A network entity and the mobile station are adapted to conduct a plurality of predetermined message exchange procedures, including encryption key generation procedures. The method comprises determining whether a received message from a mobile station is encrypted. If the received message is encrypted, it is determined whether a correct encryption key for decrypting said message is available to said network entity and, if no correct key is available, a predetermined triggering message is sent to the mobile station. The mobile station then interrupts the procedure exchange procedure and initiates an encryption key generation procedure.

It is known to use encryption in mobile communication systems. In other words, in order to enhance security, messages exchanged over the air-interface between a mobile station and a network entity of a mobile communication network are encrypted, such that the sending side uses an encryption key and the receiving side requires an appropriate key for decrypting the message and thereby discerning the message content. It should be noted that the present specification and claims shall use the term "key" or "encryption key" with respect to keys used both for encryption and decryption. It should also be noted that the term "network entity" shall be used for any network element or combination of network elements that fulfils a given function, such as the function of handling message exchanges with a mobile station. As such, a network entity can be provided by hardware, software or any combination of hardware and software, and can be implemented in one node of a mobile communication network, or spread out over several nodes.
In order to provide both the mobile station and the network entity with appropriate corresponding encryption keys, with which each respective element can decrypt messages received from the other, it is possible to generate one encryption key in one element, store it in that element, and then transmit it to the other element. However, this is highly disadvantageous, as it is possible that the encryption key sent over the air-interface is intercepted. Consequently it is preferred to implement respective and corresponding encryption key generation procedures in both the network entity and the mobile station, where corresponding encryption keys (which may be identical, or different from one another, depending on the encrypting scheme used) are respectively generated in parallel, such that the mobile station and the network entity can each on their own have corresponding or matching encryption keys. The correspondence between the encryption keys is ensured by using corresponding algorithms in the mobile station and network entity. This is well known and need not be described in more detail.
Furthermore, it is known to start the encryption key generation on the two respective sides using a common seed value, e.g. a regularly changed random or pseudo-random value broadcast by the mobile communication network to all network entities and listening mobile stations.
The generation of encryption keys is commonly performed at predetermined instances, for example when the mobile station registers with the mobile communication network. Usually the encryption keys are only generated at certain types of registrations, such as power-on, the transition from one switching entity (e.g. a mobile switching center MSC) to another, or forced registration, in which the network commands the mobile station to perform a registration.
The communication between a mobile station and a network entity is commonly arranged such that it will use a plurality of message exchange procedures in the course of which predetermined messages are exchanged between the network entity and the mobile station, the type and number of exchanged messages depending on the given message exchange procedure. Examples of message exchange procedures are a registration procedure, a link set-up procedure, a link configuration procedure, a call set-up procedure etc. For example, if the mobile station wishes to originate a call, it will send a predetermined call origination request to the network entity, and will then wait for a certain type of response message. In other words, the mobile station will wait until a precise and expected type of response from among a limited number of possible responses, e.g. one that confirms the receipt of the origination request, or one that provides call establishment information, etc. Messages not belonging to the limited group of expected responses will be ignored and the entity will continue to wait for an expected message. Usually, a time-out feature will also be implemented, according to which the mobile station only waits for a predetermined time-out period. After the time-out period expires, the mobile station can e.g. repeat the request, or also enter an idle mode and indicate a corresponding failure to the user of the mobile station, e.g. a call establishment failure in the above mentioned example of initially sending a call set-up request.
The message exchange procedures can be such that some or all exchanged messages in a given procedure are encrypted. It may be noted that the term "encrypted message" refers to any message of which at least a part is encrypted. For example, an encrypted message can be a message that contains a (first) unencrypted part and a (second) encrypted or encryptable part. As an example, a message could be contained in one or more packets, each having a header and a payload section, where the header is not-encrypted and the payload section is.
An example of rules governing the use of encryption in the communication between a mobile station and the network entity of a mobile communication network is provided by standard TIA/EIA-136 published by the Telecommunication Industry Association. In TIA/EIA-136 a mode called enhanced privacy and encryption (EPE) is provided, which is an authentication-related capability that adds confidentiality to signals transmitted over a time division multiple access (TDMA) digital channel between a base station of a mobile communication network and a mobile station. The encryption, if supported by the network entity and the mobile station, is mandatory and is automatically activated, pending hand shaking procedures between the mobile station and base station. TIA/EIA-136 specifies that with EPE encryption is automatically activated after authentication is complete if both the mobile station and the system support the feature. TIA/EIA-136 further specifies that support for EPE is mandatory for mobile stations that adhere to protocol version 4, but mobile stations that adhere to lower protocol versions may also support EPE.
The type of encryption applied together with the type of data encrypted, is controlled and authorized by means of encryption domains. Encryption domains define the level and type of encryption desired, the manner in which the encryption shall be applied and the data eligible for encryption. The encryption domain identifies portion of FACCH/SACCH (Fast Associated Control Channel/Slow Associated Control Channel) messages on digital or analogue channels that are subject to encryption, together with the encryption algorithm to be applied. Previously, for the introduction of EPE, a single encryption domain had been defined, namely, Domain-A. This allowed the encryption of a portion of the messages on the FACCH/SACCH together with the payload (circuit-switched speech or data) on a digital traffic channel and a portion of the messages on the analogue voice channel. This information, defined by the Domain-A encryption domain, is eligible for encryption by the Domain-A encryption algorithms only. The encryption of payload (circuit-switched speech or data) by a Domain-A encryption is commonly known as voice privacy or the encryption of layer 3 messages by a Domain-A encryption is commonly known as Domain-A message encryption.
EPE introduces a new encryption domain, namely Domain-B. The Domain-B encryption domain again defines a portion of the messages on the FACCH/SACCH digital traffic channel, a portion of messages on the digital control channel together with payload (circuit-switched speech or data). This information, defined by the Domain-B encryption domain is eligible for encryption by Domain-B encryption algorithm.
A single encryption algorithm known as Scema is introduced as the domain-B encryption algorithm, producing encryption keys for the encryption of both circuit-switched speech/data on a digital traffic channel and Layer3 messages (both on digital traffic and digital control channels), as defined by TIA/EIA-136.
The Domain-B encryption applies to the following:                Domain-B message encryption for user signalling on the digital control channel. The DCCH-encryption key (DCCH=Digital Control Channel), generated in both the mobile station and the network entity, is applied to specific Layer3 TIA/EIA-136 DCCH messages.        Domain-B message encryption for user signalling on the digital traffic channel. The DTC-encryption key, generated in both the mobile station and the network entity is applied to specific Layer3 TIA/EIA-136 DTC-messages.        Domain-B encryption on the digital traffic channel for both circuit-switched voice and data. The DTC-encryption key generated in both the mobile station and the network entity is applied to circuit-switched voice and data. EPE on the DCCH is activated at registration. Both the mobile station and system generate the Domain-B encryption keys, based on among other information, the currently available value of a parameter called RAND (a random variable which is broadcast on the control channel) and other information. The generation of the keys is performed on both the mobile station side and the network side in parallel. This ensures that the encryption keys are "synchronized", where "synchronized" means that the keys on either side are in correct correspondence to one another, such that each side can decrypt the messages encrypted by the other side. The generated encryption keys are stored in both the mobile station and the network.
The encryption keys are only generated at certain types of registration, including power-on, transition to a new switching entity (MSC), and forced registration, where the network entity informs the mobile station whether EPE should be activated via the registration accept message.
Once activated, the mobile shall encrypt a portion of RACH messages (RACH=Random Access Channel) with the generated encryption key. Layer3 messages subject to Domain-B encryption on the reverse digital control channel are: Origination, Page Response, R-data and Serial Number.
Layer3 messages subject to Domain-B encryption on the forward digital control channel are: Analogue Voice Channel Designation, Digital Traffic Channel Designation, Message Waiting-, Page, R-data, Registration Accept and User Alert messages.
On reception of a message on the RACH from a mobile station camped on a DCCH, the network entity will determine whether a message is encrypted or not with Domain-B encryption, by using the message encryption indicator field of the Layer2 extension header. If the message is not encrypted, then processing of the message will occur as implemented in the given system. If the encryption indicator field indicates that a message is encrypted with Domain-B encryption, the Domain-B DCCH-encryption key shall be retrieved from its storage location, e.g. a visitor location register VLR, where the encryption is stored together with other information related to the subscriber using the mobile station that is in communication with the network entity. Once the Domain-B DCCH-encryption key is available, the message shall be decrypted and processing of the message is completed as implemented in the network.
The terms Layer3 and Layer2 used above refer to different levels specified by TIA/EIA-136, and are not to be understood as layers within the meaning of the OSI model.

