A first aspect of the invention provides meningococcal outer membrane vesicles in which NHBA is over-expressed. A second aspect of the invention provides meningococcal outer membrane vesicles in which NadA is over-expressed. A third aspect of the invention provides a panel of bacterial strains, each member of which is isogenic except for a single gene which in each strain encodes a different variant of an antigen of interest.

Various vaccines against serogroup B of Neisseria meningitidis ("MenB") are currently being investigated. Some of these are based on outer membrane vesicles (OMVs), such as the Novartis MENZB™ product, the Finlay Institute VA-MENGOC-BCT™ product, and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health MENBVAC™ product. Reference 1 discloses the construction of vesicles from strains modified to express six different PorA subtypes. References 2-4 report pre-clinical studies of an OMV vaccine in which fHbp (also known as GN1870) is over-expressed (and this over-expression can be combined with knockout of LpxL1 [5]). Reference 6 recently reported a clinical study of five formulations of an OMV vaccine in which PorA & FrpB are knocked-out and Hsf & TbpA are over-expressed. Reference 7 reports a native outer membrane vesicle vaccine prepared from bacteria having inactivated synX, lpxL1, and lgtA genes.
It is an object of the invention to provide further and improved meningococcal OMVs, and also to provide further and improved meningococci for use in vaccine production.

Developments in meningococcal outer membrane vesicles


An optical transmitter-receiver assembly includes an optical transmitter-receiver device coupled via first optical fiber to optical splitter, plurality of second optical fibers each having a first end and a second end. The first ends is coupled to the optical splitter, the second ends are respectively coupled to plurality of optical connectors. The optical transmitter-receiver device includes main body and rubber sleeve. Space in the main body is divided into top portion and bottom portion by partition. Receiver is disposed in the top portion and coupled via fiber array to the first optical fiber. The receiver coupled via amplifier to flexible circuit board. Plurality of coaxial lasers is disposed in the bottom portion. Each of the plurality of coaxial lasers has an emitting end coupled to the first fiber, and the plurality of coaxial lasers coupled via inflexible circuit board to flexible circuit board.

With the popularity of optical communication apparatus, the demand of the cost reduction and the functionality improvement to the optical communication apparatus has been increasing. The optical component is one of the essential components in the optical communication apparatus, especially in the optical transmitter-receiver module for digital communication. In a conventional optical transmitter-receiver module, the optical component accounts for more than 80% of total cost. Under the condition of same optical output power, the higher the coupling efficiency is, the less the drive current is needed, and thereby leading to less power consumption. Thus, the coupling efficiency of the optical transmitter-receiver module is important when it is operated at high temperature. Furthermore, under the condition of same drive current and same optical output power, the higher the coupling efficiency is, the lower the luminous efficacy of a laser diode is needed, and thereby reducing the cost of the optical transmitter-receiver module.
In order to increase the capacity and the density of a compact optical transmitter-receiver module in the conventional data center, both the transmission rate of the optical signal in each channel and the number of the channel should be increased. Thus, the manufacturers usually equip the optical communication apparatus with a multi-channel parallel optical transmitter-receiver module. The optical components are conventionally coupled to each other by the optical fibers and the jumper, which is a higher cost method. When the conventional data center has the multi-channel parallel signal transmission system, the MPO/MTP connector is adapted for connecting the optical components for multi-channel parallel signal transmission, and the cost of the MPO/MTP connector is up to 15 USD which is extremely expensive for the data center.
Therefore, there is a need to develop an optical transmitter-receiver assembly for multi-channel parallel signal transmission featuring low cost.

Multi-channel optical transmitter-receiver assembly


The present invention is directed to antimicrobial polypeptides and to nucleic acid molecules encoding these antimicrobial polypeptides. The polypeptide consists of from 15 to 20 amino acids and has an amphipathic alpha helix structure, wherein 3 or more of the amino acids form a positively charged domain extending axially along the alpha helix. Expression vectors, host cells, and transgenic plants, as well as methods of producing plants having improved resistance to fungal and bacterial infestation, are also provided.

Throughout this application various publications are referenced, many in parenthesis. Full citations for these publications are provided at the end of the Detailed Description of the Invention. The disclosures of these publications in their entireties, as well as those of U.S. Patents referenced herein, are hereby incorporated by reference in this application.
Disease resistance is an important objective of the genetic engineering of crop plants. Numerous fungi, bacteria, and other microbes are serious pests of common agricultural and forest crops. One method of controlling plant diseases has been to apply antimicrobial organic or semiorganic chemicals to crops. This method has numerous, art-recognized problems, such as pollution of surrounding environment causing harm to humans and nontarget, beneficial organisms. A more recent method of control of microorganism pests in plants has been the use of biological control organisms which are typically natural competitors or inhibitors of the troublesome microorganisms. However, it is difficult to apply biological control organisms to large areas, and even more difficult to cause those living organisms to remain in the treated area for an extended period. Still more recently, techniques in recombinant DNA have provided the opportunity to insert into plant cells cloned genes which express antifungal compounds. This technology has given rise to additional concerns about eventual microbial resistance to well-known, naturally occurring antifungals, particularly in the face of heavy selection pressure which may occur in some areas. Thus, a continuing effort is underway to express naturally occurring antifungal compounds in plant cells directly by translation of a single structural gene. However, there is a limited pool of naturally occurring peptides and other compounds with which molecular biologists can work. Attention is now focused on the rational design of entirely new peptides which can function effectively in plant cell expression systems and in other uses where antifungal peptides can be useful.
A steadily increasing interest is being focused on defense peptides produced by a variety of organisms (Cornelissen and Melchers 1993). These peptides or their analogs have the potential as a new source for disease resistant genes. Most of these small, lytic, antimicrobial peptides have been placed into four chemically distinct groups: the magainins, the cecropins, the defensins, and the proline-rich peptides (Agerberth et al. 1991).
The cecropins, first isolated from the cecropia moth, but recently from many insects, range from 26-37 amino acids in length. Their structure includes two .alpha.-helical regions, one amphiphilic and one hydrophobic, joined by a hinge region (Christensen et al. 1988). The cecropins are thought to produce single-channel conductances in lipid bilayers such as in a cell membrane (Wade et al. 1990). Most of these peptides described to date also demonstrate a specificity to microorganisms. One exception is melittin, isolated from bee venom. This peptide is very lytic to both microorganisms and animal red blood cells. The specificity of melittin can be altered by inverting the .alpha.-helical regions or by producing cecropin A/melittin hybrids (Boman et al. 1989). Amino acid omission studies on melittin showed that deletions in the .alpha.-helical regions decreased hemolytic activity but deletions in the "hinge" region did not (Blondelle and Houghten 1991).
The magainins, from the skin of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevus), are some of the smallest natural antimicrobial peptides yet discovered, ranging from 21-27 amino acids in length (Zasloff 1987 and Bevins and Zasloff 1990). These peptides form an amphipathic, single .alpha.-helix which can span a cell membrane. It is hypothesized that these molecules form ion channels in the microbial cell's membrane which the cell cannot control, eventually leading to lysis of the cell. The .alpha.-helix is essential for activity and changes in the amino acid sequence which stabilize this helical structure enhance the molecule's lytic activity against selected bacteria (Chen et al. 1988).
The magainins are of interest because of their ability to lyse bacterial and yeast cells but not animal cells (Soravia et al. 1988), suggesting good potential for use in agricultural and forest plant species. Different peptides from this group also demonstrated synergistic effects. When the peptide PGLa was combined with either magainin I or magainin II in a 1:1 molar ratio, the antimicrobial activity increased 20-50 fold. Interestingly, alone these peptides had no hemolytic effect but in combination they exhibited the ability to lyse a variety of eukaryotic cells (Bevins and Zasloff 1990). This complementation demonstrated synergistic effects which should be considered when studying combinations of these types of peptides.
Although all the peptides in the magainins group have similar amphipathic .alpha.-helical structures, small differences in their amino acid sequences result in different antimicrobial activity. One example of this difference can be discerned by comparing the reported activities of PGLa and XPF (Soravia et al. 1988). These two peptides are very similar in terms of structure. When tested against the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, PGLa was 4-5 times more active than XPF. When these two were tested against the yeast Candida albicans, however, XPF was 2-2.5 times more effective than PGLa. Similar differences could also be seen among different species of bacteria (Soravia et al. 1988). Even a three amino acid substitution in (Ala.sup.8,13,15)magainin II, which is reported to increase helical stability, caused a change in activities on bacterial strains (Chen et al. 1988). Applicants have observed that these structural changes increased magainin activity against bacteria but had the opposite effect against selected filamentous fungi. This indicated for the first time that the ratios of activity between different organisms could potentially be manipulated.
However, to design peptides with a differential in vitro activity between plant and fungal cells, an understanding of the structural differences between melittin, the cecropins, and magainins and how they effect antimicrobial activity was needed.
Thus, a need continues to exist for new antimicrobial polypeptides useful in improving disease resistance in plants.

