A drinking straw comprising an elongate tubular body of an insoluble material having an internal coating comprising a matrix containing an active agent dispersed within the matrix, the body sized to allow a carrier liquid to be drawn therethrough such that passage of the carrier liquid causes the matrix to release the active agent into the carrier liquid to be consumed by a drinker. The matrix comprises partially hydrolysed guar gum, possibly in combination with an acid and/or modified cellulose. The active agent includes sweetener, flavour, a nutrient and/or a pharmaceutical and optionally colour. The coating is prepared by mixing the matrix with water to form a paste or syrup and is then used to coat the inside surface of a drinking straw to a thickness of less than 1 mm. Liquid drawn through the straw dissolves or breaks down the coating, releasing the active agent into the liquid for consumption.

Filled straws are readily available in supermarkets around the world for adding flavour to beverages. The most commonly available straws are filled with pellets containing sweeteners and flavourings, for example strawberry or chocolate. The straws can be used to drink milk, with the pellets gradually dissolving in the milk as it is drawn through the straw, flavouring and sweetening the milk. The advantage of such straws are that a range of flavours take up less space, and they have a longer shelf life than flavoured milks, and are easier to use and more controlled than milk flavouring powder which has to be dissolved into milk to make a drink. Such straws can also be used to flavour water.
Other types of filled straws have also been proposed, in particular straws in which a dissolvable coating is adhered to the inside surface of the straw. As liquid is drawn through the straw in use, the coating dissolves into the fluid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,713, in the name of Fowler, describes a straw for imparting flavour to otherwise neutral liquids, such as water or milk. Various methods of providing a material which dissolves in the liquid are described. These include a separate chamber containing flavouring material, granular material held within the body of the straw by a pair of sponges, and a flavouring material adhered to the inside of the straw.
US 2003/168772 in the name of Palaniappan describes a method of manufacturing an internally coated straw, in which the internal coating is applied to the inside of the straw as it exits the extruder in which it is formed. The coating material includes a matrix agent, which may be a maltodextrin or alginate, into which flavouring is added.
US 2011/143005, in the name of Gaonkar, also describes a drinking straw in which the inside of the straw is coated with a material that will flavour and sweeten a beverage drawn through the straw. The coating comprises an adhering agent and a powdered agent. The adhering agent includes lipids, medium chain triglycerides oils, emulsifiers, and mixtures thereof. The powder can include edible acids, edible bases, sweeteners, flavourings, vitamins, minerals, colorants, sensate agents, carotenoids, antioxidants, polyphenols, phytonutrients and mixture thereof.
A problem with all of these coatings is that the flavour they impart to the beverage is quite weak. Otherwise they are simply uneconomical to produce as a commercial product.
US 2006/0286214, in the name of Sanford Weiss et al, describes an edible drinking straw comprising spirally wound layers of fruit film. The layers may be adhered together with a zein solution. This straw can be used to suck fluid into a user's mouth and as the fluid passes through the straw part of the straw dissolves imparting some flavour to the fluid. This will result in loss of structural integrity in the straw and once this has happened the remaining straw material can be dissolved into a fluid or eaten directly.
US 2005/0106188, in the name of Kerdar et al, describes a filled drinking straw in which the filling is retained within the straw by means of barrier devices which may be in the form of a plug or a mesh. These allow fluid to pass through the straw, dissolving the filling material, but retain any undissolved filling material within the straw. Other types of filled straw, for example EP1509096, are known in which the filling is provided in pellets and is retained in the straw by means of filters.
The provision of barrier means or filters adds additional steps to the manufacturing process, adding time and cost. In addition, the barrier means or filters, unless integral to the straw, could become dislodged and represent a choking risk. In addition, failure of a filter, i.e. the creating of a larger aperture than intended, could result in the contents of the straw passing into the user's mouth undissolved, again representing a choking risk.
One of the objects of the invention is to provide a filled straw avoiding the use of barrier or filtration means.
US 2004/0109932, in the name of Chen et al, describes a coated drinking straw in which the coating comprises 40 to 99.99% of a food grade acid. The composition may also include a surface tension reducing agent, a plasticizer, a bulk agent and water. Coating may be via co-extrusion, spraying or dipping. A second coating may be provided in the form of a powder comprising further food grade acid, sugar, fizzing agents, colorants, probiotics, vitamins, herbs, and flavouring agents. This powder can adhere to the sticky surface of the acid coating.
More recently the use of a modified cellulose based matrix has been described in WO 2016/198515. This material is very effective in providing an internally coating drinking straw that imparts flavour to a beverage drawn through the straw and which progresively dissolves into the beverage over the time is takes to consume the beverage. Typically these straws are used with iced drinks, drinks containing small ice crystals and other very thick and viscous beverages. Such beverages are generally consumed over the course of approximately 10-15 minutes, and consist of 600-1000 ml of beverage. Drinking straws having an internal lining based on a modified cellulose matrix are able to provide flavour to the drink during the whole course of its consumption. Indeed, the dissolution rate of the internal coating is such that it cannot be dissolved in a rapidly consumed beverage. It is also believed that the ice crystals in the iced drinks whith which these straws are typically used, brush against the coating during drinking aiding dissolution. Examples of the modified cellulose matrix include hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, hydroxypropylcelluose, or methycellulose, but other modified cellulose matrices may also be used, including mixtures thereof. While this is very effective for beverages that are consumed slowly and using a significant volume of liquid, particularly liquid containing particles, it is not effective for flavouring beverages that are consumed quickly and with a smaller volume of liquid.
When a consumer is thirsty, for example after exercise or on a hot day, they may wish to consume a beverage quickly, and directly from the fridge. Such a drink may be 100-500 ml in volume and may take approximately 2 minutes to consume. A drinking straw having a modified cellulose based internal coating will not dissolve sufficiently rapidly into a beverage to provide sufficient flavour to the beverage and to be essentially fully consumed at the same rate as the beverage. This is particularly important if the internal coating contains a medicament or supplement or probiotic, for example a vitamin or mineral or combination thereof. Again, the consumer will wish to consume the active agent quickly, and typically with a fridge cold beverage, for example water.
There are many difficulties to overcome in the identification of a coating agent that can adhere to the inside of adrinking straw. Firstly, aqueous materials generally shrink on drying. This has significant benefit for use as an external coating, for example on the outside of a pellet or tablet, as the shrinkage draws the coating more tightly to the pellet or tablet. However, this is very disadvantageous for use in the coating of the inside of something, including a drinking straw, as the shrinkage will draw the coating material away from the surface of the straw. This will result in a lack of adherence between the coating material and the drinking straw, and thus failure of the straw. Secondly, drinking straws are usually made from hydrophobic materials to which aqueous material do not generally adhere, exacerbating the problem. Most drinking straws have typically been made from polypropylene, which is hydrophobic, or indeed other materials which are hydrophobic or have a hydrophobic coating. More drinking straws are now being made from compostable materials, including polylactic acid (PLA) or polybutylene succinate (PBS). These are also hydrophobic materials to which aqueous material do not adhere well.
It is desirable to provide an internally coated drinking straw which can release an active ingredient into a rapidly consumed beverage.
It is also desirable to provide a straw having an improved internal coating.
An object of the invention is to provide alternative drinking straws containing material which dissolves into a liquid drawn through the straw on use, and methods of making such straws.


An electronic apparatus includes a display module and an electronic apparatus housing for installing the display module. The electronic apparatus housing includes a housing body and a back cover. The housing body defines a groove in which a first adsorption component and a retaining slot are arranged. The back cover includes a back cover body and a second adsorption component arranged on a first end of the back cover body. The back cover and the housing body are engaged with each other through the adsorption action between the first adsorption component and the second adsorption component, and a cavity structure is formed between a second end of the back cover body and the housing body.

With the development of electronic apparatus technology, the usage times of electronic apparatuses such as mobile phones, electronic photo frames and electronic picture screens have become longer and longer.
Generally, replaceable devices can be disposed in electronic apparatuses. For example, the replaceable devices can be at least one of memory cards, Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards, batteries, etc. In order to facilitate the replacement of the replaceable device, a groove for assembling the replaceable device can be provided in the housing of the electronic apparatus. A back cover matched with the opening shape of the groove is assembled to the groove to avoid the replaceable device from being exposed or falling off from the electronic apparatus.
At present, the back cover and the housing are usually engaged through a snap-fit structure. Because the connection relationship formed by the snap-fit structure is relatively tight and difficult to remove, the removal process of the back cover from the housing in the current electronic apparatus is relatively complicated.


A connector system is described, of the type which includes a connector with a pair of contacts and a spring-operated device that shorts the contacts until the connector is mated with another pair of contacts, which is of simple and reliable construction. The spring-operated device includes a largely Z-shaped spring (24, FIG. 2) lying in a slot (30) in a connector housing, with the middle of the spring supported by the slot walls and with opposite ends of the spring resiliently biased against the contacts. The housing is an integrally-molded part with first and second housing parts (50, 52) joined by a hinge, and with the first part having a pair of elongated holes (64, 65) for receiving first and second contacts (16, 18) and with a second housing part having a pair of elongated holes (82, 84) for receiving the mating contacts.

One type of connector includes a pair of contacts that are shorted to each other until mated with another pair of contacts. One application is a connector that delivers energizing current to a device that blows up an air bag. It is important that the connector contacts be shorted during transport and storage, and until connected to an energizing circuit, to prevent accidental operation as from static electricity or radio waves. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,600,531, 4,070,557, and 4,152,041 show prior art approaches to such circuit shorting connectors, wherein the outer end of a spring that engages a contact until the contact mates with another contact, has an inner end rigidly mounted on the connector housing at a location removed from both contacts and the space between them. The need to separately rigidly mount the spring increases the cost, and the extra space required for the inner portion of the spring increases the size of the housing. A circuit-shorting connector whose spring could be mounted in a simple and low cost manner, without increasing the size of the connector housing, would be of considerable value.


