A nucleic acid analyzer includes a nucleic acid purification kit yielding a nucleic acid solution by isolating and purifying nucleic acid from a specimen; a nucleic acid analysis chip having a rotation axis positioned at a center thereof, with reaction containers at an outer portion than the rotation axis, and feeding the acid to the containers through centrifugal force; a specimen-introducing part on which the kit is placed; an analysis chip holder at the specimen-introducing part and supporting the chip; a purification treatment unit injecting the nucleic acid solution containing the nucleic acid into the chip; a centrifugal liquid feed unit feeding the nucleic acid solution to the containers by rotating the chip about the rotation axis; an analysis unit analyzing reaction products in the containers; and a transport part transporting the specimen-introducing part to the purification treatment unit, the centrifugal liquid feed unit, and the analysis unit.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are polymorphism that includes mutations at a single base within a DNA sequence formed of a plurality of bases. It has been known that differences in such nucleotide sequence cause personal differences in, for example, drug metabolism and the like.
Through the recent development of a gene test technique, nucleic acid is extracted from a specimen such as a biological sample taken from, for example, a patient, and differences in a gene such as SNPs are detected. The possibility is suggested that sensitivity to medicines can be predicted in advance by differences in genes. Accordingly, it is considered that a so-called tailor-made medical treatment (which is also referred to as order-made medical treatment) will be realized, which provides the optimum medical treatment (drug) for each patient while reducing the side effects of medicines.
A nucleic acid analyzer, which supplies a whole blood sample taken from a patient to a cartridge and purifies and analyzes nucleic acid using the cartridge, is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 as a device that performs this gene test. According to the nucleic acid analyzer disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is possible to reduce a user's workload on the nucleic acid analysis by reducing the dependence on a user's manual work. In addition, it is possible to increase the reproducibility of the nucleic acid analysis without variations in the collection rate for nucleic acid that is caused by differences in the users' skill.
Further, a gene detection-determination device, which can measure a plurality of SNPs at one time by forming a plurality of reaction chambers used to measure a plurality of SNPs, is disclosed in Patent Document 2. According to this gene detection-determination device, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of human errors or contamination and to increase the accuracy of a gene test.


In a transmitting electric power control apparatus, non-linear bias characteristic in S/N measurement is previously obtained by measurement, and a conversion table for realizing this reverse characteristic is created in an S/N measuring circuit 10, and when a measured S/N value is output from the dividing circuit 9, the table conversion circuit 1 receives this S/N value as an input and outputs a corrected S/N value from the above-described conversion table, whereby it is possible to provide the S/N measurement with high accuracy, and this corrected and measured S/N is compared with a target S/N, and a demand for increasing and decreasing transmitting electric power is transmitted to a mobile station 53, and, in the mobile station 53, in accordance with the instruction from the base station 20, the transmitting electric power is determined and a coded information signal is transmitted.