The Research Foundation of State University of New York


A photodetector arrangement has a semiconductor body formed of a substrate, a first layer at a first main surface of the semiconductor body, and a second layer at a second main surface of the semiconductor body. The second main surface is remote from the first main surface. A first and a second measurement terminal are arranged at the second main surface on the edge of the second layer in regions remote from one another and are formed for the electrical contact-connection of the second layer from outside the semiconductor body. A first and a second transistor couple the second layer to the first and respectively the second measurement terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a photodetector arrangement, a measurement arrangement with a photodetector arrangement and a process for operating a measurement arrangement.
2. Description of Related Art
Photodetector arrangements are used, for example, to determine the position of the incidence site of a light beam. PN diodes and PIN diodes are used for this purpose. Examples of known position sensitive photodetector arrangements can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,815,790; 4,887,140; and 4,874,939 as well as in International Patent Application Publication WO 84/04960.

Photodetector arrangement having a semiconductor body with plural layers and transistors, measurement arrangement with a photodetector arrangement and process for operating a measurement arrangement


An optical modulator comprises an electrode 21 which applies to an optical waveguides 12 of a Mach-Zehnder type optical interference system a first electric signal based on an alternating current signal S1 and a direct current bias V1, an electrode 22 which applies to an optical waveguide 13 of the Mach-Zehnder type optical interference system a second electric signal based on an alternating current signal S2 and a direct current bias V2, and a bias setting section 41 which sets average direct current levels of the first and second electric signals based on signal frequency information D1 which indicates a magnitude relation between a maximum frequency of the alternating current signal S1 and a maximum frequency of the alternating current signal S2.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical modulator and a modulation method for multiplexing a plurality of alternating current signals with different frequencies using an electro-optical effect.
2. Description of the Background Art
Recently, with the dissemination of an optical fiber network, there has been an attempt to perform long-distance transmission of modulation signals of a mobile phone, CATV, a wireless LAN device, and the like with optical fiber as well as high-speed data communication with a baseband. An SCM (Sub-Carrier Multiplex) technique is a technique in which a plurality of modulation signals of different modulation formats are frequency-multiplexed and optically transmitted, and signals having a plurality of channels and a plurality of modulation formats can be optically transmitted together similarly to CATV. In addition, recently, researches on optical transmission of signals of a millimeter wave band by the SCM technique have been made.
In the case of performing optical modulation for such purposes, since a wide modulation bandwidth is required, external modulation using a CW (Continuous Wave) light wave is generally used. Particularly, a lithium-niobate (LN) optical modulator is suitable for high-frequency signal transmission since the lithium-niobate (LN) optical modulator is not subject to restrictions on a modulation bandwidth with a dielectric loss.
FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a conventional LN optical modulator 81. Optical waveguides 101 to 104 which are formed on an LN substrate having an electro-optical effect are constructed as a Mach-Zehnder type, and have a modulating electrode 201 and a GND electrode 200. An alternating current signal S and a direct current bias V are combined by a bias tee 301, and applied to the modulating electrode 201. An optical signal which has passed through the optical waveguide 102 is phase-modulated according to the alternating current signal S, and multiplexed with an optical signal which has passes through the optical waveguide 103. An optical signal outputted from the optical wave guide 104 after multiplexing is an optical signal which is intensity-modulated according to the alternating current signal S.
In addition, a conventional LN optical modulator 82 with a different configuration which is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2004-37695 is shown in FIG. 15. The LN optical modulator 82 is configured so that a modulating electrode 202 to which a signal is applied is used instead of the GND electrode 200 of the LN optical modulator 81 shown in FIG. 14. A phase inversion section 401 inverts a phase of the alternating current signal S applied to the electrode 201 by 180 degrees thereby to generate an alternating current signal S′. The generated alternating current signal S′ is combined with a direct current bias V2, and applied to the modulating electrode 202. Such a configuration has merits such as that wavelength chirp can be small, that modulation efficiency for one electrode can be smaller, and the like in comparison to the LN optical modulator 81 shown in FIG. 14.
Meanwhile, in order to frequency-multiplex a plurality of alternating current signals using the conventional LN optical modulator, a multiplexer, a duplexer using a plurality of filters, or the like needs to be used. Also, in order to multiplex in an optical region, two optical modulators need to be connected to a cascade.
However, in the case of performing combination using a multiplexer at a stage of electrical treating, for example, a loss of about 6 dB occurs in a simplest resistance type combination, causing deterioration of CNR. Also, in the case of performing combination using a filter at the stage of electrical treating, a loss is reduced to several tenths of a dB while group delay frequency characteristics of a signal deteriorates. Particularly, in the case of a signal into which a transmission signal is frequency-modulated, the deterioration of the group delay frequency characteristics causes deterioration of distortion characteristics. Thus, a combination method using a filter is not preferable. In addition, a method of multiplexing at the stage of optical treating can obtain excellent characteristics as compared to the combination at the stage of electrical treating, but it needs to use two costly optical modulators and provides a large cost demerit.


An image forming apparatus includes a casing having a cover which is moved between a closed position and an open position, a process unit which is removably mounted to the casing via an opening of the casing and includes a handle, and an interlocking mechanism which moves the process unit in interlocking with a movement of the cover between the closed position and the open position to cause the process unit to be located at an internal position when the cover is located at the closed position and cause the process unit to be located at an extraction position when the cover is located at the open position. The handle is moved in interlocking with a movement of the process unit between an accommodation position when the process unit is located at the internal position and an ejection position when the process unit is located at the extraction position.

A related-art image forming apparatus includes a process cartridge which is removably mounted thereto.
For example, JP-A-H03-63666 discloses a printer including a casing configured by a lower cover having an upper opening and an upper cover which can open and close with respect to the lower cover, and a process cartridge which is accommodated in the casing.
In this printer, when the upper cover is opened, the process cartridge is raised upward with respect to the lower cover along with a movement of the upper cover, so that the process cartridge can be removed from the casing.
However, in this printer, the process cartridge cannot be removed from the casing unless the upper cover is largely opened. Therefore, in some location of the printer, a sufficient space for opening the upper cover could not be secured, so that the process cartridge could not be easily replaced.
Also, a related-art printer employing an electro-photographic method includes an apparatus main body, an image forming section which is accommodated in the apparatus main body and includes a photosensitive drum, and a laser scanner which irradiates the photosensitive drum with image light based on an image signal.
For example, JP-A-2005-17425 discloses a printer including an apparatus main body having a cartridge cover which can be opened and closed on a front surface thereof, an image forming section including a toner cartridge which accommodates toner and has a photosensitive drum, and a laser scanner disposed on a rear upper side with respect to the toner cartridge.
In the printer, the toner cartridge is mounted and removed by opening the cartridge cover.
Incidentally, in recent years, from the viewpoint of a degree of freedom of an installation location or a storage location of a printer, size-reduction of the printer in a vertical direction is desired. However, in the printer disclosed in JP-A-2005-17425, the laser scanner is disposed on the rear upper side with respect to the toner cartridge, and thus size-reduction in the vertical direction is restricted.
Further, the toner cartridge disclosed in JP-A-2005-17425 is removed from the apparatus main body and is replaced if an amount of toner becomes smaller than a predetermined amount due to consumption of the toner when the printer performs an image forming operation. Therefore, the photosensitive drum provided in the toner cartridge is also replaced along with the toner cartridge.
However, lifetime of the photosensitive drum is typically longer than a time period in which the toner accommodated in the toner cartridge is consumed due to the image forming operation of the printer and becomes smaller than the predetermined amount.
As a result, if the photosensitive drum is replaced along with a replacement of the toner cartridge, reduction in running cost is restricted.


Apparatus for expanding the bandwidth of speech signals such that a narrowband speech signal is input and digitized, the spectral envelope information and residual information are extracted from the digitized signal by linear predictive coding analysis, the spectral envelope information is expanded into wideband information by a spectral envelope converter, the residual information is expanded into wideband information by a residual converter, the converted spectral envelope information and residual information are combined to produce a wideband speech signal, frequency information not contained in the input signal is extracted from the obtained wideband speech signal by a filter, and the resulting signal is added to the original digitized input signal, and the obtained signal is converted into an analog signal as the output signal of the apparatus. The apparatus comprises a linear mapping function codebook used for converting spectral parameters, and a weights calculator and an adder for weighing and summing function outputs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing wideband speech signals from narrowband speech signals and, in particular, relates to an apparatus for producing wideband speech from telephone-band speech.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among prior methods of expanding speech bandwidth, there is the method described in Y. Yoshida, T. Abe, et al. "Recovery of wideband speech from narrowband speech by codebook mapping", Denshi Joho Tsushin Gakkai Shingakuho SP 93-61 (1993) (in Japanese language) and the method described in Y. Cheng, D. O'Shaughnessy, P. Mermelstein, "Statistical recovery of wideband speech from narrowband speech", Proceed. ICSLP 92 (1992), pp. 1577-1580.
According to the method by Yoshida et al. a large number of code words, for instance 512 codes, have been necessary for reliably expanding speech bandwidth, since the method relies on codebook mapping. On the other hand, the method of Cheng et al. had a problem in the quality of the synthesized speech, since white noise, which is not correlated to the original speech, is added.

