Method and system are provided for efficient telephone number portability within a geographically dispersed telephony and the like switching system, wherein ported telephone numbers, when dialled and found non-existent at their number-inherent destination, a "Release Treatment" with a trigger (automatic flexible routing) searches in a database from the originating switching node or office, whereupon their new network node address is directly connected to following normal routing procedures; thus permitting realistically affordable telephone number portability, particularly local number portability (LNP).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telephony systems in general, and to telephony systems utilizing what is now known as intelligent networking within such systems. More particularly, it relates to telephony switching systems with enhanced switch call processing capabilities, such as those capable of supporting "call forwarding" and the like services. More particularly still, the present invention provides methods and apparatus for providing telephone number portability. In the preferred implementation of the improved method of operating a telephony switching system, novel look-ahead call routing is utilized.
2. Related Art
Today, most services are resident in the software in each central office switch. While this has allowed providers to deliver a vast array of features, it also means that providers must depend on vendors to develop new features and then must often coordinate the development of these features among the several switch vendors that they buy equipment from. When the features are available, they must then be loaded into each individual switch in the network, a complex task for networks that may contain hundreds of central offices.
As competition intensifies between providers of telephony services, providers are looking for three key competitive advantages:
They want to be able to rapidly develop customized features to differentiate their offering in the marketplace. PA1 They want to be able to quickly deploy new features ubiquitously throughout their serving areas as cost-effectively as possible. PA1 They want to put certain processing-intensive or network-based (as opposed to switch-based) services such as local number portability and PCS (Personal Communications Services) into centralized databases that all network switches can access. PA1 For the Residential Subscriber PA1 For the Business Subscriber PA1 i) transmitting from an originating switching office a called telephone number to its inherent switching office destination; PA1 ii) causing said inherent switching office to send back to said originating office a message indicating a ported telephone number; and PA1 iii) terminating connection between said originating switching office and said inherent switching office upon completion of step ii). PA1 a) transmitting from an originating switching office a called telephone number to its inherent switching office destination; PA1 b) terminating connection between said originating switching office and said inherent switching office upon not being able to establish connection to said called telephone number; PA1 c) causing said originating switching office to request a new switching office location for said called telephone number; and PA1 d) causing said originating switching office to establish connection to said new switching office.
Advanced Intelligent Networking (AIN--also know, especially outside of North America, as Intelligent Networking (IN)) is currently being deployed across the United States and Canada to provide these key advantages.
AIN places the intelligence to deliver key features in a centralized network database--called a service control point (SCP) instead of in each individual switch. "Triggers" in the software of individual service switching points (SSPs--central office switches with AIN software) momentarily interrupt call processing and generate queries of the SCP for instructions on how to process features for individual calls.
AIN also provides a standardized service creation environment (SCE) that lets any vendor, including the service provider, develop software for the SCP. Providers can then quickly create (or have other specialized companies create) custom features and load them into the SCP, where they can be immediately accessed and used by any SSP in the network.
New market entrants can either install their own AIN infrastructure, or purchase AIN capabilities from established providers.
Initial AIN features include:
Sophisticated Call Screening and Management Features that allow users to determine who can reach them and when--a call could, for instance, decide to take only long distance calls, or calls from immediate family, during dinner time, or that 900 calls could only be made during the times of the day when the parents are typically at home. PA2 Enhanced Voice Mail and Messaging Services over the public network. PA2 Personal Communications Services (PCS) that allow users to receive fully-featured calls any place in the network, wherever they happen to be. PA2 Private Virtual Networks that give users cost-effective customized networks using any combination of public and private facilities. PA2 Virtual Offices that allow users to port business features to a home or cellular telephone as they move about the network. PA2 Area Number Calling that allows a business to advertise one number throughout an area, but automatically receive calls at the branch nearest to the caller. PA2 Network and Nodal Automatic Call Distribution available from any central office. PA2 Telecopier Servers.
As may be seen from the above discussion, one of the most desirable features generally is telephone number portability; but at least local number portability (LNP), that is, number portability within a "local access and transport area" (LATA). Other desirable features involve number portability as applied to personal communications services (PCS); for example, as for cellular telephones.
It has generally been assumed that local number portability would best be provisioned through the use of some type of external database, perhaps similar to that employed for 800 service.
Regarding the point during the call at which the database is queried, it has been suggested that three basic alternatives are present. One alternative is to route the call to the terminating switch to which the NPA/NXX of the dialled number was assigned, the Terminating Access Provider (TAP)--usually the incumbent provider, performing the database query at that point, and based upon the response received back, routing the call to the actual terminating switch of the (new) Terminating Local Service Providers (TLSP). This would require that all calls to ported numbers be routed through the incumbent provider's (TAPs) facilities.
A second alternative is to have the Originating Service Provider (OSP) always perform the database query at the switch from which the call is originated, and based upon the information received back in the response, route the call direct, if possible, to the TLSP.
A third alternative is the so-called "N-1 Alternative", which states that the point at which the database query is launched (and who is responsible for launching it) is determined by the number of carriers involved in the call. If the call is local (or intra-LATA) and involves only two carriers, it is the originating carrier (i.e., OSP) that is responsible for performing the database query. If, however, the call is inter-LATA, involving an Interexchange Carrier (IC), then the intermediate carrier (i.e., IC) must perform the query to obtain final routing instructions. This assumes that the OSP can determine from the dialled NPA/NXX whether the call is local, intra-LATA or inter-LATA. Several carriers view this alternative as limiting location portability to within an NPA or LATA boundary, and as such, is better employed as an interim measure. It does, however, limit the need for OSPs to perform database queries on every originally call.
There has been discussion regarding the composition and format of the database response message which contains the routing information. It has been suggested that a new signalling parameter, Service Providers Identification (SPID) be established to merely identify which TLSP now serves the dialled number, so that the call can be routed to that provider's nearest point-of-presence (POP). It has been suggested that to gain peak network efficiency, the actual terminating switch needs to be identified.
One solution proposes that the bond between customer telephone numbers and network termination addresses be completely broken and interspersed. Under their suggestion, a number dialled to reach a ported number customer (the customer number address--CNA) would first be sent to a database for replacement with a network node address (the NNA), which would be used to route the call to the correct terminating switch. Since the NNA is in the same format at the CNA (10-digit) and its first six digits uniquely identify the terminating switch (as is the case today) NANP-based routing remains unchanged, yet customers can retain their numbers whenever they move or change providers--the CNA is simply mapped to a new NNA in the database. Since both sets of numbers use the same format, they can be interspersed, i.e., a CNA for one customer can be a NNA for another, and vice versa. It has suggested that the database populate the CNA in the Generic Address Parameter (GAP), and the NNA in the Called Party (cdPN) parameter in its response message. It was also proposed to use a new Originating Line Info (OLI) parameter value to indicate whether a database dip has already been performed in a previous node, to prevent mix-ups of CNAs with NNAs in networks where database queries may be launched at multiple points.
Another solution proposes that rather than substituting NNAs for CNAs, the database merely populates one of the assigned six-digit NPA/NXXs of the actual terminating switch in the cdPN parameter, and moves the actual dialled number to the GAP. Since all network nodes route on the first six digits of the CdPN anyway, the call will progress to the actual terminating switch, which would look at the GAP address, where the dialled number is now located, rather than the CdPN, to determine the actual called line. Although no new signalling parameters are identified with this proposal, switching software modifications, to allow a change in their treatment, are probably required.
Of significant concern with some of the portability solutions identified thus far is the need to perform database queries on all or most originating calls. The additional load on the SS7 signalling network may be such that database deployment options may be severely limited, and/or service degradations such as post dial delay, loss of transmission quality or call blocking may be experienced. One suggestion has been to limit the number of queries needed by nationally "registering" those NPA/NXXs for which numbers have become portable. This would allow carriers to launch database queries only when those prefixes are dialled. Although feasible in the near-term, many feel that once number portability begins to expand, the amount of work required in each switch to trigger on each newly-portable NPA/NXX combination will become overly burdensome. Furthermore, this methodology necessities a waiting period to ensure that all carriers have sufficient time to implement the necessary translations in each end office for each newly-portable prefix.
Absent some methodology to limit the number of queries launched to the portability database(s), the load on the SS7 signalling network may be significant. Although the existing links between the end offices and signalling hub (STP) were sufficient to handle the additional traffic, the number of new links and databases (SCPs) beyond the hub would be substantial. Therefore, if portability was widely offered, a provider's network would only be able to handle the data queries that were generated locally, not those coming in from other areas. The significance of this finding was that calls to ported numbers that originate from outside the ported number area may need to access databases separate from those handling traffic that originates within the area. This implies that unlike the LIDB (calling card database) model, multiple sets of databases, each containing data on the same numbers, may need to be deployed in different areas of the country and state.

Enhanced efficient telephone number portability


A method (200) in a CDMA terminal device for acquiring a system identified in an enhanced preferred roaming list (enhanced PRL), with at least one entry containing a mobile country code, includes the steps of obtaining (210) system identifiers from SYNCH channels on a scan list, determining (220) if the system identifiers match entries on the enhanced PRL, and inserting (226) channel information items on a first list if the system identifiers do not match entries on the enhanced PRL. If all channels on the scan list have been scanned without any system identifiers matching entries on the enhanced PRL, the method obtains (246) mobile country codes using channel information items from the first list, determines (250) if the mobile country codes match entries on the enhanced PRL, and camps (283) on a system if its mobile country code matches an entry on the enhanced PRL.

