Clocked half-rail differential logic circuits with single-rail logic of the invention do not include complementary logic elements. According to the invention, the complementary logic function of the prior art is replaced by a single transistor appropriately sized to provide the complementary output OUTBAR. Consequently, clocked half-rail differential logic circuits with single-rail logic of the invention use less power and, therefore, generate less heat, require less space, and are simpler in design so that they are more flexible, more space efficient and more reliable than prior art half-rail differential logic circuits.

The present invention relates generally to logic circuits and, more particularly, to half-rail differential logic circuits.
With the emergence of an electronics market that stresses portability, compact size, lightweight and the capability for prolonged remote operation, a demand has arisen for low power circuits and systems. This demand has motivated circuit designers to depart from conventional circuit designs and venture into more power efficient alternatives. As part of this effort, half-rail differential logic has emerged as an important design tool for increasing power efficiency.
FIG. 1A shows a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a clocked half-rail differential logic circuit 100 designed according to the principles of the invention set forth in patent application Ser. No. 09/927,751, entitled xe2x80x9cClocked Half-Rail Differential Logicxe2x80x9d, filed Aug. 9, 2001, in the name of the present inventor, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, and incorporated herein by reference, in its entirety. As seen in FIG. 1A, a clock signal CLK is coupled to an input node 132 of a clock inverter 134 to yield a clock-not signal CLKBAR at output node 136 of clock inverter 134.
As also seen in FIG. 1A, clocked half-rail differential logic circuit 100 includes a first supply voltage 102 coupled to a source, or first flow electrode 130, of a PFET 101. The signal CLKBAR is coupled to a control electrode or gate 103 of PFET 101 and a control electrode or gate 129 of an NFET 109. A drain, or second flow electrode 104, of PFET 101 is coupled to both a source, or first flow electrode 106, of a PFET 105 and a source, or first flow electrode 108, of a PFET 107. A control electrode or gate 116 of PFET 105 is coupled to a first flow electrode 140 of NFET 109 and an OUTBAR terminal 113. A control electrode or gate 114 of PFET 107 is coupled to a second flow electrode 138 of NFET 109 and an OUT terminal 111. A drain, or second flow electrode 110, of PFET 105 is coupled to OUT terminal 111 and a drain, or second flow electrode 112, of PFET 107 is coupled to OUTBAR terminal 113.
OUT terminal 111 is coupled to a terminal 118 of a base logic portion 123A of a logic block 123 and OUTBAR terminal 113 is coupled to a terminal 120 of a complementary logic portion 123B of logic block 123. Base logic portion 123A of logic block 123 includes any type of differential logic and/or circuitry used in the art including various logic gates, logic devices and circuits. Complementary logic portion 123B of logic block 123 includes any type of complementary differential logic and/or circuitry used in the art including various logic gates, logic devices and circuits. As discussed in more detail below, since clocked half-rail differential logic circuit 100 was a dual rail logic circuit, requiring an output OUT 111 and a complementary output OUTBAR 113, in the prior art, logic block 123 had to include both a base logic portion 123A, such as an AND gate, OR gate, XOR gate, etc. and the complementary logic portion 123B of base logic portion 123A, such as a NAND gate, NOR gate, XNOR gate, etc. Logic block 123 also includes first and second input terminals 151 and 153 that are typically coupled to an OUT and OUTBAR terminal of a previous clocked half-rail differential logic circuit stage (not shown).
Logic block 123 also includes fourth terminal 122 coupled to a drain, or first flow electrode 124, of an NFET 125. A gate or control electrode 127 of NFET 125 is coupled to the signal CLK and a source, or second flow electrode 126, of NFET 125 is coupled to a second supply voltage 128.
A particular embodiment of a clocked half-rail differential logic circuit 100 is shown in FIG. 1A. Those of skill in the art will recognize that clocked half-rail differential logic circuit 100 can be easily modified. For example, different transistors, i.e., first, second and third PFETs 101, 105 and 107 or first and second NFETs 109 and 125 can be used. In particular, the NFETs and PFETS shown in FIG. 1A can be readily exchanged for PFETs and NFETs by reversing the polarities of the supply voltages 102 and 128, or by other well known circuit modifications. Consequently, the clocked half-rail differential logic circuit 100 that is shown in FIG. 1A is simply used for illustrative purposes.
Clocked half-rail differential logic circuit 100 had two modes, or phases, of operation; a pre-charge phase and an evaluation phase. In one embodiment of a clocked half-rail differential logic circuit 100, in the pre-charge phase, the signal CLK was low or a digital xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d and the signal CLKBAR was high or a digital xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d. Consequently, first PFET 101 and second NFET 125 were not conducting or were xe2x80x9coffxe2x80x9d and logic block 123 was isolated from first supply voltage 102 and second supply voltage 128. In addition, during the pre-charge phase, first NFET 109 was conducting or was xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d and, therefore, OUT terminal 111 was shorted to OUTBAR terminal 113. Consequently, the supply voltage to logic block 123 was approximately half the supply voltage 102, i.e., for a first supply voltage 102 of Vdd and a second supply voltage 128 of ground, logic block 123 operated at around Vdd/2. During pre-charge, second and third PFETs 105 and 107 were typically not performing any function.
In one embodiment of a clocked half-rail differential logic circuit 100, in the evaluation phase, the signal CLK was high or a digital xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d and the signal CLKBAR was low or a digital xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d. Consequently, first PFET 101 and second NFET 125 were conducting or were xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d and first NFET 109 was not conducting or was xe2x80x9coffxe2x80x9d. Consequently, depending on the particular logic in logic block 123, either second PFET 105, or third PFET 107, was conducting or was xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d and the other of second PFET 105, or third PFET 107, was not conducting or was xe2x80x9coffxe2x80x9d. As a result, either OUT terminal 111 went from approximately half first supply voltage 102 to approximately second supply voltage 128 or OUTBAR terminal 113 went from approximately half first supply voltage 102 to approximately first supply voltage 102, i.e., for a first supply voltage 102 of Vdd and a second supply voltage 128 of ground, OUT terminal 111 went from approximately Vdd/2 to zero and OUTBAR terminal 113 went from approximately Vdd/2 to Vdd.
Clocked half-rail differential logic circuits 100 marked a significant improvement over prior art half-rail logic circuits in part because clocked half-rail differential logic circuit 100 does not require the complex control circuit of prior art half-rail differential logic circuits and is therefore simpler, saves space and is more reliable than prior art half-rail differential logic circuits. As a result, clocked half-rail differential logic circuits 100 are better suited to the present electronics market that stresses portability, compact size, lightweight and the capability for prolonged remote operation. However, clocked half-rail differential logic circuit 100 has some limitations.
For instance, as noted above, since clocked half-rail differential logic circuit 100 was a dual rail logic circuit, requiring an output OUT 111 and a complementary output OUTBAR 113, in the prior art, logic block 123 had to include both a base logic function, via base logic portion 123A of logic block 123, such as an AND gate, OR gate, XOR gate, etc. and the complementary logic function, via complementary logic portion 123B of logic block 123, such as a NAND gate, NOR gate, XNOR gate, etc.
FIG. 1B shows one particular embodiment of a clocked half-rail differential logic circuit 100A that includes a base logic portion 123A that is an AND gate and a complementary logic portion 123B that is a NAND gate. As shown in FIG. 1B, AND gate 123A includes NFET 161 and NFET 163 in series. Input 151 is coupled to the control electrode, or gate, of NFET 161 and input 153 is coupled to the control electrode or gate of NFET 163. As also shown in FIG. 1B, NAND gate 123B includes NFET 171 and NFET 173 in parallel. Input 151BAR is coupled to the control electrode, or gate, of NFET 171 and input 153BAR is coupled to the control electrode or gate of NFET 173. Consequently, in the prior art, four transistors were required to provide the output OUT 111 and its complementary output OUTBAR 113.
This need in the prior art to include both a base logic function and its complementary logic function resulted in an increase in power usage, an increase in space used, an increase in design complexity, and an increase in heat production.
What is needed is a method and apparatus for creating clocked half-rail differential logic circuits that use less power and, therefore, generate less heat, require less space, and are simpler in design so that they are more flexible, more space efficient and more reliable than prior art half-rail differential logic circuits.
According to the invention, the clocked half-rail differential logic circuits with single-rail logic of the invention do not include complementary logic portions. According to the invention, the complementary logic function of the prior art is replaced by a single transistor appropriately sized to provide the complementary output OUTBAR. Consequently, clocked half-rail differential logic circuits with single-rail logic of the invention use less power and, therefore, generate less heat, require less space, and are simpler in design so that they are more flexible, more space efficient and more reliable than prior art half-rail differential logic circuits.
The clocked half-rail differential logic circuits with single-rail logic of the invention can be cascaded together to form the chains commonly used in the industry. When the clocked half-rail differential logic circuits with single-rail logic of the invention are cascaded together, the advantages of the clocked half-rail differential logic circuits of the invention are particularly evident and the gains in terms of power efficiency, size reduction, and flexibility are further pronounced.
One embodiment of the invention is a clocked half-rail differential logic circuit with single-rail logic that includes a clocked half-rail differential logic circuit with single-rail logic OUT terminal and a clocked half-rail differential logic circuit with single-rail logic OUTBAR terminal.
The clocked half-rail differential logic circuit with single-rail logic also includes a first transistor including a first transistor first flow electrode, a first transistor second flow electrode and a first transistor control electrode. The first transistor first flow electrode is coupled to a first supply voltage.
The clocked half-rail differential logic circuit with single-rail logic also includes a second transistor, the second transistor including a second transistor first flow electrode, a second transistor second flow electrode and a second transistor control electrode. The first transistor second flow electrode is coupled to the second transistor first flow electrode and the second transistor second flow electrode is coupled to the clocked half-rail differential logic circuit with single-rail logic OUT terminal.
The clocked half-rail differential logic circuit with single-rail logic also includes a third transistor, the third transistor including a third transistor first flow electrode, a third transistor second flow electrode and a third transistor control electrode. The first transistor second flow electrode is coupled to the third transistor first flow electrode and the third transistor second flow electrode is coupled to the clocked half-rail differential logic circuit with single-rail logic OUTBAR terminal.
The clocked half-rail differential logic circuit with single-rail logic also includes a fourth transistor, the fourth transistor including a fourth transistor first flow electrode, a fourth transistor second flow electrode and a fourth transistor control electrode. The second transistor control electrode is coupled to the fourth transistor first flow electrode and the clocked half-rail differential logic circuit with single-rail logic OUTBAR terminal. The third transistor control electrode is coupled to the fourth transistor second flow electrode and the clocked half-rail differential logic circuit with single-rail logic OUT terminal.
The clocked half-rail differential logic circuit with single-rail logic also includes a base logic portion, the base logic portion including a base logic portion first input terminal, a base logic portion second input terminal, a base logic portion OUT terminal, and a base logic portion fourth terminal. The base logic portion OUT terminal is coupled to the clocked half-rail differential logic circuit with single-rail logic OUT terminal.
The clocked half-rail differential logic circuit with single-rail logic also includes a fifth transistor, the fifth transistor including a fifth transistor first flow electrode, a fifth transistor second flow electrode and a fifth transistor control electrode. The fifth transistor first flow electrode is coupled to the base logic portion fourth terminal and the fifth transistor second flow electrode is coupled to a second supply voltage.
The clocked half-rail differential logic circuit with single-rail logic also includes a complementary output transistor, the complementary output transistor including a complementary output transistor first flow electrode, a complementary output transistor second flow electrode and a complementary output transistor control electrode. According to the invention, the complementary output transistor first flow electrode is coupled to the second flow electrode of the third transistor and the OUTBAR terminal of the clocked half-rail differential logic circuit with single-rail logic. The complementary output transistor second flow electrode is coupled to the first flow electrode of the fifth transistor. The complementary output transistor control electrode is coupled to the second flow electrode of the fourth transistor and the OUT terminal of the clocked half-rail differential logic circuit with single-rail logic.
A clock signal CLK is coupled to the control electrode of the fifth transistor of the clocked half-rail differential logic circuit with single-rail logic. A clock-not signal CLKBAR is coupled to the control electrode of the first transistor of the clocked half-rail differential logic circuit with single-rail logic and the control electrode of the fourth transistor of the clocked half-rail differential logic circuit with single-rail logic.
The clocked half-rail differential logic circuits with single-rail logic of the invention provide the complementary output OUTBAR without the need for the complementary logic elements. Consequently, clocked half-rail differential logic circuits with single-rail logic of the invention use less power and, therefore, generate less heat, require less space, and are simpler in design so that they are more flexible, more space efficient and more reliable than prior art half-rail differential logic circuits.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and following detailed description are intended only to exemplify and explain the invention as claimed.

