The present invention provides a burner for a reactor producing synthetic gas for conveying at least two fluids separately to a reaction zone, one serving as fuel and the other as combustive. It comprises a solid element in which are provided holes penetrating to different depths, these holes opening at one of their ends into the reactor and at the other either into fuel supply means or into combustive supply means depending on the fluid conveyed by the hole considered.

The present invention relates to a burner for a chemical reactor more particularly for the manufacture of synthetic gas i.e. synthesis gas.
This burner may convey several fluids separately into the reaction zone.
The burner of the present invention may be used more particularly in the method of partial flame oxidation of hydrocarbons, for manufacturing synthetic gas. It may be mentioned that methods of this type are already applied by Texaco, Shell, . . . By synthetic gas is meant here a mixture of H.sub.2, CO, as well as N.sub.2, CO.sub.2, water vapor . . .
The reactor for this use is formed of a burner and a combustion chamber. The device for quenching the gas may also be an integral part of the reactor. After the combustion, a filling, catalyst or other, may also be placed in the reactor.
The burner of the present invention may be supplied by gaseous or liquid fuel or solid fuel in suspension and by a combustion sustaining means or an oxidizer, air, oxygen or enriched air. Steam may be added in variable proportions to the oxidizer or more generally to the fuel. The gases introduced may be preheated to a greater or lesser degree. The preheating increases the yield of the reactor. By way of example, optimum yield is obtained with natural gas, air and steam, for an O.sub.2 /C ratio between 0.60 and 0.65 for pressurized operations. With preheating greater than 500.degree. C., the H.sub.2 O/C ratio has little influence between 0.05 and 3. It is optimum towards 1. The steam reduces the formation of soot.
For special uses, the O.sub.2 /C ratio may go below 0.6 and beyond 0.65 (up to 1 for example).
Modern methods operate at pressures which may reach 80 bars.
Combustion is as a whole adiabatic.
It must provide the theoretic reaction : EQU CxHy+x/2 O.sub.2 .fwdarw.x CO+y/2 H.sub.2
but is always accompanied by the formation of CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2 O in variable proportions. Thus, the adiabatic balance temperatures may be locally exceeded. Thus, with pure oxygen, temperatures may be met locally very much greater than 1500.degree. C.
The burners proposed are in general tubular or more complex. The simplest technology is represented by two concentric tubes. In this case, the tubes have dimensions (several tens of millimeters) very much greater than the flame front thicknesses. It is then indispensable to let an appreciably residence time elapse (about a second and more) in order to reach the thermodynamic balance. The reactor then comprises zones of high heterogeneity with recirculation of combusting gases.
The multiplicity of tubes would provide a better homogeneity but the number of tubes remains limited for industrial applications. In addition, industrial construction from ceramic remains delicate with tubes. The metal tubes receive the impacts of the hot gas recirculation nuclei and their resistance is affected thereby if there is no cooling.

Burner for the manufacture of synthetic gas comprising a solid element with holes


Methods and systems for utilizing captured packets to determine the operations performed on packets by a network device are described. One or more packets are captured and forwarded through the network device. Operations performed on the captured IP packets are logged.

For a variety of reasons, a packet en route to its destination often passes through one or more networking device(s). For example, for security purposes, a packet may pass through a firewall, a router, or an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS). Once a networking device has received the packet it may perform a series of operations and actions on the packet before determining whether the packet should be allowed to be transmitted or dropped. For example, a firewall that has received a packet may perform a series of operations on the packet to determine whether the packet is valid and safe before transmitting it out the egress (output) interface.
With conventional approaches, the operations performed on the packet cannot be efficiently determined. For example, one traditional approach to analyzing the operations performed on the packet is by examining associated logs (syslogs) and debugs. The limitation of current logs and debugs is that they do not apply to a single packet, but instead to an entire feature or protocol. Because of this, trying to determine the operations performed on a packet by examining associated logs and/or debugs requires correlation of the logs/debugs back to the specific packet. This is very time consuming and inefficient.
This inefficiency causes problems for different network related operations. In one example, this inefficiency causes problems for the security operations group. The security operations group is responsible for ensuring a network device meets a set of network security guidelines. In order to accomplish this, security operations analyze both network traffic that is destined for the network device and network traffic that passes through the network device.
With conventional approaches, the network device's configuration is analyzed to determine the security posture. Logs (syslog) are then scrutinized to validate that the network device is denying traffic that is denied in the configuration, and permitting traffic that is permitted in the configuration. However, this approach is inefficient and painstakingly slow.
In another example, the network operations group is negatively affected by the lack of an efficient way to determine the operations performed on a packet as well. Network operations group verifies network connectivity between network users and resources, e.g., servers. In essence, the network operations group analyzes connectivity issues and determines why a user is unable to access a resource. With conventional approaches, a member of the network operations group frequently has to spend a significant amount of time to determine the operations performed on packets in order to troubleshoot the connectivity issue.
Specifically, a member of the network operations group may first analyze all the operations taken on the packet. Subsequently, an attempt is made to determine which operation is causing the connectivity to fail. If a cause is determined, the network operations agent may need to match the operation with an associated entry in the configuration to enable, disable, or modify the behavior. However, if the configuration is large, this approach becomes difficult, time-consuming, and without detailed knowledge of the network device one cannot effectively perform the troubleshooting.

Utilizing captured IP packets to determine operations performed on packets by a network device


The present invention relates to a windmill device rotating by a wind power. More particularly, to efficiently obtain rotating energy irrespective of a wind direction, the present invention is firstly characterized in that assuming that an outermost radius as a distance between the remotest position of each blade from the center of a vertical shaft and the vertical shaft is r1, an innermost radius as a distance between the nearest position of each blade to the vertical shaft and the vertical shaft is r2, and the angle (rad) of an arbitrary position r in an inner peripheral surface of the cross-section of the blade by regarding a line segment for connecting the remotest position from the vertical shaft to the vertical shaft as a reference is t (in this case, 0<=t<=2π/3), the form of the inner peripheral surface in the cross-section of each of the three blades satisfies a following formula:r=(r1−r2)×((t−2π/3)×2)/(2π/3)×2+r2.

1. Technical Field to which the Invention Belongs
The present invention relates to a windmill device that is rotated by wind power and converts rotating energy into other energy such as electric energy, and more particularly to an improvement of a three blade type vertical windmill device that can efficiently obtain the rotating energy irrespectively of a wind direction, is silent so as not to mind its wind cutting sound more than a usual propeller type windmill device and eliminates an anxiety about the generation of noise even when the windmill device is disposed in a home.
2. Prior Art
As a power generation device for obtaining small electric power, for instance, a wind power generation attracts attention in view of an advantage that an environmental contamination does not arise. In the case of a usual wind power generation device, a wind generation device having a propeller provided on a horizontal shaft has been ordinarily employed. In such a wind power generation device, the propeller needs to be directed to the direction of wind. A troublesomeness of detecting the wind direction or a cost for a controller for adjusting the propeller to the wind direction is inconveniently required.
Further, as the usually known windmill device, a Savonius type windmill device as shown in FIG. 1 has been known. The Savonius type windmill device comprises a pair of upper and lower bottom plates 1 having disk shapes and a pair of plate type blade 2 having semicircular shapes in cross-section which are provided as shown in FIG. 1. This windmill device has a position (dead point) where the windmill device does not rotate due to a positional relation to a wind direction. That is, under a state shown in FIG. 1(A) (a state that wind is supplied to a position where both the blades 2 are superposed on each other), a clockwise rotating force by wind A (refer it to as a backward rotating force, hereinafter) and a counterclockwise rotating force by wind C (refer it to as a forward rotating force, hereinafter) are cancelled each other. Thus, the windmill device does not rotate. Further, under a state shown in FIG. 1(B), (a state that wind is supplied to the rear surface 2a of one blade 2), the backward rotating force by the wind A is strong, so that the rotating force of a desired direction (the forward rotating force) cannot be obtained. Accordingly, also in the Savonius type windmill device, the wind direction needs to be detected and the windmill device needs to be controlled to a state suitable for the wind direction like the above-described propeller type windmill device.
The applicant of the present invention already proposes a three blade type vertical windmill device shown in FIGS. 2 to 7 in the previously filed (Japanese Patent Application Lid-Open No. 2000-297637) in order to solve the inconveniences of the above-described usual windmill device.
In the three blade type vertical windmill device according to the previously filed application, a base 4 and an upper member 5 are fixed by a plurality (three in the case of an illustrated example) of supports 6. Between the base 4 and the upper member 5, three blades (blades 3A, 3B and 3C) which constitute a characteristic part of the present invention are provided. In the base 4, the above-described power generating means is provided. Further, in the upper member 5, various kinds of detecting means or control means (not shown) such as a wind power detector that is not shown in the drawings are provided. Various kinds of cords connected to the detecting means or the control means are extended outside from a take-out port 7 formed on the upper member 5.
Between the base 4, the upper member 5 and the supports 6, a pair of upper and lower bottom plates 8 and the three plate type blades 3A, 3B and 3C curved in their cross-section are disposed. Both the ends in the upper and lower parts of the three blades are respectively fixed to the pair of the bottom plates 8. On a center of the pair of the bottom plates 8, one vertical shaft 9 is provided integrally with each bottom plate 8. The vertical shaft 9 passes through the lower bottom plate 8 and is connected to the power generating means. The vertical shaft 9 transmits the rotating force of the above-described blades 3A, 3B and 3C to the power generating means.
The three blades 3A, 3b and 3C are disposed, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, under states that one side ends 3c are remote from the center O of the bottom plate 8 and the other side ends 3d are near to the center O. Distances R2 from the one side ends 3c of the blades 3A, 3B and 3C to the center O are equal and distances R1 from the other side ends 3d of the blades 3A, 3B and 3C to the center O are equal to one another between the blades 3A, 3B and 3C. The three blades 3A, 3B and 3C are located at equal intervals. The other side end part of one blade (for instance, the blade 3A) of the mutually adjacent blades (for instance the blades 3A and 3B) and the one side end part of the other blade (for instance, the blade 3B) whose one side end part is located outside the other side end part of the one blade (for instance, the blade 3A) form a wind inlet port 10.
The windmill device according to the previously filed application that is constructed as described above does not need to take the wind direction into consideration, which is different from each of the usual windmill devices as described above, and can be inexpensively produced with a simple structure. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7(A), winds C and D collide with the back surface 3a of the blade 3A and reach the inner surface 3a of the blade 3B by the back surface 3a of the blade 3A to generate a forward rotating force. Further, wind E directly collides with the inner surface 3b of the blade 3B to similarly generate a forward rotating force. The winds C, D and E further move along the inner surface 3b of the blade 3B and collide with the inner surface 3b of the blade 3C to generate a forward rotating force. On the other hand, winds A and B collide with the blade 3C to generate a backward rotating force. However, the backward rotating force is adequately lower than the forward rotating force by the winds C, D and E. Accordingly, the windmill device efficiently rotates forward. The above-described phenomenon may be applied to a case in which wind blows from any direction. In other words, this windmill device is not affected by the wind direction even when wind blows from any direction and can efficiently obtain the rotating force.
Therefore, when the windmill device according to the previously filed application is fixed at a suitable position, even when wind blows from any direction, the above-described blades 3A, 3B and 3C assuredly rotate in a desired direction (a forward direction) so that a power can be effectively assuredly generated.
It is an object of the present invention is to provide an improved three blade type vertical windmill device in which a power generation efficiency by using the wind power of the three blade type vertical windmill device previously proposed by the applicant of the present invention can be greatly improved with a simple structure.

