A display includes a substrate; an electrode layer formed on the substrate and having an electrode pattern; and an organic material layer formed on the electrode layer, wherein a plurality of pixel units are configured by the combination of the electrode pattern and the organic material layer. At least one of pixel units includes plural different colored sub-pixels arranged in delta. In one embodiment, the same colored sub-pixels of adjacent pixel units are arranged in delta. In another embodiment, the same colored sub-pixels of adjacent pixel units are arranged as a stripe. According to the embodiment, an opening of the shadow mask is corresponding to at least three sub-pixels with same color when the material is evaporated through the shadow mask.

1. Technical Field
The disclosed embodiments relate in general to a display, and more particularly to a high resolution organic electroluminescence display (OLED).
2. Description of the Related Art
In comparison to the conventional cathode-ray tube display device, the flat panel display device, such as the liquid crystal display device (LCD), the plasma display device (PDP) and the organic electroluminescent display (OELD) device), are lighter, slimmer and compacter, and has become the mainstream product. The OELD device, in particular, has advantages of light weight, flexibility, easy to carry (portability), full color, high brightness, lower power consumption, wider viewing angle and faster response time.
Generally, there are two main classes of organic light emitting materials of organic electroluminescent display, including small-molecule based light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and polymer light emitting diodes (PLEDs). Although both classes of materials have conjugated chemical structures and high luminescent efficiencies, the differences of molecular weights thereof is huge. Organic molecules of the small-molecule based light emitting diodes (OLEDs) have low molecular weight of about couple hundreds, while organic molecules of the polymer light emitting diodes (PLEDs) have extremely high molecular weight of about ten thousands to couple millions. Also, in the fabrication of the light emitting layer of pixels, the small-molecule based light emitting diodes (OLEDs) material is generally deposited by vacuum thermal evaporation (VTE) through the shadow mask. The polymer light emitting diodes (PLEDs) material is dispersed at pixels, typically by spin coating or inkjet printing, wherein the procedures require no vacuum environment, and the processing equipment is more inexpensive. The polymer light emitting diodes (PLEDs) material is suitable for applying to the devices with large area. The PLEDs material is usually used for the applications of large sized displays. However, the small-molecule based light emitting diodes (OLEDs) material has better result of film formation, which is suitable for applying to the high-end products. The OLEDs material is usually used for the applications of medium or small sized displays.
Take three different colored sub-pixels (R, G, B sub-pixels) to exemplify the evaporation of materials capable of emitting red, green and blue light colors independently. Please refer to FIG. 1A˜FIG. 1C, which illustrate an organic light emitting material evaporated in a vacuum system. The upper and lower portions in the figures depict the top views and the cross-sectional view of the substrates and the related elements on the substrates. A substrate 11 is disposed under a shadow mask 12, and the organic light emitting material 15 is then deposited on the certain areas through the shadow mask 12 by the vapor thermal evaporation (VTE). As shown in FIG. 1B, a shadow mask 12 is disposed on the substrate 11. Typically, the shadow mask is made from the metallic material with low thermal expansion coefficient, and so-called as the metal mask or the fine metal mask (FMM). The shadow mask 12 could be formed by welding a thin metal plate on a metal frame 13, wherein the thin metal plate have a predetermined pattern (such as the openings 12a arranged as an array) formed by electroforming or etching. When one of red, blue and green organic materials is deposited, the pattern of the shadow mask 12 corresponds to the positions of one colored pixels but shields the positions of other two colored pixels. For example, the openings 12a (FIG. 1B) are corresponding to the positions of red pixels, and the evaporation source 14 contains the red organic light emitting material. During evaporation, the red organic light emitting material is deposited through the openings 12a to form the organic light emitting material 15 at the red pixel areas (FIG. 1C). The shadow mask 12 or the substrate is then moved by a high accuracy alignment system to deposit another colored light emitting material.
In the conventional evaporation, each opening of the shadow mask corresponds to a position of one sub-pixel. Accordingly, the resolution of the conventional device is restricted by the processing ability of FMM.
When a display requiring high resolution is fabricated, accuracy of alignment system, tolerance of opening size, clogs and contamination at the openings of the shadow mask would cause considerable effects on the production quality since the size and pitch of pixels are decreased. Currently, the highest resolution of the commercial product, fabricated by aligning one opening of the shadow mask to one sub-pixel in the conventional evaporation, is about 300 PPI.


The speech intelligibility of an audio signal of unchanged volume is improved by raising the total audio signal by a constant factor and lowering the amplitude of this raised signal by a high-pass filter. The corner frequency fc of the high-pass filter is adjusted such that the output amplitude of the audio signal at the end of the processing segment is equal or proportional to the input amplitude of the audio signal.

The present invention relates to the field of signal processing, and in particular to signal processing of audio signals containing speech.
There are a variety of approaches to improving the speech intelligibility of audio signals. One approach is to improve the noisy audio signal. Another approach is to improve the signals that have been degraded by reverberation and echoes, etc. Yet another approach is that a good audio signal may be modified to make it more intelligible for the hearing-impaired—a method used, for example, in hearing aids. It is also possible to modify a good audio signal so it is more intelligible in the presence of high background noise.
U.S. Pat No. 5,459,813 discloses that "unvoiced sounds" (e.g., consonants) are masked by much stronger "voiced sounds" (e.g., vowels). Since unvoiced sounds are critical for the intelligibility of speech, this patent disclose enhancing these sounds, for example, by clipping or amplitude compression.
The publication entitled "Effects of Amplitude Distortion upon Intelligibility of Speech" by J. C. Liqulider in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, October 1946 discloses "peak clipping". This peak clipping without ambient noise has little effect on the intelligibility of speech. Peak clipping at −20 dB still yields approximately 96% intelligibility. "Center clipping" is considerably worse since the consonants are removed, which are especially critical to intelligibility. Peak clipping at −24 dB requires amplification of only approximately 14 dB to obtain the same intelligibility. In the publication Speech Monographs, March 1960, the article by Elwood Kretsinger et al. entitled "The Use of Fast Limiting to Improve the Intelligibility of Speech in Noise" discloses that consonants are approximately 12 dB weaker than vowels. Thus, by amplifying the consonants relative to the vowels, the intelligibility of speech in the audio signal is increased. Replacing the clipper with a fast peak limiter (22 msec.) enables intelligibility to be increased still further. At −10 dB limiting, intelligibility is increased from 56% to 84%.
From the article by Ian Thomas et al., entitled "The Intelligibility of Filtered-Clipped Speech in Noise" in the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, June 1970, it is known that the fundamental wave of an audio signal that contains speech contributes very little to speech intelligibility, while the first resonance frequency is extremely important. For this reason, the signal should be high-pass-filtered before clipping.
From the article by Ian Thomas et al., entitled "Intelligibility Enhancement through Spectral Weighting," in the Proceedings of the 1972 IEEE Conference on Speech Communication and Processing, it is known that, while clipping does improve the intelligibility of speech, it also degrades signal quality. Therefore, this publication proposes shifting the signal energy into the significant frequency ranges.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,560 discloses an approach in which the audio signals are broken up into multiple frequency bands, and the high-energy frequency bands are amplified relatively strongly while the others are lowered. This technique is based on the fact that speech is composed of a sequence of phonemes. Phonemes consist of a plurality of frequencies that undergo significant amplification at the resonance frequencies of the mouth and throat cavity. A frequency band with this type of spectral peak is called a formant. Formants are especially important for the recognition of phonemes and thus speech. Therefore, one approach to improving speech intelligibility involves amplifying the peaks (formants) of the frequency spectrum of an audio signal while attenuating the intermediate valleys. For an adult male, the fundamental frequency of speech is in the range of approximately 60-240 Hz. The first four formants are at 500 Hz, 1,500 Hz, 2,500 Hz, and 3,500 Hz as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,813.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,609 discloses having the consonants undergo amplification.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,151 discloses "forward masking", wherein weak consonants are temporarily masked by the preceding strong vowels. This patent discloses a relatively fast compressor with an "attack time" of approximately 10 msec., and a "release time" of approximately 75 to 150 msec.
A problem inherent in the known systems for improving the intelligibility of speech in audio signals is their relatively high complexity. That is, there is a high level of complexity in both the software requirement to calculate the individual algorithms and in the hardware requirement. On the other hand, in the simpler systems the audio signal is modified to such an extent that the speech no longer sounds natural. In addition, certain disturbances may be imparted on the speech signal in the simpler systems that may even work against improved intelligibility.
Therefore, there is a need for an apparatus and method of reduced complexity for improving the speech quality of audio signals. In addition, there is a need for an apparatus and method of improving the speech intelligibility of a relatively good audio signal with the volume unmodified. That is, a system wherein the intelligibility remains the same at low volume or that intelligibility is improved in the presence of ambient noise.

Circuit for improving the intelligibility of audio signals containing speech


A forging apparatus and method is disclosed in which a die has two separate cavities, each having a first cavity portion and a second cavity portion. A billet of material is received in a first cavity portion and struck by a striking portion of an extrusion punch so as to be forced into the corresponding second cavity portion to form a shaped component. The billet of material can be placed into either of the two cavities for extrusion. This may increase the number of extrusion operations that can be performed by a single die.

