A pivoting split thread chasing die with fastener is disclosed. In one example, the fastener can include a retainer that captures the fastener within one half of the thread chasing die. The thread chasing die may make it easier for a user to refurbish threads of large bolts and studs.

A slotted inverse tap, compressible for insertion past damaged entry threads in blind holes. (FIG. 1 thru FIG. 5) The tool can be made to smaller sizes than that of prior art. An elongate slot (23) proceeds through a first threaded end (21), then well into a reduced diameter cylindrical body (25). After insertion to the hole bottom, a tabbed shim (28) is inserted to the slot from its side, then pressed down until stopped. The shim (28) enforces mating engagement with undamaged internal threads. A second end of hex and/or squared or other configuration facilitates use of a tap wrench or other tool for rotational extraction. Damaged threads are reformed/re-cut upon rotational withdrawal.

In the case of a screw having at least one thread (26) that is formed by a rolling process, especially a flat-die rolling process, whereby the thread (26) consists of two ridges of material (28a, 28b) which are shaped from a blank (12) by means of cold-forming during the rolling process in such a way that the thread has a closing crease (32) where the ridges of material (28a, 28b) meet each other, it is provided that the closing crease (32) is situated in the area of a flank (30a, 30b) of the thread (26).

A thread-furrowing screw comprises a shaft portion made of solid material and a thread portion attached to the shaft portion, which thread portion is wound from a profiled metal strip.

A thread forming tap has a full thread portion and a leading portion contiguous with the full thread portion and reducing in diameter toward its tip. The full thread and leading portions are provided with external thread on which lobes and recesses are alternately formed. When δ represents an angle around a tool center line toward a thread forming side, the shape of the lobe varies along a quadratic curve relative to angle δ so that relief amount increases toward inflection point angle δ. However, in a rough plastic deformation section where angle δ is greater than inflection point angle θ and exceeds the working region, the shape varies along an Archimedean curve with clearance angle α1 so that the relief amount increases linearly relative to angle δ, and a margin section is substantially zero or within a range where angle δ is less than or equal to 1°.

Disclosed herein is a method for manufacturing a screw comprising a continuous thread with a variable thread pitch, in which method a blank is rolled between two rolling dies, wherein in each rolling die a rolling profile is formed that comprises a host of curved non-parallel depressions. The depressions are designed and arranged in such a manner that during rolling no volume transport, or as little volume transport as possible, in the axial direction takes place, or a volume transport from a region of the blank where a thread section with a larger thread pitch is to be formed, to a region in which a thread section with a smaller thread pitch is to be formed takes place.

A transmitter and a receiver for an optical telecommunication system of the WDM type are disclosed. In one aspect, the transmitter uses a chromato-temporal encoder which, with each block of symbols to be transmitted, associates a code matrix, where each element of the matrix corresponds to a wavelength and a use of the channel. The transmitter includes multiple modulators, where each modulator modulates a laser beam at a wavelength during a use of the channel by an element corresponding to the code matrix. The beams modulated in this manner are multiplexed in an optical fiber. Another embodiment using both a wavelength and a polarization encoding is also proposed.

One aspect provides an optical communication system. The system includes an optical-to-digital converter, a frequency estimator and a symbol synchronizer. The optical-to-digital converter is configured to receive an optical OFDM bit stream including an OFDM symbol bearing payload data and a symbol header preceding the OFDM payload data. The frequency estimator is configured to determine a carrier frequency offset of the payload data from the symbol header. The symbol synchronizer is configured to determine a starting location of the payload data within the bit stream by cross-correlating a synchronization pattern within the symbol header with a model synchronization pattern stored by the symbol synchronizer.

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and process for forming medical devices from an injectable composition. The apparatus includes a supply assembly configured to maintain and selective dispense a first precursor and a second precursor, a mixing assembly configured to mix the first and second precursors, and at least one catalyzing element including a transition metal ion to aid in the polymerization of the first and second precursors. The process includes dispensing a volume of the first precursor and a volume of the second precursor into a mixing assembly and mixing the first and second precursors. The first and second precursors each possess a core and at least one functional group known to have click reactivity with each other. The mixed precursors are contacted with a transition metal catalyst to produce a flowable composition for use as a medical device.

A noncontact optical three-dimensional measuring device that includes a projector, a first camera, and a second camera; a processor electrically coupled to the projector, the first camera and the second camera; and computer readable media which, when executed by the processor, causes the first digital signal to be collected at a first time and the second digital signal to be collected at a second time different than the first time and determines three-dimensional coordinates of a first point on the surface based at least in part on the first digital signal and the first distance and determines three-dimensional coordinates of a second point on the surface based at least in part on the second digital signal and the second distance.