Three blade type vertical windmill device

Abstract: The present invention is secondly characterized in that fixed guide fins which do not rotate are provided in the outer periphery of the windmill device. The present invention is thirdly characterized in that wind introduced along the blades can be smoothly evaded outside the windmill without forming a vortex flow.


A method for forming a semiconductor device includes forming a first insulator layer on a first substrate of a first semiconductor material, implanting hydrogen ions into the first substrate to form a hydrogen-implanted layer, forming a recessed region in the first substrate, forming a second semiconductor material in the recessed region, and forming a second insulator layer over the second semiconductor material and the first substrate. The method also includes providing a second substrate with a third insulator layer disposed thereon, bonding the first substrate with the second substrate, and removing a lower portion of the first substrate at the hydrogen-implanted layer. A portion of the first substrate is removed to expose a surface of the second semiconductor material in the recessed region, thereby providing a layer of the first semiconductor material adjacent to a layer of the second semiconductor material on the second insulator layer.

Currently, gallium arsenide (GaAs) is often used in advanced CMOS devices and bipolar devices, because compared to pure silicon (Si), GaAs can provide a higher hole mobility. Similar to the GaAs, silicon germanium (SiGe) is often used for advanced CMOS devices and bipolar devices, because SiGe can also provide higher mobility of holes. In addition, RF (Radio Frequency) devices often require high insulating properties. Therefore, SOI (silicon on insulator) wafers are being using widely in RF applications.

Substrate having two semiconductor materials on insulator

SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING INTERNATIONAL (SHANGHAI) CORPORATION

NINGBO SEMICONDUCTOR INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION


An asynchronous sample rate converter interpolates and filters a digital audio input signal to produce a filtered, up-sampled first signal. A FIFO memory receives the first signal and stores samples thereof at locations determined by a write address and presents stored samples from locations determined by a read address. The presented samples are passed through an interpolation and resampling circuit to produce a continuous-time signal which is re-sampled to produce a signal that is up-sampled relative to a desired output. That signal then is filtered and down-sampled to produce the output signal. Sample rate estimating circuitry computes a difference signal representative of a time at which a data sample of the audio input signal is received and a time at which a corresponding audio output sample is required, and address generation circuitry generates the read and write addresses. A coefficient calculation circuit calculates filter coefficients for the interpolation and resampling circuit in response to the difference signal.

The present invention relates generally to sample rate converters, and more particularly to asynchronous sample rate converters and methods.
The digital audio format has become more and more popular for use in most audio signal applications, especially in applications for audio recording studios. In audio recording studios, various analog audio sources often are sampled at various different sample frequencies and then are digitized to produce various digital audio signals. In the digital format, the audio signals can be edited, reproduced and processed easily without introducing nearly as much distortion and noise as would be introduced if the same the same editing, reproducing and processing were to be performed on the same audio signals in analog format.
However, sample rate converters are necessary for interfacing between devices receiving and/or producing digital signals having different sample rates in order to avoid audio sample dropping or sample repeating, which results in highly undesirable audible "popping" or "clicking" sounds. Even for two devices that receive and/or produce digital signals having the same nominal sample rates but which are based on asynchronous clocks, it is necessary to use an asynchronous sample rate converter to accomplish interfacing between the two devices in order to avoid audio sample dropping or repeating.
There are two well-known kinds of sample rate converters: synchronous sample rate converters and asynchronous sample rate converters. In synchronous sample rate converters, an input sample rate is related to an output sample rate by a ratio of integers. This means that the sample rate of the output signal is locked to, i.e., is synchronized with, the sample rate of the input signal. However, in asynchronous sample rate converters it is not necessary that the sample rate of the output signal be synchronized with the sample rate of the input signal. Asynchronous sample rate converters each receive a stream of input samples, process them and produce output samples when requested, and can be used to convert between any two sample rates irrespective of whether the ratio of the two sample rates is an integer or is a rational number, and irrespective of whether the two sample rates are synchronized.
Because of this feature, an asynchronous sample rate converter can decouple a first digital audio device producing a digital output having a first sample rate and a second digital audio device which is intended to receive the output of the first digital audio device and sampling it at a second sample rate. For example, the sample rate of an audio source device might be 48 kHz, and the desire and d sample rate for an audio destination device might also be 48 kHz, but the clock signals of the audio source device and the audio destination device might be independent and therefore asynchronous. Then, even though the nominal sample rates both are 48 kHz, a very small drift or difference between the frequencies of the above-mentioned clock signals will accumulate and cause the above-mentioned undesirable/annoying sample dropping or sample repeating if a synchronous sample rate converter is used.
However, if an asynchronous sample rate converter is placed between the output of the audio source device and the input of the audio destination device, this effectively decouples them and avoids the effects of the inevitable relative drift between the frequencies of the two independent 48 kHz clock signals. Because of this advantage and the availability of more digital audio sources, the market demand for asynchronous sample rate converters is growing rapidly.
One prior asynchronous sample rate converter, marketed by Cirrus Logic, Inc., by design does not have phase matching. (The term "phase matching" means that multiple asynchronous sample rate converters operating in parallel introduce the same or almost the same delay with respect to their input signals.) Furthermore, the Cirrus Logic asynchronous sample rate converter requires two phase locked loop circuits (either on or off chip), one related to the input sample rate and the other related to the output sample rate. Since a phase locked loop is an analog circuit, the performance of the sample rate converter is affected by temperature, power supply voltage, and integrated circuit manufacturing process being utilized. Furthermore, use of analog phase locked loop circuits usually requires substantially more silicon chip area than would be required if digital techniques were used instead for the same purpose. Also, Cirrus Logic's sample rate converter has its decimation filter turned on all of the time. This has the disadvantage that the overall group delay of the asynchronous sample rate converter is greater than necessary in cases in which there is no aliasing for down-sampling.
Another prior asynchronous sample rate converter marketed by Analog Devices Inc. has only one stage for interpolation, which makes it difficult to achieve large attenuation of images with a reasonable filter length. In the Analog Devices asynchronous sample rate converter, the interpolation filter is very long, and has at least 4,194,304 taps to provide 125 dB attenuation. The amount of attenuation directly affects the total harmonic distortion plus noise (THD+N) performance of the asynchronous sample rate converter. The single stage interpolation filter interpolates the input samples by a ratio of up to 216, resulting in the unreasonably long FIR lowpass filter mentioned above.
When the output sample rate is less than the input sample rate, the interpolation filter coefficients have to be interpolated by the ratio of the output sample rate to the input sample rate to make the passband of the interpolation filter narrower to avoid aliasing. Consequently, the interpolation filter length and coefficients have to be recalculated based on the ratio whenever the input sample rate or output sample rate changes. This may cause a substantial of amount of phase mismatch for multiple parallel-running asynchronous sample rate converters even when they are put into a matched phase mode wherein one asynchronous sample rate converter is set as a master and the rest are set as slaves. The master has to send the phase information to its slaves through an audio serial interface. The Analog Devices asynchronous sample rate converters must be put into a master/slave arrangement and phase information has to be transferred from the master devices to the slave devices in order to achieve matched phase. How well the phase match is accomplished depends on how much information is transferred, and the bandwidth of the audio serial interface may limit the amount of information that can be transferred by the Analog Devices asynchronous sample rate converters.
Thus, there is an unmet need for an asynchronous sample rate converter and method that provides precise phase matching, avoids use of phase locked loop circuits the input sample rate and the output sample rate, provides adequate attenuation of images, avoids the need to have its anti-aliasing filter always turned on, provides improved THD+N performance, and/or avoids the need to recalculate the interpolation filter length whenever the input or output sample rate changes.

