A polyacrylamide gel comprising acrylamide and diacrylylpiperazine. A method for providing a polyacrylamide gel comprising employing a catalyst system which comprises dimethylpiperazine, sodium thiosulfate or a mixture thereof and ammonium or potassium persulfate. The use of the gel as the matrix in a silver staining procedure for the detection of biomaterials, provides for the obtainment of reduced background staining.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel polyacrylamide gel and process for the preparation thereof. The polyacrylamide gel improves silver stain methods for detecting biomaterials, such as proteins, polypeptides, nucleic acids, and the like, which had been separated by electrophoresis procedures. Particularly, the novel polyacrylamide gel provides for the detection of proteins by ammoniacal silver staining with reduced background staining.
2. Discussion of Related Art
In the past, various methods have been used for protein analysis. Such methods include the Kjehdahl method, a colorimetric method, and others. In more recent times, electrophoresis techniques were employed. For example, a protein sample was fixed onto a matrix, such as a polyacrylamide gel, and subjected to electrophoretic separation. This separation is accomplished by exposing the sample to an electric field which causes the various components of the sample to migrate at different rates within the matrix These different rates are dependent on the charge of the individual components, as well as on the other physical and chemical properties thereof. Following the migration, a certain migration pattern is formed. Various methods for defining such migration patterns have developed, such as visual determination methods. Radioautography and staining are among the procedures which are included within the visualization methods.
Radioautography is conducted, for example, with intrinsically labelled proteins produced from substrates containing radioactive labelled amino acids. See article by P. H. O'Farrell, in J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 250, pp. 4007-4021 (1975). Moreover, extrinsic radioactive labelling techniques, such as iodination, can alter the electrophoresis properties of proteins, and the isotope is not necessarily uniformly linked to each protein and non-selectively distributed among all polypeptide components of the mixture.
Direct iodination of separated proteins in polyacrylamide gels has been reported by Edler et al. (see the article by J. H. Edler, R. A. Peckett, II, J. Hampton, and R. A. Lerner in the J. Biol Chem., Vol. 252, pp. 6510-6515 (1977)). This technique is quite useful when used to study radioactive peptides after tryptic digestion, but it has been found that some lots of acrylamide contain a contaminant which also becomes radioiodinated, and this negates its utility for radioautography.
Even though radioautography is a powerful visualization tool, it has certain disadvantages. For example, it is slow and complex. Also, it involves modifications to the proteins prior to electrophoresis.
One of the methods known for visualization of protein is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,720. The stain described in this patent requires the use of three solutions and it takes a minimum of about 30 minutes to perform. Furthermore, the technique described in said patent does not stain proteins or nucleic acids in thin membranes such as cellulose nitrate.
Coomassie blue stain, the most commonly employed protein stain, takes hours to perform and it lacks the sensitivity to detect proteins present in low concentrations in biological fluids or tissues. Sensitivities achieved with heavy metal stains or fluorescent stains, on the other hand, were found to be less than, or at best, equivalent to Coomassie blue (about 10 ng of protein). Merril et al., Electrophoresis, 1982, pp. 327-342. Recently, more than a hundred-fold increase in sensitivity over that obtained with Coomassie staining was achieved by adapting a histological silver tissue stain for use with polyacrylamide gels. de Olmos, Brain, Behav. Evol. 2, 313-237 (1969), Switzer, et al. Anal. Biochem. 98, 231-237 (1979), Merril, et al. Proc. Natl. Acad Sci. U.S.A. 76, 4335-4339 (1979). This stain could detect as little as a tenth of a nanogram of protein and an image could be achieved in less than 6 hours.
There are a number of known methods useful in staining proteins which utilize silver. For example, L. Kerenyi, et al., Clin. Chim. Acta 38, 465-467 (1972), describes a method for demonstrating proteins in electrophoretic, immunoelectrophoretic and immunodiffusion preparations, whereby the preparations are treated with potassium ferrocyanide, which is transformed during development into silver ferrocyanide and then into colloidal silver grains. The physical developer contains anhydrous sodium carbonate, ammonium nitrate, silver nitrate, tungstosilicic acid and formalin, and the protein in the preparations stain dark brown with a page gray background.
R. C. Switzer, et al., Anal. Biochem. 98, 231-237 (1979), and C. R. Merril, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 76 No. 9, 4335-4339 (1979), describe a silver stain technique for detecting proteins and peptides in polyacrylamide gels which is a modification of de Olmos' neural, cupric-silver stain. The procedure consists of ten steps and utilizes an aqueous solution of silver nitrate and cupric nitrate and involves treatment with a diamine solution, which is known to sometimes form an explosive silver amide complex. The proteins stain as dark spots on a darkened background.
B. A. Oakley, et al., Anal. Biochem. 105, 361-363 (1980), simplified the above procedure of Switzer, et al., by reducing the number of steps involved to six and also reducing the amount of silver required without diminishing the sensitivity of the technique. However, the manner in which the proteins stain was not changed, i.e., dark stain on a darkened background.
A further modification of the Switzer, et al., procedure was made by R. C. Allen, Electrophoresis I, 32-37 (1980), who increased the sodium to ammonium ion ratio, which resulted in increased silver deposition.
C. R. Merrill, et al., Anal. Biochem, 110, 201-207 (1981), modified and simplified the above procedure of Kerenyi, et al., adapting it to acrylamide gels.
D. Goldman, et al., Clin. Chem. 26 No. 9, 1317-1322 (1980), report that when using a procedure essentially the same as that of Merrill, et al. (PNAS, 1976), and Switzer et al., (Anal. Biochem., 1979), proteins from samples of cerebral spinal fluid stained in shades of yellow, red and blue.
C. R. Merrill, et al., Science 211, 1437-1438 (1981), describe a silver stain procedure for proteins separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, which requires treatment with potassium dichromate and nitric acid prior to staining with silver nitrate followed by washing and then immersion in an image developer containing formalin and sodium carbonate. There is no indication of color development with this stain procedure.
Poehling and Neuhoff, Electrophoresis 1981, 2, 141-147, describe a silver stain suitable for acrylamide gels of 0.5 to 1 mm thickness which requires a pretreatment with glutardialdehyde under controlled temperatures prior to staining with a diamine solution.
Marshall and Latner, Electrophoresis 1981, 2, 228-235, describe a silver stain method which requires a treatment with paraformaldehyde and sodium cacodylate prior to staining with a modified diamine solution wherein methylamine is substituted for ammonium hydroxide. Ochs et al., Electrophoresis 1981, 2, 304-307, and Sammons and Adams, Electrophoresis 1981, 2, 135-145, describe a silver stain procedure of which the present invention is a modification.
With the exception of the 1980 Goldman et al. procedure and the method of Sammons and Adams, all of the silver stain techniques described above only stain proteins in varying shades of brown or black.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,416,998 describes a silver stain procedure, wherein a substance capable of binding silver is treated with a glutaraldehyde solution, an aqueous silver salt solution, a reducing solution and an aqueous carbonate or sulfate solution. The procedure also enables one to stain a variety of substances, including protein, in varying shades of color.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,808 describes a silver staining method comprising pretreating a carrier, such as a polyacrylamide gel, with an alcoholic solution containing polyethylene glycol or polyoxyethylene alkylphenol, followed by treating the pretreated carrier with a solution of silver nitrate. This method is disclosed as having a shortened operation time and an improvement in the reproducibility of staining.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,555,490 describes a method using light ("photodevelopment") to develop a metallic silver image of biopolymers, particularly nucleic acids and proteins separated on polyacrylamide gels, whereby it is possible to visualize protein and nucleic acid patterns within 10 minutes after electrophoretic separation. This "photodevelopment" method requires only two solutions: a solution to "fix" the proteins and a solution containing silver ions, which produces an image when exposed to light. This type of protein stain has achieved a sensitivity of about 0.5 ng of protein. DNA separated on polyacrylamide may also be visualized with this stain.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,452 describes a method and kit for the optical detection of proteins and nucleic acids in a matrix, such as polyaorylamide electrophoresis gels. The method comprises fixing the proteins and nucleic acids in the matrix using aromatic sulfonic acids having tertiary amines capable of forming coordination complexes with silver ion.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,672,043 describes a method for determining macromolecules in polyacrylamide gels comprising the steps of forming a latent stain image by nucleating the macromolecules in the gel with a palladium tetramine salt and developing the latent stain image by treating the gel with a physical developing solution comprising dimethylamine borane and a transition metal salt. The improvement comprises contacting the developed latent stain image with a 1-phenyl-2-tetrazoline-5-thione or a salt of 1-phenyl-1H-tetrazole-5-thiol.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,901 describes a staining technique for specimens, which involves the sequential treatment of specimens with periodic or hydrochloric acid, thiocarbohydrazide or thiosemicarbazide, and silver methenamine. The technique, when using periodic acid, provides an excellent stain to evaluate glycomacromolecules and fibrovascular tissue and to conduct a broad spectrum of staining procedures for all modes of microscopy. Use of hydrochloric acid facilitates evaluation of cell nuclear DNA and chromatin.
U.S. Pat. No 4,695,548 describes gel inserts comprising a solidified liquid, such as agarose, suitable for use in an electrophoretic method, lysed cells entrapped within a matrix formed by the solidified liquid and macromolecules, such as DNA or intact chromosomes derived from the lysed cells, may be advantageously used in electrophoretic separations. The gel inserts are placed directly in a suitable support medium and subjected to one or more electric fields to separate the macromolecules.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,468,466 describes a silver stain method for protein in gels utilizing treatment with a reducing agent followed by treatment with a silver salt and actuating irradiation, the improvement comprising the use of a reducing agent consisting essentially of dithiothreitol in an amount effective to stain the protein but keep background staining to a minimum.
As illustrated above, silver staining methods, which employ polyacrylamide gel for detecting biomaterials, are widely used. However, unacceptable background staining drawbacks are associated with each of these illustrative methods, including the method of U.S. Pat. No. 4,468,466, which is mentioned as keeping background staining to a minimum.
Recent observations concerning the mechanisms of silver stains have led to the development of a polyacrylamide gel, which does produce very little, if any, background staining. The key observations, which permitted the development of this gel, are: the essential nature of basic amino acids containing sulfur in the detection of peptides by the silver staining reaction; and evidence that the active groups in the basic amino acids, the imidazole, guanidine and amino groups, or the sulfur groups in the sulfur containing amino acids, require cooperative effects. That is, they function poorly when they are isolated in a polymer, but if two or more basic amino acids of sulfur containing amino acids are in close proximity, then a good staining reaction will occur. These studies on the mechanisms of silver stains led the present inventors to determine that the amide groups in methylene-bisacrylamide crosslinking agent might be responsible at least partially for the background found with the silver stains. Methylene-bisacrylamide contains two amide groups, which are separated by a single carbon. In this study, the present inventors have demonstrated the role of these amide groups in the formation of the background stain by studying the silver stain reaction in gels containing varying ratios of acrylamide to the methylene-bisacrylamide crosslinking agent. By utilizing different crosslinking agents, the present inventors have demonstrated that the appearance of background staining depends mainly on the presence of and the position of the amido groups in the crosslinking agents. It depends also on the presence of other groups in the crosslinker or the acrylamide chain.