Example embodiments include display driver systems having a host with an external image signal receiving unit configured to receive an external image signal and a graphic control unit configured to transmit input control signals. The systems further include a display driver integrated circuit configured to receive the input control signals, generate a screen display sync signal by using a main clock signal when the external image signal includes a moving image, and generate a screen display sync signal by using an internal clock signal when the external image signal includes a still image, the display driver integrated circuit including. Such circuits have a display driver integrated circuit control unit configured to generate a data control signal, a gradation voltage generating unit configured to generate a gradation voltage and transmit the gradation voltage, and a data driver configured to receive the gradation voltage from the gradation voltage generating unit and apply the gradation voltage to data display signal lines of an LCD panel.

Inventive concepts of example embodiments relate to a display driver integrated circuit and systems and methods using the same. Example embodiments may include, for example, a display driver integrated circuits, systems, and methods that vary a driving scheme according to whether an external image signal is a moving image or a still image.
In general, a host using an RGB interface always applies a screen display sync signal to a display driver integrated circuit in order to obtain a synchronized screen display. A host for a conventional display driver system may consume more power when the host continuously applies a screen display sync signal having a higher frequency to a display driver integrated circuit according to a frame frequency. As display driver system resolution increases, the host may require additional resources to control the display driver integrated circuit. Because the host may continuously apply a screen display sync signal having a higher frequency to the display driver integrated circuit, the host may have increased difficulty controlling the display driver integrated circuit.

Display driver integrated circuits, and systems and methods using display driver integrated circuits


