Object of the present invention is to provide a preparation for oral cavity that is appropriately usable as a prophylactic agent for dental caries, a therapeutic agent for dental caries at early stage, a prophylactic and/or therapeutic agent for dentinal hypersensitivity, a preparation for the lining of a dentin cavity surface, or the like, which has a superior effect of sealing the dentinal tubules, is capable of improving the acid resistance of the teeth and re-calcifying the teeth, ensures a short-time treatment with an easy operation, and has a high safety and good aesthetic properties. The object is achieved by a preparation for oral cavity such as a prophylactic agent for dental caries and/or a therapeutic agent for dental caries at early stage, a prophylactic and/or therapeutic agent for dentinal hypersensitivity, a preparation for the lining of a dentin cavity surface, or the like, consisting of a liquid (A), in which fluoro-alumino-silicate glass microparticles are dispersed, and an aqueous inorganic phosphoric acid solution (B).

Dental crown has a three-layer structure made of enamel, dentin, and pulp from outside to inside.
The enamel is a hard and highly insoluble layer mainly consisting of hydroxy apatite. However, once exposed to an acidic medium generated by glycolysis of food debris or the like by oral microbes, dissolution (de-calcification) of phosphate ions or calcium ions is promoted and white discoloration (white spots) occurs as an early symptom of dental caries, leading to so-called tooth decay.
As a means of preventing dental caries, fluoride application is known. Specifically, when teeth are treated with a fluoride ion source, hydroxy apatite is modified to fluoroapatite to give acid resistance. Further, it is well known that the treatment has a working effect of promoting formation (re-calcification) of hydroxyapatite by inhibiting dissolution (de-calcification) of phosphate ions or calcium ions, and for example, a treatment for preventing dental caries by application of a fluoride preparation containing a fluoride ion source on tooth surfaces is widely performed.
The preparation generally used as a fluoride preparation in the clinical practice of dentistry is an acidulated phosphate fluoride solution (herein below, abbreviated as "APF"). The working mechanism includes de-calcification of dental component by phosphate due to the acid phosphate property of APF, and the reaction between dissolved calcium ions and fluoride ions yields generation of calcium fluoride on tooth surfaces. However, the problems of APF treatment is that, when exposed to saliva, it is highly likely that the effect is not fully exhibited in an oral cavity. For such reasons, it needs to be maintained for four minutes in a state that the APF is applied on a tooth and intaking of food is prohibited for another 30 minutes or more after that. As such, it has a limit that a dentist may find it fairly troublesome to carryout and a burden on a patient is huge. It is also known that, as calcium fluoride precipitated on tooth surfaces is dissolved in saliva under a de-calcification (acidic) environment, the effect of promoting re-calcification is insufficient.
Composition for oral cavity containing a calcium ion source, a phosphate ion source, and calcium phosphate or the like as well as a fluoride ion source is reported. By simultaneously precipitating calcium fluoride and calcium phosphate on tooth surfaces, an effect of preventing dissolution in saliva under a de-calcification (acidic) environment and promoting re-calcification is expected.
In this connection, a preparation containing separate preparations of a fluoride ion source and a calcium ion source, that are admixed with each other at the time of use, is studied. For example, disclosed in patent document 1 is a product for re-calcification of tooth enamel comprising the first component (first liquid) containing water soluble calcium salts and the second component (second liquid) containing water soluble phosphate salt and water soluble fluoride salt, and it is specifically described that " . . . applied . . . after mixing the first solution with the second solution" (Patent Document 1, page 9, lines 7-8). However, according to the patent document, it is intended to repeatedly carry out the cycle plural times, wherein a single cycle consists of treatment for 5 min and re-calcification for 60 min in saliva. Thus, there is no intention of obtaining microparticles precipitates during a short time (e.g., during dental treatment) as described in the present invention.
For the purpose of re-calcification of de-calcified enamel (dental caries at early stage), (1) a composition for generating calcium phosphate and calcium fluoride by mixing water soluble calcium salts of the first liquid with water soluble phosphate salt and water soluble fluoride salt of the second liquid on tooth surfaces (see for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3 and 8), and (2) a composition for generating calcium phosphate (see for example, Patent Document 9) are suggested.
Primary particles of calcium fluoride that are generated by mixing a fluoride ion source and a calcium ion source are disadvantageous in that they form secondary particles with large particle diameter by self-aggregation and may not easily adsorb on tooth surfaces. As such, a preparation added with a calcium fluoride inhibitor to delay the aggregation (see for example, Patent Document 2) or a composition for oral cavity allowing easy adsorption of calcium fluoride in microparticles state on tooth surfaces by mixing liquid A containing a compound for supplying a polyol phosphoric acid ion (specifically, calcium glycerophosphate) and a compound for supplying a monofluorophosphoric acid ion and liquid B containing sodium fluoride at the time of use to control aggregation rate is reported (see for example, Patent Document 3).
However, the former is problematic in that adsorption of fluoride on tooth surfaces is also inhibited by addition of calcium fluoride inhibitor and the latter is problematic in that stability of the solution containing calcium glycerophosphate ion and a compounds for supplying monofluorophosphoric acid ion remains unsatisfactory.
It is believed that glass ionomer cement, which is one type of dental cements, is expected for its activity of strengthening teeth by the fluoride contained as a glass component. Having superior biocompatibility, adhesiveness, and aesthetics, the glass ionomer cement is widely used for filling dentin cavity, a crown, an inlay or adhesion of a bridge or an orthodontic bracket. However, when it is in contact with water such as saliva in early hardening stage, the hardening reaction is inhibited and inferior physical properties are obtained in the end. Further, as there are drawbacks that the polished surface after hardening is coarse and film is thick so that feelings in tongue or aesthetics are poor, efforts are being made to improve them. As a method of improving coarseness of a polished surface or film thickness, use of powder for glass ionomer cement having specific gravity of 2.4 to 4.0, mean particle diameter of 0.02 to 4 μm, and BET specific surface area of 2.5 to 6.0 m2/g is suggested (see for example, Patent Document 4). However, as a specific example, only the powder with mean particle diameter of 2.0 to 2.2 μm and maximum particle diameter of 3.49 to 3.95 μm is disclosed. As described therein, the dental glass ionomer cement powder is the same as cement used in construction and it is first mixed with a liquid exclusive for cement and then used. Therefore, using itself as a liquid preparation is not supposed and examples therefor are not described either.
In clinical dentistry, it is reported that a severe pain is caused not only by dental caries but also by hypersensitivity. As explained above, a dental crown has a three-layer structure made of enamel, dentin and pulp, and dentinal tubules are extended all over the dentin. Although the dentinal tubules are generally covered by enamel, gum or the like, dentinal hypersensitivity is often caused when the dentinal tubules are opened for some reasons. For example, even when the dentinal tubules are exposed or opened by dental caries, use of a dental preparation containing abrasives, abrasion by bleaching carried out for aesthetic purpose, gum recession caused by aging, or the like, temporal but severe pain is caused by cold water or touch stimulation.
The mechanism of developing dentinal hypersensitivity is not fully elucidated. However, hydrodynamics is considered as a strong candidate. According to the hydrodynamics, various stimulations applied on dentin cause migration of fluid in dentinal tubules to excite the nerve fiber on the pulp side.
Thus, a treatment of inhibiting the migration of fluid in dentinal tubule is effective for improving dentinal hypersensitivity and it is reported that, as exemplified by coating a varnish containing a solvent and a resin for sealing a tooth, dentinal hypersensitivity is ameliorated or removed by sealing the dentinal tubules.
Examples of the methods for treating dentinal hypersensitivity are as follows; (1) treatment method for sealing dentinal tubules: in addition to potassium oxalate, a resin, strontium chloride, silver diamine fluoride, HY preparation, sodium fluoride solution, pasta added with sodium fluoride, a calcium hydroxide preparation, ion introduction or the like (Journal of Dentistry, August 1991, Vol. 34, No. 2), (2) treatment method for coating an exposed dentin: cement, paraform added dressing or the like, (3) restoration of a defective area: glass ionomer cement, adhesive resin or the like, (4) treatment by sedation of pulp nerves: administration of an anti-inflammatory pain-relieving agent, irradiation of soft laser or the like, and (5) pulp extraction.
Among them, adhesive resin or the glass ionomer cement having adhesiveness for teeth of (3) forms a strong film that is very difficult to remove. Thus, it is not appropriate for a case in which periodontal regeneration therapy on root canal surface may be applied.
Only a temporal effect is obtained from (4), and according to (5), the pulp, that is, nerves, is completely removed and blood vessels are removed together with nerves, and as a result, teeth are sacrificed even though the pains are completely eliminated.
The above (1) and (2) are a therapeutic method which does not involve a sacrifice of pulp or teeth, and therefore are appropriate for a case in which no major defect exists. However, care should be taken when choosing (2), because some cement has low pH. According to a dressing added with paraform, paraformaldehyde as a component has an effect of fixing pulp. However, it is difficult to say that it is fully safe to be applied in an oral cavity. Among those described in (1), a sodium fluoride solution and pasta added with sodium fluoride generally use 2% sodium fluoride (neutral). However, as it does not seal dentinal tubules, the effect of inhibiting hypersensitivity is very minor. When used for the purpose of protecting pulp, calcium hydroxide is effective. However, it has a very little effect on general dentinal hypersensitivity such as cold water pain. Ion introduction is a method of impregnating an ion tray in 2% sodium fluoride solution (neutral) and aggressively introducing fluoride with an aid of electric current, which requires an expensive device for introducing fluoride ions.
Further, according to (1) and (2), only a material containing effective components is applied on tooth surfaces, and therefore the effect is often temporary.
When the particle diameter of the material is smaller than diameter of dentinal tubules and the reaction between the two liquids occurs within the dentinal tubules to generate microparticle reaction products (that is, precipitates) within a short period of time, the dentinal tubules can be sealed. Further, when the microparticles evenly cover dentinal surface to seal the dentinal tubules, stimulation on the tubules is blocked, and therefore a huge therapeutic effect can be expected. To accomplish it, studies on physical properties of the material are required. In this regard, it is difficult to say that a sufficient improvement has been made with conventional materials.
The HY preparation (trade name: HYC) is mixture powder of tannin, zinc fluoride, strontium fluoride and zinc oxide. Although inhibition of hypersensitivity by an astringent effect of tannin and prevention of dental caries by fluoride are expected, as it instantly hardens in contact with water, it has a problem in handlability. There is also a problem that the cured product is colored with a dark color in an oral cavity.
Silver diamine fluoride preparation (trade name: SAFORIDE) can be easily coated on tooth surfaces and remain on the surfaces for a long period of time so that it has a superior effect of treating hypersensitivity and preventing secondary dental caries. However, due to precipitation of silver, coated tooth area is darkened like a black tooth. Thus, having a significant problem in aesthetics, its application is limited.
Regarding (3), a tooth neck not covered with enamel can be easily abraded by brushing and dentinal tubules are easily exposed in an abraded region to cause hypersensitivity. For other cases in which the dentinal tubules are exposed, the corresponding tooth area is filed and filled with cement or an adhesive resin to perform simultaneously the treatment of hypersensitivity and the restoration of a defective area. However, dentinal characteristics of the hypersensitivity include that no caries (soft dentin) are seen and a treatment without filing a healthy teeth is required.
Under the circumstances, presently, the strongest candidate of therapeutics for dentinal hypersensitivity is a method of using oxalate as reported in Patent Documents 6 and 7. 30% Aqueous solution of potassium oxalate provided by Protect, USA is clinically used as a therapeutic agent for dentinal hypersensitivity (Dentin Desensitizer) while a two-liquid set containing 30% aqueous solution of potassium oxalate and 3% aqueous solution of potassium hydrogen oxalate provided by O. P. Laboratories is also clinically used as a therapeutic agent for dentinal hypersensitivity (Dentin Desensitizer) (see for example, Patent Documents 6 and 7). However, none of them exhibits re-calcification or a prophylactic effect against secondary dental caries.
It is preferable that a treatment with a therapeutic agent for dentinal hypersensitivity is done within a short period of time, that is, it is washed with water within several tens of seconds after applied on tooth surfaces during dental treatment. Further, it preferably has not only an effect of inhibiting hypersensitivity but also an effect of preventing and treating secondary caries. Further, if there is no problem in terms of aesthetics, it can be expected to be used as a material which is applicable for a wide range of cases.
Meanwhile, a material allowing penetration of a mixture liquid into dentinal tubules or early caries lesions and production of nanoparticle precipitates within a short period of time, additionally comprising, in the precipitates, calcium phosphate or a fluoride compound based on expectation of obtaining calcification is desired. However, a material fully satisfying such conditions is not reported yet.
A dental composition for dentinal hypersensitivity comprising aqueous polymer emulsion particles, which have a smaller particle diameter than diameter of dentinal tubules so that it can react with a calcium compound and form a larger aggregate than the diameter of dentinal tubules, is suggested (Patent Document 5). However, it does not exhibit re-calcification or an effect of preventing secondary dental caries.
Pain may be caused by temperature stimulation or the like after having a dentin cavity or receiving a dental prosthetics. When dental caries are under progress or the like, a dentin cavity is formed as deep as near pulp, and therefore pain is often seen even after the treatment. To avoid it, a lining cement is placed on a dentin cavity surface close to pulp by using calcium hydroxide, glass ionomer cement, or the like. However, although having a high pulp protection effect, calcium hydroxide has no adhesiveness on teeth and is easily desorbed. Thus, an additional lining with other cements is required over the calcium hydroxide layer, and therefore it is laborious. The glass ionomer cement has problems such as discussed above.


