A method for a monitoring apparatus using a radar and a camera to detect an object. The radar and the camera each have its own detection area and the method is for detecting and correcting the displacement of each detection area by using a single target having dark and bright parts formed in a specified pattern on its surface and placing it in front of the apparatus where the two detection areas overlap. The direction and orientation of the detection area of the radar are measured and corrected and then the detection area of the camera is corrected. The pattern includes an elongated dark part flanked by a pair of bright parts such that quantity of reflected light obtained by scanning the detection surface has a distribution with waveform having two peaks and a valley in between and corrections on the detection areas are made by analyzing their positions.

This invention relates to a monitoring apparatus such as a radar adapted to be mounted to a vehicle for using electromagnetic waves such as laser light to obtain position data of an object of detection such as a front-running vehicle and more particularly to a method of adjusting the orientation of its detection area, or its axial direction.
Apparatus of this type adapted to be mounted to a vehicle for monitoring front-running vehicles or for cruising (or car-following) control have long been in development and it has been known to use electromagnetic waves including laser light for this purpose, or an apparatus adapted to transmit electromagnetic waves such as laser light to a target object of detection within a specified detection area and to obtain data such as the distance to the object from the delay time of a reflected signal therefrom.
In the case of a laser radar, for example, a timing for light-emission is generated by a control circuit for transmitting laser light to a specified scan area, scanning it normally in one scan direction (usually in the left-right direction) to obtain a delay time with reflected light. A counter is started according to this timing and a laser diode (LD) is driven at the same timing to transmit laser light. The reflected light from a light-reflecting object is received by a photodiode (PD) and if reflected light with intensity greater than a threshold level determined by a signal processor is detected, its timing is used by the control circuit, the counter is stopped and the delay time is calculated. The direction to the object can also be determined from the scan angle at the time of the laser light transmission or when the reflected light is received.
The relative speed of the object can also be calculated by grouping measured individual data on the distance and direction to the object, the quantity of received light and the speed of the subject vehicle obtained from its own speedometer, and correlating them with the data obtained earlier. It can thus be determined whether the detected object was a vehicle, a bicycle, a pedestrian, a billboard or a roadside reflector, and an object to be monitored, or to be warned about, can be identified.
Monitoring apparatus mounted to vehicles for monitoring the distance to a front-running vehicle by using an image sensor such as a CCD camera (hereinafter referred to simply as a camera) have also been known. They are adapted to receive vibrations (usually visible light) from a specified detection area around the subject vehicle by means of an image sensor and to analyze the existence and position of any target object within the detection area such as another vehicle from the distribution of darkness on the image of the detection area based on the received signals.
More recently, monitoring apparatus of the so-called fusion type, making use of both a radar and a camera, are coming to be developed because a radar and a camera can each make up for the shortcomings of the other.
A monitoring apparatus as described above using a radar or a camera is usually mounted so as to have an ideal detection area extending both to the left and to the right at the height at which it is mounted. If the actual detection area of the apparatus (that is, the area from which reflected light is actually received) is displaced, the reliability of the detection result is accordingly lowered. Thus, it is a necessary work on the production line of vehicles and at the inspection time at a repair factory to adjust the position of the center of the detection area (called the optical axis adjustment in the case of a laser radar) such that the monitoring apparatus can be maintained in a condition without such displacement.
A prior art method of adjusting the position and orientation of a detection area (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the axial adjustment) is explained next. FIG. 15A shows an example of method of adjustment in the direction (usually the vertical direction) perpendicular to the standard scan direction (usually the horizontal direction). By this method a standard (reference) reflector is set with respect a stationary vehicle having the apparatus mounted to, for example, at a position on the upper limit of its proper detection area. An environment is prepared such that there is no external disturbance and as few objects as possible other than this reflector will be detected. The laser radar is actually operated under this condition and the vertical angle of the detector head of the laser radar is gradually changed downward manually. As the reflector ceases to be detected, the angle and the position of the detector head are fixed again manually.
For the adjustment in the normal scan direction (usually the horizontal direction), the reflector is placed at the center of the ideal detection area with respect to the stationary vehicle, as shown in FIG. 15B. After the environment is again prepared such that there is no external disturbance and as few objects as possible other than the reflector will be detected, the laser radar is operated and the angle and the position of the detector head are physically adjusted or a software parameter in the control system is modified by an operation of the control system such that the position data of the detected reflector will come to the center of the detection area.
The actual scan area of such a monitoring apparatus to be mounted to a vehicle is set, as shown in FIG. 15B, to be greater than the detection area from which reflected light is received for obtaining distance data, etc. as explained above. Adjustment of the position of the detection area in the scan direction is possible without physically changing the attachment position of the detector head of the apparatus but by varying a software parameter within the scan area of this detection area (or within a detection-allowing area by including some safety margin). The position of the scan area and the detection area can also be adjusted to a certain extent in the scan direction by changing a software parameter for the control of the range of operation of a scan mechanism such as the motor for the scanning.
Japanese Patent Publication Tokkai 2000-75031 disclosed a method of adjusting the axial direction both in the standard direction and the perpendicular direction in a short time by using a same target, overcoming the disadvantages of the methods shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B. Japanese Patent Publications Tokkai 11-326495, 11-64489 and 7-225277 disclosed methods of axial adjustment of a radar in the horizontal or perpendicular direction. Japanese Patent Publications Tokkai 2002-74339 disclosed a method of setting a special mark at the front end of an automobile and using it to adjust the direction of a camera. Japanese Patent Publication Tokkai 2000-142221 disclosed an adjustment method by obtaining a specified image.
All of these prior art adjustment methods are for adjusting the center axis of a detection area in two directions such as the horizontal and perpendicular directions and did not consider the displacement in the rolling direction, or the rotational displacement. By the displacement in the rolling direction is meant the tilting from a proper orientation of the detection area (in which the standard direction is horizontal). For this reason, even after the axial direction is adjusted by a prior art method, a significantly large error could take place between the measured position by the monitoring apparatus and the actual position near the edge of a detection area because of such displacement in the rolling direction. In the case of an ordinary radar device mounted singly to a vehicle, adapted to scan only in one dimension (usually in the horizontal direction), since the perpendicular direction is not important, the displacement in this rolling direction was not a serious problem. In the case of a monitoring apparatus of the fusion type, making use of a plurality of sensors (such as a radar and a camera), however, correlation between measured data obtained by the individual sensors must be correct in order to take proper advantage of the characteristic of the fusion type. Thus, the axial deviation in the rolling direction must be adjusted and kept small.
Moreover, since different targets are used individually for the axial adjustments of the radar and the camera by a prior art method, there was the following problem in the case of a fusion type which uses both a radar and a camera at the same time.
If the prior art method of axial adjustment is applied to the fusion type, there is the possibility that the relative positional relationship between the radar and the camera may become inappropriate (with the axes of the detection areas of the two sensors not being parallel or with the two sensors oriented differently with respect to the rolling direction) due to errors in the positions at which the targets or marks are set. It is because there may be an error in the positioning of each target with respect to the vehicle that these errors accumulate between the sensors. It is also because the displacement of each of the sensors from the direction of rolling is not adjusted that the orientations of their detection areas do not match in the direction of the rolling. If the relative positional relationship between the two sensors remains thus incorrect, correlation between observed data by the two sensors used in the fusion method cannot be taken properly and this means that there is no advantage in using the fusion method.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved method of axial adjustment or a method of adjusting in the rolling or rotational direction of a monitoring apparatus especially of the fusion type.

Method of adjusting axial direction of monitoring apparatus


Systems and methods for handling the event of a wrong branch prediction and an instruction rejection in a digital processor are disclosed. More particularly, hardware and software are disclosed for detecting a condition where a branch instruction was mispredicted and an instruction that preceded the branch instruction is rejected after the branch instruction is executed. When the condition is detected, the branch instruction and rejected instruction are recirculated for execution. Until, the branch instruction is re-executed, control circuitry can prevent instructions from being received into an instruction buffer that feeds instructions to the execution units of the processor by fencing the instruction buffer from the fetcher. The instruction fetcher may continue fetching instructions along the branch target path into a local cache until the fence is dropped.

