting the ejector, including the evaporator vapor and the ejector motive vapor and boosts it to a condensing pressure before discharging it to the condenser. [0020] In none of these systems is it possible to use one type of refrigerant to optimize the performance of the heat-powered compressor and a different type of refrigerant to optimize the performance of the mechanical compressor. As with all two-stage configurations, these systems suffer an additional disadvantage in that extra steps must be taken to ensure that the refrigerant does not condense between compressors. A condensing refrigerant would harm system efficiency and mechanically damage the receiving compressor. [0021] Another vehicle system uses two separate air conditioning systems to cool the vehicle cabin. An ejector system operates from the waste heat of the propulsion engine. A mechanical system is driven directly from the propulsion engine in the typical manner. The evaporators of the two systems are co-located but remain separate. The advantage of this system is that the vehicle can be cooled by waste heat, when sufficient waste heat is available, or by the mechanical system. Also, unlike the two-stage systems which have been previously described, it is possible use different refrigerants in the ejector and mechanical systems. However, there is a serious disadvantage in this approach. In a typical operating condition where both systems are in use at the same time, the cooling power of one system reduces the evaporator pressure/temperature of the other system. A reduction in the evaporator pressure increases the differential pressure across the compressor thereby reducing the energy efficiency and capacity of the entire system. Therefore, in this system the COP would be lower than in the other systems of the prior art. [0022] In view of the limitations of the prior art, there remains a need for an improved cooling system that operates reliably and efficiently from a variety of thermal and non-thermal input energy sources. SUMMARY [0023] A thermally enhanced cascade cooling system is comprised of two separate refrigerant circuits—a primary cooling loop and an ejector boosting loop. The two loops are thermally connected such that the evaporator of the ejector cooling loop cools the condenser of the primary cooling loop. This configuration is generally know in the industry as a “cascade” system. The motive input energy for the ejector cooling loop is heat. In the various embodiments this heat may be waste heat from an internal combustion engine, industrial process or other electronic or chemical process which releases heat as a by-product. The heat source may also be solar energy collected through concentrating or non-concentrating collectors. In certain embodiments the heat source may also include fuel-fired boilers in which the heat generated in not waste heat. The exemplary embodiment accommodates a plurality of heat sources operating at a plurality of temperatures. [0024] The primary cooling loop includes a mechanical compressor which receives motive energy input from a variable-speed electric motor in the exemplary embodiment. In other embodiments, the input energy may be an internal combustion engine, vapor expander, hydraulic motor, wind turbine, or other source of torque. The mechanical compressor may be reciprocating, scroll, screw, turbine, rotary piston, Wankel, centrifugal, liquid ring, or other known type. [0025] An evaporator in the primary cooling loop is positioned to remove heat from a compartment. The condenser of the primary cooling loop, being in thermal communication with the evaporator of the ejector cooling loop, transfers heat into the working refrigerant of the ejector cooling loop. Under certain conditions, such as when no heat is available to power the ejector cooling loop, a second air-cooled condenser is positioned in the primary cooling loop. [0026] Heat enters the ejector cooling loop from the primary cooling loop via the evaporator, and from the motive fluid of the ejector via the boiler. All heated vapor is mixed in the ejector and discharged to a condenser. The condenser is positioned to sink the heat to an air, water or geothermal medium. In certain embodiments, heat may be released into a thermal storage medium which holds it in reserve for later use as a motive heat source. [0027] Of the total motive energy required by the system, the percentage with is directed to each loop is variable. A control system regulates amount and source of input power received by each cooling loop to achieve optimum energy efficiency and cooling performance. This control is made relative to the amount and cost of the various input energy sources which are available at a given time and to the amount of cooling power required. The control system also prevents excess power being drawn from any one energy source. [0028] According to one exemplary embodiment, an ejector cooling loop and a primary cooling loop are thermally connected such that the evaporator of the ejector cooling loop cools the condenser of the primary cooling loop. The ejector cooling loop includes a boiler which receives thermal input energy and boils a liquid refrigerant to a vapor at a motive pressure and temperature. The motive vapor follows two paths. One path directs a portion of the vapor to the high-pressure inlet port of a venturi ejector. The other path directs a portion of the motive vapor to a vapor expander. The vapor expander is operably coupled to a mechanical compressor connected within the primary cooling loop. An variable-speed electric motor/generator is operably positioned so as to transform electric input power into rotational torque which can rotate the vapor expander and the mechanical compressor. Conversely, when sufficient input heat energy is available, the vapor expander can rotate the motor/generator to produce an electrical output and rotate the mechanical compressor. The vapor expander is a reciprocating type but could also be a rotary, scroll, Wankel, turbine, or other known type. [0029] No fluid communication exists between the ejector loop and the primary loop. The two loops are in mechanical communication at the point that the vapor expander is coupled to the electric motor and mechanical compressor. The two loops are in thermal communication at the point where the evaporator of the ejector cooling loops is thermally coupled to a first condenser of the primary cooling loop. [0030] This embodiment is able to operate in a plurality of modes. In one operating mode, heat energy enters the ejector cooling loop through the boiler and refrigerant is boiled to a motive vapor. A portion of the motive vapor from the boiler activates the ejector compressor creating cooling effect through the creating a low pressure zone in the evaporator. A further portion of the motive vapor flows to the vapor expander where it is expanded to create a torque force. This rotational torque rotates the motor generator to produce an electrical voltage and further rotates the mechanical compressor to produce a cooling effect in the primary cooling loop. [0031] In a second operating mode, the operation of the system is the same as described in the previous mode except that electric power is input to the motor/generator to create a supplemental rotational torque. In this operating mode, the ratio of electric input power to thermal input power is continuously variable. [0032] In a third operating mode, no thermal energy enters the ejector cooling loop. An intelligent control system positions electric refrigerant flow controls so that refrigerant flowing in the ejector cooling loop bypasses the ejector compressor. Electric input power flows to the variable-speed motor/generator which, in turn, provides a rotation force to the vapor expander and the mechanical compressor. The intelligent control system reconfigures the inlet and discharge valves of the vapor expander such that it now functions as a mechanical compressor. In this all-electric mode, the two separate loops perform as a two-stage compressor system. The now electrically-powered ejector cooling loop continues to cool the condenser of the primary loop. The control system optimizes system performance by adjusting the rotational speed of the two compressors and altering the inlet and discharge timing on the valves on the expander/compressor. [0033] Various embodiments of the present invention provide a thermally enhanced cascade cooling system which, (a) cools a human-occupied or other enclosure using motive input power in the form of waste heat energy delivered over a wide range of temperatures. (b) provides a separate thermally-powered circuit and a separate mechanically-powered circuit thereby allowing each circuit to be performance-optimized by using a different refrigerant. (c) accepts thermal and mechanical input energy including electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic in any proportion. (d) generates its own electric power from thermal or other non-electric power input sources. (e) functions as a two-stage mechanical cooling system in an all-electric mode. (f) allows the output of a solar thermal power source to be variably balanced again other thermal sources such as a gas-fired boiler as well as non-thermal sources such as electric power from a photovoltaic array and/or the commercial utility grid. (g) improves the efficiency and reduces the power consumption of an engine-driven or electric compressor by using heat to reduce the condensing temperature of a primary cooling circuit. DRAWINGS—DESCRIPTION [0041] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, appended claims, and the accompanying exemplary embodiments shown in the drawing. which are briefly described below. [0042] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a thermally enhanced cascade cooling system according to a first embodiment. [0043] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a thermally enhanced cascade cooling system according to a second embodiment. [0044] FIG. 3A is a block diagram of one embodiment of a high temperature loop in a mobile vehicle application. [0045] FIG. 3B is a block diagram of one embodiment of a high temperature loop in a stationary application. [0046] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a thermally enhanced cascade cooling system according to a third embodiment. [0047] FIG. 5A is a block diagram of one embodiment of a direct expansion primary cooling loop. [0048] FIG. 5B is a block diagram of one embodiment of a primary cooling loop incorporating a liquid chiller. [0049] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a thermally enhanced cascade cooling system according to a fourth embodiment. [0050] FIG. 7 is a control logic flow chart for a high temperature loop in a mobile vehicle application. [0051] FIG. 8 is a control logic flow chart for a high temperature loop in a stationary application. [0052] FIG. 9 is a control logic flow chart for heating control according to one embodiment of a high temperature control loop. [0053] FIG. 10 is a control logic flow chart for boiler superheat control according to a first embodiment of a thermally enhanced cascade cooling system. [0054] FIG. 11 is a logic flow chart for chart for certain aspects of input power control according to a fourth embodiment of a thermally enhanced cascade cooling system. [0055] FIG. 12 is a logic flow chart to control valve timing in a vapor expander. [0056] FIG. 13 is a logic flow chart to control valve timing of a vapor expander operating in compressor mode. [0057] FIG. 14 shows input and output functions of an intelligent control system according to some embodiments of a thermally enhanced cascade cooling system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0058] Unlike the present invention, systems known in the prior art are not cascade systems. Specifically, they do not use an thermally-powered ejector cooling loop to reduce the condensing temperature of a separate mechanically-powered cooling loop. Also, the prior art does not show a cooling system including an ejector cooling loop which further includes a vapor expander which can also function as a mechanical compressor when no external heat source is available. Also, no thermally enhanced system is seen in the prior art which includes an intelligent controller which optimizes the system performance by changing the temperature of the evaporator in an ejector cooling loop to alter the condensing temperature of a mechanical primary cooling loop. [0059] According to various exemplary embodiments, a thermally enhanced cascade cooling system may use input thermal energy supplied from a variety of different sources. In some embodiments, the thermal energy input reduces the amount of electric power required to drive an electrically powered mechanical compressor. In other embodiments the heat energy is used to reduce the amount of drag induced on an engine powering an engine-driven compressor. In still other embodiments the system may be operated entirely from heat energy through the use of a vapor expander connected to a motor/generator and a mechanically-powered compressor. In the temporary absence of thermal input energy, some embodiments can operate entirely from electric energy input. [0060] The thermally enhanced cascade cooling system is comprised of two or more separate cooling loops. The refrigerant from one cooling loop does not mix with refrigerant in another. This allows different refrigerants to be used in each loop to optimize the system to receive input thermal energy at a wide range of temperatures and to provide cooling at a wide range of temperatures. For example; in a vehicle application, the thermal input to the ejector cooling loop may be waste heat from an engine at 95 degrees C. and a fuel-fired heater at 110 degrees C. In an stationary industrial application, the thermal input to the ejector cooling loop may be waste heat from a manufacturing process at 250 degrees C. and from a concentrated solar thermal array at 220 degrees C. In such applications it may be desirable to use a refrigerant such as R245fa in the ejector cooling loop of the vehicle application and water in the ejector cooling loop of the stationary industrial application. [0061] Similarly, the refrigerant used in the primary cooling loop may be altered according to the type of cooling to be done and the evaporator temperatures encountered. For example; in a vehicle application you may have a primary cooling loop providing cabin air conditioning with an evaporator temperature of 5 degrees C. You may also have an additional primary cooling loop on this same system or on a different system which provides freezing to a food storage area using an evaporator temperature of −40 degrees C. In such cases, in may be desirable to use R134a as the refrigerant in the primary cooling loop for the air conditioner and R-404a as the refrigerant in the freezer primary cooling loop. [0062] In some embodiments, the mechanical compressor in the primary cooling loop is powered by a variable-speed electric motor and also by a vapor expander. In these embodiments, the vapor expander is in fluid communication with the ejector cooling loop and in mechanical communication with the mechanical compressor in the primary cooling loop. In an embodiment so equipped, it is possible to operate the entire system using heat energy as the only input motive power. The heat boils refrigerant in the boiler in the ejector cooling loop to create a vapor at a motive pressure and temperature. This motive vapor is supplied to the ejector compressor to provide cooling in the ejector cooling loop, and to the vapor expander which turns the mechanical compressor in the primary loop to provide cooling. The vapor expander also turns a motor/generator to produce the electrical power required to operate controls, fans, valves, pumps and other electrically-powered components of the system. An intelligent control system alters various aspects of the system to maximize efficiency and meet other operating requirements. For example, the intelligent control system may alter that percentage of motive vapor that flows to the ejector compressor relative to the amount which flows to the vapor expander. [0063] Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. [0064] Referring to FIG. 1 , a first exemplary embodiment of a thermally enhanced cascade cooling system is comprised of two refrigerant loops.—an ejector cooling loop and a primary cooling loop. The ejector cooling loop operates in two modes—a first mode when thermal energy is available and a second mode when no thermal energy is available. In the first operating mode, when thermal energy is available, the ejector cooling loop performs an active cooling function. In the second operating mode, the ejector cooling loop performs a passive cooling function in the manner of a pumped refrigerant thermosyphon. FIG. 10 shows a control logic flow applied by an intelligent control system 24 to govern various aspects of the primary cooling loop. The following explanation will describe system operation in the first operating mode. Following that explanation will be a description of the second cooling mode. [0065] Still referring to FIG. 1 , the ejector cooling loop includes a boiler 1 which, in a first operating mode, receives heat from a thermal energy source and boils a suitable liquid refrigerant to a motive vapor at a motive temperature and motive pressure. Boiler 1 may be a tube-in-tube, tube-in-shell, heated plate or other type and construction and may be either a flooded or flash type boiler. The thermal energy source may be any source of heat energy which is at least 20 degrees C. higher in temperature than the heat sinking temperature of condenser 5 . Suitable heat sources include the cooling system of an internal or external combustion engine, the exhaust of an internal or external combustion engine, a fuel-fired heater, a solar thermal collector, electronic components, an electric motor, an electric generator, a geothermal source, a thermal byproduct of a fuel-burning process, a thermal byproduct of a chemical process, a thermal by-product of a manufacturing process, a thermal byproduct of a power generation process, a thermal byproduct of a emissions control process, or a thermal byproduct of a solid waste reduction process. [0066] Motive vapor leaves boiler 1 and passes through a solenoid valve 2 which is an electronically controlled valve constructed of heat-resistant materials and of a capacity which allows full vapor flow with minimal restriction. The motive vapor enters an ejector compressor 3 and is accelerated to a near-sonic to super-sonic speed through an internal orifice and further through a venturi mixing port so that a region of vacuum pressure is created on a vacuum inlet port. A working refrigerant vapor at an evaporator pressure leaves an ejector loop evaporator 9 and enters the vacuum inlet port of ejector compressor 3 and is mixed with the motive vapor in the venturi mixing chamber. [0067] The mixed motive vapor and working refrigerant vapor exit ejector compressor 3 and pass through a heat exchanger 4 which may be a tube-in-tube, shell-in-tube or other suitable gas-liquid heat exchanger. Heat energy is recovered from the mixed vapor and transferred to liquid refrigerate being pumped to boiler 1 . The cooled, mixed vapor enters an ejector loop condenser 5 which condenses the vapor to a liquid by transferring heat to air which is outside the compartment being cooled. In some embodiments, ejector loop condenser 5 may transfer heat to a material other than air such as water or a phase-change material. In some cases the heat so transferred may be stored and, at certain times, be used as a source of thermal input energy to boiler 1 . [0068] Upon exiting ejector loop condenser 5 , the liquid refrigerant at a condensing pressure, follows two paths. A first path leads to an expansion valve 8 which is an electronically-controlled stepper expansion valve capable of accurately regulating the flow of liquid refrigerant and further capable of closing off the flow of refrigerant. Expansion valve 8 meters liquid refrigerant into an ejector loop evaporator 9 which is in thermal communication with, and receives heat from, a primary loop condenser 19 . In one embodiment, ejector loop evaporator 9 and primary loop condenser 19 are two different circuits in a tube-in-tube heat exchanger. In other embodiments, they may be a different type of heat exchanger or may be two separate heat exchangers. For example; in an embodiment where is was desirable to be able to easily physically separate the primary cooling loop from the ejector cooling loop, ejector loop evaporator 9 and primary loop condenser 19 could be separate components which bolt or snap together to provide thermal communication. [0069] Liquid refrigerant following the first path enters ejector loop evaporator 9 and, upon absorbing heat from the primary cooling loop via primary loop condenser 19 , boils to a vapor at a ejector loop evaporator temperature and pressure. The ejector loop evaporator temperature is typically a temperature which is 3 degrees to 10 degrees C. below the condensing temperature of the primary cooling loop. The ejector loop evaporator pressure, will be the vapor pressure of the refrigerant in the ejector cooling loop that corresponds to this temperature. Once vaporized, the refrigerant returns to the vacuum port of ejector compressor 3 where it is mixed in the venturi mixing chamber with the motive vapor. [0070] Liquid refrigerant leaving ejector loop condenser 5 and following a second path leads to a refrigerant pump 7 which is a variable-speed, sealed electric pump suitable to pump liquid refrigerant from a condensing pressure to a motive pressure. Liquid refrigerant leaving refrigerant pump 7 passes through a 3-way refrigerant valve 6 —an electrically controlled sealed refrigerant valve—and is returned to the inlet of boiler 1 where it receives heat from the thermal energy source and boils to a motive vapor at a motive temperature and motive pressure. This concludes the description of the first operating mode of the ejector cooling loop of a first exemplary embodiment. [0071] When no heat energy is available, the ejector cooling loop functions in a second operating mode. In this mode, the ejector loop cools the condenser of the primary loop but, unlike in the first operating mode, it does not cool it to a temperature lower than the heat sink temperature of the ejector loop condenser. Having a second operating mode for the ejector cooling loop provides a way for the heat from the primary cooling loop to be dissipated through the condenser of the ejector cooling loop. This eliminates the need to have an auxiliary condenser in the primary cooling loop. In some embodiments, the second operating mode is eliminated and an auxiliary primary condenser is added. [0072] When operating in a second mode, 3-way refrigerant valve 6 is positioned so that liquid refrigerant discharged from refrigerant pump 7 flows directly into ejector loop evaporator 9 . As in the first operating mode, heat from the primary refrigerant loop is discharged in primary loop condenser 19 and passes by thermal communication to ejector loop evaporator 9 and vaporizes the liquid refrigerant therein. The vaporized refrigerant passes through ejector compressor 3 and heat exchanger 4 to enter ejector loop condenser 5 . No further substantial compression or heat transfer is imposed on the vapor between the outlet of ejector loop evaporator 9 and the inlet of ejector loop condenser 5 . [0073] Upon entering ejector loop condenser 5 , the refrigerant vapor transfers heat to air which is outside the compartment being cooled and condenses to a liquid. As in the first operating mode, the liquid refrigerant leaving ejector loop condenser 5 enters refrigerant pump 7 for continued circulation. The concludes the operational description of the second operating mode of the ejector cooling loop. [0074] Continuing to refer to FIG. and turning attention to a primary cooling loop as shown in detail in FIG. 5A , which includes a mechanical compressor 10 operably coupled to an electric motor 11 . In one embodiment mechanical compressor 10 is a variable-speed rotary piston compressor but in other embodiments may be single speed and/or variable capacity in design and may be a scroll, rotary vane, gerotor, reciprocating piston, oscillating, centrifugal, scotch yoke, swash plate, screw, turbine, Wankel, or other known type. In one embodiment, motor 11 is a variable-speed synchronous permanent magnet motor but in other embodiments may be a single speed motor and may also be an induction motor, a switched reluctance motor, a permanent magnet BLDC motor, or another rotating electric machine. In still other embodiments, motor 11 may be a source of torque energy other than an electric motor such as an internal combustion engine, a hydraulic motor a wind turbine, a pneumatic motor, a vapor expander, or a rotating shaft or axle of a machine. [0075] Refrigerant vapor is compressed by mechanical compressor 10 to a primary condensing pressure which is a pressure equal to the vapor pressure of the refrigerant in the primary cooling loop at the primary condensing temperature. The primary condensing temperature is a temperature which is typically 3 degrees to 10 degrees C. above the evaporator temperature of the ejector cooling loop. From the compressor, refrigerant vapor enters a primary loop condenser 19 which is in thermal communication which, and rejects heat to, ejector loop evaporator 9 . From primary loop condenser 19 , the liquified refrigerant flows to an expansion valve 8 and is metered to a primary loop evaporator 12 . [0076] In one exemplary embodiment, primary loop evaporator 12 is a parallel flow aluminum air-refrigerant heat exchanger which absorbs heat from the air of a compartment to be cooled. In other embodiments it may be a liquid chiller, a serpentine coil, a plate type heat exchanger, a heat exchanger incorporating thermosyphons, a heat exchanger incorporating heat pipes, a coil within a tank containing a thermal storage material, a heat exchanger removing heat from a chemical process, a heat exchanger removing heat from an electrical process, a heat exchanger removing heat due to solar exposure, or another suitable type of heat exchanger. [0077] Heat from the cooled compartment evaporates the liquid refrigerant which has been metered into primary loop evaporator 12 . The resulting vapor, at a primary loop evaporator pressure, returns to mechanical compressor 10 and is compressed to a primary condensing pressure to complete the refrigerant cycle of the primary cooling loop. [0078] Another embodiment is described in reference to the thermally enhanced cascade cooling system shown in FIG. 1 . In this embodiment, a potentially hazardous refrigerant is used in the primary cooling loop. The refrigerant may, or may not be a condensing refrigerant at the operating pressures and temperatures required in the application. For example; a high pressure, non-condensing refrigerant such as CO2 is used. In the case of a non-condensing refrigerant and application, primary loop condenser 19 is a non-condensing heat exchanger. [0079] An alternative embodiment of a primary cooling loop which in this case incorporates a liquid chiller is shown in FIG. 5B . In this embodiment, primary loop evaporator 12 is replaced by refrigerant-liquid heat exchanger 27 which is typically a flat plate heat exchanger but may also be a tube-in-shell, tube-in-tube or other suitable type. A liquid pump 17 circulates a heat exchange fluid such as a 40 / 60 mixture of propylene glycol and water through a closed circuit loop. Liquid-air hear exchanger 28 absorbs heat from a compartment to be cooled and heats the circulating heat exchange liquid which, in turn, is removed by refrigerant-liquid heat exchanger 27 . In this embodiment, all refrigerant-containing circuits and components may be placed outside the compartment to be cooled. This is particularly advantageous under certain conditions and when using certain refrigerants to enhance safety. [0080] Referring to FIG. 2 , according to a second exemplary embodiment, a thermally enhanced cascade cooling system includes a high temperature cooling loop as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B . A high temperature loop such as the one diagramed in FIG. 3A is typical of a vehicle application of the present invention and includes an internal combustion engine 16 and a fuel-fired heat source 14 . A heat transfer fluid such as a 40 / 60 mixture of propylene glycol and water is circulated in a liquid loop by liquid pump 17 . Liquid pump 17 is typically a variable-speed centrifugal pump which is magnetically coupled to a permanent magnet electric motor. It may also be another type such as a centrifugal or positive displacement pump drive by gear, belt. or chain from an internal combustion engine. In some embodiments the high temperature loop may be the same loop as the internal combustion engine cooling loop and may share the same circulating pump. [0081] The flow of the heat transfer fluid within the high temperature loop is regulated by an intelligent control system 24 which varies the speed of liquid pump 17 and positions 3-way liquid valves 15 . A control logic flow for this loop is shown in FIG. 7 . By changing the position of 3-way valves 15 , the heat transfer fluid may be selectively routed through or around individual heat producing sources. For example; in a condition where the system is activated and cooling is required and where internal combustion engine 16 is cold and/or shut off, a-way valves 15 would be positioned so that fluid discharged from liquid pump 17 would bypass internal combustion engine 16 and flow through fuel-fired heat source 14 . Conversely, if internal combustion engine 16 where hot enough to produce all of the required thermal input energy, 3-way valves 15 would be positioned to direct the heat transfer liquid through it and around fuel-fired heat source 14 . [0082] Under certain conditions, some thermal energy, but less than the total amount required for operation of the system, is available from internal combustion engine 16 . In such a condition, fuel-fired heat source 14 is activated so as to supplement the heat from internal combustion engine 16 so that the correct operating temperature of all devices is maintained and the temperature of the heat transfer fluid entering boiler 1 is sufficiently high to provide the required thermal input energy to the system. [0083] Another embodiment of a high temperature loop is shown in FIG. 3B and represents an embodiment which might be more typical of certain stationary applications. It includes a solar thermal collector 18 as a source of thermal input energy input to the circulating heat transfer fluid in addition to fuel-fired heat source 14 . A control logic flow for this loop is shown in FIG. 8 . The loop further includes a heat coil 26 which provides thermal communication between the heated heat transfer fluid and the air of a compartment to be heated. Heater coil 26 is typically a parallel flow aluminum heat exchanger but may be another type of liquid-air heat exchanger in other embodiments. Air from a compartment to be heated is circulated over heater coil 26 so that heat is transferred from the liquid heat transfer solution to the air. A control flow logic applied by intelligent control system 24 to the functionality of theater coil 26 is shown in FIG. 9 . In some embodiments, heater coil 26 may be of a type and functionally positioned so as to heat a material other than air such as a fluid or solid and may provide heating to aid a process rather than, or in addition to, providing comfort heating. [0084] Referring again to FIG. 2 , a thermally enhanced cascade cooling system of the shown embodiment further includes a primary loop auxiliary condenser 13 which is typically an aluminum parallel flow refrigerant-air heat exchanger but may be a different type in other embodiments. Primary loop auxiliary condenser 13 provides thermal communication between the refrigerant vapor discharged from mechanical compressor 10 and air outside the compartment to be cooled. In most application, the heat from auxiliary condenser 13 will be discharge to the same environment as the heat discharged by ejector loop condenser 5 . Under certain operating conditions, such as when sufficient thermal input energy is available to provide full cooling capacity in the ejector cooling loop, auxiliary condenser 13 performs no condensing function and all condensing function in the primary cooling loop is performed by primary loop condenser 19 . Under other conditions, such as when partial but insufficient thermal input energy is available to provide full cooling capacity in the ejector cooling loop, auxiliary condenser 13 performs a partial condensing function and the remaining condensing function in the primary cooling loop is performed by primary loop condenser 19 . Under still other conditions, such as when no thermal input energy is available to provide cooling capacity in the ejector cooling loop, auxiliary condenser 13 performs all of the condensing function in the primary cooling loop. [0085] A third exemplary embodiment of a thermally enhanced cascade cooling system is shown in FIG. 4 . This embodiment is a four-loop system comprised of a one ejector cooling loop as previously described, one high temperature loop as previously described and shown in detail in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B and two primary cooling loops as previously described and shown in detail in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B . Functionality of this embodiment is as previously described except that ejector loop evaporator 9 is in thermal communication with a plurality of primary cooling loops, each one having a primary loop condenser 19 . In this embodiment, the cooling capacity of the ejector cooling loop and the heating capacity of the high temperature loop must be sufficient to transfer all heat from all simultaneously functioning primary cooling loops to and through ejector loop condenser 5 . All primary loops remain separate and are able to be charged with a different and optimum type of refrigerant. Additionally, each primary cooling loop may perform the same or a different function. For example; one primary cooling loop might provide air conditioning for a truck cab while a second primary cooling loop may provide refrigeration for truck trailer or cargo area. In this way, the waste heat from the propulsion engine can be used to improve the energy efficiency of both the air conditioning system and the refrigeration system. [0086] In such a system it may be desirable to have one or both of the primary cooling loops easily separated from the other components. For example; in a truck with a detachable trailer, the high temperature loop, the ejector cooling loop and one primary cooling loop might be permanently mounted on the truck cab. This provides a fully functional air conditioning system for the truck cab regardless of whether trailer is attached. A second primary cooling loop might then be mounted on the truck trailer to provide refrigeration. When that primary cooling loop includes a primary loop auxiliary condenser 13 as shown in FIG. 2 , it allows full operational functionality even when disconnected from the ejector cooling loop. Once the trailer is attached to the truck cab, the trailer-mounted primary cooling loop is thermally connected to the ejector cooling loop by attaching primary loop condenser 19 to ejector loop evaporator 9 and energy efficiency of the trailer-mounted primary loop system is improved. [0087] A fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 6 . with further power control logic flow as shown in FIG. 11 . In this embodiment a vapor expander 21 is operably connected to a motor/generator 20 and further operably connected to mechanical compressor 10 . Vapor expander 21 is a reciprocating piston expander but in other embodiments may be a scroll, rotary piston, rotary vane, gerotor, Wankel, centrifugal, turbine, screw or other type of expander which may also be configured to operate as a compressor. Motor/generator 20 is a synchronous permanent magnet rotating machine but may also be a brushless or brushed permanent magnet machine, a dynamo, an alternator, or a field-wound machine. The embodiment operates in two different operating modes—a first mode in which a source of thermal energy is available and a second mode in which only electric energy is available. [0088] In the first operating mode, liquid refrigerant, having been heated in boiler 1 to a motive vapor at a motive pressure and a motive temperature, follows two fluid paths. The first path flows past solenoid valve 2 and into ejector compressor 3 in the manner that has been previously described for other embodiments. Motive vapor following the second path flows to expander inlet valve 23 and enters vapor expander 21 at a motive pressure and motive temperature and is expanded to a lower pressure and temperature. Intelligent control system 24 regulates the operation of these valves as shown in FIG. 12 . In the process of expansion, mechanical energy is recovered and transferred as a rotational torque to motor/generator 20 and to mechanical compressor 10 . [0089] Expanded vapor exits through expander discharge valve 22 which, like expander inlet valve 23 , is a vapor flow control valve whose opening and closing is controlled and timed relative to the position of a vapor expander 21 by an intelligent control system 24 . Various operating conditions including vapor and liquid refrigerant temperature, thermal energy input quantity and quality, compressor load are considered by the intelligent control system 24 in determining the optimum positions of system valves, fan speeds, pump speeds and other adjustments. For example; closing expander inlet valve 23 earlier in the expansion stroke of vapor expander 21 will improve system energy efficiency by will also create less rotational torque. [0090] Exiting expander discharge valve 22 , the expanded vapor passes through one-way check valve 25 as it follows a fluid path to eventually join and mix with the vapor exiting ejector compressor 3 . This intersection is made before the mixed vapor passes through heat exchanger 4 so that heat may be recovered from the vapor and used to pre-heat the liquid refrigerant returning to boiler 1 . [0091] When both electrical input energy and thermal input energy are available, and the amount of electrical input energy is equal to the amount required to operate all the electrical components of the system, intelligent control system 24 commands motor/generator 20 to a neutral state so that it neither consumes nor generates electric power. [0092] When both electrical input energy and thermal input energy are available, and the amount of electrical input energy is greater than the amount required to operate all the electrical components of the system, intelligent control system 24 commands motor/generator 20 to a motor state so that the amount of vapor required by vapor expander 21 to turn mechanical compressor 10 is reduced. [0093] When only thermal energy is available or when electrical input energy is available but is insufficient to operate all the electrical components of the system, intelligent control system 24 commands motor/generator 20 to a generator state. In this state, the amount of vapor directed to vapor expander 21 is increased so that it produces a sufficient amount of torque to turn both mechanical compressor 10 and motor/generator 20 and to produce a sufficient amount of electricity to power the electric components of the system. [0094] In the first operating mode, the ratio of thermal input energy to total system input energy can range from 5% to 100%. When a sufficient amount of thermal energy is available, no external source of electric power is required for system functionality. [0095] In the second operating mode, electric input power is available but less than 5% of the total input energy required to run the system is available as thermal input. In this mode, refrigerant pump 7 and ejector compressor 3 are deactivated and solenoid valves 2 are closed. Intelligent control system 24 positions 3-way refrigerant valve 6 so that refrigerant vapor exiting ejector loop evaporator 9 flows directly to expander inlet valve 23 . The timing of the opening and closing of expander inlet valve 23 and expander discharge valve 22 relative to the piston position of vapor expander 21 is altered so that vapor expander 21 functions as a compressor. The control flow logic applied by intelligent control system 24 when a compressor mode is shown in FIG. 13 . In this valve timing, check valve 25 improves operating efficiency by preventing previously discharged vapor from back flowing into vapor expander 21 . In some embodiments, check valve 25 is eliminated by waiting to open expander discharge valve 22 until the internal vapor pressure of vapor expander 21 is equal to or greater than the pressure of the previously discharged vapor. [0096] With vapor expander 21 now set to operate as a compressor, the ejector cooling loop now operates as the second stage of an electrically-powered two-stage cascade cooling system. Intelligent control system 24 commands motor/generator 20 to produce sufficient torque to provide a first stage of compression in the primary cooling loop through mechanical compressor 10 and the second stage of compression in the ejector cooling loop through vapor expander 21 operating in a compressor mode. CONCLUSIONS, RAMIFICATIONS AND SCOPE [0097] Accordingly, the reader will see that various embodiments of the thermally enhanced cascade cooling system which constitute the present invention can be used to cool enclosed compartments to air conditioning, refrigeration and freezer temperatures. A wide variety of stored and non-stored thermal, electrical and mechanical energy input sources may be used. Furthermore, an intelligent control system ensures that the most suitable energy sources are used first and supplemented to the extend required by other, lower priority energy sources. Some embodiments will operate solely from heat or electric power when other energy sources are not available or are less desirable. [0098] Because the design uses multiple, separate refrigerant circuits, the system is easily optimized for various input temperatures and cooling temperatures by using different refrigerants in each circuit. By adjusting the speed and flow rate of fans and pumps and by altering the position of flow control valves, the intelligent control system ensures that each cooling loop functions at optimum efficiency and that the temperature and capacity of each cooling loop is optimized relative to each other. [0099] Some embodiments use one ejector cooling loop to reduce the energy consumption of multiple primary cooling loops. Some or all of these primary cooling loops may include an auxiliary condensing coil so that they can operate in a “stand alone” mode (i.e. without connection to the ejector cooling loop) as well as in a cascade connection to the ejector cooling loop. Also, multiple primary cooling loops in a single system may provide a cooling temperature and/or location identical to or different from each other. [0100] Although the description, drawings and specification includes many specific details, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments. Rather, they are provided to illustrate exemplary embodiments and applications. For example, the invention can use the waste heat emitted by electronic devices to prevent overheating of those devices. In such a case, the actual cooling temperature may be lower than, equal to, or greater than the ambient air temperature. In different installations and embodiments, certain parts of the system may be easily separated from other parts of the system and, when separated, these parts may function differently or serve a different purpose than when they are connected together in the manner described herein. [0101] Some embodiments may use fixed speed fans, pumps, motors or compressors to save cost. In other embodiments, some or all of these may be variable speed to maximize energy efficiency and performance. Accordingly, the intelligent control system in one embodiment may control different functions in different ways than in another embodiment. Similarly, many different types of compressors, heat exchangers, vapor expanders, pumps and ejectors can be used. [0102] Thus the scope of the embodiments should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalent, rather than by the examples given.

A cascade cooling system that uses low-grade thermal and other energy input sources to provide refrigeration and air conditioning in stationary and mobile applications. A two-loop embodiment includes a heat-powered first loop incorporating a vapor-jet compressor and a second loop based on a mechanical compressor powered by an electric motor or other source of rotational torque. The system uses waste heat, solar thermal or a fuel-fired heat source to partially or fully offset mechanical/electrical energy input. The system can also operate entirely on thermal, electrical or mechanical input. The ability to use multiple energy sources in any combination maximizes energy efficiency, performance and reliability. The system is well suited to making beneficial use of waste heat in vehicle applications. In stationary applications, solar thermal and/or waste heat from industrial processes can be used to improve the efficiency of conventional cooling systems.

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention generally relates to an apertured film laminate, and more specifically to an apertured film and nonwoven laminate wherein the laminate has the appearance, strength, and drape of a nonwoven and the surface characteristics of a film, said laminate structure especially suited as a unitized cover and transfer layer for absorbent articles. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Films are used in a wide variety of applications where the engineered qualities of the film can be advantageously employed as a component substrate. The use of selected thermoplastic polymers in the construction of film products, selected treatment of the polymeric films (either while in melt form or in an unitized structure), and selected use of various mechanisms by which the film is unitized into a useful construct, are typical variables by which to adjust and alter the performance of the resultant polymeric film product. [0003] The formation of finite thickness films from thermoplastic polymers is a well known practice. Thermoplastic polymer films can be formed by either dispersion of a quantity of molten polymer into a mold having the dimensions of the desired end product, known as a thermo-formed or injection-molded film, or by continuously forcing the molten polymer through a die, known as an extruded film. Extruded thermoplastic polymer films can either be formed such that the film is cooled then wound as a completed product, or dispensed directly onto a substrate material to form a composite material having performance of both the substrate and the film layers. Examples of suitable substrate materials include other films, polymeric or metallic sheet stock and woven or nonwoven fabric. [0004] To further improve the performance of the thermoplastic polymer film when used in composite material manufacture, various additives are admixed with the thermoplastic polymer prior to or during extrusion. Typical additives employed are those selected from various colorants or opacifiers, such as titanium dioxide. If there is a desire to form a composite wherein the thermoplastic polymer film will be exposed to a transitory temperature above the melting temperature of the polymer, antioxidants can be incorporated into the mix to aid in reducing thermal degradation. In the event where the family of thermoplastic polymers to be used in the extruded film exhibits a dissimilar characteristic such as surface energy from the thermoplastic polymer of the substrate material, compatibilizers are incorporated into the polymer mix. [0005] The utilization of a film-nonwoven laminate construct in various end-use applications, such as surgical drapes, and hygiene applications, such as sanitary napkins, is known to those skilled in the art. The prior art to the aforementioned applications include U.S. Pat. No. 4,033,341 to Scrivens and U.S. Pat. No. 4,184,498 to Franco, which are both hereby incorporated by reference. Hygiene applications, specifically feminine care products, such as sanitary napkins and panty liners, diaper, and incontinence pads, and the like, tend to use either a film or nonwoven cover sheets, with both substrates posing advantages and disadvantages. Whereas some end-users prefer nonwoven covers for the softness associated with the fabric, the nonwoven cover often lacks the feeling of dryness desired in fem-care products. On the other hand, some end-users prefer film covers due to the dry feeling offered by the film; however the film covers often tend to feel hot as well, and doesn't offer the same level of comfort as a nonwoven. [0006] A need remains for a lightweight film laminate that can be utilized as a unitized cover and transfer layer in fem-care products and other absorbent articles, so as to provide a combination of beneficial nonwoven and film characteristics suitable for both groups of end-users. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] The present invention is directed to an unitized cover and transfer layer for hygiene applications that have the appearance, strength, and drape of a nonwoven and the surface characteristics of a film. The lightweight apertured film surface the present invention is comprised of a series of void spaces that act to collect liquids and channel such liquid into an associated underlying absorbent layer, while reducing potential release of particulates inherent to the absorbent layer. Further, the unitized cover and transfer layer of the present invention exhibits significantly reduced frictional noise and discomfort induced by prolonged contact. [0008] Traditionally, the apertured film process as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,679, to Mattingly III, et al., has produced 25 to 27 gsm film at the lightest weight utilizing an ethyl vinyl acrylate/linear low density polyethylene chemistry. The present invention incorporates a light ( 7 to 15 gsm) fibrous or filamentary substrate, which allows for a lightweight extruded coating of a 20 gsm film. [0009] In accordance with the present invention, the lightweight unitized cover and transfer layer construct is formed by extruding a thin film on the order of 20 gsm onto a lightweight fibrous or filamentary substrate. Subsequent to coating the substrate with the film, the laminate is embossed, using micro-embossing, macro-embossing, or both, wherein during the embossing process the film is forced into the fibrous or filamentary network that make up the land areas of the embossing pattern. The molten polymer is extruded at the heated roll, comes in contact with the substrate at the embossed roll, and then advances onto the cooled roll. The resulting fabric has improved air permeability due to more uniform, clear aperture formations, improved caliper, and drapeability. [0010] The unitized cover and transfer layer of the present invention is lightweight, wherein the film layer is on the order of 20 gsm and the substrate layer 7 - 15 gsm. For hygienic absorbent article applications, the apertured film side is the body facing layer, channeling exudates through the apertures and into the nonwoven transfer layer to be sequestered into the absorbent core. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0011] FIG. 1 schematic representation of the processing apparatus for producing an apertured film in accordance with the principles of the present invention; [0012] FIG. 2 is a depiction of a preferred method of making the unitized cover and transfer layer of the present invention; [0013] FIG. 3 is a photomicrograph of the unitized cover and transfer layer of the present invention: [0014] FIG. 4 is a magnified photomicrograph of FIG. 3 ; and [0015] FIG. 5 is a plan view of a diaper in an uncontracted state. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0016] While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter be described a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the invention, and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiment illustrated. [0017] FIG. 1 depicts a representative direct extrusion film process. Blending and dosing system 1 , comprising at least two hopper loaders for polymer chip and a mixing hopper. Variable speed augers within both hopper loaders transfer predetermined amounts of polymer chip and additive pellet to the mixing hopper. The mixing hopper contains a mixing propeller to further the homogeneity of the mixture. Basic volumetric systems such as that described, are a minimum requirement for the blending zone system. [0018] The polymer chip and additive pellet blend feeds into a multi-zone extruder 2 as supplied by the Wellex Corporation. In this particular system, a five zone extruder was employed with a 2 inch water-jacketed bore and a length to diameter ratio of 24 to 1. [0019] Upon mixing and extrusion from multi-zone extruder 2 , the polymer compound is conveyed via heated polymer piping 7 through screen changer 3 , wherein breaker plates having different screen meshes are employed to retain solid or semi-molten polymer chips and other macroscopic debris. The mixed polymer is then fed into melt pump 5 . [0020] Melt pump 5 operates in dynamic feed back with the multi-zone extruder 2 to maintain the desired pressure levels. A gear-type melt pump was employed to respond to pressure levels by altering the speed of the extruder to compensate for deviations from the pressure set point window. [0021] The metered and mixed polymer compound then enters combining block 6 . The combining block allows for multiple film layers to be extruded, the film layers being of either the same composition or fed from different systems as described above. The combining block 6 is directed into die body 9 by additional heated polymer piping 7 . [0022] The particular die body 9 employed in this system is a 37 inch wide EDI Automatic Die with die bolt control as supplied by EDI. The die body 9 is positioned in an overhead orientation such that molten film extrusion 15 is deposited at the heated roll 14 , wherein the molten film coats the substrate at the embossing roll 10 and the laminate advance onto the cooling roll 11 . [0023] The film substrate of the present invention may be that of various olefinic polymers including, but are not limited to, isotactic polypropylene, linear low-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, medium low-density polyethylene, very low-density polyethylene, amorphous polypropylene, polyethylene copolymers, polypropylene copolymers, polybutylene, ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymer, ethylene/ethyl acrylate copolymer, ethylene/methyl acrylate copolymer, polystyrene, plastomers, and the combination thereof. [0024] It is within the purview of the present invention that the substrate to be coated with the molten polymer be either of fibrous or filamentary formation. Staple fibers used to form nonwoven fabrics begin in a bundled form as a bale of compressed fibers. In order to decompress the fibers, and render the fibers suitable for integration into a nonwoven fabric, the bale is bulk-fed into a number of fiber openers, such as a garnet, then into a card. The card further frees the fibers by the use of co-rotational and counter-rotational wire combs, then depositing the fibers into a lofty batt. The lofty batt of staple fibers can then optionally be subjected to fiber reorientation, such as by air-randomization and/or cross-lapping, depending upon the ultimate tensile properties of the resulting nonwoven fabric. The fibrous batt is unitized into a nonwoven fabric by application of suitable bonding means, including, but not limited to, use of adhesive binders, thermo-bonding by calender or through-air oven, and hydroentanglement. Preferably, the substrate of the unitized cover and transfer layer has a basis weight range of about 7 to 30 grams per square meter, more preferably 8 to 20 grams per square meter, and most preferably a basis weight range of about 10 to 15 grams per square meter. Further, the substrate may be filamentary, such as a spunbond or meltblown web. The fibers or filaments of the spunmelt can be selected from a group of polyesters, polyamides, or polyolefins, such as polypropylene, polyethylene, and the combinations thereof. The fibers or filaments may also be one of a multi-component configuration of the above mentioned polymers and preferably has a basis weight between 7 and 15 gsm. [0025] A spunbond process involves supplying a molten polymer, which is then extruded under pressure through a large number of orifices in a plate known as a spinneret or die. The resulting continuous filaments are quenched and drawn by any of a number of methods, such as slot draw systems, attenuator guns, or Godet rolls. The continuous filaments are collected as a loose web upon a moving foraminous surface, such as a wire mesh conveyor belt. When more than one spinneret is used in line for the purpose of forming a multi-layered fabric, the subsequent webs is collected upon the uppermost surface of the previously formed web. The web is then at least temporarily consolidated, usually by means involving heat and pressure, such as by thermal point bonding. Using this bonding means, the web or layers of webs are passed between two hot metal rolls, one of which has an embossed pattern to impart and achieve the desired degree of point bonding, usually on the order of 10 to 40 percent of the overall surface area being so bonded. [0026] A related means to the spunbond process for forming a layer of a nonwoven fabric is the melt blown process. Again, a molten polymer is extruded under pressure through orifices in a spinneret or die. High velocity air impinges upon and entrains the filaments as they exit the die. The energy of this step is such that the formed filaments are greatly reduced in diameter and are fractured so that microfibers of finite length are produced. Additionally, nano-fibers of infinite length, wherein the average fiber diameter of the nano-fiber is in the range of less than or equal to 1000 nanometers, and preferably less than or equal to 500 nanometers may be incorporated. The extruded multiple and continuous filaments can be optionally imparted with a selected level of crimp, then cut into fibers of finite staple length. [0027] These thermoplastic resin staple fibers can then be subsequently used to form textile yarns or carded and unitized into nonwoven fabrics by appropriate means, as exemplified by thermo-bonding, adhesive bonding, and hydroentanglement technologies. The process to form either a single layer or a multiple-layer fabric is continuous, that is, the process steps are uninterrupted from extrusion of the filaments to form the first layer until the bonded web is wound into a roll. [0028] In a preferred embodiment and as depicted in FIG. 2 , the olefinic molten polymer is extruded at the heated roll ( 3 ), comes in contact with the substrate at the embossed roll ( 2 ), and then advances onto the cooled roll ( 1 ). The resulting unitized cover and transfer layer has improved air permeability due to more uniform, clear aperture formations, improved caliper, and drapeability. Subsequent to coating the substrate with the film, the laminate is embossed, using micro-embossing, macro-embossing, or both, wherein during the embossing process the film is forced into the fibrous or filamentary network that make up the land areas of the embossing pattern. [0029] It is further within the purview of the present invention that the film laminate optionally comprise an aesthetic or performance-modifying additive, wherein the modifying additive may be incorporated into the molten polymer or topically applied to the unitized cover and transfer layer. The use of such additives may include, but are not limited to, wetting agents, pigments, anti-microbials, emollients, fragrances, and the combination thereof. EXAMPLE [0030] In accordance with the present invention, a 10 gsm SBPP was coated with 20 gsm of Comfort Silk® film, which is made commercially available by Polymer Group, Inc. Table 1 contains the physical properties of the resultant structure. The resultant structure has uniform and clear aperture formations, with a 332 cfm Frasier air permeability. Further, the machine direction handleometer reading averaged 12.5 grams. Further still, the 20 gsm film/10 gsm nonwoven structure possessed an embossed thickness of 315 microns. The composite structure has the appearance, strength and drape of a nonwoven and the surface characteristics of a film. The adhesion mechanism is primarily fiber penetration into the film layer caused by macro-embossing. Optionally, the entire laminate or select regions may be micro-embossed in addition to the macro-embossing. FIGS. 3 and 4 are representative of the a unitized cover and transfer layer of the present invention. [0031] Various hygiene, industrial, and medical end-use articles may benefit from the lightweight laminate, wherein the laminate of the invention is especially suited for a unitized cover and transfer layer for hygienic products, such as sanitary napkins, including panty liners, as well as other absorbent articles. A general construct for an absorbent article includes a cover and a backsheet affixed about a central absorbent core. Representative prior art to such article fabrication include U.S. Pat. No. 4,029,101, No. 4,184,498, No. 4,195,634, No. 4,408,357 and No. 4,886,513, which are incorporated herein by reference. [0032] An absorbent article incorporating the unitized cover and transfer layer of the present invention is represented by the unitary disposable absorbent article, diaper 20 , shown in FIG. 5 . As used herein, the term “diaper” refers to an absorbent article generally worn by infants and incontinent persons that is worn about the lower torso of the wearer. It should be understood, however, that the present invention is also applicable to other absorbent articles such as incontinence briefs, incontinence undergarments, diaper holders and liners, feminine hygiene garments, training pants, pull-on garments, and the like. [0033] FIG. 5 is a plan view of a diaper 20 in an uncontracted state (i.e., with elastic induced contraction pulled out) with portions of the structure being cut-away to more clearly show the construction of the diaper 20 . As shown in FIG. 5 , the diaper 20 preferably comprises a containment assembly 22 comprising a liquid pervious topsheet 24 ; a liquid impervious backsheet 26 joined to the topsheet; and an absorbent core 28 positioned between the topsheet 24 and the backsheet 26 . The absorbent core 28 has a pair of opposing longitudinal edges, an inner surface and an outer surface. The diaper can further comprise elastic leg features 32 ; elastic waist features 34 ; and a fastening system 36 , which preferably comprises a pair of securement members 37 and a landing member 38 . [0034] From the foregoing, it will be observed that numerous modifications and variations can be affected without departing from the true spirit and scope of the novel concept of the present invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific embodiments illustrated herein is intended or should be inferred. The disclosure is intended to cover, by the appended claims, all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims. TABLE 1 Film Total Gloss Smoothness Thickenss Air Perm MD Hand Nonwoven Weight Substrate Weight units units microns cfm grams Strikethrough Rewet 10 gsm SBPP 20 Phobic 30 6.3 4.5 314 332 13 3.58 2.85 17 gsm SBPP 15 Phobic 32 5.2 1.5 323 267 16 3.31 1.88 10 gsm SBPP 15 Philic 25 5 1.4 340 401 11 1.4 2.44 17 gsm SBPP 20 Philic 37 4.9 1.1 320 236 21 1.49 2.89

The present invention is directed to an unitized cover and transfer layer for hygiene applications that have the appearance, strength, and drape of a nonwoven and the surface characteristics of a film. The lightweight apertured film surface the present invention is comprised of a series of void spaces that act to collect liquids and channel such liquid into an associated underlying absorbent layer, while reducing potential release of particulates inherent to the absorbent layer. Further, the unitized cover and transfer layer of the present invention exhibits significantly reduced frictional noise and discomfort induced by prolonged contact.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a divisional application of co-pending application Ser. No. 09/994,865, filed Nov. 28, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to network print systems configured to generate print data, e.g., of a chit and print the chit via a network. [0004] 2. Related Background Art [0005] With quick development of Internet and increase in the number of Web servers, business tasks are being directed toward processing on Web. When personal computers, connected to a network, are solely loaded with a Web browser capable of display of information and entry of information, it is feasible to handle business tasks by the Web browser and Web server, which is becoming widespread. In this case, information necessary for performance of the tasks is exchanged between the Web server and the Web browser. [0006] The Web server receives input information from the Web browser, processes the information, and sends the processed information again to the Web browser. The Web server presents display of the thus processed information. These actions are repeated to carry out the tasks. [0007] There was, however, an issue in the performance of tasks by the Web browser and Web server, concerning the print operation indispensable for the performance of tasks. In particular, it was impossible to make satisfactory prints according to a format, e.g., for chits. [0008] The typical Web browsers provide the print function, but this function is to make a printer under the Web browser (or a printer under a computer on which the Web browser is active) print a hard copy of an image displayed on the Web browser. In this print method, there arises an issue of how to make a page break for an image over a sheet size or for an image across plural pages, and it is often the case that the resultant print does not meet a user's desire. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0009] A conceivable solution to it is a print system in which a print system server incorporating the Web server generates printing data (e.g., chit print data) in response to an instruction from the Web browser and delivers it to a client with the Web browser being active. In this print system, the server always generates printing data according to individual instructions and sequentially sends it to the client. [0010] An issue in this print system is, however, increase in the load on the server against concentrated requests from many and unspecified clients being the feature of Web communications, because the processing to generate the final printing data is carried out all on the server side. Further, when the printing data is generated using a printer driver on the server side, in order to print the printing data on the client side, the same driver as the printer driver present on the server side has to be prepared on the client side. [0011] Since the printing data generated on the server side can amount to a high volume of data, depending upon its contents, it must be a great load on the network during transmission of data to the client. [0012] Therefore, the present invention has been accomplished in order to solve the issues discussed above, and makes it feasible to deliver data necessary for generation of chit print data by overlay processing, from the server to the client and allow the client to generate the chit print data through execution of the overlay processing. The present invention implements a function of permitting the client to retain data once delivered from the server and thereafter avoiding redundant delivery of the data once retained at the client, from the server, thereby efficiently reducing the volume of data through the network. [0013] In the aforementioned print system, the flow of printing follows (1) or (2) below. (1) Printing data is delivered to each of clients requesting print and the data is sent from each client to a printer. (2) A chit form and data are delivered to each of clients requesting print, and each client overlays the data on the chit form to generate printing data. [0014] In (1), however, since the individual clients need to perform the data transmission and printing management for printing jobs, the individual clients have to possess data transmission and processing performance over a certain level. [0015] The volume of transmitted data can be smaller in (2) than in (1), but the individual clients have to carry out the overlay process of the data on the chit form, which posed the drawback that the individual clients had to possess much higher processing performance. [0016] Accordingly, the present invention has been accomplished in order to give a solution to the above issues, and makes it feasible to carry out efficient printing without imposing a too heavy load on the client, in such a way that the data necessary for generation of printing data is delivered to an output server instead of the client and the output server converts the data thus delivered, to printer-digestible data. [0017] While the load on the server and network can be reduced by executing the generating operation of the final printing data on the client side at the output server, the data delivered from the server can be relatively easily analyzed by a third party except for users of the system, however. For this reason, it cannot be denied that there is a possibility of falsification of information against the data. [0018] Therefore, the present invention is further directed to a technology of inserting a description indicating a data compression method and an enciphering method for prevention of falsification into the data for generation of image delivered from the server and enabling execution of compression and cryptography of data by those means, thereby enhancing the security for data delivery. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0019] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a chit print system; [0020] FIG. 2 is a view of a page for performance of a business task, which is displayed on a common Web browser; [0021] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of hardware showing a configuration of a client and a server; [0022] FIG. 4 is an example of a chit template used in printing; [0023] FIG. 5 is a table of variable data to be embedded in graphic data; [0024] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of processing in which the server actually generates and outputs the chit print data; [0025] FIG. 7 is a flowchart of processing in which the server actually generates the chit print data and sends it to the client; [0026] FIG. 8 is a flowchart of processing carried out by the client receiving the chit print data from the server; [0027] FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of a chit print system capable of providing a client site making function; [0028] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing up to generation of distribution data, which is carried out by the server receiving a print request from the client; [0029] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing information included in a print request (HTTP request) received from the client; [0030] FIG. 12 is a table for the server to specify chit data and chit forms (chit templates) necessary for generation of image, based on chit names included in the HTTP request; [0031] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing distribution data generated by the server; [0032] FIG. 14 is a flowchart of processing in which the client receiving the distribution data from the server, generates an image and prints it; [0033] FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram of a chit print system capable of providing an automatic distribution function of chit form; [0034] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the automatic distribution function of chit form; [0035] FIG. 17 is a flowchart of processing carried out when the server performs the automatic distribution of chit form; [0036] FIG. 18 is a flowchart of processing carried out when the client receives the automatic distribution data; [0037] FIG. 19 is a flowchart of processing carried out when the server receives the request for delivery of a chit form, which was sent at step S 1808 by the client; [0038] FIG. 20 is a flowchart of processing carried out when the client receives the distribution data generated by the server, [0039] FIG. 21 is a diagram to provide comparison among sizes of distribution data from the server on the basis of five types of sample chits; [0040] FIG. 22 is a diagram showing the contents of an automatic distribution module; [0041] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing the contents of chit form list information retained in the automatic distribution module; [0042] FIG. 24 is a diagram showing the contents of a chit form management table; [0043] FIG. 25 is a chart of processing carried out when the server receives a request including selection of either fixed distribution or automatic distribution; [0044] FIG. 26 is a functional block diagram of a chit print system permitting the user to select either generation of chit print data at the server or that at the client; [0045] FIG. 27 is a diagram showing information included in a print request from the client capable of selecting a location for generation of image; [0046] FIG. 28 is a functional block diagram of a chit print system capable of enciphering and compressing distribution data; [0047] FIG. 29 is a flowchart of processing up to generation of distribution data, which is carried out by the server receiving the print request from the client; [0048] FIG. 30 is a diagram showing information included in the print request (HTTP request) received from the client; [0049] FIG. 31 is a table to determine which cipher method is used for cryptography; [0050] FIG. 32 is a table to determine which compression method is used for compression; [0051] FIG. 33 is a diagram showing distribution data generated by the server; [0052] FIG. 34 is a flowchart of processing in which the client receiving the distribution data from the server, generates an image and prints it; [0053] FIG. 35 is a functional block diagram of a chit print system capable of providing an output server making function; [0054] FIG. 36 is a view of a chit template; [0055] FIG. 37 is a diagram showing a table including indices of variable data to be inserted, and data values thereof; [0056] FIG. 38 is a view of chit print data after insertion of variable data in a chit template; [0057] FIG. 39 is a diagram showing an example of data delivered from server 106 to output server 3500 ; [0058] FIG. 40 is a flowchart of processing in which the server receiving a print request from the client, generates data to be transferred to the output server, and sends it to the output server; [0059] FIG. 41 is a flowchart of processing in which the output server receiving data from the server, generates chit print data and makes a printer print it; [0060] FIG. 42 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration provided with two output servers; [0061] FIG. 43 is a diagram showing data storage ways in data memory 3503 A and in data memory 3503 B of FIG. 42 ; [0062] FIG. 44 is a flowchart showing the details of processing for acquiring missing data; [0063] FIG. 45 is a diagram showing a memory map in a state in which programs are loaded on the memory and can be executed by a CPU; [0064] FIG. 46 is a diagram showing a memory map in a state in which programs are loaded on the memory and can be executed by a CPU; and [0065] FIG. 47 is a drawing to show a method of feeding programs and data to a computer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0000] <Chit Print System> [0066] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a chit print system. Reference numeral 100 designates an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer (PC) or the like, which is a client computer of the chit print system (hereinafter referred to as client 100 ). Numeral 101 denotes a Web browser. The Web browser 101 is an application program having a function of displaying a document data file (Web document) described in HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) or the like, and displays a Web document received from a Web server. The Web browser does not function only to display the Web document simply, but also functions to accept entry of data on a screen and send it back to the Web server. The Web browser takes in the Web document from the server in accordance with an input URL. [0067] Numeral 102 represents a data I/O unit for input/output of data from or to server 106 of the chit print system (hereinafter referred to as server 106 ). The data I/O unit 102 is configured to exchange data with the server 106 through network 105 such as a telephone line, a LAN, or the like, and handles layers lower than HTTP. Print output unit 103 converts print data described in a prescribed format, to a data format according to an output format dependent upon a printer, and makes printer 104 print the data; or saves the data in the output format of the printer, which was received from the server 106 or the like, in a spool, and makes the printer 104 print it. [0068] Numeral 103 indicates the print output unit for converting an image displayed on the Web browser 101 , to standard print data in response to an instruction from the Web browser 101 . This print output unit is generally called a print driver. [0069] Numeral 113 designates a printer. Numeral 105 denotes a network connecting the server 106 with the client 100 . The network can be implemented in various forms, including the LAN (Local Area Network), Internet, wireless communication, and so on. The network 105 herein is assumed to be ready for communication procedures under the Web environment (e.g., TCP/IP protocol and HTTP protocol). [0070] Numeral 106 stands for an information processing apparatus as a server. Numeral 107 represents a network communication controller having the function of the Web server. The Web server function herein is a function of supporting HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), FTP (File Transfer Protocol), etc., and the Web server is able to send, e.g., a document data file (Web document) described in HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language), which was designated by a URL (Uniform Resource Locator), to the client 100 on the network in reply to a request. [0071] Numeral 108 is a chit template memory, which stores chit templates (or chit template data) indicating print chit forms used in print of chits. The chit template memory 108 stores the chit templates and others for print of chits. The chit templates are provided corresponding to respective Web documents read out of the server 106 by the client 100 . When the server 106 sends a Web document corresponding to a chit template, to the client 100 , the server 106 stores an ID corresponding to the Web document. Each chit template stored in the chit template memory is associated with an ID of a corresponding Web document as a chit template ID. [0072] Numeral 109 indicates a data memory constructed of databases, which store data for each of business tasks. This data can be data provided in a database form, or input data on the Web browser, which was stored in the data memory as it was. Numeral 110 stands for a data processor, which executes data processing according to an application program for each business task. [0073] Numeral 111 denotes an image generator for generating chit print data according to a prescribed format. The image generator 111 generates the chit print data as a combination of a chit form with data overlaid thereon, in a predetermined format that can be interpreted by print output unit 112 . Numeral 112 designates the print output unit for converting the data generated in the image generator, to a printer-digestible format, which is generally called a printer driver. [0074] Numeral 114 denotes a data management unit, which efficiently saves chit print data once generated and sends an address of the data to the client 100 . Particularly, the data manager 114 functions to generate new chit print data for a modified print chit form and notify the user of it. [0075] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of hardware showing the structure of client 100 and server 106 . The units ( 102 , 103 , 107 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 114 ) of FIG. 1 are implemented by loading respective corresponding programs in memory 303 and executing them by CPU 302 of a computer. These programs, and the data memory 109 or the chit template memory 108 are stored in external memory 305 such as a hard disk or the like. The external memory 305 may be a removable storage medium such as a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, or the like. Display 304 displays the Web browser or an image. I/O interface 306 is a port for connection to external equipment such as the network 105 , the printer 104 , and so on. The user is allowed to input necessary data through keyboard and/or pointing device 301 . [0000] <Display on Web Browser> [0076] A print instruction from Web browser 101 will be described below. The data processor 110 performs through communication with the data I/O unit 102 , acceptance of data entered on the Web browser 101 , analysis thereof, a search for data according to the thus accepted data, and transmission of the result of the search to the data I/O unit. The Web browser 101 displays buttons according to a Web document delivered from the data processing unit 110 . When the user presses the buttons, various requests are sent through the data I/O unit 102 to the server 106 . The buttons are displayed on the display of the computer and the user selects and presses either of them through the pointing device, such as a mouse, and/or the keyboard. [0077] Particularly, a print button in this chit print system is located in an image display area of the Web browser 101 . FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display screen of a page for processing of a business task, on the typical Web browser 101 . Numeral 201 designates a window of Web browser 101 displayed on a monitor or display of the client 100 . A window title is indicated in an area of 202 . Commands on the Web browser 101 are displayed in areas 203 and 204 . A command for print of an image displayed on the Web browser 101 is also provided there. Numeral 205 denotes a text field for entry of an address of server 106 to make access (e.g., URL: Uniform Resource Location). [0078] Numerals 206 and 207 are fields for permitting the user to select each item. Numeral 208 represents a view button. When this view button is pressed down, items selected in the areas 206 and 207 by the user are sent to the server 106 and a reply from server 106 is awaited. Then the server 106 generates display data of a chit based on a chit name selected in the area 206 and a name of a person selected in the area 207 , and sends it to the client 100 . The Web server displays an image of the chit like one 209 , based on the chit display data. In the case of FIG. 2 , the server 106 searches the data memory 109 for data concerning the monthly working status of the current month of S. MASAOKA, retrieves the corresponding data, generates chit display data (a Web document for display of an image of the chit herein) based on the retrieved data, and sends it to the client 100 . Then the monthly chit is displayed in the area 209 of the Web browser. Further, numeral 210 stands for a print button in this chit print system. [0079] When the client 100 reads a page of a chit out of the server 106 , the Web browser 101 is activated at client 100 . When the user provides input of http://202.228.102, as shown in FIG. 2 , the server 106 sends a Web document including the boxes 206 , 207 , 208 , 209 and 210 , to the Web browser. [0000] <Generation and Print of Print Data at Server 106 > [0080] Let us now explain the operation carried out when the print button 210 is pressed down. In the print process, a document to be printed is prepared by inserting the data into a print chit template corresponding to a format ID. When the print button is pressed, information indicating the press of the print button is sent to the server 106 . The server 106 searches the chit template memory 108 for the chit template, based on the ID attached to the Web document (chit page) having been sent to the client 100 requesting the print. Each chit template is stored so as to be able to be searched for from a format ID. [0081] FIG. 4 presents an example of a chit template used in print. The graphic data (chit data) in the chit template is categorized into fixed data and variable data. A character string 401 indicating a chit title, numeral 402 indicating the frame, days, etc., and character strings and frame 403 are fixed data. Values (chit data) obtained from the database or the like are embedded in s 1 , n 1 to n 12 , n 50 and n 51 in areas 404 and 405 . [0082] Further, FIG. 5 shows a table of variable data to be embedded in the graphic data of FIG. 4 . [0083] This table is prepared for each chit template and is provided with a chit template ID 504 to enable identification of the chit template. In the table of FIG. 5 , for each of the variable data s 1 and n 1 to n 51 , there are an index of the variable data ( 501 ), a character size ( 502 ) for display of the variable data, and an actual value of the variable data (a numeral or a character string) ( 503 ) of the variable data stored. The chit print data is generated by merging the chit template of FIG. 4 with the values of various data of FIG. 5 , based on the indices. [0084] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of processing in which the server 106 actually generates the chit print data and outputs it. This processing is executed at the server 106 when the server 106 receives the information indicating the press of the print button 210 . In this processing, steps S 601 , S 602 , S 603 and S 604 are executed by the data processor 110 , steps S 605 and S 606 by the image generator 111 , and step S 607 by the print output unit 112 . In the processing of FIG. 6 , the printing operation is carried out by the printer 113 . [0085] When at first step S 601 the server 106 receives the button press information, the data processor 110 searches for a chit template to be used, at step S 602 . Since the server stores IDs of Web documents having already been sent to the client 100 , the chit template to be used can be searched for, based thereon. [0086] At step S 603 the processor 110 detects positions of boxes of variable data to be incorporated in the chit template detected by the search. Then the index data is generated at step S 604 . Namely, values of the variable data in the table of FIG. 5 are described at the positions of the boxes of the variable data extracted at step S 603 , according to their indices. This operation yields the index data describing the variable data part. [0087] At next step S 605 , the image generator 111 merges the fixed data part of the chit template obtained at step S 602 with the index data generated at step S 604 . At step S 606 , the image generator 111 generates chit print data described in an actual image format, i.e., in a format that can be interpreted by the print output unit 112 , from the resultant data of the merging at step S 605 . [0088] At step S 607 , the print output unit 112 converts the chit print data generated at step S 606 , to a print image that can be printed by the printer, for example, a print image in a page description language, and outputs it to the print spool. In this way, the print image based on the chit print data is printed out at the printer 113 . [0000] <Generation and Transfer of Print Data at Server 106 > [0089] FIG. 7 is a flowchart of processing in which the server 106 actually generates the chit print data and sends it to the client 100 . This processing is executed at the server 106 when the server 106 receives the press information of the print button 210 . In this processing, steps S 701 , S 702 , S 703 and S 704 are executed by the data processor 110 , steps S 705 and S 706 by the image generator 111 , and step S 707 by the network communication controller 107 . In the processing of FIG. 7 , the printing operation is carried out by the printer 104 . [0090] When at first step S 701 the server 106 receives the press of the button, the data processor 110 searches for the chit template to be used, at step S 702 . Since the server stores the IDs of Web documents having already been sent to the client 100 , the data processor 110 can search for the chit template to be used, based thereon. [0091] At step S 703 , the data processor 110 detects the positions of boxes of the variable data to be incorporated in the chit template detected by the search. At next step S 704 , the index data is prepared. Namely, values of the variable data in the table of FIG. 5 are described at the positions of the boxes of the variable data extracted at step S 703 , according to their indices. This operation yields the index data describing the variable data part. [0092] At next step S 705 , the image generator 111 merges the fixed data part of the chit template obtained at step S 702 with the index data generated at step S 704 . At step S 706 , the image generator 111 generates the chit print data described in the actual image format, i.e., in the format that can be interpreted by the print output unit 112 , from the resultant data of the merging at step S 705 . [0093] At step S 707 , the chit print data generated at step S 706 is sent to the client 100 . Although this step was described as a step of sending the data to the client 100 in order to simplify the description, the actual operation is not to send the resultant chit print data itself to the client 100 , but to send a URL of a data file of the resultant chit print data to the client 100 . Using the URL received by the Web browser, the client 100 automatically requests transmission of the data file through FTP instead of HTTP and receives the data file from the server 106 . [0000] <Reception and Print of Print Data at Client 100 > [0094] FIG. 8 is a flowchart of processing executed by the client 100 when the client receives the chit print data sent from the server 106 at step S 707 of FIG. 7 . [0095] At first step S 801 , the print output unit 103 analyzes the chit print data thus received, and selects a printer suitable for the chit print data received. Since the client has only one printer in the configuration of FIG. 1 , the printer 104 is selected. At step S 802 , the print output unit 103 generates a print image that can be printed by the printer 104 , based on the result of the analysis. The print output unit 103 stores the print image in the print spool at step S 803 . Then the printer 104 sequentially provides print output of the image data. The above processing is repeated before all the received chit print data is analyzed and converted to print images. [0096] The above procedure permits the client 100 to designate the output data through use of the Web browser and execute the printing in an appropriate format. When the chit is printed by use of the chit template generated for print, different from the print of the chit displayed on the browser, the image generated through use of the Web browser can be printed out as a print with high quality. At the server 106 or at the client 100 , either of the printers can be made to print the chit with high quality according to user's convenience. Since only the server 106 stores the chit templates and also executes the merging with data, the client 100 is able to print the chit with high quality from the server 106 as long as it is simply loaded with the Web browser commercially available. For this reason, the load is light on the client 100 and it is thus possible to utilize an inexpensive personal computer with relatively low processing performance or a personal digital assistant having only the Web browser function. [0000] <Client Site Making> [0097] In the chit print system described above, the server 106 generated the chit print data, but it is also possible to employ such a configuration that the server 106 sends the necessary chit form and chit data to the client 100 as occasion demands and that the client 100 generates the chit print data. This will be called a client site making function. [0098] FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of a chit print system capable of providing the client site making function. In this print system, the server 106 has a new component of distribution data generator 901 , while the client 100 has new components of data processor 902 , chit template memory 904 , and image generator 903 . The other functional structure is substantially the same as in FIG. 1 . [0099] The distribution data generator 901 is a unit for generating distribution data as the resultant of composition of the data and chit form (chit template) necessary for generation of image, in response to a request from the client 100 . The data processor 902 analyzes the distribution data generated by the distribution data generator 901 and restores the data and chit form (chit template) necessary for generation of image. The chit template memory 904 is a unit for storing a chit form restored by the data processor 902 . The image generator 903 generates chit print data according to a predetermined format. The print output unit 103 is a print output unit for converting the data generated by the image generator 903 , into the printer-digestible format, which is generally called a printer driver. [0000] <Processing at Server 106 in Client Site Making> [0100] The following will describe the flow for executing the generation and print of chit print data at the client 100 , which is a feature of the print system of FIG. 9 . FIG. 10 is a flowchart to show the flow of processing for generation of distribution data at the server 106 receiving a print request from the client 100 . Steps S 1001 , S 1002 , S 1003 , S 1004 and S 1005 are executed by the distribution data generator 901 , and step S 1006 by the network communication controller 107 . [0101] At first step S 1001 the distribution data generator 901 analyzes the request (HTTP request) received from the Web browser 101 , and at steps S 1002 and S 1003 the distribution data generator 901 specifies data necessary for generation of the chit print data requested by the client 100 ; particularly, a chit form and chit data. At further step S 1004 , the distribution data generator 901 specifies printer information, the number of prints, etc. (which will be called together a print condition) for execution of print by the printer after generation of an image at the client 100 . [0102] At step S 1005 , the distribution data generator 901 synthesizes one data from the information necessary for the generation of the image, which was specified at steps S 1002 , S 1003 and S 1004 , so as to generate the distribution data. At next step S 1006 , the network communication controller 107 sends the distribution data thus generated, to the client 100 . [0103] FIG. 11 shows the information included in the print request (HTTP request) received from the client 100 . Numeral 1101 designates the HTTP request itself sent from the client 100 . Numeral 1102 denotes output printer information concerning the printer designated at the client 100 . Numeral 1103 represents the print condition including a name of a chit designated for the generation of image, the number of prints, designation of both-side or single-side printing, designation of a tray of the printer, and so on. Numeral 1104 indicates the chit name for print selected at the client 100 . [0104] FIG. 12 shows a table for specifying the chit data and chit form (chit template) necessary for the generation of image, based on the chit name included in the HTTP request. Numeral 1201 denotes the table indicating combinations of chit data and chit forms corresponding to respective chit names. This table includes, for each chit, a name of the chit ( 1202 , 1204 , 1206 ), and chit data and a chit form corresponding thereto ( 1203 , 1205 , 1207 ). Numeral 1205 indicates the necessity for plural chit forms. The server 106 searches the table of FIG. 12 for the chit data and chit form, based on the chit name included in the HTTP request. [0105] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the distribution data generated at the server 106 . Numeral 1301 designates the whole of the distribution data delivered to the client 100 . [0106] Numeral 1302 designates a header part of the distribution data. Numeral 1303 denotes a field for storing the output printer information. Numeral 1304 represents a field for storing the information of the print condition. [0107] Numeral 1305 stands for a data part of the distribution data. Numeral 1306 denotes a field for storing the data necessary for the generation of image. Numerals 1307 and 1308 represent fields for storing respective chit forms. Even in the case of a plurality of chit forms being present under a chit name, the data part 1305 is able to store the respective chit forms in succession. [0000] <Processing at Client 100 in Client Site Making> [0108] FIG. 14 is a flowchart of processing in which the client 100 , receiving the distribution data from the server 106 , generates an image and prints it. Step S 1402 is executed by the data I/O unit 102 , steps S 1403 , S 1404 and S 1405 by the data processor 902 , step S 1406 by the image generator 903 , and step 1407 by the print output unit 103 . [0109] At step S 1402 , the data I/O unit 102 receives the distribution data generated at the server 106 . At step S 1403 , the data processor 902 extracts the print condition from the distribution data received at step S 1402 and saves it in the memory. At step S 1404 , the data processor 902 extracts the chit data necessary for the print of the chit and saves it as a file. At step S 1405 , the data processor 902 extracts the chit form necessary for the generation of image and saves it as a file. [0110] At step S 1406 , the image generator 903 generates the chit print data, based on the information extracted at steps S 1403 , S 1404 and S 1405 . A generating method of the chit print data at this time is equivalent to steps S 602 , S 603 , S 604 , S 605 and S 606 of FIG. 6 . At next step S 1407 , the print output unit 103 makes the printer 104 execute the printing operation based on the chit print data. [0000] <Automatic Distribution of Chit Form> [0111] The following will describe an automatic distribution function of chit form. This function is such a function that the client 100 stores a chit form delivered from the server 106 and that the server 106 automatically delivers only a necessary chit form in reply to a second or later print request to avoid redundant distribution of the already-delivered chit form to the client 100 , whereby the client 100 reuses the chit form already delivered and stored. [0112] FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram of a chit print system capable of providing the automatic distribution function of chit form. In this print system, the server 106 has new elements of chit form management table 1501 and automatic distribution module 1502 , the client 100 new elements of automatic distribution module 1503 and chit form management table 1504 . [0113] Reference is made to the chit form management table 1501 in order to control distribution of chit form. The chit form management table stores information about file names of chit forms stored at the server 106 and about last update times of generation and update of the files. [0114] On the other hand, the chit form management table 1504 at the client 100 is also a similar management table and stores information about file names of chit forms stored at the client 100 and about last update times of generation and update of the files. [0115] FIG. 24 is a diagram showing the contents of the chit form management tables. Numeral 2401 represents the whole of a management table. This table includes, for each chit, a chit name thereof 2402 , 2404 , 2406 , and last update time information 2403 , 2405 , 2407 indicating a last update time of the chit. The information of this list can incorporate information about a plurality of chits. [0116] This table is provided as a file both on the server 106 side and on the client 100 side. The system preliminarily provides the management table on the server 106 side, based on the chit forms stored on the server 106 side. In contrast to it, the management table on the client 100 side includes nothing immediately after activation of the system, is automatically generated at execution of processing at S 2005 , and thereafter is automatically updated at every execution of the processing at S 2005 . Using this management table, an image is always generated according to the latest chit form, without user's awareness. [0117] The automatic distribution module is sent from the server 106 to the client 100 , and the client 100 can use the automatic distribution function by executing the automatic distribution module. [0118] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the automatic distribution function of chit form. New elements herein, request generator 1601 and response analyzer 1602 , are assumed to be included in the data processor 902 . Further, request analyzer 1603 , request analyzer 1604 and response generator 1605 are assumed to be included in the distribution data generator 901 . [0000] <Processing 1 at Server 106 in Automatic Distribution of Chit Form> [0119] FIG. 17 is a flowchart of processing carried out when the server 106 executes the automatic distribution of chit form. This is processing executed by the request analyzer 1603 of FIG. 16 . [0120] At first step S 1701 , the request analyzer 1603 analyzes a request (HTTP request) received from the Web browser 101 . At steps S 1702 and S 1703 , the request analyzer 1603 specifies data necessary for generation of chit print data requested by the client 100 ; particularly, a chit form and chit data. Further, at step S 1704 , the request analyzer 1603 specifies printer information, the number of prints, etc. (which will be called together a print condition) for execution of print by the printer after generation of an image at the client 100 . [0121] At step S 1705 , the request analyzer 1603 acquires the last update time information of each chit form specified at step S 1703 , with reference to the chit form management table 1501 managing the chit forms stored at the server 106 . [0122] At step S 1706 , the request analyzer 1603 sets the information indicating the chit form specified at step S 1703 and the last update time information acquired at step S 1705 , in the automatic distribution module 1502 . Then the request analyzer 1603 generates the automatic distribution data including the automatic distribution module at step S 1707 . At step S 1708 , the automatic distribution data thus generated, is sent to the client 100 . [0123] FIG. 22 is a diagram showing the contents of the automatic distribution module. Numeral 2201 designates the whole of the automatic distribution module, which is composed of parameter section 2202 and program section 2203 . Numeral 2204 represents an ID for specifying the module itself. Numeral 2205 indicates an address used upon transmission of the module from the server 106 to the client 100 . Numeral 2206 denotes a name of the server 106 . Numeral 2207 represents a port number utilized in communication between the server 106 and the client 100 . Numeral 2208 denotes a URL specifying the server 106 under the Web environment. Numeral 2209 represents a parameter necessary for generation of a distribution request at S 1807 . Numeral 2210 represents a URL indicating a home page displayed on the browser on the client 100 side after completion of the automatic distribution processing. Numeral 2211 represents information of a chit form list as an object of automatic distribution. Numeral 2212 indicates a session ID necessary for execution of sessions while retaining information under the Web environment. Numeral 2213 represents a program code for specifying a chit form to be distributed, out of the chit forms included in the list 2211 . Numeral 2214 represents a program code for generation of a distribution request to the server 106 at S 1807 . [0124] Receiving a print request including the automatic distribution processing from the client 100 at S 1701 , the server 106 sets necessary values in the parameter group of the section 2202 and sends this automatic distribution module to the client 100 . Receiving the automatic distribution module at step S 1801 in FIG. 18 , the client 100 executes the program codes of the section 2203 while referencing to the parameters of the section 2202 (which will be detailed hereinafter). [0125] FIG. 23 shows the contents of the chit form list information denoted by 2211 , which is retained in the automatic distribution module. Numeral 2301 represents the whole of the list information. This list information includes, for each chit, a chit name thereof 2302 , 2304 , 2306 , and last update time information 2303 , 2305 , 2307 indicating a last update time of the chit. This list information can incorporate information about a plurality of chits. [0000] <Processing 1 at Client 100 in Automatic Distribution of Chit Form> [0126] FIG. 18 is a flowchart of processing carried out when the client 100 receives the automatic distribution data. This processing is executed by the automatic distribution unit 1503 . [0127] At first step S 1801 , the automatic distribution unit 1503 receives the automatic distribution data and executes the automatic distribution module included therein to carry out the following steps. At step S 1802 , the automatic distribution unit extracts the information indicating the chit form, from the automatic distribution data. At next step S 1803 , the automatic distribution unit determines whether the chit form indicated by the information extracted at step S 1802 , is registered in the chit form management table, thereby checking whether the chit form has already been distributed. Unless it is registered, the unit 1503 proceeds to step S 1805 to save the chit form as one to be distributed. [0128] When the chit form management table includes the chit form, the unit 1503 goes to step S 1804 to compare the last update time information of the chit form included in the automatic distribution data with that in the chit form management table, thereby determining whether the last update time of the chit form indicated by the last update time information in the chit form management table is older than that in the automatic distribution data. When the information in the table is not older, the unit proceeds to step S 1806 on the basis of the judgment that there is no need for distribution of new information. When it is older, the unit goes to step S 1805 in order to request distribution of new information of the chit form. [0129] At step S 1806 , the unit determines whether there is another chit form. When there is, the unit executes the processing at and after step S 1803 for the next chit form. When there is no other chit form, the unit moves to step S 1807 to generate a request (HTTP request) for distribution of the chit form saved at step S 1805 . Then the unit 1503 sends the request to the server 106 at step S 1808 . [0000] <Processing 2 at Server 106 in Automatic Distribution of Chit Form> [0130] FIG. 19 is a flowchart of processing carried out when the server 106 receives the request for distribution of the chit form, which was sent from the client 100 at step S 1808 . This processing is executed by the units 1604 and 1605 of FIG. 16 . [0131] At first step S 1901 , the request analyzer 1604 receives the request for distribution of the chit form from the client 100 . At next step S 1902 , the request analyzer 1604 analyzes the request thus received, to specify the chit form to be distributed to the client 100 , i.e., the chit form absent at the client 100 . [0132] At step S 1903 , the response generator 1605 synthesizes one data from the chit form specified at step S 1902 , the chit data specified at step S 1702 , and the information indicating the print condition specified at step S 1704 , to generate the distribution data as shown in FIG. 13 . At step S 1904 , the response generator 1605 sends the distribution data to the client 100 . [0000] <Processing 2 at Client 100 in Automatic Distribution of chit Form> [0133] FIG. 20 is a flowchart of processing carried out when the client 100 receives the distribution data generated at the server 106 . This processing is executed by the response analyzer 1602 and the image generator 903 of FIG. 16 . [0134] At step S 2001 , the response analyzer 1602 receives the distribution data generated at the server 106 . At step S 2002 the analyzer 1602 extracts the print condition from the distribution data received at step S 2001 and stores it in the memory, and at step S 2003 the analyzer extracts the chit data necessary for print of the chit and stores it as a file. At step S 2004 , the analyzer 1602 extracts the chit form necessary for generation of an image and stores it as a file. [0135] At step S 2005 , the analyzer registers the distributed chit form and the last update time information of the chit form in the chit form management table. At next step S 2006 , the image generator 903 generates the chit print data, based on the information extracted at steps S 2002 , S 2003 and S 2004 . A generating method of the chit print data at this time is equivalent to steps S 602 , S 603 , S 604 , S 605 and S 606 of FIG. 6 . At next step S 2007 , the printer is made to print the image, based on the chit print data. [0136] The automatic distribution function of chit form described above decreases the size of distribution data from the server 106 , and thus reduces the load on the network. This effect becomes maximum when all the chit forms necessary for generation of images have been distributed to the client 100 . [0137] FIG. 21 is a table of comparison among sizes of distribution data from the server 106 on the basis of five types of sample chits. Numeral 2101 designates the sample chits. Numeral 2102 denotes the size of each distribution data with the entire chit form necessary for generation of an image, distributed from the server 106 without use of the automatic distribution. The unit is kByte. Numeral 2103 represents the size of each distribution data from the server 106 in the distribution using the automatic distribution function, by which the entire form necessary for generation of an image has already been distributed to the client 100 . The unit is kByte. Numeral 2104 stands for a ratio of each distribution data size 2103 to the distribution data size 2102 on a percentage basis. It is seen from FIG. 21 that the automatic distribution function of chit form greatly contributes to decrease of distribution data. [0000] <Selection Between Fixed Distribution and Automatic Distribution> [0138] The chit print system has a function for permitting the user to select either of distribution of the whole chit form necessary for the generation of image to the client 100 (hereinafter referred to as fixed distribution) and distribution of only the chit form absent at the client 100 (hereinafter referred to as auto distribution) and for inserting information about the selection in a print request generated. [0139] FIG. 25 is a chart of processing carried out when the server 106 receives the request including the selection of either the fixed distribution or the auto distribution. At first step S 2501 , the server receives the request. At next step S 2502 , the server analyzes a character string indicating a distribution mode included in the received request to determine which is to be executed between the fixed distribution processing and the auto distribution processing. When the auto distribution is requested, the processing in FIGS. 17 and 19 is executed at step S 2504 . When the fixed distribution is requested, the processing equivalent to steps S 1701 , S 1702 , S 1703 and S 1704 of FIG. 17 is executed at step S 2503 , and thereafter the processing equivalent to step S 1903 is executed to generate the distribution data with the entire chit form. Then the distribution data is sent to the client 100 . [0000] <Selection of Image Generation> [0140] FIG. 26 is a functional block diagram of a chit print system that permits the user to select a site for generation of the chit print data, either the server 106 or the client 100 . The components herein are those described in FIGS. 1 and 9 . In this print system, when the user desires to generate the chit print data at the client 100 , the chit print data is generated on the client 100 side, using the client site making function. When the user desires to generate the chit print data at the server 106 , the chit print data is generated on the server 106 side, using the processing in FIGS. 7 and 8 . [0141] FIG. 27 is a diagram showing information included in a print request from the client 100 permitting selection of the site for generation of image. Numeral 2705 denotes a parameter to designate the site of execution for generation of image, which is set according to user's determination at the issue of the print request. [0142] As described above, the present invention enables the chit print system to perform such operation that the server 106 delivers the data necessary for generation of the chit print data by overlay processing, to the client 100 and that the overlay processing is executed on the client 100 side to generate the chit print data. The volume of data flowing on the network can be efficiently reduced by implementing the function of permitting the client 100 to store the data distributed from the server 106 and avoiding redundant distribution of the data once stored at the client 100 , from the server 106 . [0143] FIG. 35 is a functional block diagram of a chit print system capable of providing an output server making function. This print system is provided with a new unit of output server 3500 . The output server has data I/O unit 3501 , chit template memory 3502 , data memory 3503 , image generator 3504 , and print output unit 3505 . The other functional structure is substantially the same as in FIG. 1 . [0144] The data I/O unit 3501 receives or delivers data from or to the server. The chit template memory 3502 stores a chit template for print of a chit. The data memory 3503 stores the data for printing of chit. The image generator 3504 generates the chit print data according to a predetermined format. The print output unit 3505 is a unit for converting the data generated at the image generator 3504 , to a printer-digestible form, which is generally called a printer driver. Numeral 3510 denotes a printing device such as a printer or the like. [0145] FIG. 36 is a diagram showing a chit template. The chit template described herein is a little different from that of FIG. 4 . [0146] Numeral 3001 represents an area indicating the entire chit template, which is normally equivalent to a page of a sheet for print. Such chit templates are stored in the chit template memory 108 . Which chit template is to be used among those is determined in conjunction with selection of a table. [0147] In FIG. 36 , the graphic data on the chit template is categorized into fixed graphic data and variable data (chit data). The fixed data includes frame lines indicated by 3602 , numerals indicating days and others, and character strings indicated by 3603 , and is always the same graphics when printed. [0148] The variable data includes data at locations indicated by N1, N2, name, X1, Y1, etc. denoted by 3604 . The variable data is provided with respective names N1, N2, name, X1, Y1, and so on (which will be referred to hereinafter as indices of the variable data), and each of their locations is filled with a data value retrieved from the data memory 109 or a data value acquired by processing at the data processor 110 . [0149] An area indicated by 3605 is tagged with “image,” which means that image data is embedded in that area. [0150] FIG. 37 is a diagram of a table including the indices and data values of the variable data embedded. This table includes, for each variable data, a name (index) thereof 3701 on the chit template 3001 , and a data value 3702 embedded at a location corresponding to the variable data on the chit template 3001 . The data processor 110 generates the sets shown in FIG. 37 while referencing to a database or the like for processing of business task. [0151] The data processor generates the chit print data by merging the graphic data shown in the chit template of FIG. 36 with the data values corresponding to the respective indices with reference to the table of FIG. 37 . FIG. 37 shows that image data searchable under a name of CA.jpg is used in the generation of this chit image. [0152] FIG. 38 shows the chit print data where the variable data of FIG. 37 is embedded in the chit template of FIG. 36 . [0153] FIG. 39 is a diagram showing an example of data sent from the server 106 to the output server 3500 . The left data A is data transferred when the image data searchable under the name of CA.jpg is actually found on the server 106 . The data is accompanied by all the contents of the chit template data and image data. The right data B is data transferred when the image data searchable under the name of CA.jpg is not found on the server 106 . The data is not accompanied by the contents of the image data, but by only the chit template data. [0000] <Processing at Server in Output Server Making> [0154] FIG. 40 is a flowchart of processing in which the server receiving a print request from the client generates data to be transferred to the output server and then sends it to the output server. This flowchart is executed when the print button 210 of FIG. 2 is pressed down. [0155] At first step S 4001 , the server receives a notification of the press of the print button. Then the server analyzes the request (HTTP request) received from the Web browser 101 . At next step S 4002 , the server determines which chit is necessary for generation of the chit print data requested by the client, to specify a chit form of the chit. [0156] At step S 4003 , the server then searches for the chit template data and retrieves it to recognize a pattern of the variable data. Further, at step S 4004 , the server extracts the indices and data values with reference to the table of FIG. 37 and attaches the data values to the indices to generate the index data. [0157] At next step S 4005 , the server combines the index data generated at step S 4004 with the chit template data to generate data like the data B of FIG. 39 , and then sends it to the output server. In another case where the server succeeded in retrieving the image data, the server also adds the image data to generate data like the data A of FIG. 39 , and sends it to the output server. [0000] <Processing at Output Server in Output Server Making> [0158] FIG. 41 is a flowchart of processing in which the output server receiving the data from the server generates the chit print data and makes the printer print it. [0159] At step S 4101 , the output server receives the data from the server and extracts the index data and chit template data from the data. At next step S 4102 , the output server checks the contents of the data thus extracted, to determine whether there is missing data in the data from the server. [0160] When the result of the check at step S 4102 is YES at step S 4103 , i.e., when missing data is present, the output server searches for the missing data at step S 4104 to obtain the missing data. For example, when the output server receives the data like the data B of FIG. 39 from the server, the output server judges that the image data named CA.jpg is missing, and searches for the data, using the name of CA.jpg, at step S 4104 . [0161] At step S 4105 the output server inserts the index data and the image data found by the search, into the chit template, and at step S 4106 the output server generates final chit print data. At step S 4107 , the output server converts the chit print data to data suitable for the printer, and outputs the data after the conversion to the printer. [0162] FIG. 35 shows the configuration of the system provided with one output server, but the system may also be provided with a plurality of output servers. FIG. 42 is a diagram showing an example where there are two output servers. In the same figure, there are output server 3500 A and output server 3500 B, and the server 106 selects either of those output servers and sends the data to the selected output server. The output server 3500 A or the output server 3500 B is provided with data memory 3503 A or data memory 3503 B, respectively. [0163] FIG. 43 is a diagram showing data storage methods in the data memory 3503 A and in the data memory 3503 B of FIG. 42 . Numeral 4301 designates an example of data stored in the data memory 3503 A of the output server 3500 A. Numeral 4302 denotes indices used upon a search for data stored. Numeral 4303 denotes values corresponding to the respective indices, which are file names indicating positions of the data in the file system in the output server in the present example. Likewise, numeral 4311 represents an example of the data stored in the data memory 3503 B of the output server 3500 B. Numeral 4312 represents indices used upon a search for data stored. Numeral 4313 denotes values corresponding to the respective indices, which are file names indicating positions of the data in the file system in the output server in the present example. FIG. 43 shows that the data indicated by the index CA.jpg is absent at the output server 3500 A while the data indicated by the index CA.jpg is present at the output server 3500 B. The output servers can save these information during a period of processing from a time of startup to a previous request. It can also be implemented by directly setting the data in the output servers. [0164] FIG. 44 is a flowchart to detail the processing of acquiring the missing data at step S 4104 . The operation of the flowchart is carried out by a program operating on the output server. [0165] At first step S 4401 , the missing data is searched for on the output server designated as an output object. At next step S 4402 , whether data was found is determined based on the result of the search. For example, suppose the index of the missing data is CA.jpg and the information in the data memory of the output server is in the state of 4301 in FIG. 43 . Since the index group consists of only A.jpg, B.jpg and C.jpg, the data of interest is not found there. For example, suppose the index of the missing data is CA.jpg and the information in the data memory is 4311 of FIG. 43 . Since the index group includes CA.jpg, the data of interest is found there. [0166] When the data is found, the flow proceeds to step S 4403 . When not found, the flow goes to step S 4404 . At step S 4403 , the missing data is retrieved in order to utilize the found data for generation of chit image. [0167] At step S 4404 , a search is conducted to determine whether there exists another accessible output server on the network in order to acquire the data corresponding to the missing data from the other output server. The search can be done by making use of either of common network search methods like the broadcast. At step S 4405 , whether another output server was found is determined based on the result of the search at S 4404 . When there exists an accessible server, the flow proceeds to step S 4407 . When there exists no accessible server, the flow proceeds to step S 4406 . [0168] At step S 4407 , the missing data is searched for by making use of the other output server thus found. The search is conducted through mutual communications between the data I/O unit of the output server 3500 A and the data I/O unit of the output server 3500 B. For example, supposing the output server 3500 A issues a request for a search for the missing data to the output server 3500 B, the output server 3500 B carries out the actual search and sends the result of the search through the network to the output server 3500 A. [0169] At step S 4408 , whether the missing data was found is again determined. When it was found, the data is retrieved at step S 4403 . When it was not found, the flow returns to step S 4404 to conduct a further search for still another output server and find the missing data. However, an output server already found to exclude the missing data is excepted from the search. [0170] Arrival at step S 4406 means that there is no output server to be searched for at last, and it is thus determined that the missing data was not found. In this case, no data is inserted into the generated chit, or no image is generated at all on the presumption of an error. [0171] As described above, according to the present invention, the data necessary for generation of print data is not distributed to the client, but to the output server, and the output server converts the data thus distributed, to the printer-digestible data, whereby the print processing can be efficiently carried out without imposing a load on the client. [0172] The output server is also able to print data absent at the server, by the search via the network for part of data necessary for the generation of print data. [0000] <Encipher and Compression> [0173] The following will describe a method for the server 106 to encipher the distribution data, compress the ciphered data, and send the compressed data to the client 100 . FIG. 28 is a functional block diagram of a chit print system capable of enciphering and compressing the distribution data. In this print system, the server 106 has new components of ciphered data generator 2801 (referred to as cipher 2801 ) and compressed data generator 2802 (referred to as compressor 2802 ), and the client 100 new components of ciphered data decipher (decipher) 2803 and compressed data decompressor (decompressor) 2804 . [0174] The cipher 2801 represents a part for carrying out encryption of data by a designated enciphering method on the occasion of generating the distribution data to be distributed to the client 100 . The cipher 2801 is loaded with a program code for implementing at least one cipher method. The compressor 2802 compresses data by a designated compression method on the occasion of generating the distribution data to be distributed to the client 100 . The compressor 2802 is loaded with a program code for implementing at least one compression method. [0175] The decipher 2803 represents a part for carrying out cryptanalysis when the ciphered chit data and chit form are extracted from the data distributed from the server 106 . The decompressor 2804 carries out decompression on the occasion of extracting the chit data and chit form from the data distributed from the server 106 . [0176] FIG. 29 is a flowchart of processing up to generation of distribution data, which is carried out by the server 106 receiving a print request from the client 100 . Steps S 2901 , S 2902 , S 2903 , S 2904 , S 2905 , S 2907 and S 2909 are executed by the distribution data generator 901 , step S 2906 by the cipher 2801 , step S 2908 by the compressor 2802 , and step S 2910 by the network communication controller 106 . [0177] At first step S 2901 the distribution data generator 901 analyzes the request (HTTP request) received from the Web browser 101 , and at steps S 2902 and S 2903 the distribution data generator 901 specifies the data necessary for generation of the chit print data requested by the client 100 ; particularly, the chit form and chit data. At further step S 2904 , the distribution data generator 901 specifies the printer information, the number of prints, etc. (which will be called together a print condition) in execution of print by the printer after generation of an image at the client 100 . [0178] At step S 2905 , the distribution data generator 901 determines whether there exists a parameter designating encryption, in the print request. When the parameter is present, the cipher 2801 enciphers the data and chit form at step S 2906 . At step S 2907 , the distribution data generator 901 determines whether there exists a parameter designating compression, in the print request. When it is present, the compressor 2802 compresses the data and chit form at step S 2908 . [0179] At step S 2909 , the distribution data generator 901 synthesizes one data from the information necessary for generation of the image specified at steps S 2902 , S 2903 and S 2904 to generate the distribution data. A parameter indicating on/off of encryption and compression is added to the distribution data according to whether or not the data is enciphered and whether or not the data is compressed. Then the network controller 106 sends the distribution data thus generated, to the client 100 at step S 2910 . [0180] FIG. 30 shows the information included in the print request (HTTP request) received from the client 100 . Numeral 3001 denotes the HTTP request itself sent from the client 100 . Numeral 3002 denotes the output printer information concerning the printer designated by the client 100 . Numeral 3003 designates the print condition including a name of a chit designated for generation of the image, the number of prints, designation of both-side or single-side print, designation of a tray of the printer, and so on. Numeral 3004 represents a print chit name selected at the client 100 . [0181] Numeral 3005 represents a parameter as an instruction of whether encryption is to be carried out on the server 106 side, which is set according to user's selection upon the issue of the print request. Numeral 3306 represents a parameter as an instruction of whether compression is to be carried out on the server 106 side, which is set according to user's selection upon the issue of the print request. [0182] A cipher method is selected as follows. FIG. 31 shows a table 3101 to determine which cipher method is to be used for encryption. This table includes combinations of keywords 3102 , 3104 , 3106 representing respective cipher methods, with the cipher methods 3103 , 3105 , 3107 . [0183] Which keyword is to be selected out of the keywords 3102 , 3104 , 3106 is described in environment setting information of the server 106 . Assigned to each keyword is a character string that does not allow analogy of an actual cipher method from itself. [0184] A compression method is selected as follows. FIG. 32 shows a table 3201 to determine which compression method is to be used for compression. This table includes combinations of keywords 3202 , 3204 , 3206 representing respective compression methods, with the compression methods 3203 , 3205 , 3207 . [0185] Which is to be selected out of the keywords 3202 , 3204 , 3206 is described in the environment setting information of the server 106 . Assigned to each keyword is a character string that does not allow analogy of an actual compression method from itself. [0186] The following will describe how to determine and how to execute the encryption and compression methods. At step S 2905 , when the parameter 3005 in the request is on, the distribution data generator 901 judges as YES. At step S 2906 , the server 106 then determines a cipher method with reference to the table of FIG. 31 , based on the keyword described in the environment setting information. [0187] Compression is also determined in similar fashion. At step S 2907 , when the parameter 3006 in the request is on, the distribution data generator 901 judges as YES. At next step S 2908 , the server 106 determines a compression method with reference to the table of FIG. 32 , based on the keyword described in the environment setting information. [0188] The data and chit form thus enciphered and compressed are combined at step S 2909 to constitute part of the distribution data. The distribution data is also accompanied by the keywords for the cipher and compression methods acquired from the environment setting information and is sent to the client 100 . [0189] FIG. 33 is a diagram showing the distribution data generated at the server 106 . Numeral 3301 indicates the whole distribution data distributed to the client 100 . [0190] Numeral 3302 stands for a header part of the distribution data. Numeral 3305 denotes a field storing the output printer information. Numeral 3306 denotes a field storing the information about the print condition. Numeral 3307 indicates the chit form specified at step S 2903 , based on the chit name designated. [0191] Numeral 3303 represents a modifier of the distribution data. The modifier 3303 includes, for each data type, a keyword for specifying a cipher method for the data of the type and a keyword for specifying a compression method for the data of the type. There can exist a plurality of data types, and the keywords are stored for each of the data types. [0192] Numeral 3304 denotes a data part of the distribution data. The data part 3304 stores the data itself, i.e., the data necessary for generation of an image for each of the data types. [0193] In the modifier 3303 , different cipher methods and compression methods can be designated for the respective types of data whereby it becomes harder for a third party to decipher or falsify the distribution data. [0194] FIG. 34 is a flowchart of processing in which the client 100 receiving the distribution data from the server 106 generates an image and prints it. Step S 3401 is executed by the data I/O unit 102 , steps S 3402 , S 3403 , S 3404 , S 3405 and S 3407 by the data processor 902 , step S 3406 by the decipher 2803 , step S 3408 by the decompressor 2804 , step S 3409 by the image generator 903 , and step S 3410 by the print output unit 103 . [0195] At step S 3401 , the data I/O unit 102 receives the distribution data generated at the server 106 . At step S 3402 the data processor 902 extracts the print condition from the distribution data received at step S 3401 to store it in the memory, and at step S 3403 the data processor extracts the chit data necessary for print of the chit and stores it as a file. At step S 3404 , the data processor 902 extracts the chit form necessary for generation of an image and stores it as a file. [0196] At step S 3405 , the data processor 902 determines whether there exists the parameter indicating the necessity for execution of decompression for the distribution data. When the parameter is present, the decompressor 2804 decompresses the data and chit form at step S 3406 . At step S 3407 , the data processor 902 determines whether there exists the parameter indicating the necessity for execution of cryptanalysis for the distribution data. When the parameter is present, the decipher 2803 deciphers the data and chit form at step S 3408 . [0197] At step S 3409 , the image generator 903 generates the chit print data, based on the information extracted at steps S 3402 , S 3403 and S 3404 . A generating method of the chit print data at this time is equivalent to steps S 602 , S 603 , S 604 , S 605 and S 606 of FIG. 6 . At next step S 3410 , the print output unit 103 makes the printer print the image, based on the chit print data. [0198] As described above, the client 100 receiving the data necessary for the generation of image determines at step S 3405 whether the decompression work is necessary. The determination is made based on the keyword indicating the compression method included in the distribution data. When the original data is judged to be compressed one, the decompressor detects the compression method from the table of FIG. 31 and decompresses the data at step S 3406 . [0199] The cryptanalysis is also carried out in similar fashion. At step S 3407 , the data processor determines whether the decipher work is necessary. The determination is made based on the keyword indicating the cipher method included in the distribution data. When the original data is judged to be ciphered one, the decompressor detects the cipher method from the table of FIG. 32 and deciphers the data at step S 3408 . [0200] As described above, the present invention is characterized in that the encipher and compression methods are determined by the tables inside the system, the distribution data distributed through the network is accompanied by only their keywords, and it is made difficult thereby to restore the original data from only the distribution data, thereby preventing falsification of the data. [0201] The data for generation of image distributed from the server 106 includes the descriptions indicating the data compression method and the cipher method for prevention of falsification, and the compression and encryption of data can be carried out by the means, which enhances the security for the data distribution. [0000] <Program Codes and Recording Media> [0202] The program codes and associated data according to the present invention are stored in a floppy disk (FD) or a CD-ROM and supplied therefrom to a computer. FIG. 45 is a diagram showing a memory map in a state in which the programs according to the present invention are loaded on the memory 303 and are executable by the CPU 302 . The memory stores the program codes corresponding to the respective flowcharts of FIGS. 6, 7 , 8 , 10 , 14 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 25 , 29 and 34 . FIG. 46 is a diagram showing a memory map in a state in which the programs according to the present invention are loaded on the memory 303 and are executable by the CPU 302 . The memory stores the program codes corresponding to the respective flowcharts of FIGS. 6, 7 , 8 , 40 , 41 and 44 . [0203] The object of the present invention is achieved in such a way that the memory ( FIG. 45 ) storing the program codes of software (control programs) for implementing the functions of the foregoing embodiments is supplied to the computer, as shown in FIG. 47 , and the device (CPU 302 ) of the computer reads in and executes the program codes stored in the memory. [0204] A popular method of supplying the programs and data shown in FIG. 45 or 46 , to the computer is a method of supplying a floppy disk FD 4700 storing them to computer body 4702 (through floppy disk drive 4701 ), as shown in FIG. 47 . In this case, the program codes themselves read out of the memory implement the functions of the aforementioned embodiments and the memory storing the program codes constitutes the present invention. [0205] The memory for supply of the program codes can be, for example, either of an optical disk, a magnetooptical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, and so on, in addition to the floppy disk and the hard disk. In addition to the configuration wherein the computer executes the program codes thus read to implement the functions of the aforementioned embodiments, it is needless to mention that the present invention also embraces a configuration wherein, based on instructions of the program codes, an OS (operating system) operating on the computer executes part or the whole of actual processing and the processing implements the functions of the aforementioned embodiments. Further, it is also a matter of course that the invention also embraces a configuration wherein the program codes read out of the memory are written into a memory provided in an extension board inserted into the computer or in an extension unit connected to the computer and thereafter, based on instructions of the program codes, a CPU or the like in the extension board or in the extension unit executes part or the whole of actual processing to implement the functions of the aforementioned embodiments.

In a print system, where whole processing to generate final print data is carried out at a server, concentrated requests from many and unspecified clients, being the feature of Web communication, will increase the load on the server. For overcoming it, it is made feasible to distribute data necessary for generation of chit print data by overlay processing, from the server to a client or to a print server and execute the overlay processing at the client or at the print server to generate the chit print data.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for reducing the size of an image buffer in a color printer, and more particularly, to intelligent doubling of scaled images, wherein smooth areas of an image are distinguished from edges and are scaled differently. The invention provides scaling methods for the encodings used in the split-level image buffer and further encodings useful for graphics and text. Modern page description languages describe a page as a sequence of primitive drawing commands. The full page image is constructed by executing these commands and collecting the image elements they produce. Printers form an internal representation of the desired page in a computer memory prior to marking. The memory is called the image buffer and typically contains a color value for every spot or pixel that can be marked. The page can have a large number of pixels (e.g. 90,000 to 360,000 per square inch) and so a great deal of memory is typically required for the image buffer. U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,532 entitled "Split-Level Frame Buffer" describes a method to reduce the amount of memory required to construct a full color page image for printing. The method encodes the page images using two resolutions, a low resolution for object interiors and a high resolution for object edges. This patent application is herein incorporated by reference. Subsequent inventions provide efficient encodings of the high resolution edge pixels for two-color patterns, edges separating two colors and ordered regions of three colors. Line graphics and scanned pictorial images can be expressed using these encodings resulting in a compression (or reduction of the memory requirements) of up to 16 to 1. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to improve on the conventional techniques of image encoding, scaling and doubling. It is a further object of the present invention to provide intelligent doubling for scaled images including multi-color block, curved edge encoding, graphics and to introduce line encoding and text encoding that maintain high quality resolution. The present invention achieves these and other objects and advantages by providing an improvement of the conventional techniques that can provide an additional compression of 4 to 1 for an overall compression ratio of up to 64 to 1. This can mean a reduction of memory requirements from 60 MBytes for a full color page to less than 1 MByte and can give a substantial cost saving. The method is to construct the image within a computer at half the required resolution for the marking device, and once the image is complete, to scale it (a few scan lines at a time) to the full size required for marking. A naive scaling of the image would be unacceptable, however, because edges would be too jagged or blurred, but when interior and edge regions have been identified, as in the case of the split-level image buffer, then different scaling methods can be applied to the different regions or encodings resulting in an image of acceptable quality. More particularly, these objects are achieved by providing a method of doubling an image in a reduced image buffer for printing by a marking device. The method includes the steps of constructing the image at half a required resolution for the marking device; distinguishing smooth areas of the image from edges of the image; scaling the smooth areas by a first scaling technique; and scaling the edges by a second technique, where the second technique is different from the first technique. In another aspect of the invention, a method of encoding a graphic image at full resolution for storing in a reduced image buffer for subsequent printing by a marking device is provided. The method includes the steps of distinguishing smooth areas of the image from edges of the image; determining a construction-of the edges in a block of the image; and storing the construction in the reduced image buffer. The determining step includes the step of describing an edge for the block by storing positions at which the edge enters and exits the block, and further includes the step of providing a tag and a color table index. In an alternate aspect of the invention, the determining step includes the step of describing first and second edges for the block by storing positions at which the first edge enters and exits the block and an offset amount to the entry position of the second edge. The determining step can further include the step of providing a tag and a color table index. The determining step also includes the step of defining a corner of the image by storing an entry position of the corner on one side of the block and storing an exit position of the corner rotated 90 degrees so that it lies on the same side. In addition, the defining step can further include the step of describing first and second edges for the corner by storing an offset amount. In yet another aspect of the invention, a method of encoding text characters at full resolution for storing in a reduced image buffer for subsequent printing by a marking device is provided. The marking device includes a font cache storing bitmaps of the characters. The method includes the steps of providing a pointer for accessing the character bitmaps stored in the font cache; and storing the pointer in the reduced image buffer. In a variant aspect, the method further includes the step of determining whether the characters or a background are colored, and the step of providing color indices indicating the color of the character or background in accordance with the determining step. In still another aspect of the invention, a method of doubling an image in a reduced image buffer for printing by a marking device is provided. The method includes the steps of dividing the image into the uniform blocks, corresponding to the moderate resolution pixels of the split level frame buffer identifying interior and edge regions and distinguishing between region types. The image types include pictorial, graphic and line, and text. Blocks of each region type are encoded differently and stored in the reduced image buffer. Pictorial regions are encoded at half a required resolution for the marking device and scaled in accordance with the determining step. In another aspect of the invention, a method is provided for encoding and storing a pixel block. The method includes the steps of storing a representation of the block at half resolution values and scaling the block to full resolution values for marking. The block size is 8×8 pixels. In addition, the scaling step further includes the step of filtering, which is performed by calculating the full resolution values as a weighted sum of neighboring half resolution values. In an alternate aspect of the invention, the block contains two colors, and the scaling step includes the steps of recognizing corner patterns and smoothing the corner patterns at full resolution. In still another aspect of the invention, the block contains three colors that always occur in the same order in each row or column. The scaling step includes the steps of generating bitmaps for at least two of the three colors and scaling the bitmaps. The bitmap scaling step can include the steps of recognizing corner patterns and smoothing the corner patterns at full resolution. In yet another aspect of the invention, the block contains an edge between two colors. The scaling step includes the step of using edge placement values to determine which full resolution pixel contains the edge for each of the half resolution rows or columns. An apparatus is provided for carrying out the above-described methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 depicts corner colors for a low resolution pixel; FIG. 2 shows the generation of double resolution from high resolution; FIGS. 3A-B show a simple replication of a bitmap; FIGS. 4A-D illustrate corner patterns in two color blocks; FIGS. 5A-D show the corner patterns of FIG. 4 as smooth corners; FIG. 6 illustrates a three color block; FIGS. 7A-C illustrate bitmaps for a three color block; FIGS. 8A-B illustrate the expanding of a row in curved edge encoding; FIGS. 9A-B depict the constructing of a row by interpolation in curved edge encoding; FIG. 10 shows a four pixel region in a smoothing operation; FIG. 11 illustrates steps in a nearly horizontal edge for line encoding; FIG. 12 shows the doubled edge of FIG. 11 having jagged two pixel steps; FIG. 13 shows the FIG. 11 steps doubled using two-color smoothing; FIG. 14 illustrates the generation of intermediate steps; FIG. 15 depicts the operation of defining an edge by entry and exit positions; FIG. 16 shows the defining of parallel edges by entry, exit and offset; FIG. 17A-B show an embodiment wherein two edges can separate two or three colors; FIG. 18 shows the operation of defining a corner in graphics encoding; FIG. 19 illustrates a stroke corner in graphics encoding; FIG. 20 illustrates two edge encoding; FIG. 21 shows black and white text encoding; FIG. 22 illustrates colored text encoding; and FIG. 23 is a schematic illustration of the apparatus of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following detailed description of preferred embodiments is applicable to numerous image systems and buffers as would be contemplated by those of ordinary skill. A non-limiting example of such a system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,526, which is hereby incorporated by reference. The following describes intelligent doubling schemes for some of the encodings of the split-level frame buffer. New encodings are also described for lines and text, which provide smoother lines and optimal characters under the doubling scheme. Low-resolution pixel A low-resolution pixel is a single color value for a 4×4 block of pixels. Simple doubling would replicate color over an 8×8 block. However this area is large enough to give visible "blocky" artifacts when sequences of pixels of varying colors are expanded. To reduce this, the colors of the previously expanded pixels above and left (A, B, C) are examined and those, together with the current pixel color (D), can provide the colors for the four corners of the block (see FIG. 1). One can then linearly interpolate the corner colors to determine color values for the pixels within the block (a technique known as Gouraud shading). One further restriction is necessary. The previous colors (A, B, or C) are only used for the block corners provided they are close to the new pixel color D. If any of the previous colors differ from D by more than some tolerance, then color D should be used at that corresponding corner of the block. That is, the greater the difference, the more likely the image includes the sharp contrast in color, and smoothing should not be performed. The tolerance depends on the properties of the human visual system but requirements also vary with the application. Empirical studies suggest that if there is a difference of 32 or more in any of the red, green, or blue color components (where components range between 0 and 255), then the colors should not be interpolated. Full half-resolution block While it is usually possible to reduce a 4×4 block of pixels to one of the 32-bit special encodings, there may be blocks where none of the special cases work well, and where the 16 color values should be saved. To double such a full resolution block, each pixel is reproduced four times; but a smoother effect is produced through filtering with a low-pass filter, an edge-preserving filter or by calculating the expanded pixel color as a weighted average of neighboring unexpanded colors. In FIG. 2, a, b, c and d represent four unexpanded half-resolution pixels, and r, s, t and u represent the expanded values generated by them. This is achieved as follows: r=w.sub.1 a+w.sub.2 b+w.sub.3 c+w.sub.4 d s=w.sub.1 b+w.sub.2 d+w.sub.3 a+w.sub.4 c t=w.sub.1 c+w.sub.2 a+w.sub.3 d+w.sub.4 b u=w.sub.1 d+w.sub.2 c+w.sub.3 b+w.sub.4 a The weights (w 1 , w 2 , w 3 , w 4 ) describe the filter shape and sum to 1 (for example w 1 =3/8, w 2 =1/4, w 3 =1/4, w 4 =1/8). Two-Color blocks A two-color block has two colors and a bitmap to select between them. The simple scaling approach would be to replicate rows and then columns of the bitmap (FIGS. 3A-B). This, however, leads to jagged edges. The present system recognizes certain corner patterns before expansion (see FIGS. 4A-D) by a known technique and "fills in" or smooths these corners when doubling (see FIGS. 5A-D). Three-color blocks The three-color encoding describes blocks containing three colors that always occur in the same order along a row or column. From the encoding, a bitmap is derived of each of the three colors indicating which pixels receive the color. For example, if the block colors a, b, c occur as known in FIG. 6, then the bitmaps are as shown in FIGS. 7A-C. Actually, only two of the bitmaps are needed since the third can be derived as the complement of their disjunction. Once bitmaps for two of the three colors are derived, they can be expanded just as for the two-color case, yielding a prescription for coloring the three-color block. Curved-edge encoding The edge encoding describes the position of an edge between two colors along each row or column. The edge is positioned with sub-pixel precision, and the pixel containing the edge contains a mixture of the two colors weighted by the edge position. Doubling the length of a row or column is done by halving the sub-pixel placement accuracy. For example, with 16 edge positions in a row of four pixels, there would be four possible edge positions within each pixel. Expanding the row to eight pixels, there are 16 edge positions, but only two positions for each pixel (see FIGS. 8A-B). Having doubled the length of a row or column, the system doubles the number of rows or columns. This can be done by interpolating the edge position across two adjacent rows and constructing a new row between them (see FIG. 9). Smoothing The two- and three-color encodings require quantization of all the colors within a block to just two or three. This can introduce blockiness, which will be visible when the image is doubled. To reduce this, an additional smoothing or filtering operation is performed on the pixels belonging to blocks of these classes. The color of a pixel is replaced with a weighted average of it and its neighbors. For example, referring to FIG. 10, looking at a four-pixel region a, b, c, d, d can be replaced with d' where d'=w.sub.1 a+w.sub.2 b+w.sub.3 c+w.sub.4 d. For a simple average, w 1 =w 2 =w 3 =w 4 =1/4. One modification can be made to this scheme. The color differences between the pixel being replaced is examined with its neighbors (d to a, d to b, and d to c). If any neighbor differs from the color of the pixel being replaced by more than some threshold, then the value of the neighbor color is replaced with the value of the pixel being replaced for the calculation. For example, if color c differs from color d by more than the threshold, then the value of w 3 d instead of w 3 c is used for the w 3 term in the calculation. The same threshold can be used here as is used in the expansion of low-resolution blocks. Graphics and line encoding The encodings discussed thus far were devised for representing pages without doubling; the doubling techniques were then added as an extension. But knowing that the page resolution will be doubled provides a motivation for devising new encodings. These encodings can improve the quality of line graphics and text. Consider a nearly horizontal or nearly vertical line. These lines have fairly long runs of pixels between steps to new rows or columns (see FIG. 11). Referring to FIG. 12, when naively doubled, these lines will have jagged edges at the steps. The techniques used for the two-color pixels can only round the corners of the steps (FIG. 13). Accordingly, a description of the edge that would allow creation of intermediate steps when decoding is desirable (see FIG. 14). This can be done if the edge for a block is described rather than the bit pattern that the edge generates. This is accomplished by storing the positions at which the edge enters and exits the block. For example, each side of the block can be divided into 8 positions (32 positions for all four sides of the block), and the closest position for entry of the edge and the closest for its exit are specified (see FIG. 15). The specification would take 5 bits for each position or 10 bits total. Actually, this can be reduced to 9 bits because of the symmetry of the entry and exit (i.e., 10 bits are only required if the edges are directed). The remaining bits of the block descriptor are then used for a tag and a color table index to describe two colors separated by the edge. If only 10 bits are needed for the edge, there are 22 bits of a 32-bit word remaining for a tag and color table index. This is more than adequate, and some of those bits can be used to extend the encoding to cover more of the likely cases. Often, the edge will be the side of a line or stroke. If it is a thin line, then both of its sides or edges may be contained within the block. The encoding described above can handle one edge in the block, however, not two. To remedy this, it is assumed that the block contains two parallel edges. The two edges are described by the entry and exit positions of one of the edges along with the offset to the entry position of the second edge. Without loss of generality, the entry position of the second edge is specified as a clockwise offset of steps along the boundary of the block from the entry position of the first edge. The offset is no more than half way around the block, or 16 steps, so only 4 bits are required for the offset. Thus, 14 bits can specify two parallel edges. While this encoding describes blocks with two edges, it can also be used for blocks with a single edge. A second edge offset of zero can be assumed to indicate that there is no second edge, that is, a single-edge block (FIG. 16). Two edges can separate either two colors or three colors (see FIGS. 17A-B). The color table index might be used with either a two-color or three-color table. An additional bit can be used to indicate which color table should be used. The encoding for edges specifies both entry and exit position for one of the edges. It allows the specification of the same side of the block for both entrance and exit. This is, of course, impossible, so there are a number of specifications that cannot be drawn. To take full advantage of the encoding, these specifications can be used to describe another commonly occurring case, a right-angle corner formed from horizontal and vertical edges. The entry position can specify the entry of the corner. An exit position on the same side as the entry can be interpreted as an exit of a corner on the next side (counterclockwise) (see FIG. 18). The parallel edge offset value can be used with the corner specification to describe a right-angle joint in a stroke (FIG. 19). A picture of the two-edge encoding word is shown in FIG. 20. The two-edge encoding describes the entry and exit positions of the edges to within 1/8 of a block. This matches the resolution needed for the doubled resolution where each block becomes an 8×8 array of pixels, The edges can be drawn with patterns (hat give smooth steps and avoid jagged edges. Horizontal and vertical edges can be positioned to the full accuracy of the device (rather than the half resolution of the image buffer). The two-edge encoding only works for edges that both enter and exit the block. If an edge terminates within the block then one of the other encodings (two-color or three-color) must be used. Text The sharp clean edges of high quality text require the full resolution of the device. Using two-color blocks and doubling (with smoothing) may cause the loss of fine serifs or may give errors where strokes meet. The graphical two-edge encoding is also inadequate since the characters will often generate blocks with more than two edges, or edges that are not parallel. To handle text, the full resolution bitmap for the character is required. It is possible to do this because the actual bitmap need not be placed in the image buffer. Instead, a pointer or reference to the bitmap can be placed in the image buffer, and the actual bitmap can be saved in a font cache. This way, a single bitmap determining a character shape can be used for all instances of that character. In order to position the character arbitrarily within the block, the pointer should address the bitmap down to the bit. A 24-bit pointer would be sufficient to reference a 2 MByte font cache. However, it would be impossible to squeeze a 24-bit pointer, tag and reasonable color-table index into a single 32-bit word. If the colors are taken to be black text on a white background, then the color table index is not needed, and a single word is adequate (FIG. 21). If, however, either the text or background are colored, then the colors must be specified (as by a color table index), and this can be done by using a pair of consecutive blocks to specify a complete character reference. This is a viable approach because character bitmaps will almost always cover more than two pixel blocks. The first word can provide the pointer to the character bitmap, and the second word can provide the color indices for both blocks (FIG. 22). FIG. 23 is a schematic illustration of the apparatus of the present invention. After rasterization of the image, it is determined which of the block types described above is being encoded, and encoding is performed. The encoded block is stored in the image buffer. For marking, the stored blocks are decoded and/or doubled using the above-described methods in accordance with the block type determination. While the embodiments disclosed herein are preferred, it will be appreciated from this teaching that various alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be made by those skilled in the art that are within the scope of the invention, which is defined by the following claims.

A method and apparatus for achieving an ultra-small or compressed image buffer images at half the resolution and then scales by two to achieve the device resolution. Acceptable quality can be maintained by identifying edge and interior portions of the page image and using this information to scale intelligently. A split-level frame buffer provides this identification of the image components. Further, an extension of block-truncation coding can be used with the split-level frame buffer to provide up to a 16 to 1 compression for an overall compression of up to 64 to 1. Actual techniques to scale these encodings are described along with new encodings for graphics and text designed this high compression of the image.

This application is a continuation of 07/535,269, filed May 24, 1990, now abandoned. FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention concerns the control of the vapor phase composition within an enclosure, such as a rigid disk magnetic data storage device. The method makes it possible to establish a steady state composition of molecular species in the enclosure atmosphere which is very low in undesired contaminant molecules. The purpose of this is to greatly suppress the population of contaminant molecules adsorbed onto the surfaces that have been treated with a preferred molecular species. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A critical feature of rigid disk magnetic storage devices is the vulnerability to failure by the slider wearing into the magnetic layer on the disk surface. Magnetic performance improvements have been achieved by using thinner magnetic coatings (less than 100 nanometers thick), and lower flying heights (less than 10 microinches). Both of these factors mean that the tribology of the system must be excellent if a useful life is to be achieved. A thin film of lubricant molecules is required as part of the tribological system to keep the coefficient of friction low when the slider lands on the disk, or intermittently hits it while flying. In the case of earlier magnetic disk data storage devices, the magnetic medium was a magnetic ink that had significant thickness and porosity. A relatively large amount of lubricant could be accommodated by such a disk, so it was not as sensitive to monolayer quantities of adsorbed contaminants as present disks are. Present disks have an overcoat that is only 20 to 50 nanometers thick, and has very little porosity for storing lubricant. In fact, the disk lubricant is typically only one to several monomolecular layers thick. For a given disk design the lubricant thickness must be held to very close tolerances. If the lubricant gets too thin, the coefficient of friction goes up and wear-out occurs sooner. If the lubricant is too thick, the slider will become stuck to the disk in a process called stiction which can be strong enough to prevent the motor from starting up. Several lubrication strategies are in use today. A lubricant film may be chemically bonded to the disk surface, and a mobile lubricant film may or may not be added on top of it. A mobile film may be used alone through a one-time application of lubricant at time of manufacture. Or, as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,913 an equilibrium film thickness is maintained on the disk surface by replenishment through the vapor phase from a reservoir of lubricant within the device enclosure. Once a strategy has been selected for maintaining the correct thickness, it then becomes important to maintain the correct composition of the film. Contaminant molecules in the vapor phase will become incorporated into the lubricant film. It is unlikely that these compounds will improve the lubrication process, and depending on their chemical structure, they may even destroy it. This has occurred on a number of occasions, resulting in the elimination of certain types of chemicals from the components that go into the device because they cause either wear-out or stiction even when present in only trace amounts in the lubricant film. The invention disclosed herein is designed to control this problem of lubricant film contamination from the vapor phase. The key variable to be controlled for each molecular species present in the atmosphere of the enclosure is its relative vapor density. The relative vapor density of any given compound at a given temperature is defined as the ratio of the mass of the compound present per unit volume of air to the mass of the compound that is present in a unit volume of air that is saturated with the compound at that temperature. This is analogous to the special case of water for Which this variable is called relative humidity. It is important because the extent to which a molecular species infiltrates the lubricant film is a function of its relative vapor density at the disk surface. Typically, disk enclosures today are made to be substantially sealed, so the rate at which molecules evaporate from the components such as greases and plastics is greater than the rate at which they leak out of the enclosure. Therefore many of these compounds can be expected to have high relative vapor densities at the disks. In other words, the air is nearly saturated with them. In the case of U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,913 the relative vapor density of the lubricant in the atmosphere is controlled by the temperature difference between the lubricant reservoir and the disk surfaces. The relative vapor density is deliberately maintained at 0.5 to 0.8 at the disks by the fact that the reservoir is positioned at a location that is 1 to 5 degrees Celsius cooler than the disks during operation. If the temperature difference is allowed to become too small, then the relative vapor density of the lubricant at the disks will get too close to one and the lubricant film will get too thick. If the reservoir gets too cold relative to the disks, then the lube film will get too thin. The spinning of the disks moves the air through the reservoir structure. The reservoir is designed to ensure that the air leaving it is saturated (relative vapor density=1) at the reservoir temperature. A typical file contains many parts that inadvertently act as reservoirs. Plasticizers from plastic parts, volatile components from greases, and contaminants such as fingerprints, are major sources. Many of these are in locations that are as warm as the disks, so depending on the rate at which they outgas, and the efficiency with which the airflow carries the molecules to the disks, a high relative vapor density may be established at the disks. This will lead to increased contamination of the lubricant film. There have been recent proposals for even higher density memories designated SXM and based on a STM (Scanning Tunneling Microscope) or other techniques with a head moving extremely close to an extremely smooth memory surface. These offer data density approaching atomic density. These SXM memories will have even greater vulnerability to vapors causing adhesion. Also contamination vapors will cause surface contamination which will obscure atoms of data. Thus these new memories will require even more control of adhesion and vapors compared to thin film magnetic disk memories. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Magnetic disk files, especially drives with thin film disks, are sensitive to molecules in the vapor phase that adsorb onto the disk and slider surfaces. The present invention is a vapor drain, which is a controlled vapor loss process, such as an activated carbon adsorber or a leak to the outside. The loss rate is controlled by the design of the convection, diffusion or vapor transport aerodynamics. The cumulative loss is controlled by limiting the amount of adsorber or the duration of the leak. The vapor drain can be designed to accomplish the following functions: trap outgassed contamination, reduce or control lube relative vapor density in an operating file, reduce or control lube vapor partial pressure in a dormant file and sample the vapor for chemical extraction and analysis. Thin film magnetic disk files are sensitive to interior vapors. These can cause thin deposits and `stiction` failure when the file tries to start, the head and disk stick together so that the motor cannot turn. One example is stiction failure caused by outgassed organic contamination emitted by file components. Another example is stiction failure caused by excessive relative vapor density of lubricant in a file with a vapor lubricant reservoir. Vapor drain is a deliberate controlled loss mechanism to remove some vapor components from the file atmosphere. This removal may use adsorption, absorption, outward leakage or other processes. A file typically has components which steadily emit contamination vapors. A vapor drain will steadily remove these contamination vapors. Non-equilibrium dynamics will determine the density of contamination vapor in the file atmosphere, and in some cases it will reach a steady state. A suitable vapor drain will make this contamination vapor density much smaller than the contamination density without a vapor drain. Depending on the contamination source and its ability to treat the air, this can readily reduce contamination density by more than a factor of 10. Drain rate is typically controlled by convection aerodynamics. Thus typically vapor loss counterbalances vapor gain, causing a steady state with reduced vapor density. Cumulative drain amount is typically controlled by the adsorber mass or leak duration. A vapor drain can trap outgassed contamination, control relative density of lubricant vapor, sample vapor for chemical analysis. Some files replenish the lubricant by vapor transport from a lubricant reservoir. In this case, a vapor drain will steadily remove the lubricant molecules from the air as well as contamination. Non-equilibrium dynamics will determine the density of lubricant vapor in the file atmosphere, and if the disk drive runs long enough under constant conditions it will reach a steady state. A suitable vapor drain will make this lubricant relative vapor density significantly smaller than the relative vapor density in air saturated with the lubricant. For example, this can readily produce 50% of saturation density. Some files have both contamination vapors and lubrication vapors. Depending on various rates, in some cases a vapor drain can greatly reduce the concentration of outgassed vapors, and simultaneously only moderately reduce the concentration of lubricant vapors. During the early life of the file, more outgassing of materials can be expected to occur until the materials of the parts within the head-disk enclosure become more nearly stabilized. Therefore the structure of the vapor drain should also accommodate the requirement for a variable rate of entrapment or diffusion over the life of the disk drive. This is independent of the lubrication system, which may use vapor replenishment or use a bonded lubricant. In addition, a vapor drain adsorber accumulates a chemical sample of the vapors in the atmosphere of the head-disk enclosure. Subsequently this sample can be chemically analyzed. As will be shown, this can be accomplished without exposing the head-disk enclosure to the introduction of unfiltered air. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a schematic showing of the prior art equilibrium type vapor transport lubrication system. FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the steady state vapor transport lubrication system of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a view of a typical magnetic hard disk file with the cover removed. FIG. 4 is a plan view with the cover partly broken away of a disk drive such as shown in FIG. 3 which includes a steady state vapor transport system using a flow through vapor drain. FIG. 5 is a plan view similar to FIG. 4 illustrating a steady state vapor transport system using a flow by vapor drain. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a device similar to those of FIGS. 4 and 5 using a combined reservoir and vapor drain. FIG. 7 illustrates the combined reservoir and vapor drain of FIG. 6. FIG. 8 illustrates a flow by vapor drain that can be attached to a disk drive cover to scavenge vapors from a head-disk enclosure. The vapor drain of FIG. 9 is a flow by device mounted in an opening in a disk cover mounting and retained between mylar tape and a particulate filter media enabling removal of the vapor entrapping media without exposing the enclosure to unfiltered air. FIG. 10 schematically illustrates vapor transport in a file with a vapor drain. FIG. 11 is an electrical analog to describe the dynamics of vapor transport in a file with a vapor drain. FIG. 12 is an electrical analog to describe another variation of the vapor drain concept. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The prior art, as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,913, shows an equilibrium lubricant transfer system that provides a replenishable mono-molecular layer of lubricant on the disk surfaces of a magnetic disk file. The system provides a reliable and renewable lubricant film; however, it is dependent upon maintaining the vapor reservoir at a slightly lower temperature than the disks. If the reservoir were to become warmer than the disks, rapid transport of lubricant to the disk surface would occur, which would impair file operation. The environment must provide an ambient atmosphere that enables the reservoir to be maintained at a temperature slightly below the disk temperature. This limits the application of a disk drive using this lubricant system by invoking an additional requirement for the successful application of the device. The equilibrium system is illustrated schematically in FIG. 1 where a reservoir 3 has a saturated atmosphere emerging from the outlet that releases molecules at the surface 4 of disk 5 to maintain a mono molecular layer of lubricant at the disk surface. In practice, these components are confined within an enclosure such that the saturated air from the reservoir is less than saturated at the temperature of the disks. Lubricant molecules also migrate from the disk surface 4 to the reservoir 3 as an air flow is induced by rotation of the disk 5. The maintenance of the correct film thickness of the lubricant is dependent on the existence of a "delta T", or a lower temperature, at the reservoir than at the rotating disks 5. Since there is no vehicle for the removal of contaminant vapors from the enclosure, the outgassing and other contaminants migrate to the reservoir and the disk surface and gradually accumulate in the reservoir until contaminants begin to reach the atmosphere coming from the reservoir outlet as well as from the sources of contamination. In the steady state system of the present invention, the reservoir delivers atmosphere that is effectively saturated with lubricant and is admixed with atmosphere passed through a chemical filter that captures substantially all vapors to provide a composite atmosphere with a lube relative vapor pressure that is stabilized at a relative pressure to maintain a partial molecular layer on the disk surface. FIG. 2 schematically illustrates the steady state vapor transport lubrication system wherein there is not only a reservoir 3 and disk surface 4, but also a vapor drain 6. Once again air passing through reservoir 3 emerges saturated with lube from within the reservoir. However, the vapor drain, which is a chemical filter that traps vapors and has an air flow which emerges with an organic vapor pressure that is substantially zero. The composite atmosphere supplied from the reservoir 3 and the vapor drain 6 is less than saturated and the system is not therefore dependent upon maintenance of a reduced temperature at the reservoir. The vapor drain essentially permanently entraps vapors in the air passing therethrough. Contaminant vapors as well as lubricant vapors are trapped. This gradually depletes the lubricant, but it also maintains the atmosphere and the disk surface almost contaminant free. It is also important that the lubricant supply in the reservoir not be depleted during the life of the disk drive. The reservoir capacity and the capability of the vapor drain to capture vapors are selected to achieve this result. FIG. 10 is a schematic concerning vapors inside a disk file. This shows a density of vapor in the file atmosphere 71, a disk 72, a file component 73 and a vapor drain 74. Into the atmosphere 71, the component 73 supplies vapor density. The surface of the disk 72 develops a coating whose thickness depends on the relative vapor density in the file atmosphere 71 at the disk surface. From the atmosphere 71, a significant part of the vapor density is steadily removed by the vapor drain 74. The density of vapor is determined by competition between vapor gained from component 73 versus vapor removal by the vapor drain 74. The vapor drain 74 reduces the density of vapors in the file atmosphere 71. The general structure and mechanism of FIG. 10 can be applied to control contamination vapors or to control lubricant vapors. For example, a typical seal band 73A outgasses silicone oil vapor. Thus the vapor drain 74 reduces the density of contamination vapor in the file atmosphere 71. In another example, the file uses vapor replenishment of the lubrication. The component 73B is a lubricant reservoir which emits a lubricant vapor. Thus the vapor drain 74 reduces the density of the lubricant vapor in the file atmosphere 71. In many cases, after the file has operated long enough at constant conditions, the density of vapor reaches a steady state. This is a dynamic balance between the rate that the component 73 supplies vapor density, and the rate that the vapor drain 74 removes vapor density. At steady state, the relative vapor density is determined mainly by the aerodynamics, convection and diffusion. Also the relative vapor density is largely independent of chemical equilibrium parameters such as file temperature. These vapor dynamics may be understood by an electronic analogy FIG. 11. Here vapor is represented by electric charge, and vapor density is represented by voltage. The large capacitor 73C and resistor 73R represent the vapor source component 73 and its ability to add vapor to the air. The large capacitor 74C and resistor 74R represent the vapor drain 74 and its ability to remove vapor from the air. The wire 70 represents air motion inside the file spreading the vapor density throughout the file. The small capacitor 72C and resistor 72R represent the deposition of vapor on the disk 72. The small capacitor 71C represents the ability of the file atmosphere to hold vapor. This analogy implicitly describes many features of the dynamics. The steady state is particularly simple. In some cases, the time constants are hours for the disk 72RC, many years for the component vapor source 73RC, many years for the vapor drain 74RC. If the file operates for an intermediate duration, then a steady state will occur. Compared to the source voltage at 72C, the voltage in the file atmosphere 70 will be determined by a voltage divider formed by the ratio between source resistor 73R and the drain resistor 74R. Thus the relative vapor density is determined by the ratio between vapor source and drain rates. This depends on aerodynamics, convection and diffusion, and is largely independent of temperature and other thermo-chemical parameters. These principals can be applied to lubricant vapor supplied by a lubricant reservoir 73B, and removed by a vapor drain 74. Typically the goal to achieve 50% to 80% relative density of lubricant vapor (compared to the saturation density at the disk temperature). Therefore the vapor drain 74 should match the lubricant reservoir 73B. (A more detailed statement is given below.) This provides a controlled relative vapor density which is largely independent of temperature gradient or overall temperature. This contrasts with U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,913, that teaches a vapor replenishment system which depends on a temperature gradient to control the relative vapor density of lubricant. Some files have both significant outgassed contamination and vapor lubrication. It is desirable to greatly reduce the outgassed contamination, and to simultaneously achieve 50% to 80% relative density of lubrication vapor. To achieve this requires some parameterization. For a vapor source, parameterize its rate as the equivalent volume per unit time of saturated vapor added to a file atmosphere with initially zero vapor density. For a vapor drain, parameterize its rate as the equivalent volume per time of saturated vapor drained from a file atmosphere with initially saturated vapor density. In some cases, these rates equal the rate that air flows through the vapor source or vapor drain. (Implicitly, these parameterizations might depend on the vapor material. In many cases, these equivalent rates are dominated by convection aerodynamics. For various vapor materials, this depends on the vapor diffusivity, hence on the molecular weight of the vapor. Thus if outgassed contamination and lubricant have similar molecular weights, then the equivalent rate is independent of the vapor material.) With this parameterization, the file can be designed as follows. First design file materials and components which achieve the following: the outgas gain rate is much smaller than the lubricant supply rate from the reservoir. Second, add a vapor drain whose equivalent drain rate for outgassed vapor (measured in a file atmosphere saturated with outgassed contamination) approximates the equivalent gain rate for the lubricant reservoir (measured in a file atmosphere with zero lubricant vapor). At steady state, this vapor drain will moderately reduce the relative density of lubricant vapor, and simultaneously will reduce the outgas relative vapor density by a much larger factor. In some cases, the vapor source becomes depleted. This can be expressed as a medium-sized capacitor 73C, so the time constant 73RC is a few months. Also a vapor drain with a medium-sized adsorber 74C in a few months time constant 74RC will remove vapor more intensely at first, then less intensely after a few months. More generally, the schematic FIG. 11 implicitly summarizes many additional transient effects. More complex effects can be expressed by using batteries or electrolytic capacitors instead of linear capacitors. The vapor drain chemical filter element requires high surface area adsorption. Activated carbon is a high capacity non-specific adsorber with a capacity that can be fairly accurately predicted from certain parameters of the carbon and the molar volume of the condensed vapor. As such it is usually the material of choice; however, silica gel, activated alumina and certain synthetic zeolites can be similarly used. For these materials, the distinction between absorption and adsorption is not always clear. Also one could use materials wherein said vapor chemically combined with the filter material. In the claims which follow let "absorber" or "absorption" implicitly include absorption, adsorption, or chemical reaction. Another function for a vapor drain is to accumulate a sample of vapors for subsequent chemical testing. This favors a reversible absorber. First operate the file for some time with a reversible absorber. Later remove the absorber. In a laboratory, this can be heated to recover the sample for chemical testing. An alternative is to use a solvent to extract the sample. Below we describe structures to facilitate this chemical testing function. This chemical testing function can be used various ways. It can be implemented in developmental prototype files to accelerate chemical integration. It can be implemented in a few production files for statistical quality control measure. It can be implemented in many production files, to allow monitoring chemical quality in the field throughout file life. Another modification is to design the vapor drain to have a greater initial capacity followed by a diminished adsorption capability. During the early life of the file the outgassing contamination and other contaminant sources are more prolific, whereas following the initial period of operation the generation of contaminants stabilizes at significantly lower levels. This bilevel capability can be achieved by limiting the filtering capacity of the filter such that the initial capacity is significant while the later more restricted capacity supplies a longer term lower filtering capability that generally parallels the rate of contaminant generation. This time dependence can be readily understood by the electronic analogy FIG. 12. Insofar as the component 73/battery 83 becomes significantly discharged, and approaches the vapor density 71/node voltage 81, then it will supply less vapor/current. Likewise as the vapor drain 74/capacitor 84 becomes significantly charged and approaches the vapor density 71/node voltage 81, then it will remove less vapor density/current. The time dependence of the vapor drain can be tailored by using several sub-vapor drains with various time constants. This is analogous to connecting in parallel several RC sub-units with various time constants. FIG. 3 shows a typical magnetic hard disk data storage device with the cover 8 removed. A series of disks 5 are clamped together in axially spaced relation for rotation in unison about a common axis and are mounted on a base plate 10. An actuator 12 carries a series of arms 13 that have secured thereto suspensions 14 that respectively carry transducers 15. Transducers 15 respectively confront disk surfaces 4 to write data to the disk or read data from the disk. The actuator arms 13 move in unison about a common axis to cause the transducers 15 to translate from one concentric recording track to another concentric track on the disk surface. The flat cable 16 contains the conductors that carry signals from the transducers 15 to the circuitry exterior of the head disk enclosure. In the assembled condition the cover 8 is sealed to base 10 by a gasket 17 and retained by a series of clips 18. The HDA is a substantially sealed enclosure surrounding the transducer heads and rotating data storage disks. A breather filter 20 is provided and positioned to access the enclosed atmosphere at a location of low pressure. This filter 20 is provided to compensate for atmospheric and thermally induced temperature changes. By being located at a low pressure location it is assured that any leakage location is at a higher pressure such that leakage is out of the enclosure and that makeup air is filtered. Thus, no unfiltered air enters the enclosure. To prevent contamination by vapors from outside the head-disk enclosure while the drive is not running, the breather filter is commonly provided with an extended length diffusion passage to prevent or limit the introduction of vapor contamination. FIG. 4 shows a file, with the cover partially broken away, which includes a steady state lubricant vapor transport system. A reservoir 3 is secured to the inner surface of the cover 8, has an air entrance 22 and an exit opening 23 to permit an air flow induced by rotation of disk 5 to pass therethrough. Another flow of air induced by disk rotation is partitioned with one portion directed through the recirculating particulate filter 24 and another portion directed through the vapor drain 25. Another embodiment of a steady state system is shown in FIG. 5. This is similar to the system of FIG. 4 with the exception that the vapor drain is a flow by chemical filter for entrapping vapor by adsorption or absorption as the air flow within the enclosure is directed past the filter surface. FIG. 6 illustrates a further embodiment showing a disk drive with the cover 8 partially broken away wherein the lubricant reservoir and the vapor drain are formed as parallel arcuate paths in a single assembly. The reservoir-vapor drain assembly upper surface 33 is adhered to the cover inner surface in a position that is in the air flow induced by disk rotation. As shown in FIG. 7, the reservoir-vapor drain assembly includes one arcuate channel 31 that houses the lubricant source or reservoir and the other, adjoining arcuate channel 32 provides the vapor drain. The rotating disk 5 induces an air flow from the entry openings 22 to the outlet openings 23. Since both reservoir 31 and vapor drain 32 are in a common air flow path, the balance between lubricant vapor bearing air and vapor depleted filtered air is easier to achieve in addition to the recognized economy achieved by fabricating both functional elements as a single device. Since the essence of the vapor drain is vapor control, the concept is also applicable to drives that do not use vapor transport lubrication systems. Disk surfaces having a nonselective affinity for organic vapors are subject to the accumulation of such contaminants which emanate from such sources as material outgassing and bearing lubricants. In particular, drives including disks with bonded lubricants are benefited by the vapor scavenging capabilities of a vapor drain. This contamination control function is useful regardless of the lubrication system, which might be a bonded lubricant, a single application liquid lubricant, vapor replenished lubricant, or other lubrication systems. FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment wherein a vapor drain is used in the form of a flow-by chemical absorber or adsorber which is bonded to the cover 8 and positioned in the path of air circulation induced by rotation of the disks 5. The mylar or polycarbonate backing layer 41 is bonded to the cover 8 inner surface 42. An activated carbon chemical filter 43 is retained by a HEPA particulate media which is bonded to the backing along its margins 46 either by an adhesive or ultra sonic welding. Another embodiment of a vapor drain used for contaminant entrapment is shown in FIG. 9. The vapor drain is placed in an opening 49 in the cover 8. The exterior is sealed by mylar tape 52 which is bonded to the exterior surface of cover 8 along the marginal edge surfaces of the opening 49. The activated carbon vapor drain element 51 is in the cover opening and retained by a HEPA particulate media 54 which is continuously bonded by adhesive about its margins 56 to the inner surface 42 of cover 8. In practice the vapor drain is fabricated as an assembly which is subsequently attached to the drive cover. If the mylar tape at the outer side of the vapor drain is removed, the activated carbon element 51 can be removed and even replaced without exposing the head-disk assembly within the enclosure to unfiltered air. This embodiment can be utilized either as a vapor drain for removing contaminants from the enclosure or as a sampling device which permits the filter to be removed so that entrapped contaminants can subsequently be analyzed. The vapor drain has been shown in this description as a recirculating type chemical absorber or adsorber for entrapping chemical vapors. This is the preferred embodiment. The same result could be obtained by using a controlled leak that permits a predetermined rate of loss of vapor to the atmosphere outside the enclosure. In this application it would be likewise necessary to limit vapor depletion to a rate that would not cause the vapor from the lubricant reservoir to be exhausted during the useful life of the device. As with entrapment, lubricant vapor and contaminant vapors would be allowed to escape from the enclosure and be replaced by lubricant vapors from the reservoir. The preceding vapor drain has been described in terms of a magnetic disk memory. Nevertheless it is more widely applicable. A vapor drain can control vapors in an optical memories use "near field optics", which has a head moving very close to a moving disk. Also vapor drain can control vapors inside a STM Scanning Tunneling Microscope, an AFM Atomic Force Microscope, and other techniques with a head moving ultra-close to an ultra-smooth surface. Furthermore a vapor drain is applicable to a memory device based on this STM microscope and these techniques. In the claims which follow, we shall use "disk memories or similar devices" to mean any system where a head moves very close to a very smooth surface. This includes magnetic disk memories, optical memories with near-field optics, memories or microscopes based on STM or AFM or related techniques. Also the rotary disk geometry can be generalized to include a rectangular X-Y geometry, or a tape geometry. Thus this vapor drain invention is applicable to "a disk memory or similar device which is sensitive to vapors in its atmosphere". While the invention has been particularly described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The vapor drain is a device that permits steady state control of the composition of the atmosphere within a substantially sealed enclosure. For any fabricated enclosure the will be sources of vapor phase molecules: molecules evaporating from a deliberately installed lubricant reservoir, molecules outgassed from components, and molecules diffusing in from the outside world. The purpose of the vapor drain is to minimize the second two classes of molecules in the composition of the enclosure atmosphere as they are considered to be contaminants. An example application is a rigid disk magnetic data storage device which requires a monomelecular layer of lubricant on the disk and slider surfaces. The vapor drains suppresses the contaminant population by capturing a portion of all three sources of molecules in the vapor phase. The vapor drain is a filter which has an active element of at least one of activated carbon, silica gel, activated alumina, synthetic zeolite, and other material with a large surface to volume ratio with the ability to adsorb vapor components from the atmosphere.

This is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/417,735, filed, Apr. 5, 1995 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,211,108. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a class of metallocene compounds, to a catalyst for the polimerization of olefins comprising said metallocenes and to processes for the polimerization of olefins carried out in the presence of said catalyst. The invention also relates to processes for the preparation of the ligands of said metallocenes, as well as to a class of novel bridged ligands. 2. Description of the Prior Art Metallocene compounds are known which are active as catalyst components in the olefin polymerization reactions. European patent application EP-A-35 242, for instance, discloses a process for the polymerization of ethylene and propylene in the presence of a catalyst system comprising (a) a cyclopentadienyl compound of a transition metal and (b) an alumoxane. European patent application EP-A-129 368 discloses a catalyst system for the polymerization of olefins comprising (a) a mono-, bi- or tri-cyclopentadienyl coordination complex with a transition metal and (b) an alumoxane. With this catalyst it is possible to prepare polyolefins of controlled molecular weight. European patent application EP-A-351 392 discloses a catalyst, which can be used in the preparation of syndiotactic polyolefins, comprising a metallocene compound with two cyclopentadienyl based rings linked with a bridging group in which one of the two cyclopentadiene rings is substituted differently from the other. The preferred compound indicated is isopropylidene(fluorenyl)(cyclopentadienyl)hafnium dichloride. EP-A-604 908 discloses a class of bis-fluorenyl compounds bridged with a one-atom-bridge. These metallocenes are useful as catalyst components for the polymerization of olefins and, expecially, for the preparation of high molecular weight atactic polypropylene. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION New metallocene compounds have now been found which can be advantageously used as catalyst components in the polymerization reactions of olefins. An object of the present invention consists of a new metallocene compound of formula (I) (YR p ) q (Cp)(Cp′)MX 2   (I) wherein Cp is a group selected from those of formula (II) and (III): wherein m and n, same or different from each other, are integer comprised between 2 and 6 and, preferably, comprised between 3 and 5; Cp′ is a group selected from those of formula (II), (III) e (IV): wherein (YR p ) q is a divalent group which bridges the two groups Cp and Cp′, Y being selected indifferently from C, Si, Ge, N and P; p is 1 when Y is N or P, and is 2 when Y is C, Si or Ge; q can be 0, 1, 2 or 3; M is a transition metal selected from Ti, Zr or Hf; the substituents X, same or different from each other, are halogen atoms, —OH, —SH, R, —OR, —SR, —NR 2 or —PR 2 ; the substituents R, same or different from each other, are hydrogen atoms, C 1 –C 20 alkyl radicals, C 3 –C 20 cycloalkyl radicals, C 2 –C 20 alkenyl radicals, C 6 –C 20 aryl radicals, C 7 –C 20 alkylaryl radicals or C 7 –C 20 arylalkyl radicals, optionally containing Si or Ge atoms and, additionally, two adjacent R substituents on Cp or Cp′ may form a C 5 –C 8 cycle and, further, two R substituents of the same YR 2 group or of two adjacent YR 2 groups may form a ring comprising from 3 to 8 atoms; when q=0, the R′ substituents are defined as the R substituents while, when q=1, 2 or 3, the two R′ substituents of the groups Cp and Cp′ together form the divalent group (YR p ) q . Another object of the present invention is a process for the preparation of a cyclopentadienylic compound of formula (II), which comprises reacting a cycloalkene of formula (V) with a cycloalkene derivative of formula (VI) to obtain a cyclopentenone of formula (VII), wherein n, m and R have the meaning given, and X is OH, OR, O(CO)R, Cl or Br, in accordance with the reaction scheme below: Still another object of the present invention is a process for the preparation of a cyclopentadienylic compound of formula (III), which comprises reacting a cycloalkene of formula (V′) with a benzene derivative of formula (VIII) to obtain a compound of formula (IX), wherein n, m, R and X have the meaning given, in accordance with the reaction scheme below: Yet another object of the present invention is a cyclopentadiene ligand of formula (XI): (YR p ) q (CP)(Cp′)  (XI) wherein Cp, Cp′, (YR p ) q ,Y, R, p and q have the meaning given. A further object of the present invention is a catalyst for the polymerization of olefins comprising the product of the reaction between: (A) a metallocene compound of formula (I), optionally as a reaction product with a organo-aluminium of formula AlR 4 3 or Al 2 R 4 6 , in which the substituents R 4 , same or different from each other are R 1 or halogen, and (B) an aluminoxane, optionally in admixture with a organo-aluminium compound of formula AlR 4 3 or Al 2 R 4 6 , in which the substituents R 4 , same or different from each other, are defined as above or one or more compounds capable of forming a alkyl metallocene cation. Still a further object of the invention consists of a process for the polymerization of olefins comprising the polymerization reaction of at least one olefinic monomer in the presence of the above described catalyst. Yet a further object of the present invention is a process for the oligomerization of propylene carried out in the presence of the above described catalyst. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The preferred R substituents are hydrogen, C 1 –C 10 alkyl radicals, more preferably C 1 –C 3 , C 3 –C 10 cycloalkyl radicals, more preferably C 3 –C 6 , C 2 –C 10 alkenyl radicals, more preferably C 2 –C 3 , C 6 –C 10 aryl radicals C 7 –C 10 alkaryl radicals or C 7 –C 10 aralkyl radicals. The alkyl radicals may be straight chain or branched in addition to cyclic. The divalent group (YR p ) q is preferably selected from CR 2 , SiR 2 , GeR 2 , NR, PR and (CR 2 ) 2 . More preferably is a group selected from Si(CH 3 ) 2 , CH 2 , (CH 2 ) 2 and C(CH 3 ) 2 . The preferred transition metal M is Zr. The X substituents are preferably halogen atoms or R groups. More preferably are chlorine or a methyl radical. Non limitative examples of ligands of formula (II) according to the invention are: octahydrofluorene, 9-methyl-octahydrofluorene, bis(cyclotrimethylene)cyclopentadiene. Non limitative examples of ligand of formula (III) according to the invention are: tetrahydrofluorene, 1,2-cyclohexamethylene-indene. Non limitative examples of ligand of formula (IV) according to the invention are: cyclopentadienyl, indenyl, tetrahydroindenyl. A particular class of metallocene according to the invention is those compounds of formula (I) in which q=0, and that is those in which the Cp and Cp′ groups are not linked to each other by a bridge. Non limitative examples of the above mentioned class of metallocenes are: bis(1, 2-cyclotetramethyleneinden-yl)titanium dichloride, bis(1,2-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dichloride, bis(1,2-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl) hafnium dichloride, bis(1,2-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)titanium dimethyl, bis(1,2-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dimethyl, bis(1,2-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl) hafnium dimethyl, bis(octahydrofluorenyl)titanium dichloride, bis(octahydrofluorenyl)zirconium dichloride, bis(octahydrofluorenyl)hafnium dichloride, bis(octahydrofluorenyl)titanium dimethyl, bis(octahydrofluorenyl)zirconium dimethyl, bis(octahydrofluorenyl)hafnium dimethyl, (cyclopentadienyl)(1,2-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)titanium dichloride, (cyclopentadienyl)(1,2-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dichloride, (cyclopentadienyl)(1,2-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)hafnium dichloride, (cyclopentadienyl)(1,2-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)titanium dimethyl, (cyclopentadienyl)(1,2-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dimethyl, (cyclopentadienyl)(1,2-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)hafnium dimethyl, (cyclopentadienyl)(octahydrofluorenyl)titanium dichloride, (cyclopentadienyl)(octahydrofluorenyl)zirconium dichloride, (cyclopentadienyl)(octahydrofluorenyl)hafnium dichloride, (cyclopentadienyl)(octahydrofluorenyl)titanium dimethyl, (cyclopentadienyl)(octahydrofluorenyl)zirconium dimethyl, (cyclopentadienyl)(octahydrofluorenyl)hafnium dimethyl. Another particular class of metallocenes according to the invention is those compounds of formula (I) in which q is different from 0, and the groups Cp and Cp′, preferably same as each other, are selected from those of formula (II) and (III). Preferably, the divalent group (YR p ) q is a Si(CH 3 ) 2 group. Non limitative examples of above cited metallocenes are: dimethylsilanediylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)titanium dichloride, dimethylsilanediylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dichloride, dimethylsilanediylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)hafnium dichloride, dimethylsilanediylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)titanium dimethyl, dimethylsilanediylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dimethyl, dimethylsilanediylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)hafnium dimethyl, diphenylsilanediylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)titanium dichloride, diphenylsilanediylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dichloride, diphenylsilanediylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)hafnium dichloride, diphenylsilanediylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)titanium dimethyl, diphenylsilanediylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dimethyl, diphenylsilanediylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)hafnium dimethyl, isopropylidenebis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)titanium dichloride, isopropylidenebis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dichloride, isopropylidenebis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)hafnium dichloride, isopropylidenebis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)titanium dimethyl, isopropylidenebis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dimethyl, isopropylidenebis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)hafnium dimethyl, dimethylgermanedylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)titanium dichloride, dimethylgermanedylbis(2, 3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dichloride, dimethylgermanedylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)hafnium dichloride, dimethylgermanedylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)titanium dimethyl, dimethylgermanedylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dimethyl, dimethylgermanedylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)hafnium dimethyl, dimethylsilanediylbis(octahydrofluorenyl)titanium dichloride, dimethylsilanediylbis(octahydrofluorenyl)zirconium dichloride, dimethylsilanediylbis(octahydrofluorenyl)hafnium dichloride, dimethylsilanediylbis(octahydrofluorenyl)titanium dimethyl, dimethylsilanediylbis(octahydrofluorenyl)zirconium dimethyl, dimethylsilanediylbis(octahydrofluorenyl)hafnium dimethyl. Yet another particular class of metallocenes according to the invention is those compounds of formula (I) in which q=1and the group Cp′ is a non-substituted cyclopentadienyl group. Preferably, the divalent group (YR p ) q is a group >C(CH 3 ) 2 . Non limitative examples of the above cited class of metallocenes are: isopropylidene(cyclopentadienyl)(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)titanium dichloride, isopropylidene(cyclopentadienyl)(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dichloride, isopropylidene(cyclopentadienyl)(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)hafnium dichloride, isopropylidene(cyclopentadienyl)(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)titanium dimethyl, isopropylidene(cyclopentadienyl)(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl) zirconium dimethyl, isopropylidene(cyclopentadienyl)(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)hafnium dimethyl, isopropylidene(cyclopentadienyl)(octahydrofluorenyl)titanium dichloride, isopropylidene(cyclopentadienyl)(octahydrofluorenyl)zirconium dichloride, isopropylidene(cyclopentadienyl)(octahydrofluorenyl)hafnium dichloride, isopropylidene(cyclopentadienyl)(octahydrofluorenyl)titanium dimethyl, isopropylidene(cyclopentadienyl)(octahydrofluorenyl)zirconium dimethyl, isopropylidene(cyclopentadienyl)(octahydrofluorenyl)hafnium dimethyl. Both the above indicated reactions for the preparation of a cyclopentadienylic compound of formula (II) or (III) are conducted in an acid medium. Suitable acid compounds which can be used, alone or in combination, are: mineral acids, such as polyphosphoric acid, phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, hydrobromic acid; organic acids and peracids, such as formic acid, acetic acid, trifluoroacetic acid, fluorosulfonic acid, methanesulfonic acid, p-toluenesulfonic acid; metal cations, such as silver tetrafluoroborate; trimethylsilyl iodide; phosphorus pentaoxide; polyphosphoric acid being the preferred. The above said reactions can be conducted in a solvent such as methanol, ethanol, acetic anhydride, methylene chloride, carbon tetrachloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, benzene, toluene. The reaction temperature is generally comprised in the range of −78° C. to 350° C., preferably of from 0° C. to 200° C. and, more preferably, of 65° C. to 100° C. The reaction time is generally comprised in the range of 2 minutes to 24 hours and, preferably, of 1 to 4 hours. The cycloalkenes (V) are commercially obtainable, while the 1-cycloalkene derivatives (VI) and the benzene derivatives (VIII) which either are commercially obtainable or can be prepared by known methods. The cyclopentenones (VII) and the compounds (IX) can successively be converted to cyclopentadienyl compounds of, respectively, formula (II) and (III) by means of different methods. For example, the cyclopentenone (VII) and the compound (IX) can be first reduced and then dehydrated to yield the cyclopentadiene (II). Reducing agents suitable for use in the reduction step are, for example, diisopropylaluminum hydride, diisobutylaluminum hydride, lithium aluminum hydride, aluminum hydride, 9-BBN. The dehydration step may be performed in the presence of an acid, SOCl 2 , POCl 3 . The conditions for these reaction are reported in J. Am. Chem. Soc., 82, 2498 (1960), and ibid. 83, 5003 (1961). Alternatively, the cyclopentenone (VII) and the compound (IX) can be directly transformed into the cyclopentadiene (II) by reaction with metallic Zn and trimethylsilyl chloride, as described in J. Chem. Soc. Chem. Comm., 935 (1973). According to another method, the cyclopentenone (VII) and the compound (IX), can be reacted with a substituted or unsubstituted p-toluensulfonhydrazide of formula (X) The reaction is carried out in a solvent such as, for example, alcohols, tetrahydrofurane (THF), ethers, benzene, toluene, in the presence or absence of acids, to yield a tosylhydrazone. The water formed during the above reaction may be removed. The thus obtained tosylhydrazone is thereafter reacted with a base to yield the desired products. The reaction is carried out in a solvent such as, for example, hexane, pentane, diethyl ether, N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-ethylenediamine. Bases suitable for use in the above reaction are, for instance, methyllithium, n-buthyllithium, s-buthyllithium, t-buthyllithium, lithium, sodium or potassium dialkylamide, potassium t-butoxide, lithium, sodium or potassium hexamethyldisilylazide, sodium hydride, potassium hydride. The preparation of the bridged ligands of the metallocene compounds of formula (I) wherein q is different from 0 and the group Cp is the same as the group Cp′, can be carried out by first reacting a compound of formula (II) or (III) with a compound able to form a delocalized anion on the cyclopentadienyl ring, and thereafter with a compound of formula (YR p ) q Z 2 , wherein Y, R, z and q are defined as above and the substituents Z, same or different from each other, are halogen atoms or tosylate groups. The preparation of the bridged ligands of the metallocene compounds of formula (I) wherein q is different from 0 and the group Cp is different from the group Cp′, can be carried out by reacting a symmetric or asymmetric fulvene with an anionic salt of the substituted Cp group. The metallocene compounds of formula (I) can be prepared by first reacting the bridged ligands prepared as described above, or the cyclopentadienylic compounds of formula (II) or (III), with a compound able to form a delocalized anion on the cyclopentadienyl rings, and thereafter with a compound of formula MZ 4 , wherein M and the substituents Z are defined as above. The metallocene compounds of formula (I) wherein q=0 and Cp is different from Cp′ can be prepared by reacting the dianion of the ligand with a tetrahalide of the metal M, said reaction being carried out in a suitable solvent. A particularly convenient method for preparing the metallocene compounds of formula (I), in which both Cp and Cp′ groups are selected from the groups of formula (II) wherein m=4, is the hydrogenation reaction of the corresponding metallocene compounds in which both Cp and Cp′ are selected from the groups of formula (III). The hydrogenation reaction is carried out in a solvent, such as CH 2 Cl 2 , in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst, such as PtO 2 , and hydrogen. The hydrogen pressures are preferably comprised between 1 and 100 bar, and the temperatures are preferably comprised between −50 and 50° C. In the case at least one X substituent in the metallocene compound of formula (I) to be prepared is different from halogen, it is necessary to substitute at least one substituent Z in the obtained metallocene with at least one X substituent different from halogen. The substitution reaction of substituents Z in the compound of formula (VI) with substituents X different from halogen is carried out by generally used methods. For example, when the substituents X are alkyl groups, the metallocenes can be reacted with alkylmagnesium halides (Grignard reagents) or with lithioalkyl compounds. Non limitative examples of compounds of formula (YR p ) q Z 2 are dimethyldichlorosilane, diphenyldichlorosilane, dimethyldichlorogermanium, 2,2-dichloropropane, 1,2-dibromoethane and the like. Non limitative examples of compounds of formula MZ 4 are titanium tetrachloride, zirconium tetrachloride, hafnium tetrachloride. According to an embodiment of the process according to the invention, the synthesis of the bridged ligands of the metallocene compounds of formula (I) wherein q is different from 0 and the group Cp is the same as the group Cp′ is suitably performed by adding a solution of an organic lithium compound in an aprotic solvent to a solution of the compound (II) or (III) in an aprotic solvent. Thus, a solution containing the compound (II) or (III) in the anionic form is obtained and this is added to a solution of the compound of formula (YR p ) q Z 2 in an aprotic solvent. From the so obtained solution, the bridged ligand is separated by generally used methods. This is dissolved in an aprotic polar solvent, and to this solution a solution of an organic lithium compound in an aprotic solvent is added. The bridged ligand thus obtained is separated, dissolved in an aprotic polar solvent and thereafter added to a suspension of the compound MZ 4 in an apolar solvent. At the end of the reaction the solid product obtained is separated from the reaction mixture by generally used techniques. During the whole process, the temperature is kept between −180° C. and 80° C. and preferably between −20° C. and 40° C. Not limitative examples of apolar solvents which can be used in the above described process are pentane, hexane, benzene and the like. Not limitative examples of aprotic polar solvents which can be used in the above described process are tetrahydrofurane, dimethoxyethane, diethylether, toluene, dichloromethane and the like. In the catalyst of the invention, the aluminoxane used as component (B) can be obtained by the reaction between water and the organo-aluminium compound of formula AlR 4 3 or Al 2 R 4 6 , in which substituents R 4 , same or different from each other are defined above, with the condition that at least one R 4 is not halogen. In this case, the molar ratios of Al/water in the reaction is comprised between 1:1 and 100:1. The molar ratio between aluminium and the metal from the metallocene is comprised between 10:1 and about 5000:1, and preferably between about 100:1 and about 4000:1. The alumoxane used in the catalyst according to the invention is believed to be a linear, branched or cyclic compound, containing at least one group of the type: wherein substituents R 5 , the same or different from each other, are R 1 or a group —O—Al(R 5 ) 2 . Examples of alumoxanes suitable for the use according to the present invention are methylalumoxane (MAO) and isobutylalumoxane (TIBAO). Mixtures of differents alumoxanes are suitable as well. Not limitative examples of aluminium compounds of formula AlR 3 or Al 2 R 4 6 are: Al(Me) 3 , Al(Et) 3 , AlH(Et) 2 , Al(iBu) 3 , AlH(iBu) 2 , Al(iHex) 3 , Al(C 6 H 5 ) 3 , Al(CH 2 C 6 H 5 ) 3 , Al(Ch 2 CMe 3 ) 3 , Al(CH 2 SiMe 3 ) 3 , Al(Me) 2 iBu, Al(Me) 2 Et, AlMe(Et) 2 , AlMe(iBu) 2 , Al(Me) 2 iBu, Al(Me) 2 Cl, Al(Et) 2 Cl, AlEtCl 2 , Al 2 (Et) 3 Cl 3 , wherein Me=methyl, Et=ethyl, iBu=isobutyl, iHex=isohexyl. Among the above mentioned aluminium compounds, trimethylaluminium (TMA) and triisobutylaminium (TIBAL) are preferred. Not limitative examples of compounds able to form a metallocene alkyl cation are compounds of formula Y + Z − , wherein Y + is a Bronsted acid, able to give a proton and to react irreversibly with a substituent R 2 of the compound of formula (I) and Z − is a compatible anion, which does not coordinate, which is able to stabilize the active catalytic species which originates from the reaction of the two compounds and which is sufficiently labile to be able to be removed from an olefinic substrate. Preferably, the anion Z − comprises one or more boron atoms. More preferably, the anion Z − is an anion of the formula BAr (−) 4 , wherein substituents Ar, the same or different from each other, are aryl radicals such as phenyl, pentafluorophenyl, bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl. Particularly preferred is the tetrakis-pentafluorophenyl borate. Furthermore, compounds of formula BAr 3 can be suitably used. The catalysts of the present invention can also be used on an inert support. That is by depositing the metallocene compound (A), or the reaction product of the metallocene (A) with component (B), or the component (B) and successively the metallocene compound (A), on the inert support such as for example, silica, alumina, styrene-divinylbenzene copolymers or polyethylene. The solid compound so obtained, in combination with further addition of the alkyl aluminium compound as such or prereacted with water if necessary, is usefully employed in the gas phase polymerization. The catalysts of the present invention can advantageously be used in a process for the homo- or copolymerization reaction of olefins. According to a particular embodiment of the above process, the catalysts of the present invention can be profitably used in the homo-polymerization reaction of olefins, in particular of ethylene for the preparation of HDPE, or of α-olefins such as propylene and 1-butene. When it is employed a bridged metallocene compound of formula (I) wherein q is different from 0 and the group Cp is the same as the group Cp′, the obtained α-olefin homopolymers have an atactic structure and, therefore, are substantially amorphous. In particular, with the catalyst of the present invention it is possible to prepare propylene oligomers which result to be endowed with allylic terminations; said oligomers can be suitably employed as comonomers in the copolymerization reactions of olefins. Alternatively, when it is employed a metallocene compound of formula (I) wherein q=1 and the group Cp′ is a non-substituted cyclopentadienyl group, the obtained α-olefin homopolymers have a predominantly syndiotactic structure. Another interesting use of the catalysts according to the present invention is for the copolymerization of ethylene with higher olefins. In particular, the catalysts of the invention can be used for the preparation of LLDPE. The LLDPE copolymers which are obtained have a content of ethylene units comprised between 80% and 99% by mols. Their density is comprised between 0.87 and 0.95 g/cc and they are characterized by a uniform distribution of the alpha-olefin comonomers. The olefins useable as comonomers comprise alpha-olefins of the formula CH 2 ═CHR wherein R is a straight, branched or cyclic alkyl radical containing from 1 to 20 carbon atoms, and cycloolefins. Examples of these olefins are propylene, 1-butene, 1-pentene, 4-methyl-1-pentene, 1-hexene, 1-octene, 1-decene, 1-dodecene, 1-tetradecene, 1-esadecene, 1-octadecene, 1-eicosene, allylcyclohexane, cyclopentene, cyclohexene, norbornene, 4,6-dimethyl-1-heptene. The copolymers may also contain small proportions of units deriving from polyenes, in particular from straight or cyclic, conjugated or non conjugated dienes such as, for example, 1,4-hexadiene, isoprene, 1,3-butadiene, 1,5-hexadiene, 1,6-heptadiene. The units deriving from the alpha-olefins of the formula CH 2 ═CHR, from the cycloolefins and/or from the polienes are present in the copolymers in amounts of from 1% to 20% by mole. The catalyst of the invention can also be used for the preparation of elastomeric copolymers of ethylene with alpha-olefins of the formula CH 2 ═CHR, wherein R is an alkyl radical having from 1 to 10 carbon atoms, optionally containing small proportions of units deriving from polyenes. The saturated elastomeric copolymers contain from 15% to 85% by mole of ethylene units, the complement to 100 being constituted by units of one or more alpha-olefins and/or of a non conjugated diolefin able to cylopolymerize. The unsaturated elastomeric copolymers contain, together with the units deriving from the polymerization of ethylene and alpha-olefins, also small proportions of unsaturated units deriving from the copolymerization of one or more polyenes. The content of unsaturated units can very from 0.1 to 5% by weight, and it is preferably comprised between 0.2 and 2% by weight. The elastomeric copolymers obtainable with the catalysts of the invention are endowed with valuable properties such as, for example, low content of ashes and uniformity of distribution of the comonomers within the copolymeric chain. Moreover, a valuable property of said elastomeric copolymers is that their molecular weights are high enough to be of practical interest. In fact, the intrinsic viscosity values (I.V.) of said copolymers are generally higher than 2.0 dl/g and can reach values of 3.0 dl/g and higher. This is a considerable and unpredictable advantage over the copolymers obtainable with a metallocene compound according to the cited EP-A-604 908. The useable alpha-olefins comprise, for example, propylene, 1-butene, 4-methyl-1-pentene. As non conjugated diolefins able to cyclopolymerize, 1,5-hexadiene, 1,6-heptadiene, 2-methyl-1,5-hexadiene can be used. Polyenes useable comprise: polyenes able to give unsaturated units, such as: linear, non-conjugated dienes such as 1,4-hexadiene trans, 1,4-hexadiene cis, 6-methyl-1,5-heptadiene, 3,7-dimethyl-1,6-octadiene, 11-methyl-1,10-dodecadiene; monocyclic diolefins such as, for example, cis-1,5-cyclooctadiene and 5-methyl-1,5-cyclooctadiene; bicyclic diolefins such as for example 4,5,8,9-tetrahydroindene and 6 and/or 7-methyl-4,5,8,9-tetrahydroindene; alkenyl or alkyliden norbornenes such as for example, 5-ethyliden-2-norbornene, 5-isopropyliden-2-norbornene, exo-5-isopropenyl-2-norbornene; polycyclic diolefins such as, for example, dicyclopentadiene, tricyclo-[6.2.1.0 2,7 ]4,9-undecadiene and the 4-methyl derivative thereof; non-conjugated diolefins able to cyclopolymerize, such as 1.5-hexadiene, 1,6-heptadiene, 2-methyl-1,5-hexadiene; conjugated dienes, such as butadiene and isoprene. A further interesting use of the catalysts according to the present invention is for the preparation of cycloolefin polymers. Monocyclic and polycyclic olefin monomers can be either homopolymerized or copolymerized, also with linear olefin monomers. Non limitative examples of cycloolefin polymers which can be prepared with the catalyst of the present invention are described in the European patent applications No. 501,370 and No. 407,870, the contents of which are understood to be incorporated in the present description as a result of their mention. Polymerization processes which use the catalysts of the invention can be carried out in liquid phase, in the presence or not of an inert hydrocarbon solvent, or in gaseous phase. The hydrocarbon solvent can be either aromatic such as, for example, toluene, or aliphatic such as, for example, propane, hexane, heptane, isobutane, cyclohexane. The polymerization temperature generally ranges from about 0° C. to about 250° C. In particular, in the processes for the preparation of HDPE and LLDPE, it is generally comprised between 20° C. and 150° C. and, particularly, between 40° C. and 90° C., whereas for the preparation of the elastomeric copolymers it is generally comprised between 0° C. and 200° C. and, particularly, between 20° C. and 100° C. The molecular weight of polymers can be varied by simply varying the polymerization temperature, the type or the concentration of the catalyst components or, and this represent an advantage of the invention, by using molecular weight regulators such as, for example, hydrogen. The fact that the catalysts of the invention are sensitive to hydrogen as a molecular weight regulator is unexpected in view of the fact that, if the polymerization is carried out in the presence of a metallocene compound according to the cited EP-A-604 908, the hydrogen has no effect on the molecular weight of the obtained polymers, even if used in relevant amounts. The molecular weight distribution can be varied by using mixtures of different cyclopentadienyl compounds, or by carrying out the polymerization in many steps which differ for the polymerization temperatures and/or for the concentrations of the molecular weight regulator. The polymerization yield depends on the purity of the metallocene components in the catalyst. Therefore the metallocene obtained by the process of the invention may be used as such, or subjected to purification treatments. Particularly interesting results are obtained when the components of the catalyst are contacted among them before the polymerization. The contact time is generally comprised between 1 and 60 minutes, preferably between 5 and 20 minutes. The pre-contact concentrations for the metallocene component (A) are comprised between 10 −2 and 10 −8 mol/l, whereas for the component (B) they are comprised between 10 and 10 −3 mol/l. The precontact is generally carried out in the presence of a hydrocarbon solvent and, optionally, of small amounts of monomer. The following examples are supplied for purely illustrative and not limiting purpose. Characterisations The intrinsic viscosity [η] has been measured in tetrahydronaphtalene at 135° C. The molecular weight distribution has been determined by GPC using a WATERS 150 instrument in orthodiclorobenzene at 135° C. The Melt Index (MI) has been measured under the following conditions: Condition E (I 2 : ASTM D-1238) at 190° C. with a 2.16 kg load; Condition F (I 21 : ASTM D-1238) with a 21.6 kg load; the Melt Flow Ratio (MFR) is equal to I 21 /I 2 . The percentage by weight of comonomers in the copolymer has been determined according to Infra-Red (IR) techniques. The real density has been measured according to the ASTM D-1505 method by deeping of an extruded polymer sample in a density gradient column. The Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) measurements have been carried out on a DSC-7 apparatus of Perkin Elmer Co. Ltd., according to the following procedure. About 10 mg of sample are heated to 180° C. with a scanning speed equal to 10° C./minute; the sample is kept at 180° C. for 5 minutes and thereafter is cooled with a scanning speed equal to 10° C./minute. A second scanning is then carried out according to the same modalities as the first one. Values reported are those obtained in the second scanning. The solubility in xylene at 25° C. has been determined according to the following modalities. About 2.5 g of polymer and 250 ml of xylene are placed in a round-bottomed flask provided with cooler and reflux condenser, kept under nitrogen. This is heated to 135° C. and is kept stirred for about 60 minutes. This is allowed to cool under stirring to 25° C. The whole is filtered off and after evaporation of the solvent from the filtrate until a constant weight is reached, the weight of the soluble portion is calculated. Preparation of the Ligands EXAMPLE 1 Synthesis of 2,3-cyclotetramethyleneindene A mixture of 50 g of benzoic acid (409 mmol) and 35.2 g of cyclohexene (428 mmol) was added to 200 g of polyphosphoric acid (Aldrich). After stirring at 80–90° C. for 3 hours, 300 ml of a saturated solution of ammonium sulphate was added to the reddish brown reaction mixture. The resulting mixture was then extracted three times with 200 ml of dichloromethane. Organic portions were combined and washed succesively with 300 ml of a 5% acqueous solution of ammonium hydroxide and 300 ml of saturated sodium carbonate. The organic layer then was dried over Na 2 SO 4 , concentrated and vaccuum distilled (boiling point 110° C. at 0.1 mmHg) to yield 31.2 g of 2,3-cyclotetramethyleneindan-1-one. 4.0 g of sodium borohydride (107 mmol) was added in portions to a mixture of 20.0 g (107 mmol) of 2,3-cyclotetramethyleneindan-1-one and 40 g (107 mmoli) of CeCl 3 .7H 2 O in 250 ml of methanol. A vigorous gas evolutiom occurred. After stirring at 40° C. for 3 hours, the reaction crude was neutralised with 10% aqueous HCl. The mixture was then extracted 3 times with 250 ml of ether, dried over Na 2 SO 4 , and concentrate to yield 16.0 g of white solid. The solid product was mixed with 0.16 g of p-toluene-sulphonic acid monohydrate in 100 ml toluene and was refluxed at 110° C. After 2 hours the reaction crude was washed successively with 250 ml of a saturated aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate and 250 ml of water. The organic then was dried over Na 2 SO 4 , concentrated, and vaccuun distilled (b.p. 100° C. at 0.15 mm Hg) to yield 12.86 g of a light yellow liquid, identified as pure 2,3-cyclotetramethyleneindene by its 1 H NMR spectra. A small amount of 1,2-cyclotetramethyleneindene was also detected in the product. EXAMPLE 2 Synthesis of 1,2-cyclotrimethyleneindene A mixture of 116.8 g of benzoic anhydride (513 mmol) and 69.8 g of cyclopentene (513 mmol) was added to 1000 g of polyphosphoric acid (Aldrich). After stirring at 70–80° for 3 hours, a saturated solution of ammonium sulfate (500 ml) was added to the reddish-brown reaction mixture. The resulting mixture was then extracted with dichloromethane (3×300 mL). organic portions were combined and washed successively with aqueous ammonium hydroxide (5% solution, 500 mL) and saturated sodium carbonate (500 mL). The organic solution was then dried over Na 2 SO 4 , concentrated, and vacuum distilled (b.p. 125° C. at 6 mmHg) to yield 42 g of 2,3-cyclotrimethyleneindan-1-one. 1.06 g of sodium borohydride (28.3 mmol) was added in portions to a mixture of 4.87 g (28.3 mmol) of 2,3-cyclotrimethyleneindan-1-one and 10.6 g (28.3 mmoli) of CeCl 3 .7H 2 O in 250 ml of methanol. A vigorous gas evolutiom occurred. After stirring at 40° C. for 3 hours, the reaction crude was neutralised with 10% aqueous HCl. The mixture was then extracted 3 times with 250 ml of ether, dried over Na 2 SO 4 , and concentrate to yield 4.2 g of white solid. A mixture of the off-white solid above (4.2 g) and p-toluenesulfonic acid monohydrate (0.84 g) in benzene (100 mL) was refluxed at 80° C. After 2 hours, the reaction mixture was washed successively with saturated sodium bicarbonate (100 mL) and water (100 mL). The organic layer was then dried over Na 2 SO 4 , concentrated, and vacuum distilled (b.p. 100° C. at 5 mmHg) to yield 2,3 g of a light yellow liquid, identified as 1,2-cyclotrimethyleneindene by its 1 H-NMR spectrum. EXAMPLE 3 Synthesis of 1,2-cyclohexamethyleneindene A mixture of benzoic anhydride (85.0 g, 376 mmol) and cyclooctene (82.7 g, 751 mmol) was added to polyphosphoric acid (Aldrich, 200 g). After stirring at 80–90° C. for 3 hours, a saturated solution of ammonium sulfate (300 ml) was added to the reddish-brown reaction mixture. The resulting mixture was then extracted with dichloromethane (3×200 ml). Organic portions were combined and washed successively with aqueous ammonium hydroxide (5% solution, 300 ml) and saturated sodium carbonate (300 ml). The organic solution was then dried over Na 2 SO 4 , concentrated, and vacuum-distilled (b.p. 125–130° C. at 0.3 mmHg) to yield 60.5 g of 2,3-cyclohexamethyleneindan-1-one. 4.4 g of sodium borohydride (119 mmol) was added in portions to a mixture of 25.4 g (119 mmol) of 2,3-cyclohexamethyleneindan-1-one and 43.9 g of CeCl 3 .7H 2 O (119 mmol) in 250 ml of methanol. A vigorous gas evolution occurred. After stirring at 40° C. for 3 hours, the reaction crude was neutralized with 10% aqueous HCl, then extracted with Et2O (3×250 ml), dried over Na 2 SO 4 , and concentrated to yield 23.1 g of a white solid. A mixture of the white solid above (23.1 g) and p-toluenesulfonic acid monohydrate (1 g) in benzene (100 ml) was refluxed at 80° C. After 2 hours, the reaction mixture was washed successively with saturated sodium bicarbonate (250 ml) and water (250 ml). The organic layer was then dried over Na 2 SO 4 , concentrated, and vacuum-distilled (b.p. 115° C. at 0.2 mm Hg) to yield 14.6 g of a light yellow liquid, identified as pure 1,2-cyclohexamethyleneindene by its 1 H-NMR. EXAMPLE 4 Synthesis of Octahydrofluorene In a 250 ml three neck round bottom flask, equipped with a mechanical stirrer, a thermometer and a reflux condenser 16.276 g of polyphosphoric acid was charged and heated to a temperature of 70° C. 16.276 g of 1-cyclohexenecarboxylic acid and 10.592 g of cyclohexane were added dropwise maintaining a temperature of the reaction mass below 100° C. The mixture was stirred at 78° C. for additional 4.5 hours. The dark brown reaction mass was was poured onto 237 g of ice and neutralised with 89 g aqueous ammonium sulphate solution in 474 g of water. The resulting mixture was then extracted 4 times with 300 ml of petroleum ether and 300 ml of diethyl ether. All organic layers were combined, washed successively with 5% aqueous ammonium hydroxide, brine dried over magnesium sulphate and concentrated in vacuum. Fractional distillation (b.p. 130° C. at 3.0 mmHg) of this crude product yielded 10.294 g of 1,2,3,4,4a,5,6,7,8,9a-decahydro-9H-fluoren-9-one. 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ): δ 2.73 (q, J=7 Hz, 1 H), 2.2–0.5 (m, 17 H). A mixture of the above product (4.08 g, 21.47 mmol) and p-toluene-sulfonhydrazide (4.798 g, 25.76 mmol) in absolute ethanol (5 ml) was refluxed for 24.5 hours. The reaction mixture was allowed to cool to room temperature, the solid filtered, washed with absolute ethanol (4×5 ml) and air dried to yield 4.06 g (53%) of 1,2,3,4,4a,5,6,7,8,9a-decahydrofluoren-9-p-toluenesulfonhydrazone, m.p. 160–162° C. 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ): δ 8.21 (broad d, J=8 Hz, 2 H), 7.35 (broad s, 1 H), 7.30 (broad d, J=8 Hz, 2 H), 2.55 (dd, J=10 Hz, 2.8 Hz, 1 H), 2.42 (3 H), 2.07–2.04 (m, 4 H), 1.9–1.55 (m, 8 H), 1.30–1.10 (m, 5 H). To a solution of this product (276.5 mg, 0.77 mmol) in Et2O (15 ml) was added 1.65 ml (2.35 mmol) of methyllithium 1.4 M in Et2O under nitrogen at −0° C. The resulting orange reaction mixture was kept at 0° C. for 2 hours and then stirred at ambient temperature for 15.5 hours. A mixture of pentane (15 ml) and water (5 ml) was added. The acqueous layer was extracted with pentane (4×20 ml). All organic layers were combined and concentrated to yield 109.0 mg of octahydrofluorene. 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ): δ 5.6 (d, J=2.21 Hz, 1 H), 2.62–0.8 (m, 17 H). EXAMPLE 5 Synthesis of 9-methyl-octahydrofluorene To a solution of 1,2,3,4,4a,5,6,7,8,9a-decahydrofluoren-9-one (90.7 mg, 0.477 mmol) in tetrahydrofuran (5 ml), 0.35 ml (1.05 mmol) of methylmagnesium bromide (3.0 M in Et2O) was added dropwise under nitrogen at −78° C. The resulting cloudy mixture was kept at −78° C. for 3 hours and then allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred for 14 hours. The reaction mixture was acidified with 15% aqueous HCl (5 ml), followed by extraction in Et2O (4×20 ml). All organic layers were combined, washed with water, brine, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, and concentrated in vacuo to give 82.5 mg (92%) of 2,3,4,4a,5,6,7,8-octahydro-9-methyl-1H-fluorene and 1,3,4,5,6,7,8,9a-octahydro-9-methyl-2H-fluorene in the ratio of 3 to 1. 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ): δ 2.6–0.9 (m), 13C NMR: 155.77, 136.49, 133.51, 111.70, 61.12, 50.29, 42.14, 29.74, 27.41, 25.46, 25.11, 23.38, 22.81. EXAMPLE 6 Synthesis of Tricyclo [6.3.0.0 3,7 ] Undeca-1,3(7)-diene A stirred suspension of 1-cyclopentene carboxylic acid (11.2 g, 100 mmol) and cyclopentene (13.6 g, 200 mmol) was added slowly to stirring polyphosphoric acid (Aldrich, 300 g) at 60° C. in a 250 mL flask. The reaction mixture was stirred at 70–80° C. for 4 hours under nitrogen. The dark brown reaction mixture was cooled to 30° C. and poured on 300 g of ice and vigorously stirred in a cooling bath. The brown mass was then neutralized with a saturated solution of ammonium sulfate (200 ml). The resulting mixture was then extracted with Et2O (5×200 mL). The combined organic layers were washed successively with water, saturated sodium bicarbonate solution and water. The washed organic extract was then dried over anhydrous MgSO4 and concentrated in vacuo. The residue was distilled at 130–135° C. at 4 mmHg to yield 3.5 g, 25%, about 90% purity. This product was chromatographed on silica gel using hexane and ethyl acetate as eluent to obtain pure cis-tricyclo [6.3.0.0 3,7 ] undec-1(8)-en-2-one. 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ): δ 3.2 (m, 1 H), 3.1 (m, 1 H), 2.5 (m, 2 H), 2.4 (m, 4 H), 1.9 (m, 1 H), 1.6 (m, 4 H), 1.3 (m, 1 H). The above enone (1.6 g, 10 mmol) was dissolved in methanol (25 mL) and p-toluenesulfonhydrazide (2.4 g, 12.5 mmol) was added to the solution. The solution was refluxed for 4 hours under nitrogen. The solution was then concentrated in vacuo and the residue dissolved in methylene chloride (25 mL)and to the solution was added hexane (12 mL). The turbid solution was cooled to obtain off-white crystalline hydrazone (2.3 g). 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ): δ 7.8–7.2 (m, 4 H), 3.7–3.0 (m, 1 H), 3.3–2.8 (ddd, 1 H), 2.3 (3 H), 2.2–1.2 (m, 12 H). To a solution of the above hydrazone (0.7 g, 2 mmol) in dry THF (10 mL) was added 5 mL of 1.4 M methyl lithium solution in Et 2 O (7 mmol) slowly at −78° C. under nitrogen. The reaction mixture was stirred for 1 hour, then allowed to slowly warm to room temperature and finally stirred for additional 3 hours. The reaction mixture was quenched with saturated ammonium chloride solution (5 mL) and extracted with Et 2 O (20×3 mL). The organic extracts were combined and dried over anhydrous MgSO 4 , concentrated in vacuo and the residue chromatographed on neutral alumina using hexane as eluent to obtain tricyclo[6.3.0.0 3,7 ] undeca-1,3(7)-diene (130 mg). 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ): δ 5.8 (d, 1 H), 3.5–3.1 (m, 1 H), 2.9–1.3 (m, 12 H). EXAMPLE 7 Synthesis of Dimethylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)-silane 18.8 ml (2.5M in hexane) of n-butyl lithium was added dropwise to a mixture of 8.0 g (47 mmol) of 2,3-cyclotetramethyleneindene obtained from Example 1 in 100 mL of anhydrous ether at 0° C. The reaction mixture was allowed to stir at room temperature for 3 hours. It was then cooled to 0° C. and 3.0 g (23.5 mmoli) of dichlorodimethylsilane was added. After stirring at room temperature for 17 hours, the reaction crude was filtered, concentrated and distilled. The product was crystallised twice in ethanol to yield 3.4 g of product having a melting point of 110–112° C. 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ): δ 7.60–7.02 (m, 8 H), 3.62 and 3.55 (2 broad s, 2 H total), 2.80–1.40 (m, 16 H), −0.20, −0.30 and −0.32 (3 s, 6 H total). EXAMPLE 8 Synthesis of 1,2-bis(1,2-cyclotetramethyleneindenyl)ethane 21.2 ml (2.5M in hexane) of n-butyl lithium was added dropwise to a mixture of 9.0 g (53 mmol) of 2,3-cyclotetramethyleneindene obtained from Example 1 in 100 mL of anhydrous ether at 0° C. The reaction mixture was allowed to stir at room temperature for 3 hours. It was then cooled to −78° C. and 4.68 g (26.5 mmol) of dibromoethane was added. The mixture was warmed to room temperature and stirred for 30 hours. The reaction crude was washed with ammonium chloride, concentrated and distilled to remove any unreacted starting material. The product was then crystallised in ethanol to yield 3.2 g of product having a melting point of 170–173° C. 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ): δ 7.3–7.0 (m, 8 H), 3.15 (broad s, 2 H), 2.75–1.2 (m, 20 H). EXAMPLE 9 Synthesis of 2-cyclopentadienyl-2-(1,2-cyclotetramethyleneindenyl)propane n-Buthyllithium (2.5 M solution in hexane, 7.5 mmol) was added dropwise to a stirring solution of 2,3-cyclotetramethyleneindene (0.85 g, 5 mmol) in 40 mL THF at 0° C. The solution was warmed to room temperature and stirred for an additional 16 hours. Solvents were evaporated and the solids remaining were washed with hexane. The solids were then resuspended in THF and 6,6-dimethylfulvene (Aldrich) was added dropwise at 0° C. to the stirred solution. After the addition was complete, the reaction was allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred an additional 12 hours. The reaction was quenched with a saturated solution of ammonium sulfate, the organic layer was collected and dried over MgSO 4 , then concentrated in vacuo. The oily product was further purified by distillation to remove the starting materials, and a final purification was done by treating the above oil with two equivalents of methyllithium in ether (1.4 M, 10 mmol), collecting the solids and washing away impurities with anhydrous Et2O. A pale yellow powder (1.33 g) was collected and identified by NMR as the dilithium salt of 2-cyclopentadienyl-2-(1,2-cyclotetramethyleneindenyl)propane. Preparation of the Metallocenes EXAMPLE 10 Synthesis of Dimethylsilanediyl-bis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneindene-1-yl)zirconium dichloride 2.2 g (5.5 mmol) of dimethylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)silane was dissolved in 100 ml Et 2 O. The temperature was decreased to 0° C. and 8 ml of a 1.4 molar solution of methyllithium in Et 2 O was added dropwise to the stirred solution. After the addition was complete, the solution was warmed to room temperature and stirred for 17 hours. This solution was then cannulated into a stirred flask containing 1.3 g (5.5 mmol) of ZrCl 4 suspended in dry pentane at 0° C. The reaction mixture was then allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred for 8 hours before being filtered. The solids collected on the filter were washed with Et 2 O and pentane prior to being dried in vacuo. 2.58 g of a bright orange powder were obtained, which were further purified by extraction with dichloromethane. The solid, orange product obtained by solvent removal consists of a mixture of racemic and meso (about 1:1) dimethylsilanediylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dichloride, as shown by its 1 H-NMR spectrum (CDCl 3 ): δ 7.7–6.7 (m, 8 H), 3.2–1.3 (m, 16 H), 1.4, 1.23, 1.1 (3 singlets in about 1:2:1 ratio, 6 H total). EXAMPLE 11 Synthesis of Dimethylsilanediyl-bis(octahydrofluorenyl)zirconium Dichloride 1,749 g of dimethylsilanediyl-bis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dichloride obtained in Example 10, 105 mg of Pt 2 O and 100 ml of freshly distilled, anhydrous CH 2 Cl 2 were charged in a 250 ml autoclave equipped with a magnetic stirbar and under nitrogen. The nitrogen atmosphere was replaced with 5 bar hydrogen and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 4 hours. After releasing the pressure, the suspension was filtered under nitrogen, the residue washed with CH 2 Cl 2 until the whashings were colourless, the latter reunited to the filtrate, and all volatiles removed in vacuo to leave 1,354 g of a yellow-green solid which was further purified by crystallization from toluene at −20° C., to yield 1,0 g of pure, crystalline dimethylsilanediyl-bis(octahydrofluorenyl)zirconium dichloride as shown by its 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 ): δ 2.95–2.7 (m, 4 H), 2.65–2.2 (m, 12 H total), 2.05–1.3 (m, 16 H), 0.85 (s, 6 H). EXAMPLE 12 Synthesis of Isopropyliden(cyclopentadienyl) (2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium Dichloride To a flask containing 1.33 g of the dilithium salt of 2-cyclopentadienyl-2-(1,2-cyclotetramethyleneindenyl)propane prepared as described in Example 9, 1.16 g (5 mmol) of ZrCl4 were added. The powders were suspended in fresh pentane and stirred overnight. Solids were collected by filtration and washed with pentane, then dried in vacuo. A light brown powder (1.82 g) was recovered, which was shown to be the title product by 1 H-NMR analysis. EXAMPLE 13 Synthesis of Isopropyliden(cyclopentadienyl)(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)hafnium Dichloride To a flask containing 1.67 g of the dilithium salt of 2-cyclopentadienyl-2-(1,2-cyclotetramethyleneindenyl)propane prepared as described in Example 9, 1.6 g (5 mmol) of HfCl 4 were added. The powders were suspended in fresh pentane and stirred overnight. Solids were collected by filtration and washed with pentane, then dried in vacuo. A yellow powder (2.22 g) was recovered, which was shown to be the title product by 1 H-NMR analysis. Polimerizations Methylaluminoxane (MAO) A commercial product (Schering, MW 1400) was used in solution of 30% by weight in toluene. After having removed the volatile fractions under vacuum the glassy material was finely crushed in order to obtain a white powder that is further treated under vacuum (0,1 mm Hg) for 4 hours at a temperature of 40° C.; The so obtained powder shows good flowing properties; Isobutylaluminoxane (TIBAO) The commercial product (Schering) was used as such in a solution of 30% by weight in cyclohexane. Modified Methylalumoxane (M-MAO) The commmercial (Ethyl) isopar C solution (62 g Al/L) was used as received. Preparation of the Catalyst Solution The catalyst solution was prepared by dissolving a known amount of the metallocene in a known amount of toluene, then transferring an aliquot of this solution into a toluene solution containing the desired amount of the cocatalyst, obtaining a clear solution which was stirred for 5–10 min. at ambient temperature and then injected into the autoclave at the polymerization temperature in the presence of the monomer. EXAMPLE 14 Polymerization of Ethylene In a Büchi autoclave with a glass body of 1 l, equipped with a jacket, helic stirrer and thermoresistance, and connected to a thermostat to control the temperature, degassed with a solution of AliBu 3 in hexane and heat dryed under a nitrogen stream, 0.4 l of n-hexane (purified by passing through an alumina column) was added in a nitrogen stream and the temperature was brought to 50° C. A toluene solution containing 0.1 mg of dimethylsilanediylbis (2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl) zirconium dichloride prepared as described in example 10 and 0.9 mmol as Al of TIBAO was injected in the autoclave at 50° C. under ethylene flow, the pressure raised to 4 bar, and the polymerization carried out at constant pressure and temperature for 1 hour. 8.5 g of polyethylene were isolated having an intrinsic viscosity of 13.4 dL/g. EXAMPLE 15 Polymerization of Ethylene In a 1.35-L Jacketed stainless-steel autoclave, equipped with an anchor stirrer and a thermoresistance, connected to a thermostat for temperature control, previously dried at 70° C. under a monomer stream, 45 mg H2O and 0.7 L of hexane (purified by passing through an activated alumina column) were charged under a flow of ethylene. The autoclave was then thermostated at 80° C. 5.7 mL of a toluene solution containing 0.56 mg of dimethylsilanediylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dichloride prepared as described in example 10 and 5 mmol as Al of AliBu3 was injected in the autoclave through a stainless-steel vial, the pressure raised to 11 bar, and the polymerization carried out at constant pressure and temperature for 1 hour. 17.2 g of polyethylene were isolated having an intrinsic viscosity of 8.2 dL/g. EXAMPLE 16 Polymerization of Ethylene The polymerization was carried out as in example 15, but using 90 mg of H 2 O and a catalyst prepared dissolving 1.13 mg of dimethylsilanediylbis(octahydrofluorenyl)zirconium dichloride as prepared in example 11 and 10 mmol as Al of AliBu3 in 11 mL of toluene. 15 g of polyethylene were isolated having an intrinsic viscosity of 2.4 dL/g. EXAMPLE 17 Polymerization of Propylene 750 g of propylene were charged in a 2.3-L jacketed stainless-steel autoclave, equipped with stirrer and thermoresistance, connected to a thermostat for temperature control, previously dried at 70° C. in a stream of propylene. The autoclave was then thermostatted at 50° C. 25.8 mL of a toluene solution containing 5 mg of dimethylsilanediylbis-(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dichloride prepared as described in example 10 and 1.04 g of MAO were injected in the autoclave through a stainless-steel vial, and the polymerization carried out at constant temperature for 1 hour. 103 g of atactic polypropylene were isolated having an intrinsic viscosity of 0.26 dL/g. EXAMPLE 18 Oligomerization of Propylene 750 g of propylene were charged in a 2.3-L jacketed stainless-steel autoclave, equipped with stirrer and thermoresistance, connected to a thermostat for temperature control, previously dried at 70° C. in a stream of propylene. The autoclave was then thermostatted at 50° C. 25.8 mL of a toluene solution containing 4.6 mg of dimethylsilanediylbis-(octahydrofluorenyl)zirconium dichloride prepared as described in example 11 and 1.04 g of MAO were injected in the autoclave through a stainless-steel vial, and the polymerization carried out at constant temperature for 1 hour. 4 g of propylene oligomers were isolated which had an average oligomerization degree of 45. 1 H-NMR analysis showed the oligomers to be about 95% allyl-terminated. EXAMPLE 19 Polymerization of Propylene 480 g of propylene were charged in a 1.35-L jacketed stainless-steel autoclave, equipped with stirrer and thermoresistance, connected to a thermostat for temperature control, previously dried at 70° C. in a stream of propylene. The autoclave was then thermostatted at 50° C. 14 mL of a solution containing 7 mg of isopropyliden(cyclopentadienyl)(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dichloride prepared as described in example 12 and dissolved in 7 mL toluene and 7 mL of M-MAO solution in isopar C were injected in the autoclave through a stainless-steel vial, and the polymerization carried out at constant temperature for 1 hour. 201 g of polypropylene were isolated which had intrinsic viscosity of 0.61 dL/g, melting point 108.8° C. with a ΔH of 26.4 J/g, and M w /M n =2.29. 13 C-NMR analysis showed that the polymer is prevailingly syndiotactic. EXAMPLES 20–23 Copolymerization of Ethylene with 1-butene In a 2.62 l steel autoclave equipped with blade stirrer, 3.8 mmol of water, 1.26 l of liquid propane, and the quantities of ethylene, 1-butene and hydrogen indicated in Table 1 were introduced under anhydrous nitrogen atmosphere. The temperature was raised to 45° C., and 5 ml of a toluene solution of 7.7 mmol of triisobutyl aluminium (TIBAL) and the quantity of dimethylsilanylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dichloride indicated in Table 1, precontacted for 5 minutes in the absence of monomers, was introduced. Thereafter, the temperature was raised to 50° C. and the pressure of ethylene and hydrogen was kept constant for the whole test, carried out under stirring during 2 hours. After removal of the unreacted monomers, the polymer was separated by washing with methanol and drying under vacuum. The polymerization conditions and yields are reported in Table 1. The characterization data of the copolymers obtained are reported in Table 2. EXAMPLES 24–27 (COMPARISON) Copolymerization of Ethylene with 1-butene It was worked according to the procedure described in Examples 20–23, but with the difference that dimethylsilanyl-bis(fluorenyl)zirconium dichloride was used instead of dimethylsilanylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dichloride, and that the polymerization was carried out at a temperature of 40° C. The polymerization conditions and yields are reported in Table 1. The characterization data of the copolymers obtained are reported in Table 2. By comparing these data with those of the copolymers obtained in Examples 20–23 it clearly appears that, while in these polymerizations the hydrogen has no effect on the molecular weight of the obtained polymers, the use of hydrogen in polymerization reactions carried out with the catalysts according to the invention,even if it is used in low amounts so that the yields of the process are not negatively affected, makes it possible to regulate the molecular weight of the obtained polymers up to Melt Index values of practical interest. EXAMPLES 28–30 Copolymerization of Ethylene with Propylene In a 4,25 liter autoclave equipped with a stirrer, manometer, temperature indicator, system for loading the catalyst, monomer feed lines and a thermostating jacket, purged with ethylene at 80° C., the amount of propylene and ethylene reported in Table 3 were loaded at room temperature. The autoclave was then brought to a temperature of 5° C. lower than the polymerization temperature. The catalyst solution was prepared as follows. A solution of TIBAO in toluene (0.2 gr TIBAO/ml solution) was added to a solution of dimethylsilanylbis(2,3-cyclotetramethyleneinden-1-yl)zirconium dichloride in toluene (3 ml toluene/mg metallocene). This was maintained under stirring at a temperature of 20° C. for 5 minutes, then the solution was injected into the autoclave under a pressure of an ethylene/propylene mixture in a ratio such to maintain in solution the relative concentrations as reported above. The temperature was then rapidly brought to values required for polymerization. The polymer obtained was isolated by removing non-reacted monomers, and then dried under vacuum. The polymerization conditions, the yields and the characterization data of the copolymers obtained are reported in Table 3. No melting point is detectable at the DSC analysis. By comparing these data with those of the copolymers of Examples 1–5 of EP-A-632 066, obtained with a catalyst based on dimethylsilanylbis(fluorenyl)zirconium dichloride, it clearly appears that at a parity of comonomer content the intrinsic viscosities of the polymers of EP-A-632 066 are considerably lower than those of the polymers obtained with the catalyst of the invention. TABLE 1 zirconocene Al/Zr 1-butene ethylene H 2 yield activity EXAMPLE (mg) (mol) (ml) (bar) (bar) (g pol.) (Kg pol /g Zr h) 20 4.30 1000 220 17.3 0 172 122.1 21 4.00 1075 220 17.3 0.05 152 116.0 22 4.00 1075 140 18.9 0.06 205 156.4 23 4.00 1075 300 16.4 0.07 206 157.2 24 (COMP.) 6.00 1000 200 16.2 0.03 160 80.2 24 (COMP.) 6.00 1000 160 16.7 0.13 265 132.8 25 (COMP.) 6.00 1000 170 17.3 0.74 125 62.6 26 (COMP.) 6.00 1000 190 18.3 2.06 15 7.5 TABLE 2 Melt Index DSC xylene [η] I 2 I 21 1-butene density Tm (II) ΔH f soluble EXAMPLE (dl/g) (g/10′) (g/10′) MFR (w %) (g/ml) (° C.) (J/g) M w /M n (w %) 20 1.91 n.d.  7.5 n.d. 10.7 0.9051 93 57 n.a. n.a. 21 1.78 0.57 16.5 28.9 11.1 0.9030 95 73 3.6 3.6 22 1.65 1.10 31.0 28.2  9.1 0.9165 106  88 3.6 n.a. 23 1.48 2.82 68.1 24.1 17.1 0.9026 88 57 n.a. 15.7  24 (COMP.) 3.66 n.d. n.d. n.d. 13.0 0.8940 78 23 n.a. n.a. 25 (COMP.) 4.45 n.d. n.d. n.d.  9.7 0.9000 92 73 2.9 n.a. 26 (COMP.) 3.82 n.d. n.d. n.d. 13.0 0.9032 92 77 n.a. 0.2 27 (COMP.) 3.09 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. = not determinable n.a. = not available TABLE 3 C 2 liq. Zr Al/Zr phase P tot. T time yield activity C 2 units I.V. EXAMPLE (mmol · 10 −3 ) (mol) (wt %) (bar) (° C.) (min) (g) (Kg pol /g Zr ) (wt %) (dl/g) 28 4.31 2610 20.00 29.3 40 120 48 849.4 48.0 2.04 29 4.31 2610 29.00 35.3 40 120 56 941.0 56.1 2.44 30 4.31 2610 34.14 32.0 30 120 80 658.7 64.7 3.07

A class of bridged or unbridged metallocene compounds is disclosed, wherein the cyclopentadienyl ligands have two or four adjacent substituents forming one or two alkylenic cycles of from 4 to 8 carbon atoms. These metallocenes are useful as catalyst components for the polymerization of olefins, particularly for the (co)polymerization of ethylene and for the polymerization of propylene.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY [0001] The present application is related to and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) to United Kingdom Patent Application Serial No. 1513873.8, which was filed in the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office on Aug. 5, 2015 and Korean Application Serial No. 10-2016-0098491, which was filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Aug. 2, 2016, respectively, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] This disclosure relates to power saving for cellular Internet of Things (IoT) or CIoT devices. In particular, certain embodiments relate to power saving for cellular IoT devices with limited mobility. BACKGROUND [0003] To meet the increased demand for wireless data traffic since deployment of 4G communication systems, efforts have been made to develop an improved 5G or pre-5G communication system. Therefore, the 5G or pre-5G communication system is also called a ‘Beyond 4G Network’ or a ‘Post LTE System’. The 5G communication system is considered to be implemented in higher frequency (mmWave) bands, e.g., 60 GHz bands, so as to accomplish higher data rates. To decrease propagation loss of the radio waves and increase the transmission distance various techniques, for example, beamforming, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), Full Dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, analog beamforming, and large scale antenna techniques, are discussed in 5G communication systems. In addition, in 5G communication systems, development for system network improvement is under way based on advanced small cells, cloud Radio Access Networks (RANs), ultra-dense networks, device-to-device (D2D) communication, wireless backhaul, moving network, cooperative communication, Coordinated Multi-Points (CoMP), reception-end interference cancellation and the like. In the 5G system, hybrid frequency-shift keying (FSK) and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modulation (FQAM) and sliding window superposition coding (SWSC) as an advanced coding modulation (ACM), and filter bank multi carrier (FBMC), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), and sparse code multiple access (SCMA) as an advanced access technology have been developed. [0004] The Internet, which is a human centered connectivity network where humans generate and consume information, is now evolving to the Internet of Things (IoT) where distributed entities, such as things, exchange and process information without human intervention. The Internet of Everything (IoE), which is a combination of the IoT technology and the Big Data processing technology through connection with a cloud server, has emerged. As technology elements, such as “sensing technology”, “wired/wireless communication and network infrastructure”, “service interface technology”, and “Security technology” have been demanded for IoT implementation, a sensor network, a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication, Machine Type Communication (MTC), and so forth have been recently researched. Such an IoT environment may provide intelligent Internet technology services that create a new value to human life by collecting and analyzing data generated among connected things. IoT may be applied to a variety of fields including smart home, smart building, smart city, smart car or connected cars, smart grid, health care, smart appliances and advanced medical services through convergence and combination between existing Information Technology (IT) and various industrial applications. [0005] In line with this, various attempts have been made to apply 5G communication systems to IoT networks. For example, technologies such as a sensor network, MTC, and M2M communication may be implemented by beamforming, MIMO, and array antennas. Application of a cloud Radio Access Network (RAN) as the above-described Big Data processing technology may also be considered to be as an example of convergence between the 5G technology and the IoT technology. SUMMARY [0006] Throughout this disclosure, both IoT devices and CIoT devices are referred to, however, the techniques disclosed herein are not limited to only one of these types of devices and may be implemented on any user equipment or terminal device, for example, a smart phone, tablet, or computer. In a number of the exemplary IoT devices set out above, it may not be practical or cost efficient to provide a main power connection or a means to recharge/charge or change batteries. Furthermore, current expectation is that the battery lifespan of IoT devices should be 10 years or more such that devices and/or batteries do not require frequent replacement. Accordingly, there is a need to reduce the power consumption of IoT devices. With regard to CIoT devices, their communication via cellular networks may represent a significant portion of their battery usage and therefore, reducing the power consumed by cellular communications at a CIoT device may be important in achieving the 10 or more years battery life currently expected. Consequently, reducing the power consumed by communications of CIoT devices presents a technical problem to be solved. [0007] In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for operating a terminal located within a predetermined area in a wireless environment comprises transmitting, to a base station connected to a network, registration information for registering with the network, wherein the registration information includes information for indicating that the predetermined area is included in a coverage area of the base station, and communicating with the base station based on the registration information. [0008] An apparatus of a base station which is connected to a network comprises, a transceiver, and a controller operatively coupled to the transceiver, wherein the controller is configured to receive, from a terminal which is located within a predetermined area, registration information used for the terminal registering with the network, wherein the registration information includes information for indicating that the predetermined area is included in a coverage area of the base station, and communicating with the terminal based on the registration information. [0009] An apparatus of a terminal located within a predetermined area in a wireless environment comprises a transceiver, and a controller operatively coupled to the transceiver, wherein the controller is configured to transmit, to a base station connected to a network, registration information for registering with the network, wherein the registration information includes information for indicating that the predetermined area is included in a coverage area of the base station, communicate with the base station based on the registration information. [0010] Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term “or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term “controller” means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation, such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware or software, or some combination of at least two of the same. It should be noted that the functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0011] For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and its advantages, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts: [0012] FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates an LTE mobile communication network in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; [0013] FIG. 2 illustrates a Cooperative Ultra-Narrow Band (C-UNB) communications network in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; [0014] FIG. 3 illustrates a Cooperative Ultra-Narrow Band (C-UNB) communications network in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; [0015] FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of mobility management procedures in a 3 rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) communication network in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; [0016] FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of a Network Disconnected Mode (NWDM) setup procedure in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; [0017] FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic illustration of mobility management procedures in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; [0018] FIG. 7 illustrates a flow diagram of a Network Disconnected Mode (NWDM) state transition procedure in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and [0019] FIG. 8 illustrates a functional block diagram of a terminal device in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0020] FIGS. 1 through 8 , discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged electronic device. [0021] Wireless or mobile (cellular) communications networks in which a mobile terminal (UE, such as a mobile handset, terminal device) communicates via a radio link to a network of base stations or other wireless access points connected to a telecommunications network, have undergone rapid development through a number of generations. The initial deployment of systems using analogue signaling has been superseded by Second Generation (2G) digital systems such as Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), which may use a radio access technology known as GSM Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution Radio Access Network (GERAN), combined with an improved core network. [0022] Data services of second generation systems have themselves been largely replaced by or augmented by Third Generation (3G) digital systems such as the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), which uses a Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) radio access technology and a similar core network to GSM. UMTS is specified in standards produced by 3GPP. Third generation standards provide for a greater throughput of data than is provided by second generation systems. This trend is continued with the move towards Fourth Generation (4G) systems and Fifth Generation (5G) systems. [0023] 3GPP design, specify and standardize technologies for mobile wireless communications networks. Specifically, 3GPP produces a series of Technical Reports (TR) and Technical Specifications (TS) that define 3GPP technologies. The focus of 3GPP is currently the specification of standards beyond 3G, and in particular on standard for the Evolved Packet Core and the enhanced radio access network called “E-UTRAN”. The E-UTRAN uses the LTE radio technology, which offers potentially greater capacity and additional features compared with previous standards. Despite LTE strictly referring only to the air interface, LTE is commonly used to refer to the whole system including EPC and E-UTRAN. LTE is used in this sense in the remainder of this specification, including when referring to LTE enhancements, such as LTE Advanced. LTE is an evolution of UMTS and shares certain high level components and protocols with UMTS. LTE Advanced offers still higher data rates compared to LTE and is defined by 3GPP standards releases from 3GPP Release 10 up to and including 3GPP Release 12. LTE Advanced is considered to be a 4G mobile communication system by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). [0024] It is anticipated that 5G mobile communications systems will be rolled-out in the future. Currently, the network structure and wireless access interface to be used in 5G systems has not been decided upon. However, in order to reduce deployment costs and integrate with 4G systems, it is envisaged that 5G systems may utilize some of network architecture currently used in 4G systems. [0025] Consequently, although particular embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented within an LTE mobile network, they are not so limited and may be considered to be applicable to many types of wireless communication networks, including future 5G systems. However, due to the greater certainty surrounding the structure of systems based upon LTE network, embodiments of the present disclosure will predominantly be described with reference to the structure and network elements of LTE based systems. Consequently, an example LTE system is shown in FIG. 1 . [0026] The LTE system of FIG. 1 comprises three high level components: at least one UE 102 , the E-UTRAN 104 and the EPC 106 . The EPC 106 , or core network as it may also be known, communicates with Packet Data Networks (PDNs) and servers 108 in the outside world, such as those which form the Internet for example. FIG. 1 shows the key component parts of the EPC 106 . It will be appreciated that FIG. 1 is a simplification and various embodiments implementing LTE will include further components. In FIG. 1 interfaces between different parts of the LTE system are shown. The double ended arrow indicates the air interface between the UE 102 and the E-UTRAN 104 . For the remaining interfaces user data is represented by solid lines and signaling is represented by dashed lines. [0027] The E-UTRAN 104 , or radio access network (RAN) as it may also be known, comprises a single type of component: an eNB (E-UTRAN Node B) which is responsible for handling radio communications between the UE 102 and the EPC 106 across the air or wireless access interface. An eNB controls UEs 102 in one or more cell. LTE is a cellular system in which the eNBs provide coverage over one or more cells where the cells correspond to a geographical coverage area. Typically there is a plurality of eNBs within an LTE system. In general, a UE operating in accordance with LTE communicates with one eNB through one cell at a time, where an eNB may also be referred to as a base station or mobile base station. [0028] Key components of the EPC 106 are shown in FIG. 1 . It will be appreciated that in an LTE network there may be more than one of each component according to the number of UEs 102 , the geographical area of the network and the volume of data to be transported across the network. Data traffic is passed between each eNB and a corresponding Serving Gateway (S-GW) 110 which routes data between the eNB and a PDN Gateway (P-GW) 112 . The P-GW 112 is responsible for connecting a UE to one or more servers or PDNs 108 in the outside world. The Mobility Management Entity (MME) 114 controls the high-level operation of the UE 102 through signaling messages exchanged with the UE 102 through the E-UTRAN 104 . Each UE is registered with a single MME. There is no direct signaling pathway between the MME 114 and the UE 102 (communication with the UE 102 being across the air interface via the E-UTRAN 104 ). Signaling messages between the MME 114 and the UE 102 comprise EPS Session Management (ESM) protocol messages controlling the flow of data from the UE to the outside world and EPS Mobility Management (EMM) protocol messages controlling the rerouting of signaling and data flows when the UE 102 moves between eNBs within the E-UTRAN. The MME 114 exchanges signaling traffic with the S-GW 110 to assist with routing data traffic. The MME 114 also communicates with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 116 which stores information about users registered with the network. [0029] In additional to the architectural structure discussed above, LTE also includes the concept of bearers, and in particular, EPS bearers, where data transmitted from and received by a UE is associated with a particular bearer. EPS bearers themselves may be formed from an e-Radio Access Bearer (e-RAB) which extends between the UE and EPC and S5/S8 Bearers which extend within the EPC. EPS bearers define how UE data is handled as it passes through the LTE network and may be viewed as a virtual data pipe extending through the core network, where a bearer may have quality of service associated with it, such as a guaranteed bitrate for example. A bearer serves to channel packet data to a Packet Data Network (PDN, also referred to as a Public Data Network) outside of the LTE network via the S-GW and P-GW, where a further external non-LTE bearer may be required to channel data from the EPC to an external network. Each bearer is therefore associated with a certain PDN and all data associated with the bearer passes through a particular P-GW. Each bearer is also identified by a Logical Channel ID (LCID) at the Medium Access Control (MAC) level, where one bearer corresponds to one logical channel. [0030] Recently there has been increased interest in the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT), where a large number of conventionally unconnected devices are provided with means to connect to and communicate with one another and/or communications networks in order to exchange information and perform the control of objects and processes. Examples of devices which may form an IoT include smart utility meters, washing machines, dishwashers, thermostats, home security devices, automobile sensors, health related sensors and so forth. [0031] In 3GPP networks such as those based on LTE and LTE Advanced, terminal devices include two broad modes of operation: Radio Resource Control (RRC_Idle) idle mode and RRC connected mode (RRC_Connected). In the RRC_Idle mode a device is not currently communicating user plane data with the network but is regularly monitoring a paging channel such that the device can be alerted by the network if there is downlink data to be transmitted. Consequently, in RRC_Idle mode no Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling exists between the device and the core network, but a PDN connection exists, the device is registered at the MME and the location of the device is known to the MME though the performance of tracking area updates. In contrast, in RRC_Connected mode the device has allocated resources in either the uplink or downlink and is transmitting/receiving or expecting to transmit/receive data in the allocated resources. Even though the signaling performed by device in RRC_Idle mode is reduced compared to the RRC_Connected mode, given the number and regularity of various procedures which are required to be performed in RRC_Idle mode it is unlikely that the desired 10 year battery life desired for CIoT devices will be met using only these two operational modes. [0032] Accordingly, a number of approaches for reducing the power consumption of devices in 3GPP networks have been proposed, two of these are discontinuous reception (DRX) or extended RX (eDRX), and cooperative ultra-narrow band (C-UNB). [0033] Discontinuous Reception (DRX) [0034] Discontinuous reception (DRX) is a technique for reducing power consumption at devices by reducing the time that a device's receiver is operational. As set out above, in RRC_Idle mode a device is required to monitor a paging channel in order that the device can be contacted by the network. However, monitoring the paging channel continuously is a power intensive activity that may require receiving signaling in one channel or in channels located in each subframe of the wireless access interface provided by the mobile communications network and thus requires a receiver to be active for a substantial period of time. Consequently, the concept of DRX was proposed. In DRX, instead of monitoring the paging channel or other physical control channel of every frame or subframe, a device is configured via negotiations with the network to enter a DRX cycle of a particular length, where the device is configured to monitor a paging or downlink control channel only in an active period of the DRX cycle, and the network is configured to only signal to the UE during the active period of the DRX cycle. By virtue of this, the frequency at which the device monitors for networks signaling is reduced. For example, a device may be configured to monitor the paging channel only once per 10 radio frames and enter a sleep-like state (non-active) where the LTE receiver is powered down in between these monitoring instances in order to reduce power consumption. If the network obtains data which is intended for the device, the network waits until the next DRX active period of the device and transmits a paging message to the device, signaling that the device should exit DRX and transition to RRC_Connected in order to receive the downlink data. [0035] In order or to further reduce power consumption, and in particular for Machine Type Communications (MTC) devices, it has been proposed in 3GPP TR 45.820 v1.4.0 to introduce an extended DRX mode (eDRX) where the period of the DRX cycle is significantly increased. Table 1 below shows proposed eDRX cycles where the cycle lengths has a current maximum value of 52 minutes such that a device will check the paging channel or other specified channel approximately every 52 minutes. The desired eDRX cycle is indicated using the four bit EXTENDED_DRX codes, where additional codes not included in the Table 1 may be used for eDRX cycles having a length which are not included in Table 1. [0000] TABLE 1 eDRX eDRX Target Number of 51-MF Cycles per Cycle Value eDRX Cycle per eDRX Cycle TDMA FN (EXTENDED_DRX) Length (EXTENDED_DRX_MFRMS) Space 0000 ~1.9 8 6656 seconds 0001 ~3.8 16 3328 seconds 0010 ~7.5 32 1664 seconds 0011 ~12.2 52 1024 seconds 0100 ~24.5 104 512 seconds 0101 ~49 208 256 seconds 0110 ~1.63 416 128 minutes 0111 ~3.25 832 64 minutes 1000 ~6.5 1664 32 minutes 1001 ~13 3328 16 minutes 1010 ~26 6656 8 minutes 1011 ~52 13312 4 minutes Note 1: 53248 51-multiframes occur with the TDMA FN space (2715648 TDMA frames) Note 2: All remaining EXTENDED_DRX values are reserved [0036] Cooperative Ultra Narrow Band (C-UNB) [0037] An alternative method to reduce the power consumption of devices, and CIoT devices in particular, is termed Cooperative Ultra-Narrow Band (C-UNB) radio access technology (RAT). In such an approach devices are not required to be synchronized or attached to network or base station before being allowed to send packets to the network; and thus the control signaling required to be monitored and transmitted by a device is reduced. Instead, network access is based on random transmissions by devices. This kind of medium access is equivalent to ALOHA, which is known for its simplicity. However, its simplicity is also its drawback since packet collisions that hamper the overall efficiency when the network load becomes high are likely. To overcome this issue, the C-UNB RAT implements two mitigation techniques: frequency diversity and spatial diversity. [0038] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic illustration of a C-UNB architecture where additional software and server(s) may be required to implement C-UNB since it does not use existing elements of a 3GPP core network. For example, in addition to the base stations 202 , 204 206 , the base station controllers (BSC) and packet control units (PCU) 208 , 210 , the Serving HPRS Support Node (SGSN 212 ), and Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) 214 , additional software to handle C-UNB communications is required at the base stations and a C-UNB server 216 is required in the core network to collate the various reception instances of data resulting from the spatial and/or frequency diversity. [0039] In additional to the use of an alternative network structure, in order to provide the spatial diversity, it is required that base station coverage areas overlap with one another since the radio access network should receive multiple copies of the same radio packet with different base stations. FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic illustration of the use of multiple base stations in order to achieve spatial diversity. More specifically, device 302 transmits a packet which is received at base stations A and C 306 , 310 and the two reception instances are combined at the C-UNB server in order to take advantage of the spatial diversity. Likewise, device 304 also transmits packets to base stations A and C 306 , 310 and the two receptions instances are combined and de-duplicated at the C-UNB server 312 in order to take advantage of the spatial diversity. In addition to the added complexity resulting from the adapted network structure required to take advantage of the spatial diversity, due to access technique of C-UNB there is no acknowledgment of uplink data packets, thus potentially leading to the unreliable transmission of data to the core network. Furthermore, there is no facility for the transmission of data in the downlink to the devices using only C-UNB. [0040] Although the use of eDRX and C-UNB may lead to reductions in power consumption at CIoT devices, there are a number of disadvantages and shortcomings of such techniques that render them unlikely to be able to achieve the power savings required if a battery life exceeding 10 years is to be achieved. For example, with regard to eDRX, the maximum possible cycle lengths may not be sufficient for devices which only wish to report data every week. Likewise, DRX merely reduces the frequency of certain procedures such as paging for example but does not fundamentally change the processes performed by a device. For example, even though eDRX may reduce the frequency at which a paging channel is checked, a number of other procedures at the device are still required to be performed, such as the mobility management procedures for example. [0041] FIG. 4 illustrates a diagram illustrating the mobility management protocol as set out in the 3GPP technical specification TS24.008. Although describing the full mobility management protocol in detail is beyond the scope of the present disclosure, the complexity of the protocol and the number of independent task that are required to be performed is evident from FIG. 4 . Furthermore, some of the procedures illustrated may not be required after initial registration of a device if the resulting information may not change. For example, if a device does not change location, it may not be necessary to perform regular location updates. [0042] Consequently, in order to reduce resources consumed by mobility management of low mobility devices, in 3GPP TS 22.368, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) low mobility feature as well as a high mobility feature were defined, where low mobility is defined as less than 30 km per hour maximum speed and high mobility is defined as larger than 30 km per our maximum speed in TR 45.820 v1.4.0. The MTC Feature Low Mobility is intended for use with MTC Devices that do not move, move infrequently, or move only within a certain region. The MTC Feature Low Mobility includes the ability for a network operator to change the frequency of mobility management procedures or simplify mobility management per MTC Device, and to define the frequency of location updates performed by the MTC Device in order to reduce signaling overheads and reduce power consumption at a user device. [0043] However, in an analogous manner to eDRX and the checking of a paging or control channel, the MTC Feature Low Mobility allows changing the frequency of mobility management procedures and location updates, but it does not allow for the removal of mobility management completely for Low Mobility MTC devices. Consequently, even with the use of this approach, potentially unnecessary mobility management procedures may consume radio resources and reduce battery life of CIoT devices even though they may not move or move only within a smart home and thus, their mobility information does not require updating. [0044] Limited Mobility Internet of Things Devices [0045] As set out above, in current mobile networks such as those based upon the 3GPP standards, mobility management is based on the assumption that devices connected to the network are mobile to some extent and thus can be classed as those with low mobility and high mobility (high and low speed). However, such classification does not take into account devices which are predominantly stationary and are unlikely to move between cells i.e. the geographical coverage area of the base station via which they are currently connected to the mobile network. Accordingly, the mobility management features of 3GPP networks are also not adapted for efficient use with predominantly or substantially stationary devices such as CIoT devices in a smart home, which do not or are not expected to move out from the coverage area of the base station to which they are currently connected. Consequently, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, a new limited mobility class of device is defined such that when first registering with a network, a CIoT device (or potentially any other device) may indicate to the network that it has limited mobility as an alternative to low or high mobility and thus indicate to the network that its location with respect to the current cell (base station geographical coverage area) may not change or may only change relatively infrequently. In other words, the CIoT indicates to the network that it is stationary or moves within the same cell such that it is substantially stationary relative to the coverage area of its current base station, or that it does not change cells between communication instances with the network. Also, limited mobility class in the present disclosure may be defined such that an area on which the device is located is included in the current cell. By virtue of defining such a mobility indicator, the device and network may adapt various procedures, such as the mobility management, in order to take account of the stationary nature of the device, reduce potentially unnecessary overheads, and thus reduce power consumption at the device. [0046] When a device first turns on and registers with a mobile network, it may indicate various parameters to the network via the transmission of a registration information that may include a classmark, which, among other things, may include an indication of the expected mobility of the device, for example, less than or greater than 30 km per hour in current 3GPP technical specifications, so that mobility management procedures can be adapted accordingly. However, in accordance with the present disclosure, an additional mobility class is provided for in the classmark that enables a device to indicate that it has limited mobility and thus is substantially stationary on a cell-wise basis with respect to time. For example, the classmark single may include the following bits as shown in Table 2 below to indicate the mobility class of the device. [0000] TABLE 2 Bits Mobility Class 00 Limited Mobility 01 Low Mobility (≦30 km per hour) 10 High Mobility (>30 km per hour) 11 Reserved for future Use [0047] In contrast to the existing low and high mobility indicators, the limited mobility indicator provides an indication of mobility with respect to cells, cell boundaries and base station coverage areas rather than the speed of the device, thus the mobile network is provided with alternative information specifying whether the device is likely to move cells. This therefore allows for the scenario where a terminal device such as CIoT device may move around a home for example at any speed but does not change cells and also for a device which is substantially stationary with respect to movement speed. [0048] As is explained in more detail below, with this additional mobility information the network may simplify mobility management procedures and paging procedures since it can be assumed that the device is unlikely to change cells. [0049] In addition to defining a new mobility class, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, a new operational mode (in addition to RRC_Idle and RRC_Connected) is also defined for devices with limited mobility, where this mode may be referred to as Network Disconnected Mode (NWDM). As is explained below in more detail, NWDM may be viewed as a mode between RRC_Idle and a device not currently registered with a network. It is anticipated that such a mode will be primarily of use to devices which are required to communicate with a network relatively infrequently, such as CIoT devices for example, though in practice any device may make use of such a mode. [0050] The NWDM and hence a terminal device may either be in On (NWDM-On state) or Off (NWDM-Off state), where during the NWDM-On state a device may shut down the relevant receiver and not communicate with the network. Conversely, when in the NWDM-Off state the device may communicate with the network to transmit and receive data. Transitions between the NWDM-On and NWDM-Off states may be coordinated with the network such that the network does not attempt to communicate with a device when it is in the NWDM-On state. Subsequently, when a device transitions to the NWDM-Off state, the relevant receiver is powered-on and communications initiated with the network. As is explained in more detail below, when a device of limited mobility transitions between from the NWDM-On state to the NWDM-Off state, it is required to perform fewer signaling procedures with the network compared to a device which transitions from DRX to RRC_Connected in order to transmit and receive data, since, for example, location updates may not be required, and thus power consumption at the device may be reduced compared to DRX. Furthermore, as is also explained in more detail below, when a device is in the NWDM-Off state, although it is effectively disconnected from the network, the core network maintains the connection context of the device (PDN connection, IP address etc.) and the device's registration and thus when reconnecting to the network, the device is not required to perform a number of procedures which a conventional device being powered-on would be required to perform. [0051] When a device transitions from the NWDM-On state and NWDM-Off state, the communications between the device and the network may take a number of alternative forms. In a first example, the device may have been pre-allocated uplink resources in a particular frame where this allocation was performed and indicated to the device prior to the device entering NWDM-On state, and the network has knowledge when the device is scheduled to transition between the NWDM-On and the NWDM-Off states. Consequently, when the device enters the NWDM-Off state, it transmits data to the network in the pre-allocated resources and the network receives the data. [0052] In a second example, the device may have been pre-allocated downlink resources in a particular frame where this allocation was performed and indicated to the device prior to the device entering the NWDM-On state and the network has knowledge when the device is scheduled to transition between the NWDM-On and NWDM-Off states. Consequently, when the device enters the NWDM-Off state, it receives data from the network in the pre-allocated resources. [0053] In a third example, the instead of transmitting or receiving data directly to/from the network upon transitioning to the NWDM-Off state, the device first receives an indication of downlink or uplink resources that it has been allocated and then proceeds to transmit or receive data, where the device may be required to receive signaling from a broadcast channel or other forms of control channel upon transitioning to the NWDM-Off state in order to obtain an indication of the allocated resources. Although such an approach may be more resource intensive due to possible increase in signaling, this approach enables the resources allocations to be determined close to the use of the resources, thus allowing for more flexible resource allocation. [0054] In a fourth example, if a device has a relatively small volume of data to transmit in the uplink, as may be case for a utility smart meter for example, the uplink data may be transmitted in a random access channel such as the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) of a 3GPP wireless access interface, thus overcoming the need to allocate dedicated resources to the device and reducing overheads further since resource allocation signaling may not be required either preceding and subsequent to transitioning from the NWDM-On to NWDM-Off states. [0055] The use of the NWDM may entail a device entering a sleep-type state or reduced-power state (NWDM-On state), during which the receiver may be turned-off for example, and periodically waking to communicate with the network (NWDM-Off state). For example, a utility smart meter may be required to report to a network every day or week. Furthermore, due to the nature of many IoT devices, their data usage patterns may be relatively predictable and/or periodic and the volume of data transmitted at each communication event relatively constant, for example, a utility smart meter may only transmit data representing a 5 digit meter reading and associated error coding. [0056] Consequently, for the NWDM to be effectively configured by the network and for resources to be allocated efficiently or pre-allocated, it would be advantageous if information on or an indication of data transmission frequency and resource usage of a device is provided to the network prior to entering the NWDM. [0057] Therefore, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, in addition to providing a mobility indication as part of registration information to the network when first registering with the network, if a device indicates that it is limited mobility, the device may also provide a data transmission frequency indicator and/or a resource usage indicator which indicates to the network the expected data transmission frequency and/or resource usage (data volume transmission) of a device. [0058] A data transmission frequency indicator may indicate a particular frequency transmission class or period, where the classes may represent temporal transmission frequencies of every minute, hourly, daily or weekly for example. Such an indicator may be transmitted along with the limited mobility indicator in the classmark (registration information) or may be transmitted subsequent to the classmark or other registration information. In some examples, the data transmission frequency may be transmitted when requested by the network. [0059] Table 3 below provides a number of example codes that may be transmitted as part of the classmark to indicate the data transmission frequency class which a CIoT device belongs to, where codes made up of fewer or a greater number of bits may also be used and the time periods may also vary. [0000] TABLE 3 Bits Data Transmission Frequency Class 000 10 Mins 001 30 Mins 010  1 Hour 011  6 Hours 100 12 Hours 101 One Day 110 One Week 111 Reserved for Future Use [0060] Once an indicator of the data transmission frequency has been provided to the network, if resources are to be pre-allocated to device for when it transitions to the NWDM-Off state, the network may allocate such resources and indicate a timer value to the device that will expire close to when the pre-allocated resources occur. Consequently, the device and the network may have substantially synchronized timers set to the appropriate period, whereby when the device enters the NWDM-On state the device's timer is started and the device transitions to the NWDM-Off state when the device's timer expires. Likewise, the core network may also include a corresponding timer synchronized with the device's timer such that it is provided with an indication of when a device is to transition from the NWDM-On state to the NWDM-Off state. [0061] Although Table 3 and the foregoing description predominantly refers to frequency transmission indicators in terms of time, and it is specified that timers may be used at the device and network to coordinate the transitions between NWDM states, the present disclosure is not limited to such implementations. For instance, instead of a temporal indicator, alternative decision parameter(s) may be set as the trigger for transitioning between NWDM states. For example, a change in an environmental parameter such as weather conditions and alarm messages may trigger a NWDM state transition. Alternatively, a change in frequency parameters of a network may be used at the device and network to initiate the transition between NWDM states. Although preferably both the device and the network will have knowledge of the decision parameter and the condition related to the decision parameter such that the device and network can be approximately synchronized, this may not always be the case. For example, with regards to a decision parameter based on environmental conditions of which the network does not have knowledge, the device may transition between the NWDM states based on a change of environmental conditions and the decision parameter and then subsequently inform the network of such a transition. In such an example, the network may maintain the connection context of the device but not allocated resources or provide any signaling for the device until the device has indicated to the network that it has transitioned to the NWDM-Off state. [0062] A resource usage indicator i.e. a data volume indicator may indicate a particular resource usage class where each class corresponds to an expected volume of user plane data that a device expects to transmit and or receive when it enters the NWDM-Off state. By virtue of the provision of such an indicator, the network may accurately and efficiently pre-allocate resources to the device, such that the device may be provided with an indication of the resources prior to entering the NWDM-On state and powering-down the relevant receiver and/or transmitter. [0063] As for the data transmission frequency indicator, a number of different classes may be defined based on the volume of data which is to be transmitted, for example, as shown in Table 4 below, four different classes may be defined. Although only four classes are shown in Table 4, any number of classes may be defined each with a different associated data volume. [0000] TABLE 4 Bits Data Volume (Bytes) 00 Up to 20 01 Up to 50 10 Up to 200 11 Not Applicable/Variable [0064] In addition to providing relatively exact data transmission volumes indicators, as shown by the code 11 in Table 4, an indicator may also be provided which indicates that the data requirements of the device may vary, therefore resources requirements may be required to be negotiated prior to each transmission rather than in advance prior to the device entering the NWDM-On state. As for the data transmission frequency indicator, the data volume indicator may be transmitted along with the limited mobility indicator in the classmark, transmitted subsequent to the classmark and transmitted in response to a request from the network. [0065] By virtue of providing the network with a data transmission frequency indicator and a data volume indicator, the network can set up the NWDM with the device by setting an appropriate timer (or other decision parameter) and allocating an appropriate volume of resources, and indicate these parameters to the device. In response, the device may initiate a substantially synchronized timer and record the resource allocation, and enter and remain in the NWDM-On state until the expiry of the timer. Upon expire of the timer, the device may then transition to the NWDM-Off mode and utilize the allocated resources. The allocated resources may be a one-time allocation such that a different allocation is provided to a device prior to each entry into the NWDM-On state, or may be a persistent allocation where a device is provided with a same allocation of resources for each time it enters the NWDM-Off state. Although the use of a persistent resource allocation may reduce flexibility in resource allocation, it may results in reduced signaling overheads since an allocation may only be required to be signaled to the device once. [0066] Device Registration and Network Disconnected Mode Setup [0067] FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram illustrating an example procedure for setting up the NWDM at a CIoT device in accordance with an example of the present disclosure. [0068] At operation 502 , the CIoT device registers with the network according to any suitable approach as set out in the 3GPP standards. For example, the base station may transmit one or more signals identifying the base station and/or providing information required for the device to register with the network. The process of registration is envisaged to occur when a device is first turned-on, however, it may also occur for example if synchronization in terms of NWDM transitions between the network and the device is lost or the device moves between coverages areas and thus attaches to an alternative base station. [0069] At operation 504 , the device determines whether it is a CIoT device with limited mobility, i.e. whether it stationary or stationary relative to the current base station coverage area and therefore does not expect to change cells/base stations. A CIoT device may be pre-configured with such information, or alternatively it may be user configurable or a device may determine its mobility itself be monitoring the available cells whose coverage area it is within. [0070] At operation 506 , if the device is not of limited mobility the device may perform conventional 3GPP procedures for mobility management, resource allocation and the like by virtue of not including a limited mobility indication in registration information. [0071] At operation 508 , if it is determined that the device is of limited mobility, the device transmits such an indication to the network. For example the device may include the indication in a classmark signal which is transmitted to the network. By providing such an indication to the network, the network may adapt it registration procedure to take account of the limited mobility of the registering device. [0072] At operation 510 the device transmits a transmission data frequency class indicator or other decision parameter to the network. [0073] At operation 512 , the device transmits a resource usage class indicator to the network and may also optionally transmit at operation 513 a clock/timing accuracy class or indication to the network which, as is explained below, may be used by the network to determine a NWDM timer value. [0074] Although operations 508 , 510 , 512 and 513 have been illustrated as being separate, they may also be included in a single transmission or provided upon request by the network. For example, the various indicators may all be included in the classmark signal which is transmitted once it has been determined that the device has limited mobility. Furthermore, as shown in Tables 2 to 4, the various indicators may be formed from relatively few bits and therefore these bits may be included in a current classmark by using currently unused bits in the classmark signal as defined in 3GPP technical specifications. [0075] At operation 514 , the device receives NWDM parameters from the network which has determined them based upon the data transmission class indicator and resource usage class indicator. The device then configures the NWDM mode by initiating and starting a timer, and where appropriate recording any pre-allocated resources. It is also at this point that the connection parameters of the device may be configured by the network and device. For example, one or more of authentication, identification, context establishment, PDN connection(s) establishment, IP address allocation may also be performed at operation 514 . In order to generate the NWDM setup parameters, the network may perform a number of determination operations at operation 514 , for example, the network may determine the resource allocation based on the data resource and data transmission frequency indicators and determine a timer value based on the data transmission frequency period and/or the determined resource allocation. The network may also provide other information to the device, for example a synchronization indicator in order for the timer to be synchronized. [0076] At operation 516 , once the NWDM has been set up, the device determines whether it is either in the NWWDM-On or NWDM-Off state i.e. by checking for the expiry of a timer for example. If the device is in the NWDM-On state the device disconnects from the network at operation 516 and does not transmit or receive data from the network. [0077] In an alternative implementation, the terminal may enter the NWDM-On state once it has transmitted its data at operation 516 , and then start the timer such that the initiation of the timer is in response to entering the NWDM-On state. Once the timer expires, the device may be disconnected to the network at operation 520 . Alternatively, if the network disconnected mode timer is not running, the device connects to the network at operation 518 and commences the transmission and/or reception of data according to the connection parameters set up during operation 514 . [0078] The setting up of the NWDM may include a number of further or alternative steps/operations which are not illustrated in FIG. 5 . For example, upon the provision of the data transmission frequency indicator and resource usage indicator to the network, the network may determine an absolute time at which the device should exit the NWDM-On state and communicate this to the device rather than providing a timer value. The network may also not determine the NWDM state transition time based only on the device of interest. For example, since the IoT is anticipated to be formed from a large number of devices, a single cell may contain 100s or 1000s of CIoT devices. Consequently, in order to reduce potential network congestion and perform load balancing, the network may coordinate allocation of resources to the limited mobility CIoT devices such that large number of devices do not transmit and receive data at the same time. For example, if a particular cell includes 10 smart meters which are required to report their readings once a day, the network may stagger the initiation of the NWDM timers which have a period of approximately one day by one minute such that the 10 smart meters do not report their readings at the same time and congest the network. Furthermore, the resources allocated to CIoT device that may not communicate time-critical data, may be allocated at off-peak times when there is likely to be relatively little traffic on the network, for example, during the night. [0079] As shown in Table 3, the duration that a device may stay in the NWDM-On state may vary significantly. For example, a thermostat may report a temperature reading every hour and thus its NWDM timer may be set to a duration of an hour. In contrast, a smart utility meter may report a reading only every week. As set out above, during the NWDM-On state it is anticipated that a device does not transmit or receive signals to or from the network. Therefore, synchronization between the clock at the device and the network may be lost due to clock drift. An implication of this may be that when a device is in the NWDM-On state for a relatively long period of time, the NWDM timers at the network and device may expire at different times i.e. lose synchronization. Consequently, in order reduce the likelihood of a device missing its pre-allocated resources due to a loss of synchronization, a margin of error may be provided when setting the NWDM timers or when the network provides a device with an absolute time. For example, even though resources are allocated to the device by the network once each week, the value of the associated timer may be set to less than seven days and the device configured to monitor a plurality of radio frames when it enters the NWDM-Off state such that the device has a reception/transmission window. In this manner, as long as the pre-allocated resources fall within the window, the device has access to the resources. This approach therefore introduces a margin of error into the NWDM state transitions timing such lapses in synchronization between the network and the device due to clock drift can be accommodated and the chance of pre-allocated resources being missed reduced. [0080] Although through the description of embodiments of the present disclosure the term Network Disconnected Mode is used, there are a number of differences between a CIoT device being in the NWDM-On state and a conventional non-limited mobility device being disconnected i.e. turned off. [0081] Firstly, when a CIoT device enters NWDM-On state, it retains its context i.e. its IP address, PDN connection, allocated S-GW etc., whereas by turning off a conventional 3GPP device these are lost since the device is no longer considered to be registered with the network. Secondly, when a CIoT device transitions form the NWDM-On state to the NWDM-Off state, the device is not required to perform identification, authentication, RRC connection request procedures etc. Instead, these procedures are performed once when the CIoT device first registers with the network and the NWDM mode is initially set up. Consequently, as is described in more detail with respect to FIG. 7 , a CIoT device that transitions from a NWDM-On state to the NWDM-Off state may perform relatively few signaling operations in order to transmit or receive data compared to a device which is fully disconnected from the network and thus may make power in comparison to both a device performing DRX and a device which is turned-off in between communication instances. [0082] Mobility Management Signaling [0083] 3GPP compliant devices and networks are conventionally required to perform a range of mobility management protocols such that the location of a device is known to a network, paging messages can be provided to the appropriate base stations, and handover may take place for example. FIG. 6 illustrates a diagram providing an overview of the mobility management signaling that takes in a 3GPP network such as that described with reference to FIG. 1 and as set out in 3GPP technical specification TS24.008. [0084] Although it is beyond the scope of the present application to describe in detail each of the individual procedures set out in FIG. 6 , of interest to embodiments of the present disclosure is the location tracking procedure represented by the right hand shaded portion 602 of the FIG. 6 . [0085] In conventional 3GPP devices the location tracking procedure is performed at regular intervals in order to ensure that the network has knowledge of the current location of the attached devices. However, regular location tracking and updating may not be necessary if a device can be assumed to be stationary. Consequently, in accordance with the present disclosure, if a CIoT device provides an indication of limited mobility to the network, the network can assume that the device will be stationary on a cellular level and therefore suspend some mobility management procedures. Accordingly, regular location tracking and updating signaling indicated in FIG. 6 by the shaded portion may be reduced or preferably avoided/suspended thus reducing the communication burden on both the network and the CIoT device and further reducing power consumption in comparison to devices which perform only DRX. However, in order that the network has knowledge of the location of the CIoT device, location information may still be required to be obtained/ascertained when the CIoT device first registers with the network, when the NWDM is first being set up, or when a device changes moves between base station coverage areas. [0086] Network Disconnected Mode on State [0087] As set out above, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a CIoT device with limited mobility may transmits and receive data to and from a network with reduced overheads compared to conventional 3GPP terminal devices. A number of these signaling overheads are reduced or preferably avoided by virtue of the relatively simple procedure which a CIoT device with limited mobility performs when it transitions from the NWDM-On state to the NWDM-Off states i.e. reconnects to the network. To illustrate the procedure performed by a CIoT device when transitioning from NWDM-On state to the NWDM-Off states, FIG. 7 illustrates a flow diagram showing an example of such a procedure. [0088] At operation 702 the CIoT device is in the NWDM-On state and is disconnected from the network. Consequently, the CIoT device is not receiving or transmitting any data but is still registered at the network such that authentication, context establishment etc. are not required to be performed when transitioning to the NWDM-Off state. The state of the device at operation 702 may therefore be considered to correspond to operation 520 of FIG. 5 . [0089] At operation 704 the CIoT device determines whether the NWDM-On timer has expired. If the timer has not expired, the CIoT device remains in NWDM-On state. However, if the timer has expired the CIoT device transitions to the NWDM-Off state and proceeds to operation 706 . Alternatively, at operation 705 the CIoT may transition to the NWDM-Off state in response to a CIoT originating trigger which may be based on factors other than a timer, such as an external environment condition for example. [0090] At operation 706 , the CIoT device turns on its receiver and listens to one or more channels physical and logical channels in order to obtain synchronization information and any downlink signaling which the network is transmitting to the CIoT device. For example, the CIoT device may listen to a broadcast channel (BCCH) and/or a synchronization channel (SCH). [0091] At operation 708 the CIoT device uses the received synchronization and broadcast information to synchronize its clock with the network and to establish whether there is downlink data to be received from the network. Alternatively, the information may be used to identify the location of uplink control channel which the device may utilize to request uplink resources. The time taken for synchronization to take place may vary depending on the extent to which synchronization has been lost. For example, if the CIoT device has a highly accurate clock and/or the CIoT device was in the NWDM-On state for a relatively short period of time, any loss in synchronization is likely to be small and therefore the CIoT device will likely be able to quickly locate and receive necessary synchronization information and signaling data. In contrast, if the CIoT device has a lower accuracy clock and/or the CIoT device was in the NWDM-On state for a relatively long period of time, the loss in synchronization is likely to relatively large and therefore the CIoT device may take an increased amount of time to locate and receive the necessary synchronization information and resource signaling. [0092] Accordingly, in some embodiments, an increased margin for error with respect to NWDM state transition timing may be provided for CIoT devices which have lower accuracy clocks and or have a low data transmission frequency. Consequently, devices with reduced accuracy synchronization may have an increased period of time to perform synchronization and receive the signaling indicating their allocated resources. In practice and as described above, this margin for error may be provided by setting the timer to values (i.e. the network provided an indication of timer values) such that the timer expires in good time prior to the occurrence of any resources that have been allocated to the relevant CIoT device. [0093] At operation 710 , once synchronization has been performed, the CIoT device determines from information supplied by the network when setting up the NWDM or from information obtained in operation 708 , whether uplink resources have been pre-allocated. [0094] At operation 718 , if it has been determined that uplink resources have not been pre-allocated to the CIoT device, the CIoT device proceeds to determine whether to use a random access channel (RACH) to transmit data to the network. This determination may be based on a parameter set during setting up of the NWDM or in some examples may be dependent on the volume of data which is to be transmitted. For example, if a relatively small volume of data to be transmitted the random access channel (RACH) may be used and thus the procedure progresses to operation 720 . Alternatively, if a large volume of data is to be transmitted, the CIoT device does not use a RACH, but may request dedicated resources from the network at operation 722 . The CIoT device may receive the dedicated resources from the network. Then, the CIoT device may transmit the uplink data using the received dedicated resources. [0095] At operation 724 , once it has been determined that all uplink data has been transmitted in the resources requested in operation 722 and, if required, acknowledged, the CIoT device proceeds to operation 716 . [0096] If it is determined that resources have been pre-allocated at operation 710 , at operation 712 the CIoT device proceeds with transmitting the data to the network in the allocated resources. [0097] At operation 714 , once it has been determined that all uplink data has been transmitted in the allocated resources in operation 712 and, if required, acknowledged, the CIoT device proceeds to operation 716 . [0098] At operation 716 , if it is determined that the transmission and reception of all data has been completed, the CIoT device may then reset the NWDM timer and enter the NWDM-On state, where the timer setting and allocated resources are equivalent to those determined when the NWDM was initially set up upon. Alternatively, an additional negotiation operation may take place in which the CIoT device and the network re-synchronize the timer and the CIoT device is informed of the new timer value or decision parameter and a new set of pre-allocated resources where are to be used the next time the CIoT device transitions to the NWDM-Off state. [0099] In addition to the transmission of data to the network, if it is determined at operation 726 that there is downlink data to be received based on the signaling received in operation 708 , the CIoT device proceeds with receiving the downlink data from the network at operation 728 . Once the downlink data has been received and, if required, acknowledged, the procedure progresses to operation 716 and the CIoT device awaits the completion of the transmission of the uplink data. If at operation 726 it is determined that there is no downlink data to be received the procedure progresses to operation 716 and the CIoT device awaits the completion of the transmission of the uplink data. [0100] As previously discussed and as illustrated by FIG. 7 , the procedure for transitioning from the NWDM-On state to the NWDM-Off state is less complex than when a device first registers with a network and thus power savings are made with respect to a device which fully disconnects from a network after each data transmission. Furthermore, with respect to DRX, location updating, RRC connections requests and the checking of a paging channel is not required and thus power savings are also made with respect to DRX and eDRX. [0101] Through the description of embodiments of the present disclosure, the functionality associated with the limited mobility indication and the setting up and implementation of the NWDM has been described as being performed at the CIoT device or the network. Accordingly, the CIoT device or terminal device may comprise one or more of a receiver, transmitter, controller, and memory configured to perform the functionality described above, Likewise, the network is formed from number of separate elements each with their own specific functionality as described with reference to FIG. 1 . Accordingly, the functionality said to be performed by the base station or network may be performed by one or more appropriately configured elements of the network. For example, the core network may coordinate and perform the setting of the context of limited mobility CIoT devices and setting up of the NWDM, whereas the base stations may perform the generation and synchronization of the synchronization signals. [0102] FIG. 8 illustrates functional block of a terminal device in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. [0103] The device comprises a transceiver 810 , a controller 820 , a memory 830 , and at least one antenna. In various implements, the components included in the device 800 may be deleted or additional components may be added in the device 800 . Also, in various embodiments of the present disclosure, the components illustrated in FIG. 8 may be combined each other, or one of the components may be included in another of the components. [0104] The controller 820 may comprise single processor core, or multiple processor cores. In some embodiments, the controller 820 may be multi core such as dual-core, quad core, or hexa core. The controller 820 may be configured to perform various operations for the CIoT device. In some embodiments, the controller 820 is configured to transmit, to a base station connected to a network, registration information for registering with the network, wherein the registration information includes information for indicating that the predetermined area is included in a coverage area of the base station, and communicate with the base station based on the registration information. [0105] Also, in some embodiments, the controller 820 is further configured to receive, from the base station, parameter information for determining a connection mode between the terminal and the network, determine the connection mode based on the parameter information, wherein the connection mode comprises a first mode in which the terminal communicates with the network and a second mode in which the connection between the terminal and the network is disconnected. [0106] Also, in some embodiments, the registration information further comprises at least one a first information indicating frequency of uplink data transmission, a second information indicating available resource in the terminal, and a third information regarding clock included in the terminal, wherein the parameter information is generated, by the network, based on the registration information, and wherein the parameter information comprises information regarding transmission period of the uplink data and information regarding resource allocation for the uplink data. [0107] Even though FIG. 8 illustrates the components as being configured to operation for the CIoT device, according to the various embodiments, the components may be configured to implement for the base station connected to the network. [0108] In some embodiments, the controller 820 is configured to receive, from a terminal which is located within a predetermined area, registration information used for the terminal registering with the network, wherein the registration information includes information for indicating that the predetermined area is included in a coverage area of the base station; and communicating with the terminal based on the registration information. [0109] Also, in some embodiment, the controller 820 is further configured to receive, from the network, parameter information for determining a connection mode between the terminal and the network transmit, to the terminal, the parameter information, wherein the connection mode comprises a first mode in which the terminal communicates with the network and a second mode in which the connection between the terminal and the network is disconnected. [0110] Also, in some embodiments, the controller 820 is further configured to wherein if the first mode is determined by the terminal, receive, from the terminal, uplink data based on the parameter information. [0111] Also, in some embodiments, the controller is further configured to wherein if the first mode is determined by the terminal, receive, from the terminal, uplink data using a random access channel (RACH). [0112] Also, in some embodiments, the controller is further configured to wherein if the first mode is determined receive, from the base station, a resource allocation request message, transmit, to the terminal, resource allocation information, and receive, from the base station, uplink data based on the resource allocation information. [0113] The UE functionality described above may be implemented on a multiple purpose processor which executes computer readable instructions stored on a computer readable medium which when executed configure the multiple purpose processor and peripheral components to perform the functionality described with reference to the example embodiments. [0114] The network functionality described above may be implemented on a multiple purpose processor which executes computer readable instructions stored on a computer readable medium which when executed configure the multiple purpose processor and peripheral components to perform the functionality described with reference to the example embodiments [0115] Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the words “comprise” and “contain” and variations of them mean “including but not limited to”, and they are not intended to (and do not) exclude other components, integers or operations. Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the singular encompasses the plural unless the context otherwise requires. In particular, where the indefinite article is used, the specification is to be understood as contemplating plurality as well as singularity, unless the context requires otherwise. [0116] Features, integers or characteristics described in conjunction with a particular aspect, embodiment or example of the disclosure are to be understood to be applicable to any other aspect, embodiment or example described herein unless incompatible therewith. All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps/operations of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features, operations, and/or steps are mutually exclusive. The disclosure is not restricted to the details of any foregoing embodiments. The disclosure extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the operations of any method or process so disclosed. [0117] The reader's attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference. [0118] The various embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented via computer executable instructions stored on a computer readable storage medium, such that when executed cause a computer to operate in accordance with any other the aforementioned embodiments. [0119] The above embodiments are to be understood as illustrative examples of the disclosure. Further embodiments of the disclosure are envisaged. It is to be understood that any feature described in relation to any one embodiment may be used alone, or in combination with other features described, and may also be used in combination with one or more features of any other of the embodiments, or any combination of any other of the embodiments. Although the present disclosure has been described with an exemplary embodiment, various changes and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art. It is intended that the present disclosure encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

The present disclosure relates to a communication method and system for converging a 5 th -Generation (5G) communication system for supporting higher data rates beyond a 4 th -Generation (4G) system with a technology for Internet of Things (IoT) or Cellular Internet of Things (CIoT). The present disclosure may be applied to intelligent services based on the 5G communication technology and the IoT-related technology, such as smart home, smart building, smart city, smart car, connected car, health care, digital education, smart retail, security and safety services. An operating method of a terminal located within a predetermined area in a wireless environment comprises transmitting, to a base station connected to a network, registration information for registering with the network, wherein the registration information includes information for indicating that the predetermined area is included in a coverage area of the base station, and communicating with the base station based on the registration information.

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 510,640, filed Apr. 18, 1990. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to thermostatic switch assemblies of the type employing a temperature responsive element operative to effect actuation and deactuation of an electrical switch for controlling current flow to a load circuit. Thermostatic assemblies of the aforesaid type are often employed for controlling current flow to a compressor motor for a stationary refrigeration or air conditioning system and in vehicular applications to control current flow to the compressor clutch where the clutch is driven by a power transmission connected to the vehicle engine. Thermostatic switch assemblies typically employ a temperature responsive member such as a fluid filled capsule having a movable diaphragm-wall portion or a bimetal element which moves upon experiencing changes in the sensed temperature. In refrigeration control systems either stationary or vehicular, it is desired to sense the temperature of the refrigerant flowing at certain locations in the circuit such as for example, at the evaporator and to effect cycling of the compressor in response to preselected sensed temperatures. Thermostatic switch assemblies of the aforesaid mechanical type have been proven inexpensive to manufacture in high volume and reliable over extended periods of operation in the environments to which refrigeration systems are subjected. However, in certain applications such as automotive air conditioning systems it has been desired to provide for a change of mode of operation in which the compressor clutch is cycled. It has been desired to maintain the refrigerant in the evaporator at slightly higher values in order to shorten the compressor duty cycle and effect economy of operation of the vehicle, inasmuch as the additional load of the compressor is applied to the engine for minimum time periods in order to effect a satisfactory level of passenger compartment comfort. It has been also desired to provide a "Maximum Cool Down" mode of operation for a vehicle air conditioning system and particularly where the vehicle has been sitting in the sun for extended periods of time and the passenger compartment is at intolerable elevated temperature levels upon initial entry of the passengers. If the temperature settings for the compressor cycling are established at values to maintain the evaporator at the lowest permissible temperature for effecting maximum cooling of the passenger compartment, the compressor will cycle for unnecessarily long periods of time in order to maintain the evaporator at a minimum temperature for fastest cooling. Accordingly it has been desired to provide a vehicle air conditioning system in which the system could be initially operated for cooling the evaporator to the minimum temperature permissible without causing freezing and ice formation on the surface of the evaporator, to provide Maximum Cool Down. It has further been desired to enable the system to be later switched by the user or vehicle operator to a mode of operation wherein a lesser amount of cooling is employed to thereafter maintain the passenger compartment at a desired comfort level. However, in the past where mechanical temperature sensing or pressure sensors have been employed at the evaporator to determine refrigerant temperature, in order to provide a dual mode of operation it has been necessary to provide separate sensors having different temperature settings and to switch between sensors. Therefore, it has been desired to provide a refrigeration system and particularly an automotive vehicle air conditioning system wherein reliable mechanical temperature sensing means are employed for monitoring evaporator temperature to actuate and deactuate a switch for cycling the electrical compressor drive clutch and to provide remote changing of the cycling temperatures for the compressor and yet maintain the reliability of the mechanical temperature sensing devices. However, it has not been known how to remotely change the temperature setting of a mechanical temperature sensor or thermostat once installed in the system. It has been particularly desired to find a way to remotely control the thermostat when located on the evaporator or on the suction return line in the engine compartment of the vehicle. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a unique and novel control system for a refrigeration system and particularly an automotive vehicle air conditioning system wherein a way or means is provided for permitting the vehicle operator or occupant to remotely change the duty cycle of the air conditioning compressor by selecting a relatively high or low setting for a thermostat which senses the temperature of the refrigerant circulating through the evaporator and controls the temperature at which the compressor clutch is energized and de-energized. In a first or "Economy" mode of operation where the primary temperature is selected the thermostat is mechanically altered by electrically operated means switched on or off as may be desired by actuation of the vehicle operator select switch located in the passenger compartment. In the first mode the compressor operates to maintain the evaporator temperature at a first or higher selected level to thereby reduce the operating time for the compressor and minimize the power drain on the vehicle engine. For given ambient conditions and the "Economy" mode minimizes the portion of the driving time in which the engine is loaded with the air conditioning compressor; and, thus effects minimum loss of fuel economy attributable to operation of the air conditioning system. The second mode of operation for "Maximum Cool Down" mode enables the vehicle operator to change the mechanical thermostat via a remotely positioned electrical operator select switch in the passenger compartment to cause a change in the setting of the thermostat which controls the compressor clutch cycling in response to a sensed evaporator temperature. A Maximum Cool Down mode of operation is generally desired when the vehicle has been sitting for an extended period of time in the sun. The present invention employs a mechanically operated temperature sensor preferably a fluid filled capillary and bulb type but which may also comprise a bimetal device for actuating an electric switch in response to the sensed refrigerant or evaporator temperature reaching a preselected level. Actuation of the electric switch energizes the vehicle refrigerant compressor clutch which operates until the evaporator temperature reaches a preselected level at which point the sensor via a lever means deactuates the switch to de-energize the compressor clutch. The lever means employed between the temperature sensor and the electric switch is fulcrummed on the switch housing. In the preferred form, the pressure sensor comprises a fluid filled pressure capsule having a portion of the wall formed as a diaphragm which acts against one end of the lever means for actuating the electric switch. The lever means is fulcrummed on the switch housing by means of a member slidably mounted on the switch housing for movement between predetermined limits. An electrically energized actuator is selectively operated by the vehicle operator opening or closing a remote operator select switch to provide power to an electrically energized actuator for moving the fulcrum member between its limits. In the preferred embodiment, the electric actuator comprises the bimetal element heated by an electric coil provided thereon. The present invention thus employs a mechanically actuated thermostat for a refrigerant compressor, particularly for a vehicle air conditioning system, which may have the settings of the thermostat varied by energizing an electrically heated actuator for changing the fulcrum of the lever means between the temperature sensor of the thermostat and the electric load switch. The present invention thus permits the vehicle operator to select as between a high or low temperature setting at which it is desired to energize the vehicle compressor clutch for either a "Maximum Cool Down" or "Economy" mode of operation. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and way or means of enabling the user to remotely change the sensed refrigerant temperature at which a compressor is cycled in a refrigeration system. More particularly, it is an object to enable a user to remotely change the sensed refrigerant temperatures at which a vehicle air conditioning compressor clutch is cycled for rapid cooling or energy conserving modes of operation. It is another object of the invention to provide a mechanically actuated thermostat employing lever means between the temperature sensor and the load controlling switch with a remotely energizable electrical actuator for changing the position of the fulcrum point of the lever means for changing the actuation temperature of the load switch. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a pictorial schematic of a vehicle air conditioning system employing the present invention; FIG. 2 is a somewhat perspective view of a portion of the thermostat employed in the embodiment of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a view taken along view-indicating lines 3--3 of FIG. 2 and shows in further detail the thermostat of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the operating mechanism of the thermostat of FIG. 2 taken along section-indicating lines 4--4. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG. 1, a vehicle air conditioning system is indicated generally at 10 employing a compressor 12 driven by a power belt 13 connected to the engine crank shaft pulley (not shown) and drivingly connected to the compressor 12 by an electrically energized clutch 14. The pressurized refrigerant from compressor 12 is discharged along conduit 16 through a condenser 18 which is cooled by a suitable fan 17 driven by motor 19 receiving power along lead 21 from a controller 23 with the other side of the fan motor 19 connected through lead 24 to the system ground. Alternatively, as is well known, the fan may be driven by a power belt from the engine shaft. The condenser discharges through conduit 20 to the inlet of a thermal expansion means indicated generally at 22 which is typically a mechanically operated thermal expansion valve or capillary. The liquid refrigerant discharges from the expansion means 22 at a lower pressure along conduit 26 which is connected through the inlet of an evaporator indicated generally at 28 and disposed for heat transfer relation with the air in a vehicle passenger compartment. The vaporized refrigerant from evaporator 28 is discharged along conduit 30 which passes through the expansion device 22 and is connected to conduit 32 for return to the compressor suction inlet. Fan control 23 receives power through an operator activated switch indicated generally at 34 via junction 36 which is also connected via lead 38 to the thermostat indicated generally at 40. The thermostat has a switch indicated generally at 42 disposed therein having the base of a movable blade 44 connected to the power lead 38. Blade 44 has a contact 46 mounted adjacent the end thereof which closes against a stationary contact 48 connected via lead 50 to the power terminal of clutch 14 with the opposite side of the clutch connected to the system ground via lead 52. Thus, upon closure of switch 42 the compressor clutch is energized when the operator switch 34 is closed; and, upon opening of switch 42 the compressor clutch 14 is de-energized. The movable contact of switch 42 is actuated by a lever means indicated generally at 54 which includes a member 56 having one end contacting movable switch blade 44 and the other end pivoted about a stationary fulcrum 58, which is adjustable as will hereinafter be described in greater detail. The lever means 54 includes a second lever member 60 which is pivoted about a second fulcrum indicated generally at 62 which includes a slidable member 64 movable between limits provided by a stop 66. One end of lever 60 contacts the lever arm 56 with an intermediate portion 68 thereof contacting a movable diaphragm 70 which forms a wall portion of a fluid pressure capsule 72 filled with fluid and connected to a sensing capillary tube 74 which has the end thereof, which may be formed as a bulb 76, if desired, disposed at the desired location in the refrigerant circuit. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the sensing bulb 76 is disposed adjacent the discharge line of the evaporator 28 for sensing the temperature of the refrigerant in a saturated vapor state which is assumed to be the saturation temperature of the refrigerant. It will be understood however that the end of capillary 74, or bulb 76, may be disposed at other desired locations for temperature sensing as for example the middle of the evaporator or at the suction return line 32. The particular location of the sensing bulb 76 is determined by the particular location of the refrigerant circuit which is deemed to be critical insofar as controlling the cycling of the compressor clutch. In general, warming of bulb 76 causes the fluid therein to expand moving diaphragm 70 to pivot member 60 about the fulcrum 62 and move lever 56 to actuate switch 42 for energizing the compressor. When the compressor has caused the evaporator to cool the surrounding air such that the temperature of the evaporator is lowered to the desired level, the fluid in capsule 72 contracts to cause member 60 to pivot in a reverse direction about fulcrum 62 to effect movement of lever 56 in a manner to deactuate switch 42. The fulcrum 62 is moved by energization of an electrical actuator means indicated generally at 78 which as hereinafter described in greater detail comprises an electrically heated bimetallic element energized by an "operator select" switch 80 which is remote from thermostat 40 and is powered via lead 82 from junction 85 connected to the line switch 34. Switch 80 is connected via lead 86 to the electrical actuator 78 which has the opposite side thereof connected through lead 88 to the system ground. Power junction 84 is connected to the positive lead of a battery 90 with the negative lead of the battery typically connected to the system ground via lead 92. With switch 34 closed, when operator select switch 80 is closed the electrical actuator 78 is energized to move fulcrum means 62 from a first to a second position to change the pivot point of the lever 60. Upon opening of the operator select switch 80, the electrical actuator 78 is de-energized and the fulcrum means 62 is moved back to a first position. Referring now to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the thermostat 40 of the present invention is shown in greater detail. Referring particularly to FIGS. 2 and 3, the fulcrum 62 for the lever means comprises a sliding member 64 having an elongated slot 65 provided therein and which is slidably received over a post or peg 66 which limits the movement of the member 64 in the vertical direction. The member 64 has a right angle tab 67 provided at the upper end thereof which is contacted by and receives thereagainst the driving or moving force of the electrical actuator 78. The member 64 is retained over the post 66 by a suitable retainer such as the pressed-on spring clip 94 which is eliminated in FIG. 2 for clarity. The lower end of member 64 defines a fulcrum or pivot surface 69 for lever 60. The electrical heater means 78 comprises an elongated bimetal strip 96 received in slots or grooves 98, 100 formed in the side of the thermostat housing 102. The bimetal strip has the ends thereof 104, 106 turned upwardly at generally right angles thereto to provide reaction support for the bimetal. The central portion of the bimetal strip 96 contacts the tab 67 on sliding member 64 generally in the center region thereof. In the presently preferred practice, tab 67 is welded to strip 96. Bimetal strip 96 has a heater coil of resistive conductor material as for example nichrome wire wrapped around the strip 96; and, the coil is denoted by reference numeral 108 in the drawings. The ends of the coil 108 are attached to power leads 110, 112 by switchable electrical connection, preferably weldment, to the ends of the strip which leads are respectively connected to the leads 86 and 88 for connection in the circuit. Electrical lead 112 is connected to a tab on contact strip 113 which is connected to electrical connector terminal 115 as shown in FIG. 2. Terminal 115 in the system of FIG. 1 is connected to power lead 86. Electrical lead 110 is connected to the metal housing of the capsule 72 and to the system ground. Referring particularly to FIGS. 3 and 4, the lever member 60 has the left end thereof pivoted about the lower end 69 of the sliding member 64. A tab 68 is formed on lever 60 intermediate the ends thereof for contacting the central region of diaphragm 70 which forms the upper portion of the wall of pressure capsule 72. Capsule 72 is attached to the housing 102 by suitable expedients such as metal brackets, which have been omitted in the drawings for clarity. The opposite end of the lever member 60 is registered against a second lever member 56 which has the right hand end thereof in FIG. 4 contacting and registered against a stationary pivot 58 comprising the spherical end of an adjustment screw 118 threadably received in the housing 102 for adjustment during calibration. The left hand end of the lever member 56 is formed to a generally U-shaped configuration as denoted by reference numeral 57 in FIG. 4. The member 56 has a separate spring arm associated therewith denoted by reference numeral 120 which is in generally side-by-side relationship therewith and which arm 120 has the end thereof spaced from the U-shaped portion 57 of arm 56. It will be understood that arm 120 attached to a stationary pivot (not shown) adjacent pivot 58. The member 120 extends in cantilever from its stationary pivot mount with end 121 thereof free. Arm 56 is biased downwardly by a spring 122 which has its upper end registered against housing portion 124 and its lower end registered over a tab 126 provided on the member 56 such that the spring 122 urges the lever member 56 downwardly against the right hand end of member 60. With continued reference to FIG. 4, a blade spring 44 is anchored at its left hand end on a suitable mounting ledge (not shown) provided on housing 102 and which is connected to a stop member 130 provided at the opposite end of the blade 44. The stop member 130 and the stationary end of blade 44 at mounting tab 128 are both connected to a common strip and to the electrical terminal connector denoted by reference numeral 132 in FIG. 3. Stationary electrical contact 48 is mounted on a stationary contact strip 133 which is connected to an electrical connector terminal denoted by reference numeral 135 in FIG. 2. Referring to FIG. 4, a toggle or yoke member 134 has a generally C-shaped configuration and has a notch 136 formed on the outer surface of one side thereof with an edge of blade member 44 near the stationary end thereof received in the notch such that the member 134 is pivoted thereabout. Member 134 has a second notch provided on the outer surface of the side of the generally C-shaped configuration opposite notch 136; and, the second notch 138 has received therein one end of an arcuately shaped beam spring 140 which has its opposite end secured to the end of blade member 44. Beam spring 140 thus biases the notch 136 of the toggle member into contact with the stationary end of blade member 44. One end of the C-shaped toggle member 134 has a rounded stop surface 142 provided thereon which is disposed between the U-shaped end 57 of lever arm 56 and the end of spring arm 120 which thus form limit stops for movement of the toggle member 134. In operation, as the capillary tube end or bulb 76 senses an increase temperature, fluid within the capillary 74 and capsule 72 expands to cause diaphragm 70 to move upward thereby moving contact tab 68 upward and pivoting lever arm 60 about the fulcrum surface 69. The right hand end of lever arm 60 moves lever arm 56 about stationary pivot 58 causing the U-shaped leg of arm 56 to move upward. The right hand end of arm 56 also contacts arm 120 moving it upward causing the free end 121 thereof to contact surface portion 142 of yoke 134 pivoting the yoke 134 counterclockwise about the stationary blade at notch 136. As the yoke member 134 pivots counterclockwise and moves notch 138 and the beam spring 140 upwardly, beam spring 140 goes through an overcenter relationship with respect to blade member 44 causing the beam spring 140 to bias the blade member 44 in a snap-action movement to a downward condition, shown in dashed outline in FIG. 4, thereby closing contacts 46 and 48. The yoke member 134 is shown in solid outline in FIG. 4 in its at-rest condition biased clockwise about notch 136 in a downward position against a stop (not shown) provided in the housing by the action of the end of spring 140. In the actuated condition the yoke member 134 is rotated upwardly to the position shown in dashed outline in FIG. 4; and, the stop surface 142 contacts the leg of the U-shaped end 57 of lever arm 56 which thus acts as a limit stop for clockwise rotation of yoke 134. As the temperature of the refrigerant in the evaporator drops, the fluid in bulb 76, capillary 74 and capsule 72 contracts lowering diaphragm 70 to permit the lever arm 60 to pivot clockwise about fulcrum surface 69 and lower the lever arm 56 in counterclockwise movement about stationary pivot 58. As the lever arm 56 is lowered, the surface 142 of the yoke 134 is pulled downwardly by U-shaped end 57 of arm 56 causing notch 138 to lower the left end of beam spring 140 downwardly through the overcenter point of blade 44 which results in the beam spring 140 becoming again unstable and the right hand end of the beam spring snaps the end of arm 44 upwardly against the stop 130 to break the circuit connection between contacts 46 and 48 thereby opening the switch. The electrical actuator means for fulcrum means 62 is shown in the actuated or energized condition in FIG. 4 wherein the fulcrum member 64 has been moved downwardly to the full extend of its movement with the upper end of slot 65 resting against the surface of the stop peg 66 thus holding fulcrum surface 67 in its lowest position. In this lowest position, the lever 60 is positioned to cause the lever arm 56 and yoke 134 to actuate switch 42 at the lowest level of upper limit temperature for the vehicle passenger compartment. In other words, the compressor clutch is energized at a lower temperature corresponding to the "Maximum Cool Down" mode of operation. In the presently preferred practice in the "Maximum Cool Down" mode the thermostat is set to cut in the compressor, or close switch 42 in the range 32 degrees-45 degrees F. (0-8 degrees C.) and cut out or open switch 42 in the range 25 degrees-32 degrees F. (-6-0 degrees C.). In the "Economy" mode, the compressor switch 42 is closed in the range 38 degrees-50 degrees F. (3-10 degrees C.) and opened in the range 32 degrees-38 degrees F. (0-3 degrees C.). If the vehicle operator or user wishes to operate the air conditioning system in the "Economy" mode of operation, the operator select switch 80 is closed thereby energizing the electrical actuator means 78 by causing a flow of electrical current through coil 108 and heating the bimetal strip 96. Heating causes the strip 96 to flex upwardly in a manner causing it to increase its amount of bow thereby permitting tab member 67 to move upwardly and member 64 moves upwardly until the lower end of slot 65 rests against the undersurface of stop peg 66. This permits the left hand end of lever member 60 to move upwardly thereby raising the tab 68 so that movement of the lever arm 60 about fulcrum surface 67 by diaphragm 70 occurres at a higher temperature. Thus, the switch 42 is not closed until such higher temperature is reached thereby delaying the energization of the compressor clutch. This provides the "Economy" mode of operation inasmuch as the compressor is not cycled as often or in other words, does not operate for as long a period of time. If reverse operation is desired with respect to the operator select switch 80, the bimetal member 86 may be reversed such that in the unheated condition it achieves its maximum amount of upward bowing and in the heated condition moves downwardly. The present invention thus provides a unique and novel method of operation of a refrigeration or vehicle air conditioning system wherein a remote operator select switch is provided for changing the mode of operation of the system. In one position of the operator select switch an electrically energized actuator is de-energized to cause a thermostat sensing evaporator temperature to have a first or lower temperature of actuation for energizing the compressor. When the operator select switch is moved to a second position, the electrical actuator is energized to cause the thermostat to have a second actuation temperature to change the temperature limit at which the compressor is energized for cooling of the compartment. In the preferred practice of the invention, the thermostat is a mechanical device employing expanding fluid in a pressure capsule connected to a capillary for sensing evaporator temperature. The expansion of the capsule moves a lever means which actuates a snap acting switch for energizing the compressor. The electrical actuator means for moving the lever means fulcrum comprises a heated bimetal strip which moves a sliding member for changing the fulcrum of the lever means to change the actuation point of the snap acting switch. The present invention thus permits the operator select switch to be located remotely from the compressor clutch cycling thermostat to enable the operator to select either an "Economy" or "Maximum Cool Down" mode of operation. The present invention utilizes a mechanical thermostat which may have its actuation temperature changed electrically by remote actuation of a switch and thus maintains the reliability and low manufacturing cost of a mechanical thermostat, yet permits the flexibility and convenience of electrical control of the operation of the thermostat. Although the invention has been described hereinabove with respect to the illustrated embodiment, it will be understood that the invention is capable of modification and variation and limited only by the following claims.

A remotely changeable thermostat for a refrigeration or air conditioning system and method and system employing same. The thermostat has a fluid filled capsule with a diaphragm movably responsive to fluid expansion and contraction for actuating, via lever means, a compressor power switch. The capsule senses temperature via a fluid filled capillary. A separate remote user activated switch energizes an electrical actuator for moving the fulcrum of the lever means to change the sensed temperature of the evaporator at which the power switch is actuated. The user activates a remote switch to energize an electrical heater coil for heating a bimetal strip which moves the fulcrum for the lever means between a high or low temperature setting for compressor power switch actuation in response to user opening or closing the remote heater switch.

BACKGROUND [0001] The invention relates generally to fingerprinting a user for identification purposes. [0002] The Internet has become a pervasive platform for electronic commerce where merchants typically sell products or services to their visitors worldwide on the merchants' websites. Products and services are increasingly exchanged online. However, while being a fast media to facilitate transactions, due to anonymity, the internet has also attracted fraudulent activities. By default internet users visit websites anonymously without any trusted identification and such visits leave the online transactions dependent on the information provided by the users. Fraudsters quickly take advantage of this anonymous nature of internet—they steal credit cards, bank accounts by phishing account owners or by direct hacking into the bank or credit card database, then use the credit cards stolen to purchase product or service online. Each year billions of dollars are reportedly lost in a single country by this type of fraudulent transactions, which leads both consumers and merchants to lose money and lose trust to each other. Although user identification is available at its source ISP (Internet Service Provider), in theory the fraudster can be tracked according to logging information (time, computer, IP address among others), the tracking requires enforceable search warrant to the ISP, often located in foreign countries, which is not feasible for the merchants or consumers to acquire. As a result, fraudsters can keep defrauding the same merchants and consumers with impunity. [0003] Efforts have been made by the merchants to detect fraudulent payments by using the information retrieved from each transaction. Such efforts include comparing the country the payer enters with the country the credit card BIN represents and the country of the payer's IP address, comparing the address entered with the address associated with the credit card, email verification, phone verification, among others. These efforts have limited success. First, with millions of credit cards being made available through hacking, fraudsters can access the complete information associated with the credit cards: name, card number, expiry date, verification code, address and phone number, among others. They can enter the information that match information associated with the card, thus easily pass through the check points. Second, the above verifications are primitive and thus limited in securing the credit cards. For instance, information like IP address may not be reliable since the fraudsters can use publicly available web proxy to hide their real IP address, therefore the fraudsters can pretend to be a buyers from USA while they are physically located in Morocco, for example. Third, due to the lack of automated analyzing tools, most merchants organize these check points one by one, and check the items intuitively and manually. As a result, mistakes can be easily made when the transaction volume increases. [0004] Other efforts have been made to detect fraudulent payments by analyzing the buying patterns of the credit card holder, including time of purchase, value of purchased items etc. While there is no predictable buying pattern being developed, this method can help when a big item is purchased, but can't distinguish the abnormal purchase when the purchased items are of smaller or medium value. Also, the detection occurs only after payment, which means the damage has been incurred. [0005] Because the verification process is primitive and often intuitive, the pattern is often too vague to be recognized. As a result, the fraudsters can use the same defrauding technique to attack multiple merchants—they can simply use the same stolen credit card to buy service from different merchants in succession to run up large charges before the credit card is cancelled. SUMMARY [0006] Various aspects of the present system provide methods and systems for tracing internet actions to a remote computer and to an individual who operates the computer. One aspect provides a technique to generate fingerprint of computer and its user based on the information collected through the actions a user conducts on internet. Another aspect of the system provides a technique to compute the fingerprints and find relations between users and computers. Another aspect of the system provides a trust ranking to a user based on the consistency of information collected from the user's various actions. More aspects of the system can be found in the detailed descriptions with the associated figures hereunder. [0007] In one aspect, a method establishes parameters of internet users in a database, and computes the parameters to fingerprint and identify related or unrelated individuals who access the internet and/or worldwide web anonymously. A trust rank is assigned to each identity by cross checking and authenticating parameters, and each parameter is assigned a different weight in computing the relation approximation of two identities. The method is particularly useful in locating some activities, such as fraudulent activities, to one or a number of internet users. [0008] When a person visits somewhere on internet and/or do something on internet, such as browsing a website, downloading a software, registering an account, making a payment etc, that person will leave parameters about himself or herself. While many are non unique, some parameters are unique and are intrinsic traits to a computer and/or an internet user, thus can be used to establish a one to one relation with a remote computer, other parameters are unique enough to characterize persons, thus can be used to establish a one to one relation with an individual. One aspect of the system indexes these unique parameters as fingerprints of computers and fingerprints of people who operate the computers, and establish database of unique user identification based on the set of fingerprint. [0009] The database of user identification with fingerprints can directly link any fingerprints found through user actions to an user, thus provides website operators a way to permit or ban the user. To protect the identity, the fingerprints can be encrypted. Once the user is located, any of his/her fingerprints are located, and any actions of the user that contain such fingerprints can be permitted or banned. Compared to the various existing verification mechanism that analyzes extrinsic information provided by the internet user, the present system analyzes the intrinsic traits of computer and the internet users, links to various the traits to individual internet users, thus enables merchants and website operators to take actions directly on a user rather than on the user's inputs and/or extrinsic information about the user. [0010] The system assigns different weight to each fingerprint in calculating the uniqueness of respective users and their relations. Parameters are the collection of all collectable data about a user, including but not limited to its username, password, email, address, phone number, mobile phone number, browser attributes, computer hardware id, IP address, etc. Fingerprints are the subset of unique or indicative parameters indexed to identify a computer and a user. Any parameters that users enter by themselves are considered non-unique but some of them are still indicative enough to be indexed into the fingerprint database, such as a password, email address, browser ip address etc. Most parameters generated by the computer software and/or hardware are indexed as fingerprints as they are unique and mostly beyond the user's control, these include browser cookie, computer hardware id, computer ip address etc. Each fingerprint is assigned different weight for calculating its degree of uniqueness to a computer and/or computer user. For exemplary purpose, a computer hard disk drive ID is given much more weight than a browser IP address, because a hard disk contains all the programs and data of a computer user so it almost equal to a unique computer and a unique user; in contrast, a browser IP can be frequently changed either due to the access network or due to the intentional use of proxy server or VPN server of a user, therefore it is much less indicative of a unique computer and/or unique user. By assigning weight to each fingerprint the system provides a technique to compute the relation of multiple users each contain at least one string of same fingerprint. The calculation can accurately determine if the seemingly multiple users are actually just one user or more, and the calculation method can be optimized with more information collected by the website operator. More details about assigning weight to each fingerprint and calculate the user identification will be provided in the following paragraphs. [0011] One aspect of the system further assigns trust ranking to each user ID by parsing the parameters and cross checking the information contained in them. Some parameters contain information about the user's geographic location, time zone, language spoken, online proxy setting etc. The information can be parsed by querying the respective, external database, and cross checked with information retrieved by user inputs and or parsed from other parameters. A trust ranking will be assigned to a user depending on the result of cross check, better ranking is the result of better consistency of information. A user who enters his/her address as California, United States, with a California phone number, and browser IP address of California, computer IP address the same as browser IP, computer time zone as Pacific Time UTC-8, computer system language as English, is highly likely a genuine user, therefore a higher trust ranking is assigned. A user with the same set of information except that the browser IP address belongs to a public proxy server in California, the computer IP is a different one located in New York, and computer time zone is Eastern Time UTC-5, is assigned a lower trust ranking due to the lack of consistency of information entered and information revealed by the present system. Similarly, a user who enters his address of USA but uses a public proxy server in Germany to browse internet, with his computer IP address in Morocco, will be assigned a much lower trust ranking. [0012] Advantages of the preferred embodiments may include one or more of the following. The system reliably authenticates on-line activities and trace users through various information average merchants can collect on the internet. The system can trace online actions to a computer, to track online behaviors to an individual internet user. Traceability to the computers and individuals operating them, once established, not only means accountability, but also means the ability to prevent unwanted actions such as unwanted payments from happening, thus minimize the loss and exposure to risk. [0013] In broader sense, being able to identify users on the internet can bring great effectiveness to foster wanted activities such as real name registration and prevent unwanted activities such as fraudulent clicks, fraudulent actions (downloads, registrations, payment) etc. Taking click fraud as an example: in the online advertising business, one common business model is that a publisher charges an advertiser a fee upon a mouse click on the advertiser's advert. Driven by either profit or hurting competition, combined with the ease to generate a click, some robot software are developed to automatically generate clicks on target adverts on targeted publishers. These robot software are hosted in a number of computers, due to the lack of ability to track and identify these computers, the advertisers and publishers who suffer from the invalid clicks have no way to block these clicks from their sources. The best they can hope is to receive all clicks in the first place, and try to sort out which clicks are valid and which are not, after the fact, which requires significant administrative work on reconciliation both technically and financially. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [0014] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary diagram of a system for collecting parameters, indexing fingerprints, and establishing a user identification database. [0015] FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram of a database to store composition of parameters and fingerprints of internet users. [0016] FIGS. 3A-3B show an illustrative queue of parameters of an internet user and an illustrative queue of fingerprints of an internet user. [0017] FIG. 4 is an exemplary process for comparing a user identification database with strings of fingerprints. [0018] FIG. 5 is a diagram of computing relations of users with matched strings of fingerprints. [0019] FIG. 6 is an exemplary diagram illustrating multiple websites accessing a central database of user ID to retrieve information about a user. [0020] FIG. 7 is an exemplary diagram of a process for computing trust ranking to user identification. DESCRIPTION [0021] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary diagram of a system for collecting parameters, indexing fingerprints, and establishing a user identification database. FIG. 1 shows a website 100 that provides contents 110 for its visitors to browse, content/software 130 to download, accounts 120 to register or create, and product/service 140 to purchase online. The website 100 has logs of its visitors and their activities. These logs can be archived in database and indexed to establish user identifications as revealed by this system. When users browse the contents, the website can capture logs of the web browser used by the visitors, such as the browser's internet protocol address (IP), browser cookies, browser types (Internet Explore, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Safari etc.), browser version numbers, and certain system information of the users' computers. For example, the information includes the local time setting, system language setting, among others, of the computers. When users download the software provide by the website 100 , the downloaded software can detect the hardware ID of the computer it runs on, and can report the ID to the website. The hardware information can include the central processing unit, motherboard, hard disk drive, network card, among others. The website can require users to create accounts in order to receive certain services, and such registrations can capture the user name, password, email address, contact phone number, physical address, among others. Furthermore, if the website sells items to its users, users need to enter financial information such as credit cards, paypal accounts, among others, to proceed with their purchases. [0022] The exemplary parameters that relate to a website visitor can be stored in a parameters database 200 such as a relational database with the following exemplary format: Visitor i, parameter (ij), i=1-N, j=1-M; such as Visitor 1 , parameter 11 , parameter 12 , parameter 13 , . . . Visitor 2 , parameter 21 , parameter 22 , parameter 23 , . . . Visitor 3 , parameter 31 , parameter 32 , parameter 33 . . . . . . [0028] In this example, each parameter is represented by a data string such as a browser cookie, a password, an email address, or hardware ID, or system language symbol, or local time setting etc, it can be also empty (null) in which case there is no parameter collected for that position. Block 200 in FIG. 1 illustrates the database of user's parameters collected through related user activities on a website. The relation of a visitor and its parameters can be determined by a cookie session of the web server, browser's IP address, or other identifiable trait, after that, all the input this visitor has entered will be attributed to him/her, this include the username, password, email address, physical address, phone number, hardware ID, credit card information etc. [0029] In this embodiment, certain parameters such as the index of a visitor's fingerprints are used to set up a fingerprint database 300 . Alternatively, the system can use all parameters as indices to a visitor's fingerprints. The set of parameters are unique, or nearly unique that can be attributed to a unique person, and this set of parameters is listed as the user's fingerprint. These parameters can be a verified email address, verified phone number, a strong password, browser cookie, and hardware ID that are unique belongings to a user, thus the fingerprint database is built on these unique parameters. User i, fingerprint (ij), i=1-N, j=1-M, User 1 , fingerprint 11 , fingerprint 12 , fingerprint 13 . . . User 2 , fingerprint 21 , fingerprint 22 , fingerprint 23 . . . User 3 , fingerprint 31 , fingerprint 32 , fingerprint 33 . . . . . . [0035] Each fingerprint is a data string of its correspondent parameters, such as an email, a password, a hardware id string, and/or verified phone number, among others. The value of a fingerprint can be empty (null) to reflect the fact that the fingerprint isn't collected during the user's online activities. The result is stored in a user ID database 400 . [0036] The system of FIG. 1 is one embodiment of how a user identification database can be established. Although the system does not have access to the biological ID and biological fingerprint of a user, the system can collect the user's online parameters, and some are as unique as fingerprints, and utilize these unique parameters to identify an online user. Therefore, when 2 sets of fingerprints are identical or nearly identical, the system can detect that they are from the same user. [0037] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the composition of parameters and fingerprints. Basically any traces a website can capture about a user can be indexed as parameters. This includes but is not limited to the browser parameters, account parameters, contact parameters, device parameters, and payment parameters. Block 210 illustrates account parameters that users will typically create with a website. These are usernames, passwords, email address, etc. The username is usually not unique when it is short and takes common names like “John”, “JohnX” etc., but it can be unique when it is lengthy and takes a unique combination of alphabets and numbers, this is typically seen in the larger networks when short usernames are all taken. The password is another important parameter, it will be not be unique when a short password is created, but it can be unique when it is lengthy and takes a unique combination of alphabets and numbers. A website can dictate the minimum length of the password, as one embodiment of judging the uniqueness of the password, if the minimum length passes a threshold such as 8-digits, the password is deemed unique, other variations of criteria can be applied to judge the uniqueness of a password. The email address is not unique parameter if it isn't verified, however, when it is verified, it becomes a strong link to a user who own that email address. Therefore all username, password, and email address go into the index of online fingerprints as bolded in block 210 . Email verification is a process of making sure the user owns the email s/he enters, it is typically done by sending a link to the email address, if the user can click on the link, it is an indication that the user does own the email address s/he claims as hers/his. [0038] Although a website will require a unique username and a unique email address to be registered with the single website, which means one person can not register two accounts with the same username and email address within one website; one person can register multiple accounts across multiple websites, all using his/her favorite username, email address, and passwords. When the user ID database receives such entries from multiple, different websites, these entries are very indicative of whether they are created by one person or by many different persons. This match can be used by the system of FIG. 1 to create the fingerprint. [0039] Block 220 illustrates the contact information a user typically enters into a website upon request. It includes the first name, last name, location—street, city, state/provide, country, postal code, telephone number, mobile phone number, fax number etc. These parameters of a user and can be indexed into fingerprints when they are verified. Similar to email verification, the verification can be initiating a phone call or sending a fax to the number with a pass code, and the human who answers the phone shall key in the pass code correctly to complete the verification process, in case of faxing, the receiving party should fax back the pass code received. [0040] Block 230 illustrates potential financial information a user enters in the event that s/he purchases items from a website. Aside from the regular entries like address, phone number, the most important and unique entries are credit card number, expiry date, name on card, verification code. Therefore all these unique entries will go to the fingerprint index as bolded in block 230 . Other parameters in block 230 should be archived and indexed as parameters, for the purpose of proper analysis. Although the name, address, phone number etc can be repetitive with the information entered in other blocks, a full-parameters index will enable the system to compare these entries and evaluate their consistency. Based on the consistency evaluation, the system can assign trust rank to a user per the method revealed by this system. [0041] In Block 240 , browser parameters are captured. Such information comes from the internet browser program, such as the browser type, version number, major plug-in programs like Flash media player, browser cookies, browser IP address, computer local time, system language, among others. The information is revealed by the browser program when it connects to a web server, so the website can index these parameters for the purpose of identifying users. Although most of the browser parameters are not unique, e.g. different users can have the same parameters, for example, they all use a popular internet browser and its most updated version, browser cookie and browser IP can be unique. A browser cookie is a small piece of information sent by a web server to a web browser to be stored for future use. The data in the browser cookie will be sent back to the web server whenever the browser reconnects to the website. Cookies are commonly used to store user preference information, such as website options. Cookies are also used to store shopping card contents. Because cookies are issued to a browser by the website, it can be made unique. Browser IP can be unique when users connect the web directly from its ISP, which most users do. It may not be unique if users connect the web through a third party proxy server. There are many open proxy services that are available to the public. However, by indexing these public server IP addresses and checking if the browser IP falls into the public proxy IP pool, the system can determine the degree of uniqueness of the browser IP information. Both browser cookie and browser IP are highlighted in block 240 of FIG. 2 to reflect that they are treated as unique parameters and thus are indexed for fingerprint database. [0042] Block 250 illustrates the device information a website can acquire from a user, with the help of a client software that to be downloaded in user's computer. The client software can detect the serial number of the computer CPU, motherboard, hard disk drive, and MAC address of network card. It can also detect the computer's local IP address assigned by its ISP, which can be different if the user connects the web browser through a public proxy servers to hide his/her computer IP address. Due to the fact that hardware IDs are lengthy strings and are seldom repetitive, and computer intrinsic IP address is the source IP assigned by its ISP, they are saved in the index of fingerprints that help effectively identify the users. [0043] FIGS. 3A-3B show an illustrative set of parameters of an internet user and an illustrative queue of fingerprints of an internet user. The queue of fingerprints is a subset of the queue of parameters since parameters can be comprehensive and fingerprints are unique. [0044] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the establishment of user id with the index of online fingerprints. First, a new set of fingerprints is obtained ( 300 ). Next, the fingerprints are scanned and compared to existing fingerprints ( 310 ). Matches are determined ( 320 ). If a match occurs, the system reports the match ( 340 ) and otherwise the system inserts and generates a user ID ( 330 ). From 330 or 340 , the system loops back to process the next user. [0045] A unique serial number is assigned to a user with a unique set of online fingerprints—unique username, unique password, unique email account, unique phone number, unique fax number, unique mobile phone, unique browser IP address, unique browser cookie, unique credit card number, unique CPU serial number, unique motherboard serial number, unique network card serial number, unique hard disk serial number, unique computer's direct IP address. When a new set of fingerprints are collected, the system compares each string to existing entries. If there is no single match found on any string, the system will assign a new serial number to the user who carries this unique set of online fingerprints, thus establish a new user id in the database. The process is repeated to create new user id in the database whenever a new set of online fingerprints is collected. If the new entry matches the existing entry in the user id database, the system labels the two sets of data as belonging to the same user, and continues with the next entry. [0046] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the method to evaluate the relationships of two user IDs that have at least one fingerprint string in common. Sometimes they are analyzed as one user, sometimes they are analyzed as a group of users that are closely related, sometimes they are analyzed as separate users without distance relation. According to one embodiment of the present method of computing relations of users, different fingerprints are weighted differently and the source websites that collect the fingerprints are also weighted. [0047] Turning now to FIG. 5 , the process identifies two sets of fingerprints that have matched strings ( 510 ). Next, the positions of matched strings are marked ( 520 ). The process assigns a score to each position according to a uniqueness evaluation ( 530 ). The relationship of two user IDs can then be determined ( 540 ). [0048] In one embodiment, the process applies the following evaluations: [0000] P i =(1,0); i= 1− N [0000] P i corresponds to the value assigned according to the comparison of strings at each position. 1=not match 0=match α, N is the number of data positions in the queue the fingerprints stored in. [0000] B i =(1,0); i= 1− N [0000] B i is an constant in the interval [0,1] assigned to each position according to the comparison of source websites that send the fingerprint, including the value of 0 and 1 depending on the evaluation of uniqueness of the position. [0000] M =[(α 1 ×B 1 )+ P 1 ]×[(α 2 ×B 2 )+ P 2 ]× . . . ×[(α n ×B n )+ P n ] [0000] α i is a constant in the interval [0,1] that is assigned to each position based on the pre-determined uniqueness evaluation. [0049] The above embodiment considers the position of the match, the source of match (from different websites or from inside one website), and the factor of uniqueness evaluation. If M=0, we conclude that the two strings represent the same person, if M≠0, the system concludes that the two fingerprint strings represent two different persons. The closer the M is to 0, the more likelihood that the two users are closely related. In this embodiment, the match on any one position can result in the match of two strings, therefore gives each position the potential power of overwhelming other positions in concluding the same identify of two partially different strings. The system also considers the factor of whether the matched string being collected from the same or different websites or sources, to reflect the possibility that the same person can visit multiple website with at least some parameters being the same. [0050] A new user ID can be established by calculating the probability of match with previous user IDs with this simple algorithm. When online activities are happening and being archived, online fingerprints can be captured and sent to compare with the existing users' fingerprints; if there is no match concluded, a new user ID will be generated with strings of fingerprints; if there is a match being concluded, the activities are deemed to be initiated by the same internet user in the database. [0051] The above formula is just one of the many formulas to compute uniqueness of user ID based on matched strings. Anyone of ordinary skill in the art may figure out variations or alterations by reading this system. In order to further illustrate the method of computing user identity, consider the following two sets of exemplary strings collected from one source, e.g. one website: [0000] Username Password browser P1 P2 Email P3 . . . ip P8 . . . hard disk drive serial # P12 adam boomer [email protected] . . . 11.22.33.44 . . . WDC WD800BB-08JHC0-WD-WCAM9M 167858 ashley booker [email protected] . . . 11.22.33.44 . . . WDC WD800BB-08JHC0-WD-WCAM9M 167858 Because there are a finite number of positions of fingerprint strings, the system can assign the value of α i , B i , and P i to each position respectively, based on an evaluation of the position's indication of uniqueness. In the above example, browser IP (position 8) is a match, and hard disk drive serial number (position 12) is a match, therefore P 8 =0; P 12 =0. Other P i =1 [0052] In a much simplified illustration, if [0000] B i =0, if the strings are collected from the different websites B i =1, if the strings are collected from the same website As the above strings are from the same websites, B i =1 [0053] Various methods of assigning values to B i are possible within the framework of this system. To define the value of α i , more scrutiny must be given to the meaning of each position. The more uniqueness a position indicates, the closer the α i is to 0. For a much simplified illustration, in view of the above example, username, password, email address are be created by the users, although they reflect users' personal preference in creating these characters, they can be altered or even randomized, therefore we let α 1 =1, α 2 =1, α 3 =1. Most of the browser IP address are automatically set by the computer networking program in consistent with its ISP default settings, however, some advanced users can still manually set it different than the default setting, therefore we let α 8 =0.5. Now the hard disk serial number, this is serial number on a hard disk drive manufactured by the disk maker, therefore the system views it as a unique parameter and set the α 12 =0. Placing values into the formula, the system can calculate the identity: [0000] M =  [ ( α 1 × B 1 ) + P 1 ] × [ ( α 2 × B 2 ) + P 2 ] × … × [ ( α n × B n ) + P n ] =  [ ( 1 × 1 ) + 1 ] × [ ( 1 × 1 ) + 1 ] ×  [ ( 1 × 1 ) + 1 ] × … × [ ( 0.5 × 1 ) + 0 ] × [ ( 0 × 1 ) + 0 ] =  0 [0054] M=0 means the two strings are generated by one internet user, only one ID should be created instead of two, and this user ID shall index all the usernames, passwords, email addresses this person used to create multiple accounts. Intuitively, the same person has created 2 separate accounts with separate pairs of username, password, email but from one computer and one internet browser setting. [0055] Turning now to another simple illustrative case where the following two sets of fingerprint strings are collected from 2 different website: [0000] browser username password email . . . ip . . . hard disk drive serial # adam boomer [email protected] . . . 11.22.33.44 . . . WDC WD800BB-08JHC0-WD-WCAM9M 167858 adamss boomer [email protected] . . . 12.34.56.78 . . . WDC WD752CB-97HDF0-WD-WKYN3T5 48975 Now let's do a simple calculation based on the simplified, illustrative criteria into the formula. [0000] M =  [ ( α 1 × B 1 ) + P 1 ] × [ ( α 2 × B 2 ) + P 2 ] × … × [ ( α n × B n ) + P n ] =  [ ( 1 × 0 ) + 1 ] × [ ( 1 × 0 ) + 0 ] ×  [ ( 1 × 0 ) + 0 ] × … × [ ( 0.5 × 0 ) + 1 ] × [ ( 0 × 0 ) + 1 ] =  0 [0056] Note that the person used different computers to register different accounts on different websites, but the person used the same email address, create the same password string, which, according to the simplified calculation, results in 0 in both position 2 and 3, thus making the total calculation to be 0. [0057] Intuitively, the same person uses the same email to register 2 accounts at 2 different websites, using the same browser but with different IP address and different computers (different hard disk serial number). The person didn't register the same username, probably because the username was already taken on the second website so s/he has to make small variations of her/his favorite username. The different IP addresses may come from the different assignments by the ISP, typically see in ADSL networks that assign different IP address each time the person login. The different computers may be one at home, one in office, or one desktop or one laptop the person use differently when creating the accounts. [0058] There are definite number of fingerprint strings and their respective positions, we can thoroughly evaluate each string/position, combined with the source of the collection, and assign values of α i ,B i ,P i for accurate assessment of the relations of users with partially matched fingerprints. The above embodiments are much simplified iterations to embody the calculation of unique user identity, in practice, more subtle and comprehensive mathematical methods are used to calculate the uniqueness, and further calculate the relation of users in the event the result is close to a match but isn't a perfect match ( 0 ). In the event of a close relation being identified, all related users are labeled into one group for further monitoring. Although the method is not intended to biologically identify any anonymous users on the internet, it can successful identify the behaviors conducted by the same user across the web, and provide enough tracking information that can be further linked towards his biology ID by authorities. [0059] FIG. 5 can also determine the relationship of multiple users who have at least one matched strings of fingerprints but they are not concluded the same person. According to the above illustration, if M=0, two users are concluded to be the same person, the relationship is straight and simple. But when M≠0, while some strings of fingerprints are shared by two or multiple users, the system can further calculate whether the users are related, or it's just a coincidence for them to share one or more fingerprint strings. In general, the closer the M is to 0, the more the users are related. One way of calculating the relation is to compute the value of M divided by the aggregate of P i [0000] R a , b = M a , b ∑ P i , j [0000] R a,b is the relation of two users a with b. M a,b is the calculation of match between users a and user b. ΣP i,j is the sum of position values of user a (i) and user b (j) When R a,b ≦β, we can conclude that user a and user b as related users and group them into one group of related users, otherwise we will define them as separate, non-related users. β is a value predetermined by probability evaluation of related versus non-related users. [0060] Consistent with the present system, several ways exist to alter or optimize the computation of relation of multiple users for various purposes. For example, the system can adjust the weight of each position by adjusting its α,B,P to emphasize the importance of any single position in determining the relations of multiple users. For example, if a lengthy and unique password string is shared by multiple users across different geographic locations, although they use different accounts, different emails, different browser attributes, and different computers, the system may still view them as one group that may collaborate to do something on the internet. If a phone number is shared by multiple users on websites that use die phone number to authenticate the user, the system can view these users to be related even if they have different account credentials. Another example of modification can be just building a relational database to tag all users who share any string instead of determining the relations after a threshold is crossed, like the formula above. This way the relations are broadly defined which enables the traceability of every user who share any fingerprint string with others. [0061] One important application and embodiment of the present system is to enhance the effectiveness and accuracy in detecting and preventing online frauds, including spamming, phishing, Trojan horse, identity theft, and particularly fraudulent payments that take place across the worldwide web. As illustrated in FIG. 6 , the user ID database can be connected locally or remotely with many websites that offers products or service online. Every time any website collects any strings of user parameters or fingerprints, it sends to the user ID database for computing. If there is no match of any existing user being concluded, a new user ID will be established with all the parameters including fingerprints indexed; if a match is concluded, any new parameters found in this entry will be indexed under the existing matched user ID. Inside the user ID database, we can label any user who is reported by the participating websites to have bad history involving in fraudulent activities, in this case all the strings attached to the user ID will be labeled too, once the new entry of user strings comes in, it will be compared with the existing entries. When a match is concluded, the new entry will be labeled as the same bad user. Thereafter a message can be returned to the website to instruct the website to block the user's further activities including blocking the online payment, as most probably, the person is using a stolen credit card or financial account to pay the service, if not blocked, a chargeback will later come the way to the merchant operating the website. It is particularly effective when a large number of websites join the network, after a fraudster successfully defraud one website and be labeled, the same person will have almost no chance to defraud another website as all the information about the person is labeled in the central user ID database, regardless how many stolen credit card the person still possesses, since it is almost impossible or not practical for the same person to eliminate all the parameters. [0062] While the current fraud detecting method is either verifying the user information or user address, which can be easily beaten when the fraudster possess the complete information of the card owner as a result of hacking into the credit card database; or comparing the current purchase with the cardholder's past spending mode, which is very vague and almost useless when the current purchase is within a certain value, say, within a couple of hundred dollars. The present system introduces a new method that directly captures the parameters of the fraudster, thus directly track down to the person who conduct the fraud. Whenever the same parameters, wholly or partially, are found again, we immediately know they are from the same person, or a related group of persons, therefore to instruct the websites to disapprove the transaction or immediately refund the payment and block the account. [0063] One exemplary application of the system is to link certain activities to internet users that are known to be bad or fraudulent users. The system can prevent such users from repeatedly defrauding websites. This will require the websites 600 to visit one central database 610 of information about user ID and fingerprints. The process supporting the system of FIG. 6 is discussed in more detail in FIG. 7 . [0064] Another important application of the present system is to assign trust ranking to a user ID by parsing and analyzing the parameters collected. Many parameters can be reverse looked up and retrieve geographic information like city, state/province, country, area code, time zone, etc. The information can be checked with the information the user enters about itself, the information can be also cross checked with each other. [0065] FIG. 7 is a diagram that illustrates how to assign trust rank to a user ID according to the result of cross checking the parameters. The higher the consistency and integrity the cross check reveal, the higher the trust rank can be assigned to a user. In one particular application of the trust rank, users with different trust ranks are given different privilege for their online purchases, e.g. higher ranking users can purchase more at a time. [0066] The system of FIG. 7 has an address block 710 that communicates with an address verification database 711 , a phone block 720 that communicates with a reverse phone check database 722 , a browser block 730 that communicates with an IP database 733 , and a device block 740 that communicates with an IP database 744 . [0067] Block 710 verifies the existence of the address. When the user enters an address, the system queries an external address database. If the address exists, we can add a score to the trust rank of this user ID. If the address does not exist, it is likely the user faked it or he simply made an error, regardless, we will deduct a score from its trust rank. Block 720 illustrates a process to verify a user's phone number. The system can query a phone directory database such as yellow page, and verify if the phone number exists. If it exists, one more score, otherwise one less. Then the system further look up a reverse phone system to retrieve the address information related to this phone number, the city, state/province, country etc. If the information matches the address information entered by the user, the system adds score to the trust rank. If not, the system deducts scores from the trust rank. Block 730 illustrates a process to check a user's internet browser IP address. Once a browser IP is obtained, the system will query a IP database to retrieve the geographic information related to this IP, including the city, state/province, country, time zone, Internet Service Provider, net speed etc. The geographic information can be compared with the user's self entered information, and that the phone number revealed. If all the information matches with each other, a high score is assigned to the trust rank, otherwise scores will be deducted from the trust rank. [0068] Block 740 illustrates a process to check a user's direct IP address used by the computer: it can be the same or different from the IP used by the internet browser. Once a computer IP is obtained, the system will compare the IP address with its browser IP. If they match, a higher rank is assigned, and if they do not match, a lower rank is given. Also the system will query a IP database to retrieve the geographic information related to this IP, such as city, state/province, country, time zone, Internet Service Provider, net speed, network type etc., and compare the geo information with the user's self-entered geographic information for consistency. Higher trust rank is given in the event of consistency, while a lower trust rank is a result of inconsistency. Inconsistency, wherever it is detected, is indicative of information manipulation by the user. For example, a user computer's direct IP address reveals he is located in Ghana, Africa, but his browser IP is in United States, a further lookup shows this is a public proxy server in USA that anybody can use for anonymity; and he enters an address in United States but in different state than the proxy IP is located, and the phone number is again located in different state than his self-addressed state, these multiple sets of very inconsistent information will result in very low trust rank according to the computation of the present system. As a result, such a user shall be denied from any online transaction or at least denied from any large item transaction and/or frequent transactions in any time period. Intuitively, it is likely that the user is living in Ghana but pretends to be a user of United States. When he attempts to buy anything on the internet, he probably does not want to be found he is in Ghana, Africa, and he is likely use a stolen credit card to for online purchase,—if he intends to purchase anything. Per the present system, the user has been already flagged due to the inconsistency before he attempts to do anything online, therefore this method is highly preventive. [0069] The trust rank is a very powerful tool for a single website that isn't connected to any central user ID database. Because all the information can be collected by the single site, and then analyzed and cross checked by the site independently. Inconsistency will lower the trust rank which indicates higher risk if the user attempts to make an online transaction and/or payment. Therefore, without any external user ID database to visit, the single website alone can flag the user and stop any transaction by this user. [0070] Although the above description contains many specifics for the purpose of illustration, those skilled in the art can make many variations and alterations within the scope of this system. Also, the following details describe specific embodiment of the system, they do not constitute any limitation to the generality of the system. [0071] The invention may be implemented in hardware, firmware or software, or a combination of the three. Preferably the invention is implemented in a computer program executed on a programmable computer having a processor, a data storage system, volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements, at least one input device and at least one output device. [0072] By way of example, a block diagram of a computer to support the merchant web site 130 is discussed next. The computer preferably includes a processor, random access memory (RAM), a program memory (preferably a writable read-only memory (ROM) such as a flash ROM) and an input/output (I/O) controller coupled by a CPU bus. The computer may optionally include a hard drive controller which is coupled to a hard disk and CPU bus. Hard disk may be used for storing application programs, such as the present invention, and data. Alternatively, application programs may be stored in RAM or ROM. I/O controller is coupled by means of an I/O bus to an I/O interface. I/O interface receives and transmits data in analog or digital form over communication links such as a serial link, local area network, wireless link, and parallel link. Optionally, a display, a keyboard and a pointing device (mouse) may also be connected to I/O bus. Alternatively, separate connections (separate buses) may be used for I/O interface, display, keyboard and pointing device. Programmable processing system may be preprogrammed or it may be programmed (and reprogrammed) by downloading a program from another source (e.g., a floppy disk, CD-ROM, or another computer). Each computer program is tangibly stored in a machine-readable storage media or device (e.g., program memory or magnetic disk) readable by a general or special purpose programmable computer, for configuring and controlling operation of a computer when the storage media or device is read by the computer to perform the procedures described herein. The inventive system may also be considered to be embodied in a computer-readable storage medium, configured with a computer program, where the storage medium so configured causes a computer to operate in a specific and predefined manner to perform the functions described herein. [0073] The invention has been described herein in considerable detail in order to comply with the patent Statutes and to provide those skilled in the art with the information needed to apply the novel principles and to construct and use such specialized components as are required. However, it is to be understood that the invention can be carried out by specifically different equipment and devices, and that various modifications, both as to the equipment details and operating procedures, can be accomplished without departing from the scope of the invention itself.

Various aspects of the present system provide methods and systems for authenticating online purchase by tracing internet actions to a remote computer and to an individual who operates the computer. One aspect provides a technique to generate fingerprint of computer and its user based on the information collected through the actions a user conducts on internet. Another aspect of the system provides a technique to compute the fingerprints and find relations between users and computers. Another aspect of the system provides a trust ranking to a user based on the consistency of information collected from the user's various actions.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-358306 filed on Oct. 17, 2004, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND [0002] 1. Technical Field [0003] The present invention relates to a method for inspecting a pattern and a method for manufacturing a semiconductor chip having a circuit pattern. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] As a way to miniaturize an information technology device, a package in which a chip such as a semiconductor chip is directly mounted on a substrate, becomes popular. In this package, a dust on a pattern of the chip can cause a contact failure or poor characteristics. As a result, it is necessary to inspect the pattern to determine whether there is a significant defect in the chip before mounting it on the substrate. [0006] A method of inspecting a pattern is shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-84379, where a pattern to be inspected is compared with a reference pattern obtained by imaging a non-defective pattern. Then, the differences between these patterns are acquired. An area where the difference is large is extracted as a defect region. Next, the size of the defect region is compared with a threshold value which is set in advance. [0007] The threshold value differs according to a position in the pattern, because the density of the fine circuit pattern on the chip usually differs according to a position in the pattern. In other words, the complexity of the shape of the pattern causes a variation of the density and a necessity of fine segmentation of the pattern. [0008] As a result, it is necessary to set a large number of threshold values according to positions in the pattern. Such setting takes a long time, resulting in lowering a working efficiency. SUMMARY [0009] One aspect of the present invention is a method for inspecting a pattern. The method comprises measuring in a first direction, a first pattern width of a reference pattern at plural positions in the reference pattern, measuring in a second direction, a second pattern width of the reference pattern at the plural positions in the reference pattern, comparing the first and second pattern widths at each of the plural positions to determine a shortest pattern width among the first and second pattern widths at each of the plural positions, extracting a defect in a pattern to be inspected, and evaluating the defect based on the determined shortest pattern width of the position corresponding to a position of the defect. [0010] In another aspect consistent with the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a semiconductor chip. The method comprises fabricating a semiconductor chip having a circuit pattern, inspecting the circuit pattern, said inspection comprising, measuring, in a first direction, a first pattern width of a reference pattern at plural positions in the reference pattern, measuring, in a second direction, a second pattern width of the reference pattern at the plural positions in the reference pattern, comparing the first and second pattern widths at each of the plural positions to determine a shortest pattern width among the first and second pattern widths at each of the plural positions, extracting a defect in the circuit pattern to be inspected, evaluating the defect based on the determined shortest pattern width of the position corresponding to a position of the defect, and mounting the semiconductor chip on a substrate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING [0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an inspecting apparatus. [0012] FIG. 2 shows binarized reference data. [0013] FIG. 3 shows 0-degree directional scanned data. [0014] FIG. 4 shows 45-degree directional scanned data. [0015] FIG. 5 shows 90-degree directional scanned data. [0016] FIG. 6 shows 135-degree directional scanned data. [0017] FIG. 7 shows directional image data. [0018] FIG. 8 shows pattern width data. [0019] FIG. 9 shows sensitivity image data. [0020] FIG. 10 shows another binarized reference data. [0021] FIG. 11 shows another 45-degree directional scanned data. [0022] FIG. 12 shows the another 45-degree directional scanned data after a gradation correction. [0023] FIG. 13 shows a pattern width R at a position P. DESCRIPTION [0024] An embodiment consistent with the present invention is explained next with respect to FIGS. 1 to 9 . [0025] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an inspecting apparatus 100 . [0026] A semiconductor chip 1 is set on a table 3 . A circuit pattern 2 is formed on chip 1 . In addition to chip 1 to be inspected, another chip (not shown) with a non-defective pattern is prepared in order to obtain reference data. [0027] A CCD camera 4 is arranged above chip 1 . CCD camera 4 images circuit pattern 2 of chip 1 and outputs an image signal thereof. The outputted image signal constitutes a matrix form corresponding to pixels of camera 4 . In this embodiment, a longitudinal direction corresponds to a row direction of the matrix, and a lateral direction corresponds to a latitudinal (column) direction of the matrix. An oblique direction is defined as a direction inclined in respect to both the row and latitudinal directions. [0028] The image signal outputted from CCD camera 4 is inputted to an image processor 5 . Image processor 5 stores an image signal of a good chip with a non-defective pattern as reference data in a reference data memory 6 . CCD camera 4 sequentially images plural chips 1 to be inspected. Plural image signal of chips 1 are inputted to and stored as image data in an image data memory 7 . When reference data is stored in reference data memory 6 in advance, it is not necessary to image a good chip to obtain reference data. [0029] A difference processor 8 reads reference data stored in memory 6 and image data stored in memory 7 , and then computes a difference between these data to obtain differential image data. The difference is, in other words, the difference of a contrast level between these data. [0030] A sensitivity image data processor 9 also reads the reference data and codes it according to a width of the pattern to create sensitivity image data, which will be used to inspect the image data. The sensitivity data shows a sensitivity of detection. The value of the sensitivity data differs according to a value of data created by coding the reference data based on a width of the pattern. [0031] The sensitivity image data is created as described next. First, the reference data is binarized based on a constant threshold value. The binarized reference data constitutes a matrix of pixel values where each pixel value is a white level or black level. [0032] Then, the specific direction in which the number of pixels continuously having the same level (white or black level) is the smallest, is defined, by linearly scanning pixels in several directions. Finally, directional image data showing the specific direction, is produced by coding the reference data. [0033] FIG. 2 shows a modified example of the binarized reference data. Pixels corresponding to metal circuit pattern 2 ( FIG. 1 ) have a black level in this figure. [0034] Sensitivity image data processor 9 ( FIG. 1 ) scans the binarized reference data in the 0-degree direction (a first direction) shown in FIG. 2 to count the number of pixels (a first pattern width) which continuously have black levels in the 0-degree direction. Processor 9 codes the binarized reference data according to the counted number of the pixels. [0035] FIG. 3 shows the coded reference data, which is referred to herein as 0-degree directional scanned data. The number of the counted pixels, which corresponds to the first pattern width, is given to each pixel (several positions) in the reference pattern. [0036] For instance, the number of the leftmost pixel of the black level is only one, so that 1 is the coded value of the pixel in FIG. 3 . In the adjacent line, the number of the black level pixel is three in the 0-degree direction, so that 3 is the coded value of the pixels. [0037] In addition to the 0-degree direction, sensitivity image data processor 9 scans the binarized reference data in the 45-degree direction (a third direction), the 90-degree direction (a second direction) and the 135-degree direction (a fourth direction). FIG. 4 shows 45-degree directional scanned data. FIG. 5 shows 90-degree directional scanned data. FIG. 6 shows 135-degree directional scanned data. As shown in FIGS. 4-6 , the numbers of the counted pixels, which respectively correspond to the third, second and fourth pattern widths, are given to each pixel (several positions) in the reference pattern. [0038] An arrow 0 ( FIG. 2 ) corresponds to the zero-degree direction. Similarly, arrows 45 , 90 and 135 respectively correspond to the 45-degree direction, 90-degree direction and 135-degree direction. The 45-degree and 135-degree directions are examples of an oblique direction. Another angle other than 45-degree and 135-degree may be applied when scanning in another oblique direction. [0039] Sensitivity image data processor 9 further decides the specific direction (a pattern width direction) among those four directions in which the number of the pixels continuously having the black level is the smallest. When the specific direction is the zero-degree direction, processor 9 applies 1 to that pixel. Similarly, when the specific direction is the 45-degree, 90-degree or 135-degree directions, processor 9 respectively applies 2, 3 or 4 to that pixel. In addition, 0 is given to a pixel which has a white level. [0040] FIG. 7 shows directional image data produced by coding the reference data according to the specific direction. [0041] With respect to a pixel A in FIG. 7 , the number of the continuous black level is four in the zero-degree direction, 13 in the 45-degree direction, 13 in the 90-degree direction and 3 in the 135-degree direction so that 4, which corresponds to the 135-degree direction, is given to the pixel A. Similary, the code 1, which corresponds to the 0-degree direction is given to a pixel B. [0042] Sensitivity image data processor 9 then produces pattern width data by giving each pixel the number of the pixels continuously having the black level in the specific direction. The specific direction is referred to herein as the pattern width direction, and the number of the pixels as the minimum pattern width. FIG. 8 shows the pattern width data. The pixel given 0 in the directional image data ( FIG. 7 ), is also given 0 as shown in FIG. 8 . [0043] In FIG. 8 , the pixel A is given 3 because the number of the pixels having a black level is 3 in the 135-degree direction, which direction corresponds to 4 in FIG. 7 . Similarly, 4 is given to the pixel B because the number of the pixels having a black level is 4 in the 0-degree direction. [0044] Sensitivity image data processor 9 finally produces sensitivity image data using the pattern width data. Processor 9 adjusts each value of the pattern width data to produce sensitivity image data. [0045] For example, when it is necessary to detect a defect whose size is larger than a half width of the pattern, the sensitivity is set to be a factor of 0.5. In other words, as shown in FIG. 9 , processor 9 ( FIG. 1 ) produces sensitivity image data by halving the values of each pixels of the pattern width data ( FIG. 8 ). When the value is an odd number, a fraction after the decimal point is omitted in this embodiment. [0046] In FIG. 9 , 1 is given to the pixel A whose pattern width value is 3, after omitting the fraction after the decimal point. Similarly, the pixel B whose pattern width value is 4 is given 2 after applying the sensitivity factor 0.5. [0047] The sensitivity can be set to a factor other than 0.5, depending on a size of a defect to be inspected, or a kind of inspection. [0048] Defect size processor 10 ( FIG. 1 ) receives the differential data obtained by difference processor 8 , and extracts a defect based on the value of the difference. Then, processor 10 produces defect size data based on the width, in the pattern width direction, of the defect. [0049] In this embodiment, processor 10 ( FIG. 1 ) extracts a defect existing by only considering pixels which have black levels ( FIG. 2 ) after binarizing the image data with a predetermined threshold value. [0050] More particularly, processor 10 reads the specified directions of pixels where a defect is detected (usually an area of a defect is larger than that of a pixel). Then, processor 10 counts (measures) the width of the defect to obtain the pattern width data, against each pixel where a defect is detected, by respectively scanning the differential data in the specified directions. Processor 10 applies the counted number to each corresponding pixel so that the defect size data is generated. [0051] A determination part 11 receives the defect size data from processor 10 and the sensitivity image data from processor 9 , and compares them. When there is a pixel (position) whose value of the defect size data is larger than that of the pixel value of the corresponding pixel (position) of the sensitivity image data, the inspected pattern is considered to have a considerable defect. [0052] In summary, scanning the reference data in the 4 directions, 0-degree, 45-degree, 90-degree and 135-degree directions, the numbers of the pixels which continuously have black levels can be counted in the 4 directions. Then, the pattern width direction in which the counted number is the smallest can be decided so that the smallest pattern width can be obtained. Separately, the reference image data is converted to the sensitivity image data whose value depends on the pattern width. [0053] The defect size data is meanwhile produced by extracting a defect according to the differential image data, and by obtaining the width of the defect in the pattern width direction. Finally, existence of a considerable defect can be detected by comparing the defect size data with the sensitivity image data. In other words, the defect is evaluated using the specific direction of the pixel where the defect exists to determine whether the size of the defect is considerable. [0054] In this embodiment, since the sensitivity image data whose value depends on the pattern width is automatically produced, a considerable defect can be detected even though circuit pattern 2 has a complicated pattern or the density of circuit pattern 2 differs according to the location in pattern 2 . Even though circuit pattern 2 has a portion which extends obliquely, a considerable defect can be detected because the reference data is scanned not only in the longitudinal direction, but also in an oblique direction. Further, regardless of the number of areas to be inspected, an efficient inspection can be executed because of automatically producing the sensitivity image data which depends on the pattern width. In other words, a method of this embodiment can improve efficiency because it takes less time to inspect a pattern. [0055] Numerous modifications of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the present invention can be practiced in a manner other than as specifically described herein. In the embodiment above, various improvement are disclosed. When a certain effect can be accomplished without some elements shown in this embodiment, it is not always necessary to provide such elements in accomplishing the embodiment consistent with the present invention. [0056] For example, the reference data and the image data are binarized in the above embodiment. However, these data may be converted to many-valued, such as three-valued or four-valued. In addition, a defect is extracted using the differential data. But, other ways such as a way using absolute value or a minimax method may be used. [0057] The oblique scanning can be also omitted because it is possible to measure the pattern width by scanning only the longitudinal and lateral directions. [0058] A second embodiment consistent with the present invention is explained next with reference to FIGS. 10 to 13 . In addition to the function which sensitivity image data processor 9 has, a sensitivity image data processor (not shown) further has a function for amending an unnecessary gradation which is generated in producing the 45-degree and 135-degree directional scanned data. [0059] The gradation referred to is a gradual variation of the value. This gradation is generated at the corner of circuit pattern 2 in scanning the reference data in an oblique direction such as 45-degree or 135-degree. The pattern width may not be reflected accurately at the corner where the gradation is generated. As a result, a reliability of an inspection may deteriorate. [0060] FIG. 10 shows binarized reference data, where metal circuit pattern 2 is shown in black. [0061] Sensitivity image data processor 9 A scans the binarized reference data in the 45-degree direction, and counts the number of pixels whose values are continuously black. Then, each pixel is given the counted number as shown in FIG. 11 . As shown in FIG. 11 , the value of the pixels around a corner C gradually varies. In other words, the gradation occurs around the corner C. [0062] In order to amend the gradation, the method disclosed below is used for eliminating the gradation from the scanned data. More particularly, the differences between the values of adjacent pixels are computed among the one subject pixel and eight pixels around the subject pixel. Then, an average value Davg of the difference of the value is computed and evaluated according to a performance function (1). D avg = ⁢ { ∑ j = 0 , 1 , k = - 1 , 0 , 1 ⁢   ⁢ D ⁡ ( I ⁡ ( x + j , y + k ) , I ⁡ ( x + j - 1 , y + k ) ) + ⁢ ∑ j = - 1 , 0 , 1 , k = 0 , 1 ⁢   ⁢ D ⁡ ( I ⁡ ( x + j , y + k ) , I ⁡ ( x + j , y + k - 1 ) ) / 12 D ⁡ ( a , b ) =  a - b - 1  ( 1 ) [0063] In function (1), the value of the subject pixel is shown as I(x,y). Similarly, the value of the pixels, in a longitudinal direction, adjacent to the subject pixel are shown I(x,y+1) or I(x,y−1). Further, the value of the pixels, in a latitudinal direction, adjacent to the subject pixel are shown I(x+1,y) or I(x−1,y). D(a,b) means the absolute value of the subtracted value of (a) from (b+1) as shown in the equation below function (1). Average value Davg is computed only when (a) and (b) is not equal to 0. [0064] Average value Davg is 0 when the differences of the values between the adjacent pixels are +1, such as shown around corner C in FIG. 11 . Therefore, when the pixel whose average value Davg is less or equal to a threshold, the gradation can be eliminated by converting the value of such pixels to 0. FIG. 12 shows the 45-degree direction scanned image data after the elimination. Eliminating the gradation generated around the corner of circuit 2 of the scanned data, makes it possible to obtain an accurate directional image data. As a result, the reliability of an inspection ca be improved. [0065] Instead of using performance function (1) shown above, alternative methods may be used. For example, it is possible to adopt a value which is presumed based on the widths of longitudinal direction and latitudinal direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of pattern 2 , as a width of pattern 2 in an oblique direction if the presumed value is almost the same as the width of pattern 2 in the oblique direction. FIG. 13 illustrates an example of the alternative method. As shown in FIG. 13 , a pattern width at a position P(x,y) in the oblique direction, can be presumed based on a pattern width H in 0-degree and a pattern width W in 90-degree direction. Pattern widths Iw and Ig in the oblique direction can be presumed as shown in formulas (2) below. Iw = W 2 , Ih = H 2 ( 2 ) [0066] When a real pattern width R in the oblique direction is larger or smaller than Iw or Ih by a limit deviation tolerance δ, the pattern is presumed not to extend in the oblique direction. Therefore, the pattern width at P(x,y) in the oblique direction is set to 0. [0067] The above procedure is carried out against every position in a pattern. Then, some gradation at a corner may be eliminated so that the reliability of an inspection can be improved. Other methods can be applied. For example, a corner part can be counted in producing the directional image data by comparing the scanned data in the four directions. This method can also work to reduce the gradation. [0068] The methods can be adopted to a variety of circuit patterns. [0069] Numerous modifications of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the present invention can be practiced in a manner other than as specifically described herein. In the embodiment above, various improvement are disclosed. When a certain effect can be accomplished without some elements shown in this embodiment, it is not always necessary to provide such elements in accomplishing the embodiment consistent with the present invention.

A method for inspecting a pattern includes measuring, in a first direction, a width of a reference pattern at plural positions in the reference patter; measuring, in a second direction, a width of the reference pattern at the plural positions. Comparing the first and second width and determining which of the first and second widths is shortest; extracting a defect in a pattern to be inspected; and evaluating the extracted defect depending on the determined direction.

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to disease likelihood determination. More specifically, the invention relates to methods and apparatuses for the automated analysis of medical images for quantitatively evaluating the likelihood of a disease based on tissue attributes. BACKGROUND Early detection of certain diseases, such as Alzheimer's dementia (AD), is critical for treatment success and a high priority research area. The development of disease-modifying treatment strategies requires objective characterization techniques and in vivo quantitative biomarkers that are able to identify the disease with higher accuracy and at a much earlier stage than clinically based assessment (Vellas, B., et al., Disease - modifying trials in Alzheimer's disease: a European task force consensus . Lancet Neurol, 2007. 6(1): p. 56-62). Medical images, and in particular standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences (T1, T2 or PD-weighted) on 1 to 3 Tesla clinical scanners, can show pathologically related changes in cortical and sub-cortical structures (Csernansky, J. G., et al., Correlations between antemortem hippocampal volume and postmortem neuropathology in AD subjects . Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord, 2004. 18(4): p. 190-5; Kloppel, S., et al., Automatic classification of MR scans in Alzheimer's disease . Brain, 2008). Global, regional and local cerebral morphology alterations, such as tissue atrophy, are reflections of the microscopic disease progression. Analysis of structural MRI allows the in vivo assessment of these changes, and therefore can be used as a quantitative biomarker in AD (Weiner, M., et al., The Use of MRI and PET or Clinical Diagnosis of Dementia and Investigation of Cognitive Impairment: A Consensus Report. 2005, Alzheimer's Association; Chetelat, G. and J. C. Baron, Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease: contribution of structural neuroimaging . Neuroimage, 2003. 18(2): p. 525-41; Davatzikos, C., et al., Detection of prodromal Alzheimer's disease via pattern classification of magnetic resonance imaging . Neurobiol Aging, 2008. 29(4): p. 514-23). In previous work (Duchesne, S., et al., MRI - Based Automated Computer Classification of Probable AD Versus Normal Controls . IEEE Trans Med Imaging, 2008. 27(4): p. 509-20. [7]), applicants developed a novel, high-dimensional classification approach based on data reduction techniques of MRI image attributes, defined as the combination of intensity and shape characteristics. The technique was tested in a series of pilot studies that used single-time point T1w MRI for the differentiation of normal aging from AD. Due to the important human and financial costs of certain diseases (e.g. Alzheimer's), an automated quantitative biomarker enabling effective and early disease identification, based on medical image data, would permit earlier treatment initiation and be useful to reduce patient suffering and costs to primary caregivers and health care systems. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Applicants have discovered that the analysis of MRI data, relating to brain morphological characteristics such as tissue compositions and deformations in the context of AD research, in combination with appropriate statistical distance-based calculations to calculate group-wise membership, allows for the determination of a single quantitative metric that applicants have coined the Disease Evaluation Factor (DEF) and the Disease likelihood factor (DLF). The DEF and DLF can be determined using Applicants classification system presented in US Pub. No. 2006/0104494. This method allows for the generation of an eigenspace representation of images from two or more groups of subjects, for example healthy and diseased subjects. From this eigenspace, the most discriminant eigenvectors are selected and subsequently used in order to increase the specificity and sensitivity of the discrimination function. The DEF and DLF provide a scalar number that estimates disease likelihood and/or severity and/or progression. Applicants have tested the efficiency of the DLF and DEF at estimating disease burden in normal, control subjects (CTRL), probable AD patients, and subjects with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a putative prodromal stage of AD. Applicants hypothesize that the DEF and DLF can accurately describe disease status via automated analysis of multivariate MRI-based image attribute data. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of quantitatively evaluating the likelihood and/or severity of a disease from medical images comprising: processing medical images of a test subject to derive one or more feature space values characteristic of a disease-dependent image attributes; comparing the feature space values to those of a previously established database from medical images of known healthy and known diseased subjects, wherein the comparing is based on feature space values that best discriminate between healthy and diseased subjects; summing a weighted distance of discriminant feature space values of the test subject to those of at least one of the mean feature space value of the healthy subjects and the mean feature space value of the diseased subjects; and providing from the summing a single number which is indicative of at least one of disease likelihood, severity and progression. In some embodiments, the weighted distance further comprises an attraction field calculation wherein each feature space value of a test subject is attracted to the mean feature space value of healthy and mean feature space value of diseased subjects as a function of its distance from each and according to the gravitational model formula presented herein (equations 7 and 8). It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method of quantitatively evaluating the likelihood of progression of a disease from medical images by providing a single number indicative of said likelihood. In some embodiments, this progression will be the progression from MCI to AD. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a system for quantitatively evaluating the likelihood and severity of a disease from medical images comprising an image processor receiving as input a medical image of a test subject and processing the medical image to derive one or more feature space values characteristic of a disease-dependent tissue morphology; a processor comparing the feature space values to those of a previously established database from medical images of known healthy and known diseased subjects; wherein the comparing is based on feature space values that best discriminate between healthy and diseased subjects; a processor summing a weighted distance of all discriminant feature space values of the test subject to those of at least one of the mean feature space value of the healthy subjects and the mean feature space value of the diseased subjects; and a calculator providing from the sum a single number which is indicative of disease likelihood and severity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be better understood by way of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, with reference to the appended drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an automated image processing pipeline. FIG. 2 is a graphical view of DEF scores for CTRL (left) and probable AD (right). FIG. 3 is normal probability plot of CTRL and probable AD DEF scores. FIG. 4 is a graphical view of the distribution of morphological factors for the CTRL (A) and probable AD groups (B) as well as the ROC curves for sensitivity vs specificity (C). FIG. 5 is a graphical view of the distribution of morphological factors for the MCI-S (A) and MCI-P groups (B) as well as the ROC curves for sensitivity vs specificity (C). FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting steps involved in determining a disease evaluation factor or disease likelihood factor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Subjects. A total of 349 subjects were included in this study. The first cohort, or reference group, consisted in 149 young, neurologically healthy individuals from the ICBM database (Mazziotta, J. C., et al., A probabilistic atlas of the human brain: theory and rationale for its development. The International Consortium for Brain Mapping ( ICBM ). Neuroimage, 1995. 2(2): p. 89-101), whose scans were used to create the reference space. The second cohort, or study group, consisted in 150 subjects: 75 patients with a diagnosis of probable AD and 75 age-matched normal CTRL without neurological or neuropsychological deficit. The probable AD subjects were individuals with mild to moderate probable AD (McKhann, G., et al., Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease: report of the NINCDS - ADRDA Work Group under the auspices of Department of Health and Human Services Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease . Neurology, 1984. 34(7): p. 939-44) recruited among outpatients seen at the Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli—The National Center for AD (Brescia, Italy) between November 2002 and January 2005. CTRL subjects were taken from an ongoing study of the structural features of normal aging. The third cohort consisted in 49 MCI subjects taken from a prospective project on the natural history of MCI, carried out in the same memory clinic. All MCI patients underwent a yearly follow-up visit, consisting of complete clinical and neuropsychological examination, from 1 to 4 years after enrolment. In those individuals that converted to dementia, status was ascertained according to clinical diagnostic criteria for AD, subcortical vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, and fronto-temporal dementia. Within the larger prospective cohort of 100 MCI patients enrolled from April 2002 to December 2006, Applicants have selected patients retrospectively for this study based on their (a) having been followed clinically a minimum of 48 months after their baseline MR scan; and (b) having remained either stable (MCI-S group; N=29) or progressed to probable AD (MCI-P group; N=20; mean progression 1.5 yrs; SD 0.7 yrs). The 48-month longitudinal clinical evaluation constitutes our reference diagnostic. Data for the last subject was obtained with permission from the pilot, multi-centric European ADNI project [15](E-ADNI). It consisted in a healthy volunteer that acted as human quality control phantoms and that was scanned three times at The Anonymous Center (scan; repeat scan, same session; rescan) on the same day. Ethics Committees approved the study and informed consent was obtained from all participants. MR Data. The ICBM subjects from the reference group were scanned in Montreal, Canada on a Philips Gyroscan 1.5T scanner (Best, Netherlands) using a T1-weighted fast gradient echo sequence (sagittal acquisition, TR=18 ms, TE=10 ms, 1 mm×1 mm×1 mm voxels, flip angle 30°). MRI data for all subjects in the probable AD, CTRL and MCI study group were acquired in Brescia, Italy on a single Philips Gyroscan 1.0T scanner (Best, Netherlands) using a T1-weighted fast field echo sequence (sagittal acquisition, TR=25 ms, TE=6.9 ms, 1 mm×1 mm×1.3 mm voxels). Image Processing. A cursory overview of the automated image processing methodology follows; the reader is referred to Duchesne et al. (see Duchesne et al. 2008) for additional details, as well as to US patent application publication 2006/0104494 published on May 18, 2006, the specification of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Images from all reference and study subjects were processed in an identical fashion. Processing included intensity non uniformity correction, scaling, global and linear registration, extraction of a pre-determined volume of interest centered on the medial temporal lobes, nonlinear registration within the volume of interest towards a common reference target, and computation of the determinants from the Jacobian of the deformation field (see FIG. 1 for a schematic diagram of data processing used). Image processing and other data processing in accordance with the present embodiments can be performed using a conventional computer or workstation configured with computer program modules for performing the data processing as set out herein. DEF Processing Overview. The basic processing steps are: processing the medical image of the study patient's tissue to derive one or more feature space values characteristic of disease-dependent tissue morphology; computing a single disease evaluation factor (DEF) from the feature space values of the study patient and those of reference subjects. Applicants propose a single factor that estimates disease state in a given individual, and that can be repeated at any time point; the larger the index, the more severe the condition. Applicants calculated a reference eigenspace of MRI image attributes from reference data, in which CTRL, probable AD and MCI subjects were projected. For the purpose of calculating the DEF between CTRL and probable AD, Applicants then calculated the multi-dimensional hyperplane separating the CTRL and probable AD groups. The DEF was estimated via a multidimensional weighted distance of eigencoordinates for a given subject (feature space distance) and the CTRL group mean, along salient principal components forming the separating hyperplane. The directionality was defined towards the center of the probable AD group, and each distance was weighted by a coefficient for that particular component. Applicants used quantile plots, Kolmogorov-Smimov and χ 2 tests to compare the DEF or DLF values and test that their distribution was normal. Applicants used a linear discriminant test to separate CTRL from probable AD based on the DEF or DLF, and reached an accuracy of 90%. In some embodiments, the disease evaluation factor is calculated using attraction field formulations, yielding “attraction” values between the study patient's feature space values and the mean values of groups of reference subjects. In other embodiments, the DEF or DLF is calculated using a likelihood ratio. DEF. The features for each subject i that were used for modeling are: 1) the scaled, intensity-uniformity corrected T1-weighted intensity rasterized data vectors g i within the volume of interest, post-linear registration; and 2) rasterized vector d i of determinant values within the volume of interest, post-nonlinear registration. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to reduce the dimensionality of this massive amount of data (405,000 voxel for each g i or d i feature) and build a model of grey-level intensity and determinant eigenvectors from the reference data, composed of N=149 healthy young subjects from the ICBM reference group. The resulting ensemble of p Principal Components, where p=N−1, defined an Allowable Grey-Level Domain G and Allowable Determinant Domain D as the spaces of all possible elements expressed by the determinant eigenvectors λ G ; and λ D . In those spaces most of the variation can usually be explained by a smaller number of modes, l, where l<<n and l<p. The total variance of all the variables is equal to: λ = ∑ k = 1 2 ⁢ n ⁢ λ k ( 1 ) whereas for l eigenvectors, explaining a sufficiently large proportion of λ, the sum of their variances, or how much these principal directions contribute in the description of the total variance of the system, is calculated with the ratio of relative importance of the eigenvalue λ k associated with the eigenvector k: r k = λ k ∑ j = 1 p ⁢ λ j . ( 2 ) The theoretical upper-bound on the dimensionality f of G and D is N−1 however, Applicants defined restricted versions of these spaces denoted G* and D*, using only the first k eigenvectors corresponding to a given ratio r for each space. The reference group data was no longer used after this point. Once the model eigenspaces G* and D* from reference data have been formed, Applicants proceeded with the task of projecting the rasterized image attribute vectors i i and d i for the subjects in the study group into the space defined by the reference group. The projected data in the Domain G* formed the eigencoordinate vectors γ i ω ; likewise, projected data into the Domain D* forms the eigencoordinate vectors δ i ω . Applicants created data boxplot to get an idea of distribution normality. The boxplot shows the asymmetry and outliers for each variable, which allows Applicants, without formal testing, to assess if some variables are not-normal, and hence if the ensemble of projection data is not multi-normal. One of the assumptions of discriminant analysis is that the populations are distributed according to a multivariate normal distribution, with equal matrices of variances-covariances. Otherwise, for non-normal distributions, Applicants might consider using logistic regression analysis; and in the cases where the matrices of variances-covariances are significantly different, one can use quadratic discriminant analysis. Following the notation of Duda et al. (Duda, R. O., P. E. Hart, and D. G. Stork, Pattern Classification 2001: Wiley-Interscience), Applicants defined two states of nature ω for our study subjects, e.g. for the purpose of discriminating CTRL from probable AD: ω CTRL =CTRL, and ω AD =probable AD. For the purposes of this work, the prior probabilities p(ω CTRL ), p(ω AD ) were known equal (p=0.5; p=0.5) since the compositions of the classification data sets were determined. It must be stated that they do not represent the normal incidence rates of probable AD in the general population. Applicants used the vectors γ i ω and δ i ω as feature vectors in a system of supervised linear classifiers. The data was first normalized to guard against variables with larger variance that might otherwise dominate the classification. Applicants employed forward stepwise regression analysis via Wilk's λ method to select the set of discriminating variables {λ f }, with f<<N−1, forming the discriminating hyperplane. Applicants then verified the multinormality of the ensemble of vectors retained in the final classification function. Distances and weighting. In our image-based feature space, the distance d can be calculated in a number of different fashions (Manhattan, Euclidean, Mahalanobis, Kullback-Leibler), see for example Duda, R. O., P. E. Hart, and D. G. Stork, Pattern Classification 2001, New York, N.Y., USA: Wiley-Interscience). Using the restricted set {λ F }, Applicants defined the DEF or DLF as the multidimensional distance between each subject and the center of the CTRL group, denoted m CTRL . Manhattan distance. As a distance, Applicants propose initially the signed difference between subject eigencoordinates along the eigenvector λ F and the CTRL mean for that eigenvector. This difference shows the magnitude and direction from the subject to the mean of a group of control subjects: d i λ F = x i λ F - m _ CTRL λ F ( 3 ) Euclidean distance. Applicants propose the Euclidean distance between position p i of each subject s i and both CTRL and probable AD means along the restricted set of eigenvectors {λ F } in all F directions, with F<<N−1. As the distance to one center decreases, the distance to the second should increase. In the equation, applicants demonstrate the distance to the mean of the probable AD group: d s i → CM AD = ∑ F ⁢ ( p i f - m _ AD f ) 2 ( 4 ) Weighted distance. It is possible to weigh each eigenvector by an associated measure of significance, for example Wilk's λ from the stepwise regression analysis or a factor derived from univariate t-tests. While the Wilk's λ is trivially obtained from the regression analysis, an univariate weight such as the Koikkalainen factor formulation (Koikkalainen, J., et al. Estimation of disease state using statistical information from medical imaging data. in Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention—From statistical atlases to personalized models workshop. 2006. Copenhagen, Denmark: MICCAI Society) entails performing a t-test comparing the group eigencoordinate distributions (e.g. CTRL vs. probable AD; MCI-S vs. MCI-P) for each eigenvector of the restricted set, resulting in the p-value p(λ F ) for that distribution; from these p-values the significance weight SF was calculated: S F = ln ⁢ ⁢ min ⁡ [ p ⁡ ( λ F ) , 0.05 ] - ln ⁢ ⁢ 0.05 ln ⁢ ⁢ 0.000001 - ln ⁢ ⁢ 0.05 . ( 5 ) The significance increases as the differences between the CTRL and AD groups grows, and reaches zero when there are no statistically significant difference (at the p=0.05 level) between both distributions. The resulting weighted distance Di combines the aforementioned distances (Manhattan, Euclidean) with a weight SF (either Wilk's λ, or Koikkalainen factor) over all eigenvectors F from the restricted set {λ F } as follows: D i = ∑ i λ F ⁢ S F ⁢ d i λ F ∑ λ F ⁢ S F . ( 6 ) Gravitational model. As the final formulation, Applicants extend the principle of image-based distance to the context of an attraction field that follows Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, whereby any two elements of mass m within the feature space will exert upon one another an attractive force that will vary proportionally to the inverse of the square of the distance between them. In our context the force exerted by one group (e.g. CTRL) decreases as the distance between a subject and the center of mass of the CTRL group grows, while the force exerted by the second group (e.g. probable AD) increases as distance decreases between the same subject and the second group's center of mass. In a multiple group scenario, the calculated combined force serves as a quantitative measure of the likelihood of belonging to one of the groups. In such a classical formulation the force between any subject s i with mass m i , to the centers of mass of e.g. the CTRL group (CM CTRL ) and the AD group (CM AD ), is expressed as: F s i → CTRL , AD = Gm i ⁡ ( CM CTRL d s i → CM CTRL 2 - CM AD d s i → CM AD 2 ) ⁢ ⁢ with ( 7 ) CM = 1 M ⁢ ∑ i ⁢ m i ⁢ p i ( 8 ) being the formulation for the centers of mass calculations, where M is the total mass for all subjects in the group, m i their individual masses, and p i their individual positions in feature space as derived in the previous section. The distance metric that can be used can be anyone of the aforementioned distances; for the purposes of the current study, the Euclidean distance as formulated in Eq. 3 was employed. Applicants chose to retain the concept of “mass” even though it has no real bearing within the present context of an image-based feature space. It could be replaced with different information regarding individuals in the groups, for example Braak histopathological staging. Alternatively one can vary the specificity and sensitivity of the attraction field by increasing the “mass” of subjects in one of the groups (e.g. CTRL or probable AD). For these purposes however Applicants set the mass of each subject to unity, and, further, for equal considerations of simplicity, Applicants set the gravitational constant G also to unity. Statistics and measurements were computed using the MATLAB Statistics Toolbox (The MathWorks, Natick, Mass.). Demographics. There were no statistically significant differences for age between the 75 probable AD (mean=73.3 yrs: SD=8.4 yrs) and 75 NC individuals (mean=73.3 yrs: SD=4.6 yrs) (Student's T test, DF=148, P>0.05). There was a statistical difference for age (Student's T test, DF=47, p=0.001) between the MCI-S (mean=74.2 yrs: SD=6.4 yrs) and MCI-P groups (mean=63.6 yrs: SD=14.2 yrs). Data processing and feature selection. Applicants set the variance ratio r (see eq. (2)) to 0.997, resulting in a PCA model composed of 112 λ G eigenvectors spanning Domain G* and 144 λ D eigenvectors spanning Domain D*. Applicants have not performed a sensitivity analysis of the DEF or DLF results for different values of r. Using this data Applicants proceeded with forward stepwise regression analysis using Wilk's λ method (P-to-enter=0.005) to select the discriminating variables forming the separating hyperplane. This was performed in a leave-one-out fashion to eliminate over-learning of the dataset. To select the final, restricted set of eigenvectors λ F , Applicants selected the eigenvectors that were present in the discriminating eigenplane for 99% of cases, which resulted in 3 eigenvectors. This is an empirical approach to feature selection: ideally, the current dataset would be used solely for training and not testing. Applicants have not performed a sensitivity analysis on this threshold. DEF calculation for CTRL vs Probable AD. A second leave-one-out loop was performed to calculate the DEF. For each instance of the loop, the CTRL mean m CTRL and significance weights S F were calculated independently of the test subject. The distances and the DEF were then computed for that individual ( FIG. 2 ). The process was repeated 150 times. Applicants used quantile plots, Kolmogorov-Smirnov (p<0.0001) and χ 2 (p=0.0019) tests to compare the DEF values and test that their distribution was normal ( FIG. 3 ). Applicants used a linear discriminant test to separate CTRL from probable AD based on the DEF factor, which reached an accuracy of 90% (see below). Statistics and measurements were computed for the data set used in the above example using the MATLAB Statistics Toolbox (The MathWorks, Natick, Mass.). a) Comparing the Accuracy of Different Models: Manhattan distance: 0.78 Euclidean distance: 0.73 Wilk's λ: 0.85 Koikkaleinen weighted distance: 0.86 Gravitational model: 0.90 It will be appreciated that an attraction field formulation is not limited to the classical gravitational formula used in this example. b) On the Topic of Masses: It is possible to vary the masses in order to increase/decrease the sensitivity/specificity of the model. Basically, if one allows the “CTRL” to weight “more”, then the pull would be greater, and hence, one will increase sensitivity at the expense of specificity (one would classify more people as CTRL, but the AD would be “truer” AD). The logic applies in reverse. Applicants therefore have ran experiments by varying the mass of subjects in either groups, e.g. assigning a weight of 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 to CTRL and then to AD. As predicted, the sensitivity/specificity varies, the best result was with a CTRL=2.0 mass, at which accuracy fell marginally to 0.87 but sensitivity went up to 0.89. DEF Calculations for MCI-P Vs MCI-NP Using the Gravitational model, Applicants report the results for the morphological factor for the CTRL vs. probable AD experiment and the MCI-S vs. MCI-P experiment in Table 1. The distributions of morphological factors for all groups, alongside quantile plots to assess normality (CTRL and probable AD groups) are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 . Distributions of DEF for the CTRL and probable AD groups alongside quantile plots based on the Gravitational model are shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B . Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) for the morphological factor displaying the trade-offs between sensitivity and specificity at the task of discriminating CTRL vs. probable AD are shown in FIG. 4C . The Area under the ROC curve was 0.9444. At the 90% accuracy point (135/150), specificity was 87.5% and sensitivity 92.9%. TABLE 1 CTRL AD MCI Stable MCI Progressed N 75 75 29 20 Mean 0.61 −0.01 0.45 0.24 Std Dev 0.32 0.23 0.26 0.27 Std Err Mean 0.04 0.03 0.05 0.06 Upper 95% 0.68 0.04 0.55 0.37 Mean Lower 95% 0.53 −0.06 0.35 0.12 Mean With the Gravitational model Applicants computed the ROC curve for the discrimination of MCI-S ( FIG. 5A ) from MCI-P ( FIG. 5B ). The Area under the ROC curve ( FIG. 5C ) was 0.7940. At 72.3% accuracy, specificity was 62%, and sensitivity 75%. DEF calculations for E-ADNI. Applicants then computed the morphological factor for the E-ADNI human phantom volunteer, using the CTRL and probable AD cohorts as a training group (for the determination of the discriminating function). Using the Gravitational model, the average factor value was −0.4, or 4 standard deviations away from the mean of the CTRL distribution, with an average difference in scan-rescan factor of 4%. Notably, the morphological index obtained via a weighted distance method (Koikkalainen factor) had an average difference in scan-rescan factor of less than 1%. Disease likelihood factor. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a disease evaluation factor is a number that can, depending on the type of calculations and formulas used, be presented as a likelihood ratio. Indeed, because of a change in the formula, applicants can present the disease evaluation factor (DEF) as a disease likelihood factor (DLF) by converting the number used in DEF to a ratio used in DLF. Furthermore, a disease likelihood obtained from the DLF can also be correlated to a disease severity. In such cases, the DLF calculated according to the present invention can also be an indication of disease severity and should be understood as such. Likelihood ratio. Applicants can use the QPress test, or other test, to determine if the classification results were due to chance or the classification function. Equally, from the a posteriori and a priori probabilities, Applicants can deduce the likelihood ratio: P(w i ): the a priori probability of belonging to group w i , i=0, 1. P(w i /x): the a posteriori probability of choosing x in group w i , i=0, 1. P(x/w 1 ): the density of x in w i , i=1, 2. It is the likelihood in w i , i=0, 1. P ( x )= P ( x/w 0 ). P ( w 0 )+ P ( x/w 1 ). P ( w 1 ).  (9) A subject with measure x will be classified in group w 0 if P(w 0 /x)>P(w 1 /x). Using Bayes' formula, for i=0, 1: P ⁡ ( w i / x ) = P ⁡ ( x / w i ) · P ⁡ ( w i ) P ⁡ ( x ) . ( 10 ) The likelihood ratio Λ is defined by: Λ = P ⁡ ( x / w 0 ) P ⁡ ( x / w 1 ) = P ⁡ ( w 0 / x ) P ⁡ ( w 1 / x ) · P ⁡ ( w 0 ) P ⁡ ( w 1 ) . ⁢ Hence ( 11 ) P ⁡ ( w 0 / x ) > P ⁡ ( w 1 / x ) ⇔ Λ = P ⁡ ( x / w 0 ) P ⁡ ( x / w 1 ) > P ⁡ ( w 1 ) P ⁡ ( w 0 ) . ( 12 ) Thus, a subject is classified as belonging to group 0 if its likelihood ratio is superior to the constant P ⁡ ( w 1 ) P ⁡ ( w 0 ) . ( 13 ) Discussion. A recent and growing body of literature has used machine learning methods to extract high-dimensional features of interest from MRI, on which classification functions are built to assist in clinical diagnostic of probable AD or predict future clinical status for individuals with MCI (see Kloppel et al, Davatzikos et al., Duchesne et al., Lao, Z., et al., Morphological classification of brains via high - dimensional shape transformations and machine learning methods . Neuroimage, 2004. 21(1): p. 46-57; Duchesne, S., et al., Predicting MCI progression to AD via automated analysis of T 1 weighted MR image intensity . Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2005. 1(1 (Supplement)): p. 83; Duchesne, S., et al., Successful AD and MCI differentiation from normal aging via automated analysis of MR image features . Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2005. 1(1 (Supplement)): p. 43; Fan, Y., et al., Spatial patterns of brain atrophy in MCI patients, identified via high - dimensional pattern classification, predict subsequent cognitive decline . Neuroimage, 2008. 39(4): p. 1731-1743). This work is in line with those approaches. The development of a quantitative, image-based biomarker able to capture disease burden would help monitor disease progression or therapy response. The gravitational model approach constitutes a novel development in the strategies towards obtaining a single quantitative factor from data reduction and machine learning of very high-dimensional MRI input data towards discrimination of individual subjects. Its inherent flexibility makes multi-group comparisons trivial, alongside the introduction of other sources of data. Its performance compares favorably to other results in the MRI literature within the context of discriminating CTRL vs. probable AD. As a single dimensional scalar, the morphological factor metric achieves strong accuracy (90%), especially when compared to other, multidimensional discrimination functions. It is also a strong result when put within the clinical context of discriminating CTRL vs. probable AD, where inclusion evaluations are reportedly 78% accurate (against longitudinal evaluation and final histopathological diagnostic). While lower, accuracy values for the prediction of progression to probable AD in the MCI cohort (on average, 1.5 years before clinical diagnostic) are also strong, and compare favorably to published results on MRI data. A study comparing these approaches (e.g. within a mono-centric setting, such as the Open Access Series of Imaging Studies or multi-centric setting such as the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative) would be worthwhile. The paper uses the leave-one-out approach to feature selection (stepwise regression analysis), which allows a correct generalization of the morphological factor as it is not tested on the same data. Clinical interpretation of changes in image features associated with changes in the morphological factor should provide insight into the development of AD and would need to be compared to existing results from voxel-based morphometry studies, structural studies (e.g. hippocampal and entorhinal atrophy) and histopathological confirmation studies. Overall, Applicants speculate that the specific patterns of intensity and local volume change differences result from different levels of advanced extra-cellular plaque formation, neurofibrillary tangles accumulation and other pathological processes between CTRL and probable AD, and between stable and progressing MCI. With regards to the features employed in this method, the differences in local volume changes should mirror the changes noticed in other reports, such as visual assessment (Wahlund, L. O., et al., Visual rating and volumetry of the medial temporal lobe on magnetic resonance imaging in dementia: a comparative study . J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 2000. 69(5): p. 630-5), while differences in grey-level might reflect the intensity of neuronal loss induced by the neuropathological changes (Wahlund, L. O. and K. Blennow, Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for disease stage and intensity in cognitively impaired patients . Neurosci Lett, 2003. 339(2): p. 99-102), which precede volume loss as visualized on MRI. There are a number of limitations in this study. One pertains to the fact that the MRI images for the probable AD subjects were acquired at the time of diagnosis; therefore, some of the patients have had AD for a number of years. In turn, this implies that extensive neurodegeneration has taken place at this point, and should artificially facilitate the discrimination with CTRL. However, the fact that the latter were age-matched, and the fact that the results in the MCI cohort remain significant, alleviate part of this concern. It would be useful to assess if the morphological factor correlates with different indices of disease severity, cognitive deficits or other biomarkers. Neuropathological confirmation is also required to replace the clinical evaluation as a gold standard. Finally, the patterns of abnormalities that can be found by the method are restricted to a space which is built from healthy, young controls. It is not the optimal space to describe normal aging and/or AD-related variability. However, it does tend to maximize the distance between both groups, as Applicants noticed from building a few reference spaces in a N-fold validation of the CTRL/probable AD groups that achieved lower accuracies. Applicants estimate that the proposed formulation of the disease evaluation factor and disease likelihood factor is relevant within the context of aid to diagnostic and prediction of future clinical status in probable AD ( FIG. 6 ). Further studies will concentrate on validating the DEF and DLF in a longitudinal setting, and parameters sensibility. Neuropathological confirmation is also required to replace the clinical evaluation as a gold standard.

The invention described provides a method of quantitatively evaluating one or more of the likelihood. severity and progression of a disease from medical images comprising processing medical images of a test subject to derive one or more feature space values characteristic of a disease-dependent image attributes, comparing the feature space values to those of a previously established database from medical images of known health} and known diseased subjects, wherein the comparing is based on feature space values that best discriminate between health and diseased subjects, summing a weighted distance of discriminant feature space values of the test subject to those of at least one of the mean feature space value of the healthy subjects and the mean feature space value of the diseased subjects, and providing from the summing a single number which is indicative of at least one of disease likelihood. severity and progression.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a drive system for a carriage, which is fitted with a scanning or recording device, in a reproduction appliance. In the reproduction appliance, the scanning or recording device scans an original or exposes a recording material periodically along scanning or recording lines. The carriage is moved forward with the aid of a drive apparatus along a straight line at right angles to the scanning or recording lines. The drive apparatus contains an electric motor whose rotation speed is determined by a frequency of drive pulses which are produced by dividing a master clock by an integer factor, and contains an apparatus for converting the rotary movement of the electric motor into a linear movement of the carriage. One example of such a reproduction appliance is a so-called internal drum recorder or exposure unit for recording information on a recording material which is lying on the inside of a cylindrical trough. The recording is often made by a focused light beam that is aimed at the recording material from a rotating deflection device that is disposed on the imaginary axis of the cylindrical trough. While the deflection device is rotating quickly, it is moved in steps or continuously along the axis, so that the recording material is exposed along helical or circular lines, predominantly with raster-image motifs. Another example of a reproduction appliance is an external drum scanner for optical scanning of an original which is disposed on the outside of a cylindrical drum, in order to digitize image information located on the original. In this example, the drum normally rotates, while an optoelectric scanning device is moved slowly parallel to the drum axis. In reproduction appliances such as this, the carriage which is fitted with the scanning or recording device and is moved axially is driven, for example, by an axially running threaded spindle which is rotated by an electric motor, which is frequently a stepping motor. Other drives operate, for example, with a steel strip or a cable, or a linear motor is used. The frequency of the drive pulses for the stepping motor must be finely adjustable and must be kept very constant during the scanning or recording process since even very small position errors can adversely affect the recording or scanning quality. Conventionally, the drive pulses are obtained from a high-frequency master clock which is divided in a divider by an integer factor which is chosen such that the speed of the resultant feed movement is as close as possible to a desired feed rate. In order to allow the frequency of the drive pulses to be adjusted finely, it is either necessary to use very high master clock frequencies in the Gigahertz band, which can be processed only by using logic circuits based on ECL technology, or synthesizers are required, with analog phase lock loop (PLL) chips which can divide both the integer and fractional parts. These techniques require a relatively high level of complexity and, furthermore, are associated with problems. With Gigahertz technology, it is difficult to develop electromagnetically compatible circuits, and with synthesizers jitter and drift phenomena can easily occur, which must in turn be compensated for with a great deal of complexity in order to achieve the necessary frequency stability. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a drive system for a scanning device or a recording device for a reproduction appliance which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art devices of this general type, which, using comparatively simple devices, can produce a feed movement whose speed can be adjusted finely and can be kept highly constant. With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a drive system for a carriage fitted with an apparatus being a scanning apparatus or a recording apparatus. The carriage is disposed in a reproduction appliance, and the apparatus performs one of scanning an original and exposing a recording material periodically along one of scanning lines and recording lines. The drive system contains a drive apparatus for moving the carriage forward along a straight line at right angles to one of the scanning lines and the recording lines. The drive apparatus includes an electric motor having a rotation speed determined by a frequency of drive pulses produced by dividing a master clock by an integer factor; an apparatus for converting a rotary movement of the electric motor into a linear movement of the carriage; and a device by which a duration of an identical number of the drive pulses can be changed by at least one period of the master clock in each operating period of the apparatus. For a drive system according to the invention, the object is achieved by a device with which the number of drive pulses can be lengthened or shortened by one or more periods of the master clock in each scanning or recording period. The technique of lengthening individual pulses, which have been obtained by integer subdivision from a master clock, by one or more periods of the master clock in order to adjust the frequency of the pulses very much more finely than the frequency interval between integer fractions of the master clock is known per se as “clock stealing” or a “binary fraction divider” technique. The invention also covers the action on the periodic master clock being synchronized to the scanning or recording period. This measure prevents the creation of interference frequencies in the drive pulses, which can lead to beating with machine frequencies or with the raster frequency which may, in turn, lead to visible and thus disturbing strip or Moire patterns. According to the invention, the mean speed of the feed movement of the carriage at right angles to the scanning or recording lines can be adjusted very finely, even if the frequency of the master clock is not as high as would be necessary without “clock stealing”. Specifically, in addition to the integer factor that is used for dividing the master clock, two further factors are available which can be varied in order to set the desired feed rate. These factors are the number of drive pulses in each scanning or recording period which are in each case lengthened or shortened by one or more periods of the master clock, and the number of periods of the master clock by which the respective drive pulses are lengthened or shortened in each scanning or recording period. Master clock frequencies of less than approximately 100 MHz are thus sufficient for practical applications. These are frequencies that can be produced and processed without any problems using simple digital techniques such as TTL technology. The frequency of the master clock itself can always be kept constant for the invention since even the process of accelerating the electric motor at the start of a scanning or recording process can be controlled by suitably varying the factors which govern the feed rate. A constant-frequency master clock can be produced and kept constant considerably more easily than a variable frequency master clock, as has been required until now. The synchronization of the lengthening or, alternatively, shortening of individual drive pulses with the scanning or recording period is achieved in that the feed distance from one scanning or recording line to the next is always the same. There are thus no density fluctuations in a scanned or recorded raster pattern, which can lead to visible strip or Moire patterns. According to the basic solution of the invention, individual drive pulses in each scanning or recording period can either be lengthened or shortened. The first of these alternatives is preferable for practical implementation of the invention by commercially available electronic components. Specifically, in an embodiment such as this, individual drive pulses in each scanning or recording period are lengthened by one or more periods of the master clock by masking out the same number of periods of the master clock in each scanning or recording period, with the remaining periods being subdivided by the integer factor to form the drive pulses. In this case, the integer factor by which the master clock is divided is chosen such that the frequency of the drive pulses will be just above the target frequency without masking. Alternatively, a circuit is also conceivable in which the drive pulses are shortened instead of being lengthened. In this case, the integer factor by which the master clock is divided is chosen such that the frequency of the drive pulses would be just below the target frequency, without shortening. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the electric motor is a stepping motor. The use of a stepping motor has the advantage that its rotation angle is strictly proportional to the number of drive pulses. Furthermore, the stepping motor can be driven more or less directly using the drive pulses. A high-resolution operating mode for the stepping motor is preferable, with finely graduated intermediate currents, which allow particularly low-resonance running. In this operating mode, approximately sinusoidal phase currents are produced for the windings of the stepping motor, from the square-wave drive currents. If a stepping motor is used as the electric motor, mechanical damping is also required. This is provided by a mass which is mounted such that it can rotate and whose moment of inertia is considerably greater than the moment of inertia of the other rotating parts of the drive apparatus, and which is rotationally coupled through a flexible coupling device to the other rotating parts of the drive apparatus. Since the action on the master clock is virtually the same in each scanning or recording period, the remaining interference can be sufficiently well damped by the flexibly coupled rotating mass, so that no resonances can appear. Furthermore, the frequency of the remaining interference is so far above the mechanical resonant frequencies of the reproduction appliance that it can be reliably stated that no mechanical oscillations will be excited. The flexible coupling device is preferably a friction clutch, which is obtained in a simple manner by an annular friction lining which acts on a centrally mounted disk, which forms the mass which is mounted such that it can rotate. Thus, apart from its mechanically simple construction, a friction clutch like this has the advantage of a uniform braking torque irrespective of the rotation speed, so that the oscillation-damping effect of the disk is available throughout the entire rotation speed range, that is to say for any desired scanning or recording frequency. In principle, apart from friction clutches, other types of coupling are feasible which allow relative movement between the disk and the rest of the system, for example hydrodynamic couplings, in which case the rotating mass can be formed by the flow medium itself, ferrofluid couplings or rubber couplings. However, with the fundamentally possible alternatives to a friction clutch, it may be difficult to achieve uniform oscillation damping which is largely independent of the rotation speed. A regulated DC motor can be used as the electric motor, as an alternative to the stepping motor. In this case, a rotation angle sensor is also required, whose measurement pulses are supplied to a control circuit which ensures that each drive pulse produces a constant rotation angle of the DC motor. Specifically, a clock disk is located on the shaft of the DC motor as the rotation angle sensor, from which disk a sensor is used to derive a clock whose frequency is proportional to the actual rotation speed of the motor. The drive pulses produced according to the invention are at a frequency that is proportional to the nominal rotation speed of the motor. A phase comparator is used to compare the two frequencies, using normal control techniques, with a control variable being obtained from this, for readjustment of the motor. No mechanical damping is required for such a DC drive. The invention is suitable, for example, for internal drum reproduction appliances, for example internal drum recorders or internal drum scanners, in which the recording material or the original is disposed cylindrically and is exposed or scanned line-by-line by a rapidly rotating light deflection device, with the light deflection device being moved slowly along the cylinder axis. The invention is also suitable for other reproduction appliances, for example those in which, rather than the deflection device or a corresponding part of a scanning or recording device, this is done by rotating rapidly a drum on whose inside or outside the original or the recording material is located, with either the scanning or recording device or the drum being moved slowly forward axially by the electric motor. Furthermore, the invention is suitable for all reproduction appliances in which a slow and a rapid relative movement take place between the scanning or recording device and the original or the recording material, with the rapid relative movement normally being at right angles to the slow relative movement. In all these apparatuses, the linking between the two axes according to the invention is feasible, namely the link between the scanning or recording line (rapid relative movement) and the feed direction (slow relative movement) in order to achieve the described advantages. Therefore, the invention is not limited to internal or external drum recorders or exposure units, but is also suitable for those recorders or exposure units in which the original or the recording material is not disposed cylindrically, or is disposed cylindrically only in places. These include, for example, flat-bed or capstan exposure units or recorders. In exposure units such as these, a film to be exposed is stretched over a flat table, or is moved slowly over a drum. The light beam used for exposure is preferably deflected by a rapidly rotating polygonal mirror or by an oscillating mirror transversely with respect to the feed of the table or of the drum, and is imaged via an objective on the film. Capstan exposure units can be used to expose film strips of “any desired” length. In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the integer factor, a number of the drive pulses in the operating period, and a number of periods of the master clock by which a duration of the operating period is changed, are chosen such that a mean speed of a resultant feed movement is as close as possible to a desired feed rate. In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the master clock has a frequency of 100 MHz or less and the frequency of the master clock is constant. In accordance with another feature of the invention, an identical number of the periods of the master clock are masked out in the operating period, with remaining ones of the periods of the master clock being subdivided by the integer factor to produce the drive pulses. In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the electric motor is a stepping motor, and the drive apparatus has a flexible coupling device, a mass, and further rotating parts with a moment of inertia. The mass is mounted such that it can rotate and whose moment of inertia is considerably greater than the moment of inertia of the further rotating parts of the drive apparatus, and the mass is rotationally coupled through the flexible coupling device to the further rotating parts. In accordance with another added feature of the invention, the flexible coupling device is a friction clutch and the friction clutch contains an annular friction lining acting on the mass. In addition, the friction clutch has a universal-joint attachment for pressing the friction lining. In accordance with another additional feature of the invention, the electric motor is a DC motor. A rotation-angle sensor is provided for sensing a rotation angle of the DC motor, and a control circuit for controlling a rotation speed of the DC motor is provided. In accordance with a concomitant feature of the invention, the reproduction appliance is an internal drum, an external drum, a flat bed or a capstan type. Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims. Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a drive system for a scanning device and a recording device for a reproduction appliance, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims. The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic, perspective view of an internal drum recorder having a damping device that is coupled to a threaded spindle according to the invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a circuit for producing variable-frequency drive pulses from a constant master clock; FIG. 3 is a pulse diagram of input and output pulse trains of the circuit shown in FIG. 2, in order to explain the operating principle of the circuit; FIG. 4 is an axial sectional view of the damping device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 5 a is an example of a pixel which was produced by the internal drum recorder in FIG. 1; and FIG. 5 b is an example of a pixel that was produced using a conventional internal drum recorder without the two axes being synchronized, in which case the type of distortion varies from pixel to pixel. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In all the figures of the drawing, sub-features and integral parts that correspond to one another bear the same reference symbol in each case. Referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first, particularly, to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown an internal drum recorder that contains a cylindrical trough 2 which is fitted on its inside with a recording material 4 which, in this example, is a photo-sensitive material. Elongated guide rails 6 extend above the cylindrical trough 2 , although only one of them is shown in FIG. 1, parallel to an axis of the cylindrical trough 2 . A transport carriage 8 is carried on the guide rails 6 so that it can be moved over the entire length of the cylindrical trough 2 , and parallel to the axis of the cylindrical trough 2 . A non-illustrated split nut, or some other engagement device on the transport carriage 8 , engages in a spindle 10 , which extends parallel to the axis of the cylindrical trough 2 and over its entire length, and which is mounted in bearings 12 and 14 at both of its ends, such that it can rotate. The spindle 10 is provided with a thread between the bearings 12 and 14 . One end of the spindle 10 extends beyond the bearing 12 as far as a stepping motor 16 , to whose drive shaft the spindle 10 is firmly connected. A housing of the stepping motor 16 is firmly attached to the internal drum recorder, in the example on the guide rail 6 . The spindle 10 and the split nut form an apparatus for converting the rotary movement of the stepping motor 16 into a linear movement of the transport carriage 8 . A rotationally symmetrical mass in the form of a disk 18 is mounted, such that it can rotate, on the section of the spindle 10 between the stepping motor 16 and the bearing 12 . A friction clutch 20 acts on one flat face of the disk 18 , to drive it, and is coupled to the spindle 10 . The disk 18 and the friction clutch 20 form a damping device, whose construction and operation will be explained in more detail later. The transport carriage 8 is fitted with an electric motor 22 to whose drive shaft a 900 light deflection device 24 is attached, and the transport carriage 8 is also fitted with a light source 26 . The electric motor 22 , the 90° light deflection device 24 and the light source 26 are disposed successively along the axis of the cylindrical trough 2 . The light source 26 aims a light beam 28 from the light source 26 along the axis of the cylindrical trough 2 at the light deflection device 24 which is, for example, a mirror or a prism. The light deflection device 24 turns the light beam 28 at right angles to the axis into the cylindrical trough 2 . The light beam 28 is focused such that its focus lies approximately on the surface of the recording material 4 . In operation, the light deflection device 24 is rotated rapidly by the electric motor 22 , so that the light beam 28 moves repeatedly over the recording material 4 . The light beam 28 can be switched on and off very rapidly by a light modulator in the light source 26 , in order to expose the recording material 4 with a desired pattern along a circular recording line 30 , as is indicated by the dashes on the recording line 30 . While the light deflection device 24 is rotating rapidly, the transport carriage 8 is moved slowly along the axis of the cylindrical trough 2 in order to expose the recording material 4 line-by-line, with the focused light beam 28 describing helical lines on the recording medium 4 . A difference diode 32 , which records the light beam 28 as it passes over the difference diode 32 , is used to control a starting time for the exposure of each line. A reference mark 34 on the transport carriage 8 and a position detector 36 which is fixed to the machine and, for example, in this case contains a fork light barrier, provide a reference position for the transport carriage 8 . At the start of the exposure process, the transport carriage 8 is located at one end of the spindle 10 in a reference position that is defined by the position detector 36 and the reference mark 34 . The electric motor 22 is accelerated to a constant rotation speed and, as soon as the desired rotation speed is reached, the transport carriage 8 is moved at a constant speed. While the transport carriage 8 is being moved at a constant speed, the recording material 4 is exposed by the light beam 28 , frequently with raster-image motifs. The rotation speed of the electric motor 22 , and thus of the light deflection device 24 , remains at a preset value during the exposure process, and this value is constant to approximately 10 parts per million (ppm). The feed rate of the transport carriage 8 must likewise be kept very constant. In particular, it is necessary to maintain the number of exposed lines for a given movement distance of the transport carriage 8 to an accuracy of better than 50 ppm. Therefore, the frequency of the drive pulses for the stepping motor 16 may vary by not more than 50 ppm. For reasons that will be explained in more detail later, the feed rate of the transport carriage 8 should also be adjustable in very fine steps, which are considerably less than 50 ppm of the feed rate. An electronic circuit, which is shown in the form of a block diagram in FIG. 2, is used to produce drive pulses for the stepping motor 16 , whose frequency can not only be kept appropriately constant but can also be varied appropriately finely. The circuit shown in FIG. 2 contains a masking section 40 , to which a master clock composed of square-wave pulses at a constant frequency M, an enable signal and a masking signal 42 are supplied. An output signal from the masking section 40 , which is supplied to a main divider 44 , corresponds to the master clock when the masking is not enabled. When the masking is enabled, an output signal from the masking section 40 corresponds to the master clock in which individual periods are masked out, as defined by the masking signal 42 . A main divider 44 divides the pulse train supplied from the masking section 40 by an integer factor p in order to produce drive pulses for the stepping motor 16 (FIG. 1 ). The drive pulses are then supplied to a divider T 2 , which is reset and restarted by a deflection device clock signal. The deflection device clock signal is at a frequency U and has a period that corresponds to a duration of one revolution of the light deflection device 24 , that is to say the recording period. A parameter n which is loaded in the divider T 2 determines the number of stepping motor steps per revolution of the light deflection device 24 for which the clock will be masked out. The output signal from the divider T 2 is supplied to a divider T 1 , which also receives the output signal from the masking section 40 and the master clock M. A parameter m that is loaded in the divider T 1 determines how many square-wave pulses of the masking clock M will actually be masked out per stepping motor step in which the clock is actually intended to be masked out. The output signal from the divider T 1 forms the masking signal 42 that is supplied to the masking section 40 . The parameters n and m are integer numbers greater than or equal to 1. Practical values for the various frequencies are as follows: the master clock that is produced by an oscillating crystal typically has a frequency M of approximately 60 MHz. The frequency U of the deflection device clock signal, that is to say the revolution frequency of the light beam 28 which is diverted by the light deflection device 24 in the trough 2 is typically approximately 500 Hz. The drive pulses for the stepping motor 16 are typically at a frequency S in the range from approximately 10 to 200 kHz, depending on the desired resolution of the motif to be recorded on the recording material 4 . To make it easier to show the various frequencies in pulse diagrams, an example is used as the basis in which the frequencies are considerably closer to one another than is the case in practice. FIG. 3 shows synchronized pulse diagrams for this example. The pulse train a) in FIG. 3 shows somewhat more than two periods of the deflection device clock signal. 72.5 master clock periods of the constant master clock produced asynchronously in this case (pulse train b) in FIG. 3 fit into one divert period. In the example in FIG. 3, the master clock and the deflection device clock signal are asynchronous, but they may also be synchronous, that is to say the deflection device clock signal is produced such that it is dependent on the master clock. The pulse train c) shows an example for drive pulses for the stepping motor 16 when none of the individual periods of the master clock are masked out in the masking section 40 . The factor p that is loaded in the main divider 44 is chosen such that the frequency of the drive pulses for the stepping motor 16 without masking is slightly above the frequency which is required for the desired resolution. In this example, the value of the factor p is 12, so that each drive pulse is precisely twelve master clock periods t M long. Accordingly, one period of the deflection device clock signal in this case has a length of 6.042 stepping motor steps. Let us assume that masking is now enabled and that the parameters n and m have been chosen as follows: n=2 and m=1. In this case, the dividers T 1 and T 2 ensure that the drive pulses emitted from the main divider 44 for the stepping motor 16 are in a form as is shown in pulse train d) in FIG. 3 . In particular, the first two drive pulses for the stepping motor within the deflection device period are each lengthened by one master clock period t M , that is to say they are each thirteen master clock periods t M long, while the next four drive pulses in a period of the deflection device clock signal still have a length of twelve master clock periods t M . This is repeated in each subsequent period of the deflection device clock signal. Accordingly, one period of the deflection device clock signal now contains 5.875 stepping motor steps. Drive pulses for the stepping motor 16 can thus be produced at various frequencies S by varying the two parameters n and m (and for greater frequency changes by varying the parameter p). The maximum fineness of the frequency graduation corresponds to the ratio of the frequency U of the deflection device clock signal to the frequency M of the master clock, namely U/M. With the practical frequency values mentioned further above, U/M=5000/60,000,000=8.33 ppm, which is considerably less than the required 50 ppm. As can be seen from FIG. 3, the drive pulses for the stepping motor 16 are coupled to the deflection device clock signal. The “clock stealing” is in each case within the shortest possible time unit, the deflection device period, and is thus synchronous to the deflection device period. The correction factor per period of the deflection device clock signal (deflection device period) is: 1−(U/M×(n×m)), where n×m is the total number of master clock periods masked out within one period of the deflection device clock signal. The number of stepping motor steps per deflection device period is thus given by: without masking: M/U/p (p=division parameter of the main divider 44 ) and, with masking: M/U/p×(1−(U/M×(n×m))). The frequency S of the drive pulses for the stepping motor 16 (stepping motor frequency) is given by: without masking: M/p, and with masking: M/p×(1−(U/M×(n×m))). As can be seen, a moderate frequency M of the master clock is sufficient to allow the frequency S of the drive pulses for the stepping motor 16 to be adjusted in very fine steps by the two parameters n and m. In practice, a master clock frequency M of less than 100 MHz is sufficient, so that the circuit in FIG. 2 can be constructed from standard TTL components. The master clock itself can be produced at a constant frequency by a crystal oscillation circuit. The feed rate of the transport carriage 8 can be adjusted very finely in the described manner, and it is possible to achieve position errors of the transport carriage 8 of less than approximately 100 nm. In order to achieve this with normal spindle pitches, a stepping motor 16 must be used which requires, for example, 10,000 drive pulses for one revolution, and the stepping motor 16 must have internal, mechanical, periodic positioning errors of only small amplitudes (less than the 3 angular minutes). Such a stepping motor resolution can be achieved by in each case applying a “staircase” control current, which is approximately a sine-wave function, to the windings of the stepping motor 16 and is composed of individual pulses of equal length whose length in each case corresponds to the length of one drive pulse. Therefore, the control voltages are produced within the output stage for the stepping motor 16 from the drive pulses described above by travelling a constant distance on the x-axis of a preprogrammed sine-wave function for each drive pulse, and reading the associated y-value. The voltages which are read are amplified in an analog output stage, which forms the power source for the stepping motor 16 , and are supplied to the windings of the stepping motor 16 . During the production of the drive pulses for the stepping motor 16 as described above, the frequency set by variation of the parameters n and m is only a mean frequency. Within one deflection device period, there are small sudden changes in frequency or period of one or more master clock periods. These lead to sudden periodic speed changes in the feed rate of the transport carriage 8 . Intrinsically, these have no adverse effect on the exposure quality, provided the sudden changes are very small and are also the same in each deflection device period. However, they may be sufficient to excite mechanical resonance in the stepping motor and/or in the other rotating components for the feed mechanism of the transport carriage 8 . The described sinusoidal operation of the stepping motor 16 with analog intermediate currents admittedly itself ensures relatively low-resonance running of the stepping motor 16 and reliable suppression of any resonances in the overall rotating system, that is to say the resonance amplitude does not exceed the internal positioning error, but mechanical damping is required. The mechanical damping is produced by the damping device composed of the disk 18 and the friction clutch 20 (FIG. 1 ), and which is illustrated in detail in FIG. 4. A cylindrical bush 50 , which is rigidly connected to the spindle 10 (FIG. 1) by a setscrew 52 , is seated centrally on the spindle 10 (not shown in FIG. 4 ). Annular bearings 54 with as little friction as possible, for example ball bearings, are seated on the bush 50 . The bearings 54 hold and guide the solid disk 18 centrally on the bush 50 , so that the disk 18 can rotate about the bush 50 , and thus about the spindle 10 . The disk 18 is configured such that its moment of inertia is considerably greater than the total moment of inertia of a rotor of the stepping motor 16 and of the spindle 10 , for example being seven times greater. A plate spring 56 is also seated on the bush 50 and is connected by a screw 58 to the bush 50 such that they rotate together, with a small pressure plate 60 preventing any mechanical deformation of the bush 50 during tightening of the screw 58 . A sprung section 62 of the plate spring 56 presses an annular friction lining 64 against one end face of the disk 18 . The sprung section 62 of the plate spring 56 contains a number of axially offset slots in the plate spring 56 , with axially adjacent slots further more being radially offset through 900 with respect to one another. Therefore, the friction lining 64 is universally jointed and presses against the disk 18 with a defined axial force. The universally-jointed attachment of the friction lining 64 results, first, in that the latter is connected to the bush 50 such that they are stiff in rotation and, second, that the friction lining 64 can change its angle to a slight extent, so that the friction force exerted on the disk 18 is always the same, even if there are any inaccuracies resulting from manufacture. This results in a uniform braking torque between the bush 50 and the disk 18 when they rotate relative to one another. Therefore, the disk 18 is driven by the spindle 10 when the latter rotates, but with the rotation of the disk lagging behind the rotation of the spindle 10 or leading it when the rotation speed of the spindle 10 varies relatively quickly. The configuration described above is configured such that the braking torque which occurs during any relative movement between the bush 50 and the disk 18 is sufficiently small that, in practice, it no longer need be considered when analyzing the torque of the rotating system. In consequence, there is virtually no load from the disk 18 on the stepping motor 16 once the operating rotation speed has been reached and the rotation speed of the disk 18 has been matched to that of the stepping motor 16 . Therefore, any change in the rotation speed of the stepping motor 16 which is caused by the drive pulses of different length in a deflection device period leads to a differential movement between the friction lining 64 and the disk 18 , since the moment of inertia of the disk 18 is considerably greater than the moment of inertia of the rest of the rotating system. The friction between the friction lining 64 and the disk 18 prevents the amplitudes of any mechanical oscillations being able to build up in a manner which cannot be calculated. This gives the drive system a smooth running characteristic that is suitable for practical applications. The disk 18 and the rest of the rotating system actually never run at the same rotation speed. The high-inertia disk 18 of the damping device rotates at the correct rotation speed, while the rest of the rotating system carries out relatively high-frequency rotational oscillations. The braking torque that acts between the spindle 10 and the disk 18 during the continuous relative movements is made to be sufficiently large that any mechanical excitation due to the rotation-speed fluctuations of the stepping motor 16 as a result of the periodic action on the master clock and for amplitudes of less than 2 % is so heavily damped that no further amplitude increase takes place. The following estimation process can be used to define the size and mass of the disk 18 , which govern its moment of inertia. A natural frequency which the system containing the rotor of the stepping motor 16 , the spindle 10 and the disk 18 would have if the spindle 10 and the disk 18 were rigidly connected to one another. That is to say if the disk 18 were a flywheel disk, must be considerably less than the natural frequencies which actually occur in the drive system. Specifically, these are as follows: 1) resonant frequencies of the rotor and spindle, 2) resonant frequencies arising from rotating-field errors in the stepping motor 16 , and 3 ) resonant frequencies arising from the pulsed control of the stepping motor 16 . As mentioned, the described “clock stealing” takes place in synchronism with the deflection device clock signal. This reliably avoids any density fluctuations appearing on the recording material which is exposed in the internal drum recorder. This is illustrated in FIGS. 5 a and b, which each show a rectangular pixel which has been exposed during four revolutions of the light deflection device 24 , so that it extends over four lines or recording lines. FIG. 5 a shows such a pixel that is produced when the “clock stealing” occurs in synchronism with the deflection device clock signal, that is to say within the shortest possible time unit, and FIG. 5 b shows a pixel which would be produced if the “clock stealing” were to take place within any other time unit. In FIG. 5 a , the interval between the recording lines is precisely the same while, in FIG. 5 b , there are significant density fluctuations when the error varies from pixel to pixel. These density fluctuations can admittedly not be seen with the naked eye on the reproduced product, but are repeated after a number of deflection device periods. An observer would thus see strip or Moiré patterns on the reproduced product if the “clock stealing” were not synchronized to the deflection device period. A person skilled in the art is aware that there is no need to be concerned about the number of lines per raster point if the action on the continuous master clock is synchronized to the revolution period of the light deflection device 24 , that is to say it is carried out within the shortest possible time unit, since this action is virtually the same in each recording line. Furthermore, the masking timing of the “clock stealing” is at such a high frequency that no beating with machine system frequencies occurs. The described method of obtaining a desired drive frequency for the stepping motor 16 by lengthening the same number of drive pulses by one or more periods of the master clock in each scanning or recording period can furthermore be used in order to vary the drive frequency for the stepping motor 16 in fine steps during the recording process. This makes it possible to compensate for spindle discrepancies resulting from production. For this purpose, the spindle is accurately measured, and the spindle discrepancy, for example discrepancies in the spindle pitch from the nominal value, are stored in a table. The values stored in this table are used to vary the drive frequency of the stepping motor 16 during the recording process in steps which are fine enough to allow “clock stealing”, so that spindle discrepancies are just compensated for. Therefore, the resultant feed rate of the transport carriage 8 remains constant despite the spindle discrepancies. There is thus no need for high-precision spindles, which are expensive to produce, in order to achieve high reproduction quality, and a normal spindle, which is subject to certain discrepancies, is sufficient. A regulated DC motor can be used as the electric motor 16 . In this case, a rotation angle sensor 100 is required, whose measurement pulses are supplied to a control circuit 101 which ensures that each drive pulse produces a constant rotation angle of the DC motor 16 . The rotation angle sensor 100 and the control circuit 101 are shown by dashed lines in FIG. 1 as an alternative embodiment. Specifically, a clock disk is located on a shaft of the DC motor 16 as the rotation angle sensor 100 , from which a clock whose frequency is proportional to the actual rotation speed of the motor is derived. The drive pulses produced are at a frequency that is proportional to a nominal rotation speed of the motor 16 . A phase comparator is used to compare the two frequencies, using normal control techniques, with a control variable being obtained from this, for readjustment of the motor. No mechanical damping is required for the DC motor 16 . In FIG. 1, the control circuit 101 is shown as integrated in the DC motor 16 but could also be a stand alone component.

A drive system for a carriage, which is fitted with a scanning or recording device, in a reproduction appliance, in which the scanning or recording device scans or exposes a recording material periodically along scanning or recording lines. The carriage is moved forward with the aid of a drive apparatus along a straight line at right angles to the scanning or recording lines. The drive apparatus contains an electric motor whose rotation speed is determined by a frequency of drive pulses that are produced by dividing a master clock by an integer factor. The drive apparatus contains an apparatus for converting a rotary movement of the electric motor into a linear movement of the carriage. Furthermore, the drive system contains a device by which an identical number of drive pulses can be lengthened or shortened by one or more periods of the master clock in each scanning or recording period.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This is a CIP application PCT/JP2010/052949, filed Feb. 25, 2010, which was not published under PCT article 21(2) in English. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to an apparatus for communicating with a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag that can perform radio communication of information with the outside and performs information reading. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] Recently, a Radio Frequency Identification (hereinafter referred to as RFID) system has been proposed as one of radio communication systems that perform radio communication with a communication target. In the RFID system, information reading and writing is performed in a non-contact manner between an RFID tag circuit element provided with an IC circuit part that stores information and a tag antenna that can perform information transmission and reception and a reader/writer, which is a reading device and writing device. [0006] In prior-art references in which this RFID system is applied to inventory-taking, when the inventory is taken, in order to obtain tag identification information from a plurality of RFID tag circuit elements without fail, a response request signal is repeatedly transmitted from the apparatus for communicating with an RFID tag while moving in a communication range. Then, from a response signal corresponding to the response request signal, the tag identification information is repeatedly obtained by the apparatus for communicating with an RFID tag. As a result, missed transmission occurring at an RFID tag circuit element to which the response request signal does not reach or missed reception causing a state in which even if the response request signal from the RFID tag circuit element reaches, the response signal cannot be received is prevented from occurring. [0007] However, in repeated transmission of the response request signal, it is a useless operation to redundantly obtain tag identification information again from the RFID tag circuit element which has once received the response signal and obtained the tag identification information, and power is wasted. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008] An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for communicating with an RFID tag that can prevent power from being wasted while avoiding missed transmission or missed reception. [0009] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the invention, there is provided an apparatus for communicating with a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag configured to perform radio communication with an RFID tag circuit element having an IC circuit part that stores information and a tag antenna that performs information transmission and reception, the apparatus comprising: an apparatus antenna configured to form a communication range where a radio communication is able to be performed and performs radio communication with the RFID tag circuit element located in the communication range; a signal transmitting portion configured to transmit a response request signal to the RFID tag circuit element by the apparatus antenna; an information obtainment portion configured to obtain tag identification information stored in the IC circuit part of the RFID tag circuit element from a response signal transmitted from the RFID tag circuit element in response to the response request signal and received by the apparatus antenna; an identification information storage portion configured to store the tag identification information obtained by the information obtainment portion; a calculation portion configured to calculate a duplicated obtainment ratio by the number of redundantly obtained pieces of information of a current obtainment result of the tag identification information by the information obtainment portion to a past obtainment result of the tag identification information stored in the identification information storage portion and by the obtainment result; a comparison portion configured to compare the duplicated obtainment ratio calculated by the calculation portion with a threshold value for comparison; and a communication control portion configured to execute communication control of widening a communication range of the apparatus antenna in at least the case that the duplicated obtainment ratio is less than the threshold value for comparison and of narrowing the communication range of the apparatus antenna in at least the case that the duplicated obtainment ratio exceeds the threshold value for comparison on the basis of a comparison result by the comparison portion. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING [0010] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an RFID tag communication system using an apparatus for communicating with an RFID tag according to an embodiment of the present invention being applied to management of articles. [0011] FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram illustrating an outline of a reader and an RFID tag used in this embodiment. [0012] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in which a communication power is not increased or decreased but maintained the same. [0013] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in which the communication power is reduced. [0014] FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in which the communication power is increased. [0015] FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in which the communication power is controlled to the maximum. [0016] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating control procedures executed by a CPU of the reader. [0017] FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a half-band width in a variation in which a threshold value is set on the basis of directivity of a reader antenna. [0018] FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in which the half-band width of the reader antenna is relatively wide. [0019] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in which the half-band width of the reader antenna is relatively narrow. [0020] FIG. 11 is a table used for setting the threshold value by the directivity of the reader antenna. [0021] FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the control procedures executed by the CPU of the reader. [0022] FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the control procedures executed by the CPU of the reader in a variation in which the threshold value is changed in accordance with directivity variable control of the reader antenna. [0023] FIG. 14 is a table used in a variation in which the threshold value is set in accordance with the number of obtained tag IDs. [0024] FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating the control procedures executed by the CPU of the reader. [0025] FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which duplicated obtainment of the tag ID occurs in communication ranges vertically adjacent to the reader antenna. [0026] FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which duplicated obtainment of the tag ID occurs in communication ranges vertically adjacent to the reader antenna. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT [0027] As illustrated in FIG. 1 , in this embodiment, an RFID tag T is attached to each of a large number of articles B. [0028] A reader 1 , which is an apparatus for communicating with an RFID tag in this embodiment, is a handheld type and has a substantially rectangular solid housing 1 A. On the housing 1 A, a reader antenna 3 as an apparatus antenna is disposed on one of end portions in the longitudinal direction. On a plane portion of the hosing 1 A, an operation part 7 and a display part 8 are disposed. [0029] A user, that is, an operator of the reader 1 is a manager of the articles B. The reader 1 used by the user reads tag information relating to the article B from the RFID tag T attached to each of the articles B through radio communication. The user manages storage situation of each of the articles B by the read-out tag information. [0030] A communication range 20 in which the reader 1 is capable of radio communication is a region expanded from the reader antenna 3 as a base point. The size of the communication range 20 is limited in accordance with the directivity of the reader antenna 3 or power of the reader antenna 3 , that is, antenna power. Thus, the user moves the communication range 20 of a communication wave emitted from the reader antenna 3 by the reader 1 . The reader 1 performs information reading from the RFID tag T while moving. The reader 1 repeatedly transmits a response request signal of the RFID tag T while moving, receives a response signal from the RFID tag T, and repeatedly obtains the tag ID from the response signal. As a result, missed transmission which causes an RFID tag T not reached by the response request signal or missed reception which causes a state in which even if the response request signal reaches the RFID tag T, the response signal cannot be received by the reader 1 can be suppressed. [0031] As illustrated in FIG. 2 , the RFID tag T has an RFID tag circuit element To provided with a tag antenna 151 and an IC circuit part 150 and can be attached to the article B. The RFID tag circuit element To is disposed on a base material provided in the RFID tag T. The RFID tag circuit element To is provided with a function as a passive tag. The RFID tag circuit element To receives a response request signal from the reader 1 . The RFID tag circuit element To transmits a response signal including the tag ID, which is tag identification information, in response to the received response request signal to the reader 1 . The tag antenna 151 is a die-pole antenna having a substantially linear shape in the entirety in this example. The longitudinal direction of the tag antenna 151 is a direction where a polarization plane is formed. [0032] The reader 1 has a main-body control part 2 and the reader antenna 3 . The main-body control part 2 has a CPU 4 , a nonvolatile storage device 5 , a memory 6 , the operation part 7 , the display part 8 as informing means, and a radio frequency (RF) communication control part 10 . [0033] The nonvolatile storage device 5 is formed of a hard disk device or flash memory. The nonvolatile storage device 5 stores various types of information such as communication parameters relating to radio communication of the reader 1 and management state of the articles B. [0034] The memory 6 is formed of a RAM and a ROM, for example. Into the operation part 7 , instructions and information from the user are inputted. The display part 8 displays various types of information and messages. [0035] The reader antenna 3 is a so-called die-pole antenna having a substantially linear shape in the entirety, for example. In this example, the longitudinal direction of the reader antenna 3 is in parallel with the width direction of the housing 1 A of the reader 1 . The longitudinal direction of the reader antenna 3 is an electric field plane of the radio wave from the reader antenna 3 , that is, a polarization plane direction. As the reader antenna 3 , an antenna in the form such as a micro-strip antenna may be used. The reader antennas in the other forms have their polarization plane directions controlled by a direction in which an electric current flows. [0036] The RF communication control part 10 executes control of radio communication with the RFID tag T through the reader antenna 3 . The RF communication control part 10 makes an access to the RFID tag information including the tag ID, which is the information stored in the IC circuit part 150 of the RFID tag circuit element To. [0037] The CPU 4 performs signal processing according to a program stored in the ROM in advance while using a temporary storage function of the RAM and executes various controls of the entire reader 1 . The CPU 4 processes a signal read of the IC circuit part 150 of the RFID tag circuit element To so as to read information and generates various commands in order to access the IC circuit part 150 of the RFID tag circuit element To. [0038] One of the features of this embodiment is that the reader 1 obtains a duplicated obtainment ratio W to the plurality of tag IDs obtained similarly in the communication range 20 immediately before every time the tag ID is obtained from each of the plurality of RFID tags T in each of the communication ranges 20 to be moved. If the duplicated obtainment ratio W is larger than a predetermined threshold value th, it is regarded that the size of the communication range 20 in the moving direction is larger than necessary, and the communication power radiated from the reader antenna 3 is reduced. The size of the communication range 20 in the moving direction is referred to as a unit “communication range” below as appropriate. If the duplicated obtainment ratio W is smaller than the predetermined threshold value th, it is regarded that the communication range is too narrow to prevent missed transmission or missed reception, and the communication power radiated from the reader antenna 3 is increased. [0039] In examples in FIGS. 3 to 6 for explaining various examples of increase and decrease control of the communication power as described above, the example in which the threshold value th of the duplicated obtainment ratio W as a threshold value for comparison which is appropriate for preventing missed transmission or missed reception is set to 0.25 will be described. [0040] (A) Example in which Communication Power is not Increased and Decreased but Maintained the Same [0041] In the example illustrated in FIG. 3 , for example, first, the reader 1 forms a communication range 20 A 1 from the reader antenna 3 by a predetermined communication power. The reader 1 transmits a response request signal as an inquiry request signal to the plurality of RFID tags T in the communication range 20 A 1 . If a response signal is transmitted from each of the RFID tags T in the communication range 20 A 1 in response to the response request signal, the reader 1 obtains the respective tag IDs from the tag information included in the transmitted response signal. In this case, if there are eight RFID tags T in the communication range 20 A 1 as illustrated, eight tag IDs are obtained by the reader 1 . [0042] After that, the user moves the reader 1 as described above, and the reader 1 forms a communication range 20 A 2 from the reader antenna 3 by the same communication power as the above. The communication range 20 A 2 in this case has substantially the same size as that of the communication range 20 A 1 . Similarly to the above, the reader 1 transmits a response request signal to the plurality of RFID tags T in the communication range 20 A 2 and obtains the respective tag IDs from the response signal from each of the RFID tags T in the communication range 20 A 2 . In this case, there are eight RFID tags T in the communication range 20 A 2 as illustrated, and eight tag IDs are obtained by the reader 1 . Among the eight RFID tags T from which the tag IDs are obtained, two RFID tags T are RFID tags T also located in the communication range 20 A 1 immediately before. The two RFID tags T are located in duplication in both the communication range 20 A 1 and the communication range 20 A 2 . Therefore, the number of tag IDs obtained in the communication range 20 A 2 is eight, and the number of redundantly obtained tag IDs in the communication ranges 20 A 1 and 20 A 2 is two, which makes the duplicated obtainment ratio W of the tag ID is W=2/8=0.25 and W=th. Thus, the reader 1 does not increase or decrease the communication power in accordance with this result but maintains the same power. [0043] If the user further moves the reader 1 , the reader 1 forms a communication range 20 A 3 from the reader antenna 3 by the communication power maintained the same as described above. The communication range 20 A 3 has substantially the same size as that of the communication range 20 A 2 . Similarly to the above, eight tag IDs are obtained by the reader 1 from the eight RFID tags T present in the communication range 20 A 3 . Then, among the eight RFID tags T, two RFID tags T are located also in the communication range 20 A 2 immediately before. Therefore, the number of tag IDs obtained in the communication range 20 A 3 is 8, and the number of obtained tags ID in duplication in the communication ranges 20 A 2 and 20 A 3 is two, which makes the duplicated obtainment ratio W of the tag ID of W=2/8=0.25 and W=th. Thus, the reader 1 does not increase and decrease the communication power in accordance with this result but maintains the same power. [0044] (B) Example in which Communication Power is Subjected to Decrease Control [0045] In the example illustrated in FIG. 4 , first, the reader 1 forms a communication range 20 B 1 form the read antenna 3 by a predetermined communication power. Similarly to the above, the reader 1 transmits a response request signal to the plurality of RFID tags T in the communication range 20 B 1 and obtains the respective tag IDs from the response signal from each of the RFID tags T in the communication range 20 B 1 . As illustrated, there are eight RFID tags T in the communication range 20 B 1 , and eight tag IDs are obtained by the reader 1 . [0046] After that, the user moves the reader 1 , and the reader 1 forms a communication range 20 B 2 by the same communication power as the above. The communication range 20 B 2 has the substantially same size as that of the communication range 20 B 1 . Similarly to the above, the reader 1 transmits a response request signal to the plurality of RFID tags T in the communication range 20 B 2 and obtains the tag ID from each of the RFID tags T. As illustrated, there are eight RFID tags T in the communication range 20 B 2 and eight tag IDs are obtained. In this example, three RFID tags T among the eight RFID tags T are located also in the communication range 20 B 1 immediately before. That is, the three RFID tags T are located redundantly in both the communication range 20 B 1 and the communication range 20 B 2 . Therefore, the number of tag IDs obtained in the communication range 20 B 2 is 8, and the number of redundantly obtained tag IDs in the communication ranges 20 B 1 and 20 B 2 is three, which makes the duplicated obtainment ratio W of the tag ID is W=3/8=0.375 and W>th. Thus, it is regarded that the communication power is wasted, and control of reducing the communication power from the reader antenna 3 is executed. [0047] As a result, if the user further moves the reader 1 , the reader 1 forms a communication range 20 B 3 from the reader antenna 3 by the communication power reduced as above. The communication range 20 B 3 is smaller than the communication range 20 B 2 . In this example, eight tag IDs are obtained by the reader 1 from the eight RFID tags T present in the communication range 20 B 3 . [0048] The two RFID tags T among the eight RFID tags T from which the tag IDs are obtained are the RFID tags T located also in the communication range 20 B 2 immediately before. Since the number of tag IDs obtained in the communication range 20 B 3 is eight, and the number of obtained tag IDs in duplication in the communication ranges 20 B 2 and 20 B 3 is two, the duplicated obtainment ratio W of the tag ID is W=2/8=0.25 and W=th. Thus, similarly to the case illustrated in FIG. 3 in which the communication range A 2 is formed, the reader 1 does not increase and decrease the communication power in accordance with the result and the communication power is maintained the same. [0049] (C) Example in which Communication Power is Subjected to Increase Control [0050] In an example illustrated in FIG. 5 , first, the reader 1 forms a communication range 20 C 1 from the reader antenna 3 by a predetermined communication power. Similarly to the above, the reader 1 transmits a response request signal to the plurality of RFID tags T in the communication range 20 C 1 and obtains the respective tag IDs from the response signal from each of the RFID tags T in the communication range 20 C 1 . As illustrated, there are eight RFID tags T in the communication range 20 C 1 , and eight tag IDs are obtained by the reader 1 . [0051] After that, the user moves the reader 1 , and a communication range 20 C 2 is formed by the same communication power as the above. The communication range 20 C 2 has substantially the same size as that of the communication range 20 C 1 . Similarly to the above, the reader 1 transmits a response request signal to the plurality of the RFID tags T in the communication range 20 C 2 and obtains the tag ID from each of the RFID tags T. As illustrated, there are eight RFID tags T in the communication range 20 C 2 , and eight tag IDs are obtained by the reader 1 . In this example, one RFID tag T among the eight RFID tags T is the RFID tag T located also in the communication range 20 C 1 immediately before. That is, eight RFID tags T are located redundantly in both the communication range 20 C 1 and the communication range 20 C 2 . Therefore, the number of tag IDs obtained in the communication range 20 C 2 is 8, and the number of redundantly obtained tag IDs in the communication ranges 20 C 1 and 20 C 2 is one, which makes the duplicated obtainment ratio W of the tag ID is W=1/8=0.125 and W<th. Thus, the reader 1 considers that there is a concern of missed transmission or missed reception, and control of increasing the communication power from the reader antenna 3 is executed. [0052] As a result, if the user further moves the reader 1 , the reader 1 forms a communication range 20 C 3 from the reader antenna 3 by the communication power increased as above. The communication range 20 C 3 is larger than the communication range 20 C 2 . In this example, eight tag IDs are obtained by the reader 1 from the eight RFID tags T present in the communication range 20 C 3 . [0053] Among the eight RFID tags T from which the tag IDs are obtained, two RFID tags T are RFID tags T located also in the communication range 20 C 2 immediately before. Since the number of tag IDs obtained in the communication range 20 C 3 is 8, and the number of redundantly obtained tag IDs in the communication ranges 20 C 2 and 20 C 3 is two, the duplicated obtainment ratio W of the tag ID is W=2/8=0.25 and W=th. Thus, similarly to the above, increase or decrease of the communication power by the reader 1 in accordance with the result is not performed but the same power is maintained. [0054] (D) Example in which Communication Power is Subjected to Maximum Control [0055] In an example illustrated in FIG. 6 , first, the reader 1 forms a communication range 20 D 1 from the reader antenna 3 by a predetermined communication power. Similarly to the above, the reader 1 transmits a response request signal to the plurality of RFID tags T in the communication range 20 D 1 and obtains the tag ID from the response signal from each of the RFID tags T in the communication range 20 D 1 . As illustrated, there are eight RFID tags T in the communication range 20 D 1 , and eight tag IDs are obtained by the reader 1 . [0056] After that, the user moves the reader 1 , and the reader 1 forms a communication range 20 D 2 by the same communication power as the above. The communication range 20 D 2 has substantially the same size as that of the communication range 20 D 1 . Similarly to the above, the reader 1 transmits a response request signal to the plurality of RFID tags T in the communication range 20 D 2 and obtains the respective tag IDs from each of the RFID tags T. As illustrated, there are eight RFID tags T in the communication range 20 D 2 , and eight tag IDs are obtained by the reader 1 . In this example, there is no RFID tag T also located in the communication range 20 D 1 immediately before. That is, there is no RFID tag T located redundantly in both the communication range 20 D 1 and the communication range 20 D 2 . Therefore, the number of tag IDs obtained in the communication range 20 D 2 is eight, and the number of redundantly obtained tag IDs in the communication ranges 20 D 1 and 20 D 2 is zero, which makes the duplicated obtainment ratio W of the tag ID is W=0. In this case, the reader 1 considers that there is a strong concern that missed transmission or missed reception can occur, and control of making the communication power from the reader antenna 3 to the maximum value is executed. This maximum value is an upper limit value allowed in light of performances of the reader 1 . [0057] As a result, if the user further moves the reader 1 , the reader 1 forms a commination range 20 D 3 from the reader antenna 3 by the communication power which becomes the maximum value as described above. The communication range 20 D 3 is the maximum communication range that can be formed by the reader 1 . In this example, eight tag IDs are obtained by the reader 1 from the eight RFID tags T present in the communication range 20 D 3 . [0058] Among the eight RFID tags T from which the tag IDs are obtained, two RFID tags T are RFID tags T located also in the communication range 20 D 2 immediately before. Since the number of tag IDs obtained in the communication range 20 D 3 is eight, and the number of obtained tag IDs in duplication in the communication ranges 20 D 2 and 20 D 3 is two, the duplicated obtainment ratio W of the tag ID is W=2/8=0.25 and W=th. Thus, similarly to the above, increase or decrease of the communication power by the reader 1 in accordance with the result is not performed but the same power is maintained. [0059] Control procedures of the CPU 4 which realize an operation in a form illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 6 will be described by referring to FIG. 7 . [0060] In FIG. 7 , after the reader 1 is powered on, for example, processing is started. The processing may be started when an operation to start the reading processing of the RFID tag T is executed in the operation part 7 , for example. [0061] At Step S 5 , the CPU 4 outputs a control signal to the RF communication control part 10 and sets the magnitude of a communication power P radiated from the reader antenna 3 to a predetermined initial value Pi. The initial value Pi may be a maximum value Pmax, which will be described later. [0062] At Step S 10 , the CPU 4 transmits a response request signal to the RFID tag circuit elements To of the plurality of RFID tags T located in the communication range 20 through the RF communication control part 10 and the reader antenna 3 . [0063] At Step S 15 , the CPU 4 receives a response signal transmitted from the RFID tag circuit element 10 in response to the response request signal through the reader antenna 3 and the RF communication control part 10 . At Step S 20 , the CPU 4 extracts and obtains the tag ID from tag information included in the received response signal and has the obtained tag ID stored in the memory 6 . [0064] At step S 25 , the CPU 4 transmits a response request signal to the RFID tag circuit elements To of the plurality of RFID tags T located in the communication range 20 similarly to Step S 10 . This procedure by the CPU 4 functions as signal sending means. At Step S 30 , the CPU 4 receives a response signal transmitted from the RFID tag circuit element To in response to the response request signal similarly to Step S 15 . At Step S 35 , the CPU 4 extracts and obtains the tag ID similarly to Step S 20 . This procedure by the CPU 4 functions as information obtainment means. At Step S 35 , the CPU 4 has the obtained tag ID stored in the memory 6 . This procedure by the CPU 4 functions as identification information storing means. [0065] At Step S 40 , the duplicated obtainment ratio W [number of redundantly obtained tag IDs]/[number of tag IDs obtained this time] between the tag IDs obtained immediately before and the tag IDs obtained this time is calculated. This procedure by the CPU 4 functions as calculating means. The tag ID obtained immediately before is the tag ID obtained at Step S 20 and stored in the memory 6 . Alternatively, if the routine returns to Step S 25 from the Step S 60 , Step S 80 , and Step S 90 , which will be described later, the tag ID obtained immediately before is the tag ID obtained at Step S 35 before the return and stored in the memory 6 . Also, the tag ID obtained this time is the tag ID obtained at Step S 35 . [0066] At Step S 50 , the CPU 4 determines whether or not the duplicated obtainment ratio W of the tag ID calculated at Step S 40 is 0. If it is W=0, the determination is satisfied, and the routine proceeds to Step S 55 . [0067] At Step S 55 , the CPU 4 considers that the communication power P radiated from the reader antenna 3 is small, and there is no duplicated obtainment between the tag ID obtained immediately before and the tag ID obtained this time. The CPU 4 changes the communication power P to the maximum value Pmax in light of the performances of the reader 1 . At Step S 60 , the CPU 4 outputs a signal to the display part 8 so as to have the display part display and inform the user that the communication power P is changed to Pmax. The CPU 4 returns to Step S 25 and repeats the similar procedures. [0068] At Step S 50 , if the duplicated obtainment ratio W of the tag ID calculated at Step S 40 is not zero, the determination at Step S 50 is not satisfied, and the routine proceeds to Step S 65 . [0069] At Step S 65 , the CPU 4 determines whether or not it is W=th. If the duplicated obtainment ratio W is equal to the threshold value th, the determination is satisfied, and the CPU 4 considers that the communication power has an appropriate magnitude, returns to Step S 25 , and repeats the similar procedures. That is, the control including the flow to return from Step S 65 to Step S 25 corresponds to transition from the communication range 20 A 2 to the communication range 20 A 3 in FIG. 3 . On the other hand, at Step S 65 , if it is W≠th, the determination is not satisfied, and the routine proceeds to Step S 70 . [0070] At Step S 70 , the CPU 4 determines whether or not it is W>th. If the duplicated obtainment ratio W is smaller than the threshold value th of the duplicated obtainment ratio, the determination is not satisfied, and the CPU 4 considers that the communication power is small and proceeds to Step S 75 . At Step S 75 , the CPU 4 increases the communication power P only by ΔPu, which is a first power width. At Step S 80 , the CPU 4 outputs a signal to the display part 8 so as to have the display part 8 display and inform the user that the communication power P has been increased and then, returns to Step S 25 and repeats the similar procedures. That is, the control including the flow to return from Step S 80 to Step S 25 corresponds to transition from the communication range 20 C 2 to the communication range 20 C 3 in FIG. 5 . [0071] At Step S 70 , if the duplicated obtainment ratio W is larger than the threshold value th, the determination is satisfied, and the CPU 4 considers that the communication power is too large and proceeds to Step S 85 . At Step S 85 , the CPU 4 decreases the communication power P only by ΔPd, which is a second power width. At Step S 90 , the CPU 4 outputs a signal to the display part 8 so as to have the display part 8 display and inform the user that the communication power P has been decreased and then, returns to Step S 25 and repeats the similar procedures. That is, the control including the flow to return from Step S 90 to Step S 25 corresponds to transition from the communication range 20 B 2 to the communication range 20 B 3 in FIG. 4 . [0072] In the above, Step S 50 , Step S 65 , and Step S 70 function as comparing means described in each claim and Step S 5 , Step S 55 , Step S 75 , and Step S 85 function as communication control means. [0073] As described above, in this embodiment, the user sequentially moves the communication range 20 of the reader 1 , and the reader 1 reads information from the plurality of RFID tag circuit elements To. Then, on the basis of the obtainment result of the tag ID in the current communication range 20 and the obtainment result of the tag ID in the communication range 20 immediately before the movement and stored in the memory 6 , the reader 1 calculates the duplicated obtainment ratio W of the tag ID and compares it with the predetermined threshold value th. This predetermined threshold value th is 0.25 in the above-described example. In the case of W<th, the reader 1 considers that there are few RFID tag circuit elements To whose tag IDs are redundantly obtained and the above-described communication range is relatively narrow. The communication range is the size of the communication range 20 in the moving direction. Then, the reader 1 increases the communication power P as illustrated in Step S 75 , for example. As a result, the communication range 20 is expanded, and the communication range is also expanded. In the case of W>th, it is regarded that there are many RFID tag circuit elements To whose tag IDs are redundantly obtained and the communication range is relatively wide, and the reader 1 decreases the communication power P at Step S 85 . As a result, the communication range 20 is reduced, and the communication range is also reduced. [0074] As described above, in this embodiment, the communication range when the information is read from the plurality of RFID tag circuit elements To while moving can be set so as not to be too wide or too narrow but to an appropriate value. Therefore, while the latest communication status during movement is timely handled, and while missed transmission of a response request signal or missed reception of a response signal is prevented, wasting of power can be prevented. As a result, energy can be saved, a continuous operation time in battery driving, for example, can be prolonged, and convenience for the operator can be improved. [0075] When information is to be read form the plurality of RFID tags T while moving, there can be a case in which the duplicated obtainment ratio W between the obtainment result of the current tag ID and the obtainment result of the previous tag ID is zero. In this case, it is likely that missed transmission of the response request signal or missed reception of the response signal occurs. Then, particularly in this embodiment, if it is W=0, the reader 1 sets the communication power P to the maximum value Pmax. As a result, the tag ID of the RFID tag T for which missed transmission or missed reception occurred can be reliably obtained. [0076] In the above, at Step S 50 in FIG. 7 , the CPU 4 of the reader 1 maintains the communication power P at the same value if the duplicated obtainment ratio W is equal to the threshold value th, but this is not limiting. In the case of W=th, too, the CPU 4 may perform power-down only by ΔPd, which is the second power width, similarly to the case of W<th. In this case, at Step S 70 , it is only necessary that the CPU 4 determines whether or not it is W≧th. [0077] With regard to Step S 75 and Step S 85 , the magnitude of the decrease ΔPd of the communication power P may be the same as that of the increase ΔPu of the communication power P. However, the decrease of the communication power P is a communication power change in a direction to decrease duplicated obtainment of the tag ID obtained immediately before the tag ID obtained this time, and thus, the CPU 4 may decrease the communication power P by ΔPd, which is a value smaller than ΔPu little by little. As a result, an emphasis can be placed on prevention of occurrence of missed transmission of the response request signal or missed reception of the response signal, and the communication range can be gradually made smaller little by little so that they cannot occur. On the contrary, if an emphasis is placed on prevention of wasting of power, the increase ΔPu to increase the communication power may be set smaller than ΔPd to decrease the communication power. In this case, by gradually increasing the communication power little by little, wasting of power can be prevented. [0078] Particularly in this embodiment, the display part 8 is disposed on the reader 1 , and if the increase and decrease control of the communication power P is executed, the display part 8 informs the change corresponding to the increase and decrease control. As a result, the user can reliably recognize the fact that the communication range is controlled to be widened or narrowed by means of increase and decrease control of the communication power P according to the changing communication state. [0079] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment but is capable of various variations in a range without departing from the gist and technical idea thereof. The variations will be described below. [0080] (1) If the Threshold Value th is Set on the Basis of the Directivity of the Reader Antenna 3 : [0081] Various antennas with different directivities can be used as the reader antenna 3 by replacement in some cases. In such a case, the threshold value th can be changed in accordance with the directivity. [0082] As an index of the directivity of the reader antenna 3 , a half-band width θ as a directivity width illustrated in FIG. 8 , for example, can be used. The half-band width θ is defined as an angle at which the electric field strength by power of the radio wave emitted from the reader antenna 3 , that is, a radio field intensity S′ becomes a half of the radio field intensity S on the front of the reader antenna 3 . [0083] The half-band width θ of the reader antenna 3 influences the size of the communication range 20 formed by the reader antenna 3 . For example, as illustrated in FIG. 9 , if the half-band width θ of the reader antenna 3 is wide, the communication range becomes wide. In this case, even if the number of redundantly obtained tag IDs is set to a smaller value, it is less likely that missed transmission of the response request signal or missed reception of the response signal occurs. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 10 , if the half-band width θ of the reader antenna 3 is narrow, the communication range becomes narrow. In this case, unless the number of redundantly obtained tag IDs is set to a larger value, it is highly likely that missed transmission of the response request signal or missed reception of the response signal occurs. [0084] Thus, in this variation, in accordance with the size of the directivity width of the reader antenna 3 used in the reader 1 , the threshold value th of the duplicated obtainment ratio W of the tag ID is changeably set. For example, in a table illustrated in FIG. 11 , if the half-band width θ is 0° or more and 45° or less, it is th=0.5, if the half-band width θ exceeds 45° and 90° or less, it is th=0.4, if the half-band width θ exceeds 90° and 100° or less, it is th=0.3, and if the half-band width θ 0 exceeds 100°, it is th=0.2. That is, it is set so that the smaller the half-band width θ of the reader antenna 3 is, the larger the threshold value th of the duplicated obtainment ratio of the tag ID becomes, and the larger the half-band width θ of the reader antenna 3 is, the smaller the threshold value th of the duplicated obtainment ratio of the tag ID becomes. [0085] As illustrated in FIG. 12 , in the control procedures executed by the CPU 4 of the reader 1 in this variation, Step S 7 is added between Step S 5 and Step S 10 in the flow in FIG. 7 . [0086] That is, at Step S 5 , the CPU 4 sets the communication power P of the reader antenna 3 to the predetermined value Pi and then, proceeds to Step S 7 . At Step S 7 , the CPU 4 refers to the table illustrated in FIG. 11 and compares and determines the value of the half-band width θ of the reader antenna 3 and boundary values 45°, 90°, and 100° between sections in the table. This comparison and determination function at Step S 7 functions as directivity determining means. Then, the CPU 4 sets the value of the threshold value th corresponding to the half-band width θ on the basis of the comparison and determination at Step S 7 . This threshold-value setting function at Step S 7 functions as a first threshold value setting means. After that, the procedures are the same as those in FIG. 7 , and at Step S 65 and Step S 70 , the CPU 4 uses the threshold value th set at Step S 7 . [0087] In this variation, in accordance with the directivity width of the reader antenna 3 , the CPU 4 changes and sets the value of the threshold value th of the duplicated obtainment ratio of the tag ID. As a result, regardless of the directivity width of the reader antenna 3 , occurrence of missed transmission of the response request signal or missed reception of the response signal can be prevented with higher accuracy. [0088] (2) If the Threshold Value th is Changed in Accordance with Directivity Variable Control of the Reader Antenna 3 : [0089] For example, there can be a case in which a directivity control part 12 is disposed in the RF communication control part 10 in the main-body control part 2 illustrated in FIG. 2 and the directivity control part 12 executes variable control of the directivity of the reader antenna 3 . In such a case, the CPU 4 refers to the table in FIG. 11 similarly to the variation in (1) and changes the threshold value th at any time. [0090] As illustrated in FIG. 13 , in the control procedures executed by the CPU 4 of the reader 1 in this variation, new Step S 21 and Step S 22 are added between Step S 20 and Step S 25 in FIG. 12 . [0091] That is, similarly to FIG. 12 , the CPU 4 initializes the threshold value th by referring to the table in FIG. 11 on the basis of the value of the half-band width θ corresponding to an initial value of the directivity of the reader antenna 3 variably controlled by the directivity control part 12 at Step S 7 . [0092] The subsequent Step S 10 , Step S 15 , and Step S 20 are the same as those in the flow in FIG. 12 . Then, at Step S 21 , the CPU 4 controls and changes the directivity of the reader antenna 3 by means of control of the directivity control part 12 . After that, at Step S 22 , the CPU 4 refers to the table in FIG. 11 and compares and determines the value of the half-band width θ of the reader antenna 3 at this time and the boundary values 45°, 90°, and 100° between sections in the table on the basis of the directivity of the reader antenna 3 changed by the directivity control part 12 . This comparison and determination function by the CPU 4 functions as directivity determining means. The CPU 4 changes the value of the threshold value th corresponding to the half-band width θ on the basis of the comparison and determination. The subsequent Step S 25 to Step S 85 are the same as those in the flow in FIG. 12 . [0093] In the above, Step S 7 and Step S 22 function as first threshold value setting means described in each claim. [0094] In this variation, even if the directivity of the reader antenna 3 is changed by the directivity control part 12 at any time, the CPU 4 can change and set the value of the threshold value th on the basis of the changed directivity. As a result, occurrence of missed transmission of the response request signal or missed reception of the response signal can be prevented with higher accuracy. [0095] In the above description, the change control of the directivity of the reader antenna 3 by the directivity control part 12 is utilized only for the change of the threshold value th, but this is not limiting. That is, instead of increase and decrease control of the communication power as above as a method of changing the communication range of the reader antenna 3 by means of the control by the CPU 4 , it may be set such that the directivity control part 12 changes the size of the directivity of the reader antenna 3 . In this case, the directivity control part 12 functions as directivity control means as one function of the communication control means. In this case, the threshold value th may be fixed or may be variable by the above-described method. That is, if the duplicated obtainment ratio W is larger than the threshold value th, the CPU 4 considers that the communication range is wider than necessary, and the directivity control part 12 executes control such that the directivity of the reader antenna 3 is narrowed. On the contrary, if the duplicated obtainment ratio W is smaller than the threshold value th, the CPU 4 considers that the communication range is too narrow to prevent missed transmission or missed reception, and the directivity control part 12 executes control such that the directivity of the reader antenna 3 is widened. In this case, too, the same advantages as those in the embodiment can be obtained. [0096] (3) If the Threshold Value th is Set in Accordance with the Number of the Currently Obtained Tag IDs: [0097] When obtainment of the tag ID is performed by the reader 1 , if the number of the currently obtained tag IDs is small, the number of the RFID tags T present in the communication range 20 of the reader antenna 3 is relatively small. In other words, the RFID tags T are arranged scarcely. Thus, when the obtainment of the tag IDs is performed by the reader 1 after that, unless the number of tag IDs of the RFID tag circuit elements To to be obtained redundantly is set larger, it is highly likely that missed transmission of the response request signal or missed reception of the response signal occurs. On the contrary, if the number of currently obtained tag IDs is large, the number of RFID tags T present in the communication range 20 of the reader antenna 3 is relatively large. In other words, the RFID tags T are closely arranged. Thus, when the obtainment of the tag IDs is performed by the reader 1 after that, even if the number of tag IDs of the RFID tag circuit elements To to be obtained redundantly is set smaller, it is less likely that missed transmission of the response request signal or missed reception of the response signal occurs. In this variation, in response to the above, the threshold value th to be used in the subsequent obtainment of the tag ID is changed in accordance with the number of the currently obtained tag IDs. [0098] In this variation, in order to change the threshold value th, the table illustrated in FIG. 14 is used. As illustrated in the table, if the number of the read-out tag IDs is 10 or less, the value th to be used after that is 0.5, if the number of the read-out tag IDs is 11 or more and 20 or less, the value th to be used after that is 0.4, if the number of the read-out tag IDs is 21 or more and 30 or less, the value th to be used after that is 0.3, and if the number of the read-out tag IDs is 31 or more, the value th to be used after that is 0.2. That is, this table is defined such that the smaller the number of tag IDs obtained in reading of the tag information is, the larger the threshold value th of the duplicated obtainment ratio of the tag ID becomes, and the larger the number of the tag IDs obtained in reading of the tag information is, the smaller the threshold value th of the duplicated obtainment ratio of the tag ID becomes. [0099] As illustrated in FIG. 15 , in the control procedures executed by the CPU 4 of the reader 1 in this variation, Step S 9 is provided instead of Step S 7 in the flow of FIG. 13 , and Step S 23 is provided instead of Step S 21 and Step S 22 . [0100] That is, at Step S 5 , after the communication power P of the reader antenna 3 is set to the predetermined value Pi by means of control by the CPU 4 , the routine proceeds to newly provided Step S 9 . At Step S 9 , the CPU 4 initializes the value of the threshold value th to an appropriate value. [0101] The subsequent Step S 10 , Step S 15 , and Step S 20 are the same as those in the flow of FIG. 13 . Then, at Step S 23 , the CPU 4 compares the number of tag IDs obtained at Step S 20 with the boundary values 10, 20, and 30 between sections in the table in FIG. 14 and makes determination. Alternatively, at Step S 23 , if the CPU 4 returns from Step S 60 , Step S 80 , and Step S 90 to Step S 25 , the CPU 4 compares the number of the tag IDs obtained at Step S 35 before the return with the boundary values 10, 20, and 30 between sections in the table in FIG. 14 and makes determination. This procedure by the CPU 4 functions as identification information determining means. Then, the CPU 4 changes and sets the value of the threshold value th in accordance with the above-described comparison and determination result. This procedure by the CPU 4 functions as second threshold value setting means. Step S 25 to Step S 85 are the same as those in the flow in FIG. 13 . Step S 23 may be provided between Step S 35 and Step S 40 . In this case, the CPU 4 compares the number of tag IDs obtained at Step S 35 with the boundary values between the sections in the table in FIG. 14 and makes determination and then, changes and sets the value of the threshold value th in accordance with the comparison and determination result. [0102] In this variation, the reader 1 changes and sets the value of the threshold value th in accordance with the number of the currently obtained tag IDs. As a result, occurrence of missed transmission of the response request signal or missed reception of the response signal can be prevented with higher accuracy without depending on the quantity of the RFID tag circuit elements To present in the communication range 20 of the reader antenna 3 . [0103] (4) If Duplicated Obtainment of the Tag ID Occurs between the Vertically Adjacent Communication Ranges 20 of the Reader Antenna 3 : [0104] In the above, the example in which the communication ranges 20 of the sequentially moving reader antenna 3 are overlapped in the lateral direction due to the lateral movement, that is, the movement in the right and left direction of the reader 1 is described, but this is not limiting. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 16 , if the articles B to which the RFID tags T are attached are files or the like and stored in plural vertical shelves in a cabinet, duplicated obtainment of the tag ID also occurs in the vertically adjacent communication ranges 20 . [0105] In the example in FIG. 16 , three stages of recess-shaped storage portions 40 are vertically disposed in a cabinet 30 . In each storage portion 40 , a plurality of files 50 with their spines to which the RFID tags T are attached, respectively, faced front are stored in a lateral row. To the cabinet 30 , as illustrated in FIG. 17 , the reader 1 held by a user 100 performs information reading from the RFID tag circuit element To of the RFID tag T on each file 50 and obtains tag ID. At this time, the user 1 sequentially moves the communication range of the reader 1 in a zigzagged manner in each of the storage portions 40 in upper, middle, and lower stages of the cabinet 30 in the order of a communication range 20 P, a communication range 20 Q, a communication range 20 R, a communication range 20 S, a communication range 20 T, and a communication range 20 U as indicated by white arrows in FIG. 16 . [0106] For example, it is assumed that the reader 1 is in a state in which it has obtained the tag IDs of a plurality of the RFID tags T in the communication range 20 R located on the left part of the storage portion 40 in the middle stage at present. In the current communication range 20 R, the RFID tag T located also in the communication range 20 P in the left part of the storage portion 40 in the upper stage is present. Thus, with regard to the RFID tag T, in addition to the tag ID obtained in the communication range 20 P, the tag ID is also redundantly obtained in the current communication range 20 R. Therefore, in such a case, the CPU 4 calculates the duplicated obtainment ratio not with the tag ID obtained in the obtainment immediately before as described above but the obtainment result of all the tag IDs obtained in all the obtainments before and compares the result with the separately set threshold value th. In this case, too, the advantages similar to those in the embodiments and variations (1), (2), and (3) can be obtained.