The present invention is antibiotic compositions, ventilator based systems and methods relating to ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and ventilator-associated tracheal (VAT) bronchitis. Antibiotic combinations of fosfomycin and an aminoglycoside, preferably amikacin, are administered via an in-line nebulizer within the airway of the ventilator. Humidified conditions create an improved aerosol mist to treat VAP and VAT.

Considerable medical literature and clinical experience establishes that ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) is a feared and often fatal complication of mechanical ventilation. In the United States, over 250,000 patients are stricken with VAP per year or approximately 800 cases per million population. In Melbourne, the incidence has been reported in 2006 as 6.2 cases per 1,000 ventilator days, similar to the rate in the United States, Sogaard OS, et al. A binational cohort study of ventilator-associated pneumonia in Denmark and Australia. Scand J Infect Dis (2006); 38:256-264). The mortality of VAP averages 25%. Therefore, in patients with a poor prognosis, a VAP diagnosis is a life threatening complication. The onset and rapid progression to VAP usually occurs after 3-5 days of mechanical ventilation and starts with initial colonization of the airway with pathogenic bacteria. This is followed by a purulent tracheobronhitis (also known as ventilator associated tracheobronchitis (VAT) that rapidly progresses to VAP. VAT is considered a precursor to VAP. VAT is tracheobronchitis without new infiltrates on the chest radiograph (Nseir, Nosocomial tracheobronchitis Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases 2009,22:148-153). Not all VAT progresses to VAP, and not all VAP has had a precursor of VAT.
VAP also prolongs ICU stays and requires the use of intravenous antibiotics. However, the levels of antibiotics that can be achieved in the respiratory tract with intravenous administration are often lower than the therapeutic concentrations needed to treat the disease. Moreover, the continuing emergence of drug resistant organisms, particularly in hospital settings, makes this approach increasingly less effective. Specifically, the emergence of multidrug resistance bacteria such as methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Gram negative pathogens is increasing the morbidity of VAP.
Over the past twenty years, multiple investigator sponsored trials have attempted to study aerosolized antibiotics to either treat or prevent VAP. (See Palmer et al in Critical Care Medicine 2008; 36(7):2008-2013, Wood et al in Pharmacotherapy 2002; 22(8):972-982, and Lu et al in AJRCCM (Volume 184:106-115, 2011. Meta-analyses of these trials show benefit in decreasing ventilators days and improving other outcomes. Recently, Palmer and colleagues supra performed a randomized blinded placebo-controlled trial to determine with impact of aerosolized antibiotics on outcomes in patients with VAT and/or VAR Forty-three patients were randomized to receive aerosolized antibiotics or placebo for 14 days. Choice of aerosolized antibiotic was based on Gram stain of the endotracheal aspirate. Vancomycin or gentamycin were used in patients with Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms, respectively. Both antibiotics were used if Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms were present. Most of the 43 patients were also treated with systemic antibiotics. The authors found aerosolized antibiotics to be associated with significantly lower rates of VAP at the end of treatment, reduced usage of systemic antibiotics, and earlier weaning of patients from the ventilator leading to shorter stays in the ICU.
Palmer et al also showed the advantage of a cocktail of antibiotics, specifically gentamicin and vancomycin, that have gram negative and gram positive respective activity in treatment of VAP and VAT as many patients are infected with both gram negative and positive bacteria. Interestingly, lower rates of antimicrobial resistance were also found in patients treated with aerosolized antibiotics, likely as suboptimal levels, commonly seen with intravenous administration, are known to promote the development of bacterial resistance.
The delivery system used by Palmer and colleagues was a small particle size jet nebulizer, no longer manufactured, that introduced an additional 6 L/m airflow into the airway. Such a nebulizer is incompatible with many modern ventilators because modern ventilators have sophisticated control and feedback systems that carefully monitor and control airflow and pressures. A recent study by Lu, et al, compared ceftazidine and amikacin, aerosol (n=23) vs. IV (n=17) in a small Phase 2 trial in established gram negative bacteria and VAP. After 8 days of antibiotic administration; aerosol and intravenous groups were similar in terms of successful treatment (70% vs 55%), treatment failure (15% vs 30%), and superinfection by other microorganisms (15% vs 15%). Antibiotic resistance was observed exclusively in the intravenous group. The authors concluded that aerosol antibiotics have similar efficacy to IV and likely lead to lower rates of bacterial resistance.
The efficacy of aerosol adjunctive therapy or primary antibiotic treatment in VAP is not surprising. Intravenous antibiotics penetrate poorly into the sputum. Aerosol antibiotics generally have a 100 fold higher sputum concentration than maximum dose IV delivery with usually one tenth the systemic exposure. The rapid clearance from the respiratory tract of aerosol antibiotics leads to a situation of either very high concentrations or none, thus avoiding long periods of sub-MIC antibiotic concentrations which lead to the development of resistance. To date, no aerosolized antibiotics for VAP or VAT have been approved by regulatory authorities.
M promising combination of Gram-negative and Grampositive antibiotics for VAT and VAP would be the combination of an aminoglycoside and fosfomycin. (Baker U.S. Pat. No. 7,943,118 and MacCleod J Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 2009;64:829-836). In patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (a gram negative bacteria) infections, an 80 mg fosfomycin/20 mg tobramycin dose delivered twice daily as an aerosol by a vibrating plate nebulizer (PARI eFlow) was effective in decreasing the bacterial burden of P. aeruginosa, and Staphylococus aureus over a 28 day treatment period (Trapnell, et al. AJRCCM 185:171-178, 2012), Other aminoglycosides may also be synergistic with fosfomycin; Cai (J of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 64 (2009) 563-566) reported that in both an in vitro and a systemically treated rat pseudomonas infection model, fosfomycin potentiated the efficacy of amikacin to even a greater extent than tobramycin.
The importance of an aerosol to be well tolerated is also well known in spontaneously breathing patients. While mild cough can be tolerated in a patient on a ventilator, coughing increases the airway pressures, putting the patient at risk for barotrauma. It is well known that hyperosmolar solutions for nebulization can cause cough. In fact, a 7% hypertonic saline solution having an osmolality of 2411 Osm/kg is used to induce cough to obtain sputum specimens or to promote airway clearance in patients spontaneously breathing with lung disease. Lower osmolality solutions still cause cough, a formulation of fosfomycin/tobramycin with a osmolality of approximately 1300 osm/kg when tested in CF patients can cause noticeable coughing in 10 to 41 patients while a placebo of normal saline (Osm/kg of 310) had coughing in only 3 of 40 patients. Wheezing, a more several measure of bronchospasm, occurred in 5 of 41 patients compared to none in the placebo group. (AMJ Respir Crit Car Med 185:171-178, 2012).
Therefore, although some combinations of antibiotics, including fosfomycin and aminoglycosides have been used, combinations for VAP and VAT have not been approved and several problems remain to be solved. First, ventilator circuits almost invariably include a humidifier to humidify the dry gas using sterile water coming from high pressure gas supplies prior to the gas entering the patient's airway. Humidification of the air leads to hydroscopic growth of the aerosol particles. Many particles grow to a size where they rain out in the endotracheal and ventilator tubing or, if delivered to the patient, deposit in the large airways. See Miller et all Am J Respir Crit Care Med 168:1205-09 (2003). An endotracheal tube's internal diameter averages 7-8 mm, much smaller than the diameter of a typical trachea. The smaller diameter increases "rain out" of large >5 micron particles such that those aerosol particles never reach the patient. The efficiency penalty of leaving the humidification circuit on with use of jet nebulizer with an average particle size of approximately 5 microns (at the nebulizer prior to growth due to humidification) has been estimated as loss of 50% of the aerosol. (Palmer et al in Critical Care Medicine 1998:26:31-38). To avoid this problem, the obvious solution is to turn off the humidifier during aerosol antibiotic therapy as was done in the treatment studies noted above (Palmer, Wood, Lu, Miller, supra). This is a successful approach but carries the finite risk of a health care worker neglecting to turn humidification back on. Accordingly, hospitals, critical care facilities and regulatory agencies would likely require specific warning devices because as non-humidified gas causes drying of secretions that make recovery from pneumonia even more difficult. A method that allows continuous humidification is optimal and would increase patient safety and treatment efficacy.
