A device for intensification of hydrocarbons production has a substantially tubular hollow body adapted to be arranged inside a well tubing and having an axis and a plurality of passages arranged one after the other in an axial direction and having different dimensions so that hydrocarbons can flow from a bottomhole of the well successively through the passages toward a well head, the body having at least one tubular portion which is provided inside with at least one of the passages and is provided outside with a unit for fixing the at least one portion and therefore the body to the well tubing, the body also having another portion axially spaced from at least one portion and provided inside with at least one of the passages and outside with a unit for sealing the another portion relative to the well tubing.

The present invention relates to a device for intensification of production of hydrocarbons, such as for example oil production, as well as to a hydrocarbon production system provided therewith.
A device for intensification of hydrocarbons production is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,889. The device includes a body hermetically fixed in a tubing through a landing seat, an inlet nozzle, a collet and Venturi tubes assembled successively one after the other inside the body. In this device gas which is dissolved in the formation fluid is forced out, and a flow of hydrocarbons exiting from the nozzle is converted into dispersed gas-fluid flow. The above described device provides a substantial intensification of hydrocarbons production. On the other hand, it has some disadvantages. The special landing seat is needed for each well and is to be adapted for each particular device, so that for installation of removal of the seat lifting and lowering of the whole tubing is needed, which naturally involves additional time, labor and expenses. The landing seat decreases a cross-section of the bottomhole of the well posing substantial difficulties when it is necessary to perform other procedures, for example measuring. The landing seat can be connected only at one piece of the tubing which is at the bottomhole of the well. In the known device rubber O-rings are provide between the device and the landing seat to ensure hermetic stability. They cause some difficulties when the device is installed and they are not completely reliable. The elastic fixing element of the device formed as a collet which is located downstream of the device is susceptible to mechanical fractures and other defects, which decrease the service life and reliability of the whole device. The collet must be destroyed when the device is lifted from the well and its parts are left in the bottomhole and pollute the latter. In the event of extensive exploitation in corrosive areas of the well bottomhole, the properties of the collet material change and stability can be lost. As a result, lifting of the device to the surface with conventional equipment can be impossible and the well in this situation is completely incapacitated. The device can not be used in the hydrocarbons well with a multi-purpose nipple at the bottomhole for installation and removal of different well devices and measuring equipment. The specific design features such as the lower fastening, the presence of collet, etc. limits the possibility of necessary variations with use of the Venturi tubes.

Device for intensification of hydrocarbon production and hydrocarbons production system


This invention provides compounds of formula 1 having the structure ##STR1## wherein: R.sup.1 is hydrogen, halogen, alkyl, alkoxy, fluoroalkoxy, trifluoromethyl, alkylthio, or SCF.sub.3. R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 are each independently, hydrogen or alkyl, or R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 may be taken together to form a saturated cycloalkyl ring; and PA1 R.sup.4, R.sup.5, R.sup.6, R.sup.7 and R.sup.8 are each independently, hydrogen, alkyl, alkoxy, alkylthio, alkylsulfinyl, alkylsulfonyl, halogen, fluoroalkoxy, CF.sub.3, or SCF.sub.3 which are useful in the treatment of arthritic disorders, colorectal cancer, and Alzheimer's disease.

Prostaglandins have been known for some time to play a major role in the inflammation process, and have been shown to be involved in the pathophysiology of several chronic human diseases. They are involved as mediators of pain, edema and vascular permeability in arthritic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis (Lewis and Kreft, Immunopharmacol. Immunotoxicol. 17, 607-663 (1995)). In addition, prostaglandins have been postulated to be involved in the pathophysiology of colorectal cancer (Marcus, New Eng. J. Med., 333, 656-657 (1995); Huang and Heimbrook, Exp.Opin. Invest. Drugs., 4 (3), 243-249 (1995)). Thus an agent that inhibits prostaglandin synthesis may be useful in treating these disorders.
The biosynthesis of prostaglandins was previously thought to be due to the action of a single cyclooxygenase enzyme on arachidonic acid to afford prostaglandin H.sub.2 (Vane et al, Postgrad. Med. J. , 66 (Suppl 4), S2-S17 (1990); Lewis and Kreft, Immunopharmacol. Immunotoxicol. 17, 607-663 (1995)). This intermediate is subsequently transformed into the various members of the prostaglandin family by more distal enzymes. The clinical utility of cyclooxygenase inhibitors (often called NSAIDs; nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs) is well established in arthritic disorders (Brooks et al, New Eng. J. Med., 324, 1716-1725 (1991)). However, these compounds also affect other prostaglandin-regulated processes not associated with inflammation but rather, with maintenance of gastrointestinal integrity and renal blood flow (Dajani et al. J. Physiol. Pharmacol., 46, 3-16 (1995); Somasundaram et al. Scand. J. Gastroenterol., 30, 289-299 (1995)), via a mechanism involving inhibition of prostaglandin G/H synthase or cycloxygenase (COX). Thus, at high doses often necessary to show therapeutic efficacy, most NSAIDs show severe gastric and renal side effects, including life threatening ulcers that limit their therapeutic utility. An alternative to NSAIDs is the use of corticosteroids, which have even more severe liabilities, especially when long term therapy is involved.
Under the old paradigm of a single cyclooxygenase enzyme, it appeared that the selective inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis in inflamed tissue versus inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis in G.I. tissue was unlikely unless tissue specificity could be achieved.
Recently, the discovery that there are two distinct cyclooxygenase isozymes in the arachidonic acid/prostaglandin pathway, has given rise to a new paradigm which may lead to compounds that have a separation of inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis in inflamed tissue from inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis in G.I. tissue (Haylar, Lancet, 346, 521-522 (1995), Lewis and Kreft, Immunopharmacol. Immunotoxicol. 17, 607-663 (1995)). In the new paradigm the constitutive cyclooxygenase enzyme responsible for prostaglandin synthesis in G.I. tissue is termed COX-1 and the inducible cyclooxygenase enzyme (reported by Hla and Nielson, Proc. Ntl. Acad. Sci. USA, 89, 7384 (1992)) responsible for prostaglandin synthesis in inflamed tissue is termed COX-2. COX-1 appears to have a physiological role being involved in maintenance of gastrointestinal integrity and renal blood flow, while COX-2 appears to be mainly responsible for the pathological effects of prostaglandins.
Several groups have reported that NSAIDS vary in their ability to inhibit COX-1 and COX-2 so that selective inhibition may be possible (O'Neill et al, Molec. Pharmacol., 45, 245-254 (1994); Laneuville et al, J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., 271, 927-934 (1994); Mitchell et al, Proc Natl. Acad Sci. USA, 90, 11693-11697 (1993)). The current opinion suggests that a selective inhibitor of COX-2 will have clinical efficacy in inflammatory diseases with reduced potential for gastrointestinal toxicity and renal side effects. There is evidence from animal models to support this hypothesis (Chan et. al J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 274, 1531-1537 (1995); Masferrer et. al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 91, 3228-3232 (1994); Seibert et al.. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 91, 12013-12017 (1994)). Moreover, this may be the mechanism behind the improved G.I. safety of the NSAID etodolac, which has been reported to show a tenfold selectivity for inhibition of COX-2 (Glaser et al. Eur. J. Pharmacol. 281, 107-111 (1995)).
Indomethacin, a relatively non-selective inhibitor of COX-1 and COX-2 has been shown to be useful in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (Rogers et al., Neurology 43, 1609-1611 (1993)). These findings suggest that novel COX-2 inhibitors would be attractive targets for the treatment of Alzheimer disease and for antiarthritic therapy with reduced potential for gastrointestinal toxicity and renal side effects. In addition, the COX-2 enzyme has been shown to be upregulated in colorectal cancer and a selective COX-2 inhibitor may also be of use in this disease (Sano et. al. Cancer Res.., 55, 3785-3789 (1995); Huang and Heimbrook, Exp. Opin. Invest. Drugs 4 (3), 243-249, (1995)).
Certain tetronic, thiotetronic and tetramic acid derivatives are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,153 as phospholipase A.sub.2 inhibitors with antiinflammatory properties, and modulators of PAF-mediated biological processes useful as antifertility agents.
Certain substituted indenyl acetic acids are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,654,349 and 3,647,858 with antiinflammatory, antipyretic and analgesic properties.
The above-cited patents disclose compounds that are structurally different from the compounds of the present invention. In addition, the compounds of the present invention are cycloxygenase inhibitors, and unexpectedly exhibit marked selectivity for the inhibition of COX-2 over COX-1. The compounds disclosed in each of the patents cited above unlike the compounds of the present invention, do not act as preferential inhibitors of COX-2; thus, they are not expected to exhibit any of the advantages of the compounds of the present invention, i.e. they are not expected to produce a reduced amount of side effects.