Apparatus for expanding narrowband speech to wideband speech by codebook correspondence of linear mapping functions

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A logical block is disclosed for decoding a data sequence encoded by a convolutional code, in which a given number of states are to be evaluated. These given states are assigned the given number of state memories which store an associated path and an accumulated distance value. The given number of state memories are associated with parallel processing blocks which each have, as the smallest group to be processed in parallel, two state memories to be read from first and second parallel processing blocks, and two state memories to be written into third and fourth parallel processing blocks. Optimum memory organization permits simple parallel processing and reduction in circuit complexity.

The present invention relates to a logical block for decoding a signal which is encoded by means of a convolutional code defined at the receiving end at each sampling instant by one out of N possible states. These N possible states are also referred to as a "data channel", because all N possible states at the receiving end must be evaluated and thus correspond to a predetermined data channel, so to speak. This specific encoding technique is described in detail, for example, in an article by A. J. Viterbi entitled "Convolutional Codes and Their Performance in Communication Systems", IEEE Transactions on Communications Technology, Vol. COM-19, No. S. October 1971, pages 751 to 772. A. J. Viterbi developed an efficient algorithm for carrying out maximum-likelihood detection of such convolutional codes. Such an algorithm is commonly referred to as the Viterbi algorithm or "Viterbi decoding". At the transmitting end, the redundancy of arbitrary data sequences is increased by appending additional data. Protection of the data to be transmitted or stored is not achieved by incorporating an internal redundancy, but the redundancy is selectively added to the data. This makes it possible to transmit arbitrary data sequences in protected form, whereby convolutional coding is universally applicable. One application in the consumer-electronics field is the protection of digitized audio data which are either transmitted in any form or originates from a digital storage medium which is error-prone because of its high storage capacity.
At the receiving end, a probability analysis is made over a plurality of received data words to determine which is the most likely data sequence, which then corresponds to the original information. Erroneous decoded data do not only affect a single bit of the respective data sequence, but the perturbing effect is distributed over a wide range of the data sequence. Thus, the effect on the individual data word remains relatively small, so that the decoder can reconstruct the correct, error-free contents of the original signal to make them available at its output for further processing.
The logical blocks for implementing a Viterbi decoder are very large, since not only a large range of the received and reconstructed data sequence needs to be stored, but also the data sequences that would have arisen if the currently received data words had been meant differently at the transmitting end and were misinterpreted due to errors or disturbances.
In the Viterbi decoding process, all N possible receive states are examined at each sampling instant as to how well they match the received data. This is done by comparing theoretical expected values with the received data words. Each of the N possible states is assigned a fixed digital expected value which depends on the respective Viterbi encoding technique used. The comparison between the received data words and the expected values is made using a distance or difference computation. The smaller the distance value, the higher the probability that the state currently being examined is actually assigned to the received data words. By continuously accumulating the distance values, the probability consideration is extended to the sequence of already received data words, so that the most likely sequence will, in the course of time, have the least accumulated distance value. Through this cumulative evaluation, a single error "disappears" in the sum of errors.
The continuous evaluation of the added distance values thus results in a large number of data sequences with different probabilities, which must be updated after each data clock pulse at the latest. The individual data sequence is referred to as a "path". In graphical form, cf., for example, FIGS. 5 and 7, the individual paths can be represented in a trellis diagram. The trellis diagram has a horizontal time axis with the successive sampling instants, while the vertical direction represents the N different states in a sort of row arrangement. According to the received data, the transitions from one state to the next are evaluated by determining the respective distance between expected value and received value. Since each state can be reached from at least two preceding states, a selection is made in the sense that in the case of multiple transitions, only the respective transition with the smaller or the same accumulated distance value is used. In the trellis diagram, the graphic sequence of the individual transitions represents the respective path. If the accumulated distance values are entered at the intersections of the trellis, the most likely path is readily apparent from the trellis diagram. The individual paths tend to differ initially, but for relatively old sampling instants, they merge into a single path which is obviously free from errors, i.e., which contains the sequence of original, error-free states. It can thus be assumed that the states in this range are correct, so that the original data, hereinafter also called "candidates", can be determined therefrom by inverse Viterbi coding. Thus, at each sampling instant, the most likely candidate is determined, which is added to the sequence of candidates already determined, so that the sequence of original data is restored.
This short description of the Viterbi decoding technique shows that a great number of data have to be processed, stored, and reloaded in real time, since for each of the N possible states, both the associated paths and the accumulated difference values must be determined and stored. In each cycle, besides the determination of the new distance values, of the accumulated distance values, and of the new transitions, reloading the data of all stored paths takes place. This is readily apparent from the trellis diagrams of FIGS. 5 and 7.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a logical block of reduced circuit complexity for a flexible Viterbi decoder which is suitable for incorporation into a monolithic integrated signal-processing circuit and for processing high data rates.


A word kit includes an assemblage of objects, each object presenting a plurality of surfaces. The assemblage includes a first set of objects having a first surface of the plurality surfaces. A word selected from an interchangeable part of speech is depicted on the first surface and each additional surface of the plurality surfaces depicts another word selected from the interchangeable part of speech. A second set of objects has each of the plurality of surfaces thereof depicting a noninterchangeable series of letters.

A prior art kit consisting of a collection of flexible plastic magnets has been most useful in teaching various language skills and for recreational purposes. Each of these magnets displays a word or a word-fragment printed on only one surface thereof. The user installs all of the magnets on any ferric surface, then arranges them in some given order. In doing so, various poems, epithets, or other desired phrases are thereby constructed. While useful and enjoyable, still another dimension of this concept has been missing. Specifically, the use of this concept in teaching the proper order and meaning of various parts of speech and in seeing the humorous and nonsensical effects of readily randomly changing one or more words in a sentence or phrase.