Second, improved airway tolerance is needed for patients with VAT and VAP. In the recent study of Lu, et al, it was a common occurrence for the patient to breath out of sequence from the ventilator, likely caused by irritation from the therapeutic aerosol. Eschenbacher (Eschenbacher et al, Am Rev Respir Dis 1984; 129: 211-215) published that mild asthmatic patients will cough when exposed to an aerosol without a permeant anion such as chloride at a concentration of greater than 20 meq/liter even if the aerosol is isotonic. Lu utilized sterile water to reconstitute the powdered antibiotics and did not use any saline in his formulation which would provide a permeant anion. Lu's approach was to heavily sedate the patient, which is not optimal.
Third, Eschenbacher (supra) tested a hypertonic saline solution of 1232 mOsm/liter and showed in mild asthmatic patients that cough and bronchospasm were common. Pretreatment with bronchodilators could prevent bronchospasm, but could not prevent cough. As noted above, coughing on the ventilator is not desirable, as it can cause high airway pressures leading to pneumothorax, or interfere with delivery of adequate ventilation. The osmolality of a fosfomycin/tobramycin combination currently being used in clinical studies of outpatient CF patients is approximately 1215 mOsm/liter, far above the physiologic airway osmolality of approximately 310 mOsm/liter. The high osmolality is due to the low MW of fosfomcyin, coupled with the fact that it is a disodium salt. The disodium salt of fosfomycin has a solubility of 50 mg/mL of water, other salts including calcium are available but have less solubility concentrated formulations are not practical. The high osmolality formulation is used so that each dose can be delivered in a 2 mL solution in a vibrating mesh nebulizer so treatment time for a CF outpatient is approximately 5 minutes. More dilute solutions would require longer administration times which lead to poor compliance and potentially less efficacy. Higher osmotic concentrations have larger hydroscopic growth. Thus, if such formulations were used in a ventilator, a large amount of >5 micron particles would rain out in the tubing, and the remaining amount that was delivered would likely be irritating to the airways. A common adverse event of cough was reported in the phase 2 CF study. In fact the high dose (160 mg, fosfomycin/40 ma tobramycin, same osmolallty in a 4 mL solution) was very poorly tolerated in the CF study in spite of all the patients pretreated with a bronchodilator to prevent bronchospasm.
Fourth, the epidemiology of resistance and goals of therapy are very different in VAP and VAT compared to outpatient CF. However, in the hospital setting, once bacterial resistance occurs, the spread of resistant bacteria between patients is rampant and epidemics are common. Furthermore, the risk of aminoglycoside toxicity from the cumulative long-term dose( ) is serious because CF patients are treated chronically for years with tobramycin aerosols. In contrast, in VAT and in VAP, a patient is likely to only receive a single, two week course of antibiotics. Therefore, when used to treat VAP or VAT, limiting a dose of an aminoglycoside in a combination product, and relying on fosfomcyin to increase bacterial killing, risks the loss of efficacy of both drugs if a patient has bacteria that are fosfomycin resistant. For example, in contrast with high ratios of Fosfomycin to Tobramycin disclosed in Baker '118, an optimal formulation in VAP and VAT would have enough of an aminoglycoside dose to be an independently effective antibiotic combination. However this approach would only increase the osmolality of the formulation if the volume of the formulation is held constant. The advantage of the fosfomycin would be to further enhance gram negative killing, including biofilms (Cai, supra) and to also treat gram positive bacteria, including methicillin resistant Staph. aureus (MRSA). Another advantage of fosfomycin is that it reverses some of the sputum antagonism that limits the bioavailability of aminoglycosides (MacCleod, supra), (Mendelman Am Rev Rispir Dis 1985;132:761-5). Thus, even if the bacteria is fosfomycin resistance, there may be some clinical benefit to the combination by increasing the bioactive concentrations of the aminoglycoside.
One solution would be to dilute out the formulations and increase the volume placed in the nebulizer for treatment. However, observation of a patient during therapy would then likely to be required as standard protocol. ICU specialist nurses or respiratory therapists would likely be required to observe the patient during treatment adding an additional costs to the therapy due to the prolonged administration time. Serious adverse events can occur during aerosol therapy, such as in Lu's study, where a patient had a cardiopulmonary arrest due to a clogged exhalation filter on the ventilator. An optimal formulation would have shorter delivery time than that of a dilute formula. Triggering the delivery during inspiration would extend treatment time but the time loss may be offset by improvement in the efficiency of delivery. Thus, a need for a treatment protocol exists wherein lower doses may be evaluated.
Accordingly, a need exists for antibiotic compositions, equipment, and treatment methods and systems to alleviate or prevent VAT and VAP despite the known challenges and the recognized risks.

Formulations of aminoglycoside and fosfomycin combinations and methods and systems for treatment of ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) and ventilator associated tracheal (VAT) bronchitis


Disclosed are date palm compositions and methods of use of such compositions. Such compositions may be used as part of a growth medium for culture of microorganisms. In certain embodiments, date palm extracts of the disclosure are used as part a culture medium to grow Lactobacilli.

Lactobacilli are among the most important group of bacteria in applied microbiology. Lactobacillus is a genus of Gram-positive, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming bacteria and is a major part of the lactic acid bacteria group that converts sugars into lactic acid. In humans, lactobacilli constitute a significant component of the microbiota in a number of body systems, including the digestive, urinary, and genital systems. Lactobacilli exhibit a symbiotic relationship with the human body as they protect the host against potential invasions by pathogens, and, in turn, the host provides a source of nutrients necessary for bacterial growth. Lactobacillus is the most common probiotic found in foods, including yogurt, and is diverse in its application to maintain human well-being as it can help treat diarrhea, vaginal infections and skin disorders, including eczema.
Formulating cultivation media for lactobacilli is very challenging as lactobacilli are fastidious bacteria, and their nutritional requirements can vary widely depending on the strain. Growth of lactobacillus species requires carbohydrates, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. For normal growth, culture media are supplemented with various free amino acids, peptides, nucleic acid derivatives, fatty acid esters, minerals, vitamins, and buffering agents in addition to sugar. Nitrogen sources such as soy peptones, peptones of animal origin, bactopeptone, triptone, and beef extract or yeast extract form an essential part of Lactobacillus media. These nitrogen sources are rich in diversified free amino acids, peptides, and most of the required vitamins and minerals, but they are expensive and thus constitute a significant portion of media costs. For example, the most commonly used media for growth of Lactobacillus spp. is DeMan Rogosa Sharpe (MRS) media, which typically contains glucose, yeast and meat extracts, casein peptones, and salts and is therefore expensive to produce. Consequently, a low cost alternative medium would be beneficial. Replacing expensive nitrogen sources with lower cost ingredients such as food or agricultural byproducts could prove useful. Other bacteria (e.g., Bifidobacterium spp., Campylobacter spp., Helicobacter spp, can require similar adjustments to media to promote optimal growth.
Dates are an abundant agricultural product and play a major role in human nutrition as well as the food industry. Dates are a rich source of carbohydrates (mainly starch and sugars), some amino acids, vitamins (vitamin A, vitamin C, thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin, and vitamin E), minerals (calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and zinc), dietary fiber, and also contain other minor nutrients such as antioxidants, triglycerides, linoleic acid, and palmitic acid. However, the date fruit industry produces a large amount of waste due to unwanted byproducts. Each year, more than 55,000 tons of dates are wasted due to low quality and/or unusable byproducts. The nutritional compositions of date byproducts allow them to be utilized to develop growth media for cultivating a variety of microorganisms.
Dietary fiber content of dates can further contribute to their nutritional significance as dates can be used in the preparation of fiber-based foods and dietary supplements. Dates contain both soluble and insoluble fibers. The main component is cellulose, hemicelluloses, pectin, and lignin. The lignin composition is divided into low- and high-lignin separated from palm date fibers. High-lignin fibers contain 75% lignin and 15.8% polysaccharide, while the low-lignin fibers contain 27.2% lignin and 53.1% polysaccharides. Palm date fiber consists of 54% high-lignin fiber and 46% low-lignin fiber. In dates, insoluble fiber is the major component of dietary fiber; on the other hand, soluble pectin continues to accumulate regularly until the date fruit reaches the Rutab (ripened) stage.
Disclosed herein is a novel preparation of date palm extract (DPE) broth that can be applied to utilize the nutritional benefits of date palms for cultivating microorganisms.