The current way that roaming partners and their network systems are being identified to CDMA subscriber devices is becoming unwieldy. A CDMA service provider uses system identifiers (SIDs) and optional network identifiers (NIDs) to support expansion of its CDMA network. Each SID covers a geographic area about the size of a city or large town. A NID is an optional subdivision of a SID and can identify different toll areas, rating areas, private networks, or any other subdivision a network operator may want to distinguish within a SID. A network operator may have hundreds of SID/NIDs identified in its network. A roaming partner needs to be able to store all those SID/NIDs in a preferred roaming list (PRL). This PRL is then communicated by the roaming partner network to its CDMA terminal devices and stored on the CDMA terminal devices of the roaming partner.
As SID/NIDs are changed or added on a CDMA network, roaming partners need to update their PRLs with the new SID/NIDs. The rate of introduction of new SID/NIDs has increased rapidly as CDMA carriers around the world expand and upgrade their networks. A nationwide or multi-national service provider may have many hundreds of SID/NIDs identified in its CDMA network and be continually changing its SID/NID listing.
While PRLs are getting larger, the memory available to store PRLs on a CDMA terminal device is potentially getting smaller. CDMA carriers that provide Removable User Interface Modules (RUIMs) as PRL storage space must deal with the fact that RUIMs have significantly less storage space for PRLs than non-RUIM terminal devices.
With increasing PRLs and decreasing PRL storage space, the CDMA Development Group has proposed enhancements to the PRL that will allow roaming partner networks to be identified by Mobile Country Code (MCC) and/or Mobile Network Code (MNC or IMSI—11—12) in addition to SID/NID. An advantage to this approach is that a large number of SID/NIDs in a PRL can be replaced by a single MCC/MNC in an "enhanced PRL." Thus, by including MCC/MNCs in an enhanced PRL, the many SID/NIDs that are superseded by a single MCC/MNC can be eliminated.
A drawback to the MCC/MNC approach, however, is that it currently takes a CDMA terminal device up to two seconds to obtain MCC/MNC information from overhead channels being broadcast by a CDMA network. Thus, there is an opportunity to optimize a CDMA terminal device to handle MCC/MNC enhanced PRL entries to spend less time obtaining MCC/MNC information from overhead channels. The various aspects, features and advantages of the disclosure will become more fully apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon careful consideration of the following Drawings and accompanying Detailed Description.

Using an enhanced preferred roaming list in a terminal device


Edge interface electrical connectors 75 and configurations for electrical devices such as radiotelephones position electrical contacts 55 on a lateral or edge surface of a printed circuit board 110, 110A and employ spring contacts 74 to interconnect other components such as batteries 60 or other accessories therewith.

Radiotelephones continue to grow in popularity because they enable flexible channels of communication. Conveniently, increasing numbers of radio-towers and satellite systems are generally each increasing user access to radiotelephone systems, even in rural or remote areas. This increased popularity produces a sophisticated consumer who can demand competing product specifications or criteria. For example, desired performance parameters typically include improved signal quality, operational features, and durability, while maintaining an aesthetically pleasing appearance. In addition, many users desire improved transportability, which in turn, generally dictates that the product configuration be provided as a slim and miniaturized design which can impact other performance parameters.
As noted above, many of the more popular hand-held telephones are undergoing miniaturization. Indeed, many of the contemporary models are only 11-12 centimeters in length. Portable radiotelephones employ an internally disposed printed circuit board which generally controls the operation of the radiotelephone. Because the printed circuit board is disposed inside the radiotelephone, its size is also shrinking, corresponding to the miniaturization of the portable radiotelephone. Unfortunately, desirable operational and performance parameters of the radiotelephone can potentially require a large amount of dedicated space on the surface of the printed circuit board. Therefore, it is desirable to efficiently and effectively utilize the limited space on the printed circuit board.
This miniaturization can also create complex mechanical and electrical connections with other components, such as exterior mounted accessories and batteries which must generally interconnect with the housing for mechanical support and to the internally disposed printed circuit board for electrical interconnection. For example, battery connections traditionally have been constructed by spring contacts which are mounted in an intermediate position in the housing such that they longitudinally extend between the housing and printed circuit board (ie., are sandwiched) to rest against on the contacts on the surface of the printed circuit board. Unfortunately, this configuration can position the electrical contacts relatively close together which can potentially allow users to inadvertently short circuit the contacts. This can occur when a user positions a conductive object such as metallic keys in close proximity to the telephone systems connector or loose spare battery such that the key(s) shorts across the two contacts. Additionally, the configuration typically requires a dedicated keep-out zone in an area adjacent the contacts on the printed circuit board because the ends of the spring contacts can deform and extend into proximate areas around the contact pads themselves. Unfortunately, this keep-out zone can waste valuable board space.
FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate one example of a conventional portable radiotelephone 10 with spring connectors 70 used to interconnect the battery 60 through the housing 30 to the printed circuit board 50. The spring connector 70 forms a contact angle 18 with the printed circuit board 50 surface when assembled. As shown in FIG. 1B, the connector 70 is configured to rest against the printed circuit board contact pads 51, 52 and is typically associated with an adjacent keep-out zone 19. Thus, as shown in FIGS. 2A-2C, when an external force is introduced onto the connector 70, it is trapped by the surface of the printed circuit board and deformed. Unfortunately, this deformation can introduce permanent structural instabilities into the electrical contact potentially causing electrical malfunction or substandard performance. Further, this interconnection configuration generally uses a relatively large mounting or contact area on the surface of the printed circuit board 50.


In an injection molding machine 1 for supplying clean air 10 to a die 8 in a direction perpendicular to a direction that opens/closes the die 8, in order to effectively pass the clean air 10 through an opened space in the die 8 so as to prevent dust from depositing on a die cavity surface or a molded product when the die 8 is opened and a ventilating hole 12 is provided in a safety door 11 provided so as to be in parallel with the die opening/closing direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for preventing dust or the like from being contained in a product such as an optical product.
2. Description of Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2000-202862 discloses a prior art in the above technical field. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2000-202862 discloses an apparatus for producing a disk substrate made of resin, in which a molten resin material is injected into a cavity formed between a pair of dies, and the resin material is cooled and solidified to produce a disk substrate, wherein there are provided a disk substrate forming portion provided with upper and lower openings, in which the dies are disposed, and an air supplying portion for supplying clean air to the disk substrate forming portion; the clean air is supplied from the air supplying portion to the disk substrate forming portion via the upper opening of the disk substrate forming portion and, then, passes through the portion of the disk substrate forming portion, in which the dies are disposed, and is discharged to the outside of the disk substrate forming portion via the lower opening of the disk substrate forming portion.
However, when a disk substrate is formed, as a molded product is removed from the dies by a removing machine which can access the upper or side portion of the dies, it is unnecessary to provide an opening in the lower portion of the disk substrate forming portion. Accordingly, the lower portion of the disk substrate forming portion may be closed, or a die-temperature controller or the like may be disposed on the lower portion of the disk substrate forming portion. In such a case, a flow of the clean air toward the lower portion of the disk substrate forming portion is obstructed and, accordingly, dust deposits on the die and is included in a molded product.


A slurry feed apparatus for depositing a slurry upon a moving forming web having a direction of travel, including: a headbox mounted transverse to the direction of travel of the moving web, having a back wall, sidewalls, a concave transverse front wall, an open top, and an open bottom for directing slurry onto the forming web; a moveable dam releasably attached to the back wall, a seal attached to a bottom wall of the dam; and a headbox support system extending from opposed the sidewalls. Also disclosed is a continuous process for depositing a uniform layer of a cementitious slurry containing reinforcing fibers from the headbox onto a traveling web.

