Apparatus, device and method for improved slicing of large food sticks, loaves and the like are provided. A slicing blade which has a top flat surface or top flat land width along its cutting edge provides generally longitudinal forces on the food product being sliced, which forces are in a direction generally opposite to the direction through which the food products are fed through a slicing apparatus. The slicing blade includes a bottom primary bevel land width surface and an advantageous primary angle for imparting improved stack and slice uniformity and for controlling package overfill. The slicing blade also exhibits a long slicing blade surface which follows an Archimedean spiral. The invention is particularly important in improving handling of large luncheon meat sticks, especially non-frozen, high water content and reduced fat content luncheon meat sticks. Fast feed rates can be practiced without experiencing jamming, yields are increased, slice and stack quality and sizing are made more consistent and repeatable, slicing line utilization is enhanced, and sanitary conditions are more easily maintained.

The present invention generally relates to the slicing of food products and more particularly to a method and apparatus for conducting such slicing on food products such as large meat sticks. The invention involves feeding a meat stick or the like toward, into and through a slicer having a blade with specific attributes. The blade allows for slicing which is of improved quality consistency and carries out slicing operations which are of enhanced repeatability. Stacks of slices are formed which are of uniform height, shape, size and appearance. Meat sticks are thus handled even at particularly fast feed rates and without experiencing jamming, reduced yields, or poor slicing equipment utilization which are often experienced when slicing large meat sticks through industrial slicing machinery. Improved product slice and stack quality also results. The advantages of the invention are especially evident when the food sticks are of the low-fat and/or high water content types, especially when thinly slicing same at high speeds.
With certain products such as food products that are processed in large sticks, blocks, chubs, loaves or the like, it is often desirable to handle these large masses in any of the refrigerated but unfrozen, frozen or partially frozen states. Various reasons for processing under the latter two of such conditions include ease of manipulation of the sliced products so as to form neat stacks of slices due to the fact that frozen or partially frozen slices will present low friction interfaces with each other whereby they are readily moved into alignment. Refrigerated but non-frozen food products such as luncheon meats for example sever into slices which are difficult to mechanically move once one slice engages another slice or other surface, thereby rendering extremely difficult the neatening of stacks which are produced by conventional slicing equipment. Nevertheless, at times it becomes necessary to or avoid freezing. Unfrozen products can be difficult to slice at high speeds without causing damage to the slices, such as tearing and edge blow-out, and these difficulties are usually heightened when the food product stick has a high moisture content and/or a low or reduced fat content and/or when very thin slices are being produced.
Attempts have been used in the past for rapidly slicing these types of products and for forming these types of slices, but the yields have been disappointingly low and the waste has been greater than desired. Improvements in yields, stack uniformity and waste factors often can be gained by significantly reducing the feeding speed of the slicing apparatus. This results in increased labor costs and inefficient utilization of the slicing equipment when compared with the potential efficiencies of a truly efficient and high speed feeding approach.
An approach which has been attempted in seeking to capture the potential efficiencies of improved feed arrangements includes the use of a so-called orifice assembly. An orifice assembly is intended to support (primarily laterally) a food stick or the like as it passes through the slicer. Typically, an orifice assembly includes a cylindrical member or other member having a peripheral shape corresponding to that of the stick or the like being sliced. This cylindrical, oval or D-shaped member has a leading edge which is very closely spaced from the slicing blade and is intended to provide some support for the stick during slicing. Some approaches suggest using orifices having smooth inside surfaces, while others suggest somewhat irregular surfaces for contacting the sticks or the like. Pressure applied to the sticks can be adjusted in an effort to better hold the stick on its butt end; however, if too much pressure is applied, the hide can be squeezed off of the product by the orifice assembly, rendering the product unacceptable, while also experiencing uncontrolled butt end pull through subsequently resulting in product jams.
It has been found that the use of an orifice assembly or other type of support surface does not fully remedy the problems associated with high speed commercial product slicing, especially with respect to slice and stack consistency and quality, as well as butt end pull through, slicer jamming, disappointing yield and waste experiences. For example, typically about 1/2 inch to 8 linear inches, sometimes up to about 12 inches, of the butt end of the stick can be lost. Another consequence of frequent jams and pull through is associated with the need for an operator to interact with the slicer such as by using a hand to remove a jammed butt end, creating a condition that can lead to potential reduction of sanitary conditions, which can shorten the shelf life of the sliced products.
It has been found that by providing an improved slicing blade, significant improvements in slicing of food products, particularly luncheon meat sticks or loaves, are attained. By the approach in accordance with the present invention, the yield of uniform slices and stacks of high quality, commercially processable and packageable sliced product is enhanced considerably and the quantity of product waste is reduced significantly, even while achieving greater slicing speeds than those heretofore realized. Furthermore, operational characteristics and consistency of the slicing devices are enhanced.
More particularly, by proceeding in accordance with the present invention, it is possible to slice frozen, partially frozen or refrigerated but unfrozen food sticks on a truly efficient basis and at enhanced feed and slicing rates without incurring the inefficient and serious problems of slice tearing and/or jamming of the slicing equipment such as by having the slicing equipment pull a severed chub out of the orifice assembly as a large chunk of product that cannot be adequately handled by the slicing blade, resulting in jamming of the slicing equipment. Jamming, of course, necessitates a shut-down of the slicing line and perhaps associated machinery upstream and/or downstream of the slicing line in order to clear the jam, often requiring manual intervention by an operator, which can itself reduce the shelf life of the sliced product. Meat products which have high moisture contents and/or low fat contents and/or are not frozen throughout are especially difficult to slice at high speeds; nevertheless, uniform slices and stacks of even these products are consistently attained while still enhancing slicing speed and efficiency. Uniformity of slices includes elimination of ragged slices, folded slices, slices having uneven surfaces, and partial slices. Stack uniformity includes consistent stack height, avoidance of stack skew and so-called accordion sides. Enhanced throughput means less slicer clean out of damaged and partial slices and sticks.
In summary, the present invention achieves these objectives and provides advantageous results along these lines by processing large food sticks, loaves and the like at an exceptionally fast feed rate, with greater slice and stack uniformity and quality consistency and in a more repeatable fashion. The blade of the invention features a unique combination of features which brings about the advantages discussed herein, especially in providing undamaged and uniformly sized and shaped stacks and the slices making up the stacks. The cutting edge of the blade follows an Archimedean spiral pattern, and certain principal blade parameters embody criteria which regulate stack overfill, and minimize deviation from a desired stack height and which maximize the percentage of acceptable slices. These blade parameters include primary bevel angle, top land width, and primary bevel land width. Blade speed increases, which directly influence slice and stack properties, are achieved as a benefit of this combination of features.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved blade, method and apparatus for slicing large food products in the form of sticks, chubs, loaves, chunks and the like.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved slicing blade and method and apparatus which include the use of slicing blades having bevel angles, flat land width surfaces and flatness qualities which improve slicing quality, consistency and speed.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved blade, method and apparatus for slicing food products in order to improve the yield of product processed through a slicer and is especially beneficial for product in a partially frozen or refrigerated and unfrozen state while accommodating relatively fast slicing speeds.
Another object of the present invention is to provide unusually uniform slicing and stacking of food stick slices even with thin slicing of high moisture, non-frozen, reduced-fat and/or low fat products.
Another object of the invention is to cleanly slice and uniformly stack refrigerated product (sliced above the freeze point of the product).
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved slicing apparatus, blade and method which combines blade cutting edge angle and surface width parameters with an Archimedean spiral shape along the blade length for achieving cutting speed throughout the product being sliced.
These and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be clearly understood through a consideration of the following detailed description.