Method for clock control of clocked half-rail differential logic with single-rail logic


A light source is associated with the oscillating pendulum of a case clock to be energized during operation of the pendulum to achieve a striking ornamental effect as the light source moves with the oscillating pendulum.

Case clocks of the type including the swinging pendulum have been known in the art for well over 200 years. Traditionally, such clocks have been free-standing and of a height in the general order of about 5 to 7 feet, being commonly referred to as "Grandfather's" or "Grandmother's" clocks, depending upon their height. The same concept has been embodied into smaller clocks adapted to be suspended or hung from a supporting wall, but otherwise generally similar in configuration, although susceptible to more variation in design appearance. Thus, one well-known style of wall hanging clock is of the so-called "banjo" type, having a circular head housing the clock mechanism with an exposed clock dial face, from which is suspended a narrow elongated appendage within which the pendulum swings in oscillating fashion along an arc-like path. A variation is known as the "schoolhouse" clock in which the upper end housing the clockworks has an inverted generally V-shaped bonnet, reminiscent of the roof of a "schoolhouse", while the lower end is expanded in width compared to the banjo style and may terminate in an inverted truncated triangle. In contrast, tall case clocks usually have a vertically elongated generally rectangular configuration in front elevation, although an intermediate or waist section of the casing can often have a reduced width wise dimension extending between a wider upper end or hood section housing the clockworks and a wider base section. Of course, all of these forms can be provided with any of a wide variety of ornamental detail, according to the inspiration of the clock designer.
The appearance of case clocks have tended to follow traditional lines and, compared to other common items of furniture, have undergone relatively little evolution. The intermediate portion of the casing, within which is housed the swinging pendulum and in many instances vertically movable weights as well, is provided with a door on its front side and the solid doors which were characteristic of early models of such clocks are usually replaced now by framed doors carrying one or more glass panels or inserts through which the swinging pendulum and weights, where present, are visible and glass panels have likewise been added to the sidewalls of the intermediate section of the case. In addition, the early "stick" pendulum, in which a generally discoidshaped bob or head is supported from a narrow elongated rod-like stick, is in more recent times often replaced by a more highly ornamental pendulum of the so-called "lyre" type in which a considerably enlarged discoid head is supported from a generally vertically extending array of wires, ribbons, filaments and the like of ornamental, e.g., polished metal arranged in a general pattern reminiscent of the ancient musical instrument the lyre. Thus, the lyre-type pendulum is normally considerably more massive and more elaborate in design appeal than the traditional stick pendulum.
In either case, the function of the pendulum remains the same, namely, that of oscillating along an arcuate path so that as a result of such of such oscillation, the escapement mechanism of the clockworks is actuated periodically to allow a gear mechanism driving the hands of the clock to advance stepwise in controlled incremental fashion under the impetus of a driving force which is traditionally supplied by gravity-actuated weights, but can be replaced by wound springs or the like. The pendulum in turn receives from the escapement a driving impulse at one end of its oscillation stroke so as to thereby maintain the desired rate of oscillation and avoid gradual slowing down of the pendulum as would otherwise result from the action of gravity. When the intermediate section of the clock casing is provided with window panels or openings, the pendulum, whether of stick or lyre-type is constructed of ornamentally attractive materials, such as polished or satin-finished metal or the like in order to contribute to the beauty and aesthetic appeal of the clock when viewed through such panels or openings. However, the pendulum and weights, when present, can only reflect the light that is transmitted through the transparent panels or openings into the interior of the casing which often tends to be minimal in amount inasmuch as case clocks, ordinarily being valued possessions of their owners, are seldom located in direct sunlight or other brightly lighted situations, but rather tend to be located in more dimly-lit areas. Consequently, the full ornamental effect of the movement of the swinging pendulum is rarely if ever achieved, but rather tends to become obscured and lost within the relatively dark recesses of the interior of the case. There is thus a need in this art to enhance the attractiveness of the clock by providing illumination within the interior of the waist section of the casing and especially illumination which has an eye-catching appeal by virtue of movement thereof associated with the pendulum.