A compound, a process for its preparation, a pharmaceutical composition, use of a compound, a method for modulating or regulating serine/threonine and tyrosine kinases and a serine/threonine and tyrosine kinases modulating agent. Novel small-molecule compounds with kinase inhibitory activity, having superior properties as pharmaceutical agents, production method thereof and uses thereof. In particular, new derivatives of tetrahalogenated benzimidazole with serine/threonine and tyrosine kinases inhibitory properties, preferably selected from the group of PIM, HIPK, DYRK, CLK, CDK, FLT, PKG, Haspin, MER, TAO, MNK, TRK kinases which exhibit superior pharmacological actions, and can be useful for the treatment of disease conditions, especially cancers depending on serine/threonine and tyrosine kinases, such as but not limited to leukemias and solid tumors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is inter alia concerned with a compound, a process for its preparation, a pharmaceutical composition, use of a compound, a method for modulating or regulating serine/threonine and tyrosine kinases and a serine/threonine and tyrosine kinases modulating agent. The present invention thus inter alia relates to novel small-molecule compounds with kinase inhibitory activity, having superior properties as pharmaceutical agents, production method thereof and uses thereof. In particular, this invention relates to new derivatives of tetrahalogenated benzimidazoles with serine/threonine and tyrosine kinases inhibitory properties, wherein the kinases are preferably selected from the group of PIM, HIPK, DYRK, CLK, CDK, FLT, PKG, Haspin, MER, TAO, MNK, TRK kinases, and wherein the derivatives exhibit inter alia superior pharmacological actions, and can be useful for the treatment of disease conditions, especially cancers depending on serine/threonine kinases, such as e.g. leukemias, lymphomas and solid tumors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Kinases are enzymes that modify other proteins by chemically adding phosphate groups to them (a process called phosphorylation). Phosphorylation of the targeted proteins results in a functional change of their activity but also can modify association with other proteins, trafficking and subcellular localization. It is estimated that up to 30% of all proteins can be modified by kinases. For this reason kinases are key regulators of majority of cellular pathways, especially those involved in signal transduction. Kinases are currently one of the most interesting and most extensively investigated drug targets. Among the new kinase targets for therapeutic inhibition pursued currently, PIM kinases are definitely one of the most interesting emerging molecular targets. The PIM family of serine-threonine kinases is composed of three highly homologous proteins PIM-1, -2 and -3 which play an important role in intracellular signaling and contribute to pathways involved in cell survival, inflammation, cell movement and stress response.
Around 15 years ago, the PIM-1 gene was identified as a proviral insertion site of the Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus (MoMuLV) in experiments designed to find new genes, which are involved in tumorogenesis. These findings established PIM-1 as a proto-oncogene and important player in the process of malignant transformation (Nagarajan et al., 1986). In humans, the PIM-1 gene is located on chromosome 6p21.1-p21.31 (Zakut-Houri et al., 1987). The PIM-1 gene comprises approximately 5 kb, contains six exons and five introns. Its cDNA contains an open reading frame of 313 codons with 94% homology to the mouse counterpart. The RNA transcript is 2.9 kilobases (kb) long (Saris et al., 1991). Shortly after discovery of the gene, PIM-1 protein was identified to be a serine/threonine kinase, belonging to CAMK kinases (group of calcium/calmodulin-regulated kinases). (Saris et al., 1991; Reeves et al., 1990). It contains ATP-anchor, kinase domain and an active site. There are two forms of PIM-1 in human and mouse, associated with alternative initiation codon (44 kDa and 33 kDa). Both forms have relatively short half-life, however the 44 kDa isoform seems to be more stable. Activity of PIM-1 kinase is found in the cytoplasm, nuclear fraction and the membrane of the cells. Two isoforms have different subcellular localization—44 kDa is present mainly on the plasma membrane; 33 kDa in nucleus and cytoplasm. The crystal structure of PIM-1 obtained in 2005 revealed that it is a constitutively active kinase and that in contrast to many other kinases, like Akt or MAPK kinases, PIM-1 does not require additional phosphorylation for its kinase activity, however phosphorylation of this protein may contribute to its stability (Qian et al., 2005a; Qian et al., 2005b). Obtained crystal structure allowed also discovering unusual structural features of the PIM-1 kinase domain. Most notably, the hinge region presents two features of particular interest: an insertion residue as well as a proline residue (Pro123), which combine to form an ATP- and inhibitor-binding region quite distinct from other protein kinases. A substrate recognition sequence of the PIM-1 kinase was identified by selective peptide mapping ((K/R)3-X-S/T-X or R/K-R/K-R-R/K-X-S/T-X, where X is an amino acid (aa) residue with a small side chain but neither basic nor acidic) (Peng et al., 2007).
With regard to molecular mechanisms of PIM-1 involvement in oncogenic transformation and cancer development, one can point out several processes that are regulated by the PIM-1 kinase like stimulation of cell cycle progression, co-activation of mTOR pathway, inhibition of apoptosis, transcriptional coactivation of c-Myc, promotion of drug resistance and cell migration and metastasis PIM kinases overexpression has been reported in a variety of cancer types, ranging from hematopoietic malignancies such as diffuse B cell lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and acute myelogenous leukemia to solid tumors such as prostate and pancreatic cancer. Acquisition of mutations in the PIM-1 gene can be one of the molecular mechanisms involved in histological transformation of follicular lymphoma (FL) and B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL)(Rossi et al., 2006). Mutations of the PIM-1 gene have also been detected in cases of AIDS-associated non-Hodgkin lymphoma (Gaidano et al., 2003), HCV-infected B-cell NHL patients (Libra et al., 2005), primary central nervous system lymphomas (PCNSLs) (Montesinos-Rongen et al., 2004), extranodal DLBCL cases and primary cutaneous marginal zone B-cell lymphoma (PCMZL) (Deutsch et al., 2009; Deutsch et al., 2007), primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMLBCL)(Martelli et al., 2008). PIM-1 kinase is upregulated in Epstein Barr virus infected B-cells where it enhances transcriptional activity of EBNA2 protein, essential for the growth transformation and immortalization of infected B-cells. This mechanism of action of PIM-1 kinases may predispose immortalized B-cell to undergo malignant transformation (Rainio et al., 2005). Initial study performed by Amson in 1989 showed that the 33 kDa isoform of PIM-1 kinase was overexpressed in approximately 30% of the analyzed samples (out of 70 hematopoietic malignancies analyzed—51 patients and 19 cell lines), pointing toward the role of this kinase in development of myeloid and lymphoid acute leukemias (Amson et al., 1989). This finding was further confirmed in a variety of other studies showing elevated levels of PIM-1 kinase in various human clinical leukemias and myeloid and lymphocytic cell lines (Meeker et al., 1990). For example, PIM-1 kinase was implicated in leukemogenesis and aberrant expression levels of this kinase can be involved neoplastic transformation by phosphorylation and activation of Runx transcription factors (Aho et al., 2006; Kim et al., 2008). Chromosome translocations and point mutations are well-documented and frequent genetic alterations in RUNX leukemias (Penther et al., 2002; Osato and Ito, 2005). PIM-1 seems to play also a crucial role in development of acute myeloid leukemias (AML). Several reports pointed out a role of PIM-1 kinase in downstream signaling by FLT3 (Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3) kinase. Constitutively activating internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutations of the receptor tyrosine kinase FLT3 play an important role in leukemogenesis, and their presence is associated with poor prognosis in AML. Constitutive FLT3 signaling upregulates PIM-1 levels in leukemia cells and the juxtamembrane domain of FLT3 is a critical domain required for this upregulation (Kim et al., 2005; Vu et al., 2009). Interestingly, this downstream signaling seems to be independent of STAT5, Akt and MAPK signaling. Up-regulation of PIM-1 kinase contributes to the proliferative and antiapoptotic pathways induced by FLT3 signaling, and the major antiapoptotic mechanism of action is PIM-1 dependent Bad phosphorylation (Kim et al., 2006). Similarly to FLT3, PIM-1 kinase is also upregulated by the Bcr-Abl fusion protein, a major cause of the chronic myelogenous leukemia. A SH3/SH2 mediated interaction of Bcr/Abl kinase with Hck kinase (hematopoietic cell kinase) lead to activation of Hck and phosphorylation of STAT5B on the critical Tyr699 residue. Activated STAT5B stimulates expression of downstream effectors like PIM-1 kinase and the A1 protein, key factors essential for in vitro transformation and in vivo leukemogenesis mediated by Bcr/Abl. (Klejman et al., 2002; Nieborowska-Skorska et al., 2002). Whereas inhibition of PIM-1 seems not to be sufficient to overcome Bcr/Abl mediated transformation in cancer cells, an elegant study by Adam et al., showed that PIM-1 and PIM-2 play here redundant roles and simultaneous targeting of the two kinases may be an exciting therapeutic alternative to overcome resistance against small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors (Nosaka and Kitamura, 2002; Adam et al., 2006). Involvement of PIM-1 kinase in development of prostate cancer has been extensively studied over the past years and provided several examples of clinical importance and rationale for therapeutic indication. Already in 2001 in a microarrays screen PIM-1 expression was shown to correlate with clinical outcome of the disease and was suggested to be a better marker than the standard diagnostic test for PSA levels in serum (Dhanasekaran et al., 2001). This was further confirmed in studies performed by other groups (Cibull et al., 2006; Xu et al., 2005; Thompson et al., 2003; Valdman et al., 2004). Overexpression of PIM-1 in human prostate cancer cells induces genomic instability by subverting the mitotic spindle checkpoint, centrosome amplification, chromosome misaggregation and polyploidy. When the PIM-1 kinase is overexpressed in immortalized, non-tumorigenic human cells, these cells became tumorigenic (Roh et al., 2008; Roh et al., 2003). A very interesting finding by Zemskova and colleagues support additionally use of PIM-1 kinase inhibitors in prostate cancer treatment. Surprisingly, treatment of prostate cancer cells with docetaxel, a standard of care induces STAT3 phosphorylation and transcriptional upregulation of the PIM-1 gene. Expression of PIM-1 kinase was crucial for survival of these cells after docetaxel treatment, as shown by knock down and inhibitor experiments. This data supports further testing of novel, small molecule kinase inhibitors in combination therapies with patients with docetaxel resistance (Zemskova et al., 2008). In an extensive study by Beier et al., immunohistochemistry experiment performed on cells compared to non-neoplastic tissue showed overexpression of the PIM-1 protein in 98% (41/42) of invasive head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). This study was repeated using primary tumors and metastasis biopsies showing nearly significant correlation of PIM-1 expression with histological tumor, underlining role of PIM-1 in HNSCC developments (Beier et al., 2007). In line with this finding, moderate or high expression of PIM-1 and nuclear localization was also linked to prediction of radiation response in squamocellular cancers of head and neck (Peltola et al., 2009).
PIM-2 is a second member of the PIM kinase family. Functionally, it has been noticed that PIM-2 overlaps with the Akt/mTOR pathway, but is regulated independently. Both PIM-2 and Akt1 kinase regulate NFκB-dependent transcription by phosphorylation of the Cot kinase (Kane et al., 2002; Hammerman et al., 2004). It has been indicated that PIM-2 expression maintains high levels of NF-κB activity and NF-κB activation by PIM-2 is required for its antiapoptotic function. Moreover, the data has suggested that Cot-dependent activation of NFκB can occur via the transcriptional induction of PIM-2 rather than as a direct result of a receptor-initiated kinase cascade. Several reports showed that PIM-2 can to some extent substitute or cooperate with PIM-1 in driving tumorigenesis. As both kinases share some of the targets, like the Bad protein, they act both as prosurvival kinases preventing induction of apoptosis (Yan et al., 2003; Aho et al., 2004). As both PIM-1 and 2 are transcriptionally induced by upstream signaling (like FLT3 or Bcr-Abl signaling), they can cooperate and are essential in neoplastic transformation of B-cells by v-Abl oncogene (Chen et al., 2008). Similarly to PIM-1, coexpression of PIM-2 and c-Myc transgene induces malignant transformation (Allen et al., 1997). Also the effect on the cell cycle inhibition for both PIM-1 and PIM-2 seem to synergize in accelerating cell proliferation and cell cycle progression as shown in the literature, although the molecular mechanism of cell cycle regulation are described in detail only for PIM-1 kinase (Dai et al., 2005; Chen et al., 2005) There seem however also to be differences between the two kinases. Whereas recent publications on hypoxia point out its emerging role in solid tumor formation and chemoresistance, no similar reports are known for PIM-2 kinase and this role needs to be explored. On the other hand, in the recent publication by Tamburini, a special emphasis was put on the role of PIM-2 in phosphorylation of crucial 4EBP1 transcription factor (on serine S65)(Tamburini et al., 2009). As shown in this publication, expression of PIM-1 in clinical samples did not correlate with the above finding, providing a proof for non-overlapping role of PIM-1 and PIM-2 in regulation of 4EBP1 phosphorylation, regulation of protein synthesis and promotion of neoplastic transformation. Similar finding were already reported in by Fox and colleagues, stressing out a crucial role of PIM-2 kinase in controlling translation independently from the Akt/mTOR pathway and pointing towards inhibition of PIM-1 kinase as an attractive option for development of new therapies, especially in acute myelogenous leukemia (Fox et al., 2003).
Similarly to PIM-1, overexpression of PIM-2 has been documented in several human tumors types. One of the distinguishing reports is involvement of PIM-2 in tumorigenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (Gong et al., 2008). PIM-2 gene expression and its protein levels were investigated in human liver cancer tissues and HepG2 cells (human hepatocellular liver carcinoma cell line). In both cases the expression of PIM-2 gene and protein was higher than in immortalized liver cell line L02, indicating its role as a tumor biomarker. Further experiments indicated that PIM-2 expression and its kinase activity are IL-3 dependent; however its apoptotic inhibition role is IL-3-inedependent. It was also found that protection against apoptosis by PIM-2 is glucose-dependent, so liver cells growing in vivo, surrounded by high glucose and growth factors concentration have favorable conditions to express PIM-2, however PIM-2 was unable to prevent apoptosis upon glucose deprivation. So once overexpressed in hepatic cells PIM-2 can be an important factor in tumorigenesis.
PIM-3 (also known as Kid-1—kinase induced by depolarization) is the third member of the PIM kinase family. Similarly to PIM-2 and PIM-1, PIM-3 acts in a prosurvival way preventing apoptosis by phosphorylation of Bad. However, in contrast to PIM-1/2, PIM-3 seems to be less specific to Ser112 residue, preferably phosphorylating Ser136, Ser155 and Ser170 (Macdonald et al., 2006). PIM-3 was the most effective kinase in phosphorylating Ser136 residue, which seems to be crucial for subsequent phosphorylation steps and interaction with the anti-apoptotic Bcl-XL protein. PIM phosphorylation of Bad was therefore found to promote the 14-3-3 binding and inhibition of Bcl-XL binding. Similarly to PIM-1, PIM-3 seems to be also involved in promoting vessel formation and angiogenesis (Zippo et al., 2004; Zhang et al., 2009b). Angiogenesis is a physiological process involving the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing vessels. This feature play significant role in tumorigenesis because angiogenesis usually precede metastasis. Although angiogenesis is a normal process in growth and development it is also a fundamental step in the transition of tumors from a dormant state to a malignant one. It was found that PIM-3 is highly expressed both at mRNA and protein levels in endothelial cells and the protein is co-localized at the cellular lamelliopodia focal kinase (FAK), a kinase involved in cellular adhesion and spreading processes. FAK is typically located at structures known as focal adhesions; these are multi-protein structures that link the extracellular matrix to the cytoplasmic cytoskeleton. It is recruited as a participant in focal adhesion dynamics between cells and has a role in motility and cell survival. FAK have also tyrosine kinase activity and originally identified as a substrate for the oncogene protein. After treatment with cytochalasin D which disrupts actin microfilaments, PIM-3 was dispersed from lamelliopodia suggesting strong interaction of PIM-3 with cytoskeleton. Furthermore knockdown of PIM-3 by siRNA had significant effects on endothelial cells migration, proliferation and formation of sprouts. In light of this finding PIM-3 kinase seems to be a new and promising target for novel inhibitors of angiogenesis.
PIM-3 overexpression has been observed in several human cancers, mainly solid tumors like gastrointestinal, colon or liver cancers where expression of PIM-3 seems to be also a poor prognostic marker, however its role in development of pancreatic adenocarcinoma has been studies in more detail (Popivanova et al., 2007; Zheng et al., 2008). PIM-3 was found to be expressed in malignant lesions of the pancreas but not in normal pancreatic tissue (Li et al., 2006). In line with this finding, PIM-3 mRNA and protein were constitutively expressed in all examined human pancreatic cancer cell lines. Knock down of the PIM-1 mRNA levels resulted in apoptosis of the cells, proving essential role of PIM-3 in inhibition of apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cell lines. Further experiments showed that expression of PIM-3 in pancreatic cell lines is controlled by binding of the Ets-1 protein to the 5′-flanking region of human PIM-3 gene between −249 and −183 bp (Li et al., 2009). Overexpression of Ets-1 transcription factor was able to stimulate transcription and translation of the PIM-3 kinase. These observations indicate that the transcription factor Ets-1 can induce aberrant PIM-3 expression and subsequently prevent apoptosis in human pancreatic cancer cells. Despite the fact that PIM-3 is a kinase of emerging role in cancer development, presented above results implicate how important and diversified roles PIM-3 may play in tumorigenesis and provide rationale for further development of PIM-3 inhibitors for cancer treatment.
CLK kinases belong to Lammer dual specificity kinase subfamily and phosphorylate serines, threonines and tyrosines. The family consists of 4 members (Clk1/Sty and Clk2-4). CLKs are dual-specificity kinases, which have the ability to autophosphorylate themselves at tyrosine residues but phosphorylate their substrates exclusively on serine/threonine residues. These kinases phosphorylate serine- and arginine-rich (SR) proteins of the spliceosomal complex like ASF/SF2, SRp40 and SRp55, critical components of splicesosomes (Soret and Tazi, 2003; Stojdl and Bell, 1999). Alternative splicing is a crucial mechanism for generating protein diversity. Different splice variants of a given protein can display different and even antagonistic biological functions. Therefore, appropriate control of their synthesis is required to assure the complex orchestration of cellular processes within multicellular organisms. Mechanisms that alter the accuracy of either constitutive or alternative splicing could have a profound impact on human pathogenesis, in particular in tumor development and progression (Hagiwara, 2005).
Clk kinases were so far shown to be implicated in regulation of alternative splicing of only few genes like tissue factor, VEGF receptor and PKCbeta II kinase. Apart from VEGF splicing, where Clk seem to have rather beneficial role and act in a anti-angiogenic way leading to formation of anti-angiogenic form of VEGF-b, there is no direct evidence in literature on their role in cancer development. There are however indirect reports showing that they might play a role in such cancers like erythroleukemia. In a study by Garcia-Sacristan from 2005 it was shown that Clk/STY, as well as other members of the family (clk2, clk3 and clk4), are up-regulated during HMBA-induced erythroleukemia cell differentiation (Garcia-Sacristan et al., 2005). In a recent article by Jiang et al., it was shown that Akt2, in response to insulin, resulted in phosphorylation of Clk/Sty, which then altered SR protein phosphorylation in concert with Akt2 (Jiang et al., 2009). Apart from its importance in diabetes, the influence of Clk inhibitor on PKC beta splicing can be important in cancer treatment. There is evidence that PKCbeta can contribute in several ways to tumor formation. In addition to direct effects on tumor cells, PKCbeta is involved in tumor host mechanisms such as inflammation and angiogenesis. Elevated expression of PKCbetaII seems to be an early event in colon cancer development and transgenic overexpression of PKCbetaII in the intestine induces hyper-proliferation and an invasive phenotype in epithelial cells by activating beta-catenin/Apc signaling pathway. A study by Abrams demonstrated that overexpression of the PKCbetaII isoform is a feature of CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia) cells and that activity of this enzyme strongly correlates with CLL cell response to BCR engagement.
Benzimidazole derivatives substituted with halogens have been previously described as protein kinase inhibitors of IRAK, CK2, DYRK, HIPK and PIM kinases (WO03/030902 A1; WO2005/092866; Gianoncelli et al., 2009; Pagano et al., 2008 and 2004; Andrzejewska et al., 2003). In an article by Pagano, et. al the art described therein teaches about a class of tetrabromobenzimidazole compounds that are substituted with a group of atoms forming an open chain. Embodiments of the present invention, represented by Formulas A and B, adds the novelty of cyclic substituents that are selected from a group of carbocycles and heterocycles which may be saturated, unsaturated, or aromatic, not taught by the Pagano et al., 2004 (see Scheme 1 and Table 1 from Pagano, et. al. 2004). The present invention described herein, represented inter alia by Formulas A and B, is further distinguished from findings of Pagano, et. al 2008, by notable differences observed in the structure activity relationship. Pagano, et. al, teaches that when the substituent on N-1 is other than hydrogen PIM1 receptor binding activity is relatively weaker as can be deduced from comparison of pairs of compounds like K10 with K15 and K25 with K40 (Pagano et al 2008, see Table S2). Whereas, the inventors of the present invention have inter alia demonstrated that when R1 is, for example, ethyl or isopropyl (compounds A and B) PIM1 activity is equally good or better, and such compounds can inhibit or reverse the growth of cancer cells in-vitro and in vivo. Articles by Battistutta, et. al 2005 and Bortolato, et. al 2007 refer to the same class of tetrabromobenzimidazole compounds as described by Pagano, et. al (2004 and 2008) and do not teach anything new. The single exception is a tetrabromobenzimidazole CK2 inhibitor by Bortolato, et. al, which contains a sulfur linked nitrobenzene substituent, and is not described within the scope of this invention (Battistutta et al 2005; Bortolato et al 2007).

