The present invention encompasses methods and compositions for treating an ocular disease, disorder or condition in a mammal. The invention includes a population of mesenchymal stromal cells that possess anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, immune modulatory and anti-tumorigenic properties. The invention includes administration of TSG-6, STC-1, or a combination thereof to the ocular as a treatment for an ocular disease, disorder or condition in a mammal.

Stem cells have significant therapeutic potential. In a non-limiting aspect, the present invention is directed to using mesenchymal stem cells to treat eye injuries and diseases. Other non-limiting aspects are directed to the therapeutic use of mesenchymal stem cells for treating diseases which include those of the lung and heart. Another non-limiting aspect of the present invention is directed to the use of anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory proteins such as STC-1 and TSG-6, which are expressed by mesenchymal stem cells, for treating the above-mentioned diseases and disorders.
The cornea, apart from being an important component of the refractive system of the eye, serves as a biologic and physical barrier by protecting the interior structures of the eye from environmental insults. The transparency of the cornea and, consequently, visual acuity are both dependent upon the integrity and functionality of the outermost layer, the epithelium. Most of the diseases occurring in corneal epithelium (i.e., corneal surface diseases) are accompanied by sterile inflammation and defects in wound healing. Therapies for these diseases remain problematic.
The most severe form of corneal surface diseases is limbal epithelial stem cell deficiency (LSCD). It can be primary as a result of inherited eye disease, but more commonly it is the result of acquired conditions such as chemical or thermal burn injuries, systemic autoimmune disease, contact lens keratopathy, recurrent ocular surgeries, or Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS). The incidence of chemical burns is 500,000 cases per year and accounts for 7 to 18% of the 2.5 million cases of ocular trauma seen in emergency departments each year in the U.S. (Melsaether et al., 2009). The annual incidence of SJS that causes severe LSCD is 2.6 to 7.1 cases per 1 million people or about 200,000 people in the U.S. population (Foster et al., 2008). LSCD not only inflicts enormous psychological stress on patients, but it also carries an economic burden in terms of loss of productivity and prohibitive health care costs over the lifetime of the patients.
The current treatments of LSCD include anti-inflammatory drug therapy (e.g. steroids) in the early phase and transplantation of limbal epithelial stem cells (LESCs) in the late stage (Limb and Daniels, 2008). However, the anti-inflammatory drugs currently available are disappointing and are unable to prevent subsequent loss of LESCS. The current strategies for correcting LSCI by transplanting LESCs from a patient's healthy eye (limbal autograft), a living-relative, or cadaveric donors (limbal allograft) have many drawbacks (Ilari et al. 2002; Solomon et al, 2002; Cauchi et al. 2008). The limbal autograft carries the risk of creating LSCD in the donor eye (Jenkins et al., 1993) and cannot be used in patients with bilateral LSCD. Limbal allografts require long-term systemic immunosuppression because of the presence of HLA-DR antigens and Langerhans cells in the graft. Even with immunosuppression, immunological rejection occurs in 42.9% to 64.0% patients after limbal allografts (Rao et al., 1999; Tseng et al., 1998; Shi et al., 2008; Reinhard et al., 2004; Tsubota et al., 1999). Currently, ex vivo cultivation and transplantation of LESCs are being used for LSCD in some centers (summarized in Shortt et al., 2007). However, the putative stem cells observed in the limbus have not yet been reproducibly isolated or filly characterized. Moreover, the main clinical limitation for using cultured LESCs therapeutically is the availability of an autologous donor tissue. Although cultured allogeneic cells may be used in combination with systemic immunosuppression, donor allogeneic LESCs do not survive beyond a period of 9 months (Daya et al., 2005; Sharpe et al., 2007). Effective suppression of inflammation at the ocular surfaces is critical for success. Therefore, the therapies that are the goal of the present application can provide an important advance to the current therapy.
In addition to vision-threatening LSCD, there are a number of ocular surface diseases accompanied by corneal inflammation and defects in wound healing, such as keratoconjunctivitis sicca, recurrent corneal erosion, or post-refractive surgery keratitis. The most common is dry eye syndrome that affects nearly 10% of the U.S. population (Moss et al., 2000; Sehaumberg et al., 2003; Moss et al., 2008). As many as 20 to 30 million people in the United States have exhibited early signs or symptoms of dry eye, and an estimated 6 million women and 3 million men suffer from advanced effects of dry eye that alter the quality of life (Mertzanis et al. 2005; Miljanovic et al., 2007). Unfortunately, most of the currently-available therapeutic agents are only palliative and none of them abolish signs and symptoms of dry eye completely (Pflugfelder, 2007). Several studies (Clegg et al., 2006; Reddy et al., 2004; Callaghan et al., 2007) have established that the economic impact of dry eye syndrome is also substantial, in terms of both direct medical costs (e.g. for medications and physician visits) and indirect costs (e.g. lost work time and impaired productivity). In effect, there are no efficient and safe therapeutic strategies for diseases of the corneal surface.
Retinal degenerations, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP), are the leading causes of legal blindness in the United States. AMD and RP share clinical and pathologic features including end-stage blindness due to photoreceptor and/or retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell death. Of special importance is that apoptosis of photoreceptors has been shown to be a prominent feature of human AMD (Dunaief, et al., Arch. Ophthalmol., Vol. 120, No. 11, pgs. 1435-1442 (2002); Xu, et al., Trans. Am. Ophthalmol. Soc., Vol. 94, pgs. 411-430 (1996)). and RP (Cottet, et al., Curr. Mol. Med., Vol. 9, No. 3, pgs. 375-383 (2009); Doonan, et al., Curr. Neurosci. Res., Vol 1, No. 1, pgs. 47-53 (2004)) and is the underlying feature in many of the animal models of retinal degeneration (Doonan, 2004; Yu, Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., Vol. 45, No. 6, pgs. 2013-2019 (2004); Katai, et al., Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., Vol. 40, No. 8, pgs. 1802-1807 (1999); Katai, et al., Jpn. J. Ophthalmol., Vol 50, No. 2, pgs. 121-127 (2006)). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated in the initiation and/or exacerbation of cell death in AMD (Fletcher, et al., Ophthalmic Res., Vol. 44, No. 3, pgs. 191-198 (2010); Beatty, et al., Surv. Ophthalmol., Vol. 45, No. 2, pgs. 115-134 (2000); Winkler, Mol. Vis., Vol. 5, pg. 32 (1999); Johnson, Curr. Opin. Cln. Nutr. Metab. Care, Vol. 13, pgs. 28-33 (2010); Totan, et al., Curr. Eye Res., Vol. 34, No. 12, pgs. 1089-1093 (2009)) and antioxidant vitamin therapy is currently one of the mainstays of treatment in non-exudative AMD and RP (Johnson, 2010; Hartong, et al., Lancet, Vol. 368, pgs. 1795-1809 (2006)). Although not curative, reduction of risk of disease and stabilization of vision have been observed following antioxidant vitamin therapy (Flectcher, 2010; Beatty, 2000; Johnson, 2010; Hartong, 2006). Moreover, two of the top modifiable risk factors in AMD-smoking and light exposure—are thought to injure photoreceptors or RPE through ROS-mediated damage (Flectcher, 2010; Johnson, 2010). In addition, oxidative damage studies in animal models of RP have implicated ROS as partially responsible for the apoptotic loss of photoreceptors (Komeima, et al., Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., Vol. 103, No. 30, pgs. 11300-11305 (2006); Shen, et al., J. Cell. Physiol., Vol. 203, No. 3, pgs. 457-464 (2005)). Further evidence includes studies demonstrating that antioxidant based therapies slow photoreceptor death in animal models of RP (Komeima, et al; J. Cell. Physiol., Vol. 213, No. 3, pgs. 809-815 (2007); Galbinar, et al., J. Ocul. Pharmacol. Ther., Vol 25, No. 6, pgs. 475-482 (2009); Chen, et al., Nat. Nanotechnol., Vol. 1, No. 2, pgs. 142-150 (2006)) and decrease primary retinal cell (Chen, 2006; Chucair, et al., Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., Vol. 48, No. 11, pgs. 5168-5177 (2007)) or RPE cell death in vitro (Cao, et al., Exp. Eye Res., Vol. 91, No. 1, pgs. 15-25 (2010); Kim, et al., Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., Vol. 51, No. 1, pgs. 561-566 (2010)). Photoreceptors are sensitive particularly to oxidative stress for several reasons: (a) oxygen consumption by the retina is greater than any other tissue (Beatty, 2000); (b) photoreceptor outer segments reside near a rich vascular supply and contain high concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that undergo oxidation when oxygen is present (Winkler, 1999); (c) lipofuscin accumulates in the RPE during aging and is thought to be a source of ROS that is toxic to the RPE (Beatty, 2000); and (d) photoreceptors are subject to repeated photochemical injury, a process known to produce ROS (Beatty, 2000). These findings in conjunction with our preliminary data provide a strong rationale to test new stem cell based therapies known to reduce ROS-mediated apoptosis in currently incurable degenerative diseases of the retina.
Inflammation is being shown increasingly to play a role in a number of diseases, such as in myocardial infarction, stroke, Alzheimer's disease and atherosclerosis, for example. Thus, the present invention in a non-limiting aspect, is directed to the use of mesenchymal stem cells and the role of certain proteins, such as TSG-6, in treating myocardial infarction and lung diseases.
In summary, there are no effective drugs to treat corneal inflammation and ulceration caused by chemical injury to the cornea. In addition, there is a need for additional therapies for macular degeneration. There also are needs for additional therapies for diseases of the lung and heart. Thus, the present invention is directed to the use of mesenchymal stem cells and stem cell proteins as therapeutic agents.

