An oscillator element is provided, e.g., for use in a photo acoustic detector for detecting a concentration of a sample in a sample mixture using a light beam for excitation of molecules of the sample in proximity of an excitation area of the oscillator element. The oscillator element includes piezoelectric material for generating a voltage when mechanically distorted. Electrodes at least partially cover a surface of the oscillator element for detecting the generated voltage. The excitation area is arranged in such a way that heating of the electrodes in the excitation area by the light beam is avoided.

Such an oscillator element is also used in the photo acoustic trace gas detector described in the United States patent application, published as US 2005/0117155. The photo acoustic trace gas detector uses a laser beam for exciting molecules of a trace gas in a gas mixture. The excitation of the trace gas molecules results in an increased temperature and pressure. The laser beam is wavelength or amplitude modulated for generating pressure variations in the gas mixture. In the photo acoustic trace gas detector according to US 2005/0117155, a quartz tuning fork detects the pressure variations. After amplification by a pre-amplifier, a lock-in amplifier mixes the tuning fork signal with a reference signal for acquiring an output signal. The use of the quartz tuning fork for the detection of the pressure variations allows for a relatively compact photo acoustic trace gas detector.
An important application of photo acoustic trace gas detectors is breath testing. Breath testing is a promising area of medical technology. Breath tests are non-invasive, user friendly and low cost. Prime examples of breath testing are monitoring of asthma, alcohol breath testing and detection of stomach disorders and acute organ rejection. First clinical trials show possible applications in the pre-screening of breast and lung cancer. These volatile biomarkers have typical concentrations in the parts per billion (ppb) range. Nitric oxide (NO) is one of the most important trace gases in the human breath, and elevated concentrations of NO can be found in asthmatic patients. Currently, exhaled NO levels at ppb concentrations can only be measured using expensive and bulky equipment based on chemiluminescence or optical absorption spectroscopy. A compact, low-cost NO sensor forms an interesting device that can be used to diagnose and monitor airway inflammation and can be used at the doctor's office and for medication control at home.
For detecting NO in the exhaled breath, an approach has been chosen where NO is chemically converted into NO2 which is subsequently detected with a photo acoustic sensor incorporating a blue semiconductor laser. NO2 has a broad absorption spectrum in the blue wavelength range, and consequently wavelength modulation is not the preferred modulation method for detecting NO2. Unfortunately, amplitude modulation of the laser power leads to large background signals that easily dominate the small NO2 related photo acoustic signals. It is a problem of the photo acoustic trace gas detector according to US 2005/0117155 that the accuracy of the measurements is not sufficient.

Oscillator element for photo acoustic detector


A method of dynamically configuring access to services (114, 130) between a remote communications node (104) and a remote communications device (106) includes determining if the remote communications node (104) is communicating with a distributed communications system (100). The remote communications node (104) is configured as a primary gateway (301, 401) if the remote communications node (104) is communicating with the distributed communications system (100) and configured as a secondary gateway (303, 403) if it is not. A remote communications device (106) is initialized and the remote communications node (104) and remote communications device (106) are dynamically configured to optimally access services (114, 130) in a serial configuration.

There is an ever-increasing demand for wireless communications. Wireless subscribers desire to have access to information at any time and at any place. One of the fastest growing markets for providing wireless services is known as "telematics" and entails delivering a wide spectrum of information via wireless links to vehicle-based subscribers. The information can originate from multiple sources, such as the Internet and other public, private, and/or government computer-based networks; wireless telecommunications such as cellular, Personal Communication Service (PCS), satellite, land-mobile, and the like; terrestrial and satellite direct broadcasts including traditional AM/FM bands, broadband, television, video, geolocation and navigation via a global position system (GPS), and the like; concierge services providing roadside assistance, emergency calling, remote-door unlocking, accident reporting, travel conditions, vehicle security, stolen vehicle recovery, remote vehicle diagnostics, and the like; advertising services identifying names and locations of businesses such as gas stations, restaurants, hotels, stores, and offices, and the like; tourist services such as points of interest, directions, hours of access, and the like; and many other sources that can provide information of any type. Many of the above services are not universally available, but rather they are transient in both the time and geoposition domains.
Information can be communicated to telematics devices over relatively long wireless links, such as from a satellite or terrestrial node, or from relatively short wireless or wired links, such as from in-vehicle equipment or from hand-held devices like PDAs, portable computers, cellular phones, and the like.
The services provided by telematics systems are not restricted to vehicle-based subscribers, and they can also be provided to subscribers at home, at work, or elsewhere. With so much mobility, the equipment located in the subscriber's vehicle, or the equipment carried by or otherwise serving a subscriber, needs a way to connect with the plethora of services that are potentially available to it. The equipment needs a way to optimally utilize available client devices to discover, identify, select, and invoke services that are of interest to it, as well as to disconnect from services that are no longer of interest to it.
Mobile systems also may have rigorous security requirements in order to protect the identity and location of mobile subscribers, as well as to insure that the mobile equipment, including software, is not involuntarily altered or corrupted, for example, by downloading uncertified software that could replace, infect, or otherwise have an adverse impact upon the software residing in the system. Known systems that dynamically provide access to services typically download software code to the client platform and execute the code on the client platform. Not only does this introduce potentially dangerous security issues, but also the downloaded code can overwhelm the mobile system's limited memory capability.
Accordingly, there is a significant need for methods and apparatus that are more conserving of application and platform resources, particularly for mobile platforms.
There is also a significant need for methods of optimally configuring client platforms to efficiently utilize other available client platforms to access services in a manner that is independent of the interface layer between a client platform, another client platform and a server.
There is a further need for methods for client platforms to access services in realtime while utilizing available client platforms in an optimal manner.
Accordingly, there is a significant need for methods of dynamically configuring access to services that overcome the deficiencies of the prior art outlined above.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the drawing have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements are exaggerated relative to each other. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the Figures to indicate corresponding elements.

Method of dynamically configuring access to services


In order to apply an optical element such as a lens, for example, to an optoelectronic component, the surface (3B), averted from the transmitter or receiver (2), of the filling material (3) is designed directly with a lens profile (7). This is done by filling a defined quantity of the transparent filling material (3) into the recess (1A) of the carrier body (1) for the purpose of embedding the transmitter or receiver (2), and by subsequently impressing a lens profile (7) onto the surface (3B), averted from the transmitter or receiver, of the transparent filling material (3) by means of a punch (8), before the transparent filling material with the lens profile (7) thus impressed is completely cured.

An example of such an optoelectronic component is illustrated in FIG. 3. The design shown in FIG. 3 is described in more detail in, for example, the article entitled "SIEMENS SMT-TOPLED für die Oberflächenmontage" [SIEMENS SMT-TOPLED for surface mounting] by F. Möllmer and G. Waitl in the journal Siemens Components 29 (1991), Issue 4, pages 147–149, and illustrates an optoelectronic component produced using surface mounting technology (SMT).
An optoelectronic transmitter such as an LED 2, for example, is mounted with one of its electrical contact surfaces on a conductor ribbon 5a that is connected to a pole of a voltage source, while an opposite conductor ribbon 5b, connected to the other pole of the voltage source, is connected to the other electrical contact surface of the LED 2 by a bonding wire 6. A carrier body 1 made from a high temperature resistant thermoplastic is formed by injection molding about the conductor ribbons 5a, 5b, there being formed in the carrier body 1 a recess 1A into which the LED 2 arranged on the conductor ribbon 5a projects. The recess 1A of the carrier body 2 is filled with a transparent filling material 3 in order to embed the LED 2 therein protectively.
In order to change the radiation characteristics an optical element such as, for example a lens 4 is, as illustrated in FIG. 3, arranged on the surface 3B of the filling material 3 which levels with the surface 1B of the carrier body 1. Various methods are already known from the prior art for applying the lens 4 to the optoelectronic component.
In a known method of production, the optical element is also applied when casting the LED with the transparent filling material by means of an appropriate mold. An optoelectronic component produced using this method is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,280, even though no details are given there of the formation of the filling material with the aid of different lens shapes. However, there are disadvantages in simultaneously applying the lens shape when casting with the transparent material, and these reside, in particular, in the removal from the mold and in the forces that act on the contact made with the conductor ribbons. These forces are produced by the relatively large quantity of filling material, which also exerts higher forces on the contacts during thermal stress.
A further method of production for optoelectronic components described above includes firstly casting the recess of the carrier body with the transparent filling material, and subsequently applying the optical element separately to the surface of the filling material. Examples of such methods are described in more detail, for example, in DE 197 55 734 A1 and DE 199 18 370 A1. However, it is a disadvantage of this method that an additional process step of applying the lens is required, and that the method is sensitive to high tolerances during flat casting of the filling material and/or during placing of the lenses and with reference to the adhesion of the lenses on the transparent filling material.