Compound, a process for its preparation, a pharmaceutical composition, use of a compound, a method for modulating or regulating serine/threonine kinases and a serine/threonine kinases modulating agent


The invention relates to a restraint system for a vehicle seat, comprising a webbing belt element for restraining an occupant of the vehicle seat, further comprising a guide belt element which is guided continuously on a guideway, the holding element being securely connected to a first section of the guide belt element, wherein the webbing belt element is passed through a cutout of the holding element, wherein by means of a movement of the self-contained guide belt element on the guideway in a first direction of rotation the holding element is continuously adjustable within an adjustment section of the guideway from a second maximum position to a first maximum position.

Generic restraint systems are arranged on many vehicle seats and are intended to restrain the occupants of an associated vehicle in the event of an accident, that is to say when there are sudden, severe decelerations, and thus to protect them from being thrown by or out of the vehicle. The restraint system comprises, for example, a webbing belt element, which is arranged, for example, as part of a 3-point belt system. This webbing belt element is in particular placed obliquely over the chest and abdomen area of the occupant and is deflected downward, for example, by means of a deflection device arranged above a shoulder area of the occupant. A buckle tongue element is slidably arranged on the webbing belt element. In the vehicle, for example at the level of a seat for the occupant, a belt buckle is also arranged, into which the buckle tongue can engage, thus ensuring a secure state of the occupant.
In order to ensure for occupants of different body sizes that the position of the deflection device is arranged just above the shoulder of the occupant, devices for individually adapting this position with respect to a height direction of the vehicle seat are known from the prior art. For example, a pin element of the deflection device can be moved to a desired position within a groove in the body.


The invention provides a method for producing elastic knitted fabric on a Raschel or tricot machine. The method utilizes a four bar knitting structure and four thread feeders. The needle guides of the first and fourth bars are threaded with non-elastic yarn, while the needle guides of the second and third bars are threaded with elastic yarn. Each elastic thread is worked in plating with the respective non- elastic thread.

The invention relates to the field of elastic warp knitted fabrics.
The prior art includes fabrics with basic plating construction or knit pattern produced on tricot machines and Raschel machines with two knitting bars moving in one direction. One problem with such fabrics is that the construction is unbalanced because the yarns both move in the same direction.
The prior art also includes four-bar knitting machines which are used for the production of Jacquard knitted fabrics.
It is also possible to produce an elastic knitted fabric in which the base construction contains an elastic yarn and at least one non-elastic yarn, running in opposite directions.
The abovementioned prior art provides fabrics which have differing degrees of elasticity in the two directions. Generally, there is increased elasticity in one direction, which we shall call lengthwise, and little or none in the other direction, which we shall call crosswise or transverse. The direction in which patterns for items of clothing are laid out on the fabric for cutting is therefore fixed. Furthermore the retentive capacity of the fabric is different in the different directions.
One aim of this application is to obtain a fabric with improved elasticity and retentive capacity in a crosswise direction. A further aim is to provide a fabric with high breathability. Another aim is to provide fabrics with a new aesthetic appearance.
The said aims have been achieved with the invention as expressed in the independent claims.
Further new and useful characteristics are contained in the dependent claims.
In other words, according to this invention a warp knitted fabric is produced on a tricot machine or four-bar Raschel machine using four threads, two of which are elastic and two are non-elastic; each thread is knitted in parallel (in plating) with a non-elastic thread. In variants of the invention, a fifth and a sixth thread may be added to the basic structure as explained above, these being so-called xe2x80x9cspecial effectxe2x80x9d threads worked on a fifth and sixth bar.
Elastomer yarn with a thread count of between 15 dtex and 210 dtex is preferably used as the elastic component while nylon or other non-elastic yarns with a thread count of between 15 dtex and 156 dtex are used as the non-elastic component.
The non-elastic yarn shall be referred to hereafter also as xe2x80x9crigid threadxe2x80x9d for simplicity of expression.
The invention achieves the aims set out above, producing knitted fabrics with a new aesthetic appearance and makes it possible to obtain excellent technical characteristics as regards the retentive and modelling capacity of the fabric. The retentive capacity of the fabric can be uniform in all directions, so that patterns no longer have to be laid out on the fabric in a set direction, thus permitting better use of the fabric.

Method for producing a retentive elastic knitted fabric and knitted fabric


A communication system including macro and femto cells in which, during relocation of a mobile device from a source macro/femto cell to a target femto cell, mobile device capability, registration cause, and/or mobile device identity information available at the base station of the source macro/femto cell prior to relocation is made available to the home base station and gateway device of the target femto cell.