Many different types of computing systems have attained widespread use around the world. These computing systems include personal computers, servers, mainframes and a wide variety of stand-alone and embedded computing devices. Sprawling client-server systems exist, with applications and information spread across many PC networks, mainframes and minicomputers. In a distributed system connected by networks, a user may access many application programs, databases, network systems, operating systems and mainframe applications. Computers provide individuals and businesses with a host of software applications including word processing, spreadsheet, accounting, e-mail, voice over Internet protocol telecommunications, and facsimile.
Users of digital processors such as computers continue to demand greater and greater performance from such systems for handling increasingly complex and difficult tasks. In addition, processing speed has increased much more quickly than that of main memory accesses. As a result, cache memories, or caches, are often used in many such systems to increase performance in a relatively cost-effective manner. Many modern computers also support "multi-threading" in which two or more programs, or threads of programs, are run in alternation in the execution pipeline of the digital processor. Thus, multiple program actions can be processed concurrently using multi-threading.
Another method processor architects utilize to increase the performance of their designs is to increase the processor's clock frequency. For a given technology, a higher frequency allows for more cycles of work to be done within a unit of time. One impact of this approach is that the amount of circuitry that may be executed in a processor cycle is reduced. Therefore, a corresponding reduction in complexity of the design is required to maximize the frequency. Another impact of high frequency designs is that, as clock frequencies increase, the time it takes for signals to travel across a VLSI chip can become significant, such that it may take many processor cycles for a signal to travel from one element of the chip to another.
Most modern computers include at least a first level cache L1 and typically a second level cache L2. This dual cache memory system enables storing frequently accessed data and instructions close to the execution units of the processor to minimize the time required to transmit data to and from memory. The L1 cache is typically contained within the processor core near the execution units. The L2 cache is typically kept physically close to the processor core. Ideally, as the time for execution of an instruction nears, instructions and data are moved to the L2 cache from a more distant memory. When the time for executing the instruction is near imminent, the instruction and its data, if any, is advanced to the L1 cache.
As the processor operates in response to a clock, an instruction fetcher accesses instructions from the L1 cache. A cache miss occurs if the instructions sought are not in the cache when needed. The processor would then seek the instructions in the L2 cache. A cache miss may occur at this level as well. The processor would then seek the instructions from other memory located further away. Thus, each time a memory reference occurs which is not present within the first level of cache the processor attempts to obtain that memory reference from a second or higher level of memory. When an instruction cache miss occurs, the instruction fetcher suspends its execution of the instruction stream while awaiting retrieval of the instruction from system memory. In a multi-threaded processor, the instruction fetcher may operate on another thread of instructions while awaiting the retrieval of the instruction. The processor execution units may still be operating on previous elements of the instruction stream, or may be operating on another thread of instructions. The instruction fetcher may also begin to initiate additional requests for instructions data from the memory hierarchy based on the instruction stream that missed the cache.
A common architecture for high performance microprocessors includes the ability to execute one or more instructions on each clock cycle of the machine. Execution units of modern processors therefore have multiple stages forming an execution pipeline. On each cycle of processor operation, each stage performs a step in the execution of an instruction. Thus, as a processor cycles, an instruction is executed as it advances through the stages of the pipeline.
In a superscalar architecture, the processor comprises multiple special purpose execution units to execute different instructions in parallel. A dispatch unit rapidly distributes a sequence of instructions to different execution units. For example, a load instruction may be sent to a load/store unit and a subsequent branch instruction may be sent to a branch execution unit. The branch instruction may complete execution at an earlier stage in the pipeline than the load instruction even though the load instruction originally preceded the branch instruction. This is so because more stages may be required to execute the load instruction than to execute the branch instruction. Additionally, instructions may execute at a variable stage in the processor pipeline depending on inter-instruction dependencies and other constraints.
In a superscalar architecture, instructions may be completed in-order and out-of-order. In-order completion means no instruction can complete before all instructions dispatched ahead of it have been completed. Out-of-order completion means that an instruction is allowed to complete before all instructions ahead of it have been completed, as long as a set of predefined rules are satisfied. Microprocessors may support varying levels of out of order execution support, meaning that the ability to identify and execute instructions out of order may be limited. One major motivation for limiting out of order execution support is the enormous amount of complexity that is required to identify which instructions can execute early, and to track and store the out of order results.
Additional complexities arise when the instructions executed out of order are determined to be incorrect per the in-order execution model, requiring their execution to not impact the state of the processor when an older instruction causes an exception. As processor speeds continue to increase, it becomes more attractive to eliminate some of the complexities associated with out of order execution. This will eliminate logic (and its corresponding chip area, or "real estate") from the chip which is normally used to track out of order instructions, thereby allowing additional "real estate" to become available for use by other processing functions. The reduction in complexity may also allow for a higher frequency design.
Modern processor architectures also include an instruction fetcher that fetches instructions from the L1 instruction cache. The instruction fetcher will send instructions to a decode unit and an instruction buffer. The dispatch unit receives instructions from the instruction buffer and dispatches them to the execution units. When the instruction fetcher receives a branch instruction, the instruction fetcher may predict whether the branch is taken and select a corresponding instruction path to obtain instructions to pass to the instruction buffer. When the branch instruction is executed in an execution unit, the processor can then determine whether the predicted instruction path was correct. If not, the processor redirects the instruction fetcher to the correct instruction address and flushes the instruction buffer and pipeline of instructions younger than the branch instruction.
The instruction buffer that receives instructions from the instruction fetcher may comprise an instruction recirculator to re-introduce instructions into the pipeline when an instruction has already been dispatched, but is unable to execute successfully at the time it reaches a particular stage in the pipeline. In this case, stalling the instruction in the pipeline until execution is possible may introduce significant complexities associated with coordinating the stalling action, especially in a superscalar architecture where various execution pipelines may be impacted by a stall. Additionally, in a multi-threaded processor, stalling an execution pipeline may consume execution resources that could be utilized by another thread. For these and other reasons, it is often desirable to recirculate an instruction from the instruction buffer instead. For example, at a stage of execution of a load instruction, the data called for by the instruction may not be in the L1 data cache. Execution of the instruction then becomes stalled and the instruction is said to be rejected. When an instruction is rejected it can be sent from the instruction buffer back to the execution units to execute it when the data it calls for is retrieved. In many cases though, the condition that prevents successfully execution is such that the instruction will be likely to execute successfully if re-executed as soon as possible. For example, an L1 data cache may have multiple sets of data, each of which may contain the data sought by a load instruction. When a load instruction executes, many processors utilize a mechanism of set prediction under which the load will choose a particular subset of the available sets to check for the data. If the set prediction is incorrect, the set predictor is updated, and the load must be re-executed to obtain data from the correct set. In this, and may other cases, it is desirable for the rejected instruction to be re-introduced to the execution units by the instruction buffer as quickly as possible.
In a processor with limited out-of-order facilities, an instruction reject may require the re-execution of subsequent instructions as well as the rejected instruction itself since the results of younger instructions may be required to be discarded. In this case the instruction buffer will re-read the rejected instruction and subsequent instructions so that they may be re-executed. When one of these younger instructions is a branch instruction that executes and was mispredicted the design may require complex circuitry to handle both the instruction reject and branch mispredict flush when they occur in close proximity, or when the branch mispredict flush occurs after an instruction reject. Designs may therefore take steps to avoid these complexities such as by suppressing the branch execution for instructions younger than a reject.
However, as noted above, in a high frequency design, it may take many cycles for signals to travel between units within the processor. When an instruction is rejected, the reject indication may take multiple cycles before it reaches the branch execution unit. Because branch instructions may complete execution coincident with, or prior to an older instruction that requires more stages for execution there many be multiple younger branch instructions that are executed before an older rejected instruction can signal the branch execution unit to suppress execution. Therefore, the complexities associated with an instruction reject and a branch misprediction flush in close proximity are exacerbated since multiple branch instructions may execute even after an older instruction has rejected. These complexities can be a major problem for high frequency designs.

Fencing off instruction buffer until re-circulation of rejected preceding and branch instructions to avoid mispredict flush

International Business Machines Corporation


A data protection method for an electronic device is disclosed. The data protection method includes setting a log-in password for a private file stored in a public folder, creating a private folder having a same folder name as the public folder to store the private file in the private folder, and comparing an input password with the log-in password for the private folder to determine to display the private folder or the public folder.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data protection method and electronic device, and more particularly, to a data protection method and electronic device capable of creating a private folder having a same name as a public folder to hide private data without other people's knowledge.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A portable mobile device, e.g. a smart phone or a tablet computer, usually stores a user's private data such as messages, photos or mails, and the user may not be willing to allow the private data to be seen by other people, even family and friends.
To protect the private data from being seen by other people, a traditional method is to utilize specific software tools to individually lock a private file, and the user has to enter a correct password to read the private data of the private file. However, such method tells other people of an existence of the private data, which may cause the private data to be more easily accessed by other people as well as arousing unnecessary suspicions.
Therefore, how to hide the private data without other people s knowledge has become one of the topics to be solved in the industry.