The disclosure discloses an apparatus comprising: an apparatus antenna; a signal transmitting portion configured to transmit a response request signal; an information obtainment portion configured to obtain tag identification information of the RFID tag circuit element; an identification information storage portion configured to store the tag identification information obtained; a calculation portion configured to calculate a duplicated obtainment ratio by the number of redundantly obtained pieces of information of a current obtainment result of the tag identification information to a past obtainment result of the tag identification information stored in the identification information storage portion and by the obtainment result; a comparison portion configured to compare the duplicated obtainment ratio with a threshold value; and a communication control portion configured to execute communication control of widening or narrowing a communication range in the case that the duplicated obtainment ratio is less than or exceeds the threshold value.

RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a divisional of co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/041,722, filed on 8 Jan. 2002, which claims the benefit of provisional Application Serial No. 60/271,895, filed on 27 Feb. 2001, entitled “Adjustable Head Prosthesis for the Shoulder.” FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention generally relates to an adjustable mounting assembly and alignment system for a bone prosthesis and related methods. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] A shoulder joint consists of a ball-and-socket type coupling of the humerus to the scapula. The humerus forms the ball, and the socket is formed at the glenoid cavity of the scapula. Injury or disease to the joint often results in destruction or deterioration of the head of the humerus, leading to pain and a corresponding loss of mobility and function. In such cases, it is often necessary to provide a replacement joint surface, i.e., a prosthesis, for the head of the humerus that mates with the glenoid cavity. [0004] The proper alignment of the prosthesis is generally useful to effective performance of the replacement procedure. Typically, the position of the mount is adjusted until the desired position is achieved. The mount is fixed in the desired position and the prosthesis is then secured onto the mount. [0005] However, conventional mounts provide only a limited range of adjustment, typically allowing only two degrees of freedom, i.e., linearly along an X-axis and Y-axis. The devices that do have more degrees of freedom require multiple trials and a fixture to be used away from the surgical site for proper alignment of the prosthesis to the humerus. [0006] Further, even upon locking the device in a desired position, conventional mounts may not hold the desired position. This is especially true when force is exerted, e.g., hammering the prosthesis to secure its placement on a mount. [0007] There remains a need for mounting systems and methods that permit a wide range of adjustment of a humeral head prosthesis while enabling the mount, and attached prosthesis, to remain securely fixed in a desired position. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008] The invention provides various adjustable prostheses and related methods that provide a wide range of adjustment along or about multiple axes. The invention makes possible a straightforward, yet robust way of securing, e.g., a humeral head prosthesis in a desired position and maintaining the prosthesis in the desired position during use. [0009] Other features and advantages of the inventions are set forth in the following specification and attached drawings. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0010] [0010]FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the components of an adjustable locking mount system that embodies features of the invention, in which the mounting hub is centric. [0011] [0011]FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view of the system shown in FIG. 1. [0012] [0012]FIG. 3 a is a side sectional view of the assembled components of the system shown in FIG. 2. [0013] [0013]FIG. 3 b is a view similar to FIG. 3 a and illustrating the spherical radii of the stacked washers. [0014] [0014]FIGS. 4 a - 4 e illustrate rotational movement of the cooperating components of the assembled system shown in FIG. 2. [0015] [0015]FIG. 5 a is a side sectional view of the assembled components of the system shown in FIG. 3 and illustrating the system components in a level position. [0016] [0016]FIG. 5 b is a sectional view as shown in FIG. 5 a , illustrating the position of the system components and the movement of the mounting hub and lock washer when the mounting hub is rotated about the x or y axis. [0017] [0017]FIG. 5 c is a sectional view as shown in FIG. 5 b , illustrating the procedure of locking the system in a desired position. [0018] [0018]FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the components of an alternative embodiment of an adjustable locking mount system that embodies features of the invention, in which the mounting hub is eccentric. [0019] [0019]FIG. 7 is an assembled perspective view of the system shown in FIG. 6. [0020] [0020]FIG. 8 is side sectional view of the assembled components of the system shown in FIG. 7. [0021] [0021]FIGS. 9 a - 9 e illustrate rotational movement of the cooperating components of the assembled system shown in FIG. 7. [0022] [0022]FIG. 10 is an exploded view of an adjustable locking mount system embodying features of the invention incorporated in a shoulder replacement assembly. [0023] [0023]FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the assembled components of the system shown in FIG. 10. [0024] [0024]FIG. 12 a is an enlarged perspective view of the top portion of the trial ring shown in FIG. 10. [0025] [0025]FIG. 12 b is an enlarged perspective view of the bottom portion of the trial ring shown in FIG. 10. [0026] [0026]FIG. 13 a is an enlarged perspective view of the top portion of the artificial head shown in FIG. 10. [0027] [0027]FIG. 13 b is an enlarged perspective view of the bottom portion of the artificial head shown in FIG. 10, and further illustrating the interior surface of the artificial head. [0028] [0028]FIG. 14 a is an exploded view of the components of an alternate embodiment of a shoulder replacement system embodying features of the invention and viewed from the head to the stem. [0029] [0029]FIG. 14 b is a view similar to FIG. 14 a and viewed from the stem to the head. [0030] [0030]FIG. 15 is a view similar to FIGS. 14 a and 14 b and illustrating a partially assembled view of the system components. [0031] [0031]FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a humerus bone, with a line representing a cut in the ball portion of the humerus made during shoulder replacement surgery. [0032] [0032]FIG. 17 illustrates a humerus as shown in FIG. 16, illustrating the head cut and removed from the humerus and a bore reamed into the bone. [0033] [0033]FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating a humerus as shown in FIG. 17, and further illustrating the insertion into the bore of a stem carrying an adjustable mount of the present invention. [0034] [0034]FIGS. 19 a and 19 b are perspective views illustrating a humerus as shown in FIG. 18, and further illustrating a trial ring engaging the mount and being rotated simultaneously with the mount. [0035] [0035]FIG. 19 c illustrates the trial being and the mount rotated independently of each other. [0036] [0036]FIG. 20 illustrates a humerus as shown in FIGS. 19 a and 19 b , illustrating the trial ring being simultaneously tilted with the mount. [0037] [0037]FIG. 21 illustrates a humerus as shown in FIG. 20, and further illustrates the procedure of locking the mount in a desired position. [0038] [0038]FIG. 22 shows a humerus as in FIG. 21, with the trial ring removed and illustrating the placement of an artificial head onto the mount. [0039] [0039]FIG. 23 illustrates a humerus as shown in FIG. 22, with the artificial head placed on the mount and further illustrating the use of a hammer to secure the artificial head on the mount. [0040] [0040]FIG. 24 a is an exploded view of the components of an alternative embodiment of a shoulder replacement system embodying features of the invention and viewed from the head to the stem. [0041] [0041]FIG. 24 b is a view similar to FIG. 24 a and viewed from the stem to the head. [0042] [0042]FIG. 25 is a view similar to FIGS. 24 a and 24 b and illustrating the use and placement of the pivot pin component of the system to secure the bottom insert component onto the stem component. [0043] [0043]FIG. 26 is a view similar to FIG. 25 and illustrating the placement of the eccentric mount component onto the bottom insert component. [0044] [0044]FIGS. 27 a - 27 e are partially assembled views of the system shown in FIGS. 24 a and 24 b and illustrating rotational movement of the partially assembled system. [0045] [0045]FIG. 28 is a partially assembled view of the system shown in FIGS. 24 a and 24 b and illustrating the placement of the top insert on the bottom insert. [0046] [0046]FIG. 29 is a perspective view of the components of the system shown in 24 a and 24 b assembled. [0047] [0047]FIG. 30 a is an exploded view of the components of an alternative embodiment of a shoulder replacement system embodying features of the invention and viewed from the head to the stem. [0048] [0048]FIG. 30 b is view similar to FIG. 30 a and viewed from the stem to the head. [0049] [0049]FIG. 31 is a view similar to FIGS. 30 a and 30 b illustrating the use of the pivot pin component to secure the mounting ring and the bottom disk to the stem. [0050] [0050]FIG. 32 is a view similar to FIG. 31 and illustrating the placement of the top disc on the bottom disk. [0051] [0051]FIGS. 33 a - 33 e are views similar to FIG. 32 and illustrating the placement of the head component onto the mounting ring component and further illustrating the rotational movement of the assembled system. [0052] [0052]FIG. 34 is a view similar to FIGS. 33 a - 33 e and illustrating the locking of the assembled system in a desired position. [0053] [0053]FIG. 35 a is an exploded view of an alternative embodiment of a shoulder replacement system embodying features of the invention viewed from the head to the stem. [0054] [0054]FIG. 35 b is a view similar to FIG. 35 a and viewed from the stem to the head. [0055] [0055]FIG. 36 is an exploded view of the bottom and top plate components of the system shown in FIGS. 35 a and 35 b and illustrating the major and minor axes of the top and bottom plates. [0056] [0056]FIG. 37 is a partially assembled view of the system shown in FIGS. 35 a and 35 b and illustrating the use of the pivot pin to secure the placement of the bottom plate onto to stem. [0057] [0057]FIG. 38 is a view similar to FIG. 37 and illustrating the placement of the top plate on the bottom plate. [0058] [0058]FIGS. 39 a - 39 e are views similar to FIG. 38 and illustrating rotational movement of the partially assembled system. [0059] [0059]FIG. 40 is an assembled view of the system shown in FIGS. 35 a and 35 b. [0060] The invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The scope of the invention is defined in the appended claims, rather than in the specific description preceding them. All embodiments that fall within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced by the claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0061] Although the disclosure hereof is detailed and exact to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, the physical embodiments herein disclosed merely exemplify the invention that may be embodied in other specific structure. While the preferred embodiment has been described, the details may be changed without departing from the invention, which is defined by the claims. [0062] I. The Adjustable Locking Mount System [0063] A. System 1: [0064] Interior Hub Centrally Located with Respect to Mounting Surface [0065] [0065]FIG. 1 shows the individual components of an adjustable locking mounting system 10 A. FIGS. 2 and 3 a illustrate the system 10 A when assembled. As will be described in detail later, the system 10 A permits adjustment in three directions or three degrees of freedom (rotational around axes x, y, and z, where the z-axis is represented by the axis of the pivot pin 12 ) (see FIGS. 4 a - 4 e ). [0066] The system 10 A comprises the pivot pin 12 , at least one slip washer 14 , at least one lock washer 16 , a mounting hub 18 , and a locking screw 20 . Each of these components of the system 10 A will now be described in detail. [0067] 1. System Components [0068] As seen in FIG. 1, the pivot pin 12 is a rigid, generally cylindrical or rod-like member. The pivot pin 12 is convex, e.g., domed, at one end to couple with the mounting hub 18 (see, e.g., FIG. 3 a ). In a representative embodiment, the arc of curvature is 0.400″ diameter (0.200″ radius). [0069] In particular, the convex arrangement permits adjustment of the mounting hub 18 by swinging or tilting across the axis of the pivot pin 12 (i.e., rotation about the x-axis and y-axis) as well as by rotating or twisting about the axis of the pivot pin 12 (i.e., rotation about the z-axis) (see FIGS. 4 a - 4 e ). [0070] As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, the pivot pin 12 has a threaded central bore 26 that serves to receive the locking screw 20 . Thus, the pivot pin 12 serves to receive both the mounting hub 18 and the locking screw 20 (see FIG. 3 a ). [0071] The pivot pin 12 can be made of suitable metal, plastic, or ceramic materials and formed by conventional molding or machining techniques. [0072] As shown in FIG. 1, the mounting hub 18 is a rigid member comprising a mounting surface 24 , an interior hub 22 , and an exterior pivot surface 28 . The center of the mounting hub 18 serves to receive the locking screw 20 . [0073] The mounting surface 24 is configured to mate with an object or device being mounted on the hub and therefore can take on a variety of shapes. Thus, the mounting hub 18 serves as a base for mounting of another object or device. For example, the mounting surface 24 can be circular or geometric. In the illustrated embodiment, the mounting surface 24 is generally circular. [0074] Additionally, the mounting surface 24 can be stepped to further aid in positioning and securing the object or device on the mounting surface 24 (not shown). In this arrangement, the object or device being mounted would have a complementary stepped surface. The stepped surface provides greater control of any adjustment by permitting adjustment to be in uniform increments and reducing the risk of inadvertent movement. The mounting surface 24 could alternatively be a threaded surface to facilitate engagement with a mating part. [0075] As best illustrated in FIG. 1, the interior hub 22 is open. The bottom surface of the interior hub 22 is configured to conform to the shape of the convex end of the pivot pin 12 and sized to receive the slip washer(s) 14 and lock washer(s) 16 . That is, the interior hub 22 permits a slip washer 14 and lock washer 16 , or multiple slip washers 14 and lock washers 16 , to be alternately stacked upon one another (see FIG. 3 a ). [0076] As shown in FIGS. 1-3 a , the exterior pivot surface 28 of the mounting hub 18 is configured to nest on and to conform to the convex end of the pivot pin 12 , thus permitting a wider range of motion, as previously described. [0077] As best seen in FIG. 3 a , the exterior pivot surface 28 is located centrally with respect to the interior hub 22 . Further, the interior hub 22 is centrally located with respect to the mounting surface 24 , such that the geometric center of the mounting hub 18 coincides with the center of rotation of the mounting hub 18 about the pivot pin 12 . [0078] The mounting hub 18 serves to engage and pivot about the pivot pin 12 , thus permitting adjustment of the position of the mounting hub 18 with respect to the pivot pin 12 , as will be described later. Upon obtaining the desired position, the position of the mounting hub 18 can be locked by use of the locking screw 20 , as will also be described in greater detail later. [0079] The mounting hub 18 can be made of any suitable metal or plastic and formed by conventional machining or molding techniques. [0080] As shown in FIG. 1, the system 10 A also provides at least one slip washer 14 . The slip washer 14 is preferably a rigid annular ring or doughnut-like member. As FIGS. 1 and 3 a best show, the slip washer 14 is configured to conform to the bottom surface of the interior hub 22 . [0081] The center of the slip washer 14 serves to receive the locking screw 20 . The center of the slip washer 14 is of a diameter only slightly larger than the outside diameter of the locking screw 20 . The slip washer 14 also serves to provide a frictional surface, which upon tightening of the locking screw 20 , serves to further secure the mounting hub 18 in a desired position. [0082] The slip washer 14 permits the lock washer 16 to slide across the surface of the slip washer 14 (see FIGS. 5 a and 5 b ). The slip washer 14 is similar in function yet physically different in top and bottom spherical radii from the lock washer 16 . [0083] As seen in FIG. 3 b , additional washers 14 and 16 in the assembly would also have different spherical radii, represented by R1-R5 in FIG. 3 b , as they are stacked further from the center of rotation or pivot point on the pivot pin 12 . In a representative embodiment, R1 is 0.200, R2 is 0.250, R3 is 0.300, R4 is 0.350, and R5 is 0.400. [0084] The radii of the washers 14 and 16 can be varied to accommodate the thickness of the individual washers 14 and 16 . Regardless of the thickness or radii of the washers 14 and 16 , the washers 14 and 16 are configured to rotate about the same pivot point. [0085] Desirably, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3 a , a second slip washer 14 , similar in function but differing in spherical radii from the first slip washer 14 is placed over the lock washer 16 . As illustrated in FIGS. 5 a and 5 b , the lock washer 16 is able to slide between the slip washers 14 . [0086] In this arrangement, the second slip washer 14 provides an additional frictional surface, which upon tightening of the locking screw 20 , serves to further secure the desired position. [0087] The slip washer(s) 14 can be made of any suitable metal or plastic and formed by conventional machining or molding techniques. [0088] As also seen in FIG. 1, the system 10 A further provides a lock washer 16 . The lock washer 16 is a rigid, annular ring or doughnut-like member similar to the slip washer 14 . [0089] As FIGS. 1 and 3 a best illustrate, the lock washer 16 is configured to conform to the surface of the slip washer 14 . This arrangement permits the lock washer 16 to be stacked on top of the slip washer 14 . [0090] As in the case of the slip washer 14 , the center of the lock washer 16 serves to receive the locking screw 20 . The center of the lock washer 16 is also sized larger than the center of the slip washer 14 . That is, the center of the lock washer 16 not only serves to receive the locking screw 20 , but also permits the lock washer 16 to pivot about the pivot pin 12 . [0091] The lock washer 16 also provides two additional frictional surfaces when sandwiched between two slip washers 14 , which upon tightening of the locking screw 20 , serve to further secure the desired position. [0092] As also seen in FIGS. 1 and 3 a , the lock washer 16 is of a larger diameter than the slip washer 14 . This arrangement allows the lock washer 16 to fit over the slip washer 14 . In a representative embodiment, the lock washer 16 is sized to approximate or be slightly less than the diameter of the interior hub 22 , thereby providing a secure fit of the lock washer 16 within the interior hub 22 and allowing only minimal translation in the x and y axes, yet not restricting z-axis translation of the lock washer 16 within the interior hub 22 and with respect to the axis of the pivot pin 12 , as will later be described in detail. [0093] This arrangement secures/couples the lock washer 16 to the interior hub 22 and permits the lock washer 16 to slide with the mounting hub 18 over the slip washer 14 (see, e.g., FIGS. 5 a and 5 b ). Thus, the lock washer 16 serves to provide an additional rotational and rocking surface for the mounting hub 18 . [0094] Like the slip washer 14 , the lock washer 16 can be made of any suitable plastic or metal and formed by conventional molding or machining techniques. [0095] Desirably, as previously noted, a second slip washer 14 similar in function but differing in spherical radii from the first slip washer 14 can be provided. In this arrangement, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 3 a , the lock washer 16 also serves to receive the second slip washer 14 . It will be apparent that any number of slip washers 14 and lock washers 16 can be similarly alternately stacked upon each other and thereby accommodate variations in the depth of the interior hub 22 . [0096] As also shown in FIG. 1, the system 10 A provides a locking screw 20 . The locking screw 20 is a screw that is adapted for passage through the mounting hub 18 , the slip washer(s) 14 , the lock washer(s) 16 , and the pivot pin 12 when the system is assembled (see FIG. 3 a ). In inside the diameter of the slip washer 14 is sized to approximate or be slightly larger than the diameter of the locking screw 20 . This arrangement secures/couples the slip washer 14 to the locking screw 20 and the pivot pin 12 . [0097] As illustrated in FIG. 3 a , the locking screw 20 is desirably threaded to fit the threaded bore 26 of the pivot pin 12 . As FIG. 5 c illustrates, rotation (represented by arrow in FIG. 5 c ) of the screw 20 , e.g., by an Allen wrench 30 , advances the screw into the pivot pin 12 to fix the mounting hub 18 in a desired position. [0098] The locking screw 20 can be made of any suitable plastic or metal and formed by conventional molding or machining techniques. [0099] The locking screw 20 , when not fully tightened, serves to hold the assembly while the desired position is determined. Tightening of the locking screw 20 compresses the washers 14 and 16 , hub 18 , and pin 12 together, thereby creating multiple frictional forces between the mating surfaces. These frictional forces and the compression of the screw 20 are what limit movement in the locked position. [0100] It will be apparent that the components just described can be used in any combination. For example, plastic slip washers 14 may be alternated with metal lock washers 16 . [0101] 2. Adjustment of the Orientation of the Mounting Hub [0102] The system 10 A as previously described enables the mounting hub 18 to be oriented in a variety of directions with respect to the pivot pin 12 . The types of movement, and thus the types of adjustments permitted, will now be discussed. [0103] The system 10 A permits movement of the mounting hub 18 in at least three rotational directions. [0104] First, as represented by arrows in FIGS. 4 a - 4 b , the mounting hub 18 can be rocked or rotated, i.e., tilted, about the x-axis (i.e., side to side rotation). This motion is permitted by the convex surfaces of the pivot pin 12 , mounting hub 18 , slip washer(s) 14 , and lock washer(s) 16 . [0105] Second, as represented arrows in FIGS. 4 c - 4 d , the mounting hub 18 can be rocked or rotated, i.e., tilted, about the y-axis (i.e., front to back rotation). This motion is permitted by the convex surfaces of the pivot pin 12 , mounting hub 18 , slip washer(s) 14 , and lock washer(s) 16 . [0106] Third, as represented by arrows in FIG. 4 e , the mounting hub 18 can be rotated 360° in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction about the z-axis (i.e., axis of the pivot pin 12 ). [0107] It is to be understood that the rotational and rocking movements permit adjustment in virtually an infinite number of rotational directions. [0108] B. System 2: [0109] Interior Hub Eccentrally Located with Respect to Mounting Surface [0110] 1. System Components [0111] [0111]FIG. 6 shows the individual components of an alternative system 10 B providing an adjustable locking mount system. FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate the system 10 B when assembled. [0112] Like system 10 A, the system 10 B comprises a pivot pin 12 , at least one slip washer 14 , at least one lock washer 16 , a mounting hub 18 , and a locking screw 20 . [0113] Also like system 10 A, the mounting hub 18 has an exterior pivot surface 28 that is located centrally with respect to the interior hub 22 . In this embodiment, as FIGS. 6-8 best show, the interior hub 22 is eccentric with respect to the mounting surface 24 , such that the geometric center of the mounting hub 18 does not coincide with the center of rotation of the mounting hub 18 about the pivot pin 12 . The eccentric configuration permits a broader range of adjustment. [0114] 2. Adjustment of the Orientation of the Mounting Hub [0115] The system 10 B as previously described enables the mounting hub 18 to be oriented in a variety of directions with respect to the pivot pin 12 . The types of movement, and thus the types of adjustments permitted, will now be discussed. [0116] The system 10 B permits movement of the mounting hub 18 in at least five directions. [0117] First, as represented by arrows in FIGS. 9 a - 9 b , the mounting hub 18 can be rocked or rotated about the x-axis, as previously described for system 10 A. [0118] Second, as represented by arrows in FIGS. 9 c - 9 d , the mounting hub 18 can be rocked or rotated about the y-axis, as also previously described for system 10 A. [0119] Third, as represented by arrows in FIG. 9 e , the mounting hub 18 can be rotated up to 360° in either direction about the z-axis, as previously described for system 10 A. [0120] As best illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, when the mounting hub 18 includes an interior hub 22 that is eccentric relative to the mounting surface 24 , the distance from the pivot pin 12 to the mounting surface 24 increases to a maximum value, depicted as point A 1 and then decreases to a minimum value, depicted as point A 2 . [0121] Reorientation or translation of the linear position of point A 1 and point A 2 with respect to the pivot pin 12 is possible when the mounting hub 18 is rotated about the z-axis. [0122] Reorientation of points A 1 and A 2 with respect to the x-axis provides a fourth degree of freedom. Similarly, reorientation of points A 1 and A 2 with respect to the y-axis provides a fifth degree of freedom. [0123] It is to be understood that the rotational and rocking movements just described permit adjustment in virtually an infinite number of directions. [0124] After the desired position is obtained, the locking screw 20 is tightened to secure the mounting hub 18 in the desired position, as previously described for System 10 A (see FIG. 5 c ). [0125] II. Use of the System in Shoulder Replacement [0126] [0126]FIGS. 10-23 detail the use of either of the previously-described systems 10 A or 10 B in shoulder replacement surgery. Desirably, system 10 B would be employed, thereby providing the greatest range of adjustment. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 10-23, the mount of system 10 B is employed. [0127] The long bone of the upper or proximal arm, as shown in FIG. 16, is known as the humerus 38 . The proximal end of the humerus 38 comprises a ball-shaped head 40 that normally nests within the glenoid cavity of the shoulder bone, or scapula. [0128] Through disease or injury, the head 40 of the humerus 38 can become damaged such that the shape of the head 40 is altered or the head 40 does not fit properly within the glenoid cavity. Such damage typically results in the shoulder joint becoming painful and a corresponding reduction in mobility of the joint. [0129] Conventional techniques provide for replacement of the head 40 of the humerus 38 with a prosthesis, or artifical head 42 . As seen in FIG. 10, the system 10 B, comprising a pivot pin 12 , a mounting hub 18 (with eccentrally located interior hub 22 ), slip washers 14 , a lock washer 16 , and a locking screw 20 , can be employed within a shoulder replacement assembly 44 suitable for implantation into a humerus 38 . The system 10 B would permit a physician to mount, position, and secure an artificial head 42 . [0130] As shown in FIG. 10, the replacement assembly comprises a stem 46 including tendon attachment holes 50 , an assembled system 10 B implanted within the stem 46 , a trial ring 48 , and an artificial head 42 . FIG. 11 illustrates the replacement assembly 44 in assembled form. [0131] The stem 46 is a conventional stem 46 suitable for implantation within a humerus 38 . The stem 46 desirably includes tendon attachment holes 50 that serve to secure attachment of tendons (not shown) to the stem 46 . [0132] The stem 46 serves to hold the system 10 B. That is, the pivot pin 12 is implanted within the stem 46 such that the convex portion protrudes at a pre-selected angle from the stem 46 (e.g., 35°). [0133] The pivot pin 12 can be implanted within the stem 46 by various techniques. In one embodiment, the pin 12 is integrally molded with the stem 46 . Alternatively, the pin 12 can be a separate member configured to mate with an existing stem 46 . In a representative embodiment, the pin 12 includes a Morse taper, as seen in FIG. 10, configured to mate with a complementary tapered surface within the stem 46 . In yet another embodiment, the pin 12 is configured to mate with the stem 46 by threaded engagement (not shown). [0134] As also shown in FIG. 10, a trial ring 48 is desirably provided. The trial ring 48 is a rigid, generally ring-like member having an inner surface 52 and an outer surface 54 . The inner surface 52 is desirably eccentric relative to the outer surface 54 . The trial ring 48 can be made of plastic or any other suitable material. [0135] The trial ring 48 is adapted to mate with the mounting hub 18 , i.e., the trial ring's 48 inner surface 52 geometry approximates the geometry of the mounting surface 24 . In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10, the mounting surface 24 is circular and conically tapered and the trial ring 48 has an inner surface 52 that is complementary circular and tapered. [0136] Optionally, the inner surface 52 of the trial ring can be of a geometric or stepped formation adapted to mate with a complementary surface on the mounting surface 24 , as previously described (not shown). [0137] As shown in FIG. 12 a , the outer surface 54 of the trial ring 48 desirably has reference markers 56 , e.g., A, B, C, and D, spaced circumferentially around the outer surface 54 . [0138] Optionally, as also seen in FIG. 12 a , the outer surface 54 is tapered or radiused outward toward the bottom of the trial ring 48 for better visualization of the markers 56 . [0139] In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 12 a and 12 b , the outer surface 54 of the trial ring 48 contains knurls 58 . The knurls 58 provide for easier grasping of the trial ring 48 . Optionally, the outer surface 54 does not contain knurls 58 or the outer surface 54 is otherwise adapted for grasping (not shown). The outside diameter 57 of the trial ring 48 corresponds or is equivalent to the outside diameter of the humeral head 42 . [0140] The trial ring 48 is adapted to engage the mounting hub 18 and pivot simultaneously with the mounting hub 18 . In this arrangement, the reference markers 56 can be utilized for evaluation and recording of the desired position, as will be described in greater detail later. [0141] As seen in FIG. 10, an artificial head 42 is also provided. The artificial head 42 is a rigid, dome-like member having interior 60 and exterior surfaces 62 . The artificial head 42 can be made of stainless steel or other suitable materials. [0142] As best illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 13 a , the exterior surface 62 is domed to mimic the ball-like head 40 of the humerus 38 . [0143] As seen in FIG. 13 b , the interior surface 60 is recessed and adapted to mate with the mounting surface 24 . In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 13 b , the inner surface 60 is circular. Optionally, the interior surface 60 can be stepped to mate with a complementary mounting surface 24 , as previously described (not shown). [0144] As FIG. 13 b also shows, the interior surface 60 desirably has reference markers 56 ′ that are complementary to, i.e., mirror, the reference markers 56 on the trial ring 48 . This assures that, when complementary markers 56 and 56 ′ on the trial ring 48 and the artificial head 42 are similarly orientated with respect to the mounting hub 18 , the position of the artificial head 42 will be the same as the position of the trial ring 48 , as will be explained in greater detail later. [0145] Desirably, as in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 13 b , the recessed inner surface 60 of the artificial head 42 is eccentrally located with respect to the outer surface 62 . [0146] When used in combination with the eccentrally located interior hub 22 of system 10 B, this arrangement provides a “double-eccentric” system. The double-eccentric configuration provides a maximum range of adjustment from O axes offset to up to the maximum axes offset. [0147] In an alternate embodiment, shown in FIGS. 14 a - 14 b and 15 , the inner surface 60 of the artificial head 42 is centrally located with respect to the outer surface 62 . In this arrangement, an intermediate collar 63 having an interior surface 59 and an exterior surface 61 can be provided. [0148] The interior surface 59 of the collar 63 is eccentrally located with respect to the exterior surface 61 and configured to mate with the mounting surface 24 . The exterior surface 61 is desirably configured to mate with the interior surface 60 of the artificial head 42 . This arrangement also results in a double-eccentric configuration. [0149] In use, as seen in FIG. 16, the physician makes a cut 65 through the head 40 of the humerus 38 by conventional techniques. Next, as shown in FIG. 17, an interior bore 64 is reamed in the humerus 38 by conventional techniques to prepare the bone for receiving the stem 46 . [0150] The stem 46 , incorporating the system 10 B, is then inserted within the bore 64 , as shown in FIG. 18. Tendons can then be attached to the stem 46 using the tendon attachment holes 50 (not shown). [0151] The trial ring 48 is then placed on the mounting hub 18 . The eccentric interior hub 22 of the mounting hub 18 , together with the eccentric inner surface of the trial ring 48 form a double-eccentric system, as shown in FIGS. 19 a - 19 c . As represented by arrows in FIGS. 19 a and 19 b , the trial ring 48 is then rotated simultaneously with the mounting hub 18 until the desired position relative to the cut surface of the humerus 38 is achieved (e.g., center of trial ring 48 is centered with cut surface of humerus 38 ). [0152] As FIG. 19 c shows, the trial ring 48 is also adapted to rotate independently of the mounting hub 18 . [0153] Then, as shown in FIG. 20, the trial ring 48 is tilted (represented by arrows and phantom lines in FIG. 20) with the mounting hub 18 until the desired position relative to the cut is achieved (e.g., parallel to cut). [0154] As seen in FIG. 21, the mounting hub 18 is then secured in the desired position by tightening (represented by arrow in FIG. 21) the locking screw 20 , e.g., with an Allen wrench 30 . [0155] As also seen in FIG. 21, the physician can then make a mark 66 on the humerus 38 corresponding to the position of a given reference marker 56 on the trial ring 48 when the mounting hub 18 is properly aligned. [0156] For example, FIG. 21 illustrates a mark 66 made on the humerus 38 corresponding to the position of reference marker “B” when the trial ring 48 is properly aligned. [0157] Next, as illustrated in FIG. 22, the artificial head 42 is then orientated so that the desired reference marker on the interior surface 60 of the artificial head 42 is aligned with the mark 66 previously made on the humerus 38 . [0158] For example, FIG. 22 illustrates the reference marker “B” on the interior surface 60 of the artificial head 42 being aligned with the mark 66 previously made on the humerus 38 . [0159] The artificial head 42 is then placed (represented by phantom lines in FIG. 22) on the mounting hub 18 in this desired orientation. [0160] Finally, as shown in FIG. 23, the physician seats and secures the aligned artificial head 42 in place by hitting the artificial head 42 with a hammer 68 to lock the tapers together before placing the artificial head 42 into position within the glenoid cavity. [0161] III. Alternate Mounting Systems [0162] A. Embodiment #1: [0163] Eccentric Mechanism [0164] [0164]FIGS. 24 a - 29 detail an alternate embodiment of a shoulder prosthesis mounting system 10 C embodying features of the invention. With reference to FIGS. 24 a and 24 b , the system 10 C comprises a stem 46 , a pivot pin 12 , a bottom eccentric insert 108 , an eccentric mount 110 , a top eccentric insert 112 , at least one fastener 114 , at least one guidepin 116 , and an artificial head 42 . [0165] The stem 46 is a conventional stem suitable for implantation into a humerus and serves to receive the pivot pin 12 . The pivot pin 12 comprises a ball component 118 and a post component 120 . The post 120 extends from the ball 118 and is sized to pass through the mount 110 and an eccentric opening 122 on the bottom insert 108 to mate with the stem 46 , e.g., by threaded engagement (see e.g., FIG. 24 a ) or Morse taper (not shown). [0166] In an alternate embodiment, the post 120 and the ball 118 are not integral. The post 120 is integral with the stem 46 and extends from the stem 46 . The ball 118 is configured to mate with the post 120 , e.g., by threaded engagement, and thus is selectively removable from the post 120 . [0167] In either embodiment, the stem 46 is configured to carry the post 120 such that the ball 118 protrudes at a pre-selected angle from the stem 46 , e.g., 35°. Desirably, a portion of the post 120 remains exterior to the stem 46 , enabling the mount 110 to pivot freely on the ball 118 (see FIG. 29). [0168] The eccentric opening 122 is of a larger diameter than the post 120 and sized to permit rotation of the mount 110 about the x, y, and z axes, as will be described in greater detail later. [0169] As seen in FIG. 25, the ball 118 is a spherical member sized to rest on the eccentric opening 122 of the bottom insert 108 . This arrangement allows the ball 118 to serve as a pivot surface permitting adjustment of the eccentric mount 110 . [0170] The eccentric mount 110 is a ring-like member having an outer surface 124 and an inner surface 126 , as seen in FIGS. 24 a and 24 b . As best illustrated in FIG. 24 b , the inner surface 126 of the mount 110 is eccentric with respect to the outer surface 124 . This arrangement allows the head 42 to be positioned eccentrally with respect to the mount 110 . As FIGS. 25 and 26 show, the bottom insert 108 has an outer surface 128 adapted to mate with the inner surface 126 of the mount, e.g., by recessed slip fit that is free to rotate. [0171] With reference again to FIG. 26, at least one guidepin 116 extends from the bottom insert 108 . In the illustrated embodiment, three guidepins 116 are employed. The guidepins 116 are adapted to pass through complementary guidepin holes 130 on the top insert 112 when the top and bottom inserts 112 and 108 are properly aligned. Thus, the guidepins 116 serve to help align and secure the top and bottom inserts 112 and 108 . [0172] As best seen in FIG. 24 b , the top eccentric insert 112 has a top surface 132 and a bottom surface 134 . The bottom surface 134 has an eccentric recessed area 136 configured to mate with the ball 118 . The top insert 112 is further adapted to rest on the bottom insert 108 . [0173] As best shown in FIG. 26, the bottom and top inserts 112 and 108 each further comprise at least one fastener opening 138 adapted for passage of a fastener 114 , e.g., a screw. The fastener 114 , when tightened, serves to secure the mount 110 in a desired position by compressing the top and bottom inserts 112 and 108 together around the ball 118 and the mount 110 . The “stacking” arrangement of the top and bottom inserts 112 and 108 serves to maximize the surface area compressed, thereby aiding in securing the mount 110 in a desired position. [0174] The eccentric mount 110 along with the eccentric opening 122 of the bottom insert 108 and the eccentric recessed area 136 of the top insert 112 provide a double-eccentric system. [0175] The artificial head 42 serves as a prosthesis for the head of a humerus, as previously described (see, e.g., FIG. 23). As FIG. 24 b shows, the recessed interior surface 60 of the head 42 is desirably concentric with respect to the outer surface 62 and is threaded to mate with the outer surface 124 of the mount. Placement of the head 42 onto the mount 110 secures the head to the mount 110 (see FIG. 28). [0176] The system 10 C provides at least five degrees of freedom, thereby allowing a wide range of adjustment in multiple dimensions. [0177] First, as illustrated by arrows in FIGS. 27 a - 27 b , the mount 110 can be rocked or rotated, i.e., tilted, about the x-axis (i.e., side to side rotation). [0178] Second, as illustrated by arrows in FIGS. 27 c - 27 d , the mount 110 can be rocked or rotated, i.e., tilted, about the y-axis (i.e., front to back rotation). [0179] Third, as illustrated by arrows in FIG. 27 e , the mount 110 can be rotated up to 360° in either direction about the z-axis. [0180] Fourth and fifth, the double eccentric arrangement permits translation of the linear position of points A 1 and A 2 with respect to the pivot pin 12 when the inserts 108 and 112 and mount 110 are rotated, as previously described for system 10 B (see FIGS. 7 and 8). This action permits translation along the x and y axes. [0181] The double-eccentric configuration serves to maximize the range of translational adjustment possible under the fourth and fifth types of movement. [0182] In use, as shown in FIG. 25, the pivot pin 12 is passed through the bottom insert 108 and the mount 110 . The pivot pin 12 is then coupled to the stem 46 , e.g., by screwing the post 120 into the stem 46 . As FIG. 26 shows, the top insert 112 is then aligned with the bottom insert 108 by aligning the fastener openings 138 on the top and bottom inserts 112 and 108 , the guidepins 116 with the guidepin holes 130 , and the recessed area 136 with the ball 118 . [0183] The position of the mount 110 is then adjusted by rotating or rocking the mount about the x, y, and z axes (see FIGS. 27 a - 27 e ). The fastener 114 is then tightened to secure the mount 110 in a desired position (not shown). Finally, the head 42 is mounted onto the mount 110 (see FIGS. 28 and 29). [0184] B. Embodiment #2: [0185] Disk Slide Mechanism [0186] [0186]FIGS. 30 a - 34 detail another embodiment of a shoulder prosthesis mounting system 10 D embodying features of the invention. With reference to FIGS. 30 a and 30 b , the system 10 D comprises a stem 46 , a pivot pin 12 , a mounting ring 140 , a bottom disk 142 , a top disk 144 , an artificial head 42 , and a locking tool 146 . [0187] The stem is a conventional stem 46 and serves to receive a pivot pin 12 , as previously described for system 10 C The pivot pin 12 is similar in configuration to the pivot pin of System 10 C. The post 120 is adapted to pass through the bottom disk 142 and the mounting ring 140 to mate with the stem 46 , e.g., by threaded engagement. [0188] As FIG. 31 shows, the ball 118 is sized to rest within the bottom disk 142 . This arrangement allows the ball 118 to serve as a pivot surface, thereby permitting adjustment of the mounting ring 140 . [0189] As best seen in FIG. 30 a , the mounting ring 140 is comprised of an outer ring 148 having a circular marginal surface and an integrally-formed upstanding inner annular ring 150 . The center of the inner ring defines a chamber 152 and includes an opening 154 permitting passage of the post 120 . [0190] With reference again to FIG. 31, the chamber 152 is configured to receive the bottom disk 142 and the ball 118 . The outer surface 156 of the inner ring 150 is desirably configured, e.g., threaded, to mate with the interior surface 60 of the head 42 . [0191] In the illustrated embodiment, the inner ring 150 is concentric with respect to the outer ring 148 . However, the invention also contemplates embodiments in which the inner ring 150 is eccentric with respect to the outer ring 148 . [0192] As best seen in FIG. 34, the center opening 154 of the mounting ring 140 is of a larger diameter than the diameter of the post 120 and sized to permit translation of the mounting ring 140 about the x and y axes and rotation about the z-axis, as will be described in greater detail later. [0193] As seen in FIG. 30 a , the mounting ring 140 desirably has a locking aperature 158 . The aperature 158 is a bore that transverses the circumferential margin of the mounting ring 140 and serves to receive the locking tool 146 . The locking tool 146 is configured for insertion into the locking aperature 158 and allows rotation of the mounting ring 140 to tighten the head 42 onto the mounting ring 140 (see also FIG. 34). [0194] The bottom disk 142 is a ring-like member having an open center permitting passage of the post 120 and is configured to rest within the chamber 152 and receive the ball 118 (see FIGS. 30 a - 31 ). It is further configured to receive the top disk 144 , as illustrated in FIG. 32. [0195] Referring again to FIGS. 30 a and 30 b , the top disk 144 has a top surface 160 and a bottom surface 162 . The top surface 160 is desirably flat or otherwise configured to permit compression of the top and bottom disks 144 and 142 upon mounting of the head 42 onto the mounting ring 140 . The bottom surface 162 has a recessed area 164 configured to mate with the ball 118 . The top disk 144 is further configured to rest on the bottom disk 142 (see also FIG. 32). [0196] This stacking arrangement permits compression of the top and bottom disks 144 and 142 as the head 42 is mounted onto the mounting ring 140 and serves to maximize the surface area compressed, thereby securing the mounting ring 140 in a desired position. [0197] The artificial head 42 serves as a prosthesis for the head of a humerus, as previously described. As seen in FIG. 30 b , the recessed interior surface 60 of the head 42 is desirably concentric with respect to the outer surface 62 of the head 42 . The invention also contemplates, however, embodiments in which the interior surface 60 is eccentric. The interior surface 60 of the head 42 is also desirably threaded or otherwise configured to mate with the inner ring 150 of the mounting ring 140 . [0198] Similar to system 10 C, the system 10 D provides at least five degrees of freedom. [0199] First, as illustrated by arrows in FIGS. 33 a - 33 b , the mounting ring 140 can be rocked or rotated, i.e., tilted, about the x-axis (i.e., side to side rotation). [0200] Second, as illustrated by arrows in FIGS. 33 c - 33 d , the mounting ring 140 can be rocked or rotated, i.e., tilted, about the y-axis (i.e., front to back rotation). [0201] Third, as illustrated by arrows in FIG. 33 e , the mounting ring 140 can be rotated up to 360° in either direction about the z-axis. [0202] The difference between the outside diameter of the top and bottom disks 144 and 142 and the inside diameter of recessed chamber 152 forms a gap, as seen in FIG. 32. This arrangement permits linear translation along the x-axis, providing a fourth degree of freedom, and the y-axis, providing a fifth degree of freedom. [0203] In use, with reference to FIGS. 30 a - 32 , the post 120 is passed through the bottom disk 142 and the mounting ring 140 . The post 120 is then coupled to the stem 46 , e.g., by screwing. The top disk 144 is then aligned with the bottom disk 142 by aligning the recessed area 164 with the ball. Next, the head 42 is mounted onto the mounting ring 140 . [0204] The position of the head 42 is then adjusted by rotating and rocking the head 42 about the x, y, and z axes (see FIGS. 33 a - 33 e ). As FIG. 34 illustrates, the locking tool 146 is then inserted into the locking aperture 158 . As represented by arrows in FIG. 34, the mounting ring 140 is then rotated by use of the locking tool 146 to tighten the head 42 onto the mounting ring 140 . This action places all the components in compression and fixes the head 42 in place. [0205] C. Embodiment #3: [0206] Slotted Mechanism [0207] [0207]FIGS. 35 a - 40 detail another embodiment of a shoulder prosthesis mounting system 10 E embodying features of the invention. With reference to FIGS. 35 a and 35 b , the system comprises a stem 46 , a pivot pin 12 ), a bottom plate 166 , a top plate 168 , at least one fastener 170 , and at least one fastening element 172 for securing the fastener 170 . [0208] The stem 46 and pivot pin 12 are configured as previously described for systems 10 C and 10 D. The post 120 is adapted to pass through the bottom plate 166 to mate with the stem 46 , e.g., by threaded engagement. The ball 118 is sized to rest on the bottom plate 166 . This arrangement allows the ball 118 to serve as a pivot surface that permits adjustment of the bottom plate 166 . [0209] As shown in FIG. 36, the bottom plate 166 is a circular member having a major axis A 1 and a minor axis A 2 . An elongated eccentric slot 174 is provided along the major axis A 1 . The bottom plate 166 also provides a pair of elongated fixation slots 176 radially spaced from the center and parallel to the major axis A 1 . The fixation slots 176 allow the position of the top plate 168 to be laterally adjusted with respect to the bottom plate 166 . The fixation slots 176 also serve to receive fasteners 170 , e.g., bolts, to secure the position of the top plate 168 . [0210] As shown in FIG. 37, the eccentric slot 174 receives the ball 118 and allows lateral, i.e., side to side, adjustment (represented by arrows and phantom lines in FIG. 37) of the position of the ball 118 within the eccentric slot 174 . [0211] The bottom plate 166 includes a circumferential outer surface 178 configured to mate with the head 42 , e.g., by threaded engagement (see e.g., FIG. 35 b ). The bottom plate 166 serves to receive the top plate 168 in a stacked configuration. [0212] Referring again to FIG. 36, the top plate 168 is a generally elliptical member having a major axis A 3 and a minor axis A 4 . The major axis A 3 parallels the minor axis A 2 of the bottom plate 166 and the minor axis A 4 parallels the major axis A 1 of the bottom plate 166 when the top plate 168 is aligned with bottom plate 166 . The top plate 168 further provides fastener receiving openings 180 sized and configured to receive the fasteners 170 . [0213] The top plate 168 further provides a top surface 182 and a bottom surface 184 . The top surface 182 is configured to receive a fastening element 172 for the fastener 170 , e.g., a nut. The bottom surface 184 includes a recessed area 186 configured to mate with the ball 118 . The recessed area 186 desirably includes an opening 188 adapted for viewing the ball 118 , thereby aiding in aligning the top plate 168 with respect to the bottom plate 166 . The top plate 168 is further configured to rest on the ball 118 , leaving a gap between the top plate 168 and bottom plate 166 . [0214] The fasteners 170 , when tightened, serve to secure the plates 166 and 168 to the ball 118 in a desired position by compressing the top and bottom plates 166 and 168 together. The stacked arrangement of the plates 166 and 168 serves to maximize the surface area compressed, thereby aiding in securing the plates 166 and 168 in the desired position relative to the ball 118 . [0215] The artificial head 42 serves as a prosthesis for the head of a humerus, as previously described. The recessed interior surface 60 of the head 42 is desirably concentric with respect to the exterior surface 62 of the head 42 , as shown in FIG. 35 b . It should be understood, however, that the invention also contemplates embodiments in which the interior surface 60 is eccentric. [0216] Similar to systems 10 C and 10 D, the system 10 E provides at least five degrees of freedom. [0217] First, as illustrated by arrows in FIGS. 39 a - 39 b , the bottom plate 166 can be rocked or rotated, i.e., tilted, about the x-axis (i.e., side to side rotation). [0218] Second, as illustrated by arrows in FIGS. 39 c - 39 d , the bottom plate 166 can be rocked or rotated, i.e., tilted, about the y-axis (i.e., front to back rotation). [0219] Third, as illustrated by arrows in FIG. 39 e , the bottom plate 166 can be rotated up to 360° in either direction about the z-axis. [0220] The slots 176 in the base 166 permit translation of the linear position of the major axis A 1 and minor axis A 2 with respect to the pivot pin 12 when the bottom plate 166 is slid along the x axis, providing a fourth degree of freedom, or the y axis, providing a fifth degree of freedom. [0221] In assembling the system 10 E, the post 120 is passed through the eccentric slot 174 of the bottom plate 166 , thereby resting the ball 118 within the slot 174 , as seen in FIG. 37. The bottom plate 166 is then slid (illustrated by arrows in FIG. 37) along the slot 174 until the desired lateral position is obtained. The fasteners 170 are then passed through the fixation slots 176 of the bottom plate 166 . [0222] Next, the top plate 168 is aligned with the bottom plate 166 by aligning the recessed area 186 with the ball 118 and the fastener receiving holes 180 with the fasteners 170 . The fasteners 170 are then passed through the fixation slots 176 of the bottom plate 166 and the fastener receiving openings 180 on the top plate 168 . The top plate 168 is thereby positioned to rest on the ball 118 and over bottom plate 166 , as FIG. 38 illustrates. The position of the plates 166 and 168 is then adjusted by rotating or rocking the bottom plate 166 about the x, y, and z axes (see FIGS. 39 a - 39 e ). [0223] The components of the system 10 E can be provided in a fully assembled form in which the user only need tighten the fasteners 170 after adjusting the position of the plates 166 and 168 to secure the plates 166 and 168 in the desired position. [0224] Fastening elements 172 , e.g., nuts, can be used if desired to tighten and secure the fasteners 170 . This action compresses the plates 166 and 168 around the ball 118 to secure the plates 166 and 168 in the desired orientation and location relative to the ball 118 . [0225] Finally, as seen in FIG. 40, the head 42 is mounted onto the bottom plate 166 . [0226] The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Furthermore, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described. While the preferred embodiment has been described, the details may be changed without departing from the invention, which is defined by the claims.

Adjustable prostheses and related methods provide a wide range of adjustment along or about multiple axes. The prostheses and related methods make possible a straightforward, yet robust way of securing, e.g., a humeral head prosthesis in a desired position and maintaining the prosthesis in the desired position during use.

RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/780,123, filed Feb. 8, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,143,099 which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention A data warehousing system is described in which transactionally related operational data is date/timestamped, processed, and stored in a historical data warehouse in a subject-oriented form suitable for easy manipulation and analysis by a user. More specifically, a computer controlled data warehousing system is disclosed whereby original operational data is collected, via a change data capture technique, and processed in a two step procedure in a dynamic fashion, wherein the operational data is first pre-processed and then transformed to generate data in a subject-oriented format that permits a user to easily and creatively utilize the subject-oriented data in useful and non-expected ways. 2. Description of the Background Art Existing OLTP or revenue generating systems contain programming that permits a computer to simultaneously handle revenue generating activities and report generating processes. Such duel programmed systems are inherently restricted in their efficiency by being burdened with two functions that are coupled too closely in the processing scheme. Additionally, the existing systems store data in data warehouses that contain all of the raw, original, or operational data in a non-dynamic form (i.e.: the stored operational data is not continually updated in a dynamic fashion to contain date/timestamped information (past and current information) and the stored operational data contains all of the input information in a form that is not easily accessed by a user, thereby preventing easily created novel applications). A user tapping into such an existing system to collect desired information from the operational data must first construct a program(s) that extracts the bits and pieces of information that are of particular interest from the remaining operational data. Each time this “programming” step occurs, time, effort, and money are required. Traditional operational data contains no “analytical” transformation that allows the user to easily access virtually any desired information without the need of additional programming and wasted time and effort. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,332 describes a project management system that includes automated schedule and cost integration. The system automatically bridges a conventional network scheduling tool and a conventional performance measurement tool. Common data is formatted with properties for use by both tools. The data stored in each tool is kept consistent to prevent multiple entries and unnecessary revisions. U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,098 discloses a system and method for selectively distributing commercial messages over a communications network. Certain types of messages are tagged and then routed via a network to the appropriate subscriber terminal. The current subject invention differs from the system disclosed in '098 in that the subject invention could be utilized in the process of deciding which customers receive messages, but goes way beyond that minor application. Related in U.S. Pat. No. 5,696,906 is a telecommunication user account management system and method of use (a traditional “subscriber management system”). A non-dynamic data management scheme is provided for handling analysis and reporting functions for subscriber accounts for cable television services. The analysis and reporting functions include standard procedures such as word processing, editing, emailing, and the like that are pre-selected and not easily extendable to different options later desired by a user. U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,142 presents a method and apparatus for the development and implementation of an interactive customer service system that is dynamically responsive to change in marketing decisions and environments. The invention is an interfacing system that overlays existing data that allows a customer to make a product or service selection if the customer so desires from the products or services presented as a result of the customer's interaction with the interfaces. This is an interface tool which includes modules for specifying global parameters relating products or services to be presented to the customer through the interface. Characterized in U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,286 is an automated activity-based management system to assign indirect costs to items like equipment and facilities usage. Both traditional accounting information and analysis schemes are included in the system. A relational database is created and utilized by the system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,410 presents a churn (deactivation of an active customer account) amelioration system and method of use (i.e., a scoring process). Based on a preexisting set of rules, the system evaluates customers in response to worth and automatically prompts appropriate customers for pre-approved potential offers and actions. Data within the current subject data warehouse, as opposed to the '410 system, could be utilized to determine which customer is to churn, but the subject invention does not actually decide if a customer is about to churn. A telecommunication user (subscriber) account management system and method of use are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,284. The system creates, maintains, processes, and analyzes data regarding individual users for telecommunication services. Specific, preexisting capabilities are included in the is data analysis portion of the invention. The current subject invention contains not only preexisting or “canned” report capabilities, as in '284, but easily modifiable templates and programming that may be manipulated to fit exactly the business. The foregoing background information and patents reflect the state of the art of which the applicant is aware and is tendered with the view toward discharging applicant's acknowledged duty of candor in disclosing information which may be pertinent in the examination of this application. It is respectfully submitted, however, that this information and patents do not teach or render obvious applicant's claimed invention. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a computer based historical data warehouse system that may be easily manipulated for the extraction and generation of useful information and reports. Another object of the present invention is to furnish a computer based historical data warehouse system that may be easily manipulated for the extraction and generation of useful information and reports, wherein operational data having no time reference is amended with a time dimension to create subject-oriented data. A further object of the present invention is to supply a computer based historical data warehouse system that may be easily manipulated for the extraction and generation of useful information and reports, wherein operational data having no time reference is amended with a time dimension to create subject-oriented data in a two-step process having a first data pre-processing step followed by a second data transformation step. Yet a further object of the present invention is to describe a computer based system for controlling and manipulating information for a goods or services provider with the flexibility of easily adapting (in any compatible computer language) a “reporting” module for the needs of different customers (including, but not limited to telecommunications, utilities, consulting, design, and educational areas) while not necessarily changing an associated “operational” module responsible for revenue production. Still yet another object of the present invention is to describe a computer operated system and method of use for processing information in which operational data is transformed into a form of dynamic subject-oriented data that may be easily manipulated by a user to extract useful information. Yet an additional object of the present invention is to disclose a computer based historical data warehouse system that may be easily manipulated for the extraction and generation of useful information and reports, wherein operational data having no time reference is amended with a time dimension to create subject-oriented data in a two-step process that employs re-use of various operational codes over time and having a first data pre-processing step followed by a second data transformation step. Disclosed is a computer operated historical data warehouse system that is utilized by a provider of goods or services such as a telecommunication related enterprise, a utilities company, and the like. Generally, the subject system comprises a computer facilitated or controlled and implemented data warehouse system that is easily adapted for various report and analysis purposes. Usually, the computer system utilizing the subject historical data warehouse comprises a first data base module (usually running on a first computer or computers) for handling essentially all of the revenue generating activities of the enterprise and a second data base module (usually running on a second computer or computers) for processing essentially all report generating and analyzing activities for the enterprise. The historical data warehouse subject invention is operational within the paradigm of a computer facilitated environment. Clearly, suitable computer means, programming means, computer languages, platforms, formats, and the like, now known or later developed, are acceptable for running the subject system within the parameters of this disclosure. Those skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that certain existing computers and computer languages are more readily adapted for the subject system than others, however, many differing combinations of supporting hardware and software may run the subject invention and are considered applicable within the realm of this disclosure. Although the subject invention may be utilized within most general enterprise or business settings, an exemplary usage is in a field that deals with utility providers and telecommunication service providers (the latter supplying cable and cable-related goods and services to viewers). For the telecommunication example, usually, the computer based subject invention, essentially, merges a data warehousing subsystem with a cable information handling subsystem and then segregates certain functionality to create two high level system environments, frequently: 1) an “operational” or “production” module and 2) a “decision support” or “report” module. The “operational” module is responsible for performing the traditional functions of order processing, payment processing, call rating, and the like involved with providing cable services and products. Generally, the basic function of the “operational” module is directed towards revenue generation (order processing) and servicing/provisioning (customer care, with the customer being the end user of the subject system). The “decision support” module contains all the existing reporting functionality combined with a full complement of data warehousing and reporting functions. The capability to generate a few of the reports (transaction reports like print batch summaries and details, statement production, and similar reports) may be, for convenience sake or customer usage, integrated with the “operational” module and not into the “decision support” module. However, these retained reporting capabilities are few in number and do not detract from the basic concept that the vast majority of report functions exist in the “decision support” module. Usually, the two modules are “machine” or computer distinct in that there are two data base servers (one for the “operational” module (e.g.: and ORACLE™ RDBMS (relational database management system)) and a second one for the “decision support” (e.g.; a data warehouse RDBMS such as Decision Server™ from Informix)) and consequently two separate computers are usually preferred. The distinct databases are kept “equal” (but are not identical in content or structure) either real-time or periodically (usually daily or some other selected time interval) via change data capture and database, connectivity tools. This, of course, is precisely the main technical reason for creating independent modules: enhanced performance for both systems. Usually, the subject historical data warehousing system/process/program is utilized to connect the operational and decision support modules and comprises the event or time-driven off-loading of strategic, analytical business information from an operational system to a potentially lower cost server. The off loaded data is subject oriented and time-variant. Unlike data on the operational system, the subject oriented data covers a much larger time horizon, includes multiple databases that have been cleansed (data defined uniformly), and is optimized for answering complex queries from direct users and applications. Usually, the subject oriented data in the historical data warehouse is utilized for decision support rather than operations. Different types of users can summarize the subject oriented data at various levels to facilitate access. The subject historical data warehouse provides a means to produce data that can be used to perform in-depth analytical analyses of the utilizing business (usually via ROLAP or Relational On Line Analytical Processing). Analysts can perform complex analyses using comprehensive drilling capabilities to enable drill up, down within, and across the supplied subject oriented data. For example, executives in a business can use graphical drilldown capabilities and retrieve information via point and click technology utilizing graphics and buttons to access desired information via web-based applications. Also, the subject invention provides “knowledge” workers with query capabilities to do ad hoc database navigation, drilling, and point and click reporting. Additionally, casual users can employ the subject invention to retrieve data from the subject warehouse for use in other application such as Microsoft Excel™ or Access™. Further, remote users can use a standard web browser for accessing the data. Preferably, the subject historical data warehouse does not reside on the operational system, thus system overhead, performance management, and security concerns with the production system are minimal. Since business data is located in a single warehouse, data fragmentation is eliminated and users can issue queries without IT support. The creation of any “enterprise data warehouse” is a large undertaking for any organization. It involves gathering user requirements, deciphering data to best accommodate the user requirements, defining the system architecture, cleaning the data, and loading it into the data warehouse, defining a mechanism to keep the data current in the data warehouse, defining the mechanisms to get information out of the data warehouse, user education and training and operational education and training. Traditionally, data warehouses are costly and time-consuming custom projects. Approximately, eighty percent of the project time goes to gathering requirements and making the resultant information available (implementation). An accomplished goal for the subject invention was to put the data warehouse in a “box” (readily adaptable format for any existing purposes and any future or not-yet-known purposes) and cut the implementation time. In practice, usually, the longest lead item was user training. The subject historical data warehouse is very flexible to meet a variety of end user requirements and is able to accommodate any end-user tools. It is easy to modify and maintain as the primary users and maintainers of the data warehouse were non-IT personnel. It should be noted that many companies have traditional data warehouses that can be implemented in a repeatable process including consulting firms and software development firms. They all start with gathering the end user requirements and selecting data to put in the data warehouse. Key to the subject invention is that the subject historical data warehouse does not start with user requirements. It starts with the premise that all data that is “analyzable,” either now or later, should go into the data warehouse. All data should be made available to the end user and not just the data that “currently” appears useful. All of the back end work with collecting the data, cleansing the data, and formatting and loading the data is done by the subject invention. Data is loaded into the subject data warehouse everyday (or at any other predetermined time period) with the previous day's data available the next morning for analysis. More specifically, the subject invention comprises a computer system and a method, embodied in a computer program(s), for generating an historical data warehouse in which operational data is converted in a two-step process into subject-oriented data. After obtaining operational data records from a legacy source system, the two-step process comprises a first pre-processing stage followed by a second transformation stage. In the first step a pre-processor utilizes the obtained operational data records to generate pre-processed data records. The pre-processing comprises operating on each operational data record in a stepwise manner, adding new data to an immediately prior operated-on record with an entry being recorded only for the record having the last stepwise operation. It must be noted that existing systems add data to the original record which is then recorded and the process repeated for the next bit of data. The subject invention does not record at each data addition. The subject invention's stepwise manner only records the final operated-on data, a much more efficient process than prior techniques. In the second step pre-processed data records are transformed into related subject-oriented data records. The transforming comprises linking related pre-processed data records together by means of reusable primary keys and dates obtained by trigger or log-scraping within the RDBMS. The pre-processed and transformed data is then stored in the related subject-oriented data records in the historical data warehouse. Usually, the subject system includes standard viewing means such as browsers, spreadsheets, and the like. Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description that follows, when considered in conjunction with the associated drawing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a flow/schematic diagram illustrating the subject invention. FIG. 2 illustrates that the subject invention load process is broken down into a two-step process: pre-processing and transforming. FIG. 3 shows Eff_Date and End_Date processing by the subject invention. FIG. 4 exemplifies the transform process of the subject invention using two typical tables from the legacy source system. FIG. 5 shows an example of the subject invention processing records into an SVC order history (an historical warehouse table) and is seen, in a general form, within FIG. 4 . FIG. 6 shows an example of processing records into the product tables and is seen, in a general form, within FIG. 4 . FIG. 7 shows, for the subject invention, the contents of a typical historical data warehouse, in this case, for a service order history dimension in which the relevant fields in the table appear in the center with selected contents displayed to the right and left sides. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The subject invention utilizes a change data capture methodology to build an historical data warehouse for various suitable users. The activity based integrated data warehouse (historical data warehouse) processes transaction data into a format that is optimized for analytical and query reports. The constraints on the legacy source system makes the Extract/Transform/Load (ETL) processes different from those commonly used in a data warehouse environment. For exemplary purposes only, a telecommunication operator will be employed as a typical user of the subject invention and specific references will be directed to the typical operations of such a user. Generally, the subject method/program processes or loads the transactional, legacy, raw, initial, or original operational data into a “dynamic” subject-oriented format that is stored in the historical data warehouse and is accessed by standard means such as web browsers (for example and not by way of limitation: MS-Internet Explorer™ or NetscapeNavigator™), spread-sheet programs (for example and not by way of limitation: MS-Excel™), database programs (for example and not by way of limitation: MS-Access™), and the like. Referring now to FIG. 1 , as operational transactions are committed to an RDBMS on the legacy (pre-existing) source system(s) 5 , the data in the individual transactions (insert, Update, Delete) are captured and forwarded to the SQL server collector database 10 via triggers or log-scraping. Date/timestamps are derived from the triggers or log-scraping. The source system 5 has a batch process that produces individual promotional records (user defined parameters) into a proprietary formatted flat file 15 . These promotional records are decoded into records that can be placed into the SQL server collector database 10 . Date/timestamps are derived from the batch date. The load process 20 integrates and processes (a two-step process) the data from the SQL server collector database 10 into the historical data warehouse 25 . Report or access servers 30 are attached to the historical data warehouse 25 to get the data out of the warehouse 25 and unto the user's desktop. Preferably, the historical data warehouse 25 includes a standard set of core reports components, and metadata that are identical for each implementation. It must be kept in mind that several operational data or system characteristics exist and were taken into account in the subject invention, including: 1. The legacy source system records are not directly date/timestamped. However, a RDBMS associated with the legacy source system may be utilized in obtaining dates. 2. The legacy source system re-uses the primary key on all records and keeps only the current record of all reference tables. The completed records on the source system can be inaccurate for reporting purposes because previous reference table values are not kept. The warehouse data needs to be accurate. 3. The legacy source system has some inefficiency. Instead of doing an Update when a record changes, on some occasions it does a Delete followed by an Insert. On occasion, rather than doing one Update to update all of the fields in the transaction, the source system does several updates and/or combinations of Delete and Insert to change the data. This “noise” should be kept out of the data warehouse, as it will skew reporting (i.e. Delete/Insert or Insert/Delete could be skewed as churn rather than updates or changes). 4. Products/services purchased are subscription based with an indefinite end date. (cable services, high speed data services, telephony services) Orders start the receiving of the products/services and orders stop the receiving of products/services. Products/services are tracked by a customer after they are sold. FIG. 2 illustrates that the load process 20 is broken down into a two-step process: pre-processing 35 and transforming 40 . Also, there are some temporary so staging tables 45 (DP_tables) that exist as long as the load is going on and permanent staging tables 50 (_SB tables—the _SB is shorthand for the term “sandbox”) that exist all the time (also note that D_tables exist in the SQL server collection 10 ). These processes are described in more detail below. Pre-Processing Description Several traditional problems were solved by the subject pre-processing step. Records must be processed in the order in which they occurred on the source system to get accurate history. In order to get fast load speeds in the warehouse, most Extract Transform and Load (ETL) tools use the RDBMS loader. The loader can only look at the record as it exists in the warehouse currently and the record that it needs to modify or insert into the warehouse. With change data capture methodology, a single record can have a series of transactions against it. An order can be inserted (I). It can be updated (U). It can be deleted (D) and it can be reinserted (D/I). Other than the first insertion and the last delete, there can be many updates, deletes, and re-inserts during the active life of an order. Depending upon the business rules of the source systems, sometimes each individual change is captured and sometimes the records are rolled up into one record by date. When loading the data from the SQL server collector tables to the subject warehouse it is done as a batch of “like transactions.” This means that the delete, insert, and update processes run independent of each other. As an example, given that the transactions were I/D/I, then if the deletes ran first then an error will occur because the record has not been inserted. When the second insert occurs it will cap off the first with its TRANS_TIME value instead of the TRANS_TIME value of the D record. The following example clearly shows the problem (see Table 1). In the warehouse there are two updateable columns with the values of C and Q (starting warehouse values). Three update transactions come in with each transaction only updating one of the columns. The problem is that only the last transaction will be recorded into the warehouse because the records are not committed until the end. TABLE 1 Starting Warehouse Values of C and Q Input Records Warehouse Trans Input Records Warehouse Without With Pre- Type Data Values Pre-processing processing C Q (recorded) C Q (recorded) U B- B Q (recorded) -- (B Q not recorded) U -C C C (recorded) -- (B C not recorded) U B- B Q (recorded) B C (recorded) Notice that in the non-pre-processed situation each intermediate value (BQ and CC) is recorded and each one denotes a change that starts with the original value (CQ) (every record goes back to the original record), while in the subject pre-processed case the dashes indicate that the intermediate changed values (BQ and BC) are not recorded and that each value results from a serial or stepwise operation on the immediately previous value, not always on the original value, as happens with the non-pre-process situation. Plainly, processing the records into the warehouse in transaction order will take far too long. The subject pre-processor adds data to records that came from other records in the job stream. This allows the records to be processed individually. The pre-processor will run after all the jobs that take the data from SQL server D_tables to DP_tables has been run. After the pre-processor is run, the jobs that take the data from the DP_tables to the warehouse will be run. The pre-processor operates on all records that have a “P” in the C_PROCESS_CODE. When it is done with the record, it will change to a “N” or “Y”. By way of example, see Table 2. TABLE 2 Data Fields That May Be Used and/or Filled In By Pre-processor Trans — Prev — Cur — Prev_End — Cur_End — Process — Type Flag Flag Date Date Code Wherein for: Trans_Type I = Insert, U = Update, D = Delete Prev_Flag Default = N Y = Delete the record from the permanent staging table and process this record instead (D/I). Cur_Flag Default = N Y = Process this record into the warehouse and delete it from the permanent staging table (I/D). Prev_End_Date Date/time of a previous or current record that is used to cap off a previous record. Cur_End_Date Date/time of a previous or current record that is used to cap off this record. Process_Code Y = Pre-processed, do not process again or further N = Pre-processed, ready for transformation P = Ready for pre-processor There are 4 types of pre-processing depending upon how the source system behaves. Type 1—Ignore No preprocessing is needed because: 1—D records are ignored (process code change to Y) 2—U and I records will update the record if it exist and insert it if it does not. 3—Transformation process will handle simple U and I records in the same input stream. The logic is: If record is already in the warehouse then update it. If not then insert the record For U records not in the warehouse check to see if an I record is in the input stream. If so then update the I record with the U record data. The following exemplary tables use ignore logic: DP_CNTROLPARAMS DP_EVTTITLE DP_RATERPTCTRS DP_ZIPMASTER Type 2—Insert Table 3 illustrates insert logic. TABLE 3 Insert Logic TRANS TYPE ACTION D Take no action, process as Delete I Take no action, process as Insert U Change the U to an I D/I Where D process code = N Put the D trans time in column ‘prev end date’ of I Change D process code to Y D/U Illogical combination Where D process code = N Put the D trans time in the ‘prev end date’ column of U Change the D process code to Y Change the U to an I D/D Illogical combination Change the second D process code to Y I/U Apply U record trans time to the I record ‘curr end date’ Apply the I trans time to the its ‘prev end date’ Change the U to an I I/I Illogical combination Apply the 1 st I trans time to the its ‘prev end date’ Apply the 2 nd I trans time to the 1 st ‘curr end date’ Apply the 2 nd I trans time to the its ‘prev end date’ I/D Where D process code = N Apply the I trans time to the its ‘prev end date’ Put the D trans time in column ‘curr end date’ of I Change D process code to Y U/I Illogical combination Apply I record trans time to the U record ‘curr end date’ Apply the U trans time to the its ‘prev end date’ Change the U to an I U/D Where D process code = N Apply D record trans time to the U record ‘curr end date’ Apply the U trans time to the its ‘prev end date’ Change the U to an I Change the D process code to Y U/U Apply the 1 st U trans time to the its ‘prev end date’ Apply the 2 nd U trans time to the 1 st ‘curr end date’ Change both U to I NOTES: The D records in these tables mean cap off the existing record. U and I records are processed the same into the warehouse by capping off the existing record and adding another one. Updates are treated the same as inserts. The following tables use insert logic; DP_CODE36 DP_CODE95 DP_CODE999 DP_OPRIDS DP_PROBLEMCODE DP_SLSMN DP_STUDIOTABLE DP_TECHS Type 3—Update Table 4 illustrates Update logic. TABLE 4 Update Logic TRANS TYPE ACTION D Take no action, process as delete I Take no action, process as insert U Take no action, process as update D/I Where D process code = N Put the D trans time in column ‘prev end date’ of I Change D process code to Y D/U Illogical combination Where D process code = N Put the D trans time in the ‘prev end date’ of U Change the D process code to Y D/D Illogical combination Change the second D process code to Y I/U Apply the U data to the I record Change the U process code to Y I/D Where D process code = N Put the D trans time in column ‘curr end date’ of I Change D process code to Y I/I Illogical combination Apply the 2 nd I trans time to the 1 st ‘curr end date’ U/I Illogical combination No action to take because both U and I will update if in warehouse and insert if not U/D Where D process code = N Put the D trans time in column ‘curr end date’ of U Change D process code to Y U/U Where U process code = N Apply the data of the 2 nd U to the 1 st Change the process code of the 2 nd U to Y NOTES: The D records in these tables mean cap off the existing record. U and I records are processed the same into the warehouse. If they already exist in the warehouse, they are updated. If they do not exist in the warehouse, they are inserted. Updates are treated as updates. The following tables use Update logic: DP_ALTSERVICEADDRS DP_AUXCUST DP_AUXHOUSE DP_COMPLEXMASTER DP_CUSTBILLADDR DP_CUSTMASTER DP_EVTCHARGES DP_EVTCHRGLVLS DP_EVTORDERS DP_EVTSHOWING DP_HOUSEMASTER DP_PPVDISTR DP_RATECODE DP_RPTCTRS Type 4—Replicate Table 5 illustrates Replicate logic. TABLE 5 replicate Logic TRANS TYPE ACTION D Take no action, process as delete I Take no action, process as insert U Take no action, process as update D/I Process as individual transactions D/U Illogical combination Process as individual transactions, Error handling will handle D/D Illogical combination Process as individual transactions Error handling will handle I/U Apply the U data to the I record Change the U process code to Y I/D Where D process code = N Set the CURR_FLAG to Y for the I Set the process code to Y for the D After I is processed through, a script will run that will set process code to Y where CURR_FLAG = Y I/I Illogical combination Process as individual transactions Error handling will handle U/I Illogical combination Process as individual transactions Error handling will handle U/D Where D process code = N Set the CURR_FLAG to Y for the U Set the process code to Y for the D After U is processed through, a script will run that will set process code to Y where CURR_FLAG = Y U/U Where U process code = N Apply the data of the 2 nd U to the 1 st Change the process code of the 2 nd U to Y NOTES: The D records in these tables mean delete the record. U records that do not exist in the warehouse will get ERROR (partial). I records that already exist in the warehouse will get a warning. The following tables use Update logic DP_WIPMASTER DP_WIPOUTLET DP_WIPCUSTRATES Transforming Description The subject transforming process is illustrated by using as an example: Reference Table EFF_DATE and END_DATE. The legacy source system re-uses the primary keys on all records. For example Code B can have different descriptions over time (see Table 6). TABLE 6 Re-use of Primary Keys END_DATE CODE DESCRIPTION EFF_DATE (timestamp) 1 B TOO EXPENSIVE 12/12/1997 12/12/1997 2 B POOR SERVICE 12/12/1997 12/15/1997 3 B LOST JOB 12/15/1997 12/16/1997 4 B SATELITE 12/16/1997 12/31/9999 A critical consideration for the subject invention is that the legacy source system does not date/timestamp the records (no dates directly associated with the records) such that the date/timestamp is available as data inside the legacy source system relational data base. Date/timestamps are needed in order to keep records with identical primary keys in order (the reference primary keys are reused over time). When the records are extracted out of the legacy source system, they must be extracted from the RDBMS logs or the RDBMS trigger processing so the date of the Insert, Update and Delete is captured. This allows the subject invention to affix date/timestamps to records where there are none in the legacy source system. Again, date/timestamps are needed because of the re-use of the primary keys on the legacy source systems. The date/timestamp of the record allows the selection of the correct record when joining two tables on primary keys where there are duplicate primary keys in the tables. When creating order records in the warehouse with code B (an exemplary primary key), the system must make sure it gets the correct description for B. The reference warehouse tables have an EFF_DATE and END_DATE column: the EFF_DATE=C_TRANS_TIME Is the system date/timestamp of when the record was “created” and the END_DATE=C_TRANS_TIME is the date/timestamp of when the records was “deleted.” If a record was “created” and “deleted” on the same day, the EFF_DATE and END_DATE will be equal. These dates come from a transaction log and are not a part of the legacy source system. These dates are important because fact records with an EFF_DATE will look for the first DW_ids from these LU_tables with fact EFF_DATE equal or greater than the LU_table's EFF_DATE and less than the LU_table's END_DATE (see Table 6 above). If a fact record has an EFF_DATE=12/14/97, desciption=POOR SERVICE (12/14/97 GE (greater than or equal) 12/12/97 AND 12/14/97 LT (less than) 12/15/97). If a fact record has an EFF_DATE=12/12/97, description=POOR SERVICE (12/12/97 GE 12/12/97 AND 12/12/97 LT 12/15/97). If a fact record has an EFF_DATE 12/15/97, description=LOST JOB (12/15/97 GE 12/15/97 AND 12/15/97 LT 12/16/97). If a fact record has an EFF_DATE=10/15/98, description=SATELITE (10/15/98 GE 12/16/97 AND 10/15/98 LT 12/31/9999). As seen in FIG. 3 , the data is read from the appropriate temporary staging tables 60 and a key for the correct description is obtained 65 . The key is then output to the record in the data warehouse 70 . When joining an input table on a warehouse table that has an EFF_DATE and END_DATE, the transformation is must be joining with the appropriate record. For example, in LU_CUSTOMER, the input is joined with LU_CUSTOMER on SS_HOUSE and SS_CUST. In the warehouse over time, there will be more than one record in LU_CUSTOMER with the same SS_HOUSE and SS_CUST. The C_TRANS_TIME of the input record must be greater than or equal (GE) than the CUST_EFF_DATE and less than (LT) the CUST_END_DATE. Transformation Example: For clarity, an example of a subject transformation that handles the problems presented by a legacy source system is now provided. Records have already been pre-processed and are in DP_WIPMASTER. (See FIG. 4 ). 1. Process records from DP_WIPMASTER to DP_WIPMASTER_SB (see FIGS. 4 and 5 , elements 100 , 101 , 102 , and 103 ). DP_WIPMASTER_SB (_SB is the shorthand abbreviation for “sandbox”) is a permanent staging table and holds a record for each current order on the source system. DP_WIPMASTER_SB holds 3 types of records: service orders; trouble call orders; and SRO orders. These are differentiated by status. Update transactions only contain the fields that changed. If the field did not change, it will come in as null. This table serves to help identify Update transactions as far as to what is the status and ORDER_DW_ID, thus, the invention can tell which table (SVC_ORDER_HISTORY (SOH), TC_ORDER_HISTORY, or SRO_ORDER_HISTORY) and which record in the table to update. With the re-use of the primary key, it may be difficult to determine to which table the record should belong. This table holds an entry for all ‘current’ order records that are in the legacy source system. When a deleted record comes in, the record is deleted from the DP_WIPMASTER_SB. This usually indicates that the key will be re-used shortly. Prev_Flag and Cur_Flag, previously described, help manage this table. An example of typical entries in DP_WIPMASTER_SB follows (see Table 7). All of the data comes from the DP_WIPMASTER record except C_PROCESS_CODE and ORDER_DW_ID. TABLE 7 Generalized Possible DP_WIPMASTER_SB Entries C_TRANS — C_TRANS — PREV_END — CURR_END — C_PROCESS — ORDER — Record TYPE TIME FLAG FLAG CODE DW_ID Data Wherein for: C_PROCESS_CODE N=Not processed Y=Processed, do nothing further S=Processed into SVC_ORDER_HISTORY F=Processed into SVC_ORDER_HISTORY and its WIPCUSTRATE records have been processed also. and ORDER_DW_ID The primary key of the SVC_ORDER_HISTORY record for this entry will be used to process any updates and used as references to other tables. FIG. 5 shows the details (generally seen in FIG. 4 , 100 ) of the DP_WIPMASTER records being processed into DP_WIPMASTER_SB. Insert ‘I’ Records 101 : If the record does NOT exist in DP_WIPMASTER_SB then: insert into DP_WIPMASTER_SB with a C_PROCESS_CODE of ‘N’ If the record does exist and Prev_Flag=Y, delete the record and insert this record. If the record does exist and Prev_Flag=N, then set the DP_WIPMASTER record as an ‘E’ error else set DP_WIPMASTER record as ‘Y’ (processed). Update ‘U’ Records 102 : If the record does exist in DP_WIPMASTER_SB then: Update DP_WIPMASTER_SB and set the C_PROCESS_CODE to ‘N’ If it does NOT exist then mark the DP_WIPMASTER record as an ‘E’ error else set DP_WIPMASTER to ‘Y’ Delete ‘D’ Records 103 : It the record does exist in DP_WIPMASTER_SB then: Set the C_PROCESS_CODE to ‘Y’ in DP_WIPMASTER_SB (Will be deleted) If the DP_WIPMASTER_SB record (parent) is deleted, the DP_WIPCUSTRATES_SB and DP_WIPOUTLET_SB (Children) associated with the DP_WIPMASTER_SB must be deleted A script to join DP_WIPMASTER_SB with C_PROCESS_CODE=‘Y’ to DP_WIPOUTLET/WIPCUSTRATE_SB with C_PROCESS_CODE of ‘F’ records have been processed on a previous run) and set the C_PROCESS_CODE to ‘Y’ If the children's C_PROCESS_CODE is not set to ‘F’ then set the C_PROCESS_CODE to ‘E’ error for DP_WIPMASTER_SB and DP_WIPOUTLET/WIPCUSTRATE_SB If the record does NOT exist in DP_WIPMASTER than mark the record as a ‘W’. 2. Process Records from DP_WIPMASTER_SB to SVC_ORDER_HISTORY (See FIGS. 4 and 5 , elements 105 , 108 , and 109 ). DP_WIPMASTER_SB loads SVC_ORDER_HISTORY with DP_WIPMASTER_SB statuses of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, a, b, c, and d with DP_WIPMASTER_SB PROCESS_CODE=‘N’. Insert ‘I’ Records 108 : The record is located in SVC_ORDER_HISTORY using primary keys status and ORDER_ENTRY_DATE in DP_WIPMASTER_SB. If the record is found, it is an error and if the record is not found, insert the record into SVC_ORDER_HISTORY. When inserting (and updating) a record, there are many ‘codes’ in the input record where a table look-up takes place in order to get the data warehouse key to place into the fact record. The EFF/END date process is used to locate the particular code in the look-up table as that is what was on the legacy system when the order was created. Since the date from the log or triggers is used, the subject invention is sure that this was the code assigned by the legacy source system. For ALL fields that were “preprocessed” into one record, the C_TRANS_TIME (date/timestamp) cones from the first transaction in the job stream. The preprocessor does this in the subject invention. Once a record is processed (inserted) into SVC_ORDER_HISTORY, the DP_WIPMASTER_SB process code is set to “S.” Update ORDER_DW_ID in DP_WIPMASTER_SB with the primary key of the new record is inserted into SVC_ORDER_HISTORY. A script runs after the processing is complete that sets all C_PROCESS_CODE to Y if its CURR_END_FLAG=Y (I/D, U/D, I/U/D) and sets all PREV_END_FLAG to N if they equal Y after processing. (D/I). Update ‘U’ Records 109 : The record is located in SVC_ORDER_HISTORY using status and ORDER_DW_ID in DP_WIPMASTER_SB. If the record is found, update it and if the record is not found, it is an error. If a record is updated into SVC_ORDER_HISTORY, the system must update the appropriate records in CUST_PRODUCT_HISTORY (CPH) 107 and CUST_RPT_CTR_HISTORY (RCH) 106 . When an update is made to CPH/RCH, the system determines if the CPH/RCH is from an activation of a code of a deactivation of a code. A service order can have both, since an order can have both +codes and −codes. In CPH/RCH the following SVC_ORDER_HISTORY fields belong to the activation (+ratecode): SVC_ORDER_DW_ID CORP_DEACTIV_RSN In CPH/RCH the following SVC_ORDER_HISTORY fields belong to the deactivation (−ratecode): SVC_ORDER_DW_ID CORP_DEACTIV_RSN In CPH/RCH the following SVC_ORDER_HISTORY fields are common and regardless of activation or deactivation: CORP_CAMPAIGN CORP_SALES_METHOD SALES_REP_DW_ID OPERATOR_DW_ID TECH_DW_ID CORP_CANCEL_RSN_DW_ID ORDER_ENTRY_DATE ORDER_DONE_DATE ORDER_FINALIZE_DATE ORDER_SCHEDULE_DATE ORDER_COMPLETE_DATE ORDER_BILL_DATE SVC_CYCLE_DATE (CPH ONLY) WIP_PERIOD Exemplary Update for CUST_PRODUCT_HISTORY Locate record(s) in CUST_PRODUCT_HISTORY using SVC_ORDER_DW_ID in DP_WIPMASTER_SB: If record is not found, do nothing. If record is found, update the appropriate fields. There are multiple records to update. Exemplary Update for CUST_RPT_CTR_HISTORY Locate record(s) in CUST_RPT_CTR_HISTORY using SVC_ORDER_DW_ID in DP_WIPMASTER_SB. If record is not found, do nothing. If record is found, update the appropriate fields. There are multiple records to update. Once a record has been processed (updated) into SVC_ORDER_HISTORY, the C_PROCESS_CODE for DP_WIPMASTER_SB is set to “S.” A script runs after the processing is complete that sets all C_PROCESS_CODE to Y if its CURR_END_FLAG=Y (I/D, U/D, I/U/D). The system sets all PREV_END_FLAG to N if they equal Y after processing (D/I). Delete ‘D’ Records Records are never deleted out of SVC_ORDER_HISTORY. Delete records are not processed. Recap of Different Scenarios Case 1: A Single DP_WIPMASTER Record With C_TRANS_TYPE of I: The entire record will be inserted in to the DP_WIPMASTER-SB. If the record is already there then it will update the existing record and write a warning. The ORDER_DW_ID will equal zero in DP_WIPMASTER_SB. Insert the record into SVC_ORDER_HISTORY. If the record already exists then mark it (DP_WIPMASTER_SB) as an error else insert it. Set the C_PROCESS_CODE to S in DP_WIPMASTER_SB. Update ORDER_DW_ID with the primary key of the new record in DP_WIPMASTER_SB. TABLE 8 DP_WIPMASTER after preprocessing. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N N I N TABLE 9 DP_WIPMASTER TO DP_WIPMASTER_SB. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N N I N TABLE 10 DP_WIPMASTER after moving to sandbox. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N N I Y TABLE 11 DP_WIPMASTER_SB after processing SVC_ORDER_HISTORY. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N N I S Case 2; A Single DP_WIPMASTER Record With C_TRANS_TYPE of U. Find and update the DP_WIPMASTER_SB record. Update the record if it exists else mark it (DP_WIPMASTER) as an error. Set the C_TRANS_TYPE to U in DP_WIPMASTER_SB. Update the SOH (service order history) record if it exists else mark it (DP_WIPMASTER_SB) as an error. Update the values in CPH/RCH. Set the C_PROCESS_CODE to S in DP_WIPMASTER_SB. TABLE 12 DP_WIPMASTER updated values. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N N U N TABLE 13 DP_WIPMASTER TO DP_WIPMASTER_SB values. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N N U N TABLE 14 DP_WIPMASTER_SB after processing SVC_ORDER_HISTORY PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N N U S Case 3: A Single DP_WIPMASTER Record With C_TRANS_TYPE of D. Find the DP_WIPMASTER_SB record. Set the C_PROCESS_CODE to Y in DP_WIPMASTER else mark it as an error. Change the C_TRANS_TYPE to D in DP_WIPMASTER_SB. Do not update C_TRANS_TIME. TABLE 15 DP_WIPMASTER PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N N D N TABLE 16 DP_WIPMASTER to DP_WIPMASTER_SB PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N N D Y Case 4. DP_WIPMASTER Records With C_TRANS_TYPE of I/U. Data from the U record is applied to the ‘I’ record and the C_PROCESS_CODE for the U record is set to Y in DP_DP_MASTER. Follow case one. TABLE 17 DP_WIPMASTER after preprocessing. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N N I N 1 N N U Y TABLE 18 DP_WIPMASTER TO DP_WIPMASTER_SB. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N N I N TABLE 19 DP_WIPMASTER after moving to sandbox. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N N I Y 1 N N U Y TABLE 20 DP_WIPMASTER_SB after processing SVC_ORDER_HISTORY. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N N I S Case 5: DP_WIPMASTER Records With C_TRANS_TYPE of U/U. Data from the second U record is applied to the first U record and the C_PROCESS_CODE for the second U record is set to Y in DP_WIPMASTER. Follow case two. TABLE 21 DP_WIPMASTER after preprocessing. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N N U N 1 N N U Y TABLE 22 DP_WIPMASTER TO DP_WIPMASTER_SB. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N N U N TABLE 23 DP_WIPMASTER after moving to sandbox. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N N U Y 1 N N U Y TABLE 24 DP_WIPMASTER_SB after processing SVC_ORDER_HISTORY. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N N U S Case 6: DP_WIPMASTER Records With C_TRANS_TYPE of I/D. Set CURR_FLAG to Y for the ‘I’ record. Set the C_PROCESS_CODE to Y for the ‘D’ record in DP_WIPMASTER. Follow case one. TABLE 25 DP_WIPMASTER after preprocessing. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N Y I N 1 N N D Y TABLE 26 DP_WIPMASTER TO DP_WIPMASTER_SB. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N Y I N TABLE 27 DP_WIPMASTER after moving to sandbox. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N Y I Y 1 N N D Y TABLE 28 DP_WIPMASTER_SB after processing SVC_ORDER_HISTORY. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N Y I S A script runs that sets C_PROCESS_CODE to Y for all DP_WIPMASTER_SB entries that have its CURR_FLAG set to Y. Case 7: DP_WIPMASTER Records With C_TRANS_TYPE of U/D. Set CURR_FLAG to Y on the U record. Set the C_PROCESS_CODE to Y for the D record in DP_WIPMASTER. Follow case two. TABLE 29 DP_WIPMASTER after preprocessing. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N Y U N 1 N N D Y TABLE 30 DP_WIPMASTER TO DP_WIPMASTER_SB. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N Y U N TABLE 31 DP_WIPMASTER after moving to sandbox. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N Y U Y 1 N N D Y TABLE 32 DP_WIPMASTER_SB after processing SVC_ORDER_HISTORY. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N Y U S A script runs that sets C_PROCESS_CODE to Y for all DP_WIPMASTER_SB entries that have its CURR_FLAG set to Y. Case 8: DP_WIPMASTER Records With C_TRANS_TYPE of I/U/D. Apply the U record data to the I record, Set CURR_FLAG to Y on the I record. Set the C_PROCESS_CODE to Y for the U and D records In DP_WIPMASTER. Follow case one. TABLE 33 DP_WIPMASTER after preprocessing. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N Y I N 1 N N U Y 1 N N D Y TABLE 34 DP_WIPMASTER TO DP_WIPMASTER_SB. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N Y I N TABLE 35 DP_WIPMASTER after moving to sandbox. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N Y I Y 1 N N U Y 1 N N D Y TABLE 36 DP_WIPMASTER_SB after processing SVC_ORDER_HISTORY. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N Y U S A script runs that sets C_PROCESS_CODE to Y for all DP_WIPMASTER_SB entries that have its CURR_FLAG set to Y. Case 9: DP_WIPMASTER Records With C_TRANS_TYPE of D/I. Set PREV_FLAG to Y on the I record in DP_WIPMASTER. Set the C_PROCESS_CODE to Y for the D record in DP_WIPMASTER. Find and update the sandbox (_SB) record. Update the record if it exists else insert it. Set the C_TRANS_TYPE to I in DP_WIPMASTER_SB. Insert the record into SVC_ORDER_HISTORY. If the record already exists then mark it (DP_WIPMASTER_SB) as an error else insert it. Set the C_PROCESS_CODE to S in DP_WIPMASTER_SB. Update ORDER_DW_ID with the primary key of the new record in DP_WIPMASTER_SB. TABLE 37 DP_WIPMASTER after preprocessing. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N N D Y 1 Y N I N TABLE 38 DP_WIPMASTER TO DP_WIPMASTER_SB. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 Y N I N TABLE 39 DP_WIPMASTER after moving to sandbox. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 N N D Y 1 Y N I Y TABLE 40 DP_WIPMASTER_SB after processing SVC_ORDER_HISTORY. PROCESS — ID PREV_FLAG CURR_FLAG TRANS_TYPE CODE 1 Y N I S 3. Process Records From DP_WIPCUSTRATE to DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB (See FIGS. 4 and 6 , elements 110 , 111 , 112 , and 113 ). Records are pre-processed and are in DP_WIPCUSTRATE. DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB is a permanent staging table and holds a record for each current product on an order on the source system. When an order is pending, the products on the order can change. Products for pending orders go into the PEND_PRODUCT_HISTORY table. This table is re-built with the latest snapshot of each order's products. When the order is completed, the products on the order go into the CUST_PRODUCT_HISTORY table. Products are never changed after the order is closed. A new order must be placed if a customer wants changes to products. This table serves to keep the products while they are pending. Insert ‘I’ Records 111 : If the record does NOT exist in DP_WIPCUSRATE_SB then: Insert record into DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB with a C_PROCESS_CODE of ‘N’. Find the parent of this record in SVC_ORDER_HISTORY using primary keys from DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB. If more than one record is found, use the record with the latest order time. Set the SVC_ORDER_DW_ID in DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB with the primary key of the parent SVC_ORDER_HISTORY record. If parent SVC_ORDER_HISTORY can not be found, use the primary key off of the default SVC_ORDER_DW_ID. If the record does exist then set the DP_WIPCUSTRATE record as an ‘E’ error else set C_PROCESS_CODE to ‘Y’. Update ‘U’ Records 112 : If the record does exist in DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB then: Update DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB and set the C_PROCESS_CODE to ‘N’. If it does NOT exist then mark the DP_WIPCUSTRATE record as an ‘E’ error else set C_PROCESS_CODE to ‘Y’ in DP_WIPCUSTRATE. Delete ‘D’ Records 113 : If the record does exist in DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB then: Set the C_PROCESS_CODE to ‘Y’ in DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB (will be deleted). If the record does NOT exist in DP_WIPCUSTRATE than mark the record as a ‘W’. 4. Process records from promotional and rate increase records into DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB (See FIGS. 4 and 6 , elements 115 and 116 via 111 ). Promotions and rate increase records (Promo Rate Inc in FIGS. 4 and 6 ) originally came from a flat files that were created as a part of batch processing. They are considered to be completed orders. They do not have a parent SVC_ORDER_HISTORY record. They are always considered to be inserts. Insert ‘I’ Records 116 and 111 (Together are 115 ): If the record does NOT exist in DP_WIPCUSRATE_SB then: Insert record into DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB with a C_PROCESS_CODE of ‘N’. Find the default record in SVC_ORDER_HISTORY. Set the SVC_ORDER_DW_ID in DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB with the primary key of the default SVC_ORDER_HISTORY record. If the record does exist then set the DP_WIPCUSTRATE record as an ‘E’ error else set C_PROCESS_CODE to ‘Y’. 5. Process Records From DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB to CUST_PRODUCT_HISTORY (CPH) (See FIGS. 4 and 6 , elements 118 , 119 , 120 , and 121 ). DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB no longer has the concept of Insert, Updates and Delete. All records are ‘adds’ to CUST_PRODUCT_HISTORY. Process DP_WIPMASTER_SB records that are completed/cancelled (STATUS=5, 6, 7, 8, a, b, c, and d) and the C_PROCESS_CODE for DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB is ‘N’. Find the record in CUST_PRODUCT_HISTORY that has an END_DATE=12/31/9999 (open end date) using corp, house, customer, and ratecode source system primary key) in DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB. If it is found, save off the base charge count and update the END_DATE with Done date of the new order. This ‘caps off’ the record because there was a change (positive or negative) in this product code for this customer. Insert a new record into CUST_PRODUCT_HISTORY for this product using the counts saved from the record capped off plus the counts in the DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB record. Effective date is the Done date of the new order. End Date is 12/31/9999. This record also has information about the order in which this product code was on. This process allows reporting on the exact date a particular product started and stopped. It also tells at any particular date, what is outstanding on a customer's account. The CPH jobs will load the record into CUST_PRODUCT_HISTORY and set the C_PROCESS_CODE to ‘S’. 6. Process records from DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB to CUST_RPT_CTR_HISTORY (RCH) (See FIGS. 4 and 6 , elements 118 , 119 , 125 , and 126 ). CUST_RPT_CTR_HISTORY works much the same as CUST_PRODUCT_HISTORY. Each product can have from 1 to 20 reporting centers attached to it. Rather than grouping the records by products, by order, they are grouped by reporting center, and by order. If an order has an addition of product “x” under report center 12 and a subtraction of product “y” under report 12, the net gain/loss is 0. This takes the noise out of reporting. The RCH jobs load the records into RPT_CTR_HISTORY and set the C_PROCESS_CODE to ‘F’ in DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB. DP_WIPMASTER_SB record is completed/cancelled and the C_PROCESS_CODE for DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB is ‘F’. Set the C_PROCESS_CODE for DP_WIPCUSTRATE to ‘Y’. Set the C_PROCESS_CODE for DP_WIPMASTER_SB to ‘F’. 7. Process records from DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB to PEND_PRODUCT_HISTORY (See FIGS. 4 and 6 , elements 118 , 119 , 130 , and 131 ). Usually, there is a lot of volatility in the data in this table as people can change their minds about the order. This table is dropped and re-built from scratch during each load. In DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB the system no longer has a need for the concept of Insert, Update and Delete. All records are ‘adds’ to PEND_PRODUCT_HISTORY. The subject system processes DP_WIPMASTER_SB records that are completed/cancelled (STATUS=1, 2, 3, and 4) and the C_PROCESS_CODE for DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB is set to ‘N’. The subject system finds the record in CUST_PRODUCT_HISTORY that has an END_DATE=12/31/9999 using corp, house, customer, and ratecode in DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB. If it is found, it is saved off the base charge count. Insert a new record into PEND_PRODUCT_HISTORY for this product using the counts saved from CUST_PRODUCT_HISTORY plus the counts in the DP_WIPCUSTRATE_SB record. Effective date is the Done date of the new order. End Date is 12/31/9999. This record also has information about the order in which this product code was on. This process allows reporting on the exact date a particular product started and stopped. It also tells at any particular date, what pending products are outstanding on a customer's account. The CPH jobs will load the record into PEND_PRODUCT_HISTORY and set the C_PROCESS_CODE to still ‘N’ because these items are not in completed orders. Shown in FIG. 7 is an exemplary partial table for the contents of SVC_ORDER_HISTORY which are in subject-oriented data form. The figure illustrates a final output of the transform process of the subject inversion in which the data model has a service order history dimensions. Clearly, equivalent outputs of subject-oriented data exist for other data models. The invention has now been explained with reference to specific embodiments. Other embodiments will be suggested to those of ordinary skill in the appropriate art upon review of the present specification. Also, although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail by Way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be obvious that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the scope of the appended claims.

A method comprises obtaining data from a source system. Further, the obtained data is pre-processed by a stepwise operation to generate pre-processed data. The last operated upon data is recorded. In addition, the pre-processed data is transformed into subject-oriented data by utilizing reusable primary keys and Relational Database Management System dates in the source system to link related pre-processed data. Additionally, the subject-oriented data is stored in a data warehouse. The Relational Database Management System dates are utilized for distinctly characterizing the subject-oriented data when a plurality of tables containing data with duplicate primary keys are combined in the data warehouse.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates generally to 1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrazolo-[3,4-c]-pyridin-7-ones, which are inhibitors of trypsin-like serine protease enzymes, especially factor Xa, pharmaceutical compositions containing the same, and methods of using the same as anticoagulant agents for treatment and prevention of thromboembolic disorders. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] WO95/01980 and WO96/12720 describe phosphodiesterase type IV and TNF production inhibitors of the following formula: [0003] wherein X can be oxygen and R 2 and R 3 can a number of substituents including heterocycle, heterocycloalkyl, and phenyl. However, the presently claimed compounds do not correspond to the compounds of WO96/12720. Furthermore, WO96/12720 does not suggest Factor Xa inhibition. [0004] WO98/52948 depicts inhibitors of ceramide-mediated signal transduction. One of the types of inhibitors described is of the following formula: [0005] wherein Y 1 can be N—R 6 , R 6 can be unsubstituted aryl-alkyl or unsubstituted heterocyclic-alkyl and R 1 can be a substituted aryl group. WO98/52948 does not mention factor Xa inhibition or show compounds like those of the present invention. [0006] U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,365,459, 3,340,269, and 3,423,414 illustrate anti-inflammatory inhibitors of the following formula: [0007] wherein A is 2-3 carbon atoms, X can be O, and R 1 and R 3 can be substituted or unsubstituted aromatic groups. Neither of these patents, however, exemplify compounds of the present invention. [0008] WO00/39131 describes heterobicyclic factor Xa inhibitors of which the following formula is an example: [0009] wherein G can be a substituted phenyl, s can be 0, A can be phenyl, and B can be a substituted phenyl or imidazolyl. [0010] WO01/19798 describes factor Xa inhibitors of the following formula: A-Q-D-E-G-J-X [0011] wherein A, D, G, and X can be phenyl or heterocycle. However, none of the presently claimed compounds are exemplified or suggested in WO01/19798. [0012] Activated factor Xa, whose major practical role is the generation of thrombin by the limited proteolysis of prothrombin, holds a central position that links the intrinsic and extrinsic activation mechanisms in the final common pathway of blood coagulation. The generation of thrombin, the final serine protease in the pathway to generate a fibrin clot, from its precursor is amplified by formation of prothrombinase complex (factor Xa, factor V, Ca 2+ and phospholipid). Since it is calculated that one molecule of factor Xa can generate 138 molecules of thrombin (Elodi, S., Varadi, K.: Optimization of conditions for the catalytic effect of the factor IXa-factor VIII Complex: Probable role of the complex in the amplification of blood coagulation. Thromb. Res. 1979, 15, 617-629), inhibition of factor Xa may be more efficient than inactivation of thrombin in interrupting the blood coagulation system. [0013] Therefore, efficacious and specific inhibitors of factor Xa are needed as potentially valuable therapeutic agents for the treatment of thromboembolic disorders. It is thus desirable to discover new factor Xa inhibitors. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0014] Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide novel 1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrazolo-[3,4-c]-pyridin-7-ones that are useful as factor Xa inhibitors or pharmaceutically acceptable salts or prodrugs thereof. [0015] It is another object of the present invention to provide pharmaceutical compositions comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the compounds of the present invention or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or prodrug form thereof. [0016] It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for treating thromboembolic disorders comprising administering to a host in need of such treatment a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the compounds of the present invention or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or prodrug form thereof. [0017] It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel method of treating a patient in need of thromboembolic disorder treatment, comprising: administering a compound of the present invention or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof in an amount effective to treat a thromboembolic disorder [0018] It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel method, comprising: administering a compound of the present invention or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof in an amount effective to treat a thromboembolic disorder. [0019] It is another object of the present invention to provide novel compounds for use in therapy. [0020] It is another object of the present invention to provide the use of novel compounds for the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment of a thromboembolic disorder. [0021] These and other objects, which will become apparent during the following detailed description, have been achieved by the inventors' discovery that the 1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrazolo-[3,4-c]-pyridin-7-ones of the present invention or pharmaceutically acceptable salt or prodrug forms thereof, are effective factor Xa inhibitors. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0022] Thus, in an embodiment, the present invention provides 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-6-{2′-[aminomethyl] -1,1′-biphenyl-4-yl}-7-oxo-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridine-3-carboxamide or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof. [0023] In another embodiment, the present invention provides 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-6-{2′-[(N-methylamino)methyl]-1,1′-biphenyl-4-yl}-7-oxo-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridine-3-carboxamide or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof. [0024] In another embodiment, the present invention provides 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-6-{2′-[(N,N-dimethylamino)methyl]-1,1′biphenyl-4-yl}-7-oxo-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridine-3-carboxamide or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof. [0025] In another embodiment, the present invention provides 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-6-{2′-[aminomethyl]-1,1′-biphenyl-4-yl}-3-trifluoromethyl-7-oxo-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridine or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof. [0026] In another embodiment, the present invention provides 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-6-{2′-[(N,N-dimethylamino)methyl]-1,1′-biphenyl-4-yl}-3-trifluoromethyl-7-oxo-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridine or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof. [0027] In another embodiment, the present invention provides 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-6-{2′-[(N,N-dimethylamino)methyl]-1,1′-biphenyl-4-yl}-3-trifluoromethyl-7-oxo-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridine or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof. [0028] In another embodiment, the present invention provides 3-[4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-6-[2′-[aminomethyl] [1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl]-3-amido-7-oxo-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridin-1-yl]benzamide or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof. [0029] In another embodiment, the present invention provides 3-[4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-6-[2′-[[N-methylamino]methyl][1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl]-3-amido-7-oxo-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridin-1-yl]benzamide or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof. [0030] In another embodiment, the present invention provides 3-[4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-6-[2′-[[N,N-dimethylamino]methyl][1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl]-3-amido-7-oxo-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridin-1-yl]benzamide or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof. [0031] In another embodiment, the present invention provides 3-[4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-6-[2′-[aminomethyl][1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl]-3-trifluoromethyl-7-oxo-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridin-1-yl]benzamide or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof. [0032] In another embodiment, the present invention provides 3-[4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-6-[2′-[[N-methylamino]methyl] [1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl]-3-trifluoromethyl-7-oxo-1H-pyrazolo [3,4-c]pyridin-1-yl]benzamide or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof. [0033] In another embodiment, the present invention provides 3-[4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-6-[2′-[[N,N-dimethylamino]methyl] [1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl]-3-trifluoromethyl-7-oxo-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridin-1-yl]benzamide or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof. [0034] In another embodiment, the present invention provides novel pharmaceutical compositions, comprising: a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of the present invention or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof. [0035] In another embodiment, the present invention provides a novel method for treating a thromboembolic disorder, comprising: administering to a patient in need thereof a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of the present invention or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof. [0036] In another embodiment, the thromboembolic disorder is selected from the group consisting of arterial cardiovascular thromboembolic disorders, venous cardiovascular thromboembolic disorders, arterial cerebrovascular thromboembolic disorders, and venous cerebrovascular thromboembolic disorders. [0037] In another embodiment, the present invention provides a novel method the thromboembolic disorder is selected unstable angina, first myocardial infarction, recurrent myocardial infarction, ischemic sudden death, transient ischemic attack, stroke, atherosclerosis, venous thrombosis, deep vein thrombosis, thrombophlebitis, arterial embolism, coronary arterial thrombosis, cerebral arterial thrombosis, cerebral embolism, kidney embolism, pulmonary embolism, and thrombosis resulting from (a) prosthetic valves or other implants, (b) indwelling catheters, (c) stents, (d) cardiopulmonary bypass, (e) hemodialysis, and (f) other procedures in which blood is exposed to an artificial surface that promotes thrombosis. [0038] In another embodiment, the present invention provides a novel method of treating a patient in need of thromboembolic disorder treatment, comprising: administering a compound of the present invention or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof in an amount effective to treat a thromboembolic disorder. DEFINITIONS [0039] The compounds herein described may have asymmetric centers. Compounds of the present invention containing an asymmetrically substituted atom may be isolated in optically active or racemic forms. It is well known in the art how to prepare optically active forms, such as by resolution of racemic forms or by synthesis from optically active starting materials. Many geometric isomers of olefins, C═N double bonds, and the like can also be present in the compounds described herein, and all such stable isomers are contemplated in the present invention. Cis and trans geometric isomers of the compounds of the present invention are described and may be isolated as a mixture of isomers or as separated isomeric forms. All chiral, diastereomeric, racemic forms and all geometric isomeric forms of a structure are intended, unless the specific stereochemistry or isomeric form is specifically indicated. All processes used to prepare compounds of the present invention and intermediates made therein are considered to be part of the present invention. Tautomers of compounds shown or described herein are considered to be part of the present invention. [0040] The present invention is intended to include all isotopes of atoms occurring in the present compounds. Isotopes include those atoms having the same atomic number but different mass numbers. By way of general example and without limitation, isotopes of hydrogen include tritium and deuterium. Isotopes of carbon include C-13 and C-14. [0041] The phrase “pharmaceutically acceptable” is employed herein to refer to those compounds, materials, compositions, and/or dosage forms which are, within the scope of sound medical judgment, suitable for use in contact with the tissues of human beings and animals without excessive toxicity, irritation, allergic response, or other problem or complication, commensurate with a reasonable benefit/risk ratio. [0042] As used herein, “pharmaceutically acceptable salts” refer to derivatives of the disclosed compounds wherein the parent compound is modified by making acid or base salts thereof. Examples of pharmaceutically acceptable salts include, but are not limited to, mineral or organic acid salts of basic residues such as amines; alkali or organic salts of acidic residues such as carboxylic acids; and the like. The pharmaceutically acceptable salts include the conventional non-toxic salts or the quaternary ammonium salts of the parent compound formed, for example, from non-toxic inorganic or organic acids. For example, such conventional non-toxic salts include those derived from inorganic acids such as hydrochloric, hydrobromic, sulfuric, sulfamic, phosphoric, nitric and the like; and the salts prepared from organic acids such as acetic, propionic, succinic, glycolic, stearic, lactic, malic, tartaric, citric, ascorbic, pamoic, maleic, hydroxymaleic, phenylacetic, glutamic, benzoic, salicylic, sulfanilic, 2-acetoxybenzoic, fumaric, toluenesulfonic, methanesulfonic, ethane disulfonic, oxalic, isethionic, and the like. [0043] The pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the present invention can be synthesized from the parent compound that contains a basic or acidic moiety by conventional chemical methods. Generally, such salts can be prepared by reacting the free acid or base forms of these compounds with a stoichiometric amount of the appropriate base or acid in water or in an organic solvent, or in a mixture of the two; generally, non-aqueous media like ether, ethyl acetate, ethanol, isopropanol, or acetonitrile are preferred. Lists of suitable salts are found in Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, 17th ed., Mack Publishing Company, Easton, Pa., 1985, p. 1418, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. [0044] Since prodrugs are known to enhance numerous desirable qualities of pharmaceuticals (e.g., solubility, bioavailability, manufacturing, etc.) the compounds of the present invention may be delivered in prodrug form. Thus, the present invention is intended to cover prodrugs of the presently claimed compounds, methods of delivering the same and compositions containing the same. “Prodrugs” are intended to include any covalently bonded carriers that release an active parent drug of the present invention in vivo when such prodrug is administered to a mammalian subject. Prodrugs the present invention are prepared by modifying functional groups present in the compound in such a way that the modifications are cleaved, either in routine manipulation or in vivo, to the parent compound. Prodrugs include compounds of the present invention wherein a hydroxy, amino, or sulfhydryl group is bonded to any group that, when the prodrug of the present invention is administered to a mammalian subject, it cleaves to form a free hydroxyl, free amino, or free sulfhydryl group, respectively. Examples of prodrugs include, but are not limited to, acetate, formate and benzoate derivatives of alcohol and amine functional groups in the compounds of the present invention. [0045] “Stable compound” and “stable structure” are meant to indicate a compound that is sufficiently robust to survive isolation to a useful degree of purity from a reaction mixture, and formulation into an efficacious therapeutic agent. [0046] “Substituted” is intended to indicate that one or more hydrogens on the atom indicated in the expression using “substituted” is replaced with a selection from the indicated group(s), provided that the indicated atom's normal valency is not exceeded, and that the substitution results in a stable compound. When a substituent is keto (i.e., =O) group, then 2 hydrogens on the atom are replaced. [0047] As used herein, “treating” or “treatment” cover the treatment of a disease-state in a mammal, particularly in a human, and include: (a) preventing the disease-state from occurring in a mammal, in particular, when such mammal is predisposed to the disease-state but has not yet been diagnosed as having it; (b) inhibiting the disease-state, i.e., arresting it development; and/or (c) relieving the disease-state, i.e., causing regression of the disease state. [0048] “Therapeutically effective amount” is intended to include an amount of a compound of the present invention or an amount of the combination of compounds claimed effective to inhibit factor Xa. The combination of compounds is preferably a synergistic combination. Synergy, as described, for example, by Chou and Talalay, Adv. Enzyme Regul. 1984, 22:27-55, occurs when the effect (in this case, inhibition of factor Xa) of the compounds when administered in combination is greater than the additive effect of the compounds when administered alone as a single agent. In general, a synergistic effect is most clearly demonstrated at sub-optimal concentrations of the compounds. Synergy can be in terms of lower cytotoxicity, increased antiviral effect, or some other beneficial effect of the combination compared with the individual components. UTILITY [0049] The compounds of this invention are useful as anticoagulants for the treatment or prevention of thromboembolic disorders in mammals. In general, a thromboembolic disorder is a circulatory disease caused by blood clots (i.e., diseases involving platelet activation and/or platelet aggregation). The term “thromboembolic disorders” as used herein includes arterial cardiovascular thromboembolic disorders, venous cardiovascular thromboembolic disorders, arterial cerebrovascular thromboembolic disorders, and venous cerebrovascular thromboembolic disorders. The term “thromboembolic disorders” as used herein includes specific disorders selected from, but not limited to, unstable angina, first myocardial infarction, recurrent myocardial infarction, ischemic sudden death, transient ischemic attack, stroke, atherosclerosis, venous thrombosis, deep vein thrombosis, thrombophlebitis, arterial embolism, coronary arterial thrombosis, cerebral arterial thrombosis, cerebral embolism, kidney embolism, pulmonary embolism, and thrombosis resulting from (a) prosthetic valves or other implants, (b) indwelling catheters, (c) stents, (d) cardiopulmonary bypass, (e) hemodialysis, or (f) other procedures in which blood is exposed to an artificial surface that promotes thrombosis. It is noted that thrombosis includes occlusion (e.g. after a bypass) and reocclusion (e.g., during or after percutaneous translumianl coronary angioplasty). The anticoagulant effect of compounds of the present invention is believed to be due to inhibition of factor Xa or thrombin. [0050] The effectiveness of compounds of the present invention as inhibitors of factor Xa was determined using purified human factor Xa and synthetic substrate. The rate of factor Xa hydrolysis of chromogenic substrate S2222 (Diapharma/Chromogenix, West Chester, Ohio) was measured both in the absence and presence of compounds of the present invention. Hydrolysis of the substrate resulted in the release of pNA, which was monitored spectrophotometrically by measuring the increase in absorbance at 405 nM. A decrease in the rate of absorbance change at 405 nm in the presence of inhibitor is indicative of enzyme inhibition. The results of this assay are expressed as inhibitory constant, K i . [0051] Factor Xa determinations were made in 0.10 M sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.5, containing 0.20 M NaCl, and 0.5% PEG 8000. The Michaelis constant, K m , for substrate hydrolysis was determined at 25° C. using the method of Lineweaver and Burk. Values of K i were determined by allowing 0.2-0.5 nM human factor Xa (Enzyme Research Laboratories, South Bend, Ind.) to react with the substrate (0.20 mM-1 mM) in the presence of inhibitor. Reactions were allowed to go for 30 minutes and the velocities (rate of absorbance change vs time) were measured in the time frame of 25-30 minutes. The following relationship was used to calculate K i values: ( v o −v s )/ vs=I /( K i (1 +S/K m )) [0052] where: [0053] v o is the velocity of the control in the absence of inhibitor; [0054] v s is the velocity in the presence of inhibitor; [0055] I is the concentration of inhibitor; [0056] K i is the dissociation constant of the enzyme:inhibitor complex; [0057] S is the concentration of substrate; [0058] K m is the Michaelis constant. [0059] Compounds tested in the above assay are considered to be active if they exhibit a K i of ≦10 μM. Preferred compounds of the present invention have K i 's of ≦1 μM. More preferred compounds of the present invention have K i 's of ≦0.1 μM. Even more preferred compounds of the present invention have K i 's of ≦0.01 μM. Still more preferred compounds of the present invention have K i 's of ≦0.001 μM. Using the methodology described above, a number of compounds of the present invention were found to exhibit K i 's of ≦10 μM, thereby confirming the utility of the compounds of the present invention as effective Xa inhibitors. [0060] The antithrombotic effect of compounds of the present invention can be demonstrated in a rabbit arterio-venous (AV) shunt thrombosis model. In this model, rabbits weighing 2-3 kg anesthetized with a mixture of xylazine (10 mg/kg i.m.) and ketamine (50 mg/kg i.m.) are used. A saline-filled AV shunt device is connected between the femoral arterial and the femoral venous cannulae. The AV shunt device consists of a piece of 6-cm tygon tubing that contains a piece of silk thread. Blood will flow from the femoral artery via the AV-shunt into the femoral vein. The exposure of flowing blood to a silk thread will induce the formation of a significant thrombus. After forty minutes, the shunt is disconnected and the silk thread covered with thrombus is weighed. Test agents or vehicle will be given (i.v., i.p., s.c., or orally) prior to the opening of the AV shunt. The percentage inhibition of thrombus formation is determined for each treatment group. The ID 50 values (dose which produces 50% inhibition of thrombus formation) are estimated by linear regression. [0061] The compounds of the present invention may also be useful as inhibitors of serine proteases, notably human thrombin, Factor VIIa, Factor IXa, plasma kallikrein and plasmin. Because of their inhibitory action, these compounds are indicated for use in the prevention or treatment of physiological reactions, blood coagulation and inflammation, catalyzed by the aforesaid class of enzymes. Specifically, the compounds have utility as drugs for the treatment of diseases arising from elevated thrombin activity such as myocardial infarction, and as reagents used as anticoagulants in the processing of blood to plasma for diagnostic and other commercial purposes. [0062] Some compounds of the present invention were shown to be direct acting inhibitors of the serine protease thrombin by their ability to inhibit the cleavage of small molecule substrates by thrombin in a purified system. In vitro inhibition constants were determined by the method described by Kettner et al. in J. Biol. Chem. 265, 18289-18297 (1990), herein incorporated by reference. In these assays, thrombin-mediated hydrolysis of the chromogenic substrate S2238 (Helena Laboratories, Beaumont, Tex.) was monitored spectrophotometrically. Addition of an inhibitor to the assay mixture results in decreased absorbance and is indicative of thrombin inhibition. Human thrombin (Enzyme Research Laboratories, Inc., South Bend, Ind.) at a concentration of 0.2 nM in 0.10 M sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.5, 0.20 M NaCl, and 0.5% PEG 6000, was incubated with various substrate concentrations ranging from 0.20 to 0.02 mM. After 25 to 30 minutes of incubation, thrombin activity was assayed by monitoring the rate of increase in absorbance at 405 nm that arises owing to substrate hydrolysis. Inhibition constants were derived from reciprocal plots of the reaction velocity as a function of substrate concentration using the standard method of Lineweaver and Burk. Using the methodology described above, some compounds of this invention were evaluated and found to exhibit a K i of less than 10 μm, thereby confirming the utility of the compounds of the present invention as effective thrombin inhibitors. [0063] The compounds of the present invention can be administered alone or in combination with one or more additional therapeutic agents. These include other anti-coagulant or coagulation inhibitory agents, anti-platelet or platelet inhibitory agents, thrombin inhibitors, or thrombolytic or fibrinolytic agents. [0064] The compounds are administered to a mammal in a therapeutically effective amount. By “therapeutically effective amount” it is meant an amount of a compound of the present invention that, when administered alone or in combination with an additional therapeutic agent to a mammal, is effective to prevent or ameliorate the thromboembolic disease condition or the progression of the disease. [0065] By “administered in combination” or “combination therapy” it is meant that a compound of the present invention and one or more additional therapeutic agents are administered concurrently to the mammal being treated. When administered in combination each component may be administered at the same time or sequentially in any order at different points in time. Thus, each component may be administered separately but sufficiently closely in time so as to provide the desired therapeutic effect. Other anticoagulant agents (or coagulation inhibitory agents) that may be used in combination with the compounds of this invention include warfarin and heparin (either unfractionated heparin or any commercially available low molecular weight heparin), synthetic pentasaccharide, direct acting thrombin inhibitors including hirudin and argatrobanas well as other factor Xa inhibitors such as those described in the publications identified above under Background of the Invention. [0066] The term anti-platelet agents (or platelet inhibitory agents), as used herein, denotes agents that inhibit platelet function such as by inhibiting the aggregation, adhesion or granular secretion of platelets. Such agents include, but are not limited to, the various known non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) such as aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, sulindac, indomethacin, mefenamate, droxicam, diclofenac, sulfinpyrazone, and piroxicam, including pharmaceutically acceptable salts or prodrugs thereof. Of the NSAIDS, aspirin (acetylsalicyclic acid or ASA), and piroxicam are preferred. Other suitable anti-platelet agents include ticlopidine and clopidogrel, including pharmaceutically acceptable salts or prodrugs thereof. Ticlopidine and clopidogrel are also preferred compounds since they are known to be gentle on the gastrointestinal tract in use. Still other suitable platelet inhibitory agents include IIb/IIIa antagonists, including tirofiban, eptifibatide, and abciximab, thromboxane-A2-receptor antagonists and thromboxane-A2-synthetase inhibitors, as well as pharmaceutically acceptable salts or prodrugs thereof. [0067] The term thrombin inhibitors (or anti-thrombin agents), as used herein, denotes inhibitors of the serine protease thrombin. By inhibiting thrombin, various thrombin-mediated processes, such as thrombin-mediated platelet activation (that is, for example, the aggregation of platelets, and/or the granular secretion of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and/or serotonin) and/or fibrin formation are disrupted. A number of thrombin inhibitors are known to one of skill in the art and these inhibitors are contemplated to be used in combination with the present compounds. Such inhibitors include, but are not limited to, boroarginine derivatives, boropeptides, heparins, hirudin, argatroban, and melagatran, including pharmaceutically acceptable salts and prodrugs thereof. Boroarginine derivatives and boropeptides include N-acetyl and peptide derivatives of boronic acid, such as C-terminal α-aminoboronic acid derivatives of lysine, ornithine, arginine, homoarginine and corresponding isothiouronium analogs thereof. The term hirudin, as used herein, includes suitable derivatives or analogs of hirudin, referred to herein as hirulogs, such as disulfatohirudin. [0068] The term thrombolytics (or fibrinolytic) agents (or thrombolytics or fibrinolytics), as used herein, denotes agents that lyse blood clots (thrombi). Such agents include tissue plasminogen activator and modified forms thereof, anistreplase, urokinase or streptokinase, including pharmaceutically acceptable salts or prodrugs thereof. The term anistreplase, as used herein, refers to anisoylated plasminogen streptokinase activator complex, as described, for example, in EP 028,489, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference herein. The term urokinase, as used herein, is intended to denote both dual and single chain urokinase, the latter also being referred to herein as prourokinase. [0069] Administration of the compounds of the present invention in combination with such additional therapeutic agent, may afford an efficacy advantage over the compounds and agents alone, and may do so while permitting the use of lower doses of each. A lower dosage minimizes the potential of side effects, thereby providing an increased margin of safety. [0070] The compounds of the present invention are also useful as standard or reference compounds, for example as a quality standard or control, in tests or assays involving the inhibition of factor Xa. Such compounds may be provided in a commercial kit, for example, for use in pharmaceutical research involving factor Xa. For example, a compound of the present invention could be used as a reference in an assay to compare its known activity to a compound with an unknown activity. This would ensure the experimenter that the assay was being performed properly and provide a basis for comparison, especially if the test compound was a derivative of the reference compound. When developing new assays or protocols, compounds according to the present invention could be used to test their effectiveness. [0071] The compounds of the present invention may also be used in diagnostic assays involving factor Xa. For example, the presence of factor Xa in an unknown sample could be determined by addition of chromogenic substrate S2222 to a series of solutions containing test sample and optionally one of the compounds of the present invention. If production of pNA is observed in the solutions containing test sample, but not in the presence of a compound of the present invention, then one would conclude factor Xa was present. Dosage and Formulation [0072] The compounds of this invention can be administered in such oral dosage forms as tablets, capsules (each of which includes sustained release or timed release formulations), pills, powders, granules, elixirs, tinctures, suspensions, syrups, and emulsions. They may also be administered in intravenous (bolus or infusion), intraperitoneal, subcutaneous, or intramuscular form, all using dosage forms well known to those of ordinary skill in the pharmaceutical arts. They can be administered alone, but generally will be administered with a pharmaceutical carrier selected on the basis of the chosen route of administration and standard pharmaceutical practice. [0073] The dosage regimen for the compounds of the present invention will, of course, vary depending upon known factors, such as the pharmacodynamic characteristics of the particular agent and its mode and route of administration; the species, age, sex, health, medical condition, and weight of the recipient; the nature and extent of the symptoms; the kind of concurrent treatment; the frequency of treatment; the route of administration, the renal and hepatic function of the patient, and the effect desired. A physician or veterinarian can determine and prescribe the effective amount of the drug required to prevent, counter, or arrest the progress of the thromboembolic disorder. [0074] By way of general guidance, the daily oral dosage of each active ingredient, when used for the indicated effects, will range between about 0.001 to 1000 mg/kg of body weight, preferably between about 0.01 to 100 mg/kg of body weight per day, and most preferably between about 1.0 to 20 mg/kg/day. Intravenously, the most preferred doses will range from about 1 to about 10 mg/kg/minute during a constant rate infusion. Compounds of this invention may be administered in a single daily dose, or the total daily dosage may be administered in divided doses of two, three, or four times daily. [0075] Compounds of this invention can be administered in intranasal form via topical use of suitable intranasal vehicles, or via transdermal routes, using transdermal skin patches. When administered in the form of a transdermal delivery system, the dosage administration will, of course, be continuous rather than intermittent throughout the dosage regimen. [0076] The compounds are typically administered in admixture with suitable pharmaceutical diluents, excipients, or carriers (collectively referred to herein as pharmaceutical carriers) suitably selected with respect to the intended form of administration, that is, oral tablets, capsules, elixirs, syrups and the like, and consistent with conventional pharmaceutical practices. [0077] For instance, for oral administration in the form of a tablet or capsule, the active drug component can be combined with an oral, non-toxic, pharmaceutically acceptable, inert carrier such as lactose, starch, sucrose, glucose, methyl callulose, magnesium stearate, dicalcium phosphate, calcium sulfate, mannitol, sorbitol and the like; for oral administration in liquid form, the oral drug components can be combined with any oral, non-toxic, pharmaceutically acceptable inert carrier such as ethanol, glycerol, water, and the like. Moreover, when desired or necessary, suitable binders, lubricants, disintegrating agents, and coloring agents can also be incorporated into the mixture. Suitable binders include starch, gelatin, natural sugars such as glucose or beta-lactose, corn sweeteners, natural and synthetic gums such as acacia, tragacanth, or sodium alginate, carboxymethylcellulose, polyethylene glycol, waxes, and the like. Lubricants used in these dosage forms include sodium oleate, sodium stearate, magnesium stearate, sodium benzoate, sodium acetate, sodium chloride, and the like. Disintegrators include, without limitation, starch, methyl cellulose, agar, bentonite, xanthan gum, and the like. [0078] The compounds of the present invention can also be administered in the form of liposome delivery systems, such as small unilamellar vesicles, large unilamellar vesicles, and multilamellar vesicles. Liposomes can be formed from a variety of phospholipids, such as cholesterol, stearylamine, or phosphatidylcholines. [0079] Compounds of the present invention may also be coupled with soluble polymers as targetable drug carriers. Such polymers can include polyvinylpyrrolidone, pyran copolymer, polyhydroxypropylmethacrylamide-phenol, polyhydroxyethylaspartamidephenol, or polyethyleneoxide-polylysine substituted with palmitoyl residues. Furthermore, the compounds of the present invention may be coupled to a class of biodegradable polymers useful in achieving controlled release of a drug, for example, polylactic acid, polyglycolic acid, copolymers of polylactic and polyglycolic acid, polyepsilon caprolactone, polyhydroxy butyric acid, polyorthoesters, polyacetals, polydihydropyrans, polycyanoacylates, and crosslinked or amphipathic block copolymers of hydrogels. [0080] Dosage forms (pharmaceutical compositions) suitable for administration may contain from about 1 milligram to about 100 milligrams of active ingredient per dosage unit. In these pharmaceutical compositions the active ingredient will ordinarily be present in an amount of about 0.5-95% by weight based on the total weight of the composition. [0081] Gelatin capsules may contain the active ingredient and powdered carriers, such as lactose, starch, cellulose derivatives, magnesium stearate, stearic acid, and the like. Similar diluents can be used to make compressed tablets. Both tablets and capsules can be manufactured as sustained release products to provide for continuous release of medication over a period of hours. Compressed tablets can be sugar coated or film coated to mask any unpleasant taste and protect the tablet from the atmosphere, or enteric coated for selective disintegration in the gastrointestinal tract. [0082] Liquid dosage forms for oral administration can contain coloring and flavoring to increase patient acceptance. [0083] In general, water, a suitable oil, saline, aqueous dextrose (glucose), and related sugar solutions and glycols such as propylene glycol or polyethylene glycols are suitable carriers for parenteral solutions. Solutions for parenteral administration preferably contain a water soluble salt of the active ingredient, suitable stabilizing agents, and if necessary, buffer substances. Antioxidizing agents such as sodium bisulfite, sodium sulfite, or ascorbic acid, either alone or combined, are suitable stabilizing agents. Also used are citric acid and its salts and sodium EDTA. In addition, parenteral solutions can contain preservatives, such as benzalkonium chloride, methyl- or propyl-paraben, and chlorobutanol. [0084] Suitable pharmaceutical carriers are described in Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences , Mack Publishing Company, a standard reference text in this field. [0085] Representative useful pharmaceutical dosage-forms for administration of the compounds of this invention can be illustrated as follows: [0086] Capsules [0087] A large number of unit capsules can be prepared by filling standard two-piece hard gelatin capsules each with 100 milligrams of powdered active ingredient, 150 milligrams of lactose, 50 milligrams of cellulose, and 6 milligrams magnesium stearate. [0088] Soft Gelatin Capsules [0089] A mixture of active ingredient in a digestible oil such as soybean oil, cottonseed oil or olive oil may be prepared and injected by means of a positive displacement pump into gelatin to form soft gelatin capsules containing 100 milligrams of the active ingredient. The capsules should be washed and dried. [0090] Tablets [0091] Tablets may be prepared by conventional procedures so that the dosage unit is 100 milligrams of active ingredient, 0.2 milligrams of colloidal silicon dioxide, 5 milligrams of magnesium stearate, 275 milligrams of microcrystalline cellulose, 11 milligrams of starch and 98.8 milligrams of lactose. Appropriate coatings may be applied to increase palatability or delay absorption. [0092] Injectable [0093] A parenteral composition suitable for administration by injection may be prepared by stirring 1.5% by weight of active ingredient in 10% by volume propylene glycol and water. The solution should be made isotonic with sodium chloride and sterilized. [0094] Suspension [0095] An aqueous suspension can be prepared for oral administration so that each 5 mL contain 100 mg of finely divided active ingredient, 200 mg of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, 5 mg of sodium benzoate, 1.0 g of sorbitol solution, U.S.P, and 0.025 mL of vanillin. [0096] Where the compounds of this invention are combined with other anticoagulant agents, for example, a daily dosage may be about 0.1 to 100 milligrams of the compound of Formula I and about 1 to 7.5 milligrams of the second anticoagulant, per kilogram of patient body weight. For a tablet dosage form, the compounds of this invention generally may be present in an amount of about 5 to 10 milligrams per dosage unit, and the second anti-coagulant in an amount of about 1 to 5 milligrams per dosage unit. [0097] Where the compounds of the present invention are administered in combination with an anti-platelet agent, by way of general guidance, typically a daily dosage may be about 0.01 to 25 milligrams of the compound of Formula I and about 50 to 150 milligrams of the anti-platelet agent, preferably about 0.1 to 1 milligrams of the compound of Formula I and about 1 to 3 milligrams of antiplatelet agents, per kilogram of patient body weight. [0098] Where the compounds of Formula I are administered in combination with thrombolytic agent, typically a daily dosage may be about 0.1 to 1 milligrams of the compound of Formula I, per kilogram of patient body weight and, in the case of the thrombolytic agents, the usual dosage of the thrombolyic agent when administered alone may be reduced by about 70-80% when administered with a compound of Formula I. [0099] Where two or more of the foregoing second therapeutic agents are administered with the compound of Formula I, generally the amount of each component in a typical daily dosage and typical dosage form may be reduced relative to the usual dosage of the agent when administered alone, in view of the additive or synergistic effect of the therapeutic agents when administered in combination. [0100] Particularly when provided as a single dosage unit, the potential exists for a chemical interaction between the combined active ingredients. For this reason, when the compound of Formula I and a second therapeutic agent are combined in a single dosage unit they are formulated such that although the active ingredients are combined in a single dosage unit, the physical contact between the active ingredients is minimized (that is, reduced). For example, one active ingredient may be enteric coated. By enteric coating one of the active ingredients, it is possible not only to minimize the contact between the combined active ingredients, but also, it is possible to control the release of one of these components in the gastrointestinal tract such that one of these components is not released in the stomach but ratheR is released in the intestines. One of the active ingredients may also be coated with a material that affects a sustained-release throughout the gastrointestinal tract and also serves to minimize physical contact between the combined active ingredients. Furthermore, the sustained-released component can be additionally enteric coated such that the release of this component occurs only in the intestine. Still another approach would involve the formulation of a combination product in which the one component is coated with a sustained and/or enteric release polymer, and the other component is also coated with a polymer such as a low-viscosity grade of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) or other appropriate materials as known in the art, in order to further separate the active components. The polymer coating serves to form an additional barrier to interaction with the other component. [0101] These as well as other ways of minimizing contact between the components of combination products of the present invention, whether administered in a single dosage form or administered in separate forms but at the same time by the same manner, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, once armed with the present disclosure. [0102] Other features of the invention will become apparent in the course of the following descriptions of exemplary embodiments that are afforded for illustration of the invention and are not intended to be limiting thereof. EXAMPLES [0103] Abbreviations used in the Examples are defined as follows: “1 x” for once, “2 x” for twice, “3 x” for thrice, “° C.” for degrees Celsius, “eq” for equivalent or equivalents, “g” for gram or grams, “mg” for milligram or milligrams, “mL” for milliliter or milliliters, “ 1 H” for proton, “h” for hour or hours, “M” for molar, “min” for minute or minutes, “MHz” for megahertz, “MS” for mass spectroscopy, “NMR” for nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, “rt” for room temperature, “tlc” for thin layer chromatography, “v/v” for volume to volume ratio. “α”, “β”, “R” and “S” are stereochemical designations familiar to those skilled in the art. Example 1 1-(4-Methoxyphenyl)-6-{2′-[(N-Methylamino)Methyl]-1,1′-Biphenyl-4-yl}-7-Oxo-4,5,6,7-Tetrahydro-1H-Pyrazolo[3,4-C]Pyridine-3-Carboxamide [0104] Part A: p-Anisidine (16 g, 0.129 mol) in conc. HCl (40 mL), 100 mL) H 2 O was cooled to −5° C. and sodium nitrite (9.4 g, 0.136 mol) in H 2 O (60 mL) was added. The diazotization was stirred cold for 20 min and a mixture of ethyl chloroacetoacetate (22 g, 0.133 mol), ethanol (100 mL), sodium acetate (32 g, 0.389 mol) and H 2 O (400 mL) was added. The reaction was allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred for 2 h. The product precipitated as a black solid (30 g), and was collected and dried in vacuo. 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ: 8.28 (s, 1H), 7.18 (d, j=9.1 Hz, 2H), 6.90 (d, j=9.2 Hz, 2H), 4.41 (q, j=7 Hz, 2H), 3.80 (s, 3H), 1.42 (t, j=7.3 Hz, 3H) ppm. [0105] Part B: The product of part A (30 g, 0.117 mol) was stirred with iodomorpholine (29.9 g, 0.078 mol) and triethylamine (74 mL, 0.53 mol) at reflux in toluene (400 mL) for 24 h. The reaction was cooled, washed with water, and dried (Na 2 SO 4 ). Purification by silica gel chromatography using 1:1 hexane/ethyl acetate as eluent afforded the morpholine intermediate. Treatment of the morpholine intermediate with trifluoroacetic acid (50 mL) in CH 2 Cl 2 (500 mL) for 24 h followed by washing with water and drying (Na 2 SO 4 ) afforded 28.8g (71%)of the ester-iodo intermediate B; Mass Spec (M+H) + =517.9. [0106] Part C: To a solution of ammonium chloride (1 g, 19 mmol) in xylenes (250 mL) was added trimethylaluminum (2M, heptanes, 19.3 mL, 38 mmol) and stirred for 20 min. The product from part B (9.1 g, 17.6 mmol) was then added and the reaction was heated to reflux for 3 h. The reaction was cooled to 0° C., quenched with HC1, extracted with ethylacetate, washed with brine and dried (Na 2 SO 4 ). The crude mixture was treated with 30% H 2 O 2 (70 mL), 10% NaOH (150 mL) in CH 2 Cl 2 (400 mL) for 24 h. Extraction of the aqueous layer with CH 2 Cl 2 , washing with water and drying (Na 2 SO 4 ) afforded 6.18 g of the desired amide (72%); 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ: 7.68(d, j=8.5 Hz, 2H), 7.47 (d, j=8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.09(d, j=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.95 (d, j=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.86 (s, 1H), 5.70 (s, 1H), 4.10 (t, j=6.6 Hz, 2H), 3.82 (s, 3H), 3.17 (t, j=6.6, 2H) ppm. [0107] Part D: The amide from part C (9.2 g, 19.3 mmol) was placed in a solution of toluene (300 mL), methanol (50 mL) and Na 2 CO 3 (2M, 20 mL), with 2-formylphenylboronic acid (4.3 g, 29 mmol). Tetrakistriphenylphosphine palladium (100 mg) was added and the reaction was heated to reflux 24 h. The reaction was cooled to room temperature and the product was filtered off and dried to afford 7.8 g(87%) solid. 1 H NMR (DMSO-d6)δ: 9.91 (s, 1H), 7.94 (m, 1H), 7.77 (m, 2H), 7.62 (t, j=7.7 Hz, 1H), 7.50 (m, 8H), 7.02 (d, j=9.1 Hz, 2H), 4.16 (t, j=6.6 Hz, 2H), 3.80 (s, 3H), 3.26 (t, j=6.6 Hz, 2H) ppm. [0108] Part E: The aldehyde from part D (0.12 g, 0.25 mmol) was stirred with methylamine hydrochloride (34 mg, 0.52 mmol) in 1:1 THF/MeOH (5 mL) for 15 min. ZnCl 2 0.5M in THF (0.25 mL, 0.13 mmol) and sodium cyanoborohydride (16 mg, 0.25 mmol) were added. The reaction was stirred 24 h. The solvents were removed and the residue extracted with ethylacetate, washed with brine, and dried (MgSO 4 ). Purification by HPLC and freeze-drying afforded 70 mg (45%) of the desired product. 1 H NMR (DMSO-d6) δ: 8.81 (s, 2H), 7.76 (s, 1H), 7.62 (m, 1H), 7.53 (m, 6H), 7.37 (d, j=5.9 Hz, 2H), 7.33 (m, 1H), 7.03 (d, j=8.8 Hz, 2H), 4.12 (m, 4H), 3.80(s, 3H), 3.26 (t, j=6.2 Hz, 2H), 2.50 (3H, S) ppm; HRMS (M+H) + for C 28 H 28 N 5 O 3 482.2185; Elemental Analysis for C 28 H 27 N 5 O 3 (TFA)1.2 calc'd C:59.05, H:4.60, N:11.33; found C:58.66, H:4.59, N:11.22. Example 2 3 -[4,5,6,7-Tetrahydro-6-[2′-[[N,N-Dimethylamino]Methyl][1,1′-Biphenyl]-4-Yl]-3-Trifluoromethyl-7-Oxo-1H-Pyrazolo[3,4-C]Pyridin-1-Yl]Benzamide.TFA [0109] Part A: 3-Aminobenzamide (1 g, 7.35 mmol) in HCl (conc., 25 mL) was cooled to 0° C. and NaNO 2 (0.61 g, 8.8 mmol) in H 2 O (5 mL) was added dropwise. The cold reaction mixture was stirred 30 min then SnCl 2 .(H 2 O) 2 in H 2 O(10 mL):HCl (conc., 10 mL) solution was added. The reaction was stirred at 0° C. for 2.5 h then filtered, washed with hexane, and air-dried. There was obtained 1.37 g of the hydrazine. LRMS (M+H) + =152 m/z. [0110] 3-Amidophenyl hydrazine, prepared above, (15 g, 40 mmol) and trione (22.4 g, 55 mmol) in AcOH (400 mL) were heated at reflux 18 h. The volume was reduced by distillation to 100 mL then H 2 O (1 L) was added. The aqueous layer was extracted with EtOAc (4×200 mL). The EtOAc extracts were washed with 1N NaOH (3×100 mL) and brine. This solution was dried (MgSO 4 ) and evaporated to give 19.4 g (37 mmol, 93%) of the desired product. 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ: 8.0 (1H, s), 7.9-7.5 (3H, m), 7.7 (2H, d, J=9 Hz), 7.1 (2H, d, J=9 Hz), 6.8-6.8 (1H, broad), 6.4-6.3 (1H, broad), 4.15 (2H, t, J=6 Hz) and 3.2 (2H, t, J=6 Hz) ppm; LRMS (M+Na) + =549 m/z. [0111] Part B: 6-(4-Iodophenyl)-1,4,5,6-tetrahydro-1-(3-amidophenyl)-3-(trifluoromethyl)-7H-pyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridin-7-one (19 g, 36.1 mmol) and 2-formylphenylboronic acid (16.3 g, 108.3 mmol) in dioxane (300 mL) and 2N K 2 CO 3 (35 mL) were purged by passing a stream of N 2 gas through the solution for 15 min. Following this procedure, tetrakis(triphenylphosphine) palladium catalyst (3 g) was added, the N 2 atmosphere re-established, and the mixture heated at reflux for 4 h. The reaction was cooled to ambient temperature and 1-chlorobutane (250 mL) and H 2 O (500 mL) was added. This mixture was stirred for 5 h, then filtered, washed with H 2 O and air-dried to give 18.1 g of crude product. The filter cake was triturated with CH 2 Cl 2 (200 mL) and filtered to give 8.0 g (16 mmol, 44%) of the desired product; mp: 259.4° C. 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ: 10 (1H, s), 8.1-7.45 (8H, m), 7.4 (4H, s), 4.25 (2H, t, J=6 Hz) and 3.2 (2H, t, J=6 Hz) ppm; LRMS (M+H) + =505.3 m/z. [0112] Part C: A mixture of 3-[4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-6-[2′-[formyl][1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl]-3-trifluoromethyl-7-oxo-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridin-1-yl]benzamide, prepared above, (5.6 g, 10 mmol), 2M dimethylamine in THF (20 mL, 40 mmol), acetic acid (3 g, 50 mmol) and sodium triacetoxyborohydride (8.5 g, 40 mmol) were stirred in THF (250 mL) for 18 h. The reaction was partitioned between EtOAc (250 mL) and 5% NaHCO 3 (100 mL). The EtOAc layer was washed with water (3×100 mL) and brine, dried over K 2 CO 3 , and evaporated to give 3.5 g of crude product. This material was decolorized with activated charcoal and recrystallized from ACCN to give 2.78 g (5.2 mmol, 52%, HPLC purity: 98%). The free base was taken up in CH 2 Cl 2 and excess TFA was added. The solvent was removed in vacuo, suspended in water, and lyophyllized. There was obtained 3.73 g of the TFA salt of the product (5.2 mmol); mp 112.6° C.; 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ: 8.1 (1H, s), 7.85 (1H, d, J=7 Hz), 7.8 (1H, d, J=7 Hz), 7.7 (1H, m), 7.6-7.2 (8H, m), 4.3 (2H, s), 4.25 (2H, t, J=6 Hz), 3.25 (2H, t, J=6 Hz) and 2.6 (6H, s) ppm; (HRMS (M+H) + for C 29 H 27 O 2 F 3 N 5 : obs. 534.2115, calc. 534.2117. Example 3 3 -[4,5,6,7-Tetrahydro-6-[2′-[[N-Methylamino]Methyl][1,1′-Biphenyl]-4-Yl]-3-Trifluoromethyl-7-Oxo-1H-Pyrazolo[3,4-C]Pyridin-1-Yl]Benzamide.TFA [0113] This compound was prepared as described for Example 2 with N-methyl amine substituted for N,N-dimethylamine in Part C; mp 180.7° C.; 1 H NMR (CD 3 OD) δ: 8.1 (1H, s), 8.0 (1H, d, J=8 Hz), 7.8 (1H, d, J=Hz), 7.4-7.2 (9H, m), 4.25 (2H, t, J=6 Hz), 3.2 (2H, t, J=6 Hz) and 2.5 ppm (3H, s); HRMS (M+H) + : 520.1952 m/z. Example 4 3 -[4,5,6,7-Tetrahydro-6-[2′-[[N,N-Dimethylamino]Methyl][1,1′-Biphenyl]-4-Yl]-3-Amido-7-Oxo-1H-Pyrazolo[3,4-C]Pyridin-1-Yl]Benzamide.TFA [0114] Part A: 3-Amidoaniline (5 g, 37 mmol) in HCl (conc., 12 mL) and water (30 mL) was cooled to 0° C. and NaNO 2 (2.7 g, 37 mmol) in water (20 mL) was added dropwise. The reaction was stirred for 30 min at 0° C. and a 0° C. solution of NaOAc (9 g, 110.3 mmol) and ethyl 2-chloroacetoacetate (6.2 g, 33 mmol) in EtOH (30 mL) and water (125 mL) was added. The reaction was allowed to warm to ambient temperature over 4 h. The reaction mixture was then filtered and air-dried to give 6.5 g of the desired product (24 mmol, 65%); LRMS (M−H) − : 268 m/z. [0115] Part B: The 1-chloro-1-carboethoxy hydrazone of 3-amidophenylhydrazine (24.2 mmol, 6.52 g) and N-(4-iodophenyl)-2-morpholino-2-ene-δ-lactam (12.1 mmol, 4.6 g) in toluene (200 mL) and triethylamine (61 mmol, 6.1 g) was heated at reflux for 18 h. The reaction mixture was cooled and evaporated then dissolved in EtOAc, washed with water and brine. This was dried (MgSO 4 ) and evaporated to give an intermediate morpholine adduct (8.62 g). This material was dissolved in CH 2 Cl 2 (100 mL) and TFA (10 mL) then stirred 18 hr at ambient temperature. The reaction was diluted with CH 2 C1 2 and washed with water. The aqueous layer was back-extracted with additional CH 2 Cl 2 and the combined organic extracts were dried (MgSO 4 ) and evaporated. This material was purified further by flash chromatography eluting with a gradient of hexane:EtOAc ranging from 1:1 to 1:2. There was obtained 3.4 g of product (6.6 mmol, 55%). 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ: 8.05 (1H, s), 7.85 (1H, d, J=7.7 Hz), 7.75 (1H, d, J=7.7 Hz), 7.7 (2H, d, J=9 Hz), 7.5 (1H, t, J=7.7 Hz), 7.05 (2H, d, J=9 Hz), 6.3 (1H, broad), 5.8 (1H, broad), 4.45 (2H, q, J=6.9 Hz), 4.05 (2H, t, J=6.9 Hz), 3.35 (2H, t, J=6.9 Hz) and 1.25 (3H, t, J=6.9 Hz) ppm. [0116] Part C: 6-(4-Iodophenyl)-1,4,5,6-tetrahydro-1-(3-amidophenyl)-3-(carboethoxy)-7H-pyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridin-7-one (3.48 g, 6.6 mmol) in 1N NaOH (66 mmol, 66 mL) and THF (200 mL) was heated at reflux for 3 h. The cooled reaction mixture was acidified with conc. HCl to pH 1-2 and partitioned between water and 10% MeOH in EtOAc. The organic layer was dried and evaporated to give 4.1 g of the acid. LRMS (M−H) − : 501 m/z. [0117] The material prepared above (presumed 6.6 mmol) was dissolved in THF (200 mL) and cooled to 0° C. N-methylmorpholine (0.85 g, 8.4 mmol) was added followed by the dropwise addition of isobutyl chloroformate (1.66 g, 12.1 mmol). After 4 hr at 0° C., the reaction mixture was filtered then this solution was placed in a sealed vessel with a 0.5 M solution of NH 3 in dioxane (40 mmol, 80 mL). This mixture was stirred at ambient temperature for 18 h. After this time some product had precipitated from the reaction mixture and 1.15 g of material was isolated by filtration (2.3 mmol, 35%). Water was added to the filtrate and the aqueous solution extracted with EtOAc. The EtOAc extracts were washed with brine, dried (MgSO 4 ), and evaporated to give an additional 1.6 g of product (3.2 mmol, 48%, total yield: 5.5 mmol, 83%). 1 H NMR (DMSO d6 ) δ: 8.1 (1H, s), 8.0 (1H, d, J=7.7 Hz), 7.9-7.75 (3H, m), 7.7-7.5 (2H, m), 7.25 (2H, d, J=9 Hz), 4.1 (2H, t, J=6 Hz) and 3.25 ppm (2H, t, J=6 Hz); LRMS (M+Na) + : 524 m/z. [0118] Part D: 6-(4-Iodophenyl)-1,4,5,6-tetrahydro-1-(3-amidophenyl)-3-(amido)-7H-pyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridin-7-one (1.6 g, 3.1 mmol) and 2-formylphenylboronic acid (1.4 g, 9.4 mmol) in toluene (75 mL), EtOH (75 mL), and 2N Na 2 CO 3 (15 mL) was purged with N 2 for 15 min. [0119] Tetrakis(triphenylphosphine) palladium (0.36 g, 0.31 mmol) was added, the inert atmosphere re-established, and the reaction heated at reflux for 18 h. The reaction was evaporated and dissolved in CHCl 3 by heating at reflux. The hot solution was filtered to isolate the insoluble crude product. The insoluble product was re-suspended in 10% MeOH in CHCl 3 and stirred at ambient temperature for 1 hr, then isolated by filtration. The solid product was purified further by stirring in EtOH (200 mL) for 1 hr followed by filtration and air drying to give 2.73 g of product contaminated with some inorganic salts; 1 H NMR (DMSO d6 ) δ: 9.9 (1H, s), 8.25 (1H, s), 8.05 (1H, d, J=7.7 Hz), 7.95 (1H, t, J=7.7 Hz), 7.8-7.7 (1H, m), 7.6-7.4 (8H, m), 4.15 (2H, t, J=6 Hz) and 3.2 (2H, t, J=6 Hz) ppm; LRMS (M−H) −: 478 m/z. [0120] Part E: To 3-[4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-6-[2′-[formyl][1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl]-3-amido-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridin-1-yl]benzamide (0.32 g, 0.67 mmol) in THF (15 mL) and MeOH (15 mL) was added 2.0 M dimethylamine in THF (0.67 mL) with NaBH 3 CN (0.042 g, 0.67 mmol) and 0.5 M ZnCl 2 in THF (1 mmol, 2 mL). The reaction was stirred at ambient temperature for 18 h. The reaction was evaporated and re-dissolved in 1:1 AcCN:water (4 mL). The product was isolated by preparative HPLC on a C18 column using a gradient of AcCN:water with 0.05% TFA as a gradient. There was obtained 0.104 g of product with a purity of 96% (0.2 mmol, 30%); mp>300° C. 1 H NMR (DMSO d6 ) δ: 8.1-8.0 (2H, m), 7.95 (1H, d, J=7.7 Hz), 7.8-7.7 (2H, m), 7.6-7.15 (7H, m), 4.1 (2H, t, J=6 Hz), 3.3 (6H, s) and 3.2 (2H, d, J=6 Hz) ppm; HRMS (M+H) + : 509.2308 m/z. [0121] Numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise that as specifically described herein.

The present application describes 1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrazolo-[3,4-c]-pyridin-7-ones of Formula I or pharmaceutically acceptable salt forms thereof: wherein ring R is 3-amido or 4-methoxy, R 1 is trifluoromethyl or amido, and R 2 is aminomethyl, N-methylaminomethyl, and N,N-dimethylaminomethyl. Compounds of the present invention are useful as inhibitors of trypsin-like serine proteases, specifically factor Xa.

[0001] “A DRESSING DEVICE FOR USE WITH A CANNULA OR A CATHETER” [0002] This is a national stage of PCT/IE11/000034 filed Jul. 4, 2011 and published in English, claiming benefit of US provisional application No. 61/344,403, filed Jul. 14, 2010, hereby incorporated by reference. INTRODUCTION [0003] The present invention relates to a wound device, particularly for use with IV catheters and other percutaneous devices. [0004] Vascular and nonvascular percutaneous medical devices such as: IV catheters, central venous lines, arterial catheters, dialysis catheters, peripherally inserted coronary catheters, mid-line catheters, drains, chest tubes, externally placed orthopedic pins, and epidural catheter tubes are widely used in modern day medical practice. Annually more than 20 million inpatients in hospitals in the United States receive intravenous therapy and almost 5 million require central venous catheterization (Bouza et al., 2002) [0005] Mechanical complications such as haemorrhage and thrombosis are associated with catheterization. The risk of bleeding associated with catheterization is reported to range between 1% and 8% (Mital et al., 2004) and although minor bleeding may be quite common serious bleeding is rare (Doerfler et al. 1996). Though dressings for antimicrobial effectiveness have long been available no product deals sufficiently with the bleeding from these wound types and this leads to dressing changes being a regular occurrence. There remains a need for an effective dressing for use with IV catheters that stops bleeding and is an effective antimicrobial solution. [0006] Catheter use causes a semi-permanent breach of the skin that provides an access point for pathogens to enter the body, placing the patient at risk for local and systemic infectious complications. The potential for infection may be increased by proliferation of bacteria within or underneath the dressing. Studies have shown that between 5% and 25% of IV devices are colonized at the time of removal (Maki et al., 1998). Skin flora is the main source of microbial contamination and is responsible for approximately 65% of catheter related infections. Bacteria from the skin migrate along the external surface of the catheter and colonize the intravascular catheter tip leading to catheter related blood stream infections (Raad et al., 2001; Sheretz et al., 1997). Catheter-related bloodstream infection (CR-BSI) is the third most common health care- acquired infection in the United States and is considered one of the most dangerous complications for patients. In Europe the incidence and density of central venous catheter (CVC) related bloodstream infections ranges from 1-3.1 per 1000 patient days (Suetens et al., 2007). Most organisms responsible for CR-BSIs originate from the insertion site of the catheter (Timsit, 2007), therefore, decreasing bacterial colonization at the site of insertion may help reduce the incidence of CR-BSIs. [0007] It is an object of the current invention to provide an improved wound dressing device that will provide protection at an insertion site. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008] According to the invention there is provided a dressing device for use with a transcutaneous medical device such as a cannula or a catheter, the dressing device comprising a flexible hydrophillic polyurethane matrix, an antimicrobial agent contained within the matrix, and a haemostatic agent contained within the matrix, the haemostatic agent comprising polyanhydroglucuronic acid or salt thereof in an amount to achieve a haemostatic effect, and the antimicrobial agent comprising chlorhexidine di-gluconate in an amount to achieve an antimicrobial effect without adversely affecting wound healing. [0009] The invention provides a wound dressing device that prevents microbial colonization of the dressing and stops bleeding from the insertion site. The device provides combined haemostatic and antimicrobial effects at the insertion site but without adversely affecting wound healing. [0010] This is a particularly surprising aspect of the invention because a dressing composition that contains only polyanhydroglucuronic acid or salt thereof to promote wound healing and haemostasis is not conducive to contamination and infection control. The addition of chlorhexidine di-gluconate as an antimicrobial agent effective at preventing contamination and infection would be expected to adversely affect wound healing. We have surprisingly found that this is not the case. [0011] The polyanhydroglucuronic salt may be present in an amount of from 3% to 20% (w/w). The polyanhydroglucuronic salt may for example be present in an amount of approximately 8% w/w. [0012] The chlorhexidine di-gluconate may be present in an amount of from 9% to 16% (w/w). The chlorhexidine di-gluconate may for example be present in an amount of approximately 11% w/w. [0013] In one embodiment the dressing device comprises approximately 8% (w/w) polyanhydroglucoronic acid, approximately 11% (w/w) chlorhexidine di-gluconate, and approximately 81% hydrophillic flexible polyurethane foam. [0014] In one embodiment the dressing device comprises an aperture for reception of a medical device such as a cannula or a catheter. [0015] In one embodiment the dressing device comprises a breathable backing material to allow vapour transmission from the device. [0016] A skin contacting side of the device may contain an adhesive compound to keep the device affixed to a site. [0017] In one case the central access aperture is a circular hole ranging in size from 0.1 mm to 10 mm in diameter. [0018] Alternatively the central access aperture is “x” shaped. [0019] The central access aperture may be “T” shaped. [0020] In one embodiment the device contains a quantity of the antimicrobial agent to maintain antimicrobial efficiency for up to 7 days. [0021] The invention in one aspect is an absorbent polymeric wound dressing containing a broad spectrum antimicrobial agent and a haemostatic agent with a moisture vapour permeable backing and radial slit and central access hole to allow insertion of an IV catheter line or other similar percutaneous device. The device contains sufficient quantities of the broad spectrum antimicrobial agent to ensure that a clear antimicrobial zone of inhibition can be maintained around the insertion site and to prevent microbial contamination of the dressing. The device also contains sufficient quantities of haemostatic agent in order to successfully control minor bleeding at the insertion site. [0022] The absorbent polymer foam matrix dressing of the invention rapidly addresses bleeding, prevents dermal wound site contamination and infection while at the same time promoting wound healing. Rapid wound healing and closure in a controlled aseptic (near microbe free) environment provides the optimal conditions for reduced wound site morbidity. [0023] The absorbent polymer foam matrix dressing composition of the invention addresses the paradoxical requirement of good antimicrobial efficacy, good haemostatic efficacy and good wound healing properties in the same absorbent, conformable polymer foam composition containing specific narrow range non-antagonistic concentrations of antimicrobial, haemostatic and wound healing agents that allow for combined effective interactions that are antimicrobial, haemostatic and wound healing. [0024] A specific application of the present invention relates to a wound device, particularly for use with IV catheters and other percutaneous devices. [0025] The invention disclosure described herein identifies a novel device composition which allows for the singular important advantage in being able to attain antimicrobial, haemostatic and wound-healing promoting characteristics in a single absorbent and compliant device system. Normally achieving such functional heterogeneity in one device is not possible due to antagonistic effects of the separate functions on one another. The unique feature of this invention is that it is able to identify and integrate effective ranges for each active component without adversely affecting the functions of the other components. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0026] The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of an embodiment thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: [0027] FIG. 1 shows the results of the antimicrobial testing against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) using AATCC Test Method 100-2004 after 24 hrs incubation of sterilized polyurethane foam matrix dressings containing polyanhydroglucuronic acid calcium sodium salt (8% w/w) dressing with increasing weight percent of chlorhexidine di-gluconate (CHG) in a 217 mg, 25 mm diameter dressing; [0028] FIG. 2 shows results of Kirby Bauer antimicrobial zone of inhibition testing after 24 hours incubation for the polyurethane foam matrix described in example 3 and a commercially available chlorhexidine di-gluconate containing matrix control material (intended to reduce catheter related blood stream infection) against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), methicillin resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE), Pseudomonas aeruginosa , vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE), Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Candida albicans; [0029] FIG. 3 shows results of Kirby Bauer antimicrobial zone of inhibition testing after 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 days for the polyurethane foam matrix described in example 3 against the gram positive organisms ( FIG. 3A ) methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), methicillin resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE), vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) and the fungus and Candida albicans, and against gram negative organisms ( FIG. 3B ) Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae; [0030] FIG. 4 shows the results of testing of suppression of re-growth of human skin microflora on prepped subclavian sites for the polyurethane foam matrix described in example 3 in healthy volunteers (N =12). The method of testing was based on that described by Maki et al 2008. The control dressing is polyurethane foam matrix with no chlorhexidine di- gluconate and no polyanhydroglucuronic acid. Bacterial counts are expressed as log10 CFU/cm 2 . There is a statistically significant difference (P<0.001) between test and control dressings at both day 7 and day 10. Skin prepping was carried out for 1 minute with 70% isopropyl alcohol; [0031] FIG. 5 compares mean wound surface area in a study 1 of an untreated control (dashed line (- - -) un-treated wounds), a test item (solid line - wounds treated with the test dressing device of Example 3), and a control dressing (dotted line (. . . )); [0032] FIG. 6 demonstrates the change in wound surface area of an untreated control (dashed line (- - -) un-treated wounds), a test item (solid line - wounds treated with the test dressing device of Example 3), and a control dressing (dotted line (. . . )); [0033] FIG. 7 demonstrates oedema development of an untreated control (dashed line (- - -) un-treated wounds), a test item (solid line - wounds treated with the test dressing device of Example 3), and a control dressing (dotted line ( . . . )); [0034] FIGS. 8( a ) to 8 ( h ) illustrates some different physical embodiments of a wound dressing device of the invention; and [0035] FIG. 9 shows representative micrographs of polyurethane foam A) without the impregnation of haemostatic calcium sodium polyanhydroglucuronic acid and B) with the impregnation of calcium sodium polyanhydroglucuronic acid. The apparatus in FIG. 9( b ) indicate particles of calcium—sodium polyanhydroglucuronic acid. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0036] The invention provides wound dressings for controlling minor bleeding at the access sites of IV catheters and similar percutaneous devices. Moreover the invention provides protection at the access site and contains a broad spectrum antimicrobial agent to help resist microbial colonization of the dressing. The device also successfully reduces bleeding time. The dressing device provides advantages over other IV site dressings as it contains a haemostatic agent. [0037] In one embodiment of the invention polyanhydroglucuronic acid is incorporated into the polymeric base material as the haemostatic agent and chlorhexidine di-gluconate is incorporated as the broad spectrum antimicrobial agent. [0038] The device may have a moisture vapour permeable backing to allow for moisture transmission. The backing may, for example, comprise a thin polyurethane film. [0039] The system of the present invention has been shown to effectively maintain antimicrobial efficacy over a period of up to 7 days. [0040] On complete saturation with an aqueous medium the absorption capacity of the foam of the present invention is typically greater than 8 times (wt / wt relative to the dry weight of the dressing). Preferred absorption capacity of the dressing is 10 to 15 times (wt/wt). [0041] In one embodiment of the system the polymeric base material is polyurethane foam. The components that make up the system may be present in the system with final concentrations of, for example, 8% (w/w) polyanhydroglucoronic acid 11% (w/w) chlorhexidine di-gluconate and 81% hydrophillic flexible polyurethane foam. [0042] The dressings of the invention will generally be sterile. Sterilization may be carried out using gamma irradiation but other sterilization methods such as ethylene oxide sterilization may also be used. [0043] In one embodiment, the dressing device has an adhesive technology on the skin contacting surface to aid in site securement and also for removal and re-securement. [0044] In one embodiment the wound dressing is circular with an outer diameter of 0.6 to 2 inches (1.52 to 5.08 cm). The outer diameter may be about one inch (2.54 cm). The dressing of the invention will typically have a central access aperture to facilitate passage of an IV catheter line or other similar percutaneous device. [0045] In other embodiments the central access aperture may be “x” or “T” shaped. One embodiment of the device has a circular cut central access site. The size of the central access site may vary from typically 1 mm to 10 mm. [0046] In further embodiments of the invention the device may be non circular. [0047] Having described the invention in general terms, reference is now made to specific non-limiting examples. [0048] The invention provides a haemostatic and wound-healing promoting antimicrobial dressing for general wound use, but also particularly for controlling minor bleeding at the access sites of IV catheters and similar percutaneous devices. Moreover the invention promotes wound healing while providing protection at the access site by slow release of a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent to help resist microbial colonization of the dressing. The device also successfully reduces bleeding time. The antimicrobial haemostatic dressing device described herein provides significant advantages over prior art dressing forms as it provides for wound healing in combination with haemostasis and contamination and infection control while avoiding antagonism between pro-healing, haemostatic and antimicrobial elements. EXAMPLE 1 Haemostatic and Antimicrobial Polyurethane Foam Preparations [0049] To prepare haemostatic and antimicrobial foam the haemostat polyanhydroglucuronic acid (PAGA) (HemCon Medical Technologies Europe Ltd, Dublin) and the antimicrobial compound chlorhexidine di-gluconate (CHG) (Kapp Technologies LLC, New Jersey) were used. Polyurethane foam dressings were prepared with varying concentrations of PAGA and CHG relative to the final dry weight of polyurethane foam. The polyurethane foam used is type MS50P(w) Lendell medical foam available from Filtrona Porous Technologies (www.filtronaporoustechnologies.com) [0000] Usable Width: 15 inches (381 mm) Thickness: 0.22 inches (5.6 mm) % Moisture: 2% Density: 6.0 pcf (96 Kg/m 3 ) Tensile Strength: 51.0 psi (352 kPa) Target Elongation: 194% Tear Strength: 5.6 pli (0.98 kN/m) CDF @ 50%: 0.74 psi (5.14 kPa) Durometer: 47 shore Cell Size: 131 ppi Absorption: 15 g/g Expansion: 75% Wrung Retention: 1.2 g/g [0050] The polyurethane foam was produced by firstly producing a prepolymer comprising a poly-isocyanate [OCN—R—NCO] n and diol [OH—R—OH] which were mixed in a pre-polymer reaction vessel. The components of the pre-polymer were mixed together using agitation in a mechanical mixer for over ten minutes ensuring that all components were thoroughly mixed. The polyurethane polymerisation reaction occurred in the pre-polymer mixing vessel. In a separate vessel the PAGA and CHG were blended together in a vessel containing only water and surfactant with continual mixing until a homogenous suspension had been achieved. Unlike other haemostats the PAGA haemostat had the solubility and viscosity characteristics that allow for aqueous mixing and it additionally demonstrates chemical inertness towards the CHG and silver entities to allow such aqueous phase preparation. The water content of the aqueous phase ranged up to 300% stoichiometric equivalents to the pre-polymer. Surfactants chosen from the group silicone oils, polydimethylsiloxane-polyoxyalkylene block copolymers, nonylphenol ethoxylates, or other similar acting organic compounds used for the dual purpose of acting as anti foaming compounds in the aqueous phase while regulating the correct cell size and structure and overall physical appearance of the foam. The aqueous phase containing the actives and the reacted prepolymer mix were then both independently pumped to a third vessel where they were physically mixed by mechanical means ensuring a homogenous mixture. The pre-polymer and aqueous phase mixture was then dispensed from the mixing vessel onto a conveyer belt coated with a carrier liner to prevent adherence to the belt. The water of the aqueous phase reacted with the isocyanate groups of the pre-polymer and CO 2 gas was expelled which caused the foam to rise to desired height 0.375 inches. The polyurethane foam was then covered with a nitrogen blanket to prevent further reaction and allowed to cure and dry for 24- 72 hrs. A number of different formulations were prepared for manufacturing suitability. The formulations with the impregnated components are outlined in Table 1. [0000] TABLE 1 Prepared foam formulations PAGA CHG Polyurethane (w/w %) (w/w %) (w/w %) 15 30 55 15 22.5 62.5 15 15 70 15 7.5 68.5 15 5 80 11.25 22.5 66.25 7.5 15 68.5 3.75 7.5 88.25 EXAMPLE 2 Antibacterial Efficacy of Prepared Formulations Calcium Sodium Salt polyanhydroglucuronic Acid and Chlorhexidine di-gluconate in a polyurethane Foam [0051] Polyurethane foam matrix dressings were prepared with the calcium sodium salt of polyanhydroglucuronic acid (15% w/w) and w/w percentages of CHG at 0%, 5%, 11%, 15%, 23% and 30% as presented in Example 1. These formulations were investigated for their antibacterial efficacy against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) using AATCC Test Method 100 “Assessment of Antibacterial Finishes on Textiles”. [0052] Analysis of FIG. 1 indicates that the acceptable minimum low range of chlorhexidine di- gluconate percentage weight fraction in the polyurethane foam matrix is 9% (20 mg) to 16% (35 mg) w/w since this range achieves the acceptable >Log 4 reduction. [0053] The results for gamma-irradiated sterilized testing and non gamma-irradiated testing are presented in Table 2. [0000] TABLE 2 Formulations of PAGA impregnated PU foam with increasing CHG concentrations 5% 11% 15% 23% 30% CHG (w/w) (w/w) (w/w) (w/w) (w/w) Log Reduction 2.3 >4.7 5.3 >5.4 >5.0 (Sterile) Log Reduction 2.7 >5.2 >5.3 >5.4 5.3 (Non-sterile) EXAMPLE 3 Device Assembly [0054] A catheter access site dressing device to control bleeding was prepared by impregnating calcium sodium salt of polyanhydroglucuronic acid into polyurethane foam. CHG was incorporated to achieve an antimicrobial efficacy of greater than 4 log in 24 hours. A formulation as described in Table 3 was prepared and a moisture vapour permeable backing that comprised of polyurethane film with a MVTR of 1000 gm/m 2 /24 hr (3M) was adhered. [0000] TABLE 3 IV site device composition Formulation (% w/w) Ingredients final formulation Chlorhexidine gluconate 11 Calcium-sodium polyanhydroglucuronic acid 8 Hydrophillic flexible polyurethane foam 81 [0055] The polyurethane foam matrix was die cut into 25. mm diameter disks with a central 4 mm diameter section removed from each disk. A radial slit was also punched from the centre of the disk to the outside of the disk. The slit and 4 mm punch are designed to allow catheter access. The dressing is sterilized by gamma irradiation between 25 and 45 kGy, sufficient to produce a sterility assurance limit (SAL) of 10 −6 . [0056] The device described was tested for antimicrobial efficacy against a number of micro-organisms including gram positive and gram negative bacteria, fungi and yeast. The antimicrobial efficacy was tested using the AATCC Test Method 100 “Assessment of Antibacterial Finishes on Textiles”. In summary 1.0 ml of test organism suspension at a minimum of 1×10 6 CFU / ml was inoculated to the test sample. At selected time points (time zero and 24 hours) organisms were extracted in a neutralizer media (D/E broth) which was diluted and plated. Log reduction and percent reduction were determined. The results obtained are shown in Table 4. [0000] TABLE 4 Antimicrobial results of the IV site device Decrease of CFU number/ Micro-organism 24 hours Staphylococcus aureus >4 log Staphylococcus epidermidis >4 log Enterococcus faecium >4 log Escherichia coli >4 log Pseudomonas aeruginosa >4 log Acinetobacter baumanii >4 log Klebsiella pneumoniae >4 log Candida albicans >4 log Aspergillus niger >4 log EXAMPLE 4 In vitro Haemostatic Efficacy [0057] The device described in Example 3 was tested for its ability to activate the intrinsic blood coagulation cascade, specifically coagulation factor XIIa and kallikrein. In summary, 0.5 cm 2 of the device and also a control device which was another polyurethane IV site device but without polyanhydroglucuronic acid (1″ DISK,4.0 mm centre hole with radial slit and containing 92 mg CHG (Biopatch; Ethicon)) ,were placed in Eppendorfs. 0.25 ml of deionised H 2 O was added to the dressings and incubated at room temperature for 10 min. After 10 min incubation, the dressings were compressed and the fluid supernatant removed. Subsequently, 45 ul of the fluid supernatant was added to fresh Eppendorfs. Then 90 ul of deionised H 2 O was added along with 45 ul of normal coagulation control plasma. The samples were mixed and incubated at room temperature for 10 min. After the incubation stage 40 ul of each sample were added to microtitre plate wells and 40 ul of 0.8 mM S-2302 (specific Factor XIIa and kallikrein chromogenic substrate) was then added to initiate the reaction. The reaction was allowed to proceed for 3 minutes and then the optical density at 405 nm was read. The results for this study are presented in Table 5. [0000] TABLE 5 Activation of Factor XIIa and kallikrein Mean Optical Density @ 405 nm Activity Sample (3 min read) Rate/min PAGA containing 53.40 17.80 PU Foam IV device Other non PAGA 0 0 containing PU Foam IV device [0058] The control IV site dressing not containing PAGA did not activate the coagulation factor XIIa and kallikrein of the intrinsic coagulation system. The device described by Example 3 did activate the intrinsic coagulation enzymes. Such activation is consistent with oxidized cellulose mechanism of action and this demonstrated the potential of the device to be a haemostat. EXAMPLE 5 Haemostatic Efficacy—In vivo Measurements [0059] Having established the potential for haemostatic activity in Example 4 the device was tested for haemostatic activity in a suitable in vivo bleeding model. Devices of the formulation as described in Example 3 were tested for their haemostatic efficacy in vivo in a rabbit ear model. [0060] The study was divided in two periods. Within the first test period (D+1) the Test Item was tested on the left ear of the rabbit, the right ear was used as control. Within the second period (D+3) the Test Item was tested on the right ear of the rabbit, the left ear was used as a control. Bleeding was caused by puncture of a lateral ear vein with an injection needle (external diameter always 0.9 mm). On D+1 the puncture was performed at an acral part of the ear, on D+3 the puncture was performed cranially. Distance between both punctures was 2-3 cm. The test and control were applied immediately after the puncture wounds were made. Test items and controls were weighed before their use and immediately after cessation of bleeding. Also the time from start to the end of bleeding was measured. [0061] In this study wounds treated with the Test Item bled for a shorter period of time and had a smaller blood loss compared to the control (Pur-Zellin® cellulose swab, HARTMANN-RICO a.s.) thereby demonstrating the haemostatic efficacy of the device. Data demonstrating the in vivo haemostatic efficacy of the device is outlined in Table 7. [0000] TABLE 11 Results for the device in time to stop bleeding and blood loss mass Test Item (n = 16) Control (n = 16) Average quantity of 0.167 ± 0.18 1.311 ± 1.08 Absorbed Blood (g) Average Time of Bleeding  48.8 ± 20.1  89.4 ± 77.4 (seconds) EXAMPLE 6 Wound Healing [0062] The effect on wound healing of the device prepared with the composition of Example 3 was assessed on dermal wound healing in two separate in vivo studies on rats. [0063] Dressings prepared with the composition of Example 3 were assessed in vivo for their affect on dermal wound healing in rats. Each of twelve animals received three dorsal full thickness wounds created with an 8 mm dermal punch. Following wound creation the wound was covered with a test sample, a control dressing (non PAGA containing IV site dressing as in Example 4) or left untreated. The wound sites on each animal were covered with a secondary dressing. Animals were observed daily to ensure integrity of the wound, to observe signs of general clinical health and to record wound measurements. The same dressing that was removed was replaced on the wound after each measurement had been taken. Dressings were changed as necessary depending on the degree of saturation with exudate and wear time was limited to a maximum of 7 days exposure of a single treatment on the wound. [0064] All wounds healed comparably by day 14 with the test article of the composition of Example 3 performing between the untreated wound (see FIG. 5 ) and the control dressing. However, it could be seen that during the midstage of the study the animals from the control dressing group showed slower dermal healing compared to the described device and the negative control. This can be attributed to the significantly higher CHG content (92 mg/dressing or 30% (w/w)) of the control dressing. EXAMPLE 7 Further Wound Healing and Oedema Formation [0065] Dressings prepared with the composition of Example 3 were assessed in vivo for their affect on dermal wound healing in rats in an experiment similar to that described in Example 6. Each of ten animals received three dorsal full thickness wounds to the depth of the subcutis created with a 10 mm dermal punch. Following wound creation each of the three wound on each animal was covered with either a test sample, a control dressing (non PAGA containing IV site dressing as in Example 4 and 6) or left untreated. The wound sites on each animal were covered with a secondary dressing. Animals were observed daily to ensure integrity of the wound, to observe signs of general clinical health and to record wound measurements. The same dressing that was removed was replaced on the wound after each measurement had been taken. Dressings were changed as necessary depending on the degree of saturation with exudate and wear time was limited to a maximum of 7 days exposure of a single treatment on the wound. The wounds were also evaluated for signs of erythema and oedema. [0066] As with the study described in FIG. 9 all wounds healed comparably by day 10 with the test article of the composition of Example 3 performing between the untreated wound and control dressing (See FIG. 6 ). There were no visible signs of erythema development at any of the wound sites (Table 12). Slight oedema formation was reported for untreated wounds and those treated with the test item ( FIG. 7 and Table 13). In general a similar response was observed for un-treated wounds and wounds treated with the test item. Oedema formation was more pronounced in wounds treated with the control dressing which contained a significantly higher fraction of CHG (30%w/w). [0067] Generally, untreated wounds and wounds treated with the test item healed in similar manners. Both healed at a faster rate than wounds treated with control dressing and the higher CHG concentration. Also Oedema formation was less pronounced in these wounds compared to wounds treated with control dressing. The less favorable wound healing results seen for the control dressing can be attributed to the higher CHG content (30%w/w). [0000] TABLE 12 Erythema Formation Erythema Average Score Day 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Un-treated 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Test Item 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Control Dressing 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Key: (0 = Normal (no erythema), 1 = Slight erythema, 2 = Mild erythema, 3 = Severe erythema) [0000] TABLE 13 Oedema Development Oedema Average Score Day 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Un-treated 1 1 1.3 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1 Test Item 1 1 1.1 1.7 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 Control Dressing 1.1 1 1.3 2 1.8 2 2 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.9 Key: (0 = Normal (No oedema), 1 = Slight oedema, 2 = Mild oedema, 3 = Severe oedema) EXAMPLE 8 Sustained Antimicrobial Efficacy—Log Reduction [0068] To demonstrate the sustained antimicrobial efficacy of was dressing formulation in example 3 over 24 hours and 7 days, AATCC Test Method 100-2004 “Assessment of Antimicrobial Finishes on Textiles” was used. The results of this testing (Table 14) demonstrate that the formulation in example 3 is highly effective in controlling a broad range of gram negative and gram positive bacteria as well as the fungi C. albicans and A. niger. Also a modified version of the AATCC Test Method 100 was investigated. In the modified AATCC 100 test method, in addition to testing dressing samples following 24 hour exposure to the test organisms, reference and test dressings are also exposed for 6 days to a mock wound environment that potentially could lead to loss or degradation of the antimicrobial activity. Following the 6-day exposure, the dressings are inoculated and the test conducted according to the standard AATCC Test Method 100. Dressing were tested against a number of micro-organisms including gram positive and gram negative bacteria and dimorphic fungi / yeast. The log reduction data observed following 24 hours and 7 days is outlined in Table 15 below. A log reduction of greater than 4 log was recorded for each of the test organisms demonstrating the sustained antimicrobial activity of the antimicrobial agent in the dressing. [0000] TABLE 14 Standard AATCC antimicrobial finish testing 24 hrs Log 7 days Log Micro-organism Reduction Reduction Staphylococcus aureus CCM 7110 5.50 6.31 Staphylococcus epidermidis CCM 7221 5.53 6.18 Enterococcus faecium CNCTC 5773 5.52 5.51 Escherichia coli CCM 4517 5.58 6.38 Pseudomonas aeruginosa CCM 1961 5.76 6.70 Acinetobacter baumanii CNCTC 6168 5.55 6.16 Klebsiella pneumoniae CCM 4415 4.83 6.62 Candida albicans CCM 8215 4.72 4.71 Aspergillus niger 4.20 4.19 [0000] TABLE 15 Modified AATCC antimicrobial finish testing 7 days Log Micro-organism Reduction Staphylococcus aureus CCM 7110 >4 Staphylococcus epidermidis CCM 7221 >4 Enterococcus faecium CNCTC 5773 >4 Escherichia coli CCM 4517 >4 Pseudomonas aeruginosa CCM 1961 >4 Acinetobacter baumanii CNCTC 6168 >4 Klebsiella pneumoniae CCM 4415 >4 Candida albicans CCM 8215 >4 Aspergillus niger >4 EXAMPLE 9 Sustained Antimicrobial Efficacy—Zone of Inhibition [0069] A Kirby-Bauer Zone of Inhibition method was used to investigate the sustained antimicrobial efficacy of the dressing in Example 3 over 24 hours and 7 days. Overnight cultures were prepared to a minimum inoculum count of 1×10 7 CFU/ml and spread on freshly prepared agar plates. An individual test article was placed onto the agar plate and incubated for 24 hrs at 35-37° C. The area under the test article was swabbed and the swab was transferred onto sterile agar plates. The test article was then placed on a freshly inoculated agar plate and the procedure repeated. The test articles were transferred each day for up to seven days. Growth from the swabs taken from the test articles indicated bacteriostatic action of the antimicrobial agent while no growth indicated bacteriocidal action. Samples were tested in triplicate. The bacteriocidal or bacteriostatic action of the dressing at 7 days is shown in Table 16. FIG. 2 shows zone of inhibition results at 24 hrs while FIGS. 3A & 3B show the zone of inhibition %changes at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 days. [0000] TABLE 16 Bacteriocidal or Bacteriostatic action of the device Bacteriocidal or Micro-organism Bacteriostatic Staphylococcus aureus CCM 7110 Bacteriocidal Staphylococcus epidermidis CCM 7221 Bacteriocidal Enterococcus faecium CNCTC 5773 Bacteriocidal Escherichia coli CCM 4517 Bacteriocidal Pseudomonas aeruginosa CCM 1961 Bacteriostatic Acinetobacter baumanii CNCTC 6168 Bacteriostatic Klebsiella pneumoniae CCM 4415 Bacteriocidal Candida albicans CCM 8215 Bacteriostatic EXAMPLE 10 A Prospective Human Clinical Study of Suppression of Skin Microflora [0070] The primary objective of this study was to investigate the ability of the polyurethane foam matrix dressing formulation of example 3 to suppress the regrowth of skin microflora following skin preparations on healthy human volunteers. This study was performed on healthy human volunteers following the method of Maki et al. 2008. The study was independently conducted by the Center for Laboratory Activities in Public Health Protection and Promotion, National Reference Laboratory for Disinfection and Sterilization, National Institute of Health, Prague, Czech Republic. [0071] Subjects—A group of 12 study subjects was selected and enrolled for testing through informed consent. All were Caucasian with an average age of 52.5 years and an age range between 25 years and 69 years. This study was conducted to assess the capacity of the test dressings (example 3 formulation) to suppress skin flora re-growth following skin prepping for 1 minute with 70% isopropyl alcohol when compared to an inactive control dressing. Each subject served as his or her own control by using 8 randomized sites in the subclavian area of each volunteer. On study day 0, baseline skin flora counts were established from randomized sites. Skin flora count from these randomized sites was also measured following air drying immediately post-prep with 70% isopropyl alcohol. Once the remaining sites had air-dried immediately post-prep, the test dressings (example 3 formulation) and the control dressings (polyurethane foam with no CHG or oxidized cellulose) were applied to the remaining prepped sites of the subjects. Dressings were applied to the subclavian sites using sterile tweezers and attached by latex-free, hypoallergenic and transparent polyurethane securement dressings. The dressings were left up to 10 days, and skin flora counts were taken at 7 and 10 day time points. Skin flora was measured using standard scrubbing techniques and the skin flora beneath the dressing quantitated through use of a recovery solution that was then cultured on agar plates. Wilcoxon paired tests were used for statistical testing of the level of significance (P-values <0.05 were considered significant). [0072] Disinfection of the skin prior to catheter insertion provides substantial protection to a site, but viable bacteria may still remain on the skin and re-grow over time, thus leading to a greater possibility of infection. Any catheter related bloodstream infection preventive strategy should be able to reduce skin microbial colonization for the duration of the catheter insertion. The results seen in FIG. 4 show the effect of the 70% isopropyl alcohol skin prep. The raw skin flora counts were dramatically reduced, as would be expected. It can also be observed that after both the 7 day and 10 day time points, the test dressings maintained the skin flora at levels equivalent to those of the post-prep level, whereas with the control dressings significant skin flora re-growth was evident. Bacterial counts were converted to log10 CFU/cm2 prior to statistical analysis. At day 7, the test dressings showed significantly lower skin flora counts post-prep compared to the control dressings which had substantial re-growth (P<0.001). At day 10, test dressings also showed significantly lower re-growth (P<0.001). As can be seen ( FIG. 4 ), the test dressing maintained the skin flora count at less than the post-prep count for the complete duration of the study out to 10 days. [0073] No adverse events, such as skin irritation, edema or erythema formation were reported for the study with the test dressing. The test dressing successfully and significantly prevented the re-growth of microorganisms for up to 10 days as demonstrated by this study. After both 7 and 10 days, the microbial count was seen to be less than that of the post-prep microbial count. As such, it would be expected that the test dressing formulation (example 3) would be an effective component of a strategy to reduce skin microbial colonization. From literature, such a reduction in skin colonization markedly reduces the risk of catheter related bloodstream infection [Bjornson et al. 1982, Safdar et al. 2004, Maki et al. 1997]. EXAMPLE 11 Different Physical Embodiments [0074] The produced PAGA and CHG impregnated foam described in Example 3 was also die cut into different sized and shaped devices. Radial slits were always punched from the centre of the disk to the outside of the device but different catheter access site holes and shapes were produced. Some of these different physical embodiments of the device can be seen in FIGS. 8( a ) to 8 ( h ). [0075] In FIG. 8( a ) the device has a diameter of 1 inch (2.54 cm) with a 1.5 mm central access site hole and a radial slit extending outwardly from the central hole. [0076] The device of FIG. 8( b ) is similar to 8 ( a ) but in this case there is a 4 mm central hole. [0077] The device of FIG. 8( c ) is also similar to 8 ( a ) but in this case there is a 7 mm central hole. [0078] The device of FIG. 8( d ) is similar to 8 ( a ) but in this case there is a T-shaped central access site. [0079] The device of FIG. 8( e ) has a+shaped access site whilst the device of FIG. 8( f ) has an X shaped access site. [0080] The device of FIG. 8( g ) is an orthogonal shaped device with a central access site hole which may be about 4 mm and there is a radial slit. [0081] FIG. 8( h ) shows a rectangular shaped device with a central access site hole which may be about 4 mm and again in this case there is a radial slit. EXAMPLE 12 Microscopy Analysis of Foam Constructs [0082] The PAGA and CHG impregnated foam dressings were also studied using microscopy to so demonstrate the impregnation of the dressing with PAGA. Thin sections of the dressing were cut with a scalpel and placed into wells of 6-well plates. 1 ml aliquots of a solution of 0.001% aqueous bromophenol blue were added to the well and allowed to stain at room temperature (RT) for 30 min. As a Negative Control, a thin section of non impregnated foam dressing which did not contain PAGA, were similarly treated, Bromophenol blue is an acid phthalein dye, commonly used as a pH indicator and was used here for better visualisation contrast of the polyurethane and PAGA due to their different pHs. [0083] After staining for 30 min, the bromophenol blue was removed and the sections of the dressings were washed with 3 ml deionised H 2 O. The washing was repeated three times. Images of the dressings were taken using an Olympus CKX41 microscope with an Olympus E-600 digital camera attached at a magnification of 10×. Representative images are presented in FIG. 9 . FIG. 9 A) shows the standard foam without active impregnation. The stained micrograph shows the cell structure of the individual cell units. FIG. 9 B) shows the PAGA impregnated foam. The stained PAGA particles can be seen in the micrograph along with the polyurethane foam stained cells. [0084] Although the disclosure hereof is detailed and exact to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, the physical embodiments herein disclosed merely exemplify the invention that may be embodied in other ways. While the preferred embodiment has been described the details may be changed without departing from the invention. [0085] Modifications and additions can be made to the embodiments of the invention described herein without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, while the embodiments described herein refer to particular features, the invention includes embodiments having different combinations of features. The invention also includes embodiments that do not include all of the specific features described. REFERENCES [0086] Mital A, Fried L F and Piraino B, 2004 “Bleeding complications associated with peritoneal dialysis catheter insertion” Peritoneal Dialysis Int. 24 p 478- 480 [0087] Doerfler M E, Kaufman B and Goldenberg A S, 1996 “Central venous catheter placement in patients with disorders of hemostasis” Chest 110 (1) p 185-188 [0088] Bouza E, Burillo A and Munoz, 2002 “Catheter-related infections: diagnosis and intravascular treatment” Clin. Microbiol. Infect. 8: 265- 274 [0089] Maki D G, Mermel LA 1998 “Infections due to infusion therapy” Taken from: Bennett J V, Brachman P S, eds. Hospital Infections. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott-Raven; p 689-724 [0090] Raad II, Hanna H A and Darouiche R O 2001 “Diagnosis of Catheter—Related Bloodstream Infections: Is it necessary to culture the subcutaneous catheter segment?” Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. 20 p 566-568 [0091] Sherertz R J, Heard S O and Raad II, 1997 “Diagnosis of triple-lumen catheter infection: Comparison of roll plate, sonication and flushing methodologies” J. Clin. Microbiol. 35 p 641-646 [0092] Timsit J F, 2007 “Diagnosis and prevention of catheter-related infections” Curr. Opin. Crit. Care 13 (5) p 563-5′71 [0093] Lee R I and White P D “A Clinical Study of the Coagulation Time of Blood” J. Am. Med. Sci., Aprril 1913 Vol. 245 (4), 495-503. [0094] Maki et al. “Novel Integrated Chlorhexidine-impregnated Transparent Dressing for Prevention of Vascular Catheter-related Bloodstream Infection: A Prospective Comparative Study in Healthy Volunteers”, Poster Presentation at the Society for HealthCare Epidemiology of America Conference 2008, Orlando, Fla. [0095] Bjornson, H. S., et al. 1982 “Association between microorganism growth at the catheter insertion site and colonization of the catheter in patients receiving total parenteral nutrition” Surgery, 92(4): p. 720-7. [0096] Safdar, N. and D. G. Maki 2004 “The pathogenesis of catheter-related bloodstream infection with noncuffed short-term central venous catheters” Intensive Care Med, 30(1): p. 62-7. [0097] Maki, D. G., et al. 1997 “Prevention of central venous catheter-related bloodstream infection by use of an antiseptic-impregnated catheter. A randomized, controlled trial” Ann Intern Med, 127(4): p. 257-66 /

A wound dressing device for use with a transcutaneous medical device such as a cannula or a catheter comprises a polyurethane matrix which may be covered with a film backing. Chlorhexidine di- gluconate and a polyanhydroglucuronic salt are contained in the polymer matrix. The wound dressing device prevents microbial colonization of the dressing and stops bleeding from the insertion site. The device provides combined haemostatic and antimicrobial effects at the insertion site but without adversely affecting wound healing.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION Related subject matter is disclosed in the commonly assigned, U.S. Patent application ten Brink, entitled “Digital Transmission System and Method,” which was filed concurrently herewith, now issued U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,010. FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a transmission of digital signals, e.g. in a digital radio communication system. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Iterative decoding algorithms have become a vital field of research in digital communications. The first discovered and still most popular encoding scheme suited for iterative decoding is the parallel concatenation of two recursive systematic convolutional codes, also referred to as ‘Turbo Codes’. The underlying ‘Turbo Principle’ is applicable more generally to other algorithms used in modern digital communications, and in the past few years, other applications of the “Turbo Principle” have been found. Channel coding is used to make the transmitted digital information signal more robust against noise. For this the information bit sequence is encoded at the transmitter by a channel encoder and decoded at the receiver by a channel decoder. In the encoder redundant information is added to the information bit sequence in order to facilitate error correction in the decoder. For example, in a systematic channel encoding scheme the redundant information is added to the information bit sequence as additional, inserted “coded” bits. In a non-systematic encoding scheme the outgoing bits are all coded bits, and there are no longer any “naked” information bits. The number of incoming bits (information bits) at the encoder is smaller than the number of outgoing bits (information bits plus inserted coded bits, or all coded bits). The ratio of incoming/outgoing bits is called the “code rate R” (typically R=1:2). Recent improvements using the “Turbo Principle” have shown that, in digital communication systems involving a plurality of users in wireless communication with a receiver, an improvement in the quality of the decoded signal can be achieved by applying iterative decoding steps to the received data. In particular, “Iterative Equalization and Decoding in Mobile Communication Systems' by Baunch, Khorram and Hagenauer, EPMCC'97, pp 307-312, October 1997, Bonn, Germany, discusses the application of the Turbo principle to iterative decoding of coded data transmitted over a mobile radio channel. In order to be suitable for iterative decoding, a transmitted signal must be encoded by at least two concatenated codes, either serially or parallelly concatenated. FIG. 1 shows a serially concatenated coding scheme: the transmission is done on a block-by-block basis. The binary signal from the digital source is encoded firstly by an outer encoder and is then passed through an interleaver, which changes the order of the incoming bit symbols to make the signal appear more random to the following processing stages. After the interleaver, the signal is encoded a second time by an ‘inner encoder’. Correspondingly, at the receiver the signal is first decoded by the inner decoder in a first decoding step, deinterleaved, and decoded by the outer decoder in a second decoding step. From the outer decoder soft decision values are fed back as additional a priori input to the inner decoder. The soft decision values provide information on the reliability of the hard decision values. In a first iteration the decoding step is repeated and the soft decision values are used as input values for the first and second decoder. The iterative decoding of a particular transmitted sequence is stopped with an arbitrary termination criterion, e.g. after a fixed number of iterations, or until a certain bit error rate is reached. It should be noted that the a priori soft value input to the inner decoder is set to zero for the very first decoding of the transmitted bit sequence (‘Oth iteration’). The inner and outer binary codes can be of any type: systematic, or non-systematic, block or convolutional codes. Simple mapping (e.g. antipodal or binary phase shift keying) is performed in the transmitter (after the inner encoder) and simple demapping is performed in the receiver (after the inner decoder) although for clarity this is not shown in FIG. 1 . Likewise, FIG. 1 illustrates a single user scenario, although application of appropriate multiplexing provides a suitable multi user system. At the receiver the two decoders are soft-in/soft-out decoders (SISO-decoder). A soft value represents the reliability on the bit decision of the respective bit symbol (whether 0 or 1 was sent). A soft-in decoder accepts soft reliability values for the incoming bit symbols. A soft-out decoder provides soft reliability output values on the outgoing bit symbols. The soft-out reliability values are usually more accurate than the soft-in reliability values since they are improved during the decoding process, based on the redundant information added with each encoding step at the transmitter. The best performance is achieved by a SISO-decoder which provides the A Posteriori Probability calculator (APP), tailored to the respective channel code. Several faster, but sub-optimal algorithms exist, e.g. the SOVA (soft output Viterbi algorithm). In multilevel modulation, M bits (bit symbols) are grouped together at the transmitter to form one ‘mapped symbol’ (also briefly referred to as ‘symbol’). This symbol can be mapped onto a real or a complex signal space (i.e. real axis, or complex plane). The mapping operation simply associates the unmapped symbol (M bits, value from 0, . . . , 2 m −1) with a discrete amplitude level for Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM), a discrete phase level for Phase Shift Keying (PSK), any discrete signal point in the complex plane for quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) or any combination of PAM, QAM, PSK. The mapping can be of any type. At the receiver the incoming symbols are noise affected. The hard decision demapping operation associates the incoming symbol with the closest signal point in the signal space (signal point with minimum Euclidian distance in real or complex signal space) and takes for example the respective Gray-encoded codeword as the hard decision values (O,1) for the M bits per mapped symbol. However, if multilevel modulation is used in conjunction with channel coding and soft channel decoding (i.e. a soft input decoder) the demapping operation preferably calculates soft reliability values as inputs to the channel decoder. For simplicity, the term “multilevel modulation” is used when referring to PAM, PSK or QAM modulation, meaning ‘multi-amplitude level’ for PAM, “multi phase level” for PSK, and “multi signal points” for QAM. In one prior proposal, apparatus for iteratively decoding a signal has a demapper which has a first input for receiving the signal and an output for generating a demapped signal; and a decoder which has an input for receiving the demapped signal and an output for generating a decoded signal, the demapper having a second input for receiving the decoded signal. Each user in a mobile communication system may have a different Quality of Service (QoS) requirement, i.e. different BER and latency constraints due to differing communication services. For example: voice communication has the lowest BER requirements (i.e. can tolerate many bit errors) with the highest latency constraints (i.e. cannot tolerate long delays in two way conversation); visual communication has a higher BER requirement and high latency constraints; data communication (e.g. wireless Internet web-browsing) has the highest BER requirements and the lowest latency constraints. Each user communicates with the base station with a different signal quality (i.e. SNR), multipath propagation and fading due to differing distance from the base station, propagation environment and, if mobile, speed. The mapping operation itself does not add redundancy (in contrast to the inner encoder in classic serially concatenated encoding schemes) to the signal, but links bits together by grouping several bit symbols to form one mapped symbol. The demapper is a soft demapping device that has been modified in order to accept a priori information obtained from the decoder. The decoder is a channel decoder and can be any SISO-decoder (optimal APP, or other sub-optimal algorithm, e.g. SOVA). The iterative demapping and decoding can thus be regarded as a serially concatenated iterative decoding scheme whereby the inner decoder is replaced by the soft demapping device. The iterative demapping and decoding is stopped by an arbitrary termination criterion (e.g. after a fixed number of iterations, or when a certain bit error rare is reached). SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Mutual information is a parameter taken from information theory, see “The Elements of Information Theory” by T. M. Cover and J. A. Thomas. It specifies the maximal possible throughput for a given communication channel condition. If we regard the mapping/demapping as part of the communication channel we can describe the maximal throughput by means of unconditional bit-wise mutual information I o of the particular mapping. The mean unconditional bit-wise mutual information I o for no other bits of the mapping known is defined as I o = I     ( X k ; y ) = 1 M · ∑ k = 0 M - 1     I     ( X k ; Y ) where M is the number of bits of the mapping (e.g. for a 16 QAM-mapping M=4, since 2 4 =16) X k is the k th bit of the mapping, with k=0 . . . M−1; input variable to the communication channel Y is the output variable of the communication channel; I(X k ;Y) and thus I o are dependent on the applied mapping and the signal-to-noise ratio (typically given by E b /N o ), and can be calculated according to methods given in “Elements of Information Theory” referred to above. We have found by simulation, that the best mapping in an iterative demapping (IDEM) system depends on the E b /N o -region of interest and on the number of iterations Nblt that can be performed at the receiver (see FIG. 2 ). As explained before, this best mapping is determined by its unconditional bit-wise mutual information I o . Hence, for the optimal mapping we have I O.opt =function of (E b /N O ,Nbit). transmission system, comprising: a coder for coding an input signal with an error checking or error correcting code, an interleaver for interleaving the bits of the coded signal, a mapper for mapping the interleaved coded signal into a multilevel signal, and a transmitter for sending the multilevel signal over a noisy channel in a transmission medium; a receiver for receiving the multilevel signal distorted by noise (noisy multilevel signal), a demapper having a first input for receiving the noisy multilevel signal and operative to provide a soft demapped signal at an output, a deinterleaver, for deinterleaving the demapped signal, a decoder to decode the deinterleaved demapped signal to provide a soft decoded signal, an interleaver to interleave the decoded signal, the demapper having a second input for receiving the interleaved decoded signal and being operative to recalculate the demapped signal iteratively using the noisy signal and the soft decoded signal, characterized by: a mapping store for storing two different mappings having different mutual informations; means for deriving an indication of the channel conditions; means for selecting the mappings in a mixing ratio dependent on the derived indication of channel conditions, the mapper and demapper being operatively responsive to the selected mapping. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a digital transmission system, comprising: a coder for coding an input signal with an error checking or error correcting code, an interleaver for interleaving the bits of the coded signal, a mapper for mapping the interleaved coded signal into a multilevel signal, and a transmitter for sending the multilevel signal over a noisy channel in a transmission medium; a receiver for receiving the multilevel signal distorted by noise (noisy multilevel signal), a demapper having a first input for receiving the noisy multilevel signal and operative to provide a soft demapped signal at an output, a deinterleaver, for deinterleaving the demapped signal, a decoder to decode the deinterleaved demapped signal to provide a soft decoded signal, an interleaver to interleave the decoded signal, the demapper having a second input for receiving the interleaved decoded signal and being operative to recalculate the demapped signal iteratively using the noisy signal and the soft decoded signal, characterized by: a mapping store for storing two different mappings having different mutual informations; means for determining the number of iterations to be carried out from a plurality of possible numbers of iteration; and means for selecting the mappings in a mixing ratio dependent on the number of iterations as determined, the mapper and demapper being operatively responsive to the selected mapping. In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a digital transmission system, comprising: a coder for coding an input signal with an error checking or error correcting code, an interleaver for interleaving the bits of the coded signal, a mapper for mapping the interleaved coded signal into a multilevel signal, and a transmitter for sending the multilevel signal over a noisy channel in a transmission medium; a receiver for receiving the multilevel signal distorted by noise (noisy multilevel signal), a demapper having a first input for receiving the noisy multilevel signal and operative to provide a soft demapped signal at an output, a deinterleaver, for deinterleaving the demapped signal, a decoder to decode the deinterleaved demapped signal to provide a soft decoded signal, an interleaver to interleave the decoded signal, the demapper having a second input for receiving the interleaved decoded signal and being operative to recalculate the demapped signal iteratively using the noisy signal and the soft decoded signal, characterized by: a mapping store for storing two different mappings having different mutual informations; means for deriving an indication of the channel conditions; means for determining the number of iterations to be carried out from a plurality of possible numbers of iterations; and means for selecting the mappings in a mixing ratio dependent on the derived indication of channel conditions and on the number of iterations as determined, the mapper and demapper being operatively responsive to the selected mapping. Preferably the indication of the channel conditions is an estimate of the signal to noise ratio. The soft output signals of the demapper and the decoder are preferably likelihood ratios, most preferably log-likelihood ratios. Each mapping is preferably stored with an indication of its mutual information, and the system includes a mutual information store storing an approximation of the optimum mutual information with a plurality of respective combinations of channel conditions and number of iterations, the means for selecting being operative to identify an optimum mutual information from the number of iterations as determined and the nearest stored channel conditions to the derived indication, and to select the mapping in a mixing ratio to give a mutual information for the mix approximately equal to the optimum. The selecting means is preferably operative to calculate the mixing ratio q according to the formula: q = I o , max - I o , opt I o , opt - I o , min where I o,max is the larger mutual information of the stored mappings, I o,min is the smaller mutual information of the stored mappings, and I o,opt is the desired optimum mutual information. The invention also extends to a method of transmitting a digital signal, comprising: coding an input signal with an error checking or error correcting code, interleaving the bits of the coded signal, mapping the interleaved coded signal into a multilevel signal, sending the multilevel signal over a noisy channel in a transmission medium; receiving the multilevel signal distorted by noise (noisy multilevel signal), demapping the noisy multilevel signal to provide a soft demapped signal, deinterleaving the demapped signal, decoding the deinterleaved demapped signal to provide a soft decoded signal, interleaving the decoded signal, recalculating the demapped signal iteratively using the noisy signal and the soft decoded signal, characterized by: storing a plurality of different mappings; deriving an indication of the channel conditions; and selecting the optimum mapping of the plurality dependent on the derived indication of channel conditions, the mapping and demapping being operatively responsive to the selected mapping and demapping. The invention further extends to a method of transmitting a digital signal, comprising: coding an input signal with an error checking or error correcting code, interleaving the bits of the coded signal, mapping the interleaved coded signal into a multilevel signal, sending the multilevel signal over a noisy channel in a transmission medium; receiving the multilevel signal distorted by noise (noisy multilevel signal), demapping the noisy multilevel signal to provide a soft demapped signal, deinterleaving the demapped signal, decoding the deinterleaved demapped signal to provide a soft decoded signal, interleaving the decoded signal, recalculating the demapped signal iteratively using the noisy signal and the soft decoded signal, characterized by: storing a plurality of different mappings; determining the number of iterations to be carried out from a plurality of possible numbers of iteration; and selecting the optimum mapping of the plurality, dependent on the number of iterations as determined, the mapping and demapping being operatively responsive to the selected mapping. The invention yet further extends to a method of transmitting a digital signal, comprising: coding an input signal with an error checking or error correcting code, interleaving the bits of the coded signal, mapping the interleaved coded signal into a multilevel signal, sending the multilevel signal over a noisy channel in a transmission medium; receiving the multilevel signal distorted by noise (noisy multilevel signal), demapping the noisy multilevel signal to provide a soft demapped signal, deinterleaving the demapped signal, decoding the deinterleaved demapped signal to provide a soft decoded signal, interleaving the decoded signal, recalculating the demapped signal iteratively using the noisy signal and the soft decoded signal, characterized by: storing a plurality of different mappings; deriving an indication of the channel conditions; means for determining the number of iterations to be carried out from a plurality of possible numbers of iterations; and selecting the optimum mapping of the plurality dependent on the derived indication of channel conditions and on the number of iterations as determined, the mapping and demapping being operatively responsive to the selected mapping. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art iterative decoding system; FIG. 2 shows achieved bit error rate plotted against mean unconditional bit-wise mutual information I o at one value of E b /N o in the channel; FIG. 3 shows iteration plotted against mean unconditional bitwise mutual information I o for the best bit error rate estimated from FIG. 2; FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a transmission system embodying the invention; and FIGS. 5 to 7 show different mappings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG. 4, the transmitter, a binary random signal from a source 2 is convolutionally encoded by coder 4 and fed to an interleaver 6 which interleaves the bit symbols. (Any channel code can be used, non-systematic convolutional codes are used merely as an example). After the interleaver, M bits are grouped together and mapped onto a complex signal constellation by a mapper 8 , according to the applied modulation scheme. In the channel, the symbols become distorted by additive noise and any other noise form. At the receiver the channel symbols are demapped and ungrouped by a log-likelihood ratio calculation in a demapper 10 for each of the M bits per symbol. The log-likelihood ratio values (soft values) are deinterleaved in a deinterleaver 12 and put into a coder 14 in the form of an A Posteriori Probability calculator (APP). (Any other SISO-decoder may be used). After the decoding the estimates on the transmitted information bits are available at the output of a hard decision device 16 by taking the sign of the APP-soft output values for the information bits. In the iterative demapping/decoding path the extrinsic information is passed through a bit interleaver 22 and fed back as a priori knowledge to the soft demapping device. The extrinsic information is the difference between the soft input and the soft output value at the decoder, and depicts the new, statistically independent information (at least for the first iteration) gained by the decoding process. The complex channel symbol z at the receiver can be considered as a matched filter output. It carries M encoded bits. Since the SISO-decoder has soft input processing, the demapping device extracts a soft value for each bit X O , . . . , X N−1 for further decoding in the SISO-decoder. This soft value for each of the M bits per symbol is the log-likelihood ratio (L-value) of the respective bit conditioned on the matched filter output z. The absolute value of the L-value denotes the reliability of the bit decision. The full term of the L-value calculation for bit x k consists of an additive ‘a priori’ L-value for bit X k and a fractional term in which the a priori L-values of the remaining, bits x i,j =O . . . N−1, j=k are included. The a priori L-values of bits X O , X N −1 are provided by the SISO-decoder as inputs to the soft demapping device. Simulations show that the best performance of iterative soft demapping and decoding is achieved if the additive a priori L-value for bit X k is left out of the full term of the L-value for bit X k , and if the a priori L-values of the remaining bits X i,j=O . . . N−1,j=k are considered in the calculation of the L-value for bit X k . This is indicated in FIG. 2 by the subtraction after the demapping device: the a priori values coming from the SISO-decoder are subtracted from the output of the log-likelihood ration calculation of the respective bit in the demapping device. The information that is fed to the deinterleaver can thus be regarded as the ‘extrinsic information’ of the demapping device (in contrast to the extrinsic information from the SISO-decoder). Note the L-value calculation implies both, soft demapping and ungrouping of the M bits per symbol (not two separate operations, as FIG. 2 might suggest). Iterative soft demapping and decoding reduces the bit error rate of conventional multilevel modulation schemes that use plain channel coding. Many modern digital communications systems, with simple channel coding and multilevel modulation, may be improved by altering the receiver circuitry to include a soft demapping device that accepts a priori information, and a SISO-decoder as channel decoder. It is applicable to multilevel modulation schemes with M bits per symbol, whereby M>1 for PAM, PSK and QAM, whereby for PSK and QAM with M=2 Anti-Gray-mapping has to be applied. It is important to note that the interleaver is a bit symbol interleaver, which interleaves the symbol on the bit level. Providing there is at least one bit symbol interleaver between encoder and mapper, other systems that apply both bit symbol and ‘n bit’ symbol interleavers in a serial concatenation between encoder and symbol mapper may be employed. A signal to noise ratio estimator 18 estimates the signal to noise ration in the channel signal. A controller 20 determines, amongst other things, how many iterations can be used for the channel. The number of iterations could change for a number of reasons, e.g. in order to reduce power consumption, the receiver could reduce the number of iterations, or in a multi-user receiver computing resources available for iterative decoding may be shifted from one user to another higher priority user. We have found by experimental simulation, that the best mapping in an IDEM system depends on the E b /N o -region of interest and on the number of iterations Nblt that can be performed at the receiver. FIG. 2 shows the bit error ratio plotted against mean unconditional bitwise mutual information for different numbers of iteration, all at one signal to noise ratio. Different plots are obtained at different signal to noise ratios. As can be seen given the signal to noise conditions in the channel and the number of iterations which the receiver will perform, there is a minimum bit error rate in the iteratively decoded signal which occurs at a particular mean unconditional bit-wise mutual information I o . Estimates of the iterations and I o at which the minima occur, for that E b /N o , are plotted in FIG. 3 . Similar results are obtained for a range of different signal to noise ratios E b /N o . The results may be stored in an lo look-up table. Two mappings are generated and their mean unconditional bitwise mutual informations I o are calculated. Examples at the extremes are shown in FIGS. 5 and 7. The mapping shown in FIG. 5 is a Gray mapping and has I o =0.54 bit per complex dimension at E b /N o =3 dB and code rate 1:2. FIG. 7 is another mapping for 16QAM and has I o =0.36 bit per complex dimension at E b /N o =3 dB. For a given combination of channel conditions and number of iterations, the channel conditions for which results have been obtained and which are nearest to the estimated conditions are used in combination with the number of iterations, to identify the best mapping. The mappings are stored in a mapping look up table with the respective I o . Having found the required I o from the I o look-up table, the desired mapping is generated by mixing the mappings in a mixing ratio q according to the formula: q = I o , max - I o , opt I o , opt - I o , min where I o,max is the larger mutual information of the stored mappings, I o,min is the smaller mutual information of the stored mappings, and I o,opt is the desired optimum mutual information. Thus a period of c=a+b consecutively transmitted by M-bit symbol, contains a = q 1 + q · c        of     the     mappings     with     I o , min , and     b = q 1 + q · c        of     the     mappings     with     I o , max . The period c is arbitrary but, as an example, could be about 50. The mixing ratio can be determined at the receiver and transmitted to the transmitter. Alternatively the number of iterations to be used and the estimated channel conditions can be transmitted to the transmitter where the mixing ratio is determined and then transmitted to the receiver. It is also possible to mix more than two mappings. FIG. 6 shows a mapping for 16QAM and has an intermediate I o =0.23 bit per complex dimension at E b /N o =3 dB.

A transmission system is disclosed in which a multilevel modulated signal is transmitted. The soft output information of a channel decoder is fed back and utilized by a soft demapping device in order to improve the decoding result by further iterative decoding steps. The receiver includes a demapper for generating a demapped signal, bit deinterleaver for generating a demapped and deinterleaved signal and a decoder for generating soft reliability values representative of the decoded signal. These soft reliability values are then bit interleaved and fed back to the demapper, as a priori knowledge, for use in further iterations of the decoding process. Two mappings are mixed adaptively dependent on the channel conditions and the number of iterations to be used.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of priority form Japanese patent application No. 2004-107154, filed Mar. 31, 2004, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor device with a connected wiring layer structure electrically connecting upper and lower conductive layers to each other and a method of fabricating the same. 2. Description of the Related Art With recent reduction in design rules, an insulating film serving as a spacer is sometimes provided on an outer periphery of a connected wiring layer in order to prevent electrical contact, short or electrical interaction between wiring layers adjacent to each other. More specifically, for example, JP-A-H06-310612 discloses a peripheral structure of a connected wiring layer connecting one wiring layer to another wiring layer. In the disclosed technique, an insulating film is provided around a wiring layer (corresponding to a connecting-wiring layer). The insulating film prevents contact between wiring layers or a wiring layer and a semiconductor substrate. The insulating film further suppresses reduction in the reliability due to corrosion. Since the insulating film is formed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), it can be applied to the sides and the back as well as the upper side of the wiring layer, thereby composing an effective insulating structure. JP-A-2002-198421 discloses the structure of a connected wiring layer connecting one wiring layer to another wiring layer. In the disclosed technique, an insulating film is selectively retreated relative to buried interconnection connecting conductor layers so that surfaces of the conductor layers are exposed, whereby a contact area is increased. However, when an insulating film is formed as a spacer on the outer periphery of the wiring layer at a step and an upper conductive layer is formed at a subsequent step, the upper conductive layer can be brought into contact only with an upper surface of the connected wiring layer. The design rules have recently been scaled down further and accordingly, a contact area cannot be increased when the upper conductive layer is brought into contact only with an upper surface of the connected wiring layer. As a result, contact resistance cannot be lowered. Furthermore, even if the technique disclosed in JP-A-2002-198421 is applied, the insulating film cannot sufficiently show its function of a spacer depending on the location to which it is retreated, although a contact area can be increased between the connected wiring layer and the upper conductive layer. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor device in which even when a spacer is provided on the sidewall of the connected wiring layer connecting the upper and lower conductive layers to each other, the contact area between the upper conductive layer and the connected wiring layer and the resistance of the contact portion can be lowered while the spacer is allowed to exhibit the function thereof. In one embodiment the present invention provides a semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor substrate including a first upper surface having an active area extending in a first direction, a gate insulating film formed on the active area, a pair of gate electrodes having respective first side surfaces and formed on the gate insulating film, each gate electrode including a conductive portion and a first insulating film formed on the conductive portion, a first silicon oxide film having second side surfaces opposed to each other and formed above the gate electrodes, a plurality of bit lines formed on the first silicon oxide film and extending in the first direction, each bit line including a lower surface having a recess, a contact plug located between the gate electrodes so as to electrically connect one of the bit lines and the active area and including a first portion having a third side surface interposed between the gate electrodes, a second portion having a fourth side surface located between the opposed second side surfaces of the first silicon oxide film and a third portion having an upper surface and fifth side surface embedded in each recess of the bit line, a first silicon nitride layer located between the third side surface of the first portion of the contact plug and the first side surface of the gate electrode, a second silicon nitride layer located between the fourth side surface of the second portion of the contact plug and the second side surfaces of the first silicon oxide film, and a second silicon oxide film formed on the first silicon oxide film, wherein the entire upper surface and fifth side surface of the third portion of the contact plug directly contacts with an inner surface of each recess. The invention also provides a method of fabricating a semiconductor device comprising forming a gate insulating film on a semiconductor substrate, forming a plurality of gate electrodes in a gate electrode forming region on the gate insulating film, forming a gate electrode isolation insulating film so that the gate electrode isolation insulating film covers the gate electrodes, forming a first insulating film on the gate electrode isolation insulating film except for bit line contact forming regions provided between the gate electrodes adjacent to each other, isotropically forming a second insulating film within the bit line contact forming region, removing the gate electrode isolation insulating film, second insulating film and gate insulating film all formed right over the lower conductive layer in the bit line contact forming region, forming a connected wiring layer inside the second insulating film so that the connected wiring layer is in contact with the lower conductive layer in the bit line contact forming region and the connected wiring layer has an upper surface extending over the gate electrode isolation insulating film, removing the first insulating film so that an upper side of the first insulating film is located lower that the upper surface of the connected wiring layer, removing the second insulating film formed on an upper side part of the connected wiring layer from the upper surface of the connected wiring layer to a lower part, and forming an upper conductive layer so that the upper conductive layer is in contact with the upper side part of the connected wiring layer in regions where the first and second insulating films have been removed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become clear upon reviewing the following description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGS. 1A to 1C are schematic sectional views of a semiconductor device of a first embodiment in accordance with the present invention, the views being taken along lines 1 A- 1 A, 1 B- 1 B and 1 C- 1 C in FIG. 3 respectively; FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an electrical circuit arrangement of the semiconductor device; FIG. 3 is a plan view of the semiconductor device; FIGS. 4A to 4C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 1 ); FIGS. 5A to 5C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 2 ); FIGS. 6A to 6C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 3 ); FIGS. 7A to 7C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 4 ); FIGS. 8A to 8C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 5 ); FIGS. 9A to 9C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 6 ); FIGS. 10A to 10C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 7 ); FIGS. 11A to 11C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 8 ); FIGS. 12A to 12C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 9 ); FIGS. 13A to 13C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 10 ); FIGS. 14A to 14C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 11 ); FIGS. 15A to 15C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 12 ); FIGS. 16A to 16C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 13 ); FIG. 17A is a typical plan view of the bit line and bit line contact both connected to each other; FIG. 17B is a typical plan view showing a case where a mask has displaced during the forming of bit line; FIG. 18 is a typical sectional view showing a case where a mask has displaced during the forming of bit line; FIG. 19 is a typical sectional view showing a case where a mask has displaced during the forming of bit line; FIG. 20 schematically illustrates a fabrication step of a semiconductor device of a second embodiment in accordance with the present invention; FIGS. 21A to 21C are schematic sectional views of a semiconductor device of a third embodiment in accordance with the present invention, the views being taken along lines 21 A- 21 A, 21 B- 21 B and 21 C- 21 C in FIG. 22A respectively; FIG. 22A is a typical plan view showing a case where a mask of bit line has not displaced; FIG. 22B is a typical plan view showing a case where a mask of bit line has displaced; FIGS. 23A to 23C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 1 ); FIGS. 24A to 24C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 2 ); FIGS. 25A to 25C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 3 ); FIGS. 26A to 26C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 4 ); FIGS. 27A to 27C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 5 ); FIGS. 28A to 28C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 6 ); FIGS. 29A to 29C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 7 ); FIGS. 30A to 30C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 8 ); FIGS. 31A to 31C typically illustrate a fabrication step (step 9 ); and FIGS. 32A to 32C typically illustrate a fabrication step of a semiconductor device of a fourth embodiment in accordance with the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Several embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIGS. 1A to 19 illustrate a first embodiment of the present invention. The invention is applied to a NAND flash memory (corresponding to a non-volatile memory, semiconductor storage and semiconductor device). The NAND flash memory is divided into a memory cell region and a peripheral circuit region. FIG. 2 shows an example of circuit in the memory cell region. Each memory cell array comprises selective gate transistors Trs connected to bit line BL side and source line S side respectively and a plurality of memory cell transistors Trn series-connected between the selective gate transistors Trs. The memory cell arrays Ar are vertically arranged so as to form the memory cell region as shown in FIG. 2 . The selective gate transistor Trs of one of the memory cell arrays Ar has a gate electrode connected between gate electrodes of the selective gate transistors Trs of the adjacent memory cell array Ar. The memory cell transistor Trn of another memory cell array Ar has a gate electrode electrically connected between the gate electrodes of the memory cell transistors Trn of the adjacent memory cell array Ar, thereby serving as a word line. Referring to FIG. 3 , part (region X in FIG. 2 ) of schematic arrangement of the memory cell arrays in the aforementioned circuit arrangement is shown. In FIG. 3 , reference symbol GC designates wiring of the control gate electrode. Reference symbol FG designates a floating gate electrode. Reference symbol SG designates wiring of a selective gate electrode. Reference symbol CB designates bit-line contact forming region. Reference symbol AA designates an active area. Reference symbol STI designates an element isolation region. FIGS. 1A to 1C are schematic sectional views of the semiconductor device taken along lines 1 A- 1 A, 1 B- 1 B and 1 C- 1 C in FIG. 3 respectively. The embodiment is characterized by connection between an upper conductive layer 2 (corresponding to bit line BL) and a connected wiring layer (corresponding to a third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 which will be described later). Accordingly, the connection will be described in detail as follows. In a gate electrode forming region G in each of the transistors Trs and Trn is deposited a silicon oxide film 5 , first polycrystalline silicon layer 6 , oxide nitride oxide (ONO) film 7 , second polycrystalline silicon layer 8 , tungsten silicide (WSi) layer 9 and first silicon nitride film 10 in this order from bottom. The first and second polycrystalline silicon layers 6 and 8 located in the selective gate forming region G are electrically connected to each other outside the region G. This connecting manner is not shown. Although the region G is formed on a p-type silicon semiconductor substrate, it may be formed in a powell region, instead. Further, the region G may be formed on a reverse-conduction type silicon semiconductor substrate. The silicon oxide film 5 has a film thickness of 8 nm, for example and serves as a gate insulating film of each of the transistors Trs and Trn. The first polycrystalline silicon layer 6 comprises a polycrystalline silicon doped with impurity and has a film thickness of 160 nm, for example. The layer 6 serves as a floating gate FG of each transistor Trn. The ONO film 7 is also formed on the sidewalls of the first polycrystalline silicon layer 6 as well as on the upper surface of the layer. The ONO film 7 is formed so as to cover the first polycrystalline silicon layer 6 and a second silicon oxide film 11 serving as shallow trench isolation (STI). The ONO film 7 has a film thickness of 17 nm (5 nm oxide, 7 nm SiN and 5 nm oxide), for example. The ONO film 7 is provided for maintaining, at a high resistance value each of the first and second polycrystalline silicon layers 6 and 8 (floating gate and control gate electrodes FG and GC) in the gate electrode forming region G of each transistor Trn. The second polycrystalline silicon layer 8 is formed of a polycrystalline silicon doped with impurity and has a film thickness of 100 nm, for example. In the gate electrode forming region G of each transistor Trn, the second polycrystalline silicon layer 8 serves as the control gate electrode GC together with a tungsten silicide layer 9 . In the gate electrode forming region of each transistor Trs, the second polycrystalline silicon layer 8 serves as the selective gate electrode SG together with a tungsten silicide layer 9 , thereby being formed as a word line. The tungsten silicide layer 9 has a film thickness of 90 nm, for example. Further, a first silicon nitride film 10 serves as an insulating film. A second silicon nitride film 12 is formed so as to cover the layers 6 to 10 formed in the gate electrode forming region G of each of the transistors Trs and Trn. The second silicon nitride film 12 electrically insulates each of the gate electrode forming regions G of the adjacent transistors Trs and Trn from the other, thereby serving as a gate electrode isolation insulating film. A bit line contact forming region CB is provided between the gate electrode forming regions G of the transistors Trs adjacent to each other (or between the selective gates SG adjacent to each other), as shown in FIGS. 1B , 1 C and 3 . A hole 13 is formed in the bit line contact forming region CB. A third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 is formed in the hole 13 . The third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 is interposed between the second silicon nitride films 12 covering the layers 6 to 10 composing the transistors Trs, as shown in FIG. 1C . The third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 includes a vertically elongate piece 3 b (corresponding to a lower wiring portion) having the shape of a vertically elongate elliptic cylinder and an upper disc 3 a (corresponding to an upper wiring portion). As a result, the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 has a generally T-shaped longitudinal section. The third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 electrically connects a diffusion layer 14 (corresponding to a lower conductive layer) to a titan layer 15 composing the upper conductive layer 2 . The upper disc 3 a extends horizontally to the upper surface of the second silicon nitride film 12 of the gate electrode forming region G of each transistor Trs, as shown in FIG. 1C . Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1B , a second silicon oxide film 17 , third silicon oxide film 18 (corresponding to a first insulating film) and fourth silicon oxide film 19 are formed between adjacent bit line contact forming regions CB. These silicon oxide films 17 to 19 are provided for electrically insulating the adjacent third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 . A third silicon nitride film 20 is formed on the outer periphery of the vertically elongate piece 3 b of the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 , as shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C . The third silicon nitride film 20 is located between the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 and the second and third silicon oxide films 17 and 18 and formed on the sidewalls of the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 into a vertically elongate shape, as shown in FIG. 1B . The third silicon nitride film 20 serves as a spacer reinforcing an insulating function between the third polycrystalline silicon layers 3 adjacent to each other. The third silicon nitride film 20 (corresponding to a second insulating film) is formed on the lower outer periphery of the upper disc 3 a of the third polycrystalline silicon layers 3 . The third silicon nitride film 20 also serves as a spacer between the third polycrystalline silicon layers 3 adjacent to each other as well as the aforesaid silicon nitride film. The second silicon oxide film 17 is formed in between the gate electrode forming regions G of the transistors Trn and Trs composing each memory cell array. The second silicon oxide film 17 is provided for improving the electrically insulating function between the gate electrode forming regions G of the transistors Trn and Trs. The second silicon oxide film 17 is formed so as to be co-planar with the upper surface of the second silicon nitride film 12 . The third silicon oxide film 18 is formed over the upper surfaces of the second silicon nitride and oxide films 12 and 17 except the bit line contact forming region CB. The third silicon oxide film 18 is located on one side of the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 , extending horizontally into the shape of a thin plate. The third silicon oxide film 18 is provided for maintaining the insulating performance between various gate electrodes (control gate electrode GC, selective gate electrode SG, floating gate electrode FG) and tungsten silicide layer 9 , and the bit line BL (tungsten layer 16 and titan layer 15 ). The tungsten (W) layer 16 and the titan (Ti) layer 15 each serving as an upper conductive layer are formed so as to be in contact with an upper surface 3 aa and upper side face 3 ab of the upper disc 3 a of the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 , as shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C . Each of the titan and tungsten layers 16 and 15 serves as a bit line BL. The titan layer 15 has a film thickness of 45 nm, for example. The titan layer 15 is formed so as to be in contact with the upper surface 3 aa , upper side face 3 ab and the upper part of the third silicon nitride film 20 . The titan layer 15 is further formed on the upper side of the third silicon nitride film 20 and has a film thickness of 45 nm. The titan layer 15 is formed so that the third silicon oxide film 18 and the tungsten layer 16 are kept noncontact with each other. The tungsten layer 16 has a film thickness of 400 nm, for example, and includes a lower part covered by the titan layer 15 . According to the first embodiment, the sidewall of the upper disc 3 a of the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 is not entirely covered with the third silicon nitride film 20 . The titan layer 15 is in contact with the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 at the upper surface 3 aa and upper side face 3 ab of the upper disc 3 a of the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 . Consequently, the contact area between the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 and titan layer 15 can be increased (see contact area S 2 in FIGS. 1B and 1C ). The fabricating method will now be described in detail with additional reference to FIGS. 4A to 19 . FIGS. 4A to 16A all suffixed with “A” are longitudinally sectional views taken along line 1 A- 1 A in FIG. 3 . FIGS. 4B to 16B all suffixed with “B” are longitudinally sectional views taken along line 1 B- 1 B in FIG. 3 . FIGS. 4C to 16C all suffixed with “C” are longitudinally sectional views taken along line 1 C- 1 C in FIG. 3 . One or more of the fabrication steps in the following description may be eliminated or one or more new fabrication steps may be added if the semiconductor device of the invention can be fabricated. 1. Steps of forming the structure as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C : The silicon oxide film 5 with the film thickness of 8 nm, for example, is formed on the p-type silicon semiconductor substrate 4 . The first polycrystalline silicon layer 6 doped with impurity is formed by the low pressure chemical vapor deposition (low pressure CVD) so as to have a film thickness of 160 nm, for example. The fourth silicon nitride film 21 is formed so as to have a film thickness of 70 nm, for example. Photoresist (not shown) is applied to the fourth silicon nitride film 21 so that a predetermined resist pattern is formed by the photolithography technique. The fourth silicon semiconductor substrate 21 , first polycrystalline silicon layer 6 , first silicon oxide film 5 and silicon semiconductor substrate 4 are simultaneously processed by the reactive ion etching (RIE) process with the resist pattern serving as a mask so that a predetermined depth is reached, whereby a trench T for forming the shallow trench isolation (STI) is formed. Thereafter, the photoresist is removed. Thus, the fourth silicon semiconductor substrate 21 , first polycrystalline silicon layer 6 , first silicon oxide film 5 and silicon semiconductor substrate 4 are formed as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C . 2. Steps of forming the structure as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C : After completion of the above-described forming step 1, the second silicon nitride film 11 is deposited by the high-density-plasma (HDP)-CVD process by the film thickness of 550 nm, for example, so as to be buried in the trench T. Thereafter, the second silicon nitride film 11 is flattened by the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) so that the fourth silicon nitride film 21 is exposed and then heated in the nitric atmosphere to 900° C., for example. The fourth silicon nitride film 21 is removed at 150° C. by the phosphating, for example. Photoresist (not shown) is then applied and a predetermined resist pattern is formed by the photolithography technique. After removal of the photoresist, the ONO film 7 serving as the second gate insulating film is isotropically formed by the low pressure CVD so as to have a film thickness of 17 nm (oxide: 5 nm, SiN: 7 nm and oxide: 5 nm). Thus, the ONO film 7 is formed as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C . 3. Steps of forming the structure as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C : After completion of the above-described forming step 2 , heat is applied to the ONO film 7 in an oxidizing atmosphere. The second polycrystalline silicon layer 8 doped with impurity is formed on the ONO film 7 by the low pressure CVD so as to have a film thickness of 100 nm, for example. The tungsten silicide layer 9 is formed on the second polycrystalline silicon layer 8 by the sputtering process so as to have a film thickness of 90 nm, for example. The first silicon nitride film 10 is then formed by the low pressure CVD so as to have a film thickness of 300 nm, for example. Thus, the second polycrystalline silicon layer 8 , tungsten silicide layer 9 and first silicon nitride film 10 are formed as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C . 4. Steps of forming the structure as shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C : After completion of the above-described forming step 3 , photoresist (not shown) is applied to the first silicon nitride film 10 and formed into a predetermined resist pattern. The first silicon nitride film 10 is etched by the RIE process with the photoresist serving as a mask. The etching is applied to a region other than the gate electrode forming region G. After the photoresist has been removed by ashing, the tungsten silicide layer 9 , second polycrystalline silicon layer 8 , ONO film 7 and first polycrystalline silicon layer 6 are etched by the RIE process with the first silicon nitride film 10 serving as a mask (see FIGS. 7B and 7C ). In this case, the first silicon nitride film 10 , tungsten silicide layer 9 , second polycrystalline silicon layer 8 , ONO film 7 and first polycrystalline silicon layer 6 are etched by the RIE process in the bit line contact forming region CB for connecting the bit line and the peripheral region. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7B , all the layers formed on the substrate 4 are removed except the silicon oxide film 5 . Thus, the first silicon nitride film 10 , tungsten silicide layer 9 , second polycrystalline silicon layer 8 , ONO film 7 and first polycrystalline silicon layer 6 are formed as shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C . 5. Steps of forming the structure as shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C : After completion of the above-described forming step 4 , a rapid thermal oxidation (RTO) process is executed at 1050° C., for example. The second silicon nitride film 12 is isotropically formed so as to have a film thickness of 20 nm, for example. Thereafter, the n-type impurity is implanted to the substrate 4 via the second silicon nitride film 12 and second silicon oxide film 17 both formed between the gate electrode forming regions G of the transistors Trn and Trs adjacent to each other, whereby the source/drain diffusion layers 22 of the transistors Trn and Trs are formed. Subsequently, the second silicon oxide film 17 is formed on the silicon nitride film 12 formed between the gate electrode forming regions G of the transistors Trn and Trs, and the second silicon oxide film 17 is further formed in the upper part of the second silicon nitride film 12 formed between the gate electrode forming regions G of the transistors Trn. In this case, as shown in FIG. 8B , the second silicon oxide film 17 is formed. The second silicon oxide film 17 is provided for maintaining high resistance between the third polycrystalline silicon layers adjacent to each other. A reflow process is carried out for the second silicon oxide film 17 at 800° C. in an oxidizing atmosphere. The second silicon oxide film 17 is then flattened by the CMP process with the first and second silicon nitride films 10 and 12 serving as a stopper. Thereafter, the third silicon oxide film 18 is formed on the first and second silicon nitride films 10 and 12 and second silicon oxide film 17 by the plasma CVD process. Photoresist (not shown) is applied to the third silicon oxide film 18 and formed into a predetermined resist pattern by the photolithography technique, and the third silicon oxide film 18 is processed using the resist pattern. Thus, the third silicon oxide film 18 is formed as shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C . After completion of the above-described forming step 5 , the third silicon nitride film 20 is isotropically formed so as to have a film thickness of 10 nm, for example, as shown in FIGS. 10A to 10C . Furthermore, the dry-etching is carried out for the third silicon nitride film 20 thereby to remove the third silicon nitride film 20 formed on the third silicon oxide film 18 , the third silicon nitride film 20 formed in the gate electrode forming region G of the transistor Trs, first and third silicon nitride films 12 and 20 formed right on the substrate 4 , and first silicon oxide film 5 except for a part to be formed into a sidewall insulating film of the gate electrode forming region G, as shown in FIGS. 11A to 11C . As a result, the second and third silicon nitride films 12 and 20 remain on the sidewall at the bit line contact forming region CB side of the third silicon oxide film 18 and on the sidewall at the bit line contact forming region CB interposed between the gate electrode forming regions G of the transistors Trs. Furthermore, the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 is formed in the bit line contact forming region CB, and an upper part of the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 is etched back by the chemical dry etching (CDE) process so that the height of the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 is adjusted, as shown in FIGS. 12A to 12C . Thereafter, heat is applied to the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 at 970° C. in a nitric atmosphere so that dopant is activated. The fourth silicon oxide film 19 is formed on the third silicon oxide film 18 , third silicon nitride film 20 and third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 by the plasma CVD process, whereby the thickness of the silicon oxide film is increased, as shown in FIGS. 13A to 13C . Thereafter, photoresist (not shown) is applied to the fourth silicon oxide film 19 and formed into a predetermined resist pattern. The third and fourth silicon oxide films 18 and 19 are etched back by the RIE process under the condition with higher selectivity with respect to polycrystalline silicon and silicon nitride films with the resist pattern serving as a mask, whereby a forming region for the bit line BL is secured. In this case, around the bit line contact forming region CB, the third silicon oxide film 18 is etched back until a portion lower than the upper surface 3 aa of the upper disc 3 a is reached. The silicon oxide film is removed from an upper portion of the upper disc 3 a substantially simultaneously with the third and fourth silicon oxide films 18 and 19 . However, the third silicon nitride film 20 remains adherent to the sidewall of the upper disc 3 a. Subsequently, the third silicon nitride film 20 is removed under the etching condition with higher selectivity with respect to silicon oxide film or polycrystalline silicon (for example, wet etching process such as phosphating at 150° C.) until a portion lower than the upper surface of the third silicon oxide film 18 and a portion higher than the upper surface of the second silicon nitride film 12 are reached. The third silicon nitride film 20 may be removed by the dry etching. More specifically, the third silicon nitride film 20 is removed from the upper sidewall of the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 . Thus, the structure is formed as shown in FIGS. 15A to 15C . Subsequently, the titan layer 15 is isotropically formed by the PVD process so as to have a film thickness of 45 nm as shown in FIGS. 16A to 16C . Heat is applied to the titan layer 15 at 550° C. in a hydrogen-containing nitric atmosphere for 90 minutes. Furthermore, the tungsten (W) layer 16 is isotropically formed by the PVD process so as to have a film thickness of 400 nm as shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C . Thereafter, the titan and tungsten layers 15 and 16 are flattened by the CMP process until the fourth polycrystalline silicon oxide film 19 is exposed. The structure is then heat-treated at 400° C. in the hydrogen-containing nitric atmosphere for 30 minutes. Furthermore, a post-process is carried out so that the memory cell region of the NAND non-volatile memory can be formed. For example, when the third silicon nitride film 20 is formed as a spacer on the outer peripheral sidewall of the upper disc 3 a of the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 , only the upper surface 3 aa of the upper disc 3 a of the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 is brought into contact with the titan layer 15 . As a result, the contact portion unavoidably renders high resistant. In view of the aforesaid problem, in the fabricating method of the embodiment, the third silicon oxide film 18 is formed on the upper portions of the second silicon nitride film 12 and second silicon oxide film 17 except for the bit line contact forming region CB. The second silicon nitride film 12 is isotropically formed as the spacer on the bit line contact forming region CB. The second and third silicon nitride films 12 and 20 located on the upper surface of the substrate 4 are removed. The third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 is formed in the bit line contact forming region CB so that the layer 3 is in contact with the source/drain diffusion layer 14 and so that the upper surface 3 aa of the upper disc 3 a is formed so as to be located higher than the second silicon nitride film 12 . The third silicon oxide film 18 is removed so that an upper surface of the third silicon oxide film 18 is located lower than the upper surface 3 aa of the layer 3 . The third silicon nitride film 20 is removed until a portion horizontally lower than the upper surface 3 aa is reached. The titan layer 15 is formed on the upper side face 3 ab of the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 . Consequently, the contact area can be increased between the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 and the titan layer 15 , whereupon the resistance in the contact portion can be lowered. Furthermore, no problem arises in the case where the photolithography technique applied to bit line forming region does not result in misalignment of mask when the bit line BL (titan layer 15 and tungsten layer 16 ) is formed, as shown in FIG. 17A . However, as shown in FIG. 17B , when the photolithography technique results in occurrence of misalignment particularly in the direction of word line (the direction in which the gate electrode is formed), the titan layer 15 is brought into contact only with the upper surface 3 aa of the layer 3 , whereupon the contact area Si is reduced as shown in FIG. 19 schematically illustrating the contact of the titan layer 15 with the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 . According to the fabrication method of the embodiment, the upper part of the third silicon nitride film 20 is removed from the upper side face 3 ab of the outer peripheral sidewall of the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 although the resistance value may be increased with reduction in the contact area upon occurrence of mask misalignment. Since the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 and titan layer 15 are brought into contact (see contact area S 2 ) with each other on the upper side face 3 ab , the reduction in the contact area can be suppressed even when the contact area (see contact area Si) is reduced between the upper surface 3 aa and the titan layer 15 . Consequently, the reduction in the contact area can be suppressed. FIGS. 20A to 20C illustrate a second embodiment of the invention. The second embodiment differs from the foregoing embodiment in the fabrication process. In the second embodiment, identical or similar parts are labeled by the same reference symbols as those in the first embodiment and the description of these parts will be eliminated. Only the difference between the first and second embodiments will be described. The following fabricating step is executed after the step described with reference to FIGS. 12A to 12C . That is, the upper portion (the upper side face 3 ab ) of the third silicon nitride film 20 is removed downward from the upper surface 3 aa under the etching condition with higher selectivity with respect to the third silicon oxide film 18 of the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 , as shown in FIGS. 20A to 20C . The fourth silicon oxide film 19 is formed on the third silicon oxide film 18 in the same manner as in the first embodiment and thereafter, the third and fourth silicon oxide films 18 and 19 are removed under the etching condition with higher selectivity with respect to the third polycrystalline silicon layer 3 and the third silicon nitride film 2 , although this is not shown. The titan layer 15 and tungsten layer 16 are then formed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Consequently, the second embodiment can achieve substantially the same effect as the first embodiment. FIGS. 21A to 21C illustrate a third embodiment of the invention. The third embodiment differs from the foregoing embodiments in that the invention is applied to a DRAM semiconductor memory with the trench capacitor structure. The structure of the DRAM semiconductor memory will first be described with reference to FIGS. 21A to 22B . FIG. 22A is a typical plan view of the DRAM semiconductor memory. FIG. 21A is a longitudinally sectional view of the DRAM semiconductor memory taken along line 21 A- 21 A in FIG. 22A . FIG. 21B is a longitudinally sectional view of the DRAM semiconductor memory taken along line 21 B- 21 B in FIG. 22A . FIG. 21C is a longitudinally sectional view of the DRAM semiconductor memory taken along line 21 C- 21 C in FIG. 22A . Referring to FIGS. 21A to 21C , the DRAM semiconductor memory 30 as the semiconductor device includes a plurality of memory cells arranged in a memory cell region. Each memory cell comprises a cell transistor Tr of the MOS type and a trench capacitor C. The silicon semiconductor substrate 31 is formed with a deep trench 32 . The trench capacitor C is formed in the trench 32 so as to be located at the bottom side. The trench 32 is formed into an elliptic shape as shown in FIG. 22A . The structure of the trench capacitor C will be described. A plate diffusion layer 33 is formed around the trench 32 so as to extend from the bottom side of the trench 32 to a predetermined height. The plate diffusion layer 33 serves as a plate electrode of the trench capacitor C. A capacitor insulating film 34 is formed on an inner wall of the trench 32 and on the plate diffusion layer 33 . The capacitor insulating film 34 comprises an SiN—SiO 2 film, Al 2 O 3 —SiO 2 film or HfO 2 —SiO 2 film and serves as an insulating film for isolation of both plate electrodes of the trench capacitor C. A first conductive layer 35 of a polycrystalline silicon layer or polycide is formed on the inner wall of the trench 32 and on the capacitor insulating film 34 . The first conductive layer 35 serves as a plate electrode of the trench capacitor C. Thus, the trench capacitor C comprises the first conductive layer 35 , capacitor insulating film 34 and plate diffusion layer 33 . A shallow trench isolation (STI) 36 or element isolation region is formed on an upper part of the first conductive layer 35 . STI 36 is a layer formed to be opposite to the cell transistor Tr so as to isolate each memory cell from the adjacent one as shown in FIGS. 21A to 21C . STI 36 further has a function of isolating the trench capacitor C from a word line WL (gate electrode G 2 ) formed to pass over STI 36 as shown in FIG. 21C . The cell transistor Tr is adjacent to the trench capacitor C and is formed at a predetermined side of the trench 32 so as to be connected to the trench capacitor C. The cell transistor Tr includes the gate electrode G 2 further serving as a word line WL, n-type diffusion layers 37 and 38 (source/drain diffusion layers) and first silicon oxide film 39 serving as a gate insulating film. The first conductive layer 35 composing the trench capacitor C is connected to the diffusion layer 37 . A second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 (bit line contact; and corresponding to a connected wiring layer) is formed on the upper part of the diffusion layer 38 (corresponding to a lower conductive layer). The second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 electrically connects the diffusion layer 38 to the bit line BL 2 . A titan layer 41 composing an upper layer side bit line BL 2 is in contact with the diffusion layer 38 via the second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 . The titan layer 41 is electrically connected via the second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 to the diffusion layer 38 . A first silicon nitride film 42 is formed so as to cover the gate electrode G 2 . The first silicon nitride film 42 serves as an insulating film for isolating each gate electrode G 2 from the adjacent one. The first silicon nitride film 42 also serves as a gate sidewall insulating film. An interlayer dielectric film 43 (corresponding to a first insulating film) is formed so as to isolate the bit line BL from the memory cell. A second silicon nitride film 44 (corresponding to a second insulating film) serving as a spacer is formed on an outer peripheral sidewall of the second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 . The second silicon nitride film 44 is adapted to be brought into contact with the titan layer 41 at an upper surface 40 a and an upper side face of the silicon layer 40 . A tungsten layer 45 is formed on the titan layer 41 . The titan layer 41 and tungsten layer 45 constitute the bit line BL 2 . Each memory cell is thus constituted. A plurality of the memory cells are arranged closely as shown in FIG. 22A . An active area AA in FIG. 22A indicates an active area of each memory cell. In this case, as shown in FIG. 22A , when the bit line BL (titan layer 41 and tungsten layer 45 ) is formed without misalignment of the mask in the vertical direction, an electrical interaction can be ignored between the bit line BL 2 and the adjacent second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 since the distance between them is long. However, the distance has recently been reduced with recent reduction in the design rules. Accordingly, when mask misalignment δ 2 is produced during the forming of the bit line BL as shown in FIG. 22B , the distance between the bit line BL 2 and the adjacent second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 is also reduced, and a contact area between them is also reduced. In the embodiment, however, the second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 is brought into contact with the bit line BL at the upper side face as well as at the upper surface thereof. Consequently, reduction in the contact area between the bit line BL 2 and the silicon layer 40 can be suppressed, and the resistance in the contact portion can be suppressed. The following describes a manner of forming layers in the case where the aforesaid functional portions are formed, with reference to FIGS. 21A to 31C . The embodiment is characterized particularly by a portion for connecting the bit line BL 2 (titan layer 41 ) and a contact plug (second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 ) and its peripheral portion. Accordingly, an upper layer on the substrate 31 pertaining to the characteristic portion will be described and a method of fabricating the trench capacitor and gate electrode G 2 will be eliminated. 1. Method of fabricating the structure as shown in FIGS. 23A to 25C : A silicon oxide film with the film thickness of 8 nm, for example, is formed on the p-type silicon semiconductor substrate 31 as the first silicon oxide film 39 which further serves as a gate insulating film. A gate electrode G 2 is formed after the trench capacitor C and STI 36 have been formed. FIGS. 24A to 24C illustrate a method of forming the gate electrode G 2 . A first polycrystalline silicon layer 46 doped with impurity is formed by the low pressure CVD-process on the first silicon oxide film 39 so as to have a film thickness of 100 nm. A tungsten silicide layer 47 is formed on the first polycrystalline silicon layer 46 so as to have a film thickness of 55 nm. The third silicon nitride film 48 is formed on the tungsten silicide layer 47 by the low pressure CVD process so as to have a film thickness of 200 nm. Photoresist (not shown) is then applied to the third silicon nitride film 48 and then formed into a predetermined resist pattern by the photolithography technique. The third silicon nitride film 48 is then etched by the RIE process with the resist pattern serving as a mask. As a result, the first polycrystalline silicon layer 46 and tungsten silicide layer 47 are separated from each other. The gate electrode G 2 is constituted by the first polycrystalline silicon layer 46 and the tungsten silicide layer 47 , and the third silicon nitride film 48 between the gate electrodes G 2 is removed. Subsequently, the photoresist is removed by ashing. The tungsten silicide layer 47 and the first polycrystalline silicon layer 46 doped with impurity are processed by the RIE process with the remaining third silicon nitride film 48 serving as a mask. As a result, the first polycrystalline silicon layer 46 and the tungsten silicide layer 47 are removed. Thereafter, the RTO process is applied at about 1050° C. and the first silicon nitride film 42 is isotropically formed so as to have a film thickness of 40 nm. Consequently, the thin first silicon nitride film 42 is formed as a gate sidewall insulating film between the gate electrodes G 2 as shown in FIGS. 25A to 25C . 2. Method of fabricating the structure as shown in FIGS. 26A to 26C : After completion of the above-described fabricating step 1, a fourth silicon oxide film 49 is formed between gate electrodes G 2 . The fourth silicon oxide film 49 formed on the first silicon nitride film 42 is then flattened by the CMP process with the first and third silicon nitride films 42 and 48 serving as stoppers. Subsequently, the second silicon nitride film 43 a is formed on the exposed first or third silicon nitride film 42 or 48 and the fourth silicon oxide film 49 so as to have a film thickness of 150 nm, for example. Thereafter, the third silicon oxide film 43 b is formed on the second silicon oxide film 43 a so as to have a film thickness of 350 nm, for example. Thus, the second and third silicon oxide films 43 a and 43 b are formed as shown in FIGS. 26A to 26C . Upon completion of the forming step, the second and third silicon oxide films 43 a and 43 b serve as the interlayer dielectric film 43 . After completion of the above-described fabricating step 2, photoresist is applied to the third silicon oxide film 43 b and is formed into a predetermined resist pattern by the photolithography technique. Thereafter, the second and third silicon oxide films 43 a and 43 b are processed (removed) by the RIE process with the photoresist serving as a mask. Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 27A to 27C , the fourth silicon oxide film 49 is removed from a part to be formed as the bit line contact forming region CB 2 by the self-aligning contact forming technique, and the second silicon nitride film 44 is isotropically formed on the part. The second silicon nitride film 44 serves as a spacer. The second and first silicon nitride films 44 and 42 formed right on the substrate 4 and on the bottom between the gate electrodes G 2 and the first silicon oxide film 39 are dry-etched. Consequently, the second silicon nitride film 44 remains on the sidewall of each gate electrode G 2 such that a hole is formed. N-type impurity is diffused through the hole to the substrate 31 , whereby the source/drain diffusion layer 38 is formed. Subsequently, a polycrystalline silicon doped with impurity is formed inside the second silicon nitride film 44 , whereby the second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 serving as a contact plug is formed. As shown in FIGS. 28A to 28C , an upper part of the second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 is removed by the chemical dry etching (CDE) process for height adjustment. Furthermore, the heating treatment is carried out at 970° C. in a nitric atmosphere so that dopant is activated. The third silicon oxide film 43 b is removed by etching until a portion lower than the upper surface 40 a of the second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 is reached, under the condition with higher selectivity with respect to the polycrystalline silicon and silicon nitride film. As a result, as shown in FIG. 29 , the second silicon nitride film 44 is simultaneously removed until the upper surface 40 a of the second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 is reached. The second silicon nitride film 44 formed on the upper sidewall of the silicon-layer 40 is removed by the wet etching such as phosphating at 150° C. as shown in FIGS. 30A to 30C . In this case, the second silicon nitride film 44 is removed by wet etching under the condition with higher selectivity with respect to the silicon oxide film and polycrystalline silicon until a part lower than the upper surface 40 a of the silicon layer 40 is reached, whereupon the upper side face 40 b of the second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 is exposed. In this case, it is desirable that the second silicon nitride film 44 is removed so that the upper part of the second silicon nitride film 44 is located lower than the upper surface of the third silicon oxide film 43 b . In this case, dry etching may be carried out for removal of the second silicon nitride film 44 . Furthermore, the titan layer 41 is isotropically formed by the PVD process on the upper parts of second and-third silicon oxide films 43 a and 43 b and the upper part of the second silicon nitride film 44 so as to have a film thickness of about 45 nm, as shown in FIGS. 31A to 31C . As a result, the titan layer 41 is formed so as to be in contact with the upper surface 40 a and upper side face 40 b of the second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 . Furthermore, heat treatment is carried out at 550° C. in a hydrogen-containing nitric atmosphere for 90 minutes. Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 21A to 21C , the tungsten layer 45 is deposited by the PVD process on the titan layer 41 so as to have a film thickness of 400 nm, for example. The tungsten layer 45 and the titan layer 41 are flattened as shown in FIG. 21B . heat treatment is carried out at 400° C. in a hydrogen-containing nitric atmosphere for 30 minutes. Thus, a contact portion between the second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 serving as bit line contact (contact plug) and the bit line BL is constituted. In the above-described third embodiment, too, the second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 and bit line BL are brought into contact with each other at the upper side face 40 b of the second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 as well as at the upper surface 40 a of the layer 40 . Consequently, the third embodiment can achieve substantially the same effect as the first embodiment. Furthermore, the invention can be applied to the, DRAM semiconductor memory. FIGS. 32A to 32C illustrate a fourth embodiment of the invention. The fourth invention differs from the third embodiment in the fabricating method. In the fourth embodiment, identical or similar parts are labeled by the same reference symbols as those in the third embodiment and the description of these parts will be eliminated. Only the difference between the third and fourth embodiments will be described. After the forming of the structure as shown in FIGS. 28A to 28C , the second and first silicon nitride films 44 and 42 and the first silicon oxide film 39 all located on the upper surface of the diffusion layer 38 are removed and the second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 is formed. After the height of the second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 has been adjusted, the second silicon nitride film 44 formed on the upper side face 40 b of the second polycrystalline silicon layer 40 is removed. In this case, the second silicon nitride film 44 is removed under the condition with higher selectivity with respect to the silicon oxide film and polycrystalline silicon. The second silicon nitride film 44 is removed so that the upper part of the second silicon nitride film 44 is located lower than the upper surface 40 a of the second silicon layer 40 , whereupon the upper side face 40 b of the second silicon layer 40 is exposed. Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 21A to 21C , the third silicon oxide film 43 b is etched under the condition with higher selectivity with respect to the polycrystalline silicon and silicon nitride film, whereby the upper part of the third silicon oxide film 43 b is removed until the part lower than the upper surface 40 a of the second silicon layer 40 and the part higher than the second silicon nitride film 44 are reached. The titan layer 41 is formed on the third silicon oxide film 43 b , the upper surface 40 a and upper side face 40 b of the second silicon layer 40 in the same manner as in the foregoing embodiment. The tungsten layer 45 is formed on the titan layer 41 . As a result, the same structure as in the foregoing embodiment can be obtained. The fourth embodiment can achieve substantially the same effect as the third embodiment. The foregoing description and drawings are merely illustrative of the principles of the present invention and are not to be construed in a limiting sense. Various changes and modifications will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. All such changes and modifications are seen to fall within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate, a gate insulating film, gate electrodes, a first silicon oxide film, bit lines formed on the first silicon oxide film and including lower surfaces having respective recesses, a contact plug layer located between the gate electrodes and including a first portion, a second portion having a fourth side surface between the opposed second side surfaces of first silicon oxide film and a third portion having an upper surface and fifth side surfaces embedded in the respective recesses of the bit line, a first silicon nitride layer between a third side surface of the first portion of the contact plug and a first side surface of the gate electrode, and a second silicon oxide film. The entire upper surface and fifth side surface of the third portion of the contact plug directly contact with inner surfaces of the recesses respectively.

FIELD [0001] Embodiments described herein relate to feedback of channel state information (CSI) in wireless communication. [0002] Efficient limited feedback of channel state information (CSI) has long been regarded as a crucial requirement to achieve the very high spectral efficiency predicted in cellular mobile systems employing multiple-antenna technology. The way CSI feedback enables this is by providing a multiple-antenna transmitter with the ability to form a beam or multiplex multiple beams towards one or more destinations, thereby achieving a beamforming and multiplexing gain in the spatial domain. [0003] Since this fundamental role of CSI at the transmitter was recognised, great attention has been devoted in standardisation bodies, such as that drafting the 3GPP standard, to define feedback mechanisms in support of multiple antenna techniques. In this respect, the primary design target within the long-term evolution (LTE) standardisation has been to minimise the overhead in terms of the control information required to deliver such CSI feedback, whilst providing an effective support to single-user (SU) and multi-user (MU) MIMO operations. [0004] In the recent effort to improve further the LTE system performance to respond to the ITU requirements in the IMT-Advanced call for proposals, enhancing the feedback mechanism has been identified by the 3GPP as a major work item for the so-called LTE-Advanced release. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [0005] A specific embodiment will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: [0006] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communications network; [0007] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a communications transceiver highlighting signal transmission elements thereof; [0008] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a communications transceiver highlighting signal reception elements thereof; [0009] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a process of constructing indicators for feeding back to another transceiver; and [0010] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a process of constructing a precoding matrix on the basis of received indicators from another source. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0011] One common view is that MU-MIMO schemes could benefit most from improved CSI feedback, because they are generally more sensitive to inaccurate channel reports and mismatches between the real channel conditions and the knowledge available at the transmitter. However, it is also widely accepted that improving MU-MIMO performance and, in general, the interference rejection capability of the eNodeB should not compromise the performance of SU-MIMO schemes. A wealth of proposals have been put forward to improve the feedback mechanism in LTE-Advanced. [0012] One issue pertinent to the present technical field is that the precoder in LTE-Advanced should be derived as a combination of two feedback messages, one targeting the long-term/wideband channel statistics, the other targeting the short-term/frequency-selective channel properties. [0013] According to one embodiment a precise combination of new feedback indicators is provided, and also a method to generate and combine these messages to boost LTE-A MU-MIMO performance, without impairing SU-MIMO. [0014] Another embodiment provides a method to describe the properties of a multiple-input multiple-output channel by generating two feedback indicators identifying a set of precoders or an individual precoder. In this embodiment, the first indicator may be designed to restrict the space wherein the precoder identified by the second indicator can be selected. The two feedback indicators can be associated with different frequency sub-bands and time frames within the time-frequency resources configured in the communication network. [0015] The first feedback indicator can comprise a codebook index selected from a codebook of unitary matrices of a given rank. The index can be calculated in a transformed domain. This transformation can be such that all unitary precoders of a given rank that are bases of the same space (i.e. linear combinations of one another) are mapped to a single point in the transformed domain. The precoder codebook used for the first feedback indicator can be mapped off-line to the said transformed domain and stored in the terminal memory. The metric used for the codebook index selection can be such that the minimum (or maximum) value corresponds to the case of mutually orthogonal unitary matrices whilst the maximum (or, respectively, the minimum) value corresponds to the case of two unitary matrices spanning the same vector space. [0016] In the above arrangement, the second feedback indicator may consist of a codebook index selected from a codebook of unitary matrices of a rank smaller or equal to that of the first indicator. The elements of this second codebook may be interpreted by a terminal as linear combinations of the columns of any element of the first codebook in such a way that the precoder evaluated for the index selection is formed by the product of the first feedback matrix and the test matrix from the second codebook. The codebook index from this second codebook can then be selected by maximising (or minimising) a metric relative to the precoders so calculated in their original domain. [0017] Moreover, in general terms, an embodiment comprises determining, at a receiver, a channel precoder appropriate for use in transmission to that receiver, determining, on that basis, which of a plurality of stored sets of eigenvectors best fits that channel precoder, and which, of a plurality of stored matrices which when combined with said stored sets of eigenvectors, produce specimen precoders, is most suitable for use in constructing a precoder, and sending to a transmitter of a signal to said receiver an indication of each of the determined stored set of eigenvectors and the determined stored matrix such that, at corresponding codebooks, said stored set of eigenvectors and stored matrix can be retrieved at said transmitter for construction of a precoder accordingly. [0018] Another embodiment comprises determining, at a receiver, a channel precoder appropriate for use in transmission to that receiver, determining, on that basis, which of a plurality of stored sets of eigenvectors best fits that channel precoder, and sending to a transmitter of a signal to said receiver an indication of the determined stored set of eigenvectors such that, at a corresponding codebook of the transmitter, said stored set of eigenvectors can be retrieved at said transmitter for construction of a precoder accordingly. [0019] Another embodiment comprises determining, at a receiver, a channel precoder appropriate for use in transmission to that receiver, determining, on that basis, which of a plurality of stored matrices is most suitable for use in constructing a precoder, and sending to a transmitter of a signal to said receiver an indication of the determined stored matrix such that, at a corresponding codebook of the transmitter, said stored matrix can be retrieved at said transmitter for construction of a precoder accordingly. [0020] While the various embodiments described herein can be provided on or by original equipment, it may also be convenient to implement an embodiment by means of software loaded on a general purpose computer, or a computing device with specific adaptations to the field but without features specific to the provision of the embodiment itself. Thus, an embodiment could comprise a computer program product operable to be executed on a computer to provide an embodiment in its entirety, or to complement (i.e. update) existing software and/or hardware components, features or tools to provide that embodiment. The computer program product may be supplied on a computer readable medium, such as a storage medium or a computer readable memory device, or may be supplied as borne on a computer receivable signal. [0021] As illustrated in FIG. 1 , a schematic wireless communications system 10 comprises two wireless communications devices 20 , 30 with respective antennas 22 , 32 , each capable of emitting and detecting wireless communications signals. To that extent, they can be described as transceivers. [0022] As illustrated in FIG. 2 , one of the transceivers is shown, with elements thereof employed in the generation of a signal for emission highlighted. In FIG. 3 , the other of the transceivers is shown, with elements thereof employed in the reception and detection of a signal highlighted. It will be appreciated that, in a practical example, each transceiver will include all elements illustrated in the two drawings, but that the illustrations are simplified for clarity. [0023] As illustrated in FIG. 2 , a data source 24 generates data to be transmitted to another station. This is precoded by a precoder 26 , configured by information fed back from the other station and received on the antenna 22 . A signal processor 28 prepares the precoded information for transmission, and an RF generator 29 puts the processed information onto an RF signal to be transmitted at the antenna. [0024] Similarly, the transceivers in a receive mode also comprise an RF detector 39 operable to detect RF signals received at the antenna 32 . This detected signal is processed in a signal processor 38 , for reception at a data sink 34 . The state of the channel is measured on the basis of reception of certain portions of the signal which may be known at the receiver (such as preambles, pilot symbols and so on) for determination of channel state information in a CSI generator 36 . This CSI is sent back to the transmitter of the received signal for use in future transmissions. [0025] In the present embodiment, the mobile terminal illustrated in FIG. 3 is capable of measuring a multiple antenna channel, e.g. by means of cell-specific reference signals provided by a cell eNodeB (in LTE terminology). The terminal can then generate two distinctive feedback indicators from those measurements, by adopting the following procedure. [0026] An Indicator 1 is intended to represent any linear combination of the few strongest channel directions, as seen by the terminal, which are referred to here as channel eigenvectors. Channel eigenvectors can be obtained by the terminal in one of several ways, for example by a singular-value decomposition of the instantaneous matrix of channel measurements H, by an eigenvalue decomposition of the Gram matrix HH H , or by an eigenvalue decomposition of the channel correlation matrix E{HH H }. However, the manner in which this matrix of eigenvectors is calculated is well documented in the technical literature. The main premise on which the present embodiment operates is that such an orthonormal matrix is available at the terminal. [0027] The number of channel eigenvectors used for calculating Indicator 1 is determined by the reported rank of Indicator 1, which can be a parameter configured by the network and may vary from a minimum of 2 to a maximum equal to number of transmit antennas configured at the eNodeB. This set of strongest eigenvectors represents the best possible precoder for the given rank and channel measurements, prior to any quantisation or compression operation. In other words, if unlimited feedback resources were available, the terminal would hypothetically signal this matrix of eigenvectors as the preferred precoder. [0028] In practice, Indicator 1 consists of a codebook index derived by selecting the best representative element from a codebook. The distance metric used for the selection of Indicator 1 from the codebook is invariant to post-multiplication of either or both terms in the distance calculation by any orthonormal matrix. In other words, Indicator 1 reflects properties of any linear combination of the given channel eigenvectors, i.e. it provides a representation of the range space spanned by those eigenvectors (or, equivalently, their null space). [0029] In more detail, a transformation is provided to map the original unquantised precoder (aka matrix of eigenvectors) to a transformed domain where the metric is defined. The original codebook for Indicator 1 may be defined in the precoder domain; therefore, the codebook elements too have to be mapped to the transform domain before the metric calculation. However, for the codebook, the transformation can be done off-line, thereby providing a transformed version of the codebook, which can be stored in the terminal memory (not illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 ). [0030] In one implementation, the transformation is defined as follows. [0031] In this description, n is the number of transmit antennas, p is the reported rank for Indicator 1 and Y is the n×p orthonormal matrix of strongest eigenvectors, whose columns are the p vectors, y p . Y is partitioned in two blocks, the top p×p block Y p and the bottom (n-p)×p block Y n-p . The transformation t(Y) is given by [0000] t ( Y )= Y n-p VU H ,  (1) [0000] where the last two matrices are defined by the SVD of Y p , Y p =UΣV H . The dimension of the transformed domain is reduced compared to the original precoder domain as the size of t(Y) is (n-p)×p. The same transformation is applied off-line to the n×p codebook elements: {C 1 , C 2 , . . . }. The distance metric g c is then defined in transformed domain as [0000] g c ( Y,C i )=real(trace( t ( Y ) H t ( C i )))/(∥ t ( Y )∥ F ∥t ( C i )∥ F ),  (2) [0000] where ∥.∥ F denotes the Frobenius norm. It will be observed that the above metric can be interpreted as an extension of the inner product between two “lines” to multi-dimensional complex sub-spaces: if the two matrices Y and C i span the same range space, then g c =1, if their spaces are orthogonal, then g c =0. The codebook index which constitutes Indicator 1 is finally obtained from the following quantisation operation [0000] “Indicator 1”= Q 1=arg max i {g c ( Y,C i )}.  (3) [0032] In an alternative implementation, the above codebook index selection operation can be replaced by the following Euclidean distance minimisation [0000] “Indicator 1”= Q 1=arg min i {∥t ( Y )− t ( C i )∥ F },  (4) [0000] after realising that the two operations yield the same result if the codebook elements are normalised such that ∥t(C i )∥ F =1, without loss of generality. [0033] As a special case, Indicator 1 can be associated with the identity matrix. In one implementation, this special case can be semi-statically configured by the network such that the terminal is not required to generate and signal Indicator 1. [0034] Indicator 1 can be accompanied by a so-called channel quality indicator (CQI) that reports the SINR level predicted by the terminal. This CQI can denote the received SINR in the hypothesis that C o , is used as precoder and for a given decoder (MMSE, MMSE-decision feedback equaliser, maximul-likelihood etc.). Alternatively the associated CQI can indicate an average SINR, or a maximum/minimum SINR, across the range of possible precoders obtained as linear combinations of the columns of C Q1 . Note that the rank assumed for the CQI calculation need not be the same as that of Indicator 1. [0035] Indicator 2 is intended to be used in conjunction with Indicator 1 to specify an individual precoder, obtained as a linear combination of the basis vectors reported by Indicator 1. Indicator 2 is a representation of an orthogonal matrix of size r 1 ×r 2 , where r 1 is the rank of Indicator 1 and r 2 ≦r 1 is the rank of Indicator 2. [0036] In practice, Indicator 2 is also a codebook index drawn from a different codebook: {D 1 , D 2 , . . . }. The metric used for selecting the codebook index is different from the metric used for Indicator 1: this time the metric should reflect the actual SINR when using the precoder under test and the actual decoder in use by the terminal, i.e. a CQI metric. The precoder under test is given by [0000] P k =C Q1 D k .  (5) [0037] the SINR value predicted by the terminal under the hypothesis of precoder P k and a given decoder architecture is denoted CQI(P k ). Then, Indicator 2 is selected as follows: [0000] “Indicator 2”= Q 2=arg max k CQI( P k )  (6) [0038] As a special case, Indicator 2 can be associated with the identity matrix. In a preferred implementation, this special case can be semi-statically configured by the network such that the terminal is not required to generate and signal Indicator 2. [0039] Indicator 2 may also be accompanied by the CQI value corresponding to the selected codebook element. [0040] A process of multiplexing of the feedback indicators will now be described. The two distinctive components of the feedback information can be multiplexed in time and frequency depending on the network configuration. Typically, one feedback report may consist of a combination of one or multiple instances of Indicator 1 or Indicator 2 or both. Each individual message describes the channel conditions on a specific sub-band of the configured bandwidth and a specific time frame. The mapping between the feedback messages and sub-bands, the periodicity of the feedback reports and the composition of each report, in terms of one indicator or the other or both, can all be configured by the network in a semi-static way. The periodicity and the frequency granularity of Indicator 1 and Indicator 2 can be different: as an example, Indicator 1 can be updated less frequently and/or on a wider sub-band, whereas Indicator 2 can be configured with a finer granularity in time and frequency. [0041] In use, a base station, such as the eNodeB of LTE standardised implementations, is the intended destination of the feedback indicators. These can be utilised in three possible ways, the last two of which can be regarded as special cases of the first. 1) Combination of the two messages. The eNodeB can reconstruct the preferred precoding matrix signalled by a terminal, for the configured sub-band and time frame, by combining the two indices, Q1 and Q2, as follows: [0000] P=C Q1 D Q2 . In this case, the codebooks are known to both the terminals and the eNodeB. The precoder so reconstructed is primarily intended for SU-MIMO operation, where it is important to maximise the beamforming gain at the terminal, which can be accurately predicted by the terminal itself in the absence of unwanted interferers. 2) Use of Indicator 1 only. This case is primarily applicable to MU-MIMO operation or interference avoidance transmission schemes, where it is crucial to achieve the best possible layer separation for minimal cross-layer interference. Indicator 1 informs the eNodeB of the range space spanned by the strongest channel directions, or, equivalently, the main null space of the channel, such that the eNodeB can apply such design criteria as (block)-zero forcing to position each layer along the null space of any victim users. This manner of operation may be the only one possible when Indicator 2 is not configured by the network, i.e. it is associated with the identity matrix. 3) Use of Indicator 2 only. This case is primarily applicable to SU-MIMO. The only difference from case 1) is that Indicator 1 is not configured by the network, i.e. it is associated with the identity matrix. The reason for allowing this mode may be for backward compatibility and/or when a small number of transmitted antennas are supported by the eNodeB, e.g. 2, which makes the signalling of Indicator 1 superfluous. [0046] The main benefit of the dual feedback mechanism described herein is that of providing enhanced support for both SU- and MU-MIMO operations by delivering two separate feedback messages designed for two different needs. [0047] In particular Indicator 1 targets the CSI component that is crucial for layer separation, which is the main objective in interference limitation techniques like MU-MIMO. Indicator 1 conveys information on the range space spanned by the strongest channel eigen-directions (or equivalently the principal components of the null space). [0048] On the other hand Indicator 2 singles out one preferred precoder from the infinite set of precoders that are linear combinations of the codebook element indicated by Indicator 1. This selection allows to maximise the beamforming gain as seen by the terminal, which can accurately predict the SINR in absence of co-scheduled users. Therefore, this feedback message is well suited for SU-MIMO operation where all the transmission layers are destined to the same user. [0049] This dual feedback provides a flexible way of either dynamically switching between SU- and MU-MIMO or semi-statically configuring the terminals for one mode or the other. In fact, if the terminals are configured to report both messages, then the eNodeB can dynamically change transmission mode from SU- to MU-MIMO and vice versa. On the other hand, if Indicator 1 is replaced by the identity by network configuration, then the feedback targets SU-MIMO operations more precisely. Similarly, if Indicator 2 is replaced by the identity by network configuration, then the feedback provides specific support for MU-M IMO. [0050] It is worth commenting further on the fundamental difference between the two feedback messages. Both indicators consists of a codebook index. However, the selection mechanism is different. For Indicator 1, firstly the strongest channel eigen-directions (aka unquantised precoder) are mapped to a transformed domain, such that all linear combinations of these directions are mapped to a single point. The codebook element is then selected in the transformed domain to maximise (or minimise, depending on the metric definition) a newly defined metric that measures the “degree of orthogonality” between vector spaces. On the other hand, for Indicator 2, the terminal simply selects the precoder from the codebook with the best performance in terms of SINR. However, this search is restricted to the linear combinations of the basis vectors identified by the Indicator 1. If the first message is replaced by the identity and only Indicator 2 is generated, then the search space for the precoder is no longer restricted within the range space of the few strongest channel directions. In this case, the codebook used for Indicator 2 “samples” the null space of the channel as well as its range space, which makes the codebook less efficient—the codebook elements belonging to the null space are unlikely be selected as preferred precoders. [0051] The feedback mechanism disclosed here can be adopted as a solution to the feedback extension problem in support of downlink multiple-antenna transmission for LTE-Advanced. More specifically, Indicator 1 and Indicator 2 can be defined as new precoding matrix indicators (PMIs). [0052] Besides the more accurate channel description allowed by this dual feedback mechanism, this technology has some other desirable benefits: The transformation (1) allows designing a transformed codebook with mostly real or imaginary coefficients, thereby reducing greatly the number of operations required by the selection (3) or (4). Moreover, the original codebook can be chosen to avoid power imbalances between the transmit antennas by guaranteeing equal power allocation to all antenna elements. As an example, the 4-transmit antenna codebook for LTE Release-8 have the property of assigning equal power to all transmit antennas. If transformation (1) is applied, the transformed version of the codebook has elements with zero or only real or only imaginary components. Codebooks with similar properties can be defined for higher number of antennas by using the “Householder reflections” or the DFT matrix as for LTE Release-8 codebooks. Backward compatibility with Release-8 and 9 of LTE is also guaranteed by the described feedback mechanism. In fact, if Message 1 is configured to be the identity, then the LTE Release-8 feedback would be a special case of the proposed construction. Also the codebook design can be similar to that of previous LTE releases, as explained in the preceding paragraph, which facilitates the implementation. [0055] FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram illustrating a process for generating the two feedback messages. FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram of a process for combining the two feedback indicators to reconstruct a final precoder indication. [0056] As shown in FIG. 4 , channel measurements H are taken at the receiver, on the basis of known information, such as pilot symbols, contained in information transmitted thereto. On the left hand side of FIG. 4 , a process for generating indicator 1 (Q1) is shown, comprising steps as set out above. On the right hand side, Indication 2 (Q2) is generated, making use of Q1 and a further codebook, Codebook 2, again as set out above. [0057] If both feedback indicators are sent back to the transmitting terminal, then the whole process as shown in FIG. 5 ensues. If only Q2 is sent back, then the first decision taken in the process is straightforward and leads to C Q1 being set to the Identity matrix. Otherwise, C Q1 is looked up from Codebook 1 on the basis of Q1. If Q2 is configured, then codebook 2 provides the source for D Q2 in the same way. The precoder indication is then set as the product of these two matrices. [0058] While the invention has been described above with reference to specific embodiments thereof, nothing in the foregoing should be read as an implication that any special or particular technical elements need be provided in order to perform the invention. That is, aspects of the invention should be read as being characterised by the appended claims, which may be read in the context of, but not limited to, the above disclosure, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, and with due regard to inferences that a reader might make about equivalents to the literal reading of the terms of the claims.

Codebook based communication of precoding data between two stations involves determining a ‘best fit’ precoding at a receiving station, on the basis of channel state measurements taken therein. The best fit precoding is compared with pre-agreed entries in a codebook, and an indicator is sent back to the terminal emitting the analysed signal. The determination is separated into two elements, one being sufficient for use with SU-MIMO, and another being provided, with a second codebook indicator, if MU-MIMO is to be employed. This second codebook indicator points to a codebook of eigenvector representations for the multi-user space in which the channel is persisting.

BACKGROUND-FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to electronic and logic instructional aids, specifically to devices that allow students to construct and interact with binary logic circuits. BACKGROUND-DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART Numerous educational devices and methods have been proposed for teaching digital logic circuits at various levels of complexity. These vary from individual experimentation units to classroom display units. The former are geared toward self-paced hands-on learning, while the latter are designed as lecturing aids. While both of these techniques have their place in a classroom situation, neither takes advantage of the natural human predisposition toward social interaction. The device in U.S. Pat. No. 3,694,931 to Bialek, 1972 Oct. 3, for example, is typical of the individual experimentation variety. It is a desktop device designed to be used by a single student in the construction of a logic circuit. U.S. Pat. No. 4,259,077 to Keweza, 1981 Mar. 31 describes a similar device with advantages of using a digital computer to perform the training. U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,506 to Lapsa et al. describes a gravitationally based device for demonistrating binary operations. But again, it is a stand alone device well suited to a classroom demonstration. It does not utilize the intrinsic social nature of human students. Finally, there are inventions which utilize computers as self-paced audio-visual learning machines. U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,415 to Lee et al., 1995 Aug. 15, illustrates this approach which amounts to putting a networked computer workstation on every student's desk. Aside from the obvious expense of this approach, it also fails to address the participatory interaction between students. It focuses specifically on "self-paced" learning which tends to fracture and divide the classroom rather than unite it. OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES Accordingly, one of the principle advantages of the present invention is the participatory nature of the instructional system. Using this invention, the instructor will enlist the participation of every student in order to demonstrate a selected circuit. Each student will be given a device which is networked to all other devices in the system. Students will first learn to simulate their assigned devices and then to understand how their device functions within the larger circuit. The advantages of this kind of cooperative and interactive learning have been demonstrated in other kinds of role-playing learning, but prior to the current inventions these same advantages have been difficult to achieve in the area of computer logic training. This invention brings these advantages to this ever more important field. An unexpected advantage of this approach is that logic learning can be successfully attempted with students at a much earlier age than traditionally thought. This invention has been demonstrated to provide stimulating instruction to children as young as 8. In this case, the logic tasks were presented as a participatory game and they were enthusiastically learned and remembered. Another unexpected advantage of this system is that it may be used to demonstrate the operation of non-electronic systems. Examples include physical systems, economic systems, and even social systems. Another advantage of the present invention is it's strong "hands-on" aspect. In an age where computers are performing visual miracles on demand, it is easy for students to become desensitized to what flashes by them on the screen. It all becomes "computer magic". The present invention is designed to cut through that magic by focusing on the simple hardware building blocks which form the basis of all modern digital computers. It provides a physical representation of what would otherwise be an abstract concept. This physical embodiment also enables the student to learn through multi-sensory pathways like sight, sound, and touch. It is almost as if the student is able to see, hear, feel. and affect the actual operation of digital logic circuits within a computer. The student becomes a part of the computer circuit itself. The advantages to this kind of participatory learning are well known and dramatic. In addition to teaching the target subject matter, this invention also promotes cooperation. The invention illustrates that the performance of local functions can have global results. It also demonstrates that larger and more complex tasks can be performed by many individuals performing smaller and simpler tasks. In today's society, these lessons may equal or exceed the value of the computer logic being taught. Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing descriptions. DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a plan view of an implementation of my invention demonstrating a flip-flop. FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the master control and power supply components. FIG. 3 shows the connector pin assignments used in the implementation. FIG. 4 shows a detailed drawing of a single logic gate as it might be implemented. FIG. 5 shows the digital logic that might be used to implement the gate of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 shows a detailed schematic that might be used to implement the gate of FIG. 4. FIG. 7 shows a circuit board design that might be used to implement the gate of FIG. 4. FIG. 8 shows an alternative implementation of a single logic gate using a PLA or PAL device. FIG. 9 shows an alternative implementation of a single logic gate using a PROM or EPROM. FIG. 10 shows a table of logic that might be used to implement the gates in FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 11 shows an implementation of the learning system using a broadcast architecture. FIG. 12 shows how the learning system could be configured to teach an adder circuit. LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 1. Refers to FIG. 1 2. Refers to FIG. 2 3. Refers to FIG. 3 4. Refers to FIG. 4 5. Refers to FIG. 5 6. Refers to FIG. 6 7. Refers to FIG. 7 8. Refers to FIG. 8 9. Refers to FIG. 9 10. Refers to FIG. 10 11. Refers to FIG. 11 12. Refers to FIG. 12 13. NOR Flip-Flop Instructional Diagram 14. Power Adapter (AC to DC) 15. Master Control Device 16. Logic Gate Device as a "Set" Input of an RS Flip-Flop 17. Logic Gate Device as a "Reset" Input of an RS Flip-Flop 18. Logic Gate Device as "Not Q" half of a NOR Flip-Flop 19. Logic Gate Device as "Q" half of a NOR Flip-Flop 20. Power Cord 21. Power Jack 22. Power LED 23. Manual/Auto Switch 24. Manual/Auto LED 25. Output Connector 26. Connector Wire 27. Connector Body 28. Connector Spare Lead 1 29. Connector Power Lead 30. Connector Signal Lead 31. Connector Auto Lead 32. Connector Ground Lead 33. Connector Sparc Lead 2 34. Input A Port 35. Input B Port 36. Input A LED 37. Input B LED 38. Auto/ManLual Jumper Block 39. Logic Function Chip 40. NAND Chip 41. Logic Function Switch 42. Output LED 43. Output Port 44. Alternate Logic Function Chips 45. Switch Signal 46. Auto Signal 47. Input A Signal 48. Input B Signal 49. Logic Function Gate 50. Output Signal 51. Input A Base Resistor 52. Input B Base Resistor 53. Input A PNP Transistor 54. Input B PNP Transistor 55. Input A Emitter Resistor 56. Input B Emitter Resistor 57. NAND Gate (1/4 of 4011) 58. Default Jumper Resistor 59. Auto Jumper Pin 60. Manual Jumper Pin 61. Output Base Resistor 62. Output NPN Transistor 63. Output Collector Resistor 64. Power (nominally +5 V) 65. Ground 66. Function Selection Jumpers 67. PLA Chip 68. PROM/EPROM Chip 69. Broadcast Media 70. Logic Gate Device 71. Adder Lowest Bit 72. Adder Higher Bits 73. Logic Gate Device Configured as an Input 74. Logic Gate Device Configured as an Output 75. Carry Output Signal 76. Carry Input Signal SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention forms the basis of a continuing instructional program on computer architecture starting at the transistor and gate level and progressing upward until entire computers and even networks of computers arc built. At each additional level of complexity, two fundamental notions are maintained. First. students must always be required to participate by simulating the function of the component that they are assigned. Second, students must observe how their assigned component interacts with and affects the larger system. These two notions greatly enhance the effectiveness of the training because it appeals to the experimental and social natures of humans. The invention itself provides a mechanism for involving students in classroom level logic circuits through a network of interconnected devices. Each device can be operated manually by its assigned student, or operate automatically according to its internal programming. In this way students can participate directly in the circuit. Interconnections between these devices are accomplished by inexpensive telephone-type wires and connectors or a similar means. These telephone-type wires typically hold 4 to 8 conductors and are well suited to carry the power, ground, and signal connections needed for classroom-level circuits. Depending on the specific implementation, these connections could physically represent the system connections directly, or provide a broadcast media for implementing an arbitrary connection topology. In the former implementation, each logical connection would be represented by a physical wire. In the latter implementation all of the devices would share a common broadcast media, and the individual connections would be sent as addressed information packets. This latter version is appropriate for implementation on a set of networked computers which could also display the global and/or local states of the system. In either implementation, a key aspect is the real-time interaction of the students compromising the system. The specific implementations discussed in this patent focus on the use of the invention for building and demonstrating common logic circuits. While this is all important application of the invention, it is not intended as a limitation of its usefulness. Indeed, the system of interconnected devices could he used to demonstrate all kinds of physical and non-physical systems in an interactive classroom environment. Examples include, but are not limited to: computer systems, electronic systems, physical systems. economic systems, ecological systems, and even biological/social systems. In these contexts, the invention provides a means of connecting the components of a system which are then role-played by the participating students. Some of these examples are Illustrated in the "Operation of the Invention" section. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As described above (and in the CLAIMS section below), this invention covers a range of educational devices which are designed to operate together in order to demonstrate the functioning of various electronic and computing systems. While the systems being simulated may range from low level logic circuits up to full computer systems, the means of simulation share common functionality. In particular, each such simulation consists of numerous interconnected subcomponents each of which can be manually operated by a single student who can then observe the resulting effect on system behavior. While the following discussion describes the invention within the context of a gate-level simulation, it does not limit the invention to that narrow domain. A gate-level embodiment of this invention consists of individual instructional devices which operate as logic gates and are connected together to form a larger circuit. In this implementation, each device contains an input port for each signal that it receives from other devices, and an output port for each unique signal that it produces. In the case of a simple two-input AND gate, the device would contain two input ports and one output port. In this configuration, the logic device would typically have a visual indicator of some type to show the signal level at the inputs and outputs. For simplicity of description, only 2-input, single output devices will be described. FIG. 1 shows a high-level system diagram consisting of 4 such devices 16-19, a master control device 15, a power supply 14, and an instructional diagram 13. This particular arrangement of devices demonstrates an RS flip-flop as shown in the instructional diagram 13 of the figure. The individual operation of these devices will be detailed in subsequent paragraphs. DC power is provided to the system by a typical AC-DC converter 14. This power is passed into the master control device 15 where the operational mode (either Manual or Automatic) is selected. The output of the master control device then provides power, ground, and mode selection signals to the remainder of the system. In FIG. 1 the master control device is connected to logic device 16 which functions as the "Set" input switch of the RS flip-flop being simulated. Logic device 17 functions as the "Reset" input switch. Logic devices 18 and 19 act as cross-coupled NOR gates which are the RS flip-flop itself. Device 18 also provides the inverted output of the flip-flop, while device 19 provides the non-inverted output. FIG. 2 shows the power supply and master control devices in more detail. The AC-DC converter 14 is connected to the master control by a typical power wire 20 which plugs into a power jack 21 on the master control device. LED 22 indicates that power has been applied. The master control device contains a switch 23 which controls the manual/automatic operation of the system. The position of this switch is reflected in an LED 24 which lights when the switch is in the automatic position. The output of the master control unit is distributed to the rest of the system through output socket 25 and connector wire 26. The signals contained in this wire are described in the next paragraph. FIG. 3 shows a connector and wire of the type used to join all devices in the system (excluding the AC-DC converter). This preferred implementation uses connectors and wire similar to those used in home telephone wiring and office network wiring, but any wire and connector carrying the proper number of leads may be used. Connector wire 26 carries the multiple leads between connectors located at its ends. In this drawing, connector body 27 holds 6 leads. These leads are defined as follows. Lead 28 is a spare and is reserved for future expansion. Lead 29 carries the power (typically +5 volts) to all boards connected to the system. Lead 30 carries the output signal from one device to another. Lead 31 carries the Auto/Manual signal to all boards connected to the system. Lead 32 carries the ground to all boards in the system. Lead 33 is also a spare reserved for future expansion. Note that while telephone type connectors and wire may be used. they must be configured for conventional data transmission. Specifically, each end of the wire must map the same signals to the same connector positions as defined above. Note also that a wire as defined here can have 2 or more connector ends. An example of a 3 connector wire would be a "Y" configturation. In this case each of the three connectors would be wired as described above. This kind of a "Y" could connect the output of one device to the inputs of two other devices and is common in most circuits. Wires of this type could he constructed with any number of ends to accomplish arbitrary circuit designs. Additionally, commercially available "T" connectors, and other multiple input/output connectors could be used to for joining wires and devices. FIG. 4 shows an implementation of a logic device. The device itself is a standard circuit board of approximately 2 inches by 6 inches containing a number of components. It contains two input sockets for two signals A and B. These sockets accept the connectors shown in FIG. 3. A socket 34 accepts the A signal connector, and a socket 35 accepts the B signal connector. An LED 36 shows the state of the A signal, and an LED 37 shows the state of the B signal. These LED's are off when a logical 0 is input and on when a logical 1 is input. The logic device of FIG. 4 also contains an Auto/Manual/Remote jumper block shown as 38. As its name suggests, this jumper block allows the device to be placed in one of three operational modes: Auto, Manual, and Remote. These modes control how the output of the device is determined and will be discussed later in the operational description. The jumper block itself consists of 4 pins arranged as shown so that a two pin jumper can be placed between the center pin and either of the three peripheral pins thereby making a connection and selecting a mode. The logic device of FIG. 4 also contains a functional logic chip shown as 39. This socketed chip determines the output of the device when in Automatic mode. The functional logic chip is attached to the board via a standard socket so that it may be removed and replaced with other functional logic chips shown as 44. In this implementation, the logic chips are from the CMOS 4000 series, such as the 4001 NOR and the 4011 NAND. The only requirement on these chips is that they have identical pin definitions so that they will be "plug compatible". The logic device of FIG. 4 also contains a Quad 2-input NAND chip shown as 40. This chip is used to compute the output of the device based on the operational mode, the results of the functional logic chip. and the position of a two-position switch shown as 41. An LED 42 indicates the state of the output. This LED is on for a logical 1 and off for a logical 0. The logic device of FIG. 4 also contains an output port of socket shown as 43. This output socket accepts the same connectors shown in FIG. 3. Ad is wired such that it will pass the same signals on the same pin positions as the input sockets 34 and 35. This arrangement of sockets and wires as previously described ensures that any end of any wire can be plugged into any socket and still properly pass the power, ground, and auto signals which are the same throughout the network of devices. The only signal level which differs front device to device is the Signal Lead 30 as shown in FIG. 3. More detailed explanation will later explain how built in circuitry protects the devices in the event that two mismatched outputs are inadvertently wired together. FIG. 5 shows the logical wiring of the two chips 39 and 40. As shown in the lower half of the figure, the two logical input signals A (47) and B (48) are passed through a single logic gate 49 of the four typically available in chip 39. Since this gate can be any of several depending on which functional chip is inserted it is drawn as an amalgamation of different gates and displays a star or asterisk (*). This convention will be used in all subsequent drawings of this functional gate to indicate its generic nature. The upper half of FIG. 5 shows how the result of logic gate 49 is combined with the Switch signal 45 and the Auto signal 46. This combination of signals is performed by the four NAND gates of the 4011 chip 40 as shown. The result of this logic drives the output LED 42 and the signal lead 30 of output port 43. FIG. 6 shows a schematic of a single logic device. The two input signals 47 and 48 are routed through base resistors 51 and 52 (typically 20kΩ each). The base resistors are in turn connected to two PNP transistors 53 and 54. Each of these transistors is configured with emitter resistors 55 and 56 (typically 2kΩ each) to act as switches for the input LED's 36 and 37. The emitter outputs of these two transistors provide the logical inputs to the functional gate 49. The output of gate 49 provides input to the NAND gates 57 which are contained in the NAND chip 40. The local auto signal from jumper block 38 is also routed into the NAND gates as shown. In this diagram, a high valued resistor 58 (typically around 1MΩ) is connected between the global auto/manual signal 46 and the local auto signal routed into the NAND gates. This provides a "default" connection in case no jumper is present. The other two pins of jumper block 38 allow connection of the local auto signal to either a power pin 59 for forced local auto mode or to a ground pin 60 for forced local manual mode. Switch 41 is also routed through the NAND gate logic as shown in the figure. The result of the NAND gate logic drives an NPN transistor 62 through a base resistor 61 (typically 20kΩ). Transistor 62 then drives LED 42 through resistor 63 (typically 2kΩ). The collector output of transistor 62 also drives output signal 50 found in output socket 43. Since the output signal 50 is pulled down through resistor 63 by transistor 62, inadvertently connecting two dissimilar outputs will at most double the current draw and not damage either device. FIG. 6 also indicates that the global auto/manual signal 46, the power signal 64, and the ground signal 65 are routed through all three sockets as described above. FIG. 7 shows the top view of a board mask used to construct a functioning logic gate device. The location of important components and signals are indicated with the same reference numbers as used in previous figures. This particular board mask also contains provisions for power capacitors as needed. Alternative Implementations FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 show alternative implementations of the logic device described above. The principle distinction of these implementations is that the logic for both chips 39 and 40 are combined into programmed chips. Aside from reducing the part count, the use of programmed chips enables the inclusion of many functional gates within the same physical device thereby eliminating the need for alternate function chips 44. Instead, these alternate functions can be jumper or switch selected. Jumpers 66 illustrate this capability for the standard logic gates. In FIG. 8 a Programmed logic Array (PLA PAL, or GAL) 67 replaces the two logic chips, and in FIG. 9 a Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM, EPROM, or EEPROM) 68 replaces the same logic chips. The truth table of FIG. 10 shows the mapping of input conditions to output for 6 different logical gates (AND, OR, NAND, NOR, XOR, and XNOR). The logical NOT function is mapped to the NOR gate with the unused input allowed to float off (a natural result of the input transistor logic). The jumper selectable truth table is easily programmed into these devices using several approaches. One approach is to treat each input and the function selection jumper as a combined address which refers to a single output bit. Another approach is to use the 4 inputs as addresses, and then store multiple output bits at each address. The selection of the output bit is made through the function selection jumpers 66. Either approach is acceptable and others may also be employed depending on the capabilities of the programmable device used. FIG. 11 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention using a broadcast communication architecture. In this implementation, a broadcast medium 69 is used to broadcast the signals between each device 70 including the master control device 15. In this implementation each device is additionally equipped with address broadcasting circuitry and address decoding circuitry. This enables each device to communicate directly with every other device in the system. While the invention has been shown and described in the form of its preferred and alternative embodiments, it is understood that many changes in its form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. OPERATIONAL EFFECT OF DEVICE IMPLEMENTATION As described above, the logic of a single gate device may be implemented in one of two ways. It may be implemented directly using two standard integrated circuits (ICs or "chips"). One of these chips is used to decode the Auto and Switch inputs while the other is a plug-replaceable IC which defines the automatic operation of the device. The other implementation uses a single programmed logic device which does the job of both chips. In addition, most programmed devices have the capacity to store the input-output functionality for a number of gate definitions which may be jumper or switch selected. The choice between these two implementations is a choice between clarity and convenience. With the two chip approach, the function of the device is clearly selected by inserting a chip of the same function into the socket. For example, an AND device may be obtained by using a Quad 2-input AND gate IC (CMOS 4081). Similarly a NOR device may be produced by using a Quad 2-input NOR gate IC (CMOS 4001). This approach has educational value because it clearly matches the function of the device with the actual part number that performs that function. It also introduces a little more hands-on activity to the process which makes the results that much more "real" to the students. The disadvantage to this approach is that it requires the insertion and extraction of a socketed IC to switch the functionality of a particular device. This insertion and extraction can cost in both time and breakage. This approach also requires a surplus of ICs to account for the various configurations needed for instruction. These disadvantages are overcome in the programmed device which uses a simple jumper or switch to select the functionality without the need for any additional parts. The disadvantage in this case is that a programmed device obscures the relationship between the logical function of the device and its chip-level embodiment. For all of these reasons, the preferred implementation for an instructional kit should contain a mix of both kinds of devices. To simplify all subsequent operational descriptions, the difference between these two implementations (replaceable chip versus programmed logic) will be ignored. Instead of specifying whether a logic function is chosen via a chip or a jumper, the following descriptions will simply indicate that a logic function is chosen or selected. The details of this "choice" or "selection" are understood to be dependent on the device implementation as described above. Beyond the act of changing the chip or jumper, this difference has no other operational impact thereby justifying its omission in the operational discussion. OPERATION OF THE INVENTION As indicated earlier, this invention is a system of participatory building blocks that may be used to construct an infinite number of circuits. Accordingly. the operational description of this system can best be described through several examples of its use which will be given below. But first some general features of its operation will be discussed to provide a basis for the more detailed examples. The use of this invention will typically occur in a classroom or other group learning environment. In this typical environment, each student is given a single device to operate. The instructor then draws a diagram of the circuit to be studied, and the students use wires and connectors to interconnect the devices to form that circuit. The instructor may assist the students in this task. At some point the instructor may apply power to the network of devices by connecting the single master control device into any one of the student's devices. The system is designed so that the master control device may be plugged into either an input port or an output port with the same effect. The system is also designed to tolerate the inadvertent connection of multiple outputs which is likely to occur in learning environments. In addition to providing power. the master control device also globally selects the Manual/Automatic operation of those devices jumpered in the "Remote" mode (see FIG. 4). In this way, the instructor may use the master control device to check the operation of the circuit in either manual or automatic modes. The logic devices themselves are also constructed so that the "Remote" mode is selected when no jumpers are present. The jumpers themselves can be used to override the master control and force individual devices into either fully manual or fully automatic modes. FIG. 1 provides a good first example of the overall system operation. The instructional diagram 13 shows the circuit to be demonstrated (an RS flip-flop in this example). The diagram itself could be drawn on the board. distributed as a hand-out, or even drawn on a large paper diagram to be used as a wiring template on the classroom floor. As shown in the figure. this example requires 4 logic devices 16, 17, 18, and 19. Devices 16 and 17 form the "Set" and "Reset" inputs to the RS flip-flop. Devices 18 and 19 form the RS flip-flop itself. As shown in the instructional diagram, the "Set" and "Reset" devices (16 and 17) really act as switches which may be either on or off. This provides a good example of where the manual mode of operation should be used. By placing these two devices in the Manual mode, their outputs will directly reflect their switch settings regardless of their inputs and regardless of their function selections. This is the definition of manual mode and is indicated on the diagram by the jumper in the lower position (see FIG. 4 for labels). The circuitry of these devices ensures that a manual jumper selection will keep the devices in manual mode regardless of the master control setting. This is exactly what we want for these two inputs. Since they will only be used in manual mode, their function selection is irrelevant, and so the "ANY" label is used to show that any functional device will work (AND, OR, NAND etc.). Similarly, the instructional diagram shows that the other two devices (18 and 19) should be selected as NOR devices since they make up the RS flip-flop itself. The wiring for these two devices follows the instructional diagram 13. As shown in the example, these two devices are jumpered to the left which indicates the "Remote" mode of operation (see FIG. 4 for labels). In the remote mode, the devices will function manually when the master control setting is on "Man", and they will function automatically when the master control is on "Auto". In other words, their mode is determined remotely by the master control. Since this is the most common mode of operation, resistor 58 (shown in FIG. 6) puts the device into "Remote" mode when no jumper is present. This provides a useful default in case the jumper is lost. A switch could avoid this problem at slightly higher cost, but the jumper solution has the advantage of allowing the teacher to "lock" devices in Remote mode by simply removing the jumpers. It also eliminates the confusion of having more than one switch on the device. In most cases, the instructor will typically start off with the master control set to Manual operation. In this configuration. all the devices will then output whatever their local switch setting dictate. At this point the instructor can demonstrate the operation of an RS flip-flop by having the students perform their simple logic functions (two switches and two NOR gates). The students must first learn how their assigned function works. Then they can observe how their device interacts with the other devices in the system. This process demands full participation of all of the students in order to be successful, and is one of the key advantages of this instructional system. Once the students have mastered the manual mode of operation for this circuit, the instructor can then switch the master control into automatic mode to show how the actual logic chips perform that same function in the blink of an eye. With the circuit configured as described, the master automatic mode will not affect the two input devices since they are jumpered to fully manual mode. In other words they will continue to operate as manual Set and Reset inputs to the flip-flop. A final variation on this example will further clarify the operation and utility of the manual and automatic modes. Suppose that a given classroom has 27 students who wish to study the RS flip-flop circuit. The teacher can break them into 6 groups of 4 with a single group of three remaining. The group of three does not have enough students to complete the circuit. In this case, the teacher can still assign four devices to the group, but place one of the NOR devices into fully automatic mode via its mode selection jumper. In this configuration, the three students may manually operate their three gates, while the fourth is operated automatically as if manned by an extremely fast "ghost" student. The other 3 gates may still be switched into manual or automatic by the master control, but the jumper on the fourth board will always keep it in automatic operation. The use of the manual and automatic modes as described above gives the system several powerful capabilities. First, it allows students to observe how their manual switching is logically equivalent to the automatic switching taking place inside the chip. When in manual mode, the students become the gates themselves. Second, the automatic capability allows the construction of systems with many more devices than available students. In the extreme case, a single student (or non-student for that matter) could build and operate an entire system by his or her self. This type of operation lends itself well to the home environment where the instructional device becomes an electronic toy that a child may use to wire his or her room, or even the entire house. Additional accessory devices could be plugged in to perform action-oriented functions like making sounds or turning on electrical outlets. Additional sensor devices could also be added to detect light or Sound and produce an output accordingly. In the home play environment. this invention becomes the electronic equivalent to the common wood and plastic building blocks that children have been using for years. Another operational example of the invention is the binary adder circuit shown in FIG. 12. A binary adder circuit can be implemented in many ways, but this particular example uses all AND, OR, Ad XOR gates. The adder shown in the figure is broken into two parts. The top part of the figure is labeled as 71 and shows the circuit to implement the lowest order bit of the adder. The bottom part of the figure is labeled as 72 and it shows the circuit used to implement all higher order bits. A wire between each pair of bits transmits the "carry" information and is labeled as 75 for the "carry out" and as 76 for the "carry in". All of the devices on the left side labeled as 73 are the single bit inputs for the two numbers A and B to be added. These inputs are the only devices in the circuit which are jumpered in the manual mode. All others are jumpered in remote mode for devices with students, and in auto mode for devices without students (when the class size is smaller than the circuit size). Logic devices on the right side labeled as 74 produce the summed output of the circuit. All other devices labeled as 70 perform the logic gate function indicated by their symbol (either AND, OR, or XOR). This fairly complicated circuit demonstrates another useful aspect of the invention. This circuit is complex enough that it may be difficult to track down which student is making a mistake in manual mode. In this case, the teacher could rapidly toggle the master control auto/manual switch and look for any blinking lights. Since the auto mode will compute the correct answer at each device, the toggling will flash any devices that are improperly set in the manual mode. After the students have mastered the operation of the circuit, it could be switched to automatic mode which demonstrates the speed at which computers and calculators can add numbers. While the binary inputs and outputs of the adder could be translated into decimal numbers via a look-up table written on the board they could also be decoded by special purpose devices that accept multiple inputs and display the decimal result on a large LED-type display. A similar special purpose device could convert a decimal thumbwheel input into the input bits for the two numbers to be added. Both of these special purpose devices (the decimal display and the decimal thumbwheel) are examples of the multitude of devices that fall within the scope of this patent. The adder circuit also emphasizes the usefulness of the automatic jumper mode since it is unlikely that a given class will contain exactly the right number of students to fill out an integral number of bits. In this case, the number of bits is rounded up, and the missing students are substituted by devices jumppered for automatic operation. Several other operational circuits are worthy of brief mention. The first of these is the circle configuration where all the students form a circle with each student's output connected to the next student's input. All devices are configured for manual operation. In this conflguration, each student will act as an OR gate so that the single input can determine the output (remembering that these devices are designed for unconnected inputs to produce zero). The circle configuration operates like an electronic version of the "wave" which is practiced in stadiums throughout the world. When the input to one device turns on, the student must then turn its output on. This propagates around the circle until it reaches the beginning. Similarly, turning one device off will propagate the "off" state around the circle as well. If one of the students is instructed to operate as a NOR (instead of an OR) then the wave will propagate indefinitely as it alternates between the on and off states. This is a classic example of a feedback circuit that demonstrates how an oscillator might work. As the novelty of this demonstration wears off, the entire system could be put into automatic mode to show how fast electronic circuits can perform the same function (in the blink of an eye). The circle configuration brings up another aspect of the invention. If the system kit doesn't have enough OR chips to support this kind of a circuit in auto mode (it can always support it in manual mode since the student performs the logic), then additional manually jumpered devices could be used to supply constant inputs to the unconnected side of each non-OR device. This allows the conversion of AND and XOR devices into single input "OR" devices. While this could be done as described it would be a very wasteful use of the devices. A better solution is to provide special connectors which function as logical 1's and 0's. These special connectors are nothing more than a connector body 27 wired with either the power or ground leads fed back into the signal line providing a very low-cost input mechanism. These can also be used to turn NAND gates and XOR gates into inverters as needed (although NOR gates can perform this function without requiring the additional input). The use of these "tricks" eliminates the need for only single-input single-output inverter/buffer devices which, in turn, gives the overall kit more versatility for the same number of devices. This is one area where the jumper selectable logic devices have a slight advantage over the chip-selectable devices, since the jumper selectable devices can have a "NOT" position which simply inverts one of the inputs. In fact, it could even differentiate by providing a "NOT A" and a "NOT B" functionality. Another circuit worthy of mention is the "Double Octopus" configuration. In this configuration, a pair of "1-to-N" wires is used. Logically, each of these 1-to-N wires has 1 input and N outputs (although as discussed earlier, all connectors on the same wire can function as either inputs or outputs). The inputs to these two wires come from two manually jumpered logic devices designated as A and B. The N outputs from the A wire are then fed into the topmost ports of N logic devices. Similarly, the N outputs from the B wire are fed into the bottom most ports of the same N logic devices. The effect of this connection arrangement is that the outputs of the two manual devices A and B are routed in parallel to each of the N devices. The instructor then controls the two manual devices to provide simultaneous input to all of the students. This is an easy way to teach all of the basic logic gates. The teacher first describes the gate functionality and then provides test inputs to the students. An "AND" gate, for example is described as: "Only turn on your switch if both the A light AND the B light are on." The teacher tries different switch positions at rates which are just fast enough for the students to keep up. In practice, this becomes an enjoyable game where the students are intensely concentrating on making the right decisions. This is usually the first circuit taught to a class, and has been demonstrated to effectively teach binary logic gates to children as young as 8 years old. Another educationally appealing example is the construction of a vending machine coin counter. In this example, the inputs are designated as arriving from the individual detection of various coins (nickels, dimes, and quarters). When a given coin is detected (announced by the instructor), the student assigned to that coin manually switches on their device. The remainder of the students are configured as logic gates designed to combinatorically detect the correct amount. For example, the circuit might detect a total of 15 cents as the Boolean expression: (Nickel -- 1 AND Nickel -- 2 AND Nickel -- 3) OR (Nickel -- 1 AND Dime -- 1). As with all other examples, this one has a multitude of variations including detecting different amounts for different items and returning change if more is deposited than required for the selected purchase. As a slight diversion from the computer-related examples, this next example illustrates the invention in a stochastic social situation which is played as a game. In this example, the output of each logic device is connected to a master summation device which tallies the number of 1's at each point in the game. Each student is told that turning on their device is like doing a day's work. In other words it costs them a day of free time and they have to invest some effort. This amount of work is given a numeric cost value of -10 to the student, but produces an overall surplus to the community of +15. Leaving their device off costs them nothing but produces no surplus either. The game will be simulated on a trial by trial basis with each trial representing a single day. Each student may optionally hide their device so that the other participants can't see what they choose to do on a given day. The only thing visible to the class is the day by day tally of how much work was done and how much surplus was produced. At the end of each "day" the teacher calculates the surplus from the number of workers and divides it by the total number of students in the class. Each student then adds this amount to their own private wealth which they keep track of themselves on a sheet of paper. The teacher plots the total surplus produced for each day. The game is simulated "day" after "day", and the results are discussed. The same game is then restarted with a slightly different set of rules. In this case each student must look up at the ceiling while making their decisions, but once all the decisions are made, they can look around at their neighbors to see what their decisions were. These results are compared with the earlier results. Finally, the game is played again such that each student can constantly observe the decisions and accumulated wealth of all other students. The students are allowed to discuss what they are going to do on the next cycle, and make deals and agreements. Again the results are compared. This simple example uses the invention as little more than an electronic "voting machine", but it suggests how it night be creatively applied to teach much more than digital logic. The last of these Circuits to be discussed is the logical decision circuit. This circuit is first defined by a Boolean statement like: "If you do your homework and either take out the trash or clean your room you can stay up an hour later and have ice cream." This is the kind of statement that most children can relate to very well. The sentence is written on the board, dissected into its parts, and transformed into a logic circuit that may be implemented by the students. Some students are assigned to be the inputs and some to be the outputs. The remaining students perform the logic as extracted from the statement. In this circuit (and most others) it's a good idea to rotate the students so they each get a chance to be inputs, outputs, and the various logic gates. SUMMARY, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE Accordingly, the reader will see that the logic gate system of this invention can be both educational and entertaining. And in combining the two, it certainly provides a valuable tool for teaching about digital computer logic. The reader will also recognize that this invention defines a system of components that can be used to simulate a wide variety of non-electronic systems, and that its application is limited only by the creativity of those using it. Specifically, this invention provides a means for a group of students to actively participate in large cooperative learning situations. This invention also provides a set of building blocks that can be used by a single individual to construct interesting and educational circuits and simulations. And between these two extremes is a continuum of applications where a small number of children (or adults) can cooperate to configure a large number of devices into almost anything imaginable. Sufficient numbers of these devices could build anything from a simulated computer to a simulated neural network. Among the many advantages of this system is its low cost. Each of the disclosed devices is constructed from very inexpensive parts. Typically the most expensive of these parts is a high-quality switch which may be purchased for only a few dollars. This low cost makes the invention commercially attractive to public and private schools which are notoriously underfunded and could not afford a computer-based version of this system even if it were available. Although the above description contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. In particular. the description of the invention in terms of 2-input single-output logic devices is not intended as a limitation. These devices could contain any number of inputs and outputs and perform many digital and non-digital functions. Examples include devices that simulate transistors, resistors, capacitors. random access memory, shift registers, disk drives, video displays, adders, multipliers, state machanics, Turing machines, biological neurons, fuzzy state variables, fuzzy logic gates, sensors, actuators, and even entire computer systems and networks of computer systems. These are all components that could be automatically simulated in a hardware device and manually imitated by a student who then learns both its functionality and how it interacts with other components in larger systems. Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents and not be limited by any examples given in this description.

A cooperative, interactive computer logic instruction system is disclosed in which students participate by performing individual gate and component functions. These functions are linked together by connections carrying power, ground, and signals to form a cooperative logic system distributed over the entire class. Individual components range from gates and other low-level electronics up through larger scale devices and computer components. An important aspect of this invention is that each student linked in the system must actually perform the assigned function themselves in order to generate the proper output which then feeds as input to other students in the system. In this manner, entire logic circuits, computers, and networks may be modeled and understood. In addition to the manual mode described above, each component also supports an automatic mode for demonstration, error checking, and completion of circuits not exactly suited to the particular number of students in a given classroom situation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/022,480, filed Jan. 21, 2008, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH This invention was made with U.S. Government support under Contract Nos. AR 048622 and CA114460 awarded by the NIH. The government has certain rights in this invention. TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates in general to the field of fluorescence-based technologies for research in the life sciences, biotechnology, medical diagnostics and other fields. INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIALS FILED ON COMPACT DISC None. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with methods for fluorescent detection. U.S. Pat. No. 7,318,907, issued to Stark, et al., teaches a surface plasmon enhanced illumination system, teaches methods and apparatus for producing small, bright nanometric light sources from apertures that are smaller than the wavelength of the emitted light. Light is directed at a surface layer of metal onto a light barrier structure that includes one or more apertures each of which directs a small spot of light onto a target. The incident light excites surface plasmons (electron density fluctuations) in the top metal surface layer and this energy couples through the apertures to the opposing surface where it is emitted as light from the apertures or from the rims of the apertures. Means are employed to prevent or severely limit the extent to which surface plasmons are induced on the surface at the aperture exit, thereby constraining the resulting emissions to small target areas. The resulting small spot illumination may be used to increase the resolution of microscopes and photolithographic processes, increase the storage capacity and performance of optical data storage systems, and analyze the properties of small objects such as protein and nucleic acid molecules and single cells. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 7,298,549, issued to Muller teaches a confocal microscope has a specimen holding device for holding a specimen. The specimen is illuminated by an illuminating unit. An optics unit serves to direct radiation produced by the illuminating unit toward the specimen and to direct the radiation emitted by the specimen toward a detector unit. The confocal microscope also comprises an aperture diaphragm that is placed in the beam path in front of the detector unit. In addition, a focusing lens is provided in the beam path in front of the aperture diaphragm. The focusing lens can be moved in order to adjust the confocal microscope, for example, in order to compensate for thermal stresses. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to an apparatus and method for detection of analyzed using Surface Plasmon Coupled Emission (SPCE) detection. The present invention includes and apparatus and method for ratiometric surface plasmon coupled emission detection by disposing a target on the metal layer of a surface plasmon resonance detection system; coupling at least a first analyte to a first fluorescent dye and at least a second analyte to a second fluorescent dye; contacting the first and second analytes to the target on the surface plasmon resonance detection system; and measuring the intensity of a first and a second surface plasmon resonance enhanced fluorescence emission ring, wherein the first and second rings, respectively, quantitatively represents the amount of first and second analyte within 50 nanometers of the metal surface. In one aspect, the at least first and second fluorescent dyes are selected from 7-Amino-actinomycin D; Acridine orange; Acridine yellow; Alexa Fluor; AnaSpec; Auramine 0; Auramine-rhodamine stain; Benzanthrone; 9,10-Bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene; 5,12-Bis(phenylethynyl)naphthacene; CFDA-SE; CFSE; Calcein; Carboxyfluorescein; 1-Chloro-9, 10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene; 2-Chloro-9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene; Coumarin; Cyanine; DAPI; Dark quencher; Dioc6; DyLight Fluor; Ethidium bromide; Fluorescein; Fura-2; Fura-2-acetoxymethyl ester; Green fluorescent protein; Hilyte Fluor; Hoechst stain; Indian yellow; Luciferin; Perylene; Phycobilin; Phycoerythrin; Phycoerythrobilin; Propidium iodide; Pyranine; Rhodamine; RiboGreen; Rubrene; Ruthenium(II) tris(bathophenanthroline disulfonate); SYBR Green; Stilbene; TSQ; Texas Red; Umbelliferone and Yellow fluorescent protein. In one aspect of the present invention, the first and second analytes are selected from nucleic acids, polynucleotides, amino acids, peptides, polypeptides, lipids, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, cells and tissues and combinations thereof. The surface plasmon resonance detection system may be in a Reverse Kretschmann configuration or a Kretschmann configuration. In another example, the surface plasmon resonance detection system comprises one or more light sources that do not interfere with the emission spectra of the first and second dyes. For example, the present invention may be used to detect surface plasmon enhanced molecules generated from chemiluminescent emissions, bioluminescent emissions, electrochemiluminescent emissions, fluorescent resonance emissions and combinations thereof. In another example, the target is within a cell. Another embodiment of the present invention is an apparatus and method for ratiometric surface plasmon coupled emission detection by disposing a target on the metal layer of a surface plasmon resonance detection system, the surface plasmon resonance detection system including: a light translucent material; a metal layer disposed on the light translucent material, wherein the thickness of the metal layer is 50 nM or less; a glass prism disposed on the light translucent material opposite the metal layer; a light source capable of exciting two or more surface plasmon enhanced molecules, the excitation source positioned to strike the light translucent material at a first angle; and a light detector that detects emitted light generated by the two or more surface plasmon enhanced molecules at a first and a second angle; the method further including: coupling two or more target specific fluorophores for detection of two or more specific targets in a sample; contacting the two or more target specific fluorophores to the targets in the sample, wherein the sample is on the metal layer; and measuring the intensity of a first and a second surface plasmon resonance p-polarized enhanced fluorescence emission ring for each of the two or more fluorophores, wherein each of the two or more fluorophores generates a separate fluorescence emission ring that quantitatively represents the amount of binding to the two or more targets within 50 nanometers of the metal layer. In one aspect of the present invention, the two or more fluorescent dyes or fluorophores are selected from 7-Amino-actinomycin D; Acridine orange; Acridine yellow; Alexa Fluor; AnaSpec; Auramine O; Auramine-rhodamine stain; Benzanthrone; 9,10-Bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene; 5,12-Bis(phenylethynyl)naphthacene; CFDA-SE; CFSE; Calcein; Carboxyfluorescein; 1-Chloro-9, 10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene; 2-Chloro-9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene; Coumarin; Cyanine; DAPI; Dark quencher; Dioc6; DyLight Fluor; Ethidium bromide; Fluorescein; Fura-2; Fura-2-acetoxymethyl ester; Green fluorescent protein; Hilyte Fluor; Hoechst stain; Indian yellow; Luciferin; Perylene; Phycobilin; Phycoerythrin; Phycoerythrobilin; Propidium iodide; Pyranine; Rhodamine; RiboGreen; Rubrene; Ruthenium(II) tris(bathophenanthroline disulfonate); SYBR Green; Stilbene; TSQ; Texas Red; Umbelliferone and Yellow fluorescent protein. The two or more analytes may be selected from, e.g., nucleic acids, polynucleotides, amino acids, peptides, polypeptides, lipids, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, cells and tissues and combinations thereof. The surface plasmon resonance detection system may be in a Reverse Kretschmann or a Kretschmann configuration. The surface plasmon resonance detection system will also include one or more light sources that do not interfere with the emission spectra of the first and second dyes. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a more complete understanding of the features and advantages of the present invention, reference is now made to the detailed description of the invention along with the accompanying figures and in which: FIG. 1( a ) shows that Surface Plasmon Coupled Emission (SPCE) produces two emissions at different angles from a very small region, which can be detected ratiometrically. FIG. 1( b ) shows a simple ratiometric device for two pin-hole confocal detection of the SPCE fluorescence of two different fluorophores within the SPCE coupling range. FIG. 2 is a diagram of TIRF excitation and hybridization assay on a surface. While only a small sample layer is excited, fluorescence is partially isotropic. FIG. 3( a ) shows one configuration of an SPR device of the present invention (left). At the SPR angle, the reflectivity is strongly attenuated. FIG. 3( b ) SPCE model where F is a fluorophore. The excitation energy of fluorophore couples to the surface plasmons and radiates to the glass prism in form of the ring. Far-field radiation is reflected by the metal surface (right). FIG. 4 is a photograph of three surface coated fluorophores emitting by SPCE. FIG. 5 shows a scheme for ratiometric sensing of oligos by surface fluorescence measurements. FIG. 6( a ) in solution the fluorescence of the Cy3-labled oligo (strand C, Table 1) changes upon hybridization with oligo B. FIG. 6( b ) Fluorescence spectra of the hybridized donor control (Cy3oligoY:oligoX-Biotin, C-B)), donor-acceptor (Cy3oligoY:Cy5oligoX-Biotin, C-A), and hybridized acceptor control (Cy5oligoX-Biotin:oligoY, A-D) in the solution (50 mM Tris-HCl buffer, pH 7.3). FIG. 7( a ) fluorescence of hybridized Cy3 strand (with Cy5 strand) increases as Cy5 strand is displaced with incremental addition of unlabeled complementary strand (B). FIG. 7( b ) diagram of TIRF device used. FIG. 8( a ) shows normalized fluorescence spectra of the Cy3-Cy5 hybridized strands on the surface where the Cy5 strand is attached at its 3′ end to an avidin coated plate (black lines). Normalized intensities after addition of unlabled oligomer complementary to the anchored Cy5 strand, red lines. FIG. 8( b ) The ratio of emission intensities of red (at 679 nm) to green (at 571 nm) increase as the green, Cy3 strand is displaced from the detection volume by unlabeled oligo. FIG. 9 . Fluorescence signal from Rh800 in water, plasma, and whole blood with laser diode excitation at 633 nm. FIG. 10 shows a configuration for measuring angular intensity distribution for SPCE emission. Left—schematic of the configuration. Two excitation modes (Kretschman and Reverse Kretschman) are shown in the figure. Right—photograph of the setup. FIGS. 11A &11B is a scheme for a DNA sandwich assay. FIGS. 12A &12B shows a single pinhole detection device for SPCE. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION While the making and using of various embodiments of the present invention are discussed in detail below, it should be appreciated that the present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts that can be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention and do not delimit the scope of the invention. To facilitate the understanding of this invention, a number of terms are defined below. Terms defined herein have meanings as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the areas relevant to the present invention. Terms such as “a”, “an” and “the” are not intended to refer to only a singular entity, but include the general class of which a specific example may be used for illustration. The terminology herein is used to describe specific embodiments of the invention, but their usage does not delimit the invention, except as outlined in the claims. Fluorescence based technologies are important tools for research in the life sciences, biotechnology, medical diagnostics and other fields. Techniques employing fluorescence detection include ELISA, PCR, microarray gene expression chips, other medical diagnostics, forensics tests and increasingly biohazard detection technologies. In many of these techniques, more sensitivity is desired or needed to allow detection of a smaller number of sample molecules and in a smaller volume. The apparatus and method of the present invention is at least 10-100 fold more sensitive than current technologies. The present invention improves sensitivity to: (a) detect more photons with improved sensitivity and (b) reduce background fluorescence. An ideal technology will employ both, increased photon collection efficiency and provide for more efficient background suppression. Since fluorescence is isotropic (emission in all directions) only ˜1-3% of emitted photons are typically detected. While additional mirrors and integrating spheres can increase this percentage, they are expensive and often not workable, particularly for high density arrays. Fluorophores with higher quantum yields can be used, but the improvement is modest. Filters that are used to remove the excitation frequency also decrease sensitivity. While increased concentrations can be used to gain sensitivity for solution measurements, for surface detected experiments, where background is greatly reduced, increased illumination intensity (confocal microscopy) is used. However, more sensitivity is still desired and should be quite marketable. Sensitivity can be enhanced by SPCE. Clearly, any technique that can increase excitation efficiency, enhance detection efficiency, and reduce background fluorescence (autofluorescence) would overcome current limitations and expand the applicability and sensitivity of the above applications. One such technique, called Surface Plasmon Coupled Emission (SPCE), has recently been developed by the inventors (PI) and others (1-6). SPCE uses surface plasmons in thin metallic films (gold or silver) (1, 4, 7-10) and has a considerable potential to greatly improve the sensitivity and utility of detection of fluorescence in surface based assays. Theoretical simulations and preliminary data demonstrate that excited fluorophores near a continuous semi-transparent silver film can efficiently couple to surface plasmons and “emit” into the glass substrate behind the metal film at sharply defined, wavelength-depended angles. SPCE displays the following very favorable characteristics for many applications: 1 Directional rather than isotropic emission that allows collection of up to 50% of emitted light. 2. Enhanced surface-localized excitation due to a Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) amplified evanescent field where reabsorption is minimized. 3. Background suppression by selective collection of emissions only from regions very close to the surface (50-100 nm). 4. Intrinsic spectral resolution of different fluorophores with minimal optical components. 5. Very small detection volumes down to 2×10-18 liters (11, 12) SPCE Ratiometric Detection of the present invention. The advantage of SPCE with a ratiometric detection strategy in which the signal is between a fluorophore from the sample of interest and an internal standard fluorophore is disclosed. Such ratiometric methods have a number of advantages (13): (a) measurements are independent of the excitation source and cancel out most variations within or between sources; (b) variances due to sample autofluorescence, ambient light, sample scattering, and reabsorption are often canceled out; and (c) the ratiometric signal does NOT depend on the probe concentration. So, any change in the receptor density on the surface (i.e. dissociation) due to assay requirements will not affect a ratiometric signal. This greatly simplifies the measurement and allows sensing with relatively inexpensive devices. The present invention is a new generic, ratiometric SPCE technology including the development of a prototype simple sensing device. This will be shown to improve sensitivity (lowest detected concentration) by about 100 fold over solution measurements and by about 10-fold over current state of the art for surface detected experiments (TIRF, Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence). One example of the SPCE device of the present invention is described in detail with reference to sensitive detection of oligonucleotides generally and specifically micro-RNA (mi-RNA). It was found that wavelength-resolved SPCE is a very sensitive and reliable technology for ratiometric sensing and detection of surface bound oligo-DNA strands in clean buffers and in a ‘dirty matrix’ such as reconstituted plasma and cell extracts (source of miRNA). About 100-fold and 10-fold improvements over solution and TIRF techniques, respectively, will be shown in terms of lower detectable concentrations. A simple sensing device was developed that use simple laser diode excitation (i.e. laser pointer) and two photodiode detectors equipped with pinholes. Excitation under the SPR angle excites fluorophores only within the thin sample layer (˜100 nm) above a metal surface. Fluorescence couples back to the surface plasmons and is emitted back to the prism under the SPCE angle. Because the SPCE angle strongly depends on the emission color, the green emission (e.g., the Cy3 fluorophore) and red emission (e.g., the Cy5 fluorophore) are intrinsically separated. Importantly, both (green and red) signals initiate on the metal surface layer (˜50 nm thick) and the ratio of their intensities (R) is directly related to their relative concentrations on the surface. The DNA strand labeled with the red dye (Cy5) is attached to the surface, and its contribution to SPCE should be constant. The green (Cy3) labeled strand can only be detected by SPCE when is present within ˜100 nm of the surface. This means that nearly all green emission is from hybridized strands only. The ‘green’ strand would be directly related to the miRNA. Non-limiting examples of fluorophores that may be used with the present invention include: 7-Amino-actinomycin D; Acridine orange; Acridine yellow; Alexa Fluor; AnaSpec; Auramine 0; Auramine-rhodamine stain; Benzanthrone; 9,10-Bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene; 5,12-Bis(phenylethynyl)naphthacene; CFDA-SE; CFSE; Calcein; Carboxyfluorescein; 1-Chloro-9, 10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene; 2-Chloro-9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene; Coumarin; Cyanine; DAPI; Dark quencher; Dioc6; DyLight Fluor; Ethidium bromide; Fluorescein; Fura-2; Fura-2-acetoxymethyl ester; Green fluorescent protein; Hilyte Fluor; Hoechst stain; Indian yellow; Luciferin; Perylene; Phycobilin; Phycoerythrin; Phycoerythrobilin; Propidium iodide; Pyranine; Rhodamine; RiboGreen; Rubrene; Ruthenium(II) tris(bathophenanthroline disulfonate); SYBR Green; Stilbene; TSQ; Texas Red; Umbelliferone; Yellow fluorescent protein, and combinations thereof. FIG. 1( a ) shows that SPCE produces two emissions at different angles from a very small region. This can be detected ratiometrically. FIG. 1( b ) shows a simple ratiometric device for two pin-hole confocal detection of the SPCE fluorescence of two different fluorophores within the SPCE coupling range. FIG. 1 b shows a diagram of a simple but very sensitive device for ratiometric SPCE detection. The directional nature of the SPCE allows it to be focused to a point. This opens a unique possibility to use a simplified confocal format for detection. Two emissions (i.e. green and red) exit the sample under two different angles (zoom in). A simple reflector focuses these two emissions at two different focal points. The SPCE light is split by a dichroic filter/mirror which allows >90% of red light to pass to the bottom detector while reflecting >90% of the green light to the other detector (typical filter used in confocal fluorescence microscopy). In front of each detector will be a moveable pinhole that can be adjusted to transmit only the light emerging from the sample layer under a well defined angle and focused to a point at the pinhole opening. The other color emerging with a different angle (or other stray light) will not pass through the pinhole to reach the detector. Filters may also be used to further reduce background. In summary, the apparatus and methods of the present invention were used to demonstrate that SPCE can be conveniently used for ratiometric detection of oligos, specifically miRNA. A plate capable of sensing all 78 miRNAs from the fruit fly can use one of the four detection schemes described herein. The SPCE detection device can be optimized and refined in terms of overall size, adaptation to other optical systems, sample size, and limits of detection particularly in dirty matrices. Any application, such as immunological assays, can benefit from the very low detection volume of SPCE. Solution versus Surface measurements. Measurements of fluorescence at a surface or small volume is and has been a rapidly growing field and includes microarrays, ELISAs, immunoassays, and basic research at the cellular, subcellular, and even molecular levels. Particularly at surfaces, detection and improvement of sensitivity is limited in comparison with bulk solution techniques. Specifically, only a limited number of molecules can be at a surface or within a very small volume in contrast to the much greater number in solution which overwhelms the signals from surface bound ones. To work around this limitation, techniques such as confocal microscopy and Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) are used. Based on our preliminary results and commercial interest (see support letter) SPCE detection will also be one technology that promises the thinnest detection layer for samples well confined to the surface (within ˜2×10 −18 liters). Confocal imaging or detection is where fluorescence is detected only from light that emerges from a well defined space limited by the pinhole size. By focusing fluorescence light into a 20-50 micron pinhole fluorescence microscopy may easily detect volumes down to 10-14 liters. In addition by focusing the laser excitation beam one may limit the lateral resolution to about 200 nm, but the z-axis resolution still remains about 1 micron, and the total volume ˜3×10 −16 liters. Thus, confocal microscopy is capable of detecting points throughout a cell or microarray with a depth (z-axis resolution) of about 1 micron and lateral resolution close to one half of the excitation wavelength (routinely ˜200 nm). FIG. 2 shows TIRF excitation and hybridization assay on a surface. While only a small sample layer is excited, fluorescence is partially isotropic. Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF). When light strikes the interface between materials of different refractive indices, light may be partly refracted and partly reflected. However if the incident angle is greater than a certain angle, then impinging light will be totally reflected back into substance with the higher refractive index ( FIG. 2 square). However, at the interface where light is totally reflected an ‘evanescent wave’ is set up across the interface or boundary surface. This evanescent or transitory wave is an electromagnetic field that decays rapidly and exponentially by distance from the interface. It is strongest within a third of the wavelength of the impinging light. This evanescent field can excite fluorophores in the very small region at the boundary where total internal reflection occurs. The emission on the interface is not fully isotropic with a dominant part going into the higher refractive index medium. However it is not as highly directional as SPCE (see below). SPCE technology combines characteristics of Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR, an absorption technique) and Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF). A brief discussion of plasmons and SPR, is provided as further background for SPCE. Plasmons are quantized collective oscillations of free electrons (i.e. plasma) usually induced by impinging electromagnetic radiation (photons). Surface plasmons are those confined to a surface, often in a metal film. These surface plasmons can interact very strongly with light especially with surface electromagnetic waves or oscillations propagating along the interface. The resonant frequencies of these oscillations are very sensitive to changes on the boundary conditions induced by the adsorption of molecules to the metal surface that result in change of adjunct dielectric constant. This is surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The (SPR) phenomenon has been successfully used for biomolecular detection and for studying bioaffinity reactions on surfaces for over 20 years (14-19). A typical SPR experiment uses a 50 nm layer of gold (or silver) on a glass substrate as shown in FIG. 3 a . Such a thin metal surface is highly reflective (like a mirror) but displays strong absorption of light impinging under a very well define angle (∀SPR). This effect manifests itself with attenuated reflection and is a result of the resonance excitation of surface plasmons in the metal layer. FIG. 3( a ) shows one configuration of an SPR device (left). At the ∀SPR angle, the reflectivity is strongly attenuated. FIG. 3( b ) is an SPCE model where F is a fluorophore. The excitation energy of fluorophore couples to the surface plasmons and radiates to the glass prism in form of the ring. Far-field radiation is reflected by the metal surface (right). In the SPR study ( FIG. 3( a )), a thin metal film is illuminated through the glass prism at the angle ∀SPR. The electromagnetic light wave induces a periodic oscillating evanescent electric field that forces collective planar oscillation of free charges on the metal film (surface plasmons). For a very precisely defined angle, when the component of the impinging light wavevector, k, matches the wavevector of the surface plasmons ksp, surface plasmons oscillation is in resonance with the frequency of incident light. Under such conditions the electromagnetic field efficiently couples to the surface plasmons oscillation, resulting in highly attenuated light reflection. This phenomenon (SPR) is extremely sensitive to small changes of the dielectric constant above the metal film and has been used to measure biomolecule binding to surfaces, as in the Biacore apparatus (http://www.biacore.com). SPCE: A Surface Plasmon Fluorescence Phenomena in Thin Metal Films. The effects of metallic surfaces on fluorescence have been described in the optical physics literature (21-26). This topic is very complex and the underlying principles are obscure even to many individuals with long experience in fluorescence spectroscopy and fluorescent assay technologies. As for SPR, excited surface plasmons in the metal film create a highly enhanced evanescent field penetrating the dielectric above the metal surface up to ˜100 nm into the sample to excite the fluorophore, ( FIG. 3( b )). Upon excitation a reverse process occurs where the excited fluorophore induces an electromagnetic field that can strongly interact with the free charges in the metal film, inducing the surface plasmons. The frequencies of the induced surface plasmons correspond to those of the fluorophore emission spectrum. This near-field interaction of fluorophore with semi-transparent planar metal surface results in a highly efficient emission coupling through a thin metal film that passes into the glass prism. A very strongly directional emission is observed, which is called the Surface Plasmon Coupled Emission (SPCE). This is shown in FIGS. 3 b and 4 . The resulting SPCE preserves all the spectral properties of the fluorophore and is highly polarized with a sharply defined emission direction. The coupling highly depends on the distance from the surface and is maximal at 30-50 nm but extends out to 200 nm from the surface. Most of any stray light is reflected by the metal surface. Thus, SPCE allows for a light collection efficiency of up to 50% (versus ˜1-3% for isotropic emission) and intrinsically resolves light of different wavelengths. This is all accomplished with very simple optics ( FIG. 1( b )). Such desirable properties can result in a wide range of simple, inexpensive, and robust devices with generic usefulness in biology, medicine, forensics, and other fields. It is important to note that the directional SPCE is not due to reflections, but due to the coupling of the oscillating dipoles of the excited fluorophores with surface plasmons on the metallic surfaces, which in turn radiate into the glass substrate from where they can be focused and detected. FIG. 4 shows a photograph of three surface coated fluorophores emitting by SPCE (8). The optical configuration can also collect a large fraction (nearly 50%) of the intrinsically resolved emissions ( FIG. 1( b )). The intense emissions and wavelength resolution of SPCE are shown in FIG. 4 . For this experiment a mixture of rhodamine 123 (R123), sulforhodamine 101 (S101) and pyridine 2 (Py2) in PVA was spin coated to a sample thickness of ˜30 nm onto a 50 nm thick silver film on a quartz plate. For these dyes, emission spreads from green to red. Since the refractive index of light strongly depends on wavelength, the angles of emission under SPCE conditions will be intrinsically different for each wavelength or color of light. This effect is so dramatic that the different colors can be seen by eye as shown in FIG. 4 . (Photograph taken on a white screen). The resolution is strikingly captured by an inexpensive detector in a digital camera. Thus, SPCE technology offers several advantages over TIRF technology: 1. The thickness of the coupling layer in the SPCE experiments can be in the range of 50 nm to 100 nm as compared to over 300 nm for TIRF. This results in a smaller well defined detection volume below 2×10 −18 liters. This is 3-fold smaller than for TIRF (11, 12). In effect the power flow for TIRF and SPCE in similar experiments can be comparable. However, the SPCE signal originates from much a smaller sample volume with smaller number of sample molecules. 2. SPCE experiments give superior background suppression. The metallic surface reflects (>90%) of light in the bulk solution due to the high metallic surface reflectivity (over 90% of the light originated in the bulk solution is reflected by the metallic surface and never gets to the prism or detector). For comparison, dielectric interface (water/prism) of TIRF reflects only 5% to 10% of such unwanted light. 3. A very significant SPCE advantage is that the emissions are much more directional in TIRF, allowing more efficient light collection. 4. The excitation evanescent wave in SPCE experiments with SPR excitation (Kretschmann) excitation is much stronger than in TIRF, allowing attenuation of the excitation intensity that results in lower optics/sample background. In summary, the coupling efficiency for TIRF and SPCE are comparable, but the background contribution in TIRF is incomparably higher and it has less directional emission. Thus, the signal-to-noise ratio is much better for SPCE allowing 10-20 fold better sensing sensitivity. Also, our SPCE microscopy data on muscle fibers indicated there is better dye photo-stability in SPCE experiments (27, 28). Micro-RNAs (miRNAs). For development and improvement studies, a class of oligonucleotide was sought that not only would lead to a product itself, but also show the potential of ratiometric SPCE detection for other oligos and other biomolecules of interest. Any chosen sequences should be long enough to hybridize readily and be stable but be labile at ˜50° C. to allow for rehybridization with a full length complementary strand or a shorter complimentary strand (12-15 nt). As shown in FIG. 5 , this shorter, fluorescently labeled strand would be displaced by the full length strand to be detected (labeled or unlabeled). It should also be long enough to be unique yet not so long to make its chemical synthesis long or too expensive. The class of RNAs called micro-RNA fit these constraints. They are 21-23 nucleotides (nt) long, and their sequence is well known for many eukaryotic species. Also, there are a limited number of them so large arrays would not be needed. For fruit fly, there are ˜78, for humans ˜475 (29). These sequences are of keen interest to researchers studying translation or gene expression. They are found in most eukaryotic organisms and a few, like let-7 are conserved across many species. They do not code for proteins but rather function to down regulate mRNA transcription by binding with partial complementarity to many different mRNAs. In contrast to oligonucleotide sequences specific to biohazard agents that are of interest, their sequence is known. Thus, an easy method of detecting specific ones with inexpensive equipment would be a marketable product. This would entail a slide of 78 areas incontrast to Agilent's that has eight 15K microarrays. With many advantages of TIRF, SPCE detection should be and is more sensitive, detects a thinner, smaller volume at a surface. Emitted light is intrinsically wavelength resolved. This fact coupled with its very intense direction emission will allow sensitive detection of surface fluorophores with minimal optics, inexpensive. The studies below are summarized in FIG. 5 and were performed in solution and by TIRF analyses with DNA oligos only (RNA is much less stable and degradable for preliminary studies). While it was designed specifically to detect the ‘let-7’ miRNA, the scheme is generally applicable to the detection of DNA and RNA be they longer and shorter than 21 nt. FIG. 5 shows a scheme for ratiometric sensing of oligos by surface fluorescence measurements. In the basic setup, a 21-mer DNA strand, complimentary to let-7, is labeled with a 5′-Cy5 dye and 3′ biotin. This dual labeled strand is then hybridized to a complementary 15-mer labeled with ˜5′-Cy3 dye. A strand of 15 nt was chosen so as to be stable at ambient temperature but displaceable at 50° C. by a full length complimentary strand. Also these lengths were chosen to allow detection of hybridization by FRET in solution. The let-7 complementary 21-mer with the 5′-Cy5 and 3′-bioteg (biotin triethylene glycol) can be anchored to an avidin coated surface (single or double stranded). All the DNA strands used are shown in Table 1 and were highly purified by RP-HPLC. These Cy3 and Cy5 labeled oligos (A and C of Table 1) were allowed to hybridize first in solution. Subsequently their fluorescence was studied in solution and by TIRF after anchoring to an avidin coated plate. Their emissions at ˜670 nm (Cy5) and ˜570 nm (Cy3) were determined. Next, the unlabeled 21-mer (i.e., let-7 analog) was added and the systems heated to 50° C. for 10 min to facilitate exchange and rehybridization. Data below show that the longer unlabeled 21-mer displaces the labeled Cy3-15-mer as illustrated in FIG. 5 . For TIRF surface experiments, this would allow most of the green Cy3 labeled 15-mer to move outside the TIRF coupling distance ( FIG. 5 ). Thus, the ratio of red to green emission would greatly increase. In solution any change in the ratio would be due to hybridization and change in FRET. TABLE 1 Labeled and non-labeled oligonucleotides used for the ratiometric detection of let-7 miRNA. Oligo Sequence Labels/length Abbreviation A 5′-(Cy5)ACTATACAACCTACTACCTCA(Bioteg)-3′ Cy5-21 mer-Biotin Cy5-oligoX-Biotin B 5′-ACTATACAACCTACTACCTCA(Bioteg)-3′ 21 mer-Biotin oligoX-Biotin C 5′-(Cy3)TGAGGTAGTAGGTGG-3′ Cy3-15 mer- Cy3-oligoY D 5′-TGAGGTAGTAGGTTGTATAGT-3′ 21 mer- oligoY DNA Hybridization in Solution. The Cy3 and Cy5 dyes were selected based on their expected separation distance. When hybridized the two 5′ dyes should be separated by 60 Å. The characteristic Forster distance for this dye pair is about 55 Å (26). Therefore, a small FRET (about 10%-20%) is expected and would confirm hybridization. This also allows the hybridization, replacement, and rehybridization to be independently monitored when testing principles of the approach. This has been important for preliminary studies and proof of concept experiments. For all studies, solutions of oligos were made in 50 mM Tris, pH 7.3. Hybridization was effected by heating at 50° C. for 10 min. Fluorescence of the Cy3 labeled strand changed upon hybridization in solution. The B oligonucleotide (21-mer, oligoX-Biotin) without a dye label served to test the change in fluorescence of the FRET donor (Cy3) strand C induced by hybridization into the complementary 21-mer (D). This tests the effect of surrounding nucleotides on the spectral change of the fluorophore to properly estimate Forster distance of 50% transfer (RO) and FRET. FIG. 5 a shows that the intensity but not the spectrum changes upon hybridization. This change may be due to intercolation of the dye into the DS oligomer. FIG. 6 a shows the fluorescence of Cy3 did decrease upon hybridization with the complementary unlabeled strand (B). FIG. 6 . (a) In solution the fluorescence of the Cy3-labled oligo (strand C, Table 1) changes upon hybridization with oligo B. (b) Fluorescence spectra of the hybridized donor control (Cy3oligoY:oligoX-Biotin, C-B)), donor-acceptor (Cy3oligoY:Cy5oligoX-Biotin, C-A), and hybridized acceptor control (Cy5oligoX-Biotin:oligoY, A-D) in the solution (50 mM Tris-HCl buffer, pH 7.3). Fluorescence of labeled strands before and after hybridization. FIG. 6 b shows the fluorescence spectra of variously hybridized oligonucleotides. These include: (a) ‘Donor’ with Cy3 labeled strand C, hybridized with unlabeled oligo B); (b) ‘Acceptor’ with Cy5 strand A hybridized with unlabled strand D); and ‘Donor-Acceptor’ where strands A and C are hybridized. Excitation at 532 nm was used. The fluorescence of Cy5 acceptor strand is very small due to very low extinction coefficient at 533 nm. In the hybridized system the Cy5 acceptor signal is significantly increased (˜670 nm) and donor signal decreases (˜570 nm). To confirm that this is due to radiationless energy transfer the fluorescence lifetime of the donor and acceptor was measured. Fluorescence lifetime of the donor should be significantly affected by the presence of acceptor. Lifetime measurements show the change in fluorescence is due to FRET. Table 2 shows the measured average fluorescence lifetimes for donor (Cy3) and acceptor (Cy5) strands before and after hybridization. As expected the fluorescence intensity and fluorescence lifetime of the dye (donor and acceptor) slightly depend on the presence of complementary unlabeled oligo. This is especially important for the donor, since more properly the lifetime measured in the presence of unlabeled (hybridized) identical strand should be used for the FRET calculation. Hybridization with oligo labeled with Cy5 acceptor additionally changes the fluorescence of the donor. The fluorescence lifetime of the Cy3 donor decreases upon hybridization with Cy5 acceptor indicating a significant ˜20% energy (transfer ((0.94-0.75)/0.75). This corresponds well with calculations based on the oligonucleotide's length and our overlap integrals (9). At the same time, the fluorescence lifetime of acceptor practically does not change upon binding its unlabeled complementary strand (1.22 v 1.17 nsec). Replacing the acceptor strand with unlabeled 21-mer returns donor fluorescence lifetimes to expected values (0.75 nsec to 1.36 nsec, acceptor is not present). Thus, the difference above shows the increase in receptor (Cy5) is due to a radiationless energy transfer from the Cy3 donor. TABLE 2 Average fluorescence lifetime of Cy3-DNA-Cy5 donor-acceptor show expected changes upon hybridization as obtained by exponential fit. Hybridization Avg Lifetime status Conditions/Compound (nsec) XR 2 SS Cy3oligoX 1.41 0.87 DS Cy3oligoY:oligoX-Biotin** 0.94 0.83 DS Cy3oligoY:Cy5oligoX- 0.75 0.80 Biotin*** DS Cy3oligoY:Cy5oligoX-Biotin + 1.36 0.86 competing oligoY SS Cy5oligoX-Biotin 1.22 0.80 DS Cy5oligoX-Biotin:oligoY**** 1.17 0.80 (Excitation at 475 nm, observation at 605 nm and 665 nm for the donor and acceptor, respectively. χR2 indicates the goodness of the fit). *SS, single-stranded; DS, double-stranded. **Cy3oligoY hybridized with oligoX-Biotin. ***Cy3oligoY hybridized with Cy5oligoX-Biotin (donor-acceptor system). ****Cy5oligoX-Biotin hybridized To see the effect of the fluorescence of the Cy3 oligomer when it is displaced from the Cy5 labeled 21-mer by unlabeled 21-mer (B strand) a series of B strand additions were made. The spectra are shown in FIG. 6 a . Excitation was at 510 nm. After each addition of the free, unlabeled oligo the solution was heated up to 52° C. for 10 min, then cooled to 22° C. The down arrow shows the spectrum for the acceptor Cy5-oligoX-Biotin strand hybridized with donor Cy3-oligoY. The other spectra are after addition of 25 nM, 50 nM, and 100 nM of the non-labeled oligo 21oligoY (D), respectively. The increase in fluorescence of the Cy3 donor is due to the loss of its Cy5 acceptor that is being displaced by the unlabeled oligo. The Cy5 dye was not excited by the 510 nm source. FIG. 7( a ) shows the fluorescence of hybridized Cy3 strand (with Cy5 strand) increases as Cy5 strand is displaced with incremental addition of unlabeled complementary strand (B). FIG. 7 ( b ) is a diagram of TIRF device used. DNA hybridization on the surface. In-solution studies confirmed that the fluorescence studies of a set of oligonucleotides labeled with dyes and biotins. The extent of the observed FRET confirmed hybridization and explained how the fluorescence would change in the presence of an acceptor. With confidence that the set of oligonucleotides constitute a very good working system, surface experiments were performed. Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) was used for which the PI and colleagues have considerable experience (30-32). FIG. 7 b shows the diagram for the TIRF device used for the preliminary results show below. (The phenomenon of TIRF is described for FIG. 2 where the evanescent field penetrates to about 200-300 nm, about half the excitation wavelength). The system has two detection lines to separately detect the Cy3 and Cy5 signals. The 532 nm excitation available from a simple small laser system very strongly excites Cy3 but only minimally excites Cy5 (the absorption of Cy5 at 532 nm is minimal). A reference signal (red) that is too small can be a problem for testing the ratiometric detection. Unfortunately, there are no simple laser diodes based excitation sources available in this spectral range that will excite both fluorophores. However, as discussed herein this problem can be solved by selecting the pair with efficient FRET. This problem was solved using simultaneous excitation of 532 nm and 633 nm from two separate laser diodes. Combining two excitations allows adjusting the signal readout to be comparable for both, Cy3 and Cy5 dyes. The 633 nm excitation is outside the excitation spectrum of Cy3 and does not disturb its emission. FIG. 8 a shows the emission spectra measured for C3/Cy5 hybridized oligomers using TIRF excitation and detection. First, the two strands were hybridized and then immobilized on the surface. After washing with buffer, the fluorescence spectrum was obtained as shown by the black lines in FIG. 7 a (excitation at 633 nm). Next, the unlabeled 21-mer, complementary to the anchored Cy5 strand was added. After heating to 50° C. for 10 min (no washing), the fluorescence spectrum was obtained and is shown by the red lines in FIG. 7 a . The decrease at ˜570 nm indicates that much of the Cy3 labeled strand was lost from the surface as expected ( FIG. 5 ). On the other hand, a much smaller change was observed for the anchored Cy5 emission at ˜670 nm. This indicated that it largely remained attached to the surface throughout the experiment. FIG. 8 b shows the change in relative ratio dependence of the red (at ˜670 nm) to green (at ˜570 nm) emission intensities from the (Cy3oligoY:Cy5oligoX-Biotin) donor-acceptor immobilized on the glass slide in the absence or presence of the free unlabeled oligo (D). This unlabeled oligo complementary to the avidin-biotin anchored one (A). After each addition of the free oligo the hybridization chamber was heated to 52° C. for 10 min, and then cooled to the room temperature. No washing is necessary since the free Cy3 would move out of the TIRF detection range (200-300 nm). The change in the ratiometric signal is over 4 fold. Given the precision of fluorescence measurements, this is a significant and large change. Not shown is the decrease in intensity after each heating step indicative of a loss of avidin anchored oligo from the surface (only surface oligos are detected in TIRF or SPCE) However, as FIG. 7 b shows, the ratio is intensity independent and capable of giving a reliable measurement even as the density of surface sensors decreases. Fluorophore Detection Limits. A key sub-aim of this proposal is to show that SPCE measurements will be more sensitive than TIRF ones particularly in a dirty matrix like plasma or blood. To understand the challenge of this goal, the following study was performed with TIRF, currently the state of the art in sensitive surface detection technology by fluorescence detection. At present there are extensive reports related to single molecule detection (33, 34), so it may be expected that such measurements are easy and straightforward. However, all single molecule fluorescence experiments are performed with microscope optics and high laser excitation energies in restricted volumes to minimize the background relative to the signal. The fluorophores are significantly concentrated, and single molecules are observed by confocal optics or multi-photon excitation. The detectability limits of a fluorophore were probed using simple sample geometry with TIRF measurements and very modest optics. Additionally, the excitation power was restricted to that achievable with simple laser diodes or LED's. This is similar to what is planned for our SPCE studies. Rhodamine 800 (Rh 800) was chosen as a test fluorophore because of its long absorption and emission wavelengths which extend beyond the hemoglobin absorption bands. Also, Rh 800 can be excited with inexpensive red laser diodes (commonly used for laser pointers). As an excitation source we used a common laser pointer (633 nm, ˜3 mW). Samples with different concentrations of Rh 800 in water, plasma and blood were placed in a demountable cuvette. The back plate of the cuvette has a thickness of 5 mm (all four sides polished), so excitation can enter from a side to form the angle grater than critical angle (α>αc) with the front surface. FIG. 8 shows the fluorescence intensity levels for various concentrations of Rh 800 in water, plasma and blood. Also shown are the number of observed molecules calculated from spot size and penetration depth. Concentration below 1 nM are readily observed in water (signal/background of 2). However, the concentrations for signal-to-background of 2 are near 5 nM and 30 nM in plasma and blood, respectively. Calculated numbers of observed molecules are atop the vertical bars in FIG. 8 . For water 18,000 Rh 800 molecules are easily detected. This number is significantly higher for plasma and blood because of significant background. But even for blood 210,000 molecules is reasonable number to be positioned on the surface of approximately 1 mm2. Since SPCE is more sensitive with less background, with the simple detection device, detection limits well below these values should be very achievable. FIG. 9 is the fluorescence signal from Rh800 in water, plasma, and whole blood with laser diode excitation at 633 nm. It is important to stress that presented measurements were done using clean quartz surface without any metal enhancement effect that would be available with SPCE. Fluorescent dye was in bulk solution, not bound to surface further reducing sensitivity relative to SPCE where the analyte is bound to the surface. With these factors in mind, the detection limits in FIG. 9 are probably much higher then that expected for dye deposited on surface within the enhancement layer as detected by SPCE. A system with Cy3 and Cy5 labeled oligonucleotides was designed and tested by solution and TIRF fluorescence measurements. The effect of hybridization and FRET from Cy3 to Cy5 has been shown. By TIRF measurements with this system, an unlabeled oligo was detected ratiometrically in very sensitive fashion. In this ratiometric technique, the detected signal (ratio of intensities) depends only on the ratio and not number of sample molecules can be obtained. From data in the background and preliminary results sections SPCE will work for this system and do so with much more sensitivity. Wavelength-resolved SPCE is a very sensitive and reliable technology for ratiometric sensing and detection of surface bound oligo-DNA strands in clean buffers and in a ‘dirty matrix’ such as reconstituted plasma and cell extracts (source of miRNA). About 100-fold and 10-fold improvements over solution and TIRF techniques, respectively, will be shown in terms of lower detectable concentrations. (See FIG. 1 a ) Initially, the hybridization process was tested in SPCE configuration. The findings indicate that SPCE is a nearly perfect technology for this application. First, data using TIRF showed that surface confined technology is very well suited to this surface based assay. Second, earlier SPCE studies (8, 10) demonstrated that binding of a labeled oligo to an unlabeled complementary strand bound to surface can be conveniently detected by SPCE. Therefore, two color emissions can be separated and that the ratiometric assay made reliable. Reliability can be shown by accuracy and reproducibility in comparison with TIRF analyses. Sensitivity can be measured by the lowest concentration at which a signal/background ratio of 2 is determined. Sensitivity and reliability. The assay and system should be useable any condition or format. This for example includes dissociation (i.e. replacement) of labeled complementary strand. This requires heating of the sample solution to stimulate and speed the exchange hybridization process. However, this also has a degradation effect on avidin binding and part of the surface immobilized oligos escapes from the surface. TIRF experiments indicated that in heating to ˜52° C. and cooling down to room temperature 10%-15% of the oligo detached permanently presumably by irreversibly dissociating from the surface. This is quite expected for even high affinity binding. Such perturbation is completely unacceptable for a simple intensity assay. However, this is acceptable for the ratiometric assay. That is, dissociation of surface attached strand does lower the overall signal but does not change the ratio. This is an innovation particularly when coupled with the simple device shown in FIG. 1 b. FIG. 10 . Configuration for measuring angular intensity distribution for SPCE emission. Left—schematic of the configuration. Two excitation modes (Kretschman and Reverse Kretschman) are shown in the figure. Right—photograph of the setup. Specific experiments will test different assay formats in SPCE configuration. The experimental configuration for studying SPCE intensity distribution is shown in FIG. 10 . This must be determined to position the detectors. The movable arm with mounted fiber allows measurements of angular intensity distribution with high precision. This custom built stage as shown in FIG. 10 has been used by the PI and colleagues for many years (4, 7, 8, 10). The specific tests or detection formats are: 1. As has been tested with TIRF with a Cy5 labeled 21-mer oligo and hybridized Cy3 labeled 15-mer (as shown in Table 1). The sensitivity and reproducibility of the SPCE detection will be measured and compare with results from TIRF performed as in the preliminary results section. 2. The Cy3 and Cy5 dyes will be switched between the anchored and freestrands. A 21-mer oligo labeled with 5′-Cy3 and 5′-bioteg will be used. This strand will be immobilized on the surface as before. In this way the green emission will be immobilized on the surface while the hybridized 15-mero will be labeled with 3′-Cy5. This configuration should give greater intensity from Cy5 when excited only with 532 nm laser diode. This is because each oligo hybridized to the surface will have the Cy3 in close proximity and residual energy transfer will significantly increase the fluorescence of barely excited Cy5. This is also innovative. (After our tests with TIRF in the prelimary results section, it was realized that this could be more effective combination.) 3. In fashion similar to microchip assays where the detected oligo is also labeled with either Cy3 or Cy5, the complementary oligo will be labeled with Cy3 and anchored to the surface. The Cy5 labeled sample strand will then be added in a small volume and heated to effect hybridization. This scenario avoids the use of a displaceable, labeled strand and will show further flexibility of the ratiometric detection. It may also allow a single gene chip to be used to analyze cDNA from two sources, each with a different label. 4. Evaluate the possibility of a “sandwich” type assay. In this format, one color labeled oligo will be immobilized on the surface. A second (non complementary) oligo labeled with another color dye will be free in solution ( FIG. 10 a ). Both labeled oligos will have regions of complementary sequences to an unlabeled third oligo to be detected. When the third oligo is added to the solution it will hybridize with both oligos serving as a bridge type linker ( FIG. 10 b ). This brings the nonanchored labeled strand within detection range of SPCE. The SPCE signal associated with green oligo upon addition of the unlabeled free oligo will increase as it is hybridized through the added oligo to the surface. Also in this configuration the reverse arrangement of dyes will be tested. FIG. 11 . Scheme for a DNA sandwich assay. The well-controlled tests performed in these preliminary measurements will show the sensitivity of the method and also very precisely measure angular distributions for two color SPCE. A simple sensing device ( FIG. 1( b )) was used with simple laser diode excitation (i.e. laser pointer) and photodiode detection. Having determined the exact angular distribution of SPCE for the emissions of Cy3 and Cy5 (and possibly other colors), the design of the prototype device can begin. A logical first step is to build a single pinhole device as shown in FIG. 12 . This will allow the efficiency of the pinhole as a background suppressing element to be tested and optimized for hole size, thickness of material, etc. The reflector will focus the SPCE light emerging from the sample into a point. The position of the focus will directly depend on the angle under which the SPCE light is emerging from the sample. Moving the pinhole up and down it will select the red (Cy5) or green (Cy3) focus point. As in confocal microscopy, such a pinhole will dramatically reduce any ambient light emerging from the sample. FIG. 12 . Single pinhole detection device for SPCE. To produce the device shown in FIG. 12 the steps below will be performed. Design, produce, and test the coupling optics (half cylindrical lens from high refractive index glass integrated with the reflector. The design of the lens is also shown in FIG. 12 . Coupling optics will be then integrated to the body of the device. For test studies in place of the inexpensive photodiode detector, fiber optics and no filter can be used as shown in FIG. 12 . The end of fiber optics can be in the place of detector. The pinhole can be moved vertically as shown in FIG. 12 . The fiber optics will deliver the signal into the fluormeter (single-photon counting system (PC1 from ISS) or alternatively to an Ocean Optics detector). As the pinhole moves the spectrum of transmitted light will be measured to evaluate how well the different colors can be separated. The observed spectrum will depend on the pinhole position. This will confirm the selective nature of the pinhole. The SPCE detection device may be further optimized and refined in terms of overall size, adaptation to other optical systems, sample size, and limits of detection particularly in dirty matrices. Any application, such as immunological assays, which could benefit from the very low detection volume of SPCE will be used. It is contemplated that any embodiment discussed in this specification can be implemented with respect to any method, kit, reagent, or composition of the invention, and vice versa. Furthermore, compositions of the invention can be used to achieve methods of the invention. It will be understood that particular embodiments described herein are shown by way of illustration and not as limitations of the invention. The principal features of this invention can be employed in various embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, numerous equivalents to the specific procedures described herein. Such equivalents are considered to be within the scope of this invention and are covered by the claims. All publications and patent applications mentioned in the specification are indicative of the level of skill of those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains. All publications and patent applications are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. The use of the word “a” or “an” when used in conjunction with the term “comprising” in the claims and/or the specification may mean “one,” but it is also consistent with the meaning of “one or more,” “at least one,” and “one or more than one.” The use of the term “or” in the claims is used to mean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives only or the alternatives are mutually exclusive, although the disclosure supports a definition that refers to only alternatives and “and/or.” Throughout this application, the term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the inherent variation of error for the device, the method being employed to determine the value, or the variation that exists among the study subjects. As used in this specification and claim(s), the words “comprising” (and any form of comprising, such as “comprise” and “comprises”), “having” (and any form of having, such as “have” and “has”), “including” (and any form of including, such as “includes” and “include”) or “containing” (and any form of containing, such as “contains” and “contain”) are inclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps. The term “or combinations thereof” as used herein refers to all permutations and combinations of the listed items preceding the term. For example, “A, B, C, or combinations thereof” is intended to include at least one of: A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC, and if order is important in a particular context, also BA, CA, CB, CBA, BCA, ACB, BAC, or CAB. Continuing with this example, expressly included are combinations that contain repeats of one or more item or term, such as BB, AAA, MB, BBC, AAABCCCC, CBBAAA, CABABB, and so forth. The skilled artisan will understand that typically there is no limit on the number of items or terms in any combination, unless otherwise apparent from the context. All of the compositions and/or methods disclosed and claimed herein can be made and executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While the compositions and methods of this invention have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied to the compositions and/or methods and in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the method described herein without departing from the concept, spirit and scope of the invention. All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope and concept of the invention as defined by the appended claims. REFERENCES 1. Gryczynski, I.; Malicka, J.; Gryczynski, Z.; Lakowicz, J. 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The present invention includes methods for ratiometric detection of analytes by surface plasmon coupled emission detection that includes disposing a target on the metal layer of a surface plasmon resonance detection system; coupling a first analyte to a first fluorescent dye and a second analyte to a second fluorescent dye; contacting the first and second analytes to the target on the surface plasmon resonance detection system; and measuring the intensity of a first and a second surface plasmon resonance enhanced fluorescence emission ring, wherein the first and second rings, respectively, quantitatively represents the amount of first and second analyte within 50 nanometers of the metal surface.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention generally relates to a process and system for protecting a gas purification system from damage. In particular, this invention is directed to a process and system for operating an ultra high purity gas purifier using a getter while minimizing the chance for damage to the gas purification system. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Ultra-high purity (UHP) gas purification systems are generally used to supply customers with UHP nitrogen. The initial source of nitrogen (the distillation plant, or the liquid nitrogen supply) typically contains about 1 ppm oxygen by volume. The oxygen level is monitored by an oxygen analyzer before passing into the gas purification vessel, which contains material that reacts with impurities in the nitrogen to produce purified gas. Ultra-high purity inert gas purification systems generally employ a getter metal that is comminuted by some means, and then dispersed in a matrix of a comparatively inert substrate material (usually alumina or similar). Once activated by a reduction process of some kind, this high surface area metal can then react extremely rapidly with various impurity gases (oxygen, hydrogen and others, depending on the getter material and temperature) to chemically bond with reactive gases, and so remove them from the gas stream: a process known as chemisorption. The speed of the reaction, plus its highly exothermic (heat-evolving) nature means that processing inert gases containing high levels of a reactive impurity may cause significant damage and personal danger. For example, it is known that exposing activated nickel-based getters to oxygen concentrations greater than 1% by volume (10,000 ppm O 2 ) will generally cause heat-damage to the getter bed, and possibly also to the reactor vessel and downstream customer equipment. The cost of the damage in such an instance ranges from tens of thousands to millions of dollars, when the impact on downstream processing is accounted for. It is therefore a priority to ensure that such instances are avoided. As such, safety schemes have been devised to protect the bed from excessive levels of contaminant, and thus excessively high temperatures. One safety scheme is to measure the temperature of the bed using judiciously placed temperature measuring devices, such as thermocouples. If the bed temperature rises due to the exothermic reactions, action is taken to safeguard the bed. This action will typically consist of diverting the feed gas and venting the purifier to rid it of remaining reactive gases and preventing additional reactive gases from entering. This will typically be performed automatically using a control unit that recognizes that a temperature setpoint has been reached and actuates valves to the shutdown condition. A major problem with this approach is that it requires that the bed be exposed to high levels of reactive impurities before action is taken, since this is necessary to raise the temperature of the bed. Another safety scheme is to sample the gas stream prior to entering the bed. When a predetermined level of contaminants is reached, typically orders of magnitude above that normally present in the feed gas, action is taken to safeguard the bed. There are several types of measuring device. Typically, commercially available gas analyzers can be used. The approach of measuring the gas stream prior to entering the bed has the advantage that it can potentially react more rapidly than thermocouples placed inside the purifier that is being protected, i.e. it can take action to safeguard the bed before the bed is exposed to high levels of reactive species. Further, it is possible to detect levels of reactive species that are higher than normal operation but are below that required to raise the temperature of the bed significantly. Thus it is possible to design a system that is more sensitive to reactive species than one that simply embeds thermocouples inside the purifier bed and waits for these to register an increase in temperature. One drawback to this approach is the cost of the unit, both in terms of the initial purchase cost and the maintenance required to keep the analyzer in good working order. For example, oxygen is commonly the species that the purifier must be protected from. Two standard varieties of oxygen-detection cell provide an electrical current output from either (i) a cell that operates at ambient temperature, containing salt solution that needs to be maintained at a fairly constant level by continuous replenishment with deionized water or new salt solution, or (ii) a zirconia (ZrO 2 ) cell maintained at high temperature (typically greater than 600° C.), that has a typical lifetime of two years or less. The cost of using analysis external to the bed is compounded by the need to protect the gas from a backflow condition. Backflow may occur due to errors in operation or piping hook-up, or as a result of upset conditions that cause the pressure within the purifier to be lower than the pressure downstream and thus cause gas to enter the bed in a direction counter to that during normal operation. Protection against backflow requires that both the streams entering and leaving the purifier must be sampled. This increases cost and reduces system reliability by requiring two measuring devices as opposed to one. The cost and reliability implication of monitoring the purifier both upstream and downstream is the problem that this current invention addresses. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,068,685 and 6,156,105 disclose the need to protect the purifier both upstream and downstream. A first temperature sensor is disposed in a top portion of the getter material that constitutes the purifier bed. The first temperature sensor is located in a melt zone to detect rapidly the onset of an exothermic reaction which indicates the presence of excess impurities in the incoming gas to be purified. A second temperature sensor is disposed in a bottom portion of the getter material. The second temperature sensor is located in a melt zone to detect rapidly the onset of an exothermic reaction which indicates that excess impurities are being backfed into the getter column. In these patents, a purifier vessel contains getter material. A gas stream enters the purifier vessel and a separate stream exits from the vessel. A thermocouple is placed at the inlet side of the bed. Another thermocouple is located near the exit of the bed. The temperature at both locations is sent to a control unit. The registered temperatures are compared with setpoint values. Action is taken to protect the bed if the setpoint is exceeded in either thermocouple. U.S. Pat. No. 6,168,645B1 also discloses the need to protect the purifier both upstream and downstream. A first safety device is located upstream of a purifier and a second safety device is located downstream of the purifier. A sample stream is drawn from the feed stream, upstream of the purifier, and sent to an upstream safety device. Similarly, a sample stream is drawn downstream of the purifier and sent to the downstream safety device. The level of reactive species is sent from both safety devices to the control unit. If either safety device registers levels of reactive species is in excess of some defined setpoint, action is taken to safeguard the bed. On passing through the safety devices, the sample streams are typically sent to vent. Since this represents loss of product gas, there is a motivation to minimize the quantity of sample streams withdrawn. Also disclosed in the '645 patent are low cost means of measuring the quantity of reactive species in the stream downstream of the purifier. In one embodiment, the safety device is simply a small sample of the getter material inside the purifier. The temperature rise in this guard bed is used as an indicator of the level of reactive species. Such an approach is not suitable for monitoring the upstream case because the level of reactive species is such that the bed material would react with the oxygen over time and thus become inert to the presence of additional reactive species. For example, activated nickel getter, commonly used to remove oxygen, hydrogen and carbon monoxide from bulk inert gases, has a limited capacity to react with oxygen, hydrogen and other impurities. The oxidation reaction is: Ni+½O 2 -->NiO+heat Once all the nickel has reacted in this way, there will be no further heat output by the purification material, no matter how high the oxygen concentration in gas or other fluid passing over it. It is believed that the number of patents describing safety schemes for getter-based purifiers is limited. A series of patents disclose determining the end-of-life of a purifier, meaning the point at which the purifier allows unacceptable concentrations of impurities to break through. U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,604 discloses the use of pressure drop across the bed to determine the end of its useful life. The '604 patent discloses pressure transmitters that are located up and downstream of the purifier. The signals from these transmitters are sent to a control device to see if the pressure drop is above some setpoint. There is therefore a need in the art to provide for a low cost and reliable process or system for monitoring the purifier both upstream and downstream of the getter. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention is directed to a process for purifying an impure gas to produce a purified gas in a gas purification system and protecting the system from damage comprising: a) passing a portion of a first gas stream into a reactor vessel, which exits as a second purified gas stream; b) passing a portion of the second purified gas stream to combine with another portion of the first gas stream to form a combined gas stream; and c) passing the combined gas stream into a sensing device to regulate the flow of the first gas stream into the reactor vessel. This invention is also directed to a system for purifying a gas to produce a purified gas and protecting a reactor vessel in the system from damage comprising a) a reactor vessel; b) a first impure gas passing through the reactor vessel; c) a second purified gas which emerges from the reactor vessel as a product; d) a sensing device which passes information to a control unit; and e) a plurality of metering devices to combine and regulate the flow of the first impure gas and second purified gas and to direct the combined gases to the sensing device so that the control unit can control the flow of the first impure gas through the reactor vessel. The sensing device has a control device to regulate the flows of the first and second gas streams. The combined gas stream passes through the sensing device and exits to vent. The reactor vessel contains a getter to remove contaminant gases, primarily oxygen and other reactive gases, but which may also include other gases that are not reactive. The getter may also act as a catalyst. At least one flow meter device is used to monitor the flow of gases. In one embodiment, the meter device comprises inline filters to protect critical flow orifices. Also, the meter device may regulate the flow of gas both into, and out of, a plurality of reactor vessels. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention is hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the system for purifying a gas with a sensing (safety) device to prevent damage to the reactor vessel (and most particularly) its contents in accordance with this invention; and FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the flow meter utilizing critical flow orifices protected by inline filters in accordance to this invention. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The major advantage of the present invention is that it reduces the number of measuring devices required to safeguard a purifier from impurities appearing in the gas stream under both the normal flow and backflow conditions. This increases system reliability and reduces cost. It also potentially reduces the amount of sample gas withdrawn from the system. This gas, sent to the measuring device, is typically sent to vent and thus represents loss of product gas. This advantage will be greater on small units since the amount of gas required by the safety device is typically independent of the amount of gas passing through the purifier. The current invention proposes to take samples of the feed stream both up and down stream of the getter. The streams are then combined and sent to a single gas analyzer. If the oxygen levels are above a selected level, the gas analyzer will alert that the system has too much oxygen. Any further gas flow will then be prevented, so impurities can be prevented from entering the purification system. The current invention allows the sampling of streams up and downstream of a purifier by combining the two streams and analyzing for the reactive species in a single device. This is illustrated in FIG. 1 . Sample streams are drawn upstream 4 and downstream 7 of the purifier. Impure sample stream 3 is fed into reactor vessel 1 , which contains getter materials 2 . Emerging from reactor vessel 1 is purified gas stream 6 . Impure gas stream 3 splits into upstream impure gas stream 4 , while purified gas stream 6 splits into downstream purified gas stream 7 . Streams 4 and 7 pass through flow meters 22 and are combined to form combined stream 20 , which passes into sensing device 21 . Sensing device 21 (otherwise known as a safety device) measures the level of reactive species. Sensing device 21 is associated with control device 12 . Again, if the level of reactive species is measured above a certain setpoint, action is taken to safeguard the bed. Such action may be to decrease the flow of the impure gas stream 3 from entering the reactive vessel 1 . Gas passing though sensing device 21 will pass to vent 9 . This arrangement takes advantage of the fact that the exact metering of the reactive species is not necessary to safeguard the bed and that the level of reactive species necessary to damage the bed is typically orders of magnitude above that fed to the purifier. For example, nickel-based getter materials are used to remove oxygen from gaseous feed nitrogen that is to be supplied to semiconductor facilities. The feed nitrogen will typically have oxygen levels on the order of 1 ppm. Semiconductor facilities require the oxygen level to be on the order of 1 ppb, hence the use of the purifier. The level of oxygen that causes safety issues with the purifier bed is on the order of 1000 ppm. Thus, if a sensing device is used that alarms at 100 ppm, this is far greater than that seen during normal conditions and also well below the level that may constitute a problem for the bed. By combining the two streams, a new setpoint of 50 ppm can be chosen. Assuming that the sample streams from up and downstream of the purifier have the same flow rate, if either stream exceeds 100 ppm then the sensing device will alarm because the combined stream will have a level in excess of 50 ppm. In practice, one cannot be sure of metering the flows of the streams such that they are exactly equal. However, this is easily accounted for in the choice of setpoint based on conservative ranges of the degree to which the flow metering could be in error. A gas stream containing about 0.1 ppm to about than 5 ppm of oxygen is considered the normal contaminant range; a gas stream containing about 45 to about 100 ppm of oxygen contaminant will likely cause the combined stream to fall outside the setpoint; and a gas stream containing greater than about 950 ppm of oxygen may cause damage to the reactive getter bed. This illustrates the wide difference between normal contaminant levels and excessive levels, which is the justification for accepting the loss in accuracy associated with measuring a combined stream (caused by errors introduced through inexact metering) compared to measuring each stream individually. The maximum discrepancy may be considered to be that one flow is twice that of the other. In this case, the worst case scenario is the stream that has high levels is the lower flow. By simple mass balance, setting the alarm at 33 ppm, instead of 100 ppm will ensure that neither stream ever exceeds 100 ppm. The lowest level of contaminants that could trigger the control action is 33 ppm (if present at those levels in both streams). FIG. 2 is another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows flow meter 22 having a particular as the flow metering means. It is believed that the most cost effective and reliable means of metering the flow is through the use of critical flow orifices 30 . Critical flow orifice 30 with inline filter 31 upstream is placed in each of the sample streams prior to combination. The filter ensures that the orifice is not blocked by particulates. Critical flow orifices meter flow by restricting the flow such that sonic velocity occurs through the orifice. This typically requires that the pressure ratio across the orifice is greater than 2. It can be shown that both first impure gas 4 and purified gas 7 both pass through this specialized flow meter 22 to form combined gas stream 22 . In most commercial applications, the pressure of the gas to be purified will be on the order of 90 psig or higher. Since the sensing device will normally operate at close to atmospheric pressure, the pressure ratio is sufficiently large (˜>5) to ensure choked flow. The orifices can be sized by any standard means familiar to those skilled in the art. The mass flow through a critical flow orifice is roughly proportional to the upstream pressure. Since the pressure drop is typically small across the purifier compared to the absolute pressure, equal sized orifices may be used in most instances. The amount of flow of the combined stream should be at least sufficient to ensure proper operation of the sensing device. For example, oxygen analyzers typically require a flow on the order of 200 scc/min. In an alternative embodiment, the present invention may be extended to a plurality of purifiers. For example, streams could be taken from stream and/or downstream of numerous purifiers and sent to a single sensing device. The setpoint for the combined stream should be set such that if any of the streams exceeds setpoint the sensing device would trigger action to safeguard the bed. The sample stream flows could be controlled using flow measuring devices and control valves. This would ensure active control of the flow at the cost of expense. Flow switches in the sample streams could be employed to indicate a no-flow condition. The safety device used could be a commercially available analyzer or a custom unit. One potential drawback to the design is that if the sensing device were allowed to build pressure then the potential exists for impure gas to bypass the purifier and enter the purified stream. (Gas passes from the sample stream 4 through metering means 22 , through second metering means 22 and into the exit stream from the purifier through stream 7 .) The potential for such contamination is minimal because the normal operating pressure of stream 20 is significantly lower than the pressure of lines 4 and 7 . If the vent were blocked, the quantity of gas that can bypass is minimal since it has to flow through two flow metering devices. Additional means of protecting against this scenario is to place relief valves in line 20 . This will vent the line if it approaches the operating pressure of the purifier. Alternatively or additionally, a check valve can be placed in line 7 that only allows flow to leave the purifier. Specific features of the invention are shown in one or more of the drawings for convenience only, as each feature may be combined with other features in accordance with the invention. Alternative embodiments will be recognized by those skilled in the art and are intended to be included within the scope of the claims.

A process and system for purifying an impure gas to produce a purified gas in a gas purification system and protecting the system from damage by a) passing a portion of a first gas stream into a reactor vessel, which exits as a second purified gas stream; b) combining a portion of the second purified gas stream with another portion of the first gas stream to form a combined gas stream; and c) passing the combined gas stream into a sensing device to regulate the flow of the first and second gas streams into the reactor vessel.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates to high-voltage Schottky diode, and more particularly relates to lateral high-voltage Schottky diode. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] In references [1-3], methods of implementing high-reverse-voltage MOST by utilizing optimum surface variation lateral doping are provided. Using such methods, a lateral interdigitated semiconductor device is formed in a surface of a lightly doped substrate of a first semiconductor type, wherein it comprises at least one device which includes a region having the same potential with the substrate and a region with its voltage variable from zero to the largest reverse bias taking substrate as reference; it can also comprises other device(s) device, including a region having a voltage variable from zero to the largest reverse bias and a region with its voltage being the largest reverse bias taking substrate as reference. In the present invention, the surface region from the floating voltage region to the region in contact with the substrate is defined as a first surface voltage sustaining region, and the surface region from the largest reverse bias region to the floating voltage region is defined as a second surface voltage sustaining region. The two voltage sustaining regions are formed by superposition of thin layer(s) of a first conductivity type and thin layer(s) of a second conductivity type alternatively, wherein the thin layer contacted directly to the substrate is of a second conductivity type. Said thin layer of a second conductivity type contacted directly to the substrate is directly connected to the largest voltage portion in the voltage sustaining region and other thin semiconductor layers of a second conductivity type are connected to the largest voltage region via a region close to it, or are connected to it at the finger end of interdigitated layout. Each of the regions of a first conductivity type is connected to the smallest voltage region via a region close to it, or it is connected to the region at the finger end of interdigitated layout. When the first conductivity type is p-type, the largest voltage is positive. When the first conductivity type is n-type, the largest voltage is negative. Said total thickness of all thin layers should be less than the thickness of the depletion layer of a one-sided abrupt plane junction of the same substrate under the largest reverse bias. The amount of effectively ionized impurity per area of a second conductivity type in the thin layer of a second conductivity type contacted directly to the substrate in each surface voltage sustaining region can varies with distance, but should be not more is than 2D 0 , where D 0 is the impurity density of a second conductivity type in the depletion region of the heavily-doped side of a one-sided abrupt parallel-plane junction formed by the same substrate under the largest reverse bias. Besides, for the second surface voltage sustaining region, the impurity density of the thin layer of a second conductivity type in contact with substrate should be not less than D 0 . In addition, the impurity density of the portion close to the largest voltage region in each layer of each voltage sustaining region should be not more than 2D 0 and the impurity density of the region close to the lowest voltage region should be not more than 1.8D 0 . [0003] Between the two surface voltage-sustaining regions, there is a carrier isolation region having the surface dimension much less than those of the two surface voltage sustaining regions. [0004] The key point of optimum surface variation lateral doping technology is that, that the overall effective impurity of second conductivity type decreases gradually or stepwisely with the increase of the distance from the portion having the largest voltage in the voltage sustaining region, and approaches zero in the lowest voltage region. Where the overall effective impurity density of second conductivity type is defined as the value of the sum of the effective impurity density of all layers of a second conductivity type in a surface area subtracts the sum of the effective impurity density of all layers of first conductivity type in the same surface area, and then divided by the area. Wherein the surface area has dimensions in any direction being much smaller than the thickness of the depletion region of a one-sided abrupt parallel-plane junction made by the same substrate under the largest reverse bias. [0005] Based on Ref. [2 and 3], many power integrated circuits can be realized. FIG. 1 shows an application where the load is a fluorescent lamp. The switches of S H and S L and their drivers can all be realized according to Ref. [2 and 3]. In this figure, V is the voltage of the external power supply. When S H is switched on, the current flows from the positive terminal V, via S H , capacitor C, the load, the inductance L, and finally reaches the negative terminal of the power supply illustrated as “−” in the figure. When S H is switched off, since the current through the inductance should be continuous, the C is being charged via the diode D 1 . After a short duration, S L is switched on, then the capacitor C is discharged via S L , L and the load. In the next stage that S L is switched off, the current flows from terminal “−”, via L, the load, C, D 2 and finally reaches terminal “+V”. It should be noted that diodes D 1 and D 2 must be high-voltage fast recover diode or high voltage Schottky diodes. So, if S H and S L are realized by using the method in [2 and 3], the two diodes must be connected externally, leading to a higher packaging cost at least. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] A technical problem to be solved by the invention is to provide a semiconductor lateral device. [0007] The present invention provides a semiconductor lateral device formed on a surface of a lightly-doped semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type comprising one Schottky diode of a first type and/or one Schottky diode of a second type; [0008] wherein said Schottky diode of a first type comprises at least a zero voltage region with the same potential as that of the substrate, a floating voltage region with a voltage variable from zero to the largest reverse bias voltage, and a first voltage sustaining region between said zero voltage region and said floating voltage region; [0009] wherein said Schottky diode of a second type, comprises at least a floating voltage region of said Schottky diode of a second type with its voltage larger than or equal to that of the floating voltage region of said Schottky diode of a first type, a largest voltage region and a second voltage sustaining region in the surface between said floating voltage region of said Schottky diode of second type and said largest voltage region; [0010] wherein said substrate is defined as having smallest voltage and is taken as the reference of potential; when the first conductivity type is p-type and the second conductivity type is n-type, the value of said largest voltage is positive, said floating voltage region and largest voltage region have positive potentials; when the first conductivity type is n-type and the second conductivity type is p-type, the value of said largest voltage is negative, said floating voltage region and largest voltage region have negative potentials, being lower than that zero potential of said substrate; [0011] wherein each of said two voltage sustaining regions comprises: [0012] at least an n-type semiconductor layer, at least a layer of a second conductivity type contacted with the substrate and layers of different conductivity types arranged alternatively starting from said substrate to semiconductor surface; [0015] wherein in said voltage sustaining region, a cathode region of each of said Schottky diode is formed on top of a portion having the highest potential under a reverse bias; an anode region is formed on top of the portion having the lowest potential; said n-type semiconductor of said voltage sustaining region in both cathode region and anode region have two conductor layers be contacted with, said two conductor layers form cathode and anode of said Schottky diode; wherein said conductor on the portion having the lowest potential is metal, said metal and said n-type semiconductor region beneath said metal forms Schottky junction; said metal is the anode of the Schottky diode; [0016] said Schottky junction has a current flow from said metal to said n-type semiconductor region beneath said metal, when a positive voltage is applied from said metal to said n-type semiconductor region, said current in said n-type semiconductor region is mainly due to a flow of electrons; [0017] said semiconductor layer of second conductivity type in contact directly with the substrate is contacted to the region having the largest voltage in the voltage sustaining region, and other semiconductor layers of second conductivity type are connected to the region having the largest voltage through a part of semiconductor of second conductivity type close to it, or through said metal forming Schottky junction; [0018] wherein each semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type is at least partly contacted directly to the region having the smallest voltage at finger edges or at the finger ends of the interdigitated layout; [0019] wherein the overall thickness of said surface voltage sustaining region should be less than that of depletion region of a one-sided abrupt parallel-plane junction made by the same substrate under a reverse bias close to the breakdown voltage; [0020] wherein the semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type in contact with the substrate is defined as the first layer; the density of the impurity of said first layer can varies with distance but should be not larger than 2D 0 ; for the second surface voltage sustaining region, the density of impurity of said first layer should be not smaller than D 0 ;, where the density of the impurity is defined as the amount of effectively ionized impurity of a second conductivity type per area in the layer, D 0 is the impurity density of a second conductivity type in the depletion region of the heavily-doped side of a one-sided abrupt parallel-plane junction made by the same substrate under the largest reverse bias; [0021] wherein at place(s) close to the largest voltage region, the value of impurity density of each layer of each voltage sustaining region should be not larger than 2D 0 , and at place(s) close to the smallest voltage region, the value of the impurity density should be not larger than 1.8D 0 ; [0022] wherein the overall effective impurity density, being obtained by subtracting the sum of the effective impurity density of layers of a first conductivity type from the sum of the effective impurity density of layers of a second conductivity type, decreases gradually or stepwisely with the increase of the distance from the portion having the largest voltage in the voltage sustaining region, and approaches zero at the portion having the smallest voltage region; [0023] wherein said impurity density is obtained by dividing the sum of the number of ionized impurity in a surface area, said surface area has dimensions in any direction much smaller than the thickness of the depletion region of a one-sided abrupt parallel-plane junction made by the same substrate under a largest reverse bias; [0024] when the voltage of the largest voltage region approaches that of the smallest voltage region, except first layer of said voltage sustaining region, each layer has only a small part corresponding to the built-in potential being depleted. [0025] According to an aspect of the present invention, an insulator layer is formed between the substrate and lateral interdigitated Schottky diode and/or between every two layers of the surface voltage sustaining region. [0026] According to an aspect of the present invention, the semiconductor lateral device comprises at least one Schottky diode of a first type and at least one Schottky diode of a second type; wherein an insulator layer is formed between the first voltage sustaining region and the second voltage sustaining region. [0027] According to an aspect of the present invention, the semiconductor lateral device comprises at least one Schottky diode of a first type and at least one Schottky diode of a second type; wherein an isolation region for carriers is located from said floating voltage region of said Schottky diode of first type to said floating voltage region of Schottky diode of second type; said isolation region for carriers has a surface distance, said distance is smaller than the thickness of the depletion region of a one-sided abrupt parallel-plane junction made by the same substrate under a largest reverse bias. [0028] According to an aspect of the present invention, the voltage sustaining region(s) of Schottky diode of first type and/or second type is divided into at least two sections and an isolation region is inserted between two neighbouring sections; [0029] wherein each section forms a sectional Schottky diode; [0030] under a reverse bias applied across each section, a cathode region of a sectional Schottky diode is formed on top of the portion having the highest potential and an anode region of a sectional Schottky diode is formed on top of the portion having the lowest potential, [0031] wherein two conductor layers contacted to said n-type semiconductor layer at said anode region and at said cathode region, forming anode electrode and cathode electrode of a sectional Schottky diode; [0032] wherein said conductor layer located at portion of lowest potential is a metal, said metal is anode and forming Schottky junction with portion of said n-type semiconductor layer beneath said metal; [0033] wherein said conductor layer located at portion of highest potential is cathode; [0034] said sectional Schottky diodes of one type Schottky diode are in a series connection according to a sequence before said division into sections of voltage sustaining region. [0035] According to an aspect of the present invention, an isolation region between neighbouring surface voltage sustaining regions or neighbouring sections located from a larger voltage portion to a smaller voltage portion under a reverse bias is started from a semiconductor region of a second conductivity type, and then through a semiconductor region of a first conductivity type contacted with the substrate; [0036] wherein in said isolation region, a thick insulator layer formed on top of said semiconductor region of a first conductivity type contacted with the substrate is permitted; [0037] wherein a thin insulator layer formed on top of semiconductor region of a second conductivity type of said isolation region is permitted; [0038] wherein a conductor with one part covering on said isolation layer and another part directly contacted to the top of said smaller voltage portion of surface voltage sustaining region or to the top of said smaller voltage portion of a section is permitted. [0039] According to an aspect of the present invention, edges of said metal of said Schottky junction is contacted to p-type semiconductor. [0040] According to an aspect of the present invention, the, Schottky diode of one type is connected in parallel with an n-MOST; [0041] wherein Schottky junction is formed by depositing metal layer on top of some portions of n-type semiconductor region having the lowest potential said metal layer also covers directly on p-type semiconductor regions neighbouring to n-type semiconductor region and on n-type semiconductor region inside p-type regions; [0042] wherein an insulator layer covers on other n-type semiconductor region neighbouring to said metal layer, said insulator layer extends to covering p-type semiconductor regions neighbouring to n-type semiconductor region except portions having metal layer, said insulator layer even extends to covering an n-type semiconductor region inside p-type regions; [0043] said insulator layer forms a gate insulator layer of said n-MOST; a gate electrode of said n-MOST is formed by depositing a conductor on top of said insulator layer; said source electrode of said n-MOST is the metal part of the Schottky junction; a drain electrode of said n-MOST is said cathode of the Schottky diode. [0044] It is well-known that a high voltage diode is a widely-used very important device. In present invention, a method of integrating high voltage diode in power IC is provided. In addition, discrete Schottky diode can also be fabricated based on this invention. REFERENCES [0000] [1] X. B. CHEN, U.S. Pat. No. 5,726,469, “Surface Voltage Sustaining Structure for Semiconductor Devices” Mar. 10, 1998. [2] X. B. CHEN, U.S. Pat. No. 6,310,365 B1, “Surface Voltage Sustaining Structure for Semiconductor Devices Having Floating Voltage Terminal” Oct. 30, 2001. [3] X. B. CHEN, U.S. Pat. No. 6,998,681 B2, “Lateral low-side and high-side high-voltage devices” Feb. 14, 2006. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0048] FIG. 1 schematically shows an application of high-voltage diode where the load can be a fluorescent lamp. (Prior art) [0049] FIG. 2 schematically shows a cross section view of a device unit of a lateral high-voltage diode (interdigitated). (Prior art) [0050] FIG. 3 schematically shows a cross section view of a device unit of a lateral n-MOST according to [1]. (Prior art) [0051] FIG. 4 schematically shows a top view of the structure in FIG. 3 where at the finger end of interdigitated layout p-type region is connected to the substrate and not used to form the active region of n-MOST. (Prior art) [0052] FIG. 5( a ) schematically shows a cross section view of the Schottky diode in present invention and its circuit symbol. [0053] FIG. 5 ( b ) schematically shows a cross section view of a structure where the p-type region in the voltage sustaining region of the Schottky diode in FIG. 5 ( a ) is directly connected to the substrate. [0054] FIG. 5 ( c ) schematically shows a situation that the edges of metal of the Schottky diode in FIG. 5 ( a ) is connected to a p-type region. [0055] FIG. 6 schematically shows a cross section view of a lateral high-side and a lateral low-side power devices according to [3]. (Prior art) [0056] FIG. 7 schematically shows a cross section view of the device in present invention based on the structure in FIG. 6 that can be used for high-side and low-side Schottky diodes. [0057] FIG. 8 schematically shows the top view of a structure where part(s) of metal-semiconductor contact of the high-side Schottky diode in FIG. 7 is replaced by the active region of an n-MOST. [0058] FIG. 9 ( a ) schematically shows seven Schottky diodes in series connection. [0059] FIG. 9( b ) schematically shows a cross section view of two of Schottky diodes in FIG. 9( a ). [0060] FIG. 10 ( a ) schematically shows a situation that a thin isolation layer is formed between the surface voltage sustaining region and the substrate. [0061] FIG. 10( b ) shows a situation that an isolation region is formed between two surface voltage sustaining regions. [0062] FIG. 10 ( c ) shows a situation that an insulator region is formed between two regions of different conductivity types located within one surface voltage sustaining region. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0063] FIG. 2 shows a bipolar diode using the technology in [1]. The top part of the figure shows the circuit symbol of the diode. The part under the circuit symbol shows the cross section view of the diode structure. In a region under the surface of the p − -type substrate 001 , there is a surface voltage sustaining region from the cathode K to the anode A, which is composed of the n-type semiconductor 002 of the buried layer, the n-type layer 006 on top and the p-type semiconductor 003 in the middle. When the applied reverse voltage across the two electrodes, A and K, approaches the breakdown voltage .regions in n + -region 004 and p + -region 005 are not fully depleted. However, region 002 is fully depleted and the flux density per area produced by region 002 varies from 2 qD 0 starting from the rightmost part to qD 0 , at the leftmost part. Region 003 is also fully depleted, providing a uniformed negative electric flux density of around 2 qD 0 . Besides, region 006 is also fully depleted, providing a positive electric flux density of around 1 qD 0 . Where qD 0 =ε s ε c , ε s is the permittivity of the semiconductor, q is the electron charge, and E c is the critical electric field of breakdown. Said density is defined as the average value in a region with its dimension much smaller than that of the depletion width of a one-sided abrupt parallel-plane junction formed by the same substrate under its breakdown voltage, and much larger than the thickness of the region. [0064] FIG. 3 shows an application of implementing lateral power MOST by using the structure of the surface voltage sustaining shown in FIG. 2 . In this figure, S, G, and D stand for the source electrode, the gate electrode and the drain electrode of the n-MOST, respectively. Electrode S is contacted to the source n + -type region 008 and source-body contact region (p + -type region 005 ), via an ohmic contact (the solid bold line). Electrode G is connected to the conductive region of the gate 102 ; gate insulator layer 101 is formed under the conductive region of the gate 102 ; the conductive region of the gate 102 covers part of surface of 008 , part of the surface of 001 and the surface of a narrow n-type region 010 . The voltage sustaining region 006 is connected to 002 via 010 underneath the gate, because they are drift regions at an “on” state, and with this connection they are channels through which electrons can reach to the drain electrode D. [0065] All devices in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 and in present invention are lateral devices (also called as surface devices), belonging to interdigitated configuration. FIG. 4 shows a top view of the structure in FIG. 3 . The shadow region represents the contact region of electrodes S, G and D. It should be noted that no n-type region is formed at the finger end so that a p-type region 003 is connected to the substrate here. Of course, such a connection can also be formed via some finger edges of interdigitated layout instead of at finger end. Besides, no such a connection is also allowed, in that case, the on/off speed may be reduced a little. [0066] In this invention, in order to implement a Schottky diode by using the structure in FIG. 2 , a method is provided as illustrated in FIG. 5 ( a ). The top part of the figure is the circuit symbol of the device. The part under the symbol shows the cross section view of the device structure. [0067] In FIG. 5 ( a ), symbol M represents the metal in the metal-semiconductor contact of the Schottky diode. The metal is the same with that used in a common Schottky diode. It can even be formed by the metal used for electrode, for instance, aluminium. However, the contact should not be an ohmic contact. That means the concentration of the donor in the n-type region in contact with the metal on top should be low enough instead of a heavily doped one. P-type region 003 in this figure can be connected to the substrate 001 via some parts of interdigitated layout and also can be connected to the substrate at the finger ends of interdigitated layout as shown in FIG. 4 . In addition, the p-type region 003 can be formed as shown in FIG. 5( a ) and also can be formed as shown in FIG. 5( b ). As shown in FIG. 5( b ), region 010 is not connected to region 002 . [0068] Under a reverse bias, high electric field may occur at the edge of metal M. For this, p-type region 007 and 009 can be formed at the edges of the metal as shown in FIG. 5 ( c ). [0069] FIG. 5 shows an example of implementing Schottky diode by using a p − -type substrate. By using the method in [2] to realize high-side and low-side voltage sustaining structures, it should also not be difficult to implement low-side high-voltage Schottky diode and high-side high-voltage Schottky diode by the methods illustrated in FIG. 5 . The methods of how to implement high-side and low-side Schottky diodes D 2 and D 1 by using an n″-type substrate are presented as follows. [0070] FIG. 6 shows the cross section view of high-side and low-side n-MOST according to Ref. [3]. The labels H and L represent high-side and low-side, respectively. Underneath the high-side and low-side gates G H and G L , there are gate isolation layers 104 and 103 , respectively. In this figure, n″-type region 020 is the substrate; p-type regions 021 and 025 are low-side and high-side surface voltage sustaining regions of a second conductivity type in contact with the substrate, respectively. Where n-type regions 022 and 026 are the drift regions of the two voltage sustaining regions; p-type regions 023 and 027 are the impurity compensation regions in top regions of the low-side and high-side voltage sustaining regions, respectively. n + -type regions 030 and 032 are source regions of low-side and high-side MOST, and p + -type regions 031 and 033 are contact regions of the source-body regions of low-side and high-side n-MOST, respectively. [0071] The block of dashed-dot line in FIG. 6 shows an isolation region between the two floating regions connected to the two different voltage sustaining region, respectively. This isolation region is for preventing the carrier flows between the high side and the low side device. [0072] It is easy to realize high-side and low-side Schottky diodes based on the voltage sustaining structure in FIG. 6 as shown in FIG. 7 . In FIG. 7 , the Schottky junctions are formed by the metal M on n-type region 022 , and metal M on n-type region 026 , respectively. In this figure, the metal M on the left side is also contacted to the p-type region 023 and p-type region 031 and the metal M on the right side is also contacted to the p-type region 027 and p-type region 033 . In this way, not only Schottky diodes are formed, but also p-type region in the most surface portion is connected to the p-type region which sustains the largest voltage, which is a negative value, and thereby the additional connection at the finger end of interdigitated layout shown in FIG. 4 is saved. [0073] The block of dashed-dot line in FIG. 7 shows an isolation region between the two floating regions connected to the two different voltage sustaining region, respectively, which has the same function as that in FIG. 6 . In the following Figures, such isolation region is always necessary and the illustration of which will not state repeatedly. [0074] Another advantage by using the above method is that Schottky diode and lateral power MOST can be realized in different parts in a same interdigitated layout. FIG. 8 shows the top view of arrangement of parts. The parts of shaded regions on the right side are the source electrode S H , the gate electrode G H of the high-side n-MOST, and the anode of the Schottky diode A, where A is also a metal M for forming Schottky junction. The part of shaded regions on the left side is the drain electrode D H of high-side n-MOST, which is also the cathode K of the Schottky diode. [0075] The on-resistance of a power MOST in FIG. 6 is composed of three parts: 1) the on-resistance of drift region 022 or the on-resistance of drift region 026 , 2) the on-resistance of the active region of MOST, namely the on-resistance of the inversion layer under the gate G L or G H , and 3) the spreading resistance from the end of the gate close to the drift region to the drift region. In a high-voltage MOST, the first term is much larger than the other terms. Therefore, in the direction perpendicular to the paper, if the width of the gate is smaller than the total width of interdigitated layout, say, half of the total width, then, the total on-resistance will not be much changed. On the other hand, although the on-resistance of a Schottky diode also includes the resistance of the drift region and the spreading resistance, the resistance of the drift region plays a major role. Also, note that Schottky diode is only turned-on when the power MOST is turned-off. Therefore, the on-resistance should not be much increased even though the Schottky diode and the MOST share one drift region. By using this method, the chip area can be saved, leading to a reduction of fabrication cost. [0076] If the current density is too high, said above Schottky diode may show bipolar effect, which can be illustrated by FIG. 7 . When the electron current density in the Schottky diode is too high, a voltage drop developed along the drift region 022 or region 026 can make the potential of the drift region at a place close to K lower than that potential of the p-type region underneath the drift region or of the p-type region above the drift region, then, the p-n junction is forward biased. When the forward bias reaches a certain level, then the p-n junction can inject minority carrier. Furthermore, since the buried layer 021 or 025 to the substrate is reverse biased and thereupon acts as a collector junction, and thus parasitic bipolar transistor effect can be formed. Assuming that the voltage dropped on the metal-semiconductor contact of Schottky diode is 0.4V, and voltage dropped on the forward p-n junction is 0.7V, the allowable voltage dropped on the drift region is only 0.3V. [0077] In order to avoid bipolar effect stated above, a method of implementing many sectional Schottky diodes and making them in series connection is provided in this invention. The method is to divide a voltage sustaining region into two or more sections with each section having a comparatively short distance and maintaining the requirement of the impurity density distribution as a whole for a voltage sustaining region. The voltage to be sustained can still be very high. Besides, be eliminated. [0078] The method of such a division is schematically shown in FIG. 9 . FIG. 9 ( a ) shows the circuit symbol of seven diodes in series connection. FIG. 9 ( b ) shows the cross section view of two neighbouring sections of Schottky diode in the second voltage sustaining region. Section 1 locates in the portion having the largest voltage under the reverse voltage. In this figure, it is assumed that both sections have a uniformed impurity density. In the right section, the impurity densities of region 039 , 038 , 037 are 1D 0 , 1.8D 0 and 1.6D 0 , respectively, thus leading to an effective impurity density of 0.8D 0 of a second conductivity type in the section. In the left section, the impurity densities of region 035 , 034 , 029 are 1D 0 , 1.8D 0 and 1.4D 0 , respectively, thus leading to an effective impurity density of 0.6D 0 of a second conductivity type in the section. [0079] In order to achieve good isolation between two voltage sustaining regions, metal M on the left side of this figure can be extended onto a comparatively thick isolation layer I 1 (e.g. by forming a field oxide layer there), and further be extended onto a comparatively thin isolation layer I 2 (e.g. by forming a gate oxide). The comparatively thin isolation layer forms a capacitor between the metal M on the left and the p-type region 037 , making the potential of the left side of p-type region 037 close to that of p-type region 031 , and thus leading to a good isolation. [0080] Note that such method of isolation can also be applied to FIG. 6 , FIG. 7 or whatever an isolation of carrier flow is needed. [0081] Actually, since the isolation region between two neighbouring sections can also sustain a certain voltage, it is not necessary that the impurity density distribution of the sections meets exactly the overall requirement of each voltage sustaining region. For example, the impurity densities of region 029 and 037 are both equal to 1.8D 0 ; the impurity densities of region 034 and 038 are both equal to 1.81) 6 and the impurity densities of region 035 and 039 are both equal to 1D 0 . Each diode can sustain 90V and seven of them can sustain 630V. Although in comparison with one Schottky diode sustaining 630V, more forward voltage are dropped on the six metal-semiconductor contacts (each about 0.4V), the minority carrier effect is eliminated. [0082] As the lateral high reverse voltage Schottky diode in this invention is only related to the surface voltage sustaining region, it has been described in [3] that the lateral devices are not affected if a thin insulator layer is formed between the surface voltage sustaining region and the substrate. The structure is shown in FIG. 10 ( a ), where the layer I, 041 , is the thin insulator layer, which may be an oxide layer or other insulators. There is an additional advantage by using the insulator layer, that is, the parasitic bipolar effect that occurs between the device and the substrate can be avoided. In this figure, n-type regions 024 and 028 are contact regions used for connection to drift region in the high-side and low-side devices, respectively. [0083] Also, as described in [3], the properties of the voltage sustaining regions are not affected when an insulator layer is inserted between them. On the contrary, it makes isolation be better. FIG. 10 ( b ) shows one structure, where layer 042 is the insulator region. FIG. 10 ( c ) schematically shows another structure, where thin insulator layers are inserted between semiconductor layers of different conductivity types, namely, layers 043 , 044 , 045 and 046 . In this situation, above mentioned bipolar effect caused by the forward biased p-n junction not occurs at all.

High-side and low-side surface voltage sustaining regions is produced by utilizing optimum surface variation lateral doping. Schottky junctions are formed by depositing metal M on an n-type region having the lowest potential, taking M as the anode A L or A H of the Schottky diode, and ohmic contact is formed at the portion having the highest potential, which is taken as the cathode K L or K H of the Schottky diode. Where said potentials refer to a reverse bias is applied to the Schottky diode. A small isolation region is formed between two surface voltage sustaining regions. Each voltage sustaining region can be divided into several sections. Isolation region are inserted between neighbouring sections. A Schottky diode is formed in each section. Schottky diode of each section is connected to each other in series. A lateral Schottky diode and an n-MOST can be formed within a single voltage sustaining region. The source region is connected to the anode of the Schottky junction directly and the drain region is connected to the cathode of the Schottky junction directly.

RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is divided from application No. 09/601,955, which is the national stage of international application no. PCT/AU99/00067 claiming priority from Australian application no. PP1768 filed 12 Feb. 1998 whose content is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to thermoplastic injection molding and in particular to the automation of the die setter's role in the setting of parameters of injection molding machines. The invention may also be applicable to reactive injection molding. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Injection molding is one of the most important and efficient manufacturing techniques for polymeric materials, with the capability to mass produce high value added products, such as the compact disc. Injection molding can be used for molding other materials, such as thermoset plastics, ceramics and metal powders. The process in its present form was developed in the mid 1950s, when the first reciprocating screw machines became available. Material, machine and process variations are important in this complex multi-variable process. There are three interacting domains for research and development: 1) polymeric material technology: introduction of new and improved materials; 2) machine technology: development of machine capability; and 3) processing technology: analysis of the complex interactions of machine and process parameters. As improved product quality and enhanced engineering properties are required of polymeric materials, the injection molding process has become increasingly complex: as service properties increase material processability tends to decrease. [0004] Thermoplastics can be classified as bulk or engineering materials. Engineering materials are typically more difficult to process, and more expensive, and therefore their processing would benefit the most from automated molding optimization (AMO). Injection molding is a batch operation, so machine set-up ultimately affects productivity. [0005] Any molding operation should aim to manufacture component products to a specific quality level, in the shortest time, in a repeatable and fully automatic cycle. Injection molding machines usually provide velocity control and pressure control, that is, control of the velocity of the injection screw when filling the part and control of the pressure exerted by injection screw when packing/holding the part, respectively. The following description assumes the use of a modern injection molding machine, after circa 1980, with velocity control of the mold filling and pressure control of the packing/holding stages. [0006] The typical injection molding cycle is as follows: 1) Plasticisation Stage: plasticisation occurs as the screw rotates, pressure develops against the ‘closed-off’ nozzle and the screw moves backwards (‘reciprocates’) to accumulate a fresh shot (the molten polymer in front the screw), ready for injection of melt in front of the screw tip. Back pressure determines the amount of work done on the polymer melt during plasticisation. Polymer melt is forced through the screw non-return valve. Material is fed to the screw by gravity from a hopper. The polymeric material may require conditioning, especially in the case of engineering thermoplastics, to ensure melt homogeneity and therefore that the melt has consistent flow characteristics. 2) Injection/Filling Stage: the empty mold is closed, and a ‘shot’ of polymer melt is ready in the injection unit, in front of the screw. Injection/filling occurs, polymer melt is forced though the nozzle, runner, gate and into the mold cavity. The screw non-return valve closes and prevents back-flow of polymer melt. In this, the mold filling part of the injection molding cycle, high pressures of the order of 100 MPa are often required to achieve the required injection velocity. 3) Packing/Compression Stage: a packing pressure occurs at a specified VP or ‘switch-over’ point. This is the velocity control to pressure control transfer point, i.e. the point at which the injection molding machine switches from velocity control to pressure control. ‘Switch-over’ should preferably occur when the mold cavity is approximately full, to promote efficient packing. The switch-over from injection to packing is typically initiated by screw position. Switch-over can be initiated by pressure, i.e. hydraulic, nozzle melt injection pressures or cavity melt pressure parameters measured from the machine. The end of this stage is referred to as ‘pack time’ or ‘packing time’. 4) Holding Stage: a second stage pressure occurs after the initial packing pressure and is necessary during the early stages of the cooling of the molded part to counteract polymer contraction. It is required until the mold gate freezes; the injection pressure can then be released. This phase compensates for material shrinkage, by forcing more material into the mold. Typical industrial machine settings use one secondary pressure, combining the packing and holding phases, to allow for easier machine set-up. It has been shown that under packing results in premature shrinkage, which may lead to dimensional variation and sink marks. Over packing may cause premature opening of the tool (i.e. the die or mold of the component(s) to be manufactured) in a phenomenon known as flashing, difficulties in part removal (sticking) and excessive residual stresses resulting in warpage. Analysis of the packing phase is therefore an essential step in predicting the final product quality. The portion of filling after switch-over can be more important than the velocity controlled primary injection stage. The end of this stage is known as ‘hold time’ or ‘holding time’. 5) Cooling Stage: This phase starts as soon as the polymer melt is injected into the cavity. The polymer melt begins to solidify when in contact with the cavity surface. Estimating cooling time is becoming increasingly important, especially when large numbers of components are being molded. In order to calculate cooling time, component ejection temperature should be known. Cooling an injection molded product uniformly may mean cooling the mold at different rates, in different areas. The aim is to cool the product as quickly as possible, while ensuring that faults such as poor surface appearance and changes in physical properties are not encountered. The aims for a cooling system are: (i) minimum cooling time, (ii) even cooling on part surfaces, and (iii) balanced cooling between a core and a cavity part of a two-plate tool system. Tool temperature control is required to maintain a temperature differential ΔT between the tool and the polymer melt. For example, a typical polyoxymethylene melt temperature is 215° C., tool temperature is 70° C., and hence ΔT=145° C. Adverse effects to product quality must be expected for no or poor temperature control. The cooling phase enables the polymer melt to solidify in the impression, owing to the heat transfer from the molded product to the tool. The tool temperature influences the rate at which heat is transferred from the polymer melt to the tool. The differences in heat transfer rate influence polymer melt shrinkage, which in turn influences product density. This effect influences product weight, dimensions, micro-structure and surface finish. The tool cavity surface temperature is critical to the processing and quality of injection molded components. Each part of the product should be cooled at the same rate, which often means that non-uniform cooling must be applied to the tool. Thus, for example, cool water should be fed into the inner parts of the tool cooling system (particularly in the area of the gate) and warmer water should be fed into the outer parts. This technique is essential when molding flat components to close tolerances, or large components that include long melt flow lengths from the gating position. Tool design must thus preferably incorporate adequate temperature control zones (flow ways), to provide the desired tool temperature. Tool temperature control zones commonly use water for temperatures up to 100° C., above which oil or electrical heating is used. [0012] Injection molding is one of the most sophisticated polymer processing operations, with machine costs typically ranging from US$50,000 to well over US$1,000,000 and tool costs ranging from $10,000 to well over $100,000. The vital operation of tool set-up is often not given the attention it deserves. If a machine is poorly set-up, then this will affect the cost of production, through cycle time and part rejection rates. Machine set-up is still regarded as a black art, reliant on the experience of a manual die setter (i.e. the person responsible for setting parameters on the injection molding machine to achieve acceptable quality production). In a typical injection molding manufacturing facility machine set-up is often overlooked with the requirement to ‘get parts out the door’. In this rush machine set-up is often done with inconsistent strategies as different die setters have their own personal views as to what constitutes an optimal set-up. Manufacturing facilities typically have a high staff turn-over on the shop floor, and so training and maintaining an adequate level of experience is also a high cost. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0013] An object of the present invention is to provide substantially automated optimization of at least a part of the injection molding set-up process. It is a further object of the present invention to provide more consistent machine set-up in an automated manner throughout a manufacturing facility. [0014] The present invention provides a method for the automated setting-up of an injection molding machine, said machine for manufacturing injection molded parts and including an injection screw and a configurable injection velocity, comprising the steps of: (1) manufacturing one of more parts with the machine; (2) determining an injection pressure profile by measuring injection pressure as a function of elapsed injection time with the machine configured with a substantially constant, desired injection velocity; (3) measuring injection velocity as a function of elapsed injection time and determining a profile of the measured injection velocity; (4) defining a mean pressure profile from the pressure profile in a regime of substantially constant measured injection velocity profile; (5) adjusting the velocity profile over at least a portion of an injection velocity phase in response to the pressure profile to reduce differences between the pressure profile and the mean pressure profile, thereby tending to lessen irregularities in the pressure profile. [0020] In a particular embodiment, step (5) is performed only in the regime. [0021] Steps (1) and (2) may be repeated a plurality of times to obtain a plurality of measurements of injection pressure profile and the injection pressure profile is determined from a mean of the measurements. [0022] In one embodiment, steps (1) to (5) are repeated a plurality of times, thereby progressively refining the velocity profile. [0023] Thus, the velocity profile can be progressively adjusted to reduce or eliminate irregularities in the pressure profile. The step of adjusting the velocity profile may be repeated to further reduce such irregularities, to whatever tolerance is required. [0024] Step (5) may comprise increasing the injection velocity where the pressure profile is less than the mean pressure profile, and decreasing the injection velocity where the pressure profile is greater than the mean pressure profile. [0025] In one embodiment, the mean pressure profile is linear. [0026] Preferably the pressure profile is in the form of a derivative pressure profile, obtained by differentiating the pressure profile with respect to time. [0027] Thus, the method is preferably performed with the time derivative of the pressure, rather than the pressure itself. [0028] The method may include determining a relationship between the injection velocity and the pressure profile by perturbing the injection velocity about a predetermined velocity. [0029] The relationship may includes compensation for melt viscosity changes. In one embodiment, the viscosity changes include viscosity changes owing to melt pressure and temperature changes. [0030] Thus, the response of the pressure profile to changes to the injection velocity can be determined by performing test injections over a narrow range of injection velocities. [0031] The perturbation of the injection velocity may be by predetermined amounts, and more preferably the perturbation of the injection velocity is by ±10% and/or ±20%. [0032] The pressure profile may be derived from hydraulic injection pressure or from melt flow pressure. [0033] The method may include determining a viscosity model by performing a material test of the injection melt material. [0034] Thus, for non-Newtonian plastics (in reality all plastics) the prediction of the response of the pressure profile to changes in the velocity profile can be improved if the viscosity is first measured. [0035] The present invention further provides a method for the automated setting-up of an injection molding machine, the machine for manufacturing injection molded parts and including an injection screw and a configurable injection velocity, the screw having a displacement, including the steps of: (1) manufacturing one or more parts with the machine; (2) defining as a first pressure the end of velocity control phase pressure and as a second pressure the holding time pressure; (3) defining a linear relationship between packing/holding pressure and time consistent with the first pressure and the second pressure, between the first pressure and the second pressure; (4) defining the packing time as a time of maximum difference between measured melt pressure and the linear relationship, or as the switchover point if measured melt pressure increases after the switchover point; (5) determining a first screw displacement being the minimum displacement of the screw before the packing time within a packing/holding phase and a second screw displacement being the displacement of the screw at the packing time; and (6) calculating the kickback from the difference between the first and second screw displacements, thereby allowing a determination of the kickback from measurements of the screw displacement at packing time. [0042] Thus, maximum kickback-or the negative or backward movement of the screw at the velocity to pressure transfer point-may be determined from the screw displacement at packing time. [0043] The present invention still further provides a method for the automated setting-up of an injection molding machine, the machine including an injection screw, including the steps of: (1) setting an initial packing/holding pressure to a default low pressure; (2) performing at least a partial injection cycle; (3) determining kickback from changes in screw displacement during the at least partial injection cycle; (4) incrementing the initial packing/holding pressure; and (5) repeating steps (3) and (4) if kickback is unacceptably high until kickback is reduced to a predetermined acceptable level, or initial packing/holding pressure reaches maximum machine pressure. [0049] In one embodiment, the initial packing/holding pressure is between 5% and 25% of end of velocity control phase pressure, and a substantially uniform packing pressure is used, and more preferably the initial packing/holding pressure is approximately 10% of end of velocity control phase pressure. [0050] The initial packing/holding pressure may be incremented by between 2% and 25% of the end of velocity control phase pressure, and more preferably the initial packing/holding pressure is incremented by approximately 5% of the end of velocity control phase pressure. [0051] In one particular embodiment, the method includes measuring kickback for a plurality of initial packing/holding pressures, predicting an optimum initial packing/holding pressure from the measurements to minimize kickback, and incrementing the initial packing/holding pressure to the optimum initial packing/holding pressure. [0052] In another aspect the present invention provides a method for the automated setting-up of an injection molding machine, the machine for manufacturing injection molded parts and including an injection screw, including the steps of: (1) defining a holding time equal to a predetermined default value; (2) performing at least a partial injection cycle; (3) measuring a pressure stroke being the change in displacement of the screw between packing time and the holding time; (4) incrementing the holding time; (5) repeating steps (3) and (4) until the pressure stroke stabilizes or a part so produced is acceptable; (6) defining a linear relationship between screw displacement and time consistent with screw displacement at the packing time and at the holding time, between the packing time and the holding time; (7) defining a gate freeze time as a time of maximum difference between the screw displacement and the linear relationship, thereby providing a value for the gate freeze time from measurements of the screw displacement. [0060] The method may include the additional steps of: (8) repeating steps (6) and (7), and defining an initial solidification time between the packing time and the gate freeze time; (9) repeating steps (6) and (7), and defining an intermediate solidification time between the packing time and the initial solidification time; and (10) determining an intermediate pressure from the ratio of the screw displacements at the intermediate time and at the gate freeze time, referenced to the packing time. [0064] In one embodiment, the value of the holding time employed in step (6) is greater than that defined in step (1) by a factor of between 1 and 3. [0065] In one embodiment, the predetermined default value is the greater of 2 times injection time and one second. [0066] The stabilization may occur when the pressure stroke changes by less than a predetermined tolerance between successive measurements. [0067] In one embodiment, the holding time is incremented in step (4) by between 5% and 50%, and more preferably by approximately 20%. [0068] In one embodiment the predetermined tolerance is between 2% and 10%, and may be approximately 5%. [0069] In the above aspects of the present invention, nozzle melt pressure, injection cylinder hydraulic pressure, forward propelling force applied to the screw, or any other measure proportional to or equal to the nozzle melt pressure may be used as a measure of, in place of, or to determine, injection pressure. [0070] The injection cylinder hydraulic pressure may be used as a measure of or to determine the injection pressure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING [0071] In order that the invention may be more clearly ascertained, preferred embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: [0072] FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the automated machine optimization method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; [0073] FIG. 2 is a graph illustrating schematically the influence of velocity and velocity stroke on the filling process; and [0074] FIG. 3 depicts a typical pressure profile resulting from a pressure profiling method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0075] An Automated Molding Optimization (or AMO) method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is used in setting up the injection/filling velocity and packing/holding pressure profiles. Other injection molding machine parameters, including barrel temperatures, mold temperatures, cooling time and screw rotational velocity are presently the responsibility of the die setter. [0076] The approach of AMO's velocity optimization is to profile regarding an inferred mold geometry, derived from the pressure differential. Pressure phase optimization is used to profile regarding an inferred polymer solidification, derived for a precise measurement of screw displacement. AMO determines machine and material characteristics in-line from the machine without the need for user interaction, resulting in optimized profiles that are ‘in-phase’ with the machine dynamics, material and mold geometry. [0077] FIG. 1 is a flow chart summarizing the role of the AMO method according to a preferred embodiment. In FIG. 1 , the various inputs are Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) model 10 , Machine Information 12 , Material Information 14 , Processing Conditions 16 a and 16 b, and Estimates of Velocity and Velocity Stroke 18 . The inputs are employed in an optimization stage (MF/OPTIM or “Moldflow (TM) Optimization”). Feedback on the design of the part is indicated with a dashed line 20 . [0078] The preferred embodiment AMO method has six process optimization phases: Velocity and velocity stroke, based on a single-step constant velocity; Injection/Filling Velocity profiling; Velocity defect elimination; Packing pressure magnitude determination; Gate freeze determination and pressure profiling; Pressure phase defect elimination. [0085] In general, if the screw gets too close to bottoming out, the screw charge profile is shifted back. This takes two shots, since the first may not plasticate to the new position. If the cycle time is too long AMO will ignore the cycle. [0086] These six phases are summarized as follows: 1) Determination of velocity stroke and velocity settings: This phase assumes that a substantially uniform velocity profile is used, and that the tool can be adequately filled using such a profile. The rules used within this phase converge on settings that produce a ‘good part’, if a poor estimate of the velocity stroke or volume is input. A ‘critical fill’ velocity stroke is determined, to ensure that no packing occurs during the velocity controlled injection stage. The critical fill is the point at which the part is only just filled. Sometimes the polymer within the cavity is overfilled, but does not show any visible defects. The initial velocity profile is generated from: i) an estimate of the velocity stroke, entered directly or as a part volume, and ii) velocity, typically 50% of the machine's maximum capability. The charge stroke is initially set equal to approximately 1.1×velocity stroke. This phase requires user feedback after each part manufactured. At this stage, other velocity related and pressure phase related defects are ignored. 2) The first procedure in this phase is to determine an estimate of the relationship between injection velocity and the mean differential of the nozzle melt pressure profile. The nozzle melt pressure may be derived from hydraulic injection pressure multiplied by a screw intensification ratio. The injection velocity is perturbed about the velocity from phase 1, by predefined percentages, for example ±10%, ±20%. The next phase is to determine the nozzle pressure profile, for stable processing conditions, obtained using a uniform velocity profile, and then differentiate the profile. Machine response time is determined from the velocity profile. Using the pressure differential information during the velocity stage an optimized velocity profile is obtained. The profile is generated in two stages runner and cavity, and combined using a response check. 3) This phase involves velocity related defect elimination. The main objective is to vary the velocity profile to achieve a part with no velocity related defects. Velocity related defects are corrected. Defects include jetting, delamination, gloss marks, burn marks, weld lines, flash etc. Comment: The user simply selects the defect. In the case of conflicting defects, it is required to converge on a compromise point. One part (good quality immediately) is the minimum, the maximum depends on the user's assessment. Three parts is often typical. 4) This phase determines a critical packing pressure, i.e. a pressure level that will help to eliminate back flow of material, out of the cavity. The approach is to start low and increase the pressure until the desired level is reached. 5) This phase determines an inferred gate freeze, initial solidification and intermediate times. The times are determined by precisely monitoring the screw movement with a uniform pressure profile applied. Gate freeze time and initial solidification time is found, and the packing/holding profile is generated. This process does not require the weighing of any molded parts. We infer the cavity pressure from non-cavity sensors, specifically hydraulic pressure and screw movement. 6) This phase involves pressure related defect elimination. The main objective is to vary the pressure profile to achieve a part with no pressure related defects. Pressure related defects are assessed. These are flash, sink, warpage, and dimensional tolerance (too large/too small). [0093] Phases 1 to 3 are initiated with zero or a very low packing pressure, typically only for 1 second. [0094] These six phases are described in more detail as follows. [0095] Phase 1: [0096] This phase comprises the determination of velocity stroke and velocity settings. A constant velocity profile that results in a full part is found. All defects (apart from flash and short shot) are ignored. [0097] The pressure profile is initially set to substantially zero. [0098] Phase 1.1: User Estimation [0099] The user is asked to provide an estimate of the part volume. The volume should be easily obtained from the die maker. The volume is divided by the area of the screw to give a velocity stroke; alternatively, the die setter can estimate the velocity stroke directly. An accurate estimate of part volume may also be obtained from a Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) model. [0100] The estimated velocity stroke is compared with the maximum stroke of the machine to ensure the machine is a reasonable size for the part being made. The following checks are made: charge stroke>maximum stroke velocity stroke>90% maximum stroke velocity stroke<5% maximum stroke [0104] The user also estimates the screw velocity. The velocity could be estimated by a 2D flow analysis, but at present this is seen as unwarranted, as the user would have to enter more information (e.g. material information, length of dominant flow path). Further, the user can be expected to have a reasonable idea of the correct velocity to use from their experience. [0105] A flat filling profile is generated from these estimates; the VP point is configurable as a percentage of the estimated velocity stroke (default is 20%). [0106] Phase 1.2: Optimization of Estimation [0107] This phase aims to refine the user's estimate of the stroke so that a full (not flashed or short) part is made. Throughout the steps below configurable adjustment parameters are used. After each change to the set points a configurable number of parts are made to try to ensure steady state conditions. [0108] The method of this phase was developed from the discovery of a relationship between injection velocity and velocity stroke, and the optimization of the material fill. This relationship is depicted schematically in FIG. 2 . [0109] The following steps summarize this phase: 1. A part is made, and feedback about the part quality is requested from the user. 2. If the part is short, the stroke is increased by moving the VP changeover point. 3. If the part is flashed, the stroke is decreased by moving the VP changeover point. 4. If the part is both short and flashed, the user is asked for more feedback: if the user thinks that there is melt freeze-off, the velocity is increased and the stroke reduced, otherwise the opposite occurs. 5. If the part is full, this phase is complete. 6. A part is made with the new set-points, but this time the user has the opportunity to specify that no improvement occurred. If the user specifies ‘No Improvement’, the following steps 7 to 9 are followed. 7. If the previous response was ‘short’, then velocity and stroke are increased. This allows for the short to have been caused by melt freeze off. 8. If the previous response was flash, then velocity and stroke are decreased 9. If the previous response was flash and short, the velocity is decreased and the stroke increased. The changes are made twice to make up for the previous (now known to be incorrect) modifications. 10. If the user does not specify ‘No improvement’, but instead repeats the previous quality assessment, then the previous set-point modifications are repeated. 11. If the user specifies short shot when previously specifying flash (or vice versa), the adjustment factor is halved to allow the set-points to converge. A configurable minimum adjustment factor is used to prevent adjustments becoming insignificant. 12. If velocity stroke increases cause the VP changeover point to be less than a configurable percentage of the velocity stroke, the charge stroke is increased before the next part is made. 13. When the charge stroke is increased, the next part is ignored, since the injection molding machine may have finished plasticating to the now incorrect position. 14. If no improvement is selected on three consecutive occasions, the procedure halts and the user asked to modify melt/mold temperatures. [0124] Phase 1.3: Obtaining Critical Fill [0125] After phase 1.2 is complete, a full part exists. However, the part may be overfilled, which is often the cause of internal stresses. It will also require an overly high packing/holding pressure to eliminate kickback. This phase attempts to eliminate this problem by obtaining a state of ‘critical fill’. [0126] Firstly, the stroke is reduced, as though the user had indicated flash. This is repeated each time the user indicates a full part. Eventually, a point is reached where the stroke is small enough to cause a short shot to occur. When the user indicates short shot, the stroke is increased (it should be noted that the change in stroke is smaller than previously due to convergence). When the part regains ‘fullness’, critical fill has been achieved. [0127] Phase 2: Injection/Filling Velocity Profiling [0128] This stage puts ‘steps’ into the velocity profile. These steps help maintain a constant flow front velocity, which in turn minimizes internal stresses in the molded part. Weightings are imposed on the raw velocity profile found to ensure it slows at the end of fill, which is known to improve burn marks, and at the runner (to prevent jetting). [0129] This phase is employed after phase 1, and if the velocity profile is of constant velocity and pressure (nozzle or hydraulic) and displacement transducer data are filtered and available. [0130] It is assumed that the displacement at which inflection points in the pressure curve are located does not change significantly when the velocity is altered. [0131] Prior to calculating the velocity profile, the pressure information from a number of parts is stored and then averaged, in an attempt to smooth out deviations between cycles. A number of parts may also be ignored before this averaging takes place to achieve steady state conditions; both the number of parts to average and the number to ignore are configurable, with defaults of 1 and 0 respectively. [0132] Phase 2.1: Determination of Material Properties [0133] If AMO is to profile the velocity control, then it is necessary to know how large to make the steps. Thus, it is necessary to determine the relationship between the velocity set-point and the magnitude of dp/dt. For example, if dp/dt must be increased by 10%, this relationship is required in order to determine how high the velocity step should be. [0134] The following steps are taken to determine the relationship between velocity and dp/dt: 1. The percentage velocity deviations are read from the configuration file; 2. The velocity is altered, a part is made, and the mean magnitude of the dp/dt response (during velocity control) is recorded; 3. If more experiments are required, the velocity is altered according to the next percentage in the configuration file, and step 2 is repeated. If not, the velocity is reset to the user's estimate, and step 2 is repeated one last time. 4. Linear regression is used to find an equation relating the mean dp/dt values recorded to the velocity set-points used. [0139] Phase 2.2: Determination of Displacement Induction Time [0140] Recorded data before the induction time should be ignored, since essentially nothing is happening, so it is necessary to determine the displacement induction time, which is a measure of the time required for the screw to commence movement after the data acquisition system receives an injection start signal. [0141] The displacement induction time is found when the displacement data indicates the screw has moved beyond a small threshold distance. The threshold is calculated as a percentage of the charge stroke (e.g. 0.1%); this threshold should be typical of the noise level of displacement transducers. [0142] Phase 2.3: Determination of Pressure Induction Time [0143] Similarly, the pressure induction time is a measure of how long it takes pressure to begin increasing after the data acquisition system receives an injection start signal. This may be longer than the displacement induction time if decompression is used at the end of plasticisation. [0144] The pressure induction time is found when the pressure data indicates the screw has increased above a certain small threshold above the initial pressure (this allows for transducer zero error). The threshold is calculated as the minimum of a percentage (e.g. 0.1%) of the maximum machine pressure and an absolute pressure value (e.g. 0.1 MPa). This threshold approximates the noise level on pressure transducers. [0145] Phase 2.4: Determination of Machine Response Time [0146] The injection molding machine cannot follow steps in the velocity profile if the steps are too short. This minimum time is defined in terms of the machine response time. Hence, it is necessary to determine the machine response time, which is a measure of the time required by the screw to obtain a given velocity. [0147] The response time is simply the time at which the velocity data exceeds 85% of the target velocity. [0148] Phase 2.5: Determination of Pressure Derivative (wrt Time) [0149] As discussed above, it is desirable to keep the flow front velocity reasonably constant by introducing steps into the velocity profile. The size and location of these steps is based upon the dp/dt calculations. The quantity dp/dt provides an indication of the part geometry as seen by the advancing flow front. When dp/dt increases, the flow front is faced with a narrowing in the cross-sectional area of the cavity. [0150] A 33 point Savitsky-Golay smoothing filter is used to smooth the pressure information. The square root of all pressure information is taken. This allows for large dp/dt values increasing at much faster rate when velocity is increased than average dp/dt values. It should be noted that in Phase 1 there is calculated a linear relationship between mean dp/dt and the velocity set-point. The quantity dp/dt is calculated by subtracting the next pressure value by the current pressure value, and dividing by the sampling period. [0151] Phase 2.6: Determination of Gate Time [0152] Knowledge of when the flow front reaches the gate allows the method to have separate velocity profile steps for the runner system. The ‘gate time’ is thus the time at which the flow front reaches the gate. [0153] The gate time is taken as the maximum of the three calculations detailed below. The maximum is used to attempt to ensure that a point away from the initial dp/dt ‘hump’ is found. 1) dp/dt ‘zero time’: Between the induction time and 50% of the injection time, dp/dt is checked to see when it falls below zero. The gate time is the point at which it rises back above zero; 2) dp/dt ‘low time’: the maximum dp/dt between the induction time and 50% of the fill time is found. The mean dp/dt between the time at which this maximum occurs and the end of the fill time is found. Where dp/dt first falls below this mean is the gate time. Note that the low time is always less than the zero time, so this calculation is only made if dp/dt never falls below zero; and 3) Velocity stabilization time: Between 70% of the fill time back to the induction time, a moving average (over a three-point window) of the velocity data is calculated. The gate time falls where the moving average is outside (μ vel ±12σ vel ), where μ vel and σ vel are calculated during an assumed steady state portion of the velocity data (e.g. between 70% and 90% of filling time). In other words, the method looks for the point at which the velocity first becomes stable, with an upper limit of 70% of the filling time imposed. [0157] Phase 2.7: Determination of Stepped dp/dt Profile [0158] As discussed above, it is desirable to keep the flow front velocity reasonably constant by introducing steps into the velocity profile. The steps in the velocity profile should correspond to the cross-sectional area of the cavity, which in turn should have a strong relationship with the stepped dp/dt profile. The stepped dp/dt profile approximates the dp/dt calculations (after the gate time) as a series of steps. The number of steps is limited by a configurable limit, and the size of the steps need not depend on the machine response time. [0159] The maximum of dp/dt between the gate time and the end of filling is found. A configurable percentage (e.g. 10%) of the maximum dp/dt value Δ is calculated. Step number n is initialized to 0, and data count indices i and k to the induction time and zero, respectively. Index i is used to store the start position of each step in the dp/dt data, and k is used to iterate through the data within each step. An initial dp/dt value sum is stored for time=i+k. If |sum/k −dp/dt [i+k+1]|>Δ, then the profile step n is set equal to sum/k, n is incremented, i set to i+k, and the method returns to phase 2.4. Otherwise, sum is increased by dp/dt [i+k+1], k is incremented, and the method returns to the start of this phase (2.7) unless k =fill time. The method reaches this stage when k =fill time. The final profile step=sum / k, and any negative profile steps are set to zero. [0160] Phase 2.8: Determination of Stepped Velocity Profile [0161] Stepped velocity profiles can be entered into machine controllers as set-points, and should try to maintain a constant flow front velocity as the polymer moves into the cavity. The velocity profile determined in this section is based on the stepped dp/dt profile determined by the previous phase, and does not take into account machine response time. [0162] From the stepped dp/dt pressure profile, the following parameters are calculated: 1. Mean dp/dt 2. Maximum dp/dt 3. Minimum dp/dt 4. For each step n in the dp/dt profile, the corresponding velocity step, where: velocity n = ( mean ⁢ ⅆ p ⅆ t - ⅆ p ⅆ t ⁢ n ) / ( max ⁢ ⅆ p ⅆ t - min ⁢ ⅆ p ⅆ t ) [0167] This gives the velocity profile scaled about 1, where 1 is the mean velocity (the user's estimate). [0168] Phase 2.9: Determination of Runner Velocity [0169] The runner velocity is the first step in the velocity profile. The runner velocity is chosen using the ratio of the maximum dp/dt between the induction time and the gate time, and the mean pressure of the stepped pressure profile (see Phase 2.7: Determination of Stepped dp/dt Profile). As the ratio increases, the runner velocity decreases; the ratio is limited so that the runner velocity is never less than the mean velocity after the gate. Runner ⁢   ⁢   ⁢ velocity = 1 - 0.1 ⨯ ( max ⁢ ⅆ p ⅆ t / mean ⁢   ⁢ of ⁢   ⁢   ⁢ stepped ⁢   ⁢ pressure ⁢   ⁢ profile ) [0170] Phase 2.10 Determination of End of Fill Velocity [0171] A standard die setters' heuristic is to slow the velocity toward the end of fill. This helps prevent air becoming trapped within the cavity, and therefore helps prevent burn marks. It also helps ensure the part is not overfilled, and allows for a smoother transition into the packing/holding phase. The end of fill velocity is the last step in the velocity profile. The default is the last 10% of fill, though this is configurable. [0172] A ratio of dp/dt during the end of fill segment compared with dp/dt in the 10% of fill immediately prior is calculated. If this ratio is high, the velocity at end of fill will be low, but limited to 50% of the prior velocity. If the ratio is low (i.e. dp/dt decreases at end of fill) the last velocity step is limited to the immediately preceding velocity, i.e. the velocity is not increased at end of fill. [0173] Phase 2.11 Compensating for Response Time [0174] The stepped velocity profile determined in the previous phase assumes the machine has infinitely fast response to changes in the set point. Of course, this is not realistic, and so steps should be lengthened to take the actual response time into account. Steps close together in magnitude are merged since the difference is likely to be overwhelmed by the error in the controller. If such small differences were left in the velocity profile the algorithm would lose credibility. A maximum number of steps are specified since nearly all IMM controllers on the market today are limited in this way. [0175] This phase lengthens the step size of the velocity profile calculated in the previous phase if they are less than the response time calculated in Phase 2.4: Determination of Machine Response Time. Furthermore, steps that are closer together in magnitude than the desired threshold are merged. If at the end of this process there are more steps than allowed, this process is repeated with a larger response time and a larger threshold. [0176] Each step in the velocity profile is merged with the next step, if the length of the step is less than the response time. The steps are merged until the merged step length is greater than or equal to the response time. The resulting step has a velocity corresponding to the weighted velocity of the two steps. For example: newVelocity=(time1×velocity1+time2×velocity2)/(time1+time2) [0177] This process is repeated until all steps have been checked for response time. [0178] If the duration of the last step is too short, it is merged with the second last step. The profile is rescaled to the previous maximum and minimum. This resealing may be limited by a configuration file parameter so that small steps are not blown out of proportion. The resealing also maintains 1 (the user's estimate) as the mean value. The magnitude of each velocity step is compared against the magnitude of the next step. If the difference is less than 10% of the maximum velocity, the steps are merged as described above, and the profile resealing is returned to. The number of steps in the profile is checked. If it is greater than the maximum number allowed, this stage is repeated with a response time 20% longer, and a velocity difference threshold of 20% instead of 10%. [0179] Phase 2.12 Converting Time to Displacement, and Velocity to Physical Units [0180] Most injection molding machine controllers accept velocity profiles in terms of screw displacement (rather than time). Also, the velocity values are currently normalized, and need to be scaled to physical units (e.g. mm/s) before they can be passed to an IMM controller. [0181] A conversion factor, α, is calculated using the relationship found in Phase 1. For each velocity step n: velocity n =user velocity estimate×((velocity n −1)×α+1) [0182] The result is in S.I. units (m/s). [0183] To convert times to displacements, a conversion factor-between the set-point velocity stroke and the number of samples during filling-is calculated. The conversion factor does not have to take into account velocity magnitudes earlier in the profile being different to those used when the part was made, since the velocity step changes should be relative to the flow front position, not the time at which they occurred. [0184] Set the displacement of each step from the charge stroke using the conversion factor: displacements N =charge stroke−conversion factor×step sample number n [0185] Phase 3: Velocity Defect Elimination [0186] At this point, the magnitude of the velocity steps is an arbitrary percentage of the maximum velocity of the machine (although they should be approximately correct relative to each other). As a result, molding defects could occur. This stage attempts to rectify the defects related to the velocity profile by executing heuristics in response to user feedback. [0187] There are two prerequisites: firstly that one part has been made with the velocity profile from phase 2, and secondly that user feedback has been supplied regarding the quality of the part produced. The feedback is one of the following defects: no defect, flash, short shot, weld, burn, jetting, streak, gloss, delamination, and record grooves. It is assumed that changing the average magnitude of the velocity set-point does not effect the position of inflection points in the pressure curve. [0188] The following responses are made to each defect, in making another molding to ensure good quality. 1. Flash: Decrease all velocity steps by a multiplier. 2. Short: Increase all velocity steps by multiplier 3. Weld: Same as short. 4. Burn: The user is asked for more information; is the burn mark near the gate, all over, or near the end of fill. If the burn is all over, decrease all velocity steps. If the burn is near the end of fill, reduce the velocity of the screw at all points in the last 25% of the filling profile. Burn marks near the gate are treated in a similar fashion, except the first 25% of velocity points are altered. 5. Jetting: decrease all velocity points in the first 25% of the velocity profile. 6. Streak marks: as for burn marks, except the user gets a choice of ‘all over’ or ‘end of fill’. 7. Gloss marks: increase the entire velocity profile by a multiplier. 8. Delamination: decrease the entire velocity profile by a multiplier 9. Record Grooves: As for gloss marks. [0198] The rule base fails if the desired action cannot be taken; in this event the user is informed of the situation and given advice on how to solve it (via on-line help). [0199] Phase 4: Obtaining the Correct Packing Pressure [0200] At this point, the injection molding machine is using a default low pressure. The correct level of pressure to use during the pressure control stage that avoids kickback is desired. This stage does this, but does not profile the pressure control set-points, or find the time that pressure control should be maintained. [0201] There are three prerequisites: firstly that Phase 3 has completed successfully, secondly that the maximum packing pressure is known, and thirdly that steady state conditions prevail. [0202] Phase 4.1: Initial Pressure Control Set-points & Velocity Stroke Reduction [0203] The pressure control time is set to twice the injection time (or 1 s, whichever is greater), the pressure level is 5% of the end of fill pressure, and a ‘rectangular’ shape pressure profile is used. [0204] Further, to ensure the melt is not compressed during filling, the velocity stroke is reduced by 2%, in line with current molding practice. [0205] Phase 4.2: Determination of Kickback [0206] Kickback is defined as the distance travelled by the screw in the reverse direction to injection during pressure control after the packing time. This is caused by the pressure control set-point being less than the back pressure exerted by the melt in front of the screw. [0207] It is desirable to eliminate kickback to avoid polymer flowing out of the cavity, which is known to be a cause of sink marks, warpage and other dimensional problems. [0208] The maximum kickback displacement is found by finding the packing time. The kickback is then the distance from the minimum displacement before the packing time to the displacement at the packing time. If the kickback is not negative, it is set to zero. [0209] The first task is to determine the packing time by examining the nozzle melt pressure (or the hydraulic pressure). The equation of a straight line from the pressure at the v/p switchover point time to the pressure at the hold time is calculated, and then the time at the maximum difference between the straight line and the recorded pressure curve is the packing time. [0210] However, a pressure increase after v/p switchover indicates that no kickback has occurred. In this case, the packing time is the v/p switchover point. This does not mean that the packing time is always at the v/p switchover point when no kickback occurs. [0211] Phase 4.3: Kickback Elimination [0212] This procedure is employed where kickback is greater than zero. If there is no kickback, the pressure level is acceptable. [0213] The initial packing/holding pressure is increased by 5% of the end of velocity control phase pressure (or ‘end of fill pressure’). Phase 4.2 is then repeated until the difference between kickback for the current shot and last shot is less than a configurable percentage, or until the maximum machine pressure is reached. [0214] This procedure should not fail, as kickback will only occur if the fill pressure is significantly greater than the packing/holding pressure. Therefore, a suitable packing/holding pressure should be obtainable on this machine. [0215] Phase 5: Estimating Holding Time [0216] The gate pressure control time is determined by means of an end point fit between the ‘pack’ time and the ‘search time’ using data recorded up to the ‘hold time’. [0217] Phase 5.1 Determination of Gate Freeze Time and Holding Time [0218] To this point, the holding time has been taken to be twice the injection time. This is an arbitrary value, and in most cases is too short. The aim of this stage, therefore, is to find a more accurate holding time, as short holding times can result in molding defects, such as sink marks, since the polymer will be able to flow back out of the cavity before solidification occurs. Further, although phase 5 estimates the gate freeze time, the procedure relies on the current holding time being longer than the gate freeze time. An arbitrarily long holding time can not be used since there is a slight risk of tool damage. [0219] The holding time is increased by 50% of its current value each shot, until the forward movement of the screw between the packing time and holding time converges. Convergence is defined as a change of less than 5% in movement from one shot to the next. The current time is chosen (rather than the old time) to allow the gate freeze estimation to be more accurate. Sometimes the screw movement will not converge for a reasonable holding time, since there may be slippage on the check ring valve or the polymer behind the gate (e.g. in the runner system) may continue to compress after the gate has frozen. To prevent the holding time increasing without limit, a maximum of 30 s is used. [0220] Phase 5.2: Pressure Profiling [0221] Pressure profiling is designed to find the initial solidification time ts and gate freeze time tf, and an intermediate time, ti, between these two. Further, the desired pressure Pi at ti is calculated, while the pressure at tf is set to zero, since any pressure applied after gate freeze time will have no effect on part quality after this time. FIG. 3 shows the form of the resulting profile, where the point corresponding to ts is indicated at 30, Pi and ti at 32, tf at 34 and the pressure level determined in the previous stage at 36. [0222] Two prerequisites are that the pressure level and the holding time have been determined. [0223] Profiling the pressure control set-points helps prevent over packing of the part as the polymer in the cavity cools, since the pressure will be applied to a smaller molten area as cooling progresses. The internal stress of the part may also be improved, since a more similar force will be applied to each fraction of the cooling mass. The point at time ti helps to more accurately estimate the cooling rate, since it is unlikely to be linear. The gate freeze time tf is determined using end point fits on the pressure and displacement data. An additional end point fit between the packing time and tf over the displacement data gives ts, and a final end point fit (again using displacement information) between ts and tf gives ti. Pi is determined from the following calculation: Pi = Porig ⁡ ( D ⁢   ⁢ packtime - D ⁢   ⁢ intermediatetime D ⁢   ⁢ packtime - D ⁢   ⁢ freezetime ) where Dpacktime is the screw displacement at the packing time, Dintermediatetime is the screw displacement at ti, Dfreezetime is the screw displacement at tf, and Porig is the pressure found in Phase 4. [0227] If the gate freeze time cannot be found, the original pressure control time is used instead. [0228] Once the packing time is established, the displacement curve is analyzed to determine the gate freeze time. The search time is greater than or equal to the holding time. It is determined by drawing a constant displacement line from the end of recorded data up to 3× (hold time−packing time) +hold time, and also drawing a line extrapolated from the displacement curve between the 75% to 95% time locations (m d ). [0229] The gradient of the resulting end point fit line (m E ) is then compared to m d , and the search time is decreased until m E >k×m d , where 1.3≦k≦3.5 and preferably k=2. [0230] This technique allows a more accurate estimation of the gate freeze time without the actual holding time increasing. [0231] Pack displacement is the distance moved by the ram after the packing time, and the gate freeze time is the maximum difference between the end fit line and the recorded displacement curve. [0232] Phase 6: Removing Packing/Holding Related Defects [0233] After Phase 5 is finished, there is still some possibility of quality defects remaining. However, the defects present should not be related to the velocity control (filling) phase, since these were eliminated in Phase 3. The defects that are related to the pressure control set-points are: Flash Warpage Sink Dimensional Tolerance [0238] A simple rule base is used to eliminate the defects listed in the introduction. The rule base does not alter the shape of the profile-it is simply ‘stretched and squeezed’. This rule base is: Flash: Decrease the magnitude of the profile by 10%. Warpage: Decrease the magnitude of the profile by 5%. Sink: Increase the magnitude of the profile by 5%. Also increase the pressure control time by 5%. Dimensional Tolerance: If the part is too large, decrease the magnitude of the profile by 5%. If the part is too small, increase the magnitude by 5%. [0243] In conclusion, AMO allows process optimization to be performed quickly by molders. The process optimization is ‘in-phase’ with the actual process, i.e. it compensates for specific machine dependent parameters, such as leakage from the check-ring, poor velocity control, utilizing the actual processing conditions. [0244] Thus, AMO provides consistent machine set-up allowing operators with little diesetting experience to optimize machine set-up; reduces the requirement for skilled labour, i.e. de-skills the set-up procedure; provides process optimization throughout molding facilities; provides better integration of mold design and part production, to bring the benefits of simulation upstream into the world of the product designer and to link simulation downstream into the production environment; and provides easier installation on modern velocity controlled injection molding machines. Machine process information is obtained from standard machine transducers. [0245] AMO optimizes velocity and pressure phase profiles. Velocity profiling assists in eliminating flashing, short shots, splay mark/gate blush/molecular stripping, streak marks/flow lines, delamination/flaking, gloss/gloss bands, burning, jetting, sink marks and warpage. Velocity profiling also optimizes process repeatability, injection time and clamp force. [0246] Pressure profiling assists in eliminating flashing, warpage, variation, sink marks and demolding. Pressure profiling optimizes critical dimensions and back flow of polymer. [0247] Thus, AMO allows machine operators with little previous diesetting experience to set-up the injection molding machine in approximately 25 to 40 cycles. AMO may eliminate most molding problems without the need for an experienced die setter. It automates the machine set-up procedure by determining optimum processing conditions by the intelligent interpretation of in-line process measurements. [0248] Modifications may be made to the invention as will be apparent to a person skilled in the art of injection molding and injection molding machine set-up methods. These and other modifications may be made without departing from the ambit of the current invention, the nature which may be ascertained from the foregoing description and the drawings.

A method for the automated setting-up of an injection molding machine, the machine for manufacturing injection molded parts and including an injection screw and a configurable injection velocity, including the steps of: manufacturing one of more parts with the machine; determining an injection pressure profile by measuring injection pressure as a function of elapsed injection time with the machine configured with a substantially constant, desired injection velocity; measuring injection velocity as a function of elapsed injection time and determining a profile of the measured injection velocity; defining a mean pressure profile from the pressure profile in a regime of substantially constant measured injection velocity profile; adjusting the velocity profile over at least a portion of an injection velocity phase in response to the pressure profile to reduce differences between the pressure profile and the mean pressure profile, thereby tending to lessen irregularities in the pressure profile.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/848,761, filed Oct. 2, 2006. The contents of the foregoing application are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND [0002] Cannabinoids isolated from Cannabis sativa have been recognized for centuries as therapeutic agents. For example, they have been utilized in treating analgesia, muscle relaxation, appetite stimulation, and anti-convulsion. Recent studies also indicate their potential therapeutic effects in treating cancer and alleviating the symptoms of chronic inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatism and multiple sclerosis. [0003] The actions of cannabinoids are mediated by at least two types of the cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2 receptors, both of which belong to the G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily. CB1 receptor is predominantly expressed in brain to mediate inhibition of transmitter release and CB2 receptor is primarily expressed in immune cells to modulate immune response. See Matsuda et al., Nature (1990) 346:561 and Munro et al., Nature (1993) 365:61. [0004] Compared to other GPCRs, CB1 receptor is typically expressed at higher levels. In the central nervous system, it is highly expressed in cerebral cortex, hippocampus, basal ganglia, and cerebellum, but has relatively low levels in hypothalamus and spinal cord. See, e.g., Howlett et al., Pharmacol Rev (2002) 54:161. Its functions affect many neurological and psychological phenomena, such as mood, appetite, emesis control, memory, spatial coordination muscle tone, and analgesia. See, e.g., Goutopoulos et al., Pharmacol Ther (2002) 95:103. Other than the central nervous system, it is also present in several peripheral organs, such as gut, heart, lung, uterus, ovary, testis, and tonsils. See, e.g., Galiègue et al., Eur J Biochem (1995) 232:54. [0005] CB2 receptor is 44% identical to CB1 receptor with a 68% identity in the trans-membrane regions. See Munro et al., Nature (1993) 365:61. Compared to CB1 receptor, CB2 receptor has a more limited distribution with high expression in spleen and tonsils, and low expression in lung, uterus, pancreas, bone marrow, and thymus. Among immune cells, B cells express CB2 receptor at the highest level, followed in order by natural killer cells, monocytes, polymorphonuclear neutrophils, and T lymphocytes. See Galiègue et al., Eur J Biochem (1995) 232:54. Activation of CB2 receptor has been shown to have analgesic effects in inflammatory models involved in neurodegeneration diseases (such as Alzheimer's disease), and play a role in the maintenance of bone density and progression of atherosclerotic lesions. See, e.g., Malan et al., Pain (2001) 93:239; Benito et al., J Neurosci (2003) 23:11136; Ibrahim et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (2003) 100:10529; Idris et al., Nat Med (2005) 11:774; and Steffens et al., Nature (2005) 434:782. SUMMARY [0006] This invention is based on the discovery that certain thiophene compounds are effective in treating cannabinoid-receptor mediated disorders. [0007] In one aspect, this invention features thiophene compounds of formula (I): In this formula, R 1 is H, C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl, C 3 -C 20 cycloalkyl, C 3 -C 20 cycloalkenyl, C 1 -C 20 heterocycloalkyl, C 1 -C 20 heterocycloalkenyl, aryl, or heteroaryl; R 2 is H, C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl, C 3 -C 20 cycloalkyl, C 3 -C 20 cycloalkenyl, C 1 -C 20 heterocycloalkyl, C 1 -C 20 heterocycloalkenyl, aryl, heteroaryl, halo, OR a , COOR a , OC(O)R a , C(O)R a , C(O)NR a R b , or NR a R b , in which each of R a and R b , independently, is H, C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 3 -C 20 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 20 heterocycloalkyl, aryl, or heteroaryl; each of R 3 , R 4 , and R 5 , independently, is H, halo, C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl, C 3 -C 20 cycloalkyl, C 3 -C 20 cycloalkenyl, C 1 -C 20 heterocycloalkyl, C 1 -C 20 heterocycloalkenyl, aryl, or heteroaryl; or R 5 , together with R 6 and the carbon atoms to which they are attached, is C 3 -C 20 cycloalkenyl or C 3 -C 20 heterocycloalkenyl; and R 6 is C 2 -C 10 alkenyl or C 2 -C 10 alkynyl; or R 6 , together with R 5 and the carbon atoms to which they are attached, is C 3 -C 20 cycloalkenyl or C 3 -C 20 heterocycloalkenyl. [0008] Referring to formula (I), some of the thiophene compounds described above have one or more of the following features: R 1 is aryl substituted with halo (e.g., 2,4-dichlorophenyl); R 6 is alkenyl unsubstituted or substituted with cycloalkyl (e.g., penten-1-yl and 2-cyclohexylethen-1-yl), or alkynyl unsubstituted or substituted with alkoxy, amino, cycloalkyl, heterocycloalkyl, aryl, or heteroaryl (e.g., 2-cyclopentylethyn-1-yl, 2-cyclohexylethyn-1-yl, 2-cyclopropylethyn-1-yl, pent-1-ynyl, hex-1-ynyl, 3-isopropoxy-prop-1-ynyl, 3-dimethylamino-prop-1-ynyl, pyrrolidin-1yl-propyn-1yl, and phenylethyn-1-yl); and R 2 is C(O)R a (in which R a can be piperidinyl or pyrrolidinyl) or C(O)NR a R b (in which each of R a and R b , independently, can be H, cyclohexyl, piperidinyl, or octahydrocyclopentapyrrolyl). [0009] The term “alkyl” refers to a saturated, linear or branched hydrocarbon moiety, such as —CH 3 or —CH(CH 3 ) 2 . The term “alkenyl” refers to a linear or branched hydrocarbon moiety that contains at least one double bond, such as —CH═CH—CH 3 . The term “alkynyl” refers to a linear or branched hydrocarbon moiety that contains at least one triple bond, such as —C≡C—CH 3 . The term “cycloalkyl” refers to a saturated, cyclic hydrocarbon moiety, such as cyclohexyl. The term “cycloalkenyl” refers to a non-aromatic, cyclic hydrocarbon moiety that contains at least one double bond, such as cyclohexenyl. The term “heterocycloalkyl” refers to a saturated, cyclic moiety having at least one ring heteroatom (e.g., N, O, or S), such as 4-tetrahydropyranyl. The term “heterocycloalkenyl” refers to a non-aromatic, cyclic moiety having at least one ring heteroatom (e.g., N, O, or S) and at least one ring double bond, such as pyranyl. The term “aryl” refers to a hydrocarbon moiety having one or more aromatic rings. Examples of aryl moieties include phenyl (Ph), phenylene, naphthyl, naphthylene, pyrenyl, anthryl, and phenanthryl. The term “heteroaryl” refers to a moiety having one or more aromatic rings that contain at least one heteroatom (e.g., N, O, or S). Examples of heteroaryl moieties include furyl, furylene, fluorenyl, pyrrolyl, thienyl, oxazolyl, imidazolyl, thiazolyl, pyridyl, pyrimidinyl, quinazolinyl, quinolyl, isoquinolyl and indolyl. [0010] Alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, cycloalkyl, cycloalkenyl, heterocycloalkyl, heterocycloalkenyl, aryl, and heteroaryl mentioned herein include both substituted and unsubstituted moieties, unless specified otherwise. Possible substituents on cycloalkyl, cycloalkenyl, heterocycloalkyl, heterocycloalkenyl, aryl, and heteroaryl include, but are not limited to, C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl, C 3 -C 20 cycloalkyl, C 3 -C 20 cycloalkenyl, C 1 -C 20 heterocycloalkyl, C 1 -C 20 heterocycloalkenyl, C 1 -C 10 alkoxy, aryl, aryloxy, heteroaryl, heteroaryloxy, amino, C 1 -C 10 alkylamino, C 1 -C 20 dialkylamino, arylamino, diarylamino, C 1 -C 10 alkylsulfonamino, arylsulfonamino, C 1 -C 10 alkylimino, arylimino, C 1 -C 10 alkylsulfonimino, arylsulfonimino, hydroxyl, halo, thio, C 1 -C 10 alkylthio, arylthio, C 1 -C 10 alkylsulfonyl, arylsulfonyl, acylamino, aminoacyl, aminothioacyl, amido, amidino, guanidine, ureido, thioureido, cyano, nitro, nitroso, azido, acyl, thioacyl, acyloxy, carboxyl, and carboxylic ester. On the other hand, possible substituents on alkyl, alkenyl, or alkynyl include all of the above-recited substituents except C 1 -C 10 alkyl. Cycloalkyl, cycloalkenyl, heterocycloalkyl, heterocycloalkenyl, aryl, and heteroaryl can also be fused with each other. [0011] In another aspect, this invention features thiophene compounds of formula (I) in which R 1 is H, C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl, C 3 -C 20 cycloalkyl, C 3 -C 20 cycloalkenyl, C 1 -C 20 heterocycloalkyl, C 1 -C 20 heterocycloalkenyl, aryl, or heteroaryl; R 2 is C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl, C 3 -C 20 cycloalkyl, C 3 -C 20 cycloalkenyl, C 1 -C 20 heterocycloalkyl, C 1 -C 20 heterocycloalkenyl, aryl, heteroaryl, halo, OR a , OC(O)R a , NR a R b , or C 1 -C 10 alkyl substituted with NR a —C(O)—R b , NR a —C(S)—R b , NR a —C(O)—NR b R c , NR a —C(S)—NR b R c , or NR a —C(═N—CN)—NR b R c , in which each of R a , R b , and R c , independently, is H, C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 3 -C 20 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 20 heterocycloalkyl, aryl, or heteroaryl; and each of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , and R 6 , independently, is H, halo, C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl, C 3 -C 20 cycloalkyl, C 3 -C 20 cycloalkenyl, C 1 -C 20 heterocycloalkyl, C 1 -C 20 heterocycloalkenyl, aryl, or heteroaryl; or R 5 and R 6 , together with the carbon atoms to which they are attached, is C 3 -C 20 cycloalkenyl or C 3 -C 20 heterocycloalkenyl. [0012] Some of the just-described thiophene compounds have one or more of the following features: R 1 is aryl substituted with halo (e.g., 2,4-dichlorophenyl); R 6 is chloro or penten-1-yl; and R 2 is methyl substituted with NR a —C(O)—R b , NR a —C(O)NR b R c , or NR a —C(S)—NR b R c , in which R a is H, R c is H, and R b is cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, cycloheptyl, pyridyl, phenyl optionally substituted with halo or C 1 -C 10 alkyl, or C 1 -C 10 alkyl optionally substituted with aryl or heteroaryl. [0013] In still another aspect, this invention features a method for treating a cannabinoid-receptor mediated disorder. The method includes administering to a subject in need thereof an effective amount of one or more thiophene compounds of formula (I) shown above. Examples of cannabinoid-receptor mediated disorders include liver fibrosis, hair loss, obesity, metabolic syndrome (e.g., syndrome X), hyperlipidemia, type n diabetes, atherosclerosis, substance addiction (e.g., alcohol addiction or nicotine addiction), depression, motivational deficiency syndrome, learning or memory dysfunction, analgesia, haemorrhagic shock, ischemia, liver cirrhosis, neuropathic pain, antiemesis, high intraocular pressure, bronchodilation, osteoporosis, cancer (e.g., prostate cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, or head and neck cancer), a neurodegenerative disease (e.g., Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease), or an inflammatory disease. [0014] The term “treating” or “treatment” refers to administering one or more thiophene compounds to a subject, who has an above-described disorder, a symptom of such a disorder, or a predisposition toward such a disorder, with the purpose to confer a therapeutic effect, e.g., to cure, relieve, alter, affect, ameliorate, or prevent the above-described disorder, the symptom of it, or the predisposition toward it. [0015] In addition, this invention encompasses a pharmaceutical composition that contains an effective amount of at least one of the above-mentioned thiophene compounds and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. [0016] The thiophene compounds described above include the compounds themselves, as well as their salts, prodrugs, and solvates, if applicable. A salt, for example, can be formed between an anion and a positively charged group (e.g., amino) on a thiophene compound. Suitable anions include chloride, bromide, iodide, sulfate, nitrate, phosphate, citrate, methanesulfonate, trifluoroacetate, acetate, malate, tosylate, tartrate, fumurate, glutamate, glucuronate, lactate, glutarate, and maleate. Likewise, a salt can also be formed between a cation and a negatively charged group (e.g., carboxylate) on a thiophene compound. Suitable cations include sodium ion, potassium ion, magnesium ion, calcium ion, and an ammonium cation such as tetramethylammonium ion. The thiophene compounds also include those salts containing quaternary nitrogen atoms. Examples of prodrugs include esters and other pharmaceutically acceptable derivatives, which, upon administration to a subject, are capable of providing active thiophene compounds. A solvate refers to a complex formed between an active thiophene compound and a pharmaceutically acceptable solvent. Examples of pharmaceutically acceptable solvents include water, ethanol, isopropanol, ethyl acetate, acetic acid, and ethanolamine. [0017] Also within the scope of this invention is a composition containing one or more of the thiophene compounds described above for use in treating an above-described disorder, and the use of such a composition for the manufacture of a medicament for the just-mentioned treatment. [0018] The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and from the claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0019] Shown below are 38 exemplary compounds of this invention: [0020] The thiophene compounds described above can be prepared by methods well known in the art. Examples 1-38 below provide detailed descriptions of how compounds 1-38 were actually prepared. [0021] Scheme I shown below illustrates a typical synthetic route for synthesizing certain exemplary compounds. [0022] Specifically, as shown in Scheme 1 above, a thiophene compound containing a ketone group (e.g., compound A) can first undergo a Claisen condensation reaction with an oxalate compound (e.g., diethyl oxalate) in the presence of a lithium salt to form a 1,3-dione compound containing an ester group (e.g., compound B). The 1,3-dione compound can then react with a hydrazine to afford a corresponding hydrazone, which, without purification, is allowed to undergo intramolecular cyclization under refluxing acetic acid to form a pyrazole compound (e.g., compound C) containing an ester group. The pyrazole compound can be treated with N-bromosuccinimide in acetonitrile to form a compound containing a bromide group at the 5-position on the thiophene ring (e.g. compound D). The bromide group can then be replaced with an alkenyl or alkynyl group by reacting with a substituted boronic acid or an alkyne. The ester group on the compound thus formed (e.g., compound E) can subsequently be hydrolyzed in the presence of a base to form a carboxyl group, which in turn can be converted to an acyl chloride group by reacting with thionyl chloride to form an acyl chloride compound (e.g., compound F). The acyl chloride compound can then react with various amines to form compounds of the invention (e.g., Compounds 1-11 and 30-38). [0023] The intermediates mentioned in Scheme I above can be modified in various manners to afford other compounds of this invention. An example is illustrated in Scheme II below: [0024] As shown in Scheme II below, the ester group on compound C or E can be reduced to a hydroxyl group. The compound thus formed (e.g., compound G) can then react with methanesulfonyl chloride to form a compound with a methanesulfonyl acid ester group (e.g., compound H). The resultant compound can react with sodium azide to form a compound having an azido group (e.g., compound I), which can then be converted to a compound having an amino group (e.g., compound J). The compound thus formed can reacting with acyl chlorides, isocyanates, or isothiocyanates to form other compounds of invention (e.g., compounds 12-29). [0025] A thiophene compound synthesized above can be purified by a suitable method such as column chromatography, high-pressure liquid chromatography, or recrystallization. [0026] Other thiophene compounds can be prepared using other suitable starting materials through the above synthetic routes and others known in the art. The methods described above may also additionally include steps, either before or after the steps described specifically herein, to add or remove suitable protecting groups in order to ultimately allow synthesis of the thiophene compounds. In addition, various synthetic steps may be performed in an alternate sequence or order to give the desired compounds. Synthetic chemistry transformations and protecting group methodologies (protection and deprotection) useful in synthesizing applicable thiophene compounds are known in the art and include, for example, those described in R. Larock, Comprehensive Organic Transformations , VCH Publishers (1989); T. W. Greene and P. G. M. Wuts, Protective Groups in Organic Synthesis, 2 nd Ed., John Wiley and Sons (1991); L. Fieser and M. Fieser, Fieser and Fieser's Reagents for Organic Synthesis , John Wiley and Sons (1994); and L. Paquette, ed., Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis , John Wiley and Sons (1995) and subsequent editions thereof. [0027] The thiophene compounds mentioned herein may contain a non-aromatic double bond and one or more asymmetric centers. Thus, they can occur as racemates and racemic mixtures, single enantiomers, individual diastereomers, diastereomeric mixtures, and cis- or trans-isomeric forms. All such isomeric forms are contemplated. [0028] Also within the scope of this invention is a pharmaceutical composition containing an effective amount of at least one thiophene compound described above and a pharmaceutical acceptable carrier. Further, this invention covers a method of administering an effective amount of one or more of the thiophene compounds to a patient having a disease described in the summary section above. “An effective amount” refers to the amount of an active thiophene compound that is required to confer a therapeutic effect on the treated subject. Effective doses will vary, as recognized by those skilled in the art, depending on the types of diseases treated, route of administration, excipient usage, and the possibility of co-usage with other therapeutic treatment. [0029] To practice the method of the present invention, a composition having one or more thiophene compounds can be administered parenterally, orally, nasally, rectally, topically, or buccally. The term “parenteral” as used herein refers to subcutaneous, intracutaneous, intravenous, intramuscular, intraarticular, intraarterial, intrasynovial, intrasternal, intrathecal, intralesional, or intracranial injection, as well as any suitable infusion technique. [0030] A sterile injectable composition can be a solution or suspension in a non-toxic parenterally acceptable diluent or solvent, such as a solution in 1,3-butanediol. Among the acceptable vehicles and solvents that can be employed are mannitol, water, Ringer's solution, and isotonic sodium chloride solution. In addition, fixed oils are conventionally employed as a solvent or suspending medium (e.g., synthetic mono- or diglycerides). Fatty acid, such as oleic acid and its glyceride derivatives are useful in the preparation of injectables, as are natural pharmaceutically acceptable oils, such as olive oil or castor oil, especially in their polyoxyethylated versions. These oil solutions or suspensions can also contain a long chain alcohol diluent or dispersant, carboxymethyl cellulose, or similar dispersing agents. Other commonly used surfactants such as Tweens or Spans or other similar emulsifying agents or bioavailability enhancers which are commonly used in the manufacture of pharmaceutically acceptable solid, liquid, or other dosage forms can also be used for the purpose of formulation. [0031] A composition for oral administration can be any orally acceptable dosage form including capsules, tablets, emulsions and aqueous suspensions, dispersions, and solutions. In the case of tablets, commonly used carriers include lactose and corn starch. Lubricating agents, such as magnesium stearate, are also typically added. For oral administration in a capsule form, useful diluents include lactose and dried corn starch. When aqueous suspensions or emulsions are administered orally, the active ingredient can be suspended or dissolved in an oily phase combined with emulsifying or suspending agents. If desired, certain sweetening, flavoring, or coloring agents can be added. [0032] A nasal aerosol or inhalation composition can be prepared according to techniques well known in the art of pharmaceutical formulation. For example, such a composition can be prepared as a solution in saline, employing benzyl alcohol or other suitable preservatives, absorption promoters to enhance bioavailability, fluorocarbons, and/or other solubilizing or dispersing agents known in the art. [0033] A composition having one or more active thiophene compounds can also be administered in the form of suppositories for rectal administration. [0034] The carrier in the pharmaceutical composition must be “acceptable” in the sense that it is compatible with the active ingredient of the composition (and preferably, capable of stabilizing the active ingredient) and not deleterious to the subject to be treated. One or more solubilizing agents can be utilized as pharmaceutical excipients for delivery of an active thiophene compound. Examples of other carriers include colloidal silicon oxide, magnesium stearate, cellulose, sodium lauryl sulfate, and D&C Yellow #10. [0035] The thiophene compounds described above can be preliminarily screened for their efficacy in treating above-described diseases by an in vitro assay (Example 39 below) and then confirmed by animal experiments and clinic trials. Other methods will also be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. [0036] The specific examples below are to be construed as merely illustrative, and not limitative of the remainder of the disclosure in any way whatsoever. Without further elaboration, it is believed that one skilled in the art can, based on the description herein, utilize the present invention to its fullest extent. All publications cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. EXAMPLE 1 Preparation of Compound 1: (E)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-(pent-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-N-(piperidin-1-yl)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide [0037] To a magnetically stirred solution of lithium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide (46.7 mL, 46.7 mmol) in diethyl ether (55 mL) was added a solution of 1-(2-thienyl)-1-propanone (6.0 g, 42.53 mmol) in diethyl ether (30 mL) at −78° C. After the mixture was stirred at the same temperature for an additional 45 minutes, diethyl oxalate (6.9 mL, 51.03 mmol) was added to the mixture. The reaction mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred for another 16 hours. The precipitate was filtered, washed with diethyl ether, and dried under vacuum to afford Intermediate I(a), i.e., a lithium salt of ethyl 3-methyl-2,4-dioxo-4-thiophen-2-yl-butanonate (6.14 g, 62%). [0038] To a magnetically stirred solution of Intermediate I(a) (4.65 g, 18.84 mmol) in (56 mL) of ethanol was added 2,4-dichlorophenylhydrazine hydrochloride (4.35 g, 20.73 mmol) in one portion at room temperature. The resulting mixture was stirred at room temperature for 24 hours. The precipitate thus obtained was filtered, washed with ethanol and diethyl ether, and then dried under vacuum to give a light yellow solid (5.18 g, 71%). This solid was redissolved in acetic acid (30 mL) and heated under reflux for 24 hours. The mixture was poured into ice water and extracted with ethyl acetate. The extracts were combined, washed with water, saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate, and brine, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, and concentrated by evaporation. The crude product thus obtained was purified by flash column chromatography on silica gel with n-hexane/ethyl acetate (9:1) to give Intermediate II(a), i.e., 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-5-thiophen-2-yl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester, as a white solid (3.87 g, 73%). [0039] NBS (3.2 g, 16.6 mmol) in small portions was added to a magnetically stirred solution of Intermediate II(a) (5.27 g, 13.8 mmol) in acetonitrile at 0° C. After stirring the mixture for 1 hour at 0° C., a saturated aqueous sodium sulfite solution was added. The organic solvent was then evaporated and the residual mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate. The extracts were combined, washed with water, saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate, and brine, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, and concentrated. The crude product was purified by flash chromatography on silica gel with n-hexane/ethyl acetate (9:1) to give Intermediate III, i.e., 5-(5-Bromo-thiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester, as a white solid (4.91 g, 77%). [0040] A solution of Intermediate III (2.28 g, 4.96 mmol), pent-1-enylboronic acid (677.8 mg, 5.95 mmol), tetrakis-triphenylphosphinopallidum (572.8 mg, 0.57 mmol), and cesium carbonate (3.23 g, 9.91 mmol) in DME (10 mL) was refluxed for 3 hours. After the solvent was evaporated under reduced pressure, the resultant residue was purified by flash column chromatography with n-hexane/ethyl acetate (5:1) to give Intermediate IV(a), i.e., 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-5-[((E)-5-pent-1-enyl)-thiophen-2-yl]-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester, as a white solid (1.16 g, 73%). [0041] To a magnetically stirred solution of Intermediate IV(a) (230.2 mg, 0.48 mmol) in methanol (3.0 mL) was added a solution of potassium hydroxide (160.1 mg, 3.0 mmol) in methanol (7 mL). After the mixture was refluxed for 3 hours, it was cooled, poured into water, and acidified with a 10% hydrochloric acid aqueous solution. The precipitate thus obtained was filtered, washed with water, and dried under vacuum to give Intermediate V(a), i.e., 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-5-[((E)-5-pent-1-enyl)-thiophen-2-yl]-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid, as a white solid (191.1 mg, 92%). [0042] A solution of Intermediate V(a) (171.7 mg, 0.41 mmol) and thionyl chloride (114.1 μL, 1.56 mmol) in toluene (7.0 mL) was refluxed for 3 hours. After the solvent was evaporated under reduced pressure, the resultant residue was redissolved in toluene (7.0 mL) and evaporated again to yield the crude corresponding carboxylic chloride as a white solid. The carboxylic chloride was dissolved in dichloromethane (10 mL) and added dropwise to a mixture of 1-aminopiperidine (53.9 μL, 0.54 mmol) and triethylamine (75.8 μL, 0.54 mmol) in 5 mL of dichloromethane at 0° C. After the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 8 hours, the reaction was quenched with water. The aqueous layer was separated and extracted with dichloromethane (2×20 mL). The extracts were combined, washed with brine, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, and concentrated under reduced pressure. The crude product thus obtained was purified by flash column chromatography on silica gel with n-hexane/ethyl acetate (2:1) to give Compound 1 as a white solid (172.8 mg, 84%). [0043] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.61 (d, 1H), 7.49 (d, 1H), 7.35-7.33 (m, 2H), 6.71 (d, 1H), 6.64 (d, 1H), 6.39 (d, 1H), 6.02 (dt, 1H), 2.87-2.84 (m, 4H), 2.50-2.45 (m, 3H), 1.79-1.71 (m, 6H), 1.50-1.40 (m, 4H), 0.93 (t, 3H). [0044] ES-MS (M+1): 503.1. EXAMPLE 2 Preparation of Compound 2: (E)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-N-(hexahydrocyclopenta[c]pyrrol-2(1H)-yl)-4-methyl-5-(5-(pent-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide [0045] Compound 2 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 1 except that, in the last step, the crude carboxylic chloride (75 mg, 0.17 mmol) was treated with hexahydrocyclopenta-[c]pyrrol-2(1H)-amine hydrochloride (44.0 mg, 0.27 mmol), and triethylamine (62.9 μL, 0.44 mmol) in dichloromethane at 0° C. Compound 2 was obtained as a white solid (68 mg, 75%). [0046] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.48 (s, 1H), 7.32 (m, 2H), 6.71 (d, 1H), 6.64 (dd, 1H), 6.38 (dd, 1H), 6.01 (dt, 1H), 3.28 (t, 2H), 2.67 (m, 2H), 2.54-2.47 (m, 5H), 2.16-2.07 (m, 2H), 1.67-1.42 (m, 9H), 0.93 (t, 3H). [0047] ES-MS (M+1): 529.1. EXAMPLE 3 Preparation of Compound 3: (E)-N-cyclohexyl-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-(pent-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide [0048] Compound 3 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 1 except that, in the last step, the crude carboxylic chloride (88.5 mg, 0.20 mmol) was treated with cyclohexyl amine (49.4 μL, 0.44 mmol) and triethylamine (70.4 μL, 0.49 mmol) in dichloromethane at 0° C. Compound 3 was obtained as a white solid (78.4 mg, 77%). [0049] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.49 (s, 1H), 7.34 (m, 2H), 6.79 (d, 1H), 6.72 (d, 1H), 6.64 (d, 1H), 6.39 (dt, 1H), 2.49 (t, 3H), 2.10 (m, 2H), 2.12-1.72 (m, 2H), 1.66-1.14 (m, 12H), 0.95 (t, 3H). [0050] ES-MS (M+1): 502.1. EXAMPLE 4 Preparation of Compound 4: (E)-(1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-(pent-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)(piperidin-1-yl)methanone [0051] Compound 4 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 1 except that, in the last step, the crude carboxylic chloride (93.2 mg, 0.21 mmol) was treated with piperidine (45.3 μL, 0.40 mmol) and triethylamine (63.2 μL, 0.44 mmol) in dichloromethane at 0° C. Compound 4 was obtained as a white solid (80.3 mg, 78%). [0052] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.49 (s, 1H), 7.30 (m, 2H), 6.72 (d, 1H), 6.64 (d, 1H), 6.41 (d, 1H), 6.03 (dt, 1H), 3.75 (m, 2H), 3.64 (m, 2H), 2.29 (t, 3H), 2.14 (m, 2H), 1.74-1.60 (m, 6H), 1.54-1.42 (m, 2H), 0.94 (t, 3H). [0053] ES-MS (M+1): 488.1. EXAMPLE 5 Preparation of Compound 5: (E)-(1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-(pent-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)(pyrrolidin-1-yl)methanone [0054] Compound 5 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 1 except that, in the last step, the crude carboxylic chloride (101.4 mg, 0.23 mmol) was treated with pyrrolidine (43.8 μL, 0.39 mmol) and triethylamine (63.6 μL, 0.44 mmol) in dichloromethane at 0° C. Compound 5 was obtained as a white solid (84.2 mg, 77%). [0055] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.49 (m, 1H), 7.30 (m, 2H), 6.72 (d, 1H), 6.64 (d, 1H), 6.39 (d, 1H), 6.02 (dt, 1H), 3.80 (m, 2H), 3.66 (m, 2H), 2.38 (t, 3H), 2.12 (m, 2H), 1.92 (m, 4H), 1.46 (m, 2H), 0.93 (t, 3H). [0056] ES-MS (M+1): 474.1. EXAMPLE 6 Preparation of Compound 6: (E)-5-(5-(2-cyclohexylvinyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-N-(hexahydrocyclopenta[c]pyrrol-2(1H)-yl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide [0057] Intermediate IV(b), i.e., 5-[5-((E)-2-cyclohexyl-vinyl)-thiophen-2-yl]-1-(2,4-dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester, was prepared in a manner similar to Intermediate IV(a) was prepared in Example 1 except that pent-1-enylboronic acid was replaced with (E)-2-cyclohexyl-vinylboronic acid. Intermediate IV(b) was obtained as a white solid in 80% yield. [0058] Intermediate V(b), i.e., 5-[5-((E)-2-cyclohexyl-vinyl)-thiophen-2-yl]-1-(2,4-dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid, was prepared in a manner similar to Intermediate V(a) described in Example 1 except that Intermediate IV(a) was replaced with Intermediate IV(b) (269.4 mg, 0.55 mmol). Intermediate V(b) was obtained as a white solid in 90% yield. [0059] Compound 6 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 1 except that, in the last step, a crude carboxylic chloride (96 mg, 0.20 mmol) obtained from Intermediate V(b) was treated with hexahydrocyclopenta-[c]pyrrol-2(1H)-amine hydrochloride (62.8 mg, 0.39 mmol) and triethylamine (63.6 μL, 0.44 mmol) in dichloromethane at 0° C. Compound 6 was obtained as a white solid (79 mg, 72%). [0060] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.47 (m, 1H), 7.32 (m, 2H), 6.72 (d, 1H), 6.63 (d, 1H), 6.39 (d, 1H), 6.00 (dt, 1H), 3.25 (m, 2H), 2.63 (brs, 2H), 2.47 (m, 2H), 2.48 (s, 3H) 1.81-1.12 (m, 18H). [0061] ES-MS (M+1): 569.2. EXAMPLE 7 Preparation of Compound 7: 5-(5-(cyclopropylethynyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-N-(piperidin-1-yl)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide [0062] To a suspension of Intermediate III (230 mg, 0.5 mmol) prepared in Example 1, PdCl 2 (PPh 3 ) 2 (11 mg, 0.015 mmol), and CuI (2 mg, 0.02 mmol) in THF (3 mL) were added ethynyl-cyclopropane (40 mg, 0.6 mmol) and a 0.5 M aqueous solution of 2-ethanolamine (3 mL). The resultant mixture was heated at 60° C. for 6 hours. After the mixture was cooled to room temperature, it was poured into a mixed solvent of water (20 mL) and diethyl ether (20 mL). The aqueous layer was extracted and the combined organic layer was concentrated to give the crude residue, which was purified by flash column chromatography with n-hexane/ethyl acetate (5:1) to afford Intermediate IV(c), i.e., 5-(5-Cyclopropylethynyl-thiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester, as a colorless oil (202.4 mg, 91%). [0063] Intermediate V(c), i.e., 5-(5-cyclopropylethynyl-thiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid, was prepared in a manner similar to Intermediate V(a) described in Example 1 except that Intermediate IV(a) was replaced with Intermediate IV(c) (366.2 mg, 0.88 mmol). Intermediate V(c) was obtained as a white solid in 88% yield. [0064] Compound 7 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 1 except that, in the last step, a crude carboxylic chloride (110.3 mg, 0.25 mmol) prepared from Intermediate V(c) was treated with 1-amino-piperidine (50.2 mg, 0.50 mmol), and triethylamine (84.1 μL, 0.60 mmol) in dichloromethane at 0° C. Compound 7 was obtained as a white solid (94.3 mg, 75%). [0065] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.48 (d, 1H), 7.33 (d, 2H), 6.95 (d, 1H), 6.68 (d, 1H), 3.26 (t, 4H), 2.46 (s, 3H), 1.80-1.65 (m, 4H), 1.50-1.38 (m, 2H). [0066] ES-MS (M+1): 499.2. EXAMPLE 8 Preparation of Compound 8: 5-(5-(cyclopentylethynyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-N-(hexahydrocyclopenta[c]pyrrol-2(1H)-yl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide [0067] Intermediate IV(d), i.e., 5-(5-cyclopentylethynyl-thiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester, was prepared in a manner similar to Intermediate IV(c) described in Example 7 except that ethynyl-cyclopropane was replaced with ethynyl-cyclopentane. Intermediate IV(d) was obtained as a white solid in 88% yield. [0068] Intermediate V(d), i.e., 5-(5-cyclopentylethynyl-thiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid, was prepared in a manner similar to Intermediate V(a) described in Example 1 except that Intermediate IV(a) was replaced with Intermediate IV(d) (387.2 mg, 0.87 mmol). Intermediate V(d) was obtained as a white solid in 87% yield. [0069] Compound 8 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 7 except that, in the last step, a crude carboxylic chloride (116.3 mg, 0.25 mmol) prepared from Intermediate V(d) was treated with hexahydrocyclopenta-[c]pyrrol-2(1H)-amine hydrochloride (82.4 mg, 0.51 mmol) and triethylamine (84.1 μL, 0.60 mmol) in dichloromethane at 0° C. Compound 8 was obtained as a white solid (102.1 mg, 74%). [0070] 1 H-NMR. (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.48 (d, 1H), 7.35 (d, 2H), 6.95 (d, 1H), 6.67 (d, 1H), 3.26 (t, 2H), 2.80 (q, 1H), 2.66 (br, 1H), 2.50 (t, 2H), 2.46 (s, 3H), 2.02-1.84 (m, 2H), 1.81-1.40 (m, 12H), 1.26 (t, 2H). [0071] ES-MS (M+1): 553.2. EXAMPLE 9 Preparation of Compound 9: 5-(5-(cyclohexylethynyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-N-(hexahydrocyclopenta[c]pyrrol-2(1H)-yl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide [0072] Intermediate IV(e), i.e., 5-(5-cyclohexylethynyl-thiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester, was prepared in a manner similar to Intermediate IV(c) described in Example 7 except that ethynyl-cyclopropane was replaced with ethynyl-cyclohexane. Intermediate IV(e) was obtained as a white solid in 80% yield. [0073] Intermediate V(e), i.e., 5-(5-cyclohexylethynyl-thiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid, was prepared in a manner similar to Intermediate V(a) described in Example 1 except that Intermediate IV(a) was replaced with Intermediate IV(e) (384.3 mg, 0.84 mmol). Intermediate V(e) was obtained as a white solid in 87% yield. [0074] Compound 9 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 7 except that, in the last step, a crude carboxylic chloride (118.2 mg, 0.25 mmol) prepared from Intermediate V(e) was treated with hexahydrocyclopenta-[c]pyrrol-2(1H)-amine hydrochloride (82.3 mg, 0.51 mmol) and triethylamine (84.1 μL, 0.60 mmol) in dichloromethane at 0° C. Compound 9 was obtained as a white solid (106.2 mg, 77%). [0075] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.48 (m, 1H), 7.39 (m, 2H), 7.32 (m, 2H), 6.96 (d, 1H), 6.67 (d, 1H), 3.24 (t, 2H), 2.63 (brs, 2H), 2.48 (s, 3H), 2.47 (m, 2H) 1.81-1.12 (m, 18H). [0076] ES-MS (M+1): 567.2. EXAMPLE 10 Preparation of Compound 10: N-cyclohexyl-5-(5-(cyclopentylethynyl)-thiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide [0077] Compound 10 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 8 except that, in the last step, the crude carboxylic chloride (116.2 mg, 0.25 mmol) was treated with cyclohexylamine (50.3 mg, 0.51 mmol) and triethylamine (84.1 μL, 0.60 mmol) in dichloromethane at 0° C. Compound 10 was obtained as a white solid (97.3 mg, 74%). [0078] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.48 (brs, 1H), 7.33 (brs, 2H), 6.95 (d, 1H), 6.79 (d, 1H), 6.67 (d, 1H), 3.93 (q, 1H), 2.80 (q, 1H), 2.47 (s, 3H), 2.10-1.81 (m, 4H), 1.80-1.50 (m, 10H), 1.50-1.20 (m, 4H). [0079] ES-MS (M+1): 526.2. EXAMPLE 11 Preparation of Compound 11: 5-(5-(cyclopentylethynyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-N-(piperidin-1-yl)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide [0080] Compound 11 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 8 except that, in the last step, the crude carboxylic chloride (90 mg, 0.21 mmol) with 1-amino-piperidine (42 mg, 0.42 mmol) and triethylamine (63.8 μL, 0.44 mmol) in dichloromethane at 0° C. Compound 11 was obtained as a white solid (75.3 mg, 70%). [0081] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.60 (br, 1H), 7.49 (brs, 1H), 7.34 (brs, 2H), 6.96 (d, 1H), 6.68 (d, 1H), 2.92-3.76 (m, 5H), 2.46 (s, 3H), 2.02-1.82 (m, 2H), 1.81-1.50 (m, 10H), 1.45-1.25 (m, 2H). [0082] ES-MS (M+1): 527.2. EXAMPLE 12 Preparation of Compound 12: N-((5-(5-chlorothiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methyl)cyclobutanecarboxamide [0083] Intermediate I(b), i.e., a lithium salt of ethyl 3-methyl-2,4-dioxo-4-(5-chloro-thiophen-2-yl)-butanonate, was prepared in 42% yield in a manner similar to Intermediate I(a) described in Example 1 except that 1-(2-thienyl)-1-ethanone was replaced with 1-(5-chloro-2-thienyl)-1-propanone. [0084] Intermediate II(b), i.e., 5-(5-chloro-thiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester, was prepared from Intermediate I(b) in a manner similar to Intermediate II(a) as a white solid in 50% yield. [0085] Lithium aluminum hydride (291.9 mg, 3.10 mmol) was added to a magnetically stirred solution of Intermediate II(b) (644.4 mg, 1.55 mmol) in THF (20 mL) at 0° C. After the mixture was stirred at the same temperature for 30 minutes, the reaction was quenched with water. The aqueous layer was separated and extracted with ethyl acetate (2×20 mL). The extracts were combined, washed with brine, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, concentrated, and then purified by chromatography on silica gel to give compound VI(a), i.e., [5-(5-chloro-thiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl]-methanol, as a colorless liquid (509.5 mg, 88%). [0086] Triethylamine (300 μL, 2.1 mmol) was added to a magnetically stirred solution of Intermediate VI(a) (419.2 mg, 1.02 mmol) in THF (10 mL) at 0° C. After the mixture was stirred at the same temperature for 30 minutes, methanesulfonyl chloride (200 μL, 1.74 mmol) was added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature for 8 hours. The reaction was quenched with water and the aqueous layer was separated and extracted with ethyl acetate (2×50 mL). The extracts were combined, washed with brine, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, and evaporated. The crude product thus obtained was purified by flash column chromatography on silica gel with n-hexane/ethyl acetate (4:1) to give Intermediate VII(a), i.e., methanesulfonic acid 5-(5-chloro-thiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazol-3-ylmethyl ester, as a colorless liquid (495 mg, 74%). [0087] Sodium azide (135.1 mg, 2.22 mmol) in one portion was added to a magnetically stirred solution of Intermediate VII(a) (272.2 mg, 0.61 mmol) in DMF (20 mL). The reaction mixture was heated at 80° C. for 3 hours. After the mixture was cooled, the reaction was quenched with water and the aqueous layer was separated and extracted with ethyl acetate (2×30 mL). The extracts were combined, washed with brine, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, and concentrated. The crude product thus obtained was purified by flash column chromatography on silica gel with n-hexane/ethyl:acetate (3:1) to give Intermediate VIII(a), i.e., 3-azidomethyl-5-(5-chloro-thiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole, as a colorless liquid (230.3 mg, 83%). [0088] Triphenylphosphine (166.9 mg, 0.62 mmol) and water (2 mL) were sequentially added to a magnetically stirred solution of Intermediate VIII(a) (230.2 mg, 0.57 mmol) in THF (10 mL). After the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 48 hours, the reaction was extracted with ethyl acetate (2×10 mL). The extracts were combined, washed with brine, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, and concentrated. The crude product thus obtained was purified by flash column chromatography on silica gel with ethyl acetate/methanol (4:1) to give Intermediate IX(a), i.e., (5-(5-chlorothiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methanamine, as a white solid (209.8 mg, 97%). [0089] To a magnetically stirred solution of Intermediate IX(a) (40.1 mg, 0.10 mmol) in dichloromethane were added triethylamine (20 μL, 0.13 mmol) and cyclobutanecarbonyl chloride (15 μL, 0.09 mmol) sequentially. After the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 8 hours, the reaction was quenched with water and the aqueous layer was separated and extracted with dichloromethane (2×10 mL). The extracts were combined, washed with brine, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, and concentrated. The crude product thus obtained was purified by flash column chromatography on silica gel with n-hexane/ethyl acetate (3:1) to give Compound 12 as a white solid (24.9 mg, 51%). [0090] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.49 (d, 1H), 7.33 (d, 1H), 7.32 (s, 1H), 6.80 (d, 1H), 6.61 (d, 1H), 6.01 (brs, 1H), 4.51 (d, 2H), 3.05 (m, 1H), 2.38-2.25 (m, 2H), 2.21-2.11 (m, 2H), 2.14 (s, 3H), 1.82-2.05 (m, 2H). [0091] ES-MS (M+1): 454.0. EXAMPLE 13 Preparation of Compound 13: N-((5-(5-chlorothiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methyl)cyclopentanecarboxamide [0092] Compound 13 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 12 except that, in the last step, Intermediate IX(a) (51.6 mg, 0.11 mmol) was treated with triethylamine (20 μL, 0.13 mmol) and cyclopentanecarbonyl chloride (15 μL, 0.11 mmol). Compound 13 was obtained as a white solid (32.1 mg, 64%). [0093] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.49 (d, 1H), 7.33 (d, 1H), 7.32 (s, 1H), 6.80 (d, 1H), 6.61 (d, 1H), 6.11 (brs, 1H), 4.52 (d, 2H), 2.60-2.52 (m, 1H), 2.15 (s, 3H), 1.90-1.70 (m, 8H). [0094] ES-MS (M+1): 468. EXAMPLE 14 Preparation of Compound 14: (E)-N-((1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-(pent-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methyl)cyclohexanecarboxamide [0095] Intermediate VI(b), i.e., {1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-[((E)-5-pent-1-enyl)-thiophen-2-yl]-1H-pyrazol-3-yl}-methanol, was prepared in a manner similar to Intermediate VI(a) described in Example 12 except that Intermediated II(b) used therein was replaced with Intermediate IV(a) (886.2 mg, 1.97 mmol) prepared in Example 1. Intermediate VI(b) was obtained as a colorless liquid in 50% yield. [0096] Intermediate VII(b), i.e., methanesulfonic acid 1-(2,4-dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-5-[((E)-5-pent-1-enyl)-thiophen-2-yl]-1H-pyrazol-3-ylmethyl ester, was prepared from Intermediate VI(b) (842 mg, 3.27 mmol) in a manner similar to Intermediate VII(a) described in Example 12 as a colorless liquid in 73% yield. [0097] Intermediate VIII(b), i.e., 3-azidomethyl-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-[((E)-5-pent-1-enyl)-thio-phen-2-yl]-1H-pyrazole, was prepared from Intermediate VII(b) (741.1 mg, 1.52 mmol) in a manner similar to Intermediate VIII(a) described in Example 12 as a colorless liquid in 60% yield. [0098] Intermediate IX(b), i.e., (E)-(1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-(pent-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methanamine, was prepared from Intermediate VIII(b) (400.2 mg, 0.92 mmol) in a manner similar to Intermediate IX(a) described in Example 12 as a colorless liquid in 73% yield. [0099] Compound 14 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 12 except that, in the last step, Intermediate IX(b) (40.3 mg, 0.10 mmol) was treated with triethylamine (20 μL, 0.13 mmol) and cyclohexanecarbonyl chloride (20 μL, 0.14 mmol). Compound 14 was obtained as a white solid (41.0 mg, 78%). [0100] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.45 (d, 1H), 7.27 (d, 1H), 7.25 (s, 1H), 7.12 (d, 1H), 6.70 (d, 1H), 6.65 (t, 1H), 6.60 (d, 1H), 6.39 (d, 1H), 6.01 (dt, 1H), 4.52 (d, 2H), 2.16 (s, 3H), 2.16-2.02 (m, 2H), 1.80-1.65 (m, 4H), 1.53-1.40 (m, 4H), 1.27-1.15 (m, 4H), 0.92 (t, 3H). [0101] ES-MS (M+1): 516.2. EXAMPLE 15 Preparation of Compound 15: (E)-4-bromo-N-((1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-(pent-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methyl)benzamide [0102] Compound 15 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 14 except that, in the last step, Intermediate IX(b) (60.5 mg, 0.15 mmol) was treated with triethylamine (50 μL, 0.33 mmol) and 4-bromobenzoyl chloride (39.2 mg, 0.18 mmol). Compound 15 was obtained as a white solid (45.2 mg, 51%). [0103] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.70 (m, 2H), 7.57 (m, 2H), 7.48 (d, 1H), 7.32 (d, 2H), 6.93 (m, 1H), 6.72 (d, 1H), 6.62 (d, 1H), 6.40 (d, 1H), 6.01 (dt, 1H), 4.70 (d, 2H), 2.22 (s, 3H), 2.17-2.10 (m, 2H), 1.51-1.41 (m, 2H), 0.92 (t, 3H). [0104] ES-MS (M+23): 610.1. EXAMPLE 16 Preparation of Compound 16: (E)-N-((1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-(pent-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methyl)picolinamide [0105] Compound 16 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 14 except that, in the last step, Intermediate IX(b) (59.8 mg, 0.14 mmol) was treated with triethylamine (50 μL, 0.33 mmol) and pyridine 2-carbonyl chloride (32.2 mg, 0.17 mmol). Compound 16 was obtained as a white solid (52.1 mg, 74%). [0106] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 8.54 (m, 1H), 8.23 (m, 1H), 7.83 (m, 1H), 7.46 (m, 1H), 7.46-7.27 (m, 3H), 6.71 (d, 1H), 6.61 (d, 1H), 6.39 (d, 1H), 6.01 (dt, 1H), 4.76 (d, 2H), 2.22 (s, 3H), 2.16-2.09 (m, 2H), 1.49-1.39 (m, 2H), 0.93 (t, 3H). [0107] ES-MS (M+1): 511.2. EXAMPLE 17 Preparation of Compound 17: 1-((5-(5-chlorothiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methyl)-3-cyclohexylurea [0108] Isocyanatocyclohexane (20 μL, 0.14 mmol) was added to a magnetically stirred solution of Intermediate IX(a) (40.3 mg, 0.11 mmol) prepared in Example 12 in THF. After the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 8 hours, the solvent was evaporated. The crude product thus obtained was purified by flash column chromatography on silica gel with n-hexane/ethyl acetate (1:1) to give Compound 17 as a white solid (33.2 mg, 62%). [0109] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.48 (d, 1H), 7.35 (d, 2H), 7.30 (s, 1H), 6.80 (d, 1H), 6.60 (d, 1H), 4.85 (m, 1H), 4.46 (m, 1H), 4.41 (d, 2H), 3.55 (m, 1H), 2.17 (s, 3H), 1.91 (m, 2H), 1.67 (m, 2H), 1.40-1.07 (m, 5H). [0110] ES-MS (M+1): 497.1. EXAMPLE 18 Preparation of Compound 18: (E)-1-((1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-(pent-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methyl)-3-propylurea [0111] Compound 18 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 14 except that Intermediate IX(b) (60.2 mg, 0.14 mmol) was treated with n-propylisocyanate (50.2 μL, 0.33 mmol). Compound 18 was obtained as a white solid (55.3 mg, 70%). [0112] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.45 (d, 1H), 7.29 (m, 2H), 6.70 (d, 1H), 6.59 (d, 1H), 6.39 (d, 1H), 6.01 (dt, 1H), 5.63 (t, 1H), 5.18 (t, 1H), 4.38 (d, 2H), 3.05 (m, 2H), 2.19-2.09 (m, 2H), 2.17 (s, 3H), 1.52-1.26 (m, 4H), 0.89 (t, 3H), 0.87 (t, 3H). [0113] ES-MS (M+1): 491.2. EXAMPLE 19 Preparation of Compound 19: 1-((5-(5-chlorothiophen-2-yl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methyl)-3-cyclohexylthiourea [0114] Compound 19 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 17 except that Intermediate IX(a) (40.3 mg, 0.11 mmol) was treated with isothiocyanatocyclohexane (20 μL, 0.14 mmol). Compound 19 was obtained as a white solid (39.8 mg, 76%). [0115] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.53 (m, 1H), 7.35 (m, 1H), 7.33 (m, 1H), 6.82 (m, 1H), 6.63 (m, 1H), 6.49 (brs, 1H),), 4.60 (brs, 1H), 2.18 (s, 3H), 1.98 (m, 2H), 1.62 (m, 5H), 1.39-1.07 (m, 6H). [0116] ES-MS (M+1): 513.0. EXAMPLE 20 Preparation of Compound 20: (E)-N-((1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-(pent-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methyl)cyclopropanecarboxamide [0117] Compound 20 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 14 except that, in the last step, Intermediate IX(b) (33 mg, 0.08 mmol) was treated with triethylamine (20 μL, 0.14 mmol) and cyclopropanecarbonyl chloride (15 μL, 0.11 mmol). Compound 20 was obtained as a white solid (18 mg, 47%). [0118] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.48 (m, 1H), 7.32 (d, 2H), 6.71 (d, 1H), 6.60 (d, 1H), 6.46 (brs, 1H), 6.41 (d, 1H), 6.01 (dt, 1H), 4.54 (d, 2H), 2.18 (s, 3H), 2.15 (m, 2H), 1.41 (m, 3H), 0.98 (m, 2H), 0.94 (t, 3H), 0.74 (m, 2H). [0119] ES-MS (M+1): 474.1. EXAMPLE 21 Preparation of Compound 21: (E)-N-((1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-(pent-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methyl)cyclobutanecarboxamide [0120] Compound 21 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 14 except that, in the last step, Intermediate IX(b) (48 mg, 0.12 mmol) was treated with triethylamine (20 μL, 0.14 mmol) and cyclobutanecarbonyl chloride (20 μL, 0.19 mmol). Compound 21 was obtained as a white solid (33 mg, 57%). [0121] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.47 (m, 1H), 7.31 (d, 2H), 6.71 (d, 1H), 6.60 (d, 1H), 6.39 (d, 1H), 6.15 (brs, 1H), 6.01 (dt, 1H), 4.51 (d, 2H), 3.05 (m, 1H), 2.29 (m, 2H), 2.18 (s, 3H), 2.15 (m, 4H), 1.96 (m, 2H), 1.46 (m, 2H), 0.93 (t, 3H). [0122] ES-MS (M+1): 488.1. EXAMPLE 22 Preparation of Compound 22: (E)-N-((1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-(pent-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methyl)cyclopentanecarboxamide [0123] Compound 22 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 14 except that, in the last step, Intermediate IX(b) (48 mg, 0.12 mmol) was treated with triethylamine (20 μL, 0.14 mmol) and cyclopentanecarbonyl chloride (20 μL, 0.17 mmol). Compound 22 was obtained as a white solid (41 mg, 69%). [0124] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.47 (m, 1H), 7.31 (brs, 2H), 6.71 (d, 1H), 6.60 (d, 1H), 6.39 (d, 1H), 6.26 (brs, 1H), 6.01 (dt, 1H), 4.52 (d, 2H), 2.56 (m, 1H), 2.17 (s, 3H), 2.14 (m, 2H), 1.91-1.64 (m, 7H), 1.54 (m, 1H), 1.45 (m, 2H), 0.91 (t, 3H). [0125] ES-MS (M+1): 502.1. EXAMPLE 23 Preparation of Compound 23: (E)-N-((1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-(pent-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methyl)cycloheptanecarboxamide [0126] Compound 23 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 14 except that, in the last step, Intermediate IX(b) (52 mg, 0.13 mmol) was treated with triethylamine (20 μL, 0.14 mmol) and cycloheptanecarbonyl chloride (29 μL, 0.20 mmol). Compound 23 was obtained as a white solid (43 mg, 62%). [0127] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.18 (m, 1H), 7.01 (brs, 2H), 6.41 (d, 1H), 6.30 (d, 1H), 6.09 (d, 1H), 5.98 (m, 1H), 5.72 (dt, 1H), 4.20 (d, 2H), 1.95 (m, 1H), 1.87 (s, 3H), 1.85 (m, 2H), 1.60 (m, 2H), 1.52-1.29 (m, 4H), 1.32-1.07 (m, 8H), 0.63 (t, 3H). [0128] ES-MS (M+1): 530.3. EXAMPLE 24 Preparation of Compound 24: (E)-N-((1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-(pent-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methyl)-2-phenylacetamide [0129] Compound 24 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 14 except that, in the last step, Intermediate IX(b) (60 mg, 0.15 mmol) was treated with triethylamine (50 μL, 0.36 mmol) and phenylacetyl chloride (30 μL, 0.23 mmol). Compound 24 was obtained as a white solid (42 mg, 54%). [0130] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.45 (d, 1H), 7.34-7.21 (m, 7H), 6.70 (d, 1H), 6.57 (d, 1H), 6.38 (d, 1H), 6.19 (brs, 1H), 6.01 (dt, 1H), 4.49 (d, 2H), 3.59 (s, 2H), 2.12 (s, 3H), 2.10 (m, 2H), 1.46 (m, 2H), 0.93 (s, 3H). [0131] ES-MS (M+1): 524.2. EXAMPLE 25 Preparation of Compound 25: (E)-4-tert-butyl-N-((1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-(pent-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methyl)benzamide [0132] Compound 25 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 14 except that, in the last step, Intermediate IX(b) (60 mg, 0.15 mmol) was treated with triethylamine (50 μL, 0.36 mmol) and 4-tert-butylbenzoyl chloride (35 μL, 0.18 mmol). Compound 25 was obtained as a white solid (43 mg, 51%). [0133] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.74 (d, 2H), 7.40 (s, 1H), 7.39 (d, 2H), 7.25 (m, 2H), 6.70 (d, 1H), 6.60 (d, 1H), 6.38 (d, 1H), 6.01 (dt, 1H), 4.74 (d, 2H), 2.24 (s, 3H), 2.12 (m, 2H), 1.44 (m, 2H), 1.31 (s, 9H), 0.93 (s, 3H). [0134] ES-MS (M+1): 566.2. EXAMPLE 26 Preparation of Compound 26: (E)-N-((1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-(pent-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methyl)-2-(thiophen-2-yl)acetamide [0135] Compound 26 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 14 except that, in the last step, Intermediate IX(b) (60 mg, 0.15 mmol) was treated with triethylamine (50 μL, 0.36 mmol) and 2-thiopheneacetyl chloride (20 μL, 0.16 mmol). Compound 26 was obtained as a white solid (45 mg, 57%). [0136] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.45 (d, 1H), 7.26 (m, 1H), 7.27 (d, 2H), 7.19 (m, 1H), 6.93 (m, 1H), 6.70 (d, 1H), 6.59 (d, 1H), 6.54 (brs, 1H), 6.38 (d, 1H), 6.01 (dt, 1H), 4.51 (d, 2H), 3.79 (s, 2H), 2.20-2.01 (m, 2H), 2.12 (s, 3H), 1.45 (m, 2H), 0.93 (s, 3H). [0137] ES-MS (M+1): 530.2. EXAMPLE 27 Preparation of Compound 27: (E)-1-cyclohexyl-3-((1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-(pent-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methyl)urea [0138] Compound 27 was prepared in a manner similar that described in Example 14 except that Intermediate IX(b) (33 mg, 0.08 mmol) was treated with cyclohexyl isocyanate (15 μL, 0.12 mmol). Compound 27 was obtained as a white solid (21 mg, 49%). [0139] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.46 (m, 1H), 7.29 (m, 2H), 6.71 (d, 1H), 6.59 (d, 1H), 6.39 (d, 1H), 6.01 (dt, 1H), 5.25 (m, 1H), 4.74 (d, 1H), 4.39 (d, 2H), 3.54 (m, 1H), 2.18 (s, 3H), 2.14 (m, 2H), 1.98-1.80 (m, 3H), 1.69-1.22 (m, 7H), 1.07 (m, 2H), 0.93 (t, 3H). [0140] ES-MS (M+1): 531.1. EXAMPLE 28 Preparation of Compound 28: (E)-1-cyclohexyl-3-((1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-(pent-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methyl)thiourea [0141] Compound 28 was prepared in a manner similar that described in Example 14 except that Intermediate IX(b) (33 mg, 0.08 mmol) was treated with cyclohexyl isothiocyanate (15 μL, 0.11 mmol). Compound 28 was obtained as a white solid (29 mg, 65%). [0142] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.48 (d, 1H), 7.31 (d, 2H), 6.98 (brs, 1H), 6.73 (d, 1H), 6.61 (d, 1H), 6.39 (d, 1H), 6.02 (dt, 1H), 4.57 (brs, 2H), 3.98 (brs, 1H), 2.19 (s, 3H), 2.15 (m, 2H), 1.95 (m, 2H), 1.71-1.24 (m, 9H), 1.16 (m, 2H), 0.93 (t, 3H). [0143] ES-MS (M+1): 547.1. EXAMPLE 29 Preparation of Compound 29: (E)-1-butyl-3-((1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-(pent-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methyl)thiourea [0144] Compound 29 was prepared in a manner similar that described in Example 14 except that Intermediate IX(b) (60 mg, 0.15 mmol) was treated with butyl isothiocyanate (20 μL, 0.19 mmol). Compound 29 was obtained as a white solid (44 mg, 57%). [0145] 1 -NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.48 (d, 1H), 7.30 (d, 2H), 6.81 (brs, 1H), 6.72 (d, 1H), 6.62 (d, 1H), 6.39 (d, 1H), 6.02 (dt, 1H), 4.58 (brs, 1H), 3.42 (brs, 2H), 2.19 (s, 3H), 2.14 (m, 2H), 1.61-1.24 (m, 8H), 0.93 (t, 3H), 0.85 (t, 3H). [0146] ES-MS (M+1): 521.3. EXAMPLE 30 Preparation of Compound 30: 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-pent-1-ynyl-thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid piperidin-1-yl amide [0147] Intermediate IV(f), i.e., 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-pent-1-ynyl-thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester, was prepared in a manner similar to Intermediate IV(c) described in Example 7 except that ethynyl-cyclopropane was replaced with pent-1-yne. Intermediate IV(f) was obtained as a white solid in 94% yield. [0148] Intermediate V(f), i.e., 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-pent-1-ynyl-thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid, was prepared in a manner similar to Intermediate V(a) described in Example 1 except that Intermediate IV(a) was replaced with Intermediate IV(f) (900 mg, 2.0 mmol). Intermediate V(f) was obtained as a white solid in 95% yield. [0149] Compound 30 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 7 except that, in the last step, crude carboxylic chloride (118.2 mg, 0.27 mmol) prepared from Intermediate V(f) was treated with 1-aminopiperidine (58 μL, 0.54 mmol) and triethylamine (95.3 μL, 0.68 mmol) in dichloromethane at 0° C. Compound 30 was obtained as a white solid (100.6 mg, 73%). [0150] 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.62 (s, 1H), 7.41 (s, 1H), 7.36-7.26 (m, 2H), 6.90 (d, 1H), 6.63 (d, 1H), 2.90-2.70 (m, 4H), 2.40 (s, 3H), 2.30 (t, 2H), 1.78-1.60 (m, 1H), 1.62-1.48 (m, 2H), 1.41-1.28 (m, 2H), 0.94 (t, 3H). [0151] ES-MS (M+1): 501.1. EXAMPLE 31 Preparation of Compound 31: 1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-5-(5-(hex-1-ynyl)thiophen-2-yl)-4-methyl-N-(piperidin-1-yl)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide [0152] Intermediate IV(g), i.e., 1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-5-(5-(hex-1-ynyl)thiophen-2-yl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester, was prepared in a manner similar to Intermediate IV(c) described in Example 7 except that ethynyl-cyclopropane was replaced with hex-1-yne. Intermediate IV(g) was obtained as a white solid in 96% yield. [0153] Intermediate V(g), i.e., 1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-5-(5-(hex-1-ynyl)thiophen-2-yl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid, was prepared in a manner similar to Intermediate V(a) described in Example 1 except that Intermediate IV(a) was replaced with Intermediate IV(g) (860 mg, 1.92 mmol). Intermediate V(g) was obtained as a white solid in 95% yield. [0154] Compound 31 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 7 except that, in the last step, a crude carboxylic chloride (108 mg, 0.24 mmol) prepared from Intermediate V(g) was treated with 1-aminopiperidine (52 μL, 0.48 mmol) and triethylamine (84 μL, 0.6 mmol) in dichloromethane at 0° C. Compound 31 was obtained as a white solid (90.4 mg, 73%). [0155] 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.62 (s, 1H), 7.48 (s, 1H), 7.36-7.26 (m, 2H), 6.97 (d, 1H), 6.69 (d, 1H), 2.90-2.77 (m, 4H), 2.47 (s, 3H), 2.40 (t, 2H), 1.80-1.70 (m, 4H), 1.60-1.38 (m, 6H), 0.93 (t, 3H). [0156] ES-MS (M+1): 515.1. EXAMPLE 32 Preparation of Compound 32: 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl)-5-[5-(3-isopropoxy-prop-1-ynyl)-thiophen-2-yl]-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid piperidin-1-ylamide [0157] Intermediate IV(h), i.e., 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl)-5-[5-(3-isopropoxy-prop-1-ynyl)-thiophen-2-yl]-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester, was prepared in a manner similar to Intermediate IV(c) described in Example 7 except that ethynyl-cyclopropane was replaced with 3-isopropoxy-prop-1-ynyl. Intermediate IV(h) was obtained as a white solid in 92% yield. [0158] Intermediate V(h), i.e., 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl)-5-[5-(3-isopropoxy-prop-1-ynyl)-thiophen-2-yl]-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid, was prepared in a manner similar to Intermediate V(a) described in Example 1 except that Intermediate IV(a) was replaced with Intermediate IV(h) (600 mg, 1.26 mmol). Intermediate V(f) was obtained as a white solid in 96% yield. [0159] Compound 32 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 7 except that, in the last step, a crude carboxylic chloride (300 mg, 0.64 mmol) prepared from Intermediate V(h) was treated with 1-aminopiperidine (128 μL, 1.2 mmol) and triethylamine (210 μL, 1.5 mmol) in dichloromethane at 0° C. Compound 32 was obtained as a white solid (238 mg, 70%). [0160] 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.60 (s, 1H), 7.49 (d, 1H), 7.38-7.31 (m, 2H), 7.07 (d, 1H), 6.73 (d, 1H), 4.34 (s, 2H), 3.80 (q, 1H), 2.84 (t, 4H), 2.47 (s, 3H), 1.78-1.71 (m, 4H), 1.42-1.25 (m, 2H), 1.20 (d, 6H). [0161] ES-MS (M+1): 531.1 EXAMPLE 33 Preparation of Compound 33: 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl)-5-[5-(3-dimethylamino-prop-1-ynyl)-thiophen-2-yl]-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid piperidin-1-ylamide [0162] Intermediate IV(i), i.e., 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl)-5-[5-(3-dimethylamino-prop-1-ynyl)-thiophen-2-yl]-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester, was prepared in a manner similar to Intermediate IV(c) described in Example 7 except that ethynyl-cyclopropane was replaced with 3-dimethylamino-prop-1-ynyl. Intermediate IV(i) was obtained as a white solid in 97% yield. [0163] Intermediate V(i), i.e., 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl)-5-[5-(3-dimethylaminoprop-1-ynyl)-thiophen-2-yl]-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid, was prepared in a manner similar to Intermediate V(a) described in Example 1 except that Intermediate IV(a) was replaced with Intermediate IV(i) (500 mg, 1.15 mmol). Intermediate V(i) was obtained as a white solid in 92% yield. [0164] Compound 33 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 7 except that, in the last step, a crude carboxylic chloride (230 mg, 0.50 mmol) prepared from Intermediate V(i) was treated with 1-aminopiperidine (65 μL, 0.6 mmol) and triethylamine (100 μL, 0.72 mmol) in dichloromethane at 0° C. Compound 33 was obtained as a white solid (199 mg, 77%). [0165] 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.60 (s, 1H), 7.50 (d, 1H), 7.36-7.30 (m, 2H), 7.04 (d, 1H), 6.71 (d, 1H), 3.45 (s, 2H), 2.90-2.80 (m, 4H), 2.48 (s, 3H), 2.33 (s, 6H), 1.80-1.68 (m, 4H), 1.50-1.40 (m, 2H). [0166] ES-MS (M+1): 516.1. EXAMPLES 34-36 Preparation of Compound 34: 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl)-4-ethyl-5-(5-pent-1-ynyl-thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid piperidin-1-ylamide; Compound 35: 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl)-4-ethyl-5-(5-pent-1-ynyl-thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid azepan-1-ylamide; and Compound 36: 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl)-4-ethyl-5-[5-(4-methyl-pent-1-ynyl)-thiophen-2-yl]-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid piperidin-1-ylamide [0167] Compounds 34, 35, and 36 were prepared by procedures similar to that described in Example 7, using 1-(thiophen-2-yl)butan-1-one in place of 1-(thiophen-2-yl)propan-1-one. [0000] Compound 34: [0168] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.63 (s, 1H), 7.47 (dd, 1H), 7.34-7.32 (m, 2H), 6.96 (d, 1H), 6.67 (d, 1H), 2.91 (q, 2H), 2.90-2.78 (m, 4H), 2.38 (t, 2H), 1.80-1.70 (m, 4H), 1.60 (sextet, 2H), 1.48-1.36 (m, 2H), 1.25 (t, 3H), 1.02 (t, 3H). [0169] ES-MS (M+1): 515.1. [0000] Compound 35: [0170] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 8.05 (s, 1H), 7.47 (s, 1H), 7.37-7.27 (m, 2H), 6.96 (d, 1H), 6.67 (d, 1H), 3.13 (t, 4H), 2.88 (q, 2H), 2.38 (t, 2H), 2.72 (t, 2H), 1.79-1.68 (m, 4H), 1.68-1.54 (m, 6H), 1.25 (t, 3H), 1.02 (t, 3H). [0171] ES-MS (M+1): 529.1. [0000] Compound 36: [0172] 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.64 (s, 1H), 7.47 (s, 1H), 7.33 (m, 2H), 6.96 (d, 1H), 6.66 (d, 1H), 2.92-2.83 (m, 6H), 2.29 (d, 2H), 1.94-1.86 (m, 1H), 1.78-1.72 (m, 4H), 1.46-1.38 (m, 2H), 1.25 (t, 3H), 1.01 (d, 6H). [0173] ES-MS (M+1): 529.1. EXAMPLE 37 Preparation of Compound 37: 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-5-[5-(3-pyrrolidin-1-yl-prop-1-ynyl)-thiophen-2-yl]-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid piperidin-1-ylamide [0174] Intermediate IV(j), i.e., 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-5-[5-(3-pyrrolidin-1-yl-prop-1-ynyl)-thiophen-2-yl]-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester, was prepared in a manner similar to Intermediate IV(c) described in Example 7 except that ethynyl-cyclopropane was replaced with 1-Prop-2-ynyl-pyrrolidine. Intermediate IV(j) was obtained as a white solid in 94% yield. [0175] Intermediate V(j), i.e., 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl) 4 -methyl-5-[5-(3-pyrrolidin-1-yl-prop-1-ynyl)-thiophen-2-yl]-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid, was prepared in a manner similar to Intermediate V(a) described in Example 1 except that Intermediate IV(a) was replaced with Intermediate IV(j) (300 mg, 0.65 mmol). Intermediate V(j) was obtained as a white solid in 96% yield. [0176] Compound 37 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 7 except that, in the last step, crude carboxylic chloride (180 mg, 0.38 mmol) prepared from Intermediate V(j) was treated with 1-aminopiperidine (49 μL, 0.46 mmol) and triethylamine (76 μL, 0.55 mmol) in dichloromethane at 0° C. Compound 37 was obtained as a white solid (167 mg, 81%). [0177] 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.59 (s, 1H), 7.47 (s, 1H), 7.38-7.30 (m, 2H), 7.01 (d, 1H), 6.69 (d, 1H), 3.59 (s, 2H), 2.90-2.76 (m, 4H), 2.72-2.56 (m, 4H), 2.46 (s, 3H), 1.84-1.62 (m, 8H), 1.44-1.34 (m, 2H). [0178] ES-MS (M+1): 542.1. EXAMPLE 38 Preparation of Compound 38: 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-phenylethynyl-thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid piperidin-1-ylamide [0179] Intermediate IV(k), i.e., 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-phenylethynyl-thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester, was prepared in a manner similar to Intermediate IV(c) described in Example 7 except that ethynyl-cyclopropane was replaced with Ethynyl-benzene. Intermediate IV(k) was obtained as a white solid in 94% yield. [0180] Intermediate V(k), i.e., 1-(2,4-Dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-5-(5-phenylethynyl-thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid, was prepared in a manner similar to Intermediate V(a) described in Example 1 except that Intermediate IV(a) was replaced with Intermediate IV(k) (300 mg, 0.63 mmol). Intermediate V(k) was obtained as a white solid in 93% yield. [0181] Compound 38 was prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 7 except that, in the last step, a crude carboxylic chloride (200 mg, 0.42 mmol) prepared from Intermediate V(k) was treated with 1-aminopiperidine (55 μL, 0.5 mmol) and triethylamine (84 μL, 0.6 mmol) in dichloromethane at 0° C. Compound 38 was obtained as a white solid (169 mg, 75%). [0182] 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , ppm): 7.61 (s, 1H), 7.52-7.46 (m, 3H), 7.38-7.32 (m, 5H), 7.14 (d, 1H), 6.78 (d, 1H), 2.90-2.70 (m, 4H), 2.50 (s, 3H), 1.80-1.60 (m, 4H), 1.44-1.36 (m, 2H). ES-MS (M+1): 535.1. EXAMPLE 39 In Vitro Assays [0183] The affinity of 38 test compounds of this invention toward CB1 and CB2 receptors was determined by competitive radioligand binding in vitro assays. This method differentiates the binding strength between compounds by their abilities in displacing a receptor-specific radioactive ligand. Compounds with higher affinity than the radioactive ligand displace the ligand and bind to the receptors, while compounds with no affinity or lower affinity than the radioactive ligand do not. The readings of the radioactivity retained allow further analysis of receptor binding, and assist in predictions of the pharmacological activities of the test compounds. [0184] In the assays, brain and spleen extracts from male Sprague-Dawley rats were respectively utilized as the source of CB1 and CB2 receptors. Male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 175˜200 g were used and housed under standard stalling conditions with food and water available ad libitum. The animals were sacrificed by cervical dislocation. Brain with cerebellum were excluded and spleen were dissected from the animals. The separated brain and spleen tissues were respectively homogenized by Polytron Homogenizers in 10 volumes of ice-cold buffer A (50 mM Tris, 5 mM MgCl 2 , 2.5 mM EDTA, pH 7.4, 10% sucrose) with protease inhibitors. The homogenate was centrifuged for 15 minutes at 2,000×g at 4° C. The resultant supernatant was centrifuged again for 30 minutes at 43,000×g at 4° C. The final pellet was re-suspended in buffer A and stored at −80° C. The protein concentration of the purified membrane was determined by the Bradford method as described by the manual provided by Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Hercules, Calif. [0185] During the receptor binding experiments, 0.2˜8 μg of a membrane was incubated with 0.75 nM [ 3 H]CP55,940 and a test compound in an incubation buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl, 5 mM MgCl 2 , 1 mM EDTA, 0.3% BSA, pH 7.4). The non-specific binding was determined by using 1 μM of CP55,940. The mixture was incubated for 1.5 hours at 30° C. in Multiscreen microplates (Millipore, Billerica, Mass.). At the completion of the incubation, the reaction was terminated by Manifold filtration and washed with ice-cold wash buffer (50 mM Tris, pH 7.4, 0.25% BSA) four times. The radioactivity bound to the filters was measured by Topcount (Perkin Elmer Inc.). IC 50 values were calculated based on the concentration of the test compound required to inhibit 50% of the binding of [ 3 H]CP55,940. [0186] The efficacy of each test compound was determined by DELFIA GTP-binding kit (Perkin Elmer Inc., Boston, Mass.). The DELFIA GTP-binding assay is a time-resolved fluorometric assay based on GDP-GTP exchange on G-protein subunits followed by activation of a G protein-coupled receptor by its agonists. Eu-GTP was used in this assay to allow monitoring of agonist-dependent activation of G-protein. Note that stimulation of CB1 receptor by CP55,940 leads to the replacement of GDP by GTP on the α-subunit of G-protein. The resultant GTP-Gα complex represents the activated form of G-protein. Eu-GTP, a non-hydrolysable analogue of GTP, can be used to quantify the amount of activated G-protein (Peltonen et al., Eur. J. Pharmacol. (1998) 355:275). [0187] Plasma membrane of human CB1-expressing HEK293 cells was re-suspended in an assay buffer (50 mM HEPES, pH 7.4, 100 mM NaCl, 100 μg/mL saponin, 5 mM MgCl 2 , 2 μM GDP, 0.5% BSA). An aliquot (4 μg protein/well) was added to each well of an AcroPlate (Pall Life Sciences, Ann Arbor, Mich.). After the addition of a test compound (various concentrations in 0.1% DMSO) and CP55,940 (20 nM in the assay buffer), the assay plate was incubated in the dark at 30° C. with slow shaking for 60 minutes. Eu-GTP was added to each well and the plate was incubated for another 35 minutes at 30° C. in the dark. The assay was terminated by washing the plate four times with a wash solution provided in the assay kit. Binding of the Eu-GTP was determined based on the fluorescence signal from a Victor 2 multi-label reader. The IC 50 value (i.e., 50% inhibition of CP55,940-stimulated Eu-GTP binding ) for each test compound was determined by a concentration-response curve using nonlinear regression (Prism; GraphPad, San Diego, Calif.). [0188] All of the test compounds showed IC 50 values between 0.1 nM and 20 μM in the CB1 receptor binding assays and/or CB2 receptor binding assays. The Eu-GTP binding assays were also conducted, and the results were comparable to those obtained from the above-mentioned radioligand binding assays. OTHER EMBODIMENTS [0189] All of the features disclosed in this specification may be combined in any combination. Each feature disclosed in this specification may be replaced by an alternative feature serving the same, equivalent, or similar purpose. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is only an example of a generic series of equivalent or similar features. [0190] From the above description, one skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of the present invention, and without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions. Thus, other embodiments are also within the scope of the following claims.

This invention relates to thiophene compounds of formula (I) shown below: Each variable in formula (I) is defined in the specification. These compounds can be used to treat cannabinoid-receptor mediated disorders.

The present invention is basically related to the pharmacology field, more precisely in the anesthesiology area. Ropivacaine corresponds to the laevorotatory enantiomer from N-2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide, that is, a (S)-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide. Belonging to the series of local anesthetics homologous to bupivacaine, ropivacaine was recently introduced as pure enantiomer, contrary to its antecessors, bupivacaine and mepivacaine. In FIG. 1 are represented the structures of the homologous anesthetics to which these substances belong to. Studies carried out on the structure and activities of the anesthetics belonging to the series of local anesthetics homologous to bupivacaine ( FIG. 1 , where R═C 4 H 9 ) demonstrates that when the substituent bound to the nitrogen from piperidine ring ranges from methyl to penthyl, various alterations of the properties of these anesthetics are observed. Aberg, G. describes that in as much as the number of carbon atoms bound to the nitrogen from piperidine ring of the mepivacaine molecule (R═CH 3 ) increases, forming a chain of four or five carbons, the toxicity of the compounds and the duration of its local anesthetic effects are expanded. With longer N-alkyl chains, containing more than five carbon atoms, the general toxicity and the local anesthetic power (but not the tissue toxicity) are reduced. Aberg, G., Dhunér, K-G. and Sydnes, G. “Studies on the Duration of Local Anesthesia: Structure/Activity Relationships in a Series of Homologous Local Anesthetics” Acta. Pharmacol. et Toxicol. 1997, 41: 432-443). The fact that the toxicity and the power of these chain derivatives containing more than five carbon atoms being reduced, seems to be related to the possibility of formation of dimers, polymers or micelles, being the possible reasons that these molecules of long chain to present lower toxicity and demonstrate to be less effective as local anesthetics when compared to the medium chains (Friberger, P. & G. Aberg, “Some Physiochemical Properties of the Racemates and the Optically Active Isomers of two Local Anesthetic Compounds”, Acta Pharm. Suec., 1971, 8: 361-364; Johnson, E. M. & Lundlum, D. B., “Use of Trypan Blue and Rabbit Eye Tests for Irritation”, J. Amer. Pharm. Ass. (Scient. Ed.) 1950, 39: 147-151; Neville, G. A. & Cook, D., “Lidocaine—An Unusual Incidence of an Acyclic cis Amide Configuration”, J. Pharm. Sci., 1969, 58: 636-637.). In addition to the differences of activities described above, this series of homologous anesthetics present another important peculiarity. The presence of a chiral carbon in its structure gives to these substances, the property of existing in the form of two distinct enantiomers for each carbon atom added in the N-alkyl chain. The enantiomers are molecules which, for containing one or more atom of chiral carbon can exist in the form of two distinct spatial structures, being one the specular image of the other and that are not susceptible of superposition, in reality consisting of structurally different molecules, despite presenting the same physical-chemical properties, except its specific rotations that are opposite. The importance of this observation is based on the fact that the chirality is an important attribute of the majority of biological process and that the enantiomers of bioactive molecules frequently have different biological effects. The explanation for this observation falls on the fact that many drugs are specific, and the action of these drugs is usually explained on basis of the Receptors Theory. The receiving molecules in the body are proteins that show high affinity of its ligands to certain molecular structures, such affinity being analogous to the bonding of one enzyme to its substrate. The bonding of one substrate to its receptor shoots a mechanism (for example, the modification of the activity of one enzyme, transport of ions, etc., which are manifested in the form of a biological reply. Irrespective of its physiological functions, the receptors present a characteristic in common: they are chiral molecules and can be expected to be enantioselective in its bonding to these messenger molecules. (Aboul-Einen, H.; Wainer, I. W. “The Impact of Stereochemistry on Drug Development and Use” Chemical Analisys 142: 5 (1997)). When an enantiomer shows a high grade of complementarities with the site of action (eutomer), it interferes in the action of its antipode, making it inactive (distomer). This phenomenon, Äriens E J (“Stereochemistry, a Basis for Sophisticated Nonsense in Pharmacokinetics and Clinical Pharmacology.” Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol., 26: 663-668 (1994)) named “isomeric ballast”, literally “an isomeric counterbalance”. It is the case of atropine, which is naturally yielded as an S-enantiomer and during the extraction process suffers racemization, resulting in the relation S/R 50:50, being the R-enantiomer absolutely inactive as anticholinergic. In clinic it is used in this racemic form. Twenty five percent of the medicaments currently used in medicine, contain one or more chiral carbons, being 80% of these, commercialized in its racemic forms (Calvey TN—Chirality in Anesthesia. Anesthesia, 47:93-94 (1992)). The inactive enantiomeric form (distomer), however, it is not always a passive component in the mixture, being able to act as agonist, antagonist, exercise actions in other receptors, produce undesirable side effects or also contribute to the total efficacy of the racemate (Willians K, Lee E—Importance of Drug Enantiomers in Clinical Pharmacology. Drugs, 30:333-354 (1985)). Some examples are given hereunder, in which there are differences of activity between the enantiomers of drugs commercialized in its racemic forms: cetamine contains S-cetamine which is predominantly anesthetic and hypnotic, whilst R-cetamine is the main source of undesirable side effects (psychotic reactions when waking up); in the case of propoxyphen, ∘ (2S,3R)-(−)-propoxyphen is anti-coughing, whilst (2R,3S)-(+)-propoxyphen is analgesic; prilocaine shows the isomers R-prilocaine being more rapidly metabolized than S-prilocaine, induces increase in the plasmatic concentration of ortho-toluidine and methahemoglobine. The obtainment of chiral molecules through usual synthetic procedures, normally elapses forming equal quantities of both enantiomers, producing racemic substances. When the homologous series of bupivacaine was discovered, the synthetic drugs were essentially produced in its racemic forms, due to innumerous technological difficulties. The advancements achieved in the field of Asymmetric Synthesis, the development of modern techniques in the obtainment of enantiomers through processes of racemic mixtures separation, the fall of prices in the production of resolution agents and the development of efficient techniques for analysis of these substances, today, makes the production of industrially distinct enantiomers possible, enabling the differentiated study of these new molecules. On account of the advancements, many molecules that were developed in past decades as racemic, are again under study in the form of its distinct enantiomers. In this context ropivacaine has arisen as a pure laevorotatory enantiomer, which initial promise was to be a safer option to the use of racemic bupivacaine, anesthetic of preference in local anesthesia of long duration. The preliminary studies comparing racemic ropivacaine and bupivacaine for epidural anesthesia in 0.5% and 0.75% concentrations found characteristics of similar sensorial blockings, despite the duration of the sensorial blocking being significantly shorter in some studies (Kerkkamp H E M, Gielen M J M, Edstrφm H. Comparison of 0.75% ropivacaine with epinephrine and 0.75% bupivacaine with epinephrine in lumbar epidural anesthesia. Reg Anesth 1990; 15:204-207; Brown D L, Carpenter R L, Thompson G E. Comparison of 0.5% ropivacaine and 0.5% bupivacaine for epidural anesthesia in patients undergoing lower extremity surgery. Anesthesiology 1990; 72:633-636), showing the tendency of a sensorial blocking significantly shorter in other studies. In brachial plexus anesthesia, ropivacaine and bupivacaine demonstrate to be equally efficient. In another study, comparing racemic ropivacaine and bupivacaine at 0.2% for pain relief, ropivacaine was associated to a motor blocking many times lower than bupivacaine (Muldoon T, Milligan K, Quinn P, Connolly D C, Nilsson K. Comparison between extradural infusion of ropivacaine or bupivacaine for the prevention of postoperative pain after total knee arthroplasty. Br. J. Anaesth. 1998; 80:680-681). Another comparative study of racemic ropivacaine and bupivacaine for spinal anesthesia, demonstrated that ropivacaine is about 50% less potent than racemic bupivacaine (Gautier PhE, De Kock M, Van Steenberge A, Poth N, Lahaye-Goffart B, Fanard L, Hody J L. Intrathecal ropivacaine for ambulatory surgery. Anesthesiology 1999; 91:1239-1245). These studies evidenced that ropivacaine is less efficient in a series of customary procedures with the use of bupivacaine. In order to compensate the differences of activity between these anesthetics, doses relatively higher of ropivacaine have been used to achieve the local anesthetic effect adequate for long procedures. This tendency is leading the researchers to use quantities almost twice superior of this anesthetic for obtainment of effects close to that of racemic bupivacaine. However, the increase of concentrations of formulations or of its dosages shall lead, directly, to the increase of the cardiotoxic potential of these anesthetic formulations, with the consequential disappearance of the initial clinic advantage of a less cardiotoxic profile of ropivacaine when compared to bupivacaine. Several studies carried out with ropivacaine demonstrate the necessity of doses much higher than the bupivacaine doses, seeking to obtain effects close to this anesthetic. Among them are the study carried out by Chung and collaborators, in which hyperbaric ropivacaine was compared to hyperbaric bupivacaine in cesareans, being employed a quantity effectively higher of ropivacaine in relation to bupivacaine, 18 mg and 12 mg respectively (a relation of 0.066 mol of ropivacaine for 0.042 mol of bupivacaine) and the results demonstrated that sensorial blocking and motor blocking are inferior to those obtained with racemic bupivacaine (Chung C J, Choi S R, Yeo K H, Park H S, Lee S I, Chin Y J—Hyperbaric spinal ropivacaine for cesarean delivery: a comparison to hyperbaric bupivacaine. Anesth. Analg. July; 93: 157-161(2001)). Fernandes-Guisasola and collaborators, in a comparative study of the use of bupivacaine with fentanyl and ropivacaine with fentanyl in epidural analgesia in deliveries, used bupivacaine at 0.0625% with fentanyl, comparing ropivacaine at 0.1% with fentanyl, using quantities in volume identical among these anesthetics and obtaining equivalent results for both compositions, proving that bupivacaine is more potent than ropivacaine (Fernandez-Guisasola J, Serrano, M L, Cobo B, Munos L, Plaza A, Trigo C, Del Valle SG—A comparison of 0.0625% bupivacaine with fentanyl and 0.1% ropivacaine with fentanyl for continuous epidural labor analgesia. Anesth. Analg. May; 92(5): 1261-1265 (2001)). Another study was conducted by Junca and collaborators, comparing bupivacaine with ropivacaine for cervical plexus blocking using bupivacaine at 0.5% and ropivacaine at 0.75%. As a result, have observed that a greater dose of ropivacaine is necessary in comparison to bupivacaine (225 mg of ropivacaine to 150 mg of bupivacaine), however, with a postoperative analgesia inferior to that obtained with bupivacaine, besides greater plasmatic concentrations of ropivacaine, there existing no reason for the use of ropivacaine in these types of procedures (Junca A., Marret E., Goursot G., Mazoit X., Bonnet F.—A comparison of ropivacaine and bupivacaine for cervical plexus blocking—Anesth. Analg. March; 92(3): 720-724 (2001)). These results demonstrate that ropivacaine shall have its use restricted to a small parcel of procedures and anesthetic techniques, in which can substitute bupivacaine in a satisfactory manner. As previously discussed, ropivacaine is the laevorotatory enantiomer of N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide, a (S)-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide. In its racemic form the laevorotatory and dextrorotatory enantiomers are present in equal quantities. Studies carried out with the racemic form at N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide demonstrated that it presents a sensorial and motor blocking effects, a little inferior to bupivacaine and a cardiotoxic potential close to that presented by bupivacaine. This racemic form was not introduced in the anesthetic practice due to the best therapeutic profile observed with the use of its homologous bupivacaine. Its recent entry in the anesthetic practice in the form of a sole enantiomer, occurred due to its reduced cardiotoxic potential if compared to the racemic form of bupivacaine. The use of this pure laevorotatory form gave the effective advantage to this anesthetic on the racemic bupivacaine, however, the exclusion of its dextroenantiomer demonstrated to interfere reducing, significantly, the power achieved by this anesthetic which, on its racemic form, presents a behavior profile very close to that presented by bupivacaine. Until lately, the studies carried out with enantiomeric substances aim at the obtainment of pure enantiomers, in order to find out which enantiomer presented a certain desired effect, usually disregarding to the other enantiomer, the distomer, the presence of the side effects observed. The fact that the distomer having more intense side effects associated or attributed thereto, lead the researchers to ignore its probable presence in the final medicament, even in cases where it demonstrates to also present the desired properties that are present in eutomer. The studies carried out therefrom, have considered only the more adequate enantiomeric form, being this the one that presents little side effects in relation to the other. Therefore, few studies are carried out with the less adequate enantiomeric forms, in many cases, leading not to understand which activity mechanisms that the racemic drugs have, that, in some cases, makes them more efficient than its pure enantiomers, despite presenting some side effects, comparatively, more pronounced. Recently, more attention is being given to special cases where the presence of both enatiomers of substances, seem to be effectively more adequate to the activity profile of chiral drugs. Apparently, the first drug where the use of both enantiomers was promoted for the obtainment of an ideal therapeutic or pharmacological profile was the indacrinone, where both enantiomers were employed in molar quantities not equivalent among them, in order to achieve an improvement on its activity. Its laevoisomer demonstrated to be a natriuretic agent, more potent than its dextroisomer. The relatively high uricosuric/natriuretic ratio of its dextroisomer, offered the opportunity to improve the pharmacological profile of this drug. The enantiomeric manipulation of indacrinone was conducted with the objective to observe if the increase of the dextroisomer ratio, in relation to laevoisomer could prevent or revert the hiperuricemic effect of the racemate, without inducing natriurese. This study revealed that the ideal proportions between the enantiomers ranged between 60 to 77% of enantiomeric excesses of its dextroisomer (Tobert J Á, Cirillo V J, Hitzenberger G, James I, Pryor J, Cook T, Brentinx S, Holmes I B & Lutterbeck P M—Clin. Pharmacol. Ther., 29:344-350 (1981)). Recently, other drugs have undergone this same type of study, where advantages in the use of both enantiomers to achieve a more adequate activity profile are observed. It is the case, for example, of patent WO 98/40053, where the authors promote the use of both enantiomers, mainly, of tramadol and warfarin in delivered speeds of the non-equimolar enantiomers for the obtainment of an ideal activity profile for these drugs. The enantiomers can be used or manipulated in the pharmaceutical forms, in order to present a delivered profile differentiated between them, so that one is delivered prior to the other, or more quickly than the other. The racemic tramadol presents (+)-tramadol, that despite being a more potent analgesic than the racemic form and the (−)-tramadol, presents greater incidence of side effects like nauseas or dizziness associated thereto. The more adequate therapeutic form would be the quick delivery of (−)-tramadol and of controlled delivery of (+)-tramadol, in order to reduce the side effects associated to the latter, since there is a complementary and antinoceptive synergistic effect among the tramadol enantiomers. In the case of warfarin, an anticloting, both enantiomers present a hypoprothrombinemic activity, being (S)-warfarin more potent. However, the use of this form of warfarin and even of its racemic form is complicated by the fact that a delay of some days in the establishment of the adequate anticloting effect, existing the necessity of establishing a restricted balance between the under dosing and the overdosing. This delay in the establishment of the effect seems to be associated to different activities of the warfarin enantiomers bound to albumen, being metabolized by different routes, which in its turn, shall influence in the expulsion speeds thereof. The patent WO 00/32558, describes the use of tramadol enantiomers in quantities different from those found in racemic tramadol, where (−)-tramadol is employed in a quantity of at least 60% by weight, comparatively to (+)-tramadol, corresponding to an enantiomeric excess of 20% of (−)-tramadol. The employment of non-equimolar quantities of both enantiomers show advantages on the administration of the racemate and/or of (+)-tramadol, that the administration seems to raise not only the desired effect of this anesthetic, but also increase its side effects of nauseas and dizziness. Although being less active the (−)-tramadol seems to be bound to the modulation of the emetic properties of tramadol, reducing the global emetic capacity of the racemate. In the literature there are several procedures describing the obtainment of ropivacaine, but none of these procedures establish a practical and economic method in its obtainment and of its dextroenantiomer, simultaneously. The patent WO 85/00599 describes a procedure proposing the obtainment of ropivacaine in four synthetic phases, starting by the optical resolution of the racemic pipecolic acid with L-(+)-tartaric acid, the subsequent obtainment of the chloridrate of its acid chloride, its posterior condensation with 2,6-dimethyl aniline, the alkylation of its pipecoline ring with n-propyl bromide and the obtainment of its chloridrate to be employed as an active salt in the end product. The procedure described uses a resin of special ionic-exchange, very expensive for the isolation of the L-pipecolic acid, failing which it becomes impossible to continue the synthetic procedure to achieve ropivacaine. In addition to the high cost of the resin employed, another problem related to this procedure is due to the partial racemization of the L-pipecolic acid during the posterior phase, leading to a considerable reduction of the global yield in obtainment of ropivacaine. The procedure described also does not give an example of the obtainment of the dextroenantiomer of ropivacaine, which can be achieved in a form analogous to that of ropivacaine; however, upon employing the tartrate of D-pipecolic acid isolated in the first phase, in its solid form, suffering the same problems of the obtainment of ropivacaine, that is, the use of the special resin and partial racemization. Another procedure for obtainment of ropivacaine is described in patent WO 96/36606, in a process which is composed of three synthetic phases. At an initial phase, racemic pipecolylxilydide suffers an optical resolution process through the use of L-(−)-dibenzoil tartaric acid, achieving S-pipecolylxilydide. At a second phase, S-pipecolylxilydide is alkyled with bromopropane or iodopropane and its chloridrate salt is isolated in raw form. The final phase consists in recrystallization of this chloridrate salt, in order to achieve its monohydrated salt. In this procedure racemization is not described during its performance, however, the cost of the resolution agent employed is considerably high, increasing overmuch the production cost of this enantiomer. Likewise in previous patent, this patent also does not describe the obtainment of ropivacaine dextroenantiomer, however, investigative studies with this procedure, carried out by us, demonstrated that its obtainment is problematic due to the difficulty of crystallization and purification of R-pipecolylxilydide obtained from L-dibenzoil tartaric acid. Patent WO 96/12699 describes a procedure mentioning to be adequate for the obtainment of either ropivacaine or the laevorotatory enantiomer of bupivacaine, the levobupivacaine. Its experimental part is exclusively directed to the obtainment of levobupivacaine, existing no reference to how to effect the procedure for the other analogous, among which ropivacaine is found. In this procedure non-natural tartaric acid is employed, ((S,S)tartaric acid or D-(−)-tartaric acid) as resolution agent, using as solvent, an alcohol and water and/or less than 0.5 molar equivalent of this resolution agent. This procedure directed to the obtainment of levobupivacaine when employed in the conditions described for the obtainment of ropivacaine, shows to be inefficient, presenting very low yields due to the high solubility of the diastereomeric salt in the medium proposed. In addition to this fact, the resolution agent employed presents very high cost if compared to the natural tartaric acid, making the process of obtainment of N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide enantiomers economically unfeasible. We can verify that for the obtainment of ropivacaine and dextroropivacaine enantiomers, the procedures described so far are very expensive, industrially complex, susceptible to racemizations and to low yields and, mainly, directed only to the obtainment of ropivacaine, not describing or considering the technical difficulties existing in the obtainment of this dextroenantiomer. For the obtainment of industrial quantities of both enantiomers of N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide, it becomes necessary that a simple procedure, in which both enantiomers can be quickly achieved from a usual advanced substrate, preferably being it the N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide itself. Thus, one of the objectives of the present invention is to describe an unpublished process and very simple to be industrially effected for the obtainment of both enantiomers of N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide. Previously, we have also verified that the ropivacaine currently employed in anesthetic and/or analgesic procedures demonstrated an activity much lower than that achieved by bupivacaine. This fact is leading the researchers to employ doses that can be twice over that employed for bupivacaine, without achieving the quality of the motor blocking achieved with bupivacaine. Despite being less toxic than bupivacaine, ropivacaine does not fail to present a toxic potential, which will certainly manifest itself, due to the necessity of employment of doses excessively high to achieve effects close to those achieved with bupivacaine. Due to this profile of activity, ropivacaine has its use directed only to very specific procedures, unable to have its use expanded in order to substitute bupivacaine in a great quantity of procedures where the employment of a less toxic anesthetic would bring greater security to the patient and to the anesthesiologist. Previously, we went through a line of more specific studies demonstrating that in some cases the use of both enantiomers of a racemic substance in quantities non-equimolar between itself, can provide advantages on the use of pure enantiomers in the formulation of pharmaceutical compositions. We have also verified that there is no study carried out in order to observe the possible contribution of small quantities defined of dextroropivacaine in the anesthetic effect of ropivacaine. Thus, another objective of the present invention is to provide the enantiomeric manipulation of ropivacaine, through the reduction of the enantiomeric excess in this laevoisomer, quantifying the participation of dextroenantiomer in anesthetic and cardiotoxic effects, in order to improve the anesthetic profile of ropivacaine. The compounds and compositions are manipulated enantiomerically, forming non-racemic mixtures between the enantiomers of N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide. The ropivacaine currently employed presents an enantiomeric excess higher than 99.9% (99.95% of ropivacaine and 0.05% of dextroropivacaine), dealing with a pure enantiomer. We verified that upon promoting the reduction of the enantiomeric excess of ropivacaine, through the employment of dextroenantiomer of N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide, the compositions enantiomerically manipulated started to present an activity higher than that of pure ropivacaine, however, presenting a toxicity practically equivalent to that presented by ropivacaine. These compositions enantiomerically manipulated may be employed in a great variety of procedures where anesthetic activities higher than that presented by ropivacaine are desired, expanding considerably its use that is currently restricted to some specific procedures. A third objective of the present invention is the use of ropivacaine in enantiomeric excesses lower than 99%, in medicine and veterinary. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of the homologous anesthetics to which ropivacaine belongs to; FIG. 2 is a graph showing the gastrocnemius muscle twitches of rats induced by electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve at 0.2 Hz of frequency in the presence of the local anesthetics S(−) Ropi and 25R:75S Ropi; FIG. 3 is an EEG registers of isolated heart of rats in the absence (control) and in the presence of 1.0 μM of the tested local anesthetics; and FIG. 4(A) is a graph showing the effect of the tested local anesthetics in the cardiac frequency expressed in % of control. Each point represents a mean±SEM of 6 experiments. (B) Effect of the tested local anesthetics in the PR interval of the isolated heart of a rat expressed in % of control. Each point represents a mean SEM of 6 experiments. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, the process for the obtainment of enantiomers of N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide consists of the following phases: (a) Dissolve N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide in its freebase form, in an adequate organic solvent; (b) Add the resolution agent in quantity not lower than 0.5 molar equivalent in relation to N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide; (c) Add water in volume not higher than 6% of the volume of the organic solvent employed in (a); (d) Maintain the system under reflux until full dissolution of solids; (e) Allow the system cool, add tartrate germs of (R)-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamida and leave the system under stirring until full precipitation of solids; (f) Filter the tartrate of (R)-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide; (g) Add the resolution agent to the filtrate in quantity not lower than 0.5 molar equivalent in relation to the quantity of N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide primarily used; (h) Maintain the system under reflux until full dissolution of solids; (i) Allow the system cool, add tartrate germs of (S)-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide and leave the system under stirring until full precipitation of solids; (j) Filter the tartrate of (S)-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide. In accordance with the process described, the obtainment of enantiomers of N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide can be directly effected in a sole initial phase, which consists of employing this racemic substrate, submitting it to the resolution with L-(+)-tartaric acid (also known as (R,R)tartaric acid or natural tartaric acid), precipitating the dextroenantiomer (dextroropivacaine or (R)-ropivacaine) in the form of a solid salt, which can be easily separated from the solution, the laevoenantiomer (ropivacaine) remaining in solution. The subsequent phase of the process consists of purification phases through recrystallizations and the transformation of the freebases into chloridrate salts, in order to achieve adequate pharmaceutical salts of these substances. In accordance with the present invention the tartrate salts isolated present high enantiomeric excesses, being that in the obtainment of end enantiomers, ropivacaine and dextroropivacaine, in the form of its acceptable pharmaceutical salts becomes very simple. In accordance with the present invention, N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide is dissolved in a miscible organic solvent with water, as the alcohols C 1 -C 6 , among which, methanol, ethanol, propanol, isopropanol, butanol, among others, ketone or tetrahydrofuran (THF), as well as in solvents, not miscible with water, as esters, among which, ethyl acetate, ketones, among which, acetone, methyl isobutylketone and ethers, among which, diethyl ether and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). Among the solvents employed in the resolution process, the preferred solvents are the alcohols, ketones and ethers miscible with water, specially ethanol, isopropanol, acetone and tetrahydrofuran (THF). The resolution agent employed is L-(+)-tartaric acid (also known as (R,R)-tartaric acid or natural tartaric acid), which is the resolution agent of lower cost existing in the market. In accordance with the procedure, the resolution agent is employed in a quantity which can range from 0.50 molar equivalent to 0.85 molar equivalent in relation to the substrate (N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide). The use of the resolution agent in a quantity lower than the molar equivalent quantity of the racemic substrate, grants to the procedure more stability to the process, yielding a product of greater enantiomeric excess than that usually achieved with the use of the molar equivalent quantities between the resolution agent and the racemic freebase. In addition to the enantiomeric excess achieved through this procedure be considerably higher, thus, prevent the possibility of concurrent crystallization of both diastereomeric salts due to quenching of the reaction medium. In the resolution phase was observed that the employment of solvents containing a small percentage of water, grants more facility in the solubilization of the substrate and the resolution agent, granting also more stability to the reaction medium, which can be quenched at room temperature without influencing, significantly, in the purity of the diastomeric salt achieved, reducing the time of the process. In the process conditions, the percentage of water employed can range between 2% to 6% by volume, relative to the solvent employed in the resolution phase. The employment of superior quantities of water reduces, considerably, the yielding of the reaction, due to the great solubility of this tartrate in the end solution. In this resolution process, the precipitation of (R)-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide (dextroropivacaine or R-ropivacaine) occurs firstly in the form of tartrate salt. For the precipitation of this salt from the reaction medium, is necessary the use of tartrate germs of (R)-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidino-carboxamida (dextroropivacaine tartrate) to sow the medium, in order to induce its precipitation. This diastereomeric salt is separated from the reaction medium by conventional methods, such as filtration or centrifuging. The freebase of dextroropivacaine is delivered through the dissolution of the tartrate salt in water and adding alkaline solutions such as, for example, sodium or potassium hydroxide solution, ammonium hydroxide concentrate, carbonates, etc. The freebase can be achieved through its direct precipitation in the aqueous solution or can be achieved directly in organic solvent through the extraction of the alkaline medium containing the freebase with solvents non-miscible in water, such as toluene, ethyl-acetate, ether, MTBE, a metylisobutyl ketone, among other. This freebase presents high enantiomeric excess, which demonstrates to be between 90% and 98% in dextroropivacaine. This freebase achieved can be submitted to a further purification, in order to promote the enantiomeric enrichment of the isomer achieved. Therefore, the freebase is recrystallized in organic solvents, preferably, the alcohols of C 1 -C 6 , toluene, and ethyl acetate, among others. Toluene and isopropanol are, specifically, the solvents, which results are the most satisfactory, considering the increase on the parameters of enantiomeric excess and the yield achieved in relation to the start material. The obtainment of laevoenantiomer is made through the addition of L(+)-tartaric acid to the medium to which it is further sowed through the addition of tartrate of (S)-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide (ropivacaine tartrate) to promote its precipitation. Alternatively, ropivacaine can be achieved through the evaporation of the solvent left over from the precipitation of the diastereomeric salt of dextroropivacaine. The solid material achieved is dissolved in an aqueous medium and the freebase of ropivacaine is achieved and purified in the same form described for the freebase of dextrobupivacaine. The freebases achieved can be transformed into adequate pharmaceutical salts through the usual procedures described in the literature. For example, the chloridrates of dextrorotatory and laevorotatory enantiomers can be achieved through the dissolution of the freebase in appropriate organic solvents and further addition of gaseous chloridric acid or solution, so as to provide the precipitation of chloridrate salts. Alternatively, the obtainment of the chloridrate salt can be effected through the dissolution of the freebase of the desired enantiomer, in an appropriate solvent and subsequent addition of a saturated solvent with gaseous chloridric acid (HCl gas ) as, for example, ethyl ether saturated with HCl gas . Among the appropriate solvents for the conversion of the freebase into chloridrate salt, preferably can be employed ethers, such as ethyl ether, methyl isobutyl ether (MTBE), tetrahydrofuran, aromatic solvents such as toluene, chlorinated solvents such as dichloromethane and chloroform, ketones as acetone and methyl isobutyl ketone, alcohols, such as isopropanol, propanol, methanol and ethanol, in addition to mixtures between these solvents. The process described in the present invention demonstrates to be easy to perform and extremely more adequate than the previous procedures proposed for obtainment of both enantiomers of N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide. Another objective of the present invention is to demonstrate the advantages of the use of both enantiomers N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide, dextroropivacaine and ropivacaine, in non-equimolar quantities among themselves, in the preparation of pharmaceutical compositions. We have verified that the pharmaceutical compositions prepared containing enantiomeric excess lower than those presented by ropivacaine (which enantiomeric excess is higher than 99.9%), present a considerable and surprisingly improvement of the anesthetic profile activity that demonstrates to be superior either in the use of the racemic form, containing both enantiomers in equal quantities, as well as the use of the pure laevorotatory form. As previously mentioned there are cases where the use of both enantiomers in obtainment of an ideal therapeutic or pharmacological profile is more adequate than the use of only one enantiomeric form. The present invention describes that this is the case of the enantiomers of N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide which, when employed in non-equivalent molar quantities demonstrate an activity higher than the racemic and laevorotatory form. The pharmaceutical compositions so prepared present a better anesthetic performance in terms of motor blocking quality, maintaining a cardiotoxicity equivalent to that observed with the employment of pure ropivacaine. In order to achieve an activity profile higher than that presented by the racemic and laevorotatory forms, ropivacaine and dextroropivacaine are employed in quantities that can range from 55:45 by mass up to 95:05 by mass, respectively, that is, ranging from an enantiomeric excess of 10% to 90% in its laevoenantiomer. The enantiomeric manipulation for obtainment of the enantiomeric excesses described above can be made through several forms known by those skilled in the art. As, for example, but not only restricted to these procedures, it can be made from pure enantiomers in its solid forms or solution, or can be made admixing N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide racemic to pure ropivacaine, in its solid forms or solution. Even the enantiomers presenting several enantiomeric excesses can be combined among themselves or with N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide racemic in quantities defined in order to achieve the different enantiomers excesses in ropivacaine. In order to monitor the final enantiomeric excess, the liquid chromatography of high performance is used with the employment of chiral columns, able to separate the enantiomers, in order to quantify the desired enantiomeric excess. The studies presented in the experimental part demonstrate to have ideal enantiomeric relations between the enantiomers of N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide, being it different from the relation 1:1 existing in the racemate and different from that existing in ropivacaine employed in the studies carried out so far, which were conducted with this form, practically pure (ee>99.9%). The results achieved demonstrate that the non-racemic compositions prepared with these combined active ingredients present significant advantages on the use of pure laevoenantiomer. According to the present invention, the active ingredients containing enantiomeric excesses between 10% and 90% of ropivacaine can be employed in several pharmaceutical compositions, in the form of its freebases and/or its adequate pharmaceutical salts. The pharmaceutical compositions can be prepared in analogy to the compositions existing in the market or these active ingredients manipulated enantiomericaly can be employed in new pharmaceutical compositions, in which we seek for a more intense activity profile than that presented by the current ropivacaine. Due to the surprising and significant improvement of the pharmacological profile of the compositions prepared with ropivacaine in enantiomeric excesses lower than those currently practiced for the ropivacaine existing in the market, these pharmaceutical compositions can be employed in concentrations and quantities equivalent to those used for bupivacaine, but presenting an activity higher than that observed with the pure laevorotatory form. The results achieved demonstrate that the use of the compositions prepared containing ropivacaine in enantiomeric excess of 10% to 90% in medicine and veterinary will certainly achieve a great parcel of procedures in which the only product currently employed is the bupivacaine, offering to the medical professionals an alternative so efficient and safer than bupivacaine. The experimental part described hereunder is composed of illustrating examples, but non-limiting; exemplifying the several possibilities included in the present invention. EXAMPLE 01 Resolution of (R,S)-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide Obtainment of the Dextroropivacaine Tartrate. In a reactor of 2.0 liters, 238 g (0.867 mol) of (R,S)-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide were added in its freebase form and 1.075 ml of isopropanol. The system was taken to reflux, during which the dissolution of base propivacaine occurs. Thereafter, were added 71.57 g (0.477 mol) of L-(+)-tartaric acid and 32.3 ml of water (3% by volume in relation to the isopropanol volume). After addition of these reagents the system was maintained under reflux during thirty minutes, after which the heating was removed. Dextroropivacaine tartrate germs were added and the system was maintained under stirring for precipitation of the product. The precipitate product is vacuum filtered and washed in a portion of 67 ml of isopropanol. The product was dried in a stove, yielding 146 g of dextroropivacaine tartrate as a white crystal solid. MP=150°-154° C.; η=79.2%. EXAMPLES 02 to 07 Influence of the Percentage of Water Present in the Resolution Phase These experiments were conducted in order to study the influence of the quantity of water present in the resolution phase of (R,S)-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide, the yield achieved and the enantiomeric purity of the salt achieved. In every test, equal quantities of the resolution agent, L-(+)-tartaric acid and (R,S)-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide base, were employed. Hereunder, the generic procedure adopted is found, followed by the table containing the quantities of water used in proportion to the solvent employed and the volume of water added in each experiment. In a reactor of 100 ml, was added (R,S)-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide base (8.86 g) and isopropanol (40 ml). The system was taken to reflux and 2.67 g of L-(+)-tartaric acid was added, followed by the quantity of water defined in table 1, hereunder: TABLE 1 Quantity of water added per experiment Proportion of water (VH 2 O/ViprOH) Volume of water Example (Volume/Volume) added (ml) 2 1.0% 0.4 3 2.0% 0.8 4 3.0% 1.2 5 4.0% 1.6 6 5.0% 2.0 7 5.75%  2.3 After the addition of water, the reflux was maintained during thirty minutes and the heating was removed, maintaining the system under stirring. The reaction medium was sowed with dextroropivacaine tartrate germs and maintained under stirring for the precipitation of the product. The dextroropivacaine tartrate was filtered, washed in 2.5 ml of isopropanol cooled and taken to the stove for drying. The following parameters were monitored: Yield: Tartrate mass achieved in grammas; Melting point of the tartrate salt; Specific rotation of the freebase. For obtainment of freebase, 2 g of the precipitate salt are dissolved in 20 ml of water and ammonium hydroxide concentrated is added up to pH=10. The freebase precipitate is filtered and washed in water and then dried in stove. The results achieved from the experiments carried out are given in table 2 hereunder: TABLE 2 Results of the experiments carried out to evaluate the influence of the quantity of water in precipitate tartrate salts. Proportion of Specific rotation of water raw freebase (raw (VH 2 O/ Melting dextroropivacaine) Example ViprOH) Yield point (c = 2, MeOH) 2 1.0% 102.1% 100-122° C.  [α] 25 D = +3.4° 3 2.0% 59.4 98-102° C. [α] 25 D = +60° 4 3.0% 50.0 98-102° C. [α] 25 D = +80.4° 5 4.0% 41.6 98-102° C. [α] 25 D = +82.2° 6 5.0% 38.8 98-102° C. [α] 25 D = +80.88° 7 5.75%  31.5 98-102° C. [α] 25 D = +81.10° From the results achieved we can conclude that the presence of water demonstrates to be important in the enantiomeric purity of the precipitate salt. The number 2 experiment evidences the precipitation concurrently with two salty diastereomers, that is, the dextroropivacaine tartrate and the ropivacaine tartrate, the freebase achieved presenting specific low rotation, due to the low enantiomeric purity of the tartrate precipitated from the reaction medium. Another evidence found is that the solubility of the tartrate salt increases considerably with the increase of the quantity of water added to the solvent. EXAMPLE 08 Obtainment of Freebase of Raw Dextroropivacaine 100 g of dextroropivacaine tartrate were dissolved in 500 ml of water under stirring. To the solution achieved under strong stirring, about 30 ml of ammonium hydroxide were slowly added. During this procedure, the precipitation of dextroropivacaine in freebase form occurs. The pH of the medium presented a value between 9 and 10. The precipitate solid is filtered, washed in water and taken to the stove for drying. The freebase dextroropivacaine achieved yielded m=56.6 g as a white solid. MP=144-149° C., [α] D 25 =+80° (c=2, MeOH), η=87.6%. EXAMPLE 09 Obtainment of Dextroropivacaine with Enantiomeric Excess>99.9% 56 g of dextroropivacaine raw base were recrystallized from 200 ml of isopropanol, yielding 53.2 g (η=95%) of dextroropivacaine pure base [α] D 25 =+83.49° (c=2, MeOH), ee>99.9% (HPLC). EXAMPLE 10 Obtainment of Dextroropivacaine Chloridrate. In a reactor of 2 liters are added 800 ml of tetrahydrofuran (THF) and 53.2 g of dextroropivacaine-purified base (achieved in example 9). The mixture is stirred until full solubilization. Thereafter, 475 ml of ethyl ether saturated with gaseous chloridric acid (HCl gas ) were added, maintaining constant stirring. The reaction medium is maintained under stirring during 30 minutes and then vacuum filtered. The white solid achieved is dried in stove, yielding 61 g (η=100%) of dextroropivacaine chloridrate. MP=262-263° C., [α] D 25 =+6.24° (c=2, H 2 O) EXAMPLE 10 Obtainment of Ropivacaine Tartrate To the resulting solution from example 1, after filtration of dextroropivacaine tartrate with volume about 1.100 ml of isopropanol, 71.57 g of L-(+)-tartaric acid were added, and the mixture was refluxed during 30 minutes. After this period, the heating was turned-off and the reaction medium was maintained under stirring. The reaction medium was sowed with ropivacaine tartrate and maintained under stirring for full precipitation. The solid formed is vacuum filtered, washed in about 67 ml of isopropanol and taken to the stove for drying. MP=98°-102° C., m=126 g (η=68.4%). EXAMPLE 11 Obtainment of Ropivacaine Raw Freebase Under stirring, 126 g of ropivacaine tartrate were dissolved in 200 ml of water. To the resulting solution was added a solution of sodium hydroxide 1N, adjusting the pH of the solution around 10. During the addition of the alkaline solution, occurs the precipitation of raw base ropivacaine. The solid is filtered, washed in about 100 ml of distilled water and taken to the stove for drying. MP=142°-145° C., m=70 g (η=85.9%), [α] D 25 =−74.6° (c=2, MeOH). EXAMPLE 12 Obtainment of Pure Base Ropivacaine with Enantiomeric Excess Higher than 99.9%. 70.0 g of raw ropivacaine are recrystallized from 250 ml of isopropanol, yielding 59 g of ropivacaine as a crystal white solid (η=84.28%). MP=144°-146° C., [α] D 25 =−83.3° (c=2, MeOH), ee>99.9% (HPLC). EXAMPLE 13 Obtainment of Ropivacaine Chloridrate 59 g of purified ropivacaine are dissolved in 380 ml of tetrahydrofuran under stirring. To this solution under stirring, are added 300 ml of ethyl ether saturated with HCl gas . The precipitate solid is filtered, washed with 100 ml of ethyl ether and taken to the stove for drying, yielding m=28 g (η=79.56%) of ropivacaine chloridrate. MP=260°-263° C., [α] D 25 =−6.6° (c=2, H 2 O). The experiments described hereunder demonstrate the pharmacological activity of propivacaine isomers and the different compositions prepared with different enantiomeric excess in ropivacaine. In these experiments the anesthetics used were prepared and named as described below: S(−)Ropi=Pure ropivacaine—enantiomer laevorotatory of N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide; R(+)Ropi=Pure dextroropivacaine—enantiomer dextrorotatory of N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide; RS(±) Ropi=N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide racemic (50% dextrobupivacaine:50% ropivacaine); (25R:75S)Ropi=Mixture enantiomerically manipulated containing 25% of dextroropivacaine and 75% ropivacaine—enantiomeric excess of 50% in ropivacaine. Experiment 1 Study in Motor Nervous Conduction Wistar male rats, weighing from 180 up to 250 g were under anesthesia with sodium pentobarbital (50 mg.kg 1 ) via i.p. After being submitted to tracheotomy and mechanically ventilated (Harvad Apparatus mod. 681), the animals were positioned on a surgical table (C. F. Palmer), on ventral decubital, and the four paws were fixed onto the surgical table. In the posterior face and near the back paw, the sciatic nerve was carefully dissected on both paws. A pair of platinum electrodes was fixed on the portion near the nerve and connected to a stimulator Grass mod.S88. Thereafter, the Achilles tendon was isolated and fixed to the isometric tension transducer (Grass FT03) by means of a metallic rod. The muscular shocks were induced by electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve, with a voltage twice the maximal 0.6-1.0V), duration of 2 ms and frequency of 0.2 Hz The tension of the Achilles tendon was gradually increased until obtainment of maximum muscular shocks, which were registered in Grass polygraph (mod. 7). The body temperature was constant during the experiment. After stabilization of the preparation, the muscular shocks were registered in the absence (salty) and in the presence of increasing doses of LAs added in the proximity of the nerve. For each test, the anesthetic that socked the nerve was of 0.1 ml. The solutions were solved in physiologic serum at 0.9%, currently the experiment is maintained at 37° C. temperature. Results: FIG. 2 shows a typical experiment of motor blocking produced by the local anesthetic. Particularly, in this register, ropivacaine (S(−)ropi) and the non-racemic mixture (25R:75S) were administered in the perineural region. It should be noted the difference in the power and speed action between the anesthetic. In this figure, gastrocnemic shocks of the muscle were induced by electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve. The segment of this nerve situated in the distal portion to the stimulation electrodes was soaked with 0.1 ml ropivacaine or with the non-racemic mixture of ropivacaine (25R:75R) in the concentration of 0.06%. The reduction of the amplitude of the muscular shocks is a function of the number of nervous motor fibers under effective action of the anesthetics. The concentration that inhibits 50% of the amplitude of muscular shocks (IC 50 ) seeks is used for comparative purposes of the power between anesthetics. As showed in table 3, the power of the non-racemic and racemic mixture is approximately 80 up to 90% greater in comparison with ropivacaine, respectively. TABLE 3 Average Inhibition Concentration (IC 50 ) of the Muscular Activity of the Gastrocnemic Muscle of the Rat Power relative to Local Anesthetic IC 50 (%) S (−) ropivacaine S (−) Ropi 0.070 1.0 R (+) Ropi 0.043* 1.63* RS (±) Ropi 0.036* 1.94* 25R:75S Ropi 0.038* 1.84* *p < 0.05 Experiment 2 Effects in the Electrical Activity in Isolated Heart of the Rat (Langendorff Modified) In the experiments “in vitro”, adult male Wistar rats were used, weighing from 200 up to 350 g. The animals were slaughtered under anesthesia with ethyl ether. Thereafter, the heart was quickly removed and immersed, at room temperature, on Tyrode solution, composed in mM: NaCl, 120; KCl, 5.4; MgCl 2 , 1.2; CaCl 2 , 1.25; NaH 2 PO 4 , 2.0; NaHCO 3 , 27; Glucose, 11. The pH of this solution was adjusted to 7.4±0.02, under bubbling with carbogenic mixture (95% of O 2 and 5% of CO 2 ). The heart was fixed, through the aorta, to a metallic tube and the latter was connected to a peristaltic pump (Milan R ). In order to maintain the feasibility of the preparation, the heart was perfused with a Tyrode solution at a flow of 8 ml.min −1 maintained at 37° C. The drugs tested were diluted in the perfusion solution in the desired concentration. Thereafter, the heart was immersed in a recipient containing 150 ml of Tyrode solution maintained at 37° C. For registration of the ECG, three pipettes (electrodes), filled in with KCl 1M were positioned inside the chamber, the nearest possible to the heart. The electrical signals generated by the heart were amplified (Amplifier type 3A9) and registered in polygraph (Gould Brush mod.2400). After stabilization of the preparation, the experimental protocol with the infusion of ALs in crescent concentrations (0.1 a 10 μM), at intervals of 5 minutes between them, was started. The heart was perfused during 5 minutes for each concentration. Only one drug was tested for each heart. The ECG was continuously registered in the absence (control) and in the presence of drugs for analysis. After the infusion of the last concentration, the preparation was washed during 30 minutes with the Tyrode solution without the AL, aiming to evaluate the reversibility of the effect of the drug. Results: The EEG registry of 4 isolated hearts is shown in FIG. 3 . It is important to note that the perfusion with 1 μM of dextroropivacaine caused an important blocking of the cardiac vessel. Minimum alterations of ECG were observed with the other anesthetic in this concentration. In FIG. 4 , are presented the effects of S(−)ropi, R(+)ropi, RS(+)ropi and of (25R:75S)ropi in CF and in the PR interval of the isolated heart of a rat, versus the concentration. The points represent an average±SEM of 6 experiments. It is evidenced that dextroropivacaine and the racemic form are those that cause greater depressors effect of CF and an increase in PR interval. This result demonstrates that the potentiality to cause arrhythmias by alterations of the cardiac conductibility is higher with these substances. Ropivacaine and the mixture (25R:75S)ropi do not alter the PR interval PR even in the concentration of 10 μM. CONCLUSION: From the experiments described above we can conclude that the blocking power of the motor fiber is less pronounced with the use of ropivacaine enantiomericaly pure. Whereas, the mixture 25R:75S, composed of 25% of dextrobupivacaine and 75% of ropivacaine is 80% more potent in blocking motor than the pure ropivacaine. Another conclusion relates to the cardiac toxicity, which in the mixture 25R:75S demonstrated to be comparable to that presented by ropivacaine. Either dextroropivacaine or the racemic mixture presented significantly higher cardiotoxicity in relation to ropivacaine These results confirm that the presence of dextroenantiomer in small quantities defined in ropivacaine, contributes effectively in the quality of the motor blocking achieved with pure ropivacaine without expanding, significantly, its cardiotoxic effect. The employment of ropivacaine enantiomeric excesses lower than 99% is a more efficient and safe alternative that the use of quantities and/or high concentrations of pure ropivacaine.

The present invention describes a method of separation of the enantiomers of N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide. Another object of the present invention refers to the enantiomeric manipulation of the enantiomers of N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide, in order to achiever compounds and pharmaceutical compositions presenting diverse enantiomeric excesses of (S)-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide, in order to quantify and determine the participation of (R)-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide in the anesthetic and cardiotoxic effects. These compounds and compositions enantiomerically manipulated demonstrate to present a significant improvement in itsanesthetic properties, presenting a cardiotoxic profile equivalent to pure enantiomer, a (S)-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-propyl-2-piperidinocarboxamide.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to materials for storage of coded information and methods of fabricating such materials, and more particularly to such materials which are designed specifically for optical information storage and their production. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Optically retrievable information storage systems have been commercially available for some time in the form of video discs and audio discs (more commonly referred to as compact discs, i.e., CDs). More recently, systems in other formats such as optical tape (Gelbart U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,585) and data information cards like those developed by Drexler Technology Corporation, Mountain View, Calif. (Drexler U.S. Pat. No. 4,544,835) are beginning to attract commercial attention. Information carriers or storage media such as video discs and audio discs are often referred to as read-only memories (ROM). The information is typically stored as extremely small structural relief features which are permanently molded into the substrate during the manufacturing process. Optical retrieval of such data is typically accomplished through differential reflection techniques using a laser light source. In addition to ROM media, both write-once media and write-read-erase systems have been recently introduced into the marketplace in disc, card, and tape formats. Typically, these systems utilize a diode laser to both "read" and "write" coded information from and to the medium. Data can be of several forms: that which includes some permanent prerecorded data (similar to ROM) in addition to that which can be permanently formed by the laser through direct or indirect interaction by the user (write-once); that in which all the information is recorded by the laser; or that which can be interactively formed and removed by the laser (write-read-erase). Write-once applications for optical information storage are often referred to as "direct-read-after-write" (DRAW) or more recently, "write-once-read-many" (WORM) media. In this application, the optical storage medium (disc, card or tape) may be already preformatted with the appropriate tracking and associated access information. Some of the media incorporate suitably reflective and active layers into a multilayered structure. Functionally, the basic performance criteria associated with these different media formats are very similar, the most important of which are data input sensitivity and archival stability. Information is stored in the write-once systems as micron-sized optically readable "spots". These spots can be created in a thin absorbing layer above the reflective metal layer or can be formed directly in the metal layer within the medium using a focused laser beam as the writing source (pulsed, high power). The data is "read" by scanning the laser (CW, low power) back over the spots and monitoring the intensity of the reflected laser light Information can be placed on these optical memories in extremely high densities, the theoretical limit being determined by the absolute resolving power of a laser beam focused down to its diffraction-limited size (λ/2NA, wherein λ is the wavelength of the laser and NA is the numerical aperture of the focusing beam optics). Presently, most write and read lasers being employed operate within a wavelength range of 780 to an 830 nm. However, in order to increase memory density, shorter wavelength (down to 300 nm or less wavelengths) are being tested throughout the industry. The information stored in these write-once media is, in principle, capable of being optically accessed an infinite number of times. Mechanically, there are differences between the tape, disc and card formats which make it difficult for one thin-film system to work as a universal write-once active layer. For example, discs which are based on alloys of tellurium, selenium and/or their oxides have been developed as ablative write-once media using conventional sputtering technology. These discs are typically put together in a rigid, air-sandwiched construction to enhance environmental stability while maintaining compatibility with the ablative writing mechanism (i.e., the writing laser beam directly melts away the metal layer to form the information spot). Tape, on the other hand, is a nonrigid medium and must be flexible enough to accommodate motion around the small hubs and rollers associated with tape handling. Additionally, because tape is in constant frictional contact with itself and the roller mechanisms, optical tape must be abrasion resistant. This protection is best afforded by some type of thin film hard overcoat However, this hard overcoat in direct contact with the active layer renders the active layer less sensitive to laser writing. Cards, which traditionally have been considered low-end media, require many of the criteria associated with both tape and disc formats. Like discs, cards are functionally rigid media. When they are in the optical drive the media do not experience any of the same frictional or bending forces associated with tape media. However, outside the drive, the media must be able to withstand the forces associated with external handling and storage by the consumer. Surface abrasion and bending are commonplace for media used in credit card applications. There are other differences and similarities which exist between the three media formats, but due to the variety of potential thin-film layers being developed as write-once media and the large number of diverse drive designs, many of the precise requirements for these three types of media are still in the process of being standardized. For example, media performance standards such as write sensitivity, carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR), data bit size, and reflectivity level will be dependent on the end-use for the specific system. No one thin-film system has been able to meet all the criteria which are required to make the media compatible with the various media drives. As noted above, tellurium and selenium alloys are among materials that have been used heretofore. The reflective layer can be deposited by sputtering, vacuum evaporation, chemical plating or the like. In some cases, this reflective layer (film) is overcoated with one or more semitransparent or transparent polymer layers. In 1991, U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,240 described the use of a highly reflective soft metal alloy reflective metal layer for information storage. The soft metal alloy is flexible and can be manufactured into any of the three formats, tapes, cards or discs. Representative techniques for depositing layers of this alloy include vacuum evaporation and sputtering. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an improvement in the use of soft metal alloys in optical recording media and in the manufacturing of layers of this alloy in such media. The present invention offers improved optical memory storage media based on soft metal alloys and an improved vacuum deposition method of fabricating the same. The present invention utilizes an oxidant-containing atmosphere in a vacuum deposition process to produce an optical memory storage medium with enhanced properties, i.e., less surface inhomogeneities, less phase segregation of the alloy, improved laser write sensitivity, improved environmental stability (oxidation and moisture resistance), lower noise characteristics, improved signal, improved carrier-to-noise level and improved modulation depths. The oxidant present in the sputtering gas atmosphere is an oxygen-containing gaseous species, such as oxygen gas, water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, or the like. The medium which results is characterized by having the soft metal alloy present as a partial oxide. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS This invention will be further described with reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-section of a magnetron sputtering machine capable of producing the products of this invention. FIG. 2 is a cut-away perspective view of a sputtering cathode minichamber useful in a sputtering machine as depicted in FIG. 1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present optical recording media include a substrate having a thin film of a flexible metal alloy adhered to one or both sides wherein the alloy is present in a uniform, partially oxide form. By partial oxide is meant that not all of the metal atoms have been converted to their oxide form. Any material normally used for substrates for making optical media known in the art can be used. For example, the substrates can be selected from solid materials such as rigid or reinforced plastic or glass or can be a flexible plastic or additionally any of the above classes of substrate with a subbing layer adhered to the surface(s) to be coated. Examples of representative plastic media include polyester films, especially polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate, polyacrylate, polymethylmethacrylate, polystyrene, polyurethane, polyvinylchloride, polyimide and the like. Polyester, and especially polyethylene terephthalate, and polycarbonate are preferred plastics because of their hardness, clarity and scratch-resistance. Examples of representative subbing layers include UV-cured acrylics, siloxanes, Teflon®, SiO 2 and the like. UV-cured acrylics are preferred subbing layers because they cause no decrease in performance of the media and improve the adhesion of the metal layer to the substrate. The substrates can be in a form suitable for forming discs, cards or tapes. This is generally in film or sheet form ranging in thickness from about 0.5 mil to about 60 mil. The metal layer is a highly reflective soft metal alloy which is partially oxidized. The highly reflective soft metal alloy comprises at least 5% by weight of each of at least two metals selected from the group consisting of cadmium, indium, tin, antimony, lead, bismuth, magnesium, copper, aluminum, zinc and silver. As examples (all are percent by weight), the metal alloy can comprise of about 5 to about 95% tin, about 5 to about 95% bismuth, and 0 to about 40% copper, about 5 to about 95% tin, about 5 to about 95% bismuth and 0 to about 49.9% silver; about 5 to about 95% cadmium, about 5 to about 95% zinc and 0 to about 49.9% silver; about 5 to about 95% zinc, about 5 to about 95% cadmium and 0 to about 10% magnesium; about 5 to about 95% bismuth, about 5 to 95% cadmium and 0 to about 49.5% silver; about 0.1 to about 95% tin and about 5 to about 99.9% of indium; about 5 to about 95% tin, about 5 to about 95% lead, and 0 to about 40% copper; about 5 to about 95% tin, 5 to 95% lead and 0 to 49.9% silver; about 40 to about 94% tin, about 3 to about 30% antimony, about 3 to about 37% bismuth and 0 to about 40% copper; at least about 8% tin, at least about 8% bismuth and at least one of Mg, Au, Fe, Cr, Mn, Cu, Ag and Ni(at least about 1%) wherein Bi is present in an amount greater than any of Mg, Au, Fe, Cr, Mn, Au, Ag and Ni. Layering materials having these compositions are defined herein as "soft metal layers," "soft metal alloy layers," and "flexible metal alloy layers." A preferable alloy is made up of about 25 to about 90% tin, about 8 to about 60% bismuth and about 1 to 25% copper. Soft metal alloys which comprise predominantly tin, i.e., 55-80%; a major amount of bismuth, i.e., 20-35%; and an amount of copper, i.e., about 1 to about 10% can be used. The partial oxide of an alloy composed of about 70 to about 75% tin, about 20 to about 25% bismuth and from about 1 to about 5% by weight copper is preferred. The soft metal alloy layer is present in a uniform partially oxidized form. By "uniform" is meant that the degree of oxidation is substantially constant at any selected depth below the surface and that the degree of oxidation generally decreases as a function of this depth. This is because the surface oxygen content of the film can go up when the product is removed from the vacuum chamber and exposed to atmospheric oxygen. Oxidation levels in the film are difficult to arrive at by mass balancing the added oxygen during oxidation deposition because the vacuum system is constantly removing gas (including the gaseous oxidants employed herein) to some extent from the sputtering zone. When a metal alloy layer is laid down without added oxidant, removed and equilibrated in air, it appears there is about 0.5 to about 0.6 atoms of oxygen present for each atom of tin (when tin is one of the components). Conversely, when too great a level of oxidant is present, there is about 0.7 to about 0.8 atoms of oxygen per atom of tin. These ranges would appear to suggest a very narrow band of acceptable oxygen levels. It is believed that useful levels of partial oxidation are broader than this range would suggest. In light of the extreme difficulties posed in determining and comparing these numbers accurately, it is considered that one way to define oxidation levels is not by chemical constituency but rather by the optical and performance properties of the metal alloy films. One indirect measure of oxidation level in these thin films of the present invention is reflectivity measured in situ in the vacuum chamber before exposure of the film to atmospheric oxidation. At high oxidation levels, the metal layer appears brown and reflectance at 830 nm drops below useful levels. Suitable oxidation levels diminish the 830 nm reflectance of the film, as compared to film prepared under the same conditions without oxidant. Suitable levels of oxidation are achieve when the ratio of ##EQU1## ranges between about 0.50 and about 0.95, and especially between about 0.60 and about 0.85. Another observable characteristic of the partially oxidized soft metal layer (when at a suitable level of oxidation) is a film surface free of dendrites particularly bismuth-rich dendrites (when bismuth is one of the metals in the alloy), and nodules which are generally observed when no oxidation takes place during deposition. This can be observed by comparing micrographs of the film surface without oxidation with the micrographs of the film when in the partially oxidized form. Yet another observable characteristic of the partially oxidized soft metal layer (when at a suitable level of oxidation) is a film surface made up of uniform grain size particles with a mean diameter of less than about 250 Å. More specifically, typically at least 80% of the particles are sized within ±25% of the mean diameter with that mean being below about 250 Å, especially from about 100 Å to about 200 Å. The partially oxidized soft metal alloy layer is from about 75 Å in thickness to about 5,000 Å in thickness, preferably from about 100 Å to about 1,500 Å, and often from about 350 Å to about 1000 Å. The soft metal alloy is laid down in a thin layer on the substrate by vacuum deposition, e.g., sputter-depositing, in an atmosphere containing an oxidizing species. This oxidizing species is preferably water or oxygen. The oxidizing species is added to the inert sputtering gas atmosphere (e.g., argon) to a level such that the deposited alloy film shows the above defined favorable characteristics, e.g., no dendrites and a reflectivity at the desired level. Sputter depositing is a commercial process for depositing inorganic materials, metals, oxides and the like, on surfaces. Representative descriptions of sputter depositing processes and equipment may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,204,942 and 4,948,087 which are incorporated by reference. A schematic view of a representative sputtering system is provided in FIG. 1 and will be described in and prior to Example I. In sputtering, a voltage is applied to a sputtering cathode in the presence of a reactive and/or nonreactive gas to create a plasma. The action of the sputtering gas plasma on the cathode causes atoms of the cathode (source) to be dislodged and to travel to and deposit upon a substrate positioned adjacent to the sputtering source. Typically, the non-reactive sputtering gas is a noble gas such as krypton or argon or the like. Argon is the most common sputtering gas because of its attractive cost. It is also known in the art to employ a reactive gas as a component of a sputtering gas mixture but not for the purpose of the subjects invention. When a reactive gas is present it can cause a metal to be deposited as an oxide (when an oxygen source is present), a nitride (when a nitrogen source is present) and the like. This reactive sputtering process is well known and used commercially. As applied to the present invention, the soft metal alloy is deposited using a sputtering gas which includes an oxygen source, i.e., an oxidative sputtering gas. The gaseous oxygen source can be oxygen gas (O 2 ), water vapor, carbon dioxide, a nitrogen oxide such as NO 2 or a mixture of these materials. Water and oxygen gas have worked well. The relative proportion of oxygen source to noble sputtering gas ranges from about 0.1 to about 2.0 parts by volume oxygen source to each part of noble gas and especially 0.3 to about 1.0 parts of oxygen source per part of noble sputtering gas. This invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying examples and comparative experiments. These are provided to illustrate the invention but are not to be construed as limiting its scope. These experiments were all carried out in a continuous sputtering machine. The sputtering equipment used was a research-sized coater for 13.5-inch-wide web. A simplified schematic of the web coating system is shown as System 10 in FIG. 1. System 10 includes vacuum chamber 12 which is evacuated via line 14. Contained within chamber 12 is a drive mechanism for moving a sheet of flexible plastic substrate 16 past a series of magnetron sputtering stations 50, 48, and 46. The drive mechanism includes feed roll 18, idlers 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30 and 32 and take-up roll 34. The film passes around chilled idler drum 36 as well. The film passes a pair of monitors for determining its transmittance, 38, and reflectance, 40, before coating and a similar pair of monitors 42 and 44 after coating. This coater is configured to sputter coat simultaneously up to three layers on a 13.5-inch-wide web using three separate DC magnetron cathodes 46, 48 and 50. Also located in the system is a pre-glow station 52 for ionized gas cleaning or surface modifying of the substrate before coating. Each of these four stations is isolated from each other in space as a mini-chamber; thereby producing a local environment for the containment of the plasma gasses. This allows separate processes to be carried out simultaneously at each station without cross-contamination between the four sources (see FIG. 2). Mini-chamber 46 is equipped with a manifold for distributing oxidant gas such as water vapor or oxygen, supplied from vessel 53 via valve 54 and line 56. As shown in FIG. 2, a mini-chamber such as 46 includes a housing 61 with a curved side 62 which conforms to the contour of idler drum 36 (FIG. 1). This side 62 contains a slit 64 through which the sputter deposited alloy is conveyed onto the substrate that moves past it. The mini-chamber 46 has a cathode 66 made of the soft metal alloy and a manifold 68 which mixes sputtering gas (Ar) from line 70 and water vapor or oxygen from line 56 and distributes this mixture in its sputtering zone via line 72-74, etc. The control and monitoring of the sputtering system are normally accomplished using equipment and sensors which are standard in this coating machine. These are shown in FIG. 1 and include: 75, mass flow controllers (MKS) for regulation of gas flow into the cathode mini-chambers; 76, 5-10 kilowatt DC power supplies (Advanced Energy) for all three sputtering cathodes; 77, an optical monitoring system (Hexatron/Southwall Technologies) which measures both reflectance and transmission of the film over the spectral region from 300 to 2000 nm; and 78, a film motion control system (Drivex) which regulates the tension, speed, and distance of the film as it moves through the system. In addition to this equipment, the chamber 46 was fitted with an optical emission spectrometer (OES) 60 and a residual gas analyzer (RGA) 58 for in situ monitoring of the composition of the gas species in the plasma (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The process parameters are equipment sensitive and may vary from equipment to equipment and even on the same equipment from day to day. Thus, before making the media of the present invention, the equipment should be calibrated before use. The experiments were carried out using the following protocol for experimental sample preparation: 1) the chamber was setup: a) a plastic (usually PET) substrate film was loaded into the chamber, b) the chamber was evacuated to 1-2×10 -5 Torr, c) the argon gas flow rate was set, d) the oxidant gas valve was opened to give a desired ratio of argon to oxidant source, with oxygen being the common oxidant source, e) the film reels were set in motion, f) the pre-glow station was turned on, g the cathode power was set and turned on, 2) the system was allowed to equilibrate for a period of time, 3) 10 to 20 feet of film was coated with the soft metal alloy, 4) the power to the cathode was turned off for a short period of time to leave a "blank" region on the film as a marker to identify the end of "sample", 5) new system parameters were set (1c-g), 6) the plasma was then reignited and the cycle repeated (2-6) until the film was used up or the experiments were complete, and then 7) the film was removed from the vacuum chamber and cut into sections for analysis. Using the protocol outlined above, a set of preparations were carried out to demonstrate the effect of oxidant source and amount on the soft metal alloy sputtering process and products. Films of varying reflectivities were made at different oxidant levels. COMPARATIVE EXPERIMENTS The tables set forth herein reflect the equipment and process parameters (Table 1a and 2a) and the properties of the media (Tables 1b and 2b). The first series of films was made at varying film reel speeds with no oxidant added to the system. These experiments were used as a base-line in which to compare materials prepared in accordance with the invention. Six samples at varying reflectivity levels were made in this series from a high of ˜82% down to 50%. This corresponds to reel speeds of 5 mm/sec and 30 mm/sec, respectively (see Tables 1a and 1b Samples 1-6). In these experiments the sputtering target (5"×15.5"×0.25") comprised an alloy, in percentage by weight, of Sn (about 65 to about 80), Bi (about 13 to about 30), and Cu (about 1 to about 7). The alloy composition may have varied within these limits from test to test. The substrate was 3 mil PET (ICI 393) film. In the six samples, the chamber was evacuated to about a pressure of 2×10 -5 Torr, then back-filled with argon gas to a pressure of about 1.07×10 -3 Torr. A DC power of 1000 watts at 593 volts and 1.64 amps was applied to the magnetron sputtering source. The substrate was translated in front of the sputtering source at different rates to coat the soft metal alloy onto the substrate at different thicknesses. The reflectance light write threshold, modulation depth and carrier-to-noise level are set forth in the Table 1b. Bismuth-rich dendrites were present on all of the medium surfaces. These features resulted in inhomogeneities in reflectivity, laser write sensitivity, modulation depth, and carrier-to-noise level. EXAMPLES OF THE INVENTION (H 2 O VAPOR) A 13.5-inch wide web coating machine was used to sputter deposit the soft metal alloy onto polymeric substrate materials. The sputtering target (5"×15.5"×0.25") consisted of the same alloy composition as described above. The substrate was 3 mil PET film. The chamber was evacuated to about a pressure of 1×10 -5 Torr, then back-filled with argon gas to a pressure of about 1.07×10 -3 Torr, and then with water vapor to a total pressure as shown in the Table 1a. A DC power was applied to the magnetron sputtering source. The substrate was translated in front of the sputtering source at a rate shown in the Table 1a so as to allow for a coating of the alloy to be deposited onto the substrate. The resulting medium had a reflectance, a modulation depth and a carrier-to-noise level as shown in Table 1b. The media surfaces were homogeneous. EXAMPLES OF THE INVENTION (OXYGEN AS OXIDIZING GAS) Another series of Examples were run as described above except O 2 was used instead of H 2 O. These Examples are set forth in Tables 2a and 2b. The surfaces of these media were also homogeneous. TABLE 1a__________________________________________________________________________Process Parameters Reel Mini-Chamber Water Flow In Situ In SituSample Power Speed Pressure Micrometer Reflectivity Transmission# (Watts) (mm/sec) (mTorr) Setting (% at 830 nm) (% at 830 nm)__________________________________________________________________________ 1 1000 5 1.03 0 82.8 0.0 2 1000 10 1.02 0 78.1 2.2 3 1000 15 1.02 0 70.1 6.0 4 1000 20 1.06 0 62.5 10.3 5 1000 25 1.03 0 55.3 15.0 6 1000 30 1.02 0 48.0 19.7 7 1000 5 1.03 10 81.5 0.0 8 1000 10 1.03 10 78.5 1.9 9 1000 15 1.03 10 71.3 5.510 1000 20 1.05 10 63.4 9.611 1000 25 1.07 10 56.0 14.412 1000 30 1.09 10 49.4 18.913 1000 5 1.05 20 80.8 0.014 1000 10 1.06 20 78.5 2.115 1000 15 1.09 20 70.6 6.016 1000 20 1.11 20 61.5 10.817 1000 25 1.11 20 53.4 15.518 1000 30 1.13 20 46.2 20.519 1000 5 1.13 30 78.3 0.020 1000 10 1.14 30 76.3 2.121 1000 15 1.16 30 68.4 6.422 1000 20 1.17 30 59.5 11.823 1000 25 1.18 30 50.5 17.024 1000 30 1.21 30 44.1 22.425 1000 5 1.23 40 65.2 0.326 1000 2.5 1.21 40 48.3 0.027 1000 5 1.21 40 61.9 0.428 1000 10 1.23 40 72.1 2.929 1000 15 1.24 40 66.5 6.730 1000 20 1.25 40 57.7 11.731 1000 25 1.28 40 49.3 16.832 1000 30 1.26 40 43.5 21.633 1000 2.5 1.27 50 42.1 0.034 1000 5 1.27 50 59.2 0.435 1000 10 1.28 50 68.9 3.236 1000 15 1.32 50 63.1 7.437 1000 20 1.32 50 55.6 11.838 1000 25 1.34 50 48.5 16.739 1000 2.5 1.54 75 44.5 0.040 1000 5 1.54 75 55.9 1.141 1000 10 1.54 75 60.9 5.942 1000 15 1.55 75 55.8 9.743 1000 20 1.57 75 49.7 14.144 1000 2.5 1.72 100 52.7 0.145 1000 5 1.72 100 55.7 2.546 1000 10 1.73 100 58.1 8.947 1000 15 1.77 100 50.7 14.548 1000 20 1.77 100 43.6 20.049 200 2.2 1.54 60 52.0 15.950 200 2 1.64 70 50.3 18.351 200 1.5 1.76 80 48.7 20.152 500 8 1.43 60 51.9 13.153 500 7 1.52 70 51.5 13.754 500 6 1.60 80 52.6 14.155 500 5 1.68 90 53.9 14.356 1000 19 1.42 60 53.5 11.657 1000 17 1.47 70 54.6 10.558 1000 17 1.55 80 53.1 11.559 1000 15 1.50 90 53.6 11.360 1500 32.5 1.35 60 53.6 13.661 1500 30 1.47 70 53.3 12.862 1500 28 1.57 80 52.0 12.563 1500 25 1.64 90 53.6 11.2__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 1b__________________________________________________________________________Optical Measurements at 830 nmStatic Trans- Laser Write DynamicSample Reflectivity mission Absorption Sensitivity Modulation Carrier-to-# (%) (%) (%) (nanoseconds) Depth (%) Noise (dBs)__________________________________________________________________________ 1 80.59 0.02 19.22 160000 0.0 -- 2 75.61 2.41 21.98 8000 0.0 -- 3 67.57 6.28 26.15 1600 0.0 -- 4 58.28 11.39 30.33 540 0.0 -- 5 49.15 18.01 32.84 340 52.3 37 6 40.60 24.65 34.76 240 64.7 43 7 80.34 0.02 19.49 110000 0.0 -- 8 75.64 1.96 22.40 9000 0.0 -- 9 68.54 5.72 25.74 3000 0.0 310 59.85 10.65 29.50 7000 0.0 611 49.91 17.10 32.99 340 26.4 2812 41.59 23.10 34.83 270 57.1 4113 77.57 0.18 22.24 32000 0.0 --14 75.53 2.20 22.27 4000 0.0 --15 66.49 6.43 27.08 1000 0.0 516 56.91 11.82 31.26 550 0.0 --17 46.90 18.54 34.55 380 37.5 3218 38.31 25.64 36.05 300 58.6 4319 77.1 0.02 22.69 13000 0.0 --20 74.81 2.25 22.94 3000 0.0 --21 64.39 6.79 28.82 870 0.0 322 53.32 12.37 34.31 470 0.0 923 44.06 19.92 36.01 300 47.4 3724 36.58 26.68 36.74 240 71.4 4425 64.12 0.47 35.41 1800 0.0 --26 45.13 0.07 54.80 5000 0.0 --27 61.04 0.52 38.44 1800 0.0 --28 70.78 2.86 26.35 1500 0.0 --29 64.02 6.74 29.24 750 0.0 --30 53.55 11.96 34.49 390 58.3 2631 43.51 19.65 36.84 540 59.5 3832 36.50 25.39 38.11 230 78.6 4733 41.35 0.07 58.59 990 0.0 --34 56.67 0.59 42.75 930 0.0 --35 66.35 3.31 30.34 930 0.0 1036 61.13 7.15 31.72 490 44.4 3437 52.86 12.13 35.01 350 57.1 4438 45.20 17.40 37.40 260 6.4 2339 42.38 0.09 57.54 350 0.0 2240 54.03 1.34 44.63 390 19.4 3541 59.64 5.69 34.67 260 61.7 4542 54.11 9.69 36.20 210 80.0 4643 47.52 14.64 37.85 180 8.3 2744 51.20 0.20 48.60 290 0.0 2645 54.15 2.70 43.16 360 46.4 3446 56.78 8.87 34.35 270 65.9 4447 48.63 14.91 36.46 200 82.4 4448 41.41 20.87 37.72 180 40.4 39.549 49.94 16.36 33.70 220 28.3 3050 48.94 18.60 44.63 290 13.3 2751 48.17 19.75 34.67 320 64.4 4252 49.87 13.86 36.27 180 65.2 41.553 49.92 14.25 35.82 190 58.3 40.554 50.63 14.69 34.67 200 44.0 36.555 52.85 14.19 32.96 230 54.2 4356 50.38 12.48 37.13 210 51.0 43.557 51.50 11.32 37.18 200 66.0 4458 50.52 12.54 36.93 190 67.3 4459 51.29 11.93 36.78 200 47.7 3260 49.22 14.99 35.79 290 50.0 3961 48.91 14.04 37.04 230 53.5 4462 47.97 14.31 37.72 190 58.7 42.563 49.18 13.09 37.74 180 0.0 0.0__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 2a__________________________________________________________________________Process Parameters Mini-Chamber Oxygen Flow In SituSamplePower Reel Speed Pressure Rate Reflectivity# (Watts) (mm/sec) (mTorr) SCCM (% at 830 nm)__________________________________________________________________________64 1000 33.0 1.11 0.0 50.465 1000 29.9 1.15 2.0 49.066 1000 24.5 1.17 4.0 50.267 1000 20.0 1.20 6.0 51.368 1000 16.0 1.23 8.0 49.869 1000 12.5 1.24 10.0 50.5__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 2b__________________________________________________________________________Optical Measurements at 830 nmStatic Laser Write DynamicSample Reflectivity Transmission Absorption Sensitivity Modulation Carrier-to-# (%) (%) (%) (nanoseconds) Depth (%) Noise (dBs)__________________________________________________________________________64 45.32 19.14 35.54 290 55 4365 48.07 13.93 38.00 200 63 4566 50.25 13.55 36.20 200 71 4567 48.26 16.47 35.28 230 71 4468 48.85 16.69 34.19 260 56 4369 38.66 27.46 33.88 360 44 33__________________________________________________________________________ EXAMPLE (POLYCARBONATE SUBSTRATE) A 13.5-inch wide web coating machine was used to sputter deposit a soft metal alloy onto polymeric substrate materials. The sputtering target (5"×15.5"×0.25") consisted of an alloy, in percentage by weight, of Sn (70), Bi (25), and Cu (5). The substrate was 130 mm wide, 5 mil thick polycarbonate cast film. This film was embossed with 1300 A" high features. A 5" square uniformity shield was installed in the mini-chamber to limit the metallization to the embossed regions of the film. The chamber was evacuated to about a pressure of 1×10 -5 Torr, then back-filled with argon gas to a pressure of about 2.04×10 -5 Torr, and then with oxygen gas to a total pressure of about 2.57×10 31 3 Torr. A DC power of 390 watts at 429 volts and 0.88 amps was applied to the magnetron sputtering source. The substrate was translated in front of the sputtering source at a rate of 8 mm/sec so as to allow for a coating of the alloy to be deposited onto the substrate. EXAMPLE (SUBBING LAYER) A 13.5-inch wide web coating machine was used to sputter deposit the soft metal alloy onto polymeric substrate materials. The sputtering target (5"×15.5"×0.25") consisted of an alloy, in percentage by weight, of Sn (70), Bi (25), and Cu (5). The substrate was a 10 mil PET film with a cured, UV acrylic subbing hardcoat on the surface. The plastic sheet was formed in a clean environment to give optically clean materials. The chamber was evacuated to about a pressure of 1×10 -5 Torr, then back filled with argon gas a pressure of about 2.06×10 -3 Torr, and then with oxygen gas to a total pressure of about 2.57×10 -3 Torr. A DC power of 920 watts at 489 volts and 1.85 amps was applied to the magnetron sputtering source. The substrate was translated in front of the sputtering source at a rate of 16 mm/sec so as to allow for a coating of the alloy to be deposited onto the substrate.

An optical memory storage medium based on a partially oxidized deposited layer of soft metal alloy is described. A method of preparing the medium by vacuum depositing the soft metal alloy layer in the presence of controlled amounts of gaseous oxidant to thereby form the layer in a uniform partially oxidized form.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is based on and claims priority from Korean Patent Applications No. 10-2011-0071343, filed on Jul. 19, 2011 and No. 10-2012-0018591, filed on Feb. 23, 2012 with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the present disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a nitride electronic device and a method for manufacturing the same, and particularly, to a nitride electronic device and a method for manufacturing the same that can implement can implement various types of nitride integrated structures on the same substrate through a regrowth technology (epitaxially lateral over-growth: ELOG) of a semi-insulating gallium nitride (GaN) layer used in a III-nitride semiconductor electronic device including Group III elements such as gallium (Ga), aluminum (Al) and indium (In) and nitrogen. BACKGROUND A gallium nitride (GaN)-based compound semiconductor is a direct transition type semiconductor and can control a wavelength from visible rays to ultraviolet rays. The gallium nitride-based compound semiconductor has high thermal and chemical stability and high electron mobility and saturated electron velocity. The gallium nitride-based compound semiconductor has excellent physical properties such as a large energy band gap as compared to known gallium arsenic (GaAs) and indium phosphorus (InP)-based compound semiconductors. On the basis of these properties, an application range of the gallium nitride-based compound semiconductor has been expanded to optical devices such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) of a visible ray region and laser diodes (LDs), and the next-generation wireless communication and satellite communication systems requiring high power and high frequency properties, which are fields having a limitation when using known compound semiconductors. Performance of a gallium nitride-based electronic device is determined by an epitaxial structure, a process technology such as ohmic contact by a low resistance metal material and Schottky contact having high bather potential and a device design for determining a range of high frequency operation and current operation. Here, the epitaxial structure includes a barrier layer constituted by aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN), indium aluminum nitride (InAlN), aluminum nitride (AlN) and the like, a channel layer used as an electron movement path and a semi-insulating layer for device isolation and reduction in leakage current. However, when implementing integrated structures having various properties on a single substrate at the same time, there are many limitations in designing of the epitaxial structure, a device process and designing of a device, which is an obstacle to implementing a GaN-based electronic device. Accordingly, in order to manufacture a GaN-based field effect transistor (FET), it is necessary to develop an epitaxial structure, a process technology and a device design technology that can manufacture various FET devices on a single substrate. SUMMARY The present disclosure has been made in an effort to provide an electronic device which has structures differently having channel layers and barrier layers through a regrowth technology using a GaN layer as a semi-insulating layer and regrowth, and has integrated structures with various properties, which are implemented on a single substrate using a unit process and a design technology, and a method for manufacturing the same. An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides a nitride electronic device, including: a first nitride integrated structure in which a low temperature buffer layer, a first semi-insulating nitride layer, a first channel layer and a first barrier layer are sequentially stacked on a substrate, and the first semi-insulating nitride layer is partially etched; and a second nitride integrated structure in which a second semi-insulating nitride layer, a second channel layer and a second barrier layer are sequentially stacked on a part where the first semi-insulating nitride layer is partially etched. Another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for manufacturing a nitride electronic device, including: forming an epitaxial structure in which a low temperature buffer layer, a first semi-insulating nitride layer, a first channel layer and a first barrier layer are sequentially stacked on a substrate; stacking a first dielectric layer for forming a pattern on the first barrier layer and partially etching the first barrier layer, the first channel layer and the first semi-insulating nitride layer; regrowing a second semi-insulating nitride layer on the etched first semi-insulating nitride layer; sequentially stacking a second channel layer and a second barrier layer on the second semi-insulating nitride layer; stacking a second dielectric layer for forming a pattern on the second barrier layer and etching the second barrier layer, the second channel layer and the second semi-insulating nitride layer; and removing the first and second dielectric layers and stacking metal electrode layers on the first and second barrier layers. According to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to obtain the following various effects by integrating various types of devices using a semi-insulating GaN layer that isolates devices and limits leakage current in an electronic device. It is possible to implement a compound semiconductor integrated circuit in which various types of devices are simultaneously manufactured on a single substrate using a regrowth technology. Since different kinds of epitaxial structures may be grown, it is possible to form, as necessary, various types of electronic devices such as integration of high frequency devices having different operating frequencies, integration of a depletion mode (normally-on) device and a enhancement mode (normally-off) device by adjusting a thickness of a barrier layer, integration of a high frequency device constituted by a channel layer and a barrier layer and a high current device constituted by a channel layer or a Schottky diode and the like. As electronic devices are integrated vertically, a degree of integration of devices in the same area may be improved as compared to a known horizontal device arrangement, and when a semiconductor integration process is used, the surface planarization may be achieved in a horizontal direction, and devices may be integrated in a vertical direction. The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a GaN electronic device according to the present disclosure. FIGS. 2 to 9 are a process flowchart illustrating a method for manufacturing a GaN electronic device according to the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a GaN electronic device which includes only barrier layers by omitting a first channel layer and a second channel layer from the structure of the GaN electronic device of FIG. 1 . FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a GaN electronic device in which a first integrated structure in the structure of the GaN electronic device of FIG. 1 is constituted by only a channel layer, and a second integrated structure is constituted by a channel layer and a barrier layer. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a GaN electronic device in which a first integrated structure in the structure of the GaN electronic device of FIG. 1 is constituted by a channel layer and a barrier layer, and a second integrated structure is constituted by only a channel layer. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a GaN electronic device which includes only channel layers by omitting a first barrier layer and a second barrier layer from the structure of the GaN electronic device of FIG. 1 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawing, which form a part hereof. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawing, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here. Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The configuration of the present disclosure and operational effect thereof may be apparently understood through the following detailed description. Prior to the detailed description of the present disclosure, it is noted that the same reference numerals refer to the same elements throughout the specification even though the same elements are shown in the other drawing, and known constitutions may not be described in detail if they make the gist of the present disclosure unclear. FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a GaN electronic device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the GaN electronic device according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes a sapphire substrate 101 , a low temperature buffer layer 102 , a first semi-insulating GaN layer 103 , a first channel layer 104 , a first barrier layer 105 , a second semi-insulating GaN layer 107 , a second channel layer 108 , a second barrier layer 109 , an ohmic contact layer-source electrode layer 111 , an ohmic contact layer-drain electrode layer 112 and a Schottky contact layer-gate electrode layer 113 . According to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the second semi-insulating GaN layer 107 is used so as to ensure device isolation and reduction in leakage current of the GaN electronic device, and properties of electrical insulation and device isolation between first and second GaN integrated structures are implemented through a regrowth process of the second semi-insulating GaN layer 107 , thereby manufacturing an electronic device capable of implementing the same kind of or different kinds of various devices together on the same substrate. FIGS. 2 to 9 illustrate a manufacturing process of the GaN electronic device according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Describing the manufacturing process of the GaN electronic device, a basic epitaxial structure is first formed. The epitaxial structure is formed by sequentially stacking the low temperature buffer layer 102 , the first semi-insulating GaN layer 103 , the first channel layer 104 for electron movement and the first barrier layer 105 forming a 2-dimensional electron gas (2-DEG) layer on the sapphire substrate 101 . Thereafter, in an etching process for device integration, after patterning a first SiO 2 layer or a first SiN x layer 106 using a first mask, the first channel layer 104 and the first barrier layer 105 are etched. Then, the second semi-insulating GaN layer 107 is regrown on the first semi-insulating GaN layer 103 which is exposed. After two-dimensional surface growth is completed, the second channel layer 108 and the second barrier layer 109 are sequentially stacked. In this case, epitaxial properties of the semi-insulating GaN layer, the channel layer and the barrier layer, which are grown separately, are determined according to properties of devices to be integrated on the single substrate, and various types of devices may be integrated. When the regrowth is completed, a second SiO 2 layer or a SiN x layer 110 is deposited, and then patterned oppositely to patterning using the first mask. Next, an etching process is performed up to the first SiO 2 layer or the SiN x layer 106 , and the SiO 2 layer or the SiN x layer 106 which is exposed is removed. Thereafter, an electrode layer for manufacturing an electronic device is formed. In this case, a Schottky electrode of a gate electrode is formed after forming ohmic contact of a source electrode and a drain electrode according to a design of a device pattern. The same type of or different types of GaN devices may be integrated on a single substrate based on the above-mentioned processes. FIG. 2 illustrates an epitaxial structure layer that is a basic structure of an electronic device using a GaN compound semiconductor. The epitaxial structure layer has a structure in which a sapphire substrate 101 , a low temperature buffer layer 102 , a first semi-insulating GaN layer 103 , a first channel layer 104 and a first barrier layer 105 are sequentially stacked. Describing steps of a manufacturing process of the epitaxial structure layer, the low temperature buffer layer 102 is first grown on the sapphire substrate 101 . Thereafter, the first semi-insulating GaN layer 103 is grown on the low temperature buffer layer 102 to have a thickness of 2 to 3 μm so as to electrically insulate electronic devices and reduce leakage current. The first semi-insulating GaN layer 103 is grown to have an epitaxial structure which has high resistivity by changing a growth speed of high temperature GaN or controlling a growth mode of GaN. Then, the first channel layer 104 is grown on the first semi-insulating GaN layer 103 . The first channel layer 104 is a path through which electrons forming an current flow in an electronic device move between electrode layers, and in order for the first channel layer 104 to have high mobility, no impurities is doped or a minimum amount of dopant is used. The first channel layer 104 may be constituted by a ternary compound semiconductor including indium (In) or aluminum (Al) so as to increase an effect of interrupting leakage current and limiting current. Then, the first barrier layer 105 is grown on the first channel layer 104 . The first barrier layer 105 is mainly constituted by a ternary (Al x Ga 1-x N, In x Ga 1-x N, In x Al 1-x N) or quaternary (In x Al y Ga 1-x-y N) compound semiconductor. In this case, a composition ratio of elements and a thickness of the barrier layer are determined according to performance required for the GaN electronic device. In a high frequency electronic device, an Al x Ga 1-x N barrier layer is mainly used, a composition ratio of Al is in the range of 20 to 40%, and a thickness thereof is in the range of 10 to 40 nm. FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a step of forming a pattern and an etching step for regrowing semi-insulating GaN. Referring to FIG. 3 , a first dielectric layer 106 is used to form a pattern, and in this case, a thickness of the dielectric layer is in the range of 0.1 to 0.2 μm. SiO 2 or SiN x may be used for the first dielectric layer 106 . Referring to FIG. 4 , an etching thickness is up to a depth at which the first semi-insulating GaN layer 103 is exposed and is generally in the range of 0.1 to 0.5 μm. FIG. 4 illustrates a first integrated structure. Referring to FIG. 5 , the second semi-insulating GaN layer 107 is regrown on the surface of the etched first semi-insulating GaN layer 103 , and the second channel layer 108 and the second barrier layer 109 are stacked in sequence. In this case, a total thickness of the grown second integrated structure needs to be within the range of 1 μm in consideration of pattern work. The detailed configuration of the second channel layer 108 and the second barrier layer 109 is similar to that of the first channel layer 104 and the first barrier layer 105 and needs to be designed depending on properties of the GaN electronic device. FIGS. 6 to 9 simply illustrate steps of a manufacturing process of the GaN electronic device. Referring to FIG. 6 , a second dielectric layer 110 for an etching process is formed. In this case, the pattern formed is opposite to that of the first dielectric layer 106 . SiO 2 or SiN x may be used for the second dielectric layer 110 . Referring to FIG. 7 , an etching process is performed up to the first dielectric layer 106 . Referring to FIG. 8 , the first dielectric layer 106 and the second dielectric layer 110 used for forming the patterns are removed. Referring to FIG. 9 , ohmic metal electrode layers 111 and 112 are stacked, and then Schottky metal electrode layers 113 are stacked according to a design structure of the GaN electronic device, thus manufacturing the GaN electronic device of FIG. 1 . FIGS. 10 to 13 illustrate various types of electronic device structures based on the structure of the GaN electronic device illustrated in FIG. 1 . FIG. 10 illustrates a structure in which the first channel layer 104 and the second channel layer 108 are omitted. In the high frequency electronic device, a channel layer may be omitted depending on properties of the first semi-insulating GaN layer 103 and the second semi-insulating GaN layer 107 . FIG. 11 illustrates a structure in which the first barrier layer 105 is omitted, and FIG. 12 illustrates a structure in which the second barrier layer 109 is omitted. Most of the electronic devices including a barrier layer have a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structure, and an electronic device without a barrier layer has a metal semiconductor field effect transistor (MESFET) structure having a high current driving property. FIG. 13 illustrates a structure including only channel layers by omitting both the first barrier layer and the second barrier layer. FIG. 13 illustrates a structure in which the same kind or different kinds of metal semiconductor field effect transistors are integrated according to properties of the channel layer. From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described herein for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

The present disclosure relates to a nitride electronic device and a method for manufacturing the same, and particularly, to a nitride electronic device and a method for manufacturing the same that can implement various types of nitride integrated structures on the same substrate through a regrowth technology (epitaxially lateral over-growth: ELOG) of a semi-insulating gallium nitride (GaN) layer used in a III-nitride semiconductor electronic device including Group III elements such as gallium (Ga), aluminum (Al) and indium (In) and nitrogen.

FIELD OF INVENTION [0001] The present invention is related to the extract of tartary buckwheat bran, method of extraction and the use of the extract as anti-diabetic agent. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART [0002] Common and tartary buckwheat have been grown in many countries around the world as a source of food. The flour and bran of both types of buckwheat are proven to contain useful nutrients, such as protein, lipid, starch, dietary fibre and vitamins B1, B2 and B6. [0003] Buckwheat products are known for their resistant starch (Skrabanja, Laerke, & Kreft, 1998; Skrabanja, Liljeberg, Kreft, & Bjorck, 2001) and as an important source of antioxidative substances (Kreft, Bonafaccia, & Zigo, 1994; Kreft, Skrabanja, Ikeda, Ikeda, & Bonafaccia, 1996), trace element, and dietary fibre (Steadman, Burgoon, Lewis, Edwardson, & Obendorf 2001). Buckwheat protein products have been associated preventive nutrition. They are associated with retardation of mammary carcinogenesis by lowering serum estradiol, and with suppression of colon carcinogenesis by reducing cell proliferation (Kayashita, Shimaoka, Nakajoh, Kishida, & Kato, 1999; Liu et al., 2001). There are, however, only a few reports on the technological quality of buckwheat. Buckwheat is also known as effective in modulating blood sugar and blood lipids levels. However, the efficiency thereof is not very satisfactory. [0004] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide compound and improved method of production of compounds for the treatment of hyperglycemia. SUMMARY OF INVENTION [0005] In accordance with the object of the present invention, there is provided in one aspect an active component in buckwheat for the treatment of hyperglycemia. In the preferred embodiment, the active component is obtained by extraction of buckwheat bran using about 5-90% (w/v) ethanol. In another preferred embodiment, the active component is obtained particularly in tartary buckwheat. In yet another preferred embodiment, the ethanol concentration is about 10-30% (w/v). In the most preferred embodiment, the ethanol concentration is about 20% (w/v). [0006] According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a novel anti-diabetic formulation comprising an effective amount of the extract obtained from tartary buckwheat bran, optionally together with additives, pharmaceutically accepted carriers, diluents or excipients. The concentration of the extract in the formulation may be 1 to 100% by wt. [0007] Another aspect of the present invention is a method of extracting a biologically active component from buckwheat comprising extraction of buckwheat bran using about 10-90% (w/v) ethanol. In the preferred embodiment, the active component of the present method is obtained particularly from tartary buckwheat. In another preferred embodiment, the ethanol concentration is about 10-30% (w/v). In the most preferred embodiment, the ethanol concentration is about 20% (w/v). [0008] According to a further aspect of the present invention, an extract from buckwheat bran obtained by the method described above is used for the preparation of a medicament or nutritional supplement for reducing blood glucose concentration. [0009] According to yet a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of reducing blood glucose concentration in humans by administering an effective dose of an extract from buckwheat bran obtained by the method described above. [0010] An additional aspect of the invention comprises a method for obtaining an anti-hyperglycemia agent, comprising the steps of: (a) drying fresh seeds of tartary buckwheat at ambient temperature, preferably around 10 degree Celsius; (b) separating the bran from dried seeds by grinding; (c) extracting the bran with ten fold of about 10-30% ethanol (w/v) for a period ranging from about 24-120 hrs. at a temperature in a range of about 10-30 degree C., shaking or stirring occasionally during extraction and transferring the liquid extract to a centrifuge bottle; and (d) centrifuging at a speed in a range of about 1000-3000 rpm/min for about 5-30 min to obtain supernatant liquid, then filtering through about 100-300 mesh sieve filter, followed by evaporating the filtered liquid to obtain a residue at reduced pressure with temperature of about 60-80 degree C., and drying the residue with vacuum-freezing drier to obtain dried residue. [0015] Additional aspects of the invention include methods of treating hyperglycemia in an individual comprising the administration of a formulation comprising extract from tartary buckwheat bran to said individual in a dosage of about 0.1 to 5 g/kg body weight per day. In a preferred embodiment, a method of treatment for an adult mammal comprises the administration of a formulation comprising extract from tartary buckwheat bran to said mammal at a dosage of about 5 to 250 mg/kg body weight per day. In an additional preferred embodiment, the dosage of a formulation comprising extract from tartary buckwheat bran used to treat an individual varies according to the severity of the condition being treated and the pharmacological activity of the formulation being used. [0016] In some embodiments of the present invention, a product obtained by extracting buckwheat with about 10-30% ethanol is provided. The amount of ethanol can be, for example, at about 20%. The buckwheat can be, for example, tartary buckwheat or buckwheat bran. The extraction may occur by concentration of the product by evaporation or by drying. In some embodiments, the product can be obtained by centrifugation after the ethanol has been placed in contact with the buckwheat. The product can also be used for the preparation of a medicament for lowering blood glucose. [0017] In additional embodiments of the present invention, a pharmaceutical composition for lowering blood glucose having a extract of buckwheat bran obtained by extraction with about 10% to 30% ethanol is provided. [0018] In further embodiments of the present invention, a nutritional supplement for lowering blood glucose having an extract of buckwheat bran obtained by extraction with about 10% to 30% ethanol is provided. [0019] In additional embodiments of the present invention, a method for treating diabetic symptoms in an individual by the administration of an effective dose of an extract of buckwheat to the individual is provided, where the extract is obtained by extraction of buckwheat with about 10% to 30% ethanol. The ethanol can be at a level of about 20%. The diabetic symptoms may be, for example, hyperglycemia, glucose intolerance, or hyperlipidemia. The hyperlipidemia can be hypercholesterolemia or hypertriglyceridemia. The treatment may manifest, for example, as lower fasting blood glucose, lower non-fasting blood glucose, higher levels of superoxide dismutase activity, higher catalase activity levels, lowering peak glucose levels and increasing the rate of falling blood glucose levels. [0020] In yet additional embodiments of the present invention, a method for isolating an anti-hyperglycemic agent from buckwheat is provided, by drying seed from the buckwheat, isolating the bran from the seed, extracting the agent from the bran with about 10% to 30% ethanol, and processing the ethanol to isolate the anti-hyperglycemic agent. The buckwheat can be, for example, tartary buckwheat. The drying of the seed can take place, for example, at a temperature of about 10 degrees Celsius. The alcohol can be, for example, about 10% to 30% ethanol (w/v). The ethanol can have a concentration of about 20 % (w/v). The processing can involve centrifuging the ethanol to obtain a supematant liquid, evaporating the supematant liquid to obtain a residue, and drying the residue. The centrifugation can be performed at speeds of, for example, about 1000 to about 3000 RPM for about 5 to about 30 minutes. The method may also include a filtering step after centrifugation. The filtering step can be performed, for example, with an about 100 to about 300 mesh sieve filter. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT [0021] The experiments to identify a biologically active component for reducing blood sugar levels were performed initially using various groups of compounds. These groups included flavonoids and other solvent-extracted fractions obtained from buckwheat. [0022] The experiments were performed in two stages. In the first stage, the effectiveness of (1) a 20% ethanol extract of tartary buckwheat; (2)a 60% ethanol extract of tartary buckwheat; and (3) flavonoid(s) purified from tartary buckwheat were tested on alloxan diabetic mice and STZ (streptozocin) diabetic rats. The negative and positive controls used for comparison were water (negative control group) and metformin (positive control group) respectively. In the second stage, the effectiveness of 20% ethanol extract at different doses was further tested on STZ diabetic rats, in comparison with water (negative control group) and metformin (positive control group). [0023] As stated earlier, the extract is obtained from tartary buckwheat bran. The said extract is used to prepare the anti-diabetic formulation. The formulation may be prepared according to any method known in the art. The formulation may be intended for oral, parenternal or other uses. The formulation for oral use may be in the form of granules, particles, powders, tablets, capsules, liquid syrup, etc. In order to prepare such formulation, any pharmaceutically acceptable organic or inorganic, solid or liquid carrier, excipient, diluent may be used. The formulation may also contain sweetening agent, flavoring agent, colouring and preserving agents in order to provide pharmaceutically elegant and palatable preparations. Tablets containing the active ingredients, are prepared using the extract from tartary buckwheat bran in combination with non-toxic pharmaceutically acceptable carriers or additives. [0024] Another aspect of the invention features methods for evaluating the ability of buckwheat extracts to treat disease conditions. After extraction of material from buckwheat, components of the material are separated from one another by any one or more of a variety of techniques, essentially creating two or more fractions of extract material. Methods of separating the protein, mineral and carbohydrate materials that can be present in such extracts are known to those with skill in the art. Examples of such methods include precipitation, centrifugation, filtration, PAGE, SDS-PAGE, high performance liquid chromatography, size exclusion chromatography, ion exchange chromatography, affinity chromatography and immunoassay. In these method examples, component molecules of extracts are separated from one another based on any one or more of numerous physical and chemical properties, including, but not limited to, molecular size, charge, affinity for other molecules, including hydrophobicity, solublity, molecular shape and molecular structure. Once separated from the initial extract, fractions of extracts can be tested for their ability to affect biochemical properties of clinical samples and disease symptoms. The examples below provide some exemplary methods for testing the properties of extracts and fractions of extracts. It would be evident to one with skill in the art that any number of different tests and assays could be used to evaluate the properties of extracts and fractions of extracts. [0025] In the following animal study experiments, performed at the Institute of Materia Medica of The Chinese Academy of Medical Science, the glucose as well as the reagents were administered orally into the mice and rats. EXAMPLE 1 Determination of Effectiveness of Tartary Buckwheat Extracts [0000] 1.1 Preparing Tartary Buckwheat Extracts [0000] 1.1.1 20% Ethanol Extracts [0026] The bran was provided by Shanxi GAP cultivation site. Food Grade Ethanol was purchased from CSA Distilleries. Deionized water was provided from in house water system. [0027] Buckwheat concentrates were produced by soaking the bran of tartary buckwheat in ten fold volume of 20% ethanol for 72 hours. The extract was stirred occasionally within the set period (one time per day). The supernatant was collected and filtered through a 200 mesh sieve. Ethanol was removed when concentrated at 60° C., 600 mmHg. The sample was concentrated until 95% of volume was evaporated. The concentrate was then dried by freeze-drying at −57° C. under vacuum. The moisture content for the dried sample was 9-10%. [0028] The powder so obtained was then used for the formulation of a preparation with the required concentration using conventional pharmaceutically accepted additives suitable for oral or parenternal administration to diabetic rats. [0000] 1.1.2 60% Ethanol Extracts [0029] The bran was provided by Shanxi GAP cultivation site. Food Grade Ethanol was purchased from CSA Distilleries. Deionized water was provided from in house water system. [0030] Buckwheat concentrates were produced by soaking the bran of tartary buckwheat in ten fold volume of 60% ethanol, reflux for 1 hour, 2 times repeated. The supernatant was collected and filtered through a 200 mesh sieve. Ethanol was removed when concentrated at 60° C., 600 mmHg. The sample was concentrated until 90% of volume was evaporated. The concentrate was then dried by spray-dried at inlet temperature of 140-150° C. and outlet temperature of 90-100° C. The moisture content for the dried sample was 3-5%, total flavonoids content was 25%, the yield was 10.4%. [0000] 1.1.3 Purified Flavonoids [0031] A purified flavonoids A was purchased from Institute of Comprehensive Utilization of Agricultural Products, Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Science. The purity of this sample was 70%, and the moisture content was 3-5%. [0032] A purified flavonoids B was prepared by our team. Tartary buckwheat bran concentrates were produced by soaking the bran of tartary buckwheat in ten fold volume of 60% ethanol, reflux for 1 hour, 2 times repeated. The supernatant was collected and filtered through a 200 mesh sieve. Ethanol was removed when concentrated at 60° C., 600 mmHg. The sample was concentrated until 90% of volume was evaporated. Let precipitate at 4° C. overnight, centrifuged at 3500 rpm for 20 minutes, collected the precipitate, then dried in vacuum oven at 60° C., 600 mmHg. The moisture content for the dried sample was 3-5%, total flavonoids content was 65%, yield 2.8%. [0033] The powder so obtained is then used for the formulation of the required concentration using conventional pharmaceutically accepted additives suitable for oral or parenternal administration to diabetic rats. [0000] 1.1.4 Determination of Total Flavonoids Content [0034] Flavonoids are plant polyphenols and were found in the buckwheat bran. Their hydrogen-donating antioxidant activity and their ability to complex divalent transition metal cations are known. Spectrometry method of measuring absorbance at 430 nm was employed for the determination of flavonoid content. [0035] 0.25-2.5 g sample was extracted by reflux in 125 ml 60% ethanol for 1 hour. The solution was filtered by vacuum. The residue was extracted again by reflux in 125 ml 60% ethanol for 1 hour and the solution was filtered. The filtrates were combined and the volume was fixed to 250 ml. The sample solution was freeze-dried and extract powder was obtained. The dried sample was dissolved in methanol to test. [0036] 1 ml of extract methanolic solution was used. 1 ml of methanolic AlCl3□ 6H2O was added. The sample was left for 10 minutes for reaction. Absorbance was measured at 430 nm. [0037] 0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06 mg/ml of Rutin standard was used. The test was conducted to obtain the absorbance (A). The standard solution concentration was used as x-axis while the absorbance (A) was used as y-axis. The regression formula was determined [0038] The flavonoids content in samples was calculated through the regression formula. [0000] 1.2 Determination of Effect of the Extracts on the Alloxan Diabetic Mice [0000] 1.2.1 Animals [0039] Male ICR mice, weighing 22 to 26 g, were purchased from VTLF Experiment Animal Technology Center Company Ltd., Beijing P. R. China. The animals were made diabetic by a single intravenous injection of 70 mg/kg alloxan into the tail vein. After a period of 4 days, the treated mice were fasted for 2 hours, then the blood sample was taken from the treated mice intravenously. The blood glucose concentration was determined using Glucose Oxidase Peroxidase method. The mice with the blood glucose concentration above 200 mg/dl were marked diabetic mice and were used for further experiments. A total of 27 mice were marked as diabetic mice. [0000] 1.2.2 Reagents [0040] (1) 60% ethanolic extracts of tartary buckwheat bran as prepared in 1.1.2: 10.4% yield, 25% flavonoid [0041] (2) 20% ethanolic extracts of tartary buckwheat bran as prepared in 1.1.1: 7.5% yield, 0.3% flavonoid [0042] (3) Purified flavonoid B from tatary buckwheat bran as prepared in 1.1.3: 2.8% yield, 65% flavonoid [0000] 1.2.3 Methods [0043] The mice were divided into 5 groups, each group having 9 mice. The difference in the average blood glucose concentration among the 5 groups was less than 10 mg/dl [0044] Group 1 served as the negative control and received water, group 2 received metformin (200 mg/kg) as the positive control, groups 3 and 4 received reagents (1) and (2), respectively, at the dose of 5 g/kg (p.o.) (p.o. means oral administration), once every. Group 5 received reagent (3) at the dose of 5 g/kg (p.o.). [0045] At day 7 and 14, measurements of blood glucose concentration were taken after fasting for 2.5 and 5 hours. The change of glucose concentration by percentage was compared against the control group. Blood triglyceride and cholesterol concentrations were tested at day 14 (enzymatic method). Glucose tolerance test (2.0 g/kg, p.o.) was conducted at day 19. First, the mice were fasted for half an hour before the administration of control and test substances. Two and half hours later, the mice received glucose at the dose of 2 g/kg, po. Blood samples were taken at 0, 30, 60, 120 minutes after administration of the glucose. Blood glucose concentration (mg/dl) of the mice were determined and the related measurements of Area Under the Curve (AUC) were estimated. The serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) level of blood samples taken at 0 minute was tested. Glucose tolerance test was conducted again at day 22. The mice were fasted for 1 hour before administration. One and half hour after administration, the mice received glucose at the dose of 2 g/kg, po Blood samples were taken at 0, 30 60, 120 minutes. For ease of description, the negative control group that received water is indicated simply as the “Control” while the positive control group is indicated as the “Metformin” group in the following tables. [0046] 1.2.4 Results TABLE 1 The effects of tartary buckwheat bran extract on the blood glucose level of alloxan diabetic mice Blood glucose concentration Blood glucose concentration at day 7 (mg/dl) at day 14 (mg/dl) 2.5 hr after 2.5 hr after 5 hr after administering 5 hr after administering administering (blood administering (blood (blood glucose (blood glucose glucose glucose Dose change by change by change by change by Group (mg/kg) percentage) percentage) percentage) percentage) Control — 357.9 ± 61.7 270.5 ± 63.7 357.1 ± 74.1 281.5 ± 24.6 Metformin  200 216.8 ± 78.2** 182.8 ± 88.1* 281.5 ± 60.9* 221.7 ± 65.9 (↓39.4) (↓32.4) (↓21.2) (↓21.3) 60% 5000 323.8 ± 73.4 236.1 ± 74.0 394.2 ± 84.8 319.9 ± 91.6 ethanol  (↓9.5) (↓12.7) (↑10.4) (↑13.6) extract 20% 5000 325.7 ± 72.9 227.7 ± 75.6 374.3 ± 63.0 325.4 ± 71.4 ethanol  (↓9.0) (↓15.8)  (↑4.8) (↑15.5) extract Purified 5000 335.6 ± 113.6 233.1 ± 83.2 387.1 ± 144.1 321.4 ± 125.5 flavonoid B  (↓6.2) (↓13.8)  (↑8.4) (↑14.1) Asterisks * indicate differences (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.005) between control group and reagent-treated mice. Numbers in bracket indicate the change of blood glucose concentration by percentage (%). [0047] TABLE 2 The effects of tartary buckwheat bran extract on the blood lipid level of alloxan diabetic mice at day 14 Dose Blood cholesterol Blood triglyceride Group (mg/kg) (mg/dl) (mg/dl) Control — 173.4 ± 24.6 155.7 ± 33.9 Metformin  200 159.8 ± 48.7 132.8 ± 34.2 60% ethanol extract 5000 190.0 ± 26.0 180.8 ± 29.5 20% ethanol extract 5000 172.4 ± 16.5 133.9 ± 20.6 Purified flavonoid B 5000 172.4 ± 20.0 160.3 ± 27.2 [0048] TABLE 3 The effects of tartary buckwheat bran extract on the serum SOD level of alloxan diabetic mice at day 19 Serum SOD Group Dose (mg/kg) (u/mg) SOD change (%) Control — 70.0 ± 43.1 0 Metformin  200 78.3 ± 26.5 ↑11.9 60% ethanol 5000 115.0 ± 23.1* ↑64.4 extract 20% ethanol 5000 94.8 ± 48.0 ↑35.5 extract Purified flavonoid B 5000 85.5 ± 33.8 ↑22.2 *indicates difference (p < 0.05) compared with the control group. [0049] TABLE 4 The effects of tartary buckwheat bran extract on the glucose tolerance and AUC of alloxan diabetic mice at day 19 Blood glucose (mg/dl) AUC Group 0 min 30 min 60 min 120 min (mg/dl · h) Control 396.5 ± 87.9 513.9 ± 88.2 457.6 ± 106.2 355.9 ± 137.3 877.2 ± 206.4 Metformin 346.8 ± 68.3 544.4 ± 45.3 512.0 ± 76.9 408.4 ± 71.3 947.1 ± 118.1 60% 408.3 ± 75.2 554.9 ± 53.8 494.1 ± 65.8 440.7 ± 92.0 970.4 ± 131.6 ethanol extract 20% 362.0 ± 72.7 530.4 ± 58.7 462.4 ± 54.3 377.6 ± 83.8 891.3 ± 114.8 ethanol extract Purified 408.0 ± 129.8 517.2 ± 81.7 466.2 ± 75.4 394.7 ± 94.9 907.7 ± 167.5 flavonoid B [0050] TABLE 5 The effects of tartary buckwheat bran extract on the glucose tolerance and AUC of alloxan diabetic mice at day 22 Blood glucose (mg/dl) AUC Group 0 min 30 min 60 min 120 min (mg/dl · h) Control 430.5 ± 66.1 520.1 ± 52.7 478.9 ± 53.7 387.2 ± 72.8 920.4 ± 113.4 Metformin 377.6 ± 87.6 474.5 ± 74.4 450.7 ± 80.1 358.6 ± 88.3 849.0 ± 158.3 60% 381.5 ± 60.1 464.6 ± 38.7* 438.9 ± 40.6 372.3 ± 56.2 843.0 ± 86.1 ethanol extract 20% 362.1 ± 54.4* 428.1 ± 40.8*** 391.3 ± 47.8** 319.4 ± 73.6 757.7 ± 101.8** ethanol extract Purified 435.5 ± 103.2 444.2 ± 66.1* 408.2 ± 54.6* 339.4 ± 63.2 806.8 ± 125.0 flavonoid B *indicates differences (p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.005) compared with the control group. 1.2.5 Conclusion [0051] Neither the administration of a 20% ethanol tartary buckwheat extract nor of a 60% tartart buckwheat extract, continuously for 7 and 14 days at the dose of 5 g/kg, were effective in lowering blood glucose concentration in alloxan diabetic mice. However, metformin used in the positive control group showed significant glucose-lowering effect. After 7 and 14 days of continuing administration, the blood glucose concentration in alloxan diabetic mice treated by metformin was lowered by 34% (2.5 h, P<0.005), 32.4% (5 h, P<0.05), 21.2% (2.5 h, P<0.05), and 21.3% (5 h). [0052] The administration of 20% and 60% ethanol extracts of tartary buckwheat, continuously for 14 days at the dose of 5 g/kg, did not affect the blood lipid level in alloxan diabetic mice. [0053] Alloxan diabetic mice were treated separately with either a 20% ethanol extract of tartary buckwheat, a 60% ethanol extract of tartary buckwheat or purified flavonoids, continuously for 19 days at the dose of 5 g/kg. The treatments were effective in increasing the amounts of SOD in serum samples from the mice by 64.4% (P<0.05), 35.5%, and 22.2%, respectively. [0054] These three treatments, however, were not effective in improving the glucose tolerance of alloxan diabetic mice when administered continuously for 19 days at the dose of 5 g/kg. This may be because glucose tolerance was tested 2.5 hours after administration and the effect of the doses of the treatments had begun diminishing. The glucose tolerance was tested again at day 22. The blood samples were taken 1.5 hour after administration. Results from blood taken at 0 min, 30 min and 60 min. showed that the 20% ethanol extract was effective at in lowering blood glucose and AUC at day 22. The 60% ethanol extract was also effective in lowering blood glucose as measured in blood samples taken at 30 and 60 minutes. [0000] 1.3 Determination of Effect of the Extracts on the Streptozocin (STZ) Diabetic Rats [0000] 1.3.1 Reagents [0055] (1) Purified flavonoid A from tartary buckwheat as prepared in 1.1.3: 70% flavonoid [0056] (2) Purified flavonoid B from tartary buckwheat as prepared in 1.1.3: 70% flavonoid [0057] (3) 20% ethanolic extracts of tartary buckwheat bran as prepared in 1.1.1: 7.5% yield, 0.3% flavonoid [0058] (4) 60% ethanolic extracts of tartary buckwheat bran as prepared in 1.1.2: 10.4% yield, 25% flavonoid [0000] 1.3.2 Animals [0059] Male rats (Sprague-Dwaley, male), weighing 120 to 140 g, were purchased from VTLF Experiment Animal Technology Center Company Ltd., Beijing P. R. China The animals were made diabetic by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozocin (freshly prepared in 0.1 M citrate buffer (pH 4.5) at the dose of of 58 mg/kg). After a period of 4 days, the treated rats were fasted for 2.5 hours, then blood samples were taken from the treated rats intravenously. Blood glucose concentrations were determined using the Glucose Oxidase Peroxidase method. The rats with blood glucose concentrations above 190 mg/dl were marked as diabetic rats and used for further experiments. [0000] 1.3.3 Methods [0060] The rats were divided into 6 groups of 10 rats per group. The difference in the average blood glucose concentrations among the 6 groups was less than 10 mg/dl. Group 1 served as the negative control and received water. Group 2 received metformin (200 mg/kg) as the positive control. The remaining four groups received reagents (1) to (4) as listed in Section 1.3.1 above. Reagents (1) and (2) were administered at a dose of 4 g/kg, while (3) and (4) were administered at a dose of 5 g/kg. The treatments were administered once every day. [0061] At day 7, the rats in groups 1, 2 and 3 were fasted and blood samples were taken at 2.5 hours and 5 hours after fasting began. Blood glucose concentrations (mg/dl) in these samples were then determined. [0062] At day 14, glucose tolerance tests were conducted. The rats were fasted for 1 hour before receiving the reagents at dosages of 2.0 g/kg (p.o.). Blood samples were taken at 0, 30, 60, and 120 min after receiving the reagents. Blood glucose concentrations (mg/dl) were determined and the related AUC were calculated. [0063] At day 19, blood samples were taken, and blood glucose concentrations without fasting, the activities of SOD and catalase (CAT) levels were determined. [0064] At day 21, glucose tolerance tests were conducted. The rats were fasted for 1 hour, then received their respective reagents at the dose of 5 g/kg (p.o.). 2.5 hours after administration of reagent the rats received glucose at a dose of 2 g/kg (p.o.). Blood samples were taken at 0, 30, and 120 minutes after glucose administration. Blood glucose concentrations (mg/dl) were determined and the related AUC were calculated. [0065] 1.3.4 Results TABLE 6 The effects of tartary buckwheat bran extract on the fasting blood glucose concentration in STZ diabetic rat after oral administration for 7 days Fasting blood glucose concentration (mg/dl) Sample dose (g/kg) 2.5 hr. 5.0 hr. Control — 312.3 ± 53.5  282.6 ± 34.4  Metformin 0.2 261.1 ± 45.7*  185.6 ± 78.8** (↓16.4) (↓34.3) Purified 4.0 2.4.9 ± 37.7  244.6 ± 77.8  flavonoid A  (↓5.6) (↓13.5) Purified 4.0 311.2 ± 18.6  272.6 ± 26.0  flavonoid B  (↓0.4)  (↓3.5) 20% ethanol 5.0 277.0 ± 35.3  247.5 ± 27.4* extract (↓11.3) (↓12.4) 60% ethanol 5.0 311.8 ± 41.2  258.6 ± 15.7  extract  (↓0.2)  (↓8.5) Asterisks * indicate differences (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01) compared with the control group. Numbers in the brackets indicate the change of blood glucose concentration by percentage (%). [0066] At day 7, the fasting blood glucose concentration in STZ diabetic rats that received reagent (3) at a dose of 5 g/kg was significantly reduced by 12.4%. Those rats that received reagents (1) and (2) (at 4 g/kg) and (4) (at 5 g/kg) did not show any significant effects. TABLE 7 The effects of tartary buckwheat bran extracts on blood glucose concentration and AUC in STZ-diabetic rat after oral administration for 14 days dosage blood glucose concentration (mg/dl) AUC Sample (g/kg) 0 min 30 min 60 120 min (mg/dl · hr) Control — 398.4 ± 75.0 473.0 ± 104.5 438.9 ± 75.5 355.1 ± 62.0 842.8 ± 150.1 Metformin 0.2 341.8 ± 44.8 356.2 ± 93.3* 320.9 ± 64.6* 296.6 ± 72.6 652.5 ± 133.8* (↓22.6) Purified 4.0 370.1 ± 55.5 421.5 ± 68.0 378.9 ± 83.9 339.9 ± 82.6 757.3 ± 139.5 flavonoid A (↓10.1) Purified 4.0 364.1 ± 25.2 440.5 ± 39.4 406.6 ± 31.0 367.9 ± 26.7 800.2 ± 53.8 flavonoid B (↓5.1) 20% 5.0 354.5 ± 31.7 382.3 ± 40.4* 359.0 ± 51.5* 337.1 ± 37.8 717.6 ± 75.8* ethanol (↓14.9) extract 60% 5.0 364.7 ± 37.0 400.4 ± 36.1 378.9 ± 42.1 328.7 ± 36.0 739.6 ± 69.5 ethanol (↓12.2) extract Asterisks * indicate differences (*p < 0.05) compared with control group. Numbers in brackets indicate the reduction of AUC by percentage (%) [0067] Table 7 shows the effects of tartary buckwheat bran extracts (as prepared according to the method described in section 1.1). At day 14, glucose tolerance test was conducted. Results showed that the 20% ethanol extract was effective in lowering the blood glucose concentration at 30 min and 60 min and its AUC was lower than the control group by 14.9%. TABLE 8 The effects of tartary buckwheat bran extract on blood glucose concentrations without fasting, serum SOD activity and catalase (CAT) activity in STZ-diabetic rat after oral administration for 19 days Non-fasting blood Dosage glucose Serum SOD activity CAT activity Group (g/kg) concentration mg/dl) (NU/ml) (U/gHb) Control — 361.5 ± 58.2 121.6 ± 32.8 68.4 ± 22.4 Metforimin 0.2 340.5 ± 40.7  164.8 ± 16.9** 64.6 ± 12.5  (↓5.8) (↑35.3)  (↓5.5) Purified 4.0 324.0 ± 91.4 112.2 ± 24.4 79.8 ± 15.3 flavonoid A (↓10.4)  (↓7.8) (↑16.7) Purified 4.0 304.3 ± 69.7  86.9 ± 8.0** 73.2 ± 23.6 flavonoid B (↓15.8) (↓28.6)  (↑7.0) 20% ethanol extract 5.0  264.1 ± 55.6** 132.5 ± 17.7  98.3 ± 16.3** (↓26.9) (↑9.0) (↑43.7) 60% ethanol extract 5.0  298.4 ± 36.5*  158.7 ± 18.2** 86.0 ± 17.1 (↓17.4) (↑30.5) (↑25.7) Asterisks * indicate differences (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01) compared the control group. Number in the brackets indicate the change by percentage. [0068] At day 19, rats treated with reagent (3) (at 5 g/kg) showed a significant effect by lowering blood glucose concentrations by 26.9% and increasing the activity of CAT by 43.7% in comparison to the control group. Rats treated with reagent (4) (at 5 g/kg) also showed a significant effect by lowering blood glucose concentrations by 17.4% and increasing the activity of serum SOD by 30.5%. Reagents (1) and (2) were not effective on non-fasting blood glucose concentrations and CAT activities and reagent (2) (at 4 g/kg) actually reduced the activity of serum SOD by 28.6%, in comparison to the control group. TABLE 9 The effects of tartary buckwheat bran extracts on oral glucose tolerance in STZ diabetic rat after oral administration for 21 days dosage blood glucose concentration(mg/dl) AUC Sample (g/kg) 0 min 30 min 120 min (mg/dl · hr) Control — 363.4 ± 61.1 463.9 ± 56.6 338.3 ± 55.8 808.5 ± 101.9 Metformin 0.2 309.8 ± 68.5 358.0 ± 77.3** 279.8 ± 51.6* 645.4 ± 122.0** (↓20.2) 20% 5.0 322.8 ± 59.4 379.6 ± 64.9** 327.4 ± 32.6 705.9 ± 95.2* ethanol (↓12.7) extracts Asterisks * indicate differences (*p < 0.05, **P < 0.01) compared with the control group. Numbers in brackets indicate the change of AUC by percentage (%). [0069] At day 21, glucose tolerance tests were conducted. The 20% ethanol extracts lowered blood glucose concentrations by 64.9% and reduced AUC values by 12.7% at 30 min, in comparison to the control group. TABLE 10 The effects of tartary buckwheat bran extracts on weight in STZ diabetic rat after oral administration for 9, 14 and 21 days dosage weight(g) Sample (g/kg) At day 9 At day 14 At day 21 Control — 216.2 ± 20.3 217.3 ± 25.4 191.5 ± 31.6 Metformin 0.2 203.3 ± 22.3 200.4 ± 29.4 185.3 ± 27.3 Purified 4.0 203.6 ± 36.3 199.7 ± 42.8 N/A flavonoid A Purified 4.0 198.5 ± 36.7 210.5 ± 33.7 N/A flavonoid B 20% ethanol 5.0 224.3 ± 13.1 237.5 ± 18.5  225.1 ± 33.8* extracts 60% ethanol 5.0 220.1 ± 24.1 234.0 ± 32.7 N/A extracts Asterisks * indicate differences (*p < 0.05) compared with the control group. [0070] Before administration, there was no obvious difference among the rats of different groups. After administration for 21 days, the average weight of rats receiving 20% ethanol extract was significantly heavier than the control group. [0000] 1.3.5 Conclusion [0071] When administered at the dose of 5 g/kg continuously for 7 days, the 20% ethanol extract of tartary buckwheat was effective in lowering the fasting blood glucose concentration 5 hours after administration. After 14 and 21 days of continuous administration, the glucose tolerance of STZ diabetic rats was also significantly improved. After 19 days of continuous administration, the non-fasting blood glucose concentrations of STZ diabetic rats was lowered and the serum CAT activities were enhanced. The average weight of the rats receiving 20% ethanol extract at 5 g/kg was heavier than the control group after treatment. Their overall condition was also better than the control group. The above results demonstrate that 20% ethanol extract of tartary buckwheat was effective for the amelioration of diabetic symptoms of STZ diabetic rats. [0072] At the dose of 5 g/kg, the 60% ethanol extract of tartary buckwheat was effective in lowering the non-fasting blood glucose of STZ diabetic rats after 19 days of continuous administration. It was also effective in enhancing the serum SOD and the CAT activities. However, it was not effective in improving fasting blood glucose levels or glucose tolerance. [0073] Flavonoid A (4 g/kg) and B (4 g/kg) purified from tartary buckwheat do not affect fasting blood glucose and non-fasting blood glucose concentrations, CAT activities or glucose tolerance. Flavonoid B (4 g/kg) produced a negative effect by reducing serum SOD activity. [0074] Flavonoid A and B were administered at 4 g/kg instead of 5 g/kg as used in other groups. This was due to flavonoid A becoming too condensed for administration when used at a concentration of 5 g/kg. [0075] In conclusion, the 20% ethanol extracts of tartary buckwheat were the most effective reagents among those tested for the amelioration of hyperglycemic and diabetic symptoms. EXAMPLE 2 Further Analysis of 20% Ethanol Extract of Tartary Buckwheat on STZ Diabetic Rats [0076] In this sets of experiments, a range of doses of the 20% ethanol extract of tartary buckwheat administered for a variety of lengths of time were tested for effectiveness in the treatment of STZ diabetic rats. [0000] 2.1 Reagent [0077] 20% ethanol extract of tartary buckwheat as prepared in 1.1.1: 7.5% yield; 0.3% flavonoid. [0000] 2.2 Animals [0078] The mice were divided according to the blood glucose concentration under fasting conditions. The difference between the average blood glucose concentrations of the 4 groups of rats was less than 10 mg/dl. [0000] 2.3 Methods [0079] The STZ diabetic rats were divided into 4 groups, each group having 10 rats. Group 1 served as the negative control and received water, group 2 received metformin (200 mg/kg) as the positive control, group 3 received 20% ethanol extract of the bran of tartary buckwheat seeds at the dose of 2.5 g/kg (p.o.), group 4 received 20% ethanol extract of the bran of tartary buckwheat seeds at the dosage of 5 g/kg (p.o.), once every day for 12 days in a row. [0080] At day 7, fasting blood glucose concentration was tested after 2.5 and 5 hours of fasting. The change of glucose concentration by percentage was compared against the control group. [0081] At day 12, oral glucose tolerance tests (2.0 g/kg) were conducted. The rats were fasted for 1 hour before administration of reagents at dosages of 2.5 or 5 g/kg (p.o.). 1 hour later, the rats received glucose at the dose of 2 g/kg (p.o.). Blood samples were taken at 0, 30 and 120 min respectively. Blood glucose concentrations (mg/dl) were determined and the related AUC values were calculated. [0082] 2.4 Results TABLE 11 The effects of 20% ethanol extract of tartary buckwheat on the fasting blood glucose concentration in STZ diabetic rats after oral administration for 7 days fasting blood glucose dosage concentration (mg/dl) Group (g/kg) 2.5 hr. 5 hr. Control — 404.6 ± 40.2 372.7 ± 59.3 metformin 0.2 357.2 ± 51.5  288.9 ± 68.8* (11.7) (22.5) 20% Extract 2.5  340.8 ± 44.5**  310.6 ± 37.3* (15.8) (16.7) 20% Extract 5.0  329.0 ± 43.0**  311.3 ± 21.5* (18.7) (16.5) Asterisks * indicate differences (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01) compared with the control group, numbers in brackets indicate the reduction of blood glucose concentration by percentage (%). [0083] After oral administration for 7 days, the rats in group 1, 2, 3 and 4 were fasted for 2.5 and 5 hours, blood samples were taken, and blood glucose concentrations (mg/dl) of these rats were determined. The 20% extract was effective in lowering blood glucose concentration by 15.8%, 18.7%, 16.7%, and 16.5% (Table 11). TABLE 12 The effects of tartary buckwheat bran extract on oral glucose tolerance in STZ diabetic rats after 12 days oral administration Fasting blood glucose dosage concentration (mg/dl) AUC Group (g/kg) 0 min 30 min 120 min (mg/dl · hr) Control — 448.6 ± 52.2 475.2 ± 52.6 408.3 ± 41.9 934.0 ± 80.8 metformin 0.2 398.4 ± 36.6 458.4 ± 59.7  323.9 ± 51.2*  800.9 ± 103.2* (14.2) 20% extract 2.5 399.0 ± 56.4 455.6 ± 69.6 359.5 ± 63.8  825.0 ± 124.8 (11.7) 20% extract 5.0 434.2 ± 27.6  456.3 ± 32.4* 357.9 ± 53.9  833.3 ± 17.5** (10.8) Asterisks * indicate differences (*p < 0.05, **P < 0.01) compared with the control group. Numbers in brackets indicate the reduction of AUC by percentage (%). [0084] After oral administration for 12 days, glucose tolerance tests on rats given extracts or control substances were conducted. The 20% ethanol extract at the dose of 5 g/kg showed a statistically significant (p<0.05) anti-diabetic effect at 30 min by lowering the blood glucose concentrations and AUC (10.8%) values in comparison to the control group (water) of rat (Table 12). [0000] 2.5 Conclusion [0085] The 20% ethanol extract of tartary buckwheat was effective in lowering the fasting blood glucose of STZ diabetic rats 2.5 and 5 hours after single dose administration when administered over the previous consecutive 7 days at the doses of 2.5 g/kg and 5 g/kg. After administration for 12 days at the doses of 2.5 g/kg and 5 g/kg, the glucose tolerances of the STZ diabetic rats were also improved with different degrees. The effects of differing amounts of the extract on blood glucose concentrations were basically the same. CONCLUSION [0086] Based on the pharmacology results, the results above show that 20% ethanol extract of tartary buckwheat has effect on hyperglycemia or diabetes in animal models. The data indicate that in a preferred embodiment, a dose equivalent to 18.2 g human daily dosage is effective for treatment of hyperglycemia or diabetes in humans. [0087] While the present invention has been described with respect to the effectiveness of tartary buckwheat extracts on lowering glucose concentrations in mice/rats, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. For instance, the ethanol used can be replaced with other alcohols, such as propanol, isopropanol, n-butanol, etc. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation, material, composition of matter, process, process step or steps, to the objective, spirit and scope of the present invention. All such modifications are intended to be within the scope of the claims appended hereto. As used in the present specification and claims, the terms “comprise,” “comprises,” and “comprising” mean “including, but not necessarily limited to”. For example, a method, apparatus, molecule or other item which contains A, B, and C may be accurately said to comprise A and B. Likewise, a method, apparatus, molecule or other item which “comprises A and B” may include any number of additional steps, components, atoms or other items as well. REFERENCE [0000] The following references are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties: [0088] Kayashita, J., Shimaoka, I., Nakajoh, M., Kishida, N., & Kato, N. (1999). Comsumption of a buckwheat protein extract retards 7,12-dimethylbenz[alpha]anthracene-induced mammary carcino-genesis in rats. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, 63, 1837-1839. [0089] Kreft, I., Bonafaccia, G., & Zigo, A. (1994). Secondary metabolites of buckwheat and their importance in human nutrition. Prehrambenotehnoloska i Biotechnoloska Revija, 32, 195-197. [0090] Kreft, I. Skrabanja, V., Ikeda, S. Ikeda, K., & Bonafaccia, G. (1996). Dietary value of buckwheat. Zbornik BFUL, 67, 73-78. [0091] Liu, Z., Ishikawa, W., Huang, X., Tomotake, H., Kayashita, J., Watanabe, H., Nakajoh, M., & Kato, N. (2001). A buckwheat protein product suppresses 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced colon carcinogenesis in rats by reducing cell proliferation. The Journal of Nutrition, 131, 1850-1853. [0092] Skrabanja, V., Laerke, H. N., & Kreft, I. (1998). Effects of hydrothermal processing of buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) groats on starch enzymatic availability in vitro and in vivo in rats. Journal of Cereal Science, 28, 209-214. [0093] Skrabanja, V. Liljeberg, E. H. G. M., Kreft, I., & Bjorck, I. M. E. (2001). Nutritional properties of starch in buckwheat products: studies in vitro and in vivo. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 49, 490-496. [0094] Steadman, K. J., Burgoon, M. S., Lewis, B. A., Edwardson, E. E., & Obendorf, R. L. (2001). Buckwheat seed milling fractions: description, macronutrient composition and dietary fibre. Journal of Cereal Science, 33, 271-278.

A process for obtaining a compound from buckwheat and its use as a pharmaceutical treatment are disclosed. Methods of treatment using extracts of buckwheat are also disclosed.

[0001] We claim priority to: Provisional Application No. 60/635,508 filed on Dec. 13, 2004. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to an improved data processing system, and, in particular, to a business practice. [0004] 2. Description of Related art [0005] With the increase in purchases made through the internet, on-line marketplaces have become very popular. In an on-line marketplace, sellers post items for sale on a marketplace website administered by a marketplace server, and buyers purchase the items on-line, typically in an auction format whereby the highest bidder must purchase the item at the bid price. [0006] Although there are many on-line marketplaces, such as the one created by eBay®, these marketplaces require sellers to manually fill out a form describing the item being sold. This is a time-consuming process and is not effective for selling a large number of items. [0007] With reference to FIG. 1 , the seller starts by going to the marketplace website (step 101 ) and manually filling out an on-line form describing the item being offered for sale (step 102 ). The marketplace server then posts the description of on-line (step 103 ) and allows potential buyers to bid on the item (step 104 ). After the bidding is complete, the marketplace server provides the seller with the contact information of the highest bidder (step 105 ). Once the seller receives payment from the highest bidder, the seller sends the item directly to the highest bidder. [0008] Since the items being sold are not actually submitted to the marketplace server (only the items' description is), the marketplace server has no way to evaluate the items offered for sale nor objectively rate their value. In the case of a marketplace for leads, the objective validation and rating of leads offered for sale is essential. Otherwise, potential buyers would have very limited ways in which to determine the value of the leads. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0009] A method is presented for creating an on-line leads marketplace by capturing contact information and transmitting it electronically to an on-line leads marketplace. Contact information from website registrants or registrants to Podcasts or RSS feeds is electronically submitted to an on-line leads marketplace in a standard format, where it can be processed automatically (e.g. validated and rated) and posted for sale in the appropriate category. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0010] The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, further objectives, and advantages thereof, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: [0011] FIG. 1 is a flow chart depicting the process through which an on-line marketplace is operated in the prior art. [0012] FIG. 2 is a flow chart depicting the process through which an on-line leads marketplace is operated in the current invention. [0013] FIG. 3 is a flow chart depicting how an on-line leads marketplace can be enhanced by using profiles created by potential buyers. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0014] With reference to FIG. 1 , a flow chart depicts the process through which an on-line leads marketplace is operated. The process begins with a lead seller collecting contact information electronically (step 201 ). The methods for obtaining the contact information include gathering information from website registrants and from registrants to Podcasts and RSS feeds. Examples of methods of obtaining website registrants includes offering free tools or software, or entry into a drawing in exchange for registering by providing contact information to the website server. [0015] The lead seller then submits the contact information electronically to a marketplace server (step 202 ). In one embodiment, the submission is done automatically by the lead seller whenever contact information from a threshold number of contacts has been collected. For example, the lead seller may automatically submit the contact information to the lead marketplace server as soon as information from 1,000 contacts has been collected, then subsequently, for each additional 1,000 contacts. By this method, the lead seller would be constantly submitting contact information to the lead marketplace server in groups of 1,000 contacts. [0016] In one embodiment, the code for submitting the contact information to the marketplace server is embedded within the website, Podcast or RSS Feed by the owner of the website, Podcast or RSS Feed. In another embodiment, however, the owner of the marketplace server hosts the websites, Podcasts and RSS feeds, thereby being able to efficiently feed the contact information directly to the marketplace server. In a third embodiment, the code for submitting the contact information to the marketplace server is provided by the owner of the marketplace server to the lead seller who then embeds the code into their websites, Podcasts and RSS feeds. [0017] The contact information submitted by the lead seller is in a standard format that can be read by the marketplace server. This allows the marketplace server to efficiently accept and process large amounts of contact information from various lead sellers automatically and without manual intervention. The submission of large amounts of contact information to the marketplace server would be extremely inefficient if the submission had to be done manually, for example by completing a form on the marketplace website for each contact's information. [0018] Once the lead seller submits the contact information to the marketplace server, the marketplace server validates the contact information being submitted (step 203 ). There are various mechanisms for validating contact information, such as cross checking the information with known contact lists, sampling the validity of a portion of the contacts, determining the completeness of the information as well as its age. [0019] As a result of the validation process, the marketplace server assigns a rating to the contact information and posts a description of the contact information along with the rating for sale in the appropriate category on the marketplace website (step 204 ). Validating and rating the contact information is an essential step since potential buyers would have limited means for determining the value of the contact information otherwise. Yet, the validation and rating process is only possible because the actual contact information is submitted to the marketplace server and not just a description of the items being offered for sale as is currently done in on-line marketplaces. In turn, efficiently submitting the actual contact information to the marketplace server can best be accomplished by using a standard format that is adhered to by the lead seller as opposed to the more inefficient process of entering the contact information manually into the marketplace website as is currently the practice. [0020] Once the contact information has been rated and posted on the marketplace website, potential buyers bid to purchase the contact information (step 205 ). In one embodiment, buyers bid for the right to purchase the contact information exclusively. However, the lead seller may also choose to sell the contact information on a limited or non-exclusive basis. [0021] Once the bidding is closed, the highest bidder is notified and must then make a payment in the bid amount (step 206 ). In one embodiment, the highest bidder makes the payment to the marketplace server which then forwards the payment to the lead seller. In another embodiment, the highest bidder makes the payment directly to the lead seller. [0022] After the highest bidder makes the payment, the marketplace server then sends the contact information directly to the highest bidder (step 207 ). [0023] Now referring to FIG. 3 , a flow chart depicts one embodiment in which potential buyers and sellers create profiles in order to be notified whenever contact information matching their profile is offered for sale on an on-line leads marketplace. This will alert potential buyers that contact information they may be interested in purchasing is being offered for sale. It will also be useful to lead sellers since the lead seller can determine the price at which the contact information was sold, which will help the lead seller estimate the price at which the lead seller can sell similar information in the future. [0024] First, the potential buyers and potential sellers complete a profile specifying the types of contacts in which they are interested (step 301 ). The profile is then submitted to the marketplace server (step 302 ). When the marketplace server receives contact information for sale, the marketplace server compares the types of contacts being offered for sale with those specified in the potential buyer and potential seller profiles (step 303 ). If the type of contact information matches the type specified in the profiles, the marketplace server notifies the owners of the matching profiles, e.g. via e-mail (step 304 ).

A method is presented for creating an on-line leads marketplace by capturing contact information and transmitting it electronically to an on-line leads marketplace. Contact information from visitors to websites or registrants to Podcasts or RSS feeds is electronically submitted to an on-line leads marketplace in a standard format, where it can be processed automatically (e.g. validated and rated) and posted for sale in the appropriate category.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to an operating mechanism for rotary shift initiation and subsequent transmission of a shifting movement in a multiple gear hub with a planetary gear mechanism for providing multiple transmission stages. A multispeed hub typically consists of at least one planetary gear mechanism with at least one sun gear, planet gears meshing with this sun gear of at least one set of planetary gears as well as at least one ring gear in contact with the planet gears, which is arranged around a fixed axle. The torque is transmitted over a sprocket wheel to a driver and further over one of several transmission paths of the planetary gear mechanism to the hub shell or casing. The selective control of the corresponding transmission path is carried out through coupling points and clutch actuation points, which can be rotated or displaced relative to the axle. The choice of speed is performed with a switch in the handlebar region and is transmitted to the multispeed hub, e.g., mechanically by means of a linear movement of a control cable. The shift movement corresponding to the chosen speed is initiated in the internal hub. Sometimes an axle shifting device is used, which is located at the end of the hub axle or between the sprocket wheel and the frame dropout. Shift movements can be initiated linearly by means of pushing or pulling elements, or rotationally by means of swinging or rotational elements. The shifting operation is generally guided from the outside over the axle, or guided through the axle or another standing component into the internal hub. In EP 0 876 952 B1 a shift movement is introduced into the inside of the gear hub by means of an articulating mechanism which is mounted on the hub axle from its free end towards the inside. Thereby, an outer shift movement of a control cable, running vertically to the middle axle of the hub axle, is converted into a linear movement of a switch rod, which can move inside a central hole in the hub axle. A switching block, which is guided in a slot running obliquely to the middle axle of the hub axle and transversely through the hub axle, moves together with the switching rod. A switch socket working together with the switching block forms a clutch activation component. In the prior art there are also articulating mechanisms which are mounted on the end of the hub axle in the form of so-called “axle switching devices.” They are prone to defects because they protrude over the other components of the bicycle in the direction of the hub axle, and they are considered to be troublesome. Longitudinal bores and slots in axles are expensive to manufacture and lead to higher costs. Since no quick release can be used with a hub axle with a longitudinal bore, the assembly and disassembly of the gear hub on bicycle frames is only possible with tools. In DE 10 2005 003 056 A1 a switching device with a linear switching movement is also shown. Thereby the switch cable is brought through an axially running opening in the bearing cone to an axial position between the sprocket wheel and the frame dropout, whereby the shift movement is transmitted to the hub gears. Thereby there is only a deflection of the shift movement from a direction perpendicular to the hub axle to a direction in the direction of the hub axle. A nut on the inner periphery of the bearing cone serves to receive the control cable, which also decreases friction on the control cable. A disadvantage to this solution is the fact that when the hub is mounted, a threaded end of the shift cable cannot be screwed in to the corresponding counterpart in the internal hub, or at least only with corresponding constructive arrangements. A rotary initiation of the shift movement occurs in EP 0 679 569 B1 by means of a cable pulley mounted on the inside of the fixed cone, which is functionally connected with a large number of cam rings. A controlling movement causes a rotation of the cam rings, whereby each cam ring acts on a corresponding cam lever and whereby the pawl-controlled sun gears of the planet gear can be engaged or disengaged through further cam lever surfaces, catches and switch cam rods of the switching device. A determining problem of this switching device is that it consists of a whole series of individual parts and this is expensive to manufacture. DE 10 2004 048 114 B4 describes the transfer of a rotary switching movement between the driver and the fixed cone. Hereby a switch casing rotationally mounted with regard to the hub axle is supported by a first ball bearing opposite the stationary fixed cone as well as by a second ball bearing opposite a rotating driver. The driver necessarily always rotates in the case of a driver movement, whereby frictional forces to the second ball bearing between the driver and the switch casing, which can drag the switch casing in one direction, cannot be completely excluded. This is disruptive with regard to setting the switch casing in the exact gear position. In EP 0 383 350 the rotary movement of a cable reel is transferred to the internal hub via openings in the inner periphery of the fixed cone. The cross sections of the openings are executed in the form of segments of annuli around the hub axle, in which extensions of a gear shift casing move. Since the positions of the extensions for the various gears lie very close together, a very high degree of accuracy is required for the gear switching device, especially in the case of a large number of gears. In DE 101 18 645 another example of an operating mechanism is shown. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An aspect of the invention is to create a simple device for introducing the gear shift or switch movement into the hub gears, which causes no problems with manufacturing costs and accuracy requirements even with a large number of gears, gear stages or ratios. The invention relates to a novel configuration of a device for introducing and transferring the gear switch or gear shift movement into the bicycle gears. Hereby the switch movement is consistently introduced into the gear hub in a rotational way without reducing the angle of rotation, through a component which is fixed to the axle. The invention has an object of introducing the switch movement through a cone or fixed cone, which serves as the inner ring for positioning the driver, into the hub. The cone, which for this reason is attached in a torque-proof manner to the hub axle, has through holes in a radial circumferential direction. The holes serve to position gear shafts which function as transmission elements and bring a rotational movement into the internal hub. Each gear shaft carries an inner and an outer cog wheel on the inner and outer axial ends of the shaft. The outer cog wheel is in direct contact with the operating sleeve, which rotates in response to a linear movement of the gearshift cable. The inner cog wheel on the inner end meshes with the teeth of a transmission shaft mounted on the internal hub casing and including a hollow shaft. The gear shafts transfer a rotational switch movement through the fixed cone, as soon as they are admitted to the outer region of the fixed cone through the operating sleeve with a rotating movement. The operating sleeve fulfills the function of a ring gear and has tooth-like contours on the inside of the circumference, with which the cog wheels of the gear shafts mesh. The cog wheels on the gear shafts can be compared to planet gears. The fixed cone has the function of a planet gear carrier. The switch movement transferred to the internal hub is rotationally transmitted through the inner cog wheels of the gear shaft to the transmission shaft. In this process the teeth of the planet gear mesh in the interior of the fixed cone with the tooth-shaped contour on the outer side of the circumference of the gear shaft and enable a corresponding rotation of the gear shaft, which is ultimately coupled with the gear shift device. The transmission shaft can also be understood as a sun gear. Therefore, the switch device corresponds to a planetary stationary gear. The planet gears enable on the one hand the transmissions of a simple stationary gear, and on the other hand a coupled transmission with various numbers of teeth to the inner and outer planet gears. The transmission shaft is coupled in a torque-proof manner with sleeves which are positioned in such a way that they can rotate around the hub axle and constitute form elements for controlling the pawls corresponding to the sun gears. In the preferred example of execution of the invention, pawls are provided on the sun gears. Such a pawl is brought actively into contact with the teeth on the inner periphery of the corresponding sun gear and prevents the sun gear from rotating in a reverse direction. In the opposite rotation of the sun gear with respect to the hub axle the pawl is run over; therefore no fixation takes place with respect to the hub axle. In a movement to control the pawl, in order to bring this pawl, which is in contact with the teeth, out of contact with the teeth, the pawl is pivoted around a point of rotation by means of the action of a control contour of a pawl control component, and the sun gear can rotate freely in both directions. The geometrical configuration of the pawl makes it possible to minimize the power necessary to execute a control movement. Therefore the components of the operating mechanism which transmit the control movement can preferably be manufactured from a plastic material, which may be less hard than steel but can be more economically made into the desired form by means of injection molding. The control contours for acting upon the pawls on several of the sun gears are mounted on coupling sleeves, which are arranged around the hub axle and rotated with respect to the hub axle. The operating sleeve functions additionally as a covering on the front side of the gear hub. Thereby there is no more need for a sheathing in the outer area of the gear hub. A further advantage of the operating mechanism of the invention lies in the fact that it is not sensitive to outside influences, since it is mounted axially inside the dropout of the bicycle frame. Should the bicycle fall over to the side, damage is largely excluded, in contrast to an operating mechanism with an axle switching or shifting device that is stuck on the end of the hub axle, outside the dropout, which converts the control cable device in a direction oblique to the hub axle direction into the direction of the hub axle. Likewise, there is good accessibility to the operating sleeve and the cable groove on the outer periphery. The end of a control cable can simply be attached to the operating sleeve, for example by means of a cable end bottom. The shift cable need not be brought into the hub. If it is combined with a corresponding device for supporting the cable sheath, there is no need to adjust the control cable when the rear wheel is put back together after being taken apart for inspection, maintenance or because of a defect. The operating mechanism is provided with a spring casing and a return spring, preferably constructed as a coil spring. The return spring is positioned in a free area in the spring casing and fixed on one end opposite the hub axle. When the gearshift cable slackens, the return spring sends the gear box back to the starting position. These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood from the following description of one or more embodiments of the invention, taken together with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings: FIG. 1 shows a general view of the operating mechanism for a multispeed gear hub of the invention, mounted on, the axle of the hub; FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the operating mechanism of the invention in a multispeed gear hub; FIG. 3 is a representation of the main components of the operating mechanism, laid out in a line on the hub axle; and FIG. 4 is a detailed representation of the essential components of the operating, mechanism according to FIG. 3 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the invention will herein be described with reference to the drawings. It will be understood that the drawings and descriptions set out herein are provided for illustration only and do not limit the invention as defined by the claims appended hereto and any and all their equivalents. The components mounted on the axle of the hub axle of a cross sectional view of the operating mechanism according to the invention for a multispeed gear hub are represented generally in FIG. 1 and shown in detail in FIG. 2 . FIG. 2 shows a cross sectional view of the operating mechanism ( 1 ) for rotational switch introduction of a multi-speed hub, which is arranged at the end concentrically around a hub axle ( 2 ). The operating mechanism ( 1 ) includes in detail a fixed cone ( 3 ), several gear shafts ( 4 ) each shaft with outer ( 4 a ) and inner cog wheels ( 4 b ), a sealing ring ( 5 ), an operating sleeve ( 6 ), a securing sleeve ( 7 ), an axle nut ( 8 ), a transmission shaft ( 9 ), a retaining spring ( 11 ), a spring casing ( 13 ) with a coil spring ( 12 ), a locking pin ( 14 ) and at least a two-part coupling sleeve ( 10 ). On the hub axle ( 2 ) the cone ( 3 ) is fixed in place or locked in a torque-proof manner and axially secured by means of the securing sleeve ( 7 ) and an axle nut ( 8 ). On the securing sleeve ( 7 ) the operating sleeve ( 6 ) is positioned in such a way that it can be rotated but is axially fixed. Hereby the securing sleeve ( 7 ) fulfills two further functions: on the one hand it protects the operating sleeve ( 6 ) from axial slippage, and on the other hand it prevents the operating sleeve ( 6 ) from getting jammed in the fixed cone ( 3 ) when the axle nut is tightened. On the outer diameter of the operating sleeve ( 6 ) there is a cable groove ( 6 a ) which receives the shift cable. In addition, the operating sleeve ( 6 ) has teeth ( 6 b ) on the axial end pointing toward the fixed cone ( 3 ), similar to a ring gear. The operating sleeve ( 6 ) rotationally transmits a switch movement through its rotation around the hub axle ( 2 ) and drives the operating mechanism. While the region of the cable groove ( 6 a ) is positioned radially outside of the operating sleeve ( 6 ), the section with the ring gear ( 6 b ) is located radially inside the operating sleeve ( 6 ). Between the outer circumference of the ring gear ( 6 b ) of the operating sleeve ( 6 ) and the inner circumference of the driver ( 24 ), a sealing ring ( 5 ) is installed for protection against dirt and moisture. Thereby the inside of the hub body or sleeve up to the planetary gear mechanism is sealed. The operating sleeve ( 6 ) lies with its plane surface ( 15 ) flush alongside the circumference of the outer plane surface of the fixed cone ( 2 ). Here an additional sealing is provided with an O-ring between the two plane surfaces. Other sealing arrangements are also possible. On the outer circumference of the fixed cone there is a ball bearing surface ( 16 ) for a ball bearing ( 17 ), which ensures the rotational position of the driver ( 24 ) in regard to the fixed cone ( 3 ). In another form of execution, not shown in the figures, the teeth on the operating sleeve are provided not on the inner circumference side, but on the outer circumference side. The operating mechanism then no longer includes a stationary planetary gear. As an alternative to an operating sleeve ( 6 ) with inner toothing which is rotated with a control cable with regard to the hub axle ( 2 ), a toothed rack could, for instance, also be provided. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the fixed cone ( 3 ) has a centrally located through hole, in which the hub axle ( 2 ) is placed. Around the central through hole there are three first through holes ( 3 a ), each at the same radial distance, to receive the gear shafts ( 4 ) and three second through holes ( 3 b ), to receive snap hooks ( 19 ) to secure the spring casing ( 13 ) on the fixed cone. Three through holes ( 3 a ) for inserting the two-part gear shafts ( 4 ) have proven to be advantageous. Less than three first through holes ( 3 a ) mean less expenditure, but do not ensure optimal contact between outer cog wheel ( 4 b ) and ring gear ( 6 b ). The two-part gear shafts ( 4 ) transmit a rotational movement of the ring gear operating sleeve ( 6 ) in an axial direction to the coupling sleeves ( 10 ), which are located radially in the area inside the sun gears of the planetary gearbox of the drive hub. The gear shafts ( 4 ) are positioned in such a way that they can be rotated in the first through holes ( 3 a ) of the fixed cone ( 3 ). In FIG. 2 a gear shaft ( 4 ) with an inner cog wheel ( 4 a ) and an outer cog wheel ( 4 b ) is shown in cross section. A first one-part component consists of the gear shaft ( 4 ) and the outer cog wheel ( 4 b ). The gear shaft ( 4 ) has a conical section ( 26 ) with a slight incline on the end opposite the outer cog wheel ( 4 b ). For mounting, the gear shaft ( 4 ) is introduced into the first through hole ( 3 a ), and after that the inner cog wheel ( 4 a ) is pressed onto the conical section. As a result of the influence of friction, no further security for the axial position of the inner cog wheel ( 4 a ) on the gear shaft ( 4 ) is necessary—on the one hand for coupling in the direction of rotation and on the other hand so that assembly can only be carried out in the correct angular position, the conical section ( 26 ) at the gear shaft ( 4 ) has a cross section that is not round. The gear shaft ( 4 ) meshes with the inner cog wheel ( 4 b ) in the teeth of the transmission shaft ( 9 ) and drives these in the opposite direction of rotation. The transmission shaft ( 9 ) is fixed to or, in other words is connected in a torque-proof way with the two-part coupling sleeve ( 10 ) by means of driving projections ( 21 ) which engage at the transmission shaft ( 9 ) in synchronization recesses. In the execution form displayed the teeth are arranged at the outer circumference of the transmission shaft ( 9 ), but teeth would also be possible on the inner circumference The driving projections ( 21 ) are encoded and can only be coupled in exactly one relative angular position with the transmission shaft ( 9 ). The encoding can be realized by various cross sections of the driving projections ( 21 ), by their position in the circumferential direction or in another way, and serves the purpose that the sleeve components and the transmission shaft cannot be set in the wrong position relative to each other at assembly. An especially advantageous aspect of this invention is the fact that because of the special construction of sun gear pawls ( 23 ) fixing the sun gears with respect to the hub axle ( 2 ), the load on the components is so low that almost all the integrated components of the operating mechanism can be made from appropriate plastics. Only the fixed cone, on the ball bearing surface ( 16 ) of which the balls of the ball bearing ( 17 ) roll, the spring elements and the securing sleeve ( 7 ) wound up with the axle nut ( 8 ) must be made of other materials, e.g., of aluminum or steel, since these components are exposed to greater loads. Plastic parts are advantageous for manufacturing, which has a positive effect on the production costs and contributes to reducing the weight of the gear hub. In the execution form shown here, the invention is also provided with a return spring in the form of a coil spring ( 12 ), with which the transmission shaft ( 9 ) can be rotated back into the initial rotation position. The coil spring ( 12 ) engages on one end with the gear shaft ( 4 ) and on the other end with a slot in the spring casing ( 13 ). Thereby it is also radially secured to the outside. The hub axle ( 2 ) does not need it to be equipped with elements for receiving a spring end. In an alternative execution form, a spring end is fixed in a torque-proof manner to the hub axle ( 2 ), while the other spring end is fixed in a torque-proof manner to the inner circumference of the transmission shaft ( 9 ), and there is no separate spring casing. For further possible execution forms it is only important that the coupling sleeve ( 10 ) is rotated back by the power of the return spring ( 12 ) into the initial position. The spring casing ( 13 ) is attached by means of snap hooks ( 19 ) in relation to the fixed cone ( 3 ), whereby each snap hook ( 19 ) engages with a second through hole ( 3 b ) on the fixed cone ( 3 ). The snap hook is not necessarily designed for repeated assembly, a disassembly is not urgently necessary. A distance in an axial direction between the spring casing ( 13 ) and the fixed cone ( 3 ) is prescribed by the length of the snap hooks ( 19 ). In addition short sections of the snap hooks ( 19 ) formed as stud bolts ( 27 ) engage with the second through holes ( 3 b ). The connection between the spring casing ( 13 ) and the fixed cone ( 3 ) could alternatively be done with stud bolts with the length of the second through holes ( 3 b ) in connection with screws. A retaining spring ( 11 ) in the form of a compression spring is installed on the transmission shaft ( 9 ) between the coupling sleeve ( 10 ) and the transmission shaft ( 9 ). It presses the transmission shaft ( 9 ) in an axial direction to the fixed cone ( 3 ), and the coupling sleeve ( 10 ) together with a pawl sleeve ( 20 ) to a latch on the hub axle ( 2 ) which is not shown. It is thereby ensured that an axial play between the coupling sleeves ( 10 ) is prevented and that the coupling sleeves ( 10 ) are always exactly under the corresponding controlling sun gear pawls ( 23 ). While this invention has been described by reference to a particular embodiment, it should be understood that numerous changes could be made within the spirit and scope of the inventive concepts described. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but that it have the full scope permitted by the language of the following claims.

An operating mechanism by which the linear movement of a gearshift cable is converted into a rotational movement of an operating sleeve and transmitted to the interior of a bicycle multispeed gear hub.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates to surgical bandages and to medical and surgical wound apposition and closure devices which may involve the use of tissue adhesives. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Tissue adhesives have recently been developed which achieve wound closure by bonding wound edges in close apposition, while the natural process of wound healing occurs. These tissue adhesives, include both cyanoacrylate and fibrin based materials. Cyanoacrylates form a solid mass that bridges wound edges at their surfaces, thereby closing the wound. Especially with cyanoacrylates, it is critically important that adhesive not pass into the wound itself. Quinn et. al. (1997). Thus, special care must be taken to ensure that wound edges are kept in close apposition for the amount of time required to form a solid bridge of adhesive material. A total of 3-4 applications must be spread in layers directly over the junction of tightly apposed wound edges, allowing 10-15 seconds between applications for the adhesive to harden. Wound edges must be kept in close approximation for about 2 and ½ minutes. Better cosmetic results (i.e., less scarring) are obtained after healing when wound edges are kept in close apposition. [0003] Typically, during application of tissue adhesive, wound edges are held in apposition by gloved fingers or forceps. Quinn et al. (1997). This manual apposition of wound edges is awkward, requires technical skill, and is susceptible to disruption if the patient moves during the process. Thus, it would be of considerable utility to simplify the process of tissue adhesive application, not only for health care professionals but for lay consumers. Clark et. al. (1993 and 1995) developed wound closure devices which achieve apposition of wound edges during application of tissue adhesive. These devices employ a porous “bonding pad” which acts as a matrix for adhesive. These devices have the disadvantage of not allowing direct visualization of the wound and the adjacent areas before, during and after application of adhesive. Direct visualization during the process of wound closure is critical in achieving optimal cosmetic results. In addition, the devices by Clark et. al. do not allow direct contact of fluid to the wound surface through at least one unobstructed fluid path. Nor do they allow blood, transudate or other fluid in or near the wound to be wiped away and/or blotted dry prior to application of any substance. Removal of blood and transudates further aids in visualization. Removal of blood and other fluids is also important because they serve as media for bacterial growth, and are thus a source of infection. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0004] The present invention is a surgical bandage comprised of an adhesive strip with an opening or openings through which tissue adhesive may be applied to a wound, laceration, surgical incision or other tissue separation. The adhesive strip can be a single continuous piece, with a window or opening or plurality of openings which provide direct visualization and access to a wound. Alternatively, the surgical bandage can be formed by two adhesive end segments connected in a linear fashion to a central bridging segment which provides an opening or openings through which a wound and adjacent surrounding tissue surfaces may be visualized and tissue adhesive applied. Each end segment can include two or more appendages that may provide useful advantages in certain situations including location arid/or size of the wound, laceration, surgical incision or tissue separation. The surgical bandage can be attached to a patient's skin in a manner which brings the wound edges into close approximation, temporarily closing the wound. Tissue adhesive or liquids or other substances can then be applied directly to the temporarily closed wound through the opening or openings or central bridging segment of the surgical bandage. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0005] FIG. 1 is a top view of one embodiment of the surgical bandage according to the present invention. [0006] FIG. 2 is a top view of one embodiment of the surgical bandage according to the present invention. [0007] FIG. 3 is a side view of one embodiment of the surgical bandage according to the present invention. [0008] FIG. 4 is a top view of one embodiment of the surgical bandage according to the present invention. [0009] FIG. 5 is a top view of one embodiment of the surgical bandage accord ing to the present invention. [0010] FIG. 6 is a top view of one embodiment of the surgical bandage according to the present invention. [0011] FIG. 7 is a top view of one embodiment of the surgical bandage according to the present invention. [0012] FIG. 8 shows the surgical bandage of the present invention where each end segment has two appendages. [0013] FIG. 9 shows the surgical bandage of the present invention where each end segment has three appendages. [0014] FIG. 10 shows an oblique view of one embodiment of the surgical bandage according to the present invention. [0015] FIG. 11 is a top view of a tissue surface containing a tissue separation and the surgical bandage of the present invention, showing an initial step in the process of using the surgical bandage. [0016] FIG. 12 is a top view of a tissue surface containing a tissue separation and the surgical bandage of the present invention, further demonstrating the process of using the surgical bandage. [0017] FIG. 13 is a top view of a tissue surface containing a closed tissue separation and the surgical bandage of the present invention, further demonstrating the process of using the surgical bandage. [0018] FIG. 14 is a top view of a tissue surface containing a closed tissue separation and the surgical bandage of the present invention, further demonstrating the process of using the surgical bandage. [0019] FIG. 15 is a top view of a tissue surface containing a closed tissue separation and the surgical bandage of the present invention, further demonstrating the process of using the surgical bandage. [0020] FIG. 16 shows the surgical bandage of the present invention after the two end segments have been separated and removed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0021] General Description [0022] In embodiments containing a single continuous piece, the surgical bandage is formed from tape with adhesive on one side. An opening or openings in the tape material permits direct access to a wound, laceration, surgical incision or other tissue separation. The bandage may be packaged as a continuous roll with alternating tape end segments and central bridging segments. [0023] The tape should ideally be non-allergenic and non-irritating to humans and animals. Materials used to make the tape can be absorbent or non-absorbent and can include any suitable material including thin plastic; polymers such as polyvinyl, polypropylene, polyurethane or polyester; fabrics (such as cotton, nylon, silk or other naturally occurring or synthetic fabrics), bio-absorbable materials including those used to manufacture absorbable sutures, silicon or silicon coated material, latex or rubber, Teflon and Teflon related products, acetate products, Kevlar and paper, cellulose or fiber-based material. [0024] In embodiments containing a central bridging segment, two adhesive end segments are formed either from tape or other suitable material, with adhesive on at least one side. Embodiments comprising a central bridging segment may optionally provide a means for elevating the central bridging segment above the tissue surface. Alternatively, the central bridging segment could be-elevated by pre-applying two thickened bridge supports, with adhesive on at least one side, on tissue surface adjacent to the wound. Then, using one of the embodiments of the surgical bandage to span the space between the two supports, a bridge is formed above the wound, laceration, surgical incision or tissue separation. The adhesive side of the end segments or optional bridge supports can have a separate protective layer which must be peeled away before the tape can be applied to an appropriate surface. This protective layer prevents the tape from accidentally sticking to an unintended surface and also helps maintain adhesiveness of the tape. [0025] An optional “pull string” string or thread-like device can be placed within or under the tape end segments at-the border where the tape meets the opening or central bridging segment. This facilitates cutting, separating and removing tape end segments in a manner similar to the operation of a “pull-string” in a FedEx™ envelope. Means for detachment enables the tape end segments to be removed after the wound is closed by hardened adhesive. [0026] The bandage itself and/or the central bridging segment can be made from transparent materials to permit better visualization of the wound. [0027] In embodiments with end segments and a central bridging segment, the bridging segment can have an opening or a plurality of openings in the material of which the end segments are formed. Alternatively the bridging segment can be formed from strands or fibers, arranged in parallel or otherwise, which permit visualization of the wound and direct access for application of tissue adhesive or medicaments. Materials used to make the strands or fibers for the central bridging segment can include any suitable material, including the materials described above used to make tape segments, including bio-absorbable materials used to manufacture absorbable sutures. These strands or fibers can also be made from materials that may or may not be coated with another substance such as resin, wax, silicon, plastic or other polymer, latex or other rubber, or other coating substance. The opening or openings, including the spaces between strands or fibers, will also allow any blood, transudate or other fluid that might accumulate in or near the wound to be expressed, wiped away or blotted dry. The adhesive end segments can also include a suitable “thickening” material or otherwise provide means of elevating the central bridging segment above the tissue surface. The central bridging segment may or may not have adhesive on one side. [0028] The opening or openings of the surgical bandage allow direct access to the wound for medicines or other agents which promote wound healing, in addition to tissue adhesive. The opening or openings can be of any shape selected from the various geometric, circular or irregular shapes or be any combination thereof. Once an appropriate amount of adhesive has been applied and sufficient time has elapsed to allow the adhesive to harden or set, excess tape, or the two end segments, can be removed using the “pull-string” described previously. Alternatively, the bandage can be left in place, intact, after the tissue adhesive has dried, to add extra “holding power” or tensile strength during the natural wound healing process. Both the dried adhesive and the bandage in this way continue to hold the wound edges together. [heading-0029] Use of the Surgical Bandage [0030] In referring to a skin surface containing a wound, laceration or surgical incision, this explanation of the use of the surgical bandage is for illustrative purposes and does not limit the use of the bandage in other types of tissue separations. The bandage of the present invention can be used either in humans or non-human animals. Prior to using the bandage, a wound, laceration, surgical incision or other tissue separation should be cleaned and debrided in manner consistent with accepted medical or veterinary practice. If necessary, any layered closure using subcutaneous or deep sutures should be done prior to use of the surgical bandage. The area around the wound, laceration or surgical incision should be made dry to ensure good adhesion of the surgical bandage. Immediately prior to placement of the surgical bandage a substance that may improve the adhesiveness of the surgical bandage such as tincture of benzoin may be applied to the surrounding skin. Optionally, the bandage may contain a protective layer which must be removed in order to expose the adhesive side of the tape. [0031] One end of the tape or one end segment is placed with the bare adhesive surface facing toward the skin surface adjacent to one side of the gaping wound, laceration or surgical incision and is pressed securely onto the skin surface so that adhesion occurs. The tape segment should be placed so that the opening, openings or central bridging segment directly overlies and spans the gaping wound, laceration or surgical incision Once one side of the surgical bandage has been placed and is adherent, the apposing wound edges should be brought into close approximation by pulling, with appropriate tension or traction, on the end that has not yet been placed on or adhered to the skin surface. Because direct visualization is possible through the opening or openings or central bridging segment, the alignment of the edges of the wound, laceration or surgical incision can be accomplished in an optimal manner. [0032] Once the alignment is optimal or acceptable, the free tape end or end segment is placed and pressed onto the skin surface on the other side of the wound, laceration or surgical incision. At this point the gap previously present in the wound, laceration or surgical incision should be significantly reduced or absent, and its edges should be held securely together in close approximation by the surgical bandage. Because of design features of the bandage, the process of applying the surgical bandage helps achieve hemostasis. In addition, the opening or openings in the bandage allow blood and fluids to be easily expressed, wiped away and/or blotted dry, which is beneficial in removing a potential source or nidus of infection. [0033] A medicine or an agent to promote wound healing can be applied at this time. Such agents may be aerosolized fluids, antibiotics, anesthetic, gels, lotions, liquid water solutions such as sterile saline, tissue sealants, creams, ointments or other wound healing, and combinations thereof. [0034] After the edges of the wound, laceration or surgical incision are securely held together in close approximation, a tissue adhesive may be applied. A cyanoacrylate or other adhesive can easily be applied to the appropriate areas of a temporarily closed wound using direct visualization and access through the opening or openings or central bridging segment. Such adhesives may include bio-adhesives, synthetic adhesives, enhanced viscosity cyanoacrylates, fibrin, or fibrin-like substances. Once the recommended amount of adhesive has been applied and sufficient time has elapsed to allow the adhesive to harden or set, excess tape or the two end segments can be removed using the “pull-string” previously described. [heading-0035] Detailed Description of Drawings EXAMPLE 1 [0036] FIG. 1 is a top view of one embodiment of the surgical bandage according to the present invention. The surgical bandage is preferably packaged in a sterile condition within a package and distributed as a single-use surgical bandage. The surgical bandage includes two tape end segments, 1 and 2 , a central bridging segment, 3 , and two “pull strings,” 4 and 5 . In this embodiment, the bandage is one continuous piece, with a single opening or “window” framed by tape material. EXAMPLE 2 [0037] FIG. 2 is a top view and FIG. 3 a side view of another embodiment of the present invention. The bandage includes two end segments, 6 and 7 , which are thickened or wedge shaped to provide means of elevating the central bridging segment, 8 , above the tissue surface. EXAMPLE 3 [0038] FIGS. 4 through 7 provide top views of other embodiments of the present invention. The central bridging segments, 9 , can be formed from strands or fibers, arranged parallel or otherwise. Alternatively, the central bridging segment, 9 , can be formed from a thin layer with interstices or can consist of a plurality of openings in the tape material. FIGS. 8 and 9 depict alternate embodiments which have end segments with two or more appendages. [0039] FIG. 10 is an oblique view of another embodiment showing an elevated central bridging segment, 18 , supported by two separate bridge supports, 19 and 20 . EXAMPLE 4 [0040] FIGS. 11 through 16 provide a visual demonstration of the use of the surgical bandage. FIG. 11 is a top view of a tissue surface that has a laceration, 10 . In FIG. 11 one end segment, 11 , has had its protective layer removed, and the tape segment, 11 , has been pressed onto the skin surface on one side of a laceration, 10 . The tape segment, 11 , is adhering firmly to the skin surface in FIG. 11 . The protective layer, 12 , has not yet been removed from the tape end segment, 1 - 3 . [0041] In FIG. 12 the laceration, 10 , is shown to be gaping with the tape end segment, 11 , adhering to the skin surface adjacent to one of the edges of the laceration, 10 . In FIG. 12 the tape segment, 13 , has also had its protective layer removed. The tape end segment, 13 , is being grasped by the person applying the surgical bandage and is being held above the tissue surface. [0042] FIG. 13 shows that one end segment, 11 is firmly adherent to one side of the laceration, 10 , and the person applying the surgical bandage is pulling or using traction on the unattached end segment, 13 . In FIG. 13 , the tension or traction applied to the unattached tape end segment, 13 , has caused the wound edges of the laceration, 10 , to come together and be closely approximated. [0043] FIG. 14 shows that both end segments of tape, 11 and 13 , have been pressed against and are adherent to the skin surface adjacent to the closely approximated laceration, 10 . In FIG. 14 , the central bridging segment, 14 , is positioned against and spans the laceration, 10 . FIG. 14 shows a closed wound, 10 , to which medicaments and/or adhesives can be applied. [0044] FIG. 15 shows the closely approximated laceration, 10 , covered by the central bridging segment. In FIG. 15 a tissue adhesive, 15 , from a tube, 16 , is applied and allowed to harden. EXAMPLE 5 [0045] FIG. 16 shows the surgical bandage after the two end segments have been separated from the central bridging segment, 17 , using the “pull strings.” EXAMPLE 6 [0046] Preferably, the present invention can be distributed as a wound treatment kit having at least one bandage packaged in a sterile condition and a source of tissue adhesive. [0047] The described embodiments of the present invention are intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive, and are not intended to represent every embodiment of the present invention. Various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims both literally and in equivalents recognized in law.

Disclosed is a bandage, and methods for its use, which facilitates application of tissue adhesive to close and seal wounds.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The present application is the national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371 of PCT/IT98/00064, filed Mar. 20, 1998. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to CNTF variants with enhanced neuronal receptor selectivity, useful for the treatment of neurological or other diseases or disorders. Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) is a 23-kDa neuro-cytokine, which is expressed in both the peripheral and central nervous system beginning in the late embryonic period (reviewed by Manthorpe et al., 1993; Ip and Yancopoulos 1996). Initially identified by its ability to promote the in vitro survival of embryonic chick parasympathetic neurons, CNTF was subsequently shown to exert potent growth-promoting and/or differentiating actions on a variety of neuronal and glial cells, including motoneurons, sensory neurons, sympathetic neurons, hippocampal neurons, and oligodendrocytes (reviewed by Manthorpe et al., 1993; Ip and Yancopoulos 1996). In vivo administration of CNTF prevents degeneration of chick spinal motoneurons during development of axotomized rat facial motoneurons and of motoneurons in mutant progressive motor, neuronopathy mice. The neuroprotective effects of CNTF make it a candidate for the treatment of human motoneuron disease and possibly other neurodegenerative diseases (Manthorpe et al., 1993; Ip and Yancopoulos 1996). In addition to its neuronal actions, CNTF can also elicit biological effects in non-neuronal cells, such as glia (Hughes et al. 1988; Louis et al. 1993), hepatocytes (Schooltnik et al. 1992), skeletal muscle cells (Helgren et al. 1994), embryonic stem cells (Conover et al.1993), bone marrow stromal cells (Gimble et al.1994), and tumor plasma cells (Zhang et al.1994). The functional pleiotropy of CNTF is one of the likely reasons for the problems associated with the therapeutic use of this protein. CNTF has a short half-life in vivo (Davies et al., 1994), and needs to be administered at high doses in order to achieve pharmacologically useful concentrations in target tissues. At high dosages CNTF produces side-effects, such as weight loss and acute-phase response (Dittrich et al., 1995). There is therefore a need for agents that are able to mimic the neurotrophic effects of CNTF without eliciting all or part of its side effects. CNTF exerts its biological actions through the binding, sequential assembly, and activation of a multisubunit receptor complex composed of a ligand-specific a-receptor (CNTFR) and the signal transducing subunits gp130 and leukemia inhibitory factor receptor-b (LIFR) (Ip and Yancopoulos, 1996). Binding of CNTF to CNTFR triggers the subsequent association and heterodimerization of gp130 and LIFR, leading to the activation of a signaling cascade mediated by protein tyrosine kinases of the Jak family and STAT transcription activators. Similar to gp80, the a-receptor for IL-6, which mediates homodimerization of gp130, CNTFR can function in either membrane-bound or soluble forms (Ip and Yancopoulos, 1996). The membrane-bound form of CNTFR (m-CNTFR), which is anchored to the cell surface via a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol linkage, is expressed predominantly in neuronal and skeletal muscle cells (Davies et al., 1991; Ip et al., 1993). The soluble form of CNTFR (s-CNTFR), which can be produced by phospholipase C-mediated cleavage of m-CNTFR, serves as a cofactor in potentiating CNTF actions on cells that express gp130 and LIFR (Davis et al., 1993). Soluble CNTFR has been detected in cerebrospinal fluid and serum (Helgren et al., 1994; Davis et al., 1993), suggesting that it may be involved in mediating some of the non-neuronal actions of CNTF, such as acute-phase response (Dittrich et al., 1994). Since m-CNTFR is required for neuronal action of CNTF, while s-CNTFR is thought to mediate non-neuronal effects, modified CNTF proteins with increased selectivity for m-CNTFR are expected to produce a more neuron-specific spectrum of pharmacological activities. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to CNTF variants that, as an effect of specific amino acid substitutions in accordance with the invention, have a reduced ability of binding CNTFR, as compared to the natural CNTF, and a decrease of the biological activity mediated through soluble CNTFR, with an unchanged biological activity mediated through membrane-bound CNTFR. These variants are on the basis of a method for the treatment of neuronal diseases and disorders, in human and animals. In one embodiment, the biological activities of CNTF variants is compared between human hepatoma cells plus soluble CNTFR and human hepatoma cells stably expressing CNTFR, which provides a method for assessing selectivity for membrane-bound receptor. In a preferred embodiment, the variant according to the invention is obtained by replacing in the hCNTF (SEQ ID NO: 1) the amino acid threonine in position 169 with isoleucine, and the amino acid histidine in position 174 with alanine (variant which hereinafter is referred as Thr169Ile/His174Ala/hCNTF; IA-CNTF, or SEQ ID NO: 2). This variant is characterized by a reduced ability to bind soluble CNTFR. The ability of the modified hCNTF to stimulate production of the acute-phase protein haptoglobin is measured in human hepatoma cells in presence of soluble CNTFR. As described hereinafter, the modified CNTF exibits decreased potency as compared to the wild-type CNTF. In another embodiment, the ability of the modified human CNTF protein to stimulate production of choline acetyltransferase in a human neuroblastoma cell line is measured. As described hereinafter, the modified CNTF protein is equipotent with the wild-type CNTF protein in this assay. In a preferred embodiment, human hepatoma cells, which do not express CNTFR are engineered to express the full-length human CNTFR, and these cells are used to assay the ability of modified CNTF proteins to stimulate haptoglobin production. Biological activity in this assay is compared to that obtained in parent hepatoma cells assayed in the presence of soluble CNTFR. This procedure provides a measure of selective activation of biological responses through membrane-bound versus soluble CNTFR. As described herein, the modified CNTF protein is equipotent with wild-type human CNTF in this-assay, showing that it maintains high biological activity through membrane-bound CNTFR, while displaying specifically reduced activity through soluble CNTFR. As also described herein, a CNTF variant that was previously shown (Italian patent patent application RM96A000492) to have increased neuronal receptor selectivity (Phe152Ala/Ser166Asp/Gln167His/human CNTF or AKDH-CNTF; a human CNTF variant containing, from amino acids 152 to 167, the sequence reported as SEQ ID NO:3 in the Italian patent application RM96A000492), is also equipotent with wild-type CNTF in hepatoma cells expressing CNTFR. These results shows that this assay system can be used to identify CNTF variants that display different biological activities through soluble and membrane-bound CNTFR. The ligand retention hypothesis (Baumann et al. 1994) provides the most plausible explanation for the pharmacological behavior of cytokine variants with membrane-bound and soluble receptor isoforms. Baumann and coworkers (see Baumann et al., 1994) calculated that concentrations of cytokine receptors at the cell surface are in the micromolar range (which is far in excess of cytokine-receptor equilibrium dissociation constants, and proposed that this can lead to near unidirectional ligand capture. High membrane concentrations of cytokine receptors would explain why cytokine variants with altered receptor binding affinity can display unchanged agonistic potencies through membrane-bound receptors. The equipotency of CNTF and variants with altered CNTFR affinity in neuronal cells would thus be due to quasi-irreversible ligand capture by in-CNTFR, analogous to the situation in non-neuronal cells in the presence of saturating concentrations of s-CNTFR (Italian patent application RM96A000492). Thus, according to the invention, certain amino acid substitutions in the human CNTF wild type protein result in modified human CNTF protein that exhibit increased selectivity for membrane-bound (neuronal) vs. soluble (non-neuronal) CNTFR and therefore, would be expected to have enhanced therapeutic properties. The CNTF modified molecules, useful for practising the present invention, can be prepared by cloning and expressing them in procariotic and eucariotic systems. The resulting recombinant gene can be expressed and purified with any method, allowing the further formation of a stable biologically active protein. The subject of the present invention is the following. Variants of the ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and of the human CNTF wherein the residue of threonine in position 169 is replaced with the residue of isoleucine and the residue of histidine in position 174 is replaced with the residue of alanine. These variants exhibit enhanced selectivity for the (membrane) receptor. Pharmaceutical compositions, comprising the variants of CNTF as per claim 1 or 2 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. According to the present invention the modified CNTF molecules produced as herein described, or their hybrids or mutants, can be used for promoting the differentiation, proliferation or surviving in vitro or in vivo of cells responding to CNTF. The present invention can be used for treating pathologies of any cell responding to CNTF, in the preferred embodiments, pathologies of neuronal cells expressing membrane-bound CNTF receptor, can be treated. Method for assessing the enhanced selectivity for membrane-bound receptor of the variants of CNTF is inducing biological responses through membrane-bound CNTF receptor or soluble CNTF receptor Variants of. CNTF, selected by the above method. Isolated and purified DNA molecules which code for the CNTF variants. DNA recombinant molecules which comprise the above DNA functionally bound to a sequence for controlling the expression in said recombinant DNA. Unicellular host transformed with the recombinant DNA, the unicellular host can be selected from the group comprising bacteria, yeasts, fungi and animal and vegetal cells. Use of the above variants for the preparation of drugs for the treatment of neurological diseases or disorders. These neurological diseases or disorders include degenerative pathologies as retinal pathologies, diseases or pathologies involving spinal cord, colinergic neurones, hyppocampus neurones, or diseases or pathologies involving motorial neurones. The variants according to the present invention can be used also in the treatment of diseases or pathologies deriving from nervous system damages, caused by traumas, surgery operations, heart attack, infections and malignant tumours, or by the exposition to tossic agents. Coniugates of the above variants with other proteins or other molecules. Coniugates of the above variants with antibodies against the transferring receptor for allowing the variants to cross the blood-brain barrier. Coniugates of the above variants with polyehtylenglicol for reducing the immunogenicity of said variants. FIG. 1 shows CNTFR binding of CNTF and IA-CNTF. Binding of biotinylated human CNTF to immobilized CNTFR was determined in the absence (control) or presence of CNTF (•), or IA-CNTF (∘). Results are expressed as percent to control binding and represent the mean ±deviation from duplicate determinations. Data are from a representative experiment that was repeated three times with similar results. FIG. 2 shows s-CNTFR-medicated biological activity in HepG2 cells. Stimulation of haptoglobin production in HepG2 cells was determined in the presence of 80 ng/ml s-CNTFR, and CNTF (•)of IA-CNTF (∘). Results are expressed as a percentage of the maximal CNTF-induced response. Each point is the mean=s.e.m. form at least two separate experiments. FIG. 3 shows m-CNTFR-medicated biological activity in IMR-32 cells. Induction of choline acetyltransferase (Chat) activity in IMR-32 cells by CNTF (•) or IA-CNTF (∘) was determined. Results are expressed as a percentage of the maximal CNTF-induced response. Each point is the near ±s.e.m. from duplicate culture dishes. FIG. 4 shows early signaling responses medicated by the combination of CNTF+s-CNTFR in HepG2 cells and CNTF in HepG2/CNTFR cells. Cells were either not treated with any cytokine (-) or treated for 15 min with 100 ng/ml IL-6, LIF, CNTF, of 100 ng/ml s-CNTFR plus 100 ng/ml CNTF (CNTF+s-R). Activation of cellular STAT factors was determined by electromobility shift assay. Arrows denote the positions of migration of bound STAT3 homodimers (a), Stat1:Stat3 heterodimers (b), Stat1 homodimers (c), in the figure n indicates a non-specific binding. FIG. 5 shows m-CNTFR-medicated biological activity in HepG2/CNTFR cells. Experimental details and treatment of results were as described in the FIG. 2 legend. The proteins tested were CNTF (•), IA-CNTF (∘), and AKDH-CNTF (□). Deposits E. Coli HB2151 bacteria, transformed with a nucleotide sequence coding for SEQ ID NO:2 was filed on Feb. 12, 1997 with The National Collections of Industrial and Marine Bacteria Ltd. (NCIMB), Aberdeen, Scotland, UK. under access numbers NCIMB 40860. Up to this point a general description has been given of the present invention. With the aid of the following examples, a more detailed description of specific embodiments thereof will now be given, in order to give a clearer understanding of its objects, characteristics, advantages and method of operation. EXAMPLES Example 1 Preparation of Modified CNTF Protein a) Construction of DNA Coding for Modified CNTF Protein Thr169Ile/His174Ala/human CNTF (IA-CNTF; SEQ ID NO:2):, was prepared. Mutations were generated by overlap extension PCR (Horton and Pease, 1991), using the pHenD-CNTF vector (Baumann et al. 1993) as template. Two separate PCR amplifications were performed using the oligonucleotide primer sets 1 (5′-GATCGTCGACATGGCTTTCACAGAGCATTCACCGC-3′) (SEQ ID NO:3)+2 (5′-AGAAATGAAACGAAGGTCAGCGATGGACCTTACTGTCCA-3′) (SEQ ID NO:4) and 3 (5′-TGGACAGTAAGGTCCATCGCTGACCTTCGTTTCATTTCT-3′) (SEQ ID NO:5)+4 (5′-GAAACCATCGATAGCAGCACCGTAAT-3′)(SEQ ID NO:6), with cycles of 2 min at 94o, 2 min at 50°, and 3 min at 72°. The two PCR products were isolated using a Qiaex kit, mixed, and amplified in a second PCR reaction. Five PCR cycles (as above) were performed in the absence, and 35 cycles in the presence of primers 1+4. The PCR product was digested with SalI and ClaI, purified by Qiaex, and subcloned into the SalI/ClaI-digested pHenD-CNTF vector, yielding the vector pHenD-IA-CNTF. DNA sequencing revealed the presence of a mutation producing the His174Ala substitution expected from the mutagenized primers used, as well as an additional point mutation (probably due to an error of the polymerase) which gives rise to a Thr169Ile substitution in the encoded protein sequence. The coding sequence for IA-CNTF was subcloned into the pRSET plasmid, which allows high-level protein expression in bacteria (Horton and Pease, 1991), using the following procedure. PCR amplification was performed with the pHenD-IA-CNTF vector as template, using the oligonucleotide primers 5 (5′-GTCACCATGGCTTTCACAGAGCATTCACCG-3′)(SEQ ID NO:7) and 6 (5′-TGACGCGGCCGCCCTACACATTTTCTTGTTGTTAGCAATATA-3′)(SEQ ID NO:8), with 25 cycles of 2 min at 94°, 2 min at 50°, and 2 min at 72°. The PCR product was digested with NcoI and BamHI, purified using a Wizard PCR kit, and subcloned into the NcoI/BamHI-digested plasmid pRSET-CNTF (Horton and Pease, 1991). The identity of the final construct was confirmed by DNA sequencing. b) Production and Purification of Modified CNTF Protein Recombinant proteins were produced in E. coli and purified by reverse-phase HPLC according to previously described procedures (Saggio et al., 1995; Di Marco et al., 1996). Example 2 Receptor Binding Activity of Modified CNTF Protein The CNTFR binding activity of CNTF and IA-CNTF was determined by measuring the ability of the proteins to compete with biotinylated CNTF for binding to solid phase-immobilized CNTFR, using a previously described procedure (Saggio et al., 1994; Saggio et al., 1995). As shown in FIG. 1, IA-CNTF displayed 15-fold reduced affinity for CNTFR, as compared to the wild-type protein. Example 3 Biological Activity Mediated Through Soluble CNTFR in Non-neuronal Cells Stimulation of Haptoglobin Production in HepG2 Cells The human hepatoma cell line HepG2 expresses LIFR and gp130, but not CNTFR (Baumann et al., 1993). Addition of soluble CNTFR to HepG2 cells causes a dose-dependent increase in responsiveness to CNTF, due to formation of high affinity CNTF receptor complexes. The biological activity of IA-CNTF is depicted in FIG. 2 . At a subsaturating concentration of s-CNTFR, this variant behaved as a full agonist in the HepG2 assay, with an EC50 value 5 times higher than that of CNTF, in agreement with its reduced affinity; for CNTFR. Example 4 Biological Activity Mediated Through Membrane-Bound CNTFR in Neuronal Cells Stimulation of Choline Acetyltransferase Activity in IMR-32 Cells The ability of CNTF and IA-CNTF to induce choline acetyltransferase in the human neuroblastoma cell line IMR-32, which expresses m-CNTFR (Baumann et al.,1993; Halvorsen et al., 1996) was determined. In contrast to HepG2 cells, CNTF and IA-CNTF were equipotent in this assay, as it is evidenced in the FIG. 3 . Example 5 Biological Activity in Non-neuronal Cells Engineered to Express Membrane-Bound CNTFR To test whether membrane-bound CNTFR was sufficient to confer high responsiveness to a modified CNTF protein despite its reduced affinity for CNTFR, HepG2 cells were stably transfected with an expression vector encoding full-length CNTFR. To this end, human cDNA encoding the full-length human CNTFR (nucleotides 264-1382 coding for amino acids 1-372 (Davis et al., 1991).) was obtained by reverse transcription-PCR from SH-SY5Y cells and cloned into the EcoRV site of the eukaryotic expression plasmid pcDNA3 (Invitrogen), which carries the neomycin resistance gene. DNA (20 mg) was transfected into HepG2 cells as a calcium phosphate precipitate (Graham and Van der Eb, 1973), and cells were subjected to selection in complete culture medium (minimal essential medium containing penicillin, streptomycin, and lot fetal calf serum) supplemented with 1 mg/ml G418. A subclone stably expressing CNTFR (HepG2/CNTFR) was identified on the basis of CNTF surface binding and CNTF-induced stimulation of haptoglobin production. HepG2/CNTFR cells were maintained in complete culture medium supplemented with 0.2 mg/ml G418. The presence of functional m-CNTFR in HepG2/CNTFR cells was confirmed by the ability of CNTF to rapidly induce the activation of STAT transcription factors in the absence of s-CNTFR. In contrast, STAT activation by CNTF in HepG2 cells required the presence of s-CNTFR, as shown in FIG. 4 . Electromobility Shift Assay HEPG2 and HEPG2/CNTFR cells were plated in 100 ml Petri dishes, and used 24 h later, when they are semi-confluent. Cells were serum starved for 4 h, before be treated for 15 minutes with various reagents. Cells were then washed with an ice solution of phoshate salt buffer, containing NaF 50 mM, collected through centrifugation and frozen in liquid N2. Total cell extracts were prepared as previously described (Demartis et al., 1996). The high affinity binding of the activated STAT factors with the oligonucleotide SIE m67 (Wagner et al., 1990) was determined with electromobility shift assay according to Sadowsky and Gilman (see Sadowsky and Gilman, 1993) using 10 (g of cell extract. The oligonucleotide probe was labeled in the 5′ end, with Klenow enzyme in presence of [(-32P]dATP and [(-32P]dCTP (3000 Ci/mmoli). Complexes were solved in polyacrilammide gel 5% glycerol in 2,5%/0,5 TBE (Tris-borato 45 mM, EDTA 0,5 mM, pH 7,8), then dryed and subjected to autoradiography. CNTF and IA-CNTF were equipotent in stimulating haptoglobin production in HeG2/CNTFR cells (FIG. 5 ), showing that membrane anchoring of CNTFR in non-neuronal cells is sufficient to confer a profile of relative biological activities similar to that observed in neuronal IMR-32 cells. AKDH-CNTF (Phe152Ala/Ser166Asp/Gln167His/human CNTF), a human CNTF variant that was previously shown (Italian patent patent application RM96A000492) to have increased neuronal receptor selectivity, is also very potent in hepatoma cells expressing CNTFR. These results show that this assay can serve to identify CNTF variants with increased selectivity for membrane-bound CNTFR. REFERENCES (1) Manthorpe, M., Louis, J. C., Hagg, T., e Varon, S. (1993) in Neurotrophic factors (Loughlin, S. E. e Fallon, J. H., eds) p. 443-473, Academic Press, San Diego,. Calif. (2) Ip, N. Y. e Yancopoulos, G. D. (1996) Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 19, 491-515 (3) Hughes, S. M. Lillien, L. E., Raff, M. C., Rohrer, H.,e Sendtner, M. (1988) Nature 335, 70-73 (4) Louis, J. -C., Magal, E., Takayama, S., e Varon, S. (1993) Science 259, 689-692 (5) Schooltink, H., Stoyan, T., Roeb, E., Heinrich, P. C., e Rose-John, S. (1992) FEBS Lett. 314, 280-284 (6) Helgren, M. E., Squinto, S. P., Davis, H. L., Parry, D. J., Boulton, T. G., Heck, C. S., Zhu, Y., Yancopoulos, G. D., Lindsay, R. M., e DiStefano, P. S. (1994) Cell 76, 493-504 (7) Conover, J. C., Ip, N. Y., Poueymirou, W. T., Bates, B., Goldfarb, M. P., DeChiara, T. M., e Yancopoulos, G. D. (1993) Development 119, 559-565 (8) Gimble, J. M., Wanker, F., Wang, C. -S., Bass, H., Wu, X., Kelly, K., Yancopoulos, G. D., e Hill, M. R. (1994) J. Cell. Biochem. 54, 122-133 (9) Zhang, X. -G., Gu, J. -J., Lu, Z. -Y., Yasukawa, K., Yancopoulos, G. D., Turner, K., Shoyab, M., Taga, T., Kishimoto, T., Bataille, R., e Klein, B. (1994) J. Exp. Med. 177, 1337-1342 (10) Dittrich, F., Thoenen, H., e Sendtner, M. (1994) Ann. Neurol. 35, 151-163 (11) Davis, S., Aldrich, T. H., Valenzuela, D. M., Wong, V., Furth, M. E., Squinto, S. P., e Yancopoulos, G. D. (1991) Science .253, 59-63 (12) Ip, N. Y., McClain, J., Barrezueta, N. X., Aldrich, T. H., Pan, L., Li, Y., Wiegand, S. J., Friedman, B., Davis, S., e -Yancopoulos, G. D. (1993) Neuron 10, 89-102 (13) Davis, S., Aldrich, T. H., Ip, N.Y., Stahl, N., Scherer, S., Farruggella, T., DiStefano, P. S., Curtis, R., Panayotatos, N., gascan, H., Chevalier, S., e Yancopoulos, G. D. (1993) Science 259, 1736-1739. (14) Baumann, G., Lowman, H. B., Mercado, M., e Wells, J. A. (1994) J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 78, 1113-1118 (15) Horton, R. M. e Pease, L. R. (1991) in Directed mutagenesis: a practical approach, (ed. McPherson, M. J.) Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, pp. 217-247 (16) Saggio, I., Paonessa, G., Gloaguen, I., Graziani, R., Di Setio, A., e Laufer, R. (1994) Anal. Biochem. 221, 387-391 (17) Saggio, I., Gloaguen, I., Poiana, G., e Laufer, R. (1995) EMBO J. 14, 3045-3054 (18) Di Marco, A., Gloaguen, I., Graziani, R., Paonessa, G., Saggio, I., Hudson, K. R., e Laufer, R. (1996) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93, 9247-9252 (19) Baumann, H., Ziegler, S. F., Mosley, B., Morella, K. K., Pajovic, S., e Gearing, D. P. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 8414-8417 (20) Halvorsen, S. W., Malek, R., Wang, X., e Jiang, N. (1996) Neuropharmacology 35, 257-265 (21) Graham, F. L. and Van der Eb, A. J. (1973) Virology 52, 456-461 (22) Demartis, A., Bernassola, F., Savino, R., Melino, G., e Ciliberto, G. (1996) Cancer Res. 56, 4213-4218 (23) Wagner, B. J., Hayes, T. E., Hoban, C. J., e Cochran, B. H. (1990) EMBO J. 9, 4477-4484 (24) Sadowski, H. B. e Gilman, M. Z. (1993) Nature 362, 79-83 (25) Gearing, D. P. (1993) Adv. Immunol. 53, 31-58 8 1 200 PRT Homo sapiens 1 Met Ala Phe Thr Glu His Ser Pro Leu Thr Pro His Arg Arg Asp Leu 1 5 10 15 Cys Ser Arg Ser Ile Trp Leu Ala Arg Lys Ile Arg Ser Asp Leu Thr 20 25 30 Ala Leu Thr Glu Ser Tyr Val Lys His Gln Gly Leu Asn Lys Asn Ile 35 40 45 Asn Leu Asp Ser Ala Asp Gly Met Pro Val Ala Ser Thr Asp Gln Trp 50 55 60 Ser Glu Leu Thr Glu Ala Glu Arg Leu Gln Glu Asn Leu Gln Ala Tyr 65 70 75 80 Arg Thr Phe His Val Leu Leu Ala Arg Leu Leu Glu Asp Gln Gln Val 85 90 95 His Phe Thr Pro Thr Glu Gly Asp Phe His Gln Ala Ile His Thr Leu 100 105 110 Leu Leu Gln Val Ala Ala Phe Ala Tyr Gln Ile Glu Glu Leu Met Ile 115 120 125 Leu Leu Glu Tyr Lys Ile Pro Arg Asn Glu Ala Asp Gly Met Pro Ile 130 135 140 Asn Val Gly Asp Gly Gly Leu Phe Glu Lys Lys Leu Trp Gly Leu Lys 145 150 155 160 Val Leu Gln Glu Leu Ser Gln Trp Thr Val Arg Ser Ile His Asp Leu 165 170 175 Arg Phe Ile Ser Ser His Gln Thr Gly Ile Pro Ala Arg Gly Ser His 180 185 190 Tyr Ile Ala Asn Asn Lys Lys Met 195 200 2 200 PRT Homo sapiens 2 Met Ala Phe Thr Glu His Ser Pro Leu Thr Pro His Arg Arg Asp Leu 1 5 10 15 Cys Ser Arg Ser Ile Trp Leu Ala Arg Lys Ile Arg Ser Asp Leu Thr 20 25 30 Ala Leu Thr Glu Ser Tyr Val Lys His Gln Gly Leu Asn Lys Asn Ile 35 40 45 Asn Leu Asp Ser Ala Asp Gly Met Pro Val Ala Ser Thr Asp Gln Trp 50 55 60 Ser Glu Leu Thr Glu Ala Glu Arg Leu Gln Glu Asn Leu Gln Ala Tyr 65 70 75 80 Arg Thr Phe His Val Leu Leu Ala Arg Leu Leu Glu Asp Gln Gln Val 85 90 95 His Phe Thr Pro Thr Glu Gly Asp Phe His Gln Ala Ile His Thr Leu 100 105 110 Leu Leu Gln Val Ala Ala Phe Ala Tyr Gln Ile Glu Glu Leu Met Ile 115 120 125 Leu Leu Glu Tyr Lys Ile Pro Arg Asn Glu Ala Asp Gly Met Pro Ile 130 135 140 Asn Val Gly Asp Gly Gly Leu Phe Glu Lys Lys Leu Trp Gly Leu Lys 145 150 155 160 Val Leu Gln Glu Leu Ser Gln Trp Ile Val Arg Ser Ile Ala Asp Leu 165 170 175 Arg Phe Ile Ser Ser His Gln Thr Gly Ile Pro Ala Arg Gly Ser His 180 185 190 Tyr Ile Ala Asn Asn Lys Lys Met 195 200 3 35 DNA Artificial Sequence synthetic 3 gatcgtcgac atggctttca cagagcattc accgc 35 4 39 DNA Artificial Sequence synthetic 4 agaaatgaaa cgaaggtcag cgatggacct tactgtcca 39 5 39 DNA Artificial Sequence synthetic 5 tggacagtaa ggtccatcgc tgaccttcgt ttcatttct 39 6 26 DNA Artificial Sequence synthetic 6 gaaaccatcg atagcagcac cgtaat 26 7 30 DNA Artificial Sequence synthetic 7 gtcaccatgg ctttcacaga gcattcaccg 30 8 42 DNA Artificial Sequence synthetic 8 tgacgcggcc gccctacaca ttttcttgtt gttagcaata ta 42

The subject of the present invention are variants of ciliary neurotrophic factor with enhanced receptor selectivity (CNTFR), useful for the treatment of diseases and disorders including motor neuron diseases and muscle degenerative diseases. Another subject of the invention is to provide a method for identifying the above mentioned CNTF variants. The hCNTF variants with the amino acid substitutions in accordance with the present invention, have a reduced ability, as compared to the human CNTF, to elicit biological effects through soluble CNTFR, without affecting its ability to activate membrane-bound neuronal CNTF receptors, thereby improving its therapeutic properties. FIG. 1 shows the reduced CNTFR binding affinity of a CNTF variant according to the invention (IA-CNTF; SEQ ID NO: 2). It is evident that the binding affinity of this variant to the CNTFR is reduced as compared to the wild-type human CNTF molecule.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY [0001] This application does not claim priority to any patent or patent application. FIELD OF THE EMBODIMENTS [0002] The present invention and its embodiments relate to a system and method for aggregating financial data. In particular, the present invention and its embodiments relate to a system and method for aggregating financial data that is optimized to be accessed and manipulated by a human. BACKGROUND OF THE EMBODIMENTS [0003] In today's world, people engage in all manner of financial transactions, involving different brokers and execution venues, different financial instruments, and currencies, and different interest rates, among many other things. However, due to the complexity of these transactions, an individual must maintain a variety of services merely to have a high-level view of their financial transactions. Further, due to the lack of aggregated information, it can be very difficult to obtain consolidated view of information such that you may engage in portfolio reconciliation, valuation and analysis, and trading. As such, there remains a need for a device that allows a person to aggregate all their financial information, and provide information in substantially real-time so that a person may know their consolidated financial position and make appropriate analysis and trading decisions. [0004] Various devices are known in the art. However, their structure and means of operation are substantially different from the present invention. At least one embodiment of this invention is presented in the drawings below, and will be described in more detail herein. U.S. Pat. No. 7,676,406 pertains to a guaranteed physical delivery futures contract and method and system for consolidating same are disclosed. The method includes guaranteeing physical delivery for future positions of market participants having open first-nearby time positions of a particular size, making additions to or subtractions from open first-nearby time positions of market participants that are less than the particular size and offsetting the additions to and subtractions from market participants' open first-nearby time positions with opposite positions in a second-nearby time. The system includes one or more servers and communications links, the communications links for receiving position data, including open positions, and the servers are configured to make additions to or subtractions from open first-nearby time positions less than a certain size and adjust market participant second-nearby time positions based on the additions to or subtractions from open first-nearby time positions. In certain embodiments, the underlying commodity is crude oil and the particular size is the size of a cargo shipment, about 600,000 barrels. [0005] U.S. Pat. No. 8,010,442 pertains to a system to process financial articles of trade, real time data is collected from a plurality of liquidity destinations in trading at least one of securities, commodities, options, futures and derivatives, the real time data including information on submitted transactions of financial articles of trade. The real time data collected from the plurality of liquidity destinations is aggregated. The real time data is streamed in a standardized form. User criteria are established to identify relevant portions of the streamed real time data. The streamed real time data is analyzed according to the user criteria. The analyzed real time data is consolidated into a computer data base. [0006] U.S. Pat. No. 8,489,496 pertains to process financial articles of trade and manage risk, data messages originating from a plurality of sources arranged to trade at least one of securities, commodities, options, futures and derivatives are collected. The collected data including information on submitted transactions and completed transactions of financial articles of trade. The collected data is analyzed against established user criteria to identify select portions of the collected data. If a match is detected a risk alert signal will be transmitted. [0007] U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,982 pertains to a securities trading consolidation system where each customer uses a single trader terminal to view, and analyze security market information from and to conduct security transactions with two or more ECNs, or other comparable ATSs, alone or in combination with one or more electronic exchanges. A consolidating computer system supplies the market information and processes the transactions. The consolidating computer system aggregates order book information from each participating ECN order book computer including security, order identification, and bid/ask prices information. Bid and ask prices for participating electronic exchanges may be integrated into the display. The combined information is displayed to a customer by security and by bids and offers, and then sorted by price, volume and other available attributes as desired by the customer. The consolidating computer system forwards to each trading terminal information from only those market maker ECNs and electronic exchanges that the customer is an ECN member or electronic exchange user and thus entitled to receive. [0008] U.S. Pat. No. 8,543,490 pertains to a method and system for an electronic commodities trading marketplace along with ancillary tools provide an electronic trading center for world market commodity importers, exporters, and the intermediaries and processors between them. This trading center is offered through its website centered around a 24-hour exchange that provides trading markets for commodities such as coffee, sugar, cocoa and cotton. The scalable system provides aggregated third party services linked to both front and back office operations. These services can include items such as live futures quotes and real-time news, futures brokerage, banking and finance links and resources, and a suite of applications tailored to members' specific risk-management and end-to-end contract execution needs. The system also provides access to shipping related services such as freight brokerage, direct booking for liner transport, load and discharge supervision and laboratory testing. [0009] U.S. Pat. No. 8,849,711 pertains to a graphic user interface is disclosed that combines a traditional trading, bookkeeping system or clearing system window with a detailed margin and/or collateral asset calculation analysis window on a single screen. The disclosed GUI provides the flexibility to analyze any combination of products or instrument classes such as single stock futures, futures (of all types), options (of all types), forward contracts, security options, securities and cash-based assets. Conventional systems merely block entry of orders beyond a predetermined credit limit or display clearing/bookkeeping information on all types of portfolio or accounts. The disclosed GUI, in an automated real-time or manual execution control basis, provide the user useful information (all types of numerical and/or graphical display) concerning which products contribute to and how much each product position contribute to the margin limits on, for example, multiple levels; all types of product level, product period (duration) level, account level and clearing level, etc. In one embodiment, the margin window may include a “what if” Scenario Panel and an “Actuals” Margin Analysis Panel. This Scenario Panel allows the user to experiment with “what-if” scenarios in real time or on an as-needed basis. This allows the user to better assess the changes an “actual” position(s) or “what-if” position(s) may have on the margin requirements on all account level types. Further, the actual panel displays the account's actual positions and the associated contributions each position has to that account's margin requirements. [0010] United States Patent Publication No.: 2014/0006244 pertains to methods and systems for acquiring private financial data from multiple disparate sources. The private financial data is normalized, aggregated, preferably enhanced, and stored in secure storage. Entitled entities may retrieve selected private financial data from that secure storage efficiently, flexibility, and rapidly. Examples of financial private data include non-liquidity destination related sources of private data as well as liquidity destination related sources. A non-limiting example of a computer-implemented, consolidated, private financial data service is based on a secure, permission-based, aggregated and consolidated data cloud, which enables provision/distribution to one or more authorized parties with legitimate interests selected portions of the consolidated, private financial data. [0011] United States Patent No.: 2014/0136389 pertains to a calendar spread futures contract is a forward contract on the intermonth spread of futures contracts. The calendar spread futures contract can be independently traded and accounted for independent of the traditional roll periods of the complementary futures contracts. An open interest holder can hedge against price volatility in the related futures contracts that may occur prior to or during the roll period. In other words, the calendar spread futures contract locks in the current spread between the front-month contract and the first-deferred contract. Buying a calendar spread futures control is equivalent to buying the spread difference between the expiring contract and the second expiry. Selling a calendar spread futures contract is equivalent to selling the spread difference between the expiring contract and the second expiry. [0012] Data is created in a number of ways in the modern trading world. Pre-trade data is composed of bids and offers representing liquidity, either resting in an order book, or on the market as bid or offer, or implied by a relationship to another market across multiple platforms. Once pre-trade data has been transacted it become post-trade data. Post trade data is disseminated from the venue on which it has been transacted to clearing members who in turn disseminate same post trade data to clients in real time and or near real time. These post trade data originate from trading and transaction forums globally in many nations representing hundreds of products and hundreds of clearing entities. Spectra aggregates these data into a single common electronic repository, translating symbology, variable types of price display or arithmetic expressions without limit to number or type of data source. Clearing members are competitors for the same pool of clients. They do not share post trade data. The present invention is a neutral application that aggregates a client's data from multiple venues and through multiple clearing members and or counterparties without limit to source or product. The present invention is the linkage between clients with multiple relationships and a real time consolidated view of their trading which cannot be produced without aggregation of post trade data. [0013] The term “near real-time” or “real-time” (NRT), refers to the time delay introduced, by automated data processing or network transmission, between the occurrence of an event and the use of the processed data, such as for display or feedback and control purposes. SUMMARY OF THE EMBODIMENTS [0014] The present invention provides for a system for aggregating financial data comprising: memory that stores computer-executable instructions; a processor, communicatively coupled to the memory that facilitates execution of the computer-executable instructions; said instructions comprising: a transformation engine: said transformation engine adapted and configured to transform said financial data into a plurality of information; and a computation engine, said computation engine adapted and configured to compute a realized profit and loss statistic from purchase and sale data; and a plurality of databases; wherein said financial data is stored prior to transformation by the transformation engine; and a reporting engine; said reporting engine adapted and configured to create a plurality of reports according to a report configuration and report filter definition table; and an aggregation engine, said aggregation engine adapted and configured to collect financial data from a plurality of entities and which transforms financial data from a plurality of entities into a consolidated view of client positions and transactional activity. [0015] Further, the present invention also provides for a method for aggregating financial data, the steps of which comprise; memory that stores computer-executable instructions; transforming, via a transformation engine said financial data into a plurality of information; and computing via a computation engine a realized profit and loss statistic from purchase and sale data; and storing via a plurality of databases; wherein said financial data is stored prior to transformation by the transformation engine; and creating, a reporting engine a plurality of reports according to a report configuration and report filter definition table; collecting, via an aggregation engine financial data from a plurality of entities; and transforming, via an aggregation engine, data from a plurality of entities into a consolidated view of client positions and transactional activity. [0016] Generally, the present invention provides for the ability to perform futures clearing data consolidation. That is, the consolidations of a user's accounts across multiple clearing brokers, consolidating client data across multiple clearers are also performed. With this information intra-day futures position and realized profits and losses are calculated. Ideally, commodity trading advisors, fund managers, and account holders alike will be able to access and view their account data intraday, and view them within a flexible, customizable view showing trades, positions, balances and collateral holdings. This allows individual brokers to provide their clients with online access to account details with varying levels of granularity currently. The present invention also does that but aggregates clients data across multiple clearing brokers. This provides the benefit of allowing a broker to have manipulatable access to a given client's information across multiple clearers. [0017] A system and method for aggregating post trade financial data having a transformation engine to transform said post trade data into a plurality of information; and a computation engine to compute a realized profit and loss statistic from purchase and sale data; and a plurality of databases; wherein said post trade data is stored prior to transformation by the transformation engine; and a reporting engine to create a plurality of reports according to a report configuration and report filter definition table; and an aggregation engine to collect post trade data from a plurality of entities and which transforms post trade data from a plurality of entities into a consolidated view of client positions and transactional activity. [0018] It is an object of the present invention to provide a means to consolidate futures. [0019] It is an object of the present invention to provide a tool to visualize investments across a number of brokerage houses. [0020] It is an object of the present invention to provide intraday futures positions. [0021] It is an object of the present invention to calculate realized profits and losses in real time and/or near real-time. It is an object of the present invention to calculate open trade equity. [0022] It is an object of the present invention to provide a real-time net liquidation value calculation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0023] FIG. 1 shows a deployment models for the present invention. [0024] FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the request offset screen of the present invention. [0025] FIG. 3 shows an illustration of how a user gets a consolidated view of their activity by using the present invention. [0026] FIG. 4 shows a chart showing an embodiment of the structure of customer information. [0027] FIG. 5 shows a chart showing an embodiment of user to account relationships. [0028] FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the relationship between desk, traders, and sales codes of the present invention. [0029] FIG. 7 shows an illustration of the intraday processing components of the present invention. [0030] FIG. 8 shows an illustration of entitlement levels control data access of the present invention. [0031] FIGS. 9A-9D show various embodiments of the navigation menu of the present invention. [0032] FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of the raise query screen of the present invention. [0033] FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of the common filter for home page and dashboard panels of the present invention. [0034] FIG. 12 shows an embodiment of the Position Summary and Detail screen of the present invention that is used to show consolidated position data. [0035] FIG. 13 shows an embodiment of the trade level functions of the present invention. [0036] FIG. 14 shows one embodiment of the Wire Request and Cancel Wire Request screens of the present invention. [0037] FIG. 15 shows one embodiment of the Pre Advise Request and Cancel Pre Advise Request screens of the present invention. [0038] FIG. 16 shows one embodiment of the Check Request and Cancel Check Request screens of the present invention. [0039] FIG. 17 shows various functions available on one embodiment of the balance screen of the present invention. [0040] FIG. 18 shows an embodiment of the statement quick filter, review and download screens of the present invention. [0041] FIG. 19 shows a screen for setting up different levels of messages for users to view in the News and Information panel on the home page of the present invention. [0042] FIG. 20 shows an alternative embodiment of the home page structure of the present invention. [0043] FIG. 21 shows an alternative embodiment of the home page layers of the present invention. [0044] FIG. 22 shows an embodiment of the dashboard page structure of the present invention. [0045] FIG. 23 shows an embodiment of the dashboard page layers of the present invention. [0046] FIG. 24 shows an embodiment of the balances screen of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0047] The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Identical elements in the various figures are identified with the same reference numerals. [0048] Reference will now be made in detail to each embodiment of the present invention. Such embodiments are provided by way of explanation of the present invention, which is not intended to be limited thereto. In fact, those of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate upon reading the present specification and viewing the present drawings that various modifications and variations can be made thereto. [0049] In one embodiment of the present invention, the system is capable of taking transactional futures data from any number of clearing member firms by account and transforming the data into information. Specifically, users will be provided with near real-time trade and position reporting, historical trade, position, balance and collateral reporting for the account(s) since inception, comprehensive and flexible reporting, adaptive profits and losses tracking; customized daily reports to track commissions, fees, brokerage and volumes, and historical daily, monthly and 1099 statements for the account(s). Preferably, the real-time trade and position reporting will be refreshed as frequently as providers of the data can accommodate. The present invention combines data acquisition and data processing tasks, normalizes data from multiple sources into a proprietary format and then presents the data through aggregated and granular forms to users via a simple browser based interface that does not overwhelm users. It does this for several clearers and in addition adds on a client driven on-demand reconciliation to clearer data. By providing access to data in several forms with ability to export to excel, provide capability to filter data using different fields, the task of reconciliation and data analysis is simplified and presents opportunities for efficiency. [0050] Many embodiments of the present invention use the following methodology in computing realized P&L based on available data from the clearer, assuming that Purchase and Sale (P&S) records are available. Here, realized P&L is calculated simply as: [0000] Realized P&L=ΣPrincipal where records are P&S Records [0051] The present invention is also capable of performing Open Trade Equity (OTE) calculations. These calculations are based on the following data elements: [0052] (1) ClosingPrice—Closing Price of a Security on a given day [0053] (2) TradePrice—Trade price on the trade [0054] (3) Quantity—Quantity or number of contracts [0055] (4) Multiplier—standard multiplier for the given trade—usually driven by the type of contract [0000] When trade is a Buy: OTE=(ClosingPrice−TradePrice)×ABS(Quantity)×Multiplier [0000] When trade is a Sell: OTE=(TradePrice−ClosingPrice)×ABS(Quantity)×Multiplier [0056] In addition to the above functionality, the present invention is also capable of performing net liquidation value (NLV) calculations. NLV is calculated based on the following data elements: [0057] CashBalance—this is the previous day close of business cash value in account [0058] OTE—Open Trade Equity as calculated above [0059] LongOptionValue—Current Long Option Value based on latest prices [0060] ShortOptionValue—Current Short Option Value based on latest prices [0061] RealizedPnL—Latest realized P&L as calculated above [0062] Here, the current NLV is calculated as follows: [0000] NLV=CashBalance+OTE+LongOptionValue−ShortOptionValue±RealizedPnL [0063] The present invention has several data processing and flow components, such as: (1) database; (2) overnight data processing; (3) intraday data processing; (4) presentation portal. [0064] Referring to FIG. 3 , of how a user gets a consolidated view of their activity by using the present invention is shown. Data used by the present invention is organized across multiple databases as follows: [0065] configdb—this database holds various configuration tables along with user and user password information; [0066] refdb—this databases holds various referential static data such as accounts, exchanges and products; [0067] etldb—this database is used as a staging area for all Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) operations in the present invention; [0068] traxdb—this database houses the primary transactional data in the present invention. [0069] FIG. 4 shows a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the structure of customer information. [0070] FIG. 5 shows a chart showing an embodiment of user to account relationships. [0071] FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the relationship between desk, traders, and sales codes of the present invention. [0072] In a preferred embodiment, the present invention uses the Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) infrastructure to produce different reports. SSRS is configured to connect to the SQL Server using a standard functional user id. Reports are designed using the Visual Studio reports designer and the report definitions are subsequently deployed to the reporting server. An additional beneficial feature is that new reports can be made available to users without a full software release, reducing the risk of instability in the system and significantly enhances turnaround time for users. The reporting process works as follows: [0073] (1) When a user goes into the reporting page, the present invention requests the list of reports for the user; (2) then a list of reports and the associated filters are returned and rendered on the reporting page; (3) from that point, a user clicks on a report, selects filter criteria and clicks on RUN to request a report; (4) the reporting serve then runs required queries and obtains data from database; and (5) returns formatted data to the users browser [0074] Referring to FIG. 7 , a picture showing an embodiment of intraday processing components of the present invention is provided. [0075] In various embodiments, batch processing in the present invention is managed via a combination of two tools which are connected to the SQL Database Server. Such tools include: SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS)—this is used to build the logical data processing flow for all batch processing. Functions cover everything from parsing incoming files, updating tables, or moving files around as needed; SQL Agent—this component of Microsoft SQL Server is used for handling scheduling of jobs; The Job details are created as SSIS Scripts and stored on a filesystem; and The Job Scheduling is configured in the SQL Agent which stores the configurations on the database server. Preferably, the SQL agent reads the configurations from the database, pulls up the corresponding JOB detail in the SSIS Script and invokes SSIS (SQL Server Integration Services) to run the jobs; and the SQL Agent/SSIS access the database to perform operations. [0076] Regarding trade data, Clearers or other data providers will need to provide trading/transactional data overnight into the present invention via FTP. This data is then loaded into a table in the etldb database and then runs post load steps to enrich and convert the data into a proprietary standard format. This data is then processed into trade tables in traxdb database. [0077] Regarding position data, Clearers or other data providers will need to provide position data overnight into the present invention via FTP. The present invention then loads this data into a table in the etldb database and then runs post load steps to enrich and convert the data into a proprietary standard format. This data is then processed into position table in traxdb database. Regarding balance data, Clearers or other data providers will need to provide daily balance data overnight into the present invention via FTP. The present invention then loads this data into a table in the etldb and then runs post load steps to enrich and convert the data into a proprietary standard format. This data is then processed into money tables in traxdb. For collateral data, Clearers or other data providers will need to provide collateral holding data overnight into the present invention via FTP. The system then loads these into a table in the etldb and then runs post load steps to enrich and convert the data into a proprietary standard format. The data is then processed into trade tables in traxdb. Referring to exchange/product data, Clearers or other data providers will need to provide [0078] Exchange rates data overnight into the system via FTP. The system then loads these into a table in the etldb and then loads them into an exchange rates table in refdb. [0079] Users of the present invention are provided access by an administrator user who is setup at installation time. Users will receive an email with a temporary password which they must then use to login and select a new password. User can be setup as a TRADER in SPECTRA but may not have a login. Recovering a forgotten password can be done by the user by simply clicking on the ‘Forgot password’ link on the login panel. If a valid email is on record for this user, a temporary password will be emailed to the user. If not, user has to call the administrator for a password every time a new password is selected for the user, its Days to Expiry on the password gets reset to a number of days that is configurable in the system—but is typically set to 60 days. Once the password expires, user will be forced to select a new password. Users who do not use the login provided to them within 60 days or have a 60 day inactivity period, will have their logins deactivated. [0080] The Navigation menu of the present invention, as shown by FIGS. 9A-9D , comes from a database configuration table. This is combined with user entitlement, shown by FIG. 8 , to ensure only the permitted menu entries are accessible to user. In a preferred embodiment, the home screen is organized into multiple panels. Common features to all the panels are as follows: panels that show data have ability to export to Excel; all panels have an INFO icon to get a summary about the panel; and all panels that show data will be filtered based on the filter criteria specified in the filter row. [0081] In a preferred embodiment, the system of the present invention is capable of generating alters. Such alerts include: Margin calls that are outstanding are displayed in this panel along with the Margin call's age; Last Trading Dates which show the last trading dates of products traded in the accounts. The panel shows those products that have their last trading dates coming up in the next 20 days; Maturing Collateral which shows any collateral that is held in the accounts that have expiration dates in the future with respect to the current business date, will be listed in this panel; Account information panel which shows the balance on the account along with other information: Initial margin, Open Trade Equity (OTE), Total Equity, Liquidating Value, and Excess Deficit; Daily and Cumulative P&L which shows daily realized P&L for past 30 days up to and including previously closed business date—this is displayed as a column chart with red columns showing a loss and blue columns indicating a gain and Daily cumulative realized P&L for past 30 days—this is displayed as a continuous line graph. Additional alerts for news and information, such as an RSS feed, and various system information [0082] In another preferred embodiment, the dashboard page of the present invention is organized into multiple panels of information as described in subsections below. The filter capability in FIG. 11 allows clients to view their position and balance data as of a particular business date that can be any day in the past for which data was received in the system. There exists a positions panel, which shows the positions in the account and is grouped by Product and [0083] Account type. The positions shown combine close of business previous business date positions with positions resulting from intraday trading activity. The information shown in the balance panel is the same as that in the Account information panel in the Home page except that this does not show links to statements. There is also a panel that shows an aggregated realized P&L. The data is presented in up to 5 columns: YTD—represents the realized P&L Year to Date; QTD—represents the realized P&L Quarter to Date; MTD—represents the realized P&L Month to Date; T-1—Represents the realized P&L the previous business date; T—Represents the realized P&L for the current business date. Clicking on the Column label at the bottom or the value that is next to the column will allow a drilldown into a view that shows the different products that contributed to the P&L. Positive Realized P&L is represented by a Blue font and a Negative realized P&L is represented by a Red font. On the raise query screen, shown by FIG. 10 , selecting a Reason and clicking on OK results in an email being sent out to a previously configured email id. Similarly, clicking on Cancel Query, on the trade custom view, illustrated by FIG. 13 , on a selected set of trades will result in a request to ignore a previously raised query. There exists a Request Offset function, shown by FIG. 2 , which is implemented to allow users to request sets of buy and sell trades to be paired off as a tax lot. The Break Offset function does the opposite which is request for the offset group to be broken up. Trades with Offsets are linked by an Offset Id. [0084] A Position Summary and Detail screen is shown by FIG. 12 . These position screens present the view into consolidated position data across multiple data sources to clients. Here, the position custom view contains two grids. When the view is initially launched, it will present a summary of positions. Users can click on any of the rows and then click on the ‘Show Details’ button to see the underlying details that make up a particular position. The position detail grid supports the same grid functions as the summary grid and can be customized and saved for each user as well. Further, the balance custom view, shown by FIG. 17 of the present invention can be used to query for various balance details at office, account, account type, customer name level. [0085] The present invention also provides for a Wire Request, X Wire Request screen where a user can select ONE row on the balance screen and click on the Wire Request or Cancel Wire Request buttons to get a popup. User needs to fill required details on the popup and click on OK. At this point, an email is sent to the email id listed next to the “To” label for further action. Additionally, there exists a Check Request, X Check Request screen where a user can select ONE row on the balance screen and click on the Check Request or Cancel Check Request buttons to get a popup as shown. User needs to fill required details on the popup and click on OK. At this point, an email is sent to the email id listed next to the “To” label for further action. Also, the present invention has a Pre-Advise Request, X Pre-Advise Request screen where a user can select ONE row on the balance screen and click on the Pre-Advise Request or Cancel Pre-Advise Request buttons to get a popup as shown in FIG. 15 . User needs to fill required details on the popup and click on OK. At this point, an email is sent to the email id listed next to the “To” label for further action. Additionally, there exists a collateral screen, which will show only those records that are classified as collateral. This would mean that products like bonds and other products that are classified as ‘Receipts’ will also show up on this screen. Standard Quick Filter and Grid Filter functions are available on this custom view as well. There also exists a balance custom view, shown by FIG. 24 , where a user may query various balance details at office, account, account type, and customer name levels. [0086] FIG. 18 also shows a statements summary screen where client statements from the clearer are parsed out into individual client accounts and made accessible through the Statement screen. Users can filter for accounts, office codes or type of statements. Preferably, the system will extract and load daily statements, monthly statements, and 1099 forms. The present invention also has a reporting page, which consists of 3 components. First is the Report Explorer component. The Report Explorer displays available reports that user is entitled to in a Windows Explorer like format. The organization of the reports can be customized for a particular installation. The intent of the Top level nodes is to allow for grouping together of similar types of reports and this make navigation easier. A top level node can have another ‘sub’ top level node. Actual reports that users can click on and execute are at a leaf level. Second is the report filter component. Clicking on a leaf level node in the Report Explorer populates the Report Filter Selector. This also enables or disables certain report criteria based on the selected report. These are all configured in the system's database. Once appropriate filter selections are made, user clicks on RUN to execute the report. The third component is the Report Viewer. Clicking on RUN in the Report Filter Selector panel will launch the report in the Report Viewer. User can review the report online in the Report Viewer. In addition, user can save the report to Excel (suggested) format. [0087] A set of administration functions are available in various embodiments of the present invention. For example, a Firm Legal Entity may be designated. While this will be used for initial setup, it is used to establish contact information including email for a firm using the present invention. If the firm has multiple legal entities, they can all be setup using this screen. There is also a Desk manager screen which can setup desks in the system and once this is done, associate users with a given desk. Further, though the customer legal entity names are automatically created at data load time, an Account entity screen can be used to create new customer entities and then be referenced in the Account screen to link several accounts to one entity for ease of viewing and report. [0088] The present invention also features a system information screen, illustrated in FIG. 19 . This screen is used by a system administrator to setup messages for users to view on the HOME page under the News and Information panel. The three levels of messages are: (1) ALERT—these are important and urgent messages that users must review and will show up in RED; (2) ADVISORY—these are important information that may require users to take some action and will show up in GREEN; and (3) INFORMATION—these are general information for users and will be in BLUE. [0089] A key aspect of the present invention is its ability to: collect transaction and position data from multiple sources, normalize the data into an internal format, map the different clearing account numbers into appropriate higher level customer entities or customer names, provide a consolidated (aggregated) view of positions that is agnostic to the different sources of transaction and position data, allow Users to drill down to see their data at an account level or chose to see at an aggregate account name level, and Facilitate account managers of multiple accounts to see a combined view of the portfolio of accounts while simultaneously allowing individual account owners to access and view account data. [0090] FIG. 20 shows an alternative embodiment of the home page structure of the present invention, FIG. 21 shows an alternative embodiment of the home page layers of the present invention, FIG. 22 shows an embodiment of the dashboard page structure of the present invention, and FIG. 23 shows an embodiment of the dashboard page layers of the present invention. These layers feature a panel header, panel label, panel controls, data grid layer, chart layer, panel base, and body section. These structure feature panel labels panel headers info buttons excel export buttons data grid areas, and information areas. [0091] Typically, a user or users, which may be people or groups of users and/or other systems, may engage information technology systems (e.g., computers) to facilitate operation of the system and information processing. In turn, computers employ processors to process information and such processors may be referred to as central processing units (“CPU”). One form of processor is referred to as a microprocessor. CPUs use communicative circuits to pass binary encoded signals acting as instructions to enable various operations. These instructions may be operational and/or data instructions containing and/or referencing other instructions and data in various processor accessible and operable areas of memory (e.g., registers, cache memory, random access memory, etc.). Such communicative instructions may be stored and/or transmitted in batches (e.g., batches of instructions) as programs and/or data components to facilitate desired operations. These stored instruction codes, e.g., programs, may engage the CPU circuit components and other motherboard and/or system components to perform desired operations. One type of program is a computer operating system, which, may be executed by CPU on a computer; the operating system enables and facilitates users to access and operate computer information technology and resources. Some resources that may be employed in information technology systems include: input and output mechanisms through which data may pass into and out of a computer; memory storage into which data may be saved; and processors by which information may be processed. These information technology systems may be used to collect data for later retrieval, analysis, and manipulation, which may be facilitated through a database program. These information technology systems provide interfaces that allow users to access and operate various system components. [0092] In one embodiment, the present invention may be connected to and/or communicate with Entities such as, but not limited to: one or more users from user input devices; peripheral devices; an optional cryptographic processor device; and/or a communications network. For example, the present invention may be connected to and/or communicate with users operating client device(s), including, but not limited to, personal computer(s), server(s) and/or various mobile device(s) including-tablet computer(s) (e.g., Apple iPad™, laptop computer(s), notebook(s), netbook(s), and/or the like. [0093] Networks are commonly thought to comprise the interconnection and interoperation of clients, servers, and intermediary nodes in a graph topology. It should be noted that the term “server” as used throughout this application refers generally to a computer, other device, program, or combination thereof that processes and responds to the requests of remote users across a communications network. Servers serve their information to requesting “clients.” The term “client” as used herein refers generally to a computer, program, other device, user and/or combination thereof that is capable of processing and making requests and obtaining and processing any responses from servers across a communications network. A computer, other device, program, or combination thereof that facilitates, processes information and requests, and/or furthers the passage of information from a source user to a destination user is commonly referred to as a “node.” Networks are generally thought to facilitate the transfer of information from source points to destinations. A node specifically tasked with furthering the passage of information from a source to a destination is commonly called a “router.” There are many forms of networks such as Local Area Networks (LANs), Pico networks, Wide Area Networks (WANs), Wireless Networks (WLANs), etc. For example, the Internet is generally accepted as being an interconnection of a multitude of networks whereby remote clients and servers may access and interoperate with one another. [0094] The present invention may be based on computer systems that may comprise, but are not limited to, components such as: a computer systemization connected to memory. Computer Systemization [0095] A computer systemization may comprise a clock, central processing unit (“CPU(s)” and/or “processor(s)” (these terms are used interchangeable throughout the disclosure unless noted to the contrary)), a memory (e.g., a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), etc.), and/or an interface bus, and most frequently, although not necessarily, are all interconnected and/or communicating through a system bus on one or more (mother)board(s) having conductive and/or otherwise transportive circuit pathways through which instructions (e.g., binary encoded signals) may travel to effect communications, operations, storage, etc. Optionally, the computer systemization may be connected to an internal power source; e.g., optionally the power source may be internal. Optionally, a cryptographic processor and/or transceivers (e.g., ICs) may be connected to the system bus. In another embodiment, the cryptographic processor and/or transceivers may be connected as either internal and/or external peripheral devices via the interface bus I/O. In turn, the transceivers may be connected to antenna(s), thereby effectuating wireless transmission and reception of various communication and/or sensor protocols; for example the antenna(s) may connect to: a Texas Instruments WiLink WL1283 transceiver chip (e.g., providing 802.11n, Bluetooth 3.0, FM, global positioning system (GPS) (thereby allowing the controller of the present invention to determine its location)); Broadcom BCM4329FKUBG transceiver chip (e.g., providing 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, FM, etc.); a Broadcom BCM4750IUB8 receiver chip (e.g., GPS); an Infineon Technologies X-Gold 618-PMB9800 (e.g., providing 2G/3G HSDPA/HSUPA communications); and/or the like. The system clock typically has a crystal oscillator and generates a base signal through the computer systemization's circuit pathways. The clock is typically coupled to the system bus and various clock multipliers that will increase or decrease the base operating frequency for other components interconnected in the computer systemization. The clock and various components in a computer systemization drive signals embodying information throughout the system. Such transmission and reception of instructions embodying information throughout a computer systemization may be commonly referred to as communications. These communicative instructions may further be transmitted, received, and the cause of return and/or reply communications beyond the instant computer systemization to: communications networks, input devices, other computer systemizations, peripheral devices, and/or the like. Of course, any of the above components may be connected directly to one another, connected to the CPU, and/or organized in numerous variations employed as exemplified by various computer systems. [0096] The CPU comprises at least one high-speed data processor adequate to execute program components for executing user and/or system-generated requests. Often, the processors themselves will incorporate various specialized processing units, such as, but not limited to: integrated system (bus) controllers, memory management control units, floating point units, and even specialized processing sub-units like graphics processing units, digital signal processing units, and/or the like. Additionally, processors may include internal fast access addressable memory, and be capable of mapping and addressing memory beyond the processor itself; internal memory may include, but is not limited to: fast registers, various levels of cache memory (e.g., level 1, 2, 3, etc.), RAM, etc. The processor may access this memory through the use of a memory address space that is accessible via instruction address, which the processor can construct and decode allowing it to access a circuit path to a specific memory address space having a memory state. The CPU may be a microprocessor such as: AMD's Athlon, Duron and/or Opteron; ARM's application, embedded and secure processors; IBM and/or Motorola's DragonBall and PowerPC; IBM's and Sony's Cell processor; Intel's Celeron, Core (2) Duo, Itanium, Pentium, Xeon, and/or XScale; and/or the like processor(s). The CPU interacts with memory through instruction passing through conductive and/or transportive conduits (e.g., (printed) electronic and/or optic circuits) to execute stored instructions (i.e., program code) according to conventional data processing techniques. Such instruction passing facilitates communication within the present invention and beyond through various interfaces. Should processing requirements dictate a greater amount speed and/or capacity, distributed processors (e.g., Distributed embodiments of the present invention), mainframe, multi-core, parallel, and/or super-computer architectures may similarly be employed. Alternatively, should deployment requirements dictate greater portability, smaller Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) may be employed. [0097] Depending on the particular implementation, features of the present invention may be achieved by implementing a microcontroller such as CAST's R8051XC2 microcontroller; Intel's MCS 51 (i.e., 8051 microcontroller); and/or the like. Also, to implement certain features of the various embodiments, some feature implementations may rely on embedded components, such as: Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (“ASIC”), Digital Signal Processing (“DSP”), Field Programmable Gate Array (“FPGA”), and/or the like embedded technology. For example, any of the component collection (distributed or otherwise) and/or features of the present invention may be implemented via the microprocessor and/or via embedded components; e.g., via ASIC, coprocessor, DSP, FPGA, and/or the like. Alternately, some implementations of the present invention may be implemented with embedded components that are configured and used to achieve a variety of features or signal processing. [0098] Depending on the particular implementation, the embedded components may include software solutions, hardware solutions, and/or some combination of both hardware/software solutions. For example, features of the present invention discussed herein may be achieved through implementing FPGAs, which are a semiconductor devices containing programmable logic components called “logic blocks”, and programmable interconnects, such as the high performance FPGA Virtex series and/or the low cost Spartan series manufactured by Xilinx. Logic blocks and interconnects can be programmed by the customer or designer, after the FPGA is manufactured, to implement any of the features of the present invention. A hierarchy of programmable interconnects allow logic blocks to be interconnected as needed by the system designer/administrator of the present invention, somewhat like a one-chip programmable breadboard. An FPGA's logic blocks can be programmed to perform the function of basic logic gates such as AND, and XOR, or more complex combinational functions such as decoders or simple mathematical functions. In most FPGAs, the logic blocks also include memory elements, which may be simple flip-flops or more complete blocks of memory. In some circumstances, the present invention may be developed on regular FPGAs and then migrated into a fixed version that more resembles ASIC implementations. Alternate or coordinating implementations may migrate features of the controller of the present invention to a final ASIC instead of or in addition to FPGAs. Depending on the implementation all of the aforementioned embedded components and microprocessors may be considered the “CPU” and/or “processor” for the present invention. Power Source [0099] The power source may be of any standard form for powering small electronic circuit board devices such as the following power cells: alkaline, lithium hydride, lithium ion, lithium polymer, nickel cadmium, solar cells, and/or the like. Other types of AC or DC power sources may be used as well. In the case of solar cells, in one embodiment, the case provides an aperture through which the solar cell may capture photonic energy. The power cell is connected to at least one of the interconnected subsequent components of the present invention thereby providing an electric current to all subsequent components. In one example, the power source is connected to the system bus component. In an alternative embodiment, an outside power source is provided through a connection across the I/O interface. For example, a USB and/or IEEE 1394 connection carries both data and power across the connection and is therefore a suitable source of power. Interface Adapters [0100] Interface bus(ses) may accept, connect, and/or communicate to a number of interface adapters, conventionally although not necessarily in the form of adapter cards, such as but not limited to: input output interfaces (I/O), storage interfaces, network interfaces, and/or the like. Optionally, cryptographic processor interfaces similarly may be connected to the interface bus. The interface bus provides for the communications of interface adapters with one another as well as with other components of the computer systemization. Interface adapters are adapted for a compatible interface bus. Interface adapters conventionally connect to the interface bus via a slot architecture. Conventional slot architectures may be employed, such as, but not limited to: Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP), Card Bus, (Extended) Industry Standard Architecture ((E)ISA), Micro Channel Architecture (MCA), NuBus, Peripheral Component Interconnect (Extended) (PCI(X)), PCI Express, Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA), and/or the like. [0101] Storage interfaces may accept, communicate, and/or connect to a number of storage devices such as, but not limited to: storage devices, removable disc devices, and/or the like. [0102] Storage interfaces may employ connection protocols such as, but not limited to: (Ultra) (Serial) Advanced Technology Attachment (Packet Interface) ((Ultra) (Serial) ATA(PI)), (Enhanced) Integrated Drive Electronics ((E)IDE), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 , fiber channel, Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI), Universal Serial Bus (USB), and/or the like. [0103] Network interfaces may accept, communicate, and/or connect to a communications network. Through a communications network, the controller of the present invention is accessible through remote clients (e.g., computers with web browsers) by users. Network interfaces may employ connection protocols such as, but not limited to: direct connect, Ethernet (thick, thin, twisted pair 10/100/1000 Base T, and/or the like), Token Ring, wireless connection such as IEEE 802.11a-x, and/or the like. Should processing requirements dictate a greater amount speed and/or capacity, distributed network controllers (e.g., Distributed embodiments of the present invention), architectures may similarly be employed to pool, load balance, and/or otherwise increase the communicative bandwidth required by the controller of the present invention. A communications network may be any one and/or the combination of the following: a direct interconnection; the Internet; a Local Area Network (LAN); a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN); an Operating Missions as Nodes on the Internet (OMNI); a secured custom connection; a Wide Area Network (WAN); a wireless network (e.g., employing protocols such as, but not limited to a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), I-mode, and/or the like); and/or the like. A network interface may be regarded as a specialized form of an input output interface. Further, multiple network interfaces may be used to engage with various communications network types. For example, multiple network interfaces may be employed to allow for the communication over broadcast, multicast, and/or unicast networks. [0104] Input Output interfaces (I/O) may accept, communicate, and/or connect to user input devices, peripheral devices, cryptographic processor devices, and/or the like. I/O may employ connection protocols such as, but not limited to: audio: analog, digital, monaural, RCA, stereo, and/or the like; data: Apple Desktop Bus (ADB), IEEE 1394a-b, serial, universal serial bus (USB); infrared; joystick; keyboard; midi; optical; PC AT; PS/2; parallel; radio; video interface: Apple Desktop Connector (ADC), BNC, coaxial, component, composite, digital, Digital Visual Interface (DVI), high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), RCA, RF antennae, S-Video, VGA, and/or the like; wireless transceivers: 802.11a/b/g/n/x; Bluetooth; cellular (e.g., code division multiple access (CDMA), high speed packet access (HSPA(+)), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), global system for mobile communications (GSM), long term evolution (LTE), WiMax, etc.); and/or the like. One typical output device may include a video display, which typically comprises a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) or Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) based monitor with an interface (e.g., DVI circuitry and cable) that accepts signals from a video interface, may be used. The video interface composites information generated by a computer systemization and generates video signals based on the composited information in a video memory frame. Another output device is a television set, which accepts signals from a video interface. Typically, the video interface provides the composited video information through a video connection interface that accepts a video display interface (e.g., an RCA composite video connector accepting an RCA composite video cable; a DVI connector accepting a DVI display cable, etc.). [0105] User input devices often are a type of peripheral device (see below) and may include: card readers, dongles, finger print readers, gloves, graphics tablets, joysticks, keyboards, microphones, mouse (mice), remote controls, retina readers, touch screens (e.g., capacitive, resistive, etc.), trackballs, trackpads, sensors (e.g., accelerometers, ambient light, GPS, gyroscopes, proximity, etc.), styluses, and/or the like. [0106] Cryptographic units such as, but not limited to, microcontrollers, processors, interfaces, and/or devices may be attached, and/or communicate with the controller of the present invention. A MC68HC16 microcontroller, manufactured by Motorola Inc., may be used for and/or within cryptographic units. The MC68HC16 microcontroller utilizes a 16-bit multiply-and-accumulate instruction in the 16 MHz configuration and requires less than one second to perform a 512-bit RSA private key operation. Cryptographic units support the authentication of communications from interacting agents, as well as allowing for anonymous transactions. Cryptographic units may also be configured as part of CPU. Equivalent microcontrollers and/or processors may also be used. Other commercially available specialized cryptographic processors include: the Broadcom's CryptoNetX and other Security Processors; nCipher's nShield, SafeNet's Luna PCI (e.g., 7100) series; Semaphore Communications' 40 MHz Roadrunner 184; Sun's Cryptographic Accelerators (e.g., Accelerator 6000 PCIe Board, Accelerator 500 Daughtercard); Via Nano Processor (e.g., L2100, L2200, U2400) line, which is capable of performing 500+MB/s of cryptographic instructions; VLSI Technology's 33 MHz 6868; and/or the like. Memory [0107] Generally, any mechanization and/or embodiment allowing a processor to affect the storage and/or retrieval of information is regarded as memory. However, memory is a fungible technology and resource, thus, any number of memory embodiments may be employed in lieu of or in concert with one another. It is to be understood that the controller of the present invention and/or a computer systemization may employ various forms of memory. For example, a computer systemization may be configured wherein the functionality of on-chip CPU memory (e.g., registers), RAM, ROM, and any other storage devices are provided by a paper punch tape or paper punch card mechanism; of course such an embodiment would result in an extremely slow rate of operation. In a typical configuration, memory will include ROM, RAM, and a storage device. A storage device may be any conventional computer system storage. Storage devices may include a drum; a (fixed and/or removable) magnetic disk drive; a magneto-optical drive; an optical drive (i.e., Blueray, CD ROM/RAM/Recordable (R)/ReWritable (RW), DVD R/RW, HD DVD R/RW etc.); an array of devices (e.g., Redundant Array of Independent Disks [0108] (RAID)); solid state memory devices (USB memory, solid state drives (SSD), etc.); other processor-readable storage mediums; and/or other devices of the like. Thus, a computer systemization generally requires and makes use of memory. Component Collection [0109] The memory may contain a collection of program and/or database components and/or data such as, but not limited to: operating system component(s) (operating system); information server component(s) (information server); user interface component(s) (user interface); Web browser component(s) (Web browser); database(s); mail server component(s); mail client component(s); cryptographic server component(s) (cryptographic server) and/or the like (i.e., collectively a component collection). These components may be stored and accessed from the storage devices and/or from storage devices accessible through an interface bus. Although non-conventional program components such as those in the component collection, typically, are stored in a local storage device, they may also be loaded and/or stored in memory such as: peripheral devices, RAM, remote storage facilities through a communications network, ROM, various forms of memory, and/or the like. Operating System [0110] The operating system component is an executable program component facilitating the operation of the controller of the present invention. Typically, the operating system facilitates access of I/O, network interfaces, peripheral devices, storage devices, and/or the like. The operating system may be a highly fault tolerant, scalable, and secure system such as: Apple Macintosh OS X (Server); AT&T Plan 9; Be OS; Unix and Unix-like system distributions (such as AT&T's UNIX; Berkley Software Distribution (BSD) variations such as FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and/or the like; Linux distributions such as Red Hat, Ubuntu, and/or the like); and/or the like operating systems. However, more limited and/or less secure operating systems also may be employed such as Apple Macintosh OS, IBM OS/2, Microsoft DOS, Microsoft Windows 2000/2003/3.1/95/98/CE/Millennium/NT/Vista/XP (Server), Palm OS, and/or the like. The operating system may be one specifically optimized to be run on a mobile computing device, such as iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Tizen, Symbian, and/or the like. An operating system may communicate to and/or with other components in a component collection, including itself, and/or the like. Most frequently, the operating system communicates with other program components, user interfaces, and/or the like. For example, the operating system may contain, communicate, generate, obtain, and/or provide program component, system, user, and/or data communications, requests, and/or responses. The operating system, once executed by the CPU, may enable the interaction with communications networks, data, I/O, peripheral devices, program components, memory, user input devices, and/or the like. The operating system may provide communications protocols that allow the controller of the present invention to communicate with other entities through a communications network. Various communication protocols may be used by the controller of the present invention as a subcarrier transport mechanism for interaction, such as, but not limited to: multicast, TCP/IP, UDP, unicast, and/or the like. Information Server [0111] An information server component is a stored program component that is executed by a CPU. The information server may be a conventional Internet information server such as, but not limited to Apache Software Foundation's Apache, Microsoft's Internet Information Server, and/or the like. The information server may allow for the execution of program components through facilities such as Active Server Page (ASP), ActiveX, (ANSI) (Objective-) C (++), C# and/or .NET, Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts, dynamic (D) hypertext markup language (HTML), FLASH, Java, JavaScript, Practical Extraction Report Language (PERL), Hypertext Pre-Processor (PHP), pipes, Python, wireless application protocol (WAP), WebObjects, and/or the like. The information server may support secure communications protocols such as, but not limited to, File Transfer Protocol (FTP); HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP); Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS), Secure Socket Layer (SSL), messaging protocols (e.g., America Online (AOL) Instant Messenger (AIM), Application Exchange (APEX), ICQ, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), Microsoft Network (MSN) Messenger Service, Presence and Instant Messaging Protocol (PRIM), Internet Engineering Task Force's (IETF's) Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), SIP for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE), open XML-based Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) (i.e., Jabber or Open Mobile Alliance's (OMA's) Instant Messaging and Presence Service (IMPS)), Yahoo! Instant Messenger Service, and/or the like. The information server provides results in the form of Web pages to Web browsers, and allows for the manipulated generation of the Web pages through interaction with other program components. After a Domain Name System (DNS) resolution portion of an HTTP request is resolved to a particular information server, the information server resolves requests for information at specified locations on the controller of the present invention based on the remainder of the HTTP request. For example, a request such as http://123.124.125.126/myInformation.html might have the IP portion of the request “123.124.125.126” resolved by a DNS server to an information server at that IP address; that information server might in turn further parse the http request for the “/myInformation.html” portion of the request and resolve it to a location in memory containing the information “myInformation.html.” Additionally, other information serving protocols may be employed across various ports, e.g., FTP communications across port, and/or the like. An information server may communicate to and/or with other components in a component collection, including itself, and/or facilities of the like. Most frequently, the information server communicates with the database of the present invention, operating systems, other program components, user interfaces, Web browsers, and/or the like. [0112] Access to the database of the present invention may be achieved through a number of database bridge mechanisms such as through scripting languages as enumerated below (e.g., CGI) and through inter-application communication channels as enumerated below (e.g., CORBA, WebObjects, etc.). Any data requests through a Web browser are parsed through the bridge mechanism into appropriate grammars as required by the present invention. In one embodiment, the information server would provide a Web form accessible by a Web browser. Entries made into supplied fields in the Web form are tagged as having been entered into the particular fields, and parsed as such. The entered terms are then passed along with the field tags, which act to instruct the parser to generate queries directed to appropriate tables and/or fields. In one embodiment, the parser may generate queries in standard SQL by instantiating a search string with the proper join/select commands based on the tagged text entries, wherein the resulting command is provided over the bridge mechanism to the present invention as a query. Upon generating query results from the query, the results are passed over the bridge mechanism, and may be parsed for formatting and generation of a new results Web page by the bridge mechanism. Such a new results Web page is then provided to the information server, which may supply it to the requesting Web browser. [0113] Also, an information server may contain, communicate, generate, obtain, and/or provide program component, system, user, and/or data communications, requests, and/or responses. User Interface [0114] Computer interfaces in some respects are similar to automobile operation interfaces. Automobile operation interface elements such as steering wheels, gearshifts, and speedometers facilitate the access, operation, and display of automobile resources, and status. Computer interaction interface elements such as check boxes, cursors, menus, scrollers, and windows (collectively and commonly referred to as widgets) similarly facilitate the access, capabilities, operation, and display of data and computer hardware and operating system resources, and status. Operation interfaces are commonly called user interfaces. Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) such as the Apple Macintosh Operating System's Aqua, IBM's OS/2, Microsoft's Windows 2000/2003/3.1/95/98/CE/Millennium/NT/XP/Vista/7 (i.e., Aero), Unix's X-Windows (e.g., which may include additional Unix graphic interface libraries and layers such as K Desktop Environment (KDE), mythTV and GNU Network Object Model Environment (GNOME)), web interface libraries (e.g., ActiveX, AJAX, (D)HTML, FLASH, Java, JavaScript, etc. interface libraries such as, but not limited to, Dojo, jQuery(UI), MooTools, Prototype, script.aculo.us, SWFObject, Yahoo! User Interface, any of which may be used and) provide a baseline and means of accessing and displaying information graphically to users. [0115] A user interface component is a stored program component that is executed by a CPU. The user interface may be a conventional graphic user interface as provided by, with, and/or atop operating systems and/or operating environments such as already discussed. The user interface may allow for the display, execution, interaction, manipulation, and/or operation of program components and/or system facilities through textual and/or graphical facilities. The user interface provides a facility through which users may affect, interact, and/or operate a computer system. A user interface may communicate to and/or with other components in a component collection, including itself, and/or facilities of the like. Most frequently, the user interface communicates with operating systems, other program components, and/or the like. The user interface may contain, communicate, generate, obtain, and/or provide program component, system, user, and/or data communications, requests, and/or responses. Web Browser [0116] A Web browser component is a stored program component that is executed by a CPU. The Web browser may be a conventional hypertext viewing application such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. Secure Web browsing may be supplied with 128 bit (or greater) encryption by way of HTTPS, SSL, and/or the like. Web browsers allowing for the execution of program components through facilities such as ActiveX, AJAX, (D)HTML, FLASH, Java, JavaScript, web browser plug-in APIs (e.g., FireFox, Safari Plug-in, and/or the like APIs), and/or the like. Web browsers and like information access tools may be integrated into PDAs, cellular telephones, and/or other mobile devices. A Web browser may communicate to and/or with other components in a component collection, including itself, and/or facilities of the like. Most frequently, the Web browser communicates with information servers, operating systems, integrated program components (e.g., plug-ins), and/or the like; e.g., it may contain, communicate, generate, obtain, and/or provide program component, system, user, and/or data communications, requests, and/or responses. Of course, in place of a Web browser and information server, a combined application may be developed to perform similar functions of both. The combined application would similarly affect the obtaining and the provision of information to users, User Agents, and/or the like from the enabled nodes of the present invention. The combined application may be nugatory on systems employing standard Web browsers. Mail Server [0117] A mail server component is a stored program component that is executed by a CPU. The mail server may be a conventional Internet mail server such as, but not limited to sendmail, Microsoft Exchange, and/or the like. The mail server may allow for the execution of program components through facilities such as ASP, ActiveX, (ANSI) (Objective-) C (++), C# and/or .NET, CGI scripts, Java, JavaScript, PERL, PHP, pipes, Python, WebObjects, and/or the like. The mail server may support communications protocols such as, but not limited to: Internet message access protocol (IMAP), Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI)/Microsoft Exchange, post office protocol (POP3), simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP), and/or the like. The mail server can route, forward, and process incoming and outgoing mail messages that have been sent, relayed and/or otherwise traversing through and/or to the present invention. [0118] Access to the mail of the present invention may be achieved through a number of APIs offered by the individual Web server components and/or the operating system. [0119] Also, a mail server may contain, communicate, generate, obtain, and/or provide program component, system, user, and/or data communications, requests, information, and/or responses. Mail Client [0120] A mail client component is a stored program component that is executed by a CPU. The mail client may be a conventional mail viewing application such as Apple Mail, Microsoft Entourage, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Outlook Express, Mozilla, Thunderbird, and/or the like. Mail clients may support a number of transfer protocols, such as: IMAP, Microsoft Exchange, POP3, SMTP, and/or the like. A mail client may communicate to and/or with other components in a component collection, including itself, and/or facilities of the like. Most frequently, the mail client communicates with mail servers, operating systems, other mail clients, and/or the like; e.g., it may contain, communicate, generate, obtain, and/or provide program component, system, user, and/or data communications, requests, information, and/or responses. Generally, the mail client provides a facility to compose and transmit electronic mail messages. Cryptographic Server [0121] A cryptographic server component is a stored program component that is executed by a CPU, cryptographic processor, cryptographic processor interface, cryptographic processor device, and/or the like. Cryptographic processor interfaces will allow for expedition of encryption and/or decryption requests by the cryptographic component; however, the cryptographic component, alternatively, may run on a conventional CPU. The cryptographic component allows for the encryption and/or decryption of provided data. The cryptographic component allows for both symmetric and asymmetric (e.g., Pretty Good Protection (PGP)) encryption and/or decryption. The cryptographic component may employ cryptographic techniques such as, but not limited to: digital certificates (e.g., X.509 authentication framework), Digital Signatures, dual signatures, enveloping, password access protection, public key management, and/or the like. The cryptographic component will facilitate numerous (encryption and/or decryption) security protocols such as, but not limited to: checksum, Data Encryption Standard (DES), Elliptical Curve Encryption (ECC), International Data Encryption Algorithm (IDEA), Message Digest 5 (MD5, which is a one way hash function), passwords, Rivest Cipher (RC5), Rijndael, RSA (which is an Internet encryption and authentication system that uses an algorithm developed in 1977 by Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman), Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA), Secure Socket Layer (SSL), Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS), and/or the like. Employing such encryption security protocols, the present invention may encrypt all incoming and/or outgoing communications and may serve as node within a virtual private network (VPN) with a wider communications network. The cryptographic component facilitates the process of “security authorization” whereby access to a resource is inhibited by a security protocol wherein the cryptographic component effects authorized access to the secured resource. In addition, the cryptographic component may provide unique identifiers of content, e.g., employing and MD5 hash to obtain a unique signature for an digital audio file. A cryptographic component may communicate to and/or with other components in a component collection, including itself, and/or facilities of the like. The cryptographic component supports encryption schemes allowing for the secure transmission of information across a communications network to enable the component of the present invention to engage in secure transactions if so desired. The cryptographic component facilitates the secure accessing of resources on the present invention and facilitates the access of secured resources on remote systems; i.e., it may act as a client and/or server of secured resources. Most frequently, the cryptographic component communicates with information servers, operating systems, other program components, and/or the like. The cryptographic component may contain, communicate, generate, obtain, and/or provide program component, system, user, and/or data communications, requests, and/or responses. The Database of the Present Invention [0122] The database component of the present invention may be embodied in a database and its stored data. The database is a stored program component, which is executed by the CPU; the stored program component portion configuring the CPU to process the stored data. The database may be a conventional, fault tolerant, relational, scalable, secure database such as Oracle or Sybase. Relational databases are an extension of a flat file. Relational databases consist of a series of related tables. The tables are interconnected via a key field. Use of the key field allows the combination of the tables by indexing against the key field; i.e., the key fields act as dimensional pivot points for combining information from various tables. Relationships generally identify links maintained between tables by matching primary keys. Primary keys represent fields that uniquely identify the rows of a table in a relational database. More precisely, they uniquely identify rows of a table on the “one” side of a one-to-many relationship. [0123] Alternatively, the database of the present invention may be implemented using various standard data-structures, such as an array, hash, (linked) list, struct, structured text file (e.g., XML), table, JSON, NOSQL and/or the like. Such data-structures may be stored in memory and/or in (structured) files. In another alternative, an object-oriented database may be used, such as Frontier, ObjectStore, Poet, Zope, and/or the like. Object databases can include a number of object collections that are grouped and/or linked together by common attributes; they may be related to other object collections by some common attributes. Object-oriented databases perform similarly to relational databases with the exception that objects are not just pieces of data but may have other types of functionality encapsulated within a given object. If the database of the present invention is implemented as a data-structure, the use of the database of the present invention may be integrated into another component such as the component of the present invention. Also, the database may be implemented as a mix of data structures, objects, and relational structures. Databases may be consolidated and/or distributed in countless variations through standard data processing techniques. Portions of databases, e.g., tables, may be exported and/or imported and thus decentralized and/or integrated. [0124] In one embodiment, the database component includes several tables. A user (e.g., operators and physicians) table may include fields such as, but not limited to: user_id, ssn, dob, first_name, last_name, age, state, address_firstline, address_secondline, zipcode, devices_list, contact_info, contact_type, alt_contact_info, alt_contact_type, and/or the like to refer to any type of enterable data or selections discussed herein. The user's table may support and/or track multiple Entity accounts. A Client's table may include fields such as, but not limited to: user_id, client_id, client_ip, client_type, client_model, operating_system, os_version, app_installed_flag, and/or the like. An Apps table may include fields such as, but not limited to: app_ID, app_name, app_type, OS_compatibilities_list, version, timestamp, developer_ID, and/or the like. [0125] In one embodiment, user programs may contain various user interface primitives, which may serve to update the platform of the present invention. Also, various accounts may require custom database tables depending upon the environments and the types of clients the system of the present invention may need to serve. It should be noted that any unique fields may be designated as a key field throughout. In an alternative embodiment, these tables have been decentralized into their own databases and their respective database controllers (i.e., individual database controllers for each of the above tables). Employing standard data processing techniques, one may further distribute the databases over several computer systemizations and/or storage devices. Similarly, configurations of the decentralized database controllers may be varied by consolidating and/or distributing the various database components. The system of the present invention may be configured to keep track of various settings, inputs, and parameters via database controllers. [0126] In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a means to consolidate futures, options, foreign exchange, options on foreign exchange, assets and derivatives of assets traded on public exchanges, global markets and capital markets. In another embodiments, the present invention allow a user to visualize investments futures, options, foreign exchange, options on foreign exchange, assets and derivatives of assets traded on public exchanges, global markets and capital markets across a number of brokerage houses. In other embodiments, the present invention provides intraday futures options, foreign exchange, options on foreign exchange, assets and derivatives of assets traded on public exchanges, global markets and capital markets positions. [0127] In yet another preferred embodiment, the present invention can calculate realized profits and losses in real time and/or near real-time futures options, foreign exchange, options on foreign exchange, assets and derivatives of assets traded on public exchanges, global markets and capital markets positions, as well as open trade equity for futures options, foreign exchange, options on foreign exchange, assets and derivatives of assets traded on public exchanges, global markets and capital markets positions. [0128] In some embodiments, the present invention provides a real-time and or end of day net liquidation value calculation and or a net asset value calculation and is capable of consolidating an initial and variation margin requirement view, as well as consolidating views of all exchange data fields, FCM data fields, interbank data field and or vendor data fields. The present invention may also provide a consolidated position view by exchange, by derivative or underlying product, by asset type or currency, a consolidated view across liquidity venues including futures exchanges, OTC interbank counterparties, equity exchanges, hedge funds, FCMs, clearing entities and private liquidity pools, and/or a real time or near real time execution evaluation tool to measure via autofeed various positive and negative attributes and results from order management systems (OMS) and execution management systems (EMS). [0129] In alternative preferred embodiments, the present invention to provides a measurement tool to evaluate accuracy of results from various counterparty and or vendor order management systems (OMS) and execution management systems (EMS) and provides a measurement of timeliness of results from order management systems (OMS) and execution management systems (EMS). [0130] In some embodiments, the present invention can aggregate post trade data, real time data, and near real time data from liquidity venues including futures exchanges, OTC interbank counterparties, equity exchanges, hedge funds, FCMs, clearing entities and private liquidity pools. [0131] In various embodiments, the present invention can aggregate post trade data from liquidity venues including futures exchanges, OTC interbank counterparties, equity exchanges, hedge funds, FCMs, clearing entities and private liquidity pools to provide consolidated trading metrics and performance attributes, as well as doing so for interest payable, due reconciliation, balance reconciliation, position reconciliation, and trade reconciliation. [0132] In one preferred embodiment, the present invention is capable of aggregating post trade data from liquidity venues including futures exchanges, OTC interbank counterparties, equity exchanges, hedge funds, FCMs, clearing entities and private liquidity pools to provide internal and external messaging related to post trade data, as well as real time or near real time compliance alerts. [0133] In other embodiments, the present invention comprises a measurement tool to evaluate best pricing from order management systems (OMS) and execution management systems (EMS) engaging multiple execution venues contemporaneously executing the same or similar orders and is capable of providing a measurement of timeliness of unmatched trade resolution from order management systems (OMS) and execution management systems (EMS). [0134] While this disclosure refers to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications will be appreciated by those skilled in the art to adapt a particular instrument, situation or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the spirit thereof. [0135] Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed. [0136] When introducing elements of the present disclosure or the embodiment(s) thereof, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. Similarly, the adjective “another,” when used to introduce an element, is intended to mean one or more elements. The terms “including” and “having” are intended to be inclusive such that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. [0137] Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed.

A system for aggregating financial and post trade data that features memory that stores computer-executable instructions; a processor, communicatively coupled to the memory that facilitates execution of the computer-executable instructions that provide for a transformation engine that is adapted and configured to transform said financial and post trade data into information; and a computation engine, that is configured to compute a realized profit and loss statistic from purchase and sale data; and a plurality of databases; and a reporting engine; that is configured to create a plurality of reports according to a report configuration and report filter definition table; and an aggregation engine that is configured to collect financial and post trade data from a plurality of entities and which transforms financial and post trade data from a plurality of entities into a consolidated view of client positions and transactional activity.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to systems and methods for removing photoresist from an integrated circuit structure with a dry process, preferably, in a vacuum stripping chamber, such as photoresist remaining after etch, implant or other fabrication steps. The invented system and method also remove etch residues remaining from the previous fabrication step(s). The present invention also is suitable for cleaning surfaces on hard disks, semiconductor wafers, delicate optics, etc. The present invention more particularly relates to a preferably oscillating nozzle cleaning system, preferably dispensing cryogenic, solvent or solvent combination cleaning mediums, combined with plasma excited reactive gases. The oscillating nozzle cleaning and plasma processes can be performed sequentially or simultaneously. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Articles such as hard disks, semiconductor wafers, delicate optics, etc., often must be precisely cleaned in order to remove contaminants, either during or after a process for manufacturing the articles. For example, resist strip and residue clean typically are needed between etch, implant and deposition steps in IC fabrication processes. Conventional dry-type strip/clean sequences typically use plasma to ash resist and wet chemicals to clean residues. Resist stripping is typically carried out using dry plasma ashing. Conventional O 2 plasma ashing at high temperature tends to leave polymeric residues that require acids and/or organic solvents for removal. Wet chemistries generally are not desirable due to non-uniformities, selectivity to exposed layers and incomplete resist removal because of mass transport and surface tension associated with the solutions. A variety of alternative cleaning methods have been employed with varying degrees of success. Certain of such methods that have been attempted involve imparting carbon dioxide snow onto the article to be cleaned. An example of such a conventional carbon dioxide cleaning system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,061. As a general/summary description of this system, a conveyor transports a wafer-carrying cassette to be cleaned in an enclosure. Jet spray nozzles generate carbon dioxide spray that cleans the wafers. While methods such as described in this patent provide a certain level of cleaning efficacy, improved methods for cleaning a variety of articles are still very much in demand. In addition, conventional jet spray nozzle approaches, while effective in some applications, generally fail in the majority of applications where the bonding between the surface of the wafer and the contamination on the wafer are strong and require chemical reaction, such as plasma, as well as a physical cleaning mechanism for adequate de-contamination and removal of residues, etc. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to systems and methods preferably using a plasma generation system, as a chemical means, for resist and polymer residue removal and a preferably cryogenic cleaning medium, as a physical means, for enhancing the cleaning of an exposed surface of an article. The cryogenic cleaning medium also helps in reducing submicron defects. The plasma source preferably is either a remote source that provides free-radicals or an ion assisted chemistry activated by direct exposure of the wafer to an RF plasma. In certain preferred embodiments, the free radicals/ions ratio can be controlled by running simultaneously both sources (remote and RF sources). The cryogenic and plasma processes can be performed sequentially or simultaneously in the same chamber or in two separate chambers. A summary of an exemplary preferred embodiment is as follows. An enclosure is provided for maintaining a controlled environment during the photoresist stripping and post etch, implant or other fabrication step residue cleaning process. The enclosure preferably provides ingress and egress from and to a surrounding environment. A holding chuck preferably is provided that is configured to secure the article to be cleaned of photoresist and/or remaining polymeric residue. The environment preferably is pressure controlled (vacuum) to optimize plasma reaction. A stage or stage means is mounted on the support structure and the holding chuck is mounted on the stage means in a manner so that movement of the article relative to the support structure is provided within the enclosure on a predetermined path between the ingress and the egress points. The stage or stage means, in alternative embodiments, is fixed and the system allows the nozzle to move relative to it for complete surface coverage of the cryogenic gas. A pre-heater, in certain embodiments, is mounted in a first position adjacent the predetermined path in thermal communication with the surface of the article at the first position. Reactive gases such as oxygen preferably are introduced through a remote plasma chamber. The processing chamber is connected to a vacuum exhaust line. A cryogenic spray nozzle assembly preferably is provided wherein a spray nozzle is mounted in the spray nozzle assembly. The spray nozzle is in communication with the cryogenic cleansing medium for providing a cleaning spray at a second position adjacent the predetermined path so that the cleaning spray impinges on the surface to be cleaned at the second position. A post heater optionally is provided and, if so provided, preferably mounted in a third position adjacent to the predetermined path in thermal communication with the surface of the article at the third position. The cryogenic spray nozzle assembly, in preferred embodiments, further includes an assembly or other means for imparting cyclic motion in the spray nozzle so that the cleaning spray is moved bi-directionally relative to the predetermined path. This cyclic motion assembly or means alternatively could be external to the environment. In another aspect of the present invention, systems and methods are provided for cleaning a surface of an article, wherein a preferred system includes a framework, a holding means that holds the article with the surface exposed, and means for moving the holding means along a predetermined path. The plasma source preferably is separated remotely from the article that is being processed, with free radicals generated remotely. Ion assisted chemistry, optionally or in combination with the remotely generated free radicals, are provided preferably by direct exposure of the wafer to an RF plasma. The plasma also may be activated by both a remote source and an RF plasma source. In preferred embodiments, each form of plasma is independently controlled to cover a wide spectrum of processing conditions in a manner to satisfy the complexity and diversity of these residues. The present invention preferably involves placing the substrate (wafer or other article, etc.) in the plasma reactor, applying to the substrate surface an activated mixture of gases selected from the group consisting of oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, fluorine, hydrofluorocarbon or a mixture of such gases to both remove the photoresist layer and alter the composition of the residues such that the residues are soluble in water and/or have a weakened bonds that they can be removed with a stream of cryogenic cleaning medium. With respect to the cryogenic cleaning assembly, a nozzle having a nozzle axis and a nozzle tip preferably is spaced from and adjacent to the predetermined path for delivering a cleaning spray onto the article surface. Means preferably is mounted between the framework and the nozzle for supporting and driving the nozzle tip through a cyclic motion. In yet another aspect of the present invention, an oscillating or vibratory nozzle assembly for use in cryogenic cleaning of a surface of an article that must be cleaned substantially free of contaminants is provided, particularly after or as part of a dry process as described herein. An oscillating nozzle assembly in accordance with certain preferred embodiments preferably includes an assembly mounting block, a nozzle mounting block, and means for resiliently connecting the nozzle mounting block to the assembly mounting block. Further, the oscillating nozzle assembly preferably includes an eccentric and a driver connected to the eccentric. In addition, means preferably is provided for mounting the eccentric and the driver between the nozzle mounting block and the assembly mounting block. At least one nozzle preferably is included having a nozzle tip, wherein the nozzle is mounted on the nozzle mounting block so that the driver operates to move the nozzle tip cyclically when the driver is energized. Alternatively, the oscillation can be accomplished by actuators that support the nozzle or nozzle mounting block. In yet another aspect of the present invention, the oscillating nozzle assembly for dispensing a cleaning medium toward a surface on an article preferably includes a nozzle, a tip on the nozzle for dispensing the cleaning medium, and means for mounting the nozzle. A nozzle assembly base preferably is included together with means for controllably moving the means for mounting the nozzle relative to the nozzle assembly base in a cyclic pattern having a predetermined frequency and amplitude. Methods in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention relate to processing an article having a surface to be cleaned substantially free of contaminates. The process includes the steps of performing a plasma etching/ashing process, preferably to remove a photoresist-type layer, a plurality of pre-cleaning fabrication steps, conducting a cleaning process at a cleaning position using a cleaning spray, and performing a plurality of post-cleaning fabrication steps. The plasma step preferably involves placing the substrate (or other article) in the plasma reactor, applying to the substrate surface an activated mixture of gases selected from the group consisting of oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, fluorine, hydrofluorocarbon or a mixture of such gases to both remove the photoresist layer and alter the composition of the residues such that the residues are soluble in water and/or have a weakened bonds that they can be removed with a stream of cryogenic medium. The step of conducting a cleaning process preferably includes the steps of transporting the surface to be cleaned to the cleaning position together with positioning the surface to be cleaned proximate to the cleaning spray at the cleaning position. Further, the step of oscillating the cleaning spray at the cleaning position in a predetermined pattern preferably is performed to provide improved cleaning in accordance with the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention may be more fully understood by a description of certain preferred embodiments in conjunction with the attached drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective showing one embodiment of the system of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic showing gas and vacuum paths for one embodiment of the system of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a perspective of one embodiment of the spray nozzle assembly of the present invention with the outer cover removed; FIG. 4 is a perspective of another embodiment of the nozzle assembly of the present invention with the outer cover removed; FIG. 5 is a perspective of an additional embodiment of the system of the present invention; FIG. 6 is a block diagram relating to the process of the present invention; FIG. 7 is another block diagram illustrating the details of the process of the present invention; FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate an assembly for providing remotely generated plasma and/or an RF-generated plasma, with a preferably cryogenic cleaning assembly integrally provided therewith; FIG. 9 illustrates an assembly for providing remotely generated plasma and/or an RF-generated plasma, with a preferably cryogenic cleaning assembly provided separate therefrom, with the article transported in order to be cryogenically cleaned; FIG. 10 illustrates an assembly for providing remotely generated plasma and/or an RF-generated plasma, with a preferably cryogenic cleaning assembly utilizing a common showerhead-type electrode; FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate two alternative nozzle assemblies utilized in certain preferred embodiments; FIG. 12 illustrates a showerhead-type gas distribution implement utilized in certain preferred embodiments; and FIG. 13 is a simplified flow diagram illustrating certain preferred process flows in accordance with certain embodiments of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in greater detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments and certain other embodiments, which may serve to further the understanding of preferred embodiments of the present invention. As described elsewhere herein, various refinements and substitutions of the various embodiments are possible based on the principles and teachings herein. The present invention generally is related to the following pending U.S. patent Applicants assigned to the assignee of the present invention: METHODS FOR CLEANING SURFACES SUBSTANTIALLY FREE OF CONTAMINANTS, application Ser. No. 09/636,265, filed on Aug. 10, 2000, and APPARATUS FOR CLEANING SURFACES SUBSTANTIALLY FREE OF CONTAMINANTS, application Ser. No. 09/637,333, also filed on Aug. 10, 2000 (collectively, “the Referenced Applications”). The Referenced Applications more generally disclosed methods and systems for cryogenically (preferably using carbon dioxide) cleaning articles or surfaces substantially free from contaminants, preferably using an oscillatory nozzle assembly for the cryogenic cleaning medium. As the present invention, in at least certain preferred embodiments, also utilizes an oscillatory or vibratory type nozzle assembly for a cryogenic cleaning medium (preferably in combination with a remotely-generated plasma and/or an RF plasma utilized preferably for removal of a photoresist or similar layer), certain disclosure from the Referenced Application will be set forth herein. The Referenced Applications are hereby incorporated by reference. The present invention, however, preferably utilizes such an oscillatory or vibratory cryogenic cleaning assembly in combination with a plasma process; in alternative embodiments, the cryogenic cleaning implement is provided in combination with the plasma process, where the oscillatory or vibratory aspect of the cryogenic cleaning assembly is optionally provided (i.e., in such embodiments, the cryogenic cleaning medium may or may not be provided with oscillatory or vibratory action, etc.). Very small quantities of contamination generally are detrimental to the fabrication processes involved in producing integrated circuit wafers, hard discs, optical elements, etc. Contamination in the form of particulates, films, or microscopic clusters of molecules can produce fatal defects in any of the aforementioned products before, during or after fabrication processes. Cleanliness with elevated temperature processes is extremely important due to the typical increase in the reaction rate of impurities with an increase in temperature. At high temperature it is possible for the impurities to diffuse into the silicon or mix with dielectric or conductors to cause unexpected and unwanted electrical or other characteristics. This tends to cause device failure, degraded reliability, and/or operational failure. Cleaning of the surfaces of such products is therefore essential at various phases during fabrication. The use of plasma chemistry has become very important in the semiconductor manufacturing sector. In photoresist stripping, the plasma used in a dry process typically is performed using free radicals. This process is usually enhanced by a physical means to improve material removal and cleaning efficiency, often using an ion bombardment process. There are many shortcomings of the aforementioned combination, such as the conflict of the relatively high pressure requirement for the effectiveness of the pure chemical stripping and the ion bombardment processes that require low pressure to increase the ions mean free path. Another problem with the ion bombardment process is that charging damage could occur and cause wafer defects. In accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention, a plasma process is provided in conjunction with cryogenic cleaning for the physical removal of contamination. In accordance with the present invention, such an approach tends to eliminate the pressure conflict described elsewhere herein and tends to drastically reduce the charging damage problem. Without being bound by theory, this is believed to be due to the pressure upstream of the nozzle not being very critical in the cryogenic expansion. In addition, in accordance with the present invention, the process preferably is regulated for maximum efficiency by controlling the upstream pressure, velocity, temperature, and the frequency and the amplitude of the nozzle vibration or oscillation. Cryogenic cleaning of surfaces utilizing impingement of solid particles of relatively inert gases such as argon and CO 2 are known and the manner in which solid particles of such gases are generated for cleaning purposes need not be described herein. Without being bound by theory, in such cases it is thought that the combination of sublimation of the solid particles as they impinge the surface to be cleaned as well as the impact momentum transfer by the particles provide the vehicle for removing contamination from a surface. It is further recognized that sublimation occurs, and therefore a major portion of the cleaning, only while the surface to be cleaned is at a higher temperature than that of the cryogenic spray. The thermophoresis due to the heated surface also helps to remove the particles from the surface and reduce the chance for re-deposition of the detached particles. As a consequence, pre-heating and post-heating of the surface being cleaned preferably is required within the vicinity of the impinging cleaning spray. In accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention, preheating and post heating for the cryogenic cleaning are optional. Another important aspect of single chamber processes with the combination of plasma and cryogenic cleaning is the elimination of contamination that in certain situations tends to be deposited on the wafer with cryogenic cleaning alone. Without being bound by theory, the sources of the contaminants are believed the delivery system and impurities that exist in the cryogenic cleaning medium; those impurities are believed to be composed of fluorinated and other hydrocarbons. The fact that the plasma gases are used to clean fluorinated hydrocarbons tend to eliminate this problem. Cleaning by various other solvents and solvent combinations where the levels of residual contaminants following the cleaning process need not be held quite as low, is also envisioned for use in the systems and methods of the present invention. As previously explained, certain disclosure from the Referenced Applications will now be provided so that an exemplary, preferred oscillatory cryogenic cleaning assembly and method might be understood. Reference is now made to FIG. 1 of the drawings, wherein one exemplary embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. A system 10 is shown in FIG. 1 having an enclosure 11 depicted in phantom line. The environment within the enclosure is maintained at a level of cleanliness depending on the level of cleanliness to be imposed on articles to be cleaned within the enclosure. A scavenging line 12 is shown exiting the enclosure 11 at the bottom thereof and proceeding to a filter 13 for removing particulates from the enclosure environment that may be generated by the cleaning process or by mechanical components within the enclosure. Rudimentary support structure is shown including a base plate 14 and two uprights 16 and 17 attached at their bases to the base plate. The description herein makes reference to an XYZ coordinate system, wherein the Z direction is substantially vertical and the mutually orthogonal Z and Y axes are substantially horizontal. An XY stage is shown having an X stage 18 for movement on a Y stage 19 , that is mounted on the base plate 14 (other X/Y stage configurations are within the scope of the present invention). A holding chuck 21 , in this instance a vacuum chuck connected through a line 22 to a vacuum source 23 , is mounted for movement on the X stage 18 . An article to be cleaned, in this exemplary illustration an integrated circuit wafer 24 , is shown in FIG. 1 mounted to the vacuum chuck 21 and held in place by known means (e.g., held in place by the vacuum). FIG. 1 shows the integrated circuit wafer 24 in an initial position, and subsequently in a cleaning position at 24 a and a post-heating position at 24 b . The integrated circuit wafer 24 preferably is transportable along a predetermined path governed by the movement of the X stage 18 on the Y stage 19 and the movement of the vacuum chuck 21 on the X stage 18 . Chuck 21 is driven over the upper surface of the X stage by known means, which may include a carriage portion within the X stage driven by a lead screw and a servo motor (not shown), for example. A cable connection 26 is shown at one end of the X stage for introducing power to energize the aforementioned servo motor. A similar cable connection (not shown) is provided to power the Y stage 19 so that the X stage, mounted on a moveable carriage of the Y stage, may be moved in the Y direction by a lead screw and servo motor similar to that mentioned hereinbefore in conjunction with the X stage. From the foregoing it is seen that the integrated circuit wafer 24 shown in an initial position in FIG. 1 may be moved to the left in FIG. 1 to pass beneath a pre-heater 27 at a pre-heat position along the aforementioned predetermined path, which preferably pre-heats the integrated circuit wafer prior to cleaning. Further movement of the chuck 21 brings the integrated circuit wafer to a cleaning position indicated in FIG. 1 at 24 a . Continuing movement of the chuck along the predetermined path defined by the X and Y stages 18 and 19 delivers the integrated circuit wafer to a post-heat position shown at 24 b , wherein post-heating of the integrated circuit wafer preferably is performed by a post-beater 28 . The pre and post heaters may be infrared lamps or other heating sources. These heaters preferably impart surface temperatures to the article that enhance cleaning, prevent re-contamination and remove static electricity. In alternative embodiments, the pre and post heaters are supplemented with, or replaced by, a heated vacuum chuck, with the heated vacuum chuck providing heat to the article to be cleaned, etc. The use of such a heated vacuum chuck also may be used in accordance with other embodiments of the present invention as described herein. A nozzle assembly support plate 29 is shown extending between the two uprights 16 and 17 . The support plate preferably is attached at the upright 16 in a Z position by a friction clamp 31 . The support plate 29 preferably is mounted on the opposing end to upright 17 in the Z position by an additional friction clamp 32 . It should be noted that the position of the mounting plate 29 in the Z direction may be governed by a servo motor 33 and associated mechanism (not shown) similar to that of the X and Y stages, so that the Z position of the support plate 29 is dictated by a control 34 , which may controllably raise or lower the support plate 29 either before, during or after cleaning or other processing. A spray nozzle assembly 36 is shown mounted to the support plate 29 at a pivot 37 . A nozzle 38 is shown extending from the spray nozzle assembly 36 at a lower portion thereof at the cleaning position shown by the position of integrated circuit wafer 24 a in FIG. 1. A preferred exemplary angle of the nozzle 38 to the surface to be cleaned on the integrated circuit wafer 24 is seen in FIG. 1 to be obtuse to the direction of approach of the integrated circuit wafer. Expressed alternatively, the angle of the nozzle 38 , and the subsequent spray emitted therefrom, is acute to the downstream portion of the predetermined path along which the wafer travels on the XY stage. The point to be made here is that the spray emanating from the spray nozzle 38 preferably is set to impinge the surface to be cleaned at an angle to facilitate contaminant removal and to add any velocity of the surface to be cleaned to the spray velocity for purposes of enhancing contaminant removal. That angle of impingement as seen in FIG. 1 preferably is adjustable by moving the spray nozzle assembly 36 rotationally about the pivot 37 and fixing the angle in the adjusted position. It should also be noted that, in preferred embodiments, one or more jets for cleaning an article, with the oscillatory-type movement of the present invention, such jets, although having a non-uniform spray pattern, may result in a more substantially uniform and improved spray distribution due to the oscillatory-type movement, which preferably enables an article to be more uniformly cleaned in a single pass, etc. Turning to the diagram of FIG. 2, the spray nozzle assembly 36 is shown poised in position above the integrated circuit wafer in the position represented by 24 a wherein the wafer is moving to the left in FIG. 2 relative to the spray nozzle assembly. Nozzle 38 is shown directing a cleaning spray 39 onto the surface of the article to be cleaned (integrated circuit wafer 24 a in FIG. 2) at the spray impingement angle referred to hereinbefore in conjunction with FIG. 1. A second spray nozzle 41 is shown just visible in the diagram of FIG. 2 for preferably delivering a heated inert gas spray 42 for heating, drying and removing static electricity from the surface just cleaned by the spray 39 . The heated inert gas spray nozzle 41 may fill the requirements of the post-heater 28 shown in FIG. 1 . Details of construction of the nozzles 38 and 41 will be described in more detail hereinafter. FIG. 2 shows an inert gas source 43 connected through a flow line to a temperature control module 44 and subsequently to a gas filter 46 . Inert gas flow is subsequently directed through an ionizer 47 and a flexible line 48 to the nozzle 41 contained in the spray nozzle assembly 36 . A cleaning medium container 49 (such as an argon or CO 2 gas container) preferably is connected through a gas flow line to a temperature control 51 . The temperature controlled cleaning medium preferably is connected to a pressure booster 52 and subsequently to a filter 53 for removing contaminants. The filtered, temperature controlled and pressurized cleaning medium preferably is connected through a flexible line 54 to the nozzle 38 in the spray nozzle assembly 36 . The manner in which a gas cleaning medium is conditioned for cryogenic cleaning is known, and teachings from the art submitted contemporaneously herewith are incorporated herein by reference. In certain applications the cleaning medium contained in the container 49 may be a solvent different from the cryogenic gas, known to those in this art, descriptions of which will not be undertaken here. A flexible vacuum line 56 is shown in FIG. 2 to remove contaminants generated by functions taking place within the case of the spray nozzle assembly 36 so that they are not deposited upon the surface to be cleaned. The flexible vacuum line 56 is led to the outside of the enclosure 11 when the system containing the spray nozzle assembly 36 is enclosed therein. The location of the pivot 37 of FIG. 1 is shown by the hole 37 a depicted in FIG. 2 . FIG. 3 depicts the spray nozzle assembly 36 with the cover removed. The article to be cleaned represented by the integrated circuit wafer 24 a is seen to be moving to the left in FIG. 3 relative to the spray nozzle assembly. The spray nozzle assembly is pivoted about the pivot 37 (FIG. 1) to assume the position shown in FIG. 3 so that the cleaning nozzle 38 dispenses the cleaning spray 39 at an obtuse angle relative to the approaching portion of the surface to be cleaned. The cleaning nozzle 38 preferably has a nozzle axis and a nozzle tip with an elongated nozzle opening therein to provide the exemplary preferred fan-shaped spray 39 seen in FIG. 3. A friction lock 57 is shown on the nozzle 38 which allows the tip of the nozzle to be rotated around the nozzle axis and to be locked in the rotated position. Rotation of the tip of nozzle 38 preferably allows the fan-shaped spray 39 to impinge the surface to be cleaned at an angle of rotation about the nozzle axis. This angle of rotation allows the fan-shaped spray 39 to push contaminates to one side of the surface to be cleaned as to the spray nozzle is oscillated to thereby affect a “snow plow” function. This will be further explained in conjunction with the description of the oscillation of the nozzle 38 . In like fashion, nozzle 41 for dispensing inert drying gas, preferably has a friction lock 58 functioning in the same manner as the friction lock 57 on nozzle 38 . Nozzle 41 also has a tip with an elongated opening therein for preferably producing a fan shaped emission of inert drying gas 42 . Nozzle 38 preferably is attached to a nozzle mounting block 59 through a tube 61 and a connector 62 coupling the nozzle 38 to the flexible line 54 (FIG. 2 ). Nozzle 41 also preferably has a tube 63 connected thereto which is mounted in the nozzle mounting block 59 . A connector 64 connects the tube 63 to the flexible line 48 (FIG. 2) to deliver heated inert gas to the surface to be cleaned immediately after cleaning when that method is used for post-heating of and removal of static charge from the surface being cleaned. Nozzle mounting block 59 in FIG. 3 is cut away to show installation of the outer diameter of an outer bearing race 66 mounted within a bore 67 in the nozzle mounting block. An inner race 68 on the bearing within the bore 67 has an eccentric cam-member 69 mounted therein. A shaft 71 on a pulley 72 is passed through an offset hole 73 in the eccentric cam and fixed therein. The pulley 72 is driven by a belt 74 which in turn is driven by a pulley 76 mounted on the end of a shaft 77 driven by a motor 78 . The motor 78 is mounted in a motor mount block 79 (partly cut away for clarity) secured to the outer case of the spray nozzle assembly 36 . The motor mount block 79 also serves to mount the pulley 72 for rotation thereon. A plurality of arms 81 , two of which are shown in FIG. 3, are fastened to the motor mounting block 79 extending outwardly therefrom to a position beyond the nozzle mounting block 59 . Yieldable structure such as coil springs 82 , extend from the ends of the arms 81 to the nozzle mounting block 59 and from the motor mounting block 79 to the opposing side of the nozzle mounting block 59 . The ends of the coil springs 82 are encompassed by buttons or caps 83 that are seated in counter bores in the structural members 59 , 79 and 81 that receive respective ends of the coil springs 82 . The material for the end caps 83 is preferably Delrin AF. Very little particulate is sloughed off of the Delrin AF surfaces when the material is subjected to friction. As a result, the springs 82 are anchored on one end within the bores 84 at the ends of the arms 81 and in the motor mounting block 79 and anchored at an opposing end within bores 84 in the nozzle mounting block 59 . Nozzle mounting block 59 is therefore suspended by the springs 82 in position spaced from the remainder of the spray nozzle assembly. Consequently, when the spray nozzles 38 and 41 are mounted on the nozzle mounting block 59 , and when the nozzle mounting block is moved, the sprays 39 and 42 are moved relative to the surface to be cleaned on the integrated circuit wafer 24 a in FIG. 3 . An optimum offset from the geometric center of the offset cam 69 has been found to be about 0.075 inches. As a result an optimum peak to peak amplitude for cam excursion is about 0.150 inches. An optimum cam rotation frequency through the pulleys 76 and 72 has been found to be approximately 27.5 revolutions per second or about 27½ Hertz. Thus, in a preferred embodiment, the optimum amplitude provided by the cam 69 falls within the range of about 0.120 to 0.180 inches peak to peak. The optimum frequency falls within the range of about 25 to 30 Hertz. Other amplitudes and frequencies for optimum cleaning of specific contaminants from surfaces are envisioned as within the scope of the present invention. Springs 82 , in this preferred embodiment, preferably have coils of 0.043 inch diameter stainless steel wire, with one half (½) inch diameter coils and lengths of one and one-half (1½) inches. Such springs generally should provide adequately support the mass of the nozzle mounting block 59 and members attached thereto. It should further be noted that motor 78 could be mounted on motor mounting block 79 to directly drive shaft 71 connected to the eccentric cam 69 in those instances where the rotational output speed of the motor shaft 77 imparts an acceptable frequency to the oscillatory motion induced by the rotation of the eccentric cam 69 . In any event, the nozzle mounting block 59 and the nozzles 38 and 41 attached thereto are driven at a predetermined frequency and amplitude, so that the nozzles are driven in a circular pattern having a diameter of the peak to peak oscillation amplitude and a frequency determined by the rotational frequency of the eccentric cam 69 . The physical dimensions of springs 82 will depend on the mass of the spray nozzle assembly 36 . Therefore, heavier or lighter springs 82 may be used as the spray nozzle assembly assumes greater or lesser mass. It is noted that the preferred structure for imparting the cyclic motion to the nozzles 38 and 41 relative to the surface to be cleaned are exemplary. FIG. 4 depicts the spray nozzle assembly 36 with the motor mounting block 79 removed from the drawing for clarity. As seen in FIG. 4, a single nozzle 38 is shown having the aforementioned preferred elongated aperture therein for providing emission of the fan-shaped spray 39 for impingement on the surface to be cleaned. The surface shown in FIG. 4 is the surface of the integrated circuit wafer 24 a . Friction lock 57 in the illustration of FIG. 4 is loosened and the nozzle 38 is rotated counter-clockwise (looking at the elongated aperture therein). The orientation of the aperture of nozzle 38 is locked in the adjusted position by the friction lock 57 . When the motor 78 is energized and an oscillation in the nozzle 38 is imparted by the oscillation of the nozzle mounting block 59 on the support provided by the springs 82 , the nozzle tip, and therefore the spray 39 describes a circular pattern at the predetermined amplitude and frequency. The rotation of the oscillation is indicated by the arrow 84 in FIG. 4 . The impingement of the spray pattern 39 on the surface to be cleaned is illustrated in FIG. 4 . The nozzle 38 and the spray pattern 39 moves during half of each rotational cycle toward the integrated circuit wafer. Further, during the subsequent half of each rotational cycle the nozzle and spray move away from the wafer surface. This is seen when it is recognized that the nozzle tip describes a circle during oscillation, wherein the plane of the circle substantially includes an extension of the nozzle axis. This is illustrated in FIG. 4 by the rotational arrow 84 and the arrows 85 representing oscillation circle diameters. The nozzle 38 sweeps the spray 39 side to side on the wafer surface because the edge of the circle represented by diameters 85 appears as a straight line when viewed from the wafer surface. Now considering the rotation of the flat fan shaped spray 39 about the nozzle axis by the adjustment of the friction lock 57 , the fan 39 impinges the surface at a compound angle (displaced from the side to side sweep) preferably resulting in the “snow plow” effect of the fan-shaped spray 39 during half of each cycle as it rotates in the direction of the arrow 84 . Further, the disclosed oscillation of the fan-shaped spray 39 provides the benefits of pulsing which enhances cleaning. Pulsing in the past has been provided in a spray by interrupting the spray periodically. However, such interruption causes the spray jet to lose optimum characteristics as the spray is cut off and restarted when the spray is a cryogenic cleaning medium comprised of solid gas particles. The pulsing occurs in the embodiments disclosed herein due to increasing velocity (or acceleration) as the spray 39 converges on the surface to be cleaned during one half (½) of the oscillatory cycle and the decrease in velocity (negative acceleration) as the spray 39 diverges from the surface to be cleaned during the other half of the oscillatory cycle. Spray nozzle 38 describing a circular pattern during oscillation as described hereinbefore, preferably lays down a laterally oscillating spray pattern on the surface to be cleaned. The angle of the spray pattern impingement on the surface is therefore formed by adjustment of the spray nozzle assembly 36 rotationally about the pivot 37 (FIG. 1) and adjustment to the spray fan orientation about the nozzle axis through adjustment of the friction lock 57 . Pulsing and compound angle “snow plow” effects in cleaning are believed to provide advantages in obtaining thorough contaminant removal. It should be mentioned that the shaft 71 for driving the eccentric cam 69 (FIG. 3) could be driven directly by the motor 78 , allowing elimination of the pulleys 72 and 76 and the belt 74 as discussed in conjunction with FIG. 3 . On the other hand, selection of relative diameters of pulleys 72 and 76 may be used to adjust the frequency of oscillation if desired. The embodiment of FIG. 5 depicts a robot 86 having an extendable and retractable arm 87 , providing movement in a vertical direction, and a laterally extending arm segment 88 disposed for rotation about an axis 89 at the upper end of the arm 87 . An additional robot arm 91 is provided that moves translationally in a horizontal direction. Translationally moving arm 91 extends through an egress/ingress port 92 in the enclosure 11 of FIG. 5 to insert an article having a surface to be cleaned, such as the integrated circuit wafer 24 , into a controlled environment within the enclosure 11 as discussed in conjunction with the enclosure 11 of FIG. 1 . The wafer 24 is shown at the limit of its insertion within the enclosure 11 , having passed the pre-heater and post-heater combination 93 immediately inside the ingress/egress port. Wafer 24 is therefore pre-heated at the position shown in FIG. 5 and then withdrawn toward the ingress/egress port 92 to pass beneath a bank (plurality) of cleaning nozzles 94 . The bank of nozzles extend across the entire dimension of the wafer, providing impingement by a plurality of fan shaped sprays on the surface to be cleaned, thereby cleaning the surface in a single pass beneath the bank of cleaning nozzles 94 . Immediately following passage of the surface to be cleaned beneath the cleaning nozzles 94 , an inert drying gas and anti-static electricity array 96 is positioned that also extends across the entire dimension of the wafer 24 . As the wafer is withdrawn toward the ingress/egress port 92 , the surface is dried by the inert drying gas nozzle array and further heated by the pre/post heater 93 to a temperature that will prohibit condensation on the clean surface as it is withdrawn from the enclosure 11 by the robot arm 91 . Positioned adjacent the cleaning nozzle array 94 is a scavenging intake 97 that operates to remove particulates cleaned from the surface of the wafer 94 as well as particulates generated within the enclosure 11 . Scavenging intake is connected to an exhaust 98 , which carries the contaminants from within the enclosure to the ambient environment. Pressure within the enclosure 11 preferably is maintained slightly higher than ambient pressure to prevent contaminants from entering the enclosure through the ingress/egress port 92 . Further, as in the description of the embodiment of FIG. 1, the scavenging line 12 is provided to withdraw the enclosed atmosphere and deliver it to the cleaning filter 13 to further reduce contaminants within the enclosure. With regard to an exemplary preferred method in accordance with the present invention, there preferably exist certain pre-cleaning fabrication steps for the article having a surface to be cleaned followed by the step of cleaning the surface, and culminating in post-cleaning fabrication steps for the article having a surface to be cleaned. The block diagram of FIG. 6 depicts these steps. Details of a preferred surface cleaning process of FIG. 6 are found in the block diagram of FIG. 7 . FIG. 7 illustrates the pre-cleaning fabrication steps of FIG. 6 followed by mounting the article having a surface to be cleaned on an article transport. In one embodiment of the cleaning process the article is transported to a cleaning position and the shape of the spray is configured to assume a fan shape. The spray nozzle in then oriented to cause the spray to impinge the surface to be cleaned at an angle to the lateral dimension of the surface as it passes the spray. This angle is called a compound angle. The nozzle is then aimed at the surface to be cleaned to form an obtuse angle with the surface relative to the approaching portion of the surface to be cleaned. Subsequently, the nozzle is oscillated so that the spray functions as a pulsing spray as the forward motion of the nozzle is added to the velocity of the cleaning spray during one portion of the oscillation cycle and is subtracted from the velocity of the cleaning spray during the subsequent portion of the oscillation cycle. Moreover, the orientation of the nozzle aperture and the fan-shaped spray about the nozzle axis preferably provides a “snow plow” effect facilitating cleaning as previously described. Subsequent to the cleaning by the oscillating fan-shaped spray the article preferably is moved onto the post-cleaning fabrication steps as illustrated in FIG. 7 . In another aspect of the cleaning process of the present invention a cryogenic cleaning medium is used. As mentioned hereinbefore an inert gas such as argon or CO 2 is in substantially solid or “snow” form as it is emitted from the nozzle so that sublimation of the gas occurs at the surface to be cleaned. In this process the surface to be cleaned preferably is preheated to a temperature such that the surface to be cleaned will remain at a temperature above ambient during the impingement of the cryogenic spray on the surface. The spray preferably is shaped into a fan shape and the spray nozzle aperture preferably is oriented about the nozzle access to provide impingement of the fan spray on the surface to be cleaned at an angle to the lateral dimension of the surface (the compound angle). The spray nozzle preferably is then aimed at the surface at an obtuse angle relative to the surface portion approaching the cleaning spray and the nozzle preferably is oscillated in a cyclic pattern having a pre-determined amplitude and frequency. The nozzle preferably oscillates in a substantially circular pattern in a plane including the nozzle axis so that the spray pattern is lateral and linear on the surface. Moreover, due to the orientation of the nozzle rotationally about the nozzle axis, the spray impinges the surface at the compound angle and performs a “snow plow” function. This function is believed to tend to push contaminants to one side of the surface to be cleaned. Following exposure to the oscillation cleaning spray, the surface preferably is post-heated to a temperature above ambient temperature to prevent condensation and recontamination of the surface and also to remove static charge. It should be noted that the step of shaping the spray preferably reside in both embodiments of the process described in conjunction with FIG. 7 and includes expanding the width of the cleaning spray to cover the lateral dimension of the surface to be cleaned. As a result, the cleaning of the surface may be obtained in a single pass of the surface to be cleaned past the spray. Subsequently the post-heated article surface is passed to the post-cleaning fabrication steps as seen in FIG. 7 . As previously explained, preferred embodiments of the present invention are directed to the combination of plasma processing (such as removal or ashing of a photoresist-type layer) that provides a chemical mechanism, followed by a cryogenic cleaning processing that preferably provides a physical removal-type mechanism. While oscillatory or vibratory-type cryogenic cleaning is believed to provide more optimum results in certain embodiments, the present invention as set forth herein is expressly not limited to the use of oscillatory or vibratory type cryogenic cleaning, and certain embodiments of the present invention utilize cryogenic cleaning that is not oscillatory or vibratory. Accordingly, the foregoing description from the Referenced Applications is provided as background and for providing a description of an exemplary oscillatory assembly used only in certain embodiments of the present invention. Turning now to FIGS. 8A and 8B, exemplary preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described. Referring to FIG. 8A, gas source 104 provides a source of reactant gas, which in preferred embodiments may consist of, for example, gases selected from the group consisting of oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, fluorine, hydrofluorocarbon or a mixture of such gases, representative examples being O2, N2, H2, CF4 and NF3, etc. The reactant gas(es) preferably is/are provided through compressed cylinder(s) such as is illustrated by gas source 104 (hereinafter, the reactant gas or gases or referred to simply as the “reactant gas”). In preferred embodiments, the reactant gas is supplied via mass flow controller(s) 105 (which serve to control the flow of the reactant gas) and pipe 102 to plasma applicator 103 , which in preferred embodiments consists of a microwave discharge apparatus, which includes or is coupled to microwave source 103 A. Microwave source 103 A and plasma applicator/microwave discharge 103 create free radicals from the reactant gas, which may then be supplied to vacuum processing chamber 101 . The reactant gas free radicals preferably are introduced into processing chamber 101 via a gas distribution system or implement, which in FIG. 8A is illustrated as showerhead 108 , such that the activated reactant gas/free radicals are presented to, and may react with, material of the article being processed (indicated as wafer 109 in FIG. 8A, which has been introduced into processing chamber 101 as illustrated). In preferred embodiments, heated wafer holder 110 is provided over heating implement 111 , which optionally provides heat preferably via an electric heating element from the back side of wafer 109 , in a manner as is known in the art. As will be appreciated, heating implement 111 may be controlled to provide the proper and optimum temperature for the particular process. Pressure within processing chamber 101 is controlled in part via exhaust pump 106 , which is in flow communication with processing chamber 101 via exhaust pipe 107 . It also should be noted that RF source 101 A is optionally provided as illustrated. In such embodiments, wafer holder 110 preferably serves as a first electrode, and a second electrode is provided, which may consist of the housing of processing chamber 101 or showerhead 108 as illustrated in FIG. 8 A. In accordance with certain embodiments of the present invention, RF source 101 A provides RF energy that creates an RF plasma that produces radicals and ions from the reactant gas that are provided to wafer 109 , such as for ashing or removing a photoresist-type layer on wafer 109 . In certain embodiments, only an RF plasma is utilized (and thus the remote plasma discharge 103 is not provided or operative), while in other embodiments only the radicals produced by remote plasma discharge 103 are utilized (and thus RF source and/or the first and second electrodes are not provided or are not operative), while in yet other embodiments both the RF plasma and the radicals produced by remote plasma discharge 103 are utilized. It should be understood that the RF plasma and electrodes may be biased and controlled such that what is known as an RIE process may be carried out, although the present invention is not limited thereto. What is important is that one or more plasma/free radical sources are provided to deliver the reactant gas species to the surface of wafer 109 such that the photoresist or similar layer thereon may be attacked chemically (which may have a physical component as well, in the case of an RIE process) so as to ash or remove the photoresist layer. An exemplary disclosure of such an apparatus having a microwave discharge implement and an RF/RIE plasma is U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,831, which is hereby incorporated by reference for background purposes. In conventional approaches, a de-ionized water or solvent process is provided after plasma treatment in order to remove residue resulting from the plasma process. The necessity of such a DI water and/or solvent cleaning has been determined to be detrimental to optimum processing, and in accordance with embodiments of the present invention a cryogenic cleaning process is performed as part of, or subsequent to, the plasma process. As illustrated in FIG. 8A, nozzle/nozzle assembly 112 is provided with a transport mechanism that moves nozzle/nozzle assembly 112 relative to wafer 109 in a manner such that the cryogenic cleaning medium (preferably consisting of or including carbon dioxide) impinges on and over the surface of wafer 109 . The use of the cryogenic cleaning process, in combination with the remotely-generated and/or RF generated plasma, has been determined to provide more optimum removal of photoresist-type layers. In accordance with certain preferred embodiments, an oscillatory or vibratory discharge of the cryogenic cleaning medium is provided in order to provide more optimum cleaning. While the Referenced Applications described exemplary ways of implementing such an oscillatory or vibratory mechanism, the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8A illustrates another exemplary mechanism. As illustrated in FIG. 8A, an oscillatory/vibratory nozzle cleaning system, preferably dispensing cryogenic, solvent or solvent combination cleaning medium(s) to assist the plasma cleaning and photoresist stripping/removal process. The oscillatory/vibratory nozzle cleaning and plasma processes can be performed sequentially or simultaneously, as will be described in greater detail hereinafter. In the illustrated embodiment, the oscillatory/vibratory nozzle cleaning system includes vibration actuators 115 , which are attached to nozzle manifold 113 to induce the oscillation or vibration. The oscillatory/vibrator nozzle cleaning system preferably is mounted on vibration isolators 116 to prevent vibration of posts 114 . Posts 114 (preferably two) are mounted on linear slide assembly 117 to allow nozzle/nozzle assembly to “sweep” wafer 109 with the cryogenic cleaning medium. Nozzle manifold 113 preferably utilizes a pressurized plenum to ensure uniform flow through nozzle/nozzle assembly 112 . It should be noted that the oscillatory/vibratory nozzle system of FIG. 8A is exemplary; what is important is that the process chamber include plasma treatment capability such as has been described, and also a preferably integral type of cryogenic cleaning medium assembly that can movably or otherwise provide the cryogenic cleaning medium on and over the surface of wafer 109 . In operation, wafer 109 is introduced into processing chamber 101 ; in an illustrated embodiment, wafer 109 includes a photoresist or similar-type layer that needs to be removed. Plasma/free radicals are generated via the reactant gas (either via plasma applicator/microwave discharge 103 and/or an RF plasma, etc.), which preferably chemically attack and remove the material of the photoresist layer. In the case of reactant gas that is free radicalized via plasma applicator/microwave discharge 103 , free radicals and ions are generated from the reactant gas, although it is believed (without being bound by theory) that the concentration of ions that are introduced into processing chamber 101 is low due to the relatively high operating pressure that may be utilized. Either subsequent to or interspersed with plasma processing steps, one or more cryogenic cleaning steps are performed, which serve to remove (preferably with a mechanical type action) residues and contaminants that are present after the plasma/free radical treatment. Without being bound by theory, it also is believed that plasma treatment subsequent to a cryogenic cleaning step helps remove residue that exists after the cryogenic cleaning step, and that the cryogenic cleaning subsequent to a plasma/free radical treatment helps remove residue that exists after the plasma treatment. In combination, it has been determined that such combined processing produces a more optimum photoresist-type layer removal process, which may eliminate or substantially reduce the need for a DI water or solvent rinse process. FIG. 8B illustrates another view of the embodiment described in connection with FIG. 8A (although for simplicity, for example, RF source 101 A has not been shown in FIG. 8 B). FIG. 8B illustrates an embodiment of nozzle/nozzle assembly in flow communication with nozzle manifold 113 , and preferably positioned on vibration actuators 115 and vibration isolators 116 , which in turn are positioned on posts 114 , the assemblage of which is movable via, for example, linear slide assembly 117 . Other aspects of FIG. 8B discussed in conjunction with FIG. 8A will not be further discussed. In addition, FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate a nozzle assembly, another exemplary preferred embodiment of which is illustrated in FIG. 11 A. As illustrated in FIG. 11A, cryogenic medium inlet 117 is provided, which is in flow communication with pressure plenum 116 . A perforated plate or surface 118 is provided in flow communication with pressure plenum 116 , such as is illustrated. As part of, or coupled to, perforated plate or surface 118 , but in any event in flow communication therewith, are preferably axi-symmetric nozzles 119 . Nozzles 119 may be holes of a tapered or conical shape (or other shape to provide the desired nozzle characteristics) formed in a relatively thick plate (thick enough to accommodate the desired nozzle shape and provide the necessary mechanical strength, etc.). Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 11B, perforated or slotted plate 118 A may be provided, with planar nozzle system 118 B provided. As illustrated, planar nozzle system 118 B may consist of two inclined planes coupled to form a slotted or planar nozzle. Again, as will be appreciated, such a planar nozzle assembly will have internal shapes and an exit orifice or orifices in order to distribute the cryogenic cleaning medium in a desired manner, etc. FIG. 9 illustrates an alternative embodiment in which nozzle/nozzle assembly 112 is stationary, and wafer 109 moves relative to nozzle/nozzle assembly 112 . In such an embodiment, wafer holder 110 consists of, or is on, a movement mechanism such as a linear slide assembly such that after plasma processing, wafer 109 is moved relative to nozzle/nozzle assembly 112 such that the cryogenic cleaning medium is presented to the surface of wafer 109 such as has been previously described. Also as previously described, the cryogenic cleaning medium may be delivered in an oscillatory or vibratory manner (although this is not required in all embodiments), which may be via a mechanism such described in connection with FIGS. 8A and 8B, or which may be via the oscillatory mechanisms as described in the Referenced Applications (and described above). Other aspects of the embodiment of FIG. 9 that are in common with the embodiments of FIGS. 8A and 8B, including the use of an RF source to generate an RF/RIE type plasma treatment, which will not be further described for purposes of convenience. FIG. 10 illustrates a further alternative embodiment, wherein showerhead 108 includes inlet 115 for purposes of introducing the cryogenic cleaning medium (e.g., carbon dioxide). In such embodiments, showerhead 108 provides for delivery of free radicals generated from the reactant gas to the surface of wafer 109 , while also providing for delivery of the cryogenic cleaning medium to the surface of wafer 109 . In an illustrative operation of such an embodiment, a plasma/free radical treatment may be provided (which may be accompanied or substituted by an RF/RIE plasma treatment, such as previously described), which may involve showerhead 108 distributing free radicals generated from the reactant gas at a first point in time (plasma treatment phase), and distributing the cryogenic cleaning medium at a second point in time (cryogenic cleaning phase) (the distribution of free radicals and/or cryogenic cleaning medium is illustrated in FIG. 10 by spray pattern 113 ). In certain embodiments, a single set of distribution holes are provided in showerhead 108 , with the reactant gas flow and the cryogenic cleaning medium flow alternatively turned on and off. As illustrated in FIG. 12, however, showerhead 120 may be provided, which includes separate distribution holes for the plasma/free radicals (holes 122 ) and cryogenic cleaning nozzles (holes 121 ). In such embodiments, holes 122 have a size and shape for the more optimum delivery of plasma/free radicals, while holes 121 have a size and shape for the more optimum delivery of the cryogenic cleaning medium. In one exemplary embodiment, the size of holes 122 is greater than the size of holes 121 , and preferably hole 121 are formed to provide a nozzle effect for the dispersal and distribution of the cryogenic cleaning medium, etc. As the characteristics of the medium passing through the holes, and the more optimum delivery conditions from the holes, are quite distinct, having first and second holes of differing sizes and shapes and flow characteristics has been determined to provide more optimum results in such embodiments. FIG. 13 illustrates a general process flow in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention. As previously described, an article, wafer, substrate, etc. having a layer to be removed (e.g., a photoresist-type layer) is introduced into the processing chamber. This generally is illustrated by start step 125 . At step 126 , a plasma treatment step is provided, such as previously described. This may consist of plasma/free radicals remotely generated such as previously described, and/or an RF or RIE type plasma treatment, also such as previously described. At step 127 , a cryogenic cleaning (e.g., carbon dioxide) process is performed, such as previously described. This may be a two step, two phase process, where a single plasma phase/step 126 is performed, and then a single cryogenic cleaning phase/step 127 is performed, with the flow then stopping as illustrated by end step 131 . In alternate embodiments, however, as indicated by flow path 130 , a plasma treatment phase/step is provided followed by a cryogenic cleaning phase/step, with the plasma treatment-cryogenic cleaning steps repeated a plurality of times. In such embodiments, and without being bound by theory, it is believed that the plasma treatment phase provides a primarily chemical means for removal of the target material, while the cryogenic cleaning phase removes residues and materials present after the plasma treatment phase, and with a subsequent plasma treatment phase helping remove residue and materials present after the cryogenic cleaning phase. While not illustrated in FIG. 13, in certain such embodiments, the process begins and ends with a plasma treatment phase. Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific preferred and other embodiments, it is evident that many substitutions, alternatives and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, the invention is intended to embrace all of the alternatives and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, it should be understood that, in accordance with the various alternative embodiments described herein, various systems, and uses and methods based on such systems, may be obtained. The various refinements and alternative and additional features also described may be combined to provide additional advantageous combinations and the like in accordance with the present invention. Also as will be understood by those skilled in the art based on the foregoing description, various aspects of the preferred embodiments may be used in various subcombinations to achieve at least certain of the benefits and attributes described herein, and such subcombinations also are within the scope of the present invention. All such refinements, enhancements and further uses of the present invention are within the scope of the present invention.