Catalyst for preparing polyacrylamide gel which improves the detection of biomaterials by silver staining

The United States of America as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services


Exemplary methods and systems may generally be implemented to allow a macro-network base station without access to a GPS reference signal to provide some or all of the functionality for which existing macro-network base stations typically rely on GPS. In a first aspect, an exemplary macro-network base station may determine its location using a location-determination technique that is based upon the angles of arrival of FM radio signals from nearby FM stations. In a second aspect, an exemplary macro-network base station may stabilize its local oscillator by phase-locking its local oscillator to an FM radio signal, and periodically adjusting its local oscillator to account for phase drift of the FM radio signal. And in a third aspect, an exemplary macro-network base station may synchronize its frame-start timing with a nearby base station using a frame-start timing signal that the base station has synchronized to frame transmissions from the nearby base station during a setup routine.

The recent introduction of WiMAX technology and other fourth-generation (4G) air-interface protocols promises to further increase the proliferation of wirelessly-equipped devices. WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) is an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard, designated 802.16, with the 802.16e being the current version of the standard (the terms "IEEE 802.16," "IEEE 802.16e," and "WiMAX" may be used interchangeably herein). WiMAX provides a robust mechanism for wireless communication between base stations and subscriber stations. In particular, WiMAX is designed to provide fixed, portable or non-line-of-sight service with a potential range of five miles, a throughput on the order of thirty megabits per second, and superior quality of service and security.
WiMAX chipsets that provide for communication in accordance with the WiMAX protocol are becoming increasingly prevalent as standard or optional equipment not only in traditional wireless communications devices, such as cellular phones and personal digital assistants, but also in devices that, heretofore, were not used for access to telephony networks. These devices include portable music players, entertainment devices such as game players, automobiles, domestic appliances and so on.
WiMAX networks are typically implemented as a macro cellular wireless networks (which may also be referred to as "macro networks"), which typically provide communication services such as voice, text messaging, and packet-data communication for WiMAX-capable mobile stations. Such mobile stations (which may also be referred to as access terminals, subscriber stations, or client devices, among other terms) and networks typically communicate with each other over a radio frequency (RF) air interface according to one or more wireless protocols (e.g. WiMAX, CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), EV-DO (Evolution Data Optimized), and/or one or more others). Mobile stations typically conduct wireless communications with these networks via one or more base transceiver stations (base stations), each of which send communications to and receive communications from mobile stations over the air interface.
Each base station is in turn connected with a network entity known as a base station controller (BSC) (which may also be referred to as a radio network controller (RNC)), which controls one or more base stations and acts as a conduit between the one or more base stations and one or more switches or gateways, such as a mobile switching center (MSC) and/or a packet data serving node (PDSN). The one or more switches or gateways may then interface with one or more signaling and/or transport networks. As examples, an MSC may interface with the public switched telephone network (PSTN), while a PDSN may interface with one or more core packet data networks and/or the Internet. As such, mobile stations can typically communicate over the one or more signaling and/or transport networks from anywhere inside the coverage area of one or more base stations, via the base station(s), a BSC, and a switch or gateway such as an MSC and/or PDSN.
In WiMAX, data communications between a mobile station and a base station (i.e. a base station, or combinations of one or more base stations and a BSC) are formatted as Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexed (OFDM) symbols, which are further organized into data frames. As some WiMAX systems employ Transmit Division Duplexing, all base stations in a given market typically begin their transmissions at the same. In particular, the base stations in a given coverage area all begin transmitting each frame at substantially the same time, a concept which is referred to herein as "frame-start synchronization." As there is a five millisecond (ms) frame interval (i.e., each frame has a duration of five ms), this means that the transmitters of each base station turn off and on twenty times per second.
To achieve frame-start synchronization, existing WiMAX base stations all receive a highly-accurate and stable timing signal that is available via a Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite. Since base stations may be of varying distances from a GPS satellite, the delay experienced by a GPS timing signal between the GPS satellite and different base stations may vary as well. Accordingly, each WiMAX base stations typically apply an offset to the GPS reference signal that is based on the delay between the base station and the GPS satellite. By adjusting the GPS timing signal as such, nearby WiMAX base stations are essentially using the same timing signal to control their frame transmissions, and thus are able to synchronize frame-start timing with each other.

Macro-network synchronization based on nearby FM radio


Techniques for fast provisioning of virtual machine images using deduplication metadata are described, including receiving a request to copy a first virtual machine to form a second virtual machine, identifying a first portion of memory comprising data for the first virtual machine; and forming the second virtual machine based on the first portion of memory comprising data for the first virtual machine, wherein forming the second virtual machine further comprises linking the second virtual machine to the first portion of memory comprising data for the first virtual machine, and implementing a second portion of memory to store data for the second virtual machine independent of the first virtual machine.

Conventional solutions for cloning virtual machine images can be very time consuming and expensive operations. A full clone (or full copy) of a virtual machine requires reading the source virtual machine image block by block and copying each block to the cloned virtual machine image. This is a relatively time-consuming operation since the sizes of virtual machine are hundreds of gigabytes large or greater, and a transfer of data for full clone of a single virtual machine can take many hours to complete.
Moreover, a rapidly-growing demand of virtualized systems and machines means hundreds of thousands of virtual machines may need to be deployed at any given time. Conventional solutions of cloning these hundreds of thousands of virtual machines is cost prohibitive and time consuming and do not scale effectively with the relatively large number of virtual machines required for deployment, even if the underlying file system of the virtual machines is deduplicated.
Thus, what is needed is a solution for improving the cost and efficiency of cloning images of virtual machines without the limitations of conventional techniques.