Method of controlling a network entity and a mobile station


A generation method of a light intensity distribution uses a first light modulation element and a second light modulation element which are arranged to be apart from each other by a distance D and face each other in parallel to optically modulate a light beam which enters the light modulation elements, thereby generating a light intensity distribution on a target surface. The first light modulation element has a pattern formed by repeating a basic unit having a pitch P. The distance D is set to a distance with which the light intensity distribution generated on the predetermined surface is not changed even if a relative position of the first light modulation element and the second light modulation element is shifted in a plane direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a generation method of a light intensity distribution, a generation apparatus of a light intensity distribution and a light modulation element assembly; for example, the present invention relates to measurement of a light intensity distribution of light applied to a predetermined flat surface or plane in a light intensity distribution generation apparatus used in a crystallization apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there has been developed a technology which uses a laser beam to perform a wide variety of processing such as free-form curve cutting, boring, welding, surface finishing, microfabrication or the like with respect to various kinds of materials such as iron, non-ferrous metals, ceramics, plastics, wood, fabrics, paper, and composite materials. For example, surface fishing processing is processing which irradiates a surface of a material with a laser beam having a relatively low energy density to heat a surface part only, thereby reforming the heated part. In this surface finishing processing, there are cases where the surface part is processed in a solid state and where the surface part is fused to be processed.
In a display device such as an active matrix type liquid crystal display device or an organic electroluminescent display device, many thin film transistors [TFTs] are formed on an insulating substrate such as glass or plastic in order to individually drive pixels for display. An amorphous silicon (a-Si) film in which source, drain and channel regions of a TFT has a low formation temperature, can be relatively easily formed by a gas phase method and is superior in mass productivity. Therefore, this film is generally used as a semiconductor film utilized for the TFT.
Such an amorphous silicon film has a drawback that its physical properties, e.g., electrical conductivity, are inferior to those of a poly-silicon (p-Si) film (the mobility of a-Si is two or more digits lower than that of p-Si). Therefore, in order to increase an operating speed of the TFT, there is used a technology which forms an a-Si film, changes this a-Si film into a p-Si film and forms source, drain and channel regions of the TFT in this polycrystal silicon film, e.g., an annealing method (Excimer Laser Annealing; which will be referred to as an "ELA method" hereinafter) using an excimer laser. Since this ELA method can be carried out in a temperature range where a general-purpose glass substrate can be used, i.e., a temperature range from a room temperature to approximately 500° C., it has the advantage that the material of the substrate is not restricted.
The ELA method is, e.g., a crystallization method which deposits an a-Si film on a substrate to provide a predetermined thickness (e.g., a thickness of approximately 50 nm), and then irradiates this a-Si film with a laser beam such as a krypton fluorine (KrF) excimer laser beam having a wavelength of 248 nm or a xenon chlorine (XeCl) excimer laser beam having a wavelength of 308 nm to locally fuse/recrystallize the a-Si film in an irradiated region, whereby the a-Si film is changed into a p-Si film.
The ELA method can be adapted to any other various processes by appropriately selecting an average intensity (a fluence) of a laser beam. For example, when a laser beam is set to an intensity with which a heating function alone is demonstrated, the ELA method can be used for an impurity activation step of a TFT. Further, when the intensity of a laser beam is set to be extremely large, a sudden increase in temperature is provoked, and hence the ELA method can be also utilized for removal of a film in the TFT. Furthermore, utilization of these phenomena is not restricted to the TFT and can be extensively adapted to a semiconductor manufacturing process.
In a display device such as a liquid crystal display device or an organic electroluminescent display device, when a TFT is formed in a p-Si film in order to increase operating speed, crystal grain boundaries of the p-Si film exist in a channel region of the TFT. In this case, the number of the crystal grain boundaries formed in the channel region differs in accordance with each TFT, and hence this difference in the number of the crystal grain boundaries considerably increases irregularities in characteristics such as threshold voltage or a mobility of each TFT. Such irregularities in threshold value in each TFT greatly lower operating characteristics of the entire display device, which can be a factor deteriorating a picture quality or the like.
Therefore, there has been a demand for equalizing the number of crystal grain boundaries in a channel region of each TFT as much as possible or eliminating crystal grain boundaries from the channel region of each TFT thus it is desired to form a crystallized region having a large particle or grain diameter and controlling a crystallized region forming position so that the TFT can be formed in the crystallized region. The present inventors have carried out development with respect to such a demand, whereby a crystallized region having a large particle diameter can be manufactured by using a light modulation element (see Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2004-186449 and Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2004-193229).
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2004-186449 reveals that, in development of industrialization of this technology, evaluation and management of a light intensity distribution of a laser beam which is applied to an a-Si film as a crystallization processing target body in an accuracy of submicron order are very important in an increase in grain diameter and positional control of a crystallized region. Especially, in a mass production line, periodical monitoring of a light intensity distribution is important in order to use a laser beam source which relatively has a problem in output stability. However, since the light intensity distribution has a fine structure of a submicron level and an excimer laser beam preferable for crystallization is invisible, there is a problem that monitoring with the naked eye of an operator is difficult.
Therefore, the present inventors have carried out development for visualization of a light intensity distribution to obtain an apparatus having a configuration in which an original light modulation element and another light modulation element called a visualization mask are provided in a laser beam path of a crystallization apparatus. The apparatus irradiates an a-Si film with a laser beam to perform crystallization with a large particle diameter. The a-Si film is irradiated with a light-modulated laser beam through these two light modulation elements, thereby realizing visualization. This visualization apparatus fuses an irradiation target surface of an a-Si film by application of a laser beam. A fused region is crystallized in a temperature reducing process when the laser beam is interrupted. Physical properties of the thus formed crystallized region are changed. A method of utilizing this change in physical properties to visualize a light intensity distribution has been developed. The present inventors have released an optical system as means for accurately measuring a light intensity distribution in an internal academic conference (IDW'04, Proceedings of the Eleventh International Display Workshops).
In general, as a method of generating a predetermined light intensity distribution, there are methods of aligning an element pattern which modulates an optical amplitude, an element pattern which modulates an optical phase, and an element pattern which modulates both an optical amplitude and an optical phase while changing a modulation quantity. Here, reducing a size of the element pattern to be smaller than a point spread range of an image forming optical system can remove a shape of the element pattern from a light intensity distribution to be generated, thereby realizing a smooth distribution. That is, just performing binary processing of the light modulation element can generate a light intensity distribution having a predetermined gradation.
Here, as shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B, a consideration will now be given on a light intensity distribution which is generated when two light modulation elements (a first light modulation element [FIG. 19A] and a second light modulation element [FIG. 19B]) having one-dimensional patterns orthogonal to each other are superimposed without a gap therebetween. Even if a relative position of the two light modulation elements is shifted, since an overlap pattern itself is not changed as shown in FIG. 19C, a light intensity distribution to be generated is laterally shifted as a whole but not changed. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 20A and 20B, where both light modulation elements have two-dimensional patterns or at least one of the two light modulation elements has a two-dimensional pattern although not shown, shifting of a relative position of the two light modulation elements changes an overlap pattern as shown in FIGS. 20C and 20D and also varies a light intensity distribution to be generated.
For example, it is assumed that the first and the second light modulation elements shown in FIGS. 20A and 20B are an optical amplitude type light modulation element and a hatched part in the figures indicates a light shielding region whilst a blank part indicates a transmission region. In this case, the transmission region does not exist in an overlap pattern in a FIG. 20C state where the two light modulation elements are superimposed. In the other hand, relatively large openings (the transmission regions) are generated in the overlap pattern by half-pitch shifting of an element pattern in a FIG. 20D state where the two light modulation elements are superimposed. In these two different superimposed states, it can be expected that light intensity distributions to be generated are also greatly different from each other.
Moreover, when a relative angle (a rotating angle around an axial line vertical to a page space of FIGS. 20A and 20B) of the first and second light modulation elements is changed, the overlap pattern differs depending on each position. Thus results in a change, i.e., irregularities in the light intensity distribution to be generated depending on each position. Additionally, if a pitch of the element pattern is slightly different between the first and second light modulation elements, irregularities with a large cycle are generated in a light intensity distribution to be generated. Further, even if each of the first and second light modulation elements is an optical phase type light modulation element, and even if one of the light modulation elements is an optical amplitude type light modulation element and the other one is an optical phase type light modulation element, a change or irregularities are likewise generated in the light intensity distribution. It has been revealed that such a change or irregularities in light intensity distribution are apt to be produced when an area modulation type phase shifter which can be readily designed as a light modulation pattern is used.
Furthermore, although the element patterns are the same in a plane in FIGS. 20A and 20B, when the element patterns vary in a plane, it can be understood from considerations that the light intensity distribution to be generated is changed in accordance with relative displacement or the like of the two light modulation elements. In this specification, a phenomenon that irregularities or a change is generated in a light intensity distribution to be produced in accordance with relative displacement or the like of the two light modulation elements in this manner is called the "Moire effect". In the measuring method and the measuring apparatus of a light intensity distribution proposed in the above-described patent application, a desired two-dimensional light intensity distribution cannot be generated due to an influence of the Moire effect caused by relative displacement or the like of two light modulation elements, and a light intensity distribution formed by a measurement target light modulation element alone cannot be accurately measured.

Generation method of light intensity distribution, generation apparatus of light intensity distribution, and light modulation element assembly

Advanced LCD Technologies Development Center Co., Ltd.


The presently-disclosed subject matter generally relates to RNAi-based methods and compositions for pest control of the highly invasive Emerald Ash Borer. The disclosed matter also relates to a composition which includes dsRNA directed towards target genes and a method of administering said composition.