Food slicing apparatus, blade and method


A pacemaker for providing optimized inhibit and trigger responses, operating in a VVD or AAD mode. For each pacemaker cycle, the pacemaker is controlled to time out a refractory interval, an inhibit interval or range following a refractory interval, and a trigger interval or range which follows the inhibit interval and ends at the time out of the scheduled escape interval. A signal sensed during the inhibit range results in no pace pulse delivery, the pacemaker goes to the trigger mode and extends the escape interval. Any signal thereafter sensed before the time out of the extended escape interval results in delivery of a trigger pulse and restarting of a new pacemaker cycle. If no signal is sensed during the inhibit range, any signal sensed during the trigger range results in generation of a trigger pulse and the start of a new pacemaker cycle. The overall result is that noise or other signals which occur within the inhibit range are inhibited without a trigger, with only a small extension of the escape interval so that pacing rate is not greatly affected. Any signal sensed in the trigger range results in delivery of a trigger pulse. The result is an optimized combination of inhibition and triggering which ensures pacing in the presence of any noise that is sensed with relatively minimized sacrifice in rate change and battery energy depletion.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to implantable cardiac pacemakers and, more particularly, an AAD or VVD mode pacemaker adapted to inhibit or trigger depending upon the timing of each sensed signal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Implantable pacemakers have developed to the point where a wide variety of different pacemaker modes and functions are available. Relatively early in the development of implantable cardiac pacemakers, it was recognized that it was desirable to permit an underlying natural cardiac beat to occur without pacemaker interference. Thus, pacemakers were developed to function in the inhibit, or demand mode, wherein if a natural heartbeat is detected within the pacemaker escape interval, the pacemaker timing is reset and no pace pulse is delivered. The inhibited mode thus saves battery energy and prevents competition of a delivered pace pulse with a natural cardiac rhythm. However, it was recognized that the demand pacemaker could be vulnerable to false sensing, i.e., it could inhibit upon the sensing of noise or other artifacts instead of a true natural beat. In such an event, the pacemaker would fail to deliver a timely stimulus, with detrimental consequences. An answer to this possibility is to operate in the triggered mode, whereby a sensed event triggers the pacemaker to deliver a pace pulse immediately following the sensed event. In this way, the pacemaker ensures that it is not inhibited due to a false sensed event, and does not compete with the underlying heartbeat. Of course, the trigger mode carries the liability of expending extra battery energy due to delivering heartbeats when there is no need to do so. A ventricular pacemaker which operates in the inhibit mode is classified as VVI; a ventricular pacemaker which operates in the trigger mode classified as VVT; and a ventricular pacemaker which can operate in either mode is classified as VVD. Similarly, an atrial pacemaker may be either AAI, AAT, or AAD.
Most present day pacemakers operate in the inhibit mode. Improvements in amplifier filtering and techniques for recognizing the natural heartbeat waveform to the exclusion of noise and extraneous signals normally permit a high degree of reliability in sensing only the true heartbeat signals. However, present day circuitry still does not provide 100% protection against low rate noise, such as emanates from the patient's muscle. Normally, everything below about 13 Hz is sensed in pacemakers, such that there remains a need to deal with the possibility of low frequency noise sensing. For this reason, there exists a need for an improved pacemaker design which can provide an optimum VVD or AAD mode of operation.

Pacemaker with improved inhibit and trigger control


An organic light-emitting device having a light-emitting layer contains the polymer comprising a repeating unit of the formula: EQU --Z--(X--Y).sub.n -- (I). wherein n is at least 2; X is O, S, Se or Te; Y is an aromatic or substituted aromatic group; Z is a group containing an imide circle and also having the carrier transport layer and/or the light receiving layer contain the polymer comprising a repeating unit of the following formula: EQU --(X--Y).sub.n -- (II). wherein n is at least 2; X is O, S, Se or Te; Y is an aromatic or substituted aromatic group, which is used for a display or a light spatial modulator or an optical neural network system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic light-emitting device such as a spatial light modulator, a light neural network device and etc. used for an optical computing device and a light emitting type display, a method for preparing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
The light-emitting device generally includes 1) a light emitting display device constituting a light-emitting layer between a lower electrode on a base plate and a upper electrode, 2) an electric field light emitting device constituting a light emitting layer laminated on a carrier transport layer supported by a base plate and 3) a spatial light modulator type device constituting a lower electrode on a base plate and a light-emitting layer, a carrier transport layer and a transparent electrode which are laminated in turn on the lower electrode.
Recently, it is reported that a preparation trial of an organic light emitting device was made by using an organic compound as a necessary constituent. For example, the L256 page of Japanese Journal of Applied phisics 27(2)(1988 discloses an electric field light emitting device having a laminated structure provided with an organic light emitting layer and a carrier transport layer as the above type 2). In the device, a semi-transparent lower electrode of Au is mounted on a glass base plate and thereon are mounted in turn many layers, which are a hole transort layer of N,N'-diphenyl-N,N'-(3-methylphenyl)-1,1'-biphenyl-4,4'-diamine (hereinafter referred to as TPD) having a 2000 .ANG. coating, an organic light emitting layer and an electron transport layer of perylene-tetracarboxyl group derivatives, the latter two layers being 1000 .ANG. coating in thickness.
Further, the upper electrode comprises Mg coating. A bright light emission was observed by applying an electrostatic field to the lower and upper electrodes when phthaloperynone derivatives is used as a material of the organic light emitting layer (see the priprint for the 35th Spring Lecture Meeting of the Applied Physics Society). The emitting light can be varied depending on a material of the organic light emitting layer to be selected.
Further, as to the above type 3) it is reported that another organic light emitting device constituted by using an amorphous alloy of Si.sub.1-x C.sub.x :H as a light emitting type spatial light modulator used for an optical computing device and so on (see the priprint for the 37th Spring Lecture Meeting of the Applied Physics Society).
In the reported device, lamination of a carrier transport layer and a light emitting layer make the number of electron inplating increased and thus make luminous efficiency thereof improved in comparison of the convenient organic light emitting device, but the efficiency is below 0.5% and more development is needed. Further, change with time of luminous brightness is large and especially there comes to arise problems such as lowering of electron inplating efficiency for the light emitting layer and accumulation of spatial carrier in the carrier transport layer.
The lowering of luminous brightness is caused by the following factors:
1) quenching caused by crystallization of the molecule constituting light emitting layer.
2) decomposition of the molecule constituting a light emitting layer caused by the reaction thereof with oxygen molecule and so on.
3) obstruction of electron inplating from outside caused by the accumulation of carrier in the light emitting layer.

Organic light emitting device and preparation and use thereof

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Pigment compositions each contain an organic pigment and at least one compound selected from compounds represented by the following formulas (I) or (II), respectively:A-N═N-D, B—N═N-D or C—N═N-D  Formula (I)A-N═N—CH(COCH3)—CONH-E,B—N═N—CH(COCH3)—CONH-E orC—N═N—CH(COCH3)—CONH-E  Formula (II)wherein A represents a substituted or unsubstituted phenyl group, B represents a substituted or unsubstituted β-naphthyl group, C represents a substituted or unsubstituted α-anthraquinonyl group, D represents a particular substituted aromatic group, and E represents a substituted or unsubstituted phenyl group, with a proviso that the compounds each have at least one substituent represented by —COOM or —SO3M in which M represents a hydrogen atom, metal atom, ammonium group, organic amine group or quaternary ammonium group. Colored compositions making use of the pigment compositions and color filters making use of the colored compositions are also disclosed.

There are numerous known examples that use pigments as colorants for high molecular organic compounds, including various printing inks such as gravure printing inks, sizing colors, binder colors, coating materials, various coating formulations, dry toners and wet toners for electrophotography, thermal transfer recording inks, inks for writing instruments, and the like (for example, JP-A-08-020731 and JP-A-08-027391).
No pigment colorants are, however, known to be fully equipped with properties such as high transparency and vividness required for coating formulations for the formation of color filter pixels and inkjet inks. Fine division of a pigment for use in these applications to a primary particle size level of from several tens to several hundreds nanometers in an attempt to improve its transparency and vividness, however, leads to an increase in the recoagulation power of pigment particles themselves so that the pigment is deteriorated in dispersibility and dispersion stability. Technologies making use of dispersants or the like are hence known (for example, JP-A-09-122470, JP-A-09-137075 and JP-A-2003-066224). These technologies are, however, still insufficient to obtain the properties required for the above-described applications. It is, therefore, the current circumstances that with pigment colorants prepared by the above-mentioned conventional technologies, the requirement for such high dispersibility, dispersion stability, transparency, vividness and the like cannot be fully satisfied in their entirety.

Pigment compositions, colored compositions making use of the pigment compositions, and color filters

Dainichiseika Color & Chemicals Mfg. Co., Ltd.


A positron emission tomography (PET) scanner is provided which uses information on the time-of-flight difference (TOF) between annihilation radiations for image reconstruction. The scanner has detection time correction information (memory) corresponding to information on coordinates in a radiation detection element (e.g., scintillator crystal), in the depth and lateral directions, at which an interaction has occurred between an annihilation radiation and the crystal. Reference is made to the detection time correction information, thereby providing information on time-of-flight difference with improved accuracy. As such, an improved signal to noise ratio and spatial resolution are provided for image reconstruction using time-of-flight (TOF) difference.