Asynchronous sample rate converter and method


Safety support essentially made of a flexible elastomeric material includ a substantially cylindrical base, a substantially cylindrical cap and an annular body connecting the base and the cap. The body has, on one side, which is intended to be placed on the outboard side of the vehicle, a plurality of cavities extending substantially axially as far as at least halfway into said body without passing through it.

The present invention relates to safety supports for vehicle tires, which are mounted inside the tires on their wheel rims in order to take up the load in the event of tire failure. In particular, it proposes an improved support essentially made of a flexible elastomeric material.
The use of a safety support of annular shape made of a flexible elastomeric material has been known for a very long time. Such a support has the advantages of not being sensitive to impacts, of offering good stability of performance over time and of not causing too pronounced a deterioration of the behavior of the tire if it has to run flat.
By contrast, such a support has two major defects: unacceptable weight, bearing in mind the current requirements of motor manufacturers to reduce the weights of the axles of their vehicles, and highly insufficient endurance under run-flat conditions as a result of the heating-up of the material which is likely to lead to very swift thermal degradation.
In order to solve these defects, Patent Application FR 2 532 591 proposes a safety support essentially made of elastomeric material in the shape of an H which is symmetric relative to a longitudinal mid-plane with a wide circumferential channel in its radially lower part for lightening it and reducing its rigidity, the circumferential channel in its radially outer part being a housing for a strap for holding the support on the wheel rim. This support effectively gives a lower weight and acceptable endurance, but at the expense of the support having a radial rigidity which is relatively high because it is higher than 750 kg/cm, which detracts from the quality of the behavior of the tire under run-flat conditions.

Safety support made of a flexible elastomeric material for tires

Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin--Michelin & Cie


A method and a device are provided for controlling a robotic cleaner. According to an example of the method, an environment image of an area may be acquired, and a sub-area to be swept in the area may be determined based on the environment image. Then, the robotic cleaner may be controlled to reach the sub-area to be swept and perform a sweeping task in the sub-area to be swept.

With the development of science and technology, more and more users begin to use robotic cleaners to sweep a living or working area, which greatly reduces the human input and guarantees the cleanliness of a living or working environment while saving time of users. A robotic cleaner is usually associated with a remote control. A user sets a sweeping point for the robotic cleaner through the remote control, that is, the user specifies an area to be swept. Alternatively, the robotic cleaner may perform an automatic sweeping mode for the whole area.

Method and device for controlling robotic cleaner and electronic device

Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd.


The present invention relates to amino acid sequences that are directed against/and or that can specifically bind Interleukin-6 Receptor (IL-6R) with improved affinity and/or avidity, and/or that have an improved efficacy and/or potency, and which are capable of (partially, or preferably totally) blocking the IL-6/IL-6R interaction and/or inhibit signalization through IL-6, IL-6R and/or the IL-6/IL-6R complex. The invention further relates to compounds or constructs, and in particular proteins and polypeptides, that comprise or essentially consist of one or more such amino acid sequences.

The interaction of IL-6, a protein originally identified as a B cell differentiation factor (Hirano et al., 1985, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 82: 5490-4; EP 0257406), with IL-6R (Yamasaki et al., 1988, Science, 241: 825-8; EP 0325474) results in the formation of the IL-6/IL-6R complex. This complex binds to gp130 (Taga et al., 1989, Cell, 58: 573-81; EP 0411946), a membrane protein on a target cell, which transmits various physiological actions of IL-6. IL-6 is currently known to be involved in—amongst others—the regulation of the immune response, hematopoiesis, the acute phase response, bone metabolism, angiogenesis, and inflammation. Deregulation of IL-6 production is implicated in the pathology of several autoimmune and chronic inflammatory proliferative disease processes (Ishihara and Hirano, 2002, Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 1592: 281-96). As a consequence, inhibitors of IL-6 induced signaling have attracted much attention in the past (Hirano et al., 1990, Immunol. Today, 11: 443-9). Polypeptides specifically binding to IL-6 (Klein et al., 1991, Blood, 78: 1198-204; EP 0312996), IL-6R (EP 0409607) or gp130 (Saito et al., 1993, J. Immunol. Methods, 163: 217-223; EP 0572118) proved to exhibit an efficient inhibitory effect on IL-6 functioning.
IL-6 overproduction and signalling (and in particular so-called trans-signalling) are involved in various diseases and disorders, such as sepsis (Starnes et al., 1999, J. Immunol., 148: 1968) and various forms of cancer such as multiple myeloma disease (MM), renal cell carcinoma (RCC), plasma cell leukaemia (Klein et al., 1991), lymphoma, B-lymphoproliferative disorder (BLPD) and prostate cancer. Non-limiting examples of other diseases caused by excessive IL-6 production or signalling include bone resorption (osteoporosis) (Roodman et al., 1992, J. Bone Miner. Res., 7: 475-8; Jilka et al., 1992, Science, 257: 88-91), cachexia (Strassman et al., 1992, J. Clin. Invest. 89: 1681-1684), psoriasis, mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis, Kaposi's sarcoma, AIDS-related lymphoma (Emilie et al., 1994, Int. J. Immunopharmacol. 16: 391-6), inflammatory diseases and disorder such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis, hypergammaglobulinemia (Grau et al., 1990, J. Exp. Med. 172: 1505-8); Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis, Castleman's disease, IgM gammopathy, cardiac myxoma, asthma (in particular allergic asthma) and autoimmune insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (Campbell et al., 1991, J. Clin. Invest. 87: 739-742). Other IL-6 related disorders will be clear to the skilled person.
As can for example be seen from the references above, the prior art describes antibodies and antibody fragments directed against human IL-6, against human IL-6R and against human gp130 protein for the prevention and treatment of IL-6 relates disorders. Examples are Tocilizumab (see Woo et al., 2005, Arthritis Res. Ther. 7: 1281-8; Nishimoto et al., 2005, Blood 106: 2627-32; Ito et al., 2004, Gastroenterology, 126: 989-96; Choy et al., 2002, Arthritis Rheum. 46: 3143-50), BE8 (see Bataille et al., 1995, Blood 86: 685-91; Emilie et al., 1994, Blood 84: 2472-9; Beck et al., 1994, N. Engl. J. Med. 330: 602-5; Wendling et al., 1993, J. Rheumatol. 20: 259-62) and CNTO-328 of Centocor (see Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2004, 22/14S: 2560; Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2004, 22/14S: 2608; Int. J. Cancer, 2004, 111:592-5). Another active principle known in the art for the prevention and treatment of IL-6 related disorders is an Fc fusion of soluble gp130 (see Becker et al. 2004, Immunity, 21: 491-501; Doganci et al., 2005, J. Clin. Invest. 115: 313-25; Nowell et al., 2003, J. Immunol. 171: 3202-9; Atreya et al., 2000, Nat. Med. 6: 583-8). Amino acid sequences and Nanobodies directed against IL-6R and polypeptides comprising the same are described in WO 08/020079.

Methods of using IL-6R antibodies to block or reduce binding of IL-6 to IL-6R

Abstract: The invention also relates to nucleic acids encoding such amino acid sequences and polypeptides, to methods for preparing such amino acid sequences and polypeptides, to host cells expressing or capable of expressing such amino acid sequences or polypeptides, to compositions, and in particular to pharmaceutical compositions, that comprise such amino acid sequences, polypeptides, nucleic acids and/or host cells, and to uses of such amino acid sequences or polypeptides, nucleic acids, host cells and/or compositions, in particular for prophylactic, therapeutic or diagnostic purposes.