Adult stem cells/progenitor cells and stem cell proteins for treatment of eye injuries and diseases


A multi-level inverter includes a coupling to a DC power source and a coupling to an AC power source, a plurality of capacitors arranged to create a set of nodes, and a plurality of switches located between the capacitors and the AC power source. Switches are configured to create an AC bypass in which the capacitors coupled to the DC power source may be isolated from the AC power source. The AC bypass is utilized as one of the switching states in a switching sequence that provides enhanced performance including but not limited to reduced electromagnetic interference and ripple.

Renewable energy, in particular photovoltaic (PV) solar energy, has become globally widespread. PV energy systems are frequently connected to an energy storage system (ESS), typically a direct current (DC) battery, to allow for storage and controlled distribution of energy. The ESS is commonly connected to a nearby alternating current (AC) utility grid and/or a local AC energy load. The ESS is capable of operating in at least two modes, including grid-connected (grid-tied) or islanded mode (also named back-up mode or off-grid mode). In addition to or in place of PV solar energy systems, the ESS may be connected to other renewable energy sources such as wind power or hydroelectric power, or standard fuel-power generators.
A power inverter, or inverter, is an electronic device that changes DC to AC, and vice-versa. An inverter is required to effectively use battery power from an ESS in many common applications, because batteries operate on DC and both the utility-grid and common electronics operate on AC. The input voltage, output voltage, frequency, and overall power handling depend on the design of the inverter.
A power inverter device that produces a multi-step sinusoidal waveform is referred to as a sine-wave inverter. The goal of a sine-wave inverter is to create an alternating current that mimics a sinusoidal waveform. However, inverters typically do an imperfect job of generating a pure sinusoidal wave, resulting in distortions. Although many electronics are able to function on distorted sinusoidal AC, motors operated on non-sinusoidal power may produce extra heat and may generate more audible noise than when running on sinusoidal power.
Multilevel inverters are a common power topology for high and medium power applications such as the utility interface for renewable power sources and flexible AC transmission systems. The T-clamped multilevel inverter is commonly referred to as a three-level T-clamped neutral point clamped (T-NCP) inverter. A three-level T-NCP inverter requires two series connected capacitors coupled between the DC-link. Each capacitor is charged to an equal potential when balanced. Furthermore, the "three-level" (3L) T-NCP inverter may comprise four switching elements. The T-clamping helps to reduce the average voltage stress (sometimes Vstress=Vdc/2 and sometimes Vstress=Vdc) on the switching elements compared to the typical single-phase full-bridge (always Vstress=Vdc). In addition to three-level inverters, "five-level" (5L) inverters are sometimes used to improve the sine waveform.
Typically, energy storage systems suffer from several problems due to electronic components like inverters. These problems include, but are not limited to, current ripple in the grid-tied mode and voltage ripple in the off-grid mode. Normally, these problems are addressed by passive filtering with large value inductors and capacitors. However, these components are expensive and even more costly if they need to be custom made, like chokes. Associated with the ripple issue there are also conducted electromagnetic emissions (EMI), which must comply with industry standards, and involve involving additional costly filtering stages.
The typical full-bridge and T-NPC single-phase inverters realize three voltage levels (Vdc, −Vdc, and 0). The typical 3L inverter pollutes the grid to a greater degree than higher level inverters (for example the 5L voltage source inverter VSI) because the derivative of the voltage with respect to time (dVinv/dTs) for the VSI is greater, assuming the same switching frequency of operation.
Typical systems also use low frequency (LF) transformers. The LF transformer provides galvanic isolation between the utility-grid and the ESS. The LF transformer also provides isolation between the battery and the grid ground, limiting the common mode current. The LF transformer ensures that no direct current, which could saturate the distribution transformer, is injected into the grid. However, LF transformers increase the size, weight, and cost of an ESS and reduce its efficiency. Therefore, a system that eliminates the need for a LF transformer is desirable.

Single-phase multi-level asymmetric inverter with AC-bypass and asymmetric modulation strategy


An electro-mechanical module comprises a packaged electrical part having a surface which dissipates heat, and a springy frame which overlies that surface. This frame includes a pair of fasteners for catching on the package at two predetermined locations, and the frame has an unstressed state in which the fasteners do not coincide with the two locations. However, the frame is springy enough to be stressed and thereby move the fasteners to the two locations, and thereafter return back towards the unstressed state and catch the fasteners on the package at the two locations. To complete the module, a heat sink rests on the surface and is removably attached to the frame.

This invention relates to electromechanical modules which include an integrated circuit (IC) package and a heat sink that is attached to the IC package in a removable fashion.
By an IC package is herein meant any type of enclosure of one or more IC chips which provides input/output (I/O) terminals for the enclosed chips. Some examples of IC packages which are commonly used in the electronics industry are dual in-line IC packages and pin grid array packages, both of which have I/O terminals that get soldered into via holes in a printed circuit board; and, plastic leaded chip carriers and leaded flat-packs, both of which have I/O terminals that get soldered onto the surface of a printed circuit board.
Often, in order to remove heat from the IC package, a heat sink is attached to the IC package in a permanent fashion such as with an epoxy or a solder. However, a problem with such a permanent attachment is that if the IC package and the heat sink are made of different materials, they will have different thermal expansion rates; and as a result, the attachment material and the IC package can be stressed and crack when they are subjected to temperature cycles.
To avoid the above thermal cracking problem, electromechanical modules have been developed in which a heat sink is attached to an IC package in a removable fashion which allows the heat sink and the IC package to slide against each other during temperature cycling. These modules are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,456 issued May 17, 1988 to Donald L. Clemens in his FIGS. 1 thru 14. However, although the Clemens' patent does teach how to solve the above described thermal cracking problem, all of the disclosed modules have several other drawbacks.
In particular, one of the drawbacks is that the footprint of the completed module is substantially larger than the footprint of the IC package by itself. By the term "footprint" is herein meant the area which the item in question occupies on a printed circuit board when that item is soldered to the printed circuit board. In the Clemens patent, the footprint of the completed module is substantially larger than the footprint of the IC package by itself because every embodiment includes a frame which is required to completely surround the IC package. This frame is shown in FIGS. 1, 9, and 14 respectively by reference numerals 32, 132, and 232. Consequently, when several of the Clemens' modules are soldered next to each other on a printed circuit board the frames of adjacent modules hit each other, and that reduces their density.
Another drawback of the Clemens, module is that the frame and the IC package must be assembled together before the IC package is soldered into a printed circuit board. This limitation occurs because in the Clemens' module, the I/O leads of the IC package must pass through the frame before the IC package is soldered to the printed circuit board, and, the frame gets trapped between the printed circuit board and the IC package. Likewise, after the Clemens' module is soldered to a printed circuit board, the frame cannot be removed without desoldering the IC package from the board.
Due to the above limitations, the removal of a defective module from a printed circuit board is made more difficult in comparison to the removal of just an integrated circuit package by itself. Likewise, the attachment to a printed board of an operable module is made more difficult than the attachment of just an operable integrated circuit package by itself. Why this is so is described in further detail in the detail description.
Accordingly, the primary object of the invention is to provide an electromechanical module with a small footprint and post-solder attachable/removable heat sink frame by which all of the above described problems are overcome.