In one aspect of the invention, a thin layer capacitor element has a capacitor with a dielectric layer made of a metal oxide and a protective insulating layer made of a resin material, and a barrier layer made of a non-conductive inorganic material is provided between the capacitor and the protective insulating layer. In another aspect of the invention, a thin layer capacitor element is constituted so that a capacitor structure is covered with at least one protective insulating layer composed of a cured resin, the cured resin being formed from at least one resin precursor selected from the group consisting of thermosetting resins, photosetting resins and thermoplastic resins.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a capacitor and, specifically, it relates to a thin layer capacitor element comprising a capacitor formed on a substrate, such as a semiconductor substrate, by a thin layer fabrication process. More particularly, the present invention relates to a thin layer capacitor element provided with a barrier layer, between a capacitor and a protective insulating layer, to inhibit a reduction of the metal oxide dielectric layer by moisture from the protective insulating layer. Further, the present invention relates to a thin layer capacitor element provided with an improved protective insulating layer to prevent absorption of water or moisture from the external environment while also preventing deterioration of electrical characteristics and short-circuits between electrodes. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a production process for the thin layer capacitor elements and to an electronic device having,mounted thereon the thin layer capacitor element of the invention.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, the increased processing speeds of LSIs have led to the development of decouple processing as a strategy for preventing diffusion of high-frequency noise, as well as a demand for an improved high-frequency tracking performance of the decoupling capacitors used therefor.
To achieve improved high-frequency tracking performance of decoupling capacitors, the decoupling capacitors must have characteristics such as high capacitance and low impedance connections in distributed circuits, and it is known that this requirement can be achieved by forming thin layer capacitors on a semiconductor substrate by a thin layer fabrication process. This is because the thin layer fabrication process allows microprocessing for the purpose of achieving lower inductance capacitors and to reduce the thicknesses of dielectric layers to increase the capacitance.
Thin layer capacitors are produced by a thin layer process in which a metal or metal oxide is deposited on a supporting substrate such as a silicon substrate. In order to realize large-capacitance capacitors, dielectric layers are formed using composite oxide dielectric materials having high dielectric constants. Also, precious metals such as platinum (Pt) or iridium (Ir) are used as the electrode materials for formation of electrode layers. This is because such electrode materials have excellent oxidation resistance suitable for the relatively high-temperature environments utilized for dielectric layer formation, while also allowing control of the crystal orientation of the dielectric materials.
Because the thin layer capacitors are miniature, have large capacities and are excellently suited for microprocessing, they allow connections with circuit boards to be formed as bump connections with narrow pitches between terminals, thereby reducing mutual inductance and making possible effective functioning for low-inductance connections with LSIs. However, as the miniature size and the large capacity of a thin layer capacitor is achieved by using a metal oxide as the dielectric material, the metal oxide undergoes reduction during the fabrication process and thereby produces deterioration in the characteristics.
In order to solve this problem of deterioration of dielectric materials, the following has been proposed, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2000-49311.
FIGS. 1A to 1H show, in sequence, the production steps of a conventional production process of a thin layer capacitor described in the aforementioned patent publication.
First, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a lower electrode 2 made of platinum (Pt) is formed on a semiconductor substrate 1. Then, as shown in FIGS. 1C and 1D, a capacitive insulating layer 3 made of an insulating metal oxide and an upper electrode 4 made of platinum (Pt) are deposited thereover in that order.
This is followed by the etching step shown in FIG. 1E, and then, as shown in FIG. 1F, a protective insulating layer 6 is deposited on the upper electrode 4 so as to completely cover the upper electrode 4.
Next follows a resist mask-forming step for formation of a resist mask 9, as shown in FIG. 1G, and finally contact holes 9 are formed as shown in FIG. 1H through a dry etching step (not shown).
In the capacitor element produced upon the above process, the problem of reduction of the capacitive insulating layer due to hydrogen generated in the step of removing the resist mask 10 is prevented by such means as limiting the open area of the contact holes 9 of the protective insulating layer 6 to not more than 5 μm2.
In the conventional thin layer capacitor described above with reference to FIGS. 1A to 1H, reduction of the insulating metal oxide of the capacitive insulating layer 3 is prevented by blocking it with a protective insulating layer 6. However, the thin layer capacitor generally employs bumps or similar high-precision packing-enabling connection forms for the terminals to thereby realize low inductance.
With this type of connection form, the mechanical stress generated by the difference in thermal expansion coefficients of the thin layer capacitor and the circuit board on which the thin layer capacitor is mounted can directly bear on the thin layer capacitor terminals, without being mediated by a buffer material such as a lead.
An internal capacitor composed of an extremely thin layer easily tends to undergo a problem such as interlayer peeling due to the aforementioned mechanical stress and, in order to avoid this problem, it is essential to use as the protective insulating layer a resin material such as polyimide which absorbs the mechanical stress from bumps, etc.
Such a solution, however, results in the following new problems.
As the first problem, there is the problem of reduction of the dielectric material in the step of forming the protective insulating layer. For example, a polyimide resin varnish forms a polyimide resin when cured at about 400° C. but, as the acid anhydride and diamine undergo dehydrating condensation polymerization to generate H2O during curing of the polyimide varnish as the protective insulating layer, the H2O decomposes to hydrogen ions and the hydrogen ions reach the dielectric material, thereupon reducing it.
This occurs because the H2O infiltrates the capacitor electrodes in a hydrogen ion state due to the catalytic effect of the platinum Pt composing the electrodes, and the hydrogen ions reach the interface between the electrodes and the dielectric material by diffusion, thereby resulting in oxygen loss of the dielectric material.
The second problem is a problem which occurs during actual use in the field, though this is not a problem of the production steps illustrated in the prior art process.
This problem occurs due to the moisture absorption property of the resin material whereby, due to the high temperature surrounding the thin layer capacitor, moisture in the air absorbed by the polyimide resin migrates to the internal capacitor at a high temperature and reduces the dielectric material.
In addition to the above problems, the conventional production processes suffer from other problems.
For conventional production processes, the thin layer capacitor elements, as are well known, are produced by forming a lower electrode layer, a dielectric layer and an upper electrode layer in that order on a silicon substrate. Further, assuming that flip chip connections created with solder bumps are applied, it is common to first form a capacitor structure comprising a lower electrode layer, a dielectric layer and an upper electrode layer, and then form solder bumps for electrical connections between the upper electrode layer and lower electrode layer. Another common practice is to employ an organic resin material such as a photosensitive polyimide to form a protective insulating layer for the capacitor structure, prior to the bump-forming step.
In the bump-forming step, contact holes are formed in the protective insulating layer in a predetermined pattern, and then a barrier metal such as Cr, Ti, Cu or Ni is applied to cover the inner walls of the contact holes in order to improve the solder wettability and to prevent diffusion of solder to the underlying metal (capacitor electrode) due to the heat in this step and prevent the reaction which results from such diffusion. A layer is then formed by plating of a metal material (for example, Cu) which serves the role as a connection plug for the upper electrode layer and lower electrode layer. Finally, a solder layer is formed by plating to form the desired solder bumps. Here, the resin material for the insulating protective layer also functions as a buffer layer against the electrodes, in order to alleviate the stress of the barrier metal which propagates to the capacitor electrodes.
However, thin layer capacitor elements produced in this manner are often exposed to a reducing atmosphere in the solder reflow step or undergo absorption of water or moisture from the external environment, leading to problems such as deterioration of the electrical characteristics of the dielectric substance and short-circuiting between the upper electrode layer and lower electrode layer. Particularly when platinum (Pt) is used as the electrode material, Pt readily allows penetration of hydrogen, a problem which is exacerbated by generation of hydrogen due to the catalytic effect on water.
Methods have already been proposed for avoiding the problems described above. In the case of FRAM (Ferroelectric Random Access Memory), for example, it has been proposed to cover the capacitor surface with a thin layer of an aluminum, silicon or titanium nitride as a protective layer to prevent penetration and diffusion of reducing gases such as hydrogen (see, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 7-111318). Another proposed solution has been to use organometallic compounds (silicon alkoxides) that react with water and harden, as protective layers to prevent deterioration of characteristics by water absorption (see, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 7-273297).
The prior art protective layers mentioned above have been effective for capacitor elements incorporated into semiconductor devices such as FRAMs, but in cases where flip chip connections are created with solder bumps as stand-alone capacitors, no alleviation in the stress from the solder bumps can be expected and therefore it has not been possible to completely eliminate the problem of deterioration in the characteristics.
On the other hand, for thin layer capacitor elements having structures which allow flip chip connections, it has also been proposed to use organic resin materials such as photosensitive polyimide resins as protective layers (see, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2002-280261). However, with photosensitive polyimide resins, the acid anhydride and diamine undergo dehydrating condensation polymerization during thermosetting, thereby generating water. Specifically, the polyimide precursor used as the starting substance comprises an acid anhydride and diamine which form polyamic acid, as represented by the following chemical formula, for example.

Moreover, polyimide precursors are generally sold in the state of liquid (varnish) comprising polyimide precursors dissolved in a solvent. The varnish is applied onto the substrate by spin coating or the like to form the protective layer. The resulting coating of the polyimide precursor is then heated at a temperature of, for example, 350 to 400° C. for thermosetting. The thermosetting reaction induces dehydrating condensation polymerization between the acid anhydride and diamine, resulting in ring closure reaction and release of water (H2O), during formation of a thermoset polyimide represented by the following formula.

However, the water generated by the above protective layer-forming reaction can cause a major problem in that it impairs the characteristics of the obtained thin layer capacitor element. This occurs because the water released during the protective layer formation is able to contact the electrode layer (for example, Pt) which is formed adjacent to the protective layer. When water contacts the electrode layer, the catalytic effect of the Pt promotes infiltration of the hydrogen atoms of the water into the electrode layer, producing an oxygen deficiency in the dielectric oxide at the interface between the dielectric layer and the electrode layer. This oxygen deficiency can have a major influence on the dielectric and leak current characteristics of the thin layer capacitor element. FIGS. 2 and 3 are graphs illustrating such problems as occur when using a photosensitive polyimide resin as a protective layer of the thin layer capacitor, and they plot the C-V (electrostatic capacitance—applied voltage) characteristic curve and D-V (dielectric loss—applied voltage) characteristic curve, before and after formation of the protective layer with the photosensitive polyimide resin, respectively. In each of the graphs, curve I is the characteristic curve before formation of the polyimide resin-based protective layer, and curve II is the curve after formation of the polyimide resin-based protective layer. The thin layer capacitor elements produced for evaluation of the characteristics were obtained by forming the lower electrode layer and upper electrode layer both from platinum (Pt) according to conventional methods and forming the dielectric layer of a dielectric oxide (Ba,Sr)TiO3 (hereinafter also referred to as BST), on a silicon substrate. The polyimide protective layer was formed by spin coating a photosensitive polyimide resin varnish for 30 seconds at 3,000 rpm, for example, at a thickness of 4 μm. The polyimide resin coating was then heated (prebaked) for 10 minutes at a temperature of 60° C. and then subjected to exposure and developing steps and heated (main baking) for 2 hours at a temperature of 400° C. This produced a 2 μm thick polyimide resin-based protective insulating layer. As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, after forming the protective layer of the polyimide resin, an obvious abnormality in the characteristic was observed due to changes in the dielectric oxide, and the dielectric loss increased.

Layer capacitor element and production process as well as electronic device


A solid-state image sensing device comprising: a silicon substrate; a photoelectric conversion layer provided for absorbing a green light component to generate optical charge; and photodiodes provided in a shallow portion and in a deep portion respectively in a depth direction of the silicon substrate, wherein the solid-state image sensing device further comprises a trimming layer provided between the photoelectric conversion layer and the silicon substrate for adjusting intensity of each of respective color light components of the light which is transmitted through the photoelectric conversion layer so as to be made incident on the photodiodes.