1. Field of the Disclosure
This disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for forging/extruding a shaped component, for example a shaped component of a gas turbine engine. At least part of the disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for use in automated forging/extruding of a shaped component.
2. Description of the Related Art
Forging is used in a variety of metalworking operations in order to produce shaped components. Typically, a hammer or ram is used to provide a compressive force to a billet of metal (which may be heated) in order to deform the metal into the shape of a die.
Various different types of forging process have been developed to suit the desired properties of the shaped component, for example in terms of size, shape, material properties and required throughput.
In one particular type of forging, which may be referred to as a horizontal split die forging press or as a multiforge, a billet of heated metal is positioned in a forging press, and then a ram is used to strike the billet so as to provide a, typically horizontal, force to press the metal billet into a die. In this way, the shape of the billet deforms so as to take on the shape of the die.
The die pieces in such arrangements experience very high loads during the forging process. This leads to wear of the dies and means that the die (which may include an upper die piece and/or a lower die piece) needs to be replaced once the wear has reached an unacceptable level. Typically, these upper and/or lower die pieces wear more quickly (and thus may require more frequent replacement) than other parts of the apparatus used in the forging process, or indeed in the entire manufacturing process used to produce a component, of which the forging process may be only a part.
The process of changing a die may take a significant amount of time, for example between 2 and 6 hours. During this period, the forging apparatus cannot be used, and so no components can be manufactured.
The dies themselves may be expensive to manufacture. For example, the dies may require relatively expensive heat treatment, such as nitriding, due to the high loads that they experience during use. Expensive tooling, such as carbide tooling, may be required to machine the dies.
Changing dies may result in slight differences in the manufactured components, for example due to manufacturing tolerances of the dies and/or set-up differences.


A method of automatically engaging a parking lock or an automatic or automated gearbox of a motor vehicle, which can be engaged depending on a drive position selected by the driver of the motor vehicle, by way of a selector device and depending on other operating parameters. In order to achieve as little restriction of the drivability of the motor vehicle as possible, without neglecting the safety of the driver and surroundings, two different complex embodiments of an Auto_P function for automatically engaging the parking lock are proposed, if the motor vehicle is at least approximately stopped and, at the same time, an ignition circuit acting on the drive motor of the motor vehicle is electrically interrupted.

Known automatic or automated motor vehicle gearboxes normally feature a parking lock which can mechanically fix an output shaft of the gearbox. In addition to a purely mechanical system for actuating this kind of parking lock by way of a mechanical functional connection between a selector lever operable by the driver in the interior of the motor vehicle and the parking lock in the gearbox, electromechanical and electrohydraulic systems are also known for actuating this type of parking lock—for example from DE 41 27 991 C2—in which the parking lock in the gearbox is connected, via an electric functional connection, with a selector device operable by the driver in the interior of the motor vehicle, and in which the parking lock can be electromechanically or electrohydraulically actuated by way of a parking-brake function implemented in an electronic control device of the gearbox, depending on a drive position selected on the selector device and depending on other operating parameters of the motor vehicle.
In addition, there are various known methods of automatically engaging this kind of parking lock. U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,105 proposes automatically engaging the parking lock of the gearbox independently of the driving position selected by the driver if an ignition circuit of the motor vehicle is interrupted and the motor vehicle is still rolling at a speed that is lower than a defined low threshold value.
A method is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,014 in which the parking lock of the gearbox is automatically engaged by way of an electric motor when an ignition circuit of the motor vehicle is uninterrupted and, at the same time, the vehicle speed is lower than a defined low threshold value, and when the driver door of the motor vehicle is open and, simultaneously, the driver seat of the motor vehicle is unoccupied and the vehicle speed is lower than the cited low threshold value. In both cases, it is provided that when the parking lock is automatically engaged, a parking brake of the motor vehicle is actuated as well. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,014, it is also proposed that when the ignition circuit is closed when the drive motor of the motor vehicle is not running, the gearbox automatically switches to its neutral position without a driver request being necessary.
And finally, from EP 0 814 287 B1, a function for automatically engaging the parking lock of an automatic gearbox is known, with which the parking lock in the automatic gearbox is automatically engaged by the gearbox control device when the speed of the motor vehicle is zero and, at the same time, an ignition circuit is interrupted and, while simultaneously, as an additional condition, either a predetermined time interval has passed since the interruption of the ignition circuit, or a vehicle door is opened, but no later—and then as the only condition—than when the ignition key has been removed from the ignition switch. In order to achieve better vehicle availability, it is a special feature in all three cases that the engagement of the parking lock is prevented when the driver, immediately before switching off the motor or within a predetermined time interval after switching off the motor, has selected the neutral drive position with the selector lever.
The object of the present invention is to devise an operator for automatically engaging the parking lock of an automatic or automated gearbox that is an alternative to the state of the art, and which sufficiently protects the vehicle against start-up or rolling that is not intended by the driver and has the least possible impairment of vehicle drivability or movability, while avoiding a change in the operating state of the gearbox or the vehicle that is unexpected by the driver.

Method for automatically engaging a parking lock of an automatic or automated gearbox of a motor vehicle


Vaccine compositions useful in inducing immune protection in a host against arthritogenic peptides involved in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis are disclosed. Each vaccine composition provides antigenic dnaJp1 peptide (by including the peptide or a polynucleotide which encodes the peptide) and, optionally, other peptide fragments of the microbial dnaJ protein and/or human homologs thereof. Methods for identifying persons who are predisposed to develop rheumatoid arthritis and methods for use of the inventive vaccines are also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the control and prevention of autoimmune disease, in particular rheumatoid arthritis. More specifically, the invention relates to methods and reagents which reduce or prevent the response of a host to arthritogenic peptides which include an amino acid sequence (Q(K/R)RAA) that is homologous to a sequence contained in certain HLA proteins.
2. History of the Prior Art
In humans, autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis tend to be associated with particular HLA specificities. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in particular is presently believed to be associated on a genetic level with the Class II HLA haplotypes DW4, DW14, DW15 (all with DR4 specificity) and/or DR1. Each of these haplotypes include an amino acid sequence which is commonly referred to as the "susceptibility sequence" (hereafter, "RA susceptibility sequence"; see SEQ ID NOs: 1 and 2). The RA susceptibility sequence is known to vary at one amino acid; to wit, QRRAA (SEQ ID NO: 3) and QKRAA (SEQ ID NO: 2) (hereafter, "Q(R/K)RAA"). More than 90% of adult patients with seropositive RA have also been found to have HLA DR antigens with the RA susceptibility sequence in the third hypervariable region of the molecule. The RA susceptibility sequence has not been implicated in the onset of juvenile RA (JRA), except in patients suffering from severe, seropositive JRA.
The QRRAA (SEQ ID NO: 3) variant of the susceptibility sequence has been identified on HLA haplotypes DW14, DW15 and DR1. The QKRRA (SEQ ID NO: 2) variant has been identified on HLA haplotype DW4. Highly conserved homologs of the variants have also been identified in the Epstein-Barr virus glycoprotein gp110, as well as the dnaJ heat shock proteins from Escherichia coli, as well as the bacterial species Klebsiella, Ptoteus, Salmonella, and Lactococcus.
In 1992, Albani, et al., J. Clin. Invest., 89:327–331 (1992) published a report indicating that they had expressed and purified recombinant dnaJ (rdnaJ). The purified rdnaJ was specifically bound by antisera raised in rabbits against the RA susceptibility sequence from DW4 proteins. Antisera raised against rdnaJ also bound the intact DW4 protein in vitro as well as DW4 homozygous B lymphoblasts. No role or mechanism for in vivo activity on the part of rdnaJ in rheumatoid arthritis was proposed.
One approach to utilize the RA susceptibility sequence to treat RA has been proposed which would vaccinate humans against RA with certain RA susceptibility sequence peptides derived from known human HLA peptides (see, published PCT application, WO 9014835 (filed May 31, 1990), Carson, et al., inventors).
Another therapeutic modality for controlling the immune response to bacterial antigens has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,757 to Stolle, et al. Stolle, et al. proposed administering IgG antibodies raised in cow's milk against a broad spectrum of intact bacteria which typically reside in the human gastrointestinal tract. The IgG tested by Stolle, et al., were raised against a mixture of intact organisms without targeting specific bacterial antigens. This patent issued prior to the identification of the RA susceptibility sequence in certain bacterial heat shock proteins, including dnaJ. The antisera described by Stolle, et al. were not, therefore, directed toward RA susceptibility sequence peptides.
None of these approaches to treating RA specifically target arthritogenic peptides before the peptides are presented to the systemic immune system of an RA patient. A need, therefore, exists for a treatment which will not only ameliorate systemic responses by an RA patient to arthritogenic peptides, but will also prevent pathogenic exposure of the patient to the arthritogenic peptides through the release of such peptides from the patient's GI tract into systemic circulation. Ideally, such treatments will be provided either before the patient develops RA or in the early stages of the disease; thus, a need also exists for a method of identifying persons who are genetically and immunologically predisposed to develop RA.
The present invention addresses each of these needs.

