An anti-aging composition is provided that contains high potency retinol along with anti-irritant properties. In particular, an anti-aging composition includes a base, from about 0.001% to 20.0 vol % retinol, at least one anti-irritant agent, at least one antioxidant, at least one anti-inflammatory agent, and a moisturizing complex. In one non-limiting illustration, the anti-aging composition contains about 1.0 vol % retinol, plantago lanceolata, hypericum perforatum leaf extract, phytosphingosine, leontopodium alpinum extract, glycyrriza glabra root extract, sambucus nigra flower extract, nordihydrognaiaretic acid, oleanolic acid, spiraea ulmaria flower extract, evodia rutaecarpa fruit extract, boswellia serrata extract, and additives.

The condition and appearance of skin degenerates through the effects of environmental and other factors, such as, for example, sunlight, wind abrasion, humidity, pollutants, diseases, and/or the normal aging process. Common problems for aging skin are the formation of wrinkles, fine lines, age spots, enlarged pores, blotchy skin discoloration, surface roughness, loss of elasticity, and drooping skin.
To prevent or repair the deterioration of skin quality that occurs over time, consumers have increasingly sought new and/or improved products for skin care. Such products are designed to prevent, delay or reverse the visible signs of the aging process, such as the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, loss of skin tone, thinning of the skin, hyperpigmentation or mottling, and age spots. These products may also improve the appearance and condition of sensitive, dry or flaky skin, and may soothe skin that has been irritated by exposure to chemicals, wind, or sunlight, among other potential irritants.
There are many different over-the-counter and prescription products available to treat the signs of aging and promote healthier skin. Some of these products contain retinoic acid, a topical Vitamin A derivative that is available by prescription to treat the signs of aging. Retinol is also found in some products to treat the signs of aging and is available without a prescription. Retinoic acid is twenty percent stronger than retinol so to be effective a higher potency of retinol is used in over-the-counter products. However, most products that contain retinoic acid or high potency retinol currently available lead to inadequate results or have undesirable side effects. These side effects may include, but not limited to, irritation, redness, stinging, itching, blistering, burning, skin scaling, peeling and dryness of the skin, or more severe side effects including, but not limited to, severe burning, itching, blistering, crusting, or swelling of the skin, alterations in skin pigmentation, or aggravate eczema. By peeling of the top layer of skin, retinoids may increase ones sensitivity to sunlight. Irritation may also be aggravated by wind or cold, use of soaps and cleansers, astringents, peeling agents and certain cosmetics.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to have a topical skin care treatment that contains an effective amount of retinol to prevent or repair the effects of aging, reduces fine lines, repairs skin discoloration, and rejuvenates the skin with the least possible side effects. It would also be beneficial to have a skin care treatment that contains high potency retinol that also reduces harmful side effects. It would be further beneficial to have a topical skin care treatment that has an anti-irritant complex to reduce the side effects and concerns associated with the use of retinol.
Retinoids have been used extensively in the treatment of a variety of skin disorders and have been used as skin repair or renewal agents. Topical retinoids are typically creams, lotions or gels containing retinol (Vitamin A) or related compounds. Topical retinoids are often effective treatment for mild to severe acne. People that are prone to acne have to be careful what type of lotions and creams they use so as to not make their acne worse. In addition to the above-mentioned side effects, a user may also develop irritation to the skin or adjacent mucous membranes and the production of excessive oiliness or greasiness of the skin which can clog pores. Therefore, it would be beneficial to have a skin care treatment that contains potent retinol that will not clog pores.


Described is a device and method for facilitating the determination of the solubility and dissolution properties of chemical compounds in various solvents. The device uses submilliliter quantities of a solvent and correspondingly small amounts of the chemical compound. The device enables solubility measurements to be made on small amounts of chemical compounds, and enables multiple sampling for generating dissolution profiles. The device includes a housing having first chamber in fluid communication with a second chamber. A pump is provided to force alternatingly the solvent from one chamber to another. A filter located between, and in fluid communication with, the first and second chambers allows flow of a solution of the solvent and the chemical compound between the chambers, and the filter prevents the passage of undissolved compound. The device may also be used for titration studies of submilliliter quantities of solutions or suspensions.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device and method for facilitating measurements of the solubility of organic, inorganic and organic-metallic compounds, and for performing titration studies on small amounts of samples of such compounds, particularly of compounds related to pharmaceutical research and development.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the field of pharmaceutical research and development, it is almost always necessary to evaluate the general suitability of a newly developed drug candidate prior to launching into full development. Evaluation of the general suitability of such chemical compounds typically includes solubility studies of the compound in various in-vivo compatible or physiologically compatible solvents, as well as other chemical characteristics, such as the determination of the acid dissociation constant (pK.sub.a) and solubility profiles at various pH values. Due to the lack of knowledge regarding the fundamental chemical properties of new drug candidates, the cost of purifying or manufacturing such drug candidates is generally extremely high, and therefore the quantities of compound produced in initial research stages are very limited.
The current process for determining the solubility of a given compound in a solvent such as water, for example, is as follows: A 1.5 to 2.0 milliliter (ml) glass vial is selected, into which is placed a known amount of distilled water, typically about 0.5 to 1.0 ml. Then, an amount of the compound is added to the vial, the amount being substantially greater than the amount estimated to be the compound's solubility in water. For example, if it is estimated that a compound's solubility in water is 10 milligrams (mg) per ml, the amount of compound to be added to the vial should be at least 15 to 20 mg. Using substantially more compound than is estimated to be necessary to saturate the solvent insures that when the compound-solvent system has reached equilibrium, there will remain in the vial at least some amount of undissolved compound. Following the introduction of the compound into the vial, the vial is capped and the vial is placed in a rotor/shaker. The temperature is held at a constant temperature, commonly either 25 or 37 degrees Centigrade, and the vial is shaken or rotated for a certain period of time, typically at least 24 hours.
After the certain period of time, the sample is inspected to verify that solid compound remains in the vial. If no solid compound remains, the process must be reinitiated with additional compound and the vial must again be shaken for a certain period of time. Assuming that solid compound remains, the solid compound and solution are separated by either filtration or centrifugation.
Filtration is usually performed by hand using a standard syringe and syringe-adaptable filter. Regarding the filter used, it is generally necessary to predetermine the degree of adsorption of the compound on the filter during filtration. If the compound in question has a density different from the solution, centrifugation may be employed. Preliminary analysis is necessary in order to determine the necessary centrifugal force to ensure complete separation. After separation by either filtration or centrifugation, the concentration of the compound in the solution is determined by a suitable analytical method to arrive at its solubility.
There are numerous drawbacks with current methods (and related devices) for evaluating the solubility of a compound in a particular solvent. The primary drawbacks are threefold. First, the current methods and devices require relatively large quantities of solvent which in turn means that relatively large amounts of compound are necessary. Second, the current methods and devices require a time-consuming and wasteful process of separation of the saturated solution from the undissolved compound. More specifically, if filtration is used, compound adsorption on the separation filter must be considered. If centrifugation is used, centrifugation speed and material densities must be determined, and the possibility that fine particles of solid remain in the supernatent must be considered.
The third and perhaps most significant drawback with the present methods and devices is the repetition of the above-described process. The entire process described above is normally repeated for various periods of time to insure an accurate and complete solubility measurement. For example, FIG. 1 shows a typical solubility curve 101 over a period of time for a typical chemical compound in a solvent such as water. With respect to FIG. 1, it is readily appreciated that to accurately measure the solubility of the chemical compound, it is very important to allow the chemical compound to mix with the solvent for a sufficiently long period of time in order to reach an equilibrium solubility 102. However, because the chemical compound is "new" and many of its chemical properties are unknown, the amount of time necessary to attain such saturation of the solvent is uncertain. Furthermore, as seen in FIG. 2, not all solubility curves 111 simply approach the equilibrium saturation plateau 112. The solubility curve 111 in FIG. 2 has a local maximum (or overshoot) solubility at point 113, however, point 113 is not the equilibrium solubility of the compound in the solvent.
Thus, repetition of the solubility analysis further consumes additional quantities of compound. To further illustrate the relatively large quantities of chemical compound required in the aforesaid normal or standard practice, if five different solvents are intended to be evaluated for their solubility properties with respect to a particular compound, the average solubility of the compound in each solvent is estimated to be 10 mg/ml, and the quantity of solvent to be used is 0.5 ml, at least 35 to 50 mg of the compound will be required. Furthermore, to assure accuracy (see, e.g., FIGS. 1 and 2), the samples should be tested in triplicate, which will consume 105 to 150 mg of compound for a solubility study in only five different solvents. Moreover, if the compound needs a long period of time to reach equilibrium, an additional amount of compound would be required to repeat the testing. As explained above, however, the available quantities of newly developed compounds are very limited. In the preparation of new compounds for pharmaceutical research, it is not uncommon to be limited to 200 mg or less for solubility and characterization studies, which may not even be enough to generate the basic solubility data.
Therefore, it is very important to consume as little compound as possible while repetitively measuring the solubility of the compound in the solvent over different periods of time to insure that the equilibrium saturation point has been reached. It is also important to repetitively measure the solubility of the compound to insure accuracy of the prior measurements. These repetitive measurements, each using relatively large amounts of chemical compound, demonstrate a major shortcoming of the aforementioned current practice of measuring solubility.
In view of cost, availability and accuracy factors, it would be desirable to use small amounts of the subject chemical compound and correspondingly small amounts of solvent for studies involving solubility. It would be desirable to eliminate the separation step before determining the concentration of the compound in the solution. It would also be desirable to generate a solubility curve (again see, e.g., FIGS. 1 or 2) during the solubility study while keeping the necessary amount of compound to a minimum.
Titration, another common analysis performed on solutions of new chemical compounds, is generally performed by adding a given amount of acid or base solution into the solution. After thoroughly mixing the solution and assuming it reaches equilibrium, the pH value of the mixed solution is determined using a pH-electrode. These steps are repeated until the final solution reaches a desired pH. Due to the requirement of thorough mixing, the volume of solution in a titration study is normally in the range of milliliters. It would be desirable to reduce the volume of solution required for a titration study.
Another type of titration study, commonly called "suspension titration", involves evaluating the solubility of solid compounds suspended in a solvent, at various pH values of the solvent. Suspension titration is a combination of the previously described solubility and pH titration procedures. Following the addition of an acid or base titrant to the suspension of a given acidic or basic compound, the pH is monitored until a constant value is obtained (indicating that equilibrium has been established). The concentration of the dissolved solute is then determined as described above. Another aliquot of acid or base is then added and pH is again monitored until a constant value is again attained. Solute concentration is then again determined at this new pH. By repeating this procedure until the desired pH range is fully covered, a pH solubility profile can be derived using the same solid sample of the compound for all points. A typical pH solubility profile is illustrated in FIG. 5.
Devices for performing titration, sampling and solubility measurements on small quantities of materials have been described in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,946,486 to Gilmont describes an analytical device for titrating functions comprising a micro-buret having capillary tubing at one end and an enlarged chamber at the other end.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,062 to Hach shows a liquid dispensing device for chemical titration having a reciprocating plunger for expelling fluid from an attached titrating solution cartridge.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,570 to Machler et al. shows a flow-through cuvette having a very small volume for use in high-pressure liquid chromatography.
Further, Smith et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,284 disclose a flow injection analysis flow cell for titration flow injection analysis.
Upon consideration of the aforementioned disclosures, it will be observed that none of the described inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, may be regarded to describe or to suggest the instant invention as claimed.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a device and a method for facilitating measurements of the solubility of chemical compounds in various solvents, wherein such compound samples are present in small amounts.
It is another object of the invention to provide a device and method for determining various characteristics of solutions, particularly of compounds in solution, and in particular, for example, the pH of solutions wherein such solutions are present in submilliliter amounts.
It is another object of the invention to provide a device and method for determining various characteristics of solutions without an additional or separate procedure for separating the saturated solution from the undissolved chemical compound.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.