A plasma assisted cryogenic cleaner for and a method of performing cleaning of a surface that must be substantially free of contaminants has a resiliently mounted nozzle for spraying a cryogenic cleaning medium on the surface. The cleaning is conducted by applying to the substrate surface a mixture of gases selected from the group consisting of oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, fluorine, hydrofluorocarbon or a mixture of such gases to both remove the photoresist layer and alter the composition of the residues such that the residues are soluble in water and/or have a weakened bonds that they can be removed with a stream of cryogenic medium. The cryogenic and plasma processes can be performed sequentially or simultaneously. In certain embodiments, the cryogenic cleaning medium nozzle is driven in an oscillatory or vibratory manner so the nozzle spray is delivered in a manner to provide pulsing of the spray and to provide as “snow plow” effect on contaminants as the spray delivers the cleaning medium against the surface. The surface may be transported past the nozzle, and the cleaning may occur in an enclosed controlled environment.

RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of patent application Ser. No. 09/760,148, filed Jan. 12, 2001, which claims benefit of Provisional Patent Application No. 60/176,329, filed Jan. 14, 2000. COPYRIGHT NOTICE [0002] ©2004 Thinkstream, Inc. A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 37 CFR § 1.71(d). TECHNICAL FIELD [0003] This invention relates to systems and techniques for gathering and searching for information available at sites of a globally accessible information network such as the Internet and, in particular, to a distributed search architecture that facilitates real-time access to information residing on any number of distributed servers throughout the network and synthesizes the information for seamless access to specific information sought by a user. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004] Although it has exhibited explosive growth and extensively impacted the worlds of information and commerce, the globally accessible computer network known as the Internet has effectively become an unstructured victim of itself. Internet information usage has largely lost its utility because traditional search engines can neither access the vast available information pool nor qualify it adequately. The best present search engine can keep track of and access only a small fraction of Internet World Wide Web pages (i.e., about one billion of 550 billion available documents). The accessible sites are categorized in rudimentary fashion using key words rather than intelligent assessment of content. A current common result of searches for information, even limited to the small fraction of the available information, is thousands, and often millions, of irrelevant responses. [0005] Information collection and distribution on the Internet take place as follows. A conventional Internet search engine uses software (called “spiders”) that roams the Web to gather information, which is distilled, indexed, and cataloged in a central database. An Internet search conducted by a Web user of that search engine produces results that come from the database, not from the Internet itself. The results produced are references to Internet addresses, thereby requiring the Web user to open multiple sites in search of the information. [0006] Current search engines do not include an ability to mass-search all sites and retrieve and organize the search results by content; therefore, searches are applied to all accessible information, irrespective of whether it is relevant. The result is a largely ineffective search engine effort and non-responsive returns on search queries. Examples of such traditional search engines include Northern Light™, Snap™, Alta Vista™, HotBot™, Microsoft™, Infoseek™, Google™, Yahoo™, Excite™, Lycos™, and Euroseek™. [0007] The conventional search technology is, therefore, based on a model in which the indexes, references, and actual data (in the case of commerce networks) are centralized. All queries take place at central sites, and the data distributed are not updated in real time (and are typically stale) and usually require reformatting. The Internet is at best a frustrating search environment because the data reside in multiple formats and in a distributed world. [0008] For applications in commerce, the existing Internet architecture can accommodate only a small fraction of the business participation that would otherwise be available to produce consumer benefits arising from competition. The Internet as a consequence effectively serves only the large dominant players, while effectively excluding everyone else. Part of the e-commerce perception is that virtually anything can be purchased over the Internet. While the perception is accurate, it ignores the fact that bias in the current system locks out a much greater part of the marketplace than it serves. Business to business commercial utilization of the Internet consists largely of e-mail communications. [0009] For applications in delivery of services, particularly as various governmental entities have attempted to use the Internet, the lack of sensible structure is especially notable. These situations do not exist through the fault or incompetence of users but again stem from an inherent and systemic limitation of the “centralized” Internet. [0010] The efforts of traditional search sites to retain and attract more consumer attention and thereby generate more advertising revenue have caused the attempt to centralize all online information to rise to the point of conflict. As stated above, the growth in the volume and the diversity of Internet content now lead to searches generating thousands of pages of results that encompass only a fraction of the overall body of relevant information. The market needs access to additional organizational structures, but the current system makes these requirements impossible to meet. Traditional search sites are designed and predicted to lead to further centralization, which will exacerbate the information accessibility problem. [0011] Conventional wisdom has been that speed can offset the growth of Internet information. The industry emphasis has been on hardware improvements rather than next generation software. Five years ago, a state of the art personal computer used a 166 MHZ microprocessor chip. Currently, 800 MHZ microprocessor chips are standard, and 1,000 MHZ microprocessor chips are expected to be available soon. Ironically, while currently available machines can search for information much more quickly, they also create information at a rate consistent with their speed. They are in effect helping the problem keep pace with the solution. Insofar as emphasis has been placed on software, it has been to improve applications within the current architecture or to offer and market e-commerce alternatives within the current architecture. As a consequence, all such efforts are impeded before they begin. [0012] Because of the sheer size of the Internet and the spiders operate from a central location, the spiders can cover only a small fraction of the entire Internet. The resulting database of search results is inherently limited not only in size but also in freshness. The required tradeoffs are self-defeating. Making the database broader and deeper would require excessive “roaming” time so that the information would become stale. Keeping the information fresh would require searching a smaller fraction of the available Internet documents, thereby making the results less comprehensive. [0013] Total information is now growing at an exponential rate. Most of the new information winds up in the inaccessible category. There is no assurance that updated information will “bump” outdated information from the accessible information pool. The average age of newly returned World Wide Web links is 186 days. The milieu is frequently one of old information, insufficient information, disorganized information and, in short, unmanageable information. There is a pressing need, therefore, to fold the existing Internet into a new world of efficient organization that will competently manage future generations of growth. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0014] The present invention is a distributed information network that is constructed for gathering information from sites distributed across a globally accessible computer network, i.e., the Internet. These distributed sites are equipped to host and maintain their own information, while other associated technology enables inclusion of individual sites in mass Internet searches. [0015] A preferred embodiment of the distributed information network includes a root server that stores a list of multiple distributed sites each of which represented by metadata corresponding to directly or indirectly available information content. Metadata are extended properties of a data object, which could be, for example, a single file, an object in a database, an e-mail message, a piece of memory, or a description of information content on a site. Metadata may be so simple as to represent a file name or size or so complex as to represent file author or database schema information. A user's network browser delivers an information search request to the root server, which in response develops a profiled information search request. Each one of multiple distributed sites is implemented with an information provider that is remotely located from the root server. The information provider of each of the distributed sites stores metadata corresponding to information content that is retrievable in response to the profiled information search request for search results derivable from the information content to which the metadata correspond. A profiled information communication link between the root server and each of the multiple distribution sites enables formation of a path for delivery of the search results to a destination site, such as the network browser, from a site or sites represented by the metadata of the profiled information search request. [0016] The above-described preferred embodiment of a distributed information network provides an Internet search engine that advantageously uses the inherent strengths of the Internet—a distributed architecture. When a search request is initiated, the search engine queries multiple sites simultaneously and looks for the information, in whatever data format it resides, finds the information, and then returns the actual document to the user. A multithreaded-enabled client web browser sends simultaneous queries to distributed servers, thereby removing the bottleneck of a centralized server or searching body. The client web browser also manages the download of information from the server and, therefore, enables it to handle a dramatically greater number of clients than that handled by traditional present-day models. This distributed search application addresses the fundamental deficiencies in current Internet coverage: poor access, stale data stores, irrelevant information, and unstructured repositories of underutilized information. [0017] The search architecture of the invention includes the ability to conduct a decentralized search of live data (structured or unstructured), search on specific parameters (price, brand, availability, reviews, and other such parameters), and present search results in clean, organized form on one display screen. The search architecture in effect moves the query to the location of the information. A user can continuously apply filters to search results and focus in on the specific product or information for what the user is looking. [0018] Advantages of the distributed search architecture include conformance to industry standards; vertical and horizontal scalability, without requirements for additional hardware or degradation of performance; use of available bandwidth of the Internet instead of the available bandwidth of any one central search engine, thereby eliminating possible bottlenecks inherent with any centralized solution; delivery of accurate, current information; requirement of lower infrastructure resources (servers, electronic storage, and bandwidth) as a consequence of queries being distributed throughout the network; no performance degradation in relation to the number of sites searched and no limitations imposed on the number of sites searched; no effect of down sites on search results; and client management of all data sorting, filtering, and comparisons, thereby eliminating redundant network traffic and data processing currently required by present day architectures. [0019] The use of distributed sites represents a fundamental change from the present central mass storage method and opens the doors to the remaining large fraction of stored but inaccessible information with the current architecture. The result is a creation of vast areas of new opportunities within e-commerce and corporate information sharing through information portals. Such new opportunities include applications in music and movie distribution, software application distribution, instant messaging, collaboration, auctions, individual commerce, parallel searches, and e-mail. This changeover allows more sophisticated business to business (B2B) and consumer e-commerce interaction. [0020] The present invention provides an opportunity to establish new standards and methods for gathering information from distributed sites across the Internet. The invention is adapted to keep pace with current World Wide Web growth and has applicability to virtually every merchant, corporation, and consumer. The distributed sites are able to host and maintain their own information while the invention allows the individual sites to be included in mass Internet searches. The invention is implemented as a single distributed architecture, with its own intelligent search engine, to manage digital information and uses software for the Internet and its content management to achieve responsive results from Internet searches. [0021] The distributed architecture can be analogously described, conceptually, as being similar to telephone area codes or postal service zip codes. The difference is that coding is content specific rather than geography specific. The distributed information network architecture can search existing sites, including the 84% currently inaccessible sites, intelligently categorize them according to content, and codify them as required with single or multiple codes for future intelligent retrieval. Future sites can be readily integrated as they come online to be immediately available, thus ending the present 186-day lag. If desired, commerce users can download e-commerce web site software that permits custom presentation of the full inventory of products offered. A customer shopping for a particular product can across multiple vendor sites immediately compare, for example, vendor prices, warranties, return policies, and shipping costs. [0022] The distributed search network and technology has applicability to e-commerce and serves to eliminate bias, thereby resulting in “Main Street” and individual commerce being served as well as the electronic superstores that currently dominate product offering and services. Main Street and individual sellers have little chance to create visibility within the confines of the current marketplace because search results are marketed and there is no provision for actual “live” product comparisons. The invention presents a substantial opportunity for search results leading to an actual product, rather than a web site, and thereby offers solutions that eliminate bias and lead to a level playing field where sellers can be assured their sites and products are included. [0023] The invention permits sellers and corporations to direct control over the timing and context of their own information and facilitate a trend of “de-centralization” as a natural evolutionary step for the Internet. The search engine also functions within an information portal that will allow efficient B2B cooperation. For instance, component vendors no longer require direct system links with OEMs to ensure timely and adequate supply. The invention allows immediate selection of category, product line, and brand name. All vendors enrolled in the architecture are represented for comparison. The invention makes possible substantial vertical markets to exist for its solutions where private networks of searchable and structured information can be used to create supply and procurement systems and information research networks. [0024] Additional aspects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0025] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of a distributed application network configured in accordance with the present invention. [0026] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing in greater detail the internal structure of the root server shown in FIG. 1 . [0027] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a level one site server, showing the program flow when a distributed query is performed in the distributed application network of FIG. 1 . [0028] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a level two site node server that has no sites registered with the site provider and has no child server. [0029] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a site server on which coexist several different providers for a wide variety of information sources. [0030] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a site servers parser manager and its parsers for a file accessor and its data stores for use in supporting an explanation of a method of accessing and parsing data in accordance with the invention. [0031] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing in greater detail the structure and organization of certain component blocks of FIG. 6 . [0032] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a distributed information network composed of an e-commerce network, a business to business network, a business to business supply side network, and an information network implemented with public and private servers. [0033] FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing in greater detail the internal structure of an information application egg group of the distributed information network of FIG. 8 . [0034] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of a session authentication and security process for peer to peer network communications in accordance with the invention. [0035] FIG. 11 is a flow diagram outlining the steps of a process for providing file sharing security in a distributed environment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0036] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of a distributed application network 10 configured in accordance with the invention and showing information flow paths in response to a particular end user request. An application network is a collection of servers that participate in a particular application of the distributed information network of the invention. Examples of an application network include an e-commerce network, an information portal, or a peer to peer (P2P) network. Network 10 is a hierarchical system of distributed servers that store network content and communicate with other servers in the network. The hierarchical system is one in which a server can have any number of child servers, each of which can have any number of its own child servers, with an unlimited number of successive levels of dependent servers possible. This structure helps distribute the storage of content and the processing load on the network. FIGS. 2-4 show in greater detail the internal structures of, respectively, root, site, and site node servers represented as system component blocks in FIG. 1 . FIGS. 1-4 support the following explanatory overview of the core technology implemented in a distributed Internet architecture operating in response to a typical search for content by a user. [0037] With reference to FIG. 1 , network 10 includes an operating system client, which is typically a web browser or client applet 12 that is stored in an end user's computer. The client applet is client-side software that is preferably written in JAVA language code (but could be written in any other software development language) and allows any computer to participate in the network. Client applet 12 is the software interface between the user and the application network. A root server 14 located remotely from the user's computer is implemented with a root profiler that stores a list of multiple sites distributed across a global computer network, such as the Internet. Root server 14 is the single “ancestor” of all servers and child servers and is the main point of entry for client applet 12 . Root server 14 has three children, site servers 16 , 18 , and 20 representing level one servers of Company A, Company B, and Company C, respectively. Site servers 16 , 18 , and 20 represent examples of information sources listed in the root profiler of root server 14 and qualified in response to a user's specific request. Skilled persons will appreciate that there are many different candidate information sources, such as, for example, state and other government networks, corporate data, commercial and educational information web sites, e-commerce web sites and individual desktop personal computers (PCS). [0038] Each of site servers 16 , 18 , and 20 is implemented with an information provider that stores retrievable metadata, which is kept current by and under control of the company with which the site server is associated. Metadata are information about the locally resident content stored on each site server and the content on any child servers a site server might have. There are two basic types of metadata, which are topic data and site-profile data. A topic is a unit of content served up by an application network. The topic database at a site server stores information about the type of information stored at the site and its child sites. (In FIGS. 2 and 3 , the topic databases are labeled, respectively, “Topic Database” at root server 14 and “Content Type” databases at site server 16 .) The site-profile database stores information about which ones of the servers, including itself and its children, store what types of topics. Site servers 16 , 18 , and 20 provide, therefore, a set of metadatabases, which are databases of information about the information that is stored and exchanged on network 10 and which are databases that keep track of where particular types of information are stored on network 10 . The root profiler identifies site servers 16 , 18 , and 20 by content-specific codes that represent topic profiles indicative of the information content site servers 16 , 18 , and 20 contain. Site server 16 of Company A is associated with a level two server, Site A node server 22 . Site server 20 of Company C is associated with two level-two servers, Site C node server 24 and Site C child server 26 . Site C child server 26 is associated with two level-three servers, Site C 2 node server 28 and Site C 2 node server 30 . [0039] FIG. 1 illustrates the operation of network 10 when a user causes web browser 12 to request from root server 14 the identification of qualified servers relating to a specific topic. Root server 14 sends the request to site servers 16 , 18 , and 20 , all of which root server. 14 identified as qualified in response to the topic the user requested. (The arrow-tipped broken lines drawn between root server 14 and each of site servers 16 , 18 , and 20 represent pathways for updating metadata about sites on the network and relationship activity (e.g., transaction tracking and reporting) that links them and does not indicate search pathways.) [0040] Network 10 processes a user topic query request as follows. A network user browses a web page on root server 14 . If it is not already installed on the user's personal computer, the client applet is downloaded and installed (with the user's permission). Client applet 12 downloads a current topic database 48 from root server 14 , displaying the topic structure typically as a hierarchical tree of categories. Client applet 12 then allows the user to navigate the category tree until the user finds the category of topics of interest. As soon as the user navigates to a category level that is of sufficient specificity to be associated with particular site servers, client applet 12 sends either an automatic or user-commanded query to root server 14 . When client applet 12 indicates a search, the query request is sent to root server 14 for a list of site servers that qualify. Root server 14 returns to client applet 12 a packet of information containing a list of all qualified site servers on application network 10 that have the type of content requested. Site servers 16 , 18 , and 20 represent the site servers appearing on the list in the example illustrated in FIG. 1 . As the user navigates down the tree toward the topic level, client applet 12 uses the available metadata to display an attribute selector. This lets the user select specified attributes, features, characteristics, specifications, and other aspects of the topic that enable the user to narrow the focus of the search. When the topic query is sufficiently specific, the user executes it. The user's client applet 12 in this example compiles a list of site servers 16 , 18 , and 20 , performs a topic query on each of them, and awaits the results site servers 16 , 18 , and 20 produce. Processing of the topic query request entails directing it to all three of the level one site servers 16 , 18 , and 20 . Site servers 16 and 20 then pass the topic query request to the three level-two servers 22 , 24 , and 26 . Site C child server 26 further passes the topic query request to Site C 2 node servers 28 and 30 . This process takes place while bypassing any servers that do not have the pertinent content. The results obtained are directed back, again while bypassing all other servers, to client applet 12 for display to the user. The user can then review the search results and click through to any of the linked content sources. Administration application software 32 ( FIGS. 2 and 3 ) communicates with root server 14 to keep track of the number and types of topic search requests processed, as well as update the metadatabases on the site servers. [0041] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing in greater detail the internal structure of root server 14 . FIG. 2 shows the program flow when a site server list is compiled in root server 14 and delivered to client applet 12 in response to a topic query request made by a user. With reference to FIG. 2 , the topic query request initiated by client applet 12 passes through the World Wide Web to a web server 50 on which web pages associated with root server 14 are stored. (Web server 50 may be physically separate from or a part of root server 14 .) Web server 50 passes the topic query request to root server 14 , which uses its information providers to query its database for all servers that match the request type. Root server 14 is implemented with a query parser interface 52 that includes a site provider 54 and a core provider 56 to interpret the topic query request. Each of site provider 54 and core provider 56 is preferably a JAVA language-based program that runs on root server 14 . The site provider 54 and core provider 56 components of query parser interface 52 consult the local metadatabases to determine which site servers lead to the specific type of topics content requested. This entails identifying site servers that themselves have the right topics or are associated with descendant servers that have the right topics. Site provider 54 identifies site servers corresponding to the content-specific codes representing the topic profiles, and core provider 56 identifies properties of the topics. Query parser interface 52 accesses and retrieves information from topic database 48 and a site profile database 60 to assemble the packet of information containing the list of qualified site servers to search. The packet of information represents a profiled information search request generated by root server 14 . An administrative interface module 62 contains software for maintaining the databases and reporting on the frequency of access to them. [0042] An example of a topic query request would be the identification of sellers of VCRs of a particular type. Site provider 54 retrieves from site profile database 60 the identities of site servers of companies that sell VCRs. Core provider 56 retrieves from topic database 48 the properties (e.g., cost of purchase, compact disk compatibility, and stereophonic sound capability) of the specified type of VCR. Root server 14 returns the assembled packet of information to the user by way of web server 50 . The topic query request is then distributed through client applet 12 to the level one servers of the sites identified. [0043] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of level one site server 16 , showing the program flow when a topic query requested is performed. (Although site server 16 has only node server 22 , FIG. 3 shows in phantom lines two child site servers of greater hierarchical level to demonstrate network scalability.) With reference to FIG. 3 , site server 16 receives from client applet 12 a topic query request made by a user and profiled by root server 14 . Site server 16 is implemented with a query parser interface 78 and processes the topic query request by determining whether site server 16 itself or an associated child node site server can support the topic query. Query parser interface 78 includes a site provider 82 , a content Type A provider 82 , a content Type B provider 84 , and a content Type C provider 86 , all of which represent different ways of collecting content information by bridging a topic query request and a database. For example, content Types A, B, and C may represent, respectively, e-commerce information, data, and site content (HTML). [0044] Site provider 80 , e-com provider 82 , data provider 84 , and HTML provider 86 access and retrieve content information from, respectively, a child site database 90 , a content Type A (an e-com) database 92 , a content Type B (data) database 94 , and a content Type C (site content (HTML)) database 96 . Each child node site server returns its search results to server 16 , as is described below with reference to FIG. 4 . The information providers of query parser interface 78 and the search results received from any child node sites are the sources from which site server 16 builds a site list that returns the complete search results to client applet 12 . [0045] When the content at any server changes, a site administrator uses administration application software 32 ( FIGS. 2 and 3 ) to update the metadatabases on the site server. Those updates are automatically sent to all associated parent servers of greater hierarchical levels. An administration interface of each server (administrative interface 98 of server 16 ) at each level (and administrative interface 62 of root server 14 ) updates the local metadatabases. Each server along a lineage always has a current picture of the content available locally and through its child sites. Root server 14 hosts, therefore, complete and current metadatabases of what kind of information is stored on network 10 (in topic database 48 ) and the first step on the path to where the information is stored on network 10 (in site profile database 60 ). [0046] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a level two Site A node server 22 , which has no site registered with its site provider 100 and has no child server. With reference to FIG. 4 , a content Type A (e-com) provider 102 , content Type B (data) provider 104 , and content Type C (HTML) provider 106 residing in query parser interface 108 of Site Angle server 22 provide qualified topics to be searched in a content Type A (an e-com) database 110 and a content Type B (site) content database 112 . The results obtained from searches of databases 100 and 102 are returned to parent site server 16 for delivery to client applet 12 . An administrative interface 114 updates the local metadatabases. [0047] Site server 16 , together with Site A node server 22 ; site server 20 , together with Site C node server 24 ; and site server 20 , together with Site C child server 26 and site C 2 node 30 , each form a local information network in accordance with the invention. [0048] Site server 16 can be implemented with a local root profiler, which as indicated in FIG. 1 , includes Site A node server 22 in its list of distributed local sites. Site A node server 22 is also expandable to accommodate its own local root profiler but in the example depicted in FIGS. 1 and 4 provides only local metadata in response to a local profiled information search request accompanied by an information content-specific local code corresponding to the information content of the local metadata. [0049] Site server 20 can be implemented with a local root profiler, which as indicated in FIG. 1 , includes Site C node server 24 and Site C child server 26 in its list of distributed local sites. Similarly, Site C child server 26 can be implemented with its own local root provider, which as indicated in FIG. 1 , includes Site C 2 node servers 28 and 30 in its list of distributed local sites. Each of Site C 2 nodes 28 and 30 is also expandable to accommodate its own local root profiler. [0050] The sites included in the level one servers and servers in successive levels function, therefore, either to list distributed sites or to provide metadata for processing by the distributed network. [0051] FIG. 5 shows a site server 120 on which coexist multiple different providers for a variety of information sources. The structural organization of site server 120 facilitates the capability of a distributed information network of the invention to access and extract useful information from a particular information source once it has been discovered. With reference to FIG. 5 , site server 120 has a provider manager 122 that routes an incoming search query to an appropriate one or appropriate ones of the five providers shown in the example presented. The providers include a provider 124 to an e-commerce database A 126 and a B2B database A 128 , a provider 130 to a WINDOWS file system 132 , a provider 134 to a UNIX file system 136 , a provider 138 to a content database 140 , and a provider 142 to an e-commerce database B 144 . Each of providers 124 , 130 , 134 , 138 , and 142 has a respective accessor 124 a, 130 a, 134 a, 138 a, and 142 a. An accessor is capable of finding, opening, writing, and reading an object irrespective of the type of platform or data store. (A data store is a storage mechanism, such as a file system, database, e-mail system, or zip file, that may contain data in an organized format.) An accessor also has the ability to “spider” (i.e., examine the contents of) a data store or search for a single data object. (A data object is a single file, an object in a database, an e-mail message, a search result, or a piece of memory.) The appropriate providers for responding for a particular search query use their accessors to query their associated information sources or data stores. The accessors translate between the query language of a root server of the distributed information network and the query language of a data store. This implementation facilitates access to any information source and is described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 . [0052] File system accessors 130 a and 134 a use a parser manager 146 , which functions as a computer language interpreter and in the example presented includes six parsers equipped to recognize documents in six different software file formats. A parser knows how to read the contents of a data object and thereafter extract metadata and store them in a common format. The six parsers include WORD document, EXCEL document, JPG Image, MP3 audio, POWERPOINT, and PDF parsers. Irrespective of where and how a particular file is stored, parser manager 146 directs the file to the appropriate parser. For example, if a file represents a WORD document, the WORD document parser extracts the metadata for the provider. The providers, together with parser manager 146 , enable access to any type of information including: static web pages, word processor or spreadsheet documents, images, music, video, and legacy database information. The providers are expandable to automatically handle new data types. [0053] The providers of the distributed information network allow retention by the information source itself of ownership of all data. The providers act as a window directly into the data source, thereby enabling information sources to control who has access to particular information and to control how results are displayed. [0054] The role of an accessor stems from the existence of data in many forms and at many locations in many platforms. As stated above, the present invention implements a technique that accesses and parses the data in a consistent and secure manner and thereafter stores the metadata in a common format. FIGS. 6 and 7 support the following explanation of this technique. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary site servers parser manager and its parsers for a file accessor and its data store. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing in greater detail the structure and organization of a provider manager with seven accessors and a parser manager with seven parsers. [0055] With reference to FIG. 6 , a site server 200 functions to deliver to a parser manager 202 information from a data store 204 through an accessor 206 a. (Accessor 206 a is one of multiple accessors shown in FIG. 7 .) A provider (not shown) in site server 200 is also connected to database 208 in a structural arrangement analogous to that shown for site server 120 and databases 126 , 128 , 140 , and 144 in FIG. 5 . Parser manager 202 directs information to multiple parsers, including, for example, a WORD documents parser 210 ; an e-mail parser 212 ; a database data parser 214 ; and other information parsers 216 representing collectively from FIG. 7 a web page parser 218 , an archived data parser 220 , LOTUS Notes or EXCHANGE databases parser 222 , and an images, movies, or music parser 224 . With reference to FIG. 7 , an accessor manager 230 maintains a list of registered accessors, of which there are seven shown by way of example. Accessors 206 a, 232 a, 234 a, 236 a, 238 a, 240 a, and 242 a are associated with, respectively, a file system data store 206 , an e-mail system data store 232 , network files data store 234 , databases data store 236 , LOTUS Notes data store 238 , an Internet server data store 230 , and zip files data store 232 . [0056] With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 , the technique for accessing and parsing data is a mechanism for walking (i.e., reading a file system) a data store and parsing it, irrespective of the location of the data or their type. By handling data stores and data objects generically, the system passes around a generic object that represents a data object. This data object is capable of accessing itself from the data store by loading and saving the information and to parse its data for extended properties. Process block 250 represents a spider event that initiates the process of accessing a data store and parsing it. A spider event begins with a starting location and a starting accessor. There is one accessor associated with each data store. An accessor has the ability to spider a data store or search for a single data object. [0057] An accessor walks a list of objects on its data store and either creates an alias (called a “Moniker”) out of the object or loads another accessor to process the object. A Moniker is an object that wraps a data object, which may be a file, a piece of data in memory, or an abstract link to any type of object. The Moniker is what is passed among accessors, parsers, servers, and clients. Accessors have a find first/find next interface that returns Monikers or references to other accessors. Accessors also have a user interface with the ability to include or exclude data and set starting and ending locations when processing a data source. [0058] Accessor manager 230 maintains a list of all registered accessors and loads them as necessary. The Moniker is created by the accessor. The accessor then indirectly loads a parser. The Moniker may be shared among remote servers or clients. With a Moniker, one can ask for file information, extended properties, or any other dynamic information. [0059] Parser manager 202 can load a parser for a given file type. A parser processes a file by extracting data. A parser may support many data types or a single specific data type. There may be multiple parsers supporting the same data type, and parser manager 202 determines the best parser based on the platform, installed components, or other factors. Any parser can use any accessor. [0060] The use of an accessor, parser, and Moniker provides an ability to walk any data store or data stores imbedded in other data stores (e.g., zip files on file systems or e-mail) and open and parse data irrespective of the file format. [0061] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a distributed information network 300 composed of several application networks, demonstrating a distributed Internet architecture representing a hybrid of centralized and peer to peer models. With reference to FIG. 8 , distributed information network 300 includes an internal network 302 composed of a root server 304 , a stage server 306 , an e-commerce hosted shopping site server 308 , e-commerce datafeed site servers 310 , and information public sub-root servers 312 , 314 , and 316 . Root server 304 operates in the manner described above for root server 14 of FIG. 1 , and stage server 306 enhances metadata collected from various servers in network 300 . [0062] In particular, stage server 306 uses models, model attributes, and field sets to perform various information manipulations, comparisons, arrangements, and other processes for presentation to the client user the retrieved information in a way that bridges the information gap inherent in current prior art search engines. As indicated in FIG. 8 , to administer its operation, stage server 306 is organized by clients, such as e-commerce, business to business (B2B), and community information. B2B e-commerce refers to trade that is conducted between a business and its supply chain or between a business and other business end-customers. E-commerce hosted shopping site server 310 is an online marketplace that introduces consumers directly to products. Site server 310 provides through root server 304 real-time, direct access to each subscribing merchant's catalog that leads to an actual product listing, rather than a link to a web site. The information provider technology described above enables advanced custom tailoring of information such as dynamic pricing and category filtering. E-commerce datafeed site servers 310 store in internal network 302 client-provided information as an accommodation to information providers that do not want live searches conducted at their sites. [0063] Information public sub-root servers 312 , 314 , and 316 represent three examples of sub-root servers for public community interest groups, each of which potentially having a growing number of information providers and information consumers. These sub-root servers, which are hosted and administered by a network manager and operate in cooperation with root server 304 , give real-time, direct access to every information source in its network to ensure all current information is accessible with no dead links returned. [0064] E-commerce hosted shopping site 308 and information community sub-root servers 312 , 314 , 316 , and 354 represent an information portal that opens up the Internet such that any user can publish any type of information or access any type of device. The information portal can support an indefinite number of information types (e.g., web sites, file servers, databases, and image files) and any number of information sources, irrespective of whether they are structured or unstructured. [0065] Root server 304 has multiple level one servers, including a commerce site server A 318 and commerce site server B 320 . [0066] Commerce site server A 318 represents a B2B e-commerce level one server with an e-commerce provider 322 and B2B provider 324 that are analogous to the providers described with reference to site server 16 of FIG. 3 . Commerce site server A 318 has a level two commerce child site node server A 1 326 , which has a communication link with e-commerce provider 322 and represents an e-commerce private information network. Commerce child site node server A 1 326 has an e-commerce provider 328 and information provider 330 that are analogous to the providers described with reference to child site node server 22 of FIG. 4 . Commerce child site node server 326 is a private internal network in which, for example, the employees of the company owner of commerce site server A can access companywide internal proprietary documents, such as EXCEL documents. Commerce site server A 318 is shown having a communication link with an e-commerce private shopping client 332 that shops for only the products of the entity that owns commerce site server A and its child sites. [0067] Commerce site server B 320 represents a B2B e-commerce and B2B supply side e-commerce level one server with an e-commerce provider 334 and B2B provider 336 that are analogous to the providers described with reference to site server 16 of FIG. 3 . Commerce site server B 320 has two level-two child site node servers 338 and 340 , both of which have communication links with B2B provider 236 and represent B2B suppliers. The two B2B supplier servers 338 and 340 can establish a B2B supply side connection by which the entity that owns commerce site server B 320 can shop for supplies. Commerce site server B 320 is shown having a communication link with a B2B private shopping client 342 that shops for only the products of the entity that owns site server B 320 and its child sites. [0068] An e-commerce shopping client 350 and a B2B portal shopping client 352 each shop multiple markets through root server 304 . E-commerce shopping client 350 enables business to consumer (B2C) retail shopping of multiple sites in multiple markets. B2B portal shopping client 352 enables B2B shopping of multiple sites in a given market and thereby creates a market making opportunity for an unlimited network merchant participants to create a live and dynamic network catalog of products. [0069] FIG. 8 shows information public sub-root servers 312 , 314 , and 316 and an information private sub-root server 354 associated with what are called information application egg groups, each of which is composed of a client and a node server. An information application egg group 356 has a communication link with information public sub-root server 312 ; an information application egg group 358 has a communication link with information public sub-root servers 356 and 358 ; and an information application egg group 360 is associated with private sub-root server 354 . Peer to peer (P2P) communication links 362 , 364 , and 366 are established, respectively, between information application egg groups 356 and 358 , between information application egg groups 358 and 360 , and between information application egg group 356 and information provider 330 of commerce child site server Al 326 . P2P communication links are connections between stand alone computers by which a file can be downloaded from one of the computers to the other without action of a root server. Information private sub-root server 354 hosts and administers its own server and determines who gets access, rights, and privileges associated with it. [0070] FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing in detail the components and structure of an information application egg group in operative association with root server 304 of internal network 302 . With reference to FIG. 9 , a registration server-root server represents the role played by root server 304 ; sub-root-community 1 and sub-root-community 2 represent the roles played by any two of information public sub-root servers 312 , 314 , and 316 ; and sub-root-community 3 represents the role played by information private sub-root server 354 . An information application egg group is composed of two parts, which are indicated by the horizontal line dividing into two portions each of information application egg groups 356 , 358 , and 360 in FIG. 8 . The client part of an exemplary information application egg group 400 includes as its components a client user computer 402 , such as a PC and a local users profile 404 on a file system 406 . The ability to share files is a user right, and profile 404 records the identifications of local users authorized by the client user. File system 406 stores files downloaded from target community servers. The server part of information application egg group 400 includes as its components site server 200 ; parser manager 202 and its associated parsers 210 , 212 , 214 , and 216 ; data store 204 and its associated accessor 206 ; and database 208 . This server component configuration is the same as that presented in FIG. 6 ; therefore, for purposes of clarity, the same reference numerals are used to indicate common components in FIGS. 6 and 9 . In a preferred embodiment, the functions of the client and server parts are combined so that they reside on the same platform. [0071] In accordance with the invention, for information application egg group 400 , a search by a client user causes a search query to reach community site server 200 , which is included in the search process and produces a file from data store 204 for delivery to the client user. [0072] One problematic issue arises in a P2P network, such as that established by any of P2P communication links 362 , 364 , and 366 , stems from the fact that content can reside at any peer server on the P2P network. These servers lack specific knowledge of other peer servers on the network, other than a reference server that functions as the authoritative source of network information (i.e., a directory service). To prevent unauthorized peer clients from searching peer servers on the P2P network, the invention implements a method that indicates to a peer server that a peer client requesting a search is allowed to do so. [0073] The method is carried out by operation of registration server-root server 304 of FIG. 9 , which is a central server known to all clients and used as a repository for public keys within the P2P network. When joining the P2P network for the first time, a client passes to registration server-root server 304 a public key portion of client-generated public/private key pair, together with an e-mail address and other information as required by a network administrator. The client is identified as one of the information application egg groups in FIGS. 8 and 9 . The client at that time obtains the public key identifying registration server-root server 304 and stores its public key for future reference. The registration connection process is indicated by the arrow-tipped broken line between sub-root-community 1 server and site server 200 and the solid line connecting sub-root community 1 server and registration server-root server 304 in FIG. 9 . [0074] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of the session authentication and security process carried out in a P2P network. Each of sub-root community 1 - 3 servers of FIG. 9 replicates the authorization functions of registration server-root server 304 . Thus, these community servers store the public keys of client users of the P2P network. With reference to FIG. 10 , the next time after registration, the client establishes communication with the sub-root community 1 server to request a challenge bit string. Sub-root community 1 server generates in response a random bit string and sends it to the client as a challenge bit string. The client then encrypts the challenge bit string using the client's private key and returns the encrypted challenge bit string to sub-root community 1 server. Sub-root community 1 server then decrypts the challenge bit string returned by the client using the public key sub-root community 1 server has on file for the client and compares the results of the decryption to the original challenge bit string. For successful verification, the result of decryption of the challenge bit string with the public key matches the original challenge bit string thereby, providing the identity of the client. [0075] Once the client's identity has been established, sub-root community 1 server returns to the client an access token that allows the client to query other peer servers in the P2P network. This access token includes, for example, the IP address reported by the client during the challenge/response and a time stamp from sub-root community 1 server. The access token is then signed using the private key of sub-root community 1 server. [0076] When it wishes to search a target peer server for information, the client passes the access token along with the query request packet. The target peer server 200 that receives the request then validates the access token. The validation process can take one of two forms. Since it knows the public key of the sub-root community 1 server, target peer server 200 can itself validate the access token. Alternatively, the access token can be passed to the sub-root community 1 server and validated there. If the time stamp is used to create an access token with a limited lifetime, checking back with sub-root community 1 server would eliminate any problems with time zones. A determination of a valid access token results in delivery of a download data request accompanied by the access token to target peer server 200 , which in response downloads data to client 402 . [0077] Proof of client identity is undertaken at the start of any session with a remote system, so that if a search is performed during a session that is different from a file transfer session, the access token would be resent and reverified when the file transfer session is started. [0078] To demonstrate additional capability of distributed information network 300 , FIG. 9 shows with an arrow-tipped broken line a community query connection between client 402 and private sub-root community 3 server to illustrate the ability of client 402 to search a private community server. An authentication process is undertaken to open a session with a private community server. [0079] Another problematic issue arises in connection with a distributed environment in which files or other information is shared. Because the share permissions preferably reside at the data source, security risks stem from a potential attacker wishing to share unapproved content and having physical access to the computer containing the data and share information. This situation allows for two classes of attack. The first class is the replacement of the data source itself. This is most easily accomplished by overwriting a shared file with an unapproved file. The second class of attack is modification of the share information, which typically will reside in a database. Altering these data can allow the data to point to an unapproved file rather than to the approved content. [0080] FIG. 11 is a flow diagram outlining the five steps of a process for providing file sharing security in a P2P network. With reference to FIG. 11 , sub-root community 1 server functioning as an administrator has, as described with reference to FIG. 10 , approval authority for content and is identified by a public/private key pair. The public key portion of this key pair is distributed to all peer node servers on the P2P network. [0081] An event when a user wishes to share content represents step 1 of the process. Information about such content (shown as row 1 information of the share server file table) including the name of the file, the size of the file, and the hash of the file is sent to the sub-root community 1 (authorizing) server. (A “hash” is formed by a cryptographic algorithm, is a condensed representation of the contents of a file.) The sub-root community 1 server examines the file to ensure the content is appropriate. [0082] Step 2 entails use by sub-root community 1 server of the row 1 information to access the file remotely. Step 3 entails approval of the file by sub-root community 1 server, which hashes the file name, file size, and file hash. When it approves the file for sharing, the sub-root community 1 server, using its private key, signs the information that was sent to it. Step 4 represents that the signature, together with the shared content, is stored in the file table on the share server. [0083] Step 5 represents when a share server receives a request for download of a file of shared information to a peer server. The share server in response retrieves the file name, obtains the file size from the file system, and computes the file hash. These three values are then hashed and compared against the decrypted signed hash returned from sub-root community 1 server. If any of these values do not match, the file is not made available to the peer server requesting the download. Otherwise, the file is made available to the peer server. [0084] Although it is described with reference to a P2P network, the file sharing security process can be implemented in any network in which a server can achieve controlled access to a file residing on a remotely located server. [0085] It will be obvious to those having skill in the art that many changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments of this invention without departing from the underlying principles thereof. As a first example, the functions of a client (e.g., client applet) and a root server can be combined so that they reside on the same platform. As a second example, an applet, an application, a network browser, or other type of operating system client can be used to initiate a topic query or search. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined only by the following claims.

A distributed information network is constructed for gathering information from sites distributed across a globally accessible computer network, i.e., the Internet. The distributed information network preferably includes a root server that stores a list of multiple distributed sites each represented by metadata. A network browser delivers an information search request to the root server, which in response develops a profiled information search request. The information provider of each of the distributed sites stores metadata corresponding to information content that is retrievable in response to the profiled information search request for search results derivable from the information content to which the metadata correspond. A profiled information communication link between the root server and each of the multiple distribution sites enables formation of a path for delivery of the search results to a destination site, from a site or sites represented by the metadata of the profiled information search request.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a display device for displaying numerals of a timepiece or the like using a polarizer. Heretofore, timepiece display devices of the drum type or leaf type digital display devices are known. However such conventional devices have a defect in that the display drum or leaves carrying drum takes much space, the displayed characters are small in comparison to the display surface and the structure thereof is complex. Further conventional electrically controlled digital display devices employing a luminous diode or a liquid crystal cell are expensive. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention intends to eliminate the above described defects and to provide a new display device using a polarizer. According to a feature of the present invention, there is provided a display device comprising a polarizer provided in front and segment polarizers provided at the back of said polarizer in a individually rotatable manner. One object of the present invention is to provide a display device which is thin in thickness and the displayed character of which covers a wide space relative to the display surface. Another object of the present invention is to control the rotation of the segment polarizer by the cams secured to the corresponding rotary shafts. Another object of the present invention is to get the undisplayed segment polarizer invisible. Another object of the present invention is to control the rotation of the segment polarizers by magnets secured to rotary shaft of the segment polarizers and drive magnets to perform quiet and steady rotation. Another object of the present invention is to control the rotation of the segment polarizers by magnets secured to the rotary shaft of the segment polarizers and electromagnetic devices. Another object of the present invention is to improve the shapes of the segment polarizers to effect clear character display BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These objects other objects and characteristic features of the present invention will become evident and will be more readily understood from the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which, FIG. 1 is an elevational view of an embodiment according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view along section lines II -- II in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view along section lines III -- III in FIG. 1, partly broken away, FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement of segment polarizers, FIGS. 5A to 5J are explanatory views of character display, FIG. 6 is a table showing minutes display operation, FIG. 7 is a table showing tens of minutes display operation, FIG. 8 shows another example of arrangement of segment polarizers, FIGS. 9A and 9B are explanatory views of character display, FIG. 10 is an elevational view of a backboard, FIG. 11 is an explanatory view of character display employing the backboard of FIG. 10, FIG. 12 is a sectional view of essential part of another embodiment, FIGS. 13A and 13B are explanatory view of the rotational drive mechanism of FIG. 12, FIGS. 14A and 14B are explanatory views of character display, FG. 15 is a sectional view of an essential part of another embodiment, FIG. 16 is a sectional view along lines XVI -- XVI in FIG. 15, FIG. 17 is a circuit of the embodiment of FIG. 15, FIGS. 18 and 19 are explanatory views of operation of segment polarizers, FIGS. 20A to 20J show display numerals by other segment polarizers, and FIG. 21A to 21J show displayed numerals by further segment polarizers. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, the display device is provided minutes display means 1, tens of minutes display means 2, and seconds display means 3. Details of these means are to be explained referring to FIGS. 2 to 4. A mask 5 and a polarizer 6 are held between two transparent plates 7, 7 such as acrylic glass and they are secured to a case 4 by means of four pillars 8--. In the mask 5, a hole 9 for minutes display, a hole 10 for tens of minutes display and holes 11 for seconds display are provided. The polarizing direction of the polarizer 6 is transverse in FIG. 1. First, the seconds display means 3 will be explained. In the mask 5, twelve holes 11 are provided radially and in the polarizer 6, corresponding twelve holes 12 are provided. A second display disk 14 secured to a second arbor 13 is provided with one hole 15. The second arbor 13 is rotatably supported by a middle plate 16 and a base plate 17. A drive pinion 19 of a motor 18 engages reduction gear wheel 20, which engages a gear wheel 21 secured to the second arbor 13. The second arbor 13 rotates once every sixty seconds. An illuminant 22 such as fluorescent lamp or blacklight lamp is secured to the middle plate 16. When the hole 15 in the second display disk 14 coincides with one hole 12 in the polarizer, the light from the illuminant 22 comes through the holes so as to display seconds. Regarding the minutes display means 1, seven segment polarizers 23 ˜ 29 are arranged as shown in FIG. 4, and they are respectively secured to rotary wheels 23a ˜ 29a which are connected to rotary shafts 23b ˜ 29b. These shafts 23b ˜ 29b are rotatably supported by the middle plate 16 and the base plate 17. The tens of minutes display means 2 is substantially the same as the minutes display means 1. Segment polarizers 30 ˜ 36 are respectively secured to rotary wheels 30a ˜ 36a. The wheels 30a ˜ 36a are respectively connected to rotary shafts 30b ˜ 36b. A background 37 is secured to the front surface of the middle plate 16. The driving mechanism of these display means will be hereafter explained. A second gear wheel 38 is connected at the end portion of the second arbor 13. Since the second gear wheel 38 is provided with one tooth, the intermediate gear wheel 40 is rotated intermittently by 36° every 1 minute. Ten minutes wheel 41 engages with the intermediate gear wheel 40 and is also rotated by 36° every 1 minutes. To the shaft 42 of the ten minutes wheel 41 are connected four cams 23c, 24c, 25c, 26c which respectively engage with pinions 23d, 24d, 25d, 26d secured to the rotary shafts 23b ˜ 26b. The ten minutes wheel 41 engages with a follow wheel 43 of the same type. The follow wheel 43 also rotates by 36° a minutes. To a shaft 44 of the follow wheel 43, three cams 27c, 28c, 29c are connected. These cams 27c, 28c, 29c respectively engage with pinions 27d, 28d, 29d connected to the rotary shafts 27b, 28b, 29b. The rotation of the 10 minutes wheel 41 is transmitted to 60 -minutes wheel 48 through gear wheels 45, 46, 47. The 60 -minutes wheel 48 rotates intermittently by 60° every 10 minutes. Four cams 30c ˜ 33c are secured to a shaft 49 of the 60 -minutes wheel 48. These cams 30c ˜ 33c respectively engage with pinions 30d ˜ 33d secured to the rotary shafts 30b ˜ 35b. A follow wheel 50 engaging the 60 -minutes wheel 48 also rotates once every sixty minutes. Three cams 34c, 35c, 36c are connected to a shaft 51 of the follow wheel 50. These cams 34c, 35c, 36c respectively engage with pinions 34d, 35d, 36d which are connected to the rotary shafts 34b, 35b, 36b. Numeral display operation by the segment polarizers will be explained. First, the minutes display operation will be explained. Polarizing direction of the segment polarizer 23 ˜ 29 is vertical when they are arranged as shown in FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 5A, numeral 0 is displayed. The polarizing direction of the segment polarizers 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29 differ from that of the polarizer 6 by 90°. Therefore the light from the illuminant 22 passed through the segment polarizers 23, 24, 25, 28, 29 is intercepted by the polarizer 6. Thus the portions looks dark or black. On the other hand, the polarizing direction of the segment polarizer 26 accord with that of the polarizer 6 and the portion looks bright. Thus numeral 0 is displayed in black on a bright ground. After one minute, the ten minutes wheel 41 and the follow wheel 43 rotate by 36° and the cams 23c ˜ 29c secured to the shafts 42, 44 also rotate by the same degrees. The cams 23c, 25c, 28c, 29c respectively engage with pinions 23d, 25d, 28d, 29d and turn them by 90°. The other cams 24c, 26c, 27c do not engage with the corresponding pinions 24d, 26d, 27d and do not turn them. Accordingly, only the segment polarizers 23, 25, 28, 29 turn by 90°. The segment polarizer 24, 27 differ from the polarizer 6 in polarizing direction by 90° to show numeral 1 as shown in FIG. 5B. One more minute later, the segment polarizers 23, 26, 27, 28, 29 are turned by 90°, and the segment polarizers 23, 24, 26, 28, 29 become different from the polarizer 6 in polarizing direction by 90° to show numeral 2. The displayed numerals from 3 to 9 are respectively shown in FIGS. 5D to 5J. Turn operations of the segment polarizers 23 ˜ 29 are shown in FIG. 6 by a table. In the table, left column shows segment polarizers 23 ˜ 29 and the numerals from 0 to 9 are shown in the upper row. In the table, 1 means turn of the segment polarizers by 90°, and 0 means no turn. For example, the segment polarizer 23 turns by 90° when the displayed numeral changes from 0 to 1, 1 to 2, 3 to 4 and 4 to 5. Regarding tens of minutes display operation, the 60 -minutes wheel 48 and the follow wheel 50 turns 60° every ten minutes. The cams 30c ˜ 36c respectively engage with the corresponding pinions 30d ˜ 36d to turn the segment polarizers 30 ˜ 36. The numeral display operation by the segment polarizers 30 ˜ 36 is similar to the minutes display operation. The operation of the segment polarizers is shown in FIG. 7 by a table. In the above embodiment, numerals are displayed black on bright ground, however numerals may be displayed bright on dark ground. In the latter case, black coloured mask 5 is used and the segment polarizers 23 ˜ 29 and 30 ˜ 36 are arranged in the position turned by 90° from the former case of FIG. 4. For example the segment polarizers 23 ˜ 29 are arranged as shown in FIG. 8. To show numeral 0 the segment polarizer 26 turns by 90° and its polarizing direction differs from that of the polarizer by 90° to intercept light. The polarizing direction of other segment polarizers 23, 24, 25, 28, 29 accords with that of the polarizer 6 to pass light. Thus numeral 0 is displayed bright in black mask ground. Numeral 2 is displayed as shown in FIG. 9B. The operation of the segment polarizer is the same as the former case shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. In the above embodiment, an illuminant 22 is employed as a light source, however outside light may be employed instead of the illuminant. In this case the mask 5 is unnecessary. An improvement to display numerals more clearly will be explained. When a segment polarizer is turned to an undisplayed position, it often happens that the outline or the shadow of the segment polarizer becomes visible. Especially in the reflective type display device outside light instead of illuminant, a transparent plate is provided in front to accept light from outside and outline or shadow of a segment polarizer becomes visible and display is not clear. First, a case in which numerals are displayed bright in black ground will be explained. In this case a black backboard 37 is employed. The blackboard may be painted black or a polarizer polarizing direction of which differs 90° from that of the polarizer 6 may be used as a backboard. The rotary wheels 23a -- are made of bright opaque material, or reflective films may be provided between the rotary wheels and the segment polarizers 23--. With this structure, the displaying segments look bright and undisplayed segments becomes dark and indistinguishable from the black of the backboard 37. To the contrary, to display in black colour in the bright ground, the backboard 37 is coloured brightly. But in this case, the undisplayed segment polarizers become visible faintly. To eliminate this defect, the rotary wheels 23a -- are coloured a little brigher than the blackboard 37. Thus the mixed colour of the segment polarizer and the rotary wheel becomes equal to the colour of the backboard. Therefor the undisplayed segment polarizers are almost invisible. It is possible to get the outlines of segment polarizer indistictive by quite other way. Refering to FIG. 10, a plurality of pairs of lines 53 -- perpendicularly intersecting one another are made on the backboard. The paired lines 52, 52 are spaced at the same distance as the width of the segment polarizer. These lines 52 -- are so positioned that side lines of the segment polarizers may overlap them. For example, in display of mumeral 1, the side lines of the undisplayed segment polarizers 23, 25, 26, 28, 29 overlap the lines 52--. Therefore the undisplayed segment polarizers become almost unnoticeable. Another embodiment of rotary drive mechanism of segment polarizers will be hereafter described. In FIGS. 12 to 14B, the parts corresponding to the parts of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 7 are given the reference numerals increased by 100 except otherwise defined. In the present embodiment, drive wheels 123c -- carrying thereon permanent magnets m 1 , m 2 -- are provided instead of the cams 23c -- and cruciform wheels 123d -- are provided instead of the pinions 23d--. The four poles of the each cruciform wheel 123d -- are magnetized south and north alternately. Click means comprising click springs 153-- and iron pieces 154-- connected to the end portions of the springs 153 are provided adjacent and facing to the cruciform wheel 123d. The click means regulate rotations of the cruciform wheels 123d--. Operationally, the north pole m 2 of the drive wheel 123c faces to the south pole of the cruciform wheel 123d to orient the segment polarizer 123 vertically as shown in FIG. 13A. When the drive wheel 123c turns clockwise and the magnet m 1 approaches the position facing the cruciform wheel 123d, the south pole of the cruciform wheel 123d is repulsed and the north pole is attracted. As a result the cruciform wheel 123d is turned counterclockwise by 90° as shown in FIG. 13B. The segment polarizer 123 is oriented transversely. In this manner, as the drive wheels 123c -- rotate predetermined angle, the cruciform wheels 123d -- rotate by 90° to display numerals as shown in FIG. 14A, 14B. Numerals from 0 to 9 are displayed by segment polarizers in the same manner as the former embodiment. Further another embodiment of rotary drive mechanism of segment polarizer will be explained referring to FIGS. 15 to 19. In the present embodiment characteristic features exists in that segment polarizers are diven electromagnetically without employment of a drive motor. In FIGS. 15 and 16, a polarizer 202 is held between transparent plates 201, 201 such as acrylic glass. On the front surface of the middle plate 203, a backboard 204 is connected. Seven segment polarizers 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211 are respectively secured to the rotary plates 205a ˜ 211a of the same shape. These rotary plates 205a ˜ 211a are respectively connected to shafts 205b ˜ 211b. The shafts 205b ˜ 211b are rotatably supported by the middle plates 203 and the base plate 212. Two square pillars 214, 215 are fixed between and by the middle plate 203 and the base plate 212. The square pillar 214 is provided with four cores 205c, 206c, 207c and 208c on its four faces, and the square pillar 215 is provided with three cores 209c, 210c, 211c on its three faces. These cores 205c ˜ 211c are inserted into the holes of bobbins 205d ˜ 211d. Coils L 1 to L 7 are provided around the bobbins 205d ˜ 211d. Cruciform wheels 205e 211e are respectively connected to the shafts 205b ˜ 211b. These cruciform wheels 205e ˜ 211e are respectively positioned adjacent and facing to the cores 205c ˜ 211c. Four projections of each cruciform wheel are magnetized south and north alternately. Electric circuit for supplying current to the coils L 1 to L 7 will be explained referring to FIG. 17. Output power from a counter (not shown in the drawing) is supplied to a pulse distributor P. Reference characters D 1 to D 14 designate diodes, reference characters R 1 , R 2 designate resistances, reference character Tr 1 , Tr 2 designate transistors and reference character E 1 , E 2 designates power source. The polarizing direction of the front polarizer 202 is transverse and the polarizing direction of the segment polarizers 205 ˜ 211 is vertical. Operationally, the segment polarizers 205 ˜ 211 are reset to the state of FIG. 18 immediately before numeral display operation. This is an undisplayed state. The reset operation will be explained. A pulse signal is supplied to the base of the transistor Tr 2 immediately before a timing pulse is supplied to the base of the transistor Tr 1 . As the transistor Tr 2 turns ON, electric current flows from the power source E 1 to the transistor Tr 2 through the coils L 1 ˜ L 7 and the diode D 9 ˜ D 14 . The cores 205c ˜ 211c are magnetized north. The north poles of the cruciform wheels 205e ˜ 211e are repulsed and the south poles are faced to the cores. Thus the segment polarizers 205 ˜ 211 direct as shown in FIG. 18. Then an instructive output signal to show numeral 3, for example, is supplied from the counter to the pulse distributor P. The pulse distributor P supplies output signals C 1 , C 2 , C 4 , C 5 and C 7 . Under this condition, a timing pulse that is an instructive pulse to change display is supplied to the base of the transistor Tr 1 to turn it ON. Thus magnetizing current flow in the coil L 1 , L 2 , L 4 , L 5 and L 7 in the direction opposite to the case of reset operation. Therefore the cores 205c, 206c, 208c, 209c and 211c are magnetized south and the cruciform wheels 205e, 206e, 208e, 209e and 211e are repulsed and turned by 90°. Only the segment polarizers 205, 206, 208, 209 and 211 are turned to show numeral 3 as shown in FIG. 19. To display another numeral the segment polarizers are again reset, and then desired numeral is displayed. Next, improvement in the shape of segment polarizer to get more natural display of numeral will be explained. In the above embodiments, seven segment polarizers of the same shape are used. On the contrary in the present improvement, segment polarizers 301, 307 are provided with hooked portions 301a, 307a. With this improvement numerals 2, 3, 5 and 9 look more naturally as shown in FIGS. 20A to 20J. Further, incase the segment polarizer 302 is provided with hooked portion 302a, numerals 1 and 4 will become more naturally as shown in FIGS. 21A to 21J. It will be apparent from the drawings that these hooked portions do not obstruct when the segment polarizers display other numerals.

A display device having a plurality of segment light polarizers for receiving incident light thereon and rotatable independently to jointly define sequentially different numerals in dependence upon their relative angular orientation. A common light polarizer is mounted sandwiched between two transparent plates forwardly of the light polarizer for polarizing light from the segment light polarizers and for viewing of the different numerals upon relative angular orientation of the segment light polarizers and relative angular orientation to the common light polarizer. The light polarizers are driven rotationally independently in timed relationship. A mask between the two transparent plates has openings therethrough positioned for viewing the numerals.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION With ceramic crucibles in which metals are to be melted, one problem consists in that they indeed have a high melting temperature but in some cases they react with the melt or that pieces detach from the brittle crucible ceramic and float as inclusions in the melt. In contrast, crucibles of metal often do not tolerate the high melting temperatures without special measures In order to be able to melt materials with high melting temperatures in crucibles with relatively low melting temperatures, it is known to cool the crucibles with water so that they are kept at a temperature below their own melting points. However, now the melting material is cooled down relatively strongly because it is in contact with the cooled crucible. A melting material with high temperature can be readily heated in a water-cooled metal crucible by means of inductive heating above the melting temperature of the crucible. Herein however, the problem of eddy current formation in the crucible occurs. To decrease the eddy current losses caused hereby it is known to subdivide the crucible in many segments separated from each other by an insulating layer (DEP 518 499; USP 3 775 091, EP-A-0 276 544). A fundamental disadvantage of the known cooled crucibles comprises in the high electrical losses which result from the eddy currents in the crucible wall and in the high heat losses which result from the heat flow from the melt into the cooled crucible wall. The herefrom resulting efficiency of the process can only be kept at an acceptable magnitude thereby that the melting process takes place at the maximum possible rate. The invention therefore is based on the task of creating a cooled ceramic-free induction crucible with low electrical losses. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The advantage achieved with the invention comprises in particular in that the electrical efficiency of the coil-crucible arrangement becomes high through a special geometric configuration of the induction coil and crucible segments as well as through a special material selection for coil and crucible. This efficiency is herein defined as the ratio of the electric power released in the melt to the electric power supplied to the induction coil. Lesser crucible losses relieve the water cooling of the crucible and permit the use of a smaller current supply or increase the melting rate. The crucible has a plurality of vertical segments which have at least two parts with different conductivity. The first part faces away from the material to be melted and is made of an electrically poor conductor. The second part faces toward the material to be melted. It is made of an electrically good conductor. The vertical segments are constructed so that the thickness satisfies the equation ##EQU1## where κ=specific electrical conductivity of the first part f=frequency of the a.c. current flowing through the induction coil μ 0 =magnetic permeability in vacuo b=thickness of the vertical segment. An induction coil is wrapped around the vertical segments. The first part of the vertical segment is preferably made of a non-conductor. The first part may be made of glass, a fiber-reinforced material, or ceramic, for example. The second part of the vertical segment is preferably made of a material which has a heat conductivity of at least 80 Watt/m °K. The thickness of the second part is preferably ##EQU2## where f=frequency of the a.c. current flowing through the induction coil μ=magnetic permeability κ=specific electrical conductivity. The side of the second part which faces the material to be melted (the side opposite the first part) may have a layer of material on it which prevents alloying of the material to be melted. The layer preferably has a thermal conductivity of less than 2×10 6 mho/m. The induction coil is preferably made of a material with a high electrical conductivity. It preferably has a rectangular cross-section with round-off radii r at the corners which satisfy the requirement that r≧2δ where ##EQU3## δ=measure of penetration κ=specific electrical conductivity f=frequency of the a.c. current flowing through the induction coil μ 0 =magnetic permeability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiment examples are represented in the drawing and are described below in greater detail. Therein show FIG. 1 a water-cooled crucible with a crucible wall constructed of segments; FIG. 2 a segment of a water-cooled crucible; FIG. 3 a second crucible segment structured according to the invention; FIG. 4 a third crucible segment structured according to the invention; FIG. 5 a fourth crucible segment structured according to the invention; FIG. 6 a fifth crucible sector comprising several segments structured according to the invention; FIG. 7 a segment with an M-shaped conductor and a non-conductor disposed thereon. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a crucible 1 comprising several vertical segments of which three segments are provided with the reference numbers 2, 3, 4. The crucible 1 has a coolant inlet opening 5 and a coolant outlet opening 6. As coolant water is preferably used. However, it is possible to use liquid salt for example NaNO 2 , NaNO 3 or KNO 3 . The coolant flows in coaxial pipes 7 located in the segments 2, 3, 4. The individual pipes, of which in FIG. 1 only the pipe 7 can be seen, are connected, with their outer regions in parallel to the coolant inlet opening 5 and with their central regions for the coolant runback, with the coolant outlet opening 6. By 8 is denoted an intermediate ring, adjoined to a cooling channel 9, which is connected to the inlet 5. By 10, 11 is denoted a collecting channel into which streams the coolant running back. The coolant for cooling the base of the crucible is denoted by 13. The intermediate ring 8 abuts an interior body which is made clear by the separating lines 14, 15. 16 denotes the base of the crucible. In the crucible 1 is located a melt material 17 which has an arched surface 18. About the crucible 1 is wrapped a hollow induction coil 19 comprising several windings 20, 21 . . . 22, 23. The ends 24, 25 of the coil 19 are connected to an a.c. current source 26 supplying a voltage with a frequency of for example 1000 to 5000 Hz. At the upper rim of the crucible 1 is disposed a short-circuit link 27 to effect some linearization of the magnetic field gradient. Such linearization is required because the coil 19 stops abruptly at its upper end, the far field however, decreases only slowly. Thereby that the field incidence over the margin of the crucible is strongly reduced by means of the short-circuit link or ring 27, a field attenuation in the region of the melt surface 18 results and consequently a limiting of the bath superelevation. The short-circuit ring 27 rests on the segments 2, 3, 4 and is connected with them. The cross section of the coil 19 is rectangular and has a rounding-off of approximately r≧2δ at the corners where ##EQU4## is the measure of penetration and where κ=specific electrical conductivity f=frequency of the a.c. current flowing through the induction coil μ 0 =magnetic permeability As material for the coil one having high electrical conductivity is selected, for example copper or silver. Due to its rectangular configuration the coil 19 lies very close against the crucible 1 so that the energy transmission losses are low. The disadvantages resulting from the corners in rectangular coils due to large magnetic field strengths and large current density connected thereto are avoided through the rounded-off corners. The magnetic a.c. field strengths which are always linked with an electric field which generates current in the edges are, due to the rounding-off, conducted gently through the crucible wall into the melt. In FIG. 2 is represented a segment, for example the segment 2, of a conventional cooled copper crucible in a view from above. The quasi-trapezoidal cross section of segment 2 in which is disposed a coaxial cooling pipe can be seen herein. The outer wall 30 of this cooling pipe can be formed by the wall of a recess in segment 2 which is comprised of copper. The central region of the cooling pipe is formed by a pipe 31. The coolant 32 streams upward between the inner pipe 31 and the wall 30 and downward in pipe 31 while the still cool coolant 32 in direct contact with segment 2 flows upward FIG. 3 shows a segment 34 according to the invention with a coaxial cooling pipe formed of an inner wall 35 and an outer wall 36. The conditions of flow of the coolant 37, 38 are as shown in Segment 2 of FIG. 2. Width b of segment 34 is herein so selected that the equation κ<2/(π f μ.sub.0 b.sup.2) is satisfied, where κ=specific electrical conductivity f=frequency of the a.c. current flowing through the induction coil 19 μ o=magnetic permeability in vacuo b=width of segment b The electrical conductivity κ herein shall be small to avoid eddy currents. The segment 34 is hence layed out in a manner similar to the laminations in transformers. For better heat distribution of the heat flow from the melt a thermally good conducting layer 39 comprised for example of copper is disposed at the lower end of segment 34 facing the melt. The thermally good conducting layer preferably has a heat conductivity of at least 80 Watt/m °K. A thermally good conducting layer according to the Wiedemann-Franz Law is also an electrically good conducting layer; additional electrical losses, however, are generated through this layer. The thickness d of this layer should therefore be thinner than the measure of penetration of this material. The thickness should satisfy the following equation: ##EQU5## where f=frequency of the a.c. current flowing through the induction coil μ=magnetic permeability κ=specific electrical conductivity. Its minimum thickness--for averaging the heat flow from the solidification layer of the melt contacting only spot-wise on the crucible wall--is a function of the density of the contact spots (number of spots per inch) and the heat conductivity of the melt material. The thickness of the contact spots is a function of a number of physical parameters of the melt such as surface tension, shrinking (coefficient of expansion) at the transition solid-liquid etc. Given the complexity of the physical relations and the specific process requirements the density of the contact spots for the different alloys of the melt cannot be calculated. It can only be determined experimentally for the particular alloy paliney of the materials to be melted because only in rare cases is a crucible used for only one alloy. In some cases will suffice layers of 5 μm of copper or other materials which are good heat conductors. However, for the majority of alloys layer thicknesses of 100 to 500 μm will represent a sensible compromise between the reduction of the eddy current losses and the risk that local melting-on occurs. FIG. 4 shows a further embodiment of the invention in which one segment 40 is of greater width than height. Here, too, a coaxial cooling pipe 41, 42 is provided. The outer area 43 of this segment is comprised of an electrically poor conductor, for example VA-steel, CrNi a metal-ceramic composite, glass, a fiber-reinforced material, or ceramic, while the interior layer 44 is comprised of an electrically good conductor, such as aluminum, silver or copper. Width b herein is actually the height which results from the fact that with b is meant not the width or the height but rather the thinnest site. Below layer 44 is located a further layer 45 which is very thin and is comprised of a material preventing a partial alloying of the melt. This material is selected in accordance with the particular melt present at the time. This is a material which in the two-substance system formed from the melt and the material itself does not form a low-melting mixture which is lower than 200 degrees Celsius below the melting limit of both materials. This layer preferably has a electrical conductivity of less than 2×10 6 mho/m. In FIG. 5 a further segment 50 is represented in which two channels 51, 52 are provided The cooling liquid flows from channel 51 into the plane of the drawing and in the cooling channel 52 out of the plane of the drawing. This segment 50 also is provided with a good conducting layer 53. FIG. 6 shows several segments 54 to 57 adjacent one to another with channels 58 to 61. Herein the cooling liquid flows into the channels 58 and 60 and out of channels 59, 61. FIG. 7 shows a further embodiment of a segment 62 according to the invention in which only an M-shaped copper part 63 and for example a ceramic part 64 are still provided The two parts 63, 64 are connected with each other and a cooling liquid 65 flows through their interior. The copper part 63 faces the melt It is understood that the additional layer 45 according to FIG. 4 can also be provided for the segments 2, 34, 50, 54 to 57 and 65. Since the melt in some operating states can also penetrate slightly into the gaps between the segments and since the edges already for reasons of fabrication are rounded-off or beveled it is of advantage to allow the layers to extend slightly around the edges into the side faces. For reduction of the danger of partial alloying on the surface, primarily with melts which suddenly partially attach, a metallic surface layer is preferably provided on the crucible segment surfaces facing the melt which form no low-melting eutectic with the melt, for example Cr or Zr. The surface layer can be applied in different methods, for example, by plating, coating, spraying, sputtering, vapor depositon or immersion.

The invention relates to a crucible for the inductive heating of materials. This crucible is subdivided into individual vertical segments wherein one segment (40) comprises at least two parts (43, 44) with different electrical conductivities and is layed out according to the condition κ<2/(πf μ.sub.o b.sup.2) where κ specific electrical conductivity of the part (43) with the poor conductivity f=frequency of the a.c current flowing through the induction coil (19) μ o =magnetic permeability in vacuo b=thickness of a segment.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to illumination devices such as LEDs (light emitting diodes). The use of LEDs in illumination systems is well known. These devices are especially useful for lighting components, systems, and finished goods. LED lighting is a fast growing segment of the lighting industry due to the efficiency, reliability and longevity of LEDs. Product usage applications include but are not limited to interior and exterior signage, cove lighting, architectural lighting, display case lighting, under water lighting, marine lighting, informational lighting, task lighting, accent lighting, ambient lighting and many others. Special adaptations included in the present invention make the product especially useful in existing lighting fixtures designed for low voltage incandescent bulbs. INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE AND OTHER REFERENCES Applicant incorporates by reference the following: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/385,613, Modified Dimming LED Driver, filed Apr. 14, 2009, McKinney et al.; U.S. patent application Ser. No. (not yet assigned), 90-260 Vac Dimmable MR16 LED Lamp, filed Sep. 18, 2009, McKinney, Steven; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,088,059, dated August 2006, McKinney et al. Other references cited herein include Introduction to Power Supplies, National Semiconductor Application Note AN-556, September 2002; “Understanding Buck Regulators”, Super Nade, Overclockers.com—Nov. 25, 2006; MCP1630/MCP1630V High-Speed Pulse Width Modulator Data Sheet; MCP1630 Boost Mode LED Driver Demo Board User's Guide. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION LEDs are current-controlled devices in the sense that the intensity of the light emitted from an LED is related to the amount of current driven through the LED. FIG. 1 shows a typical relationship of relative luminosity to forward current in an LED. The longevity or useful life of LEDs is specified in terms of acceptable long-term light output degradation. Light output degradation of LEDs is primarily a function of current density over the elapsed on-time period. LEDs driven at higher levels of forward current will degrade faster, and therefore have a shorter useful life, than the same LEDs driven at lower levels of forward current. It therefore is advantageous in LED lighting systems to carefully and reliably control the amount of current through the LEDs in order to achieve the desired illumination intensity while also maximizing the life of the LEDs. LED driving circuits, and any circuit which is designed to regulate the power delivered to a load can generally be categorized as either linear or active. Both types of circuits limit either the voltage, or current (or both) delivered to the load, and regulate it over a range of changing input conditions. For example, in an automotive environment the voltage available to an LED driving circuit can range from 9V to 15 Vdc. A regulator circuit is employed to keep the current delivered to the LEDs at a relatively constant rate over this wide input range so that the LED output intensity does not noticeably vary with every fluctuation in the system voltage. Linear regulators are one type of device or circuit commonly employed to accomplish this task. A linear regulator keeps its output in regulation only as long as the input voltage is greater than the required output voltage plus a required overhead (dropout voltage). Once the input to the regulator drops below this voltage, the regulator drops out of regulation and its output lowers in response to a lowering input. In a linear regulation circuit, the input current drawn by the circuit is the same as the output current supplied to the load (plus a negligible amount of current consumed in the regulator itself). As the input voltage presented to the linear regulator rises, the excess power delivered to the system is dissipated as heat in the regulator. When the input voltage is above the dropout threshold, the power dissipated in the regulator is directly proportional to the input voltage. For this reason, linear regulators are not very efficient circuits when the input voltage is much larger than the required output voltage. However, when this input to output difference is not too great, linear regulators can be sufficient, and are commonly used due to their simplicity, small size and low cost. Because linear regulators drop out of regulation when the input is below a certain operating threshold, they can also be employed in LED driving circuits to effect a crude dimming function in response to an input voltage which is intentionally lowered with the desire to reduce the LED intensity. The dimming is “crude” in that it is not a linear response for two reasons. First, in the upper ranges of the input voltage above the dropout threshold, the regulator will hold the output in regulation and the LEDs will not dim at all. Once the dropout threshold is reached, the output voltage will drop fairly linearly with a further drop in input. However, LEDs are not linear devices and small changes in voltage result in large changes in current which correspondingly effect large changes in output intensity. As the voltage applied to an LED is lowered below a certain threshold, no current will flow through the LED and no light will be produced. FIG. 2 is an example of a linear regulator circuit configured to drive an LED load. FIGS. 3 and 4 give an example of the response of this linear regulated LED circuit to a dimmed input voltage. The lower power efficiency of linear regulators makes them a poor choice in large power systems and in systems where the input voltage is much larger than the required LED driving voltage. As such, these systems typically do not employ them. Additionally, because of the requirement that the input voltage be higher than the output voltage in a linear regulator, it is not a viable choice where a higher output than input voltage is needed such as a low voltage source driving a series string of LEDs. As LEDs have increased in power and luminous output, it has become common to employ driving circuits that are active, meaning the power delivered to the end system is dynamically adapted to the requirements of the load, and over changing input conditions. This results in increased system efficiency and less heat dissipated by the driving circuitry. Such active driving circuits are commonly implemented using switching regulators configured as buck, boost, or buck-boost regulators with outputs that are set to constant-voltage, or constant-current depending on the circuit. Typically, in LED driving applications, the switching regulator circuit is adapted to sense the current through the LEDs, and dynamically adjust the output so as to achieve and maintain a constant current through the LEDs. FIG. 6 depicts a typical buck regulator circuit configured to drive an LED load at a constant current. Many switching regulator devices have been specifically designed for driving high powered LEDs. Manufacturers have built into these devices, inputs which can be pulsed with a PWM (pulse width modulation) or PFM (pulse frequency modulation) control signal or other digital pulsing methods in order to effect a lowering of the output of the switching regulator specifically designed to dim the LEDs. Some devices also have analog inputs which lower the output to the LEDs in response to an input which is lowered over an analog range. With such dimming capabilities built into the switching regulators, very accurate linear dimming of the LEDs can be achieved. Such dimming is controlled via a network, or some user interface which generates input signals that are converted to the required digital pulses or analog signals that are sent to the switching regulator driver. This method of dimming in LED lighting systems is common. However, it requires control circuitry and user interface equipment which adds a level of cost and complexity to the lighting system. In many cases, lighting systems and wiring are already installed, and it is desired to replace these lights with LED lights. Or, it is desired to add LED lights to an existing system and have them work in harmony with lights and equipment, which are not LED based. There are common household wall dimmers which are employed to dim incandescent lights, and there are high-end theatrical dimming systems which are used to dim entire lighting installations. These types of dimmers only affect the input voltage delivered to the Lights. There is no additional control signal which is sent to them. Therefore, LED lights which are designed to work in these systems must dim in response to a change in the input voltage. As noted above, linear regulator based LED drivers will dim in response to a lowering of the input voltage. However the dimming is very non-linear and these regulators are inefficient. Switching regulator drivers will also fall out of regulation and dim their output when the input voltage drops below a certain threshold, but as with linear regulators, when the input is above a threshold, their outputs will be held in regulation and the LED intensity will remain unchanged. And, as in linear regulation circuits, when the switcher circuit is out of regulation, the LED response to the lowering output is very non-linear. An even greater problem with dimming switching regulator drivers by lowering their input voltage is that these circuits need a certain start-up voltage to operate. Below this voltage, the switching regulator either shuts off completely, or provides sporadic pulses to the LEDs as it attempts to start-up, or passes some leakage current to the LEDs which causes them to glow slightly and never dim to zero. In LED circuits employing multiple lights, each driver circuit can have slightly different thresholds, resulting in differing responses at low dimming ranges. As a result, some lights may flicker, some may be off and some may glow below the threshold voltage. This is unacceptable in most lighting systems that are required to dim using standard ac dimming controllers. The Modified Dimming LED Driver patent application referenced above detailed an LED driver based on efficient switching regulators which provides smooth and linear dimming from 100% to off, in response to the dimming input voltage that is provided with industry standard ac dimmers. However, several difficulties arise when the input source for the driver circuit detailed in the referenced application is an electronic low-voltage transformer intended for use with an incandescent bulb. Such transformers are frequently found in track lighting and other low-voltage lighting fixtures. These difficulties lie in the nature of the load presented by an LED lamp and its driving circuit, especially in the case of a small bulb replacement LED lamp. One of the advantages of an LED lamp over an incandescent lamp is its greater efficiency in converting electric energy into light. A typical incandescent bulb produces about 14-17.5 lumens per watt, and most halogen lamps produce about 16-21 lumens per watt. In comparison, LEDs achieving 80-100 lumens per watt are now common. Even when considering the power that is lost in the driving circuitry of an LED lamp which may be 60-80% efficient, LED lamps that are three to six times as efficient as incandescent and halogen bulbs are easily achievable. Thus an LED lamp designed to replace a halogen bulb for example would draw much less power from the transformer than the halogen for which the transformer was designed. This becomes a problem for many electronic transformers which require a minimum load to operate. Typical transformers designed to drive 50 W halogen bulbs will not start up with loads less than 10-20 W. An LED bulb designed to replace such a halogen may only draw 5-10 W. In fact, since a primary design goal for such an LED replacement lamp would be to produce similar light while drawing as little power as possible, the most efficient LED lamps would have a problem with many low-voltage electronic transformers. It is common in the industry for such LED lamps to specify that they are only guaranteed to work with magnetic transformers. Another practice sometimes involves introducing a “dummy” load in the form of a resistor either externally or internal to the LED driver circuit. Such dummy loads may satisfy the transformer, allowing it to turn on and energize the lamp; however, they sacrifice the inherent efficiency of the LED lamp, and waste energy in the form of excess heat. Another problem with an LED lamp operating from an electronic transformer is the type of load that the lamp provides. Regular incandescents and halogen lamps produce light when current through a tungsten filament causes it to heat up and glow white hot. The filament presents a resistive load to the transformer. In a resistive load, the current drawn by the load is directly proportional to the voltage applied to the load: I=V/R where R is the resistance. As can be seen in FIG. 6 , the input of a typical switching regulator circuit contains a bulk capacitor C 1 , which presents a capacitive load to the electronic transformer. In a capacitive load, the current is proportional to the change in voltage over time: I=C ΔV/ΔT. The faster the voltage changes, the greater the instantaneous current drawn. With a magnetic transformer supplying the input voltage, the input is a sinewave with the same 50-60 Hz frequency as the line input. In this case, the current “surge” is only great when the capacitor C 1 is discharged and the power is switched on at close to the peak of the sinewave. This does not pose much of a problem with magnetic transformers which can handle the surge, and the switching regulator input circuitry can be protected from the surge with a simple added resistor or thermistor in series with the AC input. Thermistors are widely used as inrush current limiters in switching power supplies. However, when using electronic transformers to drive capacitive loads, such as those presented by a typical switching regulator circuit, greater problems arise. This can be understood through an examination of the output waveform of an electronic transformer. As shown in FIG. 5 , electronic transformers actually provide a pulsed PWM output with a 50-60 Hz sinewave envelope on the magnitude of the pulses. The frequency of the PWM output is typically 25-100 KHz. These PWM pulses present a much faster rise and fall of the input voltage (higher ΔV/ΔT) than a slow 60 Hz sinewave, causing high current spikes 25,000 to 100,000 times per second. These current surges not only stress the input components (rectifier diodes and bulk capacitors) of the switching regulator circuit, but in some cases could trigger over-current protection circuitry in the electronic transformer causing it to shut down. For these reasons, many electronic transformers in existing incandescent and halogen lighting fixtures do not function properly with LED lamps retrofitted into the fixture. Common results include flickering, flashing, dim output illumination, or in many cases the LED lamp will not light at all. If the transformer functions and the lamp does operate, it may experience overheating of the input components and early life failure due to the input current spikes. Even with some electronic transformers that will function with lighter loads, there is another phenomenon which presents a problem when driving an LED lamp. Most electronic transformers rely on the resistive load of an incandescent lamp in order to oscillate at their designed PWM frequency. The capacitive load typical of switching regulator circuits can cause the PWM frequency of the transformer output to shift, which in turn causes the RMS output voltage of the transformer to deviate from its designed level. This becomes a problem when the transformer is driving an LED circuit which is sensing the input RMS voltage in order to provide dimming of the LED output. Circuits described in the Modified Dimming LED Driver patent application referenced above, are set to drive the LEDs to maximum illumination when the input voltage from the transformer is above a certain level. If the maximum input voltage of the driving transformer varies by transformer, then the dimming curve programmed into the LED driver circuit will be sub-optimal for some transformers. The LED output may not reach full intensity with some transformers that output a lower than expected voltage, and the dimming may not vary over the full possible range with transformers producing higher output voltage. Because of the reasons discussed above, there is need in the industry for an LED lamp that overcomes the limitations of typical low-voltage electronic transformers, providing a load which is sufficient to cause such transformers to reliably energize, but which does not cause excessive current spiking, and which does not compromise the inherent efficiency of the LED bulb through wasted energy and excess heat dissipated in a “dummy” resistive load. There is also need for such an LED lamp to dim from full output to off when driven by transformers that vary their RMS output voltage in response to typical dimmers, and to be adaptable to various transformers such that the LED lamp may be retrofitted in a wide array of installed fixtures intended for incandescent lamps. It is an object of the present invention to provide a complete LED lamp with integral dimmable driving circuitry such as that disclosed in the Modified Dimming LED Driver application referenced above, and which functions with a wide variety of previously installed electronic and magnetic low-voltage transformers designed for incandescent bulbs. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an LED lamp which sufficiently loads such electronic transformers to cause them to energize, but which does not detract significantly from the efficiency of the LED lamp through an added resistive “dummy” load, and which diminishes the problematic current spikes seen with typical capacitive loads. It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an LED lamp with a dimmable illumination output which is maximized to the capabilities of the particular low-voltage transformer, and which adapts automatically to each transformer, providing the maximum desired LED output illumination when the particular driving transformer is providing its maximum voltage output. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a graph showing a typical relationship of relative luminosity to forward current in an LED. FIG. 2 is a diagram of a linear regulator circuit as an LED driver. FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship of the luminous intensity of the LEDs vs. the input voltage in a linear regulated LED circuit. FIG. 4 is a graph of the dimming response in a linear regulated LED circuit. FIG. 5 is an illustration of the output voltage waveform of a typical low-voltage electronic transformer. FIG. 6 is an illustration of a typical buck regulator circuit driving an LED load at a constant current. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a Modified Dimming LED driver implemented in a buck regulator circuit as disclosed in the Modified Dimming LED Driver patent application cited above. FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram of the Modified Dimming LED driver disclosed in the Modified Dimming LED Driver patent application cited above. FIG. 9 is the power circuit for the Modified Dimming LED Driver of FIG. 8 as disclosed in the Modified Dimming LED Driver patent application cited above. FIG. 10 is the circuit diagram of the LED driver of FIG. 8 , with input modifications for low-voltage electronic transformers. FIG. 11 is an illustration of the Ideal LED Lamp output intensity dimming curve. FIG. 12 is an illustration of the LED Lamp output intensity dimming curve with a transformer producing 13.0V in a standard (non-adapted) configuration vs. the dimming curve when adapted to the transformer. FIG. 13 is an illustration of the LED Lamp output intensity dimming curve with a transformer producing only 11.0V in a standard (non-adapted) configuration vs. the dimming curve when adapted to the transformer. FIG. 14 is a summary flowchart for the transformer adapting firmware encoded in the microcontroller of FIG. 10 . FIG. 15 is an exploded view and assembled view of one embodiment of the invention. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to an integral LED lamp adapted to fit industry standard MR16 sized fixtures in place of incandescent or halogen bulbs, and which may be driven by low-voltage electronic transformers commonly existing in such fixtures. An advantage of the present invention is that it is dimmable when coupled with dimmable transformers and existing dimming circuits, and adapts its output illumination to achieve the best dimming curve from maximum to off, based on the capabilities of the transformer. A further advantage of the present invention is that it provides an additional active load causing transformers requiring minimum loads to energize, without the efficiency-robbing disadvantage of a resistive dummy load. Further advantages of the invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art through the disclosure herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIG. 6 shows a diagram of a typical buck switching regulator circuit configured to output a constant current to an LED load. A detailed description of the operation of a buck switching regulator is beyond the scope of this discussion, but can be found in such reference documents as the National Semiconductor application note AN-556, and the article “Understanding Buck Regulators”, both cited above. Referring to FIG. 6 , the rectifier bridge, CR 1 transforms the ac input voltage (which alternates in polarity from positive to negative in a sinusoidal fashion) to a rectified (all positive) voltage to the input VIN of the regulator U 1 . The bulk capacitor C 1 provides storage and smoothes out the rectified ac into a dc voltage. The switching regulator U 1 using an internal pass transistor (not shown) will connect the input voltage VIN to the inductor L 1 through U 1 output VSW. This causes current to flow through the inductor L 1 , and the capacitor C 2 begins to build up a charge. As the C 2 voltage builds up, a current will begin to flow through the LED load and feedback resistor R SENSE causing a sense voltage to appear at the U 1 feedback input FB according to the equation FB=I OUT ×R SENSE . An internal comparator circuit (not shown) within U 1 senses when FB reaches a predetermined level, and then disconnects the input VIN from VSW. As the LOAD draws current from the circuit, the capacitor C 2 begins to discharge, and the sense voltage FB begins to drop. The switching regulator senses the drop on FB, and then reconnects the input VIN to the inductor L 1 . based on the values of L 1 , C 1 and the sense resistor R SENSE , U 1 will continue connecting and disconnecting the input voltage VIN to the inductor L 1 in order to keep the output at a level which provides the proper feedback voltage FB. This connecting and disconnecting operation in a pulsed fashion causes the output current I OUT to regulate at a constant level which can be shown from the previous equation to be I OUT =FB×R SENSE . The circuit detailed in FIG. 6 is called a constant current output, because it regulates the output current IOUT that is presented to the load. FIG. 6 shows an additional input, PWM on the switching regulator U 1 which is sometimes available on these regulators, especially recent devices tailored for LED driving applications. This input allows the regulator output to be reduced according to the relative duty cycle of the PWM input pulses when such a control signal is presented. These input pulses can represent any digital pulsed modulation technique, provided the frequency and “on” and “off” pulse durations fall within the specified parameter ranges of the regulating device. FIG. 7 shows a similar Buck regulator circuit adapted to provide a constant current to an LED load, but with the added ability to sense changes in the input voltage via the U 3 filter circuit, and which incorporates a microcontroller U 4 to convert these changes in input voltage into corresponding changes in output illumination through dimming pulses sent from the microcontroller U 4 to the switching regulator U 2 . This dimmable LED driver concept was first disclosed in the Modified Dimming LED Driver Patent Application referenced above. A more detailed diagram of this concept implemented in a Buck-Boost regulator circuit was also disclosed and is shown here for reference in FIGS. 8 and 9 . As shown in FIG. 8 , the regulator circuit is based on the Microchip Technology Inc. MCP1630V High-Speed, Microcontroller-Adaptable, Pulse Width Modulator developed for implementing intelligent power systems. A Detailed explanation of the operation of the MCP1630V and the Boost Mode LED driver circuit can be found in the references sited above. However, following is a basic description of the operation of this circuit. The implementation of the regulator circuit in FIG. 8 is a modification of the standard Boost Mode LED driver provided by Microchip in that the extra capacitor C 12 and inductor L 4 have been added to convert the regulator topology to a Buck-Boost configuration. In this configuration, the output voltage required to drive the LED load can be higher or lower than the input voltage provided to the circuit. This circuit is adapted to drive a series string of five one-watt high-intensity LEDs from a dimmable 12 Vac input. Referring to FIG. 8 , the 12 Vac input is first rectified through the Bridge CR 3 , and smoothed by the bulk input capacitor C 5 to produce the 12 VDC input. In actual operation, the 12 VDC signal may not be a steady DC level, but may have some amount of ripple based on the size of the input capacitance C 5 , and considering the high output current (350 mA) presented to the LED load. Assuming a 12 Vac sine wave input, the 12 VDC will have a peak voltage of V PEAK =(V IN *√2)−V BRIDGE where V BRIDGE is equivalent to two standard diode voltage drops through the Bridge CR 3 . Therefore, 12 VDC will have a peak of about (12*1.414)−(2*0.7)=15.6V. At 3.6 to 4.0V forward voltage drop for the white LEDs intended for this implementation, the five series LED load will require about 18V-20V when driven at the rated 350 mA output, so the regulator will usually be boosting the output voltage in this application. The resistor R 14 in FIG. 8 serves as the output current sense resistor which presents a voltage at the FB pin of the MCP1630V (U 6 ) that is proportional to the output current being supplied to the LED load, which returns through the LED-connection through R 14 to ground. The MCP1630V PWM controller (U 6 ) is comprised of a high-speed comparator, high bandwidth error amplifier and set/reset flip flop, and has a high-current driver output (pin VEXT) used to drive a power MOSFET Q 1 . It has the necessary components to develop a standard analog switch-mode power supply control loop. The MCP1630V is designed to operate from an external clock source which, in this circuit, is provided by the microcontroller (U 5 ). The frequency of the clock provided by the GP 2 output of U 5 and presented to the OSC_IN input of U 6 , sets the buck-boost power supply switching frequency. The clock duty cycle sets the maximum duty cycle for the supply. The microcontroller U 5 in the circuit of FIG. 8 operates from its own internal oscillator and has an on chip Capture/Compare/PWM (CCP) peripheral module. When operating in PWM mode, the CCP module can generate a pulse-width modulated signal with variable frequency and duty cycles. In this circuit, the CCP module in U 5 is configured to provide a 500 kHz clock source with 20% duty cycle. The 20% duty cycle produced by the CCP module limits the maximum duty cycle of the MCP1630 to (100%−20%)=80%. The clock frequency and duty cycle are configured at the beginning of the microcontroller software program, and then free-run. The CCP output is also connected to a simple ramp generator that is reset at the beginning of each MCP1630V clock cycle. The ramp generator is composed of transistor Q 2 , resistors R 2 , R 3 and capacitor C 10 . It provides the reference signal to the MCP1630V internal comparator through its CS input. The MCP1630V comparator compares this ramp reference signal to the output of its internal error amplifier in order to generate a PWM signal. The PWM signal is output through the high-current output driver on the VEXT pin of U 6 . This PWM signal controls the on/off duty cycle of the external switching power MOSFET Q 1 which sets the power system duty cycle so as to provide output current regulation to the LED load. A resistor voltage divider (R 5 and R 6 ) and filter capacitor C 8 is used to set the reference voltage presented to the internal error amplifier of the MCP1630V for the constant current control and is driven by the GP 5 pin of the microcontroller U 5 . With GP 5 set to logic level 1 , the voltage presented to the resistor divider is 3.3V. The voltage present on the VREF input of U 6 will be 3.3V*R 5 /(R 5 +R 6 )=196 mV. Therefore the internal error amplifier of U 6 will trip when the voltage presented to the FB pin reaches 196 mV. This occurs when the LED current=0.196/0.56 (R 14 ). So, with the component values shown in the implementation of FIG. 10 , the regulated LED current is 350 mA. R 4 and C 11 form an integrator circuit in the negative feedback path of the internal error amplifier in U 6 , providing high loop gain at DC. This simple compensation network is sufficient for a constant current LED driver. R 9 and R 10 form a voltage divider that is used to monitor the output voltage of the buck-boost circuit. The output of this voltage divider is connected to pin GP 4 of the microcontroller U 5 and monitored in the software program to provide failsafe operation in case the LED load becomes an open circuit. Since the buck-boost power circuit would try to increase (boost) the output voltage to infinity in the case of a disconnected load (the error amplifier in U 6 would never trip), the software program in the microcontroller U 5 monitors the feedback voltage V_FB to ensure it stays at a safe level. In normal operation, the intended 5 LED load would require a maximum of 20V to drive at 350 mA. In this case, V_FB=20V*R 10 /(R 9 +R 10 )=2.2V. If V_FB rises above this level, the microcontroller U 5 can shut off the clock to the MCP1630V U 6 . L 3 , Q 1 , C 12 , L 4 , D 5 , and C 13 form a basic voltage buck-boost circuit. Details of the operation of a buck-boost regulator circuit are beyond the scope of this discussion, however, will be understood by those skilled in the art. The value of C 13 can be selected to keep the LED current ripple less than a desired level at the rated load conditions. FIG. 9 details the power circuitry used to provide 5V to the MCP1630V (U 6 in FIG. 8 ), and 3.3V to the microcontroller (U 5 in FIG. 8 ). The rectified voltage 12 VDC is presented to U 7 , a 5V low drop out (LDO) linear regulator which provides the input voltage VIN to U 6 . The 5V output of U 7 is also presented through diode D 6 to U 8 , a 3.3V LDO linear regulator which provides the 3.3V to the U 5 microcontroller in FIG. 8 . In this embodiment of the invention, it is desirable to run the microcontroller U 5 at a lower voltage to ensure it has stable power to monitor and control the circuit when the input voltage is dimmed to the point where it is desired to have the LEDs off. For the circuit of FIGS. 8 and 9 to function as a standard buck-boost regulator and drive a regulated 350 mA current to the output LED load, all that is necessary in the microcontroller U 5 software program is to initialize the CCP module in PWM mode as discussed above, in order to produce the clock to the MCP1630V U 6 , and to drive its output pin GP 5 high in order to provide the voltage reference for the MCP1630V control loop. However, as disclosed in the Modified Dimming LED Driver Patent Application referenced above, additional circuitry is in place to allow the microcontroller U 5 to sample the input voltage, and with additions to the software, intelligently dim the LED output by controlling the MCP1630V U 6 . R 7 , R 8 , and C 6 in FIG. 8 form a voltage divider and filter which samples the rectified input voltage 12 VDC from the bridge CR 3 , and presents it to the microcontroller U 5 on input GP 0 . Note that if the bulk capacitor C 5 were large enough to filter the input to DC, the 12 VDC voltage level would be 15.6V as explained above, and the voltage at GP 0 of U 5 would be V GP0 =15.6*R 8 /(R 7 +R 8 )=5.2V. However, in this implementation, there is considerable ripple on the 12 VDC voltage, and the actual voltage presented to GP 0 of U 5 is much less. The values of these components have been chosen to present an average of 3V to the microcontroller U 5 when the input is 12 Vac. As the input voltage is dropped below 12 Vac the voltage presented to GP 0 of U 5 will correspondingly lower. The microcontroller is programmed to monitor this input and execute a dimming algorithm based on the sampled input voltage level. In this LED driver circuit implementation first disclosed in the Modified Dimming LED Driver Patent Application referenced above, the dimming algorithm has been set to begin dimming when GP 0 drops below 3V, and dim linearly to off when GP 0 drops to 50% (1.5V). At 50%, there is still sufficient voltage on the 12 VDC line to reliably power the microcontroller U 5 and the MCP1650V U 6 . Thus, a stable linear dimming output is achieved which is consistent from LED lamp to LED lamp. Depending on the values of the voltage divider and filter components (R 7 , R 8 , and C 6 of FIG. 8 ), there will be some amount of 60 Hz ripple on the voltage presented to GP 0 of U 5 . The microcontroller can be programmed to take a number of samples of this voltage and then average the result in order to further filter the sampled input level so that no 60 Hz ripple is passed on to the LEDs. The microcontroller program may also execute a root-mean-squared (RMS) calculation on the input samples in order to get a more accurate reading of the input voltage level. The output dimming in this circuit is achieved through manipulation of the VREF reference voltage presented to the internal error amplifier of the MCP1630V U 6 . As explained above, when the GP 5 output of U 5 is set high, the VREF input of U 6 will be 196 mV, and the output current will regulate at 350 mA which has been chosen to be the maximum (no dimming) current output through the LEDS. With GP 5 low, VREF will be 0V, and no current will be output to the LEDs. Under software control, the microcontroller pulses this output in a PWM or PFM (where both pulse width and cycle time of the pulses are manipulated) fashion to cause the LED current to alternate between 0 and 350 mA at a rate that is undetectable to the human eye, and which results in a dimmed illumination level proportional to the PFM duty factor (DF). As noted in the Modified Dimming LED Driver Patent Application referenced above, the value of capacitor C 8 in FIG. 8 can be chosen to filter out the GP 5 pulses, and integrate them into an analog voltage level so that the LED current reduces in absolute value, rather than pulsed between maximum and minimum levels. Thus, the pulse integration occurs at the circuitry level rather than with the human eye. This circuitry and method for dimmably driving LEDs was first disclosed in the Modified Dimming LED Driver Patent Application referenced above. It has been incorporated into the present invention as the method of driving a series connected string of 5 LEDs from a 12 Vac input. In the present invention, this driving circuitry is implemented on a small Printed Circuit Board incorporated into the base of a thermally conductive shell which has been sized to fit a common bulb size referred to as an MR16. The MR designation in the lighting industry stands for “metal reflector”, referring to the typical parabolic metal reflector shape used to focus the light emitted from the bulbs in a forward direction. The parabolic reflector is not needed with LED technology, as the LEDs are by nature directional light emitters. The “16” in the MR16 bulb designation refers to the diameter of the bulb in eights of an inch (16 eights=2.0″ diameter). MR16 is a common size bulb in the lighting industry, used in many track lighting and recessed can fixtures. FIG. 15 shows the major components of one embodiment of the present invention. As discussed in the Background section above, there are difficulties that arise when coupling a switching regulator LED driver, such as that disclosed in the Modified Dimming LED Driver Patent Application, with an electronic low-voltage transformer commonly used to drive standard MR16 bulbs. We will now discuss additions and modifications to the prior art LED driving circuitry which overcome these difficulties. Referring to FIG. 10 , it can be seen that four additional components (F 1 , L 5 , C 16 , and R 15 ) have been added to the input of the prior-art circuit of FIG. 8 . The resistivity of a tungsten filament is approximately three times that of copper at room temperature. A 12V 50 W halogen MR16 bulb has a filament resistance on the order of a couple hundred milliohms. However, as the filament is heated to incandescence, its resistivity increases several thousand percent. As discussed in the background section above, electronic transformers are designed to drive this type of resistive load, and often require a low resistance at the load in order to start up and operate. Also as noted above, prior art methods of adding “dummy” resistive loads to aid the transformer in starting up, have the drawback of dissipating the extra power as heat, and reducing the luminous efficacy (ratio of luminous output to power dissipated) of the LED lamp. The component designated as F 1 at the input of the circuit of FIG. 10 provides this low resistance to aid the transformer in start-up, without sacrificing luminous efficacy. This component is a polymeric positive temperature coefficient device (PPTC, commonly known as a resettable fuse or polyswitch). A PPTC is a passive electronic component normally used to protect against overcurrent faults in electronic circuits. PPTC devices are actually non-linear thermistors, which cycle back to a conductive state after the current is removed. A PPTC device has a current rating. When the current flowing through the device, (which has a small resistance in the “ON” state) exceeds the current limit, it warms up above a threshold temperature and its electrical resistance suddenly increases several orders of magnitude to a “tripped” state where the resistance will typically be hundreds or thousands of ohms, greatly reducing the current. When the power is removed, the PPTC device cools within a couple of seconds, and then again passes the rated current when power is reapplied. Instead of its normal use as a resettable fuse (where it would be connected in series with the power input), the polyswitch F 1 is being used to simulate the electrical characteristic of a tungsten filament. When there is no power applied, and therefore no current through F 1 , it has a low resistance of a couple hundred milliohms similar to the tungsten filament. This provides a low resistance current path at initial power-up similar to a halogen lamp, helping the electronic transformer to start normally. Once the transformer starts and supplies power to the circuit, the polyswitch F 1 quickly heats and “trips”, increasing its resistance to the point where the current flowing through it is a negligible amount. While power remains applied, the polyswitch F 1 remains in this high resistance state, drawing negligible power, and therefore not detracting from the efficacy of the LED Lamp. This novel use of the polyswitch device F 1 effectively provides a “dummy” resistive load which is quickly removed from the circuit after power-up. As noted in the background section above, the high ΔV/ΔT presented by the PWM pulses of an electronic transformer can cause high current spikes when driving a switcher regulator circuit, which stress the input rectifier diodes and bulk capacitors and can cause excessive heat and failure of these components. In order to overcome this problem, an inductor L 5 has been added in series with the input of the LED driver circuit in FIG. 10 . The inductor limits instantaneous changes in the current flowing through it, and therefore reduces the magnitude of the PWM current spikes. This can be seen from the equation relating voltage and current in an inductor: V=L(ΔI/ΔT), which can be rewritten as ΔI/ΔT=V/L. Therefore, the greater the inductance, the greater the limiting effect, but also the greater the physical size of the inductor. In this embodiment of the invention, a 15 uH 2A inductor achieves a good balance between physical size, which is limited by the small area available in the MR16 shell for the LED driver circuit, and the desired input current spike reduction. The addition of L 5 to the input circuit also helps to improve the power factor of the circuit as it lessens the capacitive effect and reduces the current spikes. The input current pulses charging the bulk capacitor C 5 get “spread” over a longer ΔT period. At lower input voltages, such as when the electronic transformer is being dimmed with an auto transformer type dimmer, the sinewave envelope of the transformer output waveform will be correspondingly reduced in amplitude (refer to FIG. 5 ). In this case, the LED driver circuit will be dimming the LEDs as discussed above, which will result in less power being drawn from the electronic transformer. The LED Lamp is then providing an even lower load to the transformer than under non-dimmed conditions. In order to help the electronic transformers oscillate correctly, the capacitor C 16 and resistor R 15 provide a low impedance path for high frequency current. The capacitor value is set so that the 25 to 100 KHz PWM oscillation from the electronic transformers produces short current pulses of sufficient magnitude at each PWM cycle to cause the transformer to oscillate. The resistor R 15 serves to limit the magnitude of the high frequency current pulses. Practical experimenting with electronic transformers from various manufacturers have shown that a C 16 value of about 15 nanofarads coupled with an R 15 of about 6.65 ohms produces enough of a load to keep the transformers oscillating correctly under a wide range of dimming conditions. Because the LED driver circuit of FIG. 10 dims the LEDs based on the sampled level of the input voltage which is assumed to be 12.0V nominal at full-on (non-dimmed), any input voltage less than this (or less than a programmed threshold level) would result in reduced output illumination. This could compromise the output LED intensity in the case of a transformer that did not output the full 12.0V when not dimmed. Magnetic transformers which output a simple fraction multiple of their input voltage (based on the turn ratio of their windings) are dependant on the nominal line voltage input to produce the 12V output. For example, a typical turns ratio of 10:1 would produce 12.0V output with 120V input. Line voltage may actually vary from 110V to 125V from region to region, or even building to building in the same location. In addition, the output voltage of the magnetic transformer can be affected by the load. A magnetic transformer loaded to close to its maximum rated capacity will output a voltage slightly lower than the same transformer driving a lighter load. In practice, it is common to see anywhere from 11.0V to 13.5V output from a 12V magnetic transformer. Electronic transformers present their own problems with output voltage levels. As mentioned in the Background section above, most low-voltage electronic transformers are designed to drive halogen incandescent bulbs which present a resistive load to the transformer. The transformer circuitry relies on this low impedance resistive load to operate correctly. While the additional input circuitry described above and incorporated in the embodiment of the present invention helps the transformer to energize and produce an output voltage, the LED lamp load is still not equivalent to the low impedance resistive load the transformer circuitry expects. As a result, the frequency of the electronic transformer's PWM pulsed output can vary from its designed frequency, which in turn affects the RMS output voltage of the transformer. So, with an expected 12.0 Vac input, the LED lamp could actually be driven with anywhere from 10.0V to 14.0V depending on these variable conditions. The present invention includes an Adapting Algorithm in the microcontroller firmware which allows it to dynamically adjust and adapt to the capabilities of the particular transformer that is providing the input voltage. This Adapting Algorithm learns the capabilities of the transformer and adjusts the LED output intensity and the dimming curve of the output to best suit this capability. The algorithm can best be understood through an examination of FIGS. 11 through 14 . FIG. 11 shows a graphical representation of the Ideal LED Lamp Output Intensity Dimming Curve for this embodiment of the invention. Here, 12.0 Vac is the expected maximum input voltage received from the transformer when the transformer input is not dimmed (either connected to a non-dimming circuit, or connected to a dimming circuit which is set at 100% output). 6.0 Vac is chosen as a safe minimum voltage for The LEDs to be turned off. This gives enough voltage for the components of the driver circuit of FIG. 10 to still function reliably, giving a stable shut down of the Lamp. The Luminous intensity curve is shown as a linear progression of luminous output from “Off” at 6.0V to full “On” (maximum regulated current through the LEDS) at 12.0V. As discussed in the Modified Dimming LED Driver patent application cited above, the dimming curve need not be linear, but could be weighted to provide any number of effects including mimicking the dimming response of a halogen bulb. For this embodiment, a linear response is chosen. Now, for reasons discussed above, the LED Lamp may be driven by a transformer that produces 13.0 Vac as the maximum non-dimmed voltage. FIG. 12 illustrates the resulting illumination from an LED lamp if programmed to produce the curve of FIG. 11 , under these conditions. As can be seen from FIG. 12 , in the uppermost range of input voltages from 12.0V to 13.0V, no change in output illumination would occur since the LEDs are already at maximum illumination once the input reaches 12.0V. Under these conditions therefore, the dimming response is compromised, as the LED Lamp does not take full advantage of the range of dimming input voltages provided by the transformer. In order to optimize the dimming curve for this situation, the dimming algorithm needs to be shifted (stretched) to dim from off at 6.0V input to maximum illumination at 13.0V. Now referencing FIG. 13 , we can see the effect when an LED Lamp programmed with the dimming curve of FIG. 11 is driven from a transformer producing 11.0V as its maximum output. Since the dimming algorithm is set for a range of 6.0V to 12.0V, when this transformer is at its maximum output of 11.0V, the LED Lamp would only be at 83% of its intended maximum illumination. In this situation, the illumination output is compromised. In order to produce the full illumination for which the Lamp is capable, the dimming algorithm needs to be shifted (compacted) to dim from off at 6.0V input to maximum illumination at 11.0V. An advantage of the present invention is in the capability of the LED Lamp to dynamically adjust to these conditions, and alter its dimming curve to take maximum advantage of each transformer's capability. This is achieved through a “transformer adapting algorithm” programmed into the microcontroller U 5 of FIG. 10 . Referring to FIG. 14 , the transformer adapting algorithm can be understood from a study of the simplified flowchart. The microcontroller program stores a variable in memory representing the maximum sampled RMS input voltage, RMS_MAX. At initial Power “On” this value is defaulted to 11.0V. The minimum sampled RMS input voltage representing the point below which the LEDs are turned off RMS_MIN is set to 6.0V. The microcontroller then takes a number of samples of the input voltage and calculates the RMS value of these samples. This RMS value is stored as RMS_IN. Next the RMS_IN value is compared with RMS_MAX to determine if the input is below the previously stored maximum value. If so, RMS_IN is then compared to RMS_MIN to see if the input is within the dimming range. If so, the dimming level DIM_LVL is calculated based on The RMS_IN value's percentage within the RMS_MAX-RMS_MIN range. The microcontroller's PWM (or PFM) dimming output (GP 5 of U 5 in FIG. 10 ) duty factor is then set to this dimming level. Dimming of the LED illumination then occurs as detailed in the circuit explanation above. The microcontroller code then loops back to continue sampling the input voltage. If, at any time, the input voltage RMS_IN falls below the preset 6.0V minimum, the DIM_LVL value is set to “0”, and the LEDs will be turned off as the microcontroller outputs logic low on GP 5 of U 5 in FIG. 10 . This is shown in the flowchart of FIG. 14 as the “No” branch (N) from the second decision block. Referring to the “No” (N) branch from the first decision block of the flowchart of FIG. 14 , it can be seen that if the RMS_IN value rises above the previously stored RMS_MAX value of 11.0V, the RMS_MAX value is updated and stored as this new higher value. The DIM_LVL is then set to 100%, and the LEDs are turned full on. In this way, the microcontroller keeps a running value of the maximum voltage that the transformer provides. When the input voltage then drops below this new maximum voltage, the dimming curve is automatically adjusted as the DIM_LVL is calculated with the new RMS_MAX value. FIGS. 12 and 13 show the dimming curve as it would be with the LED Lamp programmed with the adapting algorithm. It can be seen then, that the dimming curve will be maximized to any transformer's capability the first time the controlling dimmer circuit is raised to 100% following power-on. The initial default value of 11.0V for RMS_MAX is chosen as a reasonable low level to include a wide range of transformers without greatly compromising the initial power-on dimming curve. This is an arbitrary value which can be factory programmed to any level based on the expected environment. The lower the default, the greater the range of “adaptability” to lower voltage transformers, but the greater the compromise of the dimming curve prior to “adapting.” Thus, with the microcontroller U 5 of FIG. 10 programmed with the transformer adapting algorithm, the LED Lamp dynamically “learns” the capability of the driving transformer, and adjusts the dimming curve to achieve the optimal results. This algorithm, combined with the other components of the present invention as described above, produce an MR16 LED Lamp which is capable of retrofitting into a wide array of installed lighting fixtures, and which produces optimum illumination and dimming performance with any low-voltage transformer.

A low voltage LED Lamp produces variable illumination in response to industry standard lighting dimmers, through the use of an input voltage monitoring circuit which variably controls the current output of an integral driver in response to sensed changes in the input voltage. Input circuitry is employed to provide “ghost” loading in the case of high frequency voltage sources such as that provided by certain electronic ballasts requiring minimum loads to operate. Additionally, the capacitive nature of prior art LED driving circuits is altered, increasing power factor and further helping electronic ballasts run properly. A firmware algorithm adapts to the output voltage capability of the driving transformer, dynamically adjusting the illumination to achieve the best dimming curve suited to each transformer. The circuit employed drives high power LEDs, and the lamp is preferably adapted to fit common MR16 size fixtures. Illumination output equivalent to similar size halogen bulbs is achieved.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is a continuation application of International Application PCT/JP03/07648, filed Jun. 17, 2003, and designating the U.S. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to a solid-state image sensor which includes a plurality of pixel cells that generate signal charges in accordance with incident light. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] A gettering technique has been a known technique to form a gettering layer on the reverse side of a semiconductor wafer so as to collect and capture metallic contaminants present thereon. The background of such a gettering technique is described in LSI Handbook, Japanese Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, first printing of first edition, pp358-364, published by Ohm-sha. [0006] Also, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2002-43557 describes an example in which the gettering technique is applied to a solid-state image sensor. Herein, gettering layers are stacked outside a well (mainly under the well) that surrounds a pixel region. [0007] If a solid-state image sensor is contaminated with metal or the like, in general, a dark output occurs from the contaminated area, thereby reducing the S/N of an image signal. [0008] In particular, the metal contamination is conspicuous in a pixel region formed in an epitaxial layer. Contaminants of such metallic impurities include metals in a material gas for epitaxial growth or those used for processing equipment (such as gas conduits). The dark output derived from the metallic impurities directly acts upon the pixel region in the epitaxial layer, whereby the S/N of an image signal is significantly reduced. [0009] In this context, the inventors of the present application made experiments on contamination with iron in the processing step, which is a main factor of the dark output and often used in processing equipment. In the experiments, solid iron was dissolved on a silicon substrate which had been heated to 900° C. The result was that the substrate was contaminated with the iron from its surface up to a depth of 5 μm, which may cause degradation in device characteristics such as the dark output. [0010] According to the experiment results, it can be assumed that the metal contamination occurring in the processing steps of the solid-state image sensor is to have direct effects on the pixel region in the vicinity of the surface. [0011] However, the gettering layer is formed on the reverse side of the substrate or under the well by the aforementioned conventional gettering technique. This causes a problem that gettering capability is not sufficient in the pixel region which is intensively contaminated with metal because the gettering layer is substantially spaced away from the pixel region (the substrate surface). [0012] With the progress of device miniaturization of the solid-state image sensor, in particular, the overall gettering capability reduces as temperature in the processes lowers, so that the contamination cannot be sufficiently eliminated from the pixel region. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0013] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an effective gettering technique for eliminating contamination from the solid-state image sensor (the pixel region). Now, the present invention will be described below. [0014] (1) A solid-state image sensor according to the present invention includes a plurality of pixel cells which generate signal charges in accordance with incident light. A gettering region is provided in an area of at least a part of the plurality of pixel cells. [0000] (2) it is preferable that the plurality of pixel cells are formed in a well provided on a semiconductor substrate. The gettering region is provided inside the well. [0000] (3) It is preferable that the gettering region is provided independently in each of the pixel cells. [0000] (4) It is preferable that the gettering region is formed at a depth substantially equal to that of a layer in which photoelectrical conversion is performed for the pixel cells. [0000] (5) It is preferable that the gettering region is provided in an area of the pixel cells where light is blocked. [0000] (6) It is preferable that the gettering region has an average impurity concentration of 1E20 cm −3 or more. [0000] (7) It is preferable that in the gettering region an average area concentration of iron is 1E10 cm −2 or more. [0000] (8) It is preferable that the gettering region is a region where lattice defects are present. [0000] (9) It is preferable that the gettering region contains at least one of boron, phosphorus, arsenic, and antimony as an impurity. [0000] (10) It is preferable that the gettering region is provided at a location to which a constant voltage is applied. [0000] (11) It is preferable that the gettering region and a region in contact with a metal conductor are provided in an area of at least a part of the pixel cells. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0015] The nature, principle, and utility of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like parts are designated by identical reference numbers, in which: [0016] FIG. 1 is a view showing the configuration of a light-receiving face of a solid-state image sensor 10 ; [0017] FIG. 2 is a view showing an equivalent circuit of a pixel cell 11 ; [0018] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A′ shown in FIG. 1 ; [0019] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B′ shown in FIG. 1 ; [0020] FIG. 5 is a view showing the configuration of a light-receiving face of a solid-state image sensor 30 ; [0021] FIG. 6 is a view showing an equivalent circuit of a pixel cell 41 ; [0022] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C′ shown in FIG. 5 ; [0023] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line D-D′ shown in FIG. 5 ; and [0024] FIG. 9 shows experimental data which represents the relation between the average impurity concentration in gettering region and the dark output from solid-state image sensor. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0025] Now, embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First Embodiment [0026] FIG. 1 is a view showing the configuration of a light-receiving face of a solid-state image sensor 10 . [0027] As shown in FIG. 1 , the solid-state image sensor 10 generally includes pixel cells 11 arranged in an array and peripheral circuitry 12 having a vertical scan circuit or the like. The plurality of pixel cells 11 are formed inside a well 13 . [0028] FIG. 2 is a view showing an equivalent circuit of the pixel cell 11 . [0029] The pixel cell 11 has the following elements formed therein by patterning: [0000] (1) A photodiode PD for photoelectric conversion of incident light into signal charges; [0000] (2) A MOS switch Qr for reset operations; [0000] (3) A MOS switch Qt for reading signal charges from the photodiode PD; [0000] (4) An amplification element Qa for converting the read signal charges into a voltage signal; and [0000] (5) A MOS switch Qs for selecting an output row. [0030] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A′ shown in FIG. 1 . [0031] As shown in FIG. 3 , the surface of the pixel cells 11 is covered with a light-blocking film 15 except the opening of the photodiode PD. [0032] A field oxidation film 17 is formed as appropriate on regions other than the circuit elements of the pixel cells 11 so as to separate and isolate neighboring pixel cells 11 from each other. A gettering region 20 is formed under the field oxidation film 17 . The gettering region 20 is a region with a impurity concentration in which the average impurity concentration of such as boron meets the following equation. 1E20 cm −3 ≦Average impurity concentration≦1E23 cm −3 . [0033] The upper limit 1E23 cm −3 is substantially equal to the concentration of metal boron. The grounds for the lower limit 1E20 cm −3 will be explained in detail below with reference to experimental data. [0034] Inside the gettering region 20 lattice defects such as dislocation loops, stacking faults, or vacancies are present. Because the lattice defects are present within the gettering region 20 but not in the depletion region of the photodiode PD, it is thus less likely to cause leak current in the photodiode PD. [0035] Such a gettering region 20 captures iron contaminants; as a result, an average area concentration of iron therein is 1E10 cm −2 or more. [0036] To form such a gettering region 20 , for example, boron may be introduced by ion implantation before the field oxidation film 17 is formed and then annealed in an atmosphere of nitrogen (at 950° C., for 30 minutes). After this treatment, oxidation is performed at a high temperature of about 1000° C. to form a thick field oxidation film 17 on the gettering region 20 . [0037] To form the gettering region 20 in an alternative manner, boron may be introduced to a region under the field oxidation film 17 through the field oxidation film 17 by the high energy ion implantation. Effects of the First Embodiment [0038] The aforementioned gettering region 20 has the following features. [0039] (A) The gettering region 20 is provided within a region (or in a plurality of layers) in which the pixel cells 11 are formed as circuits. Accordingly, as compared with the aforementioned conventional technique, the distance between the gettering region 20 and the pixel cells 11 is substantially reduced, thereby achieving a higher gettering effect for the pixel cells 11 . As a result, the gettering region 20 achieves a great gettering effect on the pixel cells 11 which are vulnerable to metal contamination, increasing the S/N of the solid-state image sensor 10 easily. [0000] (B) The gettering region 20 is present inside the well 13 that surrounds the pixel cells 11 . Accordingly, the gettering region 20 directly acts upon the pixel cells 11 from inside the well 13 to attain a further enhanced gettering effect. [0040] (C) The gettering region 20 is formed at a depth substantially equal to that of the depletion region of the photodiode PD. Therefore, it is possible to attain a high gettering effect on the depletion region of the photodiode PD. This causes contaminant metal present in the depletion region of the photodiode PD to be greatly eliminated, thereby making it possible to significantly reduce dark outputs occurring in this depletion region. Consequently, the S/N of the solid-state image sensor 10 can be surely enhanced. [0041] (D) The gettering region 20 is provided at a location where light is blocked with the light-blocking film 15 . For this reason, even while the solid-state image sensor 10 is being illuminated with light, the gettering region 20 is maintained in a dark state. Generally, heavy metal donors which pair with boron in the gettering region 20 are partially separated when illuminated with white light. However, in this embodiment, the gettering region 20 are maintained in a dark state so that separation of captured metal is to be less, thereby making it possible to obtain a more stable continuous gettering effect. [0042] (E) Lattice defects are present in the gettering region 20 . Irregular structures of lattice defects cause lattice strain on the surrounding crystalline. The lattice strain serves as the gettering center of heavy metals. Accordingly, the gettering region 20 can capture metal contaminants more effectively by the gettering effect of the lattice strain. [0043] (F) In particular, the gettering region 20 here can be a region not in contact with metal conductor. Such a gettering region 20 is able to be positioned more freely irrespective of the patterning of metal conductor. It is thus possible to place the gettering region 20 as appropriate in the vicinity of the depletion region of the photodiode PD. In this case, it is possible to make an intensive and efficient gettering effect on this depletion region. As a result, dark outputs which would otherwise occur in this depletion region can be effectively reduced to attain an efficiently enhanced S/N for the solid-state image sensor 10 . [0044] Now, another embodiment will be described. Second Embodiment [0045] The structure of a pixel cell according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ), and thus will not be repeatedly described. [0046] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B′ shown in FIG. 1 . [0047] As shown in FIG. 4 , in the second embodiment, a gettering region 20 a is provided in the region of the MOS switch Qr (to which a reset voltage is applied), the drain region of the amplification element Qa, and the region of the MOS switch Qs (which is connected to the vertical readout line). In particular, one of these regions which is in ohmic contact with the metal conductor may also be referred to as a contact region to distinguish it from the gettering region which is not in ohmic contact with the metal conductor. In these gettering regions 20 a , an impurity such as phosphorus is introduced with an average impurity concentration of 1E20 cm −3 or more. [0048] Also, inside the gettering region 20 a lattice defects such as dislocation loops, stacking faults, or vacancies are present. [0049] To form such a gettering region 20 a , for example, phosphorus may be introduced from the surface of a semiconductor substrate by ion implantation, and thereafter annealed for activation, for example, in an atmosphere of nitrogen at a temperature of 950° C. or less for about 30 minutes. [0050] Such a gettering region 20 a captures iron contaminants so that the average area concentration of iron is 1E10 cm −2 or more therein. Effects of the Second Embodiment [0051] As described above, the second embodiment provides an additional gettering region 20 a . It is therefore possible to further enhance the gettering effect described in relation to the first embodiment. [0052] Now, another embodiment will be described below. Third Embodiment [0053] FIG. 5 is a view showing the configuration of a light-receiving face of a solid-state image sensor 30 . [0054] As shown in FIG. 5 , the solid-state image sensor 30 includes pixel cells 41 arranged in an array and peripheral circuitry 42 having a vertical scan circuit or the like. [0055] FIG. 6 is a view showing an equivalent circuit of the pixel cell 41 . [0056] The pixel cells 41 are patterned with a photodiode PD for photoelectric conversion of incident light into signal charges, a MOS switch Qt for reading signal charges from the photodiode PD, a MOS switch Qr for reset operations, and an amplification element Qa of a junction type FET for converting the read signal charges into a voltage signal. [0057] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C′ shown in FIG. 5 . [0058] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line D-D′ shown in FIG. 5 . [0059] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 , in the third embodiment, gettering regions 32 a and 33 a are provided on a main electrode 32 of the MOS switch Qr (by which a reset voltage is applied) and the drain 33 of the amplification element Qa, respectively. In particular, one of these regions which is in ohmic contact with the metal conductor may also be referred to as a contact region to distinguish it from the gettering region which is not in ohmic contact with the metal conductor. [0060] In the gettering region 32 a , an impurity such as boron is introduced with an average impurity concentration of 1E20 cm −3 or more. On the other hand, in the gettering region 33 a , an impurity such as phosphorus is introduced with an average impurity concentration of 1E20 cm −3 or more. [0061] Furthermore, inside the gettering regions 32 a and 33 a lattice defects such as dislocation loops, stacking faults, or vacancies are present. [0062] To form these gettering regions 32 a and 33 a , for example, boron fluoride or phosphorus may be introduced by ion implantation, and thereafter annealed in an atmosphere of nitrogen at a temperature of 950° C. or less for about 30 minutes. [0063] Such gettering regions 32 a and 33 a capture iron contaminants so that the average area concentration of iron is 1E10 cm −2 or more therein. [0064] In the third embodiment, the semiconductor substrate is subjected to intrinsic gettering (IG), which is one conventional technique, to form a micro-defect region (Bulk Micro Default BMD) 31 b and a no-defect region (DZ region) 31 a on the surface of the substrate. [0065] The micro-defect region 31 b is able to capture metal contaminants from below the pixel cells 41 , thereby providing a more positive gettering effect. Effects of the Third Embodiment [0066] In the third embodiment, the gettering regions 32 a and 33 a can provide the same effects as those of the first embodiment. [0067] The third embodiment also provides three additional effects as follows. [0068] (1) In general, the size of the gettering layer is large in the conventional gettering technique since the gettering layer is provided for each substrate or each well. In addition to being large in size, such a gettering layer also contains impurities and defects with a high concentration so that it is difficult to prevent adverse effects on the device structure, function, and operation of the pixel cells. For this reason, in the conventional technique, it is necessary to design a gettering layer and a pixel cell with sufficient distance between them. [0069] However, in this embodiment, the gettering regions 32 a and 33 a are designed to be provided for each pixel cell 41 . This makes it possible to locally dispose a gettering region selectively in an area not to have influence on the device structure, function, or operation of the pixel cell 41 . As a result, it is possible to surely reduce adverse effects on the device structure, function, or operation of the pixel cell 41 while exerting an enhanced gettering effect on the pixel cell 41 . [0070] (2) In the third embodiment, the gettering regions 32 a and 33 a are formed in part of the area of circuit elements that constitute the pixel cell 41 . This may cause a part of the original area to slightly increase in size; however, there is no need to provide an additional area designated for the gettering region. Accordingly, even though the gettering regions 32 a and 33 a are additionally provided within the limited area of the pixel cell 41 , it causes almost no problems such as unnecessary increases in size of the pixel cell 41 and in the chip size, and a reduction in effective light-receiving area. [0000] (3) In the third embodiment, the gettering regions 32 a and 33 a are provided at a selected location where a constant voltage is applied. More specifically, it is possible to apply a constant voltage using polysilicon or silicide. [0071] Such a location is sustained at a low impedance as a circuit by a constant voltage circuit or ground line. This makes it possible to immediately absorb a dark current which is generated by a contaminant captured within the gettering regions 32 a , 33 a . As a result, it is possible to surely confine a dark current which is generated by a captured contaminant, and to further improve the S/N of an image signal. [0072] In the third embodiment, the gettering region is disposed selectively at a location where a constant voltage is originally applied; however, the present invention is not limited thereto. If a new gettering region is created, an additional constant voltage line may be connected via a conductor to the new gettering region. [0000] [Experimental Data] [0073] Now, the relation between the average impurity concentration in a gettering region according to the present invention and the dark output from a solid-state image sensor will be verified using experimental data. [0074] Now, the procedure of the experiment will be described below. First, as described in the first through third embodiments, a large number of solid-state image sensors are prepared as samples which have a gettering region within the region of a pixel cell. Boron with various concentrations is introduced into the gettering regions of these samples. [0075] Solid iron is dissolved into the samples at a temperature of 900° C. until the maximum solid solubility thereof becomes 4.2E13 cm −3 . After the iron contamination, the dark output is measured for each sample. [0076] FIG. 9 is a plot representing the relation between the dark output measured in this manner and the average impurity concentration of boron in the gettering region. [0077] From the experimental results shown in FIG. 9 , it can be seen that the dark output is sharply reduced to half when the average impurity concentration of the gettering region is raised up to 1E20 cm −3 . Around the average impurity concentration of 1E20 cm −3 , an inflection point appears on the downward curve of the dark output, and the sharp decrease in dark output changes to a slightly gentle decrease. The decrease in dark output further continues even beyond the average impurity concentration of 1E20 cm −3 , finally reaching to almost zero at the average impurity concentration of 2E20 cm −3 (i.e., below the measurement limit). [0078] The experimental results show that the average impurity concentration is preferably set to 1 E20 cm −3 or greater (more preferably 2E20 cm −3 or greater) when the gettering region is formed within the area of a pixel cell. Setting the average impurity concentration in this way makes it possible to reduce the dark output from the solid-state image sensor to almost half (or almost zero). [0079] It can be estimated from the halved dark output that the gettering region has captured about a half of the iron contaminant in the pixel cell. In this case, the average area concentration of iron within the gettering region will be about 1E10 cm −2 by the equation below; (4.2 E 13 cm −3 )×(contamination depth of 5 μ m )/2≈1 E 10 cm −2 . [0080] Therefore, when a region of a pixel cell with a high impurity concentration, which does not contain iron originally, shows a high average area concentration of iron (e.g., 1E10 cm −2 or more), it can be determined that the region with a high impurity concentration is the gettering region according to the present invention. [0081] However, needless to say that the average area concentration of iron within the gettering region varies with the amount of iron contaminant. Therefore, it cannot be simply determined that an area with a low average area concentration of iron (e.g., below 1E10 cm −2 ) is not the gettering region according to the present invention. Supplemental Items of the Embodiments [0082] In the aforementioned embodiments, a gettering region is formed by introducing impurities. This impurity introduction is a particularly preferable technique for locally forming a gettering region as in the aforementioned embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the gettering region may also be formed using strains resulting from machining or through the formation of film. Alternatively, the gettering region may be formed by controlling the atmosphere for heat treatment. [0083] In the aforementioned embodiments, the gettering region is formed by introducing boron or phosphorus. Especially, boron is very effective to getter iron which is a main contaminant in the pixel region. However, the present invention is not limited to such an impurity. For example, at least one of boron, phosphorus, arsenic, and antimony is a preferable impurity for forming a gettering region. [0084] As described above, the present invention provides a gettering region within the region of a pixel cell. Accordingly, the gettering region and the pixel cell can be more closely spaced from each other than in the prior art, which provides an enhanced gettering effect on the pixel cell. As a result, it is able to implement a solid-state image sensor with less dark output easily. [0085] The invention is not limited to the above embodiments and various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Any improvement may be made in part or all of the components.

A solid-state image sensor of the present invention has a plurality of pixel cells that generate signal charges in accordance with incident light. It is characterized by having a gettering region within the area of a pixel cell. The gettering region, which is disposed closely to the photoelectrical conversion layer, makes direct and efficient use of gettering capability in the pixel region in the solid-state image sensor. As a result, it is possible to effectively eliminate metal contaminant contained in the pixel region, thereby remarkably reducing dark outputs occurring from the metal contaminant.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/256,053, filed Oct. 29, 2009. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a system and method for removing nitrogen and producing liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) from gaseous streams containing methane and other impurities without the need for an external refrigeration system. The invention also relates to a system and method for removing nitrogen from methane and for producing liquefied nitrogen in addition to LNG. The system and method of the invention are particularly suitable for use in recovering and processing comparatively small volumes of methane from coal mine vent streams or streams containing methane and nitrogen captured as flash gas at an LNG loading site. 2. Description of Related Art Because many sources of methane produced during mining, energy transport or other industrial applications are not located near a natural gas transmission pipeline or other facility having gas-processing or liquefaction capabilities, a significant amount of methane gas, often combined with other gaseous or vaporous components, is either flared or vented to the atmosphere. This is particularly true in remote or otherwise underdeveloped areas where environmental impact is less of a concern than in the United States and other developed countries. Naturally occurring methane is often encountered in coal mines, where it poses a significant risk to miners and to the mine subsurface equipment and inventory. This risk arises from miners being unable to breathe methane gas and also because air containing more than about 5 percent methane (preferably not more than about 2 percent) poses a significant risk of explosion. For these reasons, vertical shafts are frequently drilled into coal-containing formations ahead of the mining equipment so that any pockets of methane encountered during the drilling can be brought to the surface. Air is also forced down into subterranean mines and circulated through the mine shafts to dilute any residual methane that may be present and force it to the surface as well. Once the mining equipment reaches the vertical shafts drilled to recover methane from the formation, collapses can occur that produce another kind of methane-containing gas referred to as “gob gas,” which is also extremely hazardous. Also, at LNG loading facilities, some LNG is typically vaporized as flash gas when the product first enters the tank, which is typically in an LNG tanker or other transport vessel. Because LNG normally comprises a minor amount of residual nitrogen, and because the nitrogen vaporizes at a lower temperature than LNG, the flash gas thus produced will contain a higher percentage of nitrogen than is contained in the LNG. For this reason, even where the flash gas is captured without exposing it to air, the methane in the flash gas cannot readily be re-liquefied without first removing the nitrogen. Although the amount of methane in the flash gas is relatively minor compared to the total amount being loaded, it may not enough to justify economically the investment and expense required to remove the nitrogen and then re-liquefy the methane using conventional technology. Unfortunately, this can cause operators to resort to the more expedient but less environmentally responsible alternatives of venting or flaring the flash gas. Advantages of recovering coal mine methane for producing LNG, the existing technologies and the importance of accommodating smaller gas flows than conventional natural gas to LNG applications are all discussed in “Coal Mine Methane and LNG,” a paper published in November 2008 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Coalbed Methane Outreach Program Technical Options Series. Prior patents disclosing other gas processing technology invented by Rayburn C. Butts of BCCK Engineering include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,141,544; 5,257,505; and 5,375,422. Compander technology comprising an integrally geared design with one or more expansion stages and one or more compressor stages has previously been disclosed, for example, by Cryostar Industries. The expansion of gas allows for energy to be extracted or harnessed by the use of an expander device. The expander is coupled with a matching compressor, thereby creating a stage compression as is useful in the process. Auxiliary compression is often required to produce the total amount of compression requirements. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The system and method disclosed herein facilitate the economically efficient and environmentally friendly removal of nitrogen from methane and the production of LNG without the use of an external refrigeration system. As used throughout this specification and claims, the terms “external refrigeration” and “recirculated refrigerant” refer to cooling by means of a recirculated coolant that is external to the process streams emanating directly or indirectly from the inlet gas, and also include cascade refrigeration or mixed refrigerant processes as those conventional cascade and mixed refrigerant processes are known to and understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. According to one embodiment of the invention, nitrogen removed from the methane stream is also liquefied and produced in addition to LNG. The system and method of the invention are suitable for use in processing relatively small volumes of methane in comparison to conventional natural gas processing plants, and are particularly suitable for use in processing methane recovered from coal mines and from LNG loading facilities. It has now been discovered that integration of some of the nitrogen removal technology previously disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,375,422, 5,257,505 and 5,141,544 with additional technology as disclosed herein, offers significant advantages not previously achievable by those of ordinary skill in the art using existing technologies. These advantages include, for example, an ability to process and liquefy methane at relatively low temperatures through the use of strategically placed turbo expander or compander units without the need for an external refrigeration system, thereby substantially reducing horsepower and compressor requirements, with attendant reductions in capital investment and operating costs. Moreover, because the economic and operational advantages of the subject system and method can be realized in facilities processing comparatively small volumes of methane, the technology can be provided and practiced at locations where methane would otherwise be flared or vented to the atmosphere, thereby eliminating or significantly reducing any adverse environmental impact. According to one embodiment of the invention, a system is disclosed for removing nitrogen and for producing LNG from methane gas comprising other gaseous components, the system comprising a source of methane gas disposed proximally to a processing site, the source being accessible to the site without transport through an external pipeline; and a nitrogen removal section configured to remove nitrogen gas from the methane gas and to liquefy a substantial portion of the methane gas to produce LNG without use of a recirculated refrigerant. According to another embodiment of the invention, a system is disclosed for producing LNG from methane gas comprising other gaseous components, the system comprising a source of methane gas disposed proximally to a processing site, the source being accessible to the site without transport through an external pipeline; a first processing section configured to remove oxygen gas from the methane gas; a second processing section configured to remove carbon dioxide from the methane gas; a third processing section configured to dehydrate the methane gas; a fourth processing section configured to remove nitrogen gas from the methane gas and to liquefy a substantial portion of the methane gas to produce LNG without use of a recirculated refrigerant; an LNG subcooler section disposed downstream of the fourth processing section; wherein the LNG subcooler section is configured to further cool LNG received from the fourth processing section without use of a recirculated refrigerant; conduits through which the methane gas received from the source can flow into and out of the first, second, third and fourth processing sections and the LNG subcooler section; and a receptacle for LNG received from the LNG subcooler section. According to another embodiment of the invention, a method is disclosed for removing nitrogen and for producing LNG from methane gas comprising other gaseous components, the method comprising: providing a source of methane gas disposed proximally to a processing site, the source being accessible to the site without transport through an external pipeline; and removing nitrogen from the methane gas and liquefying a substantial portion of the methane gas to produce LNG without use of a recirculated refrigerant. According to another embodiment of the invention, a method is disclosed for producing LNG from methane gas containing other gaseous components, the method comprising: providing a source of methane gas disposed proximally to a processing site, the source being accessible to the site without transport through an external pipeline; introducing the methane gas into a first processing section configured to remove oxygen gas from the methane gas; introducing the methane gas into a second processing section configured to remove carbon dioxide from the methane gas; introducing the methane gas into a third processing section configured to dehydrate the methane gas; introducing the methane gas into a fourth processing section configured to remove nitrogen gas from the methane gas and to liquefy a substantial portion of the methane gas to produce LNG without use of a recirculated refrigerant; introducing the LNG received from the fourth processing station into an LNG subcooling section to further cool LNG received from the fourth processing section without use of a recirculated refrigerant; and introducing LNG received from the LNG subcooler section into a receptacle. According to another embodiment of the invention, a system and method are disclosed for producing liquid nitrogen and LNG from methane as separate product streams without use of a recirculated refrigerant. According to another embodiment of the invention, a system and method are disclosed for producing LNG from methane recovered from a coal mine or from an LNG loading station or facility. According to another embodiment of the invention, a system and method are disclosed for producing LNG and liquid nitrogen from methane recovered from a coal mine or from an LNG loading station or facility, It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this disclosure that additional processing sections for removing oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and possibly other components or contaminants that are present with methane in the inlet gas stream, can also be included in the system and method of the invention, depending upon factors such as, for example, the origin and intended disposition of the product streams and the amounts of such other gases or impurities or contaminants as are present in the inlet gas. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The system and method of the invention are further described and explained in relation to the following drawings wherein: FIG. 1 is a simplified process flow diagram illustrating principal processing stages of one embodiment of a system and method for producing LNG from an inlet gas containing methane and other contaminants; FIG. 2 is a simplified process flow diagram illustrating principal processing stages of another embodiment of a system and method for producing LNG and liquid nitrogen (“LIN”) from an inlet gas containing methane and nitrogen; FIG. 3 is a more detailed process flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of the nitrogen removal section of the simplified process flow diagrams of FIGS. 1 and 2 ; FIG. 4 is a more detailed process flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of the LNG production section of the simplified process flow diagrams of FIGS. 1 and 2 ; and FIG. 5 is a modified version of the detailed process flow diagram of FIG. 4 illustrating an alternate embodiment in which a liquid nitrogen stream is produced as another byproduct of the system and method of the invention. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1 , one satisfactory system 10 of the invention comprises processing equipment useful for receiving methane gas and cooling it to form LNG without the use of external refrigeration or a recirculated refrigerant. Although the source of the methane gas is not critical to the system and method of the invention, some suitable sources of methane gas for use in the invention are coal mines, LNG loading facilities, and other industrial or geologic sources. The methane used as inlet gas stream 12 will typically contain other gases as well, with nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapor being the most notable examples. Where present, it is generally preferable for purposes of the present invention to remove as much of the oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapor as is reasonably possible prior to implementing the nitrogen removal and methane liquefaction portions of the invention. For this reason, system 10 of the invention as depicted in FIG. 1 includes first, second, third processing sections 14 , 16 , 18 for the removal of oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapor, respectively, upstream of the nitrogen removal section 20 and the LNG subcooler section 22 and LNG storage 24 for the LNG product 26 . Conventional technologies for removing oxygen and carbon dioxide from methane, and for dehydrating the methane stream to remove water vapor are generally well known and are already commercially available from various sources. For this reason, this disclosure is primarily directed to enabling those of ordinary skill in the art to produce LNG and, optionally, liquid nitrogen from a methane inlet stream without the need for external refrigeration (including cascade refrigeration or mixed refrigerant processes). Referring to FIG. 2 , system 30 is disclosed as another suitable alternative embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the inlet gas 12 , oxygen removal section 14 , carbon dioxide removal section 16 and dehydration section 18 of the invention are provided as discussed above in relation to FIG. 1 . In nitrogen removal section 20 , however, a stream of nitrogen gas recovered from the methane is diverted to a nitrogen expander 175 to liquefy at least a portion of the stream, and then to a liquid nitrogen separator 196 to produce a liquid nitrogen product 204 in addition to LNG product 26 produced substantially as disclosed in relation to system 10 of FIG. 1 . Nitrogen removal section 20 of the invention as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 is further described and explained in relation to FIG. 3 . Referring to FIG. 3 , a nitrogen-containing methane feed stream 56 is combined in manifold 60 with recycled methane stream 62 from an expander-compressor section that is part of LNG subcooler section 22 and is further described below in relation to FIG. 4 . Combined inlet stream 57 is directed to plate fin cooler 64 or another similarly suitable heat exchange device and emerges as stream 66 . Stream 66 is controlled by valve 68 to produce stream 70 having substantially the same temperature but approximately half the pressure of stream 66 before entering nitrogen fractionation tower 71 . Tower 71 operates at approximately −230° F. and 300 psia, and causes the nitrogen gas to separate from the methane and flow upwardly through the tower as a vapor. Acceptable inlet compositions in which this invention may operate satisfactorily are listed in the following Table 1: TABLE 1 INLET STREAM COMPOSITIONS Acceptable Inlet Composition Ranges Inlet Component (Inlet Percent) Methane 20 to 100 Oxygen 0 to 15 Carbon Dioxide 0 to 5  Nitrogen 0 to 80 The flow rates, temperatures and pressures of various flow streams referred to in connection with the discussion of the system and method of the invention in relation to FIGS. 3 and 4 for a nominal inlet flow rate in this example of 19 MMSCFD appear in Table 2 below: TABLE 2 FLOW STREAM PROPERTIES Stream Reference Flow Rate Temperature Pressure Numeral (lbmol/h) (deg. F.) (psia)  26 575 −263 17  56 1617 121 640  57 1706 119 640  62 89 120 1033  66 1706 −230 639  70 1706 −231 315  72 1811 −252 280  75 769 −252 280  76 1043 −252 280    76′ 1043 −230 278  77 1769 −224 280  78 1078 −173 280  79 1769 −206 280  82 415 −168 280  84 663 −168 280  88 313 −168 280  89 1043 −308 30  90 350 −168 280  94 350 −250 278  98 350 −250 30 100 350 −257 16 102 350 −235 14 104 350 110 14 106 1421 −258 17 108 1421 105 16 112 1771 106 14 115 1771 363 55 117 1771 120 50 119 1771 313 140 121 1771 120 135 123 1774 325 400 126 1771 120 395 128 1771 120 1034 134 1683 120 1033 136 1683 −12.5 1028 138 1043 −225 28 140 1043 110 27 146 1771 120 635 152 1771 120 864 156 1771 158 1039 160 313 −270 278 166 1683 −200 125 169 8 −200 124 170 1675 −200 124 174 1675 −253 20 178 1526 −255 19 180 1526 −258 17 184 105 −258 17 186 156 −255 19 188 575 −263 17 192 0 −263 17 Overhead nitrogen gas stream 72 , shown as being external to tower 71 for purposes of illustration, is directed to condenser 74 , but in practice condenser 74 is preferably a knockback condenser section that is internal to the tower, and is previously known. Condensate 75 is returned to the fractionation section of tower 71 , and stream 76 of nitrogen gas is preferably directed to an N 2 expander that is further discussed below in relation to FIGS. 4 and 5 . Q-1 represents the energy transferred to heat exchanger 99 from knockback condenser 74 . Representative energy values for Q-1 and other energy streams that are identified in FIGS. 3 and 4 appear in Table 3 below: TABLE 3 ENERGY STREAM REPORT Energy Stream Energy Rate Reference Numeral (Btu/h) From To Q-1 1.08E+06 Virtual KB KB Condenser Q-2 1.05E+06 Plate Fin Virtual Reboiler Q-4 4.26E+06 Sales 1 st Stage Q-5 4.07E+06 1 st Sales Cooler Q-6 3.13E+06 Sales 2 nd Stage Q-7 3.20E+06 2 nd Sales Cooler Q-8 3.31E+06 Sales 3 rd Stage Q-9 3.52E+06 3 rd Sales Cooler  Q-10 1.55E+06 Warm Warm Expander Comp  Q-11 965593 Low Temp Low Temp Exp Comp  Q-12 552059 N2 Nitrogen Exp Comp  Q-13 1.74E+06 Warm Comp Cooler  Q-14 1.14E+06 LT Comp Cooler  Q-15 679952 N2 Comp Cooler Stream 78 from the bottom of tower 71 is desirably directed to virtual reboiler 80 that receives heat (designated by energy stream Q-2) from plate fin cooler 64 . Vapor stream 82 is returned to tower 71 and liquid methane stream 84 is directed through splitter manifold 86 to form two streams 88 , 90 having comparable flow rates, temperatures and pressures. LNG stream 88 is directed to the LNG subcooling section 22 described below in relation to FIG. 4 , and stream 90 is circulated through subcooler 92 , valve 96 and heat exchanger 99 , then back through subcooler 92 to plate fin cooler 64 as stream 102 , through which it passes countercurrent to combined inlet stream 57 . In this loop, the pressure of stream 90 is dropped more than about 260 psi and the stream is cooled more than 65 degrees before returning to plate fin cooler 64 . In this manner, a portion of the LNG stream 84 produced in tower 71 can be recirculated for use an “internal” refrigerant for inlet stream 56 . Sections of stream 90 are also designated by reference numerals 94 , 98 and 100 at intermediate points between its passes through subcooler 92 to facilitate illustrating the temperature and pressure changes at various points in the loop. Referring again to nitrogen fractionation tower 71 , a sidestream 77 drawn, for example, from tray 13 of tower 71 is also directed back to and through plate fin cooler 64 , again countercurrent to combined inlet stream 57 , before returning as stream 79 to a lower position in tower 71 , in this case tray 14 . By reference to Table 2, it is seen that the temperature of the sidestream is increased by about 18° F. with virtually no change in pressure before reentering tower 71 , thereby again serving as an “internal” refrigerant for inlet gas stream 56 . Stream 104 exits plate fin cooler 64 and is directed to mixing manifold 110 where it is desirably combined with stream 108 that emerges from plate fin cooler 64 after being returned as stream 106 from final LNG separator 182 of LNG subcooler section 22 as discussed below in relation to FIG. 4 . Combined stream 112 is thereafter directed through an alternating series of compression stages 114 , 116 , 118 and sales coolers 120 , 122 , 124 in which the stream undergoes a net temperature increase of about 15 degrees and a net pressure increase of about 380 psi before flowing as stream 126 to a series of compression stages that are connected to and are driven by expanders, which extract mechanical energy from the expansion of gas streams that are further discussed below in relation to FIG. 4 . Reference numerals 115 , 117 , 119 , 121 and 123 are used to better illustrate the changes in temperature and pressure that the recycled material in stream 112 undergoes at intermediate points as it passes through the sales coolers before emerging as stream 126 in FIG. 3 . In summary, it is apparent from the foregoing discussion of nitrogen removal section 20 in relation to FIG. 3 and to the illustrative stream properties presented in Table 2 that substantial cooling of the inlet stream of mixed methane and nitrogen is achieved before reaching nitrogen fractionation tower 71 by strategically controlling the flows, temperatures and pressures of internal process streams and not through the use of external refrigeration. Referring back to FIG. 1 , the portion of system 10 that is inside dashed outline 200 is further described and explained in relation to FIG. 4 . Referring to FIG. 4 , stream 88 of LNG received from nitrogen removal section 20 of FIG. 3 is directed to subcooler 142 , which is preferably a plate fin cooler or other similarly effective exchanger apparatus. The temperature of stream 88 is reduced approximately 100° F. with minimal pressure drop as it passes through subcooler 142 , from which it emerges as stream 160 and is directed through manifold 162 into LNG storage section 24 , from which LNG product 26 is produced. Referring to Table 2, LNG product can be produced according to the system and method of the invention at temperatures below 250° F. and pressures only slightly above atmospheric. LNG storage section 24 is desirably configured and adapted to recover any vapor that is flashed as stream 192 . The substantial cooling provided by subcooler 142 to further lower the temperature of LNG received from nitrogen removal section 20 is again achieved through the use and control of internal process streams and not through use of external refrigeration. One source of cooling within subcooler 142 is provided by expanding the gaseous nitrogen received from nitrogen removal section 20 in stream 76 . Stream 76 is desirably directed to N 2 expander 175 , from which it exits as stream 89 , which is then directed to subcooler 142 countercurrent to the incoming flow of LNG in stream 88 . Inside N 2 expander 175 , the stream pressure is reduced by about 250 psi, with an attendant temperature reduction of about 55° F., to below −300° F. After emerging from subcooler 142 , nitrogen stream 138 is returned to plate fin cooler 64 countercurrent to combined inlet stream 57 as described above, after which it exits as vent stream 140 . Another source of cooling within subcooler 142 is provided by sequentially expanding high pressure stream 136 , which passes sequentially through warm expander 164 , low temperature expander scrubber 168 , low temperature expander 172 , and LNG separator 176 . In LNG separator 176 , the material from stream 136 separates into streams 178 , 186 , respectively, with the flow rate of stream 178 being substantially greater (by a factor of about 10) than the flow rate of stream 186 . During the progression from stream 136 to stream 178 , the temperature drops about 240° as the pressure drops more than 1000 psi. Reference numerals 166 , 170 and 174 are used to designate stream 136 at intermediate points between warm expander 164 and LNG separator 176 to assist in identifying the temperatures and pressures of the steam at those points. As stream 178 passes through subcooler 142 , it cools slightly more and exits as stream 180 into final LNG separator 182 . In LNG separator 182 , the material from stream 180 separates into streams 106 and 184 , respectively, with the flow rate of stream 106 again being substantially greater than the flow rate of stream 184 . Stream 106 is directed back to nitrogen removal section 20 of FIG. 3 , where it enters and passes through plate fin cooler 64 , from which it exits as stream 108 that is combined with stream 104 in manifold 110 to produce stream 112 as discussed above in relation to FIG. 3 . Referring again to FIG. 4 , stream 186 from LNG separator 176 and stream 184 from final LNG separator 182 are then combined in manifold 162 to form combined stream 188 that flows into LNG storage tank 24 , from which LNG product 26 is produced. Stream 136 as described above is received by warm expander 164 from plate fin cooler 64 in nitrogen removal section 20 of FIG. 3 , which enters plate fin cooler 64 as stream 134 . Stream 134 is formed when stream 128 as shown in FIG. 3 is split into streams 62 and 134 in manifold 132 , after which stream 62 is combined with inlet stream 56 in manifold 60 . Stream 128 , in turn, originates from stream 126 of FIG. 3 , after passing through a loop that is further described and explained in relation to LNG subcooler section 22 in FIG. 4 . Referring again to FIG. 4 , stream 126 is received from nitrogen removal section 20 and passes successively through warm compressor 142 , warm compressor cooler 144 , low temperature compressor 148 , low temperature compressor cooler 150 , nitrogen compressor 154 and N 2 compressor cooler 158 , before returning to nitrogen removal section 20 as stream 182 , discussed above. Intermediate stream designations 146 , 150 , 152 and 156 are provided for use in tracking relative temperatures and pressures through this portion of system 10 of the invention. As compared to stream 126 , the temperature of stream 128 is increased by less than 50° F. but the pressure is increased by more than 600 psi. Illustrative energy streams corresponding to the movement of the material of stream 126 through the various devices as identified above between stream 126 and stream 128 are reported in Table 2. All devices identified in relation to FIGS. 3 and 4 are believed to be commercially available from sources known to those of ordinary skill in the art, and particular equipment specifications will depend upon factors that can vary, for example, according to the intended application, use site, inlet gas composition, throughputs and operating conditions. In accordance with another alternative embodiment of the invention in which liquid nitrogen is also produced according to the system and method of the invention, which corresponds to that portion of FIG. 2 that is identified by dashed box 300 and which is further described and explained in relation to FIG. 5 , stream 89 can be directed to liquid nitrogen separator 196 , from which overhead stream 197 is returned to subcooler 142 . Stream 197 enters subcooler 142 countercurrent to LNG stream 88 in substantially the same manner that stream 89 did in the embodiment described in relation to FIG. 4 , and exits as stream 138 . Stream 138 is then returned to plate fin cooler 64 in nitrogen removal section 20 , as previously shown and described in relation to FIG. 3 . Liquid nitrogen stream 198 , which exits from the bottom of liquid nitrogen separator 196 , is desirably directed to storage vessel 201 , from which liquid nitrogen product stream 204 is produced, with any flashed nitrogen vapor exiting vessel 201 as vent stream 202 . It should be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this disclosure that the flow rate, temperature and pressure of stream 138 as shown in FIG. 5 will differ somewhat from the values as reported in Table 2 for the embodiment described in relation to FIGS. 3 and 4 , which can in turn have a slight effect on the temperatures, pressures and/or energy values for other streams reported in Tables 2 and 3 to the extent that those streams are also referred to in the alternative embodiment of FIG. 5 . Otherwise, the streams and flow configurations previously described in relation to FIGS. 3 and 4 are likewise applicable to like-numbered streams in FIG. 5 . Other alterations and modifications of the invention will likewise become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this specification in view of the accompanying drawings, and it is intended that the scope of the invention disclosed herein be limited only by the broadest interpretation of the appended claims to which the inventor is legally entitled.

A system and method for removing nitrogen and producing liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) from methane without the need for external refrigeration. The invention also relates to a system and method for removing nitrogen from methane and for producing liquefied nitrogen in addition to LNG. The system and method of the invention are particularly suitable for use in recovering and processing comparatively small volumes of methane from coal mines or from flash gas captured at an LNG loading site.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to compositions that include a fluoroamine as a component. These compositions are useful as refrigerants, cleaning agents, expansion agents for polyolefins and polyurethanes, aerosol propellants, refrigerants, heat transfer media, gaseous dielectrics, fire extinguishing agents, power cycle working fluids, polymerization media, particulate removal fluids, carrier fluids, buffing abrasive agents, and displacement drying agents. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Fluorinated hydrocarbons have many uses, one of which is as a refrigerant. Such refrigerants include dichlorodifluoromethane (CFC-12) and chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-22). In recent years it has been pointed out that certain kinds of fluorinated hydrocarbon refrigerants released into the atmosphere may adversely affect the stratospheric ozone layer. Although this proposition has not yet been completely established, there is a movement toward the control of the use and the production of certain chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) under an international agreement. Accordingly, there is a demand for the development of refrigerants that have a lower ozone depletion potential than existing refrigerants while still achieving an acceptable performance in refrigeration applications. Compositions which do not include chlorine or bromine have been suggested as replacements for CFCs and HCFCs since HFCs have no chlorine and therefore have zero ozone depletion potential. In refrigeration applications, a refrigerant is often lost during operation through leaks in shaft seals, hose connections, soldered joints and broken lines. In addition, the refrigerant may be released to the atmosphere during maintenance procedures on refrigeration equipment. If the refrigerant is not a pure component or an azeotropic or azeotrope-like composition, the refrigerant composition may change when leaked or discharged to the atmosphere from the refrigeration equipment, which may cause the refrigerant to become flammable or to have poor refrigeration performance. Accordingly, it is desirable to use as a refrigerant a pure compound or an azeotropic or azeotrope-like composition of compounds that do not contain chlorine or bromine, such as fluorinated amines, fluorinated hydrocarbons, ethers or hydrocarbons. Fluorinated amines, fluorinated hydrocarbons, ethers and hydrocarbons may also be used cleaning agents or solvents to clean, for example, electronic circuit boards. It is desirable that the cleaning agents be azeotropic or azeotrope-like because in vapor degreasing operations the cleaning agent is generally redistilled and reused for final rinse cleaning. Azeotropic or azeotrope-like compositions that include a fluorinated amines, fluorinated hydrocarbons, ethers or hydrocarbons fluorinated hydrocarbon or a fluorinated amine are also useful as blowing agents in the manufacture of closed-cell polyurethane, phenolic and thermoplastic foams, as propellants in aerosols, as heat transfer media, gaseous dielectrics, fire extinguishing agents, power cycle working fluids such as for heat pumps, inert media for polymerization reactions, fluids for removing particulates from metal surfaces, as carrier fluids that may be used, for example, to place a fine film of lubricant on metal parts, as buffing abrasive agents to remove buffing abrasive compounds from polished surfaces such as metal, as displacement drying agents for removing water, such as from jewelry or metal parts, as resist developers in conventional circuit manufacturing techniques including chlorine-type developing agents, or as strippers for photoresists when used with, for example, a chlorohydrocarbon such as 1,1,1-trichloroethane or trichloroethylene. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the discovery of compositions of N(CF 3 ) a (CHF 2 ) b (CH 2 F) c , where a, b and c are integers from 0 to 3 and a+b+c=3, and C n F m H 2n+2-m , where n is an integer from 1 to 3 and m is an integer from 1 to 8. Compositions of the present invention include compositions of tris(trifluoromethyl)amine (N(CF 3 ) 3 ) and trifluoromethane (HFC-23), difluoromethane (HFC-32), 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (HFC-134a), 1,1-difluoroethane (HFC-152a), fluoroethane (HFC-161), 1,1,1,2,2,3-hexafluoropropane (HFC-236cb), 1,1,2,3,3,3-hexafluoropropane (HFC-236ea), 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropane (HFC-236fa), 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluoropropane (HFC-245fa), 1,2,2,3-tetrafluoropropane (HFC-254ca), 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoropropane (HFC-254cb), 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoropropane (HFC-254eb), 1,2,2-trifluoropropane (HFC-263ca), 1,1,1-trifluoropropane (HFC-263fb), 2,2-difluoropropane (HFC-272ca), 1,2-difluoropropane (HFC-272ea), 1,1-difluoropropane (HFC-272fb), 2-fluoropropane (HFC-281ea) or 1-fluoropropane (HFC-281fa); bis(difluoromethyl)trifluoromethylamine (N(CHF 2 ) 2 (CF 3 )) and 1,1,2,2,3-pentafluoropropane (HFC-245ca), 1,1,2,3,3-pentafluoropropane (HFC-245ea), 1,1,1,2,3-pentafluoropropane (HFC-245eb), 1,2,2,3-tetrafluoropropane (HFC-254ca), 1,2,2-trifluoropropane (HFC-263ca) or 1,2-difluoropropane (HFC-272ea); and fluoromethylbis(trifluoromethyl)amine (N(CH 2 F)(CF 3 ) 2 ) and 1,1,2,2,3-pentafluoropropane (HFC-245ca), 1,1,2,3,3-pentafluoropropane (HFC-245ea), 1,2,2,3-tetrafluoropropane (HFC-254ca), 1,2,2-trifluoropropane (HFC 263ca) or 1,2-difluoropropane (HFC-272ea). Further, the invention relates to compositions of N(CF 3 ) 3 and butane, cyclopropane, dimethylether (DME) or isobutane. These compositions are useful as refrigerants, cleaning agents, expansion agents for polyolefins and polyurethanes, aerosol propellants, heat transfer media, gaseous dielectrics, fire extinguishing agents, power cycle working fluids, polymerization media, particulate removal fluids, carrier fluids, buffing abrasive agents, and displacement drying agents. Further, the invention relates to the discovery of azeotropic or azeotrope-like compositions comprising effective amounts of N(CF 3 ) a (CHF 2 ) b (CH 2 F) c , where a, b and c are integers from 0 to 3 and a+b+c=3, and C n F m H 2n+2-m , where n is an integer from 1 to 3 and m is an integer from 1 to 8, to form an azeotropic or azeotrope-like composition. Azeotropic or azeotrope-like compositions of this invention include effective amounts of N(CF 3 ) 3 and HFC-23, HFC-32, HFC-134a, HFC-152a, HFC-161, HFC-236cb, HFC-236ea, HFC-236fa, HFC 245fa, HFC-254ca, HFC 254cb, HFC-254eb, HFC-263ca, HFC-263fb, HFC-272ca, HFC-272ea, HFC-272fb, HFC-281ea or HFC-281fa; N(CHF 2 ) 2 (CF 3 ) and HFC-245ca, HFC-245ea, HFC-245eb, HFC-254ca, HFC-263ca or HFC-272ea; N(CH.sub. 2 F)(CF 3 ) 2 and HFC-245ca, HFC-245ea, HFC-254ca, HFC-263ca or HFC-272ea; and N(CF 3 ) 3 and butane, cyclopropane, DME or isobutane to form an azeotropic or azeotrope-like composition. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to compositions of N(CF 3 ) a (CHF 2 ) b (CH 2 F) c , where a, b and c are integers from 0 to 3 and a+b+c=3, and C n F m H 2n+2-m , where n is an integer from 1 to 3 and m is an integer from 1 to 8. Compositions of the present invention include compositions of N(CF 3 ) 3 and HFC-23, HFC-32, HFC-134a, HFC-152a, HFC-161, HFC-236cb, HFC-236ea, HFC-236fa, HFC 245fa, HFC-254ca, HFC 254cb, HFC-254eb, HFC-263ca, HFC-263fb, HFC-272ca, HFC-272ea, HFC-272fb, HFC-281ea or HFC-281fa; N(CHF 2 ) 2 (CF 3 ) and HFC-245ca, HFC-245ea, HFC-245eb, HFC-254ca, HFC-263ca or HFC-272ea; N(CH 2 F)(CF 3 ) 2 and HFC-245ca, HFC-245ea, HFC-254ca, HFC-263ca or HFC-272ea; and N(CF 3 ) 3 and butane, cyclopropane, DME or isobutane. The present invention also relates to the discovery of azeotropic or azeotrope-like compositions of effective amounts of N(CF 3 ) a (CHF 2 ) b (CH 2 F) c , where a, b and c are integers from 0 to 3 and a+b+c=3, and C n F m H 2n+2-m , where n is an integer from 1 to 3 and m is an integer from 1 to 8, to form an azeotropic or azeotrope-like composition. Azeotropic or azeotrope-like compositions of this invention include effective amounts of N(CF 3 ) 3 and HFC-23, HFC-32, HFC-134a, HFC-152a, HFC-161, HFC-236cb, HFC-236ea, HFC-236fa, HFC 245fa, HFC-254ca, HFC 254cb, HFC-254eb, HFC-263ca, HFC-263fb, HFC-272ca, HFC-272ea, HFC-272fb, HFC-281ea or HFC-281fa; N(CHF 2 ) 2 (CF 3 ) and HFC-245ca, HFC-245ea, HFC-245eb, HFC-254ca, HFC-263ca or HFC-272ea; N(CH 2 F)(CF 3 ) 2 and HFC-245ca, HFC-245ea, HFC-254ca, HFC-263ca or HFC-272ea; and N(CF 3 ) 3 and butane, cyclopropane, DME or isobutane to form an azeotropic or azeotrope-like composition. By "azeotropic" composition is meant a constant boiling liquid admixture of two or more substances that behaves as a single substance. One way to characterize an azeotropic composition is that the vapor produced by partial evaporation or distillation of the liquid has the same composition as the liquid from which it was evaporated or distilled, that is, the admixture distills/refluxes without compositional change. Constant boiling compositions are characterized as azeotropic because they exhibit either a maximum or minimum boiling point, as compared with that of the non-azeotropic mixtures of the same components. By "azeotrope-like" composition is meant a constant boiling, or substantially constant boiling, liquid admixture of two or more substances that behaves as a single substance. One way to characterize an azeotrope-like composition is that the vapor produced by partial evaporation or distillation of the liquid has substantially the same composition as the liquid from which it was evaporated or distilled, that is, the admixture distills/refluxes without substantial composition change. It is recognized in the art that a composition is azeotrope-like if, after 50 weight percent of the composition is removed such as by evaporation or boiling off, the difference in vapor pressure between the original composition and the composition remaining after 50 weight percent of the original composition has been removed is less than 10 percent, when measured in absolute units. By absolute units, it is meant measurements of pressure and, for example, psia, atmospheres, bars, torr, dynes per square centimeter, millimeters of mercury, inches of water and other equivalent terms well known in the art. If an azeotrope is present, there is no difference in vapor pressure between the original composition and the composition remaining after 50 weight percent of the original composition has been removed. Therefore, included in this invention are compositions of effective amounts of N(CF 3 ) a (CHF 2 ) b (CH 2 F) c , where a, b and c are integers from 0 to 3 and a+b+c=3, and C n F m H 2n+2-m , where n is an integer from 1 to 3 and m is an integer from 1 to 8, including effective amounts of N(CF 3 ) 3 and HFC-23, HFC-32, HFC-134a, HFC-152a, HFC-161, HFC-236cb, HFC-236ea, HFC-236fa, HFC 245fa, HFC-254ca, HFC 254cb, HFC-254eb, HFC-263ca, HFC-263fb, HFC-272ca, HFC-272ea, HFC-272fb, HFC-281ea or HFC-281fa; N(CHF 2 ) 2 (CF 3 ) and HFC-245ca, HFC-245ea, HFC-245eb, HFC-254ca, HFC-263ca or HFC-272ea; N(CH 2 F)(CF 3 ) 2 and HFC-245ca, HFC-245ea, HFC-254ca, HFC-263ca or HFC-272ea; and N(CF 3 ) 3 and butane, cyclopropane, DME or isobutane; such that after 50 weight percent of an original composition is evaporated or boiled off to produce a remaining composition, the difference in the vapor pressure between the original composition and the remaining composition is 10 percent or less. The components of the compositions of this invention have the following vapor pressures at 25° C. ______________________________________COMPONENTS PSIA KPA______________________________________HFC-23 665.5 4588HFC-32 246.7 1701HFC-134a 98.3 677HFC-152a 85.8 591HFC-161 130.2 898HFC-236cb 33.6 232HFC-236ea 29.8 206HFC-236fa 39.4 271HFC-245fa 21.6 149HFC-254ca 13.7 95HFC-254cb 34.2 236HFC-254eb 34.7 240HFC-263ca 18.2 126HFC-263fb 54.0 372HFC-272ca 34.5 238HFC-272ea 20.8 143HFC-272fb 26.5 182N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 45.8 316HFC-281ea 47.1 325HFC-281fa 37.7 260butane 35.2 243cyclopropane 105.0 724DME 85.7 591isobutane 50.5 348N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3) 13.9 96HFC-245ca 14.2 98HFC-245ea 14.2 98HFC-245eb 16.9 117N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 14.2 98______________________________________ Substantially constant boiling, azeotropic or azeotrope-like compositions of this invention comprise the following (all compositions are measured at 25° C.): ______________________________________ WEIGHT RANGES PREFERREDCOMPONENTS (wt. %/wt/%) (wt. %/wt. %)______________________________________N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-23 1-47/53-99 1-40/60-99N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-32 20-74/26-80 20-74/26-80N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-134a 1-66/34-99 1-60/40-99N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-152a 1-78/22-99 30-78/22-70N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-161 20-76/24-80 30-76/24-70N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-236cb 1-99/1-99 40-99/1-60N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-236ea 32-99/1-68 40-99/1-60N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-236fa 1-99/1-99 40-99/1-60N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-245fa 52-99.2/0.8-48 60-99.2/0.8-40N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-254ca 65-99.5/0.5-35 65-99.5/0.5-35N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-254cb 1-99/1-99 50-99/1-50N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-254eb 1-99/1-99 50-99/1-50N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-263ca 60-99/1-40 80-99/1-80N(CF.sub.3 ).sub.3 /HFC-263fb 1-99/1-99 40-99/1-60N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-272ca 44-99/1-56 50-99/1-50N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-272ea 62-99/1-38 70-99/1-30N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-272fb 56-99/1-44 70-99/1-30N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-281ea 39-99/1-61 50-99/1-50N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-281fa 48-99/1-52 50-99/1-50N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /butane 1-99/1-99 70-99/1-30N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /cyclopropane 1-80/20-99 20-80/20-80N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /DME 30-83/17-70 40-83/17-60N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /isobutane 1-99/1-99 40-99/1-60N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-245ca 1-99/1-99 25-75/25-75N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-245ea 1-99/1-99 25-75/25-75N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-245eb 1-99/1-99 1-99/1-99N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-254ca 1-99/1-99 40-99/1-60N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-263ca 1-99/1-99 15- 99/1-85N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-272ea 1-99/1-99 10-99/1-90N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 /HFC-245ca 1-99/1-99 40-99/1-60N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 /HFC-245ea 1-99/1-99 40-99/1-60N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 /HFC-254ca 1-99/1-99 40-99/1-60N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 /HFC-263ca 1-99/1-99 10-99/1-90N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 /HFC-272ea 1-99/1-99 10-99/1-90______________________________________ For purposes of this invention, "effective amount" is defined as the amount of each component of the inventive compositions which, when combined, results in the formation of an azeotropic or azeotrope-like composition. This definition includes the amounts of each component, which amounts may vary depending on the pressure applied to the composition so long as the azeotropic or azeotrope-like compositions continue to exist at the different pressures, but with possible different boiling points. Therefore, effective amount includes the amounts, such as may be expressed in weight percentages, of each component of the compositions of the instant invention which form azeotropic or azeotrope-like compositions at temperatures or pressures other than as described herein. For the purposes of this discussion, azeotropic or constant-boiling is intended to mean also essentially azeotropic or essentially-constant boiling. In other words, included within the meaning of these terms are not only the true azeotropes described above, but also other compositions containing the same components in different proportions, which are true azeotropes at other temperatures and pressures, as well as those equivalent compositions which are part of the same azeotropic system and are azeotrope-like in their properties. As is well recognized in this art, there is a range of compositions which contain the same components as the azeotrope, which will not only exhibit essentially equivalent properties for refrigeration and other applications, but which will also exhibit essentially equivalent properties to the true azeotropic composition in terms of constant boiling characteristics or tendency not to segregate or fractionate on boiling. It is possible to characterize, in effect, a constant boiling admixture which may appear under many guises, depending upon the conditions chosen, by any of several criteria: The composition can be defined as an azeotrope of A, B, C (and D . . . ) since the very term "azeotrope" is at once both definitive and limitative, and requires that effective amounts of A, B, C (and D . . . ) for this unique composition of matter which is a constant boiling composition. It is well known by those skilled in the art, that, at different pressures, the composition of a given azeotrope will vary at least to some degree, and changes in pressure will also change, at least to some degree, the boiling point temperature. Thus, an azeotrope of A, B, C (and D . . . ) represents a unique type of relationship but with a variable composition which depends on temperature and/or pressure. Therefore, compositional ranges, rather than fixed compositions, are often used to define azeotropes. The composition can be defined as a particular weight percent relationship or mole percent relationship of A, B, C (and D . . . ), while recognizing that such specific values point out only one particular relationship and that in actuality, a series of such relationships, represented by A, B, C (and D . . . ) actually exist for a given azeotrope, varied by the influence of pressure. An azeotrope of A, B, C (and D . . . ) can be characterized by defining the compositions as an azeotrope characterized by a boiling point at a given pressure, thus giving identifying characteristics without unduly limiting the scope of the invention by a specific numerical composition, which is limited by and is only as accurate as the analytical equipment available. The azeotrope or azeotrope-like compositions of the present invention can be prepared by any convenient method including mixing or combining the desired amounts. A preferred method is to weigh the desired component amounts and thereafter combine them in an appropriate container. Specific examples illustrating the invention are given below. Unless otherwise stated therein, all percentages are by weight. It is to be understood that these examples are merely illustrative arid in no way are to be interpreted as limiting the scope of the invention. EXAMPLE 1 Phase Study A phase study shows the following compositions are azeotropic. The temperature is 25° C. ______________________________________ Vapor Press.Composition Weight Percents psia kPa______________________________________N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-23 4.3/95.7 668.5 4609N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-32 35.0/65.0 277.2 1911N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-134a 27.7/72.3 103.8 716N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-152a 49.2/50.8 101.0 696N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-161 45.7/54.3 148.3 1022N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-236cb 88.2/11.8 46.2 319N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-236ea 82.2/17.8 47.4 327N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-236fa 66.9/33.1 50.0 345N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-245fa 99.2/0.8 45.8 316N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-254ca 99.5/0.5 45.8 316N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-254cb 79.5/20.5 48.4 334N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-254eb 78.7/21.3 48.5 334N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-263ca 92.7/7.3 46.8 323N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-263fb 49.1/50.9 58.0 400N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-272ca 78.3/21.7 52.9 365N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-272ea 90.2/9.8 48.3 333N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-272fb 86.2/13.8 49.6 342N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-281ea 71.2/28.8 59.3 409N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-281fa 79.3/20.7 55.5 383N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /butane 89.2/10.8 47.8 330N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /cyclopropane 38.3/61.7 108.3 747N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /DME 59.0/41.0 102.9 709N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /isobutane 61.8/38.2 52.5 362N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-245ca 50.4/49.6 15.0 103N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-245ea 50.5/49.5 14.9 103N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-245eb 3.3/96.7 16.9 117N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-254ca 59.1/40.9 15.2 105N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-263ca 27.6/72.4 18.6 128N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-272ea 20.1/79.9 20.9 144N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 /HFC-245ca 54.7/45.3 15.0 103N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 /HFC-245ea 55.2/44.8 14.9 103N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 /HFC-254ca 62.4/37.6 15.2 105N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 /HFC-263ca 26.5/73.5 18.5 128N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 /HFC-272ea 17.0/83.0 20.9 144______________________________________ EXAMPLE 2 Impact of Vapor Leakage on Vapor Pressure at 25° C. A vessel is charged with an initial liquid composition at 25° C. The liquid, and the vapor above the liquid, are allowed to come to equilibrium, and the vapor pressure in the vessel is measured. Vapor is allowed to leak from the vessel, while the temperature is held constant at 25° C., until 50 weight percent of the initial charge is removed, at which time the vapor pressure of the composition remaining in the vessel is measured. The results are summarized below. ______________________________________ 0 wt % 50 wt %Refrigerant evaporated evaporated 0% change inComposition psia kPa psia kPa vapor pressure______________________________________N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-23 4.3/95.7 668.5 4609 668.5 4609 0.0 1/99 667.1 4600 666.6 4596 0.130/70 659.7 4548 644.9 4446 2.232/68 658.5 4540 640.7 4417 2.735/65 656.4 4526 633.2 4366 3.540/60 652.2 4497 616.9 4253 5.445/55 646.5 4457 594.7 4100 8.047/53 643.8 4439 583.8 4025 9.348/52 642.4 4429 577.8 3984 10.1N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-3235/65 277.2 1911 277.2 1911 0.025/75 277.1 1911 277.0 1910 0.020/80 277.1 1911 259.9 1792 6.260/40 276.4 1906 273.0 1882 1.270/30 274.6 1893 260.8 1798 5.075/25 272.7 1880 243.2 1677 10.874/26 273.2 1884 248.0 1710 9.2N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-134a27.7/72.3 103.8 716 103.8 716 0.015/85 103.0 710 102.3 705 0.7 1/99 98.8 681 98.5 679 0.350/50 101.8 702 99.5 686 2.360/40 99.3 685 93.4 644 5.970/30 94.9 654 83.0 572 12.565/35 97.4 672 88.9 613 8.767/33 96.5 665 86.7 598 10.266/34 97.0 669 87.8 605 9.5N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-152a49.2/50.8 101.0 696 101.0 696 0.030/70 100.1 690 97.1 669 3.020/80 98.5 679 90.2 622 8.417/83 97.7 674 88.5 610 9.416/84 97.4 672 88.1 607 9.515/85 97.1 669 87.7 605 9.714/86 96.8 667 87.4 603 9.713/87 96.4 665 87.1 601 9.612/88 96.0 662 86.9 599 9.510/90 95.0 655 86.5 596 8.9 1/99 87.2 601 85.8 592 1.670/30 99.2 684 95.5 658 3.780/20 95.2 656 83.4 575 12.475/25 97.7 674 90.8 626 7.178/22 96.4 665 86.8 598 10.0N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-16145.7/54.3 148.3 1022 148.3 1022 0.020/80 147.0 1014 132.7 915 9.719/81 146.8 1012 132.0 910 10.177/23 143.4 989 128.7 887 10.376/24 144.0 993 131.0 903 9.0N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-236cb88.2/11.8 46.2 319 46.2 319 0.099/1 45.9 316 45.9 316 0.060/40 44.8 309 44.3 305 1.140/60 42.4 292 41.1 283 3.120/80 39.0 269 37.0 255 5.1 1/99 34.0 234 33.7 232 0.9N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-236ea82.2/17.8 47.4 327 47.4 327 0.090/10 47.2 325 47.1 325 0.299/1 46.0 317 46.0 317 0.060/40 46.1 318 45.3 312 1.740/60 43.4 299 40.4 279 6.933/67 42.1 290 38.0 262 9.732/68 41.9 289 37.7 260 10.0N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-236fa66.9/33.1 50.0 345 50.0 345 0.085/15 49.0 338 48.7 336 0.699/1 46.1 318 46.0 317 0.240/60 48.5 334 47.7 329 1.620/80 45.4 313 43.4 299 4.4 1/99 39.8 274 39.5 272 0.8N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-245fa99.2/0.8 45.8 316 45.8 316 0.080/20 44.3 305 43.7 301 1.460/40 41.3 285 38.7 267 6.355/45 40.4 279 37.0 255 8.450/50 39.5 272 35.1 242 11.152/48 39.9 275 35.9 248 10.0N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-254ca99.5/0.5 45.8 316 45.8 316 0.070/30 41.6 287 38.8 268 6.765/35 40.8 281 36.9 254 9.664/36 40.6 280 36.5 252 10.1N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-254cb79.5/20.5 48.4 334 48.4 334 0.099/1 46.1 318 46.1 318 0.050/50 46.3 319 44.9 310 3.030/70 43.2 298 39.8 274 7.925/75 42.2 291 38.5 265 8.820/80 41.0 283 37.2 256 9.315/85 39.7 274 36.1 249 9.1 1/99 34.6 239 34.2 236 1.2N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-254eb78.7/21.3 48.5 334 48.5 334 0.099/1 46.1 318 46.1 318 0.050/50 46.5 321 45.3 312 2.620/80 41.4 285 37.8 261 8.710/90 38.6 266 35.9 248 7.0 1/99 35.2 243 34.8 240 1.1N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-263ca92.7/7.3 46.8 323 46.8 323 0.099/1 46.1 318 46.1 318 0.060/40 42.9 296 38.6 266 10.0N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-263fb49.1/50.9 58.0 400 58.0 400 0.020/80 56.5 390 56.2 387 0.5 1/99 54.2 374 54.1 373 0.280/20 55.2 381 54.1 373 2.099/1 46.6 321 46.3 319 0.6N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-272ca78.3/21.7 52.9 365 52.9 365 0.099/1 46.8 323 46.4 320 0.950/50 50.7 350 47.6 328 6.145/55 50.1 345 45.4 313 9.444/56 49.9 344 44.9 310 10.0N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-272ea90.2/9.8 48.3 333 48.3 333 0.099/1 46.5 321 46.3 319 0.460/40 45.1 311 39.9 275 11.562/38 45.3 312 41.2 284 9.161/39 45.2 312 40.6 280 10.2N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-272fb86.2/13.8 49.6 342 49.6 342 0.099/1 46.6 321 46.3 319 0.650/50 45.7 315 38.3 264 16.255/45 46.4 320 41.6 287 10.356/44 46.6 321 42.2 291 9.4N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-281ea71.2/28.8 59.3 409 59.3 409 0.085/15 58.0 400 57.0 393 1.799/1 47.6 328 46.7 322 1.940/60 56.9 392 54.1 373 4.930/70 55.3 381 51.4 354 7.120/80 53.3 367 49.2 339 7.7 1/99 47.5 328 47.2 325 0.640/60 75.4 520 67.8 467 10.139/61 75.5 521 69.0 476 8.6 N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-281fa79.3/20.7 55.5 383 55.5 383 0.099/1 47.4 327 46.7 322 1.550/50 53.0 365 48.7 336 8.145/55 52.3 361 46.3 319 11.547/53 52.6 363 47.3 326 10.148/52 52.7 363 47.8 330 9.3N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /butane89.2/10.8 47.8 330 47.8 330 0.099/1 46.3 319 46.2 319 0.260/40 44.8 309 43.3 299 3.350/50 43.4 299 41.2 284 5.145/55 42.7 294 40.2 277 5.940/60 41.9 289 39.3 271 6.230/70 40.4 279 37.8 261 6.420/80 38.7 267 36.6 252 5.410/90 37.0 255 35.8 247 3.2 1/99 35.4 244 35.3 243 0.3N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /cyclopropane38.3/61.7 108.3 747 108.3 747 0.015/85 107.1 738 106.6 735 0.5 1/99 105.2 725 105.1 725 0.160/40 106.9 737 105.6 728 1.280/20 100.1 690 90.6 625 9.581/19 99.3 685 89.0 614 10.4 N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /DME59.0/41.0 102.9 709 102.9 709 0.080/20 100.4 692 94.6 652 5.883/17 99.0 683 89.9 620 9.284/16 98.4 678 87.9 606 10.740/60 102.2 705 99.4 685 2.730/70 101.2 698 91.5 631 9.629/71 101.0 696 90.7 625 10.2N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /isobutane61.8/38.2 52.5 362 50.5 348 3.880/20 51.8 357 51.6 356 0.490/10 50.2 346 49.8 343 0.899/1 46.5 321 46.3 319 0.440/60 52.1 359 52.0 359 0.220/80 51.3 354 51.2 353 0.2 1/99 50.5 348 50.5 348 0.0N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-245ca50.4/49.6 15.0 103 15.0 103 0.075/25 14.7 101 14.7 101 0.099/1 14.0 97 14.0 97 0.025/75 14.8 102 14.7 101 0.7 1/99 14.2 98 14.2 98 0.0N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-245ea50.5/49.5 14.9 103 14.9 103 0.025/75 14.7 101 14.7 101 0.0 1/99 14.2 98 14.2 98 0.075/25 14.7 101 14.6 101 0.799/1 14.0 97 14.0 97 0.0N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-245eb3.3/96.7 16.9 117 16.9 117 0.0 1/99 16.9 117 16.9 117 0.040/60 16.6 114 16.5 114 0.670/30 15.7 108 15.5 107 1.390/10 14.6 101 14.5 100 0.799/1 14.0 97 14.0 97 0.0N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-254ca59.1/40.9 15.2 105 15.2 105 0.080/20 14.9 103 14.9 103 0.099/1 14.0 97 14.0 97 0.040/60 15.0 103 15.0 103 0.020/80 14.5 100 14.4 99 0.7 1/99 13.8 95 13.7 94 0.7N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-263ca27.6/72.4 18.6 128 18.6 128 0.015/85 18.5 128 18.5 128 0.0 1/99 18.3 126 18.3 126 0.060/40 18.0 124 17.8 123 1.180/20 16.8 116 16.3 112 3.099/1 14.1 97 14.0 97 0.7N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-272ea20.1/79.9 20.9 144 20.9 144 0.0 1/99 20.8 143 20.8 143 0.050/50 20.5 141 20.3 140 1.080/20 18.4 127 17.4 120 5.499/1 14.3 99 14.1 97 1.4N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 /HFC-245ca54.7/45.3 15.0 103 15.0 103 0.080/20 14.7 101 14.7 101 0.099/1 14.2 98 14.2 98 0.020/80 14.6 101 14.6 101 0.0 1/99 14.2 98 14.2 98 0.0N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 /HFC-245ea55.2/44.8 14.9 103 14.9 103 0.080/20 14.7 101 14.7 101 0.099/1 14.2 98 14.2 98 0.025/75 14.7 101 14.6 101 0.7 1/99 14.2 98 14.2 98 0.0N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 /HFC-254ca62.4/37.6 15.2 105 15.2 105 0.080/20 15.0 103 15.0 103 0.099/1 14.2 98 14.2 98 0.040/60 15.0 103 14.9 103 0.720/80 14.5 100 14.4 99 0.71/99 13.8 95 13.7 94 0.7N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 /HFC-263ca26.5/73.5 18.5 128 18.5 128 0.0 1/99 18.3 126 18.3 126 0.060/40 18.0 124 17.8 123 1.180/20 16.8 116 16.4 113 2.499/1 14.4 99 14.3 99 0.7N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 /HFC-272ea17/83 20.9 144 20.9 144 0.0 1/99 20.8 143 20.8 143 0.050/50 20.4 141 20.2 139 1.080/20 18.4 127 17.5 121 4.999/1 14.5 100 14.3 99 1.4______________________________________ The results of this Example show that these compositions are azeotropic or azeotrope-like because when 50 wt. % of an original composition is removed, the vapor pressure of the remaining composition is within about 10% of the vapor pressure of the original composition, at a temperature of 25° C. EXAMPLE 3 Refrigerant Performance The following table shows the performance of various refrigerants in an ideal vapor compression cycle. The data are based on the following conditions. ______________________________________Evaporator temperature 45.0° F. (7.2° C.)Condenser temperature 130.0° F. (54.4° C.)Liquid subcooled 15° F. (8.3° C.)Return Gas 75° F. (23.9° C.)Compressor efficiency is 75%.______________________________________ The refrigeration capacity is based on a compressor with a fixed displacement of 3.5 cubic feet per minute and 75% volumetric efficiency. Capacity is intended to mean the change in enthalpy of the refrigerant in the evaporator per pound of refrigerant circulated, i.e. the heat removed by the refrigerant in the evaporator per time. Coefficient of performance (COP) is intended to mean the ratio of the capacity to compressor work. It is a measure of refrigerant energy efficiency. __________________________________________________________________________ Evap. Cond. Comp. CapacityRefrig. Press. Press. Dis. Temp. BTU/minComp. Psia kPa Psia kPa °F. °C. COP kw__________________________________________________________________________N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-23*1/99 99.4 685 547.0 3771 185.4 85.2 1.90 314.1 5.5*4.3/95.7 87.3 602 527.6 3638 191.8 88.8 1.86 285.3 5.0**99/1 29.0 200 121.7 839 142.0 61.1 3.26 113.4 2.0*condenser temp. = 60° F. (15.6° C.), Evaporator temp. =-40° F. (-40.0° C.), Subcooltemp. = 50/50° F. (8.3° C.), Return gas temp. = -20°F/ (-28.9° C.).**Return gas = 75° F. (23.9° C.).N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-32*1/99 150.4 1037 451.4 3112 194.8 90.4 3.68 543.5 9.635.0/65.0 164.6 1135 464.0 3199 177.1 80.6 3.41 504.4 8.999/1 31.3 216 128.0 883 141.8 61.0 3.43 126.0 2.2*Condenser temp. 120° F. (48.9° C.), Subcool temp.15° F. (8.3° C.).N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-134a 1/99 54.8 378 214.8 1481 180.7 82.6 3.33 218.8 3.927.7/72.3 59.3 409 225.7 1556 170.6 77.0 3.17 215.6 3.899/1 26.4 182 114.4 789 141.9 61.1 3.02 98.2 1.7N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-152a 1/99 51.0 352 193.9 1337 214.0 101.1 3.52 219.0 3.949.2/50.8 48.0 331 213.2 1470 181.8 83.2 3.28 216.4 3.899/1 26.9 185 115.9 799 142.3 61.3 3.06 100.9 1.8N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-161 1/99 79.9 551 280.4 1933 211.1 99.5 3.40 309.0 5.445.7/54.3 86.1 594 295.4 2037 188.0 86.7 3.17 294.8 5.299/1 28.5 197 120.9 834 142.6 61.4 3.16 109.0 1.9N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-236cb 1/99 18.3 126 79.9 551 155.4 68.6 3.41 80.5 1.488.2/11.8 24.2 167 105.2 725 142.9 61.6 3.07 92.3 1.699/1 25.2 174 109.8 757 141.4 60.8 2.99 93.3 1.6N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-236ea 1/99 15.3 105 70.4 485 160.2 71.2 3.49 72.0 1.382.2/17.8 23.2 160 102.0 703 144.5 62.5 3.13 91.3 1.699/1 25.2 174 109.8 757 141.4 60.8 2.99 93.3 1.6N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-236fa 1/99 20.2 139 869.0 5992 154.9 68.3 3.39 87.0 1.566.9/33.1 23.3 161 100.9 696 145.9 63.3 3.17 92.3 1.6 1/99 25.3 174 109.9 758 141.4 60.8 2.99 93.4 1.6N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-245fa 1/99 11.3 78 54.2 374 164.7 73.7 3.60 56.8 1.099.2/0.8 25.2 174 109.7 756 141.5 60.8 2.99 93.1 1.6N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-254ca 1/99 6.9 48 35.7 246 171.4 77.4 3.72 38.0 0.799.5/0.5 25.1 173 109.8 757 141.5 60.8 2.98 93.0 1.6N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-254cb 1/99 18.6 128 80.2 553 164.4 73.6 3.53 85.1 1.579.5/20.5 24.6 170 105.4 727 146.4 63.6 3.16 96.4 1.799/1 25.4 175 110.1 759 141.5 60.8 2.99 93.7 1.6N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-254eb 1/99 19.0 131 81.4 561 164.3 73.5 3.53 86.4 1.578.7/21.3 24.7 170 105.6 728 146.6 63.7 3.16 96.9 1.799/1 25.4 175 110.1 759 141.5 60.8 2.99 93.7 1.6N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-263ca 1/99 9.5 66 45.2 312 172.3 77.9 3.70 49.5 0.992.7/7.3 23.6 163 103.0 710 143.7 62.1 3.12 91.9 1.699/1 25.1 173 109.4 754 141.6 60.9 2.99 93.1 1.6N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-263fb 1/99 30.6 211 120.2 829 164.6 73.7 3.45 126.6 2.249.1/50.9 31.2 215 124.7 860 155.0 68.3 3.28 122.0 2.199/1 25.6 177 111.1 766 141.7 60.9 2.98 94.3 1.7N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-272ca 1/99 19.2 132 78.8 543 170.3 76.8 3.63 87.8 1.578.3/21.7 25.5 176 106.2 732 149.5 65.3 3.25 101.5 1.899/1 25.5 176 110.4 761 141.7 60.9 3.00 94.1 1.7N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-272ea 1/99 10.9 75 51.4 354 181.0 82.8 3.74 57.4 1.090.2/9.8 24.8 171 106.5 734 145.8 63.2 3.14 96.6 1.799/1 25.4 175 110.2 760 141.7 60.9 3.00 94.0 1.7N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-272fb 1/99 14.1 97 63.9 441 178.6 81.4 3.70 71.2 1.386.2/13.8 25.6 177 108.7 749 147.5 64.2 3.17 100.3 1.899/1 25.5 176 110.6 763 141.7 60.9 3.00 94.3 1.7N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-281ea 1/99 26.6 183 105.2 725 177.9 81.1 3.61 118.3 2.171.2/28.8 31.8 219 126.1 869 156.2 69.0 3.30 124.6 2.299/1 25.9 179 112.3 774 142.1 61.2 2.99 95.6 1.7N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /HFC-281fa 1/99 20.8 143 87.0 600 179.5 81.9 3.65 97.6 1.779.3/20.7 28.8 199 117.9 813 152.7 67.1 3.25 113.3 2.099/1 25.8 178 111.7 770 142.0 61.1 2.99 95.2 1.7N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /butane 1/99 19.6 135 80.9 558 165.3 74.1 3.57 88.3 1.689.2/10.8 26.0 179 109.3 754 145.9 63.3 3.15 100.2 1.899/1 25.5 176 110.5 762 141.7 60.9 3.00 94.4 1.7N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /cyclopropane 1/99 62.7 432 215.4 1485 209.5 98.6 3.59 254.0 4.538.3/61.7 69.0 476 234.6 1618 192.5 89.2 3.45 260.0 4.699/1 28.3 195 119.9 827 142.7 61.5 3.13 107.3 1.9N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /DME 1/99 48.7 336 182.8 1260 203.4 95.2 3.60 210.7 3.759.0/41.0 61.4 423 221.6 1528 175.7 79.8 3.25 222.9 3.999/1 28.1 194 119.4 823 142.5 61.4 3.12 106.3 1.9N(CF.sub.3).sub.3 /isobutane 1/99 29.1 201 110.3 760 162.0 72.2 3.47 118.3 2.161.8/38.2 29.3 202 115.4 796 153.5 67.5 3.31 114.8 2.099/1 25.6 177 110.9 765 141.8 61.0 2.99 94.6 1.7N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-245ca 1/99 7.0 48 36.6 252 168.1 75.6 3.67 38.3 0.750.4/49.6 7.0 48 37.6 259 161.2 71.8 3.61 37.9 0.799/1 6.7 46 38.1 263 153.8 67.7 3.52 36.5 0.6N(CHF.sub. 2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-245ea 1/99 6.9 48 37.2 256 173.1 78.4 3.69 38.9 0.750.5/49.5 7.0 48 38.2 263 163.5 73.1 3.62 38.5 0.799/1 6.7 46 38.1 263 153.9 67.7 3.52 36.5 0.6N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-245eb 1/99 8.5 59 42.9 296 166.7 74.8 3.64 44.9 0.8 3.3/96.7 8.4 58 42.8 295 166.5 74.7 3.64 44.7 0.899/1 6.8 47 38.1 263 153.8 67.7 3.52 36.6 0.6N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-254ca 1/99 6.7 46 35.2 243 171.7 77.6 3.70 37.3 0.759.1/40.9 6.9 48 37.2 256 161.9 72.2 3.61 37.5 0.799/1 6.7 46 38.1 263 153.9 67.7 3.53 36.5 0.6N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-263ca 1/99 9.3 64 44.7 308 172.5 78.1 3.69 48.9 0.927.6/72.4 8.9 61 44.0 303 168.6 75.9 3.66 47.0 0.899/1 6.8 47 38.2 263 154.0 67.8 3.52 36.7 0.6N(CHF.sub.2).sub.2 (CF.sub.3)/HFC-272ea 1/99 10.7 74 50.8 350 181.2 82.9 3.72 56.4 1.020.1/79.9 10.5 72 50.5 348 177.3 80.7 3.70 55.2 1.099/1 6.8 47 38.5 265 154.2 67.9 3.52 37.0 0.7N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 /HFC-245ca 1/99 7.0 48 36.6 252 168.1 75.6 3.67 38.3 0.754.7/45.3 7.2 50 38.1 263 158.5 70.3 3.58 38.3 0.799/1 6.9 48 38.1 263 150.4 65.8 3.49 36.5 0.6N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 /HFC-245ea 1/99 6.9 48 37.2 256 173.1 78.4 3.69 38.9 0.755.2/44.8 7.2 50 38.8 268 160.4 71.3 3.59 38.9 0.799/1 6.9 48 38.2 263 150.5 65.8 3.49 36.5 0.6N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 /HFC-254ca 1/99 6.7 46 35.2 243 171.6 77.6 3.70 37.3 0.762.4/37.6 7.1 49 37.8 261 159.0 70.6 3.59 38.0 0.799/1 6.9 48 38.1 263 150.5 65.8 3.49 36.5 0.6N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 /HFC-263ca 1/99 9.4 65 44.8 309 172.5 78.1 3.69 48.9 0.926.5/73.5 9.1 63 44.5 307 167.7 75.4 3.66 47.5 0.899/1 7.0 48 38.3 264 150.6 65.9 3.49 36.7 0.6N(CH.sub.2 F)(CF.sub.3).sub.2 /HFC-272ea 1/99 10.7 74 50.9 351 181.2 82.9 3.72 56.5 1.017.0/83.0 10.7 74 51.0 352 177.3 80.7 3.70 55.9 1.099/1 7.1 49 38.6 266 150.7 65.9 3.49 37.1 0.7__________________________________________________________________________ The novel compositions of this invention, including the azeotropic or azeotrope-like compositions, may be used to produce refrigeration by condensing the compositions and thereafter evaporating the condensate in the vicinity of a body to be cooled. The novel compositions may also be used to produce heat by condensing the refrigerant in the vicinity of the body to be heated and thereafter evaporating the refrigerant. In addition to refrigeration applications, the novel constant boiling or substantially constant boiling compositions of the invention are also useful as aerosol propellants, heat transfer media, gaseous dielectrics, fire extinguishing agents, expansion agents for polyolefins and polyurethanes and power cycle working fluids. ADDITIONAL COMPOUNDS Other components, such as aliphatic hydrocarbons having a boiling point of -60° to +30° C., hydrofluorocarbonalkanes having a boiling point of -60° to +30° C., hydrofluoropropanes having a boiling point of between -60° to +30° C., hydrocarbon esters having a boiling point between -60° to +30° C., hydrochlorofluorocarbons having a boiling point between -60° to +30° C., hydrofluorocarbons having a boiling point of -60° to +30° C., hydrochlorocarbons having a boiling point between -60° to +30° C., chlorocarbons and perfluorinated compounds, can be added to the azeotropic or azeotrope-like compositions described above. Additives such as lubricants, corrosion inhibitors, stabilizers, dyes and other appropriate materials may be added to the novel compositions of the invention for a variety of purposes provides they do not have an adverse influence on the composition for its intended application. Preferred lubricants include esters having a molecular weight greater than 250.

Compositions of N(CF 3 ) a (CHF 2 ) b (CH 2 F) c , where a, b and c are integers from 0 to 3 and a+b+c=3, and C n F m H 2n+2-m , where n is an integer from 1 to 3 and m is an integer from 1 to 8, are disclosed. Also disclosed are compositions of N(CF 3 ) 3 and butane, cyclopropane, dimethyl ether or isobutane. These compositions are useful as refrigerants, cleaning agents, expansion agents for polyolefins and polyurethanes, aerosol propellants, heat transfer media, gaseous dielectrics, fire extinguishing agents, power cycle working fluids, polymerization media, particulate removal fluids, carrier fluids, buffing abrasive agents, and displacement drying agents.

This is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 07/366,046 filed on Jun. 14, 1989 which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 07/066,588 filed Jun. 24, 1987, both now abandoned. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION "Slow Reacting Substance of Anaphylaxis" (SRS-A) has been shown to be a highly potent bronchoconstricting substance which is released primarily from mast cells and basophils on antigenic challenge. SRS-A has been proposed as a primary mediator in h=an asthma. SRS-A, in addition to its pronounced effects on lung tissue, also produces permeability changes in skin and may be involved in acute cutaneous allergic reactions. Further, SRS-A has been shown to effect depression of ventricular contraction and potentiation of the cardiovascular effects of histamine. The discovery of the naturally occurring leukotrienes and their relationship to SRS-A has reinforced interest in SRS-A and other arachidonate metabolites. SRS-A derived from mouse, rat, guinea pig and man have all been characterized as mixtures of leukotriene-C 4 (LTC 4 ), leukotriene-D 4 (LTD 4 ) and leukotriene-E 4 (LTE 4 ), the structural formulae of which are represented below. ##STR1## Leukotrienes are a group of eicosanoids formed from arachidonic acid metabolism via the lipoxygenase pathway. These lipid derivatives originate from LTA 4 and are of two types: (1) those containing a sulfido- peptide side chain (LTC 4 , LTD 4 , and LTE 4 ), and (2) those that are nonpeptidic (LTB 4 ). Leukotrienes comprise a group of naturally occurring substances that have the potential to contribute significantly to the pathogenesis of a variety of inflammatory and ischemic disorders. The pathophysiological role of leukotrienes has been the focus of recent intensive studies. As summarized by Left, A. M., Biochemical Pharmacology, 35, 2, 123-127 (1986) both the peptide and non-peptide leukotrienes exert microcirculatory actions, promoting leakage of fluid across the capillary endothelial membrane in most types of vascular beds. LTB 4 has potent chemotactic actions and contributes to the recruitment and adherence of mobile scavenger cells to the endothelial membrane. LTC 4 , LTD 4 and LTE 4 stimulate a variety of types of muscles. LTC 4 and LTD 4 are potent bronchoconstrictors and effective stimulators of vascular smooth muscle. This vascoconstrictor effect has been shown to occur in pulmonary, coronary, cerebral, renal, and mesenteric vasculatures. Leukotrienes have been implicated in a number of pulmonary diseases. Leukotrienes are known to be potent bronchoconstrictors in humans. LTC 4 and LTD 4 have been shown to be potent and selective peripheral airway agonists, being more active than histamine. [See Drazen, J. M. et al., Proc. Nat'l. Acad. Sci. USA, 77, 7, 4354-4358 (1980).] LTC 4 and LTD 4 have been shown to increase the release of mucus from human airways in vitro,. [see Marom, Z. et al., Am. Rev. Respir. Dis., 126, 449-451 (1982).] The leukotriene antagonists of the present invention can be useful in the treatment of allergic or non-allergic bronchial asthma or pulmonary anaphylaxis. The presence of leukotrienes in the sputum of patients having cystic fibrosis, chronic bronchitis, and bronchiectasis at levels likely to have pathophysiological effects has been demonstrated by Zakrzewski et al. [see Zakrzewski, J. T. et al., Prostaglandins, 28, 5, 641 (1984).] Treatment of these diseases constitutes additional possible utility for leukotriene antagonists. Leukotrienes have been identified in the nasal secretions of allergic subjects who underwent in vivo to challenge with specific antigen. The release of the leukotrienes was correlated with typical allergic signs and symptoms. [See Creticos, P. S. et al., New England J. of Med., 310, 25, 1626-1629 (1984).] This suggests that allergic rhinitis is another area of utility for leukotriene antagonists. The role of leukotrienes and the specificity and selectivity of a particular leukotriene antagonist in an animal model of the adult respiratory distress syndrome was investigated by Snapper et al. [See Snapper, J. R. et al., Abstracts of Int'l Conf. on Prostaglandins and Related Comp., Florence, Italy, p. 495 (June 1986).] Elevated concentrations of LTD4were shown in pulmonary edema fluid of patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome. [See Matthay, M. et al. J. Clin. Immunol., 4, 479-483 (1981).] Markedly elevated leukotriene levels have been shown in the edema fluid of a patient with pulmonary edema after cardiopulmonary bypass. [See Swerdlow, B. N., et al., Anesth. Analg., 65, 306-308, (1986).] LTC and LTD have also been shown to have a direct systemic arterial hypotensive effect and produce vasoconstriction and increased vasopermeability. [See Drazen et al., ibid.] This suggests leukotriene antagonists can also be useful in the areas of adult respiratory distress syndrome, pulmonary edema, and hypertension. Leukotrienes have also been directly or indirectly implicated in a variety of non-pulmonary diseases in the ocular, dermatologic, cardiovascular, renal, trauma, inflammatory, carcinogenic and other areas. Further evidence of leukotrienes as mediators of allergic reactions is provided by the identification of leukotrienes in tear fluids from subjects following a conjunctival provocation test and in skin blister fluids after allergen challenge in allergic skin diseases and conjunctival mucosa. [See Bisgaard, H., et al., Allergy, 40, 417-423 (1985).] Leukotriene immunoreactivity has also been shown to be present in the aqueous humor of human patients with and without uveitis. The concentrations of leukotrienes were sufficiently high that these mediators were expected to contribute in a meaningful way to tissue responses. [See Parker, J. A. et al., Arch Ophthalmol, 104, 722-724 (1986).] It has also been demonstrated that psoriatic skin has elevated levels of leukotrienes. [See Ford-Hutchinson, J. Allergy Clin. Immunol., 74, 437-440 (1984).] Local effects of intracutaneous injections of synthetic leukotrienes in human skin were demonstrated by Soter et al. [see Soter et al. J. Clin Invest Dermatol, 80, 115-119 (1983).] Cutaneous vasodilation with edema formation and a neutrophil infiltrate were induced. Leukotriene synthesis inhibitors or leukotriene antagonists can also be useful in the treatment of ocular or dermatological diseases such as allergic conjunctivitis, uveitis, allergic dermatitis or psoriasis. Another area of utility for leukotriene antagonists is in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Since peptide leukotrienes are potent coronary vasoconstrictors, they are implicated in a variety of cardiac disorders including arrhythmias, conduction blocks and cardiac depression. Synthetic leukotrienes have been shown to be powerful myocardial depressants, their effects consisting of a decrease in contractile force and coronary flow. The cardiac effects of LTC 4 and LTD 4 have been shown to be antagonized by a specific leukotriene antagonist, thus suggesting usefulness of leukotriene antagonists in the areas of myocardial depression and cardiac anaphylaxis. [See Burke, J. A., et al., J. Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 221, 1, 235-241 (1982).] LTC 4 and LTD 4 have been measured in the body fluids of rats in endotoxic shock, but are rapidly cleared from the blood into the bile. Thus leukotrienes are formed in ischemia and shock. Specific inhibitors of leukotriene biosynthesis reduce the level of leukotrienes and therefore reduce manifestations of traumatic shock, endotoxic shock, and acute myocardial ischemia. Leukotriene receptor antagonists have also been shown to reduce manifestations of endotoxic shock and to reduce extension of infarct size. Administration of peptide leukotrienes has been shown to produce significant ischemia or shock. (See Lefer, A. M., Biochemical Pharmacology, 35, 2, 123-127 (1986).] Thus further areas of utility for leukotriene antagonists can be the treatment of myocardial ischemia, acute myocardial infarction, salvage of ischemic myocardium, angina, cardiac arrhythmias, shock and atherosclerosis. Leukotriene antagonists can also be useful in the area of renal ischemia or renal failure. Badr et al. have shown that LTC 4 produces significant elevation of mean arterial pressure and reductions in cardiac output and renal blood flow, and that such effects can be abolished by a specific leukotriene antagonist. (See Badr, K. R. et al., Circulation Research, 54, 5, 492-499 (1984).] Leukotrienes have also been shown to have a role in endotoxin-induced renal failure and the effects of the leukotrienes selectively antagonized in this model of renal injury. [See Badr, K. F., et al., Kidney International, 30, 474-480 (1986).] LTD4 has been shown to produce local glomerular constrictor actions which are prevented by treatment with a leukotriene antagonist. [See Badr, K. F. et al., Kidney International, 29, 1, 328 (1986).] LTC has been demonstrated to contract rat glomerular mesangial cells in culture and thereby effect intraglomerular actions to reduce filtration surface area. [See Dunn, M. J. et al., Kidney International, 27, 1, 256 (1985).] Thus another area of utility for leukotriene antagonists can be in the treatment of glomerulonephritis. Leukotrienes have also been indicated in the area of transplant rejection. An increase in cardiac and renal allograft survival in the presence of a leukotriene receptor antagonist was documented by Foegh et al. [See Foegh, M. L. et al. Advances in Prostaglandin, Thromboxane, and Leukotriene Research, 13, 209≅217 (1985).] Rejection of rat renal allografts was shown to produce increased amounts of LTC 4 . [See Coffman, T. M. et al., Kidney International, 29, 1, 332 (1986).] A further area of utility for leukotriene antagonists can be in treatment of tissue trauma, burns, or fractures. A significant increase in the production of cysteinyl leukotrienes was shown after mechanical or thermal trauma sufficient to induce tissue edema and circulatory and respiratory dysfunction. (See Denzlinger, C. et al., Science, 230, 330-332 (1985).] Leukotrienes have also been shown to have a role in acute inflammatory actions. LTC 4 and LTD 4 have potent effects on vascular caliber and permeability and LTB 4 increases leukocyte adhesion to the endothelium. The arteriolar constriction, plasma leakage, and leakocyte adhesion bear close resemblance to the early events in acute inflammatory reactions. [See Dahlen, S. E. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 78, 6, 3887-3891 (1981).] Mediation of local homeostasis and inflammation by leukotrienes and other mast cell-dependent compounds was also investigated by Lewis et al. [See Lewis, R. A. et al., Nature, 293, 103-108 (1981).] Leukotriene antagonists can therefore be useful in the treatment of inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis and gout. Cysteinyl leukotrienes have also been shown to undergo enterohepatic circulation, and thus are indicated in the area of inflammatory liver disease. [See Denzlinger, C. et al., Prostaglandins Leukotrienes and Medicine, 21, 321-322 (1986).] Leukotrienes can also be important mediators of inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease. [See Peskar, B. M. et al., Agents and Actions, 18, 381-383 (1986).] Leukotriene antagonists thus can be useful in the treatment of inflammatory liver and bowel disease. Leukotrienes have been shown to modulate IL-1 production by human monocutes. [See Rola-Pleszczynski, M. et al., J. of Immun., 135, 6, 3958-3961 (1985).] This suggests that leukotriene antagonists may play a role in IL-1 mediated functions of monocytes in inflammation and immune reactions. LTA 4 has been shown to be a factor in inducing carcinogenic tumors and is considered a link between acute immunologic defense reactions and carcinogenesis. Leukotriene antagonists can therefore possibly have utility in treatment of some types of carcinogenic tumors. [See Wischnewsky, G. G. et al. Anticancer Res. 5, 6, 639 (1985).] Leukotrienes have been implicated in gastric cytodestruction and gastric ulcers. Damage of gastrointestinal mucosa because of potent vasoconstriction and stasis of blood flow is correlated with increased levels of LTC 4 . Functional antagonism of leukotriene effects may represent an alternative in treatment of mucosal injury. (See Dreyling, K. W. et al., British J. Pharmacology, 88, 236P (1986), and Peskar, B. M. et al. Prostaglandins, 31, 2, 283-293 (1986).] A leukotriene antagonist has been shown to protect against stress-induced gastric ulcer in rats. [See Ogle, C. W. et al., IRCS Med. Sci., 14, 114-115 (1986).] Other areas in which leukotriene antagonists can have utility because leukotrienes are indicated as mediators include prevention of premature labor [See Clayton, J. K. et al., Proceedings of the BPS, 573P. 17-19 December 1984]; treatment of migraine headaches [See Gazzaniga, P. P. et al., Abstracts Int'l Conf. on Prostaglandins and Related Comp., 121, Florence, Italy (June 1986)]; and treatment of gallstones (See Doty, J. E. et al., Amer. J. of Surgery, 145, 54-61 (1983) and Marom, Z. et al., Amer. Rev. Respir. Dis., 126, 449-451 (1982). By antagonizing the effects of LTC 4 , LTD 4 and LTE 4 or other pharmacologically active mediators at the end organ, for example, airway smooth muscle, the compounds and pharmaceutical compositions of the instant invention are valuable in the treatment of diseases in subjects, including human or animals, in which leukotrienes are a key factor. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to compounds represented by structural formula (I) ##STR2## wherein q is 0, 1, or 2; R 1 is (L) a --(CH 2 ) b --(T) c --M a is 0 or 1; b is 3 to 14; c is 0 or 1; L and T are independently sulfur, oxygen, or CH 2 with the proviso that L and T are not sulfur when q is 1 or 2; and M is c alkyl, ethynyl, trifluoromethyl, isopropenyl, furanyl, thienyl, cyclohexyl or phenyl optionally monosubstituted with Br, Cl, CF 3 , C 1-4 alkoxy, C 1-4 alkyl, methylthio, or trifluoromethylthio; R 2 and A are independently selected from H, CF 3 , C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, F, Cl, Br, I, OH, NO 2 or NH 2 ; or, when R 1 and A are H, then R 2 may also be (L) a --(CH 2 ) b --(T) c --M wherein a, b, c, L, T, and M are as defined above; Y is COR 3 or ##STR3## wherein R 3 is OH, NH aryloxy, or C 1-6 alkoxy; n is 0 or 1; p is 0, 1 or 2; X is H, OH, C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, or F; and Z is COR 3 , or tetrazolyl; R is ##STR4## R 5 and R 6 are each independently hydrogen or C 1-4 alkyl at any point when d is not 0; d is 0 to 6 W is a six membered aryl or heteroaryl ring selected from phenyl, pyridyl, or pyrimidyl, unsubstituted or substituted with B, C, or D, or W is one of ##STR5## B is ##STR6## wherein R 5 and R 6 are each independently hydrogen or C 1-4 alkyl; p is 0 to 6; V is H, C 1-4 alkyl, COR 3 , SO 3 H, SO 2 H, SO 2 NH 2 , COCH 2 OH, CHOHCH 2 OH, or tetrazolyl, with R 3 as defined above; C and D are independently selected from H, OH, F, Cl, Br, CF 3 , C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, methylthio, trifluoromethylthio, NO 2 , NH 2 , NHC 1-4 alkyl, or C 1-4 alkylCO-; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. This invention further relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising a nontoxic effective amount of a compound of formula (I), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent. This invention also relates to pharmaceutical compositions for inhibiting antigen-induced respiratory anaphylaxis comprising a nontoxic effective amount of a compound of formula (1), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, an histamine H 1 -receptor antagonist, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent. This invention also relates to a method of treating diseases in which leukotrienes are a factor in a subject in need thereof comprising administering to such subject a nontoxic effective amount of one of the above described pharmaceutical compositions. This invention also relates to a process for preparation of the compounds of Formula (1) of known chirality comprising a) reacting an appropriate diester with a strong base to generate an intermediate thiol, and b) reacting the thiol with an alkylating agent or Michael acceptor, i.e., α, β unsaturated carbonyl compound to yield a compound of Formula (I). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to compounds represented by structural formula (I) ##STR7## wherein q is 0, 1, or 2; R 1 is (L) a --(CH 2 ) b --(T) c --M a is 0 or 1; b is 3 to 14; c is 0 or 1; L and T are independently sulfur, oxygen, or CH 2 with the proviso that L and T are not sulfur when q is 1 or 2; and M is C 1-4 alkyl, ethynyl, trifluoromethyl, isopropenyl, furanyl, thienyl, cyclohexyl or phenyl optionally monosubstituted with Br, Cl, CF 3 , C 1-4 alkoxy, C 1-4 alkyl, methylthio, or trifluoromethylthio; R 2 and A are independently selected from H, CF 3 , C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, F, Cl, Br, I, OH, NO 2 or NH 2 ; or, when R 1 and A are H, then R 2 may also be (L) a --(CH 2 ) b --(T) c --M wherein a, b, c, L, T, and M are as defined above; Y is COR 3 or ##STR8## wherein R 3 is OH, NH aryloxy, or C 1-6 alkoxy; n is 0 or 1; p is 0, 1 or 2; X is H, OH, C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, or F; and Z is COR 3 or tetrazolyl; R is ##STR9## R 5 and R 6 are each hydrogen or C 1-4 alkyl at any point when d is not 0; d is 0 to 6; W is a six-membered aryl or heteroaryl ring selected from phenyl, pyridyl, or pyrimidyl, unsubstituted or substituted by one or more of B, C, or D, or W is one of ##STR10## B is ##STR11## wherein R 5 and R 6 are each hydrogen or C 1-4 alkyl; p is 0 to 6; V is H, C 1-4 alkyl, COR 3 , SO 3 H, SO 2 H, SO 2 NH 2 , COCH 2 OH, CHOHCH 2 OH, or tetrazolyl, with R 3 as defined above; C and D are independently selected from H, OH, F, Cl, Br, C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, methylthio, trifluoromethylthio, NO 2 , NH 2 NHC 1-4 alkyl, or C 1-4 alkylCO-; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. A particular class of compounds of this invention are those represented by structural formula (II) ##STR12## wherein R 1 , R 2 , A, B, C, D, R 5 , R 6 , q, d and Y are as defined above. A subgeneric class of these compounds are those represented by structural formula (III) ##STR13## wherein X, Z, R 1 , R 2 , A, B, C, D, q, p, and d are as defined above. A particular group of the subgeneric class represented by formula (III) are the compounds represented by structural formula (IIIA) ##STR14## wherein X is OH, H, or OCH 3 ; d is 0 or 1; and R 1 , R 2 , A, and C are as defined above. The compounds of formulae (III) and (IIIA) are exemplified by the following compounds: (1) 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-carboxyphenylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid; (2) 2(S)-Hydroxy-3(R)-(2-carboxyphenylmethylthio)-3-12-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid; (3) 2(S)-Hydroxy-3(R)-(3-carboxyphenylmethylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid; (4) 2-Hydroxy-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid; (5) 2-Hydroxy-3-(4-carboxyphenylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid; (6) 2-Hydroxy-3-(4-carboxy-2-methoxyphenylmethylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid; and (7) 2-Hydroxy-3-(4-carboxyphenylmethylthio)-3-(2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid; (8) 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-fluoro-4-carboxyphenylmethylthio)-3-(2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid; (9) 2-Methoxy-3-(4-carboxyphenylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid; (10) 2-Hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxyphenylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid; and (11) 2-Methoxy-3-14-carboxy-2-methoxyphenylmethylthio)-3-(2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid. A second subgeneric class of the compounds of formula (II) are those represented by structural formula (IV) ##STR15## wherein R 1 , R 2 , A, B, C, D, q, and d are as defined above and p is 1 or 2. The compounds of formula (IV) are exemplified by the following compounds: (1) 3-(2-carboxyphenylthio)-3-12-(8-phenyloctyl) phenyl]propionic acid; (2) 3-(2-carboxyphenylmethylthio)-3-12-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid; and (3) 3-(4-carboxy-2-methoxyphenylmethylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid. A third subgeneric class of the compounds of formula (II) are those represented by structural formula (V) ##STR16## wherein R 1 , R 2 , A, B, C, D, q, and d are as defined above. The compounds of formula (V) are exemplified by the following compounds. (1) 2-(2-carboxyphenylthio)-2-[2-(8-phenyloctyl) phenyl]acetic acid; (2) 2-(2-carboxyphenylmethylthio)-2-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]acetic acid; (3) 2-(3-carboxyphenylmethylthio)-2-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]acetic acid; A further particular class of compounds of this invention are those represented by structural formula (VI) ##STR17## wherein R 1 , R 2 , A, B, Y, R 5 , R 6 , q, and d are as defined above for formula (I). The compounds of formula (VI) are exemplified by the following compounds. (1) 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-carboxy-4-pyridylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid; (2) 3-(2-carboxy-4-pyridylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid; and (3) 2-(3-carboxy-4-pyridylmethylthio)-2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]acetic acid; A further particular class of compounds of this invention are those represented by structural formula (VII) ##STR18## wherein R 1 , R 2 , A, B, R 5 , R 6 , Y, and d are as defined above. The compounds of formula (VII) are exemplified by the following compounds. (1) 2-Hydro-3-(2-carboxy-4-pyrimidylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid; (2) 3-(2-carboxy-4-pyrimidylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid; and (3) 2-(2-carboxy-4-pyrimidylmethylthio)-2-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]acetic acid; The compounds of the present invention, which contain one or two carboxylic acid groups, are capable of forming salts with pharmaceutically acceptable bases, according to procedures well known in the art. Such acceptable bases include organic and inorganic bases, such as ammonia, arginine, organic amines, alkaline earth and alkali metal bases. Of particular utility are the potassium, sodium, ammonium, magnesium and calcium salts. Some of the compounds of formula (1) contain one or two asymmetric centers. This leads to the possibility of two or four stereoisomers for each such compound. The present invention includes all such stereoisomers, racemates, or mixtures thereof. The compounds of the formula (I) wherein Y is CO 2 H are conveniently prepared from an aldehyde precursor of the following structural formula (VIII) ##STR19## wherein R 1 and R 2 are described above. A compound of formula (VIII) is treated with trimethylsilyl cyanide in the presence of zinc iodide at low temperatures in an inert solvent to form the trimethylsilyl-protected cyanohydrin. Treatment of this with gaseous hydrogen chloride in methanol provides the methyl 2-hydroxyacetate derivative which is converted to the 2-chloroacetate with thionyl chloride. This valuable intermediate is then reacted with a substituted thiol selected to give, after removal of ester protective groups, a product of formula (I). The compounds of the formula (I) wherein Y is CH 2 CO 2 H or CH(X)CO 2 H wherein X is H, C 1-4 alkyl, or C 1-4 alkoxy are prepared by reacting the appropriate aldehyde of the formula (VIII) and an esterified bromoacetate, conveniently t-butyl bromoacetate, with a mixture of diethyl aluminum chloride, zinc dust and a catalytic amount of cuprous bromide at low temperatures in an inert solvent to give the esterified 3-hydroxypropionate derivative which is reacted directly with a substituted thiol in trifluoroacetic acid. Alternatively, a mixture of trimethyl borate and zinc in tetrahydrofuran may be used to prepare the 3-hydroxypropionate derivative. Alternatively an aldehyde of formula (VIII) may be reacted at low temperature with the lithium salt of an esterified acetic acid, conveniently t-butylacetate, in an inert solvent to give the esterified 3-hydroxyprouionate derivative. By employing an esterified 2-bromopropionate in the above reaction with an aldehyde (VIII), the compounds of the formula (I) wherein Y is CH(CH 3 )CO 2 H are obtained. To prepare the compounds of formula (I) wherein q is 1 or 2, the appropriate thio product is conveniently oxidized with sodium periodate or meta-chloroperbenzoic acid to obtain the sulfoxide or sulfone product. Alternatively, the compounds of the formula (I) wherein Y is CH(X)CO 2 H wherein X is H, C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, or fluoro are prepared from a propenoate precursor of the following structural formula (IX) ##STR20## wherein R 1 and R 2 are described above, Rio is a standard ester protective group, such as t-butyl, and R 11 is H, C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, or fluoro. A compound of formula (IX) is reacted with a mixture of alkali metal alkoxide, such as sodium methoxide, and substituted thiol to give, after removal of the ester protective group, products of formula (I). The propenoate precursors of formula (IX) are prepared from the corresponding aldehydes of formula (VIII) by general procedures such as reaction with an alkyl (triphenylphosphoranylidene)acetate or by conversion of the aldehyde to a 3-hydroxypropionate derivative, as described above, followed by an elimination reaction to form the double bond. Additionally, the propenoate precursor is obtained from a 3-methanesulfonyloxypropionate derivative by treatment with triethylamine. The compounds of the formula (I) wherein Y is CH(OH)(CH 2 ) p CO 2 H are prepared from an epoxide precursor of the following structural formula (X) ##STR21## wherein R 1 , R 2 , A and p are described above, and R 11 is lower alkyl, such as methyl or ethyl. A compound of formula (X) is reacted in an aprotic solvent with triethylamine and a substituted thiol selected to give, after removal of ester protective groups, a product of formula (I). The epoxide precursors of formula (X) where p is 2 are prepared by reaction of the Grignard derivative of a bromobenzene compound of the formula (XI) ##STR22## with acrolein to give the corresponding enol derivative which is treated with a trialkylorthoacetate, followed by epoxidation using m-chloroperbenzoic acid. The epoxide precursors of formula (X) where p is 0 are prepared by reaction of an aldehyde of the formula (VIII) with a lower alkyl chloroacetate and an alkali metal alkoxide, such as sodium methoxide. The compounds for formula (I) wherein Y is ##STR23## can also be prepared from an ester of the following structural formula (XII) ##STR24## wherein R 7 and R 8 are the same or different and are C 1-6 alkyl, and g is 2. A compound of formula (XII) is reacted with sodium hydride in an inert solvent followed by reaction with a substituted benzyl bromide to yield a product of formula (I). The compounds of the formula (1) wherein Y is (CH 2 ) 3 CO 2 are prepared from a tetrahydro-4H-pyran-2-one precursor of the following structural formula (XIII) ##STR25## wherein R 1 and R 2 are described above. A compound of formula (XIII) is reacted with a mixture of zinc-iodide and a substituted thiol in an inert solvent or with a substituted thiol in trifluoroacetic acid to give, after removal of any ester protective group, a product of formula (I). The tetrahydro-4H-pyran-2-one precursors of formula (XIII) are prepared by reaction of the Grignard derivative of the bromobenzene compound of formula (XI) with chloro titanium tri-isopropoxide followed by reaction with 5-oxovalerate alkyl ester. The aldehydes of the formula (VIII) are known or readily prepared utilizing the general procedures described as follows. The aldehyde precursors to the compounds of the formula (I) wherein R 1 is, for example, an alkyl radical containing 8 to 13 carbon atoms are prepared from the appropriate 2-alkoxyphenyl-4,4-dimethyloxazoline [see Meyers et al. J Org. Chem., 43 1372 (1978)]. The aldehyde precursors of the compounds of the formula (1) wherein R 1 is, for example, an alkoxy radical containing 7 to 12 carbon atoms are prepared by the O-alkylation of the appropriate 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde with the corresponding alkylating agent. The aldehyde precursors to the compounds of the formula (I) wherein R 1 is a 1-alkynyl radical containing 10 to 12 carbon atoms are prepared by coupling a 2-halobenzaldehyde with the appropriate 1-alkyne in the presence of cuprous iodide and (Ph 3 ) 2 PdCl 2 . [See Hagihara, et al. Synthesis, 627, (1980)]. The catalytic hydrogenation of these alkynyl containing precursors under standard conditions affords the aldehyde precursors of the compounds of the formula (I) wherein R 1 is an alkyl or phenylalkyl radical. The alkylthio containing aldehyde precursors of the compounds of the formula (I) are prepared by the reaction of the appropriately substituted o-haloalkylthiobenzene with magnesium and dimethylformamide. The phenylthioalkyl containing aldehyde precursors of the compounds of the formula (I) are prepared by the reaction of the appropriately substituted haloalkyl benzaldehyde with a thiophenol and triethylamine. The heteroaryl mercaptan precursors necessary to prepare the compounds of formula (I) are known compounds and are conveniently prepared employing standard chemical reactions. The mercapto derivatives of these precursors are prepared according to known methods. These mercaptans are reacted as described above to yield compounds of formula (I). Appropriate modifications of the general processes disclosed, and as further described in the Examples provided hereinbelow, furnish the various compounds defined by formula (I). This invention further relates to a process for the preparation of the compounds of Formula (I) of known chirality comprising reacting a diester with a strong base to generate a thiol which is then reacted with an alkylating agent or Michael acceptor to yield the desired compound. An appropriate diester is represented by Formula (XIV) ##STR26## wherein d is 2; X is OH; one of R 5 or R 6 adjacent to the ester group is H and the other is H or C 1-4 alkyl; and R 1 , R 2 , A, and p are as defined in Formula (I) and R 12 and R 13 are independently selected from C 1-6 alkyl. Suitable strong bases include those such as sodium methoxide, sodium hydride, sodium amide, lithium diisopropyl amide or others. The reaction is conducted in an aprotic solvent such as tetrahydrofuran, dimethylsulfoxide, or N,N-dimethylformamide at ambient temperature and pressure. The resulting intermediate thiol of known chirality is represented by Formula (XV) ##STR27## wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 13 , A, X, and p are as defined in Formula (XIV). The thiol of Formula (XV) is reacted with an alkylating agent or Michael acceptor to yield a compound of Formula (1). Suitable alkylating agents include alkyl halides such as alkyl bromide or alkyl iodide. Benzyl halides are especially suitable to prepare compounds of Formula (I). The reaction is conducted in an aprotic solvent at ambient temperature and pressure. Suitable Michael acceptors include compounds which undergo nucleophilic addition. Examples include compounds containing carbonyl, carboalkoxy, or cyano groups conjugated with a double or triple bond. Carbonyl compounds or alkynes represented by the following structural formulae are especially suitable ##STR28## wherein R 13 , R 14 , and R 16 are independently selected from hydrogen or C 1-6 alkyl, R 15 and R 17 are independently selected from H, aryl, or C 1-4 alkyl. The reaction is conducted in an aprotic solvent at ambient temperature and pressure. The leukotriene antagonist activity of the compounds of this invention is measured by the ability of the compounds to inhibit the leukotriene induced contraction Of guinea pig tracheal tissues in vitro. The following methodology was employed: In vitro: Guinea pig (adult male albino Hartley strain) tracheal spiral strips of approximate dimensions 2 to 3 mm, cross-sectional width and 3.5 cm length were bathed in modified Krebs buffer in jacketed 10 ml tissue bath and continuously aerated with 95% O 2 /5% CO 2 . The tissues were connected via silk suture to force displacement transducers for recording isometric tension. The tissues were equilibrated for 1 hr., pretreated for 15 minutes with meclofenamic acid (1 uM) to remove intrinsic prostaglandin responses, and then pretreated for an additional 30 minutes with either the test compound or vehicle control. A cumulative concentration-response curve for LTD 4 on triplicate tissues was generated by successive increases in the bath concentration of the LTD 4 . In order to minimize intertissue variability, the contractions elicited by LTD 4 were standardized as a percentage of the maximum response obtained to a reference agonist, carbachol (10 uM). Calculations: The averages of the triplicate LTD 4 concentration-response curves both in the presence and absence of the test compound were plotted on log graph paper. The concentration of LTD 4 needed to elicit 30% of the contraction elicited by carbachol was measured and defined as the EC 30 . The -log K B value for the test compound was determined by the following equations: ##EQU1## The compounds of this invention possess biosignificant antagonist activity against leukotrienes, primarily leukotriene D 4 . The antagonist activity of representative compounds of this invention is listed in Table I. The -log K B values were calculated from the above protocol. Where compounds were tested more than once, the -log K B values given here represent the current average data. TABLE I______________________________________Leukotriene Antagonist ActivityCompounds of Formula (III) wherein R.sub.2, A, C, and D arehydrogen, q is O, p is O, Z is CO.sub.2 H, and R.sub.1 is 8-phenyloctyl In Vitrod B X -Log K.sub.B______________________________________1) 0 2-CO.sub.2 H OH 5.52) 1 2-CO.sub.2 H OH 6.23) 1 3-CO.sub.2 H OH 6.64) 0 3-CO.sub.2 H OH 7.05) 0 4-CO.sub.2 H OH 7.66) 1 2-OCH.sub.3, OH 7.9 4-CO.sub.2 H7) 1 4-CO.sub.2 H OH 7.18) 1 2-F, 4-CO.sub.2 H OH 7.89) 0 4-CO.sub.2 H OCH.sub.3 7.610) 0 4-OH OH 5.911) 1 4-CO.sub.2 H OCH.sub.3 7.4 2-OCH.sub.312) 1 4-CO.sub.2 H H 7.5 2-OCH.sub.313) 1 2-OCH.sub.3 OH 6.5 5-CO.sub.2 H______________________________________ Pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention comprise a pharmaceutical carrier or diluent and an amount of a compound of the formula (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, such as an alkali metal salt thereof, sufficient to produce the inhibition of the effects of leukotrienes, such as symptoms of asthma and other hypersensitivity diseases. When the pharmaceutical composition is employed in the form of a solution or suspension, examples of appropriate pharmaceutical carriers or diluents include: for aqueous systems, water; for non-aqueous systems, ethanol, glycerin, propylene glycol, corn oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, liquid paraffins and mixtures thereof with water; for solid systems, lactose, kaolin and mannitol; and for aerosol systems, dichlorodifluoromethane, chlorotrifluoroethane and compressed carbon dioxide. Also, in addition to the pharmaceutical carrier or diluent, the instant compositions may include other ingredients such as stabilizers, antioxidants, preservatives, lubricants, suspending agents, viscosity modifiers and the like, provided that the additional ingredients do not have a detrimental effect on the therapeutic action of the instant compositions. The nature of the composition and the pharmaceutical carrier or diluent will, of course, depend upon the intended route of administration, i.e. parenterally, topically or by inhalation. In general, particularly for the prophylactic treatment of asthma, the compositions will be in a form suitable for administration by inhalation. Thus the compositions will comprise a suspension or solution of the active ingredient in water for administration by means of a conventional nebulizer. Alternatively the compositions will comprise a suspension or solution of the active ingredient in a conventional liquified propellant or compressed gas to be administered from a pressurized aerosol container. The compositions may also comprise the solid active ingredient diluted with a solid diluent for administration from a powder inhalation device. In the above compositions, the amount of carrier or diluent will vary but preferably will be the major proportion of a suspension or solution of the active ingredient. When the diluent is a solid it may be present in lesser, equal or greater amounts than the solid active ingredient. For parenteral administration the pharmaceutical composition will be in the form of a sterile injectable solution or an aqueous or nonaqueous liquid suspension. For topical administration the pharmaceutical composition will be in the form of a cream or ointment. Usually a compound of formula I is administered to an animal subject in a composition comprising a nontoxic amount sufficient to produce an inhibition of the symptoms of an allergic response. When employed in this manner, the dosage of the composition is selected from the range of from 350 mg. to 700 mg. of active ingredient for each administration. For convenience, equal doses will be administered 1 to 4 times daily with the daily dosage regimen being selected from about 350 mg. to about 2800 mg. The pharmaceutical preparations thus described are made following the conventional techniques of the pharmaceutical chemist as appropriate to the desired end product. Included within the scope of this disclosure is the method of inhibiting the symptoms of an allergic response resulting from a mediator release which comprises administering to an animal subject a therapeutically effective amount for producing said inhibition of a compound of formula 1. preferably in the form of a pharmaceutical composition. The administration may be carried out in dosage units at suitable intervals or in single doses as needed. Usually this method will be practiced when relief of allergic symptoms is specifically required. However, the method is also usefully carried out as continuous or prophylactic treatment. It is within the skill of the art to determine by routine experimentation the effective dosage to be administered from the dose range set forth above, taking into consideration such factors as the degree of severity of the allergic condition being treated, and so forth. Compounds of this invention, alone and in combination with a histamine H 1 -receptor antagonist, inhibit antigen-induced contraction of isolated, sensitized guinea pig trachea (a model of respiratory anaphylaxis). Exemplary of histamine H 1 -receptor antagonists are mepyramine, chlorpheniramine, and 2-[4-(5-bromo-3-methylpyrid-2-yl)butylaminol-5-1(6-methyl-pyrid-3-yl)methyl]-4-pyrimidone, and other known H receptor antagonists. Pharmaceutical compositions, as described hereinabove, of the present invention also comprise a pharmaceutical carrier or diluent and a combination of a compound of the formula (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, and an histamine H 1 -receptor antagonist in amounts sufficient to inhibit antigen-induced respirator anaphylaxis. The above-defined dosage of a compound of formula I is conveniently employed for this purpose and the known effective dosage for the histamine H 1 - receptor antagonist. The methods of administration described above for the single active ingredient can similarly be employed for the combination with a histamine H 1 -receptor antagonist. The following examples illustrate the preparation of the compounds of this invention and their incorporation into pharmaceutical compositions and as such are not to be considered as limiting the invention set forth in the claims appended hereto. EXAMPLE 1 Preparation of 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-carboxyphenylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid (a) 2-(8-Phenyloctyl)benzaldehyde A solution of 8-phenyloctanoic acid (19.8 mmol) in sieve dried tetrahydrofuran (5 ml) was reduced with diborane in tetrahydrofuran (30 ml, 29.1 mmol) at 0° C. for 4 hours to give 8-phenyloctanol. To an ice cold solution of the octanol (ca. 19.8 mmol) and carbon tetrabromide (21.98 mmol) in methylene chloride (50 ml) was added triphenylphosphine (22.30 mmol) in methylene chloride (50 ml) and the resulting solution was stirred for 2.5 hours. The volatiles were evaporated and the residue was taken up in ether (100 ml), cooled in ice, and filtered. The filtrate was evaporated and distilled to afford 8-phenyloctyl bromide as an oil. To 8-phenyloctylmagnesium bromide (from 24.25 mmol of 8-phenyloctyl bromide and 21.27 mmol of magnesium) in distilled tetrahydrofuran (40 ml) was added 2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-4,4-dimethyloxazoline (17.10 mmol) [A. I. Meyers et al., J. org. Chem., 43, 1372 (1978)] in tetrahydrofuran (20 ml). After stirring for 24 hours, the reaction mixture was worked up to yield 2-12-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]-4,4-dimethyloxazoline as an oil. A solution of the oxazoline (11.58 mmol) in methyl iodide (20 ml) was refluxed under argon for 18 hours. Removal of the volatiles afforded the corresponding 3,4,4-trimethyloxazolinium iodide as a white solid (mp 76.5°-78° C.). To an ice cold solution of the iodide (9.46 mmol) in methanol (35 ml) was added in portions sodium borohydride (9.20 mmol). The reaction mixture was allowed to stir for 30 minutes and was then quenched with 5 percent sodium hydroxide (50 ml). The reaction mixture was extracted with diethyl ether (2×50 ml) and the extract was washed with brine (50 ml) and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and filtered. Evaporation of the filtrate afforded an oil which was dissolved in acetone (50 ml) and 3N hydrochloric acid (10 ml) was added. The mixture was flushed with argon and stirred for 16 hours at ambient temperature. The volatiles were removed under vacuum and the residue partitioned between diethyl ether (50 ml) and water (50 ml). The aqueous phase was extracted with more diethyl ether (50 ml). The combined organic phase was washed with brine (50 ml) and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. Evaporation of the organic phase yielded an oil which was purified by flash chromatography over silica gel with 2 percent ethyl acetate in hexane as eluant to afford the desired product as a colorless oil. Analysis for C 21 H 26 O: Calculated: C, 85.67; H, 8.90. Found: C, 85.12, 85.22; H, 8.94, 8.96. (b) Alternative preparation of 2-(8-phenyloctyl)benzaldehyde A solution of 5-hexynyl alcohol (102 mmol) in pyridine (150 ml), under argon, was cooled to 0° C. and p-toluenesulfonyl chloride (204 mmol) was added. The reaction mixture was kept at about 40C for 18 hours, poured into ice-water and then taken up in ether. The ether extract was washed with cold 10% hydrochloric acid, water and brine. The organic layer was dried and concentrated in vacuo to give 5-hexynyl p-toluenesulfonate. A solution of phenylacetylene (97 mmol) in tetrahydrofuran (200 ml) containing a trace of triphenylmethane was cooled to 0° C. and then n-butyl lithium (37.3 ml of 2.6 mol in hexane) was added dropwise. The resulting solution was stirred at 0° C. for 10 minutes and hexamethylphosphoramide (21 ml) was added dropwise. After stirring for 10 minutes a solution of 5-hexynyl p-toluenesulfonate (97.1 mmol) in tetrahydrofuran (200 ml) was added. The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 18 hours, diluted I with ether and the organic layer was washed with water and brine. The dried organic solution was concentrated and the product was purified by flash chromatography to give 1-phenylocta-1,7-diyne. A mixture of this compound (43 mmol), 2-bromobenzaldehyde (35.8 mmol), cuprous iodide (0.5 mmol) and bis(triphenylphosphine) palladium (II) chloride (0.7 mmol) in triethylamine (100 ml) was heated in an oil bath (95° C.) for one hour. The reaction mixture was cooled to 0° C., filtered and the filtrate was concentrated. The residue was dissolved in ether, washed with 10% hydrochloric acid, water and brine. The organic layer was dried and concentrated to give a product which was purified by flash chromatography to yield 2-(8-phenyl-1,7-octadiynyl)benzaldehyde. A solution of this compound (24.1 mmol) in ethyl acetate (100 ml) and 10% palladium on charcoal (1 g) was hydrogenated (40 psi of hydrogen) at room temperature for 15 minutes. The catalyst was filtered off and the filtrate concentrated to give the 2-(8-phenyloctyl)benzaldehyde. (c) Methyl trans-3-12-(8-Phenyloctyl)phenyl]-2,3-epoxypropionate The compound of Example 1(a) or (b) (2.94 g, 10 mmol) was dissolved in diethyl ether (25 ml) and the solution was stirred under argon at 0° C. Methyl chloroacetate (1.32 ml, 15 mmol) was added, followed by the addition of sodium methoxide (810 mg, 15 mmol). The mixture was stirred for 2.5 hours at ice bath temperature. A small quantity of water was added, the ether phase separated, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered and evaporated. The residue was flash chromatographed on 80 grams of silica gel eluted with 5-30% ethyl acetate/hexane to give the product. (d) Methyl 2-hydroxy-3-(2-carboxyphenylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionate A solution of the compound of Example 1(c) (0.51 gm, 1.39 mmol), 2-mercaptobenzoic acid (0.24 gm, 1.53 mmole) and triethylamine (0.31 gm, 3.06 mmol) in 10 ml of methanol were stirred overnight at 221 under argon. The mixture was poured into water, acidified with 1N hydrochloric acid, and extracted with diethylether. The extracts were dried and the solvent evaporated. The residue was chromatographed on silica gel to remove starting materials and the product eluted with a mixture of ethyl acetate, hexane and methanol (60:40:2.5). The solvents were evaporated, and the residue recrystallized from methanol, to yield the product, 230 mg (32%). (e) 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-carboxyphenylthio)-3-12-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid A suspension of the compound of Example 1(d) (0.23 gm, 0.44 mmol), 5 ml of methanol, 2 ml of water and 2 ml of 2.5N sodium hydroxide was heated at 951 for 10 minutes, and stirred at 221 for 2 hr. The mixture was diluted with 20 ml of water, and filtered. The filtrate was acidified, and extracted with ethyl acetate. The extracts were washed with water, dried, and the solvent evaporated. The residue was recrystallized from acetonitrile and gave the desired product, 182 mg (82%). nmr (CDCl 3 /Me 2 CO) 9.70 ppm (broad s, 3H), 7.05-8.06 (m, 13H), 5.28 (d, 1H), 4.76 (d, 1H), 2.40-3.05 (m, 4H), 1.13-1.72 (m, 12H). Similarly, the following compounds are prepared according to the general method of Example 1 from the 2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-4,4-dimethyloxazoline and the appropriate alkyl halide: 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-carboxyphenylthio)-3-[2-(3-phenylpropyl)phenyl]propionic acid; 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-carboxyphenylthio)-3-12-(14-phenyltetradecyl)phenyl]propionic acid; 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-carboxyphenylthio)-3-(2-butylphenyl)propionic acid; 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-carboxyphenylthio)-3-(2-dodecylphenyl)propionic acid; and 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-carboxyphenylthio)-3-(2-octadecyl)propionic acid. EXAMPLE 2 Preparation of 2(S)-Hydroxy-3(R)-(2-carboxyphenylmethylthio)-3-12-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid (a) Methyl 3-(2-Carbomethoxyethylthio)-3-12-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]-2-hydroxypropionat The compound of Example 1(c) (1.2 g, 3.28 mmol) was dissolved in methanol (20 ml) containing 2% triethylamine and stirred under argon at room temperature. Methyl 3-mercaptopropionate (0.623 ml, 5.45 remoles) and triethylamine (1.45 ml, 9.84 mmol) were dissolved in methanol (15 ml) and added dropwise. The mixture was stirred for 18 hours. The solvent was stripped and the residue eluted with 20% ethyl acetate/hexane to give a mixture of the desired product and its regioisomer, methyl 2-(2-carbomethoxyethylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]-3- hydroxypropionate. The mixture was rechromatographed on 100 g of neutral alumina to separate the desired product. (b) Erythro-3-(2-carboxyethylthio)-3-12-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]-2-hydroxypropionic acid The desired product of Example 2(a) (320 mg, 0.66 mmol) was dissolved in methanol (10 ml) and stirred under argon at ice bath temperature. A 1N solution of sodium hydroxide (2.5 ml, 2.5 mmol) was added dropwise, the ice bath removed, the mixture stirred at room temperature for 2.5 hours, and then cooled for 18 hours. After an additional 1 hour of stirring at room temperature, the methanol was stripped, the residue diluted with water and the pH adjusted to 3.5 with dilute hydrochloric acid. Extraction with ethyl acetate followed by drying over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtration and evaporation gave the crude product which was flash chromatographed on 20 grams of silica gel eluted with 30:70:0.5 ethyl acetate:hexane:formic acid to give the free acid product. (c) Resolution of 3-(2-carboxyethylthio)-3-12-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]-2-hydroxypropionic acid The racemic diacid of Example 2(b) (63.5 g, 0.138 mol) in 700 ml of isopropanol was treated with a solution of (R)-4-bromo-α-phenethylamine (57.1 g, 0.286 mol) in 200 ml of isopropanol at 25° C. The resulting solution was stirred for 3 hours, causing crystallization of the 2S,3R dismine salt. The suspension was cooled to 5° C., filtered, and the salt recrystallized twice from ethanol to give 37.7 q (72%) of 2S,3R dismine salt, m.p. 146°-147° C.; [α] 24 ° C. =-15.8, (C=1, CH 3 OH). The dismine salt (37.7 g, 0.0497 mol) was added in portions to 400 ml of cold 0.5N aqueous hydrochloric acid. The mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate, and the ethyl acetate solution washed three times with 0.5N hydrochloric acid. The ethyl acetate solution was washed with saturated sodium chloride solution, dried, and concentrated to give 19.5 g (97%) of the desired 2(S)-hydroxy-3(R)-(2-carboxyethylthio)-3-12-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]-propionic acid; [α] 24 ° ==40.8° (C=1, CHCl 3 ). (d) Methyl 2(S)-hydroxy-3(R)-(2-carbomethoxyethylthio)-3-[2-(8@henyloctyl)phenyl]propionate A solution of 2(S)-hydroxy-3(R)-(2-carboxyethylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid (1.0g, 2.18 mmol) in 100 ml of diethylether was treated with an ethereal solution of diazomethane for 30 minutes at room temperature. Evaporation of the ether gave methyl-2(S)-hydroxy-3(R)-(2-carbomethoxyethylthio)-3-12-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionate, 1.06 q (100%). (e) Methyl 2(S)-Hydroxy-3(R)-(carbomethoxyphenylmethylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionate A solution of the compound of Example 2(d) (675 mg, 1.39 mmol) in 12 ml of tetrahydrofuran and 4 ml of N,N-dimethylformamide at 01 was treated with sodium hydride (2.92 mmol). After 30 min, 2-carbomethoxybenzyl bromide (350 mg, 1.53 mmol) was added and the mixture stirred at 221 for 2 hours and 601 for 2 hours. After cooling, the mixture was diluted with water, acidified, and extracted with ethyl acetate. The extracts were dried and the solvent evaporated. The residue was chromatographed first over silica gel with ethyl acetate/hexane (3:7) as eluant, then over an alumina column with ethyl acetate/hexane/methanol (75:25:1) as eluant. The product was isolated as an oil, 230 mg. (f) 2(S)-Hydroxy-3(R)-(3-carboxyphenylmethylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl) phenyl]propionic acid A solution of the compound of Example 2(e) (130 mg, 0.24 mmol) in 2 ml of methanol was treated with 2 ml of 2.5N sodium hydroxide, and heated at 80, for 10 minutes. The solution was diluted with 10 ml of water, filtered, the filtrate acidified and extracted with ethyl acetate. The extracts were washed with water, dried and the solvent removed to yield the product as an oil, 97 mg (78%). nmr (CDCl 3 /Me 2 CO) 8.05 ppm (d, 1H), 7.67 (m, 1H), 6.96-7.47 (m, 11H), 4.78 (d, 1H), 4.58 (d, 1H), 4.39 (d, 1H), 4.18 (d, 1H), 2.20-2.72 (m, 4H), 1.06-1.72 (m, 12H). EXAMPLE 3 Preparation of 2(S)-Hydroxy-3(R)-(3-carboxyphenylmethylthio)-3-(2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid (a) Methyl 2(S)-hydroxy-3(R)-(3-carboethoxyphenylmethylthio)-3-(2-(8-phenyloctyl) phenyl]propionate A solution of the compound of Example 2(d) (370 mg, 0.76 mmol) in 10 ml of tetrahydrofuran and 5 ml of N,N-dimethylformamide was treated first with sodium hydride (1.53 mmol) followed by 3-carboethoxybenzylbromide (203 mg, 0.84 mmol). The mixture was stirred at 22° for 1 hr, poured into 100 ml of cold 0.1 N hydrochloric acid, and extracted with diethyl ether. The extracts were washed with water, dried, and the drying agent filtered. The filtrate was treated with an ethereal solution of diazomethane for 30 min at 220, then evaporated. The residue was chromatographed initially on alumina with ethyl acetate/hexane/methanol (80:20:5) as eluant, then on silica gel with ethyl acetate/hexane (3:7) as eluant. The product was isolated as an oil, 170 mg (41%). (b) 2(S)-Hydroxy-3(R)-(3-carboxyphenylmethylthio)-3-(2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid A solution of the compound of Example 3(a) (170 mg, 0.30 mmol) in 5 mi of ethanol was treated with 4 ml of 5% sodium hydroxide, and the mixture heated under argon at 651 for 1 hour. The solution was diluted with 10 ml of water, treated with activated charcoal, and filtered. The filtrate was acidified and extracted with chloroform. The extracts were washed with water, dried, and the solvent evaporated, giving the product as an oil, 137 mg (87%). nmr (CDCl 3 ): 7.0-9.0 (m, overlapping broad s, 16H), 4.69 (d, 1H), 4.48 (d, 1H), 3.80 (d, 1H), 3.64 (d, 1H), 2.18-2.70 (m, 4H), 1.0-1.70 (m, 12H). EXAMPLE 4 Preparation of 2-Hydroxy-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid (a) Methyl 2@Hydroxy-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionate A solution of the compound in Example 1(c), (525 mg, 1.4i mmol) and m-mercaptobenzoic acid (331 mg, 2.15 mmol) prepared according to Wiley, P. F., J. Org. Chem., 16, 812 (1951) in a mixture of 4 ml of methanol and 0.5 ml of triethylamine was stirred at 23° for 16 hours. The reaction was poured into 0.5N HCl and extracted with ethyl acetate. The extracts were dried,, evaporated, and the residue chromatographed over silica gel. The product, together with the regioisomeric compound, was eluted with ethyl acetate. The solvent was evaporated, and the residue dissolved in 10 ml of methanol, treated with 1 ml of 25% NaOMe in methanol, and stirred at 23° for 4 hours. The mixture was diluted with 0.5N HCl, and extracted with ethyl acetate. The extracts were dried, evaporated, and the residue chromatographed over silica gel. The product was eluted with a mixture of ethyl acetate, hexane, methanol, and acetic acid (75:25:5:1), and yielded after evaporation of the solvents 185 mg (25%). (b) 2-Hydroxy-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)-3-12-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid A solution of the compound in Example 4(a) (144 mg, 0.28 mmol) in 5 ml of ethanol was treated with 2 ml of 0.5N NAOH, and stirred at 23° for 2 hours. The reaction was diluted with 10 mi of water, filtered, the filtrate acidified, and extracted with ethyl acetate. The extracts were dried and evaporated and gave the titled product, 105 mg (75%) nmr (CDCl 3 /Me 2 CO):8.22(s,1H), 6.70-8.10(m,15H),5.02(d,J=4.3Hz,1H),4.64(d,J=4.3Hz,1H), 2.42-2.86(m,4H),1.16-1.74(m,12H). EXAMPLE 5 Preparation of 2-Hydroxy-3-(4-carboxyphenylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid (a) Methyl 2-hydroxy-3-(4-carbomethoxyphenylthio)-3-[2 - yl)phenyl]propionate A mixture of the compound of Example l(c) (644 mg, 1.76 mmol), and p-mercaptobenzoic acid (325 mg, 2.11 mmol), prepared in a manner similar to the meta analog in Example 4(a), in 10 ml of methanol and 0.6 ml of triethylamine was stirred at 23° for 16 hours. The solution was treated with 1 ml of 25% NaOMe in methanol, stirred 3 hours, poured into 0.5 N hydrochloric acid and extracted with ethyl acetate. The extracts were dried and the solvent evaporated. The residue was esterified with methanol and gaseous HCl, and then chromatographed over silica gel. The product was eluted with a mixture of ethyl acetate and hexane (30:70), and gave 350 mg (37%). nmr CDCl 3: 4.90(d,1H), 4.50(t,1H). (b) 2-Hydroxy-3-(4-carboxyphenylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)-phenyl]propionic acid. The compound of Example 5(a) was hydrolyzed in the same manner as described for the preparation of the compound of Example 4(b), in 48% yield after recrystallization from a mixture of benzene and hexane. nmr(CDCl 3 /Me 2 CO):8.00(d,2H), 7.00-7.88(m,14H), 5.12(d, J=4.3Hz,1H), 4.67(d,J=4.3Hz,1H), 2.40-2.90(m,4H), 1.10-1.76 (M,12H). EXAMPLE 6 Preparation of 2-Hydroxy-3-(4-carboxy-2-methoxyphenylmethylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid (a) Methyl 3-methoxy-4-mercaptomethylbenzoate A solution of 7.15 g (0.027 mol) methyl 4-bromomethyl-3-methoxybenzoate in 50 ml of Me 2 CO was treated with a solution of 2.1 g (0.028 mol) thiourea in 50 ml Me 2 CO and the reaction was stirred for 24 hours. The solid isothiouronium hydrobromide was filtered, washed with diethylether and dried. This salt was dissolved in 50 ml of water, treated with 50 ml 3N NAOH, and the mixture refluxed 3 hours under argon. The clear solution was cooled, acidified, and extracted with diethyl ether. The extracts were dried, and treated with an ethereal solution of diazomethane for 30 minutes. Evaporation of the solvent gave methyl 3-methoxy-4-mercaptomethyl benzoate, 4.2 g (73%). (b) Methyl 2-hi (4-carbomethoxy-2-methoxyphenylmethylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionate A solution of the compound in Example i(c) (980 mg, 2.68 mmol) and methyl 4-mercaptomethyl-3-methoxy benzoate (625 mg, 2.95 mmol) in 10 ml of methanol and 2 mi of triethylamine were stirred for 16 hours at 23° and then, evaporated. The residue was dissolved in diethyl ether, and washed with 0.5 N HCl. The diethylether layer was dried, and the solvent removed. The residue was dissolved in 15 ml of methanol, treated with 1 ml of 25% NaOMe in methanol, stirred at 23° for 2 hours, and poured into 0.5 N HCl. The mixture was extracted with diethyl ether. The extracts were washed with water, dried and evaporated. The residue was chromatographed over silica gel. The product was eluted with a mixture of ethyl acetate and hexane (25:75), and gave 580 mg (38%). nmr(CDCl 3 ): 4.70(t,J=5.1Hz,1H), 4.50(d,J=5.1Hz,1H). (c) 2-Hydroxy-3-(4-carboxy-2 methoxyphenylmethylthio)-3-1-2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid The compound of Example 6(b) was hydrolyzed in the same manner as described for the preparation of the compound in Example 4(b), in 28% yield after tituration with a mixture of benzene and hexane. nmr(CDCl 3 /D 2 O): 6.90-7.72(m,12H), 4.70(d,J=4.2Hz,1H), 4.52(d,J=4.2Hz,1H), 3.34-3.95(m,2H), 3.80(s,3H), 2.20-2.68(m,4H), 0.98-1.68(m, 12H). In a similar manner the following was prepared: 2-hydroxy-3-(5-carboxy-2-methoxy-phenylmethylthio)-3-(2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid. nmr (CDCl 3 ): 8.10(d,1H), 7.90(d,2H), 7.50(m, 1H), 6.88-7.22(m, 6H), 6.80(d,2H), 4.76(d, 1H), 4.48(d, 1H), 3.81(s, 3H), 3.70 (d,2H), 2.00-2.60 (m, 4H), 0.67-1.62(m, 12H). EXAMPLE 7 Preparation of 2-Hydroxy-3-(4-carboxyphenylmethylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid (a) Methyl-2-hydroxy-3-(4-carbomethoxyphenylmethylthio)-3-(2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionate A solution of the compound in Example i(c), (880 mg, 2.40 mmol), and methyl p-mercaptomethylbenzoate (525 mg, 2.88 mmol), prepared similarly to the starting material of Example 6(a), in 10 ml of methanol and 0.4 ml of triethylamine was stirred at 23° for 2 days. 1 ml of 25% NaOMe in methanol was added, stirring was continued 45 minutes, and the reaction was poured into 0.5 N HCl and extracted with methylene chloride. The extracts were dried and the solvents evaporated. The residue was chromatographed over a deactivated alumina column (25 ml H 2 O/500 gm Al 2 O 3 ). Impurities were removed with a mixture of ethyl acetate and hexane (1:4) and the product eluted with a mixture of methanol and ethyl acetate (1:19), and gave 620 mg (47%). nmr(CDCl 3 ):4.53(t, J-4.5Hz,1H), 4.40(d,J=4.5Hz,1H). (b) 2-Hydroxy-3-(4-carboxyphenylmethylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid The compound of Example 7(a) was hydrolyzed in the same manner as described for the preparation of the compound in Example 4(b), in 46% yield after recrystallization from toluene. nmr(CDCl 3 /Me 2 CO): 8.1-9.9(broad,3H), 8.02(d,J=7.2HZ,2H), 7.67(m,1H), 7.42(d,J=7.2Hz,2H), 6.90-7.28(m,8H), 4.72(d,J=4.2Hz,1H), 4.50(d,J=4.2Hz,1H), 3.92(d,J=13Hz,1H), 3.70(d,J=13Hz,1H), 2.26-2.70(m,4H), 1.02-1.76(m,12H). EXAMPLE 8 Preparation of 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-fluora-4-carboxyphenylmethylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid (a) Methyl 2-hydroxy-3-(2-fluoro-4-carbomethoxyphenylmethylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionate The compound of Example i(c) was reacted with methyl 2-fluoro-4-mercaptomethylbenzoate, prepared in a manner similar to the starting material in Example 6(a), in an analogous manner to that described for the preparation of the compound described in Example 6(b), and gave the product in 22% yield. nmr(CDCl 3 ):4.63(t,J=4.9Hz,1H), 4.50(d,J=4.9Hz,1H). (b) 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-fluoro-4-carboxyphenylmethylthio)-3-(2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid The compound of Example 8(a) was hydrolyzed as described for the preparation of the compound described in Example 4(b). nmr(CDCl 3 ):6.98-7-90(m,15H), 4.68(d, J=4.6Hz,1H), 4.55(d,J=4.6Hz,1H), 3.80(t,2H), 2.25-2.70(m, 4H), 1.00-1.73(m,12H). EXAMPLE 9 Preparation of 2-Methoxy-3-(4-carboxyphenylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid (a) Methyl 2 -methoxy-3-(4-carbomethoxyphenylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionate A solution of the compound in Example 5(a) (220 mg, 0.4 mmol) in 5 ml of tetrahydrofuran and 1 ml of dimethylformamide at 0° was treated with a 60% dispersion of sodium hydride in mineral oil (16 mg, 0.4 mmol). After 30 minutes, the solution was treated with iodomethane (58 mg, 0.4 mmol), stirring was continued at 23° for 1.5 hours, the reaction was poured into 0.5 N HCl and extracted with diethyl ether. The extracts were dried and evaporated. The residue was chromatographed initially over alumina and eluted with a mixture of ethyl acetate and hexane (35:65). The residue after evaporation of the solvents was chromatographed over a silica gel column. The product was eluted with a mixture of ethyl acetate and hexane (1:3), and gave 97 mg (44%). nmr(CDCl 3 ) 4.90(d,J=7.5Hz,1H), 4.12(d,J=7.5Hz,1H), 3.82(s,3H), 3.58(s, 3 H), 3.24(s,3H). (b) 2-Methoxy-3-phenyl 2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid The compound of Example 9(a) was hydrolyzed in the same manner as described for the preparation of the compound in Example 4(b), in 64% yield after tituration with a mixture of cyclohexane and hexane. nmr(CDCl 3 ): 11.28(broad s,2H), 7.82(d,2H), 7.02-7.58(m,11H), 5.10(d,J=9.6Hz,1H), 4.26(d,J=9.6Hz,1H), 3.20(s,3H), 2.45-2.98(m,4H), 1.18-1.90(m,12H). In a similar manner the following was prepared: 2-methoxy-3-(4-carboxy-2-methoxyphenylmethylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid; 2-Methoxy-3-(4-carboxyphenylthio)-3[2-(3-phenylpropyl)phenyl]propionic acid; and 2-Methoxy-3-(4-carboxy-2-methoxyphenylmethylthio)-3-[2-(14-phenyltetradecyl)phenyl]propionic acid. EXAMPLE 10 Preparation of 2-Hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxyphenylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid (a) Methyl 2-hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxyphenylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionate The compound of Example 1(c) (722 mg, 2 mmol) was dissolved in methanol (10 ml) containing 2% triethylamine and the solution was stirred under argon at room temperature. Triethylamine (1.68 ml, 12 mmol) and 4-hydroxythiophenol (428 mg, 3.4 mmol) were dissolved in methanol (15 ml) and added to the reaction mixture which was then stirred overnight at room temperature. The solvent was evaporated and the residue was flash chromatographed on 80 grams of silica gel eluted with 30% ethyl acetate/hexane to give a mixture of the desired product and its regioisomer, methyl 3-hydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenylthio)-3[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionate. The mixture of regioisomers was dissolved in methanol (20 ml) and stirred under argon at room temperature. Sodium methoxide, 25 wt. % in methanol, (0-92 ml, 4 mmol) was added dropwise and the mixture-stirred for 2.5 hours. The mixture was cooled in an ice bath and acetic acid (0.3 ml, 5.2 mmol) was added dropwise. The solvent was evaporated and the residue was partitioned between ethyl acetate and water. The organic phase was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered and evaporated to give the crude product which was flash chromatographed on 80 grams of silica gel eluted with 25% ethyl acetate/hexane to give the desired product. (b) 2-Hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxyphenylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid The compound of example 10(a) (410 mg, 0.83 mmol) was dissolved in methanol (10 ml) and stirred under argon at ice bath temperature. A 1N solution of sodium hydroxide (4 ml, 4 mmol) was added and the mixture stirred overnight at room temperature. The solvent was evaporated and the residue was acidified with dilute hydrochloric acid. Extraction with ethyl acetate followed by drying the organic phase over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtration and evaporation gave the crude product which was recrystallized from ethyl acetate/hexane to give the desired product as a white crystalline solid, m.p. 155°-157° C. Analysis for C 29 H 34 O 4 S: Calculated: C,72.77; H,7.16; S, 6.70. Found: C, 72.90; H, 6.91; S,6.95. EXAMPLE 11 Preparation of 2-Methoxy-3-(4-carboxy-2-methoxyphenylmethylthio)-3-(2-(8-phenyloctl]propionic acid (a) Methyl 2-methoxy-3-(4-carbomethoxy-2-methoxyphenylmethylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionate The compound of Example 6(b) was reacted in the same manner as for the preparation of the compound of Example 9(a), and gave the product in 53% yield. nmr (CDCl 3 ): 4.48(d,J=7.2Hz, 1H), 4.15(d.J=7.2Hz, 1H), 3.90 (s,3H), 3.85(s,3H), 3.72(s, 3H), 3.33(s,3H). (b) 2-Methoxy- -carboxy-2-methoxyphenylmethylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid The compound of Example 11(a) was hydrolyzed as described for the preparation of the compound described in Example 4(b) to yield the desired product. nmr (CDCl 3 ): 4.52(d,J=6.3Hz,1H), 4.18(d, J=6.3Hz,1H), 3.86(s, 3H), 3.42(s, 3H). EXAMPLE 12 Preparation of 3-(4-Carboxy-2-methoxyphenylmethylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid A solution of 0.54 g (1.32 mmol) of tert-butyl 3-hydroxy-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionate and 0.52 gm, (2.64 mmol) of 3-methoxy-4-mercaptomethylbenzoic acid in 10 ml of methylene chloride at 0° was treated dropwise with 20 ml of trifluoroacetic acid. Stirring was continued at 0° for 4 hours and 221 for 1 hour, and all the solvents were thoroughly evaporated. The residue was crystallized first from H 2 O/MECN (1:4), and then from Me 2 CO/hexane, and to yield the product, 0.26 gm. nmr (CDCl 3 /Me 2 CO/DMSO): 7.05-7.72(m, 12H), 4.52 (d of d, 1H), 4.83(d, 1H), 4.82(s,3H), 4.68(d.1H), 2.88-3.24(m, 2H), 2.36-2.74 (m, 4H), 1.10-1.75(m,12H). EXAMPLE 13 Preparation of Methyl 2-hydroxy-3-mercapto-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl] propionate (a) Methyl 2-hydroxy-3-(4-methoxyphenylmethylthio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionate A solution of 4.54 gm (12.4 mmol) of the epoxyester of Example i(c) and 1.91 gm (12.4 mmol) of p-methoxybenzyl mercaptan in a mixture of 1.7 ml of triethylamine and 20 ml of methanol were stirred for 42 hours, and the solvents evaporated. The residue was dissolved in diethyl ether and washed with 0.1 N HCl. The organic layer was dried, and the solvent evaporated. The residue was chromatographed over an alumina column. Impurities and the undesired regioisomer were eluted with hexane/ethyl acetate/reethanol (60:40:1). The desired product was eluted with hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol (40:60:2), 2.6 gm (40%). nmr (CDCl 3 ): 7.68(m, 1H), 7.20(m, 10H), 6.82(d, 2H), 4.58(t,1H), 4.45 (d, 1H), 3.82 (s, 3H), 3.72 (s, 2H), 2.66(s, 3H), 3.14(d, 1H), 2.24-2.72 (m, 4H), 1.10-1.72 (m, 12H). (b) Methyl 2-hydroxy-3-mercapto-3-(2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionate A solution of 1.1 gm (2.12 mmol) of the compound in Example 13(a) in 25 ml of methanol was treated with a solution of 2.02 gm (6.35 mmol) of mercuric acetate in 100 ml of methanol. After stirring 16 hours, the white precipitate was filtered and washed with diethyl ether. This mercuric salt was dissolved in 25 ml of hot dimethylformamide, 50 ml of methanol was added, and H 2 S was bubbled into the solution for 30 minutes. The black precipitate was filtered, the filtrate was concentrated, diluted with water, and extracted with diethyl ether. The diethyl ether layer was washed well with water, dried, and the solvent evaporated. The residue was chromatographed over a silica gel column, and the product was eluted with a mixture of ethyl acetate /hexane (40:60), 370 mg (44%). nmr (CDCl 3 /D 2 O): 7.02-7.78 (m, 9H), 4.62 (s, 2 ), 3.70 (s, 3H), 2.50-2-88 (m, 4H), 1.20-1-82 (m, 12H). EXAMPLE 14 Preparation of 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-undecyloxyphenyl)-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)propionic acid (a) 2-Undecyloxybenzaldehyde To a stirred suspension of sodium hydride (10.0 mmol), which was prewashed with petroleum ether, in sieve dried dimethylformamide (10 ml) was-added dropwise a solution of salicylaldehyde (10.1 mmol) in dimethylformamide (1 ml). To the reaction mixture was then added undecyl bromide (10.0 mmol) and the mixture stirred for 16 hours at ambient temperature under nitrogen. The reaction mixture was taken up in hexane (50 ml) and washed with 10 percent sodium hydroxide (2×50 ml) and saturated sodium chloride (50 ml). The organic phase was dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and charcoal. Evaporation of the volatiles yielded a colorless liquid which was purified by flash chromatography over silica gel with 2 percent ethyl acetate in hexane as eluant to afford the desired product as an oil. Analysis for C 18 H 2 O 2 : Calculated: C, 78.21; H, 10.21. Found: C, 77.92; H, 9.95. b) 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-undecylo -3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)propionic acid Employing the general methods of Example 1(c)-1(e), the compound of Example 14(a) is converted to the desired product. The following compounds are prepared according to the general methods of Example 1(c)-1(e) from the appropriate alkyloxybenzaldehyde which is prepared by the general procedure of Example 14(a) from salicylaldehyde or 2-mercaptobenzaldehyde and the appropriate alkyl halide; 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-heptyloxyphenyl)-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)propionic acid; 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-dodecyloxyphenyl)-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)propionic acid. 2-Hydroxy-3-(5-methoxy-2-dodecyloxyphenyl)-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)propionic acid; 2-Hydroxy-3-(5-methyl-2-dodecyloxyphenyl)-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)propionic acid; 2-Hydroxy-3-(5-fluoro-2-dodecyloxyphenyl)-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)propionic acid; 2-Hydroxy-3-(5-chloro-2-dodecyloxyphenyl)-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)propionic acid; 2-Hydroxy-3-(5-iodo-2-dodecyloxyphenyl)-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)propionic acid; 2-Hydroxy-3-(5-bromo-2-dodecyloxyphenyl)-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)propionic acid; 2-Hydroxy-3-(5-hydroxy-2-dodecyloxyphenyl)-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)propionic acid; 2-Hydroxy-3-(5-nitro-2-dodecyloxyphenyl)-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)propionic acid; 2-Hydroxy-3-(5-amino-2-dodecyloxyphenyl)-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)propionic acid. 2-Hydroxy-3-(5-trifluoromethyl-2-dodecyloxyphenyl)-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)propionic acid; 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-dodecylthiophenyl-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)propionic acid is prepared from 2-(dodecylthio)benzaldehyde. 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-heptylthiophenyl)-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)propionic acid is prepared from 2-(heptylthio)benzaldehyde. EXAMPLE 15 Preparation of 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-6-phenylhexyloxy)phenyl]-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)propionic acid a) 2-(6-Phenylhexyloxy)benzaldehyde A solution of 6-phenylhexanoic acid (19.8 mmol) in sieve dried tetrahydrofuran (5 ml) was reduced with diborane in tetrahydrofuran (30 ml, 29.1 mmol) at 0° C. for 4 hours to give 6-phenylhexanol. To an ice cold solution of the hexanol (ca. 19.8 mmol) and carbon tetrabromide (21.98 mmol) in methylene chloride (50 ml) was added triphenylphosphine (22-30 mmol) in methylene chloride (50 ml) and the resulting solution was stirred for 2.5 hours. The volatiles were evaporated and the residue was taken up in ether (100 ml), cooled in ice, and filtered. The filtrate was evaporated and distilled to afford 6-phenylhexyl bromide as an oil. A mixture of the bromide (8.00 mmol), salicylaldehyde (8.19 mmol) and potassium carbonate (9.33 mmol) in dimethylformamide (10 ml) was heated to 100° C. and maintained at that temperature for one hour. The cooled reaction mixture was taken up in hexane (50 ml) and washed with 5% sodium hydroxide (50 ml) and saturated sodium chloride (50 ml). The organic phase was dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and charcoal. Evaporated yielded a colorless oil which was purified by flash chromatography over silica gel with 5% ethyl acetate in hexane as eluant to afford the desired product as an oil. Analysis for C 19 H 2 O 2 : Calculated: C, 80.82; H, 7.85. Found: C, 80.62; H, 7.72. (b) 2-Hydroxy-3-12-(6-phenylhexyloxy)phenyl]-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)propionic acid Employing the general methods of Example 1(c) through 1(e) the compound of Example 15(a) is converted to the desired product. The following compounds are prepared according to the general methods described above from the appropriately substituted phenylalkyloxybenzaldehyde. 2-Hydroxy-3-12-(3-phenylpropyloxy)phenyl]-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)propionic acid; and 2-Hydroxy-3-12-(9-phenylnonyloxy)phenyl]-3-(3-carboxyphenylthio)propionic acid. EXAMPLE 16 Preparation of 3-[2-(6-phenylthiohexylthio)phenyl]-3-(2-carboxyphenylthio)-2-hydroxypropionic acid a) Preparation of 2-(6-thiophenoxyhexylthio)benzoic acid Thiosalicylic acid (1.2 g, 0.008 mole) and 6-thiophenoxyhexylbromide (2.5 g, 0.009 mole) are dissolved in dimethylformamide (50 ml) and the solution is stirred under argon. Potassium carbonate (1.5 g, 0.011 mole) is added carefully to the reaction. After the addition is complete the mixture is slowly warmed to 100° C. The solvents are evaporated, and the residue is dissolved in water, acidified with dilute hydrochloric acid, extracted with ethyl acetate, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, and evaporated. The residue is flash chromatographed on silica gel to give the desired product. b) Preparation of 2-(6-phenylthiohexylthio)benzyl alcohol To a suspension of lithium aluminum hydride (0.292 g, 0.007 mole) in tetrahydrofuran (30 ml) is added a solution of 2-(6-thiophenoxyhexylthio)benzoic acid (2.42 g, 0.007 mole) in tetrahydrofuran (30 ml). The reaction is stirred at room temperature under argon, overnight. When the reaction is complete several drops of ice water are added followed by cold 10% sodium hydroxide (approximately 1.0 ml), followed by cold 10% sodium hydroxide (approximately 1.0 ml), followed by more ice water. This produces a dry granular precipatate which is filtered and is washed. The filtrate is then dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered and is evaporated. The crude alcohol is flash chromatographed on silica gel to give the desired compound. c) Preparation 2-(6-phenylthiohexylthio)benzaldehyde To a suspension of manganese dioxide (11.78 g, 0.135 mole) in ethyl acetate (30 ml) is added a solution of 2-(6-thiophenoxyhexylthio)benzyl alcohol (1.23 g; 0.0037 mole) in ethyl acetate (20 ml). The reaction is stirred at room temperature under argon for 1.5 hours. The suspension is then filtered. The filtrate is dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered and evaporated providing the desired compound. d) Methyl trans-3-[2-(6-phenylthiohexylthio)phenyl]-2,3-epoxypropionate The compound of Example 16(c) (10 mmol) is dissolved in diethyl ether (25 ml) and the solution is stirred under argon at 0° C. Methyl chloroacetate (15 mmol) is added followed by the addition of sodium methoxide (15 mmol). The mixture is stirred for 2.5 hours at ice bath temperature. A small quantity of water is added, the ether phase is separated, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, and evaporated. The residue is flash chromatographed on 80 grams of silica gel eluted with 5-30% ethyl acetate/hexane to give the product. (e) Methyl 3-12-(6-phenylthiohexylthio)phenyl]-3-(2-carboxyphenylthio)-2-hydroxypropionate A solution of the compound of Example 16(d) (1.39 mmol), 2-mercaptobenzoic acid (1-53 mmol) and triethylamine (3.06 mmol) in 10 ml of methanol are stirred overnight at 22° under argon. The mixture is poured into water, acidified with 1N hydrochloric acid, and is extracted with diethylether. The extracts are dried and the solvent evaporated. The residue is chromatographed on silica gel to remove starting materials and the product is eluted with a mixture of ethyl acetate, hexane, and methanol (60:40:2.5). The solvents are evaporated, and the residue is recrystallized from methanol to yield the product. f) 3-[2-(6-phenylthiohexylthio)phenyl]-3-(2-carboxyphenylthio)-2-hydroxypropionic acid A suspension of the compound of Example 16(e) (0.44 mmol), 5 ml of methanol, 2 ml of water and 2.5N sodium hydroxide is heated at 95° for 10 minutes, and is stirred at 22° for 2 hours. The mixture is diluted with 20 ml of water and filtered. The filtrate is acidified, and extracted with ethyl acetate. The extracts are washed with water, dried, and the solvent evaporated. The residue is recrystallized from acetonitrile to give the desired product. EXAMPLE 17 Preparation of 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-carboxy-4-oxo-8-propyl-4H-1-benzopyran-7-ylthio)-3-12-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid (a) Ethyl 7-((dimethylamino)thioxomethoxy)-4-oxo-8-propyl-4H-1-benzopyran-2-carboxylate Ethyl 7-hydroxy-4-oxo-8-n-propyl-4H-1-benzopyran-2-carboxylate (1 g) in anhydrous dimethylformamide (4 ml) is cooled to 0° and treated under nitrogen with sodium hydride (50% dispersion in mineral oil, 180 mg) with stirring for 30 minutes. Dimethylaminothiocarbamylchloride (465 mg) is added and the mixture is stirred 15 minutes at 0°, warmed to 80° and maintained as such for 18 hours. The mixture is cooled, diluted with methylene chloride (50 ml) and washed with water (3×100 ml)), dried over sodium sulfate and reduced to dryness in vacuo. The residue is recrystallized from ethyl acetate and hexane to yield the title compound. (b) Ethyl 7-(((dimethylamino)carbonyl)thio)-4-oxo-8-propyl-4H-1-benzopyran-2-carboxylate The ester prepared in Example 17(a) is heated neat under a nitrogen atmosphere at 200° for 2 hours. After cooling the residue is crystallized from ethyl acetate and hexane to yield the title compound. (c) 7-Mercapto-4-oxo-8-propyl-4H-1-benzopyran-2-carboxylic acid Sodium (690 mg) is dissolved in anhydrous methanol (50 ml) and to this is added the compound of Example 17(b). The mixture is stirred under a nitrogen atmosphere for 3 hours at ambient temperature. Water (50 ml) is added and the mixture is acidified with 6N HCl. The resulting crystals are collected by filtration and recrystallized from ethyl acetate to provide the title compound. (d) Methyl 2-hydroxy-3-(2-carboxy-4-oxo-8-propyl-4H-benzopyran-7-yl thio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionate The compound of Example 1(c), methyl trans-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]-2,3-epoxypropionate, is reacted with the 7-mercapto-4-oxo-8-propyl-4H-1-benzopyran-2-carboxylic acid of Example 17(c) in an analagous manner to that for the preparation of the compound in Example 1(d) to yield the desired product. (e) 2-Hydroxy-3-(2-carboxy-4-oxo-8-propyl-4H-1-benzopyran-7-yl thio)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid. The compound from Example 18(d) is hydrolyzed with aqueous NAOH in an analagous manner to that for the preparation of the compound in Example 1(e) to yield to desired product. EXAMPLE 18 Preparation of 2-Hydroxy-3-1(5-carboxy-2-methoxyphenylmethyl)thiol-3-[2-(8-phenyloctylphenyl]propionic acid (a) Methyl 2-hydroxy-3-((5-carbomethoxy-2-methoxyphenylmethyl)thiol-3[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionate This compound was prepared from the compound of Example 1(c) in a manner analogous to the preparation of the compound of Example 6(b). nmr(CDCl 3 ): 7.97(m,2H), 7.61(m,1H), 7.04-7.42 (m,8H), 6.87(d,1H), 4.71(t,1H), 4.519d,1H), 3.92(s,3h), 3.88(s,3H), 3.80(m, 2H), 3.64(s,3H), 3.20(d,1H), 2.60(5,2H), 2.42(m,2H), 1.12-1.83(m,12H). (b) 2-Hydroxy-3-[(5-carboxy-2-methoxyphenylmethyl)thio]-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid The compound of Example 18(a) was hydrolyzed in the same manner as described for the preparation of the compound of Example 4(b) after tituration with a mixture of cyclohexane and hexane. nmr(CDCl 3 ): 8.10(d,1H), 7.90(d,1H), 7.52(m,1H), 6.86-7.21(m,8H), 6.89(d,1h), 4.76(d,1H), 4.48(d,1H), 3.5-3.92(m+s,5H), 2.48(t,2H), 1.98-2.38(m,2H), 0.76-1.62(m,12H). EXAMPLE 19 Preparation of [R-(R*,S*)]-3-[(4-carboxyphenyl)sulfonyl]-2-methoxy-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid (a) (E)-1-(2-napthyl)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propenone To a 12 L 3-neck flash equipped with vigorous overhead stirring, a condenser and a cool bath (51), under nitrogen flush, sodium metal (36.8 g., 1.16 M) was added to ethanol (3.53 L, 95%) over a period of 30 minutes. After stirring for 4 minutes, 2-phenyloctyl benzaldehyde was added. Upon completion, the reaction was recooled to 10° and the 2-acetonapthone (115.6 g., 0.679 M) was added in one portion. The reaction was stirred at ambient temperature for 18 h, during which time a yellow solid precipitated. The reaction was treated with icewater (350 ml) and cooled to 10°. After stirring for 1 hour, the reaction was filtered and the filter cake was washed with 50% aqueous ethanol (400 ml). The solid was air dried, pulverized and dried in vacuo (1-5 mm at room temperature) to yield 248 g. (89%) of the titled compound. m.p.: 41-42.5]° TLC: R f =0.55 (methylene chloride; hexane 3:1,silica gel) HPLC: RT=17.7 min. (WATERS μbondapake® C-18 RP; acetonitrile: water 85:15; 1.5 ml/min.; UV detection at 230 nm) IR(nujol mull): 1660, 1595, 1185 cm -1 CMR[CDCl 3 ]: δ190.3, 143.3, 142.9, 142.4, 135.6, 133.5 1343.5, 132.6, 130.2, 130.15, 129.9, 129.5, 128.5, 128.3, 128.2, 127.8, 126.7, 126.6, 126.3, 125.5, 124.5, 123.3, 35.9, 33.4, 31.72, 31.4, 29.4, 29.38, 29.34, 29.23 PMR[CDCl 3 ]: δ8.55(s), 8.21(d;J=15.5 Hz), 8.11(d of d), 7.9-8.0(m), 7.8(d), 7.50-7.65(m), 7.1-7.4(m), 2.75(t; J=7.71 Hz), 2.57(5; J=7.71 Hz), 1.6(br. s), 1.29(br. s) Elemental Analysis: Theory: C, 88.74; H, 7.67; Found: C, 88.84; H, 7.68. (b)(2R) 1-(2-napthyl)-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]trans-2,3-epoxy-propan-1-one Sodium hydroxide (255 g, 6.37 m) was dissolved in deionized water (0.65 L) which was cooled in a water bath at 14°-20° C. Poly-L-leucine (215 g) was added to this solution as a solid. The chalcone (250 g, .531 M) was added as a solid followed by hexane (4 L). The heterogeneous mixture was stirred at ambient temperature for 16 hours, cooled to 10°-15° C. in an ice bath and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, disodium salt dehydrate (5 g) was added. 30% Hydrogen peroxide (1.126 L) was added dropwise over 1-2 hours in such a manner that the reaction temperature did not exceed 25° C. The peroxide was directed below the surface of the reaction by a polypropylene tube attached to a dropping funnel. The reaction was stirred at 20°-24° C. for 20 hours. The reaction was treated with ethyl acetate (0.3 L) and the reaction mixture was filtered through a jacketed bench Buchner funnel (40°-50° C). The solid, poly-L-leucine, was washed with ethyl acetate (0.5 L), slurried in hot (40°-50° C.) ethyl acetate (1-5 L) for 10 minutes and collected. The combined filtrates were placed in a separatory funnel and washed with three portions of water (550 ml each) and one portion of brine (i L). The organic layer was dried over magnesium sulfate (300 g) for 5 hours, filtered and evaporated (30°-40C., 15 minutes) to an off-white solid. The solid was recrystallized by dissolving in hot hexane-toluene (95-5 v/v, 1.9 L) and filtering through a jacketed bench Buchner funnel (40° C.). The solution was left at ambient temperature for 1.5 hours and placed in a refrigerator (at 5° C.) for 12 hours. The crystalline product was collected and washed with a small portion of the filtrate and cold hexane. The product was air dried for 3 hours and further dried in a vacuum dessicator (1 mm, 25° C.) for 24 hours. This procedure yielded 200 g (82%) of the titled compound (96-97% e.e.). m.p.: 62°-63° C. TLC: Rf=0.35 (CHCl 3 ) Rf=0.43 (methylene chloride:hexane 3:1) HPLC: RT =6.0 min. (Waters μbondapak® C18 RP, 3.9 mm ×30 cm; acetonitrile:water 9:1; 2 ml/min, detection at 211 nm) RT=12.1 min. (OP(+) 4.5 mm×25 cm; methanol; 0.8 ml/min, detection at 210 nm) enantomer RT =18.8 min. Elemental Analysis: theoretical, C 85.67, H 7.40; found, C 85.93, H 7.48 [α] D (C=1, CH 2 Cl 2 )+24.6; recryx 1x, [α] D =+26.4, [α 546 (c=1, CH 2 Cl 2 )=+31.1. CMR[CDCl 3]: δ 193.13, 142.89, 141.47, 136.02, 133.56, 133.00, 132.49, 130.47, 129.72, 129.37, 129.06, 128.93, 128.55, 128.39, 128.22, 127.91, 127.12, 126.47, 125.56, 124.31, 123.69, 60.48, 57.67, 35.85, 32.73, 31.18, 29.39, 29.18, 29.10 (c) 2(R) 3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]-trans-2,3-epoxy-propionic acid, 2-napthyl ester Methylene chloride (300 ml) was warmed to reflux and m-chloroperoxybenzoid acid (28 g, 0.162 M; 85% was added followed by the 2(R) 1-(2-napthyl)-2,3-(trans)-epoxy-3-[2-(8-phenyl octyl)phenyl]propanane (29g, 0.162 M). The reaction was stirred at reflux for 4 hours, cooled to 15 C, then m-chlorobenzoic acid was removed by filtration and the solvent was evaporated. The residue was dissolved in hot isopropanol/toluene (1L/0.1L) filtered and allowed to cool at room temperature. Crystals formed within 5 minutes. The mixture was cooled in the refrigerator overnight, filtered, and air dried (25°, 1 mm/Hg) to yield 25 g (81%, 99.9% e.e.) of the titled product. m.p.: 82°-83° C. Specific rotation: α D (c=1, CH 2 Cl 2 )=-89.48; Elemental Analysis: theoretical, C 82.80, H 7.20; found C 82.92, H 7.09 (d) (2R) 3-(2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl)-2,3-(trans)-epoxy propionamide The ester of Example 19(c) (2.03 g) was dissolved in methanol (21.1 ml) and cooled in an ice bath. Methanol saturated with ammonia (21.1 ml) was added dropwise with a temperature rise to 5° C. After 5 hours the methanol/ammonia was evaporated. The ammonia was chased by solution and evaporation from toluene. The residue was further dissolved in toluene, washed with water (1×), 10% NAOH (3×), water (2×), and brine (1×). After drying over MgSO 4 , the solution was filtered and the solvent evaporated. The resulting solid was dissolved in hot hexane: CH 2 Cl 2 (90:10), filtered through a hot jacketed Buchner funnel into a warmed filter flash and allowed to precipitate. After 31/2 hours at room temperature, the solid was collected by filtration and dried to yield 1.11 g of the titled compound. mp. 80°-82° C. Elemental Analysis: theory, C:78.59, H: 8.32, N: 3.99; found, C: 78.35, H: 8.34, N: 3.90 [α] D 25 =-8.3 (c=1, CH 2 Cl 2 ) (e) [R-(R*,S*)]-3-[(4-carbomethoxyphenyl)thiol-2-hydroxy-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionamide A solution of 4.9gm (0.014 mole) of the compound of Example 19(d) in 100 ml of THF at 01 was treated with 10.4 ml (0.035 mole) of titanium isopropoxide, and stirred 30 minutes. This was then treated with a solution of 3.5 gm (0.021 mole) of methyl-p-mercaptobenzoate in 50 ml of THF which had been treated with 100 mg of 60% NaH. The combined solution was stirred at 0° for 2 hours, poured into 400 ml of 10%. H 2 SO 4 , and extracted with Et 2 O. The extracts were washed with H 2 O and aqueous Na 2 CO 3 , dried and the solvent removed. The residue was chromatographed over silica gel, and a quantitative recovery of the product was eluted with a mixture of 10% MEOH and 90% EtOAc. nmr (CDCl 3 ):7.93(d,2H), 7.69(m,1H), 7.46(d,2H), 6.98-7.40(m,8H), 6.30(d,1HO, 5.62(d,1H), 5.22(d,1H), 4.42(t,1H), 3.88(s,3H), 2.40-3.02(m,5H), 1.09-1.82(m,12H). (f) Methyl[R-(R*,S*)]-3-[(4-carbomethoxyphenyl) thiol-2-hydroxy-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionate A solution of 7.6 gm of the compound of Example 19(e) in a mixture of 180ml of MEOH, 15ml of conc. HCl and 10ml. of H 2 O was refluxed 16 hours. The MEOH was removed, and the residue extracted with Et 2 O. The extracts were washed with H 2 O, dried, and the solvent removed. The residue was chromatographed over a silica gel column, and 6.4 gm (89%) of the product was eluted with a mixture of 40% EtOAc and 60% hexane. nmr(CDCl 3 ): 7.94(d,2H), 7.62(m,1H), 7.40(d,2H), 6.97-7.27(m,8H), 4.95(d,1H), 4.54(t,1H), 3.82(s,3H), 3.52(s,3H), 3.13(d,1H), 2.37-2.80(m,4H), 1.03-1.87(m,12H). (g) Methyl [R-R*,S*)1-3-[(4-carbomethoxyphenyl)thiol-2-methoxy-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionate A solution of 4.08 gm (7.8 mmole) of the compound of Example 19(f) in a mixture of 80 ml of THF and 20 ml of DMF at 0° was treated first with a slurry of 343mg of 60% NcH (washed free of mineral oil with hexane) in 10 ml. of THF, and then 0.54ml (8.6 mmole) of iodomethane. After 30 minutes, the mixture was poured into 100 ml of cold 0.5N HCl, and extracted with Et 2 O. The extracts were washed with H 2 O and aqueous NAHSO 3 , dried, and the solvent evaporated. The residue was chromatographed over a silica gel column, and 3.19 gm (76%) of the product was eluted with CHCL 3 . nmr(CDCl 3 ); 7.92(d,2H), 7.00-7.60(m,11H), 4.93(d,1H), 4.18(d,1H), 3.90(s,3H), 3.61(s,3H), 3.33(s,3H), 2.47-2.80(m,4H) 1.17-1.80(m 12H). (h) Methyl [R-(R*,S*)1-3-[4-carbomethoxyphenyl)sulfonyl]-2-methoxy-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionate A solution of 1.26 gm (2.3 mmole) of the compound of Example 19(g) in 100 ml of CH 2 Cl 2 was treated with a solution of 1.25 gm of 80% m-chloroperbenzoic acid in 100 ml of CH 2 Cl 2 . The reaction was stirred at 23° for 1 hour, then washed twice with aqueous Na 2 CO 3 , once with aqueous NAHSO 3 , then dried and the solvent evaporated. The residue was chromatographed over a silica gel column, and 1.22 gm (95%) of product was eluted with CHCl 3 nmr(CDCl 3 ): 8.03(d,2H), 7.53(broad d,3H), 6.87-7.43(m,8H), 5.10(d,1H), 4.90(d,1H), 3.93(s,3H), 3.68(s,3H), 3.52(s,3H), 2.03-2.80(m,6H), 1.00-1.86(m,10H). (i) (R-(R*,S*)1-3-[(4-Carboxyphenyl)sulfonyl]-2-methoxy-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid A solution of 1.22 gm of the compound of Example 19(h) in a mixture of 6 ml of glacial HOAC and 3 ml of conc. HCl was refluxed 9.5 hours, cooled, and poured into 150 ml of CHCl 3 . This solution was washed twice with H 2 O, dried, and the solvent evaporated, and gave 0.97 gm of product. nmr (CDCl 3 ): 8.03(d,2H), 7.53(broad d, 3H), 6.80-7.40(m,8H), 5.17(d,1H), 4.96(d,1H), 3.60(s,3H), 2.60(t,2H), 2.10-2.70(m,2H), 0.93-1.77(m,12H). EXAMPLE 20 Preparation of [R(R*,S*)1-3-[(4-Carboxyphenyl)thiol-2-methoxy-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid A solution of 177 mg of the compound of Example 19 (g) in 10 ml of MEOH was treated with 2ml of 2.5N NAOH and stirred 16 hours at 23°. The solution was poured into 50 ml of H 2 O, and filtered. The filtrate was acidified and extracted with CH 2 Cl 2 . The extracts were washed with H 2 O, dried and the solvent evaporated, and gave the product, 120 g. nmr(CDCl 3 ):7.82(d,2H), 7.58(d,2H), 7.02-7.58(m,9H), 5.10(d,1H), 4.26(d,1H), 3.20(s,3H), 2.98(m,2H), 2.45(t,2H), 1.18-1.90(m,12H). EXAMPLE 21 Preparation of [R-(R*,S*)]-3-[(4-Carboxyphenyl) thiol-2-hydroxy-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid This compound was prepared from the compound of Example 19(g) in exactly the same manner as used in Example 20. nmr:(CDCl 3 /Me 2 CO):8.00(d,2H), 7.70(m,1H), 7.49(d,2H), 7.00-7.45(m,8H), 5.12(d,1H), 4.67(d,1H), 2.40-2.90(m,4H), 1.10-1.76(n,12H). EXAMPLE 22 Preparation of (R-(R*, S*)]-3-[(4-carboxy-2-methoxyphenylmethyl)thio]-2-hydroxy-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid (a) [R-(R*,S*)]-3-[(4-carbomethoxy-2-methoxyphenylmethylthiol-2-hydroxy-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionamide A solution of 2.76 gm (13 mmole) of 4-carbomethoxy-2-methoxybenzylmercaptan in 70 ml of THF at o, was treated with 520mg (13 mmole) 60% NaH. A solution of 3.51 gm (10 mmole) of the compound of Example 19(d) in 100 ml of CH 2 Cl 2 at 0° was treated with 7.43 ml (25 mmole) of titanium isopropoxide. The two solutions were combined and stirred at 0° for 2 hours, at 20° for 16 hours, and quenched with 100 ml of 10% H 2 SO 4 . The mixture was extracted with CH 2 Cl 2 . The extracts were washed with H 2 O, dried, and the solvent evaporated. The residue was chromatographed over a silica column, and 3.4 gm of product was eluted with a mixture of 5% MeoH and 95% EtOAc. (b) Methyl[R-(R*,S*)]-3-[(4-carbomethoxy-2-methoxy phenylmethyl)thiol-2-hydroxy-3[2-(8-phenyloctyl) phenyl]propionate This compound is prepared from the compound of Example 22(a) in a manner exactly analagous to the preparation of the compound of Example 19(f). nmr(CDCl 3 ):6.92-7.78(m,12H), 4.70(t,1H), 4.50(d,1H), 3.60-3.93(d of d, 2H), 3.90(s,3H), 3.87(s,3H), 3.60(s,3H), 3.30(d,1H), 2.58(t,2H), 2.20-2.46(m,2H), .98-1.72(m,12H). (c) [R-(R*,S*)]-3-[(4-carboxy-2-methoxyphenylmethyl)thiol-2-hydroxy-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl) phenyl]propionic acid This compound was prepared from the compound of Example 22(b) in a manner exactly analagous to the preparation of the compound of Example 20. nmr(CDCl 3 /Me 2 Co): 6.93-7.78(m,12H), 4.76(d,1H), 4.53(d,1H), 3.92(d,1H), 3.82(s,3H), 3.68(d,1H), 2.24-2.69(m,4H), 1.03-1.80(m,12H). EXAMPLE 23 Preparation of [R-(R*,S*)]-3-[(4-carboxy-2-fluorophenylmethyl)thio]thio]-2-hydroxy-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]-propionic acid (a) [R-(R*,S*)]-3-[(4-carbomethoxy-2-fluorophenylmethyl)thio]-2-hydroxy-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionamide This compound was prepared from the compound of Example 19(c) in a manner exactly analagous to that of Example 22. (b) Methyl [R-(R*,S*)]-3-1(4-carbomethoxy-fluorophenylmethyl)thio]-2-hydroxy-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionate This compound was prepared from the compound of Example 23(a) in a manner exactly analagous to the preparation of Example 19(f). nmr(CDCl 3 ): 6.97-7.90(m,12H), 4.42-4.72(m,2H), 3.48-3.98(m,8H), 3.06(d,1H), 2.28-2.72(m,4H), 1.00-1.749m,12H). (c) [R-(R*,S*)]-3-[(4-carboxy-2-fluorophenylmethyl)thio]-2-hydroxy-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid This compound was prepared from the compound of Example 23(b) in a manner exactly analagous to the preparation of the compound of Example 20. nmr(CDCl 3 ): 6.98-7.90(m,12H), 4.68(d,1H), 4.55(d,1H), 3.60-3.92(m,2H), 2.20-2.70(m,4H), 1.02-1.76 (m,12H). EXAMPLE 24 Preparation of [R-(R*,S*)]-3-[(3-carboxymethylphenyl)thio]-2-hydroxy-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid (a) [R-(R*,S*)]-3-[(3-carbomethoxymethylphenyl)thio]-2-hydroxy-3-12-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionamide This compound was prepared from the compound of Example 19(d) and methyl-m-mercaptophenylacetate in a manner exactly analagous to the preparation of the compound of Example 22(a). nmr(CDCl 3 ): 7.58-7.82(m,1H), 6.96-7.52(m,12H), 6.39(broad d, 1H), 5.62(broad d,1H), 5.05(d,1H), 4.37(t,1H), 4.08(d,1H), 3.70(s,3H), 3.58(s,2H), 2.50-3.02(m,4H), 1.18-1.82(m,12H). (b) Methyl [R-(R*,S*)]-3-1(3-carbomethoxymethyl phenyl)thio]-2-hydroxy-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl) phenyl]propionate This compound was prepared from the compound of Example 24(a) in a manner exactly analagous to the preparation of the compound of Example 19(f). (c) [R-(R*,S*)]-3-[(3-carboxymethylphenyl)thio]-2-hydroxy-3-[2-(8-phenyloctyl)phenyl]propionic acid This compound was prepared from the compound of Example 24(b) in a manner exactly analagous to the preparation of the compound of Example 20. nmr(CDCl 3 ): 7.50-7.78(m,1H), 6.72-7.48(m,12H), 4.90(d,1H), 4.50(d,1H), 3.52(s,2H), 2.32-2.86(m,4H), 0.94-1.72(m,12H). EXAMPLE 25 As a specific embodiment of a composition of this invention, 1 to 10 mg/ml of an active ingredient, such as the compound of Example 1 is dissolved in isotonic saline solution and aerosolized from a nebulizer operating at an air flow adjusted to deliver the desired aerosolized weight of drug. EXAMPLE 26 As an additional embodiment of a composition of this invention 100 mg of an active ingredient, such as the compound of Example 4, 13, or 14 is combined with 4 mg of chlorpheniramine maleate with a suitable carrier or excipient.

This invention relates to alkanoic acid compounds having phenyl and heteroarylthio substituents which are useful as leukotriene antagonists, processes for the preparation thereof, and pharmaceutical compositions containing such compounds. This invention also relates to methods of treating diseases in which leukotrienes are a factor by administration of an effective amount of the above compounds or compositions.

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 08/152,877 filed Nov. 15, 1993 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,726, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/821,016 filed Jan. 15, 1992 (abandoned). BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a novel hydrazine derivative which can be utilized as a pesticide in paddy field, upland field, orchard, forest or places to be kept environmentally hygiene. Also, the derivative can be utilized as a parasiticide for protecting human being or animals from injury of a parasite. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (KOKAI) No. 62-167747 (1987) (U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,461, EP 236618), No. 62-263150(1987) and No. 3-141245 (1991), there are described that N-substituted-N'-substituted-N,N'-diacylhydrazine derivative has pesticidal activity. However, in these patent publications, the derivative of the present invention mentioned below has never been described. For controlling harmful pest in paddy field, upland field, orchard, forest or places to be kept environmentally hygiene, there have been demanded a compound having a higher pesticidal activity without damaging useful insects, circumstance, etc. and having a low toxicity to human and animal. Also, in recent years, the number of harmful pest which shows resistance to known pesticides such as an organophosphorus compound, a carbamate compound, a pyrethroid, etc. is increasing and control thereof becomes difficult whereby a new type pesticidal compound is now demanded. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is to provide a new type pesticidal compound which substantially does not affect to useful insects, environment, etc., has a low toxicity to human and animal and shows an excellent control effect against chemical-resistant harmful pests, and a pesticidal composition containing the compound as an effective ingredient. The present inventors have investigated intensively in order to solve the above problem, and as the results, have found that a novel hydrazine derivative having an excellent pesticidal activity. The present invention has been accomplished based on this finding. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The pesticidal compound of the present invention is represented by the following formula (I): ##STR1## wherein A and B each independently represent --O--, --S--, ##STR2## or NR' wherein R represents a hydrogen atom, (C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group or (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy group, R' represents a hydrogen atom, (C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group, (C 2 -C 4 )acyl group or p-fluorobenzyl group, or R and R' may be combined to form an dioxolan ring together with the carbon atom to which R and R' are attached, A, B or both A and B optionally forming a double bond with an adjacent carbon atom when A and B each independently represent ##STR3## or NR'; R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 each independently represent hydrogen atom, halogen atom, (C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group, (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy(C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group or benzyloxy (C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group; R 5 , R 6 and R 7 each independently represent hydrogen atom, halogen atom, (C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group, nitro group, amino group, cyano group, hydroxyl group, formyl group, (C 1 -C 4 )haloalkyl group, (C 2 -C 4 )alkenyl group, (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy group, (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy(C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group, (C 1 -C 4 )alkylthio(C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group or (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy(C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy group, R 8 , R 9 and R 10 each independently represent hydrogen atom, halogen atom, (C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group, tri(C 1 -C 4 )alkylsilyloxy(C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group, nitro group, (C 1 -C 4 )haloalkyl group, hydroxy (C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group, formyl group, (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy group, (C 2 -C 4 )alkenyloxy group, (C 2 -C 4 )alkynyloxy group, (C 2 -C 4 )alkenyl group, (C 2 -C 4 )alkynyl group, (C 1 -C 4 )haloalkoxy group, (C 1 -C 4 )haloalkylthio group, (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy(C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy group, (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy group having a phenyl group which is optionally substituted by a halogen atom, or (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy group having a phenoxy group which is optionally substituted on the phenyl group by a CF 3 , halogen atom or (C 1 -C 2 )alkyl group; R 11 represents a hydrogen atom, cyano group, (C 1 -C 4 )haloalkylthio group, (C 2 -C 5 )acyl group, di(C 1 -C 4 )alkylcarbamoyl group, (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxycarbonyl group, (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxycarbonylcarbonyl group, (C 2 -C 4 )alkenyl group or (C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group which is optionally substituted by a halogen atom, (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy group, (C 1 -C 6 )alkylcarbonyloxy group or (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxycarbonyl group; R 12 represents a branched (C 3 -C 10 )alkyl group; and n represents 0 or 1; with the proviso that when A and B each independently represent --O-- or ##STR4## wherein R and R' each independently represent a hydrogen atom or (C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group, at least one of R 5 , R 6 and R 7 is not a hydrogen atom. In the formula (I), the halogen atom may include fluorine atom, chlorine atom, bromine atom and iodine atom; the (C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group may include methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, isobutyl,sec-butyl and t-butyl group; the (C 2 -C 4 )alkenyl group may include allyl, 2-propenyl, 1-propenyl, ethenyl and 2-butenyl group; the (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy group may include methoxy, ethoxy, n-propoxy, isopropoxy, n-butoxy, sec-butoxy isobutoxy and t-butoxy group; the hydroxy (C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group may include 2-hydroxyethyl and hydroxymethyl group; the (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy(C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy group may include ethoxymethoxy, methoxyethoxy, ethoxyethoxy, n-propoxymethoxy, isopropoxymethoxy and n-butoxymethoxy group; the (C 2 -C 4 )alkynyl group may include ethynyl, propynyl and butynyl group; the (C 1 -C 4 )haloalkyl group may include 1- or 2-chloroethyl, chloromethyl, dichloromethyl, bromomethyl, 1- or 2-bromoethyl, fluoromethyl, difluoromethyl and trifluoromethyl group; the (C 1 -C 4 )haloalkoxy group may include 1- or 2-bromoethoxy, 3-bromo-n-propoxy, 2,2,2- or 1,1,2-trifluoroethoxy and trifluoromethoxy group; the (C 2 -C 4 )alkenyloxy group may include allyloxy and 2-butenyloxy group; the (C 2 -C 4 )alkynyloxy group may include propargyloxy and butynyloxy group; the (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy group having a phenyl group which is optional substituted by a halogen atom may include 2-(p-chlorophenyl)ethoxy, m-chlorophenylmethoxy, 2-(p-fluorophenyl)ethoxy, 2-(m-fluorophenyl)ethoxy and 3-(p-bromophenyl)propoxy group; the (C 1 -C 4 )alkylthio(C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group may include methylthiomethyl, 2-methylthioethyl, 3-isopropylthiopropyl, n-butylthiomethyl and 2-ethylthioethyl group; the tri ((C 1 -C 4 )alkylsilyloxy(C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group may include trimethylsilyloxymethyl, trimethylsilyloxyethyl and dimethyl-t-butylsilyloxymethyl group; the (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy group having a phenoxy group which is optionally substituted by a CF 3 , halogen atom or (C 1 -C 2 )alkyl group may include 2-(m-trifluoromethylphenoxy)ethoxy, 3-phenoxypropoxy, 2-(m-methylphenoxy)ethoxy, 2-(p-chlorophenoxy)ethoxy and 2-(p-fluorophenoxy)ethoxy group; the (C 1 -C 4 )haloalkylthio group may include 2-chloroethylthio, 2-bromoethylthio, trichloromethylthio, fluorodichloromethylthio, trifluoromethylthio and 2-fluoropropylthio group; the (C 2 -C 5 )acyl group may include acetyl and propionyl group; the (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxycarbonylcarbonyl group may include t-butoxycarbonylcarbonyl, methoxycarbonylcarbonyl and ethoxycarbonylcarbonyl group; the (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxycarbonyl group may include ethoxycarbonyl, methoxycarbonyl, isopropoxycarbonyl and isobutoxycarbonyl group; the (C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group which is optionally substituted by a (C 1 -C 6 )alkylcarbonyloxy group or (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxycarbonyl group may include ethylcarbonyloxymethyl, 2-isopropylcarbonyloxyethyl, t-butylcarbonyloxymethyl, 2-methoxycarbonylethyl and t-butoxycarbonylmethyl group; the (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy(C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group may include ethoxymethyl, 3-methoxypropyl, 2-ethoxyethyl and methoxymethyl group; the di(C 1 -C 4 )alkylcarbamoyl group may include dimethylcarbamoyl and diethylcarbamoyl group; and the branched (C 3 -C 10 )alkyl group may include t-butyl, 1,2,2-trimethylpropyl, 2,2-dimethylpropyl and 1,2,2-trimethylbutyl group. A preferred is a hydrazine derivative represented by the formula (I), wherein A represents --O-- or --CH 2 --; B represents --O-- or --CH 2 --; R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a methyl group; R 5 represents a (C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group, a (C 1 -C 4 )haloalkyl group or a halogen atom; R 6 represents a hydrogen atom, a (C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group or a halogen atom; R 7 represents a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom; R 8 , R 9 and R 10 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, a (C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group, a (C 1 -C 4 )haloalkyl group, a halogen atom, a nitro group, a (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy group, a (C 2 -C 4 )alkenyloxy group, a (C 2 -C 4 )alkynyloxy group, a (C 2 -C 4 )alkenyl group, a (C 1 -C 4 )haloalkoxy group, a phenyl (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy group whose phenyl moiety is optionally substituted with a halogen atom, or a phenoxy (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy group whose phenyl moiety is optionally substituted with a (C 1 -C 2 )alkyl group, CF 3 or halogen atom; R 11 represents a hydrogen atom, a cyano group, a (C 1 -C 4 )haloalkylthio group, a (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxycarbonylcarbonyl group or a (C 1 -C 4 )alkylcarbonyloxymethyl group; R 12 represents a branched (C 4 -C 8 )alkyl group; and n represents 0. A more preferred is a hydrazine derivative represented by the formula (I) wherein A represents --O-- or --CH 2 --; B represents --O--; R 1 R 2 R 3 and R 4 each represent a hydrogen atom; R 5 represents a (C 1 -C 2 )alkyl group, a (C 1 -C 2 )haloalkyl group or a halogen atom; R 6 represents a hydrogen atom; R 7 represents a hydrogen atom; R 8 , R 9 and R 10 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, a (C 1 -C 2 )alkyl group, a (C 1 -C 2 )haloalkyl group, a halogen atom, a nitro group or a (C 1 -C 2 )alkoxy group; R 11 represents a hydrogen atom, a cyano group, a trichloromethylthio group, an ethoxycarbonyl carbonyl group or a pivaloyloxymethyl group; R 12 represents a branched (C 4 -C 6 )alkyl group; and n represents 0. A further preferred is a hydrazine derivative represented by the formula (I) wherein A represents --O-- or --CH 2 --; B represents --O--; R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 each represents a hydrogen atom; R 5 represents a (C 1 -C 2 )alkyl group; R 6 represents a hydrogen atom; R 7 represents a hydrogen atom; R 8 , R 9 and R 10 each independently represents a hydrogen atom, a methyl group, a mono-, di- or trifluoromethyl group, a chlorine atom, a fluorine atom, a nitro group or a methoxy group; R 11 represents a hydrogen atom, a cyano group, a trichloromethylthio group, an ethoxycarbonylcarbonyl group or a pivaloyloxymethyl group; R 12 represents a branched (C 4 -C 6 )alkyl group; and n represents 0. A most preferred is a hydrazine derivative represented by the formula (I) wherein A represents --O-- or --CH 2 --; B represents --O--; R 1 R 2 R 3 and R 4 each represents a hydrogen atom; R 5 represents a (C 1 -C 2 )alkyl group; R 6 represents a hydrogen atom; R 7 represents a hydrogen atom; R 8 , R 9 and R 10 , together with the phenyl group to which they are attached, represent a 3,5-dimethylphenyl group, a 3,5-dichlorophenyl group, a 2,4-dichlorophenyl group, a 3-fluoromethyl-5-methylphenyl group, a 3-difluoromethyl-5-methylphenyl group or a 3,5-dimethyl-4-fluorophenyl group; R 11 represents a hydrogen atom, a cyano group or a trichloromethylthio group; R 12 represents a t-butyl group, a 2,2-dimethylpropyl group or a 1,2,2-trimethylpropyl group; and n represents 0. The specifically preferred hydrazine derivatives are N-(5-methylchroman-6-carbo)-N'-t-butyl-N'-(3,5-dimethylbenzoyl)hydrazine, N-cyano-N-(5-methylchroman-6-carbo)-N'-t-butyl-N'-(3,5-dimethylbenzoyl )hydrazine, N-(5-methylchroman-6-carbo)-N'-t-butyl-N'-(3,5-dimethyl-4-fluorobenzoyl )hydrazine, N-(5-methylchroman-6-carbo)-N-trichloromethylthio-N'-t-butyl-N'-(3,5-dimethylbenzoyl)hydrazine, N-(5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbo)-N'-(2,2dimethylpropyl)-N'-(3,5-dimethylbenzoyl)hydrazine, N-cyano-N-(5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbo)-N'-t-butyl-N'-(3,5-dimethylbenzoyl)hydrazine, N-(5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbo)-N-trichloromethylthio-N'-t-butyl-N'-(3,5-dimethylbenzoyl)hydrazine, N-(5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbo)-N'-t-butyl-N'-(3,5-dichlorobenzoyl)hydrazine, N-(5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbo)-N'-t-butyl-N'-(3-difluoromethyl-5-methylbenzoyl )hydrazine, N-(5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbonyl)-N'-(1,2,2-trimethylpropyl)-N'-(3,5dimethylbenzoyl)hydrazine, and N-(5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbonyl)-N'-t-butyl-N'-(3,5-dimethylbenzoyl)hydrazine. The hydrazine derivative of the formula (I) according to the present invention can be prepared by the method as mentioned below. A hydrazide represented by the formula (II): ##STR5## wherein A, B, R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 11 , R 12 and n have the same meanings as defined above, and a benzoyl halide represented by the formula (III): ##STR6## wherein R 8 , R 9 and R 10 have the same meanings as defined above, and X represents a halogen atom, are reacted in a solvent in the presence of a base to obtain the hydrazine derivative of the formula (I). The hydrazide of the formula (II) and the benzoyl halide of the formula (III) may be reacted in an optional ratio, but preferably in an equimolar ratio or substantially equimolar ratio. As the solvent, any solvent inert to each of the reactants may be used. There may be mentioned aliphatic hydrocarbons such as hexane, heptane, etc., aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, xylene, etc., halogenated hydrocarbons such as chloroform, dichloromethane, chlorobenzene, etc., ethers such as diethyl ether, tetrahydrofuran, etc., nitriles such as acetonitrile, propionitrile, etc. A mixed solvent of the above or a mixed solvent of the above and water may be used. As the base, there may by used inorganic bases such as potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, etc., and organic bases such as triethylamine, pyridine, etc. When organic bases such as triethylamine, pyridine, etc. are used, they may be used in large excess for use as a solvent. The base may be used in a stoichiometrical amount or in excess amount with respect to the amount of hydrogen halide to be produced during the reaction, but preferably a stoichiometrical amount or 1.0 to 5.0 time the stoichiometrical amount. The reaction can be carried out in a temperature from -20° C. to the boiling point of a solvent, but preferably in the range from -5° to 50° C. A catalyst such as N,N'-dimethylaminopyridine may be added to the reaction system. A hydrazine derivative of the formula (I) wherein R 11 is a cyano group, (C 1 -C 4 )haloalkylthio group, (C 2 -C 5 )acyl group, di(C 1 -C 4 )alkylcarbamoyl group, (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxycarbonyl group, (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxycarbonylcarbonyl group, (C 1 -C 4 )alkyl group which is optionally substituted by a halogen atom, (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy group, (C 1 -C 6 )alkylcarbonyloxy group or (C 1 -C 4 )alkoxycarbonyl group, or (C 2 -C 4 )alkenyl group, can be further obtained by reacting a corresponding halide of the formula (IIa): X--R.sup.11 (IIa) wherein X represents a halogen atom and R 11 have the same meaning as defined above, such as cyanogen bromide, propyl bromide, halogenomethylthio halide, allyl bromide, etc. with a hydrazine derivative of the formula (Ia) (a hydrazine derivative of the formula (I) wherein R 11 is a hydrogen atom): ##STR7## wherein R 1 to R 10 R 12 A, B and n are the same as defined above, in an inert solvent such as tetrahydrofuran, dioxane, ether, N,N'-dimethylformamide, dimethyl sulfoxide etc. in the presence of a base such as an alkali metal hydride (sodium hydride, etc.), preferably at -10° to 50° C. The hydrazide of the formula (IIb): ##STR8## wherein A, B, R 1 to R 7 , R 12 and n are the same as defined above, which is used for preparing the hydrazine derivative of the formula (I) can be obtained by reacting a hydrazine represented by the formula (V): R.sup.12 --NHNH.sub.2.HCl (V) wherein R 12 is the same as defined above, with a corresponding benzoyl halide represented by the formula (IV): ##STR9## wherein A, B, R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , and n have the same meanings as defined above, and X is a halogen atom. The reaction conditions such as a solvent, reaction temperature, etc. are the same as those mentioned in the reaction of the hydrazide of the formula (II) and the benzoyl halide of the formula (III). The hydrazide of the formula (IIb) can be further obtained by a known procedure, that is, reacting a compound of the formula (VI): ##STR10## wherein A, B, R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 and n have the same meanings as defined above, with an aldehyde of the formula (VII): ##STR11## wherein R 15 is hydrogen atom or alkyl group and R 16 is an alkyl group, the total carbon number of R 15 and R 16 being 2 to 9, in a solvent such as alcohol (methanol, ethanol, etc.), hydrocarbon (toluene, benzene, etc.)and ether (tetrahydrofuran etc.), optionally in the presence of an organic acid such as acetic acid and trifluoroacetic acid to obtain a product of the formula (VIII): ##STR12## wherein A, B, R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 15 , R 16 and n have the same meanings as defined above, and then reducing the product of the formula (VIII) with a reducing agent such as sodium cyanoborohydride, sodium borohydride and lithium aluminum hydride, optionally in the presence of a catalyst such as acetic acid and trifluoroacetic acid in an inert solvent such as alcohols and ethers. The compound of the formula (Ia) can be obtained by reacting the benzoyl halide represented by the formula (IV): ##STR13## wherein A, B, R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , and n have the same meanings as defined above, and X is a halogen atom, with a hydrazide represented by the formula (IX): ##STR14## wherein R 8 , R 9 , R 10 , and R 12 have the same meanings as defined above. The reaction conditions such as a solvent, reaction temperature, etc. are the same as those employed in the reaction of the hydrazide of the formula (II) and the benzoyl halide of the formula (III). The reaction mixture when preparing the hydrazine derivative of the formula (I) or the hydrazide of the formula (II) is stirred for a sufficient time, and after usual treatments such as extraction, washing with water, drying, removal of the solvent, etc., a desired compound can be recovered. In many cases, simple washing with a solvent may be sufficient, but if necessary, recrystallization or purification by column chromatography may be carried out. The hydrazine derivative of the formula (I) may be used as it is or as a composition in the form of various formulation such as powder, fine powder, granule, wettable powder, flowable agent, emulsifiable concentrate, microcapsule, oily agent, aerosol, heat fumigant such as mosquito-repellent incense, electric mosquito-repellent, etc., haze agent such as fogging, etc., non-heat fumigant, a poison bait, etc., according to the method generally employed in the field of pesticide formulation by using the hydrazine derivative only or mixing a pesticide adjuvant in order to enhance or stabilize the pesticidal activity depending on the use and object. These various formulations may be used without or after diluting with water to a desired concentration for practical use. As the pesticide adjuvant herein mentioned, there may be mentioned a carrier (a diluent) and other adjuvant such as a spreader, an emulsifier, a humectant, a dispersant, a sticking agent, a disintegrator, etc. As a liquid carrier, there may be mentioned aromatic hydrocarbons such as toluene, xylene, etc., alcohols such as butanol, octanol, glycol, etc., ketones such as acetone, etc., amides such as dimethylformamide, etc., sulfoxides such as dimethylsulfoxide, etc., methylnaphthalene, cyclohexanone, animal and vegetable oils, fatty acids, fatty acid esters, petroleum fractions such as kerosene, light oil, etc., and water. As a solid carrier, there may be mentioned clay, kaolin, talc, diatomaceous earth, silica, calcium carbonate, montmorillonite, bentonite, feldspar, quartz, alumina, sawdust, etc. Also, as the emulsifier or dispersant, a surfactant is usually used and there may be mentioned anionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, nonionic surfactants and amphoteric surfactants such as higher alcohol sodium sulfate, stearyltrimethylammonium chloride, polyoxyethylene alkyl phenyl ether, lauryl betain, etc. Also, as the spreader, there may be mentioned polyoxyethylene nonyl phenyl ether, polyoxyethylene lauryl ether, etc., as the humectant, there may be mentioned polyoxyethylene nonyl phenyl ether dialkylsulfosuccinate, etc., as the sticking agent, there may be mentioned carboxymethylcellulose, polyvinyl alcohol, etc., and as the disintegrator, there may be mentioned sodium lignin sulfonate, sodium laurylsulfate, etc. Further, two or more of the hydrazine derivative of the present invention can be combinedly formulated to exhibit more excellent pesticidal effect. Also, a multipurpose pesticidal composition having further excellent effects can be prepared by mixing other physiologically active substance such as pyrethroids including aleslin, phthalthrin, permeslin, deltameslin, fenvalerate, cycloprothrin, etc. and various isomers thereof; pyrethrum extract; organophosphorus pesticide including DDVP (dichlorvos), fenitrothion, diazinon, temephos, etc.; carbamate pesticide including NAC (carbaryl), PHC (propoxur), BPMC (Fenbucarb), pirimicarb, carbosulfun, etc.; other pesticides; acaricides; fungicides; nematicides; herbicide; plant growth regulator; fertilizers; BT agents; insect hormones; and other agricultural chemicals. By mixing such substances, synergistic effects can be also expected. Further, by mixing a known synergist of pyrethrin such as piperonyl butoxide, sulfoxide, saphroxane, NIA-16824 (O-sec-butyl O-propargyl phenylphosphonate), DEF (s,s,s-tributylphosphotrithioate), etc., the pesticidal effect of the hydrazine derivative can be enhanced. The hydrazine derivative of the present invention has high stability to light, heat, oxidation, etc., but depending on necessity, antioxidants or UV-absorbers such as phenols including BHT, BHA, etc., arylamines such as α-naphthylamine and benzophenone compounds may be mixed as a stabilizer to obtain a composition having more stable effects. The amount of the effective ingredient (the hydrazine derivative)in the pesticidal composition of the present invention may vary depending on formulation, method of application and other conditions, and the hydrazine derivative alone may be used in some case, but generally in the range from 0.02 to 95% by weight, preferably 0.05 to 80% by weight. The application amount of the pesticidal composition of the present invention may vary depending on the formulation, method or time of application and other conditions, but for agricultural and horticultural purpose and for controlling pest in forest, field, garden and post harvest, the pesticidal composition may be applied 0.5 to 300 g, preferably 2 to 200 g per 10 ares based on the amount of the effective ingredient. Also, in case of controlling sanitary insect pest, the application amount of the pesticidal composition is usually in the range from 1 to 200 mg, preferably 1 to 100 mg per 1 m 2 based on the amount of the effective ingredient. For example, from 1 to 120 g per 10 ares for a powder agent, from 5 to 300 g per 10 ares for a granule, from 0.5 to 100 g for an emulsifiable concentrate, wettable powder, flowables, water dispersible granules and emulsion in water, all based on the amount of the effective ingredient. However, in a specific case, it may exceed or lower the above ranges and is necessary in some cases. Also, when the hydrazine derivative of the formula (I) according to the present invention is used for controlling parasite, it may be used with an administration dose from 0.1 to 200 mg/kg based on the body weight. An accurate administration dose to the given state can be daily determined depending on various factors such as a hydrazine derivative to be used, kinds of parasite, kinds of formulation to be used and conditions of human or animal suffering from parasitic disease. Specific harmful pests to which the pesticidal composition of the present invention can be applied are mentioned below. Hemiptera: Nephotettix cincticeps, Sogatella furcifera, Nilaparvata lugens, Laodelphax striatellus, Riptortus clavatus, Nezara viridula, Stephanitis nashi, Trialeurodes vaporariorum, Aphis gassypii, Myzus persicae, Unasqis yanonensis Lepidoptera: Phyllonorycter ringoneella, Plutella xylostella, Promalactis inonisema, Adoxophyes orana, Leguminivora glycinivorella, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis, Chilo supperessalis, Ostrinia furnacalis, Mamestra brassicae, Pseudaletia separata, Spodoptera litura, Parnara guttata, Pieris rapae-crucivora, Heliothis spp., Agrotis spp., Helicoverpa spp. Coleoptera: Anomala cuprea, Popillia japonica, Echinocnemus soqameus, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus, Oulema oryzae, Anthrenus verbasic, Tenebroides mauritanicus, Sitophilus zeamis, Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata, Callosobruchus chinensis, Monochamus alternatus, Aulacophora femoralis, Leptiontarsa decemlineta, Phaedon cochlearias, Diabrotica spp. Hymenoptera: Athalia rosae japonensis, Argesimilis Diptera: Culex pipiens fatigans, Aedes aegypti, Asphondylls sp., Hylemya platura, Musca domestica viclna, Dacus cucurcitae, Agromyza oryzae, Lucllia spp. Aphaniptera, there may be mentioned Pulex irritans, Xenopsylla cheopis, Ctenocephalides canis Thysanoptera, there may be mentioned Scirtothrips dorsalls, Thrips tabaci, Thrips palmi, Baliothrips biformis Anoplura: Pediculs humanus corporis, Pthirus pubis Psocoptera: Trogium pulsatorium, Liposcelis bostrychophilus Orthoptera: Gryllotalpa africana, Locusta migratoria, Oxya yezoensis, Blattella germanlica, Periplaneta fuliginosa. Also, the most general parasite which damages human and the diseases caused by them to which the pesticidal composition of the present invention can be applied are summarized below but the application of the present invention is not limited by these. ______________________________________Name of disease Parasite______________________________________Bilharziosis or Schistosoma mansoni,Schistosomiasis S. Japonicum, S. HaematobiumAncyclostomiasis Necator americanus, Ancyclostoma duodenaleAscariasis Ascaris lumbricoldesFilariasis or Wuchereria bancrofti,elephantiasis Brugia malayiOnchoceriasis or Onchocerrca volvulus,river blinduess Loa loaLoiasis______________________________________ In the following, the present invention is described in more detail by referring to examples, but the present invention is not limited by these examples. Synthetic Example 1 Production of N-(5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbonyl)-N'-(1,2,2-trimethylpropyl)hydrazine: In 10 ml of methanol, was dissolved 0.37 g of N-5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbohydrazide, and a catalytic amount of acetic acid was added thereto and 0.20 g of pinacolone was added dropwise to the mixture. After stirring at room temperature for 3 hours, 0.21 g of acetic acid and 0.22 g of sodium cyano boron hydride were successively added to the mixture and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 8 hours. The reaction mixture was poured into a 5% aqueous sodium hydroxide solution, and methanol was removed under reduced pressure and the residue was extracted by ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate layer was washed successively with a diluted sodium hydroxide aqueous solution, water and then saturated saline solution, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, and the solvent was removed under reduced pressure to obtain 0.47 g (yield: 90%)of the titled N-5-methyl-4-benzodioxan-6-carbonyl-N'-1,2,2-trimethylpropylhydrazine. 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ (ppm): 0.98 (9H, s), 1.07 (3H, d, J=6.6Hz), 2.27 (3H, s), 2.74 (1H, q, J=6.6 Hz), 4.26 (4H, s), 6.68 (1H, d, J=8.2 Hz), 6.87 (1H, d, J=8.2 Hz), 7.80 (1H, brs) Synthetic Example 2 Production of N-5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbohydrazine: In 4 ml of thionyl chloride, was dissolved 0.53 g of 5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carboxylic acid and the solution was refluxed under heating for one hour. Excessive thionyl chloride was distilled off and the residue was dissolved in 3 ml of methylene chloride. To a mixed solution of 10 ml of methylene chloride and 2 ml of water, was added 1.4 g of hydrazine hydrate, and the previously prepared methylene chloride solution of 5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbonyl chloride was added dropwise to the mixture under cooling with ice. After returned to room temperature and stirring for one hour, the mixture was poured into water and extracted with methylene chloride. The methylene chloride layer was washed successively with water and saturated saline solution, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, condensed under reduced pressure to obtain 0.41 g (yield: 72%) of the titled N-5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbohydrazine. 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ (ppm): 2.28 (3H, s), 3.74 (2H, brs), 4.27 (4H, s), 6.71 (1H, d, J=8.3 Hz), 6.92 (1H, d, J=8.3 Hz) Synthetic Example 3 Production of N-(5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbonyl)-N'-(1,2,2-trimethylpropyl)-N'-(3,5-dimethylbenzoyl)hydrazine (Example No. 1-2) In 8 ml of pyridine, was dissolved 0.43 g of N-5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbonyl-N'-1,2,2-trimethylpropyl-hydrazine and a catalytic amount of 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP)was added to the solution, and 0.27 g of 3,5-dimethylbenzoyl chloride was added dropwise under cooling with ice. After stirring at room temperature for 4 hours, the mixture was poured into water and extracted with ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate layer was washed successively with a 5% hydrochloric acid, water and saturated saline solution, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, and the solvent was removed under reduced pressure. The resulting crystals were recrystallized from a mixed solvent of ethyl acetate and diethyl ether to obtain 0.48 g of the titled N-5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbonyl-N'-1,2,2-trimethylpropyl-N'-3,5-dimethylbenzoylhydrazine (yield: 78%). 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ (ppm): 1.04 (9H, s), 1.29 (3H, d, J=6.3 Hz), 2.29 (9H, s), 4.22 (4H, s), 4.92 (1H, q, J=6.3 Hz), 6.28 (1H, d, J=8.2 Hz), 6.61 (1H, d, J=8.2 Hz), 7.00-7.12 (4H, m) Synthetic Example 4 Production of N-(5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbonyl)-N'-t-butyl-N'-(3,5-dimethylbenzoyl)hydrazine (Example No. 1-5) In 15 ml of pyridine, were dissolved 0.83 g of N-t-butyl-N'-3,5-dimethylbenzoylhyrazine and a catalytic amount of DMAP and after cooling the solution to 0° C., 0.80 g of 5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbonyl chloride was added dropwise to the solution. After stirring for 2 hours, water was added to the mixture and the mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate. The resulting ethyl acetate layer was washed successively with a 5% hydrochloric acid, water and saturated saline solution, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, and the solvent was removed under reduced pressure. The resulting crystals were recrystallized from a mixed solvent of ethyl acetate and diethyl ether to obtain 0.61 g of the titled N-5-methyl1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbonyl-N'-t-butyl-N'-3,5-dimethylbenzoylhydrazine (yield: 46%). 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ (ppm): 1.58 (9H, s), 1.94 (3H, s), 2.25 (6H, s), 4.21 (4H, s), 6.12 (1H, d, J=8.3 Hz), 6.52 (1H, d, J=8.3 Hz), 6.98 (1H, s), 7.04 (2H, s), 7.50 (1H, brs). Synthetic Example 5 Production of 5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxane In 300 ml of dry dimethylformamide, was dissolved 30 g of 3-methylcatechol and then 100 g of potassium carbonate was added to the solution. This solution was heated to 120 to 130° C. and 136 g of 1,2-dibromoethane was added dropwise in ten and several portions. After stirring for 30 minutes under the same conditions, the mixture was cooled and solid materials were removed by filtration. To the filtrate, was added diethyl ether, and the mixture was washed successively with a 3% sodium hydroxide aqueous solution, water and saturated saline solution, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, and the solvent was removed under reduced pressure. The resulting oily material was purified by silica gel column chromatography to obtain 29.7 g of the titled 5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxane (yield: 82%). 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ (ppm): 2.19 (3H, s), 4.24 (4H, s), 6.71 (3H, s) Synthetic Example 6 Production of 6-bromo-5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxane In 30 ml of acetic acid, was dissolved 10 g of 5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxane and 11.8 g of bromine was added dropwise to the solution. After stirring for 30 minutes, the reaction mixture was poured into a sodium hydrogen sulfite aqueous solution and extracted with diethyl ether. The resulting diethyl ether layer was washed successively with a sodium hydrogen carbonate aqueous solution, water and saturated saline solution, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, and the solvent was removed under reduced pressure to obtain 15.0 g of 6-bromo-5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxane (bp. 126°-135° C. (7 mmHg)). 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ (ppm): 2.25 (3H, s), 4.23 (4H, s), 6.60 (1H, d, J=8.9 Hz), 6.99 (1H, d, J=8.9 Hz) Synthetic Example 7 Production of 5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carboxylic acid: In 300 ml of dry tetrahydrofuran, was dissolved 32.0 g of 6-bromo-5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxane and after cooling the solution to -78° C., 96.7 ml of n-butyl lithium (n-hexane solution)was added dropwise over 20 minutes or more. After stirring at the same temperature for 1.5 hours, the reaction mixture was poured onto crushed dry ice and dry ice was sublimated while stirring. Water was added to the -mixture and the tetrahydrofuran was removed under reduced pressure. The resulting alkaline aqueous solution was washed with methylene chloride and adjusted to pH 3 with a 5% hydrochloric acid, and the precipitated crystals were collected by filtration and dried to obtain 20.9 g of 5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carboxylic acid (yield: 77%). 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ (ppm): 2.51 (3H, s), 4.29 (4H, s), 6.76 (1H, d, J=9.9 Hz), 7.62 (1H, d, J=9.9 Hz), 11.98 (1H, brs) Synthetic Example 8 Production of 5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbaldehyde In 100 ml of dry tetrahydrofuran, was dissolved 3.3 g of N,N,N'-trimethylethylenediamine and to the solution was added dropwise 19.2 ml of n-butyl lithium (1.59 mol/l, n-hexane solution) at -20° C. After stirring at -20° C. for 15 minutes, to the mixture was added dropwise 5.0 g of 1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbaldehyde dissolved in 7 ml of dry tetrahydrofuran and the mixture was stirred for 15 minutes. Then, 57.5 ml of n-butyl lithium (1.59 mol/l, n-hexane solution)was further added dropwise to the mixture and the mixture was stirred at -20° C. for 3 hours. Thereafter, the mixture was cooled to -42° C. and 25.9 g of methyl iodide was added dropwise, and the mixture was stirred at the same temperature for 4 hours and poured into an ice-cooled 5% hydrochloric acid. The tetrahydrofuran was removed under reduced pressure and the mixture was extracted with diethyl ether, and the resulting diethyl ether layer was washed successively with water and saturated saline solution, and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. The solvent was removed under reduced pressure and the resulting oily material was purified by silica gel column chromatography to obtain 0.8 g of the titled 5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbaldehyde (yield: 15%). 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ (ppm): 2.52 (3H, s), 4.31 (4H, s), 6.83 (1H, d, J=8.5 Hz), 7.35 (1H, d, J=8.5 Hz), 10.10 (1H, s) Synthetic Example 9 Production of 5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carboxylic acid In 5 ml of tetrahydrofuran was dissolved 0.8 g of 5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbaldehyde, then 27 ml of a 1% sodium hydroxide aqueous solution was added dropwise to the solution and further 0.5 g of a 10% palladium-carbon was added thereto, and the mixture was refluxed under heating for 1.5 days. The mixture was cooled to room temperature, 10 ml of a 10% sodium sulfite aqueous solution was added thereto and after stirring for 30 minutes, the mixture was filtered and the tetrahydrofuran was removed under reduced pressure. The residue was adjusted to pH 3 with a 5% hydrochloric acid and extracted with diethyl ether. The diethyl ether layer was washed successively with water and saturated saline solution and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. The solvent was removed under reduced pressure to obtain 0.53 g of the titled 5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carboxylic acid (yield: 61%). 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ (ppm): 2.51 (3H, s), 4.29 (4H, s), 6.76 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz), 7.62 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz), 11.98 (1H, brs) Synthetic Example 10 Production of N-5-methylchroman-6-carbonyl-N'-t-butylhydrazine: In toluene, was suspended 3.3 g of 5-methylchroman-6-carboxylic acid and to the suspension were added 2.5 ml of thionyl chloride and a catalytic amount of N,N-dimethylformamide, and the mixture was stirred at 80° C. for 2 hours. The excessive thionyl chloride and the toluene were removed by distillation, and the residue was dissolved in 10 ml of methylene chloride. To 30 ml of a methylene chloride solution containing 6.4 g of t-butylhydrazine hydrochloride, was added 34 g of a 10% sodium hydroxide aqueous solution under cooling with ice and to the mixture was further added dropwise the previously prepared methylene chloride solution of 5-methylchroman-6-carbonyl chloride. After stirring for 30 minutes, the mixture was poured into water and extracted with methylene chloride. The methylene chloride layer was washed with saturated saline solution and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. The solvent was removed under reduced pressure and the residue obtained was washed with diethyl ether to obtain 3.7 g of the titled N-5-methylchroman-6-carbo-N'-t-butylhydrazine (yield: 82%). 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ (ppm): 7.12 and 6.65 (d, 2H), 5.60 (brs, 2H), 4.14 (t, 2H), 2.66 (t, 2H), 2.29 (s, 3H), 2.04 (q, 2H), 1.16 (s, 9H) Synthetic Example 11 Production of N-(5-methylchroman-6-carbonyl)-N'-t-butyl-N'-(3,5-dimethylbenzoyl)hydrazine (Example No. 1-15) In 20 ml of pyridine, was dissolved 3.7 g of N-5-methylchroman-6-carbo-N'-t-butylhydrazine and to the solution was added a catalytic amount of 4-dimethylaminopyridine, and then 2.85 g of 3,5-dimethylbenzoyl chloride was added dropwise to the mixture under cooling with ice. After stirring at room temperature for 2 hours, the mixture was poured into water and extracted with ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate layer was washed with a 5% hydrochloric acid and saturated saline solution, and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. The solvent was removed under reduced pressure and the resulting crystals were washed with diethyl ether to obtain 5.0 g of the titled N-5-methylchroman-6-carbonyl-N'-t-butyl-N'-3,5-dimethylbenzoylhydrazine (yield: 90%). 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ (ppm): 7.43 (s, 1H), 7.05 and 6.98 (bs, 3H), 6.44 and 6.37 (d, 2H), 4.15 (t, 2H), 2.56 (t, 2H), 2.26 (s, 6H), 1.98 (m, 2H), 1.95 (s, 3H), 1.59 (s, 9H) Synthetic Example 12 Production of N-cyano-N-(5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbonyl)-N'-t-butyl-N'-(3,5-dimethylbenzoyl)hydrazine (Example No. 1-139) A solution of N-5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbonyl-N'-t-butyl-N'-3,5-dimethylbenzoylhydrazine (300 mg) in tetrahydrofuran (6 ml) was treated slowly with 60% sodium hydride (50 mg) at room temperature. After 15 minutes, a solution of cyanogen bromide (135 mg) in tetrahydrofuran (2 ml) was added dropwise, the reaction mixture was refluxed for 1 hr, poured into cold water, and then extracted with ethyl ether. The organic layer was washed with water and saturated aqueous NaCl. After the extracts were dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, evaporation of solvents gave an oil which was chromatographed on silica gel to give 256 mg of N-cyano-N-(5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbonyl)-N'-t-butyl-N'-(3, 5-dimethylbenzoyl)hydrazine as a pale yellow crystal. 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ (ppm): 1.69 (9H, s), 1.84 (3H, s), 2.31 (6H, s), 4.22-4.27 (4H, m), 6.10 (1H, d, J=8.5 Hz), 6.59 (1H, d, J=8.5 Hz), 7.08 (1H, s), 7.13 (2H, s) Synthetic Example 13 Production of N-(dimethylcarbamoyl)-N-(5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbo)-N'-t-butyl-N'-(3,5-dimethylbenzoyl)hydrazine (Example No. 1-84) To a suspension of 60% sodium hydride (428 mg) in dimethylformamide (15 ml) at room temperature was added dropwise a solution of N-(5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbo)-N'-t-butyl-N'-3,5-dimethylbenzoylhydrazinde (1.01 g) in dimethylformamide (5 ml). The resulting suspension was stirred at room temperature for 30 min, and dimethylcarbamoyl chloride (0.94 ml) was added and stirred at room temperature for 15 min, and then stirred at 100° C. for 2 hrs. The reaction mixture was poured into cold water, and then extracted with ethyl acetate. The organic layer was washed with water and saturated aqueous NaCl. After the extracts were dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, evaporation of the solvents gave an oil which was chromatographed on silica gel to give 225 mg of N-(dimethylcarbamoyl)-N-(5-methyl-1,4-benzodioxan-6-carbonyl)-N'-t-butyl-N'-(3,5-dimethylbenzoyl)hydrazine as a solid (mp=60°-64° C.). 1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ (ppm): 1.56 (9H, s), 2.24 (3H, s), 2.36 (6H, s), 2.55-2.75 (3H, brs), 2.80-3.05 (3H, brs), 4.20-4.27 (4H, m), 6.61 (1H, d, J=8.4 Hz), 7.12 (1H, s), 7.21 (1H, d, J=8.4 Hz), 7.66 (2H, s) Representative examples of the hydrazine derivative according to the present invention are shown in the following tables. TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________ ##STR15## Melting PointNo. A B R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 R.sup.4 R.sup.5 R.sup.6 R.sup.7 R.sup.8 R.sup.9 R.sup. 10 R.sup.11 R.sup.12 (°C.)__________________________________________________________________________1-1 O O H H H H Me H H 2'-Cl H 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 237-2381-2 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H ##STR16## 237-2381-3 O O H H H H Me H H H H H H CMe.sub.3 189-1921-4 O O H H H H Me H H 2'-I H H H CMe.sub.3 215-2161-5 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 129-1311-6 O O H H H H Me H H 2'-Cl H 5'-Me H ##STR17## 179-1801-7 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me H H ##STR18## 172-1741-8 O CH.sub.2 H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 124-1261-9 O O H H H H Br H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 274-275__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 2__________________________________________________________________________ Melting PointNo. A B R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 R.sup.4 R.sup.5 R.sup.6 R.sup.7 R.sup.8 R.sup.9 R.sup.10 R.sup.11 R.sup.12 (°C.)__________________________________________________________________________1-10 O O H H H H NO.sub.2 H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 224-2251-11 O O H H H H NH.sub.2 H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 226-2271-12 O CH.sub.2 Me Me H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 118-1201-13 O O H H H H Me H H 2'-Cl 4'Cl H H CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-14 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me ##STR19## H CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-15 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 114-1161-16 CH.sub.2 O H H Me Me Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 125-1271-17 O O H H H H F H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 234-2351-18 ##STR20## O H H H H H H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 247-2481-19 O O H H H H Me H H 2'-NO.sub.2 H H H CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-20 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-CH.sub.2 OH H CMe.sub.3 127-1291-21 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Cl 5'-Cl H CMe.sub.3 254-2561-22 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-CHO H CMe.sub.3 203-2051-23 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-CH.sub.2 F H CMe.sub.3 113-115__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 3__________________________________________________________________________No. A B R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 R.sup.4 R.sup.5 R.sup.6 R.sup.7 R.sup.8 R.sup.9__________________________________________________________________________1-24 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me1-25 O O H H H H Me H H 2'-NO.sub.2 H1-26 O O H H H H Me H H 2'-NO.sub.2 3'-Me1-27 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-OMe1-28 O O H H H H Me H H 2'-Cl 3'-Cl1-29 O O H H H H Me H H H H1-30 O O H H H H Me H H 2'-NO.sub.2 3'-Me1-31 O O H H H H CH.sub.2 Br H H H 3'-Me1-32 O O H H H H C.sub.3 H.sub.7 (i) H H H 3'-Me1-33 O O H H H H H C.sub.3 H.sub.7 (i) H H 3'-Me1-34 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me1-35 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me Cl H H 3'-Me1-36 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me Me H H 3'-Me1-37 ##STR21## O H H H H H H H H 3'-Me__________________________________________________________________________ Melting PointNo. R.sup.10 R.sup.11 R.sup.12 (°C.)__________________________________________________________________________1-24 5'-CHF.sub.2 H CMe.sub.3 100-1031-25 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 212-2141-26 H H CMe.sub.3 165-1681-27 H H CMe.sub.3 92-951-28 5'-Cl H CMe.sub.3 201-2041-29 ##STR22## H CMe.sub.3 195-1981-30 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 202-2031-31 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 119-1201-32 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 158-1601-33 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 236-71-34 5'-Me ##STR23## ##STR24## Amorphous1-35 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 204-2071-36 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 138-1401-37 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 203-204__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 4__________________________________________________________________________ Melting PointNo. A B R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 R.sup.4 R.sup.5 R.sup.6 R.sup.7 R.sup.8 R.sup.9 R.sup.10 R.sup.11 R.sup.12 (°C.)__________________________________________________________________________1-38 ##STR25## O H H H H H H H H 3'-Cl 5'-Cl H CMe.sub.3 191-1921-39 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me ##STR26## ##STR27## Amorphous1-40 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Cl 5'-Cl H ##STR28## 208-2091-41 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-CHCH.sub.2 H CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-42 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-C.sub.2 H.sub.5 H CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-43 O O H H H H CH.sub.2 F H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 105-1081-44 O O H H H H CHF.sub.2 H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 186-1891-45 ##STR29## O H H H H H H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 193-1941-46 O O H H H H C.sub.2 H.sub.5 H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 108-1111-47 S O H H H H H H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 250-252__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 5__________________________________________________________________________No. A B R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 R.sup.4 R.sup.5__________________________________________________________________________1-48 CH.sub.2 O H H H H F1-49 CH.sub.2 O H H H H H1-50 CH.sub.2 O H H H H H1-51 O O Me H H H Me1-52 O O H H Me H Me1-53 O ##STR30## H H H H Me1-54 O O MeOCH.sub.2 H H H Me1-55 O O ##STR31## H H H Me1-56 O O H H H H Me1-57 O O H H H H CHCH.sub.21-58 O O H H H H CH.sub.2 SMe1-59 O O H H H H Me1-60 O O H H H H Me1-61 O O H H H H Me1-62 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me__________________________________________________________________________ Melting PointNo. R.sup.6 R.sup.7 R.sup.8 R.sup.9 R.sup.10 R.sup.11 R.sup.12 (°C.)__________________________________________________________________________1-48 H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 203-2051-49 F H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.31-50 H F H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 174-1751-51 H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 128-131-52 H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 203-2051-53 H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 201-2031-54 H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 124-1261-55 H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 196-1981-56 Br H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-57 H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 97-1001-58 H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 85-871-59 H H 2'-NO.sub.2 H 5'-Cl H CMe.sub.3 200-2031-60 Me H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 122-1241-61 H NO.sub.2 H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 222-2241-62 H H H 3'-Cl 5'-Cl H CMe.sub.3 193-195__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 6__________________________________________________________________________ Melting PointNo. A B R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 R.sup.4 R.sup.5 R.sup.6 R.sup.7 R.sup.8 R.sup.9 R.sup.10 R.sup.11 R.sup.12 (°C.)__________________________________________________________________________1-63 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H 3'-Me 4'-F 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 216-2181-64 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H 2'-Cl H 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 217-2201-65 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H 2'-Cl 4'-F 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 190-1911-66 CH.sub.2 O H H H H H Me H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-67 O O H H H H Me H Cl H 3'-Me 5' -Me H CMe.sub.3 133-1341-68 O O H H H H Me Cl H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-69 O O H H H H CH.sub.2 OMe H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 78-811-70 O O H H H H CN H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 264-2661-71 O O H H H H Me H H 2'-NO.sub.2 3'-Cl H H CMe.sub.3 87-911-72 O O H H H H CHCHCH.sub.3 H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 95-991-73 O O H H H H Pr(n) H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 93-951-74 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H 2'-NO.sub.2 H H H CMe.sub.3 212-2141-75 O ##STR32## H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 113-1161-76 O O H H H H Cl H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 271-2731-77 O O H H H H OMe H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 155-157__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 7__________________________________________________________________________ Melting PointNo. A B R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 R.sup.4 R.sup.5 R.sup.6 R.sup.7 R.sup.8 R.sup.9 R.sup.10 R.sup.11 R.sup.12 (°C.)__________________________________________________________________________1-78 O O H H H H Me H Me H 3'-Me 5'-Me H --CMe.sub.31-79 O O H H H H H H Me H 3'-Me 5'-Me H --CMe.sub.3 240-2421-80 O O H H H H Me H F H 3'-Me 5'-Me H --CMe.sub.3 254-2561-81 O O F F F F Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H --CMe.sub.31-82 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me COCH.sub.3 --CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-83 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me Me --CMe.sub.3 76-781-84 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me CON(Me).sub.2 --CMe.sub.3 60-641-85 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 OEt --CMe.sub.3 92-941-86 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me CH.sub.2 OEt --CMe.sub.3 65-681-87 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me CH.sub.2 CH═CH.sub.2 --CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-88 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me SCCl.sub.3 --CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-89 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me COOBu(iso) --CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-90 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 Br --CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-91 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me SCCl.sub.3 -- CMe.sub.3 87-901-92 O O H H H H Me H H 3'-Me 4'-F 5'-Me H --CMe.sub.3 245-2461-93 O O H H H H Me H H 2'-Cl 4'-F 5'-Me H --CMe.sub.3 133-135__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 8__________________________________________________________________________ Melting PointNo. A B R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 R.sup.4 R.sup.5 R.sup.6 R.sup.7 R.sup.8 R.sup.9 R.sup.10 R.sup.11 R.sup.12 (°C.)__________________________________________________________________________1-94 O O H H H H Me H H 2'-Br 4'-F H H CMe.sub.3 207-2081-95 O O H H H H Me H H H H 3'-OCF.sub.3 H CMe.sub.3 224-2251-96 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-OMe H CMe.sub.3 218-2201-97 O O H H H H Me H H H H 3'-CCH H CMe.sub.3 130-1331-98 O O H H H H Me H H 2'-SCF.sub.3 H H H CMe.sub.3 197-1991-99 O O H H H H Me H H 2'-CF.sub.2 H H H CMe.sub.3 212-2131-100 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me ##STR33## H CMe.sub.3 158-1601-101 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me ##STR34## H CMe.sub.3 160-1611-102 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me ##STR35## H CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-103 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me ##STR36## H CMe.sub.3 176-1771-104 O O H H H H Me H H H 3' -Me ##STR37## H CMe.sub.3 207-2091-105 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-OCH.sub.2 CF.sub.3 H CMe.sub.3 Amorphous__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 9__________________________________________________________________________ Melting PointNo. A B R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 R.sup.4 R.sup.5 R.sup.6 R.sup.7 R.sup.8 R.sup.9 R.sup.10 R.sup.11 R.sup.12 (°C.)__________________________________________________________________________1-106 ##STR38## O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.31-107 ##STR39## O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 133-1361-108 ##STR40## O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 234-2371-109 ##STR41## O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 236-2401-110 O ##STR42## H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.31-111 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H 2'-Br 4'-F H H CMe.sub.3 208-2091-112 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H H H 4'-Bu(t) H CMe.sub.3 270-2721-113 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H H H 3'-OCF.sub.3 H CMe.sub.3 197-2001-114 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H 2'-I H H H CMe.sub.3 237-2391-115 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H 2'-SCF.sub.3 H H H CMe.sub.3 150-1521-116 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H H H 3'-CHO H CMe.sub.3 220-2231-117 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-OMe H CMe.sub.3 110-115__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 10__________________________________________________________________________No. A B R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 R.sup.4 R.sup.5 R.sup.6 R.sup.7 R.sup.8 R.sup.9__________________________________________________________________________1-118 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me1-119 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Cl1-120 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H 2'-Cl 4'-Cl1-121 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H 2'-NO.sub.2 H1-122 CH.sub.2 O H H H H H H Me H 3'-Me1-123 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me1-124 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me1-125 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me1-126 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me__________________________________________________________________________ Melting PointNo. R.sup.10 R.sup.11 R.sup.12 (°C.)__________________________________________________________________________1-118 5'-Me H ##STR43## 179-1801-119 5'-Cl H ##STR44## 190-1911-120 H H ##STR45## 113-1161-121 H H ##STR46## Amorphous1-122 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 202-2041-123##STR47## H CMe.sub.3 137-1391-124##STR48## H CMe.sub.3 158-1601-125##STR49## H CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-126##STR50## H CMe.sub.3 169-171__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 11__________________________________________________________________________ Melting PointNo. A B R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 R.sup.4 R.sup.5 R.sup.6 R.sup.7 R.sup.8 R.sup.9 R.sup.10 R.sup.11 R.sup.12 (°C.)__________________________________________________________________________1-127 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me ##STR51## H CMe.sub.3 185-1871-128 CH.sub.2 O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-OCH.sub.2 CF.sub.3 H CMe.sub.3 Amor- phous1-129 ##STR52## O H H H H H H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 248-2511-130 ##STR53## O H H H H H H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 232-2351-131 O ##STR54## H H H H H H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 249-2501-132 ##STR55## O H H H H H H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 248-2521-133 O ##STR56## H H H H H H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 120-1221-134 O ##STR57## H H H H H H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 225-2271-135 O O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H 2'-F H H H CMe.sub.3 158-1591-136 O O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H 3'-Cl 4'-Cl H CMe.sub.3 258-2591-137 O O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H 3'-CH.sub.3 5'-CH.sub.3 H CH.sub.2CMe.sub.3 182-184__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 12__________________________________________________________________________No. A B R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 R.sup.4 R.sup.5 R.sup.6 R.sup.7 R.sup.8 R.sup.9__________________________________________________________________________1-138 ##STR58## O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H 3'-CH.sub.31-139 O O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H 3'-CH.sub.31-140 O O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H 3'-CH.sub.31-141 O O H H H H CH.sub.3 Cl Cl H 3'-CH.sub.31-142 O O H H H H CH.sub.3 H Br H 3'-CH.sub.31-143 O O H H H H CH.sub.3 CHCl.sub.2 H H 3'-CH.sub.31-144 O O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H 3'-CH.sub.31-145 O O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H 3'-CH.sub.31-146 CH.sub.2 O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H 3'-CH.sub.31-147 CH.sub.2 O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H 3'-CH.sub.31-148 CH.sub.2 O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H 3'-CH.sub.31-149 O O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H H1-150 O O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H H1-151 CH.sub.2 O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H 3'-CH.sub.31-152 CH.sub.2 O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H 3'-CH.sub.3__________________________________________________________________________ Melting PointNo. R.sup.10 R.sup.11 R.sup.12 (°C.)__________________________________________________________________________1-138 5'-CH.sub.3 H CMe.sub.3 243-2441-139 5'-CH.sub.3 CN CMe.sub.3 159-1611-140 5'-CH.sub.3 ##STR59## CMe.sub.3 -193 (Sublimed)1-141 5'-CH.sub.3 H CMe.sub.3 165-1701-142 5'-CH.sub.3 H CMe.sub.3 250-2521-143 5'-CH.sub.3 H CMe.sub.3 222-2241-144 5'-OCH.sub.2 CHCH.sub.2 H CMe.sub.3 162-1651-145 5'-OCH.sub.2 C CH H CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-146 5'-OCH.sub.2 CHCH.sub.2 H CMe.sub.3 129-1311-147 5'-OCH.sub.2 CCH H CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-148 5'-CH.sub.3 COCH.sub.3 CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-149 3'-OCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 OEt H CMe.sub.3 147-1501-150 3'-OCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 Br H CMe.sub.3 136-1401-151 5'-CH.sub.3 CH.sub.2CHCH.sub.2 CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-152 5'-CH.sub.3 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 OEt CMe.sub.3 Amorphous__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 13__________________________________________________________________________No. A B R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 R.sup.4 R.sup.5 R.sup.6 R.sup.7 R.sup.8 R.sup.9__________________________________________________________________________1-153 CH.sub.2 O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H H1-154 CH.sub.2 O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H 3'-CH.sub.31-155 CH.sub.2 O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H 3'-CH.sub.31-156 CH.sub.2 O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H 3'-CH.sub.31-157 CH.sub.2 O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H 3'-CH.sub.31-158 CH.sub.2 O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H 3'-CH.sub.31-159 O O H H H H CH.sub.3 CHO H H 3'-CH.sub.31-160 O NH H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H 3'-CH.sub.31-161 O O H H H H OCH.sub.2 OEt H H H 3'-CH.sub.31-162 O O H H H H OH H H H 3'-CH.sub.31-163 O O H H H H CH.sub. 3 H I H 3'-CH.sub.31-164 CH.sub.2 O H H H H CH.sub.3 H H H 3'-CH.sub.3__________________________________________________________________________ Melting PointNo. R.sup.10 R.sup.11 R.sup.12 (°C.)__________________________________________________________________________1-1533'-OCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 OEt H CMe.sub.3 146-1481-1545'-CH.sub.3 CH.sub.3 CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-1555'-CH.sub.3 ##STR60## CMe.sub.3 205-2071-1565'-CH.sub.3 ##STR61## CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-1575'-CH.sub.3 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 Br CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-1585'-CH.sub.3 CN CMe.sub.3 Amorphous1-1595'-CH.sub.3 H CMe.sub.3 221-2231-1605'-CH.sub.3 H CMe.sub.31-1615'-CH.sub.3 H CMe.sub.3 121.5-122.51-1625'-CH.sub.3 H CMe.sub.3 182-1841-1635'-CH.sub.3 H CMe.sub.31-1645'-CH.sub.3 CH.sub.2 OC.sub.2 H.sub.5 CMe.sub. 3 Amorphous__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 14__________________________________________________________________________ ##STR62## Melting PointNo. A B R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 R.sup.4 R.sup.5 R.sup. 6 R.sup.7 R.sup.8 R.sup.9 R.sup.10 R.sup.11 R.sup.12 (°C.)__________________________________________________________________________2-1 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 113-1182-2 O O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H ##STR63## 164-165__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 15__________________________________________________________________________ ##STR64## Melting PointNo. A B R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 R.sup.4 R.sup.5 R.sup.6 R.sup.7 R.sup.8 R.sup.9 R.sup.10 R.sup.11 R.sup.12 (° C.)__________________________________________________________________________3-1 CH O H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 183-188__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 16__________________________________________________________________________ ##STR65## Melting PointNo. A B R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 R.sup.4 R.sup.5 R.sup.6 R.sup.7 R.sup.8 R.sup.9 R.sup.10 R.sup.11 R.sup.12 (°C.)__________________________________________________________________________4-1 O CH H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 108-1104-2 O CH Me Me H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3 138-1394-3 O CMe H H H H Me H H H 3'-Me 5'-Me H CMe.sub.3__________________________________________________________________________ Next, the pesticidal composition is explained specifically by referring to the formulation examples. Formulation Example 1: Emulsifiable Concentrate To 20 parts of the compound of Compound No. 1-1 was added 65 parts of a mixed solution of xylene and methylnaphthalene, and then 15 parts of a mixture of an alkylphenol-ethylene oxide condensate and calcium alkylbenzenesulfonate (8:2) was mixed thereto to obtain an emulsifiable concentrate. This formulation is used as a spray solution by diluting it with water. Formulation Example 2: Wettable Powder To 20 parts of the compound of Compound No. 1-1, were added 35 parts of kaolin, 30 parts of clay, 7.5 parts of diatomaceous earth, and then 7.5 parts of a mixture of sodium laurate and sodium dinaphthylmethanesulfonate (1:1) was mixed thereto. The mixture was finely pulverized to obtain a wettable powder. This formulation is used as a spreading solution by diluting with water. Formulation Example 3: Dust To 1 part of the compound of Compound No. 1-8, was added 97 parts of a mixture of talc and calcium carbonate (1:1) and the mixture was pulverized and sufficiently and uniformly dispersed. Further, 2 parts of anhydrous silicic acid was added, and the mixture was well mixed and pulverized to obtain powder. This powder is used by spray as it is. Formulation Example 4: Granules To 2 parts of the compound of Compound No. 1-8, were mixed 48 parts of bentonite fine powder, 48 parts of talc and 2 parts of sodium lignin sulfonate, and then water was added thereto and the mixture was kneaded until it became uniform. Next, the mixture was granulated through an injection molding machine, and passing through a grain uniforming machine and a dryer sieve to prepare a granule having a grain size of 0.6 to 1 mm. This formulation is used by topdressing directly to paddy field surface and soil surface. Formulation Example 5: Oil To 0.1 part of the compound of Compound No. 1-1, was added 0.5 part of piperonyl butoxide, and kerosine was added thereto so that the total weight became 100 parts to obtain an oil. This preparation is used as it is. Formulation Example 6: Water based Flowables 5 parts of the compound of compound No. 1-8 were mixed with 5 parts of Newkalgen (dispersing agent, Takemoto Oil & Fat Co., Ltd.), 0.2 parts of Antifoam 422 (anti-foaming agent, Rhone-Poulenc) and 74.6 parts of distilled water. Then the mixture was milled for 45 minutes at 1,000 rpm. After milling the mixture, 8 parts of propylene glycol, 2 parts of xanthan gum and 7 parts of 1% Proxcel GXL solution were added and mixed. This formulation (5% water based flowables) is used as a spray solution by diluting it with water. Next, the pesticidal effects of the hydrazine derivative represented by the formula (I) of the present invention will be specifically described by referring to the following Test Examples. As the comparative compounds, the following compounds were used. ##STR66## Test Example 1 Effect to Plutella xylostella (foliar dipping method) According to Formulation Examples 1 and 2, 20% wettable powder or 5% emulsifiable concentrate of the hydrazine derivative according to the present invention was prepared to obtain a test formulation. As a control formulation, prothiophos 50% emulsifiable concentrate and cypermeslin 6% emulsifiable concentrate were used. Test method: A cabbage leaf of a medium size cut from cabbage grown to decafoliate stage was dipped for 20 seconds in a treatment solution prepared by diluting each of the formulations with water to an effective ingredient concentration of 12.5 ppm. After air-dried, the thus treated leaf was placed in a plastic container having a diameter of 9 cm, and ten Plutella xylostella larvae (third instar) were transferred thereon. With covering by a lid having five or six pin holes, the container was left in a temperature-controlled chamber at 25° C. After 4 days from the treatment, the number of live and dead insects were counted to calculate the mortality. The results shown in Table 17 are averages of two replications. Plutella xylostella of susceptible strain (collected in Ageo) and of resistant strain (collected in Kagoshima) to organophosphorus pesticides, carbamate pesticides, pyrethroids, etc. were used. TABLE 17______________________________________ Mortality (%)Test Susceptible strain Resistant straincompound (in Ageo) (in Kagoshima)______________________________________1 - 2 100 1001 - 5 100 1001 - 24 100 1001 - 25 100 1001 - 88 100 1001 - 91 80 701 - 137 100 1001 - 139 100 1001 - 144 100 100A 80 70B 50 40C 40 40Prothiophos 100 0200 ppmAgroslin 100 060 ppm______________________________________ Test Example 2 Effect to Spodoptera litura According to Formulation Examples 1 and 2, 20% wettable powder or 5% emulsifiable concentrate of the hydrazine derivative according to the present invention was prepared and tested. Test method: A cabbage leaf of a medium size cut from cabbage grown to decafoliate stage was dipped for 20 seconds in a treatment solution prepared by diluting each of the formulations with water to an effective ingredient concentration of 3 ppm. After air-dried, the thus treated two leaves were placed in a plastic container having a diameter of 9 cm, and five Spodoptera litura larvae (third instar) were transferred thereon. With covering by a lid having five or six pin holes, he container was left in a temperature-controlled chamber at 25° C. After 4 days from the treatment, the number of live and dead insects were counted to calculate the mortality. The results shown in Table 18 are averages of two replications. TABLE 18______________________________________Test compound Mortality (%)______________________________________1 - 1 1001 - 2 1001 - 3 701 - 5 1001 - 8 901 - 13 1001 - 15 1001 - 19 1001 - 21 1001 - 23 1001 - 24 1001 - 25 901 - 29 901 - 34 1001 - 40 1001 - 42 1001 - 46 1001 - 88 1001 - 91 1001 - 92 1001 - 93 1001 - 94 801 - 96 100 1 - 100 80 1 - 103 90 1 - 112 70 1 - 118 100 1 - 119 100 1 - 123 80 1 - 136 100 1 - 137 100 1 - 139 100 1 - 158 100A 70B 30C 20______________________________________ Test Example 3 Effect to Cnaphalocrocis medinalis According to Formulation Examples 1 and 2, 20% wettable powder or 5% emulsifiable concentrate of the hydrazine derivative according to the present invention was prepared and tested. Test method: In a treatment solution prepared by diluting each of the formulations with water to an effective ingredient concentration of 1 ppm, ten rice plants of in the trifoliate were dipped for 20 seconds. After air-dried, the rice plants were wound with a urethane and fixed in a glass cylinder (inner diameter 44 mm, height 140 mm), and five Cnaphalocrocis medinalis larvae (third instar) were transferred into the cylinder. After covered with a paper used for wrapping powdered medicine, the cylinder was kept still at 25° C. in a temperature-controlled chamber of 16-hour diurnal. After 5 days after the treatment, the number of live and dead insects were counted to calculate the mortality. The test was carried out in two replications and susceptible strain of Cnaphalocrocis medinalis was tested. The results are shown in Table 19. TABLE 19______________________________________Test compound Mortality (%)______________________________________1 - 2 901 - 12 1001 - 15 1001 - 39 1001 - 40 1001 - 46 1001 - 48 1001 - 50 1001 - 88 100 1 - 139 100 1 - 158 100A 80B 0C 0______________________________________ Test Example 4 Effect to Adoxophyes orana According to Formulation Examples 1 and 2, 20% wettable powder or 5% emulsifiable concentrate of the hydrazine derivative according to the present invention was prepared and tested. Test method: Seven green tea leaves with a length of about 5 cm were dipped for 20 seconds in a treatment solution prepared by diluting each of the formulations with water to an effective ingredient concentration of 3 ppm. After air-dried, the thus treated leaves were placed in a plastic container (inner diameter 70 mm, height 40 mm), and five Adoxophyes orana larvae (third instar) were transferred thereinto. The container was covered with a lid having 5 to 6 pin holes and allowed to stand at 25° C in a temperature-controlled chamber of 16-hour diurnal. After 5 days from the treatment, the number of live and dead insects were counted to calculate the mortality. The test was carried out in two replications and susceptible strain of Adoxophyes orana was tested. The results are shown in Table 20. TABLE 20______________________________________Test compound Mortality (%)______________________________________1 - 2 1001 - 8 901 - 13 1001 - 15 1001 - 21 501 - 23 1001 - 24 1001 - 40 1001 - 88 60 1 - 137 100 1 - 139 60A 40B 30C 20______________________________________ Test Example 5 Effect to Plutella xylostella (root dipping method) According to Formulation Examples 1 and 2, 20% wettable powder or 5% emulsifiable concentrate of the hydrazine derivative according to the present invention was prepared and tested. Test method: White radish sprout of which cotyledon was opened were pulled out from soil and after washing with water, the root thereof was dipped for 2 days in a treatment solution prepared by diluting each of the formulations with water to an effective ingredient concentration of 20 ppm. The white radish sprout thus treated was placed in a glass cylinder having a diameter of 5 cm and a height of 15 cm, and Plutella xylostella larvae (third instar) were transferred thereinto. After the glass cylinder was covered with a paper used for wrapping powdered medicine, the cylinder was allowed to stand in a temperature-controlled chamber at 25° C. After 3 days from the treatment, the number of live and dead insects were counted to calculate the mortality. The test was carried out in two replications each containing five larvae and an average value of the mortalities were shown in Table 21. The susceptible strain of Plutella xylostella (collected in Ageo) were tested. TABLE 21______________________________________Test compound Mortality (%)______________________________________1 - 5 1001 - 6 901 - 7 1001 - 9 901 - 11 601 - 19 1001 - 23 1001 - 24 801 - 25 1001 - 27 801 - 43 801 - 44 701 - 51 901 - 57 1001 - 59 1001 - 96 100 1 - 117 100 1 - 121 100 1 - 144 100 1 - 145 1002 - 2 100A 0B 0C 0______________________________________

A novel hydrazine derivative and a pesticidal composition containing the hydrazine derivative as the effecting ingredient. The hydrazine derivative show high pesticidal activity against harmful pests which are resistant to known pesticides such as organophosphorus pesticides, pyrethroids, etc., especially against Lepidoptera harmful pests such as Plutella xylostella, Spodoptera litura, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis, Adoxophyes orana, etc., and is effective for controlling harmful pests in paddy field, upland field, orchard, forest or places to be kept environmentally hygienic.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/549,689, entitled “RULE-BASED VIRTUALIZATION”, filed Aug. 28, 2009. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to virtualization in a computer system. More particularly, the invention relates to a system and method for controlling interaction between virtualized environments and other environments in computer systems. 2. Description of the Related Art Virtualization may be used in computer systems to fully or partially decouple software, such as an operating system (OS), from a system's hardware and provide an end-user with an illusion of multiple OSes running on a same machine each having its own resources. An end user may be presented with one or more virtualized environments in which applications may be operated in addition to the environment provided by the operating system (the system environment). A virtualized environment may be thought of as a “sandbox” where applications can be placed that will contain and constrain an application's behavior. Generally speaking, from an application's point of view, there may be no detectable differences between a physical operating system environment and a virtualized environment. However, an application running in a virtualized environment may be isolated from other applications running in other virtualized environments, or from the physical operating system environment. In addition, an application running in a virtualized environment may be prevented from affecting the configuration of the physical operating system environment. Complete isolation of applications, processes, and/or resources in virtualized environments as described above is not always desirable. For example, documents created in a virtualized environment by a virtualized application may be lost when a virtualized application is destroyed. Also, it may be desirable for a process in one environment to have access to a process or data that is in another environment. Accordingly, systems and methods of controlling interaction between virtualized environments and other environments are desired. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Various embodiments of a system and method for controlling interaction among environments in a host computer system including virtualized environments are contemplated. According to some embodiments, the system may include a non-virtual system environment and one or more virtualized environments. A first process running in an environment issues a request to perform an action on a resource or a second process. A virtualization environment manager operating in the system environment detects the request and in response, retrieves data associated with the request identifying the first process, a base environment corresponding to the process, and the resource and retrieves a first rule from a programmable database of rules. A base environment of a process is an environment in which a process is running. The first rule corresponds to at least one of the first process, the base environment, and the resource and identifies a target environment in which to process the request. The target environment is different from the base environment of the process. The virtualization environment manager directs the request to the target environment. In a further embodiment, the system includes a rules engine. The rules engine converts a first database of rules to a second database of rules from which the first rule is retrieved. The second database includes a first rules table in which rules correspond to processes and a second rules table in which rules correspond to resources. In a still further embodiment, the first rule corresponds to both a rule from the first database that applies to a particular environment and a rule from the first database that applies to a particular virtualized resource. In yet another embodiment, the action includes one or more of communicating with the second process, writing a value to a registry, reading a value from a registry, writing a file to a file system, reading a file from a file system, accessing a physical resource, and accessing a named object. In a still further embodiment, the target environment is a non-virtualized environment and the resource is accessible as a non-virtualized resource in the target environment. In a still further embodiment, the first rule also identifies an alternative target environment in which to process the request. The virtualization environment manager directs the request to the alternative target environment in response to determining that the resource is not accessible in the target environment. In one embodiment, the first database of rules and an application that corresponds to the first process are received by the host computer system in an install package and the application is installed in the base environment. Also contemplated is a method of controlling interaction among environments in a host computer system including a non-virtualized system environment and one or more virtualized environments. The method includes a first process running in an environment issuing a request to perform an action on a resource or a second process. The method further includes a virtualization environment manager operating in a system environment detecting the request and in response, retrieving data associated with the request identifying the first process, a base environment corresponding to the process and the resource, retrieving a first rule from a programmable database of rules. A base environment of a process is an environment in which a process is running. The first rule corresponds to at least one of the first process, the base environment, and the resource and identifies a target environment in which to process the request. The target environment is different from the base environment of the process. The method further includes directing the request to the target environment. In a still further embodiment, a computer-accessible storage medium stores program instructions executable by a computer system to issue a request from a first process running in one of multiple environments including a non-virtualized system environment and one or more virtualized environments to perform an action on a resource or a second process. The program instructions are further executable to cause a virtualization environment manager operating in a system environment to detect the request and in response, retrieve data associated with the request identifying the first process, a base environment corresponding to the process, and the resource and retrieve a first rule from a programmable database of rules. A base environment of a process is an environment in which a process is running. The first rule corresponds to at least one of the first process, the base environment, and the resource and identifies a target environment in which to process the request. The target environment is different from the base environment of the process. The program instructions are further executable to direct the request to the target environment. These and other embodiments will become apparent upon consideration of the following description and accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a computer system in which rule-based control of interaction between virtualized environments may be provided. FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a host computer system. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a system for managing access between resources and processes in different virtualized environments. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of components for establishing a set of visibility rules. FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a sample graphical user interface (GUI) that may be used to enter rules. FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a process that may be used to create process rules table entries for a selected virtualized environment in a virtualized system. FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of a process that may be used to process a request to access a resource based on a set of visibility rules. FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a process that may be used to access a resource based on an ordered list of environments. FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of a process that may be used to save a document created by a virtualized application. While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments are shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Various embodiments of a system and method for rule-based control of interaction among virtualized environments are described herein. FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of such a system. In the embodiment shown, the system includes client computing systems 110 A- 110 E and server computing systems 120 A and 120 B. As used herein, elements referred to by a reference numeral followed by a letter may be collectively referred to by the numeral alone. For example, client computing systems 110 A- 110 E may be collectively referred to as client computing systems 110 . Server computing system 120 A is coupled to storage device(s) 125 and server computing system 120 B is coupled to storage device(s) 126 . Client computing systems 110 and server computing systems 120 may be interconnected through various network elements. For example, client computing systems 110 A and 110 B are shown coupled to server computing system 120 A via a local area network 17 , client computing systems 110 C, 110 D, and 110 E are shown coupled to server computing system 120 A via a virtual private network 18 and to server computing system 120 B via Internet 19 . In this embodiment, client computing systems 110 C- 110 E may be mobile and/or remote computing systems. In various embodiments the system may include any number and any type of client computing systems 110 and/or server computing systems 120 . Client computing systems 110 are representative of any number of stationary computers and/or mobile computing devices such as laptops, handheld computers, television set top boxes, home media centers, telephones, etc. Client computing systems 110 and server computing systems 120 may operate as peers in a peer-to-peer configuration, as clients and servers in a client/server configuration, or a combination or peer-to-peer and client/server configurations. Each client computer 110 may, for example, be used by a particular user or member of a business or other organization, a home user(s), or otherwise. In alternative embodiments, the number and type of computing systems and network elements is not limited to those shown in FIG. 1 . Almost any number and combination of server, desktop, and mobile computing systems or devices may be interconnected in system 100 via various combinations of modem banks, direct LAN connections, wireless connections, WAN links, etc. Also, at various times one or more computing systems may operate offline. In addition, during operation, individual computing system connection types may change as mobile users travel from place to place connecting, disconnecting, and reconnecting to system 100 . In one embodiment, computing system 100 or a portion thereof may be implemented as part of a cloud computing environment. During operation, each of the client computer systems 110 and/or server computer systems 120 may obtain, install, and execute one or more software applications in either a physical operating system environment (“system environment”) or in a virtualized environment. For example, software applications may include e-mail, word processing, spreadsheet, and other office productivity applications, specialized applications for handling graphics, images, audio files, video files, performing numeric calculations and the like. Numerous other software applications are known and are contemplated. FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a host computer system 200 . It is noted that FIG. 2 is provided as an example for purposes of discussion, and in other embodiments the host computer system 200 may take on various other forms. Host computer system 200 may be representative of any of server computer systems 120 or client computer systems 110 described herein. Similarly, host computer system 200 may be used to implement any of the below-described methods. Host computer system 200 may be any of various types of devices, including, but not limited to, a personal computer system, desktop computer, laptop or notebook computer, mainframe computer system, handheld computer, workstation, network computer, a consumer device, application server, storage device, a peripheral device such as a switch, modem, router, etc, or in general any type of computing device. Host computer system 200 may include one or more processors 250 , each of which may include one or more cores, any of which may be single or multi-threaded. Host computer system 200 may also include one or more persistent storage devices 240 (e.g. optical storage, magnetic storage, hard drive, tape drive, solid state memory, etc), which may include various data items 242 (e.g., files), and/or applications 244 . Example applications include databases, email applications, office productivity applications, and a variety of others as known in the art. Host computer system 200 may include one or more memories 210 (e.g., one or more of cache, SRAM, DRAM, RDRAM, EDO RAM, DDR 10 RAM, SDRAM, Rambus RAM, EEPROM, etc.). Host computer system 200 may also include one or more network interfaces 260 for transmitting and receiving data, such as to or from client computer systems 110 or server computer systems 120 , as described herein. Host computer system 200 may further include one or more user interfaces 270 for receiving user input or displaying output to users, such as a keyboard, mouse, or other pointing device, touch screen, and a monitor or other visual display device. Various embodiments may include fewer or additional components not illustrated in FIG. 2 (e.g., video cards, audio cards, additional network interfaces, peripheral devices, a network interface such as an ATM interface, an Ethernet interface, a Frame Relay interface, etc.). One or more of the system memories 210 may contain program instructions 220 . Program instructions 220 may be encoded in platform native binary, any interpreted language such as Java® byte-code, or in any other language such as C/C++, Java®, etc or in any combination thereof. According to the illustrated embodiment, program instructions 220 may comprise specific modules executable to implement one or more operating systems 227 , such as the Windows® operating system, the Solaris® operating system, and/or the Linux® operating system. In addition, program instructions 220 may include modules to implement one or more visibility rules 222 , one or more virtualized environments 224 , a virtualization environment manager 225 , one or more virtualizers 226 , and one or more processes 228 . Operation of these modules will be described in further detail below. Program code included in program instructions 220 can be combined together or separated into various modules as desired, according to a particular embodiment. One or more of the system memories 210 may also contain one or more resources 215 , such a files that may be used by operating system 227 , visibility rules 222 , one or more virtualized environments 224 , a virtualization environment manager 225 , one or more virtualizers 226 , and/or one or more processes 228 . A process, as used herein, is an instance of a computer program such as an application. Running an application or an operating system may cause one or more processes to be executed. Any of processes 228 may operate in one of virtualized environments 224 or in the non-virtual environment of operating system 227 , also known as the system environment. In addition, resources may be accessible in the system environment or virtualized into one of virtualized environments 224 . Generally speaking a resource, as used herein, refers to an object on the virtualized system such as a physical resource (processing hardware, network connection, storage device, I/O device, etc.), a registry value, file on disk, or named object such as an event, pipe, semaphore, etc. The registry, as used herein, is a database of values that are used as information settings for the physical operating system. Specifically, as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 2 , resources that may be virtualized include resources 215 as well as resources stored in persistent storage device 240 including data items 242 and applications 244 as well as other resources accessible via network interface 260 , user interface 270 , or locating in processor 250 . During operation, a process 228 may attempt to access a resource that is located in the same environment in which the process is operating, which may be referred to as the base environment of the process, or in another environment. As discussed further below, virtualization environment manager 225 may manage such accesses via visibility rules 222 and virtualizers 226 according to one or more particular embodiments. Turning now to FIG. 3 , a block diagram of a system 300 for managing access between resources and processes in different virtualized environments is shown. In the illustrated embodiment, system 300 includes virtualized environments 224 A- 224 C coupled to a virtualization environment manager (VEM) 225 . VEM 225 is further coupled to visibility rules 222 and to a set of virtualizers 226 . A virtualized environment, as used herein, is a group of resources and services that are provided to applications that would normally be provided by a physical operating system that are instead re-routed by an intermediate layer between the applications and the physical operating system to another location without letting the application be aware of the redirection. The intermediate layer may be used to fully or partially decouple software, such as an operating system (OS), from a system's hardware and provide an end-user with an illusion of multiple OSes running on a same machine each having its own resources. Virtualized environments 224 , VEM 225 , visibility rules 222 , and virtualizers 226 have been described previously in connection with FIG. 2 . In this embodiment, virtualizers 226 include a registry redirector 361 , a file system redirector 362 , a named object redirector 363 , and a physical resource manager 364 . Each of virtualizers 226 is shown coupled through operating system 227 to resources 340 and processes 350 . Operating system 227 has been described previously in connection with FIG. 2 . In the embodiment shown, each of virtualized environments 224 A- 224 C includes one or more virtualized processes and one or more virtualized resources. For example, virtualized environments 224 A include virtualized processes 311 and virtualized resources 312 . Virtualized environments 224 B includes virtualized processes 321 and virtualized resources 322 . Virtualized environments 224 C includes virtualized processes 331 and virtualized resources 332 . In the example shown, VEM 225 includes a global process table 313 and a global resource table 314 . Generally speaking, the global process table 313 may be used to determine which processes exist in which environments (e.g., process X is in environment 224 A, and process Y is in environment 224 C) and may indicate a default lookup list of environments for each process. The global resource table 314 indicates whether an access to a resource is required to follow particular rules. For example, table 314 may be accessed on each resource request to determine if the resource/access needs to obey a different environment search than the default provided by the process accessing the resource. It is noted that while the global process table 313 and global resource table 314 are depicted as two separate tables, in other embodiments a single table or more than two tables may be utilized. Additionally, while tables 313 and 314 are shown to be included within VEM 225 , in various embodiments the tables may be located elsewhere or distributed throughout the system in various ways as deemed appropriate. Further, while items 313 and 314 are referred to as “tables”, any suitable format for the content of these items may be used—whether a table, list, database, or otherwise. During operation, VEM 225 may be responsible for creating or deleting virtualized environments. VEM 225 may also be responsible for adding or removing virtualized packages including resources and processes to or from virtualized environments 224 . VEM 225 may also track which virtualized environments are currently in use and which environments are active or disabled. VEM 225 may also take snapshots, clone, or combine virtualized environments. Still further, VEM 225 may be configured to manage licensing of virtualized products, deny access to a product, or even remove a virtualized product from the system at license expiration. In one embodiment, VEM 225 may apply visibility rules 222 to determine which resources and/or processes are accessible to processes in a given environment. Once VEM 225 determines, according to a rule, that a resource may be accessed, virtualizers 226 (e.g., redirectors, etc.) may manage the storage and tracking of individual items and tracking data. Virtualizers 226 may include a specific virtualizer for each type of resource. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, registry redirector 361 is a virtualizer that may be used to access an entry in a registry for storing options and settings of hardware and software in the computing system (e.g., such as the registry found in the Windows® operating system), file system redirector 362 is a virtualizer that may be used to access files or directories in a file system, named object redirector 363 is a virtualizer that may be used to access named objects, and physical resource manager 364 is a virtualizer that may be used to access a physical resource. In other embodiments, a variety of other virtualizers may be provided, as desired. Turning now to FIG. 4 , a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of components for establishing a set of visibility rules is shown. This embodiment includes a rules editor 410 , environment rules 422 , process rules 424 , resource rules 426 , a rules engine 430 , and visibility rules 222 . In this embodiment, visibility rules 222 include process rules that are collected in a process rules table 440 and resource rules that are collected in one or more resource rules tables 450 . In other embodiments, a single table may be used to store both process and resource rules. During operation, rules editor 410 may be used to define and manipulate rules that allow VEM 225 to manage virtualization of products. Rules editor 410 may track all of the rules that exist in a virtualization system. In one embodiment, rules editor may define three types of rules, environment rules 422 , process rules 424 , and resource rules 426 . Rules engine 430 may convert environment rules 422 , process rules 424 , and resource rules 426 into entries in process rules table 440 and resource rules tables 450 . Generally speaking, rules engine 430 may maintain the rules that enable virtualization. Individual rules may be applied globally across the system, targeted to a specific virtualized environment, or targeted to a specific application. The operation of rules engine 430 to convert rules to table entries will be described further below. In one embodiment, each rule may include information defining an owning or “base” environment. When a virtualized environment is destroyed, rules for which it is the base environment may also be removed from the system. A rule may be owned by a virtualized environment but specify that a process in the system environment may have visibility into the virtualized environment. Accordingly, the rule may apply to the system environment (and/or other environments), but belong to the virtualized environment. Within one rule implementation, an environment may be identified by an environment ID. For example, environment ID 0 may signify the system environment (i.e., the environment from which conventionally installed products request resources by default). Environment ID “−1” may signify all environments. Virtual Environment ID “−2” may signify “my environment,” which may be used in a rule that is predefined in a package before the package is installed. In alternative implementations, an environment ID may be a globally unique ID (GUID), a string, or some other suitable identifier. The special environments −1 and −2 may be interpreted as variable substitution macros, that is, any rule containing one of these explicit environment IDs may be translated into the corresponding true environment ID(s) once the rule is activated on a client machine. Environment rules 422 are basic rules that define the virtualization of processes for virtualizers 226 . In one embodiment, environment rules 422 may be assigned a lower priority than process rules 424 and resource rules 426 . Environment rules 422 direct what default actions may be performed for all virtualized applications or processes running in a virtualized environment. In one embodiment, an environment rule may include the following information: A base environment ID An ordered list of environments from which resource requests may be satisfied. For example, Table 1 illustrates a set of environment rules 422 . TABLE 1 Environment Rules Examples Base Environment ID Environments 1 1, 0 2 2 0 0, 3, 4 In the example of Table 1, the first rule (first row) specifies that the applications in environment 1 (environment ID “1”) may satisfy requests from their own environment first (environment ID “1”) and then look to the system environment (environment ID “0”). The second rule specifies that applications in environment 2 only look in their own environment; they do not have the ability to use any resource from the system or another environment. The third rule specifies that the system environment is isolated from virtualized applications in virtualized environments 1 and 2, but “sharing” is enabled for (i.e., the system has access to) applications in virtualized environments 3 and 4. Another example of an environment rule may be defined to cause any processes associated with a package to be shared with the system environment wherever the package is installed. Process rules 424 apply to processes rather than to environments. In one embodiment, process rules 424 may have higher priority than environment rules 422 . Process rules 424 are, in effect, exceptions to default environment rules processing and define which processes can see which environments. In one embodiment, a process rule may include the following information: The process name (e.g., a process ID) The environment that this process is part of (Table 2 below for examples) An ordered list of environments from which resource requests may be satisfied. An action directive For example, Table 2 below illustrates a set of process rules 424 . TABLE 2 Process Rules Examples: Base Process Name Environment Environments Action Word.exe 0 0, 1 Append Visio.exe −1 1, 0 Append Photoshop.exe −1 2, 3, 0 Append Illustrator.exe −1 3, 2, 0 Append Cedt.exe −1 4 Append Word.exe 5 5 Append Explorer.exe −1 (same as 0) 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 Append The first rule (first row) in Table 2 indicates that Word.exe has been installed in the system environment (Base Environment “0”), for example as part of a conventional installation of Microsoft Office 2003. Accesses by Word.exe from the system environment are to be serviced in the system environment (“0”) first, followed by virtualized environment “1”. In contrast, the second rule specifies that Visio.exe, in any environment in which it is installed (“−1”), should direct accesses to environment ID=1 followed by the system environment “0”. Note that more than one copy of Visio.exe may be installed, each in a different environment, with additional entries following the second rule in Table 2. The environment identifier in this rule type allows the rule to apply to all instance of a process that may be present in multiple virtualized environments. Specifying “−1” as a base environment causes the rule to apply to any process matching the process name in any environment. Assuming Visio.exe is installed in environment 1, Viso.exe and the version of Word.exe that is shown in Table 2 to be installed in the system environment are shared, i.e., data associated with Word.exe is visible to Visio.exe and vice-versa. Further assuming that Photoshop.exe is installed in environment 2, Illustrator.exe in environment 3, Cedt.exe in environment 4, and Word.exe in environment 5, the following information may be discerned from Table 2: Photoshop and Illustrator are “shared” with each other even though they are installed in different environments. One reason it may be desirable to install these two products in different environments is if they are from different versions of their manufacturer's products that require different library files (e.g., .dll files). Data associated with Cedt.exe is isolated from all of the other processes except Explorer.exe. The sixth rule in Table 2 specifies that another copy of Word.exe is installed in environment 5. This version of Word.exe is completely isolated, which prevents it from interacting with files or associated registry values in the system environment. Finally, the seventh rule specifies that Explorer.exe is able to locate processes in the system environment as well as environments 1-4. Specifying a base environment of −1 allows a process to be seen by Explorer.exe if the process is installed in any of these environments, while specifying that the second copy of Word.exe be installed in environment 5 avoids a conflict between the two installations of Word.exe from the viewpoint of Explorer.exe. In one embodiment, a resource rule 426 may apply to a specific resource regardless of the process that accesses it or the environment in which it is found. Resource rules 426 may have higher priority than environment rules 422 or process rules 424 . Resource rules 426 may override default virtualization actions on an individual resource basis rather than environment or process basis. A resource rule 426 may define which resources should be excluded from being virtualized—either shared or isolated. In one embodiment, a resource rule 426 may include the following information: The resource path (wildcards supported on a branch basis, see below). The resource name (or wildcard) Resource type (Registry vs. file system vs. named object, etc.) Alternatively, separate tables may be maintained for each different resource type. Base environment to which the rule applies. List of environments to search or place the resource. Typically, a “read into” rules may specify an environment ID list of −2, 0, which may be interpreted as: take from the process's base environment first, then the system environment. A typical “write exclude” rule may specify an environment ID list of 0, which may be interpreted as: write changes to the system environment because this rule is an exception intended to cause results of a change to a resource to affect the system. Propagation to children flag—if true, any object inside the container matching this resource name should have this rule applied as well. The rule priority The origin of the rule (Server, package, or client) As noted above, resource rules 426 may include wildcards. Wildcards that are used in a path may be applicable on a branch-by-branch basis. For example, “C:\Documents and Settings\*\My Documents” may be interpreted as matching “C:\Documents and Settings\john\My Documents”, but not matching “C:\Documents and Settings\john\Backup\My Documents”. For example, Table 3 illustrates a set of resource rules 426 . TABLE 3 Resource Rules Examples: Re- Propa- source Base Env. gate to Pri- Resource Path Name Env. List children ority Origin $userprofiledir$\My * −1 0 True High Server Documents * *.doc −1 0 True High Package $systemdir$ * −2 −2, 0 False Medium Client The first rule in Table 3 states that whenever an application attempts to write to the user's Documents and Settings\*\My Documents folder or sub-folders, the write should not be directed to the virtualized environment, but to the system environment. If the application's files are written to the virtualized environment, they may be lost when the virtualized environment is torn down (i.e., removed). Consequently, in order to preserve these files for future use after the virtualized environment is torn down, they may be written to the system environment. The second rule states that a write to a file ending in .doc on any path should not be directed to the virtualized environment, but to the system environment. Note that the value of the propagate-to-children flag is set to true so that any path will match for the document. The third rule states that any request to read a file from C:\windows\system32 should first attempt to be satisfied from within the base environment, and if it can't be satisfied from the base environment, then attempt to satisfy the request from the system environment. This rule may be used for a process that is not otherwise allowed access outside the base environment to allow it to access specific resources needed for proper operation from the system environment. Note that access to subfolders may be restricted to the base environment again since the value of the propagate-to-children flag is set to false. Although FIG. 4 shows rules editor 410 as the source of environment rules 422 , process rules 424 , and resource rules 426 , as noted in Table 3, rules may originate from different sources. Rules editor 410 may be seen as an abstract representation of any of these sources. For example, in one embodiment, rules editor 410 may provide one or more tools through which an administrator or other user may input rules on the local client machine. In this embodiment, rules editor 410 may include various command line entry tools or graphical user interfaces (GUIs, not shown) through which rules may be directly entered. Tools through which rules may be entered may include various rule validation features, such as determining that a proposed new rule conflicts with existing rules. Rule entry tools may offer an opportunity for a user to resolve such conflicts or be configured to follow a default behavior such as rejecting new conflicting rules. In one embodiment, rule validation may be configured to automatically merge rules to avoid direct conflicts, such as by replacing wild cards with explicit values. In addition, rules may be merged in order to form a more concise set of rules which is logically equivalent to the non-merged rules. Numerous such alternatives are possible and are contemplated. In an alternative embodiment, rule entry tools may be provided on a server system for later delivery to client systems. In this embodiment, rule entry tools may have any of the features described above for client-side tools. In another alternative embodiment, whether used on the client or on a server, rule entry tools may provide an abstracted view of the virtualized environment to the tool user. For example, a user may be given an opportunity to specify a policy for sharing processes among virtualized environments, e.g., that two environments shall share their processes without having to specify the actual rules that are needed to implement such a policy. Rules editor 410 may receive such a policy and convert it into a set of corresponding rules. FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a sample graphical user interface (GUI) 500 that may be used to enter rules. The illustrated interface 500 may be made available to a user on a client or on a server. Interface 500 may include features such as drop-down menus, a navigation bar, an address field, and so on. As shown, interface 500 includes a “Process” pane 501 , an “Environment” pane 502 , and a “Resource” pane 503 . Within Process pane 501 , a set of entry fields, a list of process rules, an Add button and a Cancel button are shown. A Name entry field is provided for entering the name of a resource to which a rule applies. A Target Environment pull-down list field is provided for entering the ID of a target environment to which a rule applies. An Environment List entry field is provided for entering an ordered list of environment ID's to which a rule applies. An Action pull-down list field is provided for entering the name of an action to be performed when a rule is applied. Entries and selections made from the illustrated fields may be added to a rule via an Add button. Process pane 501 also includes a Cancel button that may be used to clear entries in the Name entry, Target environment, Environment List, and Action fields. Similar entry fields may be providing on “Environment” pane 502 , and “Resource” pane 503 . It is noted that the fields and entry features depicted in FIG. 5 are provided for ease of discussion. In other embodiments, a wide variety of other GUI elements may be provided as desired. In addition to entering rules from a server or client interface, rules may be created through one of the above tools or any other input mechanism and included in a package for delivery to a client. Rules included in virtualized packages may be applied to the system when the package is used. More particularly, a package may contain environment rules, process rules, and/or resource rules that may be applied to the system or virtualized environment into which the package is installed. For example, a virtualized package for installing an application into a Windows system wherein the application doesn't support Windows' concept of user's Documents and Settings areas may define a resource rule that makes $windrive$\My Documents always use the system environment. In another example, the Visio virtualized package may specify that *\Word.exe, *\Excel.exe, *\Powerpnt.exe, etc. (application included in Microsoft's Office Suite) are allowed access into any virtualized environment that the Visio virtualized package is installed into, while isolating Visio from other applications and the rest of the system. It is noted that some rules may not be suitable to be included in a virtualized package. For example, a user may choose to save all documents in C:\share\public rather than Documents and Settings, and want to mark that folder as system environment only (no virtualization or redirection). Also, the user may want to define the order of virtualized environments to search for resources. These types of actions may not be encapsulated in a rule to be placed in a package, because the rule pre-supposes knowledge of the end-user behavior or client environment. In a virtualized system, any rules that have been created may be converted to one or more entries in rules tables 440 and 450 by rules engine 430 . Rules engine 430 may be responsible for generating the results of the rules defined by a user (or by a package, or by default) that lead to a desired virtualization of products. In one embodiment, the end result of conversion of rules by rules engine 430 may be a database or table(s) (e.g., tables 440 and 450 ) that can be quickly accessed to determine an action to take for any resource access request. Process rules table 440 matches processes (or, in some embodiments, threads) to environments that they may access. Each entry in process rules table 440 applies to a particular process and is a combination of one or more environment rules 422 and process rules 424 . In one embodiment, the entries included in process rules table 440 may apply to any of virtualizers 226 . In particular, a rule that applies to a given process may be consistently applied to all of virtualizers 226 . In one embodiment, process rules table 440 may be formatted as shown in Table 4 below. An entry in process rules table 440 may direct a virtualizer 226 to an ordered list of virtualized environments to access. TABLE 4 Process rules table 440 example. Process Process Thread Rule Process Base List of ID Name ID ID Environment Environments 1000 Word.exe * 1 0 0, 1, 2 1400 Visio.exe * 8 1 1, 0 1800 MSProject.exe * 25 2 2, 0, 1 240 svchost.exe 1000 1 0 0, 1, 2 (RPCSS) 240 svchost.exe 1400 8 1 1, 0 240 svchost.exe 1800 25 2 2, 0, 1 2300 FrontPg.exe * 37 3 3 In this example, it is assumed that the Microsoft® Office suite of software products is conventionally installed in the system environment (“0”), and Microsoft's Visio, Project, and FrontPage applications are each installed in separate virtualized environments 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Visio and Project are being shared with the system (conventionally installed products may interact with these virtualized applications) as shown by their respective list of environments including environment “0”. While Project may access its own environment (“2”), the system environment (“0”), and Visio's environment (“1”), Visio may only access its own environment (“1”) and the system environment (“0”). Consequently, data associated with Project that Project stores in its base environment is isolated from Visio. FrontPage is completely isolated and cannot even access the system environment to interact with other conventionally installed products. In addition to the virtualization functionality provided by process rules table 440 , features that apply to specific resources may be provided by resource rules tables 450 . Entries in resource rules tables 450 may be seen as exceptions to the entries in process rules table 440 . In one embodiment, a separate resource rules table 450 may be created for each virtualizer 226 . Having separate tables for each virtualizer 226 and corresponding resource type may lead to faster table search, as there are fewer entries per table. In one embodiment, a resource rules table 450 may be formatted as shown in Table 5 below. In one embodiment, each entry in a resource rules table 450 corresponds to a respective one of resource rules 426 . In this embodiment, generating resource rules tables 450 may be accomplished by sorting resource rules 426 into like resource types. TABLE 5 Resource rules table 450 example. Propagate Resource to Resource Path Name Action children C:\Documents and * Use system environment True Settings\*\My Documents C:\Windows\system32 * Use virtualized False environment, then system, then continue to process table * *.vsd Use system environment True * *.tmp Use virtualized True environment only Generally speaking, if a user were to create a document in a virtualized application, the default action would be to write the document into a “C:\Documents and Settings\{user}\My Documents” directory in a corresponding virtualized environment. However, documents that are saved within a particular virtualized environment may be lost or discarded when the particular virtualized environment is destroyed. One way to avoid losing the document may be to use visibility rules to store the document in the system environment, as is specified by the first entry in Table 5. This entry specifies that any access request for the particular resource “C:\Documents and Settings\{user}\My Documents” directory, by any process, be directed to the system environment so that a document created in this directory may be accessed after the virtualized environment is destroyed. In one embodiment, during creation of process rules table 440 and resource rules tables 450 , rules engine 430 may keep track of which virtualized packages have been placed in which virtualized environments. Virtualized packages may contain rules or preferences as to how the package should behave on the system (isolated, shared but in it's own environment, system install (install to environment 0), shared only with packages from a specific set, etc.). When a virtualized package is delivered from a server and installed in one or more virtualized environments, environment rules 422 , process rules 424 , and resource rules 426 may be updated. Rules engine 430 may be notified for every process creation in order to run through the rules to generate a list of environments for the process's accesses. The rules can be setup so that a virtualized product can be fully isolated, fully shared across the system, or visible to only certain other virtualized environments, and possibly only to certain applications. When a rule is added, the new rule may be processed for all running processes and the corresponding tables 440 and 450 updated accordingly by rules engine 430 . When a rule is removed, rules engine 430 may process tables 440 and 450 to remove the effects of the rule. In one embodiment, processing a resource name may include the use of variable substitution (i.e. $userdocuments$ instead of C:\Documents and Settings\{user}, or $systemdir$ instead of C:\Windows\system32). The variable substitution may be performed by rules engine 430 before adding the resource name into a resource rules table 450 . In one embodiment, rules engine 430 may set a priority for the table access, to be obeyed by the virtualizers 226 when they need to lookup a process resource request. FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a process 600 that may be used to create process rules table entries for a selected virtualized environment in a virtualized system. In the illustrated embodiment, process 600 may begin with receiving a set of rules (block 610 ), such as from a client, from a server, or in a virtualized package. An environment may be identified in which to apply the received rules (block 620 ). For the identified environment, application code including one or more processes may be started (block 630 ). Only running processes are considered because in this embodiment, process rules table entries only apply to running processes. For each running process (decision block 640 ), the received set of rules may be searched for an environment rule that applies to the identified environment (block 645 ). If an applicable environment rule is found (decision block 650 ), an entry may be created in a process rules table for a selected running process using the applicable environment rule (block 652 ). The received set of rules may also be searched for a process rule that applies to the selected running process (block 654 ). If a process rule is identified that applies to the selected running process (decision block 660 ), the process rule may be merged with the previously created entry (block 665 ). Upon completion of the merge (or if a process rule is not identified that applies to the selected running process), if the selected running process is the last running process in the selected virtual environment (decision block 690 ), process 600 is complete. If the selected running process is not the last running process in the selected virtual environment (decision block 690 ), a next running process may be selected and process 600 may continue at decision block 640 . If an applicable environment rule is not found (decision block 650 ), the received set of rules may also be searched for a process rule that applies to the selected running process (block 670 ). If a process rule is identified that applies to the selected running process (decision block 672 ), an entry may be created in a process rules table for a selected running process using the identified process rule (block 680 ). If a process rule is not identified that applies to the selected running process (decision block 672 ), no entry is made in the process rules table for the selected process. Upon completion of the entry creation, or if a process rule is not identified that applies to the selected running process, if the selected running process is the last running process in the selected virtual environment (decision block 690 ), process 600 may continue at decision block 690 . It is noted that process 600 may be repeated for each environment in a virtualized system. FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of a process 700 that may be used to process a request to access a resource based on a set of visibility rules. Process 700 may begin with detection of a request from a process to access a resource (e.g., to read from or write to a file or registry value, etc.) (block 710 ). A resource path (e.g., a data path indicating a location in a hierarchical directory tree) corresponding to the request may be retrieved (block 720 ). A resource type (e.g., registry, file system, named object, or physical resource) corresponding to the request may also be retrieved (block 730 ). The retrieved resource path may be used (e.g., as a key) to search a resource rules table that corresponds to the retrieved resource type for an entry that applies to the resource path (block 740 ). If an entry is found (decision block 750 ), an ordered list of environments retrieved from the entry that is found may be followed to determine the path that is to be used to satisfy the access request (block 755 ), completing process 700 . If an entry is not found (decision block 750 ), a process ID may be retrieved from the request (block 760 ) and used as a key to search a process rules table for an entry that applies to the retrieved process ID (block 770 ). If an entry is found (decision block 780 ), an ordered list of environments retrieved from the entry that is found may be followed to determine the path that is to be used to satisfy the access request (block 790 ), completing process 700 . If an entry is not found (decision block 780 , an error condition may be declared and/or other appropriate action taken, such as taking a default action to satisfy the request (block 785 ), completing process 700 . FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a process 800 that may be used to access a resource based on an ordered list of environments. Process 800 may begin with receiving an ordered list of environments from which to service a request to access a particular resource (block 810 ), such as may be retrieved from a resource rules table entry or a process rules table entry. A first environment in the ordered list may be identified (block 820 ). If the particular resource is accessible in the identified first environment (decision block 830 ), the access request may be serviced in the first environment (block 835 , completing process 800 . If the particular resource is not accessible in the identified first environment (decision block 830 ), a next environment may be identified from the ordered list (block 840 ). If the particular resource is accessible in the identified next environment (decision block 850 ), the access request may be serviced in the identified next environment (block 855 , completing process 800 . If the particular resource is not accessible in the identified next environment (decision block 850 ), and if the end of the ordered list has not been reached (decision block 860 ), process 800 may continue at block 840 where a next environment may be identified. If the particular resource is not accessible in the identified next environment (decision block 850 ), and if the end of the ordered list has been reached (decision block 860 ), an error condition may be declared or a default action may be taken (block 870 , completing process 800 . FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of a process 900 that may be used to save a document created by a virtualized application. Process 900 may begin with reception of a virtualized package including an application and an associated, packaged process rule (block 910 ). In response to receiving the package, a virtualized environment may be identified in which to install the package (block 920 ) and the package may be installed (block 930 ). Once the package and the included application has been installed, an entry in a process rules table may be created that corresponds to a running process launched by the application (block 940 ). The entry may include a list of environments in which to store files created by the installed application. The first environment on the list may be the system environment. If an entry already exists in the process rules table that corresponds to the process, the packaged process rule may be merged with or used to replace the existing entry. The installed application's running process may create a file (block 950 ) and generate a request to write the file to a specific path in a file system from the virtualized environment (block 960 ). The request may be intercepted (block 970 ) and redirected to write the file to the specific path in the file system of the system environment (block 980 ), completing process 900 . It is noted that the foregoing flow charts are for purposes of discussion only. In alternative embodiments, the elements depicted in the flow chart may occur in a different order, or in some cases concurrently. Additionally, some of the flow chart elements may not be present in various embodiments, or may be combined with other elements. All such alternatives are contemplated. It is noted that various embodiments may further include receiving, sending, or storing instructions and/or data implemented in accordance with the foregoing description upon a computer-accessible storage medium. Generally speaking, a computer-accessible storage medium may include any storage media accessible by one or more computers (or processors) during use to provide instructions and/or data to the computer(s). For example, a computer-accessible storage medium may include storage media such as magnetic or optical media, e.g., one or more disks (fixed or removable), tape, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, etc. Storage media may further include volatile or non-volatile memory media such as RAM (e.g. synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), Rambus DRAM (RDRAM), static RAM (SRAM), etc.), ROM, Flash memory, non-volatile memory (e.g. Flash memory) accessible via a peripheral interface such as the Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, etc. In some embodiments the computer(s) may access the storage media via a communication means such as a network and/or a wireless link. The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as may be suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.