Vaccine compositions and methods useful in inducing immune protection against arthritogenic peptides involved in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis

The Regents of the University of California


Systems and techniques relating to locating cardiac wave forms in a cardiac signal, and to detecting a physiological condition, such as ventricular fibrillation. In general, in one aspect, a machine-implemented method includes obtaining a sensed cardiac signal of an organism, the sensed cardiac signal comprising a time series x(t); applying a Hilbert (H) transform to the time series x(t) to obtain H(x(t)), wherein x(t) and H(x(t)) together forming a partial state space trajectory; determining a speed of trajectory, for the sensed cardiac signal, from the partial state space trajectory; and identifying physiological information concerning the organism based on a combination of first and second signal elements, the first signal element including a phase property or an amplitude property of the speed of trajectory, and the second signal element including an amplitude property of the partial state space trajectory.

The present application describes systems and techniques relating to automated analysis of a cardiac signal of an organism, for example, locating of onset, center and offset of P-wave, onset (Q) and offset (S) of QRS complex, and onset, center and offset of T-wave, and detecting a physiological condition from a cardiac signal obtained from a person.
The electrical activity of various organs, such as the heart or brain, can be monitored, and this electrical activity can be analyzed to look for patterns that may assist in diagnosing various conditions. For example, the electrical activity of the heart can be monitored to track various aspects of the functioning of the heart. Given the volume conductivity of the body, electrodes on the body surface or beneath the skin can display potential differences related to this activity. Anomalous electrical activity can be indicative of disease states or other physiological conditions ranging from benign to fatal.
Cardiac monitoring devices can sense the cardiac electrical activity of a living being and identify heart beats. Frequently, identification of heart beats is performed by identifying the R waves in the QRS complex, as can be seen in an electrocardiogram (ECG). The R wave represents ventricular depolarization. The typically large amplitude of this wave in the QRS complex is useful in identifying a heart beat. Traditional automated ECG signal analysis tools typically rely on correlation-based template matching and a number of empirical decision rules that are optimized for certain ECG databases. Many techniques have been developed for analyzing ECG signals, but further improvements are desirable.

Automated analysis of a cardiac signal based on dynamical characteristics of the cardiac signal


A new and distinct cultivar of Dianella plant named ‘Dinky Di’ characterized by an upright plant habit, blue-green leaves, dense shoots with short and narrow leaf blades, a short overall height and pale blue flowers.

The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Dianella plant, botanically known as Dianella revoluta, and hereinafter referred to by the name 'Dinky Di'. The new cultivar was discovered and selected as a single plant growing within a bed of Dianella plants. The exact parents are unknown. The cultivar 'Dinky Di' was discovered in 2003 in Dromana in the state of Victoria, Australia.
The first asexual reproduction of the new Dianella was in 2003 by division in Dromana, Victoria, Australia. The unique features of this new Dianella are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.


In a further aspect of the invention, the calculated results may be communicated as a graphical output 196, such as is illustrated in FIG. 27. The graphical output 196 may be accessed by pressing a graph report button 198 on the report output dialog box (FIG. 26). The graphical output 196 is useful to further illustrate to the physician and the patient the changes in the calculated risk value over time, and in relation to the cholesterol levels. The graphical output 196 is also useful as a further tool in enabling a patient to understand the relationship between their health habits and the associated risk factor, and in encouraging the patient to participate in their own medical decision making.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system and method for estimating and tracking a patient's risk for various medical conditions and, in particular, to a system and method for estimating and tracking a patient's risk for various medical conditions using an electronic medical records system.
2. Related Prior Art
A goal of medical research is to identify diagnostic measurements useful in revealing present of forecasting future disease states. In few cases, a disease state is revealed from a single diagnostic measurement. More often, a disease state can be detected with more sensitivity through recognizing the subtle relationship between two or more diagnostic measurements and a disease state.
The relationships between disease states and diagnostic measurements are frequently published in medical journals. These journals report medical algorithms, which are formulae by which the likelihood of a disease state can be computed by entering data from diagnostic measurements. Reliance on medical algorithms by medical practioners can reduce the number of medical errors, and efficiently promote the well being of patients.
Despite the great number of useful medical algorithms available, most practitioners use only a small number of them routinely. A major barrier preventing their application in practice is the lack of a convenient system for using the algorithms at the point of care. Compounding this barrier, both patient data and medical algorithms change over time as new information comes available. It is commonly known that health care providers, such as physicians, produce large volumes of diagnostic data which must be utilized in order to service patients. Constantly updating patients' diagnostic and/or risk assessment is unduly burdensome in view of these changes. Algorithms would be more widely utilized if clinicians could readily integrate them into a system that included patient data.
Electronic medical records systems have been developed in an attempt to insure accurate and complete input of information, and to facilitate information processing, retrieval and reporting. These electronic record systems are intended to ultimately replace patient records maintained in paper files, and generally attempt to reduce the workload of medical personnel in processing the information contained in these records.
Although various advantages have been provided by electronic medical records systems currently available, there is a continuing need for a relational data base model which provides a means for the rapid incorporation of diagnostic data into medical algorithms. Further, there is a need for such a relational data base model which provides a means for updating medical algorithms as they are published in medical journals. Further, there is a need for such a system, which will allow these modifications without requiring major software upgrades.

System and method for implementing medical risk algorithms at the point of care


An apparatus for logging and reporting network parameters within a portable communication device that includes a processor and a wireless module that may communicate with a wireless network such as a wireless telephone network, for example, via a wireless connection. The wireless module may determine characteristic information associated with the wireless connection and may provide the characteristic information to the processor. The processor may format the characteristic information for transmission and then transmit the formatted characteristic information to the wireless network. In addition, the processor may store the characteristic information within the portable communication device for future aggregation and transmission.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to portable communication devices and, more particularly, to portable communication devices that include wireless communication functionality that may provide logging and reporting of wireless network parameters.
2. Description of the Related Art
The proliferation of wireless communication devices has been nothing short of amazing. Communication companies are constantly striving to increase the coverage area of their wireless telephone networks, and manufacturers are constantly increasing the functionality of communication devices such as mobile telephones, for example, to include such features as web browsing. Accordingly, more and more people are using personal communication devices to transfer larger and larger volumes of data via connections to wireless telephone networks, wireless wide area networks (WAN), and the like.
However, along with this growth in the popularity of wireless services, comes the problem of efficiently upgrading the wireless network infrastructure to accommodate that growth. Although quality of service is becoming increasingly important to the users, network upgrades can be costly. As such, it may be desirable to prioritize upgrades based where the need is greatest. Network engineers may constantly monitor the network trying to determine network characteristics such as network traffic patterns, congestion, coverage area deficits, and so on. However, gathering the network characteristic information to make accurate determinations may not be an easy task.

Apparatus and method for wireless network parameter logging and reporting within a portable device having wireless communication functionality


