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Wolves trumped 2-1 by Mancari and Rampage
SAN ANTONIO, Texas --- In the Chicago Wolves' first trip to Texas this season, the team was given a rude welcome by the San Antonio Rampage and former forward Mark Mancari as the visitors were edged 2-1 Sunday evening at the AT&T Center.
Week In Pictures
This week in pictures features photos from the Amtrak Rivalry tilt in Milwaukee, and the Illinois Lottery Cup games against Rockford.
Tale of the Tape: Dec. 5
Tonight's Chicago Wolves game at Lake Erie is not being televised. To watch or listen tonight, please go to AHLLive.com. The Wolves return to The U-Too on Dec. 17 against Adirondack. Follow live play-by-play on Twitter at @ChiWolvesLive.
Wolves can't rally past Lake Erie
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Chicago Wolves surrendered two first-period goals and that was enough for the Lake Erie Monsters to secure a 2-1 victory Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena.
Tale of the Tape: Dec. 3
Tonight's Chicago Wolves game at Lake Erie is not being televised. To watch or listen tonight, please go to AHLLive.com. The Wolves return to The U-Too on Dec. 17 against Adirondack. Follow live play-by-play on Twitter at @ChiWolvesLive.
Wolves Defenseman Brent Sopel Plays 1,000th Game
Defenseman Brent Sopel joined an elite group Wednesday night when the puck dropped for the Chicago Wolves' American Hockey League contest at Lake Erie as it represented his 1,000th regular-season game as a professional.
Wolves can't withstand Monsters' rally
CLEVELAND, Ohio --- A night that started off as a celebration turned sour as the Chicago Wolves fell 3-2 to the Lake Erie Monsters on Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena.
Chicago Wolves forward Shane Harper will appear at the 95th Street Library on Thursday, Dec. 11, to kick off the 20th season of the "Read to Succeed" program, presented by Butternut Bread and J.U.L.I.E., Inc.
Wolves Weekly Press Notes for Dec. 1
The Chicago Wolves ended November on a high note after dropping Wednesday's game in Milwaukee, closing out the month with consecutive wins against league-leading Rockford in a home-and-home Illinois Lottery Cup feature Friday and Saturday and boosting their monthly record to 9-5-1-0 (.633); the team heads out on a four-game road trip this week that will bring them to Lake Erie and San Antonio for the first time this season to visit the Monsters (three-game point streak) and Rampage (nine-game point streak).
Wolves ride Climie and power plays past Rockford
ROSEMONT, Ill. – Building on their victorious rally Friday night at Rockford, the Chicago Wolves produced a pair of power-play goals and knocked off the IceHogs 2-1 Saturday night in an Illinois Lottery Cup game at Allstate Arena.
Tale of the Tape: Nov. 29
When the Wolves host Rockford tonight in Illinois Lottery Cup action -- the IceHogs continue to lead the American Hockey League with 32 points and a .762 points percentage -- it caps a grueling stretch of 16 games in 30 days for Chicago. Due to the annual visit by the circus to Allstate Arena, this is just the fourth home game in that run.


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Secrets we keep
Acacia Lenard. The girl in my dreams. Literally, she's a girl I've dream about for years. Every night sh...
I'm Ivy!! Do I love writing? Absolutely! Am I good at it? You'd find out if you read one of my stories... Or all of them. But hey who am I to tell you what to do?
~Death Note is amazing, Okay?
~Stiles Stilinski and Isaac Lahey are mine. Insult teen wolf? I'll hire an assassin to hunt you down and kill yo
~If your interested... My favorite bands are All-American Rejects, Cash cash, Cobra Starship, and This Century
Okayyyyy I'll stop boring you now. Byyee!
Why are you still here? I said bye. Now GOOD DAY SIR!!!! Or Ma'am!
Description: (Teen Wolf fan-fiction) Bella Concord is a normal girl, who like ten thousand other girls is heart token over her old boyfriend. Until Isaac sweeps in and becomes her new rock. Then he mysteriously disappears and she is thrown into a world completel...
Acacia Lenard. The girl in my dreams. Literally, she's a girl I've dream about for years. Every night sh...
This is the tragic love story of two emo high school kids, that go by Gray Daniels and Mason Peirce. Eve...
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subset: commoncrawl


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That describes the members of the Berlevag Manschoir�age 29 to 96�who sing outdoors even in the coldest weather. It�s also the name of a Norwegian documentary that crossed the Atlantic to warm reviews for the way director Knut Erik Jensen portrays these men who live in a fishing village near the Arctic Circle. The subtitled film includes songs about �fishing and filleting, frivolity and faith,� as well as a �healthy dose of cod philosophy.� To find out where it�s playing, go to www.firstrunfeatures.com. It�s available on video from First Run Features, (800) 229-8575.
© 2015 Augsburg Fortress, Publishers


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Other Works ConsultedKessler CM (2008). Hereditary von Willebrand's disease
section of Hemorrhagic disorders: Coagulation factor deficiencies. In L
Goldman, D Ausiello, eds., Cecil Textbook of Medicine,
23rd ed., pp. 1308–1311. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (2007).
The Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Management of von Willebrand Disease. (NIH Publication No. 08–5832). Available online:
Last Revised:
November 22, 2010
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine & Brian Leber, MDCM, FRCPC - Hematology
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DOE Chief Urges Energy Leaders to Accept Curbs on Greenhouse Gases
- Details
- Published on Monday, 15 March 2010 14:03
"Let's get moving now," Chu told the conference sponsored by IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates. "That will get the innovation machine moving. Time is running out, and the train is leaving the station."
Source: New York Times


text:
Neoseeker : Games : Super Nintendo : Strategy : Turn-based : Liberty or Death : Walkthroughs, FAQs & Guides
Liberty or Death Walkthroughs, FAQs & Guides
|Walkthrough Title
|FAQ/Strategy Guide (GENESIS)
|Dec 20 2004
|Apathetic Aardvark
|57.8 kb
|Hex Dump (GENESIS)
|Feb 26 2004
|War Doc
|49.1 kb
Got a Liberty or Death walkthrough, FAQ or Guide? Use the submission form, or email them as attachments to firstname.lastname@example.com. FAQs/Guides are posted in their original, unaltered form.
Submit your cheats for Liberty or Death using our cheats submission form and we'll post it up in a cheats page for this title!
We also have FAQs, Guides, and Walkthroughs for other platforms of Liberty or Death:


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Dalsan Properties, Inc. filed as a Domestic For-Profit Corporation in the State of Texas on Tuesday, May 18, 1982 and is approximately thirty-three years old, according to public records filed with Texas Secretary of State. The filing is currently active as of the last data refresh which occured on Thursday, July 2, 2015.
Robert Nash serves as the President and has interests in other corporate entities including Sojourn, Inc., Amigoland, Inc. and eight more corporations.
Wayne Nash is the Director of Dalsan Properties, Inc.. Wayne's additional corporate interests include Amigoland, Inc., Parkpointe, Inc. and eleven more corporations.
The registered agent for the company is C T Corporation System. Also known as a statutory or resident agent, the registered agent is responsible for receiving legal notifications regarding court summons, lawsuits, and other legal actions involving the corporate entity.
Key roles for Dalsan Properties, Inc.
Robert K. Nash
President, Director
Wayne L. Nash
Director, Vice President, Secretary Secre
|Filing Type:
|Domestic For-Profit Corporation
|State ID:
|Date Filed:
|Tuesday, May 18, 1982
Comprehensive Insight Plus Report
|Learn More
|The D&B Comprehensive Insight Plus Report for Dalsan Properties, Inc. combines D&B's proprietary statistical scoring with business, payment and financial information all in one report.
US Company Profile Report
|Learn More
|The D&B U.S. Company Profile contains basic information such as address and telephone number, executive names and titles, line of business and SIC codes, D-U-N-S Numbers, organization status, and year and location of incorporation for Dalsan Properties, Inc..


