An electric toothbrush includes a driving source; a vibrating member having a brush; a transmission mechanism which converts an output of the driving source into vibration of the vibrating member; and a control unit that controls the output of the driving source. The vibrating member has a first resonance point in which the brush resonates in a first direction, and a second resonance point in which the brush resonates in a second direction; and the control unit has a first operation mode which controls the output of the driving source so that a resonance in the first direction is generated, and a second operation mode which controls the output of the driving source so that a resonance in the second direction is generated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric toothbrush.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is known an electric toothbrush of a type for toothbrushing (removing plaque) by placing a high speed vibration brush against a tooth surface. In this type of the electric toothbrush, various driving mechanisms and driving methods have been proposed for an improvement in plaque removing power and an improvement in the sense of medical treatment.
Japanese Patent Application National Publication (Laid-Open) No. 6-510675 (WO92/16160) discloses a configuration which vibrates a lever arm provided with a brush to the right and the left at a frequency substantially equivalent to a resonance frequency in a magnetically driven electric toothbrush. Japanese Patent Application National Publication (Laid-Open) No. 2007-514397 (WO2005/058188) discloses a configuration which periodically changes amplitude of a brush head in a range of 5 to 30% by changing a driving frequency centered on a resonance frequency which is deviated by approximately 0 to 5 Hz from a resonance frequency of a toothbrush. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 7-116027 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,493,747) discloses a configuration which controls a frequency of a brush by changing the number of rotation of a motor on the basis of a detection result of toothbrushing pressure.


A photocatalyst having superior properties of adsorption and decomposition with respect to various substances is provided. This photocatalyst comprises a porous body coated with titanium apatite. The porous body is preferably diatomaceous earth. The photocatalyst can be formed by co-precipitation or a sol-gel method.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel photocatalyst for use in articles such as air cleaners, air conditioner filters, wallpapers, curtains and the like which have air cleaning, water cleaning, soil decomposing, antibacterial, sterilizing and other functions. A photocatalyst here is defined as a material capable of breaking down nearby organic compounds, bacteria and other harmful substances by means of ultraviolet or other light rays.
2. Description of the Related Art
The photocatalytic titanium apatite {see, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3,678,606 (claims)} is known to exhibit superior adsorptive properties with respect to various substances (see, for example, Wakamura, Masao et al, Langmuir 2003, Vol. 19, p. 3428-3431).
However, titanium apatite is normally in the form of a powder which tends to aggregate and which adsorbs less per unit volume than active charcoal, diatomaceous earth and the like. Consequently, better adsorptive properties are needed for applications such as air cleaning.

Photocatalyst, manufacturing method therefor and articles comprising photocatalyst


A method for designing an electronic system having at least one digital part. The method includes representing a behavioral description of the system as a first set of objects with a first set of relations therebetween. Furthermore, the method includes refining said behavioral description into an implementable description of said system, said implementable description being represented as a second set of objects with a second set of relations therebetween. Also, the method includes retaining at least one of said second objects for reuse in the design of a second electronic system.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for reusing electronic hardware component designs as a part of other designs.
2. Description of the Related Technology
A design methodology and a design environment for a hardware/software system co-design environment has been disclosed previously in EP-A-772140 describing a hardware/software co-design environment and design methodology based on a data-model that allows to specify, simulate, and synthesize heterogeneous hardware/software architectures from a heterogeneous specification. Said environment and said methodology are based on the principle of encapsulation of existing hardware and software compilers and allow for the interactive synthesis of hardware/software and hardware/hardware interfaces. Said database is compiled on a memory structure adapted for access by executable programs on a computer for generating the implementation of said heterogeneous essentially digital system, comprising a plurality of objects representing aspects of said digital system wherein said objects comprise primitive objects representing the specification of said digital system and hierarchical objects being created by said executable programs while generating the implementation of said digital system, said hierarchical objects being refinements of said primitive objects and having more detail and preserving any one or all of said aspects to thereby generate said implementation of said digital system; and further comprising relations inbetween said primitive objects and inbetween said hierarchical objects and between said primitive objects and said hierarchical objects; and further comprising functions for manipulating said objects and said relations. This type of design environment and method, disclosed in EP-A-772140, uses objects that represent aspects of the digital system. This type of design environment needs functions for manipulating the objects, in order to achieve an implementation of the digital system. These functions and the executable programs compiled on a computer refine the primitive objects and give rise to the implementation. The present patent application as well as EP-A-867820 on the other hand disclose another type of design environment and design methodology. EP-A-867820 is incorporated herein by reference. The present patent application discloses a design environment and design methodology that faces another problem, as summarised herebelow.
The rush forward of digital implementation technology faces contemporary chip designers with ever increasing design complexities. This makes the ability to reuse components in a system an essential design skill. Examples of such components are embedded cores, or complex random logic blocks. The established view on reuse is focused at the structural level. A component is made reusable by matching it to a standard interface. This interface defines input/output signals, their timing relationship etc. Such an interface allows to hide the detailed design of a component as intellectual property (IP) of a designer, and yet makes the component available for reuse. The reuse of hardware components at the structural level is not without problems. Several reasons are mentioned for this:                Reuse is in the first place a matter of reusing functionality, not structure. It happens often that a component can be 'almost' reused, but requires additional encapsulation to match the right behavior. For instance, a digital filter can have the ideal characteristic and performance for a modem system, but contains a serial coefficient programming input instead of the required parallel one.        Structural reuse seals the behavior of a component in a closed box behind the reuse interface. As a result, the reused behavior can only be manipulated indirectly through this interface. Introducing for instance a wait state in the operation of a memory controller might require cumbersome interface manipulations.        Current hardware development environments are good in capturing, simulation and synthesis of hardware components. They do however a bad job in manipulating the same descriptions. As an example, VHDL defines a component as an entity with a well defined port set. It is not possible to strip the ports of an entity depending on some external design condition.
As shown in table 1, the difficulties of reusing structure can be substantial. The table shows some statistics for a DECT transceiver. It lists the total number of blocks, and the amount of blocks that have a programming interface function (prog). The RT-VHDL line count is shown, first without this programming function (wo/prog) and next including it (w/prog). It clearly shows the extra RT coding required by one extra per-block function.
TABLE 1RT counts for DECT designBlock countRT-VHDL line countTotalprogwo/progw/progDECT252317K28K
This situation has been recognized by other authors as a 'Silicon Ceiling' (G. Martin. Design methodologies for system level ip. In Proc. DATE 1998, pages 286-302). Research solutions have been either to encapsulate VHDL within an advanced design environment (G. Lehmann, B. Wunder, and K. Muller-Glaser. A vhdl reuse workbench. In Proc. EDAC 1996, pages 412-417) or else to extend the semantics of VHDL itself (P. Ashenden, P. Wilsey, and D. Martin. Reuse through genericity in suave. In Proc. VIUF 1997 Fall Conf., pages 170-177 and B. Djafri and J. Benzakki. Oovhdl: Object oriented vhdl. In Proc. VIUF 1997 Fall Conf., pages 54-59).
Aims of the Invention
A primary aim of the present invention is to provide a method for reusing complete electronic hardware component designs in other hardware designs.
A further aim of the present invention is to provide a method enabling reuse the function of an electronic hardware component in another design.
Another aim of the present invention is to provide a method enabling reuse of at least a part of the functionality of an electronic hardware component design.

Interuniversitair Microelektronica Centrum (IMEC)


The present invention is directed to methods and compositions for the production of Fc-containing polypeptides having improved properties and comprising mutations at positions 243 and 264 of the Fc region.

Monoclonal antibodies often achieve their therapeutic benefit through two binding events. First, the variable domain of the antibody binds a specific protein on a target cell, for example, CD20 on the surface of cancer cells. This is followed by recruitment of effector cells such as natural killer (NK) cells that bind to the constant region (Fc) of the antibody and destroy cells to which the antibody is bound. This process, known as antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity (ADCC), depends on a specific N-glycosylation event at Asn 297 in the Fc domain of the heavy chain of IgG1s, Rothman et al., Mol. Immunol. 26: 1113-1123 (1989). Antibodies that lack this N-glycosylation structure still bind antigen but cannot mediate ADCC, apparently as a result of reduced affinity of the Fc domain of the antibody for the Fc Receptor FcγRIIIa on the surface of NK cells.
The presence of N-glycosylation not only plays a role in the effector function of an antibody, the particular composition of the N-linked oligosaccharide is also important for its end function. The lack of fucose or the presence of bisecting N-acetyl glucosamine has been positively correlated with the potency of the ADCC, Rothman (1989), Umana et al., Nat. Biotech. 17: 176-180 (1999), Shields et al., J. Biol. Chem. 277: 26733-26740 (2002), and Shinkawa et al., J. Biol. Chem. 278: 3466-3473 (2003). There is also evidence that sialylation in the Fc region is positively correlated with the anti-inflammatory properties of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). See, e.g., Kaneko et al., Science, 313: 670-673, 2006; Nimmerjahn and Ravetch., J. Exp. Med., 204: 11-15, 2007.
Given the utility of specific N-glycosylation in the function and potency of antibodies, a method for modifying the composition of N-linked oligosaccharides and modifying the effector function of antibodies would be desirable.
Yeast and other fungal hosts are important production platforms for the generation of recombinant proteins. Yeasts are eukaryotes and, therefore, share common evolutionary processes with higher eukaryotes, including many of the post-translational modifications that occur in the secretory pathway. Recent advances in glycoengineering have resulted in cell lines of the yeast strain Pichia pastoris with genetically modified glycosylation pathways that allow them to carry out a sequence of enzymatic reactions, which mimic the process of glycosylation in humans. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,029,872, 7,326,681 and 7,449,308 that describe methods for producing a recombinant glycoprotein in a lower eukaryote host cell that are substantially identical to their human counterparts. Human-like sialylated bi-antennary complex N-linked glycans like those produced in Pichia pastoris from the aforesaid methods have demonstrated utility for the production of therapeutic glycoproteins. Thus, a method for further modifying or improving the production of antibodies in yeasts such as Pichia pastoris would be desirable.