The counter steer detecting method includes the steps of detecting a steering angle by a steering angle sensor, detecting a lateral acceleration by a lateral acceleration sensor, and determining counter steer according to the steering angle detected by the steering angle sensor and the lateral acceleration detected by the lateral acceleration sensor on the basis of a counter steer determination area table indicating whether or not the counter steer is on in relation to the combination of steering angle and lateral acceleration.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a counter steer detecting method, and more particularly to a method of detecting counter steer accurately and early.
2. Description of the Related Art
The turning performance of a vehicle can be improved by providing a differential for controlling the difference in torque between right and left drive wheels. However, when one of the right and left drive wheels slips, torque distribution to the drive wheels by the differential is not performed. Accordingly, it is necessary to control the torque distribution according to a running condition of the vehicle. In a four-wheel drive vehicle, the difference in torque between front and rear wheels is controlled to improve both the turning performance and the running stability of the vehicle.
In general, when the differential action of a differential is limited, the running stability is improved, whereas when the differential action is not limited, the turning performance is improved. In the case that counter steer occurs in drift running or the like, the differential action is locked to thereby improve the running stability. Accordingly, the determination of counter steer is required to properly operate the differential and thereby to perform optimum torque distribution.
Conventional counter steer determining methods are disclosed in Japanese Patent NoS. 4-201726 and 2002-96652. The method disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4-201726 is that the counter steer is determined when the direction of turn of a vehicle obtained from a lateral acceleration (which will be hereinafter referred to also as lateral G) detected by lateral G detecting means is different from the direction of steer detected by steering angle detecting means, that is, when the sign of the lateral G is different from the sign of the steering angle. On the other hand, the method disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2002-96652 is that the counter steer is detected according to the magnitude of an actual lateral G detected by a lateral G sensor and the magnitude of a calculated lateral G.
The method disclosed in Japanese Patent NO. 4-201726 has the following problems. First, until the direction of steer becomes opposite to the direction of turn of the vehicle, the counter steer cannot be detected, so that the detection of the counter steer is delayed. Secondly, the sign of the steering angle becomes momentarily different from the sign of the lateral G because of delay characteristics of the vehicle and the lateral G sensor in slalom running or the like, and the counter steer is improperly determined in spite of the above case where no counter steer occurs.
The method disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2002-96652 has the following problems. First, since the counter steer is detected according to the magnitude of the actual lateral G detected by the lateral G sensor and the magnitude of the calculated lateral G, it is difficult to determine the correlation between the counter steer and the magnitudes of the actual lateral G and the calculated lateral G, so that accurate detection of the counter steer is difficult. Secondly, until the direction of steer becomes opposite to the direction of turn of the vehicle, the counter steer cannot be detected, so that the detection of the counter steer is delayed.


A display medium for an electrophoretic display device includes a liquid system, at least one thermally reversible gelling agent, and at least one set of particles exhibiting a color. Inclusion of the gelling agent enables an image formed in the display device at an elevated temperature of about or above the melting point of the gelling agent to be fixed in a gel state, e.g., at temperature of about or below a gel point of the gelling agent. The image thus has stability, even in the absence of an applied electrophoretic field.

Described herein are display mediums particularly suited for use in electrophoretic displays, for example in filling reservoirs or microcapsules of the electrophoretic display device. Also described are methods of displaying images with the electrophoretic display devices. Inclusion of a thermally reversible gelling agent in the display medium allows the image to retain stability even after an applied electrical field used in forming the image is removed.
Electrophoretic display devices, also referred to as electronic paper, are well known in the art. An electrophoretic display generally comprises a suspension of a single type of charged pigment particles colloidally dispersed in a colored liquid of matching specific gravity contained in a cell comprising two parallel and transparent conducting electrode panels. The charged particles are transported between the electrode panels under the influence of an electric field, and can therefore be made to display an image through appropriate application of the electric field on the electrodes. The advantages of electrophoretic displays as a means for providing information and displaying images has been well appreciated in the prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,272,596, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, illustrates a typical electrophoretic display structure. The electrophoretic display device comprises a pair of electrodes associated so as to form a cavity therebetween, which cavity is filled with an electrophoretic suspension layer comprising a colored suspending medium containing colloidal sized particles in an electrically insulating liquid and finely divided electrophoretic particles suspended in the suspending medium. A source of electrical potential is coupled to the electrodes. With an electric field applied, the particles form an image as they follow the field. See especially FIG. 1 therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,113,810, incorporated herein by reference, describes a dielectric dispersion for use in an electrophoretic display that includes a dielectric fluid, a first plurality of particles of a first color having a surface charge of a selected polarity dispersed within the dielectric fluid and a second plurality of particles of a second color having a surface charge of opposite polarity to that of the first plurality and a steric repulsion thereto preventing coagulation of the first and second pluralities. In one embodiment, the first and second plurality of particles are each formed by separate two stage dispersion polymerization reactions. Each set of particles is formed with unique secondary and functional monomers. Corresponding charge control agents are added to the dispersion to establish opposite polarities on the respective particles.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,584 discloses encapsulated displays, i.e., displays in which the electrophoretic fluid is encapsulated within a microcapsule. This fluid may be a mixture of two or more fluids or may be a single fluid. The displays may further comprise particles dispersed in a suspending fluid, wherein the particles contain a liquid. In either case, the suspending fluid may have a density or refractive index substantially matched to that of the particles dispersed therein. Application of electric fields to any of the electrophoretic displays described therein is indicated to affect an optical property of the display.
In one embodiment, the 584 Patent describes an encapsulated electro-osmotic display wherein a porous or gel-like internal phase of a capsule is swelled (i.e., filled) and drained by the electro-osmotically induced motion of a refractive index matching fluid (i.e., the difference between the refractive index of the fluid and the refractive index of the internal phase is preferably within 0.5). When the pores of the material are filled with the fluid, the capsule acts as a homogeneous optical material, thus largely transmitting or refracting light according to the bulk properties of the medium. When the pores are vacated by the mobile fluid, however, a larger quantity of optical index mismatches are present and light scattering is greatly increased. See column 10, lines 19-32 of the 584 Patent. This embodiment does not describe inclusion of a thermally reversible gelling agent as part of the suspending fluid.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,034, incorporated herein by reference, describes a method for displaying an image with an electrophoretic display device that includes a multiplicity of individual reservoirs or microcapsules, each containing an electrophoretic display fluid, located between two conductive film substrates, at least one of which is transparent. The method includes appropriately applying an electric field and a magnetic force to a selected individual reservoir in a manner to cause either a first set of particles or a second set of particles of the display fluid to be displayed The first set of particles exhibit a color different from and contrasting to a color of the second set of particles, and also preferably a different charging property.
One of the major problems still facing reimageable electronic paper is poor image stability, particularly after the electric field applied in forming the image in the display device is removed. Without a sustained electrostatic force, the electronic image degrades during handling (e.g., viewing/reading by a user). It is desired to develop an electrophoretic display having improved image stability.

Electrophoretic display including display medium containing gelling agent for image stability


A thermoplastic resin composition of the present invention comprises: approximately 100 parts by weight of a thermoplastic resin including a repeat unit represented by Chemical Formula 1, a repeat unit represented by Chemical Formula 2, and a repeat unit represented by Chemical Formula 3; and approximately 5 to 40 parts by weight of a reinforcing filler. The thermoplastic resin composition is excellent in terms of heat resistance, stiffness, lightweight properties, and external appearance, and exhibits excellent balance between said physical properties.

A thermoplastic resin composition including acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) has good properties in terms of impact resistance, moldability, external appearance, and the like, and is broadly used in various fields including automobile components, electric/electronic products, office equipment, and the like.
In particular, although a thermoplastic resin composition for automobiles includes reinforcing fillers such as glass fibers to improve mechanical properties such as rigidity and heat resistance, the use of the reinforcing fillers in the thermoplastic resin composition has a limitation in enhancement of the properties and causes increase in specific gravity with increasing content of the reinforcing fillers.
To address such problems, a method for realizing weight reduction through a physical foaming process using supercritical carbon dioxide, such as the MuCell® process, in injection molding of a thermoplastic resin composition has been developed in the art. However, such a physical foaming process requires a dedicated injection molding machine and can cause uneven foaming of a molded product or deterioration in external appearance thereof.
Therefore, there is a need for development of a thermoplastic resin composition that exhibits good properties in terms of heat resistance, rigidity, lightness, external appearance, and the like without a separate injection molding machine for physical foaming.
The background technique of the present invention is disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2007-0046914 and the like.

Thermoplastic resin composition, method for producing same, and molded product formed therefrom


A fin-shaped structure forming process includes the following step. A first mandrel and a second mandrel are formed on a substrate. A first spacer material is formed to entirely cover the first mandrel, the second mandrel and the substrate. The exposed first spacer material is etched to form a first spacer on the substrate beside the first mandrel. A second spacer material is formed to entirely cover the first mandrel, the second mandrel and the substrate. The second spacer material and the first spacer material are etched to form a second spacer on the substrate beside the second mandrel and a third spacer including the first spacer on the substrate beside the first mandrel. The layout of the second spacer and the third spacer is transferred to the substrate, so a second fin-shaped structure and a first fin-shaped structure having different widths are formed respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a fin-shaped structure forming process, and more specifically to a fin-shaped structure forming process that forms fin-shaped structures having different widths.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Field effect transistors are important electronic devices in the fabrication of integrated circuits, and as the size of the semiconductor devices becomes smaller and smaller, the fabrication of the transistors also has to improve and is constantly enhanced to fabricate transistors with smaller sizes and higher quality.
With the increasing miniaturization of the semiconductor devices, various multi-gate MOSFET devices have been developed. The multi-gate MOSFET is advantageous for the following reasons. First, the manufacturing processes of the multi-gate MOSFET devices can be integrated into the traditional logic device processes, and thus are more compatible. In addition, since the three-dimensional structure of the multi-gate MOSFET increases the overlapping area between the gate and the substrate, the channel region is controlled more effectively. This therefore reduces the drain-induced barrier lowering (DIBL) effect and the short channel effect. Moreover, the channel region is longer for the same gate length. Therefore, the current between the source and the drain is increased. More precisely, a multi-gate MOSFET device includes fin-shaped structures on a substrate for gates or shallow trench isolation structures (STI) to be covered thereon, so that the gates or shallow trench isolation structures and the fin-shaped structures have multi-interfaces for forming gate channels or shallow trench isolation structures, and the widths and the lengths of the muti-interfaces decide the widths and the lengths of the gate channels, thus fin-shaped structures with different widths may be needed to achieve different purposes of multi-gate MOSFETs.