A precoding method for a femtocell or a picocell and a communication system using the same is provided. The communication system may include a small base station that is able to implement a protection mode to protect a neighbor terminal from an interference regardless of whether a neighbor base station is performing a process to protect the neighbor terminal from the interference. Also, the small base station may use at least one process scheme appropriate for a current environment among various process schemes, thereby effectively protecting the neighbor terminal from the interference.

1. Field
The following description relates to a communication system and method, and additionally, to a small base station, such as a femto base station or a pico base station, that may protects a neighbor terminal corresponding to a neighbor base station, such as a macro base station, from interference.
2. Description of Related Art
Attention to a small base station, such as a femto base station, a pico base station, and the like, has increased. Particularly, there is a macrocell having a broad coverage in a cellular system, and small cells are located within the coverage of the macrocell. Here, a macro base station may be included in various cellular systems, such as Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), code division multiple access (CDMA 2000), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and the like, and the CDMA 2000, the WCDMA, and the WiMAX support a femtocell.
An interference caused by a small cell may occur in a macrocell which is a neighbor cell of the small cell. Particularly, a signal transmitted from a small base station may be an interference to a macro terminal (a neighbor terminal) corresponding to a macro base station (a neighbor base station). The interference may disturb a communication between the macro base station and the macro terminal.
In general, the macro base station may be installed before femto base stations are installed, and the femto base stations are installed after the macro base station is installed. The femto base stations may frequently repeat turning on/off, and as new femto base stations are added, some femto base stations existing in the communication system may be eliminated.
Accordingly, it may be difficult for the macro base station to overcome a problem caused by the interference from the femto base stations, and changing of a hardware configuration, a software configuration, an operation sequence, and the like of the macro base station to solve the interference caused by the femto base stations may be inefficient. That is, the femto base stations need to solve the problem caused by the interference while minimizing effects on an operation of the macro base station.

Precoding method for femtocell or picocell and communication system of using the method


A wire harness assembling method includes a step (a) of attaching an interference suppressing member to at least a part of an elongated reinforcement, the reinforcement being arranged on a back side of an instrument panel of a vehicle and extending in a width direction of the vehicle; and a step (b) of arranging a wire harness so that the wire harness faces the reinforcement with the interference suppressing member interposed between the wire harness and the reinforcement, the step (b) being performed after the step (a).

Electric wires of wire harnesses that are installed in vehicles such as automobiles may be fixed to a reinforcement (hereinafter, referred to as "instrument panel reinforcement") that is arranged on the back side of an instrument panel.
For example, a plurality of electric wires that are wound into a bundle with a tape may be fixed to the instrument panel reinforcement using a harness clamp disclosed in Patent Document 1 (JP 2013-118741A). In this case, the tape wound around the electric wires functions as a protection member that prevents the electric wires from coming into contact with the instrument panel reinforcement and components on the periphery.

Method for assembling wire harness, interference suppressing member, and wire harness assembly structure


Provided are a method of measuring a concentration of a component in a biochemical sample such as serum, and a method of estimating the reliability of a test result using the method. The method of measuring a concentration of a component includes: preparing plural standard samples having at least one common component which has varying concentrations; measuring absorbances of the component in the standard samples at each of the concentrations for plural light beams having different wavelength bands; determining a regression equation of a relationship between the concentration of the component and the measured absorbances at plural wavelength bands; and applying the regression equation by measuring absorbances at the plural wavelength bands of the biochemical sample and applying the measured plural absorbances of the biochemical sample to the regression equation to calculate the concentration of the component.

1. Field
One or more embodiments relate to measuring a concentration of a component in a biochemical sample such as serum, and estimating reliability of a test result using the measuring method.
2. Description of the Related Art
A microfluidic device used in microfluidic operations in which a small amount of fluid is used includes a chamber in which a small amount of fluid can be accommodated, a channel through which the fluid can flow, and a valve for controlling the flow of the fluid.
In order to transport the fluid within the microfluidic device, an operational pressure is needed. Examples of the operational pressure are a capillary pressure or a pressure produced using a pump. Recently, a disk-shaped microfluidic device which drives a fluid by using a centrifugal force generated by rotating the disk-shaped microfluidic device and which includes a chamber and a channel has been proposed. This type of disk-shaped microfluidic device is referred to as a lab compact disk (CD) or a lab-on-a-CD.
The disk-shaped microfluidic device may be used to measure the concentration of a particular component in blood. That is, by separating blood plasma or serum from blood and reacting a reagent that reacts with a particular component in blood with the separated blood plasma or the serum, the concentration of the particular component can be measured based on the reaction result.
Concentrations of several components among various components in blood are known to influence the reliability of the measurement of concentrations of other components of blood. For example, it is known that if the hemoglobin concentration in blood is too high or if there is hemolysis, measurement results of concentrations of components such as lactate dehydrogenase (LD), potassium (K), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), etc. are higher than the real values. Components that affect the reliability of concentration measurement of other components are referred to as inhibitors. In addition to hemoglobin, bilirubin and lipid are also known as inhibitors.
These inhibitors may be contained in a biochemical sample, or may be generated when the biochemical sample is extracted. In order to examine the accuracy and reliability of a blood test, concentrations of the inhibitors need to be exactly measured.

Methods of measuring concentration of component in biochemical sample and estimating reliability of test result


Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for providing notifications of events include defining a set of standard events for objects in a back end system and operating on an object in the back end system using an instance of a service provider class. Conditions corresponding to a standard event from the set of standard events are detected. The conditions corresponding to the standard event are defined by meta data stored in a repository. One or more subscribers to the standard event are notified in response to a detected condition.