Disclosed are methods and devices for regulating fluid flow in one or more lung regions that are supplied fluid through one or more collateral pathways. An identified region of the lung is targeted for volume reduction or collapse. The targeted lung region is then bronchially isolated to inhibit air from flowing into the targeted lung region through bronchial pathways that directly feed air to the targeted lung region. If the targeted lung region does not collapse after bronchially isolating the targeted lung region, then it is possible that a collateral pathway is feeding air to the targeted lung region, thereby preventing the targeted lung region from collapsing. In such a case, the collateral pathway is identified and air flow into the targeted lung region via the collateral pathway is reduced or eliminated.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to methods and devices for use in performing pulmonary procedures and, more particularly, to procedures for treating various diseases of the lung.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pulmonary diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) reduce the ability of one or both lungs to fully expel air during the exhalation phase of the breathing cycle. The term "Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease" (COPD) refers to a group of diseases that share a major symptom, dyspnea. Such diseases are accompanied by chronic or recurrent obstruction to air flow within the lung. Because of the increase in environmental pollutants, cigarette smoking, and other noxious exposures , the incidence of COPD has increased dramatically in the last few decades and now ranks as a major cause of activity-restricting or bed-confining disability in the United States. COPD can include such disorders as chronic bronchitis, bronchiectasis, asthma, and emphysema. While each has distinct anatomic and clinical considerations, many patients may have overlapping characteristics of damage at both the acinar (as seen in emphysema) and the bronchial (as seen in bronchitis) levels, almost certainly because one pathogenic mechanism—cigarette smoking is common to both. (Robbins Pathological Basis of Disease, 5th edition, pg 683)
Emphysema is a condition of the lung characterized by the abnormal permanent enlargement of the airspaces distal to the terminal bronchiole, accompanied by the destruction of their walls, and without obvious fibrosis. It is known that emphysema and other pulmonary diseases reduce the ability of one or both lungs to fully expel air during the exhalation phase of the breathing cycle. One of the effects of such diseases is that the diseased lung tissue is less elastic than healthy lung tissue, which is one factor that prevents full exhalation of air. During breathing, the diseased portion of the lung does not fully recoil due to the diseased (e.g., emphysematic) lung tissue being less elastic than healthy tissue. Consequently, the diseased lung tissue exerts a relatively low driving force, which results in the diseased lung expelling less air volume than a healthy lung. The reduced air volume exerts less force on the airway, which allows the airway to close before all air has been expelled, another factor that prevents full exhalation.
The problem is further compounded by the diseased, less elastic tissue that surrounds the very narrow airways that lead to the alveoli (the air sacs where oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange occurs). This tissue has less tone than healthy tissue and is typically unable to maintain the narrow airways open until the end of the exhalation cycle. This traps air in the lungs and exacerbates the already-inefficient breathing cycle. The trapped air causes the tissue to become hyper-expanded and no longer able to effect efficient oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange. One way of deflating the diseased portion of the lung is to applying suction to these narrow airways. However, such suction may undesirably collapse the airways, especially the more proximal airways, due to the surrounding diseased tissue, thereby preventing successful fluid removal.
In addition, hyper-expanded lung tissue occupies more of the pleural space than healthy lung tissue. In most cases, a portion of the lung is diseased while the remaining part is relatively healthy and therefore still able to efficiently carry out oxygen exchange. By taking up more of the pleural space, the hyper-expanded lung tissue reduces the amount of space available to accommodate the healthy, functioning lung tissue. As a result, the hyper-expanded lung tissue causes inefficient breathing due to its own reduced functionality and because it adversely affects the functionality of adjacent, healthier tissue.
Lung volume reduction surgery is a conventional method of treating lung diseases such as emphysema. According to the lung reduction procedure, a diseased portion of the lung is surgically removed, which makes more of the pleural space available to accommodate the functioning, healthier portions of the lung. The lung is typically accessed through a median sternotomy or lateral thoracotomy. A portion of the lung, typically the upper lobe of each lung, is freed from the chest wall and then resected, e.g., by a stapler lined with bovine pericardium to reinforce the lung tissue adjacent the cut line and also to prevent air or blood leakage. The chest is then closed and tubes are inserted to remove fluid from the pleural cavity. The conventional surgical approach is relatively traumatic and invasive, and, like most surgical procedures, is not a viable option for all patients.
Some recently proposed treatments include the use of devices that isolate a diseased region of the lung in order to reduce the volume of the diseased region, such as by collapsing the diseased lung region. According to such treatments, isolation devices are implanted in airways feeding the targeted region of the lung to isolate the region of the lung targeted for volume reduction or collapse. These implanted isolation devices can be, for example, one-way valves that allow flow in the exhalation direction only, occluders or plugs that prevent flow in either direction, or two-way valves that control flow in both directions. However, even with the implanted isolation devices properly deployed, air can flow into the isolated lung region via a collateral pathway. This can result in the diseased region of the lung still receiving air even though the isolation devices were implanted into the direct pathways to the lung. Collateral flow can be, for example, air flow that flows between segments of a lung, or it can be, for example, air flow that flows between lobes of a lung, as described in more detail below.
Collateral flow into an isolated lung region can make it difficult to achieve a desired flow dynamic for the lung region. Moreover, it has been shown that as the disease progresses, the collateral flow throughout the lung can increase, which makes it even more difficult to properly isolate a diseased lung region by simply implanting flow control valves in the bronchial passageways that directly feed air to the diseased lung region.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a method and device for regulating fluid flow to and from a region of a lung that is supplied air through a collateral pathway, such as to achieve a desired flow dynamic or to induce collapse in the lung region.

Methods and devices for inducing collapse in lung regions fed by collateral pathways


A color reproduction method is described using laser addressable thermal transfer donor elements which may be used to image both color proofing films and printing plates. Matched proofs and plates may be generated by direct digital address since identical transfer media are used in the respective imaging processes. In addition, each plate bears a resin image of a color that matches the color of the ink that will be used with that plate thus providing a convenient means of identification. In other words, the identity of each plate (i.e. whether it bears the y, m, c or k separation image) is immediately apparent by visual inspection, thus removing any risk of confusion and any need to provide individual plates with identification marks.

In the graphic arts industry, the use of laser scanners in the reproduction of color images is known. By means of the scanner, it is possible to separate an original color image (such as a photograph, a painting, etc.) into its yellow (y), magenta (m), cyan (c) and (optionally) black (k) components (i.e., its color separation images), and to store these as separate computer data files. By recombining these color separation images in a suitable output medium, a reproduction of the original image is obtained. To an increasing extent, original color images are generated on computers in the first place, but these also take the form of digital data files representing color separation images which ultimately must be combined in a suitable output medium.
If large numbers of copies of the image are required, it is necessary to generate a separate printing plate corresponding to each of the separation images and use them to print, in exact superposition, the separate y, m, c, k separation images using inks of the appropriate colors. The process can be performed repetitively at high speed to produce many thousands of copies. Before starting such an expensive process, however, it is customary to output the separation images in the form of a color proof which is a one-off color hardcopy that predicts, as accurately as possible, the appearance of the final printed image.
There are two distinct methods by which digitally-stored color separation images may be output as plates or proofs, namely "direct" and "indirect" methods.
The indirect method is the well-established technique whereby each of the stored color separation image files is output by laser scanning on to a separate black and white silver halide film which is developed and fixed in the normal manner. Each of the resulting black and white images is then used as a mask for the contact exposure of a plate or a single-color component of a photomechanical proof. Because both the plate and the proof are exposed through the same mask, and typically involve similar imaging chemistry (e.g. a photoresist), the proof provides an accurate simulation of the image that will ultimately be printed by the plate. The disadvantage of this method lies in the cost and inconvenience of using the intermediate films.
It has been recognized that "direct" laser exposure of plates and proofing materials represents a more cost-effective use of the technology and there are various disclosures of printing plates imageable by lasers. These embrace modifications to conventional plate coatings to enable laser address, as in the various photopolymer plates sensitised to Argon ion lasers and the adaptation of phenolic resin based plate coatings to infrared laser address, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,340,699; 5,372,907; and 5,372,915, as well as "unconventional" imaging methods, such as laser thermal transfer.
In the laser thermal transfer method, a donor sheet comprising a layer of an infrared absorbing transfer medium is placed in contact with a receptor, and the assembly is exposed to a pattern of infrared (IR) radiation, normally from a scanning laser source. Absorption of the IR radiation causes a rapid build-up of heat in the exposed areas which in turn causes transfer of the medium from the donor to the receptor in those areas. Laser thermal transfer technology may be adapted for the production of lithographic printing plates by using a receptor having a hydrophilic surface (such as anodised aluminium foil) and transferring thereto a resinous, oleophilic material. Such systems are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,401,606; 5,395,729; and 5,171,650; European Patent Application Nos. 0160396; and 0160395; and Japanese Publication No.04-140191. With a view to increasing the run-length of the resulting plates, the resinous oleophilic material is frequently designed to be crosslinkable, e.g. by heat treatment, and/or UV-irradiation, so as to enable the transferred image to be hardened in a separate post-transfer step. Such systems are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,729; EP Application Nos. 0160396; and 0160395. The crosslinking mechanisms disclosed include photocuring of unsaturated monomers and standard thermosetting processes, such as, the thermal curing of epoxy resins, phenol-formaldehyde resins, melamine-formaldehyde resins, etc.
Laser thermal transfer technology is also readily adaptable to the generation of color proofs. For this purpose, the transfer medium must comprise one or more dyes or pigments matching the color of one of the inks to be used in the printing process. The receptor is typically white paper or card, optionally bearing a colorless resin coating. All the separation images may be output in this fashion to a common receptor to provide a full color proof. Such systems are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,171,650; and 5,126,760; WO Application No. 90/12342, Japanese Publications Nos. 63-319192; and 04-201485; and European Application Nos. 0542544; and 0602893.
Laser thermal transfer is potentially a highly attractive means for generating both proofs and plates directly from digitally-stored image data, since the use of photosensitive materials and wet processing is not required. However, matched proofing and platemaking media, imageable by the same or similar laser sources to provide well-matched proofs and plates, have not so far been described in the patent literature or made available commercially. Although certain patents, such as, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,395,729; and 5,171,650; and WO Application No. 90/12342 disclose the generation of both proofs and plates by laser thermal transfer, there is no suggestion that identical donor media might be used for both purposes, or that any advantage would be gained from doing so. Indeed the examples in these patents invariably disclose the use of different donor media formulations for the respective imaging applications.
The state of the art teaches that different (and mutually exclusive) properties are required in transfer media intended for the separate imaging applications. For printing plates, the emphasis is typically on the durability of the transferred image and its ability to print many thousands of impressions without suffering undue wear. Hence, there is a tendency to use thicker transfer layers comprising tough, abrasion resistant resins, frequently hardenable by a post-transfer heat or UV treatment, but rarely containing dyes or pigments other than that required for absorption of the laser radiation (which is frequently a black-body absorber, such as, carbon black). In contrast, the important criteria for proofing media have been seen as the sensitivity of the imaging process, and the resolution and color fidelity of the transferred image, leading to the use of thin layers with a high pigment content, and the use of infrared-absorbing species that impart no visible coloration to the transferred image.
While these disparate approaches have been successful in optimising the performance of proofing and plate-forming media, judging each with respect to its own particular criteria, they make the correspondence between the proof and the plates (and ultimately the printed image) less accurate. Ideally, a given set of image signals, controlling a given laser imaging device, should produce the same results in both the proof and the plate, particularly with respect to parameters, such as, dot size, dot shape etc. Furthermore, any alteration to those signals (in pursuit, say, of a different color balance) should produce identical changes in both proof and plate. When transfer media with widely differing physico-chemical properties are used for the respective imaging applications, these goals become increasingly difficult to meet.