A 3D image sensor includes a depth pixel that includes; a photo detector generating photo-charge, first and second floating diffusion regions, a first transfer transistor transferring photo-charge to the first floating diffusion region during a first transfer period in response to a first transfer gate signal, a second transfer transistor transferring photo-charge to the second floating diffusion region during a second transfer period in response to a second transfer gate signal, and an overflow transistor that discharges surplus photo-charge in response to a drive gate signal. Control logic unit controlling operation of the depth pixel includes a first logic element providing the first transfer gate signal, a second logic element providing the second transfer gate signal, and another logic element providing the drive gate signal to the overflow transistor when the first transfer period overlaps, at least in part, the second transfer period.

An approach for IR-based metrology for detecting stress and/or defects around TSVs of semiconductor devices is provided. Specifically, in a typical embodiment, a beam of IR light will be emitted from an IR light source through the material around the TSV. Once the beam of IR light has passed through the material around the TSV, the beam will be analyzed using one or more algorithms to determine information about TSV stress and/or defects such as imbedded cracking, etc. In one embodiment, the beam of IR light may be split into a first portion and a second portion. The first portion will be passed through the material around the TSV while the second portion is routed around the TSV. After the first portion has passed through the material around the TSV, the two portions may then be recombined, and the resulting beam may be analyzed as indicated above.

According to one embodiment, a three-dimensional shape measuring apparatus includes at least an aperture plate that is provided with a plurality of confocal apertures which are two-dimensionally arranged to have a predetermined arrangement period, and an aperture plate displacement portion that displaces the aperture plate at a constant speed in a predetermined direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction. Further, the aperture plate is provided with a cover member which is moved integrally with the aperture plate and which includes a transparent body allowing the light beams from the light source to pass therethrough and to be irradiated to the plurality of confocal apertures, and protects the plurality of confocal apertures from dust. Further, an imaging optical system, by which each of reflected light beams is guided to a photo-detector, is designed in consideration of optical properties of the whole optical system including the transparent body of the cover member.

A controller for a power converter and method of operating the same employable with a bridge rectifier having first and second synchronous rectifier switches. In one embodiment, the controller includes an amplifier configured to enable a turn-on delay for the first synchronous rectifier switch. The controller also includes a discharge switch having first and second switched terminals coupled to gate and source terminals, respectively, of the first synchronous rectifier switch and configured to discharge a gate-to-source capacitance of the first synchronous rectifier switch to enable a turn off thereof.

Techniques are provided for increasing spectral efficiency over data channels in a storage or communication system. In some embodiments, data may be encoded and transmitted over multiple channels. The transmitted data from the multiple channels may be considered together as a channel bundle, thereby increasing the edge transitions of the group of signals to improve clock recovery and reduce coding constraints. In some embodiments, the channel bit size is reduced to maximize data rates based on the reduced coding constraints. Furthermore, the channel bundle has only one channel with timing markers, so that a receiver may receive information from the channel bundle and recover clocking based on the timing markers in the one channel.

A work hanging apparatus includes a hanger line continuously conveying hangers each having a hook, a robot that has a hand with which a work having a hole is held and transfers the held work to a hanging location set in the hanger line, a controller controlling a movement of the hand to catch the hook of one of the hangers with the hole of the held work at the hanging location, a hole deviation detector that detects a positional deviation of the hole of the work, an attitude deviation detector that detects an attitudinal deviation of the hanger, and a corrector that corrects the movement of the hand according to the positional and attitudinal deviations.

A light absorption anisotropic film, having at least one dichroic dye, in which the light absorption anisotropic film shows a diffraction peak derived from a periodic structure in a direction in a plane of the light absorption anisotropic film in X-ray diffraction measurement and the diffraction peak has a half width of 1.0 Å or less.

Frames are disclosed for mounting windows within the walls of enclosures for isolating or sealing substances such as radioactive or other hazardous substances from the surrounding environment. In a first embodiment of the present invention, a window assembly includes a two-piece frame that is welded into the wall of an enclosure. In a second embodiment of the present invention, a window assembly includes a three-piece frame that is clamped to the wall of an enclosure. The frame assemblies may also be used to mount structures other than windows to enclosure walls, such as ducts or pipes intended for passing power, gas, vacuum, or other utilities into the interior of an enclosure.