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The lottery ticket was lost days after the Brampton couple realized they'd won. Thus began a two month search for the slip of paper that could change their lives
An investigation by the OLG that involved viewing surveillance images of a Shopper's Drug Mart in Cambridge and a credit card statement
Ottawa is about more than politics. It's about hockey too, and the hometown Senators can't win for losing. The same week their captain quit town for Detroit, team owner Eugene Melnyk lost a bid to build a casino and says he'll close the vault on future expenditures.
Despite public pledges to hold the line on salaries, all three provinces have seen pay hikes, bonuses or lump sums going to workers on the public payroll. But it's nobody's fault.
The contract with employees at Woodbine Slots and the LCBO workforce, marks a shift for the Liberals in their approach to public-sector compensation
Ontario's new premier has been trying to alleviate some of the hard feelings generated by Dalton McGuinty, particularly among unions and rural Ontarians.
OLG and union representatives have not been at the bargaining table since late April, when union members rejected a tentative agreement
Paul Godfrey announced that the rest of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation board of directors resigned after hearing the news he had been fired
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. says it will make more people millionaires each week starting this fall, but that it will cost more for a ticket
Rob Ford won the approval of the executive committee for a downtown casino complex, but he faces a tough fight when it goes to city council


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It doesn't bear fruit, but it does bear a striking resemblance to the real thing. The Olive Tree Wall Decal Set includes two different decals, a plant and pot in dark green, and an assortment of leaves. Self-adhesive and easily removable, this is a fresh accent for those lacking a green thumb.
Set includes two vinyl decals: (1) L 27" W 60" plant and pot and (1) L 25" W 35" assortment of leaves. Removable but not reusable.
This product has no reviews yet. Be the first to review this product. Write a review
Enjoy 10% off your first order*


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Gearbox Support
posted this on October 12, 2013, 11:07 AM
UPDATE 11/7 - All aforementioned site optimization work for Borderlands2LootHunt.com is complete. Any additional work will be noted on this page.Borderlands 2 sends your Loot Hunt data to the server when you exiting a Borderlands 2 session. When exiting, please ensure you are selecting "Save and Exit" and then wait at the Main Menu for a minute before turning off your system -- abruptly exiting the game could result in lost data.


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Assembly Publishes Report on Orthodox Christian Fellowship on US College Campuses
The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America released a new study report today. The report focuses on Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF), the official collegiate campus ministry program of the Assembly. OCF plays a critical role in the lives of young Orthodox adults who study at US colleges and universities. Strong


text: I am 9 weeks pregnant and I started spotting last week but it has picked up. I went to my doctor and my hcg was 22000. I go back Thursday but I have started having pain in my lower stomach ever few mins. It seems like if I get ready to pass clots. Any suggestions. I have called my doctor but he said as long as I don't fill a pad in an hour I am good to go.


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Beachfront Mansion In Maui
It's Monday again, and after last week's Thai villa, I'm still not quite done thinking about warm vacation destinations. This week, I've crossed the Pacific to the islands of Hawaii, where sprawling villas and golf courses nestle up to white-sand beaches. Let's start the week off gently with a look at one of these villas.
Come fly with me to the northwest coast of Maui — specifically, the turquoise crescent of Oneloa Bay, where the gated Kapalua Place curves along the coastline as it leads to this $28.5-million gem.
The property is nearly 7,500 square feet indoors, and almost 10,000 square feet when the covered lanais are included. Not only does this dining area look across to the peaks on the island of Moloka'i, but the listing promises you'll see "tens of thousands of humpback whales, dolphins and other magnificent creatures" in the bay. I wonder if that figure includes tourists.
Even the expansive kitchen has ocean views (and what I can only imagine are the most delicious breezes wafting through). The pineapple-backed chairs are a nice, whimsical nod to the islands.
Plenty of beach houses veer into seaside cliché or hotel-room blandness, but these neutral interiors set the perfect calm tone for a relaxing vacation. The furniture and accents — selected by renowned local designer Mary Philpotts — are included in the sale, so what you see is what you'd get.
Pocket doors in an upstairs bedroom open to a private balcony. (We'll just pretend the neighbouring house is more than a few hundred metres away.) There are four bedrooms in total, each with its own ensuite bath, plus second-floor space over the garage that could be turned into a separate guest suite.
What do you think? Are you ready to say goodbye to a few million and aloha to the island lifestyle?
Photo credits:
1-5. Mary Anne Fitch via Christie's International Real Estate
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compatible with os x 10.7.2
Is this printer compatible with OS X Lion
- Asked by Lynne C from Chicago
HP LaserJet Pro M1536dnf Multifunction Printer
Product No Longer Available
1 Answer from the Community
Best Answer:
Not yet, near as I can tell. The drivers from HPs website are for 10.6 only (you receive an error when you try to run them on Lion), and the Apple printer driver utility that hits Apple's servers says to contact the manufacturer.
- Answered by Christian R from Johnston


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The Chisago County Senior Center in North Branch now has an automated external defibrillator, or AED, thanks to a grant through Lake State Credit Union. Seated with the machine are Michelle Anderson of Lakes Region EMS and Brad Larson from Lake State; standing are some of the folks who visit the Sen...Read More
Lake State Federal Credit Union
North Branch Area High School recently received 100 new robes from Regency Cap and Gown. The robes were made possible through grants from the East Central Energy Round-up, the Shopko Foundation, and Lake State Federal Credit Union. The grant funds raised $3,500, and the North Branch Booster Club pr...Read More
Lake State Federal Credit Union's Community Improvement Foundation awarded $257.27 to Oak Leaf Grange #569. The funds were used for the purchase of flower beds for senior apartments and the senior center in North Branch. Lake State has given over $500,000 from its Community Improvement Foundation ...Read More
North Branch Garden Club is holding a plant sale on Saturday, June 2 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Lake State Federal Credit Union parking lot. Big variety of plants; come early. Also, the annual Garden Tour is Sunday, July 22 at 1 p.m. More information coming soon....Read More


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BioWare Causes a Disturbance in the Community
Forums can be a unforgiving and treacherous place, something that Star Wars: The Old Republic posters and administrators are finding out. Censorship happens in some form nearly everywhere but the latest SWTOR censorship has managed to step on a few toes, those toes being that of the homosexual community. According to 1up.com, certain words were added to the forum filter and an official statement from Community Manager insinuates that homosexuality just doesn't exist in Star Wars.
BioWare has spent the last couple of days in hot water with the homosexual community, thanks to banning certain words from their forums. Kotaku recently reported that the company locked threads dealing with homosexuality in The Old Republic, and censored the words "gay," "lesbian," and "homosexual." Community manager Sean Dahlberg simply said, "As I have stated before, these are terms that do not exist in Star Wars." Insert C-3PO joke here.
You can read more of this controversial story over at 1up.com!