An antenna system includes an antenna and an antenna control apparatus. The antenna control apparatus includes a control circuit, i.e., a control integrated circuit. The control circuit adjusts and boosts an antenna voltage to supply a required current to the antenna. The antenna voltage is maintained so as not to exceed a predetermined upper limit voltage threshold value. The control circuit is configured to determine a disconnection failure on the antenna when the antenna voltage detected by an overvoltage detection circuit reaches the upper limit voltage threshold value, or is boosted beyond the upper limit voltage threshold value.

An antenna system includes an antenna and an antenna control apparatus. The antenna control apparatus may be required to detect a disconnection failure on an antenna circuit. In some application of the antenna system, it is required to configure the system with less number of electric components. In the above aspects, or in other aspects not mentioned, there is a need for further improvements in an antenna control apparatus and an antenna system.

Antenna control apparatus and antenna system


A grain auger has a frame, a conveyor mounted on the frame for movement between a lowered transport position and a raised use position, and an axle with a pair of wheels to rollably support the auger. The axle has angular disposed hollow members with telescoping arms extending therefrom so that the length and height of the axle is adjustable. A cradle is provided on top of the axle, with a support block at the top of the lift assembly for nesting in the cradle when the conveyor is in the lowered transport position, to minimize the cantilever of the conveyor during transport.

Conventional grain augers used for filling grain bins include an elongated tube conveyor with rotatable flighting therein to convey grain from a lower inlet to an upper discharge or outlet. Various types of frames are used for supporting the conveyor, such as an A-frame or a scissor lift frame. The frames include an axle with a pair of wheels so that the auger can be transported. In the transport position, conventional grain augers have a lengthy cantilevered portion of the conveyor extending rearwardly from a support member located closer to the inlet end than the outlet end of the auger. This long cantilever of the main auger tube creates bounce and instability of the tube during transport. Such bounce and instability increases forces and stress on the tube, which can lead to damage. The support location is also located closer to the inlet than the outlet so as to increase the reach of the auger tube in the use position for unloading grain into the grain bin. However, such location also increases the load forces on the conveyor tube during use.
Therefore, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved grain auger having an improved support frame which overcomes and avoids the problems of the prior art.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a wheeled grain auger having an axle with adjustable width so as to be moveable from a narrow transport position to a wide use position.
Yet another objective of the present invention is the provision of a wheeled grain auger having an axle with telescoping arms.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a wheeled grain auger having an axle having opposite angled portions so as to be non-linear.
Still another objective of the present invention is a grain auger with a frame which can be raised so as to increase the height of the conveyor outlet for discharge of grain.
Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of a grain auger having a conveyor support member which minimizes the cantilever length for the conveyor tube when in the transport position.
Yet another objective of the present invention is the provision of a grain auger having a conveyor support member on the frame axle.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved grain auger which is economical to a manufacturer and durable and safe in use.
These and other objectives will become apparent from the following description of the invention.


A pneumatically operated fastener driving device which includes a control valve module having i) a control module housing assembly mounted with respect to the housing and providing an exhaust passage which can be opened to communicate the one end of the cylinder with atmosphere, and ii) a main valve mounted with respect to the control module housing assembly for movement between opened and closed positions to open and close the passageway. The control module is a selected one of the standard type, full cycle type, automatic type, and automatic with remote type. The selected one control module is constructed and arranged with respect to the main frame portion of the housing so as to be removable therefrom as a unit. After removal of the selected one control module as a unit, another one of the types of control modules can be positioned with respect to the main frame portion of the housing as a unit to as to be operable therewith.

This invention relates to a fastener driving device and, more particularly, to an air operated fastener driving device having interchangeable control modules.
A conventional fastener driving device typically includes a main valve disposed above a cylinder sleeve which houses a piston and cylinder unit. The main valve is pilot pressure operated and movable from a closed position to an opened position permitting air under pressure to communicate with the piston and cylinder unit for initiating a fastener drive stroke. This main valve/sleeve valve arrangement has proven to be efficient, but adds to the overall height of the device, which may be unacceptable for certain applications.
It is also known that conventional fastener driving devices may be one of several types. In accordance with a first type of driving device, conventionally referred to as one containing a "standard" valve arrangement, the piston undergoes a fastener impacting stroke upon actuation of the trigger. In this device, the piston does not return to its initial or upper position until after the trigger is released.
Although the standard device is appropriate for certain applications, the operator may actuate the trigger longer than needed to drive a fastener which causes air over the piston to increase. This pressure may reach line pressure. Thus, the high pressure over the piston must be exhausted during the return stoke of the piston which tends to be noisy. Further, air consumption is high with trigger fire tools due to having to exhaust such high pressures. In addition, since high pressure may be unnecessarily applied to the piston which contacts a bumper of the tool at the end of the drive stroke, bumper life is reduced.
With trigger fire tools, if the operator actuates the trigger longer than needed, the driving element remains exposed or extending from the nose piece of the tool. When the operator moves from one position to another, the tip of the fastener driving element may be damaged or broken. Still further, if the tool is an upholstery tool, the exposed tip of the fastener driving element may catch on the upholstery and thereby damage the fabric.
A second type of fastener driving device, know as a device having a "full cycle" valve arrangement, has been developed such that one full cycle (a single full cycle) of operation of the tool is completed while the trigger remains actuated. Thus, air over the piston remains relatively low, less than line pressure. This reduces noise and increases bumper life. Further, the fastener driving element is only exposed from the nose piece for a very short time, which eliminates the above-mentioned problems.
There also exists a third type of fastener driving devices, which operates in an automatic mode. To operate the driving device in an automatic mode of operation, a pressure responsive secondary valve is typically provided. With this arrangement, when a manually operable trigger is actuated and held, the main valve and the secondary valve operate alternately to intake air into the piston chamber and subsequently discharge the air therefrom, so that the movement of the piston and fastener driving element is repeated.
A fourth fastener driving device can be remotely operated by coupling the device in appropriate fashion to a remote actuating unit the provides alternating high and low pressure signals for generating alternating fastener drive strokes and return strokes.
A limitation with each of these fastener driving tools is that they are constructed to operate in a single mode only and cannot be easily adapted to operate in two or more modes. Since there are some instances when an operator would like to change the mode of operation, there exists a need to provide a fastener driving device which can be easily and efficiently converted between the different modes of operation.

Fastener driving device having interchangeable control modules


A personal computer is provided with primary and secondary non-volatile storage devices for initializing the system when power is turned on. The primary device is a flash RAM. A flash ROM memory controller include means to detect when the flash ROM becomes corrupted and to switch over to the secondary device for initialization allowing the flash ROM to be later reprogrammed.

This invention relates to the field of data processing, and, more particularly to improvements in recovering from a corrupt flash read only memory (ROM).
A flash ROM is a relative new storage device available for the non-volatile storage of power-on self-test (POST) and basic input/output system (BIOS) programs, and other microcode, required for system initialization. A flash ROM is an alternative to using electronically programmable read only memories (EPROM) that are used for the same purposes. A flash ROM can be reprogrammed without being removed from the system, providing a more expeditious and less costly solution over EPROMS when field updates are required. The only disadvantage to such solution is if the flash ROM becomes corrupted such as by a power loss during reprogramming, in which case there is no way to initialize the system again to reprogram the flash RAM if the system has only one initialyzing resource.
In one prior art system, both a flash ROM and an EPROM are installed in the system as primary and secondary storage resources respectively, and a hardware jumper is provided to select which resource is used to initialize the system. If the flash ROM becomes corrupted, someone (such as a systems engineer or a skilled user) must manually move the jumper to select the EPROM, power on the system and wait for it to initialize, move the jumper back to select the flash RAM, and then reprogram the flash ROM by a software utility. Although such solution works, the cost associated with it is high in terms of system down time, labor to switch the jumper, and cost of jumper itself.