RNA interference (RNAi) is a specific gene-silencing mechanism that is being developed as a tool in pest management programs to protect plants against insect pests. Because its mode of action involves silencing specific target genes based on complementary sequences, RNAi is considered more specific than broad-spectrum and conventional pesticides, decreasing the chances of collateral damage and negative effects on non-target and beneficial organisms1. In addition, the diversity of Dicer-substrate siRNAs produced after dsRNA cleavage may impede the evolution of RNAi resistance due to polymorphism in the nucleotide sequences, thereby increasing the durability of RNAi technology in the field. Utilization of RNAi technology to protect agricultural crops is more advanced than in horticultural crops or forestry3-6.
The efficacy of RNAi varies among insects, and several critical factors may be responsible for the differences observed. The target gene(s) and the level of expression7-9, the concentration of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) used10, combinations of different dsRNAs11, and delivery methods12 could affect RNAi efficacy. dsRNAs are delivered through transgenic plants or by topical applications including trunk injection, root absorption, or spraying2. Since deployment of genetically engineered trees in reforestation remains contentious5,13, non-transgenic RNAi methods may be more readily accepted by foresters, land managers, conservationists, and the general public.
RNAi works well in beetles14,15 and therefore, coleopteran forest pests including the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis, EAB) and Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis, ALB) are potential targets for RNAi-mediated control. Both beetles are non-native introductions that have become invasive in North America due to an abundance of highly susceptible host plant material and a lack of effective population regulators16,17. Both EAB and ALB have been shown to respond to RNAi, therefore this technology may be feasible for their control11,18. Initial work with EAB demonstrated that oral delivery of dsRNA targeting iap (inhibitor of apoptosis) and cop (COPI coatomer, b subunit) genes causes mortality and gene silencing in neonate larvae after 10 days of exposure11. However, selection of optimal target gene(s) for a given insect requires extensive screening of multiple dsRNAs, which is typically done via micro-injection. In Tribolium castaneum, for instance, a large-scale screen identified 40 most effective genes that caused 50-100% mortality at 8 days post-injection9; eleven of those genes caused >80% mortality on day 6, and 100% on day 8 after injection.
Screening target genes for RNAi by microinjection of dsRNA is not an option for EAB neonate larvae because of their small size, delicate form, and their endophagous feeding habits11. Additionally, RNAi efficiency varies with delivery method, and dsRNA injection is typically more efficient than dsRNA feeding19. Finally, oral dsRNA delivery is essential given that one of the goals is to develop a method for controlling EAB using RNAi technology. First a group of genes were screened by feeding dsRNA to neonate larvae and three target genes that caused the highest mortality were selected. The expression of the three selected genes was evaluated in EAB eggs, larvae, and adults, and knockdown of target genes after dsRNA exposure was determined in larvae and adults. Additionally, the mortality rate after ingestion of individual and combined dsRNAs was evaluated in both larvae and adults. Finally, a non-target organism, T. castaneum, was used to evaluate the specificity of the designed EAB dsRNAs.
An embodiment of the present invention is a method of inducing RNAi in an insect from the Coleoptera order comprising administering to the insect about 1 μg/μL to about 20 μg/μL total dsRNA, wherein the total dsRNA includes one or a combination of dsRNAs targeting the genes shibire (SHI) heat shock 70-kDa protein cognate 3 (HSP), and U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (RNP).
A further embodiment of the present invention is a composition comprising about 30-50% by wt sucrose solution, and about 1 μg/μL to about 20 μg/μL total dsRNA, wherein the total dsRNA includes one or a combination of dsRNAs targeting the genes shibire (SHI), heat shock 70-kDa protein cognate 3 (HSP), and U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (RNP).

Gene silencing kills emerald ash borer, an exotic, invasive tree-killing insect

University of Kentucky Research Foundation


The invention provides a delivery system comprising a cell penetrating peptide, 10 histidines, and an interfering RNA molecule. The system can be used for delivering interfering RNA molecules into a cell in vivo or in vitro. Therapeutic uses for the delivery system are also provided.

RNA interference (RNAi) is a process by which double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is used to silence gene expression. RNAi is induced by short (i.e. <30 nucleotide) double stranded RNA ("dsRNA") molecules which are present in the cell (Fire et al., 1998, Nature 391:806-811). These short dsRNA molecules called "short interfering RNA" or "siRNA," cause the destruction of messenger RNAs ("mRNAs") which share sequence homology with the siRNA (Elbashir et al., 2001, Genes Dev, 15:188-200). It is believed that one strand of the siRNA is incorporated into a ribonucleoprotein complex known as the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). RISC uses this siRNA strand to identify mRNA molecules that are at least partially complementary to the incorporated siRNA strand, and then cleaves these target mRNAs or inhibits their translation. The siRNA is apparently recycled much like a multiple-turnover enzyme, with 1 siRNA molecule capable of inducing cleavage of approximately 1000 mRNA molecules. siRNA-mediated RNAi degradation of an mRNA is therefore more effective than currently available technologies for inhibiting expression of a target gene.
RNAi provides a very exciting approach to treating and/or preventing diseases. Some major benefits of RNAi compared with various traditional therapeutic approaches include: the ability of RNAi to target a very particular gene involved in the disease process with high specificity, thereby reducing or eliminating off target effects; RNAi is a normal cellular process leading to a highly specific RNA degradation; and RNAi does not trigger a host immune response as in many antibody based therapies.
Several interfering RNA delivery methods are being tested/developed for in vivo use. For example, siRNAs can be delivered "naked" in saline solution; complexed with polycations, cationic lipids/lipid transfection reagents, or cationic peptides; as components of defined molecular conjugates (e.g., cholesterol-modified siRNA, TAT-DRBD/siRNA complexes); as components of liposomes; and as components of nanoparticles. These approaches have shown varying degrees of success. Thus, there remains a need for new and improved methods for delivering siRNA molecules in vivo to achieve and enhance the therapeutic potential of RNAi.
Several cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) or membrane permeant peptides (MPPs) have been described (Jarver and Langel, 2004, Drug Discov Today 9:395-402) as conjugates to deliver peptides into cells. Of these, the protein transduction domain (PTD) of the HIV-1 TAT protein appears to be particularly effective. The TAT peptide has been used to deliver biologically active cargo to cells in vitro and in vivo (Wadia et al., 2003, Curr Protein Pept Sci. 4:97-104; Bullok K E et al., 2006, Mol Imaging 5:1-15). Dowdy's group also demonstrated that co-delivery of the HA2 peptide enhances release of cargo from macropinosomes following TAT-mediated delivery (Wadia et al., 2004, Nat Med. 10:310-315).
Several groups have explored the use of CPPs to deliver siRNA (reviewed in Meade and Dowdy, 2007, Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 59:134-140). This review points out the problems associated with direct attachment of siRNA to TAT. The protein transduction domain (PTD) of the HIV-1 TAT protein is a CPP that appears to be particularly effective. The TAT peptide has been used to deliver biologically active cargo to cells in vitro and in vivo (Wadia and Dowdy, 2003, Curr Protein Pept Sci. 4:97-104; Bullok et al., 2006, Mol. Imaging 5:1-15). The addition of 10 histidine residues (10H) to TAT has been shown to facilitate endosomal release of DNA (Lo & Wang, Biomaterials 29:2408-2414, 2008).
While several groups have explored the use of CPPs to deliver interfering RNA molecules (See Meade and Dowdy, 2007, Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 59:134-140), the main challenge to this approach involves linking the interfering RNA to the CPPs while maintaining the ability of the complex to interact with and enter the intracellular environment. In particular, the negative charge of the interfering RNA neutralizes the positively charged CPPs, which renders such complexes incapable of cellular delivery. Thus, there remains a need to identify effective means for delivering interfering RNA molecules to target cells.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Interfering RNA delivery system and uses thereof


An apparatus and method for implementing one or more existing object-oriented program classes as component objects in an object management system, each class including one or more member functions, each class being defined in a header file, builds an information list, the information list including a list of the classes and the member functions in each class, processes the information list, the processing including parsing the header file for each class and reading a type file, the type file including computer code for converting between an object-oriented type and an object management type, and generates from the processed information list one or more output files for each component object, each component object implementing the member functions of one class.