Under the 3GPP standards, a NodeB (or an eNB in LTE) is the base station via which mobile devices connect to the core network. Recently the 3GPP standards body has adopted an official architecture and started work on a new standard for home base stations (HNB). Where the home base station is operating in accordance with the (Long Term Evolution) LTE standards, the HNB is sometimes referred to as a HeNB. A similar architecture will also be applied in the WiMAX network. In this case, the home base station is commonly referred to as a femto cell. For simplicity, the present application will use the term HNB to refer to any such home base station and will use the term NodeB generically to refer to other base stations (such as the base station for the macro cell in which a HNB operates). The HNB will provide radio coverage (for example, 3G/4G/WiMAX) within the home and will connect to the core network via a suitable public network (for example via an ADSL link to the Internet) and in the case of the 3GPP standards, via an optional HNB gateway (HNB-GW) which typically will aggregate traffic from several HNBs.
Typically, when initiating a call, user equipment (UE) such as a mobile telephone (MT) or other mobile communications device (MCD) will register either with a HNB or a NodeB based on, for example, the ability of that HNB/NodeB to support the call relative to other HNBs/NodeBs in the vicinity. Once the call is initiated, it sometimes becomes necessary to relocate the call to another HNB/NodeB due to a change in the relative ability of the original HNB/NodeB to continue to support the call, for example as a result of a change in the location of the UE or other factors which affect the quality of service offered by the original HNB/NodeB. In the case of HNB to HNB relocation, the relocation may also require a change in the serving HNB-GW (Inter-HNB-GW relocation). When a UE is constantly moving (for example when it is located in a moving vehicle) relocation can occur several times during a single call.
The HNB may be configured to operate using one of a plurality of access modes, namely: 'closed' in which the HNB operates as a closed subscriber group (CSG) cell; 'hybrid' in which the HNB operates as a CSG cell where at the same time, non-CSG members are allowed access (for example, to allow preferential treatment of CSG members); and 'open' in which the HNB operates as a normal (non-CSG) cell.
During the initial UE registration procedure access control is performed by the HNB-GW in dependence on the CSG capability of the UE. In the case of non-CSG equipment (e.g. pre-release 8 user equipment), according to the current version of the relevant standard (3GPP TS 25.467 V8.0.0), access control during registration is mandatorily perfointed at the HNB-GW, and optionally at the HNB. In the case of CSG equipment (e.g. release 8 user equipment), the access control mechanism at the HNB-GW always accepts UE registration and subsequent access control is performed by the core network.
In the case of an inter-HNB-GW relocation (e.g. of a CSG UE), after the relocation the new source HNB-GW has no means to determine whether or not access control should be performed for a subsequent relocation. Accordingly, access control may not be performed correctly.
Furthermore, if access control is performed by the new source HNB-GW (for example, as for a non-CSG UE) during relocation, and it is established that the target HNB is configured to operate in a closed access mode, the HNB-GW will reject access, potentially resulting in the call being dropped. This is very undesirable if the original call is an emergency call.
It is currently a requirement in 3GPP for relocation requests (e.g. the RANAP RELOCATION REQUEST) to include an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) (e.g. in the 'Permanent NAS UE Identity' information element) for the UE for which relocation is requested. However, a UE registered with a HNB may identify itself using a choice of several identities including an IMSI, a Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI), a Packet Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (P-TMSI), an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), etc. Accordingly, after relocation there is a danger that the UE identity as linked to the original context may be lost.
Catering for NodeB to HNB ('macro-to-femto') relocation and HNB to HNB (femto-to-femto) relocation therefore presents a number of challenges, in particular for access control, and especially in the case of Inter-HNB-GW relocation.


The present invention provides a glass composition that allows holes with a circular contour and a smooth inner wall to be formed by a collective micro-hole-forming process using a combination of modified portion formation by ultraviolet laser irradiation and etching, the glass composition being adapted for practical continuous production. The present invention relates to a glass for laser processing, the glass including a metal oxide serving as a coloring component, the glass having a glass composition including, in mol %: 45.0%≤SiO2≤68.0%; 2.0%≤B2O3≤20.0%; 3.0%≤Al2O3≤20.0%; 0.1%≤TiO2≤5.0%; and 0%≤ZnO≤9.0%, wherein a relationship of 0≤Li2O+Na2O+K2O<2.0% is satisfied.

Components having an array of a large number of minute through holes are used as microscopic elements for MEMS or electronic devices. As such components there are generally used silicon wafers whose expansion and contraction due to temperature change is small (CTE=around 35×10−7/° C.) and which are thus resistant to breakage. Silicon wafers, which have a low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), are also characterized by undergoing little change in properties in response to temperature change. However, production of monocrystalline silicon, which is a main material of silicon wafers, requires very high cost, so that silicon wafers are also very expensive. Furthermore, laser processing employing ablation, which is a practically used technique for forming holes in silicon wafers, necessarily involves applying a plurality of laser pulses to form one hole and has difficulty in achieving high-speed processing. That is, such laser processing employing ablation requires a long tact time and hence a high processing cost.
A technique is known that uses a combination of ultraviolet laser pulse irradiation and wet etching and that theoretically enables high-speed hole forming by which 1000 or more holes can be formed per second (Patent Literature 1). In this processing method, pulsed laser beams having a wavelength of 535 nm or less are focused by a specific lens, and a sheet of glass, in which holes are to be formed, is irradiated with the focused laser beams to form modified portions in the glass. The glass having the modified portions formed therein is immersed in hydrofluoric acid to form through holes or blind holes in the modified portions; this hole formation takes advantage of the fact that the modified portions are etched at a higher rate than the rest of the glass.
According to Patent Literature 1, collective and simultaneous formation of cylindrical or frustoconical through holes is achieved in a titanium-containing silicate glass as described in Example 1, 12, or the like. However, the composition of the glass disclosed in the examples includes such a large amount of alkali metal in the form of oxide that the glass has a higher coefficient of thermal expansion than silicon wafers and is unsuitable for use in MEMS or electronic devices. In addition, the glass contains a high concentration of titanium which is known as a component that can promote devitrification as a core former. The glass is thus prone to devitrification, which is disadvantageous for continuous production. Furthermore, an alkali component contained in the composition can contaminate device production lines.

Glass for laser processing and method for producing perforated glass using same


A magnetic resource apparatus includes a mainly cylindrical RF coil (9) having a longitudinal directed central axis (33) and symmetry plane (35) which contains the central axis and a reference plane (37). The reference plane extends perpendicularly to the symmetry plane and also contains the central axis. The coil (9) has a number of rod conductors (39) which extend, parallel to the central axis (33), across a mainly cylindrical surface, and loop conductors (41) which extend around the central axis near the ends of the rod conductors, the length of the rod conductors (39) situated near the symmetry plane (35) being greater than that of the rod conductors situated near the reference plane (37). In order to enable sharp and low-noise images to be made of the neck of a patient, the rod conductors (39) which are situated near the symmetry plane (35) and to one side of the reference plane (37) have a length which is greater than that of the rod conductors situated near the symmetry plane and to the other side of the reference plane.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a magnetic resonance apparatus, comprising a mainly cylindrical RF coil having a central axis which extends in its longitudinal direction, which coil has a symmetry plane which contains the central axis and a reference plane which extends perpendicularly to the symmetry plane and which also contains the central axis, and also comprises a number of rod conductors which extend, parallel to the central axis, across a mainly cylindrical surface and loop conductors which extend around the central axis near the ends of the rod conductors, the length of the rod conductors situated near the symmetry plane being greater than that of the rod conductors situated near the reference plane. The invention also relates to an RF coil suitable for use in such an apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of such an apparatus is known from EP-A-0 141 383. FIG. 5D of the cited document shows an RF coil, one of the loop conductors of which is circular whereas the other loop conductor is more or less saddle-shaped, so that recesses are formed at one end of the coil. A magnetic resonance apparatus comprising an RF coil of this type is suitable for examination or imaging of the head of a patient by means of magnetic resonance. To this end, the coil can be arranged around the head of a patient, the shoulders of the patient fitting in the recesses so that the coil can enclose the head completely. Except for a window for observation of the face of the patient, provided at one side, the known coil has a four-fold cylindrical symmetry. One or more of the rod conductors are interrupted so as to form said window. The location of the window is chosen so that the interrupted rod conductors carry no or hardly any current during operation of the coil, so that the interruptions hardly influence the symmetry of the coil from an electrical point of view. The cited document explains that an RF coil having four-fold cylindrical symmetry offers a number of advantages, notably because such a coil has two orthogonal resonant modes at the same resonant frequency, enabling quadrature activation or read-out of the coil, both modes being simultaneously excited or received.
It has been found that there is a need for a magnetic resonance apparatus which is suitable for examination of the neck of a patient, that is to say a part of the body which extends from approximately 1 cm above the eyes as far as the third cervical vertebra. An apparatus comprising the known RF coil is not suitable for this purpose, because the coil is only capable of enclosing the head. This problem could in theory be solved by making the recesses for the shoulders deeper, but it has been found that in that case the signal-to-noise ratio of the coil is substantially degraded.
It is an object of the invention to provide a magnetic resonance apparatus of the kind set forth which is particularly suitable for examination of the neck of a patient with an acceptable signal-to-noise ratio. To achieve this, the device in accordance with the invention is characterized in that the rod conductors which are situated near the symmetry plane and to one side of the reference plane have a length which is greater than that of the rod conductors which are situated near the symmetry plane and to the other side of the reference plane.
The invention is based on the recognition of the fact that when the part of the known RF coil which faces the feet of the patient is simply made longer, an RF field will be generated not only at the back side of the patient (at the area of the cervical vertebrae), but also at the area of parts of the patient which need not be imaged, notably at the side of the breast. The latter field, therefore, does not contribute to the acquisition of usefull information concerning the body, but does contribute to the noise of the system, so that the signal-to-noise ratio is adversely affected. The RF coil of the device in accordance with the invention is shaped so that at one side it extends further in the direction of the feet of the patient than at the other side. When the coil is arranged around the head of the patient so that the longest rods are situated at the back side of the patient, these long rods will extend as far as underneath the third cervical vertebra, whereas the shorter rods at the side of the breast will extend only as far as the chin. As a result, a substantial part of the field generated at the breast side of the patient will be situated in the void between the chin and the body. This part of the field does not dissipate and does not contribute noise, so that the signal-to-noise ratio is enhanced. Moreover, as a result of this step the RF coil may be smaller (contain less conductor material), so that the coil losses (copper losses) are also reduced. Thus, again less noise is generated.
The signal-to-noise ratio can be further improved in a preferred embodiment of the device in accordance with the invention which is characterized in that the distance between rod conductors situated diametrically near the reference plane is smaller than the distance between rod conductors situated diametrically near the symmetry plane. This embodiment takes into account the fact that the cross-section of the head is approximately oval, resulting in voids between the coil and the sides of the head when an RF coil having a circular cross-section is used, so that the coil would become unnecessarily large, leading to the described adverse effects for the signal-to-noise ratio. The cross-section of the RF coil in said preferred embodiment is adapted substantially to that of the head.
A potential drawback of the device in accordance with the invention consists in that, due to the abandonment of four-fold symmetry, it is no longer ensured that the coil has two orthogonal resonant modes with the same resonant frequencies. This drawback can be eliminated by a further embodiment of the device in accordance with the invention which is characterized in that at least one capacitive element is connected in series with each rod conductor, the capacitance connected in series with each of the rod conductors near the symmetry plane being greater than the capacitance connected in series with each of the rod conductors near the reference plane. When the values of the capacitances connected in series with the rod conductors, being variable, if desired, are suitably chosen, an approximately equal contribution of the currents in the rods is achieved. As a result, over the major part of its length the coil is electrically equivalent to a coil having four-fold symmetry, so that quadrature read-out is readily possible.
This equivalence does not hold, or only to a small extent, for the end portion of the coil which faces the feet of the patient and which contains rod conductors only at the back side of the patient. Consequently, quadrature operation of the coil is less attractive, notably when measurement takes place in that portion of the RF coil. Therefore, a further embodiment of the device in accordance with the invention is characterized in that there are provided switching means for selectively deactivating the connection between one of the two connection means and the transmitter and/or receiver means. In this embodiment a change-over from the quadrature mode (where both orthogonal resonant modes are excited or received) to a linear mode (where only one resonant mode is active) is readily possible.