Current practice in forming fiber reinforced cement panels uses an oscillating hose which pumps cement slurry to a roll coater wire arrangement or to an open trough which is designed to reduce splashing as the hose delivers slurry to the line. A thin layer of slurry is deposited to the line. A glass fiber chopper then deposits a layer of chopped glass on top of the slurry. A double disc embedment roller then embeds the glass fibers into the slurry as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,794,221 to Dubey. This process is repeated several times until the panel is the desired thickness. The final thickness and surface are the result of a separate sanding and finishing process. This practice has several disadvantages:
Product is formed from several layers of fiber and several layers of cement slurry making the overall production process complex and requiring the control of several stations.
Product is thicker than the desired product thickness due to the constraints imposed by the formation process. Added sanding on the panel finishing line is necessary to achieve correct panel thickness.
The product formed has dimensions (length and width) greater that the desired final product dimensions. This requires an added processing step on the panel finishing line to cut the panel to final dimensions.
Panel production efficiency is typically low due to the slow line speeds and additional steps required for finishing.
Several slurry headboxes, choppers, and embedment devices require significant capital investment and maintenance.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,986,812 of Dubey et al., incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, features a slurry feed apparatus for use in a SCP panel production line or the like application where settable slurries are used in the production of building panels or board. The apparatus includes a main metering roll and a companion roll placed in close, generally parallel relationship to each other to form a nip in which a supply of slurry is retained. Both rolls preferably rotate in the same direction so that slurry is drawn from the nip over the metering roll to be deposited upon a moving web of the SCP panel production line. A thickness control roll is provided in close operational proximity to the main metering roll for maintaining a desired thickness of the slurry.
US Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0064164 to Dubey et al., incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses a multi-layer process for producing structural cementitious panel which includes: (a.) providing a moving web; (b.) one of (i) depositing a first layer of individual, loose fibers upon the web, followed by depositing a layer of settable slurry upon the web and (ii) depositing a layer of settable slurry upon the web; (c.) depositing a second layer of individual, loose fibers upon the slurry; (d.) actively embedding said second layer of individual, loose fibers into the slurry to distribute said fibers throughout the slurry; and (e.) repeating steps (ii) through (d.) until the desired number of layers of settable fiber-enhanced slurry is obtained and so that the fibers are distributed throughout the panel. Also provided are a structural panel produced by the process, an apparatus suitable for producing structural cementitious panels according to the process, and a structural cementitious panel having multiple layers, each layer created by depositing a layer of settable slurry upon a moving web, depositing fibers upon the slurry and embedding the fibers into the slurry such that each layer is integrally formed with the adjacent layers.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,038,790 to Dubey et al., incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses Structural cement panel for resisting transverse and shear loads equal to transverse and shear loads provided by plywood and oriented strain board, when fastened to framing for use in shear walls, flooring and roofing systems. The panels provide reduced thermal transmission compared to other structural cement panels. The panels employ one or more layers of a continuous phase resulting from curing an aqueous mixture of calcium sulfate alpha hemihydrate, hydraulic cement, coated expanded perlite particles filler, optional additional fillers, active pozzolan and lime. The coated perlite has a particle size of 1-500 microns, a median diameter of 20-150 microns, and an effective particle density (specific gravity) of less than 0.50 g/cc. The panels are reinforced with fibers, for example alkali-resistant glass fibers.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,770,139 to Frank et al discloses an apparatus and process for depositing slurry upon a moving forming web. The apparatus includes a rigidly mounted headbox for depositing slurry from the inner bottom surface of the headbox down an inclined spillway as a continuous curtain onto a moving web. The headbox is mounted transverse to the direction of travel of the moving web. The headbox also has vertical edge boards, including a headbox back edge board and two opposed headbox side edge boards, on three respective sides of the headbox to prevent slurry from spilling over the sides and back of the headbox. The headbox is supplied with slurry from a slurry mixer by a feed line mounted on a reciprocating trolley which moves, transverse to the direction of travel of the moving web, back and forth along the length of the headbox.
There is a need for a headbox for a single-layer process for producing slurry for cementitious panels having high reinforcing fiber concentrations. Thus, there is a need for an improved headbox that ensures supply of sufficient mixed fluid cementitious slurry which contains glass fibers to supply a continuous panel production line.

Headbox and forming station for fiber-reinforced cementitious panel production


A light emitting display includes a plurality of light emitting diodes within a pixel. A drive circuit is coupled to the plurality of light emitting diodes and generates a drive current flowing through the light emitting diodes corresponding to a data current. A switch circuit assembly is coupled to the plurality of light emitting diodes and the drive circuit and sequentially transfers the drive current from the drive circuit to the plurality of light emitting diodes. The light emitting diodes sequentially emit light. When all the light emitting diodes emit light, one frame is formed.

a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pixel circuit and a light emitting display, and more particularly, to a pixel circuit and a light emitting display using the same, which emits light by a plurality of light emitting diodes coupled to one pixel circuit in order to improve the aperture ratio of the light emitting display.
b) Discussion of Related Art
In recent years, various display devices having reduced weight and volume compared to those of a cathode ray tube have been developed. In particular, light emitting displays having excellent light-emission, a wide angle of visibility, and a high-speed response have been proposed as next-generation planar type display devices.
A light emitting diode has a structure in which a light emitting layer emitting light is disposed between a cathode electrode and an anode electrode. Electrons and holes are injected from the cathode electrode and the anode electrode into the light emitting layer and are recombined to produce an exciton. When the exciton falls down to a lower energy level, light is emitted.
In such a light emitting diode, the light emitting layer may be composed of organic materials or inorganic materials. The light emitting diode may be an organic light emitting diode or an inorganic light emitting diode according to its material and structure.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a part of an image display device in which a current programming type pixel circuit is used. Referring to FIG. 1, the image display device includes four pixels formed adjacent to each other. Each of the pixels includes an organic light emitting diode (OLED) and a pixel circuit. The pixel circuit includes a first transistor T1 through a fourth transistor T4, and a capacitor Cst. Each of the first transistor T1 through the fourth transistor T4 includes a gate, a source, and a drain. The capacitor Cst includes a first electrode and a second electrode.
The four pixels have the same structure. In an upper most left pixel, the first transistor T1 is coupled to the OLED and transfers a current for light emission to the OLED.
The amount of current transferred by the first transistor T1 is controlled by a data current applied through a second transistor T2. The data current is maintained for a predetermined time by a capacitor Cst coupled between a gate and a source of the first transistor T1.
A scan line Sn is coupled to gates of the second and third transistors T2 and T3. A data line Dm is coupled to a source side of the second transistor T2. A light emitting control line En is coupled to the gate of the fourth transistor T4.
Operation of the above-described pixel circuit will now be described. When a scan signal sn applied to gates of the second and third transistors T2 and T3 becomes low and the second and third transistors T2 and T3 are turned on, the first transistor T1 is diode-coupled and a voltage corresponding to a data current value Idata is stored in the capacitor Cst.
After the scan signal sn becomes high, the second and third transistors T2 and T3 are turned off, a light emitting control signal en becomes low, and the fourth transistor T4 is turned on, a power is supplied and a current from the first transistor T1 corresponding to a voltage stored in the capacitor Cst flows through the OLED to emit light. At this time, the current flowing through the OLED is expressed by the following Equation 1.
                    Idata        =                                            β              2                                                                  (                                  Vgs                  -                  Vth                                )                            2                                =                      I            OLED                                              (        1        )
where Idata is a data current, Vgs is a voltage between the source and the gate of the first transistor T1, Vth is a threshold voltage of the first transistor T1, IOLED is a current flowing through the OLED, and β is a gain factor of the first transistor T1.
As indicated in Equation 1, although the threshold voltage Vth and a mobility of the first transistor T1 are non-uniform, since the current IOLED flowing through the OLED is identical to the data current Idata, uniform display characteristics can be obtained if a write current source of a data drive is uniform through the entire panel.
However, the current programming type pixel circuit mentioned above has a problem in that it takes a substantial amount of time to charge the data line since it should control a very small current. For example, assuming that a load capacitance of a data line is 30 pF, it takes a few milliseconds to charge a load of the data line with a current from several tens of nAs to several hundreds of nAs. Since a line time is only several tens of microseconds, there is not sufficient time to charge this load to the data line. In particular, when a low luminance is displayed, since a current value is small, a longer time is required to charge the load of the data line.
Furthermore, in a conventional pixel circuit in which a light emitting display is used, only one OLED is coupled to each pixel circuit. In order to emit a plurality of light emitting diodes, a plurality of pixel circuits are needed. Thus, the number of elements required within a light emitting display may be high.
Moreover, because one light emitting control line is coupled to each pixel row, the aperture ratio of a light emitting display may be deteriorated.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Pixel circuit and light emitting display using the same


A valve prosthesis includes a flexible plug and an annular bearing reinforcement which is embodied such that it is radially rigid and surgically implantable in the area of a heart valve. The valve prosthesis is provided with an interchangeable prosthetic valve, is independent of the bearing reinforcement, endoluminally placeable and includes a tubular support which is radially deformable between a folded setting position and an unfolded position for implanting into a bearing structure and the flexible plug connected to a tubular support. The bearing reinforcement forms an annular support devoid of any plug capable of univocally limiting a blood flow circulation.

The present invention relates to a valve prosthesis to be put into place by an endoluminal approach. The prosthesis is the type comprising a flexible shutter and an annular carrier structure that is radially rigid and suitable for being surgically implanted at the location of a heart valve.
The heart comprises two atriums and two ventricles which are separated by valves. Valves are also present at the outlets from the right ventricle (pulmonary valve) and from the left ventricle (aortic valve).
These valves ensure that blood flows in one direction only, avoiding reflux of blood at the end of ventricular contraction.
Valves can suffer diseases. In particular, they can suffer from poor opening, thus reducing the flow of blood, or from being somewhat leaky, thus allowing a reflux or regurgitation of blood back into the ventricle that has just expelled it.
These regurgitation problems lead to abnormal expansion of the ventricle thereby producing, in the long run, heart failure.
It is known to treat that type of disease surgically, by replacing the diseased valve. Diseased valves, and in particular the aortic valve at the outlet from the left ventricle, are replaced by valves taken from a deceased subject, or by prosthetic valves, commonly referred to as bioprostheses. A prosthetic valve is constituted by a metal ring structure and a flexible shutter made of tissue of animal origin. The shutter is permanently secured to the structure.
Such valves are described in particular in documents WO 01/03095 and WO 00/27975.
Once implanted, the structure bears against the inside wall of the heart to which it is sutured, in particular at the inlet to the aortic valve coming from the left ventricle.
It is found that after such a prosthesis has been implanted for several years, it degenerates and no longer functions efficiently. In particular, the flexible shutter tears and presents holes, or the shutter becomes calcified and thus loses flexibility, thus no longer being capable of deforming to perform its valve function. It is then necessary to put a new prosthesis into place.
However, it is not possible to remove the old prosthesis via an endoluminal path, in particular because the carrier structure of the prosthesis is sutured to the wall of the heart, meaning that they cannot be separated without major surgery for complete replacement of the valve.
In order to avoid a major surgical operation for removing the old prosthesis and putting a second prosthesis into place, it has been envisaged that a new prosthetic valve could be put into place by an endoluminal approach inside the old prosthesis which is left in place.
The new prosthetic valve is formed by a tubular support constituted by a radially deformable lattice fitted with a flexible shutter disposed in the duct defined by the tubular support. The shutter is connected to the tubular support and presents a shape that enables it, by deforming, to allow blood to flow in one direction and to prevent the blood from flowing in the opposite direction.
It has been envisaged that the tubular support could be made of interlaced resilient metal wires defining meshes that are generally lozenge-shaped. Such a tubular support is known as a "stent". The tubular support is deformable between an insertion position, in which its diameter is reduced, and an implantation position in which its diameter is larger and sufficient to enable the support to bear against the inside of the carrier structure of the old prosthesis.
In order to be put into place, such prosthetic valves comprising a tubular lattice support are disposed inside a small-diameter catheter. The end of the catheter is brought via the arterial network to the region where the no longer functioning, old prosthesis has been fitted. The new prosthetic valve is pushed out from the catheter using a wire-shaped member engaged in the catheter. Since the tubular support is resilient, it deploys immediately on its own when it is no longer compressed radially by the catheter. It then comes to bear around the inside perimeter of the carrier structure of the old prosthesis.
Putting the new valve into place and deploying it are operations that are very difficult, particularly when the old prosthesis is very damaged.