Production of color proofs and printing plates

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


Apparatus and a method of forming a franking indicium on a mail item is disclosed. An area of ink is deposited on the mail item at a first station and at a second station the deposited ink is selectively removed to leave a required franking indicium on the mail item. The removal of the deposited ink may be effected by scanning the area with a laser beam and switching the laser beam on to impinge on and remove unrequired portions of the area of ink and switching the laser beam off when the scanning would otherwise cause the laser beam to impinge on portions of the area of ink required to form the franking indicium.

This invention relates to postage meters and in particular to methods and apparatus for forming franking indicia on items.
Known postage meters for franking mail items include accounting means to carry out accounting functions in respect of postage charges dispensed by the meter and a printer to print a franking impression on each mail item to indicate that a postage charge has been applied to the item and has been charged to the account of the user of the postage meter. Earlier postage meters incorporated a drum printer to print the franking impression. The drum printer comprises a rotatable print drum carrying a fixed printing die to print invariable parts of the impression sets of print wheels which are set to print a required value of postage charge and the date on which the printing effected. In more recent developments of postage meters the rotatable print drum has been replaced by electronic digital printing devices. These digital printing devices comprise means to print dots selectively in a matrix of positions on the mail item so as to form a required impression.

Postage meter and method of forming franking indicia on mail


An off-chip signal is provided to a differential branch-line directional coupler implemented entirely on-chip. The coupler produces differential quadrature signals, which are then buffered and applied to a quadrature mixer. The coupler is implemented entirely on-chip using microstrip transmission lines. The coupler is made up of a plurality of rings and a plurality of underpasses connecting ports of the rings, wherein each of the plurality of rings is made up of four branch lines, and each branch line having an electrical length of one-quarter wavelength at the center design frequency. Coupling between the plurality of branch lines of the rings may be varied.

With recent progress in the semiconductor technology and packaging engineering, more portable personal communication systems are made available, as the dimensions of these circuits become smaller and the transmission lines are being formed with shorter distances from each other.
In frequency conversion systems, such as millimeter-wave radios, for example, discrete semiconductor components with low integration levels are assembled. These systems are often assembled using expensive and bulky waveguides and package-level or board-level microstrip structures to interconnect semiconductors.
Power couplers are used widely in frequency conversion systems such as the millimeter radios to divide power in an input path into two or more paths. In these millimeter radios, the power couplers used may include microstrip branch lines of different lengths to generate on-chip oscillator signals of different phases. For the purpose of shifting the phase by 90°, for example, quarter wave-length transmission lines may be used. As the dimension of the power coupler is reduced, the distances between the branch lines are also reduced. A known power coupler is the branch-line directional coupler.
Shown in FIG. 1 is an exemplary branch-line directional coupler 14 with four branch lines 10, 12. As shown in FIG. 1, the branch lines 10, 12 are a quarter-wavelength long at the center design frequency, connected at connecting ports 1-4. Branch lines 10 connecting ports 1 and 2, and ports 3 and 4, have a characteristic impedance of Zo/1.414. Branch lines 12 connecting ports 2 and 3, and ports 1 and 4, have a characteristic impedance of Zo. When port 1 is driven by a signal, the voltage at port 3 lags the voltage at port 2 by 90°, and the voltage at port 4 is at a null (i.e. no output).

Integrated millimeter-wave quadrature generator

International Business Machines Corporation


Disclosed is a method of producing a polyolefin composition comprising contacting a metal alkyl and a first olefin monomer, then adding a first co-catalyst, a second co-catalyst, a pre-catalyst, and a second olefin monomer. The method allows for the production of a series of copolymers with tunable incorporation ratios of the first olefin monomer. The method also allows for the production of polyolefins of low molecular weights and narrow molecular weight distributions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention provides a method of producing a polyolefin composition comprising contacting a metal alkyl and a first olefin monomer, then adding a first co-catalyst, a second co-catalyst, a pre-catalyst, and a second olefin monomer. The method allows for the production of a series of copolymers with tunable incorporation ratios of the first olefin monomer. The method also allows for the production of polyolefins of low molecular weights and narrow molecular weight distributions.
2. Related Art
Several transition-metal-based catalysts have been reported that can mediate the living metal-mediated coordination polymerization (also known as homogeneous, single-site Ziegler-Natta polymerization) of ethene, propene, higher α-olefins, and α,ω-nonconjugated dienes, and, in some cases, these proceed with a high degree of stereocontrol (tacticity) ((for a review of catalysts for living coordination polymerization of ethene and α-olefins, see: Coates, G. W., et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 41:2236-2257 (2002)); (for the living and stereoselective coordination polymerization of α-olefins and α,ω-non-conjugated dienes, see: Jayaratne, K. C., et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 122:958-959 (2000); Jayaratne, K. C., et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 122:10490-10491 (2000); Keaton, R. J., et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 123:6197-6198 (2001); Zhang, Y., et al., Chem. Commun. 2358-2359 (2003); Zhang, Y., et al., Organometallics 23:3512-3520 (2004); Harney, M. B., et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 45:2400-2404 (2006); Harney, M. B., et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 45:6140-6144 (2006); Zhang, W., et al., Adv. Synth. Catal. 350:439-447 (2008))). However, the commercialization of new polyolefin materials and products that take advantage of the unique capabilities of living coordination polymerizations appears unlikely (for reviews of polyolefin materials prepared through living coordination polymerization, see: Domski, G. J., et al., Prog. Polym. Sci. 32:30-92 (2007); Sakuma, A., et al., Polym. J. 39:193-207 (2007); Szwarc, M., et al., Ionic Polymerization and Living Polymers; Chapman & Hall: New York (1993); Quirk, R. P., et al., Polym. Int. 27:359-367 (1992); Matyjaszewski, K., J. Phys. Org. Chem. 8:197-207 (1995)).
The same fundamental criterion of a living polymerization, namely, chain-growth propagation in the absence of irreversible chain termination, serves to establish a "one polymer chain per active metal center" cap on product yield as a critical liability. The severity of this liability sharply increases as the targeted number-average degree of polymerization, Xn, of the desired polyolefin product decreases. While living coordination polymerization is ideally suited for accessing the largely unexplored material science and technology associated with architecturally well-structured 'precision polyolefins' of very low to moderate molecular weights (ca 500-10,000 Da), the practical availability of significant quantities of these materials presently remains out of reach due to unfavorable weight (polymer) to weight (catalyst) ratios ((for a review of catalysts for living coordination polymerization of ethene and α-olefins, see Coates, G. W., et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 41:2236-2257 (2002)); (for reviews of polyolefin materials prepared through living coordination polymerization, see Domski, G. J., et al., Prog. Polym. Sci. 32:30-92 (2007); Sakuma, A., et al., Polym. J. 39:193-207 (2007); Szwarc, M., et al., Ionic Polymerization and Living Polymers; Chapman & Hall: New York (1993); Quirk, R. P., et al., Polym. Int. 27:359-367 (1992); Matyjaszewski, K., J. Phys. Org. Chem. 8:197-207 (1995); Kaneyoshi, H., et al., Macromolecules 38:5425-5435 (2005); Ring, J. O., et al., Macromol. Chem. Phys. 208:896-902 (2007); Ventolá, L., et al., J. Phys. Chem. Solids 66:1668-1674 (2005))).
U.S. Patent Appl. Publication No. 2011/028654 discloses the living coordinative chain-transfer polymerization and copolymerization of ethene, propene, long-chain α-olefins, and α,ω-nonconjugated dienes using {η5-C5Me5)Hf(Me)[N(Et)C(Me)N(Et)]}[B(C6F5)4] as the active transition-metal initiator for chain-growth propagation with multiple stoichiometric equivalents of diethylzinc (ZnEt2) as surrogate chain growth sites. Successful living coordinative chain-transfer polymerization of these monomers requires that the rate, and rate constant for reversible (polymeryl group) chain transfer between the active transition-metal propagating centers, and the inactive surrogate main-group metal species, vct and kct, respectively, should be far greater than the corresponding kinetic parameters for transition-metal-mediated propagation, vp and kp, in order to insure that all active and surrogate species appear to propagate at the same rate.
To address the problems inherent with the "one catalyst-one material" strategy, several strategies have been introduced to achieve "one catalyst-many materials" by using dynamic processes competitive to chain propagation. For example, Waymouth and Coates took advantage of conformational flexibility in unconstrained "oscillating" metallocenes to prepare atactic-isotactic stereoblock polypropenes such as elastomers and softened theromoplastics (see Coates, G. W., et al., Science 267:217-219 (1995) and Lin, S., et al., Acc. Chem. Res. 35:765-773 (2002)). However, no method has been developed to directly modulate chain propagation rates in a single catalyst system.
It is well-known that co-catalyst and the resulting anion play an important role in homogeneous Zeigler-Natta polymerization by stabilizing the cationic transition metal center which is the initiator of olefin polymerization (see Kaminsky, W., et al., Adv. Polym. Sci. 127:144-187 (1997); Bohmann, M., J. Chem. Soc., Dalton Trans.: 255-270 (1996); Brintzinger, H.-H., et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed 34:1143-1170 (1995); Guram, A. S., et al., Comprehensive Organometallic Chemistry II, Chapter 2; Elsevier: Oxford (1995); Soga, K., et al., Catalyst Design for Tailor-Made Polyolefins; Elsevier: Tokyo (1994); Möhring, P. C., et al., J. Organomet. Chem. 479:1-29 (1994); Marks, T. J., Acc. Chem. Res. 25:57-65 (1992)). Marks and co-workers reported that for olefin copolymerization, tris(2,2′,2″-nonafluorobiphenyl)borane (PBB) and tetrakis borate anion B(C6H5)4− derived cationic complexes exhibited higher catalytic activity and comonomer incorporation level than the MeB(C6H5)4− analogues (see Chen, Y.-X., et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 120:6287-6305 (1998); Chen, M. C., et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 123:11803-11804 (2001); Li, L., et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 124:12725-12741 (2002)). MeB(C6H5)4− is a more coordinating anion than bulkier MePBB− and B(C6H5)4−, and the relatively stronger cation-anion ion pairing stabilizes highly electron-deficient metal centers. Higher hexane incorporation in copolymerization of ethane was observed by Waymouth and co-workers using methylaluminoxane (MMAO) instead of borane catalysts (Reybuck, S. E., et al., Macromolecules 38:2552-2558 (2005)). Therefore, the same transition metal pre-catalyst activated by different co-catalysts may show different polymerization characteristics, and having weak ion pairing after activation will yield high propagation rates and high comonomer incorporation level.
There is a need, therefore, for a method that allows for the direct modulation of chain propagation rates in a single catalyst system.
Additionally, there is a need for a method that allows for the production of a series of copolymers with tunable incorporation levels of the first olefin monomer.