Efficient provisioning of cloned virtual machine images using deduplication metadata


A method for correcting a printing error in an inkjet printer having a printer head on which the 1st through 2Nth nozzles are provided, in which N is a positive integer greater than 0, and a feed roller, the method including: determining whether a trailing end of a print paper has escaped from the feed roller which periodically moves the print paper the width of the printer head; if the trailing end of the print paper is determined to have escaped from the feed roller, moving the print paper half the width of the printer head and printing a reference line by ejecting ink at a predetermined interval using a kth nozzle (1≦k≦N) among the 1st though Nth nozzles disposed above the print paper; moving the print paper on which the reference line is printed half the width of the printer head and printing comparison lines by ejecting ink at a predetermined interval using the (N+1)th through 2Nth nozzles disposed above the print paper; detecting an error distance between the reference line and the comparison line printed by the lth nozzle (N+1≦l≦2N) disposed at a position corresponding to the kth nozzle among the (N+1)th through 2Nth nozzles; and correcting a distance that the print paper moved according to the detected error distance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the correction of a printing error in an inkjet printer, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus to correct printing errors relating to improper paper movement caused by a feed roller.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, inkjet printers print various materials that are displayed on computer monitors on print paper according to electric signals received from a computer. Generally, inkjet printers have a pickup roller, a feed roller, one or more printer heads, and an exhaust roller. During the printing process of an inkjet printer, print paper contained in a paper cassette is supplied by a pickup roller to the feed roller one sheet at a time. The print paper supplied to the feed roller is supplied to the printer head by the constant-speed driving of the feed roller. The printer head then prints on the supplied print paper. After printing, the paper is output from the inkjet printer by the exhaust roller.
However, when a trailing end of a sheet of print paper passes the feed roller while being moved toward the printer head, print quality can be lowered due to the excessive movement of the paper. In other words, when the feed roller rotates by a predetermined distance a, the print paper is exhausted by the distance a as well. When the trailing end of the print paper passes the feed roller, the print paper exhausted by the distance a is further exhausted by a distance "a+α=L" by the feed roller and the exhaust roller so as to be excessively exhausted by a distance α. Thus, a blank area the length of α can be generated on the print paper. Since there is a drag force present that corresponds to the force of the feed roller pulling the print paper, and the pulling force disappears when the print paper escapes from the feed roller, the print paper is overly exhausted by the distance α. Also, the height of the trailing end of the print paper changes when the trailing end of the print paper passes the feed roller. The printer head ejects ink onto a portion of the paper where the ink is already ejected so that an undesirable print state is generated. Thus, when the trailing end of the print paper passes the feed roller, the above problems can occur.

Method and apparatus for correcting printing error


The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device that rarely causes burn-in at high throughput. The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device that includes a pair of substrates and a liquid crystal layer between the pair of substrates, wherein at least one of the pair of substrates includes an alignment layer and a polymer layer for controlling the alignment of adjacent liquid crystal molecules, the polymer layer being disposed on the alignment layer, the polymer layer has a structure containing at least three condensed benzene rings, and the alignment layer is covalently bonded to the polymer layer.

Because of their low-profile designs, light weights, and low power consumption, liquid crystal display devices are widely used in display instruments, such as television sets, personal computers, and PDAs. In particular, as exemplified by liquid crystal display devices for television sets, the sizes of liquid crystal display devices are rapidly increasing. In order to increase their sizes, a multi-domain vertical alignment (MVA) mode is suitably used because this mode can give a high yield even for a large display area and realize a wide viewing angle. In the multi-domain vertical alignment mode, when no voltage is applied to a liquid crystal layer, liquid crystal molecules are vertically aligned on a substrate face. Thus, the multi-domain vertical alignment mode can produce a higher contrast ratio than the known twisted nematic (TN) mode.
However, the MVA mode employs ribs (projections), which reduce the aperture ratio and consequently reduce white luminance. Although the intervals of the ribs may be increased to overcome this disadvantage, a decrease in the number of ribs, which are alignment regulating structures, increases the time required to stabilize alignment upon the application of a voltage to the liquid crystals. This causes a problem of a low response speed. In order to dissolve such a problem and realize high luminance and high-speed response, a technique for providing a pretilt angle using a polymer (hereinafter also referred to as a polymer sustained alignment (PSA: alignment sustaining) technique) has been proposed (for example, Patent Literature 1). In accordance with the PSA technique, a liquid crystal composition that contains liquid crystals and a polymerizable component, such as a monomer or an oligomer (hereinafter referred to as a "monomer etc."), is charged between substrates. While a voltage 1 is applied between the substrates to incline liquid crystal molecules, the monomer etc. is polymerized to form a polymer layer. Even after the voltage application is stopped, the liquid crystals can have a predetermined pretilt angle, thereby regulating the liquid crystal alignment direction. The monomer etc. is polymerized by heat or light (ultraviolet light) irradiation. Use of the PSA technique obviates the necessity for ribs, increases the aperture ratio, and increases the speed of response because of a pretilt angle of less than 90 degrees throughout the display area.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Liquid crystal display device and method for manufacturing liquid crystal display device


A housing or a frame-like holding element for, in particular, electronic or electrical components, including a frame that surrounds an opening, a holding fixture that, while extending in a longitudinal direction, is formed in the front side of at least one profile. An inscribed strip is placed inside the holding fixture and supports a holding strip that forms a viewing surface on the front side. This invention provides a holding element that can be easily assembled while having a visually appealing layout of the inscribed strip. This invention provides frame limbs forming the frame in the form of frame profiles, of which the holding fixture for the inscribed strip is formed on at least one, and the holding strip, on a rear side facing away from the viewing side, has two longitudinally extending resilient detent webs which are parallel to one another and which have detent elements that engage in a locking manner within detent mating elements formed on the holding fixture.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a housing or a frame-like holding element, in particular for electronic or electrical components, having a frame that surrounds an opening, a holding fixture positioned in the front side of at least one profile in the longitudinal direction, and an inscribed strip, which is inserted into the holding fixture and supports a holding strip that has a viewing surface on the front side.
2. Discussion of Related Art
A known housing with an inscribed strip is taught by German Patent Reference DE 94 21 342 U1, which involves a switch cabinet. In it, lateral casing components are provided, the edges of which have segments that are angled in a Z-shape from front to back, into which a profile piece is inserted, the front side of which has a holding fixture in the form of a groove-shaped recess for the inscribed strip. The inscribed strip itself has a flat, transparent holding strip behind which an inscription support is situated. The inscribed strip is slid into the groove in the longitudinal direction from the end and two longitudinal edges are overlapped by opposing edge sections of the C-shaped groove. This design requires a corresponding cost expenditure for parts and assembly and is suitable for the requirements of switch cabinets whose casings are of sheet metal walls.
According to German Patent Reference DE 34 03 114 A1, inscribed strips are inserted into a sheet metal casing in a cabinet casing, as well. When the sheet metal is cut to size, tabs that are bent into a Z-shape form the recess for a U-shaped metallic profile piece that is open toward the front and that accommodates the inscribed strip.
Swiss Patent Reference CH 610 463 A5 discloses an interchangeable electronic subassembly with a front side provided with a profile piece with a recess for an inscription. Swiss Patent Reference CH 429 872 discloses situating a band-shaped support, which has various inscriptions, in movable fashion in a sliding guide, behind a housing opening.
German Patent Reference DE 1 749 079 U1 discloses a decorative strip for appliance housings, which is comprised of the composite of a plastic strip in which an inserted metal foil band is enclosed in transparent plastic.

Housing or frame-like holding element with an inscribed strip


A blind fastener adapter for a conventional screw-threaded nut and screw comprises a collar and a segmented ring over the collar, the ring and collar having a tapered interface wherein relative axial movement results in a change of diameter of the ring. The adapter further includes a spring adapted to bias the collar and ring into mutual engagement; the collar and ring include means to prevent substantial relative angular movement thereof. The collar is adapted for engagement by a blind side head of the screw in use, and the ring is adapted for blind side engagement of the perimeter of a hole.

Blind fasteners are well known, and comprise devices insertable from one side through a hole in a member, and having means to anchor the device on the distal side of the hole. A screw-threaded component may be included, to tighten the device to the member. Such fasteners are utilised where access is available from one side only, and may for example clamp members together or be used to provide an anchorage. Typically a blind fastener includes a proximal side screw-threaded component having a screw-threaded distal (or blind) side anchorage arranged for close fitting passage through a hole. Once through the hole, the distal side anchorage changes form so as to resist withdrawal thereof, whereupon the proximal side component is tightened to firmly attach the fastener. The distal side fastener may for example comprise a folding component which is adapted to pass through the hole in folded form, and open out on the distal side to a diameter larger than the hole.