Date palm medium compositions and methods


An actuator driving circuit for a servocontrol system comprises an amplifier for amplifying an error signal obtained in the servocontrol system to produce a driving signal supplied to the actuator, a power supply voltage source for producing a first power supply voltage and a second power supply voltage higher the first power supply voltage, a power supply voltage selector for selecting one of the first and second power supply voltages so as to supply the amplifier with the selected one of the voltages, and a level detector for detecting a specific portion of the error signal having such a level as to cause the amplifier to produce a portion of the driving signal having a level limited to be constant under a condition in which the first power supply voltage is supplied to the amplifier and for producing a detection output by which the power supply voltage selector is controlled to select the second power supply voltage in place of the first power supply voltage when the specific portion of the error signal is detected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to actuator driving circuits employed, for example, in for recording information signals on or reproducing information signals from an optical disc, and more particularly, is directed to improvements in a circuit for driving an actuator which is operative to actuate, for example, a focus control unit, a tracking control unit or a head shifting unit provided in an apparatus for recording information signals on or reproducing information signals from an optical disc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There has been proposed an optical disc recording and reproducing apparatus for recording an information signal such as a video or audio signal on an optical disc and reproducing the information signal from the optical disc. One example of the optical disc recording and reproducing apparatus proposed previously is constituted as shown in FIG. 1.
In FIG. 1, an optical disc 1 on which an information recording area is provided is rotated by a spindle driving motor 2 at a predetermined rotational speed. An optical head device 3 is provided to cause a light beam to impinge upon the information recording area of the optical disc 1 and a recording and reproducing circuit 4 is connected to the optical disc 1 for supplying the optical head device 3 with a recording signal and for obtaining a reproduced information signal based on information read from the optical disc 1 by the optical head device 3. Further, a signal processing circuit 5 which is operative to process the reproduced information signal and supply a signal input and output circuit 6 with the reproduced information signal processed therein and to process an input record signal applied thereto through the signal input and output circuit 6 and supply the recording and reproducing circuit 4 with the input record signal processed therein.
A focus servocontrol block 7 is provided for controlling an actuator for focus control contained in the optical head device 3 in response to a focus error signal obtained from the recording and reproducing circuit 4, and a tracking servocontrol block 8 is provided for controlling an actuator for tracing control contained also in the optical head device 3 in response to a tracking error signal obtained from the recording and reproducing circuit 4. A head shifting block 9 is also provided for shifting the position of the optical head device 3 in a direction of the radius of the optical disc 1 in response to a control signal obtained from the tracking servocontrol block 8.
Further, A controller 10 which may be constituted by a microcomputer is provided for controlling each of the recording and reproducing circuit 4, signal processing circuit 5, signal input and output circuit 6, focus servocontrol block 7, tracking servocontrol block 8 and heads shifting block 9.
In such an optical disc recording and reproducing apparatus, it is generally preferable to apply a low power supply voltage to circuits for processing various signals and various control circuits so that each of the circuits is caused to operate by the low power supply voltage with reduced power consumption. However, particularly in the tracking servocontrol block 8, when a tracking actuator driving circuit which is operative to move an objective lens contained in the optical head device 3, through which the light beam impinges upon the optical disc 1, in the direction of the radius of the optical disc 1 for tracking servocontrol is arranged to operate with the low power supply voltage, the operation of the tracking actuator driving circuit is attended with a disadvantage that the moving speed of the optical lens in the optical head device 3 is reduced to be relatively low and therefore a period required for shifting the light beam impinging upon the optical disc 1 by a track jump operation so as to cause the same to form a light beam spot at a desired position on the optical disc 1 is undesirably increased.
In view of this, there has been also proposed a circuit arrangement for driving actuators contained in an optical head device in which different power supply voltages are applied to actuator driving circuits under a condition wherein normal servocontrol operations are carried out and under a condition wherein the track jump operation is carried out, respectively, as disclosed in the Japanese patent application published before examination under the publication number 64-8515. FIG. 2 shows the circuit arrangement thus proposed previously.
Referring to FIG. 2, a focus error signal Ef is supplied through an amplifier 11 to a focus actuator driving circuit 13 which is operative to drive an electromagnetic coil Lf of an actuator contained in an optical head 16 for focus servocontrol in accordance with the focus error signal Ef supplied thereto. Similarly, a tracking error signal Et is supplied through an amplifier 12 to a tracking actuator driving circuit 14 which is operative to drive an electromagnetic coil Lt of an actuator contained in the optical head 16 for tracking servocontrol in accordance with the tracking error signal Et supplied thereto. Further, the tracking error signal Et amplified by the amplifier 12 is supplied to a low pass filter (L.P.F.) 18 which produces a control signal Sh based on the tracking error signal Et and the control signal Sh obtained from the low pass filter 18 is supplied to a head driving circuit 15 which is operative to drive a motor Mh for moving the optical head 16 in a direction of the radius of an optical disc, upon which a light beam from the optical head 16 impinges, in accordance with the control signal Sh supplied thereto.
In addition to the above, a power supply voltage generator 19 is provided for producing a first power supply voltage V1 and a second power supply voltage V2 which is higher than the first power supply voltage V1. One of the first and second power supply voltages V1 and V2 is selected by a switching circuit 17 to be applied to each of the focus actuator driving circuit 13, the tracking actuator driving circuit 14 and the head driving circuit 15. The switching circuit 17 to which a switching control signal Ss is supplied is operative to select the first power supply voltage V1 for applying the same to each of the focus actuator driving circuit 13, the tracking actuator driving circuit 14 and the head driving circuit 15 when the switching control signal Ss represents a first operating condition wherein the tracking actuator driving circuit 14 is working for a normal tracking servocontrol operation and to select the second power supply voltage V2 for applying the same to each of the focus actuator driving circuit 13, the tracking actuator driving circuit 14 and the head driving circuit 15 when the switching control signal Ss represents a second operating condition wherein both of the tracking actuator driving circuit 14 and the head driving circuit 15 are working for the track jump operation.
Therefore, in the circuit arrangement shown in FIG. 2, each of the focus actuator driving circuit 13, the tracking actuator driving circuit 14 and the head driving circuit 15 is supplied with the first power supply voltage V1 which is relatively low so as to operate with reduced power consumption when the normal tracking servocontrol operation is carried out and with the second power supply voltage V2 which is relatively high so that the light beam impinging upon the optical disc is able to be quickly moved into a desired position on the optical disc when the track jump operation is carried out.
However, when an optical disc recording and reproducing apparatus which employs the circuit arrangement for driving actuators contained in an optical head device as described above is subjected to shocks or vibrations caused by external force under a condition wherein the tracking actuator driving circuit 14 is in operation with the first power supply voltage V1 which is relatively low for the normal tracking servocontrol operation, the tracking error of the light beam impinging upon the optical disc could possibly suddenly increase so as to cause a relatively large noise contained in the tracking error signal Et which is supplied to the tracking actuator driving circuit 14. Consequently, the tracking actuator driving circuit 14 operating with the first power supply voltage V1 which is relatively low and therefore having an output dynamic range not so wide produces an output having a level limited to be constant in response to a large level portion of the noise contained in the tracking error signal Et, so that the tracking servocontrol can no longer be operated correctly and an undesirable track shift movement of the light beam impinging upon the optical disc, in which the light beam shifts or jumps to another record track adjacent to the former record track on the optical disc, is caused.


Tablets of thermoplastic resin and filler, in which the compositional ratio of the two is so controlled that the thermoplastic resin accounts for from 1 to 40% by volume and the filler for from 60 to 99% by volume based on the sum of the two, 100% by volume, are obtained by compression-molding thermoplastic resin powder and filler into the tablets, or melt-kneading thermoplastic resin and filler followed by compression-molding the powder of the resulting composition into the tablets. The filler content thereof is high, heretofore unknown in the art, and the tablets efficiently exhibit the properties of the filler therein.