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The disclosure describes how to use luminescence detection mechanism, move microfluid, and control multiple-step biochemical reactions in closed confined microfluidic biochip platform. More particularly, a self-contained disposable biochip with patterned microchannels and compartments having storage means for storing a plurality of samples, reagents, and luminescent substrates. At least one external microactuator in the biochip system produces positive pressure and automates multiple-step reactions in microfluidic platforms for clinical chemistry, cell biology, immunoassay and nucleic acid analysis. The method comprises the steps of transferring sequentially at least one of samples, reagents, and then luminescent substrate from compartments through microchannels to reaction sites. The luminescent substrates react with probes to form a probe complex resulting into luminescence, which is detected by an optical detector.
1. A method for performing biological assay in a self-contained microfluidic-based luminescence biochip, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) providing said biochip with a plurality of compartments and interconnecting microchannels, said compartments having storage means for storing a plurality of samples, reagents, luminescent substrates, and reaction sites immobilized with probes; and means for interconnecting said compartments to provide fluid transfer through said microchannels;
(b) transferring sequentially at least one of said samples and then at least one of said reagents through said microchannels to at least one of said reaction sites, said at least one sample and said at least one reagent reacting with said probes and forming a probe complex;
(c) transferring said luminescent substrate through said microchannels to said reaction sites, said luminescent substrates reacting with said probe complex and generating luminescence; and
(d) detecting said luminescence with an optical detector located above or under said reaction sites.
2. The method as defined in
3. The method as defined in
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5. The method as defined in
6. The method as defined in
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11. The method as defined in
The present application claims the benefit of 35 U.S.C. 111(b) Provisional applications Ser. No. 60/273,077 filed Mar. 5, 2001 entitled "Chemiluminescent biochip apparatus and method".
The invention is related to microfluidic biochip devices that utilize chemiluminescence or bioluminescence detection mechanism to rapidly detect chemical and biological species, for example cardiac markers, cancer marker, infectious diseases, gene diseases and mutation, nucleic acids, hormones, HIV, bacteria, and many other biological analytes with very high sensitivity. Apparatus and methods thereof are disclosed for analyzing biological samples in a self-contained biochip platform for luminescence-based immunological and nucleic acids analyses.
Light-emitting chemical reactions (chemiluminescence, CL) and light-emitting biological reactions (bioluminescence, BL) have a diverse range of analytical applications. Advantages of CL and BL assays include high sensitivity due to enzyme amplification, rapid signal generated in a few seconds, and assays do not need an external excitation light source. In many situations, these procedures are replacing the use of radioactive nuclides. As luminescent agents have become more efficient, many more studies are making use of luminescence assays as analytical tools. Chemiluminescent substrates, such as dioxetane, luminol, acridinium ester and hydrazide, have been developed. These compounds are catalyzed by hydrolytic enzyme and the resulting products emit light. Bioluminescent reactions are generally more efficient than chemiluminescence. BL has traditionally been associated with firefly luciferase. AquaLite (SeaLite Sciences, Ga.) is a recombinant form of a photoprotein from jellyfish. It can be triggered to produce all of its light in a single step within a few seconds. CL and BL methods have been developed for many enzyme labels (alkaline phosphatase, galactosidase, horseradish peroxidase, etc.). The enzymes are conjugated to the secondary antibody or analytes for subsequent substrate reactions. In a typical sandwich immunoassay, the analyte is sandwiched between the antibody conjugate and immobilized probes. The luminescence intensity at any time is a direct measure of the concentration of enzyme conjugate or analyte for positive identification. The newly developed dioxetane offers a detection sensitivity of 600 molecules (10−21 mole), making it several orders more sensitive than the fluorescence-based assay. Rather than a luminescent species being directly attached to a target analyte or to its binding partner, an enzyme is used to catalyze a luminescent reaction. The catalytic turnover ability of the enzyme allows thousands of potentially luminescent reactions to occur per second as long as sufficient substrate is present. Less than 10−21 mole of alkaline phosphatase can be detected in solutions using dioxetane-based compound, such as Lumi-PPD and Lumi-PS-1 of Lumigen Inc. (Southfield, Mich.). When Lumi-PPD is added to a microwell containing alkaline phosphatase, the resulting chemiluminescence reaches a maximum after 5-10 minutes and remains constant for more than an hour. Various luminescence detection devices (for example, luminometers) are commercially available. U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,387 discloses a method with an optical reflector to increase luminescence collection efficiency in a luminometer system and U.S. Pat. No. 6,187,267 addresses a free-space luminometer with a confocal optical array to detect an array of samples. No microfluidic system has been disclosed in luminometer patents.
Numerous immunoassay and nucleic acid assays, such as RIA, ELISA, fluorescence, polarization, and chemiluminescence, have been developed to varying degrees based on instrumental or visual inspection of results. Three common methods include: First, the dip-stick (membrane strip): the pregnancy test is a typical example. While such tests have proven useful in obtaining qualitative results based on the determination of analyte, they are not very useful for making quantitative measurement, especially with whole blood or in disease diagnoses requiring high sensitivity. Second, the modular cluster systems can run up to several thousands of samples per day. These modular workstations with robotic liquid handlers have the capability of running 200-800 tests per hour in hospitals and clinical laboratories. They often operate in a batch mode after a large collection of sample. These systems are too large to be used for near-patient-site tests. Third type is the point-of-care testing (POCT) device. Many hospitals have started to set up POCT training program for nurses and clinicians. I-Stat has a hand-held POCT device, described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,669, with a small cartridge for measuring the "chemical" components (blood gas, pH, sodium, potassium, etc.) in blood samples. The system based on one-step conductivity measurement and is very easy to use. Therefore, it is desirable to have microfluidic-based POCT for immunoassay (bacteria, virus, protein, hormone, cell receptor, etc.) and nucleic acid analysis (gene mutation, gene expression, oligonucleotide, DNA, RNA, single nucleotide polymorphism, etc.). However, immunoassay and nucleic acid assays often require multiple-step of reactions. Automating multiple-step reactions in a microfluidic biochip platform have been very challenging.
Nucleic acid analysis has been known to produce very sensitive testing results. The quantity of the analyte in the sample is very small. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), U.S. Pat. No. 5,229,297, technique provides a high level of sensitivity, but it takes 20-40 thermal cycles and 2-4 hours to prepare the sample and amplify nucleic acid samples. Most DNA chips are based on PCR amplification, it is too time consuming for POCT application. "Laboratory on a chip" technologies, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,238,538 and No. 6,270,641, are based on the electro-osmosis mechanism for nucleic acid electrophoresis. U.S. Pat. No. 6,271,042 utilizes a biochip structure with CCD camera for fluorescence detection. U.S. Pat. No. 6,215,894 discloses a method to process the biochip image. U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,246 describes a method to detect nucleic acids in a biochip platform based on nucleotide affinity reactions. None of the microfluidic biochip is based on non-PCR chemiluminescence detection.
CL and BL are used to detect nucleic acids using the binding nature of double strand oligonucleotides. Oligonucleotide probes hybridize with samples or conjugated (biotinylated) oligonucleotides on solid surfaces. The biotinylated oligonucleotides can easily bind to streptavidin-enzyme conjugate with very high affinity. Consequently, enzyme conjugates can trigger luminescence substrate to produce light as that occurred in chemiluminescent immunoassay. Instead the sensitivity of the reaction is judged by amplification of a signal. Since there are no thermal cycles involved in DNA analysis, the consequence of cross-contamination between samples is reduced when compared to PCR. The luminescence is also applied to the recently developed branched DNA (bDNA) assay. The concept of branched DNA is derived from the assembly of structural components in all biological systems. DNA possesses a well-known structure, which is invariant to sequence. The predictability of the association of DNA's cohesive ends, is the basis for genetic engineering endeavors that underlie modern molecular biology. DNA molecules with single-strand "sticky" ends are used to direct the assembly of individual fragments in a particular order. The predictability of sticky-ended ligation extends to the geometry of the product. Therefore, it is possible to design oligonucleotide sequences of DNA that will self-assemble to form stable branched complexes. A DNA branch junction has been built with as many as six double helical arms. The bDNA assay requires minimal sample preparation, allowing for rapid or point-of-care testing. Based on the double amplification principle, branched DNA multimer and enzyme chemiluminescence, the biochip provides microfluidics for all necessary nucleic acid chemistries. The advantage of the microfluidic biochip system is to automate the delivery of samples, hybridized amplifiers, enzyme conjugates, chemiluminescence substrates, and washing solutions to a reaction site in a predetermined order. After hybridization of enzyme-labeled probes with the amplifiers, the oligonucleotide-probe complex is detected by use of a chemiluminescence substrate. Branched DNA kit, commercialized by Bayer Diagnostics, is a clear deviation from PCR amplification technologies because the target nucleic acid is not replicated. The combination of bDNA luminescence and automated microfluidic biochip not only provides high sensitivity, but also offers simple and rapid testing.
The establishment of miniaturized microfluidic systems has brought to the immediate horizon the possibility of point-of-care analysis, to be achieved by extremely fast, hand-held, or portable laboratories. Many firms and research institutes are actively engaged in developing microfluidics and microarray technologies. Although significant efforts have been put into the development, most biochips are not self-contained; therefore, external reservoirs are used to store the reagents. When a biochip is connected to external reservoirs, it requires pumps and tubes. The resulting system becomes too large and too complex for POCT applications.
Prior to this invention, POCT devices are commonly lack of sensitivity. No system demonstrates the same performance: sensitivity, reliability, and precision as large stand-alone or modular systems. In combination of microactuator, microfluidic biochip, and highly sensitive luminescence detection mechanism, POCT devices can achieve same performance as the large workstations.
The invention is to integrate a highly sensitive luminescence assay protocol into a miniaturized self-contained biochip and apparatus. No bulking elements, such as external reagent reservoirs, pumps, and tubes, are necessary. Because all reagents are self-contained in closed confinement, no environmental contaminants will occur during the multiple steps of operation.
It is an object of the present invention to provide automated luminescence biochip devices that using microfluidics to perform all necessary reaction steps. Loading sample is the only required human involvement. Ease of use is one of the main purposes of the device.
One of the objects of the present invention is to provide biochip system for analyzing biological fluids, in particularly for clinical chemistry, immunoassay and nucleic acid analysis. Because of the sample and reagents are stored inside the sealed compartment, it is possible for long-term storage. In accordance with this aspect of the invention, an external microelectro-actuator situated above the disposable biochip is used to produce the positive pressure, open up the compartment, transport the fluids, and control the biochemical reactions. The invention is to provide the method of using microfluidic biochip-based devices for simple, rapid, or POCT application.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide microactuator arrays for manipulating high density of microfluidic arrays on a biochip. In accordance with this aspect of the invention, actuators in an array are in alignment with the sample and reagent cavities. It has long been appreciated that a disposable biochip should be very low cost. Therefore, no active mechanism should be fabricated on the chips. Multiple analytes can be tested on the same biochip. Only minimal amount of samples is needed for microfluidic biochip platform.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide high density biological probes immobilized on a plurality of spots on at least one of said reaction site. Therefore, one sample can be simultaneously tested for multiple analytes on the same reaction site.
The present invention has the advantage of automating multiple steps luminescence bioassay, and providing accurate and reproducible results. It should be understood, however, that the detail description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Further, as is will become apparent to those skilled in the area, the teaching of the present invention can be applied to devices for measuring the concentration of a variety of body fluidic samples.
The invention is hereinafter described primarily with respect to the use of automatic microfluidic biochip technology and chemically or biologically triggered luminescence to provide amplified signal for biological analyte detection. The example shown in
The methods to move microfluid in the biochip platform are commonly performed by electro-osmotic, capillary, piezoelectric, vacuum, and microactuator. The example shown in
An optical detector 60, located above or under reaction sites, is used for detecting luminescence generated from the luminescent probe complex. Various optical detectors, such as photodiode, charge-coupled device (CCD), photomultiplier tube (PMT), or photon counting detector, have different degree of sensitivity. PMT and photon counting detectors can achieve an electronic amplification factor as high as 106-108. Conventional PMTs require a ˜1 kV power source, but new miniaturized detector requires only a 5 V. Most of the chemiluminescence emission wavelengths are in the visible region. A narrow-band optical filter 62 ensures detecting luminescence wavelengths. The system is integrated with a microactuator, detector, microprocessor, electronics, a display, and translation stage. The translation stage can position a particular chip compartment under a particular microactuator or above the detector. With additional focus lens, the detector can scan and measure luminescent signals from various spots on a reaction site. The output of the detector is interfaced to an analog to digital converter and a microprocessor to calculate analyte concentration.
There are many biological assay formats. Sandwiched assay is a common format.
The probes may be selected from a group consisting of proteins, antibody, antigen, biological cells, and oligonucleotides.
Once all reagents are prepared in the compartments, an immunoassay protocol is described at follow: the only step for the operator is to inject a few microliters sample into a compartment 21. Then, the system will automatically
FIG. 5(a) shows the test results, which plots light intensity versus a series of analyte concentrations, for luteinizing hormone (LH) based on chemiluminescent biochip sandwiched immunoassay. The LH with the concentration of 0, 5, 15, 50, and 100 mIU/ml correspond to the concentrations of 0, 3.2, 6.4, 32, and 64 ng/ml (1 mIU/ml of LH is equal to 0.64 ng/ml.). The response curve shows a linear regression, Y=53.2X+177 with a coefficient of linear regression R2=0.968. X is the concentration of LH in the unit of ng/ml. Based on our preliminary experiments we obtained a detection limit of 20 pg/ml for LH. Considering the total analyte used was 25 μl it is equivalent to 5�10−18 mole or five attomoles LH. FIG. 5(b) plots light intensity versus a series of analyte concentrations for troponin I. A series of CTn I (0, 0.5, 1, 2.5, 5, 10, and 25 ng/ml) was prepared to cover the clinically significant dynamic range. The resulting response curve shows a linear regression, Y=112.6X+99.9 with a coefficient of linear regression R2=0.979. Based on these experiments, a detection limit of 50 pg/ml for troponin I was obtained.
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text:
Okanjo Partners tests resale website, draws $1 million in merchandise
Okanjo Partners Inc., a Milwaukee start-up that began beta testing its resale website earlier this month, has in less than two weeks lured sellers with $1 million worth of merchandise.
Okanjo's fast start came this week when a flock of sellers migrated to the new site from yardsellr.com, said Michael Drescher, Okanjo's chief executive officer. »Read Full Article(1)