A system and method for controlling interaction among environments including virtualized environments and a system environment. A process issues a request to perform an action on a resource or a second process. A virtualization environment manager operating in the system environment detects the request and in response, retrieves data associated with the request identifying the first process, a base environment corresponding to the process, and the resource, and retrieves a first rule from a programmable database of rules. A base environment of a process is an environment in which a process is running. The first rule corresponds to at least one of the first process, the base environment, and the resource and identifies a target environment in which to process the request. The target environment is different from the base environment of the process. The virtualization environment manager directs the request to the target environment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The instant invention relates generally to magnetic pulse welding and forming, and more particularly to an energy storage apparatus for storing and supplying a high-frequency working impulse to a magnetic pulse inductor. In the automotive industry, there are many tubular parts that need to be coaxially joined and/or end fittings that need to be joined to tubular components. Magnetic pulse forming devices have been used in the past to accomplish this purpose. However, the results achieved in the prior art devices have not always been of high quality and thus not acceptable in many applications. Magnetic pulse devices store energy within a bank of capacitors and release the energy through an inductor coil (welding tool) that creates a magnetic force strong enough to collapse the components positioned within the inductor coil. In this regard, tubular components are pre-assembled and positioned within the center of the inductor. The energy released through the inductor coil generates an magnetic field strong enough to collapse the outer tube inwardly into engagement with the inner tube. When used to connect an end fitting, the outer tube is collapsed onto the outer surface of the end fitting. If the energy stored in the bank of capacitors is enough, the inward collapsing velocity will be sufficient to cause the metal of the outer component to penetrate the metal of the inner component forming a full metallurgical bond between the components in what is referred to as “cold stage welding”. Methods and apparatus for Magnetic Pulse Welding are described in “Handbook of Magnetic Pulse Treatment of Metals”, by Kharkov, Kharkov State University, 1977 (Translated into English and edited by Ohio State University in 1996 by M. Altynova, and Glenn S. Daehn), and in the book “Magnetic Pulse Welding of Metals”, by A. A. Dudin, Moscow Metallurgy, 1979. Other methods and apparatus for this process have been described in the following articles: “Magnetic-Pulse Welding: Unique Concept for Tubing Components”, by D. Dudko, V. Chudakov, L. Kistersky and T. Barber, Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual World Tube Congress , Rosemont, Ill., Oct. 9-11, 1995; “Welding Process Turns out Tubular Joints Fast”, by L. Kistersky, American Machinist , April 1996; and “Magnetic Pulse Welding of Tubing”, by D. Dudko, V. Chudakov, L. Kistersky and T. Barber, The Fabricator , September 1996. The U.S. Pat. No. 3,520,049 to Lysenko et al also describes similar subject matter. The prior inventors of magnetic pulse welding apparatus generally did not pay attention to the fact that the quality of the welding joint is dependent, not only on the velocity of the impact and so on the amount of the energy released, but also more importantly, on the duration of the impulse current realizing this energy. In this regard, the same volume of energy released in impulses of different duration will cause different types of metallurgical joints in the same parts. Longer duration (lower frequency) impulses will cause only a simple deformation, whereas a very short duration (high frequency) impulses will cause a full metallurgical weld. It is now desirable to be able to use this method to obtain welding of tubular components that are made of stronger materials, and that have thicker walls. However, the existing magnetic pulse welding devices have generally not been able to provide a full metallurgical weld between such components. This problem has resulted from the fact that virtually all of the known apparatus for magnetic pulse welding and forming have included generally the same construction and configuration. The key factor for improving the weld in high strength materials and across thick materials has not yet been fully identified in the prior art. Some work has been focused on releasing more energy and on changing the pre-assembled configuration of the parts to achieve better welding. For example, see the U.S. Pat. No. 5,981,921 to Yablochnikov. This patent deals with a method of assembling an end fitting with a tube for a driveshaft. The specification clearly points out that the quality of the metallurgical joint for the material was independent from the Magnetic Pulse unit (column 2, lines 30-35), and the physical reason why a strong metallurgical joint between the components could not be obtained using the known magnetic pulse units was “not known yet”. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The instant invention seeks to provide an answer to the problem. According to the present invention, the quality of the metallurgical joint produced via magnetic pulse welding is a combined function of the velocity of collapsing of the component, and the duration of the initial current impulse. The velocity of the collapsing is derived from the force of repelling (density of the magnetic filed), weight of the portion to be collapsed, mechanical strength of the metal to be collapsed, the distance (gap) between the collapsing end of the outer tubular component and the surface of the inner component. Usually, this factor is figured out experimentally by finding of a range of proper gaps between components to be welded for a defined pair of materials using a predetermined level of initial impulse current through a chosen inductor. The proper combination of a gap, impulse current and inductor design usually is a result of an experimental program. A more controlled quality of the magnetic-pulse welded joint can be achieved when a definite collapsing angle is provided. This collapsing angle is a dynamically created angle at the point of touching of the inner component surface by the collapsing portion of outer component. It is known from another method of welding via impulse pressure, i.e. explosion welding, that for a given pair of metals, a fully developed weld joint will occur only when the correct collapsing angle is provided. (“Explosion Welding in Metallurgy”, 168 pgs., Kudinov, Koroteev, Moscow, “Metallurgy”, Series “New Processes of Welding via Pressure”, 1978). For explosion welding, this angle is derived from the force developed during the explosion of the explosive material. For magnetic-pulse welding, the collapsing angle is dependent on the duration of initial impulse. To be able to vary and to control the velocity of collapsing produced by the magnetic pulse welding apparatus, the level of maximum voltage is controlled, as well as reliability of discharger to produce a current impulse at the predetermined moment, and the gap between the components to be welded. Further control of the collapsing velocity can be achieved by developing a special geometry of pre-assembled components (pre-weld design). In particular, the a fixed angle between the outer component and the surface of inner component is maintained. Research has proved experimentally that a better quality of joint is obtained when using a definite fixed angle. But the most important factor that determines the collapsing angle is the duration of initial impulse, and more specifically, the duration of the first quarter of the initial current impulse. To be able to vary the above mentioned collapsing angle widely and to find an optimum collapsing angle for the defined pair of metals and alloys to be welded, the frequency of initial impulse should be variable and adjustable. This frequency is dependent on several factors: (1) the self inductance of the apparatus (La), which is constant for each design and each geometry of devices included the apparatus along with their connections; (2) the capacity of the battery of capacitors (C 1−N ), which is usually constant for every magnetic pulse welding unit, and which usually cannot be changed in practice beside of total reconfiguration of unit; (3) the inductance of inductor (Li), which is higher for multi-coil inductors and lower for one coil inductors; and (4) finally is dependent on the resulting L, C and R (active resistance) of the combined system. None of the known prior art apparatuses for magnetic-pulse welding are capable of changing the frequency of the initial impulse. Moreover, the frequency of most of the existing devices is not optimal for use with the types of metals currently utilized in industry. This is especially true for automotive applications, where aluminum alloys having high mechanical strength are to be joined with steel fittings. These types of applications require high frequency impulses with extremely short duration (about 10 microseconds or less). Almost all of the known magnetic-pulse welding apparatus, especially those equipped with multi-coil inductors having high self inductance, function outside of the optimal duration of the initial impulse. Still further, these existing apparatus use relatively low voltage capacitors having a high self-inductance. In this regard, to increase the energy of the impulse and the velocity of collapsing these devices have to use a large battery of capacitors which leads to a decrease of frequency of the initial impulse. This is the reason why these apparatus do not provide a high strength weld even though they do release a high energy level to increase the velocity of collapsing. There is therefore a need to provide a magnetic-pulse welding apparatus capable of varying and controlling the above described critical parameters. Such an apparatus will be able to optimize the velocity of collapsing and the collapsing angle by providing a controlled adjustable initial impulse current of required amplitude and duration. Part of this functionality is provided by an energy storage system that utilizes high-voltage, low inductance capacitors, and a very-low inductance conductive bus system directly interconnecting the capacitors, a discharger and an inductor. The bus system provides the ability to generate a very high frequency, short duration impulse which is needed for high quality welding of high strength metals. The bus system includes first, second and third flat bus panels disposed in closely spaced overlying relation. The second, or middle, bus panel is the “high voltage” or “hot” bus and is electrically insulated from the first (lower) and third (upper) bus panels (ground bus panel) by sheets of electrically insulative material. The first and third bus panels are connected together cooperatively form a unitary ground bus. The bus system overlies the upper ends of the capacitors wherein the second bus panel is electrically interconnected to the respective hot contacts of the capacitors, and further wherein the ground bus is electrically interconnected with the respective ground contacts of the plurality of capacitors. The energy storage system further includes an energy source connected to the capacitors, a discharge device, a charging control device, and a discharge control device for selectively initiating discharge of energy stored in the capacitors. The bus system further includes removable connector elements that are selectively removable for controlling the total number capacitors utilized in the energy storage bank, thus being able to control the total voltage and also the duration of the initial impulse. Accordingly, among the objects of the instant invention are the provision of an energy storage system for a magnetic pulse unit wherein the energy storage system utilizes a low inductance bus system for creating a high frequency, short duration impulse. Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings which illustrate the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the present invention: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the energy storage apparatus of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view thereof; FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the connector elements for selectively connecting the capacitors to the bus system; FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the discharger; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the central electrode; FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a split inductor for use with the energy storage system; FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of one type of end fitting for the split inductor; and FIG. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of another type of end fitting. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, a magnetic pulse welding apparatus in accordance with the teachings of the instant invention is illustrated and generally indicated at 100 in FIGS. 1-8. The apparatus 100 includes a ground 101 , a frame generally indicated at 102 connected to the ground 101 , a connective bus system generally indicated at 104 , and a bank of high voltage capacitors with low self inductance, generally indicated at 106 . The system further comprises a discharger, indicated generally at 200 , an inductor tool generally indicated at 300 , a high voltage power source generally indicated at 400 , and a control system generally indicated at 500 . The high voltage capacitors 106 are of the type that can provide a high voltage charge/discharge of 5 kV or more. The capacitors 106 have a “high voltage” or “hot” contact 128 and a ground contact 124 . The term “hot” is utilized for the contact 128 because the polarity of the contact could be either positive or negative. Capacitors 106 of the type contemplated are commercially available from power supply vendors. The high voltage source of energy 400 comprises a high voltage transformer-rectifier that is designed to charge the bank of power capacitors 106 in a short time period and is further designed so that it does not require disconnection during the discharge cycle. The transformer-rectifier 400 is supplied with power from an external power source 401 through cable 402 . Transformer-rectifiers 400 of the type contemplated are commercially available from various power supply vendors. The control system indicated generally at 500 , is responsible for controlling charging of the capacitors and release of the current impulse at a predetermined moment. The inductor tool 300 comprises a removable inductor coil, i.e. welding tool, which is generally a one-coil inductor, solid or split, depending on the components to be welded. Referring to the drawings in FIGS. 2, 2 A and 3 , the connective bus system 104 and means for selectively connecting and disconnecting the capacitors 106 is illustrated. The bus system 104 consists of the three bus panels: a bottom bus panel 108 , a middle bus panel 110 , and an upper bus panel 112 . The middle bus panel 110 is isolated from the top and bottom bus panels 108 and 112 by sheets of multilayer electrically insulative material 114 . More specifically, the multilayer isolative sheets 114 are placed on top of the bus panel 108 and under bus panel 112 respectively to electrically isolate “hot” middle bus panel 110 from the surrounding components. The top bus panel 112 is covered with exterior electrically isolative plate 116 . The bus system 104 is designed to conduct a high current and high frequency working impulse of a predetermined duration directly from the battery of capacitors 106 to the inductor tool 300 at the moment of initiation of a working impulse by the discharger 200 . The bus system 104 is believed to define a new element according to the current invention. The bus system 104 is designed to have a minimal active resistance and inductive resistance, so that energy from the battery of capacitors 106 will be directly transferred to the working tool with minimal loses. Also bus system 104 shortens the total physical distance between the inductor tool 300 and the discharger 200 and minimizes the geometrical dimensions of the connective buses. The bus system further provides the ability to control the duration of the working impulse via connection or disconnection of desirable quantity of capacitors 106 depending on the components to be welded. For the above mentioned purposes the top bus 112 and the bottom bus 108 are made of highly conductive materials, for example aluminum or copper, and they have a sufficient thickness and mechanical strength to support the bus system 104 . The upper and lower pus panels 108 and 112 are connected to each other using connective metal strips 118 , which extend along the frame 102 of the unit 100 . These strips 118 electrically interconnect the upper and lower bus panels 108 and 112 together to collectively form a ground bus, which is in turn connected to ground 101 through the frame 102 . The bottom bus panel 108 includes a plurality of openings 119 that are arranged in corresponding relation to the contacts at the upper ends of each capacitor 106 . The middle bus panel 110 also includes a plurality of openings 121 in the same arrangement. The ground bus panels 108 and 112 are grounded to the capacitors 106 by grounding rings (connectors) 120 which are bolted to the bottom bus panel 108 (bolt 122 ) and to a ground panel 124 (bolt 126 ) on the upper end surface of capacitors 106 simultaneously. The rings 120 surround the openings 119 . Referring to CAPACITOR 106 A of FIG. 3, the central—high voltage—contact 128 of the capacitor 106 A is connected to the “hot” bus panel 110 by tapered connector cup 130 , which is seated in the opening 121 in the middle “hot” bus 110 . The connector cup 130 has a bottom wall 130 a and a continuous side wall 130 b . The peripheral lip 130 c of the cup 130 is tapered and engages with the tapered sidewalls of the openings 121 . The cups 130 extend through the openings 119 in the bottom bus panel 108 and through openings in the insulator materials 114 . A nut 133 threads onto the contact 128 and forces the lip 130 c of the cup 130 downwardly into engagement with the sidewalls of the openings 121 in the bus panel 110 . Insulator rings 132 are seated within the top of each capacitor 106 to center the openings of isolative sheets 114 and to prevent accidental discharge, including corona discharge over the surfaces of the parts of the capacitors, between the high voltage contacts 128 of the capacitors 106 and the connector cups 130 and ground plates of the capacitors. Plastic fasteners 135 a and 135 b are fitted into openings in the ground panel 112 to fill the openings. All capacitors 106 which are to be utilized for charging are connected in this manner. Referring to CAPACITOR 106 B of FIG. 3, there is provided a grounding mechanism for selectively grounding individual capacitors 106 so that they are not charged by the system. In this regard, the connector cup 130 is replaced by a metal bolt 134 that is threaded downwardly through an opening in the upper bus panel 112 and into engagement with the hot contact 128 of the capacitor to ground the capacitor. The threaded bolt 134 is surrounded by tube 136 . This arrangement selectively isolates the capacitor 106 B and allows the operator to selectively control the voltage, current and frequency of the current impulse released. The discharge device 200 is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. According to the current invention, the discharger 200 comprises a central electrode 201 placed coaxially inside of ring electrode 202 with an adjustable concentric gap in between. The discharger 200 further includes an ignition electrode 203 designed as a coaxial ring surrounding central electrode 201 . The ignition electrode 203 can be moved up and down with respect to the central electrode 201 and placed in a definite position by means of an adjusting bolts 204 . The ignition electrode 203 is connected to an independent source of igniting impulses 198 (see FIG. 2) by an ignition cable 205 (See FIGS. 2 and 5 ). The ignition source 198 is also connected to the external power source 401 through a cable 404 . The ignition electrode 203 is electrically isolated from the ring electrode 202 with the help of a dielectric sleeve 206 and from the central electrode 201 with the help of dielectric sleeve 207 . Central electrode 201 has opening 201 a for the input of compressed air which is passed through to tangential jets 201 b for organizing air flow through the discharge gap. Discharge electrode 203 includes radial openings 203 a for further organizing air flow. Ring electrode 202 is mounted to the middle bus 110 and the central electrode 201 is connected to one leg 301 of the inductor tool 300 . The other leg 302 of the inductor tool 300 is connected to the top bus panel 112 by means of a connective ring 209 . A discharge enclosure 210 is mounted on the bottom bus 108 . The enclosure 210 has a hermetic joint with the bottom bus 112 and an outlet 211 for exhausted air containing the ozone and drops of the electrode's metal after the working cycles. In use, the apparatus functions as follows: at the moment of connecting “Start” button (“S” 501 in FIG. 2) transformer-rectifier 400 is switched to connect with the middle “hot” bus 110 through cables 402 and 403 and thus to the battery of capacitors 106 to start charging the capacitors 106 . The voltage on the ring electrode 202 thus rises respectively. Controlled discharge according to the present invention works as follows: as soon as the voltage on the battery of capacitors 106 reaches a chosen level, discharge will be ready to occur between the central electrode 201 and the ring electrode 202 . The discharge gap between these electrodes should be adjusted so that the working voltage cannot automatically generate a direct arc between these electrodes. Instead the ignition electrode 203 is positioned in between the working electrodes 201 and 202 in such a way that the distance between it's edge and one of the working electrodes 201 or 202 is much less than the discharge gap. For example, discharge gap for a working voltage of 15 kV should be not less then 5 mm (having in mind that direct arc through an air gap about 1 mm long occurs for voltage 3 kV). The distance between the ignition electrode's edge and one of the working electrodes 201 or 202 can be chosen to be 2-3 times less, or 1.5-2 mm. Ignition of the between the ring and central electrode is created by generating a separate discharge through the ignition electrode 203 . In other word, the ignition electrode 203 provides a spark to jump the discharge gap. Ignition voltage from the independent source of ignition impulse 198 (see FIG. 2) is about 25-30 kV. Accordingly, the ignition impulse will develop an arc between the electrodes 201 and 202 and a respective plasma jet 212 will be formed. To provide a high quality discharge of energy from one electrode to the other electrode the plasma jet 212 must be controlled. In this regard, a tangential air jet from the central electrode's openings 201 b forces air flow towards the discharge gap and creates favorable conditions for an instant working discharge 213 and for developing a powerful working impulse current through the inductor coil 300 . The main distinctive features of the discharger according to the present invention are the follows: the prior art spark dischargers have the working electrodes 201 and 202 and the ignition electrode 203 placed relatively close to each other in such a way that at the moment the working discharge is released, the plasma jet moves towards ignition electrode (See, for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,732). According to electrodynamics law, the plasma jet 212 will normally stray out of the desired current contour. This problem leads to overheating of the ignition electrode 203 , intensive erosion and distortion of ignition electrode 203 and, finally, leads to an uncontrolled working discharge 213 . The new design of the discharger device 200 arranges the phenomenon of plasma jet 212 in such a way that the ignition electrode 203 is placed inside of the current contour and such that it will never be in the path of the plasma flow, and so will never be overheated or bombarded by the plasma jet 212 . In this case, the ignition electrode 203 is not eroded, and thus maintains it's exact geometry and it is not required to adjust the ignition electrode 203 with respect to the working electrodes 201 , 202 , nor is it necessary to replace the ignition electrode 203 as often. Accordingly, the life time of ignition electrode 203 , as measured by the quantity of working cycles before it's replacement, should be significantly increased. As indicted above, the current design organizes the flow of cooling air in the area of working discharge. This design feature is not believed to be shown in any of the known prior art. The invention accomplishes this by providing two types of openings; (1) tangential openings 201 b in the central electrode 201 (See FIG. 5 ); and (2) radial openings 203 a in the ignition electrode 203 . These openings 201 b and 203 a organize the air flow in such a way that two distinct air flows occur: (1) the first is between the ignition electrode 203 and the central electrode 201 ; and (2) the second is between the ignition electrode 203 and the ring electrode 202 . The optimal parameters for both flows are reached by changing the gaps between these electrodes. Both gaps facilitate the working discharge by forcing the plasma jet impulse 212 towards the gap between working electrodes 201 and 202 . As soon as the main working current impulse is created, a powerful pulse current—about 500,000 Amps or more—travels from the battery of capacitors 106 through the low inductance current bus 110 , through the inductor coil 300 and buses 108 , 112 to the ground 101 . The respective inductive current, in the opposite direction, is produced in the outer tubular components, placed within the magnetic field of the inductor 300 . The interaction of the initial current impulse and the secondary inductive current impulse causes a massive repulsive force and a resulting inward impact of the outer components into the inner components with a high velocity. If the velocity and a collapsing angle are optimal for the chosen pair of metals, the metal of outer component penetrates the metal of the inner component thus creating a full metallurgical bond at the molecular level. The above described working cycle can be repeated every second, or every few seconds, depending on the time needed for cooling of the discharger 200 . This timing is very critical for the productivity of MPW apparatus 100 . Dependent on the application, different types of inductor tools 300 could be connected to the MPW apparatus 100 . For example, a solid coil inductor for components having a maximum outside diameter less than the inductor opening, or a split coil inductor for complicated shape components which can not be removed out of inductor after welding (for example for drive shafts with end yokes having an outer diameter more than the tube OD), or a multi-coil inductor with a long working zone for forming applications. Referring now to FIG. 6, the above described MPW apparatus 100 is particularly suitable for use with a split inductor 300 . The split inductor 300 generally includes two quarter-coils 303 , 304 each having connective legs 301 , 302 and one semi-coil 305 . The general construction of the inductor coil is known in the art. The coils 303 , 304 , 305 are interfittingly engaged and aligned together with special mechanical contacts 306 . The quarter-coils 303 , 304 are connected through feet 301 and 302 , to the apparatus 100 constantly, and the semi-coil 305 is a movable, or removable, part, which is selectively connected to and disconnected from the respective ends of quarter-coils 303 , 304 during each working cycle. The semi-coil 305 can be articulated by using a variety of different mechanical means, such as air pressure cylinders, or manual bolts dependent on productivity requirements for loading and unloading operations. Design of the electrical contacts 306 on the respective interface ends of coils 303 , 304 , 305 is critically important for effective work of split inductor 300 . The most important criteria are geometry of electrical contact and average of pressure on contact surface. Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, to reach an optimal quality of electrical contact, the quarter-coils 303 , 304 are designed with contact inserts 307 , and 308 respectively. Referring to FIG. 7, a cylindrical insert 307 is shown, and referring to FIG. 8, a wedge insert 308 is shown. For industrial inductors that need to work at a high productivity rate during extended periods of time, the inductor can alternatively be provided with channels (not shown) for circulation of cooling water or cold air. EXAMPLE The following represents an example of a successful application of the apparatus 100 for Magnetic-Pulse Welding of a metallurgical joint between a mild steel end fitting (driveshaft yoke) with an aluminum tube grade Al 6061, T-6 (driveshaft tube). The components to be welded have the following characteristics. The annular locating ring (width “W”) on the cylindrical neck of the fitting (driveshaft yoke) was sized so that an interference fit exists between the outer surface of the locating ring and the inner surface of the tube ( driveshaft tube). The tube stop was located a distance “L” and it was sized so that, when a trimmed, the orthogonal tube end is placed fully in contact with tube stop, and a closed cavity between the inner surface of the tube and the outer surface of the fitting was created. The depth of the cavity was chosen experimentally for the said metals to be welded and depended on the predetermined initial angle “a” of a generally tapered bottom of the cavity. The initial distance “I” between the bottom of the cavity and the inner surface of the tube on the very end may be varied depending on critical parameters of the predetermined cavity shape “L”. The critical parameters of the predetermined cavity shape for the above pair of components in case of having standard Al tube OD1 3.5″ (or 88.9 mm+0.1 mm) wall thickness T=2.2 mm+/−0.1 mm and a pre-machined steel end fitting with the annular locating ring OD2=84.5+/−0.1 mm. For this pair of metals with above initial shape of components to be welded: L=12 mm+/−1 mm; and a=7°+/−0.5° . The width of the annular locating ring was generally W=10 mm. The initial distance between the bottom of the cavity and the inner surface of the tube on the very end was varied: I=0-0.5 mm. The radius R=2 mm; and the chamfer C 1 =2 mm. The chosen configuration of the apparatus 100 provided a bank of 12 capacitors in parallel, each having a capacitance of 12 uF for a total capacitance of 144 uF. The voltage from the discharger on a single-turn coil split inductor was 16,800 V, which was allowed to energize the split inductor with the short impulse of current about 500,000 amps. The pre-assembled components as described above were placed in position within the working zone of the split inductor 300 connected to the apparatus 100 . The second half of the split inductor was closed over the assembly and the impulse of current was discharged through the inductor. The current impulse was sufficient to cause a high velocity collapse of the outer tube onto the end fitting and cause material of the outer tube to penetrate the metal of the steel end fitting to create a full metallurgical joint at the molecular level. The resulting components were tested for mechanical strength and fatigue cycles and were proven to be within the limits acceptable for practical application for automotive industry. It can therefore be seen that present energy storage system provides the unique ability to generate a high frequency short duration impulse for superior welding quality. The storage system further provides the ability to selectively disconnect capacitors to control voltage, frequency and duration of the impulse. For these reasons, the instant invention is believed to represent a significant advancement in the art which has substantial commercial merit. While there is shown and described herein certain specific structure embodying the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the art that various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept and that the same is not limited to the particular forms herein shown and described except insofar as indicated by the scope of the appended claims.

An energy storage system for use in a magnetic pulse welding and forming apparatus includes a bank of capacitors and a very-low inductance conductive bus system interconnecting the capacitors. The bus system provides the ability to generate a very high frequency, short duration impulse which is needed for welding. The bus system includes first, second and third flat bus panels disposed in closely spaced overlying relation. The second, or middle, bus panel is the “hot” bus and is electrically insulated from the first (lower) and third (upper) bus panels by sheets of electrically insulating material. The first and third bus panels are connected together cooperatively form a ground bus. The bus system overlies the upper ends of the capacitors wherein the second bus panel is electrically interconnected to the respective hot contacts of the capacitors, and further wherein the ground bus is electrically interconnected with the respective ground contacts of the plurality of capacitors. The energy storage system further includes an energy source connected to the capacitors, a discharge device, a charging control device, and a discharge control device for selectively initiating discharge of energy stored in the capacitors. The bus system further includes removable connector elements that are selectively removable for controlling the total number capacitors utilized in the energy storage bank.

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to semiconductor devices that include electrodes. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Semiconductor devices of particular interest include switching elements for controlling current flow between two main electrodes, with current control involving the application of a control signal between a control electrode and one of the main electrodes. Among such devices are power transistors, MOSFET's (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors), and IGBT's (insulated-gate bipolar transistors.) To couple a main electrode or a control electrode formed on the surface of a semiconductor element to an external circuit, such electrode is connected to an output terminal via a relatively wide, belt-shaped insulated band conductor affixed to the same support plate as the semiconductor element. An electrode and a band conductor can be connected together by an ordinary lead wire, and band conductor and an output terminal can be connected together either by attaching the output terminal directly to the band conductor, or by means of a lead wire. FIG. 2 shows a semiconductor device in which the semiconductor element forms an IGBT. In the case of FIG. 2, which does not use the present invention, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view, and (c) is a side view. The IGBT semiconductor element 1 is affixed to a metal support plate 2 by means of a collector electrode on the bottom of the semiconductor element. On the surface of the metal support plate 2, a band conductor 41 is affixed on an insulating layer 3, and a band conductor 42 is affixed on an insulating layer which is not visible. An emitter main electrode 11 on top of the semiconductor element 1 is connected to the band conductor 41 by lead wire 51, and a gate control electrode 12 is connected to the band conductor 42 by lead wire 52. One end of the band conductor 41 rises up to form a main emitter terminal 6. Moreover, on the support plate 2, first and second auxiliary terminals 71 and 72 are affixed on an insulating layer 31. The first auxiliary terminal 71 is connected to the band conductor 42 by a lead wire 53, thereby forming a gate terminal, and the second auxiliary terminal 72 is connected to the band conductor 41 by a lead wire 54, thereby forming an auxiliary emitter terminal. Motivated by recent demand for low-loss power switching elements, device operating resistance has been reduced by inclusion of a micro-pattern formed on the surface of a semiconductor element. As a further benefit of such inclusion, turn-on characteristics are enhanced. However, especially in cases of electric power handling, rapid turn-on is accompanied by a voltage surge, L·di/dt (where i stands for current, t for time, and L for the inductance of interconnections in the semiconductor device), and a voltage surge exceeding the rated voltage of an element may result in damage to the element. Such damage may also occur upon turn-off when, due to improved turn-off characteristics, di/dt is large in magnitude. FIG. 3 shows an equivalent circuit for the semiconductor device of FIG. 2, where respective parts are numbered as in FIG. 2. When a positive voltage is applied to the gate terminal 71 and a negative voltage to the auxiliary emitter terminal 72, the IGBT element 1 is turned on, and the collector current 21 is proportional to the voltage between terminals 71 and 72. However, if the response speed of element 1 is too fast, the collector current 21 rises excessively. As a result, the voltage surge produced as the product of di/dt and the main-electrode interconnection inductance 22 becomes excessive. To prevent this, a resistor is connected in series to a gate terminal g, so that rise of a voltage between the gate electrode 12 and the emitter electrode 11 of element 1 is limited by a time constant which depends on the inherent capacitances 23 and 24 between the resistor and the element. This arrangement prevents the collector current from changing excessively upon start-up and shutdown. However, there are drawbacks in that a voltage signal reaching the gate is delayed, and in that the emitter voltage required to turn on a collector current 21 is large. Moreover, upon shutdown, the gate delay is long also, and the emitter voltage drop large. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A semiconductor (switching) device is provided with self-induced protection against surges (during switching). A preferred device includes conductor means having an inductance which produces an electromotive voltage during turn-on and turn-off, and terminal means which are disposed such that a portion of such voltage is applied in opposition to a control signal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 shows an IGBT according to a preferred first embodiment of the present invention--in top view (a), front view (b), and side view (c); FIG. 2 shows an IGBT as used in a conventional semiconductor device--in top view (a), front view (b), and side view (c); FIG. 3 is an equivalent circuit diagram for the IGBT of FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is an equivalent circuit diagram for the IGBT of FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is an equivalent circuit diagram for one phase of a three-phase inverter circuit; FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the package structure for the semiconductor device shown in the equivalent circuit diagram of FIG. 5; FIGS. 7(a-c) are enlarged detail drawings of a main emitter terminal; and FIG. 8 is an illustration of a preferred further embodiment. Some frequently used designations are as follows: 1--IGBT semiconductor element, 11--Emitter electrode, 12--Gate electrode, 41, 42--Band conductors, 51, 52, 53, 54--Lead wires, 6--Main emitter terminal, 71--Gate terminal, 72--Auxiliary emitter terminal. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS It is an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor device which is protected against damage due to voltage surges caused by the internal wiring upon start-up or shutdown in cases where a switching element is included which has a fast turn-on/turn-off response. Simultaneously, this invention prevents excessive time delay at start-up or shutdown. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a rapid rise or fall of a control voltage is suppressed, and an excessive voltage surge is prevented by an opposing electromotive voltage, generated by main-electrode interconnections upon turn-on or turn-off; such opposing voltage is produced when a main terminal is located close to an auxiliary terminal. In a specific preferred embodiment, a semiconductor element affixed to a support plate has a control electrode connected to a first auxiliary terminal, and a main electrode connected both to a main terminal and to a second auxiliary terminal. The terminals rise vertically from the support plate and have wire connections to respective electrodes. The wire connection to the second auxiliary terminal is connected at a wire terminal located on the main terminal and near the base of the main terminal. This wire connection controls the main current by application of a voltage between the first and second auxiliary terminals. An electromotive voltage, generated by the main current and the inductance of the interconnection to the main electrode, is applied between the first and second auxiliary terminals, thereby influencing and opposing the control voltage between the first and second auxiliary terminals. Thus, any voltage surge due to the inductance of the interconnection and a change in the main current is suppressed. FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the invention in the form of an IGBT, where respective parts are numbered as in FIG. 2. The IGBT semiconductor element 1 is affixed, with a collector electrode beneath, to the metal support plate 2 The emitter electrode 11 is connected to the band conductor 41 by a lead wire 51. The gate electrode 12 is connected to the band conductor 42 by the lead wire 52, similar to FIG. 2. Also, as in FIG. 2, terminal 71 rises from the insulating layer 31 on support plate 2 and is connected to band conductor 42 by lead wire 53, and the auxiliary emitter terminal 72 is connected to band conductor 41 by lead wire 54. However, unlike FIG. 2, the main emitter terminal 6 rises from an end of the band conductor 41 near a connection point with the lead wire 54. A corresponding equivalent circuit is shown in FIG. 4 where respective parts are numbered as in FIG. 3. But, now the connection point of the auxiliary emitter terminal 72 with the IGBT element 1 is on the interconnection inductance 22 stemming from lead wire 51 and band conductor 41. As a result, an opposing electromotive voltage--due to the collector current 21 and a main-electrode interconnection inductance 22 of more than 20 nH--reacts on the voltage applied between the "g"-terminal 71 and the "e"-terminal 72 to reduce the rate of increase of the voltage between the gate electrode 12 and the emitter electrode 11 of element 1. Even if a voltage with a fast rate of increase is applied between "g". and "e" terminals 71 and 72, the voltage between the gate and emitter electrodes 12 and 11 of the element rises more slowly, as its rate of change is diminished by an opposing electromotive voltage generated by the interconnection inductance 22 and the collector current 21. Proportionately, the rate of increase of the collector current 21 is also diminished. And similarly, a corresponding effect counteracts a rapid voltage decrease between electrodes 11 and 12, thus preventing a rapid decrease in the collector current 21. A preferred further embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 5 through 8. FIG. 5 shows an equivalent circuit of one phase of a three-phase inverter circuit. When IGBT elements 120 and 121 are packaged in a container, equivalent inductances 122 through 125 arise. The electrodes of the IGBT elements 120 and 121 are connected at parts 126 through 131. Parts 132 and 133 are gate terminals, parts 134 and 135 are auxiliary emitter terminals (this representing the conventional case in which auxiliary emitter terminals are away from the semiconductor element), and parts 136 and 137 are output terminals in accordance with the present invention. The operation of this equivalent circuit can be understood as follows: Initially, a positive signal is applied to the gate terminal 132 of the upper element 120, and a negative signal is applied to the auxiliary emitter terminal 134. An opposing electromotive voltage now arises from a main-circuit current 138 and the inductance 123--which, however, does not act on the region between the gate terminal 132 and the auxiliary emitter terminal 134. As a result, the main-circuit current 138 rises rapidly in proportion with the signal at the gate electrode. At this time, the lower element 121 is in an off state, and a diode 139, which has been passing a return current 140, rapidly goes to an off state. As a result, a current surge is generated at the collector of element 121. At this point, element 121 may misfire because of a parasitic capacitance C ge between the gate and the emitter, and a rapid voltage increase may lead to a short circuit between the upper and lower arms. In this case, if the auxiliary emitter terminal is removed from position 136, the opposing electromotive voltage resulting from the main-circuit current 138 and the inductance 123 will reduce the rate of increase of the signal between the gate and the emitter, thereby slowing down the rise of the main-circuit current and reducing the likelihood of a voltage surge. Upon turn-off, a reverse process takes place, allowing the main-circuit current to diminish more slowly, and reducing the likelihood of an over-voltage. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view, showing a package structure of a semiconductor device as represented by the equivalent circuit of FIG. 5. In FIG. 6, the IGBT elements 120 and 121, and a diode element 139 are affixed to a metal supporting plate 102. A current flows through the circuit and on to an external circuit through the main terminals 126, 131, 141 on a package component 103, and through the auxiliary terminals 132, 133, 136, 137. Part 101 is a base for attachment of the metal supporting plate 102. FIG. 7 shows alternative main emitter terminals 131 in further detail. By connecting a wire to an auxiliary emitter terminal, e.g. per FIG. 1, and further by changing the shape of a main emitter terminal, e.g. per FIG. 7, interconnection inductance can be optimized. A preferred further embodiment utilizing the inductance of a conductive pattern is shown in FIG. 8. Parts 155 and 156 are IGBT elements, and 157 and 158 designate diode elements. Main currents 181 and 182 flow through a conductive pattern formed on a circuit constituting component 152, and flow to main terminals at positions 183 and 184. The output position of auxiliary terminals 185 and 186 should be in the vicinity of the main terminals 183 and 184 that utilize the inductance of the conductive pattern. While the embodiments described above include IGBT's, it is clear that other types of switching elements can be similarly protected against excessive surges.

To provide for surge protection in fast-acting semiconductor devices, e.g., power transistors, MOSFET's, and IGBT's a device can be designed to produce a self-induced electromotive voltage which counteracts a surge. To this end, a preferred arrangement of electrical terminals is disclosed, as well as preferred shapes of such terminals.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/736,895 filed Nov. 16, 2005, which is incorporated herein by reference and is a continuation in part of patent application Ser. No. 11/377,839 filed Mar. 16, 2006. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] This invention relates to the repair of boiler tubes. More specifically, it relates to a system for removing heat transfer fins from a section of boiler tube and for preparing the tube end to facilitate the repair of the boiler tube. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Steam-generating boilers are generally large structures containing numerous boiler tubes, usually made of steel, that are in thermal contact with a burning fuel, such as coal. The burning fuel heats water circulating through the boiler tubes. The heated water, or more usually the resulting steam, is used to drive turbines for generation of electricity or other purposes. In order to facilitate thermal transfer to the water in a boiler tube, heat transfer fins are placed around the boiler tube. They are typically brazed or welded to the boiler tube by high frequency welding. Because of deterioration due to corrosion and the like, boiler tubes may require replacement. Ordinarily repair of a damaged boiler tube involves cutting and removal of the damaged section of the tube and replacement with a new section. The section of boiler tube to be replaced is generally cut out using a power saw or cutting torch. However, heat transfer fins on the boiler tube must first be removed to gain access to the boiler tube. Removal of the heat transfer fins from the boiler tube has, before the present invention, been done with portable power tools such as a grinding tool having a rotary abrasive wheel or with air chisels. These techniques are at best time consuming. [0004] In addition, after removal of the damaged section of boiler tube, it may be necessary to remove heat transfer fins at or near the end of the remaining tube ends and to prepare the tube ends for welding to a new section of boiler tube. Proper preparation of the exposed tube ends requires beveling of the exposed tube ends for a good weld. More specifically, the exposed tube ends should have a frustoconical bevel to facilitate a good weld. It is highly desirable that this be done as quickly as possible. [0005] It is, therefor, an object of the present invention to remove heat transfer fins from boiler tubes, more quickly and efficiently, and at the same time to bevel the exposed tube ends. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] The present invention is a system for breaking or cutting the bonds holding a heat transfer fin base to a boiler tube and for concurrently beveling the exposed end of the boiler tube. It includes a first rotary milling head that has a cutting tip that traverses a circular path slightly larger than the outer diameter of the boiler tube. The cutting tip extends between adjacent windings of the heat transfer fin base. As the first rotary milling head is rotated, the cutting tip cuts or breaks the bonds of the heat transfer fin base by exerting forces both in the direction of rotation of the first rotary milling head and in the direction toward the first rotary milling head. It also includes a second rotary milling head that bevel the exposed end of the boiler tube. The rotary milling heads are guided and stabilized by a mandrel that fits on the inside of the boiler tube. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0007] These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood by reading the following detailed description, taken together with the drawings wherein preferred embodiments as shown as follows: [0008] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a heat transfer base as it is wound around a boiler tube. [0009] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the first rotary milling head of the present invention. [0010] FIG. 3 is a diagram of another view of the first rotary milling head of the present invention. [0011] FIG. 4 is a diagram of the first rotary milling head of the present invention with a pneumatic means of rotation. [0012] FIG. 5 is a diagram of the first rotary milling head of the present invention with a manual means of rotation. [0013] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the second rotary milling head of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0014] FIG. 1 shows a boiler tube 2 with inner diameter 3 , an outer diameter 4 and a circumference 5 . Heat transfer fins 6 are attached to a heat transfer fin base 7 that is wound around the tube 2 in a corkscrew fashion. The base 7 is then bonded to the boiler tube, typically by brazing or welding. Thus, one winding 8 of the base 7 is adjacent to another winding 9 of the base 7 . [0015] The present invention includes a system for removing the heat transfer fins from the boiler tube 2 by cutting or breaking the bonds holding the heat transfer fin base 7 to the boiler tube 2 . As shown in FIG. 2 and 3 , a preferred embodiment of the first rotary milling head 30 of the present invention includes a first milling head base 32 rotatable around a center of rotation 33 extending through a first side 34 and a second side 35 with the first side 34 adapted to be connected to a second rotary milling head described below. This embodiment has three holes 37 extending through the first side 34 and the second side 35 to allow it to be attached to the second rotary milling head. [0016] A cutting tool 40 has a cutting end 41 and a mounting end 42 with the mounting end 42 attached to the second side 35 of the first milling head base 32 . The cutting end 41 of the cutting tool 40 is attached to a cutting tip 43 that comprises an upper cutting surface 44 and a lower cutting surface 45 that intersect at a cutting angle 46 . The cutting tip 43 is oriented to move in the direction of rotation of the first milling head base 32 . [0017] The mounting end 42 of the cutting tool 40 is attached to the second side 35 of the first milling head base 32 a distance from the center of rotation 33 of the first milling head base 32 such that the cutting tip 43 traverse a circular path whose diameter 47 is slightly larger than the outside diameter 4 of a boiler tube 2 when the first milling head base 32 is rotated. The first milling head base 32 also has a hole 49 of diameter 47 , which is slightly larger than the outside diameter 4 of a boiler tube 2 , extending through the first milling head base 32 from the first side 34 through the second side 35 . It is to be understood that both the means for attaching mounting end 42 of the cutting tool 40 to the second side 35 of the first milling head base 32 and the means for attaching the cutting end 41 of the cutting tool 40 to the cutting tip 43 include manufacturing cutting tip 43 , the cutting tool 40 , and the first milling head base 32 out of one piece of metal, as well as other means known to those skilled in the art. [0018] Also, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5 , in operation, another preferred embodiment of the present invention, has a cutting tip 43 that extends between adjacent windings 8 , 9 of the heat transfer fin base 7 . The bond of the base 7 to the boiler tube 2 in one of the windings 8 , 9 is cut or broken by forces exerted by the cutting tip 43 both in the direction of rotation of the first milling head base 32 and in the direction toward the first milling head base 32 as the cutting tool 40 is rotated around the boiler tube 2 . In this preferred embodiment, the cutting angle 46 formed by the upper cutting surface 44 and the lower cutting surface 45 of the cutting tip 43 is chosen based on the spacing of the rows 8 , 9 of the heat transfer fin base 7 . The cutting tip 43 may be constructed of S 7 steel or other steels known to those skilled in the art. [0019] Further, as shown in FIG. 5 , in operation, the cutting tool 40 is rotated around the boiler tube 2 and the cutting tip 43 breaks or cuts the bond of the heat transfer fin base 7 to the boiler tube 2 . The cutting tool 40 can be rotated manually as shown in FIG. 5 or through the use of other means of rotation, including an electric or pneumatic power tool. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cutting angle 46 is such that it causes the cutting tip 43 to advance or self-feed as the cutting tool 40 is rotated around the boiler tube 2 . In another embodiment, gravity may be utilized to cause such an advance. [0020] In another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4 , a power tool 10 is used to rotate the rotary milling head 30 . The power tool 10 also has a means to guide and stabilize the first rotary milling head 30 , which in this embodiment is a mandrel 14 , but which may be other means known to those skilled in the art. The mandrel 14 fits on the inside of the boiler tube 2 to guide and stabilize the first rotary milling head 30 during operation. The mandrel 14 has three clamp fingers 16 to lock against the inner diameter 3 of the boiler tube. The clamp fingers 16 are extended by turning the nut 18 on an extension of the mandrel 20 extending out of the back of the power tool 10 . In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the cutting tip 43 can be advanced by a feed mechanism, not here shown but known to those skilled in the art, on the extension of the mandrel 20 . [0021] A second rotary milling head 100 of one embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 6 . The second rotary milling head has a first side 110 and a second side 111 and is used to form a frustoconical bevel on the end of the tube 2 . The second rotary milling head 100 has a plurality of openings 101 on the second side 111 to receive cutting blades 102 . Each cutting blade 102 has a securing portion 103 that fits into opening 101 and is secured therein by securing element 104 . The first side 110 of the second rotary milling head 100 is mounted coaxially with the mandrel 14 to the output shaft of the power tool 10 . There are a number of different methods known to those skilled in the art for mounting the first side 110 of the second rotary milling head to 100 to the output shaft of the power tool 10 , including tool chucks. [0022] In this embodiment, the first side 34 of the first rotary milling head 12 is then attached to the second side 111 of the second rotary milling head 100 by any one of a number of means known to those skilled in the art including using bolts from the second rotary milling head extending through the holes 37 in the first rotary milling head 12 so that the tube 2 extends through the hole 49 in the first milling head base 32 . While the first rotary milling head 12 is removing the heat transfer fin 6 , the second rotary milling head 100 is concurrently beveling the end of tube 2 . The desired length of fin removal is determined by the length of the first cutting head 12 . [0023] The cutting blades 102 in the second rotary milling head 100 have cutting edges 105 that are angled at an approximate angle for producing the desired frustoconical bevel on the end of tube 2 . The first rotary milling head 12 and second rotary milling head 100 are advanced or retracted by the feed mechanism of the present invention. [0024] While the principles of the invention have been described herein, it is to be understood by those skilled in the art that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation as to the scope of the invention. Other embodiments are contemplated within the scope of the present invention in addition to the exemplary embodiments shown and described herein. Modifications and substitutions by one of ordinary skill in the art are considered to be within the scope of the present invention, which is not to be limited except by the following claims.

A system is disclosed to use a first rotary milling head to break or cut the bond of a heat transfer fin base to a boiler tube, thereby removing the heat transfer fins from the boiler tube, and a second rotary milling head to bevel the exposed end of the boiler tube, thereby facilitating the more efficient repair of the boiler tube.

RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a divisional application of, and claims priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/103,947, entitled “Composition of Epoxy Resin, Aliphatic Amine Curing Agent and Halogenated Amine,” filed Apr. 12, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,501,461, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application, Ser. No. 60/561,407, entitled “Characterization of Cure Kinetics and Physical Properties of a High Performance, Glass Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Prepreg and a Novel Fluorine-Modified, Amine-Cured Commercial Epoxy,” filed on Apr. 12, 2004, both of which have Bilyeu et al., listed as the inventors, the entire content of both being hereby incorporated by reference. BACKGROUND The present invention pertains to halogen-containing cured or self-cured compositions and their methods of preparation. More specifically, a halogen-containing epoxy compositions can be formed by mixing an epoxy resin, an amine curing agent and a halogenated amine. The resultant halogen-containing compositions have improved tribological properties, namely reduction of friction and wear. Epoxy resins represent an important class of polymers primarily due to their versatility. High degree of crosslinking and the nature of the interchain bonds give cured epoxies many desirable characteristics. These characteristics include excellent adhesion to many substrates, high strength, chemical resistance, fatigue resistance, corrosion resistance and electrical resistance. In addition, processing is simplified by the low shrinkage and lack of volatile by-products. Properties of the cured epoxies such as mechanical strength or electrical resistance can be optimized by appropriate selection of the epoxy monomer and the curing agent or catalyst. Because of the ease of application and desirable properties, epoxies are widely used for coatings, corrosion protectants, electronic encapsulants, fiber optic sheathing, flooring and adhesives. Epoxy compounds were first synthesized as early as 1891; however, commercialization did not come about for the next 50 years. Two independent researchers, developing separate applications, synthesized the first commercial epoxy resins. Pierre Castan of de Trey Frères in Switzerland, while developing dental restoration materials, discovered the reaction of diglycidylether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) with phthalic anhydride. The patents were assigned to Ciba AG of Basel, Switzerland (now Ciba-Geigy) in 1942. At the same time, Sylvan Greenlee at DeVoe and Raynolds (later Celanese Chemical Company, and subsequently Hoechst-Celanese) in America, while developing surface coatings, discovered another DGEBA resin, which differed only in molecular weight. Greenlee's first of many patents was granted in 1948. These DGEBA resins and subsequent derivatives have, and continue to be, the largest product in the epoxy market, primarily in the surface coatings industry for which it was developed. The characteristics which Greenlee and Castan sought and found in DGEBA, including adhesion, hardness, inertness and thermal resistance, are responsible for its popularity. Many other monomers and polymers have been subsequently epoxidized to increase the desirable properties of DGEBA and to develop special properties such as high electrical resistance and thermal stability. Epoxies are characterized by the presence of one or more epoxide functional groups on or in the polymer chain. The epoxide group is planar, with a three-membered ring composed of one oxygen and two carbon atoms. Due to the high ring strain, similar to that in cyclopropane, the group is very reactive. The ring-opening polymerization and crosslinking in epoxy resins can be of two general types, catalyzed homopolymerization or bridging reactions which incorporate a coreactive crosslinking agent into the network. Homopolymerization, or reactions between epoxy chains, involve elimination reactions on the oxygen atom of the epoxide group using acid or base catalysts, often activated by radiation. The incorporation, or bridging reaction, involves nucleophilic attack on one of the epoxide carbons by an amine or an anhydride compound. An obvious and important difference in the result of the two different curing methods is that in homopolymerization the network is only composed of the cross-linked epoxy monomers, whereas in the bridging reaction the network is composed of a copolymer of both epoxy monomers and a curing agent. Therefore in a bridging reaction the network properties are a function of two components, which allows modifications to be incorporated in either component. Epoxies and curing agents have been chemically modified for a variety of special purposes, with recent attention given to the addition of fluorine functional groups to increase electrical resistance and dielectric constant as well as for improved tribological properties, namely reduction of friction and wear. While significant work has been done in fluorinating epoxy resins or epoxidizing fluoropolymers, the costs are typically prohibitively high. Researchers continue to develop economically viable epoxy with the friction-reducing fluoro groups bonded into a wear-resistant epoxy network. A preferred embodiment of the current invention utilizes a commercially available fluorinated amine as a curing agent. The physical properties of uncured epoxy resins vary widely. As with any polymer, the viscosity of the monomers or prepolymers depend on both the molecular weight and the molecular structure. A simple example is DGEBA, as shown in FIG. 1 . Higher linear molecular weight monomers, i.e. those with higher values of n, exhibit higher viscosities. In addition, molecular structure and types of bonds will greatly affect the viscosity of the resin. Since epoxies are almost always used with catalysts, crosslinking agents, accelerators and various other additives, viscosity effects like plasticization should be considered. Epoxy curing involves two phenomena, polymerization and crosslinking. Although each phenomenon is complicated and the two are in competition during the overall curing process, generalizations and simplified models can be made. During the initial stage of curing, polymerization is favored because in the case of curing agents, primary reactions are more reactive than secondary ones. Also, the terminal epoxide reactivity already mentioned plays a role. In most cases the polymerization is an addition reaction, and thus follows a rate equation for addition polymerization described later. The molecular weight of the growing polymer increases until the molecular weight approaches infinity, so that all monomers are connected by at least one bond and a network is formed. At this point, called the gel point, the polymer possesses high molecular weight and few crosslinks, and thus behaves much like a very high molecular weight thermoplastic. From the gel point, crosslinking becomes the dominant phenomenon due to the lack of free monomers. Crosslinking involves interchain bonding of intrachain reactive sites, either intrachain epoxides or secondary sites on coreactive agents. Although crosslinking is a different phenomenon, the rate of chemical conversion of the epoxide groups is unaffected in most epoxy systems. The crosslinking reactions produce a growing network and reduce the mobility of the chain segments. The growth of the network results in mechanical and thermal stabilization of the structure, resulting in increasing modulus and glass transition. At a certain high degree of crosslinking, the increasing molecular weight of the structure exceeds the molecular weight which is thermodynamically stable as a rubber, and the material transforms into a glass, a process called vitrification. In a glassy state, the mobility of reactants is severely restricted, reducing the rate of the reaction to a diffusion-controlled reaction, which is much slower. Further conversion is still possible, however, the rate is much slower since the process relies on diffusion rather than mobility to bring the reactants together. When the crosslinking reaction exhausts all the reactive sites available, the resulting structure is hard (high modulus) and insoluble due to a high degree of interchain bonding. The system consists of a DGEBA epoxy, as shown in FIG. 1 , is mixed with an aliphatic amine curing agent, as shown in FIG. 2 . This system is similar to many of the common commercial epoxy-based adhesives in which the epoxy resin is mixed with an amine curing agent by volume. This system was characterized after mixing the two components per the manufacturer's recommendations, but was also used in a fluorination modification procedures. Specific amounts of a fluorinated amine curing agent were substituted for some of the aliphatic amine. Previous studies conducted by W. Brostow, et al., Mat. Res. Innov., 6 (2002) 7, on thermoplastic blends with specialized components demonstrated that small amounts of fluoropolymer additives produced large effects on tribological properties of the epoxy. Therefore, small amounts of fluorinated amines were substituted. The chemical structures of the fluorinated amines used are provided in FIG. 3 . The fluorination described herein provides an economically feasible method of reducing the friction on the cured epoxy surface. Most previous attempts have focused on synthetically fluorinating the epoxy chain, which is both complicated and costly. SUMMARY The present invention pertains to halogen-containing compositions and their methods of preparation. More specifically, a functional group, such as a halogen, is incorporated into the epoxy coating using a functionalized amine curing agent in small amounts. Functionalized amine curing agents are easier and cheaper to produce from small amine precursors when compared to the production of functionalized bulky epoxy resins. In the current invention, functionalized amine curing agents are incorporated into a cured epoxy network. Since smaller amines will migrate faster than larger amines, the migration of functionalized molecules before the composition is cured can be advantageous in stratified coatings. Many functional groups can affect the reactivity of the curing reaction due to electronegativity effects. However, by using small amounts of functionalized amines with a large amount of non-functionalized agent, the electronegativity effect can be minimized. One aspect of the current invention is a halogen-containing cured or self-cured epoxy composition that is made from at least three components. The three components are an epoxy resin; an aliphatic amine curing agent; and a halogenated amine. The pre-cured volume ratio of the halogen-containing epoxy composition is about 2 parts of the epoxy resin to about 1 part of a combined volume of: the aliphatic amine curing agent and the halogenated amine. Additionally, the combined volume of the aliphatic amine curing agent and the halogenated amine is about 1% to about 25% volume the halogenated amine. The composition can further comprise a reinforcement fiber of glass, carbon, ceramic or polymer. In a preferred embodiment, the epoxy resin is selected from the following: a diglycidylether of bisphenol-A (“DGEBA”) epoxy resin; a diglycidylether of bisphenol-F (“DGEBF”) epoxy resin; an epoxy novolac resin, or an epoxy glycol resin. However, it will be understood that the specific epoxy resins given as examples have been chosen for purposes of illustration only and not be construed as limiting the invention. Also illustrative is the aliphatic amine curing agent that can be utilized. For example, aliphatic amine curing agents such as: H 2 N—[CH 2 ] n —NH 2 , and n as an integer having a value of 1 to 10; polymethylene diamine; aniline, phenylamine; 4,4′-diaminodiphenylsulfone; or H 2 N—[—(CH 2 ) n′ NH—] n″ —(CH 2 ) n′″ —NH 2 polyamine, and n′, n″ and n′″ are the same or different and are integers having a value of 1-10, which are suitable for use in the current invention. Additionally, examples of some of the fluorinated amines useful for this invention are as follows: 4-fluoroaniline; 2,6-difluoroaniline; 3,4-difluoroaniline; 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)aniline; or 3-aminobenzotrifluoride. Some fluorinated amines (e.g. 2-fluoroaniline; 3,5-difluoroaniline; or 3-fluoroaniline) can reduced wear rate of the cured epoxy. Reinforcement fibers (e.g. glass, carbon, or ceramic) can also be used in the fluorine containing epoxy composition. A second aspect of the current invention is a method of making a fluorine containing epoxy compositions. The method mixes an epoxy resin, an aliphatic amine curing agent and a fluorinated amine together in a volume ratio of about 2:1. Thus, the pre-cure volume ratio uses about 2 parts of the epoxy resin and mixes it with about 1 part of a combined volume of the aliphatic amine curing agent and the fluorinated amine. Furthermore, the fluorinated amine comprises about 1% to about 25% volume of the combined mixed volume of the aliphatic amine curing agent and the fluorinated amine. Preferred epoxy resins such as diglycidylether of bisphenol-A (“DGEBA”), diglycidylether of bisphenol-F (“DGEBF”), epoxy novolac resin, or an epoxy glycol resin were noted above. Additionally, preferred aliphatic amine curing agents and preferred fluorinated amines are used as non-limiting examples (e.g. H 2 N—[CH 2 ] n —NH 2 , and n is an integer having a value of 1 to 10; polymethylene diamine; aniline, phenylamine; 4,4′-diaminodiphenylsulfone; or H 2 N—[—(CH 2 ) n′ NH—] n″ —(CH 2 ) n′″ —NH 2 polyamine and n′, n″ and n′″ are the same or different and are integers having a value of 1 to 10; 4-fluoroaniline; 2,6-difluoroaniline; 3,4-difluoroaniline; 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)aniline; or 3-aminobenzotrifluoride; 2-fluoroaniline; 3,5-difluoroaniline; or 3-fluoroaniline). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The following drawings form part of the present specification and are included to further demonstrate certain aspects of the present invention. The invention may be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings in combination with the detailed description of specific embodiments presented herein. FIG. 1 shows Diglycidylether of Bisphenol-A (DGEBA); FIG. 2 shows a difunctional aliphatic amine curing agent; FIG. 3 shows chemical structures of the eight fluorinated amines used with the aliphatic amine to cure the DGEBA epoxy; FIG. 4 shows a series of Tg's for DGEBA at 140° C. at various times generated with a single sample on a single high speed DSC program. FIG. 5 shows the results of tribological wear testing for various fluorinated amines; the probe depth as a function of distance across the 100 mm test area (0-100 mm is first pass, 101-200 is second pass on same area) is shown for each compound; FIG. 6 shows a DMA frequency scan of unmodified epoxy showing storage and loss moduli for various frequencies, as well as the corresponding tan δs; FIG. 7 shows activation energy of unmodified epoxy calculated from frequency dependence of tan δ; FIG. 8 shows DMA frequency scan of 2-fluoroaniline-cured epoxy showing storage and loss moduli for various frequencies, as well as the corresponding tan δs; FIG. 9 shows activation energy of 2-fluoroaniline-cured epoxy calculated from frequency dependence of tan δ; FIG. 10 shows the DMA frequency scan of 3-fluoroaniline-cured epoxy showing storage and loss moduli for various frequencies, as well as the corresponding tan δs; FIG. 11 shows activation energy of 3-fluoroaniline-cured epoxy calculated from frequency dependence of tan δ; FIG. 12 shows DMA frequency scan of 3,5 difluoroaniline-cured epoxy showing storage and loss moduli for various frequencies, as well as the corresponding tan δs; and FIG. 13 shows activation energy of 3,5 difluoroaniline-cured epoxy calculated from frequency dependence of tan δ. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The addition of chemically modified halogen functional groups to epoxies and curing agents have been used to increase electrical resistance and dielectric constant as well as for improved mechanical properties, namely reduction of friction and wear. However, the costs of halogenating epoxy resins or epoxidizing halopolymers are typically prohibitively high. In a preferred embodiment, an economically viable epoxy having friction-reducing fluoro groups bonded into a wear-resistant epoxy network was achieved using a commercially available fluorinated amine curing agent. The compositions and methods are described below. A commercial epoxy system manufactured by System3 was utilized as the example epoxy system. The System3 system is a DGEBA epoxy resin having a separate aliphatic amine. An epoxy composition is formed when the System3 epoxy resin is mixed with the curing agent. In a preferred embodiment for making a halogen-containing epoxy, the System 3 epoxy resin was combined with a mixture of aliphatic amine and various halogenated amines, including: 2-fluoroaniline; 3-fluoroaniline; 4-fluoroaniline; 3,5-difluoroaniline; 3,4-difluoroaniline; 2,6-difluoroaniline; 3-aminobenzotrifluoride; and 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)aniline. The halogenated amines were obtained from Fluorochem USA (West Columbia, S.C.). I Reaction Rates, Molecular Weight, Segment Mobility and Crosslink Density of Fluorine-containing Compositions: Due to the high potential energy of the ring-strained epoxide groups in the uncured resin, there is a large Gibbs function difference associated with the ring-opening reaction. Since the Gibbs function change (ΔG) is expressed in the form of both enthalpic (ΔH) and entropic (ΔS) changes, the reaction is called exergenic. Although structural changes will result in a significant entropy change, the enthalpy change is the dominant effect. The change in enthalpy results in the evolution of thermal energy or heat, making this an exothermic reaction. Since the opening of the epoxide rings have much higher energy (and enthalpy) differences than the other reactions, the amount of heat evolved and the rate of evolution will correspond to the number of epoxide groups reacting and the rate of the reaction. The current standard technique for quantitative evaluation is the measurement of the change in enthalpy using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (“DSC”), since the heat flow during a constant pressure reaction is defined as the change in enthalpy of the system. The power-compensation DSC, employs separate heating elements and thermocouples for sample and reference, applying separate currents to the heaters to maintain a null difference in the temperature. DSC instruments generate plots of heat flow as a function of the programmed temperature. The power-compensation DSC maintains the programmed temperature ramp in both sample and reference, ensuring temperature control in the sample. This is important in temperature sensitive reactions, including thermoset curing. To determine the extent of a curing reaction or the degree of cure, α, the change in enthalpy is compared to the total change in enthalpy of the complete reaction. Generally the total change in enthalpy is determined using a slow temperature ramp from a low temperature to a temperature just below the onset of thermal degradation. The reaction enthalpic changes are measured during isothermal measurements. The rate of the curing reaction can be determined from the isothermal data used to determine the degree of cure. Since the enthalpy change is plotted as a function of time, the rate of change in time, dH/dt will represent the rate of the reaction. Epoxy curing involves an increase in both linear molecular weight and crosslink density, both of which result in reduced chain segment mobility. Increasing the linear molecular weight or crosslink density of a polymer chain increases the position of the glass transition temperature, T g . Many thermosetting polymer systems exhibit a relationship between the T g and the degree of chemical conversion. Most epoxy-amine systems exhibit a linear relationship, which implies that the change in molecular structure with conversion is independent of the cure temperature. Such a T g shift, in many circumstances, gives better resolution of cure state than enthalpy changes, especially at high and low degrees of cure. The T g can be measured by a variety of techniques, each with certain advantages and disadvantages depending on the material and conditions. The T g also directly affects the ability of functional groups to migrate, such as the migration of the fluorine groups on the amines to the surface in this study. The most convenient, and generally most accurate, method for determining the T g of polymers is DSC. The T g is taken as the temperature at the inflection point (peak of derivative curve) of the baseline shift in heat flow, or as the temperature at the half height shift in baseline heat flow. The shift in baseline heat flow associated with the glass transition is a result of the difference in heat capacity between the rubber and the glass. Since this shift is an effect of the heat capacity change, resolution of the glass transition can be increased by calculating and plotting the constant pressure heat capacity, C p . The C p curve is calculated by comparing the heat flow (or differential power supplied), a baseline, and a reference material, usually sapphire, as described in an ASTM standard. In preferred embodiments, DSC measurements were performed on a Perkin-Elmer Pyris-1 operating on a Windows NT platform using liquid nitrogen as the coolant and helium (20 ml/min) as the purge gas on resin samples of 5 to 10 mg in crimped aluminum pans. Isothermal measurements were performed at 10 K intervals between 120 and 180° C. holding for an appropriate time (100 to 500 minutes). Temperature scans were performed from subambient (−100° C.) to 300° C. at 10 K/min. The Pyris-1 was burned out and calibrated for temperature with both indium and zinc standards and for enthalpy with the heat of fusion of indium at the beginning and monthly during the project. The sensitivity of the Pyris-1 is 35 μW with calorimetric precision of 0.1%. The temperature accuracy and precision is 0.1° C. High heating rate DSC experiments were performed on a Perkin-Elmer Diamond DSC operating on a Windows 2000 platform using liquid nitrogen as the coolant and helium (20 ml/min) as the purge gas on resin samples of 5 to 10 mg in crimped aluminum pans. Temperature scans were performed from subambient (−100° C.) to 300° C. at rates up to 500 K/min. The Diamond DSC was burned out and calibrated for temperature with both indium and zinc standards and for enthalpy with the heat of fusion of indium at the beginning and monthly during the project. The sensitivity of the Diamond DSC is 35 μW with calorimetric precision of 0.1%. The temperature accuracy and precision is 0.1° C. II Mechanical Behavior of Epoxies Epoxies undergo changes in mechanical behavior as a function of cure. In addition to the shift in T g , there are changes in the viscoelastic behavior due to both polymerization and crosslinking. The T g can be measured accurately using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The T g in DMA measurement is generally taken as the peak in tan δ. There is also a frequency dependence to the DMA signals. This frequency dependence is due to the viscoelastic nature of the polymer and can be used to determine the activation energy of the transition, namely how much energy is required to make the transition. Gelation refers to the point during the curing reaction where the molecular weight approaches the maximum, usually assumed to be infinite, meaning that all monomers are connected to the network by at least one chemical bond. While gelation is a microscopic effect, it produces macroscopic effects. Microscopic gelation refers to the definition of the gelation phenomenon, i.e. all monomers connected by at least one bond to the network. Since it occurs at a defined point in polymerization, it will occur at a specific degree of conversion. Microscopic gelation is difficult to measure since the measurable properties would be solubility and molecular weight. However, the consequence of exceeding the microscopic gel point, is macroscopic gelation, which is much easier to measure. The macroscopic gel point is a mechanical property and can be identified by common thermal analysis techniques, including in-situ testing. Beyond gelation, there is no increase in molecular weight, only an increase in crosslink density and a decrease in free chain segment length. Gelation also represents the end of functional group migration. Gelation does not significantly affect the chemical conversion or curing reaction, so it does not appear in DSC measurements. However, it does have a large influence on the mechanical properties of the polymer. Gelation affects the stiffness (modulus), adhesion and general processability of thermosets, so it is important from an industrial processing standpoint. Gelation appears in the complex modulus, tan δ and complex viscosity of DMA measurements; however, as with many thermal events, there is no unequivocal definition at which point the gelation occurs. Gillham, who first plotted gelation curves as part of overall time-temperature-transformation (TTT) diagrams defines it as the a peak in the tan δ of a DMA isotherm, which was also adopted as an ASTM standard. As described earlier, DMA transitions exhibit a frequency dependence. However, since gelation is an isoconversion event, it is frequency independent. The gel point is defined as the point where the tan δ becomes frequency independent. However, this method requires many measurements at different frequencies. The gel point can be defined in terms of viscosity since it represents the maximum viscosity. Vitrification is defined as the point at which the molecular weight or cross-link density of the curing polymer exceeds that which is thermodynamically stable as a rubber, and the material undergoes a transition from a rubber to a glass at which point the reaction dramatically slows due to the reduced mobility of the reactants. The vitrification point can be measured using DSC and DMA. Although vitrification is a thermal transition from a rubber to a glass and does appear in DSC measurements, DMA continues to be the most common method. Vitrification generally occurs when the increasing T g equals the cure temperature. DMA frequency scans were performed on a Perkin-Elmer Diamond DMA operating on a Windows 2000 platform using liquid nitrogen coolant and nitrogen (30 ml/min) purge gas on cured resin samples (2 mm×10 mm×10 mm). Temperature scans were performed from ambient to 300° C. These experiments were performed using steel flexural fixtures. The linear sensitivity of the Diamond DMA is 0.4 mm. The temperature accuracy is ±5° C. III Tribology Tribology, deals with the study and design of interactive surfaces in relative motion. In includes among others: friction, lubrication, scratch resistance and wear. Tribology is typically studied using materials in contact that are moved in a shear direction. Obviously, static friction would be force without motion and dynamic friction would be force producing motion. Tribological instruments typically consist of a monitored surface in the form of a skid or plate in contact with a stationary surface or object. Depending on the application, a skid in contact with a surface or a pin in contact with a movable disk may be used. A skid of the same or different material as the stationary surface may be pulled, and either the force necessary to produce initial movement or the force necessary to maintain motion is recorded. A pin on disk study typically uses a disk of the investigated material subject to rotational force while in contact with a pin of a certain geometry and material, which yields data on both friction and also wear or abrasion. Both skid and plate and pin on disk are common in tribological studies. Sliding wear, another tribological property, is quantified by the depth of a groove resulting from multiple scratching along the same trajectory. One system uses a diamond indenter to measure the scratch depth as a function of force applied. Tribological scratch testing was performed on a CSEM microscratch tester using CSEM software version 2.3. The indenter was a 200 micron radius diamond tipped Rockwell indenter. EXAMPLES The following examples are provided to further illustrate this invention and the manner in which it may be carried out. It will be understood, however, that the specific details given in the examples have been chosen for purposes of illustration only and not be construed as limiting the invention. Example 1 Sample Preparation: The present invention pertains to halogen-containing compositions and system methods for halogenating epoxy resins. More specifically, fluorine-containing epoxy compositions were formed by mixing an epoxy resin, an amine curing agent and a fluorinated amine. The resultant fluorine-containing compositions have improved tribological properties, namely reduction of friction and wear. DGEBA epoxy. In a preferred embodiment both control epoxies and a fluorine-containing epoxies were formed in order to compare specific properties of the cured resins. The most common epoxy resins are glycidyl ethers of alcohols or phenolics. Liquid epoxy resin is the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and represents greater than 75% of the resin used in industrial applications, and were therefore utilized as examples of unmodified liquid epoxy resins. The example of Bisphenol A was chosen for purposes of illustration only and not to be construed as limiting the invention to only this type of resin. The epoxy resin was a general purpose Bisphenol A type resin that was nonvolatile and are appropriate for cold or heat cured systems. The base compound or ingredient of the control composition was an epoxy resin, such as Dow D.E.R. 330 or 332, manufactured by Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich. The non-fluorine-containing compositions comprise about 2 parts of the epoxy resin Dow D.E.R. 330 and about 1 part aliphatic amine curing agent by volume, and the aliphatic amine curing agent was H 2 N—[CH 2 ] n —NH 2 , wherein n is an integer having in a value of at least 1. The fluorine-containing compositions substituted a fluorinated amine for part of the amine curing agent so that the total volume of commercial amine curing agent+fluorinated amine together was the same as the volume of the commercial agent alone which satisfied the 2:1 volume ratio. The ratios were varied from 1 vol % (99 vol % commercial) to 25 vol % (75% commercial) of the fluorinated amine. Due to the high viscosity of all components and the limited time for mixing, volumes were measured using measuring spoons. For example, for a 25% fluorinated mixture, 2 teaspoons of epoxy was mixed with ¾ teaspoon commercial curing agent and ¼ teaspoon fluorinated amine. In preferred embodiments, different fluorinated amines (Fluorochem USA, Oakwood Products, Inc., West Columbia, S.C. 29172) were utilized, for example: 2-fluoroaniline (CAS 348-54-9, cat #001430); 3-fluoroaniline (CAS 372-19-0, cat #001438); 4-fluoroaniline (CAS 37140-4, cat #001439); 3,5-difluoroaniline (CAS 372-39-4, cat #001690); 3,4-difluoroaniline (CAS 3863-11-4, cat #001459); 2,6-difluoroaniline (CAS 5509-65-9, cat #001458), 3-aminobenzotrifluoride (CAS 98-16-8, cat #001602); 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)aniline (CAS 328-74-5, cat #004997). Glass Transition Temperature Shift. The glass transition temperature shift as a function of time and temperature for both the commercial epoxy and amine system, as well as for the fluorinated amine mixture was determined by DSC. The series of glass transition temperatures at various curing times is shown in FIG. 4 . Tribology. The eight fluoroanilines described in above were used in conjunction with the aliphatic amine to cure the DGEBA epoxy and were evaluated for wear resistance and physical properties, as well as verification of cure state. The results of wear testing, shown in FIG. 5 , imply that the formulations with 2- and 3-fluoroamine and 3,5 difluoroaniline reduce the wear rate of the epoxy, namely the depth of the probe as a function of the number of passes was less than that of the unmodified epoxy. Since physical properties unrelated to the presence of fluorine groups, such as degree of cure and hardness, may also affect the wear properties, the storage moduli and frequency dependence of the tan δs of the formulations were measured and activation energies calculated to compare to the unmodified cured epoxy. The storage modulus of the unmodified epoxy at 1 Hz is 4.7E7 Pa, with the peak in tan δ occurring at 52° C., as shown in FIG. 6 . The corresponding frequency dependent activation energy is 317.8 kJ/mol, as shown in FIG. 7 . The storage modulus of the 2-fluoroaniline-cured epoxy at 1 Hz is 8.0E7 Pa, with the peak in tan δ occurring at 38° C., as shown in FIG. 8 . The corresponding frequency dependent activation energy is 224.2 kJ/mol, as shown in FIG. 9 . The storage modulus of the 3-fluoroaniline-cured epoxy at 1 Hz is 5.0E8 Pa, with the peak in tan δ occurring at 46° C., as shown in FIG. 10 . The corresponding frequency dependent activation energy is 370.1 kJ/mol, as shown in FIG. 11 . The storage modulus of the 3,5 difluoroaniline-cured epoxy at 1 Hz is 6.0E8 Pa, with the peak in tan δ occurring at 48° C., as shown in FIG. 12 . The corresponding frequency dependent activation energy is 381.6 kJ/mol, as shown in FIG. 13 . In the three formulations, the storage moduli increased, the T g s indicated by peak in tan δ decreased and the activation energies of the transitions changed. The storage modulus for the 2-fluoroaniline formulation increased by a small amount, while the other two increased by an order of magnitude. This is expected, since the incorporation of aromatic rings will make the network more rigid. The decrease in T g s and lower activation energies are likely due to the lower amine functionality, resulting in lower degree of crosslinking. Fluorinated compounds tend to phase separate in mixtures, many times migrating to the surface of the mixture due to Gibbs function considerations. This can be advantageous in the case of self-stratifying coatings, i.e. a small amount of fluorinated compound migrates to the surface of the bulk compound to form a coating. However, it can be a disadvantage if the goal of fluorination is to modify bulk properties, as in attempts to increase bulk electrical resistance or dielectric strength. The fluorinated aniline-cured epoxy systems were all tested by infrared scans across a cross sectional sample to test for phase separation. The distribution of fluorine groups was determined to be equivalent across the entire cross section, which means that there was no phase separation or migration of the fluorine functional groups. The most likely explanation for the lack of phase separation is that the viscosity increases and the network forms faster than the fluorinated anilines can migrate. Also, since the fluoroanilines are aromatic amines, with a highly electronegative fluorine group, the amine group will be much more reactive than the non-fluorinated aliphatic amine. The fluoroaniline should react quickly with the epoxy monomers, thus rapidly increase in molecular weight and quickly bond to the growing network through crosslinking. Example 2 DGEBF epoxy. In a second preferred embodiment both control epoxies and a fluorine-containing epoxies can be formed in order to compare specific properties of the cured resins. The epoxy resin should be a general purpose Bisphenol F type resin that is nonvolatile and are appropriate for cold or heat cured systems. The example of unmodified liquid epoxy resins of Bisphenol F is for the purpose of illustration only and not to be construed as limiting the invention. The base compound or ingredient of the control composition is an epoxy resin, such as Dow D.E.R. 354, manufactured by Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich. The non-fluorine-containing compositions should contain about 2 parts of the epoxy resin Dow D.E.R. 354 and about 1 part aliphatic amine curing agent by volume, and the aliphatic amine curing agent is H 2 N—[CH 2 ] n —NH 2 , wherein n is an integer having in a value of at least 1. However, other aliphatic amine curing agents could be utilized for example: polymethylene diamine; H 2 N—[—(CH 2 ) n′ NH—] n″ —(CH 2 ) n′″ —NH 2 polyamine; aniline, phenylamine, or 4,4′-diaminodiphenylsulfone, wherein n′, n″, n′″ are the same or different and are integers of at least 1. The fluorine-containing compositions can substitute a fluorinated amine for part of the amine curing agent so that the total volume of commercial amine curing agent+fluorinated amine together is about the same as the volume of the commercial agent alone which satisfied the approximate 2:1 volume ratio. The ratios can be varied from 1 vol % (99 vol % commercial) to 25 vol % (75% commercial) of the fluorinated amine. Due to the high viscosity of all components and the limited time for mixing, volumes can be measured using measuring spoons. For example, to do a 25% fluorinated mixture, 2 teaspoons of epoxy can be mixed with ¾ teaspoon commercial curing agent and ¼ teaspoon fluorinated amine. In preferred embodiments, different fluorinated amines (Fluorochem USA, Oakwood Products, Inc., West Columbia, S.C. 29172) can be utilized, for example: 2-fluoroaniline (CAS 348-54-9, cat #001430); 3-fluoroaniline (CAS 372-19-0, cat #001438); 4-fluoroaniline (CAS 37140-4, cat #001439); 3,5-difluoroaniline (CAS 372-394, cat #001690); 3,4-difluoroaniline (CAS 3863-11-4, cat #001459); 2,6-difluoroaniline (CAS 5509-65-9, cat #001458), 3-aminobenzotrifluoride (CAS 98-16-8, cat #001602); 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)aniline (CAS 328-74-5, cat #004997) or a combination thereof. Example 3 novolac Epoxy. In a third preferred embodiment both control epoxies and a fluorine-containing epoxies can be formed in order to compare specific properties of the cured resins. The epoxy resin should be a general purpose Novalac Epoxy type resin that is appropriate for cold or heat cured systems. The example of unmodified liquid epoxy resins of Novalac Epoxy is for the purpose of illustration only and not to be construed as limiting the invention. The base compound or ingredient of the control composition is an epoxy resin, such as Dow D.E.N. 425 or 431, manufactured by Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich. The non-fluorine-containing compositions should contain about 2 parts of the epoxy resin Dow D.E.N. 425 or 431 and about 1 part aliphatic amine curing agent by volume, and the aliphatic amine curing agent is H 2 N—[CH 2 ] n —NH 2 , wherein n is an integer having in a value of at least 1. However, other aliphatic amine curing agents could be utilized for example: polymethylene diamine; H 2 N—[—(CH 2 ) n′ NH—] n″ —(CH 2 ) n′″ —NH 2 polyamine; aniline, phenylamine, or 4,4′-diaminodiphenylsulfone, wherein n′, n″, n′″ are the same or different and are integers of at least 1. The fluorine-containing compositions can substitute a fluorinated amine for part of the amine curing agent so that the total volume of commercial amine curing agent+fluorinated amine together is about the same as the volume of the commercial agent alone which satisfied the approximate 2:1 volume ratio. The ratios can be varied from 1 vol % (99 vol % commercial) to 25 vol % (75% commercial) of the fluorinated amine. Due to the high viscosity of all components and the limited time for mixing, volumes can be measured using measuring spoons. For example, to do a 25% fluorinated mixture, 2 teaspoons of epoxy can be mixed with ¾ teaspoon commercial curing agent and ¼ teaspoon fluorinated amine. In preferred embodiments, different fluorinated amines (Fluorochem USA, Oakwood Products, Inc., West Columbia, S.C. 29172) can be utilized, for example: 2-fluoroaniline (CAS 348-54-9, cat #001430); 3-fluoroaniline (CAS 372-19-0, cat #001438); 4-fluoroaniline (CAS 371-40-4, cat #001439); 3,5-difluoroaniline (CAS 372-394, cat #001690); 3,4-difluoroaniline (CAS 3863-114, cat #001459); 2,6-difluoroaniline (CAS 5509-65-9, cat #001458), 3-aminobenzotrifluoride (CAS 98-16-8, cat #001602); 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)aniline (CAS 328-74-5, cat #004997) or a combination thereof. Example 4 Glycol Epoxy. In a fourth preferred embodiment both control epoxies and a fluorine-containing epoxies can be formed in order to compare specific properties of the cured resins. These examples of unmodified liquid epoxy resins would be based on Glycol Epoxy. The base compound or ingredient of the control composition is an epoxy resin, such as Dow D.E.R. 732 or 736, manufactured by Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich. The non-fluorine-containing compositions should contain about 2 parts of the epoxy resin Dow D.E.R. 732 or 736 and about 1 part aliphatic amine curing agent by volume, and the aliphatic amine curing agent is H 2 N—[CH 2 ] n —NH 2 , wherein n is an integer having in a value of at least 1. However, other aliphatic amine curing agents could be utilized for example: polymethylene diamine; H 2 N—[—(CH 2 ) n′ NH—] n″ —(CH 2 ) n′″ —NH 2 polyamine; aniline, phenylamine, or 4,4′-diaminodiphenylsulfone, wherein n′, n″, n′″ are the same or different and are integers of at least 1. The fluorine-containing compositions can substitute a fluorinated amine for part of the amine curing agent so that the total volume of commercial amine curing agent+fluorinated amine together is about the same as the volume of the commercial agent alone which satisfied the approximate 2:1 volume ratio. The ratios can be varied from 1 vol % (99 vol % commercial) to 25 vol % (75% commercial) of the fluorinated amine. Due to the high viscosity of all components and the limited time for mixing, volumes can be measured using measuring spoons. For example, to do a 25% fluorinated mixture, 2 teaspoons of epoxy can be mixed with ¾ teaspoon commercial curing agent and ¼ teaspoon fluorinated amine. In preferred embodiments, different fluorinated amines (Fluorochem USA, Oakwood Products, Inc., West Columbia, S.C. 29172) can be utilized, for example: 2-fluoroaniline (CAS 348-54-9, cat #001430); 3-fluoroaniline (CAS 372-19-0, cat #001438); 4-fluoroaniline (CAS 371404, cat #001439); 3,5-difluoroaniline (CAS 372-39-4, cat #001690); 3,4-difluoroaniline (CAS 3863-114, cat #001459); 2,6-difluoroaniline (CAS 5509-65-9, cat #001458), 3-aminobenzotrifluoride (CAS 98-16-8, cat #001602); 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)aniline (CAS 328-74-5, cat #004997) or a combination thereof. Example 5 Halogen Containing Epoxies. In a fifth preferred embodiment both control epoxies and a halogen-containing epoxies can be formed in order to compare specific properties of the cured resins. Examples of unmodified liquid epoxy resins would be based on Glycol Epoxy, Novalac Epoxy, DGEBF epoxy, or DGEBA epoxy. The base compound or ingredient of the control composition is an epoxy resin. The non-halogen-containing compositions should contain about 2 parts of the epoxy resin and about 1 part aliphatic amine curing agent by volume, and a specific aliphatic amine curing agent is H 2 N—[CH 2 ] n —NH 2 , wherein n is an integer having in a value of at least 1. However, other aliphatic amine curing agents could be utilized for example: polymethylene diamine; H 2 N—[—(CH 2 ) n′ NH—] n″ —(CH 2 ) n′″ —NH 2 polyamine; aniline, phenylamine, or 4,4′-diaminodiphenylsulfone, wherein n′, n″, n′″ are the same or different and are integers of at least 1. The halogen-containing compositions can substitute a halogen containing amine for part of the amine curing agent so that the total volume of commercial amine curing agent+halogen containing amine together is about the same as the volume of the commercial agent alone which satisfied the approximate 2:1 volume ratio. The ratios can be varied from 1 vol % (99 vol % commercial) to 25 vol % (75% commercial) of the halogen containing amine. Due to the high viscosity of all components and the limited time for mixing, volumes can be measured using measuring spoons. For example, to do a 25% halogenated mixture, 2 teaspoons of epoxy can be mixed with ¾ teaspoon commercial curing agent and ¼ teaspoon halogen containing amine. In preferred embodiments, different halogenated amines are available from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis Mo.), for example: 2,6-dibromo-3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)-aniline #S649104 CAS: 133861-33-3; 2,6-dibromo-4-(trifluoromethoxy)-aniline #563153 CAS: 88149-49-9; 2,6-dibromo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-aniline #559970 CAS: 72678-19-4; 2-bromo-4-(trifluoromethoxy)-aniline #457388 CAS: 175278-17-8; 2-bromo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-aniline #518700 CAS: 57946-63-1; 2-bromo-5-(trifluoromethyl)-aniline #217867 CAS: 454-79-5; 2,6-dichloro-4-(trifluoromethoxy)-aniline #429899 CAS: 99479-66-0; 2,6-dichloro-4-(trifluoromethyl)-aniline #408190 CAS: 24279-39-8; 2-chloro-4-(trifluoromethyl)-aniline #578568 CAS: 39885-50-2; 2-chloro-4-(methylsulfonyl)-aniline #S448281 CAS: 13244-354. REFERENCES CITED The following references, to the extent that they provide exemplary procedural or other details supplementary to those set forth herein, are specifically incorporated herein by reference. Patent Documents U.S. Pat. No. 2,456,408, issued to Greenlee, S., on Dec. 14, 1948, and titled “Synthetic Drying Compositions.” Switzerland Patent No.: CH 211,116, issued to De Trey, on Nov. 18, 1940 and titled “Verfahren zur Herstellung eines Hartbaren Kunstharzes.” Great Britain Patent No.: GB 518057 issued to De Trey Freres S. A., on Feb. 15, 1940, and titled A process for the Manufacture of Thermo-setting Synthetic Resins by the Condensation of Alkylene Oxides with Anhydrides of Polybasic Acids.” German Patent No.: DRP 749,512 (1938). REFERENCES BILYEU, B. Characterization of Cure Kinetics and Physical Properties of a High Performance Glass Fiber-Reinforced Epoxy Prepreg and a Novel Fluorine-Modified, Amine-Cured Commercial Epoxy, Ph.D. dissertation, University of North Texas (2003). BROSTOW, W., P. E. Cassidy, H. E. Hagg, M. Jaklewicz and P. E. Montemartini, “Fluoropolymer Addition to an Epoxy: Phase Inversion and Tribological Properties”, Polymer 42, 2001, 7971. BROSTOW, W., B. Bujard, P. Cassidy, H. Hagg and P. E. Montemartini, Mat. Res. Innov., 6, 7, (2002). CHAMBON, F., Petrovic Z S, MacKnight W J, Winter H Rheology of Model Polyurethanes at the Gel Point. Macromolecules 19:2146-2149, (1986) CHAMBON, F., and Winter H Linear Viscoelasticity at the Gel Point of a Crosslinking PDMS with Imbalanced Stoichiometry. J Rheol 31:683-697, (1987) CASSETTARI, M., G. Salvetti, E. Tombari, S. Veronesi, and G. P. Johari: “Calorimetric Determination of Vitrification Time and Heat Capacity of a Thermosetting Polymer”. J. Polym. Sci.: Part B: Polym. Phys. 31, 199-208, (1993). DOW PLASTICS, Product Information D.E.R. 330 Liquid Epoxy Resin, Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich., Publication Form No. 296-01457-1001XSI. DOW PLASTICS, Product Information D.E.R. 332 Liquid Epoxy Resin, Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich., Publication Form No. 296-01447-1001XSI. DOW PLASTICS, Product Information D.E.N. 425 Liquid Epoxy Resin, Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich., Publication Form No. 296-01649-0404-TD DOW PLASTICS, Product Information D.E.N. 431 Liquid Epoxy Resin, Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich., Publication Form No. 296-01442-1203-TD DOW PLASTICS, Product Information D.E.R. 732 Liquid Epoxy Resin, Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich., Publication Form No. 296-01474-1001XSI. DOW PLASTICS, Product Information D.E.R. 736 Liquid Epoxy Resin, Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich., Publication Form No. 296-01507-1001XSI. GILLHAM, J. K. AIChE J., 20 (1974) 1066. GRIFFITH, J. R. and J. B. Romans, J. Fluorine Chem., 34 (1987) 361. HADAD, D. K. and C. A. May, Engineered Materials Handbook, Vol. 2, Engineering Plastics, Sec. 5, Ed. C. A. Dostal, ASM International, Metals Park, Ohio (1988) 521. HATAKEYAMA, T. and H. Hatakeyama, Thermochim. Acta, 267 (1995) 249. MATUSZCZAK, S, and W. J. Feast, J. Fluorine Chem., 102 (2000) 269. O'NEILL, M. J., Anal. Chem., 36 (1964) 1238. WATSON, E. S., M. J. O'Neill, J. Justin and N. Brenner, Anal. Chem., 36 (1964) 1233. WINTER, H. H. and Chambon F Analysis of Linear Viscoelasticity of a Crosslinking Polymer at the Gel Point. J Rheology 30:367-382 (1986)

One aspect of the current invention is a halogen containing epoxy composition and a method of producing the same. A functional halogen group, fluorine in one case, is incorporated into an epoxy coating by using a functionalized amine curing agent in small amounts. Functionalized amine curing agents are cheaper and easier to produce from small amine precursors when compared to the cost and complexity of functionalizing bulky epoxy resins. Amine curing agents are incorporated into a cured epoxy network. However, many functional groups will affect the reactivity of the curing reaction due to electronegativity effects. By using small amounts of functionalized amines with a large amount of non-functionalized agent, the effect is small and in the case of migration, it can be advantageous for tribological, mechanical and other properties of epoxies and epoxy-containing materials. Additionally, in stratified coatings, it is advantageous to use smaller functionalized amine molecules that can migrate more quickly into the composition before the composition becomes fully cured.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/387,962 entitled VIRTUAL DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK filed May 7, 2009, and is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/652,694 entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONNECTING CONFIGURING AND TESTING NEW WIRELESS DEVICES AND APPLICATIONS filed Jan. 5, 2010. This application is also based upon and claims the benefit of priority for prior Provisional Patent Application No. 61/501,131, filed on Jun. 24, 2011, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION Embodiments of the invention relate to services provided to consumers and operators of wireless networks. BACKGROUND The continued evolution of wireless network technology allows consumers today to communicate with each other by voice, data and text messaging through highly sophisticated network architectures. A consumer can make a phone call, download data and send text messages using a single wireless communication device, such as a smartphone. Typically, a consumer would purchase a plan from a network operator and be constrained by the rules defined in the plan for the duration of the plan period. For example, if the plan's policy does not allow roaming outside of a predetermined region, the consumer would be unable to make any calls from his smartphone once he leaves that region. The consumer may be unaware of the cause of the problem, and cannot easily find help at a time when he cannot make phone calls. As another example, if the plan has a set quota for data usage and the consumer has reached a predetermined threshold (e.g., 90%) of that quota before the end of a billing cycle, the consumer's future data traffic can be throttled (e.g., the Quality of Service (QoS) is lowered) until the next billing cycle starts. With the conventional operator's system, a consumer cannot easily monitor his data usage and cannot easily request his QoS be maintained at the same level throughout a billing cycle. Thus, the conventional operator's system for managing usage, offers, pricing and policy is inflexible and cannot easily adapt to consumers' needs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which: FIG. 1 is a diagram of one embodiment of network architecture in which a Core Service Platform (CSP) system may operate. FIG. 2 is a diagram of one embodiment of a deployment model for a CSP system. FIG. 3 is a diagram of one embodiment of a mobile communication device. FIG. 4 is a diagram of one embodiment of a computer system. FIG. 5 is an overview of CSP system integration according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 is an overview with further details of CSP system integration according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 7 is an embodiment of integration between a CSP system and an operator network. FIG. 8 is an embodiment of network signal flow. FIG. 9 is another embodiment of network signal flow. FIG. 10 is an embodiment of integration between a CSP system and a wireless communication device. FIG. 11 is an embodiment of a display screen of a CSP device application (CDA) that shows a “My Account” feature. FIG. 12 is an embodiment of a display screen of a CDA that shows a “Tell a Friend” feature. FIG. 13 is an embodiment of a display screen of a CDA that shows a “Diagnostic Help” feature. FIG. 14 is an embodiment of a display screen of a CDA that shows a “Contextual Help” feature. FIG. 15A is an embodiment of a display screen of a CDA that shows a “Usage Alert” feature. FIG. 15B is an embodiment of a display screen of a CSP device application that shows a “Roaming Alert” feature. FIG. 16 is an embodiment of a display screen of CSP operator Web applications. FIG. 17 is an embodiment of Custom Relationship Management (CRM) integration. FIG. 18 is an embodiment of a process for publishing offer/policy from a CSP system to an operator. FIG. 19 is an embodiment of provisioning/order entry integration. FIG. 20 is an embodiment of a process for provisioning/order entry integration. FIG. 21 is an embodiment of billing integration. FIG. 22 is an embodiment of reporting integration. DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure the understanding of this description. It will be appreciated, however, by one skilled in the art, that the invention may be practiced without such specific details. Those of ordinary skill in the art, with the included descriptions, will be able to implement appropriate functionality without undue experimentation. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a network system. In the embodiment shown, a cellular device 100 communicates with an operator network 110 through a base station 102 and a base station controller 104 . Cellular device 100 can be a cellular telephone, a smartphone with data transfer and messaging capability, a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a video-camera, a gaming device, a global positioning system (GPS), an e-Reader, a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) device (i.e., an application-specific telemetry device that collects data using sensors and transmits the data to a destination such as a server over a network), a hybrid device with a combination of any of the above functionalities, or any other wireless mobile devices capable of sending and receiving voice, data and text messages. Cellular device 100 communicates with operator network 110 using wireless protocols, such as Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11-based wireless protocols (such as Wi-Fi), and the like. Cellular device 100 is used by a consumer (equivalently, a subscriber or a user). Operator network 110 is a wireless cellular network that includes a voice network (e.g., a global system for mobile communications (GSM) network), a data network (e.g., a general packet radio service (GPRS) network), and a messaging network (e.g., a short message service (SMS) network). It is understood that operator network 110 can include voice, data and messaging networks that are different from the GSM network, GPRS network and SMS network. In the embodiment shown, the voice network is represented by a network switching subsystem 106 , the data network is represented by a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 127 , a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) 107 , and the messaging network is represented by a messaging gateway 108 . It is understood that operator network 110 includes various other network components, which are omitted herein for simplicity of illustration. Operator network 110 allows a user of cellular device 100 to engage in voice, data and messaging communications with devices coupled to operator network 110 through external networks (not shown). In one embodiment, base station 102 includes a radio transmitter and receiver for communicating with cellular devices (e.g., cellular device 100 ), and a communications system for communicating with base station controller 104 . Base station controller 104 controls base station 102 and enables communication with operator network 110 . In various embodiments, base station controller 104 can control any number of base stations. Network switching subsystem 106 controls voice network switching, maintains a register of cellular device locations, and connects operator network 110 with an external voice network, such as a public switched telephone network, a private voice telephony network, or any other appropriate voice telephony network. In one embodiment, network switching subsystem 106 includes a mobile switching center (MSC) 111 , a home location register (HLR) 113 , and a visitor location register (VLR) 114 . MSC 111 controls, sets up and releases a voice connection using signaling protocols such as signaling system No. 7 (SS7). In some embodiments, MSC 111 additionally tracks the time of a voice connection for the purposes of charging cellular devices, decrementing available usage, tracking monetary balance, monitoring battery status, and other purposes. In one embodiment, operator network 110 may include any number of MSCs. Each of these MSCs serves cellular devices within a network area, which may include one or more base stations and one or more base station controllers. Some of the cellular devices may be registered to use this network area as their “home network,” and some of the other cellular devices may be registered to use other network areas as their home networks. HLR 113 maintains a list of cellular devices whose home network is served by MSC 111 . VLR 114 maintains a list of cellular devices that have roamed into the area served by MSC 111 . When a cellular device leaves its home network (e.g., the network area served by MSC 111 ), the VLR (“target VLR”) of the network (“target network”) to which the device has roamed communicates with HLR 113 in the home network of the device. When HLR 113 has confirmed to the target VLR that it can allow the device to use the target network, the device is added to the target VLR, and the MSC in the target network sets up the communication for the roaming cellular device. SGSN 127 and GGSN 102 are two of the main components in the core data network of operator network 110 . SGSN 127 is responsible for the delivery of data packets from and to the cellular devices within its geographical service area. The tasks of SGSN 127 include packet routing and transfer, mobility management (attach/detach and location management), logical link management, authentication and charging functions. GGSN 107 controls data communications switching and connects operator network 110 with an external data network, such as a local area network, a wide area network, a wired network, a wireless network, the Internet, a fiber network, a storage area network, or any other appropriate networks. In some embodiments, GGSN 107 is one of the core components in the core data network of operator network 110 . Although not shown in FIG. 1 , the core data network of operator network 110 may also include various other network switching components. GGSN 107 serves as an interface between operator network 110 and external data networks, and translates data packets into the appropriate formats for the devices on each side. In the embodiment shown, GGSN 107 also performs policy and charging enforcement and control via the functionalities of: Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) 122 , Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) 123 and Online Charging System (OCS) 124 . PCRF 123 performs policy control and flow-based charging control. To that end, PCRF 123 authorizes Quality of Service (QoS) resources and operations, e.g., service redirection and other policy-based actions. Ultimately, PCRF 123 resembles a collection controller in that it collects the subscriber's subscription data and allows PCEF 122 to enforce the policies and the charging. OCS 124 facilitates the online charging process by collecting charging information about network resource usage concurrently with that resource usage. OCS 124 also approves authorization for the network resource usage prior to the actual commencement of that usage. The approval may be limited in terms of data volume or in terms of duration. PCEF 122 performs policy enforcement, service data flow detection, and flow-based charging functionalities. The policy control indicated by the PCRF 123 is enforced by PCEF 122 . To that end, the PCEF 122 will permit the service data flow to pass through PCEF 122 only if there is a corresponding active Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rule and if OCS 124 has authorized credit for the charging key used for online charging. Ultimately, PCEF 122 ensures that service is provided with the appropriate QoS and that the subscriber is charged in accordance with the charging rate set for the subscriber. Messaging gateway 108 provides short messages transit between cellular devices and other communication devices. Messaging gateway 108 can be a Short Message Service Center (SMSC), a multi-media messaging center (MMSC), or a network node coupled to the SMSC or MMSC. Messaging gateway 108 delivers text messages through operator network 110 to/from external networks via standard protocols such as Short Message Peer-to-Peer Protocol (SMPP) or Universal Computer Protocol (UCP). In some embodiments, operator network 110 is coupled to a hosted service platform 120 via a Core Service Platform (CSP) network 170 and a number of network nodes. Hosted service platform 120 serves as a service management platform for wireless communication devices such as cellular device 100 . Hosted service platform 120 may include multiple data centers in multiple geographical locations with each data center including multiple server computers. Hosted service platform 120 includes a number of CSP engines 122 that provide a suite of functions to automate both the sales and support processes towards wireless users. Hosted service platform and CSP network 170 , as well as software hosted thereon, form a CSP system. An overview of the CSP system will be described below in connection with FIGS. 5 and 6 . CSP network 170 provides connections between the data centers in the hosted service platform 120 and operator network 110 . In one embodiment, CSP network 170 includes a GGSN 171 that implements PCRF 173 and OCS 174 . Depending on the agreements between the operator/owner of operator network 110 and operator/owner of CSP network 170 , both sets of (PCRF 123 , OCS 124 ) and (PCRF 173 , OCS 174 ) can be active at the same time or at different stages of service deployment. In some alternative embodiments, CSP network 170 does not implement PCRF 173 and OCS 174 . Instead, host service platform 120 collects subscription data, policy and charging information from operator network 110 . The network nodes between operator network 110 and CSP network 170 are represented in FIG. 1 as operator network node 130 , network node A 131 and network node B 132 . These network nodes ( 130 , 131 and 132 ) can include switches, routers, bridges, and other network components. There can be any number of network nodes between operator network 110 and CSP network 170 . In the embodiment shown, operator network node 130 communicates with network node A 131 via an integrated connection, while it communicates with network node B 132 via three separate connections for voice, data and text messaging. In some embodiments, an operator IT system 150 is coupled to operator network 110 via operator network node 130 . Operator IT system 150 receives subscribers' data and usage from operator network 110 , and provides the functions of Customer Relationship Management (CRM)/care, provisioning/order entry, billing/mediation (or payments), and reporting/data warehouse (DWH) (or business intelligence). Operator IT system 150 also provides a user interface (such as a desktop interface or a Web interface) for a system administrator to monitor and manage these functions. In one embodiment, operator IT system 150 includes a control center that hosts CSP operator Web applications 154 . CSP operator Web applications 154 allow an operator to manage its marketing campaign, offers (equivalently, rate plans), pricing, billing and customer care in an integrated environment. Functionality of CSP operator Web applications 154 will be described later in further detail with reference to FIG. 16 . In some embodiments, cellular device 100 stores and runs CSP device application (CDA) 140 . CDA 140 displays alerts and notifications to consumers in response to the consumers' current usage and condition, provides customized contextual offers in real time, and allows consumers to select and purchase wireless products and services from their devices. Moreover, using CDA 140 , consumers can diagnose and solve their own service questions and problems directly from their wireless device. For example, CDA 140 can query multiple sources, including cellular device 100 itself, to perform a diagnosis. Functionality of CDA 140 will be described later in further detail with an example shown in FIGS. 10-15 . FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a deployment model for the CSP data centers. The CSP data centers can be a cloud-based computing system. In the embodiment shown, two data centers ( 220 and 230 ) are coupled to operator Internet Protocol (IP) network 210 via CSP network 170 and a number of network nodes (e.g., routers). Data centers 220 and 230 are part of hosted service platform 120 of FIG. 1 . Data centers 220 and 230 can be deployed at different locations and each center includes multiple server computers. Some of the server computers can serve as Web servers providing resources that can be accessed by the operator and subscribers. Data centers 220 and 230 can be synchronized in real time, and either data center can carry the full service demand. In one embodiment, dynamic IP routing is established (e.g., Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)) between operator IP network 210 and data centers 220 and 230 , such that failure of one path will allow for automatic routing via the alternative path. It is understood that hosted service platform 120 of FIG. 1 can include any number of data centers in any geographical locations. Operator IP network 210 can be part of the data network of operator network 110 of FIG. 1 . In the embodiment shown, operator IP network 210 interconnects GGSN 107 , messaging gateway 108 and the systems of CRM, provisioning/order entry, billing/mediation, and data warehouse (DWH) in operator IT system 150 of FIG. 1 . In one embodiment, operator IP network 210 and CSP network 170 exchange provisioning/order entry data, charging data records (CDRs), reports via standard 3 rd Generation Partnership Product (3GPP) interfaces (Gx, Gy). FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a wireless communication device 300 (e.g., cellular device 100 of FIG. 1 ). In one embodiment, wireless communication device 300 is a smartphone. In alternative embodiments, wireless communication device 300 can be a cellular telephone, a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a video-camera, a gaming device, a global positioning system (GPS), an e-Reader, a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) device (i.e., an application-specific telemetry device that collects data using sensors and transmits the data to a destination such as a server over a network), a hybrid device with a combination of any of the above functionalities, or any other wireless mobile devices capable of sending and receiving voice, data and text messages. In the embodiment shown, wireless communication device 300 includes a radio transmitter 302 , a radio receiver 304 , a processor 306 , memory 310 , a subscriber identity module (SIM) 312 , and a display 314 . In some embodiments, SIM 312 is optional and the inclusion of SIM 312 is dependent on the network technology in use. Radio transmitter 302 and radio receiver 304 communicate with a base station (e.g., base station 102 of FIG. 1 ) using wireless radio communication protocols. In some embodiments, radio transmitter 302 and/or radio receiver 304 communicate voice signals, data signals, text signals (e.g., SMS), configuration and/or registration signals, or any other appropriate kinds of signals. Processor 306 executes instructions stored in memory 310 to control and perform the operations of wireless communication device 300 . In some embodiments, memory 310 includes one or more of the following: read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static memory and data storage device. Memory 310 can act as temporary and/or long-term information storage for processor 306 . In one embodiment, memory 310 stores CDA 140 . In one embodiment, display 314 can serve as a graphical user interface (GUI) that displays images and data, such as the screen displays of CDA 140 . The displayed images and data can be retrieved from memory 310 or other local storage, or can be received through radio receiver 304 from a Web server (e.g., the Web servers in the CSP data centers). In one embodiment, SIM 312 is a removable module storing an identifying number for wireless communication device 300 to identify the device to the network. In various embodiments, SIM 312 stores an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) number, an Integrated Circuit Card Identifier (ICCID) number, a serial number, or any other appropriate identifying number. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a computer system 400 . In one embodiment, computer system 400 can be a server computer within hosted service platform 120 of FIG. 1 . In another embodiment, computer system 400 can be a server computer within operator IT system 150 of FIG. 1 . It is understood that hosted service platform 120 and operator IT system 150 can include any number of server computers. In the embodiment shown, computer system 400 includes a processor 412 , memory 410 , an I/O device 404 , a network interface 402 , a display 414 and a bus 408 . In one embodiment, display 414 can serve as a graphical user interface (GUI) that displays graphics and data to an operator. Some of the displayed graphics and data can be retrieved from memory 410 or other local storage, or received through network interface 402 from a Web server. Processor 412 represents one or more general-purpose processing devices. Memory 410 includes one or more of the following: read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static memory and data storage device. Network interface 402 communicates with an external data network. In an embodiment where computer system 400 is a server computer within hosted service platform 120 of FIG. 1 , memory 410 stores software implementing one or more of the functions of CSP engines 122 , PCRF 173 and/or OCS 174 . In another embodiment where computer system 400 is a server computer within operator IT system 150 of FIG. 1 , memory 310 stores software implementing one or more of the functions of CSP operator web applications 154 . FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an overview of CSP system integration according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 illustrates further details of CSP system integration according to one embodiment of the invention. In the following description, the term “CSP system” 530 refers to the software and hardware infrastructure that manages a suite of services provided to network operators and their subscribers. Thus, referring also to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , CSP system 530 includes hosted service platform 120 , CSP network 170 , and the software hosted thereon. CSP system 530 interacts with operator network 110 , operator IT system 150 , and cellular device 100 in real time. In some embodiments, CSP system 530 can also interact with operator network 110 , operator IT system 150 , and cellular device 100 in batch mode. In one embodiment, CSP system 530 is a smartphone service management platform. Through CDA 140 and CSP operator Web applications 154 , CSP system 530 provides or enables the functions of on-device application, self-care, diagnostics, store-front, alert management, policy control, payment handling, offer management, campaign management, analytics, reporting engine, and data rating. Referring to FIG. 6 , CSP system 530 provides customized contextual offers based on contextual assessments of a consumer's current “context.” Such “context” includes, but is not limited to, time in contract, loyalty status, data and voice usage, value (or valuation) of customer, time (of a latest data request), location (of a latest data request) and purchase history. The contextual assessments can be made by CSP engines 122 , which run on hosted service platform 120 of FIG. 1 and perform the functions that include, but are not limited to, customer profiling, micro-segmentation, real-time rating and policy, real-time alerts and offers, and targeted recommendations for offers and promotions. CSP system 530 is able to not only identify who the consumer is, but also the consumer's current context, in order to make the right offers at the right time. CSP system 530 formulates offers that the consumer is most likely to purchase and that are most valuable to the operator. The consumer can choose one of the offers and make the purchase from his device at the moment he most likely needs it to maintain his usage level. For example, if the consumer is in the middle of downloading a video to his smartphone and his data usage limit or threshold is reached, he can receive an alert on his smartphone with offers to add more megabytes of data to extend his usage limit. In one scenario where the consumer's usage limit or threshold has not been reached, he can also receive an offer to add more megabytes of data to improve the download speed. The consumer can make the purchase from this smartphone and continue the downloading with no or little noticeable interruption. In one embodiment, the offers can include top-up offers or plan changes, which add more megabytes of data or more usage time to a consumer's existing plan for the current billing cycle, or upgrades, which change the consumer's existing plan to a new plan that is not limited to the current billing cycle. Consumers experience CSP system 530 through CDA 140 on their wireless communication devices. CDA 140 provides consumer-side functions that include, but are not limited to: storefront, payment, offers and alerts, self-support, account status, and device diagnostics. Operators experience CSP system 530 through CSP operator Web applications 154 . CSP operator Web applications 154 provide operator-side functions that include, but are not limited to: offer and policy management, campaign and alert management, business and eligibility rules management, product catalog, customer relationship management, merchandising and content management, campaign analytics, retail store activation, customer care application, and reporting. For the operator, this CSP experience translates to the following three main benefits: (1) CSP system 530 provides a retail store on every wireless communication device, thereby increasing Average Revenue per User (ARPU) through real-time contextual selling; (2) CSP system 530 drives support cost towards zero by providing a self-support experience for consumers; and (3) CSP system 530 drives cost of sales towards zero using dedicated on-device channels. In order to provide these benefits and reduce time to market, CSP system 530 integrates with four functions of operator IT system 150 . The four functions are: CRM/care 610 , provisioning/order entry 620 , billing/payments 630 and reporting/DWH 640 . CSP system 530 also integrates with two functions of operator network 110 . The two functions are GGSN 107 /PCEF 122 (which represents PCEF 122 implemented by GGSN 107 ) and Messaging Gateway 108 . The integration with operator network 110 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 7-9 . The integration with wireless communication devices (e.g., cellular device 100 ) will be described below with reference to FIGS. 10-15 . Finally, the integration with operator IT system 150 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 16-22 . CSP—Network Integration As shown in the embodiment of FIG. 6 , the integration with operator network 110 enables the ability of CSP system 530 to have real-time visibility of usage and take real-time actions. The two network functions with which CSP system 530 integrates are GGSN 107 /PCEF 122 and messaging gateway 108 . The network integration enables fast time to market without compromising network integrity or service quality. In one embodiment, the integration is achieved through the use of standard 3GPP interfaces (Gx, Gy) and standard Short Message Peer-to-Peer (SMPP) interface. FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of the interfaces between operator network 110 and PCRF/OCS 710 . As described above in connection with FIG. 1 , PCRF/OCS 710 may reside within CSP network 170 (e.g., PCRF 173 and OCS 174 ), within operator network 110 (e.g., PCRF 123 and OCS 124 ), or both. In the embodiment of FIG. 7 , it is shown that PCRF/OCS 710 resides outside of operator network 110 (that is, within CSP network 170 ). However, if PCRF/OCS 710 resides within operator network 110 , CSP network 170 can receive relevant information from operator network 110 in real time or near real time. The CSP functions, as described before in connection with FIGS. 5 and 6 , can be embedded within PCRF/OCS 710 . Thus, it is understood that the exact location of PCRF/OCS 710 is not germane to the disclosure herein. Referring to FIG. 7 , a standard interface exists between messaging gateway 108 and PCRF/OCS 710 . Message gateway 108 can be a SMS gateway or a Short Message Service Center (SMSC). This interface to messaging gateway 108 can be a standard SMPP interface. This interface allows the system to deliver alerts or notifications to CDA 140 of FIG. 6 and user via SMS. The (Gx, Gy) interfaces are defined in accordance with the Diameter protocol. The (Gx, Gy) interfaces are situated between GGSN 107 /PCEF 122 and PCRF/OCS 710 . More specifically, the Gx interface is between PCEF 122 and PCRF for policy, QoS control and re-direction. The Gy interface is between PCEF 122 and OCS for real-time usage control and online data charging. The following describes a number of scenarios that illustrate the possible use cases in a network system with integrated operator network and CSP functions. Some of these use cases can be combined. Case 1: Metering subscriber traffic with no overage allowed and no redirect to portal. In this scenario, a subscriber is assigned a monthly quota of X MB and a threshold is set at Y %. A notification is sent to the subscriber when the subscriber exceeds the usage threshold of Y %. No subsequent session is allowed. Quota is reset at the end of the billing cycle. Case 2: Metering subscriber traffic with redirect to offer portal. In this scenario, a subscriber is assigned a static monthly quota of X MB and a threshold is set at Y %. A notification is sent to the subscriber when the subscriber exceeds the usage threshold of Y %. When the subscriber reaches 100% of the monthly quota, the subscriber session is redirected to a portal with specific offers. The subscriber selects a top-up offer and is allowed to continue passing traffic. Case 3: Policy to throttle traffic at the end of usage quota. In one scenario, the subscriber can have unlimited usage at a lower speed with a monthly quota at a higher speed. After the monthly quota is consumed, the subscriber's data traffic is reduced (throttled) to the lower speed. In another scenario, a subscriber is assigned a static monthly quota of X MB and a threshold is set at Y %. A notification is sent to the subscriber when the subscriber exceeds the usage threshold of Y %. When the usage reaches 90% (or any configurable percentage) of the monthly quota, the subscriber's data traffic is reduced (throttled) to an externally specified speed (e.g., a speed specified by the operator of the network). When the subscriber reaches 100% of the monthly quota, the subscriber session is redirected to a portal with specific offers. The subscriber can select a top-up offer and be allowed to continue passing traffic at the original Quality of Service (QoS). The subscriber can also pay for a higher speed (e.g., “throttle up”) if the subscriber is accessing a selected service (e.g., an online video) or wants more bandwidth to download a specified song or other type of file. Case 4: Day pass. In this scenario, a subscriber is assigned a fixed duration pass. The subscriber maintains its session until expiration of the time quota, at which point the subscriber session gets disconnected. The subscriber is subsequently not able to reconnect until a new pass is purchased. Case 5: Usage control around user data volume. In this scenario, a subscriber is assigned a static monthly quota of X MB and a threshold is set at Y %. The subscriber is also restricted to use no more than Z MB of data in a 30-minute sliding window. The subscriber is redirected to a portal if data volume exceeds this restriction. Redirect in this case is one-time only. If the subscriber declines a top-up offer, then the subscriber is reduced (throttled) to an externally specified speed (e.g., a speed specified by the operator of the network) until the 30-minute sliding window is over. (Note that the QoS restrictions are settable.) Case 6: Usage restricted to specific Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs). This can be combined with other use cases. In this scenario, a subscriber is only allowed to use specific PLMNs. At some point, the subscriber leaves the allowed networks and camps on another network. The subscriber attempts to setup Packet Data Protocol (PDP) context and is blocked by PCRF. Notification is sent to subscriber to offer a targeted roaming package. Case 7: Changed QoS on Radio Access Technology (RAT) Change. This use case assumes that the subscribers are allowed (whether as part of the plan or by explicit purchase) to have a specific QoS based on how they are connecting to the network. In one scenario, a subscriber has no QoS restrictions on the 3G network. At some point, the subscriber goes into an EDGE network. Subscriber gets reduced QoS while on the EDGE network. The subscriber is provided with unrestricted speed upon returning to the 3G network. This use case may be combined with other use cases. Case 8: Subscriber has no quota limit within home network but has a 100 MB quota while roaming (redirect at end of roaming quota). In this scenario, a subscriber has no set quota while on the home network. The subscriber has a 100 MB quota for roaming. When the subscriber enters a roaming network, a notification update is sent to the subscriber to advise roaming usage. At some point, the subscriber exceeds roaming usage threshold (e.g. 90% of quota). A notification update is sent to the subscriber indicating that roaming limit has been reached. When the subscriber reaches 100% of the roaming quota, the subscriber session is redirected to a portal for additional roaming top-up offers. This use case can be extended to a scenario in which a local area is covered by a group of cellular sites (cells). When a subscriber moves from one cell to another, he is not roaming (switching between networks) but travelling (going to discrete areas in the same network). In one scenario, the subscriber has no set quota while in the home cell, but has a set quota for travelling to other cells. Case 9: Detect a subscriber's access to a selected (type of) website or service. In this scenario, through the use of Deep Packet Inspection (DPI), the subscriber's access to a selected (type of) website or service can be detected. The subscriber needs to pay for the access to the selected (type of) website or service. This scenario is similar to another scenario where subscribers would be redirected if they go to a website or location not explicitly allowed and they need to pay for the access. Integration with GGSN/PCEF. FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a signal flow for a use case in which a subscriber is throttled when his quota has been consumed. The signal flow between the GGSN/PCEF and PCRF, as well as between GGSN/PCEF and OCS (or its equivalent), are in accordance with the Diameter protocol. The Diameter protocol is an authentication, authorization and account protocol. The Diameter protocol defines a number of commands, such as capability exchange request (CER), capability exchange answer (CEA), device watchdog request (DWR), device watchdog answer (DWA), credit control request (CCR), credit control answer (CCA), etc. These commands are exchanged between the GGSN/PCEF and PCRF, as well as between GGSN/PCEF and OCS, to communicate policy decision, consumed quota, threshold limit reached, change of policy decision and change of QoS. FIG. 8 shows that when a threshold quota is reached, the OCS issues a notification ( 810 ), and when the quota is consumed, the PCRF makes the policy decision to lower the QoS ( 820 ). The GGSN/PCEF applies the policy decision ( 830 ), which lowers the QoS of the user data traffic ( 840 ). The signal flow of FIG. 8 does not show all of the Diameter parameter details for simplicity of illustration. FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a signal flow for a use case in which a subscriber is redirected to a top-up page when his quota has been consumed. FIG. 9 shows that when a threshold quota is reached, the OCS issues a notification ( 910 ). When the quota is consumed, the PCRF makes the policy decision to redirect the subscriber to a top-up page ( 920 ), and the GGSN/PCEF redirects the subscriber to the top-up page ( 930 ), and the user data traffic continues to flow ( 940 ). The signal flow of FIG. 9 does not show all of the Diameter parameter details for simplicity of illustration. Because the various Diameter interfaces above have many options, the integration with one GGSN vendor may not be the same as the integration with another. For each make and model of GGSN and Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW), specific GGSN templates can be used. These specific templates include only the parameters and settings that have been proven against the corresponding make and model of GGSN. In terms of Diameter interfaces, only the Access Point Names (APNs) (i.e., the network addresses used to identify one or more GGSNs) that have been proven for the PCRF/OCS and the particular GGSN are used. The CSP-integrated PCRF and OCS include an upwards-facing API (also referred to as northbound-facing) and Java Message Service (JMS) queue. These are used for passing usage information and event information to the higher layers of CSP system 530 ( FIG. 6 ) and for issuing instructions from higher layers towards the PCRF and OCS. For example, a PCRF or equivalent instructs the GGSN/PCEF as to the QoS to be applied for a subscriber and the usage to be allowed. When the user has consumed a specific threshold, OCS or equivalent notifies the PCRF or equivalent, which in turn queries the recommendation engine to determine a recommendation to present in a notification and offer to the subscriber. If the user reaches 100% of his allocated quota, then OCS informs the policy and rating engine, which instructs the GGSN/PCEF to change the QoS to throttle the user. The use of CSP-integrated PCRF and OCS allows for fast time to market and retains the full value proposition of the CSP solution. However, the higher-layer functions of CSP can integrate with any PCRF and OCS (e.g., an operator's own PCRF and OCS) that can provide the required interfaces for notification and control of the PCRF and OCS functions themselves. As the PCRF and OCS may be tightly integrated with CSP system 530 , when a user selects a new plan, that plan can be provisioned through the PCRF and OCS in real time. Thus, the subscriber can be served immediately. It is necessary that the other systems, such as customer care, within the IT infrastructure are aware of the new plan being provisioned. For that reason, as explained later, CSP system 530 interfaces to the operator's provisioning/order entry system. In one embodiment, CSP system 530 may manage the provisioning/order entry of data service upgrades with the CSP-integrated PCRF and OCS. Integration with Messaging Gateway. CSP system 530 ( FIG. 6 ) can communicate with CDA 140 , as well as other devices if the operator so wishes, via a proprietary or non-proprietary IP-based communication protocol, such as SMS, Unstructured Supplementary Services Data (USSD), Apple® Push Notification Service (APNS) for iOS devices, Android® Cloud Device Messaging (ACDM) for Android® devices, and the like. SMS can be used to wake up CDA 140 when needed. For example, SMS can be sent to a consumer as an alert or notification when data usage limit is reached, payment is overdue, or a promotion relevant to the consumer is available. In one embodiment, the alert and notification can be generated by network elements (such as PCRF/OCS within either operator network 110 or CSP network 170 ), and delivered to the consumer's CDA 140 by CSP system 530 . In a scenario where the operator wishes to recruit existing subscribers to the use of CDA 140 , CSP system 530 can use SMS to signal these subscribers' devices with a link to download CDA 140 . In some embodiments, operators have SMSCs to forward text messages to/from external systems. These SMSCs support protocols such as SMPP or UCP. Some operators also use messaging gateways as an interface to the external systems, thereby minimizing direct connections from external systems to the SMSCs. These gateways also support SMPP or UCP, and most also have other APIs that can be made available. In alternative embodiments, the SMSCs may be part of CSP system 530 . In some embodiments, CSP system 530 has built-in SMPP client functionality. CSP system 530 can integrate with the operator's messaging gateway 108 using SMPP. In one embodiment, a specific short code can be assigned to CSP system 530 and that short code is zero-rated. Thus, messages between CSP system 530 and the user device will not be charged to the user's account. CSP—Application Integration on a Wireless Communication Device FIG. 10 illustrates an example of CSP device application (CDA) 140 when used on a smartphone device. Although a smartphone is shown, it is understood that CDA 140 can be run on cellular device 100 ( FIG. 1 ) such as a cellular telephone, a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a video-camera, a gaming device, a global positioning system (GPS), an e-Reader, a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) device (i.e., an application-specific telemetry device that collects data using sensors and transmits the data to a destination such as a server over a network), a hybrid device with a combination of any of the above functionalities, or any other wireless mobile devices capable of sending and receiving voice, data and text messages. CDA 140 serves as an interface between the operator and the customer. CDA 140 receives information from CSP system 530 . CSP system 530 , in turn, receives the information from operator network 110 , operator IT system 150 , and CSP network 170 ( FIG. 1 ). CDA 140 can be operator branded and can be built using a combination of multiple programming languages for Web and Mobile technologies, e.g. C++, HTML5, Java, OS-specific native application code, etc., and other mobile Web technologies. CDA 140 is an application (or construct) that is resident and accessed from the device. Customers can be given access to the application in several ways; e.g., by pre-loading on new customer devices at the device OEM, by downloading to existing devices using a link to the appropriate application store, and/or accessed via a mobile Web page sent to the customer. While CDA 140 is a device-based application, a majority of its data and experience (e.g., displayed layout and content) are generated and served from CSP system 530 . This provides the ability to dynamically display and change elements of the experience without pushing application updates to the user device. In one embodiment, CDA 140 communicates with CSP system 530 over Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS), which uses multi-layer authentication architecture to validate CDA 140 , handset and user, before allowing access to data and functions such as purchasing upgrades. Alerts and notifications may be delivered to the user device via SMS through the CSP-Messaging integration described above, as well as through Mobile OS-specific notification methods; e.g., APNS for iOS devices and ACDM for Android® devices. In one embodiment, the recommendation engine (which is one of CSP engines 122 in CSP system 530 shown in FIG. 6 ) is the CSP's mechanism for creating real-time contextual offers. In the embodiment shown, the recommendation engine analyzes the information collected from CRM, CDRs, campaigns, and the like by data mining and micro-segmentation. The customer micro-segmentation allows an operator to target a certain segment of the subscribers to make offers that are most relevant to those subscribers. The recommendation can be made with respect to a number of factors of contextual assessment, such as time in contract, loyalty status, purchase history, value of customer, and data and time usage. The recommendation engine creates or recommends real-time offers based on results of customer profiling, as well as factors of the contextual assessment and information received from PCRF, OCS and CDRs. Thus, when a consumer's real-time usage reaches a limit and receives a real-time alert, the offers that are created by the recommendation engine and approved by the operator can be delivered to the user device instantly. CDA 140 directly interacts with CSP system 530 . Via CDA 140 , a consumer can choose one of the offered options that are displayed on his device in a user-friendly format. The chosen option can be provisioned to the user in real time and feedback can be sent back to hosted service platform 120 in real time. FIGS. 11-15 illustrate examples of the functions provided by CDA 140 according to embodiments of the invention. Referring to FIG. 11 , a series of screen displays of CDA 140 is shown in connection with a top-up offer for data usage. Initially, a home page ( 1100 ) provides a number of options, one of which is “My Account.” By selecting the usage tab in the My Account page, the user's usage for voice, text message and data is displayed on the user device ( 1101 ). The display shows the user's data usage is at 92% of the quota limit. Automatically or by user's selection, a top-up offer page ( 1102 ) including multiple options is shown to the user. Each option is an offer created by the recommendation engine based on the contextual assessment described in connection with FIG. 6 , and approved by the operator. If the user selects one of the options ( 1103 ), a purchase confirmation page ( 1104 ) will be shown on the display. At that point, the usage page ( 1105 ) shows that the user's quota has been increased and the data usage is now at 81% of the quota limit. The “My Account” feature allows a user to check his current usage information whenever he wants to. If the user does not take the initiative to check his current usage and limits, he can be notified by alerts of situations that can lower his QoS or disable his network connections. Alerts will be described with reference to FIGS. 15A and 15B . In one embodiment, the “My Account” feature also allows a user to monitor the billing; e.g., the amount of money he spent on network services before receiving a billing statement. For example, if the user is roaming and incurring roaming charges, he can monitor the amount of roaming charges in his account by clicking on the “billing” tab on the top right corner. Referring to FIG. 12 , a series of screen displays of CDA 140 is shown in connection with a “Tell-a-Friend” feature. Initially, a home page ( 1200 ) provides a number of options, one of which is “Deals.” The Deals page ( 1201 ) shows all of the currently available deals relating to wireless communication services and devices. A user can select a tab to filter the displayed result; for example, deals offered by a particular provider, vendor or operator ( 1202 ). A user can select a “Friends” tab ( 1203 ) to show the deals recommended by his friends. By clicking into a particular offer ( 1204 ), the user can make a purchase in real time or save the offer for later consideration. A purchase confirmation page ( 1205 ) is displayed when the user makes a purchase. The user can share the information about this offer with his friend by clicking a soft button “Send Message” to send a generic or personalized message ( 1206 ). Referring to FIG. 13 , a series of screen displays of CDA 140 is shown in connection with a “Help” feature, which performs diagnosis and provides help. In one embodiment, the diagnosis is performed by the user's device, taking into account the information collected by CSP system 530 from many data sources (e.g., PCRF, OCS, CDRs, CRM, etc.). The diagnosis can be performed in the following areas: the user's coverage, subscription, usage, payment, roaming status, and the like. Initially, a home page ( 1300 ) shows that all services are currently available. A user can select a number of options, one of which is “Help,” to explore more information. Clicking into the help page ( 1301 ) automatically activates a diagnostic function. In this example, the diagnostic function finds that the user's payment is overdue. By clicking on the diagnosed problem (payment), the user can go to a page displaying payment options ( 1302 ). The user can make payment by credit and debit cards ( 1303 and 1304 ). A purchase confirmation is shown after the payment is accepted ( 1305 ). As shown in the example above, the “Help” feature not only discovers a problem, but also provides a resolution to the problem in a user-friendly way. In another scenario, a user may find out from the diagnosis that he does not have coverage. This diagnosed problem (coverage) can re-direct him to one or more proposed solutions, such as moving down the road 10 miles or purchasing an upgrade to the network coverage. FIG. 14 illustrates an example in which a connection problem is automatically detected without the user proactively running the diagnostic function. In this example, the top panel of the display shows that a connection problem has been detected ( 1400 ). The user can click a “Fix Now” soft button and see a list of questions that are relevant to the detected problem ( 1401 ). The user can select one of the questions to find more information; e.g., the user's current status that is relevant to the cause of the detected problem ( 1402 ). In this scenario, a voice test is recommended. The user can run the voice test to test his/her voice connection ( 1403 and 1404 ). For example, the user device can send a message to request a voice network component in the operator network to call the user device. If a problem is found, the user can choose whether to report the problem to the operator ( 1405 ). If the user chooses to report the problem, a report confirmation page ( 1406 ) is displayed. In other scenarios, the user can run a data connection test or a messaging test to request a data server or a messaging server in the operator network to call the user device. This “Help” feature is another example of a contextual action that provides a clear path towards resolution of an issue that a user current has. FIG. 15A illustrates an example of a “User Alert” feature. In this example, when a user reaches his quota limit, the top panel of the display shows an alert and a top-up offer ( 1500 ). The alert may show that the user has exceeded his usage threshold but is still within the quota limit, or that the user has reached the quota limit. The user can select a top-up offer from the top panel without clicking into deeper levels of the menu ( 1501 ), or review more plan upgrade options. After the user selects the top-up offer and makes the purchase, a purchase confirmation page is displayed ( 1502 ). As described in connection with FIG. 6 , the top-up offer and upgrade options can be created by the recommendation engine based on contextual assessment of the user's unique situation, and approved by the operator. FIG. 15B illustrates an example of a “Roaming Alert” feature. In this example, a user roams into another network (or another area) but his plan does not support such roaming. The display shows an alert and a number of options ( 1530 ). The user can select any of the options to enable the roaming ( 1531 ). Each option is an offer created by the recommendation engine based on the contextual assessment described in connection with FIG. 6 , and approved by the operator. After the user selects one of the options and makes the purchase, a purchase confirmation page is displayed ( 1532 ). CSP—IT Integration Referring again to FIG. 6 , in one embodiment, CSP system 530 integrates with four functions of operator IT system 150 in the areas of CRM/care 610 , provisioning/order entry 620 , billing/payments 630 and reporting/DWH 640 . CSP system 530 integrates with each of the four areas through a corresponding interface. The CRM interface supports rating, policy and offer management, campaign management and customer management and care. The provisioning/order entry interface enables the activation of selected services within the operator systems. The billing interface allows usage information to be shared with CSP system 530 . Thus, a user can see his up-to-the-minute usage via CDA 140 without having to contact customer care. The reporting interface makes available the CSP-generated reports to all necessary functions within the operator. The CSP experience provides both the consumer and the operator a number of self-service tools that can be used anytime and anywhere to manage their services. For the consumer, CSP system 530 offers the ability to see, select and purchase new services, as well as perform account management and self-support activities, such as account balance inquires, payment method changes; all from their smartphones (or another wireless communication device) and all in real time. For the operator, CSP system 530 provides a suite of tools that enables the creation and management of all of the services and experiences received by the customer. For example, the operator's CRM system 610 can integrate with CSP system 530 to provide details on offers and services that CSP system 530 can recommend to the customer as upsells or standard sales offers, to view current account balances and usage, manage payments and to provide diagnostics to assist the user with self-service resolution of common support issues. CSP system 530 can also integrate with the operator's reporting and data warehouse systems 640 to provide financial, marketing and management reporting. In one embodiment, integration between CSP system 530 and operator IT system 150 is based upon the availability of interfaces to selected systems and/or groups of systems. As CSP system 530 uses a model that abstracts its interfaces to the operator platform using an adaptation layer, these interfaces can vary from standards-based Web services APIs to secure file transfers. In one embodiment, the interfaces enable not only the integration of CSP system 530 with operator IT system 150 , but also the ability for an operator to manage its marketing campaign, offers, pricing, billing and customer care in an integrated environment. In one embodiment, this integrated environment is presented to the operator via CSP operator Web applications 154 . CSP operator Web applications 154 may be run on a computer in the control center of operator IT system 150 . FIG. 16 illustrates an embodiment of a screen display of CSP operator Web applications (e.g., CSP operator Web applications 154 of FIG. 6 ). In this embodiment, the screen display includes a top panel that shows alerts and status 1601 and campaign results 1605 . Alerts and status 1601 allows an operator (or more specifically, the administrators at the operator side) to communicate with each other with respect to the latest updates and status of operator network 110 and operator IT system 150 ( FIG. 6 ). In one embodiment, the main panel of the display is divided into three regions: Create Offers and Policy 1602 , View Customer Activity 1603 and Manage Communications 1604 . Each of the three regions includes a number of task modules 1610 - 1618 that allow the administrators to perform specific tasks. The backend of task modules 1610 - 1618 is CSP system 530 , or more specifically, CSP engines 122 ( FIG. 6 ). When an operator clicks on any of task modules 1610 - 1618 , the operator can be provided with templates and data that are generated by one or more CSP engines 122 . CSP engines 122 generate the templates and data based on the information obtained from operator network 110 and operator IT system 150 ( FIG. 6 ). In one embodiment, access to these task modules 1610 can be role-based; that is, an administrator with a marketing role may be able to access only a subset of task modules 1610 - 1618 while an administrator with a manager role may be able to access all of task modules 1610 - 1618 . In one embodiment, some of the task modules, such as pricing workstation 1610 and offers workstation 1611 , allow the administrators to create offers and set pricing. In one embodiment, CSP system 530 can provide offers and pricing templates for the operator to fill in the details. Through subscriber portal 1612 , an operator can design subscriber's on-device experience, also using the templates provided by CSP system 530 . These templates allow the operator to set a pricing plan and package the pricing plan into an offer associated with a policy. The pricing, offer and policy are sent to CSP system 530 to allow CSP system 530 to deliver the right offers with the right pricing to the right subscribers at the right time. CSP system 530 can also provide other templates that can be used by the operator with a click on any of task modules 1610 - 1618 . In one embodiment, an operator can view the details (e.g., activities and history) about subscribers through the task module of subscriber details 1613 , and perform operations on their accounts; e.g., activate or deactivate the accounts, change offers, apply promotions and other account administrative tasks. Custom alerts 1614 allow administrators of the operator to configure rules for alert-triggering events. These alerts may be accompanied by automated response to specific events for resolving the condition causing the alerts. The task module of reports 1615 allows the operator to review and analyze subscriber and financial data. For example, the operator can run a report to find out when a particular offer or a particular group of offers have reached a set market share or set usage. In one embodiment, an operator can design campaigns to send offers and incentives to specific subscribers using campaign center 1616 . In one embodiment, the offers and incentives can be delivered to CDA 140 on the user device via CSP system 530 ( FIG. 6 ). In one embodiment, CSP system 530 can provide campaign templates for the operator to determine the specific details of campaigns. For example, the operator can decide on a plan and the recommendation engine of CSP system 530 can recommend a segment of subscribers to whom this plan should be offered. Alternatively, the operator can decide on a segment of subscribers and the recommendation engine can recommend a plan to offer to these subscribers. In one embodiment, an operator can use customer alerts 1617 to set up an alert for specific subscribers and the rules associated with the alert. The alert can be displayed on the user device to allow a subscriber to take remedial action; e.g., to accept a top-up offer that is delivered with the alert to the subscriber. In one embodiment, the task module of analytics 1618 is backed by the recommendation engine of CSP system 530 . Analytics 1618 allows the operator to identify trends and opportunities based on the subscribers' behavior and campaign results. For example, if the subscriber reaches his usage limit for the first time, analytics 1618 can recommend a top-up offer (which is valid only for this current billing cycle). If this is the fifth time within a five-month period that the subscriber has reached the threshold, analytics 1618 can recommend an upgrade offer such that the subscriber can switch to an upgraded plan and receive a higher quota limit every billing cycle. As mentioned before, the integration of CSP system 530 and operator IT system 150 ( FIG. 6 ) enables the functionality of CSP operator Web applications 154 described above. The following describes this integration with respect to CRM/care 610 , provisioning/order entry 620 , billing/payments 630 and reporting/DWH 640 ( FIG. 6 ). CRM Integration. FIG. 17 is an overview of CRM integration according to one embodiment of the invention. Referring also to FIG. 6 , CSP system 530 includes a CSP CRM API 1701 , which interacts with operator IT system 150 to manage or recommend strategies for CRM and care. Through CSP CRM API 1701 , the operator's CRM system 610 is fed with usage and diagnostic data from CSP system 530 , and CSP system 530 pulls customers profile information and updates from the CRM system 610 . In one embodiment, CSP system 530 integrates with the operator's CRM system 610 in the following areas: Rating, Policy and Offer Management; Campaign Management; and Customer Management and Care. CRM Integration Area (I): Rating, Policy and Offer Management (Product Catalog). Through the integrated rating, policy and offer management functions, CSP system 530 provides the operator a powerful set of tools to create, edit, approve and manage rate plans and policy actions for consumers. As the front-end interface to an integrated OCS and PCRF facility, CSP's Pricing and Offers engines (e.g., CSP engine 122 of FIG. 6 ) integrate with the operator's Product and Policy Catalog to pull current offers and create new offers and policy rules. Depending on the nature of the product deployment, CSP system 530 can replicate offers currently in the operator's product catalog, create and push offers to the operator, or act as the master product catalog for rating. In all of these three cases, CSP CRM API 1701 provides proper synchronization between CSP system 530 and operator IT system 150 , as well as ensuring availability of offers and policies. CSP CRM API 1701 allows CSP system 530 to access and pull offers. CSP CRM API 1701 also facilitates a submit/approve/publish method to push offers to the operator. Through CSP CRM API 1701 , CSP system 530 pulls all applicable offers, catalog rules, offer parameters and policy descriptions into an easy-to-use, self-service user interface that the operator's marketing personnel can use to quickly create new offers and promotions. In practice, the process to create and approve an offer touches many internal operator departments and may need some level of internal coordination and process to accomplish. To properly engage with and manage this need, CSP system 530 has an integrated approval workflow to prevent the use of these offers and policies until they are reviewed and approved by the appropriate operator-designated personnel. Once approved, the offers and policies can be pushed to the operator using CSP CRM API 1701 or a similar API. A sample product catalog/rating/policy template is shown below. TABLE 1 Sample (Basic Offer) Product Catalog Template Catalog Area Field Name Description Identification Offer Code Operator's offer code used to identify the offer to CRM and other systems Offer Friendly Name Name of the offer that will be presented in the CDA Applicable Service Type(s) Service Type that this offer is applicable to (voice, data, etc.) Effective/Expiration Date(s) When offer can be used/stops being offered Compatible Offer Code(s) Codes of offers that are compatible (allowed to be purchased) with this offer Allowed payment types Payment types (debit, credit card, prepaid) allowed for plan purchase Rates Primary Rating Type First rating scheme as applicable to service type (by units of usage, time, destination, etc.) Rating Amount Amount charged for rated usage Secondary Rating Type Additional rating scheme as applicable to service type (by units of usage, time, destination, etc.) Rating Amount Amount charged for rated usage Policy Policy Conditions Selected policy conditions, e.g. throttle, redirect, notify Policy Actions Parameter and action when policy condition is met Type of Offer Standard offer, upsell or both. In case an API is not or cannot be made available, a manual synchronization process can be used to perform the actions that would be taken by the API. In this manual approach, the operator uses the CSP Pricing and Offer engines to create and publish the appropriate offers and policies. A key to success in this approach will be the creation of business processes that govern the speed and frequency of updates. FIG. 18 illustrates an example of an operation sequence that allows offers created by CSP system 530 to be modeled and managed in the operator's product catalog. In one embodiment, CSP system 530 creates an offer/policy template (or zero-rated offer) ( 1801 ). CSP system 530 then submits that offer/policy to the operator for approval ( 1802 ). CSP CRM API 1701 publishes the offer/policy to the operator ( 1803 ). Upon receipt of the offer/policy, operator IT system 150 creates shell offer code and description (e.g., by associating the parameters of that offer (Offer Code, etc.) to the CSP-created offer) ( 1804 ). Operator IT system 150 then propagates the offer/policy to downstream systems ( 1805 ). Thus, all downstream systems that are fed from the product catalog (Care, Finance, Reporting, etc.) receive information and updates during the normal course of business. Through CSP CRM API 1701 , operator IT system 150 also publishes the approval to CSP system 530 ( 1806 ). Upon receipt of the operator's approval ( 1807 ), CSP system 530 makes the offer/policy available for use by the customers ( 1808 ). CRM Integration Area (II): Campaign Management. In one embodiment, CSP system 530 includes Customer Alerts and Campaign engines (e.g., one or more of CSP engines 122 of FIG. 6 ), which use offers generated by the Pricing and Offer engines (e.g., one or more of CSP engines 122 of FIG. 6 ) to provide customers with automated and operator-generated upsell offers. The Customer Alerts engine allows the operator personnel to create and set automated alerts that provide customers notification of key lifecycle events, e.g. reaching a usage threshold, approaching a bill cycle date, accessing a non-included service such as roaming. Included in these alerts can be contextually relevant upsell offers that allow the customer to continue using services. The Campaign engine allows the operator's marketing personnel to either use CSP's integrated recommendations engine (one of CSP engines 122 shown in FIG. 6 ) to identify targeted lists of customers for receiving promotions, or to upload a pre-segmented list. TABLE 2 Integrations Supporting Campaign Management Required Addressed in Function Description Integration Area Usage data Provides campaign analytics and Network recommendation Notifications Sends SMS messages to customers that have received a campaign Service offers Offers that have been approved for Rating and Policy and upsells use as campaigns and upsells (Product Catalog) Opt-In Customer's preference to receive Customer Profile alerts, notifications and campaigns from the Operator Personalization Information to create a more personal campaign as well as validate that the campaign is sent to the right consumer Report and In the case that the Operator uses Data Warehouse Source Data their own pre-segmented list of target customers. CRM Integration Area (III): Customer Management—Customer Profile. CSP system 530 is designed to address the sensitivity of the operator's customer data and the number of regulatory and legal issues. Integration between CSP system 530 and the operator's CRM customer profile is needed to enable several functions: authentication of CDA 140 , personalization of offers and alerts, and knowledge of customer offers for recommendations and account management. In all cases, CSP system 530 looks to the operator's CRM system 610 as the master record for all customer data. To protect end-customer data, all of the end-customer data is stored within the CSP customer database and managed in a manner that enables it to be secure and auditable at all times. Any changes made to the customer data are tracked using an audit trail that can be made available for reports, audits, etc. In addition, the CSP data centers can be deployed in specific geographical locations to accommodate data security, privacy and location requirements. The integration that is required to store and update this data inside CSP system 530 can be accomplished using an API (e.g., CSP CRM API 1701 of FIG. 17 ) that enables data to be pulled from the operator's CRM system 610 using a commonly used and relatively unchanged key. In one embodiment, the key can be the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) followed by the Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number (MSISDN). Depending on the nature of the product deployment, customers may be allowed to update their data through the CDA 140 , e.g. change billing methods, addresses, etc. In this case, the same approach is recommended to update customer data inside the operator's systems. Since the customer profile data feeds CSP's customer database and contains all of the customer's current plan information, the CRM integration also enables changes made outside of CSP system 530 to be reflected in the CDA 140 and CSP system 530 . Thus, any changes to rating or policy parameters can be properly synchronized between CSP system 530 and the operator. To that end, changes made within the operator's customer care and/or retail ordering systems are pushed (recommended) or pulled periodically from the operator's CRM system 610 to CSP system 530 . The CRM integration allows CSP system 530 to be constantly up-to-date with the operator's systems. In one embodiment, the API (e.g., CSP CRM API 1701 of FIG. 17 ) allows customer data to be rapidly accessed and updated. This is necessary because customer profile data is used in the display of account management functions, as well as a key input into the CSP recommendations engine. In one embodiment, CSP system 530 uses the following information in the customer profile for CRM integration: TABLE 3 Customer Profile Fields and CSP Functions that Use These Fields Field Name Description Authentication Recommendation AccountMgt IMSI Customer's IMSI x MSISDN Customer's phone x number Customer Name Customer's billing x x name Billing Account the Operator's x x Number billing account for customer Contract Date (tenure) Original contract x x date or tenure of customer Current Plan Type Prepaid or postpaid x x Current Voice Plan Current plan x x Current Data Plan x x Current Messaging x x Plan Current “other” Plan Current non-mobile x x or other service plan Bill Cycle Date Postpaid bill cycle x x date or prepaid expiration date Previous Voice Plan Most recent x x Previous Data Plan changed plan x x Previous Messaging x x Plan Previous “other” Plan x x IMEI/Device Type Device type x x identifier or IMEI - the latter is preferred Opt-In Status Customer's election x to receive notifications Campaign Opt-In Customer's election x Status to receive campaigns and promotions Current campaign Campaign customer x is currently attached to (if any) CRM Integration Area (VI): Customer Management—Customer Care. CSP system 530 has a number of customer management capabilities that can be useful to the operator's customer care and customer management teams. In one embodiment, CSP system 530 does not directly push data into the operator's CRM system 610 . Rather, it assumes that integrations are already in place within the operator's infrastructure to pass information, for example, from the product catalog, provisioning/ordering and similar systems to the CRM system 610 . If a direct push integration to the CRM system is necessary, CSP system 530 can provide information via an API to the CRM system 610 on a per-event or time-basis. In one embodiment, CSP system 530 can, via an API, allow the operator's CRM system 610 to provide diagnostic, current offer and current usage data. Since CSP system 530 is both the rating and policy management engine, a customer current usage and policy status, e.g. throttled or not throttled can be made available to the CRM system 610 . One key component of the CSP system 530 is the ability to push advanced service and network-level diagnostics to the handset and provide the user timely and actionable feedback to solve issues. While one of the key attributes of the CSP system 530 and CDA is the ability to allow a customer to perform a majority of account management and self-support issues, it may be unavoidable that sometimes the customer will call customer care. When the customer does call customer care, the customer care agent (or a technical support representative) can, via the API, pull diagnostic information into their normal systems and provide assistance to the customer. In the case where the CRM system cannot integrate to an external data source, CSP system 530 can be setup to launch-in-context (LIC) along with the customer care representative's existing tools. Provisioning/Order Entry Integration. Prior to the description of provisioning/order entry integration, it is useful to differentiate between order management and provisioning/order entry functions. Order management functions aggregate customer selections for offers, payment methods and any other updates and pass that information to a provisioning/order entry system that allows access to those ordered services on the network. Since CSP system 530 may be the master rating and policy engine, it can enable access to the selected services and then integrate with the order management system to feed data to downstream systems, e.g. care, reporting and CRM. This integration assumes the existence of interfaces between the order management and related downstream systems (e.g., CRM and reporting) to manage activities such as customer activation, service changes, device changes and updating financial and marketing reports. FIG. 19 is an overview of provisioning/order entry integration according to one embodiment of the invention. Referring also to FIG. 6 , CSP system 530 includes a CSP provisioning/order entry API 1901 , which interacts with operator IT system 150 to manage service provisioning/order entry. In one embodiment, CSP provisioning/order entry API 1901 defines service offer codes (SOCs) for offers that are applicable to one or more customers. When the customer selects an offer, CSP system 530 provisions the selected service against the SOC code. The selected offer is then propagated to other systems (e.g., CRM and billing). Through CSP provisioning/order entry API 1901 , CSP system 530 can be notified of changes to customer profile, and CSP-created offers can be pushed to the product catalog. In one embodiment, CSP system 530 is provided with the appropriate identifiers for all available provisioned services. These codes (and associated parameters) are known as service offer codes (SOC) and can be used by CSP system 530 to inform the provisioning/order entry system to allow a customer access to their selected offers. For data services, CSP system 530 can provision service access on its integrated PCRF based upon the customer's selections, and submit, via CSP provisioning/order entry API 1901 , the appropriate SOC, any relevant parameters and a customer identifier (IMSI or MSISDN) directly to the provisioning/order entry system for fulfillment. In parallel, CSP system 530 can send the same information via a Web services interface to the operator's order management system for further processing and population of downstream systems. In an alternative embodiment, the operator can choose to provision its PCRF with the same information as CSP system 530 . FIG. 20 illustrates an example of an operation sequence that provisions the offers selected by customers. In one embodiment, CSP system 530 validates offer rules and restriction ( 2001 ), and signals CDA 140 to display offers ( 2002 ). When the customer selects an offer ( 2003 ), CDA 140 captures the offer and order information ( 2004 ). In response, CSP system 530 enables access to selected services ( 2005 ). At this point, CSP system 530 generates and sends the order to operator IT system 150 via an API (e.g., CSP provisioning/order entry API 1901 ) ( 2006 ), and in parallel, signals CDA 140 to display service confirmation ( 2010 ). When operator IT system 150 receives the order from CSP system 530 ( 2007 ), it updates CRM and customer profile ( 2008 ) as well as downstream systems ( 2009 ). After CDA 140 displays service confirmation ( 2010 ), the customer can start using the selected services ( 2011 ). CDA 140 can further display updated details in My Account (e.g., the My Account feature shown in FIG. 11 ). CSP system 530 also offers the ability to offer and provision other mobile (voice, messaging) and non-mobile services (DSL, insurance) that are not rated by CSP system 530 . In this case, CSP system 530 can, using the same mechanisms noted above, provide the provisioning/order entry and ordering systems the appropriate SOC (or equivalent) code, allowing the appropriate network elements (e.g., HLRs) and IT platforms (CRM) to be updated. To that end, all of the products and services offered by the operator need to be provided to CSP system 530 , placed in the product catalog and synchronized. As previously noted, CSP system 530 receives information about a customer's current services and selections from the customer profile database. If a change is made to the customer's plans or services via the Care or Retail system, these changes and their associated provisioning/order entry changes are sent to CSP system 530 . Billing Integration. In one embodiment, CSP system 530 integrates with the operator's billing system in the following areas: Rating of Data Usage, Self-Service Account Management and Risk Management and Payment. FIG. 21 is an overview of billing integration according to one embodiment of the invention. Referring also to FIG. 6 , CSP system 530 of FIG. 6 includes a CSP billing API 2101 , which interacts with operator IT system 150 to manage billing and payments. In one embodiment, through CSP billing API 2101 , CSP system 530 pushes rated data CDRs to billing/mediation system, and billing/mediation system pushes rated voice and SMS to CSP system 530 . CSP system 530 is integrated for credit/debit processing. CSP system 530 can push payment details to operator's billing/mediation system. The operator's billing system does tax, invoice and collection. Billing Integration Area (I): Rating of Data Usage. In one embodiment, a CSP-integrated OCS can be used to rate data usage for customers that are managed by CSP system 530 . The rates and policies used by the OCS can be stored and managed by CSP system 530 . In one embodiment, CSP system 530 can rate usage and calculate charges on a per session basis. Depending on the nature of the product deployment, CSP system 530 can either store, aggregate and format usage into an invoice-ready format, or send rated, per-session usage to the operator's CRM or other system. If the former, CSP system 530 can provide the invoice-ready data feeds to a mutually agreed sFTP site for the operator to pick up and include into its billing process a set number of days prior to the close of the billing cycle. In the latter option, CSP system 530 can post, on a per-session basis, aggregated usage including the customer identifier (IMSI or MSISDN), plan code and total usage. In one embodiment, this integration will be managed through the use of an API (e.g., CSP billing API 2101 ) that can directly feed the operator billing system. A known analogue to this type of integration is one where a third party provides a “bill on behalf of” service to an operator. In this case, CSP system 530 will be charging data usage on behalf of the operator and providing that rated usage for use by downstream financial systems (e.g., taxation) as well as CRM and reporting systems. If an API cannot be made available, these data can be posted to a sFTP site. Billing Integration Area (II): Self Service Account Management. A key feature of the CDA 140 is the ability for the customer to view, in real time, current service usage. In an embodiment where CSP system 530 is rating data and the operator is rating voice and SMS, it is necessary to integrate with the operator's usage management systems to get rated and/or aggregated usage for those services. Depending on the operator system that sources this data, a push API or sFTP file transfer can be used to get these data. A key factor in determining how to perform this integration is how fast the usage information can be made available via the interface. If there is a delay greater than a pre-defined time period (e.g., 15 minutes between usage completion and CDR delivery), a secondary method may be used to enable the “real-time” nature of the CDA 140 account management function. In this case, the customer profile integration may be a candidate to pull current, aggregated usage. Billing Integration Area (III): Risk Management and Payment. Depending on the nature of the product deployment, CSP system 530 can also integrate with the operator's risk management and payment systems. The integration with these services is highly dependent on the service used and where it sits within the operator infrastructure. The ideal integration with CSP system 530 is to use an existing interface, e.g. the customer profile to determine the risk score for a customer and use that along with the catalog rules sourced from the product catalog integration to determine payment risk. In addition, CSP system 530 can, as part of the order management and provisioning/order entry transaction, send a payment type and payment details. This is necessary if the operator wants to enable prepaid or credit card payments for services purchased via CDA 140 . In this case, the integration is also highly dependent on the target system and its location within the operator infrastructure. Typically, CSP system 530 can interface with but does not actually store or process any payments. Data Warehouse/Business Intelligence Integration. FIG. 22 is an overview of data warehouse integration according to one embodiment of the invention. Referring also to FIG. 6 , CSP system 530 of FIG. 6 includes a CSP reporting API 2201 , which interacts with operator IT system 150 to manage data warehouse. In one embodiment, through CSP reporting API 2201 , CSP system 530 can push reports to operator IT system 150 using a sFTP interface or a similar interface. The sFTP interface can be over the Internet. In some embodiments, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) can be used for additional security. In some embodiments, CSP system 530 provides over twenty reports for use by an operator, such as daily subscriber report, usage detail reports, reports on charges of all kinds, and the like. Reports can be generated daily and/or monthly, and delivered to the operator. Thus, a method, system and apparatus for a Core Service Platform (CSP) has been described. It is to be understood that the techniques shown in the figures can be implemented using code and data stored and executed on one or more electronic devices (e.g., an end station, a network element, etc.). Such electronic devices store and communicate (internally and/or with other electronic devices over a network) code and data using non-transitory machine-readable or computer-readable media, such as non-transitory machine-readable or computer-readable storage media (e.g., magnetic disks; optical disks; random access memory; read only memory; flash memory devices; and phase-change memory). In addition, such electronic devices typically include a set of one or more processors coupled to one or more other components, such as one or more storage devices, user input/output devices (e.g., a keyboard, a touch screen, and/or a display), and network connections. The coupling of the set of processors and other components is typically through one or more busses and bridges (also termed as bus controllers). The storage devices represent one or more non-transitory machine-readable or computer-readable storage media and non-transitory machine-readable or computer-readable communication media. Thus, the storage device of a given electronic device typically stores code and/or data for execution on the set of one or more processors of that electronic device. Of course, one or more parts of an embodiment of the invention may be implemented using different combinations of software, firmware, and/or hardware. It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading and understanding the above description. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

A system for managing wireless devices in a wireless network comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled with the processor, wherein the memory is configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to: receive a diagnostic request to analyze a problem associated with a wireless device operating in the wireless network; retrieve diagnostic information associated with the wireless device from the wireless network; retrieve diagnostic information associated with the wireless device from the wireless device; determine at least one solution for the problem associated with the wireless device based on the retrieved diagnostic information from the wireless network and the wireless device; transmit the at least one solution; and receive a confirmation that the problem has been resolved.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention pertains to gate valves, and in particular to resilient seat gate valves. 2. Description of the Related Art Resilient seat gate valves are employed in the transport of clean water. The valve gate or closure member is typically in the form of a wedge made of cast iron material so as to be sufficiently rugged so as to be suitable for high pressure and high flow applications. In a resilient seat gate valve, the outer surface of the valve wedge is coated with an elastomeric material so as to offer a bubble-tight seal even at elevated operating pressures. The valve wedge is operated by turning a threaded stem so as to advance or retract the valve wedge within the waterway of the valve housing. Upon valve closure, the resilient material on the edge forms a bubble-tight seal with the internal surface of the valve body. Dirt or other contamination in the valve operating system can lead to incomplete sealing of the wedge or other malfunction. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a resilient seat gate valve. Another object of the present invention is to provide a resilient seat gate valve having an improved wedge operator system which readily overcomes the deleterious effects of contamination introduced either during construction or entrained within product carried to the valve. These and other objects of the present invention which will become apparent from studying the appended description and drawings are provided in a valve arrangement, that comprises a valve housing that defines a water passageway and a valve seat within the valve passageway. A valve wedge disposed within the housing passageway moves along a direction of operation between a closed position in contact with the valve seat to block flow of water through the valve passageway and an open position allowing flow of water through the valve passageway. A pair of spaced apart tracks are disposed within the valve housing on either side of the wedge and extend along the direction of operation. A pair of opposed wings carried on the valve wedge, travel in each track. A valve stem coupled to the valve wedge moves the valve wedge in opposite reciprocating directions between valve open and valve closed positions. Rollers are carried on the wings for rolling engagement with the tracks and scraper blades are carried on the wings adjacent the rollers to scrape contamination from the tracks. The tracks may be provided with or without a liner. If a wing is provided without rollers because of a light loading application, for example, the track is preferably provided without a liner. A light loading condition may arise, for example, at the upper end of a horizontally oriented valve arrangement. However, under heavy loading conditions as, for example, at the bottom end of a horizontally operated valve arrangement, it is preferred that the wings be provided with load bearing rollers. In this instance, it is also preferred that the track be provided with a liner of generally U-shaped cross-section and made of a rugged material such as stainless steel. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a resilient seat gate valve arrangement according to principles of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 2 — 2 of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the valve wedge member with the scraper and rollers thereof; FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the valve wedge member thereof, shown in partial section; FIG. 5 is a plan view of the valve wedge member of FIG. 3, shown in partial section; FIG. 6 is a side view of the valve wedge member of FIG. 3, taken from the right side thereof; FIG. 7 is a side view of the valve wedge member of FIG. 3 taken from the left side thereof; FIG. 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the line 8 — 8 of FIG. 1; FIG. 9 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the line 9 — 9 of FIG. 1; FIG. 10 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the line 10 — 10 of FIG. 4; FIG. 11 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the line 11 — 11 of FIG. 4; and FIG. 12 is a top plan view of a scraper member thereof. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, and initially to FIG. 1, a resilient seat gate valve arrangement is generally indicated at 10 . The arrangement includes a valve body 12 having an internal wall defining a waterway 16 and a valve wedge passageway 20 . An operator assembly 24 includes a valve stem nut 28 which is secured in the upper end 32 of a gate or valve wedge 30 . Valve wedge 30 is covered with a conventional resilient coating comprised of a moldable, elastomer or other suitable material. As will be seen herein, the valve member offers an improved operation with a minimum of additional expense and without requiring unusual or costly manufacturing procedures. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated, valve arrangement 10 is of a relatively massive construction, accommodating flow pressures of several hundred psi and relatively large flow rates. The valve assembly has found immediate commercial acceptance in waterway applications, according to the American Water Works Association C-500 and C-515 Standards, and is especially useful in larger size valves 24 inches through 48 inch sizes, as well as 2 inches through 24 inch sizes. In use, a rotational force is applied to a drive or input shaft 36 of an actuator or operator assembly 24 . This in turn causes the valve stem nut 28 to extend in an outward direction (to the left, in FIG. 1 ). This causes the valve wedge 30 to advance in a leftward direction in FIG. 1, so as to block the waterway 16 , thus moving the valve arrangement from the open position shown in FIG. 1 to a closed position. Upon reversal of the rotational force, the valve wedge is returned to a fully opened position. As mentioned, valve assembly 10 is of relatively massive construction and, when a larger size valve is installed below ground, it is preferably installed in the orientation illustrated in FIG. 1 with drive shaft 36 pointing in a generally upward direction. As will be seen herein, rollers 62 are provided to support the weight of the valve wedge 30 and to aid in guiding the valve wedge between valve open and valve close positions. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, dirt, debris or other accumulation tends to build up at the bottom portion 40 of the valve assembly over time, thus impeding the free movement of the valve wedge. Of course, when small valve sizes are employed or when a larger valve arrangement is installed above ground or is installed at a sufficient depth below grade, the valve assembly may be oriented in what may be termed an “upright” position with the valve wedge traveling in a generally vertical direction. In this latter arrangement, a need still arises for guiding the valve wedge as it is moved between its closed and open positions, and it is desirable that any debris accumulated in the tracks guiding the rollers 62 and wedge 30 are cleared so as to permit desired, free movement of the valve wedge. Turning now to FIG. 3, valve wedge 30 defines a slot 44 at its end portion 32 , to provide ready coupling with valve stem nut 28 . Valve wedge 30 has a pair of protrusions or wings 46 , 48 formed on either side of the valve center line 50 . Valve wedge 30 includes a seating portion 52 which mates with a channel 54 (see FIG. 1) to provide valve seating. As mentioned, wings 46 , 48 are located opposite one another on either side of a valve wedge center line 50 . With reference to FIG. 1, the valve wings 46 , 48 are located adjacent respective tracks 56 , 58 which extend generally parallel to the valve center line, in the direction of valve wedge movement. With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, scraper members 79 , 70 are located at the top and bottom of the valve wedge, respectively. In the illustrated embodiment, the valve arrangement is intended for a so-called horizontal orientation with the valve wedge traveling back and forth in a horizontal direction. Both scraper members define sockets 60 for receiving rollers 62 . As illustrated, rollers 62 are omitted in the upper scraper member 79 since it is not required to sustain gravity loads as with the lower scraper member 70 . In the illustrated embodiment, it is preferred that lower scraper member 70 be formed of a metal composition, most preferably an aluminum bronze alloy. The upper scraper member 79 bears substantially lighter loadings, given the horizontal orientation of the valve arrangement. Accordingly, it is preferred that the upper scraper member 79 be formed of a lighter weight material such as nylon. If desired, the sockets can be omitted from the upper scraper member 79 since rollers are not required in that member, in the preferred embodiment. If the orientation of the valve cannot be determined beforehand or if a user desires, the upper scraper member 79 can be made of identical construction to that of the lower wing 48 described above. In this alternative embodiment, rollers would also be provided in the sockets of the upper scraper member 79 . In the preferred embodiment illustrated for example in FIG. 1, the upper track 56 differs from the lower track 58 . The upper track 56 preferably comprises a hollow channel which guides the travel of the upper wing 46 . Lower track 58 preferably comprises a channel similar to that of track 56 with the addition of an U-shaped stainless steel track insert. If a user should require the upper scraper member 79 to be of heavier construction and to be provided with rollers 62 , then it is preferred that a stainless steel insert be provided to line the upper channel or track 56 making the construction identical to that of the lower track 58 . With additional reference to FIG. 3, scraper members 70 , 79 are installed on each wing, and include openings 72 to allow rollers 62 (when present) to protrude so as to contact their respective tracks. As will be seen herein, the scraper members provide rotational mounting for the rollers 62 which are preferably formed of bronze or other suitable material. With additional reference to FIG. 12, scraper members 70 are of an integral construction with an opening 78 for receiving the wings. Radiused portions 74 are located on either end of scraper 70 , terminating at acute edges 76 . Referring to FIGS. 1 and 8, and initially to FIG. 8, it can be seen that the housing 12 forms a depression or recess within which a U-shaped liner for track 58 is located. A pin 80 preferably of, but not limited to, stainless steel material holds roller 62 captive within the side walls of scraper 70 . As mentioned, roller 62 protrudes through opening 72 so as to contact the bight portion of the liner for track 58 . The liner for track 58 is preferably formed of stainless steel material. As can be seen in FIG. 8, the track liner fits within a complementary-shaped channel or groove formed in the housing. The track liner may be secured within the housing by epoxy bonding or other conventional attachment methods, such as a force fit, or outwardly protruding barbs from the track liner which engages the housing. As mentioned above, the channel illustrated in FIG. 8 is provided as the upper track 56 shown in FIG. 1 . If the upper and lower scraper members 79 , 70 are to be made of identical dimensions then an insert is provided for the upper channel for dimensioning purposes. Alternatively, the upper scraper member 79 can be provided with a width dimension increased to account for the absence of a stainless steel track liner. As can be seen in FIG. 8, the scraper member 70 extends from wing 48 . With reference to FIGS. 1, 3 and 12 , for example, the scraper members 79 , 70 are inserted over the wings 46 , 48 with substantial portions of the wings being received within the central openings 78 of the scraper members. If desired, the scraper members may be permanently affixed to the wings using epoxy bonding or other conventional fastening techniques. The scraper members may be placed over the wings without provision for permanent attachment, since they will be held captive in the final assembly (see FIG. 1, for example). However, it is generally preferred that the scraper members be maintained at a predetermined close spacing with respect to the tracks. In order to ensure that proper spacing is maintained throughout the operational life of the valve assembly, some form of rigid attachment of the scraper member to the wings may be required. As shown in FIG. 8, scraper 70 is dimensioned for a close fit within channel 58 . If desired, no further arrangement need be provided to hold pin 80 captive within the scraper due to the press fit of pin 80 within roller 62 . Referring to FIG. 9, the roller, pin and track have been removed and replaced with a polymeric scraper 79 . Referring to FIGS. 5, 10 and 11 , the valve wedge, as mentioned, preferably comprises a rigid inner core 30 a such as cast iron or other conventional material, covered with an outer resilient coating 30 b of elastomer or other composition. As can be seen from the drawings, the valve wedge 30 has a relatively complex three-dimensional shape, with varying cross-sectional shapes and thicknesses throughout. The preferred hollow construction of the scrapers provides secure engagement with wings 46 , 48 despite changes in cross-sectional shape of the valve wedge. Referring to FIG. 1, for example, the relatively deep insertion of the wings within the central opening of the scraper members provides secure retention of the scraper members during scraper operations, preventing tilting or racking of the scraper members with respect to the valve wings, thus preserving parallelism and accurate spacing of the bottom surface 70 a (see FIG. 3) of the scraper member. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 8, as the valve wedge is moved back and forth between open and closed positions, rollers 62 make contact with the mid-portion of tracks 56 , 58 . The acute angle edges 76 of the scrapers are located very close to the bight portions of tracks 58 and 79 . As may be seen for example in FIG. 1, the acute angle cleaning edges 76 are located below, or outward of the roller centers. Further, as indicated in FIG. 1, and as pointed out above the scraper body overlies a substantial portion of the valve wedge wing. These features cooperate to enhance the stability of the acute angle cleaning edge, as the edge traverses the tracks 56 , 58 . This imparts a mechanical advantage and mechanical stability to the acute angle edges 76 , allowing the edges to “cut through” and remove debris accumulated in the tracks 56 , 58 . Referring to FIG. 3, it will be seen that the acute angle edges 76 are formed at the bottom edge 70 a of the scraper member, at a point well below the center line of the rollers, and at a point very close to the track. As will be discussed below, this arrangement provides enhanced stability of the scraper member during a scraper operation. With valve arrangements oriented in the manner indicated herein, with the valve wedge traveling back and forth in generally horizontal directions, debris will, under gravitational forces, tend to accumulate in the lower track. Due to the substantial weight of valve wedge 30 and the relatively small contact area of roller 62 , debris and other foreign material tends to be tightly packed within the C-shaped tracks. Accordingly, the accumulated debris tends to be relatively hard and tightly held to the track surfaces. Considerable force must therefor be applied to dislodge the debris from the track, as the valve is moved back and forth between closed and open positions. As noted above, it is generally preferred that a pair of scraper blades be provided for each wing, so as to perform debris-clearing functionality in both directions of valve wedge travel. This arrangement also disposes increased mass “behind” each cleaning edge 76 making the scraper members more rugged and providing the support needed to withstand the substantial forces encountered in horizontally operated valve arrangements which encounter debris or contamination of the tracks. As indicated above, it is generally preferred that the acute angle scraping edges be spaced from the bight portion of the tracks, and this is also true of the side portions of the scraper blades with respect to the end portions or side wall portions of the tracks. Contact between the scraper blades and the tracks would, over prolonged number of operations cause the tracks to wear out prematurely. However, if too great a clearance is allowed, free rolling travel of the valve wedge would encounter interference. For a 30″ resilient seat gate valve, clearance between the track bight portion and the acute angle scraping edge 76 is held at approximately 0.035″ clearance. As mentioned, the scraper edges are formed at an acute angle sufficient to plow or dig under accumulated sediment so as to break the sediment free from the tracks. It is generally preferred that the angle of the scraper blades be held to a value of 30° or less. The drawings and the foregoing descriptions are not intended to represent the only forms of the invention in regard to the details of its construction and manner of operation. Changes in form and in the proportion of parts, as well as the substitution of equivalents, are contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient; and although specific terms have been employed, they are intended in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being delineated by the following claims.

A valve arrangement includes a valve housing that defines a product passageway and a valve seat within the product passageway. A valve wedge is disposed within the housing passageway, and moves along a direction of operation between a closed position and an open position. A pair of opposed wings are carried on the valve wedge, adjacent a guide track. Rollers are carried on the wings for rolling engagement with the tracks and scraper blades are carried on the wings adjacent the rollers to scrape contamination from tracks.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention provides a method of determining the likelihood that a patient, with a disorder treatable with a TNF antagonist, will respond to administration of a TNF-antagonist, and methods of treatment and kits for use in said methods. BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION [0002] The introduction of anti-TNFα treatment has revolutionised the management of Rheumatoid Arthritis RA ( 1 - 4 ). Several agents are available within this class but response rates are imperfect: only 26-42% of patients achieve a good EULAR response within 6 months ( 5 - 7 ). Given the high cost of these therapies, and implications for disease progression in non-responders waiting for 3 to 6 months for clinical reassessment, the ability to predict treatment responses at baseline is an important goal. [0003] The aetiology of RA is not fully understood but involves both genetic and environmental factors. In addition to synovitis there are widespread systemic effects mediated by proinflammatory cytokines that impact upon metabolism. Surprisingly, we have found that metabolic profiling predicts the response to anti-TNFα therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. There were clear differences in the metabolic profiles of baseline urine samples of patients with RA who responded well to anti-TNF therapy compared with those who did not. [0004] This difference may be important as a novel predictor of responses to TNF antagonists. It is envisaged that this approach can also be applied to a range of similar conditions as well, including and Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA), Lupus and AS (Ankylosing spondylitis). SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0005] Thus, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a method of determining the likelihood that a patient, with a disorder treatable with a TNF antagonist, will respond to administration of a TNF-antagonist, the method comprising determining the likelihood of the patient's response to said antagonist based on a metabolic profile of a biological fluid sample from said patient. [0006] The metabolic profile may be determined by assaying for the presence of one or more metabolites in the sample from the patient. The sample is ideally a baseline sample, i.e. taken before treatment has been initiated, especially if said treatment is with a TNF antagonist. The sample is a biological fluid. In some embodiments, this may be serum. In some embodiments, this may be urine. For the sake of simplicity, reference herein is predominantly made to urine as the sample, but this may also include serum or other biological fluids unless otherwise apparent. [0007] The metabolites may be any metabolites found in the sample and associated with responsiveness of the patient to a TNF antagonist. In some embodiments, the metabolite is a metabolite associated with tissue degradation or a catabolic process. In some embodiments, the metabolite to be profiled is histamine. In some embodiments, the metabolites to be profiled are any one, and ideally all, of: histamine, glutamine, xanthurenic acid and/or ethanolamine. In some embodiments, the metabolites to be profiled are any one, and ideally all, of: p-hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid, phosphocreatine, thymine, creatinine, phenylacetic, acid and/or xanthine may also be assayed/profiled. This may be in addition or in place of histamine, glutamine, xanthurenic acid and/or ethanolamine. [0008] The metabolic profile (or fingerprint or metabolomic data) may comprise of merely the presence or absence of a particular metabolite, but may also be formed from the presence or absence of several metabolites. Furthermore, the levels of a certain metabolite or certain metabolites may be determined and this may be indicative of responsiveness to a TNF antagonist. For example, certain metabolites may be upregulated, whilst other may be downregulated in responsive patients. Upregulation or downregulation may be compared to a reference or threshold value. The profile may, therefore consist of one or more piece of data for each metabolite. These may be, for instance: presence/absence; level; and/or level above/below a threshold value. Thus, a profile can be built up based on the presence, absence or levels of a certain metabolite or mixtures of two or more metabolites. In some embodiments, the profile may be a mixture of upregulated metabolites; a mixture of downregulated metabolites: or a mixture of upregulated metabolites and downregulated metabolites. Suitable assays for determining the presence, absence or levels of a metabolite in urine are well known in the art, but may include HPLC, for instance, in patients with RA, for example, who are likely to respond to TNF antagonists, there may high levels of glutamine; phenylacetic acid and/or histamine. This is typically in the baseline urine samples. Higher levels of methylamine and/or creatinine in the urine post anti-TNF therapy may also be seen, so these may be determined separately post-treatment. Similar changes in metabolites may also be seen in the urine samples of patients with PsA who are likely to respond to TNF antagonists. [0009] In any patient, threshold levels of the metabolite may be outside the normal 95% reference interval for that metabolite, indicating a higher or lower level of that metabolite. [0010] Thus, a suitable data set can be built up (as a fingerprint). This may then be overlaid matched or compared with a reference fingerprint to thereby determine the likelihood that the patient is a responder or non=responder to TNF antagonists. The reference fingerprint may have the same or more data points (i.e. metabolites) compared to the patient's fingerprint. It is also envisaged that a fingerprint for a patient may be built up as part of the present methods. It may continue to be developed over time. This may be compared to a reference fingerprint or may compared against previous fingerprints from the same patient to determine changes over time and thus allow the progression of the disease to be tracked. [0011] In RA patients, threshold levels of phenylacetic acid would typically be above the normal 95% reference interval of 0.364 μg/mg (micrograms per milligram) creatinine. In RA patients levels of xanthurenic acid would typically be above the normal 95% reference interval of 1.18 μg/mg (micrograms per milligram) creatinine. These figures come from Biomedical chromatography (2008) v22 pp 1346-1353. [0012] We have measured (using classical biochemistry approaches) both glutamine and xanthurenic acid. These correlated with the peaks in the NMR spectra. As an example, the mean xanthurenic acid concentration was 2.53 micro molar in urine of responding patients and 2.15 micro molar in non-responding patients (so 18% more in responders). The respective values for glutamine were 336 μM and 290 μM (16% more). [0013] Responsiveness as referred to herein relates to the clinical outcome of administering a TNF antagonist. This may be whether or not the patient, if prescribed or administered a TNF antagonist would benefit, for instance at least in the sense of an amelioration of symptoms or slowing of the progression of the disorder. Side effects may be discounted in the assessment of responsiveness. Criteria for assessing this are known in the art and examples are also mentioned herein. Non responsiveness may be considered to be the opposite or responsiveness—i.e. no change or even a worsening of symptoms. [0014] Disorders that may be treated using a TNF inhibitor include rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), Crohn's disease, psoriasis and its associated arthritis (PsA), hidradenitis suppurativa and/or refractory asthma. In some embodiments the disorder may be RA. In other embodiments, the disorder may be AS or psoriasis (and PsA). In some embodiments, Behcets Disease may also be included. [0015] The TNF antagonist may be considered to be a TNF inhibitor and may include anti-TNF antibodies, especially monoclonal antibodies. Examples of these are known in the art and approved products include etanercept (Enbrel), infliximab (Remicade), adalimumab (Humira), certolizimumab pegol (Cimzia) and golimumab (Simponi). Etanercept and/or infliximab are preferred. The TNF antagonist for treating the disorder may not necessarily be the same as the TNF antagonist that may be used to treat the patient, if the use of a TNF antagonist is appropriate, but in general the two are interchangeable. Reference herein to a single TNF antagonist may be considered to relate to one or more TNF antagonists unless otherwise apparent. The TNF is ideally TNF-alpha. [0016] It will be appreciated that definitive answers, although ideal, may not always be possible, hence the likelihood referred to herein. Generally, the best that can be done is that a percentage range is provided: say there is at least a 50-70% or 60-80% or at least 70-90% or at least 75-85% or at least 80-90% or at least 85-95% or at least 90-95% or more chance that the patient will be responsive to a TNF antagonist. [0017] In a further aspect, the invention provides a method of determining whether a patient with RA will respond to administration of a TNF inhibitor, comprising assaying metabolites in a biological fluid sample from the patient and correlating changes in metabolite levels with a likelihood of a positive response to said inhibitor. [0018] In a still further aspect, the invention provides a screening method comprising determining the likelihood that two or more patients, with a disorder treatable with a TNF antagonist, will respond to administration of a TNF-antagonist, the method further comprising determining the likelihood of the patients' response to said antagonist based on a metabolic profile of biological fluid samples from each patient. This may also be considered to be a method of identifying patients, for instance in a certain population, that have the disorder and may respond to a TNF antagonist. [0019] In a further aspect, the invention provides a method for the treatment or prophylaxis of a disorder treatable with a TNF antagonist, comprising: identifying that the patient will respond to administration of a TNF-antagonist by determining the likelihood of the patient's response to said antagonist based on a metabolic profile of a biological fluid sample from said patient; and administering a suitable treatment to said patient. The suitable treatment may comprise a TNF antagonist if the patient is determined to be likely to respond to a TNF antagonist. [0020] Alternatively, it may not comprise a TNF antagonist if the patient is determined to be unlikely to respond to a TNF antagonist. Treatments other than TNF antagonists are well known for the disorder. For instance, they may include NSAIDs for RA. [0021] Infliximab and etanercept were found to alter metabolites in the urine differently. For instance, there were clear differences in the metabolites at 12 weeks post treatment. Increases in the metabolites hippuric acid, citrate and/or lactic acid, and ideally all of them, may be associated with infliximab treatment. Increases in the metabolites choline, phenylacetic acid, urea, creatine and/or methylamine, and ideally all of them, were associated with etanercept treatment. Also provided is a method for determining the likelihood that a patient has been treated with Infliximab or etanercept, the method comprising determining the likelihood based on a metabolic profile of a urine sample from said patient, wherein increases in the metabolites hippuric acid, citrate and/or lactic acid, and ideally all of them, may be associated with infliximab treatment and increases in the metabolites choline, phenylacetic acid, urea, creatine and/or methylamine, and ideally all of them, were associated with etanercept treatment. The increases may be compared against a baseline, i.e. pre-treatment. [0022] For RA, infliximab and/or etanercept are particularly preferred as the TNF antagonist. For Crohn's disease, infliximab is particularly preferred as the TNF antagonist. Infliximab and etanercept currently are both used in treating RA, but only infliximab is used in treating Crohn's disease. So analysis of urines of Crohn's disease may show differences with RA. [0023] In a further aspect, the invention provides a kit for determining the metabolic profile of a biological fluid sample. The kit is suitable for use in the present methods. It may comprise: a set of at least one control metabolite, but preferably two, three, four or more control metabolites; and means for collecting and/or testing samples and the metabolites therein. Suitable means for collecting serum are known as those for collecting urine, which may include pots or vials, for instance. The control metabolites correspond to the metabolites being tested (assayed) for in the sample from the patient. [0024] Provides is, therefore, a kit for determining the metabolic profile of a biological fluid sample comprising: means for collecting and/or testing samples and the metabolites therein; and a set of at least one control metabolite corresponding to the metabolites being tested for in the sample from a patient. [0025] Thus, the control metabolites may include histamine and so forth as described herein. In other words, a kit might include a set of standard metabolites which can be used to confirm the presence of the key metabolites. These may be also present at a range of concentrations for use in Mass spectrometric (MS) on NMR analysis of urines. Such standards would also be useful in ELISA (enzyme linked immune sorbent assays) in which antibodies specific to each of the metabolites could be used to assess the concentration of the individual metabolites and so derive the overall metabolite fingerprint. Indeed, the kit itself may also comprise an ELISA kit (sub-kit) comprising one or antibodies specific each metabolite to be detected. The ELISA kit would also comprise means for detecting said antibodies when bound to the metabolite, as known in the art. [0026] Other antibody-based assays could be used, in which the individual antibodies are linked to differently fluorescent beads (e.g. Luminex technology) and so multiplexed assessment of the range of metabolites could be done. Since metabolites are the targets or products of metabolic enzymes, such enzymes may be added to urine samples and the level of activity of the enzyme against the metabolite could be used to quantitate the metabolite. An example of this might be lactate dehydrogenase for the assessment of lactate. [0027] It is envisaged that the present metabolomic approach could be combined with any of the following: CRP; cytokine; and/or autoantibody analyses in tests to predict response. This may be used as part of an individually-tailored therapy, i.e. in personalised medicine. As such, the invention may also provide a method of determining and/or providing a personalised treatment regime to or for a patient, comprising determining the likelihood that the patient, with a disorder treatable with a TNF antagonist, will respond to administration of a TNF-antagonist, the method comprising determining the likelihood of the patient's response to said antagonist based on a metabolic profile of a urine sample from said patient, and including a TNF antagonist in the treatment regime if a sufficiently positive likelihood for a response is determined. [0028] A sufficiently positive likelihood may be 50% or more, but it could be less depending on clinical circumstances, for instance a lower threshold may be acceptable in cases where no other treatments are successful. [0029] In some embodiments, the relationship between baseline metabolite profiles and the change in DAS28 over time (for instance every 3, 6 9 or 12 months) may be assessed to allow progression of the disorder, which is RA, and/or effectiveness of a treatment to be assessed. The assessment may be by known methods such as using PLS-R. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES [0030] The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures. [0031] FIG. 1 : Metabolic fingerprinting distinguishes between baseline urine samples from RA patients who go on to have good response or not at 12 months. A. 1D 1 H NMR spectra of baseline urine samples from RA patients who go on to have a good response () or not (◯) to TNF antagonists at 12 months were subjected to supervised analysis (PLS-DA). The values on the axis labels indicate the proportion of the variance captured by each latent variable. B. Weightings plot of the PLS-DA model of spectral data from baseline urine samples of the RA patients who go on to have good response or not at 12 months highlight major regions of the spectra that distinguish between the sample groups. The values on the x axis indicate chemical shift (ppm) and the values on the y axis indicate the proportion of the variance captured by each latent variable. C. 1D 1 H NMR spectra of baseline urine from RA patients who go on to have a good response () or not (◯) to TNF antagonists at 12 months were subjected to PCA using GALGO. The values on the axis labels indicate the proportion of the variance captured by each principal component. [0035] FIG. 2 Metabolic fingerprinting enables identification of metabolites that alter post treatment with TNF antagonists in patients that have a good response. A. 1D 1 H NMR spectra of urine samples from RA patients at baseline (◯) and 12 weeks () who go on to have a good response to TNF antagonists at 12 months were subjected to supervised analysis (PLS-DA). The values on the axis labels indicate the proportion of the variance captured by each latent variable. B. Weightings plot of the PLS-DA model of spectral data from urine samples of the patients with RA who responded to TNF antagonists highlights major regions of the spectra that distinguish between the baseline and 12 week samples. The values on the x axis indicate chemical shift (ppm) and the values on the y axis indicate the proportion of the variance captured by each latent variable. C. 1D 1 H NMR spectra of urine samples from PsA patients at baseline (◯) and 12 weeks () who go on to have a good response to TNF antagonists at 12 months were subjected to supervised analysis (PLS-DA). The values on the axis labels indicate the proportion of the variance captured by each latent variable. D. Weightings plot of the PLS-DA model of spectral data from urine samples of the patients with PsA who responded to TNF antagonists highlights major regions of the spectra that distinguish between the baseline and 12 week samples. The values on the x axis indicate chemical shift (ppm) and the values on the y axis indicate the proportion of the variance captured by each latent variable. [0040] FIG. 3 Metabolic fingerprinting of urines from RA and PsA patients. A. 1D H NMR spectra of urine samples from RA and PsA patients 12 weeks post treatment with infliximab (◯) and etanercept () who had a good response to treatment were subjected to supervised analysis (PLS-DA). The values on the axis labels indicate the proportion of the variance captured by each latent variable. B. Weightings plot of the PLS-DA model of spectral data from urine samples of the RA and PsA patients post treatment with infliximab and etanercept who go on to have good response at 12 months highlight major regions of the spectra that distinguish between the sample groups. The values on the x axis indicate chemical shift (ppm) and the values on the y axis indicate the proportion of the variance captured by each latent variable. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0043] Muscle wasting is a common feature of RA and its extent is associated with RA disease activity ( 8 ) but low BMI is uncommon, as fat mass is preserved or even increased ( 9 ). The extent of the metabolic changes and the types of metabolites seen may therefore be good markers of cytokine mediated inflammatory processes in RA. Several studies have used metabolomic analysis in patients and animal models of inflammatory disease ( 10 - 14 ). Given the integrated nature of systemic metabolism, the analysis of multiple metabolites may provide a better understanding of the disease associated changes. Metabolomic analysis, based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy of biofluids, can be used to identify a broad range of metabolites simultaneously. Using this approach, the identification of several metabolites in cancer and cardiovascular disease has provided insights into disease mechanisms and has highlighted their potential as biomarkers of disease activity and response to therapy ( 15 - 17 ). Systemic changes in many low molecular weight metabolites are reflected by their levels in urine and, indeed, metabolomic analysis of urine samples has been used in inflammatory conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) ( 18 - 20 ), to successfully distinguish different types of IBD, and to identify the presence of ongoing intestinal inflammation. Metabolomic profiles have also been shown to alter during therapy ( 21 ). However, no one has yet thought to assess whether metabolomic profiles in the urine may have a role in predicting responses to TNF antagonists in patients with RA and PsA. [0044] Anti-TNF therapies are highly effective in rheumatoid (RA) and psoriatic (PsA) arthritis but a significant number of patients exhibit partial or no therapeutic response. Inflammation alters local and systemic metabolism and TNF plays a role in this. We sought to determine if the patient's metabolic fingerprint prior to therapy could predict responses to anti-TNF agents. Urine was collected from 16 RA and 20 PsA patients before and during therapy with infliximab or etanercept. Urine metabolic profiles were assessed using NMR spectroscopy. Discriminating metabolites were identified, and the relationship between metabolic profiles and clinical outcomes was assessed. Baseline urine metabolic profiles discriminated between RA patients who did or did not have a good response to anti-TNF therapy, according to EULAR criteria, with a sensitivity of 88.9% and specificity of 85.7%, with several metabolites (in particular histamine, glutamine, xanthurenic acid and ethanolamine) contributing. There was a correlation between baseline metabolic profiles and the magnitude of change in DAS 28 from baseline to 12 months in RA patients (p=0.04). In both RA and PsA urinary metabolic profiles changed between baseline and 12 weeks of anti-TNF therapy and within the responders, urinary metabolite changes distinguished between etanercept and infliximab treatment. The clear relationship between urine metabolic profiles of RA patients at baseline and their response to anti-TNF therapy may allow development of novel approaches to the optimisation of therapy. Differences in metabolic profiles during treatment with infliximab and etanercept in RA and PsA may reflect distinct mechanisms of action. [0045] In some embodiments, the TNF antagonist is an anti-TNF treatment. This may be Infliximab. In some embodiments, the anti-TNF treatment is Etanercept. In some embodiments, the anti-TNF treatment is infliximab and/or Etanercept. Drugs in this class include etanercept (Enbrel), infliximab (Remicade), adalimumab (Humira), and golimumab (Simponi). Any of these are preferred. [0046] Classification of patients as having a disorder may be by known methods. For example, RA patients may be said to have RA if they meet the criteria of the 1987 American College of Rheumatology classification criteria ( 22 ). They may also be positive for rheumatoid factor (RF) and/or anti-CCP antibodies. They may have a disease duration >6 months. They also have a DAS28 score >4.0. [0047] PsA patients may have psoriasis at screening. They may have >3 swollen. They may also have >3 tender peripheral joints. The may have negativity for RF and anti-CCP antibodies and/or a disease duration >6 months. Although this is not believed to be necessary, the patients may have failed treatment with at least one DMARD and may also have been treated with methotrexate. Said treatment with methotrexate may have been at a dose of at least 7.5 mg weekly and this may have been stable for at least 4 weeks prior to commencing anti-TNFα therapy. In some embodiments, no other DMARDs may be allowed within the 4 weeks prior to commencing treatment. In some embodiments, prednisolone may be allowed provided the dose remained stable and did not exceed 10 mg daily. [0048] Treatment regimes will be well known to the skilled person and can in any case be determined according to the standard protocols advised for over the counter or prescription treatments. In some embodiments, these may include infliximab at 3 mg/kg at weeks 0, 2 and 6 and then every 8 weeks until week 46; or etanercept 25 mg twice weekly for 52 weeks. A physician will be able to determine the correct dose based on the latest guidelines for the TNF antagonist. Therapy may be kept stable for the first 3 months. After 3 months, therapy could be changed as required, including escalation of methotrexate therapy to 20 mg weekly. [0049] The conditions in respect of which the present invention may be used in treatment or prophylaxis may be any of the following, which are not mutually exclusive: autoimmune disease associated with joint inflammation; arthritic diseases; and chronic inflammatory diseases, including chronic inflammatory arthritis. Lupus, AS, and/or PsA (Psoriatic arthritis) are preferred and the treatment or prophylaxis of RA is particularly preferred. RA is well-known and described herein, but may be determined according to the 1987 criteria mentioned herein, for instance. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease and is a form of spondyloarthritis, a chronic, inflammatory arthritis. Psoriatic arthritis is a type of inflammatory arthritis. It develops in up to 30 percent of people who have the chronic skin condition, psoriasis. The condition may also be any condition for which a TNF antagonist may be prescribed, i.e. a condition that responds to a TNF antagonist. [0050] With respect to responsiveness, a good clinical response is of course preferred. This may be defined as a DAS 28<3.2 and/or a DAS 28 improvement>1.2 after therapy ( 23 ) in RA. A good response in PsA may be defined as an improvement in 2 factors (with at least one being a joint score) with worsening in none of the following four factors: patient and physician global assessments, tender and swollen joint scores ( 24 ). The EULAR criteria mentioned herein are well known and may be used to determine responsiveness if required. [0051] Conditions (disorders) that may be diagnosed may include chronic inflammatory diseases, such as ankylosing spondylitis (AS), RA and/or PsA. RA or PsA are preferred. RA is particularly preferred in some embodiments. [0052] Conditions (disorders) that may be treated may include chronic inflammatory diseases, such as ankylosing spondylitis (AS), RA and/or PsA. RA or PsA are preferred. RA is particularly preferred in some embodiments. [0053] With respect to RA, the urine markers we have found may be indicators of either joint specific degradation processes, or may result from the systemic muscle and tissue changes associated with chronic disease, many of which are mediated through TNFα. [0054] The sample is a urine sample. The urine sample may be collected from a patient, preferably in the morning, and may be snap frozen. It should ideally be stored at −80° C. The sample is preferably collected at baseline, i.e. as soon as the patient presents him or herself, thus creating the initial time point if monitoring is to be conducted. Further samples for monitoring may be collected in the same way every 10-15, ideally 12, weeks. Preferably, monitoring should occur at 3 month, 6 month and/or 12 month intervals (from the initial baseline measurement). Re-assessment after 12 months is particularly preferred. [0055] Measurement of the metabolites may be by standard methods, including HPLC (high performance ion-exchange chromatography), especially for glutamine, and/or fluorometric methods, especially for xanthurenic acid levels. [0056] In some embodiments, the metabolite is histamine. In some embodiments, the metabolites are any one, and ideally all, of: histamine, glutamine, xanthurenic acid and/or ethanolamine. These were identified by all three analytical methods. Furthermore, several metabolites were identified by at least two of the three different methods, including p-hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid, phosphocreatine, thymine, creatinine, phenylacetic acid and xanthine. These findings cross-validate the analyses used. While these individual metabolites (glutamine and xanthurenic acid) contribute strongly to the discrimination, the whole set of metabolites present in the fingerprints is preferred to fully separate the responders from non-responders. Thus, any one, and ideally all, of: p-hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid, phosphocreatine, thymine, creatinine, phenylacetic acid and/or xanthine may also be assayed/profiled. This may be in addition or in place of histamine, glutamine, xanthurenic acid and/or ethanolamine. [0057] In patients with RA who responded to TNF antagonists, there were high levels of glutamine, phenylacetic acid and histamine in the baseline urine samples and higher levels of methylamine and creatinine in the urine post anti-TNF therapy. Similar changes in metabolites were also seen in the urine samples of the patients with PsA who responded to TNF antagonists ( FIG. 2 ). We also found that increases in hippuric acid, citrate and lactic acid were seen with infliximab treatment and increases in choline, phenylacetic acid, urea, creatine and methylamine were seen with etanercept treatment. All three methods identified histamine, glutamine, xanthurenic acid and ethanolamine, while both PLS-DA and PLSR identified creatinine, p-hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid and phosphocreatine and both PLS-DA and GALGO identified phenylacetic acid and xanthine. Histamine, glutamine, phenylacetic acid, xanthine, xanthurenic acid and creatinine were up regulated in the urine samples of the patients that had a good response to therapy whilst ethanolamine, p-hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid and phosphocreatine were down regulated. One metabolite we identified as a strong discriminator in baseline urinary metabolites was histamine. Several of the other metabolites that we have observed were also associated with catabolic processes and tissue degradation for example, glutamine, xanthurenic acid and ethanolamine, can result from tryptophan and other amino acid degradation pathways. [0058] Baseline levels of TNFα may predict the dose of infliximab needed for optimal response ( 43 ) and other work has demonstrated that a combination of blood cytokines and autoantibodies can predict responses to etanercept ( 44 ). Infliximab and etanercept alter metabolites in the urine differently as there are clear differences in the metabolites at 12 weeks post treatment. Increases in the metabolites hippuric acid, citrate and lactic acid were associated with infliximab treatment and increases in the metabolites choline, phenylacetic acid, urea, creatine and methylamine were associated with etanercept treatment. The presence of choline suggests that etanercept may alter lipid metabolism. [0059] We have also shown that the same metabolites alter in the urines of patients with RA and PsA that responded to TNF antagonists. It may therefore be that chronic inflammatory diseases respond by a common mechanism to TNF antagonists. Examples Patients and Methods [0060] Patients in Patients were part of a multicentre study (Glasgow Royal Infirmary (PsA patients only), [0061] Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham (PsA patients only), and Charing Cross Hospital. London (RA patients only)) comparing responses to infliximab and etanercept. All patients were aged 18 or over. RA patients were required to fulfil 1987 American College of Rheumatology classification criteria ( 22 ), to be positive for rheumatoid factor (RF) and/or anti-CCP antibodies, have a disease duration >6 months and a DAS28 score >4.0. The PsA patients were required to have psoriasis at screening, >3 swollen and >3 tender peripheral joints, negativity for RF and anti-CCP antibodies and a disease duration >6 months. All patients had failed treatment with at least one DMARD and were treated with methotrexate at a dose of at least 7.5 mg weekly, stable for at least 4 weeks prior to commencing anti-TNFα therapy. No other DMARDs were allowed within the 4 weeks prior to commencing treatment but prednisolone was allowed provided the dose remained stable and did not exceed 10 mg daily. [0062] Participants were randomised to either infliximab 3 mg/kg at weeks 0, 2 and 6 and then every 8 weeks until week 46, or etanercept 25 mg twice weekly for 52 weeks. Therapy was kept stable for the first 3 months. After 3 months, therapy could be changed as required, including escalation of methotrexate therapy to 20 mg weekly in apparent non-responders. Clinical data, including ESR, DAS28 and HAQ scores, were collected at baseline and monthly up to week 52. A good clinical response was defined as a DAS 28<3.2 and a DAS 28 improvement>1.2 after therapy ( 23 ) in RA. A good response in PsA was defined as an improvement in 2 factors (with at least one being a joint score) with worsening in none of the following four factors: patient and physician global assessments, tender and swollen joint scores ( 24 ). Random urine samples were collected from the patients at baseline and at 12 weeks and were snap frozen and stored at −80° C. The study was conducted in compliance with the Helsinki declaration and ethical approval was obtained from the West Glasgow Ethics Committee. All subjects gave written informed consent. Metabolomic Analysis [0063] After thawing, urine samples (1 ml) were centrifuged at 13000×g for 5 mins and samples prepared using a standard protocol ( 25 ). Briefly, urine was buffered with phosphate buffer (100 mM), made 10% with D 2 O and 0.5 mM with TMSP and the pH adjusted (twice over 30 mins) to pH 7.0. The sample was then centrifuged and loaded into a standard 5 mm NMR tube for spectroscopy. [0064] One-dimensional 1 H spectra were acquired at 300K using a standard spin-echo pulse sequence with water suppression using excitation sculpting on a Bruker DRX 500 MHz NMR spectrometer equipped with a cryoprobe. Samples were processed and data calibrated with respect to the TMSP signal. Spectra were read into Prometab ( 26 ) (custom written software in Matlab (version 7, The Math Works, Natick, Mass.)), and were truncated to a 0.8-10.0 ppm (parts per million) range. Spectra were segmented into 0.005 ppm (2.5 Hz) chemical shift ‘bins’ and the spectral areas within each bin were integrated. Spectra were corrected for baseline offset and then normalised to a total spectral area of unity and a generalised log transformation was applied (26). Binned data were then compiled into a matrix, with each row representing an individual sample. Statistical Analyses [0065] The data bins from groups of spectra were mean centred and then assessed using the following techniques: (1) Partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was used to perform supervised clustering of samples using PLS Toolbox (version 5.8) (Eigenvector Research, Wenatchee, Wash., USA) in Matlab (release 2009a), PLS-DA was cross-validated using Venetian blinds ( 27 ), a method which re-assigns randomly selected blocks of data to the PLS-DA model to determine the accuracy of the model in correctly assigning class membership. (2) GALGO, a package available in the statistical environment R, was used to further model the relationship between good responders and those that did not respond well using a genetic algorithm search procedure coupled to statistical modelling methods for supervised classification ( 28 ). The results of GALGO analyses are presented as principle component analysis (PCA) plots where the X and Y axes represent first and second principle components providing the greatest variation between samples, and the next largest unrelated variation respectively. GALGO analysis was cross validated using K-fold cross validation where the original sample is randomly partitioned into subsamples and each observation is used for both training and validation. (3) PLS-R, a regression method that identifies which metabolites can predict a continuous variable, was also used. This analysis yields r 2 , a measure of the goodness-of fit of the linear regression, while permutation testing assessed the significance of this prediction. [0066] Lists of metabolites providing the greatest discrimination between groups were then identified for each technique. Using multivariate analyses, peaks with large weightings were identified from the PLS-DA weightings plot. Metabolites were identified using these peaks. GALGO analysis produces a list of ‘bins’ of ranked importance which contribute to the separation between the groups. The PLS-R model represents the 90 “bins” or regions of the spectra which had the greatest influence on the correlation with the change in DAS28. These bins were used to identify the discriminatory metabolites. NMR databases (Human Metabolome Database version 2.5) and Chenomx NMR suite (Chenomx, Alberta, Canada) were used to identify the metabolites. Measurement of Metabolites [0067] Glutamine levels were measured in the urine samples using high performance ion-exchange chromatography and xanthurenic acid levels were measured using a fluorometric method ( 29 ). Results Prediction of Response to Anti-TNF Therapy [0068] After 12 months of anti-TNF therapy RA patients were divided into two groups according to their response, as determined by EULAR criteria (Table 1). Response to anti-TNF therapy was also assessed at 3 months but only four patients had a good response (as determined by EULAR criteria) at this stage. For PsA patients only one patient did not respond to treatment with a TNF antagonist according to the predefined response criteria; it was therefore not possible to look at prediction of response in PsA using this particular data set. [0069] NMR spectra of stored baseline urine samples were acquired and analysed in order to identify differences between the two groups as follows: [0070] Supervised PLS-DA analysis ( FIG. 1A ) showed a clear distinction between patient groups segregated according to clinical response. This model distinguished samples with or without a good response with a sensitivity of 66.7% and a specificity of 57.1%. A weightings plot, which indicates regions of the NMR spectra which contribute to this separation ( FIG. 1B ), was used to identify the discriminatory metabolites responsible for the difference in response and these are shown in Table 2. [0071] The PLS-R model represents the 90 “bins” or regions of the spectra which had the greatest influence on the correlation with the change in DAS28. The GALGO model identifies the bins which have the greatest influence on the separation. For the PLS-DA model the metabolites were identified from the weightings plot, which indicates regions of the NMR spectra which contribute to the separation. The top 20 bins were identified using GALGO and PLS-R and the metabolites identified from these 20 bins. From the PLS-DA weightings plot the top 20 peaks were identified and the metabolites identified from these. [0072] GALGO analysis was then used to reanalyse the data, firstly in order to verify the results obtained using a further supervised analysis technique, and secondly to utilise the superior modelling power of the GALGO genetic algorithm, which more effectively removes irrelevant variables. The PCA plot yielded by GALGO analysis shows a clear distinction between RA patients segregated according to clinical response ( FIG. 1C ). The cross validation of this model was shown to distinguish samples from patients who would not have a good response and samples from patients who would have a good response with a greatly improved sensitivity of 88.9% and specificity of 85.7%. GALGO analysis was further used to identify the discriminatory metabolites responsible for the difference in response as shown in Table 2. [0073] Finally, the relationship between baseline metabolite profiles and the change in DAS28 over 12 months was assessed using PLS-R. This analysis was repeated 100 times with and without randomisation of the NMR bin data. There was a significant association between the change in DAS28 and baseline RA metabolites (p=0.04). Permutation testing with 90 NMR bins included (as optimised by forward selection) demonstrated that the regression model was statistically valid (p<0.01). As the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society of the UK reports, the Disease Activity Score (or DAS 28 assessment) is now recommended at every clinic visit by the British Society for Rheumatology. This measurement is regarded as crucial to guide decisions on starting or altering treatments. DAS 28 as a score is derived from 4 different measurements; the ESR or CRP blood test within the previous 2 weeks, a careful examination of 28 joints for swelling and tenderness and the patients' own assessment of their disease activity and its impact on their health using a visual analogue score. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), is the rate at which red blood cells sediment in a period of one hour. [0074] There was a significant difference between the CRP level (C-reactive protein (CRP) is typically found in blood and its levels rise in response to inflammation) of those patients that responded to TNF antagonists compared to those that did not respond (p=0.03). We therefore used PLS-R to further analyse the relationship between CRP and baseline metabolites in order to investigate potential confounding variables; this did not reveal any significant association (p=0.52), suggesting that the difference we have found is independent of the inflammatory processes reflected in the CRP levels. Grouping the metabolite data into quartiles according to the CRP values also failed to separate patient groups on PCA or PLS-3.5 DA (data not shown). Previous studies have shown that patients with RA have subclinical nephropathy ( 30 ; 31 ) and that the urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR) is a sensitive marker of disease activity in RA ( 30 ). We measured the ACR in the urine samples and there was no significant difference between the ACR of those patients that responded to TNF antagonists compared to those that did not respond (p=0.17) (Table 1). We also performed regression analysis for metabolic profiles at baseline against ACR and this was not significant (p=0.31) suggesting that the relationship we have found between baseline urinary metabolic profiles and DAS28 is independent of micro-albuminuria. Comparison of Metabolites Predicting Response to Therapy in RA [0075] Metabolites that associated with a change in DAS28 are shown in Table 2. The metabolites histamine, glutamine, xanthurenic acid and ethanolamine were identified by all three analytical methods. Furthermore, several metabolites were identified by at least two of the three different methods, including p-hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid, phosphocreatine, thymine, creatinine, phenylacetic acid and xanthine. These findings cross-validate the analyses used. We were also able to identify glutamine and xanthurenic acid in the urine samples that were used for NMR analysis using ion-exchange chromatography and a fluorometric method respectively. There was a good correlation between the NMR peaks heights and the assayed levels of xanthurenic acid (p=0.001, r=0.73 using the Spearman correlation test) and a strong trend in the results for the glutamine (p=0.07, r=0.46 using the Spearman correlation test), which help validate our interpretation of the NMR data. However, the assayed levels of glutamine and xanthurenic acid were not significantly higher in the urine samples of the patients who had a good response, which suggests that while these individual metabolites contribute strongly to the discrimination, the whole set of metabolites present in the fingerprints is needed to fully separate the groups. Effect of TNFalpha Antagonists on Metabolite Profiles [0076] The details of the patients on etanercept and infliximab are shown in Table 3. We investigated the effect of anti-TNF therapy on metabolic profiles longitudinally, comparing baseline and 12 week (during therapy) urine samples using supervised PLS-DA analysis (sensitivity 71.4% and specificity 57.1% in RA and sensitivity and specificity of 61.1% in PsA) and GALGO (sensitivity 100% and specificity 82.9% in RA and sensitivity 71.8% and specificity 69.5% in PsA). Using the weightings plot we identified that in patients with RA who responded to TNF antagonists, there were high levels of glutamine, phenylacetic acid and histamine in the baseline urine samples and higher levels of methylamine and creatinine in the urine post anti-TNF therapy. Similar changes in metabolites were also seen in the urine samples of the patients with PsA who responded to TNF antagonists ( FIG. 2 ). [0077] Combining RA and PsA patients with a good response, we assessed which urinary metabolites changed after 12 weeks treatment with infliximab and with etanercept using supervised PLS-DA analysis (sensitivity 84.6% and specificity 55.6%) ( FIG. 3 ) and GALGO (sensitivity 86.2% and specificity 100%). Using the weightings plot we found that increases in hippuric acid, citrate and lactic acid were seen with infliximab treatment and increases in choline, phenylacetic acid, urea, creatine and methylamine were seen with etanercept treatment. Due to the small patient numbers, we could not investigate the effects of etanercept and infliximab in RA and PsA separately. DISCUSSION [0078] There were clear differences in the metabolic profiles of baseline urine samples of patients with RA who responded well to anti-TNF therapy compared with those who did not. This difference may be important as a novel predictor of responses to TNF antagonists. We have used 3 different data analysis methods to predict response and each found that similar metabolites contributed. We have used GALGO as well as PLS-DA as it has been shown that genetic algorithms optimise the results by removing irrelevant variables and dramatically improve the classification ability of models ( 32 ). All three methods identified histamine, glutamine, xanthurenic acid and ethanolamine, while both PLS-DA and PLSR identified creatinine, p-hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid and phosphocreatine and both PLS-DA and GALGO identified phenylacetic acid and xanthine. Histamine, glutamine, phenylacetic acid, xanthine, xanthurenic acid and creatinine were up regulated in the urine samples of the patients that had a good response to therapy whilst ethanolamine, p-hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid and phosphocreatine were down regulated. [0079] One metabolite we identified as a strong discriminator in baseline urinary metabolites was histamine. Urinary histamine metabolites have also been suggested as a marker of disease activity in inflammatory bowel disease ( 33 ) suggesting it may be a generic marker of inflammatory processes. Histamine is most obviously associated with mast cell dependent processes such as allergy, and histamine has been identified as a constituent of synovial fluid in arthritis ( 34 ). Histological examination of synovial infiltrates in early rheumatoid arthritis has shown mast cells to be present ( 35 ), suggesting that these cells could be the source of the discriminating histamine. However, an alternative but significant route for histamine generation is via histidine degradation. Histamine arises in many tissues by the decarboxylation of histidine ( 36 ). It has long been known that TNF a promotes cachexia associated with chronic inflammatory disease and this cytokine is known to have direct effects in accelerating muscle breakdown leading to the release of free amino acids including histidine ( 37 ). Consistent with this, levels of histidine have been shown to be considerably higher in patients with RA and systemic lupus erythematosus ( 38 ) compared to controls. Several of the other metabolites that we have observed were also associated with catabolic processes and tissue degradation for example, glutamine, xanthurenic acid and ethanolamine, can result from tryptophan and other amino acid degradation pathways. Tryptophan has been shown to be down-regulated in plasma of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) compared with to controls ( 39 ). The release of tryptophan from its binding serum protein has been shown to correlate with improvement in disease activity in AS ( 39 ) and this may be the same in RA. This explains the presence of histamine in general, but what was nevertheless surprising was that the presence of histamine prior to treatment was able to differentiate between responders and non-responders. [0080] A previous metabolomic study has suggested that alterations in serum levels of amino acids may be a useful marker of the presence and severity of osteoarthritis in the knee ( 40 ), and the urine markers we have found may be indicators of either joint specific degradation processes, or may result from the systemic muscle and tissue changes associated with chronic disease, many of which are mediated through TNFα. [0081] Previous work has investigated predictors of response to TNFα antagonists. Analysis of patients in the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register found that treatment with methotrexate or NSAIDs predicted response to TNF antagonists ( 41 ). All the patients in our study were on methotrexate and there were an equal number of patients on NSAIDs who had a good response compared to those who did not. Smoking has been associated with a poor response to infliximab ( 41 ) but only one of our patients smoked. Another group has found that the presence of RF or anti-CCP antibodies is associated with a reduced response to TNF antagonists ( 42 ) but all of our RA patients were positive for RF and/or anti-CCP antibodies. Baseline levels of TNFα may predict the dose of infliximab needed for optimal response ( 43 ) and other work has demonstrated that a combination of blood cytokines and autoantibodies can predict responses to etanercept ( 44 ). In our cohort there was a significant difference between the CRP levels in the patients that responded to TNF antagonists compared to those that did not. However, the PLSR analysis failed to find an association between CRP and baseline metabolites suggesting that the association between baseline metabolites and response is independent of CRP. [0082] Infliximab and etanercept alter metabolites in the urine differently as there are clear differences in the metabolites at 12 weeks post treatment. Increases in the metabolites hippuric acid, citrate and lactic acid were associated with infliximab treatment and increases in the metabolites choline, phenylacetic acid, urea, creatine and methylamine were associated with etanercept treatment. The presence of choline suggests that etanercept may alter lipid metabolism. [0083] We have also shown that the same metabolites alter in the urines of patients with RA and PsA that responded to TNF antagonists. It may therefore be that chronic inflammatory diseases respond by a common mechanism to TNF antagonists. [0084] This is the first demonstration that metabolomic techniques using 1D NMR spectra can predict outcome to TNF therapy in patients with severe RA providing a sensitivity and specificity for response that has potential clinical utility. Our present results are robust as they were verified by repeat analysis using alternative statistical techniques. Therefore, although a small initial cohort of patients was used, larger studies should validate these findings. DETAILED FIGURE LEGENDS [0085] FIG. 1 . Metabolic fingerprinting distinguishes between baseline urine samples from RA patients who go on to have good response or not at 12 months. A. 1D 1H NMR spectra of baseline urine samples from RA patients who go on to have a good response () or not (◯) to TNF antagonists at 12 months were subjected to supervised analysis (PLS-DA). The values on the axis labels indicate the proportion of the variance captured by each latent variable. B. Weightings plot of the PLS-DA model of spectral data from baseline urine samples of the RA patients who go on to have good response or not at 12 months highlight major regions of the spectra that distinguish between the sample groups. The values on the x axis indicate chemical shift (ppm) and the values on the y axis indicate the proportion of the variance captured by each latent variable. C. 1D 1H NMR spectra of baseline urine from RA patients who go on to have a good response () or not (◯) to TNF antagonists at 12 months were subjected to PCA using GALGO. The values on the axis labels indicate the proportion of the variance captured by each principal component. [0086] FIG. 2 . Metabolic fingerprinting enables identification of metabolites that after post treatment with TNF antagonists in patients that have a good response. A. 1D 1H NMR spectra of urine samples from RA patients at baseline (◯) and 12 weeks () who go on to have a good response to TNF antagonists at 12 months were subjected to supervised analysis (PLS-DA). The values on the axis labels indicate the proportion of the variance captured by each latent variable. B. Weightings plot of the PLS-DA model of spectral data from urine samples of the patients with RA who responded to TNF antagonists highlights major regions of the spectra that distinguish between the baseline and 12 week samples. The values on the x axis indicate chemical shift (ppm) and the values on the y axis indicate the proportion of the variance captured by each latent variable. C. 1D 1H NMR spectra of urine samples from PsA patients at baseline (◯) and 12 weeks () who go on to have a good response to TNF antagonists at 12 months were subjected to supervised analysis (PLS-DA). The values on the axis labels indicate the proportion of the variance captured by each latent variable, D. Weightings plot of the PLS-DA model of spectral data from urine samples of the patients with PsA who responded to TNF antagonists highlights major regions of the spectra that distinguish between the baseline and 12 week samples. The values on the x axis indicate chemical shift (ppm) and the values on the y axis indicate the proportion of the variance captured by each latent variable. [0087] FIG. 3 . Metabolic fingerprinting of urines from RA and PsA patients. A. 1D 1H NMR spectra of baseline urine samples from RA and PsA patients 12 weeks post treatment with infliximab (◯) and etanercept () who had a good response to treatment were subjected to supervised analysis (PLS-DA). The values on the axis labels indicate the proportion of the variance captured by each latent variable. B. Weightings plot of the PLS-DA model of spectral data from urine samples of the RA and PsA patients post treatment with infliximab and etanercept who go on to have good response at 12 months highlight major regions of the spectra that distinguish between the sample groups. The values on the x axis indicate chemical shift (ppm) and the values on the y axis indicate the proportion of the variance captured by each latent variable. REFERENCE LIST [0000] (1) Maini R, St Clair E W, Breedveld F, Furst D, Kalden J, Weisman M et al. Infliximab (chimeric anti-tumour necrosis factor alpha monoclonal antibody) versus placebo in rheumatoid arthritis patients receiving concomitant methotrexate: a randomised phase 111 trial. Lancet 1999; 354(9194):1932-9. (2) Spencer-Green G. Etanercept (Enbrel): update on therapeutic use. Ann Rheum Dis 2000; 59 Suppl 1:i46-i49. (3) Keystone E C, Kavanaugh A F, Sharp J T, Tannenbaum H, Hua Y, Teoh L S et al. 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Arthritis Res Ther 2009; 11(3):R76.

Provided is a method of determining the likelihood that a patient, with a disorder treatable with a TNF antagonist, will respond to administration of a TNF-antagonist. The method comprises determining the likelihood of the patient's response to said antagonist based on a metabolic profile of a urine sample from said patient. Methods of treatment and kits for use in said methods are also provided.

This patent application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/917,937, filed May 15, 2007, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Embodiments described herein relate to methods and systems for interrupted counting of items in containers. Representing a numerical value by a countable collection of items is a well-known method for information storage, and has been implemented in devices, such as abacuses and ballot boxes, since calculations were performed in ancient times. In the case of the abacus, a number is represented by beads on a bar. When more than one numerical value has to be stored at the same time, the straightforward method is to use multiple containers, and in the case of the abacus, multiple bars of beads. The stored number of items in a container can be read in several ways, including: (1) (a) looking into the container; and (b) visually counting the number of items; (2) (a) pouring the items out of the container so that the items are easily exposed for counting; (b) segmenting the area in which the items are located; (c) counting the number of items in each segment; and (d) summing the count of items in each segment to arrive at the total number of items; and (3) (a) weighing the container with the items; (b) subtracting the weight of the empty container; and (c) dividing the total item weight by the weight of a single item. When accurate counting is required, and the items are not visible from outside the container, a practical method for counting is to sequentially extract the items from the container, ensuring that each extraction corresponds to exactly one object, and counting the extractions. Such a method is used in situations that require counting accuracy (e.g., for counting envelopes in a ballot box). Such a method of counting by extraction is useful when there is a single container. However, when there is a plurality of containers containing the same type of items, such a method is very sensitive to interruptions. An interruption, such as a sudden gust of wind that could move everything that is not secured within the container, could cause the counting agent (i.e., the person counting the items) to lose count of the items. When a large number of containers are being counted simultaneously (i.e., one item is extracted from every container in each cycle of counting until all the containers are empty) an interruption could interfere with and ruin the count. There are many cases in which large numbers of containers have to be counted mechanically and simultaneously, and therefore the conventional counting methods, which are not immune to interruptions that disrupt the count of unprotected items, are problematic. An example for such interruption is a sudden loss of power in a counting system that stores the number of successful extractions in a volatile memory. It would be desirable to have methods and systems for interruptible counting of items in a plurality of containers. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Various embodiments can advantageously provide methods and systems for interrupted counting of items in containers. Examples of such methods and systems are provided herein. For the purpose of clarity, several terms which follow are used as set forth herein. The term “interruptible system” is used herein to refer to a system that is susceptible to an interruption that disrupts a process, and as a result, erases all the information, associated with the process, that is not stored in a non-volatile memory. An interruptible system that needs to preserve its memory is adapted to perform processes in a way that will enable the system to recover from such interruptions. The term “item” is used herein to refer to any object that call be stored in a container. Examples of items include marbles in a mechanical container, and charged particles in an electronic container (i.e., a flash-memory storage device). The term “counting”, of a phenomenon or occurrence by a system, is used herein to refer to counting repetitions of a signal that is available to the system, and that has a 1:1 relationship with the phenomenon or occurrence. The term “countable container” is used herein to refer to a non-volatile container capable of storing a number of discrete items. The term “container column” is used herein to refer to a set of containers, typically linear or planar, each containing any number, zero or more, of items that are arranged so that items can be extracted from the containers substantially simultaneously (in a single parallel operation). The term “column array” is used herein to refer to a set of columns such that items can be moved from one column to another column in the column array. The term “layer” is used herein to refer to a collection of items that are being picked simultaneously in one extraction from a column array. All the items that are picked together, one from each container, belong to the same layer. The term “layer of items” is used herein to refer to a binary array (corresponding to an array of containers) having logic ‘one’ in positions representing a productive extraction of an item, and logic ‘zero’ in positions representing a non-productive extraction of an item. Typically, if an array of containers has a different number of items initially in two or more containers, then some of the containers will become empty upon repetitive extractions (i.e., layer by layer), and the corresponding positions in the layer will have a logic ‘zero’. The term “storage container” is used herein to refer to a container, containing items, which can be emptied by the extraction of items from the container. The term “receiving container” is used herein to refer to a container that is in the process of being filled with items. The term “supply container” is used herein to refer to a container, containing a large and unknown number of items, that is used as a source of items in a container-duplication process. The term “copy container” is used herein to refer to a container that is initially empty and is used for creating a duplicate of a storage container. The term “productive extraction” is used herein to refer to an extraction operation performed on a storage container in which the extraction yields an item. The term “non-productive extraction” is used herein to refer to an extraction operation performed on a storage container in which the extraction does not yield an item (e.g., if the container is empty, or if the extraction fails to withdraw an item). The term “port” is used herein to refer to a discrete location in a container through which items can be extracted and/or inserted. For mechanical containers, the port can be an opening on the periphery of the container. The port can be as small as the size of a single item, and can be as large as a significant portion of the surface area of the container. In electronic devices, the port can be a voltage barrier that is (1) high enough to prevent charged particles (e.g., electrons) from crossing the barrier without application of a suitable voltage, and (2) low enough to enable charged particles to cross the barrier when a suitable voltage is applied. While conventional counting techniques may appear to relate to the embodiments described herein, it is stressed that the methods and systems described herein are operative in interruptible systems in which power may fail and volatile data may be lost. In contrast, conventional counting techniques do not provide any recovery capability from a power failure in such systems, rendering such techniques ineffective as reliable counting methods. Embodiments described herein teach methods for counting a large number of items distributed among a large number of containers, by substantially parallel extraction of the items from the containers which is substantially independent of (insensitive to) interruptions that would normally interfere with conventional counting methods. In an interruptible system, each countable container is typically associated with a receiving container that is initially empty (i.e., when the counting process begins). The counting process utilizes iterative steps in which one item is extracted from the countable container, and one item (the same item or another item, concurrently or sequentially) is inserted into the receiving container. The system counts the number of productive extractions from each countable container. When all the countable containers are empty, the number of productive extractions from each countable container is deemed to be the number of items in the respective receiving container. If the extraction process is interrupted, and thus causes the count of extractions to be erased, the system can recover from such an error by returning all the items in the receiving containers to the respective countable containers and restarting the counting process. This system assumes that upon recovery from such an interruption it knows which countable container was associated with which receiving container. However, the magnitude of the interruption can be disruptive to the extent that the system loses the link between the receiving containers and the associated countable containers (hereinafter referred to as “extracted containers”). Accordingly, as described herein (regarding FIG. 3 ), the interruptible system is protected against such disruptive interruptions by storing, in a non-volatile memory, a record of the identity of the extracted and receiving containers. Upon beginning the counting process, the system stores a record of the identity of the two containers in a reliable location. The system then begins extracting items from the countable container, and inserting items into the receiving containers. If during this process, an interruption occurs, and as a result, the system loses track of the identity of the two containers, then upon the process recommencing, the system retrieves the identity of the two containers from the reliable location, identifies the two containers, pours the contents of the receiving container back into the countable (i.e., extracted) container, and restarts the counting process. The “reading” (i.e., counting of items) of the vector of countable containers can be performed with a single mechanism that has one “extraction tool” (or “extraction arm”) per countable container. Upon activation of such a parallel-extraction mechanism, all the arms are inserted into the countable containers, and are prompted to attract a single item each (assuming the containers are not empty). The attraction of a single item to the arm can be performed, for example, utilizing a mechanical gripper having a gripping volume that can accommodate only a single item at a time, by a magnetic pick-up that can only hold the weight of a single item at a time, or by a suction cup that can accommodate a single item only. The extraction mechanism can then insert the item into the corresponding receiving container in the receiving array. In another embodiment described herein, the system includes a mechanism to avoid excessive wear by preventing the above-mentioned arms from trying to extract items from counting containers that were already found to be empty. The maximum number of items in a container may be high (e.g., 500 items). The number of containers in a vector can also be high (e.g., 1,000 containers). If the containers are about half full, then there are about 250,000 items (in the exemplary case) to be extracted from the vector upon being “read”. As an example, if an extraction mechanism without a wear-reducing mechanism is operated 500 times, in order to accommodate a container that is full, the statistical expectation is that the mechanism performs 250,000 non-productive extractions in which the arms come out of the containers “empty-handed” (in the exemplary case). Such unnecessary wear can be reduced by the system conveying to the extraction mechanism when a countable container is empty, and no longer needs to be visited during the current reading process. Such an indication can be performed by a wear-reducing extraction mechanism that has the ability to de-activate arms that correspond to the indicated containers. In this embodiment, the mechanism operates until all the containers are empty; each arm operates for the required number of extractions only. In some embodiments, the countable containers are arranged in a two-dimensional array of columns and rows. The reading can be accelerated by providing a mechanism that can extract items in parallel from a series (either columns or rows). For the purpose of describing this embodiment, it is assumed that the columns of the array are vectors of containers to be read simultaneously. According to the above-mentioned embodiments, the reading of a countable-container vector requires the allocation of an empty receiving vector. Therefore, one column of the array will be assigned to be read, and another column of the array will be assigned as a vector of receiving containers. In some embodiments (regarding FIGS. 4A-C ), the system optimizes the counting process when the maximum capacity of the countable container, in terms of the number of items it can hold, is fixed and known. Such embodiments are useful when there is a relatively large difference between the duration of extracting an item from a container and the duration of inserting an item into a container. For example, consider that it takes t i seconds to place an item into a container, t o seconds to extract an item from a container, t e seconds to empty a container by pouring out the items, and t f seconds to fill a container by pouring in the items. If t i <t o , and if the number of items in the container is a random variable with an even distribution in the range of 0 to n, then, if t o *0.5n>t i *0.5n+t e , the preferred method for counting the items in the container is to fill the container to its maximum capacity while counting the number of items needed to fill the container, and then subtract the number counted (in filling the container) from the maximum capacity. This provides the number representing the amount of items in the container. Since a “read” operation ends with an empty container, in this mode, the system then pours out the contents of the container without counting. If, on the other hand, t o *0.5n≦t i *0.5n+t e , then the optimal method for counting the items in the container is to extract items one by one. Using a similar logic, filling an empty container to a predetermined number of items can be performed using the following two methods: (1) starting with an empty container, and filling the container one item at a time; or (2) pouring items into the container up to its maximum capacity, and then extracting the items from the container one at a time. Assuming again that the number to be “stored” in the container is a random number with an even distribution, method (1) is preferred when t i *0.5n<t o *0.5n+t f . If a container has been filled by pouring followed by extracting (method (2)), then the container has to be designated as a “negative” container (i.e., the significant number is the complement of the current number of items). For example, for a container having a maximum capacity for 128 items, 32 items are represented as “32” for a positive container and “96” for a negative container. If 0.5n*t i and 0.5n*t o , are significantly larger than t f and t e , respectively, then it is always preferable to use whichever is smaller, t i or t o , for “one-by-one” (i.e., single extraction) operations. For example, if t i <t o , then it is always faster to “read” by adding items until the container is full, and to “write” by emptying the container, and then adding items one by one while counting the items. If t i >t o , then it is always faster to read by extracting items one by one until the container is empty, and to write by pouring items in until the container is full, and then extracting the required number of items one by one. In various embodiments (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 6 ), the containers are arranged in pairs. In each pair, one container is used to store the items (i.e., a storage container), and the other container is used as a “buffer” (to hold the items while being counted). At the beginning of each cycle, the storage container has all the items stored in the pair, and the buffer container is empty. Reading is performed by extracting items one by one from the storage container into the buffer container, and counting the steps until the storage container is empty. In the event that there is a disruption (e.g., extended break in counting or power failure) during the counting process, then, upon recommencing the counting process, the contents of all the buffer containers are poured back into the storage containers, and the reading is restarted. This way, power loss does not destroy the data. This embodiment solves the problem of losing the identity of the active containers by using an extra container (i.e., the buffer container) for each countable container. This means that only half as many containers are available for storing items. Preferably, the loss of usable countable containers that are designated as buffer containers can be compensated for by using “dedicated” receiving containers for receiving items during counting. Assuming that one empty container is used in all reading operations, upon recovering from a disruption, the system can identify the receiving container, but the system cannot identify the corresponding storage container. Such a situation is solved by storing the identity of the storage container in a reliable location. Upon recovery from a disruption, the system reads the identity of the storage container, and then pours all the items from the dedicated receiving container to the current storage container, and restarts the reading process. While such a reading mode wears down the dedicated receiving container, operation in such a mode relieves the system from the need to double the number of containers. The wear on the dedicated receiving container can be leveled, to some extent, by switching the designation of the dedicated receiving container to another container periodically, when the dedicated receiving container is empty. In some embodiments described herein, there is a table that holds a dynamic physical address for each logical countable container. There is a distinction between the physical and the logical address of the countable containers. When a countable container is being read, as described above, the contents of the container is physically transferred to another container. In the present embodiment, upon successful completion of reading, the physical location of the logical address associated with this container is changed to the physical location of the receiving container. Such an embodiment saves the need to return the contents of the extracted container to their original physical position. In some embodiment described herein (regarding FIGS. 7A-C ), an extracted container from one reading process serves as a receiving container for the next reading process. In this way, only one empty container is required for the sequential reading of any number of populated countable containers. If the containers are arranged in a matrix, and the reading process takes place in parallel on a column of containers in the matrix, then the receiving containers can be an empty vector in the matrix, and the extracted vector can become the receiving vector for the next reading cycle. When certain items are kept in a container for a long time, the items may physically disintegrate and/or disappear. Examples of items susceptible to such deterioration include fruits that can rot, living items that can die or escape, and chemical specimens that may evaporate or sublimate. Long-term storage of such items must take such phenomena into consideration. Some embodiments described herein deal with such “item volatility”. In one such embodiment described herein (regarding FIG. 8 ), the number to be stored in a container is represented by a grouping of items. For example, the number 12 can be represented by 12 quadruplets as 48 items. If, upon counting, the system finds 47 items in a container, it can be considered that the container was intended to represent the number 12, and that one item has been lost. A reading error occurs only if 4 items are lost in one container. The probability of such a reading error occurring is the fourth power of the probability of loss, which is a negligible probability. In some embodiments described herein, a storage container can be duplicated into two copy containers that have the same number of items by assigning two receiving containers to each storage container, and sequentially extracting items from the storage container, and inserting an item into each of the two receiving containers (i.e., the copy containers). If a disruption occurs during the process, the system can select one of the two copy containers, pour the contents of the copy container back into the storage container, empty the second copy container, and then restart the process. In some embodiments described herein, the life expectancy of a storage system based on counting semi-volatile items stored in countable containers is extended indefinitely by periodically reading and rewriting (referred to herein as a “refresh” operation) the contents of the containers, compensating for errors caused by item volatility by “rounding up” the read value to an integer number of groups. The time elapsed between performing successive refresh operations can selected in order to avoid the occurrence of errors. In some embodiments described herein, the number of items that represent a single “counting unit” is variable. For example, in situations in which information needs to be retained for a very long time, information is stored by allocating a large number of items per counting unit. In situations in which a lot of information needs to be stored, but some errors can be tolerated, information is stored by allocating a small number of items per counting unit, and storing more counting units in a single container. Clearly, when variably-sized item groupings are used in containers, the size of the grouping must be appropriately stored in order to correctly interpret the number of items in such containers. Such embodiments provide methods for compensating for the volatility of items in the containers. There may be a difference between the “environmental conditions” suitable for extracting items from containers and inserting items into containers. For example, there may be situations in which there is no practical way to insert an extraction tool into a container. Therefore, the only way to extract items from a container is to flood (i.e., fill) the container with a fluid that has higher specific gravity than the items, causing the items to float on the fluid toward the port of the container, from which the items can be extracted and counted. Similarly, it may not be practical to insert items into containers by laying them in the container with an insertion tool. The only way to insert items may be by bringing the items to a port located at the top of the container, and dropping the items into the container (e.g., a ballot or charity box). Such a scenario implies that the container cannot be pre-flooded with a fluid that is heavier than the items. In such cases, if single containers are to be read and written, the system would have to switch containers between the “flooded” state and the “drained” state. If flooding and draining take a lot of time, operation of the system would be very slow and high in wear. In an embodiment described herein (regarding FIG. 9 ), the containers are perforated, covered with lids, and arranged in sub-areas (referred herein as “blocks”). Each block represents a “bath” that can be flooded and drained. The read and write processes are performed simultaneously on all the containers in a block. The process of reading is performed by closing all the lids of the containers, flooding the bath with a suitably-heavy fluid, waiting for all items to aggregate under the lids, opening the lids (one by one or in parallel), and then letting the items float out of the containers while being counted. The process of writing is performed by draining a block-bath, and then dropping items, one by one, into the empty containers. Therefore, according to embodiments described herein, there is provided for the first time a method for counting items in storage containers in an array of at least two storage containers, the method including the steps of: (a) providing a storage array of at least two storage containers, each of the storage containers containing an unknown amount of items; (b) providing a receiving array of at least two receiving containers, wherein the receiving containers initially contain no items; (c) extracting a layer of the items from the storage array; (d) inserting the layer into corresponding locations in the receiving array; (e) repeating the steps of extracting and inserting while at least one of the storage containers is not empty; (f) counting, for each storage container in the storage array, a productive-extraction amount; and (g) reporting, for at least some of the storage containers, the productive-extraction amount from each storage container. Preferably, the step of extracting is performed by extracting the items from a respective port in each storage container. Preferably, the step of inserting is performed by inserting the items into a respective port in each receiving container. Preferably, the method further includes the step of: (h) restoring the items from the receiving containers in the receiving array into corresponding storage containers in the storage array. Preferably, the receiving array is a dedicated receiving array. Preferably, the items are electrons, and wherein the storage array is an array of cells in a nonvolatile memory device. Preferably, the method further includes the step of: (h) attracting individual the items in the storage containers to an extraction mechanism. Preferably, the method further includes the step of: (h) storing an identity of the storage array in a non-volatile memory device. Most preferably, the method further includes the step of: (i) recovering the identity upon recovery from a system failure that erases the productive-extraction amount. Preferably, the method further includes the step of: (h) subsequent to the step of counting, detecting when the layer is empty. Preferably, the method further includes the step of: (h) pairing a respective dedicated receiving container to each storage container. Preferably, the method further includes the step of: (h) converting the storage array, in an initial counting operation, to the receiving array in a subsequent counting operation. Preferably, a plurality of items is used to represent a single countable unit. More preferably, the method further includes the step of: (h) applying a substantially-uniform force to the items, thereby causing the items to move toward the respective ports of respective storage containers. Most preferably, the step of extracting includes extracting a single the layer in a single extraction procedure. Most preferably, the items are solid items, and wherein the substantially-uniform force is a buoyancy force applied toward the ports. Most preferably, the items are electrons, and wherein the substantially-uniform force is an electrical field applied toward the ports. More preferably, the step of extracting is performed by a plurality of extraction mechanisms, wherein each extraction mechanism has access to the items via the respective ports. Most preferably, the productive-extraction amount is incremented upon completion of productive extractions performed by the plurality of extraction mechanisms. Most preferably, each extraction mechanism operates through a different respective port. Most preferably, at least some of the plurality of extraction mechanisms operates through a common respective port. According to embodiments described herein, there is provided for the first time a method for counting items in storage containers in an array of at least two storage containers, the method including the steps of: (a) providing a storage array of at least two storage containers, each of the storage containers containing an unknown amount of items; (b) filling each storage container to a respective maximum capacity while counting a respective insertion amount; (c) for each storage container, subtracting the respective insertion amount from the respective maximum capacity to obtain a respective difference; and (d) reporting, for at least some of the storage containers, the respective difference from each storage container. According to embodiments described herein, there is provided for the first time a method for counting items in storage containers in an array of at least two storage containers, the method including the steps of: (a) providing a storage array of at least two storage containers, each of the storage containers containing an unknown amount of items; (b) providing a receiving array of at least two receiving containers; (c) filling each receiving container to a respective maximum capacity; (d) extracting a storage layer of the items from the storage array; (e) extracting a receiving layer of the items from corresponding locations in the receiving array; (f) repeating the steps of extracting from the storage array and extracting from the receiving array while at least one of the storage containers is not empty; (g) counting, for each storage container in the storage array, a respective productive-extraction amount; and (h) reporting, for at least some of the storage containers, the respective productive-extraction amount of each storage container. Preferably, the productive-extraction amount corresponds to a difference between a remaining amount in a corresponding receiving container and the maximum capacity of the corresponding storage container. According to embodiments described herein, there is provided for the first time a method for counting items in storage containers in an array of at least two storage containers, the method including the steps of: (a) providing a storage array of at least two storage containers, each of the storage containers containing an unknown amount of items; (b) providing a receiving array of at least two receiving containers, wherein the receiving containers initially contain no items; (c) extracting a layer of the items from the storage array; (d) inserting the layer into corresponding locations in the receiving array; (e) repeating the steps of extracting and inserting while at least one of the storage containers is not empty; (f) counting, for each storage container in the storage array, a productive-extraction amount; (g) storing an identity of the storage array in a non-volatile memory device; and (h) recovering the identity upon recovery from a system failure that erases the productive-extraction amount. According to embodiments described herein, there is provided for the first time a non-volatile storage system including: (a) an array of at least two containers; (b) at least one item in at least some of the containers; (c) an extraction mechanism for extracting a layer of items from the array; (d) a counting mechanism for counting a productive-extraction amount from each container; and (e) a controller operative to count an item amount, in any of the containers, by a sequence of: (i) extracting the items from the array; and (ii) counting the productive-extraction amount from each container. Preferably, the system further includes: (f) a restoring mechanism for restoring the items in the array, upon completing a counting procedure, according to the item amount. Preferably, a plurality of extraction mechanisms is configured to operate in parallel. Preferably, the system further includes: (f) a force mechanism for applying a substantially-uniform force to the items, thereby causing the items move toward respective ports of respective containers. According to embodiments described herein, there is provided for the first time a non-volatile storage system including: (a) an array of at least two containers; (b) at least one item in at least some of the containers; (c) an extraction mechanism for extracting a layer of items from the array; (d) a counting mechanism for counting a productive-extraction amount from each container; and (e) a controller operative to count an item amount, in any of the containers, by a sequence of: (i) extracting the items from the array; (ii) counting the productive-extraction amount from each container; (iii) storing an identity of the array in a non-volatile memory; and (iv) recovering the identity upon recovery from a system failure that erases the productive-extraction amount. According to embodiments described herein, there is provided for the first time a method of duplicating a container array, the method including the steps of: (a) providing a storage array of at least two storage containers, each of the storage containers containing an unknown amount of items; (b) providing a receiving array of at least two receiving containers, wherein the receiving containers initially contain no items; (c) providing a supply array of at least two supply containers, wherein the supply containers contain a relatively large number of items in each supply container; (d) providing a copy array of at least two copy containers, wherein the copy containers initially contain no items; (e) extracting an item layer of individual items from the storage array; (f) storing logical values of the item layer in a temporary logical memory; (g) inserting the item layer into corresponding receiving containers of the receiving array; (h) extracting a supply layer of individual items from the supply array in accordance with the logical values in the logical memory; (i) inserting the supply layer into corresponding copy containers of the copy array; and (j) repeating the steps (e)-(i) until the item layer is empty. Preferably, the step (e) is performed by extracting the individual items from a respective port in each storage container. Preferably, the step (g) is performed by inserting the individual items into a respective port in each receiving container. Preferably, the method further includes the step of: (k) restoring the items from the receiving array into the storage array. These and further embodiments will be apparent from the detailed description and examples that follow. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments are herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG. 1A is a conceptual representation of an empty container; FIG. 1B is a conceptual representation of an item; FIG. 1C is a conceptual representation of a container partially full with items; FIG. 2A shows a side view of a conceptual representation of an extraction tool for extracting and filling items in a container; FIG. 2B shows an end view of the extraction tool of FIG. 2A ; FIG. 3 is a conceptual representation of a system that uses dedicated receiving containers; FIG. 4A is a conceptual representation of a partially-full container that is read by filling (RBF); FIG. 4B is a conceptual representation of the container of FIG. 4A during the RBF process; FIG. 4C is a conceptual representation of the container of FIG. 4 after the RBF process has been completed; FIG. 5A is a conceptual representation of an empty container that is written by filling and emptying (WBFE; FIG. 5B is a conceptual representation of the container of FIG. 5A after being filled during the WBFE process; FIG. 5C is a conceptual representation of the container of FIG. 5B while being emptied during the WBFE process; FIG. 6A is a conceptual representation of paired containers in which there is a storage container and a buffer container; FIG. 6B is a conceptual representation of the paired containers of FIG. 6A after the items have been extracted from the storage container; FIG. 6C is a conceptual representation of the paired containers of FIG. 6B after the storage container has been restored; FIG. 6D is a conceptual representation of the paired containers of FIG. 6 after a system disruption has occurred; FIG. 7A is a conceptual representation of a system in which extracted containers from one reading process serve as receiving containers for a subsequent reading process; FIG. 7B is a conceptual representation of the system of FIG. 7A after an extraction transfer; FIG. 7C is a conceptual representation of the system of FIG. 7B after an extraction transfer; FIG. 8 is a simplified flowchart of a read-by-grouping (RBG) process; FIG. 9A is a conceptual representation of a partially-full container that is read by bath flooding (RBBF); FIG. 9B is a conceptual representation of the container of FIG. 9A after being flooded during the RBBF process; FIG. 9C is a conceptual representation of the container of FIG. 9B after the port lid has been opened during the RBBF process; FIG. 10 is a conceptual representation of a container that accommodates a dual-extraction tool; FIG. 11 is a simplified flowchart of a container-duplication (CD) process. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments described herein relate to methods and systems for interrupted counting of items in containers. The principles and operation for interrupted counting of items in containers, according to embodiments described herein, may be better understood with reference to the accompanying description and the drawings. Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1A is a conceptual representation of an empty container. A container 20 is shown positioned on a pedestal 22 . FIGS. 1A-C (and subsequent drawings) are referred to as conceptual representations in that the drawings are simplistic schemes intended to convey the features of the method in the various embodiments. Due to the broad utility of the methods, structural features have been conceptually represented so as to allow applicability to many types of item/container systems (e.g., mechanical and electronic containers). Depending on the nature of a system implementation, pedestal 22 may or may not be present in the system, or may be an integrated component of container 20 . Container 20 is shown in FIG. 1A having a port 24 . Container 20 can have any commonly-known form (e.g., a barrel or can). Container 20 can also be a cell in a non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory). FIG. 1B is a conceptual representation of an item. An item 26 is shown that can easily be inserted in, and extracted from, container 20 via port 24 . Item 26 can have any commonly-known form (e.g., a marble, an orange, an egg, and a ballot). Item 26 can also be a charged particle (e.g., an electron). FIG. 1C is a conceptual representation of a container partially full with items. FIG. 1C shows the container of FIG. 1A partially filled with identical items 26 of FIG. 1B . Container 20 can store items 26 for a relatively extended period of time, and can accommodate counting the number of items 26 in container 20 for ordinary inventory-control purposes. Moreover, container 20 can be one of many containers in a storage system. Such storage system can accommodate counting items 26 in each and every container 20 in that system. FIG. 2A shows a side view of a conceptual representation of an extraction tool for extracting and filling items in a container. An extraction apparatus 30 , having two or more degrees of freedom, is positioned on an optional apparatus base 32 , and situated such that an extraction tool 34 can enter two containers 20 via respective ports 24 . Extraction tool 34 and reach down to the bottom of containers 20 . Extraction tool 34 can either grab and extract item 26 from container 20 , or insert and drop item 26 into container 20 . Extraction tool 34 is used to move items 26 individually from one container 20 to another container 20 by rotating an extraction arm 36 from one container 20 to another container 20 . FIG. 2B shows an end view of the extraction tool of FIG. 2A . Extraction tool 34 is can be instrumental in reporting if a container 20 is empty. Upon reaching the bottom of a container 20 , and being unable to find an item 26 , extraction tool 34 reports to the system that the current container 20 is empty. It is assumed that the bottom of container 20 is concave and the last items 26 will always be found at the center of the bottom of container 20 . It should be clear that other mechanisms can be implemented in order for the system to determine if a container 20 is empty (e.g., placing sensors in the container, or visually inspecting the container). If a controller that manipulates extraction tool 34 counts the number of successful “extract and insert” operations, then when the first container 20 is empty, the controller will know the number of items 26 in the first container 20 when the process began. If the controller then returns the items 26 from the second container 20 to the first container 20 , the system will resume its original state. Such a method of “counting by moving” (CBM) can be implemented with other repetitive operations associated with moving items individually from one container to another while counting the number of movements. Such a CBM method can be used, for example, for counting oranges in a basket, eggs in a carton, or electrons in a memory cell. In the case of implementing such methods in memory cells, Forbes, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,740,104 and 5,959,896 (hereinafter referred to as Forbes '104 and Forbes '896, respectively, and incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein), teaches a multi-state flash memory cell and method for programming single electron differences. Furthermore, techniques utilizing single-electron turnstiles that count electrons one-by-one as the electrons move from container to container are known in the art. Further discussion on techniques for counting single-electron differences are provided in the Techniques section below. FIG. 3 is a conceptual representation of a system that uses dedicated receiving containers. A column array 40 , of containers 42 , is shown form a top-view perspective. Container columns in column array 40 are labeled with addresses 40 A- 40 H. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 , there are nine containers 42 shown in each of columns 40 A- 40 H. Some of containers 42 may contain an unknown number of items 26 (represented by shading, and not explicitly shown in FIG. 3 ). The number of items 26 in all containers 42 of column array 40 can be read by performing, in parallel, the CBM process described with regard to FIG. 2 . Initially, all containers 42 of column 40 F are intentionally empty. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 , containers 42 of column 40 F serve as dedicated receiving containers in the counting process. The system extracts an individual item 26 from each container 42 of column 40 C, and inserts the items 26 into corresponding containers 42 of column 40 F. The extraction and insertion steps are depicted as extraction transfer A in FIG. 3 . After each productive extraction, the system adds one to the count of items 26 in the each of containers 42 of column 40 F. If a container 42 in column 40 C is found to be empty, the system stops including that container 42 in the count. When all containers 42 of column 40 C are empty, the system stops the extraction process, reports the count for each container 42 of column 40 C, and (as a housekeeping procedure) empties all items 26 from containers 42 of column 40 F back into corresponding containers 42 in column 40 C (depicted as extraction transfer B in FIG. 3 ). The process described above with regard to FIG. 3 is sensitive to disruptions that can cause the system to lose the count. An example of such a disruption is a loss of power in a computer system that stores the count in a volatile memory. Such disruptions can result in an uncorrectable error in counting. The system, upon resuming the extraction process, may not know which container 42 was being counted when the disruption occurred, and as a result, may have lost the count, and/or may not know how many items 26 have already been moved from storage containers 42 of column 40 C to receiving containers 42 of column 40 F. In some embodiments described herein, such errors can be avoided by storing an ID number (e.g., associated with the addresses of the columns being counted) in a non-volatile location. In implementations in which containers 42 are memory cells, a non-volatile memory cell 44 associated with receiving column 40 F can be used to store such ID numbers. Upon resuming operation after a disruption, the system retrieves the identity of storage column 40 C from non-volatile memory cell 44 , returns all the items 26 from the receiving column 40 F to the storage column 40 C, and then restarts the counting. FIG. 4A is a conceptual representation of a partially-full container that is read by filling (RBF). It is assumed that the maximum number of items 26 that container 20 can hold is fixed and known. The maximum number of items 26 that container 20 can hold is designated as “N” herein. FIG. 4B is a conceptual representation of the container of FIG. 4A during the RBF process. Assuming that the operation of inserting items 26 into container 20 is a more economical process (e.g. faster or cheaper) than the operation of extracting items 26 from container 20 , then the RBF process would be a preferred method for determining the number of items 26 in container 20 . A practically unlimited supply of items 26 (obtained from a supply container 50 , depicted as a box, and not explicitly shown in FIG. 4B ) are used to fill container 20 , while being carefully counted upon entry by an inspection mechanism 52 . Examples of inspection mechanism 52 include a human operator, a mechanical counter, an optical counter, or a counter of drain current steps as disclosed in Forbes '104 and Forbes '896. FIG. 4C is a conceptual representation of the container of FIG. 4B after the RBF process has been completed. Since the maximum number of items 26 in container 20 is known, and since the event of not being able to insert another item 26 into container 20 can be sensed by inspection mechanism 52 , the system can reliably determine how many items 26 can be inserted into container 20 until container 20 is full (as shown in FIG. 4C ). Therefore, by subtracting the number of insertion operations from N, the number of items 26 that were originally inside container 20 can be deduced. For container 20 to be used as a non-volatile memory, the number of items 26 in container 20 has to be restored to the original number after the counting process is complete. In some embodiments described herein, such a restoration process can be performed using the following two operations: (1) pouring out all of items 26 from container 20 , leaving container 20 empty; and (2) inserting the exact number of items 26 that were counted back into container 20 . FIG. 5A is a conceptual representation of an empty container that is written by filling and emptying (WBFE). Container 20 is initially empty. In implementations in which container 20 is a memory cell, the memory cell is either initialized or erased. FIG. 5B is a conceptual representation of the container of FIG. 5A after being filled during the WBFE process. The system first fills container 20 to the maximum number, N, without counting. As an example, in implementations in which container 20 is an automotive bus, the filling can be performed by allowing passengers into the empty bus until all the seats are singly occupied with no standing passengers. FIG. 5C is a conceptual representation of the container of FIG. 5B while being emptied during the WBFE process. The system then extracts a quantity of items 26 from container 20 that is equal to the difference between N and a desired number of items 26 . This can be performed, as depicted in FIG. 5C , by turning over container 20 upside-down (or by any other operation that will cause items 26 to individually pour out of container 20 via port 24 ), while items 26 are counted by inspection mechanism 52 . Once the number of items 26 in container 20 is equal to the desired number, the extraction process is stopped, and container 20 is restored to its normal position. If the configuration of the system does not support an automatic flow of items 26 out of container 20 (e.g., as may be the case in counting chicks in an incubator), container 20 can be emptied using a one-by-one extraction process, while counting the number of productive extractions. In situations in which the system is disrupted, a problem with losing information arises. In such situations; all information that is not stored as items 26 in containers 20 is lost, including the identity of containers 20 , and the number of productive extractions that was counted. Only information that is reflected in the numbers of items 26 in containers 20 is restored in such a case. FIG. 6A is a conceptual representation of paired containers in which there is a storage container and a buffer container. Such embodiments solve the problem described above in which the system is disrupted. A storage container 20 A and a receiving buffer container 20 B, configured as a pair, are shown in FIG. 6A . Storage container 20 A is the container that stores items 26 for the pair. Buffer container 20 B is normally empty, and is used only for the purpose of reading the number of items 26 in storage container 20 A. FIG. 6B is a conceptual representation of the paired containers of FIG. 6A after the items have been extracted from the storage container. When the system needs to determine the number of items 26 in storage container 20 A, items 26 are extracted individually from storage container 20 A, and inserted into buffer container 20 B. When storage container 20 A is empty, the number of productive extractions represents the number of items in storage container 20 A. The system then restores the state of the pair by pouring all items 26 from buffer container 20 B back into storage container 20 A. FIG. 6C is a conceptual representation of the paired containers of FIG. 6B after the storage container has been restored. FIG. 6D is a conceptual representation of the paired containers of FIG. 6B after a system disruption has occurred. After a system disruption occurs (prior to completion of restoring storage container 20 A as described with regard to FIG. 6C ), upon resuming operation, the system is in a state in which some of items 26 are in storage container 20 A, some of items 26 are in buffer container 20 B, and the number of productive extractions performed is lost. The system recovers from such a disruption by first pouring (depicted as extraction transfer C in FIG. 6D ) all items 26 from buffer container 20 B into storage container 20 A, resetting the number of extractions to zero, and restarting the reading process. Since the containers are paired together, the system will also not lose the association between storage container 20 A and buffer container 20 B. In some embodiments described herein, the system does not restore the state of storage container 20 A at the end of the counting. Instead, the system designates buffer container 20 B, which contains all items 26 at the end of the counting, as the new storage container, saving the step of pouring items 26 back into the original storage container 20 A. Upon starting the reading process, the identity of the storage container in the pair can be determined, without having to store an ID parameter, using the following simple algorithm: (1) read the first of the two containers; (2) if the count is not zero, this is the storage container; and (3) if the count is zero, then the other container is the storage container. If both containers are empty, the algorithm will still produce the correct result. FIG. 7A is a conceptual representation of a system in which extracted containers from one reading process serve as receiving containers for a subsequent reading process. A column array 60 , of containers 62 , is shown from a top-view perspective. Container columns in column array 60 are labeled with addresses 60 A- 60 H. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 7A , there are five containers 62 shown in each of columns 60 A- 60 H. Some of containers 62 may contain an unknown number of items 26 (represented by shading, and not explicitly shown in FIG. 7A ). The embodiment of FIG. 7A provides an enhancement of efficiency over the embodiment described above with regard to FIGS. 6A-D . As a consequence of the paired configuration of containers described above with regard to FIGS. 6A-D , 50% of the total number of container columns in a column array in the system cannot be used for storing information. These columns are the associated buffer containers 20 B of such a column of containers. In the embodiment of FIG. 7A , containers 62 are unpaired. As a result, M−1 out of M container columns of column array 60 can store information, while the excluded container column is used for counting. In FIG. 7A , column 60 F is kept empty; all of containers 62 of column 60 F are empty. If the system needs to determine the number of items 26 in one or more containers 62 of a given column (e.g., column 60 B), the system uses corresponding containers 62 of empty column 60 F as receiving containers. In a process identical to that described with regard to FIGS. 2 and 3 , the system moves items 26 individually from column 60 B into column 60 F (depicted as extraction transfer D in FIG. 7A ), while counting the productive extractions. At the completion of extraction transfer D, column 60 F has the exact number and arrangement of items originally in column 60 B, and column 608 is left empty. FIG. 7B is a conceptual representation of the system of FIG. 7A after an extraction transfer. In some embodiments described herein, empty column 60 B becomes the receiving column for the next reading process. In FIG. 7B , a subsequent reading process is performed. If the system needs to determine the number of items 26 stored in column 60 G, the system moves items 26 individually from column 60 G into empty column 60 B (depicted as extraction transfer E in FIG. 7B ), while counting the number of productive extractions, leaving column 60 G empty. Column 60 G becomes the receiving column for the next reading process. FIG. 7C is a conceptual representation of the system of FIG. 7B after an extraction transfer. As mentioned above in the Summary, in order for the system to correctly count physical items in a container, the system has to account for the possibility that items will be lost (e.g., due to errors in counting, evaporation, or leaks in the container). As an example, if the items are chicks, some of the chicks may manage to jump out of a port of an incubator. As another example, if the items are electrons in a memory cell, some electrons may disappear due to stress-induced leakage current. Such item volatility may degrade the data-retention capability of a container as a non-volatile storage device. FIG. 8 is a simplified flowchart of a read-by-grouping (RBG) process. The scheme of FIG. 8 relates to a system in which the numerical value represented by the items in a container is smaller than the number of items in the container. Every data unit is represented, in such an embodiment by a pre-defined bunch of two or more items, and the numerical value in the container is equal to the smallest amount of data units that is represented by the number of items found. This solves the problem of item volatility. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 8 , four items are used to represent a single data unit. In such an embodiment, if a container needs to store the value “13”, the container ideally needs to contain 52 items, but 51 items will also be interpreted as “13”. The RBG process starts with the system counting the number of items in a container, according to any of the methods described above with regard to FIGS. 1-7 , and designates the count of items as “C” (Step 70 ). The system then checks whether C is a multiple of four (Step 72 ). If C=4x (where x is an integer value), then the system reports x (i.e., the number of items divided by four) as the count output (Step 74 ). If the number of items divided by four is not an integer (i.e., C/4≠x) in Step 72 , then the system rounds the result (i.e., C/4=y, where y is a non-integer value) up to the nearest integer value x (Step 76 ), and reports x as the count output (Step 74 ). The system then corrects the number of items in the container to a multiple of four (i.e., C=4x) (Step 78 ), and the process ends (Step 80 ). By doing so, the system prevents an accumulation of error, and thus, compensates for containers that leak out items slowly over time. As described above with regard to previous drawings, there are two ways for extracting items from and inserting items into a container: (1) a “one-by-one” extraction/insertion method as described with regard to FIG. 2 ; and (2) a “pouring” method (using a physical force such as gravity) as described with regard to FIG. 4 for inserting items into a container, and with regard to FIG. 5 for extracting items from a container. As explained above, the pouring method is much faster than the one-by-one method, but the pouring method cannot be accurately controlled. The pouring method can be used for counting only when fully filling or fully emptying a container, since the items can be counted when flowing into and out of the container as explained above. In some embodiments described herein, items can be extracted from a container by pouring out the items, without turning the container upside-down (as described with regard to FIG. 5 ). FIG. 9A is a conceptual representation of a partially-full container that is read by bath flooding (RBBF). A perforated container 90 , having a pedestal 92 , a port 94 , and a port lid 96 , is shown in FIG. 9A . An unknown number of items 26 are shown in perforated container 90 . Perforated container 90 is situated in a larger, non-perforated bath 98 . In such embodiments, perforated container 90 does not allow items 26 to enter or leave through the walls of container 90 , but does allow a fluid, having a greater specific gravity than items 26 , to enter container 90 through the walls of container 90 , causing items 26 to float up toward port 24 . Alternatively, instead of being perforated, container 90 may also be made out of a suitably-porous material. FIG. 9B is a conceptual representation of the container of FIG. 9A after being flooded during the RBBF process. A fluid 100 (depicted as the shaded region in bath 98 ) is shown filling bath 98 . Items 26 float upward, and are pressed against port lid 96 of container 90 , which remains closed. FIG. 9C is a conceptual representation of the container of FIG. 9B after the port lid has been opened during the RBBF process. Items 26 in container 90 are counted by inspection mechanism 52 after being released when port lid 96 is opened. After the last item 26 has left container 90 , and has been counted, the system can drain fluid 100 from bath 98 , which also drains container 90 , leaving container 90 empty and ready to be used again. Such embodiments enable the system to use all four counting modes mentioned above: the one-by-one insertion (CBM/RBF) method, the one-by-one extraction (CBM/RBF) method, the pouring-insertion (WBFE) method, and the flooding-extraction (RBBF) method. As an example, a container of oranges can be flooded with water, and the oranges can be counted while flowing out of the container. As another example, a voltage bias can be applied across a charged capacitor, causing all the charged particles to flow out of the capacitor. The charged particles can be counted as current impulses. When the containers are arranged in one- or two-dimensional arrays (such as the containers shown in FIGS. 3 and 7 ), it may be practical, for production considerations, to arrange a plurality of containers in one “common” bath. A group of containers in a common bath are referred to as a “block” herein. The flooding of a bath will flood all the containers in that bath, and will allow reading the content of the containers individually, without needing to repeat the RBBF process for each container. Since flooding the bath may be a rather slow operation, such “block flooding” will accelerate the reading process of a large number of containers. Clearly, such a method of block flooding suggests that the RBBF process will be performed on a block-by-block basis, where all the containers of a given block are read during RBBF process. The reading of the containers can be performed in parallel, if the system has a plurality of inspection mechanisms 52 . Alternatively, the reading of the containers can be performed in sequence, if inspection mechanism 52 has to move from container to container, and each container is opened when inspection mechanism 52 is ready to count outgoing items 26 . It is important to note that in such a block-flooding method, the system cannot read and write different containers in the same block at the same time. If both the storage containers and the receiving containers are in the same block (such as in the embodiments described with regard to FIG. 6 ), the system must complete the RBBF process first (while storing the count data in a temporary storage area, such as another block of containers), then drain the bath (in preparation for writing), and then write the data into receiving containers by reading the temporary storage area. The reading 1 operation is completed only after completion of the extraction cycle and the insertion cycle. In some embodiments described herein, items 26 can be extracted from a container by more than one extraction tool in order to accelerate the counting process. FIG. 10 is a conceptual representation of a container that accommodates a dual-extraction tool. A container 110 having a pedestal 112 and a port 114 are shown. An extraction apparatus, similar to that of FIG. 2A , having two extraction tools 116 and 118 is also shown in FIG. 11 . Each extraction tool can be operated independently so that the system can extract items 26 from container 110 at twice the rate of a single-extraction tool. Alternatively, container 110 can also be configured with multiple ports 114 so that each extraction tool operates through its own port 114 . FIG. 11 is a simplified flowchart of a container-duplication (CD) process. The scheme of FIG. 11 relates to the process of copying a container, or an array of containers, from a storage array to a copy array, while preserving the content of the storage container. In the following description, an “extracted array” refers to the array from which items are extracted, and a “storage array” refers to the array to which the items are stored. A storage array is selected to be duplicated into a copy array having the same dimensions as the storage array (Step 120 ). A layer is extracted from the storage array (Step 122 ). The system then inspects the extracted array to see whether the array is empty (Step 124 ). If the extracted array is empty, then the copy array and the storage array are identical, and the CD process comes to an end (Step 126 ). If the extracted array is not empty in Step 124 , then the logical content of the extracted array is stored in a temporary array (e.g., a RAM of a computer) (Step 128 ). The extracted array is then inserted into a receiving array (Step 130 ). A copy layer, which is identical to the extracted array, is extracted from a supply array using the temporary array to define the supply containers that need to “contribute” an item (Step 132 ). The supply array includes containers in which each container contains a practically unlimited number of items. The new extracted array, which is identical to the array that has been moved from the storage array to the receiving array, is now inserted into the copy array (Step 134 ). The logical value of the extracted array is then erased from the temporary array (Step 136 ). The system then proceeds to extract another layer from the storage array (Step 122 ). For situations in which a disruption occurs during the CD process, causing the system to lose the content of the last extracted layer that is in the temporary array, the system restores the receiving array into the storage array, empties the copy array, and starts the CD process from the beginning without losing data. Techniques for Counting Particles (Electrons and Charge Particles) This overview covers a counting method based on the ability of the system to positively detect that a container is empty. Reading is performed by counting the number of extractions until the container is empty, and writing is performed by emptying the container, and then counting the number of insertions of electrons. Counting the number of insertion of electrons is described in Forbes '104 and Forbes '896. Counting the number of extractions of electrons is described below: A conventional technique for counting single-electron differences involves a system of silicon quantum dots (or nanodots) (e.g., 50-100 Å diameter) doped with phosphorus at a surface of a wafer covered with silicon dioxide (˜40-50 Å thick to provide high coupling to the Si body and also high retention). The Si nanodots are covered with a thin layer (e.g., ˜10 Å thick) of SiO 2 to suppress the surface state effects. In such a system, it is possible to fully deplete the electrons in the nanodot (i.e. empty the container). The mechanism is similar to CIS-pinned diode depletion (where CIS stands for CMOS image sensor) (see Yang et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,982,403). The free electrons in the nanodot which originate from P atoms are bonded weakly and are easily extracted (e.g., 0.2 V potential on an atomic-force microscope (AFM) tip, see Makihara er al. in Thin Solid Films, 2006, v. 508, no. 1-2, p. 186-189). So, the steps of extracting electrons, one by one, from the nanodot container is performed by applying voltage steps (or increment) of 0.2 V each. Each voltage increment will yield one electron, as long as there are free electrons in the conductive band. Once the conductive band is empty from electrons, additional increments of 0.2 V will not yield an electron, and the extraction will be non-productive (like an empty basket after all its items have been extracted). In order to clarify all aspects of such a technique, it should be noted that in order to extract additional electrons, it is necessary to apply a much higher increment (e.g., ˜1 V) because the additional electrons will originate from the valence band (see Makihara et al.). An important aspect of such a technique is maintaining uniform P-atom concentration in the Si nanodots. An AFM tip with a Kelvin probe or a capacitive probe (i.e., scanning capacitance microscope (SCM)) may be used to detect single-electron differences for counting during electron extraction or injection. A voltage sweep is applied to the ASM or SCM tip, causing the surface potential to change stepwise with respect to the probe tip due to multi-step electron injection into and extraction from the nanodot. Such a response profile is a type of “Coulomb staircase”, associated with single-electron transistors (SETs), which are known in the art of integrated electronics (see http://snowmass.stanford.edu/″shimbo/set.html and Matsumoto et al., Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, 34, 2B, 1387 (1995)). Employing such techniques in counting methods described herein involves: (1) emptying all containers (i.e. nanodots) by applying a positively-biased voltage pulse (e.g., 0.2 V-1 V); (2) estimating the number of injected electrons by ramping the voltage on a negatively-biased probe tip; (3) counting the steps in the associated surface-potential profile; (4) estimating the number of extracted electrons by ramping the voltage on a positively-biased probe tip from 0 V to 0.2 V; and (5) counting the steps in the associated surface-potential profile. Control of the number of P atoms in each of the nanodots is an important aspect of such a technique in order to determine that the containers are empty. These counting techniques can be used in various charge containers or storage devices. In sum, while the present invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, it will be appreciated that equivalents thereof are possible and variations, modifications, and other applications of such embodiments may be made. Accordingly, the claims that follow are not limited to the embodiments described herein.

Methods and systems for counting items in storage containers in an array of at least two storage containers, the method including the steps of: providing a storage array of at least two storage containers, each of the storage containers containing an unknown amount of items; providing a receiving array of at least two receiving containers, wherein the receiving containers initially contain no items; extracting a layer of the items from the storage array; inserting the layer into corresponding locations in the receiving array; repeating the steps of extracting and inserting while at least one of the storage containers is not empty; counting, for each storage container in the storage array, a productive-extraction amount; and reporting, for at least some of the storage containers, the productive-extraction amount from each storage container. Preferably, the method further includes recovering a storage identity upon recovery from a system failure that erases the productive-extraction amount.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to a fluid routing system for use with a fluid line comprising a fluid routing mechanism which is coupled to the fluid line and a periodically replaceable fluid treatment device mounted to the routing mechanism. More particularly, the present invention relates to a water routing system comprising a water routing mechanism and a replaceable filter for use in a household water line or in conjunction with an appliance, such as a refrigerator, that uses or dispenses water. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Often, fluid contained in a fluid line must have its characteristics or properties treated, e.g., filtered, altered, detected or otherwise analyzed. Typically, this requires a break in the fluid line so that the fluid can be accessed and routed through a device which does the treatment. For example, if the fluid needs to have impurities removed, the fluid is circulated through a filtration device. In the situation described above, it is desirable to have the fluid routing system make a fluid-tight seal or connection with the fluid line during normal operation. Thus, the routing mechanism to which the fluid treatment device is attached typically includes a valve that controls the flow of fluid to the device during normal operation and prevents the flow of fluid to the device during replacement of the device. Since the device requires periodic replacement, the routing mechanism must also provide for easy installation of the device. In known water routing systems used to remove impurities from household tap water, a filter cartridge is inserted into a water line routing mechanism and rotated to a first position to permit flow of water from the water line into the filter during normal operation. The filter cartridge is rotated to a second position to prevent the flow of water into the water line routing mechanism during the removal and replacement of the filter cartridge. Thus, the routing mechanism acts as a valve which is opened and closed by the rotation of the filter cartridge. However, in these known devices, the removal of the filter cartridge results in an undesirably large discharge of water that is contained in the routing mechanism between the water lines and the filter cartridge. Ideally, in any fluid routing system, including the water routing system described above, it is desirable to replace the fluid treatment device with a minimal or no discharge of fluid from the fluid lines, the routing mechanism, and the fluid treatment device. Consequently, any clean-up required after replacement is reduced or eliminated. And, if the fluid routing system is positioned near electrical equipment, providing a system which minimizes or eliminates the discharge of fluid during replacement of the fluid treatment device drastically reduces the likelihood of electrical shock. Moreover, such a system reduces the likelihood of injury to the person replacing the treatment device if the fluid is extremely hot or cold, or caustic. It should be noted that the term "fluid" is used generically, as in the art of fluid mechanics, where fluid includes not only liquids, but gases as well. Therefore, a need exists for a fluid routing system comprising a routing mechanism and a replaceable fluid treatment device that allows for easy installation and replacement of the fluid treatment device with a minimum or no discharge of fluid. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a fluid routing system which can be used on a line carrying any fluid. However, the invention will be described herein in the context of a water routing system used to remove impurities from household tap water. The water routing system comprises a routing mechanism having both a housing and a block, and a removable filter cartridge which requires periodic replacement. The routing mechanism receives water from a first segment of a water line, routes the water through the filter cartridge, and returns the filtered water to a second segment of the water line. The routing mechanism and filter cartridge are configured to provide for easy installation of the filter and for the minimization or elimination of the discharge of water when the filter device is removed for replacement. The housing has an internal chamber, an inlet port and an outlet port respectively connected to the first and second segments of the water line. The housing further includes an inlet channel connecting the inlet port to the internal chamber and an outlet channel connecting the internal chamber to the outlet port. The block has a first internal cavity, a second internal cavity, and an exterior surface. The block is positioned within the internal chamber of the housing. An inlet passageway connects the first internal cavity to the exterior surface while an outlet passageway connects the second internal cavity to the exterior surface. The filter device, which is detachably attached to the housing, is inserted into the first cavity of the block. The filter device includes an inlet aperture and an outlet aperture which are near the inlet and outlet passageways of the block, respectively. The filter device intakes water from the inlet passageway of the block through the inlet aperture and returns the filtered water to the outlet passageway of the block through the outlet aperture. The inlet and outlet passageways of the block are preferably short such that they retain only a small volume of water. Furthermore, the inlet and outlet passageways are oriented to retain water therein when the filter device is removed. In one embodiment, the inlet and outlet passageways are approximately horizontal, and they retain any water therein due to capillary action when the filter device is removed and replaced with a new filter device. In another embodiment, the inlet and outlet passageways are angled upwardly to use the force of gravity and retain the water therein when the filter device is removed. In another embodiment the filter device is inserted into both the first and second cavities of the block and has the inlet aperture and outlet aperture immediately adjacent to the inlet and outlet passageways of the block respectively. Consequently, the present invention minimizes or eliminates the discharge water when the filter is removed. Rotation of the filter device translates the block from a first position to a second position. In a first position, the inlet passageway of the block is aligned with the inlet channel of the housing to permit the flow of water from the water line, through the inlet channel, and into the inlet passageway and inlet aperture. In this first position, the outlet passageway of the block is aligned with the outlet channel of the housing to allow filtered water to flow from the outlet aperture, through the outlet passageway and the outlet channel, and finally back into the water line. In a second position, the inlet passageway of the block is misaligned with the inlet channel of the housing and the outlet passageway of the block is misaligned with the outlet channel of the housing. Consequently, the water is prohibited from entering the block through either the inlet passageway or the outlet passageway. By rotating the filter device, the block acts as a valve in controlling the flow of water to and from the filter device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which: FIG. 1 is an isometric illustrating the fluid treatment device, the housing, and the rotatable block of the claimed invention; FIG. 2 is a cross-section of the housing and the rotatable block in the first position with the fluid treatment device shown in an elevation view and partially broken away; FIG. 3 is a cross-section of the housing and the rotatable block in the second position; FIG. 4 is a cross-section of the housing and an alternative rotatable block with the inlet and outlet passageways inclined and with an alternative fluid treatment device, illustrated in FIG. 6, shown in an elevation view that is partially broken away; FIG. 5 is a cross section of an alternative housing and the rotatable block in the second position with the fluid treatment device shown in an elevation; and FIG. 6 is an isometric of fluid treatment device with an alternative head configuration. While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, a specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed. On the contrary the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring initially to FIG. 1, the top portion of the water treatment device, which is a filter 10 in this case, is displaced a short distance from a housing 12 and a rotatable block 14 is positioned within the housing 12. The filter 10 includes a head 20 for insertion into an internal cavity 21 of the rotatable block 14. The head 20 includes an inlet aperture 22 at its side and an outlet aperture 24 at its top. Fluid, in this case water, enters the inlet aperture 22 and circulates through the filter 10 until it is ejected from the filter 10 through the outlet aperture 24. The internal structure of the filter 10 may include a variety of filtration media which removes impurities, particulates or other undesirable components from the water. The head 20 of the filter 10 includes cams 26 one of which can be seen while the second of which is located symmetrically to the first on the other side of the head 20. The cams 26 are inserted into gaps 28 that are adjacent the internal cavity 21 of the rotatable block 14. Furthermore, the body of the filter 10 includes protrusions 30 which are captured by openings 32 in the housing 12. Once the head 20 of the filter 10 is inserted into the internal cavity 21 of the rotatable block 14 and the filter 10 is rotated relative to rotatable block 14, the protrusions 30 enter and slide within symmetrically located guiding tracks 34 (only one shown) within the housing 12. Each guiding track 34 includes a stop 35 limiting the rotation of the filter 10. The filter 10 is detachably attached to the housing 12 due to the cooperation of the protrusions 30 and the tracks 34 while being in a fixed relation to the block 14. It should be noted that the filter 10 cannot be installed in the housing 12 and the block 14 if the block 14 has been slightly rotated due to the required spatial relationship between the gaps 28 and the openings 32 which is mandated by the fixed positions of the cams 26 and the protrusions 30 of the filter 10. In that case, the block 14 must be rotated to the proper position before insertion is possible. The protrusions 30 may be thinner in the axial direction of the filter 10 at the ends which initially engage tracks 34 than at the opposing ends for ease of installation. Alternatively, the tracks 34 may be wider near openings 32 such that the initial engagement of the protrusions 30 to the tracks 34 occurs with ease. The rotation of the filter 10 also causes the cams 26 to engage the walls of the gaps 28 and rotate the rotatable block 14 relative to the housing 12. As described in detail with reference to FIG. 2, the rotation of the filter 10 acts to place the rotatable block 14 in a position which allows for the flow of water to and from the filter 10. The head 20 of the filter 10 also includes a small head O-ring 36 and a large head O-ring 38 which allows for the sealing of the head 20 after insertion into the rotatable block 14. The small head O-ring 36 inhibits the flow of water along the sides of the head 20. The large head O-ring 38 ensures that water enters the inlet aperture 22 and does not flow below the head 20 of the filter 10. When the fluid is water, the large and small head O-rings 38 and 36 can be made of a variety of materials including elastomers such as VITON® from E. I. DuPont De Nemours & Co. of Wilmington, Del. Referring now to FIG. 2, the housing 12 and the rotatable block 14 are shown in cross-section with the filter 10 in an elevation view. The housing 12 includes an inlet port 40 which leads to an inlet channel 42 and an outlet port 44 which leads to an outlet channel 46. Both the inlet channel 42 and the outlet channel 44 extend through the housing 12 and are exposed at an inner surface 48 of the housing 12. The inner surface 48 of the housing 12 is disposed adjacent an exterior surface 49 of the rotatable block 14. Typically, the inlet and outlet ports 40 and 44 are standard fittings with a diameter of 0.1875 inch or 0.25 inch. The internal cavity 21 of the rotatable block 14 has a first cavity portion 50 and a second cavity portion 52. The second cavity portion 52 is made as small as possible to minimize the amount of water retained and discharged when the filter 10 is removed. An inlet passageway 54 connects the first cavity portion 50 to the exterior surface 49 of the rotatable block 14. An outlet passageway 56 connects the second cavity portion 52 to the exterior surface 49 of the rotatable block 14. Preferably, the inlet passageway 54 and the outlet passageway 56 are approximately horizontal with respect to gravity. That is to say that these passageways 54 and 56 are at least horizontal or slightly inclined such that their portions near the internal cavity 21 are at a slightly higher elevation than their portions near the housing 12. Thus, when a filter 10 is removed, the water in the passageways 54 and 56 does not leak downwardly and exit the internal cavity 21 of the rotatable block 14 due to capillary action in the case of horizontal passageways or due to the force of gravity in inclined passageways. Furthermore, the passageways 54 and 56 are relatively short in that their axial lengths are preferably in the range from about 0.25 inch to about 1.0 inch. Minimizing the axial length of the passageways 54 and 56 also reduces the amount of water that is capable of leaking during replacement. Typically, the diameters of the passageways 54 and 56 are in the range from about 0.125 inch to about 0.25 inch. Thus far, the filter 10 has been shown mounted vertically with respect to gravity. If the filter 10 is to be oriented horizontally with respect to gravity, then the passageways 54 and 56 are still positioned in the block 14 at an angle with respect to gravity to maintain the water therein when the horizontal filter 10 is replaced. In an alternative embodiment when the filter 10 is mounted horizontally, the one passageway that would normally release water therefrom due to gravity (i.e. aligned with the gravity vector) when the filter 10 is removed has its axial length reduced so that the amount of water released is minimized. In another alternative embodiment, the block 14 can have its inlet and outlet passageways in the same or similar circumferential and radial positions, but at offset axial positions, to accommodate mounting the filter 10 in either a horizontal or vertical position without releasing water from the block in either position when the filter 10 is removed. The rotatable block 14 and housing 12 are typically made of polymeric materials such as polyvinyl-chloride (PVC), polypropylene, acrylic, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene resins (ABS), and high-density polyethylene. Thus, these pieces can be produced via common manufacturing methods such as injection molding and machining. A first O-ring 60 is positioned below the inlet passageway 54 and extends around the rotatable block 14 so as to engage the inner surface 48 of the housing 12. A second O-ring 62 is positioned below the outlet passageway 56 and extends around the rotatable block 14 so as to engage the inner surface 48 of the housing 12. The first and second O-rings 60 and 62 provide a seal below the inlet and outlet passageways 54 and 56 to ensure the water flows therethrough and not along the seam between the exterior surface 48 of the rotatable block 14 and the inner surface 49 of the housing 12. When the fluid is water, the first and second O-rings 60 and 62 can be made of a variety of materials including VITON® from E. I. DuPont De Nemours & Co. of Wilmington. Del. The rotatable block 14 is held within the housing 12 due to a capture fit configuration near a chamfer 70 along the bottom edge of the rotatable block 14. After the rotatable block 14 is inserted into the housing 12, the housing 12 is heated to a point where its material flows to form a capturing element 72 around the bottom edge of the rotatable block 14 at the chamfer 70. The flow of the material of the housing 12 does not cause the rotatable block 14 to be bonded to the housing 12. The rotatable block 14 also includes a sealing projection 80 against which a large head O-ring 38 of the filter 10 is positioned. The sealing projection 80 and the large head O-ring 38 retain the fluid within the rotatable block 14. A small head O-ring 36 is disposed against a surface near the junction between the first cavity portion 50 and the second cavity portion 52. The small head O-ring 36 and this surface restrict fluid in the second cavity portion 52 from migrating into the first cavity portion 50. FIG. 2 illustrates the relationship of the filter 10 to the housing 12 and rotatable block 14 in a first position while FIG. 3, described below, illustrates the second position. In the first position, the inlet channel 42 is aligned with the inlet passageway 54. Furthermore, the outlet channel 46 is aligned with the outlet passageway 56. The water is able to flow from the water line, into the inlet port 40, through the inlet channel 42 and inlet passageway 54, and into the inlet aperture 22 after which it contacts the filtration media within the filter 10. The water then leaves the filter 10 through the outlet aperture 24 and passes through the outlet passageway 56 and outlet channel 46 before exiting through the outlet port 44 of the housing 14 where the filtered water is returned to the water line. It should be noted that a small volume of water is contained within the second cavity portion 52 above the upper surface of the head 20 of the filter 10 adjacent the outlet aperture 24. This small volume of water, if it does not drain back into the filter 10 is discharged when the filter 10 is removed. FIG. 3 illustrates the housing 12 and the rotatable block 14 in a second position with the filter 10 removed and the rotatable block 14 rotated. The amount of rotation necessary to move protrusions 30 along tracks 34 to openings 32 and effectuate the removal of the filter 10 is typically in the range from about 45° to about 180°. In a preferred embodiment, the amount of rotation required is approximately 90°. Once a small amount of this required rotation occurs (e.g. approximately 10° to 20°), the inlet channel 42 is completely misaligned with the inlet passageway 54 while the outlet channel 46 is completely misaligned with the outlet passageway 56. The exterior surface 49 of the rotatable block 14 then blocks the inlet and outlet channels 42 and 46 such that the water is maintained only within the housing 12 and the small cavity 52 in the block 14. Because of this blocking action of the exterior surface 49, the removal of the filter 10 results in only a minimal amount of water to flow from the internal cavity 52 of the rotatable block 14. Consequently, rotation of the filter 10 causes the housing 12 and rotatable block 14 combination to act as a valve and allows for the replacement of the filter 10. Also, when the filter 10 is removed, the water in the passageways 54 and 56 does not leak downwardly and exit the internal cavity 21 of the rotatable block 14 due to the passageways 54 and 56 being approximately horizontal as delineated above. In addition to the rotational movement which has been described, translational movement is possible as well to effectuate the alignment of the inlet and outlet channels 42 and 46 to the inlet and outlet passageways 54 and 56. FIG. 3 also illustrates the gaps 28 into which the cams 26 on the head 20 of the filter 10 are inserted. The gaps 28 have a triangular-shaped profile that is similar to the profile of the cams 26. The cams 26 engage the walls defining the gaps 28 to rotate the rotatable block. Although two cams 26 are shown, one cam would also suffice. In an alternative embodiment, the filter 10 can be fixed relative to the housing 12. Once the filter 10 is inserted into the block 14, the block 14 is rotated relative to the filter 10 and the housing 12 to align the inlet and outlet passageways 54 and 56 with the inlet and outlet channels 42 and 46. Rotation may be accomplished by a lever attached to the block 14. FIG. 4 is similar to FIG. 2 except the rotatable block 14 of FIG. 2 has been altered and now includes reference numerals in the 100 series. The rotatable block 114 still includes an internal cavity 121 which includes a first portion 150 and a second portion 152. The second portion 152 is large enough to receive the alternative filter described in FIG. 6. The exterior surface 149 abuts against the inner surface 48 of the housing 12. The inlet passageway 154 is angled such that its highest elevation with respect to gravity is near the first cavity portion 150. Likewise, the outlet passageway 156 is angled such that its highest elevation is nearest the second cavity portion 152. The angle that the axis of each of these passageways 154 and 156 makes with the horizontal is in the range from about 5° to about 20°. Preferably, the lower edge of each passageway 154 and 156 near the internal cavity 121 is above the upper edge of the each passageway 154 and 156 near the housing 12. Although the rotatable block 114 with the angled passageways 154 and 156 has been described as receiving the filter of FIG. 6, the angled passageways 154 and 156 are also useful in the rotatable block 14 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 which receives the filter 10 of FIG. 1. In a further alternative, the passageways 154 and 156 initially are horizontal near the exterior surface 149, but then angle upwardly with respect to gravity before they reach the first internal cavity 150 and the second internal cavity 152, respectively. In each of these embodiments, the passageways 154 and 156 retain the water after the filter 10 is removed and, therefore, eliminate any leakage from the passageways 154 and 156 of the rotatable block 114. FIG. 5 is similar to FIG. 3 except it illustrates an alternative embodiment for the housing 12 of FIG. 3 and is labeled with 100 series reference numerals. The housing 112 now includes an inlet port 140 and an outlet port 144 at its top surface. As in FIG. 3, the ports 140 and 144 are connected with the inner surface 148 of the housing 14 by inlet channels 142 and outlet channels 146. However, channels 142 and 146 are not entirely horizontal, but include a vertical segment as well. The housing 112 can also be used in cooperation with the rotatable block 114 of FIG. 4 which includes angled passageways 154 and 156. FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative filter 110 which has two distinct differences over filter 10 shown in FIG. 1. First, the outlet aperture 124 is located on the side of the head 120 at an elevation that is offset from inlet aperture 122. The outlet aperture 124 is now also positioned on a surface that is generally perpendicular to the axes of the passageways 54 and 56. Thus, the inlet aperture 122 and the outlet aperture 124 are immediately adjacent the inlet passageway 54 and the outlet passageway 56, respectively. A small head O-ring 136 is placed between the inlet aperture 122 and the outlet aperture 124. The second cavity portion 52 is enlarged to receive the upper surface of the head 120 of the filter 110 fills the second cavity portion 52 in FIG. 7. In contrast to the design incorporating the outlet aperture 24 at the top of the head 20 as shown in FIG. 1, no water is contained above the head 120. Consequently, no leakage from the second cavity portion 52 occurs upon removal of the filter 110. FIG. 6 also illustrates the protrusions 130 and 131 as having different sizes. Thus, the filter 110 can only be inserted in one orientation which ensures proper alignment of the inlet and outlet apertures 122 and 124 to the inlet and outlet passageways 54 and 56. The protrusions can also be the same size, but offset around the filter 110 at an angle other than 180° to accomplish the same goal of insertion in one orientation. The filter 110 can also be equipped with a check valve 170 at either of the inlet and outlet apertures 122 and 124, or at both apertures 122 and 124, such that when the filter 110 is removed from the housing 12 and rotatable block 14, a shield of the check valve 170 acts to close those apertures 122 and 124. This eliminates any possible flow of water contained within a full filter 110 from the apertures 122 and 124. The shield typically moves into and out of its proper position under the force of a spring element. The check valve 170 illustrated in FIG. 6 is shown internally hinged to the head 120 adjacent the inlet aperture 122. The filter 10 of FIG. 1 can also use a check valve 170. As an alternative to the check valve 170, the internal structure of the head 120 of the filter 110 defining the path of the fluid beyond the aperture 122 and 124 can be angled to retain the fluid therein when the filter 110 is removed. In FIGS. 1-7, the various embodiments utilizing the housing 12 and the rotatable block 14 have numerous applications where the fluid in the fluid lines needs to be acted upon in some manner by means of a fluid treatment device. The housing 12 and rotatable block 14 are configured to provide for easy installation and replacement of that fluid treatment device. Furthermore, the housing 12 and rotatable block 14 allow for replacement of the fluid treatment device with either a minimal or no discharge of fluid due to the geometry of the inlet and outlet passageways 54 and 56 and the placement of filter 10. One primary use of the invention is for the filtration of water and, more particularly, tap water. This may be performed near a tap where one would typically retrieve a glass of water. Alternatively, it may be performed at a location where the tap water is provided to a separate device which receives tap water, such as a refrigerator which dispenses the tap water as liquid or uses it to make ice. Alternatively, the filter 10 may be used to clean a lubrication fluid such as oil. This would likely require different materials for the housing 12 and the block 14 if the filtration occurs at high temperatures. Other non-filtration uses exist as well. For example, the filter 10 can be replaced with a heat exchanger or a mixing device, among other things. The only difference is in the internal components contained within the treatment device. For example, the heat exchanger includes internal heating or cooling coils and fins contained within the treatment device which act upon the fluid to change it thermal characteristics. A mixing device may have a contained volume of material which is to be mixed with the passing fluid at a slow rate. The material may be granules of fertilizer or pesticides which is mixed with water and distributed to plants. The mixing device may also be coupled to an outside source which supplies the mixing material to the mixing device at higher rate. Each of these embodiments and obvious variations thereof is contemplated as falling within the spirit and scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

A fluid routing system for use in a fluid line is set forth which includes a fluid routing mechanism having a housing and a block, and a removable treatment device. The housing has an internal chamber, an inlet port for attaching to one part of a fluid line, an outlet port for attaching to another part of the fluid line, an inlet channel connecting the inlet port to the internal chamber, and an outlet channel connecting the internal chamber to the outlet port. The block is capable of movement between a first and second position and is disposed within the internal chamber of the housing. The block has a first internal cavity, a second internal cavity, an exterior surface, an inlet passageway connecting the first internal cavity with the exterior surface, and an outlet passageway connecting the second internal cavity with the exterior surface. The inlet passageway and the outlet passageway are configured to retain fluid therein when the treatment device is removed. In the first position, the inlet passageway of the block is aligned with the inlet channel of the housing and the outlet passageway of the block is aligned with the outlet channel of the housing for permitting flow of the fluid into the treatment device. In the second position, the inlet passageway of the block is misaligned with the inlet channel of the housing and the outlet passageway of the block is misaligned with the outlet channel of the housing for prohibiting flow of the fluid into the block.

TECHNICAL FIELD The efficiency of feed utilization in domestic animals, especially the ruminants such as cattle and sheep, is of economic importance in the farming industry. For this reason, attempts have been made to increase the efficiency with which ruminants utilize their food. As an aid to discovering methods of increasing the efficiency of feed utilization in ruminants, studies on the biochemical mechanisms by which ruminants digest and degrade food, particularly carbohydrates, has been widely studied. It is now known that carbohydrates are degraded in the rumen to monosaccharides, which are converted to pyruvates, and thence to acetates and propionates. Additionally acetates recombine in the rumen to some extent to form butyrates. These acetates, propionates and butyrates, collectively known as volatile fatty acids (or VFA's), are all used as energy sources by ruminants. However, the conversion of pyruvates to acetates involves chain-shortening by one carbon atom, and this carbon atom is lost in the form of methane gas. Thus the production of propionates from carbohydrates in the rumen of ruminant animals represents a more energy-efficient degradative pathway than the production of acetates and butyrates. As a result, treatment of a ruminant so as to cause a shift in VFA ratios in the rumen towards increased rumen propionic acid (RPA) leads to a beneficial effect on ruminant growth for a given amount of food consumption. Thus there is increased efficiency of feed utilization. BACKGROUND ART Several, naturally-occuring, polyether antibiotics (e.g. monensin) have been reported to increase feed utilization in ruminants; U.S. Pat. No. 3,839,557. A variety of macrocyclic polyether compounds having a carboxy group directed into the polyether ring have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,965,116 and Journal of the American Chemcial Society, 97, 1257 (1975), but none of these compounds was reported to have feed utilization efficiency increasing properties. DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION This invention provides a series of new chemical compounds which increase rumen propionic acid production in ruminant animals when administered orally to ruminants, at a low level, daily. These new chemical compounds are macrocyclic polyether compounds, which have a 21-membered ring, containing six oxygen atoms, and also have a carboxy group directed towards the interior of the polyether ring. More particularly, this invention provides a novel macrocyclic polyether compound selected from the group consisting of ##STR1## and the pharmaceutically-acceptable base salts thereof, wherein: R 1 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and t-butyl; R 2 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl having 1 to 14 carbons, cycloalkyl having 5 to 8 carbons, phenyl, alkylphenyl having 1 to 4 carbons in said alkyl, 1-adamantyl, --C(R 7 )═CH--C(CH 3 ) 3 , ##STR2## wherein R 7 is hydrogen or alkyl having 1 to 8 carbons; R 8 and R 9 when taken separately are each hydrogen, alkyl having 1 to 3 carbons, alkoxy having 1 to 3 carbons or alkylthio having 1 to 3 carbons; R 8 and R 9 when taken together with the carbons to which they are attached form a fused benzo ring; and R 10 is hydrogen, alkyl having 1 to 3 carbons, alkoxy having 1 to 3 carbons or alkylthio having 1 to 3 carbons; R 3 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl having 1 to 8 carbons, hydroxymethyl, methoxymethyl, ##STR3## wherein R 11 is hydrogen, alkyl having 1 to 3 carbons, fluoro or chloro; R 12 is hydrogen, alkyl having 1 to 3 carbons or alkylthio having 1 to 3 carbons; n is an integer from 0 to 3; and R 13 and R 14 are each hydrogen, alkyl having 1 to 3 carbons, alkoxy having 1 to 3 carbons, alkylthio having 1 to 3 carbons, fluoro, chloro, bromo, hydroxy, acetyl, acetamido, benzoyl or trifluoromethyl; R 4 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and alkyl having 1 to 8 carbons; and either R 5 is hydrogen and R 6 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl having 1 to 8 carbons, phenoxymethyl, chlorophenoxymethyl, 4-t-butylphenoxymethyl and thiophenoxymethyl; or R 5 and R 6 when taken together with the carbon atom to which they are attached form a cyclopentylidene, cyclohexylidene, 4-phenylcyclohexylidene, 4-t-butylcyclohexylidene, 3,3,5-trimethylcyclohexylidene or cycloheptylidene group; provided that when R 3 is said ##STR4## R 2 must be t-octyl. Said compounds of the formula I and II are useful for administration to ruminant animals, e.g. cattle and sheep, for the purpose of increasing the efficiency of feed utilization. Additionally said compounds of formula I and II are active as antibacterial agents in vitro against certain gram-positive microorganisms, e.g. Staphylococcus aureus. A first preferred group of compounds of this invention consists of the compounds of formula I, wherein R 1 is t-butyl, R 2 is t-octyl and R 3 is hydrogen or said alkyl. A second preferred group of compounds of this invention consists of the compounds of formula I, wherein R 1 is t-butyl, R 2 is said --C(R 7 )═CH--C(CH 3 ) 3 or said ##STR5## and R 3 is said alkyl. A third preferred group of compounds of this invention consists of the compounds of formula I, wherein R 1 is t-butyl, R 2 is t-octyl and R 3 is said ##STR6## Especially valuable individual compounds of the invention are: (a) the compound of formula I, wherein R 1 is t-butyl, R 2 is t-octyl and R 3 is methyl; and (b) the compound of formula I, wherein R 1 is t-butyl, R 2 is t-octyl and R 3 is thiophenoxymethyl. DETAILED DESCRIPTION This invention relates to the new chemical compounds of formulas I and II. These are large-ring (21-membered) polyether compounds, and the large ring further incorporates two aromatic fragments, one a 1,3-disubstituted benzene ring and the other a 1,2-disubstituted benzene ring. Moreover, these benzene rings can carry substituents and in general substituents which increase the lipophilicity of the parent macrocycle are desirable for imparting feed utilization efficiency increasing properties. For example, these substituents can be straight- or branched-chain alkyl groups, and particular alkyl groups which are commonly used are the tertiary butyl (t-butyl) group and the group of the formula --C(CH 3 ) 2 --CH 2 --C(CH 3 ) 3 . The latter group is named systematically as the 1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl group; however, for convenience in this specification, this group is referred to by its trivial name, t-octyl. The compounds of formula I and II are usually obtained by hydrolysis of the corresponding ester compound of the formula ##STR7## wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 are as defined previously, and R is a lower-alkyl group (e.g. an alkyl having 1 to 5 carbons), by basic hydrolysis. Favorably, R is methyl. This ester hydrolysis reaction can be carried out by treating said compound of the formula VIII or IX with water at a pH between 9 and 12, optionally in the presence of a co-solvent. In practice, it is conveniently carried out by treating the compound of formula VIII or IX with from about 1 to about 20 molar equivalents, and preferably about 2 to 5 molar equivalents, of an alkali metal hydroxide or alkaline earth metal hydroxide, in a mixture of water and a water-miscible, volatile, organic co-solvent. Typical co-solvents which can be used are lower-alkanols such as methanol and ethanol; glycols such as ethylene glycol and propylene glycol; and water-miscible, low-molecular weight ethers such as tetrahydrofuran and 1,2-dimethoxyethane. Usually, a large excess of water is used on molar basis, and sufficient co-solvent is added to give a homogeneous hydrolysis medium. Preferred basic agents for the hydrolysis reaction are the hydroxides of sodium and potassium. Hydrolysis of an ester of formula VIII or IX is usually carried out at a temperature between 25° and 120° C., and preferably about 60° to 80° C. Reaction times vary according to a variety of factors, such as temperature and concentration of the reaction medium, but usually reaction times ranging from several hours (e.g. six hours) to several days (e.g. three days) are needed for the reaction to proceed substantially to completion. At the end of the hydrolysis reaction, the organic co-solvent is usually removed by evaporation in vacuo, and the residual aqueous phase is extracted with a volatile, water-immiscible, organic solvent such as chloroform or dichloromethane. Evaporation of the organic extract then affords the required compound of formula I or II in the form of a carboxylate salt, where the cation corresponds to the alkali or alkaline earth metal used during the hydrolysis reaction. Alternatively, after removal of the organic co-solvent at the end of the hydrolysis reaction, the residual aqueous phase can be acidified (e.g. to a pH below about 3) before extraction with the water-immiscible, organic solvent. Evaporation of the extract then affords the compound I or II in the form of its free acid. A compound of the formula I or II can be purified, if desired, by standard methods, such as recrystallization or chromatography. An ester of the formula VIII or IX can be prepared by coupling a benzoate ester of the formula ##STR8## wherein R and R 1 are as defined previously, with a diol of the formula ##STR9## wherein R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 are as defined previously. Coupling between a benzoate ester of the formula X and a diol of the formula XI or XII is usually achieved by contacting the reactants in a reaction-inert solvent in the presence of a strong, non-nucleophilic base. In a typical procedure, a tetrahydrofuran solution containing substantially equimolar amounts of a compound of the formula X and a diol of the formula XI or XII is added dropwise to a suspension of sodium hydride (2.2 molar equivalents) in refluxing tetrahydrofuran. The reaction mixture is then heated under reflux for a few hours, e.g. two to 10 hours, to complete the reaction. The excess of sodium hydride is decomposed by the careful addition of water (usually in the form of wet tetrahydrofuran) and the organic solvent is removed by evaporation in vacuo. The product is extracted into a volatile, water-immiscible organic solvent (e.g. dichloromethane) and removal of the solvent in vacuo then affords the crude product of formula VIII or IX. The crude product is usually purified by column chromatography on silica gel. The diols of the formula XI, wherein R 2 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl having 1 to 14 carbons, cycloalkyl having 5 to 8 carbons, phenyl, alkylphenyl having 1 to 4 carbons in said alkyl and 1-adamantyl; and R 3 is as defined previously can be prepared from the corresponding catechol of the formula ##STR10## This involves a two-step procedure. In the first step, the catechol of the formula XIII is dialkylated with 2-(2-[2-tetrahydropyranyloxy]ethoxy)ethyl chloride, the compound of the formula ##STR11## wherein "THP" represents the 2 -tetrahydropyranyl group, to give the diprotected diol of the formula ##STR12## followed in the second step by removal of the THP protecting groups. Both of these reactions are classical transformations which are carried out by standard methods. Alkylation of the catechol XIII is usually carried out by treatment with about 2.2 molar equivalents of the chloro compound of formula XIV in the presence of an excess of potassium carbonate in N,N-dimethylformamide solution at about 140° C. for several hours. At the end of the reaction, the reaction mixture is diluted with water and the compound of formula XV can be recovered by extraction into a volatile, water-immiscible, organic solvent followed by evaporation of the solvent. The THP protecting groups are removed by treatment with an excess of 1N hydrochloric acid in methanol solution at room temperature for about one hour. Removal of the solvent by evaporation in vacuo affords the diol of formula XI. The diol of the formula XI can be coupled directly with the compound of the formula X; alternatively, it can be purified by standard methods, if desired. The diols of the formula XI, wherein R 2 is selected from the group consisting of --C(R 7 )═CH--C(CH 3 ) 3 , ##STR13## wherein R 8 , R 9 , and R 10 are as defined previously, and R 3 is as defined previously other then formula VII or VIIIA, can be prepared from the requisite ketone of the formula ##STR14## In order to obtain a diol of formula XI, wherein R 2 is --C(R 7 )═CH--C(CH 3 ) 3 , the appropriate compound of formula XVI is reduced with sodium borohydride followed by treatment with acid. The borohydride reduction is carried out by standard methods. For example, a solution of the ketone of formula XVI in a lower-alkanol, e.g. methanol, is treated with an excess of solid sodium borohydride at a temperature from 0° to 30° C., and usually at room temperature. Reaction takes place quite smoothly and quickly, and at room temperature it is normally complete within 1 to 2 hours. The reduction product is then treated with acid in the same manner described for treatment of a compound of formula XV with acid, to give the required diol of formula XI, wherein R 2 is --C(R 7 )═CH--C(CH 3 ) 3 . In order to obtain a diol of formula XI, wherein R 2 is of formula III, the appropriate ketone of formula XVI is reacted with the requisite Grignard reagent of formula ##STR15## wherein X is chloro or bromo and R 8 and R 9 are as defined previously, followed by treatment with acid. The Grignard reaction is usually carried out by treating the ketone of formula XVI with about 2 molar equivalents of the Grignard reagent in an ether solvent (e.g. diethyl ether or tetrahydrofuran) at room temperature. The reaction is allowed to proceed for several hours, e.g. overnight, and then it is worked-up in standard fashion. The product of this Grignard reaction is treated with acid in the same manner described for treatment of a compound of formula XV with acid, to give the required diol of formula XI, wherein R 2 is of formula III. In order to obtain a diol of the formula XI, wherein R 2 is of formula IV, the appropriate ketone of formula XVI is reacted with the requisite Grignard reagent of the formula ##STR16## followed by hydrogenation of the product of the Grignard reaction, followed by treatment with acid. The Grignard reaction and the treatment with acid are carried out as described for preparation of a diol of formula XI, wherein R 2 is of formula III. The hydrogenation step can be carried out in ethanol solution, at room temperature, at a pressure from 1 to 4 kg/cm 2 , over a palladium-on-carbon catalyst, according to standard procedures. The ketone of the formula XVI can be prepared from the appropriate catechol of the formula ##STR17## by dialkylation with 2-(2-[2-tetrahydropyranyloxy]ethoxy)ethyl chloride (XVI) in the same manner described earlier for dialkylation of a catechol of formula XIII. Many of the simple catechols of the formula XIII, wherein R 2 is alkyl, cycloalkyl, phenyl, alkylphenyl or 1-adamantyl, and R 3 is as previously defined, are known compounds, which can be made by the known methods, or analogs, which, can be prepared by analogous procedures. Thus, the R 2 substituent can often be introduced into a catechol of the formula ##STR18## or its dimethyl ether, by acid catalyzed reaction with an olefin or an alcohol, or by Friedel-Crafts alkylation using an alkyl halide, followed if necessary by demethylation, e.g. ##STR19## See further J. Jelinek, Chem. Primsyl, 9, 398 (1959); Chem. Abs., 54, 869li (1960). Several catechols of the formula XXI, wherein R 3 is of the formula V, can be prepared, for example, from 2,3-dimethoxybenzaldehyde, viz: ##STR20## These transformations are carried out by standard methods, well-known in the art. The catechols of the formula XX can be prepared from the appropriate catechol of the formula XXI by acylation with 3,3-dimethylbutyryl chloride, to give the diester of the formula XXII, followed by heating with aluminum chloride in carbon disulfide (the Fries rearrangement), viz: ##STR21## according to standard procedures. Catechols of the formula XIII, wherein R 2 is t-octyl and R 3 is of the formula VII or VIIA, can be prepared from 4-t-octylcatechol by a Mannich reaction with paraformaldehyde and morpholine, to give the morpholinomethyl compound XXIII, followed by reaction with the appropriate thiol, viz: ##STR22## The Mannich reaction can be carried out by standard methods; see further Fields et al., Journal of Organic Chemistry, 29, 2640 (1964). Reaction of the Mannich base XXIII with the thiol can be carried out by heating the reactants in a polar organic solvent, such as N,N,-dimethylformamide, for several hours at about 80° to 140° C. Additionally, the Mannich base XXIII can be reacted with 2-(2-[tetrahydropyranyloxy]ethoxy)ethyl chloride (XIV), followed by removal of the THP protecting groups with acid, followed by coupling with a benzoate ester (X), by the methods previously described, to give the macrocyclic polyether of the formula XXIV: ##STR23## wherein Q is morpholinomethyl. Treatment of macrocycle XXIV with refluxing acetic anhydride followed by column chromatography and mild hydrolysis (ethanolic potassium hydroxide at room temperature) affords the compound of formula XXV ##STR24## wherein Z is hydroxy. The alcohol XXV can be reacted with phosphorus tribromide and with thionyl chloride, to give the corresponding compounds in which Z is Br and Cl, respectively. The latter halo compounds react with thiophenols of the formula HS--C 6 H 3 R 13 R 14 or a pyridinethiol to give the corresponding compound of the formula VIII, wherein R 1 is hydrogen or t-butyl, R 2 is t-octyl and R 3 is said radical of formula VII or VIIA. Further, the benzyl alcohol of the formula XXV, wherein Z is hydroxy, can be reacted with sodium hydride and a benzyl halide of the formula W--CH 2 --C 6 H 4 --R 12 , wherein W is chloro or bromo to give the macrocycle of the formula VIII, wherein R 1 is hydrogen or t-butyl, R 2 is t-octyl and R 3 is the radical of formula VI. The diols of the formula XII can be prepared from the appropriate diol of the formula ##STR25## by reaction with an epoxide of the formula ##STR26## The reaction is normally carried out simply by contacting substantially equimolar quantities of the compounds of formula XXVI and XXVII with a molar equivalent amount of potassium carbonate, at elevated temperature, in the absence of solvent. Temperatures in the range from 90° to 150° C., and preferably about 120° C., are normally used, and reaction times of several hours, e.g., 20 hours, are usually required. The crude product is usually sufficiently pure for reaction with a benzoate ester of formula X. In one method, the diol of the formula XXVI is obtained by reaction of the requisite catechol of the formula ##STR27## with one molar equivalent of the chloro compound of the formula ##STR28## wherein, as before, THP is the 2-tetrahydropyranyl group, followed by treatment with acid to remove the THP group. Reaction of catechol XXVIII with chloro compound XXIX is carried out by the method described earlier for reaction of catechol XIII with chloro compound XIV, while removal of the THP protecting group is carried out in the same manner described earlier for removal of the THP groups from a compound of formula XV. However, it is usually necessary to purify the intermediate resulting from reaction of catechol XXVIII with chloro compound XXIX by chromatography, since some dialkylated product can be formed, and, when R 4 is other than hydrogen, a mixture of mono-alkylated products is usually obtained. In another method, the diol of the formula XXVI can be obtained from a salicylaldehyde of formula XXXI by Baeyer-Villiger oxidation followed by hydrolysis. The salicylaldehyde of formula XXXI can be obtained from the appropriate salicylate ester of formula XXX or salicylaldehyde of formula XXXA, viz: ##STR29## Reaction of salicylaldehyde XXX with chloro compound XXII and acid hydrolysis of the alkylation product are carried out as described previously for reaction of catechol XIII with chloro compound XIV and hydrolysis of compound XV. The Baeyer-Villiger oxidation and hydrolysis are carried out using standard methods for this type of transformation. The compounds of the formula X can be prepared by bromination of the corresponding 2,6-dimethylbenzoate ester of the formula XXXII: ##STR30## wherein R and R 1 are as defined previously. The bromination can be carried out using standard procedures. A convenient method involves bromination with N-bromosuccinimide or N,N-dibromo-5,5-dimethylhydantoin in refluxing carbon tetrachloride with irradiation from a sunlamp. The crude products can be recrystallized from a non-polar solvent, such as petroleum ether or cyclohexane. The 2,6-dimethylbenzoate esters of the formula XXXII are prepared by known methods or methods analogous to known methods. See further: M. L. Bender and M. C. Chen, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 85, 30 (1963); ibid, 85, 37 (1963). The compounds of the formulae I and II are acidic and they will form carboxylate salts. All such salts are within the scope of this invention, and they can be prepared by conventional methods for lipophilic carboxylic acids. For example, they can be prepared by contacting the carboxylic acid with a stoichiometric equivalent of an appropriate basic agent, in a non-aqueous or partially aqueous solvent. They can be recovered by solvent evaporation, by filtration, or by precipitation using a non-solvent followed by filtration, as appropriate. Typical salts of the compounds of formulae I and II which can be prepared include primary, secondary and tertiary amine salts, as well as alkali metal and alkaline earth metal salts. Especially favorable are sodium and potassium salts. In a particularly convenient method of preparing salts of the compounds of formulae I and II, a solution of the compound of formula I or II in a volatile, water immiscible, organic solvent is washed with an aqueous solution containing at least a stoichiometric equivalent, and preferably a large excess, of an appropriate basic agent. After drying the organic solvent solution, it is evaporated in vacuo to give the desired salt. Typical basic agents which can be used for this purpose include alkali metal hydroxides, such as sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide, alkaline earth metal hydroxides, such as calcium hydroxide and barium hydroxide, and ammonium hydroxide. As indicated hereinbefore, the compounds of formulae I and II, and the salts thereof, are useful for increasing the efficiency of feed utilization in ruminant animals, i.e. animals which have multiple stomachs, one of which is a rumen. In particular, the compounds of formulae I and II are useful in cattle and sheep. For the purpose of increasing food utilization, a compound of formula I or II is administered orally to a ruminant, on a daily basis, and in an amount which is effective in increasing propionate formation in the animal's rumen. The compound of formula I or II can be administered orally by a variety of methods, in accordance with standard practices in veterinary science and animal husbandry. However, a convenient method of administering a compound of formula I or II is to blend the compound of formula I or II with the animal's food, at such a level that the animal receives an effective propionate-increasing amount. British Pat. No. 1,197,826 describes a method for measuring the ability of compounds to increase propionate formation in the rumen of ruminant animals. The test method involves the use of an apparatus in which the digestive processes of the ruminants are conducted and studied in vitro. The animal feed, a sample of rumen contents and the compound under study are introduced into and withdrawn from a laboratory unit under carefully controlled conditions and the changes taking place are studied critically and progressively during the consumption of the feed by the microbial flora in the rumen contents. An increase in the propionic acid content in the rumen fluid indicates that a desirable response in overall ruminant performance has been brought about by the growth promotant in the feed composition. The change in propionic acid content is expressed as percent of the propionic acid content found in the control rumen fluid. Thus, rumen fluid is collected from a fistulated cow which is fed on a commercial fattening ration plus hay. The rumen fluid is immediately filtered through cheese cloth, and 10 ml added to a 50 ml conical flask containing 400 mg of standard substrate (68% corn starch+17% cellulose+15% extracted soybean meal), 10 ml of a pH 6.8 buffer and the test compound. The flasks are gassed with oxygen free nitrogen for about 2 minutes and incubated in a shaking water bath at 39° C. for about 16 hours. All tests are conducted in triplicate. After incubation, 5 ml of the sample are mixed with 1 ml of 25% metaphosphoric acid. After 10 minutes, 0.25 ml of formic acid is added and the mixture centrifuged at 1500 r.p.m. for 10 minutes. Samples are then analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography by the method of D. W. Kellog in J. Dairy Science, 52, 1690 (1969). Peak heights for acetic, propionic and butyric acids are determined for samples from untreated and treated incubation flasks. Thus, the amount of compound I or II which must be administered to a ruminant animal to increase feed utilization efficiency depends on the ability of the compound to increase propionate production in the rumen. However, a compound of formula I or II will normally be administered orally to a ruminant at a dosage in the range from 0.5 to 50 mg/kg of body weight per day. In addition to their ability to increase feed utilization in ruminants, the compounds of formulae I and II are active as antibacterial agents in vitro. This makes them useful for a variety of sanitary purposes, such as sterilization of hospital surfaces, and as preservatives, e.g., paint preservatives. The antibacterial activity of a compound of the formula I or II can be demonstrated by measuring the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against a variety of organisms, according to standard procedures. Thus, the MIC's can be measured by the procedure recommended by the International Collaborative Study on Antibiotic Sensitivity Testing (Ericcson and Sherris, Acta. Pathologica et Microbiologia Scandinav, Supp. 217, Section B: 64-68 [1971]), which employs brain heart infusion (BHI) agar and the inocula replicating device. Overnight growth tubes are diluted 100 fold for use as the standard inoculum (20,000-10,000 cells in approximately 0.002 ml are placed on the agar surface; 20 ml of BHI agar/dish). Twelve 2 fold dilutions of the test compound are employed, with initial concentration of the test drug being 200 mcg/ml. Single colonies are disregarded when reading plates after 18 hours at 37° C. The susceptibility (MIC) of the test organism is accepted as the lowest concentraton of compound capable of producing complete inhibition of growth as judged by the naked eye. Typical microorganisms against which the compounds of formulae I and II are active in vitro are Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus equi and Clostridium perfringens. The following examples and preparations are being provided for the purpose of further illustration. Infrared (IR) spectra were measured as neat liquids unless indicated otherwise, and positions of significant absorption peaks are given in reciprocal centimeters (cm -1 ). Nuclear magentic resonance (NMR) spectra were measured as solutions in deuterochloroform (CDCl 3 ) at 60 MHz, and peak positions are given in parts per million (ppm) downfield from internal tetramethylsilane. The following abbreviations for peak shapes are used: s, singlet; bs, broad singlet; d, doublet; t, triplet; q, quartet; m, multiplet. For low-resolution mass spectra (MS) and high-resolution mass spectra (HRMS), peaks are given as mass-to-charge (m/e) ratios. EXAMPLE 1 COMPOUND I (R 1 is hydrogen; R 2 is phenyl; R 3 is hydrogen) The corresponding methyl ester of the title compound (1.56 g, 0.003 mole) was dissolved in 20 ml of ethanol which contained 10 ml of 5% weight-to-volume of aqueous potassium hydroxide and heated at reflux overnight. The ethanol was removed in vacuo and the aqueous residue was extracted with two 25 ml portions of methylene chloride. The organic solvent was evaporated in vacuo to leave 1.83 g of an oil of the title compound as the potassium salt. The infrared spectrum of the potassium salt showed absorbances at 3350 and 1600 cm -1 . The free acid of the title compound was obtained by dissolving the potassium salt in 25 ml of methylene chloride and shaking the solution with 25 ml of 1N hydrochloric acid. The methylene chloride solution was washed with 10 ml of water and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. Evaporation of the filtered solution yielded 1.36 g (89% yield) of the free acid of the title compound as an amorphous foam. NMR (CDCl 3 ): 7.8-7.1 (m, 11H), 4.8 (s, 4H) and 4.6-3.7 (m, 16H) ppm. HRMS: m/e 508.2104 (M + ), 490.1969 (M + -H 2 O), 147.0443 (base peak). COMPOUND I (R 1 is t-butyl; R 2 is 3,3-dimethyl-1-butyenyl; R 3 is methyl) was prepared as its potassium salt by hydrolysis its methyl ester, in 92% yield, using the above procedure. IR(KBr): 3378, 2994, 1626, 1605 and 1580 cm -1 . EXAMPLE 2 The compounds in Tables I, II and III were prepared by hydrolysis of the corresponding methyl or ethyl ester, using the procedure of Example 1. TABLE I__________________________________________________________________________ ##STR31## FormR.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 isolated.sup.1 Yield (%) Spectral Data__________________________________________________________________________H t-butyl H A 75 IR: 3600-2500, 1720 NMR: 7.3 (s, 3H), 6.9 (m, 3H), 4.7 (s, 4H), 4.2-3.5 (m, 16H), 1.3 (s, 9H).H t-octyl H A 64 IR: 3600-2500, 1730. NMR: 7.4 (s, 3H), 7.0 (m, 3H), 4.8 (s, 4H), 4.5-3.7 (m, 16H), 1.8 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).H cyclohexyl H A 50 IR: 2920, 1725. NMR: 7.3 (s, 3H), 6.9 (m, 3H), 4.7 (m, 4H), 4.2-3.5 (m, 16H), 2.1-1.2 (m, 13H).H t-octyl isopropyl K 90 IR.sup.2 : 1590-1580. NMR: 7.3 (s, 3H), 6.8 (q, 2H), 4.7 (s, 4H), 4.2-3.4 (m, 16H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.3 (s, 6H), 1.1 (d, 6H), 0.7 (s, 9H).H t-octyl methyl K 62 IR.sup.3 : 1625-1560, 1400. NMR 7.3 (s, 3H), 6.8 (s, 2H), 4.7 (bs, 4H), 4.2-3.5 (m, 16H), 2.3 (s, 3H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.3 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).H t-octyl thiophenoxy- K 52 IR.sup.2 : 3390, 2899, 1582, 1456. methylH n-octyl H A 65 IR: 3550-2600, 1730. NMR: 7.2 (s, 3H), 6.7 (m, 3H), 4.6 (s, 4H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 16H), 2.5 (m, 2H), 1.3-0.8 (m, 17H). HRMS: 544.3020.H n-undecyl H A 45 IR: 3600-2500, 1740. HRMS: 586.3496.t-butyl t-butyl H A,K 90 IR: 3500-2600, 1720. NMR: 7.2 (s, 2H), 6.9 (m, 3H), 4.6 (s, 4H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 16H), 1.3 (d, 18H).t-butyl t-octyl H A,K 66 IR: 1720. NMR: 7.3 (s, 2H), 6.9 (m, 3H), 4.7 (s, 4H), 4.4- 3.6 (m, 16H), 1.8 (s, 2H), 1.5 (s, 15H), 0.8 (s, 9H).t-butyl n-octyl H A,K 33 IR: 2960-2850, 1735. NMR: 7.3 (s, 2H), 6.9 (m, 3H), 4.7 (bs, 4H), 4.4-3.6 (m, 16H), 1.5-0.8 (m, 24H).t-butyl n-undecyl H A 62 IR: 3300, 1700. HRMS: 642.4050.t-butyl H methyl A 30 IR: 3500-2400, 1715. NMR: 7.2 (s, 2H), 6.8 (m, 4H), 4.6 (s, 4H), 4.3-3.6 (m, 16H), 2.3 (s, 3H), 1.4 (s, 9H).t-butyl t-octyl methyl A,K 62 IR: 1720. MS: 614.t-butyl t-octyl isopropyl K 90 IR.sup.2 : 1595-1580.t-butyl t-butyl isopropyl K 70 IR.sup.2 : 1600-1580.t-butyl t-butyl t-butyl K 42 IR.sup.2 : 1600-1585.t-butyl t-octyl benzyl K 58 IR.sup.2 : 1600-1580.t-butyl 4-t-butyl- H A 75 IR.sup.2 : 1720. phenylt-butyl 4-t-butyl- t-butyl K 80 IR.sup.2 : 1600-1585. phenylt-butyl t-octyl methoxymethyl K 90 IR.sup.2 : 1621. NMR: 7.3 (s, 2H), 6.8 (m, 2H), 4.4 (m, 6H), 4.2-3.2 (m, 19H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.3 (s, 15H), 0.7 (s, 9H).t-butyl methyl t-octyl K 60 IR.sup.3 : 1610.t-butyl t-butyl t-octyl K 48 IR.sup.2 : 1600.t-butyl t-octyl hydroxymethyl K 95 IR.sup.2 : 3289, 3067, 1600.t-butyl 1-adamantyl methyl A,K 58 IR: 1715. NMR: 7.2 (s, 2H), 6.8 (s, 2H), 4.6 (s, 4H), 4.4-3.5 (m, 16H), 2.3 (s, 3H), 2.0 (s, 9H), 1.8 (s, 6H), 1.3 (s, 9H).t-butyl 3,3-dimethyl- methyl K 63 IR.sup.2 : 3425, 2933, 1672, 1587. butanoylt-butyl 3,3-dimethyl- methyl K 68 IR.sup.2 : 1590. butylt-butyl t-octyl benzyloxy- K 65 IR.sup.2 : 1600. methylt-butyl t-octyl 2-methyl- K 61 IR.sup.2 : 1590. benzyloxy- methylt-butyl t-octyl 4-methyl- K 47 IR.sup.2 : 3448, 2915, 1595. benzyloxy- methylt-butyl t-octyl 2-phenylethyl K 66 IR.sup.2 : 3425, 2941, 1587.t-butyl t-octyl 2-(4-tolyl)ethyl K 67 IR.sup.2 : 3390. 2907, 1580.t-butyl t-octyl 3-phenylpropyl K 62 IR.sup.2 : 3390, 2915, 1580.t-butyl t-octyl phenoxymethyl A,K 54 NMR: 7.3-6.8 (m, 9H), 5.1 (s, 2H), 4.6 (s, 4H), 4.4-3.5 (m, 16H), 1.7 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 15H), 0.8 (s, 9H).t-butyl t-octyl 2-(2-fluoro- K 83 IR.sup.2 : 3390, 2907, 1580. phenyl)ethylt-butyl t-octyl 2-(2-tolyl)- K 68 IR.sup.2 : 3367, 2899, 1580. ethylt-butyl t-octyl 4-methylthio- K 61 IR.sup.2 : 3367, 2882, 1580. phenoxymethylH t-octyl 2-(3-tolyl)ethyl K 70 IR.sup.2 : 3401, 2941, 1587.H t-octyl 2-(t-butylphenyl)- K 72 IR.sup.2 : 3484, 2976, 1590. ethylt-butyl t-octyl thiophenoxymethyl K 78 IR.sup.2 : 3425, 2967, 1582.__________________________________________________________________________ .sup.1 In this column, the entry "A" indicates that the compound was isolated as the free acid, and the entry K indicates that it was isolated as the potassium salt. .sup.2 IR taken as a KBr disk. .sup.3 IR taken as a CH.sub.2 Cl.sub.2 solution. TABLE II______________________________________ ##STR32##R.sup.8 and R.sup.9 Yield (%) Spectral Data______________________________________H; H 71 IR (KBr): 3390, 2924, 15774-methylthio; H 63 IR (KBr): 3460, 2994, 6100.2-methyl; H 56 IR (KBr): 3425, 2967, 1605 1580.3-methoxy; H 56 IR (KBr): 3460, 3003, 1587.4-methoxy; H 48 IR (CHCl.sub.3): 1600.2,6-dimethyl 59 IR (KBr): 3390, 2941, 1575.2,6-dimethoxy 69 IR (CH.sub.2 Cl.sub.2): 1590.2-ethyl; H 47 IR (KBr): 3378, 2915, 1603 1577.2-methoxy; H 63 IR (KBr): 3401, 2924, 1582.2-methylthio 58 IR (KBr): 3401, 2924, 1577.3,5-dimethyl 71 IR (KBr): 3401, 2941, 1629, 1600.3-methyl; H 46 IR (KBr): 3378, 2907, 1575.4-methyl; H 61 IR (KBr): 3367, 2899,1572.______________________________________ TABLE III______________________________________ ##STR33##R.sup.15 Yield (%) Spectral Data______________________________________n-butyl 90 IR (KBr): 3401, 2907, 1613, 1595. NMR.sup.1 : 7.2 (s, 2H), 6.5 (s, 2H), 4.6 (s, 4H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 16H), 2.4 (m, 1H), 2.2 (s, 3H), 1.6-0.7 (m, 29H).n-hexyl 36 IR (CHCl.sub.3): 1601.phenyl 73 IR (KBr): 3390, 2924, 1605.n-octyl 65 IR (CHCl.sub.3): 1600.isoamyl 75 IR (CHCl.sub.3): 1580.ethyl 51 IR (CHCl.sub.3): 1595.4-tolyl 60 IR (CHCl.sub.3): 1580.2-tolyl 38 IR (CHCl.sub.3): 1590.3-methoxyphenyl 21 IR (CHCl.sub.3): 1575.4-methylthiophenyl 76 IR (KBr): 3413, 2967, 1587.4-methoxyphenyl 53 IR (CHCl.sub.3): 1590.______________________________________ Measured as the free acid. EXAMPLE 3 COMPOUND I (R 1 is t-butyl; R 2 is t-octyl; R 3 is 2-pyridylthiomethyl) The title compound of Preparation Q (0.8 g, 0.0011 mole) was hydrolyzed by heating in ethanol (60 ml) and 15 ml of 10% weight-to-volume of aqueous potassium hydroxide for 18 hours at 100° C. The ethanol was removed in vacuo and the work-up of Example 1 was employed to yield the potassium salt of the title carboxylic acid (0.5 g, 60% yield). IR (KBr): 3390 and 1575 cm -1 . The corresponding free acid was obtained by dissolving the potassium salt in 15 ml methylene chloride and shaking the solution with 15 ml 1N hydrochloric acid. The methylene chloride solution was worked up as in Example 1 to give the acid (0.4 g, 84% yield). NMR (CDCl 3 ): 8.4 (d, 1H), 7.4-6.6 (m, 7H), 4.6 (s, 4H), 4.4 (s, 2H), 4.4-3.5 (m, 16H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.3 (s, 15H) and 0.6 (s, 9H) ppm. Also prepared by this method were the following compounds: TABLE IV______________________________________ ##STR34##R.sup.13 and R.sup.14 Yield (%) Spectral Data______________________________________2-methoxy; H 57 IR (KBr): 3390, 2429, 1580.2-methyl; H 66 IR (KBr): 3390, 2915, 1585.3-methoxy; H 63 IR (KBr): 3390, 2924, 1587.4-methoxy; H 71 IR (KBr): 3390, 2907, 1587.2-bromo; H 62 IR (KBr): 3367, 2907, 1580.4-bromo; H 73 IR (KBr): 3413, 2915, 1587.4-fluoro; H 73 IR (KBr): 3390, 2915, 1582.2-chloro; H 41 NMR.sup.1 : 7.2 (m, 6H), 6.8 (s, 2H), 4.6 (s, 4H), 4.3- 3.5 (m, 18H), 1.7 (s, 2H), 1.3 (d, 15H), 0.7 (s, 9H).3-chloro; H 97 IR (CH.sub. 2 Cl.sub.2): 1590.4-t-butyl; H 75 IR (CH.sub.2 Cl.sub.2): 1600.2,6-dichloro 66 IR (KBr): 3390, 2994, 1585.2,6-dimethyl 61 IR (KBr): 3448, 2959, 1592.2-ethyl; H 82 IR (KBr): 3390, 2915, 1585.2,3-dimethyl 79 IR (KBr): 3367, 2915, 1580.3-trifluoromethyl; 63 IR (KBr): 3367, 2994, 1582.4-hydroxy; H .sup. 69.sup.1 IR (KBr): 3390, 2967, 1727. NMR: 7.2 (m, 4H), 6.7 (m, 4H), 4.6 (s, 2H), 4.3-3.6 (m, 18H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.3 (d, 15H), 0.8 (2, 9H).4-benzoyl; H 76 IR (CH.sub.2 Cl.sub.2): 1660, 1590.4-acetamido; H .sup. 70.sup.1 IR (KBr): 3310, 1728, 1695. NMR: 8.2 (s, 1H), 7.2 (m, 6H), 6.8 (s, 2H), 4.6 (s, 4H), 4.2-3.5 (m, 18H), 2.0 (s, 3H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.3 (m, 15H), 0.7 (s, 9H).4-methylthio; H .sup. 52.sup.1 NMR: 7.2 (m, 6H), 6.8 (m, 2H), 4.6 (s, 4H), 4.3-3.6 (m, 18H), 2.4 (s, 3H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.2 (d, 15H), 0.7 (s, 9H).4-acetyl; H 99 IR (KBr): 3471, 2958, 1681, 1590.2-benzoyl; H 64 IR (KBr): 2953, 1676, 1590.______________________________________ .sup.1 Compound isolated as the free acid. EXAMPLE 4 COMPOUND II (R 1 is t-butyl; R 4 is hydrogen; R 5 and R 6 form a cyclohexylidene ring) The title ester of Preparation T (4.5 g, 7.9 mole) was dissolved in 200 ml ethanol and treated at 100° C. with 100 ml of a solution of 15% weight-to-volume of potassium hydroxide in water. The title compound (2.7 g, 57% yield) was isolated as a foam using the working procedure employed in Example 1 to obtain the potassium salt. IR: 3378 and 1587 cm -1 . The products in Table V were obtained from the corresponding ester using the above procedure. TABLE V______________________________________ ##STR35## R.sup.5 and R.sup.6 ; or YieldR.sup.4 R.sup.5 R.sup.6 C (%) Spectral Data______________________________________H 4-t-butylcyclo- 39 IR (KBr): 3356, 2899, hexylidene 1721, 1600.H 4-chlorophenoxy- 85 IR (KBr): 3328, 2900, methyl; H 1590.H 3,3,5-trimethyl- 47 IR (KBr): 3367, 2899, cyclohexylidene 1587.H 4-t-butylphenoxy- 75 IR (KBr): 3378, 2915, methyl; H 1605.H phenoxymethyl; H 75 IR (KBr): 3367, 2907, 1595.H thiophenoxymethyl; 83 IR (KBr): 3413, 2959, H 1587.t-octyl cyclohexylidene 66 IR (CHCl.sub.3): 1595.t-octyl hexyl; H 56 IR (CHCl.sub.3): 1590t-octyl 3,3,5-trimethyl- 72 IR (KBr): 3367, 2899, cyclohexylidene 1590.t-octyl cycloheptylidene 36 IR (KBr): 3390, 2899, 1582.t-octyl phenoxymethyl; H 45 IR (KBr): 3367, 2899, 1595.t-octyl thiophenoxymethyl; 67 IR (KBr): 3367, 2890, H 1575.______________________________________ EXAMPLE 5 The compounds in Tables VI, VII and VIII can be prepared by reaction of the appropriate diol of formula XI or XII with methyl 2,6-di(bromomethyl)-4-t-butylbenzoate and sodium hydride according to the procedure of Preparation J, followed by hydrolysis of the macrocyclic ester thus obtained according to Example 1. TABLE VI______________________________________ ##STR36##R.sup.2______________________________________methyldodecylcyclopentylcyclooctyl2-tolyl4-butylphenyl1,3,3-trimethyl-1-butenyl3,3-dimethyl-1-n-butyl-1-butenyl3,3-dimethyl-1-(4-propylphenyl)-1-butenyl3,3-dimethyl-1-(3-isopropoxyphenyl)-1-butenyl3,3-dimethyl-1-(4-propylthiophenyl)-1-butenyl3,3-dimethyl-1-(2-naphthyl)-1-butenyl3,3-dimethyl-1-n-butylbutyl3,3-dimethyl-1-(4-propylphenyl)butyl3,3-dimethyl-1-(3-isopropoxyphenyl)butyl3,3-dimethyl-1-(4-propylthiophenyl)butyl3,3-dimethyl-1-(2-naphthyl)butyl______________________________________ TABLE VII______________________________________ ##STR37## R.sup.3______________________________________ 3-fluorobenzyl 4-chlorobenzyl 4-phenylbutyl 3-n-propylbenzyloxymethyl 4-isopropoxybenzyloxymethyl 4-n-propylthiobenzyloxymethyl 3-(n-propyl)thiophenoxymethyl 4-(isopropoxy)thiophenoxymethyl 4-(n-propylthio)thiophenoxymethyl 3,4-dichlorothiophenoxymethyl______________________________________ TABLE VIII______________________________________ ##STR38## R.sup.5 and R.sup.6 ; orR.sup.4 R.sup.5 R.sup.6 C______________________________________t-octyl H;Ht-octyl CH.sub.3 ;HCH.sub.3 n-octyl;Hisopropyl cyclopentylidenen-hexyl cycloheptylideneH t-octyl; H______________________________________ EXAMPLE 6 5-(3,3-Dimethylbutanoyl)-3-methyl-1,2-di(2-[2-hydroxyethoxy]ethoxy)benzene The title compound from Preparation I (5 g, 0.0088 mole) was dissolved in methanol (50 ml) and 4 ml of 1N hydrochloric acid were added. The resulting solution was stirred for 1 hour at 25° C. and the methanol was removed by evaporation in vacuo, and the aqueous residue extracted with 100 ml methylene chloride. The organic solution extract was washed with 50 ml saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate and 25 ml brine. After drying over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, the solution was evaporated in vacuo to an oil of the title compound (3.3 g, 94% yield). NMR (CDCl 3 ): 7.4 (s, 2H), 4.2 (m, 4H), 3.8 (m, 12H), 3.2 (s, 2H), 2.8 (s, 2H), 2.3 (s, 3H) and 1.1 (s, 9H) ppm. IR: 3375 and 1660 cm -1 . Hydrolysis of the appropriate bis(tetrahydropyranyl)protected diol, according to the above procedure, afforded the compounds in Tables IX and X. TABLE IX______________________________________ ##STR39##R.sup.2 R.sup.3 Spectral Data______________________________________H H IR: 3350, 1600, 1500, 1250. NMR: 6.9 (s, 4H), 4.2-3.6 (m, 18H).t-butyl H IR: 3400, 2950, 2860, 1525. NMR: 6.7 (m, 3H), 4.0-3.4 (m, 16H), 3.3 (s, 2H), 1.05 (s, 9H).phenyl H IR: 3350, 1600, 1510, 1490. NMR: 7.6-7.0 (m, 8H), 4.4- 3.6 (m, 18H).t-octyl H IR: 3600, NMR: 7.0 (m, 3H), 4.3-4.0 (m, 4H), 3.9-3.5 (m, 14H), 1.7 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 0.9 (s, 9H).t-octyl isopropyl IR: 3450, 2975, 1575. NMR: 6.8 (q, 2H), 4.3-4.0 (m, 4H), 4.0-3.6 (m, 18H), 1.7 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 1.2 (d, 6H), 0.7 (s, 9H).t-octyl methyl IR: 3600. NMR: 6.8 (s, 2H), 4.3-4.0 (m, 4H), 4.0-3.5 (m, 14H), 2.4 (s, 3H), 1.8 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).t-butyl morpholino- IR: 3600. NMR: 6.8 (q, 2H), methyl 4.2-4.0 (m, 4H), 4.0-3.3 (m, 18H), 2.5 (m, 4H), 1.3 (s, 9H).t-octyl thiophenoxy- IR: 3600. NMR: 7.2 (m, 5H), methyl 6.7 (q, 2H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 20H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.2 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).H methyl IR: 3400, 2940, 2860.t-butyl isopropyl IR: 3600-3400. NMR: 6.8 (q, 2H), 4.2-3.5 (m, 18H), 1.2 (s, and d, 15H).t-butyl t-butyl NMR: 6.9 (q, 2H), 4.3- 3.4 (m, 18H), 1.3 (d, 18H).t-octyl benzyl NMR: 7.2 (m, 5H), 6.8 (m, 2H), 4.3-3.6 (m, 18H), 1.8 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).4-t-butyl- H NMR: 7.5 (s, 4H), 7.2 (m,phenyl 3H), 4.4-3.6 (m, 16H), 3.1 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 9H).4-t-butyl- t-butyl NMR: 7.4 (s, 4H), 7.2- 6.9phenyl (m, 2H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 16H), 3.0 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 9H), 1.3 (s, 9H).methyl methyl NMR: 6.9 (s, 2H), 4.3-3.4 (m, 16H), 2.3 (s, 6H), 1.7 (s, 2H).t-octyl morpholino- IR: 3400, 2950-2840, 1600. methyl NMR: 7.0 (q, 2H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 20H), 3.0 (s, 2H), 2.5 (m, 4H), 1.7 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).methyl t-octyl NMR: 6.8-7.0 (dd, 2H), 4.4- 3.4 (m, 18H), 2.4 (s, 3H), 2.0 (s, 2H), 1.6 (s, 6H), 0.9 (s, 9H).1-adamantyl methyl IR: 3400. NMR: 6.9 (s, 2H), 4.4-3.5 (m, 16H), 3.2 (s, 2H), 2.2 (s, 3H), 2.0 (bs, 9H), 1.8 (bs, 6H).3,3-dimethyl- methyl IR: 3400, 1600. NMR: 6.7butyl (m, 2H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 16H), 2.2 (s, 3H), 1.5 (m, 4H), 1.0 (s, 9H).t-octyl 2-phenyl- NMR: 7.2 (s, 5H), 6.7 (q, ethyl 2H), 4.2-3.5 (m, 18H), 2.9 (s, 4H), 1.7 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 0.7 (s, 9H).t-octyl 2-(4-tolyl)- NMR: 7.0 (s, 4H), 6.8 (m, ethyl 2H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 16H), 3.3 (s, 2H), 2.9 (s, 4H), 2.4 (s, 3H), 1.7 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).t-octyl 3-phenyl- NMR: 7.2 (s, 5H), 6.8 (m, propyl 2H), 4.2-3.4 (m, 16H), 3.3 (s, 2H), 2.6 (m, 4H), 1.9 (m, 2H), 1.7 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).t-octyl 2-(2-fluoro- NMR: 7.1 (m, 4H), 6.7 phenyl)ethyl (m, 2H), 4.3-3.6 (m, 16H), 3.2 (s, 2H), 2.9 (s, 4H), 1.7 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).t-octyl 2-(2-tolyl)- NMR: 7.1 (s, 4H), 6.7 (m, ethyl 4H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 16H), 3.2 (s, 2H), 2.9 (s, 4H), 2.4 (s, 3H), 1.7 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).t-octyl 2-(3-tolyl)- NMR: 7.2-6.6 (m, 6H), 4.2- ethyl 3.4 (m, 16H), 3.3 (d, 2H), 2.8 (s, 4H), 2.3 (s, 3H), 1.0 (s, 2H), 1.3 (s, 6H), 0.7 (s, 9H).t-octyl 2-(4-t-butyl- NMR: 7.3 (m, 4H), 6.8 (q, phenyl)ethyl 2H), 4.3-3.6 (m, 16H), 3.4 (s, 2H), 3.0 (s, 4H), 1.8 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 15H), 0.8 (s, 9H).______________________________________ TABLE X______________________________________ ##STR40##R.sup.13 and R.sup.14 Spectral Data______________________________________2-methoxy; H NMR: 7.3-6.7 (m, 6H), 4.3-3.3 (m, 23H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).3-methyl; H NMR: 7.1 (m, 4H), 6.8 (m, 2H), 4.3-3.6 (m, 18H), 3.3 (s, 2H), 2.4 (s, 3H), 1.7 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).3-methoxy; H NMR: 7.4-6.8 (m, 6H), 4.4-3.4 (m, 23H), 1.7 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).4-methoxy; H NMR: 7.4 (m, 2H), 6.8 (m, 4H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 21H), 3.2 (s, 2H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.2 (s, 6H), 0.7 (s, 9H).2-bromo; H NMR: 7.5-6.8 (m, 6H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 18H), 3.0 (s, 2H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.2 (s, 6H), 0.7 (s, 9H).4-bromo; H NMR: 7.2 (m, 4H), 6.7 (m, 2H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 18H), 3.3 (m, 2H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.3 (s, 6H), 0.7 (s, 9H).4-fluoro; H NMR: 7.4-6.7 (m, 6H), 4.2-3.5 (m, 18H), 3.2 (s, 2H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.2 (s, 6H), 0.7 (s, 9H).2-chloro; H IR: 3425, 2950, 2860, 1580. NMR: 7.2 (m, 4H), 6.8 (s, 2H), 4.4-3.5 (m, 18H), 3.1 (s, 2H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.3 (s, 6H), 0.7 (s, 9H).3-chloro; H NMR: 7.2-6.8 (m, 6H), 4.4-3.5 (m, 18H), 3.3 (s, 2H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.3 (s, 6H), 0.7 (s, 9H).4-t-butyl; H NMR: 7.3 (s, 4H), 6.8 (s, 2H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 18H), 3.3 (s, 2H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.3 (d, 15H), 0.8 (s, 9H).2,6-dichloro NMR: 7.3 (m, 3H), 6.8 (m, 1H), 6.5 (m, 1H), 4.4-3.6 (m, 18H), 3.1 (s, 2H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).______________________________________ EXAMPLE 7 The compounds in Table XI can be prepared by reaction of the appropriate catechol with 2-(2-[2-chloroethoxy]ethoxy)tetrahydropyran according to Preparation I, followed by hydrolysis according to the procedure of Example 6. TABLE XI______________________________________ ##STR41##R.sup.2 R.sup.3______________________________________methyl methyldodecyl ethylcyclopentyl isopropylcyclooctyl hydrogenn-butylphenyl methylt-octyl 3-fluorobenzylt-octyl 4-chlorobenzylt-octyl 4-phenylbutylt-octyl 3-n-propylbenzyloxymethylt-octyl 4-isopropoxybenzyloxymethylt-octyl 4-n-propylthiobenzyloxymethylt-octyl 3-(n-propyl)thiophenoxymethylt-octyl 4-(isopropoxy)thiophenoxymethylt-octyl 4-(n-propylthio)thiophenoxymethylt-octyl 3,4-dichlorothiophenoxymethyl______________________________________ EXAMPLE 8 5-(1-Phenyl-3,3-dimethyl-1-butenyl)-3-methyl-1,2-di(2-[2-hydroxyethoxy]ethoxy)benzene The bis(tetrahydropyran)protected diol of Preparation I (5.9 g, 0.01 mole) was dissolved in 100 ml of diethyl ether and stirred under a nitrogen atmosphere at 25° C. while phenylmagnesium chloride (8.7 ml of a commercial 2.4M solution in tetrahydrofuran, 0.02 moles) was added dropwise over 0.5 hour. The reaction mixture was stirred at 25° C. overnight. A saturated aqueous ammonium chloride solution (15 ml) was added dropwise at 10° C. to give a precipitate and a clear solution. The solution was filtered, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and evaporated to a colorless oil (6.2 g). An aliquot (3.0 g, 0.005 mole) of the above oil was dissolved in 100 ml of tetrahydrofuran and 25 ml of methanol containing 25 ml of 1N hydrochloric acid and stirred at 25° C. for 2 hours. The organic solvents were evaporated in vacuo and the aqueous residue was extracted with two 50 ml portions of diethyl ether. The ether extracts were combined and washed with 20 ml water and 20 ml brine and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. Solvent evaporation in vacuo gave the title compound as a colorless oil (2.28 g, 95% yield). IR: 3400 cm -1 . NMR (CDCl 3 ): 7.3 (m, 5H), 6.6 (m, 2H), 6.0 (s, 1H), 4.2-3.5 (m, 16H), 2.2 (d, 3H) and 1.0 (s, 9H). The doubling of the catechol's 3-methyl group at 2.2 ppm indicated that both E and Z isomers were present. Following the above procedure, but using the appropriate Grignard reagent, the compounds in Table XII were prepared. TABLE XII______________________________________ ##STR42##R.sup.8 and R.sup.9 Spectral Data______________________________________4-methylthio; H NMR: 7.2 (m, 4H), 6.6 (s, 2H), 6.0 (s, 1H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 18H), 2.4 (s, 3H), 2.2 (d, 3H), 1.0 (s, 9H).2-methyl; H NMR: 7.2 (s, 4H), 6.6 (m, 2H), 6.0 (s, 1H), 4.2-3.5 (m, 16H), 3.2 (bs, 2H), 2.2 (s, 3H), 2.1 (s, 3H), 1.0 (s, 9H).3-methoxy; H IR: 3375, 1600. NMR: 7.4-6.6 (m, 6H), 6.0 (s, 1H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 19H), 3.2 (s, 2H), 2.2 (s, 3H), 1.0 (s, 9H).4-methoxy; H NMR: 7.3-6.5 (m, 6H), 5.9 (s, 1H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 19H), 3.2 (s, 2H), 2.2 (s, 3H), 1.0 (s, 9H).2,6-dimethyl NMR: 7.0 (m, 3H), 6.6 (m, 2H), 6.0 (d, 1H), 4.2-3.3 (m, 18H), 2.3 (bs, 9H), 0.9 (s, 9H).2,6-dimethoxy NMR: 7.2 (m, 1H), 6.5 (m, 4H), 6.0 (s, 1H), 4.2-3.6 (m, 22H), 3.0 (s, 2H), 2.2 (s, 3H), 0.9 (s, 9H).2-ethyl; H NMR: 7.1 (m, 4H), 6.6 (m, 2H), 6.1 (s, 1H), 4.2-3.4 (m, 16H), 3.2 (s, 2H), 2.4 (m, 2H), 2.2 (s, 3H), 1.0 (m, 12H).2-methoxy; H NMR: 7.3-6.4 (m, 6H), 5.9 (m, 1H), 4.2-3.2 (m, 21H), 2.1 (s, 3H), 0.9 (s, 9H).2-methylthio; H NMR: 7.2 (m, 4H), 6.6 (m, 2H), 6.0 (s, 1H), 4.2-3.4 (m, 16H), 3.3 (bs, 2H), 2.4 (s, 3H), 2.2 (s, 3H), 1.0 (s, 9H).3,5-dimethyl NMR: 6.8 (m, 3H), 6.6 (m, 2H), 6.0 (d, 1H), 4.3-3.4 (m, 18H), 2.3 (m, 9H), 1.0 (s, 9H).3-methyl; H NMR: 7.0 (m, 4H), 6.5 (m, 2H), 6.0 (d, 1H), 4.2-3.4 (m, 18H), 2.2 (m, 6H), 1.0 (s, 9H).4-methyl; H NMR: 7.0 (m, 4H), 6.6 (m, 2H), 6.0 (s, 1H), 4.2-3.4 (m, 16H), 2.2 (d, 6H), 1.6 (bs, 2H), 1.0 (s, 9H).______________________________________ EXAMPLE 9 5-(1-Phenyl-3,3-dimethylbutyl)-3-methyl-1,2-di(2-[2-hydroxyethoxy]ethoxy)benzene 5-(1-Hydroxy-1-phenyl-3,3-dimethyl-1-butyl)-3-methyl-1,2-di(2-[2-(2-tetrahydropyranyloxy)ethoxy]ethoxy)benzene (3.0 g, 0.005 mole) was dissolved in absolute ethanol (100 ml) with 10% Pd/C catalyst (0.4 g). This mixture was shaken in a Parr hydrogenator at 50 psi hydrogen pressure for 18 hours. The solution was filtered and 1N HCl (10 ml) was added to the filtrate. After 2 hours, the alcohol was evaporated in vacuo, the residual oil was dissolved in methylene chloride (50 ml) and washed with water (25 ml), brine (25 ml) and dried over MgSO 4 . Evaporation gave the title compound as a colorless oil (2.17 g, 95% yield). IR: 3400, 1600. NMR (CDCl 3 ): 7.2 (m, 5H), 6.7 (m, 2H), 4.2-3.6 (m, 18H), 2.1 (m, 6H), 0.9 (s, 9H). EXAMPLE 10 Reaction of 5-(3,3-dimethylbutanoyl)-3-methyl-1,2-di(2-[2-(2-tetrahydropyranoyloxy)ethoxy]ethoxy)benzene with the appropriate Grignard reagent of the formula R 15 MgX (wherein X is Cl or Br) according to the procedure of Example 8, followed by hydrogenation and hydrolysis according to the procedure of Example 9, afforded the compounds in Table XIII. TABLE XIII______________________________________ ##STR43##R.sup.15 Spectral Data______________________________________n-butyl NMR: 6.5 (s, 2H), 4.3-3.6 (m, 16H), 3.4 (s, 2H), 2.5 (m, 1H), 2.3 (s, 3H), 1.7-0.8 (m, 20H).n-hexyl NMR: 6.6 (m, 2H), 4.4-3.6 (m, 16H), 3.4 (s, 2H), 2.4 (m, 1H), 2.3 (s, 3H), 1.6-0.7 (m, 25H).n-octyl NMR: 6.6 (m, 2H), 4.3-3.6 (m, 16H), 3.3 (s, 2H), 2.3 (m, 4H), 1.7-0.7 (m, 27H).isoamyl NMR: 6.7 (m, 2H), 4.3-3.6 (m, 18H), 2.3 (m, 4H), 1.9-0.7 (m, 22H).ethyl NMR: 6.6 (m, 2H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 18H), 2.3 (m, 4H), 1.5 (m, 4H), 0.9 (m, 12H).4-tolyl NMR: 7.1 (m, 4H), 6.7 (m, 2H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 16H), 3.2 (s, 2H), 2.3 (m, 9H), 0.8 (s, 9H).2-tolyl NMR: 7.1 (m, 4H), 6.7 (m, 2H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 16H), 3.2 (s, 2H), 2.3 (m, 9H), 0.9 (m, 9H).3-methoxyphenyl NMR: 7.2-6.6 (m, 6H), 4.2-3.2 (m, 21H), 2.0 (m, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).4-methylthiophenyl NMR: 7.1 (m, 4H), 6.5 (m, 2H), 4.2-3.4 (m, 16H), 3.2 (s, 2H), 2.4 (s, 3H), 2.2 (s, 3H), 2.0 (m, 3H), 0.9 (d, 9H).4-methoxyphenyl NMR: 7.0-6.6 (m, 6H), 4.2-3.4 (m, 21H), 2.2-1.8 (m, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).______________________________________ EXAMPLE 11 The compounds in Table XIV can be prepared from 5-(3,3-dimethylbutanoyl)-3-methyl-1,2-di(2-[2-(2-tetrahydropyranyloxy)ethoxy]ethoxy)benzene by reaction with the appropriate Grignard reagent followed by hydrolysis according to the procedure of Example 8, or by reaction with the appropriate Grignard reagent according to the procedure of Example 8 followed by hydrogenation according to the procedure of Example 9. TABLE XIV______________________________________ ##STR44##R.sup.2______________________________________1,3,3-trimethyl-1-butenyl3,3-dimethyl-1-n-butyl-1-butenyl3,3-dimethyl-1-(4-propylphenyl)-1-butenyl3,3-dimethyl-1-(3-propoxyphenyl)-1-butenyl3,3-dimethyl-1-(4-propylthiophenyl)-1-butenyl3,3-dimethyl-1-(2-naphthyl)-1-butenyl3,3-dimethyl-1-n-butylbutyl3,3-dimethyl-1-(4-propylphenyl)butyl3,3-dimethyl-1-(3-isopropoxyphenyl)butyl3,3-dimethyl-1-(4-propylthiophenyl)butyl3,3-dimethyl-1-(2-naphthyl)butyl______________________________________ EXAMPLE 12 1-([1-Hydroxycyclohexyl]methoxy)-2-(2-[2-hydroxyethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy)benzen A mixture of the product of Preparation S (3 g, 0.0124 mole) and the epoxide of methylenecyclohexane (1.4 g, 0.0124 mole, J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 87, 1353 (1965)) and potassium carbonate (1.7 g, 0.012 mole) were combined without solvent and heated to 120° C. with stirring under a nitrogen atmosphere for 20 hrs. The reaction mixture was cooled to 25° C., 25 ml diethyl ether were added and the ethereal solution was washed with 10 ml 10% weight-to-volume of potassium hdyroxide in water, 10 ml water and 10 ml brine. The washed etheral solution were dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and evaporated in vacuo to a brown oil (4.17 g, (95% yield) which was used without further purification. NMR (CDCl 3 ): 6.8 (s, 4H), 4.1 (m, 2H), 3.9-3.4 (m, 12H), 1.8-1.3 (m, 10H), ppm. EXAMPLE 13 By substituting the appropriate epoxide for methylenecyclohexane epoxide in the procedure of Example 12, the compounds in Table XV were prepared. TABLE XV______________________________________ ##STR45##R.sup.5 and R.sup.6 ; orR.sup.5 R.sup.6 C Spectral Data______________________________________4-t-butylcyclo- IR: 3425, 2950, 1600. NMR: 6.9hexylidene (s, 4H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 14H), 3.2 (s, 2H), 2.2-1.0 (m, 9H), 0.9 (s, 9H).4-chlorophenoxy- IR: 3400, 1601. NMR: 7.2 (d, 2H),methyl; H 6.9 (m, 6H), 4.4-3.5 (m, 19H).3,3,5-trimethyl- NMR: 6.9 (s, 4H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 14H),cyclohexylidene 3.3 (s, 2H), 2.1-1.5 (m, 4H), 1.5- 0.8 (m, 12H).4-t-butylphenoxy- NMR: 7.3 (m, 2H), 6.8 (m, 6H),methyl; H 4.3-3.6 (m, 19H), 1.4 (s, 9H).phenoxymethyl; H NMR: 7.4-7.1 (m, 2H), 6.9 (m, 7H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 19H).thiophenoxymethyl; H NMR: 7.2 (m, 5H), 6.8 (s, 4H), 4.3-3.4 (m, 17H), 3.2 (m, 2H).______________________________________ EXAMPLE 14 Reaction of 2-hydroxy-1-(2-[2-(2-[2-tetrahydropyranyloxy]ethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy)-4-t-octylbenzene (contaminated with some of the corresponding 5-t-octyl isomer) with the appropriate epoxide, using the procedure of Example 12, afforded the compounds in Table XVI, in which R 4 is t-octyl. TABLE XVI______________________________________ ##STR46##R.sup.5 and R.sup.6 ; orR.sup.5 R.sup.6 C Spectral Data______________________________________cyclohexylidene NMR: 6.9 (m, 3H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 14H), 3.4 (bs, 2H), 1.6 (m, 12H), 1.3 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).hexyl; H NMR: 6.9 (m, 3H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 17H), 1.7 (s, 2H), 1.4 (m, 16H), 0.9 (m, 3H), 0.8 (s, 9H).3,3,5-trimethylcyclo- NMR: 6.9 (m, 3H), 4.3-3.0 (m,hexylidene 16H), 1.8-0.7 (m, 33H).cycloheptylidene NMR: 6.8 (m, 3H), 4.2-3.6 (m, 16H), 1.9-1.0 (m, 20H), 0.8 (s, 9H).phenoxymethyl; H NMR: 7.4-6.8 (m, 8H), 4.2-3.6 (m, 19H), 1.8 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).thiophenoxymethyl; H NMR: 7.2 (m, 5H), 6.8 (m, 3H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 17H), 3.2 (m, 2H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.3 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).______________________________________ EXAMPLE 15 The diols in Table XVII can be prepared by reaction of the appropriate catechol with 2-(2-[2-(2-chloroethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy)tetrahydropyran according to the procedure of Preparation S, followed by reaction with the appropriate epoxide according to the procedure of Example 12. TABLE XVII______________________________________ ##STR47## R.sup.5 and R.sup.6 ; orR.sup.4 R.sup.5 R.sup.6 C______________________________________t-octyl H; Ht-octyl CH.sub.3 ; HCH.sub.3 n-octyl; Hisopropyl cyclopentylidenen-hexyl cycloheptylideneH t-octyl; H______________________________________ PREPARATION A 2-Bromo-5-t-butyl-1,3-dimethylbenzene To a solution of 200 g (1.23 mole) 5-t-butyl-1,3-dimethylbenzene and 83 ml (1.23 mole) propylene oxide in 500 ml of methylene chloride at 15° C. or less, 63 ml (1.23 mole) bromine was added dropwise while maintaining the solution temperature at 15° C. or less. The reaction mixture was allowed to warm to 25° C. overnight. A 200 ml solution of 5% by weight of potassium hydroxide in water was added and the resulting two phase system was stirred for 1 hr at 25° C. The organic phase was washed with water and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. After solvent evaporation an oil was left which when crystallized from methanol gave 265 g (87% yield) of the title compound after drying in vacuo. The oil could also be purified by distilling at 61°-70° C. under a reduced pressure of 0.25 mm of mercury. NMR (CDCl 3 ): 1.3 (s, 9H), 2.4 (s, 6H) and 7.0 (s, 2H). PREPARATION B 4-t-Butyl-2,6-dimethylbenzoic Acid To 72.9 g (3 moles) magnesium in 473 ml of diethyl ether was added a small portion taken from a solution of 482 g (2 moles) 4-t-butyl-2,6-dimetylbromobenzene in 86 ml (1 mole) 1,2-dibromoethane with stirring. When the Grignard reaction commenced, the remaining solution was added at a rate to maintain reflux with external cooling. Following addition, the reaction mixture was maintained at reflux overnight, cooled and poured over solid carbon dioxide. The reaction mixture was acidified to pH 1.5 with concentrated hydrochloric acid to give the title acid which was extracted into 500 ml of diethyl ether. Replacement of the ether by hexane gave the title compound as a white solid (261 g, 63% yield, m.p. 160°-64° C.). See Journal of Organic Chemistry, 23, 1161 (1950). NMR (CDCl 3 ): 1.35 (S, 9H), 2.4 (s, 6H) and 7.01 (s, 2H) ppm. PREPARATION C Methyl 4-t-Butyl-2,6-dimethylbenzoate To 50 g (0.26 moles) of 4-t-butyl-2,6-dimethylbenzoic acid in 250 ml methylene chloride was added 25 ml (0.34 mole) of thionyl chloride at 25° C. After stirring overnight at 25° C. the solvent and remaining thionyl chloride were evaporated in vacuo. The resulting white solid was dissolved in 50 ml tetrahydrofuran and added dropwise to 250 ml of methanol containing 2 ml of pyridine. After heating the reaction mixture to reflux for 30 minutes the solvents were evaporated in vacuo and the residue was dissolved in 200 ml ethyl acetate and 100 ml of water was added. The organic phase was separated and washed with 100 ml saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate, 50 ml water and 25 ml brine; then dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and evaporated to an oil. The oil was distilled in vacuo at 104°-8° C. at 1.2 mm of mercury to obtain 43 g (81% yield) of the title compound. NMR (CDCl 3 ): 1.3 (s, 9H), 2.4 (s, 6H), 3.9 (s, 3H) and 7.0 (s, 2H). PREPARATION D Methyl 2,6-di(Bromomethyl)-4-t-butylbenzoate Methyl 4-t-butyl-2,6-dimethylbenzoate (22 g, 0.1 mole), 1,3-dibromo-5,5-dimethylhydantoin (31.5 g, 0.11 moles) and benzoyl peroxide (50 mg) in carbon tetrachloride (300 ml) were heated to reflux and irradiated with a 275 watt sun lamp. After 1.5 hours of irradiation at reflux the yellow color of the reaction mixture had been dispersed. The reaction mixture was cooled to 25° C. and the hydantoin was removed by filtering. The carbon tetrachloride was evaporated in vacuo. The desired material crystallized from petroleum ether to give 18.4 g, 49% yield, m.p. 99°-100° C., of the title compound. NMR (CDCl 3 ): 1.35 (s, 9H), 4.0 (s, 3H), 4.6 (s, 4H) and 7.35 (s, 2H) ppm. Methyl 2,6-di(bromomethyl)benzoate was prepared in analogous fashion, mp 76°-79° C. NMR (CDCl 3 ): 7.4 (s, 3H), 4.6 (s, 4H) and 4.0 (s, 3H) ppm. PREPARATION E 3-Methyl-5-(t-octyl)catechol A mixture of 3-methylcatechol (56 g, 0.45 mole) and 10 drops of concentrated sulfuric acid was heated to 100° C. Di-isobutylene (2,4,4-trimethyl-2-pentene) (67 g, 0.6 mole) was added dropwise over a 15 min. period. After stirring at 100° C. for an additional 20 min., the temperature was raised to 130° C. and maintained at that temperature for 2 hours. The reaction mixture was allowed to cool to 50° C. and ethyl acetate (0.5 liter) was added. The resulting organic solution was washed 3 times with 500 ml of saturated aqueous sodium carbonate, once with 1N hydrochloric acid (0.2 liter), water (0.2 liter) and brine (0.1 liter). The organic solution was dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and treated with activated carbon. The solution was filtered and evaporated to an orange oil. Addition 150 ml petroleum ether gave a white solid of the title compound (76 g, 72 % yield). NMR (CDCl 3 ): 6.7 (s, 2H), 2.2 (s, 3H), 1.7 (s, 2H), 1.3 (s, 6H) and 0.8 (s, 9H) ppm. IR (CH 2 Cl 2 ): 3530, 2950 and 1475 cm -1 . PREPARATION F 3-Methyl-5-(3,3-dimethylbutanoyl)catechol While 3-methylcatechol (11.5 g, 0.093 mole) was melted at 85° C., 3,3-dimethylbutanoyl chloride (25 g, 0.186 mole) was added dropwise over 15 min. The resulting mixture was heated to 110° C. for 1.5 hrs. to complete the reaction. The mixture was cooled to 30° C., then dissolved in 25 ml carbon disulfide at 30° C. containing 3-methylcatechol (11.5 g, 0.09 mole). The resulting solution was added dropwise to a stirred suspension of aluminum trichloride (62 g, 0.465 mole) in carbon disulfide (110 ml) at 40° C. Following addition, the reaction mixture was stirred for 1 hr. at 25° C., then heated to 80° C. and the carbon disulfide removed by distillation. After solvent removal, the residual material was heated to 140°-145° C. for 3.5 hrs. then cooled in an ice bath and quenched with 200 ml of a 1:1 mixture of concentrated hydrochloric acid and water. Diethyl ether (150 ml) was added and the layers were separated. The aqueous layer was extracted further with 150 ml of diethyl ether. The combined organic portions were washed with two 50 ml portions of water, two 50 ml portions of 5% weight to volume sodium bicarbonate, 50 ml water and 25 ml brine. The diethyl ether was evaporated to give a brown oil which crystallized from 100 ml petroleum ether to yield the product as a light yellow solid (16.5 g, 40% yield, m.p. 139°-43°). NMR(CDCl 3 ): 7.3 (q, 2H), 2.7 (s, 2H), 2.3 (s, 3H) and 1.05 (s, 9H) ppm. IR (KBr disc): 3448, 3180, 2940, 1653 and 1595 cm -1 . PREPARATION G 3-Morpholinomethyl-5-t-octylcatechol To paraformaldehyde (40 g, 1.3 mole) in 100 ml isopropanol at 25° C. was added morpholine (88 ml) in 0.5 liter isopropanol. The reaction mixture was refluxed for 30 minutes to effect solution. To the solution, 4-t-octylcatechol (222 g, 1.0 mole) dissolved in 0.5 liter isopropanol was added dropwise while maintaining the solution temperature at 60° C. The reaction mixture was stirred at reflux overnight. The reaction was cooled to 25° C. and the solvent was removed in vacuo to give a white solid which was triturated with 750 ml petroleum ether and collected. Overall yield from two crops was 86%, 280 g. NMR (CDCl 3 ): 8.0 (s, 2H), 6.9 (d, 1H), 6.5 (d, 1H), 3.7 (m, 6H), 2.5 (m, 4H) 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.3 (s, 6H) and 0.8 (s, 9H) ppm. PREPARATION H 3-Thiophenoxymethyl-5-t-octylcatechol A suspension of 3-morpholinomethyl-5-t-octylcatechol (564 g, 1.76 mole) and 193.4 g (1.76 mole) benzenethiol in 0.8 liter dimethylformamide was kept at 130° C. under a nitrogen atmosphere for 20 hours. The reaction mixture was cooled to 25° C. and diluted with 3,000 ml diethyl ether. The resulting solution was washed in turn with 3×1,000 ml water, 500 ml 10% hydrochloric acid, 500 ml water and 500 ml brine. The washed solution was dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and evaporated in vacuo to a yellow oil (548.9 g, 91% yield) of the title compound. NMR (CDCl 3 ): 7.2 (m, 5H), 6.8 (d, 1H), 6.5 (d, 1H), 5.8 (bs, 2H), 4.1 (s, 2H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.2 (s, 6H) and 0.6 (s, 9H) ppm. PREPARATION I 5-(3,3-Dimethylbutanoyl)-3-methyl-1,2-di(2-[2-(2-tetrahydropyranyloxy)ethoxy]ethoxy)benzene A solution of 3-methyl-5-(3,3-dimethylbutanoyl)catechol (12 g, 0.054 mole), 2-(2-[2-chloroethoxy]ethoxy)tetrahydropyran (24.8 g, 0.119 mole) and potassium carbonate (16.6 g, 0.12 mole) in 100 ml dimethylformamide was stirred under a nitrogen atmosphere at 140° C. for 16 hours. The reaction mixture was cooled to 25° C. and 500 ml diethyl ether and 300 ml water were added. The layers were separated and the organic layer was washed with four 250 ml portions of water and 100 ml brine, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and the solvent evaporated in vacuo. The resulting brown oil was purified by column chromatography over silica gel with 10% ethyl acetate--90% chloroform. The title compound was isolated as a yellow oil (13.5 g, 44% yield). IR: 1670 cm -1 . NMR (CDCl 3 ): 7.4 (s, 2H), 4.6 (s, 2H), 4.4-3.4 (m, 20H), 2.8 (s, 2H), 2.3 (s, 3H), 1.6 (m, 12H) and 1.05 (s, 9H) ppm. Reaction of the appropriate catechol with 2-(2-[2-chloroethoxy]ethoxy)tetrahydropyran, using the above procedure afforded the products in Tables XVIII and XIX below. TABLE XVIII______________________________________ ##STR48##R.sup.2 R.sup.3 Spectral Data______________________________________H H IR: 1590, 1500, 1250, 1125. NMR: 6.9 (s, 4H), 4.6 (m, 2H), 4.2-3.4 (m, 20H), 1.8- 1.4 (m, 12H).t-butyl H IR: 2940, 2860, 1530. NMR: 7.1 (m, 3H), 4.7 (m, 2H), 4.4-3.5 (m, 20H), 1.7 (m, 12H), 1.3 (s, 9H).phenyl H IR: 2900, 2850, 1600. NMR: 7.6-6.8 (m, 8H), 4.6 (bs, 2H), 4.3-3.2 (m, 20H), 2.0-1.2 (m, 12H).t-octyl H IR: 2900, 1510, 1460. NMR: 6.9 (m, 3H), 4.6 (s, 2H), 4.2- 3.5 (m, 20H), 1.6 (m, 14H), 1.35 (s, 6H), 0.9 (s, 9H).cyclohexyl H IR: 2920, 2850, 1510, 1450. NMR: 6.8 (m, 3H), 4.6 (s, 2H), 4.2-3.2 (m, 20H), 1.9-1.0 (m, 23H).t-octyl isopropyl IR: 2950, 1450. NMR: 6.8 (m, 2H), 4.6 (s, 2H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 20H), 1.7 (m, 15H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 1.2 (d, 6H), 0.9 (s, 9H).t-octyl methyl IR: 2950-2840, 1580. NMR: 6.9 (s, 2H), 4.7 (s, 2H), 4.3-3.4 (m, 20H), 2.3 (s, 3H), 1.7 (m, 14H), 1.3 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).t-butyl morpholino- IR: 2950-2840, 1590. NMR: 6.9 methyl (q, 2H), 4.6 (s, 2H), 4.3-4.1 (m, 4H), 4.1-3.5 (m, 20H), 2.5 (m, 4H), 1.7 (m, 12H), 1.3 (s, 9H).H methyl IR: 2940, 2860. NMR: 6.7 (m, 4H), 4.6 (m, 2H), 4.2-3.4 (m, 20H), 2.2 (s, 3H), 1.8-1.4 (m, 12H).t-butyl isopropyl IR: 2925-2825, 1560. NMR: 6.8 (m, 2H), 4.6 (s, 2H), 4.3-3.4 (m, 20H), 1.9-1.1 (m, 28H).t-butyl t-butyl IR: 2940-2840. NMR: 6.9 (q, 2H), 4.6 (bs, 2H), 4.3- 3.2 (m, 20H), 1.8-1.2 (m, 30H).t-octyl benzyl IR: 3350, 2950-2850.4-t-butyl- H IR: 2950-2840, 1500.phenylmethyl methyl IR: 2940, 2850, 1450. NMR: 6.8 (s, 2H), 4.7 (s, 2H), 4.3-3.3 (m, 20H), 2.2 (s, 6H), 1.8-1.4 (m, 12H).t-octyl morpholino- IR: 2925, 2850, 1600. NMR: methyl 7.0 (q, 2H), 4.7 (s, 2H), 4.3- 3.5 (m, 24H), 2.5 (m, 4H), 1.7 (m, 14H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).t-butyl t-octyl NMR: 6.9 (q, 2H), 4.6 (s, 2H), 4.3-3.4 (m, 20H), 1.9 (s, 2H), 1.6 (m, 12H), 1.5 (s, 6H), 1.3 (s, 9H), 0.8 (s, 9H).1-adamantyl methyl IR: 2925-2820.t-octyl 2-phenylethyl IR: 2960, 2900. NMR: 7.2 (s, 5H), 6.7 (q, 2H), 4.6 (m, 2H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 20H), 2.9 (s, 4H), 1.6 (m, 14H), 1.2 (s, 6H), 0.7 (s, 9H).t-octyl 2-(4-methyl- IR: 2950-2875. phenyl)ethylt-octyl 3-phenyl- IR: 2960-2850. propylt-octyl 2-(2-fluoro- IR: 2950-2850. phenyl)ethylt-octyl 2-(2-methyl- IR: 2950-2860, 1590. phenyl)ethylt-octyl 2-(3-methyl- IR: 2960- 2860. phenyl)ethylt-octyl 2-(4-t-butyl- IR: 2950-2850. phenyl)ethyl______________________________________ TABLE XIX______________________________________ ##STR49##R.sup.13 and R.sup.14 Spectral Data______________________________________2-methoxy; H IR: 2975-2850, 1580. NMR: 7.3-6.7 (m, 6H), 4.6 (m, 2H), 4.2-3.5 (m, 25H), 1.7 (m, 14H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).3-methyl; H IR: 2975-2875, 1590. NMR: 7.2-6.7 (m, 6H), 4.6 (m, 2H), 4.2-3.4 (m, 22H), 2.3 (s, 3H), 1.6 (m, 14H), 1.3 (s, 6H), 0.7 (s, 9H).3-methoxy; H NMR: 7.2-6.6 (m, 6H), 4.6 (m, 2H), 4.4-3.4 (m, 25H), 1.6 (m, 14H), 1.3 (s, 6H), 0.7 (s, 9H).4-methoxy; H NMR: 7.2 (m, 2H), 6.7 (m, 4H), 4.6 (m, 2H), 4.3-3.4 (m, 25H), 1.7 (m, 14H), 1.3 (s, 6H), 0.7 (s, 9H).2-bromo; H NMR: 7.6-6.8 (m, 6H), 4.6 (m, 2H), 4.4-3.5 (m, 22H), 1.7 (m, 14H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).4-bromo; H NMR: 7.2 (m, 4H), 6.7 (m, 2H), 4.6 (m, 2H), 4.3-3.4 (m, 22H), 1.6 (m, 14H), 1.2 (s, 6H), 0.7 (s, 9H).4-fluoro; H NMR: 7.4-6.7 (m, 6H), 4.6 (m, 2H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 22H), 1.6 (m, 14H), 1.2 (s, 6H), 0.6 (s, 9H).4-t-butyl; H IR: 2975-2860. NMR: 7.3 (s, 4H), 6.8 (m, 2H), 4.6 (m, 2H), 4.3-3.5 (m, 22H), 1.6 (m, 14H), 1.3 (d, 15H), 0.7 (s, 9H).2,6-dichloro NMR: 7.2 (m, 5H), 4.6 (m, 2H), 4.4-3.5 (m, 22H), 1.8 (m, 14H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H).______________________________________ PREPARATION J COMPOUND III (R is ethyl; R 1 is t-butyl; R 2 is 3,3-dimethylbutanoyl; R 3 is methyl) Sodium hydride (50% in oil, 1.27 g, 0.027 moles) was washed with two 25 ml portions of petroleum ether under nitrogen at 25° C. The majority of the petroleum either was decanted to remove the oil. Tetrahydrofuran (75 ml) was added and the suspension was heated to reflux. A solution of ethyl 2,6-di(bromomethyl)-4-t-butylbenzoate (3.25 g, 0.0083 moles) and the title diol of Example 6 (3.3 g, 0.0083 moles) in 75 ml tetrahydrofuran was added dropwise over 2 hours at reflux under nitrogen. After 0.75 hour of additional reflux, the reaction was stirred at 25° C. for 48 hours. A 4:1 by volume mixture of tetrahydrofuran and water was added, followed by 50 ml of 1N HCl. The tetrahydrofuran was removed in vacuo and the aqueous residue extracted with 100 ml methylene chloride. The extract was dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and evaporated in vacuo to an orange oil (5 g). The title product was obtained by chromatography over silica gel with 90% chloroform--10% ethyl acetate as a colorless oil (2.5 g, 48% yield). NMR (CDCl 3 ): 7.3 (s, 4H), 4.9-4.0 (m, 10H), 4.0-3.4 (m, 12H), 2.8 (s, 2H), 2.3 (s, 3H), 1.4 (s and t, 12H) and 1.1 (s, 9H) ppm. IR: 1730 and 1660 cm -1 . PREPARATION K Reaction of the appropriate alkyl 2,6-di(bromomethyl)benzoate of formula X with the requisite diol of formula XI in the presence of sodium hydride, using the procedure of Preparation J, affords the compounds in Tables XX, XXI, XXII and XXIII. TABLE XX______________________________________ ##STR50##R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 Yield (%)______________________________________H H H 20H t-butyl H 25H phenyl H 13H t-octyl H 28H cyclohexyl H 30H t-octyl isopropyl 40H t-octyl methyl 44H t-butyl morpholino- 23 methylH t-octyl thiophenxoy- 28 methylH n-octyl H 32H n-undecyl H 25t-butyl t-butyl H 96t-butyl t-octyl H 66t-butyl n-octyl H 29t-butyl n-undecyl H 41t-butyl H methyl 30t-butyl t-octyl methyl 50t-butyl t-octyl isopropyl 65t-butyl t-butyl isopropyl 23t-butyl t-butyl t-butyl 30t-butyl t-octyl benzyl 50t-butyl 4-t-butyl- H 60 phenylt-butyl 4-t-butyl- t-butyl 25 phenylt-butyl t-butyl morpholino- 11 methylt-butyl t-octyl morpholino- 30 methylt-butyl methyl t-octyl 52t-butyl t-butyl t-octyl 41t-butyl 1-adamantyl methyl .sup. 25.sup.1t-butyl t-octyl 2-phenyl- 37 ethylt-butyl t-octyl 2-(4-tolyl)- 58 ethylt-butyl t-octyl 3-phenyl- 23 propylt-butyl t-octyl 2-(2-fluoro- 43 phenyl)ethylt-butyl t-octyl 2-(2-tolyl)- 26 ethylt-butyl t-octyl 2-(3-tolyl)- 45 ethylt-butyl t-octyl 2-(4-t-butyl- 92 phenyl)ethyl______________________________________ .sup.1 Corresponding ethyl ester used. TABLE XXI______________________________________ ##STR51##R.sup.13 and R.sup.14 Yield (%)______________________________________2-methoxy; H 283-methyl; H 373-methoxy; H 384-methoxy; H 362-bromo; H 344-bromo; H 344-fluoro; H 412-chloro; H 313-chloro; H 494-t-butyl; H 352,6-dichloro 30______________________________________ TABLE XXII______________________________________ ##STR52##R.sup.7 and R.sup.8 Yield (%)______________________________________H, H 404-methylthio; H 332-methyl; H 623-methoxy; H 324-methoxy; H 142,6-dimethyl 492,6-dimethoxy 352-ethyl; H 322-methoxy; H 492-methylthio; H 243,5-dimethyl 173-methyl; H 334-methyl; H 19______________________________________ TABLE XXIII______________________________________ ##STR53##R R.sup.2 Yield (%)______________________________________CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3 1-(n-butyl)-3,3-dimethylbutyl 37CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3 1-(n-hexyl)-3,3-dimethylbutyl 37CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3 1-phenyl-3,3-dimethylbutyl 36CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3 1-(n-octyl)-3,3-dimethylbutyl 49CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3 1-(isoamyl)-3,3-dimethylbutyl 28CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3 1-ethyl-3,3-dimethylbutyl 24CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3 1-(4-tolyl)-3,3-dimethylbutyl 23CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3 1-(2-tolyl)-3,3-dimethylbutyl 43CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3 1-(2-methoxyphenyl)-3,3- 42 dimethylbutylCH.sub.3 1-(4-methylthiophenyl)-3,3- 15 dimethylbutylCH.sub.3 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3,3- 27 dimethylbutyl______________________________________ PREPARATION L COMPOUND VIII (R is methyl; R 1 is t-butyl; R 2 is t-octyl; R 3 is acetoxymethyl) Compound VIII (R is methyl; R 1 is t-butyl; R 2 is t-octyl; R 3 is morpholinomethyl) (3.6 g) was dissolved in 10 ml of acetic anhydride and kept at reflux for 18 hours. The reaction was cooled to 25° C. and a portion of the unreacted acetic anhydride was removed in vacuo. Water (10 ml) was added to the reaction mixture and the mixture was stirred for 2 hours at 25° C. to hydrolyze any remaining acetic anhydride. The aqueous layer was extracted with three 25 ml portions of diethyl ether. The ethereal extracts were combined and washed with 40 ml 5% weight-to-volume of aqueous sodium bicarbonate, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and evaporated in vacuo to give a brown oil. The title compound was isolated by column chromatography of the brown oil over silica gel with 90% chloroform--10% ethyl acetate as an oil (2 g, 54% yield). IR: 1730 cm -1 . NMR (CDCl 3 ): 7.4 (s, 2H), 7.0 (s, 2H), 5.2 (s, 2H), 4.6 (s, 4H), 4.4-3.5 (m, 19H), 2.1 (s, 3H), 1.8 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 15H) and 0.8 (s, 9H) ppm. PREPARATION M COMPOUND VIII (R is methyl; R 1 is t-butyl; R 2 is t-octyl; R 3 is hydroxymethyl) The product of Preparation L (2 g, 0.0029 mole) was dissolved in methanol (35 ml) containing 5 ml of 5% weight-to-volume aqueous potassium hydroxide. The solution was stirred at 25° C. for two hours, at which time thin layer chromatography showed no starting material, only one more polar product. The methanol was evaporated in vacuo and the aqeous residue was extracted with two 50 ml portions of diethyl ether. The ether extracts were combined and washed with 20 ml brine and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. Evaporation of the solvent gave the title product as a colorless oil (1.51 g, 81% yield). IR: 3400 and 1725 cm -1 . NMR (CDCl 3 ): 7.3 (s, 2H), 6.8 (s, 2H), 4.5 (d, 6H), 4.2-3.4 (m, 19H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.3 (s, 15H) and 0.77 (s, 9H) ppm. PREPARATION N COMPOUND VIII (R is methyl; R 1 is t-butyl; R 2 is t-octyl; R 3 is methoxymethyl) The product of Preparation M (1.5 g, 0.0023 moles) was dissolved in 40 ml of tetrahydrofuran and added dropwise to a suspension of sodium hydride (0.170 g, 0.00345 moles, 50% in oil) in tetrahydrofuran (30 ml) at 25° C. After addition (5 min), a solution of dimethyl sulfate (1 ml, 0.01 moles) in dimethylformamide (16 ml) was added at 25° C. The resulting reaction mixture was refluxed for 18 hours. The reaction mixture was cooled to 25° C. and 100 ml of diethyl ether was added. The resulting mixture was washed with three 20 ml portions of water followed by 20 ml of brine. The organic layer was dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. Evaporation of the solvents gave 1.1 g (73% yield) of the title compound as a colorless oil which showed one spot by thin layer chromatography. IR: 1725 cm -1 . NMR (CDCl 3 ): 7.3 (s, 2H), 6.9 (d, 2H), 4.6 (m, 6H), 4.3-3.3 (m, 22H), 1.7 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 15H) and 0.8 (s, 9H) ppm. HRMS: M + (658.3920) C 38 H 58 O 9 . The above procedure was repeated, except that the dimethyl sulfate was replaced by benzyl bromide, 2-methylbenzyl bromide and 4-methylbenzyl bromide. This afforded the following compounds: COMPOUND VIII (R is methyl; R 1 is t-butyl; R 2 is t-octyl; R 3 is benzyloxymethyl) (86% yield), COMPOUND VIII (R is methyl; R 1 is t-butyl; R 2 is t-octyl; R 3 is 2-methylbenzyloxymethyl) (56% yield) and COMPOUND VIII (R is methyl; R 1 is t-butyl; R 2 is t-octyl; R 3 is 4-methylbenzyloxymethyl) (85% yield), respectively. PREPARATION O COMPOUND VIII (R is methyl; R 1 is t-butyl; R 2 is t-octyl; R 3 is phenoxymethyl) To a stirred solution of the product of Preparation M (1.5 g), phenol (0.25 g) and triphenylphosphine (0.7 g) is dry tetrahydrofuran (50 ml) was added diethyl azodicarboxylate (0.42 ml), and the reaction mixture was stirred under nitrogen for 48 hours. The tetrahydrofuran was removed by evaporation and a mixture of 10 ml of diethyl ether and 20 ml of petroleum ether was added. The precipitate was removed by filtration and the filtrate was washed with 5% potassium hydroxide, followed by water, followed by brine. The washed filtrate was then evaporated in vacuo and the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel to give 748 mg (48% yield) of the title compound. IR (neat): 1730 cm -1 . NMR (CDCl 3 ): 7.3-6.7 (m, 9H), 5.1 (s, 2H), 4.6 (s, 4H), 4.2-3.4 (m, 19H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.35 (s, 15H), 0.7 (s, 9H) ppm. The corresponding compounds in which R 3 is 4-methylthiophenoxymethyl, 4-acetylphenoxymethyl and 2-acetylphenoxylmethyl were prepared in 43, 21 and 60% yields, respectively, by the above procedure but using the appropriately-substituted phenol. PREPARATION P COMPOUND VIII (R is methyl; R 1 is t-butyl; R 2 is t-octyl; R 3 is bromomethyl) The title compound of Preparation M (1.32 g, 0.002 moles) was dissolved in 25 ml toluene and treated at 0° C. with phosphorous tribromide (0.1 ml) followed by stirring at 0° C. for 1.5 hours. Diethyl ether (50 ml) was added and the reaction mixture washed with 25 ml 5% weight-to-volume aqueous sodium bicarbonate, 25 ml brine and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. The solvent was evaporated to yield an oil of the title compound (10.8 g, 75% yield). IR: 1730 cm -1 . No hydroxyl absorbance lines were present. PREPARATION Q COMPOUND VIII (R is methyl; R 1 is t-butyl; R 2 is t-octyl; R 3 is 2-pyridylthiomethyl) The title compound of Preparation P (1.0 g, 0.0015 mole) was dissolved in 40 ml chloroform and added to 2-mercaptopyridine dissolved in chloroform (15 ml) at 25° C. The reaction mixture became cloudy following the addition and then it was refluxed overnight. The reaction mixture was washed with 10 ml 1N potassium hydroxide, 10 ml 1N hydrochloric acid, 10 ml brine and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. The chloroform was removed in vacuo to give an oil. The title compound was isolated by column chromatography over silica gel with 90% chloroform--10% ethyl acetate (0.84 g, 57% yield). IR: 1730 cm -1 . NMR (CDCl 3 ): 8.4 (d, 1H), 7.4-6.6 (m, 7H), 4.6 (s, 4H), 4.4 (s, 2H), 4.2-3.4 (m, 19H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.4 (m, 15H) and 0.6 (s, 9H) ppm. PREPARATION R Reaction of the product of Preparation P with the appropriate thiol of the formula HS-C 6 H 3 R 13 R 14 and 1 molar equivalent of a tertiary amine (usually triethylamine), using the procedure of Preparation Q, afforded the compounds in Table XXIV. TABLE XXIV______________________________________ ##STR54##R.sup.13 and R.sup.14 Yield (%)______________________________________2,6-dimethyl 352-ethyl; H 242,3-dimethyl 263-trifluoromethyl; H 314-hydroxy; H 644-methylthio; H 45______________________________________ PREPARATION S 1-Hydroxy-2-(2-(2-hydroxyethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy)benzene Catechol (22 g, 0.2 mole), 2-(2-[2-(2-chloroethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy)tetrahydropyran (50.5 g, 0.2 mole) and potassium carbonate (27.6 g, 0.2 moles) were combined in dimethylformamide (250 ml) and heated under a nitrogen atmosphere at 140° C. for 18 hrs. The reaction mixture was cooled to 30° C. and poured into 500 ml water at 25° C. The aqueous mixture was extracted with 1000 ml of a mixture of diethyl ether (3 parts by volume) and methylene chloride (1 part by volume). The organic extract was washed with 400 ml water (4 times); then evaporated in vacuo to a brown oil. This oil was taken up in 250 ml methanol and treated with 25 ml 1N hydrochloric acid for 2 hrs at 25° C. to remove the tetrahydropyran protecting group. The methanol was evaporated in vacuo and the aqueous residue extracted with 250 ml methylenechloride. The desired product was extracted from the methylene chloride extract into 10% weight-to-volume of potassium hydroxide in water (150 ml). The basic extract was acidified with 6N HCl and extracted with 250 ml methylene chloride. Evaporation gave a brown oil which was distilled in vacuo at 170°-173° at 0.07 mm of mercury. NMR (CDCl 3 ): 7.7 (s, 1H), 6.9 (m, 4H) and 4.2-3.5 (m, 12H) ppm. Repetition of the above procedure, but using 4-t-octylcatechol, afforded 2-hydroxyl-1-(2-[2-(2-[2-tetrahydropyranyloxy]ethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy)-4-t-octylbenzene, contaminated with the corresponding 5-t-octyl isomer. NMR: 6.8 (m, 3H), 4.2-3.6 (m, 14H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.4 (s, 6H), 0.8 (s, 9H). PREPARATION T COMPOUND IX (R is methyl; R 1 is t-butyl; R 4 is hydrogen; R 5 and R 6 form cyclohexylidene ring) The title compound was prepared according to the procedure of Preparation J using 1-([1-hydroxycyclohexyl]methoxy)-2-(2-[2-(2-hydroxyethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy)benzene (4.17 g, 0.0118 mole), methyl 2,6-di(bromomethyl)-4-t-butylbenzoate (4.7 g, 0.012 mole) and sodium hydride (50% in oil, 1.25 g, 0.026 mole) as the starting materials. The title compound was isolated as an oil by column chromatography over 200 g silica gel eluted with 90% chloroform--10% ethyl acetate (4.5 g, 67% yield). IR: 1725 cm -1 . NMR (CDCl 3 ): 7.5 (d, 1H), 7.2 (d, 1H), 6.9 (s, 4H), 4.8 (s, 2H), 4.6 (s, 2H), 4.1-3.4 (m, 17H), 1.6 (m, 10H) and 1.3 (s, 9H) ppm. HRMS: m/e 570.3208 (C 33 H 46 O 8 , M + ), (base peak). PREPARATION U Reaction of the appropriate diol with methyl 2,6-di(bromomethyl)-4-t-butylbenzoate in the presence of sodium hydride, using the procedure of Preparation J, afforded the compounds in Table XXV. TABLE XXV______________________________________ ##STR55##R.sup.4 R.sup.5 and R.sup.6 ; or R.sup.5 R.sup.6 C Yield (%)______________________________________H 4-t-butylcyclohexylidene 52H 4-chlorophenoxymethyl; H 41H 3,3,5-trimethylcyclohexylidene 46H 4-t-butylcyclohexylidene 55H phenoxymethyl; H 64H thiophenoxymethyl; H 83t-octyl cyclohexylidene 11t-octyl n-hexyl; H 19t-octyl 3,3,5-trimethylcyclohexylidene 37t-octyl cycloheptylidene 14t-octyl phenoxymethyl; H 47t-octyl thiophenoxymethyl; H 42______________________________________ PREPARATION V 2-(2-[2-(2-Hydroxyethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy)-5-t-octylbenzaldehyde A mixture of methyl 5-t-octylsalicylate (37.7 g, 0.143 mole), 2-(2-[2-(2-chloroethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy)tetrahydropyran (54 g, 0.214 mole), potassium carbonate (28 g, 0.217 mole) and N,N-dimethylformamide (250 ml) was heated at 140° C., under nitrogen, for 18 hours, with stirring. The mixture was cooled, diluted with ether, and then washed liberally with saturated sodium chloride solution. The ethereal solution was dried (MgSO 4 ) and evaporated in vacuo to give an oil, which was chromatographed on silica gel to give 46 g of methyl 2-(2-[2-(2-[2-tetrahydropyranyloxy]ethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy)-5-t-octylsalicylate. The latter ester (46 g, 0.096 mole) was dissolved in a small amount of dry tetrahydrofuran, and the solution was added to a slurry of lithium aluminum hydride (3 g, 0.075 mole) in tetrahydrofuran. The mixture was heated under reflux for 18 hours and then cooled. To the cooled mixture was added aqueous tetrahydrofuran, dropwise, followed by saturated sodium sulfate, followed by solid sodium sulfate. The resulting mixture was filtered and the filtrate was evaporated in vacuo to give 39.6 g (91% yield) of 2-(2[2-(2-[2-tetrahydropyranyloxy]ethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy)-5-t-octylbenzyl alchol as an oil. The above benzyl alcohol (39.6 g, 0.088 mol) in dichloromethane (150 ml) was added dropwise to a suspension of pyridinium dichromate (45.5 g, 0.13 mole, Tetrahedron Letters, 399 [1979]) in dichloromethane (250 ml), with stirring. Stirring was continued overnight, and then the reaction mixture was diluted with ether and filtered through a magnesium sulfatesilica gel pad. The filtrate was washed with 1N hydrochloric acid and then it was evaporated in vacuo to give 35.6 g (90% yield) of 2-(2-[2-(2-[2-tetrahydropyranyloxy]ethoxy)ethoxy]]ethoxy)-5-t-octylbenzaldehyde, as an oil. The above benzaldehyde was dissolved in methanol (400 ml) containing 1N hydrochloric acid (50 ml) and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 3 hours. The methanol was removed by evaporation in vacuo, and the residue was extracted with dichloromethane. The extracts were evaporated in vacuo, to give the title compound as an oil (27.2 g). PREPARATION W 2-(2-[2-(2-Hydroxyethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy)-5-t-octylphenoxy Formate The product of Preparation V (27.2 g, 0.074 mole) in dichloromethane (300 ml) was added to a solution of 3-chloroperbenzoic acid (22.3 g, 0.11 mole) in dichloromethane (200 ml) during 1 hour. The reaction mixture was stored at room temperature for 18 hours and then it was heated under reflux for 5 hours. The reaction mixture was cooled to ca 0° C. and filtered. The volume of the filtrate was reduced to ca 50 ml and then ether was added. The resulting mixture was washed with sodium bicarbonate solution, sodium bisulfite solution and sodium chloride solution. The ethereal solution was then dried (MgSO 4 ) and evaporated in vacuo to give the title compound as an oil. PREPARATION X 2-(2-[2-(2-Hydroxyethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy)-5-t-octylphenol The product of Preparation W was dissolved in methanol (400 ml) containing concentrated hydrochloric acid (4 ml) and the mixture was heated under reflux for 4 hours. The methanol was removed by evaporation in vacuo and the residue was dissolved in ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate solution was dried (MgSO 4 ) and then it was concentrated to ca 50 ml. Petroleum ether (400 ml) was added and the resulting mixture was cooled. The solid was recovered by filtration to give 7.2 g (28% yield) of the title compound as a white crystalline solid. NMR (CDCl 3 ): 6.9 (m, 3H), 4.1 (m, 2H), 3.9-3.5 (m, 12H), 1.6 (s, 2H), 1.3 (s, 6H) and 0.8 (s, 9H) ppm.

A series of novel, macrocyclic polyether compounds. The macrocycles have a 21-membered ring, containing six oxygen atoms, and they have a carboxy group (or a salt thereof) directed towards the interior of the ring. Administration of the compounds of the invention to ruminant animals (e.g. cattle and sheep) modifies their digestive fermentation processes such that the volatile fatty acids produced in the rumen contain a higher proportion of propionates rather than acetates, thereby increasing the efficiency of feed utilization in said ruminant animals. Additionally, the compounds of the invention show antibacterial activity in vitro against certain gram-positive microorganisms.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation of pending International patent application PCT/FR2006/050228 filed on Mar. 14, 2006 which designates the United States and claims priority from French patent application 0551309 filed on May 20, 2005, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a device for dispensing and intaking a liquid or semi-liquid product, preferably pharmaceutical or cosmetic, by means of a dosage chamber of a pump body. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Such devices are usually designed for dispensing measured amounts of a liquid product, and for watertight sealing of the neck of a bottle containing said liquid product to be dispensed. Devices of this type exist forming a pump and comprising a pump body, a piston mounted fixed in the pump body, a dosage chamber with variable volume into which the end of the piston opens, the chamber communicating with the outside by means of a release valve enclosed in a push button, allowing a dose of product to be dispensed when it is pressed. In addition, the end of the piston is closed by a valve or a second valve for intaking the liquid product in the chamber. Such devices have certain disadvantages, in particular in the pharmaceutical field, since the doses of product dispensed can vary from one spray to the next, while the dispensing of accurate doses is required. Furthermore, when such devices are implemented on bottles without air intake, for example with deformable walls, the pump must have sufficient suction power to reduce the volume of the container. This demand is difficult to meet, which can affect the precision of the doses of product dispensed. Moreover, such devices are very sensitive and their reliability is not always guaranteed. The manufacturer must ensure that the elements forming the pump are centred and aligned around the axis of symmetry of said pump, at the risk of malfunctions that can result in incomplete doses and/or reduced suction power. In addition, when activating the pump, the user must make sure to press the centre of the push button, in order not to cause the compression elements to move off centre and to avoid breaking the seal between the valve and the dosage chamber. Furthermore, the known devices entail problems when priming the pump. Indeed, due to their design, it is difficult to vent the air contained in the dosage chamber before using the dispenser for the first time. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention makes it possible to solve the disadvantages of such pumps. It relates in particular to a device designed to be installed independently on a bottle with varying capacity, which is to say a flexible bottle, or deformable bag, or on a bottle with a mobile scraper, or on a rigid bottle with constant capacity, requiring an air intake or not. The device according to the invention comprises a piston which is mounted fixed in the pump body and which has one end engaged in a watertight manner in the chamber, the end of the piston being covered by an elastically deformable membrane. According to the invention, the membrane comprises: on the one hand, a transversal wall forming an intake valve being provided with a central supply orifice, capable of being blocked in a watertight manner by a projecting element forming a valve seat on the end of the piston, and on the other hand, a cylindrical attachment skirt equipped with at least one sealing peripheral lip in sliding contact with the inner wall of the chamber; the skirt forming a valve by deformation in contact with a boss provided on the inner wall of the chamber, for releasing the air compressed by the piston in the chamber when priming the pump. Thus manufactured, the device according to the invention guarantees the venting of the air contained in the chamber, which allows the pump to be primed before its first use. According to a first embodiment of the device according to the invention, the boss consists of at least one axial rib projecting from the inner wall of the chamber. In order to improve the watertightness, the bottom face of the transversal wall of the membrane advantageously comprises an annular pad centred on the central orifice, and coming to rest against the projecting element of the end of the piston in the valve closing position. According to one advantageous alternative embodiment, the device according to the invention comprises an element for connecting the piston to the pump body, equipped with a bearing for retaining the membrane. Moreover, according to another alternative embodiment, the retaining bearing comprises means for snap-fitting the skirt of the membrane. The snap-fitting means preferably consist of a peripheral groove, made in the lateral wall of the element and cooperating with a snap-fitting bead provided on the inner wall of the skirt. According to a further alternative embodiment, the connection element is an independent part, designed to be added to the bottom part of the pump body. According to yet another alternative embodiment, the connection element comprises a transversal wall forming a bottom, designed to block the body at the bottom. It is advantageously provided for the connection element to comprise a cylindrical bore in which a product intake tube is inserted. The connection element preferably comprises an axial supply conduit, communicating at the bottom with the cylindrical bore. Moreover, it is advantageously provided for the connection element to comprise a peripheral shoulder against which the bottom edge of the skirt of the membrane comes to a stop. It is advantageously provided for the watertight peripheral lip to be made in the proximity of the peripheral shoulder. This makes it possible to improve the watertightness of the device by limiting any radial movement of the membrane, which can offset the projecting element in relation to the central orifice of the membrane. According to yet another embodiment, the device according to the invention comprises an expansion cavity in which the projecting element of the end of the piston is inserted. This cavity is hermetically sealed at the bottom by the projecting element and at the top by the membrane. Finally, it is advantageously provided for the projecting element to consist of a ball mobile between a valve closing position and an opening position in which it allows the liquid product to enter the chamber. The device according to the invention preferably comprises elements for centring the projecting element in the axis of the intake orifice. Thus manufactured, the device according to the invention guarantees not only easy and quick priming of the pump before its first use, but also a perfect seal between the end of the piston and the dosage chamber, regardless of the pressing force and the manner in which the users exerts this force on the push button, or of the area of the push button which the user presses to activate the pump. The device of the invention has a particularly useful application in the field of pump sprayers in which the spray cooperates with a valve having an end needle valve. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further objectives and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description made in reference to FIGS. 1 to 8 , wherein: FIG. 1 shows, in a partial section view, a device according to the invention mounted in a pump; FIG. 2 depicts an embodiment of a membrane which comprises a device according to the invention, in a profile view; FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the device according to the invention, in a profile view, the membrane being shown partially in order to illustrate various elements of the device according to the invention; FIG. 4 shows, in a section view, the device shown in FIG. 3 mounted in a pump body, at the time of priming the pump; FIG. 5 shows, in a section view, the device of FIGS. 3 and 4 before priming the pump; FIG. 6 is a section view of the device of FIG. 5 according to the plane E-E shown in FIG. 5 ; FIG. 7 is a section view of the device of FIG. 5 according to the plane D-D shown in FIG. 5 ; and FIG. 8 is a section view of the device of FIG. 5 according to the plane C-C shown in FIG. 5 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The device described below is particularly suitable for dispensing a pharmaceutical product, such as a medicine, contained in a bottle container. It should, however, be understood that the device according to the invention does not only apply to dispensing a pharmaceutical product, and that it relates to any device corresponding to the definition of the invention capable of being used in any type of pump body. For this purpose, two embodiments of the device according to the invention are presented below. FIG. 1 depicts a first embodiment of the device according to the invention, and FIGS. 3 to 8 depict a second embodiment. Regardless of the embodiment shown in the figures, the device according to the invention is designed for dispensing a dose of liquid or semi-liquid product, via a dosage chamber 1 of a pump body 2 . In a standard manner, as shown in FIG. 1 for example, the pump body 2 comprises a hollow cylinder 21 with dimensions allowing it to accommodate the device according to the invention. The hollow cylinder 21 is open at a first end to accommodate an exhaust system, not shown in detail in the figures, which is equipped in particular with a push button 22 and which comprises the dosage chamber 1 . The push button 22 is mounted mobile between a pressed position and a released inactive position in a guiding sleeve 23 assembled in the hollow cylinder 21 of the pump body 2 . A compression spring 24 in the sleeve provides, in this case, the elastic return of the push button 22 from its pressed position to its inactive position. The first end of the hollow cylinder 21 comprises a flange 26 for hooking on the neck of the bottle container. It is possible to provide an annular seal 27 , under the hooking flange 26 , to guarantee the seal with the neck of the bottle. Moreover, an outer girder 28 makes it possible in this case to crimp the pump on the bottle container. In order to facilitate the understanding of the figures, neither the bottle container nor the liquid product are shown. A second end of the cylinder 21 of the pump body is closed around a conduit 25 providing the connection for the end of an intake tube 76 of a liquid product contained in the bottle container on which the pump is mounted. As shown in FIG. 1 , the device according to the invention, which is mounted in the pump body 2 , comprises in particular a piston 3 . The piston 3 which is mounted fixed in the bottom of the pump body 2 , comprises a top end 31 inserted in a watertight manner in the chamber 1 . The end 31 of the piston is covered by an at least partially elastically deformable membrane 4 , which is more particularly shown in FIG. 2 . The membrane 4 comprises, on the one hand, a deformable transversal wall 41 forming an intake valve being provided with a central supply orifice 42 , capable of being blocked in a watertight manner by a projecting element 5 forming a valve seat on the end of the piston 3 (see FIG. 3 ). On the other hand, the membrane 4 comprises a cylindrical attachment skirt 43 , provided with at least one and in this case two peripheral sealing lips 44 , in sliding contact with the inner wall of the chamber 1 . Where applicable, the skirt 43 can be made from a different material which is more rigid than that of the wall 41 . It is provided for the peripheral lips to be made at the bottom of the cylindrical skirt of the membrane, in order to guarantee an optimum seal which is explained in greater detail below. The membrane 4 allows the introduction of a liquid product in the dosage chamber 1 , when a depression is created in this chamber 1 . Indeed, the deformable nature of its wall 41 allows it to lift, separating from the projecting element under the pressure of the liquid, unblocking the orifice 42 and thus allowing the liquid to penetrate into the dosage chamber. According to the invention, the skirt 43 forms a valve by deformation of at least the lips 44 in contact with a boss 6 provided on the inner wall of the chamber 1 , for releasing the air compressed by said piston 3 in the chamber 1 when priming the pump. As shown in FIG. 1 , the boss consists in this case of at least one axial rib 6 projecting on the inner wall of the chamber 1 . The axial rib 6 comprises a channel 61 which is longitudinal and has a very narrow cross-section, allowing the passage of the air expelled from the dosage chamber 1 when priming the pump. FIG. 4 shows, in particular, the shape taken on by the membrane 4 when the piston 3 is pressed into the dosage chamber. It is noted that the rib 6 crushes the sealing lips 44 without breaking the seal of the liquid product. Indeed, the supporting contact between the groove 6 and the lips 44 does not create a passage for the liquid. Only the channel 61 forming a capillary guarantees the release of the air compressed during the initial phase of priming the pump, said release taking place by passing around the sealing lips 44 and towards the outside of the chamber 1 . In order to improve the watertightness of the intake valve between the membrane 4 and the end of the piston, the bottom face of the transversal wall 41 comprises an annular pad 45 centred on said central orifice 42 , and coming to rest against the projecting element 5 . As shown more particularly in FIG. 3 , in a partial section view, the device according to the invention comprises an element 7 guaranteeing the connection of the piston 3 to the pump body 2 . The connection element 7 is provided with a bearing 71 for retaining the membrane 4 . The retaining bearing 71 comprises means for snap-fitting the skirt 43 of the membrane 4 . These snap-fitting means consist of a peripheral groove 72 , made in the lateral wall of the element 7 and cooperating with a snap-fitting bead 73 provided on the inner wall of the skirt 43 . The connection element 7 in this case is made as a separate part from the pump body 2 , which is designed to be inserted through the top opening and accommodated in the bottom part of said body. The connection element 7 comprises a base 74 made in the shape of a disc, which guarantees the positioning and coaxial setting of the element. It is provided to make at least one radial recess 79 in the thickness of the disc, cooperating with a rivet (not shown in the figures) projecting from the bottom of the pump body, which prevents all rotation of said device according to the invention when the latter is correctly arranged on the bottom of the pump body. It should be understood that, according to one variation, not shown, the connection element 7 can be added to the bottom part of the pump body 2 , so that the transversal wall 74 forms a bottom blocking said body 2 at the bottom. As can be seen in FIG. 5 in particular, the connection element 7 comprises, at the bottom, a cylindrical bore 75 in which the tube 76 for intaking the liquid product is inserted ( FIGS. 1 and 4 ). Moreover, the connection element 7 comprises, at the top, an internal conduit 77 for supplying the product to the chamber 1 , the supply conduit communicating with the cylindrical bore 75 ( FIGS. 1 , 4 and 5 ). As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , the connection element 7 also comprises a peripheral shoulder 78 against which the bottom edge of the skirt 43 of the membrane 4 comes to a stop. As can be seen in particular in FIG. 3 , an expansion cavity 8 is provided on the end of the piston 3 under the membrane 4 , the cavity 8 being hermetically sealed by the projecting element 5 and by the membrane 4 . The liquid product is introduced in this cavity before penetrating into the dosage chamber 1 . As can be seen in the figures, the projecting element 5 of the end of the piston 3 is inserted in the cavity 8 . According to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the projecting element 5 consists of a mobile ball 5 resting between centring elements 51 in the valve closing position. As can be seen in FIG. 1 , the top end of the supply conduit 77 is made to form a race 9 ( FIG. 1 ) in the shape of a truncated cone, providing support and centring of the ball 5 . According to this embodiment, in the valve closing position, the ball blocks both the end of the supply conduit 77 and the orifice of the membrane 4 . It is thus immobilised between the race and the membrane. Thus, the ball prevents any liquid from entering the cavity 8 , and any liquid from entering the dosage chamber. According to another embodiment shown, for example in FIG. 4 or 5 , the top end of the connection element 7 comprises slots delimited in this case by two tabs 52 provided on the bearing 71 , designed to extend the conduit 77 . The tabs 52 maintain the projecting element 5 centred in the axis of the conduit 77 and at a distance from its end. The projecting element 5 is thus presented in the shape of a full cylinder with a diameter that is substantially equal to or slightly greater than, the distance separating the two tabs 52 , so that the projecting element is immobilised between the two tabs 52 . According to this embodiment, even if the projecting element 5 only blocks the orifice of the membrane, the liquid can enter the expansion cavity 8 . The cavity 8 can thus be used as a chamber for treating the liquid product. For this purpose, it is possible to insert a chemical or biological agent in such cavity, with which the liquid product can interact by mutual contact or dispersion. This agent can be contained in the material forming the projecting element 5 or on the walls of the cavity 8 . In order better to visualise the space filled by the liquid in the valve closing position, FIGS. 6 to 8 each show section views of the end of the piston according to several transversal planes. These figures each depict the zones filled by the liquid when the projecting element 5 blocks the orifice 42 of the membrane 4 . FIG. 8 is a section view according to the plane C-C shown in FIG. 5 . FIG. 8 shows the liquid (in grey) filling the supply conduit 77 . FIG. 7 is a section view according to the plane D-D shown in FIG. 5 . This figure shows that the liquid fills the entire free volume of the cavity 8 located under the projecting element 5 and on either side of the projecting element 5 , between the centring tabs 52 . Finally, FIG. 6 is a section view according to the plane E-E shown in FIG. 5 . This figure shows that the liquid fills the entire free volume of the cavity 8 located on either side of the projecting element 5 , between the centring tabs 52 . The centring tabs 52 guarantee that the projecting element 5 is always centred on the axis of the supply conduit 77 , and also on the axis of the orifice 42 , to guarantee a regular flow of the liquid and optimum watertightness at the level of the orifice 42 of the membrane 4 . Moreover, the actual position of the peripheral sealing lips 44 on the skirt 43 of the membrane 4 reinforces the sealing capacity of the membrane. Indeed, the closer these lips 44 are to the shoulder, the smaller the risk of the membrane 4 moving and being offset in relation to the axis of the supply conduit. Also, maximum watertightness is guaranteed by the combination of the sealing lips 44 positioned near the shoulder 78 , on the one hand, and the centring elements 51 (or 52 ) of the projecting element 5 forming a valve seat on the end of the piston, on the other hand. The preceding description clearly explains how the invention makes it possible to guarantee the watertightness at the intake of the dosage chamber, by guaranteeing the radial setting of the membrane 4 when a user presses the push button of the pump. In addition, the preceding description clearly describes the means providing the venting of the air contained in the dosage chamber when priming the pump. An advantageous combination of these typical characteristics of the device according to the invention offers the pharmaceutical and/or cosmetic industry a pump: that dispenses accurate doses of a liquid product, thanks to the improved watertightness between the membrane and the dosage chamber when the pump is not being used; and which is easily primed thanks to the means implemented to vent the air contained in the dosage chamber before a first use.

A device for dispensing and receiving a liquid or semi-liquid product via a metering chamber of a pump body. The device includes a piston which is fixably mounted in the pump body and is provided with an end sealingly engaged into the chamber. The piston end is provided with an elastically deformable membrane put thereon. The membrane includes a transversal wall forming an input check valve which is provided with a central supply orifice sealingly closable by a protruded element forming the check valve seat on the end of the piston. The membrane includes a fixing cylindrical skirt which is provided with at least one sealing peripheral lip slidingly contacting the internal wall of the chamber. The skirt forms a valve when it is deformed by contact with a projection bearing by the internal wall of the chamber in such a way that the air compressed by the piston is released into the chamber by the pump priming.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/344,643 filed Apr. 28, 1989, now abandoned. FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a sorber comprising a functional resin having functions to separate or recover metallic ions and a method for sorbing metallic ions using the same. More particularly, it relates to a metallic ion sorber comprising a copolymer of ethylene and an aminoalkyl acrylate comonomer which can be used for separation and recovery of a metal from a metal salt aqueous solution and a method of using the same. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Resins having a nitrile group or various chelate resins obtained by introducing an aminocarboxylic acid radical, an iminodiacetic acid radical, an amidoxime group or a primary, secondary or tertiary amine into styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer resins have conventionally been recommended for use in recovery of valuable metals or removal of metallic ions from waste water. However, since these resins are usually bead polymers or gels, it is difficult to process them to, for example, filters or sorbers of desired shape having small filtration resistance. Other known techniques for recovery of valuable metals or removal of metallic ions from waste water include separation and concentration, such as precipitation and solvent extraction. These techniques however find difficulty in separation of metals at low concentrations. More specifically, use of the chelate resins and the precipitation method have been tried on recovery of valuable metals, such as the group IIIA metals (according to the periodic table of IUPAC nomenclature, hereinafter the same), e.g., yttrium, cerium, and gadolinium, the group IVA metals, e.g., zirconium and hafnium, the group VA metals, e.g., niobium and tantalum, the group VIA metals, e.g., molybdenum, the group VIIA metals, e.g., technetium, the group VIII metals, e.g., rhodium, palladium, and platinum, and the group IB metals, e.g., silver and gold, and the group IIIB metals, e.g., gallium. Similarly, these techniques have been tried on removal of metals in waste water, including chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, copper, zinc, tin, lead, etc. as well as the above-enumerated metals. Recovery or removal of chromium, palladnium or uranium will be explained in more detail. A large volume of waste water containing chromium is discharged from electroplating factories and factories of other metal surface treatments, such as surface polishing, anodic oxidation, and chemical film formation. The waste water from these factories may be conveniently divided into (i) a chromic acid type waste water containing chromium in relatively low concentrations but discharged in a large quantity and (ii) a thick chromic acid type waste water which is finally discharged in an inconsiderable quantity but contains a concentrated liquid of plate peel combined with the waste liquid. The composition of the waste water largely varies among factories in nature of the industry characterized by producing a variety of products in small quantities as described in Kagaku Binran (Oyo hen), pp. 1166-1167, Maruzen (1980). In the removal of chromium from the waste water stated above, hexavalent chromium present therein which is in the form of chromate ion (CrO 4 2- ), is usually separated by precipitation. To this effect, hexavalent chromium is once reduced to trivalent ions by adjusting the waste water to a pH of 3 or less and then reacting chiefly with an inorganic reducing agent, such as sulfites and acidic sulfites. The reduction solution is then neutralized and rendered alkaline to precipitate chromium(III) hydroxide, and agglomerates precipitated are separated and dehydrated to recover sludge. On the other hand, the residue clear solution is passed through a filter, adjusted to a proper pH, and discharged. Reference can be made in the above-cited literature (Kagaku Binran). Waste water from chromite mines or refineries are essentially handled in the same manner as described above. Separation of hexavalent chromium from the waste water discharged from cooling water lines in the petrochemical industry and the like is, in some cases, effected by the use of ion exchange resins or chelate resins. The same methods are also widely applied to the waste waters from test stations or research laboratories. Separation of palladium is explained below. The waste water from nuclear fuel reprocessing, as a typical example of palladium-containing waste liquids, contains a variety of fission products. Predominantly implicit in the constituting elements are process-inerts, e.g., sodium and phosphorus; corrosion products, e.g., iron; fission products, e.g., cesium, barium, lanthanide series, zirconium, molybdenum, manganese, ruthenium, and palladium; and actinide series. Easygoing disposal of this particular waste water being not allowed because of its long-lasting high radioactivity, a method has been developed and being put into practice, in which the waste water is vitrified and placed in stainless steel containers, and the containers are semipermanently preserved remote from life under strict control. From two points of view, many attempts have recently been made to separate the waste water from nuclear fuel reprocessing into groups of elements (group separation). One of the points is that separation of particularly long-life radioactive isotopes from the waste water would accelerate decay of radioactivity of the majority of the remainder so that the technologically unpredictable period of control reaching into astronomical figures can be reduced to a level of predictable realistic period of time. Another point of view is that palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, and the like in the waste would be effectively made use of as valuable metals and resources. Although palladium in the waste liquid includes radioactive isotopes having a very long half-life and is therefore limited in utility, it would be the most noteworthy element because of its relatively high abundance if economical recovery is established. Considered from the results of studies on group separation, recovery of palladium would start first with separation of actinide series by extraction, ion exchanging, or precipitation. Extracting agents so far proposed for this separation include tributyl phosphate, dibutylethyl phosphonate, trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO), dihexyl N,N-diethylcarbamylmethyl phosphonate, trioctylamine, di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate, di(isodecyl) phosphate, and di(hexaoxyethyl) phosphate. These extracting agents are mostly used in combination with a hydrocarbon or a low-polar diluent, e.g., carbon tetrachloride. Quaternary ammonium type strongly basic ion exchange resins and strong cation exchange resins having a sulfo group have also been studied for this purpose as reported in Nakamura et al., JAERI-M 7852 (September, 1978). Famous method as a precipitation is an oxalate method. Recovery of noble metals, e.g., palladium, can be planned either after separation of the actinide series or directly. Methods for recovering noble metals include a method comprising melting a vitrifier and a metal oxide in a reducing atmosphere as disclosed in G. A. Jensen et al., Nucl. Technol., Vol. 65, p. 304 (1984) and Naito et al., J. Nucl. Sci. Technol., Vol. 23, p. 540 (1986); a method of utilizing selective adsorption by quaternary ammonium slats as described in J. V. Panesco et al., ARH 733 (1968) or C. A. Colvin, ARH 1346 (1969); and a hydrogen sulfide precipitation method ad described in F. P. Roberts et al., BNWL 1693 (1972). Each of the foregoing techniques is not yet industrially established as a method for handling the waste water from nuclear fuel reprocessing as stated. The waste liquid from nuclear fuel reprocessing is promising in that the noble metal contents reach higher figures than those in normal platinum metal ore by 2 to 3. Nevertheless, since it contains many metal species that should be separated, it is bad economy to separate noble metals through a number of processes. Above all things, the existence of radioactive isotopes strictly limits the market of the recovered noble metals, having prevented us from putting these methods into practice. However, the recent increase of industrial demands, anxiety on maldistribution of mining areas, and progress of the scheme of installing reprocessing factories on an industrial scale have gradually drawn attention of an industrial field to the recovery of these valuable metals. Uranium adsorbers using functinal resins such as ion exchange resins and chelate resins have been practically applied for a long time to purification of uranium from an exudate of uranium ore. Seawater is expected as a future uranium source, and application of the uranium adsorbers to recovery of uranium from seawater, though not yet put into practical use, has been studied on an industrial scale in every country. Also in nuclear fuel reprocessing factories, use of adsorbers, though not yet industrialized, has called attention for a long time in replacement of wet processes attended by deterioration of a large quantity of a solvent as exemplified by the currently employed Purex process. Each of the above-described various steps corresponds to a main step of the process. In general, uranium is harmful to biological environment as a heavy metal and also as a radioactive substance. Uranium is therefore a heavy metal which requires separation from a dilute mixed solution in the waste water treatment everywhere in the atomic energy industry. As the ion exchange resins having been practically applied to purification of uranium from an exudate of uranium ore, in order to chiefly adsorb and separate an anion complex salt, UO 2 (SO 4 ) 3 4- from a strongly sulfuric acid-acidic uranium solution, strongly basic ion exchange resins containing a tertiary amino group are used. Included under this type of ion exhange resin are commercially available Amberlite® IRA-400 and its series and Dowex-I® and its series of every grade. On the other hand, use of weakly basic ion exchange resins is also proposed. For example, it is reported that an ion exchange resin of a pyridine-divinylbenzene copolymer affords excellent results of uranium recovery from poor-grade uranium ore as described in JP-B-54-37016 and JP-B-61-1171 (the term "JP-B" as used herein means an "examined published Japanese patent application"), JP-A-54-103715 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application"), and Koei-Kagaku Kogyo K. K. (ed.), Gijutsu Shiryo, "Weakly Basic Ion Exchange Resin KEX". Hydrous titanium hydroxide-based adsorbers and amidoxime type adsorbers are regarded promising as an adsorber for recovery of uranium in seawater, as reported in Egawa, et al., Journal of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, Vol. 29 (12), p. 1079 (1978). There are many other proposals on adsorbers of uranium. Included in commercially available chelate resin adsorbers is Sumichelate® CR 2, which exhibits excellent uranium adsorptivity. These known techniques meet the industrial demands for adsorption capacity, selectivity over other ions, adsorption rate, resistance to swelling, desorptivity, resistance to oxidation, chemical resistance, resistance to deterioration, and the like to a certain extent. However, any of these functional resins serves for use only in a gel state of a three-dimensional crosslinked structure. Otherwise, the resin would be weakened due to swelling and finally degraded in an aqueous solution because of its high hydrophilic properties which are imparted for assuring an adsorption rate sufficient for practical use or which are characteristics of the adsorptive active group thereof. This gel resin has been greatly restricted on the mode of industrial utilization of the resin. Hence, if one-dimentional thermoplastic resins can be endowed with the function of interest, it would be possible to obtain molded articles of any desired shape which, by themselves or after supplemental cross-linking, offer many advantages such as improved adsorption rate, broadened selection of pressure loss, and freedom of shape of apparatus, thus making a great contribution to uranium recovery. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One object of this invention is to provide a metallic ion sorber for separating, recovering or removing metals from various aqueous solutions or waste liquids containing metallic ions, which can be applied to handling of liquids having low metal contents. Another object of this invention is to provide a metallic ion sorber for separating, recovering or removing metals from various aqueous solutions or waste water, which is a molded article having a shape suited for increasing equipment efficiency, such as a filter, thereby having wide and varied application to recovery techniques which has never been accomplished by the conventional chelate resins. A further object of this invention is to provide a method for sorbing metallic ions comprising using the above-described metallic ion sorber. As a result of extensive investigations, the inventors have found that a copolymer of an aminoalkyl acrylate compound and ethylene having a specific copolymerization ratio can easily be molded into a desired shape meeting the end use to provide a novel metal sorber which exhibits high sorption of various kinds of metallic ions. The present invention has been completed based on this finding. The present invention relates to a metallic ion sorber capable of sorbing ions of metals excluding iron and cobalt, which comprises an ethylene copolymer containing from 40 to 95% by weight of ethylene and from 5 to 60% by weight of at least one of aminoalkyl acrylate compounds represented by formula (I): ##STR2## wherein R 1 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group; R 2 and R 3 each represents an alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms; and n represents an integer of from 1 to 4, and having a number average molecular weight of from 5,000 to 50,000. The present invention further relates to a method of sorbing ions of metals excluding iron and cobalt, which comprises using the above-described metallic ion sorber. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The ethylene copolymer according to the present invention can generally be prepared by high-pressure radical polymerization as elucidated in JP-B-42-22523 and JP-B-49-45307. The preparation conditions therefor fall essentially within those of the currently wide-spread high-pressure polyethylene production process. From this point of view, the copolymer of the invention is good economy in its production process. Specific examples of the aminoalkyl acrylate compound represented by formula (I) include acrylic esters, e.g., aminomethyl acrylate, aminoethyl acrylate, amino-n-butyl acrylate, N-methylaminoethyl acrylate, N-ethylaminoethyl acrylate, N-ethylaminoisobutyl acrylate, N-isopropylaminomethyl acrylate, N-isopropylaminoethyl acrylate, N-n-butylaminoethyl acrylate, N-t-butylaminoethyl acrylate, N,N-dimethylaminomethyl acrylate, N,N-dimethylaminoethyl acrylate, N,N-dimethylaminoisopropyl acrylate, N,N-dimethylamino-n-butyl acrylate, N-methyl-N-ethylaminoethyl acrylate, N-methyl-N-n-butylaminoethyl acrylate, N,N-diethylaminoethyl acrylate, N,N-diisopropylaminoethyl acrylate, N,N-di-n-propylamino-n-propyl acrylate, N,N-di-n-butylaminoethyl acrylate, and N,N-di-n-butylamino-n-propyl acrylate; and methacrylic esters corresponding to these acrylic esters. Preferred of these comonomers are (di)alkylaminoethyl (meth)acrylates wherein n is 2 or 4. Specific examples of the preferred comonomers are dimethylaminoethyl acrylate, dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, dimethylamino-n-butyl acrylate, dimethylamino-n-butyl methacrylate, di-n-butylaminoethyl acrylate, di-n-butylaminoethyl methacrylate, methylaminoethyl acrylate, methylaminoethyl methacrylate, aminoethyl acrylate, and aminoethyl methacrylate. In formula (I), n is an integer of from 1 to 4; and the alkyl group as represented by R 2 or R 3 contains up to 4 carbon atoms. Compounds wherein n is 0 or more than 4 and/or R 2 and/or R 3 contain(s) more than 4 carbon atoms are expensive due to relative difficulty in industrial synthesis. Moreover, the so-called high-pressure ethylene polymerization process cannot be applied to these compounds due to unstability under heat and too high viscosity. The polymerization ratio of the aminoalkyl acrylate compound in the ethylene copolymer ranges from 5 to 60% by weight, preferably from 15 to 55% by weight, more preferably from 20 to 50% by weight. If it is less than 5% by weight, the metallic ion sorption capacity is too low. If it exceeds 60% by weight, the resulting resin cannot be used as it is because it exhibits increased sorption of acids and is thereby swollen with an acidic solution, sometimes failing to retain its shape. The acid sorptivity of the resin is ascribable to basicity of the amino group, and swelling of the resin is considered to depend on the relationship between the aforesaid acid sorptivity and the strength of a three-dimensional structure formed by polyethylene crystallites made of ethylene chains in the molecules. The polyethylene crystallites decrease at an increasing rate according as the comonomer increases as assumed from FIG. 2 of JP-B-53-6194 showing the plot of melting point (Tm) vs. comonomer amount. It is likely that the crystallite is virtually zero with the comonomer amount exceeding 60% by weight. In some cases, therefore, crosslinking may be needed in order to control swelling of the resin below an industrially acceptable degree. Even with a sufficient amount of the polyethylene crystallite, crosslinking may be carried out for the purpose of controlling the degree of swelling or enhancement of the strength. The resin to be used in the present invention is advantageous in that crosslinking can be effected by not only chemical crosslinking but physical crosslinking such as electron beam crosslinking and radiation crosslinking. This is because the physical crosslinking of polyethylene is generally of curing type. However, the field of crosslinking of ethylene copolymers containing more than 60% by weight of the comonomer has been unexplored. While the physical crosslinking method is the most suitable approach for effecting crosslinking of such high polymers without impairing the chemically active radicals, there still remains a room for further studies with respect to the behaviors of such high polymers. In the production of the ethylene copolymer, for the purpose of facilitating continuous and stable feeding of the aminoalkyl acrylate compound to a high-pressure polymerization system by means of a pump and improving softness of the resulting copolymer, ethylene and the aminoalkyl acrylate comonomer may be combined with one or more of other ethylenically unsaturated comonomers copolymerizable with ethylene. In this case, the polymerization ratio of the other ethylenically unsaturated comonomer is up to 20% by weight, preferably up to 15% by weight. Such ethylenically unsaturated comonomers to be combined include methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, and vinyl acetate. The ethylene copolymer according to the present invention desirably has such a molecular weight that the intrinsic viscosity as determined in a tetralin solution at 135° C. falls within a range of from 0.1 to 4 dl/g. Such a viscosity range corresponds to a number average molecular weight of from 5,000 to 50,000, preferably from 8,000 to 40,000, or a melt index (JIS K-6760, 190° C.) of from 1 to 1,000 g/10 minutes, preferably from 50 to 500 g/10 minutes. The above-specified range of the intrinsic viscosity, number average molecular weight or melt index is a limitation necessary for industrially carring out molding of the resin. The ethylene copolymer of the invention can be molded into arbitrary shapes, such as tubes, sheets, films, rods, fibers, non-woven fabric, woven fabric, and hollow yarns. The molded fibers, hollow yarns, etc. can be easily fabricated to filters, pipes, etc. The ethylene copolymer, when molded into fibers, may be use alone or, if desired to improve fibrous strength and the like, may be blended with poly-α-olefin resins (e.g., polypropylene), polyamide resins or polyester resins to obtain fibers or yarns. Further, conjugate fibers comprising the ethylene copolymer and poly-α-olefin resins, polyamide resins, polyester resins, etc. in a parallel form or core-sheath form (the ethylene copolymer being the sheath) as well as nonwoven fabric, woven fabric, and filters made of these conjugate fibers are also employable in this invention. The ethylene copolymer can also be combined with other high polymers or inorganic materials such as metallic materials, glass and wood to obtain composite materials. In such composite materials, the copolymer serves as a functional material, while the other material combined usually serves as a structural material. The fact that the copolymer of the invention comprises non-polar ethylene and a polar aminoalkyl acrylate compound and thus exhibits satisfactory affinity to other materials broadens the range of choise of materials which can be combined therewith. This is the point which makes the copolymer more useful. It is believed that the metallic ion sorptivity of the ethylene copolymer is attributed to the chelating ability of the aminoalkyl acrylate comonomer. For example, when the resin is brought into contact with palladium chloride in a highly acidic aqueous solution, the resin turns to yellow inclining to brown more than the solution. On the other hand, the amino group of the comonomer unit is easily quaternalized. For example, there is -N + H(CH 3 ) 2 Cl - in a hydrochloric acid-acidic aqueous solution. The fact that the sorptivity of the copolymer is strongly ruled by a pH condition similarly to ion exchange resins or chelate resins in phenomenon suggests that at least one of ligands of the copolymer which chelate a metallic ion is the nitrogen atom of the amino group. Sorption and separation of metallic ions from an aqueous solution by the use of the copolymer of the invention can be achieved by adjusting the aqueous solution to the optimum hydrogen ion concentration according to the kind of metallic ion to be separated. The metallic ions to which the present invention is preferably applicable are the metals of the groups IIIA, IVA, VA, VIA, VIIA, VIII, IB, IIB, IIIB, and IVB of the periodic table according to the IUPAC nomenclature. The hydrogen ion concentration, i.e., pH, at which the sorber of the invention exhibits excellent sorptivity is 7 or less, preferably between 0 and 6, for sorption of chromium (group VIA); 2 or less, preferably 1.5 or less, for sorption of palladium (group VIII); 7 or less, preferably between 0 and 6, for sorption of uranium (group IIIA) in the form of uranyl sulfate; between 1 and 4 for sorption of vanadium (group VA); 5 or less, preferably between 1 and 5, for sorption of copper (group IB); or in a strongly acidic side for sorption of zirconium (group IVA), hafnium (group IVA) or zinc (group IIB). The terminology "sorption of metallic ions" as used herein means not only adsorption of metallic ions into the copolymer resin but also precipitation of metal salts induced by pH change in the inside or on the surface of the resin, or incorporation or deposition of the metallic ions precipitated from the aqueous solution into the inside or on the surface of the resin. In carrying out the sorption and separation of metals from an aqueous solution by using the ethylene copolymer, the aqueous solution to be treated is continuously passed through a fixed bed packed with the resin beads or pellets to a desired height or through a multi-stage filter comprising a desired number of filter media of various shapes, such as fibrous mats, non-woven or woven cloth, and cartridges. The size and shape of the filler or the net structure of the filler cloth, etc. can be appropriately selected to embody varied designs giving weight to, for example, pressure loss, effective absorption capacity, sorption rate, or exchange system of the filler. Possible embodiments further include continuous treatment in a mobile or fluidized bed system. The pH of the metallic ion aqueous solution subject to treatment is adjusted to the optimum range according to the kind of the metal, for example, 7 or less, preferably from 0 to 6, for chromium; 2 or less, preferably 1.5 or less, for palladium; and 7 or less, preferably from 0 to 6, for uranium. At the time when a break through point of the sorber is reached, the sorber is rapidly regenerated or exchanged. The spent sorber can be regenerated simply by washing with water adjusted to a pH outside the respective range suitable for sorption of the metallic ion with an alkali or a mineral acid to thereby elute the sorbate with relative ease. This ease in elution is also one of the advantages of the present invention. In cases where the treatment aims only at separation of metallic ions from aqueous solutions without demanding recovery of the metallic ion or in cases where plural kinds of metallic ions are sorbed and, therefore, recovery is not economical, the spent sorber is incinerated for volume reduction and the ash is disposed through proper means. In cases where recovery of the sorbed metal is desired, it is possible to once incinerate the sorber and then recover the metal from the ash. The ethylene copolymer does not contain sulfur so that no sulfur trioxide generates on incineration. As long as waste water to be treated does not contain a sulfuric acid radical or any other sulfur compound, corrosion of incinerators, the most serious accident incidental to incineration, can thus be avoided. Even if the waste water contains a sulfur compound, such can be displaced with relative ease by addition of a minor process, thereby making the most of the merit stated above. This is a still another superior aspect of the method according to the present invention. The present invention is now illustrated in greater detail with reference to the following Examples and Comparative Examples, but it should be understood that the present invention is not deemed to be limited thereto. In these examples, all the percents and parts per million are by weight unless otherwise specified. EXAMPLE 1 A copolymer comprising 57% of ethylene and 43% of N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate was prepared according to a high-pressure radical continuous copolymerization process. The copolymer had a number average molecular weight of 1.3×10 4 and a melt index (JIS K-6760, 190° C., hereinafter the same) of 230. The copolymer was processed to cylindrical pellets of 2 mm in diameter and 3 mm in length by use of an extruder and a pelletizer. Separately, an aqueous solution of a salt of Zr (group IVA), Hf (group IVA), Pd (group VIII), Zn (group IIB) or Cr (group VIA) was prepared and adjusted to have an acid concentration or a pH as shown in Tables 1 to 3 below at room temperature. The above obtained pellet weighing 0.5 g or 1 g was put in 50 ml of the metal salt aqueous solution as room temperature, and the solution was stirred with a stirrer for 12 hours for the case of Pd or 16 hours for other cases. The metallic ion concentrations (M ion concn.) in the aqueous solution before and after the testing were determined by means of a plasma emission spectrometer (IPC-AES SPS-700, manufactured by Seiko Instruments & Electronics Ltd.) to obtain metal sorption rate (%). The results obtained are shown in Tables 1, 2 and 3. TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________ Before Sorption M Ion Concn. Metal Weight of M Ion Acid Added After SorptionRun Metal Copolymer Concn. Concn. Sorption RateNo. Salt (g) (ppm) Kind (N) (ppm) (%)__________________________________________________________________________1-1 ZrCl.sub.4 0.5 106 H.sub.2 SO.sub.4 0.1 41.9 60.51-2 " " " " 0.3 49.2 53.61-3 " " " " 0.5 56.8 46.41-4 " " " " 0.8 67.8 36.01-5 " " " " 1.0 74.5 29.71-6 HfCl.sub.4 " 96 " 0.1 14.4 85.01-7 " " " " 0.3 47.0 51.01-8 " " " " 0.5 66.5 30.71-9 " " " " 0.8 85.2 11.31-10 " " " " 1.0 86.4 10.01-11 ZnCl.sub.2 " 102 HCl 1.0 69.8 31.61-12 " " " " 2.0 40.4 60.41-13 " " " " 3.0 36.7 64.01-14 " " " " 4.0 44.6 56.3__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 2______________________________________ Before After Cr Weight Sorption Sorption Sorp- of Co- Cr Ion Cr ion tionRun Metal polymer Concn. pH- Concn. RateNo. Salt (g) (ppm) Adjustor pH (ppm) (%)______________________________________1-15 CrO.sub.3 1.0 105 HCl and 0 79.8 24.0 NaOH1-16 " " " " 1.0 60.9 42.01-17 " " " " 2.0 5.3 95.01-18 " " " " 3.8 1.1 99.01-19 " " " " 5.5 36.8 65.01-20 " " " " 6.1 59.6 43.21-21 " " " " 6.4 90.3 14.01-22 " " " " 7.5 105 01-23 " " " " 9.2 105 0______________________________________ TABLE 3______________________________________Before After PdSorption Sorption SorptionRun Pd Concn. Pd Concn. RateNo. pH (ppm) pH (ppm) (%)______________________________________1-24 0.737 105.3 0.927 0.4783 99.551-25 1.037 " 1.258 0.2351 99.681-26 1.527 " 1.685 0.5437 99.481-27 2.102 " 3.102 66.71 36.65______________________________________ EXAMPLE 2 The same copolymer pellet as obtained in Example 1 weighing 0.2 g was subjected to hydrogen ion adsorption treatment and then tested for Pd sorptivity in the same manner as in Example 1. The hydrogen ion adsorption treatment used here was carried out by the same operation as above described, except for using an aqueous solution of an acid in a varied concentration but containing no Pd ion. Since the copolymer of the present invention sorbs hydrogen ion as well as metallic ions, this treatment was done for the purpose of previously saturating the copolymer with hydrogen ion. The results obtained are shown in Table 4. TABLE 4______________________________________Before After PdSorption Sorption SorptionRun Pd Concn. Pd Concn. RateNo. pH (ppm) pH (ppm) (%)______________________________________2-1 1N--HCl 109.8 -- 39.03 64.452-2 0.5N--HCl " -- 23.60 78.512-3 1.014 " 1.042 2.89 97.372-4 1.479 " 1.455 0.635 99.422-5 2.127 " 2.097 0.409 99.63______________________________________ EXAMPLE 3 Testing on Pd sorption was carried out in the same manner as in Example 2, except for fixing the pH of the aqueous solution around 1.6 and varying the weight of the copolymer pellet between 0.1 g and 1.0 g. The results of the test are shown in Table 5. TABLE 5__________________________________________________________________________ Before After PdWeight of Sorption Sorption Sorption SorptionRun Copolymer Pd Concn. Pd Concn. molar RateNo. (g) pH (ppm) pH (ppm) Ratio* (%)__________________________________________________________________________3-1 0.1 1.577 106.8 1.614 10.75 6.07 89.933-2 0.3 " " 1.604 0.562 16.5 99.473-3 0.5 " " 1.613 0.124 27.3 99.883-4 1.0 " " 1.673 0.305 54.7 99.71__________________________________________________________________________ Note: *Number of moles of the comonomer per mol of Pd sorbed in the copolymer. EXAMPLE 4 Sorption and desorption of Pd were repeated as follows. First sorption was carried out in the same manner as in Example 3, except for fixing the weight of the copolymer pellet at 0.2 g. The whole amount of the pellet used was separated from the aqueous solution and, after draining off the liquid, immersed in 50 ml of a nitric acid aqueous solution having a varied normality for 12 hours while stirring with a stirrer. Second and third sorption and desorption were preformed in the same manner as for the first sorption and desorption to examine change of sorptive and desportive ability of the copolymer pellet due to repeated use. The results obtained are shown in Table 6, and rearranged results are shown in Table 7. In Table 7, "desportion rate" is a percent of the desorbed amount of Pd based on the total amount of Pd absorbed in the copolymer. TABLE 6______________________________________ Run No. Run No. Run No. 4-1 4-2 4-3______________________________________1st Sorption:pH Before Sorption 1.612 1.612 1.612pH After Sorption 1.595 1.595 1.595Pd Concn. Before 106.8 106.8 106.8Sorption (ppm)Pd Concn. After 0.449 0.449 0.449Sorption (ppm)1st Desorption:Normality (N) 1 3 10Pd Concn. Before 0 0 0Desorption (ppm)Pd Concn. After 57.75 71.66 63.07Desorption (ppm)2nd Sorption:pH Before Sorption 1.588 1.588 1.588pH After Sorption 1.505 1.364 1.364Pd Concn. Before 104.1 104.1 104.1Desorption (ppm)Pd Concn. After 3.411 2.451 9.255Desorption (ppm)2nd Desorption:Normality (N) 1 3 10Pd Concn. Before 0 0 0Desorption (ppm)Pd Concn. After 76.9 92.96 92.48Desorption (ppm)3rd Sorption:pH Before Sorption 1.573 1.573 1.573pH After Sorption 1.370 1.360 1.239Pd Concn. Before 101.1 101.1 101.1Sorption (ppm)Pd Concn. After 1.915 1.963 5.19Sorption (ppm)3rd Desorption:Normality (N) 1 3 10Pd Concn. Before 0 0 0Desorption (ppm)Pd Concn. After 88.48 111.27 112.0Desorption (ppm)______________________________________ TABLE 7______________________________________ Run No. Run No. Run No. 4-1 4-2 4-3______________________________________First Operation:Sorption Rate (%) 99.6 99.6 99.6Desorption Rate (%) 54.3 67.4 59.3Second Operation:Sorption Rate (%) 96.7 97.6 91.1Desorption Rate (%) 51.5 68.2 67.0Third Operation:Sorption Rate (%) 98.0 98.1 94.9Desorption Rate (%) 51.6 78.1 79.1______________________________________ EXAMPLE 5 Selectivity of the ethylene copolymer of the invention in sorption of Pd from a mixed aqueous solution containing various metal compounds was evaluated following the procedure of Example 2. That is, the copolymer pellet having been subjected to hydrogen ion adsorption treatment in a nitric acid aqueous solution was put in a mixed solution containing Pd(NO 3 ) 2 , Rh(NO 3 ) 3 , RuNO(NO 3 ) 2 , MoCl 5 , NaNO 3 , and nitric acid at a varied nitric acid normality to effect metallic ion sorption. The weight of the pellet was 1 g per 50 ml of the solution. The results obtained are shown in Table 8. TABLE 8______________________________________ Metallic Element Pd Rh Ru Mo Na Remarks______________________________________Concn. Before 27.9 11.4 50.0 92.4 383Sorption (ppm)3N HNO.sub.3 : No precipi-Concn. After 22.2 10.4 44.2 88.7 370 tate was ob-Sorption (ppm): served. TheSorption Rate 20.4 8.8 11.6 4.0 3.1 resin turned(%) yellow.1N HNO.sub.3 : No precipi-Concn. After 18.4 10.7 44.5 87.0 371 tate was ob-Sorption (ppm): served. TheSorption Rate 34.1 6.1 1.1 5.8 2.9 resin turned(%) yellow.0.5N HNO.sub.3 : No precipi-Concn. After 13.2 10.9 5.7 88.5 386 tate was ob-Sorption (ppm): served. TheSorption Rate 52.7 4.4 8.6 4.2 0 resin turned(%) yellowish brown.0.1N HNO.sub.3 : No precipi-Concn. After 4.36 10.8 47.3 93.0 383 tate was ob-Sorption (ppm): served. TheSorption Rate 84.3 5.3 5.4 0 0 resin turned(%) blackish brown.______________________________________ EXAMPLE 6 One gram of the same copolymer pellet as obtained in Example 1 was put in 50 ml of an aqueous solution containing uranyl nitrate at a uranium concentration of 100.0 ppm and sodium carbonate at a molar concentration of 4 times the uranium, the pH of the solution having been adjusted with a 1N nitric acid aqueous solution, and the mixture was stirred with a stirrer at room temperature for 16 hours. The uranium concentrations before and after the sorption were analyzed in the same manner as in Example 1 to calculate the uranium sorption rate (%) of the ethylene copolymer. The results obtained are shown in Table 9. TABLE 9______________________________________ U Concn. After Sorption Before U U Sorp-Run Sorption Concn. tion RateNo. (ppm) (ppm) pH (%)______________________________________6-1 100.0 100 2.5 06-2 " 98 4.5 2.06-3 " 93 4.7 7.06-4 " 90 5.0 10.06-5 " 96 5.9 4.06-6 " 98 7.8 2.06-7 " 100 9.7 0______________________________________ EXAMPLE 7 One gram of the same copolymer pellet as obtained in Example 1 was placed in 50 ml of a uranyl sulfate aqueous solution (uranium concentration: 102 ppm) having been adjusted to a varied pH with 1N sulfuric acid and 1N sodium hydroxide, and the mixture was stirred with a stirrer at room temperature for 16 hours. The uranium concentrations before and after the sorption were analyzed to obtain a uranium sorption rate of the copolymer. The results obtained are shown in Table 10. TABLE 10______________________________________ U Concn. After Sorption Before U U Sorp-Run Sorption Concn. tion RateNo. (ppm) (ppm) pH (%)______________________________________7-1 102 43.6 0 57.37-2 " 6.1 1.0 94.07-3 " 6.1 1.5 94.07-4 " 6.1 2.5 94.07-5 " 18.4 4.0 82.07-6 " 25.0 4.6 75.57.7 " 29.4 5.0 71.27-8 " 90.5 5.7 11.37-9 " 90.7 6.3 11.17-10 " 91.3 6.8 10.5______________________________________ EXAMPLE 8 One gram of the same copolymer pellet as obtained in Example 1 was press-molded at 130° C. to obtain a press sheet having a thickness of about 1 mm. A 30 mm×40 mm sheet was cut out of the press sheet for use as a metallic ion sorber. The cut-to-size sheet was immersed in 100 ml of a titanium sulfate solution at 25° C. for a prescribed period of time to effect sorption. For comparison, the same test was repeated, except that pure water containing no titanium sulfate was used (Run Nos. C-1 to C-5). The results obtained are shown in Table 11. TABLE 11______________________________________BeforeSorption After SorptionTi (SO.sub.4).sub.2 Immersion Weight Gain Ti Sorp-Run Concn. Time of Sheet tion RateNo. (%) pH (hr) pH (%) (%)______________________________________8-1 1.3 0.9 0.5 -- 53 98-2 " " 1 -- 73 138-3 " " 3 -- 87 178-4 " " 6 1.0 87 178-5 " " 72 1.0 90 18C-1 0 6.8 0.5 -- 0.6 --C-2 " " 1 -- 0.7 --C-3 " " 3 -- 0.7 --C-4 " " 6 4.6 0.7 --C-5 " " 72 4.6 2.0 --______________________________________ Formation of precipitates was not observed before and after the sorption. EXAMPLE 9 The same sheet (30 mm×40 mm) as prepared in Example 8 was placed in 100 ml of an aqueous solution containing a salt of V (group VA), Cr (group VIA), Mo (group VIA), Mn (group VIIA), Ni (group VIII) or Pd (group VIII), and sorption was effected at 60° C. for 3 hours. The results obtained are shown in Table 12. EXAMPLE 10 The same sheet as prepared in Example 8 was placed in 100 ml of an aqueous solution containing a salt of Cu (group IB), Ag (group IB), Zn (group IIB) or Ga (group IIIB), and sorption was effected at 60° C. for 3 hours. The results obtained are shown in Table 13. EXAMPLE 11 The same sheet was prepared in Example 8 was placed in 100 ml of an aqueous solution containing chloroplatinic acid or potassium bichromate, and sorption was effected at 60° C. for 3 hours. The results obtained are shown in Table 14. TABLE 12__________________________________________________________________________Before Sorption After SorptionMetal Salt Wt. Gain SorptionRun Concn. Acid Tone of Aqueous Tone of Aqueous of Sheet Change of Tone RateNo. Kind (wt %) Added pH Solution pH Solution (wt %) of Sheet (wt__________________________________________________________________________ %)9-1 Vo(SO.sub.4) 0.88 -- 2.8 blue 2.8 bluish green 152 deep bluish 15 green9-2 " " H.sub.2 SO.sub.4 1.0 " 1.2 deep blue 255 pale blue 89-3 CrCl.sub.3 0.85 -- 3.1 deep green 3.2 deep bluish 247 deep green 18 green9-4 " " HCl 1.0 " 1.2 deep bluish 327 light bluish 7 green green9-5 MoCl.sub.5 1.5 -- 0.79 blackish 0.95 blackish liver 332 blackish brown 20 brown brown9-6 MnCl.sub.2 0.68 -- 5.8 colorless 5.2 colorless 0 no change 0 transparent transparent9-7 " " HCl 1.0 colorless 1.1 colorless 299 white 3 transparent transparent9-8 NiCl.sub.2 0.70 -- 6.0 light green 5.8 light green 0 no change 09-9 " " HCl 1.0 " 0.9 " 289 light green 129-10 PdCl.sub.2 0.96 HCl 0.99 brown 0.76 deep liver brown 5 liver brown 1__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 13__________________________________________________________________________Before Sorption After SorptionMetal Salt Wt. Gain SorptionRun Concn. Acid Tone of Aqueous Tone of Aqueous of Sheet Change of Tone RateNo. Kind (wt %) Added pH Solution pH Solution (wt %) of Sheet (wt__________________________________________________________________________ %)10-1 CuCl.sub.2 0.73 -- 4.2 light blue 3.9 light blue 198 bluish green 1510-2 " " HCl 1.0 " 0.8 " 332 light green 610-3 CuSO.sub.4 0.86 -- 4.6 " 4.2 " 157 bluish green 1410-4 " " H.sub.2 SO.sub.4 1.0 " 1.1 " 254 light green 510-5 AgNO.sub.3 0.92 -- 8.2 colorless 8.5 very light 5 brown 1 transparent yellow10-6 ZnCl.sub.2 0.74 -- 6.4 colorless 6.1 colorless 0 no change 0 transparent transparent10-7 " " HCl 1.0 colorless 0.9 colorless 324 white 10 transparent transparent__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE 12__________________________________________________________________________Before Sorption After SorptionMetal Salt Wt. Gain SorptionRun Concn. Acid Tone of Aqueous Tone of Aqueous of Sheet Change of Tone RateNo. Kind (wt %) Added pH Solution pH Solution (wt %) of Sheet (wt__________________________________________________________________________ %)11-1 H.sub.2 [PtCl.sub.6 ] 2.2 -- 0.89 orange 0.77 orange 5 yellow 111-2 K.sub.2 Cr.sub.2 O.sub.7 1.6 -- 4.4 " 4.7 " 5 yellowish 1 brown11-3 " " H.sub.2 SO.sub.4 1.0 " 1.1 " 34 brown 3__________________________________________________________________________ As described above, the copolymer comprising ethylene and an aminoalkyl acrylate comonomer according to the present invention can be processed to a metallic ion sorber of any arbitrary shape by which various kinds of metallic ions in aqueous solutions can be separated, recovered, or removed in varied embodiments. While the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

A metallic ion sorber capable of absorbing ions of a metal excluding iron and cobalt and a method of sorbing ions of a metal excluding iron and cobalt are disclosed. The sorber comprises an ethylene copolymer containing from 40 to 95% by weight of ethylene and from 5 to 60% by weight of at least one of aminoalkyl acrylate compounds represented by formula: ##STR1## wherein R 1 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group; R 2 and R 3 each represents an alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms; and n represents an integer of from 1 to 4, and having a number average molecular weight of from 5,000 to 50,000.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to circuit arrangements for generating an AC voltage from a DC voltage. It relates in particular to self-oscillating inverters. The preferred field of application for such inverters is in operating devices for gas discharge lamps. The generated AC voltage produces an alternating current in a connected load. The incoming DC voltage also provides a direct current. In a similar manner to that which has been mentioned above, the invention thus also relates to circuit arrangements for generating an alternating current from a direct current. Without limiting universality, only the AC voltage and the DC voltage will be described below. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Half-bridge and full-bridge circuits are known as a circuit arrangement for generating an AC voltage from a DC voltage, also referred to below as an inverter. Half-bridge circuits are used in particular for operating gas discharge lamps. The half-bridge contains two series-connected electronic switches which are closed and opened alternately. These switches are driven either from a control circuit or from a connected load circuit. In the latter case, the half-bridge itself drives the electronic switches using feedback means, for which reason a circuit arrangement such as this is referred to as a self-oscillating half-bridge. In the prior art, an inexpensive way of implementing an inverter is to use a self-oscillating half-bridge having bipolar transistors. This eliminates the need for a control circuit and makes it possible to use inexpensive bipolar transistors. The specification U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,777 (Miki) discloses various embodiments for self-oscillating half-bridges. The feedback means used is a transformer, whose primary side is arranged in the load circuit and whose secondary side drives the electronic switches. An electronic switch generally has two make contacts and a control contact. A load resistor may be defined between the make contacts, and a control resistor may be defined between a make contact and the control contact. In the case of a bipolar transistor in a half-bridge, the emitter and the collector form the make contacts, and the base forms the control contact. The control resistor is positioned between the base and the emitter. In the case of a MOSFET in a half-bridge, the source and the drain form the make contacts, and the gate forms the control contact. The control resistor is positioned between the gate and the source. The specification U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,777 (Miki) shows a number of exemplary embodiments for the transformer. Firstly, the transformer may be in the form of a separate transformer which acts only as the feedback means. This transformer may be either saturated or unsaturated. Secondly, the transformer may be formed from an inductor in the load circuit, to which the secondary windings are applied. The inductor in the load circuit then forms the primary winding of the transformer. In applications for operating gas discharge lamps, this inductor may be used as the so-called lamp inductor. In other applications, it may be used, for example, to make near-resonance operation possible. As is also the case for the separate transformer mentioned above, the transformer which comprises the inductor may be saturated or unsaturated in design. All of the embodiments known from the prior art have secondary windings which are connected in parallel with the control resistor. The embodiments from the prior art have the following disadvantages: Embodiments with an unsaturated transformer sometimes have high switching losses since closing of the electronic switches is not always ensured when no voltage is applied. There are also sometimes high driving losses since the base currents of the electronic switches may be high in value. Embodiments having a saturated transformer have high transformer losses owing to its high drive level. In addition, the saturation properties are subject to high manufacturing tolerances. This means that a complex selection process is required when selecting the mass-produced transformer. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the object of the present invention to provide a circuit arrangement for generating an AC voltage from a DC voltage which provides for self-oscillation using a transformer cost-effectively and with low losses. A cost-effective solution is also considered to be one in which no components are required which entail high tolerances. This object is achieved by a circuit arrangement for generating an AC voltage from a DC voltage, which has, as the feedback means, a transformer having at least one secondary winding which is connected in series with a load resistor of an electronic switch. The control contact is connected such that the control resistor of the electronic switch and the secondary winding are in a mesh. The secondary winding is not connected in parallel with the control resistor as in the prior art. Rather, the electronic switch is driven by altering the voltage level of a make contact. In the time intervals in which the electronic switch is closed, a load current flows through the secondary winding. The load current thus also has an effect on the driving of the electronic switch. In the case of a half-bridge, an electronic switch is only closed when a dead time has elapsed once the other electronic switch has opened. It is generally known that this results in switching load relief of the electronic switches. It is not always ensured that the dead time has the optimum length in all operating states of the inverter, such as load shedding, short circuit, overload, overvoltage or undervoltage, for example. A non-optimum dead time can result in current peaks in the electronic switches and in the electronic switches being damaged. The drive circuit according to the invention for the electronic switches has a component having an inductive effect which is connected in series with the load resistor. When current peaks occur in the electronic switch, the drive circuit according to the invention advantageously reduces the level of these current peaks. The circuit arrangement according to the invention forms a self-oscillating inverter which makes possible low driving and switching losses for electronic switches without using a saturated transformer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be explained in more detail below using exemplary embodiments with reference to drawings, in which: FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a circuit arrangement according to the invention, FIG. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment following on from FIG. 1 with an improved drive circuit for the electronic switches, and FIG. 3 shows an exemplary embodiment following on from FIG. 1 with a further improved drive circuit for the electronic switches. In the text which follows, resistors are referred to by the letter R, capacitors by the letter C, transistors by the letter T, diodes by the letter D and junctions by the letter J, in each case followed by a number. Also, in the text which follows the same reference numerals are used throughout for the same elements and for elements having the same functions in the various exemplary embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of an inverter according to the invention. A DC voltage source may be connected to a first and a second DC voltage input J 1 and J 2 . In the present example, a positive pole of the DC voltage source must be connected to J 1 , and a negative pole must be connected to J 2 . A first series arrangement forms the series circuit comprising a first electronic switch T 1 , a resistor R 1 and a first secondary winding L 12 . A second series arrangement forms the series circuit comprising a second electronic switch T 2 , a resistor R 2 and a second secondary winding L 13 . The two series arrangements are connected in series and are connected between the DC voltage inputs J 1 and J 2 . The two series arrangements thus form a half-bridge. There is an AC voltage output K 1 at the connecting point of the two series arrangements. By alternately closing the electronic switches, the potential of the AC voltage output K 1 is alternately at the potential of J 1 and J 2 . For cost reasons, the electronic switches are preferably in the form of NPN bipolar transistors. However, other electronic switches, such as PNP bipolar transistors, MOSFETs or IGBTs are also possible. The resistors R 1 and R 2 each provide negative feedback for T 1 and T 2 with a generally known effect. It is also possible not to use the resistors and for them to be replaced by a short circuit. An important factor in the operation according to the invention of the secondary windings L 12 and L 13 is their arrangement with respect to the terminals of the electronic switches. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the secondary winding L 12 is connected to the emitter of T 1 via the resistor R 1 . The secondary winding L 12 is thus connected in series with the load resistor of T 1 . This series circuit comprising the load resistor of T 1 and the secondary winding L 12 is connected between the DC voltage input J 1 and the AC voltage output K 1 . In addition, in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the secondary winding L 13 is connected to the emitter of T 2 via the resistor R 2 . The secondary winding L 13 is thus connected in series with the load resistor of T 2 . This series circuit comprising the load resistor of T 2 and the secondary winding L 13 is connected between the DC voltage input J 2 and the AC voltage output K 1 . In each case a generally known freewheeling diode D 1 and D 2 is connected in parallel with the load resistors of T 1 and T 2 . These diodes may also be integrated in the electronic switch or may be dispensed with entirely. A so-called snubber capacitor C 5 is connected between the AC voltage output K 1 and the DC voltage input J 1 . It reduces the flank gradient of the voltage at the AC voltage output K 1 . C 5 may also be connected to J 2 . In order for the electronic switches to be effectively driven by the secondary windings L 12 and L 13 , the respective control contact is connected such that the respective control resistor and the respective secondary winding are in a mesh. For this purpose, the base of T 1 is connected to the AC voltage output K 1 via a resistor R 11 , and the base of T 2 is connected to the DC voltage input J 2 via a resistor R 12 . In each case a diode D 5 , D 6 and a capacitor C 3 , C 4 is connected in parallel with the control resistors of T 1 and T 2 . The diodes D 5 , D 6 and the capacitors C 3 , C 4 are not necessarily required for implementing the invention. They serve the purpose of optimizing the driving of the electronic switches T 1 , T 2 . The circuit arrangement has two load outputs J 3 and J 4 to which a load may be connected. The potential at J 4 may be understood as being the reference potential. J 4 is connected to the DC voltage input J 2 . It is also possible to connect J 4 to J 1 or to create a desired reference potential by means of a voltage divider, J 4 being connected to said reference potential. A reactance network is connected between the AC voltage output K 1 and the load outputs J 3 , J 4 and transforms the impedance at the AC voltage output K 1 to the load outputs. It comprises the primary winding L 11 and the capacitors C 1 and C 2 . The primary winding L 11 and the capacitor C 1 are connected in series and are connected between the AC voltage output K 1 and the load output J 3 . The capacitor C 2 is connected between the load outputs J 3 and J 4 . The primary winding L 11 is coupled to the secondary windings L 12 and L 13 . The primary winding L 11 and the secondary windings L 12 and L 13 thus form a transformer. The respective winding direction of the transformer windings is indicated by dots in a known manner. The primary winding L 11 is coupled at a first terminal to the AC voltage output K 1 and at a second terminal to the load output J 3 . A load current thus flows through the primary winding L 1 . Representatively for any desired loads, a load resistor R 3 is connected to the load outputs J 3 and J 4 . The reactance network may be modified in any desired manner. As described above, a load current only needs to flow through the primary winding. The reactance network illustrated in FIG. 1 is preferably used for the case in which one or more gas discharge lamps are connected for R 3 . In this case, C 1 forms a block capacitor which prevents the voltage between the load outputs J 3 and J 4 from having a DC voltage component. The primary winding L 11 in this case takes on the function of a lamp inductor and forms, together with C 2 , a series resonant circuit. It is also possible for a load to be coupled to the transformer via a further winding. This may also be a halogen incandescent lamp. The half-bridge may also be extended to form a full-bridge. The primary winding is in this case connected in the bridge branch. In addition, the transformer in this case has two further secondary windings for driving the two further electronic switches in an equivalent manner. FIG. 2 shows a further exemplary embodiment of an inverter according to the invention. As compared with FIG. 1 , in FIG. 2 , in each case respectively, the series circuit comprising a resistor R 21 or R 22 and a diode D 21 or D 22 is connected in parallel with the resistors R 11 and R 12 . The opening of the electronic switches T 1 or T 2 is thus improved. FIG. 3 shows a further exemplary embodiment of an inverter according to the invention. As compared with FIG. 2 , the resistors R 11 and R 22 are each replaced by an inductor L 31 and L 32 , respectively. As a result, in each case respectively, the series circuit comprising a diode D 21 or D 22 and a resistor R 21 or R 22 is connected in parallel with the inductors L 31 or L 32 . Furthermore, a resistor R 31 and R 32 is connected in series with each of the diodes D 5 and D 6 . The changes made to the circuit in FIG. 3 as compared with that in FIG. 2 further improve the closing and opening of T 1 and T 2 . Primarily, as a result of this, switching losses are reduced and switching times with respect to the resonance properties of a load circuit comprising a reactance network and load are optimized. At a low resonant frequency of the inverter, for example 30 Hz, it has been shown that the use of Schottky diodes for D 5 and D 6 and the short-circuiting of the resistors R 31 and R 32 have an advantageous effect on the power loss of the inverter. As compared with FIG. 2 , FIG. 3 has the following further change: The capacitor C 3 and the diode D 1 are not connected directly to the emitter of T 1 as in FIG. 2 but are connected to the connecting point of R 1 and the secondary winding L 12 . In a corresponding manner, the connection of the capacitor C 4 and the diode D 2 is also different. As a result, the so-called freewheeling current no longer flows via the resistor R 1 or R 2 , which improves the efficiency of the circuit arrangement. In addition, this change improves the switching behaviour of the electronic switches T 1 , T 2 . The dimensions specified below for the major components in FIG. 3 make it possible to operate two 36 watt fluorescent lamps at a voltage at the DC voltage inputs J 1 , J 2 of 230 V: Transformer core: EVD 25 L 11 : 128 turns L 12 : 4 turns L 13 : 4 turns C 2 : 12 nF R 1 , R 2 : 1 ohm L 31 , L 32 : 1 mH R 21 , R 22 : 39 ohm R 31 , R 32 : 4.7 ohm A resonant frequency of the inverter of approximately 50 kHz results. When using bipolar transistors, operation in the frequency range of between 20 kHz and 100 kHz is advantageous. A circuit arrangement according to the invention is preferably used in an electronic operating device for operating fluorescent lamps. In addition to the circuit arrangement according to the invention, such an operating device contains means for providing a DC voltage from a system AC voltage. These means may also contain means for reducing the system current harmonics. Furthermore, such an operating device may contain means for regulating operating parameters. In addition, such an operating device may contain means for disconnecting the operating device in abnormal operating states. In addition, an operating device such as this may contain means which are suitable for suppressing radio interference.