Living coordinative chain transfer polymerization with dynamic counterion exchange


An electronic apparatus includes an insulative substrate containing an aluminum-based glass and a layer containing a semiconductive material over the substrate. The insulative substrate can include aluminum oxycarbide. The insulative substrate can exhibit a CTE sufficiently close to a CTE of the semiconductive material layer such that a strain of less than 1% would exist between a 1000 Angstroms thickness of the semiconductive material layer and the insulative substrate. The semiconductive material layer can include monocrystalline silicon. The electronic apparatus can be a silicon-on-insulator integrated circuit. An electronic apparatus fabrication method includes forming an insulative substrate containing an aluminum-based glass and forming a layer containing a semiconductive material over the substrate. Forming the insulative substrate can include forming a mixture of a powder containing aluminum, a powder containing silicon, and a powder containing carbon, reacting the mixture by spontaneous ignition, and forming the reacted mixture into a plate. Forming the semiconductive material layer can include removing a layer of silicon from a monocrystalline silicon wafer and bonding the silicon layer to the insulative substrate.

Almost half of the energy expended by some semiconductor-based electronic apparatuses, such as silicon microchips, during their manufacture and lifetime is spent just to produce the semiconductor material, such as silicon wafer material. Another quarter is spent during the operating lifetime of the electronic apparatuses. Any technique that reduces the energy associated with fabrication of the semiconductor material, such as a silicon wafer, and power consumption during operation may reduce the overall cost of the apparatus, such as a silicon microchip integrated circuit. Silicon-on-insulator technology can result in lower power consumption and also increase the speed of operation of integrated circuits due to a reduction in stray capacitance.
A variety of techniques may be used to implement silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology including, but not limited to, SIMOX (Separation by IMplantation of OXygen), SPIMOX (Separation by Plasma IMplantation of OXygen), SOS (Silicon-On-Sapphire), bonding silicon wafers on oxidized silicon wafers, and forming thin film polysilicon on a glass substrate, such as for thin film transistor (TFT) technology used in liquid crystal displays. Even so, the TFT technology in display applications is often of lower performance since the silicon material is not monocrystalline and has grain boundaries.
Although the bonded wafer technology may be preferred in certain circumstances, one problem with such technology is the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between the bonded materials. For example, in the case of a silicon wafer having a CTE of 2.6×10−6 centimeters/(centimeters K) (cm/(cm K)) bonded to an oxidized silicon wafer having a CTE of 0.5×10−6 cm/(cm K) there is a sufficient mismatch of the CTE to produce excessive stress and exceed the strain limit of the materials. If the strain is too large, then the materials will plastically deform by the introduction of dislocations, fracture and yield, or excessive wafer bowing and/or warping. Some attempts have been made to bond silicon to compliant substrates using low viscosity borophosphosilicate glass films that flow to reduce the stress. However, such attempts have not produced satisfactory results.
Accordingly, a desire exists to bond semiconductive materials to an insulative substrate without introducing excessive stress.

Electronic apparatus, silicon-on-insulator integrated circuits, and fabrication methods


The present invention provides a video signal conversion method for displaying a video signal having a 4:3 aspect ratio on a screen having a 16:9 aspect ratio by using a single clock. The video signal conversion comprises the steps of inserting two zero pixels between two pixels of the 4:3 video signal, .[.band.]. .Iadd.low .Iaddend.pass filtering the two pixels of the 4:3 video signal, such that .[.3/4 of the bandwidth of the pixels is passed and upper and lower parts of pixels are not passed,.]. .Iadd.the 3/4 band of the upper part and the lower part of the spectrum are respectively passed, .Iaddend.and sampling the filtered pixels by every fourth transition of a clock signal, and then displaying the sampled pixels on the 16:9 screen.

The present invention relates to a video signal conversion method and more particularly to the video signal conversion method for displaying a video signal having an aspect ratio of 4:3 on a screen having an aspect ratio of 16:9.
The screen aspect ratio that gives one the feeling of being at a live performance is 16:9. However, the aspect ratio of most screens used in general-purpose televisions is 4:3. A television having a screen aspect ratio of 16:9, for example, a wide screen television, has been used, thus giving the viewer a feeling of being at a live performance.
FIG. 1 shows a video signal having an aspect ratio of 4:3 (hereinafter referred to as a "4:3 video signal") displayed on a screen having an aspect ratio of 16:9 (hereinafter referred to as a "16:9 screen") so that the viewer can feel as if present at a live performance. FIG. 1A shows the 4:3 video signal displayed at the center of the 16:9 screen (hereinafter referred to as a "center mode"), and FIG. 1B shows the 4:3 video signal displayed on the left side of the 16:9 screen (hereinafter referred to as a "pop mode"). Displaying the 4:3 video signal on the 16:9 screen without any processing causes the original 4:3 video signal to be displayed with dispersion and out of focus (i.e., with dissimilation). In order to display the 4:3 video signal on the 16:9 screen without such dissimilation occurring, some methods have been suggested and used. One such method is to decimate the original 4:3 video signal by a factor of 3/4 (i.e., 3/4 decimation).
FIG. 2 is a diagram for describing a conventional video signal conversion method for 3/4 decimating the original 4:3 video signal and displaying the decimated signal on the 16:9 screen.
An input data signal is synchronized with a write clock W.sub.CLK and stored in a memory 20. The data stored in memory 20 is synchronized with a read clock R.sub.CLK and then output. Read clock R.sub.CLK has a frequency 4/3 that of write clock W.sub.CLK. Since the data being output is generated by 3/4 decimating the original 4:3 signal, it can be displayed on the 16:9 screen without dissimilation occurring.
However, in the case of converting the 4:3 video signal, as described above, since read clock R.sub.CLK and write clock W.sub.CLK have different frequencies, separate phase locked loops for read clock R.sub.CLK and write clock W.sub.CLK are respectively required. In addition, if read clock R.sub.CLK and write clock W.sub.CLK having different frequencies, are used, high frequency interference noise occurs between read clock R.sub.CLK and write clock W.sub.CLK, between read clock R.sub.CLK and the video signal, or between write clock W.sub.CLK and the video signal.

Video signal conversion method for displaying a 4:3 video signal on a 16:9 screen


Herein disclosed is a CMOSFET, in which an n-channel MISFET Qn has a gate electrode 11n made of n-type polycrystalline silicon, in which a p-channel MISFET Qp has a gate electrode 11p made of p-type polycrystalline silicon, In which the n-channel MISFET Qn and the p-channel MISFET Qp have their respective channel regions formed with heavily doped impurity layers 12p and 12n having the conductivity types identical to those of their wells 3 and 2, and in which the individual heavily doped impurity layers 12p and 12n have their respective surfaces formed with counter-doped layers 13n and 13p having the opposite conductivity types.