A component analyzing apparatus includes a microchip having a fine separating flow path for separating components when a sample solution labeled with fluorescence passes therethrough. A light irradiation device is arranged to irradiate light to a predetermined area of the microchip at a predetermined angle so that the proximity field light irradiates at least a portion of the separating flow path of the microchip. A light detecting device is disposed above the microchip to receive the fluorescence discharged from the sample solution labeled with fluorescence present in the separating flow path with the proximity field light generated from light irradiated by the light irradiating device as excitation light.

The present invention relates to a component analyzing apparatus with a microchip suitable for analysis in the field of, mainly, biochemistry, molecular biology and clinical medicine, and especially for analyzing DNA and protein.
A capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a method suitable for separating components having similar structures, such as optical separation and separation of isomers, as well as analyzing bio-components such as peptides, proteins, DNA and sugars. The capillary electrophoresis has been widely used for monitoring clinical medicine, drugs, environment materials or the like. Especially, a microchip type apparatus, i.e. a microchip electrophoresis apparatus, having a micro-flow path using a photo-lithographic technique or the like, is easy to handle and has been widely used for analyzing DNA or the like.
FIGS. 8(a)–8(c) show an example of an electrophoretic chip disclosed in Japanese Patents No. 3077609 and No. 3417344; and FIG. 9 is a perspective view thereof. An electrophoretic chip 10 is formed of a pair of transparent flat plates 11 and 15 made of glass, quartz or the like. A sample drawing groove 12 and a migration groove 13 crossing each other at a crossing portion (hereinafter, called a crossing portion 14) are formed in an upper surface of the lower transparent flat plate 11 (refer to FIG. 8(b)). Through-holes 16 are provided in the upper transparent flat plate 15 at positions corresponding to the respective end portions of the grooves 12 and 13 (refer to FIG. 8(a)). The grooves 12 and 13 are provided in the surface of the transparent flat plate 11, for example, by etching, and a width of the groove portions is about 10–100 μm and a depth thereof is about 5–50 μm.
As shown in FIG. 8(c), a pair of the transparent flat plates 11 and 15 is bonded together so that the grooves 12 and 13 are positioned inside the flat plates 11 and 15. Accordingly, a sample introducing flow path 17 communicating with outside through the first and second reservoirs R1 and R2 formed by the through-holes 16 and a separating flow path 18 communicating with outside through the third and fourth reservoirs R3 and R4 are formed in the electrophoretic chip 10. The respective reservoirs R1 to R4 receive capillaries therein for introducing a liquid, such as a migration liquid, from outside. Electrodes (not shown) for applying a voltage to a migration liquid reserved in the reservoirs are provided, respectively. The electrode is formed of, for example, a conductive thin film formed by photolithography on the surface of one of the transparent flat plates, and extends to the end surface of the transparent flat plate.
A general procedure of measurement using such an electrophoretic chip 10 is as follows. First, the whole flow paths are filled with the migration liquid. Then, the first reservoir R1 is filled with a small amount (about 1–2 μl) of the sample solution, and a high voltage where a flow design and a migration condition are optimized is applied to the respective reservoirs R1 to R4. As an example, a voltage of 0.6 kV is applied to the first and fourth reservoirs R1 and R4; a voltage of 0.3 kV is applied to the third reservoir R3; and the second reservoir R2 is grounded. Then, the sample injected into the first reservoir R1 flows into the sample introducing flow path 17 due to an electric potential difference, passes through the crossing portion 14 and moves toward the second reservoir R2. At this time, the migration liquid also moves toward the second reservoir R2 from the third and fourth reservoirs R3 and R4, respectively, so that the sample does not diffuse to the separating flow path 18 during the sample introducing period.
Then, a voltage of 0.2 kV is applied to the first and second reservoirs R1 and R2; a voltage of 0.5 kV is applied to the third reservoir R3; and the fourth reservoir R4 is grounded. Accordingly, the sample present at the crossing portion 14 is introduced into the separating flow path 18 due to an electric potential difference, and migrates toward the fourth reservoir R4. In the sample introducing flow path 17, the sample present on a side of the first reservoir R1 from the crossing portion 14 moves back to the first reservoir R1; and the sample present on a side of the second reservoir R2 from the crossing portion 14 moves back to the second reservoir R2. Therefore, only the sample in a predetermined quantity according to a volume of the crossing portion 14 is introduced into the separating flow path 18.
As described (above, when the sample migrates in the separating flow path 18, the respective components contained in the sample are separated. With respect to the sample separated as described above, an electroferrogram, where an abscissa axis represents a migration time, is obtained through one point UV absorption detection using an ultraviolet visible absorption detector or through one point fluorescence detection using a fluorescence detector having an incident-light fluorescence optical system.
When the sample is detected at just one point on the separating flow path 18, it is difficult to obtain a whole image of the sample components separating and moving along the separating flow path 18. In the UV absorption detection using the ultraviolet visible absorption detector as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3077609, it is possible to obtain an image of the sample components spreading in a predetermined area along the separating flow path 18. However, the sensitivity of the UV detection using light absorption of the sample itself is inferior to that of the fluorescent detection. Accordingly, it is difficult to detect a component having a low concentration or low light absorption. The fluorescent detection is not greatly affected by background light as compared with the UV detection. However, it is necessary to reduce the effect of the background light for further improving the accuracy and the sensitivity.
In view of the above problems, an object of the invention is to provide a component analyzing apparatus using a component analyzing microchip for separating sample components through an electrophoretic migration, a liquid-supply pump or the like, wherein the separated sample components are detected over a predetermined area along a flow path at a high sensitivity, not at one point on the separating flow path of the microchip.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.

Component analyzing apparatus with microchip


A method for estimating a location of a most-likely photon source on a scintillator block includes obtaining a measured photodetector signal indicative of a distribution of photons received by a plurality of photodetectors from a photon source on a scintillator block; and obtaining a measured fiber signal indicative of a distribution of photons received by a plurality of wavelength-shifting fibers extending across the scintillator block from a photon source on a scintillator block.

In positron emission tomography ("PET"), a radioactive material is placed in the patient. In the process of radioactive decay, this material emits positrons. These positrons travel through the patient until they encounter electrons. When a positron and an electron meet, they annihilate each other. This results in emission of two gamma ray photons that exit the patient traveling in opposite directions. By detecting these pairs of gamma ray photons, one can infer where an annihilation event occurred, and thereby determine the distribution of the radioactive material within the patient.
To detect these pairs of gamma ray photons, (which will now be referred to as "gamma rays") it is useful to surround the patient with scintillating crystals. When a positron and electron annihilate within the patient, the resulting pair of gamma rays enter opposed scintillating crystals. These gamma rays then interact with the scintillation crystal. In so doing, they cause the emission of an isotropic spray of scintillation photons centered at a point at which the gamma ray interacts with the scintillation crystal. These scintillation photons can be detected by photodetectors in optical communication with the scintillation crystal.
Some of these scintillation photons are emitted in a direction that takes them to the photodetectors. Other scintillation photons, which are emitted in a direction away from any photodetector, nevertheless manage to reach a photodetector after being redirected by structures within the scintillating crystal. Yet other scintillation photons are absorbed and therefore never reach the photodetectors at all.
To detect gamma ray photons, the patient is positioned within a ring of scintillating crystals. Photodetectors observing the crystals can then detect the scintillation photons and provide, to a processor, information on how many scintillation photons were received and from which scintillation crystals they were received. The processor then processes such data arriving from all photodetectors to form an image showing the spatial distribution of radioactive material within the patient.
Each photodetector provides a signal whose intensity indicates the number of scintillation photons reaching that photodetector. Because the photodetector has a large receiving cross section, it is able to detect many scintillation photons. As a result, the photodetector is able to determine, with great precision, when the gamma ray interacted with the material. However, the large receiving cross section of the photodetector limits its ability to provide precise information on where the gamma ray interacted with the scintillating crystal.
To enhance the spatial resolution of a PET scanner, one can place an array of wavelength-shifting, or fluorescent optical fibers in optical communication with the photomultipliers and the scintillation crystal. Scintillation photons can then enter the fluorescent optical fibers. In so doing, the scintillation photons are absorbed. This causes the optical fiber to fluoresce. The photons emitted within the fiber, which will be called "re-emitted photons", propagate toward a photosensor in optical communication with each fiber. Because the fluorescent optical fibers are much narrower than the photomultiplier tubes, the fiber array provides more spatial resolution than the photomultiplier tubes. This enables the fiber array to provide more precise information on where the gamma ray interacted with the scintillating crystal.
The small diameter of each fiber and the limited probability that the fiber will capture a scintillation photon, means that each fiber collects only a limited number of scintillation photons. As a result, the signal provided by the fiber array provides only limited temporal resolution. This makes it difficult to correlate signals from the fiber array with signals from the photomultipliers, particularly when the intervals between events are short.