The recent design diversification requires the freedom of the shape of moldings. However, conventional metal moldings are limited in point of the freedom of their shape. Accordingly, filler-reinforced thermoplastic resin is now investigated for a substitute for metal. However, conventional filler-reinforced thermoplastic resin could not satisfy the requirements needed for various applications, such as heat conductivity, electromagnetic wave shieldability and dimensional stability at high temperature, and its properties are now desired to be as similar as possible to the filler alone.
For obtaining a filler-rich composition, proposed is a method of kneading and extruding the constituent components through an extruder with the extruder head kept open (JP-A 8-1663).
In the method, however, since the die is taken of f during kneading, the inner pressure in the extruder barrel could not increase during kneading, and, as a result, thermoplastic resin could not well mix with filler, and the resulting composition could not be uniform and its characteristics may greatly fluctuate.
On the other hand, when filler alone is used to meet the needs as above, it does not bond to each other and only a brittle material could be obtained. When thermosetting resin is used, its moldability and productivity would not be good. When a large amount of filler is introduced into a filler-reinforced thermoplastic resin composition, it is limited in an ordinary melt-kneading process, and a filler-rich material that may have the necessary characteristics is difficult to obtain.
Given that situation, it could be advantageous to provide tablets capable of being processed in melt and capable of efficiently exhibiting the characteristics of the filler used therein, a method for producing them, and their moldings.

Tablet, process for producing the same, and molded article obtained therefrom


An apparatus for data loading includes a memory and a processor coupled to the memory and the processor configured to, execute first acquisition of first data corresponding to a first column from a data group stored in a first storage, a data structure of the data group including columns and rows, store the first data into a second storage, and generate a first index based on the first data for searching the data group to be stored in the second storage in response to the first acquisition before completion of storing the data group into the second storage.

For example, in order to provide various services to users, a business person who provides services to users (in the following description, such business person is also referred to as business person simply) constructs and operates a business system according to an application.
Such a business system as just described is configured, for example, from an online system that performs an online process for providing a service to users and a batch system that performs a batch process after service time to users ends (for example, at night). In this case, the business system performs, for example, deactivation of the online system and activation of the batch system after the service time to users ends. Then, after the batch process by the batch system ends, the business system performs, for example, deactivation of the batch system and activation of the online system. Consequently, the business person may effectively utilize resources of the business system.
Further, in such a business system as described above, the online system is deactivated, for example, when maintenance such as table definition change such as column addition involved in change of business requirements or, updating of software configuring the business system or exchange of hardware is conducted. Then, the business system performs activation of the online system after the maintenance ends.
A technology related to such a business system described above is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 04-264973, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2012-123680 or Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 60-196878.

Apparatus for data loading and data loading method


A System that provides a secured connection between servers on the LAN and clients on the WAN comprises the LAN (which includes LAN Server and LAN Controller) and the DMZ (which includes DMZ Server and DMZ Stack Pool Service). Wherein the Client Request reaches the DMZ Server it stores it in the DMZ Stack Pool Service and the LAN Controller establishes outbound TCP based connection to the DMZ Stack Pool Service that passes the Client Connection Information to the LAN Server via the LAN Controller. Then the LAN Server then generates a connection between the Service and DMZ Server.

It is a well-known fact that the computers in an organization's internal network (also known as the local area network or LAN) which provide services to users outside of the organization are highly prone to attacks from external hackers and malicious code. Due to this risk, it is a common practice to protect the LAN by placing external-facing computers in a segregated sub-network and thereby shield the rest of the network in case of an attack. This sub-network is commonly known as the DMZ (or De-Militarized Zone). Any computer running programs that provide services to users outside of the organization^ internal network can be placed on the DMZ. The most common type of computers are web servers, email servers, FTP servers and VoIP servers. Since the DMZ is a sub-network that contains the organization's external services to a larger untrusted network (usually the Internet), potential hackers and malicious code may gain access to the DMZ, but rarely do they gain access to the LAN. The computers on the DMZ have limited connectivity to the computers on the LAN and are usually separated by a firewall that controls the traffic between the DMZ computers and the LAN computers. The DMZ can be seen as an additional layer of security to the LAN.
Organizations that have Internet portals which enable communications with the general public via the Internet are vulnerable to infiltration from the outside. Therefore, many of these organizations establish a DMZ to protect their sensitive data and to reduce the ability of hackers to infiltrate the LAN. The ways and methods under which the DMZ works is known to any expert in the field, and therefore there is no need to describe them here in further detail.
Establishing a DMZ requires the duplication of relevant data and computer programs so they can reside on both the DMZ computers and on the LAN computers. This duplication of data and computer programs has several drawbacks. It can be costly to purchase additional licenses required to install multiple instances of the same computer program on both the LAN and on the DMZ. Supporting and managing duplicate computer programs and data on the LAN and on the DMZ can be costly and difficult. Furthermore, since the DMZ interfaces with the external systems, the data on the DMZ is vulnerable to hacking attacks and external malicious code.
The following invention aims to overcome these disadvantages and to provide an efficient system for protecting the data on the LAN.

Reverse access method for securing front-end applications and others


A back contact configuration for a CIGS-type photovoltaic device is provided. According to certain examples, the back contact configuration includes an optical matching layer and/or portion of or including MoSe2 having a thickness substantially corresponding to maxima of absorption of reflected light in CIGS-type absorbers used in certain photovoltaic devices. Certain example methods for making the back contact configuration wherein a thickness of the MoSe2 layer and/or portion can be controlled to be within thickness ranges that correspond to maxima of CIGS light absorption for reflected solar light are also provided.