Optoelectronic component and method for the production thereof


A bar-code reader includes a housing, a window affixed to the housing and separating an internal environment from an external environment, and an anti-fog coating on the window within an optical path of the bar-code reader. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the anti-fog coating is a hydrophilic layer; in another embodiment, it is a hydrophobic layer. The anti-fog coating may be used internally, externally, or both, and may be applied to any number of components within the optical path.

Barcode readers and other such portable devices are often moved from one environment to another to facilitate data entry in a variety of locations. For example, it is not uncommon to use a barcode reader in a standard room-temperature environment (e.g., within a commercial shopping space), then use that same barcode reader in a warehouse region or refrigerated area (e.g., a walk-in freezer). Such drastic change of environments is often experienced, for example, in the food service industry.
When a barcode reader is moved from one environment to another, condensation can build up on internal or external surfaces. That is, if the temperature of an optical component drops below the effective dew point of the local environment, small droplets of water can form on the cold surface of that component. When such condensation or "fogging" occurs on optical components, windows, or any part within the optical path, distortion may occur, causing the barcode reader to incorrectly scan barcodes or become largely unusable.
Certain prior art barcode systems incorporate a heated window or a heated holster to prevent condensation. Such systems are costly, take up significant space, and require substantial power. Other prior art systems have incorporated desiccants within the barcode reader housing; however, desiccants are unsatisfactory in that they must be replaced when fully saturated.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an efficient barcode reading device that can accommodate changes in environment without significant formation of condensation.

Methods and apparatus for a bar-code reader employing an anti-fog coating


The present invention is concerned with a system for fusion at least two cells. The system has an optical tweezers system for generating moving optical traps for manipulating the cells, an optical scissors system for cutting cell membrane of the cells and inducing fusion of the cells, an incubation system for providing cell culture in which the cells suspend and cell culture environment for the cells, and a visual detection system allowing visual monitoring of the cells undergoing fusion.

Manipulation of biological cells, including cell fusion, has a number of experimental or clinical applications. In the past, many methodologies for cell fusion make use of chemical or viral agents in achieving such fusion. However, which such methodologies are useful to some extent, they are deficient in that the chemical or viral agent would affect the end products, i.e. the fused cells, and ultimately affect the use of the fused cells in subsequent applications. Further, such methodologies often have been unreliable in controlling of fusion of specific number of cells or inefficient in that relative large amounts of pre-fused cells are required.
The present invention seeks to address these issues, or at least to provide an alternative to the public.
The present invention has many applications in the life science industry, and in particular in advanced biomedical device (e.g. for diseases diagnosis), drug discovery and laboratory research and tests. This invention allows the use of stem cells in many cellular biomedical applications, such as gene expression, chromosomal mapping, antibody production, cancer immunotherapy, and cell reprogramming. According to market research study conducted prior to the filing of the present invention, the global market for stem cell products was $3.8 billion in 2011, and it is expected to reach nearly $6.6 billion by 2016, increasing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.7% from 2011 to 2016. The global market for membrane technology reached $3.8 billion in 2010, nearly $4.6 billion in 2011, and is forecasted to reach $7.3 billion in 2016 after increasing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.9%. In view of these reasons, the present invention is technological advantageous.


Charge pump circuit. A charge pump circuit is provided for use in a phase-lock loop circuit. The charge pump circuit comprises a charge pump core circuit that outputs a control voltage. The charge pump circuit also comprises a replica circuit that is coupled to the charge pump core circuit, wherein the replica circuit receives the control voltage and produces one or more bias signals that are coupled to the charge pump core circuit to minimize the difference between charge up and charge down currents generated by the charge pump core circuit.

Phase-locked loops (PLL) find widespread use in frequency synthesizers, clock recovery circuits, phase modulators, and frequency demodulators. Generally, a PLL consists of a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), counter, phase/frequency detector (P/FD), charge pump (CP), and RC integration filter.
The phase-locked loop relies on feedback to drive the frequency difference and phase offset between a reference signal and the output of the counter towards zero. Its operation depends on the circuits that comprise the system; and as such, variations in circuit parameters alter the response of the system, lower the stability of the feedback loop, and introduce distortion. The charge pump and integration filter are circuits that are especially sensitive.
It is therefore desirable to improve the performance of the charge pump so that the PLL can better adapt to parameter changes.


A field effect transistor includes a trench in a field dielectric material on a crystalline silicon substrate and source/drain features inside the trench. The field effect transistor further includes a channel feature comprising a III-V material in the trench and spanning between the source/drain features, and gate dielectric layers and a gate feature surrounding a portion of the channel feature.

The present invention relates generally to the electrical, electronic and computer arts, and, more particularly, to forming III-V gate-all-around field effect transistors in integrated circuits with silicon substrates.
Multi-gate field effect transistors (FETs) are of considerable interest because of their superior electrostatic integrity, as well as their promise of lower supply voltages, reduced threshold voltages, and extended scalability. FinFETs are one form of such multi-gate device. In a finFET, a gate typically accesses two or three faces of a channel. However, as the fin width of finFETs approaches five nanometers, channel width variation may cause undesirable variability and mobility loss.
One possible technology that may be able to circumvent this problem is gate-all-around (GAA) FETs. In a GAA FET, a gate is made to surround a channel, which may be structured as a nanowire or a nanosheet (a nanosheet being a nano-sized rectangular cuboid). Such an arrangement provides for the greatest capacitive coupling between the gate and the channel. Incorporating indium gallium arsenide into such GAA FETs may be of particular benefit because of its extremely high electron mobility when compared to silicon, as well as lower operation voltage.
Integrating highly crystalline III-V materials such as indium gallium arsenide with silicon has historically been difficult because of lattice mismatches. One promising technique for effectively growing III-V materials on silicon substrates is Aspect-Ratio Trapping (ART). In an ART-based process, III-V materials are grown on a silicon substrate inside narrow trenches of silicon dioxide. With such techniques, dislocation defects may be significantly reduced or eliminated. Nevertheless, ART processes dictate a specific layout for the III-V devices. Thus the formation of III-V GAA FETs using ART remains challenging.

III-V gate-all-around field effect transistor using aspect ratio trapping

International Business Machines Corporation


A wirebond array (100) comprising a plurality of signal wires 110 and a plurality of ground wires (120) interdigitated with and substantially parallel to the set of signal wires (110). In one embodiment, each of the plurality of signal wires (110) and ground wires (120) is attached to a first semiconductor device (102) (e.g., a microwave power device). In another, each of the plurality of signal wires (110) is further attached to a package lead (104). In one embodiment, each of the plurality of ground wires (120) is further attached to a ground connection region (106) substantially coplanar with the package lead (104). Alternatively, each of the plurality of signal wires (110) is further attached to a second semiconductor device, wherein each of the plurality of ground wires (120) is further attached to the second semiconductor device.