Provided are a support for affinity chromatography which has excellent alkali resistance, and a method for isolating immunoglobulin. A support for affinity chromatography, containing an immobilized protein ligand represented by the following formula (1): R—R2 (1) wherein R represents a polypeptide consisting of 4 to 30 amino acid residues that contains an amino acid sequence represented by ATK or ASK; and R2 represents a polypeptide consisting of 50 to 500 amino acid residues containing an immunoglobulin-binding domain consisting of an amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2, the partial sequence thereof, or an amino acid sequence having 70% or more identity to these sequences; with the proviso that a terminus at which R2 binds to R is C-terminus or N-terminus of the immunoglobulin-binding domain.

A method includes receiving, at a multimedia device, a data stream representing multimedia content, the data stream comprising first timing information for the multimedia content, and metadata representing interactive event information associated with the multimedia content, the metadata comprising second timing information for the interactive event information. During the playback of the multimedia content, a first user interactive event is identified that is associated with a first time point in the playback of the multimedia content based on the interactive event information, and the first user interactive event is performed concurrent with the first time point in the playback of the multimedia content.

Described is a black dichroic dye composition comprising 2 or more dyes, wherein at least one dye, generally a red dye and optionally a yellow dye, conforms to the formula A and at least one dye, usually a blue dye, conforms to the formula B Ar1—N═N—[Ar2—N═N—]qAr3—N═N—Ar4 (B) with symbols as defined in present claims. The dye composition is well suited for combination with liquid crystal material for use, inter alia, as polarizing film and/or in liquid crystal displays, showing, inter alia, high dichroic ratio and excellent compatibility with the LC material.

The present invention relates to fusion proteins comprising an antibody, functional fragment or functional derivative thereof having specific binding affinity to either the extracellular domain of oncofetal fibronectin (ED-B) or at least one of the extracellular domains of oncofetal tenascin fused to a cytokine selected from the group consisting of IL-10, IL15, IL-24 and GM-CSF, functional fragments and functional derivatives thereof. The invention is also directed to the use of at least one of said fusion proteins for the manufacture of a medicament. In particular, the invention concerns the use of said medicament for the treatment of tumors or chronic inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis, arthritis and psoriasis.

Whether the growth hormone (GH)/Insulin-like growth factor 1(IGF-I) axis exerts cardioprotective effects remains controversial; and the underlying mechanism(s) for such actions are unclear. Here we tested the hypothesis that growth-hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) directly activates cellular reparative mechanisms within the injured heart, in a GH/IGF-I independent fashion. Following experimental myocardial infarction (MI), rats were randomly assigned to receive, during a 4 week period, either placebo (n=14), rat recombinant GH (rrGH, n=8) or JI-38 (n=8; 50 μg/Kg/day), a potent GHRH-agonist. JI-38 did not elevate serum levels of GH or IGF-I, but markedly attenuated the degree of cardiac functional decline and remodeling after injury. In contrast, GH administration markedly elevated body weight, heart weight, circulating GH and IGF-I, but did not offset the decline in cardiac structure and function. Whereas, both JI-38 and GH augmented levels of cardiac precursor cell proliferation, only JI-38 increased anti-apoptotic gene expression. The receptor for GHRH was detectable on myocytes supporting direct activation of cardiac signal transduction. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that within the heart GHRH-agonists can activate cardiac repair following MI, suggesting the existence of a potential signaling pathway based on GHRH in the heart. The phenotypic profile of the response to a potent GHRH agonist has therapeutic implications.

The present invention is related to the use of secretagogue peptides repeatedly administered as part of a pharmaceutical composition that prevent and eradicate the deposition of pathological fibrotic material in parenchymal tissues of internal organs like the liver, lungs, esophagus, small intestine, kidneys, blood vessels, joints, and other systemic forms of cutaneous fibrosis of any etiopathogenesis. Additionally, these peptides prevent and eradicate deposition of amiloid and hyaline materials in any of their correspondent chemical forms and tissue manifestations in the brain, cerebellum, blood vessels, liver, intestines, kidneys, spleen, pancreas, joints and the skin, among others. By this way, cellular, tissular and organ dysfunctions generated by these depositions are corrected. The peptides of the present invention are infiltrated or topically applied, contributing to prevent and eradicate keloids and hypertrophic scars in the skin, derived as sequelae of burns and other cutaneous trauma.