Magnetic resonance apparatus comprising a bird-cage RF coil


The present invention relates to compounds of formula (I)

The MYST family is the largest family of KATs and is named after the founding members in yeast and mammals: MOZ, Ybf2/Sas3, Sas2 and TIP60 (Dekker 2014). MYST proteins mediate many biological functions including gene regulation, DNA repair, cell-cycle regulation and development (Avvakumov 2007; Voss 2009). The KAT proteins of the MYST family play key roles in post-translational modification of histones and thus have a profound effect on chromatin structure in the eukaryotic nucleus (Avvakumov 2007). The family currently comprises five mammalian KATs: TIP60 (KAT5; HTATIP; MIM 601409), MOZ (KAT6A; MIM 601408; MYST3), MORF (KAT6b; QKF; MYST4), HBO (KAT7; HBO1; MYST2) and MOF (KAT8; MYST1) (Voss 2009). These five members of the MYST family are present in humans and malfunction of MYST proteins is known to be associated with cancer (Avvakumov 2007). The most frequently used names for members of the MYST family are:
Common nameMYST nameSystematic nameMOFMYST1KAT8HBOMYST2KAT7MOZMYST3KAT6AMORFMYST4KAT6BTIP60KAT5MYST Functional Domains
MYST proteins function in multisubunit protein complexes including adaptors such as ING proteins that mediate DNA binding (Avvakumov 2007). For instance, TIP60 is affiliated to the NuA4 multiprotein complex (which embraces more than 16 members) (Zhang 2017). However, there have also been some reports of a helix-turn-helix DNA-binding motif within the structure of the MOZ protein itself (Holbert 2007), which suggests the capacity to bind directly to DNA.
The acetyltransferase activity of MYST proteins is effected by the MYST domain (the catalytic domain). The MYST domain contains an acetyl-coenzyme A binding motif, which is structurally conserved with other HATs, and an unusual C2HC-type zinc finger (Voss 2009). The highly conserved MYST domain, including the acetyl-CoA binding motif and zinc finger, is considered to be the defining feature of this family of enzymes (Avvakumov 2007).
Role of MYST Proteins
Acetylation of histone residues is generally associated with transcriptional activation. However, in some instances, transcriptional repression has also been attributed to MYST proteins (Voss 2009). The individual members of the MYST family are known to participate in a broad range of important biochemical interactions:
HBO1 positively regulates initiation of DNA replication (Avvakumov 2007; Aggarwal 2004; Doyon 2006; Iizuka 2006) via acetylation of histone substrates, which presumably leads to a more accessible chromatin conformation (Avvakumov 2007, Iizuka 2006). HBO1 is also known to play a role in the pathogenesis of breast cancer by promoting an enrichment of cancer stem-like cells (Duong 2013) and by destabilising the estrogen receptor α (ERα) through ubiquinitiation, which proceeds via the histone-acetylating activity of HBO1 (Iizuka 2013). HBO1 has also been implicated in Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (Shi 2015).
TIP60 (KAT5) is the most studied member of the MYST family. TIP60 plays an important role not only in the regulation of transcription but also in the process of DNA damage repair, particularly in DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) (Gil 2017). TIP60 can acetylate p53, ATM and c-Myc. TIP60 and MOF specifically acetylate lysine 120 (K120) of p53 upon DNA damage (Avvakumov 2007). TIP60 has also been implicated in being important for regulatory T-cell (Treg) biology. FOXP3 is the master regulator in the development and function of Tregs and it has been shown that acetylation of FOXP3 by TIP60 is essential for FOXP3 activity (Li 2007, Xiao 2014). Underscoring this, conditional TIP60 deletion in mice leads to a scurfy-like fatal autoimmune disease, mimicking a phenotype seen in FOXP3 knock out mice (Xiao 2014). In cancer, Treg cells can facilitate tumor progression by suppressing adaptive immunity against the tumor.
MOF ("males absent on the first") was originally identified as one of the components of the dosage compensation in Drosophila, and was classified as a member of the MYST family based on functional studies and sequence analysis (Su 2016). The human ortholog exhibits significant similarity to drosophila MOF; containing an acetyl-CoA-binding site, a chromodomain (which binds histones) and a C2HC-type zinc finger (Su 2016). MOF is a key enzyme for acetylating histone H4K16, and MOF-containing complexes are implicated in various essential cell functions with links to cancer (Su 2016). Besides the global reduction of histone acetylation, depletion of MOF in mammalian cells can result in abnormal gene transcription, particularly causing abnormal expression of certain tumor suppressor genes or oncogenes, suggesting a critical role of MOF in tumorigenesis (Su 2016). For example, KAT activity of MOF has been shown to be required to sustain MLL-AF9 leukemia and may be important for multiple AML subtypes (Valerio 2017).
KAT6B (Querkopf) was first identified in a mutation screen for genes regulating the balance between proliferation and differentiation during embryonic development (Thomas 2000). Mice homozygous for the KAT6B mutant allele have severe defects in cerebral cortex development resulting from a severe reduction in both proliferation and differentiation of specifically the cortical progenitor population during embryonic development. KAT6B is required for the maintenance of the adult neural stem cell population and is part of a system regulating differentiation of stem cells into neurons (Merson 2006). KAT6B is also mutated in rare forms of leukemia (Vizmanos 2003).
The MOZ locus ranks as the 12th most commonly amplified region across all cancer types (Zack 2013). MOZ is within the 8p11-p12 amplicon, which is seen at frequencies around 10-15% in various cancers, especially breast and ovarian (Turner-Ivey 2014). MOZ was first identified as a fusion partner of the CREB-binding protein (CBP) during examination of a specific chromosomal translocation in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (Avvakumov 2007; Borrow 1996). MOZ KAT activity is necessary for promoting the expression of MEIS1 and HOXa9, proteins that are typically seen overexpressed in some lymphomas and leukemias. Increased survival of MOZ+/−-heterozygote mice in the Ep-Myc transgenic model of B-cell lymphoma is seen, where loss of a single MOZ allele leads to a biologically relevant reduction in Meis1 and Hoxa9 levels in pre-B-cells (Sheikh 2015).
Inhibitors of some MYSTs are known. For example, the following Anacardic acid derivative is reported (Ghizzoni 2012) as inhibiting TIP60 (IC50=74 μM) and MOF (IC50=47 μM):
Other known inhibitors include (Zhana 2017):

In light of the established role of KATs in general, and MYSTs in particular, in diseases such as cancer, a need exists for new inhibitors of these proteins.

Abstract: or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein Ring A, R1-R8, and n are defined herein. The novel benzisoxazole sulfonamide derivatives are useful in the treatment of abnormal cell growth, such as cancer, in patients. Additional embodiments relate to pharmaceutical compositions containing the compounds and to methods of using the compounds and compositions in the treatment of abnormal cell growth in patients.


Provided is a spar cap for a wind turbine blade, including a main body, which includes an electrically conductive portion, and at least one metal conductor, wherein the metal conductor includes a terminal portion and at least one connection portion, wherein the connection portion of the metal conductor is wrapped by a first end of an electrically conductive and stripe-shaped carbon fibre mat, which abuts with a second end at least partly on the electrically conductive portion of the main body.

Dimensions of wind turbines and their rotor blades are exponentially increasing. The increasing sizes of the rotor blades or wind turbine blades require special designs for the wind turbine blades to maintain and to ensure their mechanical stability and integrity during operation of the wind turbine. Materials suitable for the design of large turbine blades are for instance fibre-based compound materials like fibre reinforced plastic due to their large stiffness to weight ratio. An important component for the mechanical stability and integrity of a wind turbine blade is the so called spar cap, which can be tailored to transfer the main aerodynamic flapwise bending loads from the wind turbine blades. Only a portion of the load is transferred to the foundations. The major part of the flatwise load is transferred, as torque, via the hub to the generator to produce electricity. The spar caps are usually designed using unidirectional fibre reinforced plastics.
The usage of carbon fibre reinforced plastics bears the challenge, compared to glass fibre reinforced plastic, that the carbon fibres are electrically conductive and can interact with the lightning protection system of the wind turbine when the wind blade intercepts a lightning strike. To avoid damage to the structure, a proper integration of carbon fibre reinforced plastic based parts to the lightning protection system of the wind turbine is required as otherwise direct lightning and/or flashovers from the main down conductor can cause damage and/or failing of the wind turbine blade.
EP 2 930 355 A1 describes a rotor blade of a wind turbine, in which an electrical conductive part, which contains carbon fibres, is connected to a conductor of a lightning protection system by using copper meshes to connect the electrical conductive part with the conductor to establish a potential equalization.
US 2015/0292479 A1 discloses a spar cap assembly for a wind turbine rotor blade, which is reinforced with carbon fibres and comprises a lightning conductor, which is connected to the spar cap by using at least one potential equalizing element. To establish an electrical connection, a portion of the potential equalizing element lies against a first layer of the carbon fibres of the spar cap and is covered over by a second layer of carbon fibres of the spar cap, wherein the second layer reaches up to the lightning conductor. The electrically conductive top layer of carbon fibres improves the electrical contact between a spar cap and the lightning conductor.
These techniques are vulnerable to malfunctioning connections between the metal conductor, the spar cap and a conductor of the lightning protection system, since the number of connections is usually kept at a minimum to facilitate the manufacturability of the wind turbine blade. A single malfunctioning connection may result as a consequence in an inadequate potential equalization and flashovers as well as possible catastrophic failure of the wind turbine blade. Additionally, the implementation of the electrical connections allows only small tolerances during the fabrication of the blade. Small tolerances are difficult to achieve in particular for larger structures and are in case of failures difficult to detect and expensive to repair.