Device and method for measuring solubility and for performing titration studies of submilliliter quantities


A software-based simulation system is provided, which can provide the combined functionality of a South Bridge test module and a North Bridge test module based solely on either one of the two modules, i.e., either the South Bridge test module or the North Bridge test module without having to use both. This software-based simulation system is characterized in the use of a PCI master modeling circuit and a PCI slave modeling circuit which are capable of simulating the functionality of the North Bridge chipset in the case that only the South Bridge chipset and no North Bridge chipset is included in the simulation system, and are further capable of simulating the functionality of the South Bridge chipset in the case that only the North Bridge chipset and no South Bridge chipset is included in the simulation system.

This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 88117223, filed Oct. 6, 1999.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer technology, and more particularly, to a software-based simulation system which is capable of simulating the combined functionality of a South Bridge test module and a North Bridge test module with only one of the two test modules, i.e., either the South Bridge test module or the North Bridge test module without having to use both.
2. Description of Related Art
A simulating North Bridge chipset is a test circuit that is specifically designed for use on a computer motherboard for simulating the functionality of an actual Host-to-PCI bridge controller, while a simulating South Bridge chipset is another type of test circuit that is specifically designed for simulating the functionality of the various kinds of actual peripheral devices connected to the motherboard via such interfaces as ISA (Industry Standard Architecture), IDE (Integrated Device Electronics), USB (Universal Serial Bus), and AC-Link interfaces.
Before tape-out, an IC chipset is typically tested through simulation for the purpose of checking whether the IC chipset would function properly. When the design of an IC chipset is completed, the designed circuit architecture is mathematically simulated to check whether it would functionally meet the design specifications. Then, after the layout is completed, timing factors such as delays and electrical characteristics are added to the circuit for a second simulation.
The testing for an IC chipset can be carried out in two ways: a hardware-based testing method and a software-based testing method. By the hardware-based testing method, a prototype device is made in accordance with the designed circuit diagram, which is then mounted on a customized hardware circuit board made to function in conjunction with the tested device. The hardware-based testing method can check whether the designed IC chipset would function properly when practically implemented.
One advantage to the hardware-based testing method is that it is a fast testing procedure so that the testing can be completed in a short time. One drawback of the hardware-based testing method, however, is that it requires the settings of various parameters and mounting of various circuit components for the testing of different types of IC chipsets, and this work would typically require a team of more than 20 technicians to achieve. This makes the hardware-based testing method quite laborious and time-consuming to achieve, and is therefore quite cost-ineffective to implement.
The software-based testing method, on the other hand, performs the testing through a simulation software program, which is coded by a special programming language, such as Verlog code, for modeling the designed IC chipset. The simulation program can compute for the input/output characteristics of the designed IC chipset.
A conventional setup for implementing the software-based testing method is to use a North Bridge test module and a South Bridge test module. The North Bridge test module includes a simulation circuit that is designed to simulate the functionality of a Host-to-PCI bridge controller, and further includes a CPU, a memory unit, an AGP device, and a PCI bus. The South Bridge test module includes a simulation circuit that is designed to simulate a PCI-to-ISA bridge controller, and further includes an IDE interface, an AC-Link interface, a USB interface, an ISA bus, a PCI bus, an LPC bus, and an SM bus. The South Bridge chipset is used to test the peripheral devices connected via these interfaces thereto.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a conventional chipset system including the North Bride and South Bridge. In FIG. 1, the system includes a North Bride module, a South Bridge module, and a PCI bus 30 between them. The North Bridge module includes a central processing unit (CPU) 5, an advanced graphics port (AGP) 10, a memory unit 15, a North Bridge test circuit 20, and a host bus 25. The South Bridge includes a South Bride test circuit 60, an LPC bus 65, a system manager (SM) bus 70, an ISA bus, a connection means for connecting the LPC bus 65, the SM bus 70, and the industry standard architecture (ISA) bus to the South Bridge test circuit 60, and a connection means for connecting an UBS device 55, an IDE device, and codec 50 to the South Bridge test circuit 60.
The connection means for connecting LPC bus 65, SM bus 70, and ISA bus to the South Bridge test circuit 60 includes a LPC device 68, an SM master 72, an SM slave 74, and ISA master 82, and an ISA slave 84.
The North Bride module and the South bridge module in FIG. 1 is coupled together through the PCI bus 30. The PCI bus also has couplings with a PCI master 35 and a PCI slave 40. The South Bridge circuit 60 is used to simulate a PCI/ISA bridge controller, and the North Bridge test circuit 20 is used to simulate a PCI/HOST bridge controller.
One advantage to the software-based testing method utilizing the South Bridge chipset and the North Bridge chipset is that it requires a reduced cost to implement as compared to the hardware-based testing method. One drawback to this software-based testing method, however, is that it is quite time-consuming since it requires the CPU to spend much time on the computation for the input/output response of each constituent component in the tested chipset.
Since the South Bridge chipset and the North Bridge chipset are both very complex in architecture, they are typically designed by two different teams of engineers. However, since the South Bridge chipset and the North Bridge chipset should work together to implement the software-based testing method, they must be finished in design and manufacture substantially at the same time. In the event that one team is behind schedule, the other team may waste time in waiting. This makes the project management quite difficult.
In summary, the prior art has the following drawbacks.
First, the hardware-based testing method requires a large amount of labor and time for system setup and parameter setting, and therefore is quite costly to implement.
Second, the software-based testing method is quite slow in speed since it would spend much time on the computation for the input/output response of each constituent component in the chipset including CPU, ISA devices, and memory.
Third, the software-based testing method would cause the project management quite difficult since the South Bridge chipset and the North Bridge chipset should be finished in design and manufacture substantially at the same time.
It is therefore an objective of this invention to provide a software-based simulation system which can be used in conjunction with either the South Bridge chipset or the North Bridge chipset, but can nonetheless perform the combined functionality of the South Bridge chipset and the North Bridge chipset.
It is another objective of this invention to provide a software-based simulation system, which allows the testing to be completed in a shorter time than the prior art, so that the testing can be more efficiently implemented.
It is still another objective of this invention to provide a software-based simulation system, which allows the testing to be implemented in a more cost-effective manner than the prior art.
It is yet another objective of this invention to provide a software-based simulation system, which allows the project management for its design and implementation to be easier than the prior art.
In accordance with the foregoing and other objectives, a novel software-based simulation system is proposed. The software-based simulation system of the invention is characterized in that it is based solely on either the South Bridge chipset or the North Bridge chipset but can nonetheless provide the combined fuinctionality of both chipsets. This feature allows the benefits of reduced testing time, easy project management, and reduced amount of memory as compared to the prior art. The invention is therefore more advantageous to use than the prior art.
More specifically, the software-based simulation system of the invention is characterized in the use of a PCI master modeling circuit and a PCI slave modeling circuit which can simulate the functionality of the North Bridge chipset in the case that only the South Bridge chipset and no North Bridge chipset is included in the simulation system, and are further capable of simulating the functionality of the South Bridge chipset in the case that only the North Bridge chipset and no South Bridge chipset is included in the simulation system.
In the case of no North Bridge chipset, the software-based simulation system of the invention includes a South Bridge chipset capable of simulating the functionality of a PCI-to-ISA bridge controller; a PCI master modeling circuit coupled via a PCI bus to the South Bridge chipset, which is capable of simulating the functionality of a PCI master unit, and is capable of processing a North-Bridge-specific set of input/output signals that are specific to the North Bridge chipset; a PCI slave modeling circuit coupled via the PCI bus to the South Bridge chipset, which is capable of simulating the functionality of a PCI slave unit, and is capable of delivering a wait state for simulating the delay in the memory access operation in the North Bridge chipset, and is further capable of performing a retry-count function for simulating the effect of delayed transaction in the North Bridge chipset; and a PCI arbitrator simulation circuit coupled via the PCI bus to the South Bridge chipset, which is capable of simulating the functionality of a PCI arbitrator.
In the case of using the PCI master modeling circuit to simulate the functionality of the North Bridge chipset, the PCI master modeling circuit is used to process a North-Bridge-specific set of input/output signals. In a system with both the South Bridge chipset and the North Bridge chipset, these input/output signals are supposed to be generated and received by the North Bridge chipset. In the case of using the PCI slave modeling circuit to simulate the functionality of the North Bridge chipset, the PCI slave modeling circuit is put in a waiting state for the purpose of simulating the delay in the memory access operation in the North Bridge chipset. Further, the PCI slave modeling circuit can perform a retry-count function which can simulate the effect of delayed transaction in the North Bridge chipset.
The North-Bridge-specific output cycles include IOR (Input/Output Read) cycle, IOW (Input/Output Write) cycle, MEMR (Memory Read) cycle, MEMW (Memory Write) cycle, INTA (Interrupt Acknowledge) cycle, and SC (Special Cycle); while the North-Bridge-specific input signals include INTR (Interrupt Request) signal, INIT (Initiation) signal, and STPCLK (Stop Clock) signal.
In addition, during a PCI read cycle to an internal memory unit, the PCI slave modeling circuit will first check whether the requested data is stored in the internal memory unit; if YES, the PCI slave modeling circuit will retrieve the requested data from the internal memory unit; otherwise, if NO, the PCI slave modeling circuit will generate a random piece of data for transmission.
Conclusively, the PCI master modeling circuit can be used to substitute for the CPU in the North Bridge chipset, while the PCI slave modeling circuit can be used to substitute for the internal memory of the North Bridge chipset.
In the case of no South Bridge chipset, the software-based simulation system of the invention includes: a North Bridge chipset capable of simulating the functionality of a Host-to-PCI bridge controller; a PCI master modeling circuit coupled via a PCI bus to the North Bridge chipset, which is capable of simulating the functionality of a PCI master unit, and further capable of outputting a South-Bridge-specific set of master signals that are specific to the South Bridge chipset; and a PCI slave modeling circuit coupled via the PCI bus to the North Bridge chipset, which is capable of simulating the functionality of a PCI slave unit, and capable of performing a subtrative decoding function for simulating the subtrative decoding function of the South Bridge test module, and capable of processing a set of input signals specific to the South Bridge test module, and further capable of performing a retry-count function for simulating the effect of delayed transaction in the North Bridge test module.
The above-mentioned master signals include an INTR (Interrupt Request) signal, an INIT (Initiation) signal, and an STPCLK (Stop Clock) signal. In a system with both the South Bridge chipset and the North Bridge chipset, these master signals are supposed to be generated by the South Bridge chipset.
The PCI slave modeling circuit is designed to simulate the functionality of a PCI-compliant slave unit. However, the PCI slave modeling circuit can perform a subtrative decoding function for simulating the subtrative decoding function of the South Bridge test module, and capable of processing a set of input signals specific to the South Bridge test module, and further capable of performing a retry-count function for simulating the effect of delayed transaction in the North Bridge test module.
The PCI slave modeling circuit can receive and process a South-Bridge-specific set of input cycles, including a CFGR (Configured Read) cycle, a CFGW (Configured Write) cycle, an INTA (Interrupt Acknowledge) cycle, and an SC (Special Cycle) cycle.
In addition, during a PCI read cycle to an internal memory unit, the PCI slave modeling circuit will first check whether the requested data is stored in the internal memory unit; if YES, the PCI slave modeling circuit will retrieve the requested data from the internal memory unit; otherwise, if NO, the PCI slave modeling circuit will generate a random piece of data for transmission.
Conclusively, the PCI master modeling circuit can be used to substitute for the master function of the South Bridge chipset, while the PCI slave modeling circuit, with the subtrative decoding function, can be used to substitute for the slave function of the South Bridge chipset.
Through experimentation, it is found that the software-based simulation system of the invention, whether implemented with only the South Bridge chipset or the North Bridge chipset, is three times faster in testing speed than a conventional simulation system with both the South Bridge chipset and the North Bridge chipset.
In conclusion, the software-based simulation system of the invention is characterized in the use of a PCI master modeling circuit and a PCI slave modeling circuit which are capable of simulating the functionality of the North Bridge chipset in the case that only the South Bridge chipset and no North Bridge chipset is included in the simulation system, and are further capable of simulating the functionality of the South Bridge chipset in the case that only the North Bridge chipset and no South Bridge chipset is included in the simulation system. This feature allows the benefits of reduced testing time, easy project management, and reduced amount of memory as compared to the prior art. The invention is therefore more advantageous to use than the prior art.