The invention generally relates to computer programming and, more particularly, the invention relates to computer programming tools.
In object-oriented program languages, such as C++ and Smalltalk, a computer program typically consists of a number of objects. The objects, which contain both data and the functions that operate on the data, communicate with each other by calling one another""s functions. An object""s functions typically are the only way to access the object""s data. If, for example, a program wants to read an object""s data, the program calls the object""s function. In turn, the object""s function will read the data and return a value.
Objects are organized into classes. A class of objects is a specification for creating an object. In other words, an object is a single instance of a class of objects, with similar objects belonging to the same class. As a specification for an object, a class contains both data and the functions that operate on the data.
In the same manner, classes are organized into libraries. A library of classes of objects is a collection of classes logically related to each other to perform a particular task.
An object management system, such as Distributed Component Object Model (xe2x80x9cDCOMxe2x80x9d) and Common Object Request Broker Architecture (xe2x80x9cCORBAxe2x80x9d), allows classes created by different software vendors to interact with one another in the same address space, across address spaces, and across networks. However, in order to implement existing classes in an object management system, a programmer must write the necessary computer code. Typically, three computer files need to be written for each existing object-oriented program class-an interface file, a header file and a source file. The process can be complex and time-consuming. For example, in one project, in which 300 computer files with approximately 150,000 lines of computer code needed to be written, the programming team estimated the time needed to complete the project would be approximately 2 man years. Moreover, the potential for programming bugs is tremendous and, typically, these programming bugs can be difficult to locate.
In some object management systems, tools are available to help write the needed computer code. For example, Microsoft ""s Visual Studio contains an Active Template Library wizard to help with the creation of computer code for Microsoft""s DCOM. These tools, however, are more suited to-creating new objects in the object management system, referred to as component objects, rather than implementing existing object-oriented program classes as component objects in the object management system. However, even in using the tools, a programmer still needs to write a significant amount of implementation code. For the project described above, the programming team estimated it would still need approximately 15 man months to complete the project using the available tools.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a method and apparatus implements one or more existing object-oriented program classes as component objects in an object management system. Each class includes one or more member functions and each class is defined in a header file. First, the method and apparatus builds an information list. The information list includes a list of the classes and the member functions in each class. The method and apparatus then processes the information list. The processing includes parsing the header file for each class and reading a type file. The type file includes computer code for converting between an object-oriented type and an object management type. Last, the method and apparatus generates from the processed information list one or more output files for each component object, each component object implementing the member functions of one class.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method and apparatus implements an existing object-oriented program class as a component object in an object management system, the class being defined in a header file. First, the method and apparatus reads the header file. The header file includes a list of member functions for the class. Next, the method and apparatus parses the header file. Then, the method and apparatus reads a type file. The type file includes computer code for converting between an object-oriented type and an object management type. The method and apparatus then generates a source file for the component object. The source file comprises computer code for use in implementing the listed member functions in the object management system based on the conversion code in the type file. Next, the method and apparatus generates an interface file for use in implementing the component object. When compiled, the interface file comprises one or more object management interfaces for the class. Last, the method and apparatus generates an object management header file for the component object.
In a further embodiment of both aspects of the invention, the output file (or files) are compiled into an object management server. In still further embodiments of both aspects of the invention, at least one class includes an excluded member function, the excluded member function being omitted in the one or more output files for the component object for the at least one class. In addition, at least one class includes an override member function, the override member function being pasted into the one or more output files for the component object for the at least one class. Further, at least one class includes an enums member function, the enums member function listed in an enums file, the enums file being read and parsed, and an enums interface file being generated. As an output file, the enums interface file is also compiled into the object management server.
In alternate embodiments of both aspects of the invention, the one or more existing object-oriented program classes are C++ classes. In addition, the object management system may be a Distributed Component Object Model.

Apparatus and method for implementing an existing object-oriented class in an object management system


The invention relates to a radiation detector (100; 101; 102; 103; 104; 105; 106), having a scintillator (120) for generating electromagnetic radiation (202) in response to the action of incident radiation (200). The scintillator (120) has two opposing end faces (121; 122) and a lateral wall (123) between the end faces (121; 122). The radiation detector has, in addition, a photocathode section (130) that is located on the lateral electrons wall (123) of the scintillator (120) and that generates electrons (204) in response to the action of electromagnetic radiation (202) that is generated by the scintillator (120), a microchannel plate (161; 162) comprising a plurality of channels (165), for multiplying the electrons (204) that have been generated by the photocathode section (130) and a detection system (171; 172) for detecting the electrons (204) that have been multiplied by means of the microchannel plate (161; 162). The invention also relates to an imaging system (110) comprising a radiation detector of this type (100; 101; 102; 103; 104; 105; 106).

The present embodiments relate to a radiation detector that may be used to detect electromagnetic radiation.
Imaging systems appertaining to medical technology are becoming increasingly important nowadays. Systems of this type are used to generate two- or three-dimensional image data of organs and structures of the human body, which may be used, for example, for diagnosing causes of illness, for carrying out operations, and for preparing therapeutic measures. The image data may be generated based on measurement signals obtained with the aid of a radiation detector.
This is the case, for example, in X-ray and computed tomography systems (CT). In systems of this type, the body or a body section of a patient to be examined is radiographed by X-ray radiation generated by a radiation source. The non-absorbed, transmitted portion of radiation is detected by a detector.
A further example is image generation with the aid of radionuclides, such as is used in positron emission tomography systems (PET) and single photon emission computer tomography systems (SPECT). In this case, the patient to be examined is injected with a radiopharmaceutical that generates gamma quanta either directly (SPECT) or indirectly (PET) through emission of positrons. The gamma radiation is detected by a corresponding radiation detector.
Detectors that may be used for the energy-resolved detection or "counting" of radiation quanta may operate according to different measurement principles. Radiation may be detected either directly (e.g., by direct conversion of the radiation energy into electrical energy) or indirectly. In the case of the last-mentioned variant, use is generally made of a scintillator, which is excited in response to the action of radiation to be detected and reemits the excitation energy by emitting lower-energy electromagnetic radiation. Only the radiation emitted by the scintillator is converted into electrical measurement signals in this case. Detectors of planar construction (e.g., "flat detectors") that are used in the medical field and operate in accordance with these measurement principles are described, for example, in M. Spahn, "Flat detectors and their clinical applications," Eur Radiol (2005), 15: 1934-1947.
The conversion of the radiation emerging from a scintillator into an electrical signal may be effected in various ways. Besides use of a photomultiplier provided with a photocathode in the form of an evacuated electron tube, one concept that is common at the present time includes using a silicon photomultiplier ("SiPM"). This involves a matrix arrangement of avalanche photodiodes (APD) embodied on a shared substrate, electrons being generated in the photodiodes as a result of incident photons, and the electrons being multiplied in an avalanche-like manner.
One disadvantage of silicon photomultipliers, however, is that only part of the total area available for irradiation may be utilized as sensitive or "active" area. The reason for this is that between the active or radiation-sensitive regions there are also insensitive regions, in which resistors and signal lines or wiring structures are arranged. A silicon photomultiplier therefore has a relatively small ratio of active area to total area (e.g., irradiated total area). The ratio is also designated as "filling factor." Further disadvantages include noise that occurs during operation, and a relatively high dark rate or dark count. In other words, signal generation takes place even without irradiation.
A detector including a scintillator and a silicon photomultiplier may be embodied such that the silicon photomultiplier is opposite an end face or rear side of the scintillator. An opposite end face or front side of the scintillator faces the radiation to be detected. As a result, the silicon photomultiplier may detect only that portion of the radiation converted in the scintillator that emerges at the rear side thereof. Proceeding from the respective excitation or interaction location in the scintillator, however, the scintillation radiation is emitted not only in the direction of the rear side, but also in other directions. The radiation is subject to loss processes such as reflection, absorption and scattering. In the case of scintillators having a high aspect ratio (e.g., a high ratio of height to width), as may be the case for example in a PET system, the losses are therefore relatively high. In the case of an aspect ratio of greater than 7:1, the radiation emerging from a scintillator may make up a proportion of merely 40-60% of the total radiation generated. Although a higher intensity of the incident radiation may be provided in order to compensate for the losses, as a result, a patient is also exposed to an increased radiation dose.
It is disadvantageous that an interaction location of incident radiation in the scintillator may not be detected or may be detected only with very great difficulty based on the radiation emerging at the rear side of the scintillator. It is not possible to obtain information about the height or depth of an interaction in the scintillator. Such disadvantages therefore restrict the resolution of an imaging system provided with such a detector construction.
For image intensification and for electron multiplication, it is furthermore known to use microchannel plates (MCP) having a number of channels. During operation, an electrical voltage present along the channels is generated, whereby entering electrons may be accelerated within the channels and multiplied by impacts with the channel walls. Use of a microchannel plate in connection with an image intensifier is described in US 2009/0256063 A1, for example.