Data protection method and electronic device capable of creating a private folder having a same name as a public folder to hide private data


An armor-piercing fragmentation ammunition projectile includes a body made of a dense material, a head also made of a dense material, and an arrangement for fragmenting the body on impact. It is characterized in that the arrangement includes a blind hole delimited by the body and occupied by a mass of compression material subjecting the body to a fragmentation pre-stress. Application to sub-caliber projectiles.

This invention concerns the technical field of projectiles used to destroy, at a distance, a target of some description, more generally one of an armored nature.
This invention concerns projectiles of the armor-piercing type.
Destruction of a target at a great distance of a target, and more particularly of an armored target, requires high firing accuracy as well as considerable terminal effectiveness.
High firing accuracy can be obtained utilizing projectiles, for example of the small-caliber, armor-piercing type, which because of their design, develop a high level of impact energy while offering remarkable firing accuracy during their external ballistic trajectory.
Terminal destructive effectiveness can be obtained with the use of an explosive projectile, in other words one containing inside it a charge causing the projectile to explode at the moment of impact.
Utilization of a combination of these two characteristics might be envisaged as a way of creating a shell or projectile capable of meeting the criterion of a capacity for accurate destruction of an armored targets at great distance.
However, creation of a projectile combining these two characteristics is relatively costly, and involves handling, an explosive during manufacture, which must be strictly monitored to prevent untimely explosions.
The presence of such a charge also entails the same problems in terms of storing, handling, and assembling projectiles in or on facilities responsible for firing them.


Through construction techniques, geometric design, and materials selection, audio entropy or randomness is introduced within an equipment structure or enclosure. This takes away the available sound energy by absorbing it or making it do work and dissipate before it can project audible sound outside the equipment structure or enclosure. “Damping” of the sound traveling through the equipment structure or enclosure is achieved by applying foam and/or fiberglass board/mat material to surfaces within the equipment structure or enclosure. By employing different material densities in the equipment structure or enclosure, sound levels at different frequencies can be diminished by not allowing them to pass through the structure or by greatly decreasing their amplitude. The semicircular sheathing within the equipment structure or enclosure that forms part of the airflow path refracts sound waves at different angles and does not make a good waveguide for transmitting the sound, which diminishes it.

The present invention relates to equipment structures or enclosures that are placed in proximity to humans or animals which can be a noise nuisance due to the emanating sounds of fans or buzzing transformers etc., that are mounted inside. The fans can turn on and off based on heat loading and this sound level change disturbs humans as well as causes dogs to bark due to their extended frequency range of hearing. This can greatly compound the noise nuisance issue. Heretofore this has been a necessary evil because of societal demands for electricity or cell phone service provided by the equipment enclosure or structure that is the source of the noise.
A sound wave is the mechanical movement of energy through a medium. The sound energy causes the medium to oscillate which transfers the energy through the medium, molecule to adjacent molecule. These mechanical waves can only be produced in media which possess elasticity and inertia. Sound waves are similar to the ripples on the surface of water when disturbed by a rock.
The energy entering a mechanical system, such as electricity, powers a fan motor, which spins the fan blades or armature, stimulates the surrounding equipment structure or enclosure through transmitted sound energy or vibration that travels through a medium, such as the air in the exhaust vent path, or the metal that the equipment structure or enclosure is made. This transmitted sound energy transfers to the equipment structure or enclosure as well and can modulate the external air surrounding it and cumulatively transmit audible sound away from the equipment structure or enclosure that can be heard by humans or animals.
Prior approaches to solving this problem have attempted to manipulate sound with a variety of electronic circuits, such as the "Acoustic Abatement Method and Apparatus" described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,606 by Ronald L. Wanke. U.S. Pat. No. 2,043,416 by Paul Luer titled "Process of Silencing Sound Oscillations" transforms acoustic oscillations into electrical signals, and then reproduces them on another apparatus suitably spaced from a microphone to reproduce the sound at a different phase which cancels the original sound. None of these electrically active methods diminish the original sound levels as simply and passively as the present method and system described herein.

Dissipative system for increasing audio entropy thereby diminishing auditory perception


In a device and a method for continuously driving a tunnel along a desired setpoint trajectory there is provision to influence pressing forces which are applied to installed tubbing segments by compactors using a control circuit, wherein, during the driving and during the installation of tubbing rings, an actual trajectory of the device remains in a region which is permissible for maintaining the desired set point trajectory.

One known device and a method for continuously driving a tunnel are known from EP 0 974 732 A1. In the case of this device for continuously driving a tunnel along a predefined setpoint trajectory, there is a cutting wheel for working a tunnel face, while compactors working in an axial direction are provided for lining a tunnel wall with tubbing segments, which compactors are held by a compactor bearing in the axial direction that is also set up for supporting the cutting wheel and equipped with pressing forces on the side of the compactor bearing facing away from the cutting wheel for pressing on tubbing segments. Pressing shields that can be moved back and forth are disposed on a center shield for tensioning during tubbing segment lining.

Device and method for continuously driving a tunnel


The invention relates to a closed air circulation system for an apparatus used for sorting wood chips, containing chips in a variety of sizes and/or fines particles, in a wood chips processing chamber, in separate fractions by means of a gas flow, which is delivered from one or more nozzle chambers by way of a nozzle slit into the wood chips processing chamber and which applies an impulse action to the processing-bound wood chips sliding along an inclined support surface. Air is circulated from the wood chips processing chamber by way of a dedusting cyclone into said one or more nozzle chambers. The wood chips processing chamber is maintained at a negative pressure by regulating the volume of air removed from the chamber. A conduit extending between the wood chips processing chamber and the one or more nozzle chambers is open to the ambient atmosphere.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus used for sorting wood chips, and more particularly to a closed air circulation system for an apparatus for sorting wood chips.
2. Description of the Related Art
An apparatus for sorting wood chips to which the invention relates sorts chips of a variety of sizes and including fines particles, in a wood chips processing chamber, in separate fractions by means of a gas flow, which is delivered from one or more nozzle chambers by way of a nozzle slit into the wood chips processing chamber and which applies an impulse action to a layer of wood chips sliding along an inclined support surface.
The above type of apparatus is necessarily provided with circulation of air, on the one hand because of aspects relating to energy economy, and on the other hand because of a dust problem. However, operation of the apparatus itself sets strict limits to facilities of implementing circulation in order not to cause trouble for the apparatus in terms of its operation.


A method for operating a plurality of antennas of a vehicle is disclosed, in which the vehicle communicates wirelessly with an external radio station while traveling through a radio cell of the external radio station by means of a radio signal emitted by the plurality of antennas. The vehicle includes a plurality of antennas and a controller operatively connected to the antennas.