Method for preparing antibodies having improved properties


The invention relates to multispecific antigen-binding proteins for engaging natural killer (NK) cells for triggering NK cell cytotoxicity by engaging the CD16A (FcγRIIIA) expressed on NK cells, wherein the antigen-binding protein comprises at least two CD16A antigen-binding moieties and at least a further target antigen-binding moiety. The CD16A antigen-binding moiety comprises light chain and heavy chain variable regions linked one after another in a polypeptide chain and the variable region at the N-terminus of the polypeptide chain comprising the CD16A antigen-binding moiety is a light chain variable region.

WO 2006/125668 and Reusch et al., MABS, 2014, 6:3:728-739 describe a bispecific tandem diabody for engaging the CD16A and its use for NK cell immunotherapy.
Natural Killer (NK) cells are cytotoxic, IFN-γ-producing innate lymphocytes that are considered to constitute the first line of defense against virus-infected cells and cancer cells (Cerwenka and Lanier, Nat Rev Immunol. 2001; 1(1):41-9). The cytotoxic potential of NK cells can be utilized in cancer immunotherapy by redirecting NK cell lysis to tumor cells and stimulating the activating receptor CD16A, also known as FcγRIIIA, expressed on the cell surface of NK cells.
Directing NK cells for tumor cell lysis using multispecific antibodies is considered a potent immunotherapeutic approach with low toxicity and well acceptable safety profile.
CD16A is an activating receptor triggering the cytotoxic activity of NK cells. The affinity of antibodies for CD16A directly correlates with their ability to trigger NK cell activation, thus reducing the antibody dose required for activation.
The cytotoxic activity of NK cells can be increased by increasing the avidity through multivalent binding to CD16A, e.g., bivalent binding to CD16A.
However, bivalency and multivalency for CD16A may result in antibody-mediated cross-linking of CD16A-expressing cells, including NK cells, γδ T cells and subsets of monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells. Such interactions are expected to result in undesired cellular stimulation via CD16A. For example, cross-linking of NK cells with CD16A-expressing immune cells results in NK cell activation, cytokine release and induction of cell-directed cytotoxicity, which reduces NK cell activity and accelerates NK cell exhaustion that is independent of the desired anti-tumor effect. Hence, NK cell cross-linking with CD16A-expressing immune cells is expected to reduce therapeutic efficacy of NK cell-engagement. Most importantly, cross-linking of two or more NK cells through bivalent or multivalent interaction with CD16A can cause NK cell activation and induction of fratricide (NK-NK cell lysis) ultimately resulting in efficient NK cell depletion in vivo, as previously described using a CD16-directed murine IgG antibody (3G8) that is bivalent for CD16A in rhesus macaques and tamarins (Choi et al., Immunology 2008; 124:215-222; Yoshida et al., Frontier in Microbiology (2010); 1:128). Hence, induction of NK lysis reduces the number of effector cells available to mediate ADCC and impairs therapeutic antibody efficacy.
Thus, there is need for antibodies capable for enhanced NK cell engagement which is not diminished by fratricide (NK-NK cell lysis).

NK cell engaging antibody fusion constructs


A section feeder for a book binding machine is provided with a pair of parallel guide plates (11A), (11B) attached to a base (10) in order to form a section conveying path therebetween, the section conveying path extending from a section supply station to a section delivery station, parallel guide slits (12A), (12B) formed on the guide plates, an elevating rod (14A), (14B) horizontally extending from the outside of each guide plate into the section conveying path through each guide slit (12A), (12B), the elevating rods associated with the same guide plate being movable all at once in such a manner that they reciprocate along said guide slits and enter into the section conveying path upon reaching the section supply station and retreat from the section conveying path upon reaching the section delivery station, the elevating rods associated with the different guide plates alternately moving upwardly and downwardly, whereby sections are lifted without tilting by a flat section support surface formed on the elevating rods from the section supply station to the section delivery station.

This invention relates to a section feeder for a book binding machine, namely, an apparatus for feeding gathered sections from a collator to a book production line of a book binding machine.
In a conventional automatic book binding machine, a plurality of clamps are continuously moved on a book production line. Then gathered sections from a collator are clampingly held by the clamps and conveyed on the book production line along which a spine processing unit, a gluing unit and a cover application unit and so forth are arranged.
At the beginning of a book binding process, it is necessary to successively feed the sections from a collator to the book production line so that they are clampingly held by the clamps. Conventionally, because of a structure of the clamp, the section is lifted up from a section supply station below the clamp's travelling path to a section delivery station on the clamp's travelling path, and then the sections are clamped by the clamps having arrived at the section delivery station.
In order to achieve such lifting operation of the sections, it has been proposed to dispose an endless chain between the section supply station and the section delivery station in order to form an inclined path for conveying the sections. In this construction, the sections are conveyed by the chain from the section supply station to the section delivery station. However, while the sections are conveyed by the chain, the position of the sections are suddenly changed due to large bending of the section conveying direction at the time of the sections putting on the chain and at the time of the sections betting down the chain after elevation. Consequently, there is a possibility that the alignment of sections is disturbed. This problem can be solved by diminishing an angle of inclination of the chain, but it is not desirable because of enlargement of apparatus size.
In order to solve this problem, there has been proposed an apparatus for feeding sections gathered by a collator to a book binding machine without tilting the sections during feed operation of the sections (Japanese Patent Publication No. 17725 of 1986). In this apparatus, sections are conveyed by pushing pins, which are guided in an endless loop. from a collator to a section supply station along a horizontal travelling path. Furthermore, a plurality of endless chains are arranged in parallel with one another between the section supply station and the section delivery station. And a plurality of pins for supporting the sections are attached to each of the chains. Then the sections are lifted to the section delivery station by engagement of its spine with the pins without tilting.
However, in such apparatus, it is considerably troublesome to adjust the section lifting mechanism in such a manner that the associated pins of the chains engage with the spine of the section all at once. Especially, such adjustment becomes further difficult because the chains tend to wave during rotation. If the pins of the chains fail to engage with the spine of the section all at once, the section may tilt on the pins and slip down from the pins.
According to this apparatus, the level of the section delivery station cannot be adjusted. But the cut length of the spine is not always constant and it is necessary to adjust the level of the section delivery station by further travelling the section on an alignment plate after lifting the section to the section delivery station. In order to achieve this, there should be provided an additional space (corresponding to at least one clamp) for travel of the section on the alignment plate, which leads to a large-sized book binding machine.


A laser machining apparatus includes a chuck table for holding a workpiece, and an irradiation unit which irradiates a laser beam upon the workpiece held on the chuck table. The laser beam irradiation unit includes a condenser which condenses the laser beam and irradiates the condensed laser beam upon the workpiece held on the chuck table. The condenser includes first and second condenser lenses arrayed in series in an advancing direction of the laser beam, a first moving unit having a first driving source for moving the first condenser lens in a first direction perpendicular to an optical axis of the first condenser lens, and a second moving unit having a second driving source for moving the second condenser lens in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laser machining apparatus for carrying out laser machining for a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a semiconductor device fabrication process, the surface of a semiconductor wafer of a substantially disk shape is partitioned into a plurality of regions by dividing lines called streets arrayed in a lattice shape, and devices such as ICs or LSIs are formed in the partitioned regions. Then, the semiconductor wafer is cut along the streets to divide the regions in which the devices are formed from each other to produce individual semiconductor chips.
In order to achieve miniaturization and high performances of an apparatus, a module structure in which a plurality of devices are stacked and bonding pads provided on the stacked devices are connected has been put into practical use. The module structure is configured such that a through-hole (via hole) is formed at each of the locations, in the semiconductor wafer, at which the bonding pads are provided, and a conductive material such as aluminum connecting with the bonding pads is embedded in the through-hole (via hole).
As a method of forming a through-hole (via hole) in a semiconductor wafer as described above, a perforation method for a wafer has been proposed in which a pulse laser beam is irradiated upon a substrate, which configures a semiconductor wafer, from the rear face side to efficiently form a via hole extending to a bonding pad (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-160374). According to this technique, the optical path of a laser beam can be deflected using an acousto-optical device (AOD), and a pulse laser beam is irradiated (for example, in a circular orbit) by a plural number of times upon a region in which a through-hole (via hole) is to be formed to achieve efficient machining.
Also, as a method of forming a through-hole (via hole) in a semiconductor wafer, a laser machining apparatus has been proposed which can deflect the optical axis of a laser beam in an X-axis direction and a Y-axis direction by a galvanometer scanner (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-264805).


A plurality of data elements are analyzed, in one or more computers, to optimize an arrangement of slices in a pie chart, wherein a value for each of the data elements represents an area of a corresponding one of the slices in the pie chart, and the data elements are ordered by their values, so that labels and lines on placed on the pie chart without overlap.