The present invention relates to semiconductor integrated circuit device and, more particularly, to a technology which is effective when applied to short channel CMOS device capable of exhibiting high performance when driven at a low voltage.
The CMOSFET (i.e., Complementary MISFET), in which an n-channel MISFET and a p-channel MISFET are formed over a common semiconductor substrate, is applied to almost all devices including microcomputers, gate arrays and memories partly because their power consumption can be reduced and partly because they can be miniaturized to operate at high speed.
A CMOS arrangement is disclosed on pp. 417 to 420 of "A HIGH-PERFORMANCE SUB-HALF MICRON CMOS TECHNOLOGY FOR FAST SRAMS" of IEDM 89, Technical Digest, for example. In this CMOS, the n-channel MISFET and the p-channel MISFET have their gate electrodes made of n-type and p-type polycrystalline silicon, respectively, and their channel regions doped with an impurity having a conductivity type identical to that of the well to adjust their threshold voltage [Vth]. Moreover, an impurity having a conductivity type identical to that of the wells is formed under the channel region so as to prevent the punch-through.

Short channel CMOS device capable of high performance at low voltage


Method and apparatus to test for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including a cap configured to at least partially seal a container, and a plunger mechanism configured to form a passageway for air to flow from the container into a detection area. A sensor may be attached to the cap and positioned proximate the detection area. The sensor may be configured to detect data relating to a VOC and to generate a signal. A processor may be configured to receive the signal and to determine a result relating to the VOC.

The present invention relates gaseous emissions detection, and more particularly, to devices to detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
VOCs are organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at ordinary room temperature. VOCs are present in containers housing certain consumable products, such as olive oil. Some VOCs can have compounding long-term health effects and cause harm to the environment. Detection can require the containers to be opened, and the products to be physically contacted. This practice is time consuming and can lead to unintentional spillage, spoilage, compromised freshness, and contamination.

Container cap to test volatile organic compounds


A method includes calculating a sum of all samples at each projection view of a scan of an object, determining a maximum value of the calculated sums, averaging a plurality of samples m at a projection view index k when the sum of all samples at index k is less than a predetermined percentage of the maximum value, comparing the average to a threshold t, determining the projection truncated when the average is greater than t, and determining the projection not truncated when the average is not greater than t.

This invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for computed tomographic (CT) image reconstruction, and more particularly to methods and apparatus that provide for truncation compensation.
Under some scanning conditions, portions of a patient may extend beyond a region measured by a detector, which may lead to image artifacts and an incomplete representation of the imaged object. Some known methods have been published that address artifact reductions but not the imaging of the portion of the patient that is outside the field of view (FOV). However, it is desirable to image the portion of the patient that extends beyond the FOV such as is described in copending application Ser. No. 10/602,565 titled Methods and Apparatus for Truncation Compensation, and filed on Jun. 24, 2003 with Ser. No. 10/602,565 (which is also hereby incorporated in its entirety), and claiming the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/416,072 filed Oct. 4, 2002. Additionally, it is desirable to increase image quality of portions of the patient that extend beyond the FOV.

Methods and apparatus for truncation compensation

GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company LLC


A semiconductor device having multi-layered leads having a first lead portion including a polycrystalline silicon layer and a titanium silicide layer, and a second lead portion formed over the first lead portion and made up of a polycrystalline silicon layer. An intermediate insulating layer is provided between the first and second lead portions. The intermediate insulation layer and the underlying titanium silicide layer are provided with contact holes aligned with each other so as to allow the polycrystalline silicon of the second lead portion to be in direct contact with the polycrystalline silicon layer of the first lead portion without interposing therebetween the titanium silicide layer at the contact hole portion.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method for producing the same, and more particularly to a highly miniaturized semiconductor device and a method for producing such highly miniaturized semiconductor device.
FIG. 4A shows one example of a conventional semiconductor device such as a transistor. On a silicon semiconductor substrate 1, there are provided a dielectric device isolation layer 2 by a LOCOS method, a gate insulating layer 3, a side wall insulation layer 4, low impurity concentration diffusion layer regions 5a and high impurity concentration (N+ type) diffusion layer regions 5b serving as a source and a drain, and a gate electrode 6 formed of polycrystalline silicon containing impurities. FIG. 4A shows a fabrication stage in which an oxide film which had been formed over the gate electrode 6 and the diffusion layer regions 5b has been removed therefrom.
Recent technical trends are pointing toward high-speed semiconductor devices having extremely small dimensions. Therefore, an extremely minute pattern size, and particularly fine dimensions for the gate electrode 6 and the high impurity concentration diffusion layer regions 5b are required. However, miniaturization tends to increase lead resistance, thereby leading to degradation of transistor efficiency.
In order to obviate this drawback, it has been proposed to form a refractor silicide layer upon the gate electrode 6 and the high impurity concentration diffusion layer regions 5b. Refractory metal silicide has been considered because it has a sheet resistivity of from 2 to 10 .OMEGA. per square, which resistivity is considerably smaller than that of the polycrystalline silicon material of the gate electrode 6 and the high impurity concentration diffusion layer 5b, so that increases in the resistance of the leads attendant to miniaturization of the device can be avoided or at least minimized.
One proposal made by coworkers of the inventors with respect to use of the silicide layer in a semiconductor device is shown in FIGS. 4B through 4D.
Firstly, in FIG. 4B, a titanium layer 7 having a thickness of from 300 to 1500 .ANG. is formed by a known sputtering method over the entire surfaces of the dielectric isolation 2, the gate insulating layer 3, the side wall insulation region 4, the low impurity concentration diffusion layer regions 5a, the high impurity concentration diffusion layer regions 5b and the gate electrode 6 made of polycrystalline silicon containing impurities, those elements being formed on the silicon substrate 1. Then, a heat treatment is conducted at a temperature ranging from 500.degree. C. to 900.degree. C. in a nitrogen atmosphere.
As a result of the heat treatment, the titanium layer 7 in contact with the silicon, i.e., with the gate electrode 6 and the high impurity concentration diffusion layer regions 5b, is converted into titanium silicide 8 because of the reaction between the titanium and the silicon, whereas the remaining portions of titanium layer 7 in contact with the dielectric isolation 2, the side wall dielectric isolation 4 and the gate insulator 3 is converted into a titanium nitride, TiN, because of the reaction between the titanium and the ambient nitrogen gas.
Thereafter, the titanium nitride layer is subjected to etching by a mixture of ammonia and hydrogen peroxide, so that only regions of titanium silicide 8 remain on a top surface of the interim device, as best shown in FIG. 4C. Thus, titanium silicide 8 is present only on gate electrode 6 and diffusion layer regions 5b.
FIG. 4D shows an electrical connection achieved on one N.sup.+ type diffusion layer region 5b in a multi-layered lead structure in which a first lead portion consists of the diffusion layer region 5b and a region of titanium silicide 8. An intervening, or intermediate, insulation layer 9 is provided over regions of titanium silicide 8 and dielectric isolation 2, and a second, upper, lead portion 11 of polycrystalline silicon is deposited on insulation layer 9. For electrically connecting the first and the second lead portions together, a contact hole 10 reaching the region of titanium silicide 8 is formed in insulation layer 9 at a position above the diffusion layer region 5b by a conventional dry etching method which involves masking with a photo-resist. Accordingly, the polycrystalline silicon of the second lead layer 11 can enter into the contact hole to be brought into contact with the first lead portion. Thus, the upper polycrystalline silicon layer 11 can be connected to the diffusion layer region 5b via the titanium silicide layer 8. In other words, the first and the second lead portions can be electrically connected together.
FIG. 4E is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor device according to another proposal. The cross-sectional plane of FIG. 4E is perpendicular to that of FIGS. 4A through 4D for description of an electrical connection on the N-type polycrystalline silicon. In this proposal, a first lead portion of a multi-layered lead consists of the gate electrode 6 formed of polycrystalline silicon with added impurities and a layer of titanium silicide 8 formed thereon. Similar to FIG. 4D, the intermediate insulation layer 9 is formed over the silicide layer 8 and the dielectric isolation 2, and a second lead portion 11 made of polycrystalline silicon is formed over the intermediate insulating layer 9. To be more specific, a contact hole 10 reaching the titanium silicide layer 8 is formed in intermediate insulation layer 9 at a position above gate electrode 6 by a conventional dry etching method. Through the contact hole 10, the gate electrode 6 and the second lead portion 11 are electrically connected together via the titanium silicide layer 8. That is, the material of the second lead portion 11 enters into the contact hole 10, so that the polycrystalline silicon of the upper lead portion 11 is brought into contact with the polycrystalline silicon of the electrode 6 through the titanium silicide layer 8.
In the above-mentioned dry etching process to form hole 10 at an intended portion of insulation layer 9, photoresist is removed for providing the contact hole 10 by the application of an oxygen plasma or sulfuric acid, and a part of the titanium silicide 8 is exposed upon formation of the contact hole 10. Thus, the surface is exposed to an oxygen atmosphere. Further, upon completion of the dry etching process, a part of the titanium silicide layer 8 at a position within the contact hole 10 is exposed to an oxygen atmosphere. Consequently, an unwanted oxide film may be formed at the exposed surface of the titanium silicide 8.
A report has been released relating to ohmic contact between titanium silicide and polycrystalline silicon in a provisional contribution No. 2 P58829a-SB-20 released at No. 37, Applied Physical Society, held in 1990, and entitled "PolySi direct contact characteristic onto TiSi.sub.2 membrane". According to the report, if no titanium silicide exists, an inferior product rate is almost zero. On the other hand, provided that the titanium silicide layer is provided, the inferior product rate may be lowered if a pre-treatment is effected so as to remove an oxide film over the titanium silicide by BHF (buffered hydrofluoric acid, which is a mixed acid of hydrofluoric acid and ammonium fluoride). Here, if structures shown in FIGS. 4D and 4E are premised, and if such BHF treatment is conducted for etching the oxidized surface of the titanium silicide layer 8, excessive etching occurs. That is, the hydrofluoric acid etches not only the titanium silicide 8 within contact hole 10 but also a portion radially outside the boundary of contact hole 10 as shown in FIG. 5. As a result, an unwanted undercut portion 10a is provided by the excessive etching. This undercut may lead to generation of voids in a resultant semiconductor device, to thereby degrade reliability of the device.
The contribution reported that improvement can be made in the ohmic contact characteristic, if the polycrystalline silicon is deposited on the titanium silicide layer without the BHF treatment and ion beam mixing is carried out at a boundary surface thereof by arsenic ion implantation or silicon ion implantation. However, according to the report, inferior production rate was still high with respect to the N+ diffusion layer even by the implantation of arsenic or silicon ions. Generally, in ion beam mixing, the implanted ions impart energy to atoms in a substrate, and the atoms run out of lattice points, so that atoms of the substrate are mixed with atoms of an upper thin layer. Here, the high ratio of the inferior production is considered to be due to the fact that the oxide film of the titanium silicide, the film being positioned at the boundary between the titanium silicide layer and the polycrystalline silicon layer, prevents the atoms from passing therethrough. In this respect, an improvement was made on the inferior production rate with respect to N-type polycrystalline silicon in comparison With the N.sup.+ diffusion layer. The reason therefor resides in that the atoms may easily pass through the oxide film during the ion mixing process in case of implantation on the N-type polycrystalline silicon layer rather than N.sup.+ diffusion layer. In an attempt to further improve the atom mixing effect, if the ion implantation is carried out after the removal of the oxide film by the BHF treatment, then excessive etching by the hydrofluoric acid may disadvantageously occur, as described above. As a result, substantial improvements would not be attainable.