The present invention relates to a transmitting electric power control apparatus used in a digital mobile communicating system.
In a digital mobile communicating system, transmitting electric power control is used for suppressing consumption of electric power at a mobile station while maintaining reception quality at a desired value, and for avoiding i,unnecessary interference with other mobile stations. Especially, in a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) system, due to the existence of common frequency interference (interference with other users) inherent in a multiple system, the transmitting electric power control is essential. In the CDMA system, generally, closed-loop type transmitting electric power control is used, in which a Signal-to-Noise Power Ratio (referred to as an S/N, hereinafter) is measured from a signal received and demodulated at a base station, instruction is sent to the mobile station so that this S/N value will be a value enough for desired reception quality, and transmitting electric power is sequentially controlled. A noise N used here includes a thermal noise and an interference signal. In order to conduct transmitting electric power control with good accuracy, it is necessary to correctly measure the S/N in a receiving device.
As an S/N measuring method, there is a technology shown in JP-B-50738/1992 (referred to as a first prior art, hereinafter). FIG. 4 is a view showing an SIN measuring circuit of the first prior art. As shown in FIG. 4, an S/N measuring circuit 50 of the first prior art is constructed of a modulation removing circuit 3 connected to an analog-digital (A/D) converter 2, a first averaging circuit 4, a first square operating circuit 5, a second square operating circuit 6 connected to the analog-digital (A/D) converter 2, a second averaging circuit 7, a subtracting circuit 8, and a dividing circuit 9.
In this first prior art, first, a demodulated reception signal is sampled at a modulation clock by the A/D converter 2. In the S/N measuring circuit, after a modulated component of an output of the A/D converter 2 is removed in the modulation removing circuit 3, the output is averaged over a plurality of symbol sections in the first averaging circuit 4, and an amplitude value in which a noise component is suppressed is obtained. An output of the first averaging circuit 4 is squared by the first square operating circuit 5, and desired signal power S is obtained.
On the other hand, an output of the A/D converter 2 is supplied to the second square operating circuit 6, and is converted into time series having a dimension of electric power. Thereafter, the output is averaged over a plurality of symbol sections by the second averaging circuit 7, and total electric power P of demodulated signals is obtained. The subtracting circuit 8 obtains noise electric power N by subtracting the desired signal power S from the total electric power P of the demodulated signals. The dividing circuit 9 receives the obtained S and N as above, and calculates a ratio S/N thereof.
If representing the above-mentioned operation by an equation, it is represented as an equation (1) below. A series of sampled values of demodulated signals are assumed as rk (k=1, 2, . . . , M, M is a positive integer.). If an amplitude of a signal point in which a noise is suppressed is A, the desired signal power S is shown by two equations described below.                     A        =                              1            M                                                        ∑                              k                =                1                            M                                                                  r                k                                                                            r                  ^                                k                                                          xe2x80x83                                                          (                                                                            r                      ^                                        k                                                                          xe2x80x83                                                                          is a decision symbol.                                                  )                                                                        (        1        )            xe2x80x83S=|A|2xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(2)
Hereupon, a noise component superimposed over a demodulated signal shows a Gaussian distribution of which center is at the amplitude A of the signal point in the absence of the noise, and the noise electric power N is given by the following equation (3):                     N        =                              1            M                                                        ∑                              k                =                1                            M                                                                  (                                                                            r                      k                                                                                r                        ^                                            k                      *                                                        -                  A                                )                            2                                                          (        3        )
The above-described equation (3) can be transformed into the following equations (4) to (7):                     N        =                              1            M                                                        ∑                              k                =                1                            M                                                                  (                                                                            r                      k                                                                                r                        ^                                            k                      *                                                        -                  A                                )                            2                                                                    xe2x80x83                                  (          4          )                                        =                                            1              M                                                                  ∑                                  k                  =                  1                                M                                                                            "LeftBracketingBar"                                                            r                      k                                                                                r                        ^                                            k                      *                                                        "RightBracketingBar"                                2                                              -                      2                        A                                      xe2x80x83                                                  1              M                                                                  ∑                                  k                  =                  1                                M                                                                            r                  k                                                                                r                    ^                                    k                  *                                                              +                      A            2                                                        xe2x80x83                                  (          5          )                                        =                                            1              M                                                                  ∑                                  k                  =                  1                                M                                                                            "LeftBracketingBar"                                                            r                      k                                                                                r                        ^                                            k                      *                                                        "RightBracketingBar"                                2                                              -                      A            2                                                        xe2x80x83                                  (          6          )                                        =                  P          -          S                                              xe2x80x83                                  (          7          )
In other words, by subtracting the desired signal power S from the total electric power P of the reception signals, the noise electric power N is obtained. Although the first prior art of FIG. 4 is a simple arrangement based on the above-described equation (7), an arrangement based on the above-described equation (4) is naturally considered, and these arrangements are equal to each other in principle.
However, in this technology, in case that the received S/N is low, since there is an error in a decision signal and accuracy of inverse modulation by means of the decision signal deteriorates, a non-linear bias in which a measured S/N value appears higher is observed as the received S/N is lower.
FIG. 5 is a view showing a conventional transmitting electric power control apparatus using the S/N measuring circuit shown in FIG. 4. In FIG. 5, a base station 51 includes a demodulator 11 connected to an antenna, a decoder 12, a target S/N control circuit 52, an adder 13, a decision device 14, a TPC bit generating circuit 15, and a transmitter 16 connected to an antenna. The target S/N control circuit 52 includes a reception quality measuring circuit 61, an adder 62, a decision device 63 and a target S/N determining circuit 64. Also, a mobile station 53 includes a demodulator 21 connected to an antenna, a TPC bit decoder 22, a transmitting electric power determining circuit 23, a transmitter 24, and an encoder 25.
In the transmitting electric power control apparatus of FIG. 5, demodulated signals demodulated by the demodulator 11 are sampled at a modulation clock by the A/D converter 2. A series of sampled values of the demodulated signals that are outputs of the A/D converter 2 are input to the decoder 12, and information signals after the decoding are obtained. On the other hand, an output of the A/D converter 2 is supplied to the S/N measuring circuit 50. The S/N measuring circuit 50 has the same arrangement as the S/N measuring circuit 50 shown in FIG. 4, and in the S/N measuring circuit, a non-linear bias in which a measured S/N value appears higher is observed as the received S/N is lower. Accordingly, if transmitting electric power control is conducted using the measured S/N output from the S/N measuring circuit 50, transmitting electric power of the mobile station is decreased more than it needs, and reception characteristic rapidly deteriorates. In order to solve this, a method of correcting a bias of the measured S/N value is proposed, in which reception quality such as a bit error ratio is monitored separately, and the control target S/N value itself is adaptively changed in accordance with the reception quality. This is generally called an outer-loop, and there is a literature xe2x80x9cAn Overview of the Application of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) to Digital Cellular Systems and Personal Networksxe2x80x9d (Document EX60-10010, Qualcolm Incorporated, San Diego, May 1992.).
In the target S/N control circuit 52 shown in FIG. 5, the reception quality measuring circuit 61 receives an information signal decoded in the decoder 12, and measures reception quality. The adder 62 obtains a difference between the reception quality measured by the reception quality measuring circuit 61 and target reception quality, and supplies the difference to the decision device 63. The decision device 63 determines an amount of increase or decrease of the target S/N based on the output from the adder 62. The target S/N determining circuit 64 determines the target S/N based on the amount of the increase or decrease of the target S/N determined by the decision device 63. The adder 13 calculates a difference between the measured S/N output from the S/N measuring circuit 50 and the target S/N output from the target S/N determining circuit 64, and supplies the difference to the decision device 14. The decision device 14 determines an amount of increase or decrease of transmitting electric power to the mobile station 53 based on the output from the adder 13. The amount of increase or decrease of the transmitting electric power determined by the decision device 14 is converted into a bit by the TPC bit generating circuit 15, and is transmitted to the mobile station by the transmitter 16.
Also, in the mobile station 53, the demodulator 21 demodulates a signal transmitted by the base station 51. A demodulated signal that is an output from the demodulator 21 is input to the TPC bit decoder 22, and the TPC bit decoder decodes the TPC bit generated in the base station 51. The decoded TPC bit is input to the transmitting electric power determining circuit 23, and transmitting electric power of the mobile station 53 is determined. In accordance with the transmitting electric power determined by the transmitting electric power determining circuit 23, the transmitter 24 transmits an information signal encoded by the encoder 25.
In the method using the above-mentioned outer-loop, since it is necessary to provide means for monitoring the reception quality separately, there is a task that a scale of the apparatus becomes to be large.
Also, since measurement over a comparatively long section is necessary for monitoring the reception quality and cannot cope with a comparatively fast change of the S/N associated with a change of a user or the like, there is a task that accuracy of the transmitting electric power control deteriorates.
Therefore, the objective of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned tasks.
Also, the objective of the present invention is to provide an S/N measuring circuit and method capable of conducting S/N measurement with high accuracy.
Moreover, another objective of the present invention is to provide a transmitting electric power control apparatus capable of simply conducting transmitting electric power control with high accuracy using the above-described S/N measuring circuit.
Furthermore, yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a digital mobile communicating system including the above-described transmitting electric power control apparatus, and a base station thereof.
In accordance with the present invention, an S/N measuring circuit is provided, which includes a modulation removing circuit, connected to an A/D converter for receiving a signal demodulated from a digital modulated signal and sampling the demodulated signal at a modulation clock, for removing data modulation by multiplying a sampled value of a demodulated signal that is an output from the above-described A/D converter by a decision symbol signal, a first averaging circuit for averaging an output from the above-described modulation removing circuit over a plurality of symbol sections to suppress a noise superimposed over the demodulated signal, a first square operating circuit for squaring an output from the above-described first averaging circuit to obtain a desired signal power, a second square operating circuit for applying square operation to the sampled value of the demodulated signal that is an output from the above-described A/D converter, a second averaging circuit for averaging an output from the above-described second square operating circuit over a plurality of symbol sections to obtain total electric power of the demodulated signal, a subtracting circuit for subtracting the desired signal power that is an output from the above-described first square operating circuit from the total electric power of the demodulated signal that is an output from the above-described second averaging circuit to obtain noise electric power, and a dividing circuit for receiving the desired signal power that is an output from the above-described first square operating circuit and the noise electric power that is an output from the above-described subtracting circuit, and calculating an S/N value, wherein the S/N measuring circuit has a table conversion circuit for receiving the S/N value output from the above-described dividing circuit and outputting an S/N value corrected in accordance with a predetermined conversion table.
Also, in accordance with the present invention, the above-described S/N measuring circuit is provided, wherein the above-described table conversion circuit removes a non-linear bias occurred from a symbol error in case that the S/N value output from the above-described dividing circuit is small by providing characteristic by means of the above-described conversion table, which is the reverse of characteristic previously obtained by measurement of a corresponding relation between the S/N value output from the above-described dividing circuit and an actual S/N value of the demodulated signal.
Moreover, in accordance with the present invention, a transmitting electric power control apparatus for controlling transmitting electric power of an information signal transmitted to a base station from a mobile station is provided, wherein the above-described base station has a demodulator for receiving a digital modulated and coded information signal and conducting demodulation, an A/D converter for sampling an output from the above-described demodulator at a modulation clock, a decoder for decoding a demodulated signal that is an output from the above-described A/D converter and outputting an information signal, a modulation removing circuit for removing data modulation by multiplying a sampled value of the demodulated signal that is an output from the above-described A/D converter by a decision symbol signal, a first averaging circuit for averaging an output from the above-described modulation removing circuit over a plurality of symbol sections to suppress a noise superimposed over the demodulated signal, a first square operating circuit for squaring an output from the above-described first averaging circuit to obtain a desired signal power, a second square operating circuit for applying square operation to the sampled value of the demodulated signal that is an output from the above-described A/D converter, a second averaging circuit for averaging an output from the above-described second square operating circuit over a plurality of symbol sections to obtain total electric power of the demodulated signal, a subtracting circuit for subtracting the desired signal power that is an output from the above-described first square operating circuit from the total electric power of the demodulated signal that is an output from the above-described second averaging circuit to obtain noise electric power, a dividing circuit for receiving the desired signal power that is an output from the above-described first square operating circuit and the noise electric power that is an output from the above-described subtracting circuit, and obtaining an S/N value, a table conversion circuit for receiving the S/N value output from the above-described dividing circuit and outputting an S/N value corrected in accordance with a predetermined conversion table, an adder for obtaining a difference between a measured S/N that is an output from the above-described table conversion circuit and a target S/N that is a control target value of transmitting electric power, a decision device for determining an amount of increase or decrease of the transmitting electric power, which is instructed to the above-described mobile station, from the difference between the measured S/N and the target S/N, which is an output from the above-described adder, a TPC bit generating circuit for converting an output result from the above-described decision device into a bit, and a transmitter for transmitting a TPC bit determined in the above-described TPC bit generating circuit to the mobile station, and the above-described mobile station has a demodulator for receiving a digital modulated TPC signal and conducting demodulation, a TPC bit decoder for deciding a TPC bit from an output from the above-described demodulator, a transmitting electric power determining circuit for receiving the TPC bit that is an output from the above-described TPC bit decoder and determining transmitting electric power of the mobile station, and a transmitter for transmitting a coded information signal based on the transmitting electric power determined by the above-described transmitting electric power determining circuit.
Also, in accordance with the present invention, the above-described transmitting electric power control apparatus is provided, wherein the above-described table conversion circuit removes a non-linear bias occurred from a symbol error in case that the S/N value output from the above-described dividing circuit is small by providing characteristic by means of the above-described conversion table, which is the reverse of characteristic previously obtained by measurement of a corresponding relation between the S/N value output from the above-described dividing circuit and an actual S/N value of the demodulated signal.
Moreover, in accordance with the present invention, a base station of a digital mobile communicating system for conducting communication while controlling transmitting electric power of an information signal transmitted to the base station from a mobile station is provided, wherein the base station has a demodulator for receiving a digital modulated and coded information signal and conducting demodulation, an A/D converter for sampling an output from the above-described demodulator at a modulation clock, a decoder for decoding a demodulated signal that is an output from the above-described A/D converter and outputting an information signal, a modulation removing circuit for removing data modulation by multiplying a sampled value of the demodulated signal that is an output from the above-described A/D converter by a decision symbol signal, a first averaging circuit for averaging an output from the above-described modulation removing circuit over a plurality of symbol sections to suppress a noise superimposed over the demodulated signal, a first square operating circuit for squaring an output from the above-described first averaging circuit to obtain a desired signal power, a second square operating circuit for applying square operation to the sampled value of the demodulated signal that is an output from the above-described A/D converter, a second averaging circuit for averaging an output from the above-described second square operating circuit over a plurality of symbol sections to obtain total electric power of the demodulated signal, a subtracting circuit for subtracting the desired signal power that is an output from the above-described first square operating circuit from the total electric power of the demodulated signal that is an output from the above-described second averaging circuit to obtain noise electric power, a dividing circuit for receiving the desired signal power that is an output from the above-described first square operating circuit and the noise electric power that is an output from the above-described subtracting circuit, and obtaining an S/N value, a table conversion circuit for receiving the S/N value output from the above-described dividing circuit and outputting an S/N value corrected in accordance with a predetermined conversion table, an adder for obtaining a difference between a measured S/N that is an output from the above-described table conversion circuit and a target S/N that is a control target value of transmitting electric power, a decision device for determining an amount of increase or decrease of the transmitting electric power, which is instructed to the above-described mobile station, from the difference between the measured S/N and the target S/N, which is an output from the above-described adder, a TPC bit generating circuit for converting an output result from the above-described decision device into a bit, and a transmitter for transmitting a TPC bit determined in the above-described TPC bit generating circuit to the mobile station.
Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, a digital mobile communicating system including the above-described base station and the above-described mobile station is provided, wherein the above-described mobile station has a demodulator for receiving a digital modulated TPC signal and conducting demodulation, a TPC bit decoder for deciding a TPC bit from an output from the above-described demodulator, a transmitting electric power determining circuit for receiving the TPC bit that is an output from the above-described TPC bit decoder and determining transmitting electric power of the mobile station, and a transmitter for transmitting a coded information signal based on the transmitting electric power determined by the above-described transmitting electric power determining circuit.
Also, in accordance with the present invention, an S/N measuring method is provided, and the method includes steps of (a) removing data modulation by multiplying a sampled value of a demodulated signal that is an output from an A/D converter by a decision symbol signal, the A/D converter receiving a signal demodulated from a digital modulated signal and sampling the demodulated signal at a modulation clock, (b) averaging the demodulated signal in which the data modulation is removed over a plurality of symbol sections to suppress a noise superimposed over the demodulated signal, (c) squaring the averaged signal to obtain a desired signal power, (d) applying square operation to the sampled value of the demodulated signal that is an output from the A/D converter, (e) averaging the squared value over a plurality of symbol sections to obtain total electric power of the demodulated signal, (f) subtracting the desired signal power from the total electric power to obtain noise electric power, (g) receiving the desired signal power and the noise electric power, and calculating an S/N value, and (h) receiving the S/N value and outputting an S/N value corrected in accordance with a predetermined conversion table.
Moreover, in accordance with the present invention, in the above-described SIN measuring method, the step (h) includes a step of removing a non-linear bias occurred from a symbol error in case that the S/N value is small by providing characteristic by means of the conversion table, which is the reverse of characteristic previously obtained by measurement of a corresponding relation between the S/N value and an actual S/N value of the demodulated signal.