The positron emission tomography scanner is a nuclear diagnostic imaging system which utilizes a positron emitter and finds widespread applications such as cancer diagnosis or molecular imaging.
A positron emitter is an isotope, such as 18F, which is unstable because of excess number of protons in the atomic nucleus against the number of neutrons, and which undergoes +β decay to emit a positron and a neutrino. The positron thus emitted is the antimatter counterpart of the electron. Accordingly, when the positron encounters an electron, they annihilate each other causing their mass to be entirely converted into energy. This energy is released in the form of annihilation radiation or high-energy electromagnetic wave. Since the law of conservation of momentum is obeyed before and after the pair annihilation, two annihilation radiations are principally emitted concurrently at an angle of about 180 degrees. In a strict sense, a single radiation or three or more radiations may also be emitted; however, they are less than 1% of the total radiations and thus can be ignored for imaging purposes. The respective energy of the two emitted radiations corresponds to the mass of one electron (or positron), i.e., approximately 511 keV.
The principle of positron imaging is based on the coincidence measurement of the two annihilation radiations. When a radiation of 511 keV is detected substantially simultaneously at two oppositely disposed radiation detectors, this indicates that a positron has undergone a pair annihilation on the straight line connecting the two radiation detectors. As shown in FIG. 1A, this information is collected with a number of radiation detectors 16 disposed around a subject 10, and reconstructed by the similar mathematical technique to X-ray CT. A tomographic video or static image is thus provided that approximates the distribution of positron emitters 12 in the subject 10. In the figure, reference numeral 18 denotes a bed.
Accordingly, the performance required of the radiation detector 16 is to be capable of measuring the position of incidence, energy, and incidence time of an annihilation radiation 14 with the highest accuracy. As used herein, the expression "substantially the same time (simultaneously)" refers to points in time approximately within 15 nanoseconds (nano denotes 10−9). These points in time may also fall within 10 nanoseconds or less or 5 nanoseconds or less when the radiation detector can determine time with higher accuracy. A frame of time (or time window) may be reduced in which two annihilation radiations are determined to be incident at the same time and a single pair of annihilation radiations resulting from one electron-positron-pair annihilation. This would reduce the possibility of erroneously combining a plurality of annihilation radiations resulting from separate pair annihilations, namely accidental coincidence, thereby improving measurement accuracy and signal to noise ratios. It should be noted that although the temporal resolution of each radiation detector can currently be improved up to about 0.3 nanoseconds, those time windows reduced accordingly but excessively would reject the counting of true combinations of annihilation radiations, and also cause the field of view covered by the scanner to be narrowed with its sensitivity reduced.
Suppose that an electric signal from the radiation detector 16 can be processed to determine the time of incidence of the annihilation radiation 14 generally within 15 nanoseconds or less. In such a case, as is known to those skilled in the art, time-of-flight (TOF) difference between annihilation radiations can be used to improve the signal to noise ratio of the positron emission tomography scanner, maintaining the time window not rejecting the counting of true combinations of annihilation radiations. As an example, when a pair annihilation occurs at the center of two oppositely disposed radiation detectors, the two annihilation radiations arrive at the radiation detectors at the same time. On the other hand, when a pair annihilation occurs at coordinates (spatial coordinates) closer to either one of the radiation detectors, an annihilation radiation arrives at the closer radiation detector earlier than at the other. That is, the difference in arrival time between the radiations arriving at the respective radiation detectors can be determined and thereby converted into the difference in distance between the spatial coordinates at which the pair annihilation has occurred and the respective radiation detectors. In a conventional PET scanner, shown in FIG. 1A, which does not make use of the time-of-flight difference, the information obtained from a pair of coincidence measurements provides a straight line containing the spatial coordinates on which the pair annihilation is supposed to have occurred. However, use of the time-of-flight difference as with a time-of-flight difference type PET (TOF-PET) scanner shown in FIG. 1B narrows the special coordinate uncertainty to a certain confined range on the straight line. The accuracy of this confinement depends on the temporal resolution of the scanner, so that as the accuracy of determination is increased, the amount of information regarding the location of the pair annihilation is increased thereby providing an improved signal to noise ratio (see W. W. Moses, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci., Vol. 50, No. 5, pp. 1325-1330, 2003).
Note that if the time of incidence of an annihilation radiation can be determined generally within 100 picoseconds or less (pico denotes 10−12), it can be expected that not only the signal to noise ratio but also the spatial resolution of tomographic video or static images will be improved.
The concept of the TOF-PET scanner that makes use of the time-of-flight difference. between annihilation radiations was already known in the 1980s (see T. Tomitani, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci., Vol. 28, No. 6, pp. 4582-4589, 1981). However, at that time, the level of technological sophistication was insufficient to improve signal to noise ratios due to the inadequate performance of the scintillator crystals used as radiation detection elements, radiation detectors, and circuits for processing electric signals from radiation detectors. Today, scintillator crystals with good response speeds have been developed, such as LSO (lutetium oxyorthosilicate doped with a trace amount of cerium) or LYSO (a mixed crystal of LSO and yttrium oxyorthosilicate doped with a trace amount of cerium). In addition, the timing performance of a photomultiplier tube (PMT) that is used as an optical detector for detecting scintillation light produced through an interaction with radiations has also been improved. Furthermore, the application-specific integrated circuit technology has also advanced. It has been thus recognized that the TOF-PET scanner that makes use of the time-of-flight difference between annihilation radiations offers a performance advantage over the conventional PET scanner in its signal to noise ratio. Accordingly, there is an increasing need for a radiation detector that has an advantageous temporal resolution. An improvement in signal to noise ratio makes it possible to reduce the acquisition time required for positron emission tomography and the amount of radioactive pharmaceutical dosed to a subject.
As shown in FIG. 2, a first cause of the error in detection time results from a difference in propagation speed in a scintillator crystal 22 between the annihilation radiation 14 and scintillation light 24. In the figure, reference numeral 20 denotes an optical detector such as a photomultiplier tube.
In the air as well as in the crystal, the flight speed of the annihilation radiation 14 is substantially the same as the speed of light c in a vacuum (299,800 km per second). In contrast, the scintillation light 24 travels at a speed of about c, in the air, but at a reduced speed of c/n in the crystal, where n is the refractive index of the crystal, which is typically greater than 1.0. To efficiently detect an annihilation radiation of 511 keV which has a great penetration power, a scintillator crystal 22, which is about a few centimeters in thickness, is typically employed.
As shown to the right of FIG. 2A, when the annihilation radiation 14 interacts with the scintillator crystal 22 near the top of the scintillator crystal 22, the scintillation light 24 has to travel longer through the scintillator crystal 22 to reach the optical detector 20. In contrast, as shown to the left of FIG. 2A, when an interaction occurs near the bottom of the scintillator crystal 22, the scintillation light 24 travels a correspondingly short distance to reach the optical detector 20. That is, as shown in FIG. 2B, an earlier apparent detection time is observed when the annihilation radiation 14 travels a longer distance through the scintillator crystal 22 still at a flight speed of c and is then converted immediately before the optical detector 20 into the scintillation light 24 traveling at a slower flight speed of c/n.
Assuming that when measuring a pair of annihilation radiations respectively with two radiation detectors, one optical detector detects scintillation light produced near the top of the scintillator crystal, whereas the other optical detector detects scintillation light produced near the bottom of the scintillator crystal. In such a case, the spatial coordinates of the pair annihilation estimated from the difference between the detection times are closer to the latter radiation detector than the actual location. Accordingly, a correction can be made to the error in detection time caused by the difference in propagation speed between the annihilation radiation and the scintillation light in the scintillator crystal, thereby providing information on time-of-flight difference with improved accuracy. It should be noted that for simplicity in illustration of the principle, FIG. 2A shows one typical scintillation photon emitted directly below per one pair annihilation radiation. However, in practice, several thousands to several tens of thousands of photons are emitted not only directly below but also in other directions. In addition, since some photons are absorbed on the boundary of the scintillator crystal or a reflective material or the like, not all photons reach the optical detector.
As illustrated in FIG. 3A, a second cause of the error in detection time results from a difference in path length in the scintillator crystal 22 along which the scintillation light 24 travels. Although part of the scintillation light 24 is directly incident upon the optical detector 20, generally half or more of the photons are reflected off on the upper surface or sides of the scintillator crystal 22 more than once and then incident upon the optical detector 20. For example, as shown to the right of FIG. 3A, a portion of the scintillation light 24 produced and emitted upwardly near the top of the scintillator crystal 22 arrives immediately at the top of the scintillator crystal 22, where it is reflected downwardly by a reflective material covering the upper surface of the scintillator crystal 22. In contrast, as shown to the left of FIG. 3A, the scintillation light 24 emitted upwardly near the bottom of the scintillator crystal 22 travels the length of the scintillator crystal 22 until it is reflected downwardly from the top of the scintillator crystal 22. Moreover, the scintillation light 24 emitted sideward at an angle travels a different propagation path depending on how it is reflected on a side of the scintillator crystal. Furthermore, when the scintillator crystal is arranged two- or three-dimensionally up/down, right/left, or forward/backward, the scintillation light 24 may take a more complex propagation path depending on how it is reflected or refracted between those scintillator crystals. In circumstances with a longer propagation path, the scintillation light 24 takes a longer time to reach the optical detector 20, thereby causing the time to be delayed at which it is determined that the annihilation radiation has been detected.
FIG. 3B shows the calculated results of a propagation path of scintillation light and its propagation time in a crystal block, where the crystal block has four layers to increase the detection accuracy of the location of an interaction between an annihilation radiation and a scintillator crystal. In this arrangement, one layer includes a square array of 32×32 LSO crystals each being 1.45 mm×1.45 mm×4.50 mm in size. To aid simplicity in illustrating the principle, the figure shows the relation between the number of photons reaching the optical detector and the elapse time, assuming that one crystal at the center of each layer is selected, and that at a reference time, one hundred thousand photons are emitted in random directions from the center of the respective crystals. Depending on the linear distance between the coordinates of the light emission in a scintillator crystal emitting light and the optical detector, the time when the first photons reaching the optical detector and the time at which photons are the largest in number are varied. Further, the time of second peak, which is caused by the reflection on the upper surface of the crystal, is varied depending on the distance. A correction can be made to the error in detection time caused in the above-described manner by the difference in propagation path length of scintillation light, thereby providing information regarding time-of-flight difference with improved accuracy.
A third cause of the error in detection time results from the difference in output waveform of an optical detector caused by a difference in propagation path. As can be seen from FIG. 3B which shows the distribution of times at which light (input) arrives at the optical detector, the time required from the arrival of the first photon from each crystal until the arrival of the greatest number of photons differ depending on the crystal. It is also evident from the shapes of the graphs that the number of photons tends to increase differently with time.
To most simply determine the time from the output waveform of the optical detector, a threshold value is first set in order to discriminate signals from noises, whereupon an output that exceeds the threshold value is defined as a signal so that the time at which the threshold value is exceeded is taken as the detection time. As shown in FIG. 3C, however, the threshold value is immediately exceeded after the arrival of the first photon when the output signal is comparatively high (e.g., the 4th layer), while when the output signal is comparatively low (e.g., the 1st layer), the threshold value is only exceeded near the time at which the output is at maximum. Thus, the time to be determined varies according to the signal magnitude. Accordingly, in practice, a further sophisticated determination method such as the constant fraction method is widely employed in order to avoid variations in the time irrespective of the magnitude of the output signal (see Radiation Detection and Measurement, 3rd Edition, p. 662, 2000, published by John and Wiley & Sons, Inc.).
However, although the constant fraction method can accommodate variations in the magnitude of output signals, it cannot accommodate variations in the waveform of output signals. Thus, the time to be determined varies depending on whether the signal rises sharply or gradually. Accordingly, a correction can be made to the error in detection time resulting from the difference in output waveform of an optical detector caused by the difference in propagation path of scintillation light, thereby providing information regarding time-of-flight difference with improved accuracy. This is also applicable not only to the constant fraction method but also other timing determination method such as the leading edge method. By way of example, a correction can be made in accordance with the gradient of the rise of a signal or also with a change in gradient.
It should be noted that a technique is already known which employs not the information regarding a three-dimensional location (emission location) but only the information regarding the location of emission in the direction of depth for a radiation detector as shown in FIG. 4 to make a correction to detection time (see T. Tsuda et al, IEEE Trans., Nucl. Sci., Vol. 53, No. 1, pp. 35-39, 2006). In the figure, reference numeral 40 denotes a radiation detector (also referred to as a DOI radiation detector) which is capable of obtaining information regarding the location of a depth of interaction (DOI). The radiation detector 40, which was suggested by the applicant in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-279057 (Patent Document 1), includes, e.g., a 256-channel position sensitive photomultiplier tube (PS-PMT) 21 and a 6×6 four-layered scintillator crystal block 23.
However, using only the information regarding the location of emission in the direction of depth may lead to an inaccurate correction. As shown in FIG. 2, if only one photon is emitted directly below, the location of emission in depth may be the sole cause of the error. However, in practice, a number of photons are reflected on the upper and side surfaces, and thus behave differently before they reach the optical detector depending on the effects of adjacent crystals and the distance to the sides of the crystal block. As already discussed, this may cause those errors to be produced which result from the difference in propagation path length of scintillation light and the difference in output waveform of an optical detector caused by the difference in propagation path of scintillation light.