1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates generally to data visualization and in particular to methods for representing data in a pie chart.
2. Description of Related Art.
Data visualization software has become one of the most competitive segments of the software industry. The primary goal of data visualization software is to represent data to a user in a convenient, effective and meaningful way. Typically, pie charts, bar charts, line charts, and area charts are the most widely used graphical representations. It is important to ensure that these graphical representations convey as much information about the underlying data as possible and be aesthetically pleasing.
In the case of pie charts, information in the form of labels is generally shown outside the pie slices when there are many small data elements. Association of a label with a corresponding slice is shown by a connecting line drawn between them. However, there are many challenges when small slices are concentrated at one place
Sometimes, the data provided by the smaller elements in a pie chart are equally important or even more important than other elements. For example, there may be 20 elements, where 3 of the elements comprise 80 percent of the total area of the chart, while the remaining 17elements are shown as very small slices. In this case, it is very difficult to show all the labels with connecting lines to their slices at once using a typical layout. Hence, there is a strong need to show such kind of information in pie charts in a satisfactory layout.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

International Business Machines Corporation


A pacing control is used in a multiple-chamber cardiac pacing system, which, upon detecting an atrial arrhythmia, automatically switches to a special therapy mode and administers a selected anti-tachycardia pacing (ATP) therapy in the atrium, and which switches to a standard pacing mode following delivery of the ATP therapy. The pacing control adjusts the timing of pacing pulses to be delivered to the atrium and/or the ventricle to minimize any potential ventricular pauses that may result from the switch from the therapy mode to the standard pacing mode.

The present invention relates generally to the field of cardiac pacing systems, and more particularly to a cardiac pacing device having pacing control for minimizing a ventricular pause that can follow the delivery of an atrial anti-tachycardia pacing (ATP) therapy.
Modern cardiac pacing devices and systems, such as implantable pacemakers and cardioverter-defibrillators, are designed for efficient dual or multiple chamber pacing, as well as for detection and treatment of dangerous cardiac arrhythmias. A dual chamber pacing device commonly provides an atrial tracking, synchronous pacing mode (such as DDD or DDDR), whereby the ventricle is paced in synchrony with sensed and/or paced atrial activity. This type of pacing scheme approximates the normal healthy coordination between the atrium and the ventricle and, thus, optimizes cardiac output of the heart.
If the atrium is seized with an arrhythmia, however, most modern pacing devices will switch from an atrial tracking, synchronous pacing mode (such as DDD) to a non-tracking, atrial-ventricular (AV) sequential pacing mode (such as DDI), in which the ventricle is paced in response to pulsed atrial activity but not sensed atrial activity. To combat the atrial arrhythmia, the pacing device commonly will select and administer an ATP therapy comprising a plurality of carefully controlled, rapidly administered pulses to the atrium. During delivery of the ATP therapy to the atrium, the pacing device will switch to a special therapy mode (such as AOO with VVI backup) in which the ventricle is paced independent of atrial activity. That is, neither paced nor sensed atrial events trigger pacing in the ventricle. During the special therapy mode, the ventricle is commonly paced at a patient-specific lower rate interval (LRI), or at a sensor rate if the patient's current activity levels justify a higher rate.
Upon delivery of the last atrial pacing pulse of the ATP therapy, the pacing device commonly reverts back to the non-tracking, AV sequential pacing mode (e.g., DDI). This transition back, however, may result in a ventricular pulse-to-ventricular pulse (V-V) interval between the last ventricular pulse delivered prior to the cessation of the ATP therapy and the first ventricular pulse (paced or intrinsic) delivered after completion of the ATP therapy that is significantly longer than the LRI.
This is especially true if the last atrial pulse of the ATP therapy occurs immediately prior to the next scheduled ventricular pulse. This long V-V interval experienced upon transition between the pacing device's therapy mode and non-tracking, AV sequential mode is referred to herein as a ventricular pause.
A ventricular pause that is greater than the LRI presents three potentially negative effects. First, the long ventricular pause may produce undesirable symptoms in some patients. Second, alternating between relatively short and long ventricular intervals could be potentially pro-arrhythmic. Third, the long ventricular pause may result in confusion for the patient's physician because data stored in the device may appear as though the patient was paced at a rate lower than the programmed LRI.

Pacing device for minimizing ventricular pauses after delivery of atrial anti-tachycardia pacing therapy


A method for manufacturing preforms used in molding optical elements includes: (1) forming an array made from a material for optical elements, in which a plurality of preform portions used in molding optical elements are connected; (2) applying vibration to the outer peripheral part of the preform portion in the thickness direction of the array by a pair of punches; and then (3) punching the preform portions.

It is well known as a conventional method for press-molding optical elements that optical elements can be obtained by setting preforms for molding optical elements, which have been manufactured previously by injection molding, into the space surrounded by an upper mold, a lower mold and a drum mold, and by molding the preforms under heat and pressure, as disclosed, for example, in Japanese laid-open patent application (Tokkai Hei) 8-127077. In this case, as shown in FIG. 10(a), a preform 64 for molding an optical element can be obtained via a gate 61, a runner 62 and a sprue 63. In case of obtaining optical elements by molding the preform 64 under heat and pressure, the preform 64 is cut off from the gate 61, which is used as a single substance, since the preform 64 can be obtained via the gate 61.
It is also well known as a conventional method for press-molding optical elements that optical elements can be obtained by softening a flat member to be processed with heat generated by vibration, and by forcing the member having a molding surface into the softened flat member, as disclosed, for example, in Japanese laid-open patent application (Tokkai Hei) 1-67309. A molding apparatus for carrying out this molding method will be explained as follows. As shown in FIG. 11, an upper die 52 and a lower die 53 are arranged facing each other and are supported by members not shown in the Figure, so that a flat member 54 to be processed, made from resin, can be supported by the upper die 52 and the lower die 53. A through hole 52a is formed along the central axis of the upper die 52, and an upper punch 55 can freely slide up and down in the through hole 52a. A through hole 53a is formed along the central axis of the lower die 53, and a lower punch 56 can freely slide up and down in the through hole 53a. On the end portion of the upper punch 55 and the lower punch 56, molding surfaces for molding optical elements are formed respectively. The lower punch 56 is fixed to a lower frame 57a of a frame 57, through which vibration is provided, and is also connected to an actuator 60 providing vibration, which is installed on the under surface of the lower frame 57a. A through hole 59 is provided in an upper frame 57b of the frame 57. The upper punch 55 is connected to a molding actuator 58 installed on the upper surface of the upper frame 57b, which can freely slide up and down in the through hole 59.
The following explanation is for the method for press molding optical elements using a molding apparatus having such a structure as mentioned above. First, a flat member 54 to be processed is supported by the upper die 52 and the lower die 53 and further the member 54 is firmly supported by shifting the upper punch 55 and the lower punch 56 axially. Next, the actuator 60 providing vibration is actuated and the upper punch 55 and the lower punch 56 are vibrated upwards and downwards by means of the frame 57 through which vibration is provided. As a result, the member 54 is softened with heat generated by self-heating. Then the upper punch is forced into the member 54 by actuating the molding actuator 58 while the actuator 60 providing vibration is operating. Consequently, the shape of the molding surface (the shape of an optical element) formed on the end portion of the upper punch 55 and the lower punch 56 is transferred onto the member 54. Finally, only the part on which the shape of an optical element is transferred is punched from the member 54 by shifting the upper punch 55 and the lower, punch 56 in the same direction, i.e. upwards or downwards. Accordingly, an optical element can be obtained.
However, in the preforms for molding optical elements, which are obtained by injection molding, the resin density near gates is ununiform compared to that of the other part and residual distortion near the gates is considerably high. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10(b), the rise of temperature during the molding causes a recess 64a near the gate 61. As a result, the recessed part around the gate can get into the clear aperture of optical element 65 as shown in FIG. 12, and thereby a defect in the performance of optical elements might occur.
In the method for manufacturing optical elements by softening a flat member to be processed with heat generated by vibration, and by forcing the member for molding having a molding surface into the softened flat member, a closed space is created between the flat member 54 to be processed and the molding surfaces (recess) 55a and 56a formed on the end portion of the upper punch 55 and the lower punch 56, as shown in FIG. 13(a). As a result, a spatial portion 71 (on which the shape of optical element has not been transferred) might remain on the spherical portion 65a of an optical element 65 as shown in FIG. 13(b), thereby resulting in a defective product. Furthermore, a defect in the performance of optical elements might occur, since the shape of the molding surfaces (recess) 55a and 56a of the upper punch 55 and the lower punch 56 respectively is different, and thereby the precision of the shape transfer at the time of cutting is also different, or since the deviation of the axis of the upper punch 55 and the lower punch 56 causes the deviation of an optical axis in the upper and lower side of the spherical portion of optical elements.

Method for manufacturing preforms used in molding optical elements and method for manufacturing and molding optical elements

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Liquid chemical compositions are disclosed for anaerobic biodegradation, detoxification, and transformation of toxic organic and inorganic compounds in a contaminated geologic media under reducing conditions, including, but not limited to, denitrifying, manganese-reducing, iron-reducing and sulfate-reducing conditions. One such liquid chemical composition includes sodium nitrate in the range of one-fifth (0.2) to four (4) pounds per gallon of the chemical composition; sodium hexametaphosphate or other biologically hydrolyzable ring or linear polyphosphate in the range of one twentieth (0.05) to five (5) pounds per gallon of the chemical composition; a surfactant in the range of 0.01% to 10% by volume of the chemical composition; and a diluent in the form of water.