text: After you score your Anya Hindmarch bag at Whole Foods, head to CVS for the Boots No7 Restore & Renew Release. The beauty serum goes on sale tomorrow, July 18th at 8:00 a.m. only at the CVS/pharmacy on 630 Lexington at 53rd Street in New York City. The first 50 people in line will receive a $50 Boots gift bag full of their favorite products!


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See more: To see the image this article refers to, keep checking Picture of the Day on our news blog Short Sharp Science
DON'T fear, ants haven't started constructing micromachines, though I wouldn't put it past them. Perhaps the most impressive of all insects - no mean feat when there are some 3 million species - ants construct peerless, air-conditioned homes, tend fungus gardens underground and perhaps even farm other insects for meat. Their societies are among the biggest and most complex on Earth, their military prowess formidable, and their strength-to-weight ratio legendary.
This one, however, is dead. To image biological material in a scanning electron microscope it must be freeze-dried so it doesn't rupture in the vacuum of the instrument. Specimens must also be electrically conductive, otherwise the intense beam of electrons hitting it will build up an electric charge. This means that non-metallic objects have to be coated in a thin film of metal, often gold.
To be sealed in an armour of gold after death - well, it isn't a bad way to go. It seems particularly fitting for an animal that can learn to adapt its behaviour when necessary, will sacrifice itself for its nest mates, and forms the largest cooperative unit ever recorded.
Ants haven't yet been recorded manipulating micromechanical cogs, however - except in stunts set up by cunning electron microscope technicians.
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Pronunciation: Actinomyces
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© Jan-Joseph Stok / Greenpeace We cannot sustain life without healthy, thriving forests. That is why Greenpeace campaigns for their protection and on this International Day of Forests, we want to share with you a few reasons why you should help.
The islands of Papua New Guinea are home to some of the most important – and most beautiful – tropical rainforests in the world. Does ecoforestry represent a viable option for the region's forest communities and ecosystems?
As logging companies fast-track the harvesting of logs, landowners feel powerless to protect their homes and their precious forests.
A big scandal is rapidly unfolding in Papua New Guinea.
Forests are being stolen and destroyed. Species lost. Communities ripped apart.
Help us save these vital forests before they are lost forever.
As few as 400 tigers are thought to remain in the rainforests of Sumatra, which are vanishing at a staggering rate – a quarter of a million hectares every year. Expansion of oil palm and pulpwood plantations was responsible for nearly two-thirds...
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Reviews for Cappagh B&BAddress: 15 Ross Ard, Cappagh Road, Galway, Ireland
Rooms from: US$ 81.39
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The following reviews were submitted by customers who booked through our sister site, Hostelworld.com, in the last 12 months.
The ratings in the rating box are based on all-time feedback for the property and are the opinions of the customers who submitted them; they do not express the opinions of Hostelworld.com or our affiliate sites.
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Customer Reviews for Cappagh B&B
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Columbia Business School
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Columbia Business School's core curriculum consists of two full-term courses and eight half-term courses.
A staple of the Columbia experience, the core curriculum is designed to give students an in-depth mastery of the academic disciplines and applied functional areas necessary to every business leader's success. Taught by both full-time professors and practitioners, the core leaves students with more than just practical knowledge; case-based lessons and collaborative learning models train students to analyze, decide, and lead — rather than merely know — while creating a common student experience that fosters a deep and tenacious community.
Before each term, exemption exams are offered, allowing students already deeply versed in a particular subject area the opportunity to replace core courses with electives.
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Women in the Maldives
|This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2013)
A Maldivian bride.
|Gender Inequality Index
|0.357 (2012)
|Maternal mortality (per 100,000)
|60 (2010)
|Women in parliament
|6.5% (2012)
|Females over 25 with secondary education
|20.7% (2010)
|Women in labour force
|55.7% (2011)
|Global Gender Gap Index[1]
|0.6604 (2013)
|97th out of 136
The status of Women in the Maldives has traditionally been fairly high, as attested to in part by the existence of four Sultanas. Women do not veil, nor are they strictly secluded, but special sections are reserved for women in public places, such as stadiums and mosques. Women do not accept their husbands' names after marriage but maintain their maiden names. Inheritance of property is through both males and females.
As Muslims, men may have as many as four wives, but there is little evidence to suggest that many have more than one.
Women have always had an important role in the family and community. In the early history of Maldives, it was not uncommon to have a woman as a Sultana or ruler and it has been suggested that the society was once a matriarchy.
In today's society women hold strong positions in government and business. A large percentage of government employees are women. The male female ratio of enrollment and completion of education to secondary school standards remains equivalent. Women serve in the cabinet and the Parliament.
In 2013, a 15-year-old rape victim received a sentence of 100 lashes for fornication. The sentence was later overturned by the Maldivian High Court, following an international petition campaign led by Avaaz.[2]
- ^ "The Global Gender Gap Report 2013" (PDF). World Economic Forum. pp. 12–13.
- ^ "Maldives rape victim spared the lash after global anger". The Independent. 2013-08-24.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies.
External links[edit]
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Women of the Maldives.
|This article related to women's history is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
|This Maldives-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.