The present invention relates to data processing by digital computer, and more particularly to publish-subscribe event notifications.
Large-scale business software applications are sometimes categorized in terms of a "front end component" that includes a graphical user interface (GUI) to present data to users and accept data entry from users. Such front end components are customized for specific customers. Another component of such software applications is sometimes referred to as a "back end component" that stores business data and processes the business data according to business logic. The back end component retrieves, generates, and maintains the business data. The back end component is usually responsible for the consistency and correctness of the data. The back end component also can store relationships between the various data. In a typical business software application, the front end component includes application code to display and aggregate data of the back end and provides help to generate requests to the back end for update operations.
The data of the back end can be represented using relational database terminology. In relational database terminology, an entity is a record and an entity type is a set of entities with common attributes to which a unique name and a unique description are assigned. Typically, a database has multiple two dimensional tables where each table represents an entity type and each row in each table represents an entity. An attribute is a description of a characteristic of an entity or entity type. Typically, an attribute is specified in a field or a column in a database table. Entity types can also have relationships that enable linking one or more entities of an entity type to other entities of another entity type. This linking can be done using foreign keys by having one or more fields in one table pointing to a primary key of a second table. This enables traversing from a set of entities in one table to related entities in another table.
Business software applications can support publish-subscribe mechanisms through which subscriber entities are informed of an occurrence of an event by publishing entities at which the event occurs. Typically, events are associated with a particular object in that the events are triggered or raised by that object. The object triggers a certain event when a predefined condition occurs. Upon triggering the certain event, the publishing object notifies an event subscriber of the event. Event subscribers can include other objects, process engines, or other entities.


A device for generating one or more images of a source distribution of a gamma radiation field in the near and far field can include a detector system that includes several synchronized detectors for detecting radiation, system electronics that registers coincidence events, a data acquisition system that stores the measurement data of the coincidence events, and an analysis unit that performs an image reconstruction, which reconstructs one or more images of the source distribution of the radiation field.

In the field of radiation detection, frequently, the determination of the spatial distribution of an activity concentration in a source volume is of interest. According to the application area, the requirements of the measurement systems and methods are very different. However, the physical principles, which are used by the measurement systems may be identical.
A frequently used direction-dependent detection principle is Compton scattering of gamma radiation at an electron in the detector material. Corresponding devices and systems for this are referred to as Compton cameras or Compton telescopes.
Compton cameras and Compton telescopes are composed of arrangements of several radiation detectors. Coincidences of respectively two detectors are recorded, if both detectors simultaneously have an energy input. The coincidence method exploits the concurrence of two ionization processes, which emanate from the recoil electron and—spatially shifted thereto—from the scattered radiation, which is able to ionize a second detector.
Compton telescopes have been widespread use in gamma astronomy for the past 50 years. The first use of a Compton telescope goes back to Schönfelder [Nuclear Instruments & Methods 107 (1973) 385]. The success of this technology is demonstrated by the many balloon experiments and satellites, which have explored and still are exploring cosmic gamma radiation sources by means of Compton telescopes.
In 1974, Todd, Nightingale and Everett have proposed to employ Compton cameras in nuclear medicine [Nature 251 (1974) 5471]. In medical applications, a particular challenge is that the patient is present within a finite distance in front of or even in the Compton camera, which causes a parallax error and poses increased requirements to the image reconstruction.
In the clinical field, Compton cameras compete with SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) and PET (Positron Emission Tomography), which are the two most commonly used imaging techniques in nuclear medicine.
The advantages and disadvantages of SPECT and PET have been described in expert literature comprehensively, and will not be further discussed here. However, it is commonly acknowledged that a substantial limitation of SPECT is the very low detection efficiency due to the collimators. Moreover, there is a limitation in the energy range of SPECT scanners. Commonly, SPECT is used in conjunction with the radionuclide Tc-99m, the gamma energy of which is 141 keV. For high-energy nuclides, SPECT is not suitable. From a medical point of view, however, the energy range up to 640 keV is interesting. For the energy range above 200 keV, at present, there is no suitable emission tomograph for single photon gamma radiation available.
A third application area for Compton cameras is ABC and radiation protection. Here, the aim is to detect hidden or forbidden radioactive sources. Radiation sources are to be detected, in case, for example, larger infrastructural facilities, major events, movements of persons and goods at airports, borders, and train stations are monitored with respect to radiation sources. Safety specialists for ABC protection need devices, in order to localize hazardous radiological and nuclear substances.
At this point, a short overview of the designs for Compton cameras according to prior art is given. Known designs for Compton cameras either use a detector arrangement in two planes or in one plane.
With respect to the classical two-plane Compton design, the first plane consists of detectors of a material having a low atomic number Z, and the second one of detectors of a material having a high atomic number. The detectors of the first plane having a low Z have a high probability for Compton scattering for gamma energies from 100 keV to 3 MeV. Subsequently, the scattered gamma radiation falls onto the second plane, the detectors of which with a high Z have a high probability of absorbing radiation in this energy range. Both planes are spaced apart from each other at a distance of approximately 30 cm to 1 m.
A characteristic feature of the 2-plane Compton camera is that the detector electronics only processes and records such coincidence events, in which a detector having a low atomic number and a detector having a high atomic number are involved. Coincidences between two detectors having a low atomic number or between two detectors having a high atomic number are irrelevant for the classical 2-plane Compton camera.
US 2012/0114100 describes a measurement system having two radiation detectors and one coincidence circuit, which is suitable for measuring the direction of a radiation source. The two detectors may be substantially identical in design, or may also be different. In US 2012/0043467, a Compton camera is described, which uses a coplanar arrangement of radiation detectors for direction measurement. This Compton camera which is referred to as Single Plane is characterized by its simple and compact design.
The devices described in US 2012/0114100 and US 2012/0043467 are not dependent on detectors with a low atomic number. A subdivision of the detectors into scattering detector and absorption detector is not necessary for these devices. The Single Plane Compton camera in US 2012/0043467 allots a dual role to the detectors. Each detector in a Single Plane Compton camera is able to scatter the radiation as well as to absorb it. For this, the detector materials of medium to high Z are suitable, which have similar probabilities for Compton scattering and for photoelectric absorption in the energy range from 100 keV to 3 MeV.

Imaging detector system for gamma radiation using unidirectional and bidirectional Compton scattering processes


An image processing apparatus includes a characteristic region detecting section that detects a characteristic region in an image, an image dividing section that divides the image into the characteristic region and a background region other than the characteristic region, and a compressing section that compresses a characteristic region image which is an image of the characteristic region and a background region image which is an image of the background region at different strengths from each other. The characteristic region detecting section detects the characteristic region in a plurality of moving-image-component images included in a moving image, the image dividing section divides each of the plurality of moving-image-component images into the characteristic region and the background region, and the compressing section compresses a characteristic region moving image including a plurality of characteristic region images and a background region moving image including a plurality of background region images at different strengths from each other.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, an image processing system and a computer readable medium. More particularly, the present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing system, and an image processing method for processing images, and a computer readable medium for the image processing apparatus and image processing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known moving image coding apparatus compares a coded screen image and a to-be-coded screen image in order to identify a changed region within the screen, divides the to-be-coded screen image into a plurality of image blocks, and codes image blocks including the changed region, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2828977. When coding the image blocks including the changed region, this moving image coding apparatus assigns a larger number of information bits to image blocks containing a further limited region of the changed region than to image blocks containing the remaining region of the changed region. A known image coding apparatus filters an image signal selectively in at least one of the spatial and temporal axes and codes the resulting image signal, where the image signal is part of an input image signal and corresponds to a region other than a specified region, as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3046379.
The technique disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2828977, however, requires a special logic to be incorporated into a coder, where the special logic assigns more information bits to particular image blocks such as eyes and a mouth. The technique disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3046379 may reduce the data amount of a moving image to a certain degree by reducing high frequency components as a result of the filtering, but the filtering alone may not be able to achieve sufficient reduction in the data amount of the moving image.

Image processing apparatus, image processing method, image processing system and computer readable medium


A body lightening system for at least partially supporting the weight of a user, the system including a structure having a frame and a motion system, the motion system driving the structure to follow the movements of the user, a holding system, the holding system including a holding mechanism, a hanger and a plurality of hanging cables, the plurality of hanging cables connecting the hanger to a harness to be worn by the user, a power system including a power source for powering the body lightening system, and a human machine interface, the human machine interface providing control over the motion of the motion system and the percentage of the user's weight supported by the holding system.