Disclosed herein are compositions and methods relevant to a novel Drug Metabolism Reserve Physiotype to determine the metabolic capacity of a human individual. The Drug Metabolism Reserve Physiotype allows the determination of the innate metabolic capacity of the patient relevant to antidepressant and stimulant treatment and can be predicted and diagnosed simply from a blood sample. In the disclosed method, an individual is genotyped for a plurality of polymorphisms in a gene encoding CYP2C9, a gene encoding CYP2C19 and a gene encoding CYP2D6, and the genotypes are used to produce four novel indices, which relate to the metabolic capacity of the human individual.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is currently the leading cause of disability in North America as well as other countries and, according to the WHO, may become the second leading cause of disability worldwide (after heart disease) by the year 2020. Over the years, the elusive and highly variable nature of psychiatric disorders has led to drug therapy treatment that largely relies on empiricism to ascertain individual patient differences. This empirical approach has resulted in a high rate of refractory and adverse responses to drug therapies, rendering treatment of MDD one of the most significant challenges in psychiatry.
Both published literature studies and clinical experience reveal great variability in an individual's response to psychotropic drug treatment with regard to drug metabolism, side effects and efficacy. This variability is in part attributable to genetic differences that result in slowed or accelerated oxidation of many psychotropic drugs metabolized by the cytochrome P450 (CYP450) isoenzyme system in the liver. In particular, clinically relevant variants have been identified for the isoenzymes coded by the CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 genes. Wile the pharmacogenetic significance of CYP2C9-deficient alleles is not as prominent in psychiatry as that of CYP2D6 and CYP2C19, it is known that the gene represents a minor metabolic pathway for some antidepressants. Therefore, polymorphisms in CYP2C9 may be important in psychiatric patients deficient for other CYP450 enzymatic activities. Some of the potential consequences of polymorphic drug metabolism are extended pharmacological effect, adverse drug reactions (ADRs), lack of prodrug activation, drug toxicity, increased or decreased effective dose, metabolism by alternative deleterious pathways and exacerbated drug-drug interactions. CYP450 isoenzymes are also involved in the metabolism of endogenous substrates, including neurotransmitter amines, and have been implicated in the pathophysiology of mood disorders. CYP2D6 activity has been associated with personality traits and CYP2C9 to MDD.
The CYP2D6 gene product metabolizes several antipsychotic (e.g., aripiprazole and risperidone) and antidepressants (e.g., duloxetine, paroxetine and venlafaxine). CYP2D6 is highly polymorphic. More than 60 alleles and more than 130 genetic variations have been described for this gene, located on chromosome 22q13. Clinically, the most significant phenotype is the null metabolizer, which has no CYP2D6 activity because it has two nonfunctional CYP2D6 alleles or is missing the gene altogether. The prevalence of null metabolizers is approximately 7% in Caucasians and 1-3% in other races. Gene duplications of CYP2D6 that may lead to an ultra-rapid metabolizer (UM) phenotype are also clinically significant. A recent worldwide study suggested that up to 40% of individuals in some North African and more than 20% in Australian populations are CYP2D6 UMs. In a 2006 US survey, the prevalence of CYP2D6 UMs was 1-2% in Caucasians and African-Americans. CYP2C9 is located on chromosome 10q24, and its gene product is involved in the metabolism of several important psychoactive substances (e.g., fluoxetine, phenytoin, sertraline and tetrahydrocannabinol). It has been reported that CYP2C9 activity is modulated by endogenous substrates such as adrenaline and serotonin. CYP2C19 is also located on chromosome 10q24, but in linkage equilibrium with CYP2C9. Its gene product is involved in the metabolism of various antidepressants (e.g., citalopram and escitalopram). For some psychotropics, a cumulative deficit in drug metabolism resulting from multigene polymorphisms in CYP2D6, CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 may be clinically significant. For example, gene products for CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 provide joint drug-metabolism pathways for various tricyclic antidepressants (e.g., amitriptyline and imipramine). Given that CYP2D6, CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 genes are not linked physically or genetically, their polymorphisms would be expected to segregate independently in populations.
Pharmacogenetics is a discipline that attempts to correlate specific gene variations with responses to particular drugs. Such DNA-guided pharmacotherapy would be potentially cost effective and could spare patients from unwanted side effects by matching each with the most suitable, individualized drug and dosing regimen at initiation of pharmacotherapy. There have been strategies personalizing dosing for psychiatric drugs according to algorithms derived from studies of blood levels. Beyond pharmacogenetics, it has become apparent that therapeutic index is a necessary concept in understanding how CYP450 polymorphism may influence personalized prescription.
A 1998 meta-analysis of 39 prospective studies in US hospitals estimated that 106,000 Americans die annually from ADRs. Adverse drug events are also common (50 per 1000 person years) among ambulatory patients, particularly the elderly on multiple medications. The 38% of events classified as 'serious' are also the most preventable. It is now clear that virtually every pathway of drug metabolism, transport and action is susceptible to gene variation. Within the top 200 selling prescription drugs, 59% of the 27 most frequently cited in ADR studies are metabolized by at least one enzyme known to have gene variants that code for reduced or nonfunctional proteins.
In psychiatry, the high carrier prevalence of deficient CYP450 alleles has significant implications for healthcare management. Uninformed prescribing of psychotropics to patients with highly compromised biochemical activity for the CYP450 isoenzymes, may expose 50% of patients to preventable severe side effects. If these patients were carriers of gene polymorphisms resulting in deficient psychotropic metabolism, their risk of adverse drug effects would substantially increase. Were DNA typing to be performed after development of drug resistance or intolerance, such information could guide subsequent pharmacotherapy and assist in diagnosing drug-induced side effects. The value of DNA typing for diagnosing severe drug side effects and treatment resistance has been documented in various case reports. Optimally, DNA typing could be performed prior to drug prescription in order to optimize therapy at the outset of psychotropic management.
While it is well known that interindividual variation in drug metabolism is highly dependent on inherited gene polymorphisms, the debate regarding the role of genotyping in clinical practice continues. The utility of the system described herein is to provide clinically relevant indices of drug metabolism status based on combinatorial genotypes of CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP2D6. The combinatorial genotype so derived is termed the Drug Metabolism Reserve Physiotype.

Physiogenomic method for predicting drug metabolism reserve for antidepressants and stimulants


A tank assembly for the treatment of waste streams that include settling pollutants and floating pollutants. The tank assembly includes an inlet conduit, a first compartment that includes a first drain at a bottom thereof, a second compartment that includes a second drain at a bottom thereof, a third compartment that includes a third drain at a bottom thereof, and an outlet conduit. The second compartment also includes at least a first lamella filter package disposed therein. The third compartment also includes a skimmer, an underrun member and an overrun member. A liquid flow path is defined from the inlet conduit, through the first compartment, through the second compartment and the first lamella filter pack, through the third compartment, past the skimmer, under the underrun, over the overrun and out the outlet conduit.

Technology for the separation of solid or settling particles from liquids is known. Technology for the separation of floating pollution, such as oils, from liquids is also known. A need exists for the combination of these two types of technology for scenarios where the liquid (e.g., waste water) includes both oils and solid particles.


A method of manufacturing a magnetic tunnel junction device is provided. The method includes forming an MTJ stack including a reference layer, a tunnel barrier layer formed on the reference layer, a free layer formed on the barrier layer, and a cap layer formed on the free layer. The method also includes performing ion beam etching (IBE) through each layer of the MTJ stack to form at least one MTJ pillar. The method also includes forming an isolation layer on sidewalls of at least the tunnel barrier layer, the isolation layer comprising a same material as that of the tunnel barrier layer. A combined width of the isolation layer and the tunnel barrier layer is equal to or greater than a width of at least one of the reference layer and the free layer.

The present disclosure relates to magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) devices and methods of manufacturing MTJ devices. Ion beam etching (IBE) can be used during the manufacture of MTJ devices to create magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM) device pillars. MRAM device pillars have multiple layers, and certain of these layers are composed of different materials. The different materials of the layers may experience different IBE etching rates, which may result in an encroachment of one or more layers relative to the others.

Magnetoresistive random-access memory device

International Business Machines Corporation


In a DC/DC converter including a half-wave rectifying circuit of a diode and a capacitor for rectifying a voltage occurring on a secondary side of an insulated transformer, an ON period of one of switch elements has a fixed duration, permitting control of an ON period of the other switch element in order to achieve a constant DC output voltage. Since the switching frequency varies only during the ON period of the controlled switch element, an increase in switching frequency is restrained during a period in which the circuit carries light loads.