Positron emission tomography scanner and radiation detector

National Institute of Radiological Sciences


A method for forming a multilayer conductive structure includes forming a first conductive portion; forming a second conductive portion containing ruthenium (Ru) therein on the first conductive portion; forming a third conductive portion on the second conductive portion; and performing a silicidation process on the second conductive portion.

In a hybrid bonding process for bonding wafers to each other, normally copper (Cu) plugs are used. However, if copper is used in layers near the silicon, device performance is degraded due to copper contamination in some cases. Also, with hybrid bonding, because the expansion of Cu is used to bond the copper plugs to each other, the plug height needs to be approximately 500 nm. For this reason, processing is difficult with fine contacts.
In some cases, tungsten (W) is used for the digit line in dynamic random access memory (DRAM) In these cases, if further miniaturization is pursued, it is anticipated that the necessary low resistance may not be obtained with tungsten due to the thin-wire effect. Accordingly, the use of ruthenium (Ru), which has a lower resistance and a smaller thin-wire effect than tungsten, is being investigated. However, because a heat treatment is performed after drilling holes for the contacts to lower the resistance of the contacts on a silicon substrate that is formed at the same time as the contacts on the digit line, ruthenium aggregates inside the contact spaces before the contact material is buried, and as a result, discontinuities in the ruthenium may occur near the contacts in some cases.

Semiconductor device and method of forming the same


A bill handling machine comprises a storing box for storing bills of plurality of different categories together, an instruction input unit for receiving a recovery instruction to recover bills belonging to a specific category among the categories, a sorter that in response to a the recovery instruction sorts out bills belonging to the specific category from among bills stored in the storing box, and a conveyor for feeding the bills from the storing box and, according to the results of the sorting, conveying bills of the specific category to a predetermined recovery unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bill handling machine that receives and dispenses bills or bank notes, and to a method of recovering bills stored in a bill handling machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
An automated teller machine (hereinafter ATM) used by users to deposit or withdraw money at a financial institution or the like incorporates a bill handling machine for receiving and dispensing bills. Bill handling machines include so-called recycling types, in which received bills are reused by being dispensed in other transactions. A bill handling machine of recycling type receives and dispenses bills by means of the following operations.
When receiving bills, the bill handling machine discriminates the denomination and authenticity of bills fed in from a cash slot, and calculates the deposited amount. Bills determined to be genuine are held in a temporary stocker, while other bills are returned to the cash slot. This operation will be referred to as "cash count." When the user subsequent confirms the deposited amount, the bill handling machine now places the bills, which had been held in the temporary stocker, into a holding box for recycling (hereinafter referred to as a "recycle box") provided for each denomination. In conjunction with this operation, the ATM notifies a host computer of the deposit amount, account information and the like. This operation will be referred to as "deposit storage" or "store money." During a withdrawal, bills corresponding to an indicated amount are fed to a cash-out slot from recycle boxes for the appropriate denominations.
Some bills supplied to a bill handling machine are not suitable for being recycled. Such bills would include, for example, severely damaged genuine notes, counterfeit notes, uncertain notes (unidentified notes) deemed to have uncertain authenticity during validation, and the like. When such a bill is discovered during cash count operation, the bill is returned to the cash slot. When such a bill is discovered during store money operation, the bill is recovered to a recovery box termed a "reject box," provided separately from the recycle boxes. Bills in the reject box are not recycled for subsequent use. The design and operation of a recycling type bill handling machine of the type described above is disclosed, for example, in JP2003-51050A.
Of bills stored in the reject box, uncertain notes are reexamined and subjected to more careful discrimination of authenticity at the financial institution. Since rejected bills stored in the reject box may include a combination of damaged bills (which, though damaged, are genuine), counterfeit bills, uncertain notes, all bills including damaged bills are reexamined leading to waste in the process.
To address this problem, it would be possible to employ a method whereby there is provided a dedicated storing box, separate from the reject box, for storing only those bills referred to as uncertain notes on the basis of the validation result during deposit. However, this poses the risk other problems, namely of larger size of the bill handling machine due to the additional storing box, or of an insufficient number of storage boxes within the bill handling machine due to assignment of existing storage boxes to dedicated use for uncertain notes.
Such problems are not limited to recycling type bill handling machines, but are common to non-recycling type bill handling machines, referred as cash dispensers (hereinafter CD machines). Furthermore, such problems are not limited to cases where uncertain notes are sorted out and recovered, but are common also to cases where bills of certain denomination are sorted out and recovered, or where damaged bills only are sorted out and recovered.


A method and system of routing a call, made to a single number of a subscriber, to a particular subscriber location of a plurality of subscriber locations based on the geographic area from which the call originated is disclosed. One method of the present invention routes a call from a caller that is placed by dialing a single telephone number that is operative for serving all of the subscriber locations. The method includes identifying the calling party with a specific location identifier indicating the location of the calling party, providing a range table of selected ranges of location identifiers and if the specific location identifier is within one of the selected ranges of the range table, the call is routed to the destination location corresponding to the selected range containing the specific location identifier. If the specific location identifier is not located within one of the selected ranges, the call is routed to the destination location corresponding to the specific location identifier located in an auxiliary database containing subscriber locations. In the disclosed embodiment, the geographic areas are represented by zip codes and multiple categories of zip codes may be represented.