Spar cap, wind turbine blade, method for fabrication of a spar cap, and method for fabrication of a wind turbine blade


An array capacitor is described for use with an integrated circuit (IC) mounted on an IC package. The array capacitor includes a number of first conductive layers interleaved with a number of second conductive layers and a number of dielectric layers separating adjacent conductive layers. The array capacitor further includes a number of first conductive vias to electrically connect the first conductive layers and a number of second conductive vias to electrically connect the second conductive layers. The array capacitor is provided with openings which are configured to enable pins from an IC package to pass through.

1. Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to capacitors and integrated circuit (IC) package assembly, and more specifically, to array capacitors suitable for use with integrated circuits mounted on IC packages.
2. Background
Typically, in integrated circuit (IC) packages such as for mounting IC dies, among other integrated circuitry, a voltage regulator circuit is used to provide electrical power to the semiconductor die. One way of providing voltage regulation to an IC die or chip is mounting a voltage regulator module (VRM) on a printed circuit board (PCB), for example, of a computer system. However, the VRM by itself cannot meet all the power demands of high-speed microelectronic devices (e.g., high performance processors). Specifically, the VRM cannot respond immediately to sudden changes in the current drawn by the die which could generate unacceptably large reductions in voltage, often called voltage droops. This voltage drop on the die increases the switching time of the transistors on the die, which degrades the performance of the system fabricated on the die. To ameliorate excessive voltage droops, decoupling capacitors may be used to assist in preventing a drop in voltage levels in an IC die.
Discrete decoupling capacitors are typically mounted adjacent to the IC die and connected to the conductors that provide power to the die. For a processor die, the die may be mounted on a substrate (e.g., an IC package), and a number of discrete capacitors may be mounted on the substrate along the periphery of the die and/or underneath the die. These capacitors are coupled to the power supply connections at the die through lands formed on the substrate. The capacitors may be used to store energy for use by the die during periods of non-steady state or transient current demands, or to manage noise problems that occur in the die.
One concern associated with power decoupling is inductance in the path from the chip (IC die) to the capacitors. As the chips get faster, it is critical to keep this inductance small in order to manage the high frequency noise. In order to minimize the effective inductance in the path from the chip to the capacitors, the capacitors are typically placed on the backside of the package under the die shadow. In order to accommodate these capacitors, the sockets that are used in microprocessors today have a cavity in the center.
While the capacitors on the package take care of the high frequency noise, they do not have enough capacitance to address the low frequency noise. A significant contribution to the low frequency noise comes from the resistance in the path from the VRM to the chip. This is comprised of the motherboard (MB) resistance, the socket resistance and the package resistance.

Array capacitors with voids to enable a full-grid socket


Linear electric actuators powered by DC brushless servomotors are individually controlled to position steam turbine valves by way of levers, pins and links to thus eliminate hydraulics and the attendant disadvantages of fluid filtering, conditioning and leakage as well as obtaining more flexible individual valve control, vis-a-vis, camshaft operated hydraulic actuators. Additionally, low friction actuators and springs are employed to automatically close the turbine valves in the event of a power failure.

High pressure steam is introduced into steam turbine drives for dynamoelectric machines by way of controlling valves. Typically, a multitude of valves are mounted about such turbine drives. Such valves are equipped with actuators for positioning the valve so as to supply or extract steam at the pressures and quantities required under varying system conditions.
Modern control systems for turbine generators incorporate electronic speed and pressure sensors, along with digital processing and logic for, among other things, position control of steam turbine valves, as generally illustrated in FIG. 1, for example. Such valves are conventionally hydraulically operated by way of hydraulic servo-actuators within servo-actuator module 1, as determined by control signals as demanded from the operator control panel and display unit 2. The hydraulic servo-actuators in turn control the position of the steam valves by way of mechanical linkages.
Such hydraulic units conventionally include a remotely located hydraulic power unit 3, as well as tubing runs between the power unit and the valve actuators. These systems are relatively expensive since they require the use of either a phosphate ester hydraulic fluid including a Fuller's earth treatment system or, alternatively, petroleum based fluid with guarded hydraulic lines. Thus, leakage, contamination and possible low temperature problems may occur.
Still other known manners of controlling steam turbine valves involve pneumatic cylinders or diaphragms for relatively small control valves. In some older mechanically controlled turbine generator systems, the use of steam cylinders for operating low pressure grid-type extraction valves have also been known. However, the use of steam actuation is clearly not compatible with the requirements of modern electronic control systems of the nature generally illustrated in FIG. 1. Moreover, the use of pneumatic systems has the disadvantage of requiring large cylinders based on the use of available low pressure air and the resulting lack of system stiffness.
Still other more contemporary hydraulic systems involve a completely self-contained hydraulic system along with an actuator which are used for application to individual valves. It has been found, however, that such self-contained hydraulic systems for each of several valves in the contemplated environment would be applicable only to very large turbine units with off-shell steam chests. Moreover, such systems are relatively costly and require a significant increase in space with respect to other forms of actuators.
We have discovered that each of the steam turbine admission or extraction valves may have its own ball-screw linear electric actuator for operatively driving the valve open or closed by way of a lever, pins and links. Moreover, the actuator screw may be precisely driven by a DC brushless servomotor for accurately positioning the turbine valve at selected set points. Still further, since the ball-screw actuator arrangement is of a low-friction type, the actuators are fully capable of being driven to a closed position by way of an external force, such as that provided by a spring in the event of a power failure.
Accordingly, the objects of the herein disclosed exemplary embodiment include that of eliminating all hydraulics from the turbine control system including the conventional remotely located hydraulic power unit. Still further, all hydraulic tubing and fittings as well as mechanisms such as pinions, racks, cams and camshafts for these valves are eliminated. Thus, a more simple and less costly system is obtained whereby the use of hydraulic fluid and its attendant filtering, conditioning and leakage problems are absent. A still further object of the present system is that of employing a linear electric actuator for such steam valves which will require only electrical connections for handling position, feedback and power signals. In such a system the steam valves may be individually closed or opened in a relatively simple and flexible manner rather than being opened and closed in a fixed order, such as through the use of a camshaft.

Electric actuators for steam turbine valves


The instant invention broadly contemplates an energy saving subsystem comprising a secondary CPU that utilizes less power than a main CPU, thereby allowing an electronic device (e.g. a laptop PC) having the secondary CPU to use less power and run for longer periods of time on a limited power supply. Thus, the invention permits the electronic device to be utilized for extended periods and extends the battery life.

Electronic devices such as laptop PCs suffer from a problem related to energy consumption. Particularly, the battery life of a laptop PC is fairly short. Even using conventional power saving schemes, the useful battery life for a laptop PC is, for example, two to three hours in real use. Various power saving schemes are known in the art. Conventional solutions commonly add a larger battery or run the main central processing unit (CPU) slower. However, each conventional solution is limited to providing only a minimal energy savings and contemporary operating systems (OS) do not perform well in this environment.
Therefore, a need has arisen to provide an electronic device that conserves energy and allows for extended use without compromising performance.

Power saving secondary processing unit for an electronic device


A method for improving the performance in developing an interprocess digital mockup. Product data elements are compiled from a digital mockup, wherein the product data elements contain geometry data elements and meta data elements. The geometry data elements are addressed and assigned to a geometry structure. The meta data elements are addressed and assigned to a meta structure. The geometry structure and the meta structure are subsequently linked by a communication protocol such that bidirectional interaction between the geometry structure and the meta structure is realized.

In modern product development, a product is nowadays developed as well as managed and modified over the entire product life cycle with a digital mockup. Such a digital mockup (DMU) has a product structure of the product that consists of modules, individual components and their geometry in correct positional arrangement. The purpose of the digital mockup consists of replacing the physical mockup (PMU) and of making available different views and functions of the product. For example, studies such as installation and removal studies, collision tests, simulations and buildability tests may be carried out on the basis of the digital mockup. The digital mockup also makes it possible to improve the time and cost pressure as well as the management of a diversity of variations with respect to coordination, analysis and concretizing of development results.
A digital mockup may represent a realistic description of a product. It consists of document attributes and structures, for example, tree structures that reflect the product structure, and therefore comprises a unique data set that refers to a certain end product (e.g., vehicle or aircraft).
Consequently, a digital mockup is able to illustrate the product in the form of a 3-D illustration, for example, on a computer platform. The departments involved over the product life cycle, for example, development or servicing, may access the digital mockup in order to retrieve information or incorporate changes.
However, it is extremely difficult to make available a high-performance digital mockup with a large number of components and product structures for larger product structures, for example, in the aircraft industry.