Data processing system including corrupt flash ROM recovery


A workpiece inspection apparatus includes a search unit for finding from an input reference image a first pixel group which contains a certain pixel and a second pixel group having grayscale values within a threshold, and a probability acquisition unit responsive to receipt of an optical image of a workpiece being tested and the reference image, for obtaining a probability value based on a grayscale value of the certain pixel, a grayscale value of its corresponding pixel in the second pixel group, a grayscale value of an optical image pixel corresponding to the certain pixel, and a grayscale value of an optical image pixel corresponding to a pixel in the second pixel group corresponding to the certain pixel. The probability value is used to determine whether a defect exists at the optical image pixel corresponding to the certain pixel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to workpiece inspection technologies and, more particularly, to pattern inspection techniques for inspecting a workpiece for defects, which is for use in semiconductor fabrication. This invention also relates to a method and apparatus for inspecting lithography masks for defects, which are for use in the manufacture of semiconductor devices and liquid crystal display (LCD) panels.
2. Related Art
In recent years, with the quest for higher integration and larger capacity of large-scale integrated (LSI) circuits, semiconductor devices are becoming narrower in circuit linewidth required. These semiconductor devices are fabricated by using an original or "master" plate with a circuit pattern formed thereon (also called a photomask or a reticle as will be generically referred to as a mask hereinafter) in a way such that the pattern is exposure-transferred by reduced projection exposure equipment, known as a stepper, onto a target wafer to thereby form thereon a circuit. Hence, for the manufacture of a mask to be used to transfer such ultrafine circuit pattern onto wafers, pattern photolithography equipment is used, which is capable of "drawing" microcircuit patterns. Such pattern exposure equipment is also employable in some cases to directly draw or "image" a circuit pattern onto wafers. As for the pattern exposure equipment, an attempt is made to develop exposure tools using an electron beam or laser beam.
Improving manufacturing yields is inevitable for the microfabrication of LSI chips which entail increased production costs. Currently, circuit patterns of LSIs, such as 1-gigabit class dynamic random access memories (DRAMs), are becoming on the order of nanometers (nm), rather than submicron order. One major factor for reducing yields must be pattern defects of a mask as used when an ultrafine pattern is exposed and transferred onto semiconductor wafers by photolithography techniques. As LSI patterns to be formed on semiconductor wafers are further miniaturized in recent years, the size dimensions that must be detected as pattern defects became much smaller than ever before. Thus, a need is felt to achieve further increased accuracy of the pattern inspection apparatus operable to inspect the LSI fabrication-used pattern-transfer mask for defects.
Incidentally, with recent advances in multimedia technologies, LCD panels are becoming larger in substrate size, up to 500 mm×600 mm or more, and finer in pattern of thin film transistors (TFTs) as formed on liquid crystal substrates. This larger/finer trend requires an ability to inspect ultrasmall pattern defects in a wide range. For this reason, it is an urgent challenge to develop an advanced workpiece inspection apparatus capable of efficiently inspecting defects of photomasks in a short time period, which are for use in the manufacture of such large-area LCD patterns and large-screen LCD panels.
Here, in currently available pattern inspection tools, it is known to perform inspection by comparing the optical image of a pattern on a workpiece, such as a lithography mask or else, which image is sensed by using a magnifying optical system at a specified magnification, to either design data or a sensed optical image of an identical pattern on the workpiece. This approach is disclosed, for example, in JP-A-8-76359.
Examples of pattern inspection methodology include a "die to die" inspection method and a "die to database" inspection method. The die-to-die inspection is for comparing together optical images as sensed from identical pattern elements at different locations on the same mask. The die-to-database inspection is usually performed using an exposure device for drawing or "imaging" a pattern on a mask and an inspection device. Typically this inspection has the steps of receiving computer-aided design (CAD) data indicative of a designed pattern, converting the CAD data to pattern draw data having a format appropriate for data input to the imaging device, inputting the converted data to the inspection device, causing it to generate a reference image based thereon, receiving measured data indicative of the optical image of a pattern under testing as obtained by pickup of this pattern, and then comparing the optical image to the reference image to thereby inspect the under-test pattern for defects. The inspection method for use in such apparatus, the workpiece is mounted on a stage, which moves to permit light rays to scan a surface of the workpiece for execution of the intended inspection. A light source and its associated illumination optical lens assembly are used to emit and guide the light to fall onto the workpiece. The light that passed through the workpiece or reflected therefrom travels via the optics to enter a sensor so that a focussed optical image is formed thereon. This optical image is sensed by the sensor and then converted to electrical measurement data, which will be sent to a comparator circuit. After position-alignment between images, the comparator circuit compares the measured data to reference image data in accordance with an adequate algorithm. If these fail to be matched, then determine that pattern defects are present.
As previously stated, with the growing quest for highly miniaturized workpiece patterns, a need is felt to accurately detect ultrafine defects, which are small in size enough to be "buried" in pixel position deviations, image expansion/shrink, swell and sensing noises of those images to be compared together. To meet the need, a high-reliability comparison inspection technique is desired.
A known approach to detecting ultrafine defects residing at pattern edges in the case of comparing an optical image to reference image is to extract contour lines for comparison. Examples of it are disclosed, for example, in JP-A-11-132743 and JP-A-2002-203233. Other known approaches include the use of a method of detecting defects while combining together a plurality of predetermined filters in a way pursuant to specific shapes, such as horizontal and/or vertical edge shapes.
Unfortunately, the prior art approaches are encountered with the difficulty in accurately extracting, with increased stability, contour lines from optical images which can contain various kinds of noises. Another difficulty lies in the lack of an ability to offer detectability against gently sloped edge portions having hardly specifiable contour lines and mere "painted" portions within patterns, which come with inherently unidentifiable contour lines. Additionally in the case of using "inflexible" filters designed for exclusive use with predefined shapes only, inspection-applicable pattern shapes must be limited. Although in this filtering scheme the so-called differential (difference) computation is often employed, it remains difficult to obtain an accurate differential (difference) value from those edges having complicated profile shapes.
As apparent from the foregoing, the prior known schemes for comparing an optical image to a reference image using a filter which is exclusively fitted to contour lines and/or specific shapes are encountered with problems as to the lack of supportabilities to comparison at those edges with various angles and edges having complicated profiles. Another problem faced with the prior art lies in the difficulty in handling mere "painted" portions inside of inherently contour-unidentifiable patterns and gently sloped edges with their contour lines being rarely identifiable.

Workpiece inspection apparatus, workpiece inspection method and computer-readable recording medium storing program

Advanced Mask Inspection Technology Inc.


Disclosed are peptides having SEQ ID NOs: 1 to 32 that can stimulate superoxide generation in human monocytes. Superoxide is the most important armory on the primary defense line of monocytes against invading pathogens, and the identification of new stimuli and the characterization of the regulatory mechanism of superoxide generation are of paramount importance.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an immune-enhancing peptide, and more specifically to an immune-enhancing peptide that can induce superoxide generation in human monocytes.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals are generated by phagocytic cells upon activation by invading microorganisms or inflammatory debris (1, 2). The production of these ROS enables the phagocytes such as monocytes to play a critical role in human immune responses. The activation of the ROS generation system, which is one of the earliest steps in the host defense against invading microorganisms, is tightly regulated in the immune systems (1-3). To perform their proper roles, monocytes in the resting state have to be activated, and this is a very critical aspect of the host defense mechanism.
Monocyte activation can be induced by various extracellular stimuli such as bacterial endotoxins (lipopolysaccharides), immunoglobulins, and several chemoattractants (4-7). Among these extracellular stimuli, chemoattractants including several chemokines that regulate the activities of monocytes have been receiving attention for a long time. Many chemoattractants stimulate leukocytes via the activation of pertussis toxin (PTX)-sensitive G-protein-coupled receptors (1). Upon binding to its corresponding cell surface receptor, a chemoattractant induces intracellular Ca2+ mobilization, cytoskeletal rearrangements, exocytosis, histamine release, receptor induction, adhesion, the production of bioactive lipids, and the activation of the respiratory burst system via NADPH oxidase activation (1, 8, 9). With this important role of chemoattractants for monocyte functions in mind, the identification of new chemoattractants and the characterization of their mechanisms of action are very much needed.
Recently, several studies have reported the use of combinatorial peptide libraries to identify sequences involved in various biological responses. Houghten et al. developed a method for a positional scanning synthetic peptide combinatorial library (PS-SPCL) that is an easy and powerful tool for identifying peptide sequences in certain biological reactions (10). This method has been adopted for various purposes including the identification of human immunodeficiency virus protease inhibitors, interleukin-8-specific antagonists, inhibitors for nuclear factors of activated T cells, and ligands for opioid receptors (11-14). Also, the present inventors have already identified one bioactive hexapeptide that stimulates phosphoinositide hydrolysis, by screening hexapeptide combinatorial libraries (15). However, the research thus far has been very limited, and therefore there are continuing demands for identifying novel agents.

Pohang University of Science & Technology


A memory controller is provided which is connected to a nonvolatile memory (e.g., a NAND flash memory) and a volatile memory (e.g., a DRAM or SDRAM), where the memory controller controls an access to the nonvolatile memory and the volatile memory in response to a memory request, and includes a memory for storing address information of data stored in the volatile memory, and where the memory controller determines whether address information inputted at the memory request is identical to address information of the memory, and selectively accesses the nonvolatile memory according to the determined result.

The present disclosure relates to information processing systems, and more specifically, to memory systems including a nonvolatile memory.
As mobile systems and various applications have been developed, flash memories (a type of nonvolatile memory) and memory systems controlling the flash memories are increasingly desired. Although a flash memory is capable of storing a large amount of data information, it has the drawback that the time required for reading and writing the data is somewhat long.
This disadvantage of the flash memory can be solved by a buffer memory. For example, data from a host is stored not in the flash memory directly, but in a buffer memory first. Then, the data stored in the buffer memory is read and the read data is stored in the flash memory. Similarly, the data read from the flash memory is not transmitted to the host directly but to the buffer memory first. Then, the data stored in the buffer memory is read and the read data is transmitted to the host. This transmission method may improve performances of the memory system and the information process system (e.g., mobile application) including the same.
This memory system, however, has the following problems. At booting, the data stored in the flash memory must be copied into the buffer memory, such that the memory is used ineffectively. In addition, an additional mode (e.g., a demand paging mode) should be applied to copy the data of the flash memory into the buffer memory. This causes a software burden to the system and degrades the entire performance of the system including the memory system.