Many different types of photovoltaic devices are known in the art (e.g., see U.S. Patent Document Nos. 2004/0261841, 2006/0180200, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,335,266, 4,611,091, 6,784,361, 6,288,325, 6,631,603, and 6,123,824, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties). Examples of known photovoltaic devices include CIGS (approximately Cu(In, Ga)(Se,S)2 and/or CuInX-1GaxSe2) solar cells. CIGS films are conductive semiconductor compounds that are often referred to as an absorber or light absorbing layer(s) or film. Generally speaking, CIGS type photovoltaic devices include, from the front or light incident side moving rearwardly, a front cover of material such as glass (front substrate), a front electrode comprising a transparent conductive layer(s) (e.g., a transparent conductive oxide such as zinc oxide), a light absorption semiconductor film (e.g., CIGS), a rear electrode/contact, and a rear substrate of a material such as, for example, glass (or metal foil for flexible applications). In some instances, an adhesive may be provided between the front cover glass and the front electrode. It is also the case in some instances that the device is provided with window layer(s) (e.g., of or including CdS, ZnS, or the like). Photovoltaic power is generated when light incident on the front side (or front cover glass) of the device passes through the front electrode and is absorbed by the light absorption semiconductor film (e.g., CIGS), as is known in the art. Certain designs may also utilize compositional grading of the semiconductor absorber, for example, with an increased Ga/(Ga+In) ratio toward the rear electrode or contact. Photovoltaic devices having a compositionally graded CIGS absorber may, for example, be made using a two- or three-step deposition process.
For example, with reference to FIG. 1, there is generally provided a schematic cross-sectional diagram illustrating various elements of a conventional CIGS-type photovoltaic device 10. The cell 10 is structurally supported on a rear glass substrate (or back glass) 12. A back contact comprising a metal layer, such as, for example, molybdenum (Mo) 14 is typically deposited on the glass substrate 12. The first active region of the device 10 comprises a semiconductor film 16 which is typically a p-type copper indium/gallium diselenide (CIGS). A thin "window" layer of n-type compound semiconductor 18, typically comprising cadmium sulfide (CdS) may then be formed on CIGS layer 16. A layer of conducting wide bandgap semiconductor material, typically formed of a substantially transparent conductive metal oxide, such as zinc oxide, is deposited on the CdS layer 18 and acts as a transparent front electrode 25 for the device 10. The device 10 may be completed by including a series of front face contacts (not shown) in the form of, for example, a metal grid on top of the transparent front electrode 25 to facilitate the extraction of generated electrons, and a front glass substrate 21. A large solar cell may also be divided into a number or smaller cells by means of scribes, such as, for example, laser or mechanical scribes or the like, traditionally referred to as P1, P2 and P3, which allow individual cells to be connected in series.
As noted above, a metal such as Mo may be used as the rear electrode (or back contact) 14 of a photovoltaic device, such as, for example, a CIGS solar cell 10, to extract positive charges generated in the CIGS semiconductor absorber 16 of the solar cell 10. In certain instances, the Mo rear electrode 14 may be sputter-deposited using, for example, direct-current magnetron sputtering, onto the back glass substrate 12 of the CIGS solar cell 10. There are certain advantages associated with using Mo as the material for the rear electrode (of course, it will be understood that Mo used in back contact configurations may include certain amounts of other elements and/or dopants of materials. Mo is inert to the CIGS absorber, and thus does not harmfully interfere with the CIGS and does not substantially alter the electrical, optical or mechanical properties of the CIGS. Using Mo to form the rear contact 14 may result in the formation of a thin molybdenum selenide (MoSe2) layer (not shown in FIG. 1) at the interface between the Mo rear electrode 14 and the CIGS film 16. The formation of a MoSe2 layer during the selenization process at the interface between the CIGS 16 and the Mo rear contact 14 provides an ohmic (e.g., non-rectifying) contact to the CIGS absorber which, in turn, facilitates hole extraction with reduced losses. Using sputter deposited Mo as the rear contact is also advantageous in that it is known to produce a surface morphology that is beneficial in CIGS growth for the formation of crystallites with large grain sizes that result in high carrier mobility, and thus higher efficiency photovoltaic devices.
It has been found that certain CIGS designs may benefit from reflecting light radiation (e.g., solar light) that initially passes through the CIGS absorber (16) without contributing to charge generation, back through the CIGS absorber, effectively recycling previously unused lost light by utilizing otherwise wasted light energy for charge generation.
For example, in arrangements that utilize compositional grading of the CIGS semiconductor absorber, for example, with increased Ga/(Ga+In) ratio toward the rear electrode or contact, the increased Ga concentration at the back of the photovoltaic device may lead to an increased bandgap of the absorber, which may result in lower absorption of incident light radiation (e.g., solar light), particularly in the near infrared region. This increased bandgap and corresponding lower absorption of light radiation reduces overall efficiency of the photovoltaic device because a portion of the light radiation (e.g., solar light) passes through the absorber without contributing to charge generation. The loss associated with incomplete light absorption typically increases with reduced thickness of the CIGS absorber.
According to certain example embodiments disclosed herein, it has been found that the MoSe2 interface layer formed between the Mo rear contact and the CIGS absorber during a high-temperature selenization process used during CIGS formation plays an important role in optical coupling of the reflected light. Moreover, according to certain embodiments disclosed herein, it has been found that at certain thicknesses, MoSe2 can provide improved optical coupling of the reflected light and significantly enhance the light absorbance of reflected light in the CIGS absorber.
According to example embodiments disclosed herein, it has been found that MoSe2 thicknesses that substantially correspond to maxima ranges of the absorbance of reflected light have little or substantially no dependence on the extinction coefficient and/or thickness of the CIGS absorber. It has also been found that these newly identified maxima ranges do not correspond to thicknesses of MoSe2 that are conventionally formed (unintentionally) at an interface of a Mo rear contact and CIGS absorber in prior art devices during selenization. Thus, it has been discovered that optimizing thickness of the MoSe2 layer can be achieved substantially independently of CIGS thickness and extinction coefficient. According to certain example embodiments disclosed herein controlling the MoSe2 thickness to desired range(s) provides increases in solar light absorption in the CIGS in the range of, for example, and without limitation, by at least about 5%, more preferably by at least about 10%.
In certain example embodiments disclosed herein, methods for making a photovoltaic device and/or a coated article for use in a photovoltaic device in which a thickness of the resulting MoSe2 layer is controlled to desirable range(s) is also provided. It is noted that intermediate coated articles may be provided by a large area thin-film coating facility/manufacturer to photovoltaic device manufacturers and may include foundational (or seed) layers of different material composition than the finally desired MoSe2 layer. These example foundational or seed layer(s) are subsequently used to form the MoSe2 having the desired thickness during high temperature selenization process used to form the CIGS that may be performed by a downstream photovoltaic device manufacturer.
In certain example embodiments disclosed herein, a back contact for a photovoltaic device includes a rear substrate (e.g., soda-lime-silica based glass or metal foil in certain flexible applications); a rear contact comprising a first conductive layer comprising or consisting essentially of molybdenum; a second conductive layer comprising or consisting essentially of MoSe2 having a desired thickness; a semiconductor absorber layer disposed above the MoSe2 inclusive layer; a front transparent electrode formed above the semiconductor absorber layer; and a front substrate (e.g. front substrate comprising glass). According to certain example embodiments, the preferred thickness of the MoSe2 inclusive layer may, for example, preferably be in range(s) corresponding to a maxima of the absorbance of reflected light in the CIGS absorber, such as, for example, and without limitation, in ranges including from about: 5-15 nm, 35-45 nm, 60-70 nm, and/or 90-100 nm, and more preferably at least one of about ("about" as used herein regarding these thicknesses means plus/minus 1 nm) 10, nm, 40 nm, 65 nm and/or 95 nm.
According to further example embodiments disclosed herein, a back contact structure for use in a photovoltaic device is provided, the back contact structure comprising: a rear substrate; and a back contact layer comprising a first Mo region having a first density and a second Mo region having a second density, said first density being more dense than said second density, said second Mo region being formed at an outer portion of the back contact layer above the first Mo region, said second Mo region forming a foundational seed region, wherein a thickness of said foundational seed region comprising Mo having the second density has a thickness in a range selected from the group consisting of: about 5-15 nm, about 35-45 nm, about 60-70 nm, and about 90-100 nm, and wherein the high density region of the back contact is located between the rear substrate and the foundational seed layer.
In order to achieve the example preferred thickness of the layer of or including MoSe2 discussed above, further example embodiments directed to methods for making a back contact for use in photovoltaic devices are disclosed. According to a first example embodiment, a foundational (or seed) layer of or including MoOx having a thickness substantially corresponding to a desired thickness of MoSe2 may be deposited, for example, (e.g., as a last step) after deposition of the Mo inclusive rear contact. During subsequent high-temperature selenization, such as, for example, a process used to form the CIGS absorber, selenium substantially replaces at least some oxygen in the foundational (or seed) MoOx layer, thus forming a MoSe2 inclusive layer having a desired thickness substantially corresponding to the thickness of the foundational MoOx based seed layer, and thus provide improved device performance, e.g., at or near a maxima of the absorption characteristics of CIGS and MoSe2.
In certain example embodiments, methods for making a back contact for use in a photovoltaic device are provided, comprising: providing a rear substrate; depositing a first conductive contact layer comprising Mo on (directly or indirectly) and/or over ("over" also covers both directly and indirectly on) said rear substrate; and forming (e.g., depositing) a foundational seed layer comprising or consisting essentially of MoOx above/over said first conductive contact layer comprising or consisting essentially of Mo, said foundational seed layer having a thickness selected from the group consisting essentially of: from about 5-15 nm, from about 35-45 nm, from about 60-70 nm, and from about 90-100 nm. According to certain example embodiments, the method may further include heat treatment in a selenium inclusive atmosphere to form a layer of or including MoSe2 out of at least the foundational seed layer.
According to another example embodiment, an outermost (or final) portion of the Mo rear contact may deposited and/or formed in such a manner that it is more susceptible to selenization during the high-temperature selenization process used in forming the CIGS absorber. For example, a lower density Mo layer/portion of the rear contact is more susceptible to selenization during the high-temperature selenization process used to form the CIGS absorber than is a higher density Mo used to form a bulk of the rear contact. According to an example embodiment, the deposition conditions for depositing an outermost portion of Mo based film (a "film" can include one or more layers), having a thickness substantially corresponding to a desired thickness of a future to-be-formed MoSe2 inclusive layer, may be altered such that a desired thickness of Mo having a lower density is formed as a foundational (or seed) layer or portion above a higher density Mo that forms a bulk of the rear electrode. For example, and without limitation, the lower density Mo foundational (or seed) portion or layer may have a density that is preferably at least about 5% lower, and more preferably at least about 10% lower, and more preferably at least about 20% lower, than that of the underlying higher density bulk of the Mo rear contact. An example deposition condition that results in lower density Mo deposition may include sputter depositing Mo at a higher pressure and lower power than the underlying higher density bulk of the Mo rear contact. For example, and without limitation, power-to-pressure ratio of the sputtering process used to form the more dense Mo portion of the rear contact may preferably be in a range of about 1/3 to about 1/20, and more preferably about 1/10, while the power-to-pressure ratio of the sputtering process used to form the less dense Mo portion of the Mo rear contact may preferably be in a range of 1/21 to 1/30, and more preferably about 1/25. An example sputtering process according to certain example embodiments may be direct-current magnetron sputtering. The lower density Mo portion of the rear contact may optionally include oxygen or other material(s), and regardless of whether it includes oxygen or not it is more susceptible to selenization during the high-temperature selenization process used to form the CIGS absorber, and thus the thickness of the less dense outermost portion of the Mo rear contact may be used to control the thickness of the resulting MoSe2 layer to the desired example range(s) discussed above.
According to certain further example embodiments, methods are provided for making a back contact for a photovoltaic device comprising: providing a rear substrate; depositing a back contact layer comprising a first Mo inclusive region having a first density and a second Mo inclusive region having a second density, said first density being greater than said second density, said second Mo inclusive region being formed at an outer portion of the back contact layer above the first Mo inclusive region, said second Mo inclusive region forming a foundational seed region, wherein a thickness of said foundational seed region comprising Mo having the second density has a thickness in a range selected from the group consisting of: from about 5-15 nm, from about 35-45 nm, from about 60-70 nm, and from about 90-100 nm. According to certain further example embodiments, this method may further include heat treatment in a selenium inclusive atmosphere to form a layer comprising or consisting essentially of MoSe2 out of the foundational seed layer, which also has a thickness in a range selected from the group consisting of: from about 5-15 nm, from about 35-45 nm, from about 60-70 nm, and from about 90-100 nm.
These and other embodiments and/or advantages are described herein with respect to certain example embodiments and with reference to the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements, and wherein:

Back contact structure for photovoltaic devices such as copper-indium-diselenide solar cells


An object detection apparatus and method capable of detecting objects based on visual images captured by a self-moving unit. A sequential images output section makes a train of a first input image and a second input image sequential to the first input image and outputs said train. A local area image processor calculates local flows based on said first input image and said second input image. An inertia information acquiring section measures self-motion of the unit to calculate inertia information thereof. A global area image processor uses said inertia information to estimate global flow, which is a motion field of the entire view associated to the self-motion, using said global flow and said first input image and creates a predictive image of said second input image. The global area image processor then calculates differential image data, which is a difference between said predictive image and said second input image. A figure-ground segregation section uses said differential image data to refine said local flows and compares the refined local flows with a predetermined threshold value to extract a figure candidate area, which is the area having a high probability of an object existing in the input image. An object presence/absence determination section determines presence/absence of objects in said figure candidate area.