Software-based simulation system capable of simulating the combined functionality of a north bridge test module and a south bridge test module


Provided is an organic light emitting device including a cathode; an anode provided opposite to the cathode; a light emitting layer provided between the cathode and the anode; and an organic material layer provided between the cathode and the light emitting layer, and including Compound (A) including a heteroatom and a cyano group, wherein Compound (A) satisfies Equation 1 and Equation 2:|PElCN|≥3debye  Equation 1                wherein:        |PElCN| means an absolute value of a dipole moment of Compound (A);

An organic light emission phenomenon is one of examples converting a current to visible light by an internal process of specific organic molecules. A principle of an organic light emission phenomenon is as follows.
When an organic material layer is placed between an anode and a cathode and a voltage is applied between the two electrodes, electrons and holes are injected to the organic material layer from the cathode and the anode, respectively. The holes and the electrons injected to the organic material layer recombine to form excitons, and light emits when these excitons fall back to the ground state. An organic light emitting device using such a principle can be generally formed with a cathode, an anode, and an organic material layer placed therebetween, for example, an organic material layer including a hole injection layer, a hole transfer layer, a light emitting layer and an electron transfer layer.
Materials used in an organic light emitting device are mostly pure organic materials or complex compounds in which an organic material and a metal form a complex, and can be divided into a hole injection material, a hole transfer material, a light emitting material, an electron transfer material, an electron injection material and the like depending on the application. Herein, as the hole injection material or the hole transfer material, organic materials having a p-type property, that is, organic materials readily oxidized and electrochemically stable when oxidized are mainly used. Meanwhile, as the electron injection material or the electron transfer material, organic materials having an n-type property, that is, organic materials readily reduced and electrochemically stable when reduced are mainly used. As the light emitting layer material, materials having both a p-type property and an n-type property, that is, materials stable in both oxidized and reduced states are preferred, and materials having, when excitons are formed, high light emission efficiency converting the excitons to light.
Development of an organic light emitting device having high efficiency has been required in the art.

Abstract:                           P              EI                              C                                N                                                                                                P              EI                                                  >                                                        Ea              EI              CN                                                                                  Ea              EI                                                                      Equation                                                  2                            wherein:        |PElCN| means an absolute value of a dipole moment of Compound (A);        |PEl| means an absolute value of a dipole moment of a compound having the same core as the compound of |PElCN| without including a cyano group;        |EaElCN| means an absolute value of electron affinity of Compound (A); and        |EaEl| means an absolute value of electron affinity of a compound having the same core as the compound of |EaElCN| without including a cyano group.


According to one embodiment, a semiconductor memory device includes a plurality of first conductor layers stacked in a first direction, a second conductor layer provided above the first conductor layer, a first semiconductor layer extending in the first direction in the plurality of first conductor layers, a second semiconductor layer including a first portion extending in the first direction in the second conductor layer and a second portion of which a diameter in a cross section orthogonal to the first direction is larger than a diameter of the first portion, and being in contact with the first semiconductor layer in the second portion, and a first charge storage layer disposed between the plurality of first conductor layers and the first semiconductor layer. An upper end of the first charge storage layer protrudes upward in the first direction in comparison with an upper end of the first semiconductor layer.

A NAND flash memory is known as a semiconductor memory device capable of storing data in a nonvolatile manner. In a semiconductor memory device such as the NAND flash memory, a three-dimensional memory structure is adopted for higher integration and higher capacity. In the three-dimensional memory structure, a configuration in which a memory pillar includes connecting two upper and lower pillars is known.
An example of related art includes US-B-10020319.