PET scanner with photodetectors and wavelength shifting fibers


A container opening device and method are provided to facilitate the opening of containers of the type having integral pull tabs. The device includes a body, a tip located at one end of the body, and a handle located at the opposite end of the body. A slot is formed in the body and is positioned between the handle and the tip. The device is first used as a lever to rotate the pull tab to an activated position. The pull tab is then inserted within the slot formed in the body, and the handle of the device is rotated while securing the pull tab in the slot causing the lid to roll around the body thus separating the lid from the container.

Products are stored in a wide variety of containers. For food products and beverages, common containers include sealed cans, bottles, and containers made of metal or cardboard/compressed papers with detachable sealed lids. More recently, containers having detachable sealed lids have become popular for storage of many food products. These containers may include an integral pull tab that is used to detach the lid from the container.
While sealed containers with detachable lids and integral pull tabs may be well suited for storage of various goods, one drawback with the design of these containers is that opening the containers requires considerable force to be applied to the pull tab in order to activate the pull tab and to remove the lid from the container by pulling on the pull tab.
Therefore, there is a need for a device that facilitates opening of these containers by providing a user with a mechanical advantage in manipulating the pull tabs.


Recombinant acetogenic Clostridia are engineered to modulate production of aliphatic C2-C6 alcohols and aliphatic C2-C6 organic acids from synthetic gases. One aspect of the invention provides a method of producing an aliphatic C2-C6 alcohol using an acetogenic Clostridium micro-organism having at least one genetic modification that reduces or eliminates C2-C6 carboxylic acid production by the modified organism. Another aspect of the invention provides a method of producing an aliphatic C2-C6 alcohol using an acetogenic Clostridium micro-organism having one or more genetic modifications that cause increased enzyme activity of carbon monoxide dehydrogenase, aldehyde ferredoxin oxidoreductase, NADPH-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase, or alcohol dehydrogenase. Yet another aspect of the invention provides a method of producing aliphatic C2-C6 alcohols using acetogenic Clostridium micro-organisms that have been genetically modified to increase C2-C6 aliphatic alcohol formation and decrease the production of the corresponding C2-C6 aliphatic organic acid.

Synthesis gas (syngas) is a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO) gas, carbon dioxide (CO2) gas, and hydrogen (H2) gas, and other volatile gases such as CH4, N2, NH3, H2S and other trace gases. Syngas is produced by gasification of various organic materials including biomass, organic waste, coal, petroleum, plastics, or other carbon containing materials. Acetogenic Clostridia microorganisms grown in an atmosphere containing syngas are capable of absorbing the syngas components CO, CO2, and H2 and producing aliphatic C2-C6 alcohols and aliphatic C2-C6 organic acids. These syngas components activate Wood-Ljungdahl metabolic pathway 100, shown in FIG. 1, which leads to the formation of acetyl-CoA 102, a key intermediate in the pathway. The enzymes activating Wood-Ljundahl pathway 100 are carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (CODH) 104 and hydrogenase (H2ase) 106. These enzymes capture the electrons from the CO and H2 in the syngas and transfer them to ferredoxin 108, an iron-sulfur (FeS) electron carrier protein. Ferredoxin 108 is the main electron carrier in Wood-Ljungdahl pathway 100 in acetogenic Clostridia, primarily because the redox potential during syngas fermentation is very low (usually between −400 and −500 mV). Upon electron transfer, ferredoxin 108 changes its electronic state from Fe3+ to Fe2+. Ferredoxin-bound electrons are then transferred to cofactors NAD+ 110 and NADP+ 112 through the activity of ferredoxin oxidoreductases 114 (FORs). The nucleotide cofactors (NAD+ and NADP+) are used for the generation of intermediate compounds in Wood-Ljungdahl pathway 100 leading to acetyl-CoA 102 formation.
Acetyl-CoA 102 formation through Wood-Ljungdahl pathway 100 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 2. Either CO2 202 or CO 208 provide substrates for the pathway. The carbon from CO2 202 is reduced to a methyl group through successive reductions first to formate, by formate dehydrogenase (FDH) enzyme 204, and then is further reduced to methyl tetrahydrofolate intermediate 206. The carbon from CO 208 is reduced to carbonyl group 210 by carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (CODH) 104 through a second branch of the pathway. The two carbon moieties are then condensed to acetyl-CoA 102 through the action of acetyl-CoA synthase (ACS) 212, which is part of a carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (CODH/ACS) complex. Acetyl-CoA 102 is the central metabolite in the production of C2-C6 alcohol s and acids in acetogenic Clostridia.
Wood-Ljungdahl pathway 100 is neutral with respect to ATP production when acetate 214 is produced (FIG. 2). When ethanol 216 is produced directly from acetyl-CoA 102, one ATP is consumed in a step involving the reduction of methylene tetrahydrafolate to methyl tetrahydrofolate 206 by a reductase, and the process is therefore net negative by one ATP. The pathway is balanced when acetyl-PO4 218 is converted to acetate 214.
Acetogenic Clostridia organisms generate cellular energy by ion gradient-driven phophorylation. When grown in a CO atmosphere, a transmembrane electrical potential is generated and used to synthesize ATP from ADP. Enzymes mediating the process include hydrogenase, NADH dehydrogenase, carbon monoxide dehydrogenase, and methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase. Membrane carriers that have been shown to be likely involved in the ATP generation steps include quinone, menaquinone, and cytochromes.
The acetogenic Clostridia produce a mixture of C2-C6 alcohols and acids, such as ethanol, n-butanol, hexanol, acetic acid, and butyric acid, that are of commercial interest through Wood-Ljungdahl pathway 100. For example, acetate and ethanol are produced by C. ragsdalei in variable proportions depending in part on fermentation conditions. However, the cost of producing the desired product, an alcohol such as ethanol, for example, could be lowered significantly if the production could be maximized by reducing or eliminating production of the corresponding acid, in this example acetate. Under some fermentation conditions, the production of acetate is best maintained within a range in which sufficient acetyl-PO4 is converted to acetate to produce adequate ATP for the micro-organisms' viability without accumulation of acetic acid. It would therefore be desirable to metabolically engineer acetogenic Clostridia for improved production of selected C2-C6 alcohol s or acids through Wood-Ljungdahl pathway 100 by modulating enzymatic activities of key enzymes in the pathway.

Recombinant microorganisms having modified production of alcohols and acids


The current invention provides a series of bicyclic nitroimidazole-substituted phenyl oxazolidinones in which a bicyclic nitroimidazole pharmacophore is covalently bonded to a phenyl oxazolidinone, their pharmaceutical compositions, and the method of use of the compositions for prevention and treatment of bacterial infections. The bicyclic nitroimidazole-substituted phenyl oxazolidinones possess surprising antibacterial activity against wild-type and resistant strains of pathogens, and are therefore useful for the prevention, control and treatment of a number of human and veterinary bacterial infections caused by these pathogens, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The present invention relates bicyclic nitroimidazole-substituted phenyl oxazolidinones wherein a bicyclic nitroimidazole pharmacophore is chemically linked with a phenyl oxazolidinone pharmacophore via a covalent bond.
The disturbing increase in bacterial resistance to existing antibacterial agents is a major clinical challenge. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for compounds, compositions, and methods of treating warm-blooded animals that suffer from a bacterial infection and are resistant to conventional antibacterial treatments. The rise of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis ("MDRTB") is a profound public threat. Tuberculosis ("TB") is highly contagious. The caustic pathogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria are easily passed from person to person in airborne droplets formed when a person with active TB sneezes or coughs. MDRTB is extraordinarily difficult to treat, and a majority of patients do not respond to conventional therapy. Total treatment costs for an individual with MDRTB can be as much as 10 times the cost of traditional treatment, and the cost of the treatment drugs alone can be as much as 21 times as great. The preferred treatment for classical TB consists of isoniazid, rifampin, pyrazinamide and ethambutol, four drugs combination in the first two month of intense treatment phase, followed by four month of second phase of treatment with rifampin and isoniazid two drug cocktail. MDRTB patients require specialized treatment with additional medications, which may include streptomycin and ciprofloxacin for almost two years.
Bicyclic nitroimidazoles are known antibacterials, and they are potent agents against Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria. A series of nitroimidazo[2,1-b]oxazole derivates are reported to exhibit antimicrobial properties, including antitubercular activity (Nagarajan, K. 1989). The compound of formula (a) in which R is ethyl, (i.e. 2-ethyl-5-nitro-2,3-dihydro[2,1-b]imidazo-oxazole, also known as CGI 17341) has been shown to exhibit activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Ashtekar, D. 1993). More recently, 2,3-dihydro-6-nitroimidazo[2,1-b]oxazoles (WO 2005/042542 A1 and Sasaki, H. 2006) described by formula (b) were disclosed as agents for the treatment of tuberculosis, wherein R1 represents H, alkyls etc.; R2 is alkoxy, aryloxy etc. Another class of bicyclic nitroimidazoles is nitro-[2,1-b]imidazopyran compounds, which are reported to exhibit antimicrobial properties, including antitubercular activity (U.S. Pat. No. 6,087,358), as shown by formula (c), wherein R1 and R2 are various alkyloxy or aryloxy substituents; X is O, S, NR2 etc.; Y, Z are CH2, CHR2 and heteroatoms etc.