High power RF & microwave transistor devices are typically connected to package leads and other electronic components using multiple parallel wires, or "wirebond arrays." While single wires are often modeled as inductors in series with resistors, wirebond arrays are typically modeled as a number of inductors connected in parallel, wherein mutual coupling between wires is factored in to produce a single equivalent inductance.
The input impedance (Zin) of high power transistors is typically low (less than approximately 3.0 Ω). At high frequencies (e.g., greater than about 2.0 GHz), it is desirable that the interconnecting input wirebond array be low inductance to enable broadband impedance matching. Reducing impedance is also important, to a lesser extent, at lower frequencies (e.g., broadcast frequencies of about 450 MHz.) If the inductance of the input wirebond array is too large, the quality (Q) of the matching network becomes excessive and broadband impedance matching can no longer be achieved.
The inductance of a wirebond array is a function of wire length, number of wires, wire loop height, and distance between the wires and the ground plane. In most applications, the physical dimensions of the design are predefined (e.g., component size, package size, etc.) and minimum loop height wires are typically already used. Thus, efforts to reduce wirebond array impedance have centered primarily on increasing the number of wires. Increasing the number of wires also increases the size of the device and/or package and requires additional processing steps.
Furthermore, in traditional wirebond arrays, the RF current is increased on the outer wires of the array. The resulting uneven current distribution can lead to an asymmetrical match of the power transistor. Furthermore, this non-symmetrical current can cause non-symmetrical wire temperatures. Wires at the periphery of the array will become hotter than wires toward the middle, and elevated wire temperatures and high-current operation decreases wire lifetime. This problem is expected to be more severe in the future, as devices with greater power densities (e.g., SiC and GaN devices) are developed.
Accordingly, there is a need for wire-bonding schemes that reduce overall inductance and improve current distribution in wirebond arrays. Other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.

Methods and apparatus for a reduced inductance wirebond array


A refrigerator comprising a fresh food compartment, a freezer compartment, a lower freezer drawer and an upper freezer bin. A primary set of glides allow the freezer drawer and the upper bin to be pulled out of the freezer compartment. A secondary set of glides mounts the upper bin onto the lower drawer for movement along the drawer, and back into the freezer compartment to allow access to the contents of the lower drawer.

The current invention relates to a refrigerator storage system and method of use.
Refrigerator freezers which have a bottom freezer compartment and an upper fresh food compartment are becoming more popular. Some bottom freezers have a large drawer which pulls out of the freezer compartment to allow access to items stored in the freezer drawer. One problem with such a large, single drawer is food items get buried and stacked, which makes it difficult to get to some items stored within the freezer drawer.
Some freezer drawers have a slidable tray which slides laterally across the width of the drawer and perpendicular to the travel of the drawer, allowing access to items in one side or the other of the drawer. If a person needs to get to the items stored on the other side of the drawer, they simply slide the upper storage bin to the left or to the right to gain access to the other side.
Some refrigerator freezers have multiple drawers that pull out separately. With these, one must pull out the main drawer and then pull out a second or third drawer to gain access to items in the top drawer, such as ice.
One problem with the aforementioned style of freezer compartment is that a person does not have access to all of the storage space in the freezer and therefore has a difficult time retrieving items stored in the freezer. Therefore, it is desirable to have an improved refrigerator storage system and method of use.
The primary feature or advantage of the present invention is to provide an improved refrigerator storage system and method of use.
Another feature or advantage of the present invention is allowance of easy access to items stored in a refrigerator freezer pull out drawer.
A further feature or advantage of the current invention is a method of mounting a bottom storage system in a refrigerator allowing easy access to all portions of the storage system.
A further feature or advantage of the current invention is a provision of a refrigerator storage system which is economical to manufacture, durable in use, and efficient in operation.
These and other features or advantages of the invention will be apparent from the specification and claims that follow.


Volume imaging of geological structures and/or man-made objects having physical property using geophysical field sources and/or sensors mounted from at least one data acquisition system. The sources may include natural field sources and/or man-made sources. The sensors may measure at least one component of the geophysical field. The subsets of the geophysical survey formed by the at least one source of geophysical data are selected, and the integrated sensitivity subdomains for selected subsets of the survey are determined by determining the volumes where the integrated sensitivity of the subset is greater than a predetermined threshold. The total sensitivity is determined as the superposition of the sensitivities from all of the integrated sensitivity subdomains. The fields measured for each combination of source and/or sensors may be volume imaged where 3D inversion/imaging is based on the total sensitivity calculated as the superposition of the sensitivities from all of the integrated sensitivity subdomains.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates in general to 3D subsurface imaging of different; physical properties of geological formations and/or man-made objects using geophysical data acquisition systems with multiple sources and/or sensors.
2. The Related Technology
Geophysical surveys are widely used in mineral, hydrocarbon, geothermal and groundwater exploration, in-situ mining, hydrocarbon, geothermal and groundwater resource monitoring, unexploded ordinance (UXO), improvised explosive device (IED), tunnel, and underground facility (UGF) detection, geosteering, bathymetry mapping, ice thickness mapping, and environmental monitoring.
To provide economical reconnaissance of subsurface geological formations and/or man-made objects, geophysical data acquisition systems with multiple sources and/or sensors are often deployed from fixed arrays and/or moving platforms such as vessels, wireline devices, bottom hole assemblies (BHA), vehicles, airplanes, helicopters, airships, and unattended aerial vehicles (UAV).
Land geophysical surveys from at least one data acquisition system include various configurations of EM systems such as natural source EM systems (e.g., raagnetotellurics, audiomagnetotellurics) and/or controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) systems (e.g., induced polarization, spectral induced polarization, controlled source magnetotellurics, controlled source audiomagnetotellurics, time-domain sounding), and/or various configurations of gravity and/or gravity gradiometry systems, and/or various configurations of magnetic and/or magnetic gradiometry systems.
Marine geophysical surveys from at least one vessel include various configurations of EM systems such as towed streamer EM systems, controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) systems, and marine magnetotelluric (MMT) systems, and/or various configurations of towed streamer reflection seismic systems such as narrow azimuth (NAZ) systems, wide azimuth (WAZ) systems, and extra wide azimuth (XWATS) systems, and/or various configurations of gravity and/or gravity gradiometry systems, and/or various configurations of magnetic and/or magnetic gradiometry systems.
Borehole geophysical surveys from at least one borehole include various configurations of EM systems such as cross-borehole EM systems, and/or various wireline deployed induction logging and/or tensor induction logging devices for formation evaluation, and/or various bottom hole assembly (BHA) deployed induction logging and/or tensor induction logging devices for logging-while-drilling (LWD), measurement-while-drilling (MWD), and/or imaging-while-drilling (IWD), and/or various wireline gravimeter and/or gravity gradiometer systems, and/or various wireline magnetometer and/or magnetic gradiometer systems.
Airborne geophysical surveys from at least one aircraft include various configurations of EM systems such as natural source EM systems (e.g., AFMAG, ZTEM, AirMt, airborne magnetotellurics) and/or controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) systems (e.g., DIGHEM, RESOLVE, GEOTEM, MEGATEM, SPECTREM, TEMPEST, VTEM, AEROTEM), and/or various configurations of gravity and/or gravity gradiometry systems (e.g., FALCON, Air-FTG), and/or various configurations of magnetic and/or magnetic gradiometry systems.
Geophysical surveys may acquire large volumes of data covering very large areas. For example, airborne geophysical surveys from fixed wing aircraft typically acquire 500 line km of data each day, and airborne geophysical surveys from helicopters typically acquire 200 line km of data each day. Airborne geophysical surveys typically contain multiple survey lines that aggregate as hundreds to thousands of line kilometers of multiple channels of geophysical (e.g., gravity, magnetic, EM) data measured every few meters and cover an area hundreds to thousands of square kilometers in size.
Subsurface imaging is a discipline inclusive of geophysical imaging, migration and/or inversion that reconstructs a physical property volume image of subsurface geological formations and/or man-made objects. The state of the art in methods of subsurface imaging has been discussed by Zhdanov, 2002, and Zhdanov, 2009.
As an example, the state-of-the-art in airborne EM interpretation is based on various 1D methods such as conductivity depth images (CDIs), conductivity depth transforms (CDTs) layered earth inversions, laterally constrained layered earth inversions, and spatially constrained layered earth inversions. These methods cannot reliably or accurately capture the geological complexity of the 3D subsurface conductivity.
As another example, the state-of-the-art in gravity and magnetic interpretation is based on various 3D inversion methods. The survey area is discretized as a 3D earth model where each cell of the model is characterized by a uniform physical property such as density and/or magnetic susceptibility and/or magnetization. The gravity and/or magnetic fields and/or their sensitivities are predicted from the entire 3D earth model. This requires considerable computer memory and processing resources. Large gravity and/or magnetic surveys are reduced to subsets (also called "tiles") which are independently inverted using software such as GRAV3D and/or MAG3D from the University of British Columbia Geophysical Inversion Facility. After each subset (or tile) has been inverted, their resultant 3D physical property models are stitched together. This workflow is often inadequate for very large gravity and/or magnetic surveys.
As data acquisition systems continue to evolve for geophysical surveys that will continue to increase in the volume of geophysical data being acquired, and interpreters demand accurate and higher resolution 3D volume imaging of the subsurface from said geophysical data, there exists an urgent need for robust methods to produce 3D volume images from geophysical data.
Subsurface imaging using geophysical methods has applications beyond resource exploration and production. The development and use of high-resolution airborne and satellite surveillance has prompted the widespread proliferation of covert tunnels and underground facilities (UGFs). UGFs are used to produce and harbor both weapons and illegal drugs, and in the case of tunnels, move contraband and people without detection across international borders. There exists an urgent need for 3D volume imaging of geophysical data for tunnel and UGF detection and monitoring.
Geophysical methods have been developed for detecting unexploded ordinance (UXO) that contains metal and/or electronic parts. While UXO detection is relatively mature discipline for weapons test site remediation, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) made primarily from fertilizer and lacking metal or electronic parts represent a persistent direct threat to civilian and military personnel in combat zones. IEDs are far more difficult to detect than standard UXO. There exists an urgent need to develop 3D volume imaging of geophysical, data measured from UAVs and vehicles for IED detection and discrimination.