Semiconductor memory device and method of manufacturing semiconductor memory device


A technique for transferring data on a radio bearer is described. The split radio bearer includes a first layer entity (570) at a first layer of a protocol stack and at least two second layer entities at a second layer of the protocol stack. The second layer is lower than the first layer in the protocol stack. In a method aspect of the technique, the data is received through each of the at least two second layer entities (582, 584). The data received through the at least two second layer entities (582, 584) is validated. If a result of the validation is indicative of an inconsistency in the data received through the at least two second layer entities (582, 584), a retransmission of the data is selectively triggered through at least one of the second layer entities (582, 584).

For some use cases such as Critical Machine-Type Communication (CMTC), the reliability of a data transfer between stations of existing radio communication systems is insufficient. In the wide range of machine communication use cases, CMTC is a subgroup requiring very high reliability and availability. M. Weiner et al. discuss in the article "Design of a Low-Latency, High-Reliability Wireless Communication System for Control Applications" (IEEE ICC 2014, Selected Areas in Communications, pages 3835 to 3841) the reliability for existing radio communication techniques.
In existing radio communication protocols such as 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), the physical (PHY) layer provides, e.g., adaptive coding, modulation and power control as well as multi-antenna processing. For physical channels transmitting user data, a 24-bit Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) value is inserted, leading to a residual error of 1E-7.
The Medium Access Control (MAC) layer does multiplexing and scheduling of data from different radio bearers. As the MAC layer is above the PHY layer, the data processed on the MAC layer is also protected by the CRC. Above the MAC layer, the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer provides segmentation and concatenation of data, and if configured, ARQ functionality, i.e., RLC retransmissions. The RLC layer provides in-sequence delivery to higher layers. Since both data and RLC ARQ feedback (i.e., the RLC status report) is transmitted using the 24-bit CRC of the PHY layer, a residual error probability of 1E-7 remains on the RLC layer.
Above the RLC layer, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer provides header compression to reduce overhead, as well as ciphering of data to be transmitted. The PDCP layer functions as an anchor point for a lossless handover between LTE base stations (i.e., evolved Node Bs or eNBs) by forwarding outstanding data from the source eNB to the target eNB. As no additional scheme for error detection or error correction is implemented on the PDCP layer in typical LTE configurations, the PDCP layer is affected by the same residual error as the RLC layer. The radio resource control (RRC) protocol exchanges control-signaling messages between an eNB and an LTE User Equipment (UE). The RRC protocol and the user plane (e.g., Internet Protocol or IP data) use the same LTE protocol stack. Hence, RRC messages and IP data are sent via the layers PDCP, RLC, MAC and PHY.
While LTE Carrier Aggregation (CA) increases the data rate per UE, CA does not provide higher reliability even if the UE is connected to multiple eNBs. Therefore, existing radio communication systems such as LTE cannot fulfill the reliability requirements of some use cases such as CMTC.

Technique for transferring data in a radio communication


A two-stage switching regulator having low power modes responsive to load power consumption. A first stage of the regulator is a power factor correction (PFC) stage. A second stage is a pulse-width modulating (PWM) stage. When a load draws a high level of current, switching in both stages is enabled. Under certain conditions, switching in either one or both of the stages is disabled by the duty cycle for the corresponding switch falling to zero. When switching in both stages is enabled, as in a normal mode, switching in the PWM stage is then disabled in response to an error signal falling below a first error threshold. When switching in the PFC stage is enabled and switching in the PWM stage is disabled, as in a first low power mode, switching in the PFC stage is then disabled in response to a feedback voltage rising above a first feedback threshold. When switching in both stages is disabled, as in a second low power mode, switching in the PWM stage is then enabled in response to the error voltage rising above a second error threshold, higher than the first error threshold. When switching in the PFC stage is disabled and switching in the PWM stage is enabled, as in a third low power mode, switching in the PFC stage is enabled in response to the feedback voltage falling below the second feedback threshold. As a result of these low power modes, the switching regulator is highly efficient.

For typical switching mode power converters of the prior art, the output voltage is controlled by an electronic circuit which measures a level of the output voltage, compares that measured level to a predetermined desired level, and develops a response to that measurement elsewhere in the circuit in order to more accurately achieve the desired output voltage. A prior art switching mode power converter which uses a trailing edge modulation control scheme is illustrated in FIG. 1. The input voltage Vin is coupled to a first terminal of the inductor L1. A second terminal of the inductor L1 is coupled to a first terminal of a switch SW1 and to an anode of a diode D1. A capacitor C1 is coupled between a cathode of the diode D1 and a second terminal of the switch SW1. A load RL is coupled across the capacitor C1. A potentiometer PT1 is coupled across the load RL and provides a negative input of a voltage error amplifier 10. A reference voltage Vref1 is coupled to the positive input of the error amplifier 10. The output VEAO of the voltage error amplifier 10 is coupled as the positive input of a modulating comparator 14. The negative input of the modulating comparator 14 is coupled to receive the ramp output of an oscillator 12. The output of the modulating comparator 14 is coupled as the reset input R of a flip-flop 16. The input D of the flip-flop 16 is coupled to the inverted output Q of the flip-flop 16. A clock input CLK of the flip-flop 16 is coupled to the clock output of the oscillator 12. The output Q of the flip-flop 16 is coupled to control the operation of the switch SW1.
The output voltage Vout1 supplied to the load RL is formed by integrating the inductor current I1 in the capacitor C1. Pulse width modulation (PWM) is used to maintain a constant output voltage Vout1 when the input voltage Vin or current drawn by the load RL varies over time. By modulating the width of voltage pulses that control the switch SW1, the output voltage Vout1 can be maintained at a constant level. Energy from the input source Vin is stored in the inductor L1 when the switch SW1 is closed. When the switch SW1 is open, energy from the inductor L1 is transferred to the capacitor C1 and to the load RL. A predetermined fraction of the output voltage Vout1 is formed by the potentiometer PT1. This voltage VEA is input into the negative terminal of the error amplifier 10 for comparison to the reference voltage Vref1. The comparison determines how close the actual output voltage Vout1 is to the desired output voltage and is used to modulate the width of the pulses that control the switch SW1.
FIG. 1 illustrates a trailing edge pulse width modulation scheme for controlling the switch SW1. In trailing edge modulation, the switch SW1 turns on (closes) on the trailing edge of the clock signal. The leading edge of the clock signal may also be utilized to implement leading edge modulation. For a leading edge modulation control scheme, the inputs to the error amplifier 10 are reversed: the voltage VEA from the potentiometer PT1 is coupled to the positive terminal of the voltage error amplifier 10 and the reference voltage Vref1 is coupled to the negative terminal of the voltage error amplifier 10. Also, the control voltage VSW1 is taken directly from the output Q of the flip-flop 16.
FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 show corresponding voltage waveforms with respect to time of different voltage levels at different points within the switch control circuit 18 of the trailing edge scheme, illustrated in FIG. 1. The time axis for the FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 has been drawn to correspond in all three figures. FIG. 2 illustrates the voltage levels with respect to time of the error amplifier output VEAO and the modulating ramp output of the oscillator 12. FIG. 3 illustrates the voltage level of the control voltage VSW1 for the switch SW1 with respect to time. The switch SW is "on" or closed when the control voltage VSW1 is at a high voltage level. The switch SW1 is "off" or open when the control voltage VSW1 is at a low voltage level. FIG. 4 illustrates the clock impulses with respect to time of the clock output of the oscillator 12.
The switch SW1 will turn on after the trailing edge of the system clock. Once the switch SW1 is on, the modulating comparator 14 then compares the error amplifier output voltage VEAO and the modulating ramp. When the modulating ramp reaches the error amplifier output voltage, the output of the modulating comparator 14 will fall to a logical low voltage level. Because of the inverter coupled to the input, the input R of the flip-flop 16 will then rise to a logical high voltage level thereby resetting the output Q of the flip-flop 16 to a logical low voltage level and turning the switch SW1 off. When the switch SW1 is on, the inductor current IL will ramp up. The effective duty cycle of the trailing edge modulation is determined as a ratio of the on time of the switch SW1 to its off time. FIG. 1 illustrates a typical trailing edge control scheme using a single boost power converter stage. As the input voltage Vin or current drawn by the load RL vary over time, the duty cycle or time that the switch SW1 is on will vary in order to maintain a constant output voltage Vout1.
While the above-described circuit regulates the output voltage Vout1, it does not ensure that the input current follows the input voltage in time and amplitude proportionally. When a power converter such as in shown in FIG. 1 is coupled to receive a rectified line voltage, it can cause problems in a power distribution system, such as reducing the capacity of the distribution system, increasing harmonics and overheating substation transformers. Therefore, it is desirable that a power converter ensure that the input current follow the line voltage such that the power converter is substantially a resistive load to the power line. A power factor correction circuit ensures that the input current follows the line voltage in time and amplitude proportionally (i.e. the input voltage and current are maintained in phase relative to each other).
A circuit diagram of a prior art boost rectifier circuit including pulse width modulation and power factor correction (PFC) is illustrated in FIG. 5. A line voltage is coupled to the input terminals of a full wave bridge rectifier 20. A first output terminal of the full wave bridge rectifier 20 is coupled to a first terminal of an inductor L2 and to a first input terminal of a multiplier 22. A second terminal of the inductor L2 is coupled to a drain of an NMOS transistor SW2 and to an anode of a diode D2. A source of the NMOS transistor SW2 is coupled to the ground node.
A cathode of the diode D2 is coupled to a first terminal of a capacitor C2 and to an output node Vout2. A second terminal of the capacitor C2 is coupled to the ground node. A first terminal of a resistor R1 is coupled to the output node Vout2. A second terminal of the resistor R1 is coupled to a negative input of an output voltage error amplifier 24 and to a first terminal of a resistor R2. A second terminal of the resistor R2 is to the ground node. A positive input of the voltage error amplifier 24 is coupled to a reference voltage Vref2. An output of the voltage error amplifier 24 is coupled to a second input of the multiplier 22.
An output of the multiplier 22 is coupled to a positive input terminal of a current error amplifier 26 and to a first terminal of a resistor Ra. A second terminal of the resistor Ra is coupled to a second output terminal of the full wave bridge rectifier 20 and to a first terminal of a sense resistor Rs. A second terminal of the sense resistor Rs is coupled to a first terminal of a resistor Rb and to the ground node. A second terminal of the resistor Rb is coupled to a negative input terminal of the current error amplifier 26. An output of the current error amplifier 26 is coupled to a negative input terminal of a modulating comparator 28. A ramp output of an oscillator 30 is coupled to a positive input terminal of the modulating comparator 28. An output of the modulating comparator 28 is coupled as an input R of a flip-flop 32. A clock output of the oscillator 30 is coupled as an input S of the flip-flop 32. An output Q of the flip-flop 32 is coupled to a gate of the NMOS transistor SW2.
A signal from the full wave bridge rectifier 20 is applied to one of the inputs of the multiplier 22. The other input of the multiplier 22 is the output of the voltage error amplifier 24. The multiplier 22 is usually of a current input type which enables the multiplier 22 to have greater ground noise immunity.
The output of the multiplier 22 is a current which is the product of the reference current, the output of the voltage error amplifier 24 and a gain adjustment factor. This output current is applied to the resistor Ra. The voltage across the resistor Ra subtracts from the sensed voltage across the sense resistor Rs and is applied to the current error amplifier 26. Under closed loop control, the current error amplifier 26 will try to keep this voltage differential near the zero volt level. This forces the voltage produced by the return current flowing through the sense resistor Rs to be equal to the voltage across the resistor Ra.
The amplified current error signal output from the current error amplifier 26 is then applied to the negative input of the modulating comparator 28. The other input of the modulating comparator 28 is coupled to receive the ramp signal output from the oscillator 30. Pulse width modulation is obtained when the amplified error signal that sets up the trip point modulates up and down.
Thus, a current control loop modulates the duty cycle of the switch SW2 in order to force the input current to follow the waveform of the full wave rectified sinewave input voltage. The current control loop and the power delivery circuitry must have at least enough bandwidth to follow this waveform.
The above-described power factor correction circuit is a switching mode power converter. Like other switching mode converters, it too, may cause problems in a power distribution system such as large harmonic currents, excessive neutral current, hot spots in a transformer and voltage distortion. Thus, it is desirable to include a second power converter stage to reduce harmonic currents. For example, the output voltage formed by the power factor correction circuit illustrated in FIG. 5 can be utilized as the input voltage Vin of the pulse-width modulation stage illustrated in FIG. 1, thus, forming a combination PFC-PWM power converter.
A drawback to such a combination PFC-PWM power converter is that the switch SW1 in the pulse-width modulation stage and the switch SW2 in the power factor converter stage are both continuously switching at appropriate duty-cycles. Therefore, the PFC-PWM power converter is continuously drawing power. A load coupled to the receive the output voltage Vout1 from the pulse-width modulation stage, however, can require a relatively low current at various times, depending upon the requirements of the load. Therefore, what is needed is a switching regulator that is responsive to the power consumption requirements of the load in order to conserve energy.