Oxazolidinones are a new class of synthetic antimicrobial agents which kill gram positive pathogens by inhibiting a very early stage of protein synthesis. Oxazolidinones inhibit the formation of ribosomal initiation complex involving 30S and 50S ribosomes leading to prevention of initiation complex formation. Due to their novel mechanism of action, these compounds are active against pathogens resistant to other clinically prescribed antibiotics. WO2006043121 discloses heteroaryl-substituted piperazinyl phenyl oxazolidinones; U.S. Pat. No. 5,736,545 describes azolyl piperazinyl phenyl oxazolidinones; U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,118 discloses substituted oxazine and thiazine oxazolidinone antimicrobials. U.S. Pat. No. 6,968,962 discloses phenyloxazolidinones having a C—C bond to 4-8 membered heterocyclic rings. U.S. Pat. No. 5,981,528 discloses antibiotic oxazolidinone derivatives.
Other earlier publications in the area of oxazolidinones are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,801,600, 4,921,869, EPA 0352781 (Jan. 31, 1989) and EPA 0316594 (May 24, 1989).
Although oxazolidinones and bicyclic nitroimidazoles are known, there are no references that disclose covalently bonding a phenyl oxazolidinone to a bicyclic nitroimidazole pharmacophore and using the resulting bicyclic nitroimidazole-substituted phenyl oxazolidinones as anti-bacterial agents against aerobic and anaerobic Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, especially mycobacteria and clostridia.

Bicyclic nitroimidazole-substituted phenyl oxazolidinones


A method and apparatus for providing handover between carriers of different duplex frequency separation distances is provided. A mobile terminal is configured to operate in both fixed and variable duplex. The ability operate with unpaired up-link and down-link frequency carrier pairs, when necessary, makes it possible to significantly increase the spectrum utilization (capacity) in a cellular system using asymmetric up-link and down-link for example in WCDMA systems.

In today's competitive environment, a cellular system operator needs to carry as much traffic as possible on his spectrum without degrading service quality. Furthermore, an operator needs to provide coverage over large areas with modest traffic, as well as smaller areas with very high localized traffic, often referred to as "hot spots". This is traditionally solved by having an hierarchical or overlay/underlay cell structure wherein a number of smaller pico or micro cells are provided within the coverage area of a larger macro cell. By providing handover between the cell structures, the small cells will only be needed where traffic demands are very high, or where the coverage from a macro cell is marginal, for example, in some indoor sites such as airports, railway stations and office buildings.
Traditionally, operators employing overlay/underlay cell infrastructures, such as that shown in FIG. 1, use different radio communication carriers for each cell layer in order to reduce mutual interference between the cell layers. This a natural technique for operators of more narrow band cellular standards, as a relatively large number of carriers are available to each operator. However, assigning different carrier pairs is difficult to do when an operator only has two or three carrier pairs available, as can be the case in a wide-band CDMA (WCDMA) system. As a result, operators with a limited number of carriers allow the lower layers or pico cells to use some or all of the uplink and downlink carrier pairs assigned to the upper or macro cell. Therefore, operators employ one of the following two techniques, (A) they assign different uplink and downlink carrier pairs to the pico and macro cell or (B) they allow the pico cell to use some or all of the uplink downlink carrier pairs assigned to the macro cell.
One problem with using different up-link/down-link carrier pairs in each cell layer is that it can result in inefficient use of the spectrum. For example, if an operator only has access to a few carrier pairs, for example, 2, they are forced to decrease the capacity of their macro cell by 50 percent in order to load a lower/pico cell using a different carrier pair. As this is typically unacceptable to the operator, operators of these system typically reuse the same carrier pair in both layers of the infrastructure. This is feasible as long as the traffic in the underlay cell is low.
However, the underlay cell traffic can interfere with the macro cell traffic and can, with increasing cell traffic, gradually reduce the capacity of the macro cell beyond an acceptable level. Then, from a capacity point of view, the operator ends up with concept A, i.e., the carrier pair being used by the underlay cell will more or less be useless for the macro cell. One method for improving the utilization of broad band RF carriers for overlay/underlay infrastructures in such systems and generally for asymmetric broadband data services is provided in copending application Ser. No. 10/233,663, titled "Flexible Carrier Utilization" (published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2003/0109284 A1 on Jun. 12, 2003), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The technique of the copending application improves the utilization of broad band RF carriers by allocating an extra frequency band, for example, an extra up-link, to the underlay cell as opposed to allocating a frequency pair. However, such a system solution needs a mobile terminal able to work with variable duplex, i.e., an unpaired UL and DL, when necessary.
In an asymmetric cellular system, for example WCDMA, the link from a mobile terminal to a base station, i.e., the uplink (UL) and the link from the base station to the mobile terminal, i.e., the down-link (DL), differs in terms of modulation, slot format, interleaving and coding. Furthermore, the frequency distance between the UL and DL is constant for all UL and DL pairs (i.e, they work in a fixed duplex mode). This means that the up-link and down-link frequency bands have a fixed separation in frequency, and if one of the links is moved to another frequency the other one is also moved to keep the fixed separation in frequency This can give rise to frequency spectrum utilization problems, as discussed above, since a change in the up-link will result in a change in the down link and vice versa. However, as discussed above, a capacity problem may exist in the uplink but not in the downlink. In other scenarios it can be the DL that has a capacity problem first while the UL is able to handle the current traffic. Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus able to solve the problem of one link with a telecommunication system having capacity problems while the corresponding link does not.

Mobile terminal for optimal spectrum utilization in cellular systems


The present invention relates to nonlinear optical materials comprising aminoaryl hydrazones and to nonlinear optical polymeric compositions containing recurring covalently bonded moieties derived from the aminoaryl hydrazones of the invention. The polymeric compositions of the present invention have high glass transition temperatures and exhibit stable nonlinear optical activity at high temperatures over a period of time.

Nonlinear optical (NLO) materials have been used in electro-optic devices for more efficient processing and transmitting of information in the field of fiber optic communications. The NLO materials used in these devices have in general been inorganic crystals such as lithium niobate (LiNbO.sub.3) or potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP). More recently, nonlinear optical materials based on organic molecules, and in particular polar aromatic organic molecules, have been developed.
Organic nonlinear optical materials have a number of potential advantages over inorganic materials. Specifically, they have fast response times, small dielectric constants, good linear optical properties, large nonlinear optical susceptibilities, and high damage thresholds. In addition, organic materials can be easily fabricated into integrated device structures when used in polymer form. Organic crystals of 2-methyl-4-nitroaniline have been shown to have a higher nonlinear optical activity than that of LiNbO.sub.3.
There are various known polymeric organic materials which possess specific nonlinear optical properties and various known processes for making such polymeric organic materials. Many of the current polymeric organic materials prepared by the prior art are prepared by blending a NLO molecule into a polymer host material. "Blending" herein means a combination or mixture of materials without significant reaction between specific components.
EP 218,938 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,859,876 have used an approach of incorporating NLO active molecules into amorphous polymer host matrices for NLO media. EP 218,938 discloses a number of polymer host materials, including epoxies, and many types of molecules which have NLO activity including azo dyes such as Disperse Red 1. It is known that an NLO active material such as azo dye Disperse Red 1, (4, -[N-ethyl-N-(2-hydroxyethyl]amino-4-nitro azobenzene), may be incorporated into a host by simply blending the azo dye in a thermoplastic material such as poly(methylmethacrylate), as described in Applied Physics Letters 49(5), 4 (1986) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,859,876.
While the doped polymer approach offers some advantages over organic and inorganic crystals, the approach has a number of problems. First, the stability of the NLO activity over time for such materials has been shown to be poor. A problem associated with a polymer with NLO properties produced by simply blending NLO molecules into a host polymer is that these polymer materials lack orientational stability. There is significant molecular relaxation or reorientation within a short period of time resulting in a loss of NLO properties. For example, as reported by Hampsch et al., Macromolecules 1988, 21, 528-350, the NLO activity of a polymer with NLO molecules blended therein decreases dramatically over a period of days at room temperature.
In addition, the NLO dopants in the blended polymeric media plasticize the polymer host matrix, lowering the polymer glass transition temperature (Tg). Lowering the polymer T.sub.g has the effect of lowering the temperature stability of the electrically oriented NLO material or NLO medium. Near the Tg, segments of the polymer become mobile and the NLO active dopant molecules which are oriented electrically undergo orientational relaxation. Once orientational relaxation has occurred, the NLO medium exhibits no NLO activity.
A third problem with the doped polymers is the poor solubility of the NLO chromophore in the host matrix. This limits the concentration of NLO properties that can be incorporated in the polymer matrix. Finally, the NLO chromophores tend to aggregate at relatively low doping levels (e.g. 5-20 percent w/v). Such aggregates scatter light and reduce the transparency of the waveguides to unacceptable levels.
Another disadvantage is that the polymer employed may have a low glass transition temperature, or lack sufficient tensile strength or other desirable properties for optical devices.
Generally, the incorporation of molecular structures which have NLO activity into the backbone of a polymer chain will decrease the likelihood of the structural reorganization in comparison with polymers in which the NLO active molecule is simply blended. It is, therefore, desirable to provide a polymer material with NLO groups covalently bonded to the backbone of the polymer material to minimize relaxation effects.
Amine curing agents have long been used as curing agents for epoxy resins. Amine curing agents are discussed in Lee and Neville, Handbook of Epoxy Resins, McGraw Hill (1967), pages 8-1 to 8-18 and 9-1 to 9-15. Amine curing agents are also discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,330,659 4,814,414and 4,822,832.
Japanese laid open publication Nos. J-63-275,553 and J-62-210,431 disclose various organic nonlinear optical compounds containing hydrazone functionalities which are useful for NLO applications. Specifically, J-62-210,431 discloses nonlinear optical materials containing nonlinear optical hydrazones as powders, molecule inclusions within the host lattice, thin layers deposited upon carriers such as films, monocrystals, and solutions. The hydrazones of J-62-210,431 may be bonded in the form of a pendant group to a polymer such as a polydiacetylene.
It is an object of the present invention to provide nonlinear optical aminoaryl hydrazones as curing agents for epoxy resins, and as suitable monomers for polymeric compositions such as poly(amino ethers), polyimides, polyamides, and polyureas.
It is further the object of the present invention to provide epoxy polymers or epoxy based polymers containing covalently bonded aminoaryl hydrazone moieties in the structure of the polymers exhibiting enhanced nonlinear optical activity and stability.
It is an additional object of the present invention that the polymers comprising the NLO materials have relatively high glass transition temperatures. A high glass transition temperature will correlate with high temperature stability of the NLO material or medium.