Controller for controlling nonvolatile memory


According to an aspect, a display device with a touch detecting function includes: a display area in which pixels each composed of a plurality of color areas are arranged in a matrix; a touch detection electrode including a first conductive thin wire extending in a first direction; and a dummy electrode including a plurality of second conductive thin wires; a drive electrode having capacitance for the touch detection electrode. Each of the second conductive thin wires includes a plurality of thin wire pieces extending in a direction different from the first direction and is divided by a slit between the thin wire pieces. A color area in the display area with which the slit overlaps has a different color from a color area in the display area with which a slit closest to the slit in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction overlaps.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a display device capable of detecting an external proximity object and an electronic apparatus, and in particular to a display device with a touch detecting function capable of detecting an external proximity object based on a change in capacitance and an electronic apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Touch detection devices capable of detecting an external proximity object, which are what is called a touch panel, have been attracting attention in recent years. Touch panels are attached or integrated on display devices, such as liquid-crystal display devices, and are used for display devices with a touch detecting function. In display devices with a touch detecting function, displaying various types of button images and the like on a display device enables input of information using the touch panel as a substitute for general mechanical buttons. Such display devices with a touch detecting function including a touch panel require no input device, such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a keypad. As a result, display devices with a touch detecting function have been increasingly used for portable information terminals, such as mobile phones, besides for computers.
Some types of technologies for touch detection devices are known, including optical, resistive, and capacitive type, for example. By applying a capacitive touch detection device to a portable information terminal, it is possible to provide an apparatus with a relatively simple structure and less power consumption. Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2010-197576 (JP-A-2010-197576), for example, discloses a touch panel that makes a transparent electrode pattern invisible.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2011-059771 (JP-A-2011-059771) discloses a mesh-shaped conductive pattern including a mesh pattern that is at least partially separated and excellent in invisibility even at a discontinuous section, a base material with a conductor layer pattern including the mesh-shaped conductive pattern, and a touch panel member.
To provide a display device with a touch detecting function having a smaller thickness, a larger screen, or higher definition, it is necessary to lower the resistance of a touch detection electrode. The touch detection electrode is made of a translucent conductive oxide, such as an indium tin oxide (ITO), serving as a material of a translucent electrode. To lower the resistance of the touch detection electrode, it is effective to use a conductive material, such as a metal material. The conductive material, such as a metal material, transmits less light than a transparent conductive oxide, such as ITO does. This may result in reduced transmittance or visual recognition of the pattern of the touch detection electrode. To address this, a dummy electrode pattern having the same light-shielding property as that of the touch detection electrode is arranged between touch detection electrode patterns. This can reduce the possibility that the touch detection electrode pattern is visually recognized. The dummy electrode pattern not contributing to touch detection needs to be finely divided by slits because it generates capacity difference between the dummy electrode and the touch detection electrode.
In the case where both a touch detection electrode having no slit and a dummy electrode having slits are arranged, it is necessary to make the slits hard to visually recognize. This is because visual recognition of the slits leads to visual recognition of the dummy electrode. To address this, there has been developed a technology for increasing the inconspicuousness of the slits by devising the shape of the slits as disclosed in JP-A-2011-059771. The technology disclosed in JP-A-2011-059771, however, may possibly cause the slits to be visually recognized depending on the positional relation between color areas and the slits in the display device.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a display device with a touch detecting function and an electronic apparatus that can reduce the possibility that a slit of the dummy electrode made of a conductive material, which hardly transmits light, is visually recognized.

Display device with touch detecting function and electronic apparatus


The multifunctional portable pneumatic exercise device is a muscular exercise and training device that may be used for a multiplicity of exercises and with a wide variety of muscle groups. The exercise device includes a telescopic tube that is sealed at a distal end thereof and has a valve mounted on the proximal end thereof. In operation, the user compresses the telescopic tube and the increased air pressure within the telescopic tube causes fluid resistance, providing the user with muscular exercise. The user controls the fluid resistance through selective adjustment of the valve, which controls the volume of air escaping from the telescopic tube. Further, a pair of straps are releasably secured to either end of the telescopic tube, allowing the telescopic tube to be secured to a selected body part. The exercise device is portable, easy to operate and provides a wide range of muscular exercises for the user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to exercise devices, and particularly to a multifunctional portable pneumatic exercise device for exercising a wide variety of muscle groups.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wide variety of resistance-based exercise devices are used for both athletic training and for muscular exercise. Non-weight-based devices are considered preferable for particular types of exercise because they are generally portable and may be applied to a multiplicity of exercises and muscle groups. Such devices often utilize elastic elements or fluid pressure as a form of resistance.
Fluid pressure exercise devices are known in the art and typically include a container for holding the fluid and a plunger, or plungers, to be pushed or pulled through the fluid. Given the stress and strain placed upon the plungers, these systems are susceptible to leakage of the fluid, which renders them practically useless.
Similar systems utilizing telescopic tubes are known in the art, wherein collapse of the telescopic tube provides the resistance required for exercise. Such systems, however, are generally only adapted to one particular body part and are not multifunctional. Further, such systems typically do not provide the user with much control over the fluid pressure, which translates to a lack of control over the resistance. In addition, such systems can be difficult to use, as they tend not to be secured to the user's body while in use. Thus, a multifunctional portable pneumatic exercise device solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

Multifunctional portable pneumatic exercise device


Described is a die having photodetectors provided on a first surface thereof. The die includes an insulative shell member, a conductive shell member and a photodetector conductor. The insulative shell member extends around a periphery of the photodetector receptors and extending through a depth of the semiconductor die. The conductive shell member bridges the insulative shell member and extends through the depth of the semiconductor die. The photodetector conductors are provided on the first surface of the semiconductor die and electrically couple respective photodetectors with a corresponding conductive shell member. Also described is a process for making a semiconductor die and an integrated circuit structure.

The present invention is directed to a three dimensional structure for a photodetector device and specifically, to such a device constructed using dielectrically isolated silicon pathways to directly connect the top side of the photodetectors (photodiodes) on a substrate to a point on the bottom of the substrate.
Optical detectors typically include a one- or two-dimensional array of photodetectors provided on a front surface of a semiconductor die. The photodetectors typically generate charge in response to light that illuminates the front surface of the die. Optical detectors further include wiring and other electronic devices to address each photodetector on the die and read accumulated charge therefrom. The wiring and addressing devices typically are provided on the front surface of the die and block light. This wiring and addressing devices can impair performance of the optical detector. Accordingly, designers of optical detectors take great care to maximize the ratio of useful area of a die (the unblocked portion that can be used as photodetectors) to the total area of the die (both the blocked and unblocked portions).
The inventors perceive a need in the art to provide improved structures for photodetectors and, specifically, to provide a semiconductor die that avoids use of wiring and addressing devices on the front surface of the die.

Silicon detector and method for constructing silicon detectors


A body of data is operated upon hierarchically in such a way that, at one or more levels of the hierarchy, the number of aggregative data items produced is not substantially less than the number produced at the preceding level. The body of data can be an image, so that each aggregative data item indicates an attribute of a distinct image region. Such attributes include presence of a single connected component or properties of a component such as width, orientation and curvature. A class of abstract computation structures, called exhaustive hierarchical structures, is introduced in which such dense or exhaustive hierarchical aggregative data analysis processes can be embedded. The embedding of exhaustive hierarchical analysis in a computation structure of this class is analogous, and in some implementations similar in processing efficiency, to the embedding of conventional hierarchical aggregative data analysis processes in tree structures. The exhaustive hierarchical embedding introduced analyzes extensively overlapping regions in a manner that places minimum demands on the number of communication links, memory resources, and computing power of the individual processing units. Specifically, the embedding scheme is a general scheme for mapping locations in an array into nodes at two adjacent levels of a binary exhaustive hierarchical structure. The scheme establishes positional relations in the array that correspond to parent-child relations at a given level in the exhaustive hierarchical computing structure; these positional relations are uniform power-of-two offsets in each array dimension at a given hierarchical level. Consequently, this exhaustive hierarchical analysis can be implemented efficiently using conventional communication techniques, including hypercube and grid techniques, on a massively parallel processor. To minimize memory requirements, hierarchical results at each location can be encoded across all levels.