Method of subsurface imaging using superposition of sensor sensitivities from geophysical data acquisition systems


A display controller for use within an electronic device includes a dedicated memory and a low power display processor for displaying information when the electronic device is operating in a reduced power mode of operation (e.g., sleep mode). The memory stores display data for a predetermined image and the display processor supplies the display data to a display panel of the electronic device when the electronic device is operating in the reduced power mode. The display controller may also include a processor interface for receiving control information from the electronic device's device processor to enable the display processor to determine that the electronic device is operating in reduced power mode. The display processor may be configured to scale the stored display data when, due to memory size constraints, the memory stores the display data at a resolution that is different from (e.g., less than) the display panel resolution.

A variety of portable electronic devices, such as cellular phones, smartphones, and multimedia devices, include display controllers (display drivers) to control the display of graphics and other images on display panels of the devices. Additionally, such electronic devices are typically configured to operate in either a full power mode or a reduced power mode (e.g., standby or sleep mode) at appropriate times. For instance, the devices are generally configured to operate in reduced power modes to conserve battery power during time periods when the devices are powered on, but are not being actively used by their users. A power management system of an electronic device may place the device in reduced power mode either automatically (e.g., after detecting that the device has not been used by a user for a period of time) or in response to manual activation of the reduced power mode by a user of the device, such as when the user knows that the device will not be actively used for a while.
In full power mode, an electronic device typically executes one or more applications that generate graphics or other images for display on the device's display panel. Each application sends image information to a graphics processor of the electronic device to produce display data for use by the display controller. The display controller then processes the display data to provide it in the proper format to the display panel.
By contrast, in reduced power mode, many portable electronic devices deactivate their display controllers (or at least portions thereof) so as not to display anything on their display panels. While such an approach saves precious battery power, it also leaves the device user in the dark, with no indication of whether the electronic device is on and no provision of even minimal information which may be of interest to the user, such as time of day, battery state of charge, signal strength, and so forth.
A partial electrical block diagram of an exemplary prior art electronic device (e.g., a smartphone) 100 having display capability is illustrated in FIG. 1. The device 100 includes an application processor 101, a display controller 103, a display panel 105, a power management integrated circuit (IC) 107, and an oscillator 109 for use in establishing a clock signal for the electronic device 100. The application processor 101 includes a graphics processor 111 that produces display data for graphics and other images to be displayed in accordance with the requirements of the applications being executed by the applications processor 101. The display controller 103 (or, equivalently, display driver) typically includes an input interface 113, an incoming data processor 115, memory 117 for storing incoming display data, an output data processor 119, an output data buffer 121, a power management circuit 123, and a display system oscillator and phase locked loop (PLL) 125 to supply a timing reference for the display controller 103. The power management IC 107 typically includes a real time clock 127 that receives its timing reference from the oscillator 109. The real time clock 127 is typically used to provide a clock signal for the application processor 101 and various other digital components of the electronic device 100.
In operation, the application processor 101 executes applications that require display of certain images, such as graphics, photographs, and/or text. The display data for the images is generated by the graphics processor 111 and supplied to the display controller 103 via the input interface 113. The incoming data processor 115 processes the received display data and stores the display data in the display controller memory 117. The output data processor 119 retrieves the display data from the memory 117 in accordance with the frame rate and other display format parameters of the display panel 105 and directs the retrieved display data into appropriate locations of the data output buffer 121 for display on the display panel 105.
When the power management IC 107 detects a power management condition, such as expiration of an inactivity timer or receipt of a user input requesting that the electronic device 100 be placed into reduced power mode (e.g., standby or sleep mode), the power management IC 107 sends a control signal or command to the power management circuit 123 of the display controller 103. Upon receipt of the command from the power management IC 107, the display controller's power management circuit 123 sends a signal to the output data processor 119 instructing the output data processor 119 to stop supplying data to the data output buffer 121 for display on the display panel 105. The result of the power management processing is that the display panel 105 and part of the display controller 103 are deactivated. As discussed above, deactivating the display panel 105 and/or display controller 103 saves battery power, but it leaves the device user with no indication of whether the electronic device 100 is on and no provision of even minimal information which may be of interest to the user.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated alone or relative to other elements to help improve the understanding of the various exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

Method and apparatus for displaying a predetermined image on a display panel of an electronic device when the electronic device is operating in a reduced power mode of operation