In a background-art single plate type color solid-state image sensing device represented by a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor, a mosaic of color filters of R, G and B is mounted on an array of pixels (photodiodes) which perform photoelectric conversion. Color signals outputted from the respective pixels of the color solid-state image sensing device in accordance with the color filters are processed to generate a color image.
The color solid-state image sensing device provided with such a mosaic of color filters, however, has a disadvantage of low light utilization efficiency and low sensitivity because each of the color filters absorbs two thirds of incident light when the color filters are primary color type filters (of the three colors of R, G and B). There is another disadvantage of low resolution, especially, conspicuous false color because no more than one color signal (of a color) can be obtained from each pixel.
In order to overcome such disadvantages, therefore, an image sensing device having a stack of three photoelectric conversion layers has been researched and developed, for example, as described in JP-T-2002-502120 (corresponding to WO 99/39372) and JP-A-2002-83946. This image sensing device has a pixel structure in which, for example, photoelectric conversion layers for generating signal charge (electrons or holes) in response to blue (B) light, green (G) light and red (R) light respectively are stacked as three layers successively viewed from a light incidence surface. Moreover, this image sensing device has signal reading circuits which are provided in accordance with pixels respectively so that signal charges optically generated in the photoelectric conversion layers respectively are read independently. In the case of the image sensing device, almost of the incident light is subjected to photoelectric conversion so that utilization efficiency of visible light is almost about 100%. In addition, the image sensing device has such a structure that color signals of the three colors of R, G and B can be obtained in one pixel. Thus, there is an advantage that the image sensing device can obtain a good image with high sensitivity and high resolution (inconspicuous false color).
In an image sensing device described in JP-T-2002-513145 (corresponding to WO 99/56097), three layers of wells (photodiodes) for detecting optical signals are provided in a silicon substrate so that signals different in spectral sensitivity are taken out in accordance with difference in depth of the silicon substrate. That is, the image sensing device is designed so that a signal having a peak in blue (B) is taken out from a pn junction portion in the surface of the silicon substrate, a signal having a peak in green (G) is taken out from a pn junction portion in an intermediate portion of the silicon substrate and a signal having a peak in red (R) is taken out from a pn junction portion in a deep portion of the silicon substrate. Similarly to the image sensing device described in JP-T-2002-502120 and JP-A-2002-83946, this image sensing device can sense a good image with high sensitivity and high resolution (inconspicuous false color).
In the image sensing device described in JP-T-2002-502120 and JP-A-2002-83946, the three photoelectric conversion layers need to be stacked on the substrate, and it is difficult to form vertical wires by which pixel electrode layers provided separately in accordance with the photoelectric conversion layers and the pixels are connected to the signal reading circuits provided on the substrate, respectively. There arises a problem that the production process is complex to bring increase in cost and reduction in production yield.
On the other hand, in the image sensing device according to JP-T-2002-513145, separation of spectral sensitivity characteristics of the color signals of R, G and B is not sufficient as shown in FIG. 6 so that color reproducibility is poor. In addition, it is necessary to add and subtract output signals for obtaining true R, G and B signals. There is a problem that S/N is deteriorated by the addition and subtraction process.
An image sensing device described in JP-A-2003-332551 (FIG. 5) (corresponding to US Publication 2003/0209651) has been therefore proposed as an image sensing device to solve the problems belonging to JP-T-2002-502120 and JP-A-2002-83946 and JP-T-2002-513145. This image sensing device is of a hybrid type between the image sensing device described in JP-T-2002-502120 and JP-A-2002-83946 and the image sensing device described in JP-T-2002-513145. That is, this image sensing device is configured in such a manner that while only one photoelectric conversion layer having sensitivity to green (G) light is stacked as an upper layer on a silicon substrate, two pn junction portions (photodiodes) are provided in the silicon substrate in the depth direction so that a blue (B) light signal is taken out from the pn junction portion in a shallow portion of the silicon substrate and a red (R) light signal is taken out from the pn junction portion in a deep portion of the silicon substrate.
Since this image sensing device has only one photoelectric conversion layer, there is an advantage that a process for producing the image sensing device is so simple that increase in production cost can be suppressed and reduction in production yield can be almost avoided. In addition, the image sensing device is designed in such a manner that green (G) light is absorbed by the photoelectric conversion layer so that only blue (B) light and red (R) light can be made incident on the silicon substrate. Thus, separation of spectral sensitivity characteristics of the pn junction portion for blue light and the pn junction portion for red light in the silicon substrate can be improved, so that color reproducibility becomes good and an image with good S/N can be sensed.

Photoelectric conversion layer stack type color solid-state image sensing device


The present disclose relates to a lens. The lens includes a bottom surface; a light input surface depressed from a center of the bottom surface; a light output surface opposite to the light input surface, the light output surface comprising a concave surface located at a center thereof and a convex surface surrounding the concave surface; and total reflective side surfaces. The side surface includes a first and a second side surfaces gradually slanting outwardly along a direction from the bottom surface to the light output surface, and a third side surface and a fourth side surface being perpendicular to the bottom surface. The present disclose also relates to a light source module with the lens.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates to a lens and a light source module with the lens.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) with many advantages, such as high luminosity, low operational voltage, low power consumption, compatibility with integrated circuits, faster switching, long term reliability, and environmental friendliness have promoted their wide use as a lighting source.
Conventional tubular light source module includes a substrate and a plurality of LEDs arranged on the substrate in line. However, the LED generally generates a small spot with a radiation angle less than 120 degrees. The intensity of light emitted by the LEDs is concentrated, wherein the light intensity dramatically decreases when the radiation angle exceeds 120 degrees. The distribution of light emission of the conventional tubular light source is uneven when the LEDs are arranged sparsely. Therefore, it needs a plurality of LEDs arranged in line closely in order to achieve even light distribution. However, use of so many LEDs is costly.
Therefore, what is needed is a lens and a light source module with the lens which can overcome the described limitations.

Lens having total reflective side surfaces and light source module with same


A method for alleviating ultraviolet damage includes administering to a subject in need thereof a composition containing an ethyl acetate-extracted product of Sedum formosanum. The ethyl acetate-extracted product of Sedum formosanum is prepared by a process including the steps of (a) extracting Sedum formosanum with a solution of monohydric alcohol to obtain a alcohol-extracted product from Sedum formosanum; (b) partitioning the alcohol-extracted product with water and n-hexane to obtain an aqueous layer and a n-hexane layer; and (c) partitioning the aqueous layer obtained in step (b) with ethyl acetate, followed by collecting an ethyl acetate layer thus formed to obtain the ethyl acetate-extracted product of Sedum formosanum.

Radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through a space or a material medium. In general, radiation is classified as: (1) ionizing radiation, which refers to high-energy electromagnetic waves (e.g., X-rays and gamma rays) or particles (e.g., alpha particles, beta particles and neutrons) capable of ionizing atoms or molecules; and (2) non-ionizing radiation, which refers to low-energy electromagnetic waves (e.g., visible light, infrared, ultraviolet (UV), microwaves and radio wave) not capable of ionizing atoms or molecules. One of the mechanisms causing UV-induced cell damage is mutagenic DNA lesion, through the formation of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) and 6-4 photoproducts (6,4PPs).
Ultraviolet (UV) damage occurs when any portion of an organism (such as human) is exposed to UV for a sufficiently long period. Symptoms of UV damage include: skin inflammation, delayed tanning reaction, skin aging (also known as photoaging), severe pains in the joints and muscles and around the eyes, shock, fever, nausea, vomiting, generalized weakness, etc., and the formation of tumor or cancer (such as skin cancer) might also be induced eventually.
Drugs used clinically to alleviate UV damage include: topical steroids (such as Chemin ointment), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) (such as ibuprofen and naproxen), anti-histamines (such as cyproheptadine and astemizole) and sunscreens (such as para-amino benzoic acid (PABA), oxybenzone and vitamin A palmitate). However, these drugs might not achieve the desired therapeutic effect and may also cause severe side effects. Therefore, researchers in this field have attempted to identify active components from traditional Chinese medicines that can be used to treat and/or prevent UV damage.
Sedum formosanum, also known as Sedum alfredii (trivial name: Alfred Stonecrop; fo jia cao in pinyin) is a perennial herb which belongs to the genus Sedum and family Crassulaceae. Sedum formosanum can be found in Taiwan, Japan, Ryukyu Islands, the Philippines, etc. Studies have indicated that Sedum formosanum has anti-inflammation, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects, and can be used to treat diabetes, sore throat, enteritis, dysenteria, etc.
In the Master's thesis completed by Yu-Chen Wang in 2012 while attending the Department of Biotechnology of Hungkuang University (name: The Sedum formosanum Extract-Induced Change of Intracellular Mediators on the Radiation Treatment of Human Prostate Cancer Cells DU145), a methanol extract was obtained by extracting the dried and pulverized Sedum formosanum with methanol under sonication, then the methanol extract was partitioned with n-hexane, and the resultant aqueous layer was further partitioned with ethyl acetate. The resultant ethyl acetate layer (i.e., ethyl acetate fraction) was found to contain astragalin, vitexin and kaempferol-3-O-malonyl glucoside by High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. In addition, it was shown that the ethyl acetate fraction can inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells DU145, but also can protect DU145 from ionizing radiation-induced cell apoptosis.
As far as the inventors are aware, there have been no documents or prior art patents which disclose that an ethyl acetate-extracted product of Sedum formosanum can be utilized in the alleviation of UV damage.

Method for alleviating ultraviolet damage with ethyl acetate-extracted product of


A console housing has a top wall formed with an opening that receives an upwardly extending handle of a parking brake. A gap hider includes a close out insert for closing the gap between the opening and the handle. The close out insert is supported on the top wall for limited floating movement so that it will not interfere with the operation of the parking brake handle.