Aerobic and anaerobic bioremediation of contaminated soils, ground water sites, lakes, ponds, aquifers, wells, shore fronts, oceans and the like have proven effective in remediating toxic organic and inorganic compounds such as fuel oil, gasoline, PCBs, DDT, and other pesticides, and the like. Bioremediation projects that have been successfully implemented are in areas that include underground storage tank spills and leakages; hazardous solid wastes; ground spills; and contamination of ground water (wells), geological aquifers and the like. Aerobic and anaerobic bioremediation have proven to be more cost effective and timely than conventional engineering technologies, and have the further advantage in that they do not produce wastes which enter the surrounding air, water and soils. Anaerobic bioremediation has been shown to be the most effective and least expensive method of remediation of toxic materials. Other remediation technologies such as standard physical soil and ground-water remediation ie. excavation and disposal or pump and treat systems and soil-vapor extraction (SVE) remediation which have all been shown to be moderately high in capital costs; require long-term operation and maintenance including labor, materials and power consumption; time parameters that are in months to years; and remediation effectiveness results being moderately low in the cleaning-up of the contaminated soils and ground water. These remediation techniques are also limited by considerations of depth of soil to be removed; obstructions in the geologic formations; safety conditions at the site; and environmental law statutes with regard to Federal, State and local regulatory agencies for a site remediation project that produces wastes that effect air, water and soil conditions. These aforementioned remediation technologies generally are less feasible, and significantly more expensive and sometimes prohibitive in terms of logistics and/or overall costs.
Problems associated with anaerobic bioremediation have included the difficulty of achieving significant increases in the naturally occurring indigenous microorganisms at the contaminated site using appropriate chemical compositions of nutrients that would successfully have the indigenous anaerobic bacteria metabolize the organic and inorganic contaminants. The inability to maximize the rate of metabolism of toxic contaminants by anaerobic microorganisms can be due to inadequate or incorrect electron acceptors, nutrient forms of nitrogen and phosphorus, trace-mineral micronutrients, chelating agents, non-toxic surfactants, lack of carbon co-substrates, and inerting agents. There is also a physical inability to deliver, distribute and disperse the nutrients readily, rapidly and over a wide distribution area within the contaminated geologic media for effective biodegradation of the contaminated substances into non-toxic end-products. Also, there is a difficulty of working with anaerobic microorganisms and processes because the biochemical pathways describing the anaerobic degradation of organic and inorganic compounds have been difficult to characterize, and to a large degree, are yet to be fully understood. Thus, it can be seen that anaerobic bioremediation of contaminated geologic media such as ground water (wells), sludge, soil and the like is not an easy or simple technological problem.
There remains a need for an improved method and apparatus for the anaerobic bioremediation of organic and inorganic toxic compounds within a contaminated geologic media to form non-toxic end products without further formation of waste by-products that effect air, water and soil qualities at the geologic site. In addition, there is a need that the bioremediation be accomplished by having an in-situ treatment of the contaminated geologic media such that the organic and inorganic contaminants are metabolized or transformed by naturally occurring indigenous, denitrifying and/or manganese-, iron- and sulfate-reducing anaerobic microorganisms using the aforementioned electron acceptors, in combination with nutrients, surfactants, chelating agents, a diluent, and an inert gas to convert the contaminants within the contaminated geologic media into non-toxic end products. These naturally occurring indigenous microorganisms which operate using one or more respiration pathways are hereafter called "multiple respiration pathway" (MRP) microorganisms.

Methods for anaerobic bioremediation using solid-chemical compositions containing Mn(IV) and Fe(III)


A device for preventing deflection of an elongated workpiece rotating about its longitudinal axis is provided with a contact ring (9) that is rotatably mounted about a support shaft (12) perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the contact ring (9). The angle of inclination of the rotational axis of the contact ring (9) is variable relative to the rotational axis of the elongated workpiece (M) inserted throught the ring (9), by rotating the housing (6) about the support shaft (12). The periphery of the workpiece (M) is supported by the inner periphery of the contact ring (9) at two points, i.e., at axial ends of the contact ring. Thus, elongated workpieces of different diameters can be supported by varying the inclination angle of the axis of the contact ring (9) relative to the workpiece (M).

Elongated workpieces are machined by apparatus such as lathes, while being rotated about their longitudinal axis. If the workpiece deflectively revolves in this case, problems such as reduced machining accuracy and a break in the cutting tool will arise.
FIG. 11 shows a device for preventing the deflection of an elongated workpiece rotating about its longitudinal axis. This device comprises a plurality of bolts 31 screwed through a frame 30 around the elongated workpiece M, and a contact member 32 attached to the forward end of each bolt 31. The bolts are moved inwardly or outwardly of the frame 30 in accordance with the outside diameter of the workpiece M to cause the contact members 32 to support the outer periphery of the workpiece M against deflection.
With the deflection preventing device shown in FIG. 11, however, the elongated workpiece M is supported at only one point along its length, therefore greatly deflectively revolves in front and rear of the supported position as seen in FIG. 10 and can not be prevented from deflection fully effectively. When some kinds of elongated workpieces M which are different in outside diameter are to be supported by the device, the plurality of bolts 31 must be rotated individually to adjust the amount of projection of each bolt into the frame 30, hence a very cumbersome adjusting procedure.
An object of the present invention is to overcome the foregoing drawbacks of the prior art.

Device for preventing deflection of elongated workpieces

Oimazato, Higashinari-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka, 537


A method for increasing the production of methane from a subterranean carbonaceous formation by chemically stimulating the formation of additional free surface area or cleats in the organic constituents of the formation and by causing inorganically adsorbed methane to be released from contained clay-minerals to increase the rate of methane desorption from the formation by injecting an aqueous oxidizing solution containing at least one oxidant into the formation, and thereafter producing methane from the formation at an increased rate. Suitable oxidants include peroxide, ozone, oxygen, chlorine dioxide, sodium hypochloride, water soluble salts of hypochlorous acid, perchlorate, chlorate, persulfate, perborate, percarbonate, permanganate, nitrate and combinations thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods for increasing the rate of production of methane from a subterranean carbonaceous formation by chemically stimulating the formation with an aqueous oxidizing solution to increase the production rate of methane from the formation. The invention is applicable to the enhanced recovery of methane from formations consisting of carbonaceous materials deposited with inorganic materials, such as occur in carbonaceous shale formations. The increased production rate is accomplished by increasing the surface areas of the contained organic material fragments, which contain hydrocarbons, by inducing the formation of cleats and other new surfaces in these carbonaceous materials, thereby facilitating the desorbtion of light hydrocarbons from these carbonaceous formations. Carbonaceous formations such as shales, are composed in part of clay minerals. The invention is also applicable to the enhanced recovery of light hydrocarbons which are adsorbed to these clay minerals.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Substantial quantities of methane gas are found in subterranean coal formations and in other formations containing carbonaceous materials, which may include macerals, kerogens, and other organic materials and which are present with inorganic materials such as sands, clays and like clastic materials in the formation. Such other formations are referred to herein as "carbonaceous formations".
A variety of processes have been used in attempts to recover the methane from such formations, especially coal formations, more efficiently.
The simplest process is the pressure reduction process wherein a borehole is drilled into a coal formation from the surface and methane is withdrawn from the borehole by reducing the pressure to cause methane to be desorbed from and flow from the coal formation into the borehole and to the surface. This method is not efficient because coal formations are generally not extremely porous and the majority of the methane is generally not found in the pores of the coal formation but is absorbed in or adsorbed to the coal. While methane can be produced from coal formations by this process, the production of methane is relatively slow.
In some coal formations, the natural permeability is sufficient to allow the removal of in situ water to permit the enhanced recovery of methane. In such formations, cleat systems developed during the coal bed diagenesis and burial history provide channel ways through which water and methane migrate to the production wells for removal. This removal of water or "de-watering" of the coal formations removes water from the channel ways and permits the flow of methane through the channel ways and to a production well at a greater rate.
Many coal formations do not have extensively developed cleat systems or have cleat systems which are not fully developed. These coal formations have very low permeability to water and gas and do not yield water or gas at significant rates. As a result, the water fills the cleats, and the recovery of methane from such coal formations is difficult or impossible at significant rates. Such low permeability water-containing coal formations may be either water saturated or less than fully water saturated. It appears that coal formations with better developed cleat systems may have been exposed to a diffusive oxidizing fluid of some type during the geologic past whereas coal formations with less developed cleat systems do not show evidence of past exposure to an oxidizing fluid.
Many formations containing carbonaceous materials in combination with inorganic materials show similar behavior. These are referred to as carbonaceous formations. Many such formations contain large quantities of methane, or other absorbed or adsorbed light hydrocarbons such as methane, but the methane is not readily recovered from such formations because the permeability and exposed surface area of the contained carbonaceous materials are too low to permit the efficient release of methane from the formation. The terms "absorbed" and "adsorbed" are used interchangeably in the discussion herein to refer to methane or other light hydrocarbons which are retained in or on the surfaces of the carbonaceous materials and the methane or other light hydrocarbons which are retained in or on the surfaces of the clay-mineral materials which are present in the carbonaceous formations.
Accordingly, continuing efforts have been directed to the development of methods for replicating the effects of the conditions which formed the better developed cleat systems in coal formations and increasing the production rate of methane from carbonaceous formations.