Two-stage switching regulator having low power modes responsive to load power consumption


A recording and reproducing apparatus of the present invention includes a photo-detector having light receiving sections divided along the track direction of an optical disk. The apparatus also includes a wobble signal processing circuit for generating a wobbling polarity judging signal used in judging a wobbling polarity of a track being tracked by comparing phases of a first wobble signal detected from a difference signal of the outputs of the light receiving sections and a second wobble signal detected from a sum signal of the outputs of the light receiving signals. Consequently, whether the wobbled side wall of the track being tracked is the inner or outer radius of track can be judged in real time by a simple structure using one laser beam.

With a widespread use of a so-called multimedia technique in recent years, a huge volume of data including digital still images, motion pictures, etc. have been handled. Such a huge volume of data is stored in a recording medium of a large capacity, such as an optical disk, and reproduced as necessary by means of random access. The optical disk has a merit that it can provide random access and a higher recording density than that of a magnetic recording medium, such as a floppy disk.
Further, some kinds of optical disks, such as a magneto-optical disk, are erasable (overwritable) and used extensively as recording media in handling a huge volume of data including digital still images and motion pictures, etc.
Most of the magneto-optical disks are provided with pits and projections on its recording layer, which are referred to as grooves and lands and used as tracking guides.
The pits and projections are also used to create address information of the track beforehand. In other words, a carrier of a specific frequency is modulated by a cluster number or a sector number indicating a position on the recording medium, and the projection forming the grooves is wobbled in accordance with this modulation signal in advance, so that the shape (wobbled shape) of the side wall of the grooves thus formed indicates address information of the track.
In order to record an increased volume of data into the recording medium, such as an optical disk and a magneto-optical disk, data is recorded at a high density by, for example, giving a narrower track pitch and thereby increasing a linear density in the track direction.
The following will explain an example optical disk disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 259441/1997 (Japanese Official Gazette, Tokukaihei No. 9-259441, publishing date: Oct. 3, 1997) (hereinafter, referred to as Document 1) with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12.
As shown in FIG. 11, an optical disk 110 is provided with a wobbling groove G1 indicated by a broken line with both side walls being wobbled and thereby creating address information beforehand and a non-wobbled DC groove G2 indicated by a solid line, which are independent continuous spirals heading from the inner radius to the outer radius of the optical disk 110.
In other words, the optical disk 110 is provided with the wobbling groove G1 and DC groove G2 aligned alternately along the radius direction, and as shown in FIG. 12, information is recorded into lands L1 and L2 formed between the wobbling groove G1 and DC groove G2.
The wobbling groove G1 and DC groove G2 are aligned alternately per rotation, which means two-track pitch is secured between the adjacent wobbling grooves G1. This arrangement can suppress crosstalk (interference from the side wall of the other tracks) caused when reading the address information from the side wall of the wobbling groove G1.
In addition, because the wobbling groove G1 or DC groove G2 is provided between the adjacent lands L1 and L2, crosserase can be also suppressed. In this manner, a recording medium having a narrower track pitch and hence a higher recording density can be realized.
Incidentally, the address information of a particular track, for example, the address information of the lands L1 and L2 of FIG. 12 is formed as the shape of the wobbling groove G1 provided at the inner or outer radius of the lands L1 and L2. In other words, the land L1 at the inner radius of the wobbling groove G1 and the land L2 at the outer radius of the wobbling groove G1 share the address information.
Hence, when information is recorded/reproduced into/from the optical disk 110, it is necessary to conduct track area judgment (wobbling polarity judgment), by which whether the address information of an area being tracked is the one for a first track area (land L1) at the outer radius of the wobbling groove G1 or a second track area (land L2) at the inner radius of the wobbling groove G1 is judged.
In case that three laser beams (a main beam used in recording/reproducing data and two sub-beams used in detecting a tracking error) are used, the track area judgment is generally conducted by using reflection light of the two sub-beams. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, a main beam MB1 is irradiated at the center of the first track area (land L1), while a first sub-beam SB1 is irradiated at the center of the wobbling groove G1 at the inner radius of the land L1 and a second sub-beam SB2 is irradiated at the center of the DC groove G2, and a tracking error signal is detected by means of the DPP (Differential Push Pull) technique. Then, the track area judgment (wobbling polarity judgment) is conducted by comparing a wobble signal obtained from reflection light of the first sub-beam SB1 with a wobble signal obtained from reflection light of the second sub-beam SB2.
Here, as shown in FIG. 12, in case that the first sub-beam SB1 preceding the main beam MB1 is irradiated at the inner radius and the second sub-beam SB2 following the main beam MB1 is irradiated at the outer radius, if the wobble signal obtained from the first sub-beam SB1 is greater than the one obtained from the second sub-beam SB2, then it is judged that the wobbling groove G1 is at the inner radius of the disk in comparison with the main beam MB1, and therefore, the area being tracked is the first track area (land L1) at the outer radius of the wobbling groove G1.
However, this technique demands three laser beams, and has a problem that it can not be realized by using an optical pick-up emitting only one laser beam.
In addition, because the wobble signal obtained from the first sub-beam SB1 is compared with the one obtained from the second sub-beam SB2 in largeness, the positional relation among the first sub-beam SB1 and second sub-beam SB2 and the track has to be set precisely.
Further, when using three laser beams, the irradiation intensity of the first sub-beam SB1 and second sub-beam SB2 has to be set to approximately 10% of the irradiation intensity of the main beam MB1, so that the first sub-beam SB1 and second sub-beam SB2 will not erase recorded data when recording a signal. This lowers an S/N ratio of output signals obtained from the first sub-beam SB1 and second sub-beam SB2, thereby causing a problem that an error readily occurs in the track area judgment.
In order to solve this problem, Document 1 discloses a technique, by which the track area judgment is conducted not by using three laser beams but only one laser beam. For example, according to this publication, one laser beam is irradiated at the position to which the main beam MB1 is irradiated in FIG. 12, and, in the detecting optical system, reflection light of the main beam MB1 is detected by a photo-detector divided into two sections by a dividing line along the track direction. Then, the track area judgment is conducted by comparing a wobble signal detected from the inner half-round area with a wobble signal detected from the outer half-round area.
Also, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 40549/1998 (Japanese Official Gazette, Tokukaihei No. 10-40549, publishing date: Feb. 13, 1998) (hereinafter, referred to as Document 2) discloses a technique using only one laser beam, by which the track area judgment is conducted by comparing a wobble signal obtained when detracking a track toward the inner radius and a wobble signal obtained when detracking a track toward the outer radius.
However, the technique disclosed in Document 1 has a problem that a correspondence of the light receiving sections to a detection area inverts depending on whether the photo-detector is placed before or after a focal point of the detecting optical system.
In addition, because each apparatus is different from the others, a difference should be corrected by replacing wiring or changing switch setting, thereby causing a problematic increase in the manufacturing costs.
Further, given λ as a wavelength of a light source used for an optical head of the recording and reproducing apparatus, then the large-and-small relation of the wobble signals inverts depending on whether the depth of the groove of the recording medium is greater or smaller than λ/4. This problematically limits the depth of the groove of a used recording medium.
Also, according to the technique disclosed in Document 2, the track area judgment is conducted after the wobble signals are measured at least in two tracking states, which makes a real-time judgment impossible. Thus, in case that the first and second track areas are wobbled by the common address information, even if an unwanted track jump occurs, it can not be detected from the address information. Therefore, there rises a problem that when a signal is recorded, recorded data is broken, and when a signal is reproduced, data can not be reproduced continuously.