Nonlinear optical aminoaryl hydrazones and nonlinear optical polymers thereof


A liposome composition and method for delivery of a nucleic acid in vivo or ex vivo is described. The liposomes in the composition are comprised of (i) a cationic lipid and (ii) a lipid joined to a hydrophilic polymer by a releasable linkage. The liposomes are associated with a nucleic acid for delivery to a cell.

A variety of methods have been developed to facilitate the transfer of genetic material into specific cells. These methods are useful for both in vivo or ex vivo gene transfer. In the former, a gene is directly introduced (intravenously, intraperitoneally, aerosol, etc.) into a subject. In ex vivo (or in vitro) gene transfer, the gene is introduced into cells after removal of the cells from specific tissue of an individual. The transfected cells are then introduced back into the subject.
Delivery systems for achieving in vivo and ex vivo gene therapy include viral vectors, such as retroviral vectors or adenovirus vectors, microinjection, electroporation, protoplast fusion, calcium phosphate, and liposomes (Felgner, J., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84:7413-7417 (1987); Mulligan, R. S., Science 260:926-932 (1993); Morishita, R., et al., J. Clin. Invest. 91:2580-2585 (1993)).
Delivery of genetic material to cells using liposomal carriers has been widely studied. It is generally understood that liposome vesicles are taken up by cells via endocytosis and enter the lysosomal degradation pathway. Thus, some effort towards designing liposomes that avoid degradation has been made.
The use of cationic lipids, e.g., derivatives of glycolipids with a positively charged ammonium or sulfonium ion-containing headgroup, for delivery of negatively-charged biomolecules, such as oligonucleotides and DNA fragments, as a liposome lipid bilayer component is widely reported. The positively-charged headgroup of the lipid interacts with the negatively-charged cell surface, facilitating contact and delivery of the biomolecule to the cell. The positive charge of the cationic lipid is further important for nucleic acid complexation.
However, systemic administration of such cationic liposome/nucleic acid complexes leads to their facile entrapment in the lung. This lung localization is caused by the strong positive surface charge of the conventional cationic complexes. In vivo gene expression of the conventional cationic complexes with reporter gene has been documented in the lung, heart, liver, kidney, and spleen following intravenous administration. However, morphological examination indicates that the majority of the expression is in endothelial cells lining the blood vessels in the lung. A potential explanation for this observation is that the lung is the first organ that cationic liposome/nucleic acid complexes encounter after intravenous injection. Additionally, there is a large surface area of endothelial cells in the lung, which provides a readily accessible target for the cationic liposome/nucleic acid complexes.
Although early results were encouraging, intravenous injection of simple cationic liposomes has not proved useful for the delivery of genes to systemic sites of disease (such as solid tumors other than lung tumors) or to the desired sites for clinically relevant gene expression (such as p53 or HSV-tk). Cationic liposomes are cleared too rapidly, and present a host of safety concerns.
In addition, tumor cell direct targeting is much more challenging than angiogenic endothelial cell targeting. Liposome/DNA complexes access angiogenic endothelial cells of tumor vasculature relatively easily, since the cells are directly exposed in the blood compartment. For targeting of tumor cells, liposome/DNA complexes need to extravasate through the leaky tumor blood vessels and then can reach tumor cells. Thus the complex stability, size, surface charge, blood circulation time, and transfection efficiency of complexes are all factors for tumor cell transfection and expression.

Gene delivery mediated by liposome-DNA complex with cleavable peg surface modification


A safety screen assembly includes a shroud sleeve with an upstream end that defines a flow inlet. A spring seat is disposed downstream from the shroud sleeve and includes a flow outlet. A screen spool is operatively disposed between the flow inlet and the flow outlet and includes a tubular body with an inner passage, a screen disposed within the inner passage, and a plurality of bypass passages formed in the tubular body. The tubular body is in sliding engagement with the shroud sleeve in both a first position and a second position, the shroud sleeve closing the plurality of bypass passages from fluid flow when the tubular body is in the first position, and the plurality of bypass passages being open to fluid flow when the tubular body is in the second position. A spring biases the tubular body of the screen spool toward the first position.

The present invention relates to filtration of fluid systems and more specifically to filtration in lubrication systems for gas turbine engines.
In pressurized fluid systems, such as a lubrication system or a fuel system in a gas turbine engine, fluid is directed through a network of passages to specified regions of a machine to serve numerous functions, such as lubrication and cooling. In a gas turbine engine, the lubrication system directs a substantial volume of a lubricating fluid to engine bearing compartments to provide the necessary lubrication and cooling of the bearings contained therein. This lubricating fluid may carry a residual quantity of particulate matter, such as metallic filings, sediments, or other solids generated by material wear occurring at sliding or impacting surfaces within the bearing compartments and other internal components of the gas turbine engine.
It is well known that filtering particulate matter from the lubricating fluid can minimize the wear to bearings and other internal components in the gas turbine engine. Particulate matter is filtered from the lubricating fluid by a screen or other filter positioned along the passages of the lubrication system. Over time, these filters and screens can become partially or fully blocked by the particulate matter, thereby starving the downstream bearings and components of the pressure and flow of lubricating fluid that is required for proper function. In some prior art systems, the screens have been designed to burst at a predetermined pressure, so as to preserve a threshold pressure and flow of lubricating fluid to the bearings and other components to preserve proper function of the bearings and components. However, the particulate matter previously collected by the screens is introduced into the lubricating fluid when the screen bursts and can cause wear and reduced life to the bearings and components downstream.

Bypass valve technology interface safety screen


An audio and video recording and reproduction apparatus of the present invention is an audio and video recording and reproduction apparatus, comprising: an input switching device for switching an input between a first input signal including a first audio and video signal which is input from a first input, a second input signal including a second audio and video signal which is input from a second input, and a third input signal including a third audio and video signal which is input from a third input, and for outputting one of the first signal, the second signal, and the third signal; and a recording device for recording the second input signal and the third input signal on the information recording medium as one recording unit when the input switching device switches the input from the second input signal to the third input signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an audio and video recording and reproduction apparatus, and in particular to an audio and video recording and reproduction apparatus for converting an audio and video signal to digital data, for separating the digital data into a data file and management information regarding the data file in every recording unit, and recording the data file and the management information on an information recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
As used herein, a "recording unit" refers to a unit of audio and video information used in managing audio and video information during reproduction of recorded audio and video information.
An audio and video recording and reproduction apparatus for converting an audio and video signal to digital data, for separating the digital data into a data file and management information regarding the data file in every recording unit, and recording the data file and the management information on an information recording medium has been used.
When this audio and video recording and reproduction apparatus switches an input from a first input to a second input in a recording pause mode, an audio and video signal corresponding to the first input before the switching and an audio and video signal corresponding to the second input after the switching are recorded on an information recording medium as different recording units.
However, when a plurality of line inputs are switched with each other (for example, a camera input and a title input) for editing a program, the conventional audio and video recording and reproduction apparatus causes audio and video signals before and after the switching to be recorded as different recording units. This manner of recording causes inconvenience in managing the edited program.