Method for producing semiconductor device with multilayer leads


A radio frequency (RF) receiver includes an intermediate frequency (IF) mixer that generates an output signal based on mixing a hybrid in-band, on-channel (IBOC) signal with an intermediate frequency signal. An oscillator generates the intermediate frequency signal; wherein the intermediate frequency is less than a bandwidth of the IBOC signal.

The Background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description which may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly or impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Hybrid in-Band, on-Channel (IBOC) radio signals can be used to simultaneously transmit analog FM stereo and digital sideband signals at a common center frequency. In some implementations the IBOC spectrum allocates 400 KHz bandwidth for each channel wherein the analog FM stereo signal is 200 KHz wide and the upper and lower digital sideband signals are each 100 kHz wide. The digital sideband signals can be modulated using quadrature-amplitude modulation (QAM) over upper and lower single-sideband suppressed carrier signals.
IBOC receivers can employ a first downconverter that converts the received IBOC signal to a 10.7 MHz intermediate frequency (IF). A ceramic filter can remove the image component from the received channel. A second downconverter can then be employed to further convert the received signal to a very low IF that can be demodulated in the digital domain. Alternatively, an FM discriminator process can be employed after the ceramic filter to demodulate the received signal. The ceramic filter can be undesirably bulky and/or expensive.

Extremely low IF architecture for in-band on-channel (IBOC) radio


The present invention provides a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) which binds a target antigen having a bulky extracellular domain, wherein the CAR comprises a Fab antigen binding domain. The present invention also provides nucleic acid sequences and constructs encoding such a CAR, cells expressing such a CAR and their therapeutic uses.

Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CARs)
A number of immunotherapeutic agents have been described for use in cancer treatment, including therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), bi-specific T-cell engagers and chimeric antigen receptors (CARs).
Chimeric antigen receptors are proteins which graft the specificity of a monoclonal antibody (mAb) to the effector function of a T-cell. Their usual form is that of a type I transmembrane domain protein with an antigen recognizing amino terminus (binder), and a transmembrane domain connected to an endodomain which transmits T-cell activation signals.
The most common form of these molecules are fusions of single-chain variable fragments (scFv) derived from monoclonal antibodies, which recognize a target antigen, fused via a trans-membrane domain to a signalling endodomain. Such molecules result in activation of the T-cell in response to recognition by the scFv of its target. When T cells express such a CAR, they recognize and kill target cells that express the target antigen. CARs have been developed against various tumour-associated antigens and many are currently undergoing clinical trials.
Although CAR-T cell-mediated treatment have shown success towards compact target antigens such as CD19 or GD2, chimeric antigen receptors often to fail to signal in response to antigens with bulky extracellular domains.
An optimum synaptic distance is required for efficient triggering of downstream signalling after antigen encounter. Upon T cell encounter with an antigen presenting cell (via TCR interaction with peptide MHC), proteins at the interface segregate passively based on size. Phosphatases such as CD45 and CD148, which have large ectodomains, are excluded from regions of close contact between the T cell and APC (see FIG. 1). The synapse formed through interaction of peptide MHC and TCR is optimal for occlusion of CD45. In the case of CAR-T cells targeting smaller antigens such as CD19, there is no barrier to synapse formation and such antigens can be targeted efficiently at multiple epitopes. Large proteins such as CD22 pose a unique problem, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Targeting a membrane distal epitope on such proteins is likely to provide a suboptimal synapse length allowing phosphatases to enter the synapse and inhibit tyrosine phosphorylation. Targeting membrane proximal regions may improve synapse formation, however steric occlusion of the epitope is likely to lead to suboptimal ligation of the target allowing the presence of phosphatases within the synapse, dampening tyrosine phosphorylation, kinase activity and thus CAR signaling.
There is therefore a need for alternative CAR T-cell approaches, capable of killing target cells expressing a large or bulky target antigen.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Methods and systems using one or more distributed feedback (DFB) lasers for capturing changes in the lasing environment are disclosed. Specifically, a sensor for measuring a measurand, such as pressure or temperature, or changes in a measurand, includes a fiber with at least one core, at least one fiber laser cavity formed by a single fiber grating in the core, wherein the laser operates on at least two modes along at least part of its length. The DFB laser includes a section that is bent into a non-linear shape and at least one pump laser connected to the fiber laser cavity. When the DFB laser experiences a perturbation or measurand change that changes the spacing of the modes, a change in an RF beat note is generated. This beat note can then be measured and related to the measurand change.

Optical fiber Bragg gratings are commonly used as sensors of measurands, such as pressure and temperature. Such sensors typically employ a mechanical arrangement that couples an external pressure to compressive or tensile strain of the optical fiber. Thus, a Bragg wavelength of the grating can be related to the external pressure. In order to remove temperature dependence, a second grating with no strain is typically included as well. This second grating is sensitive to temperature but not to strain. A deconvolution of the two grating wavelengths then results in the measurements of pressure and temperature. Another known way of sensing of temperature, pressure, stress and similar other external perturbations is by the use of a single frequency fiber laser. A single frequency fiber laser can be made of a small gain fiber and a pair of Bragg gratings that act as distributed Bragg reflectors (DBR), or a phase-shifted distributed feedback (DFB) laser inscribed on the gain fiber. Since the external perturbations can cause a change in the laser oscillation frequency through the use of suitable mechanical transducer attached to the laser, by measuring the change in wavelength accurately, one can measure the extent of this external perturbation.
Such sensors have two defects that hamper performance. First, they require high performance bonding and mechanical fixtures so that the fiber may be placed under tension in a reliable fashion. Second, they require optical sources and wavelength sensitive readout modules to obtain the pressure and temperature data.
A second deficiency of the prior art is that wavelength-dependent detectors and/or sources are required to extract the measurand. In cases where high sensitivity is desired, either the detector must have high precision or the source must have narrow linewidth. Such sources and detectors are expensive and difficult to maintain in harsh environments. Other drawbacks include a means for coupling various measurands, such as pressure, to the bending of a fiber, a means for sensing bends in the fiber in a robust manner with one grating and RF detection, and a means to measure very small fiber bends such as those arising from acoustic variations.
Accordingly, new and improved sensing methods and apparatuses that overcome the above limitations of the prior art are required.

DBF fiber laser bend sensor and optical heterodyne microphone