The present invention relates to techniques for analyzing a body of data, such as data defining an image or another signal. More specifically, the invention relates to techniques that produce results indicating overall attributes of extended subsets of a body of data.
A number of techniques have been proposed for producing results indicating attributes of a body of data.
Tanimoto et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,632, describe a pyramidal array of processors that can operate on a pyramidal hierarchical data structure with a number of image resolution levels. FIG. 1 shows such a data structure in which the neighborhood of each unit cell includes four unit cells on the next lower level, and in the pyramidal processing system of FIG. 2 a data element corresponds exactly with a unit cell in the pyramidal data structure. For each unit cell, the pyramidal processing unit comprises registers, a virtual processor, and external storage. The neighborhood of a cell and relationships within neighborhoods are described at cols. 5-6. The association of actual and virtual processors and communication between processors is described in relation to FIGS. 3-5b. Control of the pyramidal processing unit and matching operations are described in relation to FIGS. 11-13a.
Miller, R., and Stout, Q. F., "Simulating Essential Pyramids," IEEE Transactions on Computers, Vol. 37, No. 12, December 1988, pp. 1642-1648, describe pyramid techniques that are useful when an image contains multiple objects of interest. These techniques simulate a separate "essential" pyramid over each object. FIG. 1 shows a standard pyramid computer, while FIG. 5 illustrates an essential pyramid, defined at pages 1644-1645. Implementations of essential pyramids are described at pages 1645-1646.
Conventional multigrid image processing techniques are also hierarchical, employing substantially fewer processing units at each level than at the next lower level. Frederickson, P. O., and McBryan, O. A., "Parallel Superconvergent Multigrid," Multigrid Methods: Theory, Applications and Supercomputing, McCormick, Marcel-Dekker, April 1988, pp. 195-210, describe a parallel superconvergent multigrid (PSMG) algorithm for the solution of large sparse linear systems on massively parallel supercomputers. Section 2.1 describes the use of the PSMG algorithm for a discretization problem by constructing two coarse grid solutions and combining them to provide a fine grid correction that is better than the coarse grid solutions. If the number of processors on a massively parallel machine is comparable to the number of fine grid points, the two coarse grid solutions can be solved simultaneously. For a problem in d dimensions, 2d coarse grids are obtained and the fine grid solution is defined by performing a suitable linear interpolation of the coarse grid points. This technique therefore obtains more results at each level of the hierarchy.
Kent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,055, describes an iconic-to-iconic low-level image processor with a sequence of identical intermediate stages between an input stage and an output stage, as shown and described in relation to FIG. 1. As shown in FIGS. 1-3, forward, recursive, and retrograde paths allow various operations, including forward and retrograde neighborhood operators. A discussion of the neighborhood operator begins at col. 6 line 42, and FIG. 5 illustrates the neighborhood operators, path functions, and combining logic for a plurality of neighborhood operations. A region of interest operator is described beginning at col. 13, line 48. The discussion beginning at col. 13, line 59 explains how the processor can construct multiresolution, pyramid, sequences of images by sampling and pixel doubling, and an example of pyramid-based processing is described in relation to FIG. 9.

Dense aggregative hierarhical techniques for data analysis


A device for at least partially blocking an opening includes a first body, a second body rotatably mounted to the first body and a compressible seal extending from the first body. The seal includes a first portion, a plate having a hole at one end of the first portion, and a second portion extending away from the plate. A hollow shaft extends from the second body and through the first body, the first portion, the hole in the plate, and into the second portion. The shaft has a shoulder in the second portion that is wider than the hole in the plate, and moving the shaft relative to the first body compresses the second body until the shoulder reaches the plate and then compresses the first body. Such compression expands the first and/or second portions and presses them against the inside of the opening to form a seal.

It is often desirable to form a seal with an inside wall of an opening or a tube. This may be done to completely block or plug the opening, or tube or to connect an adapter or similar structure to the opening or tube. For example, one method of filling a vehicle radiator requires establishing a partial vacuum in the radiator. This is done by inserting an adapter into the radiator filler neck, forming a seal between the adapter and the inside wall of the filler neck and using a pump to remove air from the radiator through the adapter. An opening in the adapter is then connected to a source of clean radiator fluid, and the pressure difference between the inside of the radiator and ambient pressure forces the clean radiator fluid into the radiator.
Conventional adapters for filling vehicle radiators generally include a flexible seal member that is insertable into the radiator filler neck, a shaft that extends through the flexible seal member, and two bodies at one end of the seal member that are connected to one another by screwthreads. The shaft is connected to one of the bodies, extends through the other body and the seal member and is connected to the seal member. Starting with the two bodies screwed together, the flexible seal member is inserted into the filler neck, and the bodies are then screwed apart from one another. This action moves the top of one body away from the bottom of the other body, pulls the shaft toward the bodies and compresses the seal member. Such compression of the seal member causes the outer wall of the seal member to bulge and press against the inside wall of the tube. As the bodies are unscrewed further, the connection between the sidewall and the seal member becomes tighter, and a fluid-tight seal with the tube sidewall is formed.
Filler necks can vary widely in diameter. A tapered flexible seal member may allow a single adapter to be used in finer necks having a small range of diameters. However, multiple adapters generally must be provided to cover the full range of filler neck diameters that are present on automotive radiators today.
Using different adapters for filler necks having different diameters works adequately, but this requires purchasing and maintaining multiple adapters to cover the entire range of filler neck sizes that is likely to be encountered. It would be desirable to provide a device that forms a seal with the inside of an opening or a tube such as a filler neck that can be used with openings and tubes that have a wide range of diameters and which device can be sealed to and unsealed from the interior of the opening or tube in a simple manner.

Device for at least partially blocking an opening and forming a seal in the opening


A versatile food container that uses a sealing layer to cover movable/reconfigurable/removable internal dividing compartments that maintains a leak-proof seal along the perimeter as well as in between the internal compartments. The container has a variety of features and accessories that can be applied, making it effective for storing, cooking and transporting food.

A standard food container consists of a base unit to place food into and a lid to secure it. As a way to prevent leakage, the container may use a seal around the rim of the base unit or lid.
The container may use internal compartments as a way to keep different foods separated from each other. These internal compartments are often molded into the base unit, sectioned off using dividing panels, or separate removable inserts. However, leakage between internal compartments is common. Wet foods or juices from foods can seep through spaces along the sides or bottom of diving panels, or over the top of compartment walls.
Some containers seal the tops of the internal compartments by having a sealing layer that might be attached to or be part of the lid. This sealing layer has grooves that line up and receive the tops of the walls from the internal compartments. This method offers no versatility among the internal compartments as they must remain in the same configuration in order to properly seal.
Presently, there is no solution for a sealing layer that provides a perimeter seal, as well as a seal between movable/removable/reconfigurable internal compartments to maintain a leak-proof seal inside and out.


This application relates to a fuel dispensing system and method for safely regulating transfer of fuel between a fuel dispenser and a fuel recipient. The fuel dispensing system may be used, for example, to replenish electric vehicles that use refillable electrochemical power generation systems, such as fuel cell hybrid systems using hydrogen fuel. The system employs a combination of interlocks and other safety features specifically adapted for high-risk indoor environments. Fueling cannot commence until the dispenser and the recipient are electrically bonded to minimize the risk of spark generation. The system may include, for example, a fuel supply subsystem for preventing fuel flow except during a fueling session, an immobilization subsystem for preventing relative movement of the dispenser and the recipient during a fueling session, a communication subsystem for enabling data exchange between the dispenser and the recipient, and a leak detection subsystem for monitoring the fueling site for fuel leaks. In order to minimize or negate the risk that hazardous and/or flammable products could be exposed to the atmosphere during a fueling session, the system ensures that fueling cannot commence until multiple safety criteria are satisfied.

There are many applications where safe refueling of vehicles or other fuel recipients is required. For example, the Applicant is developing fuel cell power supply systems suitable for use in non-road electric lift vehicles and the like. As described in a continuation (namely application Ser. No. 10/684,622) of Applicant's application Ser. No. 09/785,878, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, Applicant's power supply systems are sized to replace conventional electric vehicle traction batteries. Although such systems have a much improved operating range in comparison to conventional battery systems, they must be periodically refueled. This requires safe and reliable systems for transferring hydrogen or reformable hydrocarbon fuels to the vehicle power supply.
Many non-road lift vehicles, such as forklift trucks and the like, operate in indoor environments such as warehouses and product storage/distribution facilities. The need to refuel fuel cell powered vehicles and the like indoors poses particular challenges. Indoor refueling is generally not permitted under fire codes except for a very few restricted applications, such as vehicle manufacturing plants and specially designed airplane hangers. This is due to the fact that safety risks are greatly increased since indoor environments do not allow for the natural dispersion of hazardous or flammable gases and liquids. Moreover, indoor environments often provide an ample supply of combustible materials.
Improved systems for ensuring safe refueling of vehicles utilizing hydrogen or other hazardous or flammable fuels are therefore required. Such systems should preferably include means for immobilizing the recipient vehicle during fueling sessions, means for reducing the risk of spark generation and fuel ignition, and means for automatically ending fueling in the case of fuel leaks or other system failures. The refueling systems must also be user-friendly so that they can be successfully and reliably implemented by vehicle operators who may not necessarily be familiar with refillable electro-chemical power generation systems.
Some dispenser systems for preventing unauthorized fueling of a vehicle or the like are known in the prior art. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/296,232, Hirakata, published 17 Jul. 2003 under publication No. US 2003/0134167 A1 describes a fuel cell fuel supply system for an electric vehicle. The system includes a hydrogen supply device which is connectable to a connector receptor of the vehicle's fuel tank. The connector receptor may include a lid for covering the connector receptor. When the system determines that the fuel cells are in a working state, the system prevents opening of the fuel lid, thus preventing refueling of the vehicle while the fuel cells are operational. When the system determines that the fuel cells are not operating, refueling of the vehicle is permitted. The hydrogen supply device may include a controller for transmitting control signals to and from a controller of the electric vehicle when the hydrogen supply is connected to the hydrogen inlet of the vehicle. The system also prevents movement of the vehicle (by disabling the fuel cells or any secondary battery) when the fuel lid is open, thus enhancing the safety of hydrogen supply.
While the Hirakata invention does include means for immobilizing the electrical vehicle during refueling, it does not include means for automatically terminating refueling in the case of a fuel leak or other similar system failure. Moreover, Hirakata does not describe an interlock for lockably coupling the hydrogen supply to the vehicle hydrogen inlet.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,522,947 and 6,466,842, Hartsell, dated 15 Oct. 2002 and 18 Feb. 2003 respectively, relate to a dispenser system for preventing unauthorized refueling of vehicles. The dispenser includes a receiver capable of receiving fuel delivery indicia transmitted from the vehicle, such as vehicle type, vehicle identity, diagnostics and the like. The dispenser is configured to end fuel dispensing if an improper fueling condition is identified.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,523, Claassen et al., relates to a grounding system and detection circuit for fueling aircraft or other mobile vehicles. The system prevents operation of a fuel dispensing system unless a proper grounding configuration is observed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,363, Kelrich, issued 24 Dec. 2002 relates to an electrical connector with identification chip for use with vehicle refueling systems. According to this system the vehicle communicates with a refueling station separate from the vehicle through a fuel nozzle communicator arranged adjacent a fuel intake conduit of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,327, Foster, relates to a vehicle safety fueling system. The system includes a solenoid valve which disables the engine ignition system when a dispensing nozzle is placed within a vehicle fueling port. The Foster invention prevents accidental driving off with the vehicle from a fuel pump without first removing a fuel dispensing nozzle from the tank of the vehicle. According to the Foster invention a proximity switch, electrically connectable to the vehicle's starter, is located adjacent the inlet spout of the vehicle fuel tank.
U.S. Pat. No. 09/848,493, Jin et al., published under No. 2002/0162601 A1 dated 7 Nov. 2002, relates to a safety system for fueling vehicles which includes the generation of a vehicle confirmation signal which is transmitted from the vehicle to be filled to a fueling station. The system further includes a dispenser activation system responsive to the vehicle confirmation signal for activating dispensing of fuel through a fuel nozzle and a vehicle locking system to disable the vehicle while the vehicle fuel door is open or when the fueling nozzle is attached to the vehicle nozzle receptacle. The system may also include an emergency power off circuit to provide power to detection and alarm systems, such as fuel vapor detectors, malfunction alarms and active ventilation systems.
While various systems are known in the prior art for regulating transfer of fuel from a fueling station to a recipient vehicle or the like, none of the prior art include a combination of interlocks and other safety features which prevent refueling until multiple safety criteria are satisfied. The need has therefore arisen for improved fueling systems and methods designed to minimize or negate the risk that hazardous and/or flammable products could be exposed to the atmosphere during a fueling session. A particular need has arisen for fuel dispensing systems and methods specifically adapted for high-risk indoor environments.