Some techniques for detecting objects in captured images based on visual images are known in the art. For example, there is a method for calculating optical flows from captured sequential images and detecting a part of image corresponding to an object within area having same motion components. Since this can easily detect a moving object in the image, many object detection apparatus employs such method (for example, Japanese unexamined patent publication (Kokai) No. 07-249127)
However, when an imaging device for capturing images is moving (for example, when the imaging device is mounted onto an automobile or the like), it would be difficult to detect the moving object in the image accurately because some optical flows associated to the self-motion of the device is generated in the image. In such cases, if a motion field of the entire view associated to the self-motion are removed from the optical flows, the moving object in the image may be detected more accurately. For example, in Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 2000-242797, a motion detection method is disclosed where a variable diffusion coefficient is used when detecting optical flows in the image by means of a gradient method. According to this method, the diffusion coefficient is not fixed as in the conventional arts but compensated under some conditions, thereby noise resistance may be improved and differential of optical flows around object boundaries may be emphasized.
According to the method mentioned above, optical flows of the moving object, which is detected relatively easily, may be calculated accurately. However, when a stationary object on a stationary background is observed from a self-moving unit, it is difficult to segregate optical flows of the stationary object from that of the background. In this case, since the stationary object on the stationary background is recognized as a part of the background, optical flows are not emphasized and therefore the stationary object cannot be detected accurately.
Therefore, there is a need for an object detection apparatus and method capable of detecting stationary objects accurately based on images captured by a self-moving unit.

Image-based object detection apparatus and method


In a method for manufacturing a discharge tube including a discharge part, a sealing part formed at an end of the discharge part, and an electrode provided in the discharge part, the method includes inserting an electrode body having the electrode into a portion to be the sealing part that is adjacent to a portion to be the discharge part of a transparent insulating tube serving as a material for the discharge tube, and then sealing the portion to be the sealing part by heating and softening with a combination of a laser beam and a gas burner, thus forming the sealing part. Heat sources are selected suitably according to each region in the portion to be the sealing part, whereby a high-quality discharge tube that is highly resistant to pressure can be manufactured at high production efficiency and low cost.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a discharge tube and a discharge lamp having the discharge tube.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventionally known discharge lamp, for example, a high-pressure mercury lamp, has a quartz discharge tube including a discharge part in which mercury and a rare gas are sealed, electrodes provided inside the discharge part and sealing parts formed at both ends of the discharge part.
In such a conventional high-pressure mercury lamp, in particular, the sealing parts of the discharge tube used therein can be formed by heating and softening portions to be the sealing parts of a straight quartz tube, which is a material for the discharge tube, and sealing them by pinching or shrinking.
A laser beam achieves a higher working accuracy than a commonly-used gas burner. Thus, it has been suggested that the laser beam be used as a heat source for heating and softening the quartz tube so that a high-quality discharge tube that is highly resistant to sealing pressure can be obtained (see JP 57(1982)-109234 A and JP 2997464 B).
However, such a conventional method for manufacturing the high-pressure mercury lamp using the laser beam has had the following problems. That is, especially when manufacturing a discharge tube with a long sealing part, since the laser beam can heat only a part of the quartz tube serving as a workpiece, it takes too long to heat and soften a long portion to be the sealing part of the quartz tube entirely, thus lowering a production efficiency. Also, since a high-power laser beam is needed to heat and soften the entire long portion to be the sealing part in a sufficient manner, the size of the device increases, resulting in higher cost.
It is an object of the present invention to solve the problems described above and to provide a low-cost method for manufacturing a discharge tube, by which a high-quality discharge tube that is highly resistant to pressure can be obtained and the production efficiency can be improved. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a discharge lamp including a low-cost discharge tube that is highly resistant to pressure.
A method for manufacturing a discharge tube of the present invention, the discharge tube including a discharge part, a sealing part formed at an end of the discharge part and an electrode provided in the discharge part, includes inserting an electrode body having the electrode into a portion to be the sealing part, which is adjacent to a portion to be the discharge part, of a transparent insulating tube serving as a material for the discharge tube, and sealing the portion to be the sealing part by heating and softening with a combination of a laser beam and a gas burner, thus forming the sealing part.
This makes it possible to select suitably the laser beam and the gas burner serving as heat sources for heating and softening the portion to be the sealing part according to each region in the portion to be the sealing part. In particular, by using the laser beam for a portion requiring a high working accuracy in the portion to be the sealing part, for example, the end of the portion to be the sealing part on the side of the portion to be the discharge part, it is possible to achieve an airtight sealing without any distortion, thereby obtaining a high-quality discharge tube that is highly resistant to pressure. Also, by using the gas burner having a larger heat capacity and a wider heating range than the laser beam for portions other than the above-noted portion requiring a high working accuracy, it is possible to seal a wide range of region in a short time, thus improving a production efficiency. In addition, by limiting the region to be heated and softened with the laser beam to the portion requiring a particularly high working accuracy, it becomes possible to use a laser beam having a lower output power. This allows a miniaturization of the device and a cost reduction.
Furthermore, a discharge lamp of the present invention includes a discharge tube obtained by the above-mentioned manufacturing method of the present invention. This makes it possible to provide a low-cost discharge lamp including a discharge tube that is highly resistant to pressure.

Method for manufacturing discharge tube and discharge lamp

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A molded article is prepared from an AlN powder of a high purity without adding sintering assistant, baked in a nitrogen atmosphere without containing carbon, and is further heat-treated in a nitrogen atmosphere containing carbon in order to remove impurities in the sintered product. There is obtained a highly pure and dense sintered product which comprises mainly a phase of aluminum nitride, which has an average grain size of greater than 9 .mu.m, cationic metal impurities other aluminum, and Si, Fe and Ca in amounts smaller than predetermined values. The sintered product exhibits a very small creep rate when stress is applied thereto at high temperatures and is used as a material for high temperature uses such as a baking jig. Owing to its excellent anti-creeping property at high temperatures, tile product is suitably used as a structural material subject to stress at high temperatures for extended periods of time. When used as a baking jig, in particular, the sintered product does not adversely affect the molded articles and exhibits excellent durability.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sintered product of aluminum nitride having excellent durability at high temperatures, a process for the preparation thereof, and a baking jig such as a setter using the same.
2. Description of Prior Art
In recent years, integrated circuits such as ICs and LSIs have been fabricated in a highly density integrated form to produce large outputs accompanied, however, by the occurrence of a problem in regard to radiation of heat of silicon semiconductor elements. Under such circumstances, attempts have been made to develop a sintered product of aluminum nitride (hereinafter referred to as AlN) from a conventional insulating substrate of alumina sintered product maintaining a high thermal conductivity, a large electric insulating property and excellent matching with silicon in terms of coefficient of thermal expansion. Moreover, AlN has further been known as non-oxidizing ceramics having excellent strength at high temperatures in addition to SiC and Si.sub.3 N.sub.4.
Such an AlN sintered product is usually obtained by adding a sintering assistant composed of an oxide of the Group 3a of periodic table such as Y.sub.2 O.sub.3 or an oxide of the Group 2a of periodic table such as CaO to the starting powder of AlN, followed by molding, and then baking the molded article in a nitrogen-containing atmosphere at a temperature of 1600.degree. to 2000.degree. C.
In baking non-oxidizing ceramics such as AlN, etc., furthermore, it has been demanded to provide a material that exhibits excellent heat resistance at high temperatures and that can be used as a baking jig such as a setter for holding the molded article during the baking, such that the sintered product will not undergo deformation such as warping or will not be stained. AlN sintered product and BN sintered product of high purity that can be used as baking jigs have been concretely described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications Nos. 197367/1989, 70269/1987 and 233081/1988.
In fact, however, most of the heat resistant non-oxidizing ceramic sintered products do not contain sintering assistant from the standpoint of decreasing the effect to the molded article. Therefore, the sintered product itself has a low density and develops deformation when it is subjected to a temperature in excess of 1500.degree. C. for long periods of time, and is not suited for use as a baking jig that will be used repetitively.
Moreover, the AlN sintered product that will be used for a variety of electronic parts and semiconductor parts must not be warped or deformed, must not be stained when it is machined into a substrate, and must not be coasened on the surfaces thereof. However, the use of a conventional AlN sintered product of even a high purity is not enough for completely preventing the deformation, stains and coarsening on the surfaces, and the yield of product is not maintained.

Sintered product of aluminum nitride, a process for the preparation thereof, and a baking jig using the same


A system for coating objects, comprising a coating booth and an electrostatically operating separation unit. A feeding device, by which deposition liquid can be fed to the upper region of each deposition surface, is assigned to each deposition electrode of the deposition unit. The feeding device has a feed channel which can be filled with deposition liquid and which in the lower region thereof is formed by two spring plates. Two slide plates are also seated against the opposite deposition surfaces of the deposition electrode and can be moved back and forth between a position in which the lower edges of said slide plates are located above the lower edges of the spring plates and a position in which the lower edges of said slide plates are located below the lower edges of the spring plates.