The present invention relates to a DC/DC converter with a half-bridge configuration.
FIG. 5 shows a conventional example. A series circuit of a MOSFET 1 (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor) and a MOSFET 2, and a series circuit of capacitors 5 and 6 are connected parallel between positive and negative electrode sides of a DC power supply 7. Also, a reactor 14 and a primary winding of a transformer 11 connected in series are located between a connection point of the MOSFETs and a connection point of the corresponding capacitors. Further, snubber capacitors 3 and 4 are connected parallel to the corresponding MOSFETs. A transformer 11 has two windings on its secondary side, and has a rectifying and smoothing circuit composed of diodes 9 and 15 and a capacitor 10. Moreover, an output voltage detection circuit 12 and a control circuit 13 provide feedback control to maintain a smoothed DC output voltage at a constant value.
In such a circuit, the MOSFETs 1 and 2 are alternately turned on and off with a certain duration of a short-circuit preventing time Td between the turn-on and turn-off to execute switching, so that the switch elements have equal control signal pulse widths. This controls the switching frequency to produce constant DC output voltage.
The operation of the DC/DC converter shown in FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIG. 6.
When one of the MOSFETs is turned off, the snubber capacitor connected parallel to the MOSFET turned off is charged to a DC power supply voltage Ed by an excitation current flowing through transformer 11, while the snubber capacitor connected parallel to the other MOSFET is discharged to zero voltage. The voltage of the MOSFET that is turned off increases gradually due to charging of the snubber capacitor, achieving zero voltage switching and small turn-off loss. When the voltage across the snubber capacitor becomes zero, a body diode of the other MOSFET becomes electrically conductive. At this time, this MOSFET is turned on, resulting in zero voltage switching and no turn-on loss. Further, the capacitors 5 and 6 and reactor 14 constitute a series resonant circuit, so that a resonant current from the resonant circuit flows through the diodes 9 and 15. Accordingly, the each of the MOSFETs is switched after a current flowing through each of the diodes becomes zero, so that the diodes are subjected to soft recovery, with almost no resulting reverse-recovery loss.
As described above, the MOSFETs have low switching loss while the diodes have low reverse-recovery loss, resulting in improved efficiency for the DC/DC converter.
However, since a DC output voltage is controlled by using a switching frequency, when the circuit carries a light load, the switching frequency rises, increasing switching loss and circuit loss associated with charging or discharging of the snubber capacitors. As a result, efficiency is reduced during the period in which the circuit carries a light load. This will be explained below.
FIG. 7 is a modeled circuit of FIG. 5. In FIG. 7, reference C denotes a parallel capacity of the capacitors 5 and 6, while reference L denotes a series inductance of an inductance of the reactor 14 and a leakage inductance of the transformer 11. Reference Z denotes an equivalent impedance of a load connected to an output terminal. A DC output voltage Vo is shown by Equation (1).
Vo=Vs/(1+|xcfx89Lxe2x88x921/xcfx89C|2/|Z|2)xc2xdxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
Equation (1) indicates that as the load decreases, i.e. Z increases, xcfx89 must be increased in order to keep the output voltage constant, resulting in increased switching frequency.
A potential at a source terminal of the MOSFET connected to a positive side of a DC power supply differs from that at a source terminal of the MOSFET connected to a negative side of the DC power supply. Thus, a signal for driving the positive-side MOSFET must be insulated by a pulse transformer, or a high-voltage-resistant IC with a level shift function is required, increasing the number of required parts and costs.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a DC/DC converter which minimizes an increase in switching frequency while the circuit carries a lighter load, thereby minimizing the need for expensive parts and reducing costs.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.
In the first aspect of the invention, a DC/DE converter for a DC power supply is formed of a series circuit including a first switch element and a second switch element, which is connected between a positive electrode side and a negative electrode side of the DC power supply; a transformer having a primary winding connected at one side to a common connection point of the first and second switch elements, and a secondary winding with outputs; at least one capacitor connected between a line extending from the primary winding to the common connection point of the first and second switch elements and one of the positive and negative electrode sides of the DC power supply; a diode connected in series to the secondary winding; and a smoothing capacitor situated across the secondary winding outside the diode. A control circuit is connected to the first and second switch elements for switching ON and OFF the first and second switch elements alternately. The control circuit varies an ON period of the first switch element and switches ON the second switch element for a predetermined period.
The DC/DC converter of the second aspect is based on the first aspect, wherein the control circuit includes a first control section connected to the first switch element for controlling the same, and a second control section connected to the second switch element for controlling the same. The transformer further includes a first auxiliary winding and a second auxiliary winding. Also, the DC/DC converter further includes a first rectifying and smoothing circuit connected parallel to the first auxiliary winding for feeding electric power to the first control section, and a second rectifying and smoothing circuit connected parallel to the second auxiliary winding for feeding electric power to the second control section.
In a DC/DC converter of the third aspect, the DC/DC converter based on the second aspect further includes a first voltage switching-timing detection circuit connected parallel to the first auxiliary winding for generating a first timing signal for switching ON the first switch element when the voltage across the first auxiliary winding changes from a positive voltage to a negative voltage, and a second voltage switching-timing detection circuit connected parallel to the second auxiliary winding for generating a second timing signal for switching ON the second switch element when the voltage across the second auxiliary winding changes from a negative voltage to a positive voltage.
In the fourth aspect of the invention, the DC/DC converter in the third aspect further includes a voltage detection circuit connected to the smoothing capacitor for detecting DC output voltage across the smoothing capacitor. The first control section switches ON the first switch element in response to a first timing signal and varies the ON period of the first switch element to keep a value of the detected DC output voltage constant.
The DC/DC converter of the fifth aspect is based on the third aspect, wherein the second control section switches ON the second switch element in response to a second timing signal and keeps the second switch element switching ON for the predetermined period. The DC/DC converter operates properly even if the circuit carries a light load.


An N-(N'-long chain acyl-.beta.-alanyl)-.beta.-alanine represented by formula (1): ##STR1## wherein R represents a straight-chain or branched-chain alkyl or alkenyl group having from 7 to 23 carbon atoms; and M represents a hydrogen atom, an alkali metal, an ammonium, an alkylammonium, an alkanolammonium or a basic amino acid;. or its salt and a detergent composition containing the same are disclosed.. The detergent composition of the present invention is excellent in foaming power and gives a good feel after washing.

In general, detergent compositions contain ordinary anionic surfactants as the main component together with higher fatty acids (in the case of skin cleansers) or higher alcohol sulfate salts or polyoxyethylene higher alcohol sulfate salts (in the case of hair shampoos). However, these ordinary surfactants have various disadvantages. For example, a detergent containing higher fatty acids frequently causes the formation of scum (calcium salts of higher fatty acids) upon rinsing. Further, such a detergent is insufficient in foaming power or sustained foaming. On the other hand, higher alcohol sulfate salts are poor in foam breakage or cannot give a smooth feel to the shampooed hair.
Inorganic or organic salts of N-long chain acyl amino acids, which are excellent not only in surface activity but also in bactericidal action, have been widely employed in recent years. It is known that detergents containing these components have a high detergency and exert mild actions on the skin. For example, JP-A-50-150701 and JP-A-63-2962 disclose low-irritative liquid detergents containing N-long chain acyl amino acid surfactants as basic ingredients while JP-A-53-132007 discloses an improved solid detergent containing an N-long chain acyl neutral amino acid (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application").
Although the tertiary amide-type N-long chain acyl amino acid salts employed in the detergents disclosed in these patents are highly soluble in water, they are poor in foaming power and foam breakage. In addition, they give a slimy feel at the use.
On the other hand, a secondary amide-type N-long chain acyl amino acid salt is described as a low irritancy surfactant in an Example in JP-A-63-2962. According to this Example, however, satisfactory effects cannot be achieved thereby. Further, a detergent composition containing the secondary amide-type N-long chain acyl amino acid salt alone as a base scarcely shows a satisfactory foaming power or sustained foaming and gives a good feel at the use.

N-(N'-long chain acyl-.beta.-alanyl)-.beta.-alanine or its salt and detergent composition containing the same


The invention relates to an injection device including an injector and an ampoule unit for the needle-free injection of a medium. A needle-free injection device has a first chamber with an interior that opens into a nozzle, and has a second chamber with an interior that is separated from the interior of the first chamber. The interiors of the two chambers are connectable to each other, thus allowing a mixing and/or reaction of the media located in the chambers. In the first chamber, a powdery medium can be accommodated, and in the second chamber, a fluid medium is can be accommodated. The fluid medium can be transported into the first chamber for the mixing/reaction of the two media.

Technical Field
The invention describes an injection device consisting of an injector and an ampoule unit for the needle-free injection of a medium.
Description of the Related Art
The document DE 699 28 012 T2 describes an injection device, DE 101 37 961 A1 relates to an ampoule for an injection device, DE 201 05 183 U1 relates to an ampoule for a needle-free injection device, EP 1 762 261 B1 discloses a device for the administration of an injectable product, and EP 0 114 145 A2 describes a syringe for medical use. WO 2007/065544 and WO 2007/065542 disclose injection devices.
These documents disclose an injection device for the needle-free injection of a medium, with an injector and an ampoule unit, where the ampoule unit has a basic body which is intended to hold the medium for injection. FIG. 1 shows in detail essentially the embodiment according to the prior art.
FIG. 1 shows in cross section an ampoule unit according to WO 2007/065544. The embodiment shows the structural design of the ampoule unit 1. The latter consists of a basic body 4 which is filled with the medium 3, and which is completely enclosed in the longitudinal direction by a sleeve. At the front end, a nozzle 13 (preferably a steel nozzle) is located which is fixed mechanically in a way that provides a seal for the medium to the basic body 4 or the sleeve 5 via a sealing element 15 (preferably made of silicone), with friction and positive lock by means of a nozzle threading 19. At the outlet of the steel nozzle 13, a cap 14 is screwed on, where a cap seal 20 (made of a sterile material) is located again between the inner wall of the cap 14 and the outlet of the steel nozzle 13.
Before the injection, an ampoule unit as represented in FIG. 1 is screwed on, to apply the medium 3 (or inject it under the skin) after the removal of the cap 14 and of the cap seal 20, after the unit is placed on a certain area of the skin.

Injection device for the needle-free injection of a medium


A spark plug is disclosed having at least one main electrode and at least one secondary electrode. The gaps associated with the secondary electrodes are between one third and two thirds the optimum gap distance. Resistors associated with the secondary electrodes control the current flow and therefore the voltage on the electrodes.