Provided are a thermoplastic polymer composition having good mold processability, flexibility, rubber elasticity, scratch resistance, abrasion resistance, transparency, ease of coating, and mechanical properties when formed into a sheet or film, a sheet or film produced using the thermoplastic polymer composition, and a multi-layered film. The thermoplastic polymer composition includes (I) a block copolymer having a number average molecular weight of 30,000 to 200,000, or a hydrogenated product thereof, which has a polymer block (A) mainly composed of α-methylstyrene units and a polymer block (B) mainly composed of conjugated diene compound units or isobutylene units, (II) an acryl-based polymer, and (III) a softening agent at a ratio satisfying the formulae (1) and (2) as described in claim 1, and has a sea-island structure in which the components (II) are dispersed in the form of particles in a continuous phase including the component (I), in which the average dispersed particle diameter of the dispersed particles of the components (II) is 200 nm or less, and 35% by mass or more of the dispersed particles have dispersed particle diameters of less than 60 nm.

Among thermoplastic elastomers, styrene-based thermoplastic elastomers such as a styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer (SBS), a styrene-isoprene-styrene block copolymer (SIS), and hydrogenated products thereof are widely used from the viewpoints of excellent flexibility, rubber elasticity, recyclability, and the like with low cost.
Studies have been conducted so as to improve various physical properties of the styrene-based thermoplastic elastomers. For example, a thermoplastic elastomer resin composition for molding powder, which is used so as to obtain a molded article with soft texture and excellent scratch resistance, and includes a styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer, a polyurethane-based thermoplastic elastomer, and the like (see PTL 1); and a composition having excellent flexibility, mold processability, and scratch resistance, which is a thermoplastic elastomer composition obtained by adding a copolymer having units exhibiting compatibility with both of a styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer (a hydrogenated block copolymer) and a methacryl-based resin to a composition including both (see PTL 2) have been proposed.
Furthermore, there have been proposed a thermoplastic resin composition retaining surface characteristics such as surface hardness exhibited by an acryl-based resin, weather resistance, transparency, and the like, and also having properties such as flexibility and low-temperature characteristics, which is an acryl-based thermoplastic resin composition obtained by blending a hydrogenated product of a block copolymer including a polymer block (a) containing an aromatic vinyl compound having a specific molecular weight, and a polymer block (b) containing isoprene, or isoprene and butadiene, with an acryl-based resin having a specific intrinsic viscosity at a specific ratio (see PTL 3); and a thermoplastic resin composition having a block containing an a-b-a structure (a: a block containing aromatic vinyl monomers and b: a block containing isoprene and/or butadiene) with respect to an acryl-based resin, and containing a hydrogenated product of 3-component block copolymers having a specific number average molecular weight at a specific ratio (see PTL 4).
There has been proposed a composition having superior flexibility, weather resistance, and good appearance characteristics, which is a thermoplastic resin composition including a polyolefin-based resin (A), a hydrogenated product (B) of a thermoplastic block copolymer consisting of a block containing aromatic vinyl monomers and a block containing isoprene and/or butadiene, an acryl-based resin (C), a hydrocarbon-based softening agent (D), and a hydrogenated product (E) of a thermoplastic block copolymer consisting of a block containing aromatic vinyl monomers and a block containing isoprene and/or butadiene, having a polymerized product of an acryl-based monomer in a side chain thereof (see PTL 5).
The composition of PTL 1 has been tentatively improved due to its inferiority to a polyurethane-based thermoplastic elastomer with respect to scratch resistance, but it still has problems such as deteriorated performance and yellowing in a case of being formed into a molded article from the viewpoints of insufficient hydrolysis resistance and weather resistance. The compositions of PTLs 2 to 5 retain surface characteristics such as surface hardness exhibited by an acryl-based resin, weather resistance, transparency, and the like, and also have excellent properties of mold processability, transparency, and the like due to their sufficient flexibility. However, the scratch resistance and the abrasion resistance of the compositions were evaluated, and as a result, they are not sufficiently satisfactory.
Under these circumstances, there remains a demand for a thermoplastic polymer composition which can be effectively used in sites where the composition is subjected to frequent friction and applications where aesthetic appearance is important, for example.
In order to solve the above problems, PTL 6 proposes the following polymer composition.
A polymer composition including:
a block copolymer (a) with a weight average molecular weight of 30,000 to 200,000, which has a polymer block A mainly composed of α-methylstyrene and a polymer block B which may be hydrogenated, containing a conjugated diene or isobutylene, an acryl-based resin (b), and a softening agent (c), at a blending ratio (mass ratio) satisfying the following formulae (1) and (2):0.05≦Wb/Wa≦2  (1)Wc/(Wa+Wb+Wc)≦0.5  (2)
wherein Wa, Wb, and Wc represent the contents (by mass) of the respective components of the block copolymer (a), the acryl-based resin (b), and the softening agent (c), each of which constitutes the polymer composition.

Thermoplastic polymer composition, sheet or film, and multi-layered film


A communication apparatus comprising a digital interface and a detecting unit configured to detect a change in format of video data transmitted from the digital interface, wherein the communication apparatus is adapted to control the digital interface to set the digital interface in a disabled state in case of detecting by the detecting unit that the format of video data is changed.

A DVC (digital video camera), which is compliant with DV format proposed by HD Digital VCR Conference, is conventionally known. The DV format defines HD (High Definition), SD (Standard Definition) and SDL (Standard Definition Long).
Also, at the present, a video recorder which records compressed video data in a plurality of different compression formats on the same recording medium (e.g., a magnetic tape) has been proposed. For example, in the Patent Document 1 (the specification of Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2001-275076), a video recorder is proposed, in which standard definition video data are compressed in accordance with the DV format, high definition video data are compressed in accordance with the MPEG2 format, and both of the compressed data are recorded on the same recording medium. In the present specification, standard definition video data compressed in DV format are called "SD video data", and high definition video data compressed in MPEG2 format are called "HD video data".
Also, there is a DVC which is able to be connected to a serial bus compliant with IEEE 1394 standard (refer to the Nonpatent Literature 1 (IEEE Std 1394-1995, IEEE Std 1394a-2000) and the like), and is compliant with AV/C Tape Recorder/Player Subunit defined by 1394 Trade Association (for example, refer to the Nonpatent Literature 2 ("TA Document 2001017, AV/C Tape Recorder/Player Subunit Specification 2.2, Dec. 11, 2001, 1394 Trade Association")). Such DVC can be also controlled from PC (personal computer).
Also a PC is able to recognize a status of a DVC that is compliant with AV/C Tape Recorder/Player Subunit. For example, the PC can obtain the format of data output from DVC by using OUTPUT PLUG SIGNAL FORMAT status command as shown in FIG. 2 (refer to the Nonpatent Literature 3 ("AV/C Digital Interface Command Set General Specification Version 4.0, 1394 Trade Association"))
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2001-275076
Nonpatent Literature 1: IEEE Std 1394-1995, IEEE Std 1394a-2000
Nonpatent Literature 2: TA Document 2001017, AV/C Tape Recorder/Player Subunit Specification 2.2, Dec. 11, 2001, 1394 Trade Association
Nonpatent Literature 3: AV/C Digital Interface Command Set General Specification Version 4.0, 1394 Trade Association


Pipettes, widely used in clinical and pharmaceutical laboratories to transfer small volumes of liquid, may be subject to hidden performance degradation and operator error. Pipette performance cannot be accepted without monitoring. The present disclosure concerns a verification device for a pipette with a piston for aspirating then dispensing, using a shaft, a determined volume of liquid. This device may include: a first assembly for supplying a displaced volume measurement, comparing this measurement to a desired value and generating an indication of the difference between the measured volume and the desired value; and a second assembly, responding to the first assembly, for delivering information relating to the indication.