Chemically induced stimulation of subterranean carbonaceous formations with aqueous oxidizing solutions


A printed antenna includes a dielectric substrate having a pair of printed antenna elements to form a dipole antenna. On an antenna plane, an xy axis system is defined so that an origin is defined at a center of location of the antenna elements, and an x axis is set in a direction that the antenna elements are arranged, a y axis is set in the direction perpendicular to the x axis, and a size of the antenna elements in the direction of the y axis become gradually larger according to the x axis changing in an outer direction. Each of the antenna elements has an impedance matching part at a feeding side of the antenna elements. The printed antenna can be used in an ultra wide-band frequency, and is small profile, is light weight and low in cost.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printed antenna, which has an ultra wide-band ("UWB") frequency range. The ultra wideband antenna is loaded on UWB wireless devices for its use. Therefore, it is required to be low and small profile, light weight and low cost. Moreover, the characteristics of ultra wideband antenna have to be constant gain and omni-directional patterns.
2. Description of the Related Art
Growing use of wireless communication devices has forced the need of large bandwidth, and large bit-rates, such as bit-rates of several hundred Mbps. It requires an antenna having excellent characteristics in the range of ultra wideband frequency. Further the antenna has to be small profile, light weight and low cost.
FIG. 14A and FIG. 14B show a prior art of an example of wide frequency band patch antenna, that is a bow-tie type patch antenna. FIG. 14A shows a cross sectional view of the antenna, and FIG. 14B shows a top view of same. In FIG. 14A and FIG. 14B, a substrate 20 is composed of dielectric material such as FR4. A patch 21 has a figure like a bow-tie. The patch 21 is made of metal as copper. A ground plate 22 of copper is provided on the back surface of the substrate. The patch 21 is connected to a line of coaxial cable which penetrates through the substrate 20. The shield of the coaxial line is connected to the ground plate 22.
The prior art of a printed bow-tie type antenna shown in FIG. 14A and FIG. 14B does not have the wide frequency range such as the ultra wide frequency, thus it is unsuitable to cover the ultra wideband frequency range. Several designs to make the patch antenna wide band have been reported, such as noted below in references 1–6. Their frequency range, however, is not be able to cover the ultra wideband communication frequency range of 3.1–10.6 GHz.
As mentioned above the prior art printed antenna have not satisfied the practical use of the ultra wideband communication devices so far. Because it is very difficult to make the wideband printed antenna having good frequency characteristics of the ultra wideband communication.
The following are references to the related art:
1. G. Kumar and K. C. Gupta, "Directly coupled multi resonator wide-band microstrip antenna," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagation, vol. 33, pp. 588–593, June 1985.
2. K. L. Wong and W. S. Hsu, "Broadband triangular microstrip antenna with U-shaped slot," Elec. Lett., vol. 33, pp. 2085–2087, 1997.
3. F. Yang, X. X. Zhang, X. Ye, Y Rahmat-Samii, "Wide-band E-shaped patch antenna for wireless communication," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagation, vol. 49, pp. 1094–1100, July 2001.
4. A. K. Shackelford, K. F. Lee, and K. M. Luk, "Design of small-size wide-bandwidth microstrip-patch antenna," IEEE Antennas Propagation Magz., vol. 44, pp. 75–83, February 2003.
5. J. Y Chiou, J. Y. Sze, K. L. Wong, "A broad-band CPW-fed strip-loaded square slot antenna," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagation, vol. 51, pp. 719–721, April 2003.
6. N. Herscovici, Z. Sipus, and D. Bonefacic, "Circularly polarized single-fed wide-band microstrip patch," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagation, vol. 51, pp. 1277–1280, June 2003.

National Institute of Information and Communications Technology


A system and method directed to speculating a collision in a video game. A vectorial sum of vertices of a first object, a second object, and motion vector for the first object is used to determine if a collision occurs. A shifted motion vector beginning at an origin within the vectorial sum, with substantially same orientation as the motion vector is employed to determine an intersection on a collision plane. A first triangle is constructed containing the origin and having vertices among vertices of the vectorial sum. Subsequent triangles sharing one edge with a previous triangle are constructed without overlapping. The iterative construction process is terminated when no vertex of the vectorial sum remains to be selected for a new triangle. A time and location of the collision is determined based on coordinates of the triangle vertices establishing a length of a line segment between the origin and the intersection.

It has long been the goal of computer arts to create realistic images through computer graphics. Fast 3D processing provided by modern video game consoles and computer processors may be used to generate realistic animation at a high speed in interactive response to a player's manipulation of inputs devices such as a handheld controller. Such advanced video graphics systems provide nearly cinematic quality and realism while allowing all kinds of real and imaginary scenes and characters to be displayed with interactive animation.
One of the challenges to providing realistic, interactive, high-speed 3D computer animation relates to the manner in which the computer animates movement of an object. Many computer graphics animation systems define the object in terms of what the object looks like, such as shape or form. Furthermore, animated objects move, and therefore have dynamic characteristics as well. For example, to realistically animate a ball, it is necessary to model the elasticity of the ball (i.e. how much it deforms when it strikes another object). Another characteristic commonly modeled is how the object behaves when it collides with another object (i.e. does it bounce, deform, shatter).
Any representation in computer graphics whether realistic or imaginary requires a certain amount of dynamic realism in order to be properly evaluated by the human brain. In addition to the above mentioned modeling approaches, a critical part of realistic animation is the ability of the graphics program to predict the location and speed of collision, such that the behavior of the object before and after the collision may be determined. Thus, it is with respect to these considerations, and others, that the present invention has been made.

Method and system for performing speculative collisions for a video game


An apparatus includes a first programmable circuit block including a plurality of programmable circuit elements. The plurality of programmable circuit elements include a hardwired, instrumented memory element. The instrumented memory element includes a first flip-flop configured to receive a data signal, a delay circuit configured to generate a delayed version of the data signal, and a second flip-flop identical to the first flip-flop and configured to receive the delayed version of the data signal. The instrumented memory element also may include a comparator configured to compare an output signal from the first flip-flop and an output signal from the second flip-flop and an error signal generator. The error signal generator is configured to generate an error signal responsive to a mismatch of bits between the output signal from the first flip-flop and the output signal from the second flip-flop.

Dynamic voltage scaling, or "DVS," is a power management technique used in electronic systems. DVS refers to varying the voltage provided to one or more components of an electronic system. The voltage may be varied in real time during operation of the electronic system according to various circumstances. As an example, the voltage provided to a component such as a central processing unit of an electronic system may be increased or decreased in real time during operation of the electronic system. Decreasing the voltage provided to a component may be performed to reduce power consumption of the electronic system or to conserve power.
A variety of techniques may be used to control DVS operations in electronic systems. In some cases, look-up tables are used to store pre-characterized voltages that guarantee either correct operation of the electronic system or operation with an acceptable error rate. In other cases, a "canary" circuit is implemented within the electronic system and monitored for errors. A canary circuit generally refers to a class of circuit used to indicate an imminent error or failure. When applied to an integrated circuit (IC), the noted DVS control techniques may be particularly susceptible to process, voltage, and temperature (PVT) variations across the IC. Accordingly, the design of an electronic system typically includes sufficient margin to maintain acceptable operation of the electronic system in even a worst case combination of PVT variation.

Dynamic voltage scaling in programmable integrated circuits


Systems, apparatuses, and methods for enhancement for amplify-and-forward relay. Instead of merely passing received signal from a source, relay may equalize the received signal based on reference signal contained in the received signal, before amplifying and transmitting the signal to a destination. Compared to amplify-and-forward, equalize-and-forward may compensate the received source signal for various imperfections such as channel distortions and phase errors, using demodulation reference signal and phase tracking reference signal. The relay may apply Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to equalize the signal in tone domain.

This disclosure relates generally to wireless communication, and more specifically, to techniques for enhancement for amplify-and-forward (AF) relay.
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or New Radio (NR)). A wireless multiple-access communication system may include a number of base stations or access network nodes, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE).
Relay can assist communications between source and destination, especially when the direct link between source and destination may be weak, such as when the direct link has high pass loss. A relay may receive from the source a signal (carrying information for the destination), called "source signal," generate a "relay signal" based on the received source signal, and then transmit the relay signal to the destination.

Enhancement for amplify-and-forward relay


An apparatus and method for determining cardiac performance in a patient. The apparatus includes a multifrequency conductance catheter for measuring instantaneous volume of a heart chamber with multifrequencies. The apparatus includes a mechanism for measuring instantaneous pressure of the heart chamber. The apparatus includes a mechanism for separating the multifrequencies. The apparatus includes a mechanism for signal processing the instantaneous volume and the pressure of the heart chamber to identify mechanical strength of the chamber and for automatically producing a plurality of desired waveforms at desired frequencies for the conductance catheter. The processing mechanism is connected to the pressure measuring mechanism, the separating mechanism and the volume measuring mechanism.