Modern vehicles have a high wireless communication requirement, for example via a mobile radio network. The wireless communication of a vehicle is used to exchange different information. Current news and traffic data, music, and video data and data on vehicle management or on cooperation with other vehicles are received or transmitted by the vehicle. For wireless communication, the vehicle includes one or more antennas, by means of which radio signals are emitted and received during wireless communication.
An ideal approximately punctiform antenna transmits and receives radio signals isotropically, i.e., evenly based on a solid angle, and has no preferred direction for sending and receiving a radio signal. A real antenna, on the other hand, has a fixed directional characteristic that is predetermined by the type of antenna, i.e., the signal strength of an emitted or received radio signal varies depending on a direction of emission of the transmitted radio signal or on a direction of incidence of the received radio signal. When the antenna moves relative to an external radio station, wireless communication via the antenna with the external radio station can therefore be impaired due to the relative movement due to fluctuating signal strengths of the radio signals. For example, a maximum data rate of the communication connection decreases with the signal strength.
In a modern vehicle, a plurality of antennas can be installed, which are arranged spaced apart from one another and together form an antenna arrangement of the vehicle. By means of a suitably configured controller provided in the vehicle and operatively connected to the antennas, they can be functionally connected to form a so-called phased array antenna. Such an antenna arrangement is also referred to as an antenna array.
The multiple antennas of the phased array antenna are controlled by the controller in such a way that they each emit a radio signal with a specific relative phase offset. This ensures that the radio signal emitted by the plurality of antennas has a pronounced directional characteristic, i.e., the signal strength is strong in one preferred direction, while it is weak in other directions deviating from the preferred direction. The reverse is also true for receiving a radio signal with a phased array antenna. This control of a phased array antenna is commonly referred to as digital beam forming (DBF).
In other words, an emission power can be concentrated in a preferred direction by means of the phased array antenna, which increases the range of the emitted radio signal and/or the maximum data rate of the communication connection. However, such a directional communication connection can be interrupted while the vehicle is traveling if the vehicle moves, relative to the external radio station, at right angles to an imaginary straight connecting line between the vehicle and the external radio station. Since a movement of the vehicle can be easily modeled while traveling, i.e., when the situation is not chaotic, an interruption of the communication connection can be counteracted by predicting the preferred direction while the vehicle is traveling.
US 2017/223749 A1 discloses a method for wireless communication of a vehicle with an external radio station while the vehicle is traveling. To establish a communication connection, a phased array antenna of the vehicle or the external radio station detects radio signals from different directions and a controller of the vehicle or of the external radio station determines a relative direction of the external radio station or the vehicle as the direction of the different directions in which a signal strength of a received radio signal is at the maximum. The controller controls the antenna arrangement in such a way that a radio signal from the vehicle or the external radio station is emitted in the determined relative direction. To maintain the communication connection while the vehicle is traveling, either the relative direction is continuously determined and the control of the antenna arrangement is adjusted to the determined relative direction and/or the control of the antenna arrangement is adapted to a detected movement of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,032,134 B2 discloses an alternative method for wireless communication of a vehicle with a stationary external radio station while the vehicle is traveling. In the method, a communication system of the vehicle receives absolute position coordinates of the external radio station from a radio network operator or from the external radio station itself and continuously determines its own absolute position coordinates using GPS (global positioning system) and its own orientation by means of GOS (global orientation system). Using the absolute position of the external radio station and its own absolute position and orientation, the communication system calculates a relative position of the base station and, depending on the calculated relative position, sets a directional characteristic for radio signals emitted from the communication system to the external radio station.
For continuous tracking of the preferred direction, i.e., varying the pronounced directional characteristic, when transmitting and receiving radio signals, extensive computing operations are required, which can put a heavy load on the controller of the vehicle. It is therefore also sought to reduce the computational effort for continuous tracking of the preferred direction.
For this purpose, WO 2005/031917 A1 discloses a method for wireless communication between a first vehicle and a second vehicle while both vehicles are traveling. The first vehicle calculates a relative position of the second vehicle as a vector in vehicle coordinates, selects an antenna system of the vehicle depending on the calculated relative position, and, depending on the directional characteristic of the selected antenna system and the calculated relative position of the second vehicle, calculates a required signal strength of a radio signal to be emitted by the antenna system. If the first vehicle communicates wirelessly with a plurality of second vehicles, the respective vectors are managed in a table.
The wireless communication demand that is already high and will increase with future generations of vehicles consumes a large and ever greater amount of electrical energy and consequently reduces the degree of efficiency, i.e., the range of the vehicle. This effect is perceived as particularly disruptive in electric vehicles.

Method of operation for an antenna array of a vehicle


The present invention relates to nucleic acid inhibitors, compositions and method for enhancing synthesis of nucleic acid molecules. In a preferred aspect, the invention relates to inhibition or control of nucleic acid synthesis, sequencing or amplification. Specifically, the present invention discloses nucleic acids having affinity for polypeptides with polymerase activity for use in such synthesis, amplification or sequencing reactions. The nucleic acid inhibitors are capable of inhibiting nonspecific nucleic acid synthesis under certain conditions (e.g., at ambient temperatures). Thus, in a preferred aspect, the invention relates to “hot start” synthesis of nucleic acid molecules. Accordingly, the invention prevents, reduces or substantially reduces nonspecific nucleic acid synthesis. The invention also relates to kits for synthesizing, amplifying, reverse transcribing or sequencing nucleic acid molecules comprising one or more of the nucleic acid inhibitors or compositions of the invention. The invention also relates to using the inhibitors of the invention to prevent viral replication or treat viral infections in a subject. Thus, the invention relates to therapeutic methods and pharmaceutical compositions using the inhibitors of the invention. The invention thus may be used for in vivo and in vitro inhibition of nucleic acid synthesis and/or inhibition of polymerase activity.

DNA polymerases synthesize the formation of DNA molecules which are complementary to a DNA template. Upon hybridization of a primer to the single-stranded DNA template, polymerases synthesize DNA in the 5′ to 3′ direction, successively adding nucleotides to the 3′-hydroxyl group of the growing strand. Thus, in the presence of deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs) and a primer, a new DNA molecule, complementary to the single stranded DNA template, can be synthesized.
Both mesophilic and thermophilic DNA polymerases are used to synthesize nucleic acids. Using thermostable rather than mesophilic polymerases is preferable since the higher annealing temperatures used with thermostable polymerases result in less non-specific DNA amplification from extension of mis-annealed primers. Even with thermostable polymerases, however, some primer sequences and certain experimental conditions can result in the synthesis of a significant amount of non-specific DNA products. These non-specific products can reduce the sensitivity of polymerase-based assays and can require extensive optimization for each primer set. In addition, this problem is intensified when polymerases having a high level of activity at ambient temperature are employed (for example, DNA polymerase from Thermotoga neapolitana).
In examining the structure and physiology of an organism, tissue or cell, it is often desirable to determine its genetic content. The genetic framework of an organism is encoded in the double-stranded sequence of nucleotide bases in the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) which is contained in the somatic and germ cells of the organism. The genetic content of a particular segment of DNA, or gene, is only manifested upon production of the protein and RNA which the gene encodes. In order to produce a protein, a complementary copy of one strand of the DNA double helix (the "coding" strand) is produced by polymerase enzymes, resulting in a specific sequence of ribonucleic acid (RNA). This particular type of RNA, since it contains the genetic message from the DNA for production of a protein, is called messenger RNA (mRNA).
Within a given cell, tissue or organism, there exist many mRNA species, each encoding a separate and specific protein. This fact provides a powerful tool to investigators interested in studying genetic expression in a tissue or cell. mRNA molecules may be isolated and further manipulated by various molecular biological techniques, thereby allowing the elucidation of the full functional genetic content of a cell, tissue or organism.
A common approach to the study of gene expression is the production of complementary DNA (cDNA) clones. In this technique, the mRNA molecules from an organism are isolated from an extract of the cells or tissues of the organism. This isolation often employs chromatography matrices, such as cellulose or agarose, to which oligomers of thymidine (T) have been complexed. Since the 3′ termini on most eukaryotic mRNA molecules contain a string of Adenosine (A) bases, and since A binds to T, the mRNA molecules can be rapidly purified from other molecules and substances in the tissue or cell extract. From these purified mRNA molecules, cDNA copies may be made using the enzyme reverse transcriptase (RT) or DNA polymerases having RT activity, which results in the production of single-stranded cDNA molecules. The single-stranded cDNAs may then be converted into a complete double-stranded DNA copy (i.e., a double-stranded cDNA) of the original mRNA (and thus of the original double-stranded DNA sequences, encoding this mRNA, contained in the genome of the organism) by the action of a DNA polymerase. The protein-specific double-stranded cDNAs can then be inserted into a vector, which is then introduced into a host bacterial, yeast, animal or plant cell, a process referred to as transformation or transfection. The host cells are then grown in culture media, resulting in a population of host cells containing (or in many cases, expressing) the gene of interest or portions of the gene of interest.
This entire process, from isolation of mRNA to insertion of the cDNA into a vector (e.g., plasmid, viral vector, cosmid, etc.) to growth of host cell populations containing the isolated gene or gene portions, is termed "cDNA cloning." If cDNAs are prepared from a number of different mRNAs, the resulting set of cDNAs is called a "cDNA library," an appropriate term since the set of cDNAs represents a "population" of genes or portions of genes comprising the functional genetic information present in the source cell, tissue or organism.
Synthesis of a cDNA molecule initiates at or near the 3′ termini of the mRNA molecules and proceeds in the 5′-to-3′ direction successively adding nucleotides to the growing strand. Priming of the cDNA synthesis at the 3′-termini at the poly A tail using an oligo (dT) primer ensures that the 3′ message of the mRNAs will be represented in the cDNA molecules produced. The ability to increase sensitivity and specificity during cDNA synthesis provides more representative cDNA libraries and may increase the likelihood of the cDNA library having full-length cDNA molecules (e.g., full-length genes). Such advances would greatly improve the probability of finding full-length genes of interest.
In addition to their importance for research purposes, reverse transcriptase enzymes play a critical role in the life cycle of many important pathogenic viruses, in particular, the human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV). In order to complete its life cycle, HIV and other similar viruses must use a reserve transcriptase enzyme to convert the viral RNA genome into DNA for integration into the host's genomic material. Since this step is critical to the viral life cycle and host cells do not have any similar requirement for reverse transcriptase activity, the reverse transcriptase enzyme has been intensively studied as a chemotherapeutic target. In general, the bulk of therapeutic reagents directed at the reverse transcriptase enzyme have been nucleotide analogues, for example AZT. Other therapeutic modalities using oligonucleotide-based reagents, e.g., anti-sense oligonucleotides and ribozymes, have been used to inhibit viral replication, however, these reagents are not targeted specifically against reverse transcriptase activity, instead of being targeted against the nucleic acid of the viral genome. See, for example, Goodchild, et al., "Inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus replication by antisense oligodeoxynucleotides," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:5507-5511 (1988), Matsukara, et al., "Regulation of viral expression of human immunodeficiency virus in vitro by an antisense phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotide against rev (art/trs) in chronically infected cells," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86:4244-4248 (1989), Rossi, et al., "Ribozymes as Anti-HIV-1 Therapeutic Agents: Principles, Applications, and Problems," Aids Research and Human Retroviruses 8:183:189 (1992), Goodchild, "Enhancement of ribozyme catalytic activity by a contiguous oligodeoxynucleotide (facilitator) and by 2′-O-methylation," Nucleic Acids Research 20:4607-4612 (1992) and Kinchington, et al., "A comparison of gag, pol and rev antisense oligodeoxynucleotides as inhibitors of HIV-1," Antiviral Research 17:53-62 (1992) which are specifically incorporated herein by reference. Oligonucleotides that have been blocked at the 3′-end to prevent their elongation by reverse transcriptase have also been considered as inhibitors (see, for example, Austernann, et al., "Inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase by 3 ′-blocked oligonucleotides" Biochemical Pharmacology 43(12):2581-2589 (1992). Each of the above cited references is specifically incorporated herein in its entirety.
Oligonucleotides have been investigated for anti-HIV activity. For example, Idriss, et al. (1994), Journal of Enzyme Inhibition 8(2)97-112, disclose DNA oligonucleotides in a hairpin structure as inhibitors of HIV RT activity while Kuwasaki, et al., (1996) Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 228:623-631 disclose anti-sense hairpin oligonucleotides containing a mixture of deoxy and 2′-methoxy-nucleotides with anti-HIV activity.
Notwithstanding these and other efforts to modulate the activity of polymerases, there remains a need in the art for materials and methods to prevent the undesirable activity of the polymerases while permitting the synthesis of nucleic acids by the polymerase when such synthesis is desired. These and other needs are met by the present invention.