A command center system includes forms to receive incident data describing an incident and at least one incident list that is populated with incident data from the input forms. The system also includes a status page that includes a list of links to incident pages, each incident page constructed from incident data in the at least one incident list. The status page also includes a daily briefing link to a daily briefing page that is constructed once per day from incident data in the at least one incident list such that incident data added after the current daily briefing page is constructed are not included in the daily briefing page. The status page also includes an incident content feed link for a content feed of incident data added to the at least one incident list and a daily briefing content feed link for a content feed of daily briefing pages.

Many corporations and government agencies have employees traveling around the world. In addition, they have facilities in different parts of the world. In order to protect their employees and facilities, such entities monitor global headlines and travel alerts for events that may pose a threat to their people or property. For example, the headlines may be monitored for weather events and political instability. In addition, corporations and government agencies monitor incidents that occur at their facilities.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. The claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in the background.


In a semiconductor integrated circuit device comprising a plurality of cell rows each of which include a plurality of standard cells and a signal amplifier, the amplifier in the respective signal amplifying cells has a drive ability determined according to the load capacity in the corresponding cell row.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit device and, more particularly, to the elimination of a variation between cell rows with respect to the load capacity of each cell in a semiconductor integrated circuit device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A prior art example of a semiconductor integrated circuit having a plurality of cell rows is shown in FIG. 1.
In FIG. 1, the numeral 10 indicates a chip body, 11A through 11D cell rows each comprising a plurality of standard cells, 12 microcell block, 13A through 13D signal amplifying cells provided in respective cell rows 11A through 11D and located in a line in the direction perpendicular to the cell rows, that is, in the vertical direction on the figure. 14A through 14D are signal amplifiers provided in respective signal amplifying cells 13A through 13D, and 15 is a cell-column wiring layer which is thicker in width than a standard wiring layer formed in the circuit, and which interconnects the inputs of the signal amplifying cells 13A through 13D of the cell rows 11A through 11D.
Numeral 16 indicates I/O (input/output) cells located on the periphery of the chip body, and 16A a clock driver cell acting as an input of a clock signal. The clock signal amplified by the cell 16A is supplied to the inputs of the signal amplifiers 14A through 14D of the signal amplifying cells 13A through 13D.
Outputs of the signal amplifying cells 13A through 13D, that is, outputs of the signal amplifiers 14A through 14D, are connected via respective cell-row wiring layers 17A through 17D to a circuit (not shown), for example, a flip flop circuit, in a standard cell (not shown) in the respective cell rows 11A through 11D. The cell-row wiring layers are of a width of the standard wiring layer formed in the circuit.
In the semiconductor integrated circuit device described above, there is a variation between cell rows 11A through 11D with respect to the load capacity (marked with "x" in FIG. 1) of each cell row. The load capacity marked with "x" corresponds to the gate capacity of, for example, a flip flop circuit (not shown) in the standard cell. There is also a variation between the cell rows with respect to the length of the cell-row wiring layer. These variations cause a clock skew in which the output clock signals of the signal amplifying cells in the cell rows have a phase difference between the cell rows 11A through 11D. A smaller clock skew is preferable. However, the clock skew increases by increased size of circuit, increased load capacity, its variation and the like.


A method, system, and apparatus to enable at least one active core in a multi-core processor to operate at a higher operating point while at least one other core in the multi-core processor is in an idle state. When the idle core exits the idle state, the operating point may be reduced after a hysteresis timer has expired.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to thermal management of microprocessors and more specifically to using turbo mode to increase the frequency of one or more cores in a microprocessor.
In a multi-core microprocessor, it may be desirable to allow the cores to use available power headroom to maximize performance. In such instances, the cores may operate at frequencies and/or voltages above those specified by the manufacturer. Thermal throttling may then be used to reduce the operating frequency and/or voltage of the cores when a target temperature is reached or exceeded.
However, thermal throttling may not occur in some environments, such as where the ambient temperature is sufficiently low. In such an environment, there is no mechanism available to reduce the operating frequency and/or voltage, and the processor will be permitted to run at a frequency/voltage greater than specified by the manufacturer for an indefinite amount of time. In this case, the power delivery system must be over-designed in order to supply the additional power required for the system.

Method, apparatus, and system for increasing single core performance in a multi-core microprocessor


A board-to-board electrical connector comprising a male connector including a first insulating base, a plurality of male terminals, each said male terminal having a male contact and a male stator; a female connector including a second insulating base, a plurality of female terminals, each female terminal having a female lead and a female contact extending from the female lead in an bending direction for engagement with said male contact, and a female stator which engages with said male stator, the male contact is a closed ring in shape with at least a protrusion formed at its outside surface, which is restrained in the receiving cavity formed between the first convex of the female contact and the second convex set abreast to the first convex, and the outside surface of which contacts with the first convex and the second convex respectively, the first convex and the second convex being formed with the arm of the female contact bended forth and then back, the protrusion engaging with the first convex or the second convex in a locking manner. The electrical connector disclosed is small in size and the connection of the male terminal and female terminal is reliable.

At present, a majority of the board-to-board (BTB) electrical connector product series have the terminal interval exceeding 0.4 mm and their height above 1.2 mm. Electronic products characterized in their small size necessitate smaller connector. However, due to technical difficulties, smaller sized connector is still unavailable in the market.
All US patents and applications and all other published documents mentioned anywhere in this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Without limiting the scope of the invention a brief summary of some of the claimed embodiments of the invention is set forth below. Additional details of the summarized embodiments of the invention and/or additional embodiments of the invention may be found in the Detailed Description of the Invention below.
A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification is provided as well only for the purposes of complying with 37 C.F.R. 1.72. The abstract is not intended to be used for interpreting the scope of the claims.


A manufacturing method of the present invention comprises the first step of forming an epitaxial base layer in an opening of an element-isolating oxide film on a semiconductor substrate in a non-selection condition, the second step of growing a silicon oxide film on the epitaxial base layer and a base polysilicon layer, and the third step of etching the silicon oxide film to expose the polysilicon layer by the etch-back or the CMP. According to this method, the silicon oxide film is left only on the epitaxial base layer, and the planarization of the device can be attained. The present invention also reduces the resistance of the base electrode by providing silicide to the device.

This invention relates to a manufacturing method of a semiconductor device capable of downsizing the device by planarization and increasing the operation speed of the device by the downsizing and by the use of a silicide forming process.
Minimizing an element region on a semiconductor substrate of a semiconductor device is so advantageous for increasing the integration density of a LSI, increasing the operation speed of the device, and reducing the power consumption, and thus has been eagerly studied for years.
The various studies of increasing the integration density of a LSI, increasing the operation speed of the device, and reducing the power consumption, have been proposed in Jpn. KOKAI Pat. Appln. No. 1-187864, Jpn. KOKAI Pat. Appln. No. 3-76228, Jpn. KOKAI Pat. Appln. No. 5-251458, and so on.
FIG. 4 shows the structure of a bipolar transistor as an example of the semiconductor device according to the conventional technique.
This bipolar transistor has an element-isolating oxide film 102 on the surface of a silicon substrate 101, as shown in FIG. 4. The silicon substrate 101 further has an epitaxial base region 103 and a buffer oxide film 105, which are stacked on a predetermined portion thereof. On the element-isolating oxide film 102, the epitaxial base region 103, and the buffer oxide film 105, a base extension polysilicon 104, an oxide film 107, and a nitride film 108 are stacked in order. Further, the sidewall of the opening formed in the central portion of the device is provided with a sidewall nitride film 109, and the opening is provided with a polysilicon emitter electrode 111 and an emitter layer 110 therein.
The manufacturing method of the above-mentioned semiconductor device will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5A-5F. At first, the element-isolating oxide film 102 is formed on the silicon substrate 101 (see FIG. 5A). Subsequently, the epitaxial base region 103 thin crystal film having desired property and thickness is formed on the silicon substrate 101 by selective epitaxial growth (see FIG. 5B). Then, the buffer oxide film 105 is deposited by CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) on the upper surface of the epitaxial base region 103 (see FIG. 5C). The base extension polysilicon 104 is deposited thereon, and the oxide film 107 and the nitride film 108 are deposited on the base extension polysilicon 104 by CVD, in order. Then, an emitter opening is formed by conventional photolithography. On the sidewall of the opening, the sidewall nitride film 109 is formed. After forming a polysilicon emitter electrode 111 in the emitter opening, a heat treatment is performed to attain solid phase diffusion of impurity from the polysilicon emitter electrode 111 into the epitaxial base region 103 to form an emitter layer 110 in the epitaxial base region 103. In this manner, a complete bipolar transistor is obtained.
In the conventional manufacturing process of the bipolar transistor as mentioned above, however, a silicon epitaxial growth needs to be performed in the epitaxial base region 103, and thus the buffer oxide film 105 needs to be provided to protect the epitaxial base region 103 since a RIE (Reactive Ion Etching) apparatus is used in the forming process of the emitter layer 110. In addition thereto, a photoresist step needs to be performed in forming the buffer oxide film 105. Further, in order to attain a desired alignment precision, and the epitaxial base region 103 thus needs to be formed larger than the region in which the buffer oxide film 105 is formed.
Moreover, the semiconductor device obtained by the actual manufacturing process does not have a planar surface, and thus is not sufficiently downsized, as desired. Further, the base extension polysilicon has not been formed from silicide according to the conventional techniques, and thus the increase in the operation speed by the reduction of the resistance of the electrode, which is attained by forming the base from silicide, cannot have been attained.