The present invention provides processes for the manufacturing of polypeptide conjugates. In particular, the invention provides methods for the purification of polypeptide conjugates, which include at least one polymeric modifying groups, such as a poly(alkylene oxide) moiety. Exemplary poly(alkylene oxide) moieties include poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and poly(propylene glycol). In an exemplary process, hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) is used to resolve different glycoforms of glycoPEGylated polypeptides.

A fixing structure of an optical component is composed of a device chassis; a holder holding an optical component; first and second plate parts for joint to the device chassis and a connecting part of both the plate parts are formed in the holder; a plurality of joint holes are formed in the second plate part; a U-groove into which the connecting part of the holder is fitted and a plurality of through-holes are formed in the device chassis; and an adhesive that is extended in a circular columnar shape and is made by inserting the holder into the U-groove of the device chassis, and applying a UV-curing adhesive in such a manner that the UV-curing adhesive is bonded to the first plate part of the holder and is continuous to the inside of the joint hole via the inside of the through-hole, and radiating UV light along the through-hole.

A forage harvester has an engine which is drivingly connected to a chopper cylinder via first drive belt, and to a first end of a drive shaft of a discharge accelerator. A second end of the drive shaft of the discharge accelerator is drivingly connected to a kernel processor via a second drive belt, is arranged, in the direction of harvested material flow, between the chopper cylinder and the discharge accelerator. The discharge accelerator comprises support disks which extend radially, and paddles. The support disks are attached to a hollow shaft enclosing the drive shaft, and, a sensor is arranged between the drive shaft and the discharge accelerator for the determination of the force transmitted by the drive shaft to the discharge accelerator.

A method and device for harvesting threshed crops including a threshing assembly (3) arranged downstream of a cutting assembly (2) of a combine harvester (1) for separating the grain-chaff mixture (12) from the straw. A chaffing device (4) is arranged downstream of the threshing assembly (3) for separating the total straw fraction into a first and a second straw fraction (5.1, 5.2). A comminution device (8) is arranged downstream of the chaffing device (5) for comminuting the second straw fraction (5.2). A blower (10) having a suction pipe (9) draws in and mixes the grain-chaff mixture (12) and the second straw fraction (5.2) to form a mixture (18) of grain, chaff, and second straw fraction and conveys the mixture (18) into a silo (14).

A helical auger flight has an inner edge, an outer edge, an inner face, an outer face, and a leading extremity that includes a prominence and a leading edge that extends from the outer edge to the prominence. The prominence extends outward from the leading edge of the leading extremity to an outer end having an upturned jut. A wear plate is releasably connected to the inner face of the helical auger flight. The wear plate extends from the outer edge of the helical auger flight to the prominence. A front extremity of the wear plate extends forwardly of the leading edge of the helical auger flight so as to be in a shielding relationship with respect to the leading edge of the helical auger flight, and a nose of the front extremity of the wear plated is seated in direct contact against a contact surface of the jut.

A work hanging apparatus includes a hanger line continuously conveying hangers each having a hook, a robot that has a hand with which a work having a hole is held and transfers the held work to a hanging location set in the hanger line, a controller controlling a movement of the hand to catch the hook of one of the hangers with the hole of the held work at the hanging location, a hole deviation detector that detects a positional deviation of the hole of the work, an attitude deviation detector that detects an attitudinal deviation of the hanger, and a corrector that corrects the movement of the hand according to the positional and attitudinal deviations.

For a memo pad, many sheets 1 are bound at a back face as bound sheets using gum. The memo pad is provided with a cover paper on the top and a mounting paper on the bottom. The sheets 1 are printed from a central area of the sheet surface to over an outer peripheral area, with a decorative pattern. Outer peripheral non glued edges of the memo pad have a rugged shape modeled after the decorative pattern in a direction of the sheet surface and in a direction of the bound sheet thickness, such that even if the sheets 1 are turned up one by one or removed, a three dimensional decorative pattern reappears from the surface of the remaining sheets 1 to over the outer peripheral edge.

Systems and methods are provided that may be implemented to provide a mechanical indicator to correlate magnetic disk drive IOP performance with features of mechanical and/or acoustic vibrational frequencies that are generated and captured or sensed outside of the disk drive itself. In one example, disk drive PES data may be collected concurrently with the capture of mechanical and/or acoustic vibrational data at different and progressive locations of vibration source, vibration path and vibration receiver in a disk drive operating environment, e.g., such as for disk drives installed within a server and/or storage chassis enclosure. In such case, PES threshold may be utilized to correlate performance of Drive IOP or drive servo-mechanical performance as a function of measured characteristics of vibration source/s that impart vibration to a disk drive.