The invention relates to a self-oscillating inverter circuit, preferably having bipolar transistors in a half-bridge circuit, having a transformer as the feedback means. In contrast to the prior art, the secondary windings of the transformer are not connected in parallel with the base-emitter path but in series with the collector-emitter path. As a result, no saturation transformers are required for feedback.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present invention is a Divisional Application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/468,555, filed on Aug. 30, 2006, entitled “Air Conditioning System.” The parent application Ser. No. 11/468,555, claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/813,611, filed on Mar. 2, 2006, entitled “Air Conditioning System,” and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/456,199, filed on Jul. 8, 2006, entitled “Air Conditioning System.” The entire contents of the aforementioned applications are incorporated by reference herein. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. The Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automotive air conditioning system. In more particular, the present invention relates to systems, methods, and apparatus, for utilizing deceleration of an automotive engine to compress refrigerant in an air conditioning system. 2. The Relevant Technology For the past several decades, air conditioning systems have been used in automobiles and other motor vehicles during hot weather to provide more comfortable conditions for drivers and other occupants of the motor vehicles. Traditional air conditioning systems utilize a refrigerant to cool and/or dehumidify air. The cool air is then dispersed into the passenger compartment in a manner so as to mitigate the temperature in the passenger compartment. Traditional automotive air conditioning systems draw the power to compress the refrigerant from the engine of the motor vehicle. In one configuration, an engine fan belt pulley is connected to the engine and to the compressor of the air conditioning system. When it becomes necessary to further compress the refrigerant in the air conditioning system, a clutch (e.g., a magnetically operated clutch—“magnetic clutch”) provides engagement between the compressor and the fan belt pulley. Engaging the magnetic clutch allows the fan belt pulley to provide power to the air conditioner compressor from the engine, effectively compressing the refrigerant in the system. For example, when an air conditioner is switched to an “on” position to cool the motor vehicle's interior, the magnetically-operated clutch provides an effective engagement between the compressor and the fan belt pulley. This translates power from the engine, allowing the compressor to operate and compress the refrigerant. Once compressed to a pre-set pressure level, the compressor is disconnected from the engine, such as by disengaging the magnetic clutch. The air conditioning system then passes the compressed refrigerant through a condenser/heat exchanger and, thereafter, to an expansion valve, orifice tube, or other mechanism in the air box heat exchanger. In the air box heat exchanger, the compressed refrigerant is expanded and liquefied to thereby cool incoming air. The fresh air, once cooled, is directed into the car's interior. Typically, a high and/or low pressure switch is utilized to identify the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system. Pressurization of refrigerant in the air conditioning system allows for desired expansion of the refrigerant in the air box heat exchanger to cool air. Before the refrigerant passes into the air box heat exchanger, such as in the compressor or tubing between the condenser/heat exchanger and the air box heat exchanger, the refrigerant is in a high pressure state. This is often referred to as the high pressure side of the system. When the refrigerant passes into the air box heat exchanger and before being recompressed in the compressor, the refrigerant is in a low pressure state. This is often referred to as the low pressure side of the system. The configuration of most air conditioning compressors does not require continuous actuation of the magnetic clutch, the engine fan belt, or other sources of power for the compressor. In particular, during operation of the air conditioner, operation of the heat exchanger generally needs only intermittent operation of the magnetic clutch/compressor. As the volume of refrigerant is being expanded and passed into the low pressure side of the system, the transfer of refrigerant to the low pressure side of the system increases the pressurization on the low pressure side of the system. Similarly, the volume of refrigerant that is being held on the high pressure side of the system decreases. The decrease in the volume of refrigerant decreases the pressurization of refrigerant on the high pressure side of the system. Of course, the decrease in the pressurization on the high pressure side of the system can decrease the efficiencies of operation of the air conditioner. For example, the refrigerant may not provide optimized cooling of air in the air box heat exchanger. The state of pressurization of the refrigerant can thus be detected in a number of ways. In one conventional system, the pressurization of the refrigerant on the low pressure side of the system is monitored as an indicator of the pressurization of the refrigerant on the high pressure side of the system. For example, when the pressurization of the refrigerant on the low pressure side of the system increases to a certain level, the pressurization of the refrigerant on the high pressure side of the system is deemed to have decreased below desired levels. When the refrigerant on the low pressure side of the system has reached certain upper pressure limits, the magnetic clutch is engaged and power from the engine is translated to the compressor. Refrigerant pulled from the low pressure side of the system is compressed by the compressor to increase pressurization of the refrigerant on the high pressure side of the system. Once the pressurization of the refrigerant on the low pressure side of the system has been reduced by operation of the compressor, the magnetic clutch is disengaged, and the engine is allowed to operate without the increased load required to drive the engine fan belt pulley. The increase in pressurization of refrigerant on the high pressure side of the air conditioning system allows the refrigerant to be useful as it flow through the condenser/heat exchanger. In particular, the compressed refrigerant continues cooling even when the engine fan belt pulley is not in engagement with the compressor. Ultimately, however, the continual flow of refrigerant and cooling of air in the heat exchanger also results in a gradual decline in pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system. When the refrigerant pressure reaches a preset high pressure value on the low pressure side of the system (i.e., depleted high pressure side), the low pressure side limit switch again turns the magnetic clutch back on, allowing the compressor to once again draw power from the engine pulley, and increase the pressurization of the refrigerant on the high pressure side of the system. When the refrigerant reaches the preset low pressure value on the low pressure side of the system, the low pressure limit switch again disengages the magnetic clutch and the compressor from the engine pulley. Since the depressurization of refrigerant on the high pressure side is gradual, the ongoing air conditioning can continue to run for some time without applying a load on the motor vehicle engine. While this provides efficiencies in system operation, a number of deficiencies are also presented. For example, because the air conditioning system does not apply a continuous load to the motor vehicle engine, the default operating state of the motor vehicle is typically one in which the engine fan belt pulley is not in operation. Thus, motor vehicle engines are often designed to optimally operate in the absence of running of the engine fan belt pulley. As a result, during certain operating conditions, it can be disadvantageous for the air conditioning system to exert a load on the motor. For example, typical compressors of air conditioning systems may not be actuated when the motor vehicle is idling, or when the temperature of the engine has exceeded certain upper temperature limits. Instead, the compressors of conventional air conditioning systems are configured to operate when the motor is in a state of acceleration or at a constant driving speed. During acceleration, increased load on the engine is expected as part of the acceleration process. While engaging of the engine fan belt pulley during acceleration may place an increased load on the engine of the motor vehicle, such increased load is typically minimal compared to the load placed on the engine during acceleration. In other words, the design requirements which allow for acceleration of the motor vehicle engine also tends to accommodate the increased load needed to drive the engine fan belt pulley, and charge the air conditioning compressor. While utilizing acceleration cycles to power the air conditioning compressor does not present challenges in operation of the motor vehicle engine, the additional engine load imparted by the air conditioning compressor can nonetheless represent significant fuel consumption increases when compared with engine operation in the absence of such additional load. For example, in some situations, depending on the specific heat load encountered during operation of the air conditioning system, operation of the air conditioning compressor can result in about 20-25 percent or more reduction in overall vehicle fuel efficiency (e.g., mpg, kpl, etc.) Such energy consumption implications can not only limit the fuel efficiency of the motor vehicle, but can also be quite costly when the air conditioning system is used over a period of weeks or months. Additionally, such additional energy consumption results in the burning of additional fossil fuels which correspondingly increases the total combustion exhaust expelled by the motor vehicle during operation. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Implementations of the present invention relate to systems, methods, and apparatus for improving the vehicle fuel efficiency when compressing an air conditioner refrigerant for use in an air conditioning system of a motor vehicle. According to one or more implementations of the present invention, when the pressurization of the refrigerant of the air conditioning system drops below a desired level, it is determined whether the engine of the motor vehicle is decelerating. When the engine of the motor vehicle is decelerating, such as when the driver's foot is off the gas pedal, a pressurization system is actuated to draw power from the motor vehicle engine to charge the refrigerant (i.e., operate the air conditioning system compressor) of the air conditioning system. The pressurization system utilizes energy from the decelerating motor to increase the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system. According to one embodiment of the present invention, utilizing energy from the engine of the motor vehicle during deceleration to operate the air conditioning system compressor results in significant vehicle fuel efficiency gains. Drawing power from the engine during deceleration does not reduce performance of the engine output, or result in added fuel consumption, such as is experienced when a load is placed on the engine during acceleration (or while traveling at constant speeds). The load applied to the engine during deceleration can also help slow the vehicle, and can actually result in savings in braking effort, time, and force. According to another embodiment of the present invention, when the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system is below a desired level of pressurization and the engine is decelerating, a clutch, or other pressurization system component, can draw power from the decelerating engine. The power drawn from the decelerating engine can be utilized to increase the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system is ascertained for the high pressure side of the system. Optionally, the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system on the high pressure side of the system is monitored by determining the pressurization of the refrigerant on the low pressure side of the system. In another embodiment, the pressurization of the refrigerant on the high pressure side of the system can be monitored directly. According to another embodiment of the present invention, a dual-mode system is provided. The dual-mode system can optionally charge the air conditioning system in the absence of a deceleration cycle while also allowing for efficient compression of the refrigerant during deceleration of the motor vehicle. For example, when the pressurization of the refrigerant on the high pressure side of the air conditioning system is less than a minimum level, the pressurization system is actuated to increase the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system, even when the engine is not decelerating. Optionally, when the engine is not decelerating, the refrigerant in the air conditioning system will be compressed until the pressurization reaches an intermediate value (e.g., an acceleration pressurization maximum value). The intermediate value can be less than the maximum pressurization limit to maintain capacity for additional pressurization when deceleration of the engine occurs. When the pressure in the air conditioning system is greater than the minimum level, but less than a maximum pressurization, the pressurization system is actuated only when the engine is decelerating. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a variety of types and configurations of air conditioning systems can be utilized without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. For example, according to one embodiment of the present invention, an efficient automotive air conditioning system is provided as part of the original auto vehicle design. According to another embodiment of the present invention, an automotive air conditioning system is provided that can be retrofit as an after market component for traditional automotive air conditioning systems. According to another embodiment of the present invention, one or more components of the automotive air conditioning system are tailored to provide greater efficiencies in connection with a dual-mode or other efficient air conditioning system design. For example, a compressor having an increased volume reservoir is provided to hold a charge during prolonged periods of acceleration or constant driving speed conditions of the engine. In additional or alternative embodiments, one or more supplementary reservoirs are provided with a compressor to hold a charge during prolonged periods of acceleration or constant driving speed conditions of the engine before decelerating. According to still another embodiment, a compressor having increased capacity is provided to optimize the compression of refrigerant in the reservoir to hold a charge during prolonged periods of acceleration or constant driving speed conditions of the engine. According to yet still another embodiment of the present invention, a dynamic pressure sensor is provided to allow for dynamic regulation of the pressurization system. According to further still another embodiment of the present invention, a secondary pressure sensor such as a pressure switch is provided which can be retrofit onto existing components of standard air conditioning systems. Additional features and advantages of exemplary implementations of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of such exemplary implementations. The features and advantages of such implementations may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other features will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of such exemplary implementations as set forth hereinafter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS To further clarify the above and other advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a block diagram of components of an automotive air conditioning system configured to allow for efficient pressurization of an air conditioning refrigerant; FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for efficient pressurization of an air conditioning refrigerant in an air conditioning system of an auto vehicle; FIG. 3 is a logic flow diagram illustrating a method for dynamically pressurizing a refrigerant of an air conditioning system in a dual-mode manner; FIG. 4 is a graphic illustrating pressurization of a refrigerant utilizing different methods and systems, according to one embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 5 is a schematic of a circuit utilized to efficiently pressurize an air conditioning system, according to one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Implementations of the present invention relate to systems, methods, and apparatus for improving the vehicle fuel efficiency when compressing an air conditioner refrigerant for use in an air conditioning system of a motor vehicle. According to one or more implementations of the present invention, when the pressurization of the refrigerant of the air conditioning system drops below a desired level, it is determined whether the engine of the motor vehicle is decelerating. When the engine of the motor vehicle is decelerating, such as when the driver's foot is off the gas pedal, a pressurization system is actuated to draw power from the motor vehicle engine to charge the refrigerant (i.e., operate the air conditioning system compressor) of the air conditioning system. The pressurization system utilizes energy from the decelerating motor to increase the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system. According to one embodiment of the present invention, utilizing energy from the engine of the motor vehicle during deceleration to operate the air conditioning system compressor results in significant vehicle fuel efficiency gains. Drawing power from the engine during deceleration does not reduce performance of the engine output, or result in added fuel consumption, such as is experienced when a load is placed on the engine during acceleration (or while traveling at constant speeds). The load applied to the engine during deceleration can also help slow the vehicle, and can actually result in savings in braking effort, time, and force. According to another embodiment of the present invention, when the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system is below a desired level of pressurization and the engine is decelerating, a clutch, or other pressurization system component, can draw power from the decelerating engine. The power drawn from the decelerating engine can be utilized to increase the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system is ascertained for the high pressure side of the system. Optionally, the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system on the high pressure side of the system is monitored by determining the pressurization of the refrigerant on the low pressure side of the system. In another embodiment, the pressurization of the refrigerant on the high pressure side of the system can be monitored directly. According to another embodiment of the present invention, a dual-mode system is provided. The dual-mode system can optionally charge the air conditioning system in the absence of a deceleration cycle while also allowing for efficient compression of the refrigerant during deceleration of the motor vehicle. For example, when the pressurization of the refrigerant on the high pressure side of the air conditioning system is less than a minimum level, the pressurization system is actuated to increase the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system, even when the engine is not decelerating. Optionally, when the engine is not decelerating, the refrigerant in the air conditioning system will be compressed until the pressurization reaches an intermediate value (e.g., an acceleration pressurization maximum value). The intermediate value can be less than the maximum pressurization limit to maintain capacity for additional pressurization when deceleration of the engine occurs. When the pressure in the air conditioning system is greater than the minimum level, but less than a maximum pressurization, the pressurization system is actuated only when the engine is decelerating. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a variety of types and configurations of air conditioning systems can be utilized without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. For example, according to one embodiment of the present invention, an efficient automotive air conditioning system is provided as part of the original auto vehicle design. According to another embodiment of the present invention, an automotive air conditioning system is provided that can be retrofit as an after market component for traditional automotive air conditioning systems. According to another embodiment of the present invention, one or more components of the automotive air conditioning system are tailored to provide greater efficiencies in connection with a dual-mode or other efficient air conditioning system design. For example, a compressor having an increased volume reservoir is provided to hold a charge during prolonged periods of acceleration or constant driving speed conditions of the engine. In additional or alternative embodiments, one or more supplementary reservoirs are provided with a compressor to hold a charge during prolonged periods of acceleration or constant driving speed conditions of the engine before decelerating. According to still another embodiment, a compressor having increased capacity is provided to optimize the compression of refrigerant in the reservoir to hold a charge during prolonged periods of acceleration or constant driving speed conditions of the engine. According to yet still another embodiment of the present invention, a dynamic pressure sensor is provided to allow for dynamic regulation of the pressurization system. According to further still another embodiment of the present invention, a secondary pressure sensor such as a pressure switch is provided which can be retrofit onto existing components of standard air conditioning systems. FIG. 1 is block diagram of an air conditioning system for use in a motor vehicle, according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated embodiment, the system 10 comprises a compressor 20 having a high pressure refrigerant reservoir 22 , a condenser/heat exchanger 25 , an air box heat exchanger 28 , and a plurality of components for pressurizing the refrigerant in the refrigerant reservoir 22 . In general, compressor 20 is also communicatively coupled with a low pressure refrigerant reservoir 23 . As implied by their names, the refrigerant in refrigerant high pressure reservoir 22 will generally be in a state of greater compression than that in low pressure refrigerant reservoir 23 . The specific refrigerant pressure(s) in reservoirs 22 and 23 , however, can vary from one operating environment to the next. Furthermore, the specific type of refrigerant can also vary from one implementation to the next. For example, a manufacturer can select any refrigerant, such as one designed to cool when expanded, including such commonly known refrigerants as “FREON,” R-12, and/or R-134. In any event, the refrigerant in high pressure reservoir 22 is compressed to a desired pressurization parameter. The pressurization parameter of the refrigerant is typically dictated according to known design variables of the compression system, the particular refrigerant being utilized in the system, and/or the type of heat exchanger utilized. The pressurization parameters can also be dictated based on the air conditioning heat load encountered during operation, and/or other variables that affect the operating parameters of the system. Once compressed, the refrigerant exits the refrigerant reservoir 22 at a point 24 and passes into condenser/heat exchanger 25 . Condenser/heat exchanger 25 then cools the temperature of the compressed refrigerant. In other words, the refrigerant at points 24 and 26 is prepared (compressed and cooled) to be utilized in heat exchanger 28 . After being cooled, the refrigerant then flows from the condenser/heat exchanger 25 to air box heat exchanger 28 , such as at point 26 . At point 24 and point 26 , the refrigerant has compression parameters that are largely similar to those of the refrigerant in reservoir 22 . Accordingly, reservoir 22 and points 24 and 26 generally represent the “high pressure side” of air conditioning system 10 , while reservoir 23 and points 34 and 36 generally present the “low pressure side” thereof. The heat exchanger 28 then passes the refrigerant through any number of components configured for efficient thermal transfer (e.g., countercurrent heat exchange) between the refrigerant and the incoming air. For example, when the refrigerant enters heat exchanger 28 , the refrigerant is expanded through a refrigerant expansion valve 27 , or other known refrigerant expansion mechanisms. Expansion of refrigerant in heat exchanger 28 provides the cooling properties of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system. The refrigerant then passes within the heat exchanger 28 through any number of coils, tubing, or other known heat exchange components, which allow the expanded refrigerant to absorb heat from the incoming air. This absorption of heat occurs along most, if not all, points along the heat exchanger 28 since, although gradually warming, the refrigerant generally remains cooler than the temperature of the incoming air. Thus, as incoming air at point 29 enters heat exchanger 28 , it is initially cooled a degree with refrigerant that has already passed through the substantial length of heat exchanger 28 . Further along the heat exchanger 28 , the air continues to cool incremental amounts as it continually transfers heat to gradually cooler, expanded refrigerant. (Conversely, the refrigerant continues to warm along the length of the heat exchanger 28 in the reverse direction.) As a result, the incoming air at point 30 is typically much cooler than at point 29 , and is generally suited for cooling passenger compartment 32 . The corollary, of course, is that the refrigerant that is exiting (or is about to exit) the heat exchanger 28 (i.e., at point 34 ) will have much warmer temperature parameters compared with its temperature at its entry points 26 , 27 . Furthermore, the expanded refrigerant at point 34 also has lower pressure parameters than at points 24 and 26 . Generally, the lower pressure of the refrigerant at points 24 and 26 is such that the refrigerant will not be efficient (compared with refrigerant on the high pressure side) at cooling incoming air without additional compression. This is despite the fact that the pressurization of refrigerant volume in the low pressure reservoir 23 tends to increase due to the increase in refrigerant volume on the low pressure side. Of course, when there is too much refrigerant on the low pressure side of the air conditioning system, this means there has been a corresponding decrease or depletion in refrigerant volume and pressurization of compressed refrigerant on the high pressure side (i.e., reservoir 22 , and points 24 and 26 ). As previously discussed, as the volume (and corresponding pressurization) of refrigerant decreases on the high pressure side, the efficiency by which the refrigerant can cool incoming air is reduced. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention a number of ways for appropriately determining refrigerant parameters on the low pressure side of the air conditioning system and/or on the high pressure side. As shown in FIG. 1 , for example, pressurization on the low pressure side is measured by pressure switch 48 , which, in turn, at least indirectly drives engagement of magnetic clutch 40 . For example, when the pressure switch 48 identifies that the refrigerant on the low pressure side of the system has reached certain upper pressure limits, the magnetic clutch 40 is engaged, and power from the engine 38 is translated to compressor 20 . Refrigerant volume is then pulled from the low pressure side of the system (which reduces refrigerant volume and pressure on the low pressure side), and compressed in compressor 20 . Compressor 20 then passes the compressed refrigerant volume to the high pressure reservoir 22 (which increases the refrigerant pressurization and volume on the high pressure side). Once the pressure switch identifies that the pressurization of the refrigerant on the low and/or high pressure side of the system has reached an appropriate level, the magnetic clutch 40 is disengaged. For example, FIG. 1 further illustrates an engine 38 , which is operably connected to compressor 20 by means of a clutch 40 (e.g., “magnetic clutch”), and pulleys 42 and 44 . Engine 38 is exemplary of motor vehicle engines which utilize fuel combustion, electrical power, or the like to provide power for desired motor vehicle operation. In the illustrated embodiment, a compressor 20 is operably linked to engine 38 by magnetic clutch 40 . When the magnetic clutch 40 is engaged, a pulley 44 is actuated, and receives power from a pulley 42 of engine 38 . Pulley 44 , in turn, is linked to compressor 20 in a manner such that power from engine 38 is relayed to compressor 20 to allow for compression of refrigerant into reservoir 22 . A controller 46 (e.g., a “magnetic clutch controller”) is operably linked to magnetic clutch 40 . Magnetic clutch controller 46 is also linked to pressure switch 48 , such that when the pressurization of the refrigerant in refrigerant reservoir 22 falls below a predetermined level (or alternatively, pressurization of refrigerant in reservoir 22 b rises above a predetermined level), magnetic clutch controller 46 can actuate magnetic clutch 40 . When magnetic clutch 40 is actuated, power from engine 38 is translated to compressor 20 by means of pulleys 42 and 44 . As previously discussed, the pressurization of refrigerant in refrigerant reservoir 22 and the high side of the system can be determined based on the pressurization of refrigerant on the low side of the system utilizing pressure switch 48 . In the illustrated embodiment, a gas pedal 50 and an accelerator switch 52 are also provided. When a user presses on the gas pedal, accelerator switch 52 detects that the engine 38 is in a state of acceleration. When the user lets off the gas pedal, the accelerator switch 52 can also determine that the engine is in a state of deceleration. Deceleration of the engine can be defined as a state in which the engine is not accelerating or operating a constant speed. Deceleration of the engine can also be defined as a state when the torque of the vehicle drive shaft is in the opposite direction as during acceleration (or as constant speed). Additionally, deceleration can be defined as a state in which braking of the vehicle is utilized to slow the rate of speed of the vehicle. Deceleration of the engine can be further defined as the state in which the engine is no longer powering the movement of the vehicle. Deceleration of the engine can also be defined as a state in which waste kinetic and/or potential energy is available, such as may occur when a vehicle is accelerating or traveling down a hill, but gravity, and not the engine, is powering such movement. Therefore, in certain circumstances, engine deceleration may occur when a vehicle is accelerating, such that the engine is being turned by the drive shaft with torque in the opposite direction as when accelerating on a level road. In one implementation, deceleration of the engine 38 can be identified at magnetic clutch controller 46 by means of accelerator switch 52 . When the engine is decelerating, the magnetic clutch controller 46 can engage the magnetic clutch 40 , allowing energy from the decelerating engine 38 to be translated to compressor 20 by means of pulleys 42 and 44 . In this manner, energy from the decelerating engine can be utilized to increase the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system. Since the engine 38 is in a state of deceleration, energy which is utilized to pressurize the refrigerant in refrigerant reservoir 22 does not result in the same degree of increased energy output as would be the case if a load was placed on engine 38 during acceleration of the engine 38 . According to one embodiment of the invention, no additional energy output of the engine is experienced when compressing refrigerant during deceleration of the engine. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a variety of types and configurations of efficient automotive air conditioning systems can be utilized without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. For example, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the pressure switch 48 comprises a high pressure side sensor. According to another embodiment of the present invention, a pressure sensor other than a pressure switch is utilized to detect the pressurization of the refrigerant in the reservoir. According to another embodiment of the present invention, power from the engine 38 can be translated to the compressor 20 utilizing a mechanism other than a magnetic clutch and pulley system. According to another embodiment of the present invention, deceleration of the engine is detected utilizing a sensor other than an accelerator switch. According to another embodiment of the present invention, one or both of the acceleration sensor or pressure sensor are dynamically regulated based on the pressurization of the refrigerant in the refrigerant reservoir. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram depicting an illustrative method for improving the energy efficiency in charging an air conditioner refrigerant for use in an air conditioning system of a motor vehicle according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated embodiment, pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system is detected in step 60 . Subsequent to detecting the pressurization of the refrigerant in step 60 , it is determined whether the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system is below a maximum pressurization value (P h ) in step 62 . This can be monitored directly on the high pressure side of the system, indirectly on the low pressure side of the system, or in another position in the system. It is then identified whether the engine is in a state of deceleration in step 64 . Subsequent to identifying that the engine is decelerating, a pressurization system which utilizes power from the engine is actuated in step 66 . By utilizing power from the decelerating engine, additional energy output is not required to provide power to the pressurization system. This provides additional energy efficiency while providing for desired pressurization of the system. Once the pressurization system is actuated, compression of the refrigerant is begun in step 68 . The pressurization of the refrigerant reaches a maximum level in step 70 . As mentioned throughout this specification, this pressure status can be monitored directly on the high pressure side of the system, indirectly on the low pressure side of the system, or in another position in the system. In any event, once the pressurization of the refrigerant reaches the maximum level, the pressurization system (which utilizes power from the engine to compress the refrigerant) is de-actuated in step 72 . By de-actuating the pressurization system, power from the engine is no longer translated to the air conditioning compressor, and thus pressurization of the refrigerant is discontinued. Operation of the air conditioning system nevertheless continues in step 74 . As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a variety of types and configurations of methods for efficient operation of the automotive air conditioning system can be utilized without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. For example, according to one embodiment of the present invention, pressurization of the refrigerant only continues as long as the engine is decelerating. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the pressurization system comprises an engine pulley and magnetic clutch combination. According to another embodiment of the present invention, deceleration of the engine is identified before it is determined that the pressurization of the refrigerant is below the maximum desired pressurization. FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for improving efficiency in charging an air conditioner refrigerant for use in an automotive air conditioning system. In the illustrated embodiment, the method begins in step 80 . The pressurization of the refrigerant is detected in step 82 . The pressurization of the refrigerant can be monitored directly on the high pressure side of the system, indirectly on the low pressure side of the system, or in another position in the system. Subsequent to detecting the pressurization of the refrigerant, it is determined whether the pressurization of the refrigerant is below 400 pounds per square inch (psi) (or other appropriate pressurization maximum value for a system) on the high pressure side of the system in a decision step 84 . One will appreciate that reference herein to 400 psi (or any other specific pressure values) is provided as an exemplary value for at least one implementation of an air conditioning system. In any event, if the refrigerant pressurization is not below 400 psi, the system bypasses steps 86 - 94 and advances directly to step 96 which will be discussed in greater detail hereinafter. In the event that the refrigerant pressure is below 400 psi or other pressurization maximum value, it is identified whether an engine deceleration event is detected in a decision step 86 . In the event that an engine deceleration is detected, a compressor (e.g., 20 ) is actuated in a step 88 . For example, the compressor can be actuated by engaging of a magnetic clutch (e.g., 40 ) of the engine. Engaging of the magnetic clutch allows for translation of power from the decelerating engine to an engine pulley which provides power to allow for compression of the refrigerant. Subsequent to engaging the magnetic clutch, pressurization of the refrigerant in the automotive air conditioning system begins in step 90 . Acceleration of the engine (e.g., 38 ) is then detected in a step 92 . In some cases, deceleration of the engine and subsequent acceleration of the engine can occur in a fairly short time frame, and in a repetitive manner. For example, such acceleration and deceleration can occur during stop and go traffic, in a local area where there are many stop lights and/or stop signs, on roads having many curves and turns, or in other related acceleration and deceleration related events. Subsequent to detecting an acceleration of the engine, the magnetic clutch is disengaged in step 94 , such that a load is no longer placed on the engine. Subsequent to disengaging the magnetic clutch in step 94 , it is determined whether the air conditioner is still in operation in a decision step 96 . In the event that the air conditioner is not still in operation, the method ends in a step 100 . In the event that the air conditioner is still in operation, operation of the automotive air conditioning unit continues in a step 98 , and the pressurization of the refrigerant of the automotive air conditioning system is detected (i.e., in a repeat of step 82 ). Returning to decision step 86 , in the event that a deceleration of the engine has not occurred, it is next determined whether the refrigerant pressurization is below 200 psi (or other minimum pressurization threshold value appropriate for a system) in a step 102 . As previously mentioned, the pressurization of the refrigerant can be monitored directly on the high pressure side of the system, indirectly on the low pressure side of the system, or in another position in the system. When a refrigerant pressurization in an automotive air conditioning system is below 200 psi in this example, a magnetic clutch operably linked to the engine is engaged in a step 88 a . Subsequent to engaging the magnetic clutch, compression of the refrigerant in the automotive air conditioning system begins in a step 90 a. After compression of the refrigerant begins, after an amount of time, the system will detect that the refrigerant pressurization is above an exemplary intermediate pressure of about 250 psi (or other intermediate/acceleration pressurization maximum value) in a step 103 . When the refrigerant pressurization is detected above 250 psi, the system disengages the magnetic clutch in a step 94 . After disengaging the magnetic clutch in step 94 , the method continues through steps 96 , 98 , and/or 100 , as previously described. Returning to decision step 102 , in which it is determined whether the pressurization of the refrigerant in the automotive air conditioning system is below 200 psi, in the event that the refrigerant pressurization is not below 200 psi, steps 88 a , 90 a , 103 , and 104 are circumvented and the system proceeds directly to step 96 in which it is determined whether the air conditioner is still in operation. By allowing for compression of the refrigerant in the absence of a deceleration of the engine, minimum pressurization parameters which facilitate proper operation of the air conditioning system are maintained. Nevertheless, maintaining pressurization of the refrigerant, during periods in which no deceleration event has occurred, to an intermediate value (e.g., a maximum of 250 psi) can minimize the load that will be placed on the engine. In particular, maintaining a maximum intermediate pressurization value (e.g., 250 psi) in the absence of deceleration of the engine can minimize load on the engine during periods in which the increased load would result in additional energy consumption and reduced fuel efficiency of the motor vehicle. Additionally, by pressurizing the air conditioning system to a maximum of 250 psi, an amount of pressurization capacity is maintained in the air conditioning system to allow for additional pressurization of the air conditioning system during a subsequent deceleration event. In particular, FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment in which a maximum pressurization of 400 psi is allowed on the high pressure side of the system during deceleration of the engine. However, a maximum pressurization of 250 psi is allowed when the engine is not decelerating. In other words, in light of the 200 psi pressurization minimum, in the event that the engine is not in a deceleration mode, the pressurization of the refrigerant on the high pressure side of the air conditioning system is maintained between 250 psi and 200 psi. Thus, when the engine begins to decelerate, the pressurization in the air conditioning system can be increased from 250 psi to 400 psi. As a result, pressurization capacity is maintained for compression of the refrigerant during deceleration when no direct energy consumption—with its attendant additional engine fuel consumption—is required. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a variety of types and configurations of methods for efficiently pressurizing refrigerant in an air conditioning system can be utilized without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. For example, in one embodiment a minimum pressurization other than 200 psi is utilized. In another embodiment, an intermediate (e.g., or acceleration/constant speed maximum) pressure value other than 250 psi is utilized. In still another embodiment, a maximum pressurization other than 400 psi is utilized as the maximum pressurization value. In another embodiment, deceleration of the engine is identified before pressurization of the refrigerant is determined. In yet another embodiment, pressurization of the refrigerant automatically occurs subsequent to engaging the magnetic clutch. In another embodiment, pressurization of the refrigerant is provided by a compressor, which is powered from the drive shaft of the vehicle. In another embodiment, pressurization can also or alternatively be provided from a counter shaft located within the vehicle transmission. In another embodiment, pressurization of the refrigerant is provided by a mechanism other than the magnetic clutch and engine pulley combination. In another embodiment, engine events in which power can be transferred for pressurization of the refrigerant are identified and utilized for pressurizing the refrigerant when the engine is not decelerating. FIG. 4 is a graphic illustrating pressurization of refrigerant in an air conditioning system utilizing different systems and methods of pressurization. In the illustrated embodiment, the pressurization of the refrigerant on the high pressure side of the system is depicted for illustrative purposes. Additionally, the graphic depicts pressurization of the refrigerant over time. Pressurization in the system is depicted on the Y axis in pounds per square inch (in a range of 400 psi) with time being depicted on the X axis. Pressurization of refrigerant is also depicted in a traditional system 104 , an efficiency mode 106 , and a dual-mode system 108 . As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the current, illustrative systems are included for exemplary purposes only, and should not be considered to be limiting in nature. In the traditional system 104 , pressurization of the refrigerant begins at a minimum pressurization of 200 psi. Compression of the refrigerant begins increasing the pressurization of the refrigerant from a pressurization minimum of 200 psi toward a pressurization maximum of 400 psi. Once the pressurization of the refrigerant reaches 400 psi, pressurization of the refrigerant is discontinued, and operation of the air conditioning system is allowed to continue. During operation of the air conditioning system, pressurization in the system is gradually lost over a period of time, such that the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system eventually returns to approximately 200 psi. In the illustrated embodiment, pressurization and depressurization are depicted as linear in nature to more clearly and simply illustrate a pressurization and depressurization cycle. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, pressurization and depressurization are products of a number of factors that can significantly alter the actual pressurization over time. Nevertheless, the illustrated graphic can be helpful to understand the nature of the pressurization and depressurization cycle. Once pressurization in the traditional system 104 has returned to approximately 200 psi, compression of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system is again commenced to increase the pressurization in the system. From approximately time T 7 to time T 8 , the pressurization in the system is increased from 200 psi to 400 psi, again returning the pressurization in the air conditioning system to approximately the maximum pressurization. Once the pressurization has reached the maximum pressurization of 400 psi at time T 8 , compression to increase the pressurization in the air conditioning system is de-actuated. Between time T 8 and T 10 , the pressurization of the refrigerant gradually declines during operation of the air conditioning system. In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, an efficiency mode 106 is also depicted. Efficiency mode 106 represents compression of a refrigerant in the air conditioning system of a motor vehicle when the motor vehicle is accelerating or, in other words, in the absence of a deceleration cycle in the engine of the motor vehicle. In the illustrated embodiment, the pressurization of the refrigerant begins at the example pressure of about 200 psi. The refrigerant is then compressed to increase the pressurization in the air conditioning system such that at a time T 1 , the pressurization of the system reaches approximately 250 psi (the example intermediate pressure). Once the pressurization reaches 250 psi, compression of the refrigerant is de-actuated. Of course, operation of the air conditioning system can be allowed to continue even when compression is no longer occurring. As a result, FIG. 4 shows that the pressurization of the refrigerant gradually declines from about 250 psi to approximately about 200 psi over an amount of time. Once the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system approaches 200 psi (and no deceleration is detected), compression of the refrigerant is again actuated to increase the pressurization to return the pressurization to approximately 250 psi at approximately a time T 4 . The compression and decompression cycle corresponding with the efficiency mode leaves a compression capacity in the air conditioning system. The compression capacity allows for pressurization of the refrigerant utilizing deceleration of the engine of the motor vehicle to increase the pressurization beyond the example intermediate pressure of about 250 psi to a pressurization maximum, such as an exemplary pressurization maximum of about 400 psi. The efficiency mode 106 thus represents a pressurization and depressurization cycle in the absence of compression utilizing deceleration of the engine of the motor vehicle. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, efficiency gains can also be realized by utilizing the efficiency mode in the absence of a compression utilizing deceleration or other waste kinetic or potential energy in the system. In the illustrated embodiment, for example, a dual-mode pressurization is illustrated by dual system 108 . In the illustrated embodiment, dual system 108 starts at an initial minimum pressurization of 200 psi. When the minimum pressurization of 200 psi is identified, pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system is actuated, and the air pressurization is increased to approximately 250 psi. Once the pressurization in the dual system 108 reaches 250 psi, compression of the refrigerant is de-actuated (i.e., no engine deceleration is available to otherwise rotate the engine/vehicle power train and then operate the compressor). Ongoing operation of the air conditioning system is nevertheless permitted, such that the pressure in the air conditioning system gradually decreases. In the illustrated embodiment, compression of the refrigerant in dual system 108 to a pressurization limit of 250 psi at time T 1 may correspond with an acceleration cycle, or other form of active engine power (e.g., constant power output during constant speed). As previously mentioned, therefore, the 250 psi pressurization limit in this example represents a maximum intermediate limit, such as an acceleration pressurization maximum value. The acceleration pressurization maximum value provides pressurization capacity in the system in the event a deceleration in the engine of the motor vehicle occurs. In the illustrated embodiment, deceleration of the engine occurs in the motor vehicle at approximately a time T 2 . At the beginning of the deceleration of the engine at time T 2 , compression of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system is again commenced to increase the pressurization of the refrigerant during the deceleration. In the illustrated embodiment, the pressurization in the air conditioning system is increased from approximately 220 psi to a maximum pressurization of approximately 400 psi at a time T 4 . The increase in pressurization from approximately 220 psi to approximately 400 psi corresponds with the deceleration of the engine (for which refrigerant pressurization is allowed beyond the intermediate value). Once the maximum pressurization of 400 psi in the air conditioning system is reached, compression of the refrigerant is discontinued and the pressurization in the air conditioning system is allowed to gradually decrease during operation of the air conditioning system. Operation of the air conditioning system in cooling the ambient temperature of the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle has been previously described. As the pressurization begins to decrease, at approximately a time T 5 , the pressurization reaches a deceleration pressure minimum value of approximately 390 psi. As with every other pressure value discussed herein, the deceleration pressure minimum value of 390 psi is exemplary in nature for at least one implementation, and should not be considered to be limiting in nature. In any event, the deceleration pressurization minimum value corresponds with a minimum refrigerant pressurization that is allowed during deceleration of the engine. In other words, during deceleration of the engine, pressurization on the high pressure side of the air conditioning system is maintained at near maximum levels. This maintains a desired high level of pressurization in the air conditioning system while the engine is decelerating. Additionally, providing a deceleration pressurization minimum value prevents continuous stopping and starting of the compression cycle when the compression cycle falls only a few psi below the pressurization maximum. In this manner, unnecessary fatigue on the system caused by continuous stopping and starting of the compression is prevented while also maintaining the pressurization at desired, optimized pressurization levels. As previously discussed, when the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system approaches 390 psi (or the established deceleration pressurization minimum), compression of the refrigerant is again resumed to increase the pressurization in the air conditioning system to the pressurization maximum of 400 psi at time T 6 . As a result, the dual system 108 allows for pressurization to occur in an efficient and optimized manner during deceleration of the motor vehicle to maintain compression in the system at near maximum levels during deceleration of the engine. At a time T 6 , when the pressurization maximum has again been reached, compression of the refrigerant is discontinued. The compression in the system begins to decrease as operation of the air conditioning system continues in the absence of additional compression in the system. When the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system again reaches the deceleration pressurization minimum shortly before a time T 7 , the engine of the motor vehicle is no longer decelerating. As a result, pressurization in the system is allowed to continue to decrease from the 390 psi to as low as the pressurization minimum of 200 psi. In the illustrated embodiment, shortly before a time T 8 , at approximately a pressurization of 300 psi, the engine of the motor vehicle again begins to decelerate. As a result, compression of the refrigerant again begins to increase the pressurization in the air conditioning system from 300 psi toward the pressurization maximum. In the illustrated embodiment, the length of the deceleration of the engine is somewhat constricted, such that a deceleration of the engine is discontinued at approximately a time T 8 . As a result, additional compression of the refrigerant in the motor vehicle is discontinued, and the pressurization of the refrigerant begins to decrease in the absence of such deceleration. In this particular example, when the pressurization of the refrigerant falls below 300 psi, the engine again begins to decelerate, and compression of the refrigerant again resumes. The pressurization of the refrigerant again reaches the pressurization maximum of 400 psi due to the length of deceleration of the engine. Once the pressurization maximum of 400 psi is reached, compression is again discontinued and the pressurization in the system begins to drop. In the illustrated embodiment, recommencing of the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system resumes before the deceleration minimum is reached. This is due to the fact that a short acceleration cycle occurred between the reaching of the maximum pressurization and recommencing of compression of the system. In other words, at the beginning of a new deceleration event, pressurization in the system is identified to be below the pressurization maximum value, and compression of the system is again commenced until the point at which the pressurization in the system again reaches the pressurization maximum of 400 psi. In the illustrated embodiment, operation of the dual system 108 allows for maintaining of the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system in the absence of a deceleration cycle in a very similar manner as that depicted with regard to the efficiency mode 106 . When a deceleration event occurs, sufficient capacity exits in the system to allow for additional compression of the refrigerant above and beyond the efficiency mode maximum to a deceleration mode maximum, which is higher than the efficiency mode maximum. During multiple acceleration and deceleration events, compression of the pressurization of the refrigerant is allowed to operate to maximize deceleration events, in order to maximize pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system during such deceleration events. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a variety of types and configurations of air conditioning systems, including dual-mode systems, can be utilized without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. For example, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the pressurization values including the pressurization minimum value, the efficiency mode maximum value, the deceleration mode minimum value, and the maximum pressurization values are selected based on the particular design of the system, the type of refrigerant utilized, and other operating parameters corresponding with the air conditioning system, including ambient temperature, and the like. According to another embodiment of the present invention, values corresponding with low pressure side values are selected based on estimated corresponding pressure values on the high pressure side of the engine. According to another embodiment of the present invention, compression of the refrigerant occurs during deceleration cycles without utilizing an efficiency mode. As a result, when pressurization in the system falls below the pressurization minimum value, a compression cycle is started. Compression of the system is continued until the pressurization maximum is reached. As the pressure in the system continues to decrease, the occurrence of a deceleration event will start compression to increase the pressurization of the system until the pressurization maximum is again detected. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the actuation of compression will not occur during a deceleration event until the pressurization in the system falls below the deceleration pressurization minimum value. FIG. 5 is a schematic of an electronic circuit utilized in connection with an air conditioning system configured to efficiently compress an air conditioner refrigerant in an air conditioning system. In the illustrated embodiment, a clutch 110 is depicted. Clutch 110 is linked to an accelerator switch 112 . Accelerator switch 112 provides an indication of whether an engine of the motor vehicle is accelerating or decelerating. When the engine is accelerating, the accelerator switch 112 is in contact with an accelerate contact of the accelerator switch 112 . When the engine is decelerating, the accelerator switch 112 is in contact with a decelerator contact of the accelerator switch 112 . As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, switching between accelerate contact and decelerate contact can occur in response to one or more conditions other than traditional acceleration or deceleration of the engine. For example, switching to decelerate contact can occur in any instance in which waste kinetic or potential energy can be utilized to operate the compressor. In the illustrated embodiment, the accelerator switch 112 comprises a Single Pole, Double Throw (“SPDT”) switch, which provides alternating contact between the accelerating and decelerating mode. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a different switch configuration, which provides an indication of acceleration and deceleration, can also or alternatively be provided. In any event, when the illustrated accelerator switch 112 is in the accelerate mode and in contact with the accelerate contact, clutch 110 is placed in connection with an efficiency switch 114 . Efficiency switch 114 provides an indication of the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system. In the illustrated embodiment, when the pressurization of the refrigerant on the high pressure side of the air conditioning system exceeds an exemplary pressurization of 250 psi, efficiency switch 114 is opened preventing engaging of clutch 110 . When the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system of less than 200 psi, the efficiency switch 114 closes allowing for engaging of clutch 110 . Engaging of clutch 110 results in transferring of power from the motor vehicle engine to the compressor, which power is utilized to compress the refrigerant in the air conditioning system. When the accelerator switch 112 indicates that the engine is decelerating, and is in contact with the decelerate contact (as is shown in the illustrated embodiment), clutch 110 is placed in contact with pressure switch 116 . Pressure switch 116 thus provides an indication of the pressurization of the refrigerant on the high pressure side in the air conditioning system. When the engine is decelerating, as is indicated by the accelerator switch 112 , pressure switch 116 allows for maximization of the pressurization of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system. In the illustrated embodiment, when the pressurization of the refrigerant on the high pressure side of the air conditioning system reaches a maximum pressurization, such as the illustrated exemplary pressurization of 400 psi, the high pressure switch 116 opens. Opening of pressure switch 116 prevents additional engagement of clutch 110 in a manner that would result in additional compression of the refrigerant in the air conditioning system. When the pressurization of the refrigerant falls to below 390 psi, which in the illustrated embodiment represents a deceleration pressurization minimum value, pressure switch 116 is closed. Closing of the pressure switch 116 engages clutch 110 , resulting in actuation of the compressor, and an increase in pressurization of the refrigerant on the high pressure side of the air conditioning system. In this manner, when the accelerator switch 112 indicates that the engine is decelerating, pressurization in the air conditioning system is maintained at near maximum values by the pressure switch 116 . In the illustrated embodiment, a thermal shut-off switch 118 is also provided. Thermal shut-off switch 118 provides an indication that the engine or other relevant motor vehicle component is overheating (or approaching a high temperature limit). Typically, such excessive heating in the air conditioning system occurs as a result of one or a plurality of factors. In any event, additional engine and or heat load exerted by air conditioning system in the absence of the deceleration cycle can contribute to overheating of the engine or other system components. As a result, thermal shut-off switch 118 opens when the temperature of the engine exceeds or approaches a dangerous or upper threshold. In one embodiment, thermal shut-off switch 118 can minimize additional burden on the radiator system of the motor vehicle by the air conditioning system that can also slow cooling of the engine or other system components. As a result, clutch 110 is prevented from being engaged, minimizing any additional load that could be exerted on the engine to charge the refrigerant in the air conditioning system (or other factor that could contribute to overheating of the engine). In the illustrated embodiment, a ground 120 and a ground 122 are also depicted. Ground 120 is provided in connection with clutch 110 to maintain a safe electrical connection between clutch 110 and the components of the system. Similarly, ground 122 is in connection with thermal shut-off switch 118 to maintain a safe connection with the components of the system in the operating environment. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a variety of types and configurations of electronic circuitry can be provided to allow for efficient charging of an air conditioner refrigerant as part of an air conditioning system without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. For example, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the thermal shut-off switch is configured to operate only when the engine is accelerating such that the thermal shutoff does not prevent actuating of the compressor during deceleration of the engine. According to another embodiment of the present invention, rather than providing switch-type sensors to indicate the pressurization and/or acceleration/deceleration mode of the engine, non-switch type sensors are provided. According to another embodiment of the present invention, dynamic sensors such as digital, analog, or other mechanisms that provide an indication of the pressurization of the refrigerant in the system are provided. According to another embodiment of the present invention, additional components are provided to allow control of compression, or other desired functionality of the system, including software, microprocessors, or the like. The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

Implementations of the present invention include systems, methods, and apparatus for improving the fuel efficiency (mpg/kpl) of a motor vehicle during those times when the vehicle air conditioning system is operating. Whenever the driver takes his foot off the gas, or the vehicle engine is otherwise caused to decelerate, the refrigerant compressor clutch engages, allowing the compressor to operate on previously-imparted vehicle waste energy (e.g., imparted by the engine, or by downhill travel.) When the refrigerant pressure reaches a pre-set maximum value, the clutch is deactivated, and the compressor stops. When the refrigerant pressure reaches a pre-set minimum level, the clutch is activated regardless of the existence of vehicle waste energy. When the refrigerant pressure reaches another pre-set level between the aforementioned maximum and minimum levels, in the absence of any vehicle waste energy, the clutch is again deactivated and the compressor stops.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY This application is a U.S. National Phase Application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Application No. PCT/US2011/020779, filed on Jan. 11, 2011, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/294,304, filed on Jan. 12, 2010, the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT This invention was made with Government support under Grant No. R01 AI075286 awarded by the National Institutes of Health, and the National Cancer Institute's Initiative for Chemical Genetics under contract #N01-CO-12400. The Government has certain rights in the invention. TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to methods of treating fungal infections using saponins disclosed herein. BACKGROUND Fungal infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality and there is an urgent need for the development of new antifungal agents. Candidiasis is the most common fungal infection and Candida spp. have become the fourth leading cause of bloodstream infections in the United States (Edmond et al., Clin Infect Dis, 29:239-244 (1999); Pfaller et al., Clin Microbiol Rev, 20:133-163 (2007)). In addition to the morbidity and mortality associated with systemic candidiasis, localized infections are also a significant health issue. Candida spp. are the second most common cause of urinary tract infection (Laupland et al., J Crit Care, 17:50-57 (2002)) and according to different studies, approximately 70% of women experience vaginal infections caused by Candida spp., 20% of them suffer from recurrent infections, and of these latter recurrent infections, about half of the patients have four or more episodes per year (Paulitsch et al., Mycoses, 49:471-475 (2006); Corsello et al., Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol, 110:66-72 (2003); Ventolini et al., J Reprod Med, 51:475-478 (2006)). The success of Candida albicans as a human pathogen is a result of their diverse armamentarium of virulence factors. C. albicans colonizes mucosal surfaces, such as the gastrointestinal tract (isolated from over half of the oral cavities of healthy adults) and vaginal epithelium (Paulitsch et al., Mycoses, 49:471-475 (2006); Kumamoto et al., Annu Rev Microbiol, 59:113-133 (2005); Li et al., Microbiology, 149:353-362 (2003)). Candida virulence is a result of its ability to form biofilms, switch between different forms, and produce filaments in response to environmental conditions (Berman et al., Nat Rev Genet, 3:918-932 (2002); Kobayashi et al., Trends Microbiol, 6:92-94 (1998)). Candida biofilm formation has important clinical repercussions because of their increased resistance to antifungal therapy and the ability of cells within biofilms to withstand host immune defenses, resulting in treatment failure and the need to remove catheters and other biological materials (Kumamoto et al., Annu Rev Microbiol, 59:113-133 (2005); Kojic et al., Clin Microbiol Rev, 17:255-267 (2004); Raad, Middle East J Anesthesiol, 12:381-403 (1994); Ramage et al., FEMS Yeast Res, 6:979-986 (2006); Richard et al., Eukaryot Cell, 4:1493-1502 (2005)). SUMMARY The present invention is based, at least in part, on the discovery of saponins that are active antifungals; without wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that these saponins exert their activity either directly and/or by enhancing the host antifungal responses. Thus, described herein are compounds for use in the treatment of fungal infections, e.g., Candida infections. Also described are methods for treating fungal infections, e.g., Candida infections, by administering a therapeutically effective amount of a saponin as described herein. In one aspect, provided herein are compounds selected from the group consisting of aginosides, arvensoside B, barrigenols, sakurasosaponins and maesabalides for use in the treatment of fungal infections. Also provided are methods of treating a fungal infection in a subject. The methods include administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of a saponin, e.g., a compound selected from the group consisting of aginosides, arvensoside B, barrigenols, sakurasosaponins and maesabalides. In another aspect, the present invention features methods for treating fungal infections in a subject, by administering a compound of Formula I: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein: R 1 and R 2 are each independently H or OH; R 4 and R 5 are each independently OH or and denotes either a single bond or a double-bond. In some embodiments, the compound is: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. In some embodiments, the compound is: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. In some embodiments, the compound is: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. In some embodiments, the compound is: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. In some embodiments, the compound is: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. In another aspect, the invention provides methods for treating a fungal infection in a subject. The methods include administering a compound of Formula II: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein: R 1 is H or OC(O)R A ; R 2 is H or OH; R 3 is H, C(O)OR A , CH 2 OR A , CH 2 OC(O)R A ; R 4 and R 5 are each independently H or OC(O)R B ; R A is H or C 1-6 alkyl; R B is C 2-6 alkenyl; and Gly is In some embodiments, the compound is: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. In some embodiments, the compound is: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. In some embodiments, the compound is: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. In some embodiments, the compound is: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. In yet a further aspect, the invention provides methods for treating a fungal infection in a subject. The methods include administering to the subject a compound of Formula III: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein: R 1 is H or C(O)R B ; R 2 is C 1-6 alkyl or aryl; and R B is C 2-6 alkenyl. In some embodiments, the compound is: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. In some embodiments, the compound is: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. In yet another aspect, the invention provides methods for treating a fungal infection in a subject. The methods include administering to the subject a compound: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. Also provided herein is the saponins described herein for use in the treatment of a fungal infection, and/or in the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment of a fungal infection. In some embodiments of the methods described herein, the fungal infection is infection with a Candida species fungus, e.g., C. albicans. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Methods and materials are described herein for use in the present invention; other, suitable methods and materials known in the art can also be used. The materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting. All publications, patent applications, patents, sequences, database entries, and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. In case of conflict, the present specification, including definitions, will control. Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and figures, and from the claims. DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows structures of the natural product saponins identified in the C. elegans - C. albicans antifungal drug discovery screen (all structural representations were provided by Analyticon Discovery, Germany). For each of the compounds the maximum nematode survival (%) is indicated. FIGS. 2A-B are line graphs showing the dose response of select compounds identified in the C. elegans - C. albicans assay. 2 A, Two saponins (A7 and A20) were as effective as amphotericin B in promoting C. elegans survival. The decrease in nematode survival for A7 at the highest concentration tested suggests the saponin maybe toxic to the nematode 2 B, Dose response of two saponin compounds (A16 and A19) used in further studies. FIG. 3 is a bar graph showing biofilm formation for two saponin family members identified in the screen compared to untreated silicone pads and caspofungin, a compound able to inhibit C. albicans biofilm formation. Standard deviations are depicted and based on 5-11 silicone pad measurements. FIGS. 4A-C are line graphs showing phototoxicity in C. albicans DAY185 after incubation with or without 4 μg/ml A16 and ( 4 A) 100 μM RB, ( 4 B) 100 μM ce6, and ( 4 C) 10 μM PEI-ce6. Fungal cells were incubated with the PS for 30 min, washed and then illuminated and survival fractions were determined as described in the methods. Values are means of three separate experiments and bars are SEM. *** P<0.001 compared to PS alone. FIGS. 5A-D are confocal laser scanning microscope images of C. albicans cells after incubation with ( 5 A) 100 μM ce6 and in combination with 4 μg/ml A16 for ( 5 B) 1 hr and ( 5 C) ( 5 D) 24 hrs. Scale bar=20 μm for ( 5 A), ( 5 B), and ( 5 C) and 14 μm for ( 5 D). FIGS. 6A-B are the structures of two clinically relevant antifungal agents. 6 A, The polyene antifungal amphotericin B; 6 B, caspofungin, a member of the echinocandin antifungal family. DETAILED DESCRIPTION A compound screen to identify potential antifungal natural products was undertaken, identifying 12 saponins, some of which have not been previously described. This class of amphipathic natural products was represented by members of the maesabalide and barrigenol families, as well as others. In the Caenorhabditis elegans model, some saponins conferred nematode survival comparable to amphotericin B. Of the 12 antifungal saponins identified, two were selected for further analysis. C. albicans isolates were inhibited by these compounds at relatively low concentrations (16 and 32 μg/mL) including isolates resistant to clinically used antifungal agents. C. albicans hyphae and biofilm formation were also disrupted in the presence of these natural products, and studies demonstrate that fungal cells in the presence of saponins are more susceptible to salt induced osmotic stress. Although saponins are known for their hemolytic activity, we observed no hemolysis of erythrocytes at three times the minimal inhibitory concentration (100 μg/mL) for C. albicans , suggesting the saponins may have a preference for binding to fungal ergosterol when compared to cholesterol. Importantly, when used in combination with photosensitizer compounds, the fungus displayed increased susceptibility to photodynamic inactivation due to the ability of the saponins to increase cell permeability facilitating penetration of the photosensitizers. The large proportion of compounds identified as antifungal agents containing saponin structural features suggests it may be a suitable chemical scaffold for a new generation of antifungal compounds. There is an urgent need for the development of new antifungal agents [reviewed in Spanakis et al., Clin Infect Dis, 43:1060-1068 (2006)]. Traditionally, natural products have provided a plethora of antimicrobial compounds. In particular, a current drug of choice for treatment of systemic candidiasis is the polyene amphotericin B ( FIG. 6 , panel a) originally isolated from Streptomyces nodosus Trejo (Gold et al., Antibiotics Ann, 1955-1956, 579-586; Trejo et al., J Bacteriol, 85:436-439 (1963)). Plants are also well known to produce a diverse array of natural products which harbor antimicrobial activity (Dixon, Nature, 411:843-847 (2001)), including phytoalexins and saponins. Saponins Saponins have been identified in over one hundred plant families and can be an integral part of the plant's defense mechanism. These natural products are composed of sugar moieties connected to a hydrophobic aglycone backbone. Various side chains to both the aglycone and the pendant sugar moieties create additional structural diversity. Saponins are able to form pores in lipid bilayers and are known to increase cellular permeability allowing uptake of molecules that would otherwise be excluded. In this report we utilized the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a heterologous host to screen a library of natural products (Breger et al., PLoS Pathog, 3:e18 (2007); Okoli et al., PLoS ONE, 4:e7025 (2009)), ultimately identifying twelve saponins which increased nematode survival. Some saponins were able to prolong nematode survival in a dose-dependent manner and further characterization of the antifungal activity of members of the saponin family demonstrate they can impede C. albicans biofilm formation and dramatically potentiate photodynamic inactivation (PDI) when coupled with photosensitizers (PSs) and harmless visible light. These compounds may be antifungal agents for clinical use either by themselves, or in conjunction with currently used antifungal agents. Methods of Treatment The methods described herein include methods for the treatment of disorders associated with fungal infections, e.g., infections with Candida albicans . Generally, the methods include administering a therapeutically effective amount of a therapeutic saponin compound as described herein, to a subject who is in need of, or who has been determined to be in need of, such treatment. As used in this context, to “treat” means to ameliorate at least one symptom of the disorder associated with a fungal infections. Often, a fungal infections results in redness, itching. Discharge, and/or discomfort; thus, a treatment can result in a reduction in a reduction in redness, itching, discharge, and/or discomfort. Administration of a therapeutically effective amount of a compound described herein for the treatment of a condition associated with fungal infections will result in decreased levels of fungal organism present, and a reduction in symptoms if present. Candidiasis In some embodiments, the disorder is Candidiasis, e.g., oral thrush, vaginitis, or systemic candidiasis, e.g., candidemia. Most candida infections are minor and result in minimal complications such as redness, itching and discomfort, though the infections can be severe or even fatal if left untreated in certain populations, such as in immunocompetent persons. Candidiasis is usually a localized infection, e.g., of the skin or mucosal membranes, e.g., the oral cavity, the pharynx or esophagus, the gastrointestinal tract, the urinary bladder, or the genitalia. Walsh and Dixon, “Deep Mycoses,” in Baron et al. eds. Baron's Medical Microbiology (4th ed.). Univ of Texas Medical Branch (1996). In immunocompromised patients, Candida infections can affect the esophagus with the potential of becoming systemic, causing the much more serious fungemia called candidemia. Immunocompromised patients include those with metabolic illnesses such as diabetes, or with weakened or undeveloped immune systems; diseases or conditions linked to candidiasis include HIV/AIDS, mononucleosis, cancer treatments, steroids, stress, and nutrient deficiency. Diagnosis of Candida infections can be done using methods known in the art, e.g., via microscopic examination or culturing a sample suspected of containing the infections organism. Dosage An “effective amount” is an amount sufficient to effect beneficial or desired results. For example, a therapeutic amount is one that achieves the desired therapeutic effect. This amount can be the same or different from a prophylactically effective amount, which is an amount necessary to prevent onset of disease or disease symptoms. An effective amount can be administered in one or more administrations, applications or dosages. A therapeutically effective amount of a therapeutic compound (i.e., an effective dosage) depends on the therapeutic compounds selected. The compositions can be administered one from one or more times per day to one or more times per week; including once every other day. The skilled artisan will appreciate that certain factors may influence the dosage and timing required to effectively treat a subject, including but not limited to the severity of the disease or disorder, previous treatments, the general health and/or age of the subject, and other diseases present. Moreover, treatment of a subject with a therapeutically effective amount of the therapeutic compounds described herein can include a single treatment or a series of treatments. Dosage, toxicity and therapeutic efficacy of the therapeutic compounds can be determined by standard pharmaceutical procedures in cell cultures or experimental animals, e.g., for determining the LD50 (the dose lethal to 50% of the population) and the ED50 (the dose therapeutically effective in 50% of the population). The dose ratio between toxic and therapeutic effects is the therapeutic index and it can be expressed as the ratio LD50/ED50. Compounds which exhibit high therapeutic indices are preferred. While compounds that exhibit toxic side effects may be used, care should be taken to design a delivery system that targets such compounds to the site of affected tissue in order to minimize potential damage to uninfected cells and, thereby, reduce side effects. The data obtained from cell culture assays and animal studies can be used in formulating a range of dosage for use in humans. The dosage of such compounds lies preferably within a range of circulating concentrations that include the ED50 with little or no toxicity. The dosage may vary within this range depending upon the dosage form employed and the route of administration utilized. For any compound used in the method of the invention, the therapeutically effective dose can be estimated initially from cell culture assays. A dose may be formulated in animal models to achieve a circulating plasma concentration range that includes the IC50 (i.e., the concentration of the test compound which achieves a half-maximal inhibition of symptoms) as determined in cell culture. Such information can be used to more accurately determine useful doses in humans. Levels in plasma may be measured, for example, by high performance liquid chromatography. Pharmaceutical Compositions and Methods of Administration The methods described herein include the manufacture and use of pharmaceutical compositions, which include saponins described herein as active ingredients. Also included are the pharmaceutical compositions themselves. Pharmaceutical compositions typically include a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. As used herein the language “pharmaceutically acceptable carrier” includes saline, solvents, dispersion media, coatings, antibacterial and antifungal agents, isotonic and absorption delaying agents, and the like, compatible with pharmaceutical administration. Supplementary active compounds can also be incorporated into the compositions, e.g., other anti-fungal agents. Pharmaceutical compositions are typically formulated to be compatible with its intended route of administration. Examples of routes of administration include parenteral, e.g., intravenous, intradermal, subcutaneous, oral (e.g., inhalation), transdermal (topical), transmucosal, vaginal and rectal administration. Methods of formulating suitable pharmaceutical compositions are known in the art, see, e.g., the books in the series Drugs and the Pharmaceutical Sciences: a Series of Textbooks and Monographs (Dekker, N.Y.). For example, solutions or suspensions used for parenteral, intradermal, vaginal or subcutaneous application can include the following components: a sterile diluent such as water for injection, saline solution, fixed oils, polyethylene glycols, glycerine, propylene glycol or other synthetic solvents; antibacterial agents such as benzyl alcohol or methyl parabens; antioxidants such as ascorbic acid or sodium bisulfite; chelating agents such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; buffers such as acetates, citrates or phosphates and agents for the adjustment of tonicity such as sodium chloride or dextrose. pH can be adjusted with acids or bases, such as hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide. The parenteral preparation can be enclosed in ampoules, disposable syringes or multiple dose vials made of glass or plastic. Pharmaceutical compositions suitable for injectable use can include sterile aqueous solutions (where water soluble) or dispersions and sterile powders for the extemporaneous preparation of sterile injectable solutions or dispersion. For intravenous administration, suitable carriers include physiological saline, bacteriostatic water, Cremophor EL™ (BASF, Parsippany, N.J.) or phosphate buffered saline (PBS). In all cases, the composition must be sterile and should be fluid to the extent that easy syringability exists. It should be stable under the conditions of manufacture and storage and must be preserved against the contaminating action of microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. The carrier can be a solvent or dispersion medium containing, for example, water, ethanol, polyol (for example, glycerol, propylene glycol, and liquid polyetheylene glycol, and the like), and suitable mixtures thereof. The proper fluidity can be maintained, for example, by the use of a coating such as lecithin, by the maintenance of the required particle size in the case of dispersion and by the use of surfactants. Prevention of the action of microorganisms can be achieved by various antibacterial and antifungal agents, for example, parabens, chlorobutanol, phenol, ascorbic acid, thimerosal, and the like. In many cases, it will be preferable to include isotonic agents, for example, sugars, polyalcohols such as mannitol, sorbitol, sodium chloride in the composition. Prolonged absorption of the injectable compositions can be brought about by including in the composition an agent that delays absorption, for example, aluminum monostearate and gelatin. Sterile injectable solutions can be prepared by incorporating the active compound in the required amount in an appropriate solvent with one or a combination of ingredients enumerated above, as required, followed by filtered sterilization. Generally, dispersions are prepared by incorporating the active compound into a sterile vehicle, which contains a basic dispersion medium and the required other ingredients from those enumerated above. In the case of sterile powders for the preparation of sterile injectable solutions, the preferred methods of preparation are vacuum drying and freeze-drying, which yield a powder of the active ingredient plus any additional desired ingredient from a previously sterile-filtered solution thereof. Oral compositions generally include an inert diluent or an edible carrier. For the purpose of oral therapeutic administration, the active compound can be incorporated with excipients and used in the form of tablets, troches, or capsules, e.g., gelatin capsules. Oral compositions can also be prepared using a fluid carrier for use as a mouthwash. Pharmaceutically compatible binding agents, and/or adjuvant materials can be included as part of the composition. The tablets, pills, capsules, troches and the like can contain any of the following ingredients, or compounds of a similar nature: a binder such as microcrystalline cellulose, gum tragacanth or gelatin; an excipient such as starch or lactose, a disintegrating agent such as alginic acid, Primogel, or corn starch; a lubricant such as magnesium stearate or Sterotes; a glidant such as colloidal silicon dioxide; a sweetening agent such as sucrose or saccharin; or a flavoring agent such as peppermint, methyl salicylate, or orange flavoring. For administration by inhalation, the compounds can be delivered in the form of an aerosol spray from a pressured container or dispenser that contains a suitable propellant, e.g., a gas such as carbon dioxide, or a nebulizer. Such methods include those described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,468,798. Systemic administration of a therapeutic compound as described herein can also be by transmucosal or transdermal means. For transmucosal or transdermal administration, penetrants appropriate to the barrier to be permeated are used in the formulation. Such penetrants are generally known in the art, and include, for example, for transmucosal administration, detergents, bile salts, and fusidic acid derivatives. Transmucosal administration can be accomplished through the use of nasal sprays or suppositories. For transdermal administration, the active compounds are formulated into ointments, salves, gels, or creams as generally known in the art. The pharmaceutical compositions can also be prepared in the form of suppositories (e.g., with conventional suppository bases such as cocoa butter and other glycerides) or retention enemas for rectal delivery; in a crème or solid form for vaginal delivery; or in liquid form for use as a douche. In one embodiment, the therapeutic compounds are prepared with carriers that will protect the therapeutic compounds against rapid elimination from the body, such as a controlled release formulation, including implants and microencapsulated delivery systems. Biodegradable, biocompatible polymers can be used, such as ethylene vinyl acetate, polyanhydrides, polyglycolic acid, collagen, polyorthoesters, and polylactic acid. Such formulations can be prepared using standard techniques, or obtained commercially, e.g., from Alza Corporation and Nova Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Liposomal suspensions (including liposomes targeted to selected cells with monoclonal antibodies to cellular antigens) can also be used as pharmaceutically acceptable carriers. These can be prepared according to methods known to those skilled in the art, for example, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,811. The pharmaceutical compositions can be included in a container, pack, or dispenser together with instructions for administration. Combination Treatments The methods described herein can also include the administration of a saponin compound described herein in combination with a therapeutic or sub-therapeutic dose of another antimycotic, e.g., clotrimazole, nystatin, fluconazole, and ketoconazole. In severe infections (e.g., in hospitalized patients), amphotericin B, caspofungin, Gentian violet, or voriconazole may be used in combination with the compounds described herein. EXAMPLES The invention is further described in the following examples, which do not limit the scope of the invention described in the claims. Example 1 Identification of Antifungal Compounds The ability of pathogenic fungi to overcome antifungal agents in clinical use has created a need to develop new antifungal compounds. To facilitate drug discovery and overcome drug development hurdles, such as toxicity and solubility, a high-throughput whole animal assay for the identification of compounds with antifungal efficacy has been developed using the nematode C. elegans as a heterologous host (Breger et al., PLoS Pathog, 3:e18 (2007); Okoli et al., PLoS ONE, 4:e7025 (2009)). The procedure for the co-inoculation antifungal compound screen were conducted as previously described (Okoli et al., PLoS ONE, 4:e7025 (2009); Tampakakis et al., Nat Protocols, 3:1925-1931 (2008)), using the C. albicans strain DAY185 (Davis et al., Infect Immun, 68:5953-5959 (2000)) and the C. elegans glp-4;sek-1 double mutant. The determination of the lowest concentration of the selected compounds showing in vitro antifungal activity was accomplished by following the steps detailed in the co-inoculation assay, using two-fold serial dilutions of the test compounds. The wells were assessed by visually monitoring the turbidity for concentrations exhibiting in vitro inhibition of C. albicans growth. This assay allows simultaneous assessment of a compound's potential toxicity and the ability to promote the survival of the nematode in the presence of C. albicans , including modes of action not traditionally considered in antifungal assays such as impeding a fungal virulence factor or promoting host immune response. We performed a screen of 2,560 natural products representing a fraction of the Analyiticon Discovery compound collection (ac-discovery.com) housed at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT (Cambridge, Mass.). Through this screen we found that most of our hits, defined as conferring survival to at least 20% of the nematodes after five days, were from the saponin family of natural compounds. These natural products identified in the primary screen were retested and confirmed ( FIG. 1 ; Table 1). Of the twelve saponins identified, six of the compounds (A7, A8, A24, A20, A17, and A21) had no precedent in the literature regarding their structure or biological activity, however in some cases related analogs have been described. Moreover, although the antifungal effects of some of these saponins have been reported (Sata et al., Biosci Biotechnol Biochem, 62:1904-1911 (1998); Ohtani et al., Phytochem, 33:83-86 (1993)), their efficacy against Candida spp. has not been studied. TABLE 1 Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) in vitro and effective concentration (EC 50 ) in vivo of saponins identified in the C. elegans - C. albicans screen.* Saponin natural MIC in vitro EC 50 in vivo products (μg/mL) (μg/mL) Amphotericin B 1.0 2.0 A2  Sakurasosaponin 27.5 55.1 A8  5.8 23.1 A16 Aginoside 47.0 47.0 A24 13.3 13.3 A11 38.9 38.9 A20 4.8 4.8 A7  3.1 3.1 A19 26.5 26.5 A25 28.7 28.7 A17 31.0 31.0 A21 16.5 16.5 *Compound A6 (Arvensoside B) was unable to provide a MIC or EC 50 due to the limited antifungal activity of the compound. After confirmation of these hits, dose response experiments were conducted to determine the concentration that provided maximum nematode survival. The compounds conferred a range of nematode survival from 27% (compound A6) to 93% (compounds A2, A7, A24, and A25), however, with the exception of A6, all compounds conferred a nematode survival over 65% ( FIG. 1 ). Several representative members of the saponin family of natural products (compounds A8, A11, A16, A20, and A24; FIG. 1 ) had similar chemical structures and conferred a high degree of worm survival ( FIG. 1 ). Compounds A8 and A24 are closely related analogs to the known antifungal natural product aginoside (A16) (Sata et al., Biosci Biotechnol Biochem, 62:1904-1911 (1998); Carotenuto et al., Phytochem, 51:1077-1082 (1999)). As shown in FIG. 1 , A8 is the C-2 des-hydroxy analog of aginoside, and the similar activities of A8 and A16 suggests that the C-2 oxygenation state does not affect the overall antifungal activity. The pentasaccacharide A24 differs from aginoside through the addition of the β-D-glucopyranose sidechain, and this additional glycoside did confer an increase in protection from 67-93% ( FIG. 1 ). Similarly, compounds A11 and A20, which are both characterized by oxygenation state differences at the C-6 position in the aglycone backbone as well as differences in the appended sugar moieties when compared to A8, A16, and A24, also conferred protection to the worms ( FIG. 1 ). Clearly, a range of glycoside substitutions is tolerated in this class of compounds and these differences do not appear to drive the overall activity. Notably, although members of the aginoside family of saponins are well documented in literature, there was no description of the two new glycosylated derivatives of aginoside, A8 and A24, or a report of their antifungal activity. It should be noted that there were several other structurally related analogs composed primarily of the aglycone backbone that were negative in the screen. Whether this is due to specific differences in their fungicidal activity or simply a reflection of their different physicochemical properties (e.g. solubility) is uncertain. Six polyglycosylated saponins were identified in the screen (A2, A7, A17, A19, A21, and A25) that completely inhibited in vitro growth of C. albicans and provided excellent protection to the worms ( FIG. 1 , Table 1). Interestingly, several of these saponins were able to confer a level of protection similar to that provided by amphotericin B (93%, Table 1) (Okoli et al., PLoS ONE, 4:e7025 (2009)), the current clinical antifungal agent of choice for systemic candidasis. Of particular interest, compound A7 was able to extend C. albicans -infected nematode survival to a similar level as amphotericin B, however only half of the concentration of A7 was required ( FIG. 2 , panel a). There were no previous reports in the literature describing the structure of compound A7. Unfortunately, at high concentrations it appears that compound A7 is toxic to the nematode ( FIG. 2 , panel a), although there does appear to be a therapeutic window, and modification of the compound might reduce its toxicity. Compound A2 is the known natural product sakurasosaponin, and its antifungal properties have been previously reported by Ohtari et al. (Ohtani et al., Phytochem, 33:83-86 (1993)). Compounds A17 and A21, which share a similar aglycone, are related to the maesabalide family of compounds; however, there were no reports for these unique pentasaccarides that incorporate the distal furanose residue or reports of their antifungal activity (Germonprez et al., J Med Chem, 48:32-37 (2005)). Compounds A19 and A25 also demonstrated excellent in vitro activity completely inhibiting C. albicans growth and providing excellent nematode protection ( FIG. 1 ; FIG. 2 , panel b; Table 1). These saponins share a similar aglycone core which is related to the barrigenol family of natural products, however, there are scant reports for compounds displaying this arrangement of polyglycosylation (Herlt et al., J Nat Prod, 65:115-120 (2002)). There is one report in the literature for compounds closely related to A19 (Liu et al., Chinese Chem Lett, 17: 211-214 (2006)) and no references were found for compound A25. While similar compounds have reported insect antifeedant properties (Herlt et al., J Nat Prod, 65:115-120 (2002)), there was no description of their antifungal properties and, based on the potent inhibition and excellent protective effects, we feel this class of compounds may offer unique opportunities to discover novel compounds with improved activity or inhibit novel fungal biological pathways. Collectively, the relatively “soft” structure activity relationship (SAR) demonstrated by most the saponins is encouraging, as these compounds retained excellent antifungal potency even though there are a variety of aglycones, glycosides, and glycosidic linkages displayed between them. The dose response experiments also allow the estimation of the in vitro efficacy of these compounds against C. albicans and the effective dose that resulted in 50% survival of the nematodes (EC 50 ) was determined for these 12 natural products (Table 1). Comparison of the concentrations of both the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and EC 50 can provide insight into possible actions the compound may have on the fungus. Compounds with a lower or equal EC 50 when compared to the MIC suggest the compounds have higher efficacy during the infection process. This could result from several factors including 1) immuno-modulatory effects from the compounds, 2) inhibition of virulence factors, or 3) desirable solubility and/or permeability properties of the saponins resulting in the compounds reaching the target site effectively. Of note is that previous studies showed the nematode EC 50 concentrations of known antifungal compounds are higher than the concentrations needed for in vitro efficacy (for example the MIC for several azoles in clinical use and amphotericin B were half the concentration required to confer 50% nematode survival (Table 1; (Okoli et al., PLoS ONE, 4:e7025 (2009)). However, the saponins had identical EC 50 and MIC concentrations, with the exception of compounds A2 and A8 (Table 1), suggesting their in vivo antifungal activity may also be derived by alternative mechanisms. One explanation for the similarity in the EC 50 and MIC concentrations is that the saponins may possibly alter the nematode immune response. Previous studies have demonstrated that saponins have a stimulatory affect on the Th1 immune response and production of cytotoxic T-lymphocytes, which has lead to their use as adjuvants in vaccines (Sun et al., Vaccine, 27:1787-1796 (2009)). It is unclear how saponins alter this immune response, although a correlation between the length of the sugar side chain and the increase in immune stimulating ability has been observed, where the longer the sugar moiety, the greater IgG antibody response (Sun et al., Vaccine, 27:1787-1796 (2009)). It should be noted that eleven of the twelve saponins identified in the screen have at least three sugars attached ( FIG. 1 ). Although C. elegans does not have an adaptive immune response and it is currently unclear if the immune response of the nematode is altered in the presence of these compounds, other studies have shown saponins induce innate immune responses; production of cytokines, such as interleukins and interferons, is increased by saponins which may lead to stimulation of the immune system (Francis et al., British Journal of Nutrition, 88:587-605 (2002)). Example 2 Further Characterization of Two Identified Natural Products Two of these identified natural products (one from each group), A16 (aginoside) and A19, were selected for further studies based on the following considerations: (1) none of the concentrations used in the dose response experiment showed signs of toxicity to the worms ( FIG. 2 , panel b); (2) the compounds showed a high percentage of protection to the worms (67% and 80% respectively) and related structural analogs from each class conferred the highest protection observed, 93% (A24 and A25) ( FIG. 1 ); and (3) the compounds were readily available from the vendor (Analyticon Discovery, Germany). Dose response experiments for A16 and A19 demonstrated dose-dependent nematode survival to C. albicans infection up to the maximum concentration tested for the compounds (94 μg/mL for A16 and 106 μg/mL for A19; FIG. 2 , panel b). Using the standard Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) procedure, the in vitro MIC of these two compounds was determined on the following C. albicans strains: DAY185 (the standard strain used throughout the screen), two fluconazole-resistant strains of C. albicans , and an echinocandin-resistant strain of C. albicans (Table 2). Compounds A16 and A19 had identical MIC values for the C. albicans isolates tested, regardless of resistance mechanisms to clinically used antifungal agents. These findings indicate that the molecular mechanisms of C. albicans which confer resistance to antifungal agents in current clinical use do not provide cross-resistance to the natural products identified in this screen in agreement with other studies (Zhang et al., Biol Pharm Bull, 28:2211-2215 (2005)). Importantly, the natural products are likely to have a different mode of action than members of the triazole and echinocandin family, and may be effective in treatment for isolates resistant to conventional antifungal compounds. TABLE 2 The MIC results of clinically relevant compounds and two identified natural products on C. albicans .* Amphotericin Strains Fluconazole Caspofungin B A16 A19 C. albicans strains DAY185 2 2 2 16 32 Fluconazole- resistant strains 98-145 >128 1 2 16 32 95-120 32 1 2 16 32 Echinocandin- resistant strain A15 2 8 2 16 16 *MIC concentrations are presented in μg/mL Because of the significance of biofilm in human disease (for example, biofilm formation on medical devices is associated with increased resistance to antifungal agents (Blankenship et al., Curr Opin Microbiol, 9:588-594 (2006); d'Enfert, Curr Drug Targets, 7: 465-470 (2006); Kumamoto, Curr Opin Microbiol, 5:608-611 (2002)) we studied the effects of saponins on Candida biofilms. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined for strains DAY185, 98-145, 95-120 (White et al., Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 46:1704-1713 (2002)), and A15-10 (Garcia-Effron et al., Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 53:112-122 (2009)) spectrophotometrically using RPMI 1640 media (Mediatech, Inc.) following the standard CLSI microdilution protocol M27-A (National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards, Reference method for broth dilution susceptibility testing of yeasts. Tentative standard M27-A, Villanova, Pa. (1995)). Biofilm assays using identified compounds were conducted as previously described (Richard et al., Eukaryot Cell, 4:1493-1502 (2005)). The biofilm dry mass was determined by drying the silicone squares in a chemical hood, and weighing the resulting biofilm mass subtracting the previously weighed mass of the silicone square. Biofilm pictures were captured using a confocal laser microscope (TCS NT, Leica Microsystems). Cells were grown at 30° C., exposed to PS for 30 min, and then washed with PBS. Cells were observed for PS localization by confocal laser microscopy (TCS; NT Leica) as described previously (Fuchs et al., Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 51:2929-2936 (2007)). Caspofungin (Merck) served as a known antifungal compound control. In vitro hyphal inhibition was assessed by incubation of DAY185 in RPMI 1640 media at 37° C. After 48 hours the cultures were visually inspected for hyphal formation by microscopy. The ability of the antifungal compound A16, at either 2 or 4 μg/mL, to induce osmotic stress was assessed using DAY185 grown in a 96 well microtiter plate containing RPMI 1640 media and NaCl, ranging in concentrations from 0-2 M in 0.25 M increments. The growth of the fungus was measured spectrophotometrically after 48 hours of growth at 35° C. Both A16 and A19 were able to inhibit biofilm formation at concentrations below the MIC (10 and 20 μg/mL for A16 and A19, respectively) to a level comparable with the echinocandin caspofungin ( FIG. 3 ). With the exception of the echinocandidns, most currently used antifungal agents are unable to inhibit biofilm formation to a significant degree. C. albicans biofilms are composed of hyphae, pseudohyphae, yeast cells, and an extracellular matrix, where the hyphae play an integral role within this complex. In order to address the reduction in biofilm formation in the presence of saponins, we tested the ability of compound A16 to inhibit hyphae formation at various concentrations in RPMI. Untreated C. albicans is able to form extensive hyphal networks, however when C. albicans is incubated with A16 at 2 μg/mL there are very few hyphae formed and are much smaller in size (˜5-7 cells in length). When treated with 1 μg/mL of A16 there is a visible reduction in the number of hyphae, and the culture primarily consists of pseudohyphae and yeast cells. Example 3 Hemolysis Studies Representatives of the saponins family are able to disrupt cellular membranes and the lytic activity on erythrocytes has been used as an assay for some saponins Francis et al., British Journal of Nutrition, 88:587-605 (2002)). This property is derived from the affinity of some saponins for binding cholesterol forming insoluble pores composed of the sterol and saponins (Bangham et al., Nature, 196:952-953(1962); Glauert et al., Nature, 196:953-955 (1962)). Although the hemolytic properties of saponins have been well documented, several saponins are now known to have little or no hemolytic activity (Sun et al., Vaccine, 27:1787-1796 (2009); Francis et al., British Journal of Nutrition, 88:587-605 (2002)). The dose-response experiments previously used to determine the EC 50 and approximate the MIC can also indicate if the saponins maybe toxic to C. elegans and potentially to mammalian cells. The compound may potentially be toxic to the nematode if a decrease in C. elegans survival is observed despite an increase in the concentration of the compound. The cytotoxicity for the identified compounds was confirmed as previously described (Breger et al., PLoS Pathog, 3:e18 (2007); Moy et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 103:10414-10419 (2006)). Hemolysis of sheep erythrocytes (Rockland Immunochemicals) was monitored on a spectrophotometer at A 540 with the two natural products A16 and A19 (100 μg/mL) in 2% DMSO. Triton X-100 and DMSO were used as controls. Of the 12 saponins conferring an increase in C. elegans survival, only A7 and A24 displayed a decrease in nematode survival when tested at higher concentrations ( FIG. 2 , panel a; data not shown). This trend suggests the saponins could be toxic at high concentrations, although both were able to confer 93% nematode survival at a lower concentration. The in vivo nature of this antifungal discovery assay may have limited the number of toxic saponins identified in the screen, as they may have been toxic to the nematode during the screening process. Importantly, hemolysis experiments using sheep erythrocytes and the two purchased saponins (A16 and A19) demonstrated no hemolytic activity at 100 μg/mL, a concentration which is at least three times the MIC for C. albicans DAY185. The aglycone backbone of saponins is believed to play a role in hemolysis as this core has an affinity for cholesterol (Glauert et al., Nature, 196:953-955 (1962)). The saponin aglycone structure can be divided into the triterpenoid and steroidal structural subclasses (Sparg et al., J Ethnopharmacol, 94:219-243(2004)), where steroidal saponins have higher hemolytic activity and hemolysis occurs at a faster rate when compared to triterpenoid saponins (Takechi et al., Planta Med, 61:76-77 (1995)). All 12 compounds identified in the assay were triterpenoid based saponins and may explain why only two compounds displayed potential toxicity in C. elegans . Other studies have suggested the hemolytic properties of saponins could be due to several factors including the types of side chains and the number of appended glycosides and polar functional groups present in the aglycone (Francis et al., British Journal of Nutrition, 88:587-605 (2002)). Compound A24 was the only compound in this group that showed evidence of toxicity to the worms at concentrations>27 μg/mL, suggesting that while the antifungal activity is relatively conserved with a range of glycoside substitution patterns, toxicity may be related to the differences in pendant sugar moieties rather than the core triterpenoid aglycone. Example 4 Osmotic Stress and Potentiation of Photodynamic Inactivation in C. Albicans by A16 Some saponins are capable of forming pores in Saccharomyces cerevisiae membranes by binding to the fungal sterol ergosterol causing cellular leakage (Simons et al., Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 50:2732-2740 (2006)). To investigate if these saponins increase cellular leakage and permeability, the potential of compound A16 to increase the susceptibility of the fungus to osmotic stress and enhance photodynamic inactivation (PDI) was assessed. The PS used were Rose Bengal (RB, Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo.) and chlorin(e6) (ce6, Frontier Scientific, Logan, Utah). PEI-ce6 was synthesized as a covalent conjugate between polyethylenimine (MW range 10,000-25,000, an average of one ce6 per chain) and ce6 as described previously (Tegos et al., Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 50:1402-1410 (2006)). Stock solutions were prepared in water at a concentration of 2 mM and stored for a maximum of 2 weeks in the dark at 4° C. before use. Spectra of stock solutions of PS diluted 140- to 280-fold in methanol were recorded. A noncoherent light source with interchangeable fiber bundles (LC122; LumaCare, London, United Kingdom) was employed. Thirty-nanometer-band-pass filters at ranges of 540±15 nm for RB, and 660±15 nm for ce6 and PEI-ce6 were used. The total power output from the fiber bundle ranged from 300 to 600 mW. The spot was arranged to give an irradiance of 100 mW/cm 2 . The statistical values for the PDI experiments represent the mean of three separate experiments, and bars presented in the graphs represent standard error from the mean. Differences between mean values were tested for significance by an unpaired two-tailed Student t test, assuming equal or unequal variations as appropriate. A P value of less than 0.05 indicated statistical significance. The C. albicans cell wall and membrane are important for osmoregulation to maintain proper physiological conditions to carryout enzymatic reactions. Since saponins are able to disrupt the fungal cell membrane, external osmotic stress should also have detrimental effects on the fungal cell. C. albicans was grown in the presence of 2 μg/mL of compound A16 under various salt concentrations to assess the effect the saponin has on salt induced osmotic stress. Fungal suspensions in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (initial concentration, 10 8 CFU ml −1 ) were pre-incubated with A16 for 1 and 24 hrs in combination with the appropriate PS in the dark at room temperature for 30 min at concentrations varying from 10 to 100 μM for the PS and 4 μg/ml for A16. The cell suspensions were centrifuged at 12,000 rpm, washed twice, and suspended in sterile PBS. The cell suspensions were placed in wells of 48-well microtiter plates (Fisher Scientific) and illuminated using appropriate optical parameters. Fluences ranged from 0 to 80 J/cm 2 at a fluence rate of 100 mW/cm 2 . During illumination, aliquots of 100 μL were taken to determine the CFU. The contents of the wells were constantly stirred during illumination to ensure that cells did not settle to the bottom of the wells and mixed before sampling. The aliquots were serially diluted 10-fold in PBS and were streaked horizontally on square YPD agar plates as described (Jett et al., Biotechniques, 23:648-650 (1997)). Plates were incubated at 30° C. for 48 hrs. Two types of control conditions were used: illumination in the absence of PS or A16 and incubation with PS and A16 in the dark. The fungus incubated with A16 was unable to grow at a high salt concentration when compared to the untreated control (0.5 M for the A16 treated versus 1.25 M for the untreated control) demonstrating an increased sensitivity to NaCl induced osmotic stress. Photodynamic inactivation utilizes a non-toxic dye, or photosensitizer (PS), which is able to generate reactive oxygen species, such as singlet oxygen and hydroxyl radical, in the presence of oxygen and low-intensity light of the correct wavelength to be absorbed by the PS ultimately producing toxic effects in microbial cells (Fuchs et al., Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 51:2929-2936 (2007)). The application of PDI and photodynamic therapy (PDT) as an antimicrobial treatment is a developing area of photobiology and has been investigated as a highly promising potential treatment for localized infections (Demidova et al., Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol, 17: 245-254 (2004); Hamblin et al., Photochem Photobiol Sci, 3:436-450 (2004)). Three different PSs molecules were used for studies with compound A16: two were anionic, rose bengal (RB), chlorin(e6) (ce6), while the third was a polycationic conjugate of ce6 and polyethyleneimine (PEI-ce6). Both RB and ce6 are not taken up easily by yeast cells and at the concentrations used they had no statistically significant PDI effect (Fuchs et al., Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 51:2929-2936 (2007); Tegos et al., Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 50:196-203(2006)). However, PEI-ce6 is more potent at lower concentrations than the other PS compounds against C. albicans and C. neoformans (Fuchs et al., Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 51:2929-2936 (2007); Tegos et al., Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 50:196-203(2006)), due to its increased ability to disrupt and pass through the cell wall. The survival fraction and uptake (molecules/cell) of C. albicans was determined for PDI mediated by the 3 different PSs with or without A16 pre-incubation for various time periods ranging between 1-24 hours. C. albicans was incubated with 100 μM RB, 100 μM ce6, or 10 μM PEI-ce6 for 30 min in either the presence or absence of a sub-inhibitory concentration (4 μg/mL) of A16 and received increasing fluences of 540 nm or 660 nm of light. The light-dependent killing of C. albicans in the presence of A16 was 2 to 5 logs greater than the killing at the same fluence in the absence of A16 for both RB and ce6 ( FIG. 4 , panels a,b). There was virtually no effect on the yeast cells either in the presence or absence of light. Killing by PEI-ce6 mediated PDI does not change dramatically after pre-incubation with the compound ( FIG. 4 , panel c). This observation is consistent with the fact that PEI-ce6, due to its polycationic charge, is self sufficient in bypassing the cell permeability barrier. In order to confirm that the increase in phototoxicity observed by combining the different PS with A16 is actually due to an increase of cellular uptake of the PS by the cells and to document that the antifungal efficacy of saponins against C. albicans is associated with increased permeability, the amount of dye within the cell was measured by fluorescence spectrofluorimetry. Cell suspensions (10 8 cells/mL) were incubated in the dark as above using the same concentrations as for the PDI assays measured as μM PS equivalent (final concentration in incubation medium). Incubations were carried out in triplicate. Cell suspensions were centrifuged (12000 rpm, 1 min) and washed twice in 1 mL sterile PBS. The cell pellet was dissolved in 1.5 mL 0.1 M NaOH/1% SDS for 24 h to yield a homogenous solution. Uptake was determined by measurement of fluorescence in black 96-well flat-bottom plates (Costar) in a final volume of 200 μL using a Spectramax Gemini spectrofluorimeter (Molecular Devices) at 400 nm ex /580-700 nm em for ce6, PEI-ce6 and 552 nm ex /555-620 nm em for RB. Uptake values were obtained as previously described (Tegos et al., Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 50:196-203(2006)). The cellular uptake of dye can be expressed as molecules per cell by correlation of the extracted PS concentration with the number of C. albicans cells present. In each case the addition of compound A16 dramatically increased the uptake of PS by the cells, and these differences were statistically significant (Table 3). TABLE 3 Uptake assessment of photosensitizers in the presence of the natural product A16. PS +A16 (1 hr) +A16 (24 hrs) RB 3.8 ± 0.6 4.55 ± 0.5*    9.12 ± 0.22** ce6 0.81 ± 0.06 3.1 ± 0.25**  9.1 ± 0.15** PEI-ce6 13.4 ± 1.1  20.9 ± 1.3**   23.0 ± 0.7**  Values represent the uptake in molecules/cell from pellets obtained after incubation of the cell suspensions with different PS with or without A16 at the same concentrations used for PDI studies. Values are the means of three determinations ± standard deviation. The yeast cell density was, 10 8 CFU/ml. **P < 0.01; and, *P < 0.1; compared with the uptake values of PS alone. The influx of the PS ce6 into C. albicans cells was further examined and confirmed by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Alone, ce6 demonstrated no apparent internalization into either yeast or pseudohyphae C. albicans cells after one hour incubation ( FIG. 5 , panel a). However, when ce6 and A16 are incubated together for one hour, internalization of ce6 is visible ( FIG. 5 , panel b). Consistent with the PDI assays, after a 24 hour incubation period there was a dramatic increase in the concentration of ce6 inside the fungal cells in both yeast form ( FIG. 5 , panel c) and, in particular, pseudohyphae ( FIG. 5 , panel d), further confirming the ability of A16 to increase cell permeability. The pore-forming characteristic of saponins makes them ideally suited for use with conventional antifungal therapy. Compound A16 was able to increase uptake of PS enabling much increased PDI of the fungus. Here we show that saponins in conjunction with PDT may be used for treatment of C. albicans infections. This study is the first to demonstrate that RB and ce6 in the presence with a saponin have a dramatic PDI effect to fungal cells ( FIG. 4 , panels a-c; FIG. 5 , panels a-d; Table 3). Furthermore, the dramatic increase in permeability of pseudohyphae ( FIG. 5 , panel d), when compared to C. albicans cells in the yeast morphology ( FIG. 5 , panel c), suggests the previously observed decrease in biofilm formation in the presence of the saponin ( FIG. 3 ) is due to an increase in permeability of pseudohyphae and hyphae. Example 5 Interaction Between A16 and Fluconazole Since compound A16 was able to facilitate uptake of PS compounds, we investigated their ability to increase uptake to the commonly used antifungal agent fluconazole. As indicated above, fluconazole and saponins have different target sites, although they both function by altering the fungal cell membrane. Interestingly, when we exposed fungi to different concentrations of fluconazole and A16, we found that a subinhibitory concentration of compound A16 (4 μg/mL) was able to decrease the MIC of C. albicans isolate DAY185 from 2 μg/mL for fluconazole alone to 1 μg/mL for a combination of the two compounds. Despite less growth in the well resulting in a “speckled” pattern, the two C. albicans isolates with increased resistance to fluconazole showed no increase in sensitivity to fluconazole treatment in the presence of A16. One of the molecular mechanisms responsible for increased resistance to fluconazole for isolate 98-145 is a homozygous V437I point mutation in the ERG11 gene (White et al., Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 46:1704-1713 (2002)). This suggests that the alteration of the fluconazole target site still renders the fungus resistant despite a potential increase in influx of fluconazole caused by addition of compound A16. The saponins were able to inhibit growth of several C. albicans isolates, including isolates which were resistant to fluconazole and echinocandins (Table 2). Whether or not C. albicans can develop resistance to saponins is not known. Since saponins are synthesized mostly by plants, plant pathogenic fungi have developed resistance mechanisms to these natural products (Osbourn, Trends Plant Sci, 1:4-9 (1996)). There are several mechanisms in which phytopathogenic fungi evade saponin toxicity, ranging from avoidance to enzymatic degradation (Osbourn, Trends Plant Sci, 1:4-9 (1996)). Studies using S. cerevisiae and the saponin α-tomatine from tomato have shown that the fungus has greater inhibition to a degradation product, tomatidine, than to the complete α-tomatine saponin (Simons et al., Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 50:2732-2740 (2006)), suggesting that if C. albicans gains/evolves the ability to detoxify saponins, it may still be inhibited by the degradation products. The abundance of saponin derived natural products and the lack of overt cellular toxicity displayed by the majority of compounds in this study suggests saponins may provide a promising source of new antifungal agents. These compounds represent an opportunity to expand the current classes of antifungal agents in use and to improve available antifungal drugs by exploiting these new chemical scaffolds. Future studies will focus on defining the minimal structural components required to retain full inhibitory and protective effects against C. albicans. Other Embodiments It is to be understood that while the invention has been described in conjunction with the detailed description thereof, the foregoing description is intended to illustrate and not limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the scope of the appended claims. Other aspects, advantages, and modifications are within the scope of the following claims.

Methods of treating a fungal infection in a subject, the method comprising administering to the subject a modified saponin.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/873,210, filed Apr. 24, 1992 now abandoned. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a camcorder supporting apparatus provided with an object tracking device, and more particularly to an object tracking device which can control a photographing direction in a camcorder according to the movement of the object so that the camcorder can automatically track and photograph the object. Generally, a camcorder, which is a VCR (Video Cassette Recorder) united with a camera, encodes an image of an object into a video signal and records the encoded video signal on a recording medium such as a video cassette tape. The camcorder is rotatably supported by a tripod-shaped supporting apparatus such that it moves up and down or right and left, around the crosspoint of incident light received by the camcorder. The camcorder supporting apparatus conventionally was adapted to change the photographing direction in a camcorder to the desired direction by the user's operation. This caused the user inconvenience in that he should operate the camcorder supporting apparatus in order to change the photographing direction in the camcorder whenever the object being photographed moves. A conventional camcorder supporting apparatus will be described with reference to the accompanying FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional supporting apparatus when a horizontal movement portion is driven, while FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional supporting apparatus when a vertical movement portion is driven. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conventional supporting apparatus comprises a housing 1 which is rotatably mounted on the upper portion of a tripod supporting axis 9 to move it around the tripod supporting axis 9. The housing 1 comprises vertical bevel gears 11 and 12 respectively provided inside both opposite side walls of the housing 1, and a horizontal bevel gear 7 fixed on the lower surface of the housing 1 to engage with the vertical bevel gears 11 and 12. The central portion of the horizontal bevel gear 7 is combined with the tripod supporting axis 9, so that the horizontal bevel gear 7 with the tripod supporting axis 9 and the housing 1 rotates around the tripod supporting axis 9 as the vertical bevel gears 11 and 12 rotate. The vertical bevel gear 11 is rotated by a handle 10 which is passed through an outside wall of the housing 1 and fixed on its central portion. Also, the conventional supporting apparatus comprises a vertical support member 13 fixed by a connector 14 on the side wall provided with the vertical bevel gear 12. The vertical support member 13 comprises a semicylinder-shaped concave formed on its upper portion and a vertical movement gear 2 installed within itself whose circumferential teeth are protruded over the semicylinder-shaped concave. The semicylinder-shaped concave of the vertical supporter 13 receives the vertical movement portion 5 to be rotatable forwardly and backwardly. The vertical movement portion 5 comprises a movement connecting gear 15 mounted within itself to be engaged with the vertical movement gear 2. Further, the vertical movement portion 5 supports a fixing plate 4 connected by a hinge 6. The fixing plate 4 pivotably moves up and down around the axis of hinge and has a fixing bolt 3 mounted in its central portion. The fixing bolt 3 serves to fix the camcorder on the upper surface of the fixing plate 4. The movement connecting gear 15 moves the vertical movement portion 5 forwardly and backwardly according to the rotation of the vertical movement gear 2. Moreover, the conventional supporting apparatus additionally comprises a motor case 8 inserted into the housing. The motor case 8 includes a motor 18 mounted to be movable horizontally along a guider 22 formed on its bottom. The motor 18 comprises a solenoid 16 mounted on the opposite side to the vertical bevel gear 11 and a rotational axis 17 mounted on the opposite side to the vertical bevel gear 12. As shown in FIG. 4, th rotational axis 17 includes first and second concaves 17a and 17b. The first concave 17a is disposed at the axial hole of the vertical movement gear 2 to separate the rotational axis 17 from the vertical movement gear 2 when the rotational axis 17 rotates the vertical bevel gear 12. On the other hand, the second concave 17b is disposed at the axial hole of the vertical bevel gear 12 to separate the rotational axis 17 from the vertical bevel gear 12 when the rotational axis 17 rotates the vertical movement gear 2. Also, the conventional supporting apparatus additionally comprises a power line 2 for supplying a driving voltage to the motor 18 and a power line 21' for supplying a driving voltage to the solenoid 16. The power lines 21 and 21' are connected to a remote controller 20 for driving the motor 18 and the solenoid 16. FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of the remote controller 20 for controlling the motor 18 and the solenoid 16. With reference to FIG. 5, the remote controller 20 comprises a first selection switch SW1 connected in series to the solenoid 16 between the first supply power Vcc and the second power source GND. And the remote controller 20 comprises two resistors R1 and R2 and a second selection switch SW2 connected in series between the first power source Vcc and the second power source GND. The connection P1 between two resistors R1 and R2 is connected to the base of the transistor Q1 whose emitter and collector are connected to the first power source Vcc and the motor 18, respectively. Also, the remote controller 20 additionally comprises a capacitor C1, a transistor Q2, and two resistors R3 and R4 constituting a motor controlling circuit for preventing the driving of the motor 18 when the solenoid 16 is initially operated. Now, the operation of the conventional supporting apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 will be described in the cases of vertical movement and horizontal movement. First, in the case of vertical movement of the supporting apparatus, the first selection switch SW1 is turned on by the user and supplies a driving voltage to the solenoid 16. The solenoid 16 is driven by the first power source Vcc supplied via the first selection switch SW1 and moves the motor 18 and the rotational axis 17 of the motor into the arrow direction shown in FIG. 2, thereby connecting the rotational axis 17 to the axial hole of the vertical movement gear 2 and simultaneously separating it from the vertical bevel gear. At this time, while the first concave 17a of the rotational axis 17 is deviated from the axial hole of the vertical movement gear 2, the second concave 17b of the rotational axis 17 is disposed at the axial hole of the vertical bevel gear 12. When the rotational axis 17 of the motor 18 has been combined with the vertical movement gear 2, if the second selection switch SW2 is turned on by the user, then the motor 18 is driven by the first supply voltage Vcc supplied via the emitter and collector of the transistor Q1 to rotate the rotational axis 17 and the vertical movement gear 2. The vertical connection gear 15 engaged with the vertical movement gear 2 is rotated forward and backward according to the rotation of the vertical movement gear 2, thereby rotating the vertical movement portion 5 and the fixing plate 4 forward and backward. Meanwhile, since the vertical bevel gear 12 is separated from the rotational axis 17 of the motor 18, it does not rotate. Secondly, in case of horizontal movement of the supporting apparatus, the first selection switch SW1 is turned off by the user to stop the supplied power to the solenoid 16. At this time, the rotational axis 17 of the motor 18 moves into the arrow direction shown in FIG. 1 to be connected to the axial hole of the vertical bevel gear 12 and to be separated from the vertical movement gear 2. In other words, while the first concave 17a of the rotational axis 17 is disposed at the axial hole of the vertical movement gear 2, the second concave 17b of the rotational axis 17 is separated from the axial hole of the vertical bevel gear 12. When the rotational axis 17 of the motor 18 has been connected to the vertical bevel gear 12, if the second selection switch SW2 is turned on by the user, then the motor is driven by the driving voltage supplied from the first power source Vcc via the emitter and collector of the transistor Q1 to rotate the vertical bevel gear 12 with the rotational axis 17. The horizontal bevel gear 7 engaged with the vertical bevel gear 12 is rotated around the tripod supporting axis 9 with the housing 1 according to the rotation of the vertical bevel gear 12. Accordingly, the photographing direction in the camcorder mounted on the fixing plate 4 is rotated up and down or right and left according to the rotation of the housing 1 and the vertical movement portion 5. In FIG. 5, when the second selection switch SW2 is turned on, the transistor Q1 is turned on by the potential difference above the operational voltage between the emitter and the base of the transistor Q1, thereby supplying the driving voltage supplied from the first power source Vcc to the motor 18. Then, the motor 18 rotates the rotational axis 17 by the driving voltage supplied from the transistor Q1. Also, upon turning on the second selection switch SW2, if the first selection switch SW1 is turned on, then the solenoid 16 is operated to move the motor 18 and the rotational axis 17 and the transistor Q1 is turned off by a high potential supplied at its base through the resistors R4 and R2, thereby instantaneously stopping the operation of the motor 18. Herein, the stopped time of the motor 18 means such a time period that the charging voltage of the capacitor C1, whose charging is initiated from the turn-on of the first selection switch SW1, reaches the operation voltage of the transistor Q2. This charging time of the capacitor C1 is greater than the time needed for the movement of the rotational axis 17. The above-mentioned conventional supporting apparatus has disadvantages in that the photographing direction in the camcorder should be panned up and down or left and right by user according to the movement of the object, and also the object in photographed image may deviate to the left or right side in the picture. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an object tracking apparatus for a camcorder, wherein the photographing direction in the camcorder is automaticially controlled according to the movement of the object so that the camcorder can automatically track and photograph the moving object. To achieve this purpose, an object tracking apparatus according to the present invention comprises a pair of photosensitive elements for respectively detecting right and left movements of the object, a pair of comparing means for comparing outputs of the photosensitive elements with the respective predetermined reference values, a supporting means for supporting the camcorder rotatably, a motor for moving the supporting means left and right, and a motor driving means for driving the motor forward and backward according to the outputs from the pair of comparing means. According to the above constitution, the object tracking apparatus of a camcorder detects the left and right movements of the object by a pair of photosensitive elements and drives the motor forward and backward according to the detected output, thereby controlling the photographing direction of the camcorder according to the moving direction of the object. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above object and other advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing the preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings, in which: FIGS. 1 and 2 are longitudinal sectional views of a conventional camcorder apparatus; FIG. 3 is a left side view of a camcorder supporting apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2; FIG. 4 is detailed diagram of a rotational axis shown in FIG. 1 and 2; FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of a remote controller shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an object tracking apparatus of a camcorder according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram which depicts in detail first and second preamplifiers, first and second detectors, first and second comparing means, and first and second motor drivers as shown in FIG. 6; and FIG. 8 is a perspective diagram of the camcorder supporting apparatus driven by the motor shown in FIG. 8. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an object tracking apparatus for a camcorder according to an embodiment of the present invention, which comprises a pair of light emitting elements 110 and 112 and a pair of light receiving elements 111 and 113. The first light emitting element 110 is connected to a first infrared emitting processor 120, which converts an electrical signal supplied from the first infrared emitting processor 120 into an infrared signal and irradiates it on a left side of an object 100. And, the second light emitting element 112 is connected to a second infrared emitting processor 121 which converts an electrical signal supplied from the second infrared emitting processor 121 into an infrared signal an irradiates it on the right side of the object 100. Here, the first and second light emitting elements 110 and 112 comprise infrared diodes, respectively, and the electrical signal generated in the first and second infrared emitting processors 120 and 121 becomes a driving voltage for driving the infrared diodes. The first and second light emitting elements 110 and 112 are mounted on the front surface of the camcorder (not shown) provided with a lens, so that the infrared regions on the object irradiated by the first and second light emitting elements 110 and 112 overlap to the extent of one-third of their common region. Meanwhile, a first light receiving element 111 receives an infrared signal from the first light emitting element 110 reflected by the object 100 and supplies it to an infrared receiving procesor 130. And, the second light receiving element 113 receives an infrared signal from the second light emitting element 112 reflected by the object 100 and suppies it to a second infrared receiving processor 131. The first and second light receiving elements 111 and 113 are provided beside the first and second light emitting elements 110 and 112, respectively. The first infrared receiving processor 130 converts an infrared signal from the first light receiving element 11 into an electrical signal, and the second infrared receiving processor 131 also converts an infrared signal from the second light receiving element 113 into an electrical signal. To do this, each of the infrared receiving processors 130 and 131 comprises an infrared light receiving element, and the electrical signals generated in the infrared receiving processors 130 and 131 will be a voltage or current. The object tracking apparatus for the camcorder comprises a first preamplifier 140 connected to the first infrared receiving processor 130 and a second preamplifier 141 connected to the second infrared receiving processor 131. The first and second preamplifiers 140 and 141 amplify the electrical signals supplied from the first and second infrared receiving processors 130 and 131, respectively, by a predetermined amplification rate, and supply the amplified electrical signals to first and second detectors 150 and 151, respectively. The first detector 150 generates an integrated electrical signal having an average value by low-pass filtering the electrical signal amplified in the first preamplifier 140. The second detector 151 also generates an integrated electrical signal having an average value by low-pass filtering the electrical signal amplified in the second preamplifier 141. Also, the object tracking apparatus for the camcorder additionally comprises first and second comparators 160 and 161 which compare the outputs of the first and second detectors 150 and 151 with a predetermined reference value, respectively, and drive a motor according to the compared result. Between them, the first comparator 160 generates a motor driving signal of a specific logic (high or low) state for driving a motor 180 forward and supplies it to a first motor driver 170, when the integrated electrical signal value supplied from the first detector 150 is greater than a predetermined reference value (i.e. when the object moves to the right side). The motor driver 170 drives the motor 180 in a forward direction by the motor driving signal of a specific logic state supplied from the first comparing portion 160. On the other hand, the second comparator 161 also generates a motor driving signal of a specific logic (high or low) state for driving the motor 180 into a backward direction and supplies it to a second motor driver 171, when the integrated electrical signal value supplied from the second detector 151 is greater than a predetermined reference value (i.e., when the object moves to the left side). The second motor driver 171 drives the motor 170 backward by the motor driving signal of the specific logic state from the second comparator 161. With reference to FIG. 7, the first and second preamplifiers 140 and 141, the first and second detectors 150 and 151, the first and second comparator 160 and 161, and the first and second motor drivers 170 and 171, as shown in FIG. 6, will be described in detail. Referring to FIG. 7, the first amplifier 140 is an inverted operational amplifier which is composed of a first operational amplifier OP1 having a feedback resistor R2 connected between an inverted terminal and an output terminal thereof and a resistor R1 connected between the inverted terminal thereof and the output terminal of the first infrared receiving processor 130, and amplifies the output of the first infrared receiving processor 130 by an amplification rate of -(R2/R1). The first detector 150 for integrating the electrical signal amplified by the operational amplifier OP1 comprises an R-C integrator having a resistor R5 and a capacitor C1 connected in series between the output terminal of the first operational amplifier OP1 and a second power source GND, and a buffer circuit composed of a first transistor Q1 whose base is connected to the connection of the resistor R5 and the capacitor C1 and whose collector is connected to a first power source Vcc and a resistor R7 connected between the emitter of the transistor Q1 and the second power source GND. Here, the R-C integrator integrates the output of the first operational amplifier OP1 and supplies the integrated signal to a non-inverted terminal of the first comparator CP1 through the buffer circuit. The first comparator CP1 constituting a first comparing portion 160 with a first reference voltage source Vref1 connected to its non-inverted terminal compares an emitter voltage of the first transistor Q1 with a reference voltage of the first reference voltage source Vref1 to generate a motor driving signal. The motor driving signal has a high logic only when the emitter voltage of the transistor Q1 is greater than the reference voltage Vref1 (i.e., only when the object moves to its right side). Further, the second preamplifier 141 having two resistors R3 and R4 and a second operational amplifier OP2, the second detector 151 comprising two resistors R6 and R8, a capacitor C2 and a transistor Q2, and the second comparing portion 161 having a second reference voltage source Vref2 and the second comparator CP2 have the same form and function as the first preamplifier 140, the first detector 150, and the first comparing portion 160, respectively. As a result, the second comparing portion 161 generates a motor driving signal having a high logic when the object moves to the left side. Also, the first motor driver 170 driven by the motor driving signal from the first comparator CP1 comprises a third transistor Q3 which is turned on by the motor driving signal of high logic from the first comparator CP1 to its base through a resistor R9, thereby supplying the first power source Vcc connected to its collector with one terminal of the motor 180 via its emitter and a resistor R11. The first motor driver 170 comprises a fourth transistor Q4 whose collector is connected to the other terminal of the motor 180 and whose emitter is connected to the second power source GND. The fourth transistor Q4 is turned on by a voltage at the first terminal of the motor 180 applied to its base via a resistor R12, thereby connecting the second terminal of the motor 180 to the second power source GND via its collector and emitter. A resistor R10 connected to the base of the third transistor Q3 and the first power source Vcc is a pull-up resistor. Meanwhile, the second motor driver 171 for driving the motor 180 backward the motor driving signal of high logic from the second comparator CP2 comprises a fifth transistor Q5 whose base is connected to the output terminal of the second comparator CP2 via the resistor R13. The fifth transistor Q5 is turned on by the motor driving signal of high logic from the second comparator CP2, thereby supplying the first power source vcc connected to its collector with the second terminal of the motor 180 via the emitter and resistor R15. Also, the second motor driver 171 additionally comprises a sixth transistor Q6 whose collector is connected to the first terminal of the motor 180 and whose emitter is connected to the second power source GND. The sixth transistor Q6 is turned on by the voltage at the second terminal of the motor 180 applied to its base via a resistor R16, and connects the first terminal of the motor 180 to the second power source GND via its collector and emitter. Similarly, a resistor R14 connected between the base of the fifth transistor Q5 and the first power source Vcc is a pull-up resistor. As a result, when a motor driving signal of high logic is generated in the first comparator CP1 (i.e., when an object moves into the right side), the first motor driver 170 supplies the first power source Vcc with the first terminal of the motor 180 via the collector and emitter of the third transistor Q3 and the resistor R11, and the second supply power GND with the second terminal of the motor 180 through the emitter and collector of the fourth transistor Q4, thereby driving the motor 180 forward (counterclockwise). On the other hand, when a motor driving signal of high logic is generated in the second comparator CP2 (i.e., when an object moves to the left side), the second motor driver 171 supplies the first power source Vcc with the second terminal of the motor 180 via the collector and emitter of the fifth transistor Q5 and also connects the first terminal of the motor 180 to the second power source GND via the collector and emitter of the transistor Q6, thereby driving the motor 180 backward (i.e., clockwise). FIG. 8 illustrates a camcorder supporting apparatus for panning the photographing direction of the camcorder left and right by the motor shown in FIG. 6. The camcorder supporting apparatus shown in FIG. 6 comprises a tripod 200 for positioning the camcorder to a predetermined height. A supporting structure 210 having a cylindrical case 220 is mounted on the upper portion of the tripod 200. The cylindrical case 220 inserts the rotational axis 230 rotatably. The cylindrical case 220 has a motor 180 mounted on the circumferential surface. A motor gear 270 is fixed in the rotational axis of the motor 180. Further, the camcorder supporting apparatus comprises a power transmission gear 240 fixed in the upper portion of the rotational axis 230 to engage with the motor gear 270. A fixing plate 250 having a bolt 260 for fixing the camcorder to its center is mounted on the upper surface of the power transmission gear 240. The camcorder supporting apparatus constituted as described above pens left and right the photographing direction in the camcorder as the motor 180 rotates in the forward and backward directions. First, when the motor 180 rotates forward (i.e., counterclockwise) (i.e., when the object moves to the right side), the motor gear 270 rotates counterclockwise by the rotational force of the motor 180. The power transmission gear 240 engaged with the motor gear 270 is rotated counterclockwise with the fixing plate 250 and rotational axis 230 by the rotational force of the motor gear, thereby rotating the photographing direction in the camcorder in the right side. To the contrary, when the motor 180 rotates backward (i.e. clockwise), (i.e., when the object moves to the left side), the motor gear 270 rotates clockwise by the rotational force of the motor 180, thereby rotating the power transmission gear 240, the fixing plate 250, and the rotational axis 230 counterclockwise. Accordingly, the photographing direction (i.e., the lens portion) of the camcorder is rotated to the left side according to the rotation of the power transmission gear 240. As described above, the present invention has advantages in that the moving direction of the object is detected by using a photosensitive element to pan the camcorder according to the detected object's moving direction so the camcorder can automatically track and photograph the moving object. Moreover, since the camcorder continuously tracks the moving object, the present invention has advantages in that the object's tilting to one side of the screen can be prevented. While the present object tracking apparatus has been described with reference to an embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 8, it is to be understood that modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. Also, the supporting apparatus shown in FIG. 8 is constructed to rotate the camcorder up and down instead of rotating it right and left and the photosensitive element shown in FIG. 6 detects the movement of the object in the upward and downward directions, the camcorder can be panned up and down according to the upward and downward displacements of the object. Accordingly, the aforementioned embodiment is provided only for describing the present invention, and it is understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments thereof and is to be determined solely by the following claims.

An object tracking apparatus for a camcorder which automatically controls the photographing direction in the camcorder according to the movement of the object so that the camcorder can automatically track and photograph the object. The object tracking apparatus for a camcorder comprises supporting means for supporting the camcorder to be panned right and left, a motor for supplying a power such that the supporting device rotates the camcorder right and left, a motor driver for driving a motor, at least a pair of photosensitive means mounted on the front surface of camcorder for detecting the left and right movements of the object, and a comparing means for controlling the motor driver according to the change of the output signals of the photosensitive means.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/397,446, filed on Jul. 19, 2002. BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to correcting foot alignment. In one aspect, the invention relates to an apparatus for measuring the alignment of the human foot. In another of its aspects, the invention relates to a footwear corrective alignment insole kit for correcting foot alignment during standing, walking, or running. In another aspect, the invention relates to measuring instruments for determining the type and amount of corrective alignment required for a foot. In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for correcting the alignment of the human foot. 2. Description of the Related Art No two human feet are the same. Indeed, an individual's two feet may have vastly different structural characteristics. For example, a person may have low arches, commonly referred to as “flat feet” or “fallen arches.” Or, a person may suffer from pronation, i.e. the tendency of the foot to roll inward during walking or running. An individual with flexible ankles may suffer from painful pressure points that develop during walking or running due to the inability of the foot to maintain proper stability and alignment. Different approaches are taken to correcting problems with foot alignment and structure. Exercises for strengthening the foot and/or ankles can be performed. However, these may be inadequate to correct structural problems such as a low arch. Alternatively, footwear corrective alignment insoles can be used to attempt to compensate for alignment and structural problems, particularly for raising and supporting a fallen arch. Or a corrective alignment insole can be used to stabilize the heel to prevent side-to-side movement of the foot. Frequently, corrective alignment insoles are inadequate to stabilize the foot during the full range of motion experienced during walking or running. Additionally, corrective alignment insoles are generally located underneath the arch and heel portion of the foot, and do not extend beneath the plantar region of the foot and the toes. Consequently, as the foot rolls forward, weight is transferred off the corrective alignment insole which can affect the correction of the foot movement, even exacerbating the problems that the corrective alignment insole is intended to correct. SUMMARY OF INVENTION In a first embodiment of the invention, a method of making a shoe correction for the alignment of a person's foot, comprises the steps of, while the person is standing on the foot, inclining the person's lower leg forwardly about the foot a preselected angle from the vertical, and, while maintaining the person's lower leg in the forward inclined position at the preselected angle, measuring the lateral angular alignment of the foot. The method can further comprise the step of selecting from a database appropriate corrective components for incorporation into a shoe to correct the alignment of the person's foot, wherein the database has a correlation between a range of lateral angular alignment values and appropriate corrective components. The corrective components can include combinations of corrective alignment insole components, including supination, pronation, and arch control pads. The method can further comprise the step of constructing a corrective alignment insole from a base insole and the selected supination, pronation, and arch control pads. The database can further include a correlation between lateral angular alignment values and an appropriate shoe type, and can further comprise the step of incorporating the corrective alignment insole into the selected shoe type. The measuring step can be carried out with the aid of a subtalar joint goniometer. The measuring step can include the step of inscribing a reference line along the Achilles' tendon portion of the person's foot, and measuring the lateral angular alignment of the reference line. The method can further comprise the step of constructing a corrective alignment shoe by incorporating into the shoe the selected corrective components. In an alternate embodiment, a method of making a shoe correction for the alignment of a person's foot can comprise the steps of measuring the lateral angular alignment of the person's foot with respect to a lower portion of the leg, and selecting from a database appropriate corrective components for incorporation into a shoe to correct the alignment of the person's foot. In yet another embodiment, a kit for quantifying and making a shoe correction for a misalignment of a person's foot comprises a dorsiflexion template adapted to position the person's lower leg at a preselected forward angle with respect to an upper surface of the person's foot adjacent the ankle when the person is standing on the foot, and a subtalar joint inclinometer to measure the lateral angular alignment of the person's foot when the person's lower leg is inclined at the preselected angle. The kit can further comprise at least one corrective alignment insole component comprising a base insole in the general shape of a person's footprint having a lateral portion, a medial portion, and an arch stability portion, at least one supination control pad for adjusting the supination alignment of the person's foot, at least one pronation control pad for adjusting the pronation alignment of the person's foot, and at least one arch control pad for adjusting the support of the person's arch. The kit can further comprise a database which correlates a range of lateral angular alignment values combinations with at least one of the corrective alignment insole components, wherein the at least one of the corrective alignment insole components can be selected from the database based upon the lateral angular alignment measurement obtained from the subtalar joint inclinometer. The subtalar joint inclinometer can comprise a subtalar joint goniometer comprising a base portion having an indicator arrow extending orthogonally upwardly therefrom and an alignment portion pivotally attached to the base portion having a protractor scale inscribed thereon. The subtalar joint inclinometer can also comprise a calcaneal bisection gauge comprising a pair of arcuate wings pivotably connected by a hinge to locate the mid-line of the person's heel, and an angle finder to measure the inclination of the mid-line. In another embodiment of the invention, a corrective alignment insole assembly for making a shoe correction for the alignment of a person's foot comprises a base insole in the general shape of a person's footprint having a lateral portion, a medial portion, and an arch stability portion, and adapted for correcting both pronation and supination in combination with at least one of at least one supination control pad, at least one pronation control pad, or at least one arch control pad, at least one supination control pad for adjusting the supination alignment of the person's foot at least one pronation control pad for adjusting the pronation alignment of the person's foot, and at least one arch control pad for adjusting the support of the person's arch, wherein the at least one supination control pad, the at least one pronation control pad, and the at least one arch control pad are selected based upon a lateral angular alignment measurement of the person's foot. The base insole can be divided into an irregularly-shaped supination control portion extending along the lateral portion of the base insole, an irregularly-shaped motion control portion extending along the medial portion of the base insole, and a crescent-shaped arch stability portion extending along the arch portion of the base insole. The at least one supination control pad can comprise an irregularly-shaped member having a variable wedge-shaped cross section corresponding in size and shape to the supination control portion of the base insole, and having an anterior end, a posterior end, a medial edge, and a lateral edge, wherein the thickness of the at least one supination control pad decreases from the lateral edge to the medial edge, and from a portion along the lateral edge to the anterior end and the posterior end. The at least one supination control pad can range in thickness from a maximum of 3/16 inch at the center lateral edge to 1/16 inch at the posterior end, to zero inches at the anterior end and along the medial edge. The at least one supination control pad can further comprise an irregularly-shaped central portion. A supplementary supination control pad can comprise an irregularly-shaped member having a generally wedge-shaped cross section corresponding in size and shape to the supplementary supination control pad portion, attached to the supination control pad at a central portion thereof the supplementary supination control pad portion for increasing the maximum thickness of the supination control pad at its center lateral portion, and having an anterior end, a posterior end, a medial edge, and a lateral edge, wherein the thickness of the supination control pad decreases from the lateral edge to the medial edge, and from a portion along the lateral edge to the anterior end and the posterior end. The supplementary supination control pad can vary in thickness from a maximum of ⅛ inch at the center lateral edge to zero inches at the anterior end, the posterior end, and the medial edge. The at least one motion control pad can comprise an irregularly-shaped elongated member having a variable wedge-shaped cross section corresponding in size and shape to the motion control portion of the base insole, and having an anterior end, a posterior end, a medial edge, and a lateral edge, wherein the thickness of the at least one motion control pad decreases from the medial edge to the lateral edge, and from the portion along the medial edge to the anterior end and the posterior end. The at least one motion control pad can range in thickness from a maximum of 3/16-inch along the anterior portion of the medial edge, to ⅛-inch at the posterior end, to zero inches at the anterior end and along the lateral edge. The at least one motion control pad can comprise an irregularly-shaped supplementary motion control pad portion located at the anterior medial portion of the at least one motion control pad. The supplementary motion control pad can comprise an irregularly-shaped member having a generally wedge-shaped cross-section corresponding in size and shape to the supplementary motion control pad portion, attached to the motion control pad at the supplementary motion control pad portion for increasing the maximum thickness of the motion control pad at its anterior medial portion, and having an anterior end, a posterior end, a medial edge, and a lateral edge, wherein the thickness of the at least one supplementary motion control pad decreases from the center medial edge to the anterior end, the posterior end, and the lateral edge. The supplementary motion control pad can vary in thickness from a maximum of ⅛ inch at the center medial edge to zero inches at the anterior end, the posterior end, and the lateral edge. The at least one arch stability pad can comprise a crescent-shaped member having a generally wedge-shaped cross section corresponding in size and shape to the arch stability portion of the base insole, and having an anterior end, a posterior end, a medial edge, and a lateral edge, wherein the thickness of the at least one arch stability pad decreases from the center medial edge to the lateral edge, the anterior end and the posterior end. The at least one arch stability pad can range in thickness from a maximum of 3/16 inch at the center medial edge to zero inch from the anterior end along the lateral edge to the posterior end. The at least one arch stability pad can comprise a supplementary arch stability pad comprising a crescent-shaped member having a generally wedge-shaped cross-section for attachment to the at least one arch stability pad for increasing the maximum thickness of the at least one arch stability pad at the arch stability portion of the base insole, and having an anterior end, a posterior end, a medial edge, and a lateral edge, wherein the thickness of the supplementary arch stability pad decreases from the center medial edge to the lateral edge, the anterior end, and the posterior end. The supplementary arch stability pad can vary in thickness from a maximum of 3/16 inch at the center medial edge to zero inch from the anterior end along the lateral edge to the posterior end. The base insole can further comprise a resilient heel cushioning zone for cushioning impact to the heel. The resilient heel cushioning zone can comprise a pattern of cutout sections adapted to provide resilient cushioning immediately beneath the person's heel, or a low density gel pad adapted to provides resilient cushioning immediately beneath the person's heel. The low density gel pad can comprise a low density gel polymer. In yet another embodiment, a subtalar joint inclinometer for measuring the lateral angular alignment of a person's foot when the person is in a standing position comprises, a base having a first portion adapted to be positioned beneath the heel of a person in a standing position and a second portion orthogonal with respect to the first portion and adapted to be placed adjacent to the Achilles tendon of the person whose heel is positioned on the base first portion; a heel alignment member adapted to be positioned on the heel of the person whose heel is positioned on the base first portion; and a protractor scale indicia on one of the base second portion and the heel alignment member and a reference line indicia on the other of the base second portion and the heel alignment member, wherein the reference line indicia is aligned with a zero position on the protractor scale indicia when the person's heel has a zero angular alignment and is adapted to indicate on the protractor scale indicia the degree of angular deviation of the person's foot from zero angular alignment. In one illustrative embodiment, the heel alignment member is pivotally mounted to the base. In another illustrative embodiment, the heel alignment member has wings which are adapted to cradle the heel of the person whose heel is positioned on the base first portion. In a preferred embodiment, the protractor scale indicia is disposed on the heel alignment member and the reference line indicia is disposed on the base second portion. In a further embodiment of the invention, the subtalar joint inclinometer can also comprise a calcaneal bisection gauge for inscribing a reference line on the heel of the person aligned with the person's Achilles tendon and a protractor for determining the inclination of the reference line when the person is standing. In yet another embodiment of the invention, a database for selecting at least one corrective alignment insole component for making a shoe correction for a misalignment of a person's foot based upon a measurement of a lateral angular alignment of the person's foot comprises a plurality of preselected lateral angular alignment values, and at least one corrective alignment insole component, wherein the preselected lateral angular alignment values are correlated to the at least one corrective alignment insole component so that the at least one corrective alignment insole component can be selected from the database based upon the lateral angular alignment measurement. The database can further include a correlation between the plurality of lateral angular alignment values with a variety of shoe types and wherein the appropriate corrective shoe can be selected for use with the selected at least one corrective alignment insole component. The at least one corrective alignment insole component can include at least one of a base insole, a supination control pad, a supplementary supination control pad, a motion control pad, and a supplementary motion control pad. A lateral angular alignment value of −5° to 3° can correlate to an assembly of corrective alignment insole components comprising a base insole, a supination control pad, and a supplementary supination control pad. A lateral angular alignment value of 3° to 6° can correlate to an assembly of corrective alignment insole components comprising a base insole, and a supination control pad. A lateral angular alignment value of 6° to 9° can correlate to an assembly of corrective alignment insole components comprising a base insole. A lateral angular alignment value of 9° to 12° can correlate to an assembly of corrective alignment insole components comprising a base insole, and a supplementary motion control pad. A lateral angular alignment value of 12° to 15° can correlate to an assembly of corrective alignment insole components comprising a base insole, and a motion control pad. A lateral angular alignment value of greater than 15° can correlate to an assembly of corrective alignment insole components comprising a base insole, a motion control pad, and a supplementary motion control pad. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS In the drawings: FIG. 1 is a rear elevational view of a human foot showing misalignment of the leg, ankle, and foot due to a fallen arch. FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of a human foot showing correction of the misalignment of FIG. 1 from the utilization of a corrective alignment insole according to the invention. FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a human foot showing the proper positioning of the leg, ankle, and foot utilizing a dorsiflexion template according to the invention. FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of the foot of FIG. 3 showing the angular alignment of the leg, ankle, and foot utilizing a subtalar joint goniometer instrument according to the invention. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the dorsiflexion template of FIG. 3 . FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the subtalar joint goniometer instrument of FIG. 4 . FIG. 7 is an exploded plan view of the subtalar joint goniometer instrument of FIG. 4 . FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of a base insole comprising a first component of a footwear corrective alignment insole according to the invention and an embodiment of a resilient heel cushioning zone. FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view from underneath of a motion control pad and a supplementary motion control pad comprising a second component of a footwear corrective alignment insole according to the invention. FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the motion control pad shown in FIG. 9 taken along line 10 — 10 of FIG. 9 . FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the motion control pad shown in FIG. 9 taken along line 11 — 11 of FIG. 9 . FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view from underneath of a supination control pad and a supplementary supination control pad comprising a third component of a footwear corrective alignment insole according to the invention. FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the supination control pad shown in FIG. 12 taken along line 13 — 13 of FIG. 12 . FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the supination control pad shown in FIG. 12 taken along line 14 — 14 of FIG. 12 . FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view from underneath of an arch stability pad and a supplementary arch stability pad comprising a fourth component of a footwear corrective alignment insole according to the invention. FIG. 16 is a sectional view of the arch stability pad shown in FIG. 15 taken along line 16 — 16 of FIG. 15 . FIG. 17 is a sectional view of the arch stability pad shown in FIG. 15 taken along line 17 — 17 of FIG. 15 . FIG. 18 a perspective view of a calcaneal bisection gauge according to the invention. FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the use of the calcaneal bisection gauge of FIG. 18 to draw a calcaneal bisection line on a heel. FIG. 20 is a rear elevational view of a foot showing the calcaneal bisection line drawn on the heel. FIG. 21 is a database chart according to the invention for selecting one or more pads for assembly into a corrective alignment insole to correct a misalignment of a foot. FIG. 22 is a foot/leg symptomatic chart for correlating a corrective alignment insole with reported foot, leg, and hip symptoms according to the invention. FIG. 23 is a perspective view of an evaluation of a subtalar neutral position. FIG. 24 is a perspective view of an evaluation of the angular misalignment of the foot width of the lower leg inclined 25°. FIG. 25 is a perspective view of a non-weight bearing evaluation of the alignment of the foot. FIG. 26 is a view of a foot and a leg of a patient lying in a prone position showing a non-weight bearing evaluation of the alignment of the foot. FIG. 27 is an exploded view showing the assembly of the pads of FIGS. 9 , 12 , and 15 onto the base insole of FIG. 8 to form a corrective alignment insole according to the invention. FIG. 28 is a plan view of the base insole shown in FIG. 8 comprising an alternate embodiment of a resilient heel cushioning zone comprising a low density gel pad. FIG. 29 is a perspective view of the low density gel pad shown in FIG. 28 . FIG. 30 is a sectional view of the low density gel pad shown in FIG. 29 taken along line 30 — 30 of FIG. 29 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION The foot has three main parts: the forefoot, the midfoot, and the hindfoot. The forefoot comprises the five toes, or phalanges, and their connecting long bones, i.e. the metatarsals. The midfoot comprises five irregularly-shaped tarsal bones, forms the foot's arch, and serves as a “shock absorber” during walking, running, or jumping. The bones of the midfoot are connected to the forefoot and the hindfoot by muscles and the plantar fascia, or the arch ligament. The hindfoot is composed of three joints and links the midfoot to the ankle, called the talus. The top of the talus is connected to the two long bones comprising the lower leg, i.e. the tibia and the fibula, forming a hinge that allows the foot to move up and down. The heel bone, or calcaneus is the largest bone in the foot. It joins the talus to form the subtalar joint, which enables the foot to rotate at the ankle. FIG. 1 shows a portion of a lower extremity 10 of a human illustrating misalignment of a heel 11 , a leg 15 , and ankle 17 , and a foot 19 due to a structural anomaly. For exemplary purposes, the anomaly is shown as a condition commonly referred to as “fallen arches” or “flat feet.” As a consequence of this condition, the ankle 17 is tilted inwardly, known as “pronation,” and the lower leg 15 is inclined so that the foot 19 , lower leg 15 , knee, upper leg, and hip are vertically misaligned. This can result in an improper walking and running motion, placing the leg joints under stress, and increasing the potential for injury and pain. FIG. 2 shows a foot 19 supported on a corrective alignment insole 12 which corrects the misalignment of the foot due to, for example, “fallen arches” by raising the inner or medial portion of the foot 19 according to the invention. The corrective alignment insole 12 can also raise the outer or lateral portion of the foot 19 as necessary to correct other misalignments of the foot 19 and leg 15 , as hereinafter described. The corrective alignment insole 12 also controls the motion of the foot 19 and the leg 15 , restoring the proper alignment of the foot 19 and leg 15 during walking and running. The corrective alignment insole 12 is a component system comprising a base insole and wedge-shaped pads of progressively increasing thickness for raising and tilting selected portions of the foot 19 . The corrective alignment insole 12 can be readily customized to a precise foot structure and required alignment correction because of the adaptability of the component system. The combination of insole and pads required to correct the misalignment is determined by the use of two instruments comprising the invention and a systematic evaluation of the structure of the foot 19 , the ankle, and the leg 15 . FIGS. 3–7 show measuring instrumentation according to the invention. FIGS. 3–4 show the instrumentation in use. FIG. 3 shows the first instrument, referred to herein as a “dorsiflexion template” 13 , positioned against the foot 19 at the ankle 17 . Referring to FIG. 5 , the dorsiflexion template 13 is a generally diamond-shaped, plate-like member having an ankle vertex 16 , a upper edge 18 , and a lower edge 20 . The vertex 16 , upper edge 18 , and lower edge 20 define an obtuse angle α, preferably about 105°. The angle α represents the angle between the leg 15 and the foot 19 at which the heel 11 just begins to lift from a supporting surface as the leg 15 is inclined forward, typically at an angle of about 25° from the vertical. Referring now to FIG. 4 , a first embodiment of a subtalar joint inclinometer, referred to herein as a “subtalar joint goniometer” 14 , is shown in position relative to the heel 11 for determining the lateral angular alignment of the foot 19 . Referring also to FIGS. 6 and 7 , the subtalar joint goniometer 14 is a two-piece, pivotably-interconnected angle measuring device comprising a base portion 22 and an alignment protractor 24 . The base portion 22 is a generally trapezoidal-shaped, plate-like member comprising a heel plate 26 , a pair of spaced apart upwardly-extending side walls 28 hingedly attached thereto, and an upwardly-extending rear wall 30 hingedly attached to the heel plate 26 . The heel plate 26 is a generally trapezoidal-shaped member having a pair of spaced-apart edges 25 inclined toward the rear wall 30 , and a rear edge 23 . Each side wall 28 is attached to the heel plate 26 along the inclined edge 25 through a living hinge 27 . The rear wall 30 is attached to the heel plate 26 along the rear edge 23 through a living hinge 29 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the heel plate 26 , the side walls 28 , and the rear wall 30 form a cradle-like structure into which the heel 11 is placed for measurement of the foot and leg alignment, as hereinafter described. Extending upwardly from the rear wall 30 , perpendicular to the heel plate 26 , is a triangularly-shaped pointer 32 . Extending through the back wall 30 , in axial alignment with the pointer 32 , is an aperture 34 for pivotably mounting the alignment protractor 24 to the base portion 22 . In the preferred embodiment, the base portion 22 is formed from a sheet of material, such as a rigid plastic, or cardboard, and folded along the living hinges 27 , 29 to form the cradle-like base portion 22 . The alignment protractor 24 is a generally irregularly-shaped member comprising an Achilles plate 36 , a pair of spaced-apart wings 38 hingedly attached thereto, and an alignment scale 40 affixed to the Achilles plate 36 , such as by printing or embossing. The Achilles plate 36 is an irregularly shaped member comprising a pair of spaced-apart inclined edges 33 . Each wing 38 is a generally trapezoidal-shaped member extending laterally from the Achilles plate 36 . Each wing 38 is attached to the Achilles plate 36 along the edge 33 through a living hinge 35 . The lower portion of the Achilles plate 36 terminates in a downwardly-depending, arcuately-shaped pivot flange 37 . The pivot flange 37 is provided with a generally centrally-positioned pivot aperture 42 adapted to be aligned with the aperture 34 . A pin 44 is received through the pivot aperture 42 and the aperture 34 for pivotable movement of the alignment protractor 24 relative to the base portion 22 . Preferably, the alignment protractor 24 is fabricated of the same material as the base portion 22 . The dorsiflexion template 13 and the subtalar joint goniometer 14 can be made available to the public through an Internet website for downloading to a printer. Printing or transferring the dorsiflexion template 13 and the subtalar joint goniometer 14 onto a stiff material, such as cardboard, will enable a consumer to fabricate the instruments for personal or family use. Referring to FIGS. 18 , 19 and 24 , an alternate subtalar joint inclinometer, comprising a calcaneal bisection gauge 110 and an angle finder 122 , is shown. It is anticipated that the calcaneal bisection gauge 110 and the angle finder 122 will be used primarily by foot care professionals such as podiatrists and physicians. The calcaneal bisection gauge 110 is used to locate the mid-line of the heel 11 , and comprises a pair of arcuate wings 112 , 114 pivotably connected by a hinge 116 . The calcaneal bisection gauge 110 can be fabricated of any suitable material, such as a rigid or semi-rigid plastic, aluminum, or stainless steel. The preferred embodiment comprises a thermoplastic with the hinge 116 integrally formed as a living hinge. The hinge 116 terminates at each end in a pair of generally V-shaped spaced-apart notches 118 , 120 longitudinally aligned with the hinge 116 . The curvature of the wings 112 , 114 and the action of the hinge 116 enable the calcaneal bisection gauge 110 to “grip” the heel 11 . As shown in FIG. 19 , with the calcaneal bisection gauge 110 in position against the heel 11 , a pair of angular marks are made on the heel 11 with a suitable marking instrument, such as a ball-point pen, and with the gauge 110 removed the apexes of the marks are connected to form a calcaneal bisection line 130 corresponding to the mid-line of the heel 11 ( FIG. 20 ). The angle finder 122 comprises a suitable conventional protractor, such as a conventional carpenter's protractor, as shown in FIG. 24 , for determining the angle between the calcaneal bisection line 130 made using the calcaneal bisection gauge 110 and the vertical. The angle determined from the angle finder 122 is used to select the appropriate footwear corrective alignment insole pads, as hereinafter described. FIGS. 8–17 show the various components of the corrective alignment insole pads according to the invention. The description which follows relates to corrective alignment insole pads that can be assembled and inserted into a shoe, preferably in place of the insole that is initially supplied with the shoe. However, the corrective alignment insole pads can also be initially incorporated into a shoe during manufacture so that the shoe is supplied to a purchaser with the corrective alignment insole pads already in place. Referring to FIGS. 8–11 , a base insole 50 comprises a generally plate-like foot-shaped member having a toe end 52 and a heel end 54 . The base insole 50 may be flat, or somewhat curved to correspond to the general profile of the sole of a foot, particularly with a raised arch portion. The base insole 50 has an upper side 51 for contacting the foot 19 , and an underside 53 for contacting the mid-sole of the footwear. In the preferred embodiment, the base insole 50 and hereinafter described pads are provided in a variety of lengths and widths to accommodate a suitable range of foot sizes. The base insole 50 comprises a layered structure comprising a supporting shell, an overlying cellular foam layer, and a breathable polyester fabric cover. The shell is preferably fabricated of a semi-rigid plastic, such as polyurethane. The foam layer can be a closed-cell foam or an open-cell foam depending on the degree of cushioning and support desired. As shown in FIG. 8 , the heel end 54 is provided with a heel shock absorption grid 62 generally at the center thereof, and comprising a pattern of cutout sections in the cellular foam layer which provides a resilient cushioning zone immediately beneath the heel 11 . The underside 53 of the base insole 50 is provided with a plurality of selectively positioned alignment apertures 64 extending into the base insole 50 . An alternative resilient heel cushioning zone is shown in FIGS. 28–30 . Instead of the heel shock absorption grid 62 , a low density gel pad 134 is added to the heel end 54 . The low density gel pad 134 is shown in FIGS. 28 and 29 as a circular-shaped pad comprising a circular center pedestal 136 with an annular perimeter flange 138 extending radially outwardly therefrom. Preferably, the perimeter flange 138 is tapered toward its perimeter. Alternatively, the gel pad 134 can be an oval or other shape suitable for incorporating into the heel end 54 . As shown in FIGS. 29 and 30 , the gel pad 134 is provided with a plurality of suitably-spaced circular recesses 140 adapted for controlling the cushioning properties of the pad 134 . The size, number, and depth of the recesses 140 can be selected to provide a pre-selected degree of resilience and cushioning to the gel pad 134 . In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 28–30 , the base insole 50 is provided with a circular recess or cutout adapted to receive the center pedestal 136 so that the perimeter flange 138 lays over the base insole 50 . The insertion of the center pedestal 136 in the recess/cutout prevents the gel pad 134 from shifting during use. Preferably, the gel pad 134 comprises a low density gel polymer, although other materials can be employed based upon the degree of resilience and cushioning desired. The base insole 50 is divided into a supination control portion 56 extending along the lateral portion of the base insole 50 (identified by the dotted line in FIG. 8 ), a motion control portion 58 extending along the medial portion of the base insole 50 (identified by the combined dashed and dotted line in FIG. 8 ), and an arch stability portion 60 extending along the arch portion of the base insole 50 (identified by the dotted line in FIG. 8 ). As shown in FIG. 9 , a motion control pad 70 is an irregularly-shaped generally elongated member having a variable wedge-shaped cross section corresponding in size and shape to the motion control portion 58 of the base insole 50 , and having an anterior end 71 , a posterior end 73 , a medial edge 75 , a lateral edge 77 , an obverse side 79 , and a reverse side 80 . The motion control pad 70 is preferably fabricated of EVA, with a cross-section as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 , and is attached to the underside 53 of the base insole 50 at the motion control portion 58 . The thickness of the motion control pad 70 decreases from the medial edge 75 to the lateral edge 77 , and from the portion along the medial edge 75 to the anterior end 71 and the posterior end 73 . Preferably, the motion control pad 70 ranges in thickness from a maximum of 3/16-inch along the anterior portion of the medial edge 75, to ⅛-inch at the posterior end 73 , to zero inches at the anterior end 71 and along the lateral edge 77 . In FIG. 9 , the thicknesses of the motion control pad 70 are indicated in parentheses. The motion control pad 70 is provided with an irregularly-shaped supplementary motion control pad portion 69 located at the anterior medial portion of the motion control pad 70 (identified by the dotted outline in FIG. 9 ). The reverse side 80 of the motion control pad 70 is provided with a plurality of alignment posts 66 for insertion into the mating alignment apertures 64 of the motion control portion 58 of the base insole 50 for attaching the motion control pad 70 to the base insole 50 . The obverse side 79 of the supplementary motion control pad portion 69 is provided with a plurality of selectively positioned alignment apertures 64 extending into the motion control pad 70 . As also shown in FIG. 9 , a supplementary motion control pad 76 is an irregularly-shaped member, preferably fabricated of EVA, having a generally wedge-shaped cross-section corresponding in size and shape to the supplementary motion control pad portion 69 , and is attached to the motion control pad 70 at the supplementary motion control pad portion 69 for increasing the maximum thickness of the motion control pad 70 at its anterior medial portion. The supplementary motion control pad 76 has an anterior end 100 , a posterior end 102 , a medial edge 104 , a lateral edge 106 , an obverse side 107 , and a reverse side 108 . Preferably, the supplementary motion control pad 76 varies in thickness from a maximum of ⅛ inch at the center medial edge 104 to zero inches at the anterior end 100 , the posterior end 102 , and the lateral edge 106 . The reverse side 108 of the supplementary motion control pad 76 is provided with a plurality of alignment posts 66 for insertion into the mating alignment apertures 64 of the supplementary motion control pad portion 69 for attaching the supplementary motion control pad 76 to the motion control pad 70 . Alternatively, the supplementary motion control pad 76 can be attached directly to the base insole 50 . Referring now to FIG. 12 , a supination control pad 68 is an irregularly-shaped member having a variable wedge-shaped cross section corresponding in size and shape to the supination control portion 56 of the base insole 50 , and having an anterior end 61 , a posterior end 63 , a medial edge 65 , a lateral edge 67 , an obverse side 81 , and a reverse side 82 . The supination control pad 68 is preferably fabricated of EVA, with a cross section as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 , and is attached to the underside 53 of the base insole 50 at the supination control portion 56 . The thickness of the supination control pad 68 decreases from the lateral edge 67 to the medial edge 65 , and from the portion along the lateral edge 67 to the anterior end 61 and the posterior end 63 . Preferably, the supination control pad 68 ranges in thickness from a maximum of 3/16 inch at the center lateral edge to 1/16 inch at the posterior end 63 , to zero inches at the anterior end 61 and along the medial edge 65 . In FIG. 12 , the thicknesses of the supination control pad 68 are indicated in parentheses. The supination control pad 68 is provided with an irregularly-shaped supplementary supination control pad portion 57 located at the center lateral portion of the supination control pad 68 (identified by the dotted outline in FIG. 12 ). The reverse side 82 of the supination control pad 68 is provided with a plurality of alignment posts 66 for mating communication with the alignment apertures 64 of the supination control portion 56 of the base insole 50 for attaching the supination control pad 68 to the base insole 50 . The obverse side 81 of the supplementary supination control pad portion 57 is provided with a plurality of selectively positioned alignment apertures 64 extending into the supination control pad 68 . As also shown in FIG. 12 , a supplementary supination control pad 74 is an irregularly-shaped member, preferably fabricated of EVA, having a generally wedge-shaped cross section corresponding in size and shape to the supplementary supination control pad portion 57 , and is attached to the supination control pad 68 at the supplementary supination control pad portion 57 for increasing the maximum thickness of the supination control pad 68 at its center lateral portion. The supplementary supination control pad 74 has an anterior end 101 , a posterior end 103 , a medial edge 105 , a lateral edge 98 , an obverse side 99 , and a reverse side 109 . Preferably, the supplementary supination control pad 74 varies in thickness from a maximum of ⅛ inch at the center lateral edge 98 to zero inches at the anterior end 101 , the posterior end 103 , and the medial edge 105 . As shown in FIG. 15 , an arch stability pad 72 is a generally crescent-shaped member having a generally wedge-shaped cross section corresponding in size and shape to the arch stability portion 60 of the base insole 50 , and having an anterior end 83 , a posterior end 84 , a medial edge 85 , a lateral edge 86 , an obverse side 87 , and a reverse side 88 . The arch stability pad 72 is preferably fabricated of EVA, with a cross-section as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 , and is attached to the underside 53 of the base insole 50 at the arch stability portion 60 . The thickness of the arch stability pad 72 decreases from the center medial edge 85 to the lateral edge 86 , the anterior end 83 and the posterior end 84 . Preferably, the arch stability pad 72 ranges in thickness from a maximum of 3/16 inch at the center medial edge 85 to zero inch from the anterior end 83 along the lateral edge 86 to the posterior end 84 . In FIG. 15 , the thicknesses of the arch stability pad 70 are indicated in parentheses. The reverse side 88 of the arch stability pad 72 is provided with a plurality of alignment posts 66 for mating communication with the alignment apertures 64 of the arch stability portion 60 of the base insole 50 for attaching the arch stability pad 72 to the base insole 50 . The obverse side 87 of the arch stability pad 72 is provided with a plurality of selectively positioned alignment apertures 64 extending into the arch stability pad 72 for attachment of a supplemental arch stability pad 78 . As also shown in FIG. 15 , a supplementary arch stability pad 78 is a generally crescent-shaped member, preferably fabricated of EVA, having a generally wedge-shaped thickness for attachment to the arch stability pad 72 for increasing the maximum thickness of the arch stability pad 72 at the arch stability portion 60 of the base insole 50 . The supplementary arch stability pad 78 has an anterior end 89 , a posterior end 90 , a medial edge 91 , a lateral edge 92 , an obverse side 93 , and a reverse side 94 . Preferably, the supplementary arch stability pad 78 varies in thickness from a maximum of 3/16 inch at the center medial edge 91 to zero inch from the anterior end 89 along the lateral edge 92 to the posterior end 90 . In FIG. 15 , the thicknesses of the supplemental arch stability pad 78 are indicated in parentheses. FIG. 27 shows the base insole 50 with the proper positioning of the supination control pads 68 , 74 , the motion control pads 70 , 76 , and the arch stability pads 72 , 78 on the underside 53 of the base insole 50 to form the corrective alignment insole 12 as herein described. The insole 50 can be utilized with or without pads as determined by the measurements described herein. The measurements are used to determine specific pads to be attached to the base insole 50 to form a corrective alignment insole 12 , as hereinafter described. The corrective alignment insole 12 , incorporating selected pads, can be utilized as an insole to be placed by the user in a selected shoe after removing the original insole. In such a case, only one pair of corrective alignment insoles 12 is needed. Alternatively, a corrective alignment insole as described herein can be incorporated into a shoe as the original insole, thereby rendering the shoe a complete corrective alignment shoe. A user would then select a style of shoe having the required corrective alignment insole already installed. FIG. 21 shows a database embodied in a chart for determining the particular combination of corrective alignment insole components needed based upon the results from the measurements obtained with the dorsiflexion template 13 and the subtalar joint goniometer 14 , or alternatively the calcaneal bisection gauge 110 and the angle finder 122 . FIG. 22 shows a foot/leg symptomatic database embodied in a chart for use with the database chart of FIG. 21 for refining the selection of corrective alignment insole components based upon a patient's description of various foot and leg symptoms. Alternatively, the databases can be embodied in a suitable alternate form, such as a computer database in digital form, or the like. These databases are used as part of a diagnostic and therapeutic method for systematically evaluating the misalignment of the patient's foot and leg, and selecting the necessary corrective alignment insole pads to correct the misalignment and reducing the patient's symptoms. This diagnostic and therapeutic method will now be described. It is anticipated that the dorsiflexion template 13 and the subtalar joint goniometer 14 will be utilized by footwear sales personnel and the consumer, whereas the calcaneal bisection gauge 110 and the angle finder 122 will be used by podiatrists, orthopedic surgeons, and other footcare specialists. However, it will be understood that the use of the instruments is not so limited and that any of the instruments can be successfully utilized by a person having an understanding of their proper use. There are five generally-recognized foot types which are quantified through the use of the method and instruments described herein. These include over-supination, mild supination, neutral, mild pronation, and over-pronation. The unique method described herein further divides over-pronation into two subcategories based upon the degree of angular displacement of the foot. Supination refers to the tendency of the foot to roll outwardly or laterally during walking or running. Pronation refers to the tendency of the foot to roll inwardly or medially during walking or running. The patient's description of his or her foot and leg symptoms is used with the foot/leg symptomatic chart ( FIG. 22 ) to identify likely corrective alignment insole pads and any medical conditions that may require additional diagnosis and treatment. Shoes are frequently manufactured with selected structural qualities to accommodate the different foot types described herein. Thus, certain shoes will be preferred for a pronating foot, while other shoes will be preferred for a supinating foot. These shoe types and the associated foot types are set out in the foot/leg symptomatic chart of FIG. 22 . The measurements obtained with the dorsiflexion template 13 and the subtalar joint goniometer 14 , or the calcaneal bisection gauge 110 and the angle finder 122 , are used to place the patient's foot into one of the above foot types using the measurement chart ( FIG. 21 ), select a recommended shoe type, and select the corrective alignment insole components. For example, having determined the angular alignment of the foot as herein described and obtained a measurement of 10 degrees, the database chart prescribes a shoe providing full stability having a corrective alignment insole to correct mild pronation comprising a neutral base insole 50 with a supplementary motion control pad 76 , identified in the measurement chart 130 as a “D” corrective alignment insole. The dorsiflexion template 13 and the subtalar joint goniometer 14 are utilized as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 . The dorsiflexion template 13 is placed at the front apex of the ankle 17 between the leg 15 and the foot 19 , and the leg 15 is inclined forward so that the leg 15 contacts the upside per side 18 of the dorsiflexion template 13 and the foot 19 contacts the lower side 20 of the dorsiflexion template 13 , thus orienting the leg 15 at the proper inclination for use of the subtalar joint goniometer 14 . While the inclination of the leg 15 , as determined with the dorsiflexion template 13 , is maintained, the heel 11 is placed on the heel plate 26 in contact with the alignment protractor 24 so that the heel 11 can be “wrapped” with the wings 38 , as shown in FIG. 4 . The alignment protractor 24 will thus be placed in proper orientation relative to the heel 11 and the ankle 17 . The angular alignment of the heel 11 and the ankle 17 can then be read from the alignment protractor 24 . The angle thus determined is used with the database chart of FIG. 21 to select the proper corrective alignment insole 12 and footwear. Alternatively, a footcare professional can use the dorsiflexion template 13 and the subtalar joint goniometer 14 , or the calcaneal bisection gauge 110 and the angle finder 122 , in combination with a medical evaluation, to determine the angle of alignment and the proper corrective alignment insole 12 and footwear from the database chart of FIG. 21 . The following description assumes that the footcare professional will utilize the calcaneal bisection gauge 110 and the angle finder 122 . Preferably, a sequence of specific steps is taken in utilizing the invention. The method of utilizing the information to select a corrective alignment insole includes a sequence of evaluation steps comprising a standing visual assessment or “weight-bearing” assessment, a non-weight-bearing or prone measurement, and subtalar joint measurements using the subtalar joint goniometer 14 . The standing visual assessment and prone measurement involve observational and diagnostic techniques familiar to a person of ordinary skill in orthopedics, podiatry, and other medical arts related to the feet, although these techniques are utilized in a novel way in conjunction with the unique subtalar joint measurements to identify the proper corrective alignment insole. During the “weight-bearing” assessment, three measurements are taken. The first is an evaluation of the subtalar neutral position. The evaluation is performed with a patient initially in a prone position. With the patient in the prone position, the calcaneal bisection gauge 110 is used to establish the calcaneal bisection line 130 as heretofore described. The patient then stands with his or her knees approximately four inches apart (i.e. a “fist width” apart). The medial and lateral heads of the talus bone are palpated while the patient rotates his or her hips from side to side until both heads of the talus bone can be palpated evenly on both sides ( FIG. 23 ). While the patient holds that position, the subtalar joint goniometer 14 or angle finder 122 are used to determine the heel angle. This angle defines the subtalar neutral position, and is recorded. The next measurement is an evaluation of the “relaxed” position. The patient stands in an upright, relaxed posture with the feet slightly apart in a natural position. A second measurement of the heel angle is taken and recorded. The final measurement defines 25° of standing dorsiflexion. For this measurement, the patient stands with his or her feet spread slightly apart and squats until the Achilles area of the heel 11 is inclined 25° from the vertical. Twenty-five degrees is determined either by a direct angular measurement using the angle finder 122 , as shown in FIG. 24 , or by using the dorsiflexion template 13 . While the patient holds this position, the heel angle, as defined by the calcaneal line, is determined and recorded. The non-weight-bearing assessment is performed with the patient lying face-down on an evaluation table with both feet extending off the edge of the table. Both heads of the talus bone are palpated while the fifth metatarsal head is grasped so that the ankle 17 can be rotated from side to side ( FIG. 25 ). The ankle 17 is rotated until the talus heads are even on both sides. When the point is reached at which the talus heads are even, gentle pressure is placed on the bottom of the fifth metatarsal head to force the foot into dorsiflexion ( FIG. 26 ). The foot will assume one of three orientations: neutral, i.e. effectively no misalignment, varus, i.e. a supinated alignment, or valgus, i.e. a pronated alignment. These findings are recorded for later reference. The following represents expected normal ranges of measurement: Weight-Bearing: 0°–3° Non-Weight-Bearing: 4°–6° Standing Dorsiflexion: 7°–9° The difference between the weight-bearing measurement and the standing dorsiflexion measurement represents the total pronation. A value of 6° or less frequently indicates a tendency toward oversupination. A value of 10° or greater frequently indicates a tendency toward over-pronation. If the weight-bearing measurement is different than the non-weight-bearing measurement, the foot is referred to as a “compensated foot.” Conversely, if the weight-bearing measurement is the same as the non-weight-bearing measurement, the foot is referred to as an “uncompensated foot.” The total pronation measurement, i.e. the difference between the weight-bearing measurement and the standing dorsiflexion measurement, is used to determine the correct corrective alignment insole from the database chart ( FIG. 21 ). The database chart is also utilized to identify the shoe type with which the corrective alignment insole should be used. The foot/leg symptomatic chart ( FIG. 22 ) can also be used as an initial diagnostic chart or to further confirm or refine the selection of the corrective alignment insole type from the database chart. The symptomatic chart identifies common symptoms which many patients describe and which can be alleviated by the proper corrective alignment insole. For example, the foot/leg symptomatic chart indicates that lateral shin pain may be alleviated through a type A or B corrective alignment insole. A total pronation measurement of 4°, indicating mild supination and the use of a type B corrective alignment insole, would confirm the selection of a type B corrective alignment insole as indicated by the patient's complaint of lateral shin pain. As an alternative to the database chart shown in FIG. 21 , the subtalar joint goniometer measurements can be incorporated into a computerized database and correlated with shoe type information and specific combinations of corrective alignment insole components in a computerized program for quickly selecting proper shoe types and corrective alignment insole components for a range of subtalar joint goniometer measurements. The method of measuring the alignment of a foot and the selection of a shoe type and corrective alignment insole components can be formalized into a sequence of steps, which can be incorporated into a comprehensive computer program. The method can include the following steps: While standing, inclining the leg approximately 25° from the vertical utilizing a dorsiflexion template; While maintaining the leg in the inclined position, taking a measurement of the lateral angular alignment of the foot utilizing a subtalar joint goniometer; Reading the lateral angular alignment value from the subtalar joint goniometer; Referring the lateral angular alignment value to a database chart which correlates a range of lateral angular alignment values from a subtalar joint goniometer with shoe types and combinations of corrective alignment insole components; Selecting a shoe type and a combination of corrective alignment insole components from the database chart corresponding to the lateral angular alignment value obtained from the subtalar joint goniometer measurement; Constructing a corrective alignment insole from a base insole and one or more supination or pronation control pads and arch control pads identified in the database chart corresponding to the lateral angular alignment value obtained from the subtalar joint goniometer measurement; and Utilizing the corrective alignment insole to correct the alignment of the foot by incorporating the corrective alignment insole into the shoe type identified in the database chart corresponding to the lateral angular alignment value obtained from the subtalar joint goniometer measurement. Prevention and correction of biomechanical injuries to the lower extremities is possible with the novel corrective system described herein. Utilizing the unique measuring tools as described herein, footcare specialists, shoe stores, and consumers can select appropriate footwear and a customized corrective alignment insole quickly and accurately, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of the foot alignment correction and decreasing costs. Unlike prior art corrective alignment insoles, the novel corrective system described herein focuses corrective action away from the arch alone and onto the entire foot and its biomechanical behavior during walking or running. The corrective alignment insole can be accurately customized by selecting a specific combination of the unique support pads for any of six different foot types and arch heights. Ankle mobility is controlled using support pads specifically configured and combined for motion control, stability, neutral conditions, or supination control. While the invention has been specifically described in connection with certain specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that this is by way of illustration and not of limitation, and the scope of the appended claims should be construed as broadly as the prior art will permit.

A component system of footwear corrective alignment insoles provides adjustment of the alignment of a human foot based upon evaluation and measurement of structural anomalies in the foot. A subtalar joint goniometer measures the angular alignment of the foot with a patient's leg properly inclined with respect thereto. A database contains data with selected relationships between the degree of a patient's foot pronation and supination and a variety of corrective pads for use with an insole for correcting pronation and supination. The foot pronation and supination is corrected by first measuring a patient's foot pronation and supination, comparing the measured pronation or supination with a database that correlates degrees of pronation and supination with a variety of corrective pads for use with a corrective alignment insole, selecting corrective pads from the database that correspond to the measured pronation or supination, and mounting the selected corrective pads to a base insole.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the field of surgical apparatus and more specifically, to a tissue retraction device for positioning and orienting a beating heart during cardiac surgery. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is a widely practised surgical procedure for performing coronary artery revascularization or bypass grafts. This surgical procedure consists of replenishing or augmenting blood flow to a portion of the patient's heart which is being deprived of such flow due to a restriction or blockage in a coronary artery supplying the said portion of the patient's heart. A healthy segment from a blood vessel, such as an artery or a vein converted into an artery, is attached to the patient's vasculature from a point upstream of the coronary artery restriction or blockage to a point downstream thereof, thereby creating the bypass artery and associated bypass blood flow. Since the great majority of CABG surgeries are multi-vessel bypasses, this surgical procedure remains one of the most common and effective treatments for coronary artery disease. Traditional CABG surgery has been commonly performed through a midline sternotomy incision, where the patient's sternum is incised and the ribcage retracted to obtain access mainly to the patient's heart, the coronary vessels, and other internal thoracic arteries. Intercostal thoracotomy approaches have also been employed whereby two adjacent ribs are spread apart, at times even removing a length of rib to improve access into the patient's thorax. In both approaches, a surgical retractor is used to spread the patient's skin and bone structure and to maintain an incised opening or surgical window onto the underlying heart and coronary vessels. CABG surgery has been traditionally performed with the support of a cardio-pulmonary machine, whereby the patient's blood is oxygenated outside the body through extracorporeal circulation (ECC). This allows the surgeon to perform surgical procedures on a near perfectly still heart while the patient's life support is maintained by cardiopulmonary assistance. During traditional CABG surgery, the surgeon or assistant may manually or otherwise manipulate the arrested heart into a position and orientation that yields the best access to the target artery requiring the bypass graft. The great majority of CABG surgeries (approximately 70%) are triple vessel bypass surgeries; that is, at least one bypass graft is performed on each of the anterior, inferior and posterior artery beds of the patient's heart. Recently, in an aim to render CABG surgery less invasive to the patient, beating heart CABG surgery is being developed whereby ECC, one of the most invasive aspects of cardiac surgery, is eliminated and coronary artery revascularization is performed directly on the beating heart. One of the challenges in performing beating heart CABG surgery lies in positioning and orienting the beating heart in order to obtain access to the inferior and posterior artery beds, while aiming to minimize physiologically undesirable effects such as hemodynamic instability, arrhythmia, or a precipitous drop in arterial pressure, any of which may occur as a result of such beating heart manipulation. Furthermore, a surgical device which enables manipulation of the beating heart or which restrains its movement or positioning may impose loads and constraints on the beating heart. This may impede the normal beating function of the heart and induce the onset of the physiologically undesirable effects described above. In traditional CABG surgery, the heart is arrested and therefore heart manipulations are well tolerated. During CABG surgery or beating heart CABG surgery, the pericardium, namely the substantially thin membranous tissue forming a sac in which the heart and the commencement of the major blood vessels connecting with the heart are contained, is generally incised and unraveled to expose at least a portion of the heart surface which is to receive the bypass graft. The pericardium tissue, unlike the heart, is not beating and it may be separated from the heart surface except in certain locations where it is anatomically attached to the heart. Thus, it is surgically possible in CABG surgery to position and orient the heart through retraction, positioning and loading of the pericardium tissue to obtain access to the inferior and posterior coronary artery beds. In beating heart CABG, heart manipulations achieved through retraction of the pericardium tissue tends to reduce the likelihood of inducing trauma to the beating heart and tends to minimize the physiologically undesirable effects mentioned above, since direct contact with the beating heart is avoided. One such beating heart manipulation consists of “verticalizing” the heart in order to gain access to the posterior artery bed. In this maneuver, the pericardium is engaged close to the base of the heart, preferably 1.5 inches from pericardial reflection, and the apex of the heart is rotated outward from retracted chest cavity through the tensile loads applied to the engaged pericardium. The longitudinal axis of the beating heart thereby assumes a substantially vertical orientation. The desired position and orientation of a beating heart may be maintained, at least in part, by maintaining retraction loads applied to the pericardium tissue and securing the surgical apparatus that applies the tensile load to pericardium tissue. During CABG surgery, a deployed surgical retractor provides a suitable stable platform for the securement of the pericardium retraction loads. The pericardium tissue may be engaged by a variety of methods. Sutures such as traction or stay sutures have been generally employed in cardiac surgery to retract tissue during a surgical intervention. Traditionally sutures consist of tissue piercing member such as a relatively sharp needle and a length of wire-like filament such as a suture line integrally attached to the blunt end of said needle. Pericardium retraction may be achieved through the application of pericardial traction sutures whereby the needle pierces the pericardium tissue, threading a certain length of suture line through the pierced pericardium tissue, and pulling simultaneously on both the resulting lengths of suture line; that is, the length between the pierced tissue and the free end of the suture line, and the length between the pierced tissue and the needle-bearing end of the suture line, to displace the pericardium tissue and consequently the beating heart anatomically attached to the pericardium. In order to “verticalize” a beating with pericardial traction sutures, a number of such sutures must be inserted through and engaged with the pericardium tissue preferably along its pericardial reflection in order to get the desired lifting of the heart apex and consequently the best exposure to the posterior coronary bed. For example, one traction suture may be placed between the superior and inferior pulmonary vein, a second one below the inferior pulmonary vein, a third one midway between the apex of the heart and the inferior pulmonary vein, and a fourth one towards the diaphragmatic face near the inferior vena cava. Pericardium retraction loads are subsequently applied to each of these traction sutures independently. The resulting lengths of suture line must then be secured to a stable surgical platform such as the sternum retractor to maintain the desired retraction load on the pericardium tissue. During the placement of these pericardial traction sutures deep within the patient's thorax and close to the base of the beating heart, the surgeon's view of the body tissue contained beyond the unraveled pericardium tissue is hindered. Consequently, because of this blind installation, the risk of unintentionally puncturing other underlying body tissue with the tissue piercing needle may lead to operative or postoperative complications, especially when a number of such sutures is required. For instance, an inadvertent puncture of the pleura and lungs may lead to a pneumothorax injury if undetected. The placement of deep pericardial traction sutures may therefore be challenging. Pericardial traction sutures may be characterized by additional drawbacks. For example the placement of such sutures may be time consuming, since securing of the pericardium retraction load through the manual tying of the suture line lengths is often a multiple step threading and knotting procedure. As well, the placement of pericardial traction sutures may in some instances be cumbersome due to poor access to the deeper portions of pericardial tissue and due to the number of traction sutures required to achieve beating heart “verticalization”. Lastly, these sutures may not be conducive to permitting easy readjustment of the magnitude of the desired tensile load on the pericardium tissue, or of the direction of said load relative to the pericardium tissue. Typically readjustments of this type may require a surgeon to untie and retie suture line lengths or to cut the existing suture line having the undesired retraction load and replace it with a new suture that must repierce the pericardium tissue and again be secured. Generally, adjustment of the desired tensile load on the pericardium tissue by cutting an existing suture line and repiercing a new suture line is not desirable. First, the process of placing a pericardial traction suture requires considerable manual dexterity, at times requiring the help of an assistant. The process is therefore tedious and time consuming. Second, a repiercing of the pericardium tissue with a subsequent traction suture tends to increase the likelihood of inducing tissue trauma or tissue tearing which may have to be surgically repaired. Based on the foregoing, it would be advantageous to provide a means for pericardium retraction which is less invasive to the pericardium tissue and underlying coronary tissue, and which is not compromised by a surgeon's lack of vision behind the pericardium tissue. Since the pericardium is a relatively thin, membranous tissue which is incised and unraveled to expose the underlying heart surface prior to performing cardiac surgery, it would be advantageous to have the pericardium tissue engaged by a negative pressure suction force. It would be a further advantage to have the pericardium contacting perimeter of the negative pressure suction device constructed from a substantially flexible material which conforms to variations in anatomy, and which deflects to form a substantial seal when placed in contact with the pericardium and activated by a negative pressure suction force. Subsequent to securing the desired position and orientation of the beating heart through retraction of the pericardium tissue, coronary artery revascularization may be achieved by locally immobilizing a small portion of the beating heart around the target artery requiring the bypass graft through a variety of ways. One such method consists of immobilizing the portion of beating heart around the target artery through the application of a mechanical compression by virtue of a coronary stabilizer. The remaining portions of the heart continue to beat while the target artery site is immobilized during the bypass graft procedure. One such surgical apparatus for achieving this method of mechanical immobilization has been described in copending Canadian patent application Serial No. 2,216,893 filed on Sep. 30, 1997 in the names of Cartier and Paolitto and entitled “Sternum Retractor for Performing Bypass Surgery on a Beating Heart”. Alternatively, a negative pressure suction has also been used in beating heart CABG to locally immobilize a portion of the beating heart surface in the vicinity of the target artery requiring the bypass graft. An associated device which applies the suction force to the beating heart surface is subsequently secured relative to a stable platform. In this case, the suction port or the structural members of the associated device that applies the negative pressure force must be substantially rigid since the primary purpose of the device is to attempt to immobilize and render motionless that portion of heart tissue it engages in order to create a stable surgical field, while the rest of the heart continues to beat. U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,569 issued to Benetti et al. on Mar. 17, 1998 and entitled “Surgical Devices for Imposing a Negative Pressure to Fix the Position of Cardiac Tissue during Surgery”, describes a surgical device for imposing a negative pressure directly on a portion of the outer surface of the beating heart. The Benetti device is applied proximate to or surrounding the portion of the outer surface of the beating heart at which a surgical intervention is to occur. By applying negative pressure by means of the Benetti device, the motion of the outer surface of the beating heart is restricted at the particular area where the surgeon is working. The Benetti reference therefore relates to alleviating the problem of performing extremely delicate surgical procedures, like bypass grafting, during which contractions of the beating heart cause the target artery surface of the heart to move continuously. Benetti et al. teach a method of locally and directly immobilizing the target artery location during a surgical intervention intended to occur within the immobilized region. In contrast to the teachings of the prior art, the present invention herein described relates to surgical manipulation of the pericardium, which is the substantially conical membranous sac in which the heart and the commencement of the major vessels are contained. The Benetti reference does not teach or suggest the positioning and orienting of the entire beating heart as a whole, nor is there any teaching or suggestion therein of retraction of the pericardium to achieve surgical access in an area of the beating heart away from where pericardium retraction device is deployed. Rather, Benetti et al. apply suction around or close to the portion of beating heart tissue proximal to the area where the surgical intervention is to be performed. More specifically, the teachings of Benetti et al. result in immobilization of the pulsating effects of a portion of the exterior surface of the beating heart through negative force application at the target artery site. It would be advantageous to be able to position the beating heart through the deployment of the device in a location remote to the desired site of surgical intervention to tend to facilitate the access and approach of surgical instruments, and to tend to improve the ergonomics of the grafting site and direct visibility thereto. Unlike the teachings of the Benetti reference, which results in the application of suction directly on the beating heart, it would instead be advantageous to apply this suction indirectly on a benign, non-beating part of coronary organ tissue. This will tend to not impede, restrain or restrict the function of the beating heart. Benetti et al. describe a device with multiple suction ports attached through a negative pressure manifold. In the teachings of Benetti, it is suggested to provide a device having suction ports which share a common negative pressure manifold. However, in such a suggested device, if one suction port is not in contact with underlying tissue to form a seal, then the entire system will tend to be rendered ineffective, at least in part, by the leakage through said port. It would be advantageous to introduce a feature which cuts off flow through non-sealing suction ports with cardiac tissue, thereby tending to maintain effective the entire set-up even if only a portion of the suction ports are properly sealing with the said tissue. Alternatively, Benetti et al. teach that each suction port can have it own independent supply line, which would circumvent this problem through a more complex, cumbersome, and part-intensive set-up. The new invention described herein introduces an embodiment thereof which allows the surgical apparatus, namely the pericardium retraction device, to function with at least a portion of the suction ports in contact with the coronary organ tissue. This embodiment can be applied to other surgical apparatus engaging coronary organ tissue through a negative pressure suction force. The Benetti reference describes either fixing the suction port device to a rigid support during the procedure, or having the suction port device as a part of a hand-held instrument with a handle structure connected thereto and adapted to being grasped by a human hand. In contrast to the teachings and suggestions of the Benetti reference, it may be advantageous to attach a suction port device to an intermediate positioning means prior to fixturing the complement to a stable surgical platform such as a sternum retractor, in order to achieve flexibility in the surgical set-up to attempt to cater said surgical set-up to distinct patient anatomies. According to the Benetti teachings, the negative pressure suction is the only input means for activating the device to engage the underlying beating heart tissue. If the suction is lost, the loss will lead to the surgical work-site of the beating heart no longer immobilized and resulting instability from pulsating effects. If other instruments are in contact with the heart at this time, it may also lead to risk of trauma or injury. In the pericardium retraction device according to the present invention, it would be advantageous to have a design feature in the tissue-engaging member that is activated by the negative pressure suction therein, whereby said design feature comes into contact with a portion of the engaged pericardium tissue and is capable of transmitting a mechanical force to the pericardium tissue being retracted. It would be a further advantage if this said mechanical force remains as a back-up feature in the eventuality that the suction force is interrupted or lost. The embodiment of the invention described herein can be applied to all other surgical apparatus engaging coronary organ tissue. In “verticalizing” the beating heart through retraction of pericardium tissue, it may be advantageous in some instances to incorporate in the pericardium retraction device a bracing member which engages on the apex of the “verticalized” beating heart, and thereby tends to facilitate in-process re-adjustments of the position and orientation of the entire beating heart by the movement of the surgical apparatus comprising the pericardium retraction device together with the apex-bracing member. In light of the foregoing it would therefore be advantageous to have a device which acts on a portion of the pericardium tissue, in a location remote to the target artery site where the surgical intervention will take place, to aim to achieve the beating heart manipulations in a least invasive, hemodynamically stable manner, wherein the device would not materially interfere with the normal beating function of the heart. It would be a further advantage if this device would act in an area remote to where the surgical intervention is to occur, thereby tending to improve the surgeon's direct vision and ergonomics of the surgical work-site. Although the present invention will focus on cardiac surgery, and more specifically CABG surgery performed directly on a beating heart, the principles and concepts may be applied to other types of surgery or surgical interventions that may benefit from the positioning and orientation of a body organ through the retraction of membrane-like body tissue anatomically attached to the said body organ, and capable of being engaged by a negative pressure suction force. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a retraction device that allows the indirect manipulation of a beating heart as a whole through the application and maintenance of a tensile load on the non-beating pericardium tissue anatomically attached to beating heart, and where said pericardium tissue is engaged by a negative pressure suction force. It is another object of the present invention to engage the non-beating pericardium tissue without piercing therethrough and thereby tending to minimize risk of inducing trauma or damage to organs or tissue behind or adjacent the pericardium. It is a further object of the present invention to attempt to facilitate posterior artery grafts on the beating heart through indirect manipulation of the beating heart, such that the undesirable physiological effects associated with direct contact manipulation of the beating heart might be alleviated or avoided. It is a further object of the present invention to attempt to position and orient a beating heart as a whole without the necessity of directly contacting the pulsating heart surface and without materially impeding or restricting the natural beating function of the heart, thereby promoting a reduction in the likelihood of producing undesirable physiological effects associated with direct contact manipulation of the beating heart. It is another object of the present invention to attempt to position and orient the beating heart indirectly through a device acting at a remote location away from the target work-site on said beating heart where the surgical intervention is to be performed. It is an additional object of the present invention to attempt to apply the concepts and principles of the present invention as they relate to beating heart CABG to other suitable types of surgery which may require retraction of membrane-like body tissue engaged through a negative pressure suction force. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a surgical apparatus for retraction of tissue, the surgical apparatus comprising a tissue-engaging member for providing on the tissue a negative pressure suction force which is sufficient to retract same, the tissue-engaging member having a deformable skirt for contact with the tissue, the deformable skirt defining a contacting perimeter for substantially air-sealed engagement with the tissue, and wherein a negative pressure plenum is formed within the deformable skirt when the tissue engaging member is operatively connected to a negative pressure source and when the contacting perimeter of the deformable skirt is placed against the tissue in substantially air-sealed engagement therewith. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For better understanding of the present invention and to show more clearly how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made by way of illustration and not of limitation to the accompanying drawings, which show an apparatus according to the embodiments of the present invention, and in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment according to the present invention illustrating the deployment of a pericardium retraction device oriented and positioned within a surgical workspace by a positioning means attached to a sternum retractor; FIG. 2 is a partially dismantled isometric view of the pericardium retraction device illustrated in FIG. 1; FIGS. 3A to 3 C schematically illustrate various dispositions of a deformable skirt means of a pericardium retraction device according to the first embodiment of the present invention comprised of a substantially circular tissue-engaging perimeter; FIGS. 4A to 4 D illustrate several variants of a tissue ingestion-limiting means of the pericardium retraction device of the first embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2; FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a pericardium retraction device according to a second embodiment of the present invention comprised of a plurality of tissue engaging members in the form of suction ports; FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the pericardium retraction device according to the second embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the pericardium retraction device according to the second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 5 illustrating the engagement of the pericardium retraction device with pericardium tissue; FIGS. 8A to 8 D illustrate several variants of tissue-grasping means of the tissue-engaging member of the second embodiment of FIG. 5; FIG. 9A is a perspective, cross-sectional view illustrating a pericardium retraction device according to a third embodiment of the present invention comprising a valve means shown in a closed, non-deployed state; FIG. 9B is a perspective, cross-sectional view illustrating a pericardium retraction device according to the third embodiment of FIG. 9A with the valve means shown in an open, deployed state; FIG. 10 is a perspective, elevational view of a pericardium retraction device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention comprising a bracing member engaged with the apex of a beating heart; FIG. 11 is an exploded view of the pericardium retraction device and associated bracing member according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 10; FIGS. 12A to 12 D illustrate several variants of the apex-contacting member of the bracing member according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11; FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a pericardium retraction device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, comprising a plurality of independent tissue-engaging members; FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a pericardium retraction device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention, comprising a plurality of independent tissue-clamping members; FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional, elevational view of a pericardium retraction device according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention, comprising a conduit means which is provided through a member of the positioning means. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The features and principles of this invention can be applied, in whole or in part, to other types of cardiac surgery requiring the strategic positioning and orientation of a beating heart as a whole organ. By way of illustration, the description of the embodiments that follows herebelow will however focus on applying the features and principles to beating heart CABG surgery. In part, the embodiments of this invention may advantageously be applied, if desired, to the surgical retractor and positioning means described in above-referenced copending Canadian patent application Serial No. 2,216,893, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. This existing application has been assigned to CORONEO Inc., the assignee of the present application. Alternatively, the embodiments of the invention may also be applied to other types of surgical retractors and other types of positioning means capable of securing the pericardium retraction device according to the present invention in a substantially stable orientation and position relative to the surgical retractor. Alternatively, the surgical retractor may be replaced by other substantially stable surgical platforms that may be engaged with the positioning means to secure the pericardium retraction device according to the present invention. Such surgical platforms would include: a surgical table, a surgical bridge or truss or truss member attached to a surgical table and spanning the patient or set adjacent to the patient, or other like platforms. During the course of a cardiac surgery, a surgeon needs to perform certain tasks within a surgical workspace (labelled “W” in FIG. 1 ). This workspace W is defined by an area that contains generally the perimeter of a deployed sternum retractor and a buffer zone therebeyond, with the area extending below generally to the depth of the patient's thorax, and above generally to the height above the retracted chest cavity in which the surgical apparatus is contained and manipulated. By way of a general overview and with reference to FIG. 1, a surgical apparatus with which the invention may be used is comprised of three main components, a pericardium retraction device 1 , a positioning means such as positioning and articulation mechanism 20 and a sternum retractor 2 . The sternum retractor 2 is illustrated in its deployed state, thereby creating and maintaining the surgical window that provides the surgeon with access to the patient's internal coronary organs, which include the heart, the pericardium tissue, the aorta and vena cava, the coronary arteries and veins, the pleurae, the thymus, and other anatomical features. The sternum retractor 2 includes four major parts: (i) an elongated rack bar 5 , (ii) a first retractor spreader arm 3 being preferably fixed to the rack bar 5 , (iii) a second retractor spreader arm 4 being preferably movable with respect to the rack bar 5 , and (iv) an actuator 6 for effecting movement of the retractor spreader arm 4 relative to retractor spreader arm 3 . Retractor spreader arms 3 and 4 extend in a direction substantially transversely with regard to the rack bar 5 , generally in the same direction therefrom and in a parallel orientation with respect to one another. The movable arm 4 can be displaced along the rack bar 5 , and relative to the other arm 3 , preferably through the rotation of the actuator 6 activated by the surgeon. The actuator 6 is operatively connected to the rack bar 5 and to the other spreader arm 4 , and is translatable along the length of the rack bar 5 . This is preferably achieved by the engagement of a pinion mechanism (not shown) of actuator 6 with the rack teeth on rack bar 5 . Two retractor blades 7 and 8 are respectively provided with the retractor spreader arms 3 and 4 , preferably disposed below the rack bar 5 when the sternum retractor 2 is deployed on a patient. The retractor blades 7 and 8 engage with and serve to retract a portion of the patient's incised skin, the two halves of the patient's incised sternum and the patient's ribcage thereby exposing the coronary organs to be operated on through the resultant surgical window. When viewing the resultant surgical window from above the patient, the retractor arms 3 and 4 of the deployed sternum retractor 2 each have a generally arcuate orientation. The sternum retractor 2 advantageously comprises arcuate rails 70 and 80 along the top of arcuate retractor spreader arms 3 and 4 , respectively. The rails 70 and 80 configure an inverted T-slot arcuate passage 71 and 81 , respectively, preferably centrally located within said rails, and preferably extending throughout the entire arcuate length of said rails. A similar linear longitudinal rail 50 , may also be configured along the top of rack bar 5 . Longitudinal rail 50 is also configured with an inverted T-slot longitudinal passage 51 , preferably extending throughout its entire longitudinal length. These said rails form a mounting perimeter that can advantageously serve to engage a positioning and articulation mechanism 20 that may be utilized to place a variety of mechanical coronary stabilizers during beating heart CABG surgery, for instance, as described in previously mentioned Canadian application Serial No. 2,216,893. Alternatively, the positioning and articulation mechanism 20 may also be utilized to set a pericardium retraction device 1 in a substantially stable position and orientation within the surgical workspace W. As well, these rails can also be utilized to engage other surgical apparatus, that may need to be secured along the perimeter of the sternum retractor 2 during cardiac surgery. A plurality of slit-like channels 72 and 82 are configured along the arcuate arms 3 and 4 and cut through the arcuate rails 70 and 80 , respectively. FIG. 1 illustrates three such slit-like channels 72 on the retractor spreader arm 3 and three such slit-like channels 82 on the retractor spreader arm 4 . The slit-like channels 72 and 82 extend downwards from the top of the rails 70 and 80 to a depth preferably below the entire depth of the inverted T-slot arcuate passages 71 and 81 , preferably by an amount equivalent to the width of said slit-like channel. The slit-like channels 72 and 82 in the present invention are configured so that a wire-like filament will not restrict or otherwise hinder the functionality of the positioning and articulation mechanism 20 when such mechanism becomes engaged in said passages 71 and 81 of said rails 70 and 80 , provided the wire-like filament is placed in the deepest position within said slit-like channel, as is the case in some of the embodiments of the present invention to be described in greater detail below. As further illustrated in FIG. 2, the first embodiment of a pericardium retraction device 1 according to the present invention is comprised mainly of a tissue-engaging member 30 , a device manipulating means such as shaft member 13 , a conduit means such as conduit passage 10 , and a suction line interface means such as pneumatic fitting 11 . The tissue-engaging member 30 is of a substantially arcuate shape when viewed along the longitudinal axis of shaft member 13 . It is further comprised of a substantially-elastic sheath 31 serving as an outer shell that is insertable over a substantially-rigid inner structure 32 . Inner structure 32 is substantially air permeable. For instance the inner structure may be designed and produced with an open configuration structure, such as a perforated sheet structure or a truss-like space frame structure. Inner structure 32 is rigidly attached at one side thereof to shaft member 13 in the vicinity of source orifice 14 , in either a permanent or demountable assembly. At another side thereof, inner structure 32 is capped by a substantially planar tissue ingestion-limiting means such as ingestion-limiting baffle 33 . Ingestion-limiting baffle 33 is also of a substantially rigid and substantially open configuration. Sheath 31 is configured with a cut-out slot 317 that allows it to slide over pneumatic fitting 11 and shaft member 13 , prior to fitting over inner structure 32 . The cut-out slot 317 must be sufficient to allow insertion over any protrusions, such as manipulation handle 12 while stretching the elastic sheath 31 , if necessary to facilitate insertion. The proximal end of the shaft member 13 is configured with a pneumatic fitting 11 which will allow hook-up to a negative pressure source, such as commonly available in most operating rooms. In this first embodiment, the shaft member 13 is substantially tubular thereby configuring an integral conduit passage 10 which serves to communicate the proximal pneumatic fitting 11 with the distal tissue-engaging member 30 . This tends to result in an unencumbered, more ergonomic surgical workspace W, free from connections to peripheral conduits and equipment that may otherwise be disposed in the vicinity of the surgical intervention site. Alternatively, the conduit passage 10 may be a separate tubular line either housed inside at least a portion of the shaft member 13 , or running alongside at least a portion of the said shaft member. During multiple vessel beating heart CABG, the pericardium sac is incised usually along the anterior surface of the beating heart and along the long axis of the heart. The pericardium tissue is subsequently unraveled from the surface of the beating heart to expose at least a portion of the beating heart that will undergo the bypass graft surgical intervention. More specifically, during coronary artery revascularization of an inferior or posterior artery such as the circumflex artery (Cx), posterior descending artery (PDA), obtuse marginal artery (OM), or postero-lateral artery (PLA), the surgeon or assistant will position the pericardium retraction device 1 in a manner that engages the tissue-engaging perimeter 311 thereof with a portion of the pericardium tissue. During the coronary revascularization of these above mentioned arteries, it is preferable to engage the pericardium retraction device 1 with the side of the pericardium tissue that was in contact with the heart surface prior to the incision of said tissue, and also preferable to engage pericardium retraction device 1 at a location approximately 1.5 inches away from the interface where the pericardium tissue is anatomically attached to the beating heart and the major vessels. A tissue-engaging member 30 with a substantially arcuate shape is advantageous for engaging the pericardium tissue along this said interface. With suction introduced, a negative pressure plenum is formed by the inside surface 312 of sheath 31 and the top of the pericardium tissue that is engaged within the tissue-engaging perimeter 311 of said sheath. A substantial seal between the outer shell formed by elastic sheath 31 and the top surface of the pericardium tissue along perimeter 311 , and another substantial seal between the said sheath and inner structure 32 along cut-out 317 , render said negative pressure plenum as non-flowing whereby the airflow through tissue-engaging member 30 is temporarily interrupted by its engagement with the pericardium tissue. The suction force exerted through the tissue-engaging member 30 serves to engage the pericardium tissue, but also to adhere the inner surface 312 of the elastic sheath 31 against the rigid open configuration surfaces of inner structure 32 . At least one conduit passage 10 must be in communication with said non-flowing negative pressure plenum to supply suction force to engaged pericardium tissue. In this first embodiment, elastic sheath 31 may be produced from any suitable polymeric material approved for surgical use. Depending on the polymeric material selected, the elastic sheath 31 may be disposable thereby tending to facilitate the cleaning and sterilization of underlying inner structures 32 and 33 which preferably form a reusable assembly. Alternatively, the elastic sheath 31 may be reusable provided the sheath's polymeric material properties are well-suited to and do not degrade after repeated sterilization cycles. Alternatively, if the polymeric material properties degrade after several sterilization cycles the sheath 31 may be replaced at regular intervals after a certain number of surgeries. Sheath 31 may be designed to have variable elastic properties throughout its shape either by virtue of its variable thickness or by virtue of its variable composition during fabrication. Reinforcement fibers may also be used in the fabrication of the polymeric sheath 31 to bias its elasticity along certain axes. This is especially beneficial where the inner structure 32 and shaft member 13 are rigid, whereby elastic sheath 31 acts as a buffer in elastic gradient between said rigid members 32 and 13 and non-structural membrane-like pericardium tissue. This buffer in elastic gradient may encourage the membrane-like pericardium tissue to remain in compliant contact with tissue-engaging perimeter 311 of said sheath. Once sheath 31 is fully assembled over inner structure 32 , the tissue-engaging perimeter 311 extends outwardly beyond the inner structure perimeter 321 . This flexible and substantially elastic protrusion tends to provide flexibility in the design to cater to different patient anatomies and to assist with some degree of ingestion of the pericardium tissue by the tissue engaging member 31 regardless of variations in anatomy. Ingestion of the pericardium tissue is discussed in greater detail below. The open area perimeter of sheath 31 is configured with a tapered and beveled terminal edge in the nature of a deformable skirt 316 , as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 15. Extending outwardly beyond inner structure perimeter 321 , this deformable skirt 316 achieves a substantially compliant seal perimeter at tissue-engaging perimeter 311 , capable of engaging the pericardium tissue throughout a range of spatial orientations which the pericardium tissue may assume relative to inner structure 32 . The deformable skirt 316 provides readjustment of the substantially planar surface formed by tissue-engaging perimeter 311 depending on the direction of application of tensile retraction loads applied to and reacted by the pericardium tissue. A tensile retraction load applied to the pericardium tissue in a direction substantially parallel to the axis of shaft member 13 distorts the beveled edge of deformable skirt 316 equally around the tissue-engaging perimeter 311 , in an inward direction toward the center of said tissue-engaging perimeter 311 . If the tensile retraction load is applied to the pericardium tissue in a skewed direction relative to the axis of shaft member 13 , the beveled edge of skirt 316 will distort unevenly around the tissue-engaging perimeter 311 in a fashion that the substantially planar surface formed by tissue-engaging perimeter 311 is now oriented substantially perpendicular to the direction of application of said manipulation force or substantially perpendicular to the pericardium reaction force to imposed retraction loads. This is better illustrated in FIGS. 3A-3C, and explained in this case with a single tissue-engaging member such as suction port 34 which has substantially circular tissue-engaging perimeter 341 . Apart from the cross-sectional shape of the suction port 34 , it generally provides a construction similar to that of tissue engaging member 30 . By virtue of the deformable skirt 342 , the substantially planar surface formed by tissue engaging perimeter 341 engaged with pericardium tissue may assume a virtually infinite number of spatial orientations. These spatial orientations may be defined by a vector (not shown) that passes through the center of perimeter 341 and is normal to the substantially planar surface formed by said perimeter 341 lying within a substantially conical volume of angle φ (not shown) relative to the centerline of suction port 34 . The ingestion-limiting baffle 33 illustrated in FIG. 2, ensures that the pericardium tissue will not be entirely ingested within inner structure 32 (if said baffle is not present), but ingested the optimum amount to regulate the suction forces on the engaged pericardium tissue derived from negative pressure acting thereon. Since the source orifice 14 for the negative pressure is typically much smaller in area than the area required to achieve the desired suction force through tissue-engaging member 30 , the ingestion-limiting baffle 33 serves to ensure the suction force reacts on a much larger area of pericardium tissue. The structural integrity of the ingestion-limiting baffle 33 , combined with the inner structure 32 , ensure the structural perimeter 321 remains open to maintain the desired suction force. Furthermore, structural perimeter 321 must remain substantially rigid to keep elastic sheath 31 from rippling along its tissue engaging perimeter 311 due to the effect of the negative pressure suction. This rippling would tend to render more difficult the compliance of the pericardium to the tissue engaging perimeter 311 , since such tissue would be required to conform to the irregular shape of the rippled perimeter. The pericardium tissue is partially ingested within tissue-engaging member 30 by an amount substantially equal to the extension of tissue-engaging perimeter 311 of sheath 31 beyond structural perimeter 321 of inner structure 32 . The ingested pericardium tissue contacts the ingestion-limiting baffle and assumes a shape conforming to the shape of the said baffle. The tissue ingestion-limiting baffle 33 preferably forms an integral assembly with the open internal structure 32 , whereby it may be demountably assembled with mechanical fasteners or by virtue of a clipped-in assembly, or it may be permanently mounted by gluing, welding, brazing, or other like means along perimeter 321 . Alternatively, the tissue ingestion-limiting means may be part of elastic sheath 31 , for instance finger-like protrusions extending from inner surface 312 in a direction normal thereto. Variations in the open configuration of ingestion-limiting baffle 33 are illustrated in FIGS. 4A-4D. FIG. 4A illustrates an ingestion-limiting baffle with substantially circular perforations 331 , FIG. 4B illustrates a baffle with webs defined by substantially triangular perforations 332 , FIG. 4C illustrates a baffle with webs defined by substantially square perforations 333 , and FIG. 4D a baffle with webs defined by substantially rectangular perforations 334 . Other like open configurations for the tissue-ingestion baffle are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. As those skilled in this art will appreciate, the resulting suction force on the engaged pericardium is partly a function of the open area through baffle 33 based on its perforation density. The substantially open configuration inner structure 32 may be configured with the same variations in construction as the tissue ingestion-limiting baffle 33 ; that is, webs defined from a variety of perforations. The shaft member 13 is may comprise a manipulation handle 12 for the surgeon to manipulate, orient, and position the pericardium retraction device 1 . The desired verticalization of the beating heart is achieved by the application of a tensile load to the pericardium tissue by the surgeon's manipulation of the pericardium retraction device 1 that is engaged with a portion of pericardium tissue by virtue of a negative pressure suction force. Heart verticalization is achieved in an indirect manner whereby the beating heart is not in direct contact with the enabling surgical apparatus in the nature of a pericardium retraction device. Moreover, the pericardium retraction loads tend not to impose any considerable restriction on the beating function of the heart thereby increasing the likelihood of achieving hemodynamically stable beating heart manipulations. The desired pericardium retraction load or the desired heart verticalization is maintained by securing the pericardium retraction device 1 to the sternum retractor 2 through the positioning and articulation mechanism 20 . The positioning and articulation mechanism 20 is preferably comprised of a first joining member such as a first articulation member in the nature of a cylindrical post 21 and a second joining member such as a second articulation member in the nature of a spherical clamp 22 , each capable of providing a multitude of motion degrees of freedom. Shaft member 13 is inserted in between the clamping members of spherical clamp 22 . The clamping members may engage the shaft member 13 anywhere along its longitudinal length. Final adjustments to the pericardium retraction load may also occur with the shaft member 13 engaged between clamping members of spherical clamp 22 before the entire positioning and articulation mechanism 20 assembly is rigidly secured through the action of each of the tensioning knobs of spherical clamp 22 and cylindrical post 21 . In-process readjustments to the pericardium retraction load may also occur by loosening one or both of each said tensioning knobs, and not disengaging the pericardium retraction device 1 from the spherical clamp 22 . With the tensioning knob of spherical clamp 22 slightly loosened, the pericardium retraction device 1 is free to translate through the clamping members of spherical clamp 22 , rotate about the axis of shaft means 13 , pivot about axis of rod 23 , and articulate angularly within a plane formed by the centerlines of articulation rod 23 and shaft member 13 . With the tensioning knob of cylindrical post 21 loosened, articulation rod 23 is free to rotate about its longitudinal axis, is free to translate through the cylindrical post 21 in a direction along its longitudinal axis, is free to articulate into and out of the retracted chest cavity by increasing or decreasing the angle between its longitudinal axis and the centerline axis of cylindrical post 21 , is free to rotate about the centerline axis cylindrical post 21 , and is free to slide within arcuate passage 81 (or either of the arcuate passages 71 and 51 ). These motion degrees of freedom provide the mechanical flexibility to tailor the surgical set-up to distinct patient anatomies tending to result in an ergonomic deployment of the pericardium retraction device. Cylindrical post 21 is preferably already installed with the first articulation rod 23 on the perimeter rail 80 (or perimeter rails 70 or 50 ) of sternum retractor 2 prior to engaging the pericardium tissue with the pericardium retraction device 1 . The positioning and articulation mechanism 20 serves to set the pericardium retraction device 1 , in virtually any substantially stable position and orientation within surgical workspace W and relative to a sternum retractor 2 . A suitable positioning and articulation mechanism which may advantageously be used with the pericardium retraction device of the present invention is disclosed in the above-mentioned Canadian patent application Serial No. 2,216,893, whose specification is incorporated herein by reference. In this first embodiment, the tissue-engaging member 30 forms an arcuate opening for engaging the pericardium tissue. Alternatively, the tissue-engaging perimeter 311 can be configured on the front face 314 of elastic sheath 31 , the rear face 315 , or any combination thereof. Shaft member 13 is rigidly attached to the top portion of inner structure 32 in preferably a substantially perpendicular orientation relative to a plane containing the arcuate spine defining said inner structure 32 . Alternatively, the orientation of shaft member 13 relative to inner structure may be varied to include other orientations. As well, a hinge joint or spherical joint may be configured at the junction between shaft member 13 and inner structure 32 to result in a variable angle orientation between said components 13 and 32 depending on direction of the application of the pericardium retraction force applied by the surgeon. In this first embodiment, the inner structure 32 and shaft means 13 are manufactured from reusable, sterilizable materials approved for use in surgery, in rigid configurations. These include, but are not limited to, stainless steel, aluminum, nickel, or titanium. Alternatively, the inner structure 32 can be designed with stiffness gradient along its defining parameters. For instance, the inner structure can be designed with a variable stiffness along its spine arcuate length in order to tend to more closely comply to the deformed shape of the retracted pericardium tissue. For instance, such a variable stiffness may be defined such that the opposed terminal ends of the inner structure 32 are less stiff than the portions thereof which are adjacent shaft member 13 . This can be achieved through selective geometry, varying density of perforations, variable wall thickness, or by anisotropic material properties, as is achieved in variable composition polymers. Alternatively, this first embodiment may also be a reusable, one piece construction, whereby sheath 31 and inner structure 32 are replaced by a structural outer skin. The ingestion-limiting baffle 33 is in this case mounted in a recessed position within structural outer skin with respect to the tissue-engaging perimeter 311 . In broad terms, the surgical procedure for the set-up and deployment of the pericardium retraction device 1 during a beating heart CABG surgery, and relating to the present invention consists of: (a) performing a full or partial midline sternotomy incision; (b) cauterizing of any bleeding vessels subsequent to the sternotomy incision; (c) if an internal thoracic artery (ITA) will be used as a bypass conduit, retracting the two halves of the patient's incised sternum with a surgical retractor suitable for exposing the ITA and the surgical harvesting thereof; (d) retrieving the surgical retractor used for ITA harvesting, and inserting blades 7 and 8 of sternum retractor 2 along the sternotomy incision; (e) retracting the patient's ribcage to expose the underlying mediastinum and pericardium tissue; (f) incising the pericardium sac to expose at least a portion of the patient's beating heart requiring the bypass graft; (g) deploying the pericardium retraction device 1 by bringing into proximity and in substantial contact with the pericardium tissue (labelled PCT in FIG. 10) the tissue-engaging member 30 ; (h) introducing a negative pressure suction through pericardium retraction device 1 ; (i) ensuring that a portion of the pericardium tissue is properly ingested within tissue-engaging member 30 and that adequate sealing of negative pressure occurs at the perimeter 311 of said member 30 ; (j) while grasping handle 12 , spatially orienting and positioning the pericardium retraction device 1 , with engaged portion of pericardium tissue within its member 30 , in a manner to apply a tensile load on the pericardium tissue and thereby simultaneously positioning and orienting the beating heart anatomically attached to said pericardium tissue; (k) maintaining the desired beating heart position and orientation by securing the pericardium retraction device 1 to sternum retractor 2 through positioning and articulation mechanism 20 , resulting in the desired access to the coronary artery bed requiring the bypass graft; (l) to perform bypass grafts on the inferior or posterior coronary artery beds, preferably placing the beating heart in a verticalized position with the longitudinal axis of the heart assuming a substantially vertical orientation through the rotation of the apex of the heart relative to the base of the heart outwardly through the retracted ribcage; (m) with the beating heart in the desired position and orientation to improve surgical access to target coronary artery, deploying a positioning and articulation mechanism 20 and associated mechanical coronary stabilizer according to the above-mentioned copending Canadian patent application Serial No. 2,216,893, or other like positioning and heart contacting means that allow the surgeon to perform a bypass graft on the beating heart; (n) disengaging the mechanical coronary stabilizer, or other like means, from the surface of the beating heart after the completion of the bypass graft; (o) disengaging the pericardium retraction device 1 from its positioning and articulation mechanism 20 and easing the beating heart back to its natural position into the chest cavity through the reduction of the tensile load applied through the pericardium retraction device 1 ; (p) turning off the negative pressure suction through the pericardium retraction device 1 and retrieving said device 1 from retracted chest cavity; (q) Closing retractor arms 3 and 4 and retrieving sternum retractor 2 ; (r) Closing the midline sternotomy surgical incision. The embodiments of the pericardium retraction device that follow and described in more detail below, are deployed and set up in a similar surgical procedure as described above, provided the pericardium tissue is engaged by virtue of a negative pressure suction force. FIGS. 5 to 7 illustrate a second embodiment according to the present invention. The tissue-engaging member 130 of the pericardium retraction device 101 is comprised of a plurality of bell-shaped suction ports 36 , each demountably attached to a substantially semicircular tubular spine 35 through an attachment fitting 351 . This embodiment illustrates five such ports, which shall be referred to as ports A, B, C, D, and E in a clockwise direction. The suction ports 36 are described in greater detail below. The fittings 351 are preferably arranged such that their centerlines are substantially parallel to the centerline defining the semicircular tubular spine 35 . Alternative embodiments may have attachment fittings 351 , and consequently suction ports 36 , attached to spine 35 in a variety of orientations or combination of orientations. For example, ports A, C, and E may be configured with centerlines substantially parallel to the centerline defining semicircular spine 35 , and ports B and D may be configured with centerlines substantially perpendicular to the centerlines of ports A, C, and E whereby said ports extend radially outward away from the center of semicircular spine 35 . Conduit passage 10 serves to communicate the negative pressure suction from a pneumatic fitting 11 at the proximal end of the pericardium retraction device 101 to the arcuate manifold passage 355 (FIG. 6) within semicircular tubular spine 35 . Semicircular spine 35 serves as a manifold to communicate the negative pressure suction to each of the suction ports 36 through a series of inlet orifices in each of the attachment fitting 351 . Orifice 140 through each of the suction ports 36 comes into sealed contact with the inlet orifice in attachment fitting 351 when said suction port 36 engages said spine 35 through said fitting 351 . Spine 35 is attached to the distal end of shaft member 13 . Gusset plates 354 or the like may serve to reinforce the structural joint between spine 35 and shaft member 13 . One attachment fitting 351 is positioned in line with the centerline of shaft member 13 in order to facilitate cleaning prior to sterilization of the integral conduit passage 10 within shaft member 13 . Endplugs 352 are also provided at the arc ends of spine 35 to facilitate cleaning prior to sterilization of the arcuate manifold passage 355 . The suction ports 36 are preferably manufactured from an elastic polymeric material, safe for surgical use. If the polymeric material is not suitable for repeated sterilization cycles, the suction ports 36 will be disposable elements and hence the need for a demountable assembly to rigid spine 35 . Alternatively, if entire pericardium retraction device 101 is made to be disposable, the interface between the suction ports 36 and spine 35 may be a permanent junction. Each of the attachment fittings 351 is embodied with an attachment feature 353 , in this case an internal double start thread, which interfaces with the attachment feature 369 on suction port 36 , in this case an external double start thread (FIG. 6 ). Alternative attachment features to secure suction ports 36 to the spine 35 may include: a snap-in ridge-in-groove arrangement, a retaining ring, a spring detent feature engaging a retention groove, a flanged suction port laterally engaging a groove feature (tongue and groove arrangement), a hinged clamping flange, a partial-turn drum cam interface, and a “peel and expose” temporary adhesive. This latter “peel and expose” temporary adhesive may be such that it degenerates during post-surgery sterilization cycle, thereby releasing the used suction port 36 from attachment fitting 351 ready to receive a new pre-packaged, pre-sterilized suction port 36 with also with a said “peel and expose” adhesive. FIG. 7 illustrates the tissue-engaging member 130 with the plurality of deformable suction ports 36 in their deployed shape after each has engaged a portion of the pericardium tissue. Each of the deformable suction ports 36 is comprised of an orifice 140 , an attachment feature 369 , a tissue-grasping means 363 , a tissue-engaging perimeter 361 , and at least one deformation bias 362 disposed preferably along said perimeter 361 . In deploying the pericardium retraction device 101 according to this second embodiment, while the negative pressure suction is introduced through the pericardium retraction device, the surgeon first contacts a portion of pericardium tissue with the engaging perimeter 361 of each of the suction ports 36 . A substantial seal results about said perimeter 361 of each of the suction ports. A portion of pericardium tissue is ingested within the inside surface of each of the suction ports 36 . The seal formed at the perimeter 361 of each suction port 36 and the resultant suction force on the engaged pericardium tissue within each said perimeter, causes the deformable suction port 36 to deform along its bias 362 . Folding of suction port 36 along the bias 362 (or the collapsing of the opposing suction port 36 internal surfaces substantially towards one another) sets the tissue-grasping means 363 on inside surface 360 in contact with the ingested pericardium tissue. The deformation bias 362 may be a notch (FIGS. 8A through 8D) or other like means which will promote a localized folding action and resulting partial collapse of the sidewalls of the suction port 36 when such sidewalls are subjected to radial loading due to the effect of suction. As the surgeon manipulates the retraction device 101 to position and orient the beating heart, the tensile load on the pericardium tissue increases due to the imposed retraction loads. Any expelling action of the engaged portion of pericardium tissue by virtue of the increasing retraction loads on the pericardium tissue, will engage the tissue-grasping means 363 deeper into the portion of ingested pericardium tissue. Consequently, the retraction of the pericardium tissue may be provided through a combination of negative pressure suction force and a resulting mechanical grasping occurring between the inside surface 360 of suction port 36 and ingested pericardium tissue by virtue of the grasping means 363 . The tissue-grasping means 363 therefore may be capable of maintaining at least a limited retraction load if the negative pressure suction force is temporarily interrupted or disabled. If it is desired to promote this effect of mechanical grasping in the absence of a negative pressure suction force, the tissue grasping means are preferably in the form of protrusions which extend generally radially towards the center of the engaging perimeter 361 and more preferably, also generally away from the direction in which the pericardium tissue will retract if the tensile load placed thereon is released. In this manner, continued engagement of the grasping means may be promoted when a tensile load is maintained on the pericardium tissue, even in the event that the suction force acting thereon may be temporarily interrupted or disabled. However, once the tensile load is relieved, for instance by a surgeon manipulating the pericardium retraction device in a direction towards the patient's thoracic cavity, it is expected that the tissue grasping means will thereafter disengage from the pericardium tissue once the suction force is absent. Tissue grasping means in the form of protrusions are described below with reference to FIG. 8 A. Other tissue grasping means are described below with reference to FIGS. 8B to 8 D. The negative pressure suction force is therefore in a sense the catalyst for inducing the engagement of tissue-grasping means 363 with ingested pericardium tissue within suction port 36 . The pericardium retraction device 101 is positioned and secured within the surgical workspace W through the positioning and articulation mechanism 20 and the sternum retractor 2 in the same manner as the first embodiment. When the surgical intervention on the “verticalized” beating heart is completed, the pericardium retraction device 101 is displaced from its retraction-inducing setting to a position within the surgical workspace that relieves the tensile load on the pericardium tissue, thereby also displacing the beating heart to its natural position within the chest cavity. When the negative pressure suction is turned off and the tensile load on the pericardium tissue is relieved, the deformable suction port 31 resumes its original free state, the tissue-grasping means 363 substantially disengages pericardium tissue, and the pericardium retraction device may be retrieved. The tissue-grasping means 363 is disposed along at least a portion of the inside surface 360 of the suction port 36 , preferably along portions of said inside surface which will be brought into opposition when suction port 36 deforms according to its bias 362 . The tissue-grasping means 363 is a surface treatment which promotes its adherence to the ingested pericardium tissue. Several variants of the tissue-grasping means 363 are possible. FIG. 8A illustrates a tissue-grasping means comprised of pedestal-like or pin-like protrusions 364 ; FIG. 8B illustrates a tissue-grasping means comprised of a grid-like matrix 365 ; FIG. 8C illustrates a tissue-grasping means comprised of a ridged formation such as a step-like or groove-like perimeter 366 ; and FIG. 8D illustrates a tissue-grasping means comprised of a tissue adhesive-like coating or layer 367 , for instance a hydrogel coating. The tissue-grasping means 363 may be a resultant feature from the manufacturing process which produces suction port 36 . Alternatively, the tissue-grasping means may be or a feature that is introduced during a subsequent fabrication process, such as during assembly injection molding. For example, the tissue-grasping means may be injection molded onto the surface 360 subsequent to the injection molding of suction port 36 . Alternatively, the tissue-grasping means may be a separate distinct feature-part, permanently attached or demountably attached to inside surface 360 of suction port 36 . For example, a separate flexible metal foil layer glued on the inside surface 360 of suction port 36 , protruding metal pins embedded into inside surface 360 of suction port 36 . Other variations of the second embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention are possible. Alternatively, instead of a manifold arrangement, each suction port 36 may be fed by its own designated conduit passage 10 . Alternatively, the pneumatic fitting 11 may be incorporated with spine 35 at one of the arc end locations thereby replacing one of the end fittings 352 . Alternatively, the semicircular tubular spine 35 may be of a substantially linear shape or a substantially S-shaped inflected curve shape. The suction port 36 may be produced from a polymeric material with variable composition and elasticity in at least a portion of its shape, in order to cater its material properties to the desired function at that specific location. For example, a suction port 36 may be produced with substantially rigid attachment feature 369 and substantially rigid protrusions defining its tissue-grasping means 363 , but with substantially flexible and compliant tissue-engaging perimeter 361 . Alternatively, suction port 36 may have more than one bias 362 along its perimeter 361 encouraging the desired deformed shape of suction port 36 that will set the tissue-grasping means 363 in contact with the ingested pericardium tissue. Alternatively, the shape of the contacting perimeter 361 may be substantially oval, substantially lens shaped, or substantially circular. Other shapes for the contacting perimeter 361 may also be suitable, as those skilled in this art will appreciate. FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrates a third embodiment according to the present invention. The third embodiment comprises, through the provision of a valve means 380 , a substantially self-sealing tissue-engaging member 38 such that the flow through the pericardium retraction device 103 is substantially zero even if the negative pressure plenum is not completed by the pericardium tissue in contact with the perimeter 384 , as is the requirement in the previous embodiments. This is advantageous in pericardium retraction devices comprised of a plurality of tissue-engaging members, when not all tissue-engaging members or suction ports are, or can be, in sealing contact with the pericardium tissue. Without a valve means 380 , the excessive flow through a non sealing suction port would tend to render ineffective the remaining suction ports as well, due to the inability to generate the desired negative pressure and consequently suction force. Alternatively to incorporating a valve means, this problem can be alleviated by incorporating a designated conduit means 10 for each suction port. This tends to result in a more complex, part-intensive, and consequently more costly apparatus. In this third embodiment, the tissue-engaging member 38 is comprised of a hollow attachment feature 388 , a source orifice 141 , a diaphragm member 387 , and a spool valve means 380 . The hollow attachment feature 388 serves to fixture said tissue-engaging member 38 to a substantially rigid tubular spine (like 35 ) in a plurality arrangement, or directly to a shaft member 13 in a single port arrangement. The source orifice 141 serves to communicate with the negative pressure source P 2 through tubular spine (like 35 ) and conduit member 10 . The diaphragm member 387 delimits a negative pressure plenum within tissue-engaging member 38 . The spool valve means 380 may assume either a “valve closed” position in which the negative pressure plenum P 2 is delimited by diaphragm member 387 , as illustrated in FIG. 9A, or an “open valve” position in which the negative pressure plenum is delimited by the engaged pericardium along perimeter 384 , and as illustrated in FIG. 9B, the substantially ambient pressure P 1 drops to negative source pressure P 2 . The top surface of tissue-engaging member 38 and the diaphragm member 387 each are provided with a guiding and sealing bore feature 385 and 386 respectively, which serve to guide the spool valve means 380 throughout its travel within the tissue-engaging member 38 , and also provide a substantial seal with the shaft 383 . Valve means 380 is comprised of a dish-like plunger 381 which has a slot-like feature 382 to communicate plenum P 2 with plenum P 1 when shaft 383 is plunged by the engagement of pericardium tissue around perimeter 384 . When the pericardium tissue is not in contact with plunger 381 , the valve means 380 assumes a stable position within the tissue-engaging member 38 due to a pressure balance, whereby top edge slot-like feature 382 is just cutting off flow through the diaphragm member 387 . At the “valve closed” position, the plunger 381 is substantially proud (by a distance δ) from the tissue-engaging perimeter 384 , and ready to engage the pericardium tissue. Plunger 381 is configured with a dish-like shape in order to easily contact the pericardium tissue in a non-traumatic manner, but other shapes are also possible without departing from spirit of the invention. In the “valve open” position, with the plunger 381 at its topmost position within tissue-engaging member 38 , plunger 381 also acts as a tissue ingestion-limiting means. A stopper feature (not shown) to limit the translation of valve means 380 within tissue-engaging member 38 may also be incorporated. Stopper features may include, a stepped diameter, a key-way feature, a transverse dowel, a retaining ring, and other like limit means disposed at the terminal end of the valve means 380 which is opposite the plunger 381 thereof and adjacent sealing bore 385 . A spring member (not shown) may also be incorporated to further encourage valve means 380 to remain in the non-flowing closed position. Initially, this spring load exerted by this said spring member must be overcome by the action of engaging pericardium tissue to plunge open the valve means 380 . This said spring load must also be overcome throughout the deployment of the pericardium retraction device 103 by the resultant suction force acting on the engaged pericardium tissue. Alternatively, instead of mechanical actuation of valve means 380 through the travel of plunger 381 , the valve means may be electronically actuated by a proximity sensor which senses the position of the underlying pericardium tissue when said tissue is in proximity to tissue-engaging member 38 . The proximity sensor may be designed utilizing a light source, an electromagnetic field, or a heat measurement transducer, to name a few examples. Alternatively, the concepts of this third embodiment can also be applied to other tissue-engaging members that engage other types of coronary tissue or body tissues in general, and are not limited to engaging pericardium tissue. The fourth embodiment according to the present invention, introduces an organ bracing member such as a heart apex-bracing mechanism 90 , which may be deployed in conjunction with a pericardium retraction device 100 . The “verticalized” beating heart (labelled VBH in FIG. 10) and the pericardium tissue (labelled PCT in FIG. 10) anatomically attached to said beating heart are illustrated engaged with the apex-bracing mechanism 90 and the pericardium retraction device 100 , respectively. The pericardium retraction device 100 according to the present invention is comprised mainly of a tissue-engaging member 30 , a device manipulating means such as shaft member 113 , a conduit means such as conduit passage 110 , and a suction line interface means such as pneumatic fitting 11 . The tissue-engaging member 30 has already been described in the first embodiment. Alternatively, other tissue-engaging members from other previous embodiments may also be substituted in place of tissue-engaging member 30 . As previously described, when the beating heart is “verticalized” by way of pericardium tissue retraction, the apex of the heart assumes a substantially protruding orientation outward from the patient's retracted chest cavity. The bracing means, preferably deployed in series after the deployment of the pericardium retraction device, serves as a stability-enhancing measure, which substantially limits the excursion or movement of a portion of the “verticalized” beating heart, preferably the apex. This bracing means may not be desired in all cardiac surgical interventions that are performed with the assistance of the pericardium retraction device. As illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, the apex-bracing mechanism 90 is comprised of an articulation and clamping member 85 , a bracing or supporting shaft member 92 , and a tissue-contacting member such as an apex-contacting member 91 . The apex-bracing mechanism 90 is engaged with the pericardium retraction device 100 through the articulation and clamping member 85 which simultaneously clamps onto the proximal portion of shaft member 13 while securing the desired position and orientation of bracing shaft member 92 . A negative pressure suction source is introduced through a pneumatic fitting 11 situated on the proximal end of extension shaft member 113 . A conduit passage within extension shaft member 113 (not shown) supplies negative pressure to both the pericardium tissue-engaging member 30 through conduit passage 110 in shaft member 13 , and the apex-contacting member 91 through substantially tubular bracing shaft member 92 and a series of passages hereunder described. Consequently, since it may be desired to deploy the apex-contacting member 91 subsequent to the pericardium tissue-engaging member 30 , a valve means (like valve means 380 in the previous embodiment) is preferably contained within the said member 91 . With reference to FIG. 11, from the proximal end of conduit passage 110 , the negative pressure supply enters a series of passages in the clamping member 86 , more specifically into a plenum cavity 861 into which the proximal end of conduit passage 110 is received, through an integral transverse conduit passage 866 , and through a conduit bore 869 which is disposed generally transverse to the axial direction of conduit passage 110 . From the clamping member 86 , the negative pressure supply enters into hollow articulation cylinder 95 and through internal passages in bracing shaft member 92 and resilient curved member 911 to attain the apex-contacting member 91 which, in this case, serves as a negative pressure suction port. Alternately, the apex contacting means 91 can be provided with its own designated negative pressure conduit line. To maintain the negative pressure through component interfaces, a joint seal 84 is provided between clamping member 86 and the proximal end of shaft member 13 at the plenum cavity 861 location. A joint seal 94 is also provided between articulation cylinder 95 and clamping member 86 at the conduit bore 869 location. A counterbore (not shown) may be provided with conduit bore 869 in order to locate joint seal 94 and the contacting perimeter of articulation cylinder 95 . Seal plate 867 is provided to cover conduit passage 866 and facilitate the machining of said conduit passages within clamping member 86 . Alternatively, plate 867 may be eliminated if clamping member 86 is produced as a casting with integral cored conduit passages. Alternatively, extension shaft member 113 may be eliminated by extending shaft member 13 through the plenum cavity 861 . The articulation and clamping member 85 is comprised of clamping member 83 and clamping member 86 . The securing of articulation and clamping member 85 is achieved through a threaded member 87 , which is assembled in clamping member 86 through retaining pin 88 and extends through bore 834 of clamping member 83 to become engaged by tensioning knob 850 . Shaft member 13 is engaged laterally by surface 835 and a like surface (not shown) of clamping members 83 and 86 respectively, and axially on its topmost surface by cavity plenum 861 . This secures the orientation (rotation) of clamping member 85 and bracing shaft member 92 about the centerline of shaft member 13 . Articulation cylinder 95 is simultaneously clamped between engagement surface 839 on clamp 83 and a like surface on clamp 86 , thereby securing its articulation position in and out of chest cavity relative to shaft member 13 and clamping member 85 . Bracing shaft member 92 is comprised of an articulation cylinder 95 and an interface joint member 932 . As illustrated in FIG. 11, bracing shaft member 92 is substantially tubular to integrate internal conduit passage for negative pressure when apex-contacting member 91 is a negative pressure suction port. Bracing shaft member 92 may be entirely rigid, or may be deformable only by a surgeon input, or may be a lockable multi-jointed articulated design and construction. In all variants, the said member 92 is substantially rigid in that it should not yield under the forces imposed on it by the beating heart. Apex-contacting member 91 is comprised of a resilient curved member 911 and an interface joint member 931 . Resilient curved member 911 is substantially flexible, since it will elastically yield a limited amount under the forces imposed by the beating heart, depending on its designed stiffness. FIGS. 12A to 12 D illustrate variants in the apex-contacting member 91 . FIG. 12A illustrates an apex-contacting member comprising a substantially conical cup made from a flexible polymeric material 915 ; FIG. 12B illustrates an apex-contacting member comprising a plurality of substantially rigid finger-like protrusions 916 ; FIG. 12C illustrates an apex-contacting member comprising a tissue-clamping means 917 ; and FIG. 12D illustrates an apex-contacting member comprising a substantially hemi-cylindrical cradle 918 with perforations to allow anchoring to the apex tissue of beating heart with an associated suture 919 . Additionally, with each of these variants, a tissue-grasping means or hydrogel coating may also be incorporated on the heart contacting surface of the said apex-contacting member, in order to attempt to improve the adherence to the beating heart tissue. Any of the variants of FIGS. 12A, 12 B and 12 D may be utilized with the provision of a suction force or without. The bracing shaft member 92 and apex-contacting member 91 are engaged at junction 93 , which provides the ability to rotate apex-contacting member 91 about the centerline of shaft member 92 . The two interface members 931 and 932 comprising the said junction 93 may be rotatingly engaged through suction, if the apex-contacting member 91 serves as a negative pressure suction port. Alternatively, interface members 931 and 932 may be rotatingly engaged through a magnetic attraction, through a press-fit allowing relative rotation of said interface members only through torque applied by surgeon's hand but not by loads exerted by the beating heart on said interface members, through a ratchet mechanism between said interface members, or by other like means. In another variant of the present embodiment, junction 93 may be of a telescopic design to allow the translation, or the translation and rotation of apex-contacting member 91 relative to bracing shaft member 92 . Alternatively, a rotational interface replacing junction 93 may be incorporated in design of the articulation and clamping member 85 . Alternatively, the articulation and clamping member 85 may be designed to allow the translation of bracing shaft member 92 along its longitudinal axis through said clamping member 85 . With reference to FIG. 10, to deploy the apex-bracing mechanism 90 the surgeon will preferably first position and orient the pericardium retraction device 100 in a similar manner as described in the previous embodiments. Once the beating heart is “verticalized”, and the positioning and articulation mechanism 20 has been secured at both articulation members 21 and 22 , the apex-bracing mechanism 90 is positioned and oriented within the same surgical workspace W, such that the apex-contacting member 91 is in contact with the apex of the beating heart and the articulation and clamping member 85 is engaged with the topmost surface and sides of shaft member 13 . This may involve the rotation of the apex-bracing mechanism 90 about the centerline of shaft member 13 , the articulation of bracing shaft member 92 about the centerline of articulation cylinder 95 , and the rotation of apex-contacting member 91 about the centerline of bracing shaft member 92 . The device is intended to allow for delicate presentation of the apex-bracing mechanism 90 preferably onto the apex of a “verticalized” beating heart. The entire surgical apparatus assembly consisting of the pericardium retraction device 100 and the apex-bracing mechanism 90 , may also be positioned and oriented within the surgical workspace W by way of adjustment of either of the second articulation member 22 or the first articulation member 21 , or by way of simultaneous adjustment of both said articulation members 21 and 22 . Consequently, the beating heart may be re-oriented and re-positioned through a displacement of both the pericardium retraction device 100 and apex-bracing mechanism 90 . Alternatively, clamping member 85 and articulation member 22 may be combined into one mechanical assembly, preferably when the apex-contacting member 91 does not serve as a negative pressure suction port. Clamping member 85 may be replaced with an interface sleeve that is clamped between the second articulation member 22 and shaft member 13 . Alternatively, in another embodiment, the apex-bracing mechanism 90 may be provided with its own designated positioning and articulation mechanism 20 , comprising first 21 and second 22 articulation members, and whereby said first articulation member 21 may be slidingly and rotatingly engaged along rails 70 , 80 , or 50 of the sternum retractor 2 , independently from the deployment of the pericardium retraction device 100 . Alternatively, the apex-bracing mechanism 90 may also be used exclusively in certain cardiac surgeries, without the pericardium retraction device 100 . FIG. 13 illustrates a fifth embodiment according to the present invention, showing a deployed surgical retractor 2 and deployed pericardium retraction device 105 . The beating heart and pericardium tissue are not illustrated. The pericardium retraction device 105 is comprised of a tissue-engaging member 39 , a device manipulating means in the nature of a wire-like filament 393 , a conduit means such as flexible conduit 15 , and a suction line interface means such as pneumatic fitting 11 . The tissue-engaging member 39 is comprised of a deformable bell-shaped suction port 390 (illustrated in its deformed, deployed shape) and an attachment fitting 399 . Suction port 390 is provided with the following main features: a tissue-engaging perimeter 391 , at least one deformation bias 392 disposed preferably along said perimeter 391 , and preferably a tissue-grasping means (not shown) on at least a portion of inside surface (not shown) of port 390 which comes into contact with the ingested pericardium tissue. With the exception of wire-like filament 393 described below, the suction port 390 is of similar construction to the suction port 36 of the second embodiment. The function of said port 390 and the cooperation of its constituent features having been previously described by similarity through the description of suction port 36 in the second embodiment. In this embodiment, pericardium tissue is retracted by at least one pericardium retraction device 105 . The beating heart is preferably “verticalized” by a plurality of tissue-engaging members 39 , each supplied by its own designated conduit 15 , and each being secured independently to a sternum retractor 2 through the anchoring of wire-like filament 393 . The conduit 15 is a flexible tubular member tending to facilitate its placement within the surgical workspace W with an aim not to encumber access into the retracted chest cavity. Alternatively, conduit 15 may also be a malleable tubular member which the surgeon may deform into a desired less obstructive shape. The proximal end of conduit 15 is configured with a pneumatic fitting 11 which may be connected to a negative pressure supply line in the operating room or to a negative pressure manifold along with several other pneumatic fittings when a plurality of pericardium retraction devices 105 are deployed. The suction port 39 is attached to conduit 15 through an attachment fitting 399 , in either a demountable or permanent assembly as also described by similarity in the second embodiment. Negative pressure is supplied to the suction port 39 through an orifice feature in attachment fitting 399 which communicates with conduit passage 10 within conduit 15 . A wire-like filament 393 is attached to the attachment fitting 399 and serves as a device manipulating means allowing the surgeon to apply the desired tensile retraction load to the pericardium tissue by a pulling action on said wire-like filament. The desired pericardium retraction load to position and orient the beating heart is maintained during the surgical intervention by securing the free proximal end of filament 393 to sternum retractor 2 , through a variety of anchoring mechanisms and methods. For instance, the free end of filament 393 may be inserted and partially threaded through an opening in a filament clamp 395 . Filament clamp 395 is comprised of two cooperating jaws which exert a clamping load on the portion of filament 393 clamped therebetween. An adjustment means 394 is also provided within filament clamp 395 , which when activated, serves to temporarily relieve the clamping action of two said jaws thereby allowing the repositioning of filament clamp 395 along the length of filament 393 . The adjustment means 394 may be activated by a variety of methods, such as for instance through the application of a manual compression force on the adjustment means. Filament 393 is inserted in a slit-like channel 72 or 82 . With the desired pulling action applied to the filament 393 to achieve pericardium retraction, the filament clamp 395 is repositioned along the length of filament 393 and brought into contact with spreader arm 3 or 4 of sternum retractor 2 . By virtue of the imposed retraction load on pericardium tissue, clamp 395 is wedged against spreader arm 3 or 4 when filament wire 393 is inserted in slit-like channel 72 or 82 . The clamping action of the jaws on filament 393 secures the resulting filament length between attachment fitting 399 and filament clamp 395 thereby maintaining the pericardium and resulting filament length in tension during the surgical procedure. A variety of other methods may be used to secure the desired length of filament 393 relative to a portion of sternum retractor 2 in order to maintain the desired pericardium retraction load. For instance, the anchoring mechanisms described in copending Canadian patent application Serial No. 2,242,295 filed on Aug. 10, 1998 in the names of Paolitto et al. and entitled “Surgical Instruments for Tissue Retraction”, for which a corresponding PCT application has been filed on Aug. 10, 1999 in the names of Paolitto et al. and entitled “Surgical Suture and Associated Anchoring Mechanism”, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, may be used as they relate to the securing of a tensile loaded wire-like filament to a surgical retractor. These existing applications have been assigned to CORONEO Inc., the assignee of the present application. Alternatively, a variant to the present fifth embodiment may consist of having one conduit 15 supplying negative pressure suction to more than one suction port 39 disposed at its distal end through a manifold type attachment fitting, as previously described. FIG. 14 illustrates a sixth embodiment according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the deformable suction port 39 is replaced by an alternate mechanical tissue-engaging member such as a tissue clamp 396 . The pericardium retraction device 106 is comprised of a tissue clamp 396 , a device manipulating means in the nature of a wire-like filament 393 , and an anchoring mechanism in the nature of a filament clamp 395 . The tissue clamp 396 is comprised of at least two clamping members which the surgeon or assistant manipulates in a manner to clamp therebetween a portion of the pericardium tissue. Examples include a snap-tight clamp or spring-loaded clamp. The tissue clamp 396 is engaged with pericardium tissue without having to pierce through said pericardium tissue, therefore tending to reduce the likelihood of inducing injury to underlying body tissue behind unraveled pericardium tissue. The imposed clamping loads on the portion of pericardium tissue engaged within tissue clamp 396 is sufficient to overcome the retraction forces experienced during “verticalization” of the beating heart. The filament clamp 395 and adjustment means 394 are the same as those described in the fifth embodiment and may also be replaced by a variety of other anchoring mechanisms referred to above. FIG. 15 illustrates a seventh embodiment according to the present invention. This embodiment incorporates a negative pressure conduit means into the positioning and articulation mechanism, with an aim to improving the ergonomics of the surgical workspace W. The pericardium retraction device 102 is comprised of a tissue-engaging member 30 (which is the same as in the first embodiment), a device manipulating means such as shaft member 131 , and a conduit means such a conduit passage 10 . The positioning and articulation mechanism 120 is similar to the positioning and articulation mechanism 20 of the previous embodiments except for the modifications introduced to incorporate a conduit means thereof. A pneumatic fitting 11 is provided on the proximal end of first positioning rod 25 . An internal conduit passage 250 within rod 25 spans the entire length of the said rod, from the fitting 11 inlet to the spherical rod end 251 . A flexible tubular coupling 253 plugs into the spherical rod end 251 of rod 25 at junction interface 252 . The flexible tubular coupling 253 extends through a portion of shaft member 131 to communicate with conduit passage 10 within said shaft member 131 . The pericardium retraction device 102 is engaged within the clamping members 262 of the second articulation member 26 and secured between said clamping members 262 by tensioning knob 261 . The flexible tubular coupling 253 allows for a substantially similar deployment and substantially similar motion degrees of freedom of mechanism 120 relative to the positioning and articulation mechanism 20 of the previous embodiments. In the embodiments of the present invention requiring a negative pressure supply, the source for this said negative pressure may be either a suction line generally available in operating rooms, or alternatively an auxiliary vacuum pump to provide an independent negative pressure supply or a pressure boost to the suction available in the operating room. In the embodiments of the present invention described herein, it is intended to produce the bulk of the surgical apparatus from reusable components, whose assembly may be at least partially dismantled, if necessary, for ease of sterilization. All components are manufactured in either surgical grade stainless steel, titanium, aluminum or any other reusable sterilizable material suitable for surgical use. Components produced from polymeric materials are either reusable through specific sterilization procedures tailored to these component materials, or must be replaced after every use or after a predetermined number of uses if the polymeric material properties are not suitable for sterilization or degrade after repeated sterilization cycles. However, any number of the said reusable components may also be produced from disposable surgical grade plastics, if the case for disposable components is warranted and if the engineering and functional intent is maintained when the said component is produced from plastic. Some of the features and principles of the embodiments of the present invention may advantageously be applied, if desired, to other surgical apparatus used for engaging body tissue through a negative pressure suction port. The above description of the embodiments of the present invention should not be interpreted in any limiting manner since variations and refinements are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

A surgical apparatus for suction attachment to a body tissue. The apparatus includes a tissue-engaging component defining a concave vacuum compartment. The vacuum compartment is connectable to a vacuum source. A valve selectively allows and prevents the generation of a vacuum in the vacuum compartment. The peripheral edge of the vacuum compartment is attachable by suction to the body tissue when the vacuum is generated. A valve closing arrangement automatically closes the valve upon the peripheral edge being separated from the body tissue so as to maintain vacuum generating efficiency for the other tissue-engaging components coupled to the same vacuum source.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to collapsible shipping containers and, more specifically, to a collapsible shipping container designed or adapted to retain collapsible interior dunnage and partition systems within the collapsed shipping container itself for a return shipment or storage. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The use of reusable shipping containers has become a practice in industry for several reasons. First, reusable containers are sturdy and provide a high level of protection to shipped items compared to the customary, corrugated fiberboard containers. Second, the lifetime cost per use is generally less for a reusable shipping container. Third, environmental considerations weigh in favor of reusable containers which require less frequent replacement and offer various recycling options. Return shipments of collapsible reusable shipping containers to the originating shipper are more economical and efficient than non-collapsible units. Collapsing the shipping container to a fraction of its erected size allows a more dense load to be shipped, as it may cost no more to ship three to four times the number of collapsed containers than to ship a lesser number in an erected condition. This is particularly true if the freight charge is calculated, not by weight, but either on a truck load basis or on a set volume of freight. For those items requiring individual packaging during shipment and handling, collapsible shipping containers as previously designed have not been an advantageous choice. A major problem with current collapsible shipping containers is the separate interior dunnage itself, dividers and separators. This has been true whether shipment is made to assembly operations, between locations within a single facility, or over distances as from a supplier to a manufacturer. One handling problem with conventional dunnage is that the dunnage or internal packaging must be removed from a shipping container and disassembled or collapsed separately, or it becomes an obstacle and interferes with the collapsing of the collapsible shipping container. Once removed, the conventional dunnage is no longer a part of the container assembly, requires separate handling, shipment and accounting and, further, is subject to loss or damage. Thus, the advantages of the collapsible, reusable shipping container for shipments of unpackaged items diminish with the handling requirements for the currently designed separate dunnage. Moreover, once removed and shipped as a separate item, dunnage consumes space in the return shipment and reduces return shipment efficiencies. Dunnage in the form of corrugated fiberboard orthogonally interdigitated dividers, left assembled and collapsed, typically collapse to a dimension larger than the footprint of its collapsible shipping container and create additional handling problems. Completely disassembled, these dividers compound the problem of return shipment and require disassembly and re-assembly labor. In the instance of conductive or conductively coated dunnage for shipment of electronic circuit boards and circuits having electrostatic discharge sensitive components, separate handling of the collapsed interlocked dunnage tends to degrade those properties which are responsible for protection against electrostatic discharge damage to electronic circuit boards. These and other shortcomings can prevent efficient and cost effective use of collapsible reusable shipping containers for shipping fragile items requiring separation and protection from incidental contact during shipping and handling. OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to protect items shipped in a collapsible shipping container by means of dunnage which itself is enclosed within the collapsible shipping container and is erect for usage or in a collapsed state. It is another object of the invention to provide collapsible interior dunnage which remains within its collapsible shipping container during container usage or return shipment. It is a further object of the invention to render a collapsible shipping container usable for shipping fragile items which ordinarily require protective packaging without individually packaging the items. It is still another object of the invention to improve the usability of collapsible shipping containers. It is a still further object of the invention to improve the efficiency of use of collapsible shipping containers. It is an additional object of the invention to reduce the shipping expense of collapsible shipping containers and associated dunnage as well as any associated labor savings. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to incorporate dividers or dunnage into a collapsible shipping container in a manner to insure at all times the association of the dunnage with its container yet not to impede the collapse of the container for return shipment, a collapsible shipping container is provided with at least a pair of channels in the top frame attached to the top edges of the four side walls of the container. These channels, disposed in the top frame sides that are opposed to each other, support and retain support rods with flanges on their ends. Rods spanning the opposed top frame side channels, and the collapsible shipping container interior together support a preferably flexible material forming a hanging pouch or pouches for receiving individual items to be shipped and for protecting each item from contact with another item. Preventing contact between items protects them from damage during shipping and handling. The hanging pouch may extend substantially across the container interior to accept a single item or may be divided longitudinally and arranged with laterally extending dividers or curtains suspended from rods supported by a pair of opposing channels disposed in orthogonal segments of the frame. This arrangement creates a plurality of small pouches for supporting and isolating smaller items. Whenever the curtains are used, the curtain supporting rods should be preferably disposed below the rods supporting the material forming the hanging pouches. The dunnage may be replaced as worn or damaged with use and can be changed to accommodate changes in items shipped, thus making the shipping container more beneficial. These dunnage arrangements lend themselves to easy collapse and erection plus remain confined in and directly associated with the container during all phases of use and shipment in order that the dunnage is not lost or separated from its container which would significantly reduce their utility. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 illustrates a collapsible shipping container in an erected, closed state. FIG. 2 illustrates the collapsible shipping container of FIG. 1 in an open state with dunnage illustrated suspended within the interior of this container. FIG. 3 illustrates the interior dunnage extended to show construction details. FIG. 4 is a partially exploded detailed illustration of the interior of the side walls of the shipping container and dunnage showing channels which support the dunnage, as well as three embodiments for retaining the dunnage support rods in the channels. FIG. 5 is an illustration of dunnage suitable for use in the collapsible shipping container of FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 wherein the collapsible shipping container is to be subdivided into a matrix of pouches. FIG. 6 is an illustration of a dunnage curtain which can be installed in the collapsible shipping container of FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 along with the dunnage illustrated in FIG. 5, thereby forming a matrix of individual pouches. FIG. 7 illustrates the arrangement of the dunnage of FIGS. 5 and 6 creating the individual pouches. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE BEST MODE OF THE INVENTION AS CONTEMPLATED BY THE INVENTOR Initially, reference is made to FIG. 1 . The collapsible shipping container 10 illustrated is typically assembled from injection molded plastic parts. Bottom member 12 is molded to include a partial hinge 28 on two of its four edge portions 16 in an opposing arrangement. Forming hinge 29 is partial hinge 28 and partial hinge 30 which is molded as a part of side panel 24 of collapsible shipping container 10 . Pivotally attached at hinge 27 to side panel 24 is a similar side panel 26 . Side panel 26 is further hinged at hinge 34 to top frame 32 . Hinges 29 , 27 and 34 thus connect side panel segments 24 , 26 to bottom 12 and to top frame 32 forming a collapsible wall. The same arrangement is found on the opposing wall (not visible) of collapsible shipping container 10 . Covers 36 are pivotally attached to the top frame 32 at edge hinges 38 , thereby permitting the covers 36 to be laid open. End panel 22 of collapsible shipping container 10 is hinged to top frame 32 and functions as a rigid compression member once collapsible shipping container 10 is fully erected. A second end panel 22 is similarly found at the opposite end of collapsible shipping container 10 . The end panels 22 are rigid and strong enough in an erected state to support not only the top frame 32 and covers 36 but also other similar containers and their contents stacked thereon. End panels 22 may be pivotally displaced inwardly and upwardly for collapse if shipping container 10 is empty. Once panels 22 have been displaced around their hinge 18 into a position generally horizontal and parallel to bottom member 12 , side panels 24 and 26 may be folded and displaced inwardly toward the interior chamber of shipping container 10 around hinges 28 and 34 , respectively. Hinge 27 provides necessary pivotal movement between side panels 24 , 26 and top frame 32 and thus will be lowered toward bottom member 12 . The features of collapsible shipping container 10 described thus far are conventional in that they may be found in some form in collapsible shipping containers of various manufacturers. A container similar to the one described thus far may be acquired from Monoflo International Inc. of Winchester, Va. As one of skill in the art will appreciate, collapsible containers are very efficient for shipping and return for reuse. Large quantities of this type of collapsible shipping container are utilized to efficiently reduce return shipment costs which are significant inasmuch as the container may be reduced to approximately one-fourth its erected height for storage or return shipment. Collapsible containers, such as described above, are particularly usefull and beneficial for shipping either bulk types of items or items which are individually packaged and not subject to damage by contact with other packaged goods. However, should the container 10 be used to ship unpackaged items, interior dunnage may be required to separate and protect the items, such as electronic circuit boards, from contact between themselves as well as to prevent buildup of damaging electrostatic charges. It is important that items such as electronic circuit boards or electronic components be shipped from their point of manufacture to a point of assembly without individual packaging in order to eliminate the cost of such packaging and associated labor necessary to package and unpack the items. Individual protective packaging of the items shipped is not only expensive, individual package costs and productivity drops combine for an overall higher cost for the manufactured device. Frequent replacement of conventional dunnage such as matrix corrugated fiberboard dividers can be expensive and necessitated by ordinary shipment, handling or damage. Further, matrix corrugated fiberboard dividers do not collapse into a small enough volume to fit within and remain associated with its advantageously collapsed container. Referring now to FIG. 2, covers 36 are illustrated in an open position and expose to view the interior of the collapsible container 10 . Container 10 is illustrated in its fully erected state with only a single pouch dunnage divider 60 detailed for clarity. In order to support dunnage divider 60 , top frame 32 is fabricated with a slot 50 . The preferred configuration of slot 50 is a “T” shape with the crossbar of the “T” oriented vertically within the top frame member 32 . For flexibility in shipping dissimilar items, the “T” shaped slots 50 may be formed into all four sides of top frame 32 and the container reconfigured with only a change in the dunnage. Similarly, slot 50 may be formed into opposing segments 33 . The vertical bar of the “T” shaped slot 50 opens through interior surfaces 52 of at least two opposing side segments 33 of top frame 32 . Due to orientation, slot 50 is shown only in one of each pair of the opposing segments. Slot 50 may be provided prior to assembly either in the molding process or cut with a router type bit in either a router or a milling machine during manufacture. Assuming adequate economies of scale, the molding operation may prove to be superior from a cost standpoint. When slots 50 are formed into all four sides of top frame 32 , slots 50 in the end segment 31 of top frame 32 are disposed at a different elevation than the slots 50 in side segments 33 of top frame 32 . As an additional advantage, this arrangement permits use of intersecting sets of dunnage as will be described below. Erection of container 10 is accomplished by lifting top frame 32 away from bottom member 12 and returning end panels 22 and side panels 24 , 26 to their vertical orientation. Latch or catch surfaces (not shown) may be used to maintain all side and end panels 24 , 26 , 22 in their erected orientation for handling and use. End panels 22 will serve as compression members and thus support top frame 32 in its erected position. The support of top frame 32 by end panels 22 will prevent the collapse of top frame 32 downwardly toward the bottom member 12 of the collapsible shipping container 10 . Referring now to FIG. 3, dunnage in the form of dividers or separators 60 , as discussed for use in this invention, may be fabricated of flexible material and, as needed, may be electrostatically protective. Dividers 60 advantageously can be formed by creating tubes 62 of the divider material, preferably by folding over the material at selected intervals and joining the juxtaposed surfaces at contact zone 64 by any suitable process. Possible processes for joining include gluing, heat sealing, sewing or stitching, and ultrasonically bonding. The tubes 62 , so formed, will each accommodate a suspension rod 70 . Permanent flanges 72 are fabricated on both ends of suspension rods 70 . The flange 72 may be formed on the suspension rod 70 by an appropriate forming process or may be attached by welding, brazing, or soldering onto the suspension rod 70 an appropriate sized washer or disk, thereby creating a flange 72 . An alternative to the circular flange 72 is a bar attached across the end of rod 70 forming a “T” shape. The flexible material then must be attached to rod 70 to orient the “T” crossbar perpendicular to slot 50 once the flexible material hangs within erected collapsible container 10 . This embodiment provides an easy way to change or replace dunnage 60 as the need arises. In order that the support rod 70 be freely movable along the length or width of the collapsible shipping container 10 , the support rod 70 must be smaller than the width of the stem of the “T” shaped slots 50 and the flanges 72 similarly somewhat smaller than the crossbar of the “T” shaped slot 50 . This insures that the flanges 72 and support rods 70 have clearance to be freely movable. As may be observed in FIG. 4, top frame 32 is fabricated with an access channel 80 formed to intersect with and expose one end of the “T” shaped channel 50 . Flanges 72 and support rods 70 of dunnage dividers 60 then may be engaged within channel 50 and slid along channel 50 . Additional flanges 72 and rods 70 may be added to provide a plurality of segments 74 arranged suspended from support rods 70 . A block 82 may be inserted into channel 80 and fastened therein by a screw or other retainer (not shown) in order to prevent any disengagement of flanges 72 and support rods 70 from channels 50 . As many segments 74 of the dividers 60 may be ganged or made in a single dunnage assembly as desired, and typically the number of segments will be determined by the bulk of the objects or items being packaged therein for shipment. Although this will tend to customize a collapsible shipping container 10 to use for a particular part or time, simply changing the dunnage dividers 60 will re-adapt the container 10 to use for shipment of a different item. Much of the efficiency of use of such containers 10 is due to the frequent usage of a particular combination of container 10 and dividers 60 as handled between a paired shipper and receiver. Slots 50 in top frame 32 are illustrated at different elevations in FIG. 4 as discussed previously. While having the slots 50 at different levels in top frame segments 31 , 33 is not required, flexibility in dunnage adaptation is provided without additional costs of manufacture or retrofit. Flanges 72 and support rods 70 are engaged into opposed channels or slots 50 and are slidably movable along slots 50 for ease in loading and unloading and adapting the pouch 76 to the items being shipped. The items being shipped then may be inserted into an expanded segment 74 of suspended segments 74 of dividers 60 . FIG. 4 further illustrates additional embodiments of the channel 86 and an element for accessing slot 50 and blocking removal of rods 70 and flanges 72 from slots 50 . A further “T” shaped slot 86 may be cut or formed into top frame 32 orthogonally intersecting slot 50 . Slot 86 permits insertion of rods 70 and flanges 72 into slot 50 . The egress of rods 70 and flanges 72 from slot 50 is denied by “T” shaped plug 88 which fits within “T” shaped slot 86 . Plug 88 may be frictionally retained or may be retained in position by plate 90 which is disposable over slot 86 and further retained by fasteners such as screws 92 engaged through holes 94 of plate 90 and with screw holes 96 in top frame 32 . Where it is desirable to transport relatively large, generally flat items such as printed circuit boards, either populated or unpopulated, the orientation of the dividers 74 or dunnage 100 may be selected to extend across or lengthwise of container 10 as desired and permit insertion of one printed circuit card into each segment 74 or pouch 76 which closely fits the items shipped. However, there are times when smaller sized items are to be shipped and if more than one such item is loaded into a single pouch 76 of dunnage 100 , damage may occur to either or both items. In this circumstance the items must be protected from shifting into positions whereby contact between items can occur with damage sustained by one or both of the items making contact. This protection may be accomplished by using a second set of dividers, such as seen in FIG. 6, where the flexible material of the divider 60 of FIG. 3 is cut or segmented. FIG. 5 best illustrates segments 74 of dunnage 101 wherein the pellicle of material is severed at 102 to leave three dividers 104 on rods 70 . FIG. 6 illustrates a curtain type divider 110 where rod 70 and flange 72 , identical except for length to the like-numbered elements in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 , extend through a tube 62 of the curtain material supporting curtain 112 . The opposing edge of curtain 112 is similarly formed into a tube structure 114 with weighting rod 116 inserted therein. Weighting rod 116 need only be heavy enough to maintain curtain 112 extended while in use. The suspension rods 70 and flanges 72 of curtain 110 shown in FIG. 6 are preferably inserted into slots 50 having the lowest elevation relative to the erected height of collapsible shipping container 10 , as earlier mentioned; meanwhile, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the dunnage 101 is installed into and slides within those slots 50 having the highest elevation. This arrangement of the dunnage 101 , 110 is shown in FIG. 7 . Thus, the support rods 70 of dunnage 101 in FIG. 5 will slide above rods 70 of dunnage 110 or curtains 110 creating smaller compartments or pouches 120 for the items being shipped. Weighting rod 116 will keep curtain 112 extended, thereby separating pouches 120 . Whenever container 10 is collapsed as previously described for storage or return shipment the dunnage 101 , 110 may be gathered and the dividers pulled upwardly and laid flat onto collapsed side panels 24 , 26 and end panels 22 . To prepare for usage, container 10 is erected and segments 74 of dunnage 101 lifted to permit spreading of curtains 110 across the interior of container 10 . When the curtains 110 are positioned as desired across container 10 , dunnage 101 may be spread and segments 74 dropped between curtains 110 to form pouches 120 as illustrated in FIG. 7 . Dunnage 101 may be made to provide as many or as few segments 104 as desired and mated with an appropriate number of curtains 110 to form a matrix of separated pouches 120 , as illustrated in FIG. 7 . Further, curtains 110 may be made of a semi-rigid or rigid material if the material is thin enough to permit complete collapse of the container 10 and the items packed and transported will not be damaged by contact with the curtain material itself. FIG. 7 illustrates a two-segment dunnage 101 with two severances or gaps 102 , orthogonally arranged relative to dunnage 101 , and is shown with a single dunnage curtain 110 residing in one gap 102 . The illustration of only a single curtain 110 is for purposes of clarity and simplicity. One of skill in the art will understand that an additional curtain will form two additional pouches and the number may be increased with additional segments 74 and curtains 110 . Accordingly, pouches 120 may be sized to accommodate any desired part or item for separated shipment. Being reusable, the container 10 is very cost effective. Container 10 is particularly advantageous for the transport and shipment of electronic circuit boards if the material used for dunnage 100 , 101 , 110 is protective against electrostatic discharge and the dunnage 100 , 101 , 110 is maintained with the collapsible shipping container 10 , and protected by the collapsed shipping container 10 during periods of non-use and its return shipment to the prior shipper of the electronic circuit boards or other electronic devices. With a change of dunnage material to fiber board, plastic sheeting or fabric, the container 10 may be adapted for shipment of mechanical parts or assemblies which do not require electrostatic discharge protection, but which require a more substantial divider yet may be collapsible within the container. While each element of the assemblies shown in the several figures may not be described or addressed in respect to every figure, common reference numerals refer to common elements and the description of an element with regard to one figure may be applied to other figures in which a common element appears. One of skill in the art will recognize that changes in the invention in addition to the various embodiments described herein may be made without removing the devices and system from the scope of protection afforded by the attached claims.

A collapsible shipping container is provided with channels formed into the interior surface of the top frame of the collapsible shipping container to accept support rods and interior dunnage which depend from the support rods. The interior dunnage preferably is fabricated of flexible or foldable material which may be gathered and positioned such that the collapsible shipping container may be collapsed while the dunnage remains at all times within and associated with the collapsible shipping container. The dunnage may be in the form of hanging pouches supported by support rods and may further include hanging curtains supported by support rods orthogonally intersecting the pouch support rods. Whenever the hanging curtains are utilized, the hanging pouches are made of material which permits and forms a gap between adjacent pouches to accommodate the curtains. Should the items being shipped need protection from electrostatic discharge, electrically conducting pliable material may be used to form the pouches and/or the curtains supported by the support rods.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a position sensing method for use in a coordinate input apparatus which is called a digitizer or a tablet, and more particularly to a method for scanning a plurality of sensor coils arranged side by side on a sensor section of the coordinate input apparatus. 2. Description of the Prior Art Various types of position sensing methods for use in a coordinate input apparatus are already known. An electromagnetic transfer method disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publn. Nos. HEI-2(1990)-53805 and HEI-3(1991)-147012 will now be explained as one example of the position sensing methods. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram for illustrating the principle operation of a coordinate input apparatus using an electromagnetic transfer method. The coordinate input apparatus employing this method is made up of a sensor section (for simplicity only a group of X-axis sensor coils are illustrated) which constitutes a sensor plane by the arrangement of a plurality of sensor coils side by side in a direction of position sensing (in the direction of an X or Y axis); and a position indicator such as a stylus pen, a cursor housing a coil or a resonance circuit. In the electromagnetic transfer method, a coordinate value of an indicated position is obtained on the basis of a receiving signal obtained as a result of the transfer of an electromagnetic wave between the position indicator and one sensor coil in the sensor section. In addition to the acquisition of coordinate value data of the indicated position, the coordinate input apparatus usually has another objective, that is, the acquisition of switch data for specifying each type of operation at the indicated position. Accordingly, a means for inputting the switch data is also housed in the position indicator. For example, there is a mechanism as the means for inputting switch data, wherein an element such as a capacitor is added to the coil or the resonance circuit for slightly changing resonance conditions thereof. The sensing of a coordinate is usually effected for two directions, i.e., the X and Y axes in the sensor section, and therefore a pair of sensor sections are crossed at right angles in such a way that the sensing sections are respectively provided along the X and Y axes. With reference to FIG. 1, a position sensing process in the electromagnetic transfer method will now be described. A high frequency signal generation circuit provides a selected sensor coil with a high frequency signal, as a result an electromagnetic wave develops (a transmission signal). Then, the electromagnetic wave causes a resonance circuit housed in the position indicator to resonate (when the position indicator is situated on this sensor coil). When the generation of the electromagnetic wave from the sensor coil is terminated (namely; the supply of the high frequency signal is interrupted) a response electromagnetic wave develops in the resonance circuit in the position indicator. This response electromagnetic wave is received by the sensor coil (a received signal). This received signal is delivered to a signal processing section via a receiving circuit, and the amplitude and phase of the received signal are analyzed. The transmission and receiving operations of one sensor coil are repeated for each sensor coil in the same manner as previously mentioned by sequentially switching the plurality of sensor coils in the sensor section in the direction of position sensing. The operation of sequential switching of the sensor coils is called "scanning". The coordinate input apparatus is provided with a sensor coil changeover section, consisting of multiplexers or the like, for selecting the sensor coils, namely; switching the sensor coils. The switching, transmission and receiving actions of the sensor coil changeover section are controlled by a signal control section (not shown) of the coordinate input apparatus. The position sensing process involves processes from the time when no coordinate data of the position indicator is obtained to the time when accurate coordinates (both X and Y) of the position indicator are calculated. ALL SCAN is first initiated for scanning all of the sensor coils in the sensor plane. ALL SCAN may be practically referred to as a ROUGH sensing process. A received signal distribution in the sensor section is obtained on the basis of a received signal from each sensor coil by means of ALL SCAN. When the position indicator is situated in a detectable range over the sensor plane, the received signal distribution shows the maximum value at the sensor coil that is closest to the position indicator. A group of several sensor coils substantially centered at the sensor coil that shows the maximum value must represent a peak of a signal intensity. In this way the approximate position of the position indicator can be determined. The position sensing process then proceeds to SECTOR SCAN. During the SECTOR SCAN, the previously mentioned transmission and receiving actions are repeated on the basis of a result of ALL SCAN with the use of the sensor coil showing a main peak value and the several sensor coils adjacent to that sensor coil. If the peak characteristics of the signal intensity are obtained again, the presence of the position indicator is verified. Calculation including interpolation is executed in the signal processing section, and a coordinate value of the position indicator is accurately determined. To obtain more accurate data, the SECTOR SCAN is usually repeated several times. The SECTOR SCAN can be practically referred to as a scrutinized sensing process. The other position sensing methods comprises a method in which a position indicator receives an electromagnetic wave transmitted from a sensor plane; a simple electromagnetic action method in which the sensor plane receives an electromagnetic wave transmitted from the position indicator, in contrast to the preceding method. Moreover, there is a crossover sensing method in which an electromagnetic wave is transmitted from a sensor coil in an X axis direction and is received by a sensor coil in a Y axis direction. In addition to this, a self-oscillation type sensing method is also known such as disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publn. No. HEI-5(1993)-241722. In this self-oscillation type sensing method, sensor coils along the X axis and sensor coils along the Y axis are disposed of in such a way that a positive feedback loop is established between amplifiers respectively connected to a sensor coil along the X axis and a sensor coil along the Y axis; and as a result these sensor coils, both being never electromagnetically joined together are respectively electromagnetically coupled with a resonance circuit of a position indicator. The electromagnetic coupling between the position indicator and the sensor coils induces self-oscillation of the amplifiers, and a resulting oscillation signal is utilized in position sensing. Detailed sensing processes of each of the previously mentioned position sensing methods differ from each other, and, even in one position sensing method, details will differ depending on embodiments thereof. However, the scanning of a group of sensor coils in the sensor section is common to all of the sensing methods. For simplicity, in the descriptions of the above-mentioned position sensing methods, an explanation was only given of the processing of the maximum peak (hereinafter referred to as a main peak) of the intensity of a received signal in the received signal distribution. However, as disclosed in Examined Japanese Patent Publn. No. SHO-58(1983)-16506 and Unexamined Japanese Patent Publn. No. HEI-3(1991)-67320, in a position sensing method which uses a stylus pen type position indicator housing a coil or a resonance circuit and utilizes electromagnetic induction or electromagnetic coupling, a pair of sub-peaks on both sides of a main peak as well as the main peak are observed in a received signal distribution. The size of each of the pair of sub-peaks varies depending on a degree of inclination between the stylus pen and a sensor plane. This means that data of these sub-peaks can be variously utilized. For example, in the case of an inclined stylus pen where a coordinate value calculated from a main peak is shifted from an actual indicated position, it is possible to correct the error of the coordinate value by the utilization of intensity data of the pair of sub-peaks. It is also possible to use the intensity data of the sub-peaks in order to utilize the inclination of the stylus pen as data for indicating a specific operation. In practical calculation of inclination, data of the main peak as well as the data of the sub-peaks are also used. If the data of the sub-peaks is utilized, precise sub-peak values are computed by subjecting sub-peaks to be utilized to calculation such as interpolation, similarly to the interpolation being carried out with respect to a main peak. Coordinate values corresponding to the precise subpeak values are also calculated, as required. For this reason, data from several sensor coils is required to execute interpolation calculation with respect to each of the subpeaks, and this is essential data. To obtain these data items, areas, including the main peak and the sub-peaks on both sides of the main peak, are scanned during the previously mentioned SECTOR SCAN. FIG. 2 shows one process of conventional SECTOR SCAN (the drawing shows scanning only along the X axis or the Y axis). In FIG. 2, a selected group of sensor coils 10 to be scanned during SECTOR SCAN consist of sensor coils C-3, C-2, . . . C8, and C9. This case is based on the assumption that the largest value (a voltage value) of a received signal is obtained from the sensor coil C3 during ALL SCAN preceding the SECTOR SCAN. The length of a bar shown above each sensor coil in the chart shows a first-hand received signal value 20 obtained from each coil during SECTOR SCAN. Throughout similar charts, time changes from the left to the right in the charts. In FIG. 2, a group of main-peak-selection sensor coils 10a, consisting of seven sensor coils from CO to C6, are used in the interpolation calculation of a true peak value. As shown in the drawing, the maximum value of signals received from the group of seven main-peak-selection sensor coils 10 is an (initial) main peak value 20a obtained from the sensor coil C3. Interpolation calculation is carried out on the basis of the value obtained from this group of seven main-peak-selection sensor coils 10a, whereby a true main peak value 20a' is calculated. The maximum value of signals received from a group of three left-sub-peak-selection sensor coils 10b is an (initial) left-sub-peak value 20b obtained from a sensor coil C-2. Interpolation calculation is executed on the basis of the value obtained from this group of three left-sub-peak-selection sensor coils lob, whereby a true left sub-peak value 20b' is calculated. The maximum value of signals received from a group of three right-sub-peak-selection sensor coils 10c is an (initial) right sub-peak value 20c obtained from a sensor coil C8. Interpolation calculation is carried out on the basis of the value obtained from this group of three right-sub-peak selection sensor coils 10c, whereby a true right sub-peak value 20c' is calculated. The previously mentioned interpolation calculation based on the data obtained as a result of SECTOR SCAN during one process, and calculation of an inclination based on the data of the sub-peaks (a calculation routine 30 in FIG. 2) are usually executed every time one process of the SECTOR SCAN is completed. Results of the calculations are delivered to a data processing unit (a host machine). Ordinarily, dummy scanning which does not acquire data is carried out during a period of time required for these calculations. As mentioned above, it is necessary for the conventional method to scan at least three sensor coils for each sub-peak in order to obtain a true sub-peak value by means of interpolation calculation. However, when both subpeaks as well as a main peak are received, it takes a longer time to scan the sensor coils if the number of sensor coils to be selected during SECTOR SCAN is large. In addition to this, the amount of data processing occurring as a result of the scanning will also increase, which in turn leads to an increased load on the signal processing section. This results in a drop in transfer rate of data to the host machine. Usually, SECTOR SCAN is repeated several times for one indicated position, and hence it is desirable to complete several SECTOR SCANS in as short a time as possible. This is attributable to the fact that an indicated position may change during the execution of the SECTOR SCAN and the calculation routine of the SECTOR SCAN if a position indicator moves at very rapidly. Moreover, in effect, SECTOR SCAN must be executed for both the X and Y axes, and a time difference evidently arises between when the SECTOR SCAN is carried out for the X axis and when the SECTOR SCAN is carried out for the Y axis. The indicated position may change during this time difference. The method for utilizing the data of the sub-peaks also encounters another problem, that is, the problem of the edges of an effective area of the sensor section. As a matter of course, an effective area of the sensor section where a received signal becomes effective is limited. An area where only one of the sub-peaks can be sensed exists in the vicinity of each of the four sides of this limited area. Conventionally, a control section separates the flow of SECTOR SCAN when it becomes apparent that one of the subpeaks (a sub-peak on one side) juts out of the effective area as a result of ALL SCAN. Either of the following two types of SECTOR SCAN are executed. Specifically, if an outer sub-peak is out of the effective area, the outer sub-peak will not be scanned. If any one of the selection sensor coils for a main peak is outside the effective area, a group of selection sensor coils will be fixed to a group of a predetermined number of sensor coils from the end thereof. However, the more complex a conditional branch, the greater the load on the control section becomes, and therefore it takes longer. This results in a drop in the transfer rate of data to the host machine. Thus, a scanning method which reduces the load on the control section as much as possible with respect to the edges of the effective area is desirable. Conventionally, scanning is practiced only for one axis in only one direction (a forward direction) with respect to ALL SCAN as well as sector scan. However, strictly speaking, it is known that a received signal value of one sensor coil differs when scanning is carried out in a forward direction and when scanning is carried out in a reverse direction. This is ascribed to the following fact. Specifically, an induced voltage is developed in a resonance circuit, or the like, in the position indicator, by means of an electromagnetic wave transmitted from one sensor coil during one transmission period for the sensor coil. After a transmitted electromagnetic wave has been stopped, this induced voltage is progressively reduced during a receiving period. However, this induced voltage is not reduced completely to zero, and remains until the next sensor coil starts to transmit an electromagnetic wave. As a result of this, the residual induced voltage caused by the previous sensor coil is superimposed on an induced voltage caused by an electromagnetic wave from the subsequent sensor coil. In this way, the residual induced voltage caused by the previous sensor coil becomes an error of a received signal value of the subsequent sensor coil. The magnitude of this error depends on the magnitude of the induced voltage developed in the resonance circuit of the position indicator by means of the previous sensor coil. For example, it is assumed that an original induced-voltage, developed in a resonance circuit or the like, in a position indicator by means of one sensor coil, is larger than an induced voltage caused by an adjacent sensor coil on the left side thereof, but is smaller than an induced voltage caused by an adjacent sensor coil on the right side thereof. Also, it is assumed that the direction of scanning from the left to the right is referred to as a forward direction. The one sensor coil is affected by a residual induced voltage from the left-side adjacent sensor coil when scanning is carried out in a forward direction, but is affected by a residual induced voltage from the right-side adjacent sensor coil when scanning is carried out in a reverse direction. Thus, a received signal value of the one sensor coil is Greatly affected by the scanning in a reverse direction compared with the scanning in a forward direction. A practical aspect of the influence of the residual induced voltage on a received signal voltage is as follows: when there are no switching operations of the position indicator (namely; a frequency of a transmitted electromagnetic wave is matched with a resonance frequency of a resonance circuit, or the like), only an amplitude of the received signal voltage is substantially affected. Conversely, when there are switching operations of the position indicator (namely; the frequency of the transmitted electromagnetic wave is not matched with the resonance frequency of the resonance circuit, or the like), a phase difference arises, such that the received signal voltage is subjected to a more complex interference. Such an error of the received signal depending on the direction of scanning is negligible in ALL SCAN, which is intended to roughly obtain an indicated position, but the error is not negligible in SECTOR SCAN, which is intended to obtain an accurate indicated position. To eliminate the influence of the residual induced voltage, the following means is provided in the prior art. Specifically, a table of corrected values, in which the magnitude of a residual induced voltage has been previously calculated, is prepared and stored in a memory or the like. A received signal value obtained during SECTOR SCAN is corrected by reading a corrected value, corresponding to a predetermined condition, from the memory. However, there is a problem that extensive use is made of the memory because the table of corrected values is stored in the memory. Therefore, a method for eliminating the influence of the residual induced voltage, without the need of a large amount of a memory, is desired. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the foregoing drawbacks of the prior art, the primary object of the present invention is to provide a scanning method, for use in a method for sensing a coordinate input apparatus, which reduces the number of selection sensor coils for a sub-peak, particularly during SECTOR SCAN, as much as possible. The second object of the present invention is to provide a sensor coil scanning method, for use in a method for sensing a position of a coordinate input apparatus, which reduces loads on a control section and a signal processing section as much as possible. The third object of the present invention is to provide a sensor coil SCAN method, for use in a method for sensing a position of a coordinate input apparatus, which eliminates the influence of a residual induced voltage depending on the direction of scanning of the sensor coil, without the need for a large amount of memory in a signal processing section. In the first aspect of the present invention, in a coordinate sensing apparatus having a sensor section which forms a sensor plane and consists of a plurality of sensor coils arranged side by side along coordinate axes, and a position indicator housing at least a coil, a position sensing method which obtains at least a coordinate value of a position indicated by the position indicator and an inclination of the position indicator in relation to the sensor plane by the use of a value of a sensing signal including a main peak value and at least one sub-peak value, both being obtained from interactive action between the position indicator and a specified sensor coil of the group of sensor coils, wherein the position sensing method comprises a SECTOR SCAN step of carrying out scanning along one specific coordinate axis of the coordinate axes to obtain at least (1) sensing signal from a group of main-peak selection coils including a main sensor coil which provides the main peak value and at least the number of sensor coils required for calculating the coordinate value by means of interpolation calculation, (2) a first sensing peak value from a first sub-sensor coil which provides a first sub-peak value on the left side of the main peak value with respect to the specific coordinate axis, and (3) a second sensing peak value from a second sub-sensor coil which provides a second sub-peak value on the right side of the main peak value with respect to the specific coordinate axis; and a calculation step of, calculating the coordinate value by means of interpolation calculation using the sensing signals obtained from the group of main-peak selection sensor coils, and also calculating the inclination using the first sensing peak value obtained from the first sub-sensor coil and the second peak value obtained from the second sub-sensor coil, at the time of sector scanning. The SECTOR SCAN step may include scanning of a group of selection sensor coils in one direction along the specific coordinate axis, the group of selection sensor coils comprising (1) a group of main-peak selection sensor coils containing a main sensor coil which provides the main peak value, and at least the number of sensor coils required for calculating the coordinate value by means of interpolation calculation; (2) a first sub-sensor coil which provides a first sub-peak value on the left side of the main peak value with respect to the direction of scanning; and (3) a second sub-sensor coil which provides a second sub-peak value on the right side of the main peak value with respect to the direction of scanning. The SECTOR SCAN step may include a first step of scanning a group of first selection sensor coils in one direction along the specific coordinate axis, the first selection sensor coil group comprising (1) a group of main-peak selection sensor coils containing a main sensor coil which provides the main peak value, and at least the number of sensor coils required for calculating the coordinate value by means of interpolation calculation, and (2) a first sub-sensor coil which provides a first sub-peak value, and a second step of scanning a group of second selection sensor coils in one direction along the specific coordinate axis, the second selection sensor coil group comprising (1) a group of main-peak selection sensor coils containing a main sensor coil which provides the main peak value, and at least the number of sensor coils required for calculating the coordinate value by means of interpolation calculation, and (2) a second sensor coil which provides a second sub-peak value; and wherein the calculation step includes, the steps of calculating the coordinate value by means of interpolation calculation using sensing signal obtained from the group of main-peak selection sensor coils, and calculating the inclination using the most recent sensing peak value obtained from the first sub-sensor coil and the most recent sensing peak value obtained from the second sub-sensor coil. The SECTOR SCAN step may include a first step of scanning, in one direction along the specific coordinate axis, (1) a group of main-peak selection sensor coils containing a sensor coil which provides the main peak value, and at least the number of sensor coils required for calculating the coordinate value by means of interpolation calculation, and (2) a first sub-sensor coil which provides a first sub-peak value, (3) a second sub-sensor coil which provides a second sub-peak value, and a second step of scanning the group of selection sensor coils in a reverse direction with respect the direction of scanning in the first step; and wherein the calculation step includes, the steps of calculating temporary coordinate values respectively in the first and second steps by means of interpolation calculation, using sensing signals obtained from the group of main-peak selection coils, calculating the coordinate value by averaging the two most recent temporary coordinate values, and calculating the inclination using the most recent sensing peak value obtained from the first sub-sensor coil and the most recent sensing peak value obtained from the second sub-sensor coil. The SECTOR SCAN step may include a first step of scanning, in one direction along the specific coordinate axis, a group of first selection sensor coils comprising (1) a group of main-peak selection sensor coils containing a sensor coil which provides the main peak value, and at least the number of sensor coils required for calculating the coordinate value by means of interpolation calculation, and (2) a first sub-sensor coil which provides a first sub-peak value, a second step of scanning the group of first selection sensor coils in a reverse direction with respect to the direction of scanning in the first step, a third step of scanning, in one direction along the specific coordinate axis, a group of second selection sensor coils comprising (1) a group of main-peak selection sensor coils containing a sensor coil which provides the main peak value, and at least the number of sensor coils required for calculating the accurate coordinate value by means of interpolation calculation, (2) a second sub-sensor coil which provides a second sub-peak value, and a fourth step of scanning the group of second sensor coils in a reverse direction with respect to the direction of scanning in the third step; and wherein the calculation step includes the steps of, the steps of calculating temporary coordinate values respectively in the first to fourth steps, using sensing signals obtained from the group of main-peak selection coils, calculating the coordinate value by averaging the two most recent temporary coordinate values, and calculating the inclination using the most recent sensing peak value obtained from the first sub-sensor coil and the most recent sensing peak value obtained from the second sub-sensor coil. The SECTOR SCAN step may include first to fourth steps, each step having the steps of scanning, in one direction, or in a reverse direction thereto, along the specific coordinate axis, a group of main-peak selection sensor coils containing a sensor coil which provides the main peak value, and at least the number of sensor coils required for calculating the coordinate value by means of interpolation calculation, and scanning, along the specific coordinate axis, either a first sub-sensor coil which provides the first sub-peak value or a second sub-sensor coil which provides the second sub-peak value; and wherein the calculation step includes, the steps of calculating temporary coordinate values respectively in the first to fourth steps, using sensing signals obtained from the group of main-peak selection sensor coils, calculating the coordinate value by averaging the most recent temporary coordinate value obtained as a result of the scanning in one direction and the most recent temporary coordinate value obtained as a result of the scanning in a reverse direction, and calculating the inclination using the most recent sensed peak value obtained from the first sub-sensor coil and the most recent sensed peak value obtained from the second sub-sensor coil. The each of the first to fourth steps of the SECTOR SCAN step may carry out scanning of either the first subsensor coil or the second sub-sensor coil before the group of main-peak selection sensor coils. The order of the first to fourth steps of the SECTOR SCAN step may be set in such a way that the group of main-peak selection sensor coils are alternately scanned in one direction and in a reverse direction, and that the first and second sub-sensor coils are alternately scanned. When at least the group of main-peak selection sensor coils are present in an effective area in the sensor plane but some of the remaining sensor coils are out of the effective area of the sensor plane during SECTOR SCAN, the scanning may be carried out by selecting one or a plurality of other sensor coils located in the effective area instead of the sensor coils located out of the effective area. The selected sensor coil or coils are selected from a region along one edge of the effective area which may be on the opposite side to the specific coordinate axis. When either the first sub-sensor coil or the second sub-sensor coil is situated out of the effective area, the inclination may be calculated by the use of only a sensed peak value obtained as a result of the scanning of either the first sub-sensor coil or the second sub-sensor coil situated in the effective area. The main peak value and the first and second sub-peak values, which sector scanning is based on, may be obtained by ALL SCAN which roughly scans the entire sensor plane. When the coordinate value and the inclination of the moving position indicator may be calculated by repeating SECTOR SCAN, the main peak value and the first and second sub-peak values on which the present SECTOR SCAN is based on are obtained by SECTOR SCAN just prior to the present SECTOR SCAN. When the first sub-sensor coil is scanned in the SECTOR SCAN step, the at least sensor coil adjacent to the first sub-sensor coil may be also scanned; and when the second sub-sensor coil is scanned in the SECTOR SCAN step, the at least sensor coil adjacent to the second sub-sensor coil may be also scanned. The coil adjacent to either the first sub-sensor coil or the second sub-sensor coil may be scanned before the first sub-sensor coil or the second sub-sensor coil. The calculated coordinate value may be used in calculating the inclination in the calculation step. When the main peak value and the first and second sub-peak values on which SECTOR SCAN is based are obtained by ALL SCAN which roughly scans the entire sensor plane, both the first sub-sensor coil and the second sub-sensor coil may be scanned in only the first step of the SECTOR SCAN step; the coordinate value may be calculated by interpolation calculation using a sensed signal obtained from the group of main-peak selection sensor coils; and the inclination may be calculated by the use of two sensed peak values obtained from the first and second sub-sensor coils. When the main peak value and the first and second sub-peak values on which SECTOR SCAN is based are obtained by ALL SCAN which roughly scans the entire sensor plane, both the first sub-sensor coil and the second sub-sensor coil may be scanned in only the first step of the SECTOR SCAN step; the coordinate value may be calculated by interpolation calculation using a sensed signal obtained from the group of main-peak selection sensor coils; and the inclination may be calculated by the use of two sensed peak values obtained from the first and second sub-sensor coils. If at least the group of main-peak selection coils are situated in an effective area in the sensor plane but a part of the remaining coils exist outside the effective area when the SECTOR SCAN step is carried out, the SECTOR SCAN may be carried out by taking a predetermined number of sensor coils, arranged along a border edge between the effective area and the outside of the effective area, as a group of selection sensor coils; a sensed signal value indicated by a sensor coil, spaced apart from a sensor coil of the group of selection sensor coils showing a main peak value by a predetermined number which is smaller than the predetermined number, as a sensed peak value from a sub-sensor coil; and the inclination may be calculated by the use of only the sensed peak value. The SECTOR SCAN step and the calculation step may be carried out, in order, with respect to a plurality of specific coordinate axes. The SECTOR SCAN step and the calculation step with respect to a plurality of specific coordinate axes may be subjected to time division and parallel processing . In the first and second constructions, at least one sub-peak selection coil is enough for each side. Therefore, the number of sub-peak selection sensor coils is reduced, and the number of all of the selection sensor coils is eventually reduced. As a result of this, the number of selection of the sensor coils is reduced, therefore the time required for SECTOR SCAN is reduced. Interpolation calculation for obtaining a true sub-peak value is not carried out with respect to the sub-peak value, and a sensed sub-peak value is directly used in calculating an inclination. This results in facilitated calculation processing as well as a reduced calculation time. For this reason, a rate of transmission of data to a host machine is improved. In the third construction, one SECTOR SCAN step consists of two stages. In each stage, only one of the left and right sub-peak selection sensor coils is scanned together with the main-peak selection sensor coil, and hence the time for scanning in one stage is reduced. Moreover, a sensed sub-peak value is directly used in the calculation of an inclination, and calculation time is reduced. Results of calculation of the coordinate value and the inclination are fed to the host machine for each step, and hence the rate of transmission of data to the host machine is improved. In the fourth construction, one SECTOR SCAN step consists of two stages, the directions of scanning are alternately switched between a forward direction and a reverse direction for each stage. In the calculation processing, temporary coordinate values obtained respectively for the directions of scanning are averaged, whereby a coordinate value is calculated. As a result of this, it is possible to cancel errors caused by a residual induced voltage which occurs when an induced voltage is used in sensing. In the fifth construction, one SECTOR SCAN step consists of four stages. Scanning, including a left subpeak, is carried out in both forward and reverse directions in the first half two stages, and scanning including a right sub-peak a right sub-peak is carried out in both forward and reverse directions in the latter half two stages. In calculation processing, each temporary coordinate value in each direction of SCAN is averaged. Thereby, the required time in one stage of the SECTOR SCAN is reduced, and errors caused by a residual induced voltage are cancelled. In the sixth construction, one SECTOR SCAN step consists of four stages. Each scanning step is formed by a selection as to whether the group of main-peak selection coils are scanned in a forward direction or in a reverse direction, whether the group of sub-peak selection sensor coils are made to have a left sub-peak or a right sub-peak and by the combination of the direction of scanning and the subpeak of the sub-peak selection sensor coil. As a result of this, the required time in the first step of the SECTOR SCAN is reduced, as well as errors caused by a residual induced voltage being cancelled. In the seventh construction, the group of sub-peak selection sensor coils are scanned prior to the scanning of the group of main-peak selection sensor coils in one scanning step of the SECTOR SCAN. This results in superior tracking of a sensed coordinate value with respect to the movement of the position indicator. In the eighth construction, the directions of scanning of the group of main-peak selection sensor coils in the sixth and seventh constructions are alternately selected, and the right and left of the sub-peak selection sensor coils are alternately selected. This makes it possible to minimize a difference between a plurality of sensed values, to be used in one calculation processing, occurring when they were sensed. Hence, a scanning method having superior tracking with respect to the movement of the position indicator is obtained. In the ninth construction, if a part of the group of selection sensor coils which must carry out SECTOR SCAN jut out of the effective area of the sensor plane, another sensor coil in the effective area will be tentatively taken as the selection sensor coil, and ordinary SECTOR SCAN will be carried out. As a result of this, an excess conditional branch or processing provided before the SECTOR SCAN becomes unnecessary. In the tenth construction, the tentatively selected selection sensor coil in the ninth construction is obtained from a region close to the opposing edges of the effective area. Since the tentative selection sensor coil is not a sensor coil for acquiring data, it is ideal that the tentative selection sensor coil is not affected by a substantial sensing action at all. Accordingly, it is possible to select a tentative selection sensor coil from a region which is most distant from the area where the substantial sensing action takes place. In the eleventh construction, even if only a sub-peak value on one side of both sub-peak values is substantially obtained, it is possible to calculate an inclination by the use of only a sub-peak value on one side. In the twelfth construction, the group of selection sensor coils to be scanned during the SECTOR SCAN can be determined on the basis of a result of ALL SCAN operation. In the thirteenth construction, the group of selection sensor coils to be scanned during SECTOR SCAN can be determined on the basis of a result of the SECTOR SCAN immediately before this SECTOR SCAN. In the fourteenth construction, sensor coils which will be skipped during scanning are prevented by selecting sub-peak selection sensor coils. This results in a reduced load on the control section. In the fifteenth construction, a sensor coil which actually provides a sub-peak value is prevented from being scanned in one scanning step of the SECTOR SCAN. This is attributable to the fact that a sensed signal value obtained from a sensor coil which is first scanned includes errors caused by a rise characteristic of a coil housed in the position indicator, and hence it is not suitable for data. As a result of this, an inclination calculated on the basis of a sub-peak value becomes more accurate. In the sixteenth construction, the accuracy of the inclination is improved by taking into account a coordinate value at the time of calculation of the inclination. In the seventeenth construction, if only a sub-peak value on one side only is obtained in one scanning step during the SECTOR SCAN, sub-peak selection sensor coils on both sides will be exceptionally scanned so as to obtain subpeak values on both sides in only the first scanning step. As a result of this, it is possible to calculate an inclination using sub-peak values on both sides even in the first step. In the eighteenth construction, if a part of the group of selection sensor coils which must execute SECTOR SCAN jut out of the effective area of the sensor plane, the group of selection sensor coils will be fixed to a predetermined number of sensor coils from the edge of the effective area, and a sensed signal value shown by a sensor coil spaced apart, by an equal distance, from the sensor coil which indicates a main peak value will be taken as a sub-peak value. As a result of this, even if the group of selection sensor coils are fixed, a sub-peak which moves along with the movement of the main peak can be correctly sensed. In the nineteenth and twentieth constructions, it is possible to minimize a difference in measuring time between an X coordinate axis and a Y coordinate axis. According to the position sensing method for use in a coordinate input apparatus of the present invention, data is obtained only from one sensor coil which shows the maximum value of a right sub-peak and one sensor coil which shows the maximum value of a left sub-peak particularly during SECTOR SCAN in which sub-peak selection sensor coils on both sides of a main-peak selection sensor coil as well as the main-peak selection sensor coil are scanned. By virtue of this configuration, the number of sub-peak selection sensor coils is reduced, and the times required for SECTOR SCAN and the time for calculating an inclination are also reduced. Loads on a control section and a signal processing section, which are relevant to switching control of sensor coils, transmission/receiving control and processing of a received signal, or the like, are reduced. Moreover, a rate of transfer of data to a host machine is improved. The SECTOR SCAN in the position sensing method of the present invention realizes scanning in both directions, that is, in a forward direction and in a reverse direction in order to obtain a main peak in addition to scanning to obtain both sub-peaks. Furthermore, such scanning in both directions is effected without decreasing a rate of transfer of data to the host machine. Additionally, in calculation processing, it is possible not only to execute simple averaging calculation but also to cancel errors of coordinate values caused by a residual induced voltage. As a result of this, more accurate coordinate values are obtained. An inclination is usually calculated as a function of each piece of data obtained from both sub-peaks and a main peak, and hence an accurate inclination is obtained. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram for illustrating the principle operation of an ordinary coordinate input apparatus which uses the electromagnetic transfer method. FIG. 2 is a chart showing one process of a conventional sector scan in a position sensing method for use in a coordinate input apparatus. FIG. 3 is a chart showing a sensor coil scanning method for use in sector scan in a first embodiment of the position sensing method for a coordinate input apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a chart showing the sensor coil scanning method for use in SECTOR SCAN in a second embodiment of the position sensing method for a coordinate input apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a chart showing the sensor coil scanning method for use in SECTOR SCAN in a third embodiment of the position sensing method for a coordinate input apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a chart showing the sensor coil scanning method for use in SECTOR SCAN in a fourth embodiment of the position sensing method for a coordinate input apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a chart showing the sensor coil scanning method for use in SECTOR SCAN in a fifth embodiment of the position sensing method for a coordinate input apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 8 is a chart showing the sensor coil scanning method for use in SECTOR SCAN in a sixth embodiment of the position sensing method for a coordinate input apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 9 is a chart showing the sensor coil scanning method in the sixth embodiment when it is applied to SECTOR SCAN intended to obtain coordinate values along X and Y axes and an inclination. FIG. 10 is a chart showing one example of the first process in a scanning method in which a sub-peak value on one side only is obtained in one process of sector scan. FIG. 11 is a schematic representation showing a sensor plane in the surface of a position sensing plate of a coordinate input apparatus and an effective area of the sensor plane. FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating a conventional sector scan method with respect to the edge regions in the effective area. FIGS. 13A to 13D are charts illustrating the conventional sector scan method with respect to the edge regions in the effective area. FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing a sector scan method of the present invention with respect to the edge regions in the effective area. FIGS. 15A to 15C are charts showing the sector scan method of the present invention with respect to the edge regions in the effective area; and FIGS. 16A and 16B are charts showing a method of processing an inner sub-peak signal when the conventional sector scan method shown in FIG. 12 is used. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail. In each of embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 through 8, for simplicity, sensor coils only along one axis, i.e., an X axis or a Y axis are shown. However, sensor coils along the other axis are also shown similarly. FIG. 3 is a chart showing a sensor coil scanning method for use in SECTOR SCAN in a first embodiment of a position sensing method for a coordinate input apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 shows one process of SECTOR SCAN. On the assumption that from left to right in the drawing is a forward direction, a group of two left-subpeak selection sensor coils 110b, a group of seven main-peak selection sensor coils 110a, and a group of two right-subpeak selection sensor coils 110c are scanned, in that order, in a forward direction. In regard to the group of main-peak selection sensor coils 110a, seven sensor coils centered on a sensor coil C3, from which a main peak value 120a was obtained as a result of all-scanning operation, are selected in the same manner as in a conventional method. The feature of the present invention resides in that interpolation calculation is not carried out with respect to sub-peak values. Specifically, in the present invention, the sensor coils C-2 and C8, from which sub-peak values 120b and 120c were respectively obtained as a result of all-scanning operation, are taken as the groups of sub-peak selection sensor coils 110b and 110c during the SECTOR SCAN. The left sub-peak value 120b and the right sub-peak value 12c, respectively obtained from the sensor coils C-2 and C8, are directly used as true sub-peak values during the SECTOR SCAN. In this way, according to the present invention, all that is needed is basically to scan one right sub-peak selection sensor coil and one left sub-peak selection sensor coil. However, in practice, a sensor coil C-1 is added to the sensor coil C-2, and a sensor coil C7 is added to the sensor coil C8. Eventually, two sub-peak selection sensor coils are scanned for each side. The sensor coil C-1 and the sensor coil C7 are used in only the transmission and receiving of an electromagnetic wave, and they are not used in calculation. The scanning of two sub-peak selection sensor coils on each side is actually attributable to the stabilization of a received signal and the facilitation of control. In connection with the stabilization of a received signal, it takes a little time until an induced voltage of a resonance circuit, or the like, in a position indicator rises, and therefore data from a sensor coil, which first carried out transmission or receiving, contains a slight error. Accordingly, it is desirable for a sensor coil which acquires data to be different from the first sensor coil used in one process of SECTOR SCAN. In other words, a sensor coil scanned after the resonance circuit has been stabilized, (after a received signal has been stabilized) acquires more stable data compared with the first scanned sensor coil (see fourth and sixth embodiments which will be described later). In connection with the facilitation of control, in view of the control of scanning of a sensor coil, processing of continuous scanning is simpler when compared with processing of scanning which skips specific sensor coils, and therefore the control section experiences a smaller load (see the first embodiment, and a second embodiment, a third embodiment, and a fifth embodiment which will be described later). In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3, a calculation routine 130 is executed every time one process of SECTOR SCAN is completed, and a result of the calculation is fed to a host machine. The calculation routine 130 determines a true main peak value 120a' and a coordinate value thereof by means of interpolation calculation. An inclination is also calculated from the left sub-peak value 120b and the right sub-peak value 120c by means of a predetermined calculation of an inclination. When the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is compared with the conventional example shown in FIG. 2, the number of sub-peak selection sensor coils is reduced from three to two for each side. Moreover, in the first embodiment, it is basically possible to use only one sub-peak selection sensor coil for each side, as previously mentioned. Compared with the conventional example, the number of sub-peak selection sensor coils can be significantly reduced. In addition, the present invention does not require interpolation in order to obtain true sub-peak values, and hence the calculation routine is facilitated, and a calculation time is also reduced. FIG. 4 is a chart showing the sensor coil scanning method in a second embodiment of the position sensing method for a coordinate input apparatus. FIG. 4 shows two successive processes. A process A and a process B shown in the drawing are alternately repeated. Even in this second embodiment, the group of seven main-peak selection sensor coils 210a centered on the sensor coil C3 which indicates a main peak value 220a are scanned with respect to the main peak in the same manner as in the conventional example. The group of main-peak selection sensor coils 210a are scanned in processes A and B. In the second embodiment, the group of left sub-peak selection sensor coils 210b, consisting of two sensor coils C-2 and C-1, are scanned in process A. The group of right sub-peak selection sensor coils 210c, consisting of two sensor coils C7 and C8, are scanned in process B. As with the first embodiment, even in the second embodiment, only the sub-peak selection sensor coils C-2 and C8 acquire data, and a left sub-peak value 220b and a right sub-peak value 220c respectively obtained from these sensor coils are used instead of true sub-peak values. Therefore, it is possible to omit the scanning of the sensor coils C-1 and C7 (in other words, it is possible to skip them without scanning). In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4, a calculation routine 230 is executed every time process A is completed, and a result of the calculation is fed to the host machine. In the same manner, a calculation routine 231 is executed every time process B is completed, and a result of the calculation is fed to the host machine. By means of the calculation routines 230 and 231, true main peak values (not shown) and coordinate values thereof are determined by interpolation. An inclination is also calculated by each calculation routine. In the case of the calculation routine 230, an inclination is calculated from the left sub-peak value 220b obtained in the illustrated process A and the right sub-peak value obtained in process B (not shown) before process A. In the case of the calculation routine 231, an inclination is calculated from the left sub-peak value 220b obtained in the illustrated process A and the right sub-peak value 220c obtained in the illustrated process B. In this way, in the second embodiment, one of the right and left subpeak values is obtained in one process, and the other subpeak value is obtained in the subsequent process. Thus, the left and right sub-peak values are alternately obtained for each process. For this reason, there is a time difference, equivalent to one process, between the data of both sub-peak values used in the calculation of an inclination, and therefore tracking, with respect to the inclination of the position indicator, is slightly decreased. However, the number of sensor coils which are scanned in one process of SECTOR SCAN in the first embodiment is eleven, but the number of the scanned sensor coils in the second embodiment is nine. Accordingly, scan time is reduced. The calculation routine 130 in the first embodiment and the calculation routine 230 in the second embodiment are completely the same, and therefore both routines require the same time. In this way, the rate (frequency) of transmission of data to the host machine in the second embodiment is faster (or more frequent) than that in the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, it is impossible to execute the ordinary calculation of an inclination because only one sub-peak value is obtained after the completion of the first process of SECTOR SCAN. Differing from a subsequent process which follows the calculation of the inclination, only the first process is subjected to special processing. This special processing will be described later in detail with reference to FIGS. 11 to 12. FIG. 5 shows the sensor coil scanning method for use in SECTOR SCAN in a third embodiment of the position sensing method for a coordinate input apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 5 shows two successive processes in SECTOR SCAN, and illustrated processes A and B are alternately repeated. Process A (in a forward direction) is the same as the process of the first embodiment, whilst process B scans the group of sensor coils scanned in process A in a reverse direction. In other words, in process A, a group of two left sub-peak selection sensor coils 310b, a group of seven main-peak selection sensor coils 210a, and a group of two sub-peak selection sensor coils 310c are scanned. In process B, the three groups of sensor coils are scanned in a reverse direction. Even in the third embodiment, only the sub-peak selection sensor coils C-2 and C8 acquire data, left and right sub-peak values 320b and 320c, respectively obtained from the sub-peak sensor coils C2 and C8, are directly used instead of true sub-peak values. Hence, it is possible to omit the sensor coils C-1 and C7. Even in the third embodiment, a calculation routine 330 is executed every time process A (in a forward direction) is completed, and a result of the calculation is fed to the host machine. Calculation routines 330 and 331 are different from the calculation routines in the first and second embodiments previously mentioned, in that the calculation routines 330 and 331 include calculation to correct an influence of a residual induced voltage which depends on the previously mentioned direction of scanning. In the case of the scan in a reverse direction, the influence of the residual induced voltage appears in the opposite direction to the direction in which the influence appears in the case of the scan in a forward direction. For this reason, it is possible to cancel an error by averaging the data obtained as a result of scanning in both directions. In effect, it is not necessary to correct the error by the use of received signals obtained as a result of scan in both directions. Each temporary coordinate value for scan in each direction is first calculated by an ordinary calculation routine, and it is possible to cancel a difference in coordinate value by simply averaging the obtained coordinate values. The cancellation of the error is effective irrespective of the presence or absence of switching operations of the position indicator. Therefore, in the calculation routine 330 of process A shown in FIG. 5, after a true main peak value (not shown), and a coordinate value and an inclination thereof have been calculated, a temporary coordinate value calculated in process A and a temporary coordinate value calculated in process B (not shown) which precedes process A are averaged and calculated. Thereafter, a true coordinate value obtained as a result of averaging is sent to the host machine together with the inclination data. In the calculation routine 331 of process B shown in FIG. 5, after a true main peak value (not shown), and a coordinate value and an inclination thereof have been calculated, a coordinate value calculated in process B and the temporary coordinate value, which is obtained in process A and is not yet averaged, are averaged and calculated. Thereafter, a true coordinate value obtained as a result of averaging is sent to the host machine together with the inclination data. FIG. 6 shows the sensor coil scanning method for use in SECTOR SCAN in a fourth embodiment of the position sensing method for a coordinate input apparatus. The fourth embodiment is the most simple example in which the scanning method for alternately scanning left and right sub-peak values (for example, the second embodiment) and a scanning method for alternately scanning in a forward direction and a reverse direction (for example, third embodiment) are combined together. In the fourth embodiment, the directions of scanning of a group of selection sensor coils, that is, the scanning of the sensor coils in a forward direction and a reverse direction, and the order of scanning of a group of right and left sub-peak selection sensor coils are alternately switched for each process. Hence, the SECTOR SCAN in this embodiment consists of repetition of the illustrated processes A and B. In the fourth embodiment, particularly, right and left sub-peak values used in the calculation of an inclination in calculation routines 430 and 431 are sub-peak values obtained in the present process and the preceding process. Therefore these data items have a superior accuracy of inclination because there is little time difference between these data items (for example, in fifth and sixth embodiments which will be described later, in some case, both sub-peak values are obtained from the present process and the process before the preceding process). FIG. 7 shows a fifth embodiment which is one example to which the fourth embodiment is applied. In FIG. 7, SECTOR SCAN consists of four successive processes. Illustrated processes A, B, C, and D are repeated in this order. In processes A and B, a group of sensor coils, comprising or a group of left sub-peak selection sensor coils 510b and a group of main-peak selection sensor coils 510a, are scanned respectively in a forward direction (process A) and in a reverse direction (process B). Conversely, in processes C and D, a group of sensor coils, comprising of a group of right sub-peak selection sensor coils 510c and a group of main-peak selection sensor coils 510a, are scanned respectively in a forward direction (process C) and in a reverse direction (process D). As with the previous embodiments, only the sub-peak selection sensor coils C-2 and C8 acquire data, and hence the scanning of the sensor coils C-1 and C7 can be omitted. Even in the fifth embodiment, calculation routines 530 through 533 are respectively executed every time each process is completed, and results of the calculations are sent to the host machine. Each calculation routine in each process calculates a true coordinate value by averaging a temporary coordinate value calculated from a signal received during the process and another temporary coordinate value calculated from a signal received in the preceding process, and the obtained coordinate value is sent to the host machine together with inclination data. The inclination is calculated in each calculation routine in each process by the use of one of the right and left sub-peak values obtained in the present process and the most recent remaining sub-peak value obtained in the preceding. Turning to the example shown in the drawing, in the calculation routine 532 of process C, an inclination is calculated by the use of a right sub-peak value 520c obtained in process C and a left sub-peak value 521b obtained in process B. In the calculation routine 533 of process D, an inclination is calculated by the use of a right sub-peak value 521c obtained in process D and the left sub-peak value 521b obtained in process B. Particularly, when SECTOR SCAN consists of four processes as shown in the fifth embodiment, the following advantages will be obtained. Specifically, in addition to the contents of the calculation routines in the previous embodiments, it becomes possible to carry out correction calculation of an inclination, taking into account data of a coordinate value for obtaining a more accurate inclination value. Furthermore, in the same manner as in the calculation of a coordinate value, it becomes possible to obtain more accurate data by averaging inclination values respectively obtained for directions of scanning. Even in the fifth embodiment, a scan time for one process is reduced, and it is also possible to eliminate an error of a coordinate value which exists in the directions of scanning. Moreover, in the fifth embodiment, scanning is continuously carried out from the left to the right, and from the right to the left, without skipping any one of sensor coils during one process. It can be said that the scans load the control section less. FIG. 8 shows the sensor coil scanning method for use in SECTOR SCAN in a sixth embodiment of the position sensing method for a coordinate input apparatus. FIG. 8 shows four successive processes in SECTOR SCAN, and illustrated processes A, B, C, and D are repeated in this order. The sixth embodiment is different from the fourth embodiment in that the group of main-peak selection sensor coils are scanned after a group of sub-peak selection sensor coils have been scanned in each process. Another feature of the sixth embodiment resides in the fact that when a group of sub-peak selection sensor coils are set to two, the sub-peak selection sensor coils C-2 and C8 which practically provide sub-peak values are scanned not first but second. As previously mentioned, results of the first transmission and receiving, obtained when the resonance circuit, or the like, of the position indicator is unstable, are not used as data, but results of the second transmission and receiving, obtained when the resonance circuit of the position indicator is stable, are used as data. Such a method is used when importance is put on the accuracy of an inclination. However, the order of scanned sensor coils is switched, and hence it can be said that such a scan heavily loads the control section. It should be noted that the forward direction and the reverse direction in the scanning method of the present invention refer to the direction of scanning of at least the group of main-peak selection sensor coils. This is because the correction of an error caused by the previously mentioned residual induced voltage of the position indicator is carried with respect to a coordinate value obtained from a result of the scan of the group of main-peak selection sensor coils. Therefore, as with the sixth embodiment, the directions of scanning of the group of sub-peak selection sensor coils may not be matched with the directions of the scanning of the group of main-peak selection sensor coils. In connection with the main peak of the sixth embodiment, as with the previous embodiments, a group of main-peak selection sensor coils 610a are alternately scanned in a forward direction and a reverse direction. For the sub-peak in the sixth embodiment, in the processes A, B, C, and D, each group of sub-peak selection sensor coils are scanned in the order of a left sub-peak 610b and a right sub-peak 610c, and in the order of the right subpeak 610c and the left sub-peak 610b before the scanning of the group of main-peak selection sensor coils. Even in the sixth embodiment, calculation routines 630 through 633 are respectively executed every time each process is completed, and results of the calculations are set to the host machine. Each of the calculation routines 630 through 633 includes averaging calculation of a coordinate value in order to cancel the influence of the residual induced voltage. Each calculation routine of each process calculates a true coordinate value by averaging a temporary coordinate value calculated from a received signal in the present process and another temporary coordinate value obtained from a received signal in the preceding process, and the obtained coordinate value is sent the host machine together with inclination data. In each calculation of each process, the inclination is calculated by the use of one of the right and left sub-peak values obtained in the present process and the most recent remaining sub-peak value obtained in the process before the present process. Even in the sixth embodiment, the SECTOR SCAN consists of four processes, and as with the fifth embodiment, it is possible for the calculation of inclination to have the correction and averaging of a coordinate value in order to obtain a more accurate inclination value. In the fourth to sixth embodiments, it is impossible to execute ordinary calculation of an inclination when the first process (the fourth and sixth embodiments) and the second process (the fifth embodiment) of SECTOR SCAN have been completed, because only one of the sub-peak values is obtained. For this reason, with respect to the calculation of an inclination, only the first and second processes are subjected to special processing differing from the process to which the subsequent processes are subjected. This special processing will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 10. Throughout the drawings for the embodiments, for simplicity of explanation, scanning along only one axis (for example, the X axis) is illustrated. FIG. 9 is a chart showing one example, in which the sixth embodiment is applied to SECTOR SCAN for obtaining coordinate values and inclination for the X and Y axes. This example is different from the sixth embodiment shown in FIG. 8 in that both X and Y axes are scanned in each process. Calculation routines are executed for each process after the scan has been completed. For example, in a calculation routine after the scanning of process B, temporary coordinate values are calculated respectively for axes by interpolation calculation of a received signal obtained from a group of main-peak selection sensor coils. Two temporary coordinate values obtained in respective processes, that is, in a forward direction (process A) and in a reverse direction (process B) are averaged, whereby a true X coordinate value and a true Y coordinate value are calculated. In connection with the calculation of an inclination, an inclination along the X axis and an inclination along the Y axis are calculated, from a left-sub peak value of process A and a right sub-peak value of process B, respectively for the axes. The obtained coordinate value data and inclination data for each axis are sent to the host machine for each process. As shown in FIG. 9, scanning along the X axis and scanning along the Y axis that is substantially subjected to parallel processing by carrying out time division is desirable. This is intended to reduce a difference when the X coordinate value is detected and when the Y coordinate value is detected as much as possible. Thereby, tracking of the sensing action of a coordinate with respect to the movement of the position indicator is improved. As already been mentioned, in the second, and fourth through sixth embodiments, on the assumption that the previously mentioned one process is carried out in the first process of SECTOR SCAN, only one sub-peak value is obtained. Hence, it is necessary to execute a special process, differing from the ordinary process, only for the first process. FIG. 10 shows one example of the first process for each of the previous embodiments. As can be seen from the drawing, it is necessary to scan the right and left sub-peak selection sensor coils together in the first process. As a result of this, it is possible to obtain both sub-peak values in the first process. To save a scan time, the group of main-peak selection sensor coils are scanned in only a forward direction in the first process. Assume that data obtained as a result of scan in a reverse direction are equal to the data obtained as a result of scan in a forward direction, taking no notice of errors. In this way, all of the data necessary for ordinary calculation routines are obtained, and hence it is possible to use a calculation routine, which is the same as the ordinary calculation routine, as a calculation routine in the first process. In this ordinary calculation routine, it is unnecessary to carry out averaging calculation of a coordinate value for the first process. However, compared with the case where another calculation routine which does not use averaging calculation is provided, the processing section undergoes a smaller load when the ordinary calculation routine is directly applied to the first process. In the calculation routines, coordinate values and indications are calculated respectively for the X and Y axes, and results of the calculation are sent to the host machine. The coordinate value and the both sub-peak values obtained in the first process are used in calculation routines in the following processes, as required. Hence, in any one of the embodiments, it is possible to start an ordinary process from the second process. An explanation will be Given of processing in the edge of the effective area of the sensor section of the coordinate input apparatus. FIG. 11 shows a surface of a position sensing plate 80 of the coordinate input apparatus. The inside of a rectangle 82 is an effective area of a sensor section. The effective area 82 can be divided into two areas; namely, a center region 82a (a white area) where right and left sub-peak values are obtained, and an edge region 82b (crosshatched regions along the X axis and hatched regions along the Y axis) where a sub-peak value only on one side is obtained. The sector scanning method shown in the previously mentioned embodiments can be applied to the center region 82a. There is no problem when a region required as data can be ensured by the use of only the center region 82a. However, when data of the edge region 82b are also used in the same manner as the data of the center region 82a, special processing is necessary. A conventional method for scanning the edge regions will now be described in detail before the method of scanning the edge region 82b according to the present invention will be explained. An explanation will be only given of one axis with reference to FIGS. 12 through 16, but the same explanation will be given of the other axis similarly, FIGS. 12 and 13A through 13D are flow charts for illustrating a conventional sector scan method for edge regions. FIG. 12 is a flow diagram and schematically shows the flow of conventional ALL SCAN and SECTOR SCAN. FIGS. 13A through 13D are charts showing the characteristics of a received signal in the vicinity of the edge region 82 of the sensor section under predetermined conditions. In FIGS. 13A through 13D (and FIGS. 15A through 15C), reference symbols SO, S1 . . . designate the absolute positions of a group of sensor coils in the effective area. In FIGS. 13A through 13D (and FIGS. 15A through 15C), a sensor coil positioned at the most left location in the effective area is designated by SO. On the other hand, C-2, C-1, . . . C7, C8 designate relative positions of a group of selection sensor coils which carry out SECTOR SCAN. In FIGS. 13A through 13D (and FIGS. 15A through 15C), a group of main-peak selection sensor coils are designated by CO-C6; a group of left sub-peak sensor coils being designated by C-2 and C-1; and right sub-peak selection sensor coils being designated by C7 and C8. In the flow chart shown in FIG. 12, ST1 designates ALL SCAN. ST2 and ST8 designate three conditional branches based on results of ALL SCAN or previous SECTOR SCAN. In ST2, whether or not an outer sub-peak value is detectable is determined. The outer sub-peak value indicates a sub-peak value of both sub-peak values which is close to the edge region (corresponding to a left sub-peak value in FIGS. 13A through 13D). What the outer sub-peak value is detectable means that it is possible to ensure the number of sensor coils required for executing interpolation calculation when the interpolation calculation is executed with respect to sub-peak values as conventionally carried out. For simplicity of explanation, it means that one sub-peak selection sensor coil is detectable. If the outer sub-peak value is detectable, ordinary SECTOR SCAN will be executed in ST3, and an ordinary calculation routine will be executed in ST4. This is shown in FIG. 13A. Accordingly, in connection with the left edge region 82b, it will be possible to execute ordinary SECTOR SCAN if the left sub-peak selection sensor coil C-2 appears in an inner sensor coil compared with the sensor coil S0. ST3 and ST4 are usually repeated several times, but they will be omitted. When the outer sub-peak value is undetectable, processing which does not detect the outer-peak value (including processing which sets a flag for instructing calculation of an inclination by the use of a sub-peak value only on one side in a subsequent calculation routine) is carried out in ST2. Thereafter, whether or not the group of main-peak selection sensor coils are in the effective area is determined in ST5. If the group of main-peak selection sensor coils are in the effective area, SECTOR SCAN including only the inner sub-peak will be executed in ST6 (FIG. 13B). If it is determined that some of the group of peak-selection sensor coils are outside the effective area in ST5, whether or not a main peak value is detectable will be determined in ST8. What the main peak value is detectable means that it is possible to ensure the minimum number of sensor coils required for executing interpolation calculation. For example, when interpolation calculation is executed by the use of data from three sensor coils, it means that three sensor coils (that is, C2 to C4) centered on a main-peak selection sensor coil C 3 which shows a main peak of the received signal are in the effective area. If the main peak value is detectable in ST8, processing will proceed to ST9. The number of selection sensor coils is fixed to a predetermined number (at least the number which makes it possible to ensure at least an inner peak value, and the number will be 10 in the example shown in the drawing ) in ST9. Only an inner sub-peak is subjected to SECTOR SCAN in ST10 (FIG. 13C). The processing proceeds to ST7, and a calculation routine, which includes the calculation of an inclination so as to calculate an inclination from a sub-peak only on one side, is executed. A coordinate value is ordinarily calculated in ST7. If the main peak value is undetectable in ST8, processing will return to ALL SCAN. Specifically, when data of three sensor coils are used in interpolation calculation of the main peak value, the main-peak selection sensor coil C3 is outside compared with the sensor coil SO (FIG. 13D). In the conventional sector scanning method for edge regions shown in FIGS. 12 and 13A through 13D, three conditional branches corresponding to ST2, ST5, and ST8 and processing corresponding to the branches are necessary. It is desirable for the control section that such conditional branches and the corresponding processing be reduced as much as possible so that the load on the control section will be minimized. If the conditional branches are few and the processing is small, the time required for SECTOR SCAN will also be reduced. FIGS. 14 and 15A through 15C show a sector scan method for edge regions according to the present invention. ST10 designates ALL SCAN. ST20 shows a conditional branch based on a result of ALL SCAN. Whether or not the main peak value is detectable is determined in ST20. For example, if interpolation calculation is carried out by the use of data from three sensor coils, whether or not three sensor coils (that is, C2 to C4) centered on the main-peak selection sensor coil C3 which shows a main peak of a received signal are in the effective area will be determined. If it is determined that the main peak value is detectable in ST20, the processing will proceed to ST30, and ordinary SECTOR SCAN will be carried out. FIGS. 15A and 15B show the example in which the ordinary SECTOR SCAN is carried out. In the case of SECTOR SCAN shown in FIG. 15A, there is no problem because both sub-peaks are in the effective area. However, in the case of SECTOR SCAN shown in FIG. 15B, an outer sub-peak is not detected. According to the present invention, the same SECTOR SCAN process is applied to either the case shown in FIG. 15A or the case shown in FIG. 15B. In the method of the present invention, it is considered that sensor coils in the sensor section are tentatively arranged into a ring pattern. In other words, when 48 sensor coils are actually arranged side by side from a sensor coil SO on the left end to a sensor coil 47 on the right end, assume that the sensor coils S47, S46, follow from the left side of the sensor coil S0 on the left end, and that the sensor coil S0, the sensor coil S1, . . . follow from the right side of the sensor coil 47 on the right end. These are assumptions in sensor coil selection processing in the control section. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 15B, if the sensor coil S1 is selected as the main-peak selection sensor coil C3 by ALL SCAN, eleven sensor coils; namely, a sensor coil S44 (C-2), . . . a sensor coil S47 (C1), the sensor coil SO (C2), . . . a sensor coil S6 (C8) are taken as a group of selection sensor coils in SECTOR SCAN in ST30, and SECTOR SCAN is executed for the group of selection sensor coils. As a matter of course, a received signal value actually obtained from the sensor coils S44 to S47 is zero. In other words, the selection of the sensor coils S44 to S47 is a dummy selection. When the dummy selection is carried out, it is necessary to execute processing to such an extent that some flag is set to indicate the execution of dummy selection. This processing is intended to give an instruction that the calculation of an inclination is carried out by the use of only a sub-peak on one side in the subsequent calculation routine. Whether or not the right and left sub-peak values are detected as effective values is determined by the use of the flag in a signal processing subsequent to SECTOR SCAN. If both sub-peak values are actually detected in ST40, ordinary calculation routine will be executed in ST50. In the ordinary calculation routine, an inclination is calculated from both sub-peak values. If only a sub-peak value on one side is detected in ST40, a calculation routine, which includes a calculation so as to calculate an inclination from only the sub-peak value on one side, will be executed in ST60. Even in ST60, a coordinate value is ordinarily calculated. If a main peak value is undetectable in ST20, the processing will proceed to ALL SCAN. In other words, for example, when data of three sensor coils are used in interpolation calculation of the main peak value, the main-peak selection sensor coil C3 is situated outside when compared with the sensor coil SO (FIG. 15C). According to FIGS. 14, 15A through 15C, it is unnecessary to change the sector scan method even in the edge region so long as the main peak is detectable. Specifically, all that is needed to do is to execute only the same ordinary SECTOR SCAN as carried out in the center region. Compared with this, in the conventional method shown in FIGS. 12 and 13A through 13D, SECTOR SCAN is selected from any of a plurality of sector scan methods depending on the presence or absence of sub-peaks, and the selected scan is executed. According to the present invention, compared with the conventional method, the number of conditional branches are few and the corresponding processing is small, the control section undergoes a reduced load. FIGS. 16A and 16B show an improved method for processing an inner sub-peak when the conventional SECTOR SCAN, shown in FIGS. 12 and 13A through 13D, is used. Sector scan, when only an inner sub-peak (a right sub-peak in the drawing) is detected, is executed in ST10 shown in FIG. 12. As shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B, the main-peak selection sensor coil C3 may move between the sensor coils S4 and S1 at this time. At this time, another sensor coil spaced apart from the main-peak selection sensor coil C3 by a predetermined interval is taken as an inner sub-peak selection sensor coil. In the illustrated example, a fifth sensor coil counted to the right from the main-peak selection sensor coil C3 in the illustrated example, is taken as an inner sub-peak selection sensor coil C8. This facilitates the determination of the inner sub-peak selection sensor coil. Although, an explanation was given of the case where the sensor coil scanning method according to the present invention, particularly, the sector scan method is applied to a coordinate input apparats which uses the electromagnetic transfer method, the present invention is effective for application to a coordinate input apparatus which uses another position sensing method. Specifically, the sector scanning method, according to the present invention, which uses the minimum sub-peak selection sensor coils is also applicable to all position sensing methods which have a process of scanning a plurality of sensor coils arranged on a sensor section, and detect not only a main peak signal but also right and left sub-peak signals for detecting an inclination. It is also possible to apply the sector scan method of the present invention for use in edge regions of the effective area of the sensor section with respect to the above mentioned position sensing methods. Moreover, the problem of the residual induced voltage is not limited to the resonance circuit of the position indicator, but it also arises in a frequency filter, or the like, of a circuit for detecting a received signal. For this reason, the sector scan method, according to the present invention, which permits cancellation of residual induced voltages is applicable to all position sensing methods which have a process of scanning a plurality of sensor coils provided on a sensor section and employ an induced voltage in sensing a coordinate value. Several embodiments of the invention have now been described in detail. It is to be noted, however, that these descriptions of specific embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles underlying the inventive concept. It is contemplated that various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the invention will, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, be apparent to persons skilled in the art.

A position sensing method in a coordinate sensing apparatus comprising a sensor section forming a sensor plane, a plurality of sensor coils arranged side by side along coordinate axes, and a position indicator having at least a coil. The method provides at least a coordinate value of a position indicated by the position indicator and an inclination of the position indicator in relation to the sensor plane by the use of a value of a sensing signal including a main peak value and at least one subpeak value, both being obtained from interactive action between the position indicator and a specified sensor coil from the group of sensor coils.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to heating and cooling systems, and particularly to a heat exchanger in cooling systems to save energy in cooling operations, such as during peak utility use periods. 2. Description of the Related Art The need to produce heated or cooled air or other fluid, and/or to transfer warmer or cooler air or other fluid from one location to another, has been evident for some time. Contemporary means for cooling the interior of a structure is by air conditioning, essentially comprising a fluid refrigerant that changes phase from liquid to gas depending upon its temperature and pressure. A compressor is used to drive the refrigerant through the system, with expansion of the fluid from liquid to gas resulting in a decrease in temperature that is transferred to the area being cooled. More generally, such systems are known as “heat pumps,” and are reversible to deliver warmer air into the structure when desired. All of these systems require energy input, as their compressors are generally relatively high power demand devices. They are generally powered by electrical power from the local electrical grid or network. Electrical power companies have long recognized that electrical demand is greatest at certain times of the day, depending upon the season and ambient temperature. In warmer conditions, electrical demand is of course highest during the warmest part of the day, with demand decreasing as the temperature cools. Accordingly, electrical power companies generally increase the cost of electricity to the consumer during the periods of greatest demand, both to encourage conservative use during those periods in order to encourage reducing the need for more power production, for example. A number of devices have been developed in response to the above-described electrical rate adjustment system, with such devices universally operating during off-peak times and storing the resulting cold mass (e.g., water, etc.) to cool the desired area during periods of higher energy cost, typically during the warmer part of the day. These devices generally operate at a sufficiently low temperature as to produce ice buildup on the water contact surface of the interface between the cooling agent and the water being cooled. Ice production is desirable, as the colder temperature of the ice is capable of absorbing more heat from the volume being cooled. However, it can be difficult to remove ice from the freezing surface (e.g., cooling coils, etc.), which ice removal process requires energy over and above the energy required for cooling. Also, many such systems produce ice in relatively large volumetric units (e.g., ice cubes or blocks, etc.), with the relatively high volume to surface area ratio of such ice reducing the ability of the ice to melt rapidly to absorb heat from the water. An example of a device to remove ice from a surface is found in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-204577 published on Sep. 16, 1991 to Daikin Industries, Ltd. This reference describes a hollow cylindrical container adapted to form ice upon its inner surface. A concentric shaft rotates within the cylinder, with elongate scraper blades extending radially from the shaft to bear against the inner wall of the cylinder. The blades are stiffened by a metal insert to limit distortion. An example of a cooling system that produces water ice for use in cooling the water in the system is found in Japanese Patent No. 2000-304307 published on Nov. 2, 2000 to Tohoku Electric Power Co. et al. This reference describes a cooling system having several tanks, with ice being formed in one tank and then transferred to another tank for melting and cooling water within that tank. Thus, a heat exchanger addressing the aforementioned problems is desired. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Embodiments of a heat exchanger essentially include a coolant tank or container having a coolant inlet manifold at its top and a coolant outlet manifold at its bottom. The coolant is preferably water, but may be some other liquid as desired. The tank includes a series of perforated baffles therein to limit the movement of ice within the tank while still allowing water to flow through the perforations of the baffles, thus providing a greater amount of water flow and contact with the ice within the tank. At least one, and desirably a series of, refrigerant circulators are installed adjacent the floor of the tank. Each of these refrigerant circulators desirably has a low, flat circular form with a coil or spiral coolant path therein. Inlet and outlet manifolds are provided to transfer refrigerant to and from the circulators. The refrigerant can be a brine solution to produce a freezing point lower than that of pure water, or the refrigerant can be some other solution having a relatively low freezing point, such as having a freezing point lower than the coolant, for example. As the refrigerant circulators are in contact with the floor of the tank, ice forms from the coolant, such as water, on the floor of the tank during operation of the system. Accordingly, each of the circulators has a rotary scraper extending upwardly therefrom, the shaft of the rotary scraper extending through the floor of the water tank. The scrapers rotate, such as over the floor of the tank, to remove the ice formed from the cooled coolant on the floor from the bottom of the tank, with the removed ice having the form of a multitude of very thin ice flakes to maximize the surface area of each piece of ice and therefore maximize heat transfer from the water to melt the ice. The coolant, such as the chilled water (or other coolant), can be stored in the tank until needed, or the coolant can be circulated from the coolant inlet manifold through the tank to the coolant outlet manifold, and then removed from the tank through the coolant outlet manifold for use in cooling operations, such as in another area (e.g., the interior of a building structure, etc.) or device, for example. These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger according to the present invention, illustrating its basic structure. FIG. 2 is a side elevation view in section of the heat exchanger according to the present invention, illustrating further details thereof. FIG. 3 is a detailed perspective view of a refrigerant circulator of the heat exchanger according to the present invention, illustrating details thereof. FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of an array of refrigerant circulators of the heat exchanger according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of the array of refrigerant circulators of FIG. 4 , of the heat exchanger according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of the coolant inlet manifold of the heat exchanger according to the present invention, illustrating details thereof. FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of the coolant outlet manifold of the heat exchanger according to the present invention, illustrating details thereof. Unless otherwise indicated, similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The heat exchanger uses a refrigerant that is cooled, such as can be suitably cooled during off-peak periods of electrical use when the cost of electrical power, or other energy, such as natural gas, can be less expensive, for example, and the refrigerant is used to cool a liquid coolant, such as water or other suitable coolant liquid. The water or other coolant can then be used to cool a location, an area (e.g., building interior, etc.), a structure or a device, for example, to save energy during a cooling operation. FIG. 1 of the drawings provides a perspective view of an embodiment of a heat exchanger 10 , with FIG. 2 providing an elevation view of the heat exchanger 10 in section. The heat exchanger 10 includes a coolant tank 12 for water or other coolant, as desired. The coolant tank 12 is a substantially closed structure having a floor 14 , side walls 16 , and a top 18 , with the floor 14 , the walls 16 , and the top 18 defining an interior volume 20 of the coolant tank 12 . The interior volume 20 includes a plurality of vertically oriented, perforated baffles 22 therein, with the baffles 22 serving to reduce movement of ice within the coolant tank 12 , while the perforations 24 (shown more clearly in FIG. 2 ) allow a relatively free flow of water (or other coolant) in the interior volume 20 , for example. The heat exchanger 10 can be supported, such as in a generally upright position, on a suitable supporting arrangement, such as a platform and column type supporting structure 11 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 , for example. A plurality of refrigerant circulators 26 are installed adjacent the floor 14 of the coolant tank 12 , and serve to circulate a suitable refrigerant in contact with or in communication with the tank floor 14 in order to cool the coolant within the coolant tank 12 . While a single relatively large refrigerant circulator 26 can be provided, it is desirable to provide a relatively large number of refrigerant circulators 26 , e.g., nine in a three by three matrix as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 for the substantially square platform of the tank floor 14 in the illustrated embodiment of the heat exchanger 10 , and the number of refrigerant circulators used can depend on the particular use or application, for example. FIG. 3 illustrates a single exemplary refrigerant circulator 26 . The refrigerant circulator 26 has a suitable configuration for a use or application, such as a generally circular configuration, and includes a refrigerant pathway 28 , such as a closed spiral refrigerant pathway, provided for the refrigerant to flow therethrough. The refrigerant pathway 28 is defined by a spiral wall 30 that is positioned between a bottom 32 of the refrigerant circulator 26 and the adjacent, overlying floor 14 of the coolant tank 12 . A circular portion of the floor 14 is shown covering the spiral wall 30 and closed spiral pathway 28 of the refrigerant circulator 26 in FIG. 3 , with it being understood that the floor portion 14 shown in FIG. 3 is a relatively small portion of the floor 14 of the coolant tank 12 in FIGS. 1 and 2 . Thus, the refrigerant circulating within the refrigerant circulator 26 is in contact with the lower surface of the floor 14 , to remove heat conducted through the floor 14 from the overlying coolant within the interior volume 20 of the coolant tank 12 to cool the coolant. The refrigerant used in the refrigerant circulators 26 of embodiments of a heat exchanger, such as the heat exchanger 10 , is typically desirably a liquid having a freezing point lower than that of the coolant in the coolant tank 12 , such as pure water as the coolant. With water as the coolant, a brine solution is desirably used as the refrigerant, due to its low cost and relatively low freezing point, for example. Although the refrigerant is typically in a liquid state when cooled below the freezing point of the coolant, such as water as the coolant, the heat transfer from the coolant, such as water or other coolant, within the coolant tank 12 through the floor 14 to the refrigerant within the refrigerant circulator 26 results in a relatively thin sheet of ice forming on the upper surface of the floor 14 from the cooling of the coolant. If this formed ice is allowed to build up, it typically thickens and can then act as an insulator between the subfreezing floor 14 and refrigerant therebelow and the remaining liquid coolant, such as water, within the coolant tank 12 . It is desirable that this ice be removed and allowed to float upward in the coolant tank 12 , to more effectively cool the water within the coolant tank 12 , such as to enhance saving energy in a cooling operation of the heat exchanger 10 . Accordingly, an ice scraper mechanism or an ice scraper device 35 , such as including a rotary scraper shaft 34 communicating with a hub 38 to which one or more ice scraper blades 36 are attached, can desirably be provided for each of the refrigerant circulators 26 . The ice scraper mechanism or ice scraper device 35 can be integrated with, in communication with, or separate from the one or more refrigerant circulators 26 , such as depending upon the use or application, for example. Also, a single ice scraper mechanism or ice scraper device 35 , or a plurality of ice scraper mechanisms or ice scraper devices 35 , can be provided for ice removal for ice formed over the floor 14 of the coolant tank 12 from the cooling of the coolant, such as depending on the use or application, for example. The ice scraper mechanism or ice scraper device 35 is desirably arranged and positioned adjacent to the corresponding refrigerant circulator 26 , and the one or more ice scraper blades 36 are positioned over the floor 14 of the coolant tank 12 and can be desirably positioned in opposing relation to a corresponding refrigerant circulator 26 , for example. The rotary scraper shaft 34 (the upper end of which may be seen in FIG. 3 ) is generally concentric with the refrigerant circulator 26 , and extends upwardly therefrom to pass through the floor 14 , such as normal or substantially normal to the plane of the floor 14 , for example. At least one ice scraper blade 36 extends radially from the hub 38 at the upper end of the rotary scraper shaft 34 , there desirably being two or more such ice scraper blades 36 ; and three ice scraper blades 36 are illustrated in the ice scraper mechanism or the ice scraper device 35 in FIG. 3 , for example. A motor, or other suitable motive device, can be provided beneath or associated with the refrigerant circulator 26 , such as in the hub 38 , or communicating with the rotary scraper shaft 34 , or located at some other suitable location, to rotate the ice scraper blades 36 . The motor, or other suitable motive device, can be conventional, e.g., electric, or perhaps hydraulic, depending upon the flow of refrigerant through the refrigerant circulator 26 , to rotate the shaft 34 , the hub 38 , and the attached one or more ice scraper blades 36 , for example. Each ice scraper blade 36 has a leading edge 40 that is positioned over the floor 14 , such as in contact or substantial contact with the upper surface of the floor 14 , i.e., the surface of the floor 14 in communication with the interior volume 20 of the coolant tank 12 . As the ice scraper blades 36 move, such as rotate, their leading edges 40 bear against or move over the underlying surface of the floor 14 to scrape and remove ice formed from the cooling of the coolant in the coolant tank 12 that can form on the upper surface of the floor 14 within the coolant tank 12 . Desirably, only a relatively thin sheet of ice is allowed to form before the ice scraper blades 36 remove the ice. The removed ice is thus in the form of a relatively small and very thin sheet or crust having a relatively large surface area for its volume. This results in the chips of ice melting relatively rapidly, i.e., absorbing the heat from the surrounding water as they float upward within the coolant tank 12 . This can result in relatively high efficiency in cooling the coolant, such as water, within the coolant tank 12 . Each refrigerant circulator 26 includes a first or inlet opening 42 adjacent the periphery of the refrigerant circulator 26 and a second or outlet opening 44 generally positioned adjacent the center of the refrigerant circulator 26 . In this configuration, the brine (or other refrigerant) flows into the peripheral inlet opening 42 and flows by spiraling inwardly, for example, along the refrigerant flow path 28 and out of the refrigerant circulator 26 via the central outlet 44 . However, it will be seen that the flow direction may be readily reversed, if so desired, depending upon the particular use or application, for example. It is further desirable that a plurality of refrigerant circulators 26 be provided, e.g., nine in a three by three matrix, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5 , although the amount, arrangement and type of refrigerant circulators 26 can vary depending upon the use or application, for example, and should not be construed in a limiting sense. As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 , for example, a first refrigerant inlet manifold 46 having a series of branches 46 a connects to the peripheral inlet openings 42 of the refrigerant circulators 26 , as shown in the bottom perspective view of FIG. 5 , with a second refrigerant outlet manifold 48 having a series of branches 48 a connecting to the central outlets or outlet openings 44 . The first refrigerant manifold 46 receives chilled refrigerant (brine, etc.), such as from a conventional source of refrigeration. Refrigerant that has absorbed heat from the coolant, such as water (or other liquid coolant), in the coolant tank 12 is returned via the second refrigerant outlet manifold 48 to be cooled again, such as until the cooling cycle is terminated. Coolant flow (water, etc.) is provided through the coolant tank 12 in a similar manner, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 . A first coolant manifold 50 having a coolant inlet 51 and having inlet manifold branches 50 a is installed in the upper portion of the coolant tank 12 , and a second coolant manifold 52 having outlet manifold branches 52 a and having a coolant outlet 53 is installed, such as in opposing relation to the first coolant manifold 50 , in the lower portion of the coolant tank 12 generally just above the ice scraper blades 36 . The ends of the inlet manifold branches 50 a and the outlet manifold branches 52 a are supported by internal crossmembers 54 within the coolant tank 12 , as shown in FIG. 2 , for example. Desirably, the upper or first coolant manifold 50 is typically used as an inlet for the coolant, the coolant entering the first coolant manifold through the coolant inlet 51 , with FIG. 6 providing a detailed view of the first coolant manifold 50 . It is also desired that the coolant tank 12 not be completely filled with the coolant, but that there be some space at the top of the coolant tank 12 near the upper ends of the baffles 22 . Accordingly, the inlet manifold branches 50 a of the upper first coolant manifold 50 are provided with a large number of small spray passages or orifices 56 to spray the coolant, such as water (or other coolant), into the interior volume 20 of the coolant tank 12 . Depending upon the humidity within the coolant tank 12 , this can have some additional cooling effect due to evaporation in the upper portion of the coolant tank 12 , for example. The lower second coolant manifold 52 is typically used as an outlet manifold for the coolant, the coolant exiting from the second coolant manifold 52 through the coolant outlet 53 . The outlet manifold branches 52 a of the second coolant manifold 52 include a number of upper passages, such as the upper passages 55 a , 55 b and 55 c , disposed along each of the branches 52 a , as illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 7 . The specific configuration of these upper passages, such as the upper passages 55 a , 55 b and 55 c , can be of various configurations, such as dependent upon the particular use or application, so long as the upper passages, such as the upper passages 55 a , 55 b , and 55 c , can receive the coolant and can permit or facilitate the flow of the cooled coolant, such as water (or other coolant), from the coolant tank 12 , such as to a location, an area (e.g., building interior, etc.), a structure or a device, requiring cooling, for example. Where separate passages or ports are provided, such as the upper passages 55 a , 55 b and 55 c , the more distal ports are desirably somewhat larger in diameter than the ports or passages relatively closer to the second coolant manifold 52 , in order to assist in relatively more evenly distributing flow of the coolant from the coolant tank 12 , for example. In this regard, as illustrated in FIG. 7 , the upper passage 55 a has a diameter D 1 that is larger than a diameter D 2 of the upper passage 55 b , and the upper passage 55 b has the diameter D 2 that is larger than a diameter D 3 of the upper passage 55 c , for example. Accordingly, embodiments of a heat exchanger, such as the heat exchanger 10 , can provide a relatively efficient means of cooling a location, an area (e.g., building interior, etc.), a structure or a device, as well as can enhancing energy saving in the cooling process or operation. Also, embodiments of a heat exchanger can also operate to remove heat from an area or volume at some selected time according to the desires of the user, such as to take advantage of lower rates for electrical power. Further, embodiments of a heat exchanger in cooling a coolant can potentially decrease the operation of relatively high energy demand devices, such as compressors and the like, during periods of higher energy costs, for example. The embodiments of the heat exchanger thus can provide a potential savings for the operator or user thereof. It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.

The heat exchanger is adapted for cooling a coolant (e.g., water), used to cool a device or an area (e.g., building interior), such as during periods of peak energy cost and usage, to save energy and energy costs. The heat exchanger includes a coolant storage tank with one or more refrigerant circulators in contact with the floor of the tank. The circulators use a refrigerant having a freezing temperature colder than the coolant, with coolant on the floor of the tank forming a layer of ice thereon. A rotary scraper extends up through the tank floor from each circulator, with the scrapers operating to remove the thin layer of ice from the floor as the ice forms. The resulting ice chips are relatively small and thin, thus having a relatively large surface area for their volume in order to maximize melting and rapid cooling of the coolant.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates generally to a container or a carton having a plurality of selectable volumes. The present invention is also directed to a container having a plurality of identified markings to reduce container volume upon partial consumption of content. The container includes a plurality of fold facilitating creases adapted to allow panels to be folded or removed along a fold facilitating crease and/or perforation. At least one set of perforations or identified creases are provided in the box so as to form a shell and a second or a secondary box, where the shell is removed after the contents of the box have been partially consumed and space becomes available. The container may further include perforations, flaps, tabs, slits, indentations, notches, along or at an edge of the panel. A blank of bendable and creaseable material for forming a predefined selectable volume carton box is also disclosed. BACKGROUND INFORMATION [0002] Various efforts have been done in the past to improve the basic design and utility of a container. Similarly, efforts have been made to further the art of container but they have had limited success. [0003] U.S. Pat. No. 2,056,032 (Abraham Berman), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a variable volume box in which the outer wall is perforated at various heights, so as to be cut there along reducing the size of the box, wherein the upper outer walls of the box may be used as the flaps to close the box. [0004] U.S. Pat. No. 3,128,031 (Gerald Dembo), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses an invention relating to cartons, and more particularly to cartons which may be reduced in size as the contents thereof are used. [0005] U.S. Pat. No. 3,168,234 (Fred H. Bartz), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses form containers of the type allowing reduction of the original volume of the container by the disposal of a used section of the container after dispensing a portion of the contents of the container, while at the same time enabling closing of the reduced carton to minimize air spaces therewithin. [0006] U.S. Pat. No. 3,291,372 (William R. Saidel), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a laminated and reclosable carton box having strips located on the outer surface thereof at various levels so as to reduce the carton in height when those strips are removed. A top box may be placed at the various levels once the levels are reduced. [0007] U.S. Pat. No. 3,302,855 (William C. Becker), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses an improved, container construction wherein the same can be reduced in size as the product thereof is progressively removed so that the container construction of this invention will only require a minimum of storage space for the amount of product still remaining in the container construction. [0008] U.S. Pat. No. 3,971,506 (Robert Fred Roenna), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a tear open and relockable cardboard container comprising a first and a second top member having a first and a second top fold and a first and a second top edge which top members are secured in an overlapping relationship to form a top of the container. The first top member has a container aperture perforation with a locking projection extending toward the first edge. Locking slots extend from the sides of the container aperture perforation. The second member has a first and a second perforation with a lift tab fold line extending between the first and second perforation defining a lift tab therebetween. A lift tab perforation is located on the second top member and intersects the lift tab fold line funning a reopen tab. The container is opened by raising the lift tab to expose the container aperture. The container is relocked by inserting the lift tab into the locking slots with the locking projection extending through the lift tab perforation resulting in a first engagement between the lift tab and the bottom surface of the first member and resulting in a second engagement between the reopen tab and the top surface of the first member. The lift tab forms an obtuse angle with the second member resulting in an increase in the force of the first and second engagements by the weight of the contents of the container upon the lift tab when the container is overturned. The foregoing abstract is merely a resume of one general application, is not a complete discussion of all principles of operation or applications, and is not to be construed as a limitation on the scope of the claimed subject matter. [0009] U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,478 (Ralph J. Korte), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a paperboard container having an opening member defined by an array of perforations. A coating of plastically deformable and readily rupturable material is disposed on the inside surface of the container and extends on each side of each perforation in the array of perforations including the continuous section of paperboard material between adjacent perforations. The cooperation of the coating of plastically deformable material and the paperboard material ensures that the severances between adjacent perforations will be more precise, less ragged and will not produce detached slivers of paperboard material. [0010] U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,513 (William R. Newman), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses an invention that is generally accomplished by providing, a sheet of cover material, folding the sheet such that one portion to become the front extends up to a line slightly below the edge of the portion to become the back. The flap of the back portion extending above the front is coated with adhesive; the disposal container is formed by sealing the sides of the folded sheet. Outward of the seal lines that form the container are placed tear lines such as perforation lines. The object to be wrapped then is placed onto the exterior side of the front of the container, and the container is wrapped around the object and sealed with the adhesive strip on the flap to form a package. The ends of the package are then sealed. The package may be opened by tearing at the perforations and unrolling the container by releasing the adhesive flap to recover the wrapped article. After use the used article may be placed inside the container which is then sealed with the pressure-sensitive adhesive on the flap by adhering the flap to the front of the container. In a particularly preferred form, the package is used for wrapping and disposal of catamenial devices. The packages may be made from continuous strips of polymer sheet that are heat sealed at the end of each package and then cut between the packages. [0011] U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,808 (Darryl J. Rudd), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a variable volume carton box having a top lid with flaps which are secured in the conventional manner for cereal boxes or other boxes used to contain like commodities sold in grocery stores and supermarkets. At least one intermediate circumferential perforation is located around the box so as to allow the box to be reduced in size. Once the box is reduced in size by tearing or cutting along the perforation, another set of intermediate flaps are attached circumferentially around an interior section of the carton box to form the new lid used when the box is reduced in size, if a flexible airtight lining is used within the box, a circumferential perforation or mark line is located thereon just above the circumferential perforation of the variable volume carton box to allow the lining to be folded, thereby forming an airtight lining within the reduced volume carton box. [0012] U.S. Pat. No. 6,676,009 (Harold J. Rose), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses in a container having a plurality of selectable volumes including a plurality of fold facilitating creases adapted to allow panels to be folded or removed along a fold facilitating crease and/or perforation, further including, a first set and a second set of perforations or other separating mechanism extending substantially parallel to a corner edge to thereby define a removable strip for unconnecting panels that form a corner edge from one another. The first set of perforations and the second set of perforations or other separating mechanism are positioned at a spaced distance from each other. The first set of perforations or other separating mechanism is provided on a first panel while the second set of perforations or other separating mechanism is provided on either the corner edge itself or a second panel that form the corner edge. The container may further include lateral perforations as well as flaps, tabs, slits and slots along a top edge of the panels. [0013] U.S. Pat. No. 7,988,034 (Paul Pezzoli), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a container that is designed for shipping and holding various items. The container is formed from a blank of a material, such as corrugated material, plastic, paperboard, etc. and includes side panels extending between a top portion and a bottom portion. A tear line extends around the side panels for disengaging the top portion from the container thereby exposing all of the items extending along the side panels. An improved configuration of the perforations or slits along the tear line prevents the corners defined between the side panels from being damaged and deformed and provides for smooth tearing of the tear line from the container. A second tear section is defined in a portion of the container by a perforation line with the tear section being separable from the top portion thereby partially exposing the items contained in the container. [0014] None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. [0015] This invention improves on the deficiencies of the prior art and provides an inventive reducible container. PURPOSES AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0016] The invention is directed to a container having, a plurality of identified markings to reduce container volume upon consumption of content. [0017] Therefore, one purpose of this invention is to provide a cost effective, and a durable container having a plurality of identified markings to reduce container volume upon consumption of content. [0018] Another purpose of this invention is to provide a container that includes a plurality of fold facilitating creases adapted to allow panels to be folded or removed along a fold facilitating crease and/or perforation. [0019] Yet another purpose of this invention is to provide at least one set of perforations or identified creases on the outer surface of the box so as to form a shell and a second box, where the shell is removed after the contents of the box have been partially consumed and space becomes available for the formation of the intermediate or secondary box. [0020] Still yet another purpose of this invention is to have a container that may further include perforations, flaps, tabs, slits, indentations, notches, in or along a panel. [0021] Therefore, in one aspect this invention comprises a predefined selectable volume carton box having a front side, a back side, a right side, a left side, a top portion, and a bottom portion, said predefined selectable volume carton box comprising an upper closable lid located at the top portion thereof, and wherein said predefined selectable volume carton box further comprises: [0000] (a) at least one intermediate box located within said predefined selectable volume carton box between said top portion and said bottom portion of said predefined selectable volume carton box; (b) said at least one intermediate box being defined by an upper peripheral marking and a lower peripheral marking on the outside surface of said predefined selectable volume carton box; (c) said upper peripheral marking defining at least one removeable portion of said predefined selectable volume carton box to form at least one removable sleeve; and (d) said lower peripheral marking defining a bendable portion for said at least one in box. [0022] In another aspect this invention comprises a blank of bendable and creaseable material for forming a predefined selectable volume carton box, said blank comprising: [0000] (a) a first narrow side having a first left narrow side edge, a first right narrow side edge, a first narrow top edge; and a first narrow bottom edge; (b) a first wide side having a first left wide side edge, a first right wide side edge, a first wide top edge, and a first wide bottom edge, and wherein said first right narrow side edge is parallel and secured to said first left wide side edge; (c) a second narrow side having a second left narrow side edge, a second right narrow side edge, a second narrow top edge, and a second narrow bottom edge, and wherein said first right wide side edge is parallel and secured to said second left narrow side edge; (d) a second wide side having a second left wide side edge, a second right wide side edge, a second wide top edge, and a second wide bottom edge, and wherein said second right narrow side edge is parallel and secured to said second left wide side edge; (e) said blank comprising at least one upper peripheral marking from said first left narrow side edge to said second right wide side edge, and at least one lower peripheral marking from said first left narrow side edge to said second right wide side edge; (f) wherein said at least one upper peripheral marking, and said at least one lower peripheral marking, are on the outside surface of said predefined selectable volume carton box; and (g) wherein portion of said at least one upper peripheral marking to said first narrow bottom edge, said first wide bottom edge, said second narrow bottom edge, said second wide bottom edge, including said at least one lower peripheral marking define at least one intermediate box. [0023] In yet another aspect this invention comprises predefined selectable volume carton box having a front side, a back side, a right side, a left side, a top portion, and a bottom portion, said predefined selectable volume carton box comprising an upper closable lid located at the top portion thereof, and wherein said predefined selectable volume carton box further comprises: [0000] (a) at least one intermediate box located within said predefined selectable volume carton box between said top portion and said bottom portion of said predefined selectable volume carton box; (b) said at least one intermediate box being defined by an upper peripheral marking and a lower peripheral marking on the outside surface of said predefined selectable volume carton box; (c) said upper peripheral marking defining at least one removeable portion of said predefined selectable volume carton box to form at least one removable sleeve; (d) said lower peripheral marking defining a bendable portion for said at least one intermediate box; (e) said intermediate box has an intermediate closable lid along said bendable portion comprising a first top elongated intermediate flap with a first intermediate slot located thereon, a second top elongated intermediate flap with a first intermediate tab located thereon, and wherein said first intermediate tab and said first intermediate slot cooperate in such a manner as to securely close and open said intermediate closable lid. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0024] Although the scope of the present invention is much broader than any particular embodiment, a detailed description of the preferred embodiment follows together with drawings. These drawings are for illustration purposes only and are not drawn to scale. Like numbers represent like features and components in the drawings. The invention may best be understood by reference to the ensuing detailed description in conjunction with the drawings in which: [0025] FIG. 1 , illustrates a perspective view of a variable volume box according to a first embodiment of the invention. [0026] FIG. 2 , illustrates a perspective view of a variable volume box according to a second embodiment of the invention. [0027] FIG. 3 , illustrates a plan view looking at the outside surface of a blank structure of a carton incorporating features of the present invention according to a third embodiment of the invention. [0028] FIG. 4 , illustrates a plan view looking at the outside surface of a blank structure of a carton incorporating features of the present invention according to a fourth embodiment of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0029] Sometimes it takes a while to finish a box of food or anything and storing the original box when the plastic bag inside is almost done can be space consuming. To make an efficient use of space it would be beneficial to have a box that can be torn, for example, in half. This box has perforated side edges and a peripheral perforations along the front, back, and the two sides so that it can be easily torn so the box is reduced to, for example, half its size. [0030] FIG. 1 , illustrates a perspective view of a variable volume box 23 , according to a first embodiment of the invention. The variable volume box or container or carton 23 , comprises of a base or bottom 11 , a first or lower box portion 10 , a second or upper box portion 20 , a top portion 77 , comprising a first flap or closure 26 , and a second flap or closure 28 . The first flap 26 , could have a slit or opening or receiving area 27 , to receive a portion of a tab or protrusion 25 , of the second flap 28 . A portion of the receiving area 27 , could also have an adhesive 76 , as such a resealable adhesive 76 , which are well known in the art that could be used to resealably secure a portion of the tab 25 , to a portion of the first flap 26 , around the receiving area 27 . The upper portion 20 , and the lower portion 10 , of the container 23 , further comprise of two first or narrow face wall or sides 22 , and two second or wide face wall or sides 24 , such that they form a square or a rectangular or a polygonal shaped box 23 . Separating the lower box portion 10 , from the upper box portion 20 , is at least one peripherally formed perforation or weakened area or marked area or foldable area or creaseable area 19 . Above the foldable area 19 , in the second or upper removable portion. 20 , is at least one peripherally marked perforation area 29 , which can be used as a guide to separate the upper removable portion 20 , from the lower box 10 . Between the peripherally marked perforation area 29 , and the foldable area 19 , is a first or broad side flap 16 , a second or broad side flap 18 , and optionally at least one first narrow side flap 12 . The first broad side flap 16 , could have a limited perforation or slit or opening or receiving area 17 , to receive a portion of a tab or protrusion 15 , of the second flap 18 . It should be appreciated that both the slit 17 , and the tab 15 , are marked or identified on the face or outside surface of the box 23 , however they do not exist or appear to operate independently or become available for use until the upper removal portion 20 , of the box 23 , is removed along path identified by the removal portion 29 . The carton 23 , could have a liner or inner sleeve (not shown), which is well known in the art. Any contents (not shown) could be contained within the container 23 , or within the inner liner (not shown). The inner liner (not shown) is usually made from a collapsible material, such as, polyethylene, wax paper, to name a few, which are typically made to form a plastic type bag or container. As shown in FIG. 1 , the lower box portion 10 , and the upper removal portion 20 , are sold to a customer with the markings 15 , 19 , and perforations 17 , 29 , on the face or the outside surface of the box 23 , while the contents are inside the box 23 . It is only when the contents are partially consumed or when the customer wants to make space as the box 23 , is taking up space while the original contents, for example, are below the foldable area 19 , the customer at that time could easily press along the preformed perforations 29 , and remove the upper removal portion 20 . After the removal of the upper removal portion 20 , the customer would then bend the two optional narrow side flap 12 , towards the inside of the box 10 , and also the broad or wide side flap 16 , 18 , towards the inside of the box 10 . Once the crease or fold along the foldable path 19 , has been established the customer would press at the slit area 17 , to open the slit area 17 , which slit or area 17 , would then be used to receive the tab 15 . Thus the upper removal portion 20 , that did not have any content, but was taking, up shelf space at a consumer location, such as, home or office, once removed, would allow for box 10 , that still has the remaining contents to still provide useful service while taking substantially less shelf space. Optionally, the upper removable portion 20 , could also have pre-identified markings or perforations 20 A, along each edge of the upper removable portion 20 , of the variable volume box 23 , so that it is very easy for a user or customer to remove the upper removable portion 20 , not only along the peripheral perforations 29 , but also along the plurality of edges 20 A. The variable volume box 23 , also has pre-identified markings or perforations 20 B, along each edge between the upper removable portion 20 , and the foldable area 19 , so that it is very easy for a user or customer to remove the upper removable portion 20 , not only along the peripheral perforations 29 , but also along the plurality of edges 20 B, and allow the narrow side flaps 12 , and the broad side flap 16 , 18 , to independently be bendable or foldable. For sortie applications the predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , could also have at least one printed indicia 21 . The at least one printed indicia 21 , could be selected from a group comprising, product information, advertising, promotional material, slogans, to name a few. [0031] FIG. 2 , illustrates a perspective view of a variable volume box 14 , according to a second embodiment of the invention. The variable volume box or container or carton 14 , has been formed by the removal of the upper removal portion 20 , along the path identified by the removal portion 29 . The carton 14 , comprises of the base or bottom 11 , the first or lower or intermediate or secondary box portion 10 , the two first or narrow side wall or face 22 , the two second or the wide face wall or side 24 , the first flap or closure 16 , and the second flap or closure 18 . As shown in FIG. 2 , the tipper removal portion 20 , from FIG. 1 , has been removed by the customer. The customer can now separate the two optional narrow side flap 12 , from the adjacent broad side flap 16 , 18 , and bend them towards the inside of the box 10 , along the marked or bendable or crease area 19 . Similarly, the customer can now also separate the broad side flap 16 , 18 , from the two adjacent optional narrow side flaps 12 , and bend them towards the inside of the box 10 , along the indentation 19 . Once the crease or fold along the foldable path 19 , has been established the customer would press at the slit, area 17 , on the broad side flap 16 , to open the slit area 17 , which slit or area 17 , would then be used to receive the tab 15 , on the broad side flap 18 . Thus, the upper removal portion 20 , that did not have any content, but was taking, tip shelf space at a consumer location, such as, home or office, once removed, allows box 10 , that still has the remaining, contents to still provide useful service while taking substantially less shelf space. The at least one printed indicia 21 , could be selected from a group comprising, product information, advertising, promotional material, slogans, to name a few. [0032] FIG. 3 , illustrates a plan view looking at the outside surface of a blank structure of a canon 33 , incorporating features of the present invention according to a third embodiment of the invention. The blank carton 33 , is shown in a flattened mode 33 , where the blank carton 33 , comprises of a first narrow side wall 22 A, connected to a first wide face wall 24 A, along a crease or fold 31 . The first wide face wall 24 A, is connected to the second narrow side wall 228 , on the opposite side along crease or fold 32 . The second narrow side wall 228 , is connected to a second wide face wall 24 B, along crease or fold 34 . Optionally, a wide tab or lip 60 , could be provided to the second wide face wall 24 B, along a fold or crease 35 . The wide tab 60 , normally secured to the first or narrow side wall 22 A, along an edge 70 , so as to form a square or rectangular or a polygonal shaped container 23 , as shown in FIG. 1 . An upper edge of the first narrow side wall 22 A, could have an optional upper tab or flap 72 , along crease or fold line 68 , and an optional or lower tab or flap 11 A, along crease or fold line 69 . An upper edge of the second narrow side wall 22 B, could have an optional upper tab or flap 72 , along crease or fold line 68 , and an optional or lower tab or flap 11 A, along crease or fold line 69 . An upper edge of the first wide face wall 24 A, has an upper tab or flap 36 , along crease or fold line 66 , and a lower wide tab or flap 11 B, along crease or fold line 67 . Flap 11 B, could have optional recess portion 75 . An upper edge of the second wide face wall 24 B, has an upper tab or flap 38 , along crease or fold line 66 , and a lower wide tab or flap 11 C, along crease or fold line 67 . FIG. 3 , further illustrates that at least one peripherally formed perforation or weakened area or marked area or foldable area or creaseable area 19 , that runs horizontally from one edge to another edge of the blank 33 . Above the foldable area 19 , in the second or upper removable portion 20 , there is at least one peripherally marked perforation or marked area 29 , which cart be used as a guide to separate the upper removable portion 20 , from the lower or intermediate box 10 . It should be understood that the fold or crease lines 31 , 32 , 34 , 35 , run vertically along both the upper removal portion 20 , and the lower box portion 10 , along the corners or edges of the box 23 , and portions of which run along the removal portion 29 , are used to separate the two narrow side flap 12 , and the wide side flap 16 , 18 . The tab or flap 36 , has at least two indentations 59 , so as to create a flap portion 37 . The tab or flap 38 , has a receiving recess portion 55 , for engageably securing the flap portion 37 , via indentations or notches 59 , such that a portion of the tab 37 , is below the recess portion 55 , while a portion of the flap 36 , is above the flap 38 . The fold or crease lines 31 , 32 , 34 , 35 , that run vertically along both the upper removal portion 20 , and the lower box portion 10 , can be further subdivided into lines 31 A, 32 A, 34 A, 35 A, respectively, for the portion that is above the foldable area 19 , and lines 31 B, 32 B, 34 B, 35 B, respectively, for the portion that is below the foldable area 19 . Lines 31 A, 32 A, 34 A, 35 A, can have perforation markings 31 A, 32 A, 34 A, 35 A, for easy removal or separation from the variable volume box 23 , illustrated in FIG. 1 . It should be appreciated that vertical lines 31 B, 32 B, 34 B, 35 B, below the foldable area 19 , are fold or crease lines that integrate into and form the intermediate container 14 , illustrated in FIG. 2 , after the separation of the upper removal portion 20 , of the carton 23 . The blank 33 , also has the tab area 15 , and slit area 17 , pre-marked or scored during manufacturing. [0033] FIG. 4 , illustrates a plan view looking at the outside surface of a blank structure of a carton 43 , incorporating features of the present invention according to a fourth embodiment of the invention. The blank carton 43 , is shown in a flattened mode 43 , where the blank carton 43 , comprises of a first narrow side wall 42 A, connected to a first wide face wall 44 A, along a crease or fold 61 . The first wide face wall 44 A, is connected to the second narrow side wall 42 B, on the opposite side along crease or fold 62 . The second narrow side wall 42 B, is connected to a second wide face wall 44 B, along crease or fold 64 . Optionally, a wide tab or lip 60 , could be provided to the second wide face wall 44 B, along, a fold or crease 65 . The wide tab 60 , is normally secured to the first or narrow side wall 42 A, along an edge 70 , so as to form a square or rectangular or a polygonal shaped container 23 , as shown in FIG. 1 . An upper edge of the first wide face wall 44 A, has an upper tab or flap 56 , along crease or fold line 66 , and a lower wide tab or flap 41 A, along crease or fold line 67 . An upper edge of the second wide face wall 44 B, has an upper tab or flap 58 , along, crease or fold line 66 , and a lower wide tab or flap 41 B, along crease or fold line 67 . FIG. 4 , further illustrates the at least one peripherally formed perforation or weakened area or marked area or foldable area or creaseable area 39 , that runs horizontally from one edge to another edge of the blank 43 . Above the foldable area 39 , in the second or upper removable portion 20 , there is at least one peripherally marked perforation or marked area 49 , which can be used as a guide to separate the upper removable portion 20 , from the lower or intermediate or secondary box 10 . It should be understood that the fold or crease lines 61 , 62 , 64 , 65 , run vertically along both the upper removal portion 20 , and the lower box portion 10 , along the corners or edges of the box 23 , and portions of which run along the removal portion 49 , are used to separate the wide side flap 46 , 48 , from the rest of the upper removeable portion 20 . The tab or flap 56 , has at least two indentations 59 , so as to create a flap portion 57 . The tab or flap 58 , has a receiving recess portion 55 , for engageably securing the flap portion 57 , via indentations or notches 59 , such that a portion of the tab 57 , is below the recess portion 55 , while a portion of the flap 56 , is above the flap 58 . Similarly, the carton 43 , has flap portion 46 , along a crease or fold line 39 , that can be folded once the upper removal portion 20 , has been removed. The flap portion 46 , has at least two indentations or notches 79 , that help create a tab portion 47 . The carton 43 , further has a flap portion 48 , along a crease or fold line 39 , that can be folded once the upper removal portion 20 , has been removed. The flap portion 48 , has at least one recess area or portion 45 , that can be used to engage with indentations or notches 79 , using the tab portion 47 , to create a closeable container 10 , 14 , 43 , once formed into a square or rectangular or polygonal shape, similar to box 23 , shown in FIG. 1 . The fold or crease lines 61 , 62 , 64 , 65 , that run vertically along both the upper removal portion 20 , and the lower box portion 10 , can be further subdivided into lines 61 A, 62 A, 64 A, 65 A, respectively, for the portion that is above the foldable area 39 , and lines 61 B, 628 , 64 B, 65 B, respectively, for the portion that is below the foldable area 39 . Lines 61 A, 62 A, 64 A, 65 A can have perforation markings 61 A, 62 A, MA, 65 A, for easy removal or separation from the variable volume box 23 , illustrated in FIG. 1 . It should be appreciated that vertical lines 61 B, 62 B, 64 B, 65 B, below the foldable area 39 are fold or crease lines that integrate into and form the intermediate container 14 , illustrated in FIG. 2 , after the separation of the upper removal portion 20 , of the carton 23 . Adhesive 76 , as such a resealable adhesive 76 , could be applied or secured onto the canon 43 , as needed. [0034] The predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , could be made from a material that is suitably strong but creasable and foldable material. The predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , could be made from a material selected from a group comprising cardboard, corrugated cardboard and the like, fibrous paperboard, plastics or similar products which are creasable and foldable. [0035] This invention allows for a user to create a selected volume for the container 23 . For example, a user would select a volume that the user desires and then can remove the sleeve portion 20 , so as to create a smaller or secondary or intermediate box 14 , which is foldably adjustable with respect to a height dimension and consequent volume in order to accommodate articles or collections of articles having a specific volume. The variable volume container 23 , also eliminates the need for carton providers to purchase and stock a great variety of sizes of boxes and containers. Storage of variable volume boxes 23 , is more efficient, and consumers purchasing boxes 23 , for shipping or any other purpose do not have to worry about or guess what size box 23 , is appropriate for their packages or business or personal contents or food items. [0036] It should be appreciated that the predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , has the lower peripheral marking 19 , defining a bendable portion for the intermediate box 14 , and wherein the lower peripheral marking 19 , is substantially parallel to an outer peripheral portion of the base or bottom portion 11 . [0037] For some applications the outer peripheral portion of the base or bottom portion 11 , has a rectangular shape so that the predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , has a rectangular shape. The outer peripheral portion of the base or bottom portion 11 , could also have a polygonal shape so that the predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , is polygonal in shape. [0038] The predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , could also have at least one printed indicia 21 . The at least one printed indicia 21 , could be selected from a group comprising, product information, advertising, slogans, to name a few. [0039] The predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , having the intermediate box 14 , has an intermediate lid or cover 16 , 18 , comprising a top elongated intermediate flap 16 , with at least one first intermediate slot 17 , located thereon, and a second top elongated intermediate flap 18 , with a first intermediate tab 15 , located thereon, and third and fourth top side intermediate flaps 12 , located between the first and the second top elongated intermediate flaps 16 , 18 , wherein the first intermediate tab 15 , and the first intermediate slot 17 , cooperate in such a manner as to open or securely close the intermediate closable lid 16 , 18 . [0040] The predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , 43 , wherein the intermediate box 14 , has an intermediate closeable lid 46 , 48 , which comprises of a top elongated intermediate flap 46 , having at least two indentations 79 , located thereon, and a second top elongated intermediate flap 48 , with an intermediate tab relief 45 , located thereon, and wherein the intermediate relief tab 45 , and the at least two indentations 79 , cooperate in such a manner so as to securely close the intermediate closeable lid 46 , 48 , and forming a tuck-in closing flap 46 , 48 . [0041] The predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , has the upper peripheral marking 29 , that define the removeable portion 20 , of the predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , which are located at a predetermined distance above the lower peripheral marking 19 , so as to allow the predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , to be reduced in size. The predetermined distance could be selected between about one quarter distance from the base or bottom portion 11 , to the top portion 77 , of the predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , to about three quarter distance from the base or bottom portion 11 , to the top portion 77 , of the predefined selectable volume carton box 23 . The predetermined distance could be selected from a group comprising, of about one quarter distance from the bottom portion 11 , to the top portion 77 , of the predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , or about one third distance from the base or bottom portion 11 , to the top portion 77 , of the predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , or about one half distance from the bottom or base portion 11 , to the top portion 77 , of the predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , or about one two third distance from the bottom portion 11 , to the top portion 77 , of the predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , or about three quarter distance from the base or bottom portion 11 , to the top portion 77 , of the predefined selectable volume carton box 23 . [0042] The blank 33 , 43 , of a bendable and creaseable material for forming a predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , has at least one upper peripheral marking 29 , having perforations 29 , so that at least one portion 20 , can be separated from the predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , 33 , 43 . It should be appreciated that the lower peripheral marking 19 , 39 , can be used as an edge to bend the flaps 12 , 16 , 18 , 46 , 48 , and to define at least one intermediate box 14 . [0043] The blank 33 , of a bendable and creaseable material for forming, a predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , can have at least one slit portion 17 , that is defined in the blank 33 , between the first left wide side edge 31 A, the first right wide side edge 32 A, the upper peripheral marking 29 , and the at least one lower peripheral marking 19 . [0044] The blank 33 , of a bendable and creaseable material for forming a predefined selectable volume carton box 23 , can have at least one tab portion 15 , that is defined in said blank 33 , between the first left wide side edge 31 A, the first right wide side edge 32 A, the at least one upper peripheral marking 29 , and the at least one lower peripheral marking 19 . [0045] It should be appreciated that the tab or flap 11 B, 11 C, 16 , 18 , 26 , 28 , 36 , 38 , 41 A, 41 B, 56 , 58 , could have a tab 15 , 25 , relief area 45 . 55 , 75 , notches or indentations 59 , 79 , slits 17 , 27 , to name a few. [0046] While the present invention has been particularly described in conjunction with a specific preferred embodiment, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will embrace any such alternatives, modifications and variations as falling within the true scope and spirit of the present invention.

The present invention relates generally to a container or a carton having a plurality of selectable volumes. The present invention is also directed to a container having a plurality of identified markings to reduce container volume upon partial consumption of content. The container includes a plurality of fold facilitating creases adapted to allow panels to be folded or removed alone a fold facilitating crease and/or perforation. At least one set of perforations or identified creases are provided in the box so as to form a shell and a second or a secondary box, where the shell is removed after the contents of the box have been partially consumed and space becomes available. The container may further include perforations, flaps, tabs, slits, indentations, notches, along or at an edge of the panel. A blank of bendable and creaseable material for forming a predefined selectable volume carton box is also disclosed.

RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims the benefit of priority of and is a Continuation-in-Part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/393,121, filed on 20 Mar. 2003 and published as US patent application No. 2004/0186528, which priority application is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This application also claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. Nos. 60/529,461 and 60/529,424, both filed on Dec. 12, 2003, which provisional applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. FIELD [0002] The present invention relates generally to implantable medical devices (IMDs). BACKGROUND [0003] At present, a wide variety of IMDs are commercially released or proposed for clinical implantation that include a housing that is implanted subcutaneously and typically include elongated medical electrical leads or drug delivery catheters that extend from the subcutaneous site to other subcutaneous sites or deeper into the body to organs or other implantation sites. Typically, the IMD includes a battery-powered implantable pulse generator (IPG) that is coupled with electrical medical leads, a battery-powered implantable monitor that may or may not be coupled with electrical medical leads, a battery-powered drug pump coupled with a drug delivery catheter, etc. Such IMDs include implantable cardiac pacemakers, cardioverter/defibrillators having pacing capabilities, other electrical stimulators including spinal cord, deep brain, nerve, and muscle stimulators, drug delivery systems, cardiac and other physiologic monitors, cochlear implants, etc. Typically, the battery-powered component of the IMD is implanted subcutaneously at a surgically prepared site, referred to as a “pocket”. The surgical preparation and initial or replacement IMD implantations are conducted in a sterile field, and the IMD components are packaged in sterile containers or sterilized prior to introduction into the sterile field. However, despite these precautions, there always is a risk of introduction of microbes into the pocket. Surgeons therefore typically apply disinfectant or antiseptic agents to the skin at the surgical site prior to surgery (e.g., Chlorhexidine, Gluconate, Povidone-Iodine, Isopropyl Alcohol, Ethyl Alcohol), directly to the site before the incision is closed (e.g., gentamicin, vancomycin), and prescribe oral antibiotics for the patient to ingest during recovery (e.g., sefuroxin, gentamicin, rifamycin, vancomycin). [0004] Despite these precautions, infections do occur. In addition, once the pocket becomes infected, the infection can migrate along the lead or catheter to the, heart, brain, spinal canal or other location in which the lead or catheter is implanted. Such a migrating infection can become intractable and life-threatening, requiring removal of the IMD in the pocket and associated devices, such as leads and catheters. Removal of a chronically implanted lead or catheter can be difficult and dangerous. Aggressive systemic drug treatment is also provided to treat the infection. To prevent pocket infection and thus the ability of infection migration along a lead or catheter, there is a need to impart antimicrobial activity to the IMD residing in the pocket itself. [0005] There is long history of the actual or proposed use of antimicrobial agents coated on IMDs for prevention of infection. However, applying coatings to surfaces of IMDs intended for long-term implantation can be problematic because the coatings can degrade and slough away over time. This may be particularly problematic with IMDs configured to be implanted in the pocket, which IMDs may contain metallic surfaces. Such IMDs, e.g., such as neurostimulatory pulse generators, cardiac pacemakers, drug infusion pumps, and the like, containing metallic surfaces can be more difficult to coat than polymeric surfaces. As such, there is a need to impart antimicrobial activity to active IMDs residing in subcutaneous pockets, where the vehicle containing the antimicrobial activity can withstand long-term implantation. SUMMARY [0006] Various embodiments of the invention are directed to providing a simple, effective and long lasting anti-microbial agent into the subcutaneous implantation pocket that is surgically prepared to receive an IMD. This may be accomplished by disposing about the IMD a covering comprising an anti-infective agent. The covering may be a boot, jacket, etc. The anti-infective agent is present on the surface of the covering or is eluted from the covering in an amount sufficient to prevent infection in a subcutaneous pocket into which the IMD is implanted. The covering may be conformed to the shape of the IMD implanted into the pocket and may be attached to or detached from the IMD. In an embodiment, the covering is a polymeric boot that fits around at least a portion of an outer housing of the IMD. [0007] Polymeric boots have been proven over long-term clinical use to not degrade significantly in the body despite the fact that they are relatively thin. Therefore, it is expected that anti-infective agent dispersed through the thin wall of the anti-microbial pad or boot component or other component will be beneficially present or released over time. [0008] By using coverings as described herein, as opposed to coatings, it is not necessary for manufacturers to commit to manufacturing and clinical buyers to stock redundant models of expensive IMDs, one model with the anti-infective polymeric component and one without the anti-microbial polymeric component. Once it is determined that an IMD having anti-infective properties is desired, the coating may be placed about the IMD by the manufacturer, the consumer, or the user. [0009] This summary of the invention has been presented here simply to point out some advantages over the prior art and is not intended to operate in any manner as a limitation on the interpretation of claims that are presented initially in the patent application and that are ultimately granted. [0010] These and other advantages will be more readily understood from the following detailed description, when considered in conjunction with the drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an implantable medical device implanted subcutaneously in a patient's thoracic region, having a polymeric boot comprising an anti-infective agent fitted over the device. [0012] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the polymeric boot of FIG. 1 . [0013] FIG. 3 is a side-cross-section view of the boot taken along lines 3 - 3 of FIG. 2 . [0014] FIG. 4 is a top view of the boot of FIG. 2 . [0015] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of an implantable medical device implanted subcutaneously in a patient's thoracic region, having a polymeric boot comprising an anti-infective agent fitted over the device and having a further boot fitted over or attached to the non-conducting side of the device. [0016] FIG. 6 is a schematic view of an implantable medical device including two modules implanted subcutaneously across the patient's thorax and tethered together, each module having a boot comprising an anti-infective agent fitted over the device. [0017] FIG. 7 is a schematic view of an implantable medical device implanted subcutaneously in a patient's abdominal region having a boot comprising an anti-infective agent fitted over the device. [0018] FIG. 8 is a schematic view of an implantable medical device implanted subcutaneously in a patient's abdominal region having a boot comprising an anti-infective agent fitted over the device. [0019] FIG. 9 is a schematic view of an implantable medical device implanted subcutaneously in a patient's pectoral region having a boot comprising an anti-infective agent fitted over the device. [0020] FIG. 10 is a schematic view of an implantable medical device implanted subcutaneously in a patient's pectoral region having a boot comprising an anti-infective agent fitted over the device. [0021] FIG. 11 is a schematic view of an implantable medical device implanted subcutaneously in a patient's pectoral region having a boot comprising an anti-infective agent fitted over the device. [0022] FIG. 12 is a schematic partial view of an exemplary implantable medical device depicting a connector header in partial cross-section and an exemplary lead connector assembly adapted to be fitted into a connector bore, wherein selected ones or all of polymeric components of the connector header and/or the lead connector assembly comprise an anti-infective agent. [0023] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a subcutaneously implantable electrode wherein selected ones or all of the polymeric components of the electrode comprise an anti-infective agent. [0024] The drawings are not necessarily to scale. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0025] In the following detailed description, references are made to illustrative embodiments of methods and apparatus for carrying out the invention. It is understood that other embodiments can be utilized without departing from the scope of the invention. [0000] Anti-Infective Agents [0026] Any anti-infective agent may be incorporated in or on a covering configured to be disposed about an IMD. Preferably, the anti-infective agent is present in or on the covering, or may be eluted from the covering, in an amount sufficient to prevent an infection from forming in a pocket into which the IMD is implanted. It is also desirable that the anti-infective agent, in the concentration present in the covering, be nontoxic when implanted in the pocket. It will be understood that more than one anti-infective agent may be present in or on the covering. As used herein, “anti-infective agent” means an agent that prevents an infection. Anti-infective agents include agents that kill or inhibit the growth of a microbe or a population of microbes. Non-limiting examples of such agents include antibiotics and antiseptics. [0027] Any antibiotic suitable for use in a human may be used in accordance with various embodiments of the invention. As used herein, “antibiotic” means an antibacterial agent. The antibacterial agent may have bateriostatic and/or bacteriocidal activities. Nonlimiting examples of classes of antibiotics that may be used include tetracyclines (e.g. minocycline), rifamycins (e.g. rifampin), macrolides (e.g. erythromycin), penicillins (e.g. nafcillin), cephalosporins (e.g. cefazolin), other beta-lactam antibiotics (e.g. imipenem, aztreonam), aminoglycosides (e.g. gentamicin), chloramphenicol, sufonamides (e.g. sulfamethoxazole), glycopeptides (e.g. vancomycin), quinolones (e.g. ciprofloxacin), fusidic acid, trimethoprim, metronidazole, clindamycin, mupirocin, polyenes (e.g. amphotericin B), azoles (e.g. fluconazole) and beta-lactam inhibitors (e.g. sulbactam). Nonlimiting examples of specific antibiotics that may be used include minocycline, rifampin, erythromycin, nafcillin, cefazolin, imipenem, aztreonam, gentamicin, sulfamethoxazole, vancomycin, ciprofloxacin, trimethoprim, metronidazole, clindamycin, teicoplanin, mupirocin, azithromycin, clarithromycin, ofloxacin, lomefloxacin, norfloxacin, nalidixic acid, sparfloxacin, pefloxacin, amifloxacin, enoxacin, fleroxacin, temafloxacin, tosufloxacin, clinafloxacin, sulbactam, clavulanic acid, amphotericin B, fluconazole, itraconazole, ketoconazole, and nystatin. Other examples of antibiotics, such as those listed in Sakamoto et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,642,104, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, may also be used. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize other antibiotics that may be used. [0028] It is desirable that the antibiotic(s) selected kill or inhibit the growth of one or more bacteria that are associated with infection following surgical implantation of a medical device. Such bacteria are recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art and include Stapholcoccus aureus and Staphlococcus epidermis. Preferably, the antibiotic(s) selected are effective against strains of bacteria that are resistant to one or more antibiotic. [0029] To enhance the likelihood that bacteria will be killed or inhibited, it may be desirable to combine one or more antibiotic. It may also be desirable to combine one or more antibiotic with one or more antiseptic. It will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art that antimicrobial agents having different mechanisms of action and/or different spectrums of action may be most effective in achieving such an effect. In a particular embodiment, a combination of rifampin and minocycline is used. [0030] Any antiseptic sutable for use in a human may be used in accordance with various embodiments of the invention. As used herein, “antiseptic” means an agent capable of killing or inhibiting the growth of one or more of bacteria, fungi, or viruses. Antiseptic includes disinfectants. Nonlimiting examples of antiseptics include hexachlorophene, cationic bisiguanides (i.e. chlorhexidine, cyclohexidine) iodine and iodophores (i.e. povidone-iodine), para-chloro-meta-xylenol, triclosan, furan medical preparations (i.e. nitrofurantoin, nitrofurazone), methenamine, aldehydes (glutaraldehyde, formaldehyde), silver sulfadiazine and alcohols. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize other antiseptics. [0031] It is desirable that the antiseptic(s) selected kill or inhibit the growth of one or more microbe that are associated with infection following surgical implantation of a medical device. Such bacteria are recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art and include Stapholcoccus aureus, Staphlococcus epidermis, Pseudomonus auruginosa, and Candidia. [0032] To enhance the likelihood that microbes will be killed or inhibited, it may be desirable to combine one or more antiseptics. It may also be desirable to combine one or more antiseptics with one or more antibiotics. It will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art that antimicrobial agents having different mechanisms of action and/or different spectrums of action may be most effective in achieving such an effect. In a particular embodiment, a combination of chlorohexidine and silver sulfadiazine is used. [0033] An anti-infective agent, such as an antibiotic or antiseptic, may be present in the covering at any concentration effective, either alone or in combination with another anti-infective agent, to prevent an infection within a pocket into which the covering is implanted. Generally, an antiseptic agent may be present in the covering at a range of between about 0.5% and about 20% by weight. For example, the anti-infective agent may be present in the covering at a range of between about 0.5% and about 15% by weight or between about 0.5% and about 10% by weight. [0000] Covering [0034] An embodiment of the invention provides a covering configured to be placed about at least a portion of an implantable medical device. The covering may be in the form of a boot, jacket, gauze, wrap and the like. The covering is formed of a polymeric material into or onto which an anti-infective agent is incorporated. Any polymeric material may be used. Preferably the polymeric material is biocompatible and is capable of presenting or eluting the anti-infective agent to the implant pocket in an amount effective to prevent an infection. [0035] Examples of suitable polymeric materials that may be used to form the covering include organic polymers such as silicones, polyamines, polystyrene, polyurethane, acrylates, polysilanes, polysulfone, methoxysilanes, and the like. Other polymers that may be utilized include polyolefins, polyisobutylene and ethylene-alphaolefin copolymers; acrylic polymers and copolymers, ethylene-covinylacetate, polybutylmethacrylate; vinyl halide polymers and copolymers, such as polyvinyl chloride; polyvinyl ethers, such as polyvinyl methyl ether; polyvinylidene halides, such as polyvinylidene fluoride and polyvinylidene chloride; polyacrylonitrile, polyvinyl ketones; polyvinyl aromatics, such as polystyrene, polyvinyl esters, such as polyvinyl acetate; copolymers of vinyl monomers with each other and olefins, such as ethylene-methyl methacrylate copolymers, acrylonitrile-styrene copolymers, ABS resins, and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers; polyamides, such as Nylon 66 and polycaprolactam; polycarbonates; polyoxymethylenes; polyimides; polyethers; epoxy resins; polyurethanes; rayon; rayon-triacetate; cellulose; cellulose acetate, cellulose butyrate; cellulose acetate butyrate; cellophane; cellulose nitrate; cellulose propionate; cellulose ethers; carboxymethyl cellulose; polyphenyleneoxide; and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). In an embodiment the covering comprises silicone. In an embodiment, the covering comprises polyurethane. [0036] An anti-infective agent may be incorporated into or on the polymeric covering using any known or developed technique. For example, the anti-infective agent may be adhered to a surface of the covering, adsorbed into the covering, or compounded into the polymeric material that forms the covering. Accordingly, the anti-infective material may be embedded, coated, mixed or dispersed on or in the material of the covering. In various embodiments, the anti-infective agent may be incorporated into the polymeric covering as taught by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,217,493 or 5,624,704. [0037] In an embodiment, the covering is a boot. The boot may be molded into a shape to conform to that of at least a portion of an IMD using known or developed techniques. The IMD may be an active IMD, such as a cardiac pacemaker, a cardioverter/defibrillators, a neurostimulator, a drug infusion pump, and the like. [0038] The remainder of this description may refer specifically to a silicone rubber boot 15 , 215 , 335 , 340 , etc. into which an anti-microbial metal ion zeolite is compounded. However, it will be understood that any covering may be substituted for the boot 15 and that any anti-infective agent may be substituted for the metal ion zeolite. [0039] In an embodiment the covering is any covering as described herein, with the proviso that the anti-infective agent is not a metal ion zeolite. [0040] In an embodiment the covering is any covering as describe herein, with the proviso that if the anti-infective agent is a metal ion zeolite, then the metal zeolite is not compounded into the covering. [0041] In an embodiment of a detachable, elastic, boot 15 that is compounded of silicone rubber and the preferred anti-microbial metal ion zeolite and molded in a shape to be tatted over an IPG or monitor 50 implanted in patient 10 is depicted in FIGS. 1-4 . The boot 15 has first and second major boot sides 20 and 25 joined by a mutual boot edge 30 defining a boot cavity 45 . A side opening 35 through major boot side 20 and an edge opening 40 through a segment of boot edge 30 are provided. [0042] The boot 15 is fitted over the housing 55 and connector block 60 of the exemplary IPG or monitor and inserted into a subcutaneous pocket 140 at a distance from the heart 100 as shown in FIG. 1 . The fitted boot 15 provides the anti-microbial protection in the subcutaneous implantation pocket 140 while leaving at least a portion of the housing 55 of IPG/monitor 50 exposed through side opening 35 . Preferably, the size and shape of the side opening fits within a circle having a diameter of the zone of inhibition of the one or more anti-infective agents in or on the boot 15 . In an embodiment, the diameter of the zone of inhibition is determined at 30 days post-implantation. In an embodiment, the diameter of the zone of inhibition is determined at 90 days post-implantation. If such a sized and shaped side opening 35 is too small for its intended purposes, more than one side opening 35 , each having a size and shape fitting within a circle having a diameter of the zone of inhibition of the one or more anti-infective agents in or on the boot 15 may be employed. [0043] The IPG 50 depicted in FIG. 1 as a ventricular pacemaker IPG or hemodynamic monitor that is coupled to a cardiac lead 70 extending from a connection with connector block 60 into the heart 100 through a conventional transvenous route. The cardiac lead comprises an active or cathodal pace/sense electrode 80 at the distal end of lead body and optionally comprises a pressure transducer 90 proximal to pace/sense electrode both disposed in this instance in the right ventricle 105 of heart 100 . The housing of IPG 50 is hermetically sealed and formed of a conductive metal that is electrically connected to pacing and/or sensing circuitry within housing 55 to function as an indifferent or anodal pace/sense electrode 85 that is exposed by side opening 35 . [0044] The housing 55 and connector block 60 of IPG/monitor 50 can take any shape known in the art, and that shape dictates the shape and dimensions of the boot 15 . The specifications and operating modes and other characteristics of the pacemaker IPG and the cardiac lead(s) coupled therewith can correspond to any of those known in the art. The monitor can correspond to the Medtronic® CHRONICLE® IHM (implantable hemodynamic monitor) that is coupled through a cardiac lead of the type described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,434 having capacitive blood pressure and temperature sensors as well as at least one EGM sense electrode. [0045] The IPG/monitor 50 is slipped through the side opening 35 and the connector block 60 is oriented to be exposed through the edge opening 40 . It will also be understood that the side opening 35 is necessary to expose the housing 55 for use as a remote indifferent stimulating and/or sensing electrode in either of a unipolar pacemaker IPG/monitor 50 or in a bipolar pacemaker IPG/monitor also having the capability of monitoring the far field EGM. The boot 15 having such a side opening 35 can still be efficaciously used over a typical bipolar pacemaker IPG/monitor not having such a far held sensing capability. These features of the boot 15 are applicable to the remaining boot embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 5-10 . [0046] An embodiment of a detachable, elastic, boot 215 that is compounded of silicone rubber and the preferred anti-microbial metal ion zeolite and molded in a shape to be fitted over a rectilinear ICD IPG 250 implanted in patient 10 is depicted in FIG. 5 . The boot 215 is also formed of first and second major boot sides joined by a mutual boot edge defining a side opening 235 through major boot side and an edge opening 240 through a segment of the boot edge. [0047] The boot 215 is fitted over the housing 255 and connector block 260 of the exemplary ICD IPG 250 and inserted into a subcutaneous pocket 140 at a distance from the heart 100 as shown in FIG. 5 . The fitted boot 215 provides the anti-microbial protection in the subcutaneous implantation pocket 140 while leaving at least a portion of the housing 255 of ICD IPG 250 exposed through side opening 235 . The exposed portion of the housing 255 may be employed as one electrode. [0048] The ICD IPG 250 depicted in FIG. 5 is coupled to an exemplary set of leads extending to pace/sense electrodes and electrodes. It will be understood that not all of the depicted leads and that other combinations of leads can be connected to the ICD IPG 250 . In this particular instance, a right ventricular (RV) lead 275 extends from a connection with connector block 260 into the right ventricle 105 of the heart 100 through a conventional transvenous route. The RV lead 275 comprises active or cathodal pace/sense electrode and fixation helix 280 at the distal end of the lead body, a more proximally located, ring-shaped, indifferent or anodal pace/sense electrode 285 , and an elongated electrode 290 . A coronary sinus (CS) lead 225 extends from a connection with connector block 260 to an elongated electrode 230 disposed in the coronary sinus or great vein 115 of the heart 100 through a conventional transvenous route. [0049] A further lead 265 extends subcutaneously from a connection with connector block 260 to a rectilinear, pad-shaped, electrode 270 disposed in a further subcutaneous pocket 140 ′ selected by the surgeon to optimally apply shock therapies between selected pairs of the electrodes 230 , 255 , 270 , and 290 . [0050] Typically the rectilinear electrode 270 is formed of a flexible silicone rubber or polyurethane pad supporting a electrode surface or array on one major side disposed toward heart 100 and a non-conductive side disposed toward the skin. A further detachable, elastic, boot 295 that is compounded of silicone rubber and the preferred anti-microbial metal ion neolith and molded in a shape to be fitted over the non-conductive major side of the rectilinear electrode 770 is shown in FIG. 5 . [0051] The boot 295 can be affixed by sutures or other means to the silicone rubber or polyurethane pad to ensure that it does not move or detach from the non-conductive side within the pocket 140 ′. [0052] More recently, it has been proposed that all components of an ICD be implanted subcutaneously distributed between two or more electrode bearing; modules implanted in subcutaneous pockets 140 , 140 ′ around the thorax to deliver shock therapies between them and through the heart. Such ICDs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,255,692, 5,314,451, and 5,342,407 and in U.S. patent application Publication Nos. 2002/0042634 and 2002/0035377. Such an arrangement is depicted in FIG. 6 wherein the ICD 300 comprises first and second schematically depicted, hermetically sealed ICD IPG modules 305 and 310 tethered together by a cable 315 . [0053] First and second electrodes 320 and 325 are supported on one side of the ICD IPG modules 305 and 310 , respectively, that are intended to be implanted in the subcutaneous pockets 140 , 140 ′ facing the heart 100 and one another. [0054] The hermetically sealed ICD IPG module 305 encloses the electronic sensing, pacing, and circuitry, including the relatively bulky high voltage capacitors that are charged and discharged to deliver shocks, as well as a low voltage battery employed for powering the circuitry and the delivered pacing pulses. The second hermetically sealed ICD IPG module 310 encloses a relatively bulky high power battery as well as a switch to enable selective connection with the high voltage capacitor charging circuitry within the first ICD IPG module 305 in the manner described in the above referenced '451 patent. The cable 315 encases conductors distributing power from the battery and exchanging signals and commands between circuitry in the first and second ICD IPG modules 305 and 310 . [0055] First and second detachable, elastic, boots 335 and 340 that are each compounded of silicone rubber and the preferred anti-microbial metal ion zeolite and molded in a shape to be fitted over the respective first and second ICD IPG modules 305 and 310 implanted in patient 10 are also depicted in FIG. 6 . The boots 335 and 340 have openings 345 and 350 in the major sides thereof that expose the first and second respective electrodes 320 and 325 . [0056] The first and second hermetically sealed ICD IPG modules 305 and 310 bearing the first and second detachable, elastic, boots 335 and 340 are preferably implanted subcutaneously in posterior and anterior positions through a single skin incision intermediate the illustrated posterior and anterior positions. Tunneling tools would be employed to displace the tissue and advance the first and second hermetically sealed housings to the depicted sites or other selected sites around the thorax. Tissue adhesive may be employed to secure the first and second hermetically sealed ICD IPG modules 305 and 310 bearing the first and second detachable, elastic, boots 335 and 340 at the sites and prevent migration. Alternatively, the sites may be exposed through minimal surgical exposures, and the first and second hermetically sealed ICD IPG modules 305 and 310 bearing the first and second detachable, elastic, boots 335 and 340 can be sutured at the sites through the boots 335 and 340 to prevent migration. [0057] Therapeutic administration of pain suppressing electrical stimulation into the intraspinal space, that is to either the epidural space or to the intrathecal space, is also known in the art as illustrated in FIG. 7 . Three meningeal sheaths that are continuous with those which encapsulate the brain within the enclosure by the vertebral canal for the spinal cord by the bones of the vertebrae surround the spinal cord. The outermost of these three meningeal sheaths is the dura matter, a dense, fibrous membrane which anteriorally is separated from the periosteum of the vertebral by the epidural space. Posterior to the dura matter is the subdural space. The subdural space surrounds the second of the three meningeal sheaths, the arachnoid membrane, which surround the spinal cord. The arachnoid membrane is separated from the third meningeal sheath, the pia mater, by the subarachnoid or intrathecal space. The subarachnoid space is filled with CSF. Underlying the pia mater is the spinal cord. Thus the progression proceeding inwards or in posterior manner from the vertebra is the epidural space, dura mater, subdural space, arachnoid membrane, intrathecal space, pia matter and spinal cord. [0058] An exemplary spinal cord stimulation (SCS) system 400 comprising a neurostimulator SCS IPG 450 , an SCS lead 410 , and a detachable, elastic, boot 415 that is each compounded of silicone rubber and the preferred anti-microbial metal ion zeolite and molded in a shape to be fitted over the housing and connector of the neurostimulator IPG 450 is depicted implanted in patient 10 in FIG. 7 . The neurostimulator IPG 450 may comprise the Medtronic® Itrel® 3, Synergy™ or Synergy Versitrel™ neurostimulator, and the SCS lead 410 may comprise the Medtronic® Pisces Z Quad lead. [0059] Therapeutic administration of stimulation of the sacral nerves to control bladder function or treat sexual dysfunction is also alternatively illustrated in FIG. 7 by the sacral nerve stimulation lead 420 depicted in dotted lines extending from the neurostimulator IPG 450 and detachable, elastic, boot 415 into a foramen of the sacrum. In this case, the neurostimulator IPG 450 may comprise the Medtronic® InterStim® Neurostimulator Model 3023. In one embodiment, a sacral nerve stimulation lead 420 bearing one or a plurality of distal stimulation electrodes are percutaneously implanted through the dorsum and the sacral foremen of the sacral segment S 3 for purposes of selectively stimulating the S 3 sacral nerve. The distal electrode(s) is positioned using a hollow spinal needle through a foremen (a singular foramina) in the sacrum. The electrode is secured by suturing the lead body in place, and the lead body is tunneled subcutaneously to the implant site of the neurostimulator IPG 450 within the boot 415 . [0060] The detachable, elastic, boot 415 corresponds to the detachable, elastic, boot described above with respect to FIGS. 1-4 . It will be understood that the actual shape of such commercially available neurostimulator IPGs may differ from the exemplary shape of neurostimulator IPG 450 shown in FIG. 7 , and that boot 415 is molded to conform to the actual shape. Again, the boot 415 has a major side opening 435 exposing the housing 455 of the IPG 450 that can function as an indifferent stimulation electrode in conjunction with a stimulation electrode or electrodes along the distal end segment of the SCS lead 410 disposed within the intraspinal space and obscured from view. The boot 415 also has an edge opening 440 enabling access to the connector block 460 . [0061] Therapeutic administration of pain suppression or therapeutic drugs into the intraspinal space as also known in the prior art is illustrated in FIG. 8 . Administration of a drug directly to the intrathecal space can be by either spinal tap injection or by catheterization. [0062] Intrathecal drug administration can avoid the inactivation of some drugs when taken orally as well and the systemic effects of oral or intravenous administration. Additionally, intrathecal administration permits use of an effective dose that is only a fraction of the effective dose required by oral or parenteral administration. Furthermore the intrathecal space is generally wide enough to accommodate a small catheter, thereby enabling chronic drug delivery systems. Thus, it is known to treat spasticity by intrathecal administration of baclofen. Additionally, it is known to combine intrathecal administration of baclofen with intramuscular injections of botulinum toxin for the adjunct effect of intramuscular botulinum for reduced muscle spasticity. Furthermore, it is known to treat pain by intraspinal administration of the opioids morphine and fentanyl. A drug pump is required because the antinociceptive or antispasmodic drugs in current use have a short duration of activity and must therefore be frequently re-administered, which re-administration is not practically carried out by daily spinal tap injections. The drug pump is surgically placed under the skin of the patient's abdomen. One end of a catheter is connected to the pump, and the other end of the catheter is threaded into a CSF filled subarachnoid or intrathecal space in the patient's spinal cord. The implanted drug pump can be programmed for continuous or intermittent infusion of the drug through the intrathecally located catheter. [0063] Thus a fully implantable intrathecal drug delivery system 500 , e.g., the Medtronic® SynchroMed® EL Infusion System, comprising a programmable SynchroMed® drug pump 550 and a drug delivery catheter 510 , is depicted in FIG. 8 . [0064] A detachable, elastic, boot 515 that is compounded of silicone rubber and the preferred anti-microbial metal ion zeolite and molded in a shape to be fitted over the housing and connector of the drug pump 550 is depicted implanted in patient 10 in FIG. 7 . Again, the boot 515 has a major side opening 535 in this case exposing a drug fill port 555 for percutaneously refilling a drug chamber within the drug pump 550 in a manner well known in the art. The boot 515 also has an edge opening 540 enabling access to the connector block 560 that the drug delivery catheter 510 is attached to. [0065] The drug pump 550 and boot 515 encasing the drug pump 550 are implanted just under the skin of the abdomen in a prepared subcutaneous pocket 140 so that the drug fill port is oriented outward to enable access to the drug fill port 555 . [0066] Turning to FIG. 9 , it schematically illustrates the delivery of Medtronic® Activa® Tremor Control Therapy or Parkinson's Control Therapy to a patient 10 for controlling essential tremors and those associated with Parkinson's disease. The Activate Therapy is delivered by an deep brain stimulator similar to a cardiac pacemaker, that uses mild electrical stimulation delivered by electrodes implanted in the brain to block the brain signals that cause tremor. [0067] The Activa® Tremor Control System stimulates targeted cells in the thalamus the brain's message relay center—via electrodes that are surgically implanted in the brain and connected to a neurostimulator IPG implanted near the collarbone. In the treatment of Parkinson's tremors, the electrodes are located at the subthalamic nucleus (STN) or globus pallidus interna (GPI) that control movement and muscle function. A lead with tiny electrodes is surgically implanted at these sites in the brain and connected by an extension that lies under the skin to a neurostimulator IPG implanted near the collarbone. The electrical stimulation can be non-invasively adjusted to meet each patient's needs. [0068] The implanted components of the Activa® System 600 depicted in FIG. 9 include the Medtronic® Itrel® II Model 7424 neurostimulator IPG 650 , a DBS™ lead 670 and an extension 610 that connects the lead 670 to the neurostimulator IPG 650 . [0069] The lead 670 is implanted using a stereotactic headframe designed to keep the head stationary and help guide the surgeon in the placement of the lead 670 into the brain 130 to dispose the electrodes 680 at the desired site 135 . The brain 130 and the placement of the lead 670 is imaged using CT (computed tomography) or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) equipment. The Model 3387 DBS™ lead, with a plurality of widely spaced electrodes, and the Model 3389 DBS™ lead, with a plurality of narrowly spaced electrodes, provide physician options for precise placement and stimulation selectivity. Other components of the Activate System 60 include a neurostimulator control magnet, neurological test stimulator, physician programmer, lead frame kits, and Memory Mod software cartridge. [0070] A detachable, elastic, boot 615 that is compounded of silicone rubber and the preferred anti-microbial metal ion zeolite and molded in a shape to be fitted over the housing and connector block of the neurostimulator IPG 650 is depicted implanted in patient 10 in FIG. 9 . Again, the boot 615 has a major side opening 635 and an edge opening 640 enabling access to the connector block 660 that the lead extension 610 is attached to. The neurostimulator IPG 650 and boot 615 encasing the neurostimulator IPG 650 d are implanted just under the skin of the upper thorax in a prepared subcutaneous pocket 140 . The exposed surface of the bipolar neurostimulator housing 655 can be employed as a stimulation electrode in this instance. [0071] An implantable infusion pump (IIP) comprising an implantable drug pump and: catheter is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,643,207 and 5,782,798 for dispensing pancreatic polypeptide blockers and other drugs that decrease sensations of hunger and increase satiety into particular sites in the brain through a distal catheter segment that is implanted through the skull and extends to the specific sites. The delivery of other appetite influencing drugs directly into the brain for increasing appetite to treat anorexia is also proposed in the '207 patent. The drug that is dispensed from the infusion pump coupled to the catheter through the catheter lumen and into the brain is expected to induce or increase the feeling of satiety to treat: obesity by reducing caloric intake or to increase feelings of hunger to treat anorexia by increasing caloric intake. The system of the '798 patent can also be employed to apply electrical stimulation to the brain through catheter borne electrodes and conductors to increase feelings of satiety to treat obesity or to decrease feelings of satiety to treat anorexia presumably either with or without delivery of the identified drugs. [0072] Such an implantable deep brain drug delivery system 700 is depicted in FIG. 10 comprising an implantable drug pump 750 and catheter 710 for dispensing pancreatic polypeptide blockers and other drugs that decrease sensations of hunger and increase satiety through catheter ports 780 into a particular site 135 in the brain through a distal catheter segment 770 that is implanted through the skull and extends to the specific site 135 . The implantable drug pump 750 can comprise a programmable SynchroMed® drug pump 750 . A detachable, elastic, boot 715 that is compounded of silicone rubber and the preferred anti-microbial metal ion zeolite and molded in a shape to be fitted over the housing and connector of the drug pump 750 is depicted implanted in patient 10 in FIG. 10 . Again, the boot 715 has a major side opening 735 in this case exposing a drug fill port 755 for percutaneously refilling a drug chamber within the drug pump 750 in a manner well known in the art. The boot 715 also has an edge opening 740 enabling access to the connector block 760 that the drug delivery catheter 710 is attached to. The drug pump 750 and boot 715 encasing the drug pump 750 are implanted just under the skin of the thorax in a prepared subcutaneous pocket 140 so that the drug fill port is oriented outward to enable access to the drug fill port 755 . [0073] An implantable EGM monitor for recording the cardiac electrogram from electrodes remote from the heart is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,966 and PCT publication WO 98/02209 and is embodied in the Medtronic® REVEAL® Model 9526 Insertable Loop Recorder having spaced housing EGM electrodes employed with a Model 6191 patient activator and a Model 9790 programmer. Such implantable monitors when implanted in patients suffering from cardiac arrhythmias or heart failure accumulate date and time stamped data that can be of use in determining the condition of the heart over an extended period of time and while the patient is engaged in daily activities. A wide variety of other IMDs have been proposed to monitor many other physiologic conditions as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 6,221,011. [0074] Therefore, a REVEAL® Insertable Loop Recorder 850 is depicted in FIG. 11 implanted in a subcutaneous pocket 140 in the thorax of patient 10 . The Insertable Loop Recorder 850 comprises a hermetically sealed housing 855 enclosing the monitoring circuitry, battery, telemetry antenna, and other components and a header 860 that supports a sense electrode 810 coupled to the a sense amplifier via a feedthrough extending through the housing 855 and has a pair of suture holes extending through it. An electrically un-insulated portion of the housing 855 that is coupled with the sense amplifier provides a second sense electrode 820 . A detachable, elastic, boot 815 that is compounded of silicone rubber and the preferred anti microbial metal ion zeolite and molded in a shape to be fitted over at least the housing 855 . Again, the boot 815 has a major side opening 835 exposing the sense electrode 820 and an edge opening 840 enabling insertion of the housing 855 into the boot 815 . [0075] The boot 815 may be shaped to extend over at least the portions of the header 860 having the suture holes to enable using the same sutures to secure the boot to the Insertable Loop Recorder 850 and the Insertable Loop Recorder 850 to subcutaneous tissue. [0076] Thus, a variety of subcutaneously implanted IMDs have been described having a variety of uses and shapes that are implanted in subcutaneous pockets 140 , 140 ′ and over which a detachable anti-microbial component characterized as a pad or boot that fits around at least a portion of an outer housing of the IMD is placed. The: subcutaneous site is advantageously protected from microbial growth and infections of the types described above by inclusion of the anti-microbial polymeric component that is exposed to body fluids in the pockets 140 , 140 ′ that is compounded of an antibiotic zeolite that elutes silver ions in concentrations exhibiting anti-microbial activity over a substantial period of time of implantation. In these embodiments depicted in FIGS. 1-11 , the anti-microbial component is physically attached to the IMD by fitting it over the IMD. It will be understood that the anti-microbial component can be molded to conform to the shape of any IMD adapted to be: implanted subcutaneously that is presently available or may become available in the future, e.g., gastric stimulators and drug pumps, insulin delivery drug pumps, and other body organ, muscle or nerve stimulators and drug delivery devices that are specifically identified herein. It will be further understood that an otherwise detachable anti-microbial component can be rendered substantially un-detachable by adhering the component to the IMD using, e.g., a medically acceptable adhesive. [0077] In an embodiment, the anti-microbial component comprises a permanently attached portion of any of the above-identified IMDs that are implanted into the prepared subcutaneous pocket 140 . For example, a schematic partial view of an exemplary IPG/monitor 950 depicting the connector header 960 in partial cross section and an exemplary lead connector assembly 915 of an electrical medical lead 910 adapted to be fitted into a connector bore 965 , is depicted in FIG. 12 . Bipolar lead 910 is depicted having a connector assembly 915 of conventional bipolar design comprising a connector pin 920 and a connector ring 930 adapted to fit a pin receptacle contact 925 and a ring receptacle contact of schematically depicted connector header 960 . Elastic polymeric sealing rings 940 and 945 are located adjacent to the connector pin 920 and connector ring 930 . Distal portion 985 of the lead connector assembly 915 coupled to the elongated lead body 990 is disposed outside the connector bore 965 when the more proximal portion of the lead connector assembly 915 is fully inserted within the connector bore 965 . Elastic bands 970 and 980 encircle the connector bore opening and a suture can be applied to tighten them against the elastic portion of the connector assembly between the sealing rings 945 and the distal portion 955 . The particular configurations of the connector elements 925 and 935 , the feedthroughs and wire connections, and any setscrews or other fasteners that are encased within the molded polymeric header body 975 for making secure electrical connections can take any of the known configurations and are not important to the practice of the present invention and are not depicted. The depicted IPG/monitor 950 is exemplary of any of the IPG/monitors and components thereof 50, 250, 305-310, 450, and 650, although the number of connector elements of the lead connector assembly and the connector header and their specific configurations may vary widely. [0078] Selected ones or all of the polymeric components of the IPG connector header 975 and/or the lead connector assembly 915 are compounded with metal ion zeolite as indicated by the cross-hatching in FIG. 12 in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention. Usually, the lead connector assembly 915 is separately formed and attached to the lead body 990 in manufacture, so it is convenient to mold the polymeric lead connector assembly parts from silicone rubber or polyurethane compounded with the metal ion zeolite. The anti-microbial silver ions can thereby be eluted from the connector header body 975 and/or from the elastic band 970 and or from the lead connector portion 985 that is disposed outside the connector bore 965 . The anti microbial silver ions can also be eluted from the sealing rings 940 and 945 if they become wet with body fluids over chronic implantation to inhibit any microbial activity within the connector bore/connector assembly interface. [0079] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a subcutaneously implantable electrode, e.g., electrode 275 wherein selected ones or all of the polymeric components of the electrode 275 are compounded with metal ion zeolite in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention. In particular, all or portions of the silicone rubber or polyurethane pad 220 can be molded with the metal ion zeolite as indicated by the cross-hatching in FIG. 13 . Again, the silicone rubber or polyurethane pad 220 is separately formed and attached to the lead body of lead 265 in manufacture, so it is convenient to mold the polymeric pad as a single part or as multiple parts, depending on the design, from silicone rubber or polyurethane compounded with the metal ion zeolite. [0080] Similarly, the polymeric header 860 of the implantable monitor 800 , for example, the subcutaneously tunneled cable 315 , for example, between subcutaneously implanted IMD components, and the polymeric component of the catheter connectors 560 and 760 with the implantable drug pumps 500 and 700 , for example, can be molded from polymers compounded with metal ion zeolite. [0081] All patents and publications referenced herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. [0082] It will be understood that certain of the above-described structures, functions and operations of the above-described preferred embodiments are not necessary to practice the present invention and are included in the description simply for completeness of an exemplary embodiment or embodiments.