An entity, such as a business or government agency, will often have multiple locations to serve a large area. The multiple locations generally are scattered throughout various regions of the area of service, so that customers may conveniently seek the service within the customer's geographic area. Also, when the service is to provide service or to deliver and/or pick up goods at the customer's location, the entity may minimize response time if the entity has a location within a customer's geographic area. For example, this is especially true for a franchised pizza delivery business or emergency agencies such as fire and ambulance services.
While it is convenient and efficient for an entity to have multiple locations in various regions of the entity's area of service, it is likewise convenient and efficient for the entity to have a single advertised directory number that is applicable to all of the multiple entity locations within the entity's area of service. Having a single advertised number for an entity helps to eliminate the expenses which would otherwise be associated with advertising the different locations individually with a different phone number for each of the locations. Additionally, advertising a single number can make it easier for a caller to remember the service provider's phone number.
Solutions to this problem have been addressed whereby businesses obtain an 800 telephone number which is used as the single business number and callers of the 800 telephone number are routed to a dealer based upon the NPA-NXX of the calling party's number, NPA-NXX-XXXX, (where NPA is the calling party's area code, NXX is the central office code and XXXX identifies a particular station in the central office code). U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,267 to Riskin discloses a system in which a call is routed to a nearby dealer based upon the coordinates of the central office (NPA-NXX) serving the dealer. The system first receives a call from a caller then outdials to a dealer, and crossconnects the incoming call to the outgoing call if the dealer is available. The system monitors both lines during this process. This process can be both inefficient and uneconomical.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,636 to Wegrzynowicz discloses a method of routing a call in which a primary database is accessed using the caller's NPA and 800 directory number to provide an access key which identifies the customer. Wegrzynowicz generally relates to a method for selecting a local dealer out of a large group of dealers for completion of an 800 number. The caller is first connected to a toll switching system which sends a query to a first database using the 800 number and the caller's numbering plan area (NPA) code. The first database responds with a routing number which is used to select one of a plurality of second databases for serving one customer. After selecting one of the plurality of databases, the routing number and caller's NPA plus office code (NXX) are used to access the second database and to obtain the telephone number of a local dealer. The telephone number is returned to the toll system for completing the call. Therefore, Wpgrzynowicz solves the problem of handling large amounts of data by providing multiple data bases for serving each customer. If one customer of Wegrzynowicz serves more than one area code (NPA) area then multiple databases must be created.
While each of these patents disclose a method of routing a call to a business location based on the caller's NPA-NXX, neither discloses a method for accomplishing routing on a sufficiently granular basis when a business has multiple locations within the area (NXX) served by a central office. With NPA-NXX routing, a multiple location business within an area served by an NPA-NXX (central office) is not sufficiently able to distinguish and therefore route calls to the most appropriate location.
Many current mechanisms and databases used to process calls are limited. For example, AT&T provides an advanced intelligent network platform with databases and mechanisms for storing and accessing data. With the AT&T network platform, telephone companies may develop service package applications with recent/change and decision graph mechanisms which store subscription data that is pertinent to multiple subscribers for specific services. With recent/change and decision graph mechanisms, multiple parameters or fields of information may be evaluated to determine how a call should be handled or to which subscriber the call should be directed. The recent change and decision graph data is stored in memory, thus this data can be accessed at memory speed. However, AT&T's A-I-Net platform imposes significant limitations on the amount of data that can be stored in recent/change and decision graphs.
By contrast, commercial relational databases such as ORACLE, SYBASE, and INFORMIX allow storage for large amounts of data. Relational databases, in general, are very flexible. The basic data structure in a relational database is a "relation or table." These databases allow multiple fields of input to be used as a key to retrieve the related attributes. However these databases also have a drawback, i.e., they do not support high transaction throughputs to allow efficient call processing.
The AT&T A-I-Net platform provides a mechanism to store large quantities of data in real-time databases. The data contained within these databases may be accessed during real-time processing. Real-time databases offer high transaction throughput to facilitate real-time call processing. Even higher transaction throughputs are possible by utilizing cacheing mechanisms. Cacheing mechanisms allow the whole/or part of a specific real-time database to be stored in memory for faster access. AT&T's A-I-Net platform allows such a feature to be used in conjunction with the real-time databases. The real-time databases currently available on A-I-Net platform may be accessed with only a single key which is usually a directory number (DN) to query the database to obtain the relevant data (i.e., one field of information is input to obtain single/multiple fields(s)). Thus, a separate database would normally be constructed or maintained for each subscriber to the service. Providing a separate database for translating the geographic area information for each subscriber can be costly.
In summary of the data handling devices, the recent change and decision graph mechanisms can support and exceed the throughput requirements, but cannot handle large amounts of data. Relational databases allow storage of large amounts of data but cannot meet throughput requirements. Real-time databases can store large amounts of data, can meet throughput requirements but are constrained in that they only support a single field of input as a key.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a call routing system that provides flexible routing options operative to route calls when a large quantity of relational data is used and to minimize the amount of data accessed and stored to yield a call routing determination.

Method for routing a call to a destination based on range identifiers for geographic area assignments


An orientation parts feeder for successively feeding parts wherein each part has an irregular cross section. The feeder includes a rotating drum supported for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis. The drum has on its inner cylindrical surface a plurality of circumferentially spaced wing plates, a transfer chute having a longitudinal parts guide channel, and a first and a second incorrectly-oriented-parts discriminating and removing mechanism disposed in succession on a downstream end portion of the parts guide channel. The first incorrectly-oriented-parts discriminating and removing mechanism has a response time which is shorter than that of the second incorrectly-oriented-parts discriminating and removing mechanism. The feeder is able to remove parts having undesirable postures with sufficient reliability and stability to ensure a high speed conveyance of the parts.

1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates generally to a parts feeder of the type wherein parts held in a rotating drum provided in place of a conventional bowl are fed in order along a linear passage at high speed and with reliability for conveyance to the next processing operation, and more particularly to a parts feeder which is suitable for use with various parts having irregular cross sections and requiring orientation in conveyance.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
In the production of a slide fastener or the like article composed of a plurality of parts of different configurations, the parts are supplied to an assembling station in the order prescribed by an assembling schedule, and each of the parts thus supplied is then assembled onto a predetermined position while keeping the same posture. In connection with this assembling operation, a parts feeder as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. HEI 5-178447 is generally used for conveyance of small parts. The disclosed parts feeder is of the bowl type including a bottomed vibrating bowl with a spiral parts feed passage on an inside wall surface thereof, and a plate-like chute interconnecting an outlet of the parts feed passage in the bowl and a parts supplying portion of the next processing station.
As an another example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,052,179 discloses a parts feeder for feeding fastener elements for a slide fastener. The disclosed parts feeder includes a horizontal drum driven to rotate in one direction about a substantially horizontal axis, a downwardly inclined tubular chute extending from the inside of the horizontal drum to the outside of the same along the axis of the horizontal drum. An inner cylindrical wall surface of the horizontal drum is provided with a plurality of wing plates circumferentially spaced at predetermined intervals and projecting radially inwardly at predetermined angles toward the axis of the horizontal drum. Upon rotation of the horizontal drum, the parts held in batches in the horizontal drum are scooped or taken up by the wing plates and when the wing plates reach an upper oblique position of the drum, the parts slide down from the wing plates onto a tray and then received in a longitudinal slit formed in an upper surface of the tubular chute.
Thereafter, the parts slides down along the slit of the tubular chute for conveyance to a delivery chute connected to the next processing station. In this instance, if parts while being fed down the tubular chute has an undesired posture or orientation, the parts will to move into the internal space of the tubular chute and then fall down to the outside of the tubular chute through a discharge hole formed in a portion of a bottom surface of the tubular chute.
The bowl type parts feeder shown in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. HEI 5-178447 has a drawback in that since conveyance of the parts relies on vibration of the bowl in the circumferential direction thereof, not only the parts are unlikely to move or advance smoothly along the spiral feed passage, but also it is difficult to advance the parts on the feed passage smoothly. The bowl type part feeder, therefore, has a limitation or difficulty in increasing the parts conveyance speed. Furthermore, it is doubtful that the parts can be reliably transferred from the spiral feed passage to the plate-like chute.
The drum-type parts feeder disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,052,179 has no means for positively advancing the parts. Instead, the parts simply slide down the chute by their own weights while they are guided in the slit of the tubular chute. Accordingly, smooth conveyance of the parts is difficult to achieve, and the parts conveyance speed cannot be increased. Further, depending on the shape of parts to be conveyed, the number of parts which can be received in the slit may be limited, thus lowering the productivity. The disclosed drum type parts feeder cannot make a discrimination between the front and the reverse of the respective parts to be fed, so that it can not recognize and remove parts in reverse or wrong postures. Accordingly, the parts feeder is not suitable for use with parts, such as fastener elements for a slide fastener, which require orientation in conveyance.