The pipettes currently available on the market, often called micropipettes, are syringes including a cylinder extended by a shaft and a dispensing tip and a piston sliding in the cylinder. This piston can be actuated, manually or by a motor, over a travel determined by the operator using a suitable counter.
During operation, the piston is pushed down to its end position, the dispensing tip mounted at the end of the shaft is dipped into the liquid to be sampled, then the piston is moved up by a distance corresponding to the volume of liquid displayed on the counter. The upward movement of the piston causes the desired volume of liquid to be aspirated only into the tip, the liquid being then able, via another downward movement of the piston, to be discharged into a target reserved therefore.
Pipettes of this type, both manual and motorized, are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,983,733, 6,170,343 and 6,254,832. Multishaft pipettes are also disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,779,467 and 5,456,879.
According to the requirements of the "Good Laboratory and Manufacturing Processes" applied to pipettes, monitoring and recording measures should be taken regarding the volume of liquid dispensed. Malfunction of a pipette means that all the tests carried out with the instrument may have to be reconsidered, which constitutes an expensive operation.
Moreover, the quality of a pipette's performance may necessarily fall off over time. After a certain number of operations, each pipette may have to undergo a preventive maintenance procedure. Operators thus have not only to determine after how many pipetting operations such maintenance has to be carried out, but may also keep pipette calibration records.
Finally, account may have to be taken of the fact that the accuracy of the pipette also depends on the operator, who may be more or less skilled and who determines the temperature of the instrument, which influences the volume of aspirated air.


Executing a first memory access instruction with update by an N-bit processor includes accessing at least one source register of a plurality of registers, wherein the accessing includes accessing a first register, wherein each register of the plurality of registers includes a main portion of N bits and an extension portion of M bits, wherein the main portion of the first register includes a first address operand. The execution of the first instruction further includes forming a memory access address using the first address operand; using the memory access address as an address for a memory access; producing an updated address operand; and writing the updated address operand to the main portion of the first register. The producing includes accessing an extension portion of a source register of the at least one source register to obtain modifying information and using the modifying information in the producing an updated address operand.

1. Field
This disclosure relates generally to data processors, and more specifically, to providing extended addressing modes in SIMD register extensions.
2. Related Art
Increased performance in data processing systems can be achieved by allowing parallel execution of operations on multiple elements of a vector. One type of processor available today is a vector processor which utilizes vector registers for performing vector operations. However, vector processors, while allowing for higher performance, also have increased complexity and cost as compared with processors using scalar general purpose registers. That is, a vector register file within vector processors typically includes N vector registers, where each vector register includes a bank of M registers for holding M elements. Another type of known processor is a single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) scalar processor (also referred to as a "short-vector machine") which allows for limited vector processing while using a scalar general purpose register (GPR). Therefore, although the number of elements per operation is limited as compared to vector processors, reduced hardware is required.
Many different applications executed on SIMD processors requires specialized addressing, such as circular addressing or bit-reversed addressing. However, load and store instructions typically require a large amount of limited opcode space to encode due, for example, to large displacements. Therefore, there is often no opcode space left to support any additional functionality. Therefore, the specification of additional addressing control without increasing the opcode space is desirable.

Provision of extended addressing modes in a single instruction multiple data (SIMD) data processor


A nucleic acid construct is provided for delivery into living cells in vivo for inducing an immune response in a patient to an antigen; the construct directing the expression of a fusion protein, said fusion protein comprising said antigen and an adjuvant sequence derived from a plant viral coat protein. Methods for making constructs and methods of using such constructs for the treatment of infectious disease, cancer and B cell malignancy, are provided.

The idiotypic determinants expressed on the cell surface immunoglobulin (Ig) of B-cell lymphomas can act as tumour-associated antigens (for review see George and Stevenson, 1989). As such they present an attractive target for therapy, notably for the administration of passive anti-idiotypic antibody to patients (Miller et al., 1982 New Engl. J. Med. 306, 517-522). Murine monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) raised against idiotypic determinants on B cell non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas (NHLs) have given limited benefit in human therapeutic trials. Partial and complete responses have been observed, but the murine MAbs tend to recruit human effector functions inefficiently and are themselves the target of a human anti-mouse antibody response. Also, outgrowth of surface Ig negative lymphoma cells has been observed following therapy (Levy et al. , 1987 J. Immunol. Rev. 96, 43-; Bahler and Levy, 1992 PNAS 89, 6770-6774), although the complete loss of immunoglobulin expression is rare (Meeker, et al., 1985 New Engl. J. Med. 312, 1658-1665; Zelentz et al., 1990 Ann. Oncol . . . 2, 115-122). In light of these limitations, coupled with the cost and inconvenience of generating MAbs for individual patients, the approach has not been widely adopted. However, it is clear that anti-idiotypic antibodies do have therapeutic potential in lymphomas.
One alternative to passive anti-idiotypic serotherapy is active immunisation which aims to break tolerance and induce a strong anti-idiotypic antibody response in the patient. Since the response will be polyclonal, it is more difficult for the target B-cell to escape selection, and furthermore, the response will be present on a continuing basis, and so might be able to control residual disease. An additional advantage of this approach is that it also has the potential to stimulate T cell mediated immune responses against the lymphoma. Efforts to stimulate tumour immunity using modified tumour cell vaccines have met with limited success, but active immunisation with idiotypic Ig prior to tumour challenge has proved effective in suppressing model B-cell tumours (Stevenson and Gordon, 1983 J. Immunol. 130, 970-973; George et al., 1987 J. Immunol. 138, 628-634; Campbell et al., 1987 J. Immunol. 139, 2825-2833) in animals and to treat animals bearing incipient tumour (George et al., 1988 J. Immunol. 141, 2168-2174). Furthermore idiotypic immunisation with human Ig isolated from patients with lymphoma has been associated with sustained tumour regression (Kwak et al., 1992 New Engl. J. Med. 327, 1209-1215).
The problem is how best to present the antigen (the idiotypic antibody) to break tolerance and stimulate an effective anti-lymphoma immune response, and this remains a challenge. In addition, for lymphomas, which secrete little immunoglobulin, making the idiotype is a major problem. To make sufficient idiotypic antibody for immunisation heterohybridomas must be prepared by fusion with mouse cell lines and the antibody then purified (Carroll et al., 1985 J. Immunol. Methods 89, 61-67). The yield is frequently low and it must be subsequently confirmed that the fusion derives from the human B-cell tumour.
This latter problem has now been overcome: the use of recombinant DNA technology allows the VH and VL genes encoding the idiotypic determinant to be readily identified in patient biopsy material by PCR and sequencing (Hawkins et al, 1994 Blood 83:3279). These genes can be assembled as scFv for use as a DNA vaccine. This approach is based on the data coming from a range of infectious diseases where it is clear that DNA encoding sequences from pathogens can transfect cells directly and induce protective immune responses (Ulmer et al, 1993259:1745; Davis & Whalen 1995, In Molecular and Cell Biology of Human Gene Therapeutics. Ed. George Dickson. Chapman & Hall, p368).
In previous work, in a mouse model for lymphoma, the V-genes of the tumour idiotope were cloned and expressed as light and heavy chain fusion proteins in bacteria. The separate chains were then used as immunogens. However, the separate chains were denatured, and in any case were not co-expressed to provide the paratope of the antibody. Indeed the authors suggested that "future work on peptides with fixed configurations similar to epitopes present in the native protein may prove useful, as may the co-expression of both VH and VL genes in bacteria to produce a recombinant Fv protein" (Campbell et al., 1987, cited above). However, the authors did not teach how to isolate the V-genes of the idiotope. Nor did the authors teach how to combine the recombinant Fv fragments into a vaccine.
The present inventors have previously shown that nucleic acid constructs can be prepared which can be delivered into living cells in vivo and which can then induce an immune response to an idiotypic determinant present on a malignant B-cell. The construct encodes a fusion protein comprising the idiotypic determinant and tetanus toxoid fragment C (FrC). Indeed, the inventors have already specifically shown that genetic fusion of a lymphoma or a myeloma-associated antigen to the adjuvant sequence FrC of tetanus toxin induces a protective immunity in mice against challenge with lymphoma or myeloma when used as a DNA vaccine.
However, the human population is immune to FrC due to vaccination with Tetanus Toxoid. Therefore, when FrC-based vaccine is used in patients it will work in a setting of pre-existing immunity to FrC. So far the inventors have found that pre-existing antibody does not reduce the response to the DNA vaccine. However, it is possible that different immune pathways are activated in this situation.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Materials and methods relating to fusion proteins for inducing an immune response