Multilayer shaped articles, including films, preforms and containers, and method for forming the same, having at least one layer of poly(1,3-propylene 2,6-naphthalate) and at least one layer of poly(ethylene terephthalate). Poly(1,3-propylene 2,6-naphthalate) can be co-stretched with poly(ethylene terephthalate) to form oriented multilayer structures which have superior barrier properties. The poly(1,3-propylene 2,6-naphthalate) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) layers have good adhesion and do not require an adhesive tie layer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to multilayer shaped articles including films, preforms and structures made therefrom, comprising at least one layer of poly(1,3-propylene 2,6-naphthalate) and at least one layer of poly(ethylene terephthalate). Multilayer biaxially oriented films and containers are useful in food packaging end uses.
2. Description of Related Art
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is widely used in the production of containers, especially beverage bottles, due to its excellent impact resistance, rigidity, gas barrier properties, light weight, and transparency. However, further improvements in gas barrier properties are desirable to increase the shelf life of products packaged in polyester bottles and films.
It has been proposed in the art to use containers composed of laminated layers for improved barrier properties. For example, multilayer bottles comprising inner and outer layers of polyethylene terephthalate, an intermediate layer of an oxygen-barrier resin, and adhesive layers interposed between adjacent layers are disclosed in Nohara et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,936. Anderson U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,467 discloses oriented multilayer laminated films having at least three layers comprising polypropylene, an adhesive of a polar modified polyolefin, and a copolyester. Hosoi, et al. Japanese Kokai published patent application 5-131602 discloses laminated films comprising two resin layers, wherein each resin layer comprises a different polyester composition, and further including an intermediate tie layer comprising a copolymer of the two different polyester compositions. Preferred polyesters are poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate) (PEN), and poly(1,3-cyclohexylenedimethylene terephthalate). The films are useful for high-density magnetic recording media. Use of the intermediate copolymer layer overcomes the problems of interlayer delamination and curling which can occur in certain multilayer structures, especially in flat films. The absence of this tie layer in PET/PEN multilayer films results in a lack of a adhesion between the PET and PEN layers, which leads to delamination and curling.
Matsubayashi et al. Japanese granted patent Kokoku 1-26940 discloses a polyester multilayer hollow molding made from a laminate of at least two layers where one of the layers is PET and another is PEN. The hollow moldings are obtained by blow expansion of a multilayer preform at a temperature above the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the poly(ethylene naphthalate) but below the crystallization temperature (Tc) of the poly(ethylene terephthalate). In the Examples, blow molding was conducted at temperatures between 120 and 140xc2x0 C. Because of the higher Tg of PEN (between about 113xc2x0 C. and 125xc2x0 C.) relative to the Tg of PET (between about 70xc2x0 C. and 80xc2x0 C.), the process described in the Matsubayashi et al. application requires the blow molding to be done at a temperature that is higher than the optimum processing temperature for PET, which is between about 90xc2x0 C. and 115xc2x0 C. Processing at the higher temperatures required by Matsubayashi et al. results in a reduction in strain orientation in the PET layer and a corresponding reduction in physical properties such as tensile strength. If the molding temperature was below the Tg of PEN, poor transparency and gas barrier properties resulted, as shown by Comparative Example 2. Comparative Example 3 demonstrates that when blow-molding was done at 100xc2x0 C. that there was significant thickness variation in the bottle body sidewall making blow molding impossible.
Collette et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,957 teaches that in the presence of a PEN-rich layer that PET cannot be used as a co-layer in blow molding because the orientation temperature of PET is much lower than that for PEN (minimum of 127xc2x0 C.). At this temperature or above, the PET would begin to crystallize and no longer undergo strain hardening, and the resulting container would be opaque and have insufficient strength. Collette et al. overcomes the problem of the different processing requirements of PEN and PET by providing a multilayer preform and container having at least one layer of PEN which may be a homopolymer, copolymer, or blend and a core layer which comprises a non-strain-hardenable polyester such as a low-copolymer PET. The core layer can be blow molded at temperatures and stretch ratios required for enhancing the physical properties of PEN by strain orientation and crystallization. Suitable core layers disclosed in this patent include copolymers of PET and cyclohexane dimethanol (PETG), and blends of PETG and PEN.
Multilayer structures which comprise layers which can be co-stretched, for example during blow molding or film stretching processes, at temperatures that provide improved mechanical and barrier properties, and which do not require an intermediate adhesive tie layer, would represent an improvement over those disclosed in the art.
The present invention overcomes the problems described above by providing improved multilayer shaped articles such as films, preforms, and hollow containers comprising at least a first resin layer and a second resin layer wherein the first resin layer comprises poly(1, 3-propylene 2,6-naphthalate) (3GN) and the second resin layer comprises poly(ethylene terephthalate).
Multilayer films and preforms of the current invention can be biaxially stretched at optimum PET processing temperatures (90-115xc2x0 C.) to provide oriented films and other structures such as bottles having excellent mechanical, optical, and barrier properties. In addition, the multilayer films have excellent adhesion between the 3GN and PET layers, without problems of delamination and curling and do not require an adhesive tie layer between the 3GN and PET layers.
One or more additional resin layers can be present wherein the additional layers comprise 3GN or PET or other polymeric compositions which can be co-stretched with 3GN and PET at temperatures between about 90xc2x0 C. and about 115xc2x0 C.
In a process for forming oriented films, a substantially amorphous multilayer 3GN/PET film is formed, for example by coextrusion of the 3GN and PET layers, followed by stretching uniaxially or preferably biaxially at a temperature between about 90xc2x0 C. and 115xc2x0 C.
The films are generally heat set at a temperature of about 160xc2x0 C. to about 180xc2x0 C. after stretching.
Hollow containers, such as bottles, can be formed by first forming a multilayer 3GN/PET preform followed by blow molding at a temperature of from about 90xc2x0 C. to about 115xc2x0 C. Other methods known in the art which do not require formation of a preform to form multilayer shaped articles can also be used.

Multilayer structures of poly(1,3-propylene 2,6 napthalate) and poly (ethylene terephthalate)


A system and method for synchronizing the display and edit of a plurality of connected layouts or documents within a single display. A first document or plurality of elements may be displayed as active and a second document or plurality of elements may be displayed as non-active background in a first window. The second document or plurality of elements may be displayed as active and the first document or plurality of elements may be displayed as non-active background in a second window. Any action detected in either window may be displayed in the other window. Upon selection of any active element or predefined net list, the elements physically or logically connected to the selected element or net list may be highlighted in the active documents, listed, or otherwise identified. An inter-document net list may identify connections between existing net lists in multiple documents.

Aspects of the present invention relate generally to the field of integrated circuit design, and more specifically to displaying and editing stacked designs.
Integrated circuit (IC) design is a complex process, often involving a large number of elements, shapes or geometries, and may be facilitated with an electronic design automation (EDA) tool that allows a designer to interactively position ("place") and connect ("route") various shapes on a circuit. The EDA tool then creates a circuit layout or document containing the physical locations and dimensions of the circuit's components, interconnections, and various layers from the original design that may then be fabricated, creating the IC.
ICs may be designed such that adjacent dies are connected to form a complex package consisting of multiple distinct but connected dies. Dies may be connected either using a wire to connect the contacts between two dies or via one or more micro-bumps placed on each die. When two adjacent dies have overlapping micro-bumps, they can form a connection. Consequently, the placement and alignment of micro-bumps on a die is critical to the effective design of adjacent die in a package. However, the alignment and effect of a micro-bump placement in a first die may not be apparent in an adjacent die where each die is individually displayed, accessed, edited, tested, and validated. Additionally, correcting the alignment of micro-bumps in adjacent die may be difficult when the designer is required to view and independently edit each design layout without specific knowledge of the effect of an edit on the adjacent die. Editing a die in a package may be further complicated where each die is created using a different layout editor or different technology. A designer may then repeatedly access and edit the design layout for each individual die one by one in order to make small changes in the micro-bump placement to correct the micro-bump alignment or to make other element placement adjustments.
Accordingly there is a need in the art for a three-dimensional circuit design editor to more effectively access the design files for multiple dies and to facilitate proper micro-bump alignment, by synchronizing the display and edit of multiple connected dies. Such an editor may be useful in other contexts in which two documents or layouts are shown as connected in some other way besides micro-bumps, where the features themselves are implicated, for example, in respective dies, and where the ability to align two such features may be facilitated by viewing them in the same window, rather than separately.

Synchronized three-dimensional display of connected documents


A drum-type washing machine is disclosed. The drum-type washing machine includes a case formed with an opening part for receiving therethrough laundry to be washed, a door opening and closing the opening part, a tub mounted in the case to receive wash water, a drum rotatably mounted in the tub, and a path compensation unit disposed at an inner lower end of the tub to facilitate flow of fluid while the drum is rotating. According to this drum-type washing machine, the dehydration efficiency can be improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drum type washing machine.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, washing machines can be classified into a top-loading type in which laundry to be washed is loaded through an upper part of a washing machine case, and a drum-type in which laundry to be washed is loaded through from a front opening part of a washing machine case.
A conventional drum-type washing machine generally comprises a case constituting an exterior appearance thereof, a door mounted to a front opening part formed at the case, a tub mounted inside the case to receive wash water, and a drum rotatably mounted inside the tub.
The drum receives the laundry to be washed and shares the wash water received in the tub through holes formed on an outer surface thereof. Washing of the laundry is performed as the drum is rotated by a driving unit of the washing machine.
The tub receives wash water therein so that the laundry received in the drum can be washed and rinsed. In addition, a drain system for discharging the wash water is formed at a lower end of the tub.
When the drum-type washing machine performs washing, the laundry to be washed is put into the drum through the door formed at the front of the case. Next, wash water is supplied to the tub and the drum is rotated such that the laundry can be washed by repeatedly rising and falling in the drum in accordance with rotation of the drum.
When the drum-type washing machine proceeds to a dehydrating operation, the drum spins at a high speed in the tub and therefore, wash water contained in the washed laundry is extracted out of the drum by a centrifugal force generated by the high-speed spinning of the drum. The wash water extracted out of the drum is discharged to the outside through the drain system formed at the lower end of the tub.
In the conventional drum-type washing machine, however, part of the wash water being extracted by the high-speed spinning of the drum may stay near the door, failing to drain through the drain system mounted at the lower end of the tub.
Especially, since fluid being circulated between the tub and the drum by rotation of the drum moves unstably at the lower end of the tub, the extracted wash water may also unstably move and splash toward the door instead of being favorably discharged through the drain system.
Furthermore, the extracted wash water may flow to the door along an inner surface of the tub, due to vibration generated from the rotating drum during the dehydrating operation.
When the extracted wash water splashes or flows toward the door as above, part of the extracted wash water fails to be discharged through the drain system and remains in a recessed part of the door or around a gasket mounted near the door. In this case, while the laundry which is washed and dehydrated is being taken out from the drum, the remaining water may soak into the laundry, thereby deteriorating the dehydration efficiency.