The present invention provides a lithography apparatus for transferring a pattern formed on an original to each of a plurality of shot regions on a substrate, comprising a detection unit configured to detect a mark provided in the shot region and a mark provided on the original, and a control unit configured to control alignment between a target shot region and the pattern of the original such that the mark in the target region detected by the detection unit and the mark on the original are shifted by a positional shift amount which is generated between each mark in the shot region and each mark on the original when an overlay error between the shot region and the pattern of the original falls within an allowable range.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lithography apparatus, an alignment method, and a method of manufacturing an article.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a lithography apparatus used to manufacture a semiconductor device or the like, an imprint apparatus that transfers a pattern formed on a mold serving as an original onto a substrate has received a great deal of attention, in addition to an exposure apparatus that projects the pattern of a mask serving as an original onto a substrate. In the imprint apparatus, a mold with a pattern formed on it and an imprint material supplied onto a substrate are brought into contact with each other, and the imprint material is cured in that state. The mold is separated from the cured imprint material, thereby transferring the pattern of the mold onto the substrate.
In the manufacture of a semiconductor device or the like, a step of overlaying a plurality of patterns on one substrate is necessary. For this reason, in the imprint apparatus, it is important to accurately transfer the pattern of a mold to a shot region formed on the substrate. Japanese Patent No. 4185941 proposes an imprint apparatus that employs a die-by-die alignment method as an alignment method when transferring the pattern of a mold to a shot region. The die-by-die alignment method is an alignment method of detecting marks formed in a shot region and marks formed in a mold and correcting the shift between a substrate and the mold for each shot region on the substrate.
The plurality of marks formed in the shot region sometimes individually have positional shifts due to, for example, manufacturing errors of an original used in the preceding lithography process, deformation of the marks or deformation of the entire substrate caused by a semiconductor process, and the like. In this case, when alignment between the shot region and the pattern of the original is performed based on the detection result of the marks without considering the positional shifts of the marks in the shot region, it may be difficult to accurately transfer the pattern of the original to the shot region.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-196476 proposes a method of aligning a shot region and an original considering manufacturing errors included in the relative positions of the pattern on the original and alignment marks on the original. In the method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-196476, however, positional shifts that individually occur in the marks formed in the shot region are not taken into consideration.

Lithography apparatus, alignment method, and method of manufacturing article


The concentration of analytes in a complex mixture can be ascertained by spectroscopic measurement, even if the spectra of substances other than the analyte overlap with that of the analyte. Both independently measured concentrations of the analyte in a training set and of the analyte spectrum are used. Variances in the spectral data attributable to the analyte are isolated from spectral variances from other causes, such as compositional changes associated with different samples that are independent of the analyte. For the special case of noninvasive glucose measurements on the skin of biological organisms, the volume averaged glucose in the sample is predicted from the blood glucose. A test for over-fitting of the data is also described.

1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to making calibrated measurements of analytes in samples, which are illuminated with electromagnetic radiation, so as to produce a scattered spectrum. Specifically, the invention permits determination of the concentration of an analyte in complex mixtures, wherein there is significant spectral overlap between the analyte and other compounds present in the sample.
2. Background and Relevant Art
The field of chemometrics is primarily devoted to mathematical techniques whereby the concentration or presence of a target analyte can be ascertained from data which contains signals from other compounds. A typical problem occurs when the data consist of spectra, and the sample consists of a mixture of compounds, one or more of the spectra of such compounds overlapping with that of the analyte of interest. In general, there are several classes of additional information which can be helpful in isolating the signal of the analyte. The spectrum of the analyte may be measured in advance in a sample which does not contain other compounds. Alternatively, if it is not convenient to measure the analyte by itself, a preparation can be made without the analyte, and the spectrum of this preparation ascertained. Then the analyte can be added to the preparation, and a second spectrum taken. When the first spectrum is subtracted from the second, the resulting spectrum should be that of the analyte. Similarly, the spectra of other compounds which are thought to be present in the sample can sometimes be measured beforehand.
In addition, it is sometimes possible to make an independent measurement of the concentration of an analyte in the sample by a second method. If multiple samples are available wherein independent measurements of the analyte have been made, and the analyte is present in differing concentrations in these samples, it may be possible to calibrate the spectroscopic data on the basis of these independent measurements. Then, when an additional sample is presented to the spectroscopic apparatus, wherein the concentration of the analyte is not known, the calibration obtained from the prior set of samples can be used to ascertain the concentration of the analyte in the new sample.
The set of samples wherein the concentration of the analyte has been ascertained by an independent method and which are used to create the calibration of the spectroscopic apparatus is called the "training set." The new sample or samples wherein the concentration of the analyte is unknown is called the "test set." The spectra of the analyte or of other substances present in the samples may or may not be known.
A common means of ascertaining whether the calibration will properly predict the concentration of an analyte in a new sample is called "cross-validation." In this process, the concentration of the analyte in all the samples is measured by independent means. The set is then segmented into two subsets. One of the two subsets consists of the training set and the other subset will be the test set. The concentration of the analyte in the test set is predicted by the calibration which is obtained from the training set. These predictions can then be compared with the actual, independently measured concentration of the analyte in the test set. The assignment of samples to either the training or test sets can be permuted in many patterns, hence, the concentration of the analyte in every sample or subset of samples can be predicted by the remaining samples.
A number of basic algorithms have been developed to create a calibration based on data from a training set. Let the matrix X consist of spectra from the multiple samples. Let Y be the independently measured concentrations of the analyte or analytes in each sample. If there is one analyte which has been measured independently, Y is a vector consisting of concentration versus sample. If multiple analytes have been independently measured, then Y is a matrix. The purpose of the algorithm is to calculate a model which when applied to new spectra from a new sample will correctly predict the concentration of the analyte or analytes of interest. An adequate treatment of the basic approaches can be found in "Multi-Way Analysis," by A. Smilde, R. Bro, and P. Geladi, Pub. John Wiley and Sons, 2004, ISBN-0-471-98691-7.
If the spectra of all the compounds in the mixture are known then it is sometimes possible to use ordinary regression to extract the concentration of any one of the compounds from a spectrum of the mixtures. Even in this case, the regression may be ill-conditioned because the spectra of the substances will not, in general, be an orthogonal set. In regression, when the independent variables are partially colinear, the error in the weights assigned to the independent variables may be excessive. Also, in many important cases, the spectrum of every compound in the mixture may not be known. Frequently, some of the significant compounds in the mixture have not been identified.
To resolve the problems associated with ordinary regression, a variety of techniques have been developed that do not rely on a priori knowledge of the spectra of the compounds in the mixture. In principle components analysis, the following decomposition of the data is made:
                              X          ij                =                                            ∑                              p                =                1                            ncomp                                                                  P                ip                                                          T                jp                                              +                      ɛ            ij                                              (        1        )            where the Pip are called the "loadings," the Tjp are called the "scores," and εij is the residue after the specified number of components are derived. In our convention, the loadings will be spectra and the scores will be sample sequences, which for example, may be time series. The Pip are an orthonormal set, and the Tjp are an orthogonal set. The number of components for the decomposition is ncomp. This method is standard principal component decomposition, a well known method, which is described for example in Principal Component Analysis, I. T Jolliffe, 2004, ISBN 0-387-95442-2.
In general, the loadings Pip, are not the spectra of compounds in the mixture. The principle components are not unique in providing a basis for the plane of closest fit to the data, X. The loadings, P, can be rotated in the plane of closest fit, so while the plane is unique, the basis vectors that describe it are not. Therefore, since the P's can be rotated to make a decomposition of equally low error, these spectra can have no inherent relation to the actual spectra of the compounds. Furthermore, it has already been noted that the spectra of the compounds are not, in general, orthogonal, whereas the P's are orthonormal by construction.
It is possible to use the scores, T, in regression, a technique known as principle components regression. The advantage is that the T's are orthogonal so that the regression will not be ill-conditioned.
Another example of a technique requiring no a priori knowledge of the spectra of the compounds is that of partial least squares regression, a rigorous discussion of which is found in "The Geometry of Partial Least Squares," A. Phatak, S. De Jong, Journal of Chemometrics, Vol. 11, pgs. 311-338 (1997). The algorithm minimizes the error of estimation of the spectral data, and of the independently determined concentrations iteratively.
One serious difficulty with the above mentioned techniques is the danger of over-fitting the data. Over-fitting in this context is defined as either training the method based on spurious correlations in the data, or else training the method based on other analytes which are correlated with the target analyte. In either case, the problem arises because the data contains limited information about the true analyte while containing a rich enough set of interfering substances or signals. In practice, the set of data Y, which is being fit is not very complex in the sense that it could be adequately represented mathematically by relatively few parameters. The probability of obtaining spurious correlations with one or more the components extracted in the decompositions of the data is then not negligible. A calibration constructed from over-fitting will have impaired predictive accuracy for new data. In particular, in the latter case mentioned above, calibration to correlated analytes, the correlation may not be guaranteed to hold under all conditions of interest, while in the former case there is not even the possibility of a correct determination.
The difficulty may be viewed in terms of the algorithm being under-constrained, permitting spurious solutions which nevertheless model the data in the training set. Alternatively, we may say that in such circumstances it may be necessary to make more measurements so that the data being fit becomes increasingly complex. The required number of such measurements, may, however, be impractically large.
It is possible to impose constraints on the decompositions of the data, on the basis that the spectra must obey certain rules. A simple case would be to require that the loadings be non-negative. See, for more such examples, "Inclusion of Chemical Constraints in Factor Analysis to Extract a Unique Set of Solutions from Spectroscopic and Environmental Data," T. Ozeki, and N. Ogawa, Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, Vol. 71, pgs. 61-72 (2004). For mixtures of sufficient complexity, however, these constraints are generally too weak to be sufficient.
It is notable that the techniques that are described above were developed for the case where none of the spectra were known in advance, yet sometimes one or more of the spectra of the compounds in the mixture are in fact known. Such a priori knowledge is in principle very useful in avoiding over-fitting, however, those algorithms which were designed for data sets where no such knowledge was available do not in general have an appropriate way of incorporating specific spectra.
In some cases, it is observed that there are sources of variance in the measured spectra of a mixture which are not related to the variances of the analyte concentration in the mixture. An example of such a case is the Raman spectra of human skin, when it is desired to measure the concentration of one or more analytes such as glucose. It is found that different sites on the skin contain significantly different concentrations of other compounds besides glucose, whose spectra overlap, in part, with that of glucose. Further, there are compositional differences between the skins of individual human beings. Existing algorithms do not provide a means of extracting these irrelevant sources of variance which can confound the measurement of the target analyte.