The present invention is related to determining cardiac performance in a patient. More specifically, the present invention is related to determining cardiac performance in a patient with a conductance catheter which can be excited with multiple frequencies.
Although there are other methods to measure ventricular volumes such as MRI and nuclear technologies, they cannot do so instantaneously. Echocardiography can generate an estimate of instantaneous volume using the modified Simpsons rule or xe2x80x9cstack of discsxe2x80x9d. Because it utilizes a single tomographic plane to estimate three dimensional volumes, it has limitations when applied to patients with regional wall motion abnormalities. Therefore, only improvements in conductance technology offer the ability to make these precise mechanical measurements.
One conductance apparatus commercially available is the Cardiac Function Analyzer made by CardioDynamics in the Netherlands. This apparatus includes the Leycom Sigma 5, a device which is used to measure instantaneous volume from a conductance catheter. The Leycom Sigma 5 has been able to generate adequate volume data in ventricular chambers of large animals which are smaller than 150 ml. However, in patients with congestive heart failure, hearts may range from 180 to 500 ml. It has been previously shown (Reprint 1) that the Sigma 5 cannot generate a homogeneous electric field for volumes seen in human heart failure. Furthermore, there is no built in mechanism for the Sigma 5 to correct for current leakage into the surrounding conductive structures such as myocardium. As a result, it significantly underestimates the stroke volume (volume of blood pumped by the failing heart) and overestimates end-systolic and end-diastolic volumes. In reprints 2-5, there was an average 2-fold underestimation of the stroke volume. U.S. Patent to Carlson teaches that parallel conductance (current leakage outside the blood volume i.e., heart muscle) will be constant at different frequencies, so that this term can be excluded (see column 4, item (6)). Gwane et al. J Appl Physiology vol 63, pg 872-876, 1987 teaches that parallel conductance does vary with frequency, while By stroke volume is constant. The present invention is based on the discovery that since muscle resistivity does vary with frequency and blood does not, the resistivity ratio of blood and muscle will vary with frequency. Hence, both the field density within the left ventricle and the current leakage to the surrounding heart muscle both vary with frequency. The end result is both stroke volume and parallel conductance varying with frequency, which is in contrast to both the Carlson patent and Gwane paper. The apparatus uses a digitally controlled signal synthesizer to drive any conductance catheter. This results in more consistent control over waveform shape, amplitude, and frequency than known before. The use of the digital synthesizer also allows the user to select any type of waveform over a broad range of frequencies to apply to a conductance catheter. The digital signal synthesizer is a Signametrics Complex DDS Generator. The device can couple with commercially available conductance catheters made by numerous vendors. One includes Millar Instruments in Houston, Tex. They market conductance catheters with an incorporated Mikrotip pressure transducer for small animals including transgenic mice (SPR 719) and humans (SPC 550, 560, and 570).
The ability to delete single genes from small animals (mice and rats) to generate transgenic animals is now possible. This allows the study of the effect of a single gene deletion on the development on congestive heart failure (weak heart muscle) and hypertrophy (thickened heart muscle). Investigators are currently utilizing left ventricular pressure or its first derivative (dP/dt); or dimension and fractional shortening (derived by echocardiography). The problem with these isolated pressure and dimension measurements is that they are altered just by the heart size changes which accompany congestive heart failure and hypertrophy. Conductance catheter pressure-volume measurements miniaturized for the transgenic mouse allows the physiologic endpoint of how weak the heart muscle has become to be accurately determined. See xe2x80x9cCardiac physiology in transgenic micexe2x80x9d by James et al., and another paper demonstrating the technique of conductance PV loops in the mouse (Georgakopoulos et al. Am J Physiology 1998), both of which are incorporated by reference herein.
Conductance measurement offers a method to generate an instantaneous left ventricular volume signal in the mouse (Georgakopoulos D, Mitzner W A, Chen C H, Byrne B J, Millar H D, Hare J M, Kass D A. In vivo murine left ventricular pressure-volume relations by miniaturized conductance micromanometry. Am J Physiol 274 (Heart Circ Physiol 43): H1416-H1422, 1998, incorporated by reference herein). It uses an electric field generated from electrodes at the apex and immediately above the left ventricle to sense the instantaneous conductance change as the left ventricle fills and ejects blood. A signal proportional to the left ventricular blood volume is required for use in physiologic studies. Unfortunately, the presently available instantaneous conductance output is a combination of blood and left ventricular muscle (Boltwood C M, Appleyard R F, Glantz S A. Left ventricular volume measurement by conductance catheter in intact dogs: parallel conductance volume depends on left ventricular size. Circulation 80: 1360-1377, 1989; Burkhoff D, Van Der Velde E, Kass D, Baan J, Maughan W L, Sagawa K. Accuracy of volume measurement by conductance catheter in isolated, ejecting canine hearts. Circulation 72: 440-447, 1985; Cabreriza S E, Dean D A, Jia C X, Dickstein M L, Spotnitz H M. Electrical isolation of the heart: stabilizing parallel conductance of left ventricular volume measurement. ASAIO Journal 43: M 509-M 514, 1997; Lankford E B, Kass D A, Maughan W L, Shoukas A A. Does parallel conductance vary during a cardiac cycle? Am J Physiol 258 (Heart Circ Physiol 27): H1933-H1942, 1990; Szwarc R S, Mickleborough L L, Mizuno S I, Wilson G J, Liu P, Mohamed S. Conductance catheter measurements of left ventricular volume in the intact dog: parallel conductance is independent of left ventricular size. Cardiovas Res 28: 252-258, 1994, all of which are incorporated by reference herein). By developing a conductance system that operates at several simultaneous frequencies, identification and possibly correction for the myocardial contribution to the instantaneous volume signal can be had.
This is based on the assumption that patient myocardial conductivity will vary with frequency, while patient blood conductivity will not. Prior work has shown that blood has constant electrical resistivity over a wide range of frequencies (2 to 100 kHz, 22). In contrast, the resistivity of myocardium is known to change with frequency; specifically, the resistivity of myocardium is lower at increased excitation frequency (Epstein B R, Foster K R. Anisotropy in the dielectric properties of skeletal muscle. Med Biol Eng Comput 21: 51-55, 1983; Schwan H P, Kay C F. Specific resistance of body tissues. Circ Res IV: 664-670, 1956; Steendijk P, Mur G, Van Der Velde E, Baan J. The four-electrode resistivity technique in anisotropic media: theoretical analysis and application on myocardial tissue in vivo. IEEE Trans Bio Med Eng 40: 1138-1148, 1993; Steendijk P, Mur G, Van Der Velde E, Baan J. Dependence of anisotropic myocardium electrical resistivity on cardiac phase and excitation frequency. Basic Res Cardiol 89: 411-426, 1994; Zheng E, Shao S, Webster J G. Impedance of skeletal muscle from 1 Hz to 1 MHz. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 31: 477-483, 1984, all of which are incorporated by reference herein). See FIG. 1. At lower frequencies, there is a maximal gradient between the resistivity of blood and myocardium such that the electric field generated will be primarily confined to the left ventricular cavity and to a lesser degree in the myocardium. At higher frequencies, there will be a minimal gradient between the resistivity of blood and myocardium and the electric field generated will not be confined to the left ventricular cavity but extend into the myocardium. Accordingly, the higher the excitation frequency, the greater the apparent end-diastolic and end-systolic conductance detected by the miniaturized conductance catheter. In addition, if this construct is correct there should be a slight reduction in the difference between end-diastolic and end-systolic conductance at higher frequencies since the relative proportion of the signal changing from systole to diastole is smaller.
This approach could have an important advantage over the traditional conductance method for determining measures of ventricular function such as end-systolic elastance. Since elastance is generated during beat-by-beat changes in loading conditions, a method to determine and correct for instantaneous parallel conductance is critical and does not exist. The use of multiple simultaneous frequencies has the potential to solve this problem. The application of this approach would be in transgenic mice. There is need to relate specific gene products to phenotype. Unfortunately, the ability to rigorously assess the cardiovascular phenotype in very small animals has lagged (Christensen G, Wang Y, Chien K. Physiologic assessment of complex cardiac phenotypes in genetically engineered mice. Am J Physiol 272 (Heart Circ Physiol 41): H 2513-H 2524, 1997, James J F, Hewett T E, Robbins J. Cardiac physiology in transgenic mice. Circ Res 82: 407-415, 1998, both of which are incorporated by reference herein). Such analysis has been available in larger animals by measurement of simultaneous left ventricular pressure and volume to examine cardiac performance in the pressure-volume plane (Baan J, Van Der Velde E T, De Bruin H G, Smeenk G J, Van Dijk A D, Temmerman D, Senden J, Buis B. Continuous measurement of left ventricular volume in animals and humans by conductance catheter. Circulation 70: 812-823, 1984; Kass D A, Yamazaki T, Burkhoff D, Maughan W L, Sagawa K. Determination of left ventricular end-systolic pressure-volume relationships by the conductance (volume) catheter technique. Circulation 73: 586-595, 1986, both of which are incorporated by reference herein). The application of this approach to mice has been difficult due to the small size of the mouse heart and the rapid heart rate. Creating technology to generate an accurate instantaneous volume signal in the transgenic mouse to generate pressure-volume relationships during occlusion of the inferior vena cava is a goal of this study.
By combining experimental data with an analytical approach consisting of a series of equations it was possible to extract an accurate estimate of left ventricular blood and myocardial components.
The present invention pertains to an apparatus for determining cardiac performance in a patient. The apparatus comprises a multifrequency conductance catheter for measuring instantaneous volume of a heart chamber with multifrequencies. The apparatus comprises a mechanism for measuring instantaneous pressure of the heart chamber. The apparatus comprises a mechanism for separating the multifrequencies. The apparatus comprises a mechanism for signal processing the instantaneous volume and the pressure of the heart chamber to identify mechanical strength of the chamber and for automatically producing a plurality of desired waveforms at desired frequencies for the conductance catheter. The processing mechanism is connected to the pressure measuring mechanism, the separating mechanism and the volume measuring mechanism.
At The present invention pertains to a method for determining cardiac performance in a patient. The method comprises the steps of inserting a conductance catheter into an in vivo heart. Next there is the step of sending simultaneously a combined signal consisting of at least two frequencies from a signal source into an amplifier. Then there is the step of applying a current to outer electrodes of the conductance catheter. Next there is the step of measuring an instantaneous voltage signal from the heart with intermediate electrodes of the conductance catheter. Then there is the step of extracting from the intermediate electrodes the combined signal potential from the combined signal. Next there is the step of separating the frequencies from the combined signal potential. Then there is the step of determining the separate conductance associated with each frequency. Next there is the step of identifying pressure volume loops regarding the heart of the patient.