It is well known to provide some partial weight bearing gait training to patients that have either completely lost or suffer from a reduced ability to walk. The idea consists of training a patient to walk while his or her weight is partially supported—whether by another person or by some mechanical device—and the amount of weight relief is gradually reduced as the patient improves his or her walking skills. A patient suffering the effects of illness or injury that curtail his or her ability to walk and support his or her full body weight can therefore improve their gait with the aid of such method. The ultimate goal is for the person to become physically capable of supporting his or her own weight while walking autonomously.
Mechanical gait training systems already exist and are available on the market, but most do not offer linear weight support. Instead, they control the patient's weight according to the extension of a holding cable. Consequently, the weight support varies as the patient moves or walks and the force exerted for the purposes of body lightening is neither constantly determined nor controlled.
Gait training systems currently available on the market use a variety of methods to support a portion of a patient's body weight. Most such structures employ a harness worn by the patient that is connected to overhead cables and/or elastic ropes that apply an upward physical force to partially support the patient's body weight. In some systems, the cables or elastic ropes are attached to an adjustable frame to increase the force as the frame moves upward through the use of a power-assisted hydraulically operated mast. In others, cables run over a series of pulleys which are attached to weights that counterbalance the patient's weight. Some systems are connected to a mechanism attached to a ceiling rail to mobilize the patient within a defined space. Springs are sometimes added to some mechanisms in order to allow small amounts of movement.
The prior art demonstrates small, transportable and rollable devices that support only up to a certain percentage of the patient's weight and that is not motorized. The prior art also demonstrates, in gait training apparatuses, the use of a movement detector to detect the movement of the user and a control unit adapted to run the drive unit in response to the user's movements such that the movable base follows the user according to a predetermined distance range and a predetermined angular range with respect to the user's direction of movement.
One of the shortcomings of such systems is that weight load variation occurs as the patient moves. As a result, the force deployed during training sessions is not linear, depending on the tension applied to the cables and/or ropes. Therefore, there is a need for a system that makes it possible to overcome these limitations and particularly to offer a large variation in controlling the weight supported by the structure. There is also a need for such a system to be motorized and transportable.

Body lightening system for gait training


A method is provided for determining a thickness L of a chiral slab that refracts incident linearly polarized light into right (+) and left (−) circularly polarized beams. The method includes disposing the slab in an achiral medium, determining values of translation coefficients γ±, determining values for refraction angle differences (θ+−θ−), selecting pre- and post selection states |ψi and |ψj, projecting an emitted light beam through said achiral medium into the chiral slab a small established angle of incidence θ0, varying slab egress phase angles β±, determining said pointer mean value x, calculating weak value Aw, and calculating the thickness as

The invention relates generally to thickness measurement of a thin transparent chiral slab. In particular, this invention relates to physical characterization of a planar chiral medium using weak value amplification of photons passing therethrough.
A chiral medium exhibits an asymmetry in optical response, either for reflection or refraction. Such media can be used in a variety of applications, including biasing waveguides. Such capabilities can facilitate designs for radar energy absorption and electromagnetic shielding. However, conventional techniques for measuring thicknesses of a thin transparent chiral slab entail difficulties under circumstances of limited accessibility.

Chiral slab thickness measurement using weak value amplification

Abstract: L  =                    〈        x        〉                    Re                                                            A          w                      .  The achiral medium has an established index of refraction n0. The translation coefficients γ± establish refraction translation differences (γ+−γ−). The pre-selection state |ψi establishes pre-selection alignment angle to satisfy Φ=π/4. The post-selection state |ψj establishes post-selection alignment angle to satisfy χ=Φ−ε and 0<ε<<1. The slab egress phase angles β± are adjusted until pointer mean value x attains one of a maximum for (γ+−γ−)>0 or else a minimum for (γ+−γ−)<0. In various exemplary embodiments, the weak value is approximated as

Abstract: A    w    ≈                    γ        +            -              γ        -            +              2                                                  ɛ                                                            γ          -                            2                                      sin                                      ɛ        ≈                              γ          +                -                  γ          -                            2                                                  ε              .

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


An implantable medical lead includes a lead body, a first electrode, a second electrode, a third electrode, and a fourth electrode. The electrodes are located at fixed positions along the length of the lead body, and the second and third electrodes are positioned between the first and fourth electrodes. The first electrode has a proximal end, the fourth electrode has a distal end, and the distance from the proximal end of the first electrode to the distal end of the fourth electrode is between 5 centimeters and 7 centimeters. The combined length of the second and third electrodes is between 2.5 and 5 times greater than the combined length of the first and fourth electrodes. The lead may be used for applying electrical signals to an occipital nerve of a patient.

Headaches, such as migraines, cluster headaches, and occipital neuralgia are often incapacitating and may lead to significant consumption of drugs to treat the symptoms. However, a rather large number of people are unresponsive to drug treatment, leaving them to wait out the episode or to resort to coping mechanisms. For refractive occipital neuralgia, nerve ablation or separation may effectively treat the pain.
Occipital nerve stimulation (ONS) may serve as an alternative for treatment of headache. ONS employs an electrical signal generator and a lead operably coupled to the signal generator and configured to deliver the signal to an occipital nerve. A distal portion of the lead is typically implanted in proximity to the occipital nerve such that one or more electrodes of the leads are in electrical communication with the occipital nerve. The proximal portions of the leads may then be connected to the signal generator such that electrical signals can be delivered from the signal generator to the electrodes to apply therapeutic signals to the occipital nerves.
The ability to properly locate the lead and select the proper electrodes of the lead for use in delivering the therapy can present problems or can be challenging. Given the anatomy of the occipital nerve and the configuration of most commercially available electrodes, in which all electrodes are of similar size and are spaced apart at regular intervals, it can be difficult to ensure that an electrical field generated using an electrode of the lead captures the intended nerve without a good deal of time and skill.


A waveform generator and a signal analyzer are respectively provided in electrical communication with an input transducer and an output transducer capable of conversion between electrical and acoustic signals, and in mechanical communication with a part. A processor coupled with the waveform generator and signal analyzer receives a set of parameters defining a frequency scan from which it determines a number of frequency sweeps to be performed by the waveform generator. Each of the frequency sweeps has a number of frequencies less than a maximum capacity of the waveform generator, and for each frequency sweep, the processor instructs the waveform generator to excite the input transducer and synchronously receiving a response signal with the signal analyzer at multiple frequencies.

This application relates generally to nondestructive testing of parts. More specifically, this application relates to acoustic systems and methods for nondestructive testing of parts.
There are numerous applications in which it is desirable to identify defects in parts that may have developed through extended use of the part, as a result of damage to the part, as a consequence of natural aging of the part, or as part of a quality-control program during manufacturing processes. Defects frequently take the form of voids or cracks within a part, which may be caused as a result of wear, corrosion, or other processes incidental to use or manufacturing processes. It is preferable that such defects be identified before they are of such magnitude that they will interfere with proper operation of the part or that there is a high risk of breakage or failure of the part.
A variety of techniques have been developed in which parts may be tested "nondestructively," meaning that the testing methodology enables defects to be identified without causing damage to the part. Examples of such nondestructive-testing methodologies include acoustic techniques, magnetic-particle techniques, liquid-penetrant techniques, radiographic techniques, eddy-current testing, and low-coherence interferometry, among others. There are various known advantages and disadvantages to each of these categories of testing methodologies, which are accordingly used in different environments.
Nondestructive-testing methods that use acoustic radiation generally operate in the ultrasonic range of the acoustic spectrum, and are valuable for a number of reasons. Such techniques are sensitive, for example, to both surface and subsurface discontinuities, enabling identification of defects both within the bulk and near the surface of a part. The depth of penetration for defect detection is generally superior to many other nondestructive-testing methodologies, and the techniques are highly accurate not only in determining the position of a defect, but also in estimating its size and shape.
This application is accordingly related to systems and methods for nondestructive testing of parts using acoustic techniques, both in the ultrasonic portion of the acoustic spectrum and in other portions of the spectrum.