Recording medium with judging area for track area identification based on wobbling polarity


A system for neutralizing an explosive device concealed within an object by focusing a plurality of energies or fields including electromagnetic, electrostatic, magnetic, or acoustic toward the object thereby inducing detonation. A blast containment enclosure has means for focusing the energies or fields on the object, in a continuous fashion, to concentrate the energies at the contents of the object while protecting the surrounding by containment and/or redirection of a resulting explosion as well as feedback transducers for moderating the magnitude of the energies. A method for the neutralization of contained explosive devices is also provided.

The present system relates to a system for detecting explosives concealed in an object or container, such as luggage, by selective detonation of the concealed explosive with a focused energy source. There has been an increased interest in devices for detecting explosives in, for example, airline luggage. This interest has been accelerated by the terrorist activity marked by Sep. 11, 2001. Many of these devices employ various types of radiation, which is absorbed or emitted in the presence of an explosive substance or device to leave a "foot print" on a detector. This is the concept of, for example, X-Ray.
The threat is amplified when charges are used to disperse chemical and biological agents upon detonation. This method of dispersal not only injures personnel and destroys property in the blast zone, but disperses secondary biological or biochemical agents. Dispersal in this manner makes detection and cleanup very difficult and allows a small devise to radiate biochemically active matter through a wide area.
In order to be effective, the method of detection of the explosive threat to aviation, mails, or shipping requires detection techniques that are highly sensitive, specific, rapid and non-intrusive. In the case of biological and chemical agents it also requires containment. The problem with the previous detection methods for the scanning of luggage, baggage and other parcels for explosive material contained or concealed within their confines is the time and inaccuracy of the process. For example, approximately two million pieces of luggage are checked and/or carried onto aircraft daily by over seven hundred and fifty thousand passengers at over six hundred airports in this country alone. Many more billions of parcels move through the mails, transportation companies and the like. Many of these parcels are destined for sensitive destinations.
The problem, thus, becomes the screening of a large number of items in a way that is efficient and effective. Because of the sheer number, screening all parcels is impractical, but those that have the potential of doing substantial harm can be isolated. Nevertheless, a secure, cost and time efficient system that has a very high probability of success is required.
Thus, the desired system to scan the luggage and parcels to detect the presence of any explosive material is not easily achieved. Prior art detection devices which "scan" the investigated object, like X-Ray, are the most common. This method relies on a trained operator to visually inspect the X-Ray image to determine the presence of explosives. The problem with this system is obvious. While guns and knives lend themselves to this type of detection, explosives such as C-4, hidden in, for example, soap, do not.
Another method of detection involves a radiated system for the detection of nitrogen, which is generally present in the explosive materials to be detected. The object under observation is positioned within a cavity structure and subjected to a bombardment of thermal neutrons. The thermal neutrons interact with any nitrogen contained in the object to induce the emission of gamma rays at an energy level characteristic of the nitrogen element. In general, prior art systems have not met the desired characteristics of having a high probability of detection with a low probability of false alarms at acceptable throughput rates.
A nuclear detection technique can provide for the detection of the nitrogen content to reliably indicate the presence of large nitrogen content. However, the frequent occurrence of nitrogen in non-explosive materials limits the level of detection sensitivity and merely detecting the presence or absence of nitrogen alone is not sufficient. Therefore, additional information is required beyond simply sensing the presence of the nitrogen. This vastly complicates such systems and increases the probability of false positives.
Although the efficient detection of nitrogen may be viable, to be effective, the detection of nitrogen must be able to give the maximum information of the physical parameters of the explosive, such as density and spatial distribution. The use of nuclear based techniques which subject the luggage or parcels to thermal neutrons has not, to-date, been effective in providing this information. It is important that the intensity, energy and spatial distribution of the detected radiations from the object under observation be provided in such a way so as to help to determine the presence or absence of explosives, and this has not yet been accomplished. This leads to a high number of false positives.
In addition to the nuclear based systems described above, non-nuclear systems have also been investigated. These systems have achieved relatively high efficiencies of detection, but generally have relatively high false alarm rates and have long screening times. These types of non-nuclear systems, therefore, by themselves cannot achieve the desired results. It is possible to combine a non-nuclear system with a nuclear system, but the effectiveness does not improve.
Other types of prior art explosive detection systems depend upon the prior seeding of explosive materials with a tracer material, such as a radioactive tracer. Although this type of system could be very useful if all explosive material were manufactured with such tracer material, because of the large amount of explosive material which has already been manufactured and because of the difficulty of controlling the manufacture of all explosive material so that they contain such tracer material, this type of system is not practical.
Ideally, a detection system must be able to detect the presence of explosive material of a conventional type and of an unconventional type, whether disposed within an object either in its original manufactured form, or if deployed within the object so as to attempt to confuse or evade the detection system. The prior art systems have not met these various criteria and cannot produce the desired high probability of detection with the relatively low production of false alarms.
In addition to high detection sensitivity and low false alarm, the detection of the explosive should be independent of the specific configuration and must be non-intrusive in order to protect privacy. The detection equipment, of course, must be non-hazardous to the contents of the checked items and to the operating personnel and environment. Other more general criteria are that the system must be reliable, easily maintained and operable by relatively unskilled personnel and that the cost must be low enough so as to be non-burdensome to airlines and airports. Finally, it is desirable, when all other requirements achieved that the size of the system be relatively small so that the system may be useful in a wide variety of environments.
Explosives, as a general rule, are by their very nature unstable compounds. Most are nitro-derivatives, which are set off by exciting molecules within the substance causing a chain, non-nuclear, chemical, exothermic reaction. Because of the fragile structure of an airplane, it does not take a substantial amount of an explosive material, properly placed, to destroy the aerodynamic characteristics of the plane. As set forth above, the prior art detection devices, which use, for example, X-Ray, Gamma-Ray, and the like, may be adequate for detecting naked explosive substances, they have been found inadequate where these substances are incased in materials such as soap, or the like, and then packed in large cases amongst other personal items, such as clothing. Thus, the only fool proof way of detecting the presence of these explosives is to detonate them prior to placing the case, or other object, onboard, for example, an airplane.
It is well known that explosives are substantially less stable than other compositions or compounds normally found within a container such as a parcel, baggage, brief case, or the like. Although, this is generally true, many explosives, such as C-4, are relatively immune to, for example, shock, pressure, and the like. However, these explosives require some sort of a detonator to trigger or activate the main charge. Thus, while particular explosive may not be sensitive to shock or heat, they do require a detonator which is much more sensitive to these conditions. Therefore, a bomb, charge, or explosive, designed to be detonated at a particular time or location, such as in a flying airplane, requires a detonator or triggering device to initiate the detonation of the primary charge. Therefore, an acceptable detection system need only provide sufficient energy to trigger the detonator.
Unfortunately, most prior art detonation systems do not focus the detonation energy on the container so that the least amount of energy can be effective in reaching the critical criteria in the shortest amount of time. Because of the myriad of parcel shapes and sizes, most inspection chambers do not provide for an intensity of directed energy. This failure requires long exposure times and/or a failed detonation of the contained explosive.
It would, therefore, be desirous to have a system for detection of explosives within a container which employs a minimum amount of examination time, and assures the greatest probability of focusing an effective amount of detonating energy on the contained explosive, irrespective of the nature, shape or composition of the explosive. It would also be desirous to have a secure system which would not only contain the ensuing blast, but neutralize or contain dispersed chemical or biochemical agents.
It will be realized that the foregoing discussion and examples of the related art and the scope of the illustrations related thereto are set forth as background only. Their intent is to be exemplary and illustrative of problems related to the art, as well as prior attempts to address these problems at least in part. They are not, nor are they intended to be exclusive or exhaustive. Nor are they intended, in any manner, to be read as a limitation of the instant disclosure or the appended claims.