Method for improving the performance in processing an interprocess digital mockup


A computer drilling model for geo-steering during directional drilling of a wellbore including a processor, a data storage, and client devices in communication with the processor through a network. The processor can receive data from directional drilling equipment and can present that data to users in an executive dashboard. Users can send data and/or commands to the directional drilling equipment. The executive dashboard can present: a portion of interest in a stratigraphic cross section for user identification of: the drill bit in the stratigraphic cross section, formations in the stratigraphic cross section, and other formation data. The computer drilling model can be used to: identify a projected path for the drill bit, import data, compute wellbore profiles and stratigraphic cross sections, plot actual drilling paths, overlay the actual drilling path onto the projected path, and present control buttons to the user.

A need exists for a model for directional drilling that enables a user, a driller, and other non-technical people to easily understand a wellbore profile and other down hole data in a cross discipline manner in real time for improved communication.
The present embodiments meet these needs.
The present embodiments are detailed below with reference to the listed Figures.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Multi dimensional model for directional drilling


A method and apparatus for sending a text message in a multi Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) mobile terminal are provided. The method includes determining a SIM which is responsible for sending the text message among a plurality of SIMs and sending the text message through a mobile communication service provider network corresponding to the SIM determined to be responsible for sending the text message.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for sending a text message. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for sending a text message in a multi Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) mobile terminal
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile terminals developed for using mobile communication services have increasingly become necessities of life. Such mobile terminals have added computer supporting functions such as an Internet communication function and an information search function. In addition, such mobile terminals may have installed applications which users want to install.
In addition, multi SIM mobile terminals, each of which includes a plurality of SIMs, are being produced. A SIM stores personal information capable of using a variety of services of a mobile communication company, such as an authentication service, a billing service, and a security service. Accordingly, the user may use mobile communication services provided from a plurality of mobile communication companies using one mobile terminal.
In general, each of the mobile communication companies provides a text message service which is, for example, a service for sending contents including characters to a counterpart terminal. There is a mobile communication company which proposes sending costs for text messages, which are relatively inexpensive, due to competition among the mobile communication companies.
When sending a text message, a conventional multi SIM mobile terminal uses a mobile communication service provider network of a SIM which is currently maintained. Accordingly, in order to use a mobile communication service provider network in which sending costs for text messages are relatively inexpensive, the user must convert the SIM which is currently maintained into another SIM. This results in an inconvenience to the user.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus for sending a text message through a mobile communication service provider network which is fully responsible for sending the text message in a multi SIM mobile terminal. A need also exists for provide a method and apparatus for sending a text message at little cost in a multi SIM mobile terminal.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present invention.

Method and apparatus for sending text message in multi subscriber identity module mobile terminal


A radio node in a radio network is disclosed. The radio node also includes signal processing hardware. The radio node also includes radio frequency (RF) transceiver hardware. Further, the radio node includes a smart spectrum sensor for feature detection capable of detecting multiple features including at least one of specific pilot signals, specific modulations, spectral widths, and symbol durations.

Conventional military networks are mobile ad hoc wireless networks. In these networks every node acts as a router and can route traffic to other nodes. Such networks pose stringent requirements for security and reliability. They are highly dynamic in nature because mobile ad hoc networks are formed over wireless links. Links are susceptible to failures because of the mobility of nodes, or loss of connectivity due to the volatility of wireless links. Strict requirements on security and reliability combined with the dynamic nature of the network provide a strong motivation for self-forming, self-configuring, and self-healing capabilities in the network.
Because of the mobility and power constraints, wireless communication nodes have made the task of ad-hoc network management very difficult. Current research is focused on auto-network management and policy based network management. One major disadvantage of both auto-network management and policy based network management is that every node can have only a limited view of the network and has to work within the limitations of its view. For example, FIG. 1 depicts a nodal communication network 100 in which each node 110 can talk to or can have information about its neighboring node(s), depicted by the connection lines between the nodes 110.

Non-cooperative spectrum sharing by smart frequency agile cognitive radios


Methods and apparatus for delivering precursor materials derived from liquid chemicals to a process chamber are provided herein. In some embodiments, a liquid chemical delivery apparatus includes: a body having an inner volume to hold a liquid chemical, an inlet to receive a carrier gas into the inner volume, and an outlet to flow the carrier gas from the inner volume, wherein a bottom of the inner volume includes a reduced volume portion; and a level sensor configured to detect a level of the liquid chemical in the reduced volume portion.

Some chemicals used in, for example, semiconductor device processing or other thin film fabrication processes, are delivered into a process chamber using a liquid containing ampoule. Such ampoules typically include a canister that is in fluid communication with an inlet port and an outlet port using a carrier gas that is fed through the ampoule. For example, the carrier gas is fed into the liquid using a bubbler tube, saturates the fluid, and carries away some of the liquid. As another example, the carrier gas is fed into a space above the liquid, may flow over the liquid, and carries away vapor from the space above the liquid. The ampoule may be used until all liquid is removed, at which time the ampoule is refilled or replaced. Alternatively, the ampoule may be refilled periodically based on measurements taken using an in situ level sensor. A refill tank is employed to hold chemicals for refilling the ampoule and typically has a much larger volume than the ampoule to enable the ampoule to be repeatedly refilled. However, the inventors have observed that the ampoule is typically refilled before the liquid is completely depleted, thus wasting an unused volume of liquid at the bottom of the ampoule. Therefore, the inventors believe that it would be advantageous to minimize the unused volume of liquid because the chemicals are expensive.
Accordingly, the inventors have provided improved apparatus for measuring the level of a liquid to be provided in a substrate process.

Methods and apparatus for liquid chemical delivery


A method for controlling a plurality of ultrasonic transducers in a fingerprint sensing system that comprises a cover plate having a sensing surface configured to be touched by a finger, and a plurality of ultrasonic transducers located at the periphery of the cover plate and configured to transmit an acoustic signal propagating in the cover plate, receive an ultrasonic signal having interacted with an object in contact with the sensing surface, and to determine properties of the object based on the received ultrasonic signal. The method comprises: in response to a first input, controlling the plurality of transducers such that at least a portion of the sensing surface has a first feature detection resolution; and in response to a second input, controlling the plurality of transducers such that at least a portion of the sensing surface has a second feature detection resolution, different from the first feature detection resolution.

Biometric systems are widely used as means for increasing the convenience and security of personal electronic devices, such as mobile phones etc. Fingerprint sensing systems, in particular, are now included in a large proportion of all newly released personal communication devices, such as mobile phones.
Due to their excellent performance and relatively low cost, capacitive fingerprint sensors are used in an overwhelming majority of all biometric systems.
Among other fingerprint sensing technologies, ultrasonic sensing also has the potential to provide advantageous performance, such as the ability to acquire fingerprint (or palmprint) images from very moist fingers as well as to provide biometrics data beyond the surface of the skin. One class of ultrasonic fingerprint systems of particular interest are systems in which acoustic signals are transmitted from the periphery of a device member to be touched by a user, and a fingerprint (palm print) representation is determined based on received acoustic signals resulting from the interaction between the transmitted acoustic signals and the user's skin.
Such ultrasonic fingerprint sensing systems, which are, for example, generally described in US 2017/0053151 may allow for a larger sensing area, which may be optically transparent, without the cost of the fingerprint sensing system necessarily scaling with the sensing area.
Although the general principle of such ultrasonic fingerprint sensing is known, there appear to be remaining challenges to be overcome. For instance, it would be desirable to provide for cost-efficient mass production of ultrasonic transducer devices suitable for use in such ultrasonic fingerprint sensing systems.

Controllable ultrasonic fingerprint sensing system and method for controlling the system


A porous gas diffusion electrode provided on a polymer electrolyte such that a gas can be introduced, for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, includes a carbon fiber, and an electric conductive polymer and a thermoset resin that bond the carbon fibers to each other.

Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that directly convert chemical energy in fuels into electric energy, and in the fuel cells the fuels of reductants such as reformed hydrogen manufactured from hydrogen, methanol or fossil fuel are electrochemically oxidized by oxidants such as air or oxygen. They draw attention recently and are expected to be "clean" or relatively little pollutant producing sources of electric energy that provide power in higher conversion efficiency than internal engines with superiority in stillness and generating lower pollutant such as NOx, SOx and particulate matter (PM) causing air pollution. They are, for instance, expected to operate in replacement of power systems of the conventional automobiles, and as thermal and electric power providing systems and dispersed electric power sources for such as residences.
The most common classification of fuel cells is by the type of electrolyte used in the cells and includes alkaline fuel cell (AFC), phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC), molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC), solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). The PAFC and PEFC using proton conductivity electrolyte can operate at high efficiency without suffering the thermodynamic limitation by Carnot cycle, and it attains the theoretical efficiency of 83% at the temperature of 25° C. The PEFC, especially, attract attention because they are useful for power sources for lower pollutant automobiles and high efficiency power generating systems, with improvement in its performance by recent development in electrolyte membrane and catalyst technologies.
The PEFC has a structure which is provided with a planar or cylindrical, for example, polymer electrolyte layer and a gas diffusion electrode on each side of the polymer electrolyte layer, a catalyst layer being therebetween on each side, and that kind of the structure is called a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) and the conventional PEFC is constituted of a plurality of the MEAs stacked and separators disposed therebetween. Through the aforementioned gas diffusion electrode, fuel gas and air reach the surfaces of the electrolyte layer and the catalyst layer, and the electrode is required to have superiority in gas diffusiveness and electric conductivity for obtaining the generated electric current. Carbon fiber paper (namely, carbon paper) is generally used for conventional gas diffusion electrodes. Instead, suggested are, for example, carbon fiber cloth (namely, carbon cloth, disclosed, for instance, in Patent Document 1), unwoven fabrics including carbon nanofiber and/or carbon nanocone (disclosed, for instance, in Patent Document 3), or unwoven fabrics impregnated with conductive material (disclosed, for instance, in Patent Document 4).    Patent Document 1: JP 07-105957 A    Patent Document 2: JP 08-007897 A    Patent Document 3: JP 2005-149745 A    Patent Document 4: JP 2000-513480 A

Gas diffusion electrode, method for manufacturing the same and membrane electrode assembly