Compositions and methods for temperature-dependent nucleic acid synthesis


The invention relates to methods for the preparation of polyether polyols by DMC-catalysed alkylene oxide addition to starter compounds comprising acidic sulfuric acid salts, to the use thereof for the preparation of polyurethanes, and to polyurethanes comprising the polyether polyols according to the invention.

Polyether polyols which are suitable for the preparation of polyurethanes can be obtained by means of various preparation methods. On one hand, base-catalysed addition of alkylene oxides to H-functional starter compounds, and on the other hand the use of double metal cyanide compounds as catalysts ("DMC catalysts") are of significance for the addition of alkylene oxides to H-functional starter compounds on an industrial scale. The (Lewis) acid-catalysed addition of alkylene oxides to suitable starter compounds is of secondary importance.
Undesirable secondary reactions increase considerably with increasing molar mass of the polymer under alkali metal hydroxide catalysis. In particular, mention should be made here of the isomerisation of propylene oxide to allyl alcohol, which at high equivalent weights (or low hydroxyl values) results in a high proportion of monofunctional polyether species in the reaction mixture. The monofunctional polyether molecules have an adverse effect on the full curing behaviour and the profile of physical properties of polyurethane systems.
The use of DMC catalysts has made it possible to push ahead with the addition of alkylene oxides, in particular propylene oxide, to H-functional starter compounds down to very low hydroxyl values, without the above-mentioned isomerisation of propylene oxide to allyl alcohol occurring to a significant extent. Highly active DMC catalysts, which are described e.g. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,813, EP-A 700 949, EP-A 743 093, EP-A 761 708, WO-A 97/40086, WO-A 98/16310 and WO-A 00/47649, in addition have exceptionally high activity and permit polyether polyol preparation at very low catalyst concentrations (25 ppm or less), so that it is no longer necessary to separate off the catalyst from the finished product. Typical examples are the highly active DMC catalysts described in EP-A 700 949, which in addition to a double metal cyanide compound (e.g. zinc hexacyanocobaltate(III)) and an organic complexing ligand (e.g. tert-butanol) also comprise a polyether polyol having a number-average molar mass of greater than 500 g/mol.
One characteristic of DMC catalysts is their pronounced sensitivity to high concentrations of hydroxyl groups, which are caused for example by large amounts of starters such as ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, glycerol, trimethylol propane, sorbitol or sucrose, and polar impurities of the reaction mixture. The DMC catalysts cannot then be converted into the polymerisation-active form during the reaction initiation phase, or alkylene oxide addition reactions which are already running may come to a halt due to the continuous supply of high concentrations of hydroxyl groups and polar impurities. Impurities may for example be water, compounds with a high number of hydroxyl groups which are in close proximity, such as carbohydrates and carbohydrate derivatives, or compounds with basic groups such as for example amines. Substances with carbonyl groups which are in close proximity, or carbonyl groups which are adjacent to hydroxyl groups also have an adverse effect on the catalyst activity. In order nevertheless to be able to subject starters having high concentrations of OH groups, or starters having impurities which are to be regarded as catalyst poisons to DMC-catalysed alkylene oxide addition reactions, the hydroxyl group concentration has to be lowered or the catalyst poisons rendered harmless, respectively. For this purpose, first prepolymers can be prepared from these starter compounds by means of base catalysis, which prepolymers then after working-up are converted into the desired alkylene oxide addition products of high molar mass by means of DMC catalysis. What is disadvantageous with this procedure is that the prepolymer obtained by means of base catalysis has to be worked up very carefully in order to rule out deactivation of the DMC catalyst by basic catalyst traces introduced by the prepolymer.
This disadvantage can be overcome by the method of continuous metering of starter which is disclosed in WO-A 97/29146. In this case, critical starter compounds are not initially introduced into the reactor, but continuously supplied to the reactor during the reaction in addition to the alkylene oxides. Prepolymers can be initially introduced as starting medium for the reaction in this method, and also it is possible to use small amounts of the product to be prepared itself as starting medium. The necessity of first having to prepare prepolymers which are suitable for further alkylene oxide additions separately is thus dispensed with.
Likewise, polyether polyols can be prepared fully continuously without working-up in accordance with a method as described in WO-A 98/03571. In this case, in addition to one or more alkylene oxides and one or more starters, the DMC catalyst is also supplied continuously to the reactor or to a reactor system under alkoxylation conditions, and the product is removed continuously from the reactor or the reactor system after a pre-selectable average residence time.
Both the method of continuous starter admetering and the fully continuous polyether polyol preparation method have the disadvantage that polyethers with block structures, in particular those with short internal blocks, can be prepared only with great difficulty: in the case of the method of continuous starter admetering, the admetering of starter has to be concluded already before the end of the metering of the first alkylene oxide block in order to obtain products with homogeneously distributed block lengths. This is difficult in particular when internal blocks with block equivalent molar masses of 53 Da to 350 Da are desired, since it then becomes necessary to increase the ratio of starter to alkylene oxide in the admetered educt stream such that again there is the risk of attaining critical concentrations of hydroxyl groups and polar impurities. In such cases, the catalysts increasingly lose activity during the starter admetering phase, which manifests itself e.g. by an increase in pressure in the reactor as a result of an increasing concentration of free alkylene oxide. In the fully continuous polyether polyol preparation method, costly series of reactors and hold-up sections with a continuous throughflow have to be installed for products with block structures. Both the continuous starter admetering method and the fully continuous method are furthermore only poorly suited for converting high-melting starter compounds or starter compounds which decompose below the melting point, such as for example sugar, sorbitol or pentaerythritol, into long-chain polyols without working-up. Such starters have to be metered via expensively heated metering sections or in solution.
"Equivalent molar mass" is to be understood to mean the total mass of the material comprising active hydrogen atoms divided by the number of active hydrogen atoms. In the case of materials containing hydroxyl groups, it is calculated by the following formula:equivalent molar mass=56,100/hydroxyl value [mg KOH/g]
The hydroxyl value can be determined e.g. titrimetrically in accordance with the specifications of DIN 53240 or spectroscopically by means of NIR.
EP-A 0 090 445 claims the addition of catalyst "promoters" in order to increase the activity of DMC catalysts of an older generation. Such "promoters" are salts of at least divalent metal cations and metal-free anions, and/or metal-free acids. The "promoters" are added separately to the catalyst/starter mixture. It is emphasised that the absence of alkali metal salts is essential, since these reduce the activity of DMC catalysts. Given this background, the present invention is particularly surprising.
EP-A 1 400 281 claims salt-containing, in particular alkali metal halide-containing, DMC catalysts which result in polyethers with a reduced content of high-molecular impurities. In the present invention, starters containing potassium chloride however prove completely unsuitable, since no catalyst activation was observed.
EP-A 1 577 334 claims starters which are preferably acidified with phosphoric acid in DMC-catalysed alkylene oxide addition processes with continuous starter admetering, which result in increased catalyst life, if relatively short-chain polyethers are to be prepared by means of DMC catalysis, i.e. relatively high starter/alkylene oxide ratios are present during the metering phase. The addition of (acidic) salts is not mentioned. Work carried out in the context of the present invention shows that phosphate-containing starter compounds prevent activation of DMC catalysts.
WO-A 99/14258 likewise claims acidified starters in DMC-catalysed alkylene oxide addition processes with continuous starter admetering. Again, phosphoric acid is emphasised as particularly preferred acid. Salts of sulfuric acid are not mentioned.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,642,423 claims a method for obtaining polyethers with ethylene oxide-containing internal blocks. These can be obtained in one stage directly by DMC-catalysed ethylene oxide addition to low-molecular starter compounds such as glycerol, followed by a propylene oxide block or a block rich in propylene oxide. The method does not utilise the advantageous effect of the presence of a sulfuric acid salt on the suppression of the formation of high-molecular impurities, and is furthermore very expensive, since DMC catalysts in contact with low-molecular starter compounds such as glycerol can be activated only in very high concentrations.
EP-A 1 528 073 claims the two-stage preparation of typical long-chain polyols having an ethylene oxide end block in a reactor. The residual alkalinity resulting from the preceding batch in each case is removed before or during the metering of the starter and the DMC catalyst for the following batch by addition of an acid which forms a salt which is soluble in the long-chain polyol having an ethylene oxide end block. Generally only an alkylbenzenesulfonic acid is suitable for this, since the polyol remnants remaining in the reactor have high equivalent molar masses and are not capable of dissolving salts of purely inorganic acids. What is disadvantageous when using alkylbenzenesulfonic acids are the high costs, which are caused firstly by the high prices of acid, and secondly by the relatively high molar masses of the acids. Furthermore, the claimed process always requires a working-up step such as distillation/filtration or ion exchange, in which the large, conventionally obtained amounts of salt are removed.
WO-A 2006/094979 claims a simplified method for the preparation of DMC catalysts in which the cyanometallate acid is prepared in situ due to the presence of strong mineral acids during the catalyst precipitation. The catalysts thus prepared are conventional DMC catalysts, with which alone no one-pot method without working-up for the preparation of long-chain block copolyethers having internal blocks with block equivalent molar masses of 53 Da to 350 Da can be produced.
In WO-A 01/53381, combinations of Lewis or Brønsted acids and DMC catalysts are used, which are said to result in shortened induction periods upon starting-up the alkylene oxide addition reaction. Synergistic effects on polyether quality which are obtainable by the combination of certain acids/acidic salts with DMC catalysts have not been worked out; rather, the analytical data of the resulting polyether polyols, in particular the elevated contents of primary hydroxyl groups, simply indicate acid-catalysed or DMC-catalysed alkylene oxide addition reactions which take place in parallel.
EP-A 1 073 689 claims the preparation of polyol precursors with hydroxyl values from 100 to 150 mg KOH/g under Lewis-acid conditions, followed by a DMC-catalysed propylene oxide addition step. Separation of the Lewis-acid catalysts, substantially perfluoroalkylsulfonic acid salts of lanthanides, from the precursor before the DMC step does not take place. This is thus a one-pot method without working-up, in which however the striking tendency, described in EP-A 0 855 417, of the Lewis-acid catalysts to form volatile by-products and the high costs thereof have to be classed as disadvantageous.
WO-A 2007/082596 teaches the preparation of DMC catalysts modified with alkali or ammonium salts, which are distinguished by increased activities. It is not possible to carry out a method without working-up departing from low-molecular starter compounds with the method disclosed in WO-A 2007/082596. The positive effects of starters containing sulfuric acid salts with regard to the formation of high-molecular impurities cannot be attained in accordance with the teaching of WO 2007/082596.