Electromechanical module with small footprint and post-solder attachable/removable heat sink frame


The present invention relates to a capacitor having high capacitance, low ESR (equivalent series resistance) in a high-frequency region and low leakage current, including a composite oxide film obtained by reaction of an oxide film obtained by subjecting the surface of the substrate comprising valve-acting metal element to electrolytic oxidation with a solution in which metal ion and an organic base are dissolved and by subsequently sintering the reactant, a solid electrolyte formed on the composite oxide film and a conductor layer formed thereon; a method for producing the same and electronic devices using the same.

Along with the performance enhancement of the recent electronic devices such as downsizing and digitalization in higher frequency, there has been growing demand for electronic components, particularly on capacitors, having higher capacitance, low ESR (equivalent series resistance) in a high-frequency region and low leakage current.
Since the capacitance is proportional to the relative dielectric constant and inversely proportional to the thickness of the dielectric layer, it has been demanded to uniformly form a thin dielectric layer having high relative dielectric constant.
With respect to a film formation method of a dielectric layer, there are a dry forming method and a wet forming method. A dry film-forming method includes a film-forming method such as sputtering, a CVD method and vacuum evaporation. In a dry film-forming method, there is a concern of high facility and equipment costs to maintain high-vacuum state, to introduce expensive film-formation equipment, etc. Also, it is difficult to form a film uniformly on a porous substance having a complicated shape due to the presence of concavity and convexity, and therefore the difficulties in controlling the thickness and composition of the film are often pointed out.
As wet film-forming methods, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. S60-116119 (Patent Document 1) and No. S61-30678 (Patent Document 2) disclose technique for forming a thin film of barium titanate by chemically forming a metal titanium substrate in a strong alkali solution containing barium ions. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H05-124817 (Patent Document 3: related application: U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,718) discloses a technique for forming a thin film of barium titanate on a substrate by alkoxide method.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-206135 (Patent Document 4: related application: EP 1445348) discloses a technique for forming a composite titanium oxide film, in which a metal titanium substrate is treated in an aqueous solution of alkali metal to thereby form a titanate of alkali metal on the substrate surface and is further treated in an aqueous solution containing metal ions such as ions of strontium and calcium to thereby substitute the alkali metal with metals such as strontium and calcium. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-172489 (Patent Document 5) discloses a method for producing a barium titanate film by forming a titanium oxide film on a substrate by electrochemical approach and then subjecting the film to anodic oxidation in a barium aqueous solution.
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. S60-116119
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. S61-30678
[Patent Document 3]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H05-124817
[Patent Document 4]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-206135
[Patent Document 5]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-172489

Capacitor and method for manufacturing same


The present invention relates to an integrated full-text search architecture that integrates full text search with database server applications in a tight manner so that it becomes part of the server in all aspects including storage, metadata, query processing, back/up restore and resource management. This provides improved performance with respect to queries as well as improved manageability. Furthermore, the subject architecture is open and schema directed unlike other conventional full-text search architectures. Accordingly, the full-text search architecture enables expert users (e.g., search providers) to define their own index structures as well as ranking algorithms.

Full-text searching of unstructured and semi-structured data is becoming increasingly popular and significant in the computing world. For many years, the information-retrieval community has had to deal with the storage of documents and with the retrieval of documents based on one or more keywords. Since the burgeoning of the Internet and the feasibility of storing documents on-line, retrieval of documents based on keywords has become a complex problem. A myriad of software solutions have been developed, which have attempted to address this problem.
Conventional search engines provide a mechanism for searching unstructured as well as semi-structured data, however they are all nonspecific and search algorithms as well as schema are hard coded. Many of the most popular search engines such as Google® and Yahoo® are targeted toward processing generic queries over an almost infinite domain—the Internet. The search and ranking algorithms employed by such search engines are static and unchanging with respect to received queries. Hence, these search engines will utilize the same algorithms regardless of whether the majority of searches correspond to specialized areas or scenarios such as medicine, law, and e-business, for instance. The relevance of returned results could be dramatically increased if the query algorithms were targeted at a particular domain of interest. Conventionally, however, query algorithms are hard coded into search engines and securely protected as company trade secrets. Accordingly, if an individual or entity would like to add extra information or features to a conventional search engine targeted at a particular domain, for instance, they would need to attempt to build an auxiliary application external to the search engine, which most likely would not produce the desired results. Alternatively, an individual or entity could attempt to build their own search engine or solicit a software company to do it for them. Unfortunately, either choice would most likely be prohibitively expensive both in terms of time and money.
A large portion of digitally stored information is presently stored in the form of unstructured textual data, both in plain text files and in formatted documents. Although the bulk of this textual data is stored in file systems, there are advantages to storing such data in databases (e.g., relational, multidimensional). By doing so, the advantages of a database, including high-performance access, query capability, metadata based queries, simple application-based user interfaces for end users, and secure remote access, are made available.
Database management systems (DBMSs) such as SQL Server are widely used to search structured data. It is impractical, however, to search unstructured data (e.g., text documents) the same way structured data is searched in part because doing so is too expensive. For example, in order to retrieve information from structured data in a database, a user typically provides a query (written in a query language such as SQL), where the query specifies the structured information to be retrieved (the search term or terms), the field in which the search term is to be found and the manner in which the retrieved information is to be manipulated or evaluated in order to provide a useful result, which is typically a relational operator or a function. To process the query, the database system typically converts the query into a relational expression that describes algebraically the result specified by the query. The relational expression is used to produce an execution plan, which describes particular steps to be taken by a computer to produce the requested result. Because the search term and the field where the search term is sought are specified, such results can be returned quickly. Moreover, indexes based on key fields (e.g., an index based on name or social security number for a personnel database) routinely assist in efficient searching.
A similarly conducted search for the same search term in unstructured data would require a word-by-word search of the entire text database and is simply unworkable and impractical. Conventional solutions to this problem typically involve the creation of an inverted index for searching documents by building a custom data structure external to the database system before a search query is entered. These solutions usually involve pulling data out of the database via bridges or gateways and storing the data as files in the file system so that textual indexing can be applied. Some other conventional systems actually store index data in a database but use an external engine to build and query the index. This approach does not provide a seamless way for a user to combine a textual query with a regular structured relational query and limits the extent to which a query can be optimized.
Although full-text searching is frequently a capability of database management systems, the conventional implementation of full-text search is unable to take advantage of the features of the database management system. Database management systems are generally unable to accommodate full-text searching of documents within the structure of the database because the full-text capabilities are only loosely coupled therewith. For instance, typically, the index created to search a document database is not itself part of the database system (i.e., is separate from the database's index system). Because the index created is not part of the database system, certain limitations arise and certain highly advantageous aspects of database systems do not apply to typical full-text search systems.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a full-text search system that can employ separately provided index schemas and ranking algorithms to efficiently generate relevant results for targeted domains. Furthermore, there is a need for a full-text search system that can be tightly integrated with a database management system to, inter alia, leverage the highly optimized and advantageous features thereof.