A disk drive is disclosed including a disk having a plurality of sectors, and a head actuated over the disk. A defect threshold is initialized, and a first sector is read to generate a first read signal. The first read signal is processed to detect a defect in the first sector relative to the defect threshold. After detecting the defect, the defect threshold is adjusted and the first sector is reread to generate a second read signal. The second read signal is processed to detect the defect in the first sector relative to the adjusted defect threshold.

A method according to one embodiment includes measuring a current position error signal, and calculating a statistical derivative using the current position error signal sample. A kurtosis value is calculated using a current position error signal sample or derivative thereof. A threshold value is adjusted using the kurtosis value. The statistical derivative is compared to the threshold value, and writing is enabled when the statistical derivative does not exceed the threshold value. A determination is made whether to enable or disable writing based on a stopwrite threshold when the statistical derivative exceeds the threshold value.

In one embodiment, a magnetic head includes a lower shield, a magnetoresistive (MR) film positioned above the lower shield, the MR film including a pinned layer, an intermediate layer positioned above the pinned layer, and a free layer positioned above the intermediate layer, the free layer being configured for sensing data on a magnetic medium, wherein a track width of the MR film is defined by a width of the free layer in a cross-track direction, a bias layer positioned on both sides of the MR film in the cross-track direction, a track insulating film positioned on both sides of the MR film in the cross-track direction and between the MR film and the bias layer, and an upper shield positioned above the bias layer and the MR film, wherein a length of the free layer in an element height direction perpendicular to an air bearing surface of the magnetic head is less than a length of the pinned layer in the element height direction.

A thrust sliding bearing includes a synthetic resin-made bearing body having a hollow cylindrical portion, an annular collar portion, an annular protruding portion, a tubular projecting portion, an engaging projecting portion, and an annular projecting portion; an annular cover having a disk portion, a tubular portion, and an engaging projecting portion; an annular metal plate having an outer disk portion and an inner disk portion; and a thrust sliding bearing which is interposed between the bearing body and an annular lower surface of the outer disk portion of the annular metal plate and renders the annular metal plate rotatable with respect to the bearing body in a direction about an axis of the bearing body.

A rolling diaphragm seal for a strut bearing, the seal inserted into an annulus formed between an upper and lower housing. The seal having a hollow tubular form, formed into a ring open at one end. The seal rolling along a length thereof during relative rotation of the upper and lower housings. Alternatively, the seal can be a continuous hollow tubular form inserted between the upper and lower housings.

A thrust foil bearing includes a thrust member, and a foil member mounted to an end surface of the thrust member and having a thrust bearing surface that forms a thrust bearing gap. The foil member includes a foil that integrally includes a plurality of leaves each having a free end on one side in a circumferential direction and the thrust bearing surface, and a coupling portion for coupling the plurality of leaves to each other.

A cage, which is annular, and is used in a thrust roller bearing, includes a plurality of cage segments arranged in a circumferential direction. Each of the cage segments includes an arc portion; and a bar portion that extends radially inward from the arc portion and that maintains a circumferential interval between rollers adjacent to each other. A groove portion extending along an axial direction is formed at each of end faces of the arc portions, the end faces facing each other in the circumferential direction. In the cage, elastic bodies are inserted into the groove portions and urge the arc portions in the circumferential direction, each of the elastic bodies is disposed between the end faces facing each other, and the cage segments are connected to each other by the elastic bodies.

A method of communication in at least one electronic device is presented. In the method, a first execution thread and a second execution thread are created in the at least one electronic device. Also created is a message service for receiving messages for the first thread. A message to be transferred from the second thread to the message service of the first thread is generated. One of multiple data transfer mechanisms is selected for transferring the message from the second thread to the message service of the first thread based on a relationship between the first and second threads. This relationship may be one in which the first and second threads are executing within a single process, within different processes of the same device, or within different devices. The message is transferred to the message service of the first thread using the selected data transfer mechanism and processed in the first thread.

Techniques are described for utilizing synchronous APIs which normally block callers until a result is returned. In particular, the techniques described herein enable an application or other programming construct to boost performance by executing synchronous APIs (e.g., long running time APIs) within a proxy container rather than executing the synchronous APIs in the context of the application itself. Since the proxy is a separate process or thread, the caller application is thereby released from waiting for the synchronous API call and may proceed with other processing instead of waiting for the synchronous API to return. The application may then monitor the proxy to determine whether a result has been received, such as by periodically polling the proxy.