Manufacturing method of semiconductor device


System and computer program product to consume data on a mobile device. Data records are outputted according to a columnar or row orientation in a first panel of an application. Four other panels, each initially hidden from view, are defined to receive data from the user via a predefined touchscreen gesture. If an orientation of the gesture matches the orientation of the data records, the set of data records is either archived or deleted to a respective panel, of the four other panels, according to a direction of the gesture and a predefined action associated with that direction. If the orientation of the gesture is transverse to the orientation of the data records, individual data records are archived or deleted to a respective panel, of the four other panels, according to a direction of the gesture and a predefined action associated with that direction.

The present disclosure relates to computer software, and more specifically, to computer software to consume data on a touchscreen device.
Traditionally, it has been difficult for a user to consume large amounts of data on a device with a limited screen size, such as a mobile phone or tablet. Such devices typically do not include a mouse or keyboard as a traditional computer does. As a user receives data results returned, for example, from a web browser or other application, the user may have to use the touchscreen to scroll through the results horizontally or vertically, which typically is tedious, error-prone, and frustrating for the user. Additionally, the user may have to view the entire result set at least once in order to determine which columns and rows are desirable and should be retained, and which columns and rows are irrelevant or undesirable, and should be discarded.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


To determine a triggering criterion for outputting brake signals in a vehicle, at least one object in the vehicle surroundings is sensed, and a determination is made as to whether the vehicle is on a collision course with the object. When a collision course is determined, an avoidance criterion, which is satisfied if an avoidance maneuver is not available, is checked. When the avoidance criterion is met, a braking criterion is checked. The object is classified into at least a first or a second class as a function of its properties, and the avoidance maneuver is determined as a function of such classification such that, in the case of a first class, a first avoidance trajectory is determined, and, in the case of a second class, a second trajectory, different from the first, is determined. The triggering criterion for brake signal output is satisfied when the avoidance and braking criteria are satisfied.

In vehicles, in particular utility vehicles, emergency braking systems generally have surroundings sensor systems that sense the regions in front of the vehicles and determine possible collisions with sensed objects. When a collision course is determined, an automatically acting emergency braking system can be triggered to prevent a collision or at least reduce the severity of the impact of a collision.
However, in the case of vehicle on a collision course, the driver can also, under certain circumstances, avoid colliding with the object, instead of braking. Therefore, avoidance maneuvers are also determined instead of or in addition to emergency braking.
DE 10 2004 056 027 A1 describes a vehicle assistance system for preventing collisions or reducing the severity of a collision in which warning signals can be output to the driver as a function of the determination of a possible collision, and/or an automatic steering intervention and/or braking intervention can be carried out. Instead of braking, it is therefore possible, under certain circumstances, to carry out an automatic steering process for an avoidance maneuver or to display the steering process to the driver.
DE 10 2004 028 404 A1 describes the determination of an avoidance trajectory, for which purpose the trajectory of a vehicle travelling ahead is determined.
DE 10 2010 006 214 A1 describes an emergency braking assistant for automatic braking, wherein driver reaction time is taken into account before the initiation of a braking process. The driver reaction time, an intervention time for braking and an avoidance time for an avoidance maneuver are therefore calculated.
DE 103 369 86 A1 describes a method for avoiding collisions of a vehicle, in which information about the movement behavior of objects in the vehicle surroundings is stored.
DE 100 127 37 B4 describes a device for carrying out a lane change by a vehicle. A trajectory planning device is used to generate a transition curve signal, taking into account that a transverse acceleration that can be predefined by the driver of the motor vehicle is not exceeded. In this context, an essentially S-shaped transition path curve is determined in which the tangent of the transition path curve is the same at the end of the lane change as the determined tangent of the lane. The transition path curve is specified here as a third-order polynomial to determine a sigmoid or S-shaped function of the lateral offset as a function of a longitudinal parameter along the roadway.
DE 101 543 21 B4 describes a vehicle guidance assistance open-loop or closed-loop control system in which, when an obstacle is determined on the roadway, information about the obstacle is acquired and an avoidance path is determined. Map information is used and the avoidance path is determined as a curvature with a sinusoidal mathematical function of the position of the vehicle along the path.
DE 10 2010 023 164 A1 describes a method for warning the driver of a motor vehicle. Possible collisions with sensed objects are determined and a warning criterion is taken into account by specifying a calculated distance from the sensed object; and a steering angle is used.
DE 10 2010 028 384 A1 describes the regulation of the driving stability of a vehicle and the determination of an avoidance path of the vehicle in critical situations. Depending on the critical situation, yaw angles are used, setpoint steering angles are calculated and regulation thresholds are reduced as preparatory measures.
EP 1057159 B1 describes preventing the collision of a vehicle with an obstacle, wherein a plurality of distances from the vehicle are determined in order to take into account, on the one hand, a braking process with maximum deceleration and, on the other hand, steering around the obstacle; in this context, half overlaps of the vehicles can be used.
EP 1303421 B1 describes an automatic braking and steering system in a vehicle in which avoidance paths around an obstacle are determined and additionally taken into account if a further obstacle is located in the avoidance path.
EP 1223093 B1 describes an automatic braking system that can sense the vehicle surroundings and determine lane changes and emergency braking operations. In this context, it is determined whether the driver intends to change lanes, and, in this case, emergency braking is suppressed.
EP 14093211 B1 describes a method for avoiding or reducing a collision, in which objects are sensed and classified into various classes, for example vehicle, motorcycle, stationary building, wherein the classification is carried out by sensing the shape by means of radar and determining the speed of the objects.
EP 1263634 B1 describes a driving stability regulating system in which a trajectory of the vehicle is determined and influenced by means of wheel interventions. In this context, maps and radar information can be used to sense the roadway.
EP 1409310 B1 describes a method for predicting movement trajectories of a sensed object, wherein only possible trajectories of the object are determined in which the forces occurring at the object or the sensed vehicle lie within maximum transmissible values.
EP 1926647 B1 also describes a method for determining a movement trajectory in which the path of the sensed object is extrapolated by specifying polynomials, exponential functions or trigonometric functions.
EP 1926646 B1 describes a method for carrying out an avoidance maneuver by specifying hyperbolic tangent functions and logistical functions as well as arc tangent functions.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,283,902 B2 describes the determination of avoidance maneuvers by using the yaw rate.
EP 1926654 B1 describes further mathematical calculations.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,170,739 B2 describes the determination of an avoidance trajectory by mathematical calculation including the yaw angle and steering angle, wherein fifth-order polynomials are used.
WO 2012/119596 A1 describes the evaluation of an avoidance possibility in highly dynamic situations by predicting hypotheses and predictive display of avoidance possibilities.
However, the initiation of automatic steering processes is generally extremely costly and requires automatically actuable steering devices. Carrying out an emergency braking operation if, under certain circumstances, art avoidance maneuver is still possible, can generally lead to unnecessary problems and damage as a result of, for example, tail-end collisions of vehicles.

Determining a triggering criterion for vehicle braking


A speech synthesis system stores a group of speech units in a memory, selects a plurality of speech units from the group based on prosodic information of target speech, the speech units selected corresponding to each of segments which are obtained by segmenting a phoneme string of the target speech and minimizing distortion of synthetic speech generated from the speech units selected to the target speech, generates a new speech unit corresponding to the each of the segments, by fusing the speech units selected, to obtain a plurality of new speech units corresponding to the segments respectively, and generates synthetic speech by concatenating the new speech units.