Integrated full text search system and method


A key scanning circuit scans a key matrix circuit to generate key input data as for key operations. A remote control decoder decodes an encoded signal, which has been output from a remote control transmitter and received by a remote control receiving circuit, to generate remote control data. A transmission register selectively stores either the key input data or remote control data. By transmitting the data stored in the single transmission register, it is possible to transmit any one of the key input data and remote control data to the microcomputer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a key input processing circuit for processing key input data from a key matrix circuit and for transmitting the processed data to a controller, such as a microcomputer, and more particularly to a key input processing circuit wherein a remote control signal can be incorporated and transmitted to the controller.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional key input processing circuit 1 comprises one LSI, to which a key matrix circuit 2 is directly connected, as well as a microcomputer 3, which is connected to the LSI via a number of serial communication lines 4. The microcomputer 3 serves as a controller for the key matrix circuit 2.
For reception of a remote control signal, a separately provided remote control receiving module 6 receives the remote control signal from a remote control transmitter 5, whereupon an encoded signal is extracted by removing a carrier wave from the received remote control signal, and then transmitted to the microcomputer 3 via a remote control transmission line 7, which is provided independently of the serial communication lines 4 for key data transmission.
The microcomputer 3 receives the encoded signal transmitted via the transmission line 7 at its interrupt terminal INT, and processes the encoded signal through an interrupt handling procedure.
Since the LSI, which constitutes the key input processing circuit 1, also incorporates a display driver, by inputting display data from the microcomputer 3 via one of the transmission lines 4 to the LSI (that is, a key input processing circuit 1), it is possible to drive a connected display 8.
As described above, conventionally, a communication line for transmitting key input data from the key matrix circuit 2 to the microcomputer 3 and a transmission line for transmitting the encoded signal from a remote-controller to the microcomputer 3 are different. Therefore, the conventional processing circuit has a problem in that the number of connecting lines between the circuit and the microcomputer are inevitably increased in order to allow incorporation of a remote control signal.
In particular, in a case of a stereo for use in a vehicle, since the key input processing circuit 1 and the remote control receiving module 6 are mounted on a front panel circuit board, while the microcomputer 3 is mounted on the main circuit board of the stereo, the number of connecters for connecting the connecting lines is also increased, as the number of connecting lines increases.
Moreover, as it may additionally control a CD player, a CD changer, a logic deck and so forth, as well as carrying out bus communication with external components, the microcomputer 3 is likely to be made unable to execute interrupt handling with respect to a remote control signal which has been input without prior notice, and therefore its function of receiving remote control data is impaired.

Processing circuit for input signal from key or remote-controller


A static random access memory system includes a static random access memory, a multiplexer, an input buffer, an output buffer, and a shifter. The input buffer writes write data stored in the input buffer to addresses of the static random access memory corresponding to a write address signal according to a write command. The output buffer reads read data of addresses of the static random access memory corresponding to a read address signal according to a read command. The multiplexer transmits the write address signal and the read address signal to the static random access memory, and generates the write command and the read command. The shifter shifts the write command to an operation clock behind the read command when the write command and the read command exist simultaneously.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a static random access memory system and an operation method thereof, and particularly to a static random access memory system and an operation method thereof that have a static random access memory having only one input/output port.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, because a static random access memory having two input/output ports can receive a write address signal, a write enable signal, an enable signal, and a read address signal, data from an external data source (e.g. a flash memory) can be written to the static random access memory through one input/output port of the two input/output ports according to the write address signal, the write enable signal, the enable signal, and a host can read corresponding data of the static random access memory through the other input/output port of the two input/output ports according to the read address signal and the enable signal. That is to say, the external data source and the host can execute write data operation and read data operation on the static random access memory through the two input/output ports of the static random access memory simultaneously.
However, chip area of the static random access memory having two input/output ports is larger, so cost of the static random access memory having two input/output ports is higher. Therefore, how to reduce the chip area of the static random access memory having two input/output ports is an important issue for a static random access memory designer.

Static random access memory system and operation method thereof


A system for controlling an automatic transmission includes a start clutch, an engagement element arranged in series to the start clutch and engaged during vehicle driving, and an ECU for controlling the start clutch and the engagement element, wherein the ECU is programmed to select, at vehicle start, one of the start clutch and the engagement element in accordance with one of the oil temperature within the transmission and the throttle-valve opening.

The present invention relates to a system and method of controlling an automatic transmission which includes an electromagnetic clutch interposed between an engine and a transmission mechanism of the automatic transmission, for example, and serving as a start element for transferring engine torque to the transmission mechanism.
There are various automatic transmissions using an electromagnetic clutch, wherein the electromagnetic clutch includes an electromagnetic multiple disk clutch serving as a start element.

System and method of controlling automatic transmission


A heat-resisting porous membrane comprises a porous polyolefin membrane having a crosslinked copolymer held on at least a part of the pore surfaces thereof, the crosslinked copolymer being composed of a monomer (A) comprising at least one multifunctional (meth)acrylate and a monomer (B) comprising at least one monofunctional (meth)acrylate having a hydrocarbon radical of 5 to 20 carbon atoms; and the heat-resisting porous membrane can be hydrophilized by additionally having a crosslinked polymer thereon. These heat-resisting porous membranes can be used in hot water for a long period of time without deteriorating the mechanical properties inherently possessed by the matrix of the porous membrane.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to porous polyolefin membranes suitable for use in precision filtration and having excellent heat resistance; porous polyolefin membranes suitable for use in precision filtration and having both excellent heat resistance and hydrophilicity; and processes for the production of such membranes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, a variety of separating membranes have come to be used in various fields such as water purification, blood treatment, air cleaning and food industry. For example, precision filtering membranes formed of a polyolefin such as polyethylene are being widely used to easily obtain highly pure water and highly clean air, because they have excellent chemical resistance and excellent physical properties such as strength, elongation and flexibility. As the range of use of precision filtering membranes extends, it is more strongly desired to use them at elevated temperatures, for example, of the order of 80.degree. to 95.degree. C.
Moreover, in many applications (such as food industry and blood treatment) of precision filtering membranes, their contamination with microorganisms such as bacteria and molds is not permitted and, therefore, they are sterilized prior to use. Useful sterilizing processes include treatment with chemicals such as ethylene oxide, formalin and hydrogen peroxide, exposure to radiation such as gamma rays, and heat treatment such as steam heating. Among them, steam heating is most preferred so long as the precision filtering membrane being treated can withstand it, because it is an effective and simple process involving little risk of contamination with impurities during the sterilization step. Usually, steam heating comprises treatment with steam at 121.degree. C. for 30 minutes.
However, porous membranes formed of polyolefins such as polyethylene tend to undergo marked heat shrinkage and morphological changes, when they are continuously used at an elevated temperature of 80.degree. to 95.degree. C. or sterilized by steam heating comprising treatment with steam at 121.degree. C. for 30 minutes. This often causes a sharp reduction in water or air permeability and impairs their function as precision filtering membranes.
Moreover, since porous polyolefin membranes are hydrophobic, water cannot permeate therethrough when they are used as such. Accordingly, where it is desired to utilize them for the treatment of aqueous liquids (i.e., water and water-based solutions), they need to be hydrophilized in advance by means of a hydrophilizing agent such as an alcohol or the like. However, porous polyolefin membranes hydrophilized with an alcohol or the like have the disadvantage that, once they are dried, their hydrophilicity is lost.
In an attempt to overcome the above-described disadvantages of porous membranes formed of polyolefins, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 33878/'87 has proposed a technique for improving the heat resistance of porous polyolefin membranes. This technique comprises forming a heat-resisting polymer film having a crosslinked structure on the surfaces of polyolefin hollow fiber membranes.
Moreover, a number of techniques for imparting hydrophilicity to porous polyolefin membranes have also been proposed. Specifically, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57836/'81 discloses porous polyethylene membranes which have been rendered hydrophilic by the introduction of sulfonic acid groups; Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 271003/'86 discloses porous polyolefin membranes which have been rendered hydrophilic by causing membranes to hold an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer on their surfaces, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 125408/'86 discloses porous polyethylene hollow fiber membranes which have been rendered hydrophilic by causing the membranes to hold an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer on their surfaces and then saponifying it.
Furthermore, as a technique for imparting both heat resistance and hydrophilicity simultaneously to porous polyolefin membranes, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59030/'90 has proposed a method which comprises causing the membranes to hold a crosslinked polymer composed of a styrene monomer and divinylbenzene on their surfaces and then polymerizing a hydrophilic monomer (such as diacetone acrylamide) and a crosslinkable monomer thereon to form a hydrophilic copolymer. In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 69673/'91 discloses a method which comprises thermally polymerizing a mono- or di(meth)acrylate of polyethylene glycol and a multifunctional (meth)acrylate on the pore surfaces of a porous polyolefin membrane to bond the resulting copolymer firmly thereto.
However, in the method proposed by Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 33878/'87, it has been found that the heat resistance of porous membranes is improved temporarily, but some physical properties (such as elongation at break and breaking strength) inherently possessed by the porous membranes are deteriorated while they are immersed in hot water for a long period of time.
In the method for imparting both heat resistance and hydrophilicity as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59030/'90, the heat resistance of porous polyolefin membranes is improved owing to the use of a crosslinked polymer derived from aromatic monomers, but the resulting membranes have some disadvantages. Specifically, the crosslinked polymer tends to be so rigid that the flexibility inherently possessed by hollow fiber membranes may be impaired. Moreover, when the membranes are immersed in hot water for a long period of time, their mechanical properties such as elongation at break are reduced, probably because of the relatively poor affinity between the crosslinked polymer and the material forming the membranes per se.
In the method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 69673/'91, the resulting membranes have been found to have the disadvantage that, probably because the monomers to be copolymerized have high molecular weights and are hence bulky hydrophilic monomers, the adhesion of the copolymer to the polyolefin hollow fiber membrane matrix is not satisfactorily good, and the heat resistance of the membranes cannot be maintained for a long period of time when they are immersed in hot water. Thus, a technique for imparting both heat resistance and hydrophilicity which can withstand long-time use also in hot water having a temperature of about 90.degree. C. has not been known in the prior art.