An anti-infective covering for an implantable medical device is described. The covering may be a polymeric boot that comprises an anti-infective agent in an amount effective to prevent an infection when implanted in a pocket of a patient. The boot is configured to snuggly engage at least a portion of the implantable medical device. The boot may contain a side hole that allows a housing of the implantable medical device to serve as a return electrode. The boot may be placed about the implantable medical device to render the device anti-infective.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention generally relates to semiconductor devices, and particularly methods of manufacturing body-contacted finFET devices. BACKGROUND Fin metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (Fin-MOSFET) is an emerging technology which provides solutions to metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) scaling problems at, and below, the 22 nm node. FinMOSFET structures include fin field effect transistors (finFETs) which include at least one narrow semiconductor fin gated on at least two opposing sides of each of the at least one semiconductor fin. FinFET structures may be formed on a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, because of the low source/drain diffusion to substrate capacitance and ease of electrical isolation by shallow trench isolation structures. However, finFETs fabricated on an SOI substrate suffer from floating body effects, depending on fin thickness, as is well-known for conventional planar MOSFETs. The body of a finFET on an SOI substrate stores charge which is a function of the history of the device, hence becoming a floating body. As such, floating body finFETs experience threshold voltages which are difficult to anticipate and control, and which vary in time. The body charge storage effects result in dynamic sub-threshold voltage (sub-Vt) leakage and threshold voltage (Vt) mismatch among geometrically identical adjacent devices. Floating body effects in finFETs are particularly a concern in static random access memory (sRAM) cells, where Vt matching is extremely important as operating voltages continue to be scaled down. The floating body effects also pose leakage problems for pass gate devices. Further, one of the key concerns of floating body devices is the output conductance instability, a very important factor for analog circuit applications. In view of the above stated problems with finFETs fabricated on SOI substrates, it is desirable to eliminate body effects by building finFETs incorporating body contacts. In addition to this, having a body contact enables devices with multiple threshold voltages by controlling the body voltage. Methods exist in the prior art for fabricating body-contacted finFETs. However, the prior art designs feature limitations that limit their application to finFETs with only a single fin. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2009/001464 A1 provides for a single-fin finFET with a body contact on the top surface of the fin, formed through the gate. Adapting this method for a multi-fin finFET would at least require forming a separate individual contact to each fin, greatly increasing process complexity, and is potentially impossible due to insufficient space to form multiple body-contacts. U.S. Pat. No. 7,485,520 provides for a single-fin finFET design, where a body contact is formed by removing material from a lower portion of a fin which rests on an adjacent semiconductor substrate, replacing the removed material with an insulating material to isolate the fin, and then forming a contact to the adjacent semiconductor substrate. The complexity of this process would be further increased if adapted to multi-fin designs, where the proximity of adjacent fins would reduce the efficacy of processes to add or remove material from lower portions of the fins. Therefore, a new method of forming body contacts for multi-fin finFETs is desirable. SUMMARY According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a semiconductor structure comprising a finFET device with a body contact is provided. The structure may include one or more semiconductor fins on an silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, a gate on the body region of the fin(s), a source contacting one end of the fin(s), a region contacting the opposite end of the fin(s), a semiconductive body-contact region formed in the insulator layer of the SOI substrate, where the body-contact region contacts the bottom of the fin(s), and electrical contacts formed to the source, the drain, the gate, and the body-contact region. Another embodiment may further include an additional fin formed on the SOI substrate in contact with the body-contact region, with the electrical contact to the body-contact region being formed through the additional fin. According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor structure including a body-contacted finFET is provided. The method may include etching the top semiconductive layer of a SOI substrate to form at least one fin on the buried insulator layer, etching partially into the buried insulator underneath the fin(s) to form a recess region, filling the recess region with a semiconductive material to from a body-contact region in contact with the bottom of the fin(s), forming an insulator layer on the exposed top surface of the body contact, forming a sacrificial gate structure contacting the body region of the fin(s) but not fully covering the body contact region, forming a source contacting one end of the fin(s), forming a drain contacting the opposite end of the fin(s), replacing the sacrificial gate structure with a metal gate, and forming electrical contacts to the metal gate, the source, the drain, and the body-contact region. According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, another method of manufacturing a semiconductor structure including a body-contacted finFET is provided. The method may include etching the top semiconductive layer of a SOI substrate to form at least one finFET fin and a body-contact fin on the buried insulator layer, etching partially into the buried insulator underneath the fins to form a recess region, filling the recess region with a semiconductive material to form a body-contact region in contact with the bottom of the fins, forming an insulator layer on the exposed top surface of the body-contact region, forming a sacrificial gate structure contacting the body region of the finFET fin(s) but not covering the body-contact fin, forming a source contacting one end of the finFET fin(s), forming a drain contacting the opposite end of the finFET fin(s), replacing the sacrificial gate structure with a metal gate, and forming electrical contacts to the metal gate, the source, the drain, and the body-contact fin. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1A-13E show sequential steps of an exemplary finFET structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Figures with the suffix “A” are top-down views of the exemplary structure. Figures with the suffix “B”, “C”, “D”, or “E” are vertical cross-sectional views of the exemplary structure along the plane indicated by line B, C, D, or E of the corresponding figure with the same numeric label and the suffix “A.” FIGS. 14A-26E show sequential steps of an exemplary finFET structure according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figures with the suffix “A” are top-down views of the exemplary structure. Figures with the suffix “B”, “C”, “D”, or “E” are vertical cross-sectional views of the exemplary structure along the plane indicated by line B, C, D, or E of the corresponding figure with the same numeric label and the suffix “A.” Elements of the figures are not necessarily to scale and are not intended to portray specific parameters of the invention. For clarity and ease of illustration, dimensions of elements may be exaggerated. The detailed description should be consulted for accurate dimensions. The drawings are intended to depict only typical embodiments of the invention, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Exemplary embodiments now will be described more fully herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments are shown. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of this disclosure to those skilled in the art. In the description, details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the presented embodiments. First Exemplary Embodiment Referring to FIGS. 1A-1E depict a stack of layers from which an exemplary embodiment may be constructed. As seen in the side-views depicted in FIGS. 1B-1E , the stack of layers includes a base substrate 110 , a buried oxide (BOX) layer 120 , a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) layer 130 , a pad oxide layer 140 , and a pad nitride layer 150 . Base substrate 110 may be made of any semiconductor material including, but not limited to: silicon, germanium, silicon-germanium alloy, silicon carbide, silicon-germanium carbide alloy, and compound (e.g. III-V and II-VI) semiconductor materials. Non-limiting examples of compound semiconductor materials include gallium arsenide, indium arsenide, and indium phosphide. BOX layer 120 may be formed from any of several dielectric materials. Non-limiting examples include, for example, oxides, nitrides and oxynitrides of silicon. Oxides, nitrides and oxynitrides of other elements are also envisioned. In addition, BOX layer 120 may include crystalline or non-crystalline dielectric material. Box layer 120 may be about 100-500 nm thick, preferably about 200 nm. SOI layer 130 may be made of any of the several semiconductor materials possible for base substrate 110 . In general, base substrate 110 and SOI layer 130 may include either identical or different semiconducting materials with respect to chemical composition, dopant concentration and crystallographic orientation. SOI layer 130 may be p-doped or n-doped with a dopant concentration in the range of 1×10 15 -1×10 18 /cm 3 , preferably about 1×10 15 /cm 3 . SOI layer 130 may be about 50-300 nm thick, preferably about 100 nm. Pad oxide layer 140 may be made of an insulating material such as, for example silicon oxide and may be about 5-20 nm thick, preferably about 10 nm. Pad nitride layer 150 may include an insulating material such as, for example, silicon nitride and may have be about 50-150 nm thick, preferably about 100 nm. Referring to FIGS. 2A-2E , at least one semiconductor fin 210 is formed by any method known in the art including, for example, photolithography and etching. It should be noted that a single finFET device may have one or more fins. In the depicted embodiment, three fins 210 a - 210 c are formed. Fins 210 a - 210 c contain fin bodies 130 a - 130 c , oxide masks 140 a - 140 c , and nitride masks 150 a - 150 c , respectively. Other embodiments may include as few as one fin. Fins 210 a - 210 c may have a width of 10-50 nm, preferably about 20 nm. Referring to FIGS. 3A-3E , spacers 310 a - 310 c are deposited on the sides of each semiconductor fin 210 a - 210 c , respectively, by any known method. Spacers 310 a - 310 c may be formed, for example, by depositing a nitride layer over the semiconductor fins 210 a - 210 c and then removing excess material using an anisotropic reactive ion etching (RIE) process (not shown). Referring to FIGS. 4A-4E and FIGS. 5A-5E , a region 510 is formed in BOX layer 120 by removing material from BOX layer 120 . This may be accomplished first by depositing a photoresist layer 410 on the surface of the structure of FIGS. 3A-3E , as depicted in FIGS. 4A-4E , and transferring the pattern of photoresist layer 410 to the BOX layer 120 using a wet etch process, as depicted in FIGS. 5A-5E . The etching process should be selective to remove the material of the BOX layer 120 while not substantially removing any material of the fins 210 a - 210 c . Region 510 should extend fully underneath each fin at depth of about 10-100 nm, preferably 50 nm, as depicted in FIG. 5A . Region 510 should have a width, measured perpendicular to the fins, of about 50-100 nm greater than n*(fin pitch), where n is the number of fins, and a length, measured parallel to the fins, of about 50-100 nm greater than the length of the gate (formed in FIGS. 8A-8E ), preferably about 50 nm, with about 25 nm past each side of the gate. The length of fins 210 a - 210 c will be greater than the width of region 510 so that ends of each fins 210 a - 210 c remain in contact with BOX layer 120 . After region 510 is etched, photoresist layer 410 is removed (not shown). Referring to FIGS. 6A-6E , the region 510 (as depicted in FIGS. 5A-5B ) may then be filled with a semiconductor layer 610 , so that the semiconductor layer 610 contacts the bottom of each fin 210 a - 210 c . Semiconductor layer 610 may be made of any semiconductor material including, but not limited to: silicon, germanium, silicon-germanium alloy, silicon carbide, silicon-germanium carbide alloy, and compound (e.g. III-V and II-VI) semiconductor materials. Non-limiting examples of compound semiconductor materials include gallium arsenide, indium arsenide, and indium phosphide. Semiconductor layer 610 may formed by any known method including, for example, a silicon epitaxial growth process. Referring to FIGS. 7A-7E , an oxide layer 711 is formed on top of semiconductor layer 610 . In the depicted embodiment, oxide layer 711 is formed by thermal oxidation, with the unoxidized portion of semiconductor layer 610 forming unoxidized layer 712 . The thickness of layer 711 determines the threshold voltage of the parasitic transistor formed. Therefore, oxide layer 711 may be about 5-10 nm thick. As depicted in FIGS. 8A-8E , a gate 810 , consisting of a sacrificial gate 811 and a gate cap 812 are formed over a center portion of each fin 210 a - 210 c . Sacrificial gate 811 may be made of a polysilicon material and may be about 100-200 nm thick, preferably about 100 nm. Gate cap 812 may be made of a nitride material and may be about 20-50 nm thick, preferably about 25 nm. Sacrificial gate 811 and gate cap 812 may be formed through any known method including, for example, depositing sacrificial gate 811 over the surface of the device, planarizing sacrificial gate 811 , depositing gate cap 812 on top of sacrificial gate 811 , and then removing material from outside the desired area using a reactive ion etching process. Gate 810 may underlap oxide layer 711 and unoxidized layer 712 by a sufficient distance so that a contact may later be formed to the unoxidized layer 712 in the underlapped region, preferably about 100 nm from the last fin edge. Referring to FIGS. 9A-9E , a spacer 813 is deposited around gate 810 . Spacer 813 may be formed, for example, by depositing a nitride layer over gate 810 and then removing excess material using an anisotropic reactive ion etching process (not shown). Spacer 813 must be thick enough to fully cover the sides of oxide layer 711 perpendicular to gate 810 , preferably about 10 nm. Referring to FIGS. 10A-10E , source/drain regions 910 a and 910 b are formed over fins 210 a - 210 c , in the regions not covered by gate 810 or spacer 813 . Spacers 310 a - 310 c , nitride masks 150 a - 150 c , and oxide masks 140 a - 140 c ( FIGS. 2A-2E ) are removed from the exposed portions of fins 210 a - 210 c ( FIGS. 9A-9E ) using known etching processes. A silicon-containing semiconductor material is then grown using known epitaxial processes over the exposed portions of fins 210 a - 210 c ( FIGS. 9A-9E ) to form source/drain regions 910 a and 910 b . For NMOS finFETs, source/drain regions 910 a and 910 b may be made of, for example, silicon or silicon carbide with a doping concentration of 1×10 20 -8×10 20 /cm 3 of arsenic or phosphorus, preferably 5×10 20 /cm 3 . For PMOS finFETs, source/drain regions 910 a and 910 b may be made of, for example, silicon or silicon germanium with a doping concentration of 1×10 20 -8×10 20 /cm 3 of boron, preferably 5×10 20 /cm 3 . It should be noted that, while source/drain regions 910 a and 910 b are depicted as has having uniform geometries in the provided figures, some known epitaxial processes result in non-ideal geometries where faceting may be present. Referring to FIGS. 11A-11E , an interlevel dielectric (ILD) layer 1010 is deposited over the structure of FIGS. 10A-10E and then planarized, using, for example, chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) to expose the top surface of sacrificial gate 811 . ILD layer 1010 may be made of, for example, TEOS, CVD oxide, or a stack of two more insulators including nitrides and oxides. Referring to FIGS. 12A-12E , sacrificial gate 811 ( FIGS. 11A-11E ) is removed and replaced with a metal gate, which may include interfacial layers, gate dielectrics, work function metals, and metal fill. Sacrificial gate 811 may be removed by any known method, including for example RIE or a wet etch containing ammonium hydroxide and dilute hydrofluoric acid (not shown). Spacers 310 a - 310 c , oxide masks 140 a - 140 c , and nitrides masks 150 a - 150 c ( FIGS. 2A-2E ) are then removed from fins 210 a - 210 c in the region exposed by the removal of sacrificial gate 811 ( FIGS. 11A-11E ). Interfacial layers 1211 a - 1211 c are then formed over fin bodies 130 a - 130 c , respectively. Interfacial layers 1211 a - 1211 c may be formed by oxidizing the exposed surfaces of fins 210 a - 210 c and unoxidized layer 712 using known oxidation methods to form an oxide layer up to 10 angstroms thick. Various layers are then deposited in the region vacated by sacrificial gate 811 ( FIGS. 11A-11E ). The depicted embodiment includes a gate dielectric layer 1212 , Work-function metal 1213 , and a metal fill 1214 . Gate dielectric layer 1212 may be made of a high-k material and may be approximately 2 nm thick. Work-function metal 1213 may comprise multiple metal-containing layers and may be made of titanium nitride, tantalum nitride, or titanium-aluminum and may be 20-70 angstroms thick. Metal fill 1214 may be made of, for example, aluminum Other embodiments may include more or less metal layers depending on the application and types of device being formed. The composition of each metal layer may also vary and the process of selecting the material for each metal layer is known in the art. The structure is then planarized using chemical-mechanical planarization or any other known method to remove any excess metal from the top surface of ILD layer 1010 . Referring to FIGS. 13A-13E , contacts 1310 a - 1310 d are formed to metal fill 1214 , source/drain 910 a , source/drain 910 b , and unoxidized layer 712 . First, contact holes are formed in ILD layer 1010 (shown in FIGS. 12A-12E ) using known etching processes to expose a top surface of source/drains 910 a and 910 b and unoxidized layer 712 outside of metal gate 1210 (not shown). Silicide layers (not shown) are then formed on a top surface of source/drains 910 a and 910 b and unoxidized layer 712 by depositing a silicide metal, annealing the structure, and then removing unreacted metal (not shown). Silicide metals may include, for example, nickel, platinum, titanium, cobalt or some combination thereof. The contact holes are then filled with a contact metal, for example, copper and the structure is planarized to expose the top surface of metal fill 1214 . A dielectric layer 1301 is the deposited on top of the structure and contact holes are formed in dielectric layer 1301 to expose a top surface of metal gate 1210 and a top surface of the earlier formed contacts to source/drains 910 a and 910 b and unoxidized layer 712 . These contact holes are then filled with a contact metal, for example tungsten or copper, to form gate contact 1310 a , source/drain contact 1310 b , source/drain contact 1310 c , and body contact 1310 d. Second Exemplary Embodiment A second exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes an additional fin in contact with the buried semiconductor layer to potentially simplify formation of the body contact. Structures of the second exemplary embodiment that substantially correspond to structures of the first exemplary embodiment are represented as the prime of the corresponding reference number. Referring to FIGS. 14A-14E depict a stack of layers from which an exemplary embodiment may be constructed. As seen in the side-views depicted in FIGS. 1B-1E , the stack of layers includes a base substrate 110 ′, a buried oxide (BOX) layer 120 ′, a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) layer 130 ′, a pad oxide layer 140 ′, and a pad nitride layer 150 ′. The thickness and material composition of base substrate 110 ′, buried oxide (BOX) layer 120 ′, semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) layer 130 ′, pad oxide layer 140 ′ is the same as base substrate 110 , buried oxide (BOX) layer 120 , semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) layer 130 , pad oxide layer 140 , and pad nitride layer 150 , respectively. Referring to FIGS. 15A-15E , at least two semiconductor fins are formed by any known method including, for example, photolithography and etching processes. It should be noted that a single finFET device may have one or more fins. In the depicted embodiment, three transistor fins 210 a ′- 210 c ′ and one body contact fin 210 d ′ are formed. Fins 210 a ′- 210 d ′ contain fin bodies 130 a ′- 130 d ′. oxide masks 140 a ′- 140 d ′, and nitride masks 150 a ′- 150 d ′, respectively. Other embodiments may include as few one transistor fin. Fins 210 a ′- 210 d ′ may have a width of about 10-50 nm, preferably about 20 nm. Fin 210 d ′ may be formed approximately 100 nm away from the outer edge of the outermost transistor fin, in the depicted embodiment, fin 210 c′. Referring to FIGS. 16A-16E , spacers 310 a ′- 310 d ′ are deposited on the sides of each fin 210 a ′- 210 d ′, respectively, by any known method. Spacers 310 a ′- 310 d ′ may be formed, for example, by depositing a nitride layer over the semiconductor fins 210 a ′- 210 d ′ and then removing excess material using an anisotropic reactive ion etching (RIE) process (not shown). Referring to FIGS. 17A-17E and FIGS. 18A-18E , a region 510 ′ is formed in BOX layer 120 ′ by removing material from BOX layer 120 ′. This may be accomplished first by depositing a photoresist layer 410 ′ on the surface of the structure of FIGS. 16A-16E , as depicted in FIGS. 17A-17E , and transferring the pattern of photoresist layer 410 ′ to the BOX layer 120 ′; using a wet etch process, as depicted in FIGS. 18A-18E . The etching process should be selective to remove the material of the BOX layer 120 ′ while not substantially removing any material of the fins 210 a ′- 210 d ′. Region 510 ′ should extend fully underneath each fin at depth of 10-100 nm, preferably 50 nm, as depicted in FIG. 18A . Region 510 ′ should have a length, measured parallel to the fins, of about 50-100 nm greater than the length of the gate (formed in FIGS. 21A-21E ), preferably about 50 nm, with about 25 nm past each side of the gate. The length of fins 210 a ′- 210 d ′ will be greater than the width of region 510 ′ so that ends of each fins 210 a ′- 210 d ′ remain in contact with BOX layer 120 ′. After region 510 ′ is etched, photoresist layer 410 ′ is removed (not shown). Referring to FIGS. 19A-19E , the region 510 ′ (as depicted in FIGS. 18A-18B ) may then be filled with a semiconductor layer 610 ′, so that the semiconductor layer 610 ′ contacts the bottom of each fin 210 a ′- 210 d ′. Semiconductor layer 610 ′ may be made of any semiconductor material including, but not limited to: silicon, germanium, silicon-germanium alloy, silicon carbide, silicon-germanium carbide alloy, and compound (e.g. III-V and II-VI) semiconductor materials. Non-limiting examples of compound semiconductor materials include gallium arsenide, indium arsenide, and indium phosphide. Semiconductor layer 610 ′ may be formed by any known method including, for example, a silicon epitaxial growth process. Referring to FIGS. 20A-20E , an oxide layer 711 ′ is formed on top of semiconductor layer 610 ′. In the depicted embodiment, oxide layer 711 ′ is formed by thermal oxidation, with the unoxidized portion of semiconductor layer 610 ′ forming unoxidized layer 712 ′. The thickness of layer 711 ′ determines the threshold voltage of the parasitic transistor formed. Therefore, oxide layer 711 ′ may be about 5-10 nm thick. As depicted in FIGS. 21A-21E , a gate 810 ′, consisting of a sacrificial gate 811 ′ and a gate cap 812 ′ are formed over a center portion of each fin 210 a ′- 210 c ′. Fin 210 d ′ is not covered by gate 810 ′, so that a body-contact may be later formed to fin 210 d ′. The thickness and material composition of sacrificial gate 811 ′ and gate cap 812 ′ may be the same as sacrificial gate 811 and Gate cap 812 , respectively. Sacrificial gate 811 ′ and gate cap 812 ′ may be formed through an known method including, for example, depositing sacrificial gate 811 ′ over the surface of the device, planarizing sacrificial gate 811 ′, depositing gate cap 812 ′ on top of sacrificial gate 811 ′, and then removing material from outside the desired area using a reactive ion etching process. Referring to FIGS. 22A-22E , a spacer 813 ′ is deposited around gate 810 ′. Spacer 813 ′ may be formed, for example, by depositing a nitride layer over gate 810 ′ and then removing excess material using an anisotropic reactive ion etching process (not shown). Spacer 813 ′ may be thick enough to full cover the sides of oxide layer 711 ′ perpendicular to gate 810 ′, preferably about 10 nm. Referring to FIGS. 23A-23E , source/drain regions 910 a ′ and 910 b ′ are formed over fins 210 a ′- 210 c ′, in the regions not covered by gate 810 ′ or spacer 813 ′. Spacers 310 a ′- 310 c ′, nitride masks 150 a ′- 150 c ′, and oxide masks 140 a ′- 140 c ′ ( FIGS. 15A-15E ) are removed from the exposed portions of fins 210 a ′- 210 c ′ ( FIGS. 22A-22E ) using known etching processes. A silicon-containing semiconductor material is then grown using known epitaxial processes over the exposed portions of fins 210 ′ a - 210 c ′ ( FIGS. 22A-22E ) to form source/drain regions 910 a ′ and 910 b ′. The thickness and material composition of source/drain regions 910 a ′ and 910 b ′ may the same as source/drain regions 910 a and 910 b . It should be noted that, while source/drain regions 910 a ′ and 910 b ′ are depicted as has having uniform geometries in the provided figures, some known epitaxial processes result in non-ideal geometries where faceting may be present. Referring to FIGS. 24A-24E , an interlevel dielectric (ILD) layer 1010 ′ is deposited over the structure of FIGS. 10A-10E (not shown) and then planarized, using, for example, chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) to expose the top surface of sacrificial gate 811 ′. ILD layer 1010 ′ may be made of, for example, TEOS, CVD oxide, or a stack of two more insulators including nitrides and oxides. Referring to FIGS. 25A-25E , sacrificial gate 811 ′ ( FIGS. 11A-11E ) is removed and replaced with a metal gate, which may include interfacial layers, gate dielectrics, work function metals, and metal fill. Sacrificial gate 811 ′ may be removed by any known method, including for example RIE or a wet etch containing ammonium hydroxide and dilute hydrofluoric acid (not shown). Spacers 310 a ′- 310 c ′, oxide masks 140 a ′- 140 c ′, and nitrides masks 150 a ′- 150 c ′ ( FIGS. 15A-15E ) are then removed from fins 210 a ′- 210 c ′ in the region exposed by the removal of sacrificial gate 811 ′ ( FIGS. 24A-24E ). Interfacial layers 1211 a ′- 1211 c ′, gate dielectric layer 1212 ′, work-function metal 1213 ′, and metal fill 1214 ′ are then formed in the same manner as interfacial layers 1211 a - 1211 c , gate dielectric layer 1212 , Work-function metal 1213 , and metal fill 1214 of the first exemplary embodiment. Other embodiments may include more or less metal layers depending on the application and types of device or devices being formed. The composition of each metal layer may also vary and the process of selecting the material for each metal layer is known in the art. The structure is then planarized using chemical-mechanical planarization or any other known method to remove any excess metal from the top surface of ILD layer 1010 ′. Referring to FIGS. 26A-26E , contacts 1310 a ′- 1310 d ′ are formed to metal gate 1210 ′, source/drain 910 a ′, source/drain 910 b ′, and fin body 130 d ′ of fin 210 d ′. First, contact holes are formed in ILD layer 1010 ′ using known etching processes to expose a top surface of source/drains 910 a ′ and 910 b ′ and fin body 130 d ′ (not shown). Silicide layers (not shown) are then formed on a top surface of source/drains 910 a ′ and 910 b ′ and fin body 130 d ′ by depositing a silicide metal, annealing the structure, and then removing unreacted metal (not shown). Silicide metals may include, for example, nickel, platinum, titanium, cobalt or some combination thereof. The contact holes are then filled with a contact metal, for example, copper and the structure is planarized to expose the top surface of metal fill 1214 ′. A second dielectric layer 1301 ′ is then deposited on top of the structure and contact holes are formed in dielectric layer 1301 ′ to expose a top surface of metal gate 1210 ′ and a top surface of the earlier formed contacts to source/drains 910 a ′ and 910 b ′ and fin body 130 d ′. These contact holes are then filled with a contact metal, for example tungsten or copper, to form gate contact 1310 a ′, source/drain contact 1310 b ′, source/drain contact 1310 c ′, and body contact 1310 d′. The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiment, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable other of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein. It is therefore intended that the present invention not be limited to the exact forms and details described and illustrated but fall within the scope of the appended claims.

A semiconductor structure including a body-contacted finFET device and methods form manufacturing the same. The method may include forming one or more semiconductor fins on a SOI substrate, forming a semiconductive body contact region connected to the bottom of the fin(s) in the buried insulator region, forming a sacrificial gate structure over the body region of the fin(s), forming a source region on one end of the fin(s), forming a drain region on the opposite end of the fin(s), replacing the sacrificial gate structure with a metal gate, and forming electrical contacts to the source, drain, metal gate, and body contact region. The method may further include forming a body contact fin contemporaneously with the finFET fins that is in contact with the body contact region, through which electrical contact to the body contact region is made.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Applications No. 10-2004-0016441 filed on Mar. 11, 2004 and No. 10-2004-0049324 filed on Jun. 29, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] (a) Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to a plasma display device and a method for driving a plasma display panel (PDP), and more particularly, to a frequency of a sustain discharge pulse applied to the PDP. [0004] (b) Description of the Related Art [0005] Plasma display devices are displays that use a PDP for displaying characters or images using plasma generated by gas discharge. The PDP includes, according to its size, more than several tens to millions of pixels (discharge cells) arranged in the form of a matrix. [0006] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating part of a general PDP. Scan electrodes 4 and sustain electrodes 5 covered with a dielectric layer 2 and a protective layer 3 are arranged in pairs in parallel on a first glass substrate 1 . A plurality of address electrodes 8 covered with an insulation layer 7 are arranged on a second glass substrate 6 . Barrier ribs 9 are formed in parallel with the address electrodes 8 on the insulation layer 7 such that each barrier rib 9 is interposed between the adjacent address electrodes 8 . A phosphor 10 is coated on the surface of the insulation layer 7 and on both sides of each partition wall 9 . The first and second glass substrates 1 and 6 are arranged to face each other while defining a discharge space 11 therebetween so that the address electrodes 8 are orthogonal to the scan electrodes 4 and sustain electrodes 5 . In the discharge space, a discharge cell 12 is formed at an intersection between each address electrode 8 and each pair of the scan electrodes 4 and sustain electrodes 5 . [0007] In general, a process for driving the AC PDP can be expressed by temporal operational periods, i.e., a reset period, an address period and a sustain period. The reset period is a period wherein the state of each cell is intialized such that an addressing operation of each cell is smoothly performed. The address period is a period wherein an address voltage is applied to an addressed cell to accumulate wall charges on the addressed cell in order to select a cell to be turned on and a cell not to be turned on in the PDP. During the sustain period, a sustain discharge pulse is alternately applied to the scan electrode 4 and the sustain electrode 5 in pairs. A difference in voltage between the scan electrode 4 and the sustain electrode 5 alternates between sustain discharge voltages Vs and −Vs. In this case, when a wall voltage is applied between the scan electrode Y and the sustain electrode X by address discharge during the address period, sustain discharge is created in the scan electrode Y and the sustain electrode X by the wall voltage and the sustain discharge voltage Vs. [0008] Discharge efficiency is changed by the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse during the sustain period. A known technique related to the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,356,017 issued to Makino where it is suggested that the discharge efficiency can be improved by having the frequency f of the sustain discharge pulse satisfy the relationship of the following Equation 1: f ≥ μ i ⁢ Vs π ⁢   ⁢ d 2 where, μ i is ion mobility, Vs is a sustain voltage, d is a gap between the scan electrode and the sustain electrode. [0010] Recently, also for the purpose of improving the discharge efficiency, a partial pressure of xenon (Xe) gas injected as a discharge gas into the discharge space has been increased over 10%. In general, when the partial pressure of Xe is low, Xe* monomer emits light. When the partial pressure of Xe is increased over 10%, (Xe-Xe)* dimer emits light. The Xe* monomer emits a 147 nm resonance line. Ultraviolet rays are absorbed in the 147 nm resonance line before this line is absorbed into Xe and arrives at a phosphor. In addition, when Xe* is struck by electrons, it is changed to Xe. As such, the ultraviolet ray can not be converted to a visible ray, which results in energy loss. [0011] (Xe-Xe)* dimer emits a 173 nm molecular beam. This beam arrives at the phosphor directly without being absorbed by Xe or (Xe-Xe), which leads to a good energy efficiency. In addition, since the (Xe-Xe)* dimer delivers energy to the phosphor rapidly, the risk of it being struck by electrons is greatly reduced. Accordingly, the frequency range suggested by Makino is not proper when (Xe-Xe)* dimer is used to improve the energy efficiency. In addition, because the frequency suggested by Makino is very high, the sustain discharge pulse must use a sinusoidal wave instead of a square wave. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0012] In accordance with the present invention a frequency of a sustain discharge pulse, is provided which is capable of improving a discharge efficiency when a partial pressure of Xe is high in a plasma display panel. [0013] In accordance with the present invention a plasma display device is provided having a plasma display panel and a driver. The plasma display panel has discharge cells formed by at least two electrodes including a first electrode and a second electrode, and the driver applies a sustain discharge pulse to at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode during a sustain period such that a voltage difference between the first electrode and the second electrode alternates between a positive voltage and a negative voltage. [0014] In an exemplary embodiment, a partial pressure of Xe of discharge gases injected into discharge spaces of the discharge cells is above 10%. [0015] In an exemplary embodiment, the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse is over 300 kHz. [0016] In an exemplary embodiment, the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse is below 2.5 MHz. [0017] In an exemplary embodiment, the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse is below 1 MHz. [0018] In an exemplary embodiment, the sustain discharge pulse has a frequency f f ≥ { ( D ⁢   ⁢ μ i ⁢ Vs π ⁢   ⁢ d 2 ) - 1 + k ⁡ ( Tr + Tf ) + 2 ⁢ s } - 1 defined by where, Dμ i is mobility of Xe ions of the discharge gases injected into the discharge spaces of the discharge cells, Vs (V) is the absolute value of the positive voltage or the negative voltage, d[cm] is a gap between the first electrode and the second electrode, Tr(s) and Tf(s) are rising time and falling time of the sustain discharge pulse, respectively, k is a period of time determined by the rising time and the falling time of a period of time when an absolute value of the voltage difference between the first electrode and the second electrode is not Vs during one cycle of the sustain discharge pulse, s is a period of time except a period of time corresponding to the rising time and the falling time and a period of time when an absolute value of the voltage difference between the first electrode and the second electrode is Vs during one cycle of the sustain discharge pulse. [0020] In an exemplary embodiment, the sustain discharge pulse has a frequency f f < μ i ⁢ Vs π ⁢   ⁢ d 2 defined by [0021] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention a method is provided for driving a plasma display panel having discharge cells formed by at least two electrodes. Discharge cells to be turned on are selected from among the discharge cells formed by at least two electrodes, and sustain discharge for the selected discharge cells is created by applying a sustain discharge pulse having a predetermined frequency between 300 kHz and 2.5 MHz to the selected discharge cells. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0022] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating part of an AC PDP. [0023] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a plasma display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [0024] FIG. 3 is a waveform diagram illustrating sustain discharge pulses according to an embodiment of the present invention. [0025] FIG. 4 shows waveform diagrams illustrating time at which a sustain discharge pulse of a scan electrode and a sustain discharge pulse of a sustain electrode are overlaid. [0026] FIG. 5 is a graph showing a relationship between a partial pressure of Xe and a correction factor of ion mobility. [0027] FIG. 6 is a graph showing a relationship between a partial pressure of Xe and a threshold frequency of a sustain discharge pulse. [0028] FIG. 7 is a graph showing a relationship between a frequency of a sustain discharge pulse and a discharge efficiency under a condition that the threshold frequency is 500 kHz. [0029] FIG. 8 is a three-dimensional graph showing a discharge efficiency measured while varying the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse and the partial pressure of Xe. [0030] FIGS. 9 and 10 are waveform diagrams illustrating sustain discharge pulses according to another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0031] Referring to FIG. 2 , the plasma display device includes a plasma display panel 100 , a controller 200 , an address electrode driver 300 , a sustain electrode driver 400 , and a scan electrode driver 500 . [0032] The plasma display panel 100 includes a plurality of address electrodes Al to Am (referred to as “A” electrodes hereinafter) extending in a column direction, and a plurality of sustain electrodes X 1 to Xn (referred to as “X” electrodes hereinafter) and a plurality of scan electrodes Y 1 to Yn (referred to as “Y” electrodes hereinafter) alternately extending in pairs in a row direction. The X electrodes X 1 to Xn are formed corresponding to respective Y electrodes Y 1 to Yn, and their ends are coupled in common. The plasma display panel 100 includes a substrate (not shown) on which the X and Y electrodes X 1 to Xn and Y 1 to Yn are arranged, and a substrate (not shown) on which the A electrodes A 1 to Am are arranged. The two substrates face each other with a discharge space therebetween so that the Y electrodes Y 1 to Yn may cross the A electrodes A 1 to Am and the X electrodes X 1 to Xn may cross the A electrodes A 1 to Am. In this instance, discharge spaces on the crossing points of the A electrodes A 1 to Am and the X and Y electrodes X 1 to Xn and Y 1 to Yn form discharge cells, similar to those described with regard to FIG. 1 . Each of Y electrodes and each of X electrodes may have corresponding projection electrodes (not shown), which project toward an adjacent Y electrode and an adjacent X electrode, respectively, and face each other. A gap (d) between a Y electrode, for example, an electrode Y 1 , and an X electrode paired with the Y electrode, for example, an electrode X 1 , is a shortest distance between a Y electrode and an X electrode paired with the Y electrode if the projection electrodes are present, and a shortest distance between a projection electrode of a Y electrode and that of an X electrode paired with the Y electrode if the projection electrodes are not present, which will be described later. [0033] The controller 200 externally receives video (image) signals, and outputs address driving control signals, X electrode driving control signals, and Y electrode driving control signals. Additionally, the controller 200 divides a single frame into a plurality of sub-fields having respective weights and drives them. [0034] During the address period, the scan electrode driver 500 applies a selected voltage to the Y electrodes Y 1 and Yn in an order of selection of the Y electrodes Y 1 to Yn (i.e., sequentially), and the address electrode driver 300 receives the address driving control signals from the controller 200 , and applies an address voltage for selecting discharge cells to be turned on whenever the selected voltage is applied to each of the Y electrodes, to each of the A electrodes. In other words, discharge cells formed by Y electrodes to which the selected voltage is applied and A electrodes to which the address voltage is applied when the selected voltage is applied to the Y electrodes during the address period are selected as the discharge cells to be turned on. [0035] During the sustain period, the sustain electrode driver 400 and the scan electrode driver 500 receive control signals from the controller 200 and apply the sustain discharge pulse to the X electrodes X 1 to Xn and the Y electrodes Y 1 to Yn alternately. [0036] A frequency range of the sustain discharge pulse applied for sustain discharge in the plasma display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6 . [0037] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating sustain discharge pulses according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the time at which the sustain discharge pulse of the Y electrodes and the sustain discharge pulse of the X sustain electrodes are overlaid. In the following description, the sustain discharge pulses applied to the X electrodes and the Y electrodes alternate between a voltage Vs and a ground (0V), and are out of phase opposite with each other, as shown in FIG. 3 . [0038] To begin with, a problem of the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse explained earlier in connection with Equation 1 will be described further. [0039] The ion mobility μ i of the Xe monomer in Equation 1 is generally determined by the following Equation 2: μ i = 1 p ⁢ { 1947 ⁢ ⅇ - 16.833 ⁢ Xe - 0.011878 ⁢ E p + 1554.2 ⁢ ⅇ - 5.1697 ⁢ Xe - 0.00089854 ⁢ E p + 1158.6 ⁢ ⅇ - 1.1457 ⁢ Xe - 0.0093201 ⁢ E p + 131.24 } where, Xe is a partial pressure of Xe normalized to 1 (for example, when the partial pressure of Xe is 30%, Xe is 0.3.), E is the intensity (Vs(V)/d(cm)) of an electric field generated between the X electrodes and the Y electrodes due to the sustain discharge voltage Vs, and p [Torr] is a pressure of gas in the discharge space. [0040] In discharge cells of plasma display panels used commonly, the gap (d) between the X electrodes and the Y electrodes is 0.0075 cm, the sustain discharge voltage Vs is 220V, and the pressure (p) of gas is 450 Torr. Under this condition, if the partial pressure of Xe is 30%, the ion mobility is approximately 1.99 in Equation 2. Putting these values into Equation 1, the frequency (f) of the sustain discharge pulse over about 2.5 MHz is obtained. [0041] However, since the Y and X electrodes act as capacitive loads when the sustain discharge pulse is applied to the Y and X electrodes, power consumption is increased as inactive power for injecting charges into the capacitive loads is consumed. Accordingly, the sustain discharge pulse is applied to the Y and X electrodes using a power recovery circuit for recovering and reusing the inactive power in the plasma display device. The power recovery circuit recovers energy to an external capacitor while discharging the capacitive loads using resonance between the capacitive loads, formed by the Y and X electrodes, and an inductor, and then charges the capacitive loads using the energy stored in the external capacitor. Such a power recovery circuit is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,866,349 and 5,081,400 issued to Weber et al. [0042] In order to apply the sustain discharge pulse to the Y electrodes using the power recovery circuit, a voltage of the Y electrodes has to be increased from 0 V to the sustain discharge voltage Vs or decreased from Vs to 0 V. However, it is impossible to instantaneously change the voltage of the Y electrode. In other words, it takes a period of time (referred to as “rising time” hereinafter) to increase the voltage of the Y electrodes from 0 V to Vs using the resonance, and similarly, it takes a period of time (referred to as “falling time” hereinafter) to decrease the voltage of the Y electrodes from Vs to 0 V. In general, when the rising time of the sustain discharge pulse is increased under high partial pressure of Xe experimentally, good discharge efficiency is obtainable. The rising time is set to about 300 to 350 ns. However, when the rising time of the sustain discharge pulse is increased under low partial pressure of Xe, the discharge efficiency is poor. Accordingly, Equation 1 needs to be corrected in consideration of the rising time and the falling time of the sustain discharge pulse. Reflecting the rising time and the falling time, Equation 1 can be corrected with the following Equation 3: f ≥ { (   ⁢ μ i ⁢ Vs π ⁢   ⁢ d 2 ) - 1 + k ⁡ ( Tr + Tf ) + 2 ⁢ s } - 1 where, μ i is the ion mobility, Vs[V] is the sustain discharge voltage, d[cm] is the gap of the X electrode and the Y electrode, Tr and Tf are the rising time and the falling time of the sustain discharge pulse, respectively, k and s are superposition coefficients of the sustain discharge pulse of the Y electrode and the sustain discharge pulse of the X electrode. In more detail, k is a period of time determined by the rising time and the falling time of a period of time when an absolute value of the voltage difference between the first electrode and the second electrode is not Vs during one cycle of the sustain discharge pulse, while s is a period of time except a period of time corresponding to the rising time and the falling time and a period of time when an absolute value of the voltage difference between the first electrode and the second electrode is Vs during one cycle of the sustain discharge pulse. [0044] As shown in FIG. 4 , s is 0 if the sustain discharge pulses of the Y and X electrodes are superimposed on each other. s denotes a period of time when voltages of the Y and X electrodes are simultaneously 0 V during one cycle of the sustain discharge pulse if the sustain discharge pulses of the Y and X electrodes are not superimposed on each other. k is a numerical value representing a degree of reflection of the rising time Tr and the falling time Tf in the sustain discharge pulses of the Y and X electrodes. When the sustain discharge pulses of the Y and X electrodes are not superimposed on each other, k is 2 since the rising time Tr and the falling time Tf are respectively reflected twice. In addition, when the sustain discharge pulses of the Y and X electrodes are superimposed on each other, k is determined depending on the degree of reflection of the rising time Tr and the falling time Tf, as shown in FIG. 4 . [0045] Herein, when the rising time Tr and the falling time Tf are set to 300 ns, k and s are 1 and 0, respectively, and the condition of the discharge cells mentioned earlier is put into Equation 3, the frequency of the sustain discharge is approximately 1 MHz. This corresponds to half the numerical value calculated in Equation 1. [0046] Equations 1 and 3 are used for the case where the partial pressure of Xe is extremely low and Xe exists in a monomer state. However, in the case where the partial pressure of Xe is high and monomer ions (Xe + ) and dimer ions (Xe 2 + ) of Xe are mixed, Equation 3 needs to be corrected. [0047] Hereinafter, the frequency and the sustain discharge pulse will be described in consideration of the Xe dimer with reference to FIG. 5 . [0048] FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the partial pressure of Xe and a correction factor of ion mobility. In FIG. 5 , the horizontal axis denotes a partial pressure of Xe normalized to 1 and the vertical axis denotes a correction factor D multiplied by mobility of the Xe monomer ions to obtain actual ion mobility. As shown in FIG. 5 , while the Xe dimer is formed as the partial pressure of Xe is increased to about 10%, the ion mobility is rapidly decreased by the interaction between the Xe monomer ions (Xe + ) and the Xe dimer ions (Xe 2 + ). [0049] Subsequently, when the partial pressure of Xe is further increased to about 20%, Xe mostly exists in a dimer state and hence the interaction between the Xe monomer ions and the Xe dimer ions is decreased. Accordingly, the ion mobility is again increased to reach the ion mobility of substantially between 50 and 60% of the ion mobility in the dimer state. Thus, the relationship is between the partial pressure of Xe and the correction factor (D) is expressed by the following Equation ⁢   ⁢ 4 : ⁢   D = - 1 - ⅇ - 110 ⁢ Xe 1.9 6 ⁢ ( Xe + 0.1 ) + 0.74   where, D is a factor resulting from a division of the actual ion mobility of Xe by the ion mobility of Xe in the monomer state, and Xe is the partial pressure of Xe normalized to 1. [0051] Reflecting this correction factor D, Equation 3 is changed to the following Equation 5: f ≥ { ( D ⁢   ⁢ μ i ⁢ Vs π ⁢   ⁢ d 2 ) - 1 + k ⁡ ( Tr + Tf ) + 2 ⁢ s } - 1 [0052] Under the condition of the discharge cells (d=0.0075 cm, Vs=220 V, and p=450 Torr) and the condition of the sustain discharge pulse (Tr=300 ns, k=1, and s=0) mentioned above, the minimum value (threshold frequency) of the frequency f determined in Equation 5 depending on the partial pressure of Xe is as shown in FIG. 6 . Referring to FIG. 6 , the threshold frequency at which the discharge efficiency is expected to improve as the partial pressure of Xe is increased above 10% is determined within a range of about 300 kHz to 550 kHz. Namely, when the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse is set above the threshold frequency of 300 kHz, the discharge efficiency is expected to improve. [0053] As described above, in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the discharge efficiency can be improved when the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse is set in the frequency range determined by Equation 5. Particularly, the discharge efficiency can be improved by setting the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse above 300 kHz under conditions of general plasma display panels. [0054] In the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the lowest limit threshold frequency of the sustain discharge pulse for improving the discharge efficiency has been described. Hereinafter, the upper limit frequency of the sustain discharge pulse will be described with reference to FIG. 7 . [0055] FIG. 7 is a graph showing a relationship between the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse and the discharge efficiency under the condition that the threshold frequency is determined as 500 kHz in Equation 5. [0056] Referring to FIG. 7 , it can be seen that the discharge efficiency is increased as the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse is increased, particularly, the discharge efficiency is about 3.0 when the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse is the threshold frequency of 500 kHz. On the other hand, it can be seen that the discharge efficiency is decreased when the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse is above 750 kHz, particularly, the discharge efficiency is lower than the discharge efficiency set to the threshold frequency of 500 kHz when the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse is above 1 MHz. In other words, when the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse is about 1 MHz, the discharge efficiency is saturated. This has some connection with the power recovery ratio of a power recovery circuit. [0057] The power recovery circuit is used when the sustain discharge pulse is applied to the X electrode and the Y electrode, as described earlier. In this case, the power recovery ratio of the power recovery circuit may be decreased when the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse is increased. When the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse is increased, it is necessary to shorten the rising time and the falling time of the sustain discharge pulse. The rising time and the falling time are determined by a capacitive component and an inductive component, which form a resonant circuit. Herein, the capacitive component is a value determined by properties of the plasma display panel. Therefore, the rising time and the falling time are adjustable by adjusting the size of an inductor used in the power recovery circuit. Namely, the size of the inductor is small so as to shorten the rising time and the falling time of the sustain discharge pulse. [0058] In general, flexible printed circuits (FPCs), patterns and the like, used when the X electrode and Y electrode drivers are coupled to the X electrode and the Y electrode, respectively, become lengthened as the plasma display panel becomes large in size. In this case, a parasite inductive component is increased between the X and Y electrodes and the drivers thereof. When the resonance is generated as the size of the inductor becomes small, the power recovery ratio has to be decreased as the influence of the parasite inductive component becomes large. In addition, when the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse becomes higher, a large displacement current instantaneously flows through the capacitive component formed by the Y and X electrodes, which imposes a heavy burden on the power recovery circuit. Therefore, the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse cannot be set too high. The threshold frequency is set to about 1 MHz in typical power recovery circuits. [0059] Next, a range of the partial pressure of Xe where it is expected to improve the discharge efficiency when the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse is increased will be described with reference to FIG. 8 which shows the discharge efficiency measured while varying the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse and the partial pressure of Xe. The measured discharge efficiency Eff. in FIG. 8 is approximated by the following Equation 6: Eff.= 1.42120−0.00183633× f+ 0.0317506× Xe+ 0.000177615× f×Xe [0060] When Equation 6 is differentiated with regard to the frequency f of the sustain discharge pulse, it is changed to Equation 7: −0.00183633+0.000177615× Xe= 0 [0061] Accordingly, as is seen from Equation 6 , the partial pressure of Xe is set to 10% as a critical point at which the discharge efficiency is increased as the frequency is increased. [0062] As described above, in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, when the partial pressure of Xe is high, the discharge efficiency can be improved by setting the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse above the threshold frequency determined by Equation 5. In this embodiment, the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse is set to about 300 kHz. In addition, the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse can be set below the threshold frequency of about 2.5 MHz determined in Equation 1 at which the sustain discharge pulse has to be used in the form of a sinusoidal wave in the conventional technique. Also, in this embodiment, the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse can be set below 1 MHz in consideration of the operational burden and power recovery ratio of the power recovery circuit. In addition, in this embodiment, it is expected that the discharge efficiency is improved in a range where the partial pressure of Xe is above about 10% experimentally. [0063] In addition, when the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse is high as in this embodiment, luminance of an image signal is decreased. This can overcome a problem wherein expression of a low level of gray scale is deteriorated as the discharge efficiency is increased. In addition, when the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse is high, the sustain period can be reduced. Time saved by the reduction of the sustain period can be allocated for expression of gray scale or reduction of pseudo contour. [0064] In the embodiments described above, the sustain discharge pulse is assumed to have the waveform shown in FIG. 3 . However, without limiting exemplary embodiments of the present invention to such a sustain discharge pulse, other sustain discharge pulses having other waveforms are applicable. [0065] FIGS. 9 and 10 are diagrams illustrating sustain discharge pulses according to other embodiments of the present invention. [0066] Referring to FIG. 9 , the sustain discharge pulse applied to the X and Y electrodes alternates between a voltage of Vs/2 and a voltage of −Vs/2 which have opposite phases. Thus, a voltage difference between the Y and X electrodes alternates between Vs and −Vs. In FIG. 9 , k in Equation 5 is always 1 and s is determined by a period of time during which the voltage difference is the ground (0V) in one cycle of the sustain discharge pulse. [0067] Referring to FIG. 10 , the sustain discharge pulse having the alternating voltage Vs and the voltage −Vs is applied to the Y electrode in a state where the X electrode is biased to the ground. Thus, a voltage difference between the Y and X electrodes alternates between Vs and −Vs. In FIG. 10 , k in Equation 5 is always 1 and s is determined by a period of time during which the voltage difference is the ground (0V) in one cycle of the sustain discharge pulse. [0068] In the embodiments described above, the plasma display panel has three electrodes including the A electrode, the Y electrode and the X electrode. However, without being limited to three electrodes, the present invention is applicable to other plasma display panels having other forms of electrodes which are capable of creating the sustain discharge using the applied sustain discharge pulse mentioned above. [0069] As is apparent from the above description, in accordance with the present invention, by setting the frequency of the sustain discharge pulse according to the increase of the partial pressure of Xe, the discharge efficiency of the plasma display panel can be improved. [0070] While this invention has been described in connection with certain exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

A plasma display device, which is capable of improving a discharge efficiency of a plasma display panel by increasing a partial pressure of Xe. When the partial pressure of Xe is increased, a proportion of (Xe-Xe)* dimer emitting a 147 resonance line is higher than that of Xe* monomer emitting a 173 nm molecular beam. Particularly, when the partial pressure of Xe is above 10%, the discharge efficiency is improved by setting a frequency of a sustain discharge pulse applied to scan electrodes and sustain electrodes alternately during sustain period above 300 kHz.

This is a divisional of and claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/021,773 filed Jan. 29, 2008, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND The present invention relates to a vertical power semiconductor device (hereinafter referred to as “power device”) primarily made of a silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor material and capable of voltage driving through an insulated gate. Devices that handle a large amount of electric power, so-called power devices, have been conventionally manufactured by primarily using silicon semiconductors. Since a power device can have a large electric current capacity, it often has a structure in which electric current flows in the thickness direction (vertical direction) between the two principal planes of the chip. Among such conventional power devices is a vertical insulated gate field effect transistor. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional representative vertical insulated gate field effect transistor (MOSFET). The cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 8 is the basic structure of a well known device called a static induction transistor (hereinafter abbreviated as “SIT”). The SIT structure includes gates obtained by selectively burying p + regions 54 in an n-type high-resistance (low-concentration) drift layer 53 deposited on an n + semiconductor substrate 51 . When a negative bias is applied to the gate with respect to a drain 56 provided on the underside of the semiconductor substrate 51 , a depletion layer expands in a pinch-off region 52 provided between each pair of the p + regions 54 , which are the gates, and blocks the electric current path from the drain 56 through the pinch-off region 52 and an n + source region 57 to a source 58 . Such SIT devices are characterized by a monopolar structure in which electric current basically only flows through n-type regions, so that small on-resistance close to an ideal value is likely provided. Prototype devices have been reported having the SIT structure using SiC semiconductors with excellent characteristics as well as those using silicon semiconductors. However, the basic structure of the SIT device is in the conducting state when no bias is applied to the gate (normally-on). Therefore, when the gate drive circuit malfunctions due to noise or the like and hence no gate voltage is applied, the device remains conducting, possibly resulting in a serious failure, such as breakdown of the circuit in the worst case. Use of the SIT device requires caution in the gate bias conditions, which poses difficulty in using the SIT device. The vertical MOSFET, an insulated gate-driven device, is frequently used as the power device described above. FIG. 9 shows a typical planar gate MOSFET in which gate insulating films 124 and gate electrodes 111 , each having a flat shape, are formed on the principal plane of a semiconductor substrate (100+103). In FIG. 9 , n + surface regions 121 provided immediately under the gate insulating films 124 located on both sides of a p-well 113 in the substrate surface are not formed in many cases. When reduction in size of the unit pattern for lowering on-resistance of the power device narrows the region immediately under the gate insulating film 124 sandwiched between the p-wells 113 in adjacent unit patterns, the pinch-off resistance increases because a depletion layer expands when a bias is applied to a drain electrode 106 . To prevent the pinch-off resistance and hence the on-resistance from increasing, the high-concentration n + surface regions 121 are provided. The concentration (impurity concentration) is approximately 1×10 18 cm −3 at the most, because higher concentrations prevent the depletion layer from expanding along the surface, resulting in reduction in blocking voltage. Reference numeral 111 denotes the gate electrode. Reference numeral 104 denotes an interlayer insulating film. Reference numeral 105 denotes an emitter electrode. Reference numeral 114 denotes an emitter region. Reference numeral 115 denotes a contact high-concentration p + region. In the vertical MOSFET, unlike the SIT shown in FIG. 8 , the on-resistance of the element includes not only the resistance of the n-type semiconductor region (the high-resistance drift layer 103 , in particular) but also the resistance in channel regions that are located immediately under the gate electrodes 111 and the gate insulating films 124 , and formed in the surfaces of the p-well 113 sandwiched between the emitter regions 114 and the high-concentration n + surface regions 121 . The total resistance of the channel regions in the whole element decreases when the size of the unit pattern is reduced to increase the channel density, since the channel regions are arranged in parallel. Accordingly, to lower the on-resistance of the whole element, the unit pattern is preferably configured in such a way that the channel density is maximized. The cross-sectional view of FIG. 10 shows a conventional trench gate MOSFET devised in such a way that more reduction in channel resistance through the size reduction described above is achieved than in the planar gate MOSFET. In the trench gate structure indicated by a gate electrode 223 , a gate insulating film 224 , and a trench 235 , the trench 235 extends downward perpendicularly to the principal plane, so that the trench density along the surface can be easily increased. The trench gate structure ( 223 , 224 , and 235 ) therefore easily achieves a higher channel density than that in the planar gate structure shown in FIG. 9 . Furthermore, in the trench gate structure, the fact that the pinch-off resistance in the region sandwiched between p-wells 225 structurally decreases makes the trench gate MOSFET more advantageous than the planar gate MOSFET from the viewpoint of the pinch-off resistance. Reference numeral 220 denotes an n + semiconductor substrate. Reference numeral 222 denotes a high-resistance drift layer. Reference numeral 228 denotes an n + emitter region. Reference numeral 226 denotes a p + contact region. Reference numeral 230 denotes an interlayer insulating film. Reference numeral 227 denotes an emitter electrode. However, in a silicon power device, since the channel density has already been almost maximized by making full use of the process technology of the trench gate structure and the LSI microprocessing technology, the semiconductor characteristics of the silicon power device have approached the limit determined by the material. To break through this material limit, there have been attempts to change the semiconductor material from silicon to any of those having broader band gaps, such as SiC and GaN. Since the maximum breakdown fields of these materials are larger by approximately one order of magnitude than that of silicon, it is expected that use of any of these materials for a power device lowers the resistance of the element to one hundredth or smaller. Prototypes of SiC-MOSFET devices and SiC-SIT devices having structures similar to those of silicon devices have been built and have shown excellent characteristics. JP-A-2006-147789 and corresponding European Patent Publication EP 1,814,162 A1 describe a SiC-MOSFET in which the on-resistance is lowered by forming a structure including an n + SiC substrate, an n-type high-resistance (low-concentration) drift layer stacked thereon, a high-concentration p-gate layer buried therein, and a MOS channel region further formed thereon, the MOS channel region being a low-concentration p-type deposition layer. It is necessary to selectively convert the p-type deposition layer into an n-type base region through ion implantation to form an electric current path. However, the n-type base region cannot be thick due to the practical limit of depth to which ions can be implanted (equal to the thickness of the p-type deposition layer), so that a high electric field is applied to the gate insulating film and hence the off-state voltage is not improved. To solve this problem, the above-referenced documents reported interposing a low-concentration n-type deposition layer between the low-concentration p-type deposition film and the high-concentration gate layer of a SiC MOSFET. The base region converted into the n-type through ion implantation is selectively formed in the low-concentration p-type deposition film so as to increase the thickness of the n-type deposition film between the high-concentration gate layer and the low-concentration p-type deposition film (channel region). JP-A-2001-94097 discloses a MOSFET device as shown in the cross-sectional view of the semiconductor substrate of the MOSFET in FIG. 11 . This device includes an n + channel layer 305 a deposited on the exposed surface of an n − epitaxial layer 302 a stacked on an SiC-n + substrate 1 and on part of the surfaces of p − base regions 303 a and 303 b , n + source regions 304 a and 304 b formed in the surface portions of the p − base regions 303 a and 303 b , ion implanted p-type channel layers 305 b , one of the channel layers sandwiched between the n + source region 304 a and the n-type channel layer 305 a and the other sandwiched between the n + source region 304 b and the n-type channel layer 305 a , and a gate electrode 308 formed above the channel layers 305 b and the n-type channel layer 305 a via a gate insulating film 307 . This SiC semiconductor device not only has the MOSFET channel structure having the normally-off capability but also a capability to lower the on-resistance even when the depletion layer expands between the p − base regions 303 a and 303 b at the time of ON by increasing the concentration in the n-type channel layer 305 a. As described above, a MOSFET made of a silicon carbide semiconductor is expected to have an excellent blocking voltage characteristic because the dielectric breakdown field of a silicon carbide semiconductor is higher than that of a silicon semiconductor by one order of magnitude. However, a SiO 2 film is primarily used as the gate insulating film as in silicon semiconductor, that is, a large blocking voltage cannot be provided in many cases. Corners are formed on the gate insulating film and the electric field concentrates at the corners of the gate insulating film, so that an excessive electric field is applied, particularly in a trench MOSFET. An electric field normally applied in SiC therefore cannot be applied, so that only a much lower blocking voltage is provided. Accordingly, to avoid the problem of reduced blocking voltage due to dielectric breakdown of the gate insulating film in silicon carbide semiconductor, a planar gate MOSFET has been fabricated as a prototype in many cases. Since a SiC semiconductor has lower channel mobility in a MOSFET than a silicon semiconductor, a high-density channel structure is more desirable to lower the channel resistance than in silicon semiconductor. However, a sufficiently high-density channel structure is not always provided since a SiC semiconductor needs to employ a planar gate MOSFET as described above, which suffers from a low level of channel size reduction. Since a SIT uses no gate insulating film, it does not have the problem of insulating film breakdown described above. However, a SIT is a so-called normally-on device, that is, it has source-drain continuity in the no-bias state in which no voltage is applied to the gate. This becomes a problem when a SIT is actually applied to a circuit, and hence a SIT is regarded as a hard-to-use device. In a practical circuit, when a problem occurs in a gate circuit and no voltage can be applied to the gate, a so-called normally-off device is preferable from the viewpoint of safety because a normally-off power device having such a defective gate automatically blocks electric current. As a method to eliminate the normally-on device phenomenon from a power device having the SIT structure, there has been proposed a complex device structure shown in an equivalent circuit in FIG. 2 . This device has a structure in which a SIT 16 and a MOSFET 15 , which is a low blocking voltage normally-off device, are serially cascaded. When an off-state signal is applied to the gate 18 of the MOSFET 15 , the MOSFET 15 becomes blocked, so that the potential at the source region of the SIT 16 increases. A negative bias is therefore applied to the gate of the SIT 16 , so that the SIT 16 is also turned off. The device having such a configuration is a normally-off device without the normally-on device phenomenon. This configuration, however, results in a large on-resistance device in which the MOSFET 15 is added to the SIT 16 , which means that the advantage of a SiC semiconductor device, namely small on-resistance with a small area, is lost. In view of the points described above, it would be preferable to provide an insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the same, wherein the semiconductor device has small on-resistance, the advantage of the static induction transistor structure is fully used, and the advantage of the field effect transistor structure characterized by the normally-off operation is obtained, in a structure obtained by combining the static induction transistor structure with the insulated gate field effect transistor structure. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a first aspect of the invention, an insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device primarily made of a silicon carbide semiconductor material is provided. The semiconductor device includes a first conduction-type low-concentration deposition semiconductor layer deposited on a first conduction-type high-concentration semiconductor substrate, a second conduction-type base region buried in the first conduction-type low-concentration deposition semiconductor layer, a trench extending from the surface of the first conduction-type low-concentration deposition semiconductor layer to the second conduction-type base region, a first conduction-type first source region selectively formed in the surface layer of the second conduction-type base region at the bottom of the trench, and a second conduction-type channel region formed in the surface layer of the first conduction-type low-concentration deposition semiconductor layer along the sidewall of the trench. One end of the second conduction-type channel region is in contact with the first conduction-type first source region, a gate electrode is in contact with the surface of the sidewall of the trench in the second conduction-type channel region via a gate insulating film, and a source electrode is in contact with the surface of the gate electrode on the trench side via an interlayer insulating film, and is in contact with the surface of the first conduction-type first source region and the surface of the second conduction-type base region, with the surfaces exposed at the bottom of the trench. In a second aspect of the invention, in the device according the first aspect, the gate electrode in contact with the surface of the sidewall of the trench in the other conduction-type channel region via the gate insulating film does not extend into the upper portion of the first conduction-type low-concentration deposition semiconductor layer between the trenches. In a third aspect of the invention, the device according to the first aspect further comprises a first conduction-type high-concentration second source region in the surface layer of the first conduction-type low-concentration deposition semiconductor layer between the trenches. In a fourth aspect of the invention, in the device according to the third aspect, the second conduction-type base region has a two-layer configuration including a deep high-concentration first base region and a shallow low-concentration second base region. In a fifth aspect of the invention, the device according to the fourth aspect further comprises a contact trench at the bottom of the trench, the contact trench reaching the first base region, and the source electrode is placed in contact with the contact trench. In a sixth aspect of the invention, a method is provided for manufacturing the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device of the third aspect. The method comprises forming the second conduction-type base region buried in the low-concentration deposition semiconductor layer and the trench extending from the surface of the low-concentration deposition semiconductor layer to the second conduction-type base region, forming the second conduction-type channel region along the sidewall of the trench through oblique ion implantation, and simultaneously forming the first conduction-type first source region and the first conduction-type second source region. According to the invention, an insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device, and a method for manufacturing the same, are provided, wherein the semiconductor device has small on-resistance, the advantage of the static induction transistor structure is fully used, the advantage of the field effect transistor structure characterized by the normally-off operation is obtained, in a structure obtained by combining the static induction transistor structure with the insulated gate field effect transistor structure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be described with respect to certain preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device according to a first embodiment of the invention; FIG. 2 is an equivalent circuit diagram of the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device according to the invention; FIGS. 3A to 3G are cross-sectional views showing the method for manufacturing the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device of the invention; FIGS. 4A to 4G are cross-sectional views showing the method for manufacturing the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device according to a second embodiment of the invention; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device according to a third embodiment of the invention; FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device according to a fourth embodiment of the invention; FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device according to a fifth embodiment of the invention; FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a conventional static induction transistor; FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a conventional vertical planar gate MOSFET; FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a conventional vertical trench gate MOSFET; and FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device and the method for manufacturing the same according to the invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the embodiments and the accompanying drawings, similar configurations have the same reference character and redundant description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an equivalent circuit diagram of the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device according to the first embodiment. FIGS. 3A to 3G are cross-sectional views showing a method for manufacturing the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device according to the first embodiment. FIGS. 4A to 4G are cross-sectional views showing the method for manufacturing the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device according to a third embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device according to a fifth embodiment. First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device showing a first embodiment according to the invention. In FIG. 1 , the SIT structure includes an n + region 23 (source), a p + region 27 (gate), an n-type high-resistance (low-concentration) drift layer 3 , and an n + substrate 1 (drain). The gate of the SIT corresponds to the p + region 27 (although the p + region 27 is included in the second conduction-type base region in the appended claims, the p + region 27 is hereinafter referred to as “p + gate region” because it is the gate for the SIT). In FIG. 1 , the n + region 23 (hereinafter referred to as “n + second source region”) corresponding to the source region of the SIT is not directly connected to an electrode, but also serves as the drain region of a MOSFET structure formed on the sidewall of a trench 19 , so that the SIT structure and the MOSFET structure are cascaded. The equivalent circuit in FIG. 2 shows the cascade connection between the SIT structure and the MOSFET structure. The MOSFET structure shown in FIG. 1 includes a gate insulating film 25 and a gate electrode 22 provided on the surface of the sidewall of the trench 19 extending from the surface to a p-base region 26 . Furthermore, a p-type channel region 24 is formed along the surface layer of the sidewall of the trench 19 on the n-type high-resistance (low-concentration) drift layer 3 side in such a way that the p-type channel region 24 connects the n + second source region 23 to the p-base region 26 and an n + first source region 30 . When a gate voltage greater than or equal to a threshold value is applied to the gate electrode 22 on the surface of the sidewall, a channel that is inverted into the n-type is formed in the surface of the p-type channel region 24 . This channel becomes the electric current path in the MOSFET structure. The n + second source region 23 , which is the source of the SIT structure (the drain of the MOSFET structure), which is formed of a drain electrode 21 , the n + substrate 1 , the n-type high-resistance (low-concentration) drift layer 3 , and the n + second source region 23 , is serially connected to the MOSFET, and the electric current inputted to a drain terminal 10 is taken out of a source terminal 17 through the SIT structure; the drain 23 , the channel region 24 and the source region 30 of the MOSFET structure; and a source electrode 20 . The basic portion that maintains a high blocking voltage is similar to that in the SIT, and the SIT is turned off through a pinch-off region 31 . The semiconductor device according to the invention can be turned on and off by applying a voltage to the gate terminal 18 of the MOSFET, as shown in the equivalent circuit diagram of FIG. 2 . This device can basically be a normally-off device by the fact that the MOSFET 15 is serially connected to the SIT 16 . In the semiconductor device shown in FIG. 1 , which has been described with reference to the first embodiment, no electric field is applied to the corner of the gate insulating film 25 . Therefore, even when a sufficiently large voltage is applied between the source and the drain, the blocking voltage of the whole element will not be limited by the blocking voltage of the gate insulating film 224 (the gate insulating film 25 in FIG. 1 ) unlike the conventional trench gate MOSFET shown in FIG. 10 . Furthermore, as in a SIT, since the high-concentration n + second source region 23 of the SIT is present in the surface, size reduction of the pinch-off region 31 will not result in high resistance. The resistance of the whole element can thus be suppressed to a small value even when the MOSFET is serially added to the SIT. In the p-base region 26 and the p + gate region 27 , which affect the size reduction, the characteristics thereof are not sensitive to the size reduction, so that these regions can be minimized according to advances of the microprocessing technology. The size reduction and low resistance will therefore be achieved at the same time. The disadvantages of the SIT and the MOSFET can thus be solved in a complementary manner, allowing a device using excellent characteristics of the SIT and the MOSFET to be provided. FIGS. 3A to 3G are cross-sectional views of the main portion of the semiconductor substrate showing an example of the method for manufacturing the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device according to the first embodiment of the invention. The wafer used in this method has the n-type high-resistance (low-concentration) drift layer 3 formed through epitaxial growth with the thickness and impurity concentration controlled on a high-concentration n + SiC single crystal substrate (not shown). In FIG. 3A , a photomask is used to form an opening in an ion implantation mask 29 a in the region where the p + gate region is formed, and p-type impurity ions are implanted as indicated by the arrows. In an SiC semiconductor substrate, aluminum (Al) is typically used as the p-type impurity. In this method, Al ions are implanted into the regions 26 and 27 to two different depths and different concentrations. The higher-concentration (approximately 1×10 18 cm −3 to 1×10 20 cm −3 ) region is formed in the deeper p + gate region 27 to operate it primarily as the gate of the SIT, while a region having a concentration of approximately 1×10 17 cm −3 to 1×10 18 cm −3 is formed in the shallower p-base region 26 . In FIG. 3B , the p + gate region 27 and the p-base region 26 that have undergone the ion implantation processes are activated through heat treatment at a high temperature of 1500 to 1800° C., and the n-type high-resistance (low-concentration) drift layer 3 a is formed above these regions through n-type SiC epitaxial growth. To form the source region of the SIT on the entire surface, the high-concentration n + second source region 23 is then formed through ion implantation or epitaxial growth. In an SiC semiconductor, nitrogen or phosphorus is typically used as the n-type impurity. In FIG. 3C , an etching mask 29 b formed of an insulating film or the like is used to form the trench 19 in such a way that it extends from the surface of the wafer in the direction perpendicular thereto and reaches the p + base region 26 . In FIG. 3D , oblique ion implantation with respect to the wafer surface is carried out to create the p-channel regions 24 for forming the MOS structure on the sidewall of the trench. In FIG. 3E , a mask 29 c is provided in a predetermined portion at the bottom of the trench 19 and high-concentration n-type ions are implanted for the source of the MOSFET. The implanted portions similarly undergo a high-temperature heat treatment at 1500 to 1800° C. as described above to form the n + first source regions 30 . In FIG. 3F , the gate insulating film 25 is formed on the substrate surface through thermal oxidation or CVD. A gate material, such as polysilicon, is deposited on the gate insulating film 25 to form the gate electrode 22 . In FIG. 3G , the gate electrode 22 is patterned and the interlayer insulating film 28 is formed on the gate electrodes 22 . A contact hole is then created. Although not illustrated in FIG. 3G , the source electrode 20 and the drain electrode 21 shown in FIG. 1 are formed on the front side and the backside, respectively. The insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device having the structure in FIG. 1 is thus obtained. As an ohmic electrode film to achieve good conductive contact of the drain electrode 21 and the source electrode 20 with the surface of the SiC semiconductor substrate, a film made of metal, such as Ni and Ti, is typically used. Furthermore, to achieve good wire bonding connection, Al is formed on the outermost surface of the electrode film to a thickness of a few micrometers. To prevent oxidation and enhance the solder bondability, the outermost surface of the electrode film is preferably finished by coating Au. Second Embodiment FIGS. 4A to 4G are cross-sectional views of the main portion of the semiconductor substrate showing, as a second embodiment, another method for manufacturing the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device according to the invention. The manufacturing method shown in FIGS. 4A to 4G differs from the manufacturing method shown in FIGS. 3A to 3G in that the n + second source region 23 , which becomes the source of the SIT structure including the drain electrode 21 , the n + semiconductor substrate 1 , the n-type high-resistance (low-concentration) drift layer 3 , and the n + second source region 23 shown in FIG. 1 , is not formed in the stage shown in FIG. 4B unlike in FIG. 3B , but formed in the later step shown in FIG. 4E simultaneously with the n + first source regions 30 of the MOSFET. Such a manufacturing method allows the steps to be carried out with a slightly greater efficiency than in the manufacturing method shown in FIGS. 3A to 3G . Third Embodiment FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device showing a third embodiment according to the invention. Although the basic configuration of this embodiment is similar to that shown in FIG. 1 , FIG. 5 differs from FIG. 1 showing the first embodiment in that the gate electrode 22 formed via the gate insulating film 25 in FIG. 1 is not formed immediately above the source region (n + second source region) 23 of the SIT structure or the surface of the semiconductor substrate. One reason of this is to lower the capacitance between the gate and the source, and another reason is to reduce the total area of the gate insulating film 25 . The former is suitable for high-speed switching, and the latter is effective to improve the yield of the gate insulating film 25 . Fourth Embodiment FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device showing a fourth embodiment according to the invention. In the fourth embodiment, the high-concentration region corresponding to the source region of the SIT structure, that is, the n + second source region 23 in FIGS. 1 and 5 is omitted. The blocking voltage-oriented design is therefore easily carried out although the on-resistance increases. That is, it is necessary to set the width of the pinch-off region 31 and the depth of the trench 19 in the SIT in such a way that a designed blocking voltage is obtained by such dimensions. If the dimensions shift from their optimum values, there is a risk of reduction in blocking voltage, but no high-concentration region (n + second source region 23 ) is required as shown in FIG. 6 , resulting in a structure similar to a typical vertical MOSFET. Therefore, there is no need to control the depth of the high-concentration region, which means that there is very little risk of reduction in blocking voltage due to design reasons. Fifth Embodiment FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device showing a fifth embodiment according to the invention. Although the basic configuration of this embodiment is similar to that shown in FIG. 1 , in the portion where the source electrode 20 is in ohmic contact with the n + first source region 30 and the p-base region 26 , the contact between the source electrode 20 and the p + gate region 27 is achieved by forming a trench 40 . This approach aims to obtain low ohmic resistance by thus locally digging deep into the high-concentration p + gate region 27 to form the contact trench 40 and expose the high-concentration p + gate region 27 at the bottom, in consideration of the fact that it is difficult to expose the high-concentration p + gate region 27 in the portion where the source electrode 20 forms ohmic contact at the bottom of the trench 19 in the manufacturing methods shown in FIGS. 3A to 3G and 4 A to 4 G. The insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device according to the invention is suitably used in inverters and power conversion devices. In coming years, applications to driving a motor installed in a motor vehicle are particularly expected. The invention has been described with respect to certain preferred embodiments thereof. It will be understood that modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the appended claims. This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application 2007-017945 filed on Jan. 29, 2007, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

An insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device is provided having small on-resistance in a structure obtained by combining the SIT and MOSFET structures having normally-off operation. The device includes an n − semiconductor layer on an SiC n + substrate, a p-type base region and highly doped p-region both buried in the layer, a trench from the semiconductor layer surface to the p-base region, an n + first source region in the surface of a p-type base region at the bottom of the trench, a p-type channel region in the surface of the sidewall of the trench, one end of which contacts the first source region, a gate electrode contacting the trench-side surface of the channel region via a gate insulating film, and a source electrode contacting the trench-side surface of the gate electrode via an interlayer insulating film and contacting the exposed first source region and p-base region at the bottom of the trench.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is generally directed to the manufacture of bandgap reference circuits and, in particular, to a system and method for providing an improved low voltage bandgap reference circuit. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A bandgap reference circuit is commonly used to provide a reference voltage in electronic circuits. A reference voltage must provide the same voltage every time the electronic circuit is powered up. In addition, the reference voltage must remain constant and independent of variations in temperature, fabrication process, and supply voltage. A bandgap reference circuit relies on the predictable variation with temperature of the bandgap energy of an underlying semiconductor material (usually silicon). The energy bandgap of silicon is on the order of one and two tenths volt (1.2 V). Some types of prior art bandgap reference circuits use the bandgap energy of silicon in bipolar junction transistors to compensate for temperature effects. As the design dimensions of electronic circuit elements decrease, the magnitude of the power supply voltages have also decreased. Lower power supply voltages reduce the total power requirements of an electronic circuit. This is especially important in electronic circuits that operate on battery power. Electronic circuits that use lower supply voltages also require bandgap reference circuits that provide lower reference voltages. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a bandgap reference circuit that is capable of providing a low reference voltage. Specifically, there is a need in the art for an improved low voltage bandgap reference circuit that can provide a reference voltage having a magnitude less than one and two tenths volts (1.2 V). Before undertaking the Detailed Description of the Invention below, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term “or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like. Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior uses, as well as to future uses, of such defined words and phrases. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a more complete understanding of the present invention and its advantages, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts: FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic representation of a first embodiment of a low voltage bandgap reference circuit of the present invention; and FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic representation of a second embodiment of a low voltage bandgap reference circuit of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIGS. 1 and 2 , discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present invention in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present invention may be implemented with any type of suitably arranged bandgap reference circuit. FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic representation of a first embodiment of a low voltage bandgap reference circuit 100 constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention. The input voltage V IN is connected to a first current source 110 that produces a current having a value of I 1 and to a second current source 120 that also produces a current having a value of I 1 . As shown in FIG. 1 , the input voltage V IN is also connected to the collector of bipolar junction transistor Q 3 and to the collector of bipolar junction transistor Q 4 . The output of first current source 110 is connected to the collector of bipolar junction transistor Q 1 . The output of first current source 110 is also connected to the base of bipolar junction transistor Q 4 . The output of second current source 120 is connected to the collector of bipolar junction transistor Q 2 . The output of second current source 120 is also connected to the base of bipolar junction transistor Q 3 . The emitter of bipolar junction transistor Q 3 is connected to the base of bipolar junction transistor Q 2 . The emitter of bipolar junction transistor Q 3 is also connected through resistor R 2 to the base of bipolar junction transistor Q 1 . The emitter of bipolar junction transistor Q 1 is connected to ground. A first end of resistor R 1 is connected to the base of bipolar junction transistor Q 1 and a second end of resistor R 1 is connected to ground. The current that flows through resistor R 1 is designated as I 2 . The emitter of bipolar junction transistor Q 2 is connected to the voltage output terminal V OUT . The emitter of bipolar junction transistor Q 2 is also connected through resistor R 3 to ground. The current that flows through resistor R 3 is designated as I 3 . The emitter of bipolar junction transistor Q 4 is connected to the collector of bipolar junction transistor Q 5 . The base of bipolar junction transistor Q 5 is connected to a node between the emitter of bipolar junction transistor Q 4 and the collector of bipolar junction transistor Q 5 . The emitter of bipolar junction transistor Q 5 is connected to the voltage output terminal V OUT . The output voltage V OUT is the sum of the voltage across resistor R 2 and the difference between the base-emitter voltage V BE of transistor Q 1 and transistor Q 2 . The current through transistor Q 1 is equal to I 1 and the current through transistor Q 2 is also equal to I 1 . The area of transistor Q 1 is equal to a unit value of area. That is, the transistor Q 1 has a value of area equal to one square unit (designated “ 1 x” in FIG. 1 ). The area of transistor Q 2 is equal to “A” times the area of transistor Q 1 . That is, transistor Q 2 has a value of area equal to A square units of area (designated “Ax” in FIG. 1 ). With equal currents (I 1 ) through transistor Q 1 and through transistor Q 2 and with an area ratio of “one” to “A” (1:A), the difference voltage (ΔV BE ) is given by the expression: Δ V BE =V T ln( A )  (Eq. 1) where the term V T represents the thermal voltage of the transistor at the absolute temperature T. The current I 2 flows through resistor R 1 . Ignoring the base currents in transistor Q 1 and in transistor Q 2 , the value of current flowing through transistor R 2 is also I 2 . Transistor Q 3 supplies the I 2 current and the value of the current I 2 is given by the expression: I 2 = V BEQ 1 R 1 ( Eq . ⁢ 2 ) where the term V BEQ 1 represents the base-emitter voltage of transistor Q 1 . This means that the voltage V R 2 across resistor R 2 is given by the expression: V R 2 = R 2 R 1 ⁢ V BEQ 1 ( Eq . ⁢ 3 ) Adding the PTAT (Proportional to Absolute Temperature) difference voltage (ΔV BE ) to the voltage V R 2 across resistor R 2 provides a first order temperature independent output voltage V OUT . V OUT =ΔV BE +V R 2   (Eq. 4) V OUT = V T ⁢ ln ⁡ ( A ) + ( R 2 R 1 ) ⁢ V BEQ 1 ( Eq . ⁢ 5 ) ⁢ Transistor Q 3 supplies the current I 2 and controls the bases of transistor Q 1 and transistor Q 2 to keep the collector of transistor Q 2 at a voltage value of 2V BE +V OUT . Transistor Q 4 and transistor Q 5 control the output voltage V OUT to keep the collector of transistor Q 1 at a voltage value of 2V BE +V OUT . Transistor Q 5 is only used to balance the collector voltages of transistor Q 1 and transistor Q 2 . The current I 3 flows through resistor R 3 . The value of resistance of resistor R 3 should be selected to provide a current value of approximately I 1 through transistor Q 4 and transistor Q 5 . The absolute value of the current I 3 is not critical. The value of the resistance of resistor R 3 is approximately equal to the output voltage V OUT divided by the sum of the current I 1 plus the current through transistor Q 4 . Because the value of the current through transistor Q 4 is approximately equal to the current I 1 , the approximate value of the resistance of resistor R 3 is given by the expression: R 3 ≅ V OUT ( I 1 + I Q4 ) ≅ V OUT 2 ⁢ I 1 ( Eq . ⁢ 6 ) ⁢ The minimum value of the input voltage V IN for bandgap reference circuit 100 is given by the expression: V IN (minimum)=2 V BE +V SAT +V OUT   (Eq. 7) The term V BE represents a value of base to emitter voltage of said first bipolar junction transistor Q 1 . The term V SAT represents a minimum voltage required for the current sources ( 110 , 120 ). The term V OUT represents the output voltage. The currents I 1 in the current sources ( 110 , 120 ) may be constant or they may be proportional to absolute temperature (PTAT). Typical values of V IN (minimum) are in the range of one and eight tenths volt (1.8 V) to two volts (2.0 V). The low voltage bandgap reference circuit 100 of the present invention provides a low value of output voltage V OUT that is constant with temperature over a pre-selected range of temperature values. The value of output voltage V OUT can be significantly less than one and two tenths volt (1.2 V). The value of output voltage V OUT can be as low as approximately one hundred millivolts (100 mV). The lowest value of output voltage V OUT achievable by prior art devices is approximately two hundred millivolts (200 mV). The value of output voltage V OUT that is provided by the low voltage bandgap reference circuit 100 of the present invention depends on the ratio of the value of the resistance of the R 1 resistor to the value of the resistance of the R 2 resistor (R 1 /R 2 ). The value of the resistance of the R 3 resistor is not critical. No special start-up circuitry is required to operate the low voltage bandgap reference circuit 100 of the present invention. Start-up is initiated simply by supplying the I 1 currents. The optimal values of the resistances of the resistors (R 1 , R 2 and R 3 ) may be selected using the analysis set forth below. The basic equation for the base-emitter voltage V BE for the bipolar junction transistor Q 1 is: V BEQ 1 = E GE - H ⁡ ( E GE - V BE o ) + V To ⁢ H ⁢ ⁢ ln ⁡ ( I 1 I 0 ) - η ⁢ ⁢ V To ⁢ H ⁢ ⁢ ln ⁡ ( H ) ( Eq . ⁢ 8 ) ⁢ The expression E GE represents the silicon bandgap voltage. A typical value for the silicon bandgap voltage is approximately one and two tenths volt (1.2 V). The letter H represents the ratio of the absolute temperature T to the room temperature T 0 . H = T To ( Eq . ⁢ 9 ) The room temperature T 0 is equal to twenty seven degrees Celsius (27° C.) and equal to three hundred degrees Kelvin (300° K.). The expression I 1 represents the current through transistor Q 1 at the temperature T. The expression I 0 represents the current through transistor Q 1 at room temperature T 0 . The expression V BE 0 represents the value of base-emitter voltage V BE of transistor Q 1 when the temperature is room temperature T 0 (and the current through transistor Q 1 is I 0 ). The expression V T 0 represents the thermal voltage at room temperature T 0 . V T 0 = kT 0 q ≅ 26 ⁢ ⁢ millivolts ( Eq . ⁢ 10 ) The letter k represents Boltzmann's constant and the letter q represents the electron charge. The Greek letter η in Equation 8 represents the exponent of T in the saturation current of transistor Q 1 . The expression η is referred to as XTI in the SPICE™ circuit simulation program and has a value of approximately four (4) for diffused silicon junctions. We use the expression for V BE Q 1 of Equation 8 in Equation 5 (reproduced below): V OUT = V T ⁢ ⁢ ln ⁡ ( A ) + ( R 2 R 1 ) ⁢ V BEQ 1 ( Eq . ⁢ 5 ) For convenience, ratio R 2 /R 1 will be represented by the Greek letter α. The letter H also represents the ratio of the thermal voltage V T at the absolute temperature T to the thermal voltage V T 0 at room temperature T 0 . H = V T V T 0 ( Eq . ⁢ 11 ) Using these expressions, Equation 5 becomes: V OUT =V T 0 H ln( A )+α V BE Q 1   (Eq. 12) The goal is to find a value for the ratio α and a value for the area A such that the partial derivative of V OUT with respect to H is zero. ∂ V OUT ∂ H = 0 ( Eq . ⁢ 13 ) For a current I 1 that is proportional to absolute temperature (PTAT), the letter H also represents the ratio of the current I 1 at the absolute temperature T to the current I 0 at room temperature T 0 . H = I 1 I 0 ( Eq . ⁢ 14 ) Using Equation 8 and Equation 14 one may express Equation 12 as follows: V OUT =α└E GE −H ( E GE −V BE 0 )+ V T 0 H ln( H )−η V T H ln( H )┘+ V T 0 H ln  (Eq. 15) Taking the derivative with respect to H gives: ∂ V OUT ∂ H = α ⁡ [ - ( E GE - V BE 0 ) + V T 0 ⁡ ( 1 + ln ⁡ ( H ) ) ⁢ ( - η + 1 ) ] ⁢ V T 0 ⁢ ln ⁡ ( A ) ( Eq . ⁢ 16 ) Setting the derivative in Equation 16 equal to zero and evaluating at H=1 gives: α└−( E GE −V BE 0 )− V T 0 (η−1)┘+ V T 0 ln( A )=0  (Eq. 17) This gives an expression for α as follows: α = V T 0 ⁢ ln ⁡ ( A ) ( E GE - V BE 0 ) + V T 0 ⁡ ( η - 1 ) ( Eq . ⁢ 18 ) This result for α is placed into Equation 12 in order to find the value of V OUT where H equals one. The value of V OUT when the value of H equals one will be referred to as the “magic” voltage. When the value of H equals one, then Equation 12 reduces to: V OUT =V magic =V T 0 ln( A )+α V BE 0   (Eq. 19) Substituting the value of α from Equation 18 gives: V magic = V T 0 ⁢ ln ⁡ ( A ) + V BE 0 ⁢ V T 0 ⁢ ln ⁡ ( A ) ( E GE - V BE 0 ) + V T 0 ⁡ ( η - 1 ) ( Eq . ⁢ 20 ) Factoring out the expression V T 0 ln(A) and rewriting the result gives: V magic = V T 0 ⁢ ln ⁡ ( A ) ⁢ ( E GE + V T 0 ⁡ ( η - 1 ) ( E GE - V BE 0 ) + V T 0 ⁡ ( η - 1 ) ) ( Eq . ⁢ 21 ) For a constant value of current I 1 the expression (η−1) may be replaced with the expression η. For resistor R 1 and resistor R 2 where the thermal conductivity (TC) is non-zero, the expression (η−1) may be replaced by the expression (η−1+σ) where the Greek letter σ is equal to the thermal conductivity (expressed as a reciprocal of degrees Celsius) times the room temperature T 0 (expressed in degrees Celsius). σ=( TC )( T 0 )  (Eq. 22) The selection of the design parameters using the analysis set forth above proceeds as follows. First, the value of resistance of resistor R 1 is set to be approximately equal to the base-emitter voltage V BE Q1 of transistor Q 1 divided by the current I 1 . R 1 ≅ V BE ⁢ ⁢ Q1 I 1 ( Eq . ⁢ 23 ) Then Equation 21 is used to find the area A from the desired value of output voltage V OUT . Alternatively, Equation 21 can be used to find the value of output voltage V OUT from the desired value of area A. Then Equation 18 is used to find the value of α. Then the value of resistance of resistor R 2 is determined from: R 2 =αR 1   (Eq. 24) Then the value of resistance of resistor R 3 is determined from Equation 6: R 3 ≅ V OUT 2 ⁢ ⁢ I 1 ( Eq . ⁢ 25 ) To illustrate the process of finding the design parameters as set forth above consider the following numerical example. Assume that the following values have been determined: E GE =1.17 volt V BE 0 =0.65 volt I 1 =10.0 microamperes (μA) A=10.0 square units of area ρ=2 V T 0 =26 millivolts The value of resistance of resistor R 1 is determined by Equation 23 as follows: R 1 = 0.65 ⁢ ⁢ volt 10 ⁢ ⁢ μ ⁢ ⁢ amps = 65 ⁢ k ⁢ ⁢ Ω ( Eq . ⁢ 26 ) Then the given values are used in Equation 21 to determine the V magic value for the output voltage V OUT . V magic =V OUT =0.131 volt  (Eq. 27) Equation 18 gives the following value for α: α=0.1099  (Eq. 28) Then Equation 24 gives: R 2 =αR 1 =(0.1099)(65 kΩ)=7.14 kΩ  (Eq. 29) Then Equation 25 gives: R 3 ⁢ V OUT 2 ⁢ ⁢ I 1 = ( 0.131 ⁢ ⁢ volt ) 2 ⁢ ( 10.0 ⁢ ⁢ μ ⁢ ⁢ amps ) = 6.55 ⁢ k ⁢ ⁢ Ω ( Eq . ⁢ 30 ) Table One below illustrates the variation of the value of output voltage V magic as a function of the area A of transistor Q 2 . TABLE ONE Area A in 3.0 4.0 5.0 10.0 20.0 square units V magic in 62.5 78.9 91.6 131.0 171.0 millivolts The residual curvature in the output voltage V OUT is given by the equation: V CURVE =V OUT −V magic   (Eq. 31) Equation 31 can also be expressed as: V CURVE =V T 0 α(η−1)[( H− 1)− H ln( H )]  (Eq. 32) This expression for V CURVE is similar to that for a prior art bandgap reference circuit except that the value of V CURVE is reduced by the factor of α. The percent of curvature to output voltage V magic is the same as the prior art. Increasing the value of V OUT by increasing the ratio α will cause a negative temperature coefficient and vice versa. This result is opposite to that obtained from a prior art bandgap reference circuit. In a prior art bandgap reference circuit, the PTAT (Proportional to Absolute Temperature) voltage is scaled. In the bandgap reference circuit of the present invention, the base-emitter voltage (V BE ) is scaled. If one adds more PTAT voltage to the value of V OUT (by increasing the ratio α) then one obtains a higher value of V OUT and a positive temperature coefficient. If one adds more base-emitter voltage (V BE ) to the value of V OUT , then one obtains a higher value of V OUT and a negative temperature coefficient. FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic representation of a second embodiment of a low voltage bandgap reference circuit 200 constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention. The input voltage V IN is connected to a first current source 210 that produces a current having a value of I 1 and to a second current source 220 that also produces a current having a value of I 1 and to a third current source 230 that produces a current having a value of I 2 . The input voltage V IN is also connected to the collector of bipolar junction transistor Q 3 and to the collector of bipolar junction transistor Q 4 . The output of first current source 210 is connected to the collector of bipolar junction transistor Q 1 . The output of first current source 210 is also connected to the base of bipolar junction transistor Q 4 . The emitter of bipolar junction transistor Q 4 is connected to the output voltage terminal V OUT . The output of second current source 220 is connected to the collector of bipolar junction transistor Q 2 . The output of second current source 220 is also connected to the base of bipolar junction transistor Q 3 . The emitter of bipolar junction transistor Q 3 is connected to a fourth current source 240 that produces a current having a value of I 3 . The output of fourth current source 240 is connected to ground. The base of bipolar junction transistor Q 2 is connected through resistor R 2 to the base of bipolar junction transistor Q 1 . The output of third current source 230 is connected to the base of bipolar junction transistor Q 2 . The emitter of bipolar junction transistor Q 1 is connected to ground. A first end of resistor R 1 is connected to the base of bipolar junction transistor Q 1 and a second end of resistor R 1 is connected to ground. The emitter of bipolar junction transistor Q 2 is connected to the voltage output terminal V OUT . The emitter of bipolar junction transistor Q 2 is also connected through resistor R 3 to ground. The emitter of bipolar junction transistor Q 5 is connected to the base of bipolar junction transistor Q 2 . The collector of bipolar junction transistor Q 5 is connected to ground. The base of bipolar junction transistor Q 5 is connected to a node between the emitter of bipolar junction transistor Q 3 and the fourth current source 240 . The area of transistor Q 1 is equal to a unit value of area. That is, the transistor Q 1 has a value of area equal to one square unit (designated “ 1 x” in FIG. 2 ). The area of transistor Q 2 is equal to “A” times the area of transistor Q 1 . That is, transistor Q 2 has a value of area equal to A square units of area (designated “Ax” in FIG. 2 ). The second embodiment of the invention in the low power bandgap reference circuit 200 replaces the “diode” equivalent around the transistor Q 2 of bandgap reference circuit 100 with a “folded buffer” arrangement that comprises transistor Q 3 and transistor Q 5 . This puts a value of voltage that is equal to (V BE +V OUT ) on the collector of transistor Q 1 and on the collector of transistor Q 2 . Therefore, the minimum input voltage V IN in bandgap reference circuit 200 is less than the minimum input voltage V IN in bandgap reference circuit 100 . V IN (min)= V BE +V SAT +V OUT   (Eq. 33) The term V BE represents a value of base to emitter voltage of said first bipolar junction transistor Q 1 . The term V SAT represents a minimum voltage required for the four current sources ( 210 , 220 , 230 , 240 ). The term V OUT represents the output voltage. Equation 7 gives the minimum input voltage V IN for the bandgap reference circuit 100 . V IN (min)=2 V BE +V SAT +V OUT   (Eq. 7) In Equation 33 the output voltage V OUT can be as low as approximately one hundred millivolts (100 mV). A low value of V OUT in Equation 33 provides headroom for the fourth current source 240 that provides the 13 current. The third current source 230 provides the I 2 current for resistor R 1 and transistor Q 5 . In one advantageous embodiment the value of the I 2 current is given by: I 2 = V BE ⁢ ⁢ Q1 ⁢ ⁢ MAX R 1 ⁢ ⁢ MIN + I 1 ( Eq . ⁢ 34 ) This value of current for I 2 provides transistor Q 5 with a current that has a value of current that is equal to I 1 . It is noted that compensation capacitors may be required in low voltage bandgap reference circuit 200 . The low voltage bandgap reference circuits of the present invention ( 100 and 200 ) have several advantages over prior art bandgap reference circuits. First, no start-up circuitry is required. Second, the error amplification function is carried out by NPN bipolar junction transistors. Third, the bandgap reference circuits of the present invention require fewer transistors than prior art circuits. Fourth, the bandgap reference circuits of the present invention require fewer resistors than prior art circuits. The foregoing description has outlined in detail the features and technical advantages of the present invention so that persons who are skilled in the art may understand the advantages of the invention. Persons who are skilled in the art should appreciate that they may readily use the conception and the specific embodiment of the invention that is disclosed as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. Persons who are skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form. Although the present invention has been described with an exemplary embodiment, various changes and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art. It is intended that the present invention encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

A system and method are disclosed for providing a low voltage bandgap reference circuit that provides a substantially constant output voltage over a range of values of temperature. For example, the bandgap reference circuit could be capable of providing output voltages that are as low as one hundred millivolts. Also, no special start-up circuitry may be required to initiate the operation of the bandgap reference circuit. The bandgap reference circuit could further require fewer transistors and fewer resistors than prior art bandgap reference circuits.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 13/736,902, filed Jan. 8, 2013, entitled “DIGITAL MEDIA ENHANCEMENT SYSTEM, METHOD, AND APPARATUS,” which non-provisional application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/584,308, filed Jan. 8, 2012, entitled “DIGITAL MEDIA ENHANCEMENT SYSTEM, METHOD, AND APPARATUS,” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/584,305, filed Jan. 8, 2012, entitled “CLOTHING AND BODY COVERING PATTERN CREATION MACHINE AND METHOD.” The text and contents of the non-provisional patent application and each of the provisional patent applications are hereby incorporated into this application by reference as though fully set forth herein. TECHNICAL FIELD The subject disclosure generally relates to digital media enhancement, and more specifically towards enhancing digital media files based on data ascertained from reference files. BACKGROUND By way of background concerning conventional digital media enhancement devices, it is noted that enhancements performed by such devices are undesirably limited by the particular information included in the file to be enhanced. For instance, when attempting to remove an obstruction from an image, conventional tools can be used to replace pixels of the obstruction with pixels proximate to the obstruction. Namely, conventional methods replace such pixels without actual knowledge of what is behind the obstruction. Similarly, removing noise from an audio file is limited to applying noise-cancelling filters, wherein actual knowledge of the audio without noise is not known. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a digital enhancement device which overcomes these limitations. To this end, it should be noted that the above-described deficiencies are merely intended to provide an overview of some of the problems of conventional systems, and are not intended to be exhaustive. Other problems with the state of the art and corresponding benefits of various non-limiting embodiments may become further apparent upon review of the following detailed description. SUMMARY A simplified summary is provided herein to help enable a basic or general understanding of various aspects of exemplary, non-limiting embodiments that follow in the more detailed description and the accompanying drawings. This summary is not intended, however, as an extensive or exhaustive overview. Instead, the sole purpose of this summary is to present some concepts related to some exemplary non-limiting embodiments in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description of the various embodiments that follow. In accordance with one or more embodiments and corresponding disclosure, various non-limiting aspects are described in connection with digital media enhancement devices. In one such aspect, a device is provided, which includes a computer, a computer readable memory having one or more computer executable components stored thereon, and a processor configured to execute the one or more computer executable components in order to cause the computer to perform various actions. The actions include identifying a target object in a primary image, and searching a plurality of images to locate at least one reference image that includes at least a portion of the target object. The actions further include modifying at least one characteristic of the target object within the primary image according to data derived from an analysis of the at least one reference image. In another aspect, a device is provided, which also includes a computer, a computer readable memory having one or more computer executable components stored thereon, and a processor configured to execute the one or more computer executable components in order to cause the computer to perform various actions. For this particular embodiment, the actions include receiving a primary digital file, referencing at least one reference digital file, and generating enhancement data that facilitates enhancing an aspect of the primary digital file from an extrapolation of the at least one reference digital file. In a further aspect, another device is provided, which also includes a computer, a computer readable memory having one or more computer executable components stored thereon, and a processor configured to execute the one or more computer executable components in order to cause the computer to perform various actions. The actions include aggregating a plurality of digital media files corresponding to a common event, and identifying a desired enhancement of a primary digital media file. Within such embodiment, the desired enhancement corresponds to a modification of data associated with an obstruction included in the primary digital media file. The actions further comprise referencing at least one reference file which includes data associated with the desired enhancement, and modifying the data associated with the obstruction included in the primary digital media file based on replacement data extrapolated from the at least one reference file. Other embodiments and various non-limiting examples, scenarios and implementations are described in more detail below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary environment that facilitates enhancing digital media in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification. FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary primary image and exemplary reference image according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary media management unit that facilitates enhancing digital media in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification. FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of an exemplary methodology that facilitates enhancing digital media according to an embodiment. FIG. 5 is a block diagram representing exemplary non-limiting networked environments in which various embodiments described herein can be implemented. FIG. 6 is a block diagram representing an exemplary non-limiting computing system or operating environment in which one or more aspects of various embodiments described herein can be implemented. OVERVIEW The present disclosure relates to the enhancement of digital media. In FIG. 1 , an exemplary environment that facilitates such enhancement is provided. As illustrated, environment 100 includes user device 120 , which is coupled to media management unit 130 , and reference source(s) 140 via network 110 . Here, it should be noted that user device 120 can be any computing device configured to receive an input from a user (e.g., a mobile device, personal computer, etc.), wherein user device 120 and media management unit 130 can be distinct entities or integrated into a single device. In one aspect, user device 120 is configured to provide and/or select digital media (hereinafter defined to include digital content) to be enhanced by media management unit 130 according to data ascertained from reference source(s) 140 . For instance, in an exemplary embodiment, a user provides/selects a photograph via user device 120 , wherein the photograph includes characteristics the user wishes to edit via media management unit 130 . Within such embodiment, media management unit 130 is configured to extrapolate and/or extract data from at least one reference image retrieved from reference source(s) 140 . The extrapolated data is then used to edit and/or enhance the photograph as desired by the user. In another aspect, an entirely automated system is contemplated with no user input. For example, in a baseball game where the stands are empty, the automated system may automatically add stock photography or video or stills taken from one or more video frames) of full seats to avoid having it look like the stadium is empty. Similarly, a camera transmitting from a fixed area (e.g., the Rose Garden at the White House) may utilize a reference image of the background so that aides walking in the background, trash inadvertently dropped, etc, do not show up in the video feed. Referring next to FIG. 2 , an exemplary primary image and exemplary reference image according to an embodiment is provided. For this particular example, it is assumed that primary image 210 was taken by camera 230 , wherein a user was attempting to photograph object 216 in front of target object 214 . Here, it is further assumed that the user would like to remove obstruction object 212 from primary image 210 . To facilitate such removal, a search can be performed for images similar to primary image 210 in which target object 214 is unobstructed by obstruction object 212 (e.g., via an image search for target object 214 ). In this example, reference image 220 is found, which includes reference object 224 , wherein reference object 224 is unobstructed view by obstruction object 212 . Data extrapolated from reference area 222 within reference image 220 can then be used to remove obstruction object 212 from primary image 210 (e.g., by replacing pixel data corresponding to obstruction object 212 with pixel data corresponding to reference area 222 ). Here, it should be appreciated that the search, replacement, and/or modification of target objects can be performed in any of a plurality of ways. In one aspect, for example, it may be desirable to utilize a reference object that is the same as the target object (e.g., where the target object and the reference object are both the Eiffel tower). In another aspect, however, simply utilizing a reference object that is similar to the target object may suffice (e.g., a reference object of a generic football, wherein the target object is a particular football). In yet another aspect, a target object might be replaced/modified by identifying objects that humans may perceive to be related to a context of the primary image (e.g., replacing an obstruction to the Statue of Liberty with a flag of the United States). In a further aspect, the area obscured by an obstruction object may be replaced by one or more visually compatible objects (optionally set on top of pixels with characteristics inferred by the characteristics of pixels surrounding the obstruction object), where the visually compatible objects are objects similar to other objects in the image and/or are objects similar or identical to objects appearing in similar reference images. Taking as an example a photograph taken on a beach, where there are numerous beach-goers, but one of the beach-goers has covered his body with visually jarring body paint, making him essentially an obstruction object. It may be undesirable to duplicate a person from the same image and have that person appear twice, as it makes it obvious that the photograph has been altered. Rather, the painted person may be replaced with an image of a person in a bathing suit taken from another image of a beach, which image may be selected based on comparable location, time, date, visual qualities, weather, time of year, white balance, photographic equipment used, or other criteria. Alternatively, if the identity of the person is ascertainable, a search for a more desirable image of the same painted person may be performed (e.g., an archived image of the painted person without the body paint), wherein the painted person image is replaced accordingly. Referring next to FIG. 3 , a block diagram of an exemplary media management unit that facilitates enhancing digital media according to an embodiment is illustrated. As shown, media management unit 300 may include processor component 310 , memory component 320 , search component 330 , generation component 340 , copyright component 350 , licensing component 360 , animation component 370 , image analysis component 380 , and audio component 390 . Here, it should be noted that processor component 310 , memory component 320 , search component 330 , generation component 340 , copyright component 350 , licensing component 360 , animation component 370 , image analysis component 380 , and/or audio component 390 can reside together in a single location or separated in different locations in various combinations including, for example, a configuration in which any of the aforementioned components may reside in a cloud. For instance, with reference to FIG. 1 , it is contemplated that these components may reside, alone or in combination, in either of user device 120 , media management unit 130 , and/or reference source(s) 140 . In one aspect, processor component 310 is configured to execute computer-readable instructions related to performing any of a plurality of functions. Processor component 310 can be a single processor or a plurality of processors which analyze and/or generate information utilized by memory component 320 , search component 330 , generation component 340 , copyright component 350 , licensing component 360 , animation component 370 , image analysis component 380 , and/or audio component 390 . Additionally or alternatively, processor component 310 may be configured to control one or more components of media management unit 300 . In another aspect, memory component 320 is coupled to processor component 310 and configured to store computer-readable instructions executed by processor component 310 . Memory component 320 may also be configured to store any of a plurality of other types of data including data generated by any of search component 330 , generation component 340 , copyright component 350 , licensing component 360 , and/or animation component 370 . Memory component 320 can be configured in a number of different configurations, including as random access memory, battery-backed memory, Solid State memory, hard disk, magnetic tape, etc. Various features can also be implemented upon memory component 320 , such as compression and automatic back up (e.g., use of a Redundant Array of Independent Drives configuration). In one aspect, the memory may be located on a network, such as a “cloud storage” solution. In another aspect, where a reference object is to be utilized in a manner that requires or may require a copyright license, a description of the desired reference object may be communicated to one or more purveyors of images or image data (or a search may be made of such purveyor's available images). Once candidate images are located, proposed use information may optionally be transmitted to such purveyors. In one implementation, such purveyors, by automated process or otherwise, are requested to submit bids for pricing. In another implementation, the system submits a pricing bid. The pricing data is incorporated into a decision making process that optionally utilizes data relating to the quality and/or desirability and/or qualities of the offered copyright license of the reference images that are subject to the bidding, and determines which of the reference images to purchase. Such purchase then takes place and the reference image (or images) is obtained. In another aspect, processed images each incorporating changes based on data from one or more of a plurality of potential reference images are generated and presented over a network for review by humans. In one implementation, a plurality of humans may vote in the desirability of the images and the voting results utilized to determine which reference images to use, or to influence such decision. In yet another aspect, media management unit 300 includes search component 330 , as shown. Within such embodiment, search component 330 is configured to search for any of a plurality of content and/or digital media types. Namely, it is contemplated that search component 330 may be configured to search various data sources to find reference media files related to a primary media file of which digital enhancement is desired. For instance, with respect to FIG. 2 , search component 330 may be coupled to image analysis component 380 and configured to search for images similar to primary image 210 in which target object 214 is unobstructed by obstruction object 212 (e.g., via an image search for target object 214 , a search for metadata associated with target object 214 , etc.). In another aspect, search component 330 may be configured to obtain results using an imperfect search that imperfectly meets requirements for the desired content. Those search results may then be filtered or additionally searched using another search. In one aspect, an initial search may be done using a search engine such as Google Images, regardless of whether it is accessed directly as part of the system or through an API or other method. Search component 330 , or the element that conducts the imperfect search, may optionally be operated by a third party. Search component 330 may also be configured to perform searches for other types of digital media (e.g., video files, audio files, etc.). For instance, in a scenario where an individual wishes to enhance video he/she recorded of a particular event (e.g., an inauguration speech, a school play, etc.), search component 330 may be configured to perform a search in which videos recorded by other people at the same event are identified and/or aggregated (e.g., aggregating videos of the event stored in a cloud). Here, one or more such videos may serve as reference videos to facilitate enhancing aspects of the primary video recorded by the individual. Indeed, the primary video may include a visual obstruction (e.g., a person's head obstructing a view of a podium), audio obstruction (e.g., a conversation obstructing audio of a speech), or other type of obstruction, wherein data from reference videos retrieved by search component 330 may be used to remove/mitigate such obstructions. In another aspect, reference images, video and/or audio may be utilized to determine the elements that are present on the user's video but not in some or all of the reference video. In this way, for example, a conversation that is taking place close to the user may be enhanced or made audible by removing the audio matching audio present at a distance from where the user recorded the event. In yet another aspect, search component 330 is coupled to audio component 390 and configured to search for reference audio files. In another aspect, the processing of such information may be conducted in real time or substantially in real time. In one aspect, the real time processed data may be made available to one or more end users such that the end user making a video (or taking photos) of an event sees the processed data in his or her digital viewfinder (in addition to or in alteration with the native video). In another aspect, the processing of such information in near real time may be utilized for safety and security purposes. In one aspect, by isolating conversations as described above, automated (or non-automated) processes may be used to listen for key words or phrases, and/or for certain sounds (for example, the sound of a round being chambered in a weapon). Similarly, the behavior of persons in a given area may be analyzed by automated processes and anomalies identified by identifying behaviors that are outliers. For example, when taking video of a Presidential inauguration, if there are only a few people whose eyes are visible to the camera where the President's face is also visible, this is an indication that they are not watching the President and are therefore potentially engaging in dangerous behavior. Similarly, because hundreds or thousands of individual video streams have the capability of identifying detail and seeing angles unavailable to mounted or other traditional security cameras, behaviors such as keeping one hand inside of a jacket and having the portion of the jacket a few inches distal from the hand every time the hand moves (i.e. movement consistent with holding a gun) may be identified and passed on to law enforcement for action. The location of the subject may further be identified using GPS, triangulation, or analysis of the image in conjunction with at least one other image of the area. In another aspect, real time or near real time aggregation of video and/or audio and/or still images may be utilized to identify events happening at a distance. For example, the location of an explosion or a gunshot may be determined by triangulating the sound found on a plurality of audio recordings taken at locations within range of the sound (such as video recordings with geographic metadata and audio tracks). In another aspect, celestial events may be identified, such as the likely landing point of a meteor. Such identification may be done, for example, by triangulation of the impact sound and/or by analysis of a plurality of video or still images, preferably together with location data for such video or still images. In another aspect, the presence of enemy or other objects may be identified by comparing objects found in video (such as the night sky behind primary objects in a plurality of videos) with data about expected objects (such as air traffic control data). Taking as an example an aircraft flying low over the border and transporting drugs, if a plurality of people were streaming video to a social networking site, and each of those videos identified a lighted object (or a dark object obscuring lighted points such as stars), such information may be utilized to identify the object as a potential aircraft and even to track the object. Sound data may be utilized to further refine the analysis (or as the sole source of analysis). Such data may also be utilized to identify inbound missiles or other threats. For example, Tel Aviv is frequently the subject of unguided missile attacks. The aspects disclosed herein may be utilized to identify such attacks and plot a course and likely landing point for such missile, and to dispatch an interceptor and/or first responders to the likely landing points. In one aspect, those taking the video and/or audio may be incentivized to share it with the system by providing them with live warnings and/or live versions of the processed data. In another aspect, warnings may be sent to users via various devices, including the devices doing the tracking. In another aspect, where there is insufficient data to fully or accurately track threats or other events, devices may be activated by remote signal (optionally with the permission of the device owner). Additional sources of video and/or audio may also be utilized, including such sources as traffic cameras, ATM cameras, audio from landline telephones, audio from regular cellular calls, and video from police dash-cameras. For fixed location sources, the location data may be associated with the source. During periods of national emergency, with user permission, or based on other criteria, not only may audio from ongoing cellular or other calls be used, but microphones and/or video cameras may be remotely actuated and the data utilized for the purposes described herein. With regard to triangulation of an audio source, it is possible to use as few as one audio tracking source to at least partially triangulate the course of a moving target. Taking, for example, an aircraft, the audio signature of the engine and wind passing over the wings may indicate that it is a Cessna single engine fixed gear aircraft. With that information, the expected sound characteristics of the aircraft may be utilized to refine the triangulation. Where the audio tracking receiver is moving (such as a cellular phone in a vehicle), and where data about the location of the receiver is available (such as GPS data), the sound characteristics of the target may be received, correction applied for the movement of the receiver, and the number of possible locations and paths of the target object reduced and the possible locations and paths identified. Such data may be utilized to determine which additional receivers to monitor and/or actuate. Signal strength is another indicator that may be utilized to determine threats. For example, a device that has high signal strength momentarily and then drops in signal strength, is an indication that the phone or other signal source may have been removed from a shielding device (whether the shielding is intentional or incidental to the nature of the case, such as placing a phone into a suitcase shielded against detection of a dirty bomb contained therein). As illustrated, media management unit 300 may also include generation component 340 . In an aspect, generation component 340 is configured to generate enhancement data extrapolated from reference media files, which can then be used to enhance a primary media file. For instance, with reference to FIG. 2 , generation component 340 may be configured to generate enhancement data which associates reference area 222 with obstruction object 212 , wherein such enhancement data facilitates removing obstruction object 212 from primary image 210 . To this end, it is contemplated that enhancement data generated by generation component 340 can facilitate enhancing a primary media file in any of various ways. For example, such enhancement data can be a new media file in which pixel data corresponding to obstruction object 212 is replaced with pixel data corresponding to reference area 222 . In another aspect, rather than a new media file, such enhancement data may simply include pixel data corresponding to reference area 222 which the user can subsequently use to replace/mask obstruction object 212 . Since digital files may be subject to copyright protection, media management unit 300 may further include copyright component 350 . Moreover, since determining whether a file is subject to copyright protection may be desirable (e.g., to avoid liability, to provide compensation to the copyright owner, etc.), copyright component 350 may be configured to track/index files that are subject to copyright protection. In an aspect, copyright component 350 may be configured to work in conjunction with search component 330 , wherein digital files retrieved by search component 330 are filtered and/or prioritized according to their respective copyright status. In another aspect, copyright component 350 may be configured to incorporate a composite of pixels/data from various reference files into an enhanced version of a primary file, wherein no single reference file is the source of a sufficient number of pixels/data as to constitute copyright infringement. Copyright status may be identified by reference to a web page linking to the content, by reference to metadata in the content itself, by reference to a clearinghouse, by utilization of the methods taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,826,546 which is hereby incorporated by reference, or otherwise. As illustrated, media management unit 300 may further include licensing component 360 . For these embodiments, licensing component 360 may be configured to implement a clearinghouse or similar licensing model where copyright holders make digital files available to users of media management unit 300 . Licensing component 360 may be further configured to ascertain a license fee based on any of a plurality of factors including, for example, an editing mode, an amount of an image/file being utilized, a number of reference files being utilized, a type and/or length of rights being acquired, an increase in rights being acquired over an existing license (e.g., elimination of the attribution requirement in a Creative Commons Attribution license), a relative importance of the licensed reference file relative to other reference files being used, or a combination. Licensing component 360 may also be configured to compute a splitting of licensing fees between reference file copyright holders, wherein such split may be based in whole or part on the same factors described above as influencing license price. Where appropriate, license limitations (such as a Creative Commons Attribution license attribution requirement) may be managed by the licensing component 360 , and provided to the end user, complied with automatically (such as by incorporation of required data into the image or metadata), or otherwise tracked. In another aspect, media management unit 300 further includes animation component 370 . Within such embodiment, animation component 370 may be configured to ascertain/retrieve/generate media associated with an input based on an analysis of the input. For instance, animation component 370 may be configured to parse a textual input (e.g., a book excerpt) and output any of various types of media corresponding to the textual input. In an exemplary scenario, animation component 370 may be configured to infer a context for a textual input, wherein the input is a book excerpt in which a ‘stormy night’ scene is inferred from a textual analysis of the input. Animation component 370 may then be further configured to ascertain/retrieve/generate media associated with a ‘stormy night’ scene such as an image file (e.g., a photo/drawing of an evening lightning storm), audio file (e.g., audio of lightning), and/or video file (video of an evening lightning storm). In another exemplary scenario, the input is a screenplay, wherein animation component 370 may be configured to generate distinct avatars for each of the screenplay's characters, and/or wherein animation component 370 may be configured to ascertain/retrieve/generate background music for particular scenes (e.g., “suspenseful” music for a suspenseful scene) by searching for such music based on any of several factors including, for example, explicit instructions embedded within the screenplay text (e.g., embedding a “#suspenseful_music” hash tag in a comment portion of the screenplay), and/or inferred instructions extrapolated from an aggregation of keywords within the screenplay text (e.g., inferring a search for “suspenseful” music based on an aggregation of suspense-related keywords such as “knife”, “chase”, etc., within a scene's text, wherein search results may include “suspenseful” music used on scenes of reference screenplays having similar keywords). In yet another exemplary scenario, the input is a photo of an individual, wherein animation component 370 may be configured to retrieve links/files related to the individual (e.g., a biographical text file, hyperlinks to news articles, a background check of the individual, etc.). In another aspect, data about how to render images, video or audio may be obtained by analysis of reference images, video or audio and such data utilized to render images, video or audio to complement or replace the original input. It should be noted that animation component 370 may work in conjunction with search component 330 and generation component 340 to ascertain/retrieve/generate the aforementioned media. Namely, as stated previously, search component 330 may be configured to retrieve reference media files related to a primary media file of which digital enhancement is desired, whereas generation component 340 is configured to generate enhancement data extrapolated from such reference media files. Accordingly, animation component 370 may be coupled to each of search component 330 and generation component 340 , wherein an input to animation component 370 (e.g., a book excerpt describing a ‘stormy night’ scene) may correspond to the aforementioned primary media file of which reference media files are retrieved (e.g., files related to a stormy night), and wherein animation component 370 may be configured to output enhancement data extrapolated from the reference media files (e.g., an image of a stormy night). Referring next to FIG. 4 , a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for enhancing digital media is provided. As illustrated, process 400 includes a series of acts that may be performed within a computer system (e.g., media management unit 300 ) according to an aspect of the subject specification. For instance, process 400 may be implemented by employing a processor to execute computer executable instructions stored on a computer readable storage medium to implement the series of acts. In another embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium comprising code for causing at least one computer to implement the acts of process 400 is contemplated. In an aspect, process 400 begins with a user input being received at act 410 . Here, it is contemplated that such input may include and/or identify a media file the user wishes to enhance. Moreover, it is contemplated that a user may include an actual media file, and/or a user may simply reference a media file by, for example, providing a link to such file. Once the input is received, process 400 proceeds to act 420 where a desired enhancement is ascertained. As stated previously, such enhancement may include the removal/mitigation of an obstruction, an inferred animation, etc., wherein an indication of the particularly desired enhancement(s) may be included as part of the input. After ascertaining the desired enhancement, process 400 proceeds to act 430 where reference data is aggregated. To this end, it is noted that such reference data can be aggregated according to any of a plurality of factors including, for example, metadata and/or objects associated with the media file received/identified at act 410 , copyright/licensing restrictions associated with candidate reference files, the desired enhancement(s) ascertained at act 420 , etc. Next, at act 440 , enhancement data is generated according to information extrapolated from reference media files. For instance, as stated previously with reference to FIG. 2 , enhancement data may be generated which associates reference area 222 with obstruction object 212 , wherein such enhancement data facilitates removing obstruction object 212 from primary image 210 . Process 400 then concludes with the enhancement data being output at act 450 . In an exemplary use of the aspects described herein, photos inferred to be associated with a written story are retrieved/generated to use as “visualizers” when the story is read as an audiobook and/or when the story is rendered on a page. To this end, the aspects described herein can thus be implemented to provide video/photo accompaniment to a written work that is being read as an audiobook. For example, a child may write a simple story such as “My dog is a collie name Fred. My dog like to chase cats. I love my dog.” The story may be rendered on three pages, once for each sentence. For the first page, a photograph of a collie is identified (possibly from the child's family's photo collection). For the second page, a photograph of a collie chasing cats may be identified and used. For the third page, hearts may be rendered. Such technology may be utilized to generate video accompaniments as well. For music, a “music video” may be generated as a visualization where photographs or video of elements contextual to the lyrics or other music content may be generated. For example, the sound of canon fire may be used to bring up photographs of canons, while the lyric “all of the way to the moon” may generate a video of the moon. In another exemplary use of the aspects described herein, aggregated media files can be analyzed for social/professional networking purposes. For instance, aspects of a particular user's media files can be analyzed and compared to those of other users. Potential social/professional networking matches can then be suggested based on particular similarities between users (e.g., by analyzing/comparing a digital file's metadata). For instance, people with similar music preferences can be identified by analyzing metadata associated with users' audio files, playlists, etc. Users' photo albums can also be analyzed to match users with similar photographic preferences/tendencies (e.g., by analyzing location metadata to match users who take photos from similar locations). In yet another aspect, it should be appreciated that the aggregation and analysis of media files can be combined with information ascertained from non-media files/sources. For instance, information regarding a user's “likes” obtained from social networking websites (e.g., FaceBook®, LinkedIn®, etc) can be used to further profile the user for potential networking matches (e.g., matching people who “like” similar bands in addition to having similar music-related media files). Information regarding a user's location can also be used for networking purposes. For example, location data obtained from a user's mobile device may be used to automatically identify nearby users who share similar music preferences (e.g., matching strangers at a coffee shop who have similar music-related media files). Anonymity can also be preserved by allowing users to modify their level of participation in such networking opportunities, as desired. In one aspect, data obtained by a mobile device may be utilized to identify personal characteristics or patterns of a user. For example, a user of a portable device may visit the zoo twice a month, never visit the bird exhibits, spend 50% of her time at the Gorilla exhibit, and 40% of her time at exhibits of predators. Another user with very similar patterns of zoo visits and exhibits of interest may be identified and offered as a possible friend or date. Similarly, potential carpool partners may be identified by tracking the frequently driven or travelled paths of people and/or their destinations. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Image manipulation and enhancement have existed in various forms since the creation of the first images. With the introduction of analog photography, photographers developed techniques to manipulate images during the initial exposure process and during the printing process. Digital photography has made digital editing machines, such as computers utilizing Adobe™ Photoshop™ software, standard tools for photographers. Early digital editing devices provided computer assistance for tasks that humans previously had to perform in a darkroom. For example, digital editors would include the ability to digitally “burn” or “dodge” portions of images or convert a color image to grayscale. Other film-era techniques, such as “airbrushing” and drawing colors onto a grayscale image to “colorize” it were similarly incorporated into the function of digital editing machines. Eventually, functions that were difficult, impractical or impossible to do without a digital editing machine were incorporated into such machines. Color balancing, digital removal of scratches or dust, mass duplication of image elements, “healing” areas by copying adjacent pixels, and correction of lens aberrations are examples of such enhancements. A common problem for imaging, including digital imaging, is that missing data cannot be recovered. Early consumer digital cameras captured images by reading the raw image data from the CCD, CMOS, or other imaging chip, sometimes altering the image such as by performing sharpening or color correction, then converting the image to a compressed format, such as the “JPEG” format developed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group. With each alteration, and with each compression to a non-lossless format, some data is lost. In many cases, desired data was never captured by the sensor or never transferred from the sensor to a storage device, such as where a portion of an image is captured with too few pixels, when there is insufficient light, where there is too much light, where a desired image element is not in focus, where a desired image element is larger than can fit on the camera's sensor (in light of the lens used), where image composition is such that a desired image element was not captured within the frame, where the aspect ratio of the photograph is such that when printed or viewed in a different aspect ratio, the user would need to either crop desired data or include areas where no data was captured, or where a desired image element is partially or fully obscured. Newer imaging techniques have attempted to mitigate these problems. For example, many professional or high end consumer cameras now permit users to capture data in a “raw” format, avoiding certain of the data losses associated with in-camera processing and compression. Similarly, some digital editing machines are designed to utilize rudimentary techniques to recreate data that is missing from an image being edited. The problem of insufficient resolution for printing or display has been imperfectly addressed by certain imaging devices that digitally estimate what the missing pixels should have consisted of. For example, on One Software's Genuine Fractals (now called Perfect Resize) used fractal-based interpolation algorithms to improve sharpness and detail in enlarged images where the image has been enlarged to include a number of pixels greater than the number of pixels present in the original, pre-enlargement image data. While highly sophisticated algorithms may improve the appearance of photographs by guessing as to what the content of missing pixels should be, guessing as to the content of missing data will always yield inferior results to utilizing the actual data. The problem of insufficient data when working with a digital image is not limited to artifacts created when enlarging the image. There are often obscured objects or elements, out of focus objects, objects that are subject to motion blur, elements behind objects that the editor desires to remove from the image, and other data that the editor wishes to be able to incorporate, manipulate or utilize but that is not present in the original dataset. Similarly, there are often objects or elements that are present, but that are not desirable, or are in a form that is not desirable. As an example, there may be a photograph of children playing on grass, but the grass may have a significant number of brown patches. Alternatively, there may be a photograph of a façade, but the façade has graffiti or dirt on it. Alternatively, there may be a photograph of a family in front of a monument, but other persons may undesirably also be present in the photograph. A technique from the film era to eliminate moving objects from a photograph is to utilize low sensitivity film (or, if implemented in digital cameras, a low sensitivity sensor), a dark filter, a low light environment, a small aperture (a “small aperture” refers to the actual aperture size and not to the “F stop” number, which is expressed as a denominator of a fraction where 1 is the numerator so that a higher F stop corresponds to a smaller aperture), or a combination, to allow a sufficiently long exposure that moving elements such as other tourists in a photograph of a monument, are effectively rendered invisible or nearly invisible in the photograph. While this technique continues to have utility in the digital era, the problem it is intended to solve has no equivalently effective post-image-capture digital editing machine solution. In any event, this technique is not amenable to capturing human, animal, or other elements that may experience some motion during a long exposure, results in an accumulation of noise on digital sensors, cannot be utilized where light sources move through the scene during capture, cannot be achieved with a handheld camera, and cannot be used to capture data behind objects that are obscured by stationary objects. Digital image manipulation has been used to attempt to eliminate undesirable objects, moving or stationary, from photographs, or to create additional data that appears as if it were captured as part of the original photograph. A common technique for digital image manipulation has been to clone pixels from an adjacent area and use them to fill in a portion of a digital image where the extent data is undesirable or insufficient. These techniques have become increasingly sophisticated, and in certain implementations the digital editing apparatus will automatically identify pixels, based on certain algorithms, to fill in areas that the editor identifies as undesirable. For example, Adobe's™ “Photoshop CS5™” introduced a feature called “Content-Aware Fill”. Content-Aware Fill enables a user to identify unwanted areas in an image, by having the user identify an area to remove from an image, and then digitally fills in the space left behind using data from surrounding pixels. While the algorithms utilized in such techniques have improved, they frequently result in image elements that do not look realistic or that are not true to the actual scene captured in the photograph. Similarly, out of focus elements may be somewhat corrected by utilizing “sharpening” tools and digital sensor noise may be somewhat corrected by utilizing noise reduction tools. However, the existing art does not adequately meet the needs of photographers. Additionally, selection of objects for editing, copying or other purposes presents significant problems for humans and for automated devices (an object or element to be selected is sometimes referenced as the “Target Object”). Objects often blend into the background or other objects, making selection difficult. For example, a person with black hair and a green shirt standing in front of a darkened bush presents selection problems in differentiating between green leaves and green shirt, or black hair and black shadows. In another example, a person standing in front of another person presents significant challenges to automated selection processes. When a selected object is copied from a first image and inserted into a second image, elimination of fringing or other elements from the first image and blending of the object into the second image is difficult to accomplish. In particular, the properties of light, the optical properties of the camera, and the separation, color and light blending between the object and the portion of the image onto which it is copied frequently result in an inability for existing editing systems to realistically insert and/or blend the object. The existing art may benefit from increasingly sophisticated algorithms, but falls short of meeting the needs of photographers and image professionals when trying to reconstruct data from an imperfect or incomplete data set. There exists a need in the art for tools that improve the ability to edit images where the data set is imperfect or incomplete. A method or digital editing machine for editing a digital image (the terms “photograph” and “image” when used herein are used interchangeably and are intended to reference both digital photographs and digital images) is disclosed whereby the method or machine fills in missing data in a digital image by utilizing other suitable images or data sources. Rather than rely on extent data within a single image, an embodiment disclosed herein identifies data in other images that is likely similar or identical to the missing data in the image being edited, and utilizes that data directly or to guide in reconstruction of missing data. To this end, it is further contemplated that video streams may also be edited (e.g., to remove undesired obstructions, enhance video/sound quality, etc.) by aggregating multiple video streams of a common event, wherein such editing and/or aggregation of data can be performed in real-time, for example. The proliferation of digital photographs and images on the internet has created an enormous repository of photographic and image data. Techniques have been developed for searching for digital images, such as that taught in U.S. Pat. No. 7,460,737, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Images are also frequently accompanied by metadata, which is data about the photograph, such as GPS coordinates for where the photograph was taken or the time and data the photograph was taken. Facial and image recognition techniques, combined with metadata and other search technology make it possible to identify images meeting set criteria. There has also been some standardization of copyright licenses. Creative Commons, for example, has a set of standardized licenses as described at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/. Standardized licenses have increasingly found their way into online image repositories, such as Flickr™. Indeed, Google™ has implemented a method to search for images that are licensed for non-commercial reuse, commercial reuse, and the creation of derivative works, by using advanced search options at http://www.google.com/advanced_image_search. In an embodiment, the digital editing machine is utilized to reconstruct data that is missing from an image. The user may instruct the digital editing machine as to some or all of the characteristics of the image being edited or the data desired, and the digital editing machine may determine some or all of the remaining characteristics utilizing facial and image recognition techniques or metadata. The user may provide to the digital editing machine some or all of the photographs to be utilized as sources of additional data or sources of information for recreation of additional data, or the digital editing machine may search for some or all of the photographs to be so utilized. The search may include locally stored images, images matching manually set criteria or user preferences, images available at one or more internet repositories or search facilities, or a combination. The machine may also utilize a list of reference or stock images. A single effort to locate appropriate additional images may be made for all editing of the image, or different searches may be executed to locate appropriate images for each element being edited or enhanced. The type of editing desired is preferably utilized to determine which image or images are appropriate to utilize. For example, if a photograph of a family in front of the Washington Monument was taken on a foggy day and the user wants to make the Washington Monument appear more clear then, light, color, white balance, angle or point of view, time of day, day of year, sun position, GPS data, metadata, shadow characteristics, clarity, resolution, and other image characteristics may be utilized to determine which image or images that include the Washington Monument provide the best source of replacement or enhancement data (herein, the term “Reference Images” or “Reference Photographs” refers to the one or more images or photographs used to assist in the editing of a primary image or photograph; the primary image or photograph may be referenced herein as the “Edited Photograph”, “Edited Image”, “Subject Photograph”, or “Subject Image”). An embodiment utilizes an averaging technique to determine the average characteristics of a particular place, target, or type of photograph. Measurements are made across a range of photographs of the place, target, or type. Such photographs may be grouped by one or more categories that are relevant to the image characteristics, such as time of day, latitude or longitude, time of year, photographic equipment, aperture, exposure period, ISO-equivalent light sensitivity, presence, absence or degree of post-processing, color space, editing software previously used on the image, focal length, depth of field/focus, focal point, presence, absence or degree of non-lossless compression, weather conditions as determined by GPS or other location data combined with date and time of photography combined with historical records, weather conditions as determined by image analysis (such as by observing rain in the photograph, clouds in the photographs, distinctive shadows of clouds, white balance points indicating clouds, or similar indicia) or similar characteristics. Within each group, an average white balance point (for example, 5,500 Kelvin) may be determined. Similarly, average amounts of atmospheric light scattering, shadow, glare from reflective surfaces, motion blur on elements in the photograph (for example, a set of photographs of the 405 freeway would have an average amount of motion blur in cars and other moving objects), reflected light (and color of reflected light, such as might be expected in a photograph taken across from a building with green tinted windows), and other elements may all be determined. These averages (or, where appropriate, median amounts or ranges) are then used to better guide image editing, wherein such averages taken from whole photos, one or more areas of a photo, and/or one or more objects of a photo. For example, if the average white balance among 5,000 photographs taken of the White House at 4:00 pm on a sunny day in the first week of July was 6,125, the system could correct a similar photograph to a while balance of 6,125. Similarly, a range of values (for example, one standard deviation of white balance for such photographs) could be used to determine when to warn a photographer that he is substantially out of the appropriate range. In an embodiment, characteristics of the photographic equipment used to generate each image (for example, the metadata may indicate that a particular image was taken with a Canon 5D Mark II using a 24-105 L lens at a 4.0 aperture with a shutter speed of 400 and an ISO equivalent of 200) may be used to correct the data being averaged. If, for example, Canon cameras typically render a scene with a slightly warmer color temperature than a Nikon, this bias would be corrected for. This correction is particularly useful when images have been manually corrected for color balance, such as images with file names or metadata that indicate that they were converted from a raw format. In an embodiment, only images taken under similar circumstances that have been corrected for a characteristic would be utilized in generating an average or modal correction or value, and that correction or value would be applied (or recommended for application) to the image being edited. In selecting reference images, various methods may be used including, but not limited to, crowd sourcing, peer, manual scoring, Google page rank, link back, or other scoring data for images or web pages that include images to enable identification, use, and/or retrieval of images and/or objects within images that meet one or more desired criteria. As described later, it is important to be able to match data from other photographs to a photograph being edited. The averaging mechanism described above can be used to correct the photograph being edited in a manner that makes it able to incorporate content, including aggregated content, from the largest number of available reference images. As an alternative, a universe of reference images most closely matching the characteristics of the image being edited may be used as the totality of the reference images used as sources of replacement data. In situations where the desired editing mode is to incorporate pixels from the Reference Images into the Edited Photograph, or when otherwise desirable (such as when there are concerns about copyright law compliance), the machine may identify candidate Reference Images from within a universe of images that bear a specified copyright status, may exclude images that bear a specified copyright status (where one status may be unknown license terms), or may gather images with various copyright statuses. In an embodiment, images are utilized only in a manner that complies with copyright law. Editing modes may include one or a combination of: 1. Incorporation of pixels from the Reference Images into the Edited Photograph; 2. Identification of candidate elements for editing or removal from an image based on comparison of the Edited Photograph to the Reference Images to determine the elements present in a plurality of the Reference Images by not present in the Edited Photograph (or the inverse); 3. Utilization of the Reference Images, including averaging of content, to determine elements present and appropriate white balance, lighting, color, noise, and similar corrections; 4. Identification of appropriate replacement pixels from within the Edited Image, or from within Reference Images bearing appropriate copyright license status, by viewing pixels or other image elements in Reference Images. For example, consider a case where only a single Reference Image taken at a specific location is found and the user wishes to remove a car present in the Edited Image but not present in the Reference Image. Consider that the Reference image is not suitable for copying because of copyright concerns or intrinsic qualities such as a low pixel count. The user may identify the car as an element for the machine to remove, and the machine would then utilize the information found in the Reference Image about what is located behind the car in order to better inform its execution of other editing techniques, such as “Content-Aware Fill”. Utilizing such data, for example, may allow the machine to know where a fence running behind the car should end. In an embodiment, the use of such Reference Image information is limited to that allowed under copyright law. 5. Incorporation of a composite of pixels from various Reference Images into the Edited Image, where no single Reference Image is the source of a sufficient number of pixels as to constitute copyright infringement. 6. Use of tools to remove noise, sharpen elements, remove blur and otherwise alter an image, where the settings used to accomplish those goals are cycled or altered until the result is the closest result to the appearance of the Reference Image. 7. Identification of the N most useful reference images and where the copyright status and other considerations prevent the use of any one such image, search and identification of the closest matching image to such restricted image can be used to substitute the restricted image. Where there are copyright concerns, it may be desirable to draw pixels from a plurality of Reference Images, so that no single Reference Image has a sufficient quantity of content copied so as to violate copyright law. Additionally, it may be desirable to use averaging or blending techniques to identify and extract elements common to a plurality of Reference Images, which common elements would lack sufficient creative qualities to qualify for copyright protection. In one implementation, a random algorithm may be utilized to determine the source of any given pixel from within a universe of the pixels comprising identical or nearly identical image elements. The machine, whether based on user preferences, user instructions, algorithmic determination, or a combination, may identify a plurality of desired editing approaches, and implement the most desirable approach for which an appropriate Reference Image may be found. For example, if the most desirable editing approach for removing tourists from an image of the White House is to use pixels from Reference Images to directly overlay the undesirable tourists, and the machine is instructed that the intended use of the Edited Image is commercial, the machine may search only a library of images that are in the public domain or bear a copyright for which the user of the Edited Image has or is willing to obtain a license. Where the license type includes attribution (for example, a Creative Commons Attribution license), the machine preferably obtains and makes available to the user the attribution information. Where the license type has other limitations, the machine also preferably obtains and makes available to the user information relevant to such limitations. In an embodiment, Reference Images are identified for each of a plurality of editing modes. Where a Reference Image taken from the same vantage point is available, use of such an image is preferable. Where it is not possible, changes to perspective of the one or more Reference Images may be made to more closely match the Edited Image. Where no appropriate image can be identified for the preferred editing mode, whether because of copyright issues or because the available Reference Images have characteristics that indicate that the preferred editing mode, performed with the available Reference Images, will result in a lower quality result than use of a less preferred editing mode utilizing Reference Images available for that technique, the machine preferably utilizes the otherwise less preferred technique. In one implementation, fully processed results, or preliminary results, are created and presented to the user so that the user may determine which of the plurality of techniques to utilize. Such results may also be presented together with limitations on use imposed by the copyright license data that was gathered. Reference Images may be made more suitable for use by altering the point of view, angle, or other characteristics. Such alterations may be made by reference to the Edited Image or other Reference Images or images that would be Reference Images if the Reference Image being altered were used as an Edited Image. Reference Images may also be aggregated in order to improve quality, identify and remove elements or noise, or increase the megapixel count. The criteria for selecting may additionally include searching for identical or similar camera and/or lens characteristics between the Edited Image and the Reference Image. Where there are multiple images that could serve as the Edited Image (as when a user takes multiple images), the machine may evaluate the relative suitability of the plurality of Edited Images for editing by comparing the match between the Edited Images and the available Reference Images for each. A clearinghouse or similar licensing model may be utilized where copyright holders make images available for the user of the machine to license for use. The license fee may be based on the editing mode, the amount of the image being utilized, the number of Reference Images being utilized, the type and length of rights being acquired, the increase in rights being acquired over the existing license (for example, elimination of the attribution requirement in a Creative Commons Attribution license), the relative importance of the licensed Reference Image among the Reference Images being used, or a combination. Licensing fees may be split among Reference Image copyright holders, and such split may be based in whole or part on the same factors described above as influencing license price. Additionally, it may be desirable to add an element to a digital image or to select a Target Object from a digital image. Selection of the Target Object may be accomplished by identifying one or more Reference Images containing an element similar or identical to the element the Target Object (the one or more elements similar or identical to the Target Object may be referenced herein as Reference Objects). In an embodiment, the object or element that is ultimately selected or copied is comprised of pixels from the Edited Image, but it may be comprised of pixels from one or more Reference Images, a combination of pixels from the Edited Image or one or more Reference Images, or a combination of pixels from one or more Reference Images and the Edited Image. In certain cases, it may be advantageous to select or copy a portion of the Target Object and a portion of one or more Reference Objects to create a composite suitable for copying, pasting, or other use. Note further that the Target Object may be located on an image other than an Edited Image on which it is intended to be inserted. Once a Target Object and one or more Reference Objects have been identified, common elements in the Target Object and Reference Objects are identified. Similarly, differences between the elements at the borders or edges of the Target Object and Reference Objects are identified. Commonalities or differences in elements at the transition point from the Target Object or Reference Object to other photographic elements in at least two of the images are utilized to identify likely edges of the Target Object (or Reference Objects). For this purpose, it may be advantageous to utilize Reference Objects drawn from images with a variety of backgrounds and other qualities. Similarly, it may be advantageous to utilize Reference Objects drawn from images with a background or other qualities that differ from the image from which the Target Object is to be selected. As an example, if the Target Object is child standing in front of a background with many other children, the Reference Objects may be drawn from a group of ten other photographs of that child, preferably at approximately the same age and preferably in a similar orientation to the camera, taken in front of a variety of backgrounds. The Target Object, by itself, would be difficult to correctly select, as the skin tones of the child would match those of the other children, the hair (an already difficult element to select) might overlap hair of other children, and perhaps portions of the child may be obscured in the image. By comparing the transition from child to background in the image containing the Target Object and in the images containing the Reference Objects, the machine can identify the transition points between the Target Object and the other elements in the photograph. Similarly, obscured elements in the Target Object may be filled in utilizing pixels from the Reference Objects, or filled in using information gained from the Reference Objects to guide the generation of new pixels or copying of appropriate pixels or elements from the photograph containing the Target Object. In an embodiment, image analysis is utilized to identify a plurality of potential Target Objects within an image. Images available for identification of Reference Objects, such as a database of images, are then utilized or searched to identify Reference Objects that may match one or more Target Objects. The one or more Target Objects that are capable of being selected based on the differencing/similarity analysis described above are identified to the user. Alternatively, Target Objects that are capable of having their selection assisted based on the differencing/similarity analysis described above may be identified to the user. A list, menu, photographic inventory, or highlighted or otherwise marked areas on one or more images, may be used to identify the potential Target Objects to the user. In another embodiment, the projected accuracy of the selection process may be indicated to the user or may be utilized in determining how and whether to present the Target Object(s) to the user. In a further embodiment, a collection of photographs may be analyzed to identify all of the Target Objects available within the collection. A minimum confidence or quality cut-off may be utilized to determine which Target Objects to present. Where the collection of photographs involves a lot of photographs of similar elements (such as a collection of family photographs, which would include multiple photographs of family members and family possessions), identification of Target Objects from within the collection may be done by comparing images within the collection. The selection may be enhanced by utilizing additional images not within the collection. In an aspect, a user may identify a desirable person or object to be a Target Object, and by using image identification or facial recognition, only Target Objects that are the person or object desired, or which are scored as likely to be the person or object desired, are analyzed for isolation as Target Objects and presented to the user. Alternatively, the analysis may extend beyond only candidates to match the person or object desired, but the presentation of the results may be limited to those scored as likely to be the person or object desired. In another implementation, analysis is done of the place where the Target Object is intended to be used, for example by pasting an image of a child who is the Target Object into a certain photograph. The analysis of the background and other characteristics of the image (and the place on the image) on which the Target Object is intended to be placed may be utilized to identify which of a plurality of potential Target Objects should be identified, based on likelihood that the ultimately identified Target Objects will blend properly into the image on which they are intended to be used. Thus, for example, if the Target Object will be pasted onto a photograph taken at noon on a beach, the search for Target Objects would more heavily weight potential Target Objects where the light source is overhead and the color temperature matches the color temperature in the photo where the Target Object will be pasted. Additionally, the Target Object and one or more Reference Objects may be compared to determine the opacity, light reflection or refraction, or other characteristics of their borders or other elements. For example, if the Target Object is a leaf, there may be strong opacity toward the center of the leaf and weak opacity toward the edge of the leaf. The edge of the leaf may have a certain lensing effect on light coming from behind it. The surface of the leaf may reflect N % of the ambient light hitting it. By comparing the Target Object and at least one Reference object, these characteristics may be fully or partially quantified. Once quantified, incorporation of the Target Object into an image may be enhanced by utilizing those characteristics in blending the edges of the Target Object, adjusting the color and tonal characteristics of the Target Object, and otherwise adapting the Target Object to the image, and the image to the Target Object, to make the resulting composite image appear more realistic. The Reference Objects may be identified by the ease with which they can be isolated from other elements in the images they are drawn from. For example, a dog used as a Reference Object photographed in front of a solid green wall would be easily isolated from the other elements in the image, while the same dog running among a pack of similar dogs would be very difficult to isolate. Reference Objects may be made more useful by identifying one or more Reference Objects as Primary Reference Objects for some or all of the Reference Object element. Using a dog as an example, a Reference Object dog found in one image may include the face of the dog in nearly identical posture to the face of the Target Object dog. A second Reference Object dog may include the torso of the dog in a nearly identical posture to the Target Object dog, while a third may include the tail of the dog in a nearly identical posture to the Target Object dog. A series fourth, fifth, and sixth Reference Object dogs may be posed in front of a uniformly colored background and easily isolated. The first Reference Object dog would become the primary Reference Object for the face, the second would become the primary Reference Object for the torso, the third would become the primary Reference Object for the tail, and the fourth, fifth and sixth would become the primary Reference Objects for the edges of the dog (where the Target Object blends into the other photographic elements). The software utilizes the Primary Reference Object as the baseline, filling in additional data from other, secondary Reference Objects where necessary. In making any adjustments to the Target Image, the system may analyze the level of focus blur (or other blur or other characteristics) to match the replacement pixels properly. For example, if the Target Object is blurred in a manner that would be consistent with a Canon 50 mm lens opened to a 2.8 aperture and focused ten feet behind the Target Object, Reference Objects with similar or identical characteristics may be utilized. For storage or transmission of images, video or audio, the system may be utilized to enhance compression or improve the resolution of an image compressed using a “lossy” compression method. For example, if there were a photograph of a child sitting on a grassy lawn, the system may identify the areas of the lawn that are grass, record appropriate additional data (such as color of the grass, color variations, type of grass, closest reference image matches, resolution of the grass) and then replace some or all of the grass in the image with blank data or a placeholder. The blank data or placeholder is far more compressible than an actual image of grass, allowing for the more efficient storage of images. Similarly, transmission of a video signal would require less bandwidth where elements of the image may be transmitted in the form of directions for reconstructing those portions (potentially including the identity of the reference image or video, particularly where the reference image or video is present in a reference library). Once the image or video has reached its destination (or when the image or video is to be decompressed for use), the system would reconstruct the image using the methods described herein. Exemplary Networked and Distributed Environments One of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that various embodiments for implementing the use of a computing device and related embodiments described herein can be implemented in connection with any computer or other client or server device, which can be deployed as part of a computer network or in a distributed computing environment, and can be connected to any kind of data store. In an exemplary embodiment, various aspects disclosed herein can be implemented in-camera. For instance, where the camera has a network connection (such as a smart phone or a dedicated camera with wifi), reference files can come from an online database. Alternatively, even for a non-networked camera, reference files could come from a stock collection of reference files within the camera. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in any computer system or environment having any number of memory or storage units, and any number of applications and processes occurring across any number of storage units. This includes, but is not limited to, an environment with server computers and client computers deployed in a network environment or a distributed computing environment, having remote or local storage. FIG. 5 provides a non-limiting schematic diagram of an exemplary networked or distributed computing environment. The distributed computing environment comprises computing objects or devices 510 , 512 , etc. and computing objects or devices 520 , 522 , 524 , 526 , 528 , etc., which may include programs, methods, data stores, programmable logic, etc., as represented by applications 530 , 532 , 534 , 536 , 538 . It can be appreciated that computing objects or devices 510 , 512 , etc. and computing objects or devices 520 , 522 , 524 , 526 , 528 , etc. may comprise different devices, such as PDAs (personal digital assistants), audio/video devices, mobile phones, MP3 players, laptops, etc. Each computing object or device 510 , 512 , etc. and computing objects or devices 520 , 522 , 524 , 526 , 528 , etc. can communicate with one or more other computing objects or devices 510 , 512 , etc. and computing objects or devices 520 , 522 , 524 , 526 , 528 , etc. by way of the communications network 540 , either directly or indirectly. Even though illustrated as a single element in FIG. 5 , network 540 may comprise other computing objects and computing devices that provide services to the system of FIG. 5 , and/or may represent multiple interconnected networks, which are not shown. Each computing object or device 510 , 512 , etc. or 520 , 522 , 524 , 526 , 528 , etc. can also contain an application, such as applications 530 , 532 , 534 , 536 , 538 , that might make use of an API (application programming interface), or other object, software, firmware and/or hardware, suitable for communication with or implementation of an infrastructure for information as a service from any platform as provided in accordance with various embodiments. There are a variety of systems, components, and network configurations that support distributed computing environments. For example, computing systems can be connected together by wired or wireless systems, by local networks or widely distributed networks. Currently, many networks are coupled to the Internet, which provides an infrastructure for widely distributed computing and encompasses many different networks, though any network infrastructure can be used for exemplary communications made incident to the techniques as described in various embodiments. Thus, a host of network topologies and network infrastructures, such as client/server, peer-to-peer, or hybrid architectures, can be utilized. In a client/server architecture, particularly a networked system, a client is usually a computer that accesses shared network resources provided by another computer, e.g., a server. In the illustration of FIG. 5 , as a non-limiting example, computing objects or devices 520 , 522 , 524 , 526 , 528 , etc. can be thought of as clients and computing objects or devices 510 , 512 , etc. can be thought of as servers where computing objects or devices 510 , 512 , etc. provide data services, such as receiving data from computing objects or devices 520 , 522 , 524 , 526 , 528 , etc., storing of data, processing of data, transmitting data to computing objects or devices 520 , 522 , 524 , 526 , 528 , etc., although any computer can be considered a client, a server, or both, depending on the circumstances. Any of these computing devices may be processing data, or requesting services or tasks that may implicate an infrastructure for information as a service from any platform and related techniques as described herein for one or more embodiments. A server is typically a remote computer system accessible over a remote or local network, such as the Internet or wireless network infrastructures. The client process may be active in a first computer system, and the server process may be active in a second computer system, communicating with one another over a communications medium, thus providing distributed functionality and allowing multiple clients to take advantage of the information-gathering capabilities of the server. Any software objects utilized pursuant to the user profiling can be provided standalone, or distributed across multiple computing devices or objects. In a network environment in which the communications network/bus 540 is the Internet, for example, the computing objects or devices 510 , 512 , etc. can be Web servers with which the computing objects or devices 520 , 522 , 524 , 526 , 528 , etc. communicate via any of a number of known protocols, such as HTTP. As mentioned, computing objects or devices 510 , 512 , etc. may also serve as computing objects or devices 520 , 522 , 524 , 526 , 528 , etc., or vice versa, as may be characteristic of a distributed computing environment. Exemplary Computing Device As mentioned, several of the aforementioned embodiments apply to any device wherein it may be desirable to utilize a computing device to modify a linguistic expression according to the aspects disclosed herein. It is understood, therefore, that handheld, portable and other computing devices and computing objects of all kinds are contemplated for use in connection with the various embodiments described herein, i.e., anywhere that a device may provide some functionality in connection with modifying a linguistic expression. Accordingly, the below general purpose remote computer described below in FIG. 6 is but one example, and the embodiments of the subject disclosure may be implemented with any client having network/bus interoperability and interaction. Although not required, any of the embodiments can partly be implemented via an operating system, for use by a developer of services for a device or object, and/or included within application software that operates in connection with the operable component(s). Software may be described in the general context of computer executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by one or more computers, such as client workstations, servers or other devices. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that network interactions may be practiced with a variety of computer system configurations and protocols. FIG. 6 thus illustrates an example of a suitable computing system environment 600 in which one or more of the embodiments may be implemented, although as made clear above, the computing system environment 600 is only one example of a suitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of any of the embodiments. The computing environment 600 is not to be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplary operating environment 600 . With reference to FIG. 6 , an exemplary remote device for implementing one or more embodiments herein can include a general purpose computing device in the form of a handheld computer 610 . Components of handheld computer 610 may include, but are not limited to, a processing unit 620 , a system memory 630 , and a system bus 621 that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit 620 . Computer 610 typically includes a variety of computer readable media and can be any available media that can be accessed by computer 610 . The system memory 630 may include computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) and/or random access memory (RAM). By way of example, and not limitation, memory 630 may also include an operating system, application programs, other program modules, and program data. A user may enter commands and information into the computer 610 through input devices 640 A monitor or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus 621 via an interface, such as output interface 650 . In addition to a monitor, computers may also include other peripheral output devices such as speakers and a printer, which may be connected through output interface 650 . The computer 610 may operate in a networked or distributed environment using logical connections to one or more other remote computers, such as remote computer 670 . The remote computer 670 may be a personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, or any other remote media consumption or transmission device, and may include any or all of the elements described above relative to the computer 610 . The logical connections depicted in FIG. 6 include a network 671 , such local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), but may also include other networks/buses. Such networking environments are commonplace in homes, offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets and the Internet. As mentioned above, while exemplary embodiments have been described in connection with various computing devices and networks, the underlying concepts may be applied to any network system and any computing device or system in which it is desirable to publish, build applications for or consume data in connection with modifying a linguistic expression. There are multiple ways of implementing one or more of the embodiments described herein, e.g., an appropriate API, tool kit, driver code, operating system, control, standalone or downloadable software object, etc. which enables applications and services to use the infrastructure for information as a service from any platform. Embodiments may be contemplated from the standpoint of an API (or other software object), as well as from a software or hardware object that facilitates enhancing digital media in accordance with one or more of the described embodiments. Various implementations and embodiments described herein may have aspects that are wholly in hardware, partly in hardware and partly in software, as well as in software. The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. For the avoidance of doubt, the subject matter disclosed herein is not limited by such examples. In addition, any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs, nor is it meant to preclude equivalent exemplary structures and techniques known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes,” “has,” “contains,” and other similar words are used in either the detailed description or the claims, for the avoidance of doubt, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as an open transition word without precluding any additional or other elements. As mentioned, the various techniques described herein may be implemented in connection with hardware or software or, where appropriate, with a combination of both. As used herein, the terms “component,” “system” and the like are likewise intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on computer and the computer can be a component. One or more components may reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. The aforementioned systems have been described with respect to interaction between several components. It can be appreciated that such systems and components can include those components or specified sub-components, some of the specified components or sub-components, and/or additional components, and according to various permutations and combinations of the foregoing. Sub-components can also be implemented as components communicatively coupled to other components rather than included within parent components (hierarchical). Additionally, it is noted that one or more components may be combined into a single component providing aggregate functionality or divided into several separate sub-components, and any one or more middle layers, such as a management layer, may be provided to communicatively couple to such sub-components in order to provide integrated functionality. Any components described herein may also interact with one or more other components not specifically described herein but generally known by those of skill in the art. In view of the exemplary systems described supra, methodologies that may be implemented in accordance with the disclosed subject matter can be appreciated with reference to the flowcharts of the various figures. While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methodologies are shown and described as a series of blocks, it is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited by the order of the blocks, as some blocks may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other blocks from what is depicted and described herein. Where non-sequential, or branched, flow is illustrated via flowchart, it can be appreciated that various other branches, flow paths, and orders of the blocks, may be implemented which achieve the same or a similar result. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks may be required to implement the methodologies described hereinafter. While in some embodiments, a client side perspective is illustrated, it is to be understood for the avoidance of doubt that a corresponding server perspective exists, or vice versa. Similarly, where a method is practiced, a corresponding device can be provided having storage and at least one processor configured to practice that method via one or more components.

Aspects are disclosed for enhancing digital media. In an aspect, a target object in a primary image is identified, and reference images that include the target object are located. The target object is then modified within the primary image according to data derived from analyzing the reference image. In another aspect, a primary file is received, and at least one reference file is referenced to generate enhancement data that facilitates enhancing the primary file from an extrapolation of the reference file. In yet another aspect, media files corresponding to a common event are aggregated, and a desired enhancement of a primary file is identified. Here, the desired enhancement corresponds to a modification of an obstruction included in the primary file. A reference file which includes data associated with the desired enhancement is then referenced, and the obstructed data is modified based on replacement data extrapolated from the reference file.

BACKGROUND [0001] In a conventional wireless infrastructure network, mobile stations (e.g., a laptop computer with a wireless connection) are associated with a wireless access point (AP) within a basic service set. There may be multiple mobile stations within range of an AP, and the AP generally remains in an active power state while servicing the one or more mobile stations. [0002] Mobile stations may use different power states to conserve power while still providing a high quality user experience. For instance, a mobile station may be in an active power state when the mobile station is in use and generating traffic on a wireless network. Alternately, the mobile station may implement a power saving protocol, such as power save polling (PSP), to enter a standby power state that conserves power when the mobile station is inactive or not generating traffic on a wireless network. [0003] Unlike mobile stations, APs must remain in an active power state at all times. Conventional APs do not use PSP or other power saving protocols to enter a power standby state. This results in an unnecessary waste of power when there is no traffic on a wireless network. For instance, if an AP is servicing mobile stations that have (1) entered a standby power state, or (2) are not generating traffic on the wireless network, then the AP does not have to remain in an active state. If power saving functionality is implemented in an AP, there will be concerns about performance losses and an overall poor user experience if the chosen power saving protocol does not enable fast synchronization with associated mobile stations when the AP wakes up from a standby power state. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0004] FIG. 1 illustrates one implementation of a wireless network infrastructure. [0005] FIG. 2A is a method for an AP to enter a power saving state in accordance with an implementation of the invention. [0006] FIG. 2B is a station list in accordance with an implementation of the invention. [0007] FIG. 3 is a method for fast synchronization according to an implementation of the invention. [0008] FIG. 4 illustrates polling interactions between an access point and four mobile stations conducted in accordance with an implementation of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0009] The following description, various aspects of the illustrative implementations will be described using terms commonly employed by those skilled in the art to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced with only some of the described aspects. For purposes of explanation, specific numbers, materials and configurations are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the illustrative implementations. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without the specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description. [0010] References to “one implementation”, “an implementation”, “example implementation”, “various implementations”, etc., indicate that the implementation(s) of the invention so described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every implementation necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, the different implementations described may have some, all, or none of the features described for other implementations. [0011] In the following description and claims, the terms “coupled” and “connected,” along with their derivatives, may be used. It should be understood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other. Rather, in particular implementations, “connected” may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. “Coupled” may mean that two or more elements co-operate or interact with each other, but they may or may not be in direct physical or electrical contact. [0012] The term “processor” may refer to any device or portion of a device that processes electronic data from registers and/or memory to transform that electronic data into other electronic data that may be stored in registers and/or memory. A “computing platform” may comprise one or more processors. [0013] The term “wireless” and its derivatives may be used to describe circuits, devices, systems, methods, techniques, communications channels, etc., that may communicate data through the use of modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. The term does not imply that the associated devices do not contain any wires, although in some implementations they might not. [0014] As used herein, unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner. Various operations will be described as multiple discrete operations, in turn, in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the present invention, however, the order of description should not be construed to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular, these operations need not be performed in the order of presentation. [0015] FIG. 1 illustrates one implementation of a wireless network that includes a wireless access point (AP) 100 and multiple mobile stations 102 . The mobile stations 102 may include, but are not limited to, laptop computers, notebook computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, and mobile telephones. The AP 100 establishes a wireless local area network (WLAN) 104 . The WLAN 104 may be a basic service set and it may form a portion of an expanded service set. Mobile stations 102 may connect to the AP 100 to join the WLAN 104 . Mobile stations 102 out of range of the AP 100 cannot join the WLAN 104 . [0016] The mobile stations 102 may be in any one of several power states. Some mobile stations 102 may be in an active power state, therefore these mobile stations 104 may be actively generating data traffic on the WLAN 104 . In FIG. 1 , the mobile stations 102 in an active power state are labeled as “ACT”. Alternately, some mobile stations 102 may be in a power saving state, therefore these mobile stations 102 will be generating minimal or no data traffic on the WLAN 104 . In FIG. 1 , the mobile stations 102 in a power saving state are labeled as “PS”. In some implementations, the mobile stations 102 may use power save polling (PSP) as part of their power saving state. In some implementations, alternate power saving protocols may be used by the mobile stations 102 . [0017] FIG. 2A is a method 200 , according to an implementation of the invention, that may be used by the AP 100 to enter a power saving state if there is minimal or no data traffic on the WLAN 104 . The AP 100 may continuously monitor traffic on the WLAN 104 to determine if the flow of data has reached a threshold minimum level or has stopped ( 202 ). While there is an active flow of data on the WLAN 104 , the AP 100 continues with its normal operation ( 204 ). If, however, the data traffic on the WLAN 104 has dropped to a threshold minimum level or has ceased completely, the AP 100 may take steps to enter a power saving state to conserve power. In an implementation of the invention, the AP 100 begins this process by defining a station list ( 206 ). The station list may be a data file, such as an Extensible Markup Language (XML) file or a text file (.txt), or the station list may be stored data residing in a memory of the AP 100 , such as a random access memory or a flash memory. The AP 100 determines which mobile stations 102 are currently being serviced by the AP 100 and records their identities to the station list ( 208 ). In addition, the AP 100 may also record the current power state, active or power saving, of each mobile station 102 that is added to the station list ( 210 ). [0018] When all of the mobile stations 102 that are associated with the AP 100 have been recorded on the station list with their respective power states, the AP 100 may enter a power saving state ( 212 ). In some implementations, the power saving state may be a sleep mode, a stand-by mode, a hibernation mode, or any other power saving protocol that is appropriate for the AP 100 . [0019] FIG. 2B is an exemplary station list 250 that may be generated by the AP 100 . As shown, the station list 250 may include a unique identity 252 of each mobile station 102 that is associated with the AP 100 at the time the AP 100 enters a power saving state. The unique identity 252 of each mobile station 102 may have been previously created by a user of that particular mobile station 102 . The unique identity 252 is generally received from the mobile station 102 when the mobile station 102 first connects to the AP 100 . The station list 250 also includes the power state 254 of each mobile station 102 at the time the station list 250 was generated. In FIG. 2B , the possible power states include an active power state (ACT) and a power saving state (PS). [0020] FIG. 3 is a method 300 , in accordance with an implementation of the invention, for the AP 100 to synchronize with one or more mobile stations 102 . The method 300 may be carried out when the AP 100 wakes up from or exits a power saving state ( 302 ). The AP 100 determines if one or more mobile stations 102 were recorded to the station list 250 when the AP 100 originally went into the power saving state ( 304 ). If the station list 250 contains no unique identities 252 , the AP 100 may resume normal operation ( 306 ). [0021] If, however, the station list 250 includes one or more recorded unique identities 252 , the AP 100 may attempt to synchronize the mobile stations 102 associated with the recorded unique identities 252 . To perform the synchronization, the AP 100 begins by selecting one mobile station 102 that has not been polled ( 308 ). Initially, all of the mobile stations 102 recorded on the station list 250 will not have been polled. [0022] The AP 100 may poll the selected mobile station 102 with a null packet based on the last known power state of that mobile station 102 ( 310 ). In an implementation, the last known power state of the selected mobile station 102 may be found on the station list 250 . Generally, the power state 254 recorded for the selected mobile station 102 when the AP 100 entered the power saving state is the last known power state of that mobile station 102 . Accordingly, if the station list 250 discloses that the power state of the selected mobile station 102 is an active power state, the AP 100 may send a null packet to the selected mobile station 102 based on an active power state. Alternately, if the station list 250 discloses that the power state of the selected mobile station 102 is a power saving state, the AP 100 may send a null packet to the selected mobile station 102 based on a power saving state. [0023] The AP 100 may wait for an acknowledgement from the selected mobile station 102 that it has received the null packet ( 312 ). In some implementations, the AP 100 may wait a predetermined amount of time for the selected mobile station 102 to acknowledge the null packet. If the mobile station 102 acknowledges the null packet, the AP 100 notes that the selected mobile station is synchronized ( 314 ). The AP 100 may then check the station list 250 to determine whether any mobile stations 102 remain that have not been polled by the AP 100 ( 316 ). If un-polled mobile stations 102 remain, the AP 100 may select another mobile station 102 to poll ( 308 ). If all of the mobile stations 102 recorded on the station list 250 have been polled, the AP 100 may resume normal operation ( 306 ). [0024] If the selected mobile station 102 does not acknowledge the null packet from the AP 100 , the AP 100 may poll the selected mobile station 102 with a second null packet that is based on an alternate power state ( 318 ). For instance, if the first null packet was based on an active power state, the second null packet may be based on a power saving state. Similarly, if the first null packet was based on a power saving state, the second null packet may be based on an active power state. [0025] The AP 100 may wait for an acknowledgement from the selected mobile station 102 that it has received the second null packet ( 320 ). In some implementations, the AP 100 may wait a predetermined amount of time for the selected mobile station 102 to acknowledge the second null packet. If the mobile station 102 acknowledges the second null packet, the AP 100 notes that the selected mobile station is synchronized ( 314 ). As described previously, the AP 100 may then check the station list 250 to determine whether any un-polled mobile stations 102 remain ( 316 ), and if so, the AP 100 may select another mobile station 102 to poll ( 308 ). Alternately, if all of the mobile stations 102 recorded on the station list 250 have been polled, the AP 100 may resume normal operation ( 306 ). [0026] If the selected mobile station 102 does not acknowledge the second null packet, the AP 100 may determine that the mobile station 102 is unavailable and may disassociate the selected mobile station 102 from the WLAN ( 322 ). The mobile station 102 may be unavailable for many reasons. For instance, the mobile station 102 may have moved to a location that is out of range of the AP 100 . Alternately, the mobile station 102 may have turned off its wireless functionality or it may have shut down. [0027] After the AP 100 disassociates the selected mobile station 102 , the AP 100 may check the station list 250 to determine whether any un-polled mobile stations 102 remain ( 316 ), and if so, the AP 100 may select another mobile station 102 to poll ( 308 ). Alternately, if all of the mobile stations 102 recorded on the station list 250 have been polled, the AP 100 may resume normal operation ( 306 ). [0028] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of polling transactions that may occur between the AP 100 and four mobile stations 102 according to an implementation of the invention. In the example of FIG. 4 , mobile station # 1 was in an active power state when the AP 100 went into standby and is in an active power state when the AP 100 wakes up. Mobile station # 2 was in a power saving state when the AP 100 went into standby and is in a power saving state when the AP 100 wakes up. Mobile station # 3 was in an active power state when the AP 100 went into standby and is in a power saving state when the AP 100 wakes up. And mobile station # 4 was in an active power state when the AP 100 went into standby and is currently out of range of the AP 100 . [0029] As shown in FIG. 4 , the AP 100 polls each of the four mobile stations 102 based on the last known power state of each mobile station. The last known power state may be found on the station list 250 . For mobile stations # 1 , # 3 , and # 4 , the last known power state is active, and the AP 100 polls each of these mobile stations with a null packet based on an active power state (ACT). For mobile station # 2 , the last known power state is power saving, and the AP 100 polls mobile station # 2 with a null packet based on a power saving state (PS). [0030] In FIG. 4 , mobile station # 1 receives the null packet based on an active power state and transmits an acknowledgement (ACK) back to the AP 100 . Similarly, mobile station # 2 receives the null packet based on a power saving state and transmits an acknowledgement (ACK) back to the AP 100 . The AP 100 may note mobile stations # 1 and # 2 as synchronized. Mobile station # 3 , which received a null packet based on an active power state, cannot acknowledge the null packet because it is now in a power saving state. Mobile station # 4 , which has moved out of range of the AP 100 , does not receive the null packet and therefore cannot respond. [0031] The AP 100 may wait a predetermined amount of time for an acknowledgement from mobile stations # 3 and # 4 . When no acknowledgement is received during the predetermined time, the AP 100 may transmit a second null packet to mobile stations # 3 and # 4 based on an alternate power state. Since the first null packets to both mobile stations # 3 and # 4 were based on an active power state, the second null packets to both may be based on a power saving state. In FIG. 4 , the AP 100 transmits null packets based on a power saving state to mobile stations # 3 and # 4 . Mobile station # 3 , because it is in a power saving state, may finally acknowledge the null packet, and the AP 100 may note mobile station # 3 as synchronized. Mobile station # 4 , which cannot receive the second null packet since it is out of range, again does not respond. The AP 100 may then disassociate mobile station # 4 from the WLAN. [0032] Implementations of the invention enable the AP 100 to screen out all mobile stations 102 that have moved out of range or have changed power state during the time when the AP 100 was in a power standby state. Implementations of the invention allow the AP 100 to go into power standby state when there is no active traffic being detected, and allow the AP 100 to wake up as soon as any traffic from mobile stations 102 is detected. The AP 100 may then perform the methods of the invention to synchronize mobile stations 102 with improved performance loss. [0033] The invention may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. The invention may also be implemented as instructions stored on a machine-readable medium, which may be read and executed by a processing platform to perform the operations described herein. A machine-readable medium may include any mechanism for storing, transmitting, or receiving information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a machine-readable medium may include read only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM), such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memory devices; electrical, optical, acoustical or other form of propagated signals (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, the interfaces that transmit and/or receive those signals, etc.), and others. [0034] The above description of illustrated implementations of the invention, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. While specific implementations of, and examples for, the invention are described herein for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. [0035] These modifications may be made to the invention in light of the above detailed description. The terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific implementations disclosed in the specification and the claims. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be determined entirely by the following claims, which are to be construed in accordance with established doctrines of claim interpretation.

A method for synchronizing a mobile station includes exiting a low power state to provide a wireless network and obtaining an identity and a last known power state of the mobile station from a station list. The mobile station is polled based on the last known power state and noted as synchronized if the polling is acknowledged. If the polling is not acknowledged, the mobile station is polled a second time based on an alternate power state and noted as synchronized if the second polling is acknowledged. If the second polling is not acknowledged, the mobile station is disassociated from the wireless network.

RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to the provisional application 61/165,393 filed by Philip V. Orlik on Mar. 31, 2009, and is incorporated herein. This application relates to non-provisional application 12/503,507 “STTC Encoder for Single Antenna WAVE Transceivers,” filed by Philip V. Orlik et al on Jul. 15, 2009, co-filed herewith. FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to transceivers, and more particularly to WAVE transceivers using space-time trellis codes. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Wireless access in vehicular environments (WAVE) provides high-speed vehicle-to-vehicle, and vehicle-to-infrastructure data transmission. The physical (PHY) layer of a WAVE network is based on the IEEE 802.11p standard. Currently, a WAVE transceiver has one antenna, and uses convolutional forward error correction (FEC) coding. To achieve spatial diversity and/or multiplexing gains, multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) techniques can be used, e.g., WiMAX. It is expected that MIMO will be considered for WAVE standards. MIMO techniques include open-loop and closed-loop spatial multiplexing, closed-loop MIMO beamforming, and open-loop space-time coding (STC). In a dynamic WAVE networks, the estimated instantaneous channel state information (CSI) can quickly change because of the velocity of the vehicles. In addition, feeding back time-varying instantaneous CSI increases overhead. Thus, closed-loop MIMO techniques are not suitable for WAVE networks. For open-loop MIMO techniques, STC includes space-time block codes (STBC), and space-time trellis codes (STTC). For STBC schemes, orthogonal STBC (OSTBC) is usually adopted by commercial wireless standards. If the channel is invariant within an OSTBC block, then a simple symbol-level maximum likelihood (ML) detection of OSTBC can achieve full spatial diversity. In WiMAX, OSTBC is used as an inner code serially concatenated with a conventional convolutional code. Frequency offset resulting from imperfect frequency compensation can lead to symbol-level time-varying fading within an OSTBC block. In this case, to avoid performance degradation, block-level ML detection is needed to decode OSTBC so as to avoid performance degradation. For complex modulation constellation, full-rate OSTBC only exists for multiple transmit antennas. STTC on the other hand, is a full-rate trellis coded modulation technique specifically designed only for multi-antenna transmission. The coding and decoding complexity is similar to traditional single-antenna trellis codes (e.g., convolutional codes) that have the same number of trellis states as STTC STTC has different design criteria for different channel conditions, such as “quasi-static vs. rapid” multipath fading based on the coherence time, and “flat vs. frequency-selective” multipath fading, based on the coherence bandwidth. An STTC designed for a quasi-static flat fading channel can achieve at least the same end-to-end diversity benefit for other channel conditions, without modifications of the detection algorithm. Thus, unlike OSTBC, there exist STTC schemes which are robust to unpredictable/rapid variation of channel conditions. While most STBC schemes, e.g., OSTBC, do not provide coding gain, STTC does provide coding gain. Conventional wireless standards, which consider single- and multi-antenna configurations, when evolving from the single-antenna configuration to the multi-antenna configuration, change the coding and/or decoding modules at the transceivers. This is because the structure and process of STC encoders and decoders have obvious differences from those of conventional single-antenna FEC techniques, e.g., convolutional codes, and turbo codes. Because STTC is inherently a trellis coded modulation technique, using different modulation constellations requires that STTC encoders structures have different structures. Convolutional Code in IEEE 802.11p Standard As shown in FIG. 1 , a conventional 64-state convolutional encoder 100 according to the IEEE 802.11p standard uses a generator polynomials, g 0 =133 oct and g 1 =171 oct , with a code rate R c =½. In the encoder, each shift register 105 is a 1-bit (binary) register. The constraint length 102 of this code is seven. That is, the memory order is six and the number of trellis states is 2 6 =64. The input bits 101 are encoded into coded bits. Then, the modulator 110 takes coded bits and converts them into transmitted symbols. The Viterbi decoding is recommended for performing ML coherent detection. Higher code rates (e.g., ⅔, ¾) can be achieved by puncturing. Puncturing is a procedure for omitting some of the encoded bits in the transmitter and inserting a dummy “zero” in the convolutional decoder in place of the omitted bits. The puncturing patterns are prescribed in the IEEE 802.11p standard. When puncturing is used, in order to reuse the original decoding trellis, the calculation of the branch metrics need to be modified appropriately. STTC Designed for Multiple Transmit Antennas The STTC designed for n (n≧2) transmit antennas is denoted as n-Tx STTC, at each time slot t, an n-Tx STTC encodes k=log 2 M bits into n coded MPSK/MQAM symbols c t =(c t 1 ,c t 2 , . . . , c t n ). Antenna i transmits symbol c t i , and n coded symbols are transmitted simultaneously by n transmit antennas, resulting in full-rate transmission. The energy per information bit is E b . Because n coded MPSK/MQAM symbols are generated from k=log 2 M information bits, the energy for each of the n coded symbols is E c =kE b /n. ML coherent detection for STTC typically uses Viterbi decoding. Compared with the Viterbi decoding for one receive antenna, when there are m (m≧2) receive antennas, the branch metric is the sum of m values, each of which is obtained by using the received signal at one of m receive antennas to do the same calculation of branch metric as for one receive antenna. For STTC using PSK modulation, using the code with 64 trellis states as the example, the encoder structure for n-Tx BPSK STTC and n-Tx QPSK STTC are shown in FIGS. 2-3 , respectively. In both figures, each shift register is a 1-bit (binary) register. For BPSK, the values of code generator weight g w,i 1 (w=0, 1, . . . , 6; i=1, . . . , n) belong to {0, 1}, and the multiplier outputs are added modulo 2 . For QPSK, there are two parallel encoder branches. The values of g w,i u (u=1, 2; w=0, 1, . . . , 3; i=1, . . . , n) belong to {0, 1, 2, 3}, and the multiplier outputs are added modulo 4 . For STTC using QAM modulation, a generic design for n-Tx 2 2p -QAM STTC (p is a positive integer) is known. A 16 QAM STTC encoder is described by Liu et al., “A rank criterion for QAM space-time codes,” IEEE Trans. on Inform. Theory, vol. 48, no. 12, pp. 3062-3079, December 2002. A 16-QAM decoder is described by Wong et al., “Design of 16-QAM space-time trellis codes for quasi-static fading channels,” Proc. of VTC 2004-Spring, pp. 880-883, Can 2004. An n-Tx BPSK/QPSK encoder is described by Vucetic et al., “Space-Time Coding,” West Sussex, England: John Wiley Sons, 2003. In some designs, at each time slot t, the input mapper converts k=2 p serial information bits into two parallel symbol streams s t 1 , s t 2 εZ 2 p ={0, 1, . . . , 2 p −1}, so that there are always two parallel encoder branches. Based on the symbols, the generator coefficients, and the state values, the encoder produce the outputs as y t,I 1 , t t,Q 1 , . . . , t t,I i , y t,Q i , . . . , y t,I n , y t,Q n . The output mapper takes the encoder outputs and converts them into c t =(c t 1 ,c t 2 , . . . , c t n ), where c t i =y t,I i +j y t,Q i for i=1, . . . , n. After a translational mapping of c t i (i=1, . . . , n) to elements in the 2 2p -QAM constellation, each of n coded 2 2p -QAM symbols is sent by one of n transmit antennas. Using a code with 64 trellis states as an example, the encoder structures for n-Tx 16 QAM STTC and n-Tx 64 QAM STTC are shown in FIGS. 4-5 . For the 16 QAM case, each shift register is a 2-bit (quaternary) register. The values of code generator parameters g w,i,I 1 , g w,i,Q 1 (w=0, 1; i=1, . . . , n), g w,i,I 2 , g w,i,Q 2 (w=0, 1, 2; i=1, . . . , n) belong to Z 4 ={0, 1, 2, 3}, and the multiplier outputs are added modulo 4 . For the 64 QAM case, each shift register is a 3-bit (octal) register, the values of g w,i,I u , g w,i,Q u (u=1, 2; w=0, 1; i=1, . . . , n) belong to Z 8 ={0, 1, . . . , 7}, and the multiplier outputs are added modulo 8 . There exist STTC schemes which are robust to unpredictable variation of channel conditions, V. Tarokh et al., “Space-time codes for high data rate wireless communication: performance criteria in the presence of channel estimation errors, mobility, and multiple paths,” IEEE Trans. on Commun., vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 199-207, February 1999. As shown in FIG. 3 , the general encoder structure for n-Tx QPSK STTC only has two parallel encoder branches. If the encoder structure for n-Tx 16 QAM STTC is selected for an n-antenna transmitter using n-Tx QPSK/16 QAM STTC, when switching the modulation constellation between n-Tx QPSK STTC and n-Tx 16 QAM STTC, the hardware implementation requires extensive variations. In addition, using n=2 as the example, it has been shown in the work by Wong et al., that the error performance of 16 QAM STTC in the work by V. Tarokh et al., is worse. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The embodiments of the invention use n-Tx MPSK/MQAM STTC (n≧2) as a coded modulation constellation scheme for n-antenna WAVE transceivers. To avoid significant change in the encoder structure of n-Tx STTC when the modulation constellation varies, the invention provides a unified n-Tx STTC encoder implementation for all of the modulation constellations specified in IEEE 802.11p standard, including BPSK, QPSK, 16 QAM, and 64 QAM. Thus, adaptive modulation can be enabled where the modulation constellation can be adapted to changing channel conditions. And the same encoder circuitry can be used to implement the encoder for each modulation constellation. For a transmitter with a single antenna, the embodiments provide a pseudo-STTC that can achieve coding gain and/or time diversity gain with full rate. In the pseudo-STTC encoder, the single-antenna transmitter sends a linear combination of n coded MPSK/MQAM symbols generated from an n-Tx STTC during at each time slot. By estimating n equivalent channel coefficients at the receiver, each of which is a multiplicity of the original single-antenna channel coefficient and a linear coefficient, the pseudo-STTC can use the same coherent decoding procedure as for n-Tx STTC. Besides giving a good choice of random linear coefficients, the embodiments of the invention also provide a specific design for optimizing deterministic linear coefficients. To provide a flexible code rate, we perform duplication on the original full-rate pseudo-STTC. In particular, when an n-Tx STTC is used as the underlying code, for every n coded symbols, c t 1 , . . . , c t n , we transmit q (q≧2) different versions of linear combination using q different sets of linear coefficients; this scheme is called q-duplicated pseudo-STTC. Compared with decoding the full-rate pseudo-STTC, the decoder of q-duplicated pseudo-STTC only needs to do simple modifications on the calculation of the branch metric. As for the full-rate pseudo-STTC, besides giving a good choice of random linear coefficients, we also design the optimal deterministic linear coefficients by focusing on 2-duplicated pseudo-STTC, which uses 2-Tx STTC as the underlying code. To unify the codec module used for single-antenna pseudo-STTC and n-Tx STTC (n≧2), for full-rate transmissions, each antenna element of the n-Tx transmitter also sends a linear combination of c t 1 , . . . , c t n , generated from an n-Tx STTC. This kind of multi-antenna coded transmission is equivalent to conventional n-Tx STTC when, for antenna i (i=1, . . . , n), setting the linear coefficient multiplied with c t i as 1 and all the other linear coefficients as 0. For lower-rate transmissions, each antenna element of the n-Tx transmitter also sends q linear combinations of c t 1 , . . . , c t n . For antenna i, the linear coefficients used for each of q linearly combined transmissions are the same and have the format of setting the linear coefficient multiplied with c t i as 1 and all the others as 0. By doing so, antenna i (i=1, . . . , n) actually performs q repeated transmissions for c t i . This is a result of applying our duplication concept to conventional full-rate n-Tx STTC transmissions. The advantages of the full-rate/duplicated pseudo-STTC techniques are as follows. We provide unified codec modules for both single- and multi-antenna transceivers. For either single- or multi-antenna configuration, we provide flexible code rate via duplicated approach. For single-antenna configuration, when compared with the IEEE 802.11p convolutional code and its punctured versions, under either symbol-level or much slower time-varying flat/frequency-selective fading channels, we achieve better or comparable error performance with the same or higher data rate and with almost the same codec complexity. Additionally, the scheme is robust to highly dynamic channel conditions resulting from non-negligible Doppler spread and delay spread as well as imperfect frequency offset compensation. For the first time, we enable single-antenna transmissions to achieve coding gain with full-rate transmission. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a graph of a conventional 64-state convolutional encoder prescribed in the IEEE 802.11p standard; FIG. 2 is a graph of a conventional 64-state BPSK STTC encoder for n (n≧2) transmit antennas; FIG. 3 is a graph of a conventional 64-state QPSK STTC encoder for n (n≧2) transmit antennas; FIG. 4 is a graph of conventional 64-state 16 QAM STTC encoder for n (n≧2) transmit antennas; FIG. 5 is a graph of conventional 64-state 64 QAM STTC encoder for n (n≧2) transmit antennas; FIG. 6 is a graph of an unified n-Tx STTC encoder according to the invention for all of modulation constellations including BPSK, QPSK, 16 QAM and 64 QAM specified in the IEEE 802.11p standard; FIG. 7 is a graph of the single-antenna full-rate pseudo-STTC scheme according to the invention; FIG. 8 is a graph of the single-antenna q-duplicated (q≧2) pseudo-STTC scheme according to the invention; and FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the functional stages at the PHY layer in single-antenna OFDM networks. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The embodiments of our invention provide space-time trellis codes (STTC) for MIMO coding in multi-antenna WAVE networks. This is based on the following two facts. As a trellis coded modulation technique for multi-antenna transmission, the codec complexity of STTC is similar to single-antenna trellis codes, e.g., convolutional codes, which have the same number of trellis states as STTC. We describe an unified n-Tx STTC encoder implementation for all of modulation constellations specified in the IEEE 802.11p standard, including BPSK, QPSK, 16 QAM, and 64 QAM. We provide a novel full-rate/duplicated pseudo-STTC techniques for single-antenna configuration, which provides a unified codec modules for both single- and multi-antenna transceivers. We first describe the pseudo-STTC techniques under the context of a single-carrier single-antenna network, and then describe the application of the proposed coding techniques to an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) single-antenna network, e.g., a WAVE network. Unified STTC Encoder Implementation for BPSK, QPSK, 16 QAM 64 QAM STTC is a multi-antenna trellis coded modulation technique. If the modulation constellation changes, then the implementation of a conventional n-Tx STTC encoder requires extensive changes. Thus, it is desirable to provide an encoder structure for each considered modulation properly and further organize an unified n-Tx STTC encoder which easily allows switching between used modulation constellation depending on an instantaneous channel condition. Thus, we describe a unified n-Tx STTC encoder implementation for all of modulation options prescribed in the IEEE 802.11p standard by combining portions of conventional encoders in a most unusual way. Specifically, with the focus on n-Tx STTCs having 64 trellis states, the encoder structure is shown in FIG. 6 . We use switches to select dynamically select BPSK, QPSK, 16 QAM, and 64 QAM modulation constellations. The selection can dynamic and based on the instantaneous channel condition. The encoder includes a serial to parallel (S/P) convertor 610 to convert an input stream of information bits 601 to first and second parallel bitstreams 602 . The encoder includes a first branch of shift registers 621 and a second branch of shift registers 622 . Each branch consists of three shift registers, and each shift register 605 has three bits. Code generating weights g w 611 are applied to the bits of the shift registers using multipliers 612 as described herein to produce a first set of encoded symbols 648 , and a second set of encoded symbols. The output encoded symbols 648 - 649 of the shift registers are combined 640 , and an output mapper 650 maps the combined output to a plurality of antennas 651 . In the encoder 600 , only for n-Tx BPSK STTC, second switch 606 is off so that the connection between the input data and the 1 st register at the second branch of shift registers 622 is disabled. Also for the n-Tx BPSK STTC, first switch 607 is on so that the line between the 3 rd register at the first branch of registers 621 and the 1 st register at the second branch of registers 622 is connected. For QPSK, 16 QAM and 64 QAM, the second switch 606 is on so that the connection between the input data and the 1 st register at the second branch of registers 622 is enabled. The first switch 607 is off so that the line between the 3 rd register at the first branch of registers 621 and the 1 st register at the second branch of registers 622 is connected. For BPSK or QPSK modulation constellation, out of the three bits in each shift registers 605 , only one of the three bits are enabled. For 16 QAM modulation constellation, out of the three bits in each shift registers, only two of the three bits are enabled. Only for 64 QAM case, all of the three bits at each register are enabled. For n-Tx BPSK STTC, the multiplier outputs are added 640 modulo 2 ; for n-Tx QPSK STTC and n-Tx 16 QAM STTC, the multiplier outputs are added modulo 4 ; for n-Tx 64 QAM STTC, the multiplier outputs are added modulo 8 . The output of the adder are then mapped 650 to n BPSK/QPSK/16 QAM/64 QAM symbols c 1 t , . . . , c n t . Then, c i t is assigned to the i th (i=1, . . . , n) transmit antenna 651 for transmission. We now describe the setup of code generator parameters in the encoder 600 for the various modulation constellations. BPSK STTC For n-Tx BPSK STTC, the code generator parameters g w,i 1 (w=0, 1, 2, 3; i=1, . . . , n) are the same as those in FIG. 2 , and g w,i 2 (w=1, 2, 3; i=1, . . . , n) are equal to g w+3,i 1 in FIG. 2 . All the other settings are the same as in FIG. 2 . QPSK STTC For n-Tx QPSK STTC, all the settings, including the setting of g w,i u (u=1, 2;w=0, 1, . . . , 3; i=1, . . . , n), are the same as in FIG. 3 . 16 QAM STTC For n-Tx 16 QAM STTC, g w,i u denotes [g w,i,I u ,g w,i,Q u ]. For g w,i 1 =[g w,i,I 1 , g w,i,Q 1 ] (w=0, 1; i=1, . . . , n), the elements g w,i,I 1 , g w,i,Q 1 are the same as in FIG. 4 . For g w,i 2 =[g w,i,I 2 , g w,i,Q 2 ] (w=0, 1, 2; i=1, . . . , n), the elements g w,i,I 2 , g w,i,Q 2 are the same as in FIG. 4 . In this case, the second and third registers at the upper encoder branch the third register at the lower encoder branch are not needed; this is implemented by setting g w,i 1 (w=2, 3; i=1, . . . , n) and g w,i 2 i (w=3; i=1, . . . , n) as [0, 0] for 16 QAM case. All the other setting are the same as in FIG. 4 . 64 QAM STTC For n-Tx 64 QAM STTC, g w,i u also denotes [g w,i,I u , g w,i,Q u ]. For g w,i u =[g w,i,I u , g w,i,Q u ] (u=1, 2; w=0, 1; i=1, . . . , n), the elements g w,i,I u , g w,i,Q u are the same as in FIG. 5 . In this case, the second and third registers at either the upper or the lower encoder branch are not needed; this is implemented by setting g w,i u (u=1, 2; w=2, 3; i=1, . . . , n) as [0, 0] for 64 QAM case. All the other setting are the same as in FIG. 5 . Full-Rate Pseudo-STTC for Single-Antenna Transmission In a single-carrier single-antenna system, for the channel between a single antenna transmitter and receiver, the instantaneous channel coefficient at time t (i.e., the channel impulse response) is denoted as h(t). The multipath fading is considered as Rayleigh fading. Then, h(t) can be modeled as a zero-mean complex Gaussian random variable with unit variance per complex-dimension. The samples of h(t) are independent every other channel coherence time period. Within a channel coherence time period, the samples of h(t) are) approximately invariant or they are closely dependent. If the channel coherence time is large and FEC is used, then a channel interleaver will be used to increase time diversity achieved by FEC. We assume a flat channel frequency response and perfect synchronization. At the receiver, the additive noise at time slot t, η(t), is modeled as a zero-mean complex Gaussian random variable with variance N 0 per complex-dimension. The samples of the noise η(t) are independent for every different t. FIG. 7 shows a novel full-rate pseudo-STTC scheme for encoding input bits 701 for single-antenna 702 . At each time slot, the single-antenna transmitter multiplies 705 each of n coded MPSK/MQAM output symbols with a complex number ε i (t), and adds 710 the n resulting values together to form a linear combination of the output symbols, which are generated by encoding k=log 2 M information bits using an n-Tx STTC encoder 600 . The data rate of the pseudo-STTC scheme is k bits per channel use. The n linear coefficients used as the code generating weights for the combining at time slot t are denoted as ε 1 (t), ε 2 (t), . . . , ε n (t). At a single-antenna receiver, the received signal at time slot t is r ⁡ ( t ) = h ⁡ ( t ) ⁢ ∑ i = 1 n ⁢ c i i ⁢ ɛ i ⁡ ( t ) + η ⁡ ( t ) = ∑ i = 1 n ⁢ c t i ⁢ α i ⁡ ( t ) + η ⁡ ( t ) , ( 1 ) Based on the second equality in Eqn. (1), the pseudo-STTC scheme is equivalent to forming n “virtual antennas.” Here, the equivalent instantaneous channel coefficient between the virtual antenna i (i=1, . . . , n) and the single-antenna receiver is α i (t)=ε i (t)h(t), and c t i is transmitted by virtual antenna i. At the receiver, by estimating n equivalent channel coefficients α i (t) (i=1, . . . , n), the pseudo-STTC scheme can use the same coherent decoding algorithm as for n-Tx STTC with one receive antenna. Similar to conventional multi-antenna n-Tx STTC, in the pseudo-STTC scheme for a single antenna, the energy for each of the n coded symbols is E c =kE b /n. After we select linear coefficients so that |ε i (t)| 2 =1 for every i ε{1, . . . , n}, at each time slot t, the energy of transmitted linearly combined signal is ensured to be equal to kE b . For the single-antenna transmitter, transmit diversity gain cannot be achieved by the pseudo-STTC scheme. However, the coding gain can be achieved with full-rate transmissions. In addition, similar to conventional single-antenna FEC techniques, time diversity gain can also be achieved for time-varying fading. The order of achieved time diversity gain depends on the channel coherence time. With the channel interleaver, the time diversity gain can be increased. Selection of Underlying n-Tx STTC As we have described, without modifying the detection algorithm, a STTC designed for quasi-static flat fading channel can achieve at least the same end-to-end diversity benefit for other channel conditions. Thus, to make our pseudo-STTC robust to highly dynamic channel conditions resulting from non-negligible Doppler spread and delay spread, as well as imperfect compensation for frequency offset, the underlying n-Tx MPSK/MQAM STTC is selected as an n-Tx MPSK/MQAM STTC which is well-designed for quasi-static flat fading channel. Linear Coefficient Setting for Full-Rate Pseudo-STTC The values of linear coefficients ε i (t) (i=1, . . . , n) can be random or deterministic. For random linear coefficients, the uniform-phase randomization is a good choice. In this case, ε i (t)=e jθ i and θ i (i=1, . . . , n) are uniformly distributed over [0, 2π]. When ε i (t) (i=1, . . . , n) are set as random values, to decide how fast they change to use newly generated independent samples, let us first consider the following facts: (a) when the pseudo-STTC scheme is employed at the receiver, the channel estimation needs to be done by estimating the equivalent channel coefficients α i (t)=ε i (t)h(t) (i=1, . . . , n); (b) the original channel h(t) has independent variation every other channel coherence time period, more quick variation of ε i (t) (i=1, . . . , n) would not bring additional performance benefit; (c) generally, the channel estimation is performed by periodically inserting a bunch of pilot symbols into the transmitted data, and the insertion period is roughly set to the predicted value of channel coherence time. Based on the above observations, to avoid increasing the burden of channel estimation without benefit, the random linear coefficients do not need to change every time slot; the coefficients can be set to use new samples only when a new bunch of pilot symbols are inserted. By doing so, roughly, the random linear coefficients change every other channel coherence time period. If the n linear coefficients are set as deterministic values, then we even do not need to estimate the n equivalent channel coefficients, because α i (t)=ε i (t)h(t) can be obtained by multiplying the estimated h(t) with the fixed values of ε i (t)=ε i (i=1, . . . , n). This is a big advantage because we do not need to do any modification for channel estimation processing. However, most deterministic linear coefficients result in worse error performance when compared with uniform-phase randomized linear coefficients. Thus, it is significant to design n deterministic linear coefficients that can provide similar or better error performance than using random coefficients, such as the uniform-phase randomization. Optimization on Deterministic Linear Coefficients for Full-Rate Pseudo-STTC By realizing (a) if the number of antennas for multi-antenna WAVE transceivers is n, the underlying code used by the single-antenna pseudo-STTC can be selected as n-Tx STTC, and (b) in the recent future, the multi-antenna WAVE devices would probably employ two antennas, in this embodiment of the invention, when we consider the specific pseudo-STTC scheme, the underlying STTC is chosen as 2-Tx STTC. We optimize the deterministic linear coefficients for the pseudo-STTC using 2-Tx STTC as the underlying code. The general expressions for n=2 deterministic linear coefficients is ε 1 (t)=ε 1 =e jθ 1 and Ε 2 (t)=ε 2 =e jθ 2 , where θ 1 and θ 2 are two fixed phases. Based on analyzing the upper bound on pair-wise error probability (PEP), it is found that, if we want can use the derived upper bound on PEP, we can specify the underlying code as a 2-Tx STTC with a given modulation constellation. We focus on the case using a 2-Tx QPSK STTC as the underlying code. Then, by utilizing the derived upper bound on the pair-wise error probability (PEP), we obtain the following results: if |θ 1 −θ 2 |=π, the maximum of PEP upper bound is minimized. However, this choice of deterministic linear coefficients still result in worse error performance than the uniform-phase randomized case. This is because the derived PEP upper bound is not that tight enough for effective optimization. We believe that the optimal |θ 1 −θ 2 | is equal to π±ξ, where ξ is a small positive number. When verifying this conjecture via numerical simulations, we choose the underlying code as a “good” 2-Tx QPSK 64-state STTC designed for quasi-static flat fading channel, which has the same number of trellis states as the convolutional code used in 802.11p. It is verified by simulations that, if two fixed phases θ 1 and θ 2 can satisfy |θ 1 −θ 2 |=4π/5, for the focused pseudo-STTC scheme, the deterministic linear coefficients ε 1 (t)=ε 1 =e jθ 1 and ε 2 (t)=ε 2 =e jθ 2 results in better error performance than the uniform-phase randomized case. The can exist another “good” choices for θ i (i=1, 2), and the obtained optimized result is empirical. However, the theoretic analysis still give us a helpful indication. Actually, the indication about |θ 1 −θ 2 | opt =π±ξ helps us to avoid using exhaustive simulations to investigate the effect on error performance for infinite possible particular values of θ 1 and θ 2 . Unified Codec Module for Single-and Multi-Antenna Transceivers For future WAVE transceivers equipped with n (n≧2) antennas, we have use STTC as the MIMO coding scheme. In order to unify the codec module used for single-antenna full-rate pseudo-STTC and conventional n-Tx STTC, each antenna of the n-Tx transmitter performs the same operation as the single-antenna transmitter employing the full-rate pseudo-STTC. That is, each of the n transmit antennas also sends a linear combination of n coded symbols generated by n-Tx STTC encoder. For this kind of multi-antenna coded transmission to be equivalent to conventional n-Tx STTC, we set the values of n linear coefficients to be some special fixed numbers. Specifically, for antenna i (i=1, . . . , n), the values of the linear coefficients are set as ε i (t)=1 and ε j (t)=0 for j≠i. By doing so, at each time slot t, c t i is transmitted by antenna i (i=1, . . . , n), resulting in conventional n-Tx STTC transmissions. Duplicated Pseudo-STTC for Single-Antenna Transmission According to the IEEE 802.11p standard, the convolutional code with code rate of R c =½ can be punctured to achieve a higher code rate, e.g., R c =¾, although with a worse error performance. To provide flexible code rate and better error performance, we to perform “duplication” on the full-rate pseudo-STTC. As shown in FIG. 8 , the n-Tx STTC encoder 600 encodes k=log 2 M information bits 801 into n coded MPSK/MQAM symbols. For every n coded symbols, the single-antenna transmitter sends q (q≧2) different versions of the linear combination 810 of these n coded symbols. The data rate of this duplicated scheme is k/q bits per channel. For the full-rate pseudo-STTC, every linearly combined transmission corresponds to a unique time slot in the trellis. Thus, the time slot index for transmissions is the same as that for the trellis. However, for the q-duplicated pseudo-STTC, every q (q≧2) linearly combined transmissions correspond to a unique time slot in the trellis, so that the time slot index for transmissions is different from that for the trellis. For the q-duplicated pseudo-STTC, we use t to denote the index of “trellis time slot”, and we use t′ to denote the index of “transmission time slot,” If we let the starting time slot in the trellis be t=1 for each codeword, and let the starting time slot for transmitting a codeword (using the q-duplicated pseudo-STTC) be always normalized as t′=1, each trellis time slot corresponds to q transmission time slots, with the relationship of t′ 1 =q(t−1)+1, . . . , t′ q =q(t−1)+q=q×t. Then, for n coded symbols c t 1 , . . . , c t n generated at trellis time slot t, the corresponding q sets of linear coefficients that are used for q different versions of linearly combined signals are denoted as ε 1j j(t), ε 2j (t), . . . , ε nj (t) (j=1, . . . , q), and the instantaneous channel coefficients during the transmissions of q linearly combined signals are h(t′ j ) (j=1, . . . , q). Accordingly, the q received signals at the single-antenna receiver are r ⁡ ( t j ′ ) = h ⁡ ( t j ′ ) ⁢ ∑ i = 1 n ⁢ c i i ⁢ ɛ ij ⁡ ( t ) + η ⁡ ( t j ′ ) = ∑ i = 1 n ⁢ c t i ⁢ α ij ⁡ ( t ) + η ⁡ ( t j ′ ) , ⁢ j = 1 , … ⁢ , q . ( 2 ) Based on the second equality in Eqn. (2), the q-duplicated pseudo-STTC scheme is equivalent to letting the i th “virtual antenna” perform q repeated transmissions of c t i , (i=1, . . . , n). Between the i th virtual antennas and the receiver, the equivalent instantaneous channel coefficients for q repeated transmissions are α ij (t)=ε ij (t)h(t′ j ) (j=1, . . . , q). Compared with Viterbi decoding for the full-rate pseudo-STTC, the decoder of q-duplicated pseudo-STTC only modifies the branch metric. In particular, the branch metric is the sum of q values, each of which is obtained by using one of the q received signals r(t′ j ) (j=1, . . . , q) to do the same calculation of branch metric as for the full-rate pseudo-STTC. For the q-duplicated pseudo-STTC scheme, the energy for each of the n coded symbols is E c =kE b /n. After we select linear coefficients so that |ε ij (t)| 2 =1/q for every i ε{1, . . . , n} and every j ε{1, . . . , q}, the total transmit energy of q duplicated linearly combined signals is ensured to be kE b . That is to say, when all the q×n linear coefficients are non-zero, an inherent power normalization factor 1/√{square root over (q)} can be included by each linear coefficient, regardless of the following description about setting appropriate values for linear coefficients to achieve good error performance. Linear Coefficient Setting for Duplicated Pseudo-STTC As for the full-rate pseudo-STTC, the values of linear coefficients ε ij (t) (i=1, . . . , n; j=1, . . . , q) can be either random or deterministic. Using uniform-phase randomized linear coefficients is also a good choice for the q-duplicated pseudo-STTC. It is significant to design q×n deterministic linear coefficients that can provide similar or better error performance than using the uniform-phase randomized coefficients. For the q-duplicated pseudo-STTC using n-Tx STTC as the underlying code, if we select q=n, and set the values of q×n=n 2 linear coefficient coefficients as ε ij (t)=ε ij =1 for i=j and ε ij (t)=ε ij =0 for i≠j (i=1, . . . , n; j=1, . . . , n), we obtain a special transmission scheme. In this scheme, the single-antenna transmitter separately sends each of n coded symbols c t 1 , . . . , c t n , which are generated at trellis time slot t, over each of n transmission time slots t′ 1 , . . . , t′ n . Optimization on Deterministic Linear Coefficients for Duplicated Pseudo-STTC In the IEEE 802.11p standard, the specified modulation constellations include BPSK, QPSK, 16QAM, and 64 QAM. Because, regardless of the used modulation constellation, the 2-duplicated pseudo-STTC achieves the same data rate as employing the convolutional code used in IEEE 802.11p. We optimize deterministic linear coefficients by focusing on 2-duplicated pseudo-STTC. In addition, as described before, in this invention, we focus on the case of using 2-Tx STTC as the underlying code. For the 2-duplicated pseudo-STTC, which uses 2-Tx STTC as the underlying code, q×n=2×2=4 deterministic linear coefficients can be expressed as q=2 deterministic coefficient vectors ε 1 =[ε 11 , ε 21 ] T and ε 2 =[ε 12 , ε 22 ] T . For every q=2 duplicated transmissions, the i th (i=1, 2) duplicated linearly combined signal uses ε i . Based on analyzing the upper bound on PEP, if ε 1 and ε 2 are two orthogonal vectors with ε ij ≠0 (i=1, 2; j=1, 2), the maximum of PEP upper bound can be minimized. Verified by numerical simulations, this optimized deterministic linear coefficients can provide better error performance than the uniform-phase randomized case. Unified Codec Module: Apply Duplication to n-Tx STTC Transmission The duplication concept can also be used by conventional full-rate n-Tx STTC (n≧2) to achieve lower rate and larger redundancy. For multi-antenna transceivers employing n-Tx STTC, a straightforward duplication operation is to let the i th antenna perform q repeated transmissions for c t i (i=1, . . . , n). In this way, while the data rate becomes lower, additional time diversity gain can be achieved depending on channel coherence time, codeword length, and channel interleaver depth. To unify the codec module used for both n-Tx q-duplicated STTC and single-antenna q-duplicated pseudo-STTC, let each antenna element of the n-Tx transmitter also send q linear combinations of c t 1 , . . . , c t n . This is equivalent to n-Tx q-duplicated STTC when, for antenna i (i=1, . . . , n), the linear coefficients used for each of q linearly combined transmissions are the same and have the format of setting the linear coefficient multiplied with c t i as 1 and all the others as 0. Apply Proposed Coding Schemes to OFDM-Based Single-Antenna Network We describe our coding techniques in the context of an OFDM-based single-antenna network, such as WAVE network. We consider a single-antenna OFDM network with L subcarriers (e.g., L=52 in 802.11p). Among L subcarriers in one OFDM symbol, only L CD (L CD <L) subcarriers are used to for coded data signals (e.g., L CD =48 in 802.11p). If a packet is composed of V (V≧1) consecutive OFDM symbols, then one packet can totally load V×L CD coded data signals. When our coding technique is used as the FEC scheme, these coded data signals are obtained from encoding the data bits via employing the full-rate or q-duplicated pseudo-STTC, followed by interleaving. While the channel impulse response of the fading channel can vary within the duration of a packet, it is assumed to be effectively invariant within the duration of each OFDM symbol. Further, it is assumed that the maximum delay spread of the channel is smaller than the length of cyclic prefix (CP) and synchronization is perfectly done. FIG. 9 shows stages at a PHY layer in a single-antenna OFDM network using our pseudo-STTC. At a transmitter, input bits 901 are input to our pseudo-STTC encoder 910 , and encoded symbols are interleaved 920 . Pilot symbols are inserted 930 and applied to an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) 950 and passed through a channel 960 . Before performing IFFT, within each packet, denote C[v, l] as the coded data signal assigned to subcarrier l (l=1, . . . , L) at the v-th (v=1, . . . , V) OFDM symbol in this packet. At the receiver, after performing FFT, the corresponding received version of C[v, l] can be expressed as R[v,l]=H[v,l]C[v,l]+Z[v,l],   (3) In Eqn. (3), H[v, l] denotes the channel frequency response coefficients over subcarrier l (l=1, . . . , L) at the v-th (v=1, . . . , V) OFDM symbol in the considered packet, and Z[v, l] is zero-mean additive white Gaussian noise. For any given v, H[v, l 1 ] and H[v, l 2 ] (l 1 ≠l 2 ) are independent in ideal case; in practice, they can be correlated to a certain extent. At a receiver, the CP is removed 970 , and a FFT 980 is applied. The pilot symbols are removed 990 , de-interleaved 995 and decoded 996 to obtain decisions 902 . When the q-duplicated pseudo-STTC is used, in order to achieve the maximum possible time diversity benefit provided by this coding scheme, it is required for every q duplicated coded signals to be assigned to q different subcarriers. In practical applications, q is a small value such as q=2; thus, it is easy to implement this kind of subcarrier allocation. Although the invention has been described with reference to certain preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that various other adaptations and modifications can be made within the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it is the object of the append claims to cover all such variations and modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

A transmitter encodes an input bitstream using space-time trellis coding (STTC). The encoder includes a serial to parallel convertor to produce a first and second output bitstreams. First and second three bit shift registers are connected to produce first and second output bitstreams. A multiplier applies a code generating weight to each bit of the shift registers to encode the bitstreams. A first switch is connected between a last bit of the first shift register and a first bit of the second shift register. A second switch is connected between the second output and the first bit of the second shift register. The first set of encoded bit streams and the second set of encoded bitstreams are combined and mapped to a frequency domain.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention described herein relates to electric machine arrangements which included electric rotating machines having stators and rotors. The following machines are shown as examples of the electric rotating machines. 1. Single-phase synchronous generator 2. Single-phase synchronous motor. In the usual synchrous generator or motor installation, a separate direct current or alternating current generator is used for supplying the field excitation for the synchronous machine. In order to provide a brushless synchronous machine of inexpensive and simple construction capable of providing optimum performance characteristics, an already published U.S. Pat. No. 3,573,578 was invented by the inventor himself. In the U.S. Pat. No. 3,573,578, as terminals in each phase of primary and secondary winding of a transformer are respectively electrically connected with a middle point and both terminals in each phase of armature stator winding of an electric rotating machine so that electric power can be transferred between the transformer and the rotating machine, two kinds of currents can flow simultaneously in the armature winding, therefore, two different numbers of poles can be produced simultaneously in the stator, and the machine can operate as two rotating machines, when the machine has two kinds of rotor windings. An invention of a synchronous generator is also included in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,573,578. It is not necessary to provide a separate exciter of DC or AC for supplying the field excitation for the synchronous machine in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,573,578. However, it is necessary to connect a transformer with the armature stator winding of the single-phase synchronous generator in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,573,578. As the exciting power for supplying the armature winding with the exciting current is supplied from the armature winding itself, in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,573,578, the total operating efficiency is not so high. An object of this invention is to provide a brushless and exciterless single-phase synchronous machine of inexpensive and simple construction capacble of providing optimum performance characteristics. Another object of this invention is to provide a brushless and exciterless single-phase synchronous machine of high operating efficiency. This invention possesses many other advantages, and has other objects which may be made more clearly apparent from a consideration of several embodiments of this invention. For this purpose, there are shown a few forms in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the present specification. These forms will now be described in detail, illustrating the general principles of the invention, but it is to be understood that this detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING Refering to the drawing. FIGS. 1 to 5 and FIGS. 12, 13 inclusive are system diagrams illustrating different forms of this invention; FIGS. 6 to 9 are part system diagrams illustrating different forms of this invention; FIGS. 10 and 11 are vector diagrams illustrating performance of this invention; FIGS. 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23 inclusive are developed drawings of windings of winding examples of this invention; and FIGS. 18 and 21 are respectively simple diagrams of FIGS. 19-20 and FIGS. 22-23. DETAILED DESCRIPTION This invention is composed of the following combination: an electric rotating machine having a stator provided with a main armature winding in which the load current flows and with an exciting winding for supplying the main armature winding with the exciting current, and having a rotor provided with a rotor winding; two outside electric terminals for the said electric rotating machine which lie respectively in points connected with the both ends of the said main armature winding of the said stator of the said electric rotating machine; external circuit wires which are respectively, electrically connected with the said outside electric terminals for the said electric rotating machine, so that the load current may flow in the main armature winding through the external circuit wires; at least four winding circuits which compose the said main armature winding in such a bridge circuit way as can be formed by connecting one set of series-connected two winding circuits in parallel with another set of series-connected two winding circuits, in the circuit between the said two outside electric terminals; at least two intermediate electric terminals for the said main armature winding which lie respectively in each intermediate points of the said two sets of series-connected two winding circuits. electric terminals for the said exciting winding in the said stator of the electric rotating machine; and electric wires connecting between the said intermediate electric terminals for the main armature winding and the said electric terminals for the said exciting winding, so that the main armature winding may be supplied with the exciting current from the exciting winding through the said two intermediate electric terminals for the said main armature winding. In FIG. 1, a single-phase electric rotating machine arrangement is composed of an electric rotating machine 1 having a stator 2 provided with a main armature winding 3 (composed of 4, 5, 6 and 7) in which the load current flows as shown by solid lines and with an exciting winding 8 for supplying the main armature winding 3 with the exciting current, and having a rotor 9 provided with a rotor winding 10; two outside electric terminals 11, 12 for the said electric rotating machine 1 which lie respectively in points connected with the both ends of the said main armature winding 3 of the said stator 2 of the said electric rotating machine 1; external circuit wires 13, 14 which are respectively, electrically connected with the said outside electric terminals 11, 12 for the said electric rotating machine 1, so that the load current may flow, as shown by the solid lines along the windings 4, 5, 6 and 7, in the main armature winding through the external circuit wires 13, 14; at least four winding circuits 4, 5, 6 and 7 which compose the said main armature winding 3 in such a bridge circuit way as can be formed by connecting one set of series-connected two winding circuits 4-5 in parallel with another set of series-connected two winding circuits 6-7, in the circuit between the said two outside electric terminals 11 and 12; at least two intermediate electric terminals 15, 16 for the said main armature winding 3 which lie respectively in each intermediate points of the said two sets of series-connected two winding circuits 4-5 and 6-7; electric terminals 17, 18 for the said exciting winding 8 in the said stator 2 of the electric rotating machine 1; and electric wires 19, 20 connecting between the said intermediate electric terminals 15, 16 for the main armature winding 3 and the said electric terminals 17, 18 for the said exciting winding 8, so that the main armature winding 3 may be supplied with the exciting current from the exciting winding 8 through the said two intermediate electric terminals 15, 16 for the said main armature winding 3. The two outside electric terminals 11 and 12 are connected electrically with an electric machine 21. When the electric machine 21 is an AC motor, the electric rotating machine 1 becomes a single phase synchronous generator. When the electric machine 21 is a synchronous generator, the electric rotating machine 1 becomes a single-phase synchronous motor. FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 show examples of winding connections used as a main armature winding 3 in FIG. 1. It can be understood that in FIG. 14, 4 poles of magnetic field can be obtained in case of flowing the load current in the main armature winding, and 2 poled of magnetic field are made in case of flowing the exciting current in the main armature winding. It can also be understood that in FIG. 15, 2 poles of magnetic field can be made in case of flowing the load current in the main armature winding, and 4 poles of magnetic field are made in case of flowing the exciting current in the main armature winding. Solid lines and dotted lines in FIG. 1, FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 show instantaneous directions of alternating currents. In FIG. 1, the rotor may be provided with; a multipole field winding 22 of FIG. 6 comprising conductors mounted in the rotor slots, and having the same number of poles as that of the main armature winding 3 of the electric rotating machine 1 obtained by a load current flowing into and out from the outside electric terminals 11, 12; a multipole exciting secondary winding 23 of FIG. 6 comprising conductors located in the same slots as the conductors of the field winding, and having the same number of poles as that of the main armature winding 3 of the electric rotating machine 1 obtained by the current which is made to flow in the main armature winding 3 of the electric rotating machine 1 by the electromotive force induced in the exciting winding 8; and rectifier means 24 of FIG. 6 mounted on the rotor for supplying unidirectional current flow from the exciting secondary winding 23 to the field winding 22. The field winding 22 is composed of a three phase winding H, F and J. The two phase winding F and J is used for direct current winding, and the other winding H is used as a damper winding. The winding H is shorted by the point S. An example of developed winding diagrams of the rotor 9 in FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 7. The rotor windings 10 are connected electrically in series with rectifiers 25 respectively. The rotor windings 10 have the same number of poles as that of the main armature winding 3 of the electric rotating machine 1 obtained by the current which is made to flow in the main armature winding 3 of the electric rotating machine 1 by the electromotive force induced in the exciting winding 8. FIG. 19 shows a developed winding diagram. Symbols 11, 12, 15, 16, 17 and 18 in FIG. 19 indicate respectively the same meanings as those of the same symbols in FIG. 1. In general, all slot spaces are not utilized effectively. However, in this invention, the slot spaces which generally have not been utilized, about 1/3 of all slot spaces can be used for being provided with the exciting winding 8. Numbers of 1 to 6, 13 to 24, and 31 to 36 written on the coil sides are slot numbers for the main armature winding. Numbers of 7 to 12 and 25 to 30 written on the coil sides are slot numbers for the exciting winding. It can be seen from the arrangement of FIG. 19 and FIG. 20 that a part of all coil sides of the at least four winding circuit forming the main armature winding are placed, in a single layer way, in a part of all slots of the stator 2 of the electric rotating machine 1, and all coil sides of the exciting winding 8 are placed, in single layer way, in another part of all slots of the stator 2 of the electric rotating machine 1. FIG. 18 is a simple connection of the developed winding diagram, FIG. 19. FIG. 20 is the same developed winding diagram as FIG. 19, except that all slot spaces which are not utilized for being provided with the armature winding 3 in the stator 2 are not so completely used for the exciting winding in FIG. 20 as in FIG. 19. Only 4 slots are used for the exciting winding 8, in FIG. 20, Arrows in FIGS. 19 and 20 show instantaneous directions of currents made by electromotive forces induced in all coil sides of the main armature winding 3 and the exciting winding 8. In FIG. 22, it is shown that at least a part of all coil sides of the at least four winding circuits 4, 5, 6, 7 forming the main armature winding 3 are placed, in a double layer way, in a part of all slots of the stator 2 of the electric rotating machine 1. For the exciting winding 8 shown in FIG. 23, the slot spaces which have not been utilized for the main armature winding 3 can be used in FIG. 22. Thus, it can be found from FIGS. 22 and 23 that at least a part of all coil cides of the at least four winding circuits forming the main armature winding 3 are placed, in a double layer way, in a part of all slots of the stator 2 of the electric rotating machine 1, and all coil sides of the exciting winding 8 are placed, together with a part of all coil sides of the at least four winding circuits 4-5, 6-7 forming the main armature winding 3, in a double layer way, in another part of all slots of the stator 2 of the electric rotating machine 1. Arrows in FIG. 22 show instantaneous directions of the load current in the main armature winding 3. It can be seen from FIG. 22 that 2 poles of a magnetic field is made by the load current. Arrows in FIG. 23 show instantaneous directions of the current flowing in the exciting winding 8 by the electromotive force induced in the exciting winding 8. The number of the magnetic poles of the exciting winding 8 is the same as that of the main armature winding 3 made by flowing of the load current. FIG. 21 shows a simple diagram of FIG. 22. In a single-phase electric machine, generally, we are troubles with the problem of distortion of the voltage wave form which occurs by special armature reaction based on alternating field. In order to cancel the distortion of the voltage wave form and to make a sinusoidal voltage wave, it is preferable to use a polyphase rotor winding. FIG. 8 shows an example of such a three-phase rotor winding as can be used as a polyphase rotor winding of this invention. The rotor winding shown in FIG. 8 is composed of double-star three phase windings 35 having two neutral points 28 and 29 between which is connected electrically a DC circuit 30-31 of a rotating rectifier 26 of which the AC terminals 32 are connected electrically with outside terminals 32, 33, 34 of the said double star three phase windings 35. As the number of magentic poles made by flowing of the AC current in the rotor windings in FIG. 8 is the same as the main armature winding 3 made by flowing of the exciting current supplied from the exciting winding 8, an AC current made to flow by an AC electromotive force flows in the AC circuit of the rotating rectifier 26, as shown by solid lines in FIG. 8. FIG. 2 shows that a condenser 27 can be connected in series with the exciting winding 8 to the main armature winding 3 in the electric circuit between the exciting winding 8 and the main armature winding 3. It is shown by a block symbol in FIG. 2 that the rotor 9 is provided with the rotor winding 10. In FIG. 3, the intermediate electric terminals 15, 16 for the main armature winding 3 are connected electrically with the electric terminals 17, 18 for the exciting winding 8 through a rectifier circuit, so that the main armature winding 3 may be supplied with DC exciting current formt the exciting winding 8. Specially in FIG. 3, the intermediate electric terminals 15 and 16 for the main armature winding 3 are connected electrically with the electric terminals 17 and 18 for the exciting winding 8 through a control rectifier circuit 36 of which the control elements are connected with the control device 37, so that the main armature winding 3 may be supplied with controlled DC exciting current from the exciting winding 8. In FIG. 4, a three winding transformer 38 is connected electrically between the exciting winding 8 and the main armature winding 3. The three winding transformer 38 is provided with a voltage winding 39 which is connected with the exciting winding 8 through a condenser 27, a current winding 40 which is connected in series with the load 21 and a secondary winding 41. It can be thus described easily from FIG. 4 that in this invention, there is an apparatus 38 for combining vectorically the voltage element of the exciting winding with the current element of the main armature winding of which the input terminals 44 are connected to the exciting winding 8 and the output terminals 42, 43 are connected to the intermediate electric terminals 11, 12 of the main armature winding 3. In FIG. 9, it can be so arranged in this invention that the electric rotating machine can be started as a motor by a torque between a circulating current shown by arrows in FIG. 9 flowing in the double star three-phase windings and a rotating magnetic field made by the main armature winding through the flowing of the load current. FIG. 5 shows that the condenser 27 can be connected electrically in parallel with the exciting winding 8 to the main armature winding 3, in this invention. FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 shows that the exciting winding 8 can be used as an auxiliary winding in case of being started as a synchronous motor. FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 show respectively vector diagrams in case of starting of synchronous motors in FIG. 12 and 13. Switching devices 47 and 48 can be changed over the connecting and disconnecting of the circuits. Controlled rectifiers 45 with the control device 46 can be used for control the AC circuit. FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 are exampled of developed winding diagrams of FIG. 8. Arrows of FIGS. 16 and 17 show respectively instantaneous directions of currents of DC and AC in the circuit of FIG. 8. It can be found from FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 that magnetic poles different between FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 can be produced.

When a single-phase electric rotating machine has a stator provided with a main armature winding which is composed of, at least, four winding circuits in such a bridge circuit way as can be formed by connecting one set of series-connected two winding circuits in parallel with the other set of series-connected two winding circuits, in the circuit between two outside electric terminals of the main armature winding, and with an exciting winding of which electric terminals are connected electrically with two intermediate electric terminals for the main armature winding, so that the main armature winding may not only supply or be supplied with a load current through the outside electric terminals but also may be supplied with an exciting current from the exciting winding through the intermediate terminals of the main armature winding, two kinds of currents can flow simultaneously in the armature winding, therefore, two different numbers of poles can be produced simultaneously in the stator, the machine can operate easily and simply as two rotating machines, and a brushless single-phase electric rotating machine having a simple construction can be designed or manufactured, if the machine has substantially two kinds of rotor windings, whether it is used as a synchronous motor or as a synchronous generator.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of Invention This invention relates to real-time storyboarding using a graphical user interface to automatically parse a video data signal and browse within the parsed video data signal. Specifically, this invention is directed toward systems and methods that generate a real-time storyboard on a distributed network, such as the World Wide Web (WWW), and a graphical user interface tool for fast video analysis of both compressed and uncompressed video images for automatic parsing and browsing. 2. Description of Related Art A “document” is no longer merely a conventional paper product. Rather, a “document” now encompasses electronic multimedia files which can include audio, video and animations, in addition to text and images. Nevertheless, people still prefer to print or have a hard copy of the multimedia document for various reasons, including portability and ease of reading. For space-dependent information, such as text and images, printing is easy. Video is becoming an important element in many applications, such as multimedia, news broadcasting, video conferencing and education. A plethora of scholars, including political scientists, physicians and historians, study video or multimedia documents as a primary source of educational or research material. By using traditional techniques, such as video recorders, one is able to view the material of interest, or fast forward and/or rewind to sections deemed important. However, since video content is generally extremely vague, multimedia and video cannot be handled as efficiently as text. For example, most multimedia and video application systems rely on interactive user input to compile the necessary representative static data. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, to easily scan the content of a document containing audio/video or animations, or print portions of the document containing audio/video or animations, the dynamic information must first be converted into a static counterpart. By performing a real-time dynamic-to-static conversion on the video or multimedia document, the methods and systems of this invention enable printing and/or viewing through a distributed network, such as the World Wide Web (WWW), whether or not the original source contains command information pertaining to the significant or representative frames of the document. The command information which is embedded during production specifically indicates that one or more frames is representative of a particular segment of the document. In one example, a corporation desires to show a video to its employees that contains the chief executive officer's report of the previous quarter, questions and answers and some of the company's new products. Traditionally, this is achieved by collocating the employees in a conference room and showing them the video, or performing a multicast throughout the company. Another way to show the report would be to convert the video into a format which can be displayed as a video on an intranet or the Internet, such as in a web page, thereby allowing employees to view it at their discretion. However, this would require tremendous bandwidth and storage capabilities. Alternatively, by processing the video or multimedia document, the systems and methods of this invention summarize the original video, i.e., the dynamic information, by placing representative static images, and if appropriate, associated text, into a web document for viewing. This overcomes the storage and bandwidth problems previously mentioned, as well as solves the problem of scanning or printing a dynamic document. Since the dynamic media is converted into static media before being presented, the static media can then be printed during a presentation using commonly used and known techniques. Once a video or multimedia document has been disassembled into key frames and placed on a distributed network or into a web document, a user is able to further browse the details of each segment represented by the key frame. This invention provides systems and methods for real-time storyboarding on a distributed network. This invention separately provides a graphical user interface that allows both automatic parsing and browsing of video sequences from the key frames. This invention separately provides methods and systems for automatic video parsing of a video and/or for browsing through the, video using a graphical user interface. This invention separately provides for real-time dynamic-to-static conversion of video documents. This invention also provides systems and methods that allow for printing and/or viewing static documents through a distributed network, such as the World Wide Web, when the original source is a video or multimedia document. This invention separately provides systems and methods that reduce the dependency on humans to create visual aids representing meaningful segments of a video or multimedia document. This invention separately provides systems and methods that eliminate required interactive components for translating a parsed incoming video data signal into meaningful segments. By using statistical methods based on frame and histogram differencing, key frames can be extracted. The extracted key frames associated with each segment can then be used for fast browsing or for retrieving the actual video or multimedia clip represented by that key frame. For example, a first image, e.g., captured frame, of a segment could be shown. Through a graphical user interface, the user could elect to play the remainder of the segment, or skip forward to the next significant, or key, frame. These and other features and advantages of this invention are described in or are apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of one embodiment of a system for real-time storyboarding on a distributed network; FIG. 2 is an exemplary histogram of a video segment; FIG. 3 is an exemplary output of the storyboarding system on a web page; FIG. 4 is an exemplary storyboard according to this invention; FIG. 5 is another exemplary storyboard according to this invention; FIG. 6 is a flowchart outlining one exemplary embodiment of a method for outputting significant frames to storyboard a video; FIGS. 7A and 7B are a flowchart outlining in greater detail one exemplary embodiment of the significant image determining step of FIG. 6; FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of one exemplary embodiment of a graphical user interface for manipulating video segments according to this invention; and FIG. 9 is an screen capture of an exemplary graphical user interface according to this invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the following detailed discussion of the exemplary embodiments of the systems and methods of this invention, the terms “web page” and “web document” refer to any document located on a distributed network, where the document needs to be transmitted between nodes of the distributed network in order to access the document. FIG. 1 shows one exemplary embodiment of a storyboarding system 10 according to this invention. Specifically, the storyboarding system 10 includes a frame capture device 20 , a frame difference determiner 30 , an image significance determiner 40 , a command detector 50 , a command decoder 60 , a memory 70 , a controller 80 and an input/output interface 90 , all interconnected by a data and/or control bus 95 . The video/multimedia image data source 100 provides a multimedia signal to the storyboarding system 10 . It should be understood that, for the following discussion of the systems and methods according to this invention, the term “multimedia image data signal” encompasses a signal or group of signals including one or more of, or all of, a sequence of video frames, any analog and/or digital audio data, any data that may reside in one or more side bands, and any ancillary analog and/or digital data, such as closed-captioning, that are transmitted or stored together and the term “multimedia image data source” encompasses any device, system or structure capable of supplying such multimedia image data signals. These signals further include any other known video type or signal or any other known or later-developed signal that would be obvious to incorporate into the “multimedia image data.” Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the multimedia image data and multimedia image data signal may be broadcast, for example, by traditional broadcast techniques, or by cable televisions distribution services, analog and/or digital satellite systems, the Internet, an intranet, a local-area network, a wide-area network, or any other known or later-developed wired or wireless network. Additionally, it should be appreciated that the multimedia image data and multimedia image data signal can be stored on traditional media, such as videocassettes, or on a digital video disk, a mini-disk, a CD-ROM or using volatile or non-volatile memory. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the video frames of the multimedia image data and multimedia image data signal can be recorded by a video recorder, such as a camcorder, or displayed by a display device, such as a television, personal computer, overhead projector, or the like. The multimedia image data source only needs to be capable of supplying at least one multimedia image data signal to the storyboarding system 10 . The storyboarded images generated by the storyboarding system 10 are output to a web document 200 . However, it should be understood that web document 200 is not limited specifically to distribution over the Internet or an intranet. Rather, the systems and methods of this invention encompass any known or later-developed type of document and any other known or later-developed system or structure for displaying the storyboarded images that are generated according to this invention. For example, other systems or structures for displaying the web document 200 can include web documents, including web pages, in the Hyper-Text Mark-up Language (HTML), Dynamic Hyper-Text Mark-up Language (DHTML), or Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML), specifically-designed network-displays, internet television, a graphical-user-interface-type display, or the like. The storyboarding system 10 receives the multimedia image data signal from the video/multimedia image data source over a signal link 110 . The link 110 can be any known or later-developed device or system for connecting the video/multimedia image data source 100 to the storyboarding system 10 , including a direct cable connection, a connection over a wide area network or a local area network, a connection over an intranet, the Internet, or a connection over any other distributed processing network or system. In general, the link 110 can be any known or later-developed connection system or structure usable to connect the video/multimedia image data source 100 to the storyboarding system 10 . The input multimedia image data signal may contain command data, e.g., closed-caption information, from which the location of significant frames can be determined. The frame capture device 20 captures each frame of the input multimedia image data signal. The command detector 50 determines if the multimedia image data signal contains any command data. The command decoder 60 then decodes any command information that may be present in the multimedia image data signal. For example, command data can be embedded in the closed-caption portion of the original multimedia image data input source to indicate significant or key images. Specifically, the closed-caption data is transmitted in a scan line 21 of the first field of each frame of the input multimedia image data input signal. However, this scan line does not appear on the screen because it is part of the vertical blanking interval. The command data is nevertheless capable of conveying information regarding the significance of at least one frame to the storyboarding system 10 . In addition to the command detector 50 and the command decoder 60 , which allows determining significant images based on an already-encoded command, the frame difference determiner 30 of the storyboarding system 10 determines additional significant frames. Specifically, the frame difference determiner 30 computes the difference between two consecutive frames, for example, on a pixel-by-pixel basis. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/271,869 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,493,042, filed herewith and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses systems and methods that detect discontinuous cuts and that detect gradual changes from edge count and a double chromatic difference. Furthermore, Ser. No. 09/215,594 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,252,972, entitled “A Method And System For Real Time Feature Based Motion Analysis For Key Frame Selection From a Video,” incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, could also be used to select key frames. However, it should be appreciated that any known or later-developed frame difference determining system and method can be used in lieu of the various systems and methods described in the incorporated Ser. No. 09/271,869 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,493,042 application. The frame difference determiner 30 needs only to determine a threshold difference between each consecutive frame. For example, FIG. 2 illustrates an average color histogram of an exemplary portion of a multimedia image data signal. The segment boundaries within this portion of the multimedia image data signal are clearly visible as peaks in the histogram. Therefore, for example, a frame within a segment bounded by two peaks in the histogram could be captured and stored as a representative or significant frame for that segment. Alternatively, a frame directly corresponding to one of the peaks can be selected and stored as the representative image. The image significance determiner 40 , at the direction of the controller 80 and with the aid of the memory 70 , decides whether a selected frame within a segment should be kept as a representative image for that segment. For example, a selected frame can be kept as a representative image if, for example, command data is associated with that frame, or a certain threshold, such as intensity difference, is exceeded when the selected frame is compared to another frame within the same segment or the time difference between the selected frame and the previous representative frame exceeds a certain threshold. If the selected frame is determined by the image significance determiner 40 to be representative of that segment, then that selected frame is stored in the memory 70 . Once enough representative images are stored in the memory 70 , a compilation of the representative images, such as that shown in the web document 210 of FIG. 3, can be generated. Specifically, the web document 210 shown in FIG. 3 includes a series of representative images 115 , and their respective accompanying text 117 . It should be appreciated, however, that the compilation of representative images need not necessarily be displayed in a web document. Alternatively, the representative images could, for example, be output to a printer or assembled into an electronic document specifically designed for displaying the representative images. Depending on the length of the incoming multimedia image data signal, the storyboarding system 10 can continue storing representative images in the memory 70 until the entire multimedia image data signal has been processed. Alternatively, the storyboarding system 10 , upon determining a predetermined number of representative images, could immediately transfer those images to, for example, a web document. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the storyboarding system 10 can communicate with the web document or the device for displaying the representative images. Therefore, the storyboarding system 10 can cooperate, for example, with the web document to control the number of representative images transferred to that web document. Alternatively, the storyboarding system 10 could direct the display data or request the generation of a new web document once a threshold number of representative images has been transferred to that web document. Using this method, the storyboarding system 10 performs the same steps for assembling consecutive representative frames or representative frame documents until the incoming multimedia image data signal has been completely processed. As previously mentioned, the storyboarding system 10 can determine representative images based on the change in intensity between consecutive frames, in addition to detecting commands which may be present in the received multimedia image data signal. For example, an incoming multimedia image data signal may have embedded command information indicating which frames are significant. The storyboarding system 10 , could, for example, automatically capture all frames identified by the command information and store the captured frames in the memory 70 . However, this level of segmentation may not provide enough information to the user regarding the content of the input video/multimedia presentation represented by the multimedia image data signal. Therefore, the storyboarding system 10 can further detect representative images, for example, between representative images identified by the command data, based on the following comparison of the change in intensity between consecutive frames of the incoming multimedia image data signal. The change in intensity E(t i ) for a current frame occurring at time t=t i , relative to a next frame, is: E ( t i )=Σ (x,y) |I ( x,y,t i )− I ( x,y,t i+1 )|,  (1) where: x and y are the spatial locations within a frame; t i identifies the current frame; t i+1 identifies the next frame; I(x,y,t i ) is the intensity of the pixel at the spatial location (x,y) in the i th frame; and the summation is over all the pixels within the current frame. If the change in intensity between two consecutive frames is greater than a predefined threshold, the intensity content of the two consecutive frames is different enough to be an indication that the current frame is representative. For example, the change in intensity between frames 74 and 75 as indicated in the histogram shown in FIG. 2 exceeds such a threshold. Accordingly, the frame 75 is identified as a representative image. Therefore, the storyboarding system 10 stores this identified frame 75 as the next representative image in the memory 70 . It should also be appreciated that when there is no command information in the input multimedia image data signal, such as in most multimedia image data signals, this intensity comparison technique can be used alone to find the representative images of the incoming multimedia image data signal. In this instance, the representative images are determined using Eq. 1 and then stored in memory 70 . The representative images can then be output to a web document or to similar document to form a compilation of the stored representation images. However, command information, such as closed-caption information containing special characters, or text strings, can be embedded in a portion of the multimedia image data signal to indicate, or supplement, a representative or significant image. For example, FIG. 4 illustrates the representative frames and text strings 122 that were derived from an exemplary multimedia image data signal containing command information. For example, special characters in the command data can indicate representative images, change in speakers, or additional data to be displayed, for example, with the representative image. With closed-caption data, a change in the speaker can be represented, for example, by the special character string “>>” during production. Thus, for the exemplary commercial segment shown in FIG. 4, this character string acts as the command indicating, for each occurrence, that a new frame and text string 122 are to be captured. Furthermore, the above character string, or some other character string, can indicate that additional information is to be displayed with the representative image. FIG. 4 also illustrates exemplary textual blocks of information 122 that were associated during production and displayed with the exemplary incoming video data signal. However, as shown in FIG. 5, sometimes a speaker may change after a single person says a couple of words or a single speaker continues to talk for a long period of time. In these cases, more than a single representative frame of a single segment, in addition to any supplemental information, such as text, that should be displayed with the representative frame, may need to be captured with textual blocks of information 125 in order to have the representative images convey the significance of the video. As shown in FIG. 5, representative images were captured each time the speaker changed. Additionally, supplemental text 125 was incorporated with the representative frame indicating the change in the speaker to supplement and more fully convey the flow of the multimedia image data input signal. However, there may be instances when a single speaker talks for a long time. FIG. 3 shows such an instance. In this instance, it may be appropriate, as shown in FIG. 3, to capture a plurality of frames of the same speaker, i.e., the same segment, to compile a set of representation images for the input multimedia image data signal. In addition to the “>>” character string, additional special characters or character strings can also be used to identify significant images. These additional special characters, such as “!”, “?”, and “;” can indicate, for example, the end of a sentence, end of a question or the beginning of a musical piece. The image significance determiner 40 additionally determines the maximum number of characters that can be associated with each image, and/or monitors the time lapse between significant images. For example, an extended time lapse between command data can trigger the image significance determiner 40 that an additional representative image may be required. Therefore, for each determined representative image, whether based on command data, time lapse or intensity comparison, the storyboarding system 10 stores the representative image and any associated text to be displayed in the memory 70 . The storyboarding system 10 can then output the representative images to, for example, the exemplary document 200 . The document 200 can display a sequence of representative frames. Alternatively, the document 200 could be configured to display a certain number of frames and then refresh, or update, the representative images once a threshold number of frames is displayed. Therefore, the representative images would cycle through the web document as new representative images are encountered. Furthermore, the representative images can be streamed, i.e., updated and published, for example, to a document, in real-time or near real-time, as the incoming multimedia image data signal progresses. FIG. 6 outlines one exemplary embodiment of a method for determining significant images for storyboarding according to this invention. Assuming the multimedia image data signal may or may not have been encoded with one or more command signals, determining significant images is straightforward. Upon receiving the multimedia image data signal that may contain one or more embedded command signals, any command signals are detected and a frame difference comparison is performed to isolate additional significant images between the already indicated representative images. Control begins in step S 100 . Control then continues to step S 200 , where the frames from the multimedia image data source are captured. Then, in step S 300 , at least a portion of the input multimedia image data signal is selected. Next, in step S 400 , a determination is made whether command data is present in the selected portion video signal. If command data is present, control continues to step S 500 . Otherwise, control jumps to step S 700 . In step S 500 , the captured frames are filtered to isolate command data. Then, in step S 600 , the command data is decoded to identify zero, one or more representative images. Control then jumps to step 800 . In contrast, in step S 700 , the frame differences between adjacent frames are determined. Specifically, the frame difference can be determined in accordance with U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/271,869 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,493,042. However, it should be appreciated that one of ordinary skill in the art could modify this method, or use any other method that allows one or more representative frames to be identified. Then, in step S 750 , one or more representative frames are identified based on the frame difference. Control then passes to step S 800 . In step S 800 , a determination is made whether the representative image are significant. If the image is significant, control passes to step S 900 . However, if the one or more representative images are determined not to be significant, control returns to step S 300 . In step S 900 , a determination is made as to whether the end of the input video signal has been reached. If the end of the input video signal has not been reached, control continues to step S 1000 . However, if the end of the input video signal has been reached, control jumps to step S 1300 . In step S 1000 , the one or more representative frames are added to a current web document. Then, in step S 1100 , a determination is made whether a maximum number of significant images have been captured for a single web document. If the maximum number of images for a web document has been reached, control continues to step S 1200 . Otherwise, control jumps back to step S 300 . In step S 1200 , the current web document is closed and a new web document is selected as the current web document. Control then returns to step S 300 . In step S 1300 , a determination is made whether the selected segment is the last segment of the input multimedia data signal. If so, control jumps to step S 1500 , Otherwise, control continues to step S 1400 , where a next segment is selected. Control then jumps back to step S 300 . In contrast, in step S 1500 , the current web document and any filled web document are linked together. Then, in step S 1600 , the set of linked web documents are output as the static representation of the input multimedia image data signal. Control then continues to step S 1700 where the control sequence ends. FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate in greater detail one exemplary embodiment of the significant image determination step S 800 of FIG. 6 . Control begins in step S 800 . In step S 805 , the determined frame difference; if any, is input. Next, in step S 810 , a determination is made whether command data is present. If command data is not present, control jumps to step S 855 . Otherwise, control continues to step S 815 . In step S 815 , the command data is decoded. Then, in step S 820 , a determination is made whether new speaker data is present. If new speaker data is present, control jumps to step S 840 . Otherwise, control continues to step S 825 . In step S 825 , a determination is made whether the frame difference is greater than a threshold. If the frame difference is greater than a threshold, control jumps to step S 835 . Otherwise, control to step S 830 . In step S 830 , a determination is made whether the time lapse is greater than a threshold. If the time lapse is greater than the threshold, control jumps to step S 850 . Otherwise, control continues to step S 835 . In step S 835 , a determination is made whether special characters in the command data are present. If additional special characters are present, control continues to step S 840 . Otherwise, control jumps to step S 850 . In step S 840 , a determination is made whether the number of command characters is greater than a threshold. If the number of command characters is greater than a threshold, control jumps to step S 865 . Otherwise, control continues to step S 845 . In step S 845 , a determination is made whether the time lapse is greater than a threshold. If the time lapse is greater than the threshold, control to step S 865 . Otherwise, control continues to step S 850 . In step S 850 , the next frame is selected and control continues back to step S 805 . In step S 855 , a determination is made whether the frame difference is greater than a threshold. If the frame difference is not greater than a threshold, control continues to step S 860 . Otherwise, control jumps to step S 865 . In step S 860 , the next frame is selected and control continues back to step S 805 . In step S 865 , the frame is identified as a significant image. Control then continues to step S 870 , where control returns to step S 900 . However, it should be appreciated that while determining a representative frame based on a time lapse has been described in terms of making the determination as the input multimedia image data signal is parsed, the determination could also be made of the entire input multimedia image data signal. For example, the entire video segment could be time-lapse analyzed prior to the frame difference or command data detection procedures. Then, a second step of comparing the detected time-lapse detected representative images to the frame difference or command data detected representative images would occur. A comparison could then be done to eliminate unnecessary or redundant representative frames, e.g., a time-lapse detected frame immediately prior to a command data identified representative frame. As shown in FIG. 1, the systems for storyboarding an input video signal according to this invention can be implemented on a programmed general purpose computer. However, the system for the storyboarding can also be implemented on a special purpose computer, a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuit elements an ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digital signal processor, a hard wired electronic or logic circuit such as a discrete element circuit, a programmable logic device such as a PLD, PLA, FPGA or PAL, or the like. In general, any device, which is capable of implementing a finite state machine that is in turn capable of implementing the flow charts shown in FIGS. 6-7B can be used to implement the system for storyboarding. Recordings of moving pictures can be displayed in a variety of different formats to illustrate the information they contain. The historical and most absorbing way is to display images through the rapid succession of fill screen frames. However, in order for the user to grasp the idea of the entire video, the user should see the entire collection of frames. The automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface of this invention allows a user to obtain necessary information about the video by viewing a selected number of automatically extracted key or significant frames instead of watching the entire video. However, if more in-depth information is desired, the user can select a key or representative image corresponding to the video segment, and view the entirety of the video or multimedia segment. Furthermore, since video or multimedia image data can be stored in a variety of formats, the systems and methods of this invention process both compressed and uncompressed video sequences. FIG. 8 shows one exemplary embodiment of an automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 according to this invention. The automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 can be used at least to interface with previously stored or displayed representative images. This automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 enables fast browsing of the full video or video segment represented by the significant images. For example, the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 can interact with web documents that were created in accordance with the above described storyboarding systems and methods of this invention. Alternatively, the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 can be used to visually segment input multimedia image data to generate the representative or significant images. This exemplary embodiment of the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 resides on a general purpose graphical user interface 700 which runs on a general purpose computer, such as, for example, a personal computer. The automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 comprises a “play” widget 510 , a “find cuts” widget 520 , a “show cuts” widget 530 , a “plot” widget 540 , a “find key frame” widget 550 , a “frame select” widget 560 , a “help” widget 570 , and an “info” widget 580 , all of which are selectable by a user, for example, using any known or later-developed selection device 600 . The automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 also comprises a display section 590 for displaying at least one of a determined or input representative or significant image, a video clip, or an entire input multimedia image data signal. The “play” widget 510 plays a multimedia image data signal. The “find cuts” widget 520 finds cuts in a multimedia image data signal. The “show cuts” widget 530 shows, for example using icons, the cuts found using the “find cuts” widget 520 . The “plot” widget 540 graphically illustrates statistics relating to the multimedia image data signal. The “find key frame” widget 550 locates a key frame within a portion, such as a segment, of the multimedia data signal. The “frame select” widget 560 selects a frame in preparation for a subsequent action. The “help” widget 570 causes help information to be displayed. The “info” widget 580 causes any supplied information relating to the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface or to one or more multimedia image data signals to be displayed. The user selection device 600 allows the user to interact with the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 . The multimedia image data source 100 provides a multimedia image data signal, representative images, a web document or a video segment to the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 . As previously discussed, the video and/or multimedia input source 100 can be a camera or any other multimedia image data device that is capable of providing a multimedia image data signal to the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 . The automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 interacts with at least one input frame, segment or video clip, allowing a user to further interact with the full version of the video, for example to detect representative images, or to view already-determined representative images. The first step in utilizing a video browsing tool or interface, which distills video content information, is to parse the multimedia image data signal into meaningful segments. To achieve this task, as previously discussed, the systems and methods of this invention determine representative frames of an input multimedia image data signal. Alternatively, the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 , using the above described method, can parse the multimedia image data signal into meaningful segments. For example, the systems and methods of this invention can parse the multimedia image data signal using, however is not limited to, peak histogram detection, frame intensity detection, color histogram techniques as well as command data to segment an incoming multimedia image data signal into representative frames. The peaks in the histogram shown in FIG. 2 correspond to the video segment boundaries where a video segment represents a continuous action in time and space. By detecting the segment boundaries, as previously discussed, the systems and methods of this invention can output at least one representative frame associated with each segment. Thus, the content of the multimedia image data signal can be browsed down to the key or significant frame level without necessarily viewing the entire multimedia image data signal. However, the systems and methods of this invention are not limited to browsing at the key frame level. The systems and methods of this invention also enable the user to play segments between each key or significant frame to obtain more detailed information about the entire multimedia image data signal. FIG. 9 illustrates one exemplary embodiment of the graphical user interface 1000 according to this invention. Specifically, the interface 1000 includes the main graphical user interface 500 from which the basic functions can be selected. A second window 1010 could show, for example, representative, significant or key images, or icons representing key images, i.e., frames. Additionally, the graphical user interface 1000 can include a window 1020 for displaying or playing a video segment or the entirety of the video. For example, a user accesses an assembled web document containing representative images corresponding to multimedia image data that has been determined in accordance with the storyboarding systems and methods described above. After viewing the representative images, the user may desire addition information about one particular topic discussed in a video/multimedia presentation. If the user selects one of the representative frames 1012 displayed on the second window 1010 , and then selects the play widget 510 , the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface system 500 locates and plays the segment represented by the selected one of the representative frames 1012 . Locating the segment can involve, for example, making a request to a remote server to download the corresponding signal, or could involve an interface with, for example, a video player/recorder to play the appropriate segment. Alternatively, if a user selects the find cuts widget 520 , the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface system 500 segments, using the above-described systems and methods, an input video/multimedia signal, for example, a JMOVIE, PPM, MPEG, AVI, QUICKTIME, SHOCKWAVE, animated GIF, VRML or REALVIDEO clip, into key segments and/or representative frames. If the user then selects the show cuts widget 530 , the representative frames 1012 can be displayed, for example, as icons 1012 , as shown in FIG. 9 . Then, for example, if one of the representative frame icons is selected, the corresponding full-resolution image can be displayed in the window 1020 . This window 1020 can also contain standard embedded icons, for example, “PLAY,” and “STOP”, that would allow a user to directly manipulate the video/multimedia segment represented by the selected representative image 1012 . Additionally, the graphical user interface system 500 can include the plot widget 540 , which can plot, for example, the average color histogram against frame number, as shown in FIG. 2 . Alternatively, the plot widget 540 can display where the representative frames are temporally located in the video/multimedia signal. Furthermore, the plot widget 540 could, for example, plot the statistics used to determine the representative or key frames. Additionally, the plot widget 540 could allow, for example, a user to manipulate the thresholds or properties used to determine the representative images. The automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 can also include standard widgets, such as the help widget 570 that can, for example, provide instructions on the use of the graphical user interface, or the function of each button, the information widget 580 that can, for example, provide information, such as number of representative images in a video signal, length of a requested segment, or general information about the interface, and a done widget 505 that indicates the user is finished. The automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 can be implemented on a programmed general purpose computer. However, the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface can also be implemented on a special purpose computer, a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuit elements and ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digital signal processor, a hard wired electronic or logic circuit such as a discrete element circuit, a programmable logic device such as a PLD, PLA, FPGA or PAL, or the like. In general, any device, which is capable of implementing a finite state machine that is in turn capable of implementing the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface, can be used to implement the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface. Moreover, the graphical user interface system 500 can be implemented as software executing on a programmed general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor or the like. In this case, the graphical user interface system 500 can be implemented as a routine embedded in a network file interface, such as a web browser, or as a resource resident on a server, or the like. The graphical user interface system 500 can also be implemented by physically incorporating it into a software and/or hardware system, such as the hardware and software systems of a personal computer or dedicated video browsing system. While this invention has been described in conjunction with preferred embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Systems and methods to enable real-time and near real-time storyboarding on the World Wide Web in addition to a graphical user interface for video parsing and browsing the of the storyboard. Specifically, storyboarding can be accomplished on the World Wide Web by parsing an input video into representative or key frames. These frames then can be posted to a web document, or the like, for subsequent viewing by a user. This allows a video to be distilled down to the essential frames thus eliminating storage and bandwidth problems as well as eliminating the need for a user to view the entirety of the video. Furthermore, the graphical user interface allows a user to visually interact with an input video signal to determine the key or representative frames, or to retrieve video segments associated with already determined key frames. Furthermore, the interface allows manipulation of these frames including, but not limited to, playing of the entire segment represented by that key or significant frame as well as actual determining of the cuts between significant segments.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/315,277, filed 2010 Mar. 18 by the present inventors. FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH Not Applicable SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM Not Applicable BACKGROUND 1. Field This application relates to an improved method and apparatus for listening to multi-directional surround sound by mounting small loudspeakers in a miniaturized setting on a loudspeaker placement platform based on inches instead of the conventional setting of feet or meters for listening to multi-directional surround sound. 2. Prior Art In all conventional multi-directional surround sound environments, the larger loudspeakers are placed in a large and full sized measured circle at prescribed angles and distances in feet or meters, usually in a room setting with chairs, or an auditorium or theater setting. Great pains and effort is exerted with large powered expensive amplifiers and loudspeakers in place in carefully designed sound-proofed and treated rooms with comfortable chairs and sofas. A main concern and purpose of the present invention is cost to produce and cost to the consumer. The smaller speakers can be designed and produced to provide the highest quality at a much lower cost than those of a higher wattage rating. Amplifiers that drive the smaller speakers can be manufactured with much lower output ratings and at lower costs, and only very small speaker wire is needed for such small runs and low wattage, compared to large gauge and long cables required for large room setups. Wireless speakers can also be utilized. The two speaker stereo effect was originally created by placing speakers in the front corners in an available studio mixing room, an enclosed mobile studio truck, or studio control room of perhaps twelve or fifteen by sixteen or twenty feet, which expanded to even more square footage to accommodate more spectators, producers, directors, etc. Some international standardization then began, with instructions such as the ITU-R BS. 775-1 published recommendations as in FIGS. 1 and 1B . But available room spaces of the consumer are also variable and usually limited in size. Standards have evolved whereas sound level measurements of the various speakers are in order to balance accurately with the front speakers and to achieve the same results in the home environment as was intended in the studio mix room. In reference to multi-directional surround sound, nowhere in any descriptions in the prior art have we found any reference whatsoever to speaker placement in inches referring to a miniaturized setting, or to speaker distances measured in miniature scale in inches as opposed to feet or meters for delivering multi-directional or surround sound. Drawings in the surround sound prior art usually always designate a chair, or a sofa, representing where a listener may be seated while listening to multi-directional or surround sound music or motion pictures. Dolby® Laboratories, Inc. also publishes production guidelines for mixing engineers, manufacturers, and consumers on setting up proper loudspeaker listening rooms with a goal of producing repeatable reference listening experiences in different listening environments. Although the International Standards (AES, EBU, ITU and SMPTE) alignment levels may differ, the guidelines are universal in maintaining a reasonable setup for Dolby® Laboratories' products as well as other manufacturers' products. All references are for feet or meters, it being understood internationally that the references are for studio mixing rooms, motion picture mixing setups for theaters and home theater setups for the consumer. Descriptions of all the surround sound prior art regarding methods and apparatus for surround sound refer to speakers being placed in a room setting or a theater, and the assumption appears to be universal that the speaker distance to the listener is described and understood to be in feet or meters. Other of the surround sound prior art describes speakers placed at an arbitrary distance on chairs and on video gaming equipment with only a suggestion of reproducing sounds of the original studio mix only in an approximation of what the studio recording mixer intended. Nowhere in the surround sound prior art have we found any reference whatsoever to a distance in inches or in a miniaturized setting such as one inch to the foot, one and one quarter inch to the foot, one and one half inches to the foot, two inches to the foot, or any scale in miniature. Even the aforementioned Dolby® Inc. published recommendations as with their recommended angles of speaker placement to listener, show a large couch with four seats at the listener seating position and all viewing distances in feet. The widely accepted professional standard for speaker placement for multi-channel sound reproduction is the ITU-R BS.775-1. The standard identifies a few well known points including the positioning of the reference listening point at the center of an imaginary circle having a radius between 2 m (78.74 inches or 6.56 feet) and 4 m (157.48 inches or 13.123 feet), which are minimum and maximum radius defined in the ITU-R BS.ll 16-1 recommendation. According to the standard, a center speaker should be placed at a zero-angle reference position directly ahead of the listening point. There should be 60° between the front left and right speakers, with the center speaker in the middle. Both rear speakers, left and right should be placed within 100° to 120° from the zero-angle reference position, also known as the center line. The acoustical axis of the front speakers—as defined by the speakers' manufacturer—should be approximately at the listener's ear height. The height of the rear speakers may be less critical and an inclination of up to 15° can generally be accepted. The standard also recommends that each of the five speakers be positioned more than 1.1 meter from any wall located behind the speaker. Surround sound prior art historically has referred to a sound mixing room or large and small theater settings with the recording or mixing engineers facing an ultimate listening arrangement having loudspeakers spaced in front of, to the side and to the rear of the mixing engineer based on what has become standard placement, with the prescribed definitions of so-called 5.1, 7.1, 9.1, 10.1, 22.1, etc. All of these placements can be utilized in our improved miniaturized setting. Surround sound prior art definitions have derived from the studio and mixing engineers' experiences of remixing productions of music, movies, games etc., at a console, summing or mixing the various instruments, sound effects, audience reactions, explosions, battlefield, flyovers, etc., and listening to the loudspeakers extending from a one speaker monaural placement, to a wide extension of stereo, to speakers across the front, to side and rear speakers, emulating an approximate 360 degree span of sound. In recording control rooms, it is common to place small loudspeakers on the meter bridge at the rear of the recording console. These are called near-field or close-field monitors because they are generally at an accepted distance of 3 to 5 feet from the listener. House, in application Ser. No. 11/273,876, describes his invention as “near-field” which is not anywhere near our miniature distances of 12 inches, whereas he states that all of his speakers can be located at a distance from the position of the listener, where R (radius) is generally between about 0.5 meter (19.685 inches) and 1.5 meter (59.055 inches), which is considerably closer than the range given in the ITU-R BS.1116-1 recommendation. Further, House states an embodiment with a diameter of about 1.2 meter (47.244 inches) so that the radius R was about 0.6 meter (23.622 inches), thus allowing the listener situated at that position to employ near-field monitoring techniques. One of the inventors, Donald Meehan, a sound mixing engineer at CBS/Sony Music from 1963 to 1996, was actively mixing 2 channel stereo in those studios when Scheiber's Quadraphonic system was first introduced at the studio. Meehan and fellow engineer, Raymond Moore, shared the same mixing room and added a speaker to each corner in the back of the room and were among the first to mix Quadraphonic sound. Meehan recalls that no thought or consideration whatsoever was given to any other speaker placement except sitting and listening at a console in a mix room setting such as in Scheiber's description, and for playing it back in the same home listening setup approximating the studio mix room setup. Further, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,746,792, Scheiber's continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 3,632,886, he defines and clarifies as it being in a “room”, whereas he writes: “The system provides for reproduction of sound from four loudspeakers located in the four corners of a room and having nominal positions with respect to the listener of left front, right front, left rear and right rear . . . . It is convenient to think in terms of a multidirectional sound system with four loudspeakers situated in the corner of a substantially square room reproducing material having four input signals corresponding in direction to the four loudspeakers utilized in reproduction. Such an arrangement is encompassed in the preferred embodiment of the system.” Other surround sound prior art such as Scofield and Saunders' U.S. Pat. No. 6,144,747 introduces tiny speakers built into a pair of eyeglasses, whereas the two tiny front speakers are supported that they are “proximate” to the left and right ears, with no prescribed measurement nor distance from the ear, and not corresponding to what the recording mixing engineer heard and reproduced in the original recording. Other surround sound prior art introduces several tiny speakers located on the earphones above the head of the listener with channeling to the ears to simulate direction, with circuitry to induce a virtual artificial placement of the sound coming to each ear. In all of these surround sound prior art methods there is a suggestion of “virtual” and no true representation whatsoever of what the mixing engineers heard and re-recorded in their final mixes. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,150, Eberbach states that “The surround sound effect is also more pronounced in miniature (close range) speaker configurations because the energy gradient between the right and left . . . .” However, there is no reference whatsoever to miniature scale and his drawings all depict a person sitting in a chair or couch with speakers placed at obviously more than “miniature” distances from the listener. In Hooley's application Ser. No. 11/632,438, entitled “Miniature Surround Sound Loudspeaker”, there is no reference whatsoever to miniature scale placement of speakers. Juszkiewicz also refers to a room setting in U.S. Pat. No. 6,381,335 B2 and states that his system includes a cabinet having a bottom surface for placement upon a desk and having a top surface for supporting a computer monitor and that at least first, second and third speakers are housed in the cabinet. Fourth and fifth speakers are located remote from the cabinet. Thus, the cabinet will include the left front, center front and right front speakers along with the sub-woofer speakers, all of which will have outlets from the cabinet directed toward a person using the computer. The left and right rear speakers are remote speakers and will preferably be mounted on conventional microphone stands or the like placed in the room behind the user of the computer. Again there is no reference to miniaturized placement of speakers. Additional surround sound prior art describes a simulation of surround sound within headphones, or earphones, claiming surround sound and sometimes referred to “virtual surround sound,” which in the true meaning, is not really surround sound at all, but a false representation based on manipulation of circuitry and loudness that creates a sense of distance or movement simulating “virtual” surround sound. Some surround sound prior art such as Sheng-Hsin Liao's U.S. Pat. No. 7,436,073B2, encompasses several drivers within each earpiece, suggesting front, side and rear placement of sound direction, but no consideration of the Inverse Square Law or reference to miniaturization, or International standards for multi-directional surround sound. In the surround sound prior art, whether near field or far field, one must consider the various effects of standing waves, reflections off walls, speaker and amplifier deficiencies and equalization. This adds to the ultimate cost of treating the studio mixing room. The same kinds of problems occur also for the listener in the home or in the theater. In smaller rooms it is just not practical to use a 7.1 system, and a 5.1 room is often difficult or impossible to set up according to standards. However, surround sound in 7.1 is definitely becoming the norm for all gaming and motion picture production, and the present invention will serve those needs well. Home theater and computer speakers utilizing the stereo and 5.1 concept are traditionally understood to be placed in a room setting with the design principles incorporated to go from very reasonably priced to very expensive. The present invention can accommodate either. The restrictions on placement of speakers in a studio, home or other location where a recording is to be played back often restrict where the speakers may be placed. Room sizes vary greatly, as do desks and platforms for the personal computer speakers. Most computers today are sold with 7.1 soundcards. However, establishing a listening area at the seating arrangement of a computer with any more than a two track stereo setup can be inconvenient and cumbersome, and even with that setup, there is usually no consideration of the original recording mixing circumstances. One usually just puts a speaker at each side of a computer monitor with no consideration of distance to listener. However, the present invention's miniaturized platform will accommodate the computer person easily. In full size room settings utilizing the surround sound prior art, consideration is always in order for the various effects of standing waves, reflections off walls, speaker and amplifier deficiencies and equalization etc., possibly making the ultimate cost of treating any room as well as the studio mixing room extremely high. This treatment is not the case or necessary with a miniaturized system utilizing the present invention. Therefore, the miniaturized speaker platform could also easily be used by the mixing engineer. The same kinds of problems occur also for the ultimate listener in the home or in the theater in order to faithfully re-create the sound heard in the mixing room. Extending to the usual 5.1 and 7.1 and higher speaker arrangements, the drawbacks and necessary preparations and expense in reproducing sound with the surround sound prior art are increased. In today's open area rooms there usually isn't even a place to hang the extra (two) surround channel speakers for 7.1 surround sound. Therefore, home consumers could create a 7.1 system only if they were looking at a large dedicated home theater room that has the depth and wall space required. In smaller rooms it just isn't practical to use a 7.1 system, and a 5.1 room is often difficult or impossible to set up. The miniaturized loudspeaker platform will accommodate easily. Close speaker arrangement is suggested in video games and arcade consoles in the prior art with a person facing a machine with mounted speakers both on the apparatus and on the headrest or back of the unit or chair, only in a “proximate” position to the head of the player, or listener. However, there is no suggestion whatsoever of calculated and measured miniaturization mentioned or suggested. Other surround sound prior art suggests only an approximate representation of surround sound, and some with speakers placed in an enclosure to surround the listener with no specifications in inches. Surround sound prior art also mentions speaker mounting on automobile seats and/or airplane seats to simulate surround sound, and inventions of earphones that simulate and make false claims of “true surround sound” that only produce a “virtual” simulation of sounds around the listener. The more expensive high powered amplifiers such as 500 to 1000 watt rated in most expensive home theater surround sound systems are certainly not required for the present invention, and a high quality amplifier with very little distortion and extremely lower power in watts can provide the ultimate listening experience at a fraction of the cost of the more expensive equipment and eliminate room acoustic treatment. In the surround sound prior art utilization of full size speakers in a normal setting, adjustment of the delay between the front and rear speakers is important when calibrating a system. But in our miniature setting of the present invention, these delay settings are not required, since we are referring to inches instead of feet. And the sound reaches the ears in around 1/100 th of a second at 12 inches from the speakers as compared to 1/10 th of a second at 12 feet. The purposes and advantages of such a setup in miniaturization are many. Close speaker arrangement is suggested in video games and arcade consoles in the surround sound prior art, with a person facing a machine with mounted speakers both on the apparatus and on the headrest or back of the unit or chair, only in a “proximate” position to the head of the player, or listener. These and other surround sound prior art merely suggest an approximate or arbitrary representation of surround sound, and some are made with speakers placed in an enclosure to surround the listener with no specification for speaker to ear distance. None of the surround sound prior art suggests details of the duplication of the original mixing room speaker placement in feet, as determined in a miniature setting as we do with the present invention. However, the present invention in miniature could be an advantage if utilized in those settings, providing a personal environment. The present invention will duplicate the large sale settings in a miniaturized setting. The term, “loudspeaker” will hereinafter be referred to as “speaker.” The sound production in miniature concerning the present invention will equal the original recorded near field, also sometimes called close field, and/or far field mix from the studio utilizing loudness and power wattage at a fraction of the so-called “normal” listening levels and loudness. Much of the prior art make claims of surround sound, when in fact there is no surround whatsoever. Several have sounds bouncing off a wall with speaker arrangements that are mounted in a vertical tower manner in front of the listener. Another presents an array of speakers lined up in front of the listener, while others proximate body distance with reference to surround sound with the close mounting of video games and machines, and arbitrary automobile mounting on the backs of seats and mounting tiny speakers into eyeglass mountings. One surround sound prior art invention regarding surround sound vaguely mentions placing speakers on a seat or a chair, with only an arbitrary distance to listener. However, nothing has been found in the surround sound prior art with any suggestion of measured inches in a miniature placement as compared to feet or meters. Earphones and headphones have been invented that claim surround sound, but all of these have neglected the all important role of the human ear's pinna, which will be discussed later herein. A sound wave is affected by the distance traveled, the humidity, and the frequency of the sound. The miniaturized setting is comparable to listening in a multitude of different real life settings and is especially useful and appealing to gamers, with the same considerations of distances of the ears to speakers. Standards have been instituted for placement in full size settings in feet and meters only, to include two track stereo up to 7.1 surround sound. Since rooms are so different and including large and small, high ceilings and low ceilings, then standardization in a home theater setting appears to be almost impossible and the listener may only be guessing as to what the recording mixing engineer intended. Although we claim a unique placement of speakers not heretofore claimed and to be explained herein, the present invention makes no claims whatsoever to any new findings of surround sound or multi-directional circuitry, except for the embodiment of a miniaturized platform of 180 degrees behind and 90 degrees above the listener's ears, which will be explained later herein. The present invention provides a unique platform of prescribed dimensions for available small speaker placement in a miniature setting in inches compared to feet or meters, in scale, for any and all surround sound prior art regarding surround sound and/or directional sound reproduction. An example would be that if in a real life room setting left loudspeaker A and right loudspeaker B were placed twelve feet from the listener, the miniaturized placement of one inch to the foot, the speakers would now be placed twelve inches from the listener's center-point, which we define as the center of the head between the ears. A main concern and purpose of the present invention is cost to produce and cost to the consumer. Smaller speakers can be designed and produced to provide the highest quality at a much lower cost than those of a higher wattage rating. Amplifiers that drive the smaller speakers can be manufactured with much lower output ratings and at lower costs, and only very small speaker wire is needed for such small runs and low wattage, compared to large gauge and long cables required for large room setups. Wireless speakers can also be utilized. The following are a few of the known conventional prior art listening arrangements with their descriptions, all of which the Personal Miniaturized Loudspeaker Placement Platform can accommodate: (a) Conventional Stereo, with two speakers placed in front of the listener, Dolby® Digital surround sound system that gives you completely independent multi-channel audio. (b) Dolby® Digital EX, which creates 6 full-bandwidth output channels from 5.1-channel sources. (c) Dolby® Pro Logic II, which is an improved technique used to decode vast numbers of existing Dolby® Surround sources. (d) Dolby® Pro Logic IIx, which is a new technology enabling discrete multichannel playback from 2-channel or multi-channel sources. (e) Dolby® Surround, which uses a 4-channel analog recording system to reproduce realistic and dynamic sound effects: (f) Dolby® TrueHD, which is an advanced lossless audio technology developed for high-definition disc-based media including HD DVD and Bluray Disc. (g) Direct Stream Digital (DSD) technology, which stores audio signals on digital storage media, such as Super Audio CDs. (h) DTS 96/24, which offers an unprecedented level of audio quality for multi-channel sound on DVD video, and is fully backward-compatible with all DTS decoders. (i) DTS digital surround, which was developed to replace the analog soundtracks of movies with a 6.1-channel digital sound track, and is now rapidly gaining popularity in movie theaters around the world. (j) DTS Express, which is an advanced audio technology for the optional feature on Blu-ray Disc or HD DVD, which offers high-quality, low bit rate audio optimized for network streaming, and Internet applications. (k) DTS-HD Master Audio, which is an advanced lossless audio technology developed for high-definition disc-based media including HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. (l) DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, which is an high resolution audio technology developed for high-definition disc-based media including HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. (m) HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface), which is the first industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface. The aforementioned list does not preclude any new or undiscovered conventional listening arrangements of surround sound with their descriptions. While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of the invention. The Personal Miniaturized Loudspeaker Placement Platform can perform standardization in an exact manner with a perfect placement in inches as compared to feet, by recreating exactly what the mixing engineer heard in the original mix. And if the mix room specifications are published as to exactly what the speaker placement was at the time of the mix, then the home listener can re-create exactly what was intended by the mixing engineer in a miniaturized setting. The first five figures represent the basis for the concept of miniaturization of multi-directional surround sound as compared to full size prior art, and the all important role of the “pinna” of the human ear. FIGS. 1A and 1B are the ITU-R BS.775-1 standards from the International Telecommunication Union published pages, which show recommended feet and angles for proper speaker placement for surround sound to mix or reproduce sound in a 5.1 configuration of speaker placement. FIG. 2A is a diagram with ITU standards recommendations for 5.1 and 7.1 speaker placement in a 24 foot circle with a 12 foot radius. Left front speaker is designated as LF. Right front speaker is designated as RF. Left rear is designated as LR. Right rear is designated as RR. Left 7.1 surround speaker is designated as LS, and Right 7/1 Surround speaker is designated as RS. The surround speakers are to be located at 135 to 150 degrees from the center point. The sub-woofer for a 5.1 and a 7/1 system is generally located on the floor. But with an embodiment shown in FIGS. 6A , 6 B and 7 , with the invention placed on a laptop computer stand, there is room for the subwoofer as well as gaming equipment and amplifiers on said stand behind the listener. FIG. 2B is a diagram of ITU standards recommendation for 5.1 and 7.1 speaker placement with a 12 inch radius and is identical to FIG. 2A but in a miniaturized 24 inch circle. This speaker placement defines distance to speakers from a center-point between the listener's ears inside the head. The distance from the listener center-point, which is the center of hearing inside the listener's head, to each speaker is the radius of the circle, and in this case, is approximately 12 inches. The center speaker is added for reference but is optional for the present invention. FIG. 3 is a representation of the Inverse Square Law, which holds the same principles for sound as for light, and holds true in a miniaturization of sound measurement as in actual size measurement. The plot of this intensity drop shows that it drops off rapidly. The sound intensity from a point source of sound will obey the Inverse Square Law if there are no reflections or reverberation. In the angle shown in FIG. 3 the same sound energy is distributed over the spherical surfaces of increasing areas as d is increased. The intensity of the sound is inversely proportional to the square of the distance of the wave-front from the signal source. Example: 1d=1, 2d=4, 3d=9, 4d=16, etc. The inventor, Donald Meehan, in addition to being a sound engineer and sound mixing engineer, is also a long time expert in the business of miniature art, working mostly in one twelfth scale, or one inch to the foot, experimenting, making and photographing miniature objects in all miniature scales, including ½ inch to the foot, 1 inch to the foot, 2 inches to the foot, etc. His published book, “The Art Of Photographing Miniatures” describes action of light in space and how the effects of distance of light from a subject decreases logarithmically, in the exact same way that sound travels and decreases. Both light and sound vary as the square of the distance and invokes the Inverse Square Law (See FIG. 3 ). An example of this are the f stops on a conventional camera such as the designations of f4, f6.3, f8, f11, f16, f22, f32 that all are familiar with. These f stops are derived from the indication of actual footage of light falling off in intensity as it moves away from a subject. Using a photographer's light meter, an example of this would be like the measurement of a certain amount of light from a 400 watt light on a subject at 4 feet with the shutter open perhaps one second. Moving the 400 watt light to 6.3 feet reduces the amount of light to half, or the equivalent of a 200 watt light on the subject. Moving the light to 8 feet away from the subject reduces the light on the subject to half again or the equivalent of a 100 watt light on the subject. Thus, it an be seen that moving the light one half the distance reduces it one fourth the intensity, and inversely, it increases the intensity the same as with sound. The realization that light as well as perspective in miniature photography acts the same in inches as in feet and that sound follows the same rules has led to this invention. Thus, the same conditions apply to sound in miniature. Under ideal conditions a free field could be represented by a sound signal being generated from a mountain peak. In real life situations however, rooms bounded by walls, floors and ceilings will interrupt the inverse square law at a distance in an average 30 foot square room at approximately 10-12 feet from the sound source. Nevertheless it is important to accept the notion that sound will diminish in intensity with distance. For example, in a typical classroom with a teacher's voice signal of 65 decibels at a three-foot distance from the teacher; at 6 feet away the sound intensity will be 59 decibels and at twelve feet it will diminish down to 53 decibels. If you were standing 20 feet from a loudspeaker, and were to move to 40 feet away from that loudspeaker, you would expect to see a drop in level of 6 dB. FIG. 4 Shows the human ear with its pinna and other parts. Manufacturers of surround sound earphones and many who make full size surround sound speaker units neglect the most important role of the human ear's pinna (pronounced as pin-nah), which helps the listener determine direction of sound from the rear (See FIG. 4 ). The ten parts of the anatomy of the pinna in medical/scientific terms is indicated herein to underline the significance of its role in human hearing. A is the Cavum Conchae, B is the Tragus, C is the Crus of Helix, D is the Cyma Conchae, E is the Fossa Triangularis, F is the Crura of Antihelix, G is the Scaphoid Fossa, H is the Helix, I is the Antihelix, J is the Antitragus, and K is the Lobule. All of these parts play an important role in what we hear. The miniaturization in the present invention preserves the all important role of the pinna. The pinna which is the outer part of the ear serves to “catch” the sound waves and helps one determine the direction of a sound. If a sound is coming from behind or above the listener, it will bounce off the pinna in a different way than if it is coming from in front of or below the listener. This sound reflection alters the pattern of the sound wave. One's brain recognizes distinctive patterns and determines whether the sound is in front of, behind, above or below the listener. While reflecting from the pinna, sound also goes through a filtering process which adds directional information to the sound. The filtering effect of the human pinna preferentially selects sounds in the frequency range of human speech. Amplification of sound by the pinna, tympanic membrane and middle ear causes an increase in level of about 10 to 15 dB in a frequency range of 1.5 kHz to 7 kHz. This amplification is an important factor in inner ear trauma resulting from elevated sound levels. The pinna works differently for low and high frequency sounds. For low frequencies, it behaves similarly to a reflector dish, directing sounds toward the ear canal. For high frequencies, however, its value is thought to be more sophisticated. While some of the sounds that enter the ear travel directly to the canal, others reflect off the contours of the pinna first. These enter the ear canal at a very slight delay. Such a delay translates into phase cancellation, where the frequency component whose wave period is twice the delay period is virtually eliminated. Neighboring frequencies are dropped significantly. This is known as the pinna notch, where the pinna creates a notch filtering effect. Therefore, since the pinna helps define sounds coming from the back of the person, the present invention with 5.1 and 7.1 assures of faithfully reproducing sounds coming from behind and to the side of the listener the same as a full size speaker setup or real life listening. The aforementioned delay and phase cancellation is no different in the miniaturized setup. FIG. 5 is a drawing from Scheiber's U.S. Pat. No. 3,632,886 of his Quadrasonic sound system with a chair (unnumbered by Scheiber) drawn in with our arrow pointing to said chair. There is no doubt that Scheiber's Quadrasonic sound system refers to a room setting and shows a drawing of an obvious seat or a chair and fails to show a number reference, but the seat or chair is surrounded by drawn speakers designated 14 L, 14 R, 14 F, 14 X. And then he states, “Reference to locating sound on a circle around a listener means the ability to locate virtual sound sources in front of, behind, or to the sides of a listener but is not intended to limit or define the precise placement of the speakers.” However, it is obvious here that Scheiber refers to placement in feet, with no reference whatsoever or consideration of a miniature setup in miniature scale or inches. The seat or chair for the listener is drawn in and included in a drawing of U.S. Pat. No. 3,632,886 and not numbered nor referred to. We have placed an arrow pointing to the drawn seat or chair in FIG. 5 . Scheiber continues, “The benefits of the invention can best be provided where at least one of the speakers is located behind the listener and the speakers are arranged in fact on the circumference of a circle, with the listener located at the center . . . . Where a full four-channel system is used, it is possible to locate a source of sound at any point on a full circle around the listener.” It is obvious from Scheiber's drawing of the chair and Scheiber's writing of “any point” clearly means “any point” in feet, specifically of a room, and has no reference in any way to a miniaturized placement of speakers. But, in the present invention, we are, in fact, defining the placement of speakers to mean distance strictly in “inches” at the prescribed angles as compared to feet in a normal setting. Therefore, any reference whatsoever of Scheiber's writing and drawing in U.S. Pat. No. 3,632,886 clearly refers to speaker placement in feet and in no way refers to a miniaturized placement of speakers. ADVANTAGES A number of embodiments of the invention are described herein. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, some of the steps described herein may be order independent, and thus can be performed in an order different from that described: (a) The purpose of the present invention is to arrange speakers to duplicate realistic sound in a miniature setting, in any variety of so called scale sizes such one inch to the foot, and any fraction of an inch to the foot, listening to 2.1, 5.1, 7.1 and any and all present surround sound applications or any other applications that may be introduced in the future, including the embodiment described in FIG. 27 . (b) All existing so-called smaller computer speakers and equipment can be utilized, spaced and attached to and used with the present invention in accordance with the angles and dimensions and adjustments herein. Not being expensive to manufacture, whether in a kit form, or included by a manufacturer with one of its surround sound amplifier/speaker packages, the present invention can be produced with any light weight metal, plastic, Plexiglas®, PVC, wood or any other heretofore unknown suitable substance. (c) Most any small and low wattage speaker system can be used on the Platform from low cost speakers to higher quality expensive speakers, giving the same results of two track stereo to multi-dimensional sound reproduction. Small inexpensive amplifiers and speakers may be used instead of high powered units since there is little wattage needed to perform up to 90 to 100 or more decibels, inches away instead of feet. (d) Due to the very short lengths of wiring with the close spacing of the speakers, there is no need for expensive and cumbersome low gauge or thick wiring. High quality Personal Miniaturized Personal Loudspeaker Placement Platform units can be used in the studio while mixing by sound mixing engineer and everyone present can wear an identical personal unit and hear exactly what the mixing engineer hears. (e) Since the sound at several inches from the speakers is miniscule and is dispersed quickly at several feet, the individual in the home environment can listen to loud 85 to 90 or more decibel levels at close range without disturbing others or neighbors. (f) Tests show that while monitoring the Personal Miniaturized Personal Loudspeaker Placement Platform producing ordinary average movie theater sound levels of 85 decibels, others in the same room would only hear 15 to 20 decibels less level, or around 70 to 75 decibels. In a next room with door closed the level would drop about 30 to 35 decibels or to about 60 to 55 decibels. In a next room between walls, very faint imperceptive sounds may be heard. However, it is doubtful that any sounds whatsoever of 85 decibels could be heard in between apartments in a complex. (g) Provided the specifications of the original mixing engineer's studio speaker actual distance and angles are published, the consumer can translate feet to inches and duplicate almost exactly what the mixing engineer heard when it was mixed. (h) Due to the very close placement of the speakers to the individual listener, there is little or no concern about room acoustics, standing waves, or room reverberations interfering with the sounds produced by the speakers used in the present invention. Unlike the drawbacks of full size placement in the surround sound prior art, whether using in the studio or in the home theater environment, there are negligible sounds bouncing off walls or equipment too low to even be considered. (i) All prescribed angles and distances of speaker to listener in any and all present and future applications of the art can be utilized with the descriptions and explanations herein, without exception. (j) The apparatus can be used anywhere with the same results, even in bed. (k) Simple adjustments in inches or fractions (simulating actual size adjustments in feet) are easily made on the present invention with a slight twist or turn of the individual speakers and with prescribed screw movements in the designated cutouts and slots. (l) Assuring that the listener can be situated only a few inches from the speakers, the unit can be hung around the listeners neck with a harmonica type holder, or mounted on a hanging position over the shoulder, mounted on a music type stand or laptop computer type stand designed to either face the listener or approach from the back, mounted on two microphone stands placing the speakers at each side of the listener, mounted on a so-called gamers' or other type chair, and spread out for the computer person. (m) The present invention is a universal mounting system which insures that most any type or brand of speaker from low price to high price can be easily mounted. (n) The present invention can duplicate the likes of a great concert hall or studio setting or of a large theater etc., in the confines of a few square feet with the home use. Therefore, a 12 by 15 by 8 foot room (180 square feet=1440 cubic feet) can be simulated in 180 square inches. And a 16 by 20 by 8 foot room (320 square feet=2560 cubic feet) can be simulated in 320 square inches. A concert hall or theater measuring as much as 200 by 300 by 50 feet (60,000 square feet=3,000,000 cubic feet) can be simulated within those same dimensions of a few square feet. A huge indoor or outdoor stadium with thousands in attendance can also be simulated within the same small confines. (o) The center speaker in 5.1 and 7.1 listening can be eliminated or optional since there is little or no movement during listening. Slight head movement does not change the line of sight or sound. (p) The perception of direction within the field is precise and accurate. Closing ones eyes, one can actually “see” the direction of certain instruments, according to the mixing engineer's panning of these sounds in the mix. (q) The popular use of “near field” speakers at a few feet listening in the mix room can now be reduced to inches and replaced with “mini field.” (r) Damage to the hearing is possible in an environment of the surround sound prior art by everyone present having to listen on large studio speakers at the sometimes dangerous and consistent extended levels of 100 to 110 decibels and more. With the Personal Miniaturized Speaker Placement Platform, each listener can be comfortable in another room listening at his levels of choice and comfort, but also hearing exactly what the mixing engineer is hearing, but at a lower level. Extending this concept, if the mixing engineer wishes to listen and mix with speakers in a far field of speaker placement at ten to twelve feet or more, for instance, or in a near field placement of a three to five feet arrangement, or even mixing with the Personal Miniaturized Speaker Placement Platform, then all these speaker placement and distances can be published for the home listener to duplicate those placements and distances in the miniature setting with speakers on the home Personal Miniaturized Speaker Placement Platform. (s) Thus, an example would be moving speakers from twelve feet to one foot, or twelve inches, and in scale miniaturist's terms, one-twelfth scale, which is one inch to the foot. Therefore, if the listener is listening at ninety decibels at twelve feet we can place the smaller speakers in front of the listener at twelve inches at the appropriate angle and decrease the ninety decibel levels at twelve feet proportionately to ninety decibels at twelve inches, we create the same sounds and levels duplicating what he hears now at twelve inches with the same level of ninety decibels. SUMMARY In a multi-directional surround sound setup in accordance with embodiments herein, for instance, one inch to the foot, a miniaturized speaker placement of twelve inches from the listener's center-point inside the head between the ears, duplicates a normal distance of twelve feet. This enables the listener to lower the listening level considerably to achieve the same listening experience. In effect, everything is smaller; speakers, amplifier power, cables, listening area, etc. In addition, the room acoustics, standing waves, walls, room reverberation, etc. are negligible or nonexistent and the delay is negligent. In the surround sound prior art there is great concern about room acoustics, standing waves, or room reverberations interfering with the sounds produced by the speakers placed several feet away from the listener. However, with the present invention, due to the very close placement of the speakers to the individual listener in the present invention, miniaturization eliminates the drawbacks of full size placement as in the surround sound prior art, whether using in studio or in the home theater environment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a complete understanding of the present invention and the advantages thereof, all Figures refer to a miniaturized platform for holding small speakers in a miniaturized setting for personal listening to surround sound. Reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings in which: FIGS. 1A and 1B are the ITU-R BS.775-1 specifications for reproducing 5.1 surround sound, which illustrate standards from the International Telecommunication Union published pages. FIG. 2A is a diagram with ITU standards recommendations for normal 5.1 and 7.1 speaker placement in a 24 foot circle with a 12 foot radius, which defines distance to speakers from the listener's head. FIG. 2B is identical to FIG. 2A , a diagram with ITU standards recommendations for 5.1 and 7.1 speaker placement in a miniaturized 24 inch circle with a 12 inch radius, which defines distance to speakers from a center-point between the listener's ears inside the head. FIG. 3 is a diagram of the Inverse Square Law, whereas the energy twice as far from the source is spread over four times the area, hence one-fourth the intensity. FIG. 4 illustrates the makeup of the different parts of the pinna of the human ear. FIG. 5 is a drawing from Scheiber's U.S. Pat. No. 3,632,886 of his Quadrasonic sound system with a chair drawn in (chair not numbered by Scheiber) with our arrow pointing to said chair. FIG. 6A illustrates a perspective view of a Surround sound 5.1 embodiment of the present invention that is attached to a laptop computer stand. FIG. 6B illustrates how the embodiment would look with speakers, including the optional center speaker, attached to the poles. FIG. 7 illustrates a top view showing members of the same 5.1 surround sound embodiment of the invention and how the various members connect. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another surround sound 5.1 embodiment of the invention showing speaker placement and mounted in front of the listener on microphone stands. FIG. 9 illustrates a top view showing members of the same 5.1 surround sound embodiment of the invention in FIG. 8 and how the various members connect. FIG. 10A illustrates one method of connecting the microphone stand to the side members of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 . The swivel turns to balance the weight of the front and rear speakers across the microphone stands. FIG. 10B relocates the swivel with the microphone stand attached and illustrates a cross sectional view of the connection of the members in 10 A. FIG. 11A illustrates an exploded view of how the machine screw connects the front and rear arms of the microphone stand embodiment. FIG. 11B shows how a speaker can be connected to one of the speaker poles. FIG. 12 illustrates the swivel connecting the front crossbar to the left and right side members. FIG. 13 is a top view of the parts unassembled for construction of a platform for a miniaturized 5.1 and/or 7.1 surround sound embodiment as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 . FIG. 14 illustrates a top view of the additional parts substituting the two rear arm members in FIG. 13 , for use on an embodiment held up by microphone stands. Two blocks for moving the side microphone stand back further to adjust weight and balance of using heavier speakers. FIG. 15 illustrates a standard microphone stand screw mount with standard threading. FIG. 16 is a top view of a parts layout for construction of three other embodiments. FIG. 17 illustrates a top view of a layout for 7.1 surround sound for a gamer's chair, with the parts assembled from those shown in FIG. 16 with designated points for the speakers. FIG. 18 illustrates a perspective view of a miniaturized 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound platform embodiment, mounted on a gamer's chair, minus the center speaker. FIG. 19 illustrates a perspective view showing the layout behind the gamers' chair of the 5.1/7.1 same surround sound platform minus the center speaker. FIG. 20 shows a top view of a parts layout for an embodiment which would utilize a circle with a diameter of 20 inches and a radius of 10 inches. FIG. 21 shows a top view of a parts layout for an embodiment which would utilize a circle with a diameter of 22 inches and a radius of 11 inches. FIG. 22 shows a top view of a parts layout for an embodiment which would utilize a circle with a diameter of 24 inches and a radius of 12 inches. FIG. 23 illustrates a perspective view of a 5.1 platform embodiment eliminating the center speaker that is mounted to a harmonica type mount. FIG. 24 shows a top view of parts layout for an embodiment which would utilize a circle with a diameter of 18 inches with a 9 inch radius. FIG. 25 is a top view of the parts assembled for an embodiment in the FIG. 27 perspective view of a new and unique miniaturized platform for speakers to radiate sounds from front, above and behind the listener. This is a new concept of a six speaker placement to provide 180 degree horizontal listening and 90 degree vertical listening that can utilize present 5.1 and 7.1 mixing standards. FIG. 26 illustrates the speaker placement for the embodiment in FIG. 27 in front, above and behind the listener. FIG. 27 illustrates a perspective view of a unique embodiment and a new concept in miniature, whereas a six speaker placement plus subwoofer provides the listener with an exciting mix of sounds from front, sides, above and the rear. FIG. 28A shows panning mix of sounds between LF-RF, LF-LC, LF-RC, LF-LR, and LF-RR. FIG. 28B shows panning mix of sounds between RF-LC, RF-RC, RF-LR and RF-RR FIG. 28C shows panning a mix of sounds between LC-RC, LC-LR, LC-RR and also RC-LR, RC-RR and LR-RR. DETAILED DESCRIPTION First Embodiment The present invention will now be described more particularly hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. FIGS. 1 through 5 were explained heretofore in paragraphs 0045 through 0049. FIG. 6A is a perspective view of an embodiment of the Personal Miniaturized Loudspeaker Placement Platform that can attach to laptop computer stand as shown, or to any other type of stand with an adjustable height such as a heavy duty music stand. Because of the width of the prototype, we have chosen a scale of 1.167 inches to the foot for this embodiment, whereas 1.167 inch will equal 1 foot, and will have a 14 inch radius with a 28 inch diameter. Although the center speaker is shown mounted, it is truly optional, since the closeness of the left and right front speakers insure of an unmovable center signal and a true side to side stereo impression. Appropriate size machine screws, washers and nuts or preferably wing nuts of at least but not limited to size 10-24 can be used to fasten the various members together in all of the mentioned embodiments as shown in the exploded view of FIG. 11A . A drill of at least 3/16″ should be used for all holes, but this is not to limit to any one size drill. Any size can be used to fit the chosen material used in construction. And this recommendation does not limit the methods of connecting the various members. Where a row of drilled holes are indicated in the drawings, a slot can also be used as explained later herein. Member 18 , the rear left arm of the embodiment through either of two drilled holes at 62 , will connect to the laptop computer stand as shown, or a music stand, at point 214 . Member 20 , the rear right arm of the embodiment through either of two drilled holes at 64 , will connect to the laptop computer stand as shown or other type stand at point 216 . Member 14 , the left front arm, will connect at its drilled hole at 54 , to the drilled hole at 58 of member 18 . Member 16 , the right front arm, will connect at its drilled hole at 56 , to the drilled hole at point 60 of member 20 . As noted before, the mounted center speaker is optional in our miniaturized platform as well as the center crossbar, 10 , and center speaker attachment bar, 12 . However, the following should be applied should there be a desire to add the center speaker, as well as to add a microphone stand at the front to accommodate heavier speakers. Member 12 is screwed onto member 10 at 46 and 48 or glued on as shown in FIGS. 6A , 6 B, 7 , 8 and 9 . A standard microphone female screw mount such as the Atlas AD-11B, with a female ⅝″-27 socket adapter as in FIG. 15 , is attached to the under side and in the exact middle of member 10 . The adapter is available at any Atlas distributor and is a Surface-Mount Flange Microphone Stand Adapter (Female) with base diameter of 1¾″ that works on any flat surface. A four inch spacer, 30 , preferably but not limited to strong thin metal, at 34 , connects to the front center crossbar member 10 , at 42 to 50 of member 14 the left front arm. Member 10 at its 44 is connected to 36 of spacer 32 , and the spacer's 40 connects to 52 of member 16 , the right front arm. FIG. 12 shows how the swivel connections of 30 (and 32 ) provide additional adjustments for the center speaker distance to the listener. If the crossbar 10 plus 12 is desired, either to provide for the optional center speaker, or for extra stabilizing, a center microphone stand is shown connected to the center crossbar, 10 , in the embodiment of FIG. 8 . This front assembly and crossbar and LF, C and RF speakers and poles is exactly like the embodiment of FIGS. 6A , 6 B and 7 . A telescoping adjustable rod could also be used to brace the front, or a half inch to one inch dowel could be cut to the proper length to maintain a level placement of speakers, thus eliminating cost of the screw adapter and an extra microphone stand. Speaker poles are attached next. With a flathead screw from the bottom of member 18 the left rear pole, member 28 is held squarely in an upright position at 72 . The front left speaker pole, 22 , is screwed on upright at point 68 . The right front speaker pole, 24 , is screwed on upright at point 70 , and the right rear speaker pole, 28 , is screwed on upright on member 20 at point 74 . Speakers usually have a keyhole hole or opening on the back and some larger center speakers are wider and provide two openings. Most all small speakers can be hung with Velcro® or with a machine screw, washers and two wing nuts as shown in FIG. 11B . An example is speaker pole 22 as shown with about a one and a half to two inch machine screw with it's head inside the keyhole of the speaker wall (LF), and with a washer and a wing nut tightened against the speaker wall, and fastened through a hole in the speaker pole. Another washer and wing nut is tightened on the outside of the speaker pole. A center speaker, if used is hung centered on the slot on member 12 . Some manufacturers provide a wider center speaker, than the other four, and may require a mounting with two pan-head screws. FIG. 6B illustrates how the embodiment would look with speakers, including the optional center speaker, attached to the poles. The left and right front speakers should be adjusted overall to be on the same level as the listener's ears, with the left and right surround speakers just a little above the listener's ear level. These adjustments can be made at 76 , 78 , 80 and 82 . All speakers should be pointed directly at the listener's ears on each side. The game equipment, amplifiers and subwoofer can be located on the computer table behind the listener. FIG. 7 illustrates a top view of a pattern layout of the embodiment in FIGS. 6A and 6B showing members of a 5.1 surround sound embodiment of the invention connected, and how they connect together and poles on the pattern where small speakers are to be mounted. Speakers are also shown. A machine screw and wing-nut is preferred to attach the members together using the present patterns. In reference to the parts layout in FIGS. 13 and 14 , the design and overall sizes of the members are not critical; however, the spacing of the drilled holes on the parts for a chosen miniature scale is critical in order to maintain the miniaturized aspects of the invention in the chosen scale. Starting with member 18 , for example, for a miniaturized platform 1.167 inches to the foot scale, calling for a 14 inch radius with a 28 inch diameter, the prescribed distance between 58 and the farthermost drilled hole at point 62 should be 18½ inches. The middle hole of the five drilled holes at 72 , should be 8¾ inches from 62 , and 15½ inches from 58 . When these two lines meet this will form a triangle as shown by the dotted lines on member 18 in FIG. 13 . Therefore, as long as this triangle is evident with the prescribed distances, any shape can be give to this member. Note that there five drilled holes at 72 and 74 , one inch apart, which provide for fine adjustments of the speaker later in setting up the platform. Additional holes can be drilled at points 58 , 60 , 62 and 74 to add to the fine tuning adjustments. Note also the holes to be drilled in all the speaker poles. The same principle can be applied to all drilled holes in the different members in all embodiments. One method for making certain that the speakers are actually lined up properly on the circle is to cut a piece of cardboard, or foam core board 28 inches in diameter, and make final adjustments at all the different points, ie, 72 , 74 , 42 , 44 , 50 , 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 and 60 . The three holes at points 68 and 70 also provide adjustments. Anyone with skill in the art can change these measurements to suit the needs, and the size of any such stand selected. Also, a reversal of the platform is possible, utilizing the same circle and measurements, thus having the listener face the stand. This would call for having the front speakers mounted on the stand at the prescribed locations. Additional Embodiment FIG. 8 illustrates another embodiment of the invention being mounted on microphone stands. The center speaker is shown mounted here also, but it is truly optional as explained heretofore. We have also chosen a scale of 1.167 inches to the foot for this embodiment, whereas 1.167 inches will equal 1 foot, and will have a 14 inch radius with a 28 inch diameter. This embodiment replaces the members 18 and 20 with the parts in FIG. 14 , namely, 84 , 86 , and adds 88 and 90 . The smaller left rear arm, 84 , replaces the larger arm, 18 , and 86 replaces 20 . This replacement cuts down on the weight and size of the platform. The speaker placement is the same, as well as the front swivel action of 30 and 32 . Standard microphone female screw mounts are attached to the bottom of members 88 and 90 at 108 and 110 , with machine screws and nuts at 104 and 106 . This is attached and connects member 100 to member 14 and member 86 to member 16 as in FIG. 10A . The swivel adjustment with members 88 and 90 allows the microphone stand to be moved in a circle in any direction as shown in FIGS. 10A and 11A , and this turning helps to balance the weight of the speakers on the two microphone stands. Members 88 and 90 can also be removed from the aforementioned position, and moved further back on the 84 and 86 members as in FIG. 10B to 100 or further back to 96 . As in the former embodiment, a microphone female screw mount can be attached to the front crossbar 10 , and be suspended by a third microphone stand. Again, the subwoofer can be located on a nearby floor, or on a table or desk close to the listener. FIG. 9 illustrates a top view showing members of the same embodiment of the invention in FIG. 8 and how and where the various members and speakers connect. Note the circle drawn in dotted lines around showing that the five speakers are lined up at their prescribed angles according to measurements of the parts as indicated. Therefore, a 28 inch round cutout can be made from cardboard or foam core and used to adjust the speakers to be the required 14 inches from the listener's center-point spot inside the head. FIG. 10A illustrates one method of connecting the microphone stand (MS) to the side members of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 . The swivel turns with the microphone stand attached to balance the weight of the front and rear speakers across the microphone stands, and to also move the microphone stand base away from the listener's chair. Longer members ( 88 , 90 ) can be provided should microphone base and chair legs be too close together. FIG. 10B illustrates how to relocate the swivels 88 and 90 further back on the rear arm 84 (and 86 ), to 98 or 102 on the left, and to 96 or 100 on the right side. Relocating this way moves the microphone stand (MS) back further and the weight of the arms and heavier speakers for a better balance of weight between front and back. FIG. 11A illustrates an exploded view of how the machine screw and wing nut, or regular nut, connects the front and rear arms of the microphone stand embodiment, as well as all the other assemblies of the parts. FIG. 11B shows how a speaker can be attached to one of the speakers poles. The head of the machine screw is placed into the keyhole of the speaker. A washer is inserted and a wing nut is applied and although difficult to tighten without being able to hold the screw head inside the speaker, is tightened as much as possible. The screw is inserted into the speaker pole and a washer is applied and a wing nut is applied and tightened to hold the speaker in place. An alternative way of fastening is to use Velcro®. Another simple method is to screw the speakers right onto the poles. FIG. 12 illustrates the swivel connecting the front crossbar to the left and right side members 10 and 14 , and acts as an adjustment for maintaining the speakers at the designated chosen miniaturized distance from the center spot in the listener's head. FIG. 13 is a top view of the parts unassembled for construction of a platform for a miniaturized 5.1 and/or 7.1 surround sound embodiment as shown in FIGS. 6A , 6 B and 7 . For ease in building, members 18 and 20 are identical only reversed, as well as members 14 and 16 . A series of drilled holes of at least ⅛″ to 3/16″ are indicated at 68 , 72 , 74 , 76 , 78 , 80 , 82 , 108 , 110 , 112 and 114 , which represent adjustment areas to fine tune the overall circular arrangement of the speaker placement. Those drilled holes may also be substituted with rectangular slots as indicated in FIGS. 16 at 120 , 122 , 136 and 138 , etc. FIG. 14 illustrates a top view of the additional parts substituting the two rear arm members in FIG. 13 , for use on an embodiment held up by microphone stands. Two blocks are included, 88 and 90 , and standard microphone stand screw mounts, 15 , applied to each member for moving the side microphone stand further back to adjust weight and balance of using heavier speakers. FIG. 15 illustrates a standard microphone stand screw mount with standard threading ⅝″ 27 threads per inch Unified Special thread (UNS, US and the rest of the world). Additional Embodiment FIG. 16 is a top view of the suggested members assembled for use with 5.1 and/or 7.1 surround sound platform of embodiments that can be assembled and placed on a gamer's chair, music type stand, two microphone stands, or on the back of any type chair, and showing the various slots whereas they can be fastened by screws or any other appropriate fastening means for easy adjustments. For mounting on a desk chair or computer chair or any other type of chair, a pair of brackets, such as 196 , can be cut or molded to the shape of the back of the chair to replace the 190 and 192 arrangement. It is understood that these members can be in any design preferred and not necessarily as indicated herein, as long as the concept of miniaturization is withheld, and the radius of the distance from the listener's center-point is maintained. In this case the radius is 14 inches. As heretofore mentioned, the shapes of the members are not critical as long as the distances between the screw holes or slots are as shown herein. However, members 128 and 130 require a circular shape to allow for the width of the listener's body. From 136 to 138 on member 156 from the middle of the cutout slots, the measurement should be 15½ inches and the five slots should be cut out an inch in each direction. This allows for ample adjustment. From 124 to 132 on member 128 the measurement should be 12½ inches. The same applies for member 130 between 126 and 134 . Member 114 and 116 should measure about 9½ inches long and the slots at 120 and 122 should be about 3 inches long. The front end of 114 and 116 can be cut diagonal or rounded or any shape to suit the type of speaker being used. Speakers can be screwed on from their bottom, attached with Velco® or attached to a 3 to 4 inch angle iron member such as 208 . The various slots provide ample room for adjustments to a prescribed miniaturization, as well as a personal preference for the listener. They also represent adjustment areas to fine tune the overall circular arrangement of the speaker placement. Those rectangular slots may also be substituted with drilled holes as indicated in FIG. 13 . The width of said member 198 is about 3½ inches but not critical and the height should be in keeping with the standard recommendations for the height of the two surround speakers, to be just about 3 inches above the level of the listener's ears. FIG. 17 illustrates a top view of a layout for 7.1 surround sound for a gamer's chair, showing how the members in FIG. 16 connect to one another, with designated points for the speakers positions on the imaginary 28 inch circle. Member 116 connects at its 120 to member 128 at its drilled hole 124 . Member 128 connects at its 132 to member 156 at it's drilled hole or slot 136 . Member 118 connects at its 122 to member 130 at its drilled hole 126 . Member 130 connects at its 134 to member 156 at its drilled hole or slot 138 . The diagonal shape on the end of 116 and 118 can vary from short to long to accommodate the imaginary circle, where 190 is mounted to mount the two left and right front speakers. FIG. 18 illustrates a perspective view of a miniaturized 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound platform embodiment mounted on a gamer's chair, minus the center speaker as depicted in the overhead layout of FIG. 17 . FIG. 19 illustrates a perspective view showing the layout behind the gamers' chair of the 5.1/7.1 same surround sound platform minus the center speaker. Two strips of aluminum channel, or any type of strong support medium approximately 12 inches in length, 190 , are attached to the back of the chair vertically. Two small L type mounting brackets, 192 are attached to the strips where the rear shelf, 156 is fastened horizontally. Two more 12 inch strips of channel, 190 , are mounted vertically onto the L type brackets where the two rear surround speakers are mounted at the prescribed 12 inches above the listener's ears and center-point, and at the desired radius and circular degrees for 7.1 listening. The space at 162 on the extended shelf, 108 provides a place for a subwoofer if desired, should the listener desire more bass than radiates from the floor placement. Additional Embodiment Several positions are shown here for adjustments of the parts in FIG. 16 for four different scales in miniature. FIG. 20 shows a top view of a parts layout for an embodiment which would utilize a circle with a diameter of 20 inches and a radius of 10 inches, or 0.834 of an inch to the foot. FIG. 21 shows a top view of a parts layout for an embodiment which would utilize a circle with a diameter of 22 inches and a radius of 11 inches, or 0.917 of an inch to the foot. FIG. 22 shows a top view of a parts layout for an embodiment which would utilize a circle with a diameter of 24 inches and a radius of 12 inches, or 1 inch to the foot. FIG. 23 illustrates a perspective view of a 5.1 platform embodiment eliminating the center speaker that is attached to a harmonica type mount. Member 200 is a smaller version of 156 , with drilled holes 202 and 204 11½ inches apart. This embodiment would use the layout of parts shown in the top view of FIG. 24 utilizing an 18 inch diameter of the imaginary circle and a 9 inch radius to the center point, or 0.75=¾ inch to the foot. Distance from the ears to the speakers would likely be about 6 inches. Additional Embodiment FIG. 25 is a top view of the parts assembled for an embodiment in the FIG. 27 perspective view of a new and unique miniaturized platform for speakers to radiate sounds from in front, above and behind the listener, based on an imaginary circle of 28 inches in diameter, or 1.167 inches to the foot. The miniaturized platform is not limited only to this scale, and can even be adapted to feet or meters, which has not been seen in any prior art. The assembly of the parts is the same as for the embodiment in FIG. 17 with the addition of 162 and 164 . The middle speakers, LC and RC, are mounted on speaker poles 206 , which are long enough to hang them at a height of 14 inches. FIG. 26 illustrates the speaker placement for the embodiment in FIG. 27 to deliver surround sounds in front, above and behind the listener. FIG. 27 illustrates a perspective view of the unique embodiment and a new concept in miniature, whereas a six speaker placement plus subwoofer provides the listener with a unique mix of sounds from front, sides, above and the rear. Discarding conventional standards, this is a new concept of a six speaker placement to provide 180 degree horizontal listening and 90 degree vertical listening. Speaker designations are: LF—Left front, RF—Right front, LC—Left Center, RC—Right center, LF—Left rear, RR—Right rear. In any and all of these applications, the miniaturization or adherence to the scale measurements of the foot to the inch will apply. Tests have proven that overhead sounds such as thunder, jets flying over, explosions etc., can be heard and located and identified from above. The mixing process for the unusual setup utilizes the usual panning between all speakers on a multi-bus preferably automated mixing console, and with computer programs which provide for 5.1 surrounds mixing. The addition of two more channels or busses to the 5.1 mix provides for the upper vertical sounds. As shown in FIGS. 28A , 28 B and 28 C, panning would take place in 15 different panning positions to place the sound almost anywhere in the listener's range of hearing. FIG. 28A illustrates conventional panning mixes of sounds between LF-RF, LF-LC, LF-RC, LF-LR, and LF-RR. FIG. 28B shows panning a mix of sounds between RF-LC, RF-RC, RF-LR and RF-RR. FIG. 28C shows panning a mix of sounds between LC-RC, LC-LR, LC-RR and also RC-LR, RC-RR and LR-RR. Thus, an explosion, directly over the head of the listener, or a plane flying over can be visualized and pinpointed in the listener's mind, as well as activity directly at the sides and behind the listener. A dead center effect is accomplished by both amplifiers and speakers receiving the exact same amount of wattage. This effect is the reason for making the center speaker optional in all embodiments of the present invention mentioned herein. By taking the same identical sound track in perfect sync and phase and with the same sound levels, and feeding it to two more amplifiers and speakers, LC and RC, located directly above the mixing engineer at the same distance at 90 degrees, the sound will effectively move up to a 45 degree angle. Further manipulation of sound levels by lowering the levels on the front speakers to zero, the sound will move further up and back to directly overhead to the LC and RC speakers only. Now, if the front speakers are at zero sound levels and the rear speakers, LR and RR, are fed the exact same signal like the front speakers were before, the sound will move up to a 45 degree angle behind the listener. This would only occur with the same identical sound track in perfect sync and phase, and with the same sound levels. Increasing the rear speaker feeds while decreasing the upper middle feeds will move the sound further down and to the rear. Inversely, increasing the upper middle speaker feeds while decreasing the rear speaker feeds will move the sound further to the upper middle. Therefore, manipulation of the various panning possibilities on an automated console can achieve endless results of sound placement with the present invention. No such proposed arrangement or speaker placement has been observed in any full size surround sound prior art and there is definitely no suggestion of any such arrangement in a miniature scale setup as proposed herein. As shown in drawings of patterns of the embodiment, all cut out slots and/or drilled holes provide adjustments for fine tuning and moving the speakers to specs, as well as to move them for any personal preferences. The measurements therein do not preclude any other small scale or miniaturized measurements for manufacture of the invention. All adjustments can have a small screw fastening each member together with a wing nut for quick and easy fine tuning in the slots provided. However, any method of fastening that will allow the members to move to change the angle and/or distance is acceptable. The connecting members at both sides in all sets of patterns allow for wide latitude of adjustments. Loudspeaker wires can be concealed with hooks or channels below the members, and/or conductors can be imbedded into the members to connect with one another when assembled. The apparatus can also be manufactured in one piece, thus having the speakers adjustable being mounted in elongated slots, however, the patterns shown with connecting movable parts allow for a more liberal approach for adjustments. A speaker manufacturer can mount its own speakers on the apparatus, and if sold in a kit form, any type of small speaker can be fastened by the consumer with screws, or with Velcro® or glue, or any method now or hereinafter known that would fasten them in the correct position. The Personal Miniaturized Loudspeaker Placement Platform can be extended to include any and all known or future real life size configurations of speakers, including height, such as duplicating the hanging of speakers at ceiling level in the front sides and rear of the room. The Personal Miniaturized Loudspeaker Placement Platform can perform standardization in an exact manner with a perfect placement in inches as compared to feet, by recreating exactly what the mixing engineer heard in the mix. And if the mix room specifications are not by the standards and published as to exactly what the speaker placement was at the time of the mix, then the home listener can re-create exactly what was intended by the mixing engineer in a miniature setting. The present invention utilizes all the aforementioned principles, inasmuch as the miniature placement of the speakers to the front, to the side and to the rear of the listener at any and all elevations produce sound that can be processed by the ear in the same manner as in full size scale, with intensity in decibels being the same as in full scale. The several adjustments will also allow a personal preference for the listener. The invention can also be made utilizing the miniaturization herein, mounting the speakers on a one piece apparatus instead of the movable parts, provided the miniature measurements are adhered to, even in an approximate size.

An improved method and materials for retaining small loudspeakers to a platform composed of adjustable connecting miniaturized members utilizing international standards for surround sound in meters, but reduced to inches. One example would be a scale of one inch equaling one foot, but not limited to that particular miniature scale. The present invention utilizes any and all technical aspects of sound delivery and amplification in a miniature scale arrangement with the multi-directional surround sound. The speakers so mounted in measured inches from the center-point midway between the ears of the listener, delivers multi-directional sound in a re-creation of a musical, movie or gaming experience in the same perspective as being in a room with large speakers at high listening levels or a theater setting. Listening in the miniaturized setting, the listener will experience the same high levels in decibels as in the large room setting.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a diaphragm device for use in a photo-taking lens or the like. 2. Related Background Art In one form of a diaphragm device used in a photo-taking lens or the like, a plurality of diaphragm blades are disposed about the optic axis of a diaphragm opening to cover the surroundings of the diaphragm opening and thereby limit a light passing through the diaphragm opening, and further the diaphragm blades may be pivotally rotated at a time, whereby the quantity of light passing through the diaphragm opening can be changed. Now, it is desirable that the shape of the diaphragm opening (the surroundings of the diaphragm opening defined by the inner edge portions of the diaphragm blades) be generally approximate to a circular shape. For example, during photographing in the daytime, the shape of the diaphragm opening greatly affects the degree of vignetting of the background and as the diaphragm opening becomes more non-circular, the degree of vignetting becomes greater, that is, vignetting becomes worse. Also, during photographing in the nighttime, when a light source is photographed, the light source is vignetted into the shape of the diaphragm opening (a polygonal shape or the like) and imprinted on film. Accordingly, the vignetting of the background becomes worse, and to solve it, it becomes necessary to make the shape of the diaphragm opening approximate to a circle to the utmost irrespective of the amount of aperture. FIG. 4 of the accompanying drawings is an enlarged view of one of diaphragm blades 10 used in the diaphragm device according to the prior art. FIGS. 5A to 5C of the accompanying drawings show a state in which the diaphragm blades 10 as shown in FIG. 4 are disposed around a diaphragm opening and the diaphragm blades overlap one another when the diaphragm is progressively stopped down from the fully open side to the small aperture side, and FIG. 5D of the accompanying drawings is an enlarged view of the diaphragm opening. In the diaphragm blade 10 used in the prior-art diaphragm device, as shown in FIG. 4, the portion forming the diaphragm opening, i.e. the inner edge portion 10a of the diaphragm blade 10, is usually formed by a single arc having a fully open aperture or greater. However, in such a diaphragm blade, the marginal portion of the diaphragm opening certainly becomes approximate to a desirable circle in a state approximate to the fully open aperture, but when the diaphragm is stopped down as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5D, the diaphragm opening formed by the diaphragm blades becomes a polygon corresponding to the number of the diaphragm blades and often adversely affects the vignetting of the photograph taken. On the other hand, in the prior-art diaphragm device constructed of the diaphragm blades 10, the angle of rotation of the blades becomes smaller toward the small aperture side. Therefore, the back-lash between a cam slot provided in a diaphragm blade operating member and pins provided integrally with diaphragm blades fitted therein, or the influence of their machining accuracy or the like upon the aperture diameter becomes relatively great, and this has led to the problem that even a slight back-lash negligible on the fully open aperture side makes the error of the aperture diameter great on the small aperture side. Also, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 45-29581 proposes diaphragm blades of the shape as shown in FIG. 6 of the accompanying drawings. FIG. 6 shows only two of the diaphragm blades described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 45-29581, and further shows the shape of the diaphragm opening when the diaphragm blades are stopper down, by broken lines. The diaphragm blade 100 has two sides 100a and 100b forming an angle θ, and these two sides form the diaphragm opening. When the number of the sides of a polygon forming the diaphragm opening is n, the angle θ has a value θ=(n-2)×180°/n. The diaphragm blade 100 is disposed so that the angle α it forms with the adjacent diaphragm blade 100' is θ=α. By adopting such a construction, the number of diaphragm blades necessary for forming the diaphragm opening by an n-polygon becomes n/2. Accordingly, even if the number of blades is the same as the number of blades in the prior-art diaphragm device, the polygon of the diaphragm opening formed thereby is twice in the number of sides and therefore, the shape of the diaphragm opening becomes more approximate to a circle. Also, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 36-20480 proposes a diaphragm device as shown in FIG. 7 of the accompanying drawings. FIG. 7 shows a pair of diaphragm blades and a cam mechanism in the diaphragm device described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 36-20480. The diaphragm blade 110 is of a shape similar to that of the diaphragm blade shown in FIG. 4, and the portion thereof forming a diaphragm opening is formed by a single arc. A cam slot 111 is provided in a diaphragm blade operating member, not shown. By the diaphragm blade operating member rotating about the optic axis O , the diaphragm blade 110 is stopped down. The cam slot 111 is comprised of a cam portion 111a in which a pin 112 provided integrally with the diaphragm blade is fitted to rotate the diaphragm blade, a slot portion 111b connected to the cam portion and provided near the cam portion, and a jetty portion 111c formed by the cam portion 111a and the slot portion 111b and having resiliency. By adopting such a construction, on the small aperture side, the pin 112 of the diaphragm blade is held down in the cam slot by the jetty portion 111c having resiliency and therefore, any back-lash between the cam slot 111 and the pin 112 can be eliminated. Accordingly, it becomes possible to increase the accuracy of the aperture diameter on the small aperture side. Also, Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Application No. 50-38735 proposes diaphragm blades of the shape as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B of the accompanying drawings. FIGS. 8A and 8B show only one of the diaphragm blades of the diaphragm device described in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Application No. 50-38735, and FIG. 8A shows the fully open aperture state, and FIG. 8B shows the small aperture state, and in these figures, the letter 0 designates the optic axis. The portion forming a diaphragm opening is any curve which satisfies the following condition, i.e., such a curve that the angle β formed by a straight line γ drawn from the center of rotation 0' of the diaphragm blade to the point of contact O between the diaphragm blade and the diaphragm opening and the tangential line S of the diaphragm blade portion forming the diaphragm opening becomes greater toward the small aperture side. The amount of variation in the aperture diameter for the angle of rotation θ of the diaphragm blade is expressed by O'P·θ·cos β. Accordingly, on the small aperture side on which the angle β is great, the angle of rotation θ of the diaphragm blade can be secured more greatly and the error due to the back-lash or the like between the cam slot and the pin can be made relatively small. Further, as regards the error of the position of that portion of the diaphragm blade which forms the diaphragm opening, the component in the direction of the normal to the aforementioned straight line r affects the aperture diameter, but as the angle 8 becomes greater, this amount becomes smaller, and on the small aperture side, the error itself can be made small. Also, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 63-8638 proposes a circular diaphragm apparatus. The substance of this publication is that, of the inner edges of diaphragm blades for forming a diaphragm opening, the inner edge portion forming the diaphragm opening during medium stop-down on the pivotable free end side with respect to the inner edge portion forming the fully open diaphragm opening is formed into an arc along the circumference of a circle of a set radius smaller than a predetermined radius about the optic axis in the predetermined medium stop-down posture or an arc approximate thereto, whereby a medium aperture stopped down by one to two steps from the fully open aperture can be formed into a circle or a shape approximate thereto. However, the constructions as described above have suffered from the following problems. First, the feature of the construction described in the aforementioned Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 45-29581 is that it intends to form a polygonal diaphragm opening having many sides by a small number of diaphragm blades and accordingly, the diaphragm opening is polygonal in both the fully open aperture and the small aperture, and it is difficult from the following point to achieve the purpose of making the shape of the diaphragm opening approximate to a circle by only this construction. That is, to make the shape of the diaphragm opening approximate to a circle, it is necessary to vary R of the corners of the two sides 100a and 100b in accordance with the radius of each aperture, but this is technically difficult. On the other hand, even if a construction is adopted in which the number of diaphragm blades is increased to thereby make the polygon of the diaphragm opening approximate to a circle, to ensure a regular polygon to be formed in each aperture diameter, it is necessary to move the center of rotation O' of each diaphragm blade relative to the optic axis, not shown, and this makes the mechanism very much complicated. Next, in the cam slot of the structure as shown in FIG. 7 which is described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 36-20480, a jetty portion having resiliency is provided to eliminate back-lash, but the resiliency conversely results in weakened strength and the aggravation of the aperture accuracy by the deformation of the cam slot poses a problem. Further, there is also the disadvantage that on the small aperture side, the pin is held down and therefore an unnecessary frictional force is created to cause a reduction in the cam efficiency and this leads to the bad operability when a diaphragm operating ring, not shown, is extraneously operated. Next, in the diaphragm blade as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B which is described in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Application No. 50-38735, the portion which forms the diaphragm opening is constructed of a curve of a complicated shape and therefore, the polygon of the diaphragm opening becomes a more distorted shape as particularly the aperture diameter becomes greater, and the polygon is partly expanded or is partly broken, and this adversely affects the vignetting of photographs taken. Next, in the diaphragm blades described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 63-8638 a shape approximate to a circle is obtained for each one step before and after the medium aperture set on the fully open and the pivotable free end side, as described therein, but since many of lens barrels have six or more aperture steps from the fully open aperture to the small aperture, this method cannot realize a shape approximate to a circle in all the steps from the fully open aperture to the small aperture. As noted above, any of the above-described examples of the prior art has been insufficient to solve the problems caused by the diaphragm blade as shown in FIG. 4 which has been used in the prior-art diaphragm device. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the object of the present invention to provide a diaphragm device which ensures a diaphragm opening approximate to a circle to be obtained without a complicated mechanism being provided and is further improved in the accuracy of the aperture diameter on the small aperture side. In view of the above-noted problems, the diaphragm device according to the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of diaphragm blades cooperate with one another to form a diaphragm opening, the radius of said diaphragm opening is varied by the movement of said diaphragm blades, each of said diaphragm blades has an inner edge portion, the shape of said inner edge portion is formed by a plurality of arcs and/or straight lines being smoothly connected together, and said plurality of arcs are provided equidistantly from the center of rotation of said diaphragm blades and are comprised of three or more arcs of different radii, i.e., a radius approximate to the fully open aperture in a portion near the center of rotation, a radius approximate to the smallest aperture at the end side thereof, and a radius gradually becoming greater within a range smaller than said fully open aperture toward said end side, and straight lines or arcs smoothly connecting said arcs together. In the diaphragm device according to the present invention, the shape of said inner edge portion is formed by a plurality of arcs and/or straight lines being smoothly connected together, and said plurality of arcs connected together are comprised of three or more arcs of different radii, i.e., a radius approximate to the fully open aperture in a portion near the center of rotation, a radius approximate to the smallest aperture at the end side thereof, and a radius gradually becoming greater within a range smaller than said fully open aperture toward said end side, and straight lines or arcs smoothly connecting said arcs together and therefore, independently of the amount of aperture, the shape of the diaphragm opening becomes very approximate to a circle and also, the angle of interception between adjacent diaphragm blades becomes great and therefore, a diaphragm opening more approximate to a circle can be obtained. Also on the small aperture side, the angle of rotation of the diaphragm blades can be secured greatly, and the accuracy of the aperture diameter on the small aperture side is improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view showing only one of the diaphragm blades of a diaphragm device according to the present invention. FIGS. 2A to 2D show nine diaphragm blades of FIG. 1 disposed about the optic axis of the diaphragm opening, FIG. 2A showing the fully open aperture state, FIG. 2B showing the state intermediate of the fully open aperture and the minimum aperture, FIG. 2C showing the minimum aperture state, and FIG. 2D showing an enlarged view of the diaphragm opening during the minimum aperture. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a lens barrel having a diaphragm device using the diaphragm blades of the present invention, taken along the direction of the optic axis. FIG. 4 enlargedly shows only one of diaphragm blades 10 used in the diaphragm device according to the prior art. FIGS. 5A to 5D show the overrupping state of the diaphragm blades 10 of FIG. 4 when disposed around the diaphragm opening and gradually stopped down from the fully open side to the small aperture side, and FIG. 5D enlargedly show the diaphragm opening of FIG. 5C. FIG. 6 shows only two of the diaphragm blades described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 45-29581, and further shows the shape of the diaphragm opening when said diaphragm blades are stopped down, by broken lines. FIG. 7 shows a pair of diaphragm blades and a cam mechanism in the diaphragm device described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 36-20480. FIGS. 8A and 8B show only one of the diaphragm blades of the diaphragm device described in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Application No. 50-38735. FIG. 8A showing the fully open aperture state, and FIG. 8B showing the small aperture state. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a lens barrel having a diaphragm device using the diaphragm blades of the present invention, taken along the direction of the optic axis. This lens barrel comprises a lens holding cylinder 12 for holding lens groups L1 and L2, a distance adjustment operating ring 11 containing the lens holding cylinder 12 therein and engaged therewith by a helicoid thread, and a fixed barrel 10 containing the distance adjustment operating ring 11 therein and engaged therewith by a helicoid thread, and having a bayonet mount portion mounted to a camera body, not shown. The lens holding cylinder 12 is rectilinearly movable relative to the fixed barrel 10 by a rectilinear movement key 13 but is not rotatable. By extraneously rotating the distance adjustment operating ring 11, the lens groups L1 and L2 are rectilinearly moved relative to the fixed barrel 10 in the direction of the optic axis OO, whereby distance adjustment can be accomplished. An aperture ring 4 is provided for rotation by a predetermined angle on the outer peripheral portion of the fixed barrel 10 which is adjacent to the camera. The construction of the diaphragm device of this lens barrel will now be described. A diaphragm blades 1 which are thin plates are provided between a blade operating ring 3 having a cam slot for rotating the diaphragm blades 1 and a fixed ring 2 for holding a pin 8 at the center of rotation of the diaphragm blades. The diaphragm blade operating ring 3 is rotatable about the optic axis OO, and the fixed ring 2 is fixed to the lens holding ring 12. When the aperture ring 4 is extraneously rotated to set the aperture, a diaphragm lever 5 is rotated about a pin 6 by the cam portion 4a of the aperture ring 4 and a pin 7 provided integrally with the diaphragm lever 5. The portion 5a of the diaphragm lever 5 and the portion 3a of the diaphragm blade operating ring 3 are in engagement with each other and therefore, by the rotation of the diaphragm lever 5, the diaphragm blade operating ring 3 is rotated about the optic axis OO, whereby the diaphragm blades 1 are pivotally moved and stopped down to a predetermined aperture diameter. On the other hand, the portion 5b of the diaphragm lever 5 is in engagement with the aperture control lever (not shown) of the camera body, and for example, by an amount electronically determined by the control on the camera side, the diaphragm lever 5 receives a force from the control lever thereof and is moved, whereby it is pivotally moved about the pin 6 and thus, the diaphragm blades are set to the predetermined aperture diameter as previously described. The construction regarding the mechanism of the diaphragm device of the present invention does not particularly differ from that of the prior-art device and will not hereinafter be described in detail. The shape of the diaphragm blades used in this diaphragm device will now be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a front view showing only one of the diaphragm blades of the diaphragm device according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the letter O designates the optic axis, the letter O' denotes the center of rotation of the diaphragm blade 1, and pins 8 and 9 are pins provided integrally with the diaphragm blade 1. The pins 8 and 9 fit in the hole of the fixed ring 2 and to the diaphragm blade, respectively, and as the pin 9 moves along the cam slot, the diaphragm blade 1 is pivotally movable about the pin 8. That portion of the diaphragm blade 1 which forms the diaphragm opening, i.e., the inner edge portion, is comprised of a plurality of arcs as follows. That is, the inner edge portion is comprised of an arc 1a extending from near the center of rotation O' of the diaphragm blade 1 and having the radius r 1 of the fully open aperture about the optic axis O, an arc 1b having its center at O 4 and having the smallest radius r 4 among the plurality of arcs, an arc 1c having its center at O 3 and having a radius r 3 which is greater than the radius r 4 , and an arc 1d having its center at O 2 and having a radius r 2 which is greater than the radius r 3 . Accordingly, the magnitude relation between these radii is r.sub.1 >r.sub.2 >r.sub.3 >r.sub.4. The arcs 1a and 1b, the arcs 1b and 1c, and the arcs 1c and 1d are smoothly connected together. Further, the centers O 1 , O 2 , O 3 and O 4 of the respective arcs are at the equidistance R from the center of rotation O' of the diaphragm blade, and the distance R is equal to the distance OO' between the optic axis and the center of rotation of the diaphragm blade. That is, the centers O 1 , O 2 , O 3 and O 4 and the optic axis lie on the same great arc centered at the center of rotation of the diaphragm blade. The operation of this diaphragm blade will now be described. FIGS. 2A to 2D show nine diaphragm blades of FIG. 1 disposed about the optic axis of the diaphragm opening, FIG. 2A showing the fully open aperture state, FIG. 2B showing the state intermediate of the fully open aperture and the minimum aperture, FIG. 2C showing the minimum aperture state, and FIG. 2D showing an enlarged view of the diaphragm opening during the minimum aperture. By the portion of the diaphragm blades which forms the diaphragm opening being constructed as previously described, when in each aperture state, the diaphragm blades are stopped down until as shown, for example, in FIG. 2D, O 2 becomes close to the optic axis O, most of each side of the polygon of the diaphragm opening is comprised of an arc 1d and therefore, though the diaphragm opening is a polygon, it becomes very approximate to a circle of radius r 2 . Likewise, when O 3 becomes close to the optic axis, the diaphragm opening is formed by an arc 1c and the vicinity thereof, and when O 4 becomes close to the optic axis, the diaphragm opening is formed by an arc 1b and the vicinity thereof, and the diaphragm opening is of a shape very approximate to circles of radii r 3 and r 4 , respectively. Description will now be made of the manner in which the diaphragm blades of the present embodiment are stopped down from the fully open aperture. First, in the fully open aperture state, an arc 1a having the radius r 1 of the fully open aperture forms the diaphragm opening. At this point of time, the arc 1a is most concerned in prescribing the shape of the diaphragm opening. When the diaphragm blades are further stopped down, the rate at which the arc 1a occupies the diaphragm opening becomes gradually smaller and instead, the next arc 1d comes to occupy most of the diaphragm opening. The arc 1d is an arc which is most concerned in prescribing the shape of the diaphragm opening at this point of time. When the diaphragm blades are further stopped down, the next arc 1c, instead of the arc 1d, occupies most of the diaphragm opening, and when the diaphragm blades are more stopped down, the next arc 1b, instead of the arc 1c, comes to occupy most of the diaphragm opening. Like the above-described arcs 1a and 1d, the arcs 1c and 1b are also arcs which are most concerned in prescribing the shapes of the diaphragm opening at the respective points of time. From the viewpoint of manufacture, it is desirable that the diaphragm blades have interchangeability with other types of cameras. Where use is made of diaphragm blades having interchangeability, the radius of curvature of the greatest arc in the inner edge portion of the diaphragm blades of a certain camera does not always coincide with the greatest aperture of said camera. What is important is that the radius of curvature of the greatest arc is greater than the greatest aperture of the camera. As described above, the arcs constructing the portion of the diaphragm blades which form the diaphragm opening successively construct each diaphragm opening. Further, in the present embodiment, the portions of intersection between adjacent diaphragm blades are such that one of them is formed by a large arc and the other is formed by an arc smaller than that and therefore, the angles of intersection therebetween become great and the connections therebetween become smooth and thus, there is provided a diaphragm opening more approximate to a circular shape. If FIGS. 2A to 2D which show the present embodiment are compared with FIGS. 5A to 5D which show an example of the prior art, it will be seen how approximate to a circle the diaphragm opening is. On the other hand, the shape of the diaphragm blades using the present invention is such that the arcs forming the small aperture side have their outermost diameter farther from the optic axis. That is, r.sub.1 <OO.sub.2 +r.sub.2, r.sub.2 <O.sub.2 O.sub.3 +r.sub.3, r.sub.3 <O.sub.3 O.sub.4 +r.sub.4. Accordingly, in the prior art, in order to form a diaphragm opening of a minimum aperture diameter A, rotation of the blades has been necessary until the arc 1a and its imaginary extension 1a' come into contact with the minimum aperture diameter A, i.e., by an angle ∠LQO'P=θ, while in the present embodiment, the smallest diaphragm opening is formed by the arc 1b and therefore, the angle of rotation of the diaphragm blades is ∠LQO'P'=θ+Δθ, and this is greater by Δθ than in the prior art. To make the present invention readily understood, description has been made of the arc 1a of the fully open aperture radius r 1 , and the arc 1b of the minimum aperture radius r 4 , but what has been described above also holds true of two adjacent arcs, i.e., r 4 and r 3 , r 3 and r 2 , and r 2 and r 1 , and the provision of more arcs forming the diaphragm opening can result in a greater angle of rotation of the diaphragm blades, that is, in such a manner that the provision of 1a+1d results in a greater angle of rotation than the provision of 1a alone, the provision of 1a+1d+1c results in a greater angle of rotation than the provision of 1a+1d, and the provision of 1a+1d+1c+1b results in a greater angle of rotation than the provision of 1a+1d+1c. Thus, the error imparted to the accuracy of the aperture diameter by the back-lash or the like between the cam slot and the pin which has heretofore been a problem on the small aperture side can be made relatively small by making the angle of rotation of the blades great, and an improvement in the accuracy of the aperture diameter on the small aperture side is possible. Further, the diaphragm blades of the diaphragm device according to the present invention obtains the great effect as described above by only the shape thereof being changed and therefore, permits the use of the mechanism of the existing diaphragm device and also, the diaphragm blades themselves can be simply manufactured with good accuracy as by press and therefore, the manufacturing cost thereof becomes very low and the assembly thereof does not at all differ from the case of the existing diaphragm device. While an embodiment of the diaphragm device according to the present invention has been described with reference to the drawings, the present invention is of course not restricted to the above-described embodiment, but can be suitably changed and improved within a scope which will not spoil the gist of the invention. For example, what forms the inner edge portion of the diaphragm blade is not limited to four arcs, but may be three arcs. Also, the number of arcs may be as many as desired. Also, the present embodiment is of a construction in which R approximate to the fully open aperture from the center of rotation side, R approximate to the minimum aperture and R which becomes gradually greater in radius toward the end therefrom are smoothly connected together by straight lines or arcs, but depending on the sizes of the respective R's and the central positions of the arcs, it is theoretically also possible to set R's so that R is made gradually smaller from the R approximate to the fully open aperture from the center of rotation side to the R approximate to the minimum aperture, and to connect the R's smoothly by straight lines or arcs. However, when such a construction is adopted, unlike the present embodiment, the radius of the arc which is most concerned in the shape of the aperture in the intermediate aperture always becomes smaller than the radius necessary to make the diaphragm opening circular and therefore, the shape of the aperture becomes difficult to be said to be circular as compared with the present embodiment. Also, the shape of the inner edge portion from R approximate to the fully open aperture of the diaphragm blades to R approximate to the minimum aperture is a shape convex toward the optic axis side, as compared with the present embodiment, and even in a state in which the diaphragm blades are slightly stopped down from the fully open aperture, the shape of the aperture becomes difficult to be said to be circular. Of course, if the distance between the center of the arc of R approximate to the minimum aperture and the optic axis is made small, R's can be smoothly connected, but for that purpose, the distance of the outer portion of the diaphragm blade from the optic axis becomes great, and this leads to the disadvantage that the diaphragm chamber need be made large and the outer diameter of the lens barrel becomes great. In contrast, in the diaphragm device according to the present embodiment, the shape of said inner edge portion is formed by a plurality of arcs and/or straight lines being smoothly connected together, and said plurality of arcs connected together comprise three or more arcs of different radii, i.e., a radius approximate to the fully open aperture in the portion near the center of rotation, a radius approximate to the minimum aperture on the end side therefrom, and a radius which becomes gradually greater within a range smaller than said fully open aperture further toward said end side, and straight lines or arcs smoothly connecting said arcs, and therefore, independently of the amount of aperture, the shape of the diaphragm opening becomes very approximate to a circle and also, the angle of intersection between adjacent diaphragm blades becomes great and therefore, a diaphragm opening more approximate to a circle can be obtained. Also on the small aperture side, the angle of rotation of the diaphragm blades can be secured greatly, and the accuracy of the aperture diameter on the small aperture side is improved.

A diaphragm device in which the aperture of a diaphragm opening is variable from a minimum aperture to a fully open aperture comprises: a plurality of diaphragm blades each having a pivot center, the edge portion of the diaphargm opening being formed by an inner edge portion in which the diaphragm blades overlap one another; and a driving device for rotating the plurality of diaphragm blades about the pivot centers at a time; the inner edge portion including a first arc disposed in a first portion nearest to the pivot center and having a radius of curvature (r 1 ) substantially equal to the fully open aperture, a second arc disposed in a second portion farther from the pivot center than the first portion and having a radius of curvature (r 4 ) substantially equal to the minimum aperture, at least one-third arc disposed in a third portion farther from the pivot center than the second portion and having a radius of curvature (r 3 , r 2 ) gradually becoming greater away from the pivot center within a range smaller than the fully open aperture and greater than the minimum aperture, and straight lines or curves smoothly connecting adjacent ones of the arcs together; The center of curvature of the arcs lying equidistantly from the pivot center of the diaphragm blades.

RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/595,135, filed on Jun. 8, 2005. FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE [0002] This disclosure relates to a self-calibrating capacitance fluid level sensing apparatus and method of use thereof, and more particularly, to an analog capacitance fluid level sensing apparatus further calibrated at fixed fluid levels with a signal from either a variable thickness in the insulated capacitance probe, a variable geometry of the capacitance probe, an input from an adjoining electromechanical sensor, or an input from a joined electromechanical sensor. BACKGROUND [0003] Varied technologies exist to measure fluid levels in containers. These technologies include but are not limited to mechanical sensors, electromechanical sensors, radar sensors, visual sensors, weight sensors, laser sensors, ultrasonic sensors, and capacitance sensors. Fluid characteristics such temperature, viscosity, conductivity, chemical abrasiveness, acidity, and the like may vary during the measurement of sensors from one level to a second level. These variations may offset measures from a sensor relying on a fixed characteristic to determine a precise level in a container. For example, if a mechanical sensor determines the level of a fluid by first measuring the weight in a known container geometry and associated the first weight on a fluid level based on calculations of the volumetric density of the fluid, once the fluid temperature increases, the volumetric density may decrease, raising the level above the calculated value. For this reason, analogous measures performed over a long period of time require recalibration to actual measured levels. [0004] Fluids such as water are known to serve as proper electrical conductors. If a body of water placed between insulated plates is energized at a certain voltage (V) under the strain from the resulting dielectric force field, a conductive fluid is charged (Q). The capacitance (C) of a fluid is a measure of the amount of electricity stored in a fluid volume divided by the potential of the body. The general formula for the determination of capacitance is C=Q/V. The determination of a capacitance (C) when applied to known geometries can be shown to respond to the following equation: C=kA/d, where k is the dielectric constant of the fluid between plates, A is the cross-sectional area of the plates, and d is the distance between the plates. It is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that correction factors must be applied to the calculation of any capacitance with plates and surfaces of irregular geometries. [0005] Capacitance sensors consist of either placing two polarized bodies at a fixed voltage (V), often insulated in a conductive fluid, or placing a single insulated body within another body and using the general conductive container of the fluid as a pole of the dielectric force field. As the water level rises in the container, not only does the available capacitive volume increase, the contact surface of the fluid with the polarized bodies increase accordingly. [0006] Capacitance sensors are used in a wide range of environments, including at extreme temperature or in toxic environment, since they require no moving parts and are resistant to vibration, even absent a gravitational field. For example, cryogenic fuel levels on spacecraft are measured by capacitance sensors. Capacitance sensors are inherently vulnerable to changes in fluid characteristics since the dielectric constant of fluids may vary greatly with temperature, chemical composition, pollutants, segregation, phase changes, and other fluid characteristics. For example, the presence of salt or the formation of blocks of ice in a body of water can dramatically affect its measure of capacitance and ultimately the fluid level determined by a capacitance sensor. Detection based on capacitance is also limited by nonintrusive size sensors with limited surface area and the need to measure at low voltage levels. Capacitance sensors often operate at minimal detection levels and require redundant measures in order to determine a level within a limited margin of error. [0007] Therefore, there is a need in the art for a capacitance sensor able to self-calibrate along its analog range of measurement at certain fixed fluid levels in order to limit the uncertainties associated with inherent limitations of this type of sensor. SUMMARY [0008] The present disclosure generally relates to a capacitance sensing apparatus and method of use thereof equipped with self-calibrating capacity. The disclosure contemplates the determination using a secondary means of precise fluid levels according to a plurality of possible embodiments and the use of the determined fluid level to recalibrate the capacitance sensing apparatus along its continuous analog measure. [0009] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the thickness of the insulation of a capacitance body is varied along a precise function along its vertical axis. The variations at determined levels creates a change in the variability measurement of the capacitance of the fluid leading to a recalibrating level for the capacitance sensor. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the surface geometry of the capacitance body is varied along a precise function along its vertical axis. The variations at determined levels also create a change in the variability measurement of the capacitance of the fluid and can be used to recalibrating the level for a capacitance sensor measure. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a dual-sensor body is used where a third body has a varied surface geometry along a precise function along its vertical axis while a first body has a regular surface geometry. Variations in the capacitance variability measurement between both bodies are used to recalibrate the measure from the first body. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, an electromagnetic sensor is used together with the capacitance sensor to measure predetermined fluid levels. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the main guide of an electromechanical sensor is modified to allow a guide to serve as a capacitance sensing apparatus recalibrated by the electromechanical sensor. [0010] The disclosure also contemplates methods for using the sensing apparatus previously disclosed to measure a fluid level using a self-calibrating capacitance sensing apparatus. Finally, the present disclosure also contemplates the use of an improved mathematical method associated with a variability measurement, such as an exponential smoothing method to determine locally discrete changes in the variability measurement of the capacitance in order to determine a fixed fluid level. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0011] Certain embodiments are shown in the drawings. However, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the attached drawings. [0012] FIG. 1 is a functional side view of the self-calibrating capacitance fluid level sensing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [0013] FIG. 2 is a partial functional view of the sensor element of the self-calibrating capacitance fluid level sensing apparatus of FIG. 1 . [0014] FIG. 3 is a top sectional view of FIG. 2 along line 3 - 3 . [0015] FIG. 4 is a top sectional view of FIG. 2 along line 4 - 4 according. [0016] FIG. 5 is a partial functional view of the sensor element of the self-calibrating capacitance fluid level sensing apparatus of FIG. 1 . [0017] FIG. 6 is a top sectional view of FIG. 5 along line 6 - 6 . [0018] FIG. 7 is a top sectional view of FIG. 5 along line 7 - 7 . [0019] FIG. 8 is a functional side view of a dual-probe self-calibrating capacitance fluid level sensing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [0020] FIG. 9 is a partial functional view of the sensor element of the dual-probe self-calibrating capacitance fluid level sensing apparatus of FIG. 8 without insulation. [0021] FIG. 10 is a top sectional view of FIG. 9 along line 10 - 10 . [0022] FIG. 11 is a top sectional view of FIG. 9 along line 11 - 11 . [0023] FIG. 12 is a top sectional view of FIG. 9 along line 12 - 12 . [0024] FIG. 13 is a partial functional view of the sensor element of the dual-probe self-calibrating capacitance fluid level sensing apparatus of FIG. 8 with insulation. [0025] FIG. 14 is a top sectional view of FIG. 13 along the 14 - 14 . [0026] FIG. 15 is a top sectional view of FIG. 13 along the 15 - 15 . [0027] FIG. 16 is a functional side view of the self-calibrating capacitance fluid level sensing apparatus and electromechanical sensing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [0028] FIG. 17 is a partial side view of the electromechanical sensing apparatus of FIG. 15 . [0029] FIG. 18 is a partial side view of the electromechanical sensing apparatus with a capacitance sensing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [0030] FIG. 19 is a block diagram of the method for measuring a fluid level in a container with a self-calibrating sensing apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. [0031] FIG. 20 is a block diagram of the method for measuring a fluid level in a container with a self-calibrating sensing apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. [0032] FIG. 21 is a block diagram of the method for measuring a fluid level in a container with a dual probe self-calibrating sensing apparatus in accordance one third embodiment of the present disclosure. [0033] FIG. 22 is a block diagram of the method for measuring a fluid level in a container with a capacitance and electromechanical self-calibrating sensing apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. [0034] FIG. 23 is a block diagram of the determination method for recognition and quantification of irregularities of a self-calibrating capacitance sensing apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0035] For the purposes of promoting and understanding the principles disclosed herein, reference is now made to the preferred embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language is used to describe the same. It is nevertheless understood that no limitation of the scope is thereby intended. Such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated devices and such further applications of the principles disclosed as illustrated herein are contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure relates. [0036] FIG. 1 is a functional side view of the self-calibrating capacitance fluid level sensing apparatus according to a first and second embodiment of the present disclosure. The first contemplated embodiment of the sensing apparatus to be placed in a container includes a sensor 100 with a first body 1 made of electrically conductive material, a layer of insulating material 7 as shown in FIG. 2 of a thickness e 1 or e 2 shown in FIGS. 3-4 . The insulating material 7 is placed over the first body 1 covering a first surface contact area 15 shown in FIG. 2 . The sensor 100 also comprises a second body 2 with a second surface contact area 101 made of electrically conductive material placed in opposition to the first body 15 . [0037] In one embodiment, the second body 2 is a container and the second surface contact area 101 is the inside portion of a stainless steel container, reservoir, or vat without surface insulation. It is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that in order to create a difference in potential and voltage between the first body 1 and the second body 2 , it is possible to ground the second body and place the first body 1 at the desired voltage in order to prevent the need for use of electrical insulation on the inner surface 101 of the second body 2 . The conductive material of the first body 1 and the second body 2 in a preferred embodiment is made of stainless steel, but it is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that any conductive material or metal may be used. [0038] The sensor 100 is located inside a container progressively filled with a fluid 4 in order to change the fluid level from a first position 4 to a second higher position 5 . It is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that any fluid including a dry powder based or particular based medium with a minimal level of conductivity can be used as a fluid in the scope of this disclosure. FIG. 2 illustrates an incremental change in fluid level from a first position 4 to a new position 14 quantified shown as ΔH where it is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the symbol Δ corresponds to a mathematical differential variation delta of height H in the fluid level. Associated with this incremental change is an incremental change in the contact surface of the fluid 3 with the contact surfaces 7 , 101 of first body 1 and the second body 2 , respectively. The fluid 3 conductively connects a first fraction of the first surface contact area 7 on the layer of insulating material 6 to a second fraction of the second surface contact area 101 . It is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that in the disclosed embodiment, the second body 2 acts as the container and is progressively filled with the fluid 4 . It is also understood that the first and second fractions of the first and second surface contact areas 7 as applied by projection to the insulating material 6 and the second surface contact area 101 correspond to the surface in contact with the fluid 3 located below the level 4 . In the case of an increase in the level of fluid 3 by ΔH, each of the first and second fractions of the first surface contact area 7 as applied by projection to the insulating material 6 and the second surface contact area 101 is increased by an incremental surface of height H multiplied by a wet diameter of each surface contact area 6 and 101 . [0039] Returning to FIG. 1 , the sensor 100 further includes a means 21 for energizing the first body 1 and the second body 2 at a voltage V. In one embodiment, the first body 1 is connected via a conductor cable 13 to a power source 21 able to apply and modulate a voltage V between two conductors bodies 1 , 2 . The second body 2 is also connected to the power source 21 by a second conductor cable 11 . It is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the induction of voltage between two conductive bodies in association with different connectors can be made by a very wide range of means associated with the generation and transportation of current and ultimately voltage between bodies as known in the art. By way of nonlimiting example, portable power sources such as batteries, magnetically induced currents, piezoelectric currents, current generators, network-transported stabilized currents, static friction generators, wave-based electron excitation, wave based transportation of current like microwave, chemically induced currents, or even induction currents may be used as proper means to energize bodies. It is understood that while these features are described, they are applicable to associated features on other embodiments. [0040] The sensor 100 further comprises a means 20 for detecting the variability in voltage as the level of fluid 4 or 5 in the container changes by ΔH. The means for detecting a variability of voltage may be an electronics-based circuitry used to precisely measure a voltage, such as a potentiometer. The voltage source 21 and the associated voltage variability measurement means 20 may also include related systems such as current monitoring systems and magnetic field monitoring systems. The sensor 100 may also include a system 22 for the calculation and determination of fixed fluid levels in the container. This system 22 is applicable to all contemplated embodiments found in the present disclosure. [0041] The sensor 100 is also equipped with a variable thickness e 1 or e 2 of insulating material 6 that varies along the first surface contact area 7 as the level of fluid in the container changes. FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of part of the first body 1 where the thickness of the insulation is e 1 , and FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of part of the first body 1 where the thickness of the insulation is e 2 . As a result, forced variations in the voltage 21 detected by the means 20 for detecting the variability of the voltage are observed as the contact area varies from a changing fluid level 4 increases by ΔH. [0042] To further enable the specification, it is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that if the first body 1 as described in the prior art has a regular surface geometry and a constant thickness of insulation along its length, the variability in capacitance measured by the means for measuring the variability of the capacitance would change along a first slope. A change to the surface contact area in a section of the first body 1 in contact with the water results in a change in the slope of the variability of the capacitance since the contact surface area A is changed over a section of the first body 1 . If the fluid level rises along a first section 9 of the first body 1 , then a first level of variability and a first slope is measured. Once the fluid level rises along a second section with a different contact surface 8 , the level of variability changes and a second slope is measured. The system 22 recognizes the changes in slopes and determines junction points where the first body changes contact surfaces 8 , 9 . These junction points correspond with precise heights used to recalibrate the capacitive sensor 100 at these heights in order to reduce any offset resulting from a long analogous measure and slow change in the fluid characteristics. [0043] In one embodiment, the change in the first body surface 7 evolves along the length of the body according to a step function. A step function is defined as a vertical line along the length of first body 1 where sections of smaller resulting diameters 8 alternate with sections of larger resulting diameters 9 . The step function corresponds to a series of alternating fixed plateaus of two different radii as shown in FIGS. 3-4 . It is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that while step functions and plateau regions are disclosed, any variation in the surface sufficient to influence the variability of the capacitance measured by the means 20 for detecting the variability is proper and contemplated, including but not limited to grooves, fins, other functions, and even different frictions and surface finishes. [0044] The size of the steps in the step function is also to be viewed as a function of the measured variability of the capacitance in a certain system with a certain type of fluid. As a nonlimiting example, if a more conductive fluid is used, such as sea water, the thickness variation between two successive sections (e 1 -e 2 ) may be reduced and the steepness of change between two plateaus in the step function may also be milder. In one embodiment, the first section 9 or the successive high sections as shown in FIG. 2 are 4 inches long and the second sections 8 are 7/16 inches or ½ inch long. It is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the ensuing quantity of step functions depends on the useful length of the first body 1 in the fluid 3 . [0045] In a preferred embodiment, the insulating material 6 is made of polytetrafluoethylene resins manufactured by DuPont® (Teflon®) or a Teflon®-like coating, but it is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the nature and chemical composition of the proper insulating material 6 used depends on the nature and characteristics of the fluid. As a nonlimiting example, if the sensor 100 is used in liquid nitrogen, a very cold fluid, the insulation must maintain its insulating properties, not become brittle, and prevent the formation of surface phase accumulation. The insulator in one preferred embodiment is designed not to accumulate particles or debris upon its surface and to not react with the fluid over long periods of exposure. In all preferred embodiments, the fluid is water or a water-based compound with proper conductive characteristics. The first body may be of cylindrical shape and made of stainless steel, but it is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that any geometry may be used for the first body 1 . [0046] The means for detecting the variability in voltage 20 may include the use of a mathematical algorithm optimized to better determine a change in the slope of the measured variability in the capacitance. In a preferred embodiment, the calculation and method for determining if a change in slope comprises the use of exponential smoothing method to determine the changes associated with a fixed fluid level, wherein the fixed level is used to calibrate the fluid level sensing apparatus. The exponential smoothing method consists of a series of means calculation wherein time-sensitive sample data points are taken during changes in the variability in the capacitance and a slope for any new point is calculated and compared with the measured data point to reveal a change in slope. One of ordinary skill in this art recognizes that while a single method for determination and evaluation of the different slopes and their associated junction points is described, all other currently used methods of calculation are contemplated. [0047] In another embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 , the insulation layer 16 remains constant along the first body 1 . The surface 17 of the first body 1 varies in radius along its vertical length along a step function alternating from sections with a smaller radius 8 to sections with a larger radius 9 . FIG. 1 shows two possible embodiments wherein the resulting change in the surface in contact with the fluid 3 alternates from smaller sections 8 to larger sections 9 . FIGS. 6 and 7 further illustrate top sectional views of the first body 1 along plane 6 - 6 and plane 7 - 7 . It is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that while a single type of surface geometry is shown, what is contemplated is an effective variation in the contact surface with the fluid 3 by varying the surface geometry 17 of the first body 1 in order to induce a variability in the measured capacitance of the fluid. What is contemplated is any geometry with change in the surface geometry associated that result in a measurable and quantifiable variability in voltage from the variability capacitance measurement. [0048] In another possible embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 8 , a fluid level sensing apparatus for placement in a container includes a sensor 100 with a first body 1 , a first surface contact area 15 made of electrically conductive material, a third body 103 with a third surface contact area 104 made of electrically conductive material, and a second body 2 with a second surface contact area 101 made of electrically conductive material placed in opposition to the first 1 and the third bodies 15 . The container is progressively filled with a fluid 3 in order to change the fluid level 4 . As in the first and second embodiments, the fluid 3 conductively connects a first fraction of the first surface contact area 15 and a third fraction of the third surface contact area 104 with a second fraction of the second surface contact area 101 . The sensor 100 also is equipped with two means 21 , 36 for energizing the first body 1 and the third body 103 to the second body 2 , a first means 20 for detecting the variability in voltage as the level of fluid in the container changes as the first fraction of the first surface contact area 15 and the second fraction of the second surface contact area 101 changes, and a second means 105 for detecting the variability of voltage 36 as the level of fluid 4 in the container changes as the third fraction of the third surface contact area 104 and the second fraction of the second surface contact area changes 101 . The surface geometry of the first body 1 varies along the first, second and third surface contact areas 15 , 104 , 101 as the level of fluid 4 in the container changes to create forced variations in the voltage for both of the first and second means 20 , 105 for detecting the variability of the voltage. [0049] In one embodiment, two bodies 1 , 103 are placed in the fluid 3 in opposition to the second body 2 . This embodiment allows for the parallel measurement of two different variability of capacitance, a standardized measurement 20 based on a body without any variable geometry irregularities, and a measurement 36 based on a body with variable geometry irregularities designed as described in the embodiment of this disclosure and shown in FIGS. 9-15 , respectively. The embodiment shown in FIGS. 9-12 illustrates a situation where the probe is not insulated and is grounded while the voltage potential is placed on the second body 2 . In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13-15 , the first and third bodies 1 , 103 are insulated 26 with a fixed thickness of insulation e 1 as shown on FIGS. 14-15 . The two bodies in one embodiment are shaped in a semicircular or semicylindrical vertical rod configuration placed back-to-back and made of stainless steel. The third body 103 such as that described in the second embodiment is made of a variable surface area of a first step of 4-inch width separated by 7/16- or ½-inch sections forming a regular step function. While two adjacent bodies are shown, it is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that any two-body geometry is contemplated as long as the external contact areas are varied appropriately in order to change the overall measure of the capacitance of the sensor 100 . [0050] A layer of insulation 25 is placed between both the first body 1 and the third body 103 . In one embodiment, the insulation is phenolic insulation, but it is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that while a single type of insulation is disclosed, what is contemplated is an insulation 25 of a type able to effectively insulate two adjacent conductive bodies in a predetermined environment. FIG. 12 shows a cross-section of the third body 103 illustrating notches 30 created in the surface of the semicylindrical third body 103 . The choice of notches as shown in FIG. 9 corresponds in some orientation to the step function as previously disclosed in the first and second embodiments. In one embodiment, the notches are of a fixed width and fixed height with a flat bottom portion 29 in order to better calibrate the means for measuring the variability of the capacitance 105 . It is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the third embodiment allows for the self-calibration of the sensor 100 by comparing the variability of capacitance from the first means 20 with the variability of capacitance from the second means 105 . It is also understood that in an alternate embodiment, the first body 1 , if placed in opposition to the third body 103 , may lead to self-calibration without the second body 2 by placing the means for applying a voltage difference between both the first body 1 and the third body 103 and appropriately correcting the surface area calculations. [0051] In certain embodiments, the means for detecting the variability in voltage between the first second body 2 and the third body 103 may include the use of an exponential smoothing method to determine the changes associated with a fixed fluid level, wherein the fixed level is used to recalibrate the fluid level sensing apparatus as disclosed in the first and second embodiments. In another embodiment as shown in FIG. 14 , an insulating block 27 is placed in a notch in order to better regulate the variability of the capacitance. [0052] In another embodiment illustrated in FIG. 16 , a fluid level sensing apparatus for placement in a container comprises a capacitance sensor 41 further comprising a first body 1 with a first surface contact area 15 made of electrically conductive material, a second body 2 with a second surface contact area 101 made of electrically conductive material placed in opposition to the first body 1 , an electromechanical sensor 43 further comprising a guide 40 positioned in a fluid 3 to be measured, a float 42 mechanically connected to the guide 40 for longitudinal movement thereon to rise and fall with the fluid level 4 , a series of reed switches 47 shown in FIG. 17 placed at fixed intervals along the guide 40 , and a means for establishing a magnetic field 45 across the reed switches 47 mechanically connected with the float 42 . [0053] It is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that this embodiment uses a electromechanical sensor 43 to determine the actual level of the fluid level 4 at certain fixed positions determined by the placement of the reed switches 47 within the vertical guide tube 40 . A reed switch 47 is a small, open conductor cable placed in a glass bubble 46 where both magnetized ends of the conductor are normally in an open position. The floater 42 is hollowed and contains air or any fluid of a lighter density than the fluid 3 in order to ensure that the floater 42 remains on the surface 4 of the fluid. As disclosed in FIGS. 17-18 , a magnet 45 is connected to the floater 42 . In one preferred embodiment, the magnet 45 is located inside the floater 42 and is in contact with the inner section of the floater 42 at its midsection. Once the floater 42 reaches a certain predetermined level, the magnet 45 magnetizes the small conductors, which then close the electrical circuit via two cables 51 , 52 and send a certain signal to a detector 49 associated with the selected reed switch 47 . Unlike the measure of a variation in capacitance as disclosed in the other embodiments, this embodiment produces a signal directly associated with a fluid level. This embodiment also comprises a container progressively filled with fluid 3 in order to change the fluid level 4 . When the fluid conductively connects a first fraction of the first surface contact area 15 and a second fraction of the second surface contact area 101 , and wherein the change in fluid level changes the float 42 position along the guide 40 to move the means for establishing a magnetic field 45 and close a reed switch 47 associated with a determined fluid level. The capacitance sensor 41 as shown in FIG. 16 also includes a means for energizing the first body 21 and the second body at a voltage using electrical connectors 11 , 13 . The means for detecting the variability in voltage 20 as the level of fluid 4 in the container changes as the first fraction of the first surface contact area 15 . The second fraction of the second surface contact area changes 101 with the change in the fluid level 4 , and a means 49 such as a detector or any other means for determining which reed switch 47 is closed and creates a voltage as the level of the fluid in the container changes. The determination of the level based on the means for determining which reed switch 47 is closed is used to correct the determination of the level of fluid based on the means for detecting the variability of the voltage by fixing known step levels. FIG. 17 shows a electromechanical sensor 43 where the vertical tube 40 is closed by a cap 50 to prevent the fluid 3 from entering the guide 40 as the level of fluid rises. [0054] In another embodiment, shown as FIG. 18 , the first body 1 is the circular guide 40 of the electromechanical sensor 43 . The first body 1 is covered with a layer of insulation 26 . This embodiment is equipped with the same level of means of measure and voltage as disclosed in the present embodiment with the only variation that the capacitance sensor 41 is merged into the electromechanical sensor 43 . It is understood by one of ordinary skill in this art that while the first body 1 may be taken as the guide 40 , the geometry of the floater 42 must provide a sufficient passage of water in order to offer proper capacitance measurement. [0055] Certain embodiments include in one embodiment thereof a circular vertical probe 40 made of stainless steel covered in the fifth embodiment by a layer of insulating Teflon® 26 . In one embodiment, the reed switches 47 are separated vertically by 4 inches and the container of the second contact surface 2 of the container is the inside wall of the container 101 . In yet another embodiment, the fluid is water and the means for establishing a magnetic field is a ring magnet 45 located in the center of the floater 42 . It is also contemplated that other means for establishing a magnetic field be used, such as a localized current, a magnet, or a magnetic element located on the surface of the water. In another embodiment, the floater 42 is made of a hollowed volume made of stainless steel. It is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that while a stainless steel floater is shown, any type of floater in any noncorrosive material in contact with the fluid 3 is contemplated. [0056] FIG. 19 discloses a first method for measuring the fluid level in a container with a self-calibrating sensing apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. The self-calibration is obtained by conducting a first step where the capacitance sensor of the first embodiment is placed in the container where a lower measure point is in contact with a low level of a fluid to be measured and the higher measure point is in contact with a high level of the fluid to be measured 201 , a calibration of the capacitance sensor to the desired output range is then performed so the lower measure point is a first extremity of the output range and the high measure point is a second extremity of the output range 202 . The capacitance sensor and means for detecting the variability of the voltage using a determination method to recognize variations associated with the successive levels in the step function associated with the changes in thickness of the insulation are then calibrated in order to determine precise fluid levels associated with each successive level in the step function 203 . The capacitance sensor first determines a first level of the fluid based on the measured output voltage in an analog fashion 204 , and the capacitance sensor is recalibrated at the successive levels in the step function each time the output voltage based with the precise fluid levels is detected 205 . [0057] One of ordinary skill in the art recognizes that an analog measure over a range can be recalibrated by the input of a predetermined value at a predetermined time and that such recalibrations are done using two distinct measures of voltage variability. For example, if the lower point corresponds to a fluid level of 2 inches and the high level corresponds to 20½ inches the successive levels in the step function of 4 inch and ½ inch as described in a preferred embodiment of the first embodiment, that imposes variations in slope at 6, 6½, 10½, 11, 15½, 16, and 20½ inches, respectively. As the level of fluid rises, the analog measure gives a fluid level reading based on its extrapolation of the variability of the capacitance over a possible output of 4-20 mA if a standardized probe is used. For example, if the level reaches 5.95 inches, the analog measure may read 5.85 or 6.05 based on the changes in the fluid characteristics. Using the self-calibrating function, if the measure level is above 6.00 inches, it gives a 6-inch reading and waits for the recognized variation associated with the level 6 inches before it proceeds further along its analog reading using the determined level to recalibrate the precise fluid level. If the analog measure is less than 6 inches, the recalibration waits until the recognized variation associated with the level 6 inches is activated, recalibrates the level at 6 inches, and proceeds along its programmed calibrated range with this new fixed value. It is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the use of a secondary measure to calibrate a first measurement may be done using a plurality of different algorithms, all of which relate to using the measured voltage of a second sources to rectify a measure from a first source. [0058] A second method for measuring the fluid level in a container with a self-calibrating sensing apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in FIG. 20 . The method comprises the steps of placing the capacitance sensor in the container where a lower measure point is in contact with a low level of a fluid to be measured and the higher measure point is in contact with a high level of the fluid to be measured 210 , calibrating the capacitance sensor to the desired output range so the lower measure point is a first extremity of the output range and the high measure point is a second extremity of the output range 211 , calibrating the capacitance sensor and means for detecting the variability of the voltage using a determination method to recognize variations associated with the successive levels in the step function associated with the changes in irregular geometry in order to determine precise fluid levels for recalibration associated with each successive levels in the step function 212 , determining a first level of the fluid based on the measured output voltage of the capacitance sensor 213 , and recalibrating the first level of fluid associated with the measured output voltage based with the precise fluid levels 214 . [0059] A third method for measuring the fluid level in a container with a self-calibrating sensing apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in FIG. 21 . The method comprises the steps of placing a dual-probe capacitance sensor in the container where a lower measure point of each probe is in contact with a low level of a fluid to be measured and the higher measure point of each probe is in contact with a high level of the fluid to be measured 220 , calibrating each of the two capacitance sensors to the desired output range so the lower measure point is a first extremity of the output range and the high measure point is a second extremity of the output range 221 , calibrating the means for detecting the variability of the voltage in the third body using a determination method to recognize irregularities in voltage associated with the irregularities in the geometry and associating a fixed fluid level with the irregularities in geometry 222 , determining a first level of the fluid based on the measured output voltage of the first capacitance sensor probe of a regular geometry 223 , and correcting the first level of fluid associated with the measured output voltage of the first probe of the capacitance sensor to the fixed fluid level determined by second probe of the capacitance sensor based on the fluid level associated with the selected irregularities 224 . [0060] A fourth method for measuring the fluid level in a container with a self-calibrating sensing apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in FIG. 22 . The method comprises the steps of placing the capacitance sensor and the electromechanical sensor in the container where a lower measure point of each sensor is in contact with a low level of a fluid to be measured and the higher measure point of each sensor is in contact with a high level of the fluid to be measured 231 , calibrating the capacitance sensor to the desired output range so the lower measure point is a first extremity of the output range and the high measure point is a second extremity of the output range 232 , calibrating the electromechanical sensor to the desired output range so a reed switch corresponds to a fixed output voltage located within the output voltage range 233 , determining a first level of the fluid based on the measured output voltage of the capacitance sensor 234 , and correcting the first level of fluid associated with the measured output voltage of the capacitance sensor to the fluid level determined by the electromechanical sensor based on the fluid level associated with the reed switch, once the fluid level of the reed switch is reached 235 . In the fifth embodiment, the first body 1 of the capacitance sensor is the cylindrical sensor probe covered with insulation. [0061] A fifth method is a determination method for recognition and quantification of irregularities of a self-calibrating capacitance sensing apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in FIG. 23 . The determination method comprises the steps of determining a variability in capacitance by measuring and comparing the capacitance over a fixed interval of time 240 , associating the variability of capacitance with a data point 241 , storing the data points and the quantity of data points in two arithmetic sums 242 , determining a new data point to be quantified as a possible irregularity 243 , adding the data point to the arithmetic sums 244 , reviewing the evolution of a derivative function of the arithmetic sums to determine if a change in slope is observed over a fixed number of sum intervals 245 , and comparing the change in the derivative function with a predetermined value to determine if a slope change is observed and if a fixed fluid level is calculated 246 . [0062] It is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the evolution of the derivative function of the arithmetic sums based on a method such as the arithmetic exponential smoothing method relates to the determination without undue experimentation of a proper time interval of acquisition, a proper time interval for each successive data points, a proper variability of each successive data point at the fixed time interval of acquisition, a determination of an equivalent sum associated with the arithmetic sum, an acceptable number of data points in a new predetermined range in order to determine if a change in slope is determined by determining a certain number of data points to add to the sum, and a value of the new determined slope associated with the change in variability. [0063] Persons of ordinary skill in the art appreciate that although the teachings of the disclosure have been illustrated in connection with certain embodiments and methods, there is no intent to limit the invention to such embodiments and methods. On the contrary, the intention of this disclosure is to cover all modifications and embodiments failing fairly within the scope the teachings of the disclosure.

The present disclosure generally relates to a capacitance sensing apparatus equipped with self-calibrating capacity and method of use thereof. The disclosure contemplates the determination using a secondary means of precise fluid levels according to five possible embodiments, and the use of the determined fluid level to recalibrate the capacitance sensing apparatus along its continuous analog level, namely, a variation of the thickness of the insulation of a capacitance sensing apparatus, the variation of the surface geometry of the capacitance sensing apparatus, the use of a dual-probe sensor including a probe with a varied surface geometry, the use of an electromagnetic sensor adjoining the capacitance sensor, and the variation of the electromechanical sensor to serve as a capacitance sensing apparatus. The disclosure also contemplates methods for using the sensing apparatus previously disclosed to measure a fluid level using a self-calibrating capacitance sensing apparatus. Finally, the present disclosure contemplates the use of an improved mathematical method associated with a variability measurement, such as an exponential smoothing method, to determining locally discrete changes in the variability measurement of the capacitance in order to determine a fixed fluid level.