1. Field of the Invention
Text-to-speech synthesis is to artificially create a speech signal from arbitrary text. The text-to-speech synthesis is normally implemented in three stages, i.e., a language processing unit, prosodic processing unit, and speech synthesis unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Input text undergoes morphological analysis, syntactic parsing, and the like in the language processing unit, and then undergoes accent and intonation processes in the prosodic processing unit to output phoneme string and prosodic features or suprasegmental features (pitch or fundamental frequency, duration or phoneme duration time, power, and the like). Finally, the speech synthesis unit synthesizes a speech signal from the phoneme string and the prosodic features. Hence, a speech synthesis method used in the text-to-speech synthesis must be able to generate synthetic speech of an arbitrary phoneme symbol string with arbitrary prosodic features.
Conventionally, as such speech synthesis method, feature parameters having small synthesis units (e.g., CV, CVC, VCV, and the like (V=vowel, C=consonant)) are stored (these parameters will be referred to as typical speech units), and are selectively read out. And the fundamental frequencies and duration of these speech units are controlled, then these segments are connected to generate synthetic speech. In this method, the quality of synthetic speech largely depends on the stored typical speech units.
As a method of automatically and easily generating typical speech units suitably used in speech synthesis, for example, a technique called context-oriented clustering (COC) is disclosed (e.g., See Japanese Patent No. 2,583,074). In COC, a large number of pre-stored speech units are clustered based on their phonetic environments, and typical segments are generated by fusing speech units for respective clusters.
The principle of COC is to divide a large number of speech units assigned with phoneme names and environmental information (information of phonetic environments) into a plurality of clusters that pertain to phonetic environments on the basis of distance scales between speech units, and to determine the centroids of respective clusters as typical speech units. Note that the phonetic environment is a combination of factors which form an environment of the speech unit of interest, and the factors include the phoneme name, preceding phoneme, succeeding phoneme, second succeeding phoneme, fundamental frequency, duration, power, presence/absence of stress, position from an accent nucleus, time from breath pause, utterance speed, emotion, and the like of the speech unit of interest.
Since phonemes in actual speech undergo phonological changes depending on phonetic environments, typical segments are stored for a plurality of respective clusters that pertain to phonetic environments, thus allowing generation of natural synthetic speech in consideration of the influence of phonetic environments.
As a method of generating typical speech units with higher quality, a technique called a closed loop training method is disclosed (e.g., see Japanese Patent No. 3,281,281). The principle of this method is to generate typical speech units that minimize distortions from natural speech on the level of synthetic speech which is generated by changing the fundamental frequencies and duration. This method and COC have different schemes for generating typical speech units from a plurality of speech units: the COC fuses segments using centroids, but the closed loop training method generates segments that minimize distortions on the level of synthetic speech.
Also, a segment selection type speech synthesis method, which synthesizes speech by directly selecting a speech segment string from a large number of speech units using the input phoneme string and prosodic information (information of prosodic features) as a target, is known. The difference between this method and the speech synthesis method that uses typical speech units is to directly select speech units from a large number of pre-stored speech units on the basis of the phoneme string and prosodic information of input target speech without generating typical speech units. As a rule upon selecting speech units, a method of defining a cost function which outputs a cost that represents a degree of deterioration of synthetic speech generated upon synthesizing speech, and selecting a segment string to minimize the cost is known. For example, a method of digitizing deformation and concatenation distortions generated upon editing and concatenating speech units into costs, selecting a speech unit sequence used in speech synthesis based on the costs, and generating synthetic speech based on the selected speech unit sequence is disclosed (e.g., see Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2001-282278). By selecting an appropriate speech unit sequence from a large number of speech units, synthetic speech which can minimize deterioration of sound quality upon editing and concatenating segments can be generated.
The speech synthesis method that uses typical speech units cannot cope with variations of input prosodic features (prosodic information) and phonetic environments since limited typical speech units are prepared in advance, thus there occurs deteriorating sound quality upon editing and concatenating segments.
On the other hand, the speech synthesis method that selects speech units can suppress deterioration of sound quality upon editing and concatenating segments since it can select them from a large number of speech units. However, it is difficult to formulate a rule that selects a speech unit sequence that sounds naturally as a cost function. As a result, since an optimal speech unit sequence cannot be selected, the sound quality of synthetic speech deteriorates. The number of speech units used in selection is too large to practically eliminate defective segments in advance. Since it is also difficult to reflect a rule that removes defective segments in design of a cost function, defective segments are accidentally mixed in a speech unit sequence, thus deteriorating the quality of synthetic speech.

Speech synthesis method, speech synthesis system, and speech synthesis program


Method for automatically adding scale symbol to operation formula during operation and system for executing the method. The system includes: an input unit for keying in operands and choosing the scale thereof; an input/output buffering unit for temporarily storing the input data; a synchronously checking unit for checking the whether the input operands conform with the scale; a scale symbol adding unit for reading and automatically providing the symbol of the scale and sending the symbol to the input/output buffering unit and a mathematic logic calculating unit to be operated and wait for further instruction. After operated, the data are displayed by an output unit or stored in a memory. The data can be stored in both a read-only memory for check in next use or temporarily stored in a dynamic random access memory for checking the data source of the result and the scale.

The present invention is related to a method for automatically adding a scale symbol to an operation formula during operation and a system for executing the method. By means of the method and system, a user can always clearly know the scale on which the operation formula is based and the switch between the scales. This simplifies the operation steps and shortens the operation time and enhances the operation efficiency.
In daily life, calculators are widely used in various fields. Many types of calculators are commercially available such as cell-driven type, solar energy type, calculator in built in an electronic dictionary, commercially used type, engineering-used type, etc. Such calculators enable users to calculate all kinds of numerals.
A conventional simple calculator provides basic operation functions including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, etc. It is known that the data are processed in the digital equipment by way of binary scale. However, in normal time the digitals are presented by way of decimal scale. With respect to drafting of program commands in engineering technique, octanary and hexadecimal scales are often used. The conventional calculator can only operate and show the data directly keyed in by an operator according to the above different scales, while failing to automatically show the symbol of the scale in the operation formulas. Therefore, when it is necessary to show such symbol of scale, a user himself/herself needs to key in the symbols one by one for identifying or realizing the scales and values of the keyed in data. By means of the symbols of scales, the user can know the scale on which the numerals are based and make sure that the result of operation is correct.

Method for automatically adding scale symbol to operation formula during operation and system executing the method


An electronic apparatus for automatically detecting the length of network transmission lines. The electronic apparatus essentially comprises a detection device, an analog/digital (A/D) converter, a microprocessor, a frequency compensator and a transmission network line, such as an RJ-45 network transmission line. The electronic apparatus utilizes the detection device to detect a frequency response of the reference signal for generating detection signals and converts the detection signals into digital signal. Thereafter, the microprocessor outputs a control signal so that the frequency compensator, comprising resistors and capacitors, makes up for the video frequency according to the control signal. As a result, the optimum video frequency is generated to display a clear image on a monitor for the benefit of the operation.