It is common practice for the handle of a parking brake to extend upwardly through an opening in the console. Typically there is a gap between the opening and the handle. The gap is needed for console loading and build tolerance. A permanently attached close out to close the gap often interferes with the operation of the parking brake. Such interference requires excess effort to operate the parking brake and can result in damaged parts. Then too, a permanently attached close out may still leave space around the handle.


Embodiments include techniques for managing multiple portable control panels in aircraft cargo handling system are provided. The embodiments include a master control panel (MCP), and a plurality of wireless coordinators in communication with the MCP. The embodiments also include a plurality of zones of a cargo storage area, wherein each zone of the plurality of zones is defined by a portion of the cargo storage area that is controlled by a wireless coordinator of the plurality of wireless coordinators and includes at least one of power drive units (PDU) and turntables, and a plurality of portable control panels (PCP) in communication with the wireless coordinators, the PCP configured to operate and monitor states of the PDU and turntables.

The present disclosure generally relates to a system and method for cargo loading management, and more specifically, to managing multiple portable control panels in aircraft cargo handling system.
The items to be shipped by aircraft cargo are generally loaded onto unit load devices (ULDs). The ULDs are specially configured pallets or specially configured containers that are available in various sizes, shapes, and capacities. Once the ULD is loaded, the ULDs are moved in the cargo compartment by power drive units (PDUs) mounted at the floor level at fixed intervals that run the length of the cargo compartment. Upon reaching its final position, the ULD is restrained by means of a mechanical or electro-mechanical restraint system. Turntables can be installed in and forward of the doorway and can steer the ULDs to various positions as needed for in/out, forward/aft, or pallet rotation operations. Multiple ULDs are brought onboard the aircraft and each is placed in its respective stowed position. The PDUs and turntables are hereinafter referred to as line replaceable units (LRUs).
The movement of the ULDs is controlled using a master control panel (MCP) and/or outside control panel (OCP) and/or local control panels (LCPs). The cargo systems provide a dedicated display to enable the operator to monitor the status of ULD position and the status of the cargo LRUs. The MCP provides the control system operation status and cargo system status to cargo maintenance display unit (CMDU). The display unit additionally enables the operator to perform various maintenance operations on the cargo systems. The MCP, OCP, LCPs, and CMDU are referred to as the primary components of the cargo handling system and are permanently fixed to the aircraft.

Multiple portable control panels in aircraft cargo handling system


The invention relates to of analyzing vector supernatants useful for transducing T cells destined for administration to a human subject. The invention also related to methods of analyzing transduced T cells destined for administration to a human subject.

The large majority of patients having B-cell malignancies, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), will die from their disease. One approach to treating these patients is to genetically modify T cells to target antigens expressed on tumor cells through the expression of chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). CARs are antigen receptors that are designed to recognize cell surface antigens in a human leukocyte antigen-independent manner. Attempts in using genetically modified cells expressing CARs to treat these types of patients have met with very limited success. See for example, Brentjens et al., 2010, Molecular Therapy, 18:4, 666-668; Morgan et al., 2010, Molecular Therapy, published online Feb. 23, 2010, pages 1-9; and, Till et al., 2008, Blood, 112:2261-2271.
While CARs can trigger T-cell activation in a manner similar to an endogenous T-cell receptor, a major impediment to the clinical application of this technology to date has been limited in vivo expansion of CAR+ T cells, rapid disappearance of the cells after infusion, and disappointing clinical activity (Jena, et al., Blood, 2010, 116:1035-1044; Uckun, et al. Blood, 1988, 71:13-29). Methods of generating genetically modified T cells for administration to humans have the potential to produce unwanted contaminants that may negatively impact the persistence and function of the genetically modified T cells after administration.
Thus, there is a need in the art for analyzing transduced T cells for their suitability for administration to a human subject, through the detection of contaminants that may negatively impact the persistence and function of genetically modified cells. The present invention addresses this need.

Methods for assessing the suitability of transduced T cells for administration

The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania


A movement mechanism applicable to a vehicle outside rearview mirror and employing a substantially spherical holder and a substantially spherical bowl nested one in the other and relative rotatable relative to each other about first and second mutually perpendicular axes with the plane of the outer edge of the holder lying in or parallel to the plane of the axes. The disk is located between the holder and bowl and connected to the bowl for rotation about one of the axes and connected to the holder for rotation only about the other of the axes.

The present invention relates to a movement mechanism comprising a spherical holder and a spherical bowl which, one inserted into the other, are rotatable relative to each other about a first axis, the X-axis, and a second axis, the Y-axis, said axes lying in a plane coinciding with the plane of the outer edge of the holder or extending parallel thereto, the movement mechanism further comprising a dish located between the holder and the bowl, said dish being connected to the bowl for rotation about the X-axis only and connected to the holder for rotation about the Y-axis only.
Such movement mechanism is known from EP-A-0 075 259. The movement mechanism in said document comprises a bowl, a holder and a dish, wherein the holder can rotate relative to the dish around a first axis only and the bowl can rotate relative to the dish around a second axis only. The bowl, the holder and the dish are mounted together by means of a bolt which fills the inner spece of the holder, such that no further construction parts can be placed therein. The movement mechanism is a type of ball joint.
The movement mechanism can, for instance, be used for causing an object that is fixedly connected to the holder to make a movement about two axes relative to a fixedly disposed bowl, and can be used for, for instance, wing mirrors of vehicles, wherein a mirror plate can be mounted on the holder, while the bowl is mounted in the housing of the mirror plate, which housing can be secured on a vehicle.


A bag including a freely opening and closing bag body, casters mounted to a bottom face of the bag body, a handle having a grip at upper extremities of extensible rods mounted on the bag body in a free extensible manner, and stoppers for locking the handle in a fully extended position and in a fully retracted position. The grip, when pulled up from the bag body, is positioned between right and left sides of the upper face of the bag body and extends in a direction of the long side of the bag. The extensible rods of the bag body are fixed to the top and the bottom of a lateral face of the bag body, and the extensible rods are also curved to position the grip between the right and left sides of the bag body, when in the pulled-out condition. Also, the external face of the bag body connecting the extensible rods can be formed in a slanted or oblique orientation.

The present invention relates to a bag mounted with casters, and especially to a bag having a handle that can move up and down. The bag of the present description is used in the broad meaning of suitcases and attache cases.
Bags provided with casters and a freely extensible handle have already been developed and widely used. There are many bags of this structure which are sized to allow the bag to be boarded on planes or the bag may be of a somewhat larger size. On very large bags, the handle is directly fixed to the bag so as to allow easy movement thereof. Then, the small bags are mounted with a freely extensible handle that is pulled up in order to allow the bag to be easily moved. For example, bags of this structure have been mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,487; Japanese Patent Publication 4-76686 issued Dec. 4, 1992; Japanese non-examined Utility Model Publication No. 57-179824 issued Nov. 15, 1982 and Japanese non-examined Utility Model Publication No. 63-131634 issued Aug. 29, 1988. The bags mentioned in these publications are provided with two casters 1 mounted on one side of a bottom face of the bags as shown in FIG. 1. A pair of short legs 2 are fixed on the opposite side of the bottom face with respect to the casters 1. When the bag is in a vertical orientation, the casters 1 and the legs 2 are in contact with the floor. In this condition, because the legs 2 do not turn and are in contact with the floor, the bag can stand upright without moving. Further, an extensible handle 3 is provided at an upper face of the bag to allow the bag to be pulled. The casters 1 are mounted on the same side of the bag as the handle because the bag is pulled while in a slanted or a tilted orientation.
As shown in FIG. 1, the bag can be moved when it is tilted and pulled by the handle 3. When the bag is tilted, the casters 1 remain in contact with the floor and the legs 2 leave the floor. When the handle 3 is pulled in this condition, the casters 1 turn thereby making the bag easy to move. However, with the bags that move in this fashion, the casters 1 cannot sometimes be used in narrow places such as in the inside of a plane cabin or in a crowded area. When the bag is moved with the casters 1, the widest dimension of the bag is oriented perpendicular to the direction of travel. Therefore, the bag cannot be moved freely in the aisles between the seats in the cabin of a plane, or in crowded areas. When the casters 1 cannot be used, it is necessary to lift the bag and to carry it by hand. When the bag is lifted up and carried by hand, it is then possible to move the bag in the direction shown by arrow A in FIG. 1.
The bag mounted with casters has a convenient structure which allows heavy bags to be moved easily. This is because even if the bag is heavy, it can be pulled easily while rolling on the casters. In order to solve the drawbacks of the prior art, the present inventor has developed the bag structure shown in FIG. 2. The bag shown in FIG. 2 has casters 21 fixed at the bottom face of bag body 24. To allow the bag body 24 to stand by itself in an upright position, the casters 21 are mounted at the four corners of the bottom face, respectively. A grip 23A of a handle 23 is located at the middle between the right and left sides of the upper face of the bag body 24. In contrast to the bag shown in FIG. 1, the bag shown in FIG. 2 can be moved with tilting the bag body. As shown by the arrow in the FIG. 2, the bag is moved while standing in a vertical position. When it is moved in the direction shown by the arrow, it can be moved with a narrow width of the bag body oriented perpendicular to the direction of travel. For this reason, the bag shown in FIG. 2 has the advantage that it can be conveniently moved in plane cabins or crowded areas. Furthermore, the bag can be freely moved in any direction by using free casters, which swiveling in any direction, for the four casters 21. Also, the upright bag does not transmit the bag weight to the handle 23. Therefore, even a fairly heavy bag can be easily pushed and moved.
The bag shown in FIG. 2 can be lightly and easily moved on its four casters by pushing the grip of the handle. However, with a bag of this structure it is necessary to place the grip of the handle at the middle of the bag body, i.e. between the right and the left sides of the bag body. As shown in FIG. 3, if a grip 33A is fixed to one side of the bag body 34 having free swiveling casters, the bag will move and turn when it is pushed as shown by the arrow in FIG. 3. Therefore, when the grip 33A is fixed to one side of a bag mounted with free swiveling casters 31, the grip 33A has to be firmly held in order to move the bag in a straight forward direction. This is because bags that tend to turn, are moved while strongly holding the grip 33A in order to correct the direction of movement. Therefore, the drawback of the bag of FIG. 3 is that the bag cannot be easily moved while lightly holding the grip 33A.
As shown in the cross sectional view of FIG. 4, with the bag mounted with the handle at the middle of the upper face of the bag body, it is necessary to fix extensible rods 25 of the handle 23 to the inside of the bag body 24. To place the grip 23A at the middle between the right and left sides of the bag body 24, the extensible rods 25 are fixed by penetrating through the middle between the right and left sides that is to say the direction of the thickness of the bag body 24. With a bag of this structure, the extensible rods 25 will make efficient use of the inside of the bag body 24 difficult. To solve as much as possible the problems associated with the extensible rods 25, the present inventor has provided a partition panel 26 in the bag body 24 and thus has invented a bag with the extensible rods 25 fixed to this partition panel 26. The bag is designed to open on both sides so as to allow items to be placed in the bag on both sides of the partition 26. In the bag of FIG. 4, the partition panel 26 reinforces the bag body 24 and also divides the bag body into two compartments thereby making the bag more convenient. However, the drawback of having the extensible rods 25 hindering inside the bag body 24 is still not solved. Especially, the drawback of the bag body 24 becoming shallower, thus preventing the placement of thick items therein, cannot be solved.
The present invention has been developed with the aim of solving these drawbacks, and an important object of the present invention is to provide a bag mounted with casters and having the extensible rods mounted in a position where they will not hinder efficient placement of items inside the bag body, even when the grip is mounted between the right and left sides of the bag body.