Method for the preparation of polyether polyols


A touch screen panel, a flat panel display apparatus integrated touch screen panel, and a method of manufacturing the same. The touch screen panel includes: first touch detection patterns extending in a first direction and spaced apart from each other in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; and second touch detection patterns extending in the second direction and spaced apart from each other in the first direction. Each of the first touch detection patterns includes a first transparent conductive pattern and a first edge conductive pattern surrounding an edge of the first transparent conductive pattern, and each of the second touch detection patterns includes a second transparent conductive pattern and a second edge conductive pattern surrounding an edge of the second transparent conductive pattern.

Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a touch screen panel and a flat panel display apparatus, and a method of manufacturing the same.
Discussion of the Background
A touch screen panel is an input apparatus that enables a user to input a command by using his/her hand or an object to manipulate elements displayed on a screen of a display apparatus. The touch screen panel is combined with the display apparatus to convert a location of a touch into an electrical signal. Such a touch screen panel may replace a separate input apparatus, such as a keyboard or a mouse, and thus, its application range is extending.
The touch screen panel is implemented by using well-known resistive, optical, and capacitive methods. A capacitive touch screen panel detects a change in capacitance between a driving electrode and a sensitivity electrode of the touch screen panel, when a hand or an object touches the surface of the touch screen panel, and converts a location of the touch into an electrical signal.
When the touch screen panel is attached to an external surface of a flat panel display apparatus, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) apparatus, an organic light emitting display apparatus, etc., there are problems in that an entire thickness of a product increases, and manufacturing costs increase. Another problem is that, when the touch screen panel is directly formed on the external surface of the flat panel display apparatus during manufacturing of the flat panel display apparatus, a low temperature manufacturing process needs to be utilized because an internal device of the flat panel display apparatus, such as an organic emissive layer of the organic light emitting display apparatus, may be vulnerable to high temperatures. However, the low temperature process generally results in a high resistance of a conductive layer of the touch screen panel, which undesirably decreases detection speed and reduces a signal to noise ratio (SNR).
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and, therefore, it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Touch screen panel, flat panel display apparatus integrated with the touch screen panel, and method of manufacturing the same


The present invention relates to a method of producing rough strains of a bacterium, such as Mycobacterium obuense, said method comprising exposing said bacterium to a sulfone and/or sulfonamide (such as 4,4′-Diaminodiphenyl sulfone or an analogue thereof). A rough strain of Mycobacterium obuense producible by said method and uses thereof. In particular, uses of a rough strain of Mycobacterium obuense deposited under the Budapest Treaty at the NCTC with the accession number NCTC 13365.