Audio and video recording and reproduction apparatus

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A printability simulation is performed on a mask layout over a range of lithography process conditions. A layout configuration capable of inducing functional or parametric failure in a semiconductor device is identified in the mask layout. A test structure representative of the identified layout configuration is obtained. A design of experiment is associated with the test structure. The design of experiment is defined to investigating effects of variations of one or more layout attributes in the test structure. Multiple instance of the test structure are fabricated on a wafer according to the design of experiment. Electrical performance characteristics of the fabricated test structures are measured. Based on the measured electrical performance characteristics, one or more layout attributes of the test structure capable of causing functional or parametric failure are determined.

Semiconductor device performance variability and yield loss can be caused by layout-dependent effects related to pattern printability. Examples of such layout-dependent effects include line end shortening, MOSFET gate flaring, MOSFET gate necking, etc. The criticality of a layout pattern with regard to adverse layout-dependent effects is traditionally characterized by the geometric deviation of the as-printed layout pattern from the ideal layout pattern, based on a real image. Also, the criticality of a layout pattern can be characterized by its sensitivity to a particular fabrication process, wherein sensitivity is defined by a proclivity toward non-ideal geometric deviation due to the particular fabrication process conditions.
In nanometer scale technologies, device performance variability due to layout-dependent effects could cause functional and parametric yield losses. Therefore, maintaining performance and process margin across different layout styles and environments is a critical issue for nanometer scale technologies. The criticality of performance and process margin are driven by more aggressive sub-wavelength lithography and device scaling, combined with increasing operating frequencies into the multi-GHz range, which contribute to increase the sensitivity of circuit performance to layout configuration. Additionally, newer technologies are giving rise to new phenomena of significance, such as neighborhood dependent and systematic within-die variations in polysilicon critical dimension (CD), two-dimensional environment effects on printability, narrow width effects, etc.

Method for reducing layout printability effects on semiconductor device performance


A method of producing a wired circuit board includes a first step of preparing a metal supporting layer, a second step of forming, on one side of the metal supporting layer in a thickness direction thereof, an insulating layer having a first opening, and a plurality of terminal formation portions, a third step of forming, on one side of the insulating layer in the thickness direction, a conductive layer having a plurality of terminal portions each corresponding to the plurality of terminal formation portions, a fourth step of partially removing the metal supporting layer to form a second opening and at least one reinforcing metal supporting portion placed between the plurality of terminal formation portions, and a fifth step of removing the plurality of terminal formation portions exposed from the second opening to expose both side surfaces of the plurality of terminal portions in the thickness direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wired circuit board and a producing method thereof, and particularly to a wired circuit board used preferably as a suspension board with circuit and a producing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wired circuit board used for electronic/electric equipment or the like is typically formed with a terminal portion to be connected to an external terminal.
In recent years, to respond to the increase in the density of electronic/electric equipment and the reduction in the size thereof, a flying lead having a terminal portion formed not only on one surface of a conductive pattern, but also on each of the both surfaces thereof has become prevalent. For example, it has been known that, in a suspension board with circuit used in a hard disk drive or the like, a terminal portion is formed as a flying lead.
For example, a suspension board with circuit has been known which includes a supporting board, a base layer formed on the supporting board, a conductive pattern formed as a predetermined wired circuit pattern on the base layer, and a cover layer covering the conductive pattern. In the suspension board with circuit, an opening is formed in the cover layer to expose the top surface of the conductive pattern, while an opening is formed in the supporting board and the base layer to expose the back surface of the conductive pattern, so that the conductive pattern the both surfaces of which are exposed is used as a flying lead (see, e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent No. 2003-031915).
In such a suspension board with circuit, protruding portions are provided to protrude from the insulating layers to the surfaces of the flying lead and the flying lead is provided with a wider portion to inhibit the flying lead from being disconnected due to ultrasonic vibration when the flying lead is connected to an external terminal or the like.

Method of producing a wired circuit board


An apparatus provides for dissolving biotic growth inhibitor composition, usually in the form of blocks or tablets, into air conditioner condensate fluid to prevent biotic growth. Condensate fluid from a collector pan or receptacle near the air conditioner enters the apparatus and contacts the inhibitor composition, typically an algicide, and slowly dissolves the inhibitor. The apparatus has an inhibitor housing for holding the biotic growth inhibitor and an inhibitor container, located within the housing, which allows contact between the inhibitor and condensate while retaining undissolved inhibitor in the housing and preventing it from being washed out. The apparatus is connected with the drain pipe by an inlet port and an outlet port which direct the condensate into and out of the inhibitor housing.

Condensate formation has been a problem traditionally associated with use of air conditioners and other refrigeration systems. When humid air contacts an air conditioner's cold evaporator coils, moisture from the air condenses on the coils. The condensed moisture, called "condensate," must be collected and disposed of to prevent water damage to property in the vicinity of the air conditioner.
To collect the condensate that drips off the air conditioner's evaporator coils, a drain pan has been typically placed below the coils. The condensate collected in the drain pan was then carried through drain pipes to a sewer system or an outside area. A common problem occurring with condensate drain pipes has been that biotic growth, such as algae or fungus, formed in the pipes and blocked the flow of condensate. The blockage caused by this biotic growth resulted in condensate backing up in the drain pan and ultimately spilling over into the surrounding area.

Apparatus for treating air conditioner condensate with algicide


A search includes comparing a query image provided by a user to a plurality of stored images of faces stored in a stored image database, and determining a similarity of the query image to the plurality of stored images. One or more resultant images of faces, selected from among the stored images, are displayed to the user based on the determined similarity of the stored images to the query image provided by the user. The resultant images are displayed based at least in part on one or more facial features.

Online dating services generally use textual search criteria to identify potential matches. Users of the dating services typically create a profile, including a textual description and one or more pictures of the user. Users can search for potential dates by searching the textual description portion of the other users' profiles. Text searching works well to search based on non-visual attributes (such as age, gender, ethnicity, and location of the user), but often falls short when searching based on physical appearance, including facial features. This is troublesome since physical appearance is generally considered one of the most important search criteria among users of online dating services. Text searching also suffers from the fact that users may misrepresent themselves in text, providing inaccurate descriptions of themselves. It is difficult to correct for these inaccuracies, since this behavior can vary across individuals, ages, and cultures.
Image-based searching has been used in other applications, such as facial-recognition, to ease the challenge of textually describing physical attributes. In such applications, images of faces are used as a query to search for other images of the same individual (i.e., the same person depicted in the image used as the query), but not other similar-looking individuals. Such applications typically do not allow users to search based on preferred facial features of the query image.


The invention provides combinations of insecticides/acaricides and herbicides comprising an effective amount of components (A) and (B), where component (A) is one or more of the tetramic acid derivatives listed in the description, and (B) one or more herbicides from the group of the herbicides likewise listed in the description, where the combinations may optionally additionally comprise crop plant compatibility-increasing substances (safeners).

1. Field of Invention
The invention is in the technical field of crop protection compositions which can be used simultaneously against harmful plants and animal pests such as insects/spider mites, for example in crop plants, and comprise, as active compounds, a combination of at least one insecticide/acaricide and at least one herbicide and, if appropriate, additionally crop plant compatibility-increasing substances (safeners).
2. Descrition of Related Art
The Co-application of glyphosate plus an insecticide (e.g. Spirotetramat) or fungicides in glyphosate-resistant soybean has been described in Canadian Journal of Plant Science (2012), 92(2), 297-302. Glyphosate tankmixed with e.g. Spirotetramat has no adverse effect on weed control in glyphosate resistant soybean.
WO 98/05638 describes tetramic acid derivatives, their preparation and their use as insecticides/acaricides. The corresponding cis-isomers are described in WO 04/007448.
From WO 07/068428, it is known that the insecticidal/acaricidal activities of tetramic acid derivatives can be improved by adding adjuvants. Also known are the effects of herbicidally active tetramic acid derivatives in combination with other herbicides, for example from WO 06/024411 and WO 09/007014.
The activity of these insecticides/acaricides against animal pests in the crop plants is on a high level; however, it generally depends on the application rate, the formulation in question, the respective animal pests to be controlled, the climatic and soil conditions, etc. A further criterium is the duration of action or the rate of degradation of the insecticide/acaricide. In general, however, there is always a need for methods achieving insecticidal/acaricidal action with a lower active compound application rate. A lower application rate reduces not only the amount of active compound required for application but generally also reduces the amount of formulation auxiliaries required. Both reduce economic expense and improve the ecological compatibility of the insecticide/acaricide treatment.
One way of improving the application profile of an insecticide/acaricide may be to combine the active compound with one or more herbicidally active compounds. However, the combined use of a plurality of active compounds, in particular when insecticides are used together with herbicides, does not infrequently lead to phenomena of physical and biological imcompatibility, for example lacking stability of a coformulation, decomposition of an active compound or antagonism of the active compounds. In contrast, what is desired are combinations of active compounds and/or formulations thereof having a favourable activity profile, high stability and, ideally, synergistically enhanced activity, which permits a reduction of the application rate compared with the individual application of the active compounds to be combined. Likewise advantageous may be a broadening of the activity spectrum, an increased application flexibility and a faster onset of action.

Active compound combinations comprising specific tetramic acid derivatives

Abstract: The invention also relates to the use of the combinations for controlling animal pests and unwanted vegetation and to the corresponding methods.