Systems and methods for phototherapeutic modulation of nitric oxide in mammalian tissue include use of a first wavelength and first radiant flux of light to stimulate enzymatic generation of nitric oxide, and use of a second wavelength and second radiant flux of light to stimulate release of nitric oxide from endogenous stores of nitric oxide. Pulsed light and/or partially non-overlapping light impingement windows may be used. Non-coherent light impinged on tissue may include a peak wavelength in a range of from 410 nm to 440 nm in the absence of light emissions having a peak wavelength of from 600 nm to 900 nm.

The term "phototherapy" relates to the therapeutic use of light. Various light therapies (e.g., including low level light therapy (LLLT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT)) have been publicly reported or claimed to provide various health related medical benefits—including, but not limited to: promoting hair growth; treatment of skin or tissue inflammation; promoting tissue or skin healing or rejuvenation; enhancing wound healing; pain management; reduction of wrinkles, scars, stretch marks, varicose veins, and spider veins; treating cardiovascular disease; treating erectile dysfunction; treating microbial infections; treating hyperbilirubinemia; and treating various oncological and non-oncological diseases or disorders. Various mechanisms by which phototherapy has been suggested to provide therapeutic benefits include: increasing circulation (e.g., by increasing formation of new capillaries); stimulating the production of collagen; stimulating the release of adenosine triphosphate (ATP); enhancing porphyrin production; reducing excitability of nervous system tissues; modulating fibroblast activity; increasing phagocytosis; inducing thermal effects; stimulating tissue granulation and connective tissue projections; reducing inflammation; and stimulating acetylcholine release.
Phototherapy has also been suggested to stimulate cells to generate nitric oxide. Various biological functions attributed to nitric oxide include roles as signaling messenger, cytotoxin, antiapoptotic agent, antioxidant, and regulator of microcirculation. Nitric oxide is recognized to relax vascular smooth muscles, dilate blood vessels, inhibit aggregation of platelets, and modulate T cell-mediate immune response.
Nitric oxide is produced by multiple cell types in tissue, and is formed by the conversion of the amino acid L-arginine to L-citrulline and nitric oxide, mediated by the enzymatic action of nitric oxide synthases (NOSs). NOS is a NADPH-dependent enzyme that catalyzes the following reaction:L-arginine+3/2NADPH+H++2O2citrulline+nitric oxide+3/2NADP+
In mammals, three distinct genes encode NOS isozymes: neuronal (nNOS or NOS-I), cytokine-inducible (iNOS or NOS-II), and endothelial (eNOS or NOS-III). iNOS and nNOS are soluble and found predominantly in the cytosol, while eNOS is membrane associated. Many cells in mammals synthesize iNOS in response to inflammatory conditions.
Skin has been documented to upregulate inducible nitric oxide synthase expression and subsequent production of nitric oxide in response to irradiation stress. Nitric oxide serves a predominantly anti-oxidant role in the high levels generated in response to radiation.
Nitric oxide is a free radical capable of diffusing across membranes and into various tissues; however, it is very reactive, with a half-life of only a few seconds. Due to its unstable nature, nitric oxide rapidly reacts with other molecules to form more stable products. For example, in the blood, nitric oxide rapidly oxidizes to nitrite, and is then further oxidized with oxyhaemoglobin to produce nitrate. Nitric oxide also reacts directly with oxyhaemoglobin to produce methaemoglobin and nitrate. Nitric oxide is also endogenously stored on a variety of nitrosated biochemical structures including nitrosoglutathione (GSNO), nitrosoalbumin, nitrosohemoglobin, and a large number of nitrosocysteine residues on other critical blood/tissue proteins. The term "nitroso" is defined as a nitrosated compound (nitrosothiols (RSNO) or nitrosamines (RNNO)), via either S- or N-nitrosation. Examples of nitrosated compounds include GSNO, nitrosoalbumin, nitrosohemoglobin, and proteins with nitrosated cysteine residue. Metal nitrosyl (M-NO) complexes are another endogenous store of circulating nitric oxide, most commonly found as ferrous nitrosyl complexes in the body; however, metal nitrosyl complexes are not restricted to complexes with iron-containing metal centers, since nitrosation also occurs at heme groups and copper centers. Examples of metal nitrosyl complexes include cytochrome c oxidase (CCO-NO) (exhibiting 2 heme and 2 copper binding sites), cytochrome c (exhibiting heme center binding), and nitrosylhemoglobin (exhibiting heme center binding for hemoglobin and methemoglobin), embodying endogenous stores of nitric oxide.
FIG. 1 is a reaction sequence showing photoactivated production of nitric oxide catalyzed by iNOS, followed by binding of nitric oxide to CCO.
When nitric oxide is auto-oxidized into nitrosative intermediates, the nitric oxide is bound covalently in the body (in a "bound" state). Thus, conventional efforts to produce nitric oxide in tissue may have a limited therapeutic effect, since nitric oxide in its "gaseous" state is short-lived, and cells being stimulated to produce nitric oxide may become depleted of NADPH or L-Arginine to sustain nitric oxide production.


A V-type internal combustion engine having a variable valve train for keeping the height of the internal combustion engine low. Disclosed is a V-type internal combustion engine with a variable valve train that uses an actuator to vary the phase/lift amount of camshafts. The actuator is mounted on head covers for each of a plurality of cylinder blocks arranged in a V-shape. The actuator is attached to a lateral surface positioned opposite the offset direction of the head covers. In an embodiment, the actuator is attached to a lateral surface of the head covers and positioned close to the inside of the V banks.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a V-type internal combustion engine with a variable valve train that varies the phase/lift amount of a camshaft.
2. Description of Background Art
Some V-type internal combustion engines in which cylinder blocks are arranged in a V-shape have a variable valve train that varies the phase/lift amount of a camshaft. This variable valve train includes a drive cam that rotates together with the camshaft, a valve cam that rotates relative to the camshaft for opening/closing an engine valve, a link mechanism that transmits the valve driving force of the drive cam to the valve cam, a holder member that supports a fulcrum of the link mechanism and is capable of swinging around the camshaft, and a drive mechanism that swings the holder member to vary the fulcrum position of the link mechanism, and varies the phase/lift amount of the camshaft in accordance with a swing position of the fulcrum of the link mechanism. The variable valve train is driven by an actuator that is mounted above a head cover. See, for example, JP-A No. 2004-190609.
However, the use of the above-described previous configuration, in which the actuator for the variable valve train is mounted above the head cover, increases the height of the internal combustion engine, thereby making it difficult to mount the internal combustion engine in a motorcycle or other small-sized vehicle.

V-type internal combustion engine with variable valve train


An integrated circuit including an electronic fuse for supporting a secure bootstrap process, in which the fuse is queried. The circuit includes a protection against electromagnetic fault injection. The circuit is configured in such a way that the protection extends to the bootstrap process.

In the context of data processing, the term "eFuse," "E-Fuse," or "Fuse" for short, designates an electronic fuse, developed in its original form by IBM, which allows for dynamic real-time programming of computer chips. U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,294A describes an implementation of this approach as a one-time programmable, non-volatile memory element.
United States Patent Application Publication No. US 2006/0136858 A1 describes a method for in situ changing of system parameters of an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit includes E-Fuses designed as semiconductor elements, which, during the chip manufacture, are depictable on the silicon with metal connections in the chip, the operating type or accessibility of the circuit being coded on the basis of the information stored in the E-Fuses. The E-Fuses are selectively destroyed via coding using an integrated interface or an integrated E-Fuse control module.
Within the scope of the subsequent explanations, the term "electronic fuse" is always to be interpreted in a broad sense, which explicitly includes any non-volatile memory like flash or PCM.

Integrated circuit and embedded system including such an integrated circuit with bootstrap configuration for attack prevention


A process for coating an edge within a hole in a coated component is provided. The hole is a cooling-air hole operable conduct a coolant therethrough. According to the processes, an outer coating is provided on the outer surface of the component. An inner coating is provided on an inner surface within the hole, wherein the inner coating within the hole takes place using a coating nozzle at a different angle to the coating of the outer surface around the hole, if the spray angles for the outer coating and inner coating relate to the outer surface.

In various cases, cooled turbine blades or vanes (guide vanes and/or rotor blades) with cooling-air holes have incorrect, in particular excessive, flow rates of the stream of cooling air. This has a negative effect on the efficiency of the gas turbine. The air compressed in the compressor is used as little as possible for cooling, but instead should be fed to the combustion process. Cooling-air openings are understood to mean the following: a cast or bored outlet edge, stem bores (longitudinal bores), EDM or laser shapes (diffusers), cylindrical EDM or laser bores.
The fault pattern or the flow rate to be optimized is often determined relatively late in the process chain.
The declaration of the components as rejects is therefore very costly.
Examples for excessive flow rates are:
faults in the casting; in the boring process; faults in the boring process during upgrades; additional ceramic coating or an increase in the layer thickness or a reduction in conductivity during refurbishment; the base material can also be attacked by the acid during stripping or reworking, such that the size of the cooling-air openings is increased.