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of provisional application Ser. No. 60/468,717, filed May 7, 2003, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. GOVERNMENT RIGHTS [0002] The invention described herein arose in the course of or under Grant No. 1 RO1 DK55843-01A1 between the National Institutes of Health and the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The U.S. Government may thus have certain rights in this invention. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0003] This invention relates to the signaling of estrogen and resistance to the same. In particular embodiments, the invention relates to an intracellular estradiol binding protein, a gene encoding the same and various cell lines overexpressing the same. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004] Estrogens are clinically important in both men and women. They affect growth, differentiation, and the development of reproductive tissues, and also play a role in a variety of diseases. For instance, estrogen maintains bone density, and in the cardiovascular system, estrogen exerts anti-atherosclerotic effects by lowering circulating cholesterol levels. [0005] Controlling the levels and/or effects of estrogen is important in most forms of breast cancer. More than 1.2 million people will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year worldwide. In the United States alone, nearly 211,300 women and 1,300 men are newly diagnosed with breast cancer each year. It is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women today and is the most common cancer among women, excluding cancers of the skin. [0006] Estrogen receptors are specialized proteins that bind to estrogen. These proteins are found in significant quantities within certain estrogen-sensitive tissues. Cells within breast tissue contain estrogen receptors, for example, and the binding of estrogen to the estrogen receptors stimulates these cells to proliferate. Many breast cancer tumors also contain significant levels of estrogen receptors, and are therefore called “estrogen receptor positive” (“ER+”). [0007] One conventional method used to discontinue or slow down the growth and proliferation of breast cancer cells is to reduce the effects of estrogen. The growth of ER+ breast cancer cells can generally be controlled by blocking the estrogen receptors, lowering hormone levels, and/or reducing the number of receptors available to receive growth signals. A conventional method to treat or help prevent the occurrence of breast cancer is by administering selective estrogen receptor modulators (“SERMs”), which block the estrogen receptors by preventing the growth signals from reaching the cells. SERMs target specific estrogen receptors in the body and either stimulate or depress an estrogen-like response, depending upon the particular organ. In breast cells, SERMs have antagonistic properties and block the effects of estrogen, thereby slowing the growth of breast cancer cells. [0008] Tamoxifen (available under the trade name NOLVADEX from AstraZenica PLC; London, UK) is a commonly used SERM, which is used to treat advanced and early stage breast cancer. Tamoxifen is also used as therapy for the primary prevention of breast cancer. Although tamoxifen has been used to treat breast cancer for nearly twenty years, it has some serious drawbacks. Tamoxifen therapy may increase the risk of cancer of the uterine lining (i.e., endometrial cancer and sarcoma), blood clots within deep veins (i.e., deep vein thrombosis), blood clots in the lungs (i.e., pulmonary embolism), and cataracts. Other adverse side effects can include hot flashes, vaginal discharge, and menstrual irregularities. [0009] Controlling the levels and/or effects of estrogen is also important in the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a common skeletal disorder characterized by a progressive decrease in bone mass and density; causing bones to become abnormally thin, weakened, and easily fractured. Although bone density naturally begins to decrease at approximately 35 years of age, women are disproportionately at risk for osteoporosis after menopause due to declining production of estrogen. After menopause, in women who are not receiving hormonal therapy, estradiol levels are generally about 10-20 pg/ml. The average level of estradiol needed to maintain healthy bones in menopausal women is about 40-50 pg/mi. Osteoporosis is the most significant health hazard associated with menopause; it affects 25% of women over the age of 65. [0010] Osteoporosis is a significant public health threat for an estimated 44 million Americans. In the United States today, 10 million individuals are estimated to already have the disease, and almost 34 million more are estimated to have low bone mass, placing them at increased risk for osteoporosis. Of the 10 million Americans estimated to have osteoporosis, 8 million are women and only 2 million are men. [0011] Because estrogen is associated with the proliferation of cells, the clinical aim in osteoporosis treatment is to increase the effect of estrogen (the opposite clinical goal of many breast cancer treatments). Conventional osteoporosis therapies include antiresorptive drugs, bone-building agents, and non-pharmacological intervention. Bisphosphonates are antiresporptive drugs that are widely used for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis; they inhibit the breakdown and removal of bone (i.e., resorption) and are typically the first choice for osteoporosis treatment and prevention. However, in addition to adverse side effects, such as abdominal pain, nausea, and muscle and joint pain, some patients who take bisphosphonates also develop severe digestive reactions including irritation, inflammation or ulceration of the esophagus. These reactions can cause chest pain, heartburn or difficulty or pain upon swallowing. Raloxifene is another SERM commonly used to treat osteoporosis, but it carries the risk of blood clots and may cause a variety of side effects, including coughing blood, severe headaches, loss of speech, coordination or vision, pain or numbness in the arms, chest or legs, and shortness of breath. Still another conventional treatment for osteoporosis is estrogen-progestin therapy, but this approach is associated with side effects such as vaginal bleeding, bloating, nausea, headaches, and fluid retention. Estrogen-progestin therapy is no longer a first-line treatment for osteoporosis in postmenopausal women because of increases in the risk of breast cancer, stroke, blood clots, and perhaps coronary disease. Conventional treatments for estrogen-related disease have substantial drawbacks; many are only partially effective and have adverse side effects, and few provide a cure for associated conditions. Present conventional methods to treat estrogen-related diseases may not be suitable for every patient. For the foregoing reasons and others, there is a need for a clinical intervention that can be used to control the regulation of estrogen signaling. Such an intervention would be an important tool to treat or prevent diseases and health conditions that are related to levels of estrogen; for example, breast cancer and osteoporosis. An understanding of the biomolecular pathway responsible for these conditions would be of significant importance in treating, and ultimately curing these conditions. A cell line that can be used as a clinical model in testing therapeutic interventions and diagnostic techniques would also be quite useful in this regard. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0012] Various embodiments of the present invention provide a novel intracellular estradiol binding protein (“IEBP”), as well as the polynucleotide that encodes it. While not wishing to be bound by any theory, it is believed that the biological activity of estrogen may be modulated by IEBP as, for example, by inhibiting or enhancing its expression or signaling. More particularly, it is believed that by increasing the levels of IEBP, the signaling of estrogen is inhibited. Conversely, suppressing, inhibiting or otherwise lowering the levels of IEBP enhances estrogen signaling. IEBP binds to 17β-estradiol (E 2 ), and inhibits estrogen response element transactivation by competing with the estrogen receptor (ER) to bind to E 2 . [0013] Further embodiments of the present invention describe cells and cell lines that include the polynucleotide that encodes IEBP. Still further embodiments of the present invention describe cells and cell lines that produce and/or overexpress IEBP. [0014] Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, various features of embodiments of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES [0015] FIG. 1 depicts a comparative analysis of the homology between IEBP from New World primate (“NWP”) cells and human heat shock protein-27 (“hsp27”) in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A depicts the full-length deduced amino acid sequence for IEBP compared to human hsp27, and the human α-crystallins A (“hCrys A”) and B (“hCrys B”). The shaded areas depict regions of high sequence homology among all four molecules. The underlined regions denote areas of sequence homology with the ATP- and substrate-binding domains of human heat shock proteins in the −90 and −70 families. FIG. 1B depicts the percentage homology values for an IEBP amino acid sequence compared to hsp27, hCrys A and hCrys B. [0016] FIG. 2 depicts an analysis of estrogen response element (“ERE”) luciferase activity of IEBP and estrogen response element binding protein (“ERE-BP”) in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Expression constructs containing cDNA for the New World primate ERE-BP and/or the New World primate IEBP were transiently co-transfected with an estrogen-responsive luciferase reporter plasmid into the ERα+ human MCF-7 breast cancer cell line, in the absence or presence of 10 nM 17β-estradiol (E 2 ). Data are the mean of triplicate determinations of luciferase activity. *=statistically significant compared to control transfectants, P<0.001. FIG. 2 suggests that IEBP cooperates with ERE-BP to squelch ERE-directed transactivation. [0017] FIG. 3 illustrates estrogen's role in IEBP-mediated suppression of ERE-directed transactivation and depicts an analysis of cytoplasmic binding, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A depicts an effect of IEBP on ERE promoter-reporter luciferase activity in wild-type 6299 breast cancer cells from an Old World primate host stably transfected with vector alone (open bars) and three different subclones of cells stably transfected with the full length IEBP cDNA, in the absence (left panel) or presence (right panel) of 17β-estradiol (E 2 10 nM; closed bars). Data are the mean of triplicate determinations of luciferase activity. *=statistically different from vector alone transfectants, P<0.001. FIG. 3B depicts displacement of [ 3 H]17β-estradiol (E 2 ) in postnuclear extracts of IEBP stably transfected cell lines. Data are the mean of triplicate determinations of % maximal [ 3 H]17β-estradiol displaced by increasing doses of E 2 (0.1-100 nM) in vector only controls and the three IEBP stable transfectant cell lines. FIG. 3 suggests that IEBP-mediated suppression of ERE-directed transactivation is associated with increased cytoplasmic binding of estrogen. [0018] FIG. 4 depicts electromobility shift assays (“EMSAs”) using double-strand consensus ERE as probe, and recombinant human ERα and/or ERE-affinity-purified ERE-BP as protein in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. IEBP (lane 7, panel A; lanes 3 & 4, panel B) neither bound to ERE nor competed with the ER for binding to ERE (lane 6, panel A; lanes 2 & 3, panel C) in the presence or absence of 100 nM 17β-estradiol (E 2 ). The ER-ERE complex was supershifted by adding anti-hsp27 antibody with or without 100 nM E 2 (lanes 4 & 5; panel C). FIG. 4 suggests that the effects of IEBP on ERE-mediated transcription are not due to direct interaction with the ERE or disruption of ER-ERE complex formation. [0019] FIG. 5A depicts an EMSA using double-strand consensus ERE as probe and recombinant human ERα, human hsp27 and anti-human hsp27 antibody as complexing protein in the presence or absence of 100 nM 17β-estradiol (E 2 ) in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5B depicts immunoprecipitation of the protein constituents of postnuclear extracts of vector alone and IEBP-transfected Old World primate 6299 breast cancer cells with anti-human hsp27 (left panel) and anti-human ERα (right panel) followed by detection with anti-human ERα antibody and anti-human hsp27 antibody, respectively. FIG. 5 suggests that there is a direct association between the human ERα and hsp27-like proteins. [0020] FIG. 6 depicts 17β-estradiol-regulated expression of IEBP and its interaction with ERα in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6A depicts a 17β-estradiol-mediated increase in expression of hsp27 in wild-type breast cells. Shown is Western blot analysis of hsp27 in wild-type breast cells in the absence or presence of increasing doses of E 2 (0.1-100 nM). FIG. 6B depicts a yeast two-hybrid analysis of ligand 17β-estradiol (E 2 )-dependent interaction of hsp27 with ERα. AH109 yeast cells were cotransfected with a Gal4 DNA binding domain-ERα fusion protein plasmid, and colonies growth-selected using Leu-/Trp-/His-/Ade-medium containing either E 2 (10 nM), the ER antagonist tamoxifen (Tam, 10 nM) or vehicle only (none). FIG. 6C depicts a GST pull-down analysis of ER interacting proteins. Protein extracts of cells overexpressing IEBP were incubated with either an ER-GST or glucocorticoid receptor (GR)-GST fusion protein or GST protein alone. GST-bound proteins were separated on SDS-PAGE and probed with an anti-hsp27 antibody. These results suggest that the ER-IEBP interaction is promoted by ligand 17β-estradiol but not the SERM tamoxifen. [0021] FIG. 7 depicts normal and IEBP-mediated squelching of ER-ERE-directed transactivation in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7A depicts normal transcriptional events with 17β-estradiol (E 2 )-bound ER homodimer interacting with ERE to increase transcription. FIG. 7B depicts “squelched” transcriptional events under the influence of IEBP; the interposition of the E 2 -binding IEBP between ER and ligand leads to disruption of ER dimerization, the ER-ERE interaction and transactivation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0022] The inventors have found that methods to regulate estrogen signaling can be derived from understanding hormone resistance in New World primates. Compared to Old World primates, including man, New World primates display relative resistance to adrenal, gonadal and vitamin D sterovsteroid hormones, including 17α-estradiol. In female New World primates, this hormone-resistant phenotype is characterized by elevated concentrations of plasma estradiol and progesterone. The precise mechanism for this hormone resistance in New World primates is not fully understood, however, it does not involve aberrant expression of nuclear receptors for specific hormones, which is the principal cause of hormone resistance in humans. Instead, hormone resistance in New World primate cells appears to be due to epigenetic factors which result either in low-affinity receptor-steroid binding kinetics or attenuation of receptor-DNA interaction. For instance, studies of glucocorticoid resistance in New World primate cells have shown increased expression of the heat-shock protein (hsp)90-associated FK 506-binding immunophilin FKBP51, which inhibited ligand binding to glucocorticoid receptors by 74%. [0023] Vitamin D resistance in New World primates appears to be due to aberrant expression of hsp-70-like intracellular vitamin D binding proteins (“IDBPs”) and a dominant negative-acting vitamin D response element binding protein (“VDRE-BP”), the latter being homologous to heterogeneous nuclear ribonuclear protein A (“hnRNPA”). In a similar fashion to vitamin D, estrogen resistance in New World primates is associated with the overexpression of two compensatory proteins: an intracellular estradiol binding protein (“IEBP”) and a non-receptor-related estrogen response element binding protein (“ERE-BP”). [0024] By gaining an understanding of the biochemical mechanisms behind estrogen resistance and the high levels of circulating steroid hormones in New World primates, new opportunities for treating and diagnosing diseases related to estrogen and other steroidal hormones have been achieved. The present invention is based on the surprising results of the inventors' research on estrogen resistance in New World primates. As noted above, they found that this resistance to estrogen is associated with the overexpression of two compensatory proteins: IEBP and ERE-BP. [0025] Estrogen effects are generally mediated through the estrogen receptor (“ER”). Typically, the ER is activated when it binds to its ligand binding domain (i.e., estrogen). The classical pathway for ER signaling is mediated by receptor binding to the estrogen response element (“ERE”), which is a specific DNA sequence to which the ER binds with high affinity. The ER undergoes a conformational change as a result of ligand binding, DNA binding, and phosphorylation by cell signaling pathways. This conformational change enables it to activate transcription. If the ER ligand is inhibited or if there is not enough estrogen for the ER dimer, then ER cannot be activated and the transcription of ERE will decrease or not run. [0026] IEBP is believed to be a member of the heat shock protein-27 (“hsp27”) family. Hsp27 was first identified in extracts of human breast cancer cells as a heat shock and estrogen responsive protein; features that are characteristic of IEBP. A comparison of the homology of cDNA between human hsp27 and IEBP in New World primates suggests that there is 89.4% identity in 292 nt overlap. [0027] As is described in further detail below, the term “IEBP” as used herein refers not only to proteins having the amino acid residue sequence of naturally occurring IEBPs (such as human hsp27 protein), but also refers to other equivalent proteins such as functional derivatives and variants of the naturally occurring or synthetic IEBP, as well as compounds with active sites that function in a manner similar to IEBP, whether these compounds are themselves naturally occurring or synthetic. [0028] Like hsp27, IEBP expression was increased in response to heat shock. Furthermore, IEBP expression is more prominent in females than in males while diminished in the female breast after ovariectomy. These characteristics attest to the estrogen responsiveness of IEBP expression. Chen, et al., “Purification and Characterization of a Novel Intracellular 17β-Estradiol Binding Protein in Estrogen-Resistant New World Primate Cells,” J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.,” 88: 501-504 (2003). While not wishing to be bound by any theory, it is believed that the hsp 27-related IEBP binds to the ligand binding domain of estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and acts to squelch 17β-estradiol (“E 2 ”)-ERα-mediated transcription. By binding to the ligand binding domain of ERα (i.e., E 2 ), it is believed that IEBP inhibits ERE transactivation because it competes with ERα for E 2 . IEBP competes with ERα for ligand binding, squelching 17β-estradiol-ER-directed signaling. It is further believed that IEBP does not bind with ERE nor does it compete with ER to bind to ERE to inhibit transactivation. [0029] IEBP acts as an extra-nuclear depot for estrogen binding in a manner that is distinct from the ER to which it is linked. IEBP does not appear to directly influence ERα expression. The data from the inventors' study indicate that the hsp 27-related IEBP acts as a corepressor or chaperone for the cytoplasmic ER, with either dissociation or inactivation of this function upon estrogen binding. [0030] ERE-BP is a member of the hnRNP C (heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein) family. Although the central RNP-containing domain of ERE-BP bears a high degree of sequence similarity to other hnRNP's, it is not clear whether these same RNA binding sites are also responsible for the binding of ERE-BP to DNA. Regardless of the primary structural similarities between hnRNP's and ERE-BP, ERE differs from the classical profile of hnRNP in some aspects. For instance, ERE-BP is not confined to the nuclear compartment of the cell. Based on recent studies, ERE-BP was isolated in post-nuclear extracts of New World primate cells as well as from both the cytoplasmic and nuclear compartments of estrogen-resistant cells. Additionally, ERE-BP appears to be versatile in its ability to bind nucleic acid; ERE-BP can bind to single- or double-stranded DNA and may also interact with RNA. Chen et al., “Cloning and Expression of a Novel Dominant-Negative-Acting Estrogen Response Element-Binding Protein in the Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein Family,” J Biol Chem, 273: 31352-31357 (1998). [0031] It is believed that ERE-BP acts to squelch ER-ERE transactivation by competing with ER to bind to ERE. ERE-BP binds to ERE, and not the ligand of E 2 . ERE-BP acts in a dominant negative cis-acting mode to squelch transactivation by competing with ER for its response element. By acting directly with ERE and interfering with ER binding, ERE-BP silences ER action. [0032] IEBP can cooperate with ERE-BP by acting as an intracellular repository for E 2 or by binding to the ligand-binding domain of ER. In either case, the net effect is that IEBP interrupts ER-ER homodimerization, thereby legislating estrogen resistance. Based on the amino acid sequence of tryptic fragments of a protein purified by E 2 affinity chromatography from post-nuclear extracts of estrogen-resistant NWP cells, the inventors were able to design degenerate primers that enabled amplification of an IEBP cDNA with similarity to the “small heat shock proteins,” including human hsp27 and crystallins A and B ( FIG. 1A ). The high degree of sequence identity, 87% ( FIG. 1B ), between the New World primate IEBP and the human hsp27 indicates that IEBP is likely the interspecies homology of human hsp27. The family of small heat shock proteins (sHsps; 15-42 kDa), which includes hsp27, is encountered in both pro- and eukaryotes. In the human genome, hsp27 is encoded by four different genes on chromosomes 3, 7, 9 and X; such redundancy indicates that the encoded protein(s) is critical for survival of the host. Like their counterparts in the 70 kDa, 90 kDa and 60 kDa molecular weight range, the sHsps (1) are upregulated by cell “stress”; including heat stress which is transduced by heat shock factors interacting with specific heat shock enhancer elements in the promoter of hsp genes, and (2) can function as “molecular chaperones” protecting the structural and functional integrity of the intracellular proteins to which they are bound. Unlike heat shock proteins in the 70, 90 and 60 kDa families, sHsps appear to: (1) be less homologous in their amino acid sequence, (2) play a central role in preventing apoptosis, (3) be crucial for the organization of the cytoskeleton and microfilamental structures therein and (4) be needed for self-oligimerization, providing for the refractory nature of the human lens. [0033] Although the N- and C-terminal amino acid sequences may vary considerably among sHsp family members and between species, the general domain structure of the sHsp molecules remains highly conserved through evolution. A central α-crystallin domain of ˜90 residues is bounded by the variable N-terminal and C-terminal extensions. The C-terminal extension, a polar structure, is now considered to be the prime mediator of the molecules' chaperone function, while the conserved α-crystallin and variable N-terminal domains are thought to be essential for multimerization of the sHsps. In addition to being highly homologous with human hsp27, when compared to the α-crystallins ( FIGS. 1A and 1B ) the IEBP isolated from estrogen-resistant New World primate cells here was determined to possess the typical conserved central α-crystallin core domain flanked by variable N- and C-terminal extensions. Considering that IEBP was isolated by its ability to adhere to an E 2 -affinity support, the IEBP sequence was scanned for the presence of an estrogen binding site. As shown in FIG. 1A , a sequence with 38% identity to a 21 amino acid stretch of the ligand binding domain of the ERα was detected in the highly conserved α-crystallin core domain of the molecule. Although formal mapping studies were not completed, it is presumed that it is this part of the IEBP, and its human homology hsp27, that is responsible for the enhancement of E 2 binding in cells constitutively overexpressing IEBP ( FIG. 3B ). Moreover, because this putative E 2 binding subdomain resides in the conserved α-crystallin domain of the sHsps, it is possible that estrogen binding may be a function of other members of the sHsp27 family. Although there resides some sequence identity to the ATP-binding/ATPase domain prototypical of the larger heat shock proteins (e.g., hsp70, hsp90 and hsp60) in the conserved α-crystallin domain, the role, if any, ATP has in governing the function of IEBP and other hsp70-like proteins remains to be determined. [0034] In addition to bearing the above-mentioned enhancer cis elements that can interact with heat shock factors, the hsp 27 promoter also contains an estrogen response element (ERE) half site in direct proximity to an Sp1 site and the TATA box. While this ERE half site can be shown to interact with the ERα, E 2 -directed transactivation of the hsp27 gene, as reported by a number of laboratories, does not require the ERE half-site. The inventors' studies confirm that the anti-human hsp27-reactive IEBP is an estrogen-responsive gene product, being markedly up-regulated after overnight exposure to ER-saturating concentrations of E 2 ( FIG. 5A ). So IEBP, and presumably its human homology hsp27, is an estrogen up-regulated gene product that can, in turn, bind the same hormone. These results indicate that E 2 can up-regulate expression of an E 2 -interacting protein that, in turn, can squelch E 2 -ERα-ERE-directed transactivation ( FIGS. 2 and 3 ). This suggests that transcriptional down-regulation of IEBP or hsp27 gene expression might be achieved by the product of that gene through its ability to squelch, but not completely subdue ( FIG. 2 , bars 3 and 4 ) estrogen-driven expression. In other words, it is possible that hsp27 or IEBP could be auto-regulated (i.e., when E 2 -ERα-directed hsp27 expression goes up, it produces a protein(s) that dampens subsequent E 2 -ER enhancer action at the level of the hsp27 promoter). Such a negative feedback system would serve to reostatically regulate E 2 -promoted transcactivation. [0035] Human breast cancers that harbor the ERα are susceptible to estrogen-directed growth advantage. This has led to the broad usage of SERMs as adjuvant chemotherapeutic agents in this disease. The mechanism(s) by which occupancy of the ERα by E 2 affects this change in tumor cell growth and proliferation remain an area of intense investigation. One of the genes that is activated in human ERα-expressing breast cancer cells by E 2 exposure is hsp27, the human homology of the New World primate IEBP reported here; similarly, estrogen-driven hsp27 expression can be squelched by exposure of cells to SERMs. This has led to the investigation of hsp27, like ERα, as a human breast cancer tumor marker with hsp27 tumor expression currently suggested to be a “downstream” indicator of estrogen-ERα interaction in tumor cells. In some, but not all studies, hsp27 expression has been shown to correlate with ERα expression. Therefore, it is of note that in the co-immunoprecipitation, yeast two-hybrid and GST pull-down assays carried out as part of the current studies ( FIGS. 5B and 6 ) there was evidence for a direct protein-protein interaction between the hsp27-like IEBP and ERα that was promoted by the presence of E 2 and hindered by exposure to the clinically-useful SERM tamoxifen. These data suggest that co-expression of the ERα and IEBP by breast cancer cells may be functionally as well as temporally linked to one another. The consequences of the additive, dominant-negative-acting squelching of E 2 -ERα-ERE-directed transcription of IEBP (hsp27) and the hnRNP-related ERE-BP on breast cancer cell behavior in vitro are currently under investigation. [0036] The present invention thus relates to a novel IEBP and a polynucleotide that encodes the same; particularly, isolated and/or purified IEBP and its corresponding coding sequence. Further embodiments of the present invention relate to cells and cell lines that include the polynucleotide that encodes IEBP, as well as cells and cell lines that produce and/or overexpress IEBP. The inventive IEBP deduced peptide is illustrated as SEQ ID NO:1. The polynucleotide sequence that encodes this IEBP peptide is illustrated as SEQ ID NO:2. The polynucleotide sequence corresponding to a full-length cDNA for IEBP used in various embodiments of the present invention is illustrated as SEQ ID NO:3. This cDNA was cloned from the estrogen-resistant cell line B95-8, as described in greater detail in the ensuing Examples. [0037] Use of the terms “isolated” and/or “purified” in the present specification and claims as a modifier of DNA, RNA, polypeptide or proteins means that the DNA, RNA, polypeptide or proteins so designated have been produced in such form by the hand of man, and thus are separated from their native in vivo cellular environment. As a result of this human intervention, the recombinant DNAs, RNAs, polypeptide and proteins of the invention are useful in ways described herein that the DNAs, RNAs, polypeptide or proteins as they naturally occur are not. [0038] Presently preferred IEBP proteins of the invention include amino acid sequences that are substantially the same as the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:1 and fragments thereof, as well as biologically active, modified forms thereof. Those of skill in the art will recognize that numerous residues of the above-described sequences can be substituted with other chemically, sterically and/or electronically similar residues without substantially altering the biological activity of the resulting receptor species. In addition, larger polypeptide sequences containing substantially the same sequence as SEQ ID NO:1 therein (e.g., splice variants) are contemplated. [0039] As employed herein, the term “substantially the same amino acid sequence” refers to amino acid sequences having at least about 70% identity with respect to the reference amino acid sequence, and retaining comparable functional and biological activity characteristic of the protein defined by the reference amino acid sequence. Preferably, proteins having “substantially the same amino acid sequence” will have at least about 80%, more preferably 90% amino acid identity with respect to the reference amino acid sequence; with greater than about 95% amino acid sequence identity being especially preferred. It is recognized, however, that polypeptide (or nucleic acids referred to hereinbefore) containing less than the described levels of sequence identity arising as splice variants or that are modified by conservative amino acid substitutions or by substitution of degenerate codons are also encompassed within the scope of the present invention. [0040] The terms “biologically active” or “functional,” when used herein as a modifier of the IEBP protein of this invention or polypeptide fragment thereof, refers to a polypeptide that exhibits at least one of the functional characteristics attributed to IEBP. For example, one biological activity of IEBP is the ability to impart estrogen resistance to mammalian cells when overexpressed therein. [0041] The IEBP proteins of the invention may be isolated by methods well known in the art; for instance, by various recombinant expression systems, precipitation, gel filtration, ion-exchange, reverse-phase and affinity chromatography and the like. Other well-known methods are described, for example, in Deutscher et al., Guide to Protein Purification: Methods in Enzymology Vol. 182, (Academic Press, (1990)), which is incorporated herein by reference. Alternatively, the isolated polypeptide of the present invention can be obtained using well-known recombinant methods as described, for example, in Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (1989). [0042] An example of a means for preparing the invention polypeptide(s) is to express nucleic acids encoding IEBP in a suitable host cell, such as a bacterial cell, a yeast cell, an amphibian cell (e.g., oocyte), or a mammalian cell using methods well known in the art, and recovering the expressed polypeptide, again using well known methods. The IEBP polypeptide of the invention may be isolated directly from cells that have been transformed with expression vectors as described herein. The invention polypeptide, biologically active fragments and functional equivalents thereof can also be produced by chemical synthesis. For example, synthetic polypeptide can be produced using Applied Biosystems, Inc. Model 430A or 431A automatic peptide synthesizer (Foster City, Calif.) employing the chemistry provided by the manufacturer. [0043] Also encompassed by the term IEBP are polypeptide fragments or polypeptide analogs thereof. The term “polypeptide analog” includes any polypeptide having an amino acid residue sequence substantially identical to a sequence specifically shown herein (i.e., SEQ ID NO:1) in which one or more residues have been conservatively substituted with a functionally similar residue and which displays the ability to mimic IEBP as described herein. Examples of conservative substitutions include the substitution of one non-polar (hydrophobic) residue such as isoleucine, valine, leucine or methionine for another, the substitution of one polar (hydrophilic) residue for another such as between arginine and lysine, between glutamine and asparagine, between glycine and serine, the substitution of one basic residue such as lysine, arginine or histidine for another, or the substitution of one acidic residue, such as aspartic acid or glutamic acid for another. The phrase “conservative substitution” also includes the use of a chemically derivatized residue in place of a non-derivatized residue, provided that such polypeptide displays the requisite binding activity. [0044] “Chemical derivative” refers to a subject polypeptide having one or more residues chemically derivatized by reaction of a functional side group. Such derivatized molecules include, for example, those molecules in which free amino groups have been derivatized to form amine hydrochlorides, p-toluene sulfonyl groups, carbobenzoxy groups, t-butyloxycarbonyl groups, chloroacetyl groups or formyl groups. Free carboxyl groups may be derivatized to form salts, methyl and ethyl esters or other types of esters or hydrazides. Free hydroxyl groups may be derivatized to form O-acyl or O-alkyl derivatives. The imidazole nitrogen of histidine may be derivatized to form N-imbenzylhistidine. Also included as chemical derivatives are those peptides which contain one or more naturally occurring amino acid derivatives of the twenty standard amino acids. For example, 4-hydroxyproline may be substituted for proline; 5-hydroxylysine may be substituted for lysine; 3-methylhistidine may be substituted for histidine; homoserine may be substituted for serine; and ornithine may be substituted for lysine. Polypeptides of the present invention also include any polypeptide having one or more additions and/or deletions of residues, relative to the sequence of a polypeptide whose sequence is shown herein, so long as the requisite activity is maintained. [0045] The present invention also provides compositions containing an acceptable carrier and any of an isolated, purified IEBP polypeptide, an active fragment or polypeptide analog thereof, or a purified, mature protein and active fragments thereof, alone or in combination with one another. These polypeptides or proteins can be recombinantly derived, chemically synthesized or purified from native sources. As used herein, the term “acceptable carrier” encompasses any of the standard pharmaceutical carriers, such as phosphate buffered saline (“PBS”) solution, water and emulsions such as an oil/water or water/oil emulsion, and various types of wetting agents. [0046] In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, there are provided isolated nucleic acids, which encode the IEBP proteins of the invention, and fragments thereof. The nucleic acid molecules described herein are useful for producing invention proteins when such nucleic acids are incorporated into a variety of protein expression systems known to those of skill in the art. In addition, such nucleic acid molecules or fragments thereof can be labeled with a readily detectable substituent and used as hybridization probes for assaying for the presence and/or amount of an IEBP gene or mRNA transcript in a given sample. The nucleic acid molecules described herein and fragments thereof are also useful as primers and/or templates in a PCR reaction for amplifying genes encoding the invention protein described herein. [0047] The term “nucleic acid” (also referred to as polynucleotides) encompasses ribonucleic acid (“RNA”) or deoxyribonucleic acid (“DNA”), probes, oligonucleotides and primers. DNA can be either complementary DNA (“cDNA”) or genomic DNA (e.g., a gene encoding an IEBP protein). One means of isolating a nucleic acid encoding an IEBP polypeptide is to probe a mammalian genomic library with a natural or artificially designed DNA probe using methods well known in the art. DNA probes derived from the IEBP gene are particularly useful for this purpose. DNA and cDNA molecules that encode IEBP polypeptide can be used to obtain complementary genomic DNA, cDNA or RNA from mammalian (e.g., Old World primate, New World primate, human, mouse, rat, rabbit, pig and the like) or other animal sources, or to isolate related cDNA or genomic clones by the screening of cDNA or genomic libraries by conventional methods. Examples of nucleic acids are RNA, cDNA, or isolated genomic DNA encoding an IEBP polypeptide. Such nucleic acids may include, but are not limited to, nucleic acids comprising SEQ ID NO:2, SEQ ID NO:3, alleles thereof, or splice variant cDNA sequences thereof. [0048] As used herein, the phrases “splice variant” or “alternatively spliced,” when used to describe a particular nucleotide sequence encoding an invention polypeptide, refers to a cDNA sequence that results from the well known eukaryotic RNA splicing process. The RNA splicing process involves the removal of introns and the joining of exons from eukaryotic primary RNA transcripts to create mature RNA molecules of the cytoplasm. Methods of isolating splice variant nucleotide sequences are well known in the art. For example, one of skill in the art may employ nucleotide probes derived from the IEBP encoding DNA of SEQ ID NO:2, SEQ. ID NO:3, alleles thereof, splice variants thereof or fragments thereof about 10 to 150 nucleotides long and their antisense nucleic acids to screen the cDNA or genomic library of the same or other species as described herein. [0049] In one embodiment of the present invention, DNAs encoding the IEBP protein of this invention comprise SEQ. ID NO:2, SEQ. ID NO:3, alleles thereof, splice variants thereof and fragments thereof and antisense nucleic acids thereof. [0050] As employed herein, the term “substantially the same nucleotide sequence” refers to DNA having sufficient identity to the reference polynucleotide such that it will hybridize to the reference nucleotide under moderately stringent hybridization conditions. In one embodiment, DNA having substantially the same nucleotide sequence as the reference nucleotide sequence encodes substantially the same amino acid sequence as that set forth in SEQ ID NO:1, or a larger amino acid sequence including SEQ ID NO:1. In another embodiment, DNA having “substantially the same nucleotide sequence” as the reference nucleotide sequence has at least 60% identity with respect to the reference nucleotide sequence. DNA having at least 70%, more preferably at least 90%, yet more preferably at least 95% identity to the reference nucleotide sequence is preferred. [0051] The present invention also encompasses nucleic acids which differ from the nucleic acids shown in SEQ ID NO:2 and SEQ ID NO:3, but which have the same phenotype. Phenotypically similar nucleic acids are also referred to as “functionally equivalent nucleic acids.” As used herein, the phrase “functionally equivalent nucleic acids” encompasses nucleic acids characterized by slight and non-consequential sequence variations that will function in substantially the same manner to produce the same protein product(s) as the nucleic acids disclosed herein. In particular, functionally equivalent nucleic acids encode polypeptides that are the same as those disclosed herein or that have conservative amino acid variations, or that encode larger polypeptides that include SEQ ID NO:1. For example, conservative variations include substitution of a non-polar residue with another non-polar residue, or substitution of a charged residue with a similarly charged residue. These variations include those recognized by skilled artisans as those that do not substantially alter the tertiary structure of the protein. [0052] Further provided are nucleic acids encoding IEBP polypeptides that, by virtue of the degeneracy of the genetic code, do not necessarily hybridize to the invention nucleic acids under specified hybridization conditions. Preferred nucleic acids encoding the IEBP polypeptide of the invention comprise nucleotides encoding SEQ ID NO:1 and fragments thereof. Exemplary nucleic acids encoding an IEBP protein of the invention may be selected from the following: (a) DNA encoding the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1, (b) DNA that hybridizes to the DNA of (a) under moderately stringent conditions, wherein said DNA encodes biologically active IEBP, and (c) DNA degenerate with respect to either (a) or (b) above, wherein said DNA encodes biologically active IEBP. [0056] As used herein, the term “degenerate” refers to codons that differ in at least one nucleotide from a reference nucleic acid (e.g., SEQ ID NO:2 or SEQ ID NO:3), but encode the same amino acids as the reference nucleic acid. For example, codons specified by the triplets “UCU,” “UCC,” “UCA” and “UCG” are degenerate with respect to each other since all four of these codons encode the amino acid serine. [0057] Hybridization refers to the binding of complementary strands of nucleic acid (i.e., sense:antisense strands or probe:target-DNA) to each other through hydrogen bonds; similar to the bonds that naturally occur in chromosomal DNA. Stringency levels used to hybridize a given probe with target-DNA can be readily varied by those of skill in the art. [0058] The phrase “stringent hybridization” is used herein to refer to conditions under which polynucleic acid hybrids are stable. As is known to those of skill in the art, the stability of hybrids is reflected in the melting temperature (T m ) of the hybrids. In general, the stability of a hybrid is a function of sodium ion concentration and temperature. Typically, the hybridization reaction is performed under conditions of lower stringency, followed by washes of varying, but higher stringency. Reference to hybridization stringency relates to such washing conditions. [0059] As used herein, the phrase “moderately stringent hybridization” refers to conditions that permit target-DNA to bind a complementary nucleic acid that has about 60% identity, preferably about 75% identity, more preferably about 85% identity to the target DNA; with greater than about 90% identity to target-DNA being especially preferred. Preferably, moderately stringent conditions are conditions equivalent to hybridization in 50% formamide, 5×Denhart's solution, 5×SSPE, 0.2% SDS at 42° C., followed by washing in 0.2×SSPE, 0.2% SDS at 65° C. [0060] The phrase “high stringency hybridization” refers to conditions that permit hybridization of only those nucleic acid sequences that form stable hybrids in 0.018M NaCl at 65° C. (i.e., if a hybrid is not stable in 0.018M NaCl at 65° C., it will not be stable under high stringency conditions, as contemplated herein). High stringency conditions can be provided, for example, by hybridization in 50% formamide, 5×Denhart's solution, 5×SSPE, 0.2% SDS at 42° C., followed by washing in 0.1×SSPE, and 0.1% SDS at 65° C. [0061] The phrase “low stringency hybridization” refers to conditions equivalent to hybridization in 10% formamide, 5×Denhart's solution, 6×SSPE, 0.2% SDS at 42° C., followed by washing in 1×SSPE, 0.2% SDS at 50° C. Denhart's solution and SSPE are well known to those of skill in the art as are other suitable hybridization buffers. See, e.g., Sambrook et al., supra. [0062] Preferred nucleic acids encoding the invention polypeptide(s) hybridize under moderately stringent, preferably high stringency conditions to substantially the entire sequence or substantial portions (i.e., typically at least 15-30 nucleotides of SEQ ID NO:2 or SEQ ID NO:3, although longer fragments are also contemplated as being within the scope of the present invention in this regard). [0063] Site-directed mutagenesis of any region of IEBP cDNA is contemplated herein for the production of mutant IEBP cDNAs. For example, the Transformer Mutagenesis Kit (available from Clontech) can be used to construct a variety of mis-sense and/or nonsense mutations to IEBP cDNA. [0064] The inventive nucleic acids can be produced by a variety of methods well known in the art (e.g., the methods described herein, employing PCR amplification using oligonucleotide primers from various regions of SEQ ID NO:2, and the like). [0065] In accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, optionally labeled IEBP-encoding cDNAs or fragments thereof can be employed to probe a library(ies) (e.g., cDNA, genomic and the like) for additional nucleic acid sequences encoding related novel mammalian IEBP proteins. Construction of mammalian cDNA and genomic libraries, preferably a human library, is well-known in the art. Screening of such a cDNA or genomic library is initially carried out under low-stringency conditions, which comprise a temperature of less than about 42° C., a formamide concentration of less than about 50% and a moderate to low salt concentration. [0066] Presently preferred probe-based screening conditions comprise a temperature of about 37° C., a formamide concentration of about 20% and a salt concentration of about 5×standard saline citrate (SSC; 20×SSC contains 3M sodium chloride, 0.3M sodium citrate; pH 7.0). Such conditions will allow the identification of sequences which have a substantial degree of similarity with the probe sequence, without requiring perfect homology. The phrase “substantial similarity” refers to sequences which share at least 50% homology. Preferably, hybridization conditions will be selected that allow the identification of sequences having at least 70% homology with the probe, while discriminating against sequences which have a lower degree of homology with the probe. As a result, nucleic acids having substantially the same (i.e., similar) sequences as the coding region of the nucleic acids of the invention are obtained. [0067] As used herein, a nucleic acid “probe” is single-stranded DNA or RNA or analogs thereof that has a sequence of nucleotides that includes at least 14, preferably at least 20, more preferably at least 50, contiguous bases that are the same as (or the complement of) any 14 or more contiguous bases set forth in any of SEQ ID NO:2 or SEQ ID NO:3. Preferred regions from which to construct probes include 5′ and/or 3′ coding regions of SEQ ID NO:2. In addition, the entire cDNA encoding region of an invention IEBP protein, or the entire sequence corresponding to SEQ ID NO:2 or SEQ ID NO:3, may be used as a probe. Probes may be labeled by methods well-known in the art, as described hereinafter, and used in various diagnostic kits. [0068] In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for the recombinant production of the IEBP protein of the invention by expressing the above-described nucleic acid sequences in suitable host cells. Any cell or cell line may be used as a host cell in accordance with alternate embodiments of the present invention to create a cell or cell line that produces or overexpresses IEBP. The modified cells or cell lines generated from the host cells may be, for example, estrogen-responsive (e.g., Old World primate 6299 breast cells) or estrogen-resistant (e.g., B95-8 cells). Such cells and cell lines may be used, for example, in the screening of pharmaceutical preparations or to generate significant quantities of IEBP for inclusion in various inventive compositions. Other uses for these cells and cell lines will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art. Recombinant DNA expression systems that are suitable to produce IEBP proteins described herein are also well known in the art. For example, the above-described nucleotide sequences can be incorporated into vectors for further manipulation. As used herein, “vector” (or “plasmid”) refers to discrete elements that are used to introduce heterologous DNA into cells for either expression or replication thereof. [0069] Suitable expression vectors are well-known in the art, and include vectors capable of expressing DNA operatively linked to a regulatory sequence, such as a promoter region that is capable of regulating expression of such DNA. Thus, an expression vector refers to a recombinant DNA or RNA construct, such as a plasmid, a phage, recombinant virus or other vector that, upon introduction into an appropriate host cell, results in expression of the inserted DNA. Appropriate expression vectors are well known to those of skill in the art and include those that are replicable in eukaryotic cells and/or prokaryotic cells and those that remain episomal or those which integrate into the host cell genome. In addition, vectors may contain appropriate packaging signals that enable the vector to be packaged by a number of viral virions (e.g., retroviruses, herpes viruses, adenoviruses) resulting in the formation of a “viral vector.” [0070] As used herein, a “promoter region” refers to a segment of DNA that controls transcription of DNA to which it is operatively linked. The promoter region includes specific sequences that are sufficient for RNA polymerase recognition, binding and transcription initiation. In addition, the promoter region includes sequences that modulate this recognition, binding and transcription initiation activity of RNA polymerase. These sequences may be cis-acting or may be responsive to trans-acting factors. Promoters, depending upon the nature of the regulation, may be constitutive or regulated. Exemplary promoters contemplated for use in the practice of the present invention include the SV40 early promoter, the cytomegalovirus (“CMV”) promoter, the mouse mammary tumor virus (“MMTV”) steroid-inducible promoter, Moloney murine leukemia virus (“MMLV”) promoter and the like. [0071] As used herein, the term “operatively linked” refers to the functional relationship of DNA with regulatory and effector nucleotide sequences, such as promoters, enhancers, transcriptional and translational stop sites, and other signal sequences. For example, operative linkage of DNA to a promoter refers to the physical and functional relationship between the DNA and the promoter such that the transcription of such DNA is initiated from the promoter by an RNA polymerase that specifically recognizes, binds to and transcribes the DNA. [0072] As used herein, “expression” refers to the process by which polynucleic acids are transcribed into mRNA and translated into peptides, polypeptide or proteins. If the polynucleic acid is derived from genomic DNA, expression may, if an appropriate eukaryotic host cell or organism is selected, include splicing of the mRNA. [0073] Prokaryotic transformation vectors are well-known in the art and include pBlueskript and phage Lambda ZAP vectors (available from Stratagene; La Jolla, Calif.) and the like. Other suitable vectors and promoters are described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,885, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. [0074] Other suitable vectors for transformation of E. coli cells include the pET expression vectors (available from Novagen; see U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,496); for example, pET11a, which contains the T7 promoter, T7 terminator, the inducible E. coli lac operator and the lac repressor gene, and pET 12a-c, which contain the T7 promoter, T7 terminator and the E. coli ompT secretion signal. Another suitable vector is the pIN-IIIompA2 (see Duffaud et al., Meth. in Enzymology, 153:492-507, 1987), which contains the Ipp promoter, the lacUV5 promoter operator, the ompA secretion signal and the lac repressor gene. [0075] Exemplary eukaryotic transformation vectors include the cloned bovine papilloma virus genome, the cloned genomes of the murine retroviruses and eukaryotic cassettes such as the pSV-2 gpt system (described by Mulligan and Berg, 1979, Nature, vol. 277:108-114), the Okayama-Berg cloning system (Mol. Cell Biol. Vol. 2:161-170, 1982) and the expression cloning vector described by Genetics Institute (Science, vol. 228:810-815, 1985). Each is available and provides substantial assurance of at least some expression of the protein of interest in the transformed eukaryotic cell line. [0076] Particularly preferred base vectors that contain regulatory elements that can be linked to the invention IEBP-encoding DNAs for transfection of mammalian cells are CMV promoter-based vectors, such as pcDNA1 (available from Invitrogen; San Diego, Calif.); MMTV promoter-based vectors, such as pMAMNeo (available from Clontech) and pMSG (available from Pharmacia; Piscataway, N.J.); and SV40 promoter-based vectors, such as pSVβ (available from Clontech). [0077] In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, there are provided “recombinant cells” containing the nucleic acid molecules (i.e., DNA or mRNA) of the present invention. Methods of transforming suitable host cells, preferably bacterial cells, and more preferably E. coli cells, as well as methods applicable for culturing said cells containing a gene encoding a heterologous protein, are generally known in the art. See, e.g., Sambrook et al., supra. [0078] Exemplary methods of introducing (transducing) expression vectors containing invention nucleic acids into host cells to produce transduced recombinant cells (i.e., cells containing recombinant heterologous nucleic acid) are well-known in the art (see, e.g., Friedmann, 1989, Science, 244:1275-1281; Mulligan, 1993, Science, 260:926-932, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). Exemplary methods of transduction include, for instance, infection employing viral vectors (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,405,712 and 4,650,764), calcium phosphate transfection (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,399,216 and 4,634,665), dextran sulfate transfection, electroporation, lipofection (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,394,448 and 4,619,794), cytofection, particle bead bombardment and the like. The heterologous nucleic acid can optionally include sequences that allow for its extrachromosomal (i.e., episomal) maintenance, or the heterologous DNA can be caused to integrate into the genome of the host (as an alternative means to ensure stable maintenance in the host). [0079] Host organisms contemplated for use in the practice of the present invention include those organisms in which recombinant production of heterologous proteins has been carried out. Examples of such host organisms include bacteria (e.g., E. coli ), yeast (e.g., Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida tropicalis, Hansenula polymorpha and P. pastoris; see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,882,279, 4,837,148, 4,929,555 and 4,855,231), mammalian cells (e.g., B95-8, Old World primate 6299, HEK293, CHO and Ltk cells), insect cells and the like. Presently preferred host organisms are bacteria. The most preferred bacteria is E. coli. [0080] In one embodiment, nucleic acids encoding the IEBP proteins of the invention may be delivered into mammalian cells, either in vivo or in vitro using suitable viral vectors well-known in the art, e.g., retroviral vectors, adenovirus vectors and the like. [0081] Viral based systems provide the advantage of being able to introduce relatively high levels of the heterologous nucleic acid into a variety of cells. Suitable viral vectors for introducing IEBP nucleic acid encoding an IEBP protein into mammalian cells are well known in the art. These viral vectors include, for example, Herpes simplex virus vectors (e.g., Geller et al., 1988, Science, 241:1667-1669), Vaccinia virus vectors (e.g., Piccini et a., 1987, Meth. in Enzymology, 153:545-563); CMV vectors (Mocarski et al., Viral Vectors; Y. Gluzman and S. H. Hughes, Eds., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 1988, pp. 78-84), MMLV vectors (Danos et al., 1980, Proc. Nat'l. Acad. Sci. USA, 85:6469), adenovirus vectors (e.g., Logan et al., 1984, Proc. Nat'l. Acad. Sci. USA, 81:3655-3659; Jones et al., 1979, Cell, 17:683-689; Berkner, 1988, Biotechniques, 6:616-626; Cotten et al., 1992, Proc. Nat'l. Acad. Sci. USA, 89:6094-6098; Graham et al, 1991, Meth. Mol. Biol., 7:109-127), adeno-associated virus vectors, retrovirus vectors and the like. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,405,712 and 4,650,764. Especially preferred viral vectors are the adenovirus and retroviral vectors. [0082] As used herein, “retroviral vector” refers to the well-known gene transfer plasmids that have an expression cassette encoding an heterologous gene residing between two retroviral LTRs. Retroviral vectors typically contain appropriate packaging signals that enable the retroviral vector, or RNA transcribed using the retroviral vector as a template, to be packaged into a viral virion in an appropriate packaging cell line (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,764). Suitable retroviral vectors for use herein are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,479, and in WIPO publications WO 92/07573, WO 90/06997, WO 89/05345, WO 92/05266 and WO 92/14829, incorporated herein by reference, which provide a description of methods for efficiently introducing nucleic acids into human cells using such retroviral vectors. Other retroviral vectors include, for example, the MMTV vectors (e.g., Shackleford et al., 1988, Proc. Nat'l. Acad. Sci. USA, 85:9655-9659) and the like. EXAMPLES [0083] The following examples illustrate the biological activity of IEBP, as well as methods for preparing cells and cell lines that produce and/or overexpress IEBP. In the following examples, where indicated, experimental means were compared statistically using an unpaired Student's t-test. Example 1 Cell Culture [0084] All cell lines were obtained from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC; Rockville, Md.). The estrogen-resistant NWP cell line B95-8, derived from the hormone resistant common marmoset ( Callithrix jacchus ), was maintained in RPMI-1640 medium. The estrogen-responsive OWP breast cell line 6299, derived from a rhesus monkey ( Macaca mulatta ), was maintained in DMEM (Irvine Scientific Irvine; Calif.). All cultures were routinely supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum (FCSI, Gemini Bioproducts; Calabasas, Calif.), 100 units/ml penicillin, 100 μg/ml streptomycin, 2 mM L-glutamine (both from GIBCO-BRL; Grand Island, N.Y.) and in atmosphere of 95% air, 5% CO 2 . In some experiments, confluent cultures were preincubated for up to 48 hours in medium containing E 2 (10 nM) prior to harvest and preparation of extracts. Example 2 Preparation of Cellular Extracts [0085] Postnuclear extracts of each cell line were prepared as described in Chen et al., “Vitamin D and Gonadal Steroid-Resistant New World Primate Cells Express an Intracellular Protein Which Competes with the Estrogen Receptor for Binding to Estrogen Response Element,” J Clin Invest, 99: 669-675 (1997). Harvested cells were washed twice in ice-cold phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and twice washed with ETD buffer (1 mM EDTA, 10 mM Tris-HCL, 5 mM dithiothreitol (pH 7.4)) containing 1 mM phenylmethylsulfonylflouride (PMSF). The cell pellets were then resuspended in ETD buffer and homogenized on ice in five 10-second bursts. Nuclei, with associated nuclear steroid receptor proteins, were pelleted at 10,000×g for 30 min at 4° C. Example 3 Molecular Cloning of the IEBP by Rapid Amplification of Complementary Ends (RACE) [0086] In previous studies, the inventors identified and characterized tryptic fragments of an E 2 -affinity column purified protein which corresponded to the putative IEBP in NWP B95-8 cells. Chen, et al., “Purification and Characterization of a Novel Intracellular 17β-Estradiol Binding Protein in Estrogen-Resistant New World Primate Cells,” J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., 88: 501-504 (2003). To clone the mRNA corresponding to this protein they used degenerate oligonucleotides corresponding to the amino acid sequence of tryptic peptides to carry out RACE generation of candidate cDNA. Sequence analysis of the resulting deduced amino acid sequence for IEBP ( FIG. 1A ) revealed 87% sequence identity to the human hsp27, 40% sequence identity to human α-crystallin chain A and 44% sequence identity to chain B ( FIG. 1B ). The amino-acid sequence also exhibited 28-38% identity with a 21 amino-acid overlap in the ligand-binding domain of ERα, but there was no LXXLL motif typical of the steroid hormone receptor (data not shown). [0087] Based on the amino acid of the N-terminal tryptic peptide (RVPFSL) of IEBP, the inventors designed an IEBP-specific sense oligonucloetide primer and its reversion antisense primer for 5′ and 3′- RACE. Poly (A)+ RNA (2.5 μg) from B95-8 cells was used as the template to generate the 5′- and 3′-ends of the IEBP cDNA with a BD MARATHON cDNA amplification kit (Clontech Laboratories Inc.; Palo Alto, Calif.). Second-strand cDNA synthesis and adapter ligation were performed as instructed in the enclosed manual. The adapter-ligated cDNA was then used as a template for annealing adapter- and IEBP-specific primers for the RACE reaction: 5′-CGCAGGAGCGAGAAGGGGACGCG-3′ (SEQ ID NO:4) and 5′-CGCGTCCCCTTCTCGCTCCTGC-3′ (SEQ ID NO:5) for the 5′- and 3′-RACE of IEBP, respectively. A cDNA for the IEBP was generated by end-to-end amplification using specific 5′ and 3′ primers. The amplified products were then subcloned into the pcDNA 3.1/V5/His/TOPO expression vector and sequenced by the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Sequencing Core Facility using dye terminator cycle sequence reactions and ABI automated sequencers. Example 4 Transient Transfections [0088] 5×10 5 estrogen-resistant NWP B95-8 or estrogen-responsive OWP breast 6299 cells were seeded into 6-well plates in phenol red-free medium containing 10% charcoal-stripped fetal calf serum (“FCS”) and allowed to proliferate to 80-90% confluence. Transfections were performed in triplicate with the combinations of DNA preparations set forth in Table 1 to a maximum final concentration of 20 μg DNA/ml in LIPOTAXI solution (Stratagene; La Jolla, Calif.). [0000] TABLE 1 DNA Preparations Used to Perform Transfections i. 5.5 μg ERE-luciferase reporter plasmid ii. 0.5 μg ERα expression plasmid (pRShER) iii. 5.0 μg of IEBP or ERE-BP plasmid (in cDNA3.1his/v5 TOPO vector) iv. 5.0 μg β-galactosidase expression construct as internal control v. pGEM-3z vector DNA as carrier (Promega, Madison, MI). [0089] An equal volume of 20% FCS-supplemented, antibiotic-free medium was added to each well 5 hours after transfection followed by the addition of 10 nM E 2 . After an additional 48 hours at 37° C., the cells were lysed, and luciferase and β-galactosidase activities were measured ( FIG. 2 ). Example 5 Generation of Cell Lines Overexpressing IEBP [0090] E 2 -responsive OWP breast cells from cell line 6299 were incubated with 5.0 ug pcDNA3.1/v5-His-TOPO IEBP plasmid in LIPOTAXI solution for 5 hours followed by the addition of equal volume of 20% FCS-supplemented medium. After incubation overnight, cells were split (1:10 ratio) and incubated with fresh medium containing 500 ug/ml of the geneticin-selective antibiotic G418 sulfate (Life Technology; Grand Island, N.Y.). This medium was replaced every 3-4 days, until stable colonies formed. Single colonies were picked, transferred into a new dish, and incubated with medium containing selection antibiotic G418 until confluence for further study. Example 6 Ligand Binding Analysis [0091] Specific [ 3 H]17β-estradiol (“[ 3 H]E 2 ”) binding was measured in postnuclear extracts of vector-alone and the three IEBP stably transfected cell lines ( FIG. 3B ). Briefly, postnuclear extracts isolated as described above were reconstituted in NaCl-containing ETD buffer (pH 8.0) to achieve a final salt concentration of 0.5M NaCl, and incubated overnight at 4° C. with 4 nM [ 3 H]E 2 in the presence or absence of 0.1-100 nM unlabeled competitive ligand. Protein-bound [ 3 H]E 2 was separated from unbound sterol by incubation with dextran-coated charcoal. Experiments were conducted in triplicate. Example 7 Western Blot Analysis [0092] Denatured cell extracts or purified protein were subjected to electrophoresis using 4-12% SDS-polyacrylamide gels and transferred to nitrocellulose membranes as described in Chen et al., “Cloning and Expression of a Novel Dominant-Negative-Acting Estrogen Response Element-Binding Protein in the Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein Family,” J Biol Chem, 273: 31352-31357 (1998). The membranes were blocked with 5% nonfat dry milk for 1 hour and then incubated with monoclonal anti-human hsp27 antibody (Santa Cruz Biotechnology Inc; Santa Cruz, Calif.; hereinafter “Santa Cruz”) for 2 hours and with HRP-conjugated secondary antibody for another 1 hour prior to detection of antibody-reactive proteins with chemiluminescence reagent (ECL; Amersham Pharmacia Biotech). Example 8 Immunoprecipitation [0093] Cells were washed with PBS twice and lysed with RIPA buffer (1× PBS containing 1% nonidet p-40, 0.5% sodium deoxycholate, 0.1 mM PMSF, 30 μl/ml of aprotinin, and 10 mM sodium orthovanadate) (obtained from Sigma-Aldrich Corp.; St. Louis, Mo.) by incubation on ice for 10 minutes. The resulting lysates were then disrupted by repeated aspiration through a 23 gauge needle and cell supernatants obtained by centrifugation (14,000×g for 10 minutes). Aliquots of supernatant (containing 50 μg protein each) were then incubated with anti-ERα or anti-hsp27 antibody overnight at 4° C. 20 μl of protein A/G agarose (obtained from Santa Cruz) was added and incubated at 4° C. for another hour. The protein mixtures were then washed by repeated centrifugation in RIPA buffer (×4) and PBS (×1). The resulting pellet was resuspended in 2× SDS sample buffer. After boiling, sampled were analyzed by 4-20% SDS-PAGE and separated proteins transferred to nitrocellulose membranes. Western blot analyses were then carried out using anti-ERα and anti-hsp27 antibodies and visualized by ECL ( FIG. 5 ). Example 9 Yeast Two-Hybrid Screening [0094] The full-length ERα cDNA was amplified using the oligonucleotides 5′-GGGGAATTCCATATGACCATGACCCTCCACACCAAAGCATCAGGG-3′ (SEQ ID NO:6) and 5′-GCCAGGGGGATCCTCAGACTGTGGCAGGGAAACCCTC-3′ (SEQ ID NO:7). The ERα cDNA was cloned into the Nde I and Bam Hi site of GAL4 DNA binding domain vector (GAL4 DNA-BD/ER). The full length human hsp27 cDNA was amplified using oligonucleotides 5′-GCCGAATTCGCCCAGCGCCCCGCATTTT-3′ (SEQ ID NO:8) and 5′-CCCCTCGAGGGTGGTTGCTTTGAACTTTATTTGAG- 3 ′ (SEQ ID NO:9). The IEBP cDNA was cloned into EcoRI and Xhol site of GAL4 DNA activation domain vector. GAL4 DNA-BD/ER was cotransformed with the GAL4 DNA-AD/hsp27 plasmid using Yeast Transformation System 2 kit (obtained from Clontech; Palo Alto, Calif.) according to manufacturer's instructions; some of the plates were treated with water (control), E 2 (10-100 nM) or tamoxifen (10-100 nM). [0095] The plasmids were confirmed by automated sequencing. Yeast two-hybrid analysis using the Yeast Two-Hybrid System 3 kit (obtained from Clontech) was performed according to manufacturer's instructions; again, with the exception that the plates were treated with water, E 2 (10-100 nM) or tamoxifen (10-100 nM). Example 10 GST-Pull-down Assay [0096] A GST-fusion protein with the ligand-binding domain (“LBD”) of ERα (residues 246-595) was expressed in E. coli strain DH5α and purified by glutathione sepharose beads according to manufacturer's instructions (Pharmacia Biotech; Piscataway, N.J.). Postnuclear extracts were applied to the GST beads and incubated for 1 hour. The loaded GST-extract mixture was then washed repetitively (5×) with PBS buffer containing 5 mM DTT and 1 mM PMSF and resuspended in 2× SDS sample buffer and boiled for 5 minutes. Denatured proteins were resolved on 4-20% SDS-PAGE gel, transferred to a nitrocellulose membrane, probed with appropriate antibody (obtained from Santa Cruz) and visualized by ECL. Example 11 Expression of IEBP [0097] Previously reported purification of IEBP using E 2 -affinity column extractions confirmed its high capacity for estrogen binding but did not clarify the functional relevance of the protein in NWP cells. Experiments were therefore carried out to clarify whether the overexpression of IEBP antagonized, facilitated, or did nothing to estrogen-induced transactivation. Estrogen-responsive Old World primate cells were transiently co-transfected with IEBP cDNA and an ERE-promoter-reporter construct. After transfection, ERE-directed luciferase activity was reduced 50% compared to vector alone-transfected Old World primate cells. Over-expression of ERE-BP also suppressed ERE-mediated transcription, and when IEBP and ERE-BP were co-transfected there was an additive decrease in ERE luciferase reporter activity. The effect of IEBP was partially abrogated but not restored to normal by pre-treatment with E 2 , which also stimulated ERE-mediated transcription in control cells. Similar results were also obtained following stable transfection of IEBP into Old World primate cells. Increased expression of IEBP in these cells was confirmed by Western blot analyses using an anti-hsp27 antibody. These studies also showed that E 2 stimulated hsp27 expression in a dose-dependent fashion in wild-type control cells. Subsequent promoter-reporter data showed that ERE luciferase reporter activity decreased 2-3 fold in the presence of IEBP when compared with wild-type cells. As with the transient transfectants, this effect was only partially abrogated by pre-treatment with E 2 . Using the stable transfectant variants, it was also possible to assess the relationship between IEBP-modulated transcription and postnuclear binding of E 2 . Example 12 Characterization of IEBP [0098] Analysis of both transient and stable transfectants indicated that IEBP acts to squelch ERE-directed gene transcription. This is believed to be due, at least in part, to enhanced binding of estrogens. To determine whether IEBP also functions as a direct competitor for ERE-binding, the inventors carried out electrophoretic mobility shift analyses (EMSAs) using an idealized ERE as a probe with recombinant ERα and/or postnuclear extracts from OWP-IEBP stable transfectant clone 1 as binding proteins. Data showed that IEBP neither bound to ERE nor competed with the ERα for binding to ERE. Although IEBP did not appear to bind directly to the ERE, its ability to squelch ER-mediated transcription was consistent with possible direct interaction with the ERα. To assess this possibility, coimmunoprecipitation was performed by using anti-ERα and anti-hsp27 antibodies. Antihuman ERα antibodies were used to immunoprecipitate ERα-untreating proteins in postnuculear extracts of both wild-type and IEBP-stably-transfected cells. The immnoprecipitates were subjected to Western blot analysis by using hsp27 antibodies. Data confirmed association between ERα and hsp27. Similar results were also obtained following initial immunoprecipitation with hsp27, and subsequent ERα blotting. Example 13 Ligand-Dependent Interaction of ERα with hsp27 [0099] In contrast to the IEBP transfectants, there was relatively little association between ERα and hsp27 in extracts from untreated wild-type cells. However, data indicated the overnight treatment of wild-type cells (but not IEBP transfectants) with E 2 strongly increased hsp27 expression, highlighting the possible importance of ligand in determining ER-Hsp27/IEBP interaction. The yeast two-hybrid system was therefore employed to confirm ligand-dependent interaction with the ERα. Full-length ERα cDNA was cloned as a fusion protein with the GAL4 activation domain, and was used in yeast co-transformations. To identify proteins that interact with ERα in a ligand specific fashion, yeast colonies were selected on SD leu-/trp-/His-/Ade-medium supplemented with or without 10 nM E 2 or tamoxifen. The full-length hsp27 and ER insert grew only in the presence of E 2 . No growth was observed in the presence of the ER antagonist tamoxifen or in selective media without E 2 . [0100] Lastly, in order to confirm the interaction between hsp27 and ER, GST-pull-down assays were performed. Protein extracts of cells overexpressing IEBP were incubated with a GST-receptor ligand-binding domain fusion protein representing the ER. Control assays were employed using a glucocorticoid receptor (GR)-fusion protein or GST protein alone. In each case, SDS-PAGE separation that showed the hsp27 was assessed using anti-hsp27 antibody. Data showed that hsp27 was only pulled-down by the ER-GST but not GR-GST, or GST alone. [0101] While the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. The accompanying claims are intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the true scope and spirit of the present invention. The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims, rather than the foregoing description, and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

Described herein is a novel intracellular estradiol binding protein (“IEBP”), as well as a polynucleotide encoding this protein and various cells and cell lines producing and/or overexpressing it. IEBP is believed to play a role in the modulation of estrogen signaling and in the physiological resistance to the same. Abnormally elevated or decreased levels of IEBP may thus be a component of the etiology of diseases generally correlated with estrogen signaling, such as, by way of example, breast cancer and osteoporosis. Various embodiments of the present invention are believed to provide important tools for developing treatments for these conditions, such as, for example, by providing means for screening therapeutic compounds and identifying a genetic target for therapy.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/846413, filed Mar. 18, 2013, entitled COMMUNICATION CHANNEL CALIBRATION FOR DRIFT CONDITIONS, which application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 13/409,534, filed 1 Mar. 2012, entitled COMMUNICATION CHANNEL CALIBRATION FOR DRIFT CONDITIONS (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,422,568), which application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/754,102, filed 25 May 2007, entitled COMMUNICATION CHANNEL CALIBRATION FOR DRIFT CONDITIONS (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,144,792), which application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/459,294, filed 21 Jul. 2006, entitled COMMUNICATION CHANNEL CALIBRATION FOR DRIFT CONDITIONS (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,415,073); which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/766,765, filed 28 Jan. 2004, entitled COMMUNICATION CHANNEL CALIBRATION FOR DRIFT CONDITIONS, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,095,789; which prior applications are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the calibration of communication channel parameters in systems, including mesochronous systems, in which two (or more) components communicate via an interconnection link; and to the calibration needed to account for drift of conditions related to such parameters during operation of the communication channels. 2. Description of Related Art In high-speed communication channels which are operated in a mesochronous manner, typically a reference clock provides frequency and phase information to the two components at either end of the link. A transmitter on one component and a receiver on another component each connect to the link. The transmitter and receiver operate in different clock domains, which have an arbitrary (but fixed) phase relationship to the reference clock. The phase relationship between transmitter and receiver is chosen so that the propagation delay seen by a signal wavefront passing from the transmitter to the receiver will not contribute to the timing budget when the signaling rate is determined. Instead, the signaling rate will be determined primarily by the drive window of the transmitter and the sample window of the receiver. The signaling rate will also be affected by a variety of second order effects. This system is clocked in a mesochronous fashion, with the components locked to specific phases relative to the reference clock, and with the drive-timing-point and sample-timing-point of each link fixed to the phase values that maximize the signaling rate. These fixed phase values may be determined in a number of ways. A sideband link may accompany a data link (or links), permitting phase information to be passed between transmitter and receiver. Alternatively, an initialization process may be invoked when the system is first given power, and the proper phase values determined by passing calibration information (patterns) across the actual link. Once the drive-timing-point and sample-timing-point of each link has been fixed, the system is permitted to start normal operations. However, during normal operation, system conditions will change. Ambient temperature, component temperature, supply voltages, and reference voltages will drift from their initial values. Clock frequencies may drift due to environmental and operational factors, or be intentionally caused to drift in spread spectrum clock systems, and the like. Typically, the frequency drift will be constrained to lie within a specified range, and many of the circuits in the components will be designed to be insensitive to the drift. Nonetheless, the drift will need to be considered when setting the upper signaling rate of a link. In general, a channel parameter may be calibrated as a function of one or more changing operating conditions or programmed settings. In many cases, drifting parameters will be plotted in the form of a two-dimensional Schmoo plot for analysis. Examples of programmed settings, which might be subject of calibration, or which might cause drift in other channel parameters, include transmitter amplitude, transmitter drive strength, transmitter common-mode offset, receiver voltage reference, receiver common-mode offset, and line termination values. As the conditions drift or change, the optimal timing points of the transmitter and receiver will change. If the timing points remain at their original values, then margin must be added to the timing windows to ensure reliable operation. This margin will reduce the signaling rate of the link. It is desirable to provide techniques to compensate for the condition drift, and provide improvements in system and component design to permit these techniques to be utilized. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a system and method for calibrating a communication channel, which allows for optimizing timing windows and accounting for drift of properties of the channel. A communication channel includes a first component having a transmitter coupled to a normal data source, and at least a second component having a receiver coupled to a normal signal destination. A communication link couples the first and second components, and other components on the link. The present invention includes a method and system that provides for execution of calibration cycles from time to time during normal operation of the communication channel. A calibration cycle includes de-coupling the normal data source from the transmitter and supplying a calibration pattern in its place. The calibration pattern is transmitted on the link using the transmitter on the first component. After transmitting the calibration pattern, the normal data source is re-coupled to the transmitter. The calibration pattern is received from the communication link using the receiver on the second component. A calibrated value of a parameter of the communication channel is determined in response to the received calibration pattern. In some embodiments of the invention, the communication channel is bidirectional, so that the first component includes both a transmitter and a receiver, and second component likewise includes both a transmitter and receiver. The communication channel transmits data using the transmitter on the first component and receives data using the receiver on the second component with a first parameter of the communication channel, such as one of a receive and transmit timing point for the transmissions from the first to the second component, set to an operation value, and receives data using the receiver on the first component and transmits data using the transmitter on the second component with a second parameter of the communication channel, such as one of a receive and transmit timing point for the transmissions from the second to the first component, set to an operation value. According to one embodiment of the invention, a method comprises: storing a value of a first edge parameter and a value of a second edge parameter, wherein an operation value of said parameter of the communication channel is a function of the first and second edge parameters; executing a calibration cycle; the calibration cycle including iteratively adjusting the value of the first edge parameter, transmitting a calibration pattern using the transmitter on the first component, receiving the calibration pattern using the receiver on the second component, and comparing the received calibration pattern with a stored calibration pattern, to determine an updated value for the first edge value; the calibration cycle also including iteratively adjusting the value of the second edge parameter, transmitting a calibration pattern using the transmitter on the first component, receiving the calibration pattern using the receiver on the second component, and comparing the received calibration pattern with a stored calibration pattern, to determine an updated value for the second edge value; and as a result of the calibration cycle, determining a new operation value for the parameter based on the function of the updated values of the first and second edge parameters. Some embodiments of the invention comprise a calibration method comprising: executing a calibration cycle including transmitting a calibration pattern using the transmitter on the first component and receiving the calibration pattern using the receiver on the second component with the first parameter set to a calibration value, and determining a calibrated value of the first parameter in response to the received calibration pattern; and prior to determining said calibrated value of said calibration cycle, transmitting data using the transmitter on the second component and receiving the data using the receiver on the first component with the second parameter set to the operation value. Methods according to some embodiments of the invention comprise executing calibration cycles from time to time, the calibration cycles comprising: de-coupling the data source from the transmitter; adjusting the parameter to a calibration value; supplying a calibration pattern to the transmitter; transmitting the calibration pattern on the communication link using the transmitter on the first component; receiving the calibration pattern on the communication link using the receiver on the second component; re-coupling the data source to the transmitter and setting the parameter to the operation value; and determining a calibrated value of the parameter of the communication channel in response to the received calibration pattern, wherein said re-coupling occurs prior to said determining. A variety of parameters of the communication channel can be calibrated according to the present invention. In some embodiments, the parameter being calibrated is a transmit timing point for the transmitter of the first component. In some embodiments, the parameter being calibrated is a receive timing point for the receiver of the second component. In yet other embodiments including bidirectional links, the parameter being calibrated is a receive timing point for the receiver of the first component. Also, embodiments of the present invention including bidirectional links provide for calibration of both receive timing points and transmit timing points for the receiver and transmitter respectively of the first component. In some embodiments that include bidirectional links, calibration cycles are executed which include a step of storing received calibration patterns on the second component, and retransmitting such calibration patterns back to logic on the first component for use in calibrating receive or transmit timing points in the first component. In these embodiments, the second component provides storage for holding the received calibration patterns for a time period long enough to allow the first component to complete transmission of a complete calibration pattern, or at least a complete segment of a calibration pattern. The storage can be embodied by special-purpose memory coupled with the receiver on the second component, or it can be provided by management of memory space used by the normal destination on the second component. For example, the second component comprises an integrated circuit memory device in some embodiments, where the memory device includes addressable memory space. The storage provided for use by the calibration cycles is allocated from addressable memory space in the memory device in these embodiments. In yet other embodiments, where the second component includes latch type sense amplifiers associated with memory on the component, calibration patterns may be stored in the latch type sense amplifiers while decoupling the sense amplifiers from the normally addressable memory space. In yet other embodiments, in which the second component comprises an integrated circuit memory having addressable memory space within a memory array, a segment of the memory array outside of the normally addressable memory space is allocated for use by the calibration cycles. In yet other embodiments, utilization of memory at the second component can be improved by providing cache memory or temporary memory on the first component. In such embodiments, accesses to the memory array in the second component attempted during a calibration cycle are directed to a cache memory on the first component. In other embodiments, prior to execution of the calibration cycle, a segment of the addressable memory in the second component to be used for storage of the calibration pattern is copied into temporary storage on the first component for use during the calibration cycle. In systems and methods according to the present invention, parameters which are updated by the calibration process are applied to the communication channel so that drift in properties of the communication channel can be tracked to improve reliability and increase operating frequency of the channel. In various embodiments of the calibration process, the steps involved in calibration cycles are reordered to account for utilization patterns of the communication channel. For low latency processes, for example the step of applying the updated parameter is delayed, so that normal transmit and receive processes can be resumed as soon as the calibration pattern has been transmitted, and without waiting for computation of updated parameters. For example, the updated parameter calculated during one calibration cycle is not applied to the communication channel, until a next calibration cycle is executed. In yet another example, the calibration cycle includes a first segment in which calibration patterns are transmitted, and a second segment in which updated parameters calculated during the calibration cycle are applied, so that the time interval between completion of transmission of the calibration pattern and completion of the calculation of the updated parameters is utilized for normal transmission and receive operations. Other aspects and advantages of the present invention can be seen on review of the drawings, the detailed description and the claims, which follow. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram of two components interconnected by a communication channel. FIG. 2 is a timing diagram illustrating timing parameters for a communication channel like that shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention where both a transmitter drive point and a receiver sample point are adjustable. FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention where only a receiver sample point is adjustable. FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention where only a transmitter drive point is adjustable. FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating calibration steps for a transmitter on a unidirectional link for a transmitter drive point. FIG. 7 illustrates timing for iteration steps for calibrating a transmitter drive point. FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating calibration steps for a receiver on a unidirectional link for a sample point. FIG. 9 illustrates timing for iteration steps for calibrating a receiver sample point. FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention where transmitter drive points and receiver sample points on components of a bidirectional link are adjustable. FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention where receiver sample points on components of a bidirectional link are adjustable. FIG. 12 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention where both components have adjustable transmitter drive points. FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention where a transmitter drive point and a receiver sample point of only one component on a bidirectional link are adjustable. FIG. 14 is a flow chart illustrating calibration steps for a transmitter drive point for a bidirectional link. FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating calibration steps for a receiver sample point for a bidirectional link. FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 illustrate time intervals for operation of components on a bidirectional link during calibration using a system like that of FIG. 13 . FIG. 18 illustrates a first embodiment of the invention including storage for calibration patterns on one component. FIG. 19 illustrates a second embodiment of the invention including storage within a memory core used for storage of calibration patterns on one component sharing a bidirectional link. FIG. 20 illustrates a third embodiment of the invention including storage within a memory core for storage of calibration patterns on one component sharing a bidirectional link, and a cache supporting use of a region of the memory core for this purpose. FIG. 21 illustrates a fourth embodiment of the invention including storage within a memory core for storage of calibration patterns on one component sharing a bidirectional link, and temporary storage supporting use of the region of the memory core for this purpose. FIG. 22 illustrates a fifth embodiment of the invention including storage within sense amplifiers, which are used for storage of calibration patterns during calibration on one component sharing a bidirectional link. FIG. 23 is a flow chart illustrating calibration steps for a transmitter on a unidirectional link for a transmitter drive point, with re-ordered steps for improved throughput. FIGS. 24A and 24B are flow charts illustrating calibration steps for a transmitter drive point for a bidirectional link, with re-ordered steps for improved throughput. FIG. 25 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention where a transmitter drive point and a receiver sample point of one component on a bidirectional link are adjustable with a plurality of parameter sets, and wherein the bidirectional link is coupled to a plurality of other components corresponding to the plurality of parameter sets. DETAILED DESCRIPTION A detailed description of embodiments of the present invention is provided with reference to the Figures. Transmitter and Receiver Timing Parameters FIG. 1 shows two components 10 , 11 connected with an interconnection medium, referred to as Link 12 . One has a transmitter circuit 13 which drives symbols (bits) on Link 12 in response to rising-edge timing events on the internal CLKT signal 14 . This series of bits forms signal DATAT. The other has a receiver circuit 15 which samples symbols (bits) on Link 12 in response to rising-edge timing events on the internal CLKR signal 16 . This series of bits forms signal DATAR. FIG. 2 illustrates the timing parameters, including the transmit clock CLKT signal 14 on trace 20 , the transmitter signal DATAT on trace 21 , the receive clock CLKR signal 16 on trace 22 , and the receiver signal DATAR on trace 23 . The transmitter eye 24 and the receiver eye 25 are also illustrated. The transmitter eye 24 is a window during which the signal DATAT is transmitted on the link. The receiver eye is a sampling window defined by the is setup time and t H hold time which surround the CLKR rising edge 35 , 36 and define the region in which the value of DATAR must be stable for reliable sampling. Since the valid window of the DATAT signal is larger than this setup/hold sampling window labeled receiver eye 25 , the receiver has timing margin in both directions. The DATAT and DATAR signals are related; DATAR is an attenuated, time-delayed copy of DATAT. The attenuation and time-delay occur as the signal wavefronts propagate along the interconnection medium of Link 12 . The transmitter circuit 13 will begin driving a bit (labeled “a”) no later than a time t Q,MAX after a rising edge 30 of CLKT, and will continue to drive it during transmitter eye 24 until at least a time t V,MIN after the next rising edge 31 . t Q,MAX and t V,MIN are the primary timing parameters of the transmitter circuit 13 . These two values are specified across the full range of operating conditions and processing conditions of the communication channel. As a result, t Q,MAX will be larger than t V,MIN , and the difference will represent the dead time or dead band 32 of the transmitter circuit 13 . The transmitter dead band 32 (t DEAD,T ) is the portion of the bit timing window (also called bit time or bit window) that is consumed by the transmitter circuit 13 : t DEAD,T =t Q,MAX −t V,MIN The receiver circuit 15 will sample a bit (labeled “a”) during the receiver eye 25 no earlier than a time t S,MIN before a rising edge 35 of CLKR, and no later than a time t H,MIN after the rising edge 35 . t S,MIN and t H,MIN are the primary timing parameters of the receiver circuit. These two values are specified across the full range of operating conditions and processing conditions of the circuit. The sum of t S,MIN and t H,MIN will represent the dead time or dead band 37 , 38 of the receiver. The receiver dead band 37 , 38 (t DEAD,R ) is the portion of the bit timing window (also called bit time or bit window) that is consumed by the receiver circuit: t DEAD,R =t S,MIN +t H,MIN In this example, the bit timing window (receiver eye 25 ) is one t CYCLE minus the t DEAD,T and t DEAD,R values, each of which is about ⅓ of one t CYCLE in this example. Unidirectional Link Alternatives FIG. 3 shows two components 100 (transmit component) and 101 (receive component) connected with an interconnection medium referred to as Link 102 . The link is assumed to carry signals in one direction only (unidirectional), so one component 100 has a transmitter circuit 103 coupled to a data source 110 labeled “normal path,” and one component 101 has a receiver circuit 104 coupled to a destination 111 labeled “normal path”. There are additional circuits present to permit periodic adjustment of the drive point and sample point in between periods of normal system operation. These adjustments compensate for changes in the system operating conditions. The transmitter component includes a block 105 labeled “pattern”, which can consist of pattern storage or pattern generation circuitry, and which is used as a source of transmit calibration patterns. A multiplexer block 106 labeled “mux,” implemented for example using a logical layer (by which the normal data path may act as a source of calibration patterns and, for example, a virtual switch is implemented by time multiplexing normal data and calibration patterns) or physical layer switch, enables the transmit calibration pattern set to be driven onto the link by the transmitter circuit. The transmitter drive point can be adjusted by the block 107 labeled “adjust”. A sideband communication channel 113 is shown coupled between the component 101 and the component 100 , by which the results of analysis of received calibration patterns at the component 101 are supplied to the adjust block 107 of the component 100 . The receiver component 101 includes a block 108 labeled “pattern”, which can consist of pattern storage or pattern generation circuitry, and which is used as a source of expected patterns. A block 109 labeled “compare” enables the received pattern set to be compared to the expected pattern set, and causes an adjustment to be made to either the transmitter or receiver. The receiver sample point can be adjusted by the block 112 labeled “adjust”. FIG. 4 shows two components 100 , 101 connected with a unidirectional link 102 , in which components of FIG. 3 are given like reference numerals. In the embodiment of FIG. 4 , only the receiver sample point can be adjusted; the transmitter drive point remains fixed during system operation. Thus, there is no adjust block 107 in the component 100 , nor is there a need for sideband communication channel 113 of FIG. 4 . FIG. 5 shows two components 100 , 101 connected with a unidirectional link 102 , in which components of FIG. 3 are given like reference numerals. In the embodiment of FIG. 5 , only the transmitter drive point can be adjusted; the receiver sample point remains fixed during system operation. Thus, there is no adjust block 112 in the component 101 of FIG. 5 . In general, periodic timing calibration can be performed on all three examples, since timing variations due to condition drift can be compensated at either the transmitter end or the receiver end. In practice, it is cheaper to put the adjustment circuitry at only one end of the link, and not at both ends, so systems of FIG. 4 or 5 would have an advantage. Also, it should be noted that system of FIG. 4 does not need to communicate information from the “compare” block 109 in the receiver component 101 back to the transmitter component 100 , and thus might have implementation benefits over system of FIG. 5 . Calibration Steps for Transmitter for Unidirectional Link FIG. 6 shows the example from FIG. 5 , and also includes the steps needed to perform a timing calibration update. (Step 601 ) Suspend normal transmit and receive operations, by completing transactions in progress and preventing new ones from beginning, or by interrupting transactions that are in progress. (Step 602 ) Change the drive point of the transmit component from the “TX” operation value (used for normal operations) to either the “TXA” or “TXB” edge value (used for calibration operations) in the “adjust” block. The “TX” operation value may be a simple average of “TXA” and “TXB,” i.e. a center value, or it may be another function of “TXA” and “TXB,” such as a weighted average. It may be necessary to impose a settling delay at this step to allow the new drive point to become stable. (Step 603 ) Change “mux” block of the transmit component so that the “pattern” block input is enabled. (Step 604 ) A pattern set is created in the “pattern” block of the transmit component and is transmitted onto the “link” using the TXA or TXB drive point. (Step 605 ) The pattern set is received in the receive component. Note that the sample point of the receiver is fixed relative to the reference clock of the system. (Step 606 ) The received pattern set is compared in the “compare” block to the expected pattern set produced by the “pattern” block in the receive component. The two pattern sets will either match or not match. As a result of this comparison (and possibly other previous comparisons) a pass or fail determination will be made. (Step 607 ) Adjust either the “TXA” or “TXB” edge value in the transmit component as a result of the pass or fail determination. The “TX” operation value in the transmit component is also adjusted. This adjustment may only be made after a calibration sequence including transmission of two or more of calibration patterns has been executed, in order to ensure some level of repeatability. (Step 608 ) Change the drive point of the transmitter from the “TXA” or “TXB” edge value (used for calibration operations) to “TX” operation value (used for normal operations) in the “adjust” block of the transmit component. It may be necessary to impose a settling delay at this step to allow the new drive point to become stable. (Step 609 ) Change “mux” block of the transmit component so that the “normal path” input is enabled. (Step 610 ) Resume normal transmit and receive operations. Timing for Iteration Step for Transmit FIG. 7 includes the timing waveforms used by the calibration steps of FIG. 6 for a system like that of FIG. 5 . These timing waveforms are similar to those from FIG. 2 , except that the drive point is adjusted to straddle the sampling window of the receiver in order to track the edges of the valid window of the transmitter. The “adjust” block in the transmit component maintains three values in storage: TXA, TX, and TXB. The TX value is the operation value used for normal operation. The TXA and TXB are the “edge” values, which track the left and right extremes of the bit window of the transmitter. Typically, the TX value is derived from the average of the TXA and TXB values, but other relationships are possible. The TXA and TXB values are maintained by the calibration operations, which from time to time, and periodically in some embodiments, interrupt normal operations. In FIG. 7 , the position of the rising edge of CLKT has an offset of t PHASET relative to a fixed reference (typically a reference clock that is distributed to all components). When the TX value is selected (t PHASET(TX) in the middle trace 701 showing CLKT timing waveform) for operation, the rising edge 702 of CLKT causes the DATAT window 703 containing the value “a” to be aligned so that the DATAR signal (not shown but conceptually overlapping with the DATAT signal) at the receiving component is aligned with the receiver clock, successfully received, and ideally centered on the receiver eye. When the TXA value is selected (t PHASET(TXA) in the top trace 705 showing CLKT timing waveform), the rising edge of CLKT is set to a time that causes the right edges of the DATAT window 706 (containing “a”) and the receiver setup/hold window 710 (shaded) to coincide. The t S setup time and t H hold time surround the CLKR rising edge, together define the setup/hold window 710 (not to be confused with the receiver eye of FIG. 2 ) in which the value of DATAR must be stable for reliable sampling around a given CLKR rising edge 704 . Since the DATAT window, and the resulting DATAR window, are larger than this setup/hold window 710 , the transmitter has timing margin. However, in the case shown on trace 705 with the transmit clock rising edge at offset t PHASET(TXA) , all the timing margin is on the left side of the transmitter eye for the setup/hold window 710 , adding delay after the t Q timing parameter. There is essentially no margin for the t V timing parameter in the trace 705 , so that the offset defines the left edge of the calibration window. The calibration process for TXA will compare the received pattern set to the expected pattern set, and determine if they match. If they match (pass) then the TXA value will be decremented (the T TPHASET(TXA) offset becomes smaller shifting the transmit window 706 to the left in FIG. 7 ) or otherwise adjusted, so there is less margin for the t V timing parameter relative to the receiver window 710 . If they do not match (fail) then the TXA value will be incremented (the T PHASET(TXA) offset becomes larger shifting the transmit window 706 to the right in FIG. 7 , or otherwise adjusted, so there is more margin for the t V timing parameter. As mentioned earlier, the results of a sequence including transmission of two or more calibration patterns may be accumulated before the TXA value is adjusted. This would improve the repeatability of the calibration process. For example, the calibration pattern could be repeated “N” times with the number of passes accumulated in a storage element. If all N passes match, then the TXA value is decremented. If any of the N passes does not match, then the TXA value is determined to have reached the edge of the window and is incremented. In another alternative, after the Nth pattern, the TXA value could be incremented if there are fewer than N/2 (or some other threshold number) passes, and decremented if there are N/2 or more passes. When TXA is updated, the TX value will also be updated. In this example, the TX value will updated by half the amount used to update TXA, since TX is the average of the TXA and TXB values. If TX has a different relationship to TXA and TXB, the TX update value will be different. Note that in some embodiments, the TX value will need slightly greater precision than the TXA and TXB values to prevent round-off error. In alternate embodiments, the TX value can be updated after pass/fail results of TXA and TXB values have been determined. In some cases, these results may cancel and produce no change to the optimal TX value. In other cases these results may be accumulated and the accumulated results used to determine an appropriate adjustment of the TX setting. According to this embodiment, greater precision of the TX setting relative to the TXA and TXB settings may not be required. When the TXB value is selected (t PHASER(TXB) in the bottom trace 707 showing a CLKT timing waveform) for calibration, the rising edge of CLKT is set to a time that causes the left edge of the transmitter valid window 708 (containing “a”) and the receiver setup/hold window 710 (shaded) to coincide. In this case with the transmit clock rising edge at t PHASER(TXB) , all the timing margin is on the right side of the transmit window 708 , providing more room than required by the t V timing parameter. This means that there will be essentially no margin for the t Q timing parameter on the left side of the window 708 , defining the right edge of the calibration window. The calibration process will compare the received pattern set to the expected pattern set, and determine if they match. If they match (pass) then the TXB value will be incremented (the offset becomes larger) or otherwise adjusted, so there is less margin for the t Q timing parameter. If they do not match (fail) then the TXB value will be decremented (the offset becomes smaller) or otherwise adjusted, so there is more margin for the t Q timing parameter. As mentioned earlier, the results of transmission of two or more calibration patterns may be accumulated before the TXB value is adjusted. For example, transmission of the patterns could be repeated “N” times with the number of passes accumulated in a storage element. After the Nth sequence the TXB value could be decremented if there are fewer than N/2 passes and incremented if there are N/2 or more passes. This would improve the repeatability of the calibration process. When TXB is updated, the TX value will also be updated. In this example, the TX value will updated by half the amount used to update TXB, since TX is the average of the TXA and TXB values. If TX has a different relationship to TXA and TXB, the TX update value will be different. Note that the TX value will need slightly greater precision than the TXA and TXB values if it is desired to prevent round-off error. Calibration Steps for Receiver for Unidirectional Link FIG. 8 shows the example from FIG. 4 , and also includes the steps needed to perform a timing calibration update. Note that only steps (Block 802 ), (Block 807 ), and (Block 808 ) are different relative to the steps in FIG. 6 . (Step 801 ) Suspend normal transmit and receive operations, by completing transactions in progress and preventing new ones from beginning, or by interrupting transactions that are in progress. (Step 802 ) Change the sample point of the receive component from the “RX” operation value (used for normal operations) to either the “RXA” or “RXB” edge value (used for calibration operations) in the “adjust” block. The “RX” operation value may be a simple average of “RXA” and “RXB,” i.e. a center value, or it may be another function of “RXA” and “RXB,” such as a weighted average. It may be necessary to impose a settling delay at this step to allow the new sample point to become stable. (Step 803 ) Change “mux” block of the transmit component so that the “pattern” block input is enabled. (Step 804 ) A pattern set is created in the “pattern” block of the transmit component and is transmitted onto the “link” using the TXA or TXB drive point. (Step 805 ) The pattern set is received in the receive component. Note that the transmit point of the transmitter is fixed relative to the reference clock of the system. (Step 806 ) The received pattern set is compared in the “compare” block to the expected pattern set produced by the “pattern” block in the receive component. The two pattern sets will either match or not match. As a result of this comparison (and possibly other previous comparisons) a pass or fail determination will be made. (Step 807 ) Adjust either the “RXA” or “RXB” edge value in the receive component as a result of the pass or fail determination. The “RX” operation value in the transmit component is also adjusted. This adjustment may only be made after two or more of these calibration sequences have been executed, in order to ensure some level of repeatability. (Step 808 ) Change the sample point of the receiver from the “RXA” or “RXB” edge value (used for calibration operations) to “RX” operation value (used for normal operations) in the “adjust” block of the receive component. It may be necessary to impose a settling delay at this step to allow the new sample point to become stable. (Step 809 ) Change “mux” block of the transmit component so that the “normal path” input is enabled. (Step 810 ) Resume normal transmit and receive operations. Timing for Iteration Step for Receive FIG. 9 shows includes the timing waveforms used by the receiver calibration steps of FIG. 8 for a system configured for example as shown in FIG. 4 . These timing waveforms are similar to those from FIG. 2 , except that the sampling point is adjusted within the bit window in order to track the edges of the window. The “adjust” block in the receive component maintains three values in storage: RXA, RX, and RXB. The RX value is the operation value used for normal operation. The RXA and RXB are the “edge” values, which track the left and right extremes of the bit window. Typically, the RX value is derived from the average of the RXA and RXB values, but other relationships are possible. The RXA and RXB values are maintained by the calibration operations, which periodically or otherwise from time to time interrupt normal operations. In the timing diagrams, the position of the rising edge of CLKR has an offset of t PHASER relative to a fixed reference (not shown, typically a reference clock that is distributed to all components). This offset is determined by the RXA, RX, and RXB values that are stored. When the RX value is selected (t PHASER(RX) in the middle trace 901 showing a CLKR timing waveform) for use in receiving data, the rising edge 902 of CLKR is approximately centered in the receiver eye of the DATAR signal containing the value “a”. The DATAR signal is the DATAT signal transmitted at the transmitter after propagation across the link, and can be conceptually considered to be the same width as DATAT as shown in FIG. 9 . The receiver eye is shown in FIG. 2 . The t S setup time is the minimum time before the clock CLKR rising edge which must be within the DATAR window 903 , and the t H hold time is the minimum time after the clock CLKR rising edge that must be within the DATAR window 903 , together defining the setup/hold window 904 (not to be confused with the receiver eye of FIG. 2 ) in which the value of DATAR must be stable for reliable sampling around a given CLKR rising edge. Since the valid window 904 of the DATAR signal is larger than this setup/hold window 904 , the receiver has timing margin in both directions. When the RXA value is selected (t PHASER(RXA) in the top trace 905 showing a CLKR timing waveform), the rising edge of CLKR is approximately a time t S later than the left edge (the earliest time) of the DATAR window 903 containing the value “a”. In this case, the CLKR rising edge is on the left edge of the receiver eye, and all the timing margin is on the right side of the setup/hold window 904 , providing more room than is required by the t H timing parameter. This means that there will be essentially no margin for the t S timing parameter, defining the left edge of the calibration window. The calibration process will compare the received pattern set to the expected pattern set, and determine if they match. If they match (pass) then the RXA value will be decremented (the offset becomes smaller) or otherwise adjusted, so there is less margin for the t S timing parameter. If they do not match (fail) then the RXA value will be incremented (the offset becomes larger) or otherwise adjusted, so there is more margin for the t S timing parameter. As mentioned earlier, the results of transmission and reception of two or more calibration patterns may be accumulated before the RXA value is adjusted. For example, the patterns could be repeated “N” times with the number of passes accumulated in a storage element. After the Nth sequence the RXA value could be incremented if there are fewer than N/2 passes and decremented if there are N/2 or more passes. This would improve the repeatability of the calibration process. When RXA is updated, the RX value will also be updated. In this example, the RX value will updated by half the amount used to update RXA, since RX is the average of the RXA and RXB values. If RX has a different relationship to RXA and RXB, the RX update value will be different. Note that in some embodiments, the RX value will need slightly greater precision than the RXA and RXB values to prevent round-off error. In alternate embodiments, the RX value can be updated after pass/fail results of RXA and RXB values have been determined. In some cases, these results may cancel and produce no change to the optimal RX value. In other cases these results may be accumulated and the accumulated results used to determine an appropriate adjustment of the RX setting. According to this embodiment, greater precision of the RX setting relative to the RXA and RXB settings may not be required. When the RXB value is selected (t PHASER(RXB) in the bottom trace 906 showing a CLKR timing waveform), the rising edge of CLKR is approximately a time t H earlier than the right edge (the latest time) of the DATAR window 903 containing the value “a”. In this case, the CLKR rising edge is on the right edge of the receiver eye, and all the timing margin is on the left side of the window 904 , providing more room that required by the t S timing parameter. This means that there will be essentially no margin for the t H timing parameter, defining the right edge of the calibration window. The calibration process will compare the received pattern set to the expected pattern set, and determine if they match. If they match (pass) then the RXB value will be incremented (the offset becomes larger) or otherwise adjusted, so there is less margin for the tH timing parameter. If they do not match (fail) then the RXB value will be decremented (the offset becomes smaller) or otherwise adjusted, so there is more margin for the t H timing parameter. As mentioned earlier, the results of transmission and reception of two or more calibration patterns may be accumulated before the RXB value is adjusted. For example, the sequence could be repeated “N” times with the number of passes accumulated in a storage element. After the Nth sequence the RXB value could be decremented if there are fewer than N/2 passes and incremented if there are N/2 or more passes. This would improve the repeatability of the calibration process. When RXB is updated, the RX value will also be updated. In this example, the RX value will updated by half the amount used to update RXB, since RX is the average of the RXA and RXB values. If RX has a different relationship to RXA and RXB, the RX update value will be different. Note that the RX value will need slightly greater precision than the RXA and RXB values if it is desired to prevent round-off error. Bidirectional Link Alternatives FIG. 10 shows an example of a bidirectional link. In this case, component A ( 1000 ) and component B ( 1001 ) each contain a transmitter and receiver connected to the link, so that information may be sent either from A to B or from B to A. The elements of the unidirectional example in FIG. 3 is replicated (two copies) to give the bidirectional example in FIG. 10 . FIG. 10 shows two bidirectional components 1000 , 1001 connected with an interconnection medium referred to as Link 1002 . Normal path 1010 acts as a source of data signals for normal operation of component 1000 during transmit operations. Normal path 1031 acts as a destination of data signals for component 1000 , during normal receive operations. Likewise, normal path 1030 acts as a source of data signals for normal operation of component 1001 during transmit operations. Normal path 1011 acts as a destination of data signals for component 1001 , during normal receive operations. The first bidirectional component includes a block 1005 labeled “pattern”, which can consist of pattern storage or pattern generation circuitry, and which is used as a source of transmit calibration patterns. A multiplexer block 1006 labeled “mux,” implemented for example using a logical layer or physical layer switch, enables the transmit calibration pattern set to be driven onto the link by the transmitter circuit 1003 . The transmitter drive point can be adjusted by the block 1007 labeled “adjust”. A sideband communication channel 1013 is shown coupled between the component 1001 and the component 1000 , by which the results of analysis of received calibration patterns at the component 1001 are supplied to the adjust block 1007 of the component 1000 . Component 1000 also has support for calibrating receiver 1024 , including a block 1028 labeled “pattern”, which can consist of pattern storage or pattern generation circuitry, and which is used as a source of expected patterns for comparison with received patterns. A block 1029 labeled “compare” enables the received pattern set to be compared to the expected pattern set, and causes an adjustment to be made to either the transmitter or receiver. The receiver sample point can be adjusted by the block 1032 labeled “adjust”. The second bidirectional component 1001 includes complementary elements supporting transmitter 1023 and receiver 1004 . For the receiver operations, a block 1008 labeled “pattern”, which can consist of pattern storage or pattern generation circuitry, and which is used as a source of expected patterns. A block 1009 labeled “compare” enables the received pattern set to be compared to the expected pattern set, and causes an adjustment to be made to either the transmitter or receiver. The receiver sample point can be adjusted by the block 1012 labeled “adjust”. The second bidirectional component 1001 supports transmission operations, with elements including a block 1025 labeled “pattern”, which can consist of pattern storage or pattern generation circuitry, and which is used as a source of transmit calibration patterns. A multiplexer block 1026 labeled “mux,” implemented for example using a logical layer or physical layer switch, enables the transmit calibration pattern set to be driven onto the link by the transmitter circuit 1023 . The transmitter drive point can be adjusted by the block 1027 labeled “adjust”. A sideband communication channel 1033 is shown coupled between the component 1000 and the component 1001 , by which the results of analysis of received calibration patterns at the component 1000 are supplied to the adjust block 1027 of the component 1001 . The example of FIG. 10 allows both receive sample points and both transmit drive points to be adjusted. However, the benefit of adjustable timing can be realized if there is only one adjustable element in each direction. The example of FIG. 11 (using the same reference numerals as FIG. 10 ) shows an example in which only the receiver sample points are adjustable. Thus, elements 1007 and 1027 of FIG. 10 are not included in this embodiment. This is equivalent to two copies of the elements of example in FIG. 4 . The example of FIG. 12 (using the same reference numerals as FIG. 10 ) shows an example in which only the transmitter drive points are adjustable. Thus, elements 1012 and 1032 of FIG. 10 are not included in this embodiment. This is equivalent to two copies of the elements of example in FIG. 5 . The example of FIG. 13 (using the same reference numerals as FIG. 10 ) shows an example in which the receiver sample point and transmitter drive point of the first bidirectional component 1000 are adjustable. Thus, elements 1012 , 1008 , 1009 , 1027 , 1026 , 1025 are not included in this embodiment. A storage block 1050 is added between the receiver and a “mux” block 1051 . The “mux” block 1051 is used to select between a normal source of signals 1030 and the storage block 1050 . Also, the compare block 1052 is used for analysis of both transmit and receive calibration operations, and is coupled to both the adjust block 1007 for the transmitter, and adjust block 1032 for the receiver. This alternative is important because all the adjustment information can be kept within one component, eliminating the need for sideband signals for the calibration process. If component 1001 were particularly cost sensitive, this could also be a benefit, since only one of the components must bear the cost of the adjustment circuitry. Calibration Steps for Transmitter for Bidirectional Link The calibration steps for bidirectional examples in FIGS. 10 , 11 and 12 can be essentially identical to the calibration steps already discussed for unidirectional examples in FIGS. 4 and 5 . However, the asymmetry in bidirectional example of FIG. 13 will introduce some additional calibration steps, and will receive further discussion. FIG. 14 shows the example from FIG. 13 , and also includes the steps needed to perform a timing calibration update. (Step 1401 ) Suspend normal transmit and receive operations, by completing transactions in progress and preventing new ones from beginning, or by interrupting transactions that are in progress. (Step 1402 ) Change the drive point of the transmit component (A) from the “TX” operation value (used for normal operations) to either the “TXA” or “TXB” edge value (used for calibration operations) in the “adjust” block. It may be necessary to impose a settling delay at this step to allow the new drive point to become stable. (Step 1403 ) Change “mux” block of the transmit component (A) so that the “pattern” block input is enabled. (Step 1404 ) A pattern set is created in the “pattern” block of the transmit component (A) and is transmitted onto the “link” using the TXA or TXB drive point. (Step 1405 ) The pattern set is received in the receive component (B). Note that the sample point of the receiver is fixed relative to the reference clock of the system. The received pattern set is held in the “storage” block in component B. (Step 1406 ) The “mux” block input connected to the “storage” block in component B is enabled. The pattern set is re-transmitted onto the link by component B. (Step 1407 ) The pattern set is received by component A from the link. (Step 1408 ) The received pattern set is compared in the “compare” block to the expected pattern set produced by the “pattern” block in the receive component (A). The two pattern sets will either match or not match. As a result of this comparison (and possibly other previous comparisons) a pass or fail determination will be made. (Step 1409 ) Adjust either the “TXA” or “TXB” edge value in the transmit component (A) as a result of the pass or fail determination. The “TX” operation value in the transmit component (A) is also adjusted. This adjustment may only be made after two or more of these calibration sequences have been executed, in order to ensure some level of repeatability. (Step 1410 ) Change the drive point of the transmitter from the “TXA” or “TXB” edge value (used for calibration operations) to “TX” operation value (used for normal operations) in the “adjust” block of the transmit component (A). It may be necessary to impose a settling delay at this step to allow the new drive point to become stable. (Step 1411 ) Change “mux” block of the transmit component (A) so that the “normal path” input is enabled. (Step 1412 ) Resume normal transmit and receive operations. Calibration Steps for Receiver for Bidirectional Link The calibration steps for bidirectional examples of FIGS. 10 , 11 , and 12 can be essentially identical to the calibration steps already discussed for unidirectional examples of FIGS. 4 and 5 . However, the asymmetry in bidirectional example of FIG. 13 will introduce some additional calibration steps, and will receive further discussion. FIG. 15 shows the example from FIG. 13 , and also includes the steps needed to perform a timing calibration update. (Step 1501 ) Suspend normal transmit and receive operations, by completing transactions in progress and preventing new ones from beginning, or by interrupting transactions that are in progress. (Step 1502 ) Change the sample point of the receive component (A) from the “RX” operation value (used for normal operations) to either the “RXA” or “RXB” edge value (used for calibration operations) in the “adjust” block. It may be necessary to impose a settling delay at this step to allow the new drive point to become stable. (Step 1503 ) Change “mux” block of the transmit component (A) so that the “pattern” block input is enabled. (Step 1504 ) A pattern set is created in the “pattern” block of the transmit component (A) and is transmitted onto the “link”. The normal transmit drive point is used. (Step 1505 ) The pattern set is received in the receive component (B). Note that the sample point of the receiver is fixed relative to the reference clock of the system and is not adjustable. The received pattern set is held in the “storage” block in component B. (Step 1506 ) The “mux” block input connected to the “storage” block in component B is enabled. The pattern set is re-transmitted onto the link by component B. (Step 1507 ) The pattern set is received by component A from the link using either the RXA or RXB value to determine the receiver sample point. (Step 1508 ) The received pattern set is compared in the “compare” block to the expected pattern set produced by the “pattern” block in the receive component (A). The two pattern sets will either match or not match. As a result of this comparison (and possibly other previous comparisons) a pass or fail determination will be made. (Step 1509 ) Adjust either the “RXA” or “RXB” edge value in the receive component (A) as a result of the pass or fail determination. The “RX” operation value in the receive component (A) is also adjusted. This adjustment may only be made after two or more of these calibration sequences have been executed, in order to ensure some level of repeatability. (Step 1510 ) Change the sample point of the receiver from the “RXA” or “RXB” edge value (used for calibration operations) to “RX” operation value (used for normal operations) in the “adjust” block of the receive component (A). It may be necessary to impose a settling delay at this step to allow the new sample point to become stable. (Step 1511 ) Change “mux” block of the transmit component (A) so that the “normal path” input is enabled. (Step 1512 ) Resume normal transmit and receive operations. Bidirectional Link—Storage Options The bidirectional example in FIG. 13 utilizes a storage block 1050 as part of the calibration process. There are a number of alternative options for implementing this storage, each option with its own costs and benefits. FIG. 13 shows an option in which the storage block is implemented as part of the interface containing the transmit and receive circuits. This has the benefit that the circuitry used for normal operations (the “normal path”) is not significantly impacted. The cost of this option is that the storage block will increase the size of the interface, and will thus increase the manufacturing cost of the component 1001 . FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 show why a storage block is needed for the implementations of example of FIG. 13 . The storage allows the received pattern set in component 1001 to be held (and delayed) prior to being re-transmitted. FIG. 16 shows a gap 1600 between the interval 1601 in which the pattern set is being transmitted by A (and received by B) and the interval 1602 in which the pattern set being transmitted by B (and received by A). If no storage was present, there would be a relatively small delay between the start of each these two intervals resulting in an overlap of the intervals, as shown in FIG. 17 . In general, components on a bidirectional link are not allowed to transmit simultaneously, so some storage will be required with the configuration of FIG. 13 to prevent this. It is possible to design the transmitter circuits and the link so that transmitters on both ends are enabled simultaneously. This is called simultaneous bidirectional signaling. In such a communication system, the storage block of configuration of FIG. 13 could be left out of component 1001 . Typically, simultaneous bidirectional signaling requires additional signal levels to be supported. For example, if each of two transmitters can be signaling a bit, there are four possible combinations of two transmitters simultaneously driving one bit each. The four combinations are {0/0, 0/1, 1/0, 1/1}. Typically the 0/1 and 1/0 combinations will produce the same composite signal on the link. This requires that the transmitter circuits be additive, so that three signal levels are produced {0, 1, 2}. The receiver circuits will need to discriminate between these three signal levels. A final requirement of simultaneous bidirectional signaling is that a component must subtract the value it is currently transmitting from the composite signal that it is currently receiving in order to detect the actual signal from the other component. When these requirements are in place, the storage block requirement can be dropped. This is one of the benefits of this approach. The cost of this approach is the extra design complexity and reduced voltage margins of simultaneous bidirectional signaling. FIG. 18 shows option B in which the storage block is implemented from the storage elements 1801 , 1802 that are normally present in the transmit and receive circuits. These storage elements are typically present for pipelining (delaying) the information flowing on the normal paths. Storage elements may also be present to perform serialization and deserialization. This would be required if the internal and external signal groups have different widths. For example, the external link could consist of a single differential wire pair carrying information at the rate or 3200 Mb/s, and could connect to a set of eight single-ended internal wires carrying information at the rate of 400 Mb/s. The information flow is balanced (no information is lost), but storage is still required to perform serial-to-parallel or parallel-to-serial conversion between the two sets of signals. This storage will create delay, which can be used to offset the two pattern sets in the option of FIG. 18 . The benefit of this approach is that no extra storage must be added to component 1001 . The cost is that the wiring necessary to connect the receiver to a “mux” block in the transmitter may be significant. Another cost is that the amount of storage naturally present in the receiver and transmitter may be relatively small, limiting the length of the pattern set which can be received and retransmitted with this approach. FIG. 19 shows an option in which the storage block is implemented from the storage cells that are normally present in a memory core 1900 . In this option, component 1001 is assumed to be a memory component. In this case, the storage area 1901 , labeled “region”, is reserved for receiving the pattern set from component 1000 , and for retransmitting the pattern set back to component 1000 . This storage area may only be used by the calibration process, and should not be used by any normal application process. If this storage area were used by an application process, it is possible that application information could be overwritten by the pattern set information and thereby lost. The benefit of this approach is that no additional storage needs to be added to component 1001 (and no special path from receiver to transmitter). The cost of this approach is that a hole is created in the address space of the memory component. Since most memory components contain a power-of-two number of storage cells, this may create a problem with some application processes, particularly if two or more memory components must create a contiguous memory address space (i.e. with no holes). FIG. 20 shows an option in which the storage block is again implemented from the storage cells that are normally present in a memory core 1900 . In this option, component B is assumed to be a memory component. In this case, the storage area 1901 labeled “region” is reserved for receiving the pattern set from component 1000 , and for retransmitting the pattern set back to component 1000 . This storage area may only be used by the calibration process, and should not be used by any normal application process. Unlike the option in FIG. 19 , however, component 1000 adds a storage block 2001 , labeled “cache”, which emulates the storage capability of the storage area 1901 “region”. When a write is performed to the “region” of storage area 1901 , it is intercepted and redirected to the “cache” in storage 2001 . Likewise, when a read is performed to the “region” of storage area 1901 , the read is intercepted and redirected, returning read data from “cache” via mux 2002 . In this way, the application processes see no hole in the memory address space. The benefit of this option is that no additional storage needs to be added to component 1001 (and no special path from receiver to transmitter). The cost of this approach is that a storage block 2001 “cache,” with address comparison logic to determine when the application is attempting to access the region 1901 , must be added to component 1000 , as well as the control logic and “mux” block 2002 needed to intercept read and write commands for component 1001 . FIG. 21 shows an option in which the storage block is again implemented from the storage cells that are normally present in a memory core 1900 . In this option, component 1001 is assumed to be a memory component. In this case, the storage area 1901 labeled “region” is used for receiving the pattern set from component 1000 , and for retransmitting the pattern set back to component 1000 . This storage area 1901 may be used by both the calibration process and by the application processes, however. In order to ensure that the application processes are not affected by the periodic calibration process, a temporary storage block 2101 , labeled “temp”, is provided in component 1000 , along with a “mux” block 2102 for accessing it. When a calibration process starts, the contents of “region” are read and loaded into “temp” storage block 2101 . The calibration process steps may now be carried out using the storage area 1901 . When the calibration sequence has completed, the contents of “temp” storage block 2101 are accessed and written back to the “region” of storage area 1901 , and the application process allowed to restart. Again, the application processes see no hole in the memory address space. The benefit of this option is that no additional storage needs to be added to component 1001 (and no special path from receiver to transmitter). The cost of this approach is that a storage block 2101 and the “mux” block 2102 must be added to component 1000 . The calibration process becomes longer, since a read operation must be added to the beginning, and a write operation must be added to the end, supporting the use of the “temp” storage block 2101 . FIG. 22 shows an option in which the storage block is implemented from the latching sense amplifier circuit 2201 that is present in a memory component 1001 . Latching sense amplifier circuit 2201 includes latches or other storage resources associated with sense amplifiers. Most memory components use such a latching sense amplifier circuit 2201 to access and hold a row 2202 of storage cells from the memory core 1900 . Read operations are then directed to the sense amplifier which temporarily holds the contents of the row of storage cells. Write operations are directed to both the sense amplifier and to the row of storage cells so that the information held by these two storage structures is consistent. When another row of storage cells is to be accessed, the sense amplifier is precharged and reloaded with this different row. When component 1001 is a memory component with such a latching sense amplifier circuit 2201 , it is possible to modify its operation to permit a special mode of access for calibration. In this special mode, the sense amplifier may be written by the receiver circuit 1004 and may read to the transmitter circuit 1023 without first being loaded from a row 2202 of storage cells in the memory core 1900 . This permits the storage resource of the sense amplifier circuits 2201 to be used to store received calibration patterns, or portions of received calibration patterns, in region 2203 (which may include less than an entire row in some embodiments) for calibration without affecting the contents of the memory core, which would affect the interrupted application process. This second access mode would require a gating circuit 2204 between the memory core and the sense amplifier, which could be disabled during the calibration process. There is typically such a gating circuit 2204 in most memory components. A benefit of this option is that no additional storage needs to be added to component 1001 (and no special path from receiver to transmitter). The cost of this approach is that a modification must be made to critical circuits in the core of a memory component. Reordering of Calibration Steps to Improve Throughput The individual steps that are shown in the calibration processes described above do not necessarily have to be done in the order shown. In fact, if some reordering is done, the overhead of the calibration process can be reduced, improving the effective signaling bandwidth of the system and reducing the worst case delay seen by latency—sensitive operations. For example, in the case of the calibration process for the transmitter shown in FIG. 6 , it is not necessary to perform the evaluation steps and the update steps (compare 606 and adjust 607 ) in sequence as shown. Instead, the transmitter calibration process may be performed in the following manner: (Step 2301 ) Suspend normal transmit and receive operations, by completing transactions in progress and preventing new ones from beginning, or by interrupting transactions that are in progress. (Step 2302 ) Control the “adjust” logic so the transmitter uses a calibrate (TXA/TXB) drive-timing-point according to the stored results of the previous comparison. (Step 2303 ) Control the “adjust” logic so that the pattern block is coupled to the transmitter. (Step 2304 ) A pattern sequence is read or created from the pattern block and is transmitted onto the interconnect using the selected calibrate drive-timing-point. (Step 2305 ) The pattern sequence is received using the normal (RX) sample-timing-point. (Step 2306 ) Control the “adjust” logic so the transmitter uses a normal (TX) drive-timing-point. (Step 2307 ) Control the “adjust” logic so that the “normal path” to the transmitter is enabled. (Step 2308 ) Resume normal transmit and receive operations. (Step 2309 ) The received pattern sequence is compared to the expected pattern sequence from the “pattern” block. (Step 2310 ) The calibrate drive-timing-point (TXA/TXB, TX) is adjusted according to the results of the comparison. In the modified sequence, normal transmit and receive operations may be restarted earlier. This is possible because the comparison results are saved and used to adjust the timing point during the next calibration process. A more significant saving in overhead is possible in the system of FIG. 13 , by changing the order of steps in the process of FIG. 14 , for example. It is possible to separate the evaluation and update steps as previously described. However, it is also possible to perform receive operations with the first component while its transmitter is changing the drive-timing-point between the normal and calibrate values. The periodic calibration process could become: (Step 2401 a ) Suspend normal transmit operations, by completing transactions in progress and preventing new ones from beginning, or by interrupting transactions that are in progress (Step 2402 a ) Control the “adjust” logic so the transmitter uses a calibrate (TXA/TXB) drive-timing-point according to the stored results of the previous comparison. (Step 2403 a ) Control the “adjust” logic that the pattern block is coupled to the transmitter. (Step 2404 a ) A pattern sequence is created from the “pattern” block and is transmitted onto the interconnect using the selected calibrate drive-timing-point. (Step 2405 a ) The pattern sequence is received in the second component and placed in storage. (Step 2406 a ) Control the “adjust” logic so the transmitter uses a normal (TX) drive-timing-point. (Step 2407 a ) Control the “adjust” logic so that the “normal path” to the transmitter is enabled. (Step 2408 a ) Resume normal transmit operations. Note that receive operations could continue during this process except when the calibration pattern is actually being transmitted on the interconnect. In particular, the component could receive while its transmitter is changing the drive-timing-point between the normal and calibrate values. The second set of steps for the calibration process would consist of: (Step 2401 b ) The pattern sequence in storage is transmitted onto the interconnect by the second component. (Step 2402 b ) The pattern sequence is received using the normal (RX) sample-timing-point. (Step 2403 b ) The received pattern sequence is compared to the expected pattern sequence from the “pattern” block. (Step 2404 b ) The calibrate drive-timing-point (TXA/TXB, TX) is adjusted according to the results of the comparison. Note that normal transmit and receive operations could continue during this process except when the calibration pattern is actually being received from the interconnect. If reordering and overlapping of calibration steps is done, the overhead of the calibration process can be reduced, improving the effective signaling bandwidth of the system and reducing the worst case delay seen by latency-sensitive operations. The reduction in overhead can also permit the periodic calibration process to be executed at a more frequent rate. The benefit is that this will compensate for sources of timing drift that change more rapidly. This will permit more of the bit time to be used for the transmitter drive time variation and the receiver sampling window, and less of the bit time will be needed for timing drift within the system. FIG. 25 illustrates an example like that of FIG. 13 , with the exception that the point to point bidirectional link of FIG. 13 is replaced with a multidrop link, coupling component 2500 to a plurality of components 2551 , 2552 . The multidrop link configuration can be applied in other configurations. In the representative example shown in FIG. 25 , a first bidirectional component 2500 and a plurality of other bidirectional components 2551 , 2552 are connected in a point to multi-point configuration, or multipoint to multipoint configuration, with an interconnection medium referred to as Link 2502 . Normal path 2510 acts as a source of data signals for normal operation of component 2500 during transmit operations. Normal path 2531 acts as a destination of data signals for component 2500 , during normal receive operations. The calibration operations are interleaved, and re-ordered, in this embodiment with normal communications, as described above to improve throughput and utilization of the communication medium The first bidirectional component 2500 includes a block 2505 labeled “pattern”, which can consist of pattern storage or pattern generation circuitry, and which is used as a source of transmit calibration patterns. A multiplexer block 2506 labeled “mux,” implemented for example using a logical layer or physical layer switch, enables the transmit calibration pattern set to be driven onto the link by the transmitter circuit 2503 . The transmitter drive point can be adjusted by the block 2507 labeled “adjust”. In this embodiment, the adjust block 2507 includes storage for multiple parameter sets which are applied depending on the one of the other components 2551 , 2552 , . . . on the link to which the transmission is being sent. Component 2500 also has support for calibrating receiver 2524 , including a block 2528 labeled “pattern”, which can consist of pattern storage or pattern generation circuitry, and which is used as a source of expected patterns for comparison with received patterns. A block 2529 labeled “compare” enables the received pattern set to be compared to the expected pattern set, and causes an adjustment to be made to either the transmitter or receiver. The receiver sample point can be adjusted by the block 2532 labeled “adjust”. In this embodiment, the adjust block 2507 includes storage for multiple parameter sets which are applied depending on the one of the other components 2551 , 2552 , . . . on the link from which the communication is being received. In the first component 2500 , the compare block 2529 is used for analysis of both transmit and receive calibration operations, and is coupled to both the adjust block 2507 for the transmitter, and adjust block 2532 for the receiver. In the example of FIG. 25 , the receiver sample point and transmitter drive point of the first bidirectional component 2500 are adjustable. The other components 2551 , 2552 , . . . are implemented as described with reference to FIG. 13 without adjustment resources, in this example, and not described here. In alternative embodiments, the components 2551 , 2552 , . . . on the link may be provided with adjustment and calibration resources, as described for other embodiments above. While the present invention is disclosed by reference to the preferred embodiments and examples detailed above, it is to be understood that these examples are intended in an illustrative rather than in a limiting sense. It is contemplated that modifications and combinations will readily occur to those skilled in the art, which modifications and combinations will be within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the following claims.

A method and system provides for execution of calibration cycles from time to time during normal operation of the communication channel. A calibration cycle includes de-coupling the normal data source from the transmitter and supplying a calibration pattern in its place. The calibration pattern is received from the communication link using the receiver on the second component. A calibrated value of a parameter of the communication channel is determined in response to the received calibration pattern. The steps involved in calibration cycles can be reordered to account for utilization patterns of the communication channel. For bidirectional links, calibration cycles are executed which include the step of storing received calibration patterns on the second component, and retransmitting such calibration patterns back to the first component for use in adjusting parameters of the channel at first component.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/655,485 filed Jun. 5, 2012, and entitled “Apparatus, Systems, and Methods for Reconfigurable Robotic Manipulator and Coupling,” which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT [0002] At least some portion of the technology disclosed herein was developed while work was performed for NASA on contract number NNJ08JA66C during the period that includes Jan. 29, 2007 to Aug. 29, 2010. BACKGROUND [0003] The disclosure relates generally to automation and robotics, and more particularly, the disclosure relates to manipulator arms, end-effectors, and adapter mechanisms for manipulator arms and end-effectors. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to apparatus and methods for interchanging and operating manipulator arms and end-effectors. [0004] The field of automation and robotics augments and extends human activities and exploration both on earth and in space. Stationary robots are common in industrial settings for repetitive tasks such as product assembly and packaging. Mobile robots work in a variety of indoor and outdoor settings, moving through varied terrain and in varied environmental conditions. Mobile robots travel on the ground, through the air, and through water to investigate difficult-to-reach locations, handle chemicals, collect environmental samples and data, patrol property, search for people trapped in rubble, and perform a variety of other tasks. [0005] The physical work of a robot is performed by end-effectors mounted on manipulator arms. Mating adapters connect the end-effector to the manipulator arm and the manipulator arm to the body of the robot. The end-effector may be a hand tool, a power tool, a dexterous gripper, a scientific probe, a scoop, or any other attachable device that allows the robot to engage its surroundings. A manipulator arm connects an end-effector to the body of the robot and provides reach capability. A manipulator arm includes one or more segments or joints each with the ability to move in prescribed directions. Basic movements for joints include pitch, which is like the rotational motion of a human elbow, roll, which is like the motion of a human wrist when the hand is rotated about the forearm axis, and linear extension/retraction. Forming a manipulator arm from multiple joints gives the manipulator more flexibility, i.e., the ability to move in more directions. The objective is to move the end-effector toward a target and to engage the target. Basic movements for an end-effector include translation (up-down, forward-backward, and left-right) and rotation (clockwise and counterclockwise). Each of the three translational movements may be assigned to one axis of a coordinate system defined by three orthogonal, mutually perpendicular axes. The axes may be called x, y, and z. The orientation and starting point (origin) of the group of axes may be defined with reference to one of several places. For example, the orientation and origin may be established at a fixed spot within the region being explored (earth or moon), on the robot body, or at the connection point of the end-effector. The last two locations would define a moving and rotating coordinate system because the robot moves and turns. [0006] The total number of independent, basic movements that a particular manipulator arm or an end-effector may make is known as its degrees-of-freedom (DOF). Three DOF are achieved by the translational movement along the three axes. Forward and reverse movement along any one axis is considered one DOF. When the end-effector is rotated clockwise or counter-clockwise around any of the three axes, this capability adds three more DOF, for a total of six DOF. Adding more joints to a manipulator arm adds more DOF. [0007] When a manipulator arm is formed from joints with pitch and roll capabilities, performing a straight translational movement of the end-effector requires the simultaneous movement of multiple joints. Moving multiple joints simultaneously is governed by software algorithms stored in a computer or in another control system that may be on the main body of the robot or separate from the robot. [0008] The work required of a particular robot may change, often requiring modifications to the robot. Common modifications or reconfigurations involve replacing the end-effector or the entire manipulator arm. If the new equipment has a different connecting adapter, the adapter on the robot must be either modified or replaced. If the new equipment has the same adapter as the previous manipulator or end-effector, then the exchange will be simpler but may still require significant effort. The end-effector and manipulator arm may be coupled by an adapter using threaded fasters such as bolts and nuts or machine screws, or coupled by clamps, or coupled by a pneumatically-actuated lock mechanism. These coupling methods require one or more tools or a source of compressed air. Furthermore, the exchange of an end-effector and manipulator arm typically requires adjustment to the controlling software to account for the reach, DOF, lift capability, and other parameters of the new equipment. Seemingly simple modifications to a robot can often be time-consuming and labor intensive. [0009] Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for improved devices and methods for reconfiguring robotic manipulators arms and end-effectors. SUMMARY [0010] A robotic manipulator arm is disclosed. The arm includes joints that are attachable and detachable in a tool-free manner via a universal mating adapter. The universal mating adapter includes a built-in electrical interface for an operative electrical connection upon mechanical coupling of the adapter portions. The universal mating adapter includes mechanisms and the ability to store and communicate parameter configurations such that the joints can be rearranged for immediate operation of the arm without further reprogramming, recompiling, or other software intervention. [0011] In some embodiments, a reconfigurable robotic manipulator arm includes a first joint including a first end assembly having a mechanical coupling interface and an electrical interface, and a second end assembly having a mechanical coupling interface and an electrical interface, a second joint including a third end assembly having a mechanical coupling interface and an electrical interface, and a fourth end assembly having a mechanical coupling interface and an electrical interface, wherein the first and fourth end assemblies are connectable at the first and fourth mechanical coupling interfaces to form a first adapter between the first and second joints including an operative electrical connection between the first and fourth electrical interfaces, and wherein the first and second joints are detachable at the first adapter and re-connectable at the second and third mechanical coupling interfaces to form a second adapter between the first and second joints including an operative electrical connection between the second and third electrical interfaces. In some embodiments, at least one of the adapters includes a control board. In some embodiments, the control board is configured to store electrical data, such as operational parameters of at least one of the joints. In some embodiments, the control board is configured to pass power or electrical signals between coupled joints. In some embodiments, the control board is configured to pass power or electrical signals between a joint coupled to a robot or end-effector. [0012] In some embodiments, a joint for a robotic manipulator arm includes a base section, a rotatable section, a motor configured to rotate the rotatable section or the base section with respect to the other section, a brake, and a magnetic brake release switch configured to be activated by a removable external magnet and when activated to release the joint to move freely, wherein a ferrous metal member may augment the performance of the magnetic brake release switch. In some embodiments, the joint includes a position sensor assembly configured to detect the absolute angular position of the rotatable section with respect to the base section wherein the position sensor assembly is mounted on one of the joint sections and passes or moves near a position-indicating design mounted on the other section of the joint. [0013] In some embodiments, an adapter for connecting different portions of a robotic system includes a first assembly including a mechanical coupling interface and an electrical interface, and a second assembly including a mechanical coupling interface and an electrical interface, wherein the first assembly is connectable to a first portion of the robotic system, wherein the second assembly is connectable to a second portion of the robotic system, wherein the mechanical interfaces are connectable in a tool-free manner whereby the electrical interfaces are brought into contact to form an operative electrical connection in the adapter. In some embodiments, the first assembly and the second assembly comprise a plurality of mating pairs of slidably engageable electrical connectors to transfer data and power signals between the first and second assemblies and one or more attached joints. In some embodiments, the transfer of data or power will not occur unless at least one specified pair of mating electrical connectors is engaged, and wherein the other mating pairs of electrical connectors are always engaged whenever the at least one specified pair is partially engaged or engaged. In some embodiments, the first assembly forms a hermetically sealed barrier, or the second assembly forms a hermetically sealed barrier. In some embodiments, the adapter further includes a mechanism for automatically detaching an object from or attaching the object to a robotic joint or manipulator arm, the mechanism including a socket portion including the first assembly, a plug portion including the second assembly, at least one motor-driven surface, wherein the object to be detached or attached may be an end-effector or another joint, wherein the motor-driven surface is configured to induce the rotational engagement of the first and second assemblies, and wherein the mechanism is configured for automatic or manual operation. [0014] Thus, embodiments described herein comprise a combination of features and characteristics intended to address various shortcomings associated with certain prior devices, systems, and methods. The various features and characteristics described above, as well as others, will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description, and by referring to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0015] For a detailed description of the disclosed embodiments of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which: [0016] FIG. 1 is side view of an embodiment of a robotic manipulator arm comprising a series of connected joints in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0017] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a mobile robot base coupled with the manipulator arm of FIG. 1 and an end-effector tool, in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0018] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another end-effector tool that may couple to the manipulator arm of FIG. 1 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0019] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a universal mating adapter (UMA), which may also be referred to as a universal mechanical-electrical coupling (UMEC), in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0020] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the UMA shown in FIG. 4 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0021] FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the UMA shown in FIG. 4 with the components of the plug assembly and the socket assembly identified, in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0022] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the plug connector body of the UMA shown in FIG. 6 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0023] FIG. 8 is a perspective sectional view of the UMA plug connector body shown in FIG. 7 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0024] FIG. 9 is a first perspective view of the control board and power board of the UMA plug assembly shown in FIG. 6 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0025] FIG. 10 is a second perspective view of the control board and power board of FIG. 9 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0026] FIG. 11 is a first perspective view of a mounting plate of the UMA shown in FIG. 6 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0027] FIG. 12 is a second perspective view of the UMA mounting plate of FIG. 11 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0028] FIG. 13 is a first perspective view of a plug interface board for the UMA shown in FIG. 6 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0029] FIG. 14 is a second perspective view of the UMA plug interface board in FIG. 13 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0030] FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the socket connector body of the UMA shown in FIG. 6 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0031] FIG. 16 is a second perspective sectional view of the socket connector body shown in FIG. 15 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0032] FIG. 17 is a first perspective view of a socket power board of the UMA shown in FIG. 6 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0033] FIG. 18 is a second perspective view of the UMA socket power board of FIG. 17 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0034] FIG. 19 is a first perspective view of a socket interface board for the UMA shown in FIG. 6 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0035] FIG. 20 is a second perspective view of the UMA socket interface board in FIG. 19 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0036] FIG. 21 illustrates a sectional view of a roll joint that may be incorporated into the robotic manipulator arm of FIG. 1 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0037] FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a proximal end cap for the roll joint of FIG. 21 to attach the UMA plug connector body of FIG. 7 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0038] FIG. 23 is perspective sectional view of the proximal end cap of FIG. 22 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0039] FIG. 24 is a perspective view of a distal end cap for the roll joint of FIG. 21 to attach the UMA socket connector body of FIG. 15 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0040] FIG. 25 is perspective sectional view of the distal end cap of FIG. 24 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0041] FIG. 26 is a perspective view of a pitch joint that may be incorporated into the robotic manipulator arm of FIG. 1 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0042] FIG. 27 illustrates a sectional view of the pitch joint in FIG. 26 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0043] FIG. 28 is a perspective view of automated detach/attach module (ADAM) that incorporates the UMA of FIG. 4 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0044] FIG. 29 is a side view of the combined UMA and automated detach/attach module of FIG. 28 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; [0045] FIG. 30 is a side view of an ADAM coupled to a portion of the robotic manipulator arm of FIG. 1 and coupled to an end-effector tool in accordance with the disclosure of FIG. 3 , for which the outline of a tool holder is shown; [0046] FIG. 31 is a perspective view of a position sensor assembly for a joint, such as the roll joint of FIG. 21 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; and [0047] FIG. 32 is a position-indicating label to be read by digital and analog sensors of the position sensor assembly of FIG. 31 , in accordance with the principles disclosed herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0048] The following discussion is directed to various embodiments of the invention. The embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted or otherwise used as limiting the scope of the disclosure. One skilled in the art will understand that the following description has broad application, and the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary of that embodiment, and not intended to suggest that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, is limited to that embodiment. [0049] Certain terms are used in the following description and claims to refer to particular features or components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, different persons may refer to the same feature or component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components or features that differ in name but not function. The drawing figures are not necessarily to scale. Certain features and components herein may be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic form, and some details of conventional elements may not be shown in interest of clarity and conciseness. In addition, like or identical reference numerals may be used to identify common or similar elements. However, for clarity in the figures, not every similar or common element will be identified. [0050] In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . .” Also, the term “couple” or “couples” is intended to mean either an indirect or direct connection. Thus, if a first device couples or is coupled to a second device, that connection may be through a direct connection, or through an indirect connection via other devices, components, and connections. In addition, as used herein, the terms “axial” and “axially” generally mean along or parallel to a given axis (e.g., central axis of a body or a port), while the terms “radial” and “radially” generally mean perpendicular to the axis. For instance, an axial distance refers to a distance measured along or parallel to the axis, and a radial distance means a distance measured perpendicular to the axis. [0051] The terms “system,” “assembly,” and “sub-assembly” may refer to a collection of two or more components, or elements, that are associated with one another and that may be coupled together. Furthermore, a system, assembly, or sub-assembly may be comprised of a collection of other, lesser systems, assemblies, or sub-assemblies. The terms “proximal” and “distal” will refer to the intended mounting location of an object or feature relative to the location of the main body of a robot or relative to the location of another supporting device. As such, proximal will describe an object or feature located closer to the main body of a robot as compared to a distal object or feature. [0052] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of robotic manipulator arm 1 comprising one or more segments, or joints, 5 . When arm 1 is formed from multiple joints 5 , each joint 5 may be selectively coupled to an adjacent joint 5 by an interchangeable connector called a universal mating adapter (UMA) 100 , which is alternatively called a universal mechanical-electrical coupling (UMEC). In FIG. 1 , seven joints 5 are shown, but more or fewer joints 5 may be included in the configuration of a robotic manipulator arm like arm 1 . Examples of various types of joints 5 include a roll joint 20 and a pitch joint 60 , and will be explained in further detail in the disclosure below. The arm 1 may also include a UMA socket assembly 305 . FIG. 2 illustrates an integrated system, called robot 10 , comprising mobile robot base 11 , an arm 1 with one or more UMA 100 , and a robot controller 12 . Robot controller 12 includes software to govern the performance of robot 10 , including arm 1 and a tool 14 . One of the UMA 100 (not visible) couples the robot main base 11 to one end of arm 1 . Another UMA 100 may attach a tool, also called an end-effector, to the other end of arm 1 . In the example of FIG. 2 , gripping tool 14 is coupled to arm 1 . [0053] Another example of an end-effector is tool 85 in FIG. 3 , which, in this embodiment, is a scoop configured to collect a soil sample or to perform similar tasks. In other embodiments, tool 85 may instead incorporate a drill, a gripper, a saw, cameras, or another capability. Reference to tool 85 throughout the disclosure will assume that tool 85 has any one or more of these capabilities. In FIG. 3 , tool 85 is shown with a tri-lobe adapter plate 86 , which aids during removal and storage. Tool 85 may include sensors (not shown) to measure environmental conditions or tool performance or for diagnostics. If sensors are included in tool 85 , power and data signals can be exchanged with the robot controller 12 through manipulator arm 1 . [0054] UMA 100 is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 . As identified in the exploded view of FIG. 6 , UMA 100 comprises two primary sub-assemblies: a first or proximal sub-assembly called a UMA socket assembly 305 and a second or distal sub-assembly called a UMA plug assembly 105 . [0055] Referring to FIG. 6 , UMA plug assembly 105 comprises several components: a generally annular plug connector body 120 (also FIG. 4 ), an internally threaded locking ring 160 , a power board 175 (also FIG. 4 ), a control board 180 (also FIG. 4 ), a mounting plate 190 , an o-ring 215 , an electrical plug interface board 220 , and a central axis 106 . Each component of plug assembly 105 will be explained in the following paragraphs. Subsequently, the assembly of these components will be explained. [0056] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 , the generally annular plug connector body 120 of UMA plug assembly 105 comprises a central axis 106 , a first or proximal end 123 , second or distal end 124 , cylindrical outer surface 126 , cylindrical inner surface 127 , a circumferential outer flange 130 , an inner flange 135 , generally rectangular mechanical bosses 140 , countersunk through-holes 146 , and generally trapezoidal recesses 148 . Outer flange 130 is disposed at the proximal end 123 of plug body 120 . Outer flange 130 comprises a distal end 132 and a cylindrical outer surface 131 . Inner flange 135 is disposed axially near the center of the inner surface 127 and extends radially inward from inner surface 127 . Inner flange 135 is characterized by a proximal surface 136 , a cylindrical inner surface 138 , and a seal gland 139 adjacent to proximal surface 136 . Mechanical bosses 140 extend axially away from proximal end 123 and in some aspect define a continuation of inner surface 127 . In the disclosed embodiment, plug body 120 has four mechanical bosses 140 . Other embodiments may have a different number of bosses or may have bosses of different shapes but functionally similar to bosses 140 . The end of each mechanical boss 140 includes an engagement tab 142 , which extends radially outward and might not extend back to proximal surface 123 . The engagement tabs 142 are uniquely placed on bosses 140 so that if plug body 120 is rotated about its central axis 106 , the new position of engagement tabs 142 will only match their original position if the angle of rotation of plug body 120 is a multiple of 360 degrees. This angular limitation insures that mechanical bosses 140 and their corresponding engagement tabs 142 only allow UMA plug assembly 105 and UMA socket assembly 305 to engage in a single orientation relative to one another. The coupling of plug assembly 105 and socket assembly 305 will be described in more detail at a later point in this disclosure. [0057] Continuing with plug connector body 120 in FIGS. 7 and 8 , countersunk through-holes 146 start at proximal end 123 and extend through distal end 124 to allow machine screws (not shown) to couple plug body 120 , and therefore all of UMA plug assembly 105 , to a joint 5 of robotic manipulator arm 1 . In depth, recesses 148 extend from proximal end 123 of plug body 120 to proximal surface 136 of inner flange 135 . In the radial direction, recesses 148 in plug body 120 extend outward from inner surface 127 . [0058] Returning to FIG. 6 , locking ring 160 includes a central axis 106 , a first or proximal end 163 , a second or distal end 164 , a cylindrical outer surface 166 , a cylindrical inner surface 168 , and a flange 170 . Additionally, threads 169 are cut into inner surface 168 . Flange 170 at distal end 164 extends radially inward and includes a generally smooth, inner proximal face 171 within ring 160 . Distal end 164 includes an external surface 165 that is perpendicular to central axis 106 . In the example of FIG. 6 , flange 170 includes a portion of external surface 165 . The external surface 165 is generally smooth in at least one embodiment. In at least one embodiment, cylindrical outer surface 166 may have dimples, knurling, or another form of rough surface (not shown) to improve the ability of operators and equipment to grip surface 166 . [0059] FIGS. 9 and 10 present power board 175 and control board 180 of plug assembly 105 , which are coupled by threaded fasteners 177 a and nuts 177 b , and are held at a fixed distance apart by spacers 178 . Power board 175 comprises a central axis 106 a first or proximal face 174 , a second or distal face 176 , one or more sets of power and data connector receptacles 179 , and a variety of multi-pin electrical connectors 184 . Receptacles 179 pass through power board 175 , extending beyond proximal face 174 and extending further beyond distal face 176 . Although not shown, power board 175 may also comprise power conditioning circuitry, fuses, internal circuitry, and other components to aid in routing electrical power and data signals to a coupled joint 5 or to a coupled tool 85 . [0060] Control board 180 comprises one or more integrated circuits and a variety of multi-pin electrical connectors 184 . Although not shown, control board 180 may also comprise fuses, internal circuitry, other integrated circuits, memory storage device(s), software, and other components to aid in managing a coupled joint 5 or a coupled tool 85 . When coupled to power board 175 , control board 180 is positioned nearest distal face 176 , and threaded fasteners 177 A extend beyond proximal face 174 . Some of the multi-pin electrical connectors 184 couple control board 180 to power board 175 . Other multi-pin electrical connectors 184 may couple with components, such as a motor or a sensor, of a joint 5 when a UMA plug assembly 105 is connected to a joint 5 or may couple to components of an end-effector tool (not shown). [0061] As indicated in FIG. 6 , a mounting plate 190 or a derivative of plate 190 may be incorporated into either a UMA plug assembly 105 or a UMA socket assembly 305 . As illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12 , mounting plate 190 includes a central axis 106 , a first end 193 , a second end 194 , a first recessed face 195 , a second recessed face 196 , a generally cylindrical outer surface 198 , multiple external circumferentially-spaced tabs 202 , and a seal gland 204 . First end 193 , second end 194 , first recessed face 195 , and second recessed face 196 are perpendicular to central axis 106 . Seal gland 204 is radially disposed near first end 193 between the first recessed face 195 and outer surface 198 . More than one tab 202 is circumferentially-spaced along outer surface 198 . The exemplary embodiment of mounting plate 190 includes four tabs 202 . Each tab 202 includes a countersunk through-hole 203 , starting at first end 193 and extending through second end 194 . A generally rectangular recess 206 in face 195 is positioned off-center from central axis 106 . At least one through-hole 208 extends from recessed face 195 to recessed face 196 . In the example of plate 190 , four through-holes 208 are positioned towards the outer radial extent of recessed face 195 , approximately ninety degrees apart measured across axis 106 . At least one generally rectangular slot 210 extends from recessed face 195 through recessed face 196 as does at least one slot 212 . Slot 212 may be described as generally rectangular with the addition of wings, or smaller slots, that extend almost tangentially from either side of the primary slotted opening. In the example of plate 190 , two slots 210 are disposed on opposite sides of central axis 106 . Ninety degrees from these slots 210 are two of the slots 212 . [0062] Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14 , electrical plug interface board 220 of UMA plug assembly 105 comprises a central axis 106 , a first or proximal face 223 , a second or distal face 224 , an cylindrical outer surface 226 , one or more standoffs 228 , one or more sets of internal power and data pins 230 , and one or more sets of power and data transfer pins 232 , and one or more spring-loaded axially-extendable pins P 13 , P 14 . In the exemplary embodiment shown, four standoffs 228 are fixedly attached to board 220 closer to outer surface 226 than to central axis 106 and spaced 90 degrees from each other about axis 106 . Standoffs 228 pass through faces 223 , 224 , extending beyond proximal face 223 and extending further beyond distal face 224 . Two sets of power and data pins 230 , each with a plurality of pins, extend beyond face 224 on opposite sides of central axis 106 . Two sets of power and data transfer pins 232 , each with a plurality of pins, extend beyond face 223 on opposite sides of central axis 106 and displaced ninety degrees about axis 106 from the sets of pins 230 . Axially-extendable pins P 13 , P 14 are positioned on either side of one set of transfer pins 232 , extending beyond face 223 but not as far beyond face 223 as any of the pins 232 extend. When pins P 13 and P 14 engage a mating surface on a member of a UMA socket assembly 305 , power and data transfer between the mating plug assembly 105 and socket assembly 305 may be initiated. This coupling of plug assembly 105 and socket assembly 305 will be explained in more detail later in this disclosure. [0063] As arranged in FIG. 6 , A UMA plug assembly 105 may be compiled from the following parts, arranged generally in the order listed from the most distal to the most proximal component (left to right in FIG. 6 ): internally threaded locking ring 160 , plug connector body 120 , control board 180 , power board 175 , mounting plate 190 , O-ring 215 , and plug interface board 220 . In an assembly, locking ring 160 is positioned around a plug connector body 120 such that proximal face 171 of inner flange 170 on ring 160 ( FIG. 6 ) may abut the distal end 132 of outer flange 130 on plug body 120 ( FIG. 8 ). In this manner, locking ring 160 and plug connector body 120 are loosely engaged with axial and rotational degrees-of-freedom (DOF), i.e., the capability to move relative to one another in the stated directions. [0064] Another portion of plug assembly 105 will be considered next. As seen in FIG. 10 , a control board 180 is coupled near the distal face 176 of a power board 175 by threaded fasteners 177 A and nuts 177 B, separated by an appropriate distance with spacers 178 . The proximal ends of these threaded fasteners 177 B are aligned and positioned in through-holes 208 of a mounting plate 190 ( FIG. 12 ). The alignment includes the passing of the receptacles 179 on power board 175 through the slots 210 of mounting plate 190 . An O-ring 215 ( FIG. 6 ) seats within seal gland 204 near first end 193 which is positioned as the proximal side of the stated mounting plate 190 . Once aligned and abutted, the distal face 224 of a plug interface board 220 ( FIG. 14 ) seals against O-ring 215 to inhibit the passage of liquid or gas. In other words, as configured, a hermetically sealed barrier may be formed. Alignment of plug interface board 220 includes that insertion and coupling of fasteners 177 B in standoffs 228 . This description refers to the portion of fasteners 177 B that pass through mounting plate 190 . Internal data and power pins 230 slidingly engage receptacles 179 on power board 175 , which are disposed within slots 210 of mounting plate 190 . [0065] As may be inferred from FIG. 6 , tabs 202 of mounting plate 190 fit within recesses 148 of plug connector body 120 to be held by threaded fasteners (not shown) inserted through holes 203 and into body 120 . This arrangement forms a UMA plug assembly 105 . Power and data transfer pins 232 and axially-extendable pins P 13 and P 14 of interface board 220 extend from the proximal end of UMA plug assembly 105 as do mechanical bosses 140 of plug connector body 120 . These extending features ( 232 , P 13 , P 14 , 140 ) are available for engagement with a UMA socket assembly 305 . [0066] UMA socket assembly 305 of UMA 100 in FIG. 6 comprises multiple components: a generally annular socket connector body 320 (also FIG. 4 ), a power board 360 (also FIG. 4 ), a mounting plate 190 , an o-ring 215 , an electrical socket interface board 380 , and a central axis 306 . The components of socket assembly 305 will be explained in the following paragraphs. Subsequently, the assembly of these components will be explained. [0067] As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 , the generally annular socket connector body 320 comprises a central axis 306 , a first or proximal end 323 , a second or distal end 324 , a generally cylindrical outer surface 326 , a generally cylindrical inner surface 327 , external threads 330 , an inner flange 335 , more than one multifaceted recess 340 , countersunk through-holes 346 , and generally trapezoidal recesses 348 . Flange 335 extends radially inward from inner surface 327 with the exterior surface 336 flush at proximal end 323 . Inner flange 335 is also characterized by a cylindrical inner surface 338 and a seal gland 339 adjacent to distal surface 337 . In depth, multifaceted recesses 340 extend from distal end 324 of socket connector body 320 to distal surface 337 of inner flange 335 . At distal end 324 , multifaceted recesses 340 include chamfered portions 341 . In the radial direction, multifaceted recesses 340 extend outward from inner surface 327 and may be considered to be an extension of inner surface 327 . In the disclosed embodiment, socket connector body 320 has four multifaceted recesses 340 ; although, other embodiments may have a different number of recesses functionally similar to recesses 340 . Each multifaceted recess 340 is shaped to slidingly engage and capture a particular mechanical boss 140 and a corresponding engagement tab 142 on plug connector body 120 ( FIG. 7 ). This engagement limitation insures that a UMA plug assembly 105 and a UMA socket assembly 305 engage in a single orientation relative to one another. [0068] Continuing with socket connector body 320 in FIGS. 15 and 16 , countersunk through-holes 346 start at distal end 324 and extend through proximal end 323 to allow machine screws (not shown) to coupled socket connector body 320 , and therefore all of UMA socket assembly 305 , to a joint 5 of robotic manipulator arm 1 . In depth, generally trapezoidal recesses 348 extend from distal end 324 of socket connector body 320 to distal surface 337 of inner flange 335 . In the radial direction, recesses 348 in socket connector body 320 extend outward from inner surface 327 . [0069] FIGS. 17 and 18 present power board 360 of socket assembly 305 comprises a central axis 306 , a first or proximal face 362 , a second or distal face 363 one or more sets of power and data connector receptacles 179 , a variety of multi-pin electrical connectors 184 and threaded fasteners 364 A and nuts 364 B. Although not shown, power board 360 may also comprise power conditioning circuitry, fuses, internal circuitry, electrical jumpers, and other components to aid in routing electrical power and data signals to a coupled joint 5 or to a coupled tool 85 . Receptacles 179 pass through power board 175 , extending beyond distal face 363 and extending further beyond proximal face 362 . Threaded fasteners 364 A extend beyond distal face 363 . Multi-pin electrical connectors 184 may couple components, such as a motor or a sensor, within a joint 5 when a UMA socket assembly 305 is connected to a joint 5 . [0070] Referring to FIGS. 19 and 20 , electrical socket interface board 380 of UMA socket assembly 305 comprises a central axis 306 , a first or proximal face 383 , a second or distal face 384 , an cylindrical outer surface 386 , one or more standoffs 388 , one or more sets of internal power and data pins 390 , one or more sets of power and data transfer receptacles 392 , and one or more electrical contacts C 13 , C 14 . In the exemplary embodiment shown, four standoffs 388 are fixedly attached to board 380 closer to outer surface 386 than to central axis 106 and spaced 90 degrees from each other about axis 306 . Standoffs 388 pass through faces 383 , 384 , extending beyond distal face 384 and extending further beyond proximal face 383 . Two sets of internal power and data pins 390 , each with a plurality of pins 390 , extend beyond face 383 on opposite sides of central axis 306 . Two sets of power and data transfer receptacles 392 , each with a plurality of pins 392 pass through faces 383 , 384 , extending beyond distal face 384 and extending further beyond proximal face 383 . The two sets of receptacles 392 are positioned on opposite sides of central axis 106 from each other and displaced ninety degrees about axis 106 from the sets of pins 390 . Two electrical contacts C 13 , C 14 are positioned on either side of one set of transfer pins 392 . Electrical contacts C 13 , C 14 are coupled to and nearly flush with face 384 . When pins P 13 and P 14 of plug interface board 220 ( FIG. 14 ) engage contacts C 13 , C 14 , power and data transfer between the mating plug assembly 105 and socket assembly 305 may be initiated. The coupling of plug assembly 105 and socket assembly 305 will be explained in more detail later in this disclosure. [0071] Referring to the exploded view in FIG. 6 , UMA socket assembly 305 may be compiled from the components previously described, arranged generally in the order listed next. The order proceeds from the most proximal to the most distal component, i.e., from right to left in FIG. 6 . The components are: a socket connector body 320 , a power board 360 , a mounting plate 190 , an o-ring 215 , and a socket interface board 380 . To form a socket assembly 305 , the axes 306 for all components 320 , 360 , 190 , and 380 are aligned. As will be explained, other features dictate the necessary angular (rotational) alignment of components 320 , 360 , 190 , and 380 . The socket connector body 320 forms a foundation for the socket assembly 305 . The other referenced components coupled to the distal end 324 of body 320 . [0072] The threaded fasteners 364 A extending from the distal face 363 of power board 360 ( FIG. 17 ) are configured to pass through the holes 208 of mounting plate 190 ( FIG. 11 ) and couple with standoffs 388 on socket interface board 380 ( FIG. 20 ). Additional alignment interactions will now be described. When a sub-assembly is coupled as just described, second end 194 of mounting plate 190 ( FIG. 11 ) faces distal face 363 of power board 360 , making second end 194 the proximal end for the plate 190 in a socket assembly 305 , which is the opposite of a plate 190 in a plug assembly 105 ( FIG. 6 ). Correspondingly, first end 193 ( FIG. 12 ) is positioned toward the most distal component, the socket interface board 380 . An O-ring 215 ( FIG. 6 ) seats within seal gland 204 on mounting plate 190 , facing socket interface board 380 . Once aligned and abutted, proximal face 383 of a socket interface board 380 ( FIG. 20 ) seals against the o-ring 215 to inhibit the passage of liquid or gas. In other words, as configured, a hermetically sealed barrier may be formed. Additionally, receptacles 179 on power board 360 extend through the slots 210 of mounting plate 190 without contacting slot 210 and slidingly engage the internal power and data pins 390 extending from proximal face 383 on socket interface board 380 . Power and data transfer receptacles 392 pass into slots 212 on mounting plate 190 without contacting slot 212 and without contacting power board 360 . [0073] With power board 360 and socket interface board 380 mutually coupled to mounting plate 190 , tabs 202 of plate 190 ( FIG. 12 ) fit within recesses 348 of socket connector body 320 ( FIG. 15 ) to be held by threaded fasteners (not shown) inserted through holes 203 and into body 320 . This arrangement forms a UMA socket assembly 305 . Power and data transfer receptacles 392 , electrical contacts C 13 , C 14 , and multifaceted recesses 340 of the distal face 384 of socket interface board 380 are available for engagement with a UMA plug assembly 105 as are external threads 330 of connector body 320 . [0074] Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 , the universal mating adapter (UMA) 100 comprises a UMA plug assembly 105 and UMA socket assembly 305 . In some embodiments, assemblies 105 and 305 are coupled. In other embodiments, assemblies 105 and 103 are not coupled. To couple assemblies 105 and 305 , axes 106 and 306 are aligned, and each mechanical boss 140 on plug connector body 120 ( FIG. 7 ) is aligned with a prescribed multifaceted recess 340 on socket connector body 320 ( FIG. 15 ). Assemblies 105 and 305 are moved axially toward one another. In the early stages of contact between 105 and 305 , minor misalignment between bosses 140 and recesses 340 may be corrected by the chamfered portions 341 at the edge of recesses 340 , which are configured to guide the entry of bosses 140 . When mechanical bosses 140 are aligned with and are partially within recesses 340 , power and data transfer receptacles 392 on socket interface board 380 ( FIG. 19 ) slidingly receive power and data transfer pins 232 on interface board 220 ( FIG. 14 ) of plug assembly 105 . Therefore, bosses 140 and recesses 340 have a self-aligning, self-correcting capability to protect pins 232 from being bent during the coupling of a UMA. When plug assembly 105 and socket assembly 305 are axially closer and have greater contact between receptacles 392 and pins 232 , then axially-extendable pins P 13 , P 14 ( FIG. 14 ) touch electrical contacts C 13 , C 14 ( FIG. 19 ), respectively, to form a combined and operative electrical interface between the electrical interfaces 220 , 380 . [0075] If plug assembly 105 or socket assembly 305 is energized during the coupling process, the receptacles 392 and the mating pins 232 are inactive until pins P 13 , P 14 connect with electrical contacts C 13 , C 14 . The contact of pins P 13 , P 14 with electrical contacts C 13 , C 14 may initiate power and data transfer between receptacles 392 and mating pins 232 . Similarly for de-coupling or disconnecting, a plug assembly 105 and socket assembly 305 of a coupled UMA 100 are configured to be de-energized when disconnection is initiated. So, during disconnection and while disconnected, the plug assembly 105 and socket assembly 305 pair are de-energized. In this scenario, power and data transfer between receptacles 392 and the mating pins 232 will cease when pins P 13 , P 14 cease to mate with electrical contacts C 13 , C 14 , which will occur before the receptacles 392 and the mating pins 232 disconnect. As a consequence of these characteristics, UMA 100 is “hot swappable,” meaning a plug assembly 105 and a socket assembly 305 may be connected or disconnected while one or both assemblies 105 , 305 is energized. [0076] When assembled as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , the universal mating adapter (UMA) 100 is configured to transfer force and torque loads between an external object connected to plug connector body 120 , and an another external object connected to socket connector body 320 . One or more of the external objects may be a joint 5 . UMA 100 is also configured to transfer power and data signals between the power board 360 and the pair that includes control board 180 and power board 175 . Power board 360 may also couple and exchange power and data signals with an external object, such as one of the previously referenced joints 5 . Control board 180 and power board 175 may individually or collectively couple and exchange power and data signals with an external object, such as a joint 5 . [0077] As introduced earlier in relation to FIG. 1 , robotic manipulator arm 1 comprises a series of joints 5 , each configured to be selectively coupled to an adjacent joint 5 with a UMA 100 . That is to say the plug assembly 105 on a first joint 5 is configured to couple to the socket assembly 305 of a second, adjacent joint 5 . The locking ring 160 of the plug assembly 105 is configured to engage threadingly with the socket connector body 320 of the socket assembly 305 and thereby to hold firmly together (i.e., to lock) the assemblies 105 , 305 and the accompanying joints 5 . [0078] The embodiment of FIG. 1 includes two types of joints 5 in manipulator arm 1 , named according to the type of motion each one is configured to perform. The first type of joint, the roll joint 20 , is illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 21 . The second type of joint, the pitch joint 60 , is illustrated in greater detail in FIGS. 26 and 27 . Various other embodiments include one type of joint 5 or more than two types of joints 5 . Thus, other embodiments of manipulator arm 1 may include other types of joints 5 , such as a joint configured for linear extension or retraction. Some embodiments may include a joint that is configured as a combination of or a variation of roll joint 20 and pitch joint 60 . [0079] The various joints 5 may vary in size depending on the task or location of the joint. A joint 5 that is coupled directly to a robot or is mounted in a more proximal location to the robot may be larger and stronger than other joints 5 that are more distal. A more proximal joint 5 must be configured to support the weight, force, and torque loads of any joints 5 that may be mounted beyond the proximal joint 5 . A distal joint 5 has less load to support than a more proximal joint 5 , and so the distal joint 5 may be sized smaller, if appropriate for the intended task. This disclosed size variation may be implemented for joints 20 , 60 or any other type of joint 5 that is used. Depending on the location, size, or intended purpose of particular a joint 5 , 20 , 60 , the joint may be described as a shoulder, elbow, wrist, or base joint 5 , 20 , 60 . Such a designation is intended for convenience when discussing a joint and is not intended to describe a limitation of the joint. [0080] UMA 100 is configured as a common connector to couple the various pairs of adjacent joints 5 , 20 , 60 in manipulator arm 1 , whether the multiple joints 5 , 20 , 60 are similar in size or differ in size. A plug assembly 105 connects to the proximal end, and a socket assembly 305 connects to the distal end of each joint 5 , 20 , 60 . [0081] With the inclusion of a UMA 100 , two joints may be coupled or uncoupled manually without tools, i.e., in a tool-free manner, and without an external power source. Because all joints use the same connector, i.e., UMA 100 , the order of the joints 5 , 20 , 60 in a manipulator arm 1 may be rearranged, and the number of joints 5 , 20 , 60 can be changed as compared to FIG. 1 , making manipulator arm 1 reconfigurable and scalable. Within the plug assembly 105 of the UMA 100 coupled to each joint 5 , 20 , 60 , the control board 180 is configured to exchange configuration parameters and other data with the control boards 180 coupled to adjoining joint(s) 5 , 20 , 60 . The exchanged parameters from each joint may include the type of joint, range of motion, gear transmission ratio, length of joint, mass of joint, the zero angular location (“home”) of the joint, sensor information, and possibly other pertinent information. The parameters and other data may also be exchanged with a controller, such as robot controller 12 in FIG. 2 . Power boards 175 and 360 in each UMA 100 pass power and aid with the parameter and data exchange to and from joints 5 , 20 , 60 . Power, parameters, and data may also be transmitted for an end-effector, such as gripping tool 14 or and embodiment of tool 85 . The exchange of these parameters and data facilitates the capability to remove joints from, to add joints to, and to rearrange the sequence of joints within arm 1 without reprogramming or recompiling the software running in control boards 180 or the software running in controller 12 . Controller 12 is configured to automatically recognize and control one or more joints 5 , 20 , 60 even after the quantity or sequence of joints has been altered. [0082] Next, the specifications for a roll joint 20 and for a pitch joint 60 will be explained. In the descriptions, reference will be given to a base section and to a rotatable or movable section of the joint 20 , 60 . The base section is intended to be coupled more proximal the robot 10 or another mounting device than is the rotatable section of the same joint 20 , 60 . Thus, the base section refers to the portion of a joint 20 or 60 that is intended couple to the robot directly or to couple to the robot indirectly through one or more joints more proximal. The rotatable section is attached to the base section and is the portion of the joint that is configured to be moved relative to the base section. For example, for a joint 20 , 60 that is directly coupled to the robot, the base section of that joint is configured to remain stationary relative to the robot when the joint operates to move the other, rotatable section. For joints 20 , 60 that couple indirectly to the robot by means of intervening joints, the base section remains stationary relative to the robot if all intervening joints remain stationary. However, in some situations, it is possible for a base section to move while the corresponding rotatable section remains stationary. In general, the base section and the rotatable section of a joint are configured to move relative to each other. More generally, one or both sections of a joint 20 , 60 on an arm 1 are configured to move relative to a fixed coordinate system (not shown) due to the movement of one or more joints 5 in the manipulator arm 1 , due to the movement of robot 10 when coupled to arm 1 , or due to outside forces. [0083] A cross-sectional view of a roll joint 20 is illustrated in FIG. 21 . Roll joint 20 comprises a central axis 21 , a first or proximal end 23 , a second or distal end 24 , a base section 25 , a rotatable section 35 , a motor 40 , a gear mechanism, such as harmonic drive 45 , a brake assembly 50 , one or more rotational bearings 56 , and a central wiring tube 58 . Base section 25 includes an external shell 26 , an internal shell 28 , and a proximal end cap 30 . End cap 30 is configured to couple a UMA plug assembly 105 at the proximal end 23 of joint 20 , as exemplified on the right side of FIG. 21 . Views of end cap 30 are shown in FIGS. 22 and 23 . On the outer surface of external shell 26 , an external recess 27 offers a location to insert a removable magnet 53 to release the grip of brake assembly 50 . The location for recess 27 shown in FIG. 21 is one of many possible locations within base section 25 . Rotatable section 35 includes an external shell 36 and a distal end cap 38 . End cap 38 is configured to couple with a UMA socket assembly 305 at the second or distal end 24 of joint 20 , as exemplified on the left side of FIG. 21 . Views of end cap 38 are shown in FIGS. 24 and 25 . [0084] Hollow-core motor 40 , which may be a brushless direct current (DC) motor, comprises a generally annular stator 44 surrounding a generally annular rotor 42 , which is mounted on a hollow-core rotor coupling 43 . Motor axis 41 is aligned with central axis 21 . At one end, bearing 56 A rotationally couples rotor coupling 43 to external shell 26 of base section 25 . The other end of rotor coupling 43 is coupled to an annular, elliptically-shaped wave generator 46 of harmonic drive 45 . Continuing to explain harmonic drive 45 , wave generator 46 may rotate and may induce rotational motion in bearing 56 C and may cause the external gear teeth 47 G on a flexspline 47 to movably mesh against a small number of the internal gear teeth 48 G on stationary circular spline 48 . Circular spline 48 is fixed to internal shell 28 of base section 25 . Therefore, when wave generator 46 rotates, the rotation induces a slower rotation in flexspline 47 with respect to stationary circular spline 48 . Flexspline 47 is fixed to section 35 of joint 20 by fasteners (not shown) located in through-holes 39 . Therefore, if flexspline 47 rotates, section 35 also rotates. In addition, section 35 is rotationally coupled to base section 25 by one or more bearings 56 B. With this configuration, section 35 may rotate about axis 21 and move relative to section 25 with or without the energized aid of motor 40 . [0085] Continuing to refer to roll joint 20 in FIG. 21 , hollow-core brake assembly 50 comprises a brake rotor 54 A and a brake stator 54 B. In at least one embodiment, brake assembly 50 is equivalent to Kendrion model 86-61104H00. Brake rotor 54 A is affixed to rotor coupling 43 . Brake stator 54 B is affixed to proximal end cap 30 of base section 25 . In the disclosed embodiment, brake assembly 50 is electrically actuatable and is configured for fail-safe operation. The fail-safe configuration means that the brake engages and inhibits rotation of rotor 54 A relative to stator 54 B when electrical power is removed or lost. The brake 50 may also be engaged when power is supplied and commanded to engage. For the brake 50 to engage, a portion of rotor 54 A would move toward and contact stator 54 B, developing friction. When brake 50 engages, rotor coupling 43 , harmonic drive 45 , rotatable section 35 , and any other connected components achieve a less movable configuration with respect to base section 25 . The less movable configuration may result in a slower rotational speed or a fixed, non-moving condition. For section 35 to rotate relative to section 25 of pitch joint 20 , brake 50 is energized and activated to release the frictional engagement of rotor 54 A and stator 54 B. [0086] Another feature is the inclusion of magnetic brake release switch 51 , which is distinct from brake 50 but is functionally coupled to the brake 50 . Brake release switch 51 is configured with the ability to release the hold of brake assembly 50 when joint 20 is appropriately energized. As stated, releasing the engagement of brake 50 allows section 35 of joint 20 to move relative to base section 25 . Release switch 51 is located inside base section 25 near external recess 27 of proximal outer shell 26 . [0087] A method for actuating switch 51 to release the hold of brake assembly 50 is to place a removable magnet 53 in external recess 27 . A ferrous metal member 52 located near switch 51 holds magnet 53 in place and concentrates the lines of magnetic flux of magnet 53 , making it more effective in activating switch 51 . Other braking mechanisms with similar functionality may be employed in joint 20 or any joint 5 , 60 . [0088] Within roll joint 20 , central wiring tube 58 is coaxial with axis 21 and extends through the hollow cores of motor 40 , harmonic drive 45 , brake assembly 50 , rotator coupling 43 , and various other annular features (e.g., bearings 56 ) without hindering the rotation of the stated features. Central wiring tube 58 provides a place for installing electrical wires and other elongate features (not shown) that may extend between base section 25 and rotatable section 35 without being disturbed by the multiple revolutions of the motor 40 , harmonic drive 45 , brake assembly 50 , or other annular features. Any of the electrical wires and other elongate features contained in tube 58 may extend between a UMA plug assembly 105 and a UMA socket assembly 305 for power and data exchange. Electrical wires and other elongate features in tube 58 facilitate the exchange of parameters and data between base section 25 and rotatable section 35 of a single joint 20 or between any combination of joints 5 , 20 , 60 , a tool 85 , robot controller 12 , or similarly connected components. [0089] A pitch joint 60 is illustrated in FIG. 26 . A cross-section of pitch joint 60 is presented in FIG. 27 . Pitch joint 60 comprises a joint axis 61 , a first or proximal end 63 , a second or distal end 64 , a base section 65 , a rotatable section 75 , a motor 40 , a gear mechanism, such as harmonic drive 45 , a brake assembly 50 , one or more rotational bearings 56 , and a central wiring tube 84 . Base section 65 includes an external shell 68 an internal shell 70 , an end cover 71 , and a side cover 72 . Covers 71 , 72 are removable to provide access for maintenance. Internal shell 70 is affixed to external shell 68 . Base section 65 also includes a first or proximal mounting axis 66 , which is perpendicular to joint axis 61 . As exemplified on the bottom of FIGS. 26 and 27 , base section 65 is configured to couple a UMA plug assembly 105 at the proximal end 63 of pitch joint 60 , having the central axis 106 aligned with the proximal mounting axis 66 . On the outer surface of base section 65 , external recess 69 offers a location to insert a removable magnet 53 to release the grip of brake assembly 50 . One possible location for recess 69 is shown in FIG. 27 . Rotatable section 75 includes an external shell 78 , an end cover 81 , and a side cover 82 . Covers 81 , 82 provide access for maintenance. Rotatable section 75 also includes a second or distal mounting axis 76 , which is perpendicular to joint axis 61 . As exemplified on the top of FIGS. 26 and 27 , rotatable section 75 is configured to couple a UMA socket assembly 305 at the distal end 64 of pitch joint 60 , having the central axis 306 aligned with the distal mounting axis 76 . [0090] Continuing to reference FIG. 27 , within pitch joint 60 , the a hollow-core motor 40 is coupled to internal shell 70 and is coupled to rotatable section 75 through a harmonic drive 45 in a similar fashion and for a similar function as another motor 40 is installed within a roll joint 20 , as previously described in reference to FIG. 21 . Returning to FIG. 27 , motor axis 41 is aligned with joint axis 61 . In addition, section 75 is rotationally coupled to base section 65 by one or more bearings 56 B. With this configuration, section 75 may rotate about joint axis 61 and thereby move relative to section 65 with or without the energized aid of the motor 40 . [0091] A fail-safe brake assembly 50 within pitch joint 60 couples base section 65 and rotational section 75 in a similar fashion and for a similar function as brake assembly 50 within roll joint 20 . When brake 50 engages rotatable section 75 and any other connected components of pitch joint 60 , rotatable section 75 achieves a less movable configuration with respect to base section 65 . The less movable configuration may result in a slower rotational speed or a fixed, non-moving condition. Brake 50 may be energized and activated to release section 75 to rotate relative to section 65 . Other features and functions of a brake assembly 50 , a release switch 51 , a ferrous metal member 52 , and a removable magnet 53 were explained previously in relation to roll joint 20 and may be similarly applied to pitch joint 60 . [0092] Within pitch joint 60 , central wiring tube 84 is coaxial with axis 21 and extends through the hollow cores of motor 40 , harmonic drive 45 , brake assembly 50 , and various other annular features (e.g., rotor coupling 43 , bearings 56 ) without hindering the rotation of the stated features. Central wiring tube 84 provides a place for installing electrical wires and other elongate features (not shown) that may extend between base section 65 and rotatable section 75 without being disturbed by the multiple revolutions of the motor 40 , harmonic drive 45 , brake assembly 50 , or other annular features. Any of the electrical wires and other elongate features contained in tube 58 may extend between a UMA plug assembly 105 and a UMA socket assembly 305 for power and data exchange. Electrical wires and other elongate features in tube 58 facilitate the exchange of parameters and data between base section 65 and rotatable section 75 of a single joint 60 or between any combination of joints 5 , 20 , 60 , a tool 85 , robot controller 12 , or similarly connected components. [0093] Pitch joint 60 has a symmetric range of motion in both directions. For example, rotatable section 75 may start in the un-bent, “home” position shown in FIG. 26 and rotate about joint axis 61 and relative to base section 65 , rotating through an angle in one direction (for example, clockwise) to the maximum extent that section 75 is configured to travel. Next, section 75 may return to the “home” position and rotate through an angle in the opposite, counter-clockwise direction to the maximum extent that section 75 is configured to travel. Because pitch joint 60 is configured with a symmetric range of motion, the maximum angle travelled in the clockwise direction will equal or nearly equal the maximum angle travelled in the counter-clockwise direction. The symmetric configuration of pitch joint 60 may permit a closed-form solution for the inverse kinematics when planning a path of motion for robotic arm 1 and may reduce the need to unwind the joints 5 when traveling along certain trajectories, i.e., paths of travel. Similarly, roll joint 20 may be configured with a symmetric range of motion in both directions. [0094] Some embodiments of the disclosed equipment may include sensors to evaluate and respond to force feedback, environmental conditions, joint rotation, joint extension, sense of touch, or other conditions. The sensors may include hall-effect sensors, rotational encoders, strain gauges, or other sensing components. The sensors may be coupled to a joint 5 or to a tool 85 . [0095] Referring now to FIGS. 21 and 27 , within each joint 20 , 60 , an optical encoder and rotating disc pair 530 is axially aligned with a motor 40 and one or more axes 21 , 61 , 41 and configured to track the rotational position and speed of rotor 42 and rotor coupling 43 with respect to a base section 25 , 65 . Each joint 20 , 60 includes a position sensor assembly 500 and a position-indicating label 520 configured to track the rotational position and, if desired, the speed of rotatable section 35 , 75 with respect to base section 25 , 65 . More clearly seen in FIG. 31 , position sensor assembly 500 comprises an angular position sensor 505 , a home sensor 510 , an electrical coupling 512 , stand-off legs 514 , and a mounting pad 516 . Sensors 505 , 510 are mounted to one surface of pad 516 and the legs 514 are attached to the opposite surface of pad 516 . Returning to FIGS. 21 and 27 , the legs 514 of position sensor assembly 500 may be attached to the cylindrical outer surface of an internal shell 28 , 70 of a base section 25 , 65 , respectively. In this location, sensors 505 , 510 are near the inner surface of an external shell 36 , 78 of a rotatable section 35 , 75 , respectively, where position-indicating label 520 is affixed, facing toward sensors 505 , 510 . An embodiment of label 520 is shown FIG. 32 . The gradient-shaded region 522 extends the entire length of label 520 and therefore may encompass the entire inner circumference of an external shell 36 , 78 . When installed, gradient-shaded region 522 is intended to be aligned with angular position sensor 505 . The single stripe, i.e., solid line, 523 on label 520 is intended to be aligned with home sensor 510 . The other linear markings on label 520 may be used to align the label during installation. [0096] Referring to FIGS. 31 and 32 , home sensor 510 may be an optical emitter-sensor pair capable of generating a change in electrical output when the light intensity reflected from an adjacent surface changes by a prescribed threshold. Sensor 510 is configured to generate one level of signal for a light-colored region (e.g., white) and a second signal level for a darker region (e.g., black) such as solid line 523 . In some embodiments, home sensor 510 is a digital optical sensor. If a joint 20 , 60 is energized and activated, sensor 510 may indicate the one particular angular position of a rotatable section 35 , 75 with respect to a base section 25 , 65 , respectively, wherein solid line 523 is adjacent to sensor 510 . This particular angular position may be described as the “home position” of the joint. For a pitch joint 60 , as an example, the home position may be configured to be the position in which the distal mounting axis 76 of section 75 is aligned with proximal mounting axis 66 of section 65 . [0097] Referring still to FIGS. 31 and 32 , angular position sensor 505 may be an optical emitter-sensor pair capable of generating an electrical output proportional to a varying intensity of light reflected from an adjacent surface, such as gradient-shaded region 522 . Therefore, if a joint 20 , 60 is energized and activated, sensor 505 may indicate the angular position of a rotatable section 35 , 75 with respect to a base section 25 , 65 , respectively. In some embodiments sensor 505 is an analog optical sensor. The range of sensitivity of sensor 505 and the shading spectrum of region 522 on label 520 are configured to give a unique output signal for any angular configuration of joint 20 , 60 ; therefore, sensor 505 may be described as an absolute position sensor. As an absolute sensor, sensor 505 may not require calibration or confirmation each time the joint 20 , 60 is initially energized and activated. However, the home signal from home sensor 510 may be used as a redundant confirmation or as an extra calibration aid for angular position sensor 505 if desired. [0098] In other embodiments, position sensor 505 and home sensor 510 may be implemented using another principle for generating and detecting variable or discretely (i.e., distinctly) changing signals based on the relative angular position of two rotatably coupled members, such as, for example, sections 25 and 35 of joint 20 or sections 65 and 75 of joint 60 . For example, sensor 505 may respond to a variation in capacitance induced from a position-indication label that has a dielectric strip of varying width in place of the gradient-shaded region 522 of label 520 . Similarly, as an example, home sensor 510 may be a capacitance sensor with a one or more discrete dielectric elements configured to pass within range of sensor 510 . [0099] FIGS. 28 , 29 , and 30 illustrate an embodiment of an auto-detach/attach mechanism (ADAM) 600 that may couple a tool 85 , also called an end-effector, with the distal end, e.g., end 24 , 64 , of the most distal joint, which may be a joint 5 , 20 , 60 , of a manipulator arm 1 . ADAM 600 includes two portions 605 , 625 that may be coupled or decoupled. First portion 605 includes a modified end cap 610 for a socket and a UMA socket assembly 305 . Second portion 605 includes a modified end cap 630 for a plug and a UMA plug assembly 105 . Modified end cap 610 is generally cylindrical and comprises a central axis 611 , a cylindrical outer surface 612 , a first or proximal end 613 , a second or distal end 614 , one or more wheel assemblies 615 , and one or more motors 624 . Modified end cap 610 may be a modified version of an end cap 38 ( FIG. 24 ) for the distal end 24 of a roll joint 20 , or modified end cap 610 may be configured for the distal end 64 of a pitch joint 60 . When an ADAM 600 attaches to a roll joint 20 , the modified end cap 610 replaces or obviates the use of an end cap 38 . [0100] Each wheel assembly 615 includes an axis 616 , a wheel bracket 617 , a rotatable shaft coupling 618 , which may be a ball-bearing assembly, a shaft 620 , and a wheel 622 . The rotatable shaft coupling 618 , shaft 620 , and wheel 622 are aligned along the common axis 616 . Wheel 622 is rotationally fixed to one end of shaft 620 . Shaft 620 is inserted and axially fixed inside rotatable shaft coupling 618 , which is affixed to wheel bracket 617 . In this configuration, wheel 622 and shaft 620 are free to rotate together relative to wheel bracket 617 as allowed by rotatable shaft coupling 618 . [0101] The example of FIGS. 28 and 29 illustrates an ADAM 600 with three wheel assemblies 615 and one motor 624 . The three wheel assemblies 615 are coupled to and evenly spaced around the circumference of outer surface 612 at the distal end 614 of modified end cap 610 . More specifically, wheel brackets 617 are coupled to the modified end cap 610 and may extend inside the outer surface 612 to facilitate the coupling. The wheel assembly axes 616 , and consequently shafts 620 , are aligned with central axis 611 of modified end cap 610 . The shaft (not independently numbered) of motor 624 is coupled to the shaft 620 of one wheel assembly 615 , or the motor 624 shaft is integral with the shaft 620 of one wheel assembly 615 . In this configuration, motor 624 may drive the coupled wheel 622 , which is also called the driven-wheel 622 A. The outer surface of driven-wheel 622 A is called the motor-driven surface 623 A. The wheels 622 on the wheel assemblies 615 that have no motor may rotate when contacted by a moving object. These wheels with no coupled motor are called idler wheels 622 B. [0102] As best seen in FIG. 29 , in the first portion 605 , a UMA socket assembly 305 is coupled to the distal end 614 of modified end cap 610 . Central axis 306 of assembly 305 is aligned and collinear with central axis 611 . Wheels 622 extend beyond the end 614 . A portion of the outer, contact surface of wheels 622 is axially aligned with external threads 330 on socket assembly 305 . The remainder of the contact surface of wheels 622 extends a distance “X” beyond threads 330 . [0103] Referring still to FIG. 29 , the second portion 625 of ADAM 600 comprises a UMA plug assembly 105 coupled to the proximal end 633 of a modified end cap 630 . Modified end cap 630 is generally cylindrical and comprises a central axis 631 , a first or proximal end 633 , a second or distal end 634 , and a plurality of spring-loaded engagement pins 636 . Modified end cap 630 may be a modified version of a proximal end cap 30 ( FIG. 22 ) as used at the proximal end 23 of a roll joint 20 , or modified end cap 630 may be configured uniquely to match the requirements of a particular tool 85 that may couple at distal end 634 . Engagement pins 636 are circumferentially spaced around proximal end 633 . Pins 636 are configured to press against and slidingly contact the smooth, external surface 165 of the locking ring 160 in UMA plug assembly 105 . [0104] As exemplified in FIG. 30 , ADAM 600 is configured to couple an end-effector, such as a tool 85 , to a manipulator arm 1 at the most distal joint, which, for example, may be a joint 20 . In general, another type of joint 5 , 20 , 60 may be used, and the joint may be alone, not connected to a complete manipulator arm. A coupling process will be described, but the process is only exemplary of the performance of ADAM 600 . The components are not required to be coupled to constitute an ADAM 600 . In the example of FIG. 30 , the two portions 605 , 625 of ADAM 600 are contacting one another or are coupled. A tool 85 couples the distal end 634 of modified end cap 630 while a joint 20 couples the proximal end 613 of modified end cap 610 . To achieve this configuration, axis 611 is first aligned with axis 631 . Plug connector body 120 ( FIG. 7 ) axially engages socket connector body 320 ( FIG. 15 ). This action brings locking ring 160 in proximity to the external threads 330 of body 320 and in proximity to wheels 622 , including motor-driven surface 623 A. Engagement pins 636 push ring 160 toward threads 330 . When motor 624 is activated, motor-driven surface 623 A engages ring 160 causing ring 160 to rotate around axis 611 . Consequently, ring 160 may rotate idler wheels 622 B. Idler wheels 622 B are configured to supply radial, reactive forces to keep ring 160 centered on axis 611 and threads 330 . The rotating action engages threads 169 ( FIG. 6 ) of locking ring 160 with threads 330 , driving ring 160 upward (in the view of FIG. 30 ) toward modified end cap 610 and joint 20 . The coupling of a tool 85 (representing any compatible end-effector) to the end of a joint 20 may be accomplished automatically, without human interaction, when using an ADAM 600 augmented by a tool holder, such as tool holder 90 that grips tri-lobe adapter plate 86 on tool 85 . With an ADAM 600 , tool 85 may also be manually installed or removed without activating motor 624 S. Alternatively, tool 85 may be manually coupled to a joint 5 , 20 , 60 by standard end caps 30 , 38 (or an equivalent interconnection) and a UMA 100 . [0105] Although the disclosed embodiment includes a motor-driven surface 623 A as part of a driven-wheel 622 A, in other embodiments, motor-driven surface 623 A may be part of a rotating belt, a reciprocating arm, the teeth of a ratchet, or another member that engages ring 160 . [0106] While disclosed embodiments have been shown and described, modifications thereof may be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or teachings herein. The embodiments described herein are exemplary only and are not limiting. Many variations and modifications of the systems, apparatus, and processes described herein are possible and are within the scope of the invention. For example, the relative dimensions of various parts, the materials from which the various parts are made, and other parameters may be varied. Accordingly, the scope of protection is not limited to the embodiments described herein, but is only limited by the claims that follow, the scope of which shall include all equivalents of the subject matter of the claims. [0107] The arrangement and features of UMA 100 components may be modified in some embodiments. As exemplified in FIG. 6 , one or more embodiments have been disclosed in which a plug assembly 105 is located on the distal end of a UMA 100 and a socket assembly 305 is on the proximal end. In these embodiments, for example FIG. 21 and FIG. 26 , a plug assembly 105 would be installed at the proximal end of joint 5 , 20 , 60 , and a socket assembly 305 would be installed at the distal end of each joint 5 , 20 , 60 . In other embodiments, some components of plug assembly 105 or an entire a plug assembly similar to assembly 105 may be arranged to be at the proximal end of a UMA 100 , and some components of socket assembly 305 or an entire a socket assembly similar to assembly 305 may be arranged to be at the distal end of a UMA 100 . The relative locations of assemblies 105 , 305 on adjacent joints 5 , 20 , 60 would be swapped accordingly.

A robotic manipulator arm is disclosed. The arm includes joints that are attachable and detachable in a tool-free manner via a universal mating adapter. The universal mating adapter includes a built-in electrical interface for an operative electrical connection upon mechanical coupling of the adapter portions. The universal mating adapter includes mechanisms and the ability to store and communicate parameter configurations such that the joints can be rearranged for immediate operation of the arm without further reprogramming, recompiling, or other software intervention.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of the U.S. Provisional Application Ser. Nos. 60/446,764 filed Feb. 11, 2003 and 60/463,065 filed Apr. 15, 2003, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a process for preparing simvastatin, wherein the simvastatin dimer content is controlled. More particularly, the present invention relates to a process for preparing simvastatin having a simvastatin dimer content of about 0.2 to about 0.4% wt. The present invention also relates to a process for preparing simvastatin having a simvastatin dimer content of less than about 0.2% wt. The present invention further relates to a commercial scale process for preparing the same. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Simvastatin, a cholesterol-lowering agent, is chemically designated as butanoic acid, 2,2-dimethyl-1,2,3,7,8,8a-hexahydro-3,7-dimethyl-8-[2-(tetrahydro-4-hydroxy-6-oxo-2H-pyran-2-yl)ethyl]-1-napthalenyl ester, [1S-[1α,3α,7β,8β(2S*, 4S*),-8a β. Simvastatin dihydroxy acid is a competitive inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme (HMG-CoA) reductase, which catalyzes the rate-limiting step conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonate in cholesterol synthesis. Simvastatin is sold under the tradename ZOCOR® and is marketed by Merck & Co., Inc. There is a need for a high yield and efficient commercial scale processes for preparing simvastatin. U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,784 describes heating the dihydroxy acid in neutral solvent with continuous removal of the water by-product in order to drive the equilibrium reaction toward lactone formation. However, heating promotes an undesirable esterification reaction between the 3-hydroxy group of the 3-hydroxylactone with the precursor free acid to increase the amount of dimer. PCT/EP 98/00519 describes preparing simvastatin with a low level of dimer impurity. The lactonization process uses the ammonium salt of simvastatin as the starting material and involves refluxing in toluene followed by crystallizations to obtain pure simvastatin. The simvastatin prepared in accordance with this procedure is found to have a low dimer content of about 0.1 to about 0.12% wt. Lactonization reaction of simvastatin ammonium salt to simvastatin is an equilibrium reaction which is illustrated as follows: Lactonization as an intramolecular esterification can be accompanied by the esterification of the reaction product with starting material present in the reaction mixture. This intermolecular esterification leads to the formation of simvastatin dimer byproduct having the structure shown in the scheme above. The European and U.S. pharmaceutical industry standards for certain simvastatin products requires that simvastatin cannot contain more than 0.4% wt dimer. This relatively high amount of impurity accepted by pharmaceutical authorities may be due to the understanding that not only simvastatin but also the simvastatin dimer are precursors of the pharmacologically active dihydroxy open acid form of the compound (PCT/US 01/27466). Efforts to produce simvastatin containing less than 0.2% of the simvastatin dimer have been made. EP 351 918 discloses a method for acid catalyzed lactonization leading to a simvastatin crude product containing less than 0.2% wt of simvastatin dimer. This reference discloses that attempts to produce simvastatin of this quality by purification had failed. For other applications, it is desirable that purified simvastatin active ingredient contain about 0.2 to about 0.4% wt simvastatin dimer; more preferably, about 0.25 to about 0.34% wt. Accordingly, a reproducible process for preparing simvastatin active ingredient having a controllable dimer content in the specified ranges, as well as acceptable impurity profile, is desirable. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a process for preparing simvastatin, wherein the simvastatin dimer content is controlled. In one embodiment, the present invention provides a process for preparing simvastatin with a specified simvastatin dimer content, comprising the steps of: a) lactonizing an ammonium salt of simvastatin in aromatic hydrocarbon at a concentration from about 25 to about 40 g/l to form a simvastatin; b) dissolving the simvastatin in at least one solvent selected from the group consisting of toluene, ethylacetate, tetrahydrofuran, and benzene and precipitating the dissolved simvastatin with an anti-solvent selected from the group consisting of pentane, hexane, heptane, cyclohexane and petroleum ether; and c) isolating the crystallized simvastatin, wherein the crystallized simvastatin contains a simvastatin dimer content of about 0.2 to about 0.4% wt. Preferably, the concentration of the ammonium salt of simvastatin is from about 30 to about 35 g/l. More preferably, the concentration of the ammonium salt of simvastatin is about 35 g/l. Preferably, the lactonizing step is performed by refluxing the ammonium salt of simvastatin in the aromatic hydrocarbon. Preferably, the aromatic hydrocarbon is selected from the group consisting of benzene, ethylbenzene, xylene and toluene. More preferably, the aromatic hydrocarbon is toluene. Preferably, the lactonizing step is performed for about 3 to about 5 hours. More preferably, the lactonizing step is performed for 4 hours. Preferably, the lactonizing step is performed in the presence of butyl hydroxytoluene. Preferably, the crude simvastatin is dried. Preferably, the drying step is performed by evaporation. Preferably, the simvastatin is dried to residue. Preferably, the crude simvastatin is dissolved in a solvent followed by precipitation. Preferably, the dissolving step is performed at about 60° C. Preferably, the precipitation is induced by adding an anti-solvent to the solution containing the dissolved simvastatin. Preferably, the anti-solvent is at lease one solvent selected from the group of pentane, hexane, heptane, cyclohexane and petroleum ether. Preferably, the process further comprises the steps of: d) dissolving the simvastatin obtained in step c) in a water miscible organic solvent selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, acetone, acetonitrile and tetrahydrofuran; and e) adding an anti-solvent to induce precipitation to obtain recrystallized simvastatin. Preferably, the recrystallization steps of d–e) are repeated. Preferably, the anti-solvent is water. Preferably, the crystallized simvastatin contains a simvastatin dimer content of about 0.25 to about 0.34% wt. In another embodiment, the present invention provides a process for preparing simvastatin with a specified simvastatin dimer content, comprising the steps of: a) lactonizing an ammonium salt of simvastatin in aromatic hydrocarbon at a concentration of less than about 60 g/l to form a simvastatin; b) dissolving the simvastatin in at least one solvent selected from the group consisting of toluene, ethylacetate, tetrahydrofuran, and benzene and precipitating the dissolved simvastatin with an anti-solvent selected from the group consisting of pentane, hexane, heptane, cyclohexane and petroleum ether; c) isolating the crystallized simvastatin; d) dissolving the crystallized simvastatin in at least one solvent selected from the group consisting of toluene, ethylacetate, tetrahydrofuran, and benzene and precipitating the dissolved simvastatin with an anti-solvent selected from the group consisting of pentane, hexane, heptane, cyclohexane and petroleum ether; and e) isolating the recrystallized simvastatin, wherein the recrystallized simvastatin contains a simvastatin dimer content of less than 0.2% wt. Preferably, the concentration of the ammonium salt of simvastatin is less than about 40 g/l. More preferably, the concentration of the ammonium salt of simvastatin is about 35 g/l. Preferably, the lactonizing step is performed by refluxing the ammonium salt of simvastatin in the aromatic hydrocarbon. Preferably, the aromatic hydrocarbon is selected from the group consisting of benzene, ethylbenzene, xylene and toluene. More preferably, the aromatic hydrocarbon is toluene. Preferably, the lactonizing step is performed for about 3 to about 5 hours. More preferably, the lactonizing step is performed for 4 hours. Preferably, the lactonizing step is performed in the presence of butyl hydroxytoluene. Preferably, the crude simvastatin is dried. Preferably, the drying step is performed by evaporation. Preferably, the simvastatin is dried to residue. Preferably, the dissolving step is performed at about 60° C. Preferably, the crystallizing step is performed by adding an anti-solvent to the solvent after simvastatin is dissolved. Preferably, the anti-solvent is at lease one solvent selected from the group pentane, hexane, heptane, cyclohexane and petroleum ether. Preferably, the process further comprises the steps of: f) dissolving the simvastatin obtained in step e) in a water miscible organic solvent selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, acetone, acetonitrile and tetrahydrofuran; and g) adding an anti-solvent to induce precipitation to obtain recrystallized simvastatin. Preferably, the recrystallization steps of f–g) are repeated. Preferably, the anti-solvent is water. Preferably, recrystallized simvastatin contains a simvastatin dimer content of less than about 0.19% wt. In yet another embodiment, the present invention provides a commercial scale process for preparing simvastatin with a specified simvastatin dimer content, comprising the steps of: a) lactonizing an ammonium salt of simvastatin in aromatic hydrocarbon at a concentration from about 25 to about 40 g/l to form a simvastatin; b) dissolving the simvastatin in at least one solvent selected from the group consisting of toluene, ethylacetate, tetrahydrofuran, and benzene and precipitating the dissolved simvastatin with an anti-solvent selected from the group consisting of pentane, hexane, heptane, cyclohexane and petroleum ether; and c) isolating the crystallized simvastatin, wherein the crystallized simvastatin contains a simvastatin dimer content of about 0.2 to about 0.4% wt. Preferably, the commercial scale process further comprises the steps of: d) dissolving the simvastatin obtained in step e) in a water miscible organic solvent selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, acetone, acetonitrile and tetrahydrofuran; and e) adding an anti-solvent to induce precipitation to obtain recrystallized simvastatin. Preferably, the recrystallization steps of f–g) are repeated. Preferably, the anti-solvent is water. In yet another embodiment, the present invention provides a commercial scale process for preparing simvastatin with a specified simvastatin dimer content, comprising the steps of: a) lactonizing an ammonium salt of simvastatin in aromatic hydrocarbon at a concentration of less than about 60 g/l to form a simvastatin; b) dissolving the simvastatin in at least one solvent selected from the group consisting of toluene, ethylacetate, tetrahydrofuran, and benzene and precipitating the dissolved simvastatin with an anti-solvent selected from the group consisting of pentane, hexane, heptane, cyclohexane and petroleum ether; c) isolating the crystallized simvastatin; d) dissolving the crystallized simvastatin in at least one solvent selected from the group consisting of toluene, ethylacetate, tetrahydrofuran, and benzene and precipitating the dissolved simvastatin with an anti-solvent selected from the group consisting of pentane, hexane, heptane, cyclohexane and petroleum ether; and e) isolating the recrystallized simvastatin, wherein the recrystallized simvastatin contains a simvastatin dimer content of less than 0.2% wt. Preferably, the commercial scale process further comprises the steps of: f) dissolving the simvastatin obtained in step e) in a water miscible organic solvent selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, acetone, acetonitrile and tetrahydrofuran; and g) adding an anti-solvent to induce precipitation to obtain recrystallized simvastatin. Preferably, the recrystallization steps of f–g) are repeated. Preferably, the anti-solvent is water. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Definitions: As used herein: “HMG-CoA reductase” refers to 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutarylcoenzyme A reductase; “an inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase” refers to statins which can exists either as a 3-hydroxyl lactone ring or as the corresponding ring dihydroxy open acid; “RRT” refers to relative retention time (relative to that of simvastatin) of an impurity in HPLC; “RRT 0.68” refers to an impurity of simvastatin having a relative retention time of 0.68; “RRT 1.87” refers to the impurity of simvastatin dimer; “Lov” refers to lovastatin; “E-Lov” refers to epi-lovastatin; “Sim-OH-Ac” refers to dihydroxy open acid simvastatin; “Simv” refers to simvastatin; “Anhyd” refers to anhydrosimvastatin; “BHT” refers to butylhydroxytoluene; “DMBA” refers to dimethybutyric acid; “ammonium salt of simvastatin” includes the ammonium salt of 3,5-dihydroxy acid simvastatin; and, “commercial scale” refers to a simvastatin manufacturing process starting with at least about 100 gram (can be as high as hundreds of kilograms) of ammonium salt of simvastatin in the lactonization process. “Anti-solvent” is generally known to the art to be a solvent, when added to a solution containing a dissolved solute, will induce the precipitation of the solute from the solution. “Water miscible organic solvent” refers to an organic solvent that is miscible with water. Unless otherwise specified, “%” refers to % wt and “A %” refers to % area under HPLC. For the purposes of this application, “dimer” refers to simvastatin dimer, e.g., the ester of the 3-hydroxyl simvastatin lactone and free acid lactone precursor. Without being bound by any theory or mechanism of the invention, it is believed that simvastatin formation is an intramolecular reaction and is independent of the concentration of the simvastatin ammonium salt in the reaction mixture. Simvastatin dimer formation, however, is an intermolecular reaction and can be accelerated by increasing the concentration of simvastatin salt in the reaction mixture. The present invention provides a process for controlling simvastatin dimer content by lactonizing an ammonium salt of simvastatin at a specified concentration range. The concentration of ammonium simvastatin salt is less than about 60 g/l. Preferably, the concentration of ammonium simvastatin salt is about 25 to about 40 g/l. More preferably, the concentration of ammonium simvastatin salt is about 30 to about 35 g/l. Most preferably, the concentration of ammonium simvastatin salt is about 35 g/l. Lactonization may be brought about by any means known in the art including thermal induction. Lactonization of ammonium salt of simvastatin at a concentration of about 20 g/l yields simvastatin which, after drying, results in a simvastatin containing about 0.50% to about 0.55% wt simvastatin dimer. Lactonization of ammonium salt of simvastatin at a concentration of about 30 to about 60 g/l yields increasing amount of simvastatin dimers in evaporated residues (0.7% to 1.2%; see Table 1). The lactonizing step is preferably performed by refluxing the ammonium salt of simvastatin in aromatic hydrocarbon. Aromatic hydrocarbon includes, but not limited to, benzene, ethylbenzene, xylene, toluene and the like. Preferably, the aromatic hydrocarbon is toluene. Preferably, the lactonizing step is performed for about 3 to about 5 hours. More preferably, the lactonizing step is performed for 4 hours. Preferably, the lactonizing step is performed in the presence of butyl hydroxytoluene. Preferably, the crude simvastatin is dried. Preferably, the drying step is performed by evaporation. Preferably, the simvastatin is dried to residue. The crude simvastatin is preferably dissolved in a solvent followed by precipitation. Preferably, the dissolving step is performed at about 60° C. Preferably, the precipitation is induced by adding an anti-solvent to the solution containing the dissolved simvastatin. Preferably, the anti-solvent is at lease one solvent selected from the group of pentane, hexane, heptane, cyclohexane and petroleum ether. In addition to regulating the concentration of ammonium salt of simvastatin during the lactonization process, the present invention further provides another means for controlling simvastatin dimer content. The means involves purification of simvastatin using the steps of crystallization. According to the present invention, the process of controlling simvastatin dimer content may involve using a combination of the reaction conditions and crystallization strategy from different solvent systems. One embodiment of the present invention involves crystallizing an evaporated solid residue of simvastatin derived from the lactonization reaction mixture. Preferably, the crystallization comprises the initial step of dissolving crude simvastatin in a crystallization solvent. Preferably, the solvent is at least one solvent selected from the group consisting of toluene, ethylacetate, tetrahydrofuran, and benzene. Precipitation may be induced by adding an anti-solvent to the solution. Preferably, an anti-solvent is exemplified, but not limited to, pentane, hexane, heptane, cyclohexane and petroleum ether. Solution of crude simvastatin in toluene, ethylacetate, tetrahydrofuran and/or benzene followed by precipitation by addition of an anti-solvent (e.g., hexane) greatly reduce simvastatin dimer content. Such crystallization system is desirable for controlling simvastatin dimer at a specified range of less than about 0.2% wt. For example, a first crystallization of the evaporated simvastatin residue (obtained using simvastatin ammonium salt of about 30 g/l to about 60 g/l) from toluene-hexane mixture leads to crude simvastatin with a dimer content of about 0.3% to about 0.5% wt. (see Table 1). A second crystallization of crude simvastatin from toluene-hexane mixture leads to purified simvastatin containing less than about 0.2%wt of simvastatin dimer (see Table 2). Preferably, the apolar solvent-anti-solvent system uses toluene as an apolar solvent and hexane as an anti-solvent. More preferably, the ratio of toluene and hexane is 1:4 (v/v). The recrystallization of crystallized simvastatin (e.g., crude simvastatin after crystallized with toluene-hexane) with a water miscible organic solvent does not change significantly the amount of simvastatin dimer. For example, a methanol solvent/water anti-solvent crystallization of either the crude simvastatin (obtained after the first toluene-hexane crystallization) or crystallized simvastatin (obtained after the second toluene-hexane crystallozation) has limited effect on dimer content; but, effectively removes other impurities. Therefore, final crystallization from methanol-water does not effect the amount of dimer. Preferably, the water miscible organic solvent includes, but not limited to, methanol, ethanol, acetone, acetonitrile and tetrahydrafuran. Preferably, the crystallization solvent is ethanol or acetone. Most preferably, the crystallization solvent is methanol. Preferably, the anti-solvent used is water. Preferably, the polar solvent-anti-solvent system uses methanol as a polar solvent and water as an anti-solvent. More preferably, the ratio of methanol and water is 1:1 (v/v). In accordance with the present invention, the lactonization using an ammonium salt of simvastatin of about 25 to 40 g/l followed by purification steps of toluene-hexane crystallization results in simvastatin containing a simvastatin dimer content of about 0.2 to about 0.4% wt. In accordance with the present invention, the lactonization using an ammonium salt of simvastatin of less than 60 g/l followed by purification steps of repeated toluene/hexane crystallization results in simvastatin containing a simvastatin dimer content of less than 0.2% wt. According to another embodiment, the present invention provides a commercial scale process by using ammonium salt of simvastatin of at least about 100 grams. The simvastatin prepared according to the process of the invention contains a very low level of other impurities, typically less than about 0.1%. The present invention will be more fully understood from the following examples. These examples are intended for illustration purposes, but do not in any way limit the scope of the invention. EXAMPLES Example 1 Effect of Varying Ammonium Simvastatin Concentrations on Simvastatin Impurity Profile a) Lactonization Simvastatin ammonium salt (9.0 grams) was refluxed in toluene (300 ml) for 2 hours under nitrogen in the presence of butylhydroxytoluene (BHT) (0.08 gram) using an oil bath for heating in a Dean—Stark condenser for removing water formed in the reaction. After reflux the reaction mixture was stirred at 85–90° C. for 3 hours. The reaction mixture was then evaporated to dryness to form a solid residue. The dimer in the simvastatin solid residue was 0.70% (see Table 1, exp. 3). b) First Crystallization With Toluene-Hexane Solvent Solid simvastatin residue was dissolved in toluene (20 ml) at about 60° C. The solution was treated with charcoal (0.3 gram), which was removed by filtration and was washed with toluene (4 ml). The solution was charged into a four-necked round bottom flask fitted with nitrogen inlet, thermometer, dropping funnel and reflux condenser. The solution was then heated to 58–62° C. and n-hexane (55 ml) was added dropwise at this temperature for 1 hour while stirring. The reaction mixture was then cooled to 0–5° C. in 1.5 hours and new portion of hexane (41 ml) was added to the slurry after 1 hour. The mixture was then stirred at this temperature for 1 additional hour. Product was collected, washed with the mixture of toluene (4 ml) and hexane (16 ml) containing BHT (0.007 gram) and dried at 48° C. in a vacuum oven to yield crude simvastatin. The dimer in the crude simvastatin was 0.32% (see Table 1, exp. 3). Using the above lactonization conditions, we examined how varying concentrations of ammonium simvastatin salt affected the simvastatin impurity profile. Varying concentrations, 2% (exp. nos. 1–2), 3% (exp. no. 3), 4% (exp. no. 4), 6% (exp. no. 5) of ammonium simvastatin salt were tested. Lactonization was performed at reflux temperature of 3 hours (exp. no. 1) or 5 hours (exp. no. 2). The oil bath temperature was set at 125° C. (exp. no. 1) or 150° C. (exp. no. 6). Dimethybutyric acid (DMBA) (5% wt/wt) was added with ammonium simvastatin salt (exp. no. 7) to evaluate the effect of acid on simvastatin purity. Table 1 summarizes the results of 20 to 60 g/l ammonium simvastatin salt concentration on the simvastatin impurity profile. As is evident in Table 1, increasing the concentration of the ammonium simvastatin salt from 20 to 60 g/l increases the amount of dimer, without significantly changing the amount of other impurities. Increasing lactonization temperature from 125° C. to 150° C. does not change the dimer content (exp. nos. 1 and 6), but addition of dimethyl butyric acid increases the dimer content (exp. nos. 1 and 7). Example 2 Comparative a) Second Crystallization With Toluene-Hexane Crude simvastatin, from exp. 5, in Table 1, was dissolved in toluene (20 ml) at about 60° C. and the solution was charged into a four-necked round bottomed flask fitted with nitrogen inlet, thermometer, dropping funnel and reflux condenser. The solution was then heated to 58–62° C. and n-hexane (46 ml) was added dropwise at this temperature for 1 hour while stirring. The reaction mixture was then cooled to 0–5° C. in 1.5 hours and new portion of hexane (34 ml) was added to the slurry in 1 hour. The mixture was then stirred at this temperature for 1 additional hour. Product was collected, washed with the mixture of toluene (3 ml) and hexane (12 ml) containing BHT (0.007 gram) and dried at 48° C. in a vacuum oven to yield a purified simvastatin (exp. 5a). b) Third Crystallization With Methanol-Water Purified simvastatin from the second toluene-hexane crystallization was dissolved in methanol (49 ml), treated with charcoal (0.25 gram) which was filtered. The purified simvastatin was washed with methanol (15 ml). BHT (0.004 gram) and water (23 ml) were added to the solution, which was then heated to 35–40° C. while stirring. The solution was cooled to 13–17° C. gradually in 2 hours. Precipitation began at about 30° C. The suspension was then heated to 35–40° C. again to dissolve most of the crystals. New portion of water (46 ml) was then added dropwise at 35–40° C. in 45–50 min and the slurry was stirred for 1 hour at this temperature, then cooled to 5–10° C. in 2 hours and stirred at this temperature for 1 hour. The resulting crystalline material was collected, washed with the mixture of water (7 ml) and methanol (6 ml) and dried at 48° C. for a night in a vacuum oven to provide the simvastatin final product (exp. 5b). Table 2 summarizes the results of the second toluene/hexane crystallization (exp. 5a) followed by a methanol/water crystallization (exp. 5b) steps on the simvastatin impurity profile. As is evident in Table 2, a second toluene-hexane crystallization step significantly decreases dimer from 0.48% to 0.19% and a third methanol/water crystallization step does not further significantly reduce dimer (0.18%) (see Table 2). The methanol-water crystallization does not significantly affect the dimer content but efficiently removes polar impurities, (e.g., RRT=0.58 and RRT=0.76 (simvastatin hydroxy acid). Example 3 Different Simvastatin Ammonium Salt Starting Material The experiments described above (Examples 1 to 7) used recrystallized simvastatin ammonium salt as starting material. Since impurities of the starting ammonium salt can also influence the impurity profile of the simvastatin product, this effect was also studied. Recrystallized simvastatin ammonium salt starting material from a laboratory batch and crude simvastatin ammonium salt from commercial production were used and the lactonization and crystallization steps were performed as in Example 1. The impurity profile of crude simvastatin obtained from different quality simvastatin ammonium salt (i.e., (1) laboratory ammonium simvastatin salt described above, and (2) production plant ammonium simvastatin salt) are summarized in Table 3. Table 3 summarizes the impurity profile of the crude simvastatin (i.e., obtained after first toluene/hexane crystallization) prepared from the simvastatin ammonium salt from laboratory batch or commercial production. As evident in Table 3, the quality of the ammonium salt does not effect the amount of the dimer in the crude simvastatin. As also evident in Table 3 that the amount of other impurities can depend on the purity of the ammonium salt. Example 4 Effect of Repeated Methanol-Water Crystallization on Impurity Profile The crude simvastatin products described in Table 3 were subjected to repeated methanol-water crystallizations, after the toluene/hexane crystallization of Example 3, to yield the final product. The yield, assay and impurity profile of the products are summarized in Table 4. Changing the crystallization steps affects the impurity profile of the final product. The second toluene-hexane crystallization (see example 2) effectively removed both polar (RRT=0.68, simvastatin hydroxy acid) and apolar (RRT=1.40) impurities (see Table 2) and dimer. The data in Table 4 shows that methanol-water crystallization does not significantly affect the dimer content but efficiently removes the polar impurities (e.g., RRT=0.68 and RRT=0.76 (simvastatin hydroxyl acid). Example 5 Scaled-up Process for Preparing Simvastatin The procedure elaborated in the foregoing examples; i.e., 10 gram scale was scaled-up in the laboratory to 100 gram scale using a 4 L jacketed reactor instead of round bottomed flasks. A process for preparing simvastatin starting from 105.0 grams ammonium salt of commercial production plant origin is set forth below: Step a) Lactonization Process Simvastatin ammonium salt (105.0 grams) was stirred at reflux temperature (109–111° C.) in toluene (3,000 ml) for 2 hours under nitrogen in the presence of butylhydroxytoluene (BHT) (0.8 gram) in a 4 L jacketed reactor fitted with nitrogen inlet, thermometer in a Dean-Stark condenser for removing of water formed in the reaction. After reflux, the reaction mixture was stirred at 85–90° C. for 3 hours. The reaction mixture was then evaporated to dryness to form a solid residue (exp. no. 15, Table 5). Step b) Preparation of Crude Simvastatin Evaporation residue (112.0 grams) was dissolved in toluene (370 ml) at about 60° C. The solution was treated with charcoal (5.0 grams) which was removed by filtration and washed with toluene (50 ml). The solution was charged into a four-necked round bottom flask fitted with nitrogen inlet, thermometer, dropping funnel and reflux condenser. The solution was then heated to 58–62° C. and n-hexane (968 ml) was added dropwise at this temperature for 1 hour while stirring. The reaction mixture was then cooled to 0–5° C. in 1.5 hours and new portion of n-hexane (712 ml) was added to the slurry in 1 hour. The mixture was then stirred at this temperature for an additional 1 hour. The product was collected, washed with the mixture of toluene (60 ml) and hexane (240 ml) containing BHT (0.13 gram) and dried at 48° C. in a vacuum oven to yield 89.0 grams of crude simvastatin (exp. no. 16, Table 5). Separation of Crude Simvastatin Crude simvastatin was divided into two equal parts. One part was subjected to one toluene-hexane recrystallization followed by a methanol-water final crystallization according to one purification strategy, the other part was subjected to a methanol-water recrystallization followed by a methanol-water final crystallization according to an alternative purification strategy. Purification Strategy of Applying Toluene-hexane Recrystallization Followed by Methanol-water Final Crystallization Step c) Purification by Toluene-Hexane Recrystallization Crude simvastatin ((43.75 grams) from step b) was dissolved in toluene (150 ml) at about 60° C., treated with charcoal (2.25 grams) which was washed with toluene (24 ml). The filtrate was charged into a four-necked round-bottom flask fitted with nitrogen inlet, thermometer, dropping funnel and reflux condenser. The solution was then heated to 58–62° C. and n-hexane (400 ml) was added dropwise at this temperature for 1 hour while stirring. The reaction mixture was then cooled to 0–5° C. in 1.5 hour and a new portion of hexane (296 ml) was added to the slurry in 1 hour. The mixture was then stirred at this temperature for an additional 1 hour. The product was collected, washed with a mixture of toluene (29 ml) and hexane (116 ml) containing BHT (0.067 gram), and dried at 48° C. in a vacuum oven to yield 42.5 gram of purified simvastatin (exp. no. 17, Table 5). Step d) Methanol-Water Final Crystallization Purified simvastatin (41.0 grams) from step c) was dissolved in methanol (438 ml), treated with charcoal (2.25 grams) which was filtered and washed with methanol (137 ml). BHT (0.033 gram) and water (203 ml) were added to the solution, which was heated to 35–40° C. while stirring. The solution was cooled to 13–17° C. gradually in 2 hours. Precipitation began at about 30° C. The suspension was then heated to 35–40° C. again to dissolve most of the crystals and an additional portion of water (415 ml) was then added dropwise at 35–40° C. in 45–50 min. The slurry was stirred for 1 hour at this temperature, then was cooled to 5–10° C. in 2 hours and stirred at this temperature for 1 hour. Crystalline material was collected, washed with the mixture of water (61 ml) and methanol (54 ml) and dried at 48° C. for a night in a vacuum oven to afford 39.16 grams of simvastatin final product (exp. no. 18, Table 5). Purification Strategy of Applying Methanol-water Recrystallization Followed by Methanol-water Final Crystallization Step e) Purification by First Methanol-Water Crystallization Another portion of the crude from step b) crude simvastatin (43.75 grams) was dissolved in was dissolved in methanol (438 ml), treated with charcoal (2.25 grams) which was filtered and washed with methanol (137 ml). BHT (0.033 gram) and water (203 ml) were added to the solution and then it was heated to 35–40° C. while stirring. The solution was cooled to 13–17° C. gradually in 2 hours. Precipitation begins at about 30° C. The suspension was then heated to 35–40° C. again to dissolve most of the crystals and new portion of water (415 ml) was then added dropwise at 35–40° C. in 45–50 min. The slurry was stirred for 1 hour at this temperature then was cooled to 5–10° C. in 2 hours and stirred at this temperature for 1 hour. Crystalline material was collected, washed with the mixture of water (61 ml) and methanol (54 ml) and dried at 48° C. for a night in a vacuum oven to yield 42.5 grams of simvastatin final product (exp. no.19, Table 5). Toluene (150 ml) at about 60° C., treated with charcoal (2.25 grams) which was washed with toluene (24 ml). The filtrate was charged into a four-necked round bottomed flask fitted with nitrogen inlet, thermometer, dropping funnel and reflux condenser. The solution was then The data in Table 6 show that scaling-up the process (e.g., commercial process), when using about 3.5% ammonium salt simvastatin followed by crystallization of the crude simvastatin with a first methanol/water solvent results in simvastatin with the specified range of dimer content (see, exp. 19, Table 5). Step f) Purification by Second Methanol-Water Crystallization Purified simvastatin (41.0 grams) from step e) was dissolved in methanol (438 ml), treated with charcoal (2.25 grams) which was filtered and washed with methanol (137 ml). BHT (0.033 grams) and water (203 ml) were added to the solution then it was heated to 35–40° C. while stirring. The solution was cooled to 13–17° C. gradually in 2 hours. Precipitation begins at about 30° C. The suspension was then heated to 35–40° C. again to dissolve most of the crystals and new portion of water (415 ml) was then added dropwise at 35–40° C. in 45–50 min. The slurry was stirred for 1 hour at this temperature then was cooled to 5–10° C. in 2 hours and stirred at this temperature for 1 hour. Crystalline material was collected, washed with the mixture of water (61 ml) and methanol (54 ml) and dried at 48° C. for a night in a vacuum oven to afford 39.55 grams of simvastatin final product. The data in Table 5 also show that a second methanol/water crystallization results in simvastatin with the specified range of dimer content (see, exp. 20, Table 5). The present invention is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein. It will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Various publications and patents are cited herein, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their entireties. TABLE 1 Effect of the Lactonization Conditions on Impurity Profile of Crude Simvastatin Dimer in [0.76] Exp. Solid Yield Sim-OH— [0.86] [0.88] [1.40] [1.87] No. Conditions Residue (%) [0.68] Ac Lov E-Lov Simv Anhyd Dimer 1 Conc. 2% (a) 0.55 91 0.04 0.43 0.11 0.05 98.94 0.02 0.24 2 Conc. 2% (b) 0.51 91 0.04 0.22 0.09 0.04 99.14 0.04 0.23 3 Conc. 3% 0.70 90 0.04 0.33 0.08 0.046 98.93 0.04 0.32 4 Conc. 4% 0.91 93 0.04 0.59 0.10 0.05 98.53 0.02 0.43 5 Conc. 6% 1.2 93 0.04 0.18 0.09 0.05 98.92 0.05 0.48 6 Conc. 2% 0.58 93 0.05 0.47 0.11 0.05 98.84 0.03 0.26 Higher oil bath temperature (c) 7 Conc. 2% 0.94 84 0.04 0.73 0.11 0.05 97.76 0.63 0.45 Added DMBA (d) (a) laboratory procedure for lactonization described above, the oil bath temperature was 125° C. (b) lactonization was performed at a reflux temperature for 5 hours (c) the oil bath temperature was 150° C. (d) DMBA (5% wt/wt) was added with ammonium simvastatin salt to the reaction mixture TABLE 2 Crystallization of the Crude Simvastatin Obtained in Exp. No. 5 (in Table 1) Exp. Yield [0.76] Sim- [0.86] [0.88] [1.40] [1.87] No. Conditions (%) [0.68] OH—Ac Lov E-Lov Simv Anhyd Dimer 5a 2 nd Toluene-Hexane cryst. 95 0.03 0.06 0.09 0.05 99.46 — 0.19 5b Methanol-water cryst. 94 — — 0.09 0.04 99.51 0.01 0.18 TABLE 3 Characterization of Lactonisation and Crude Simvastatin starting from Different Quality of Simvastatin Ammonium Salt Dimer in Yield [0.76] Simv- [0.86] [0.88] [1.40] [1.87] Exp. No. Conc. Solid Res. (%) [0.68] OH—Ac Lov E-Lov Simv Anhyd Dimer  8 (a)   3% 0.61 90 0.03 0.26 0.13 0.04 99.09 0.03 0.26  9 (a)   3% 0.54 84 — 0.23 0.09 0.04 98.03 0.16 0.24 10 (a) 3.5% 0.83 89 0.04 0.22 0.08 0.04 98.98 0.03 0.33 11 (a) 3.5% 0.75 91 0.03 0.29 0.08 0.03 99.01 0.03 0.30 12 (b) 3.5% 0.80 89 0.20 0.15 0.17 0.08 98.78 0.03 0.32 13 (b) 3.5% 0.78 90 0.25 0.19 0.18 0.09 98.44 0.04 0.33 (a) starting from recrystallized ammonium salt of simvastatin from laboratory batches (b) starting from recrystallized ammonium salt of simvastatin from commercial production plant TABLE 4 Characterization of Impurity Profile in Simvastatin Obtained After First and/or Second Methanol-Water Crystallization Yield Assay [0.76] Simv- [0.86] [0.88] [1.40] [1.87] Exp. No. [recryst] (%) (%) [0.68] OH—Ac Lov E-Lov Anhyd Dimer  8 [2 nd ] 96 100.5 0.00 0.00 0.09 0.04 0.03 0.24  9 [2 nd ] 94 100.1 0.00 0.04 0.09 0.05 0.15 0.22 10 [1 st ] 93 99.5 0.00 0.00 0.08 0.04 0.03 0.30 10 [2 nd ] 94 99.2 0.00 0.00 0.08 0.04 0.04 0.28 11 [1 st ] 93 99.8 0.00 0.01 0.08 0.05 0.03 0.27 11 [2 nd ] 93 99.9 0.00 0.00 0.08 0.04 0.03 0.26 12 [1 st ] 95 100.1 0.06 0.00 0.12 0.08 0.03 0.26 12 [2 nd ] 95 100.6 0.01 0.00 0.12 0.08 0.03 0.25 13 [1 st ] 95 100.7 0.08 0.02 0.13 0.08 0.04 0.28 13 [2 nd ] 94 100.1 0.01 0.00 0.13 0.08 0.04 0.26 [1 st ] refers to first crystallization from Methanol-Water [2 nd ] refers to second crystallizations (i.e., repeated crystallization) from Methanol-Water TABLE 5 Impurity Profile at Different Stages of Lactonization and Purification of Scaled-Up Product Yield Assay [0.76] Sim- [0.86] [0.88] [1.40] [1.87] Exp. No. Stage (%) (%) [0.68] OH—Ac Lov E-Lov Simv Anhyd Dimer 14 End of the lact. 0.46 1.60 0.02 0.01 95.8 0.26 0.67 15 Evap. solid res. 0.48 1.14 0.06 0.02 96.1 0.26 0.73 16 Crude simv. 91.8 0.18 0.20 0.07 0.04 98.8 0.04 0.30 17 Recrystallization from 97.1 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07 99.5 0.00 0.11 toluene-hexane 18 Recrystallization from 95.5 0.02 0.00 0.07 0.04 99.7 0.00 0.11 methanol-water 19 1 st crystallization from 97.1 97.0 0.04 0.00 0.07 0.04 98.4 0.04 0.31 methanol-water 20 2 nd crystallization from 96.5 99.0 0.01 0.00 0.07 0.04 99.5 0.04 0.28 methanol-water

The present invention relates to a process for preparing simvastatin, wherein the simvastatin dimer content is controlled. More particularly, the present invention relates to a process for preparing simvastatin having a simvastatin dimer content of about 0.2 to about 0.4% wt. The present invention also relates to a process for preparing simvastatin having a simvastatin dimer content of less than about 0.2% wt. The present invention also discloses a commercial scale process of preparing simvastatin having a specified simvastatin dimer content which is reproducible.

RELATED APPLICATION [0001] The present application is based on and claims priority from Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/404,726 filed on Aug. 19, 2002 and entitled “WLAN Cellular Mobile Services Switch.” BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] This invention relates in general to the field of wireless voice communications, in particular to methods and apparatus for enabling wide-area mobile voice communications over a wireless local area network (WLAN). [0004] 2. Description of Related Art [0005] The most common form of wireless voice communication is provided by cellular or PCS operators via wide-area mobile voice networks. These wide-area mobile voice networks typically enable mobile voice communication through Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technologies. Both GSM and CDMA technologies specify the air-interface as well as the call-processing protocols for registering, authenticating, setting up, delivering, and handing off a wireless voice call across the wide-area mobile voice network. [0006] GSM or CDMA based call-processing protocols are only used in the wide-area mobile voice networks and such protocols cannot be extended into a wireless local area network. Typical wireless local area networks such as those based on IEEE 802.11a or 802.11b specifications have been primarily designed to support wireless data communications as opposed to mobile voice communications. Therefore, wireless local area networks are not capable of executing call-processing protocols used in wide-area mobile voice networks such as GSM or CDMA. [0007] Private enterprises and institutions have started implementing wireless voice functions over wireless local area networks by using Voice over IP (VoIP) technology. VoIP technology is typically used in a wired environment, but recent developments have made it possible to extend VoIP onto a wireless local area network. [0008] Therefore, at the present time, the only possible way to introduce voice capability in a wireless local area network is by using VoIP technologies such as Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) or H.323 protocols. [0009] However, when used in a wireless and mobile environment, SIP and H.323 protocols introduce a great amount of call-processing latency and delays in voice signals that are not acceptable for true mobile voice communications. In addition, when using SIP or H.323 in the wireless local area network, no compatibility exists with the call-processing technologies used in the wide-area mobile voice networks such as GSM or CDMA. [0010] Consequently, a cellular or PCS operator cannot extend their wide-area mobile voice communication service offerings based on GSM or CDMA into a wireless local area network that can only support SIP or H.323 protocols. [0011] Accordingly, a need exists for wireless local area networks to acquire the capability to execute GSM or CDMA call-processing protocols. [0012] In doing so, a cellular or PCS operator will be able to extend its wide-area mobile voice communication service offerings into a wireless local area network using its existing GSM or CDMA capabilities and eliminate the compromises of VolP technologies. [0013] In addition, a need also exists for the wide-area mobile voice network to treat the wireless local area network as a typical base transceiver station (BTS) commonly used in wide-area mobile voice networks. Doing so will allow the cellular or PCS operator to provide the most direct and seamless integration between these two types of wireless networks (i.e. wide-area and local) to support mobile voice services. BTS equipment are also known as cell sites and are used to deliver mobile voice services such as cellular or PCS. Accordingly, new technology is required to enable a wireless local area network to emulate the functionality of a BTS in terms of GSM or CDMA protocols. [0014] Current mobile phone devices for the most part support either GSM or CDMA technologies. Such devices are not capable of supporting wireless local area networks air-interfaces based on IEEE 802.11a or 802.11b specifications. Developments are underway to integrate wireless local area network capability into mobile phone devices. As such, the invention described in this application is forward-looking and anticipates the advent of such CDMA or GSM mobile phones that are also capable of supporting the air-interface provided by wireless local area networks. BRIEF SUMMARY OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION [0015] In accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention, a method is provided for enabling a WLAN to perform the call-processing functions of a base transceiver station (BTS) for enabling mobile voice calls using either CDMA or GSM protocols across the air-interface provided by the WLAN. Such call-processing functions based on either CDMA or GSM protocols include: (a) BTS discovery by the WLAN device; (b) Registration of the WLAN device; (c) Management of 16 kbps voice timeslots via the Transcoder Rate Adaptation Unit (TRAU) interface with the Base Station Controller (BTSC) located at the wide-area mobile voice network; (d) call-origination signaling; (e) call-delivery signaling; (f) IS41 or GSM Authentication procedures; (g) call handoffs. [0016] In accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention, a converged network accessible by wireless client devices is provided. The converged network includes: a wide-area mobile voice network; at least one wireless local area network (WLAN); and a gateway (“EtherCell”) linked to said wide-area mobile voice network and WLANs, said EtherCell providing CDMA or GSM call-processing functions over the WLANs. [0017] In accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention, an EtherCell is provided for performing the CDMA or GSM call-processing functions over a WLAN. The EtherCell includes: a T1 network interface to the Base Station Controller (BTSC); a {fraction (10/100)}BaseT Ethernet interface to the WLAN; a logical A-bis interface via the T1 network interface, a logical Um interface emulation module, an A-bis to WLAN inter-working module. [0018] In accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention, a method is provided for providing the signaling and data link inter-working between a wide-area mobile voice network using CDMA or GSM protocols and a WLAN using ethernet-related protocols. The method includes: (a) taking incoming GSM or CDMA call-processing signaling messages over a T1 interface encapsulated in LAPD frames and converting them into call-processing messages encapsulated in LAPDm over MAC header frames; (b) taking such converted call-processing signaling messages and outputting them over an ethernet interface; (c) perform the aforementioned functions according to A-bis and Um procedures. [0019] In accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention, a method is provided for providing the signaling and data link inter-working between a wide-area mobile voice network using CDMA or GSM protocols and a WLAN using ethernet-related protocols. The method includes: (a) taking incoming call-processing signaling messages over an ethernet interface encapsulated in LAPDm over MAC header frames and converting them into GSM or CDMA call-processing signaling messages encapsulated in LAPD frames; (b) taking such converted call-processing signaling messages and outputting them over a T1 interface; (c) perform the aforementioned functions according to A-bis and Um procedures. [0020] In accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention, a method is provided for emulating GSM BCCH or CDMA Pilot Channels for device and BTS mutual discovery. [0021] In accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention, a method is provided for enabling wireless voice communications via a WLAN and integrate such communication with the wide-area mobile voice network without the use of any VoIP-related technologies such as SIP or H.323. [0022] In accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention, a method is provided for emulating CDMA or GSM call-origination procedures over the air-interface provided by a WLAN. The method includes: (a) execution of Um interface procedures over the air-interface of a WLAN; (b) direct integration of a WLAN with the wide-area mobile voice network via a direct A-bis interface to the BTSC; (c) implementation of IS41 or GSM authentication security procedures over the air-interface of a WLAN; (d) spoofing the BTSC into thinking that the WLAN was a BTS. [0023] In accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention, a method is provided for emulating CDMA or GSM call-delivery procedures over the air-interface provided by a WLAN. The method includes: (a) receiving paging requests from the BTSC and consulting User Profile tables to determine whether the paging request belongs to any of the registered users; (b) use of uniquely assigned MAC addresses as opposed to IP addresses to locate devices; (c) emulation of Um procedures over the air-interface of the WLAN; (d) spoofing the BTSC into thinking that the WLAN was a BTS. [0024] In accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention, a method is provided for enabling the seamless handoff of voice calls between a WLAN and a wide-area mobile voice network. The method includes: (a) procedures for handing off a WLAN voice call into a wide-area mobile voice network; (b) procedures for handing off a wide-area mobile voice call into a WLAN; (c) procedures for handing off a WLAN call into another WLAN. [0025] These and other features will become readily apparent from the following detailed description wherein embodiments of the invention are shown and described by way of illustration the best mode of the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments and its several details may be capable of modifications in various respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not in a restrictive or limiting sense with the scope of the application being indicated in the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0026] [0026]FIG. 1 shows how the EtherCell integrates a WLAN with a Wide-Area Network and spoofs the wide-area network into thinking that the WLAN is a base transceiver station (BTS). [0027] [0027]FIG. 2 illustrates the EtherCell providing the inter-working between a wide-area network and a WLAN REFERENCE NUMERALS [0028] [0028] 10 —EtherCell (“The Invention”) [0029] [0029] 20 —Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Access Point [0030] [0030] 22 —Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Access Point [0031] [0031] 26 —Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Access Point [0032] [0032] 28 —Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Access Point [0033] [0033] 30 —Wide-Area Network [0034] [0034] 35 —Ethernet Interface to the Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) [0035] [0035] 40 —Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) [0036] [0036] 50 —Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) [0037] [0037] 60 —T1 Interface to the Wide-Area Network DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT [0038] The Invention provides a new type of wide-area network infrastructure for deployment by cellular or PCS operators. Wide-area network infrastructure is deployed by cellular or PCS operators to offer mobile voice communication services. A key component of such wide-area network is the base transceiver station (BTS) equipment (Base Transceiver Stations 40 in FIG. 1). A BTS provides the air interface between the wide-area mobile voice network and the mobile voice service user. The mobile voice service user typically accesses wireless voice services from the wide-are mobile voice network via a mobile device such as a cellular telephone. [0039] The air interface between the wide-area mobile network and the mobile voice service user employs frequency spectrum that is purchased and licensed by the cellular or PCS operator. The air interface is typically based on CDMA, GSM, or TDMA technologies. Current BTS equipment is expensive and has limited capacity for mobile voice services. [0040] The Invention provides a method to provide an alternative to today's expensive BTS equipment by leveraging unlicensed WLAN air interface and frequency spectrum based on IEEE 802.11a or 802.11b specifications. Specifically, The Invention converts a WLAN into behaving like a typical BTS. The combination of The Invention and a WLAN effectively duplicates the functionality of an expensive traditional BTS. [0041] The Invention provides a method to emulate the functionality provided by a wide-area network BTS over a WLAN. The Invention provides the required intelligence to provide radio resource management and general call setup and processing of a wide-area mobile voice call over a WLAN network. In addition, The Invention performs location updates, initial cellular phone registration, and authentication functions by interfacing with a dual-mode cellular phones over the WLAN air interface. The Invention also performs handoff control and communication with the dual-mode cellular phones over the WLAN air interface. [0042] The Invention provides a method to perform inter-working between a WLAN and a wide-area mobile voice network. Such inter-working capability effectively allows cellular or PCS operators to connect and integrate a WLAN to a wide-area mobile voice network. Specifically, The Invention provides a method to carry out signaling communications with a dual-mode cellular phone that is located within an Ethernet frame-based WLAN environment. At the same time, The Invention provides a method for communicating with the wide-area mobile voice network in a timeslot, circuit-switching-based network environment. Such method is described in detail by way of a step-by-step breakdown of the call-flow processes later in this document. [0043] In addition, The Invention provides a method to convert voice signals inside an Ethernet frame-based WLAN environment into timeslots in a circuit-switching-based wide-area mobile voice network environment. [0044] Referring to FIG. 1, the EtherCell (“The Invention”) 10 bridges the gap between a WLAN 50 (consisting of WLAN Access Points 20 , 22 , 26 , and 28 ) and the Wide-Area Network 30 . The Wide-Area Network 30 consists of cellular switching equipment as well as BTS 40 . The Invention 10 is connected to the Wide-Area Network 30 via a T1 Interface 60 . The Invention 10 is physically located as part of a WLAN 50 , and is connected to WLAN Access Points 20 , 22 , 26 , and 28 via an Ethernet Interface 35 . Please note that although precisely four WLAN Access Points ( 20 , 22 , 26 , and 28 ) are shown in FIG. 1, they are for illustration purposed only and a real-world WLAN network will have varying numbers of WLAN access points. Nevertheless, the WLAN Access Points 20 , 22 , 26 , and 28 are connected together via an Ethernet Interface 35 , which also connects to The Invention 10 . [0045] [0045]FIG. 2 illustrates the underlying inter-working capabilities of The Invention 10 . The Invention 10 is connected to the Wide-Area Network 30 via a T1 Connection 60 . The figure depicts the various attributes supported between The Invention 10 and the Wide-Area Network 30 via the T1 Connection 60 . At the same time, The Invention 10 is connected to the WLAN 50 via an Ethernet Interface 35 . The figure depicts the various attributes supported between The Invention 10 and the WLAN 50 via the Ethernet Interface 35 . [0046] Overall, FIG. 2 shows the need for inter-working between the Wide-Area Network 30 and WLAN 50 to deliver mobile voice services via a WLAN 50 . Detailed Call-Flow Descriptions [0047] Referring to FIG. 1, this section provides a detailed description of the various call scenarios enabled by The Invention 10 . The call-flows described in this section are typical scenarios supported by The Invention, and are not intended to be construed as limiting in any manner. [0048] The call-processing scenarios described in this section include: [0049] Registration and Location Update [0050] Call Origination of a voice call from mobile device inside WLAN using wide-area protocols [0051] Call Delivery of a voice call to a mobile device inside a WLAN using wide-area protocols [0052] Call Handoff [0053] Intra-WLAN [0054] WLAN⇄Cellular [0055] Cellular⇄WLAN [0056] Throughout this section, the WLAN air-interface is defined as the wireless link between any of the WLAN Access Points 20 , 22 , 26 , or 28 and the dual-mode cellular phone. A dual-mode cellular phone is defined as a mobile voice device that supports both wide-area protocols such as CDMA or GSM as well as IEEE 802.11a, b, or g protocols. Also, a WLAN refers to the network formed by the combination of WLAN Access Points 20 , 22 , 26 , and 28 via Ethernet Interface 35 . [0057] Also, the term “GSM/CDMA” is used to indicate that both signaling protocols are supported by The Invention. [0058] Registration and Location Update [0059] Referring to FIG. 1, a mobile user carrying a dual-mode cellular phone enters the WLAN 50 which is equipped with a WLAN network consisting of various WLAN Access Points ( 20 , 22 , 26 , and 28 ). Since The Invention 10 is present inside this WLAN 50 , the mobile user will be able to take advantage of the coverage provided by the WLAN network for wide-area mobile voice services. [0060] The first step in accessing mobile voice services via the WLAN is to register and initialize the dual-mode cellular phone. As such, The Invention 10 performs all the behind-the-scenes inter-working with the dual-mode cellular phone and serves as the gateway to the Wide-Area Network 30 . [0061] To the Wide-Area Network 30 , The Invention 10 appears just like any other BTS equipment such as the ones found at BTS 40 . In other words, The Invention 10 makes the Wide-Area Network 30 unaware of the presence of the WLAN (i.e. WLAN Access Points 20 , 22 , 26 , and 28 ). When communicating with The Invention 10 , the Wide-Area Network 30 believes that it is actually communicating with a typical BTS 40 . [0062] Conversely, when the dual-mode cellular phone transmits and receives signals from The Invention 10 through the any of the WLAN Access Points 20 , 22 , 26 , or 28 , it believes that it is communicating with a typical BTS 40 . [0063] In doing so, The Invention 10 effectively converts the WLAN network consisting of WLAN Access Points 20 , 22 , 26 , and 28 into behaving like a typical BTS 40 . [0064] The Registration process is broken down into two phases: [0065] a) Registration with the WLAN Network (i.e. WLAN Access Points 20 , 22 , 26 , or 28 ) [0066] b) Registration with the Wide-Area Network 30 [0067] It is important to note that throughout the Registration process, all entities involved in the process, including the dual-mode cellular phone, are uniquely identified by their hard-wired MAC addresses. No IP addresses are required, thus decreasing transaction overhead and improving system performance dramatically. [0068] Registration with the WLAN Network [0069] Referring to FIG. 1, the process is as follows: [0070] 1) The mobile user enters the WLAN 50 while carrying a dual-mode cellular phone [0071] 2) Once inside, the dual-mode cellular phone performs several tasks: [0072] a. Scans for the presence of Beacon signals broadcast by all of the WLAN Access Points 20 , 22 , 26 , and 28 . These Beacon signals are broadcast on a continual basis [0073] b. Scans for the presence of signaling channels (BCCH in the case of GSM or Pilot Channels in the case of CDMA) sent by any nearby BTS 40 . For this example, the only presence detected are the Beacon signals sent by the WLAN Access Points 20 , 22 , 26 , and 28 since the dual-mode cellular phone is inside the WLAN 50 and the signals from the BTS are too weak to be picked up by the dual-mode cellular phone [0074] c. Measures the received signal strength (RSS) of all Beacon signals present [0075] d. Locks onto the strongest Beacon signal and captures the MAC address of the associated WLAN Access Point. For illustration purposes, let's assume that the dual-mode cellular phone locks onto the Beacon signal of WLAN Access Point 28 . [0076] e. Formulates and sends an IEEE 802.11 Association Request message frame to the access point identified by the capture MAC address. In this case, such access point is WLAN Access Point 28 [0077] 3) WLAN Access Point 28 receives the Association Request message frame from the dual-mode cellular phone and responds with an IEEE 802.11 Association Response message frame indicating a successful registration with the in-building WLAN [0078] 4) In the mean time, The Invention 10 continually broadcasts modified GSM (or CDMA, depending on the chosen air interface of the cellular or PCS operator) signaling messages via the Ethernet Interface 35 to WLAN Access Points 20 , 22 , 26 , and 28 . These modified GSM/CDMA signaling message contain information related to: [0079] a. Network Information/Cellular or PCS operator Information [0080] b. Local Area Number [0081] c. The MAC address of The Invention 10 To the Wide-Area Network 30 , The Invention 10 appears just like a typical BTS 40 , and is uniquely identified by a Base Station ID (in the case of GSM) or PN Offset Value (in the case of CDMA). [0082] On the other hand, the MAC address is required for communications with the dual-mode cellular phone through the WLAN network via the Ethernet Interface 35 . The dual-mode cellular phone will uniquely identify The Invention by the MAC address included in this signaling message frame. [0083] 5) Once the dual-mode cellular phone is associated with WLAN Access Point 28 , it will listen for a GSM/CDMA signaling messages. In this case, the dual-mode cellular phone will capture the signaling message frames sent out by The Invention 10 [0084] 6) To the dual-mode cellular phone, The Invention 10 appears just like a traditional BTS 40 . The only difference is that the GSM/CDMA signaling message frames arrive via an IEEE 802.11 WLAN air link as opposed to timeslot-based cellular air interfaces such as GSM and CDMA. [0085] 7) Once the dual-mode cellular phone receives the MAC address of The Invention 10 , it is now ready to communicate with The Invention 10 to execute registration with the Wide-Area Network 30 . [0086] Registration with the Wide-Area Network 30 [0087] During this portion of the overall Registration process, The Invention 10 plays a key role. The Invention 10 will perform the required interworking between the indoor WLAN Access Points 20 , 22 , 26 , or 28 and the Wide-Area Network 30 to execute the registration of the dual-mode cellular phone. [0088] 1) Upon receiving the initial GSM/CDMA signaling message frame sent by The Invention 10 , the dual-mode cellular phone will responds back by sending a Registration message according to CDMA, TDMA, or GSM formats. [0089] a. The Registration message will contain all pertinent parameters of the dual-mode cellular phone such as Electronic Serial Number (ESN) and Mobile Identification Number (MIN) [0090] b. The dual-mode cellular phone encapsulates the message in IEEE 802.11 MAC headers and sends the message to the MAC address of The Invention 10 . [0091] c. The message is transmitted via the WLAN air link. [0092] 2) The Invention 10 recognizes its own MAC address, and captures the Registration Message frame sent by the dual-mode cellular phone. [0093] 3) The Invention 10 decapsulates the MAC headers and formulates a new outgoing message according to GSM/CDMA Layer 3 signaling message frame formats [0094] a. The Invention 10 will include the Location Area Number in the message to notify the external Wide-Area Network of the current location of the dual-mode cellular phone [0095] b. The Invention 10 then uses LAPD procedures to send the GSM/CDMA Registration message over a D-channel on the T1 Connection 60 between The Invention 10 and the Wide-Area Network 30 . [0096] 4) The Wide-Area Network 30 receives the Registration message, processes it, and updates its location register with the most current information related to the dual-mode cellular phone [0097] 5) The Wide-Area Network 30 updates the profile of the mobile user with its current Location Area Number [0098] 6) The Wide-Area Network 30 authentication on the user by comparing the received user information with the stored user information [0099] 7) Upon successful authentication, the Wide-Area Network 30 sends a GSM/CDMA signaling message to The Invention 10 to indicate that the dual-mode cellular phone has been authenticated and registered in the Wide-Area Network 30 [0100] 8) The Invention 10 will bridge the gap between the in-building WLAN network environment and the external cellular environment to ensure that a data link existed between the dual-mode cellular phone and the Wide-Area Network 30 across the WLAN air interface provided by WLAN Access Point 28 . Such a data link between the dual-mode cellular phone and the Wide-Area Network 30 is critical in carrying out call-processing functions such as call origination, delivery, and handoffs. [0101] As such, once The Invention 10 is aware that the dual-mode cellular phone has been authenticated, it will assign a Service Access Point Identification (SAPI) value to the dual-mode cellular phone. Such assignment will be used for establishing data links for future communications with the dual-mode cellular phone. [0102] Data link establishment with the dual-mode cellular phone is according to a modified version of LAPD, LAPDm. The Invention 10 will perform the interworking between the LAPD and LAPDm. [0103] 9) In addition, upon notification of successful authentication, The Invention 10 will create a User Profile for the dual-mode cellular phone that contains the following parameters: [0104] a. Electronic Serial Number (ESN) [0105] b. Mobile Identification Number (MIN) [0106] c. MAC Address [0107] d. Assigned SAPI Value for LAPDm [0108] e. SAPI Value for LAPD link to external Wide-Area Network [0109] f. MAC Address of the current serving access point [0110] g. Call State [0111] 10) The Invention 10 then formulates a layer 3 Successful Registration message frame according to either GSM, TDMA, or CDMA signaling standards [0112] a. This message will also contain the assigned SAPI Value for the LAPDm link for future communications between the dual-mode cellular phone and The Invention 10 [0113] b. The message will also inform the dual-mode cellular phone of the SAPI Value associated with The Invention 10 for the LAPDm data link [0114] c. The message is encapsulated into a LAPDm link layer message frame [0115] d. For communication the WLAN Access Point 28 , the message is further encapsulated into a MAC layer message frame [0116] i. The Source Address of the MAC layer header is the MAC address of The Invention [0117] ii. The Destination Address of the MAC layer header is the MAC address of the dual-mode cellular phone [0118] iii. All communications between The Invention 10 and WLAN Access Point 28 (or any of the other WLAN Access Points 20 , 22 , 26 ) take place over the Ethernet Interface 35 [0119] 11) The Successful Registration message is sent over the WLAN air link [0120] 12) The message arrives at the dual-mode cellular phone and the registration process is now completed [0121] a. The dual-mode cellular phone registers the SAPI Values to be used for future LAPDm link layer communications with The Invention 10 [0122] 13) For CDMA, The Invention 10 will also keep track and maintain a Neighbor List on behalf of the dual-mode cellular phone [0123] a. This Neighbor List contains a listing of potential handoff candidates including nearby WLAN Access Points and/or BTS [0124] b. The Invention 10 will download the Neighbor List to the dual-mode cellular phone through the WLAN air interface via the pre-established LAPDm data link with the dual-mode cellular phone [0125] Upon completion of the above Registration process, the dual-mode cellular phone can start accessing GSM/CDMA cellular voice services via the any of the WLAN Access Points 20 , 22 , 26 , or 28 . [0126] The cellular or PCS operator can configure the frequency of the aforementioned Registration process. Periodic registrations serve as frequent location updates to the Wide-Area Network 30 . Such periodic registrations are useful for fault-tolerant purposes and can speed up recovery in case of database failures within the Wide-Area Network 30 . [0127] The Invention 10 supports periodic registrations and location updates with the dual-mode cellular phone. The frequency of such updates can vary and represents a trade-off for the cellular or PCS operator between amount of signaling traffic in the network and speed of failure recovery of its databases. [0128] Call Origination from Cellular Phone inside WLAN [0129] Referring to FIG. 1, now that the dual-mode cellular phone is registered and location update completed, the user can start making mobile voice calls via the indoor WLAN network. The Invention 10 performs all the interworking between the dual-mode cellular phone and the Wide-Area Network 30 to make the call possible. [0130] Throughout any of the call setup processes, all communications between the dual-mode cellular phone and The Invention take place via a LAPDm data link using previously assigned SAPI Values during the Registration process. [0131] All signaling messages (either GSM, TDMA, or CDMA) exchanged between the dual-mode cellular phone and The Invention 10 are formatted into LAPDm message frames [0132] The LAPDm message frames are further encapsulated in IEEE 802.11 MAC headers and transmitted across the WLAN air link [0133] Also, all communications between The Invention 10 and the Wide-Area Network 30 are via a traditional T1 Connection 60 using LAPD as the link layer protocol. [0134] The Invention 10 provides the interworking between logical data links that traverse the IEEE 802.11 WLAN air interface (LAPDm over 802.11 MAC) and the data links that traverse the circuit-switched T1 Connection 60 (LAPD) [0135] The Invention 10 also provides the required interworking between message frames that traverse between the IEEE 802.11 air interface (i.e. the wireless link between any of the WLAN Access Points 20 , 22 , 26 , or 28 and the dual-mode cellular phone) and the circuit-switched T1 Connection 60 that connects back to the Wide-Area Network 30 [0136] In addition, The Invention 10 provides the required network intelligence to execute GSM / CDMA layer 3 signaling procedures over the IEEE 802.11 WLAN air link. In doing so, The Invention 10 enables GSM / CDMA services over in-building WLAN networks. [0137] On the physical layer, The Invention 10 provides the interworking between Ethernet frames and circuit-switched T1 timeslots (Circuit Emulation). [0138] All signaling messages exchanged between the dual-mode cellular phone and The Invention 10 are layer 3 GSM or CDMA message frames. The Invention 10 provides the network layer call-processing intelligence as well as the necessary data link and physical layer interworking between the 802.11 WLAN network (i.e. WLAN Access Points 20 , 22 , 26 , and 28 ) and the Wide-Area Network 30 [0139] The Invention 10 also allows the cellular or PCS operator to provision and specify the desired balance between voice and data bandwidth requirements over the WLAN. The Invention 10 keeps track of the number of active voice calls over the WLAN, and ensures that the bandwidth usage does not exceed to pre-determined levels. In doing so, the cellular or PCS operator can reserve a desired amount of bandwidth for data services over the WLAN. [0140] Referring to FIG. 1, the call-origination process is thus as follows: [0141] 1) The user places the called party number into an originating register in the dual-mode cellular phone, checks to see that the number is correct, and pushes the SEND button. [0142] 2) The dual-mode cellular phone sends a Channel Request message to The Invention 10 via the WLAN air link. [0143] 3) The Invention 10 detects and captures the message frame arriving via the WLAN air link through the Ethernet Interface 35 [0144] 4) Upon receiving the Channel Request message frame from the dual-mode cellular phone, The Invention 10 checks the User Profile to: [0145] a. Ensure the dual-mode cellular phone has been registered and initialized [0146] b. Update user location information if necessary [0147] 5) The Invention 10 then sends a Channel Required message frame to the Wide-Area Network 30 [0148] 6) The Wide-Area Network 30 then initiates a connection request [0149] 7) At the same time, the Wide-Area Network 30 performs called-party digit analysis and initiates SS 7 -related call setup procedures with the PSTN [0150] 8) The Wide-Area Network 30 then allocates a traffic channel between itself and The Invention 10 and notifies The Invention 10 of such assignment. The signaling between the Wide-Area Network 30 and The Invention 10 is analogous to Q.931 ISDN and follows LAPD procedures [0151] 9) Once the bearer path between the Wide-Area Network 30 and The Invention 10 has been established, The Invention 10 will send an Assignment Request message frame to the dual-mode cellular phone, instructing the dual-mode cellular phone to use a previously-assigned logical LAPDm data link for transporting the bearer message frames across the 802.11 WLAN air link [0152] 10) The dual-mode cellular phone responds with an Acknowledged message frame [0153] 11) The Invention 10 then notifies the Wide-Area Network 30 of the completion of bearer path setup by sending an Assignment Complete message frame [0154] 12) Once the called-party answers the phone, conversation starts [0155] 13) At this point, the dual-mode cellular phone starts transmitting bearer message frames across the 802.11 WLAN air link [0156] 14) The Invention 10 captures these message frames over the previously-assigned logical LAPDm data link for the call, decapsulates all headers related to IEEE 802.11 MAC layer, encodes the message frames into speech, and maps the speech signals over a timeslot on the T1 Connection 60 Such function performed by The Invention 10 is effectively converting voice signals in Voice over Ethernet format into traditional circuit-switched 64 kbps format for transport over the T1 Connection 60 . The Invention 10 will include off-the-shelf third party hardware components to perform the speech encoding and decoding functions. The Invention 10 will also utilize third-party off-the-shelf hardware components to support both the Ethernet Interface 35 and the T1 Connection 60 . [0157] 15) The call is now in progress and The Invention 10 will track the Call State of the conversation and update the associated field in the User Profile accordingly [0158] Call Delivery to Cellular Phone via WLAN [0159] In this scenario, referring to FIG. 1, a call is originated from the PSTN to a dual-mode cellular phone currently being served by The Invention 10 inside WLAN 50 which contains a WLAN network consisting of WLAN Access Points 20 , 22 , 26 , and 28 . For this example, it is assumed that the dual-mode cellular phone has already been registered on the Wide-Area Network 30 according to the Registration process discussed earlier in this document. [0160] 1) The dialed-digits are forwarded to a Class 5 switch (not shown in FIG. 1) serving the calling party [0161] 2) The Class 5 switch performs digit-analysis and recognizes that the number is mobile and forwards the call to the Wide-Area Network 30 [0162] 3) The Wide-Area Network 30 finds out the current Location Area Number of the dual-mode cellular phone. For this example, let's assume the Location Area Number=8, and that The Invention 10 is one of the “BTS” inside this location area [0163] 4) Once the Wide-Area Network 30 determines the Location Area Number of the dual-mode cellular phone, it will instruct all the BTS that belong to Location Area Number 8 to page the dual-mode cellular phone [0164] 5) Upon receiving the instruction from the Wide-Area Network 30 , The Invention 10 will consult its User Profile registries to determine whether the call request is destined to any of the dual-mode cellular phones currently registered on the WLAN network [0165] 6) If the call request is indeed destined for one of the dual-mode cellular phones currently registered with The Invention 10 , The Invention 10 will look up its MAC address as well as the SAPI Value assigned to it [0166] 7) The Invention 10 will then formulate a Paging Call message, encapsulate it inside a LAPDm frame using the assigned SAPI value, and send it across the 802.11 WLAN air link by further encapsulating the LAPDm message frame with 802.11 MAC layer headers. The message is forwarded to the MAC address of the dual-mode cellular phone [0167] 8) Upon receiving the Paging Call message from The Invention 10 , the dual-mode cellular phone alerts the user by way of a ringing tone. When the user presses TALK on the dual-mode cellular phone, an Answer message frame is sent back to The Invention [0168] 9) The Invention 10 captures the message frame, decapsulates the MAC and LAPDm frame headers, and formulates a new Answer message for communication with the Wide-Area Network 30 [0169] a. This message is sent to the Wide-Area Network 30 via a LAPD link on the T1 Connection 60 [0170] 10) The Wide-Area Network 30 assigns a traffic channel for the call and makes The Invention 10 aware of the assignment [0171] 11) The Invention 10 then instructs the dual-mode cellular phone to start forwarding bearer message frames over the 802.11 WLAN air link [0172] 12) As discussed previously, The Invention 10 will capture the incoming bearer message frames over the Ethernet Interface 35 , decapsulates all headers, encode the voice signal into a speech bit-stream, and map the bit-stream onto an assigned circuit-switched timeslot on the T1 Connection 60 to the Wide-Area Network 30 [0173] 13) The call is now in progress and The Invention 10 will track the Call State of the conversation and update the associated field in the User Profile accordingly [0174] Call Handoffs [0175] In traditional cellular telephony, handoffs between BTS take place frequently when the mobile user is in motion and on the move. During a voice call, two parties are on a voice channel. When a dual-mode cellular phone moves out of the coverage area of a particular cell site, the reception becomes weak. At this point, the present BTS may request a handoff. The system switches the call to a new frequency channel in a new cell site without either interrupting the call or alerting the user. The call continues as long as the user is talking. The users do not notice the handoff occurrences. This handoff scenario is classified as network-controlled handoff (NCHO) and is used in older analog mobile systems. [0176] For the current generation of mobile systems such as GSM, TDMA, and CDMA, mobile-assisted handoff (MAHO) is used instead of NCHO. In this case, the Wide-Area Network asks the dual-mode cellular phone to measure the signal from the surrounding base stations. The Wide-Area Network makes the handoff decision based on reports from the dual-mode cellular phone. [0177] Referring to FIG. 1, when a mobile user is inside WLAN 50 and is accessing mobile voice services via the WLAN network, The Invention 10 performs all the behind-the-scenes interworking with the Wide-Area Network 30 to execute the voice call handoff. The entire process will be transparent and seamless to the mobile user. At the same time, to the Wide-Area Network 30 , the handoff process appears to be a typical inter-BTS handoff. Thanks to The Invention 10 , the indoor WLAN network appears just like a typical BTS 40 to the Wide-Area Network 30 . [0178] The Invention 10 is effectively a “black box” that hides the WLAN-specific features from the Wide-Area Network 30 , and vice versa. Thus, the indoor WLAN looks like a traditional cellular base station represented by BTS 40 to the Wide-Area Network 30 . [0179] Again, the term WLAN Network is used to represent the combination of WLAN Access Points 20 , 22 , 26 , and 28 via Ethernet Interface 35 . The call handoff scenarios supported by The Invention 10 include: [0180] Inter-WLAN Access Point Handoff [0181] WLAN Network to Wide-Area Network 30 Handoff [0182] Wide-Area Network 30 to WLAN Network Handoff [0183] Inter-WLAN Access Point Handoff [0184] Referring to FIG. 1, the process for enabling the handoff of a GSM / CDMA over WLAN voice call between two WLAN Access Points is as follows: [0185] 1) Periodically, The Invention 10 will send out signaling message frames to the dual-mode cellular phone to request the dual-mode cellular phone to measure the received signal strength (RSS) from surrounding WLAN Access Points ( 20 , 22 , 26 , or 28 ) as well as from external cell site base stations represented by BTS [0186] 2) The dual-mode cellular phone will report back to The Invention 10 the RSS from its current point of attachment as well as neighboring points of attachment. If the dual-mode cellular phone is in the process of walking outside the WLAN 50 towards the Wide-Area Network 30 , it will include the RSS from the nearest external cellular base station found in one of the BTS 40 . [0187] 3) In this example, however, the dual-mode cellular phone is not leaving the WLAN and the in-building WLAN network, and is merely transitioning between the coverage areas of two different WLAN Access Points. Thus it will only report back the RSS from the surrounding access points. For this example, let's assume that these two access points are WALN Access Point 26 and WLAN Access Point 28 . WLAN Access Point 26 represents the new WLAN Access Point while WLAN Access Point 28 represents the current point of attachment [0188] 4) Once The Invention 10 receives the RSS measurements from various neighboring WLAN access points from the dual-mode cellular phone, it will make a handoff decision based on those parameters. Specifically, The Invention 10 will execute a proprietary algorithm that compares these various parameters and decide on when to make the handoff. [0189] 5) If The Invention 10 determines that a handoff to the Wide-Area Network 30 is not required, then no action is taken since inter-WLAN access point handoff is dual-mode cellular phone-initiated, as previously indicated [0190] 6) In this example, the dual-mode cellular phone compares the measured RSS of the Beacon signals from various neighboring access points. It determines that a handoff is needed and locks onto the strongest Beacon signal. This Beacon signal belongs to the new WLAN access point (WLAN Access Point 26 ) [0191] 7) The dual-mode cellular phone then sends an IEEE 802.11 Re-Association Request message to the WLAN Access Point 26 . This message contains the MAC addresses of the dual-mode cellular phone as well as that of the old access point (WLAN Access Point 28 ) [0192] 8) WLAN Access Point 26 responds with a Re-Association Response message [0193] 9) The dual-mode cellular phone is now in communication with WLAN Access Point 26 and will respond exclusively to WLAN Access Point 26 from this point on [0194] 10) WLAN Access Point 26 then sends a Handover Request according to the Inter Access Point Protocol (IAPP) to WLAN Access Point 28 . WLAN Access Point 28 then responds with a Handover Response message [0195] 11) While the dual-mode cellular phone is transitioning between the two WLAN access points, The Invention 10 continues to transmit message frames to the dual-mode cellular phone's MAC address. This logical transmission link is not affected by the dual-mode cellular phone's movement between two access points. This holds true for the reverse path as well. Therefore, the call session is never interrupted during the handoff [0196] 12) The Invention 10 becomes aware of the dual-mode cellular phone's new point of attachment (i.e. MAC address of WLAN Access Point 26 ) through periodic Registration and Location Update signaling message exchanges with the dual-mode cellular phone. Such process was described earlier in this document [0197] 13) Once The Invention 10 receives the location update from the dual-mode cellular phone, it will update the User Profile to reflect the current location of the dual-mode cellular phone. The handoff process is now complete. [0198] The ability to know exactly which access point is serving the dual-mode cellular phone has significant and compelling ramifications for the cellular or PCS operator. For example, the cellular or PCS operator will now be able to pinpoint the specific location of the dual-mode cellular phone to within 150 ′ of the location of the serving access point. Such ability is especially critical in ensuring compliance with the E911 FCC mandate. In addition, the cellular or PCS operator will be able to offer location-based services and targeted advertising to the mobile users [0199] WLAN Network to Wide-Area Network Handoff [0200] In this scenario, referring to FIG. 1, the mobile user is involved in a phone conversation while inside the coverage area of the indoor WLAN Network (i.e. the mobile user is currently inside WLAN 50 ). The mobile user then migrates outside WLAN 50 towards the coverage area of the Wide-Area Network 30 while remaining engaged in the phone conversation. [0201] The handoff of this voice call from the indoor WLAN Network to the Wide-Area Network 30 is as follows: [0202] 1) The dual-mode cellular phone measures the received signal strength (RSS) from surrounding WLAN Access Points as well as from external cell site base stations (i.e. BTS 40 ) [0203] 2) The dual-mode cellular phone reports back to The Invention 10 the RSS measurements from the various potential points of attachment. In this case, since the dual-mode cellular phone is in the process of walking outside the indoor network towards the external mobile Wide-Area Network 30 , it will include the RSS from nearby external cell site base stations that are part of BTS 40 . The dual-mode cellular phone reports back the RSS measurements twice every second [0204] 3) Once The Invention 10 receives the RSS measurements from the dual-mode cellular phone, it will make a handoff decision based on those parameters. Specifically, The Invention 10 will execute a proprietary algorithm that compares these various parameters and decide on when to make the handoff. [0205] 4) In order to avoid repeated handoffs back and forth between two points of attachment, additional handoff parameters are considered by the algorithm to make more intelligent handoff decisions. Another factor to be considered in making the handoff decision is whether the handoff candidate (i.e. the potential new point of attachment) has enough bandwidth or capacity to support the call. The Invention 10 will perform this verification to ensure that the probability of call-blocking or call-dropping during handoff is minimized. [0206] 5) In this case, The Invention 10 determines that a handoff is necessary towards an external cell site base station that is part of BTS 40 . [0207] 6) The Invention 10 formulates a Handover Request message frame and sends it to the Wide-Area Network 30 [0208] 7) The Wide-Area Network 30 looks up a list of potential handoff candidates and sends a Handover Request message to the handoff candidate base station (“new base station”) that is part of BTS 40 [0209] 8) The new base station activates a new traffic channel in anticipation of the handoff, and sends an Acknowledge message back to the Wide-Area Network 30 [0210] 9) The Wide-Area Network 30 then sends a Handover Command message to The Invention 10 with the following parameters: [0211] a. New traffic channel information [0212] b. Power Level to be used [0213] c. Type of handoff [0214] d. New signaling channel assignment for communication with the new base station [0215] 10) The Invention 10 then translates and maps this GSM/CDMA/TDMA Handover Command signaling message into 802.11 by first forming a LAPDm message frame, and then further encapsulates it with 802.11 MAC layer headers. This message is then sent across the 802.11 WLAN air link towards the dual-mode cellular phone [0216] 11) The dual-mode cellular phone moves into the coverage area of the new base station, connects to it and tunes to the assigned signaling channel. The dual-mode cellular phone now converts back into cellular mode [0217] 12) The dual-mode cellular phone now communicates directly with the new base station via the newly assigned signaling channel and sends a Handoff Access message to the new base station [0218] 13) The new base station then sends a Handover Complete message to the Wide-Area Network 30 [0219] 14) The Wide-Area Network 30 then notifies The Invention 10 to release any communication links with the dual-mode cellular phone. [0220] 15) The Invention 10 then updates the User Profile and clears the information related to the dual-mode cellular phone which has now moved beyond the coverage area of the indoor WLAN network. The handoff is now complete [0221] Wide-Area Network to WLAN Handoff [0222] Referring to FIG. 1, this scenario is the reverse of handoff scenario described in the previous section. Once again, to the Wide-Area Network 30 , The Invention 10 appears just like any other traditional cell site base station. Therefore, The Invention 10 is provisioned at the Wide-Area Network 30 and recognized as one of the potential handoff candidates. [0223] The handoff process is as follows: [0224] 1) The dual-mode cellular phone measures the RSS of neighboring points of attachment. In this case since the mobile user is moving indoors towards WLAN 50 and into the coverage area of the WLAN network, it will obtain Beacon signal measurements from any of the WLAN Access Points ( 20 , 22 , 26 , or 28 ). [0225] 2) The dual-mode cellular phone reports back the RSS measurements to the current serving base station that is one of the cell sites found inside BTS 40 (“old base station”) twice every second [0226] 3) In this case, the old base station determines that a handoff is required. It then sends a Handover Required message to the Wide-Area Network 30 [0227] 4) The Wide-Area Network 30 then looks up it list of handoff candidates (The Invention 10 is provisioned as one of the handoff candidates), and determines that a handoff towards The Invention 10 is required [0228] 5) The Wide-Area Network 30 will then send a layer 3 GSM/CDMA Handover Request message to The Invention 10 . [0229] 6) Upon receiving the message, The Invention 10 checks to determine whether there is enough bandwidth to support a new voice session within the WLAN network (i.e. if the pre-determined maximum number of simultaneous voice calls has been reached). [0230] 7) In this case, The Invention 10 determines that the handover request can be supported. It will then send back an Acknowledge message to the Wide-Area Network 30 which contains the following parameters: [0231] a. New Channel Info=MAC address of The Invention [0232] b. Power Level=Per 802.11 specifications [0233] c. Type of Handoff=Hard Handoff [0234] d. New Signaling Channel Assignment=Beacon Signal of New Access Point [0235] By including the above parameters in the Acknowledge message, The Invention 10 is mapping IEEE 802.11 WLAN-specific values to traditional cellular- handoff parameters. In doing so, The Invention 10 effectively bridges the gap between these two heterogeneous network environments and enables seamless handoffs between the two disparate networks. [0236] 8) The Wide-Area Network 30 then forwards the handoff parameters to the old base station with a Handover Command message. The old base station in turn relays the message to the dual-mode cellular phone [0237] 9) The dual-mode cellular phone then releases the old traffic channel, and starts scanning for the Beacon signal of the access point it is handing off to (“new WLAN access point”) [0238] 10) The dual-mode cellular phone locks onto the Beacon signal of the new WLAN access point, and sends an 802.11 Association Request message to the new access point. For this example, let's assume that this new access point is WLAN Access Point 22 . [0239] 11) WLAN Access Point 22 responds with an 802.11 Association Response message [0240] 12) Once the dual-mode cellular phone locks onto WLAN Access Point 22 , it sends a Handoff Access message encapsulated in 802.11 MAC headers to The Invention 10 . The dual-mode cellular phone obtained the MAC address of The Invention 10 in the Handover Command message [0241] 13) The Invention 10 receives the Handoff Access message, registers the parameters related to the dual-mode cellular phone in the User Profile, assigns a SAPI for communication with the dual-mode cellular phone over a LAPDm data link, and captures the MAC address of the dual-mode cellular phone from the MAC layer header sent by the dual-mode cellular phone [0242] 14) The Invention 10 then sends a Handover Complete message frame to the Wide-Area Network 30 [0243] 15) The Wide-Area Network 30 notifies the old base station to release links and traffic channel previously used by the dual-mode cellular phone. The Wide-Area Network 30 then starts forwarding the voice call to The Invention 10 via a chosen timeslot on the T1 Connection 60 to The Invention 10 [0244] 16) The Invention 10 receives the voice signal over the circuit-switched T1 Connection 60 timeslot, decodes the speech signal into a bit-stream, and maps this bit-stream into LAPDm message frames encapsulated in 802.11 MAC layer headers. The Invention 10 then forwards these formatted voice message frames to the dual-mode cellular phone over the 802.11 WLAN air link [0245] 17) The mobile user continues the conversation without interruptions. The handoff is now complete

Methods and apparatus for performing call-processing functions of wide-area mobile voice calls over a wireless local-area network (WLAN) are provided. Such methods allow the extension of wide-area call-processing protocols such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) into a WLAN which uses a completely different air-interface than GSM or CDMA. Such methods enable wide-area mobile voice communications to be available in a WLAN without the use of any Voice over IP (VOIP) related technologies such as SIP or H.323.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a method and a system for diagnosing and/or solving, in particular remotely, a given technical problem likely to arise before, during or after a heat treatment operation on metals, in particular in the welding field. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART To make the invention easier to understand, the term “welding field” is used in its generic sense and therefore covers, within the context of the invention, actual welding processes, such as MIG (Metal Inert Gas), MAG (Metal Active Gas), TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas), plasma, submerged-arc or electrode welding, but also similar or related metal heat treatment processes, such as cutting processes, especially oxycutting or plasma-arc, laser-beam or electron-beam cutting; thermal marking processes, especially plasma or laser marking; and thermal spraying, especially plasma-arc spraying. At the present time, the technical knowledge in the welding field is disseminated in many published documents, in general by specialist institutions, such as the AWS (American Welding Society), ASM (American Society for Metals) and the TWI (The Welding Institute). Although this literature is generally complete and can answer many questions that welding practitioners may pose, it does have the drawback, however, of being incorporated into reference works ranging from a few hundred to several thousands of pages. Consequently, it may be readily understood that, given the volume that these reference works represent, it is often very difficult to quickly find therein a solution to a given technical problem arising either during a welding operation, or before or after such an operation. Moreover, the structure of the information is in conventional reference works of the “literature” type, that is to say that information given in a chapter of the reference work or document consulted is in general only developed completely once in one part of that reference work, bibliographic references being used in the other chapters. This has the advantage of not burdening the reference works but often requires the reader to consult, at best, several chapters or, at worst, several different reference works or documents in order to obtain complete information about one particular subject. It may be readily understood that this current procedure makes the search for a quick and effective solution to the technical problem arising in the welding field even more difficult, or even does not always allow such a solution to be found. In parallel with this observation, the development of information technology, especially with tools such as hypertext links and Internet or Intranet networks, makes it possible to link together extremely large bodies of information and above all to facilitate access thereto. However, the great majority of tools for these networks are constructed in a manner very similar to that described for technical documentation of the reference work type, that is to say they are constructed in a document management mode. Consequently, although a person searching for information admittedly has the possibility of rapidly consulting a very large number of documents, insofar as they are referenced, he must, however, here again extract from them the particular information of interest to him. This results in often expensive and not very effective on-line navigation for someone searching quickly for a particular technical solution to a precise problem that has arisen. In other words, a welding operator having to very quickly find some given technical information allowing him to solve a technical welding problem that has arisen in a workshop, in a factory or on another site often far from the information source, is presently confronted with another technical problem, namely that of the effectiveness in the search for the information or technical solution that can be applied to solve his welding or similar problem as quickly as possible. Put another way, the problem that arises is to be able to find, quickly and effectively, the most appropriate technical solution or answer to the precise technical question that has arisen and to do so, in particular directly on the site where he is carrying out his welding operation, so as to reduce as far as possible the time wasted in searching for this information and therefore to decrease the loss of productivity associated, for example, with momentarily stopping the welding or similar process in which the given technical problem has arisen. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention therefore to provide a method of making it easier for a welding operator to solve a given technical problem and to find thereby a solution or the most appropriate solution and to do so while minimizing the time needed to solve this problem and therefore by reducing the loss of productivity likely to occur because of this technical problem. The invention therefore relates to a method for diagnosing and/or solving, in particular remotely, a technical problem likely to arise before, during or after the operation of a heat treatment process, comprising the steps of: (a) indication and/or selection by the user of a type of heat treatment process implemented or to be implemented; (b) indication and/or selection by the user of at least one type of technical problem to be solved arising or likely to arise during implementation of the type of heat treatment process of step (a); (c) indication and/or selection by the user of at least one parameter, preferably several parameters, relating to the configuration of the said heat treatment process of step (a); (d) processing of at least some of the indications or selections made by the user in steps (a), (b) and (c); (e) proposal to the user of at least some information relating to at least one modification or at least one adjustment to be made to at least one configuration parameter of the said heat treatment process so as to solve, at least partly, the type of technical problem of step (b). According to another aspect, the invention also relates to a method for determining, setting, adjusting and/or modifying at least one parameter of a heat treatment process, before or during implementation of the said heat treatment process by a user, comprising the steps of: (a′) indication and/or selection by the user of a type of heat treatment process implemented or to be implemented; (b′) indication and/or selection by the user of at least one parameter relating to the configuration of the said heat treatment process, that has to be or is likely to be adjusted, modified or set, before or during implementation of the heat treatment process of step (a′); (c′) processing of at least some of the indications or selections made by the user in steps (a′) and (b′); (d′) proposal to the user of at least some information relating to at least one modification or at least one setting to be made of at least the said configuration parameter of the said heat treatment process. Depending on the case, the method of the invention may comprise one or more of the following features: it includes the additional step (f) of displaying, storing, printing, transmitting, interpreting and/or exporting at least some information obtained in step (e) or in step (d′); it includes the additional step (g) of modifying or setting at least one configuration parameter, preferably several configuration parameters, of the said heat treatment process according to at least some information obtained in step (e) or in step (d′); in step (a) or (a′), the type of heat treatment process implemented or to be implemented is chosen or selected from the group formed by cutting processes, welding processes, marking processes, heat spraying processes and combinations thereof; in steps (a), (b) and/or (c) or (a′) and/or (b′), the indication or the selection is made by the user via data or information acquisition and/or selection means, for example the data acquisition and/or selection means may comprise a computer keyboard or the like, a mouse, a voice recognition system, a portable or non-portable telephone, for example a portable telephone equipped with a WAP™ system, a personal organizer, such as the devices of this type sold by the companies Palm™, Ericsson™ or Siemens™, a computer, a data transmission network, such as the Internet network, or an internal network, such as an Intranet network, a monitor or a tactile touch control screen, etc.; in step (f), the display is made on a “touch” screen, especially a computer screen, a telephone screen, a personal organizer screen, a watch screen or any similar or analogous display screen having a size and/or a graphics resolution sufficient to allow it to be read, directly or indirectly, by a user; in step (b) or (b′), the type of technical problem to be solved is a problem relating to: the choice of consumables (filler wires, shielding gases, electrodes, etc.), the parameters of the process (voltage, wire speed, welding speed, etc.), the setting of a piece of equipment or of a fitting (distance between contact tip and sheet to be welded, and/or inclination of the welding torch, etc.); health or safety, for example reduction of smoke emission, noise and electrical risks, protection against thermal radiation, etc.; malfunction of a piece of equipment or a fitting, such as poor unspooling of the filler wire in GMAW, a gas shielding problem in GTAW, GMAW or PAW welding, fouling or wear of the fitting, such as the contact tips, the wire guides, etc.; the productivity of the process, especially increasing the speed of welding or cutting of materials, increasing the hourly rate of deposition of weld metal, reducing the finishing work, etc.; the quality of the work produced, such as reduction or elimination of porosity, undercuts or excessively convex weld beads in welding, or the reduction of flash or of oxidation of the cut faces in cutting, etc.; in step (c) or (b′), at least one configuration parameter of the said heat treatment process is chosen from the voltage, the current, the feed rate of the filler wire, the speed of advance (or welding speed), the nature of the filler wire or electrode, the nature of the shielding gas, its flow rate and its quality, the choice of solid flux associated with the wire in submerged-arc welding, the orientation and position of the welding torch with respect to the weld to be produced, the preparation and the thickness of the workpieces to be joined together or, in the case of cutting, the cutting speed and the gas used; in step (d) or (c′), the processing of the indications or selections made by the user comprises: (i) a comparison of the said indications or selections with reference information stored in at least one database, (ii) a proposal of at least one possible solution, preferably an optimized solution and/or a solution better than that entered by the user, of an explanation and/or of an answer to a question raised, stored in at least one database; it incorporates a module for the automatic acquisition of the welding parameters (such as the current, the voltage, the welding speed, etc.) and for the transmission to a screen, computer monitor, liquid-crystal screen, etc., and which allows the user to question the system as mentioned above. According to another aspect, the invention also relates to a system for diagnosing and/or solving, in particular remotely, a technical problem likely to arise before, during or after implementation of a heat treatment process, comprising: (a) information acquisition and/or selection means allowing a user to indicate and/or select: (i) a type of heat treatment process implemented or to be implemented, (ii) at least one type of technical problem to be solved that has arisen or is likely to arise during implementation of the type of heat treatment process and (ii) at least one parameter, preferably several parameters, relating to the configuration of the said heat treatment process. (b) information processing means for processing at least some of the indications and/or selections made by the user with the aid of the information acquisition and/or selection means; (c) information delivery means for displaying, storing, printing, transmitting, interpreting and/or exporting at least one piece of information relating to at least one modification and/or at least one setting to be made of at least one configuration parameter of the said heat treatment process so as to solve, at least partly, the said technical problem. Depending on the case, the system of the invention may comprise one or more of the following features: it comprises at least one user station which may be a portable or fixed computer, which includes a central processing unit itself comprising a microprocessor, a RAM or ROM memory unit and a hard disk, which also has a storage function, all these elements being coupled to a network card or a modem. A screen allows the information proposed by the invention to be displayed. The system furthermore comprises peripherals, such as a computer keyboard or a mouse. other hypertext-type file or line selection means may be used, for example a touchscreen or a voice recognition system. The user station may also be a terminal linked directly to an Internet server or to a central operating system. It may also be a personal organizer, a telephone screen or a watch screen. All these systems are linked to a central server holding at least one database containing the knowledge necessary for solving the problems arising in heat treatment processes, processing software, such as the NTK Surf™ software from the company Némesia™, a WEB server or, in the case of portable stations not connected to a network, a CD-ROM reader on which the database information is located; the link between the user station and the central server comprises a remote communication network or line, especially the Internet network; it includes data transmission means allowing the choices or selections made by the user by means of the information acquisition and/or selection means to be transmitted to the said central server. In other words, the invention is schematically designed around two main concepts: one relating to the quick and effective search for a suitable solution to a given technical problem arising during, before or after a welding or similar operation, this search being carried out, in particular remotely, using the modern communication networks, especially the Internet network, and not requiring the inconvenient handling of reference works; the other relating to the application of this solution to the given technical problem, that is to say the practical and technical implementation of this solution from an industrial viewpoint so as to solve this problem and to be able to continue the welding or similar process which, for example, had been stopped because of the problems that had arisen. To achieve this, according to the invention, the information to be searched is organized and subdivided in terms of areas of knowledge, of situations encountered and of corrective actions to be taken, which are stored in suitable storage media and can be easily retrieved through interrogation by the operator, that is to say by using the technical information entered by the operator, such as the nature of the metal to be treated, the type of process chosen, the gases used, the characteristics of the current source used, etc. By virtue of the invention it is no longer a question, as is the case in the prior art, of having to consult many various chapters, sub-chapters, paragraphs or documents which have to be analyzed before being able to find a solution to the problem that has arisen. This is because the invention is based especially on the use and the organization of elements of welding knowledge linked together via, for example, hypertext links or the like. The following example of a GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Welding) process, given purely by way of illustration but implying no limitation, will allow the invention to be more clearly understood. In a conventional approach for transmitting technical information relating to the GMAW welding process, the structure of a document or of a reference work dealing with this process is generally the following: general presentation of the process; modes of metal transfer in the arc: dip or short-circuit, globular, axial streaming, spray, etc.; the welding generators that can be used by this process; the welding fittings that can be used: torches, feeders, etc.; the welding consumables that can be used: filler wires, shielding gases, etc.; the materials that can be welded; the particular applications; and the problems encountered with given solutions. This list is not exhaustive and the order of the information may vary from one reference work or document to another. In contrast, the structure according to the invention only involves elements of knowledge, that is to say the information is no longer initially structured as above. Thus, that which constituted a “fittings” chapter becomes a group of entirely separate objects, such as the various types of feeders, welding torches, contact tips, etc. Next, according to the invention, the information is structured by hypertext links whereas, in a conventional presentation, a subject is treated only once and is mentioned in related parts; the object-oriented structure according to the invention makes it possible to link one element to other related elements as many times as desired. The same applies to what has been defined as a welding situation. Although it is usually dealt with in a unique manner and mentioned by documentary reference in the other parts of the technical documents, segmentation by knowledge element according to the invention makes it possible to place a situation at the node of a network which would be linked to the many situations that may be the cause of it. This is because, in welding a situation is really univocal, that is to say it is generally the result of several possible causes. Likewise, a corrective action may be common to several situations and above all may modify parameters which could not be taken into account initially by the person consulting the knowledge tool. Segmentation by objects linked by hypertext links makes it possible to remind the user of these secondary effects of a corrective action. Once the knowledge elements have been created, the whole system must of course be given a structure. The basic concept is to answer precise questions posed by users and to give the right information desired at the right moment, that is to say to provide a solution that can be applied immediately to the welding process in which the problem has arisen. To do this the structure of the information is designed around that of a welding operation. It is no longer a question of giving academic information, like that described above, but of locating it within the chronological order of a manufacturing welding process. This order makes it possible to give a response depending on the step performed in the execution of the welding operation, but that, in an ideal situation, the information given would obviously be more useful if it were known prior to any welding or similar action being carried out, so as to avoid problems likely to arise during it. It is therefore segmented in terms of information that a welding practitioner would be able to search: either during preparation of the welding operations, for example the selection of consumables or welding gases to be used to weld or cut such and such a metal or metal alloy; or during implementation of the welding, for example the search for ways of reducing welding noise, the solution to malfunctions of the welding sets or the search for parameters for a given configuration; or after welding, for example solutions to quality or repair problems or even seeking ways of increasing the productivity of the process. The object-oriented decomposition makes it possible to link together information usually separated into various files, reference works or documents. It is thus possible, by combining the welding knowledge with the means given by the hypertext links, to construct a product selection guide module which includes the grade to be welded and the consumables or pairs of welding products to be used. One example that may be given, by way of illustration but implying no limitation, is that of the GMAW welding of steels whose yield strength is between 185 and 420 MPa. In this case, after selection by broad category of grades, such as steels, nickel bases, etc., the user can choose the material that he desires to weld. In this example, differentiation is by mechanical properties or according to the specification. The welding processes that can be used and the main difficulties expected during the welding of these grades are grouped together on one page. By choosing the GMAW process, the user enters a three-dimensional structure which combines the grade, the choice of filler wire and the choice of shielding gas. Whereas conventionally he would have had several documents each dealing with one of these themes, according to the method of the invention, there is the possibility of consulting all such information directly. The conventional picture of the method of the invention is that of a tree structure, the final branches of which consist of the grades to be welded, the filler wires and the shielding gases. To switch from one theme to another, it would be necessary to go back to the central node before going off down a new branch. According to the invention, the use of hypertext links allows one to pass directly from one end of a tree structure to another. Thus, to choose the consumables most suited for implementing a process for the GMAW welding of steels having a yield strength between 185 and 420 MPa, for example the consumable electrode wire to be used, the operator, after having selected the abovementioned type of welding process desired and the characteristics of the material to be welded, that is to say the elasticity range, will have the opportunity to refine his request by choosing one or more of the following options: choice of a family of consumable wires or of shielding gases recommended for whatever steel in the yield strength range between 185 and 420 MPa, but for various types of welding process (GTAW, SAW, GMAW, etc.); choice of settings of the welding parameters (current, voltage, feed rate, etc.) for a certain number of welding configurations likely to be encountered during the welding of a steel having a yield strength between 185 and 420 MPa, namely the thickness of the metal or metals to be welded and the configuration of the assembly to be produced. By selecting one of these possible options, the user will then be presented with a solution to his problem, or with other options intended to further refine the search for the best solution to his problem. For example, if the user wishes to know what family of consumable wires is recommended for whatever steel having a yield strength between 185 and 420 MPa and can be used for implementing a GMAW welding process, then he will be advised to use the family of E70S-x carbon steel wires, for example the NERTALIC™ 70 A or 70 S wires sold by La Soudure Autogéene Francaise, and will possibly be recommended to use, with these wires, a family of welding gases compatible with the welding to be carried out, such as the gases of the C1, M14, M21 or M23 families, for example the gases sold by L'Air Liquide S.A. under the brand names ARCAL™14, ARCAL™21, ARCAL™22, ATAL™5A, ELOXAL™35 or TERAL™23. Furthermore, by selecting one of these gases or gas mixtures, the user will then obtain details relating to this or these various gases. For example, if the user selects the gas called ARCAL™21, confirmation will then be given to him that this gas is indeed suitable for the GMAW welding of the abovementioned steels in combination with the aforementioned wire and that such a combination makes it possible to obtain, when implementing the welding process, good penetration, low smoke emission, a low degree of spatter of the molten metal droplets and little oxidation of the surface of the weld. In addition, he will also be given the precise composition of the gas, namely a binary mixture of argon with 8% CO 2 . Optionally, alternative gases could also be proposed to him. He may also find out how to set the welding parameters for this family of steels and for the wire/gas pair which were mentioned above. For example, it would be proposed to him to weld at 90 cm/min, with a current of 360 A and a voltage of 29.5 V, for a feeder speed of a 1.2 mm diameter wire of 12.8 mm/s on an angled joint made of 10 mm thick plate. Similarly, the user will also be able to obtain details relating to the welding wire. For example, by selecting the wire called NERTALIC™70S, he will be given, apart from the abovementioned information, the mechanical properties which will result from the combination of this wire with various gases or gas mixtures, or other similar information. All of this information is displayed on a screen, for example a computer screen or a portable telephone screen, and may, if desired, be printed, stored or transferred to another person or to another computer, or may be subjected to further processing. The same type of architecture can be used to structure all the information relating to a given welding process, for example that of the choice of current source, that is to say the current generator, for the abovementioned GMAW process. This is because it is often the case that a user is looking for precise information about this type of apparatus in order to generate the welding current. Thus, according to the invention, the object-oriented decomposition and organization of the information allows him to find the information quickly without having to go through the complete and academic description of the welding generators usually found in the literature dedicated to this subject. It is thus possible to build a structure which links the broad descriptive themes, such as the technology employed, the type of current delivered and its method of control, and the overall characteristics or, conversely, the specific features of the generators for each of the welding processes. But it is possible, however, to devise finer relationships between sub-elements, for example the GMAW generators and the specific technologies implemented in this process. This type of link makes it possible to discard any information which is superfluous or overly general for the user. For example, the operator is firstly asked to choose the type of welding process envisaged: GMAW, GTAW, SAW or SMAW. By choosing the GMAW process, he is then offered several options associated with this process, especially the current sources that can be used for the arc welding, the characteristics of the welding cycles, the characteristics of the current sources, the devices peripheral to these sources, such as transformers, rectifiers, etc. As previously, by choosing, for example, the option of current sources that can be used for the arc welding, the user is then offered other choices intended to refine the search for the solution to his problem. Moreover, the object-oriented segmentation of the technical information allows a structure to be created which makes it possible to solve, quickly and effectively, welding problems liable to arise before, during and after welding, cutting, etc. Any difficulty or interrogation may be placed again in its context for the user, that is to say it becomes a situation. Based on this, it is possible for him to choose among menus of complementary information which guide him gradually towards a corrective action, that is to say a solution to his technical problem. Put another way, the method of the invention makes it possible to refine the diagnosis and to propose either a solution to the problem when this is a simple one, or to put forward hypotheses consisting of possible or conceivable solutions for solving his problem, on the basis of which the user would have to make several practical attempts before reaching the most suitable technical solution. The corrective action stems from a tree structure of situations. Once more, the object-oriented segmentation and the use of hypertext links make it possible within this action to recall which may be the secondary consequences thereof via a link to other problematic situations which could result from solving the first problem. In welding, the modification of one parameter generally induces variations in several observables. For example, in the case of a question posed by a practitioner during the preparation of his welding equipment, such as the choice of wire feeder drive rolls in the GMAW or submerged-arc process, the user will find his reply through an “equipment setting” problem menu, will choose the desired process and then the “choice of feeder drive rolls” line in the menu presented. If the question is posed during welding, the practitioner will have the choice between the various welding processes and will then have to select his problem from within the list presented, for example arc instabilities in the case of problems associated with the GMAW process. He is then presented with a list of solutions such as to clean the nozzle of the welding torch. In the case of a problem detected after welding, for example a problem associated with the presence of porosity in the weld beads, the user may enter the “porosity” term directly in an internal search engine. He is then firstly asked to give the type of material to be welded, such as aluminium, steel, nickel base, etc., and then to indicate the process used, GMAW, submerged-arc, etc. These details make it possible to refine the way the problem is posed, while indicating what the influencing factors are. At this stage, the user is faced with three possible porosity sources, namely CO/CO 2 , hydrogen or nitrogen super saturation. He must then make a first choice, on the basis of which explanations relating to the process causing his problem, followed by the corrective action or actions to be applied, are given. Thus, if the possible cause is nitrogen, it will be suggested that he reduce the arc instabilities, reduce its terminal part, reduce the welding voltage or else check the quality of the gas shield. These corrective actions may also warn the user about the impact that they might have on other phenomena. By means of hypertext links, it is possible, as in the case of modification of the welding current in the example mentioned, to remind the user that this will also have repercussions on the shape of the weld beads. The user must then understand that he must make a compromise between the various situations listed. Without the possibility of linking these situations to a given action, as is the case in the current systems, the user may solve one problem but create another one without prior warning. However, if the problem posed is simpler to solve, such as for example that of the existence of undercuts at the border of the welded joint, the corrective actions will be suggested directly without passing through a hypotheses step, that is to say only necessary and known information from the user is required. It goes without saying that, to be able to solve his problem by means of the present invention, the practitioner must provide as much detail as possible as regards the welding process used, in order to be able to avail himself of the corrective actions to be implemented. Links may also be created between the objects and the situations or the corrective or informative actions. If the user is looking for the welding parameters for a given grade and a defined welding configuration, it is possible, in addition to answering this precise question, to make a hypertext link to possible resources for this action. For example, the recommended welding consumables may be linked to this welding procedure. Since a hypertext link can operate in both directions, the tool may, in a product selection guide module, provide a direct link with the welding procedure appropriate to the chosen configuration. Breaking down the technical welding knowledge into elementary modules linked by hypertext links then makes it possible to introduce an element of knowledge each time the user might search for information on his subject. It is therefore no longer a question of successive referrals from chapter to chapter in one or more reference works or of returning to the initial node of the tree structure in order to reach it along another direction. For example, a user seeking to increase his productivity could be forced to consult information in reference works relating to welding or cutting processes, to technical documentation about the consumables or to books on optimized welding procedures. The use of hypertext links allows the tool to offer a direct link between all this information. After having chosen the process, three choices are presented to the user, namely improvement of the welding parameters, choice of the products or use of particularly productive processes. By choosing, preferably by clicking, with the aid of a mouse controlling a cursor moving on the screen of the user station, on the improvement of the selection of consumables, the user will avail himself of information such as the rates of deposition with certain filler wires or gases even though he is not in a specific product selection menu. Likewise, the solutions with regard to health and safety bring together problems relating to noise, smoke, heat, electrical risks, evolution of toxic gases or handling of gas bottles. These various headings are generally dealt with in various reference works on electricity, welding consumables or heat. In a metal workshop, the user will therefore have access to all this data and to the recommendations applicable to subjects as diverse as consumables, ventilation, setting of welding parameters in order to reduce smoke emission, etc. The architecture of the invention, as detailed above, makes it possible to solve problems or to answer questions common to many activity sectors associated with welding. Transverse links whose origin is the type of market or the type of construction are also constructed. Segmentation of the dockyard, pressure vessel, pipelaying, engineering construction, etc. type is also the basis of navigation within the tool in which the links would be constructed around the preoccupation of each of these activity sectors. For example, the submerged-arc process would have little chance of being used in a maintenance shop. On the other hand, portable solutions, such as current generators based on the technique of inverters, and therefore of low weight and volume, would be associated with the maintenance sector. In short, the invention is based on: a segmentation of the knowledge relating to welding, cutting or the like by elements of knowledge, which may be classified as elementary objects, for example a welding tool or part of such a tool, products or a family of products, a situation describing a problem or an interrogation, and corrective actions. The expression “element of knowledge” is understood to mean any subject, attribute, complement, elementary situation or corrective action which constitutes an object or an element making sense for a welding practitioner. It is the sum of phrases containing these elements which is described as a document; a technical knowledge structure for welding, constructed on the basis of questions that practitioners might pose; the use of hypertext links which make it possible to link, as many times as necessary, an object, situation or action to another element of knowledge. This makes information quickly accessible and stripped of any superfluous environment for the person seeking an answer to a precise question. These links are established according to the rules of the art and must be discriminating; an overall architecture which corresponds to a welding operation: preparation, action, controls and improvements. A crossed structure which allows a user of a given market sector to find information filtered out from among the previous structure and dedicated to one type of application; a search engine which allows direct entry at any point in the system; the use of HTML-type computing formats which make it possible to consult the tool using most types of computing units, such as micro-computers, workstations, terminals, etc. equipped with operating systems such as Windows™, Unix™, Linux™, etc. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The method and the system of the invention are shown schematically in the appended figures. FIG. 1 shows a system overview. FIG. 2 shows a welding operation example. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 thus shows an operator 10 who has encountered a problem during implementation of a welding or similar operation, for example a weld bead of poor quality or mediocre appearance. To solve his problem quickly, that is to say in such a way that the productivity of the welding process is not affected, or is affected as little as possible, the operator 10 can obtain an almost immediate solution to this problem in real time by virtue of the method of the invention, and by proceeding as follows. Firstly, the operator indicates or selects the type of heat treatment process employed, for example a gas-shielded arc welding process, and indicates or selects, on the one hand, the type of technical problem that he has encountered and, on the other hand, one or more parameters relating to the configuration of the said welding process. If necessary, further technical information may be provided. These indications and/or selections may be made by means of a fixed or portable computer 1 or a telephone 11 provided with suitable acquisition means, such as a keyboard, a mouse or the like. The information from the operator is then transmitted, for example by a wire link 2 and/or a radio link 12 , to a data processing server 3 which makes it possible to process this information and which, after this processing, presents the user with one or more technical solutions to be applied so that his welding process is modified effectively, that is to say presents him with one or more items of corrective information, modifications or adjustments to be made to one or more configuration parameters of said heat treatment process so as to try to solve the technical problem encountered. This corrective information will be retransmitted to the operator via the aforementioned data transmission means. The operator has merely to modify his welding process, taking into account this corrective information, and thus eliminates the technical problem with which he was confronted. Depending on the case, it will also be possible to use the method of the invention to give a welding practitioner the means of informing himself about a technique or a welding process with which he is not very familiar, to organize the welding-related knowledge so that it answers technical questions and interrogations or solves technical problems, and/or to illustrate these remarks with quantitative or teaching examples. More generally, the invention also relates to an information processing system intended to make it easier to obtain an answer to a question or a solution to a problem which might arise during a heat treatment operation. Using a menu displayed on a computer screen, pocket organizer, portable telephone, watch, etc., it is possible to activate a link, for example a hypertext link in a WEB page, to a database by means of the processor in this tool and the programs contained in its memory. This activation of one of the elements of a menu may also be accomplished, for example, by means of a mouse, a pointer on a touchscreen, a voice recognition system, etc. This link makes it possible to activate, through a wire or radio network, an information storage and processing tool. In this tool, the information is contained in files, for example, stored in memory on a hard disk, and operates using an executable installed on an information system, such as a computer, by means of elements such as a hard disk, a micro-processor and the random-access memory and other elements needed for any computer or information processing system to operate correctly. This executable, thanks to the processor, will search for the requested information in a database, for example the Access™ program from Microsoft™, of the hard disk, extract it or possible store it momentarily in the random-access memory, and then to send it back, via the same means as that for the request, to the user. The latter will then be able to display the reply on a screen on a portable or fixed computer, a mobile telephone, a pocket organizer or a watch, again with the aid of executables stored in the memory of the user station and operating by means of a programmed chip or processor. FIG. 2 illustrates, moreover, the case of a problem arising during a GMAW welding operation, for example a problem with the feeding of the wire, although the wire feeder is operating correctly. The user, that is to say the welder, his foreman or the welding engineer, will start up the tool, using the method of the invention, on his portable computer, mobile telephone or pocket organizer. To do this, he will activate an executable programme using a mouse, a touchscreen or the like, which will send the command to the machine to start searching for one or more items of information in a central server via at least one wire or radio link. The executable in the server will then load the “welding” home page, which is transmitted to the user via the same means as previously. By clicking on the “incidents and remedies” hypertext link, the executable in the server station is again activated. This time, the hypertext link will make a database management executable fetch the desired information from the database(s) identified by the program and stored on the hard disk of the server or on another mobile storage means (CD-ROM, ZIP disk, etc.). The process of exchanging information between the user station and the server is similar to the previous one. Through the successive choices (clicks) associated with the choice of the process, and with the description of its “feed problem” consumable wire incident, a list of corrective actions will be presented to the user, all this information being stored in a database on the hard disk or on a mobile storage medium such as a CD-ROM. Thus, given the rate of information exchanged by this mode of communication, the user will have had the solution to his problem very quickly and without leaving his workplace, whereas the conventional approach would have been either to find the person who could solve the problem, who is not necessarily available or present on the site, or to look for the solution to his problem in the technical reference works relating to welding, but with the risk of not finding a suitable solution or of finding an incomplete solution therein, and/or with the risk of wasting a great deal of time. In other words, the solution to the problem that has arisen could, in no case, be found as quickly. The system of the invention, consisting of a database, server stations and users provided with processors, in-memory executable programs, databases and data processing tools, together with wire or radio links, makes it possible to solve a problem that has arisen during a heat treatment operation very quickly and on site. In the case of this example, resolution of the problem would pass, for example, through the following proposed solutions that the system of the invention would present to the operator almost instantly, namely: check if the proper type of wire feeder is used; check the surface state of the wire; clean the nozzle of the torch; reduce the pressure of the brake on the wire spool; check that the wire surface is not excessively oxidized; check that the spool of wire is still properly spooled; adjust the pressure of the feeder drive rolls; check that the welding torch cables are not overly twisted; use a push-pull system. It will be immediately understood that the method and the system according to the invention result in an appreciable gain in efficiency, when a welding process or the like is carried out by an operator, compared with the prior art.

A method and a system for diagnosing and/or solving, in particular remotely, a given technical problem likely to arise before, during or after a heat treatment operation on metals, in particular in the welding or cutting field, and to provide the most suitable solution thereto, and to do so by minimizing the time needed to solve this problem and therefore by reducing the loss of productivity likely to occur because of this technical problem.

CLAIM TO PRIORITY This patent is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/570,779, filed Jan. 26, 2007, which was a nation stage application of International Application Serial No. PCT/US03/27738, filed Sep. 9, 2003, which are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein. CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is related to the following commonly assigned U.S. Patent Applications: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/931,945, filed on Sep. 1, 2004, entitled “System and Method for Fast Detection of Specific On-Air Data Rate,” U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/500,515, filed Sep. 5, 2003, entitled “System and Method for Mobile Demand Reset,” U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/500,504, filed Sep. 5, 2003, entitled “System and Method for Optimizing Contiguous Channel Operation with Cellular Reuse,” U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/500,479, filed Sep. 5, 2003, entitled “Synchronous Data Recovery System,” U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/500,550, filed Sep. 5, 2003, entitled “Data Communication Protocol in an Automatic Meter Reading System,”and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/655,759, filed on Sep. 5, 2003, entitled “Field Data Collection and Processing System, such as for Electric, Gas, and Water Utility Data,” which are herein incorporated by reference. BACKGROUND Utility users and utility providers typically monitor utility use by collecting data from one or more utility meters at users' premises. In some meter-reading systems, meters equipped with transmitters, such as radio-based transmitter modules, transmit meter-reading data locally to a data collection device (“CCU”). So that the collected data may be processed in a meaningful way, the CCU may periodically upload data to one or more host or “head-end” processors via a communication link, such as a wide-area network (WAN) or the Internet. In this way, information from thousands or even millions of meters and field collection devices can be gathered and processed in one or more centralized locations. Typically, software applications at both the CCU and the head-end are implemented to manage the CCU's data collection, to the control the transmission of data between the CCU and the head-end, and to facilitate downloading of schedules and other applications to the CCU. Accordingly, software updates at the head-end and/or the CCU may be implemented to ensure that the meter-reading system stays updated or to expand the meter-reading system. While updating software at the head-end may be a relatively straightforward process, updating software at the CCUs may be more difficult, given that a single system may contain hundreds or even thousands of field collection devices possibly spread over a wide geographic area. Accordingly, in some systems, CCUs are configured to download software from the head-end via a network link. Using this technique, system administrators avoid having to physically access each filed collection device to perform a software update. However, a CCU that is downloading software from the head-end may have to interrupt some or all of its data collection and transmission functionality. Because CCUs typically collect and transmit data on an ongoing or frequent periodic basis, interrupting a CCU's data collection and transmission functionality can be problematic, especially when large software updates can take several hours to download. In addition, with current download techniques, it is difficult to ensure that all CCUs in the system will complete the download process and be ready for upgraded operation at the same time. This can cause difficulties where synchronization of multiple field collection devices is desirable. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a system on which the software download technique of one embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a software download facility operating in the data collection system of FIG. 1 . FIG. 3 is a state diagram showing some examples of high-level CCU states, as controlled by the state machine of FIG. 2 in one embodiment. FIG. 4 is an example of a stored procedure or routine that, when executed at the state machine of FIG. 2 , places a subject CCU in a download pending state. FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an example of a system-level software download process in the software-download facility of FIG. 2 . FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an example of a software download routine in the CCU of FIG. 2 . FIG. 7 is flow chart illustrating an example of a software download routine in the head-end of FIG. 2 . FIG. 8 is an example of a system-level software take effect process in the software-download facility of FIG. 2 . FIG. 9 is an example of a system-level software cancel process in the software-download facility of FIG. 2 . FIG. 10 is an example of a system-level software rollback process in the software-download facility of FIG. 2 . FIG. 11 is an example of a CCU discovery process in the software download facility of FIG. 2 . FIG. 12 is an example of a routine in the software download facility of FIG. 2 for adding a CCU to a group of CCUs. In the drawings, the same reference numbers identify identical or substantially similar elements or acts. To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to the Figure number in which that element is first introduced (e.g., element 1104 is first introduced and discussed with respect to FIG. 11 ). DETAILED DESCRIPTION The invention will now be described with respect to various embodiments. The following description provides specific details for a thorough understanding of, and enabling description for, these embodiments of the invention. However, one skilled in the art will understand that the invention may be practiced without these details. In other instances, well-known structures and functions have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of the embodiments of the invention. The headings provided herein are for convenience only and do not necessarily affect the scope or meaning of the claimed invention. It is intended that the terminology used in the description presented below be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certain specific embodiments of the invention. Certain terms may even be emphasized below; however, any terminology intended to be interpreted in any restricted manner will be overtly and specifically defined as such in this Detailed Description section. I. Overview A software download system described in detail below provides a facility for upgrading/reloading distributed embedded data collection devices, such as cell control units (“CCUs”), in the field without having an operator physically visit the CCUs. The software download system may be implemented over a communication network such as the Internet, a wide-area network (WVAN), a local area network (LAN), a cellular network, etc., using well-known protocols and technologies such as HTTP, HTTPS, Wget, Active Server Pages (ASP), etc. The software download system may provide for upgrade and installation of both operating system and application-type components with minimal staging or preparation. The software download system may also facilitate recovery from a “dead box” scenario where a CCU is not working (e.g., due to a corrupted Flash file system) without a service call to the CCU. In addition, the software download system may facilitate efficient use of a system's existing available bandwidth. A CCU in the software download system may be configured to store more than one version of software. For example, the CCU may store a current version, a previous version, and a next version. During a software download process, the CCU may be in one of a variety of states (e.g., “download pending,” “download accepted,” “downloaded,” “takeeffect pending,” “takeeffect accepted,” etc.). The state of the CCU may have an effect on how the CCU behaves given a command from the head-end. For example, if a cancel update operation is in progress and the head-end determines that the CCU has already installed the canceled version, it will move the CCU to a “stable” state with the “next” software version being changed to “current” and the old “current” version being changed to “previous.” To facilitate logical grouping of CCU devices, the software download system may also provide grouping and audit capabilities. These capabilities may be used, for example, to monitor versions running at the CCU and the state of any scheduled downloads. The software download system may incorporate techniques to minimize interruption to data transmission functionality of the CCU during the software download process. For example, the software download system may facilitate intelligent sharing of a transport link to minimize interference with a scheduled push of consumption data (e.g., collected meter reading data) to the head-end. II. System Architecture FIG. 1 and the following discussion provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment in which the invention can be implemented. Although not required, aspects of the invention are described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as routines executed by a general purpose computer, e.g., a server computer, wireless device or personal computer. Those skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the inventor. can be practiced with other communications, data processing or computer system configurations, including: Internet appliances, hand-held devices (including personal digital assistants (PDAs>>, wearable computers, all manner of cellular or mobile phones, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, set-top boxes, network PCs, mini-computers, mainframe computers and the like. Indeed, the terms “computer,” “host” and “host computer” are generally used interchangeably, and refer to any of the above devices and systems, as well as any data processor. Aspects of the invention can be embodied in a special purpose computer or data processor that is specifically programmed, configured or constructed to perform one or more of the computer-executable instructions explained in detail herein. Aspects of the invention can also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks or modules are performed by remote processing devices, which are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices. Aspects of the invention may be stored or distributed on computer-readable media, including magnetically or optically readable computer discs, as microcode on semiconductor memory, nanotechnology memory, or other portable data storage medium. Indeed, computer implemented instructions, data structures, screen displays, and other data under aspects of the invention may be distributed over the Internet or over other networks (including wireless networks), on a propagated signal on a propagation medium (e.g., an electromagnetic wave(s), a sound wave, etc.} over a period of time, or may be provided on any analog or digital network (packet switched, circuit switched or other scheme). Those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that portions of the invention reside on a server computer, while corresponding portions reside on a client computer such as a mobile device. Referring to FIG. 1 , a suitable system 100 on which the software download techniques may be implemented includes a meter-reading data collection system having multiple meters 102 coupled to utility-consuming devices (not shown), such as electric, gas, or water consuming devices. In the illustrated embodiment, each meter 102 includes an encoder receiver/transmitter module (ERT) 104 , which serves as a data collection endpoint. The ERTs 104 encode consumption. Tamper information, and other data from the meters 102 and communicate such information to a CCU 108 . The communication of this data may be accomplished via radio-to radio data collection systems such as handheld, mobile automatic meter reading or fixed network. The ERTs 104 can be retrofitted to existing meters or installed on new meters during the manufacturing process. In a system for electrical metering, the ERTs 104 may be installed under the glass of new or existing electric meters 104 and are powered by electricity running to the meter. Gas and water ERTs 104 can be attached to the meter 102 and powered by long-life batteries. As shown in FIG. 1 , a group of ERTs 106 communicates with one of the CCU devices 108 , which in turn feeds collected data to a head-end system 110 via periodic uploads. This may occur on an ongoing basis (e.g., every half-hour) or as otherwise needed. The CCUs 108 may be implemented as neighborhood concentrators that read the ERT meter modules 104 , process data into a variety of applications, store data temporarily, and transport data to the head-end 110 as needed. In some embodiments, the CCUs 108 can be installed on power poles or street light arms (not shown). Further details about the system of FIG. 1 , and similar systems can be found in the following commonly assigned patent applications: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/911,840, entitled “Spread Spectrum Meter Reading System Utilizing Low-speed/High-power Frequency Hopping,” filed Jul. 23, 2001, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/960,800, entitled “Radio Communication Network for Collecting Data From Utility Meters,” filed Sep. 21, 2001, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/024,977, entitled ‘Wide Area Communications Network for Remote Data Generating Stations,” filed Dec. 19, 2001, which are herein incorporated by reference. Referring to FIG. 2 , a software download facility 200 operating in the data collection system 100 of FIG. 1 is configured to allow multiple versions of a software package to persist on a CCU 108 at any given time—a\lowing for more robust capabilities of the CCU 108 during download and providing a safety net should a need arise to revert to a previous software version. In the illustrated embodiment, a previous version, a current version and a next version of software can concurrently exist on the CCU 108 . However, in alternate embodiments, multiple outstanding versions may be used, while in other embodiments, multiple versions may not be allowed. In systems where multiple software versions are not allowed, if a change needs to be made before an outstanding version of software is installed, the new version can be configured to contain the full set of components needed for the upgrade. In some cases, the CCU 108 checks its current stored outstanding version and only downloads components that it needs. The CCU 108 may also delete any stored software components that are not a part of the newer version. The software download facility 200 includes components that reside on one or more platforms (not shown) at both the CCU 108 and the head-end 110 . The platform at the CCU 108 does not need to be the same as the platform at the head-end 110 . For example, the CCU 108 may have a Linux based platform and the head-end 110 may have a Windows 2000 Server platform. Additionally, subcomponents within the system may each operate on independent platforms. The software download facility 200 in the illustrated embodiment provides for updating CCU software stored in a file system 202 at the CCU 108 and for recovering from a catastrophic software failure without requiring a service call to the CCU or a return of the CCU to a repair depot. In some embodiments, it is possible to store a copy of the current package set in a protected partition (not shown) of the CCU file system 202 to facilitate rapid recovery from accidental or malicious corruption of a current software version. To minimize bandwidth, transport mechanisms of the software download facility, such as those associated with a communication link 204 , may support transfer checkpoint/restarts. Application layer protocols such as HTTP, HTTPS. WAP. SMTP, FTP. etc., may be utilized in the transfer of data. In addition, data transferred across the communication link 204 may be compressed using known compression techniques such as Gzip library functions. Software download-related messages passed between the CCU 10 B and the head-end 110 via the communication link 204 may be in request/response format. Such messages are described in more detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. (Attorney Docket No. 10145-B012.USOO), which has been incorporated by reference. In some embodiments, a request message from the CCU may include outstanding ACKINAK responses from the CCU 10 B, while a response message from the head-end 110 may include optional CCU commands (“take effect,” “cancel,” etc.). The CCU 108 may respond synchronously to the response message by returning another request message with a command response packet appended to it. The appended command response packet may contain a configuration response ACK and an optional command response ACKINAK, depending on whether the command message that the CCU received was from the head-end. This and similar message exchanges can occur during a single session and conversation or in multiple sessions. In some embodiments, the CCU 10 B initiates all request/response message exchanges, meaning the head-end 110 does not send any unsolicited messages to the CCU. Several components of the CCU 10 B are associated with the software download facility 200 . The CCU 108 may include a two-stage loader ( 206 and 208 ) so that it can load software in such a way to help prevent” catastrophic loss of software. In the illustrated embodiment, the first stage loader 206 exists in ROM and is capable of downloading the second stage loader 20 B onto the file system 202 . The second stage loader 208 may then download operating system features and application software components (not shown) onto the file system 202 . During normal operations, the second stage loader 208 of the illustrated embodiment is responsible for ensuring that all the needed software components exist and are not corrupt. In addition, the second stage loader 208 may function to inform the head-end 110 of the current software component versions ‘and of the current state of a software upgrade in progress. The second stage loader 208 may also handle downloading new software component versions and installation and rollback of software component versions. Downloading of software data packages may be handled asynchronously at the CCU 108 , in part, by a GNU (“GNU's not Unix”) utility known as Wget 210 . While Wget is utilized in the illustrated embodiment, other utilities or systems could be used to provide similar functionality, such as FTP, HTTPGet, remote file copy, web server, etc. The CCU software download process 212 can invoke the Wget utility 210 as needed. The Wget utility 210 interacts with downloaded applications stored in the file system 202 of the CCU, so that the CCU 108 can receive and store requested files. The Wget utility 210 may include a transport mechanism for the Wget utility 210 that runs over HTTP (or HTTPS) and, in some embodiments, supports file checkpoint/restart through a “range” feature to aid in recovery in case of a disconnected communication link 204 . The Wget utility 210 works by requesting a transfer of data pointed to by a URL. The CCU 108 may be able to build such URLs dynamically based on configuration information and data contained within a message sent by the head-end 110 to the CCU in response to a software download request message. Accordingly, the CCU 108 may be configured so that it knows its own software download server name and an appropriate top level head-end virtual directory, such as an Internet Information Services (IIS) directory. In addition to processing the messages passed between the head-end 110 and the CCU 108 , the CCU software download process 212 may be responsible for providing an interface with the Wget utility 210 , which is used for the actual download of software packages as described above. The CCU download process 212 may also be responsible for maintaining download status information until the information has been forwarded to the head-end 110 . The CCU download process 212 is also used to verify the correctness of the current version and to re-download missing or corrupt components, save current software versions, verify a new software version prior to installation, and install the new version at a scheduled “take effect” time. The CCU download process 212 may also be responsible for sending shutdown requests to other processes such as a data collection application (not shown) so that those processes can persist data and state information and perform an orderly shutdown. In some embodiments, the CCU software download process 212 may wait for the other processes to end prior to shutting down the CCU 108 completely. The CCU software download process 212 can monitor the shutdown process and generate a hard kill of a process that does not respond to the requested shutdown. In the illustrated embodiment, the CCU software download process 212 facilitates a “rollback” to a previous version of software stored in the CCU file system 202 . The installation of a new version is handled as an autonomous operation so that if a subsequent update or rollback is not successfully completed, the CCU 108 reverts to a state it was in prior to attempting the update/rollback. During the update/rollback, the CCU software download process 212 may avoid message exchanges with the head-end 110 until completion of the operation to insure that any software download configuration information received at the head-end 110 does not contain partial configuration information. The head-end processor 110 , which includes a database 214 for storing persistent information, supports several components of the software download facility 200 . For example, the head-end 110 may provide device grouping, version control and tracking functionality for the management of software download processes via a head-end software download command processor, which is implemented as a state machine 216 in some embodiments. In other embodiments, standard hierarchy-based, procedural, or object-oriented coding practices may implement the software download processor instead of the state machine. The state machine 216 can exist in the database 214 and may be implemented using stored procedures and triggers stored in the database 214 at the head-end 110 or may be implemented using components stored on the file system 218 at the head-end 110 . While in the illustrated embodiment, the head-end 110 is not responsible for packaging, building, releasing, and verifying of CCU software packages, in alternative systems (not shown) the head-end 110 may facilitate these tasks. For example, various types of CCU software (application. operating system, etc.) can be packaged into sets or packages using a package manager such as a Linux based Remote Package Manager (RPM), or a proprietary package manager. In some embodiments, each set of packages corresponds to a version of the software and constitutes the bill of materials (BOM) for that version. Accordingly, the BOM contains all the information needed by the CCU 108 to verify the validity of a currently installed version. The file system 218 at the head-end 110 stores applications (not shown) that may facilitate the transfer of software packages. An Internet Information Service (IIS) component 220 may interact with the file system 218 to download files (e.g., RPM files) from virtual directories via the communication link 204 . An Active Server Page (ASP) component 222 in the IIS component 220 may be responsible for processing binary data and storing it in an appropriate “ToProcess” database tables for further processing. In some embodiments implementing ASP technology, when the ASP component 222 receives a binary message from the CCU 108 , it can use Gzip to verify that the message has arrived intact. It then unzips the message, parses it, and stores the parsed message in appropriate data tables. The ASP component 222 may then invoke a stored procedure (not shown) that will invoke the state machine 216 . The state machine 216 in turn returns a response to the ASP component 222 . The ASP component can then Gzip the response and forward it back to the CCU 108 . In some cases, the ASP component 222 may hold an HTTPS session (or other type session) open until the CCU 108 acknowledges receipt of the sent response packet. Because IIS and Wget can provide the appropriate interaction for the transport of packages, implementation at the head-end may not be needed to handle downloading of software packages. III. State Machine In some embodiments of the software download system, the state of a CCU (e.g., CCU 108 of FIGS. 1 and 2 ), as determined by a CCU decision processor or state machine (e.g., state machine 216 of FIG. 2 ), may be used in controlling the software download process, and other related processes. For example, the state machine 216 may control a download state of any CCU that is in communication with the state machine. In some embodiments, each state handles self-transitions that may occur if the state machine 216 receives configuration requests or duplicate command response events while waiting for the events that cause a state transition. In such cases, the state machine 216 may rebuild the correct response message, return it to the ASP component 222 , and remain in the current state. The state machine 216 may also be responsible for updating the head-end database• 214 with the status of scheduled software downloads from information received from the CCUs 108 . The state machine 216 may use information stored in the database to control downloads of new CCU software components to selected CCUs or groups of CCUs. FIG. 3 is a state diagram 300 showing some examples of high-level CCU superstates (“states”), as controlled by the state machine in one embodiment. These superstates may be associated with various lower level states (as shown in Table 1) that may inherit from, or otherwise relate back to, the superstates. The illustrated states include a discovery state 301 , an update state 302 , a stable state 303 , a rollback state 304 , a cancel state 305 and a rejected state 306 . Each state can be triggered by some event. For example, in some embodiments, the rejected state 306 can be triggered by a failed software update or software rollback. The discovery state 301 is invoked for a CCU when the CCU is first incorporated or reincorporated into the system. In some embodiments, the state machine invokes the discovery state 301 for the CCU when the head-end receives a command from a CCU that has a global uniform identifier (GUID) equal to zero or not equal to some default (meaning that the CCU is not known to the system). During the discovery state 301 , the CCU may be assigned a default software version (initialization). Once this occurs, the state machine may change the CCU's state to the update state 302 so that a software update can be initiated via processing that occurs at both the head-end and the CCU. From the update state 302 , the state of the CCU may proceed to the stable state 303 , the cancel state 305 or the rejected state 306 . For example, the CCU's state may change from the update state 302 to the stable state 303 if the invoked software update is successfully completed. If, however, the invoked software update fails, then the state may change from the update state 302 to the rejected state 306 . In another possibility, if an administrator cancels an invoked software update request, the state may change from the update state 302 to the cancel state 305 . From the stable state 303 , the CCU's state may go back to the update state 302 or may proceed to the rollback state 304 . The state changes from the stable state 303 to the rollback state 304 if a rollback request is implemented. From the rollback state 304 , the state can change back to the stable state 303 if the rollback is successfully completed. If the rollback fails, the state can change to the rejected state 306 . If an administrator cancels a rollback, the state may change back to the cancel 305 state. From the rejected state 306 , the state can change to the update state 302 , the rollback state 304 or the stable state 303 , depending on the nature of the rejection. For example, in the case of a failed software update, the update state 302 may be resumed so that the software update can be reattempted. Some more detailed examples of CCU states, including those discussed with respect to FIG. 3 , are shown in Table 1 below. Table 1 includes a reference to “Process to Execute.” Such processes may stored procedures that reside in the database 214 as described with respect to FIG. 2 , or could be other programs. TABLE 1 Sample States Current State Control Input ProcessTo Execute Next State Initialize Configuration NoOp Download In Transit Request Received Initialize Initialization Failed InitializeFailed Rejected for Collector Stable Configuration NoOp Stable Request Received Stable Update Request NoOp Download Pending Stable Rollback Request NoOp RB Pending Download Configuration NoOp Download In Transit Pending Request Received Download Configuration InvalidTakeEffectTime Rejected Pending Request Received and Invalid Take Effect Time Download Configuration InvalidNextVersion Rejected Pending Request Received and No Next Version Download Cancel Request NoOp Stable Pending Download In Null Control Input NoOp Download In Transit Transit Download In Command Rejected DownloadInTransitCmdRejected Rejected Transit Download In Command Accepted DownloadAcceptedNoNextVersion Rejected Transit and No Next Version Download In Command Accepted InvalidTakeEffectTime Rejected Transit and Invalid Take Effect Time Download In Command Accepted NoOp Download Transit Accepted Download Null Control Input NoOp Download Accepted Accepted Download Command Complete DownloadCompleteNoNextVersion Rejected Accepted and No Next Version Download Command Complete SetDownloaded Take Effect Accepted and Valid TE Time In Transit Download Command Complete DownloadCompleteInvalidTakeEffect Rejected Accepted and InValid TE Time Time Download Command SetDownloaded Downloaded Accepted Completed Download Command Failed DownloadAcceptedCmdFailed Rejected Accepted Download Cancel Request NoOp Cancel Accepted Pending Downloaded Configuration NoOp Downloaded Request Received Downloaded Take-Effect Request spSoftwareDownloadEvtNoOp Take Effect Pending Downloaded Take-Effect Time spSoftwareDownloadEvtInvalidNext Rejected Request and no Version Next Version in Database Downloaded Cancel Request NoOp Cancel Pending Take Effect Configuration NoOp Take Effect Pending Request Received In Transit Take Effect Configuration InvalidNextVersion Rejected Pending Request Received and No Next Version Take Effect Cancel Request NoOp Cancel Pending Pending Take Effect Null Control Input NoOp Take Effect In Transit In Transit Take Effect Command Accepted TakeEffectAcceptedNoNextVersion Rejected In Transit and No Next Version Take Effect Command Accepted NoOp Take Effect In Transit Accepted Take Effect Command Rejected TakeEffectInTransitCmdRejected Rejected In Transit Take Effect Configuration ChangeSWVersion Stable In Transit Request Received and UPD Configuration = Expected Take Effect Null Control Input NoOp Take Effect Accepted Accepted Take Effect Command TakeEffectCompletedNoNextVersion Rejected Accepted Completed and No Next Version Take Effect Command ChangeSWVersion Stable Accepted Completed Take Effect Command Failed spSoftwareDownloadEvtTakeEffect Rejected Accepted AcceptedCmdFailed Take Effect Configuration ChangeSWVersion Stable Accepted Request Received and UPD Configuration = Expected Take Effect Cancel Request NoOp Cancel Accepted Pending Rejected Configuration NoOp Rejected Request Received Rejected Update Request NoOp Download Pending Rejected Rollback Request NoOp Rollback Pending Rollback Cancel Request NoOp Stable Pending Rollback Configuration NoOp Rollback In Pending Request Received Transit Rollback Configuration CfgRqstNoPreviousVersion Rejected Pending Request Received and No Previous Version Rollback In Null Control Input NoOp Rollback In Transit Transit Rollback In Command Accepted NoOp Rollback Transit Accepted Rollback In Command Rejected RBInTransitCmdRejected Rejected Transit Rollback In Command Accepted RBAcceptedNoPreviousVersion Rejected Transit and No Previous Version Rollback In Configuration RollbackSWVersion Stable Transit Request Received and RB Configuration = Expected Rollback Null Control Input NoOp Rollback Accepted Accepted Rollback Command RollbackSWVersion Stable Accepted Completed Rollback Command Failed RollBackAcceptedCmdFailed Rejected Accepted Rollback Command RollBackCompleteNoPreviousVersion Rejected Accepted Completed and No Previous Version Rollback Configuration RollbackSWVersion Stable Accepted Request Received and RB Configuration = Expected Cancel Null Control Input NoOp Cancel Pending Pending Cancel Configuration NoOp Cancel In Pending Request Received Transit Cancel Configuration CancelTakeEffectOccurred Stable Pending Request Received and UPD Configuration = Expected Cancel Configuration CancelPendingInvalidTakeEffectTime Rejected Pending Request Received and Invalid TakeEffect Time Cancel Take-Effect CancelTakeEffectOccurred Stable Pending Completed Cancel Take-Effect Failed CancelPendingTakeEffectFailed Rejected Pending Cancel Configuration NoOp Cancel In Pending Request Received Transit and Valid TE Time Cancel In Null Control Input NoOp Cancel In Transit Transit Cancel In Command Accepted NoOp Cancel Transit Accepted Cancel In Command Rejected CancelInTransitCmdRejected Rejected Transit CN In Configuration CancelTakeEffectOccurred Stable Transit Request Received and UPD Configuration = Expected Cancel In Take-Effect CancelTakeEffectOccurred Stable Transit Completed Cancel In Take-Effect Failed CancelInTransitTakeEffectFailed Rejected Transit Cancel Null Control Input NoOp Cancel Accepted Accepted Cancel Command Accepted CancelAcceptedCmdComplete Stable Accepted Cancel Command Failed CancelAcceptedCmdFailed Rejected Accepted Cancel Configuration CancelTakeEffectOccurred Stable Accepted Request Received and UPD Configuration = Expected Cancel Take-Effect CancelTakeEffectOccurred Stable Accepted Completed Cancel Take-Effect Failed CancelAcceptedTakeEffectFailed Rejected Accepted IV. Software Control Functionality and Interface The software download facility 200 may provide functionality and corresponding interfaces that allow administrative users to manage the software running on the system's CCUs 108 . In some embodiments, this functionality and any corresponding user interfaces may be implemented in part, via stored procedures at the state machine. For example, administrative users may be able to perform operations to set a CCU 108 into a download pending state so that the state machine 216 will send a download command to the CCU the next time the CCU communicates with the head-end. FIG. 4 is an example of a state machine stored procedure or routine 400 that, when executed, places a subject CCU in the download pending state. The routine begins at block 401 where the routine logs a state change request made by the administrative user. Because moving into the download pending state may not be possible if a CCU is currently in a state other than stable or rejected (e.g., the stable 303 or rejected 306 states of FIG. 3 ), in decision block 402 the routine checks the current state of the subject CCU. If the subject CCU is not in a stable or rejected state, the routine logs an error at block 405 and then ends. Otherwise, if at decision block 402 the subject CCU is in a stable or rejected state, the routine continues at decision block 403 where the routine checks to see if the administrator's request is valid (e.g., if there is an existing software upgrade available for that particular CCU). If, at decision block 403 the administrator's request is not valid, the routine logs an error at block 405 and then ends. If, however, at decision block 403 the administrator's request is valid, the routine proceeds to block 404 , where the state of the subject CCU is updated to the download pending state. The routine then ends. Once the subject CCU is in a download pending state, the CCU can send a configuration request to the head-end to initiate a software download. The CCU may initiate a configuration request communication. For example, when the CCU reboots or determines that its current software is corrupted or during any scheduled communications window in which a software download bit is set for the window. Some of the processes associated with software downloads are illustrated in more detail in FIGS. 5 through 11 . Referring to FIG. 5 , a software download process 500 permits a CCU to download software from a head-end system. A software download process running at the CCU, such as the software download process component 212 of FIG. 2 , is responsible for initiating communications with the head-end. At block 501 new software components are installed at the head-end. At block 502 an administrator schedules a CCU to download a software update. At block 503 the scheduled CCU sends out a configuration request to the head-end. This may include posting a message to a configuration request ASP page. The configuration request message may also include appended software command responses (ACKs/NAKs). At block 504 the head-end “replies to the configuration request message by sending a software configuration data back to the CCU, including software download commands and/or a new software BOM that contains all the information needed by the CCU to verify the validity of the current installed version. At block 505 the CCU downloads the software components to its file system. At block 506 the CCU sends an operation status message to the head-end. This may occur at some point during the download and may include posting a configuration response message to a configuration response ASP page. While not shown, the head-end may reply to the configuration response message via an HTTP reply. At block 507 the head-end receives a command response message from the CCU. The command response message may indicate whether the download was successful. At decision block 508 if the download was successful the routine continues at decision block 509 . However, if at block 508 the download was not successful, the process continues at decision block 511 where the head-end checks if a timeout count for the download was exceeded. If at decision block 511 the timeout count was exceeded, the process continues at block 512 where the head-end system marks the scheduled download as “failed” and then ends. Otherwise, if at decision block 511 the timeout count is not exceeded, the process loops back to block 503 and repeats the process for the same CCU. Where a group of CCUs in involved, the routine continues at decision block 509 where the head-end checks if all scheduled CCUs in the group have completed the download. While the downloading of the CCUs in the group may be occurring in parallel, because responses from CCUs may be sent at different times, the routine repeats itself each time a new configuration response is received at the head-end. Accordingly, if at decision block 509 all scheduled CCUs have not been downloaded, the routine loops back to block 503 . Otherwise, if at decision block 509 all scheduled CCUs have been downloaded, the process continues at block 510 where the head-end marks the scheduled download as “complete” for all scheduled CCUs in the group. The process then ends. FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an example of a routine 600 that occurs at the CCU during the software download process of FIG. 5 (see i.e., block 505 of FIG. 5 ). At block 601 the CCU sends a configuration message to the head-end. At block 602 the routine receives a software configuration response message from the head-end, which includes any additional download commands (take-effect time, cancel, etc.). The CCU's software download process may be responsible for processing the software configuration response along with any additional software download commands received from the head-end. In decision block 603 the routine checks to see if the download is possible. If the download is not possible, the routine sends a “failed” command response message to the head-end (block 613 ) before ending. Otherwise, if at decision block 603 the download is possible, the routine continues at block 604 where the routine sends a “success” command response message to the head-end. At block 605 the routine determines if new RPM packages need to be downloaded. In decision block 606 if new software versions are needed, the routine continues at block 607 . Otherwise, the routine ends. At block 607 the routine invokes the Wget utility to download and store the appropriate software versions. At block 608 the routine monitors Wget for download statuses (complete, failed, etc.). In decision block 609 if the download is unsuccessful, the routine continues at block 614 where the routine sends a “failed” command response to the head-end before ending. Otherwise, at decision block 609 if the download is successful, the routine continues at block 610 where the new version of the software is validated. In decision block 611 if the validation is not successful, the routine continues at block 614 where the routine sends a “failed” command response to the head-end before ending. Otherwise, if at decision block 611 the validation is successful, the routine continues at block 612 where the routine sends a “success” command response message to the head-end before ending. Referring to FIG. 7 , a software download routine 700 is called by an ASP component, such as the ASP component 222 of FIG. 2 , after the configuration request message has been received, parsed and stored in a “To Process” table at the head-end database. The routine invokes the head-end state machine for state determinations. At block 701 the routine retrieves a configuration request message from the ToProcess table. At block 702 the routine gets the current state via the state machine. The state machine achieves this by querying one or more head-end database tables for software configuration data. The state machine then forwards this information along with any required software download command messages back to the ASP component. In decision block 703 if a state does not exist, the state is set to zero by default (block 704 ) before continuing at block 707 . Otherwise, if a state does exist at block 703 the routine proceeds to decision block 705 where the routine checks to see if the state is stable. If the state is not stable, the routine proceeds to block 707 . Otherwise, if at decision block 705 the state is stable, the routine continues at block 706 where the routine checks to see if the globally unique identifier (GUID) of the configuration request is equal to zero. If the GUID of the configuration request is equal to zero, the state is also set to zero at block 704 . Otherwise, if at decision block 706 the GUID is not equal to zero, the routine continues at block 707 . At block 707 the routine gets the next state context stored procedure to be called. At block 708 if the state context stored procedure does not exist, the routine logs an error (block 711 ) and builds a corresponding message (block 712 ) before ending. Otherwise, if at decision block 708 , the state stored procedure exists, the routine continues at block 709 , where the routine invokes the state context stored procedure. At decision block 710 if additional configuration request commands are waiting in the ToProcess table, the routine loops back to block 701 . Otherwise, the routine builds the appropriate log message (block 712 ) and then ends. Once downloaded onto a CCU, software is typically stored on the CCU as a “next” software version. To allow for flexibility as to when the software version will in take effect, the downloaded software will usually not take effect on the CCU until a scheduled take effect time is established for the CCU. Once a CCU is scheduled with a take effect time, it is then responsible for knowing its own take effect time and installing or loading downloaded software versions accordingly. Referring to FIG. 8 , a take effect process 800 involves creating a schedule with a take effect time for one or more CCUs. The take effect process 800 begins at block 801 where an administrative user invokes a stored procedure that provides the interface needed to set a take effect time for the desired CCUs next software version. During the invocation of the stored procedure, if the CCU is in the downloaded state, the CCU may be set to the take effect pending state so that a take effect command will be sent to the CCU the next time the CCU communicates with the head-end. If the CCU is in a download pending, download in transit, or download accepted state, the take effect time may be saved and the head-end may send the take effect command to the CCU upon notification that the software download operation has successfully completed. At decision block 802 the process checks to see if the software version is downloaded to each of the scheduled CCUs. If the scheduled version is not currently downloaded on each of the scheduled CCUs, the process proceeds to block 816 where the schedule request is marked “failed” before ending. If at block 802 the scheduled version is downloaded to each of the scheduled CCUs, the process continues at block 803 where the head-end receives a configuration request from the next scheduled CCU (assuming the take effect time is still in the future). In response to receiving the configuration request, the head-end sends a command to the CCU to proceed with the take effect (block 804 ). At block 805 the CCU validates the new version of the software. At decision block 806 if the validation fails, then the CCU remains on the current version of the software (block 814 ) and the process proceeds to block 809 . If, however, at decision block 806 the CCU properly validates the new version, the process continues at block 807 where the CCU installs the new version of the software at the scheduled take effect time. At decision block 808 a check is made to determine if the installation was successful. If, at block 808 the installation was not successful, the CCU remains on the current version of the software (block 814 ) and the process continues at block 809 . Otherwise, if at block 808 the installation was successful, the process continues at block 809 where the CCU sends an operation status message to the head-end system. At block 810 the head-end receives a command response message from the CCU. If, at decision block 811 the command response message indicates that the installation was not successful, the process proceeds to block 815 , where if a timeout count is exceeded the process proceeds to mark schedule as failed before ending. Otherwise, if at decision block 815 the timeout count is not exceeded, the process loops back to block 803 . If at decision block 811 the installation is okay, the process continues at decision block 812 where the head-end checks to see if all scheduled CCUs are running on the new version. If not, the process loops back to block 803 , after receiving a configuration request from the another scheduled CCU. If at decision block 812 all scheduled CCUs are running the new version, the process continues at block 813 where the schedule is marked as complete. The process then ends. When take effect functionality is applied to a group of CCUs, a validation to check on the group's status (to ensure consistency within the group) may be performed first. If the validation fails and an override flag is set, the administrator may then invoke the take effect operation for each CCU in the group after logging an error. In some embodiments, the group take effect functionality may allow for “incremental”, addition of CCUs to the group, as well as allowing for updates to the take effect time of state-checked CCUs that have not yet taken effect. Incremental application of take effect time is possible since the take effect operation checks to see what the state of a CCU is prior to establishing a new take effect time. If the CCU state is not “Download Pending,” Download In Transit,” “Download Accepted,” or “Downloaded,” the function will fail, indicating to the user that the state was invalid for the operation. Referring to FIG. 9 , a system-level process 900 is shown for canceling a software download request that has been downloaded to the CCU but not yet installed. At block 901 , an administrative user that wishes to cancel an upcoming software change invokes a stored procedure that schedules the CCU to enter into a “cancel pending” state so that a cancel command will be sent to the CCU the next time the CCU communicates with the head-end. If the CCU is in the “Download Pending” or “Rollback Pending” state, it will be set back to the “Stable” state and no command will be sent to the CCU. If the CCU is in the “download accepted,” downloaded,” “take effect pending,” or take effect accepted” states, the cancel command may be sent to the CCU. If, during the course of the cancel operation, the head-end determines that the CCU has already completed the installation of the new software version, an error message may be logged and the CCU's state may be updated to show the “current” CCU software version. In decision block 902 if the version has not been downloaded to any CCUs yet, then the process continues at block 911 where the cancel schedule is marked as cancelled. Otherwise, if at decision block 902 the version has been downloaded to the CCUs, then the process continues at block 903 where the head-end receives a configuration request from a scheduled CCU. At block 904 the head-end process responds by sending a cancel command to the CCU. At block 905 the CCU cancels any outstanding take effect time •values. At block 906 the CCU removes the cancelled software version. At block 907 the CCU sends an operation status message to the head-end. At block 908 the head-end receives a command response• from the CCU. At decision block 909 if the cancel was not okay, the process continues at decision block 912 where if a timeout count was not exceeded, the process loops back to block 903 . Otherwise, if the timeout count was exceeded, the cancel schedule is marked as failed (block 913 ) and the process ends. If at decision block 909 the cancel was okay, the process continues at decision block 910 where if all scheduled CCUs have not been cancelled, the process loops back to block 903 for the next CCU on the cancel schedule. Otherwise, if at decision block 910 all scheduled CCUs have been cancelled, the process continues at block 911 where the schedule is marked as successfully cancelled. The process then ends. Similar functionality may be applied to a group of CCUs. For example, when a cancel command is applied to a group, there will probably be CCUs in various stages of download. Consequently, downstream processing of the cancel request will vary from CCU to CCU. Thus, the cancel function for groups may validate and report on the consistency of the group prior to issuing the Cancel request. If validation fails and an override flag is set, a cancel operation may be performed on each CCU in the group after logging an error. A stored procedure may loop through the set of CCUs as defined by a group ID and invoke a request cancel stored procedure for each CCU in the group. To have a CCU rollback to a previous software version that has been stored on the CCU, but not in current use, the CCU's state can be updated into a “Rollback Pending” state so that a rollback command will be sent to the CCU the next time the CCU communicates with the head-end. Referring to FIG. 10 , a process 1000 for conducting software rollbacks in one embodiment whereby a CCU may reinstall a previously installed version of software saved on that CCU. Allowing CCUs to return to a previous version can be useful in circumstances where current versions are not running properly, or in a variety of other circumstances. At block 1001 an administrator schedules one or more CCUs for rollback to a previous software version at a specific time and date. Because the rollback command may only be valid in certain CCU states, such as the “stable” and “rejected” states, the stored procedure providing the interface for scheduling rollbacks may be configured to validate and report on the state of subject CCUs prior to issuing the rollback request. At decision block 1002 if there is no previous version to roll back to, the rollback schedule is marked as completed. If, however, at decision block 1002 there is a previous version stored at the CCU to rollback to, at rollback time the process continues at block 1003 where the head-end receives a configuration request from the scheduled CCU. At block 1004 the head-end sends a rollback command to the CCU. At block 1005 , the CCU validates the rollback version. At decision block 1006 if the version is successfully validated, the process continues at block 1007 . Otherwise, the process continues at block 1015 where the CCU remains on the current version and sends an operation status request to the head-end (block 1010 ). At decision block 1007 if the scheduled rollback version exists on the CCU, the process continues at block 1008 . Otherwise, the process proceeds to block 1015 where the CCU remains on the current version, and then skips to block 1010 to send an operation status message to the head-end. At block 1008 the CCU rolls back to the previous version of the software. At decision block 1009 , if the rollback occurs successfully, the process continues at block 1010 . Otherwise, the process advances to block 1015 where the CCU remains running on the current version then skips to block 1010 to send an operation status message to the head-end. At block 1010 the CCU sends an operation status message to the head-end. At block 1011 the software-download process receives a command response message from the CCU. At decision block 1012 if the rollback is successful, the process continues at decision block 1013 . Otherwise, if at decision block 1012 the rollback is not successful, the process proceeds to decision block 1016 where the process checks to see if the timeout count is exceeded. If at block 1016 the timeout count is exceeded, the process continues block 1017 where the schedule is marked as having a failed rollback before the process ends. If the timeout count is not exceeded, the process loops back to block 1003 where the process receives a configuration request from the CCU. At decision block 1013 if all scheduled CCUs have been rolled back then the process continues at block 1014 . Otherwise, the process loops back to block 1003 where the process receives a configuration request from another scheduled CCU. At block 1014 the process marks the scheduled CCU as rolled back. When a rollback command is applied to a group of CCUs there may be CCUs in various stages of download. Consequently, downstream processing of the rollback command will vary from CCU to CCU. The system may also provide a process for “discovering” a CCU that has been newly added to the network, or a CCU that is returning the network after being disabled for some period of time. FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing an example of a process 1100 for discovering a CCU that is not recognized by the network in one embodiment. At block 1101 the head-end receives a configuration request from a CCU that is not known on the network. At block 1102 appropriate records are created in the software download database tables. At block 1103 a new software BOM is sent to the CCU with a next version set to the default software version. This next version is given the take effect time of 0, so that the default version is scheduled to take effect upon download. At block 1104 the CCU downloads the software components from the head-end. At block 1105 the CCU sends an operation status message to the head-end indicating that the download has taken place. At block 1106 the software download process receives a command response message from the CCU. At decision block 1107 if the download was successful, the process continues at block 1108 . Otherwise, the process continues at block 1110 where if the timeout count is not exceeded, the process loops back to block 1103 . If at decision block 1110 the timeout count was exceeded, the process continues at block 1111 where the CCUs current state is updated to download failed, after which the process ends. If at decision block 1 , 110 the timeout count was not exceeded, the process loops back to block 1103 , where the new software BOM is resent to the CCU. At decision block 1108 if the installation of the software was okay, the process continues at block 1109 . If, however, at decision block 1108 the install was not successful, the process continues at decision block 1110 for a check of the timeout count. If the timeout count was not exceeded, the process loops back to block 1103 where a new software BOM is sent. At block 1109 the CCU's current, previous and next information is updated to reflect the software version that is currently in effect. The process then ends. V. Grouping CCUs As described, most of the software download facility's functionality can be applied either to single CCUs or groups of CCUs. A group of CCUs is an association of one or more CCUs that can be acted upon in a consistent manner. For example the operator could set up a group of CCUs to be used to test new software versions and later assign the new software version to this group as a whole instead of having to manage them separately. Through the use of CCU groups, a software version may be targeted for an individual CCU, a group of CCUs or all CCUs within a system. For example, Software Version 123′ could be fully implemented on CCUs in group A, fully downloaded but not implemented on CCUs in group B, partially downloaded to CCUs in group C, partially implemented on CCUs in group D and never scheduled to be implemented on CCUs in group E. Reporting functions may be used to evaluate the current state •of a group and of a software version so that the appropriate updates can be made. While the system may not generally assign CCU states on the basis of software version, the status of a software version at any CCU can be determined through database queries. In some embodiments, the database queries can roll-up the individual CCU states and present the information in a manner that will allow the user to determine the software version state of the system. Using these and similar reporting functions, information about CCUs and groups of CCUs can be determined such as whether members of the group have the same next version and what CCUs are out of sync with a group's definition. In addition, reporting functionality may be able to help determine the state of a specified software version (e.g., which CCUs are running it, which CCUs have successfully downloaded the version, etc.). For example, in response to a user query: ‘What is the current status of CCU group 123?,” a reporting function may provide as follows: “Four CCUs from the group have successfully downloaded the requested version; two are still in the process of downloading the requested version; and one has failed.” Likewise, in response to a user query: ‘What is the current status of SW version XYZ?,” a reporting function may provide as follows: “Version x:fZ has been assigned to CCU group 1 (CCUs a, b, and c) but not yet scheduled to be downloaded;” or “Version XYZ has been assigned to CCU group 2 (CCUs d, e, and f), downloaded to d, in the process of being downloaded to e, and failed downloaded to f;” or “Version XYZ has had a take effect time scheduled for CCU Group 3 (CCUs g, h, and i) for Oct. 11, 2003, the take effect time sent to g, in the process of being sent to h, and failed when sent to i;” or “Version x:fZ has had a take effect time scheduled for Group 4 (collectors j, k, and l) for Sep. 11, 2003, the SW was installed successfully in j and k, but failed in I;” or “Version XYZ is currently running in collector m because m failed the update to version+1 and rolled back.” Once generated, such queries can run periodically, before scheduled events (e.g., prior to a take-effect event), or at the request of a user. The outcome of the reporting functions may be• reports that may be of use in a variety of applications. The reporting functions could also generate alarms/reports that would alert the administrator of problems with, for example, an update/install procedure, so such outstanding problems can be corrected. Additionally, a user interface tied to the reporting functions may provide, for example, a graphical or textual composite view of the state or status of groups of CCUs. For example, a graphical pie chart may display a percentage of CCUs in a download pending state and a percentage of CCUs in a download failed state. In another example, states of CCUs within a group may be presented in a bar chart with various colors used to represent different subgroups within the group, or even individual CCUs in the group. For example, the color green may represent all CCUs in a desired state, such as the stable state, the color yellow may represent all CCUs in a transitional state, such as the download pending state, and the color red may represent all CCUs in a problematic state, such as the download failed state. Likewise, special graphical, textual, or even audio indicators (e.g., highlighted text, flashing displays, alarm sounds, etc.) may be used to flag problems, such as CCUs from the group in a failed state. Many other representations of the reporting functions are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. Because grouping CCUs may be useful, the system may provide procedures for controlling the grouping of CCUs. For example, administrative users may be able to add/remove CCUs from a group. FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing an example of a routine 1200 for adding a CCU to a group of CCUs. The routine begins at decision block 1201 where if the CCU identified for addition to the group is a valid CCU, the routine continues at decision block 1202 . If the new CCU is not valid, an error is logged (block 1208 ). At decision block 1202 the routine checks to see if the new CCU's current version is compatible with the group's default version. If not, the system logs a warning at block 1203 . At this point, the operation may still be allowed and reporting functions may determine what CCUs are out of sync with the group definition. If at block 1202 the CCU's current version is compatible with the group's, the routine continues at decision block 1204 to determine whether the new CCU is currently a member of another group. If the new CCU is not a member of another group, the routine continues at block 1205 where the routine inserts a new collector' group association record for the new CCU into a database table. If, however; at decision block 1204 the collector already belongs to a group, the routine continues at block 1206 where the routine updates the CCUs current collector group association to include the desired group or groups. After either block 1205 or block 1206 , the routine continues at block 1207 , where a log is created indicating that the addition of the CCU is complete. The routine then ends. A similar routine (not shown) may be implemented for removing a CCU from a group. In some embodiments, if the CCU is not subsequently assigned to a new group after being removed it may become part of a default group. The above detailed descriptions of embodiments of the invention are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, while steps are presented in a given order, alternative embodiments may perform routines having steps in a different order. The teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to other systems, not necessarily the automatic meter-reading system described herein. The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments and some steps may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified. Each of these steps may be implemented in a variety of different ways. Also, while these steps are shown as being performed in series, these steps may instead be performed in parallel, or may be performed at different times. While the term “field” and “record” are used herein, any type of data structure can be employed. For example, relevant data can have preceding headers, or other overhead data proceeding (or following) the relevant data. Alternatively, relevant data can avoid the use of any overhead data, such as headers, and simply be recognized by a certain byte or series of bytes within a serial data stream. Any number of data structures and types can be employed herein. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to.” Words in the above detailed description using the singular or plural number may also include the plural or singular number respectively. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. When the claims use the word “or” in reference to a list of two or more items, that word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list. The teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to other systems, not necessarily the system described herein. These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of the detailed description. The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. All of the above patents and applications and other references, including any that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporated herein by reference. Aspects of the invention can be modified, if necessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the various references described above to provide yet further embodiments of the invention. These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of the above detailed description. While the above description details certain embodiments of the invention and describes the best mode contemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, the invention can be practiced in many ways. Details of the protocol, data model, and processing scheme may vary considerably in its implementation details, while still being encompassed by the invention disclosed herein. As noted above, particular terminology used when describing certain features, or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being re-defined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated. In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Description section explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the invention encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments, but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention under the claims. While certain aspects of the invention are presented below in certain claim forms, the inventors contemplate the various aspects of the invention in any number of claim forms. For example, while only one aspect of the invention is recited as embodied in a computer-readable medium, other aspects may likewise be embodied in a computer-readable medium. Accordingly, the inventors reserve the right to add additional claims after filing the application to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of the invention.

Method and apparatus to manage software updates of networked data collection devices are disclosed. Example disclosed methods involve in response to receiving a software update, determining if the data collection device is to receive the software update and, if the data collection device is to receive the software update, setting, in memory, a state indicator for the data collection device to an update state. Disclosed methods also include in response to receiving a configuration request from the data collection device when the corresponding state indicator is set to the update state, sending an update command to the data collection device, the update command to include a bill of materials corresponding to the software update and a time for the software update to take effect.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/716,049, filed Oct. 19, 2012, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to tissue resection devices and methods, for example, for use in resecting and extracting uterine fibroid tissue, polyps and other abnormal uterine tissue. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous tumors that develop in the wall of uterus. Such fibroids occur in a large percentage of the female population with some studies indicating up to 40 percent of all women have fibroids. Uterine fibroids can grow over time to be several centimeters in diameter and symptoms can include menorrhagia, reproductive dysfunction, pelvic pressure and pain. One current treatment of fibroids is hysteroscopic resection or myomectomy which involves transcervical access to the uterus with a hysteroscope together with insertion of a resecting instrument through a working channel in the hysteroscope. The resecting instrument may be a mechanical tissue cutter or an electrosurgical resection device such as an RF loop. Mechanical cutting devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,226,459; 6,032,673 and 5,730,752 and U.S. Published Patent Appl. 2009/0270898. An electrosurgical resecting device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,615. In a myomectomy or hysteroscopic resection, the initial step of the procedure includes distention of the uterine cavity to create a working space for assisting viewing through the hysteroscope. In a relaxed state, the uterine cavity collapses with the uterine walls in contact with one another. A fluid management system is used to distend the uterus to provide a working space by means of a fluid being introduced through a passageway in the hysteroscope under sufficient pressure to expand or distend the uterine cavity. The fluids used to distend the uterus are typically liquid aqueous solutions such as a saline solution or a sugar-based aqueous solution. While hysteroscopic resection can be effective in removing uterine fibroids, many commercially available instrument are too large in diameter and thus require anesthesia in an operating room environment. Conventional resectoscopes require cervical dilation to about 9 mm. What is needed is a system that can effectively resect and remove fibroid tissue through a small diameter hysteroscope. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides methods for resecting and removing target tissue from a patient's body, such as fibroids from a uterus. The tissue is resected, captured in a probe, catheter, or other tissue-removal device, and expelled from the resecting device by vaporizing a liquid adjacent to the captured tissue in order to propel the tissue from the device, typically through an extraction or other lumen present in a body or shaft of the device. Exemplary embodiments of the tissue resecting device comprise an RF electrode, wherein the electrode can be advanced past a tissue-receiving window on the device in order to sever a tissue strip and capture the strip within an interior volume or receptacle on the device. The liquid or other expandable fluid is also present in the device, and energy is applied to the fluid in order to cause rapid expansion, e.g., vaporization, in order to propel the resected tissue strip through the extraction lumen. In this way, the dimensions of the extraction lumen can be reduced, particularly in the distal regions of the device where size is of critical importance. In another aspect of the invention, a tubular resecting device has an inner resecting sleeve that reciprocates in a passageway in an outer sleeve or housing to resect tissue in a window of the outer sleeve. Within a distal portion of the stroke of the inner resecting sleeve, a projecting element extends into a tissue extraction channel in the inner sleeve. In a variation, the cross-section of the projecting element functions in a scissor-like manner to push the tissue against an electrode edge of the inner sleeve to resect the tissue. The projecting element can have an axial length of at least 2 mm. The projecting element also can have a tapered region for insuring that the inner sleeve when moving distally is guided over the projecting element even if there is flex in the distal portion of the outer sleeve in the region of the tissue-receiving window. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of an assembly including a hysteroscope and a tissue resecting device corresponding to the invention that is inserted through the working channel of the hysteroscope. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a fluid management system used for distending the uterus and for assisting in electrosurgical tissue resection and extraction. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the shaft of the hysteroscope of FIG. 1 showing various channels therein. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the working end of the electrosurgical tissue resecting device of FIG. 1 showing an outer sleeve, a reciprocating inner sleeve and an electrode arrangement. FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the working end of the inner sleeve of FIG. 4 showing its electrode edge. FIG. 6A is a schematic cut-away view of a portion of outer sleeve, inner RF resecting sleeve and a tissue-receiving window of the outer sleeve. FIG. 6B is a schematic view of a distal end portion another embodiment of inner RF resecting sleeve. FIG. 7A is a cross sectional view of the inner RF resecting sleeve of FIG. 6B taken along line 7 A- 7 A of FIG. 6B . FIG. 7B is another cross sectional view of the inner RF resecting sleeve of FIG. 6B taken along line 7 B- 7 B of FIG. 6B . FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a distal end portion of another embodiment of inner RF resecting sleeve. FIG. 9A is a cross sectional view of the RF resecting sleeve of FIG. 8 taken along line 9 A- 9 A of FIG. 8 . FIG. 9B is a cross sectional view of the RF resecting sleeve of FIG. 8 taken along line 9 B- 9 B of FIG. 8 . FIG. 10A is a perspective view of the working end of the tissue resecting device of FIG. 1 with the reciprocating RF resecting sleeve in a non-extended position. FIG. 10B is a perspective view of the tissue resecting device of FIG. 1 with the reciprocating RF resecting sleeve in a partially extended position. FIG. 10C is a perspective view of the tissue resecting device of FIG. 1 with the reciprocating RF resecting sleeve in a fully extended position across the tissue-receiving window. FIG. 11A is a sectional view of the working end of the tissue resecting device of FIG. 10A with the reciprocating RF resecting sleeve in a non-extended position. FIG. 11B is a sectional view of the working end of FIG. 10B with the reciprocating RF resecting sleeve in a partially extended position. FIG. 11C is a sectional view of the working end of FIG. 10C with the reciprocating RF resecting sleeve in a fully extended position. FIG. 12A is an enlarged sectional view of the working end of tissue resecting device of FIG. 11B with the reciprocating RF resecting sleeve in a partially extended position showing the RF field in a first RF mode and plasma resection of tissue. FIG. 12B is an enlarged sectional view of the working end of FIG. 11C with the reciprocating RF resecting sleeve almost fully extended and showing the RF fields switching to a second RF mode from a first RF mode shown in FIG. 12A . FIG. 12C is an enlarged sectional view of the working end of FIG. 11C with the reciprocating RF resecting sleeve again almost fully extended and showing the explosive vaporization of a captured liquid volume to expel resected tissue in the proximal direction. FIG. 13 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the working end of FIG. 12C showing an interior chamber and a fluted projecting element. FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the working end of FIG. 12C showing an interior chamber and a variation of a projecting element. FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the working end of FIG. 12C showing an interior chamber and a variation of a projecting element configured to explosively vaporize the captured liquid volume. FIG. 16A is sectional view of a working end of a resection probe similar to that of FIGS. 11A-12C showing a variation of a projecting element and resecting sleeve. FIG. 16B is another view of the working end of FIG. 16A with the resecting sleeve moving distally over a tapered portion of the projecting element. FIG. 17 is a schematic view of a system for fibroid removal including a fluid management system. FIG. 18 is a schematic view of the fluid management system of FIG. 17 with an enlarged view of the working end of a tissue resecting probe as generally described in FIGS. 1-12C in a position to resect and remove a fibroid. FIG. 19 is a cut-away schematic view of a filter module of the fluid management system of FIGS. 17-18 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIG. 1 illustrates an assembly that comprises an endoscope 50 used for hysteroscopy together with a tissue resecting and extracting device 100 extending through a working channel 102 of the endoscope. The endoscope or hysteroscope 50 has a handle 104 coupled to an elongated shaft 105 having a diameter of 3 mm to 7 mm. The working channel 102 therein may be round, D-shaped or any other suitable shape. The endoscope shaft 105 is further configured with an optics channel 106 and one or more fluid inflow/outflow channels 108 a , 108 b ( FIG. 3 ) that communicate with connectors 110 a , 110 b configured for coupling to a fluid inflow source 120 , or optionally a negative pressure source 125 ( FIGS. 1-2 ). The fluid inflow source 120 is a component of a fluid management system 126 as is known in the art ( FIG. 2 ) which comprises a fluid container 128 and pump mechanism 130 which pumps fluid through the hysteroscope 50 into the uterine cavity. As can be seen in FIG. 2 , the fluid management system 126 further includes the negative pressure source 125 coupled to the tissue resecting device 100 . The handle 104 of the endoscope includes the angled extension portion 132 with optics to which a videoscopic camera 135 can be operatively coupled. A light source 136 is coupled to light coupling 138 on the handle of the hysteroscope 50 . The working channel 102 of the hysteroscope is configured for insertion and manipulation of the tissue resecting and extracting device 100 , for example to treat and remove fibroid tissue. In one embodiment, the hysteroscope shaft 105 has an axial length of 21 cm, and can comprise a 0° scope, or 15° to 30° scope. Still referring to FIG. 1 , the tissue resecting device 100 has a highly elongated shaft assembly 140 configured to extend through the working channel 102 in the hysteroscope. A handle 142 of the tissue resecting device 100 is adapted for manipulating the electrosurgical working end 145 of the device. In use, the handle 142 can be manipulated both rotationally and axially, for example, to orient the working end 145 to resect targeted fibroid tissue. The tissue resecting device 100 has subsystems coupled to its handle 142 to enable electrosurgical resection of targeted tissue. A radiofrequency generator or RF source 150 and controller 155 are coupled to at least one RF electrode carried by the working end 145 as will be described in detail below. In one embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , an electrical cable 156 and negative pressure source 125 are operatively coupled to a connector 158 in handle 142 . The electrical cable couples the RF source 150 to the electrosurgical working end 145 . The negative pressure source 125 communicates with a tissue-extraction channel 160 in the shaft assembly 140 of the tissue resecting device 100 ( FIG. 4 ). FIG. 1 further illustrates a seal housing 162 that carries a flexible seal 164 within the hysteroscope handle 104 for sealing the shaft 140 of the tissue resecting device 100 in the working channel 102 to prevent distending fluid from escaping from a uterine cavity. In one embodiment as shown in FIG. 1 , the handle 142 of tissue resecting device 100 includes a motor drive 165 for reciprocating or otherwise moving a resecting component of the electrosurgical working end 145 as will be described below. The handle 142 optionally includes one or more actuator buttons 166 for actuating the device. In another embodiment, a footswitch can be used to operate the device. In one embodiment, the system includes a switch or control mechanism to provide a plurality of reciprocation speeds, for example 1 Hz, 2 Hz, 3 Hz, 4 Hz and up to 8 Hz. Further, the system can include a mechanism for moving and locking the reciprocating resecting sleeve in a non-extended position and in an extended position. Further, the system can include a mechanism for actuating a single reciprocating stroke. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4 , an electrosurgical tissue resecting device has an elongate shaft assembly 140 extending about longitudinal axis 168 comprising an exterior or first outer sleeve 170 with passageway or lumen 172 therein that accommodates a second or inner sleeve 175 that can reciprocate (and optionally rotate or oscillate) in lumen 172 to resect tissue as is known in that art. In one embodiment, the tissue-receiving window 176 in the outer sleeve 170 has an axial length ranging between 10 mm and 30 mm and extends in a radial angle about outer sleeve 170 from about 45° to 210° relative to axis 168 of the sleeve. The outer and inner sleeves 170 and 175 can comprise a thin-wall stainless steel material and function as opposing polarity electrodes as will be described in detail below. FIGS. 6A-8 illustrate insulative layers carried by the outer and inner sleeves 170 and 175 to limit, control and/or prevent unwanted electrical current flows between certain portions of the sleeve. In one embodiment, a stainless steel outer sleeve 170 has an O.D. of 0.143″ with an I.D. of 0.133″ and with an inner insulative layer (described below) the sleeve has a nominal I.D. of 0.125″. In this embodiment, the stainless steel inner sleeve 175 has an O.D. of 0.120″ with an I.D. of 0.112″. The inner sleeve 175 with an outer insulative layer has a nominal O.D. of about 0.123″ to 0.124″ to reciprocate in lumen 172 . In other embodiments, outer and or inner sleeves can be fabricated of metal, plastic, ceramic of a combination thereof. The cross-section of the sleeves can be round, oval or any other suitable shape. As can be seen in FIG. 4 , the distal end 177 of inner sleeve 175 comprises a first polarity electrode with distal electrode edge 180 about which plasma can be generated. The electrode edge 180 also can be described as an active electrode during tissue resection since the electrode edge 180 then has a substantially smaller surface area than the opposing polarity or return electrode. In one embodiment in FIG. 4 , the exposed surfaces of outer sleeve 170 comprises the second polarity electrode 185 , which thus can be described as the return electrode since during use such an electrode surface has a substantially larger surface area compared to the functionally exposed surface area of the active electrode edge 180 . In one aspect of the invention, the inner sleeve or resecting sleeve 175 has an interior tissue extraction lumen 160 with first and second interior diameters that are adapted to electrosurgically resect tissue volumes rapidly—and thereafter consistently extract the resected tissue strips through the highly elongated lumen 160 without clogging. Now referring to FIGS. 5 and 6A , it can be seen that the inner sleeve 175 has a first diameter portion 190 A (with diameter A) that extends from the handle 142 ( FIG. 1 ) to a distal region 192 of the sleeve 175 wherein the tissue extraction lumen transitions to a smaller second diameter lumen 190 B with a reduced diameter indicated at B which is defined by the electrode sleeve element 195 that provides the resection electrode edge 180 . The axial length C of the reduced cross-section lumen 190 B can range from about 2 mm to 20 mm. In one embodiment, the first diameter A is 0.112″ and the second reduced diameter B is 0.100″. As shown in FIG. 5 , the inner sleeve 175 can be an electrically conductive stainless steel and the reduced diameter electrode portion also can comprise a stainless steel electrode sleeve element 195 that is welded in place by weld 196 ( FIG. 6A ). In another alternative embodiment, the electrode and reduced diameter electrode sleeve element 195 comprises a tungsten tube that can be press fit into the distal end 198 of inner sleeve 175 . FIGS. 5 and 6A further illustrate the interfacing insulation layers 202 and 204 carried by the first and second sleeves 170 , 175 , respectively. In FIG. 6A , the outer sleeve 170 is lined with a thin-wall insulative material 200 , such as PFA, or another material described below. Similarly, the inner sleeve 175 has an exterior insulative layer 202 . These coating materials can be lubricious as well as electrically insulative to reduce friction during reciprocation of the inner sleeve 175 . The insulative layers 200 and 202 described above can comprise a lubricious, hydrophobic or hydrophilic polymeric material. For example, the material can comprise a bio-compatible material such as PFA, TEFLON®, polytetrafluroethylene (PTFE), FEP (Fluorinated ethylenepropylene), polyethylene, polyamide, ECTFE (Ethylenechlorotrifluoro-ethylene), ETFE, PVDF, polyvinyl chloride or silicone. Now turning to FIG. 6B , another variation of inner sleeve 175 is illustrated in a schematic view together with a tissue volume being resected with the plasma electrode edge 180 . In this embodiment, as in other embodiments in this disclosure, the RF source operates at selected operational parameters to create plasma around the edge 180 of electrode sleeve 195 as is known in the art. Thus, the plasma generated at electrode edge 180 can ablate a path P in the tissue 220 and is suited for resecting fibroid tissue and other abnormal uterine tissue. In FIG. 6B , the distal portion of the resecting sleeve 175 includes a ceramic collar 222 which is proximate to the distal edge 180 of the electrode sleeve 195 . The ceramic collar 222 functions to confine plasma formation about the distal electrode edge 180 and functions further to prevent plasma from contacting and damaging the polymer insulative layer 202 on the resecting sleeve 175 during operation. In one aspect of the invention, the path P ablated in the tissue 220 with the plasma at electrode edge 180 provides a path P having an ablated width indicated at W, wherein such path width W is substantially wide due to tissue vaporization. This vaporization of tissue in path P to provide the resection is substantially different than the effect of resecting similar tissue with a sharp blade edge, as in various prior art devices. A sharp blade edge can divide tissue (without cauterization) but applies mechanical force to the tissue and may prevent a large cross section slug of tissue from being resected. In contrast, the plasma at the electrode edge 180 can vaporize a path Pin tissue without applying any substantial force on the tissue to thus resect larger cross sections or strips of tissue. Further, the plasma resecting effect reduces the cross section of tissue strip 225 received in the reduced cross-section region 190 B of the tissue extraction lumen 160 . FIG. 6B depicts a tissue strip 225 entering the reduced cross-section region 190 B, wherein the tissue strip has a smaller cross-section than the lumen due to the vaporization of tissue. Further, the cross section of tissue strip 225 as it enters the larger cross-section lumen 190 A results in even greater free space 197 around the tissue strip 225 . Thus, the resection of tissue with the plasma electrode edge 180 , together with the lumen transition from the smaller cross-section ( 190 B) to the larger cross-section ( 190 A) of the tissue-extraction lumen 160 can significantly reduce or eliminate the potential for successive resected tissue strips 225 clogging the lumen. Prior art resection devices with such a small diameter tissue-extraction lumen typically have problems with tissue clogging. In another aspect of the invention, the negative pressure source 125 coupled to the proximal end of tissue-extraction lumen 160 (see FIGS. 1 and 4 ) also assists in aspirating and moving tissue strips 225 in the proximal direction to a collection reservoir (not shown) outside the handle 142 of the resecting device. FIGS. 7A-7B illustrate the change in lumen diameter of resecting sleeve 175 of FIG. 6B . FIG. 8 illustrates the distal end of a variation of resecting sleeve 175 ′ which is configured with an electrode resecting element 195 ′ that is partially tubular in contrast to the previously described tubular electrode element 195 ( FIGS. 5 and 6A ). FIGS. 9A-9B again illustrate the change in cross-section of the tissue-extraction lumen between reduced cross-section region 190 B′ and the increased cross-section region 190 A′ of the resecting sleeve 175 ′ of FIG. 8 . Thus, the functionality remains the same whether the resecting electrode element 195 ′ is tubular or partly tubular. In FIG. 8A , the ceramic collar 222 ′ is shown, in one variation, as extending only partially around sleeve 175 ′ to cooperate with the radial angle of resecting electrode element 195 ′. Further, the variation of FIG. 8 illustrates that the ceramic collar 222 ′ has a larger outside diameter than insulative layer 202 . Thus, friction may be reduced since the short axial length of the ceramic collar 222 ′ interfaces and slides against the interfacing insulative layer 200 about the inner surface of lumen 172 of outer sleeve 170 . In general, one aspect of the invention comprises a tissue resecting and extracting device ( FIGS. 10A-11C ) that includes first and second concentric sleeves having an axis and wherein the second (inner) sleeve 175 has an axially-extending tissue-extraction lumen therein, and wherein the second sleeve 175 is moveable between axially non-extended and extended positions relative to a tissue-receiving window 176 in first sleeve 170 to resect tissue, and wherein the tissue extraction lumen 160 has first and second cross-sections. The second sleeve 175 has a distal end configured as a plasma electrode edge 180 to resect tissue disposed in tissue-receiving window 176 of the first sleeve 170 . Further, the distal end of the second sleeve, and more particularly, the electrode edge 180 is configured for plasma ablation of a substantially wide path in the tissue. In general, the tissue resecting device is configured with a tissue extraction lumen 160 having a distal end portion with a reduced cross-section that is smaller than a cross-section of medial and proximal portions of the lumen 160 . In one aspect of the invention, referring to FIGS. 7A-7B and 9A-9B , the tissue-extraction lumen 160 has a reduced cross-sectional area in lumen region 190 B proximate the plasma resecting tip or electrode edge 180 wherein said reduced cross section is less than 95%, 90%, 85% or 80% than the cross sectional area of medial and proximal portions 190 A of the tissue-extraction lumen, and wherein the axial length of the tissue-extraction lumen is at least 10 cm, 20 cm, 30 cm or 40 cm. In one embodiment of tissue resecting device 100 for hysteroscopic fibroid resection and extraction ( FIG. 1 ), the shaft assembly 140 of the tissue resecting device is 35 cm in length. FIGS. 10A-10C illustrate the working end 145 of the tissue resecting device 100 with the reciprocating resecting sleeve or inner sleeve 175 in three different axial positions relative to the tissue receiving window 176 in outer sleeve 170 . In FIG. 10A , the resecting sleeve 175 is shown in a retracted or non-extended position in which the sleeve 175 is at it proximal limit of motion and is prepared to advance distally to an extended position to thereby electrosurgically resect tissue positioned in and/or suctioned into window 176 . FIG. 10B shows the resecting sleeve 175 moved and advanced distally to a partially advanced or medial position relative to tissue resection window 176 . FIG. 10C illustrates the resecting sleeve 175 fully advanced and extended to the distal limit of its motion wherein the plasma resecting electrode 180 has extended past the distal end 226 of tissue-receiving window 176 at which moment the tissue strip 225 is resected from tissue volume 220 and captured in reduced cross-sectional lumen region 190 B. Now referring to FIGS. 10A-10C and FIGS. 11A-11C , another aspect of the invention comprises tissue displacement mechanisms provided by multiple elements and processes to displace and move tissue strips 225 in the proximal direction in lumen 160 of resecting sleeve 175 to thus ensure that tissue does not clog the lumen of the inner sleeve 175 . As can seen in FIG. 10A and the enlarged views of FIGS. 11A-11C , one tissue displacement mechanism comprises a projecting element 230 that extends proximally from distal tip 232 which is fixedly attached to outer sleeve 170 . The projecting element 230 extends proximally along central axis 168 in a distal chamber 240 defined by outer sleeve 170 and distal tip 232 . In one embodiment depicted in FIG. 11A , the shaft-like projecting element 230 , in a first functional aspect, comprises a mechanical pusher that functions to push a captured tissue strip 225 proximally from the small cross-section lumen 190 B of resecting sleeve 175 as the sleeve 175 moves to its fully advanced or extended position. In a second functional aspect, the chamber 240 in the distal end of sleeve 170 is configured to capture a volume of saline distending fluid 244 from the working space, and wherein the existing RF electrodes of the working end 145 are further configured to explosively vaporize the captured fluid 244 to generate proximally-directed forces on tissue strips 225 resected and disposed in lumen 160 of the resecting sleeve 175 . Both of these two functional elements and processes (tissue displacement mechanisms) can apply substantial mechanical force to captured tissue strips 225 . For example, the explosive vaporization of liquid in chamber 240 can function to move tissue strips 225 in the proximal direction in the tissue-extraction lumen 160 . It has been found that using the combination of multiple functional elements and processes can virtually eliminate the potential for tissue clogging the tissue extraction lumen 160 . More in particular, FIGS. 12A-12C illustrate sequentially the functional aspects of the tissue displacement mechanisms and the explosive vaporization of fluid captured in chamber 240 . In FIG. 12A , the reciprocating resecting sleeve 175 is shown in a medial position advancing distally wherein plasma at the electrode edge 180 is resecting a tissue strip 225 that is disposed within lumen 160 of the resecting sleeve 175 . In FIG. 12A-12C , it can be seen that the system operates in first and second electrosurgical modes corresponding to the reciprocation and axial range of motion of resecting sleeve 175 relative to the tissue-receiving window 176 . As used herein, the term “electrosurgical mode” refers to which electrode of the two opposing polarity electrodes functions as an “active electrode” and which electrode functions as a “return electrode”. The terms “active electrode” and “return electrode” are used in accordance with convention in the art—wherein an active electrode has a smaller surface area than the return electrode which thus focuses RF energy density about such an active electrode. In the working end 145 of FIGS. 10A-11C , the resecting electrode element 195 and its electrode edge 180 must comprise the active electrode to focus energy about the electrode to generate the plasma for tissue resection. Such a high-intensity, energetic plasma at the electrode edge 180 is needed throughout stroke X indicated in FIGS. 12A-12B to resect tissue. The first mode occurs over an axial length of travel of inner sleeve 175 as it crosses the tissue receiving window 176 , at which time the entire exterior surface of outer sleeve 170 comprises the return electrode indicated at 185 . The electrical fields EF of the first RF mode are indicated schematically generally in FIG. 12A . FIG. 12B illustrates the moment in time at which the distal advancement or extension of inner resecting sleeve 175 entirely crosses the tissue-receiving window 176 . At this time, the electrode sleeve 195 and its electrode edge 180 are confined within the mostly insulated-wall chamber 240 defined by the outer sleeve 170 and distal tip 232 . At this moment, the system is configured to switch to the second RF mode in which the electric fields EF switch from those described previously in the first RF mode. As can be seen in FIG. 12B , in this second mode, the limited interior surface area 250 of distal tip 232 that interfaces chamber 240 functions as an active electrode and the distal end portion of resecting sleeve 175 exposed to chamber 240 acts as a return electrode. In this mode, very high energy densities occur about surface 250 and such a contained electric field EF can explosively and instantly vaporize the fluid 244 captured in chamber 240 . The expansion of water vapor can be dramatic and can thus apply tremendous mechanical forces and fluid pressure on the tissue strip 225 to move the tissue strip in the proximal direction in the tissue extraction lumen 160 . FIG. 12C illustrates such explosive or expansive vaporization of the distention fluid 244 captured in chamber 240 and further shows the tissue strip 225 being expelled in the proximal direction in the lumen 160 of inner resecting sleeve 175 . In another variation, FIG. 14 further shows the relative surface areas of the active and return electrodes at the extended range of motion of the resecting sleeve 175 , again illustrating that the surface area of the non-insulated distal end surface 250 is small compared to surface 255 of electrode sleeve which comprises the return electrode. Still referring to FIGS. 12A-12C , it has been found that a single power setting on the RF source 150 and controller 155 can be configured both (i) to create plasma at the electrode edge 180 of electrode sleeve 195 to resect tissue in the first mode, and (ii) to explosively vaporize the captured distention fluid 244 in the second mode. Further, it has been found that the system can function with RF mode-switching automatically at suitable reciprocation rates ranging from 0.5 cycles per second to 8 or 10 cycles per second. It has been found that the tissue resecting device described above can resect and extract tissue at the rate of from 4 grams/min to 20 grams/min without any potential for tissue strips 225 clogging the tissue-extraction lumen 160 , depending on the diameter of the device. In one embodiment, a negative pressure source 125 can be coupled to the tissue-extraction lumen 160 to apply additional tissue-extracting forces to tissue strips 225 in the system. Of particular interest, the fluid-capture chamber 240 defined by sleeve 170 and distal tip 232 can be designed to have a selected volume, exposed electrode surface area, length and geometry to optimize the expelling forces applied to resected tissue strips 225 . In one embodiment, the diameter of the chamber is 3.175 mm and the length is 5.0 mm which taking into account the projecting element 230 , provides a captured fluid volume of approximately 0.040 mL. In other variations, the captured fluid volume can range from 0.004 to 0.080 mL. In one example, a chamber 240 with a captured liquid volume of 0.040 mL together with 100% conversion efficiency in an instantaneous vaporization would require 103 Joules to heat the liquid from room temperature to water vapor. In operation, since a Joule is a W*s, and the system reciprocates at 3 Hz, the power required would be on the order of 311 W for full, instantaneous conversion of the captured liquid to water vapor. A corresponding theoretical expansion of 1700× would occur in the phase transition, which would results in up to 25,000 psi instantaneously (14.7 psi×1700), although due to losses in efficiency and non-instantaneous expansion, the actual pressures would be less. In any event, the pressures are substantial and can apply expelling forces sufficient to expel the captured tissue strips 225 along the length of the extraction channel 160 in the probe. Referring to FIG. 12A , the interior chamber 240 can have an axial length from about 0.5 mm to 10 mm to capture a liquid volume ranging from about 0.004 mL 0.01 mL. It can be understood in FIG. 12A , that the interior wall of chamber 240 has an insulator layer 200 which thus limits the electrode surface area 250 exposed to chamber 240 . In one embodiment, the distal tip 232 is stainless steel and is welded to outer sleeve 170 . The post element 248 is welded to tip 232 or machined as a feature thereof. The projecting element 230 in this embodiment is a non-conductive ceramic. FIG. 13 shows the cross-section of the ceramic projecting element 230 which is fluted, which in one embodiment has three flute elements 260 in three corresponding axial grooves 262 in its surface. Any number of flutes, channels or the like is possible, for example from 2 to about 20. The purpose of this design is to provide a significant cross-sectional area at the proximal end of the projecting element 230 to push the tissue strip 225 , while at the same time the three grooves 262 permit the proximally-directed jetting of water vapor to impact the tissue exposed to the grooves 262 . In one embodiment, the axial length D of the projecting element 230 is configured to push tissue entirely out of the reduced cross-sectional region 190 B of the electrode sleeve element 195 . In another embodiment, the volume of the chamber 240 is configured to capture liquid that when explosively vaporized provides a gas (water vapor) volume sufficient to expand into and occupy at least the volume defined by a 10% of the total length of extraction channel 160 in the device, at least 20% of the extraction channel 160 , at least 40% of the extraction channel 160 , at least 60% of the extraction channel 160 , at least 80% of the extraction channel 160 or at least 100% of the extraction channel 160 . As can be understood from FIGS. 12A to 12C , the distention fluid 244 in the working space replenishes the captured fluid in chamber 240 as the resecting sleeve 175 moves in the proximal direction or towards its non-extended position. Thus, when the resecting sleeve 175 again moves in the distal direction to resect tissue, the interior chamber 240 is filled with fluid 244 which is then again contained and is then available for explosive vaporization as described above when the resecting sleeve 175 closes the tissue-receiving window 176 . In another embodiment, a one-way valve can be provided in the distal tip 232 to draw fluid directly into interior chamber 240 without the need for fluid to migrate through window 176 . FIG. 15 illustrates another variation in which the active electrode surface area 250 ′ in the second mode comprises a projecting element 230 with conductive regions and nonconductive regions 261 which can have the effect of distributing the focused RF energy delivery over a plurality of discrete regions each in contact with the captured fluid 244 . This configuration can more efficiently vaporize the captured fluid volume in chamber 240 . In one embodiment, the conductive regions 250 ′ can comprise metal discs or washers on post 248 . In other variation (not shown) the conductive regions 250 ′ can comprise holes, ports or pores in a ceramic material 261 fixed over an electrically conductive post 248 . In another embodiment, the RF source 150 and controller 155 can be programmed to modulate energy delivery parameters during stroke X and stroke Y in FIGS. 12A-12C to provide the optimal energy (i) for plasma resection with electrode edge 180 , and (ii) for explosively vaporizing the captured fluid in chamber 240 . FIGS. 16A-16B are sectional views of a working end 600 of a tissue resecting probe that is similar to previous embodiments. In FIGS. 16A and 16B , the inner resecting member or sleeve 610 is shown in a distal portion of its stroke after resecting a tissue strip 225 captured in the window 612 in the outer sleeve 615 or housing as generally depicted in the tissue resecting sequence of FIGS. 12A-12B . FIGS. 16A-16B illustrate another aspect of the invention wherein the inner resecting sleeve 610 moves in a passageway 620 in the outer sleeve 615 and in the distal portion of its stroke, a projecting or extending element 630 extends into the tissue extraction channel 632 in the inner sleeve 610 . In one variation, the cross-section of the extending element 630 is configured to extend into the distal reduced cross-section portion 635 of the tissue extraction channel 632 and function in a scissor-like manner to push the tissue against the electrode edge 640 of the inner sleeve 610 as depicted in FIG. 16A . The extending element 630 can have an axial length of at least 2 mm. In a variation, the extending element 630 has a length can ranging from 4 mm to 10 mm. The extending element 630 can have a length that equals at least 50% of the axial length of the distal reduced cross-section region 635 of the extraction channel 632 . In one variation, a method of resecting tissue comprises positioning a working end of a tissue resecting probe against tissue and moving a resecting sleeve or member 610 carried by the probe wherein the moveable resecting member 610 interfaces with an extending element 630 carried by the probe that extends into a channel 632 in the resecting sleeve to thereby resect tissue that is captured between the resecting member 610 and the extending element 630 . In such a variation, the step of resecting tissue is accomplished by plasma formed at the distal electrode edge 640 of the resecting member 610 , with electrical fields EF ( FIG. 16A ) as described above. In one variation, still referring to FIGS. 16A-16B , the extending element 630 has a tapered region 644 that tapers in the proximal direction. In use, the tapered region helps insure that the distally moving inner sleeve 610 is guided over the projecting element 630 even if there is some flex in the distal portion of the outer sleeve 615 in the region of window 612 . It can be understood that distal movement of the inner sleeve 610 will engage the tapered region 644 of element 630 if the outer sleeve is flexed in any direction and thereafter further distal movement of the inner sleeve 610 over the projecting element 630 will center the outer sleeve 615 relative to the inner sleeve 610 . In general, a method of resecting and extracting tissue comprises positioning a window of a tubular resecting device against tissue, and reciprocating a resecting sleeve in forward and backward strokes across the window wherein a projecting member separate from the resecting sleeve projects into a bore in the resecting sleeve during a portion of its forward stroke to prevent flexing of the sleeve proximate the window. In one embodiment shown in FIGS. 16A-16B , the extending element 630 has a recessed region 648 therein for receiving a fluid volume. As can be seen in FIG. 16B , the extending element 630 is a dielectric material (e.g., a ceramic) with a central bore 660 for mounting the element 630 over the post element 652 of metal endcap 655 . The proximal surface 658 of post element 652 functions as an electrode when vaporizing captured fluid as described previously and shown in FIG. 16B . The electrical fields EF′ are shown in FIG. 16B which result in the explosive vaporization of the contained liquid. It can be seen in FIG. 16B that metal endcap 655 is fixed with annular weld 656 to outer sleeve 615 (electrode) so that endcap 655 and its post element 652 also function as an electrode. FIG. 16B further illustrates that the working end has insulative layers on all surfaces of the distal annular space 660 that receives the inner resecting sleeve 610 to focus RF current paths in the central bore 650 of the projecting element 630 . More in particular, the outer sleeve 615 is lined with an insulative layer 662 and the endcap 655 has an annular inner insulator 664 bonded thereto. FIGS. 17-19 illustrate a fluid management system 500 that can be used when treating tissue in a body cavity, space or potential space 502 ( FIG. 18 ). The fluid management system 500 is depicted schematically in a hysteroscopic fibroid treatment system 510 that is adapted for resection and extraction of fibroids or other abnormal intra-uterine tissue using a hysteroscope 512 and tissue resection probe 515 that can be similar to those described above. FIG. 17 depicts the probe 515 with handle 516 and extension member 518 with working end 520 ( FIG. 18 ) that can be introduced through working channel 522 extending through the body 523 and shaft 524 of the hysteroscope 512 . FIG. 17 further shows a motor 525 in handle 516 of the probe that is coupled to a controller 545 and power supply by power cable 526 . FIG. 18 illustrates the working end 520 of the resecting probe in a uterine cavity proximate a targeted fibroid 530 . Referring to FIGS. 17-18 , in general, the fluid management system 500 comprises a fluid source or reservoir 535 of a distention fluid 244 , a controller and pump system to provide fluid inflows and outflows adapted to maintain distension of a body space and a filter system 540 for filtering distention fluid 244 that is removed from the body cavity and thereafter returned to the fluid source 535 . The use of a recovered and filtered fluid 244 and the replenishment of the fluid source 535 is advantageous because (i) the closed-loop fluid management system can effectively measure fluid deficit to thereby monitor intravasation and insure patient safety, (ii) the system can be set up and operated in a very time-efficient manner, and (iii) the system can be compact and less expensive to thereby assist in enabling office-based procedures. The fluid management system 500 ( FIG. 17 ) includes a computer control system that is integrated with the RF control system in an integrated controller 545 . The controller 545 is adapted to control first and second peristaltic pumps 546 A and 546 B for providing inflows and outflows of a distention fluid 244 , such as saline solution, from source 535 for the purpose of distending the body cavity and controlling the intra-cavity pressure during a tissue resecting and extracting procedure as depicted in FIG. 18 . In one embodiment shown in FIGS. 17-19 , the controller 545 controls peristaltic pump 546 A to provide positive pressure at the outflow side 548 of the pump ( FIG. 17 ) to provide inflows of distention fluid 244 through first flow line 550 which is in communication with fitting 561 and fluid flow channel 108 a in hysteroscope 515 . The flow channel 108 a is described above in a previous embodiment and is illustrated in FIG. 3 above. The controller 545 further controls the second peristaltic pump 546 B to provide negative pressure at the inflow side 552 of the pump ( FIG. 18 ) to the second line 555 to assist in providing outflows of distention fluid 244 from the body cavity 502 . As described above, the explosive vaporization of fluid in the working end 525 of probe 515 functions to expel tissue strips 225 proximally in the extraction channel 160 of resecting sleeve 175 , which can operate in conjunction with negative pressures in line 555 provided by pump 546 B. In operation, the second peristaltic pump 546 B also operates to provide positive pressure on the outflow side 556 of pump 546 B in the second flow line portion 555 ′ to pump outflows of distention fluid 244 through the filter system 540 and back to the fluid source 535 . In one system embodiment, the controller 545 operates to control pressure in cavity 502 by pressure signals from a disposable pressure sensor 560 that is coupled to a fitting 562 in hysterocope 512 which communicates with a flow channel 108 b (see FIG. 17 ) that extends through the hysteroscope. The pressure sensor 560 is operatively coupled to controller 545 by cable 564 . In one embodiment, the flow channel 108 b has a diameter of at least 1.0 mm to allow highly accurate sensing of actual intra-cavity pressure. In prior art commercially-available fluid management systems, the intra-cavity pressure is typically estimated by various calculations using known flow rates through a pump or remote pressure sensors in the fluid inflow line that can measure back pressures. Such prior art fluid management systems are stand-alone systems and are adapted for use with a wide variety of hysteroscopes and endoscopes, most of which do not have a dedicated flow channel for communicating with a pressure sensor. For this reason, prior art fluid management systems rely on algorithms and calculations to estimate intra-cavity pressure. The fluid channel or sensor channel 108 b used by the pressure sensor 560 is independent of flow channel 108 a used for distention fluid inflows into the body cavity. In the absence of fluid flows in the sensor channel 108 b , the fluid in the channel 108 b then forms a static column of incompressible fluid that changes in pressure as the pressure in the body cavity changes. With a sensor channel cross-section of 1 mm or more, the pressure within the pressure channel column and the pressure in the body cavity are equivalent. Thus, the pressure sensor 560 is capable of a direct measurement of pressure within the body cavity. FIG. 18 schematically illustrates the fluid management system 500 in operation. The uterine cavity 502 is a potential space and needs to be distended to allow for hysteroscopic viewing. A selected pressure can be set in the controller 545 , for example via a touch screen 565 , which the physician knows from experience is suited for distending the cavity 502 and/or for performing a procedure. In one embodiment, the selected pressure can be any pressure between 0 and 150 mm Hg. In one system embodiment, the first pump 546 A can operate as a variable speed pump that is actuated to provide a flow rate of up to 850 ml/min through first line 550 . In this embodiment, the second pump 546 B can operate at a fixed speed to move fluid in the second line 555 . In use, the controller 545 can operate the pumps 546 A and 546 B at selected matching or non-matching speeds to increase, decrease or maintain the volume of distention fluid 244 in the uterine cavity 502 . Thus, by independent control of the pumping rates of the first and second peristaltic pumps 546 A and 546 B, a selected set pressure in the body cavity can be achieved and maintained in response to signals of actual intra-cavity pressure provided by sensor 560 . In one system embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 18-19 , the fluid management system 500 includes a filter module or system 540 that can include a first filter or tissue-capturing filter 570 that is adapted to catch tissue strips 225 that have been resected and extracted from the body cavity 502 . A second filter or molecular filter 575 , typically a hollow fiber filter, is provided beyond the first filter 570 , wherein the molecular filter 575 is adapted to remove blood and other body materials from the distention fluid 244 . In particular, the molecular filter 575 is capable of removing red blood cells, hemoglobin, particulate matter, proteins, bacteria, viruses and the like from the distention fluid 244 so that endoscopic viewing of the body cavity is not obscured or clouded by any such blood components or other contaminants. As can be understood from FIGS. 16-18 , the second peristaltic pump 546 B at its outflow side 556 provides a positive pressure relative to fluid flows into the filter module 540 to move the distention fluid 244 and body media through the first and second filters, 570 and 575 , and in a circulatory flow back to the fluid source 535 . Referring to FIG. 19 , in an embodiment, the first filter 570 comprises a container portion or vial 576 with a removable cap 577 . The inflow of distention fluid 244 and body media flows though line portion 555 and through fitting 578 into a mesh sac or perforate structure 580 disposed in the interior chamber 582 of the vial 576 . The pore size of the perforate structure 580 can range from about 200 microns to 10 microns. The lumen diameter of hollow fibers 585 in the second filter 575 can be from about 400 microns to 20 microns. In general, the pore size of perforate structure 580 in the first filter 570 is less than the diameter of the lumens of hollow fibers 585 in the second filter 575 . In one embodiment, the pore size of the perforate structure 580 is 100 microns, and the lumen size of the hollow fibers 585 in the molecular filter 575 is 200 microns. In one embodiment, the molecular filter 575 is a Nephros DSU filter available from Nephros, Inc., 41 Grand Ave., River Edge, N.J. 07661. In one variation, the filter 575 is configured with hollow fibers having a nominal molecular weight limit (NMWL) of less than 50 kDa, 30 kDa or 20 kDa. Referring to FIG. 19 , it can be seen that the filter module 540 includes detachable connections between the various fluid flow lines to allow for rapid coupling and de-coupling of the filters and flow lines. More in particular, flow line 555 extending from the tissue resecting probe 515 has a connector portion 592 that connects to inlet fitting 578 in the first filter 570 . Flow line portion 555 ′ that is intermediate the filters 570 and 575 has connector portion 596 a that connects to outlet fitting 596 b in first filter 570 . The outflow end of flow line 555 ′ has connector 598 a that connects to inlet fitting 598 b of the second filter 575 . The portion 590 of the second flow line 555 that is intermediate the second filter 575 and fluid source 535 has connector portion 602 a that connects to outlet fitting 602 b in the second filter 575 . In one embodiment, at least one check valve 605 is provided in the flow path intermediate the filters 570 , 575 which for example can be in line 555 ′, connectors 596 a , 598 a or fittings 596 b , 598 b . In FIG. 19 , a check valve 605 is integrated with the inlet end 608 of the second filter 575 . In use, the operation of the system will result in substantial fluid pressures in the interior of the second filter, and the check valve 605 allows for de-coupling the first filter without escape of pressure and release of fluid media into the environment, for example, when the tissue resection procedure is completed and the physician or nurse wishes to transport the vial 576 and tissue strips 225 therein to a different site for biopsy purposes. In one aspect, a fluid management system comprising a first fluid line 550 configured to carry distention fluid 224 or influent from a fluid source 535 to a body space, a second fluid line 555 , 555 ′ and 560 configured to carry fluid from the body space to a first filter 570 and then to a second filter 575 and then back to the fluid source 535 , a pump operatively coupled to the second fluid line to move the fluid and at least one check valve 605 in the second fluid line intermediate the first and second filters 570 and 575 . In one embodiment, the controller 545 of the fluid management system 500 is configured for calculation of a fluid deficit that is measured as a difference between a fluid volume delivered to the body space 502 and a fluid volume recovered from the body space during a medical procedure such as fibroid removal (see FIGS. 17-18 ). A method of fluid management in a hysteroscopic procedure comprises providing a distention fluid source 535 ( FIG. 18 ) having a predetermined volume, introducing fluid (e.g., saline) from the source 535 through a first flow path or line 550 into the uterine cavity and through a second flow line 555 out of the cavity into a filter module 540 and through a further portion 590 of the second flow line back to the fluid source 535 wherein the interior volume of the first and second flow lines and the filter module when subtracted from the predetermined volume of the source 535 equals 2.5 liters or less to thereby insure that saline intravasion is less than 2.5 liters. In this variation, the predetermined volume of the source 535 can be 3.0 liters, as in a standard 3 liter saline bag, and the interior system volume can be at least 0.5 liters. In one variation, the fluid management system 500 can include a sensor system for determining the volume of fluid remaining in the source 535 , and the sensor can provide a signal to the controller 545 which in turn can provide a visual or aural signal relating to remaining fluid volume in fluid source 535 . In one variation, the fluid source 535 can be a bag that hangs from a member including a load cell 625 ( FIGS. 17, 19 ) which is configured to send load signals to the controller 545 . The controller can have a screen 565 which continuously displays a fluid parameter such as calculated fluid deficit or fluid remaining in the source 535 . In other variations, the sensor adapted for sensing the weight or volume of fluid in the fluid source can be a float or level sensor in a fluid container, an impedance or capacitance sensor coupled to the fluid source container, an optical sensor operatively coupled to the fluid container or any other suitable type of weight or volume sensing mechanism. Any such sensor system can send signals to the controller for providing fluid deficit calculations or fluid intravasation warnings. While certain embodiments of the present invention have been described above in detail, it will be understood that this description is merely for purposes of illustration and the above description of the invention is not exhaustive. Specific features of the invention are shown in some drawings and not in others, and this is for convenience only and any feature may be combined with another in accordance with the invention. A number of variations and alternatives will be apparent to one having ordinary skills in the art. Such alternatives and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the claims. Particular features that are presented in dependent claims can be combined and fall within the scope of the invention. The invention also encompasses embodiments as if dependent claims were alternatively written in a multiple dependent claim format with reference to other independent claims.

Tissue is resected and extracted from an interior location in a patient's body using a probe or tool which both effects resection and causes vaporization of a liquid or other fluid to propel the resected tissue through an extraction lumen of the resecting device. Resection is achieved using an electrosurgical electrode assembly including a first electrode on a resecting member and a second electrode within a resection probe or tool. Over a first resecting portion, radio frequency current helps resect the tissue and over a second or over transition region, the RF current initiates vaporization of the fluid or other liquid to propel the tissue from the resection device. In one embodiment, an extending element extends from a housing and into a channel in a resecting member as the resecting member moves toward a distal position.

CONTINUATION DATA [0001] This application claims benefit of and priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/522,785 entitled Liposomal Formulation for Oral Administration of Glutathione (reduced) filed on Nov. 7, 2004, and claims benefit of and priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/597,041 entitled Liposomal Formulation for Oral Administration of Glutathione (Reduced) filed on Nov. 6, 2005, and claims benefit of and priority of and is a continuation of pending U.S. application No. 11/163,979 filed on Nov. 6, 2005, as to which a notice of allowance has issued and the issue fee has been paid. Heading SUMMARY OF INVENTION [0002] The invention is a composition of glutathione (reduced) in a liposome constructed to stabilize the glutathione in a physiologically active state which can be orally administered and delivers a therapeutically effective amount of glutathione (reduced) to improve symptoms in disease states by transfer of the glutathione into the cells of the body, and method of manufacture of the same. Previous art did not enable oral administration of glutathione (reduced) in a therapeutically effective way. The invention is also a method of encapsulating glutathione (reduced) in a liposome constructed to stabilize the glutathione in a physiologically active state and to enable the oral administration of a therapeutically effective amount of glutathione (reduced) to improve symptoms in disease states by transfer of the glutathione into the cells of the body. Compounds enhancing the effect of the liposomal glutathione are contemplated such as Selenium, EDTA, carbidopa and levodopa. TECHNICAL FIELD [0003] The invention relates to the field of delivery of a nutrient substance, glutathione in the biochemically-reduced form, in a liposomal preparation that allows the novel delivery mode of oral delivery of glutathione (reduced) in a sufficient amount to improve the condition of a disease state related to glutathione deficiency. The delivery may also be accomplished via absorption across the mucosa of the nose, mouth, gastrointestinal tract, after topical application for transdermal, or intravenous infusion. BACKGROUND [0004] The tripeptide L-glutathione (GSH) (gamma-glutamyl-cysteinyl-glycine) is well known in biological and medical studies to serve several essential functions in the cells of higher organisms such as mammals. It is functional when it appears in the biochemical form known as the reduced state (GSH). When oxidized, it forms into a form known as a dimer (GSSG). [0005] Glutathione in the reduced state (GSH) functions as an antioxidant, protecting cells against free-radical mediated damage, a detoxifying agent by transporting toxins out of cells and out of the liver, and a cell signal, particularly in the immune system. [0006] A deficiency of glutathione (reduced) may lead to damage to cells and tissues through several mechanisms including the accumulation of an excess of free radicals which causes disruption of molecules, especially lipids causing lipid peroxidation, and which combined with toxin accumulation will lead to cell death. These mechanisms are often referred to as oxidation stress as general term. The lack of sufficient glutathione in the reduced state relative to the oxidized state may be due to lack of production of glutathione (reduced) or an excess of the materials such as toxins that consume glutathione (reduced). The lack of glutathione (reduced) may manifest as a systemic deficiency or locally in specific cells undergoing oxidation stress. [0007] Deficiency of glutathione in the reduced state contributes to oxidative stress, which plays a key role in aging and the pathogenesis of many diseases such as [0008] Cystic fibrosis [0009] Liver disease [0010] Parkinson's disease [0011] Alzheimer's disease [0012] Heart attack and Stroke [0013] Diabetes [0014] Viral disease [0015] Free radical damage from nuclear, biological or chemical insult [0016] Free radical damage from bacterial infection [0017] Immune system modulation after vaccination [0018] The use of the term “glutathione” or “glutathione (reduced)” will refer to glutathione in the reduced state. [0019] Replacing glutathione in deficient states has been difficult because of the lack of direct absorption of glutathione after oral administration. Glutathione is a water-soluble peptide. This characteristic of glutathione is thought to prevent its absorption into the system after oral ingestion of glutathione. The fate of direct oral ingestion of glutathione has been demonstrated in a clinical study showing that 3 grams of glutathione delivered by oral ingestion does not elevate plasma glutathione levels. [0020] Building glutathione level in the body has required the use of either direct intravenous infusion of glutathione or the administration of building blocks of glutathione such as cysteine (Smith et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,495,170) as the direct oral administration has been documented to neither elevate glutathione levels (Rowe et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,747,459) nor have clinical benefit. [0021] The intravenous administration of glutathione has been reported to have benefit in improving blood flow in peripheral vascular disease and improving symptoms related to Parkinson's disease. This application includes claims for the use of the invention in its oral form in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, Cystic Fibrosis, vascular disease, diabetes, as well as inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract such as chronic sinus disease, emphysema and allergy. A particular advantage of this invention is the ability of liposomal encapsulation of glutathione (reduced) is to deliver the reduced glutathione to the intracellular compartment of cells, such as, but not limited to, red blood cells. This characteristic of the invention is important in individuals with defects in the transport of glutathione into cells such as the defect seen in cystic fibrosis. [0022] The clinically effective use of glutathione in its pure form directly without any additive encapsulation or transformation (in the “neat” form) has been limited to the intravenous administration of the biochemical in the reduced state. As glutathione is unstable in solution without the protection from oxidation offered by this invention, there are limitations to the stability of solution preparations. Demopoulus et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,204,248, describe a method of preparation of glutathione in combination with crystalline ascorbic acid enclosed in a gel cap for oral administration. Demopoulus et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,204,248 describes the use of the glutathione in combination with crystalline ascorbic acid enclosed in a gel cap for oral administration to alter redox state of cells and improve disease processes. Demopoulus et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,350,467 references the use of the glutathione in combination with crystalline ascorbic acid enclosed in a gel cap for oral administration to treat additional disease states. A recent patent, Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 6,764,693 references the use of liposomes containing a combination of glutathione in combination with at least one other antioxidant material to increase intracellular and extra cellular antioxidants. There is no claim for the use of liposomal glutathione either individually or in combination with other antioxidants for the treatment of Parkinson's disease or Cystic Fibrosis. Additionally the claim for activity of the liposome in Smith '693 is a population of liposomes suitable for undergoing peroxidation and lysis, releasing their contents into the circulation. The preferred method of composition of the liposome claimed in this invention is for a liposome that functions by fusion and transfer of the glutathione content into cells. Evidence for this method of action is provided in the clinical examples of improvement in the red blood cell level of glutathione paralleling clinical improvement in individuals with Cystic Fibrosis. [0023] A liposome is a microscopic fluid filled pouch whose walls are made of one or more layers of phospholipid materials identical to the phospholipid that make up cell membranes. Lipids can be used to deliver materials such as drugs to the body because of the enhanced absorption of the liposome. The outer wall of the liposome is fat soluble, while the inside is water-soluble. This combination allows the liposome to become an excellent method for delivery of water-soluble materials that would otherwise not be absorbed into the body. A common material used in the formation of liposomes is phosphatidylcholine, the material found in lecithin. A more detailed description of the constituents of this invention is provided. [0024] Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is an inherited disorder that affects approximately 30,000 children in the United States. It is the most common genetic disorder and the largest genetic killer of children. Cystic fibrosis is characterized by the production of thick mucus in the lungs and sinuses and leads to recurring infections as well as gastrointestinal dysfunction. At the present time there is no cure and none of the therapies offered correct the underlying cellular defect. The current therapy is oriented toward strategies for removing mucus with physical therapies and antibiotics therapy for treating the infections that inevitably occur. Even with intensive therapies the current median age of survival of people with CF is the early 30's. Although CF has serious clinical implications for the gastrointestinal and genital tracts, pulmonary disease is the primary cause of death in 90% of CF patients. [0025] Recent research demonstrates that the gene defect in CF codes for a protein that carries materials across cell membranes. This is associated with inability of people with CF to carry chloride into cells, which results in the characteristic of the accumulation of an excess of chlorides on the skin. This observation leads to the initial test characteristic of CF, the sweat chloride test. The protein that carries chloride, the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein, has also been found to carry other large anions such as glutathione across cell membranes. The lung epithelial lining fluid of adults with CF has lower glutathione levels than controls and laboratory animal studies of mice without the CFTR protein gene confirm the observation that glutathione transport is deficient in CF. In addition, the ratio of reduced to oxidized GSH in CF individuals is abnormal with an excess of oxidized glutathione present. The lack of glutathione transport has led to the observation that oral supplements used to increase glutathione levels may not have the effect of reaching the interior glutathione deficient cells, such as red blood cells (RBC). Thus, the RBC glutathione level has been proposed as a potential marker of disease severity in individuals with cystic fibrosis. [0026] The majority of glutathione is formed in the liver and released into the blood. It appears that the membrane transport defect in cystic fibrosis affects the ability of the red blood cell to maintain adequate levels of glutathione in side of cells such as red blood cells. Thus, more severe cases of cystic fibrosis are associated with a decrease in the red blood cell level of glutathione that exceeds that found in the plasma. The addition of the presently described invention, liposomal glutathione, to the system can raise the level of glutathione inside the cells of the body such as the red blood cells. [0027] Liposomes have been documented to fuse with red blood cells and deliver their content into the cells (Constantinescu I, Artificial cells, blood substitutes, and immobilization biotechnology. 2003 Nov. 31(4):395-424). [0028] The clinical examples demonstrate that the present invention can raise the glutathione level of red blood cells of individuals with Cystic Fibrosis. As these individual's cells have a genetic defect in the transport of glutathione across cell membranes the increase observed in the red blood cell levels of glutathione is demonstrated to occur after oral ingestion of the invention and by a mechanism such as fusion of the liposome. Release of the glutathione reduced into the systemic circulation would not result in the elevation of glutathione seen in the individuals with Cystic Fibrosis. [0029] Liposomes are able to convey their contents to cells by one of four methods: [0030] Adsorption: The wall of the liposome becomes adherent to the cell and releases the content of the liposome into the cell. [0031] Endocytosis: In endocytosis the cell engulfs the liposome creating an additional lamella around the liposome, which is dissolved inside the cell, releasing the contents of the liposome. In the process of endocytosis a portion of the plasma membrane is invaginated and pinched off forming a membrane-bounded vesicle called an endosome. [0032] Lipid exchange: The lipid contents of the liposome and the cell exchange their lipid contents, releasing the contents of the liposome [0033] Fusion: The melding or the liposome membrane with the membrane of the cell, carrying their contents of the liposome into the cell. [0034] One or more of these mechanisms is at play in the described invention, allowing delivery of glutathione into the cells of individuals with cystic fibrosis. [0035] While tableted or other solid forms of administration of nutrients is convenient for many individuals there is a significant segment of the population for whom swallowing a tablet is not possible. This can be due to age, such as the pediatric segment of the population or the other end of the age spectrum, the geriatric population, many of whom find pill swallowing difficult. For this reason, as well as ease of dose calculation, liquid gel delivery of glutathione will be more universally acceptable. Another advantage is that the present invention enables administration of a larger quantity of GSH in a single dose than other forms of non-parenteral administration as well as enabling incremental adjustment of doses for children and adults. [0036] Liposome delivery of glutathione as described in this invention is particularly efficient for providing glutathione across cell membranes, which is critical for the management of Cystic Fibrosis. This disease is a genetic deficiency of the ability to transport certain molecules like glutathione across cell membranes resulting in an intracellular deficiency of glutathione. The difficulties associated with Cystic Fibrosis occur in the early stages of life, a time in which the ingestion of liquids is the only option for the individuals due to their young age. [0037] Parkinson's Disease [0038] Parkinson's disease (PD) is a medical condition associated with the neuro-motor system and characterized by four primary symptoms: [0039] Tremor or trembling in hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face [0040] Rigidity or stiffness of the limbs and trunk [0041] Bradykinesia, or slowness of movement [0042] Postural instability or impaired balance and coordination. [0043] Individuals with Parkinson's disease may have difficulty walking, talking, or completing other simple tasks. The disease is both chronic and progressive. Early symptoms are subtle and occur gradually and often progress. [0044] The brain is the body's communication headquarters. It is the coordinator of information received from the various parts of the sensory system. The brain processes the information in an organized fashion and relays the information to the motor system for movement. This highly organized passage of information can become disrupted with the slightest offset of the assembly-line fashion of the cellular chemical sequence resulting in major abnormalities. [0045] There are two areas of the brain that are specifically related to motor malfunctions, the substantia nigra and the striatum. The substantia nigra is located in the midbrain, halfway between the cerebral cortex and the spinal cord. In healthy people, the substantia nigra contains certain nerve cells, called nigral cells that produce the chemical dopamine. Dopamine travels along nerve cell pathways from the substantia nigra to another region of the brain, called the striatum. In the striatum, dopamine activates nerve cells that coordinate normal muscle activity. [0046] In people with Parkinson disease, nigral cells deteriorate and die at an accelerated rate, and the loss of these cells reduces the supply of dopamine to the striatum. Dopamine is one of the chemical messengers responsible for transmitting signals in the brain and must be balanced with other neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine. Without adequate dopamine, nerve cells of the striatum activate improperly, impairing a person's ability to control muscular functions such as walking, balance, and muscular movement. [0047] It appears that the substancia nigra cells may be particularly vulnerable to oxidation stress. Oxidation stress occurs in the substancia nigra cells because the metabolism of dopamine requires oxidation and can lead to the formation of free radicals from hydrogen peroxide formation. In the presence of metal ions such as iron the hydrogen peroxide can form hydroxyl ions, which can be very damaging to cells. The hydrogen peroxide is normally detoxified by reduced glutathione in the reaction catalyzed by Glutathione peroxidase, thus an increased rate of dopamine turnover or a deficiency of glutathione could lead to oxidative stress. Thus, it appears that free radicals may be one of the important agents responsible for destruction of substantia nigra neurons, leading to Parkinson's disease. While Parkinson's disease has been treated with some success with intravenous infusion of glutathione, there has been no reported success in the use of oral glutathione in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Sechi G, Deledda M G, Bua G, Satta W M, Deiana G A, Pes G M, Rosati G. Reduced intravenous glutathione in the treatment of early Parkinson's disease, Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry, 1996 Oct. 20 (7):11 59-70 PMID: 8938817. [0048] The clinical improvement from this invention seen in patients with Parkinson's disease suggests that oral liposomal glutathione is not only available systemically it also is absorbed into the central nervous system. [0049] Several studies have demonstrated a deficiency of the antioxidant biochemical reduced glutathione in substantia nigra cells of individuals with Parkinson's disease. The magnitude of the reduction in glutathione seems to parallel the severity of the disease. [0050] The standard treatment of Parkinson's disease has relied on the replacement of dopamine in a form called levodopa. Levodopa, also known as L-Dopa (from the full name L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) is a neutral amino acid found naturally in plants and animals and is used to treat the stiffness, tremors, spasms, and poor muscle control of Parkinson's disease. After oral ingestion, levodopa is absorbed through the small intestine. Levodopa's structure enables it to enter the brain, where nerve cells can decarboxylate the levodopa and create dopamine to replenish the brain's dwindling supply. Dopamine cannot be given directly because it doesn't cross the blood-brain barrier, the elaborate meshwork of fine blood vessels and cells that filters blood reaching the brain. Levodopa crosses the blood-brain barrier by way of the large neutral amino acid carrier transport system. When levodopa is taken alone, however, about 95% of it is metabolized to dopamine in the body, before it ever reaches the brain. Instead of being used by the brain the dopamine circulating through the body can produce side effects such as nausea or vomiting before it is broken down in the liver. [0051] To limit side effects, levodopa is usually given in combination with carbidopa to increase the availability and utilization of levodopa. Carbidopa inhibits peripheral decarboxylation of levodopa but not central decarboxylation because it does not cross the blood-brain barrier. Since peripheral decarboxylation is inhibited, this allows more levodopa to be available for transport to the brain, where it will be converted to dopamine, and relieve the symptoms of Parkinson's. Carbidopa and levodopa are given together in medications with the trade names Stalevo (a registered trademark of Orion Pharma Inc.) or Sinemet (a registered trademark of Bristol-Myers-Squibb) and in various generic forms. The addition of carbodopa is so effective that the dose of levodopa must be reduced by 80% when the two are use together. This decreases the incidence of levodopa-induced side effects. When given with carbodopa the half-life of levodopa increases from 1 hr to 2 hr (may be as high as 15 hr in some clients). About 30% of the carbidopa is excreted unchanged in the urine. [0052] Also being used for PD are some dopamine agonists such as pramipexole dihydrochloride sold under the name MIRAPEX (a registered trademark for co-marketing by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Pfizer, Inc.), which can also be used with the oral liposomal reduced glutathione. [0053] Carbidopa/levodopa lessens the rigidity and slow movement associated with Parkinson's disease, but is less effective in treating tremor or balance problems. [0054] A dilemma that has been noted in recent studies is that the administration of dopamine (singly or in the combined form of carbidopa and levodopa) results in an increase in the formation of free radicals and the continuation of the disease process. Thus, while the administration of levodopa offers amelioration of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease it does not change the underlying mechanisms of free radical formation, oxidation and loss of glutathione intracellular. After several years of use the effectiveness of carbidopa/levodopa decreases and patients need higher and more frequent doses to control their symptoms. [0055] Several studies have demonstrated a deficiency in the antioxidant biochemical called reduced glutathione in specific brain cells associated with movement disorders called the substantia nigra (Pearce R K, Owen A, Daniel S, Jenner P, Marsden C D. Alterations in the distribution of glutathione in the substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease. Journal of Neural Transmission, 1997:104(6-7):661-77. PMID: 9444566). [0056] The magnitude of the decrease of available, functional reduced glutathione inside specific brain cells seems to parallel the severity of the disease. It is theorized that the sequence of events in creating the dopamine loss found in Parkinson's disease involves a more rapid turnover of dopamine in the substancia nigra cells due to an increase in the formation of hydrogen peroxide. The presence of this free radical forming material is apparently associated with either a lack of reduced glutathione or an accumulation of the glutathione in the oxidized state. A publication from Italy in 1996 explored the possibility of therapeutically supporting the glutathione deficient cells with the use of intravenous glutathione. Glutathione was administered intravenously to 9 patients, in the dose of 600 mg twice a day, for 30 days. Patients were treated with the standard therapy using carbodopa-levodopa. It was noted that all patients improved significantly after glutathione therapy, with a 42% decline in disability. The therapeutic benefit lasted for 2-4 months. The authors noted that glutathione has symptomatic efficacy and speculated that glutathione could possibly retard the progression of the disease. No reference was made to reduced glutathione in a liposome (Sechi G, Deledda M G, Bua G, Satta W M, Deiana G A, Pes G M, Rosati G. Reduced intravenous glutathione in the treatment of early Parkinson's disease. Progress in Neuro-psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 1996 Oct. 20 (7):1159-70. PMID: 893881 7). [0057] The problem that this invention solves is to restore the reduced glutathione level in the brain cells associated with Parkinson's disease in a way that can be effectively utilized by patients, and presumably thereby alter the metabolism of dopamine toward normal, allowing a normal response to dopamine. At present no patent claims and no literature suggests the use of liposomal glutathione for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. [0058] A preferred mode of the invention involves administration of sufficient glutathione, reduced, orally via the liposomal glutathione to restore metabolism of dopamine to a functional state. This allows for an improvement in symptoms by allowing the dopamine responsive nigro-striatal cells to respond to lower amounts of available dopamine. When introduced to an individual with Parkinson's disease who is taking levodopa/carbodopa it allows the individual to respond either more efficiently to their current dosing schedule, allowing a lower dose plateau than they would have otherwise. In addition the application of the invention will allow some individuals to respond to lower doses of levodopa/carbodopa. For individuals displaying early symptoms of Parkinson's disease the application of the invention may allow them to delay the need for the administration of levodopa/carbodopa. [0059] Individuals with advancing Parkinson's disease may develop a variety of motor complications associated with levodopa therapy. Fluctuations in motor functions, such as early morning akinesia and “wearing off” are indications for the use of the liposomal glutathione invention. [0060] The invention is a combination for administering a therapeutically effective amount of glutathione orally to an individual with Parkinson's disease, using a liposomal encapsulation of glutathione. Prior to the introduction of this invention, the only method for administering a therapeutically effective amount of glutathione was the intravenous infusion of glutathione. While intravenous infusion is useful for establishing the therapeutic efficacy of glutathione in an individual, the costs and inconvenience of intravenous administration made it extremely difficult to administer repeated doses for continued therapy. The invention is also useful in the same way for the more general class of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease. [0061] While there have been reports of intravenous liposome uptake protecting liver cells in animals exposed to material toxic to the liver (Wendel A., Hepatic lipid peroxidation: caused by acute drug intoxication, prevented by liposomal glutathione, International Journal Clinical Pharmacology Research, 1983;3(6):443-7. PMID: 6678834), there are no previous reports of benefit of oral liposomal glutathione in the treatment of human disease processes nor art claiming the use of oral liposomal glutathione in the treatment of disease states such as Parkinson's disease and Cystic Fibrosis. [0062] Because of its lack of systemic availability from oral administration, glutathione has not been used in an oral form for the treatment of disease states. This invention creates a composition incorporating glutathione which is effective upon administration orally, a method of manufacture of a composition incorporating glutathione which is effective upon administration orally, and is a method of administering reduced glutathione orally, by incorporating the reduced glutathione into a liposome, which increases the absorption of glutathione both from the gastrointestinal tract and into the cells of the body. In addition, the use of the liposome encapsulation prevents or slows the degradation of the active form of glutathione in the reduced state from progressing to the oxidized state before systemic uptake. The method of administration thus improves bio-availability of the glutathione both by absorption, and also by maintaining the active antioxidant state of the reduced glutathione. [0063] The liposome preparations claimed in this invention allows the manufacture of a stable product, which can be used for the administration of glutathione in a form that is convenient. The liposome-glutathione preparation described is also stable from oxidation, allowing a two year, unrefrigerated shelf-life of the product, and has specific characteristics of uptake into cell membranes that improve its therapeutic qualities for certain disease states. [0064] Previous use of liposomes encapsulating glutathione has been limited by concern that the combination would be adversely affected by the acidity and enzymes of the stomach. The preparation used in the present invention is able to deliver therapeutically active amounts of glutathione to the system in spite of these concerns. The invention describes the lipid encapsulation of the glutathione (reduced) into the lipid vesicle of liposomes and administered orally for the transmucosal absorption into the nose, mouth, throat or gastrointestinal tract providing the ability to conveniently supply therapeutically effective amounts of glutathione (reduce). The invention may also be administered topically for dermal and transdermal administration as well as intravenously. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Example 1 [0065] Liposomal glutathione Drink or Spray 2500 mg per ounce [0000] % w/w Deionized Water 71.9 Glycerin 15.00 Polysorbate-20 2.50 Lecithin 1.50 Citrus Seed 0.50 Extract Potassium 0.10 Sorbate Glutathione 8.50 (reduced) [0066] Components lecithin, ethyl alcohol, cholesterol and glycerin were commingled in a large volume flask and set aside for compounding (Alternatively, in all of the embodiments where the glutathione(reduced) percentage is 8.5, the glutathione (reduced percentage) can be lowered to 8.25 with 0.25% tocopherol acetate added). [0067] In a separate beaker, water, hydroxy citric acid, glycerin, polysorbate 20, glutathione were mixed and heated to 50 degrees C. [0068] The water mixture was added to the lipid mixture while vigorously mixing with a high speed, high shear homogenizing mixer at 750-1500 rpm for 30 minutes. [0069] The homogenizer was stopped and the solution was placed on a magnetic plate, covered with parafilm and mixed with a magnetic stir bar until cooled to room temperature. Citrus seed extract were added and the solution was placed in appropriate dispenser for ingestion as a liquid or spray dispenser. [0070] Analysis of the preparation under an optical light microscope with polarized light at 400× magnification confirmed presence of both multilamellar lipid vesicles (MLV) and unilamellar lipid vesicles. [0071] The preferred embodiment includes the variations of the amount of glutathione to create less concentrated amounts of glutathione. The methods of manufacture described in Keller et al, U.S. Pat No. 5,891,465 are incorporated into this description. [0072] A variation of the preferred embodiment of the invention is the addition of EDTA (ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid) 100 mg per ounce to be encapsulated in the liposome along with the glutathione. Example 1A [0073] Liposomal glutathione Drink or Spray 2500 mg per ounce or form suitable for encapsulation or gel [0000] % w/w Deionized Water 74.4 Glycerin 15.00 Lecithin 1.50 Citrus Seed 0.50 Extract Potassium 0.10 Sorbate (optional spoilage retardant) Glutathione 8.5 (reduced) [0074] A lipid mixture having components lecithin, ethyl alcohol and glycerin were commingled in a large volume flask and set aside for compounding. [0075] In a separate beaker, a water mixture having water, glycerin, glutathione were mixed and heated to 50 .degree. C. [0076] The water mixture was added to the lipid mixture while vigorously mixing with a high speed, high shear homogenizing mixer at 750-1500 rpm for 30 minutes. [0077] The homogenizer was stopped and the solution was placed on a magnetic stirring plate, covered with parafilm and mixed with a magnetic stir bar until cooled to room temperature. Normally, citrus seed extract would be added. Normally, a spoilage retardant such as potassium sorbate or BHT would be added. The solution would be placed in appropriate dispenser for ingestion as a liquid or administration as a spray. [0078] Analysis of the preparation under an optical light microscope with polarized light at 400× magnification confirmed presence of both multilamellar lipid vesicles (MLV) and unilamellar lipid vesicles. [0079] The preferred embodiment includes the variations of the amount of glutathione to create less concentrated amounts of glutathione. The methods of manufacture described in Keller et al Pat. No. 5,891,465 are incorporated into this description. Example 2 [0080] Liposomal glutathione Drink or Spray 1000 mg per ounce [0081] With EDTA 1000 mg per ounce [0000] % w/w Deionized Water 73.55 Glycerin 15.00 Polysorbate-20 2.50 Lecithin 1.50 Citrus Seed Extract 0.50 Tocopherol Acetate 0.25 Potassium Sorbate 0.10 Glutathione (reduced) 3.30 EDTA 3.30 [0082] Embodiment two of the invention includes the incorporation of the fluid liposome (such as that prepared in Example 1A) into a gelatin based capsule to improve the stability, provide a convenient dosage form, and assist in sustained release characteristics of the liposome. The present embodiment relates to the use of glutathione in the reduced state encapsulated into liposomes or formulated as a preliposome formulation and then put into a capsule. The capsule can be a soft gel capsule capable of tolerating a certain amount of water, a two-piece capsule capable of tolerating a certain amount of water or a two-piece capsule where the liposomes are preformed then dehydrated. [0083] The liposome-capsule unit containing biologically encapsulated material can be taken in addition to orally, used for topical unit-of-use application, or other routes of application such as intra-occular, intranasal, rectal, or vaginal. [0084] The composition of examples 1 and 2 may be utilized in the encapsulated embodiment of this invention. [0085] Gelatin capsules have a lower tolerance to water on their interior and exterior. The usual water tolerance for a soft gel capsule is 10% on the interior. The concentration of water in a liposome formulation can range from 60-90% water. An essential component of the present invention is the formulation of a liposome with a relatively small amount of water, in the range of 5-10%. By making the liposome in a low aqueous system, the liposome is able to encapsulate the biologically active material and the exposure of water to the inside lining of the capsule is limited. The concentration of water should not exceed that of the tolerance of the capsule for which it is intended. The preferred capsule for this invention is one that can tolerate water in the 15-20% range. [0086] The method described by Keller et al, U.S. Pat No. 6,726,924 are incorporated in this description. [0087] Components are commingled and liposomes are made using the injection method (Lasic, D., Liposomes, Elsevier, 88-90,1993). When liposome mixture cooled down 0.7 ml was drawn into a 1 ml insulin syringe and injected into the open-end of a soft gelatin capsule then sealed with tweezers. The resulting capsule contains 10 mg CoQ10. Filling of gel caps on a large scale is best with the rotary die method or others such as the Norton capsule machine. Example 3 [0088] Glutathione LipoCap Formulation [0000] Ingredient Concentration (%) Sorbitan Oleate 2.0 Glutathione 89.8 Purified Water 4.0 Potassium Sorbate 0.2 Polysorbate 20 2.0 Phospholipon 90 (DPPC) 2.0 [0089] Components are commingled and liposomes are made using the injection method (Lasic, D., Liposomes, Elsevier, 88-90, 1993). When liposome mixture cooled down 0.7 ml was drawn into a 1 ml insulin syringe and injected into the open-end of a soft gelatin capsule then sealed with tweezers. The resulting one gram capsule contains 898 IU of Vitamin E. Large scale manufacturing methods for filling gel caps, such as the rotary die process, are the preferred method for commercial applications. [0090] Embodiment number three of the present invention includes the creation of liposome suspension using a self-forming, thermodynamically stable liposomes formed upon the adding of a diacylglycerol-PEG lipid to an aqueous solution when the lipid has appropriate packing parameters and the adding occurs above the melting temperature of the lipid. The method described by Keller et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,610,322 is incorporated into this description. [0091] Most, if not all, known liposome suspensions are not thermodynamically stable. Instead, the liposomes in known suspensions are kinetically trapped into higher energy states by the energy used in their formation. Energy may be provided as heat, sonication, extrusion, or homogenization. Since every high-energy state tries to lower its free energy, known liposome formulations experience problems with aggregation, fusion, sedimentation and leakage of liposome associated material. A thermodynamically stable liposome formulation which could avoid some of these problems is therefore desirable. [0092] The present embodiment prefers liposome suspensions which are thermodynamically stable at the temperature of formation. The formulation of such suspensions is achieved by employing a composition of lipids having several fundamental properties. First, the lipid composition must have packing parameters which allow the formation of liposomes. Second, as part of the head group, the lipid should include polyethyleneglycol (PEG) or any polymer of similar properties which sterically stabilizes the liposomes in suspension. Third, the lipid must have a melting temperature which allows it to be in liquid form when mixed with an aqueous solution. [0093] By employing lipid compositions having the desired fundamental properties, little or no energy need be added when mixing the lipid and an aqueous solution to form liposomes. When mixed with water, the lipid molecules disperse and self assemble as the system settles into its natural low free energy state. Depending on the lipids used, the lowest free energy state may include small unilamellar vesicle (SUV) liposomes, multilamellar vesicle (MLV) liposomes, or a combination of SUVs and MLVs. [0094] In one aspect, the invention includes a method of preparing liposomes. The method comprises providing an aqueous solution; providing a lipid solution, where the solution has a packing parameter measurement of P a (P a references the surface packing parameter) between about 0.84 and 0.88, a P v (P v references the volume packing parameter) between about 0.88 and 0.93, (See, D. D. Lasic, Liposomes, From Physics to Applications, Elsevier, p. 51 1993), and where at least one lipid in the solution includes a polyethyleneglycol (PEG) chain; and combining the lipid solution and the aqueous solution. The PEG chain preferably has a molecular weight between about 300 Daltons and 5000 Daltons. Kinetic energy, such as shaking or vortexing, may be provided to the lipid solution and the aqueous solution. The lipid solution may comprise a single lipid. The lipid may comprise dioleolylglycerol-PEG-12, either alone or as one of the lipids in a mixture. The method may further comprise providing an active compound, in this case glutathione (reduced); and combining the active compound with the lipid solution and the aqueous solution. [0095] A variation of embodiment three is the combination of glutathione (reduced) and EDTA. [0096] Additional variations of this embodiment of glutathione (reduced) and the compounds claimed in this invention, including levodopa, carbidopa, Selenium, and EDTA are described in Keller et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,610,322. CASE EXAMPLES AND DOSING [0097] Liposomal glutathione in Cystic Fibrosis [0098] Case 1. MF aged 4 years has been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and has the characteristic finding of elevated sweat chloride. She experiences frequent respiratory infections requiring antibiotic therapy and has a chronic cough. Her mother described her as having decreased energy for play, which restricted her physical activity. MF's red blood cell level of glutathione was found to be 136 (normal range 200-400 micromole per L.) in December 2004. [0099] Oral liposomal glutathione reduced was ingested in an amount that provided 300 mg glutathione per dose, with one dose per day for two weeks. [0100] After two weeks ingesting the combination the individual's glutathione level was found to be 570 micromole per L. During the interval ingesting the oral liposomal glutathione reduced, the individual was noted to have resolved the clinical symptoms of chronic cough, and to have more energy. Her mother described her as being able to function normally after taking the oral liposomal glutathione. The dose was adjusted down to 150 mg per dose, once a day, and the glutathione level reduced to 240 micromole per L., which has been used for a maintenance dose. [0101] Case 2. Laura B [0102] 23 years old with CF manifesting with severe chronic lung disease, and chronic sinus congestion. [0103] Her lung function had been unchanged at a very low level for 2 years. [0104] Baseline RBC GSH was low [0105] Baseline RBC GSH was low at 46 micromole per L. After 3 weeks of therapy the RBC GSH was 246 micromole per L. The normal range of RBC GSH is 200-400 micromole per L. [0106] Clinically, the patient noted a decrease in the amount of mucus secretions in both the sinuses and the lungs as well as an improvement in a cough, which had been chronic. [0107] Case 3. [0108] GF, an 18 month old girl with gastrointestinal manifestation of cystic fibrosis. In the first 12 months of life her growth pattern was normal with her weight in the 50 th percentile. At the time of initial evaluation the child had fallen to the 25 th percentile for weight. Her glutathione blood levels were normal. The child was treated with the ingestion of liposomal glutathione in a dose of 100 mg per thirty pounds twice a day. [0109] After three months of ingesting the liposomal glutathione the child's growth had returned to normal with her weight falling into the 50-60 th percentile. [0110] Dosing recommendation for the preferred embodiment of the invention, as described in example 1. [0111] Using oral liposomal glutathione 2500 mg per ounce. RECOMMENDED USE [0112] 1 ounce is 5.56 teaspoons. [0113] 1 teaspoon of oral liposomal glutathione reduced contains approximately 440 mg GSH. [0114] Suggested dose depends on body weight. Recommended amounts are for daily use. [0115] Gently stir liposomal glutathione into the liquid of your choice. [0116] Refrigeration after opening is required to prevent deterioration. DETERMINE DAILY DOSE BY BODY WEIGHT [0117] Under 30 lbs: ¼ teaspoon=110 mg GSH [0118] 30-60 lbs: ½ teaspoon=220 mg GSH [0119] 60-90 lbs: ¾ teaspoon=330 mg GSH [0120] 90-120 lbs: 1 teaspoon=440 mg GSH [0121] 120-150 lbs: 1½ teaspoon=660 mg GSH [0122] Over 150 lbs: 2 teaspoons=880 mg GSH [0123] Parkinson's Disease: [0124] A preferred application of the invention to Parkinson's disease is to initially observe the response to glutathione therapy using the intravenous infusion of glutathione 1500 mg. One dose of the 1500 mg. glutathione intravenous is administered every 12 to 24 hours for a total of 3 doses and the response to the therapy is observed. If there is a positive indication (improvement in the individual's symptoms of Parkinson's disease) for the continued use of glutathione, the present invention (liposomal glutathione) is utilized as an oral method of maintaining improvement of the Parkinson's symptoms. [0125] Dosing Guide for Levodopa [0126] Carbidopa/Levodopa: Each 10/100 tablet contains: carbidopa, 10 mg, and levodopa, 100 mg. [0127] Each 25/100 tablets contains: carbidopa, 25 mg, and levodopa, 100 mg. [0128] Each 25/250 tablet contains: carbidopa, 25 mg, and levodopa, 250 mg. [0129] Each sustained-release tablet contains: carbidopa, 50 mg, and levodopa, 200 mg. [0130] Case Example 3: [0131] PP is 67-year-old woman with tremor affecting her hands, which is consistent with Parkinson's disease. She relates being affected by the tremor to the point that she has difficulty closing buttons and writing her signature. She was placed on oral liposomal glutathione reduced, 600 mg. twice a week. After three weeks of ingesting the invention, PP was observed to have significant reduction in her tremor. PP was able to fasten her buttons with more ease and was able to write her signature with less shaking. [0132] Dosing instructions for Liposomal Glutathione in Parkinson's disease [0133] The preferred initial therapy is the administration of 1.5 teaspoons liposomal glutathione, which contains approximately 660 mg. of glutathione twice a day for two weeks. If there is clinical improvement during this time, the dose may be reduced to the level that maintains the good response on a continuing basis. [0134] If there is no response at two weeks the therapy at the dose of 1.5 teaspoons liposomal glutathione, which contains approximately 660 mg. of glutathione twice a day until the conclusion of the time period, or clinical improvement has been achieved. If there is clinical improvement during this time, the dose may be reduced to the level that maintains the good response on a continuing basis. [0135] An alternative approach is to use the following: [0136] Initial dose 1 ounce=2,500 mg [0137] Repeat every 12 hours for a total or 4 doses. [0138] Observe response and continue with dose that gives clinical response using [0139] the following body weight indicator as dosing guide: [0000] DETERMINE DAILY DOSE BY Reduced BODY WEIGHT AND glutathione RESPONSE TO THERAPY: referred to as GSH 60-90 lbs: 3/4 teaspoon 330 mg GSH 90-120 lbs: 1 teaspoon 440 mg GSH 120-150 lbs: 1.5 teaspoon 660 mg GSH Over 150 lbs: 2 teaspoons 880 mg GSH [0140] The word “Selenium” means the chemical element selenium or pharmaceutically acceptable selenium-bearing compounds. Because Selenium appears to facilitate biochemical cycles involving glutathione, the purpose of Selenium is to be sure that sufficient selenium is present.

The invention is a composition administrable orally to provide systemic glutathione (reduced) and a method for providing systemic glutathione by oral administration of glutathione (reduced) in a liposome encapsulation in a gel cap. The administration of a therapeutically effective amount of oral liposomal glutathione (reduced) results in improvement of symptoms in disease states related to glutathione deficiency such as Parkinson's disease and cystic fibrosis. Compounds enhancing the effect of the liposomal glutathione are contemplated such as Selenium, EDTA, carbidopa, and levodopa.

BACKGROUND The present invention is directed to a method and system for evaluating biological or physical data. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a system and method for evaluating biological or physical data for detecting and/or predicting biological anomalies. The recording of electrophysiological potentials has been available to the field of medicine since the invention of the string galvanometer. Since the 1930's, electrophysiology has been useful in diagnosing cardiac injury and cerebral epilepsy. The state-of-the-art in modern medicine shows that analysis of R-R intervals observed in the electrocardiogram or of spikes seen in the electroencephalogram can predict future clinical outcomes, such as sudden cardiac death or epileptic seizures. Such analyses and predictions are statistically significant when used to discriminate outcomes between large groups of patients who either do or do not manifest the predicted outcome, but known analytic methods are not very accurate when used for individual patients. This general failure of known analytic measures is attributed to the large numbers of false predictions; i.e., the measures have low statistical sensitivity and specificity in their predictions. It is usually known that something “pathological” is going on in the biological system under study, but currently available analytic methods are not sensitive and specific enough to permit utility in the individual patient. The inaccuracy problems prevalent in the art are due to current analytic measures (1) being stochastic (i.e., based on random variation in the data), (2) requiring stationarity (i.e., the system generating the data cannot change during the recording), and (3) being linear (i.e., insensitive to nonlinearities in the data which are referred to in the art as “chaos”). Many theoretical descriptions of dimensions are known, such as “D 0 ” (Hausdorff dimension), “D 1 ” (information dimension), and “D 2 ” (correlation dimension). D 2 enables the estimation of the dimension of a system or its number of degrees of freedom from an evaluation of a sample of data generated. Several investigators have used D 2 on biological data. However, it has been shown that the presumption of data stationarity cannot be met. Another theoretical description, the Pointwise Scaling Dimension or “D 2 i”, has been developed that is less sensitive to the non-stationarities inherent in data from the brain, heart or skeletal muscle. This is perhaps a more useful estimate of dimension for biological data than the D 2 . However, D 2 i still has considerable errors of estimation that might be related to data non-stationarities. A Point Correlation Dimension algorithm (PD2) has been developed that is superior to both the D 2 and D 2 i in detecting changes in dimension in non-stationary data (i.e., data made by linking subepochs from different chaotic generators). An improved PD2 algorithm, labeled the “PD2i ” to emphasize its time-dependency, has been developed. This uses an analytic measure that is deterministic and based on caused variation in the data. The algorithm does not require data stationarity and actually tracks non-stationary changes in the data. Also, the PD2i is sensitive to chaotic as well as non-chaotic, linear data. The PD2i is based on previous analytic measures that are, collectively, the algorithms for estimating the correlation dimension, but it is insensitive to data non-stationarities. Because of this feature, the PD2i can predict clinical outcomes with high sensitivity and specificity that the other measures cannot. The PD2i algorithm is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,214 and 5,720,294, hereby incorporated by reference. For ease of understanding, a brief description of PD2i and comparison of this measure with others are provided below. The model for the PD2i is C(r,n,ref*,)˜r expD 2 , where ref* is an acceptable reference point from which to make the various m-dimensional reference vectors, because these will have a scaling region of maximum length PL that meets the linearity (LC) and convergence (CC) criteria. Because each ref* begins with a new coordinate in each of the m-dimensional reference vectors and because this new coordinate could be of any value, the PD2i's may be independent of each other for statistical purposes. The PD2i algorithm limits the range of the small log-r values over which linear scaling and convergence are judged by the use of a parameter called Plot Length. The value of this entry determines for each log-log plot, beginning at the small log-r end, the percentage of points over which the linear scaling region is sought. In non-stationary data, the small log-r values between a fixed reference vector (i-vector) in a subepoch that is, say, a sine wave, when subtracted from multiple j-vectors in, say, a Lorenz subepoch, will not make many small vector-difference lengths, especially at the higher embedding dimensions. That is, there will not be abundant small log-r vector-difference lengths relative to those that would be made if the j-vector for the Lorenz subepoch was instead in a sine wave subepoch. When all of the vector-difference lengths from the non-stationary data are mixed together and rank ordered, only those small log-r values between subepochs that are stationary with respect to the one containing the reference vector will contribute to the scaling region, that is, to the region that will be examined for linearity and convergence. If there is significant contamination of this small log-r region by other non-stationary subepochs, then the linearity or convergence criterion will fail, and that estimate will be rejected from the PD2i mean. The PD2i algorithm introduced to the art the idea that the smallest initial part of the linear scaling region should be considered if data non-stationarities exist (i.e. as they always do in biological data). This is because when the j-vectors lie in a subepoch of data that is the same species as that the i-vector (reference vector) is in, then and only then will the smallest log-r vectors be made abundantly, that is, in the limit or as data length becomes large. Thus, to avoid contamination in the correlation integral by species of data that are non-stationary with respect to the species the reference vector is in, one skilled in the art must look only at the slopes in the correlation integral that lie just a short distance beyond the “floppy tail”. The “floppy tail” is the very smallest log-r range in which linear scaling does not occur due to the lack of points in this part of the correlation integral resulting from finite data length. Thus, by restricting the PD2i scaling to the smallest part of the log-r range above the “floppy tail,” the PD21 algorithm becomes insensitive to data non-stationarities. Note that the D 2 i always uses the whole linear scaling region, which always will be contaminated if non-stationarities exist in the data. FIG. 1A shows a plot of log C(r,n,nref*) versus log r. This illustrates a crucial idea behind the PD2i algorithm. It is only the smallest initial part of the linear scaling region that should be considered if data non-stationarities exist. In this case the data were made by concatenating 1200 point data subepochs from a sine wave, Lorenz data, a sine wave, Henon data, a sine wave, and random noise. The reference vector was in the Lorenz subepoch. For the correlation integral where the embedding dimension m=1, the segment for the floppy tail (“FT”) is avoided by a linearity criterion of LC=0.30; the linear scaling region for the entire interval (D 2 i) is determined by plot length PL=1.00, convergence criterion CC=0.40 and minimum scaling MS=10 points. The species specific scaling region where the i- and j-vectors are both in the Lorenz data (PD2i ) is set by changing plot length to PL=0.15 or lower. Note that at the higher embedding dimensions (e.g. m=12) after convergence of slope vs embedding dimension has occurred, the slope for the PD2i segment is different from that of D 2 i . This is because the upper part of the D 2 i segment (D 2 i-PD2i) is contaminated by non-stationary i-j vector differences where the j-vector is in a non-stationary species of data with respect to the species the i-vector is in. This short-distance slope estimate for PD2i is perfectly valid, for any log-log plot of a linear region; it does not matter whether or not one uses all data points or only the initial segment to determine the slope. Thus, by empirically setting Plot Length to a small interval above the “floppy tail” (the latter of which is avoided by setting the linearity criterion, LC), non-stationarities can be tracked in the data with only a small error, an error which is due entirely to finite data length, and not to contamination by non-stationarities. Thus, by appropriate adjustments in the algorithm to examine only that part of the scaling region just above the “floppy tail”, which is determined by, (1) the Linearity Criterion, LC, (2) the Minimum Scaling criterion, MS, and (3) the Plot Length criterion, PL, one skilled in the art can eliminate the sensitivity of the measure to data non-stationarities. This is the “trick” of how to make the j-vectors come from the same data species that the i-vector is in, and this can be proven empirically by placing a graphics marker on the i- and j-vectors and observing the markers in the correlation integral. This initial part of the scaling region is seen mathematically to be uncontaminated only in the limit, but practically speaking it works very well for finite data. This can be proven computationally with concatenated data. When the PD2i is used on concatenated subepochs of data made by sine-, Lorenz-, Henon-, and other types of known linear and nonlinear data-generators, the short scaling segment will have vector-difference lengths made only by i- and j-vector differences that are stationary with respect to each other; that is, the errors for 1,200-point subepochs are found to be less than 5.0% from their values at the limit, and these errors are due to the finite data length, not scaling contamination. FIG. 1B illustrates a comparison of the calculation of the degrees of freedom of a data series by two nonlinear algorithms, the Point Correlation Dimension (PD2i) and the Pointwise Scaling Dimension (D 2 i). Both of these algorithms are time-dependent and are more accurate than the classical D 2 algorithm when used on non-stationary data. Most physiological data are nonlinear because of the way the system is organized (the mechanism is nonlinear). The physiological systems are inherently non-stationary because of uncontrolled neural regulations (e.g., suddenly thinking about something “fearful” while sitting quietly generating heartbeat data). Non-stationary data can be made noise-free by linking separate data series generated by mathematical generators having different statistical properties. Physical generators will always have some low-level noise. The data shown in FIG. 1B (DATA) were made of sub-epochs of sine (S), Lorenz (L), Henon (H) and random (R) mathematical generators. The data series is non-stationary by definition, as each sub-epoch (S, L, H, R) has different stochastic properties, i.e., different standard deviations, but similar mean values. The PD2i and D 2 i results calculated for the data are seen in the two traces below it and are very different. The D 2 i algorithm is the closest comparison algorithm to PD2i , but it does not restrict the small log-r scaling region in the correlation integral, as does the PD2i . This scaling restriction is what makes the PD2i work well on non-stationary data. The PD2i results shown in FIG. 1B , using default parameters, (LC=0.3, CC=0.4, Tau=1, PL=0,15), are for 1,200 data-point sub-epochs. Each sub-epoch PD2i mean is within 4% of that known value of D 2 calculated for each data type alone (using long data lengths). The known D 2 values for S, L, H, and R data are, respectively, 1.00, 2.06, 1.26, and infinity. Looking at the D 2 i values, one sees quite different results (i.e., spurious results). Note that the D 2 i is the closest algorithm to PD2i , because it too is time-dependent. However, D 2 i it requires data stationarity, as does the D 2 value itself. For stationary data, D 2 =D 2 i=PD2i. Only the PD2i tracks the correct number of degrees of freedom for non-stationary data. The single value of D 2 calculated for the same non-stationary data is approximated by the mean of the D 2 i values shown. For analysis by the PD2i, an electrophysiological signal is amplified (gain of 1,000) and digitized (1,000 Hz). The digitized signal may be further reduced (e.g. conversion of ECG data to RR interval data) prior to processing. Analysis of RR-interval data has been repeatedly found to enable risk-prediction between large groups of subjects with different pathological outcomes (e.g. ventricular fibrillation “VF” or ventricular tachycardia “VT”). It has been shown that, using sampled RR data from high risk patients, PD2i could discriminate those that later went into VF from those that did not. For RR-interval data made from a digital ECG that is acquired with the best low-noise preamps and fast 1,000-Hz digitizers, there is still a low-level of noise that can cause problems for nonlinear algorithms. The algorithm used to make the RR-intervals can also lead to increased noise. The most accurate of all RR-interval detectors uses a 3-point running “convexity operator.” For example, 3 points in a running window that goes through the entire data can be adjusted to maximize its output when it exactly straddles an R-wave peak; point 1 is on the pre R-wave baseline, point 2 is atop the R-wave, point 3 is again on the baseline. The location of point 2 in the data stream correctly identifies each R-wave peak as the window goes through the data. This algorithm will produce considerably more noise-free RR data than an algorithm which measures the point in time when an R-wave goes above a certain level or is detected when the dV/dt of each R-wave is maximum. The best algorithmically calculated RR-intervals still will have a low-level of noise that is observed to be approximately +/−5 integers, peak-to-peak. This 10 integer range is out of 1000 integers' for an average R-wave peak (i.e., 1% noise). With poor electrode preparation, strong ambient electromagnetic fields, the use of moderately noisy preamps, or the use of lower digitizing rates, the low-level noise can easily increase. For example, at a gain where 1 integer=1 msec (i.e., a gain of 25% of a full-scale 12-bit digitizer), this best noise level of 1% can easily double or triple, if the user is not careful with the data acquisition. This increase in noise often happens in a busy clinical setting, and thus post-acquisition consideration of the noise level must be made. There is thus a need for an improved analytic measure that takes noise into consideration. SUMMARY The objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent when reference is made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. According to exemplary embodiments, biological anomalies are detected and/or predicted by analyzing input biological or physical data using a data processing routine. The data processing routine includes a set of application parameters associated with biological data correlating with the biological anomalies. The data processing routine uses an algorithm to produce a data series, e.g., a PD2i data series, which is used to detect or predict the onset of the biological anomalies. According to one aspect of the invention, to reduce noise in the data series, the slope is set to a predetermined number, e.g., zero, if it is less than a predetermined value, e.g., 0.5. According to another aspect, a noise interval within the data series is determined and, if the noise interval is within a predetermined range, the data series is divided by another predetermined number, e.g., 2, and new values are produced for the data series. According to exemplary embodiments, reducing the noise in the data series improves detection/prediction of biological anomalies such as cardiac arrhythmias, cerebral epileptic seizure, and myocardial ischemia. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1A illustrates a plot of log C(r,n,nref*) versus log r for the conventional PD2i algorithm; FIG. 1B illustrates a plot showing calculation of degree of freedom (dimensions) by two time-dependent algorithms when applied to noise-free non-stationary data; FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate performance of PD2i when low-level noise is added to the non-stationary data; FIG. 3 illustrates examination of low-level noise in two sets of RR-intervals made from two digital ECG's; FIGS. 4A–4F illustrate low level noise (insets) in the RR-intervals of control patients with acute myocardial infarctions; FIGS. 4G–4L illustrate low level noise in the RR-intervals of arrhythmic death patients; FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary flow diagram for the logic of the NCA applied to ECG data in cardiology; FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary flow diagram for the logic of the NCA applied to EEG data and related concepts in neurophysiology; and FIG. 6 illustrates exemplary flowcharts for the NCA implemented in software according to an exemplary embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION According to an exemplary embodiment, a technique has been developed to eliminate the contribution of low-level noise to nonlinear analytic measures, such as PD2i . To see why the noise is important, reference is made to FIGS. 2A and 2B . In FIGS. 2A and 2B , the data are the same S, L, H, and R data as described with reference to FIG. 1B . By definition, this data does not have any noise, as it is made by mathematical generators. In FIG. 2A , ±5 integers of low-level noise have been added to the non-stationary data series. The mean values of PD2i for each sub-epoch have not changed significantly, although there are a few large values out of the 1200 data points in each of the sub-epochs. Adding noise of ±14 integers, however, now results in spurious PD2i values, the means of which are all approximately the same, as shown in FIG. 2B . According to exemplary embodiments, the NCA (noise consideration algorithm) examines the low level noise at high magnification (e.g., y axis is 40 integers full scale, x-axis is 20 heartbeats full scale) and determines whether or not the noise is outside a predetermined range, for example, whether the dynamic range of the noise is greater than ±5 integers. If it is, then the data series is divided by a number that brings the noise back within the range of ±5 integers. In this example, the data series may be divided by 2, as only the low-level bit of the 12 bit integer data contains the noise. Since the linear scaling region of the correlation integral, calculated at embedding dimensions less than m=12, will have slopes less than 0.5 when made from low-level noise (e.g., with a dynamic range of ±5 integers), it is impossible to distinguish between low-level noise and true small slope data. Conveniently, since slopes less than 0.5 are rarely encountered in biological data, the algorithmic setting of any slopes of 0.5 or less (observed in the correlation integral) to zero will eliminate the detection of these small natural slopes, and it will also eliminate the contribution of low-level noise to the PD2i values. It is this “algorithmic phenomenon” that explains the empirical data and accounts for the lack of effect of noise within the interval between −5 and 5 when added to noise-free data ( FIG. 2A ). Noise of slightly larger amplitude, however, will show the noise-effects expected to occur with nonlinear algorithms (e.g., FIG. 2B ). Based on application to physiological data, it is now understood that the low-level noise must always be considered and somehow kept within a predetermined range, such as between ±5 integers, or any other range that is a relevant one based on the empirical data. This consideration will prevent spurious increases of PD2i for low-dimensional data (i.e., data with few degrees of freedom) as illustrated by FIG. 2B . The proof of the concept lies in its simple explanation (“algorithmic phenomenon”), but perhaps even more convincing are the empirical data that support the use of an NCA. These data will now be presented. The upper portion of FIG. 3 shows clinical RR-interval data from a patient who died of arrhythmic death (AD). A small segment of 20 heartbeats of the RR-interval data is magnified and shown at the bottom portion of FIG. 3 . The linear regression represents the slow variation in the signal in the segment of data, while the up-and-down sawtooth variations represent the noise. Both ECG's and RR's appeared similar, but low-level observations of the data (20 heartbeats, 40-integer y-axis) revealed that one had data variation ranging between ±5 integers (OK) and the other between ±10 integers (too large). the larger-amplitude segment (“too large”) is not identified and corrected, then the PD2i values would be spuriously larger, as in FIG. 2B . A consequence of such spuriously larger PD2i values is that a PD2i-based test might make the wrong clinical prediction about the vulnerability of the patient's heart to lethal arrhythmogenesis. According to exemplary embodiments, a larger-amplitude segment like that shown in FIG. 3 (too large) can be identified and corrected using the noise consideration algorithm (NCA). Tables 1–4 show clinical data obtained as part of a study supporting the NCA concept. The goal of the study presented in Tables 1–4 was to predict the occurrence of arrhythmic death (AD) from a PD2i-test performed on the digital ECG of each patient. In a study of 320 patients exhibiting chest pain in the Emergency Room who were determined to be at high cardiac risk with the Harvard Medical School protocol, approximately one out of 3 patients needed application of the NCA to provide meaningful data. If the NCA had not been developed and applied, then the data obtained from these patients would have been meaningless in those cases where the low-level noise was too large. Table 1A shows the contingency table of predictive AD outcomes (i.e., true positive, true negative, false positive, false negative) and the Relative Risk statistic (Rel) for the data set analyzed with several nonlinear deterministic algorithms (PD2i , DFA, 1/f-Slope, ApEn). Table 1B shows the contingency table of predictive AD outcomes and Rel for the data set analyzed with the more usual linear stochastic algorithms (SDNN, meanNN, LF/HF, LF(ln)). Tables 1A and 1B show comparison of HRV algorithms in 320 high-risk patients (N) presenting chest pain in the Emergency Department and having assessed risk of acute-MI>7%. All subjects had ECGs recorded and 12-month follow-up completed. The defined arrhythmic death outcomes are expressed as true or false predictions (T or F) by positive or negative HRV tests (P or N). Abbreviations in the tables are expressed as follows: SEN=sensitivity (%); SPE=specificity (%); REL=relative risk statistic; SUR=surrogate-rejection; OUT=outlier-rejecticn (>3 SD's); AF=atrial-fib rejection. Nonlinear Deterministic Algorithms TABLE 1A PD2i ≦ 1.4 PD2i > 1.4 DFAOUT DFA IN 1/fS ≦ −1.07 1/fS > −1.07 ApEn ≦ 1 ApEn > 1 TP = 19 TN = 140 TP = 6 TN = 52 TP = 6 TN = 158 TP = 4 TN = 166 FP = 96 FN = 1 # FP = 227 FN = 14 FP = 75 FN = 14 FP = 61 FN = 16 SEN = 95** SUR = 65 SEN = 30 SUR = 15 SEN = 30 SUR = 65 SEN = 20 SUR = 65 SPE = 59** OUT = 0 SPE = 19 OUT = 6 SPE = 68 OUT = 2 SPE = 73 OUT = 8 REL >> 23** N = 320 REL = 0.12 N = 320 REL = 0.91 N = 320 REL = 0.80 N = 320 **P ≦ 0.001; Binomial Probability Test; with multiple-test alpha-protection (alpha level required is 8-fold smaller); expansion of (P + Q) n × 8-fold protection implies P = 0.00016, which is p ≦ 0.001; also p ≦ 0.001 by Fisher's Exact Test for row vs column associations in a 2 × 2 contingency table; all others are not significant by Binomial Probability Test. Linear Stochastic Algorithms TABLE 1B SDNN ≦ 65 SDNN > 65 MNN ≦ 750 MNN > 750 LF/HF ≦ 1.6 LF/HF > 1.6 LF(ln) ≦ 5.5 LF(ln) > 5.5 TP = 19 TN = 59 TP = 19 TN = 163 TP = 7 TN = 196 TP = 19 TN = 96 FP = 202 FN = 6 FP = 98 FN = 6 FP = 63 FN = 18 FP = 163 FN = 6 SEN = 76 AF = 29 SEN = 76 AF = 29 SEN = 28 AF = 29 SEN = 76 AF = 29 SPE = 23 OUT = 5 SPE = 62 OUT = 5 SPE = 76 OUT = 7 SPE = 37 OUT = 7 REL = 0.93 N = 320 REL = 4.57* N = 320 REL = 1.19 N = 320 REL = 1.78 N = 320 *p ≦ 0.001 Fisher's Exact Test only; i.e., not significant by Binomial Probability Test p≦0.001; Binomial Probability Test; with multiple-test alpha-protection (alpha level required is 8-fold smaller); expansion of (P+Q) n ×8-fold protection implies p=0.00016, which is p≦0.0001; also p≦0.0001 by Fisher's Exact Test for row vs column associations in a 2×2 contingency table; all others are not significant by Binomial Probability Test. p≦0.0001 Fisher's Exact Test only; i.e., not significant by Binomial Probability Test. PD2i =Point Correlation Dimension (positive if minimum PD2i≦1.4 dimensions, with a systematic low-dimensional excursion of more than 12 PD2i values); cases of randomized-phase surrogate rejections (SUR) were identical to the cases of F N ≦33%. DFA-OUT=Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (α 1 [short-term] is positive, if outside normal range of 0.85 to 1.15); randomized-sequence surrogate rejections (SUR). 1/f S=1/f Slope (positive, if ≦−1.075 for slope of log[microvolts 2 /Hz] vs log [Hz] integrated over 0.04 Hz to 0.4 Hz) ApEn=Approximate Entropy (positive with cut-point ≦1.0 units, slope distance). SDNN=Standard deviation of normal beats (positive, if ≦65 msec; for positive, if ≦50 msec, TP=17). MNN=Mean of normal RR-intervals (positive, if ≦750 msec). LF/HF=Low frequency power (0.04 to 0.15 Hz)/high frequency power (0.15 to 0.4 Hz) (positive, ≦1.6). LF(ln)=Low frequency power (0.04 to 0.15 Hz), normalized by natural logarithm (positive, ≦5.5). # This single AD patient died at 79 days and may not be a true FN; the digital ECG was recorded prior to two normal clinical ECGs, followed by a third positive one (i.e., the patient could be classified as an “evolving acute MI” who may have been TN at the time the ECG was recorded). As can be seen from the data presented in Tables 1A and 1B, only the PD2i algorithm had statistically significant Sensitivity, Specificity, and Relative Risk statistics in this Emergency Room cohort. Table 2 shows the Relative Risk statistic for various sub-groups of the high-risk cardiac patients. It is clear from the data presented in Table 2 that the PD2i performs best in all of them. Table 2 shows the relative Risk for algorithmic prediction of arrhythmic death in 320 high-risk cardiac patients in the Emergency Room. TABLE 2 AMI Non-AMI post-MI non-post-MI PD2i 7.39** >12.17** >4.51* >16.85** DFA 0.70 0.44 0.63 0.48 1/f Slope 1.67 0.56 0.87 0.90 ApEn 0.50 1.44 0.00 0.72 SDNN 0.68 1.75 0.83 1.34 MNN 1.94 >20.82** 3.00 3.61* LF/HF 1.08 0.66 2.52 0.61 LF(ln) 1.08 >5.13* 0.73 2.09 **p ≦ 0.001, *p ≦ 0.05, Fisher Exact Test for row vs column association in 2 × 2 contingency table; the > sign means that RR went to infinity because FN = 0; the value shown used FN = 1. Relative Risk = True Positive/False Negative × [True Negative + False Negative/True Positive + False Positive]. Table 3 shows performance of PD2i in the prediction of arrhythmic death in 320 high-risk cardiac patents in the Emergency Room, with and without the use of the NCA on the RR-interval data. TABLE 3 NCA USED NCA NOT USED PD2i ≦ 1.4 PD2i > 1.4 PD2i ≦ 1.4 PD2i > 1.4 TP = 19 TN = 140 TP = 12 TN = 140 FP = 96 FN = 1 # FP = 96 FN = 8 REL >> 23** N = 320 REL = 1.8# N = 320 **p < 0.001 #Not statistically significant Table 3 illustrates how the use or non-use of the NCA can change the study outcome for the Relative Risk statistic. Without the consideration of the noise, the PD2i would not have had such remarkable predictive performance, and none of the other algorithms would have worked very well either. Table 4 illustrates another PD2i measurement criterion that also works well in predicting AD. Table 4 shows the percentage of all PD2i values between 3 and 0 degrees of freedom (dimensions) for 16 arrhythmic death patients, each of whom died within 180 days of their ECG recording, and their matched controls, each of whom had a documented acute myocardial infarction, but did no die within 1-year of follow-up. The means of the two groups were highly statistically significant (P<0.0000001, t-test). TABLE 4 Arrhythmic Death Matched Controls (within 180 days) (AMI, no AD 1-yr) Patient ID 3 < % PD2i > 0 Patient ID 3 < % PD2i > 0 Bn032 95 Ct024-n 13 Bn078 90 Gr077-n 7 Bn100 90 Bn126 0 Bn090 90 Bn157 0 Bn113 70 Bn138 1 Bn137-n 90 Bn160 0 Bn159 98 Bn167 *3 Bn141-n 97 Ct001 0 Bn162 80 B216 0 Bn215-n 55 C002 5 Gr012 98 Bn220 1 Bn226-n 95 Ct005 6 Gr064 99 Ct008-n 0 B227 95 Ct022-n 0 Gr076 99 Ct009 1 Gr056-n 65 Gr047 5 Gr107 40 C021 0 Gr111 90 Gr090 0 Mean ± SD 83 ± 20** Mean ± SD 2.3 ± 3.6** *These values were due to excessive ectopic beats that produced some scaling in the 3 to 0 range. **P < 0.000001, t-test; all AD subjects met PD2i < 1.4 LDE and 0 < PD2i > 3.0 criteria; Sensitivity = 100%, Specificity = 100% As can be seen from Table 4, in the high-risk ER patients who do not die (negative-test) the majority of their PD2i's are above 3 dimensions (degrees of freedom). In those patients who die (positive-test) the majority of their PD2i's are below 3 dimensions. This % PD2i<3 criterion completely separated the AD patients from their matched controls who had acute myocardial infarctions, but who did not die of AD (sensitivity=100%; specificity=100%). These results too are completely dependent upon the use of the NCA to keep the distributions from overlapping and the Sensitivity and Specificity at 100%. Those subjects in which the noise-bit was removed, that is, because the low-level noise in their RR-intervals was too high, are indicated by −n at the end of the file name. PD2i Criteria for Predicting Arrhythmic Death Each of the above Tables 1–4 was based on the observation of a low-dimensional excursion (LDE) to or below a PD2i of 1.4. That is, PD2i<1.4 was the criterion for prediction of AD. There were no false negative (FN) predictions using this criterion. The FN case is anathema to medicine, as the patient is told, “you are OK,” but then he or she goes home to die of AD within a few days or weeks. False positive cases are expected in great numbers, as the cohort is a high-risk one having patients with acute myocardial infarctions, monomorphic ectopic foci, and other high-risk diagnoses. These positive-test patients are certainly at risk, and should be hospitalized, but they will not die, perhaps because of the drugs or surgical interventions that are applied in the hospital. In other words, the FP classification is not anathema to medicine. What is significant about the application of the PD2i to these ER patients is, 1) all AD's occurred in positive-test patients, and 2) 51% of the negative-test patients could be safely discharged from hospital, as none died within the year of follow-up. All of these clinical results are meaningful, but are completely dependent upon the use of the NCA to keep the Sensitivity and Specificity at 100% and the Relative Risk high. FIGS. 4A–4L illustrate the PD2i<1.4 LED's and the % PD2i<3 criteria, both of which would have been changed significantly had the NCA not been used in some cases (NCA). Although they are related to one another, the use of both criteria in NCA examined data is probably the best and most universal way to predict AD among high-risk cardiac patients. This combination keeps statistical Sensitivity and Specificity at 100%, as seen for the AD patients and their acute MI controls (Table 4; FIGS. 4A–4L ). FIGS. 4A–4F illustrate low-level noise in the RR intervals of 6 acute myocardial infarction (acute MI) control patients, and FIGS. 4G–L illustrate low-level noise in the RR intervals of 6 arrhythmic death (AD) patients. The long segment in each panel represents all of the RR-intervals in the 15 minute ECG. The short segment displays the low-level noise traces from a small 20 beat segment at a higher gain. Thus, in each panel, the noise is superimposed upon larger dynamic activity. All gains are the same for all subjects (long RR trace=500 to 1000 integers; short RR trace=0 to 40 integers). Those subjects with a noise range judged to be larger than ±5 integers (1 msec=1 integer) had the noise consideration algorithm (NCA) performed before the PD2i was calculated. Thus, for example, the NCA was applied for the control subjects represented in FIGS. 4B , 4 C, and 4 F and for the AD subjects represented in FIGS. 4K and 4L . The PD2i values corresponding to each RRi are displayed on a scale of 0 to 3 dimensions (degrees of freedom). For the AD subjects, as represented in FIGS. 4G–4L , there are many PD2i values less than 3.0. Table 4 shows this to be a mean of 83% of PD2i's below 3.0 for all subjects. The predictability outcomes for the clinical data would not have been statistically significant without considering the noise content of the data. The NCA actually used in all of the above applications involved, 1) observing whether or not the dynamic range of the noise was outside a 10 integer interval, and then, if it was, 2) reducing the amplitude of the RR's sufficiently to get rid of the excess noise. The NCA was required in approximately ⅓ of the subjects. Rather than multiplying each data point by a value that would just reduce the dynamic range of the noise to under 10-integers, the multiplier was 0.5 (i.e., it removed a whole bit of the 12-bit data). All applications of NCA were done blinded to the data outcome (arrhythmic death was determined only after PD2i analyses with NCA were completed). This procedure excludes the possibility for experimenter bias and is a required design for statistical analyses. According to an exemplary embodiment, the noise consideration algorithm as described above may be implemented in software. Determination of the noise interval may be made visually, based on data displayed, e.g., on a computer monitor. The data may be displayed at a fixed magnification, e.g., ±40 integers full-scale centered around the mean of the segment displayed. If the values are outside the ±5 integer range, the user may decide to divide the data series by a predetermined value, or the division may occur automatically. FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary flow diagram for the logic of the NCA applied to ECG data. According to an exemplary embodiment, ECG from the subject is collected by a conventional amplifier, digitized, and then given as input to a computer for analysis. First, RR and QT intervals are made from the ECG data; then they are analyzed by the PD2i software (PD2-02.EXE) and QTvsRR-QT software (QT.EXE). According to exemplary embodiments, the NCA is applied at two points, e.g., as part of the execution of the PD2i and QT vs RR-QT software and after execution of the PD2i and QT vs RR-QT software. For example, the NCA may be applied during execution of the PD2i and QT vs RR-QT software so that the slope of log C(n, r, nref*) vs. log r is set to zero if the slope is <than 0.5 and > than zero. Also, the NCA may be applied after execution of the PD2i and QT vs RR-QT software to divide the PD2i data series by a predetermined integer if the low-level noise is outside a predetermined interval, e.g., outside the interval between −5 and 5. If such division occurs, the PD2i calculation is repeated for the divided data by executing the PD2i and QT vs RR-QT software again. After execution of the PD2i and QT vs RR-QT software is completed, the Point Correlation Dimension is then calculated as a function of time and displayed. The QT vs RR-QT plot is also made and displayed. Graphics Reports are then made for assessing risk. The digitized ECG may be offloaded for storage. The descriptions above relate largely to improving the detection/prediction of detecting deterministic low-dimensional excursions in non-stationary heartbeat intervals made from ECG data as a harbinger of fatal cardiac arrhythmias. The descriptions above also relate to improving the detection of dynamics of QT vs RR-QT jointly-plotted heartbeat subintervals, in a previously observed exclusion area, as harbingers of fatal cardiac dynamical arrhythmias. It will be appreciated, however, that the invention is also applicable to improving the detection/predication of other biological anomalies using, e.g., electroencephalographic (EEG) data. For example, the NCA may be applicable to improve the detection of persistent alterations in the deterministic dimensional reconstructions made from the non-stationary EEG data as a measure of altered cognitive state. The NCA may also be applicable to improve detection of an enlarged variance in the deterministic dimensional variations in EEG potentials as a harbinger of early paroxysmal epileptic activity. FIG. 5B shows an exemplary implementation of the NCA algorithm for an epilepsy patient or normal subject undergoing neural analysis. EEG data from the subject is made by a conventional amplifier, digitized, and then given as input to a computer for analysis. The PD2i .exe software (PD2-02.exe) is then executed, setting the slope to, e.g., zero as necessary. Next, if the low-level noise is outside a predetermined interval, the PD2i data series is divided by a predetermined integer and the PD2i calculation is repeated for the divided data by executing the PD2i and QT vs RR-QT software again. The Point Correlation Dimension is then plotted, and a Graphics Report is then made for assessing location of epileptic focii and/or alteration of cognitive state. The NCA may be implemented on, e.g., a microcomputer. Although shown as separate elements, one or all of the elements shown in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B may be implemented in the CPU. Although the focus of the description above has been mainly on the assessment of ECG data and EEG data, it will be appreciated that other similar applications of the invention are possible. The source of the electrophysiological signal may be different, and the structure of the graphics report(s) may be specific to the medical and/or physiological objectives. All analyses may use the PD2i algorithm and the NCA in some software form and may be accompanied by other confirmatory analyses. FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a process which the NCA may be implemented as software according to an exemplary embodiment. The flow begins with collection of the data. From the data, the i- and j-VECTORs are made and subtracted from one another (i−j DIFF). These vector difference lengths are entered, according the their value (X, 1 to 1000), into the MXARAY at the embedding dimension used (m, 1 to 12). The entry is made as an increment of a counter at each location of the MXARAY. After completion of the making of the vector difference lengths, the counter numbers (3,7,9,8,2,6,7,4. . . ) are then used to make the correlation integrals for each embedding dimension; this is done by making a cumulative histogram as a function of X, at each m.sub.1, and then making the log-log plot of their cumulative values (e.g., PLOT log C (n,r) vs log r). The cumulative histogram results in the log-log data plotted in the correlation integral for each embedding dimension (m). The correlation integral is then tested for five criteria. First, it is determined whether the slope at each m is less than 0.5. If the slope is less than 0.5, it is set to zero. Next, the longest linear scaling region that is within the linearity criterion (LC) is found. This is accomplished by examining each correlation integral by the LC to find the longest segment of the second derivative that falls within the limits of the set parameter (LC=0.30 means within a + to − deviation of 15% of the mean slope); this iterative LC test will find a range above the “floppy tail” (i.e., the smallest log-r region that is unstable because of finite data length) and run up the correlation integral until the LC criterion is exceeded (bold section of top correlation integral). Next, a determination is made whether the segment is within the plot length criterion (PL). If so, then the correlation integral scaling region is reset by the PL criterion; this value is set from the smallest data point in the correlation integral to its criterion value (e.g., 15%, bracket in second from top correlation integral). The upper and lower limits of this region are observed to see if they have at least the number of data points required by the minimum scaling (MS) criterion, e.g., 10. The selected regions of all correlation integrals (m−1 to m=12) are plotted and examined by the CC to see if convergence occurs at the higher embedding dimensions (e.g., m=9 to m=12); that is, to see if the selected regions have essentially the same slopes in which the standard deviation around the mean is within the limits set by the CC (.i.e., CC=0.40 means that the deviation around the mean is within + to −20% of the mean value). If the CC criterion is passed, then the mean slope and standard deviation are stored to file and, e.g., displayed. Finally, the low-level noise is examined by the user to test if the dynamic range is outside the −5 to +5 interval. If so, then the noise bit is removed from the data file (i.e., each data point value is divided by 2), and the modified file is then re-calculated, displayed, and stored. If failure occurs at any of the early criteria (LC, PL, MS) within the flow, then the program will exit and move the PD2i reference vector to the next data point and then start all over. If failure occurs at the CC, the mean and standard deviation are saved without exiting, for it may be the case that later the CC is desired to be changed; i.e., the CC is a filter that determines whether or not the PD2i (i.e., the mean slope of m=9 to m=12) will be plotted in later graphical routines. While the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, modifications and variations of the invention may be constructed without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, although the NCA has been described in its application to a PD2i data series, it should be appreciated that the NCA may also be useful in reducing noise in other types of algorithms, e.g., D 2 , D 2 i , or any other predictive algorithm. It should be understood that the foregoing description and accompanying drawings are by example only. A variety of modifications are envisioned that do not depart from the scope and spirit of the invention. The above description is intended by way of example only and is not intended to limit the present invention in any way.

Biological anomalies are detected and/or predicted by analyzing input biological or physical data using a data processing routine. The data processing routine includes a set of application parameters associated with biological data correlating with the biological anomalies. The data processing routine uses an algorithm to produce a data series, e.g., a PD2i data series. The data series is used to detect or predict the onset of the biological anomalies. To reduce noise in the data series, the slope is set to a predetermined number if it is less than a predetermined value. To further reduce noise, a noise interval within the data series is determined and, if the noise interval is within a predetermined range, the data series is divided by another predetermined number, and new values are produced for the data series.