System for neutralizing a concealed explosive within a container


A method for treating corneal endothelial wounds comprises administering TGF-.alpha. to the region of the wound in an amount sufficient to promote the healing of endothelial cells.. TGF-.alpha. advantageously is administered into the anterior chamber during ophthalmic surgical procedures, such as during intra-ocular lens implantation. The TGF-.alpha. preferably is administered as an active ingredient in an ophthalmological viscoelastic composition which improves the residence time of the growth factor in the anterior chamber.

The cornea is made of a series of layers. In humans, the anterior layer, known as the epithelium, serves the function of maintaining the integrity of the cornea. Components of epithelial cells regulate the transport of fluids and electrolytes through lamellae of the stroma, which is separated from the epithelium by a thin layer known as the Bowman's membrane. Beneath the stroma is another layer, Descemet's membrane, which separates the stroma from the endothelium, a thin layer of cells forming the posterior surface of the cornea.
Between the endothelial layer of the cornea and the lens of the eye is the anterior chamber. The anterior chamber contains fluid, known as the aqueous humor, which is produced by the eye.
The cornea and lens of the eye can be subject to trauma as a result of disease, injury to, or surgery on the eye. Given the delicate nature of the eye, it is important to have the rate of healing from such traumas be as rapid as possible and to minimize undesirable effects associated with natural wound-healing processes, such as scarring and contraction of healed tissues. Such effects can interfere with visual function.
One of the dangers of any trauma to the eye is damage to the endothelium. Endothelial cells in adults mitose only rarely, and the population of endothelial cells generally decreases with age; thus, it is important that damage to these cells be minimized and healing be enhanced.
There have been a number of advances in ophthalmic surgery in recent years which have provided great benefits but which also have increased the risk of damage to or destruction of endothelial cells during the surgical procedures. For example, intraocular lens (IOL) implantation and corneal transplantation can result in damage to endothelial cells. The risk to the cells can be great, for simply having the cells come into contact with, for example, surgical instruments, can result in what is known as a "touch injury."
A number of efforts have been made to find ways to protect endothelial cells during or following surgical procedures. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,446, issued to DeVore et al. (1987), describes injecting viscoelastic collagen solutions into the anterior chamber of the eye to maintain anterior chamber depth during surgery. If the depth of the chamber cannot be maintained, the cornea can collapse toward the lens, increasing the risk that the endothelium will suffer a touch injury. The viscoelastic materials help to protect cell surfaces from mechanical trauma and create space by keeping adjacent but not adherent tissue surfaces separated during surgical procedures. The use of other viscoelastic compositions also have been described. See, for example, Pape, L. G. et al., Am. Acad. Ophthal., 87(7):699 (1980), which describes the use of viscoelastic compositions of hyaluronic acid in a variety of anterior segment surgical procedures.
Although the viscoelastic compositions described in these and other references have proven to be useful, further methods are desired to help protect endothelial cells and enhance wound healing.

Method for treating corneal endothelial wounds


A mobile object control system includes a mobile object body, a distance measurement unit provided in the mobile object body to measure a distance between the mobile object body and an object present in front of the mobile object body with infrared rays, a movement control unit controlling the movement of the mobile object body based on a measurement result obtained by the distance measurement unit and moving path information, a moving direction limit information storage unit storing moving direction limit information as information on limiting a moving direction of the mobile object body, and a moving path information generation unit generating the moving path information based on the moving direction limit information. The moving direction limit information is information on limiting the moving direction in which a predetermined amount or more of infrared rays emitted from an external light source are radiated onto the mobile object body.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a mobile object control system, a mobile object control method, and a non-transitory recording medium.
2. Description of Related Art
As this kind of art, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-21774 (JP-2004-21774 A) discloses a mobile working robot that moves while measuring the distance between a host machine and an obstacle through the use of infrared rays. In some cases, this mobile working robot cannot accurately measure the distance between the host machine and the obstacle due to the influence of infrared rays emitted from an external light source. Thus, in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-21774 (JP-2004-21774 A), the mobile working robot is provided with illuminance measurement means for measuring the illuminance around the host machine. Then, the moving direction and running speed of the host machine are changed, or the host machine is stopped, in accordance with a measurement result of the illuminance around the host machine.
However, with the configuration of the aforementioned Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-21774 (JP-2004-21774 A), the technical significance of the act of changing the moving direction and running speed of the host machine or stopping the host machine in accordance with the measurement result of the illuminance around the host machine is unclear.

Mobile object control system, mobile object control method and non-transitory recording medium


The present invention relates to a method for controlling transmissions of a batteryless device (1) operating in a wireless network, the method comprising the following steps: the batteryless device (1) transmitting a frame including elements for controlling operation of a remote device (2a), or controlled device, the batteryless device being configured with a predetermined number of planned retransmissions of the control frame, the batteryless device sensing a change in the physical phenomenon induced by operation of the controlled device (2a), the batteryless device determining, based on the sensing step, the success or failure of the frame transmission, in case the transmission has succeeded, the batteryless device omitting further retransmissions of the control frame. The present invention also relates to a batteryless device carrying out such method.

Wireless control has recently become a ubiquitous trend in the field of communication, especially for building management systems. Wireless technologies present major advantages in terms of freedom of placement, portability, and installation cost reduction, since there is no need for drawing cables and drilling. Thus, such technologies are particularly attractive for interconnecting detection, automation, control or monitoring systems using sensor devices such as light switches, light dimmers, wireless remote controllers, movement or light detectors, that have to be set up far away from each other and from the devices they control, e.g. lights.
One of the drawbacks appearing in networks of the like relates to device powering. Indeed, since the devices are not wired, they cannot receive power necessary for performing all the operations required in the network from the mains or via the connection with the controller. Thus, it has been envisaged to equip such devices with built-in batteries. However, since the devices are quite size-constrained, batteries may not be of a large size, which results either in a reduced device lifetime, or in a labour intensive battery replacement. Moreover, used batteries result in toxic waste.
It has been suggested to remedy this issue by equipping sensor devices with self-sustained energy sources that harvest energy from their environment. Still, the amount of energy achievable by off-the-shelf energy harvesters is very limited, which means that the features and functions of the batteryless devices are heavily restricted. Since waiting for an acknowledgment message after a transmission is energy-costly, especially in the case where no acknowledgment is received and thus re-transmission of the original message is required, existing communication methods for energy-harvesting batteryless devices do not implement any acknowledgment process, but directly perform several retransmissions of the message in order to ensure reliability of the communication. This solution is effective in that it generally allows for a correct reception. However, the solution also has several drawbacks. First of all, in such an implementation where no acknowledgment message is expected, a batteryless device never listens to events occurring in the network it belongs to. Accordingly, in case of configuration changes, for example regarding communication channel, network identifier or address assignment, the batteryless device cannot receive any information, and thus cannot adapt its transmission parameters to the new configuration, rendering further transmissions unsuccessful. Especially the inability to adapt to channel changes is critical, since it will either force the device assigned to receive the communication from the batteryless device to operate on multiple channels, which is technically very challenging due to real-time requirements of several control applications, or force the user to re-commission the batteryless device, which is labour-intensive and thus not acceptable from the user point of view. Secondly, the number of retransmissions is fixed, and does not vary even if one of the first transmissions succeeds. Accordingly, such implementations involve wasting energy for useless transmissions; this energy could be more purposefully used.
Moreover, for energy-saving reasons, all re-transmissions are sent without the proper channel access mechanism CSMA/CA required for correct operation of the network, thus potentially resulting in packet collisions and thus corrupted communication for other devices, batteryless, on the proxy network, or on other surrounding networks using the same frequency band.

Method for controlling transmissions from a resource-restricted device, and batteryless device


Provided is an epitaxial silicon wafer free of epitaxial defects caused by dislocation clusters and COPs with reduced metal contamination achieved by higher gettering capability and a method of producing the epitaxial wafer. A method of producing an epitaxial silicon wafer includes a first step of irradiating a silicon wafer free of dislocation clusters and COPs with cluster ions to form a modifying layer formed from a constituent element of the cluster ions in a surface portion of the silicon wafer; and a second step of forming an epitaxial layer on the modifying layer of the silicon wafer.