Methods of obtaining rough strains of bacteria, such as those from the genus Mycobacterium, that are known in the art include the plating out of bacteria, such as those from the genus Mycobacterium, and looking for any rough colonies. However, any rough strains identified in this way are typically not stable.
Other methods include plating out Mycobacteria on medium that contains Tween or glycerol and encouraging pellicle growth. This method has been successful in inducing rough colonies of some species of Mycobacteria. However, this method has not been able to induce rough variants in all Mycobacteria.
No method to date has been able to induce rough strains of Mycobacterium obuense.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method that is able to produce rough strains, particularly stable rough strains, of Mycobacterium. Such a method could advantageously be used to produce for the first time rough strains of some species of Mycobacterium such as Mycobacterium obuense.
Advantageously, the present invention has provided such an improved method that has induced for the first time a rough strain, particularly a stable rough strain, of Mycobacterium obuense.
Rough strains of fast-growing Mycobacteria have a number of advantages:                stable rough strains do not revert to smooth strains;        rough strains have a different presentation of antigens and tend to be less virulent in causing disease than smooth strains;        skin test reagents made from rough strains are more effective than those made from smooth strains;        rough strains are very effective when used in in vitro cell-mediated immune experiments; and        the small clumps or particles of several bacilli may be more effective in stimulating phagocytic cells than single organisms of smooth strains.
Furthermore, the present invention has advantageously found that a whole cell of a rough strain of Mycobacterium obuense may be used to modulate the immune response of a subject.
Although M. vaccae was known to modulate the immune response of a subject—M. obuense had never before been considered suitable for use as an immune modulator.
Vaccines and other immune modulators have a major impact in reducing morbidity and mortality from disease. The primary immunity elicited by most current vaccines appears to be mediated by the humoral immune response. For diseases that may require a cellular immune response, such as tuberculosis and leishmaniasis, there are currently no available vaccines that are uniformly effective.
Typically, adjuvants are added to vaccines. The role of the adjuvant is to enhance the body's immune response to specific antigens of the vaccine. Commonly used adjuvants typically produce a humoral immune response but not a cell-mediated immune response. In addition, aluminium adjuvants for example may cause negative side effects, such as sterile abscesses, erythema, swelling, subcutaneous nodules, granulomatous inflammation and contact hypersensitivity.
A vaccine or other immune modulator is sought that modifies a cellular immune response and in particular the T helper cell response, for example, the T helper cell 1 (Th1) and T helper cell 2 (Th2) response.
There are many different autoimmune diseases, and they can each affect the body in different ways. Many of the autoimmune diseases are rare. As a group, however, autoimmune diseases afflict millions of people.
Some autoimmune diseases are known to begin or worsen with certain triggers such as viral, parasitic and chronic bacterial infections. Other less understood influences affect the immune system and the course of autoimmune diseases include ageing, chronic stress, hormones and pregnancy.
Autoimmune diseases are often chronic, requiring lifelong care and monitoring, even when the person may look or feel well. Currently, few autoimmune diseases can be cured or made to go into remission with treatment.
Physicians most often help patients manage the consequences of inflammation caused by the autoimmune disease. In some people, a limited number of immuno-suppressive medications may result in disease remission. However, even if their disease goes into remission, patients are rarely able to discontinue medication. The long-term side effects of immunosuppressive medication can be substantial.
Initiation and progression of vascular injury is a complex, multi-factorial process, but there is growing evidence that inflammatory responses play a key role. Vascular injury is involved in the development of atherosclerosis, and in thrombotic processes that lead to acute ischaemic syndromes such as myocardial infarction, stroke and peripheral artery occlusion.
Immune mechanisms may be important in the development and maintenance of atherosclerosis and myointimal hyperplasia (MIH).
Myointimal Hyperplasia (MIH) can be considered as an exaggerated healing response to injury such as balloon angioplasty. A cascade of events results in: loss of the basement membrane, migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) from the media into the intima, VSMC proliferation and phenotypic change to a more secretory fibroblastic cell type and increased production of extracellular matrix, which eventually leads to stenosis or occlusion of the vessel. It occurs after bypass grafting and balloon angioplasty and affects approximately 30% of such cases in clinical practice. It is the major cause of failure of such procedures and treatment of the resulting stenosed and blocked vessels/grafts is problematic. The underlying cellular mechanisms leading to MIH are not well understood and to date no therapy had been developed which can effectively prevent it. The clinical relevance of the current patent relates to the very large numbers of coronary artery angioplasties which are performed annually in the UK and world-wide. Although drug eluting stents are currently producing promising results they are unlikely to prevent restenosis completely. Any safe, relatively inexpensive adjunctive therapy, such as the immunotherapy proposed in this patent, would have a major clinical impact.
The mechanisms involved in immunotherapy against restenosis are complex and not completely elucidated. The endothelial injury caused by angioplasty may be exacerbated by the host immune response to hsp's. Hsp's are proteins produced by stressed cells which have been implicated in the pathogenesis and the pathophysiology of various immunological disorders including atherosclerosis (Xu Q et al. Arterioscler Thromb 1992; 12: 789-799). It is likely that they will be present on endothelial and smooth muscle cells in the region of an angioplasty. In effect the hsp acts as an autoantigen which can then be attacked by the immune system. This situation can be induced experimentally by immunising with a cross-reactive mycobacterial hsp (hsp65) which leads to endothelial damage in rabbits and mice (Xu Q, et al. Arterioscler Thromb 1992; 12: 789-799 and George J, et al. Circ. Res. 2000; 86: 1203-1210). The effect appears to be dependent on IL-4 secreted by Th2 lymphocytes, and is probably mediated by antibody George J, et al. Circ. Res. 2000; 86: 1203-1210 and Schett G, et al. J. Clin. Invest. 1995; 96: 2569-2577). The relevance of these observations to man is suggested by the ability of affinity-purified human antibody eluted from hsp65 columns to damage stressed human endothelial cells in vitro. This finding suggests that the antibody cross-reacts with hsp60 which is the human homologue of hsp65, and may be accessible to antibody when expressed on the membranes of stressed endothelial cells. It has been suggested that such antibodies binding to stressed endothelial cells may be a factor in producing coronary artery disease after heart transplantation (Crisp S J et al. J Heart Lung Transplant 1994; 81-91). Mukherjee et al (Thromb Haemost 1996; 75: 258-60) showed no association between preoperative antibody levels to hsp65 and coronary restenosis, but did show that those patients where levels of such antibodies dropped after angioplasty were less likely to restenose. In fact the role of antibodies to hsp could be complex, because patients with vascular disease have not only raised antibody, but also raised levels of the hsp themselves (Wright B H, et al Heart Vessels 2000; 15: 18-22). Thus an apparent fall in antibody levels may merely reflect an increase in levels of the protein. Moreover the hsp have regulatory effects, and bind to arterial smooth muscle cells, leading to enhanced survival without a requirement for internalisation (Johnson A D et al. Atherosclerosis 1990; 84: 111-119).
WO2004/022093 and UK application number 0404102.6 (both of which references are incorporated herein by reference) disclose an immune modulator composition or a pharmaceutical composition comprising a whole cell of a bacterium from the genera Rhodococcus, Gordonia, Nocardia, Dietzia, Tsukanmurella and Nocardioides.
In addition, U.S. application Ser. No. 10/893,524 (incorporated herein by reference) discloses the use of a whole cell of a bacterium from the genera Rhodococcus, Gordonia, Nocardia, Dietzia, Tsukamurella and Nocardioides in a manufacture of a medicament for the treatment or prevention of post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) and/or porcine dermatitis and nephropathy syndrome (PDNS).
However, none of these documents teaches or suggests the use of whole cells of rough strain, preferably a stable rough strain, of M. obuense to modulate a cellular immune response.

Method of producing rough strains of bacteria and uses thereof


Disclosed is a portable lifting jerk block for use in holding barbells used in weightlifting. The jerk block allows an individual to position a barbell at most any height by use of hydraulic lift member providing safety and convenience to the operator. A laser leveling light coordinates two adjoining jerk blocks providing a visual signal by highlight indicia on the adjoining lifting jerk block, or producing an audible tone when a laser light on an adjoining jerk block illuminates a photo cell detector to assure a level support for the barbell when positioned between the lifting jerk blocks.

In the field of weight lifting, barbells are used in weight training and bodybuilding. Barbells consist of an elongated bar that is loaded at either end with weights. The amount of weight is changed by the addition or removal of weight plates installed on each end of the bar. The length of the bar depends upon the manufacturer and in certain instances the proposed event. For instance, a men's Olympic barbell is 7.2 feet long and weighs approximately 44 lbs. A women's Olympic barbell is approximately 6.6 feet long and weighs 33 lbs. While there is no fixed length for the barbell, stands are typically placed inside the weights and catch the bar. This limits the catch area for the barbell making it more difficult to set down once the individual has performed an event.
The type of bar may also vary depending upon the use, and whether the bar is used in competition. Typically barbells are used in the form of free weights and the motion is not determined by, or limited by, a machine that carries the weights. The weight lifter of a free weight is able to lift the weight without being constrained by a predetermined path. The weight lifter must not only lift the free barbell with weights but stabilize the motion throughout the lift. The result is a lifting exercise that not only builds muscle but causes the weight lifter to develop dimensional stability during the lift.
Power lifting requires use of a stiffer bar for heavy weights such as those used in the squat. These bars may be longer to allow loading of additional weights and thicker to deform less under the load. Essentially, barbells can be used for many different exercises, which causes different weights to be used, different sized bars to be employed, both in length and diameter, as well as flexibility. Known barbell exercises include the bench press, the incline barbell press, the close grip bench press, the standing curl, the reverse curl, the wrist curl, the overhead press, the shrug, the bentover row, the upright row, clean and jerk, the deadlift, the stiff legged deadlift, squats, hack squats, and the snatch. This invention is directed to the weightlifting techniques known as the "clean & jerk" and the "snatch".
The result is the weight lifter is required to either have multiple stands to address the various configurations, or limit the type of lift that can be done with the barbell. A problem with free weights is their potential to cause injury. The weights are directly loaded onto the end of the elongated bar making it difficult for a weight lifter to get into a proper position for lifting of the barbell for use, and releasing the barbell after use. This problem can be reduced by the use of spotters, which is not always possible. The placement of a barbell on a conventional stand can be used to position the weights at a designated height, but lack ease of adjustability. For instance, due to the weight involved the weight lifter must take breaks between lifts and/or alternate with others for use of the barbell. Each weight lifter may be of a different height and movement of a weight barbell to a particular height can be difficult and time consuming. When a weight lifter is performing a frontal squat, the ability to lift the barbell safely is dependent upon the barbell being at an ideal height and assuring that the barbell is horizontally level. Typically a barbell is used in conjunction with a stand wherein barbell holders are adjusted in height through counting of securement pins or marking indicia.
Self-spotting machines have addressed eliminating the need for one or more spotters. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,959 discloses a barbell assist device utilizing a motor-driven yoke assembly. The yoke assembly provides cables that extend around sheaves and downwardly from each end of the housing to support a barbell over a weight bench.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,826 discloses a device utilizing a winch assembly to retract and release cables supporting the barbell.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,394 discloses a spotter system for weightlifters employing a pneumatic piston and cylinder. The cylinder provides lift assistance to the barbell through a lever arm, chain drive, pulley and cables.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,721 discloses a weightlifter's exercise apparatus utilizing two motor-assisted assemblies supporting a barbell through cables attached to each end. Although the two motors allow independent assist from each side, no positive method is disclosed to ensuring user-control of the weights before disengaging the supports.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,637,852 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,674,208 disclose a device that was intended to elevate a barbell with weights and hold the barbell in a stable elevated position so weights can be removed and replaced. The barbell seat is tapered in a laterally outward direction so that the weights that are closest to the middle of the bar rest on the higher part of the seat. The barbell weights that are further from the middle of the bar are elevated and can be removed.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2011/0183818 discloses a device intended to elevate a barbell so that the weights can be removed. The device teaches a barbell support comprising an elongated leverage handle that is affixed to at least one pivot foot. The barbell is placed in the cradle with the pivot foot against the ground. The leverage handle is manipulated to raise the cradle relative to the pivot foot and elevate the cradle and barbell above the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,926,181 discloses a safety device for lifting a barbell loaded with barbell weights for safe removal of the barbell weights. The device can elevate a barbell containing very heavy weights off of the floor. The device can lift weights by rotating the device to gradually rotate a cam lobe underneath the barbell thereby lifting the barbell. The device serves as a barbell stand and will support the barbell in a stable position during removal of the weights.
What is lacking in the industry is a barbell jerk block that can be easily moved, can be lowered into a small stance, can be lifted to accommodate most any height, an include a means to track the level of the jerk blocks to assure the individual has a balanced foundation for the weight lifting exercises.