A catalyst and process for the metathesis polymerization of cyclic olefins, such as dicyclopentadiene, are disclosed. The catalyst comprises the reaction product of a transition metal halide preferably tungsten, molybdenum, or tantalum halides and a diaryl carbinol of the formula ##STR1## wherein G is independently C.sub.1-12 alkyl, C.sub.1-12 alkoxy, C.sub.1-12 alkylamino, C.sub.6-20 aryl, halide, or C.sub.1-6 haloalkyl; g is independently 0 to 4; R is independently hydrogen or G or the R's are combined as a single bond or as a bridging group X, where X is CH.sub.2, CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2, O, S, SO, SO.sub.2 or NR.sup.1, and R.sup.1 is H or C.sub.1-6 alkyl. Optional co-catalysts include borohydrides, organo tin hydrides and organo aluminum compounds. Polymerization can be carried out in a reaction injection molding process to prepare a molded article.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved process and catalyst system for the ring-opening metathesis polymerization of cyclic olefins, such as dicyclopentadiene (DCPD). More specifically, this invention relates to an improved organo transition metal catalyst for metathesis polymerization.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cyclic olefins are subjected to ring-opening metathesis polymerization to produce thermoplastic and thermoset polymers having physical properties which make them suitable for structural and electronic applications, such as molded plastic items and electrical laminates. Such polymerizations are commonly carried out in reaction injection molding (RIM) processes, in which a metathesis catalyst and a monomer are charged to a heated mold, and polymerization of the monomer and forming of the polymer into the desired shape are carried out simultaneously in the mold.
In such RIM processes, it is important that the polymerization reaction occur rapidly and with as complete incorporation of the charged monomers as possible. For example, the presence of unreacted monomers in molded polydicyclopentadiene has been found to result in a molded part with an unpleasant odor, and less than optimum physical properties. Finding a RIM process that reacts in as short a cycle time as possible and at mold temperatures at or near room temperature is economically desirable. It is also advantageous to be able to use a less than pure monomer stream and thus avoid extensive purification of the monomer prior to polymerization.
Numerous patents and literature references relate to such polymerization in the presence of a variety of olefin metathesis catalysts. Among the more effective ring-opening polymerization catalysts are homogenous catalyst systems based on tungsten or molybdenum halides, often employed with an organotin or organoaluminum co-catalyst. Examples of such catalyst systems are disclosed by Sjardijn et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,810,762 and 5,093,441, wherein phenolic tungsten halides are used with organotin hydrides. Similar catalyst systems are disclosed by Sjardijn et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,976, which have been found to be highly active in a relatively impure DCPD feed stream. While many such metathesis catalysts containing aryloxy ligands are known, these catalysts generally require the presence of a co-catalyst to achieve good reactivities.
Catalysts which exhibit high reactivity, especially in the absence of co-catalysts, are desirable to reduce polymerization cycle time and to lower the costs associated with the co-catalyst.

Diaryl carbinol metathesis catalysts for ring-opening polymerization of cyclic olefins


A lighting device for festival decoration comprises a plurality of decorative lamp blocks wired in series successively, each block having a two-row lamp fixture; a lamplight controller and a knob switch for regulating lamplights electrically coupled with the wired decorative lamp blocks. The decorative lamp block consists of two-row lampshades, a box body and a lamp body. According to the invention, the lighting device for festival decoration comprises a plurality of decorative lamp blocks having two-row decorative lamps controlled by the lamplight controller, wherein each block is electrically connected for an equal period of time and started up at a different point of time, so that the decorative lamp blocks are powered on successively to give out special run-after lighting effects at a run-after speed regulated by the knob switch.

A wide variety of decorative lights are currently available, among which the lamp strings simply assembled for decorating front doors of the bars and/or restaurants are most commonly used. In some cases, tube lamps arranged on a roof give out magic run-after lighting effects for decorating environments. Being short of variations in the tube lamp category, people often strength the decorative effects by changing the winding shapes of the tube lamps. However, these changes are not easy to produce a wonderful visual effect. In general, illuminating lamps disposed on a garden lawn for decorative purposes are structurally complicated and manufacturally expensive and unable to display a decorative effect that two-row lights run after simultaneously.


This invention pertains to the discovery that an amplification of the CYP24 gene or an increase in CYP24 activity is a marker for the presence of, progression of, or predisposition to, a cancer (e.g., breast cancer). Using this information, this invention provides methods of detecting a predisposition to cancer in an animal. The methods involve (i) providing a biological sample from an animal (e.g. a human patient); (ii) detecting the level of CYP24 within the biological sample; and (iii) comparing the level of CYP24 with a level of CYP24 in a control sample taken from a normal, cancer-free tissue where an increased level of CYP24 in the biological sample compared to the level of CYP24 in the control sample indicates the presence of said cancer in said animal.

Chromosome abnormalities are often associated with genetic disorders, degenerative diseases, and cancer. The deletion or multiplication of copies of whole chromosomes and the deletion or amplifications of chromosomal segments or specific regions are common occurrences in cancer (Smith (1991) Breast Cancer Res. Treat. 18: Suppl. 1:5-14; van de Vijer (1991) Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 1072:33-50). In fact, amplifications and deletions of DNA sequences can be the cause of a cancer. For example, proto-oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes, respectively, are frequently characteristic of tumorigenesis (Dutrillaux (1990) Cancer Genet. Cytogenet. 49: 203-217). Clearly, the identification and cloning of specific genomic regions associated with cancer is crucial both to the study of tumorigenesis and in developing better means of diagnosis and prognosis.
Studies using comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) have revealed approximately twenty amplified genomic regions in human breast tumors (Muleris (1994) Genes Chromosomes Cancer 10:160-170; Kalliioniemi (1994) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91: 2156-2160; Isola (1995) Am. J. Pathol. 147:905-911). These regions are predicted to encode dominantly acting genes that may play a role in tumor progression or response to therapy. Three of these amplified regions have been associated with established oncogenes: ERBB2 at 17q12, MYC at 8q24 and CCND1 and EMS1 at 11q13. In breast cancer, ERBB2 and CCND1/EMS1 amplification and overexpression are associated with decreased life expectancy (Gaudray (1992) Mutat. Res. 276:317-328; Borg (1991) Oncogene 6:137-143). MYC amplification has been associated with lymph node involvement, advanced stage cancer and an increased rate of relapse (Borg (1992) Intern. J. Cancer 51: 687-691; Berns (1995) Gene 159: 11-18). Clearly, the identification of additional amplified genomic regions associated with breast cancer or other tumor cells is critical to the study of tumorigenesis and in the development of cancer diagnostics.
One of the amplified regions found in the CGH studies was on chromosome 20, specifically, 20q13. Amplification of 20q13 was subsequently found to occur in a variety of tumor types and to be associated with aggressive tumor behavior. Increased 20q13 copy number was found in 40% of breast cancer cell lines and 18% of primary breast tumors (Kalliioniemi (1994) supra). Copy number gains at 20q13 have also been reported in greater than 25% of cancers of the ovary (Iwabuchi (1995) Cancer Res. 55:6172-6180), colon (Schlegel (1995) Cancer Res. 55: 6002-6005), head-and-neck (Bockmuhl (1996) Laryngor. 75: 408-414), brain (Mohapatra (1995) Genes Chromosomes Cancer 13: 86-93), and pancreas (Solinas-Toldo (1996) Genes Chromosomes Cancer 20:399-407).
The 20q13 region was analyzed at higher resolution in breast tumors and cell lines using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). A 1.5 megabase (Mb) wide amplified region within 20q13 was identified (Stokke (1995) Genomics 26: 134-137); Tanner (1994) Cancer Res. 54:4257-4260). Interphase FISH revealed low-level (>1.5×) and high level (>3×) 20q13 sequence amplification in 29% and 7% of breast cancers, respectively (Tanner (1995) Clin. Cancer Res. 1: 1455-1461). High level amplification was associated with an aggressive tumor phenotype (Tanner (1995) supra; Coujal (1996) Br. J. Cancer 74: 1984). Another study, using FISH to analyze 14 loci along chromosome 20q in 146 uncultured breast carcinomas, identified three independently amplified regions, including RMC20C001 region at 20q13.2 (highly amplified in 9.6% of the cases), PTPN1 region 3 Mb proximal (6.2%), and AIB3 region at 20q11 (6.2%) (Tanner (1996) Cancer Res. 56:3441-3445). Clearly, definitive characterization of amplified regions within 20q13 would be an important step in the diagnosis and prognosis of these cancers.
Increased copy number of chromosome 20q in cultured cells also has been associated with phenotypes characteristic of progressing tumors, including immortalization and genomic instability. For example, increased copy number at 20q11-qter has been observed frequently in human uro-epithelial cells (HUC) (Reznikoff (1994) Genes Dev. 8: 2227-2240) and keratinocytes (Solinas-Toldo (1997) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94:3854-3859) after transfection with human papilloma virus (HPV)16 E7 or HPV16, respectively. In addition, increased copy number at 20q13.2 has been associated with p53 independent genomic instability in some HPV16 E7 transfected HUC lines (Savelieva (1997) Oncogene 14: 551-560). These studies suggest that increased expression of one or more genes on 20q and especially at 20q13.2 contribute to the evolution of breast cancer and other solid tumors. Several candidate oncogenes have been identified as amplified on 20q, including AIB1 (Anzick (1997) Science 277: 965-968), BTAK (Sen (1997) Oncogene 14: 2195-200), CAS (Brinkmann (1996) Genome Res. 6: 187-194) and TFAP2C (Williamson (1996) Genomics 35:262-264). Clearly, definitive characterization of nucleic acid sequences in 20q13 associated with tumor phenotypes would be an important step in the diagnosis and prognosis of these cancers. The present invention fulfills these and other needs.