text:
Photo Flash: First Look - Harrison Ford in ENDER'S GAME
In the near future, a hostile alien race (called the Formics) have attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander, Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), all would have been lost. In preparation for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young children to find the future Mazer. Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy, but strategically brilliant boy is pulled out of his school to join the elite.
Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters increasingly difficult war games, distinguishing himself and winning respect amongst his peers. Ender is soon ordained by Graff as the military's next great hope, resulting in his promotion to Command School. Once there, he's trained by Mazer Rackham, himself, to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race.
About Author
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Does anyone on here have a subscription? Is it worth $40?
Does anyone on here have a subscription? Is it worth $40?
I was just about to buy mine this week. When parusing the site though, it might not seem like it. You can go with a short subcription to try it out I think.
I've had one for a few years. It's worth it to me, but it's definitely targeted at the analytical types. If you believe in "question everything" and your eyes don't glaze over whenever a bunch of numbers are thrown at you, you'd probably like it.
For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible
I'll probably get it. Thanks guys.
I've had one for two years...I like it...
If you have ever seen a hard copy of Baseball Prospectus...it is sort of like that. There is also a fair bit of free content on the site.
A healthy Reds team is a strong Reds team"
5 years and counting, well worth the price... if you're a seamhead.
You can learn something new there everyday. You can try it on a monthly basis for like $4. I enjoy it alot. You can pore over stats until your eyes bleed and your brain smokes and plenty of good reading in the articles.
0 Value Over Replacement Poster
"Sit over here next to Johnathan (Bench)...sit right here, he's smart."--Sparky Anderson
I just started for the first time this spring training - most definitely worth it I'd say.
The content is stuff you really don't hear anywhere else.
I use an RSS feed reader - and I get about 15-20 various baseball feeds - most parrot one another. BP is different. Will Carroll & Joe Sheehan are great columnists that look at things differently. Kevin Goldstein - BP's minor league reporter - was at Baseball America
Also - their searchable/downloadable baseball stats database can't be beat.
For my fantasy draft this year, I was able to pull out of their database (which all of the data can be downloaded into a CSV file - then saved as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet), and made a nice, quick reference sheet with tabs for all the positions to use on Draft day. It was invaluable- and about 100 times better than thumbing thru a magazine.
I'm not a big "pay" for web content guy - I personally loathe the idea - but I'll happily pay for the three sites I do - BA, BP & Morningstar - because you can't get their stuff anywhere else.
Hope that helps - if you need help navigating or tapping into some of their features drop me a PM - that's probably the toughest part early on, their is very little "FAQs for new users" type info.
I just got it. You're right JM. The site's a little tough to find your way around at first, but it's cool so far.
You'll be VORP'n and WARP'n in no time.
0 Value Over Replacement Poster
"Sit over here next to Johnathan (Bench)...sit right here, he's smart."--Sparky Anderson
I'm starting to VORP and WARP, but I'm sort of stumped by this...
Dunn 2003: .215/.354/.465 .286EqA
Dunn 2006: .234/.365/.490 .284EqA
Is that a typo or do I not understand something? One more thing...Why do they use RA instead of ERA? Just wondering.
Last edited by Superdude; 10-24-2006 at 10:25 PM.
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text:
Courtney Love Embarrasses Herself (Again), Plus Other Totally Mortifying Celeb Moments
tara reid nipslip jpg
3 of 3
Tara Reid Nip Slip. Oh, Ta-ta ... I mean Tara Reid has also had more than her fair share of "body" embarrassments. Remember her nip slip on the red carpet? Worst was she didn't even notice that the silicone sucker had popped out.
Tags: tara reid nipslip