Calibrated analyte concentration measurements in mixtures


An on-chip antenna switching scheme for Gigahertz frequencies where for the transmission path a first on-chip switching means is coupled between an on-chip power amplifier and an antenna. In the receiving path a second on-chip switching means at an input to an on-chip low noise amplifier (LNA) connects to ground. Coupled off-chip between the first switching means and antenna and antenna and the second switching means are impedance matching means and a half and a quarter wavelength line, respectively. In transmission mode both switching means are closed, in receiving mode both switching means are open. This allows for optimal transmission of the signal in either direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an antenna switching circuit, where the switching is done on-chip, and more particularly to methods of matching the impedance of the chip to the impedance of the antenna in both transmit and receive mode.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates a related art switching scheme where an antenna receives a signal from terminal TX Out and sends a signal to terminal RX Input by controlling a switch. TX Out on chip 12 is coupled via matching circuit 17 to the terminal A of switch 15 in switch unit 14. Center terminal C (also the antenna port) of switch 15 is coupled to antenna 16. When in receiving mode, switch 15 is connected to terminal B and is coupled via matching circuit 18 to terminal RX Input. Since the impedance of TX Out and RX Input is not equal to 50 Ohms, matching circuits 17 and 18 provide matching to the 50 Ohms impedance of switch unit 14. Both TX Out and RX Input are terminals on integrated circuit (IC) chip 12. Switch unit 14, matching circuits 17 and 18 are off-chip. FIG. 2 illustrates a variation of FIG. 1 in that switch 15 is integrated on the IC chip. Terminal TX Out feeds matching circuit 17 which couples back to the IC chip 12 and connects to terminal A of switch 15. Center terminal C of switch 15 connects to antenna 16 as in FIG. 1. In receiving mode, switch 15 connects to terminal B and then couples to off-chip matching circuit 18 which couples back to on-chip terminal RX Input. Typically there is no good impedance match of the on-chip circuits. Part of the impedance mismatch is due to the package parasitics. Nor is the antenna port C impedance Zo equal to 50 Ohms.
U.S. Patents or U.S. Patent Application Publications which relate to the present invention are: U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,314 (Björk et al.) discloses an antenna switch for selectively connecting an output differential signal pair of an output power amplifier to a single-ended signal of an antenna when transmitting and selectively connecting an input differential signal pair of a low noise amplifier to the single-ended signal of the antenna when receiving. A first diode selectively shorts the first differential signal to the second differential signal when the transceiver is receiving, resulting in an open circuit. Likewise a second diode selectively shorts the first differential signal to the second differential signal when the transceiver is transmitting, resulting in an open circuit. U.S. Pat. No. 6,950,634 (Dykstra et al.) shows a doubly balanced transceiver having a transmit terminal (TX), a receiver terminal (RX) and an antenna terminal, 180° and 90° hybrids, a power amplifier, and a RX/TX switch for disabling the power amplifier so that signals received at the transmitter are reflected to the receive terminal (RX). The doubly balanced architecture also eliminates common-mode noise and reflection problems with the PA gain stages.
It should be noted that the above-cited examples of the related art have the disadvantages that a) the extra IC containing the switch occupies additional area on the printed circuit board (PCB), and b) the switch requires extra control signals from the transceiver or controller IC—this increases the number of pins and size of the package. All this increases production cost. The extra components increase the number of failures, and decrease production yield and the mean time between failures (MTBF). This contrasts with the advantages of the present invention of lower number of external parts, reduction of the overall package and PCB size, and lower cost.


A system and method for introducing and analyzing a sample containing an analyte using an ion mobility spectrometer are described. The system includes a temperature module for adjusting the temperature of the sample according to temperature instructions received, and a split ratio module for adjusting the split ratio according to split ratio instructions received. An ion mobility analyzer determines an ion mobility of the analyte. The ion mobility analyzer collects a plasmagram of the analyte to identify and quantitate the analyte.

A fast method for analyzing samples in the pharmaceutical industry is ion mobility spectrometry, an analytical technique that characterizes chemical substances based on their gas-phase ion mobilities. These mobilities are determined by measuring drift velocities as ions move, under the influence of an electric field, through a gas at ambient pressure. The method can be up to two orders of magnitude faster and can be much cheaper than other methods, such as liquid chromatography (LC). Moreover, unlike LC, ion mobility spectrometry does not require highly trained personnel to administer the test.
In ion mobility spectrometry, an analyte, such as a pharmaceutical compound, is ionized and then inserted into a drift tube. The ions migrate downfield and strike a collector electrode, producing a current. The ion current is amplified and displayed as an ion mobility spectrum or plasmagram, showing ion current versus time. Such a plasmagram can be used to characterize the pharmaceutical compound.
Ion mobility spectrometry, therefore, involves two major steps: in the first step, a sample is prepared and inserted into the analyzer, and in the second step, the sample is analyzed. While some variations in the second step exist, not too many options are available for preparing and inserting the sample for analysis.
Often, the introduction step involves the use of a solution of analyte in a solvent. Unfortunately, the presence of solvents during the analysis stage can yield poor reproducibility and spurious plasmagrams. Therefore, any different method that could improve the introduction step, by increasing reproducibility, by increasing the number of solvents that can be used for analysis, or by allowing greater variability in sample size, would be most welcome.

Method and system for introducing an analyte into an ion mobility spectrometer


The present invention relates to novel cellulase enzymes, especially novel endoglucanases including endoglucanase fusion proteins, preparations and compositions containing these endoglucanase enzymes and fusion proteins, expression vectors, host cells and methods for their preparation and uses of the cellulases, preparations and compositions in the textile, detergent and pulp and paper industries.

Cellulose is the major structural component of higher plants and occurs naturally in almost pure form only in cotton fiber. It provides plant cells with high tensile strength helping them to resist mechanical stress and osmotic pressure. Cellulose is a linear polysaccharide of glucose residues connected by β-1,4 linkages. In nature, cellulose is usually associated with lignin together with hemicelluloses, such as xylans and glucomannans. Cellulolytic enzymes hydrolyze cellulose and are produced by a wide variety of bacteria and fungi. Cellulases are industrially important enzymes with a current annual market value of about 190 million U.S. $. In the textile industry, cellulases are used in denim finishing to create a fashionable stone washed appearance in denim cloths in a biostoning process, and they are also used, for instance, to clean fuzz and prevent formation of pills on the surface of cotton garments. In detergent industry cellulases are used to brighten colors and to prevent graying and pilling of garments. Cellulases are further used in food industry and animal feed manufacturing, and they have a great potential in the pulp and paper industry, for instance, in deinking to release ink from fiber surfaces and in improving pulp drainage. The wide spectrum of industrial uses for cellulases has established a need for commercial cellulase products containing different cellulase components and functioning optimally in different pH and temperature ranges.
The practical use of cellulases is hampered by the nature of the known cellulase compositions, which are often enzyme mixtures having a variety of activities and substrate specificities. For this reason, efforts have been made to obtain cellulases having only the desired activities. The unique properties of each cellulase make some more suitable for certain purposes than others. While the enzymes differ in a number of ways, one of the most important differences is the pH optimum. Neutral cellulases are most active in the pH range 6–8 and alkaline cellulases in the pH range 7.5–10, whereas acid cellulases, having the pH optimum at pH 4.5–5.5, show very low activity levels at higher pH values. Neutral and acid cellulases are especially useful in the textile industry. In fabric treatment cellulases attack the chains of cellulose molecules that form the cotton fibers, thereby affecting the characteristics of the fabric.
In textile industry "stone washed" look or an abraded look has been denim producers' interest in recent years. Traditional stone washing with pumice stones reduces the strength of fabric and burdens the laundering apparatuses. The trend has been towards enzymatic denim finishing processes and cellulases have replaced or are being used together with pumice stones to give the fabric its desired "worn" look. Controlled enzyme treatments result in less damage to the garments and machines and eliminate the need for disposal of stones.
Additionally, textile industry uses cellulases in biofinishing, i.e. to create permanent improvement of depilling and improved pilling resistance, cleared surface structure by reduced fuzz, improved textile handle, such as softness, smoothness and a silkier feel, improved drapability and brighter colors of the textile and improved moisture absorbability.
Cellulases applied in denim treatment are usually divided into two main groups: acid and neutral cellulases. Acid cellulases typically operate at pH 4.0–5.5 and the neutral cellulases in the range of pH 6–8. Acid cellulases used in biostoning mainly originate from Trichoderma reesei (sexual form Hypocrea jecorina) and the neutral cellulases come from a variety of fungi, including genera of Melanocarpus, Humicola, Myceliophthora, Fusarium, Acremonium, and Chrysosporium (Haakana et al. 2004). T. reesei enzymes include, e.g., cellulases from the glycoside family 5 (endoglucanase II, EGII), family 7 (cellobiohydrolase I, CBHI) and family 12 (endoglucanase III, EGIII; Ward et al. 1993), and the neutral cellulases, most often endoglucanases, from family 45 and family 7 (Henrissat, 1991; Henrissat and Bairoch, 1993, 1996).
Cellulases comprise a catalytic domain/core (CD) expressing cellulase activity. In addition to the catalytic domain the cellulase molecule may comprise one or more cellulose binding domains (CBDs), also named as carbohydrate binding domains/modules (CBD/CBM), which can be located either at the N- or C-terminus of the catalytic domain. CBDs have carbohydrate-binding activity and they mediate the binding of the cellulase to crystalline cellulose but have little or no effect on cellulase hydrolytic activity of the enzyme on soluble substrates. These two domains are typically connected via a flexible and highly glycosylated linker region.
Cellulases that attack primarily on the surface of the fiber are especially useful in stone washing of denim dyed with Indigo dye, as the dye is located on the surface of the fiber. When used to treat cotton fabric, acid cellulases generally require a shorter washing time than neutral cellulases. Acid cellulases are especially used in biofinishing (depilling) and also in denim treatment (biostoning).
Endoglucanases (EGs) in connection of the present invention mean enzymes classified as E.C. 126.96.36.199 and are one of the three types of cellulases generally needed for the biological conversion of cellulose to glucose. Endoglucanases cut internal beta-1,4-glucosidic bonds, whereas cellobiohydrolases cut the disaccharide cellobiose from the end of the cellulose polymer chain and beta-1,4-glucosidases hydrolyze the cellobiose and other short cello-oligosaccharides to glucose. Some naturally occurring endoglucanases have a cellulose-binding domain (CBD), while others do not.
Also endoglucanases are widely used in textile, detergent, and pulp and paper industry. For instance, endoglucanases of the cel45 family (EGs fam 45) are described, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,001,639, which describes enzymes having endoglucanase activity and having two conserved amino acid sequences. Uses in textile, detergent, and pulp and paper applications are generally discussed and treating of lignocellulosic material is mentioned. WO 2004/053039 is directed to detergent applications of endoglucanases. U.S. Pat. No. 5,958,082 discloses the use of endoglucanase, especially from Thielavia terrestris in textile applications providing stoned washed or abraded look of twill jeans. EP 0495258 relates to detergent compositions containing Humicola cellulase. U.S. Pat. No. 5,948,672 describes a cellulase preparation containing endoglucanase, especially from Humicola and its use in textile and pulp applications.
EG:s and EG-enriched compositions and concentrates are also commercially available.
However, there is a continuous need for improved cellulases, including endoglucanases that are more efficient in fabric treatment and in other fields, where cellulases traditionally are used. In particular, there is a continuous need for more efficient cellulases to improve the process economics.
The present invention aims to meet this need.