The Regents of the University of California


The present invention relates to methods of generating an ex vivo tissue-like system in a bioreactor system capable of supporting continuous production of, and output of cells and tissues and an ex vivo tissue system made therefrom.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods of generating an ex vivo tissue-like arrangement in a bioreactor system capable of supporting continuous production of, and output of cells and tissues and an ex vivo tissue system made therefrom.
2. Discussion of the Background
There is significant interest using both early and lineage committed cells and organized tissues for a variety of therapeutic and research purposes.
In tissue engineering, the goal is to reconstitute fully or partially functioning human tissue in vitro to enable a variety of clinical, investigational and other applications. Several studies have been carried out that are aimed at reconstituting functioning human tissues in vitro.
The hematopoietic system exemplifies the broad range of cells involved in protection of mammalian hosts against pathogens, toxins, neoplastic cells, and other diseases. The hematopoietic system is believed to evolve from a single stem cell, from which all the lineages of the hematopoietic system derive. Hematopoietic cells have been used in human therapy. Methods and apparatuses for culturing precursor hematopoietic cells to obtain desired mature hematopoietic cells have been described. See, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,605,822, 5,399,493; 5,437,994; 5,459,069; 5,635,386, 5,670,147and 5,670,351.
In addition, bioreactor systems have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,875,605 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,493,008, these bioreactor systems, however yield poor cell numbers in long-term culturing and fail to generate tissue-like matrices within the bioreactor because the manner in which the media was provided did not allow entrapment of non-adherent cells.
A bioreactor system has also been described and presented at the American Society of Hematology held in San Diego Calif. on Dec. 4,-7, 2004 (Abstract published in Blood, vol. 104(11):Nov. 16, 2004). This bioreactor system was composed of a polycarbonate bioreactor body using a nonwoven polyethylene terephthalate matrix in which cord blood derived stem cells or HS-5 cells were cultivated using recirculating or single pass culturing techniques also using an external gas exchanger. The matrix material used as a scaffold for the cultured cells appeared to have limited biocompatibility. The combination of matrix material, method of cell seeding and the way the reactors were incorporated into a nutrient delivery system combined to make the system sub-optimal. Toxicity issues were still apparent in these designs.
These prior devices are unable to support tissue-like culture density due to a poor gas exchange mediated by the gassing membrane, which prevents migration of the cells into the depth of the support matrix, which, in turn, does not permit the establishment of a gradient of media and growth factor availability to the cells mimicking intact human tissues. Still further, as the gas exchange is so poor in these prior devices, increased gas delivery is to be provided by increasing the flow rate of the media with gas being provided though an external source.
Moreover, these prior devices do not generate ex vivo tissue because, the fluid pathway is too thick and requires seeding through a depth filter method, resulting in the removal of non-adherent cells, which significantly impairs the long term ability of the culture to generate a tissue and maintain function. Overall, the general goal of the above methods and other prior methods and devices was to optimize culturing conditions for homogenous cultures of specific cell types (whether mixed with additional support cells or contaminants.)
There remains a need for apparatus that maintains a culture of either homologous or heterogonous cells in an organized arrangement in three-dimensions and allows the development of differing microenvironments conducive to tissue expansion and maintenance for extended periods of time with the ability to change the microenvironment parameters within the culture and which can permit the ex vivo generation of tissue-like matrices of cells.


An operational amplifier having a differential signal input and an output has an input stage comprising a differential amplifier having a differential signal input and a differential signal output. The differential amplifier includes a first pair of transistors of opposite conductivity type having control elements connected to receive one side of the differential signal input, and second and third pairs of transistors of opposite conductivity type having control elements connected to receive another side of the differential signal input. The differential output of the differential amplifier is developed by outputs of the second and third pairs of transistors. A high-swing output section is connected to receive the differential signal output directly from the input stage. The differential amplifier has first and second current sources connected respectively between transistors of the first, second and third transistor pairs of a first conductivity type and a voltage supply, and between transistors of the first, second and third transistor pairs of a second conductivity type and a reference potential. A summing circuit is also provided in the input stage for summing the currents in the first, second, and third transistor pairs to produce the differential output of the input stage. The operational amplifier can be constructed of either bipolar or MOS transistors. One embodiment of the circuit provides an improved power supply rejection ratio through the use of current mirrors in a differential summing circuit to maintain output nodes of the input circuit at voltages within 2V.sub.BE of the supply voltage and reference potential, or ground.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements in operational amplifiers, and more particularly to improvements in operational amplifiers that have wide operating voltage ranges approaching rail-to-rail swings, and still more particularly to techniques in reducing the size and complexity of operational amplifiers.
2. Background Information
Recently, increased interest has been directed towards realizing low distortion class AB operational amplifiers that have a wide range of input and output voltages, approaching the upper and lower supply voltages rails. It is desirable, of course that the amplifier be capable of being realized in a monolithic integrated circuit structure of bipolar or MOS transistor devices. In the past, however, only large-size, often three-stage structures have been proposed to achieve the desired performance, resulting in a large cost in silicon area, particularly for circuits having to work under low supply constraints.
For example, Johan H. Huijsing et al., in "Low-Voltage Operational Amplifier with Rail-to-Rail Input and Output Ranges", IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, Vol. SC-20, No. 6, December, 1985, discloses an operational amplifier that can operate with a supply voltage as low as 1.5 volts. The output voltage can reach the supply rail within 150 mV. The circuit has an input stage that provides rail-to-rail common-mode voltage range and an output stage with rail-to-rail output-voltage swing and accurate class AB control. The circuit, however, requires an intermediate stage to allow the input and output stages to be connected together to produce sufficient voltage gain to enable the circuit to be used as a general purpose operational amplifier. The provision of the third stage not only increases the size and complexity of the circuit, it reduces the circuit bandwidth and speed.
Jeroen Fonderie et al., in "1-V Operational Amplifier with Rail-to-Rail Input and Output Ranges", IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, Vol. 24, No. 6, December, 1989, shows a bipolar operational amplifier with rail-to-rail input and output ranges for low supply voltages. This circuit again requires a large number of components and an intermediate stage between the input and output stages. Being a three-stage design, its composition is relatively complicated, and has a bandwidth limited to approximately 450 kHz.

Two-stage rail-to-rail class AB operational amplifier


A high-frequency power amplifier comprises a transistor for high-frequency power which operates and whose current-voltage characteristics greatly change when positive voltage is supplied on its input terminal, an input bias circuit, an output bias circuit, an input impedance matching circuit, an output impedance matching circuit, and a positive voltage generation circuit. The positive voltage generation circuit comprises a detection circuit which detects part of the high-frequency power which is entered to or outputted from the transistor for high-frequency power, a rectification circuit which rectifies the part of the high-frequency power outputted from the detection circuit and outputs pulsating positive voltage, and a smoothing circuit which smoothes the pulsating positive voltage outputted from the rectification circuit and outputs positive voltage. The positive voltage generation circuit outputs positive voltage which increases or decreases in accordance with an increase or decrease in the detected part of the high-frequency power to the input terminal of the input bias circuit, without intervention of a direct-current power supply.