text:
Seems to be working… (from 2009)
Filed under: Uncategorized
Seems to be working… (from 2009)
Filed under: Uncategorized
[…] way." You can follow Sierra Black's writings at her blog, ChildWild.Speaking of Newt, does his South Carolina win mean that his anointing is working?Yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of The Witches' Voice (on Facebook), arguably the most […]
Hmmmm, and what does the Pope think about such a blessing performed as it is by a heretic?
[…] Speaking of Newt, does his South Carolina win meant that his anointing is working? […]
Anyone who comments on current affairs on-line risks being smeared by attack sites and/or abusive Tweets. This is particularly so if one chooses to challenge dishonesty or other kinds of reprehensible behaviour.
As a result of making a stand in a few particular instances, I have become the focus of a number of such attacks.
The bad faith of such sites and Tweets ought to be self-evident. However, any readers interested in the true background can read this and this.
American Academy of Religion
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Privacy and Cookies
Japan's Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp (ETIC) has proposed bankruptcy as an option for the restructuring of Japan Airlines (JAL).
ETIC is in talks on the future of JAL with creditor banks, and mooted the possibility of a Chapter 11 style bankruptcy for the ailing carrier, say media reports in Japan quoting anonymous sources.
Chapter 11 style bankruptcy would afford JAL protection from creditors while it restructures.
In mid-November, Japan's transport minister Seiji Maehara stopped short of ruling out the possibility that JAL may go into bankruptcy.
"I have never said a court-led bankruptcy is impossible," he said then.
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text:
Effective differential dynamic range in a differential pixel detector is increased by avoiding saturation effects due to common mode contribution in optical energy to be detected. Photocurrent generated by each photodetector pair is directly integrated by an associated capacitor over an integration time T. Within time T, before either integrated capacitor voltage reaches Vsat for the photodetector, at least one of the capacitors is reset to a voltage such that the desired differential detector signal is still determinable. Reset may be generated externally or internally to the differential pixel detector.
1. A method to increase effective differential dynamic range for a differential pixel detector exposed to optical energy having a common mode component, the differential pixel detector including a first photodetector and an associated first capacitor, and a second photodetector and an associated second capacitor, the method comprising:
(a) at start of an integration time T, resetting voltage on each said capacitor to a fixed reference voltage;
(b) during said integration time T, directly integrating photocurrent generated by said first photodetector in said first capacitor, and directly integrating photocurrent generated by said second photodetector in said second capacitor;
(c) within said integration time T, before voltage developed across either said first capacitor or said second capacitor attains a saturation voltage Vsat associated with said differential pixel detector resetting the developed voltage on said capacitor such that a desired differential pixel detector signal is still determinable.
2. The method of
3. The method of
4. The method of
5. The method of
6. The method of
7. The method of
further including a step of counting number of resets of voltage developed across said capacitor during said integration time T;
wherein effective dynamic range of the associated said photodetector is n�(Vref−Vsat)+Vfinal, where n is said number of resets, and Vfinal is voltage on said capacitor at end of integration time T.
8. The method of
9. The method of
providing a third capacitor switchably coupleable in parallel with said first capacitor, and providing a fourth capacitor switchably coupleable in parallel with said second capacitor;
switchably decoupling said third capacitor from said first photodetector, and switchably decoupling said fourth capacitor from said second photodetector;
switchably inverting and coupling together in parallel said third capacitor and said fourth capacitor such that accumulated charge redistributes therebetween such that a common mode component is substantially reduced;
wherein said desired differential pixel detector signal is still determinable and each reset bring common mode magnitude closer to a voltage Vref.
10. The method of
11. The method of
wherein said desired differential pixel detector signal is still determinable while common mode is suppressed to prevent saturation.
12. The method of
13. The method of
14. The method of
15. A differential pixel detector responsive to optical energy having a common mode component, comprising:
a first photodetector and an associated first capacitor that directly integrates photocurrent generated by said first photodetector during an integration time T;
a second photodetector and an associated second capacitor that directly integrates photocurrent generated by said second photodetector during said integration time T;
means for forcing potential on each said capacitor to a fixed voltage potential before start of said integration time T; and
means for resetting potential on either capacitor during said integration time T before said potential attains a saturation voltage Vsat associated with said differential pixel detector such that a desired differential pixel detector signal is still determinable.
16. The pixel of
17. The pixel of
18. The differential pixel detector of
19. The differential pixel detector of
a differential comparator having a first input coupled to said first capacitor and a second input coupled to said second capacitor and outputting a differential signal proportional to a difference between signals at said first input and said second input; and
a resettable charge pump coupled to receive said differential signal output from said differential comparator and to be reset when each said first capacitor and said second capacitor are reset;
wherein an output from said resettable charge pump is a stored accumulation of voltage differentials between said first photodetector and said second photodetector.
20. The differential pixel detector of
21. The differential pixel detector of
wherein effective dynamic range of the associated said photodetector is n�(Vref−Vsat)+Vfinal, where n is said number of resets, Vref is a reset voltage and Vfinal is voltage on said first capacitor at end of integration time T.
22. The differential pixel detector of
23. The differential pixel detector of
a third capacitor switchably coupleable in parallel with said first capacitor, and a fourth capacitor switchably coupleable in parallel with said second capacitor;
means for switchably decoupling said third capacitor from said first photodetector, and switchably decoupling said fourth capacitor from said second photodetector;
means for switchably inverting and coupling together in parallel said third capacitor and said fourth capacitor such that accumulated charge redistributes therebetween such that a common mode component is substantially reduced;
wherein said desired differential pixel detector signal is still determinable and each reset brings common mode magnitude closer to a voltage Vref.
24. The differential pixel detector of
means for complementarily switchingly coupling each lead of said first capacitor to a source of fixed potential Vref, and complementarily switchingly coupling each lead of said second capacitor to said source of fixed potential Vref;
a resettable integrator, switchably integrating a potential present at each lead of each said capacitor;
wherein integration provides an output proportional to differential signal present at said first photodetector and said second photodetector while canceling common mode component including KT/C noise substantially independently of matching of components in said differential pixel detector.
25. The differential pixel detector of
a mirrored current source to inject a fixed amount of charge into said first capacitor and into said second capacitor such that potential on each capacitor is moved away from a potential approaching Vsat;
wherein desired differential pixel detector signal is still determinable while common mode is suppressed to prevent saturation;
said mirrored current source selected from a group consisting of (a) a constant current source whose matched outputs are switchably coupled to said first capacitor and said second capacitor, and (b) a pulsed matched constant current source whose current outputs are coupled to said first capacitor and said second capacitor.
26. The differential pixel detector of
small high voltage capacitors to inject an amount of charge into said first capacitor and into said second capacitor such that potential on each capacitor is moved away from a potential approaching Vsat;
wherein said desired differential pixel detector signal is still determinable while common mode is suppressed to prevent saturation.
27. The differential pixel detector of
Priority is claimed from applicant's U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/462,167 filed on 11 Apr. 2003 entitled "Differential Dynamic Range Enhancement Methods and Systems", assigned to Canesta, Inc., the entire content of which application is incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates generally to optical sensors, and more particularly to enhancing dynamic range of such sensors, while allowing the sensors to be fabricated using CMOS techniques.
Systems that rely upon sensing optical energy to discern information are known in the art and have many applications. Exemplary applications might include an optical-based system to determine range between the system and a target object, or to identify and recognize features of a target object. Many such systems acquire two-dimensional or intensity-based information, and rely upon an intensity image of light reflected from a target object. Such luminosity-based systems can use ambient light falling upon the target object, or may actively generate light that is directed toward the target object.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to accurately determine distance solely from the amplitude and brightness of an intensity image. For example, in a range finding system, a highly reflecting target object that is father away from the system can produce a greater amplitude signal than a nearer target object that is less reflective. The result would be that the more distant, shiny, object is erroneously reported as being closer to the system than the closer, duller, object. In a range finding system used to control robot machinery in an industrial setting, such errors may be intolerable for reasons of safety to nearby human operators. If such a system is used to identify and recognize different target objects, an object might be misidentified. Simply stated, two-dimensional intensity-based systems are very prone to measurement error.
The present invention may be used in a wide range of applications including, but not limited to, range finding systems. It may be useful at this juncture to briefly review such systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,942 to Bamji et al. (November 2001) entitled "CMOS-Compatible Three-Dimensional Image Sensor IC" describes a three-dimensional range finding system that can determine range distance without reliance upon luminosity-based data, the entire content of which patent is incorporated herein by this reference. As disclosed in the '942 patent, such a system generates a depth map that contains the distance Z from each pixel in a CMOS-compatible sensor array to a corresponding location on a target object. Applicants refer to and incorporate by reference the '942 patent as background material. U.S. Pat. No. 6,580,496 to Bamji et al. (June 2003) entitled "Systems for CMOS-Compatible Three-Dimensional Image Sensing Using Quantum Efficiency Modulation" describes the use of quantum modulation techniques and differential detectors suitable for a three-dimensional range finding system, the entire content of which patent is incorporated herein by this reference. In the '496 patent the quantum efficiency of the substrate upon which differential CMOS sensors were fabricated was modulated synchronously with optical energy emitted from an energy source. Applicants refer to and incorporate by reference the '496 patent as background material.
System 10 includes an array 60 of pixel detectors 70, each of which has dedicated circuitry 80 for processing detection charge output by the associated detector. (As used herein, the terms "detector" and "pixel" and "pixel detector" may be used interchangeably.) Array 60 might include 100�100 pixels 70, and 100�100 associated detector processing circuits 80. One will appreciate that other configurations may be used. IC 30 preferably also includes a microprocessor or microcontroller unit 90, RAM and ROM memory, collectively 100, a high-speed distributable clock 110, and various computing and input/output (I/O) circuitry 120. System 10 preferably further includes a lens 130 to focus light reflected from target object 20 upon pixels 70 in array 60. As noted in the above-mentioned patents, controller unit 90 may carryout distance-to-object and object velocity calculations and can output such calculations as DATA, for use by a companion device, if desired. As seen in
In brief, microprocessor 90 can calculate the roundtrip time for optical energy from source 40 to travel to target object 20 and be reflected back to a pixel 70 within array 60. This time-of-flight (TOF) is given by the following relationship:
Thus, without reliance upon luminosity information, system 10 can calculate that Z1=C�t1/2, Z2=C�t2/2, Z2=C�t3/2, and so on. The correct Z distances are obtained, even if more distant regions of target object 20 happen to be more reflective than nearer regions of the target object.
The ability of system 10 to determine proper TOF distances Z can be impacted when the magnitude of ambient light is large relative to the magnitude of reflected light from source 40. What occurs is that the various pixels 70 respond to incoming optical energy that represents the real signal to be measured (e.g., active energy originating from source 40 and reflected by target object 20), and also respond to ambient light. The depth resolution of each pixel, i.e., the accuracy of the distance measurement, is determined by the system signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Even if ambient light could be measured and subtracted from the total signal, its noise component (e.g., shot noise) would still degrade system performance. Further, the presence of ambient light can have even more severe consequences by causing the pixel detector to saturate.
In a so-called differential pixel detector, the active optical energy contributes to both a differential mode signal and a common mode signal, while ambient light only contributes to the common mode signal. While differential pixel detectors can exhibit higher SNR than single-ended pixel detectors, the presence of strong ambient light, sunlight perhaps, can degrade the performance of differential pixel detectors, as will now be described. As used herein, the term "differential detector" refers to a detector that responds to two input parameters. For example in the '496 patent, the differential detectors responded to amplitude of incoming optical energy and to phase of such energy relative to energy output by emitter 40; see
Incoming optical energy falling upon a pixel detector 70 generates an extremely small amount of photocurrent (or photocharge), typically on the order of picoamps (10−12 amps). Such detection current signals are too small in magnitude to be measured directly. It is known in the art to provide pixel detectors that operate in a direct integration mode by which optical energy induced photocurrent is integrated on a capacitor and the final capacitor charge or voltage is readout at the end of an integration interval. A capacitor Cx has finite maximum charge capacity Qmax defined by:
A differential pixel detector (e.g., detectors 70 in
Referring briefly to
Readout circuitry is provided for circuit A and B, comprising transistors Tfollower and Tread. At the end of the integration time, which will be a function of the repetition rate of the optical pulses emitted from optical energy source 40, microprocessor 90 causes a readout signal Φread to go high. This enables the voltages on nodes SA and SB to be read-out of array 60, e.g., through a bitline. In the exemplary configuration of
But in addition to generating photocurrent in response to optical energy or active light (from emitter 40) reflected by target object 20, pixel 70 will also generate photocurrent in response to ambient light that is also integrated by capacitors CA, CB, thus affecting the potential at nodes SA, SB.
Thus there is a need for a method and topology by which the dynamic range of a differential pixel detector can be enhanced such that degradation from ambient light is substantially reduced. Even in the presence of strong ambient light that might otherwise saturate the pixel, the differential response of the pixel should still be available. Further, such method and topology should be implementable using CMOS such that the differential sensor array can still be fabricated on a common IC with associated range finding system.
Embodiments of the present invention provide such methods and circuit topologies.
Effective differential dynamic range in a differential pixel detector is increased by avoiding saturation effects due to common mode contribution in optical energy to be detected. Photocurrent generated by each photodetector pair is directly integrated by an associated capacitor over an integration time T. The resultant capacitor voltage is proportional to detected optical energy including ambient light. Within time T, before either integrated capacitor voltage reaches Vsat for the photodetector, at least one of the capacitors is reset to a voltage such that the desired differential detector signal is still determinable.
In one embodiment, at start of integration time T, the voltage across each capacitor is preset to a fixed Vref voltage. During integration time T whenever the integrated capacitor voltage of either capacitor reaches Vsat, that capacitor is reset to Vref. After reset, capacitor voltages are again allowed to change as a function of photocurrent, and will be reset to Vref whenever and as soon as either capacitor voltage reaches Vsat. A count of total resets for each capacitor is maintained, and the amount of light falling upon each detector is a function of its final voltage at end of integration and the number of resets occurring during integration. In another embodiment, the common mode component of the integrated capacitor voltages is reset periodically to prevent either photodiode detector from saturating. However the differential component of the integrated capacitor voltages is preserved. The result is to extend effective differential dynamic range of the differential sensor in the presence of ambient light by avoiding the effects of saturation. Embodiments of the present invention can extend differential dynamic range of the differential sensor despite mismatching in the components implementing the differential pixel detector.
Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description in which the preferred embodiments have been set forth in detail, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 9D and
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention will be described in conjunction with the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the invention to those embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
But as shown by the waveforms in
Returning to
Referring briefly to
At the end of the integration time, the counter value (n) and the final voltage Vfinal on capacitor CA are read-out separately by turning-on TreadD and TreadA, respectively.
Turning now to
At start of integration, counter 150′ starts counting to measure the time since the last reset to Vref. In the following discussion it will be assumed that the magnitude of incoming ambient light does not change substantially during the integration time. Two scenarios will be considered: ambient light is strong, and ambient light is not very strong.
If the ambient light is strong, each photodetector DA and DB (DB not shown) will reach Vsat multiple times during one integration period. In this case, every time either photodetector reaches Vsat the photodetectors and counter 150′ are simultaneously reset. At the end of the integration period, each photodetector will be at a determinable voltage level, which level will likely be different for each detector. Further, at the end of the integration period, the counter will have stored the time (Δtf) since the last reset required for the photodetectors to attain these final voltage levels. Since each photodetector end-of-integration voltage level is known, as is the time Δtf, the slope of the voltage curves for each photodetector and the number of resets that should have occurred during integration can be determined; see FIG. 4B. Note at the right-hand side of
If the ambient light is not strong, at the end of the integration time T, the counter value will be equal to the integration time, and the voltages across the photodiodes DA and DB will represent all that the photocharge each pixel could collect during the whole integration time. In this case, no further calculation is needed to determine the total voltages, since it follows from T=Δtf that:
Once the relevant times and photodiode voltages are read-out, an external computation unit, perhaps microprocessor 90 in system 10 (see
As noted, in
As noted, capacitor Cr is initialized at the beginning of integration along with the photodetector. As with the self-reset method, the non-inverting input of comparator 140 may be switched to VDD (rather than to Vsat during integration) to reset pixel 70′ (e.g., both photodetectors and Cr). By judiciously making voltage Vsat low, all photodiodes are simultaneously reset, thus removing the need for a separate reset signal.
Turning now to
At the end of integration, three voltage values are read-out from pixel 70′, namely Va (voltage across DA), Vb (voltage across DB), and Vr (voltage across capacitor Cr). Given these quantities, one can calculate the resulting differential voltage Vswing-a−Vswing-b as follows. Looking at
This linear function f(Vr) is obtained by writing Vr, as Vr=Vref+n�k�(Va−Vb). As noted, Vref is the initial voltage for capacitor Cr (e.g., the reset voltage for photodetectors DA, DB), n is the number of sample/reset cycles, and k is a constant determined from the circuit of
It is possible to automatically generate the Δsample or Δreset signals within each pixel 70′, by providing some additional circuitry. One can use two comparators to compare SA, SB node potentials with Vsat, and the logical OR can be taken of the comparator outputs to yield the Δsample signal. Thus as soon as either photodiode potential reaches Vsat, Δsample goes high. If desired, Δreset can be a delayed version of Δsample. Such a self-resetting configuration would use two comparators, an OR gate, and a delay element that could be a simple RC delay.
Turning now to
For ease of illustration,
In normal operation switching transistors TswA and TswB are open, while transistors TvrefA and TvrefB, and TdisA and TdisB are closed. Initially photodetector diodes DA and DB are reset to Vref via transistors TresetA and TresetB, but during integration transistors TresetA and TresetB remain open. As optical energy impinges on photodiode DA it discharges its parasitic capacitor CDA as well as capacitor CA, while photodiode DB discharges its parasitic capacitor CDB as well as its capacitor CB. Initial reset is achieved though transistors TresetA and TresetB, which initialize the circuit at potential Vref, although other potentenial levels may instead be used.
During common mode reset, signal ΦresetA remains low, while the other control signals operate as shown in FIG. 6B. During operation of pixel 70′, the following steps take place:
(1) First, capacitors CA and CB are decoupled from associated photodiodes DA and DB by bring the Φdis signal low, which opens discharge transistors TdisA and TdisB going low. This operation does not change the differential charge quantity QA−QB, and no KT/C noise is introduced on QA−QB.
(2) Next, when control signal Φnorm goes low, the bottom plates of capacitors CA and CB are decoupled from Vref by the opening of transistors TrefA and TrefB. The quantity QA−QB remains unaffected, even in terms of KT/C.
(3) When the control signal Φswitch goes high, capacitors CA and QB redistribute their charge. Let QCA be the charge on capacitor CA and let QCB be the charge on capacitor CB. If capacitors CA and CB are now shorted together in parallel the total charge quantity QCA+QCB would be preserved. However since CB is connected to CA inverted, the quantity QCA−QCB is preserved during this operation. Since no switches are opened no KT/C arises from this step.
(4) When the control signal ΦswA goes low; a KT/C uncertainty appears in the charge redistribution, but this KT/C appears as common mode on the quantities QCA and QCB. Any charge taken from QCA shows up exactly on QCB but with a minus sign. Thus after switches TswA and TswB open, QCA=QCA+NoiseKTC, and −QCB′=−QCB′−NoiseKTC. Thus there is no KT/C noise on QCA′−QCB′=QCA−QCB+(NoiseKTC−NoiseKTC).
(5) Next, when control signal Φnorm goes high again the differential charge QA−QB is unchanged.
(6) Finally, when control signal Φdis goes high, QA−QB is unchanged.
If desired some of the above steps may be combined for simplicity. For example steps 5 and 6 may occur simultaneously or even out of sequence. Steps 1,2 and 5,6 clearly do not affect QA−QB, and it was demonstrated that steps 3 and 4 do not affect QCA−QCB. Thus, steps 1 through 6 do not affect QA−QB. In operation, the generation of the various control signals can be handled by microprocessor 90 in system 10 in
Note that no assumption as to closeness of component matching was made in the above analysis, and the conclusions reached remain irrespective of the values of capacitors CA, CB, CDA, and CDB. Additionally the linearity of the capacitors does not affect performance, and the configuration shown in
Consider now the common mode voltage on photodiodes DA and DB after reset. Within reasonable bounds, the exact value of the common mode voltage is not critical. Although an analysis can be carried out for almost any capacitor values, for simplicity of explanation let it be assumed that CA=CB and CDA=CDB.
Since it is small, let KT/C reset noise be ignored. Thus after step 5 if VCA (the voltage across capacitor CA) and if VCB (the voltage across capacitor CB) have the relation VCA=−VCB, the voltage on the top plate of CA is (Vref+V CA) and the voltage on the top plate of CB is (Vref−VCA).
As noted, charge difference QA−QB is preserved in the configuration of FIG. 6A. Assuming that CA=CA and CDA=CDB it can be shown that the voltage difference VDA−VDB on the photodiodes is also preserved, and that is voltage is VDA−VDB=2VCA=−2VCB, after step 5. Thus following step 5, VDA and VDB must differ from the top plate voltages on capacitors CA and CB by only a constant K.
After step 6 because of charge redistribution the new voltages are:
To recapitulate, for the embodiment of
Transistors TdisA and TdisB can be used as global shutters, thereby improving resilience to ambient light by stopping the effects of all light impinging on the differential pixel when the shutter is turned off. When TdisA and TdisB are off, capacitors Ca and Cb are decoupled from photodetectors PDDA and PDDB and therefore stop integrating the signal from PDDA and PDDB. If the output of the pixel is chosen to be top plate of capacitors CA and CB then the output of the pixel will be frozen after TdisA and TdisB are turned-off, thereby providing the function of a global shutter.
Turning now to
During integration, transistors controlled by signal Φint are turned-on and transistors controlled by signals Φr, Φreset are turned-off. Thus during integration, light induced photocurrent discharges photodiode parasitic capacitance CDA, CDB, as well as capacitors CA and CB. As has been noted, the integrated signals contain both differential mode and common mode components.
Next, in a common mode reset phase, control signal Φint goes low, causing transistors Tint to decouple CA from CDA and to decouple CB from CDB. Then control signal Φr goes high, turning-on transistors Tr and charge in both CA and CB transfers to the integration capacitor Cint. Note that polarities of the charge transferred onto Cint are opposite due to the arrangement of the Tr switches.
The integrated charge on Cint after the common mode reset can be expressed in terms of charge on CDA, CDB before the common mode reset as:
Therefore the common mode signal is cancelled while the differential signal is preserved, which is the desired result.
Preferably common mode reset is performed multiple times and is interleaved with the integration during the whole frame integration. During integration, the integrating operational amplifier 180 may be turned off to save power. The total number of common mode reset performed will depend on the intensity of ambient light. The final signal readout is the accumulated charge (hence voltage) on Cint.
While the charge integrator in the embodiment of
In the embodiment of
Turning now to
Most of the above-described embodiments accumulate the DA−DB charge difference in a capacitor, and periodically reset DA and DB to Vref to avoid saturation.
In the embodiment of
The embodiment of FIG. 9A and the embodiment of
In the embodiment of
As noted, current source 190 may be controlled using a voltage reference or a current reference. If a voltage reference is used, the voltage can be VDD or Vref, in which case only the ΦXC signal would be needed to perform common-mode removal. For CCCS (or current mirrors) a variety of circuit configurations are structures are available, two of which are shown in
An important concern in implementing current mirrors is matching, in this case between output currents A and B. To minimize matching errors, transistors with large values of width and length should be used and should be carefully laid out. For example the orientation of transistors should be the same for currents A and B.
Although various embodiments of the present invention have been described in the context of dynamic range enhancement for three-dimensional image sensing, it is understood that embodiments of the present invention may be used in other applications that require dynamic range enhancement in the presence of a strong common mode signal. Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that some or all of the described embodiments may be implemented with components other than the specific semiconductor switches, amplifiers, comparators, integrators, counters, etc. described herein.
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto and their equivalents.
Patent Citations
Referenced by
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Larry Simns is a man whose many actions to protect the Chesapeake Bay and its inhabitants have always spoken louder than his few words.
As the founder and four-decade president of the Maryland Watermen's Association, Simns has been the chief advocate for both the state's commercial fisherman and the water body where they catch their livelihood.
To celebrate his unceasing dedication to the state's largest natural resource, Gov. Martin O'Malley named the lifelong waterman the Admiral of the Chesapeake, the state's highest honor which can be bestowed upon an individual for environmental ...