Spark plugs having multiple air gaps and employing resistors are known such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,562. In general, the air gaps are substantially equal in length and equal to the maximum or optimum gap for the engine. In operation, once current flows in a gap most of the voltage drop is across the resistor and only a small voltage drop occurs across the gap. Each gap receives the full voltage employed by the ignition system until current flows. Thus, the length of the gaps are made to be substantially the same and equal to the length of the gap of a single gap spark plug operating under the same conditions.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,488,556, a teaser gap is employed to ionize some of the gases in the main gap, and consequently, to reduce the voltage required to initiate sparking in the main gap. This teaser or secondary gap is not intended to ignite the gases in the cylinder, although under heavy load conditions, it may do so.
As will be seen, the present invention provides novel variations of a multiple gap spark plug.


Disclosed is an improved diffraction structure for 3D display systems. The improved diffraction structure includes an intermediate layer that resides between a waveguide substrate and a top grating surface. The top grating surface comprises a first material that corresponds to a first refractive index value, the underlayer comprises a second material that corresponds to a second refractive index value, and the substrate comprises a third material that corresponds to a third refractive index value.

Modern computing and display technologies have facilitated the development of systems for so called "virtual reality" or "augmented reality" experiences, wherein digitally reproduced images or portions thereof are presented to a user in a manner wherein they seem to be, or may be perceived as, real. A virtual reality, or "VR", scenario typically involves presentation of digital or virtual image information without transparency to actual real-world visual input. An augmented reality, or "AR", scenario typically involves presentation of digital or virtual image information as an augmentation to visualization of the actual world around the user. For example, referring to FIG. 1, an augmented reality scene (4) is depicted wherein a user of an AR technology sees a real-world park-like setting (6) featuring people, trees, buildings in the background, and a concrete platform (1120). In addition to these items, the user of the AR technology also perceives that he "sees" a robot statue (1110) standing upon the real-world platform (1120), and a cartoon-like avatar character (2) flying by which seems to be a personification of a bumble bee, even though these elements (2, 1110) do not exist in the real world. As it turns out, the human visual perception system is very complex, and producing a VR or AR technology that facilitates a comfortable, natural-feeling, rich presentation of virtual image elements amongst other virtual or real-world imagery elements is challenging.
There are numerous challenges when it comes to presenting 3D virtual content to a user of an AR system. A central premise of presenting 3D content to a user involves creating a perception of multiple depths. In other words, it may be desirable that some virtual content appear closer to the user, while other virtual content appear to be coming from farther away. Thus, to achieve 3D perception, the AR system should be configured to deliver virtual content at different focal planes relative to the user.
In order for a 3D display to produce a true sensation of depth, and more specifically, a simulated sensation of surface depth, it is desirable for each point in the display's visual field to generate the accommodative response corresponding to its virtual depth. If the accommodative response to a display point does not correspond to the virtual depth of that point, as determined by the binocular depth cues of convergence and stereopsis, the human visual system may experience an accommodation conflict, resulting in unstable imaging, harmful eye strain, headaches, and, in the absence of accommodation information, almost a complete lack of surface depth.
Therefore, there is a need for improved technologies to implement 3D displays that resolve these and other problems of the conventional approaches. The systems and techniques described herein are configured to work with the visual configuration of the typical human to address these challenges.

Virtual and augmented reality systems and methods having improved diffractive grating structures


A method for identifying a 5-MeC in a template nucleic is provided. The method comprises providing a template having 5-MeC, converting the 5-MeC into a further modification selected from 5-caC and 5-FC. The converted template is then sequenced, and a change in sequencing is detected that is indicative of the further modification, allowing for identifying the 5-MeC in the template nucleic acid.

Assays for analysis of biological processes are exploited for a variety of desired applications. For example, monitoring the activity of key biological pathways can lead to a better understanding of the functioning of those systems as well as those factors that might disrupt the proper functioning of those systems. In fact, various different disease states caused by operation or disruption of specific biological pathways are the focus of much medical research. By understanding these pathways, one can model approaches for affecting them to prevent the onset of the disease or mitigate its effects once manifested.
A stereotypical example of the exploitation of biological process monitoring is in the area of pharmaceutical research and development. In particular, therapeutically relevant biological pathways, or individual steps or subsets of individual steps in those pathways, are often reproduced or modeled in in vitro systems to facilitate analysis. By observing the progress of these steps or whole pathways in, the presence and absence of potential therapeutic compositions, e.g., pharmaceutical compounds or other materials, one can identify the ability of those compositions to affect the in vitro system, and potentially beneficially affect an organism in which the pathway is functioning in a detrimental way. By way of specific example, reversible methylation of the 5′ position of cytosine by methyltransferases is one of the most widely studied epigenetic modifications. In mammals, 5-methylcytosine (5-MeC) frequently occurs at CpG dinucleotides, which often cluster in regions called CpG islands that are at or near transcription start sites. Methylation of cytosine in CpG islands can interfere with transcription factor binding and is associated with transcription repression and gene regulation. In addition, DNA methylation is known to be essential for mammalian development and has been associated with cancer and other disease processes. Recently, a new 5-hydroxymethylcytosine epigenetic marker has been identified in certain cell types in the brain, suggesting that it plays a role in epigenetic control of neuronal function (S. Kriaucionis, et al., Science 2009, 324(5929): 929-30, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes). Further information on cytosine methylation and its impact on gene regulation, development, and disease processes is provided in the art, e.g., in A. Bird, Genes Dev 2002, 16, 6; M. Gardiner-Garden, et al., J Mol Biol 1987, 196, 261; S. Saxonov, et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2006, 103, 1412; R. Jaenisch, et al., Nat Genet. 2003, 33 Suppl, 245; E. Li, et al., Cell 1992, 69, 915; A. Razin, et al., Hum Mol Genet. 1995, 4 Spec No, 1751; P. A. Jones, et al., Nat Rev Genet. 2002, 3, 415; P. A. Jones, et al., Cancer Res 2005, 65, 11241; P. A. Jones, et al., Nat Genet. 1999, 21, 163; K. R. Pomraning, et al., Methods 2009, 47, 142; and K. D. Robertson, Nat Rev Genet. 2005, 6, 597, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties for all purposes.
Bisulfite sequencing is the current method of choice for single-nucleotide resolution methylation profiling (S. Beck, et al., Trends Genet. 2008, 24, 231; and S. J. Cokus, et al., Nature 2008, 452, 215, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties for all purposes). Treatment of DNA with bisulfite converts unmethylated cytosine, but not 5-MeC, to uracil (M. Frommer, et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1992, 89, 1827, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes). The DNA is then amplified (which converts all uracils into thymines) and subsequently analyzed with various methods, including microarray-based techniques (R. S. Gitan, et al., Genome Res 2002, 12, 158, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes) or 2nd-generation sequencing (K. H. Taylor, et al., Cancer Res 2007, 67, 8511; and R. Lister, et al., Cell 2008, 133, 523, both incorporated herein by reference in their entireties for all purposes). While bisulfite-based techniques have greatly advanced the analysis of methylated DNA, they also have several drawbacks. First, bisulfite sequencing requires a significant amount of sample preparation time (K. R. Pomraning, et al., supra). Second, the harsh reaction conditions necessary for complete conversion of unmethylated cytosine to uracil lead to degradation of DNA (C. Grunau, et al., Nucleic Acids Res 2001, 29, E65, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes), and thus necessitate large starting amounts of the sample, which can be problematic for some applications. Furthermore, because bisulfite sequencing also suffers from the same limitations as do the microarray or second-generation DNA sequencing technologies upon which it depends. For example, the reduction in sequence complexity caused by bisulfite conversion makes it difficult to design enough unique probes for genome-wide profiling (S. Beck, et al., supra), and the short reads of most second-generation DNA sequencing techniques are difficult to align to highly repetitive genomic regions (K. R. Pomraning, et al., supra), such as the CpG islands that are often methylated. Given these limitations, bisulfite sequencing is also not well suited for de novo methylation profiling (S. Beck, et al., supra).
In another widely used technique, methylated DNA immunoprecipitation (MeDIP), an antibody against 5-MeC is used to enrich for methylated DNA sequences (M. Weber, et al., Nat Genet. 2005, 37, 853, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes). MeDIP has many advantageous attributes for genome-wide assessment of methylation status, but it does not offer as high base resolution as bisulfite treatment-based methods, and is hampered by the same limitations of current microarray and second-generation sequencing technologies.
Research efforts aimed at increasing our understanding of the human methylome would benefit greatly from the development of a new methylation profiling technology that does not suffer from the limitations described above. Accordingly, there exists a need for improved techniques for detection of modifications in nucleic acid sequences, and particularly nucleic acid methylation.
Typically, modeled biological systems rely on bulk reactions that ascertain general trends of biological reactions and provide indications of how such bulk systems react to different effectors. While such systems are useful as models of bulk reactions in viva, a substantial amount of information is lost in the averaging of these bulk reaction results. In particular, the activity of and effects on individual molecular complexes cannot generally be teased out of such bulk data collection strategies.
Single-molecule real-time analysis of nucleic acid synthesis has been shown to provide powerful advantages over nucleic acid synthesis monitoring that is commonly exploited in sequencing processes. In particular, by concurrently monitoring the synthesis process of nucleic acid polymerases as they work in replicating nucleic acids, one gains advantages of a system that has been perfected over millions of years of evolution. In particular, the natural DNA synthesis processes provide the ability to replicate whole genomes in extremely short periods of time, and do so with an extremely high level of fidelity to the underlying template being replicated.
The present invention is directed to a variety of different single-molecule real-time analyses for monitoring the progress and effectors of biological reactions, and in particular detecting modifications in nucleic acid sequences. For example, the present invention provides a direct methylation sequencing technology that comprises observing the kinetics of single polymerase molecules in real time and with high multiplex. This technique will provide for fast and economical analysis of methylation patterns, even in repetitive genomic regions.