Multifrequency conductance catheter-based system and method to determine LV function in a patient


A method for treating cancer is described using combination therapies comprising the use of hyperbaric oxygen with histone deacetylase inhibitors, with and without glycolytic therapies. The patient is subjected to a hyperbaric environment of substantially pure oxygen. A predetermined dose of one or more HDACI substances is administered to the patient. In addition, glycolitic inhibitors may also be administered. Dosages, pressures, and durations are selected as described herein to have a therapeutic effect on the patient.

In 2007, the ten most commonly diagnosed cancers among men in the United States included cancers of the prostate, lung, colon, rectum, and bladder; melanomas of the skin; non-Hodgkins lymphoma; kidney cancer, mouth and throat cancer, leukemia, and pancreatic cancer. In women, the most common cancers were reported as breast, lung and colon cancer. Overall, 758,587 men were told they had cancer and 292,853 men died from cancer in the U.S. in 2007. In women there has been a prevalence of 6,451,737 advanced cases reported by SEER at CDC. In general there were 11,957,599 advanced cancer cases in the US reported in 2010 by CDC and the incidence has been almost unchanged over the previous 8 years (482,000 cases in 2000 versus 456,000 cases in 2008). There has been an annual percentage change of only (−0.6) between years 1999 to 2008 in cancer incidence. Statistics show that deaths caused by advanced cancers from all types have not significantly changed since a decade ago, and in some cases, such as lung cancer with increased incidence since 1930, the death rate has remained rising, especially among women. As more and more chemotherapy agents are introduced to the market for advanced stages of disease, the patient survival rates have remained essentially unchanged. Moreover, the potential toxicity of many chemotherapeutic agents can be a devastating factor both for the clinician and the patient. Therefore the need for non-toxic therapies, used either alone or in combination with traditional chemotherapy, is evident.
Besides chemotherapy agents, many natural and several synthetic medications have been separately assessed to target cancer in different trials. Dichloroacetic acid (DCA), 3 Bromopyruvate (3BP), Sodium phenyl butyrate, and some natural antioxidants such as quercetin as a strong epigenetic modifier and an antioxidant have been used separately in research, and several clinical trials have shown promise in treating patients with advanced cancer either to achieve a response or increase the quality of life. Many of such treatments have been examined and combined with traditional chemotherapies and prove to function as chemosensitizing and radiosensitizing agents increasing their potential effect (1), (2), (3), (13), (46).

Method of treating cancer with combinations of histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDAC1) substances


According to one embodiment of the invention, an end-fire cavity slot antenna array structure includes an upper skin formed from a composite material corresponding to a outer surface of an aircraft wing a lower skin formed from a composite material corresponding to a portion of an inner surface of the aircraft wing and a plurality of proximately positioned electrically conductive elements disposed between the upper and lower skins. Each electrically conductive element is formed from at least one sheet of composite material having an electrically conductive surface, and the sheet of composite material is configured such that the electrically conductive surface defines an inside surface of the electrically conductive element and any outside surfaces of the electrically conductive element that are in contact with an adjacent electrically conductive element.

This invention relates generally to the field of antennas and, more specifically, to an end-fire cavity slot antenna array structure and method of forming.
Many type of antennas are in use today in aircraft. One such type of antenna is referred to as an end-fire cavity slot antenna array. An end-fire cavity slot antenna array typically includes a plurality of antenna elements having cavity slots that radiate radio frequency waves in the longitudinal direction of the slots. When used in an aircraft, an end-fire cavity slot antenna array structure is generally positioned on the wing. Because aerodynamic performance is important during the flight of an aircraft, these antennas and other antennas in use on aircraft are typically placed in radomes. These radomes consist of a radio frequency transparent shell so that the antenna is able to function properly, while maintaining sufficient aerodynamic properties for the aircraft. However, the parasitic nature of radomes, in which a shell or other housing is placed on an aircraft wing prevents aircraft designers from realizing improved aerodynamic conditions.
According to one embodiment of the invention, an end-fire cavity slot antenna array structure includes an upper skin formed from a composite material corresponding to a outer surface of an aircraft wing a lower skin formed from a composite material corresponding to a portion of an inner surface of the aircraft wing and a plurality of proximately positioned electrically conductive elements disposed between the upper and lower skins. Each electrically conductive element is formed from at least one sheet of composite material having an electrically conductive surface, and the sheet of composite material is configured such that the electrically conductive surface defines an inside surface of the electrically conductive element and any outside surfaces of the electrically conductive element that are in contact with an adjacent electrically conductive element.
According to another embodiment of the invention, a method of forming an end-fire cavity slot antenna array structure includes providing a plurality of tooling mandrels and forming a plurality of electrically conductive elements around the tooling mandrels. The electrically conductive elements are formed from at least one sheet of composite material having an electrically conductive surface configured such that the electrically conductive surface defines an inside surface of the electrically conductive element and any outside surfaces of the electrically conductive element that are in contact with an adjacent electrically conductive element. The method further includes positioning the electrically conductive elements proximate one another, disposing the electrically conductive elements between an upper skin and a lower skin, and curing the electrically conductive elements and the upper and lower skins.
Embodiments of the invention provide a number of technical advantages. Embodiments of the invention may include all, some, or none of these advantages. An end-fire cavity slot antenna array structure is provided that is load-bearingand conforms to the aerodynamic surface of an aircraft, which helps improve aerodynamic performance. A conformal antenna array structure eliminates the need for a radome. An end-fire cavity slot antenna array structure is formed form composite material such that a reflective surface exists on the inside surface of each electrically conductive element and an electrically conductive surface exists on the outside surface of the sides of the conductive elements so that a electrically conductive path exists between elements. Forming such a structure from such composite material results in structural continuity as well as radio frequency continuity.
Other technical advantages are readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, descriptions, and claims.

End-fire cavity slot antenna array structure and method of forming


A device for detecting a correlation maximum value from a sequence of correlation magnitude values includes a means for determining a reference value from correlation magnitude values within an interval of the sequence of correlation magnitude values, the correlation magnitude value to be assessed lying external to interval. A means for determining a threshold value provides the threshold value in dependence on the reference value. A means for comparing the correlation magnitude value to be assessed with the threshold value ascertained for the correlation magnitude value to be assessed is configured to provide, depending on the comparison result, a trigger signal which indicates whether a correlation magnitude value to be assessed is a correlation maximum value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices and methods for determining correlation maxima, which are useable, in particular, for digital transmission systems.
2. Description of Prior Art
For a receiver in a digital transmission system to be able to synchronize to a digital signal sent out by a transmitter, the transmitter radiates a digital signal known to the receiver. The receiver's task is to determine the precise time of arrival (TOA) of the signal sent. To determine the time of arrival, the cross-correlation between the digital receive signal and the known digital transmit signal is calculated. Subsequently, the magnitude maximum of the cross-correlation is detected, and the time of arrival of the transmit signal is determined from the position of the correlation magnitude maximum.
If a correlation magnitude maximum is to be searched for in a predefined range of correlation magnitude values and/or in a predefined range of indices 1 of a correlation signal, the correlation magnitude maximum may be determined by determining the maximum of all correlation magnitudes present within the predefined range.
However, if a correlation magnitude maximum is to be searched for across a continuous signal, i.e. across a stream of samples, assessments must be made continuously as to whether or not the correlation magnitude that has just been calculated represents a valid local maximum. To determine such a local maximum, a specified threshold value may be used along with the rule that a correlation magnitude maximum is at hand when a correlation magnitude to be assessed exceeds the threshold value. However, such a method is not flexible and imprecise since it offers no possibility of adjustment to a changing transmission channel. Thereby, the determination of the correlation magnitude maximum may be flawed. As a result of a flawed determination of the correlation magnitude maximum, a synchronization between a transmitter and a receiver of a transmission system is not possible, or there may be flawed data transmission.

Device and method for determining a correlation maximum

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V.


A leak detection method for detecting a leak past a dynamic seal in aircraft landing gear (100) comprising: a strut (10); a rod (20) slidably mounted in the strut; and a bearing (70) fitted to an end (11) of the strut to guide the rod (20). The bearing includes a bushing (50) having a seal (62) arranged to rub against the rod (20) to provide sealing between the strut and the rod, defines a fluid chamber (2), and a stop nut (40) for preventing the bushing from moving relative to the strut. The method includes a step of installing a test nut (3) without a wiper seal in the place of the stop nut (40), the step of putting the hydraulic fluid in the landing gear under pressure, and the step of verifying the existence of a leak of hydraulic fluid on the outside surface (22) of the rod (20).