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Check out our "Specials" page for exclusive offers!
Welcome To Our Practice!
Dr.Totera specializes in beautifying smiles, maintaining your dental health, and helping you improve your appearance. Our experienced and friendly staff takes great pride in keeping your smile beautiful. Our promise to you is that the veneers, fillings, crowns, and bridges we create will look as good as or better than the teeth nature gave you. And to make sure we keep that promise, the products we recommend and use are the highest quality and incredibly durable. You can trust your smile with us.


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AT&T's weak 3G coverage map? There's a lawsuit for that
Verizon has been drumming up press for it's new DROID smartphone in commercials by showing a map of Verizon's 3G coverage beside one of AT&T's. Now AT&T has filed a lawsuit claiming that the map is misleading because it doesn't include its 2G network coverage.
AT&T has been getting flack about dropped calls and congestion on its network ever since the launch of the original iPhone. At that time the company had barely any 3G coverage so the first iPhone was relegated to a 2G network connection.
In fact, that 2G connection still provides voice and data coverage for a large portion of AT&T customers outside of major cities. These customers don't have access to the speedier 3G network connection that the iPhone is capable of using.
When Verizon showed the map of only AT&T's 3G coverage, a large portion of the country is left blank. AT&T's lawsuit says that Verizon is misleading customers into believing that they can't get AT&T coverage in those blank areas at all.
Either that or AT&T is pissed that the Verizon commercial is tempting customers to jump ship to Verizon's more reliable all-3G network. Of course, that wouldn't make nearly as good a basis for a lawsuit.
What's interesting is that the latest iPhone is billed as a 3G device even though a large portion of AT&T customers don't live in one of the company's 3G coverage area. Beyond that, AT&T's map shows the company's entire coverage area without marking the 3G areas differently at all.
AT&T customers have to look at a listing of individual cities where the company has 3G coverage. That must be what happens when the coverage areas are too few or too embarrassing to actually put on the map.
Instead of suing Verizon for pointing out it's anemic 3G network, maybe AT&T should funnel money into expanding coverage into new cities. With less dropped calls and dead zones, AT&T customers might be more willing to recommend a friend.


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Honda Red Flags Formula One Team
TOKYO -- Disappointing results off the track have forced Honda Motor Co. HMC 2.42 % to quit Formula One racing.
With auto demand tumbling, pressure has built on the Japanese car maker to cut costs. Even so, closing the doors on its team in the high-profile auto sport, which costs it hundreds of millions of dollars annually, was still a tough decision for a company that takes pride in its involvement in motor sports.
"We want to continue [Formula One] even now. But the situation doesn't allow for it," Honda President Takeo Fukui said at a press conference.
Around 400 engineers engaged in Formula One will be transferred to research and development of mass-production vehicles and will seek to establish a new way of manufacturing that will insulate the company better from the problems it currently faces, he said.
It is the third withdrawal from Formula One for Honda, which first entered the auto-racing championship in 1964 and was last season racing under the slogan "powering dreams one lap at a time." It re-entered the sport in 2000 after a seven-year absence, but it earned just 14 points in this year's season, finishing near the bottom of the standings.
The high-profile withdrawal highlights the severe business conditions in the auto industry.
Japan's second-biggest car maker by volume after Toyota Motor Corp. is striving to reduce production and cut jobs, as its rivals are doing, because the economic slowdown is cutting into auto sales in major markets such as the U.S. and, more recently, emerging markets.
Reflecting the deteriorating market conditions, Honda reduced its earnings forecast in October. It expects its net profit to fall 19% in the current fiscal year ending in March.
Mr. Fukui cited the costs of running the Formula One team amid the tough earnings environment as a reason for the exit.
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, which operates the Formula One championship, said the move "confirmed the FIA's long-standing concern that the cost of competing in the World Championship is unsustainable...the global economic downturn has only exacerbated an already critical situation."
The decision presages a fundamental change in the auto industry in the long term, Mr. Fukui said.
"The auto industry had prospered in the past 100 years, and we are in a time of change, entering another 100-year period," he said.
Although raw-material costs and oil prices have fallen recently, they will pick up again once the global economy recovers, he said. A strong yen -- which deflates profits Japanese companies earn overseas when they are repatriated -- is also likely to continue, hurting Japanese exporters such as Honda.
The pullout won't likely have a major impact on Honda's earnings forecast for this year, said Hiroshi Oshima, a managing operating officer.
Write to Yoshio Takahashi at firstname.lastname@example.com


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Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine
University of Colorado Denver
Description of Research
I am studying the treatment of obesity in primary care settings, in particular how to create an evidence base for how we can move the efficacious treatments from studies like the Diabetes Prevention Program to settings of usual clinical care. I am particularly interested in how to target patients in such a way as to make treatment more broadly available where it is most needed (patients with diabetes, hypertension, and other weight-related diagnoses) but also to target treatment to the patients most prepared to receive it (i.e., those who are motivated or "activated" to lose weight). I am conducting two pilot studies, one in which we provide different levels of reimbursement/in-kind subsidy for the treatment program, and another in which we will randomly assign patients to attend treatment at Weight Watchers or in a primary care-based intervention. These studies should begin to create an evidence base for how we can implement obesity treatment in real world clinical settings. I am also conducting a database study to evaluate how much time primary care physicians spend treating obesity and its complications.
1-2 Most Significant Publications (recent)
Tsai AG, Wadden TA. Treatment of obesity in primary care practice in the United States: a systematic review. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2009; 24:1073-1079.
Tsai AG, Wadden TA, Pillitteri JL, Sembower MA, Gerlach KK, Kyle TK, Burroughs VJ. Disparities by ethnicity and socioeconomic status in use of weight loss treatments. Journal of the National Medical Association. 2009;101:62-70.
Primary Focus Area (if part of the obesity initiative)
· Weight Management in Primary Care
Secondary Focus Areas (if part of the obesity initiative)
· Socioeconomic and ethnic disparities in obesity
· Economic issues related to obesity (costs, cost-effectiveness of treatment, reimbursement)
Access to Specialized Populations
· Denver Health Medical Center – medically underserved, high percentage Latino, high rate of obesity
· Look AHEAD – multicenter clinical trial of intentional weight loss in type 2 diabetes
Benefit of CNRU
The major benefit of the CNRU for me has been the enhanced interaction and collaboration with other CNRU investigators as a junior faculty member. My two primary research mentors are CNRU investigators. Also, the CNRU allows me to interact with other junior investigators through regular meetings and research presentations.
CNRU Collaborations
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