The present invention provides for accelerating the generation of graphical images that include shadow effects by, for example, reducing the amount of data transmitted and/or stored necessary to render graphics based on stencil shadow volumes. In one embodiment, an exemplary apparatus is configured to render shadows using stencil shadow volumes. The apparatus includes a memory to store a degree of shadowing for each sample. A co-processor, which is coupled to the memory, is configured to generate an indicator that represents a common degree of shadowing associated with the subset of samples. In some cases, the apparatus includes a graphics processing unit (“GPU”), which is coupled to the co-processor, that is configured to render one or more shadows for a computer-generated image based on the indicator.

The Graphics Processing Unit ("GPU") was developed to offload three-dimensional ("3D") calculations that had traditionally been performed by the central processing unit ("CPU"). A GPU is generally a processor responsible for performing, at relatively high graphics processing speeds, many or all of the functions of generating graphics, such as defining, positioning, texturizing, shading, and rendering primitives (e.g., polygons, such as triangles). The GPU has allowed developers of digital content to increase the detail and complexity of graphical images ("graphics") to provide more realism in computer-generated images by, for example, performing real-time rendering of shadow effects using stencil shadow volumes.
A shadow volume typically is a volumetric region of space that represents the shadow generated by a particular occluder for a particular light source. Any object within that volumetric region is considered "shadowed." Any boundary of a shadow volume defines a point (or plane) in space where an object goes from being unshadowed to shadowed, or vice versa. A stenciled shadow volume is a shadow volume wherein a shadow test uses a stencil buffer to determine if a given point is either inside or outside the shadow volume.
But using stencil shadow volumes have limitations in generating shadow effects. Shadow volume techniques generally require many shadow primitives that collectively consume relatively large amounts of pixel fill rate as well as computational overhead when rendering dynamic scenes. As such, the rendering of shadow effects using shadow volumes consumes more GPU processing capacity, more transmission channel capacity, and more storage than otherwise is desired.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and/or apparatus to accelerate the rendering of shadows for computer-generated scenes. In particular, there is a need to render shadow effects using reduced data to represent stencil shadow volumes to ensure that the resources of a GPU, such as memory (e.g., cache memory), are used in an efficient manner.

Method and apparatus to accelerate rendering of shadow effects for computer-generated images


Methods of incorporating coded DNA into elastomeric materials and compositions thereof are claimed. Methods of recovering information from elastomeric materials with coded DNA and authenticating silicone objects with coded DNA are also claimed.

In recent years, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules have been synthesized to include any useful set of information as encoded via the ordinary DNA building blocks A, T, C, and G. George Church at Harvard and other labs around the world, have recently shown that this well-known genetic code, which is used in nature to encode the core information of life can instead be used in a biotech context to encode ordinary alphanumeric information. The nucleic acid building blocks A, T, C, and G from which DNA is made comprising a N=4 (quaternary) digital code, much as bars on an ordinary bar code comprise an N=2 (binary) digital code.
Based on that simple idea to convert DNA information (A, T, C, and G) into an equivalent alphanumeric code, it has been shown over the past 10 years that DNA can be a medium for extremely high density data storage. A number of standard "DNA alphabets" have been discussed, which relate each of the possible 64 base triplets (e.g. A,T,C) to a single letter or number, thus allowing any alphanumeric symbol to be converted to an equivalent triplet based DNA code.
There is a growing need to be able to provide information within objects used in various settings such as household items or military and commercial parts in a manner that does not change the overall characteristics of the item. For example, many items are used by the military which include parts made of elastomeric material such as silicone rubber. There is a need to place information within these parts that can be accessible by commercially available means and without exorbitant cost. The amount of information included with the item could be small or great, such as providing an item number, country of origin, or information regarding the intended use of the object.
There is also a need to add coded DNA to elastomeric materials in a way which will protect the DNA during exposure to high temperatures associated with molding and curing elastomeric materials.

Composition and method of DNA marking elastomeric material


A plasma addressed electro-optical display device having a plasma cell comprising an anode electrode and a cathode electrode arranged in parallel in a plasma chamber in which a discharge is performed and a liquid crystal cell arranged near the plasma chamber and driven through a virtual electrode formed in the region discharged in the plasma cell, wherein as the discharge gas sealed in the plasma chamber, use is made of one of the group of approximately 100 percent by volume of xenon (Xe); approximately 100 percent by volume of krypton (Kr); a mixed gas of xenon (Xe) and an inert gas other than xenon (Xe) or a stable gas; and a mixed gas of krypton (Kr) and an inert gas other than krypton (Kr) or a stable gas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma addressed electro-optical display device having its characterizing feature in the gas sealed in the plasma chamber.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, matrix type electro-optical devices, for example, liquid crystal display devices, using liquid crystal cells as the electro-optical cells have been known. To make these liquid crystal display devices higher in resolution and higher in contrast, active matrix type liquid crystal display devices have been developed in which thin film transistors and other switching elements are provided at each pixel and these are linearly successively driven.
In this case, however, it is necessary to provide a large number of thin film transistor like semiconductor elements on the substrate. In particular, there is the shortcoming that the manufacturing yield at the time the area is made larger becomes poorer.
Therefore, recently, a plasma addressed liquid crystal display device (PALC) where the electro-optical cells are driven using switches based on plasma discharge instead of switching elements comprised of thin film transistors etc. has been proposed (see for example Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 1-217396, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 5-297359, etc.)
Such a plasma addressed liquid crystal display device has a display cell as represented by a liquid crystal display cell and a plasma cell arranged near to the same and comprised of a plasma chamber of a discharge region having plasma electrodes formed in a stripe in the columnar direction. The display cell is driven for each pixel by a virtual electrode based on the region discharged in the plasma cell and a transparent electrode arranged perpendicular to the same.
In the past, as the discharge gas sealed in such a plasma chamber, use was made of a pure gas or mixed gas comprised mainly of helium (He) or neon (Ne) gas from the viewpoint of lowering the discharge voltage (Vf).
However, in the plasma addressed liquid crystal display device of the related art explained above, the plasma decay time was long and there was the problem that it was not possible to write by a quick scan.
Further, in the above plasma addressed liquid crystal display device of the related art, the transmittance deteriorated quickly due to the sputtering of the electrode material during the discharge. Further, it suffers from the disadvantage of an abnormal discharge (ultrasmall arc discharge) along with time and a shorter panel life.
Also, in the plasma addressed liquid crystal display device of the related art, it also suffers from the disadvantage of a large discharge current (density) and the operating temperature.

Plasma addressed electro-optical display device


Systems, methods, and devices for improved cooling of an implantable blood pump are disclosed herein. The implantable blood pump can include: a pump housing defining an internal volume and including a wall defining a blood flow conduit extending through the pump housing; a rotor including a magnet and located within the blood flow conduit; a magnetic core located in the internal volume and extending circumferentially around the blood flow conduit and the rotor, which magnetic core terminates proximate to the wall; a controller located in the internal volume; and a thermal conductor contacting and preferentially thermally connecting the controller and the magnetic core, wherein the thermal conductor is electrically non-conductive.

This application relates generally to mechanical circulatory support systems, and more specifically relates to control systems, for an implantable blood pump
Ventricular assist devices, known as VADs, are implantable blood pumps used for both short-term (i.e., days, months) and long-term applications (i.e., years or a lifetime) where a patient's heart is incapable of providing adequate circulation, commonly referred to as heart failure or congestive heart failure. According to the American Heart Association, more than five million Americans are living with heart failure, with about 670,000 new cases diagnosed every year. People with heart failure often have shortness of breath and fatigue. Years of living with blocked arteries or high blood pressure can leave your heart too weak to pump enough blood to your body. As symptoms worsen, advanced heart failure develops.
A patient suffering from heart failure, also called congestive heart failure (CHF), may use a VAD while awaiting a heart transplant or as a long term destination therapy. In another example, a patient may use a VAD while recovering from heart surgery. Thus, a VAD can supplement a weak heart (i.e., partial support) or can effectively replace the natural heart's function. VADs can be implanted in the patient's body and powered by an electrical power source inside or outside the patient's body.
Due to VAD workload in constantly pumping blood, VADs can have significantly higher power requirements than other types of implantable devices such as pacemakers or other stimulators. Because of these power requirements, VADs can be externally powered by delivering power from outside of a patient's body to the VAD inside of the patient's body. Further, because of these higher power requirements, VADs generate significant amounts of heat during operation.
In spite of the obvious benefits of VAD therapy, there remains a need to improve the therapy and design of VADs in particular. One aim for improving VADs is to provide smaller pumps with the same or better performance. A challenge with smaller pumps is management of heat generated in the pump. Generally smaller pumps need to be designed to rotate the impeller at the same or even a higher rotational speed, yet they have a smaller surface area in contact with adjacent tissue. This can translate to greater localized heating which can lead to tissue damage. In certain cases regulatory requirements for such tissue heating can be a limiting factor on performance. Accordingly, further VAD improvements, and particularly improvements to heat management within VADs are desired.