A showerhead system with a normally open, temperature controlled first water valve coupled between a hot water source supply inlet and a purge outlet. The first water valve is configured to move from its normally open position to a closed position to restrict water passing from the hot water source supply inlet to the purge outlet when the temperature controlled water valve reaches a predetermined temperature. In a first mode, the first water valve purges water from the hot water source supply inlet through the purge outlet until the thermal actuator reaches the predetermined temperature. In a second mode, the first water valve blocks water entering the first water valve from passing through the purge outlet toward the showerhead outlet. In an optional third mode, a normally closed, manual second water valve is open and passes water through the showerhead outlet.

According to 2004 and 2011 papers by Jim Lutz at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, shower warm-up waste is 20-30% of total shower time. Shower warm-up waste occurs when a user turns on the shower and goes to do something else while the water warms up at the shower head. Activities such as brushing teeth, shaving, using the washroom, picking out clothes, drinking coffee and other routine activities dictate the user's time away from the shower and wastes water.


A user equipment and network communication device in a communication system and wireless communication method. The user equipment includes: an application type determination module, configured to obtain application type information contained in a type field of an application module in the user equipment to determine the application type of the application module, different application types corresponding to different networking methods; and a networking module, configured to establish a communication network with another user equipment based on the networking method corresponding to the application type of the application module, so as to use the application module.

In recent years, the wireless communication technology makes considerable progress. Intelligent devices such as a smart phone are widely applied. An application in the intelligent device, such as an App, facilitates people's life and improves a working efficiency. However, a solution that network management is performed by the application is absent in the conventional technology, thereby resulting in a waste of radio resources and inconvenience of use.
For the above-described problem existing in the conventional technology, it is expected to provide a device and a method for managing a network according to features of an application, which can utilize radio resources sufficiently and perform networking using the best manner for the application.

User equipment and network communication device in communication system and wireless communication method


Techniques and systems for designing a network providing communication and location identification services are described. A solution point comprising parameters for each of a plurality of base stations is generated. A coverage and locatability performance value for the solution point is computed, as well as derivatives of the performance value. The coverage and locatability performance value and its derivatives are used to indicate favorable directions for searching for subsequent solution points, and subsequent solution points are generated and compared against previous solution points until an optimum solution point is found. The coverage and locatability performance value is a weighted sum of coverage and locatability values for each point in the service area of the network, with coverage values representing forward and reverse link quality and locatability values representing the probability that a point will experience an acceptable power level from at least four base stations.

The use of wireless communication systems is very widespread and continues to increase. As the number of wireless users increases, the likelihood increases that a user will have a wireless device, such as cellular telephone, available when a need arises to make an emergency call such as a 911 call. Landline systems detect a user's location when an emergency call is made. Such detection is easy, because a landline telephone call is made from a fixed location, typically with the telephone number originating the call being associated with the location. Location detection for wireless telephone calls is much more difficult, but is extremely important. For example, it may be critically important to able to identify the location of a user who may be injured or disoriented and in urgent need of assistance, but does not know the location or is unable to communicate it to an operator.
A number of solutions have been considered. One of the simplest solutions would be the use of global positioning system (GPS) technology, because much of the required infrastructure is already in place. A wireless unit equipped with a GPS receiver could easily adapt the information provided by the GPS receiver to provide location information to an emergency call system, provided that the GPS receiver was able to compute the position data.
However, reliance on the GPS system alone to provide location data is problematic in emergencies. A GPS receiver must have a clear view of several satellites in order to obtain a position fix, and the receiver may take several minutes, even with an acceptable view, to obtain the fix. In emergencies, reliability and speed in obtaining location information can be critical. A user's location must be determined as quickly as possible, so that assistance can be provided promptly. Presently proposed standards for location identification for wireless devices contemplate prompt location identification. These standards require a worst case speed for emergency location identification that is significantly faster than the worst case speed accepted by users of GPS systems.
If a network is properly designed, fast and reliable location identification can be accomplished using triangulation of signals received from a number of base stations in different locations. However, a wireless device must be in sight of and in range of at least four base stations in order to consistently accomplish location identification in this manner. Prior art network design concentrates primarily on positioning base stations and configuring the base station antennas so as to maximize coverage and reduce interference. A wireless unit can communicate successfully with a network if it is within sight and range of one base station. Deployment of base stations so that a unit is within range of more than one base station results in an overlap of coverage areas and some increase of interference between base stations. When considered by themselves, these outcomes are undesirable.
Therefore, prior art design of networks does not impose any requirement that a wireless unit will be within range of more than one base station, and the generation of a network design that is suitable for identifying the location of a wireless unit occurs either accidentally or as a result of field tests and adjustments. Traditionally, networks are designed using geographic and user information, with the base station locations being predetermined primarily according to business considerations. The antenna configurations are optimized to maximize coverage, using tools that yield values for antenna azimuth, transmit power and tilt. If it is desired that the network so designed be usable for location determination, actual field tests are then conducted. One or more users move around within the service area, noting the points at which they are able to obtain location information. This data is then used to make adjustments to the antenna configurations to improve location determination capabilities. Further field tests are then conducted, followed by additional adjustments, and so on. Needless to say, this procedure is both complex and costly.
There exists, therefore, a need for systems and techniques for wireless network design that can be implemented at the initial planning stages of a network and that take into account the need to identify the location of a wireless unit making an emergency call and optimize the design of the network so as to allow for identification of the location of a mobile unit without excessive interference and without a need to deploy an excessive number of base stations.

Method and apparatus for design of wireless networks to aid in location identification of mobile units


A joint structure includes a rotating guide pulley, a fixed guide, and a rotating guide pulley. The rotating guide pulley is coaxial with a rotating shaft of a revolute joint, and is arranged so as to be rotatable about the rotating shaft. The fixed guide is arranged in a first structure, and has an arc portion. The arc portion has the same radius as the rotating guide pulley and is coaxial with the rotating guide pulley. The rotating guide pulley is arranged in a second structure so as to be relatively movable. A wire is put round the rotating guide pulley, the movable rotating guide pulley, and the fixed guide in the order of them.