Heat-resisting porous membrane, hydrophilized heat-resisting porous membrane and production processes thereof


High speed removal of material from a specimen employs a beam positioner for directing a laser beam axis along various circular and spiral laser tool patterns. A preferred method of material removal entails causing relative movement between the axis of the beam and the specimen, directing the beam axis at an entry segment acceleration and along an entry trajectory to an entry position within the specimen at which laser beam pulse emissions are initiated, moving the beam axis at a circular perimeter acceleration within the specimen to remove material along a circular segment of the specimen, and setting the entry segment acceleration to less than twice the circular perimeter acceleration.

Electronic circuitry continues to grow in complexity while simultaneously shrinking in size and cost. The resulting circuit density increase has placed large demands on production throughput of high-density integrated circuits, hybrid circuits, and ECBs.
Prior workers have employed ganged mechanical drills and punches to process holes in ECBs, but the diameters of the holes are larger than new hole diameter requirements dictate. Moreover, mechanical drilling methods have been slow, prone to tool breakage, and limited to drilling so-called "through" holes.
More recently, laser-based drilling methods have evolved that enable processing each second hundreds of very small holes (referred to as "microvias" or "vias") that often terminate on conductor layers within the ECBs.
For some drilling applications, a Gaussian distributed laser beam is used to process the material, and this beam has a diameter significantly smaller than the diameters of the holes being drilled. Therefore, the laser beam must be moved to either excise the hole or ablate its entire area. The types of motion and constraints on the motion directly impact the time taken to drill a hole, and hence the laser system throughput.
Prior workers have laser-drilled holes with so-called "trepan" and "spiral" motion patterns, which are commonly referred to as "tools." Trepan processing starts at the center of the hole, then moves rapidly to the hole perimeter and spins the beam for a programmed number of repetitions around the perimeter before returning rapidly to the center. Spiral processing starts at the center of the hole, moves rapidly to an inner diameter, then spins the beam positioner for a programmed number of revolutions, incrementing the diameter until the hole perimeter is reached. Laser beam movements may be carried out by a wide variety of laser beam positioning systems, such as the Model 53XX series of workpiece processing systems, manufactured by Electro Scientific Instruments, Inc., of Portland, Oreg., the assignee of this patent application.
Prior trepan and spiral laser hole drilling methods present at least the nine problems set forth below:
1. Prior tool patterns cause undue acceleration limits on positioner systems. Prior art trepanning entails moving the laser beam in a circular motion around the perimeter of the hole being processed. Skilled workers know that the radial acceleration of circular motion is equal to ν2/R, where ν is the tool velocity, and R is the radius of the circular motion. After positioning the tool to the center of the hole, trepanning is preceded by an initial move segment that transitions in a smooth manner between the center of the hole and the start of circular motion to limit the tool acceleration and jerk (rate-of-change of acceleration). With prior art trepanning, the acceleration required by the initial move segment is 2ν2/R, which is twice the acceleration required for the circular motion. Moreover, the motion axis requiring the double acceleration is the same axis executing a half-time duration acceleration pulse, resulting in a jerk profile four-times greater than circular motion requires. The laser beam positioning system acceleration is limited because twice the motor current is demanded at twice the servo frequency.
2. Prior spiral tool patterns are limited to outward spiraling, which limits the types of material that can be processed.
3. Prior trepan and spiral tools require time-wasting multiple steps for processing a hole with both spiral and repeated perimeter motions. Executing multiple steps requires the beam positioner to perform a generic move algorithm that requires at least two acceleration pulses to move the tool back to the center of the hole between steps.
4. If beam positioner settling time is required for recovering from a high acceleration, high velocity move from a prior hole, the settling time is implemented by a constant tool velocity move to the next hole target location, which limits the available beam positioner motion range. This motion range is significant when employing galvanometer-based beam positioners.
5. The above-described settling time technique also fails to settle the beam positioner at the steady state hole processing frequency, which causes a transient motion response when oscillatory circular motion begins.
6. Prior tool patterns are unduly slow when multiple repetitions of a spiral tool are required to approach the hole from various entry angles. Prior beam positioner methods employ the above-described generic move algorithm that requires at least two acceleration pulses to return to the center of the hole between repetitions.
7. Prior trepan tool patterns may cause uneven removal of material. This is so because the laser beam energy is concentrated in one quadrant of the hole as the beam moves from the center of the hole to the perimeter, and back again.
8. Prior spiral and trepan tools do not synchronize the timing of laser triggering signals with beam positioner motion, which causes an omission of a first hole processing pulse because typical Q-switched lasers do not generate a first pulse on command.
9. Prior trepan tool patterns used for drilling holes with multiple repetitions at the perimeter, substantially overlap laser pulses around the hole perimeter, and thereby cause uneven removal of material.
What is still needed, therefore, are lower cost, higher throughput workpiece processing machines having tool patterns that produce smaller, high-quality holes in a variety of workpiece materials, such as virtually any printed wiring board material, whether rigid or flexible, copper-clad or exposed, fiber reinforced, or homogeneous resin dielectric. The workpiece materials may also include ceramic substrates and silicon substrates, such as those employed in semiconductor devices.

Methods for processing holes by moving precisely timed laser pulses in circular and spiral trajectories


A compact (e.g., hand held) vacuum generator having particular application for creating a vacuum within the evaporative emissions system (e.g., a gas tank) of a motor vehicle so that a vacuum-decay test can be performed to test the system for leaks while mitigating the hazardous effects of potentially explosive hydrocarbon vapors. The vacuum generator includes a spool valve that has an internal passage and is capable of sliding through a spool valve bore in response to a pushing force. During an at-rest stage of the spool valve within the spool valve bore, the system to be tested is disconnected from the vacuum generator. During a transition stage of the spool valve within the spool valve bore, inlet gas under pressure is blown through the internal passage of the spool valve to the atmosphere by way of a vacuum generating venturi, whereby a vacuum begins to form in a vacuum passage. During a vacuum stage of the spool valve within the spool valve bore, the vacuum passage is connected between the vacuum generating venturi and the system under test at a dual vacuum inlet port so that the system will be evacuated to the atmosphere as inlet gas under pressure is blown to the atmosphere through the internal passage of the spool valve and the vacuum generating venturi. A vacuum gauge coupled to the dual vacuum inlet port is responsive to the decay of the vacuum created within the system under test to provide an indication of a leak.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a compact (e.g., hand held) vacuum generator having particular application in pulling a vacuum within the evaporative fuel emissions system (e.g., a gas tank) of a motor vehicle so that a vacuum-decay test can be performed to test the system for leaks while mitigating the hazardous effects of potentially explosive hydrocarbon vapors.
2. Background Art
Vacuum generating devices have been in use for many years. One example of a commercially available vacuum generating device is a hand operated vacuum pump sold under the trademark MITYVAC. Other commonly used vacuum producing devices include electric vacuum pumps designed to evacuate a variety of closed systems, such as an air conditioner refrigeration system of a motor vehicle or a commercial air conditioning system.
When the evaporative emissions system of a motor vehicle is to be tested for leaks by first creating a vacuum, the aforementioned hand operated vacuum pump has usually been employed because electric vacuum pumps are often known to draw excessive vacuum from a system under test. The vacuum force created by electric vacuum pumps is sometimes so large as to possibly collapse the evaporative emissions system of the motor vehicle under test. However, one common problem with using the typical hand operated vacuum pump for leak testing the evaporative emissions system of a motor vehicle is that a time delay of approximately 5 to 10 minutes is required to evacuate the system in order to be able to test the rate of leak. Another problem which is often faced by those performing the leak test is that the vapors which evacuate from the hand operated pump are flammable and could lead to a potentially hazardous explosive condition. Yet another problem is that after the hand operated vacuum pump is disconnected from a test port of the evaporative emissions system under test, ambient air is allowed to flow back into the system, thereby creating a potentially explosive mixture. Still another problem with the typical hand operated vacuum pump is that the vacuum level is selected by the technician performing the vacuum test. In one case, the vacuum level that is selected may pull too much vacuum and, consequently, damage the vehicle. In another case, not enough vacuum may be pulled rendering the test inaccurate.
Accordingly, conventional hand operated vacuum pumps may not be suitable for reliably testing the evaporative emissions system of a motor vehicle when a vacuum-decay (or vacuum-decline) method of testing is required. Therefore, what is needed is a testing apparatus that is especially adapted for testing the evaporative emissions system of a motor vehicle by means of vacuum-decay testing. In this regard, the improved apparatus should be capable of completing a test in a timely and safe manner, assuring repeatable results, being capable of not pulling more vacuum than required, and protecting the system under test as well as the technician by mitigating the hazards of handling flammable vapors in the potentially explosive environment of the test.