The present invention generally relates to an apparatus for detecting a transmission line, and more particularly, to an electronic apparatus for automatically detecting the length of a network transmission line.
With rapid developments of the electronics industry and computer technology, many electronic products are more and more widely used to improve quality of life. Particularly, many monitors for computer systems are utilized in the office and factory. In general, a color-added method is often used for color mixing to display colors on the monitor. In other words, the three primary colors, red, blue, and green generate a variety of images by superposition. In addition, the display intensity of the images is adjusted by controlling the voltage of output signals since monitors are analog modes normally so that all the pixels can be displayed in continuous color levels for a high quality display.
The video graphics array (VGA) is often used as the standard display specification. The VGA display mode can support the text mode and the graphic mode, which are compatible with most types of monitors used in computer systems. FIG. 1 shows a transmission mode of VGA video frequency in accordance with the prior art. In the computer system 100, a VGA video frequency signal is transmitted into the monitor 106 from video adapter 102 via network transmission line 104. However, the VGA video frequency signal decays due to the difference of impedance matching. If the VGA video frequency signal is under-balanced, the images are not clear when observed on the monitor 106. In contrast, if the VGA video frequency signal is over-balanced, over-excited signals are formed on the display, resulting in a reduction of monitor lifetime.
Specifically, various types of network transmission lines 104, such as a shielding twisted pair (STP) and a foil twisted pair (FTP), have distinct frequency responses. In the period of transmission, the VGA video frequency signal exhibits a severe decay phenomenon. When the length of network transmission line 106 is over ten meters, the video frequency signal is considerably lessened. This may degrade the quality of display images and even cause an operation error because of the unclear display.
Consequently, there is a need for an optimum video frequency to show clear display images so that the operation efficiency of the computer systems 100 is substantially increased while computer systems are transferring video frequency signal.
In view of the problems encountered with video frequency signal of the conventional monitor, conventional transmission is severely limited by the length of the transmission line. Video frequency cannot be transmitted to a remote monitor since the video frequency decays considerably.
As a result, the primary object of the present invention is to utilize an electronic apparatus for detecting a reference signal referred to generate a detection signal and to output a control signal via a microprocessor.
Another object of the present invention is to convert the video frequency signal into a differential signal which is incorporated into a control signal and outputted into a compensator device to make up for the differential signal and eventually form clear images on the monitor.
According to the above objects, the present invention sets forth the electronic apparatus for automatically detecting the length of a network transmission line. The electronic apparatus comprises a detection device, an analog/digital (A/D) converter, a microprocessor, a frequency compensator and a network transmission line, such as RJ-45 network line, connected to a remote computer server.
The detection device for generating the frequency response of a reference signal essentially comprises a transistor detector, a temperature compensation circuit, an emitting follower, a zero-adjusting circuit and a differential amplifier.
The transistor detector is used to detect a detection level of the reference signal. The zero-adjusting circuit can generate a zero level for reference. The differential amplifier amplifies the difference between the detection level and the zero level to generate a detection signal. Preferably, the differential amplifier includes a plurality of amplifiers and resistors.
The analog/digital (A/D) converter, coupled to the detection device, is able to convert the detection signal from the detection device into a digital signal to generate a full-scale level via a reference voltage. The microprocessor, coupled to the A/D converter, transfers digital signals into control signals to simultaneously control a plurality of switches for decaying the over-compensation portion of the video frequency.
The frequency compensator, coupled to the microprocessor via a network transmission line, comprises a frequency-gained circuit, a negative decayed device, a pull-up circuit, a positive decayed device and other amplified circuits. The frequency-gained device is used to adjust the bandwidth of the video frequency to the maximum level corresponding to the maximum length of the transmission line. The negative decayed device, coupled to the frequency-gained circuit, is able to decay the over-compensation portion of the video frequency for calibrating the video frequency. The pull-up circuit receives the video frequency and then increases the signal level of video frequency, such as the signal level between base and emitter (BE) of a transistor.
The positive decayed device, coupled to the pull-up circuit, is capable of decaying a positive over-compensation portion of the video frequency. Thereafter the negative over-compensation portion and the positive over-compensation portion of the video frequency are simultaneously output to a monitor by the differential amplifier. The positive decayed device preferably comprises a plurality of decayed circuits. Additionally, the electronic apparatus has connectors, such as RJ-45 and RJ-11 connectors, for receiving the transmission line in remote computer systems.
In summary, the electronic apparatus allows detection of the length of the transmission line and then generates a compensated video frequency signal which is output into the monitor such that the remote monitor can display a clear image for the benefits of operation convenience.

Electronic apparatus for automatically detecting the length of network transmission lines


According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for assessing blood flow regulation performance based on hemodynamics, comprising the steps of: calculating second biometric information corresponding to a time differential of first biometric information on a hemoglobin concentration measured from a cerebral part of a subject; and assessing blood flow regulation performance of the subject with reference to a response that occurs in the second biometric information in correspondence to a change in a posture of the subject.

Autonomic nervous system disorders, which are caused by various factors such as diabetes, peripheral nerve diseases, aging, and Parkinson's disease, can cause uncomfortable symptoms such as a blood pressure drop upon standing (i.e., orthostatic hypotension), less sweating or dry eyes and mouth, and indigestion. As methods for testing autonomic nervous system disorders or abnormalities, a sweating test, Valsalva maneuver, electrocardiography, a head-up tilt test, and a pupillary response test have been introduced.
According to the test methods introduced so far, it is determined whether there is an autonomic nervous system disorder based on a result of measuring a change in blood pressure or pulse. However, it is difficult to accurately measure the change in blood pressure or pulse in real time, and the sensitivity of the change (i.e. the degree of change according to a stimulus) varies from person to person. Thus, there is a limitation that it is difficult to accurately and quickly determine whether a person has an autonomic nervous system disorder and how severe the autonomic nervous system disorder of the person is.
Meanwhile, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a recently introduced method for indirectly analyzing the activity in a body part (e.g., a brain) of a person by measuring the degree of attenuation of near-infrared light (due to scattering and absorption by oxidized hemoglobin or non-oxidized hemoglobin) which varies with hemodynamic changes (e.g., changes in concentrations of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin) occurring in the body part. More specifically, when hemodynamic changes occurring in a brain is measured, for example, near-infrared light having a wavelength range of about 630 nm to 1300 nm may be transmitted through a skull of the person to the depth of about 1 cm to 3 cm from the skull. By irradiating such near-infrared light to a head part of the person and detecting near-infrared light reflected or scattered therefrom, it is possible to measure hemodynamic changes (e.g., a change in a concentration of blood oxygen (i.e., oxidized hemoglobin)) occurring in the cerebral cortex of the person.
More specifically, according to the near-infrared spectroscopy, the neural activity occurring in a human brain (particularly, a cortex) may be quantified by arranging near-infrared light irradiation or detection modules called optodes at predetermined intervals in various parts of a head of a person, and analyzing signals related to hemodynamics (e.g., optical density (OD) signals based on the near-infrared spectroscopy) acquired from the optodes.
In this connection, the inventor(s) present a novel and inventive technique for assessing the performance of autonomic nervous system regulation (specifically, cerebral blood flow regulation) of a subject based on hemodynamics that can be measured using near-infrared spectroscopy.

Method, system and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium for assessment of autoregulation performance based on hemodynamics


The present invention relates to a dialysis machine for the purification of blood, a manifold for the dialysis machine as well as to a process for the regeneration of the dialysis bath. It is an object of the present invention to provide a dialysis machine, a manifold for the dialysis machine as well a process which facilitates the administration of medical preparations during a dialysis procedure. In order to solve the object, a dialysis machine according to the present invention comprises tubes (1, 5, 8) connected with a dialyzer (6), means for delivering pharmaceuticals into the tubes and a pump (11) for the transport of blood through the tubes and the dialyzer. The dialysis machine comprises means for administration (4) of at least one pharmaceutical by a suction effect of the pump or by a pressure effect of the pump or by an excess pressure of a gas or a liquid.