Thermal interconnect for implantable blood pump


A device for superposed magnetic resonance tomography and positron emission tomography imaging is disclosed. In at least one embodiment, the device includes a magnetic resonance tomography magnet, which defines a longitudinal axis; a magnetic resonance tomography gradient coil, arranged radially within the magnetic resonance tomography magnet; a magnetic resonance tomography RF coil, arranged radially within the magnetic resonance tomography gradient coil; and a multiplicity of positron emission tomography detection units, arranged in pairs lying opposite to one another about the longitudinal axis. In at least one embodiment, the many positron emission tomography detection units are arranged radially within the magnetic resonance tomography gradient coil and are arranged along the longitudinal axis next to the magnetic resonance tomography RF coil.

It is known that a magnetic resonance tomography machine (MRI machine) comprises, amongst others, those three functional modules which are illustrated in FIG. 2: a basic field system 11, a gradient system 12, and a radiofrequency system 13 (also called a RF-system or body resonator). The basic field system 11 is generally a magnet and provides a strong, static magnetic field. The gradient system 12 provides an adjustable magnetic field in the low frequency region up to approximately 1 kHz, which has a linearly increasing or decreasing course in one or a number of directions. In the radiofrequency region, the RF-system 13 provides, in the vicinity of the nuclear magnetic resonance frequency essentially given by the static magnetic field (in general, 42.45 MHz), an oscillating magnetic field for the excursion of the nuclear spins, which can furthermore also serve to receive the signals of the relaxing nuclear spins.
These three modules are arranged in conventional magnetic resonance tomography machines around the patient to be examined in the following order, arranged in a radial direction from the inside outwards: RF-system 13, gradient system 12 and basic field system 11. The patient lies on a couch 14, which is located radially within the RF-system 13.
Alongside magnetic resonance tomography (MRI) positron emission tomography (PET) has also become increasingly widespread of recent years in medical diagnosis. While MRI is an imaging method for displaying structures and slice images in the interior of the body, PET enables the visualization and quantification of metabolic activities in vivo.
PET uses the particular properties of positron emitters and positron annihilation in order to determine the function of organs or cell areas quantitatively. In this case, before the examination the patient is administered appropriate radiopharmaceuticals that are marked with radionuclides. In the event of decay, the radionuclides emit positrons that interact with an electron after a short distance, resulting in a so-called annihilation. Two gamma quanta are produced in this case and fly apart from one another in opposite directions (offset by 180°). The gamma quanta are detected by two opposite PET detector modules inside a specific time window (coincidence measurement), as a result of which the location of annihilation is determined at a position on the connecting line between these two detector modules.
For detection, the PET-detector modules are arranged around the patient in an annular fashion and generally cover a major part of the length of the gantry arc. When detecting a gamma quantum, each PET-detector module generates an event record that specifies the time and the detection location, that is to say the appropriate detector element. These items of information are transferred to a fast logic unit and compared. If two events coincide within a maximum time spacing, it is assumed there is a gamma decay process on the connecting line between the two associated PET-detector modules. The reconstruction of the PET image is performed with aid of a tomography algorithm, that is to say the so-called back projection.
A superimposed imaging of the two methods is desirable in many instances on the basis of the different items of information that are obtained by MRI and PET.
To combine the imaging MRI and PET methods in one machine, it is necessary to arrange inside the basic field system and the gradient system the two units of the RF system and the PET detectors required for the data acquisition. A concentric arrangement, in which the RF system would be positioned inside the annularly arranged PET detectors, would be associated with a number of difficulties.
First, the structure of the interior coil arrangement (transmitting and receiving coils) of the RF system reduces the sensitivity of the annularly arranged PET detectors, which requires a correction during the PET image reconstruction.
Also, nesting the RF system and the annularly arranged PET detectors from the inside to the outside greatly reduces the interior diameter remaining for the patient.
Moreover, the distance between the annularly arranged PET detectors and the RF conductor structures that is required for a high quality of the RF body resonator has to be greatly reduced (field return space).
Finally, due to the radial spatial conditions, it is not possible to screen the annularly arranged PET detectors (e.g. by septa) against gamma radiation from the outside of the annularly arranged PET detectors.

Device for superimposed MRI and PET imaging


A new and distinct Echeveria cultivar named ‘ECRAQ03-0’ is disclosed, characterized by a non-branching rosulate plant form, long pink scape, unique leaf margin coloration and tight leaf edge undulations. Additionally, leaf color varies with temperature. The new variety is an Echeveria, normally produced as an ornamental garden or container plant.

The new Echeveria cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventor, John Oates, in Macquaires Fields, Australia. The objective of the breeding program was to produce new Echeveria varieties for ornamental commercial applications. The new variety is a product of crossbreeding that occurred on May 4, 2004, at a commercial nursery in Macquaires Fields, Australia. The new variety was selected during July of 2006 from seedlings resulting from this 2004 crossing.
The seed parent is the unpatented, proprietary seedling variety Echeveria gibbiflora, 'Line 127'. The pollen parent is the unpatented, proprietary seedling variety Echeveria gibbiflora, 'Line 176'. The new variety was discovered during July of 2006 by the inventor in a group of seedlings resulting from the 2004 crossing, in a commercial nursery in Macquaires Fields, Australia.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar has been performed by tissue culture. This was first performed at a laboratory in Tumbi Umbi, Australia in January of 2008 and has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type in 15 successive generations.


Linear spot velocity or position variations are measured in a scanning system by a process and apparatus. The process comprises providing at least two radiation detectors that can move in tandem across a scan line, the two radiation detectors being spaced apart by a distance d; positioning the at least two radiation detectors at a first point on the scan line; scanning the at least two radiation detectors with scanning radiation and recording the position of the two detectors along the scan line and the time taken for the scanning radiation to scan from a first of the at least two radiation detectors to a second of the at least two radiation detectors while the at least two radiation detectors are positioned at the first point; moving the at least two radiation detectors to a second point on the scan line maintaining the distance d between the at least two radiation detectors; and again scanning the at least two radiation detectors with scanning radiation and recording the position of the two detectors along the scan line and the time taken for the scanning radiation to scan from a first of the at least two radiation detectors to a second of the at least two radiation detectors while the at least two radiation detectors are positioned at the second point.