Vacuum generator for vacuum-decay leak testing the evaporative emissions system of a motor vehicle


A method of estimating friction in a steering system controlled by a control module is provided. The method includes performing by the control module, estimating a steering load gain; estimating a steering load hysteresis; and determining friction based on the steering load gain, the steering load hysteresis, and a reference model.

In power steering systems, it is desirable to estimate the overall friction of the system for multiple purposes. First, if friction is excessive, it may impact the ability of the driver to maintain directional control of the vehicle. In this case, the driver should be notified of the condition in order to have it serviced. Second, for steering feel, the friction feel to the driver can be reduced if the friction magnitude is estimated accurately.

Friction estimation and detection for an electric power steering system

Steering Solutions IP Holding Corporation


Methods and apparatuses for a service system capable of providing, to a computing device, mobile device information received from a mobile device, the mobile device being associated with a user of the computing device, are described herein. In one embodiment, the mobile device, service system, and computing device may each be separate and distinct from the others. In various embodiments, the client device may facilitate a user in viewing and/or interacting with the provided mobile device information.

Wireless phones have a variety of functionalities that customers can interact with. Such functionalities include making phone calls, sending messages, accessing call history, browsing network content, and taking and viewing photos and videos. On some smartphone devices (mini-PCs in the form of a phone), there are thousands of applications and services that enable new functionalities.
Wireless phones are typically designed for mobile usage, and therefore have a small form factor, including small display screens, small keypads, typically access to only one function at a time, and so forth.
Many phones today are capable of syncing with a PC and/or server to transfer personal information management (PIM) content (email, calendar, contacts, tasks) and, in some cases, photos and music while connected via USB or wireless connection for storage on the PC.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for providing mobile device information through a computing device


The present disclosure relates to electrically conductive polymer compositions, comprising at least one electrically conductive copolymer; and at least one fluorinated acid polymer, their use in organic electronic devices, and methods for preparation.

1. Field of the Disclosure
This disclosure relates in general to electrically conductive polymer compositions and their uses in organic electronic devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Organic electronic devices define a category of products that include an active layer. Such devices convert electrical energy into radiation, detect signals through electronic processes, convert radiation into electrical energy, or include one or more organic semiconductor layers.
Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are organic electronic devices comprising an organic layer capable of electroluminescence. OLEDs containing conducting polymers can have the following configuration:                anode/buffer layer/EL material/cathodeThe anode is typically any material that has the ability to inject holes into the EL material, such as, for example, indium/tin oxide (ITO). The anode is optionally supported on a glass or plastic substrate. EL materials include fluorescent compounds, fluorescent and phosphorescent metal complexes, conjugated polymers, and mixtures or combinations thereof. The cathode is typically any material (such as, e.g., Ca or Ba) that has the ability to inject electrons into the EL material.
The buffer layer is typically an electrically conducting polymer and facilitates the injection of holes from the anode into the EL material layer. Typical conducting polymers employed as buffer layers include polyaniline and polydioxythiophenes such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDT). These materials can be prepared by polymerizing aniline or dioxythiophene monomers in aqueous solution in the presence of a water soluble polymeric acid, such as poly(styrenesulfonic acid) (PSS), as described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,300,575.
The aqueous electrically conductive polymer dispersions synthesized with water soluble polymeric sulfonic acids, however, have undesirably low pH levels. Low pH can contribute to decreased stress life of an EL device containing such a buffer layer, and contribute to corrosion within the device. Accordingly, there is a need for compositions and layers prepared therefrom having improved properties.
Electrically conducting polymers which have the ability to carry a high current when subjected to a low electrical voltage also have utility as electrodes for electronic devices, such as thin film field effect transistors. In such transistors, an organic semiconducting film that has high mobility for electron and/or hole charge carriers is present between source and drain electrodes. A gate electrode is on the opposite side of the semiconducting polymer layer. To be useful for the electrode application, the electrically conducting polymers and the liquids for dispersing or dissolving the electrically conducting polymers have to be compatible with the semiconducting polymers and the solvents for the semiconducting polymers to avoid re-dissolution of either conducting polymers or semiconducting polymers. Many conductive polymers have conductivities that are too low for use as electrodes. Accordingly, there is a need for improved conductive polymers.
Thus, there is a continuing need for electrically conductive polymer compositions having improved chemical, physical and electrical properties.

Electrically conductive polymer compositions


The present invention is directed to a wireless communication system. Particularly, the present invention is directed to a method of managing a user equipment (UE) capability at a Mobility Management Entity (MME) via a base station of a network in a wireless communication system, the method comprising selectively forwarding an indication of a UE capability stored in the MME to the base station or sending a request from the MME to the base station to obtain a current UE capability from the UE in accordance with whether or not a certain condition is satisfied.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless communication system, and more particularly to a method for managing user equipment capabilities in a wireless communication system.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Typically, a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) mobile communication system based on a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) radio access technology has been widely developed throughout the world. A High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) defined as a first evolution step of a WCDMA technology provides the 3GPP system with a high-competitiveness wireless access technology in the near and mid-term future. However, the number of requests and expectations of users and enterprisers is rapidly increasing, and the wireless access technology is being intensively developed, such that there is needed a new or improved technology of the 3GPP in order to implement a high competitiveness in the future. For example, the cost for each bit, the increase of service availability, an adaptable use of frequency band, a simple structure, an open-type interface, and appropriate power consumption of user equipment (UE) are needed for the 3GPP.
In order to manage the mobility of a user equipment (UE), an EPS Mobility Management-REGISTERED (EMM-REGISTERED) status and an EMM-DEREGISTERED status are defined in the 3GPP LTE system. The EMM-REGISTERED status and the EMM-DEREGISTERED status are applied to a Mobility Management Entity (MME). The user equipment (UE) is initially in the EMM-DEREGISTERED status, and carries out an 'Initial Attach' procedure to access a network, such that it is registered in this network. If this 'Attach' procedure has been successfully carried out, the UE and the MME become enter the EMM-REGISTERED status.
In order to manage a signaling connection between the UE and the EPC, an EPS Connection Management (ECM)-IDLE status and an ECM-CONNECTED status are defined. The above-mentioned statuses are applied to the UUE and the MME. The UE of the ECM-IDLE status is in the ECM-CONNECTED status when it makes a RRC connection with an E-UTRAN. If the MME of the ECM-IDLE status makes a S1 connection with the E-UTRAN, it becomes enter the ECM-CONNECTED status. If the UE is in the ECM-IDLE status, the E-UTRAN has no context information of the UE. Therefore, the UE of the ECM-IDLE status carries out an UE-based mobility procedure (e.g., a cell selection or a cell reselection) without receiving a command from the network. Otherwise, if the UE is in the ECM-CONNECTED status, the UE mobility is managed by the network. If the UE is in the ECM-IDLE status and the UE's location recognized by the network is changed to another UE location, the UE performs a Tracking Area Update procedure, such that it informs the network of the UE's location.
If a connection between a base station (or eNode-B) and a user equipment (UE) is established, the base station (BS) requests user equipment (UE) capability information from the user equipment (UE), such that it can establish radio resources for the user equipment (UE). In order to allow a network to manage the UE (e.g., a support of UE mobility), the UE capability information is needed. The UE capability information may include a variety of information for managing/operating radio resources of the UE, for example, a power control associated information, code resource information, encryption-associated information, and a PDCP-associated capability. The UE capability information may include a radio access technology (RAT) supported by the UE.
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a conventional delivery flow of the UE capability during the 'Attach' process of the UE. Detailed descriptions of FIG. 1 are as follows.
First, the UE establishes a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection. Namely, the UE performs the RRC connection establishment by sending a message with a Random Access Channel (RACH) preamble to the eNode-B (eNB), receiving an initial allocation from the eNB, and sending a RRC CONNECTION SETUP message to the eNB. If the RRC connection has been successfully established, the UE transmits a RRC CONNECTION COMPLETE message to the eNB. The UE includes a NAS 'Attach Request' message in the RRC message.
Second, if the eNodeB (eNB) receives the RRC connection complete message, the eNB transmits a S1 control message (i.e., initial UE message) having the NAS message (Attach Request) to the MME.
Third, in response to the 'Attach Request' message, there is an authentication process between the UE, the eNB and the MME, including a step where the MME transmits the S1 control message (i.e., Initial Context Setup Request) to the eNode-B (eNB).
Fourth, the eNode-B (eNB) receives the 'Attach Accept' message from the MME.
Fifth, the eNode-B (eNB) carries out an initial security activation process including sending a SECURITY MODE COMMAND message to the UE and receiving a corresponding SECURITY MODE COMPLETE message from the UE.
Sixth, the eNode-B (eNB) receives UE capability information from the UE by sending a UE CAPABILITY ENQUIRY message to the UE and receiving a corresponding UE CAPABILITY INFORMATION message from the UE.
Seventh, the eNode-B (eNB) performs a RRC Connection Reconfiguration procedure using the received UE capability information, such that it acquires the latest UE capability from the UE. This includes sending a RRC CONNECTION RECONFIGURATION message with a NAS: Attach Accept datum to the UE, and receiving a corresponding RRC RECONFIGURATION COMPLETE message from the UE.
Eighth, the eNode-B (eNB) transmits a SI control message (Initial Context Setup Response) having the UE capability information to the MME.
With the conventional process shown in FIG. 1, the UE capability is transferred to the network whenever the UE establishes the RRC connection. However, as the UE supporting various wireless access technologies is introduced to the market and the UE function becomes more complex, the UE capability is gradually increasing. In view of increasing UE capability and increasingly large UE capability information sizes, the conventional method for transferring a large amount of information to the network whenever the RRC connection is established unavoidably encounters unnecessary consumption of radio resources.

Method of managing user equipment capabilities


An adsorbent, which can be produced by a method in which a particle size, a pore size, a specific surface area or the like can be easily controlled, and is suitable for isolation of biomolecules. The adsorbent contains aggregates of calcium phosphate-based particles, and has an average pore size of 15 to 36 nanometers and a specific surface area of 40 to 90 m2/mL when measurement is carried out by mercury porosimetry.

Operation of purifying various substances by utilizing a substance having adsorption action as a media for chromatography is widely known, and an object and impurities are separated by utilizing various molecular interactions between the media and a substance to be isolated. For example, as such materials of the media for liquid chromatography, inorganic materials such as silica, alumina, zirconia and titania, natural polymers such as cellulose, synthetic polymers such as a styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer and polymethacrylate, and carbon are used.
In addition thereto, an attempt has also been made on utilizing a calcium phosphate-based compound, in particular hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) as an adsorbent. Hydroxyapatite is known to exhibit high adsorptivity on biomolecules such as amino acid, protein, lipid and sugar. Hydroxyapatite has been utilized by taking advantage of such characteristics as the media for column chromatography, the media being used for isolating the biomolecules or the like, and as cosmetics for the purpose of adsorbing and removing superfluous lipid and waste, or the like.
Patent literature Nos. 1 to 7 and Non-Patent literature No. 1 disclose use of calcium phosphate-based compound as a media for chromatography. In order to obtain a media having desired isolation characteristics, development has been made on hydroxyapatite having specific crystal structure (Patent literature Nos. 1 and 2), a media prepared by coating a calcium phosphate-based compound on a surface of substrate (Patent literature Nos. 4 and 6), an adsorption-isolating agent using calcium phosphate-based porous granules having continuous pore structure of two kinds of sizes (Patent literature No. 5), a media for chromatography being formed of aggregates of hydroxyapatite particles (Patent literature No. 7), and so forth. Moreover, various attempts have been made also on a method for producing the media. For example, Patent literature No. 3 discloses a method for obtaining a media for liquid chromatography by mixing thermally decomposable particles in calcium phosphate-based particles and granulating the resulting mixture, and then calcining the granulates at a high temperature. Moreover, Patent literature No. 7 discloses a method for obtaining calcium phosphate aggregates that can be used as a media for chromatography by charging primary particles of calcium phosphate into a solvent to cause aggregation of the particles.
A number of media have been thus developed. However, a never-ending challenge in the field of the media for chromatography is to develop an adsorbent having adsorption characteristics with regard to adsorption force, a pore size, a specific surface area or the like suitable for a substance according to various object substances and/or having isolation characteristics.

Adsorbent and method for producing the same


The present invention aims to provide a compound having an anticancer action comparable or superior to that of naftopidil.

Naftopidil is an α1 adrenoceptor antagonist having high selectivity to α1A−/α1D receptor, and is clinically used as a therapeutic drug for prostatomegaly and hypertension (Takei R, et al., Jpn J Pharmacol 1999; 79:447-454). The chemical name of naftopidil is ((±)-1-[4-(2-methoxyphenyl)piperazinyl]-3-(1-naphthyloxy)propan-2-ol, which is a substance represented by the following formula and created by Boehringer•Mannheim (now Roche) in Germany

It was first disclosed in JP-A-50-121286 together with a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. In recent years, it has been reported that naftopidil also has an anticancer action. For example, naftopidil was shown to inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cell by discontinuing the G1 phase of the cell cycle (Hori Y, et al., Cancer Prev Res (Phila) 2011; 4:87-96; Kanda H, et al., Int J Cancer 2008; 122:444-451).
In an earlier study, the present inventors reported that naftopidil decreases the cell survival rate of the cell lines of bladder cancer, prostate cancer and kidney cancer (Gotoh A, et al., "Anti-tumor action of a1-adrenoceptor blockers on human bladder, prostate, and kidney cancer cells." Pharmacology 2012; 90:242-246). Naftopidil also induces apoptosis in the cell line of malignant mesothelioma. From these findings, the possibility of naftopidil being promising as an anti-cancer agent is considered. However, the mechanism of the anticancer action of naftopidil contains aspects yet to be clarified.
α1-adrenoceptor is divided into 3 subtypes of α1A-, α1B- and α1D-. They conjugate with Gq/11 protein, activate phospholipase C and then activate protein kinase C (PKC) (Brede M, et al., Biol Cell 2004; 96:343-348; Kaumann A J, and Molenaar P, Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol 1997; 355:667-681; Zhong H, and Minneman K P, Eur J Pharmacol 1999; 375:261-276). Accordingly, naftopidil inhibits PKC by inhibiting α1-adrenoceptor. However, GF109203X, which is a PKC inhibitor, does not potentiate apoptosis of malignant mesothelioma induced by naftopidil, but conversely weakened the effect of naftopidil (data not shown). Furthermore, the growth of malignant mesothelioma cells was promoted by knocking-down α1D-adrenoceptor (data not shown). These results suggest that naftopidil induces apoptosis of malignant mesothelioma cells by a mechanism different from the inhibition of α1-adrenoceptor. As the situation stands, however, the mechanism thereof has not been elucidated yet.

Abstract: A compound represented by the formula (I)

Abstract: wherein each symbol is as defined in the SPECIFICATION, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, particularly 1-((2-((2-methoxyphenyl)amino)ethyl)amino)-3-(1-naphthyloxy)propan-2-ol, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. The compound shows a cell proliferation suppressive action on a wide range of cancer cells, is useful as an anti-cancer agent, and is useful for the prophylaxis and/or treatment of cancer.


A gas turbine engine is provided with an airfoil component that is disclosed as a turbine blade. Internal cooling passages circulate air within the blade. An impingement rib separates a cooling air channel from a pedestal array, and includes cross-over holes to meter the flow of air into the pedestal array. A lower end of the impingement rib is split to reduce stress concentrations between the impingement rib and a platform. Further, the pedestals adjacent to the lower end of the impingement rib are formed to be stubs, which do not extend entirely across a width of the blade. The disclosed structure reduces the stress concentration at an area where the impingement rib meets the platform.

This application relates to an internally cooled turbine blade for use in a gas turbine engine, wherein an impingement rib which meters flow of air into a pedestal array has a split lower portion.
Gas turbine engines are known, and include a plurality of sections, typically serially connected. A fan section supplies air to a compressor section. The compressor section compresses the air and delivers it to a combustion section. The combustion section combusts the air with a mixed fuel, and passes the products of combustion downstream over turbine rotors. The turbine rotors are driven to rotate, and in turn create power, and rotate the fan and compressor sections.
Typically, the turbine section includes a plurality of rotors each mounting a plurality of blades. The blades are exposed to relatively high temperature from the products of combustion. Thus, it is known to provide cooling air internally within the blades.
Each turbine blade typically includes a root section for being mounted within the rotor, a platform section, and then an airfoil extending outwardly from the platform section. The airfoil is generally hollow and includes cooling channels. Design of the cooling channels takes into account a number of different stresses and challenges on the blade. One type of structure used in the cooling channels is found adjacent what is known as the trailing edge of the airfoil. It is known in the prior art to provide an array of pedestals extending between two spaced walls adjacent the trailing edge. The pedestals serve to disrupt the air flow and also serve as heat sinks to allow the air to remove heat from the airfoil. It is known to provide an impingement rib, or generally a separating wall, separating an open air channel from the pedestals. A plurality of cross-over holes extend through the impingement rib to meter the flow of air into the pedestal array.
One challenge with the prior art turbine blades is that there are high stresses on the impingement rib, in particular at an area adjacent to the platform. This high stress concentration can result from a plurality of loads that are found at the connection of the airfoil to the platform.

Turbine blade with split impingement rib


A reversible lining tube for repairing an existing pipeline is reversible into the existing pipeline so that its initial inner surface becomes its outer surface which adheres to the internal surface of the pipeline. In detail, the reversible lining tube includes an elastomer layer and a flock layer, prior to reversal into the existing pipeline the elastomer layer is an outer layer and the flock layer is an inner layer, upon reversal into the existing pipeline the elastomer layer becomes an inner layer and the flock layer becomes an outer layer which adheres to the internal surface of the existing pipeline.

The present invention relates to a lining tube for use in repairing an existing pipeline, particularly to a lining tube reversible into an existing underground pipeline such as a gas pipe, water pipe, etc. so that its initial inner surface becomes outer surface which adheres to the internal surface of the existing pipeline.
FIG. 7 shows a process where a reversible lining tube 6 is reversed into an existing underground pipeline 1 to repair the same, which process has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 7-229165.
According to the process shown in FIG. 7, at first, a resilient leading pig 3 is introduced into the existing underground pipeline 1. Then, a necessary amount of adhesive agent 5 is introduced into the pipeline 1. Afterwards, one end of a reversible lining tube 6 is fixed at an open end 1a of the pipeline 1 in a manner such that the lining tube 6 may be reversed into the pipeline 1.
As shown in FIG. 7, a suction apparatus P is connected to an opposite open end 1b of the pipeline 1, so that a negative pressure may be produced into the pipeline 1 to cause the leading pig 3 and the adhesive agent 5 to move towards the open end 1b of the pipeline 1, thereby enabling the reversible lining tube 6 to be reversed into the pipeline 1. In this way, the initial inner surface of the lining tube 6 becomes outer surface which adheres to the internal surface of the existing underground pipeline 1.
Alternatively, instead of using a suction apparatus P, it is possible to connect a pressurizer apparatus (not shown) to the open end 1a. Then, by operating the pressurizer apparatus, a positive pressure is produced into the pipeline 1 to cause the leading pig 3 and the adhesive agent 5 to move towards the open end 1b of the pipeline 1, thereby enabling the reversible lining tube 6 to be reversed into the pipeline 1. In this way, the initial inner surface of the lining tube 6 becomes outer surface which adheres to the internal surface of the pipeline 1.
The lining tube 6 used in the process shown in FIG. 7 comprises an elastomer layer 10 (for instance, polyurethane layer) and a fabric layer 11 (consisting of laterally arranged threads and longitudinally arranged threads), as illustrated in FIG. 8.
Referring again to FIG. 8a-8b, when the lining tube 6 comprising the elastomer layer 10 and the fabric layer 11 is reversed into the pipeline 1, the fabric layer 11 becomes an outer layer to absorb the adhesive agent 5 so as to adhere to the internal surface of the pipeline 1.
However, since the fabric layer 11 has a considerable thickness and a hardness, it is difficult to reduce the overall thickness and hardness of the lining tube 6. As result, when the lining tube 6 is reversed in the pipeline 1, it has been found that the reversal of the lining tube 6 in the pipeline 1 is relatively difficult, especially when passing through a bent portion 1c of the pipeline 1.
On the other hand, as illustrated in FIGS. 9a-9b, if a lining tube consisting only of a single layer 10 (elastomer layer) is used in repairing an existing underground pipeline 1, it is found that the reversal of the lining tube in the pipeline 1 is easier than the lining tube shown in FIGS. 8a-8b, especially when passing through a bent portion 1c of the pipeline 1.
However, since the elastomer layer 10 fails to absorb the adhesive agent 5, it has been found that the lining tube shown in FIGS. 9a-9b is difficult to adhere to the internal surface of the pipeline 1. Also, since the elastomer layer 10 fails to absorb the adhesive agent 5, an adhesive agent layer 5 formed between the elastomer layer 10 and the pipeline internal wall will become uneven, causing an uneven surface of the lining layer on the pipeline internal wall.

Reversible lining tube for repairing an existing pipeline


A method of determining the skin-line in a digital medical image comprising the steps of:. providing a digital medical image including a matrix of lines and columns of pixels; PA1 determining the minimum gray level of the background pixels using a background detection routine; PA1 selecting all or at least a representative sample of said lines and/or columns of said image, and for each selected line or column; PA1 smoothing the line to minimize the effect of noise on the delineation of pixel gray level transitions; PA1 identifying significant transitions from segments of monotonically decreasing gray level values that span a minimum gray level range and start near or above said minimum background gray level; PA1 computing a set of features for each identified significant transition; and PA1 based on the set of features computed for each of the identified significant transitions, classifying the transition as either a skin-line transition or as a non-skin-line transition.

The tone-scaling processes used to render a digital medical image for output (hardcopy or softcopy) can often result in the loss of definition of the skin-line. Knowledge of the location (and associated gray levels) of the skin-line would allow the tone-scale process to be done in a manner that preserves the definition of the skin-line. Segmentation of the body part from the background (area of direct exposure) and foreground (unexposed area behind masking) can be problematic at the skin boundary due to the gray levels overlapping those of the foreground which limits the effectiveness of thresholding techniques. On the other hand, techniques that utilize spatial information (e.g., texture measures) have inherent limitations at boundaries due to the finite spatial window of pixels over which the measures are computed. Knowledge of the skin-line may allow improved segmentation or body part detection. Additionally, the shape of the skin-line boundary may be an effective feature for identifying the body part or exam type (e.g., chest vs. hand). It is therefore desirable to provide a method for the detection of the skin-line in digital medical imaging.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,367, issued Sep. 19, 1995, inventors Bick et al., discloses a method of skin-line detection including the step of first segmenting the body part from the foreground and background. The segmentation is based on the proximity of a pixel's gray level value to the peak of the global histogram, the gray level range over a 7.times.7 local window of pixels, and the membership of the pixel to a large connected region. After segmentation, the contour distinguishing the segments is inspected and processed to define the skin-line. This method is disadvantageous in requiring segmentation before skin-line detection.

Detection of skin-line transition in digital medical imaging