Acoustic systems and methods for nondestructive testing of a part through frequency sweeps


Memory devices including a controller for access of an array of memory cells that is configured to accept a sequence of commands to cause the memory device to read a first set of data from the array of memory cells into a first register, load the first set of data into a first portion of a second register, write a set of test data to a second portion of the second register during a reading of a second set of data from the array of memory cells to the first register, read the set of test data from the second portion of the second register during the reading of the second set of data, and output the set of test data from the memory device during the reading of the second set of data.

Memory devices (which are sometimes referred to herein as "memories") are typically provided as internal, semiconductor, integrated circuits in computers or other electronic systems. There are many different types of memory including random-access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), and flash memory.
Flash memory devices have developed into a popular source of non-volatile memory for a wide range of electronic applications. Flash memory devices typically use a one-transistor memory cell that allows for high memory densities, high reliability, and low power consumption. Changes in threshold voltage of the cells, through programming of a charge storage structure, such as floating gates or trapping layers or other physical phenomena, determine the data state of each cell. Common electronic systems that utilize flash memory devices include, but are not limited to, personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital cameras, digital media players, digital recorders, games, appliances, vehicles, wireless devices, cellular telephones, and removable memory modules, and the uses for flash memory continue to expand.
Flash memory typically utilizes one of two basic architectures known as NOR flash and NAND flash. The designation is derived from the logic used to read the devices. In NOR flash architecture, a string of memory cells is coupled in parallel with each memory cell coupled to a data line, such as those typically referred to as digit (e.g., bit) lines. In NAND flash architecture, a string of memory cells is coupled in series with only the first memory cell of the string coupled to a bit line.
As the performance and complexity of electronic systems increase, the requirement for additional memory in a system also increases. However, in order to continue to reduce the costs of the system, the parts count must be kept to a minimum. This can be accomplished by increasing the memory density of an integrated circuit by using such technologies as multilevel cells (MLC). For example, MLC NAND flash memory is a very cost effective non-volatile memory.
Data integrity, in the form of bit errors, can be affected by more than one part of a memory device. For example, bit error rates may arise from data path bit errors and from array bit errors. Array path errors typically are caused by failure of data cells to properly program, or by cells that have threshold voltage shifts from their desired threshold voltages.
A data path in a memory device, such as a NAND memory device, comprises a physical path between an array of memory cells, registers such as a page register and a cache register, and input/output (I/O) pads, with conductive traces connecting the components. I/O pads are typically bonded out external to the memory device, and can be physically separated from the array and registers by a large portion of a die. Data path errors can occur due to, for example, signal integrity issues, power delivery issues, ground bounce, noise, and the like. Such data path errors can further corrupt or increase a rate or severity of array path errors (array errors are cell failure or Vt shift). Data path errors can be sporadic, but largely unpredictable. Data path bit errors may be referred to as hard errors.
A controller for a memory device typically has available an amount of error correction allowing the controller to fix some level of raw bit error rates (RBER). With schemes for error correction, such as low density parity check (LDPC) and other types of error correction, hard errors are more difficult to correct, and use much more of any available amount of error correction. When a memory device error occurs, a user cannot normally distinguish which type of error, data path bit error or array bit error, caused the error.
For the reasons stated above and for other reasons that will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for distinguishing between data path bit errors and array bit errors in memories.

Memory devices configured to test data path integrity


A method of real-time markerless measurement and calibration of a patient positioning system includes computing a three dimensional point cloud representation of a patient by using a camera to obtain depth points of the patient, where the z-direction corresponds to a direction along the focal length of the camera, demanding a z-limit that corresponds to a lower (z-min) and an upper (z-max) specification, computing a point cloud covariance and a point cloud mean for an optimized principle components analysis to compute a torso topography of the patient, determining a center point of the point cloud as an anchor measurement region and using the camera to determine a distance to the patient to establish an angle between a patient torso and a vector that is perpendicular to the camera, averaging the depth measurements in reference regions and compensating for parallax error in real-time during a calibration measurement or radiotherapy treatment plan.

With radiotherapy, there is a need to position the patient in the same position, when obtaining diagnostic images and each of the subsequent times when radiation is applied to the patient's body. Present systems for positioning patients include various forms of systems for placing markers on the patient to enable the patient to be realigned for different applications of therapy. These systems are problematic in terms of aspects such as repeatability.
What is needed is a markerless calibration and measurement system that does not rely on marker placement on the patient to automatically determine breathing measurement regions.

Realtime radiotherapy markerless calibration and measurement system


An antiperspirant or deodorant composition has a marbled appearance.

This invention relates to methods of manufacturing personal care products.
Antiperspirant and deodorant compositions are well known personal care products. The compositions come in a variety of forms and may be formulated, for example, into aerosols, pumps, sprays, liquids, roll-on, lotion, creams, and sticks (both hard and soft), etc.
There are various types of stick antiperspirant compositions. In one type, an antiperspirant salt is suspended in an anhydrous vehicle often including a solid water-insoluble wax. In a second type, an antiperspirant salt is dissolved in a liquid vehicle such as propylene glycol and gelled with a gelling agent such as dibenzylidene sorbitol. A third type includes an emulsion of an aqueous phase containing the antiperspirant salt and an oil phase containing, for example, a volatile silicone, fragrances, gellants, and other additives.
Generally, the invention relates to an antiperspirant or deodorant composition having a marbled appearance. xe2x80x9cMarbled appearancexe2x80x9d, as used herein, refers to a product having an application surface that is irregularly colored with mottling or streaking. The marbled appearance is preferably two colors, one being white and the other non-white, although colors other than white and patterns having more than two colors are possible.
In one aspect, the invention features a composition having a marbled appearance that includes two portions. The first portion has a first color and includes an antiperspirant salt or deodorant active. The second portion has a second color and also includes an antiperspirant salt or deodorant active.
In another aspect, the invention features a composition having a marbled appearance that again includes two portions. The first portion has a first color and includes an antiperspirant salt or deodorant active. The second portion has a second color. One or both portions has a melt viscosity of at least 1200 cp at 65xc2x0 C., preferably between 1500 cp and 5000 cp at 65xc2x0, and more preferably between 2000 cp and 4000 cp at 65xc2x0. Melt viscosity is measured 3xc2x0 C. above the melting point of the formulation at a shear rate of 1 secxe2x88x921 using a TA Instruments AR-1000 rheometer. The relatively high viscosity of one or both portions can provide reduced mixing of the two portions during manufacture. This controlled rate and degree of mixing achieves the marbled appearance.
In one embodiment, the first portion comprises a volatile silicone, a high melting wax, and from 6 USP weight percent to 25 USP weight percent antiperspirant salt, and the second portion includes a volatile silicone, a high melting wax, and from 6 USP weight percent to 25% weight percent antiperspirant salt.
In another aspect the invention features a method of manufacturing an antiperspirant or deodorant product including a composition with the marbled appearance. The method includes (1) combining a first composition portion having a first color and including an antiperspirant salt with a second color and also including an antiperspirant salt or deodorant active, and (2) filling a container with the first composition portion and the second composition portion. Preferably the first and second composition portions are combined before filling the container, although alternatively combining and filling can be done as one step.
In another aspect, the invention features a method of manufacturing an antiperspirant or deodorant product including a composition having a marbled appearance. The method includes (1) combining a first composition portion having a first color and including an antiperspirant salt with a second composition portion having a second color, and (2) filling a container with the first composition portion and the second composition portion. The first composition portion and/or the second composition portion has a melt viscosity of at least 1200 cp at 65xc2x0 C. Preferably the first and second composition portions are combined before filling the container, although alternatively the combining and filling can be done as one step.
In a further aspect, the invention again features a method of manufacturing an antiperspirant or deodorant product including a composition having a marbled appearance. The method includes (1) combining a first composition portion having a first color and including an antiperspirant salt with a second composition portion having a second color under predominantly laminar flow conditions and (2) filling a container with the combined first composition portion and second composition portion. xe2x80x9cPredominantly laminarxe2x80x9d as used herein, means filling conditions with Reynolds Number for flow that is in the transition region between laminar and turbulent flow or lower for a particular formulation. The transition from laminar to turbulent flow generally occurs at a Reynolds Number between 2000 and 4000. Thus, xe2x80x9cpredominantly laminarxe2x80x9d conditions occur at a Reynolds Number below about 4000, and preferably, below a Reynolds Number of about 2000. Predominantly laminar conditions result in minimal fluid turbulence, thereby reducing mixing of the two fluid portions. The result is that the fluid portions, only partially mixed, can be cooled below their melt points, resulting in the marbled appearance.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description of an embodiment thereof, the drawings, and from the claims.