Through an asynchronous callback enhancement, a thread makes a non-blocking request (e.g., send, receive, I/O) to a message passing interface library, and a callback routine is associated with the request as an asynchronous callback to the thread. The callback is queued for execution in the requesting thread and so has a deterministic execution context. Callback queuing may occur in response to another thread detecting that the request is complete. Further control over callback execution is provided by state transitions which determine whether the thread is open to processing (e.g., executing) an asynchronous callback. Callback association is done by a broad or by narrow association routines. An application which has processes organized in ranks, each including a communication thread with associated callback(s), and multiple worker threads. Interruptible wait enhancements may also be present.

Provided are: a method for controlling the decoloration reaction rate and color density of a fast light-modulating material to levels suitable for practical use; and a fast light-modulating material having a decoloration reaction rate and a color density which are suitable for practical use. A polymer obtained by polymerizing a paracyclophane-bridged hexaarylbisimidazole compound having a radical-polymerizable group, and a copolymer obtained by copolymerizing the compound with a (meth)acrylic acid compound or a sensitizer having a radical-polymerizable group can achieve controlled decoloration reaction rates, photosensitivity and color tones.

The present invention relates to a polymer composition that includes a polymer having at least one polymer segment represented by the following Formula (I), With reference to Formula (I): M independently for each w is a residue of a monomer; φ is a residue of a mechanochromic compound having at least two reactive groups that are each independently bonded to one monomer residue M; w, independently for each z, is an integer of at least 1; and z is an integer of at least 2. The mechanochromic compound is selected from at least one of the following, (a) a spirooxazine compound represented by the following Formula (II), and (b) an indenonaphthopyran represented by the following Formula (III),

The present invention relates to a thermochromic color-memory toner containing: a microcapsule pigment encapsulating a thermochromic color-memory composition; and a binder resin, in which the microcapsule pigment shows a hysteresis characteristic that, in a temperature-rise process, decoloration starts when the temperature reaches t3 and the pigment completely reaches a decolored state in a temperature region of t4 or higher, and in a temperature-drop process, coloration starts when the temperature reaches t2 and the pigment completely reaches a colored state in a temperature region of ti or lower, and ti is in a range of from −50 to 0° C. and t4 is in a range of from 50 to 150° C.

Various embodiments provide for systems and methods for signal conversion of one modulated signal to another modulated signal using demodulation and then re-modulation. According to some embodiments, a signal receiving system may comprise an I/Q demodulator that demodulates a first modulated signal to an in-phase (“I”) signal and a quadrature (“Q”) signal, an I/Q signal adjustor that adaptively adjusts the Q signal to increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a transitory signal that is based on a second modulated signal, and an I/Q modulator that modulates the I signal and the adjusted Q signal to the second modulated signal. To increase the SNR, the Q signal may be adjusted based on a calculated error determined for the transitory signal during demodulation by a demodulator downstream from the I/Q modulator.

An LED lamp includes a base, a head connected to the base, an LED mounted on the base and a cover fixed on the base and covering the LED. The cover is made of metal and defines a plurality of through holes therein.

A device for delivering a percutaneous nephrostomy plug is provided. The device comprises a tubular member configured for insertion into a biological body. The device further comprises a handle coupled to a proximal end of the tubular member. The handle comprises a pusher element, an actuation element, and a transmission. The pusher element is disposed within the tubular member, and is configured to deliver a plug through a distal end of the tubular member. The transmission is coupled to the tubular member and the actuation element, and the transmission is configured to cause a retraction of the tubular member relative to the pusher element in response to a depression of the actuation element. A first depression of the actuation element toward the tubular member urges a partial exposure of the plug. A second depression of the actuation element urges a further exposure of the plug.

Disclosed herein are methods, compositions and tools for repairing articular surfaces repair materials and for repairing an articular surface. The articular surface repairs are customizable or highly selectable by patient and geared toward providing optimal fit and function. The surgical tools are designed to be customizable or highly selectable by patient to increase the speed, accuracy and simplicity of performing total or partial arthroplasty.

Disclosed herein are methods, compositions and tools for repairing articular surfaces repair materials and for repairing an articular surface. The articular surface repairs are customizable or highly selectable by patient and geared toward providing optimal fit and function. The surgical tools are designed to be customizable or highly selectable by patient to increase the speed, accuracy and simplicity of performing total or partial arthroplasty.