1. Field of the Inventions
This invention relates to the field of imaging, particularly to the field of digital imaging, to the field of scanning images with a collimated beam of radiation and more particularly to the correction of lens-induced aberrations in the scanning process.
2. Background of the Art
The use of digital imaging has become extremely successful in a wide area of technical fields. In addition to the use of light beams (e.g., collimated light beams such as lasers) to directly image such diverse media as photographic elements, photothermographic elements, thermal mass transfer carriers, ablation-based systems, and the like), lasers are quite efficient in the rapid imaging of intermediate substrates that can be subsequently treated to provide images. Such intermediate imaging systems include, by way of non-limiting examples, electrography, photoelectrography, photolithography, photoconductive systems, and the like.
The use of lasers in digital systems is particularly effective as the lasers themselves generate spots (the incident areas of the laser beams), and as the lasers are effectively pulsed, the spots can be used to form pixels. Each spot can theoretically be a pixel (the smallest consistent repeating element of a picture, i.e., picture element), but ordinarily, the spots are small and numerous spots are used to create a pixel on even fairly high resolution images.
The accuracy of spot placement (and hence the resolution of pixel placement) is dependent upon a number of technical features, including especially the accuracy of the physical control of the positioning of the radiation beam on the focal plane. Among the technical features that contribute to this accuracy are software, mechanical components (moving the beam or the receiving surface), stability of mechanical components (avoiding vibration, reduced wear and the like), and the accuracy and quality of the beam of radiation itself. The last feature, beam quality, is particularly affected by the quality of the lens used in directing the laser beam. For the sake of simplicity in the discussion of this invention, the entire projection system may hereinafter be referred to as the "lens." However, the term lens should be broadly interpreted as encompassing various types of projection systems, including refractive optics, reflective optics, and catadioptric systems, for example. The radiation system may also include components operating according to any of these design types for directing, shaping or controlling the projection beam of radiation, and such components may also be referred to below, collectively or singularly, as a lens. The position of a second element traversed by the projection beam relative to a first element traversed by the projection beam will for simplicity hereinafter be referred to as "downstream" of or "upstream" of said first element. In this context, the expression "downstream" indicates that a displacement from the first element to the second element is a displacement along the direction of propagation of the projection beam; similarly, "upstream" indicates that a displacement from the first element to the second element is a displacement opposite to the direction of propagation of the projection beam. Further, the lithographic apparatus may be of a type having two or more substrate tables (and/or two or more mask tables). In such "multiple stage" devices the additional tables may be used in parallel, or preparatory steps may be carried out on one or more tables while one or more other tables are being used for exposures. Dual stage lithographic apparatus are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,441 and WO 98/40791, incorporated herein by reference.
In a manufacturing process using a lithographic projection apparatus, a pattern (e.g. in a mask) is imaged onto a substrate that is at least partially covered by a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist). Prior to this imaging step, the substrate may undergo various procedures, such as printing, resist coating and a soft bake. After exposure, the substrate may be subjected to other procedures, such as a post-exposure bake, development, a hard bake and measurement/inspection of the imaged features. This array of procedures is used as a basis to pattern an individual layer of a device, e.g. an integrated circuit (IC). Such a patterned layer may then undergo various processes such as etching, ion-implantation (doping), metallization, oxidation, chemo-mechanical polishing, etc., all intended to finish off an individual layer. If several layers are required, then the whole procedure, or a variant thereof, will have to be repeated for each new layer. Eventually, an array of devices will be present on the substrate (wafer). These devices are then separated from one another by a technique such as dicing or sawing, whence the individual devices can be mounted on a carrier, connected to pins, etc. Further information regarding such processes can be obtained, for example, from the book "Microchip Fabrication: A Practical Guide to Semiconductor Processing", Third Edition, by Peter van Zant, McGraw Hill Publishing Co., 1997, ISBN 0-07-067250-4, incorporated herein by reference.
There is a desire to integrate an ever-increasing number of electronic components in an IC. To realize this it is necessary to decrease the size of the components and therefore to increase the resolution of the projection system, so that increasingly smaller details, or line widths, can be projected on a target portion of the substrate. For the projection system this means that the projection system and the lens elements used in the projection system must comply with very stringent quality requirements. Despite the great care taken during the manufacturing of lens elements and the projection system they both may still suffer from wave front aberrations, such as, for example, displacement, defocus, astigmatism, coma and spherical aberration across an image field projected with the projection system onto a target portion of the substrate. Said aberrations are important sources of variations of the imaged line widths occurring across the image field. It is important that the imaged line widths at different points within the image field are constant. If the line width variation is large, the substrate on which the image field is projected may be rejected during a quality inspection of the substrate. Using techniques such as phase-shifting masks, or off-axis illumination, the influence of wave front aberrations on the imaged line widths may further increase.
During manufacture of a lens element it is advantageous to measure the wave front aberrations of the lens element and to use the measured results to tune the aberrations in this element or even to reject this element if the quality is not sufficient. When lens elements are put together to form the projection system it may again be necessary to measure the wave front aberrations of the projection system. These measurements may be used to adjust the position of certain lens elements in the projection system in order to minimize wave front aberrations of the projection system.
After the projection system has been built into a lithographic projection apparatus, the wave front aberrations may be measured again. Moreover, since wave front aberrations are variable in time in a projection system, for instance, due to deterioration of the lens material or lens heating effects local heating of the lens material), it may be necessary to measure the aberrations at certain instants in time during operation of the apparatus and to adjust certain movable lens elements accordingly to minimize wave front aberrations. The short time scale, on which lens-heating effects may occur, may require measuring the wave front aberrations frequently.
The use of an interferometric measurement system for in-situ measurement of wave front aberrations of the projection system of a lithographic projection apparatus is described in P. Venkataraman, et al., "Aberrations of steppers using Phase Shifting Point Diffraction Interferometry", in Optical Microlithography XIII, J. Progler, Editor, Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 4000, 1245-1249 (2000). A Phase Shifting Point Diffraction Interferometry method and a corresponding system are disclosed in P. P. Naulleau et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,100,978, issued Aug. 8, 2000, incorporated herein by reference. The Phase Shifting Point Diffraction Interferometry measurement method and corresponding measurement system will be referred to hereinafter as the PSPDI method and PSPDI system, respectively. The disclosed PSPDI systems feature the following elements, mentioned here in the order wherein these elements are traversed by the projection beam: a first pinhole in an object plane; a grating (with a one dimensional periodic structure of lines and spaces) between the object plane and the projection system, for generating by diffraction a test beam and a reference beam; the projection system, and a set of two pinholes comprising a window pinhole (traversed by the test beam) and a reference pinhole (traversed by the reference beam, and acting as a spatial filter for generating an unaberrated reference beam) in the plane that is optically conjugate to the object plane. The test beam and the reference beam generate an interference fringe pattern on a detector surface downstream of the set of two pinholes. This interference fringe pattern carries information on wave front aberrations. The grating, generally embodied as a grating pattern on a plane surface of a carrier substrate, acts as a beamsplitter; the grating shall be located downstream of said object plane such as to provide sufficient lateral separation of the areas traversed by the reference beam and the test beam in the plane that is optically conjugate to the object plane. Further, the grating is movable in a direction perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the projection beam such as to provide "phase shifting" (as explained below) of the interference fringe pattern with respect to a coordinate system associated with the detector surface, as needed for measuring aberrations.
Said phase shifting of the interference fringe pattern involves shifting the interference fringe pattern with respect to said coordinate system. For an explanation of "phase shifting" in relation to interferometry see, for example, D. Malacara, "Optical Shop Testing", John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, second edition. Movement of an optical element (such as, for example, a grating) to provide phase shifting will be referred to hereinafter as "phase stepping". A finite movement of an optical element (such as, for example, a grating) to provide a finite phase shift of said interference fringe pattern will be referred to hereinafter as a "phase step".
An embodiment of a PSPDI system in a lithographic projection apparatus comprises, besides the support structure for supporting patterning structure and the substrate table for holding a substrate, one or more dedicated, movable support structures for supporting the grating and/or for moving the grating into and out of the projection beam and/or for phase stepping the grating. Incorporation of these one or more dedicated support structures into the lithographic projection apparatus leads to added mechanical complexity and increased costs of manufacturing the lithographic projection apparatus. Further, as explained above, in a PSPDI system each individual beam (the test beam and the reference beam) impinging on the detector has traversed two pinholes, one pinhole upstream of the projection system, and one pinhole downstream of the projection system. This circumstance typical for a PSPDI system poses a limitation to the amount of radiation that may reach the detector, and hence, to the sensitivity of the measurement system. U.S. Pat. No. 6,650,699 addresses these problems in a lithographic projection apparatus including an illumination system; a support structure for holding a mask; a substrate table for holding a substrate; a projection system for projecting a pattern onto a target portion of the substrate; and an interferometric measurement system for measuring wave front aberrations of the projection system, characterized in that the interferometric measurement system including: a grating, featuring a grating pattern in a grating plane, the grating being movable into and out of the projection beam, such that the grating plane is substantially coincident with the object plane; a pinhole, featuring a pinhole pattern in a pinhole plane and arranged in a pinhole plate, the pinhole being movable into and out of the projection beam, such that the pinhole plane is substantially coincident with a plane downstream of the projection system and optically conjugate to the object plane, and a detector with a detector surface substantially coincident with a detection plane, the detection plane located downstream of the pinhole at a location where a spatial distribution of the electric field amplitude of the projection beam is substantially a Fourier transformation of a spatial distribution of the electric field amplitude of the projection beam in the pinhole plane.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,959 (Toyama et al.) describes an image processor that receives color image data and converts them to image data of cyan, magenta, yellow and black aberration correction, and various image data processing is performed on the image data after the color aberration necessary for image forming. The received color image data are subjected to color correction in order to improve the precision of image processing on a color document image. The image data processing includes, for example, a specified color document is decided, automatic color selection and magnification change. The system operates by using a color image sensor which outputs image signals in correspondence to a plurality of colors; an optical system which focuses an image optically onto said color image sensor; a color aberration corrector which corrects image signals received from said color image sensor to cancel a displacement of focal point of the optical images of the colors caused by color aberration of said optical system; and a magnification changer which changes a magnification power of the image signals corrected by said color aberration corrector. This is primarily an attempt to correct chroma aberration induced by an optical lens, a phase difference among R, G and B is larger at positions closer to the ends of a document in the main scan direction.
When printing color images with an electrophotographic imaging system, there are usually four different monochrome colors that need to be combined into one full color print. The subtractive primary colors normally used in this process are cyan, magenta and yellow. Because the "process" black formed by combining all three primary colors is not usually an acceptable black, a fourth color (black) is normally used and the full color printing machine prints in cyan, magenta, yellow and black (C, M, Y and K).
In most color printing systems, a tandem approach is used whereby four separately produced monochrome images are combined (hopefully in good registration) to form the full color print. Each of the four primary images may be formed with the same scanning device (a 4-pass system) or each may be formed using a separate scanner (4 scanners for 4 color images) in which case the system is called a 1-pass system.
When different scanners are used (as in the 1-pass system) care must be taken to ensure that all four scanners are alike in their imaging character. Specifically, the focused spot of each of the four scanners must travel along the scan path in an identical (or near identical) manner which means that the velocity of the spot is constant in all scanners or that the velocity variations of the spot traveling along the scan are identical for all four scanners.
For example, if the yellow monochrome image is recorded with a perfectly linear scanner (spot velocity constant along the scan) but the cyan image is recorded with a scanner whose spot velocity is not so constant, then there will be areas in the color print where the yellow image and the cyan image are mis-registered and associated areas where the yellow image and the cyan image are well registered. It is of interest, therefore, to know about a scanner's spot velocity along its scan line and, more specifically, to know exactly where each pixel will be written in the presence of scanner non-linearities.
One commonly used method for determining scanner linearity behavior is to write an image onto a receptor material (such as paper) and then measure the image to determine if all the pixels along the scan line are properly placed or if some of the pixels may not have been placed correctly. These kinds of measurements are tedious and require an entire printing system to produce the measurable print.
The use of high quality glass refractive lenses has been required to minimize the aberrations in systems that require high quality, high resolution images. These lenses are very expensive, especially for mass produced imaging systems. However, when plastic lenses are used, the degree of aberration produced is extremely significant. It is not unusual to find pixel displacements of 5-10 pixel dimensions in actual images. This is unacceptable for high quality images, but has been used to make systems cost effective in markets that have become cost competitive, as in electrophotographic imaging systems.


A microfluidic device includes a first microchannel, a second microchannel, and a valve comprising at least an input port and an output port, the ports respectively connected to the first microchannel and the second microchannel, the valve designed to control a flow of a liquid along a flow direction (z) defined by the ports; wherein the valve further comprises one or more walls joining the ports and defining a hollow chamber that is wider than each of the microchannels in a direction perpendicular to the flow direction, the walls at least partly deformable along a deformation direction (−y) intersecting the flow direction, such that the walls can be given at least a first deformation state and a second deformation state, such that the liquid can be pulled along the flow direction substantially more in the second deformation state than in the first deformation state.

The invention relates in general to the field of microfluidic devices and methods of fabrication and operation thereof. In particular, it is directed to microfluidic devices equipped with microvalves.
Microfluidics generally refers to microfabricated devices, which are used for pumping, sampling, mixing, analyzing and dosing liquids. Prominent features thereof originate from the peculiar behavior that liquids exhibit at the micrometer length scale (see, e.g., Brody, J. P., Yager, P., Goldstein, R. E. and Austin, R. H., 1996 Biotechnology at low Reynolds Numbers, Biophys. J. 71, 3430-3441, and Knight, J. B., Vishwanath, A., Brody, J. P. and Austin, R. H., 1998 Hydrodynamic Focusing on a Silicon Chip: Mixing Nanoliter in Microseconds, Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 3863-3866). Flow of liquids in microfluidics is typically laminar. Volumes well below one nanoliter (nL) can be reached by fabricating structures with lateral dimensions in the micrometer range. Reactions that are limited at large scales (by diffusion of reactants) can be accelerated (see Squires, T. M. and Quake, S. R., 2005 Microfluidics: Fluid Physics at the Nanoliter Scale, Rev. Mod. Phys. 77, 977-1026). Finally, parallel streams of liquids can possibly be accurately and reproducibility controlled, allowing for chemical reactions and gradients to be made at liquid/liquid and liquid/solid interfaces (Kenis, P. J. A., Ismagilov, R. F. and Whitesides, G. M., 1999 Microfabrication Inside Capillaries Using Multiphase Laminar Flow Patterning, Science 285, 83-85). Microfluidics are accordingly used for various applications in life sciences.
Many microfluidic devices have user chip interfaces and closed flowpaths. Closed flowpaths facilitate the integration of functional elements (e.g., heaters, mixers, pumps, UV detector, valves, etc.) into one device while minimizing problems related to leaks and evaporation.
The analysis of liquid samples often requires a series of steps (e.g., filtration, dissolution of reagents, heating, washing, reading of signal, etc.). For portable diagnostic devices, this requires accurate flow control using various pumping and valve principles. It is usually a challenge to obtain valves that are simple, inexpensive to fabricate and easy to operate.
Two categories of valves for microfluidic devices (or "microvalves") can generally be identified: (i) the active valves and (ii) the passive valves.
Active microvalves usually have increased fabrication complexity, are expensive to fabricate, and need power for actuation. They further need external peripheral and also need power to stay in "on" or "off" state. An example is the "abrupt junction passive microvalve". Such a microvalve requires active pumping to pump aqueous liquids inside hydrophobic structures, where they can be pinned at constriction. Increasing the pumping pressure results in pushing liquid through the valve. As it may be realized, such a solution is however not compatible with capillary-driven microfluidics. It further requires active pumping and actuation, i.e., additional peripherals. In addition, liquids tend to break in larger volume before a constriction.
Next, passive microvalves usually lack interactivity (i.e. they impose predefined opening or closing conditions), require complex fabrication of integration of chemicals. In addition, passive valves that are initially in closed state usually have problems with venting of air.
The following references address various types of microvalves that have been developed so far:    Liu, et al. Anal. Chem. 2004, 76, 1824-1831.    Ahn, et al. Proc. of the IEEE, Vol. 92, No. 1, January 2004, pp. 154-173.    Zoval, et al. Proc. of the IEEE, Vol. 92, No. 1, January 2004, pp. 140-153.

Microfluidic device with deformable valve

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention relates to a tumor suppressor gene, termed large tumor suppressor (lats), and methods for identifying tumor suppressor genes. The method provides nucleotide sequences of lats genes, and amino acid sequences of their encoded proteins, as well as derivatives (e.g., fragments) and analogs thereof. In a specific embodiment, the lats protein is a human protein. The invention further relates to fragments (and derivatives and analogs thereof) of lats which comprise one or more domains of a lats protein. Antibodies to lats, its derivatives and analogs, are additionally provided. Methods of production of the lats proteins, derivatives and analogs, e.g., by recombinant means, are also provided. Therapeutic and diagnostic methods and pharmaceutical compositions are provided. The invention also relates to recombinant plants and animals and methods of increasing the growth of edible plants and animals. In specific examples, isolated lats genes, from Drosophila, mouse, and human, and the sequences thereof, are provided.

Tumorigenesis in humans is a complex process involving activation of oncogenes and inactivation of tumor suppressor genes (Bishop, 1991, Cell 64:235-248). Tumor suppressor genes in humans have been identified through studies of genetic changes occurring in cancer cells (Ponder, 1990, Trends Genet. 6:213-218; Weinberg, 1991, Science 254:1138-1146). In Drosophila, tumor suppressor genes have been previously identified by recessive overproliferation mutations that cause late larval and pupal lethality (Gateff, 1978, Science 200:1448-1459; Gateff and Mechler, 1989, CRC Crit. Rev. Oncogen 1:221-245; Bryant, 1993, Trends Cell Biol. 3:31-35; Torok et al., 1993, Genetics 135:71-80). Mutations of interest were identified when dissection of dead larvae and pupae revealed certain overproliferated tissues. Several genes identified in homozygous mutants have been cloned including 1(1)discs large-1(dlg; Woods and Bryant, 1991, Cell 66:451-464; Woods and Bryant, 1993, Mechanisms of Development 44:85-89), fat (Mahoney et al., 1991, Cell 67:853-868), l(2)giant larvae (lgl. Lutzelschwab et al., 1987, EMBO J. 6:1791-1797; Jacob et al., 1987, Cell 50:215-225), expanded (ex; Boedigheimer and Laughon, 1993, Development 118:1291-1301; Boedigheimer et al., 1993, Mechanisms of Development 44:83-84), hyperplastic discs (hyd; Mansfield et al., 1994, Developmental Biology 165:507-526) and the gene encoding the S6 ribosomal protein (Watson et al., 1992, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:11302-11306; Stewart and Denell, 1993, Mol. Cell. Biol. 13:2524-2535).
Although examining homozygous mutant animals has allowed the successful identification of overproliferation mutations that cause late larval and pupal lethality, mutations that cause lethality at early developmental stages are unlikely to be recovered by this approach. The present invention solves this problem by providing a method for identifying tumor suppressor genes that does not exclude genes that when mutated cause lethality in early developmental stages, and provides genes thus identified with a fundamental role in regulation of cell proliferation.
Citation of references hereinabove shall not be construed as an admission that such references are prior art to the present invention.

Nucleotide and protein sequences of lats genes and methods based thereon


The present invention is directed to an apparatus and method for delivering a drug to a selected site in the vascular system of a patient. More specifically, the apparatus is a balloon catheter comprising an expandable balloon with a pouch around at least a portion of the balloon. When the balloon is not expanded, an agent can be located in the area between the pouch and the balloon. The agent is released through the pouch when the balloon is expanded.

The vascular system of the human is subject to blockage due to plaque within the arteries. Partial and even complete blockage of arteries by the formation of an atherosclerotic plaque is a well known and frequent medical problem. Frequently, such blockage occurs in the coronary arties. Such blockages may be treated using atherectomy devices, which mechanically remove the plaque; hot or cold lasers, which vaporize the plaque; stents, which hold the artery open; and other devices and procedures which have the objective of allowing increased blood flow-through the artery.
The most common of such procedures is the percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) procedure—more commonly referred to as balloon angioplasty. In this procedure, a catheter having an inflatable balloon at its distal end is introduced into the coronary artery, the uninflated balloon is positioned at the stenotic site, and the balloon is inflated. Inflation of the balloon disrupts and flattens the plaque against the arterial wall, and stretches the arterial wall, resulting in enlargement of the intraluminal passageway and increased blood flow. After such expansion, the balloon is deflated, and the balloon catheter removed.
Such a procedure is also used in arteries other than coronary arteries in the vascular system. In such a case, the procedure is referred to as percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and is very similar to that described above for PCTA.
During PCTA or PTA, it is desirable to delivery a therapeutic agent or drug to area where the balloon angioplasty is occurring to prevent restenosis, repair vessel dissections or small aneurysms or provide other desired treatment.
Various drug delivery catheters have been developed that allow localized delivery of a therapeutic agent. In these catheters, typically a lumen is provided that allows the physician to deliver the drug to the balloon area of the catheter. There are, however, at least two drawbacks to this type of design. First, localized "jetting" of the drug from the lumen may damage the vessel. Second, there is a general difficulty or inability to control and maintain the drug in the desired treatment location.


Some embodiments provide a video conferencing application for execution by a first electronic device. The video conferencing application is for conducting a video conference between the first electronic device and a second electronic device. The video conferencing application presents, in a first display area, a video captured by the first electronic device. In an at least partially transparent second display area that is superimposed on a portion of the video in the first display area, the video conferencing application presents a set of user selectable items for configuring the video conferencing application.

Many of today's computing devices, such as desktop computers, personal computers, and mobile phones, allow users to engage in video conferences with each other. In addition to being able to type out conversations with each other or hear each other talk, users can also see each other during the conversation, thereby coming closer to mimicking an in-person conversation. Due to a lack of screen real estate, it can be difficult to adequately display video(s) for the video conference along with any additional information that is needed to facilitate the video conference.

Overlay for a video conferencing application


A plunger mechanism has a plunger canister module to be mounted on the top wall of a section frame of an I.S. machine. The module includes one, two, three or four plunger canisters each having a vertically extending cylinder having a locating diameter at the top and a mounting flange secured to the top of the vertically extending cylinder. The module also includes a horizontal mounting plate adapted to be mounted on the top wall of the section having a top surface and a number of holes, corresponding to the number of plunger canisters, extending vertically therethrough for matingly receiving the locating diameter of each of the plunger canisters.

The first I.S. machine was patented in U.S. Pat. No. 1,843,159, dated Feb. 2, 1932, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,911,119, dated May 23, 1933. Today more than 4000 I.S. machines, manufactured by a number of companies, are in use worldwide, producing more than a billion bottles every day of the year. An I.S. (individual section) machine has a plurality of identical sections (a section frame in which and on which are mounted a number of section mechanisms) each of which has a blank station which receives one or more gobs of molten glass and forms them into parisons having a threaded opening at the bottom (the finish) and a blow station which receives the parisons and forms them into bottles standing upright with the finish at the top. An invert and neck ring holder mechanism which includes an opposed pair of arms, rotatable about an invert axis, carries the parisons from the blank station to the blow station inverting the parisons from a finish down to a finish up orientation in the process. A bottle formed at the blow station is removed from the section by a takeout mechanism.
The blank station includes opposed pairs of blankmolds and the blow station includes opposed pairs of blowmolds. These molds are displaceable between open (separated) and closed positions. Opposed pairs of neck ring molds, carried (supported proximate their tops) by the invert and neck ring holder mechanism, define the finish of the bottle and hold a formed parison as it is transferred from the blank station to the blow station.
The length of a parison generally corresponds to the length of a formed bottle and hence the height of the blankmolds may have a wide variety of heights. The blankmolds are conventionally hung, proximate their tops, from suitable carriers such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,516,352 and 4,878,935 which try to locate the bottle centrally relative to the axis of the invert and neck ring holder mechanism, whereby the finish of the formed parison will be within a wide range of vertical positions. The vertical location of the neck ring arms accordingly will be changed to follow the finish location and to facilitate this change, quick change neck ring arms have been developed (U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,291).
Since the closed neck rings lie proximate the top of the tooling of a plunger mechanism (either a press and blow plunger or a blow and blow plunger) such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,272,273, 3,314,775, and 3,190,188, the plunger mechanism will be relocated vertically to follow the neck rings. To this end, since the introduction of the I.S. machine more than 50 years ago, the plunger mechanism, which defines a small hole in the parison at the finish end, has been mounted on a jack screw which is secured to the bottom wall of the section frame. The jack screw can be rotated to raise and lower the plunger mechanism to follow the vertical relocation of the neck ring holders. A conventional plunger mechanism has a vertical stroke (a positioning range) of as much as 8". The plunger mechanism is vertically displaceable relative to a guide ring which is secured to the top wall of the section frame and guides the vertical movement of the plunger mechanism. As a result, any attempt to change the position of the plungers of the plunger mechanism, by displacing the guide ring, to establish alignment between the plunger of the plunger mechanism and the axis of the mold, will tilt the plunger mechanism relative to the fixed base and this is very undesirable. Furthermore, to convert the section from single gob operation to double gob operation or to switch from double gob operation at one spacing to double gob operation at a different spacing, for example, the entire plunger mechanism above the jack screw must be changed. This is made even more difficult since all service air lines (as well as all lubrication lines) which connect to the plunger mechanism via individual hoses, must be individually disconnected and reconnected, and, where the configuration of the machine is changed from double gob operation to triple gob operation, for example, new lines have to be defined. Additionally, since the molds are hung from structure proximate their top, growth due to heat occurs downwardly towards the plunger mechanism and may require repositioning of the neck ring holders and plunger mechanism.


Emulation of a guest computer architecture on a host system of another computer architecture. Legacy instructions are translated into translated instructions. If the particular legacy instruction is an operand-setting instruction for storing a value of a precedent operand, a corresponding flag is set when the value of the precedent operand has not been determined. If the particular legacy instruction is an operand-using instruction for using the precedent operand, a check is made to determine if the corresponding flag is set.

The present invention relates to computer systems and particularly to emulation of one computer architecture (the "guest") via software on the hardware platform of another computer architecture (the "host").
In typical computer architectures, computer source code is compiled/assembled (at compile/assembly time) into executable object code. The executable object code is executed at execution time on the hardware under control of the operating system. In order for computer source code written for a native architecture to run as a "guest" on a different architecture called a "host" architecture, the host architecture employs an emulator. The emulator emulates the native architecture while actually executing as a guest on the host architecture.
Various methods have been employed for emulating a guest computer architecture via software on the hardware platform of a host computer architecture. The categories of emulation are static emulation or dynamic emulation. In static emulation, the emulation is performed prior to run-time and in dynamic emulation, the emulation is performed at run-time.
One type of static emulation system employs object code translation. The native object code that is compiled/assembled for a native system becomes the guest object code on a host system. The guest object code is translated in a manner that is similar to the way that original source code is compiled/assembled into the object code for the native system. In the emulation case, however, rather than starting with the original source code, the emulation starts with the previously compiled/assembled object code as prepared for the native system. The guest object code (the native object code on the host system) is passed through an emulator to form the translated object code. The translated object code is suitable for execution directly by the host system. Essentially, static emulation is a method of recompiling the native object code without using the original source code. The advantage of such static emulation is that the resulting translated object code can be optimized in much the same way that native object code is optimized when native object code is compiled/assembled from original source code. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to glean all the necessary information statically from the native object code alone that was available when the original source code was compiled/assembled from original source code.
Another method of static emulation is Application Programming Interface (API) mapping. This method of static emulation only applies to operating system code in which the API calls of the guest operating system are mapped to a host call or set of host calls that perform the equivalent function on the host system. The API mapping has a performance advantage since the host operating system software has been optimized for the host system. However, if the native and host systems are too dissimilar, then the desired mapping may not always be possible. Nevertheless, API mapping is a useful method for providing some degree of equivalent operating system functionality when used in conjunction with other forms of static or dynamic emulation.
Dynamic emulation is performed during run time. The main advantage of dynamic emulation is greater transparency to the user in that no pre-processing need be invoked by the user as is required for static emulation. A simple type of dynamic emulation uses an interpreter which fetches, parses, and decodes each guest instruction and responsively executes a routine to carry out the equivalent functions on the host system. The main disadvantage of an interpreter is one of low performance because of the significant overhead involved in processing every guest instruction each time it is executed. To mitigate the disadvantage of that overhead, a more advanced method of dynamic emulation sometimes called "JIT" (just-in-time) translation is employed.
In JIT dynamic emulation, the native object code is translated (similar to the static method), cached, and executed in piecemeal fashion, a small portion at a time. By translating only a small portion of guest object code that is likely to be executed next, the translation is performed in real time, essentially concurrently with the execution of the translated code. The translated code is cached (i.e. saved) to permit subsequent re-use without the need for re-translation. The initial translation overhead is therefore amortized over time, allowing the overall performance to approach that of static object code translation, especially within the most frequently used portions of the code. By using additional information regarding program behavior that can be gleaned at run-time, it is possible to optimize the translated code to obtain performance beyond that achievable with static translation alone.
Emulation frequently is used when a CISC architecture is emulated on a RISC architecture. A key difference between typical CISC and RISC architectures lies in the complexity of the memory access model that is supported. A defining characteristic of RISC architectures is the "load/store" memory model in which the only memory access primitives provided are simple aligned loads, stores, and atomic updates. By way of distinction, CISC architectures, such as S/390, support many more storage-referencing primitives of varying operand lengths with fewer restrictions on operand alignment. If the translated code resulting from translations from CISC architectures to RISC architectures fails to properly account for alignment variations existing in the CISC code, alignment faults occur upon execution of the translated code. The alignment fault processing during emulation is very costly in terms of wasted execution time.
One technique to guarantee avoidance of alignment faults is to use only 1-byte primitives so that proper byte boundary alignment always occurs for operands. Although using 1-byte primitives guarantees avoiding alignment faults in translated code, the use of only 1-byte primitives in translations is less efficient than necessary in most cases. The alternative, however, of always using larger primitives, such as 4-byte primitives, guarantees a large amount of wasted execution time required for processing alignment faults that necessarily occur with high frequency during execution of the translated code.
Some CISC instructions, such as the S/390 LM instruction, use byte-aligned operands which can be predictably translated in advance without creating a byte alignment problem in the translated code. Other CISC instructions, such as the S/390 MVC instruction, are unpredictable and use variable length operands which cannot be predictably translated in advance of execution of precedent instructions without creating a byte alignment problem in the translated code.
Instruction code for CISC architectures often employs indirect addressing where the actual address used for a particular CISC instruction is not determined until execution of a precedent CISC instruction executed just before that particular CISC instruction is executed. Translations of CISC instructions that occur before the execution of the precedent CISC instruction cannot know, for such CISC instructions, the byte size of the operands that result from execution of the precedent CISC instruction. Hence, the indirect addressing context used frequently in instruction code using CISC instructions presents the dilemma in connection with the translation of such CISC instructions of whether to use short primitives (such as 1-byte primitives) or long primitives (such as 4-byte primitives) in the translations of those CISC instructions. For such instructions, if short primitives are employed, then the translation is inefficient and if long primitives are employed, then execution of the translated code is inefficient. In either case the emulation is inefficient.
In order to take advantage of dynamic emulation, there is a need for improved dynamic emulators that help achieve the objectives of improved and more efficient computer system operation, particularly in the processing of variable length operands and other operations that create operand alignment problems.

Memory address prediction under emulation


Compounds of formula (I): formula (I) and salts, solvates, chemically protected forms, and prodrugs thereof, are disclosed wherein R2 is selected from: an optionally substituted napthyl group; an optionally substituted thiophenyl or furanyl group; and a phenyl group substituted by: one or more chloro or fluoro groups; an ethyl or propyl group; a 4-t-butyl group; a 2-methyl group; or two methyl groups in the 2- and 6-positions.

Some pyrrolobenzodiazepines (PBDs) have the ability to recognise and bond to specific sequences of DNA; the preferred sequence is PuGPu. The first PBD antitumour antibiotic, anthramycin, was discovered in 1965 (Leimgruber, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 87, 5793-5795 (1965); Leimgruber, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 87, 5791-5793 (1965)). Since then, a number of naturally occurring PBDs have been reported, and over 10 synthetic routes have been developed to a variety of analogues (Thurston, et al., Chem. Rev. 1994, 433-465 (1994)). Family members include abbeymycin (Hochlowski, et al., J. Antibiotics, 40, 145-148 (1987)), chicamycin (Konishi, et al., J. Antibiotics, 37, 200-206 (1984)), DC-81 (Japanese Patent 58-180 487; Thurston, et al., Chem. Brit., 26, 767-772 (1990); Bose, et al., Tetrahedron, 48, 751-758 (1992)), mazethramycin (Kuminoto, et al., J. Antibiotics, 33, 665-667 (1980)), neothramycins A and B (Takeuchi, et al., J. Antibiotics, 29, 93-96 (1976)), porothramycin (Tsunakawa, et al., J. Antibiotics, 41, 1366-1373 (1988)), prothracarcin (Shimizu, et al, J. Antibiotics, 29, 2492-2503 (1982); Langley and Thurston, J. Org. Chem., 52, 91-97 (1987)), sibanomicin (DC-102)(Hara, et al., J. Antibiotics, 41, 702-704 (1988); Itoh, et al., J. Antibiotics, 41, 1281-1284 (1988)), sibiromycin (Leber, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 110, 2992-2993 (1988)) and tomamycin (Arima, et al., J. Antibiotics, 25, 437-444 (1972)). PBDs are of the general structure:

They differ in the number, type and position of substituents, in both their aromatic A rings and pyrrolo C rings, and in the degree of saturation of the C ring. In the B-ring there is either an imine (N═C), a carbinolamine(NH—CH(OH)), or a carbinolamine methyl ether (NH—CH(OMe)) at the N10-C11 position which is the electrophilic centre responsible for alkylating DNA. All of the known natural products have an (S)-configuration at the chiral C11a position which provides them with a right-handed twist when viewed from the C ring towards the A ring. This gives them the appropriate three-dimensional shape for isohelicity with the minor groove of B-form DNA, leading to a snug fit at the binding site (Kohn, In Antibiotics III. Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 3-11 (1975); Hurley and Needham-VanDevanter, Acc. Chem. Res., 19, 230-237 (1986)). Their ability to form an adduct in the minor groove, enables them to interfere with DNA processing, hence their use as antitumour agents.
The present inventors have previously disclosed, in WO 00/12508, that the following compounds, amongst many other, are cytotoxic:

More recently, in Cooper. N., et al., Chem. Commun., 16, 1764-1765 (2002), the following compound was also disclosed as being cytotoxic alongside the compounds shown above.


The present disclosure provides a method for cleaning a lanthanum gallium silicate wafer which comprises the following steps: at a step of 1, a cleaning solution constituted of phosphorous acid, hydrogen peroxide and deionized water is utilized to clean the lanthanum gallium silicate wafer with a megahertz sound wave; at a step of 2, the cleaned lanthanum gallium silicate wafer is rinsed and dried by spinning; at a step of 3, a cleaning solution constituted of ammonia, hydrogen peroxide and deionized water is utilized to clean the lanthanum gallium silicate wafer with the megahertz sound wave; at a step of 4, the cleaned lanthanum gallium silicate wafer is rinsed and dried by spinning; and at a step of 5, the rinsed and dried wafer is placed in an oven to be baked. The present invention shortens a period of acidic cleaning process and prolongs a period of alkaline cleaning and utilizes a more effective cleaning with megahertz sound wave to replace the conventional ultrasonic cleaning to solve the issue of cleaning the lanthanum gallium silicate wafer after a cutting process and to improve surface cleanliness of the lanthanum gallium silicate wafer to get a better cleaning effect.

At present, an acoustic surface wave device generally utilizes a piezoelectric material such as lithium niobate, lithium tantalite, quartz or the like as a substrate. However, there are respective disadvantages for these materials: the lithium niobate and lithium tantalite has a poor thermal stability; the quartz crystal has a lower electromechanical coupling coefficient; a quartz based SAW device has defects of small bandwidth and larger insertion loss occurs α-β phase change around 573° C., so it is not suitable for a high temperature sensor, Since it is found that the lanthanum gallium silicate (langasite, La3Ga5SiO14, LGS) crystal may be applied in acoustic surface wave and bulk wave in the middle of 1990s, such a crystal is rapidly paid attention to in the piezoelectric field. As a new type of piezoelectric crystal, the lanthanum gallium silicate crystal has a moderate electromechanical coupling coefficient and better temperature stability, so it may meet a basic requirement of the SAW device on the substrate material.
At present, the method for manufacturing a device based on lanthanum gallium silicate mainly uses a manufacturing process of silicon integrated circuit for reference. However, since a material characteristic of the lanthanum gallium silicate crystal is different from that of single crystal silicon, it is impossible to mechanically apply the relevant process of the silicon integrated circuit. Thus, such a process needs to be modified on the basis of the manufacturing process of silicon integrated circuit to comply with the material characteristic of the lanthanum gallium silicate. For example, it is difficult for the single crystal silicon to be dissolved in various strong acid solutions, so the conventional process for cleaning the silicon integrated circuit usually utilizes the strong acid solution as a cleaning reagent.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of etched states of the lanthanum gallium silicate wafer by different acid solutions. As shown in FIG. 1, various strong acid solutions may lead to corresponding corrosion on the lanthanum gallium silicate crystal and have higher corrosion rates. Thus, the conventional cleaning process needs to be modified to comply with the lanthanum gallium silicate crystal.

Method for cleaning lanthanum gallium silicate wafer

Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences


Methods and apparatus for local oscillator generation are provided. In a method embodiment, a method of signal processing includes splitting a signal having a first frequency into at least a first portion and a second portion. The method also includes generating a second signal having a second frequency at a predetermined frequency difference from the first frequency by optically modulating the first portion. In addition, the method includes generating a third signal having a frequency component at a frequency that is approximately the same as the predetermined frequency difference from the first frequency by combining the second portion with the second signal.

Conventional receiver systems typically down covert received signal frequencies to intermediate frequencies for signal processing purposes. Some receiver systems that receive signal frequencies over a wide range require very large intermediate frequency bandwidths. For example, in some sub-millimeter wave spectroscopy systems the intermediate frequency can vary over hundreds of gigahertz. Increasing the bandwidth of the intermediate frequency stages to handle all possible incoming signals may decrease the signal-to-noise ratio of the receiver system. Conventional approaches to keeping a constant intermediate frequency with a minimum bandwidth are limited for a variety of reasons.

Method and system of local oscillator signal generation


A method for measuring a spherically mounted retroreflector (SMR) with a 3D coordinate measurement device placed on a kinematic nest, the method accounting for the radius of the SMR.

There is a class of instruments that measures the coordinates of a point by sending a laser beam to a retroreflector target in contact with the point. The instrument determines the coordinates of the point by measuring the distance and the two angles to the target. The distance is measured with a distance-measuring device such as an ADM or an interferometer. The angles are measured with an angle-measuring device such as an angular encoder. A gimbaled beam-steering mechanism within the instrument directs the laser beam to the point of interest.
The laser tracker is a particular type of coordinate-measuring device that tracks the retroreflector target with one or more laser beams it emits. There is another category of instruments known as total stations or tachymeters that may measure a retroreflector or a point on a diffusely scattering surface. Laser trackers, which typically have accuracies on the order of a thousand of an inch and as good as one or two micrometers under certain circumstances, are usually much more accurate than total stations. The broad definition of laser tracker, which includes total stations, is used throughout this application.
Ordinarily the laser tracker sends a laser beam to a retroreflector target. A common type of retroreflector target is the SMR. In most cases, the term SMR is applied to a cube-corner retroreflector embedded within a metal sphere. However, the term SMR may also be applied to a cateye retroreflector embedded with a metal exterior spherical portion. Such a cateye retroreflector may be constructed in a shape of a sphere or in the shape of two adjoining hemispheres. A cube-corner retroreflector includes three mutually perpendicular reflectors. The vertex, which is the common point of intersection of the three reflectors, is located near the center of the sphere. In its normal tracking mode, the laser tracker sends a beam of light from the tracker to a position near the vertex of the SMR. As long as the beam of light strikes the vertex, the beam of returning beam of light retraces the path of the outgoing beam of light back to the tracker. If the beam of light strikes the SMR slightly off the vertex, the beam of light will return parallel to, but not exactly coincident with, the outgoing beam of light. A servo system within the tracker adjusts the direction of the beam emitted by the tracker to bring it back to the center, thereby allowing the beam to follow a moving retroreflector. Because the vertex is nearly coincident with the sphere center of the SMR, the perpendicular distance from the vertex to any surface on which the SMR rests remains nearly constant, even as the SMR is rotated. Consequently, the laser tracker can measure the 3D coordinates of a surface to a relatively high accuracy by following the position of an SMR as it is moved over the surface. Stating this another way, the laser tracker needs to measure only three degrees of freedom (one radial distance and two angles) to characterize the 3D coordinates of a surface.
An SMR may also be used to measure the distance between two nests. A particularly useful kind of nest is a kinematic nest, which has the property that an SMR can be repeatably positioned in the nest. One type of nest makes contact with the SMR surface at three points. Some types of nests are magnetic nests that hold the SMR securely in place against the nest contact points.
Some laser trackers have the ability to measure six degrees of freedom (DOF), which may include three translations, such as x, y, and z, and three rotations, such as pitch, roll, and yaw. An exemplary six-DOF laser tracker system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,800,758 ('758) to Bridges, et al., incorporated by reference herein. The '758 patent discloses a probe that holds a cube corner retroreflector, onto which marks have been placed. The cube corner retroreflector is illuminated by a laser beam from the laser tracker, and the marks on the cube corner retroreflector are captured by an orientation camera within the laser tracker. The three orientational degrees of freedom, for example, the pitch, roll, and yaw angles, are calculated based on the image obtained by the orientation camera. The laser tracker measures a distance and two angles to the vertex of the cube-corner retroreflector. When the distance and two angles, which give three translational degrees of freedom of the vertex, are combined with the three orientational degrees of freedom obtained from the orientation camera image, the position of a probe tip, arranged at a prescribed position relative to the vertex of the cube corner retroreflector, can be found. Such a probe tip may be used, for example, to measure the coordinates of a "hidden" feature that is out of the line of sight of the laser beam from the laser tracker.
As explained hereinabove, the vertex of a cube corner retroreflector within an SMR is ideally placed at the exact center of the sphere into which the cube corner is embedded. In practice, the position of the vertex is off the center of the sphere by up to a few thousandths of an inch. In some cases, the difference in the positions of the vertex and the sphere center are known to high accuracy, but this data is not used to correct the tracker readings. In the accurate measurements made with laser trackers, this error in the centering of the cube corner retroreflector in the sphere is sometimes larger than the errors from the distance and angle meters within the laser tracker. Consequently, there is a need for a method to correct this centering error.
Most of the SMRs in use today contain open-air cube corner retroreflectors. There are some SMRs that use glass cube corner retroreflectors, but in most cases these have limited accuracy. Because of the bending of the light entering such glass cube corners, the light appears to travel in a direction that is not the true direction within the cube corner. Consequently, SMRs made with glass cube corners tend to be made very small, as this reduces error, and they tend to be used in applications where the highest accuracy is not required. A method for minimizing this error using a six-DOF laser tracker is given in U.S. Pat. No. 8,467,072, the contents of which are incorporated by reference.
In many cases, the SMR of interest is an open-air cube corner rather than a glass cube corner, and the laser tracker measures only three degrees of freedom rather than six. In many cases, SMRs are placed on kinematic nests that provide repeatable support for the SMRs. Measurement error associated with such an SMR, nest, and tracker combination result from errors in the SMR radius and also may depend on nest geometry. These errors can be corrected to an extent by purchasing a more expensive SMR having radius errors, but the errors cannot be eliminated. There is a need for a method to correct these errors.