The invention relates to a system for coating, in particular painting, objects, in particular vehicle bodies, having                a) a coating booth in which the objects may be acted upon by coating material and through which an air stream can be conducted which takes up the overspray particles of the coating material and conveys them away;        b) an electrostatically operating separating device whereof the housing has an inlet opening for the overspray-particle-laden air and an outlet opening for the cleaned air, wherein at least one separating electrode, which has a separating surface, and a counter electrode device are arranged in the housing;        c) a high voltage source whereof the poles may be connected to the separating electrode or the counter electrode device;        d) an air path for the overspray-particle-laden air, which leads from the base of the coating booth to the inlet opening of the separating device.
When paints are applied manually or automatically to objects, a substream of the paint, which generally contains both solid bodies as well as solvent and/or binding agent, does not reach the object. This substream is known among experts as "overspray". The overspray is taken up by the air stream in the coating booth and supplied for separation so that, if required, the air can be conducted back to the coating booth after suitable conditioning.
Particularly in systems with a relatively high paint consumption, for example in systems for painting vehicle bodies, wet separation systems are preferably used. In commercially known wet separators, water flows together with the booth exhaust air coming from above to a nozzle accelerating the air stream. A swirling of the through-flowing booth exhaust air with the water takes place in this nozzle. During this procedure, the overspray particles largely pass over into the water so that the air exiting the wet separator has been substantially cleaned and the paint overspray particles are located in the water. They can then be recovered from this or disposed of. In known wet separators, a relatively high amount of energy is needed to circulate the very large quantities of water required and to overcome the pressure differences between booth, nozzle and disposal area. Treating the rinsing water is costly due to the elevated use of paint-binding and detackifying chemicals and the disposal of paint sludge. Furthermore, as a result of the intensive contact with the rinsing water, the air absorbs a great deal of moisture which, in recirculating-air mode, in turn leads to a high energy consumption for treating the air or, with a high moisture or solvent content, means that the exhaust air has to be rejected.
In contrast, in commercially known devices of the type mentioned at the outset, a dry separation process is used in that paint overspray particles which are entrained by the booth air flowing past are ionised by the counter electrode device of the electrically operating separating device and, owing to the electrical field established between the separating electrode and the counter electrode device, migrate to the separating surface of the separating electrode, on which they are separated.
In known systems of the type mentioned at the outset, the overspray particles adhering to the separating surface are stripped off this mechanically and transported away.

System for coating objects having a coating booth and an electrostatically operating separation unit


An inkjet printer includes an electrode in either a printhead or an image receiving member that is operatively connected to a waveform generator. During operation, a controller operates the waveform generator to generate an electrostatic field between the printhead and the image receiving member during operation of inkjets in the printhead to eject ink drops. The controller operates the waveform generator to reduce an amplitude of the electrostatic field while the ink drops travel toward the image receiving member during a time when satellite ink drops can be formed from the ejected ink drops. The controller subsequently operates the waveform generator to generate the electrostatic field while the ink drops are in flight after formation of the satellite to accelerate the ink drops and satellites towards the image receiving member.

Inkjet printers operate a plurality of inkjets in each printhead to eject liquid ink onto an image receiving member. The ink can be stored in reservoirs that are located within cartridges installed in the printer. Such ink can be aqueous ink, UV Curable, ink emulsions, or phase-change inks. Phase-change inkjet printers receive ink in a solid form and then melt the solid ink to produce liquid ink for ejection onto the imaging member. The printer supplies ink to printheads for ejection through inkjets onto an image receiving member of an image receiving member, such as a print medium or an indirect imaging belt or imaging drum. Liquid inks dry or are cured and phase change inks cool into a solid state after being transferred to a print medium, such as paper or any other suitable medium for printing.
In an inkjet printer, an ejected ink drop travels through air for a predetermined distance before reaching an image receiving member. Examples of image receiving members include paper or other print media, or indirect imaging members such as imaging drums or endless belts that receive ink images for later transfer to a print medium. Printers are generally configured to minimize the "time of flight", which is the time delay between ejection of an ink drop and arrival of the ink drop on image receiving member. Longer time of flight delays tend to result in poorer placemen of ink drops and may result in a degradation of printed image quality. In an inkjet printer, the time of flight for ejected ink drops is influenced by both the distance between the printhead and the image receiving member and the velocity profile of the ink drop as the ink drop moves from the inkjet to the image receiving member. The velocity of the ink drop tends to decrease after ejection due to the presence of drag from the air around the ink drop. Thus, as the distance between the printhead and the image receiving member increases, the flight time increases both due to the increased distance and due to the reduction in ink drop velocity due to drag. Additionally, inkjet printheads eject ink drops at a maximum velocity that is related to the volume of the ink drop. In general, the printheads eject ink drops with larger volumes at higher initial velocities than ink drops with smaller volumes.
Given the limitations cited above, many printers place the printheads in close proximity to the image receiving member with gaps of, for example, one millimeter or less between the inkjets in the printhead and the image receiving member. Additionally, the printers often eject ink drops with greater volumes to minimize the time of flight for the ink drops. The close proximity of printheads to an image receiving member can result in damage or contamination of the printheads, particularly when the image receiving member is paper or another print medium that may make contact with the printhead. Additionally, some printed images are reproduced with higher quality when the printhead is configured to eject smaller ink drops. The drop placement errors that result from the increased time of flight for the smaller ink drops may preclude the use of smaller ink drop sizes during an imaging operation, however.
One approach to reducing ink drop time of flight that is known to the art uses an electrostatic field (E-field) to accelerate an ink drop from the printhead face to the image receiving member. The printhead ejects the ink drop using an ordinary actuator, such as a piezoelectric transducer or a thermal actuator, but the ink drop receives a static electric charge as the ink drop leaves the printhead. The electrostatic field generated between the printhead and the image receiving member produces a charge with an opposite polarity on the image receiving member, and the attraction between the charged ink drop and the image receiving member accelerates the ink drop and reduces the time of flight in comparison to ejecting the ink drop in the absence of the electrostatic field.
While electrostatic fields are known to the art, the electrostatic fields also affect in-flight ink drops in ways that tend to contaminate printheads that effectively prevent the use of electrostatic fields in widely deployed inkjet printers. As is known in the art, inkjets eject some ink drops in a manner where a larger ink drop is accompanied by one or more smaller "satellite" ink drops. In some instances, a satellite ink drop is formed from a larger ink drop after the larger ink drop is ejected from an inkjet. If the satellite ink drops land on the image receiving member in close proximity to the larger ink drop, then the quality of the printed image is preserved. However, in a printer that uses an electrostatic field, some of the satellite ink drops are formed with the charge polarity of the image receiving member instead of the printhead. For example, if the electrostatic field forms a positive charge on the ink drops and a negative charge on the image receiving member, some of the satellite ink drops receive a negative charge. The negative charge repels the satellite ink drops from the image receiving member and attracts the satellite ink drops back to the printhead, where the ink contaminates the printhead and results in clogged inkjets. Over time, the ink contamination due to the electrostatic field degrades the quality of printed images and increases the requirements for cleaning and maintenance of the printheads. In light of these deficiencies, improvements to printers that enable printing ink drops with reduced time of flight while reducing or eliminating printhead contamination would be beneficial.

System and method for ink drop acceleration with time varying electrostatic fields


The present invention provides an on-line real-time diagnosis system and method for wind turbine blade (WTB) damage. The system includes a four-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a cloud database, and a computer system. The four-rotor UAV captures images of WTBs in real time, and transmits the images to the computer system. The cloud database stores an image library used for a Visual Geometry Group (VGG)-19 net image classification method, where an image in the image library stored in the cloud database is dynamically captured from a network. The computer system is used to perform training by using the image library to obtain an improved VGG-19 net image classification method, and classify, by using the improved VGG-19 net image classification method, the images of the WTBs received from the four-rotor UAV, to obtain a WTB damage diagnosis and classification result and a damage grading result.

There are multiple solutions of diagnosing a WTB fault in the prior art, but the existing solutions have particular defects. The patent application CN107144569A proposes a WTB fault diagnosis method based on selective search and segmentation and a support vector machine (SVM) classification algorithm with a deep convolutional neural network being a feature extractor. First, selective search and segmentation are performed on a to-be-detected image, to obtain a region candidate. Then, a deep convolutional neural network is trained by using an ImageNet image set, and a network structure other than an output layer is extracted as the feature extractor. Finally, an SVM classifier is trained by using an extracted feature of a WTB image, to complete a fault diagnosis task. The foregoing method has the following defect: For a fault diagnosis algorithm for a WTB image, the Imagenet image set is used as training data, to determine a deep convolutional network structure parameter. The network structure parameter curing method cannot indicate that the network structure performance is optimal. The patent application CN104215640A proposes a WTB defect and damage checking method based on an unmanned helicopter and a checking system. An optical, thermal, and acoustic signal collection device is disposed on a small unmanned helicopter. The unmanned helicopter is operated to near blades on a wind turbine on a wind power plant, to collect optical, thermal, and acoustic signals of the blades, and record the signals or transmit the signals back, so that the ground crew analyzes states of the blades, to complete a wind turbine fault detection task. The foregoing method has the following defects: In the method, the unmanned helicopter is provided with the optical, thermal, and acoustic signal collection devices, to collect data of the WTBs. Executing a data collection task in a strong wind environment by the unmanned helicopter may not be very stable. In addition, the unmanned helicopter has a complex structure, has high vibration and noise during running, and has a large maintenance work amount, high use costs, and a poor endurance ability. As a result, the unmanned helicopter is not quite appropriate for the task. The patent application CN109741320A proposes a WTB fault detection method based on an aerial photo. A WTB image is collected by using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). A three-dimensional visual model of a WTB is constructed based on an enhanced image. A reconstructed image is subtracted from an original image including a defect by using a difference method to obtain residual information of a main component, and inverse transformation is performed on the residual information. An image of a blade having a defect is classified into a spalling category, a crack category, a sand inclusion category, or the like by using Alexnet. In addition, defects are classified into different defect levels based on a defect and damage degree by using a deep network hierarchical model. The foregoing method has the following defects: In the WTB fault detection method, damages of the WTBs are classified based on images by using the Alexnet, and the Alexnet classification method has a simple structure. In addition, only three defect categories of the blade: spalling, crack, and sand inclusion, are detected in the method, and a damage grading result is not highly precise.

On-line real-time diagnosis system and method for wind turbine blade (WTB) damage