Metal contamination is a major cause of deterioration in characteristics of a semiconductor device. For example, for a back-illuminated solid-state image sensing device, metal mixed into a semiconductor epitaxial wafer to be a substrate of the device causes increased dark current in the solid-state image sensing device, and results in formation of defects referred to as white spot defects. Recently, a back-illuminated image sensing device has been widely used for digital cameras and mobile phones such as smartphones because it can directly receive light from the outside, and take sharper images or motion pictures even in a dark place and the like due to the fact that a wiring layer and the like thereof are disposed at a lower layer than a sensor unit. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce white spot defects as much as possible.
Mixing of metal into a wafer mainly occurs in a process of producing a semiconductor epitaxial wafer and a process of producing a solid-state image sensing device (device fabrication process). Metal contamination in the former process of producing a semiconductor epitaxial wafer may be due to heavy metal particles from components of an epitaxial growth furnace, or heavy metal particles caused by metal corrosion of piping materials of the furnace due to chlorine-based gas used in epitaxial growth in the furnace. In recent years, such metal contaminations have been reduced to some extent by replacing components of epitaxial growth furnaces with highly corrosion resistant materials, but not to a sufficient extent. On the other hand, in the latter process of producing a solid-state image sensing device, heavy metal contamination of semiconductor substrates would occur in process steps such as ion implantation, diffusion, and oxidizing heat treatment in the producing process.
For these reasons, conventionally, heavy metal contamination of semiconductor epitaxial wafers has been avoided by forming, in the semiconductor wafer, a gettering sink for trapping the metal, or using a substrate, such as a high boron concentration substrate, having high ability to trap the metal (gettering capability).
In general, a gettering sink is formed in a semiconductor wafer by an intrinsic gettering (IG) method in which oxygen precipitates (commonly called a silicon oxide precipitate, and also called BMD: bulk micro defect) or dislocations that are crystal defects are formed within the semiconductor wafer, or an extrinsic gettering (EG) method in which the gettering sink is formed on the rear surface of the semiconductor wafer.
Here, a technique of forming gettering sites in a semiconductor wafer by ion implantation can be given as a technique for gettering heavy metal. JP 06-338507 A (PTL 1) discloses a producing method, by which carbon ions are implanted through a surface of a silicon wafer to form a carbon ion implanted region, and a silicon epitaxial layer is formed on its surface thereby obtaining a silicon epitaxial wafer. In that technique, the carbon ion implanted region functions as gettering sites.
Further, JP 2008-294245 A (PTL 2) discloses a method of forming a carbon implanted layer by implanting carbon ions into a silicon wafer, and then performing heat treatment using a rapid thermal annealing (RTA) apparatus for recovering the crystallinity of the wafer which has been disrupted by the ion implantation, thereby shortening the recovery heat treatment process.
Further, JP 2010-177233 A (PTL 3) discloses a method of producing an epitaxial wafer, comprising the steps of ion-implanting at least one of boron, carbon, aluminum, arsenic, and antimony at a dose in the range of 5×1014 atoms/cm2 to 1×1016 atoms/cm2 into a single crystal silicon ingot substrate; then cleaning the single crystal silicon ingot substrate subjected to the ion implantation, without recovery heat treatment; and then forming an epitaxial layer at a temperature of 1100° C. or more using a single wafer processing epitaxial apparatus.
In addition to such formation of a gettering sink, it is important to ensure high quality of a substrate per se of a semiconductor epitaxial wafer. In this respect, JP 11-147786 A (PTL 4) discloses a technique of producing a silicon single crystal wafer having extremely low defect density over the entire surface of the crystal by Czochralski process (CZ method).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method of producing epitaxial silicon wafer, epitaxial silicon wafer, and method of producing solid-state image sensing device


A method and apparatus adapted to utilize means for controlling a plurality of energy pulses to repetitively increase and decrease the temperature of a target tissue with a prescribed timing for each temperature change and specific peak temperature for each temperature change to provide selected necrosis of diseased cells.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method using a modified new form of hyperthermia for treating cancerous tumors and multi-site or diffuse cancers.
2. Description of Related Art
As is known in the art, the use of hyperthermia to treat tumors can be effective in causing necrosis of cancer cells by a process called coagulative necrosis. However this process exhibits very little selectivity since cancerous cells are only slightly more vulnerable than normal cells to hyperthermia. As a result, a conventional hyperthermia process is impractical where there are both normal and abnormal cells present.
It has been the object of known methods and apparatus using conventional sources of applied energy such as microwave energy, radio frequency energy (RF heating), magnetic heating, interstitial laser fiber heating and ultrasonic energy to precisely match the focus of the applied energy within the cancerous tumor. Such tumors are spatially confined and can be so targeted. This is considered very important in an attempt to minimize the destruction of nearby normal cells. A disadvantage of such methods and apparatus is that they will be ineffective in treating cancer cells which may have spread throughout an organ or into neighboring lymph nodes. In addition, such directed heat methods are of no use in treating diffuse or multi-site cancers in which the cancer cells are intermingled with normal cells that should not be destroyed or removed.

Apparatus and method for causing selective necrosis of abnormal cells


The image input unit comprises a pixel shift evaluation value and reliability calculating section that calculates a pixel shift evaluation value based on image data for a plurality of images photographed before and after an image sensing device is displaced for a predetermined amount. Moreover, a system controller judges whether pixel shift photography has been normally performed or not based on the pixel shift evaluation value, and displays the judgment result on a display.

With the development of solid-state image sensing devices, image input equipment such as small video cameras for household use, digital cameras for personal computers, etc., have rapidly become widespread. In the case of the video camera, sufficient image quality can be obtained from a standpoint of television standard such as NTSC. CCD is normally used as the image sensing device. However, the CCD reads two fields twice as one frame corresponding to the NTSC and PAL methods, and the majority thereof has an oblong pixel.
However, recently, the object is to display images picked-up using a digital still camera on a display of a personal computer or the like. As a result, a CCD that reads all the square pixels (i.e. the progressive scan type) have been used as the image sensing device.
Thus, now a days the images picked-up with the digital still camera are mostly edited using a personal computer and printed using a printer. However, if a large-sized image is to be obtained, or a resolution that is necessary as a hard copy or computer graphics or the like is to be obtained, then the number of pixels provided in the present day digital still camera are not sufficient. A solid-state image sensing device having a higher number of pixels becomes necessary in these purposes. However, a screen size of the solid-state image sensing device becomes larger if the resolution is increased. As the screen size becomes larger, the lens section has to be made larger so that a down-sizing of the digital still camera becomes difficult. Moreover, a cost of such the solid-state image sensing device increases and can it not be used in the low-cost widespread digital cameras.
As a method of realizing high quality by the solid-state image sensing device, a so-called method of "pixel shift photography" has been well known. The pixel shift photography is a method of obtaining a high resolution by combining an image photographed by shifting a subject by half of a pixel pitch and an image before such shifting to obtain one image. Typical examples of the conventional image shift mechanism are shown in FIG. 27A to FIG. 27C. FIG. 27A shows a CCD shift method. In this CCD shift method, the image sensing device is shifted to obtain images that are different from each other. FIG. 27B shows a LPF gradient method. In this LPF gradient method, a LPF is inclined to obtain images that are different from each other. FIG. 27C shows a lens shift method. In this lens shift method, a lens is shifted to obtain images that are different from each other.
A desired image quality may not be obtained in the pixel shift photography because of the events such as a movement of hands, a movement of the subject, or a change in a performance of the pixel shift mechanism. In each of these events, the degree of deterioration of the image differs depending on the degree thereof. If the deterioration of the image crosses a certain level, the image may become inferior as compared to an image obtained in ordinary photography. The ordinary photography is the one that does not apply the technique of the pixel shift photography.
The cause of the change in the performance of the pixel shift mechanism may as follows. That is, an amount of shift of the pixel shift mechanism may change slightly due to a lapse of time, or the amount of shift of the pixel shift mechanism may change temporarily due to a change in the atmospheric temperature, or the pixel shift mechanism may fail due to vibration or impact and whereby the normal operation cannot be performed. The pixel shift mechanism requires micro-level displacement at high accuracy in comparison to any other mechanical sections of the digital camera. Therefore, the pixel shift mechanism is likely to be affected readily by the lapse of time, change in the temperature, and the influence of vibrations and impact. Thus, it is very likely that the pixel shift mechanism becomes defective permanently or temporarily.
For example, there is a case where a chemical reaction of curing progresses slightly even in a cured state of an adhesive, which would be judged as "being sufficiently cured" for normal use, and this slight difference will largely affect the pixel shift. Moreover, a slight change in rigidity of a structure due to temperature, a slight change in a coefficient of friction due to a change with the lapse of time, and a minute shift of a contact point of a structure due to an impact may cause a serious problem in the pixel shift, though these may be considered only as an error in a normal mechanism.
Moreover, if each of the movement of hands, the movement of the subject, or the change in the performance of the pixel shift mechanism is slight, although a higher quality can be obtained, the image quality is not near to the desired one. Deterioration of the quality of the images herein means a deterioration of resolution, an increase of blurred color, or the like.
FIG. 28A to FIG. 28C are diagrams for explaining the principle of pixel shift and image deterioration. A CCD having the Bayor array is taken as an example. As shown in FIG. 28A, in normal photographing, R, G and B signals of the CCD are interpolated to obtain R, G and B signals for each pixel. FIG. 28B shows an ideal state when the pixel shift photography (a shift by one pixel in the longitudinal direction) is performed. In the case of this pixel shift photography, an image having a high resolution can be obtained, and interpolation is not required. On the other hand, FIG. 28C shows a state when an accuracy of the pixel shift photography (a shift by one pixel in the longitudinal direction) is insufficient. In the case shown in FIG. 28C, the resolution of the image is deteriorated, and blurred color occurs.
A further problem is that a type of a LCD monitor normally mounted on a digital camera has a small number of displayed pixels. Therefore, even if there is a deterioration in the image quality, it can not be detected. In most cases, the deterioration in the image quality is recognized only after the image is transferred to a personal computer. Thus, failure of the pixel shift photography cannot be judged only with a digital camera (i.e., for example, the personal computer is required).

Method of and unit for inputting an image, and computer product