The invention is to a method and apparatus for increasing the likelihood that a selected vehicle component has been serviced or checked in a timely manner. An indicator is actuated should the vehicle component not be serviced within a preselected time. The vehicle component is in operable association with a timer, which measures the elapsed time between a starting time and a preselected time. The timer is reset by a switch which is actuated by the servicing of the vehicle component. Should the timer reach a preselected time before the switch associated is actuated, then an indicator is actuated.

It is important that certain vehicle components be regularly serviced in order to maintain proper functioning of the vehicle. For instance, the oil of a vehicle should be regularly checked for sufficient supply. If the oil is not checked regularly, then the engine may be damaged. Additionally, other vehicle components should be regularly checked and serviced, such as transmission fluid, washer fluid, differential fluid, etc.
In the past, systems have been developed to indicate that a vehicle component is due for maintenance. Such systems include means for manually entering in a maintenance time. Run time meters have been used to measure the time when a component needs to be serviced. Should the preselected time be reached, then a warning system may be actuated indicating that the vehicle component needs to be serviced. Similarly, computer systems have been used to more effectively determine the time when service of the vehicle component is needed. After the preselected time is reached, then an indicator may be actuated, typically in a way that it may only be viewed by the operator of the vehicle. A problem incurred by these systems is that vehicle operator may ignore the warning indicators.
Particularly in the trucking industry, the owner frequently depends upon the truck driver to regularly service the truck. Unfortunately, some truck drivers ignore the alarm, actuator, indicator, light, etc. which indicates that a particular component needs to be serviced. In order to become aware of the problem, the owner must enter the vehicle and often times start the engine to determine whether the component needs maintenance. Moreover, even if the operator responds to the actuator, the maintenance interval has already elapsed.
It is known to monitor the oil level by electronic means attached to the dipstick. When the oil level reaches a low point, a light may be actuated to alert the operator that oil needs to be replenished. Again, these warnings are often ignored by the operator. Additionally, there is no guarantee that the operator has checked and/or replenished the oil. Rather, these systems measure the oil level, not the time elapsed between consecutive oil checks.
In view of the above, those skilled in the art will understand that there is a need for a method and apparatus which will increase the likelihood that a vehicle component has been serviced in a timely manner. The disclosed invention meets these needs through a system and method which directs a party responsible for the maintenance of such components to the site of the vehicle component, in order to avoid operation of the external indicator which will inform the owner or other concerned party that the vehicle component has not been checked. This increases the likelihood that the vehicle component will actually be serviced. Importantly, this invention puts the parties responsible for maintenance of the components on notice that the vehicle owner or manager is monitoring such maintenance. Thus, the parties responsible for the maintenance will have more incentive to check the component. Additionally, because the system can only be reset by going to the site of the component and actuating the switch, chances are the responsible party will more than likely check the component.

Method and apparatus for assuring maintenance of vehicle components


Chemically strengthened glass articles having at least one deep compressive layer extending from a surface of the article to a depth of layer DOL of about 130 μm up to about 175 μm or, alternatively, to a depth of compression (DOC) in a range from about 90 μm to about 120 μm within the article. The compressive layer has a stress profile that includes a first substantially linear portion extending from a relatively shallow depth to the DOL or DOC and a second portion extending from the surface to the shallow depth. The second portion is substantially linear at a depth from 0 μm to 5 μm and has a steeper slope than that of the first portion of the profile. Methods of achieving such stress profiles are also described.

The disclosure relates to a chemically strengthened glass article. More particularly, the disclosure relates to chemically strengthened glasses having a deep compressive surface layer.
Strengthened glasses are widely used in electronic devices as cover plates or windows for portable or mobile electronic communication and entertainment devices, such as cellular phones, smart phones, tablets, video players, information terminal (IT) devices, laptop computers and the like, as well as in other applications. As strengthened glasses become more widely used, it has become more important to develop strengthened glass materials having improved survivability, especially when subjected to tensile stresses and/or relatively deep flaws caused by contact with hard and/or sharp surfaces.

Strengthened glass with deep depth of compression


Various systems and methods for clock generation are disclosed herein. As just one example, a system for clock generation is disclosed that includes a phase/frequency control circuit that provides a feedback control; a multi-range selector circuit that receives the feedback control; and a controlled oscillator that provides an output with a phase and frequency at least in part governed by the multi-range selector circuit and the feedback control. In various instances of the aforementioned embodiments, the controlled oscillator is a ring oscillator relying on inherent capacitance.

The present invention is related to systems and methods for synchronizing a semiconductor device, and more particularly to systems and methods for generating a clock signal.
Semiconductor devices often rely on a clock signal to synchronize operation of circuitry implemented within the device. In some cases, such clock signals are provided external to the device, while in other cases they are generated as part of the circuitry of the semiconductor device. Various approaches have been utilized for such internal clock generation including phase lock loops using a reference signal and driving a voltage controlled oscillator. In general, such clock generation circuitry function over limited ranges. Such a limited range of operation is often acceptable for a particular design, but in some cases a greater range of operation is desired.
As an example, one existing voltage controlled oscillator 100 utilizing a preset current and discrete capacitor to set the oscillation frequency is depicted in FIG. 1. Voltage controlled oscillator 100 includes a series of two PFET transistors 102, 104 and NFET transistors 106, 108 that operate as a current mirror either sinking or sourcing current to/from a discrete capacitor 110. In operation, a preset current 112 flows either into or out of discrete capacitor 110. In particular, when the gates of transistors 104, 106 are asserted low, preset current 112 is sourced to discrete capacitor 110 via transistors 102, 104. Once discrete capacitor 110 is sufficiently charged to trigger a defined level of a Schmidt trigger 120, an output of Schmidt trigger 120 asserts low and in turn an output of a succeeding inverter 130 asserts high. The output of inverter 130 is provide to the gates of transistors 104, 106 such that preset current 112 is discharged from discrete capacitor 110 via transistors 106, 108. Once sufficient charge is removed from discrete capacitor 110 a lower voltage threshold of Schmidt trigger 120 is achieved causing the output of Schmidt trigger 120 to assert high. In turn, the output of inverter 130 is asserted low causing preset current 112 to flow into discrete capacitor 110 via transistors 102, 104. Thus, an oscillation within a particular range defined by preset current 112 and discrete capacitor 110 is achieved.
The actual oscillation frequency is somewhat controlled by an input 160 that is capable of rendering small adjustments in preset current 112 via a current mirror and enable circuit consisting of transistors 173-179 and an inverter 150. Further, a clock output 180 may be provided via an inverting buffer 140. The range over which the oscillation frequency may be adjusted using input 160 is typically limited due to various sources of distortion and the value of discrete capacitor 110. This limits the operational utility of voltage controlled oscillator 100.
Hence, for at least the aforementioned reasons, there exists a need in the art for advanced systems and methods for clock generation.

Systems and methods for multi-range clock generation