Tests for leaks of hydraulic fluid in aircraft landing gear are known that seek to determine whether the dynamic seal(s) present between the strut and the sliding rod of the landing gear leg do indeed provide sealing without allowing any hydraulic fluid to pass to the outside of the landing gear strut, particularly along the sliding rod, when the landing gear is under pressure. In general, the strut has a bearing including at least one dynamic seal for rubbing against the sliding rod, the bearing being prevented from moving axially by a stop nut provided with a wiper seal.
These tests are generally performed as follows:                pressurizing said landing gear with the hydraulic fluid;        ceasing to pressurize the landing gear;        partially dismantling the stop nut of the bearing, where this is essential given that the wiper seal can prevent leakage running down from a leak in the dynamic sealing means; and        inspecting the rod to verify whether any leakage is present thereon, and thus verify whether a leak is present.
Nevertheless, it has been found that partially dismantling the stop nut for preventing movement in translation together with its wiper seal can damage the wiper seal, thus requiring the landing gear leg to be dismantled completely in order to be able to remove the stop nut and thus replace its wiper seal. Such a procedure takes time and delays putting the landing gear into service.

Method of detecting a leak past a dynamic seal in aircraft landing gear


A self-standing shoe rack or other type of shoe rack such as a hanging shoe rack which can expand lengthwise due to telescoping shoe support bars. Opposite frame sides may have equal-size sockets that receive identical end tubes. The end tubes fit telescopically in center tubes to allow length adjustment.

Efforts have been made to provide shoe racks that can be expanded and contracted in order to vary their capacity and allow them to fit in whatever area is available. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,888,353 to Leifheit and U.S. Pat. No. D403,880 to Malik disclose shoe racks having telescoping tubes on which shoes are supported. The tubes can be adjusted telescopically in length to vary the length and capacity of the shoe rack. However, in both of these shoe racks, there are two telescoping tubes that have different diameters, and the sockets that receive the tubes on the shoe rack frame must have different sizes. This size difference leads to practical problems.
First, this type of unit is normally assembled by consumers who generally lack assembly skills. Inevitably, a large number of purchasers will attempt to assemble the unit by trying to drive the larger tube into one of the smaller sockets. Not only will this not work, it is likely to crack or otherwise damage the frame, especially considering that the frames are typically constructed of plastic. In addition to the damage, there can be considerable frustration involved that can harm the reputation of the product.
A construction that uses two telescoping tubes also limits the capacity of the shoe rack as a practical matter. The two tubes must have some overlap, so the overall length of the shoe rack must be less than twice the length of the longer of the two tubes. Retail stores limit the length of the packaging they will accept, so the practical effect is that the shoe rack must have a maximum length less than twice the length of the package.


Aldehydes are prepared by a process, which comprises:

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved process for manufacturing aldehydes through hydroformylation of olefins by reducing catalyst deactivation in the regeneration of rhodium catalysts.
2. Description of the Background
On a commercial scale, hydroformylation of olefins is performed with cobalt or with rhodium catalysts. Here, the use of rhodium catalysts is mostly advantageous, as greater selectivity and product yields can be achieved thereby. However, compared to cobalt, rhodium is more expensive; in the hydroformylation of olefins to the corresponding aldehydes with rhodium catalysts the catalyst is a cost factor that is not insignificant. In order to increase economic efficiency, the specific catalyst consumption must be reduced. This factor is understood to be the quantity of catalyst that must be provided to the process during long-term operation in order to guarantee a constant activity level.
The rhodium-catalyzed conversion of olefins to the corresponding aldehydes occurs mostly in the homogenous liquid phase. With the hydroformylation of propene a process has been established in the meantime, wherein the catalyst is present dissolved in a second liquid phase; however, the applicability of this process to longer-chain olefins is limited.
With hydroformylation in the homogenous phase, wherein catalyst, olefins, products, solvents, and the like are present in one phase, the problem which arises is the separation of the catalyst from the products after the reaction is complete. This can be done by distilling the unconverted educt and the products. The catalyst, mostly dissolved in high-boiling constituents in the bottom, is then returned to the reactor. Distillation can be performed either continuously or discontinuously.
In the case of separation by means of distillation, a degree of decomposition or deactivation of the catalyst is often determined. In particular, in the hydroformylation of longer-chain olefins, distillation of the products can only be conducted at increased temperatures and/or reduced pressures because of the boiling points of the products.
Several methods are known for reducing rhodium deactivation during regeneration of the reactor discharge in hydroformylation processes.
EP 0272608 B1 describes a process wherein a rhodium catalyst having triphenylphosphine oxide ligands is utilized for hydroformylation. In the regeneration of the discharge from the reaction, triphenylphosphine (nine-fold quantity relative to rhodium) is added to the discharge prior to its distillation. The distillation residue contains rhodium complexes with triphenylphosphine as ligands, as well as triphenylphosphine and triphenylphosphine oxide. In this mixture the free and complexed triphenylphosphine is oxidized to triphenylphosphine oxide. This catalyst solution is returned to the reactor. Oxygen or a peroxide is utilized to oxidize the triphenylphosphine. Further variants of this method are known and described in JP 63 222 139, JP 63 208 540, DE 3 338 340 and JP 63 218 640.
These processes have the following disadvantages: Triphenylphosphine is consumed constantly. The equivalent quantity of triphenylphosphine oxide is produced by oxidation. In order to limit its concentration in the reactor, a discharge flow system is required by which again rhodium is discharged. An oxidizing apparatus is also necessary. The oxidation process involves costs for the oxidizer unless it is conducted with air.
Other processes using other phosphorus ligands which stabilize the rhodium are described in the relevant literature, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,400,547.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,731,472 and 5,767,321 and EP 0 149 894 describe processes for the hydroformylation of n-butenes. Rhodium catalysts containing phosphite ligands and stabilized by addition of amines are disclosed in these patents. The drawback to the addition of amines is that the amines can act as catalysts for aldol condensation and thus the formation of high boilers is favored.
Hydroformylation of a C8 olefin mixture, manufactured by dimerizing butenes, under the catalysis of rhodium complexes and their stabilization with substituted phenols is described in JP-04-164042. The rhodium compound, ligand and stabilizer are used here in a molar ratio of 1/10/50. The disadvantages of this process are the costs for the stabilizer and the expense of separating it. A need, therefore, continues to exist for a process for the hydroformylation of olefins in which deactivation of the rhodium catalyst is extensively suppressed.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a hydroformylation process in which deactivation of the rhodium catalyst is suppressed.
Briefly, this object and other objects of the present invention as hereinafter will become more readily apparent can be attained by a process for manufacturing aldehydes, which comprises:
hydroformylating an olefin having 3 to 21 carbon atoms under an atmosphere of CO/H2 in the presence of a rhodium catalyst in a hydroformylation reactor;
upon discharging the reaction product from the reactor,
a) separating the discharged material into a gaseous phase and a liquid phase,
b) separating the liquid phase into a top fraction containing unconverted olefins and aldehydes and a bottoms fraction containing the rhodium catalyst, and
c) cooling the bottoms fraction below the temperature of the material discharged from the hydroformylation reactor and feeding a gas containing carbon monoxide into the bottoms fraction.

Stabilizing rhodium catalysts for the hydroformylation of olefins

Abstract: hydroformylating olefins having 3 to 21 carbon atoms under an atmosphere of CO/H2 in the presence of a rhodium catalyst in a hydroformylation reactor; and


A semiconductor apparatus includes a back bias control block, a first back bias switching block and second back bias switching block. The back bias control block is configured to generate a first P channel control signal and a second N channel control signal. The first back bias switching block is configured to provide one of first and second high voltages as a first P channel back bias of a first circuit in response to the first P channel control signal, and to provide one of first and second low voltages as a first N channel back bias of the first circuit in response to the first N channel control signal. The second back bias switching block is configured to provide one of the first and second high voltages as a second P channel back bias of a second circuit in response to the second P channel control signal, and to provide one of the first and second low voltages as a second N channel back bias of the second circuit in response to the second N channel control signal.

1. Technical Field
Various embodiments relate to a semiconductor apparatus, and more particularly, to a semiconductor apparatus for controlling a back bias.
2. Related Art
A semiconductor apparatus typically includes circuits designed using MOS (metal oxide semiconductor) transistors. An MOS transistor may be turned on when a voltage that is relatively higher than a threshold voltage is received at the gate and a current path is formed between the drain and the source. A back bias may be applied to the bulk of the MOS transistor to control the threshold voltage. The back bias may prevent data from being lost in an unnecessary PN junction, and may prevent a latch-up phenomenon of the transistor from occurring.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram representation of an example of a typical semiconductor circuit, an inverter 10. The inverter 10 may include a P channel MOS transistor (a PMOS transistor) 11 and an N channel MOS transistor (an NMOS transistor) 12. The inverter 10 may generate an output signal OUT when one of the two transistors is turned on based on the level of an input signal IN. In general, during the operation of the inverter 10, a power supply voltage VDD may be applied to the bulk of the PMOS transistor 11 as a back bias and a ground voltage VSS may be applied to the bulk of the NMOS transistor 12 as a back bias. It is desirable that, when there is no input signal IN supplied to the inverter 10, the PMOS transistor 11 and the NMOS transistor 12 turn off and current consumption ceases. However, there is typically leakage current due to the characteristics of the transistors.

Semicondutor apparatus for controlling back bias