The present invention relates to a dialysis machine for the purification of blood, a manifold for the dialysis machine as well as to a process for the regeneration of the dialysis bath.
Dialysis works on the principles of the diffusion of solutes and ultrafiltration of fluid across a semi-permeable membrane. Blood flows by one side of a semi-permeable membrane, and a dialysate or fluid flows by the opposite side. Smaller solutes and fluid pass through the membrane. The blood flows in one direction and the dialysate flows in the opposite. The counter-current flow of the blood and dialysate maximizes the concentration gradient of solutes between the blood and dialysate, which helps to remove more urea and creatinine from the blood. The concentrations of solutes (for example potassium, phosphorus, and urea) are undesirably high in the blood, but low or absent in the dialysis solution and constant replacement of the dialysate ensures that the concentration of undesired solutes is kept low on this side of the membrane. The dialysis solution has levels of minerals like potassium and calcium that are similar to their natural concentration in healthy blood. For another solute, bicarbonate, dialysis solution level is set at a slightly higher level than in normal blood, to encourage diffusion of bicarbonate into the blood, to act as a pH buffer to neutralise the metabolic acidosis that is often present in these patients. The levels of the components of dialysate are typically prescribed by a nephrologist according to the needs of the individual patient.
A dialysis machine is known from US 2006/0173395, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,213,859 A and 4,137,168A.
Document US 2006/0173395 A1 discloses a combined arterial and venous blood tubing set for transport of blood between a patient and a blood processing unit. The set comprises an arterial set component comprising arterial tubing having an arterial patient connector at one end and an arterial unit connector at the other. A venous set component has venous tubing with a venous patient connector at one end and a venous unit connector at the other end. The arterial and venous patient connectors, and the arterial and venous unit connectors, are respectively, substantially, and releasably directly connected to each other. As a result of this, the arterial, and venous set components cooperate to form a loop.
An apparatus for the infusion of medicaments and drugs, in particular heparin, into the partial vacuum region of an extracorporeal blood circuit is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,226 which replaces a heparin pump and which comprises a supply container in the form of a syringe, a shutoff member, which may be a clamp, disposed in the feed conduit, a means for measuring the reduced pressure or partial vacuum in the extracorporeal circuit and a control means. Said control means is connected to the pressure measuring means and the shutoff member and constructed for periodic opening and closing of the shutoff member in dependence upon the measured partial vacuum and the desired amount of medicament. The apparatus may be used in the extracorporeal blood circuit of a dialysis apparatus.
A fluid manifold which includes a housing having a first inlet and an outlet and a plurality of inlets intermediate the first inlet and the outlet is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,185. Document EP 0 443 324 A1 discloses a system for preparation of a fluid intended for medical use.
A dialysis machine is a machine that filters a patient's blood to remove excess water and waste products when the kidneys are damaged, dysfunctional, or missing. Blood is drawn through a specially created vein in the forearm, which is called an arterio-venous (AV) fistula. From the AV fistula, blood is taken to the dialysis machine through flexible tube. The dialysis machine itself can be thought of as an artificial kidney. Inside, it consists of more flexible tube that carries the removed blood to the dialyzer, a bundle of hollow fibers that forms a semipermeable membrane for filtering out impurities. In the dialyzer, blood is diffused with a saline solution called dialysate, and the dialysate is in turn diffused with blood. Once the filtration process is complete, the cleansed blood is returned to the corresponding vein of the patient. Most patients using dialysis due to kidney impairment or failure use a dialysis machine at a special dialysis clinic. Most sessions take about four hours, and typically patients visit the clinic three times per week.
In order to prevent clotting in the course of a dialysis procedure, it is necessary to deliver continuously a pharmaceutical like Heparin into one of the tubes and thus into the blood circulation. Towards the end of a dialysis procedure, it is necessary or at least helpful to administer medicaments like iron sucrose for example Venofer®, erythropoietin (EPO) and the active form of vitamin D in addition to heparin. At the end of a dialysis session, it is helpful to deliver a medicament in order to wash the outlet of the fistula. At least some of the medicaments cannot be administered within a short period. Instead of that, it is necessary to input such a medicament stepwise or continuously into a tube of the dialysis machine during a period of several minutes like ten minutes.
For the delivery of pharmaceuticals during a dialysis procedure, the tube of a dialysis machine comprises one or more injection sites as known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,090,066. An injection site may be an elastic, needle-pierceable membrane and/or a female luer lock connector for connecting an administration device like a syringe or an adapter for a vial with the injection site.
A staff member of a clinic has to take care of several patients at the same time. At the beginning, a staff member has to connect every patient to a dialysis machine. After a few hours at the end of these procedures, the staff member has to input the medicaments to the corresponding tubes of the dialysis machines. Due to the time pressure, it is difficult to administer all medicaments to all patients every day without making any mistake.

Dialysis machine, a manifold for the dialysis machine and process


A method for automatically taking an image of a participant in an event with a timing system determining a time of a passing a detection line on a route by a participant having an RFID tag, the system includes a RFID tag reader system obtaining the RFID tag numbers of the RFID tag in RFID tag reads, time stamping each RFID tag read, and transmitting a tag read message including the RFID tag number, an image capture device capturing images of participants when in proximity to one of the monitored points, generating image data, an image capture system creating an image capture message including the image data, and transmitting the image capture message, and the timing system determining the RFID tag number within the tag read messages, associating the received image data with the identified participant, and storing the image data associated with the determined RFID tag number.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
When using an RFID system or similar detection technology system for timing sporting events, it often becomes necessary to obtain additional participant information related to a participant in an event. Typically, photographs and video can be taken by a user positioned along the course of the event such as along a particular reference point such as a waypoint or finish line. These users take the photos and associate such with the time of the passing of the participant by the photo point, the name of the participant, or a bib or other participant number or code. The participants are provided with such identifying data and the photos are placed in a database, catalogued, and later accessed by a user by such identifying data. The accessed database can be searched with the photos displayed, and wherein the party doing such searching and displaying can inspect and order the photos, such as via a web site such as provided by U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,985,875 and 7,047,214. It is also possible with certain system that a photovoltaic detection system such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,768,094 can be used to electronically trigger a photographic system for taking a photo image participant that passes the trigger mechanism line.
However, such current systems are not integrated into the event timing systems that utilized RFID tag detection and tag reading technology. Furthermore, the current process is limited by both the human factors of attempting to take the photographic image, associating such image with the participant and the identifying data, such as name, time or bib number, and then cataloging in a database for subsequent searching, review and ordering. Such human involvement is labor intensive, is prone to errors, and often receives unsatisfactory reviews by participants. Further, when there are a large number of participants passing a particular event course location, it is impossible for current systems to take photos of every participant and to associate every participant in a photo with a participant identifier for subsequent association and cataloging, thereby limiting the ability of the current system to have photos available for on-line review and ordering by numerous participants. Such systems and limitations also make is very difficult if not impossible for an event photographer to pre-subscribe numerous participants in an event, as the failure rate and complexity in ensuring that such photographers can in fact take an photograph of each pre-subscribed participants that can subsequently be associated, informed, catalogued, accessed, searched, and reviewed.
As such, the inventor hereof has identified a need for an integrated photographic and video image system that is integrated with the RFID tag reader and/or timing system, wherein the RFID tag reads trigger the taking of the photograph or video and automatically associated each and every RFID tag number of such photos or videos.

RFID tag read triggered image and video capture event timing method


The present disclosure describes DRAM architectures and refresh controllers that allow for scheduling of an opportunistic refresh of a DRAM device concurrently with normal row activate command directed toward the DRAM device. Each activate command affords an “opportunity” to refresh another independent row (i.e., a wordline) within a memory device with no scheduling conflict.

The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatuses, including memory devices and integrated circuit devices that control such memory devices, including methods and apparatuses supporting a protocol for refreshing memory devices.
In dynamic random access memories (DRAMs), the memory cells store data as a charge on a storage capacitor, which leaks away over time. Thus, the memory cells must be refreshed periodically to avoid data loss. The issuance and execution of refresh commands consumes power and may degrade performance, for example, when memory cells are refreshed unnecessarily and the refresh commands are scheduled in an inefficient manner.


A method and apparatus for improving network connection security. An adapter having a cross-wiring section which alters the pin out of the network from a standard wiring pattern to a non-standard wiring pattern is preferably connected to two or more connection points for the network.

1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
The present invention relates to methods and apparatuses for improving security of a network, particularly for improving security of an ethernet or other computer network.
2. Description of Related Art
Note that the following discussion refers to a number of publications by author(s) and year of publication, and that due to recent publication dates certain publications are not to be considered as prior art vis-a-vis the present invention. Discussion of such publications herein is given for more complete background and is not to be construed as an admission that such publications are prior art for patentability determination purposes.
Prior art devices directed toward improving local area network connection security rely primarily on physical characteristics of one or more connectors. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,960,025, to Gurreri; U.S. Patent Application No. 2002/0126960, to Gurreri; and U.S. Patent Application Nos. 2005/0191010; and 2006/0063436, Gurreri et al. These known devices change the shape of the connector, such that standard cables and connectors cannot be used to successfully connect a computer or other electronic device to the secured network. Because prior art devices prevent the use of standard components with a network, the cost and labor required to implement those systems is significant.
Another prior art device for securing a telecommunications port is described by Hileman et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,380. The Hileman et al. device is a small plug that can be inserted into an unused port. The plug blocks physical access to a port and requires a key to remove the plug. One of the problems with the plug and key invention of Hileman et al. is that a plug must be inserted into every un-used port. As such, each time that a user disconnects his or her electronic device from a telecommunications system, the user must also obtain and insert a Hileman et al. plug. Further, if a system has several Hileman et al. plugs in use, each user will need to be issued a key or must otherwise have access to a key. Further, users of the Hileman et al. plug must either ensure that all of the plugs are keyed the same or must otherwise keep track of numerous keys. Still further, because the Hileman et al. plug relies on providing a physical barrier to the contacts of an electrical jack, a person wishing to subvert the purpose of the Hileman et al. device can simply remove the entire electrical jack from the wall and wire that person's electronic device directly into the existing electrical line.
There is thus a need for a method and apparatus which can simply and effectively protect a network and which further can protect a network without the expenditure of a significant amount of time and money.

Method and apparatus for improving network connection security with one or more cross-wired adapters