S/N measuring circuit and method, transmitting electric power control apparatus and digital communicating system


A pharmaceutical composition is provided for treatment and prevention of a disease caused by expression of a gene controlled by NF-κB or ets. The composition comprises at least one decoy and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. The decoy is an NF-κB decoy, an ets decoy, or a chimera decoy of NF-κB and ets. The disease is cerebral aneurysm, cancer, Marfan's syndrome, aortic detachment, post-angioplasty restenosis, chronic articular rheumatism, asthma, atopic dermatitis, nephritis, renal failure, or plaque rupture. The pharmaceutically acceptable carrier may be a hydrophilic polymer.

A variety of diseases including asthma, cancers, heart diseases, aneurysms, autoimmune diseases, and viral infections manifest varying symptoms and signs and yet it has been suggested that an abnormal expression (an overexpression or underexpression) of one or a few proteins is a major etiologic factor in many cases. In general, the expression of those proteins is controlled by a variety of transcriptional regulatory factors such as transcription activating factors and transcription suppressing genes.
NF-κB is a transcriptional regulatory factor consisting of heterodimers p65 and p50. NF-κB is typically localized in the cytoplasm where NF-κB is bound by its inhibitory factor Iκ so that intranuclear movement of NF-κB is prevented. However, when a stimulus, such as cytokine, ischemia, reperfusion, or the like, is applied due to any cause, IκB is degraded by phosphorylation. As a result, NF-κB is activated and transferred into the nucleus. In the nucleus, NF-κB binds to an NF-κB binding site on a chromosome and promotes the transcription of a gene downstream thereof. As genes located downstream of the NF-κB binding site, for example, inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor α (INF α), etc.) and adhesion molecules (e.g., (e.g., VCAM-1, ICAM-1, etc.) are known.
NF-κB may be involved in the onset of progression of tumor malignancy (Rayet B et al., Oncogene 1999 Nov. 22; 18(49)6938-47); NF-κB is involved in response of tumor cells to hypoxia stress (Royds J A et al., Mol Pathol 1998 April; 51(2):55-61); NF-κB inhibits expression of cytokines and adhesion molecules in synovial membrane cells derived from chronic rheumatoid arthritis patients (Tomita T et al., Rheumatology (Oxford) 2000 July; 39(7):749-57); suppression of coordination between a plurality of transcriptional factors including NF-κB changes the malignant phenotypes of various tumors (Denhardt D. T., Crit. Rev. Oncog., 1996; 7(3-4):261-91); downregulation of NF-κB activation due to green tea polyphenol blocks induction of nitric oxide synthesizing enzyme, and suppresses A431 human epidermoid carcinoma cells (Lin J. K., et al., Biochem. Pharmacol., 1999, Sep. 15; 58(6):911-5); amyloid β peptide observed in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients binds to 75-kD neurotrophic receptor (p75NTR) in neuroblastoma cells to activate NF-κB in a time-dependent manner and a dose-dependent manner (Kuper P, et al., J. Neurosci. Res., 1998, Dec. 15; 54(6):798-804); TNF-α, which is activated by NF-κB, plays an important role in the onset of glomerulonephritis (Ardaillou et al., Bull. Acad. Natl. Med., 1995, Jan; 179(1)103-15); NF-κB decoy in vivo blocks expression of cytokines and adhesion molecules in mouse nephritis induced by TNF α (Tomita N., et al., Gene Ther., 2000, Aug.; 7(15)1326-32); and the like.
It was suggested that NF-κB suppresses MMP1 and MMP9, members of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), at the transcription level (Eberhardt W., Huwiler A., Beck K. F., Walpen S., Pfeilschifter J., "Amplification of IL-1β-induced matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression by superoxide in rat glomerular mesangial cells is mediated by increased activities of NF-κB and activating protein-1 and involves activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways", J. Immunol., 2000, Nov. 15, 165(10), 5788-97; Bond M., Baker A. H., Newby A. C., "Nuclear factor KB activity is essential for matrix metalloproteinase-1 and -3 upregulation in rabbit dermal fibroblasts", Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 1999, Oct. 22, 264 (2), 561-7; Bond M., Fabunmi R. P., Baker A. H., Newby A. C., "Synergistic upregulation of metalloproteinase-9 by growth factors and inflammatory cytokines: an absolute requirement for transcriptional factor NF-κB", FEBS Lett., 1998, Sep. 11, 435(1), 29-34; and Kim H., Koh G., "Lipopolysaccharide activates matrix metalloproteinase-2 in endothelial cells through an NF-κB-dependent pathway", Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 2000, Mar. 16, 269(2), 401-5).
MMP is a polygene family of zinc-dependent enzymes involved in degradation of extracellular matrix components. It is also known that ets suppresses MMP1 and MMP9, members of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), at the transcription level (Sato Y., Abe M., Tanaka K., Iwasaka C., Oda N., Kanno S., Oikawa M., Nakano T., Igarashi T., "Signal transduction and transcriptional regulation of angiogenesis", Adv. Exp. Med. Biol., 2000, 476, 109-15; and Oda N., Abe M., Sato Y., "ETS-1 converts endothelial cells to the angiogenic phenotype by inducing the expression of matrix metalloproteinases and integrin β3", J. Cell Physiol., 1999, February, 178 (2), 121-32).
MMP plays an important role in invasion of cancer cells by mediating degradation of extracellular matrix protein. A number of studies suggested the involvement of MMP and MMP inhibitors (TIMP) in the progression of cancer: the TIMP1 level in serum may be used as a marker for prognosis and diagnosis of colon and rectum cancer, and as a selective marker for metastatic cancer (Pellegrinl P., et al., Cancer Immunol. Immunother., 2000 September; 49 (7):388-94); expression and activity of MMP2 and MMP9 in human urinary bladder cancer cells are affected by tumor necrosis factor α and γ interferon (Shin K Y et al., Cancer Lett 2000 Oct. 31; 159 (2):127-134); MMP2, MMP9 and MT1-MMP, and their inhibitors, TIMP1 and TIMP2, are expressed in ovarian epithelium tumor (Sakata K., et al., Int. J. Oncol., 2000, Oct.; 17 (4):673-681); the level of each of MMP1, MMP2, MMP3 and MMP9 and the overall MMP activity are upregulated in colon and rectum tumor, and MMP1 is most important for progression of colon and rectum cancer (Baker E. A., et al., Br. J. Surg., 2000, September; 87(9):1215-1221); activated MMP2 plays an important role in invasion of urothelial cancer, and also the expression level of the activated MMP2 can be used as a useful prognosis index (KanedaK., et al., BJU Int., 2000, September; 86(4):553-557); a prostaglandin synthesis inhibitor inhibits invasion of human prostate tumor cells, and reduces the release of MMP (Attiga F. A., et al., Cancer Res., 2000, Aug. 15; 60(16):4629-37); the MMP activity of a serum euglobulin fraction increases in breast cancer and lung cancer patients, and may be used as a tumor marker for these cancers (Farias E., et al., Int. J. Cancer, 2000, Jul. 20; 89(4):389-94); a MMP inhibitor inhibits gelatin-degrading activity in tumor cells (Ikeda M., et al., Clin. Cancer Res., 2000, Aug.; 6(8):3290-6); induction of MMP9 due to a membrane protein LMP1 contributes to metastatic of nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) (Horikawa T., et al., Cancer, 2000, Aug. 15; 89(4):715-23); MMP plays an important role in an early stage of angioplasty, and a MMP inhibitor suppresses invasion and morphogenesis of human microvascular endothelial cells (Jia M. C., et al., Adv. Exp. Med. Biol., 2000; 476:181-94); MMP9 is expressed in invasive and recurrent pituitary adenoma and hypophysis cancer (Turner H. E., et al., J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., 2000, August; 85(8):2931-5); and the like.
MMP is also known to be involved in development of aortic aneurysm: MMP is involved in formation and rupture of cerebral aneurysm (Gaetani P., et al., Neurol. Res., 1999, Jun.; 21(4):385-90); a MMP-9 promotor is a risk factor for cerebral aneurysm (Peters D. G., et al., Stroke, 1999, December; 30(12):2612-6); inhibition of MMP inhibits the growth of microaneurysm in an aneurysm model (Treharne G. D., et al., Br. J. Surg., 1999, August; 86(8):1053-8); and the like.
MMP is secreted from migrating vascular smooth muscle cells, macrophage, and the like, and destroys collagen, elastin, and the like present in blood vessel walls, whereby the tension of the blood vessel is lost and the blood vessel does not resist the blood pressure and its diameter is expanded. In fact, in the blood vessel of an aneurysm, significant destruction of elastin is observed (Halloran B. G., Baxter B. T., "Pathogenesis of aneurysms", Semin. Vasc. Surg., 1995, Jun. 8, (2):85-92).
Aortic aneurysmal rupture is substantially fatal. To prevent aortic aneurysmal rupture, it is important to remove risk factors of arteriosclerosis. However, it is difficult to eliminate the risk factors. At present, invasive surgery is the only means for preventing aortic aneurysmal rupture.
According to data obtained by measuring the aorta diameter of from 35-year-old to 80-year old adult males, the average was 1.5 cm to 2.0 cm (Dolores J Katz, James C. Stanley, Gerald B. Zelenock, "Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms", Seminars in Vascular Surgery, vol. 8, No. 4 (December), 1995; pp. 289-298). In general, the aorta having a diameter beyond 1.5 times as great as the average value is judged as an aortic aneurysm. However, according to the above-described data, one in every 400 people had an aneurysm having a diameter of 3 cm or more which is judged as aortic aneurysm. Therefore, although the degree of risk of aorta rupture is not considered here, the prevalence of aortic aneurysm is relatively high in from 35-year-old to 80-year old adult males. The prevalence is believed to be even greater in males aged 65 and above.
It is known that MMPs are involved in chronic articular rheumatism: alleviation of chronic articular rheumatism by drug treatment leads to a decrease in MMP1 within synovial membrane tissue (Kraan M. C., et al., Arthritis Rheum., 2000, August; 43(8):1820-30); upregulation of MT-MMP expression by IL-1β partially induces activation of MMP-2, leading to cytokine-mediated articular disruption in chronic articular rheumatism (Origuchi T., Clin. Exp. Rheumatol., 2000, May-Jun.; 18(3):333-9); inflammatory cytokine IL-17 produced in synovial membrane of chronic articular rheumatism increases production of MMP1 (Chabaud M., et al., Cytokine, 2000, Jul.; 12(7):1092-9); MMP1, MMP2, MMP3, MMP8, MMP9 and an MMP inhibitor are present in the chronic articular rheumatism synovia at a high level, when MMPs are activated, the balance with the MMP inhibitor is lost, resulting in cartilage disruption (Yoshihara Y., et al., Ann. Rheum. Dis., 2000, June; 59(6):455-61); MT1-MMP is involved in activation of proMMP-2 in rheumatic synovial membrane lining cell layers, leading to cartilage disruption in chronic articular rheumatism (Yamanaka H., et al., Lab. Invest., 2000, May; 80(5):677-87); and the like.
MMP is involved in cardiovascular lesions due to Marfan's syndrome (Segura A. M., et al., Circulation, 1998, Nov. 10; 98(19 Suppl):11331-7).
Expression of membrane type MMP (MT-MMP) is increased in mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (Hayashi K., et al., J. Am. Soc. Nephroi., 1998, Dec.; 9(12):2262-71).
It has been reported that a MMP inhibitor suppresses the expansion of a blood vessel diameter in an aortic aneurysm model in rat abdomen (Moore G., Liao S., Curci J. A., Starcher B. C., Martin R. L., Hendricks R. T., Chen J. J., Thompson R. W., "Suppression of experimental abdominal aortic aneurysms by systemic treatment with a hydroxamate-based matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor" (RS 132908), J. Vasc. Surg., 1999, Mar.; 29(3):522-32).
A MMP inhibitor may be used in therapy for glomerulonephritis (Marti H P, Schweiz Med Wochenschr 2000 May 27; 130(21); 784-8). However, systemic administration of a MMP inhibitor causes severe side effects, and has difficulty in clinical applications for treatment (therapy and prevention) of various diseases.
It has been suggested that NF-κB is involved in various diseases via expression of a number of genes under the transcription control thereof. However, no method for effectively treating these diseases, particularly a non-invasive treatment method, has been provided. Particularly, as described above, aortic aneurysm is not a rare disease. As society ages, an increase in arteriosclerotic diseases inevitably leads to an increase in aortic aneurysm diseases. Considering the aging of patients, it is ideal to suppress directly the growth of aortic aneurysm using a pharmaceutical agent, however, to date such a means is not present. There is a desperate demand for development of a low-invasive therapy and prevention method for aortic aneurysm.