Setting the quantity of cooling air for a turbine blade or vane by controlled overspray


Detergent compositions comprising nonionic detergent surfactant; hydrophobic cleaning solvent; and suds control system comprising fatty acid and anionic sulfonated and/or sulfated detergent surfactant. The compositions are preferably in the form of aqueous liquids and preferably have monoethanolamine and/or beta-aminoalkanol present.

The use of hard surface cleaning compositions containing organic water-soluble synthetic detergents, solvents, and, optionally, detergent builders are known. However, such compositions often have sudsing characteristics that are not optimum.
An object of the present invention is to provide detergent compositions which provide both (a) good cleaning for all of the usual hard surface cleaning tasks found in the home and (b) preferred sudsing characteristics.


A determination is made as to whether a user has been logged off from the web-based application accessed through a web browser on a computer. If it is determined that the user has been logged off from the web-based application, then a new user interface is provided through the web browser. The new user interface may enable the user to enter user credentials. The user credentials are received through the new user interface. A request to validate the user based on the user credentials is transmitted. Upon transmitting the request to validate the user, an instruction to remove the new user interface is received when the user is validated. Upon receiving the instruction, a display of the web-based application is transformed by removing the new user interface.

Web-based applications may be provided on a server computer and accessed by a client computer via a web browser. Some web-based applications are publicly-accessible without restriction, while other web-based applications implement an authentication procedure whereby access is limited to those who can be successfully authenticated. A conventional authentication procedure may request that a user enters a login identifier and a corresponding password. The web-based application may then communicate with an authentication server, which authenticates the user based on the login identifier and the password.
An example of a web-based application is a web-based productivity application. Web-based productivity applications may include word processing applications, spreadsheet applications, presentation applications, electronic mail applications, unstructured collaborative authoring applications, and the like. In the case of web-based productivity applications, the authentication procedure may function as a security feature that restricts access to a document to certain people. For example, if a first user creates a document and saves the document onto the server computer, the authentication procedure may prevent a second user from accessing the document.
When a user initially accesses a document through the web browser, the web browser may display an editing surface containing the document. As the user edits the document by adding content and removing content, the web browser may or may not continue communicating with the web-based productivity application. If the web browser does not communicate with the web-based productivity application for a sufficient period of time, the web-based productivity application may lose the user authentication through, for example, a timeout or some other intervening action. The web-based productivity application may then provide the user with an option to re-authenticate by reentering the login identifier and password. However, the user may lose any changes made to the document since the last save of the document. In particular, re-authenticating the user may involve a full-page navigation away from the web page containing the changes. The user may become very frustrated over the web-based application if significant portions of a document are lost.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.

Asynchronous identity establishment through a web-based application


A system and method for receiving a plurality of values related to providing services on a network, determining at least one constraint value based on the plurality of values, performing a distribution analysis using the plurality of values and the at least one constraint value and outputting a result derived from the distribution analysis.

Network providers often provide network services to clients where the services are defined through contract negotiations. Furthermore, the contracts may define performance guarantees prior to deployment of the services or sites. Specifically, the Service Level Agreements (SLA) define the minimum levels of quality or availability of a service and a corresponding penalty schedule for violation of these minimum requirements.
When a standard SLA is absent, the SLA is usually drafted in an expedited manner to provide services to the client in a timely fashion. When a standard SLA exists, a client may request the SLA to be updated or altered to reflect stricter requirements. In either scenario, only a small set of statistics will be known. Thus, the service provider is unable to collect an exhaustive long-term set of measurements that would provide detailed data for the modeling of quantities such as long-term site availability or latency. Even when measurements may be gathered, there may be a deficiency that denies the user from modeling. One result is the penalty schedule incorporated in the SLA may create heavy losses to the service provider.


A package component is free from active devices therein. The package component includes a substrate, a through-via in the substrate, a top dielectric layer over the substrate, and a metal pillar having a top surface over a top surface of the top dielectric layer. The metal pillar is electrically coupled to the through-via. A diffusion barrier is over the top surface of the metal pillar. A solder cap is disposed over the diffusion barrier.

In the formation of three-dimensional integrated circuits (3DICs), the device dies that have integrated circuits formed therein are packaged with other package components such as interposers, package substrates, device dies, printed circuit boards (PCBs), and the like. In some of the packages, the package components also need to be bonded to each other. For example, a device die may be bonded to an interposer, which is further bonded to a package substrate. The package substrate with the interposer and the device die bonded thereon may further be bonded to a PCB.
The bonding between the package components may be performed through flip-chip bonding, which may be metal-to-metal bonding or solder bonding. Reliable bonding methods are currently explored.

3D IC packaging structures and methods with a metal pillar

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


Provided is an air cooled combustion furnace system to effectively operate a combustion furnace for generation of heat energy via combustion of a solid fuel so as to optimize thermal efficiency. The combustion furnace system includes a combustion body structure provided with a hopper and having a combustion space for production of heat energy via combustion of a solid fuel, a cooling device integrally formed in multiple layers with the combustion body structure to cool the combustion body structure via distribution of air, a negative pressure induction device to create a negative pressure within the combustion body structure by suctioning air, a fuel supply device, a grate device constructed by coupling a plurality of grate segments to one another and serving to support the solid fuel being combusted, and a clinker removal device to remove clinkers generated during combustion of the solid fuel from the grate device.

The present invention relates to an air cooled combustion furnace system which effectively operates a combustion furnace so as to optimize thermal efficiency.
Generally, an incinerator produces a flame and generates fuel combustion inside a combustion chamber. The combustion chamber burns an introduced refuse or fuel using a flame or implements pyrolysis (carbonization) of the refuse or fuel and, in some cases, reburns an unburned gas-phase material.
In such an incinerator, there is used a solid fuel in the form of pellets that are produced by compressing sawdust or wood fragments as well as waste plastic generated at work or at home. An apparatus for burning a solid fuel to acquire heat for use in, for example, a boiler or a cogeneration plant has been developed.
Boilers using a solid fuel have been widely used because they do not use, for example, diesel or bunker-C oil that is a greenhouse gas source and, therefore, may advantageously reduce fuel costs and be eco-friendly. The use range of these boilers is expanding to exclusive boilers for facilities with high fuel consumption as well as boilers for power plants or cogeneration plants of local governments.
However, conventional boilers have a limit to increase combustion efficiency because they simply burn a solid fuel by supplying outside air thereto. Therefore, there is a need to improve an air supply method so as to enable more efficient combustion, rather than simply supplying air.
In addition, during burning of a solid fuel, a great amount of ashes and impurities such as glass powder or soil included in the solid fuel are fused and agglomerated at high temperatures within a combustion furnace, generating slags and clinkers. When the generated ashes are deposited on respective constituent elements of a combustion apparatus without being rapidly discharged to the outside, this may cause deterioration in combustion efficiency and breakdown of the combustion apparatus. Accordingly, when, for example, ash or slag deposits are not removed, malfunction of the combustion apparatus may occur and a system may undergo operation stop and, moreover, explosion, which may cause injury of a worker or a serious accident such as, for example, a fire.
In addition, even if the incinerator including the combustion chamber is very firmly fabricated, there is a risk of thermal damage to constituent elements inside and outside the combustion chamber because the high temperature of 1000° C. or more is generated within the combustion chamber.
In addition, in a process of cooling the wall surface of the combustion chamber using air, although the combustion chamber may be locally cooled when the air is concentrated in a local region of the wall surface of the combustion chamber, it is almost impossible to cool the other region, which may cause a critical problem in continuous operation of the system and reduce the lifespan of the system.
In addition, when a given amount of solid fuel is not introduced into the combustion chamber at a given time, excessive supply of the solid fuel may generate excessive heat, which may cause a fire.
In addition, when the inner wall of the combustion chamber or nearby devices are damaged by high temperatures caused by burning of the solid fuel, there is a problem in that the inner wall of the combustion chamber or the entire combustion chamber needs to be replaced. In particular, when a grate is partially damaged, the entire grate and a turntable to rotate the grate need to be replaced, causing economic loss.


The invention is a game for two or more players comprised of twelve dice, a cup for shaking and rolling the dice, a score card and game instructions/rules of play. In each round of preferably nine rounds each player in sequence can roll the dice up to three times to complete the dice combination called for in the rules for that given round, referred to as a round goal. When a player achieves a round goal, scoring is based upon the count of the face numbers on the three or more dice required to complete the round goal. A player that fails to achieve the round goal in a particular round scores a zero if that objective is not achieved in three rolls of the dice. The rules provide for the number of dice to be rolled in each round.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of games, and more specifically, concerns a game involving a multiplicity of dice, a cup for shaking and rolling dice, a score card, and a set of game instructions and rules of play. The game does not include a board, being generally played on a flat level surface such as a table top. The invention contemplates both the method of playing the game and the apparatus for doing so. The method is embodied in the game instructions and rules of play. The dice and cup can be replaced by any convenient random number selector(s).
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of games as pastimes is very old in the human experience. Most games involve the interaction of two or more players such as chess or checkers, although a few such as solitaire can be played by a single individual. Most games involve the use of a playing board, such as chess or checkers or Monopoly, but some do not require a board. An example of the later is Hochstim, U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,753 for a boardless maze game. A few require a specific habitat such as Van Der Mude, U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,615 for a Fishing Game on Managed Habitat. Others require specific equipment such as Moore, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,876 for a Method of Playing Dice Game, Mannarino, U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,465 for Occularmotor Educational Device, and Barnes et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,581 for Apparatus for Playing a Game. Others require specialized boards such as Fratangelo et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,805 for War Game, and Mooney, U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,447 for Multiplication Square Game and Method.
In contrast, the present invention is a game that is a paragon of simplicity since it does not require a playing board, any specialized equipment or tokens. It preferably comprises twelve dice which can be either of the conventional type having one through six spots on each of its six faces of a cube or can have other indicia thereon indicating a series of sequential Arabic numbers such as one through six. The game may be played with two or more people and uses a score card that is kept by a designated score keeper/player who is also the first player in the sequence. The object is to achieve a series of sets and runs in accordance with rules through a plurality of rounds, preferably nine rounds. A set is defined as three or more dice having the same number while a run is defined as four or more dice in consecutive numerical order.