The present invention relates to a high-frequency power amplifier, and more specifically to a high-frequency power amplifier which comprises a transistor for high-frequency power, an input bias circuit connected with the input terminal of the transistor, an output bias circuit connected with the output terminal of the transistor, an input impedance matching circuit connected with the input terminal of the transistor, an output impedance matching circuit connected with the output terminal of the transistor, and a bias voltage generation circuit for generating direct-current bias voltage required in the input bias circuit.
The high-frequency power amplifier is used in the transmission unit of mobile communication equipment, and has a function to amplify a modulated signal so as to have a predetermined output power.
At present, the most common frequencies used for portable phones are 1 GHz to 2 GHz, and the output power of the high-frequency power amplifiers having these frequencies is about 20 dBm to 36 dBm. In order to produce high-frequency power in this range, a multistage high-frequency power amplifier, which has two or three stages and a gain of about 30 dB, is usually used. The multistage high-frequency power amplifier amplifies a modulated wave output of about 0 dBm so as to have a transmission output of about 30 dBm. The transmission output thus amplified is transmitted as an electric wave from the antenna.
The transistor for high-frequency power used in a high-frequency power amplifier can be a MOSFET, a bipolar transistor formed on a silicon substrate, a MESFET, or a heterojunction transistor including a FET formed on a semiconductor substrate containing a compound such as gallium-arsenic (GaAs). A general method of using such a transistor for high-frequency power under the conditions of few distortions and a favorable gain is to have a direct-current bias power supply connected with the input and output terminals of the transistor, and to have high-frequency power enter the transistor to start the amplification operation while the direct-current bias power supply supplies the transistor with a predetermined bias current,
A first conventional high-frequency power amplifier having the above-mentioned structure will be described as follows with reference to FIG. 15.
FIG. 15 shows the circuit structure of the first conventional high-frequency power amplifier. In FIG. 15, Tr.sub.a and Tr.sub.b represent a former-stage transistor for high-frequency power and a latter-stage transistor for high-frequency power, respectively, and their source terminals are grounded.
The input terminal (gate terminal) of the former-stage transistor Tr.sub.a is connected with an input impedance matching circuit 1 which consists of an inductor L and capacitors C. The input impedance matching circuit 1 matches the impedance of the high-frequency power entered from an external input terminal RF.sub.in and the input impedance of the former-stage transistor Tr.sub.a so as to reduce the reflection and the loss of the entered high-frequency power.
The input terminal of the former-stage transistor Tr.sub.a is connected with an end of a first microstrip line S.sub.1 having a 1/4 wavelength as a first input bias circuit, while a negative power supply -VGG.sub.1 is connected with the other end of the first microstrip line S.sub.1. The input terminal of the former-stage transistor Tr.sub.a is supplied with negative direct-current bias voltage through the negative power supply -VGG.sub.1 and the first microstrip S.sub.1. The negative power supply -VGG.sub.1 is connected with a bypass capacitor C.sub.b1 which suppresses the oscillation of high-frequency power, thereby preventing the high-frequency power from flowing towards the negative power supply -VGG.sub.1. As the first input bias circuit, the first microstrip line S.sub.1 having a 1/4 wavelength can be replaced by a resistance having several K.OMEGA..
On the other hand, the output terminal (drain terminal) of the former-stage transistor Tr.sub.a is connected with a positive power supply +VDD1, via a second microstrip line S.sub.2 having a 1/4 wavelength as a first output bias circuit, and is supplied with a positive direct-current bias voltage.
In the same manner as the former-stage transistor Tr.sub.a for high-frequency power, the input terminal of the latter-stage transistor Tr.sub.b for high-frequency power is connected with a negative power supply -VGG.sub.2, via a third microstrip line S.sub.3 having a 1/4 wavelength as a second input bias circuit, whereas the output terminal is connected with a positive power supply +VDD.sub.2 via a fourth microstrip line S.sub.4 having a 1/4 wavelength as a second output bias circuit.
An interstage impedance matching circuit 2 is connected between the output terminal of the former-stage transistor Tr.sub.a and the input terminal of the latter-stage transistor Tr.sub.b, so as to match the output impedance of the former-stage transistor Tr.sub.a and the input impedance of the latter-stage transistor Tr.sub.b. The interstage impedance matching circuit 2 consists of an inductor L and capacitors C, like the input impedance matching circuit 1. The interstage impedance matching circuit 2, which performs an impedance matching between the former-stage transistor Tr.sub.a and the latter-stage transistor Tr.sub.b in a multistage high-frequency power amplifier which has plural transistors for high-frequency power, has a function as an output impedance matching circuit for the former-stage transistor Tr.sub.a, and a function as an input impedance matching circuit for the latter-stage transistor Tr.sub.b. The output terminal of the latter-stage transistor Tr.sub.b is connected with an output impedance matching circuit 3, which consists of an inductor L and capacitors C. The output impedance matching circuit 3 matches the output impedance of the latter-stage transistor Tr.sub.b and the impedance of the high-frequency power outputted from an external output terminal RF.sub.out.
The first conventional high-frequency power amplifier amplifies the high-frequency power (a high-frequency signal) entered from the external input terminal RF.sub.in in the former-stage transistor Tr.sub.a and the latter-stage transistor Tr.sub.b, and then outputs the amplified high-frequency power from the external output terminal RF.sub.out.
The former-stage and latter-stage transistors Tr.sub.a and Tr.sub.b in the first conventional high-frequency power amplifier have the current-voltage characteristics shown in FIG. 16 (a). To be more specific, when the gate voltage V.sub.g is negative, for example -2 V, the drain current I.sub.ds hardly flows, whereas as the gate voltage V.sub.g gets closer to 0 V, the drain current I.sub.ds flows more. Consequently, in order to reduce the drain current I.sub.ds, it is necessary to provide a direct-current bias power supply which makes the gate voltage Vg about -1 V to -1.5 V.
Therefore, in the first conventional high-frequency power amplifier, the direct-current bias voltage of the former-stage and latter stage transistors Tr.sub.a and Tr.sub.b is set as follows. Each input terminal is connected with a negative power supply -VGG.sub.1 (-VGG.sub.2) having a value of minus several volts, whereas each output terminal is connected with a positive power supply +VDD.sub.1 (+VDD.sub.2) having about 6 V. Thus a drain current having a predetermined bias current, such as 100 mA, flows by means of these negative and positive power supplies.
However, the first conventional high-frequency power amplifier has a drawback concerning its troublesome bias current setting as follows. The amplifier needs two direct-current bias power supplies: a negative power supply -VGG.sub.1 (and/or -VGG.sub.2), which is a negative direct-current bias power supply and a positive power supply +VDD.sub.1 (+VDD.sub.2), which is a positive direct-current bias power supply. As a result, their structure and the peripheral circuits become complicated. In addition, the accuracy of the bias voltages of these direct-current bias power supplies must be set at 10% or below of the pre-determined bias voltage to prevent the impedance of the transistor Tr.sub.a (and/or Tr.sub.b) from changing, so as to secure impedance matches, satisfactory distortion characteristics, and gains.
The first conventional high-frequency power amplifier has another drawback concerning an increase in the operating current as follows. The direct-current bias current is made to flow constantly in the amplifier even when the output of the high-frequency power is small, thus increasing the power consumption. As shown in FIG. 16 (b), the operating current does not decrease very much when the output of the high-frequency power decreases.
In the case of a portable phone, for example, when it is far from the base station, the electric wave is sent out at the maximum output. Whereas when it is near the station, the electric wave is sent out at a low output. As a result, the waste of the batteries is avoided, making the batteries last longer. However, even when the electric wave is sent out with low high-frequency power near the base station, the same amount of idle current as is needed for the maximum output flows, which consumes the batteries.
In view of these drawbacks of the first conventional high-frequency power amplifier, a high-frequency power amplifier which changes the direct-current bias current in accordance with entered high-frequency power has been proposed in a thesis on page 1,533 in Electronics Letters Vol. 32, No. 17.
The high-frequency power amplifier disclosed in the thesis will be described as a second conventional high-frequency power amplifier as follows with reference to FIG. 17. In FIG. 17, the same components as those of the first conventional high-frequency power amplifier are assigned the same reference numbers, and their description will be omitted. The input impedance matching circuit 1, the interstage impedance matching circuit 2, and the output impedance matching circuit 3 are shown in the form of blocks for the sake of convenience. The voltage-current characteristics of the former-stage transistor Tr.sub.a and the latter-stage transistor Tr.sub.b are shown in FIG. 16 (a), in the same manner as those of the first conventional high-frequency power amplifier.
The second conventional high-frequency power amplifier, as shown by a chain line in FIG. 17, comprises a negative bias voltage generation circuit connected with the output terminal of the output impedance matching circuit 3. The negative bias voltage generation circuit comprises a detection circuit for high-frequency power including a resistance R.sub.1 and a diode D.sub.1, and a voltage division circuit including a negative direct-current bias power supply Vc (-5 V) and division resistances R.sub.2, R.sub.3, and R.sub.4. The negative bias voltage generation circuit detects part of the high-frequency power which is outputted from the output impedance matching circuit 3 at a power detection point E, changes the direct-current bias voltage which is outputted from the negative direct-current bias power supply Vc, based on the detected high-frequency power, and outputs the direct-current bias voltage to the input terminal of the latter-stage transistor Tr.sub.b from a negative bias voltage output point D via the third microstrip line S.sub.3.
According to the above-mentioned structure, when the high-frequency power detected at the power detection point E is large, the bias voltage which is outputted from the negative bias voltage output point D increases as high as -1 V, whereas when the high-frequency power detected at the power detection point E is small, the bias voltage which is outputted from the negative bias voltage output point D decreases as low as -5 V. This is how the idle current is reduced when the entered high-frequency power is small. As a result, as shown in FIG. 18, the operating current when the entered high-frequency power is small becomes lower than that in the first conventional high-frequency power amplifier shown in FIG. 16 (b).
However, the second conventional high-frequency power amplifier also has a drawback. The peripheral circuit has a negative direct-current bias power supply V.sub.c, and for the negative direct-current bias power supply V.sub.c to generate negative voltage of around -5 V, it is necessary to provide a negative voltage generation circuit which generates negative voltage based on the positive voltage outputted from the positive power supply +VDD.sub.2. Since the negative voltage generation circuit is constantly supplied with a current of 10 mA, the second conventional high-frequency power amplifier fails to reduce the current consumption when the entered high-frequency power is small.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The invention relates to an anti-tartar composition comprising:. (a) 0.5 to 5% by weight of at least one compound selected from among zirconium silicate and hydrated silica; PA1 (b) 0.5 to 5% by weight of at least one compound selected from among chlorhexidine digluconate and zinc digluconate; PA1 (c) 0.5 to 5% by weight of at least one compound selected from among potassium thiocyanate, glucose oxidase, lysozyme, and lactoperoxidase; and PA1 (d) 1 to 5% by weight of at least one acid compound selected from among vitamin C and citric acid.. It also concerns the use thereof in combination with food supplements or chewable supports for animals as well as the food supplements and chewable articles thus obtained.. The invention applies, in particular, to the control of the formation of tartar in domestic animals such as dogs.