Decoy-containing pharmaceutical compositions and method of using the same


A method and system for transmitting Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) control information in a multicarrier aggregation system are disclosed in embodiments of the disclosure. The method includes that: when an MBMS needs to be sent, a network side determines an MBMS-including Component Carrier (CC) and a non-MBMS-including CC, and sends service control information and service data of the MBMS in the MBMS-including CC. The method further includes that: the network side sends, in the non-MBMS-including CC, related control information of the MBMS in the MBMS-including CC. With technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the disclosure, a UE operating or residing in a non-MBMS-including CC can find out timely and accurately the initiation of a session for a UE-interested MBMS in an MBMS-including CC, so as to avoid premature blind gathering of UEs in the MBMS-including CC, thus effectively decreasing duration of impact on uplink random access by the MBMS-including CC.

Along with the rapid development of Internet technology and the popularity of large-screen multi-function mobile phones, a large number of mobile data multimedia services and a variety of high-bandwidth multimedia services appear, such as video conferences, television broadcasting, videos on demand, video advertisements, online education and interactive games. This not only meets increasing service requirements of mobile subscribers, but also brings new service growth points to mobile operators. These mobile data multimedia services require that same data may be received simultaneously by multiple subscribers. Therefore, compared with ordinary data services, these mobile data multimedia services are characterised by larger data volumes, long durations and sensitivity to time delays. In order to utilize mobile network resources effectively, a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) proposes an MBMS which is a technique for transmitting data from one data source to multiple targets, and thereby implementing network resource sharing as well as increasing the utilization rate of network resources, especially the utilization rate of air interface resources. Here, the network includes a core network and an access network. The MBMS defined by the 3GPP not only can multicast and broadcast a plain-text low-speed type of messages, but also can multicast and broadcast high-speed multimedia services, providing multiple rich video, audio and multimedia services. This undoubtedly meets a trend of future development of mobile data, and provides better service prospects to development of 3rd Generation (3G) mobile communications.
In a Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) system, multicarrier aggregation technology is introduced. The multicarrier aggregation technology refers to that: one geographic location is covered by multiple carriers with different frequencies, wherein these carrier frequencies can be either continuous or discrete; and a network side sends data to one User Equipment (UE) simultaneously using two or more carriers, and the UE receives the data on the two or more carriers. At present, the multicarrier aggregation technology stipulated in a protocol includes that:
each UE supports aggregation of at least two Component Carriers (CCs);
a network side allocates the CCs to the UE, and indicates which CC is a Primary Cell (Pcell) of the UE and which CC/CCs is/are Secondary Cell/Cells (Scell/Scells) of the UE;
a UE in an idle state resides in its own Pcell;
the Pcell is always in an activated state;
the network side can close (namely, deactivate) and open (namely, activate) an Scell of the UE;
the UE does not receive a message in a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) in a closed Scell;
the UE does not receive a message in a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) in a closed Scell;
the UE does not measure a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) of a downlink carrier in a closed Scell;
an initial default state of an Scell is "deactivated";
the UE receives a Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH) message and a Paging message only in the Pcell; and
the UE does not search a public search area of the PDCCH in an Scell.
It can be seen from the above description that, in existing multicarrier aggregation technology, an MBMS is sent using only one CC, mainly to simplify standardized work load and accelerate a standard progress. However, this will lead to premature blind gathering of UEs in an MBMS-including CC, and to increased duration of impact on uplink random access by the MBMS-including CC, thus causing degradation of system performance. For example, assume that there are three CCs, denoted as a CC 1, a CC 2 and a CC 3 respectively, in a multicarrier aggregation system, and an MBMS is provided only in the CC 1. A problem caused by sending the MBMS only in one CC in the multicarrier aggregation system is analyzed below.
A UE accesses the multicarrier aggregation system by randomly selecting a certain CC. Therefore, in theory, the chance of access of the UE by each CC is equal and there are a mean number of UEs accessing by each CC. A network side may learn information on a UE in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection state in real time. For example, the network side may learn the CC in which the UE is located. Therefore, the network side can schedule a UE in the RRC connection state to operate in a certain CC as needed, so as to balance the load in each CC. However, as the network side is not able to learn the CC in which a UE in an idle state is located, the network side cannot schedule such a UE into a certain CC. In other words, the UE may not learn in time whether an MBMS currently being transmitted in the MBMS-including CC is an MBMS the UE is interested in. And when the UE receives a notification and gathers to the MBMS-including CC, the UE finds that the MBMS currently being transmitted in the MBMS-including CC is not an MBMS the UE is interested in, leading to the phenomenon of premature gathering of UEs in the MBMS-including CC, which potentially increases duration of impact on uplink random access by the MBMS-including CC. Namely, a probability of a conflict in uplink random access is increased. In addition, in related art, a UE operating or residing in the CC 2 or the CC 3 is not able to learn accurately and timely that the MBMS the UE is interested in has begun to be sent in the CC 1, so that the UE cannot operate or reside in the CC 1 in time to begin to receive the MBMS the UE is interested in.

Method and system for transmitting MBMS control information in multicarrier aggregation system


An HCV antibody contained in a specimen is measured by an immunoassay method by utilizing the specific binding affinity of a hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody to an antigenic peptide having the amino acid sequence represented by the following formula (1) or (2):. Leu-Ser-Gly-Arg-Pro-Ala-Ile-Val-Pro-Asp-Arg-Glu-Val-Leu-Tyr-Gln-Glu-Phe-Asp -Glu . . . (SEQ ID NO: 1) PA1 Val-Asn-Gln-Arg-Ala-Val-Val-Ala-Pro-Asp-Lys-Glu-Val-Leu-Tyr-Glu-Ala-Phe-Asp -Glu . . . (SEQ ID NO: 2). According to the above method, it is possible to determine the serotype of the specimen simply and accurately, while suppressing a cross reaction or a non-specific reaction. As a result, it is also possible to preliminarily predict the effect of interferon treatment in an accurate manner, and to simply observe the course of the curing or treatment for hepatitis C.

Various kinds of viruses exist on the earth, and some of them are pathogens. For example, it is known that a hepatitis virus as a cause of viral hepatitis is transmissible at the time of blood transfusion, injection, childbirth, etc.
The blood transfusion is one of the important measures for maintaining the life of a human being. However, there have heretofore been reported a large number of cases such that the blood transfusion causes viral hepatitis. In general, the viral hepatitis is classified into hepatitis A, hepatitis B and non-A non-B hepatitis.
Conventionally, it is known that hepatitis B virus (HBV) also causes viral hepatitis at the time of the blood transfusion. In recent years, a diagnostic reagent for detecting the presence of the HBV has been developed, and it has become possible to easily confirm the presence of the HBV prior to the blood transfusion. Accordingly, the HBV infection of a human being due to the blood transfusion has entirely been prevented. On the other hand, it is also known the existence of another hepatitis (non-A non-B hepatitis) which is clearly viral, but is different from the hepatitis A caused by hepatitis A virus (HAV) and also different from the hepatitis B caused by HBV, while the HAV and HBV have heretofore been considered as the causes of hepatitis. However, it has heretofore been considered to be difficult to confirm the cause (virus) of such non-A non-B hepatitis.
In 1989, Choo, Q-L. et al. (Science, 244, 359-362, 1989) and Kuo ,G. et al. (Science, 244, 362-364, 1989) proved the existence of the non-A non-B hepatitis virus. This hepatitis virus was named "HCV" (hepatitis C virus). It has heretofore been reported that the HCV is selectively transmissible to a human being and a chimpanzee.
The above-mentioned paper describes the following experiments. That is, a preparation of blood coagulation Factor VIII which was the same as the preparation which had caused the non-A non-B hepatitis when administered to a patient, was administered to a Chimpanzee-No. 1 thereby to cause non-A non-B hepatitis. Further, a preparation extracted from the liver of the above Chimpanzee-No. 1 was similarly administered to a Chimpanzee-No. 2 thereby to cause non-A non-B hepatitis, and thereafter, the blood plasma of this Chimpanzee-No. 2 was extracted. The resultant blood plasma of the Chimpanzee-No. 2 was further administered to a Chimpanzee-No. 3, whereby the occurrence of non-A non-B hepatitis was confirmed. The resultant blood plasma which had confirmedly cause the disease, was subjected to a concentration procedure for virus particles (Bradley, D. W. et al.; Gastroenterology, 88: 773-779, 1989) under the assumption that the virus to be obtained was flavivirus, whereby RNA of the virus was extracted. Then, cDNA was synthesized on the basis of the thus obtained RNA, and a .lambda.gt11 library was prepared. With respect to the resultant .lambda.gt11 library, immunoscreening was conducted by using the blood serum of a convalescent chimpanzee or the blood serum of a chronic non-A non-B hepatitis patient, thereby to select a reactive clone. As a result, it was confirmed that only the clone named "5-1-1" was a cDNA fragment originated from HCV.
The above-mentioned procedure is also described in Japanese Patent Publication (KOKOKU) No. Hei 2-500880 (500880/1990), wherein the genetic sequence thereof is also shown. In addition, a genetic sequence of the HCV was also reported in Japan (Journal of Virology, 65(3), 1105-1113, 1991).
In the meeting of ACTA HEPATOLOGICA JAPONICA in June of 1990, a genetic sequence of the HCV structural region was shown by Okamoto of Jichi Medical School et al. (Proceedings of the 26th Meeting of ACTA HEPATOLOGICA JAPONICA in 1990). In the meeting of Japan Cancer Society in July of 1990, a genetic sequence of the HCV structural region was shown (Proceedings of the 49th meeting of Japan Cancer Society in 1990) similarly as in the above-mentioned publication by Okamoto et al. When these publications are compared with each other, it has been found that substantially no mutation is observed in the HCV core region, but a somewhat difference is recognized between these publications with respect to the HCV envelope region.
Thereafter, there has been proposed an antibody diagnosis using the core antigen of the HCV structural region in combination with an antigenic site of the HCV non-structural region (Rinsho-Byori (The Japanese Journal of Clinical Pathology), 40(12), 1245-1251, 1992). When such an antibody diagnosis is used, it has become possible to conduct an almost perfect screening for an HCV antibody-detected person.
On the other hand, in parallel with the above HCV diagnosis, a treatment for hepatitis C using interferon has been initiated. In this treatment, it has been found that the effect of the interferon treatment varies according to the kind of the genetic type (genotype) of the HCV.
The classification of the genotype has been proposed by Okamoto H. in KAN TAN SUI, 24, 7-14 (1992), and the genotypes are classified into Type-I (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 88, 2451-2455, 1991), Type-II (Journal of Virology, 65(3), 1105-1113, 1991), Type-III (Journal of General Virology, 72, 2697-2704, 1991), and Type-IV (Virology, 188, 331-341, 1992). In the meeting of ACTA HEPATOLOGICA JAPONICA held in June of 1993, it was reported that the interferon treatment for genotype-I and -II (interferon treatment: effective in 20% of individuals tested) was lower than that for genotype-III and -IV (interferon treatment: effective in 80% of individuals tested) (Proceedings of the 29th Meeting of ACTA HEPATOLOGICA JAPONICA, page 55, 1993).
In many cases, the administration of the interferon produces a strong side effect such as alopecia and fever, and the load thereof to the patient is heavy. Therefore, the determination of the HCV genotype prior to the treatment is extremely important in view of the prediction of the effect of the interferon administration. However, in the conventional method of determining the genotype, the HCV RNA is extracted from the specimen of a patient, cDNA complementary to the resultant RNA is synthesized, the cDNA is amplified by a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) method, and a band corresponding to the thus amplified cDNA is identified by use of electrophoresis, thereby to determine the genotype. Since such a procedure includes complicated steps and usually lasts for 48 hours or more, it requires a long period of time and a high cost.
On the other hand, it has been reported that the HCV antibodies in the blood sera of patients can be classified into two types by using an antigen (including about 300 amino acids) which has been prepared by a genetic recombination technique (KAN TAN SUI, 22, 883-889, 1991). However, this classification is not necessarily sufficient in view of the correspondence thereof with the above-mentioned genotype, which is important in determining the interferon treatment.
As described above, the administration of the interferon requires a high cost, and further, the determination of the above-mentioned genotype, which is a prerequisite for the interferon administration, has a disadvantage such that the determination per se also requires a high cost. If the genotype of the HCV can be determined easily prior to the interferon administration, it becomes possible to easily predict the effect of the interferon administration so as to properly design the method of administrating the interferon and a guideline for the treatment using the same. In addition, it becomes possible to reduce the mental, physical and economic load to the patient. Accordingly, there has eagerly been desired a simple method of determining the HCV genotype.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an antigen for measuring an HCV antibody, which enables simple determination of the HCV antibody wherein the genotype-I and genotype-II can be distinguished from the genotype-III and genotype-IV.

Antigenic peptide compound and immunoassay


A pelvic protective device is disclosed including a foam padding member having a plurality of spaced apart ridges on opposite broad surfaces thereof and forming valleys between the ridges and with the ridges on one of the broad surfaces being aligned with the valleys on the other of the broad surfaces. A plurality of flexible tubular elements are fixedly secured to the padding member in the valleys between the ridges. The tubular elements, and particularly at least 1/2 thereof, project above the ridges, and the tubular elements have a ratio of the thickness of the tubular element to the outside diameter of the tubular elements of substantially 1 to 7.

Many different types of protective devices have been used for protecting various parts of the human body to protect against impacts which occur in various activities, particularly in sports activities. The recent development of in-line skates has emphasized the need for protective devices for knees, hands, elbows and heads. Many old style protective devices have been utilized as well as improved upon for protecting these vulnerable portions of the body. The expanded use of in-line skates has emphasized the need for an effective, light weight, comfortable and inexpensive protective device, especially useful for protecting the pelvic region.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,472,472, 4,538,301, 4,881,529 and 4,985,931 describe and illustrate a number of different forms of protective devices. However, the construction of these devices does not provide the form of light weight, comfortable yet inexpensive protective device that will protect against impact incurred when a body falls going at vastly different velocities as provided for by the present invention.


A method is provided for determining a bandwidth allocation needed to provide a specified QOS requirement that takes appropriate account of statistical variations for packet streams in a transmission link. In particular, a statistical model of the packet stream is formed using fractional sum difference statistical models and the model is evaluated in respect to synthetically generated traffic streams. The bandwidth allocation approach is specified in terms of the bandwidth, β, required for a traffic load, τ, subject to the requirements of a maximum queuing delay, δ, and a packet loss limitation parameter, ω. Accordingly, that bandwidth allocation approach is implemented as a statistical model for β as a function of τ, δ and ω.

A fundamental problem of Internet traffic engineering is that of determining the bandwidth (bits/sec), or link speed, required to carry a traffic load (bits/sec) offered to a given transmission link, and to satisfy specified quality-of-service (QoS) requirements for the offered traffic. The offered load is comprised of packets of varying sizes arriving for transmission on the link. Arriving packets can queue up at an input buffer for the link, and are dropped if the queue size (in bits) is larger than the input buffer size (in bits). Exemplary QoS metrics for the arriving packets are queuing delay and packet loss.
The bandwidth required to satisfy a specified QoS requirement (hereafter sometimes referred to as the "QoS bandwidth") depends on the queue-length process which, in turn, depends heavily on the statistical properties of the packet arrivals and sizes. These statistical properties also change as the mean connection load changes. Because of this statistical variation, the bandwidth allocation methods of the art have often produced sub-optimal bandwidth allocation.

Method and apparatus for allocating link bandwidth as function of QOS requirement


To render the comparison of image patches more efficient, the data of an image patch can be projected into a smaller-dimensioned subspace, resulting in a descriptor of the image patch. The projection into the descriptor subspace is known as a linear discriminant embedding, and can be performed with reference to a linear discriminant embedding matrix. The linear discriminant embedding matrix can be constructed from projection vectors that maximize those elements that are shared by matching image patches or that are used to distinguish non-matching image patches, while also minimizing those elements that are common to non-matching image patches or that distinguish matching image patches. The determination of such projection vectors can be limited such that only orthogonal vectors comprise the linear discriminant embedding matrix. The determination of the linear discriminant embedding matrix can likewise be constrained to avoid overfitting to training data.

Image recognition is a human capability that is not easily translated into the computing space. A human, for example, can recognize the face of a friend from among a collection of facial photographs. Similarly, a human can recognize photographs of the same object, even when taken from different angles or at different times of day. By contrast, computing devices generally undertake detailed analysis of individual elements of an image in order to perform functions approximating a human's facial recognition or image matching abilities.
Traditionally, image matching, including facial recognition, is performed by a computing device by identifying interest points within an image and then analyzing the identified interest points based on the image information surrounding such points. A "patch" of the image around the interest point can be analyzed through various means, including the use of filters, transformations and hashes. For example, a 64-by-64 pixel square around an interest point could be used, yielding a total of 4,096 values, with each value representing the information contained in one pixel. Subsequently, the 4,096 values could be reduced to a collection of 64 or 128 values through various filters and transformations. The filters and transformations used were traditionally selected based on manually tuned parameters such that the resulting 64 or 128 values emphasized those elements of the original patch that distinguished it from different patches and those elements that it shared with matching patches. In addition, the filters and transformations were also selected so that they deemphasized those elements that made the patch appear similar to non-matching patches or that distinguished the patch from matching patches.
Once the patches had been reduced to a smaller number of values, comparisons could be made among these patch values, with patches having similar values being found to be matching, while patches with dissimilar values being found to be non-matching. The overall image could then be matched to other images based on the quantity and location of matching patches.

Local image descriptors using linear discriminant embedding


Classification of erroneous cell data includes performing unsupervised pre-training of a machine learning model to learn a bidirectional encoder representation of data cells, obtaining an initial training set, with labeled training examples that correlate observed cell data to correct cell data, for training the machine learning model to classify cell data, automatically augmenting the initial training set to produce an augmented training set, where the augmenting includes identifying patterns in the labeled training examples, generating transformation functions, and using the transformation functions, learning an augmentation strategy and automatically generating additional training examples correlating erroneous data values to correct data values, and training the machine learning model using the augmented training set.

Data cleansing refers to the process of identifying and rectifying erroneous (inaccurate, corrupted, missing, etc.) records in databases. In a typical approach, erroneous data cells—those that contain erroneous data—are identified and then data correction routine(s) are applied to fix or remove the erroneous data. Such data cleaning can be important to businesses employing data-oriented approaches that involve predictive models and/or analytic systems critical to business innovation, as examples.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


Systems and techniques are provided for finding differences in nearly-identical audio recordings. A first version of an audio recording may be received. A second version of the audio recording may be received. A difference between the first version of the audio recording and the second version of the audio recording may be determined using time domain analysis and frequency domain analysis. The difference may be stored in a difference set. The difference set may allow the first version of the audio recording to be distinguished from the second version of the audio recording. The audio recording may be a music track. The first version of the audio recording may be an explicit version of the music track. The second version of the audio recording may be an edited version of the music track.

Online storage services on the Internet, such as storage on a cloud server, may allow users to upload music tracks that they own. This may allow the user to access their music tracks from any computing device that can access the online storage service. To save storage space, the online storage service may not actually store a new file for every track uploaded by a user. The online storage service may have an associated music library, which may contain a number of music tracks. When a user attempts to upload a music track for which there is already a copy or version in the music library, the online storage service may, instead of creating a new file on its servers, create a link in the user's music library to the music track in the online storage service's music library. When the user plays back the music track from the online storage service, the music track may be streamed from the online storage service's music library. This may save storage space for the online storage service, as only one copy of a particular track may be needed even when multiple users have the music track in their music library on the online storage service.
In order to determine whether a music track uploaded by a user can be redirected to a music track in the online storage service's music library, the music track must be matched. Various audio-fingerprinting techniques, combined with metadata for the user's track, may be used to determine which track the user is attempting to upload. Sometimes, there may be different versions of a music track. For example, a music track may come in explicit and edited versions. Audio-fingerprinting may be unable to distinguish which version of the music track the user is attempting to upload, and may match the music track to the wrong version on the online storage service's music library. The user may then hear the incorrect version of the music track, for example, the edited version instead of the explicit version, when they play back the music track using the online storage service.

Finding differences in nearly-identical audio recordings


A wafer handling robot, ion implanter system including a wafer handling robot and a related method are disclosed. An ion implanter system may include an ion implanting station including a load lock coupled thereto; a wafer handling robot located at least partially within the load lock, the wafer handling robot including an end effecter for handling at least one wafer, and a motor for moving the end effecter vertically; and a sensor positioned within the load lock to determine a vertical position of the end effecter.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates generally to integrated circuit (IC) chip fabrication, and more particularly, to a wafer holding robot end effecter vertical position determination in an ion implanter system.
2. Background Art
Ion implantation is a standard IC chip fabrication technique for introducing conductivity altering impurities into, or doping, semiconductor wafers. A typical ion implantation process uses an energetic ion beam to introduce impurities into semiconductor wafers. Introducing the impurities at a uniform depth and dose into the wafers is important to ensure that semiconductor devices being formed operate properly.
As part of IC chip fabrication, and in particular, ion implantation, wafers are moved by multi-axis wafer handling robots from front opening unified pods (FOUPs) that carry the wafers between work locations and the particular work stations. In terms of ion implantation, wafer handling robots typically move wafer(s) from the FOUP, through a load locks (environmental buffer) to an implanting station of an ion implanter system. Each wafer handling robot includes a robotic arm to which an end effecter, which holds one or more wafers, is attached. Each end effecter may include a number of blades, each of which holds a wafer. Each blade may be moved independently of the other blades.
Conventionally, vertical movement of the end effecter is attained by use of a rotary motor coupled to a belt that turns a ball screw (worm gear) that is coupled to the end effecter. Operation of the rotary motor turns the ball screw and moves the end effecter vertically. The location of the end effecter is determined based on an encoder in the rotary motor. That is, the vertical position of the end effecter is determined by data from the rotary motor. One challenge, however, is that, over time, the vertical position of the end effecter relative to the rotary motor can vary. For example, the relative positions can vary due to, among others: slip in relative position of the end effecter, the belt and/or the ball screw; stretching of the belt; gear wear; bending of the end effecter. As a result, the encoder may incorrectly report where the end effecter is vertically positioned. When the vertical position determination is inaccurate, the risk of misalignment of the end effecter with openings through which wafers must pass may occur. In this case, the end effecter or wafer(s) may be damaged.

Wafer holding robot end effecter vertical position determination in ion implanter system

Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc.


A method for interactively formatting a document while the user types. The method includes analyzing characters typed by the user to detect predefined characters or contiguous strings of characters. If such predefined characters are detected, then applying autoformat rules dependent on the predefined characters, and their proximity to other predefined characters. The evaluation of the autoformat rules can generate formatting edits that are automatically applied to the document as the user types.

Today's word processing software enables even inexperienced users to prepare sophisticated documents. Word processors typically include a number of features that allow the user to format a document by defining the style, layout, or character font(s) of a document. Using these features, the user can create a variety of documents such as reports, letters, memos, etc. having different layouts, fonts, styles, etc.
Ironically, the proliferation of new formatting features have made word processors more difficult to use. Users now have so many options to format a document that it is very difficult to keep track of them. To define the format of a document, the user has to either remember the command or commands to define a format, or has to select from a number of options in the user interface for the word processor. Even with the most helpful user interfaces, formatting a document can be cumbersome and time consuming.
If a user does select a formatting feature, the behavior of the word processor sometimes becomes even more confusing. For example, if a user selects a chart option, the level of complexity for entering text increases. The user often has to learn new commands to enter text in the chart. These commands can vary in each word processor and are not intuitive to the average user.
For most users, the easiest way to prepare a document is to simply enter text as if typing on a typewriter. The average user often relies upon his/her familiarity with the keys on a typewriter to prepare a document using a word processor. For example, to create an outline, a typical user manually enters the numerals and letters and indents the various sections using the tab key. Many users still prepare an outline in this fashion even though they can usually select an outline feature and have the word processor automatically generate an outline format. This reluctance to take advantage of word processor capabilities applies to a number of other formatting features as well. Thus, while word processors are designed to help users create more professional documents, they still feel more comfortable entering-text as if using a normal typewriter.
Formatting features are not helpful enough because they do not complement the way most users use the word processor. Users either do not want to take the time to learn how to select formatting features, or are not comfortable using them. Accordingly, there is a need for a word processor that alleviates the burdens of formatting a document, but at the same time, still provides a wide range of formatting options.

Method and system for interactive formatting of word processing documents with deferred rule evaluation and format editing


A software application streamed from a host system to a target system comprises the installation or configuration logic for another software application. In certain embodiments, the installation logic conforms to a well-known installation standard. The described technique allows the use and/or execution of installation logic or other related objects when these objects do not exist in their entirety on the target system. The application installation that results from this process may configure the subsequent application to be delivered only in part (in streamed mode) or in its entirety.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,221 of Raz et al. ("Raz"), which is incorporated herein by reference, describes various computer-implemented methods for streaming a software application from a server to a client. "Streaming" in this context refers to a technique in which only portions of a software application are downloaded from a host processing system (e.g., a server) to a target processing system (e.g., a client), and the application is executed on the client using only those downloaded portions while other portions of the application are downloaded to the client in the background on an as needed basis. For example, as described by Raz, a computer application can be divided into a set of modules, such as the various Java classes and data sets which comprise a Java applet. Once an initial module or modules are delivered to the client, the application begins to execute while additional modules are streamed in the background. The modules are streamed to the user in an order which is selected to deliver the modules before they are required by the locally executing software. The sequence of streaming can be varied in response to the manner in which the user operates the application to ensure that needed modules are delivered prior to use as often as possible. To reduce streaming time, the size of code files, such as library modules, can be reduced by substituting various coded procedures with shortened streaming "stub" procedures which act as link-time substitutes for the removed code. Suitable modules to replace are those which are not required for the initial execution of the application. As the application is running locally on the client, additional modules are streamed to the client and the stub code can be dynamically replaced as the substituted procedures are received. The stub procedure can point to a streaming engine which will request a missing procedure if the program calls it before it has been received at the client.
U.S. patent application Publication No. U.S. 2001/0034736 A1 of Eylon et al. ("Eylon '736"), which is incorporated herein by reference, describes client software that can be used to facilitate application streaming techniques. As described by Eylon '736, a client system can be provided with client-side streaming support software which establishes a virtual file system ("VFS") and connects it to the client's operating system, such that the VFS appears to be a storage device. The VFS is accessed via a dedicated streaming file system driver (FSD) and is configured as a sparsely populated file system which appears to the operating system to contain the entire set of application files but, in practice, will typically contain only portions of selected files. Eylon '736 describes that a software application to be executed is stored as a set of blocks ("streamlets") on a server, where each streamlet corresponds to a data block which would be processed by the native operating system running on the client system if the entire application were locally present. For example, the streamlets may be 4 kbyte blocks, since standard Windows systems utilize a 4 kbyte code page when loading data blocks from disk or in response to paging requests.
U.S. patent application Publication No. U.S. 2001/0037399 A1 of Eylon et al. ("Eylon '399"), which is incorporated herein by reference, addresses a server system that can be used to facilitate application streaming techniques. The server system comprises an application streaming manager which coordinates the transmission of application streamlets to a client system. To improve responsiveness of the application on the client side, the server system also comprises a predictive engine to determine an optimal order to provide streamlets to a client. The predictive engine operates on one or more predictive models which can be generated using information gathered from user interaction with the streaming application and monitoring the order in which various sections of the application's files are accessed as the application runs.
As described by Eylon '399, when the server receives a request from a client to start a particular streamed application for the first time, the file structure for the application is forwarded to the client. Preferably, a starting set of streamlets sufficient for enabling the application to start execution is forwarded to the client as well. A program thread to coordinate the pushing of streamlets to a given client is started on the server which actively pushes streamlets to the client in accordance with the predictive model and possibly additional data forwarded to the server from the client while the application executes.
Before an application can be streamed to a client, it must be packaged in an appropriate format. Application streaming technology such as described above can be based on packaging an application using "snapshot" techniques which are standard and common in the software packaging industry. Many software applications, however, are already packaged according to a well-known installation standard, such as the MSI installation standard, InstallShield installation format, WISE installation format, etc. The MSI installation standard, for example, defines the standard file format for application installation in a Microsoft Windows operating system environment. It is desirable, among other things, to be able to use, essentially "as is", a package formatted according to any of numerous installation standards, with minimal manual intervention to convert it to a package usable for streaming.

Method and apparatus for packaging and streaming installation software


A three dimensional selection entity for interactively selecting among the displayed objects represented in three-dimensional space. A user selects one of several three-dimensional selection entities provided in accordance with the present invention. The user manipulates the three-dimensional selection entity to designate the three-dimensional space of interest. The objects are deemed to be selected depending on whether the selection entity encompasses at least a portion of the object.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of graphics systems, and more particularly to a system and method for interactively selecting among three-dimensional objects displayed on a display screen.
2. Related Art
Graphics systems often display three-dimensional (3D) objects on display screens. Graphics systems may also allow a user to manipulate such objects being displayed. For example, a user may cause a 3D-object (e.g., a house) to be rotated at a certain angle to view the object from a different perspective. A graphics system may allow a user to manipulate multiple 3D-objects at the same time. Such a capability typically requires that the user select the objects of interest, and then specify the operation to be performed on the selected objects.
One of several schemes may be provided to enable a user to select the objects of interest. For example, a user may use a rectangle to select all the objects of interest. Typically, the user first specifies a reference position for a rectangle using a mouse button, and then drags the mouse while keeping the mouse button pressed. Dragging the mouse generally expands the rectangle. Once the mouse button is released, the objects within the expanded rectangle at the time the mouse button is released are selected.
Another scheme may use a circle instead of a rectangle. In such a scheme, the user may specify a reference position by pressing a mouse button. The reference position may correspond to the center of the circle. As the user drags the mouse, the radius of the circle may be increased: When the user releases the mouse button, all the objects within the expanded circle are selected.
Schemes such as those described above may be limited in that each of them uses a two-dimensional selection entity for selecting objects represented in three dimensional space, i.e., such selection entities do not typically include the depth dimension. The two dimensional schemes may be inadequate in certain situations. For example, a display may include several objects which are overlapping, either fully or partially. The user may wish to select objects up to only a certain depth. Two dimensional entities such as those described above may not provide the capability to select only some of the overlapping objects.
What is therefore needed is a selection entity which enables the user to select objects according to depth in addition to the two dimensions typically allowed by the two-dimension selection entities.

Interactive selection of 3-D on-screen objects using active selection entities provided to the user


A LED-based lighting assembly uses minimized distance between an LED source and a diffuser to reduce form factor size, and convex optics, elliptical diffusion and lateral recycling to produce from mini- or micro-chip LEDs a uniform geometrical shape for lit-pixel display of information at high definition. A less than one-to-one (1:1) ratio of LED chip distance and vertical distance between chip and diffuser is achieved with desired uniformity of lit-pixel displays. Reduced distance between diffuser and LEDs and an improved optic provide for more dense yet compact configuration of LEDs in lighting components of automobile grilles and emblems and other lit branding or safety devices in commercial and residential applications.

A problem exists regarding manufacturing LED arrays and drivers within small form factors while maintaining performance, efficiency, and minimizing power consumption.
For example, in the case of automobile grilles and emblems, it is desirable to illuminate these components in low-light and no-light conditions for various purposes, including safety and branding. To illuminate these components, a light source must be used that is capable of providing sufficient illumination and being installed behind the components without interfering with the engine compartment. Plus, these components must be capable of being electronically driven or controlled as well as powered in this position.
However, there are design problems associated with manufacturing small form factor micro-LED components.
To electrify micro and mini-chip LED's, one limitation on the size of the pixel is how small the contact spacing in the printed circuit board with copper (Cu) to power the contacts attached to the LED chip. These contacts on the LED chip are used to apply voltage to the PN junction to produce light. In an example existing configuration, for example, the LED chip used is 300×150 micrometers (μm) and can be placed as close as 0.5 millimeters (mm) in pitch from chip to chip.
The distance between LED chips is typically referred to as "pitch." For example, the distance between LED chips in the longer direction is the "x-direction" pitch and the distance between the LED chips in the other direction is the "y-direction" pitch.
Light produced from the LED chip emerges in a distribution pattern which is Lambertian, approximately 120 degrees (deg) full angle distribution at half peak intensity and 140-165 deg field angle distribution at 10% of peak intensity. The 120 deg distribution of the light requires a diffuser positioned a minimal distance from the LED light source to allow for the light to fill in the gaps of light emerging. This distance is typically referred to as the vertical distance or "z-distance".
If a longitudinal cross-section is applied to a light source in which intensity is plotted from chip to chip, then the intensity would be highest directly vertical from the LED chip and lowest at the mid-point between the LEDs.
In typical configurations, for example, diffusers work best when placed a distance equivalent to the LED light source pitch. For example, a 1:1 ratio of y-direction pitch-to-vertical distance yields acceptable uniformity performance as measured by max/min variation <15% constituting 85% uniformity. It is desirable to reduce the overall thickness of the diffusion solution so that the diffuser can be placed closer to the LED without impacting uniformity negatively. To minimize diffuser thickness, back-scatter reflection methods are employed to fill in the light.
As pitch density is increased, the shadow spacing between the LED chips becomes unnoticeable to the naked eye and secondary optical diffusion required is reduced, resulting in higher transmission efficiency. However, as LED chip count increases, the cost goes up as well.
To produce more uniform appearance, it is advantageous to produce geometric elements such as squares and rectangles, which can produce an appearance of larger pixels while using smaller LED chips. With such geometry lighting projection, the production of information display becomes possible in tandem with lighting used for safety such as in automotive and other mobility applications.
Reduced complexity in the secondary diffusion can also reduce the power required to drive the LEDs as lumens transmitted rather than absorbed reduce the adverse thermal effects, which can become a reliability concern.
When lighting devices utilize larger LED packages (e.g., 3×3 mm and 3×5 mm), fewer LEDs are required to produce the required intensity of light, but applying optical transformer devices such as holographic pattern diffusers and volumetric scattering washes out the production of information display (e.g., text, graphics, and control patterns).
It is also advantageous to reduce wide pitch high thermal density devices into a string of light sources to produce a more homogenized appearance, while at the same time not losing the addressability of each LED pixel to work in a combined pattern to produce an information display.
Accordingly, it is desired to minimize pitch and vertical distance to thereby minimize the dimensions of the overall lighting device.


A disk recording and/or reproducing apparatus has a disk centering member having a disk abutment assembly and an operating member, and angularly movably supported at a portion thereof between the disk abutment assembly and the operating member by a shaft, wherein when a transferred disk abuts against the disk abutment assembly to press the disk abutment assembly, the disk centering member is angularly moved about the shaft, and then prevented from being angularly moved by a stopper, centering the disk, and a gear switching mechanism operable by being pressed by the operating member. The disk abutment assembly has a first disk abutment for angularly moving the disk centering member by a predetermined angular interval, and a second disk abutment for angularly moving the disk centering member by an angular interval, which is substantially the same as the angular interval of the first disk abutment.

The present invention relates to a slot-in disk recording and/or reproducing apparatus capable of recording information on and/or reproducing information from a plurality of types of disks having different diameters.
There is known a disk centering member in a slot-in disk recording and/or reproducing apparatus, which has a disk abutment assembly on one end thereof and an operating member on the other end thereof, and angularly movably supported at a portion thereof between the disk abutment assembly and the operating member by a shaft, wherein when a disk is transferred by a disk transfer mechanism and abuts against the disk abutment assembly to press the disk abutment assembly, the disk centering member is angularly moved about the shaft, and when a center of the disk arrives at a position substantially directly above a disk table, the disk centering member is prevented from being angularly moved by a stopper, positioning the disk with the disk abutment assembly. For details, reference should be made to Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2003-151193, for example.
For centering an 8-cm disk and a 12-cm disk, the disk centering member is angularly moved different angular intervals. When the 12-cm disk is to be centered, the disk centering member is angularly moved a greater angular interval than when the 8-cm disk is to be centered.
If the operating member is formed on the basis of the angular interval by which the disk centering member is angularly moved to center the 8-cm disk, then when the 12-cm disk is inserted, the operating member presses and operates the gear switching mechanism before the 12-cm disk is centered.

Slot-in disk recording and/or reproducing apparatus capable of recording information and/or reproducing information


A compressible seal for a loading dock includes a pliable heat shield that helps protect the seal from concentrated heat generated by a truck's taillight being pressed against the seal. The seal includes a compressible foam core protected by a tough outer covering. The heat shield is preferably placed against the foam core, just underneath the cover. The shield reflects heat away from the foam and helps disperse the heat over a broader area to reduce the peak temperature of any hot spots.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention generally pertains to a loading dock and more specifically to a dock seal disposed around a doorway of the dock.
2. Description of Related Art
When an exterior doorway of a building is used as a loading dock for vehicles, especially trucks, the perimeter of the doorway typically includes a seal known as a dock pad. The dock pad seals off gaps that would otherwise exist between the exterior face of the building and the back end of the truck. This allows cargo from the rear of the truck to be loaded or unloaded while dockworkers and the cargo are protected from the weather. Usually a side dock pad runs vertically along each lateral edge of the doorway, and a top or head pad runs horizontally along the doorway's upper edge. A typical pad comprises a resiliently compressible foam core protected by a fabric outer covering. Sealing is often provided by backing the truck up against the pad, so that the pad compressively conforms to the shape of the rear of the truck.
When a truck backs into a loading dock, in many cases, taillights on the rear of the truck press against the dock pad. This often occurs with taillights that are located along the upper rear edge of the truck, whereby the lights push against the head pad that is mounted over the doorway. Normally, this does not create a problem. However, if the driver of the truck inadvertently leaves the lights on for an extended period (e.g., while the truck is being loaded or unloaded), the dock pad absorbs much of the heat generated by the taillights. The pad's core being made of foam, which is inherently a poor conductor of heat, tends to keep the heat concentrated to a relatively small area of the pad near the light. Thus, the temperature of that area can rise significantly. Excessively high temperatures can degrade the materials of the pad, or in some extreme cases, may even cause portions of the pad to burn or melt.
Perhaps one solution would be to make a dock pad of materials that could tolerate higher temperatures. However, such an approach would likely compromise other desirable qualities of the pad, such as abrasion resistance, puncture resistance, weather resistance, compressibility, resilience, lightweight, appearance, etc., as the materials currently being used are often chosen for the purpose of optimizing these qualities.


There is provided a configuration of a switching control circuit for use with a switching power supply which generates an output voltage from an input voltage, the switching control circuit having an intermittent operation mode where an operation period in which a switching element of the switching power supply is switched and a pause period in which the switching element is not switched are repeated. The switching control circuit includes a prohibition part configured to prohibit starting a next operation period until a predetermined period of time elapses from a time that a current operation period starts, in the intermittent operation mode.

In a switching power supply, since switching loss becomes significant at a light load, reducing the number of times of switching at such light load is effective in improving efficiency. Therefore, various switching power supplies having an intermittent operation mode at a light load have been developed such that an operation period in which a switching element is switched and a pause period in which the switching element is not switched are repeated.
In the switching power supplies of the related art, the operation period and the pause period in the intermittent operation mode are switched based on a result of comparison between a feedback voltage corresponding to an output voltage supplied to a load and a threshold value. Therefore, in such switching power supplies, there is a case where the operation period appears in a short period in the intermittent operation mode, which may result in insufficient efficiency.

Switching control circuit, switching power supply, and electric apparatus