Some aspects of the present disclosure introduce a new downlink (DL) bandwidth part (BWP) and a new uplink (UL) BWP for communication in the RRC_INACTIVE state. In addition, aspects of the disclosure also provide for configuring generic parameters of the BWP, which include, but not limited to, frequency location, bandwidth, subcarrier spacing (SCS), and cyclic prefix (CP). Some aspects of the present disclosure may support a reinterpretation of generic parameters of a BWP, for example which may be configured for the RRC_CONNECTED state, to be used in the RRC_INACTIVE state. Some aspects of the present disclosure are directed to implicit DL BWP switching in the RRC_INACTIVE state where no BWP identifier (ID) indication is needed as part of the switching mechanism.

In some wireless communication networks, user equipments (UEs) wirelessly communicate with a base station to send data to the base station and/or receive data from the base station. A wireless communication from a UE to a base station is referred to as an uplink (UL) communication. A wireless communication from a base station to a UE is referred to as a downlink (DL) communication. A wireless communication from a first UE to a second UE is referred to as a sidelink (SL) communication or a device-to-device (D2D) communication.
In 3GPP New Radio (NR), a UE may operate in one of the following three states: RRC_IDLE, RRC_CONNECTED and RRC_INACTIVE. In the RRC_CONNECTED state, a UE is connected to the network following a connection establishment procedure. In the RRC_IDLE state, a UE is not connected to the network, but the network knows that the UE is present in the network. Switching to the RRC_IDLE state helps save network resources and UE power (for example, battery life) when the UE is not communicating with the network. The RRC_INACTIVE state also helps save network resources and UE power when the UE is not communicating with the network. However, unlike the RRC_IDLE state, when a UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state the network and the UE both store at least some configuration information to allow the UE to reconnect to the network more rapidly.
Improved mechanisms for operation in the RRC_INACTIVE state would be beneficial for communication systems.

Method and device for configuring and using a bandwidth part for communication in radio resource control inactive state


Disclosed is a camera module including an imaging lens supported in such a manner as to be displaceable in a first direction, an image sensor supported in such a manner as to be displaceable in a second direction different from the first direction, a first actuator that carries out positioning of the imaging lens in the first direction, and a second actuator that carries out positioning of the image sensor in the second direction. Autofocus operation is carried out by one of the first actuator, and the second actuator and optical image stabilization operation is carried out by the other of the first actuator and the second actuator.

The present disclosure relates to a camera module.
In recent years, in camera modules mounted in smartphones and so forth, camera modules that incorporate a function of controlling the position of an imaging lens or an image sensor with high accuracy at high speed by detecting the relative position (amount of displacement) between the imaging lens and the image sensor and feeding back this position information have been increasing. In particular, by incorporating feedback control as optical image stabilization (OIS), high-accuracy image stabilization is enabled. Therefore, cameras that employ OIS will increase also in the future along with increase in demand to photograph a remote subject at a dark place without blur.
Meanwhile, an autofocus (AF) function has been already employed in most camera modules and focusing is carried out by changing the relative position between the imaging lens and the image sensor according to the distance to a subject. Regarding the AF function, camera modules that incorporate feedback control and camera modes that do not incorporate it exist. However, camera modules that aim for high-speed focus pull-in and enhancement in the accuracy of keeping of the focal position by incorporating the feedback control are increasing.
As above, the imaging lens or the image sensor needs to be driven for causing the OIS and AF functions to work, and an actuator for this purpose is mounted. In recent years, increase in the number of pixels as the camera has been rapidly progressing. Along with this, the diameter of the imaging lens is made larger and therefore increase in the weight of the imaging lens particularly has been becoming a large burden for the actuator.
Various examples have been disclosed as camera modules having both the OIS function and the AF function. For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2011-65140, an example is disclosed in which an imaging lens is driven for AF and the whole of an AF actuator is driven for OIS. Furthermore, in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2012-37549, an example is disclosed in which an imaging lens is driven for OIS and the whole of an OIS actuator is driven for AF. In addition, in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2014-48533, an example in which an imaging lens is fixed and an image sensor is driven for AF is disclosed.


The present invention is directed to a method for determining the mass flow rate of solids in a cyclone separator having an inlet for receiving a mixture of solids and gases and an outlet for discharging the separated gases. The method includes measuring the gas pressures at the inlet, in the separator, and at the outlet, and utilizing these pressure values to establish a ratio of the pressure drop across the outlet to the pressure drop across the separator. This ratio is then used to determine the mass flow rate of the solids into the cyclone.

This invention relates to a method for determining the mass flow rate of solids into a cyclone separator for a fluidized bed reactor and, more particularly, to such a method in which the solids mass flow rates are determined by measuring the gas pressures at various locations relative to the separator.
Fluidized bed reactors including combustors, gasifiers, and steam generators are well known. In these arrangements, air is passed through a bed of particulate material, including a fossil fuel, such as coal, and an adsorbent for the sulfur generated as a result of combustion of the coal, to fluidize the bed and to promote the combustion of the fuel at a relatively low temperature. The fluidized bed reactor thus offers an attractive combination of high heat release, high sulfur adsorption, low nitrogen oxides emissions and fuel flexibility.
Some fluidized bed reactors utilize what is commonly referred to as a bubbling fluidized bed in which a bed of particulate materials is supported by an air distribution plate, to which combustion-supporting air is introduced through a plurality of perforations in the plate, causing the material to expand and take on a suspended, or fluidized, state. The heat produced by combustion within the fluidized bed is utilized for various purposes such as to raise the temperature of a heat exchange medium, such as water, to generate steam.
In an effort to extend the improvements in combustion efficiency, pollutant emissions control, and operation turn-down afforded by the bubbling bed, a fluidized bed reactor has been developed utilizing a fast, or circulating, fluidized bed. According to this technique, higher fluidized bed densities are attained which is well below those of a typical bubbling fluidized bed. The formation of the low density circulating fluidized bed is due to its small particle size and to a high solids throughput. The velocity range of a circulating fluidized bed is between the solids terminal, or free fall, velocity and a velocity which is a function of the throughput, beyond which the bed would be converted into a pneumatic transport line.
In these circulating fluidized bed arrangements, a cyclone separator is often provided for receiving a mixture of gases, essentially comprising the fluidizing air and products of combustion, along with some entrained solid particles from the fluidized bed (hereinafter termed "solids"). The cyclone separator functions to separate the entrained solids from the gases and route the gases to a heat recovery area and the solids back to the furnace section of the reactor.
In these arrangements, it is very important to determine and regulate the mass flow of the solids into the separator, since this flow affects other important operational parameters of the reactor. However, to date there has been no effective, relatively inexpensive, technique for determining the solids mass flow rate into the cyclone separator.

Method for determining the mass flow rate of solids in a cyclone separator for a fluidized bed reactor


A method and apparatus for positioning a locating mechanism and the artwork frame of a panel processing machine has been devised utilizing a flexible beam apparatus for suspending the panel location mechanism and artwork frame which permit these devices to be moved out of the way during loading and unloading panels into and from the work surface of processing machinery. The flexible beam suspending the location mechanism in the disclosed embodiment comprises two parallel surface thin members of resilient sheet material. These members are each attached along one edge to a rigid portion of the machinery and along an opposing edge to the panel locating mechanism. This flexible beam arrangement permits the locating elements of the locating mechanism to be moved from and restored to a previous position with great accuracy. A pair of co-planar high aspect ratio sheet beam members are used to support the artwork frame. One end of these flexible beams is each attached to the machine and an opposing end is attached to the artwork frame. These flexible beam arrangements permit the locating elements and artwork to be moved while panels are inserted into or removed from a work surface of the processing machine and restored to a previous operative position with great accuracy.

In machinery used for processing circuit panels provision must be made for inserting panels into and removing panels from the processing machinery. This means that photo tools and artwork frames and panel location mechanisms must be moved out of the way during loading and unloading of a work surface. Normally this has required complex linkage mechanisms and or roller bearing apparatus both of which are very expensive or do not provide consistent reliable positioning of these mechanisms over time due to the effects of wear on this apparatus.
An illustrative apparatus in the prior art for supporting and positioning artwork is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,530. A flexible artwork holding member operates as a support/cover for the artwork but a rigid hinged frame work is combined with the flexible artwork holding member to control positioning of the artwork. The support/cover is attached to the hinged frame work by two sliding mechanisms at opposite ends of one edge of the support/cover.

Method and apparatus for facilitating loading of a panel processing machine and positioning of artwork on a work surface thereon