The self-cleaning air filter uses reverse pulse self-cleaning for small scale, small volume air filtration applications, such as vehicles and motorized equipment. The self-cleaning air filter includes a filter casing, a filter element housed within a filter casing, an electronically controlled pulse valve that releases the compressed air pulse, and a pulse pressure relief vent. During the cleaning cycle, the pulse pressure vent opens to vent the compressed air pulse to the atmosphere thereby maintaining the positive pressure differential between the inside and outside of the filter element, which sustains the cleaning action for the duration of the compressed air pulse.

Operating in dusty environments has long been a problem for equipment and vehicles. The respiration of dusty and contaminated air greatly hinders performance and can damage the vehicle or equipment's engines. Even though vehicles and equipment have filter elements that filter the inlet air flow, in extremely dusty environments, these filter elements quickly become caked with dust and debris, which retards and stops the air flow through the filter element to the engine. Consequently, these filter elements must be frequently cleaned to remove the "dusty cake" formed on the outside of filter elements or the entire filter element must be replaced to ensure the proper operation of the equipment and vehicles. In extremely dusty environments, the demand of constantly cleaning and/or replacing filter elements comes at a significant cost of time and money.
A technique commonly referred to as "pulse jet" or "reverse pulse" self-cleaning has been used in industrial and large scale air filtration systems. Reverse pulse self-cleaning involves periodically releasing a quick burst ("pulse") of compressed air into the filter element, which expands through the filter element in the opposite direction of the normal airflow through the filter element. The rapidly expanding compressed air pulse passing out of the filter element dislodges the dust cake collected on the outside of the filter element. While effective for industrial and large scale air filtration systems, reverse pulse self-cleaning, heretofore, has been inoperable for small air filtration systems, such as those for vehicles and other types of motorized equipment. Reverse pulse self-cleaning works in industrial and large scale air filtration systems because of the sheer volume of the filter housing and the volume of the filter housings in relation to the volume of the filter elements.
In industrial and large scale applications, multiple arrays of filter elements are disposed within large volume filter housings. These filter housings are spacious enough that the compressed air pulse can propagate through the filter elements to effectively clean them before energy of the pulse dissipates within the filter housing and the pressure differential equalizes returning the system to its normal filtering operation.
In small scale applications, such as for vehicles and motorized equipment, where space is limited, the filter housings lack the volume in relation to the volume of the filter elements to make reverse pulse self-cleaning operable or effective. In such applications, a single filter element is typically disposed within the limited confines of the filter housing. The filter housings provide little volume around the filter element within which a compressed air pulse can expand and dissipate. Consequently, an expanding compressed air pulse almost instantly equalizes the pressure differential between the inside and outside of the filter element within the filter housing, which prematurely terminates the expansion of the pulse through the filter element. As a result, the effectiveness of the pulse jet self-cleaning action is lost or greatly reduced.


Systems for generating a proton beam include an electromagnetic radiation beam (e.g., a laser) that is directed onto an ion-generating target by optics to form the proton beam. At least one processor is configured to control the source of the electromagnetic radiation and the optics to alter the energy, polarization, spatial profile, and/or the temporal profile of the electromagnetic radiation beam, and to adjust the flux and/or energy of the proton beam. In some instances the system may adjust the proton beam energy while holding the proton beam flux substantially constant, or alternatively adjust the proton beam flux while holding the proton beam energy substantially constant. In other instances the system may adjust the proton beam energy while varying the proton beam flux, and/or adjust the proton beam flux while varying the proton beam energy.

Aspects of this disclosure include many systems, subsystems, components and subcomponents. Background details already known are not repeated herein. Such background information may include information contained in the following materials:                U.S. Pat. No. 8,229,075 to Cowan et al., titled "Targets and Processes for Fabricating Same," issued Jul. 24, 2012;        U.S. Pat. No. 8,389,954 to Zigler et al., titled "System for Fast Ions Generation and a Method Thereof," issued Mar. 5, 2013;        U.S. Pat. No. 8,530,852 to Le Galloudec, titled "Micro-Cone Targets for Producing High Energy and Low Divergence Particle Beams," issued Sep. 10, 2013;        U.S. Pat. No. 8,750,459 to Cowan et al., titled "Targets and Processes for Fabricating Same," issued Jun. 10, 2014;        U.S. Pat. No. 9,236,215 to Zigler et al., titled "System for Fast Ions Generation and a Method Thereof," issued Jan. 12, 2016;        U.S. Pat. No. 9,345,119 to Adams et al., titled "Targets and Processes for Fabricating Same," issued May 17, 2016; and        U.S. Pat. No. 9,530,605 to Nahum et al., titled "Laser Activated Magnetic Field Manipulation of Laser Driven Ion Beams," issued Dec. 27, 2016.
Particle radio-therapy conducted with ions may be used to treat disease. In one form of particle therapy, called proton therapy, a tumor is treated by irradiating it with protons (e.g., hydrogen ions). Proton therapy has advantages over conventional photon-based therapies (e.g., x-ray and gamma ray therapies) in part due to the way protons and photons interact with a patient's tissue.
FIG. 1 shows the radiation dose as a function of tissue depth for both photon and proton therapies. Before a particle can irradiate the treatment volume 106 defined by the patient's treatment plan, it typically must traverse the patient's skin and other healthy tissue before reaching the treatment volume 106 of the patient. In doing so, the particles can damage healthy tissue, an undesirable side-effect of the treatment. As shown in curve 102 of FIG. 1, photons (e.g., x-rays) deliver most of their energy to the regions near the patient's skin. For tumors deeper in the patient's body, this interaction may damage healthy tissue. Additionally, some photons traverse the patient's body beyond the treatment volume 106, irradiating yet more healthy tissue behind the tumor before ultimately exiting the other side of the patient's body. Although the radiation doses to these other healthy tissues is lower than the dose delivered near the patient's skin, it is still undesirable.
Unlike photons, protons, exhibit a very desirable interaction with the patient's tissue. As shown by curve 104 in FIG. 1, the peak interaction of protons with the patient's tissue occurs deeper within the patient and may cease abruptly after the peak interaction. Additionally, protons interact with surface tissues much less than photons, meaning that the majority of the proton beam's energy can be delivered to the treatment volume 106, and the irradiation of healthy tissue can be reduced. Taking advantage of these benefits, proton therapy thus allows more precise administration of energy to unhealthy tissue in patients while avoiding damage to healthy tissue. For example, proton therapy may reduce damage to surrounding healthy tissue by 2 to 6 times when compared to x-ray therapy, thereby improving patient survival and quality of life. Protons may reduce the lifetime risk of secondary cancer in children by 97%, compared to x-rays.
Commercial proton therapy centers are currently rare due to disadvantages in existing proton therapy systems, which generate proton beams by using large and costly particle accelerators. Accelerator-based systems can be massive and are not scalable. As an example, FIG. 2 shows an approximate size comparison of an accelerator-based proton therapy system against a football field. The energy requirements and maintenance costs inherent in operating an accelerator-based system are also immense. Taken together, these disadvantages lead to exorbitant construction and maintenance costs associated with proton therapy. In addition to the extravagant costs associated with accelerator-based proton beam generation, adjusting certain properties of the proton beam (e.g., the beam energy and beam flux) can be cumbersome and time-consuming in such systems. This leads to longer treatment times and low patient throughput, further increasing the cost of individual treatments as fewer patients share the cost burden. Accordingly, few proton therapy centers currently exist, and patients often receive inferior treatments due, in part, to unavailability of proton therapy.
The present disclosure is directed to alternative approaches to proton therapy. Although the embodiments disclosed herein contemplate the medical application of proton beam therapy, a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the novel proton beam generating methods and systems described below can be used in any application where a proton beam is desired.