Identification of 5-methyl-C in nucleic acid templates


A digital camera has a first optical system having a wide zoom lens and a second optical system for a telephotography zoom lens. In an initial state where power is active, a controller and timing-generator controls the wide zoom lens so as to be situated at a wide position and the telephotography zoom lens so as to be situated at a telephotograph position. When zoom-in is effected, the wide zoom lens is actuated, and the telephotography zoom lens is maintained at the telephotograph position. When a zoom position of the wide zoom lens has reached a threshold zoom position set to a wider angle of view than that achieved at the telephotograph position, the telephotography zoom lens starts being actuated toward the wide position. When the zoom lens has reached the telephotograph position, an image signal is switched from the wide zoom lens to the telephotography zoom lens, and the selected image signal is output.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image-capturing apparatus such as a digital camera or the like, and more particularly to an image-capturing apparatus having a plurality of optical systems for capturing an image of a scene.
2. Related Art
Many current digital cameras have a zoom lens and a single image sensor and capture a still image and a motion picture. The thus-captured image is digitally processed to thus create a digital image file, and the thus-created film is stored in memory in the digital camera. The digital image file is then transferred to a computer to be displayed thereon or to a printer to be printed thereby.
Desired specifications of a digital camera include compactness and a wide range of an optical zoom. The user prefers a zoom range which is wider than a limited zoom range. However, when the digital camera is provided with a lens of wide zoom range without sacrificing the quality of a captured image, the digital camera becomes bulky. A camera, as in the case of a single lens reflex camera which enables replacement of large lenses, enables use of a plurality of replacement lenses; e.g., a 28 mm to 70 mm zoom lens and a 70 mm to 210 mm zoom lens. However, a compact digital camera does not enable replacement of lenses.
Some digital cameras use a single lens and a plurality of image sensors for the purpose of generating a single color image. Light from a subject is split into a plurality of colors by means of a prism beam splitter. A plurality of monochrome image sensors are used for capturing R, G, B color images.
A stereoscopic-film camera and a stereoscopic digital camera have hitherto been known. Each of these cameras has two lenses of identical focal length which are horizontally spaced apart from each other. Images—which differ slightly from each other in terms of a scene—are formed in two frames of a film or on two image sensors. The two images form a so-called stereoscopic pair. The two lenses are designed so as to exhibit the same scaling factor; and are concurrently used to thus create an image for the left eye and another image for the right eye on an image sensor in order to achieve a stereoscopic effect.
In order to achieve a wide zoom range without replacement of a lens, the compact digital camera is equipped with a plurality of lenses having different focal lengths. Selection of a lens is performed depending on a zoom position. When a camera is equipped with two lenses of different focal lengths, the method of setting focal lengths of the two lenses and the method of switching between the two lenses become important. The reason for this is that the digital camera enables performance of an electronic zooming function of electronically zooming in with respect to digital image data as well as an optical zooming function.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 10-42183 describes a camera having a single lens and a single image sensor, wherein an angle of view is determined by means of driving an electronic zoom and an optical zoom, and the proportion of the optical zoom is increased while the angle of view is maintained.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-283910 describes a camera having an optical finder and an electronic finder, wherein, when switching between the optical finder and the electronic finder is effected as required; namely, when the electronic finder is switched to the optical finder, a lens of the optical finder system is actuated in synchronism with an image-capturing lens in such a way that the angle of view of the lens of the optical finder coincides with the angle of view of the image-capturing lens.
The respective related-art techniques relate to the cameras, each of which has a single lens and a single image sensor. None of these cameras are a camera system having a plurality of optical systems for capturing a scene. Consequently, as a matter of course, the method of switching among the plurality of optical systems is not disclosed.
A digital camera is assumed to have a fixed focal-length lens and a zoom lens, as two lenses. Switching between the two lenses is assumed to be performed as follows. Specifically, a focal length gap between the focal length of the fixed focal-length lens and the minimum focal length of the zoom lens is interpolated by electronic zooming of a digital image captured by the fixed focal-length lens. The camera is equipped with zoom setting means (a zoom button) used for setting a zoom position. The user sets the zoom setting means to a wide position or a telephotography position, to thereby be able to capture an image at a desired zoom position. When the user has set the zoom setting means, which is provided in the camera, to the "telephotography" position, the digital image captured by the fixed focal-distance lens is electronically zoomed in. At a point in time when the telephotography end of the electronic zoom has been attained, the lens is switched to a zoom lens. Subsequently, an optical zoom is performed by means of the zoom lens. When the user has set the zoom setting means to the "wide" position by means of actuating the zoom setting means, the digital image acquired by the zoom lens is optically zoomed out. At a point in time when the minimum focal length of the zoom lens has been attained, switching is effected to en electronic zoom of the fixed focal-length lens, and subsequently the fixed focal-length lens is zoomed out.
Additionally, another digital camera is assumed to have zoom lenses as two lenses, and switching between the two lenses is assumed to be performed as follows. Specifically, an image-capturing optical system having a zoom lens of relatively-wide angle of view is taken as a first image-capturing optical system, and another image-capturing optical system having a zoom lens of relatively-narrow angle of view is taken as a second image-capturing optical system. In an initial state where power is active, both the first image-capturing optical system and the second image-capturing optical system are situated at the wide position. When the user sets the zoom setting means to the "telephotography" position, the first image-capturing optical system is actuated from the wide position toward the telephotography position, to thus perform zooming-in action. Upon arrival at the telephotography position, the first image-capturing optical system is switched to the second image-capturing optical system. Subsequently, the second image-capturing optical system is actuated from the wide position to the telephotography position, to thus perform zoom-in action. When the user has set the zoom operation means to the "wide" position by means of actuating the same, the second image-capturing optical system is actuated from the telephotography position to the wide position, to thus effect zoom-out action. Upon arrival at the wide position, the second image-capturing optical system is switched to the first image-capturing optical system. Subsequently, the first image-capturing optical system is actuated from the telephotography position to the wide position, to thus effect zoom-out action.
However, in the configuration where the first and second image-capturing optical systems are sequentially actuated from the wide position to the telephotography position, consumption of a certain period of time is required before the system arrives at the telephotography position; namely, the second image-capturing optical system arrives at the telephotography position. This may result in a case where the chance to activate a shutter is lost. There may also be a case where some users desire to move the second image-capturing optical system to the telephotography position immediately after power-on. Such a user's demand cannot be met by the above driving methods.
The present invention has been conceived in view of the above drawbacks, and provides an image-capturing apparatus having a plurality of optical systems, which can immediately provide a user's desired arbitrary angle of view and an angle of view frequently used by the user, such as a wide position or a telephotography position.

Digital camera with dual optical systems


Various aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication. In some aspects, a device may receive layout information that identifies a configuration of an antenna array of antennas, wherein the antenna array is to include a plurality of antenna subarrays and a plurality of antenna chips, wherein each antenna chip is communicatively coupled to antennas of an associated antenna subarray; determine, based at least in part on a phase shift characteristic associated with the antennas, a set of phase differences between antenna subarrays; determine, based at least in part on the set of phase differences, a chip position of each antenna chip relative to the associated antenna subarray; and generate, based at least in part on the chip position of each antenna chip, a layout of an antenna package to receive the antenna array and the plurality of antenna chips. Numerous other aspects are provided.

A radiation pattern of an antenna may show a pattern of lobes at various angles. In a directional antenna in which the objective is to emit radio waves in a particular direction, the pattern of lobes may include a main lobe at an angle corresponding to the particular direction and one or more side lobes at angles corresponding to directions other than the particular direction. A side lobe level (SLL) may include information indicating a different between a size of the side lobes in the radiation pattern and a maximum level of the main lobe.