The present invention relates to a joint structure which can be applied to a joint mechanism of a mechanical apparatus such as a robot arm, and the robot arm including the joint structure.
Conventionally, in a structure of a multiple-joint robot arm, an actuator which drives a joint is usually arranged in a joint portion or near the joint portion. However, in such a structure, hand inertia becomes large, because a heavy motor or the like is arranged near a hand such as a wrist of a human-like arm. This may hinder an improvement of hand position control performance, or may generate a large impact in collision, which requires a consideration in terms of safety.
In response to the above issue, a wire drive type robot arm has been developed, in which the actuator is arranged near a base end position away from the driven joint and driving force is transmitted by wire. Because the hand can be slimmed down in the wire drive type robot arm, the wire drive type robot arm has excellent characteristics such as high-speed drive.
However, in the wire drive type robot arm, in the case where the wrist portion is driven by arranging the actuator in a body portion which is of a base portion to which the arm is attached in order to reduce the hand-side inertia, namely, in the case where a run distance of the wire is made longer, it is necessary that the wire be arranged beyond the joint such as an elbow of the human-like arm. In this case, when driving the joint located in the midway of the wire, a wire path length changes, which causes an issue that the change in wire path length influences on joint movement of the end portion, such as the wrist, which is driven by the wire.
In order to solve the issue, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent No. 3290709) discloses a configuration in which a pair of pulleys is arranged so as to be displaced from a rotation center of the joint. Further, Patent Document 2 (Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. H6-77914) discloses a configuration having a wire guide pulley the rotation center is rotated in accordance with the joint movement.
However, in the configuration disclosed in the Patent Document 1, the change in wire path length by the joint movement cannot completely be eliminated, so that the change in wire path length is increased as a rotation angle of the joint located in the midway is increased. Further, in the configuration disclosed in the Patent Document 2, when the rotational movement of the wire guide pulley is generated in accordance with the joint rotation, in the state where the joint is bent, the wire path is bent toward a direction opposite to the direction of a front end-side arm member before the wire is bent toward the direction of the front end-side arm member. Therefore, the wire path cannot be kept completely constant irrespective of the joint movement.
An object of the present invention is to provide, in order to solve the above issues, a joint structure which can transmit driving force without being influenced by rotating movement at the revolute joint at all, and the robot arm including the joint structure.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


An optoelectronic sensor for determining the distance of an object in a monitoring area has a light transmitter for transmitting transmitted light, a light receiver for generating a received signal from remitted light remitted by the object, and a control and evaluation unit configured to modulate the transmitted light with at least a first frequency and a second frequency, to determine a phase offset between transmitted light and remitted light for the first frequency and the second frequency, and to determine a light time of flight. The control and evaluation unit is configured to determine a first amplitude and a second amplitude for the first frequency and the second frequency from the received signal and to detect whether the transmitted light impinges on an edge in the monitoring area on the basis of an evaluation of the first amplitude and the second amplitude.

Many optoelectronic sensors operate with a scanning principle, where a light beam is transmitted into a monitoring area, and the remitted light beam that is returned by objects is received in order to electronically evaluate the received signal. The light time of flight often is measured in order to determine the distance of a scanned object. This type of distance measurement is also known as ToF (Time of Flight) or LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging).
The scanning beam can be moved to extend the measurement field of view, as in a laser scanner. There, a light beam generated by a laser periodically sweeps over the monitoring area with the aid of a deflection unit. In addition to the measured distance information, the angular position of the deflection unit is used to determine the angular position of the object, and thus the location of an object in the monitoring area is detected in two-dimensional polar coordinates. In most laser scanners, the scanning movement is achieved by a rotating mirror. However, it is also known to rotate the entire measuring head with light transmitters and light receivers, as described for example in DE 197 57 849 B4.
In time-of-flight measurement, a distinction is made between pulse-based and phase-based methods. In a pulse method, the time-of-flight of a light pulse or a sequence of light pulses is measured directly, which is why this method is also known as dToF (direct ToF). However, for high-precision measurements, especially in a laser scanner, as required for example in the field of volume measurement, pulse-based methods are less suitable under given conditions with regard to costs, laser power, available components and the like.
For this reason, the phase method will be considered in more detail in the following. In a phase method, also known as CW measurement method or iToF (indirect ToF), the transmitted light is periodically modulated, typically with a modulation frequency in the order of 100 MHz. The phase shift of the modulation between transmitted light and received light, after multiplication with the known modulation wavelength, is the light time of flight to be measured. However, the phase method has only a very small unambiguity range corresponding to half a modulation wavelength, which for example means only 1.5 m at 100 MHz.
In order to deal with this problem, it is known that the CW measurement is carried out with several modulation frequencies, which are modulated onto the measuring light one after the other in separate measurement cycles, or sometimes also simultaneously. The phase offset is determined for each modulation frequency, and thus a distance value in an enlarged unambiguity range is calculated. For the special case of two modulation frequencies f0, f1, the enlarged unambiguity range corresponds to that of a synthetic difference frequency f0-f1.
A measurement situation that leads to considerable errors in time-of-flight measurements is when the transmitted light impinges on an edge in the monitoring area. An edge means that the light spot of the transmitted light beam impinges on an object surface with a partial cross-section only, while the remaining light passes this object surface and impinges on another object surface that is possibly much farther away. The received signal then corresponds to a mixture of two different distance measurements.
With a pulse method, the partial reflections at the two object surfaces at different distances from one another result, in the best case, in distinguishable echoes in the received signal. In that case, the edge can be detected, or a multi-echo evaluation with distance values to both object surfaces is possible. However, if the distance between the two object surfaces is relatively small, the echoes already merge so that separation is no longer possible.
Regardless of how well a pulse method might be able to detect and evaluate edges, the differentiation of several echoes cannot be transferred to a phase method. Thus, it has not yet been possible to take advantage of the higher accuracy of the phase method without also accepting the usually erroneous measured values at edges.


A method of incorporating a UV light absorber into a polyester during the esterification or the condensation process by selecting the UV absorber from a class that is substantially not reactive with the polyester raw materials, is stable in the conditions of polycondensation or polymerization, and does not suffer loss through volatilization, resulting in an incorporation yield of 70% or higher, preferably 90% or higher. One embodiment comprises selecting the appropriate compound from the class of triazines and incorporating is as a solid powder in the beginning of the esterification. Another embodiment comprises selecting the appropriate compound from the class of triazines and incorporating it in the form of slurry during the time interval between esterification and condensation. Other embodiments include novel resins and films made by the UV absorber containing polyester resin made by the methods disclosed herein.

Polyester resins are often used in a variety of applications where stability against the deleterious effects of UV radiation found in sunlight is critical. These effects may concern the stability of the resin itself or the stability of the substance present on the other side. Of particular concern is the UV light at wavelengths between 320 and 390 nm, which are present in sunlight and which are being transmitted through standard PET.
One example of such need for protection are clear containers commonly used to store beverages, detergents, cosmetics and other products whose color or content (such as vitamins or flavor components) is sensitive to UV light.
Another example is fibers, used for example in outdoor applications such as woven signs, awnings, or outdoor garments that must provide skin protection to the wearer.
Other examples are clear extruded sheets used outdoors, for example as awnings, greenhouse roofs, advertising signs, etc.
Other examples yet are biaxially-oriented films. Biaxially oriented polyester films are often used in applications where stability to prolonged exposure to sunlight is critical. Such applications include weatherproof solar shell back sheets and clear window films.
In the case of solar cell back sheets, where clarity is not an issue and often undesirable, the most cost-effective was to impart UV resistance is by incorporating whitening agents such as titanium oxide or barium sulfate. However such films suffer from haze and are not suitable for production of films used in applications requiring good transparency, such as window films.
Such window films must often have very low haze in order to satisfy end-user applications. At the same time, they require ease in handling and processing and scratch resistance. This dual requirement is accomplished for example by incorporating particles, offering anti-block, slip, and anti-scratch characteristics but have a size below or within the range of visible light wavelength so as to prevent significant light diffraction that would result in haze. A very tangible benefit is the significant reduction of high angle sun haze, a factor in many solar applications.
Window films are often dyed or metalized (to an optical density that still leaves the film transparent to visible light) or have ceramic coated applied to convert incoming solar radiation to infrared radiation, which is then rejected back through the glass to the exterior.
The adhesive system used in window films rejects UV Radiation up to 380 nm. As UV is one of the main sources of fading, it can prolong the life of fixtures and fittings. Specialty UV Window Films are available that offer increased protection to 400 nm, through incorporation of high-performance UV absorbers, which also increase the shelf life of the film itself.
UV absorbers are compositions which absorb light in the wavelength area where PET is transparent to UV light and thus susceptible to damage by the energy absorbed. In doing so they consume the light energy themselves and thus it is not available for damaging the polyester.
UV absorbers are typically incorporated in the form of pre-compounded chip concentrates ("masterbatches") in the manufacturing of polyester articles, such as bottles, fibers, and films. Such masterchips are produced during a separate step involving kneading the polymer pellets together with the UV absorber in a twin screw extruder which allows precise metering. This process adds additional cost. Furthermore, due to the thermal degradation high IV more expensive ship has to be used in forming the masterbatch.
A typical UV concentrate "masterchip" is formulated with a UVA content between 10-20% by weight
U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,374 describes the incorporation of a UV absorbing species belonging in the methane family and possessing a hydroxyl and a methyl ester end-group at the beginning of the esterification by a condensation reaction. U.S. Pat. No. 7,541,407 describes the incorporation of similar compounds after the esterification step and before the vacuum polycondensation step; the incorporation yields reported in the examples (25%, 44% and 77%) suggest that significant amount is lost due to volatility.

Addition of non-reactive UV absorbers during polyester synthesis