Systems and methods for providing an ion beam


A radiographic image capture system includes: a radiographic image capture section, an output section and a generation section. The radiographic image capture section has plural radiographic imaging devices are placed adjacent to each other in a predetermined direction. Each of the radiographic imaging devices independently performs an imaging action, a preparatory action that is performed before the imaging action, and a transition action in which the radiographic imaging device transitions, in response to a transition command, from a first state in which the radiographic imaging device performs the preparatory action to a second state in which the radiographic imaging device performs the imaging action. The output section outputs the transition command to the plurality of radiographic imaging devices when imaging condition data has been input. The generation section combines image data acquired by the radiographic imaging devices and generates elongated image data representing an elongated radiographic image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radiographic image capture system and method that perform capture of radiographic images represented by radiation that has been emitted from a radiation source and has passed through a subject.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, radiation detectors such as a flat panel detector (FPD), in which a radiation-sensitive layer is placed on a thin-film transistor (TFT) active matrix substrate and which can convert radiation directly into digital data, have been put into practical use. Portable radiographic imaging devices (hereinafter also called "electronic cassettes") that use these radiation detectors to detect applied radiation and capture radiographic images expressed by the radiation have also been put into practical use. Methods of converting the radiation in the radiation detectors used in the electronic cassettes include an indirect conversion method, in which a scintillator is used to convert the radiation into light and thereafter a semiconductor layer of a photodiode or the like is used to convert the light into electric charges, and a direct conversion method, in which a semiconductor layer of amorphous selenium or the like is used to convert the radiation into electric charges. There exist various types of materials that can be used for the semiconductor layer in each of these methods.
In this way, radiographic image capture systems are becoming increasingly digitized and are undergoing a transition from film and imaging plates to systems using radiation detectors.
Incidentally, in performing full-length lower-extremity imaging and whole-spine imaging for the purpose of bone measurements and so forth to capture images for medical use, the imaging site of the subject covers a wide range, so it is necessary to perform long-length (elongated) imaging in order to grasp the whole. In order to perform such long-length imaging, there is known a radiographic image information recording and reading device in which plural photostimulable phosphor sheets are arranged such that they partially overlap each other and which performs capture of elongated radiographic images (e.g., see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-287249).
Further, in image capture systems using a radiation detector, there is known a radiographic imaging apparatus equipped with a parallel moving mechanism, which enables at least either one of an electronic cassette or a subject to move substantially parallel with respect to the body axis direction of the subject, and a linked moving mechanism, which causes a radiation source to move to a position opposing a radiographic image detector so as to link the radiation source to the movement of the radiographic image detector, wherein the radiation source is configured to apply radiation with respect to the radiographic image detector in plural positions in which its position relative to the subject is different (e.g., see JP-A No. 2005-270277).
However, in the technology disclosed in JP-A No. 2005-270277, image capture is performed multiple times in different positions, so a mechanism for moving the electronic cassette becomes necessary, the apparatus becomes larger in scale, and the cost of the apparatus will be high. By interconnecting plural electronic cassettes, long-length imaging can be performed in the same way as with the technology of JP-A No. 3-287249. However, in the case of using a structure that electrically interconnects and synchronizes the radiation generator and each of the electronic cassettes and a structure that synchronizes each of the electronic cassettes with each other, it is necessary to perform capture of a radiographic image by each of the electronic cassettes in synchronization with the timing when the radiation is emitted from the radiation source. For this reason, it is necessary to electrically interconnect the radiation source and the electronic cassettes and also to electrically interconnect each of the plural electronic cassettes to each other, and the configuration for interconnecting the radiation source and the electronic cassettes, the configuration for interconnecting the plural electronic cassettes to each other, and timing control become complicated.

Radiographic image capture system and method


A process for deforming keratin fibers involving: (a) mechanically deforming the keratin to form mechanically deformed keratin fibers; and (b) contacting the keratin fibers, prior to and/or after the keratin fibers are mechanically deformed, with an aqueous composition containing: (i) from about 0.1 to 20% by weight of an alkoxylated carboxylic acid ester; and (ii) from about 0.1 to about 20% by weight of a fatty acid partial glyceride, all weights being based on the weight of the composition.

This invention relates to a process for the permanent deformation of keratin fibers using alkoxylated carboxylic acid esters and partial glycerides and to their use for the production of wave lotions.
The permanent deformation of keratin fibers is normally carried out by mechanically deforming the fibers and fixing the deformation by suitable auxiliaries. Before and/or after their deformation, the fibers are treated with an aqueous preparation of a keratin-reducing substance and, after a contact time, are rinsed with water or with an aqueous solution. In a second step, the fibers are treated with an aqueous preparation of an oxidizing agent. After a certain contact time, the oxidizing agent is also rinsed out and the mechanical deforming aids (curlers, rollers) are removed from the fibers.
The aqueous preparation of the keratin reducing agent is normally alkalized so that the fiber swells and the keratin-reducing substance is thus able to penetrate deeply into the fiber. The keratin-reducing substance splits some of the disulfide bonds of the keratin to -SH groups, so that the peptide linkage is loosened and, through the stretching of the fibers by their mechanical deformation, the keratin structure is re-oriented. Under the influence of the oxidizing agent, disulfide bonds are re-established and, in this way, the deformation which the keratin structure has undergone is fixed.
A known process of the type in question is the permanent waving of human hair. This process may be applied both to produce curls and waves in straight hair and to straighten curly hair.
Although this process known as permanent waving is widely practised today, it still uses preparations which cannot be regarded as optimal in many respects. In particular, it is desirable to reduce the damagexe2x80x94which can go as far as breakagexe2x80x94to mistreated hair, particularly oxidatively pretreated hair, without affecting the required shaping performance and to protect the hair against excessive drying out and moisture loss. The same applies to the frequent problems affecting the scalp through dermatological incompatibility. Another problem is that the preparations thicken easily, particularly when stored at elevated temperature, and cannot then be conveniently used any more.
Accordingly, the problem addressed by the present invention was to provide a process for the permanent deformation of keratin fibers, particularly human hair, which would be free from the disadvantages mentioned above.

Method for the durable shaping of keratin fibers