Method for correcting a 3D measurement of a spherically mounted retroreflector on a nest


A printing apparatus and method for printing receipts and for controlling the cutting of each receipt in succession from a recording medium such as print paper at an appropriate position determined from the print data received from a host computer. The printing apparatus 50 prints first print data representing transaction information with a paper cut command appended thereto and second print data representing additional information from print data received from a host computer 40. A first control unit 521 prints the first print data and delays executing the paper cut command added to the first print data when first print data is received from the host computer. When print data is received while execution of the paper cut command is delayed, a print data detection unit 522 determines the type of print data received based on the presence or absence of an identifier in the received print data. If the received print data is recognized as second print data, a second control unit 523 prints the received second print data and then executes the paper cut command. If the received print data is determined not to be second print data, the second control unit 523 executes the paper cut command before printing the received print data.

1. Field of Technology
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus for printing a receipt to print paper and cutting the receipt from the print paper in response to print data received from a computer with the print data including transaction information print data generated e.g. by a POS (point-of-sale) application running on a host computer with a paper cut command contained in the print data, and additional information print data that is added to the transaction information print data, and relates further to a POS system and a control method.0
2. Description of Related Art
Additional information, e.g. advertising information such as product advertisements and event announcements, is commonly added to and printed in addition to transaction information relating to purchased products and their purchase price information on customer receipts in supermarkets and other retailers as well as in fast food stores and other restaurants. A POS system is generally used for generating such print data and printing such receipts. This additional information is not limited to advertising information. More recent systems can also print sales promotion information such as coupons and lottery tickets, and the printed receipts are therefore also effective as a sales promotion means for product manufacturers and retailers. Hence, "additional information", as the term is used herein, means any information other than the transaction information that may be printed on a receipt.
Such POS systems typically have a plurality of POS terminal computers connected to a central POS server, and an information-provider server for providing the additional information. The POS terminal computers (host computers) generate the transaction information and have access to a product master, which is a product information database. To process a transaction, the POS terminal computer sends the input data (product codes) acquired by scanning the barcodes on the products purchased by the customer to the POS server. The POS server retrieves and returns the product name, price, and other product information relating to the input data from the product master stored on the POS server to the POS terminal computer. The POS terminal computer then uses this product information to generate the transaction information. The POS terminal computer also sends the input data to the information-provider server to extract and generate the additional information related to the input data from the information-provider server. The POS terminal computer then merges the transaction information and additional information to produce the print data, and sends the print data to an attached printing apparatus to print a receipt containing the additional information. See, for example, FIG. 2 of Japanese Published Patent Application 2003-500767(A).
The operating system (OS) in most POS terminal computers used in retail stores and restaurants as described above is still a disk operating system (DOS). With a DOS, the POS application typically sends print data and print commands directly to the printing apparatus without going through a printer driver. This means that in order to add new functionality, such as printing additional information on receipts, to the POS system, the POS application itself must be modified. Especially, for the DOS, modifying the POS application itself is a complicated and expensive process. POS system users (businesses) therefore strongly desire to be able to add new functions to existing POS systems with little or no modification of the POS application itself.
The present invention solves the foregoing problem by providing a printing apparatus capable of efficiently printing a receipt in response to print data received from a host computer running on a POS application with the print data including first print data representing transaction information and second print data representing additional information and then cutting the receipt at an appropriate position determined by the print data, without changing the POS application.

Printing apparatus, POS system and printing apparatus control method


A circuit and a method for writing a binary value to a memory cell are provided. The circuit includes a first field-effect transistor having a first drain, a first drain, and a first gate operably coupled between the first drain and the first source. The first drain is operably coupled to a first memory cell. The first gate configured to receive a first data signal. The circuit further includes a second field-effect transistor having a second drain, a second source, and a second gate operably coupled between the second drain and the second source. The drain source is operably coupled to the first memory cell. The second gate is configured to receive a second data signal. The circuit further includes a first signal inverter having a first input terminal and a first output terminal. The first output terminal is operably coupled to both of the first and second sources. The first signal inverter is configured to output a first control signal on the first output terminal when the first input terminal receives a second control signal. When the first control signal has a second logic level and the first data signal has a first logic level and the second data signal has the second logic level, the first and second field-effect transistors induce the first memory cell to store a first binary value.

Computers have been developed that utilize circuitry to write binary values to a memory cell array for storing the binary values. The circuitry utilizes a first and second pair of transistors each receiving an identical pair of data signals. The first and second pairs of transistors are coupled to first and second memory cells, respectively. When a binary value is to be written to the first memory cell, the first and second pair of transistors pull down voltages applied to the first and second memory cells, respectively, to ground voltages, even when the second memory cell is not selected for writing. Accordingly, electrical energy is wasted during each write cycle and undesired heat is generated.
Thus, there is a need for an improved circuit for writing a binary value to a memory cell.

Circuit and method for writing a binary value to a memory cell


A method of forming silicided narrow (i.e., sub-0.25 .mu.m) polysilicon lines. A layer of titanium is deposited over a semiconductor body having polysilicon lines formed thereon Either before or after the titanium deposition and before the react step, an implant is performed using a gas that will not poison the subsequent silicidation reaction. Exemplary gases include the noble element gases such as argon, krypton, xenon, and neon. The titanium is then reacted with the polysilicon lines to form titanium silicide. The gas implant causes the C49 grain size of the titanium silicide to be reduced, which makes the transformation to the C54 phase easier. Finally, an anneal is performed to transform the titanium silicide from the C49 phase to the C54 phase.

As semiconductor technology progresses, the resistance of polysilicon lines used to form gates of MOSFET transistors becomes unacceptably high. As a result, silicide (such as titanium silicide) is commonly added to the polysilicon lines to reduce the resistance. In a self-aligned (salicide) process, a layer of titanium is deposited over the structure and reacted in a nitrogen ambient at temperatures on the order of 650-750.degree. C. The titanium layer reacts with the silicon of the polysilicon lines and/or the source/drain regions to form a titanium-silicide layer and with the nitrogen ambient to form a titanium nitride layer. The titanium nitride and any unreacted titanium are then removed. An anneal on the order of 800-900.degree. C. is then used to lower the sheet resistance and stabilize the titanium silicide phase (i.e., transform C49 phase titanium silicide to a lower resistance C54 phase).
The lower resistance C54 phase of titanium silicide is preferred over the higher resistance C49 phase. Unfortunately, as device geometries shrink, it becomes more and more difficult to transform the C49 phase to the C54 phase. Therefore, it is very difficult to form a low sheet resistance titanium salicide for sub-0.25 .mu.m CMOS technology. One proposed method to overcome this limitation is to use an arsenic implant prior to titanium deposition The arsenic implant reduces the narrow linewidth effect However, arsenic counterdopes the PMOS regions of CMOS devices if no masks are used for the implant step. Counterdoping is undesirable and induces problems such as higher silicide to source/drain contact resistance. Accordingly, there is a need to extend the usefulness of titanium-silicide to the sub-0.25 .mu.m technologies without the problems associated with an arsenic implant.

Implant enhancement of titanium silicidation