Vehicles having wheels of different diameter sizes that are mounted with different eccentricities relative to each other. The twofold variability afforded by the wheel diameter and eccentricity disparities allows a vast array of possible two, three and four wheel vehicles, each having unique oscillatory patterns. A bicycle embodiment has differently-sized front and back wheels that are eccentrically mounted on their respective axle hubs by a differing offset amount with respect to each other. A tricycle embodiment has a front wheel with a different diameter than that of the back wheels, and the hub eccentricities of both wheels also differ with respect to each other. The hubs are arranged on an axle so as to be 180.degree. out of phase relative to each other. One possible four wheel embodiment has front wheels with a different diameter than that of the back wheels, and the hub eccentricity of the front wheels also differs from that of the back wheels. Both sets of hubs are arranged so as to be 180.degree. out of phase relative to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wheeled vehicles, including bicycles, tricycles and various four wheel vehicles, and more specifically to such vehicles having different-sized wheels and hub eccentricities.
2. Description of Related Art
Many inventions and patents have described bicycles, and other wheeled vehicles propelled by the human body, having eccentric wheel arrangements and apparatuses for adjusting wheel eccentricity. Wheel eccentricity promotes an oscillatory motion in vehicles, making the ride more entertaining and enhancing the vehicle's exercise intensity level.
Several related inventions and patents involve the eccentric wheel itself. U.S. Pat. No. 423,051 discloses a wheel having an axle designed to move within and independent of the rotation of the wheel. The wheel of U.S. Pat. No. 3,371,944 includes a center hub having an axle whose position relative to the axis of the wheel can be varied as desired, while in motion. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,394 discloses an eccentric rear wheel for a bicycle, where a slidable block-pinion arrangement causes the wheel to rotate eccentrically. Also of note, a pair of spring-biased pins engages a block to facilitate movement along an axle-supporting track in the eccentric bicycle wheel of U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,847.
Another group of related U.S. patents involves means for adjusting the hub and axle of bicycle wheels to create an eccentric arrangement thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 3,799,581, for example, discloses a bicycle wheel hub having an adjustable eccentric mounting. The apparatuses of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,588,232 and 4,602,822 enable the eccentric varying of a bicycle wheel axle and shaft, respectively. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,005 discloses axle-varying means for an eccentric wheel.
While these inventions and patents involve wheels, axles and other individual bicycle components, other related U.S. patents describe entire bicycles, or other vehicles, having eccentrically arranged wheel hubs. The wheeled amusement and exercise vehicle of U.S. Pat. No. 2,555,480 has, alternatively, three or four eccentrically mounted wheels and other rearrangeable components, which provide a bouncing, undulatory, up and down movement while riding. Additionally, the hub-axle-wheel arrangement of the vehicle of '480 can be modified so as to superimpose a regularly repeating side-to-side swaying of the vehicle on its up and down movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,292,946 discloses a bicycle having front and rear wheels eccentrically mounted by a differing amount with respect to each other. The difference in wheel eccentricities provides a modulation effect with an up and down motion that simulates the action of a forward moving see-saw or a bucking bronco. However, the bicycle of '946 is a toy vehicle, providing an amusing and entertaining ride for children.
The exercise bicycle of U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,084 features wheels having hub eccentricities that provide a variety of compound oscillatory motions of the bicycle frame and rider. In doing so, the bicycle of '084 more effectively exercises the body of the rider, subjecting it to accelerations similar to those experienced in riding a horse. Specifically, a brisk gallop sensation is created when the wheel eccentricities are in phase with each other, while out-of-phase wheel eccentricities produce a bucking bronco simulation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,518,176 discloses a crank-operated vehicle with eccentrically mounted wheels and a chassis divided into a front and rear sections pivoted together. The crank driving system of the vehicle of '176 comprises a pair of driving wheels attached with opposite eccentricity to a common driving shaft that supports one of the chassis sections. The axis of the driving shaft connecting the wheels intersects a theoretical line passing through the center of the driving wheels at an acute angle. One driving wheel is fixed non-rotatably to the shaft while the other one is attached for free rotation relative to the shaft.
The adjustable riding toy of U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,878 has bicycle and tricycle embodiments. At least one wave ride wheel, eccentrically mounted, enables an up and down ride on the vehicle, while synchronized eccentrically mounted wave ride wheels creates a side to side wobble of the riding toy.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.

Vehicles having different-sized wheels and hub eccentricities


A stereoscopic image display apparatus in accordance with the present invention solves a problem with a conventional multi-view stereoscopic image display apparatus in that the resolution of each parallax image deteriorates as the number of provided parallax images increases. The inventive stereoscopic image display apparatus forms a plurality of images for right and left eyes in observation regions for the observer's right and left eyes to enable the observer to obtain a stereoscopic view. At the same time, a region where no images are formed is provided between the right eye and left eye observation regions, because no actual observation is carried out in the region. This makes it possible to reduce the total number of parallax images without changing the number of actually observed parallax images, thus achieving a higher resolution of each parallax image actually observed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stereoscopic image display apparatus and, more particularly, to a stereoscopic image display apparatus ideally suited for performing stereoscopic display primarily in a television set, a video recorder, a computer monitor, a game machine, or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a stereoscopic display apparatus, a "multi-view type" apparatus proposed in, for example, EP-1248473, is available. The stereoscopic image display apparatus is adapted to display numerous left eye and right eye images, i.e., parallax images, directed toward an extensive region. This means that, when an image is observed from a given position, numerous parallax images are formed also in an observable range that will not be simultaneously observed.
Forming numerous images in an extensive region advantageously provides a wider observation region and permits motion parallax representation.
However, the display resolution depends on the resolution, namely, the number of pixels, of a display unit used; therefore, displaying numerous parallax images inevitably deteriorates the resolutions of the individual parallax images. In addition, the need for preparing numerous parallax images involves an enormous capacity of an image data file, inconveniently resulting in more difficult handling in the applications for TV broadcast or the like.

Stereoscopic image display apparatus and stereoscopic image display system


A method of detecting the presence of an element (fog, rain, etc. . . . ) disturbing the visibility of a scene illuminated by a headlight (105, 107) at night. The method comprises:                a) acquiring an image of the scene with the help of a camera (120);        b1) detecting the light sources in the image;        b2) detecting the presence of the disturbing element as a function of the halo (H) appearing in the image in the vicinity of the light sources;        c) detecting the presence of the disturbing element in the image as a function of the backscattering of the light emitted by the light sources; and        d) weighting the results of the detections performed in steps b2) and c) in such a manner as to output an indication concerning the presence of the element disturbing the visibility of the scene.

The invention thus finds applications in the automotive field, and in particular in the field of road vehicle lighting and signaling, and also in the field of video surveillance.
There already exist devices that enable the presence of fog to be detected. Such devices are used in particular for automatically causing lights and lighting devices to be switched on and for enabling drivers to adapt the speed of their vehicles as a function of the visibility of the road scene situated in front of their vehicles.
One such device for detecting the presence of fog makes use of an anticollision device of the light detection and ranging (LIDAR) type that serves to evaluate transmission through the atmosphere in order to deduce the presence of fog. Unfortunately, LIDARs are devices that are very expensive; it is therefore difficult to envisage installing them systematically on transport vehicles.
Another device, as proposed in document U.S. Pat. No. 6,853,453, makes use of targets arranged in the scene under study in order to detect the presence of a disturbing element. That method requires targets to be placed in the scene, which is very constricting, and impossible for mobile applications.
Another device, proposed by document JP 11-278182, is based on identifying and characterizing the light halo that appears around the taillights of a vehicle that appears in the scene being studied. The drawback of that system is that it does not operate when there is no vehicle light that appears in the scene.
Another device, proposed by document US 2008/0007429, makes use of the backscattering of the light from the headlights of the vehicle in which the device is arranged. Nevertheless, that system is not sufficiently reliable, in particular because it is based on very local analysis of the image and it is found to be ineffective for detecting the presence of an element disturbing the visibility in certain environments, in particular in environments that are fairly well lit.
It can thus be understood that a relatively large number of devices have been proposed for detecting fog at night. Nevertheless, none of those devices is genuinely satisfactory. Each of those devices is effective only in a limited operating range, and is found to be incapable of detecting fog effectively under other atmospheric conditions.

Method and device for detecting fog at night

Abstract: The method provides satisfactory results in an environment with or without lighting. The invention also provides a computer program and a device for implementing the method.

INSTITUT FRANCAIS DES SCIENCES ET TECHNOLOGIES DES TRANSPORTS, DE L'AMENAGEMENT ET DES RESEAUX


A protective ramp for placement around a temporarily elevated underground utility access hole support. The ramp includes a ramp member having a top surface and an obverse bottom surface, and an opening, usually centrally disposed, of a size to be placed in closely surrounding position around a predetermined size access hole support. The ramp member also has a thickness defining the opening approximating the height of the elevated access hole support over which the ramp is to be placed and a progressively diminishing thickness from the opening to the outer edge wherein the ratio of the thickness of the ramp member at the opening to the distance from the opening to the outer edge is no less than one to five.

This invention relates to a ramp for placement around a temporarily elevated utility access hole. Manhole covers, gas and water utility covers, storm sewer inlets and similar utility covers are raised before streets are repaved, so that after repaving the covers will be substantially flush with the new pavement surface. The covers are generally raised a minimum of two inches and sometimes substantially more. In other instances the covers are "raised" by lowering the surface of the surrounding pavement by grinding the surface away in preparation for repaving. Often, the covers are raised days or weeks before the actual repaving occurs.
In some instances barricades are placed around the raised covers. The barricades themselves can become traffic hazards since they can be blown or knocked over. In some instances barricades are not used, and the raised covers can present a serious traffic hazard. Traffic collisions can occur when vehicles move out of a lane of traffic or suddenly reduce speed to avoid hitting one of the raised covers. Vehicle suspensions can also be damaged by driving over the raised covers at too high a speed.

Ramp for temporarily elevated utility access hole