A heat exchange apparatus for a cooling tower having first and second corrugated film, fill sheets. Each film fill sheet includes a plurality of arch shaped dimple features oriented to forms various rows of the arch shaped dimple features. The first and second sheet are connected wherein the spacing between the sheets is equal to approximately 1.0 inches.

Industrial water cooling towers have long been used to reject heat in power generation, to provide cooling water for petrochemical processes, and serve as a means to lower the temperature of various chemical process streams and equipment. In the case of power generation plants, the cooling tower requirements are relatively large and it has been the practice in recent years to fabricate increasingly larger cooling towers. Counterflow towers have been found to be especially useful in these instances because of the efficiency of the towers and the compact nature of the tower structure. During the operation of counterflow cooling towers, cooling air is brought into heat exchange relationship with the hot water either by way of convection through use of a natural draft stack, or by means of one or more large diameter, power-driven fans.
In order to further increase the efficiency of cooling towers for industrial applications which require the use of very large towers, efforts have been made to increase the effectiveness of heat exchange between the hot water and the cooling air. The degree of direct contact of the water to be cooled with the air has a significant bearing on the efficiency of the cooling process. Counterflow towers, wherein the hot water and air are brought into countercurrent flow relationship have long been known to be efficient heat transfer units. Initial egg crate or slat splash bar towers were ultimately supplanted by film fill towers because of the greater heat transfer properties of a water film as compared with the multiplicity of droplets of water which are produced by splash fills. Furthermore, film fills are significantly shorter than splash fills thus decreasing the head on the pump delivering hot water to the tower and thereto making tower operation less expensive because of the lower horsepower pump requirements.
The superior heat transfer characteristics of counterflow towers as well as improved efficiency based on lower pump heads has accelerated their use in recent years. Cooling tower designers, in seeking to increase the efficiency of counterflow towers, have also sought to further decrease the overall height of such towers by making the fill more effective than has been the case in the past. With the advent of synthetic resin sheets which are capable of withstanding higher temperatures without significant deformation than was previously the case, along with the development of resin formulations which are more resistant to deterioration under constant wet conditions, film fill assemblies for have in many instances completely supplanted prior fill structures. These prior fill structures primarily relied upon break-up of the water for surface increase purposes instead of thin films of water over a large multiplicity of closely spaced sheets of plastic.
Although film fills have found acceptance in many applications including large industrial cooling towers for power generating plants and the like, problems have arisen by virtue of the fact that governmental regulatory agencies have imposed stricter limitations on the addition of agents which suppress growth of microorganisms and the like to the cooling water. For example, it has long been the practice to add chlorine or chlorine containing compounds to the cooling water in order to prevent microorganism growth. However, it is now known that when chlorine in high concentrations is discharged into streams or other natural bodies of water, the chlorine can produce adverse consequences which are harmful to biological life in the stream and in general increase what some deem to be undesirable pollution of the flowing water.
In response to the aforementioned problems, cooling tower operators have routinely removed a portion of the cooling tower water in the form of blow down and returned it to the source such as a stream to prevent buildup of chemical additives in the water. As much as 10% of the water may be continuously returned to the stream or other water source as blow down. This water can contain a relatively high concentration of additives and therefore significant amounts of chlorine, for example, may be present at the outlet of the cooling tower which discharges into the adjacent stream, lagoon, or lake water source. Concern over stream and water body pollution has led governmental authorities to restrict the use of additives such as chlorine in cooling tower water for preventing growth of microorganisms in the recirculating cooling water. In fact, absent a more acceptable anti-microbial additive than chlorine and which is available at a reasonable cost, many tower operators have elected to simply eliminate or drastically reduce the additives such as chlorine in the cooling tower water.
As a result of the reduction or elimination of additives, the build up of microorganism growth in the flow assembly of counterflow industrial water cooling towers has occurred. This is due to the fact that counterflow towers oftentimes employ corrugated plastic sheets which are positioned so that adjacent corrugations cross one another at approximately a 30° angle. The peaks of the corrugations therefore contact one another where the peaks cross. In a cross-corrugated fill utilizing plastic corrugated sheets which are spaced a distance such that the greatest spacing there between is of the order of ⅔ inch, there can for example, be as many as 646 contact points or nodes per cubic foot of the fill assembly. These nodes serve as habitats for microorganisms which proliferate around the contact point. As the water to be cooled flows downwardly through the corrugated fill structure, microorganisms present in the water and whose growth is no longer inhibited by suitable anti-microbial compounds in the water, collect at the points of intersection of the corrugations of the fill. The microorganisms then start to multiply at the nodal points in the fill assembly. This growth oftentimes continues until complete blockage of the water flow paths through the fill unit occurs.
In like manner, unless the cooling tower water is continuously filtered, suspended solids in the make-up water from the stream or other natural water source can collect and accumulate in the water. These solids are trapped by the microorganism growths in the fill assembly and exacerbate the blockage of the water flow paths. In addition, airborne solids can build up in the water during tower operation unless the water is filtered.
The significance of the problem is apparent when it is recognized that in the cooling towers are oftentimes employed in large power plants where, if the plant must be shut down because of blockage of the fill assembly of the cooling tower serving such plant, the loss of revenue to the utility can be very costly per day. The replacement of the fill can take from up to one to two months and thus, lost revenues can readily mount.
The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that cooling towers of the type discussed and especially those used for larger energy generation plants such as nuclear facilities, have fill assemblies whose plan area can be anywhere from one to two acres, for example.
Another factor involves the insidious nature of the problem. Microorganisms and solid object blockage of the cooling tower fill necessarily occurs in a gradual form. Thus, the performance of the tower will gradually decrease over time which has an adverse economic impact on cooling of the steam used in the plant and decreasing the efficiency of the generation process. This produces a slow loss in output which translates directly into decreased income to the utility. The tendency is to defer replacement of the fill for as long as possible because of the cost of tearing out the old fill and replacing it with a new assembly.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art to provide an apparatus and method that provides an efficient, non-clogging heat transfer fill assembly for use with a cooling tower. More particularly, there is a need in the art for a film fill sheet that provides for the efficient transfer of heat and the suppression of the growth of microorganisms.

Cooling tower film fill apparatus and method