More particularly, the invention relates to an anti-tartar composition, which makes it possible to combat the formation of tartar, as well as to its use in combination with a food supplement or a chewable article for animals.
The present invention lies within the field of the control of tartar, in particular in domestic animals such as dogs.
More particularly, the invention relates to an anti-tartar composition, which makes it possible to combat the formation of tartar, as well as to its use in combination with a food supplement or a chewable article for animals.
The invention also relates to food supplements and chewable articles for animals, which have an anti-tartar action.
The formation of tartar, in particular in dogs, can favor the development of periodontitis with consequences in particular on the quality and condition of the enamel and/or the gums or else at the cardiovascular level.
In order to combat tartar and its deleterious effects in domestic animals, their owners frequently call upon the veterinarian.
In parallel, when it is desired to avoid or limit this type of consultation, tablets having an anti-tartar action are known.
However, dogs frequently swallow these tablets as soon as they are given to them. Therefore, they do not chew them or keep them sufficiently long in their mouth in order to achieve an acceptable effectiveness.
This may furthermore lead to a large and excessive consumption of these tablets, without being able to obtain the desired effect or, at least, without being able to obtain such effect in a satisfactory manner.
Other forms can be contemplated such as, for instance, dentifrices.
However, from a practical standpoint, that type of product is difficult to use in animals and requires the intervention of the owner, who may be somewhat squeamish, or else recourse to a specialized dog grooming service.
Chewable objects for dogs are also known which, by the chewing of them, have an abrasive action due to the flow of saliva, which may prevent the tartar from depositing in excessively large amount.
Nevertheless, the effectiveness of these chewable articles is limited and they do not make it possible satisfactorily to destroy tartar, which has already formed.
Thus, it would appear necessary to find new agents for combating tartar and its harmful effects, in animals and in particular dogs, which agents would make it possible to prevent, or at least limit, the development of diseases, which may be related thereto, in particular the development of periodontitis.
Furthermore, this need would seem to be becoming more and more important, inasmuch as the number of pets is continuing ceasing to increase, particularly dogs.

Antitartar composition and its use in food supplements for animals


The invention is related to emulsions containing surface-modified inorganic nanoparticles.

The present invention relates to stabilized liquid-in-liquid dispersions or emulsions.
Traditional emulsions are made up of two phases: a dispersed phase and a continuous phase. The most common emulsions consist of only two liquids, water and oil. An o/w (oil-in-water) emulsion consists of oil droplets dispersed in a continuous aqueous phase, and a w/o (water-in-oil) emulsion consists of water droplets dispersed in oil. Multiple emulsions may be formed, for example, when water droplets in a continuous oil phase themselves contain dispersed oil droplets. Emulsification consists of the break-up of large droplets into smaller droplets due to shear forces. Typically, emulsifiers are used to stabilize emulsions through a reduction in interfacial tension. Increasing the viscosity of the continuous phase may also prevent phase separation of emulsions.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Emulsions including surface-modified inorganic nanoparticles


A tire vulcanizing system (100) is provided that optimizes the service life of guidance means and preserves the thermal stability of the vulcanization.

During vulcanization of a tire, one or more tire vulcanizing systems may be employed for use with a tire mold. A principal characteristic of certain vulcanization systems is to place a system of heating and ventilation at the heart of an electric vulcanization system. For example, in an electric press, after a green tire is charged in a mold, a circulation fan that is immersed wholly in a heating medium (typically nitrogen) circulates the heating medium inside a bladder (i.e., one formed from an elastic material such as butyl rubber). A heating means that is also immersed wholly in the heating medium supplies the required heat, thereby causing the bladder to expand and engage an inner wall surface of the tire. Exemplary embodiments of such systems and demonstrations of their use are disclosed by the publications EP0686492 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,435,069.
During vulcanization of tires, lubricants that are commonly used in these installations are generally inert oils such as perfluoropolyether (PFPE) which offer excellent high temperature performance. Although such lubricants mix well with the chemical compounds of the same family, the vulcanization of a tire at high temperatures (e.g., between about 130° C. and about 220° C.) introduces compounds that are mainly hydrocarbon-based oils. These compounds are not miscible with PFPE.
Consequently, prolonged use of these lubricants forms a paste that thickens during each vulcanization cycle. The thickening of the paste increases the viscosity and therefore subjects guidance means (e.g., bearings) to an opposing force which may lead to their immobilization. Thus, solutions are demanded that address immobilization of guidance means and resultant changes in the thermal stability of a tire vulcanization system.

Maximizing the duration of guidance means in tire vulcanization systems without disturbing thermal stability

COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN