The security information mediation apparatus comprises security information registering unit which registers security information supplied by a client of a user, a transfer unit which transfers the security information registered in the security information registering unit to a client of a program developer. This client judges the usefulness of the security information and outputs reply information when the  security information is useful. A reply information registering unit receives the reply information and payment information that indicates payment of the information presentation fee of the corresponding security information from the developer client. A transfer unit transfers the reply information and payment information to the client of the user.

Recently, information exchange and information disclosure about security information of computer programs are operated on a global scale through the Internet, by CERT, other volunteer organizations, and private enterprises. Herein, the security information refers to the information about security hole which may cause security measure problems due to design errors and bugs of computer programs.
At the present, however, a good-willed user discovering a security hole may be mistaken for a perilous hacker, or may be involved in troubles with computer program developer, and the present environment is far from safe for exchanging and disclosing security information openly by anyone. This is contrary to the stream of open system represented by the Internet, and may impede development of computer programs commonly shared by the mankind. In such background, means and methods for solving these problems effectively have been desired.
The computer program developer attempts to wipe out design errors, bugs and other security holes thoroughly in the test stage, and present a sound computer program to users. Actually, however, it is extremely difficult to discover all security holes in the test stage, and users often finds security holes not detected by the developer only after starting to use the computer program.
Users finding security holes may present detailed information about security holes as security information, either directly to the developer, or at the security information site on the Internet. In such a case, the developer, when judging that the presented security information is useful, takes measures by presenting a patch program for correction or the security information to the users.
In the existing environment, the security information is presented from users to the developer, either directly or through the security information site on the Internet. Hitherto, however, good-willed users presenting the security information are often accused as perilous hackers, or involved in troubles with the developer not willing to disclose the presence of security holes.
Therefore, in the present situation, users having useful security information often hesitate to present the security information in order to avoid such accusation and troubles. Such environment impedes improvement of quality of computer program, and is not beneficial for both developers and users.
For the developers, on the other hand, it is difficult to collect security information dispersed on the Internet efficiently, and it may take tremendous labor and cost to sort out only useful information from the security information varied very much in quality. It has been attempted to classify the dispersed security information, but successful results are not obtained. At last, the developer are forced to follow the conventional technique of collecting massive amount of security information and sorting out useful information only.
The invention is devised in the light of such background, and it is hence an object thereof to present a security information mediation apparatus capable of organizing an environment easy for users to present security information, and allowing the developers to collect useful security information at low cost, and its security information mediation method, and a computer-readable recording medium recording a security information mediation program.

Method and apparatus for mediation of security information, and a computer product


A flat display panel includes a first substrate, a second substrate opposite to the first substrate, a sealant disposed between the first and second substrates. The sealant, the edge of the inner surface of the first substrate, and the edge of the inner surface of the second substrate form a space, and the flat display panel further includes a protection layer disposed inside the space so as to reinforce the structural strength of the flat display panel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flat display panel, and more particularly, to a flat display panel having a strength enhancing structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A flat display panel, such as a liquid crystal display panel, substantially consists of two transparent glass substrates, control devices formed on one of the substrates, filters formed on another substrate, and liquid crystals filling gaps between the two substrates. During the process of manufacturing the flat display panel, a thinning process is performed on the flat display panel after the two glass substrates are assembled, so the thickness of the flat display panel can be reduced to a predetermined value. Generally speaking, the surfaces of the glass substrates are etched in whole by an etching process for thinning the entire glass substrates. However, the etching process frequently leads to undesired dimples on the surfaces of the glass substrates, and both numbers and sizes of the dimples increase with the etching depth. In addition, defects such as scratches or cracks are unavoidably formed on surfaces of the glass substrates during procedures of the manufacturing process.
Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a schematic diagram illustrating defects of the conventional flat display panel. As shown in FIG. 1, after the conventional flat display panel 10 is fabricated, defects such as dimples 12, scratches 14 and cracks 16 occur during the thinning process, cutting process, transmission, and so on. The entire structural strength of the flat display panel 10 is reduced due to the defects, so the formed flat display panel 10 often fails in the subsequently bending test, squeeze test, or pull test. As a result, the yield of the flat display panels is undesirably affected.

Flat display panel having strength enhancing structure


A method is used in managing security and wireless signal detection. Information is gathered about analog signal reception at a receiver. Based on the information, a result is produced for use in determining location information at the receiver. The result is used to affect a security decision.

Computer networks, and in particular Wide Area Networks (WANs) such as the Internet, provide opportunities for the misuse and abuse of communications traveling thereover. For example, two users (e.g., a human user and an enterprise server) communicating via the WAN may have their communications intercepted and/or altered. Also, it is possible for one user to misrepresent his, her, or its identity to another user.
Thus, there is a need for both privacy and authentication between users of the network communicating with one another. In other words, users should be able to rely on the fact that their transmissions will not be intercepted or altered, and that transmissions from someone purporting to be a particular user do in fact originate from that user.
In many secure communication applications, a seed is required in order to perform certain cryptographic operations such as encryption, decryption, authentication, etc. The seed may comprise, by way of example, a symmetric key or other secret shared by two or more entities.
One such application is in authentication tokens, such as the RSA SecurID® authentication token commercially available from RSA, The Security Division of EMC, of Bedford, Mass., U.S.A. The RSA SecurID® authentication token is used to provide two-factor authentication. As used herein token generator and OTP generator may be used interchangeably. Authorized users are issued individually-registered tokens that generate one time passcodes (OTPs), which change based upon any of a variety of algorithms including, but not limited to, a time code algorithm. (Other algorithms include counter-based and challenge-response.) OTPs may be used for various forms of authentication such as user, machine, transaction and message authentication. For example, a different OTP may be generated every 60 seconds. In a given two-factor authentication session, the user is required to enter a personal identification number (PIN) plus the current OTP from his or her authentication token. This information is supplied to an OTP validation entity. The OTP validation entity may be a server or other processing device equipped with RSA Authentication Manager® software, available from RSA, The Security Division of EMC. The PIN and current OTP may be transmitted to the OTP validation entity via an encryption agent equipped with RSA Authentication Agent® software, also available from RSA, The Security Division of EMC. If the PIN and current OTP are determined to be valid, the user is granted access appropriate to his or her authorization level. Thus, the OTPs are like temporary passwords that cannot be guessed by an attacker, with other than a negligible probability.
A given RSA SecurID® token typically contains one or more seeds that are utilized in computing the token outputs. The OTP validation entity performing the verification of the token outputs requires access to one or more seeds associated with the token in question. Typically, such authentication entities have access to the same seed or set of seeds that the token uses to generate its output.
Market adoption of wireless technology has exploded, as users from a wide range of backgrounds and vertical industries have brought this technology into their homes, offices, and increasingly into the public air space.
The rapid proliferation of lightweight, portable devices has enabled users to remain connected to various wireless sources, while roaming throughout a building or other physical location. The mobility afforded by wireless sources has generated a lot of interest in applications and services that are a function of a mobile user's physical location. Examples of such applications include: locating a mobile user and displaying a map of the immediate surroundings.
The use of radio signals to estimate the location of a wireless device or node is known. For example, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver obtains location information by triangulating its position relative to four satellites that transmit radio signals. The GPS receiver estimates the distance between each satellite based on the time it takes for the radio signals to travel from the satellite to the receiver (i.e., Time Difference Of Arrival (TDOA) calculations). Signal propagation time is assessed by determining the time shift required to synchronize the pseudo-random signal transmitted by the satellite and the signal received at the GPS receiver. Although triangulation only requires distance measurements from three points, at least one additional distance measurement from at least one additional satellite is used for error correction.
The distance between a wireless transmitter and a receiver can also be estimated based on the strength of the received signal, or more accurately the observed attenuation of the radio signal. Signal attenuation refers to the weakening of a signal over its path of travel due to various factors like terrain, obstructions and environmental conditions. Generally speaking, the magnitude or power of a radio signal weakens as it travels from its source. The attenuation undergone by an electromagnetic wave in transit between a transmitter and a receiver is referred to as path loss. Path loss may be due to many effects such as free-space loss, refraction, reflection, and absorption.
In some environments, location-tracking systems may be based on RF triangulation or RF fingerprinting techniques, or on cell tower triangulation. RF triangulation calculates a mobile station's location based upon the detected signal strength of nearby access points (APs). It assumes that signal strength is a factor of proximity, which is true in certain RF environments. However, the multipath phenomenon encountered in indoor RF environments, which include walls, windows, and other RF obstructions, does present certain difficulties for location systems using triangulation, since reflection and absorption of RF signals affects the correlation between signal strength and proximity. RF fingerprinting compares a mobile station's, or access point's, view of the RF environment (i.e., the strength of signals transmitted by the infrastructure access points, or the mobile station) with a database that contains an RF physical model of the coverage area.
With the development of integrated circuits (IC), both AM and FM radio circuits have been integrated into one chip. Conventional radio chips with a frequency scan function implement a frequency-lock-loop in a manner to achieve only a forward (i.e., band-up) electronic tuning function. Such a scan function drives the radio chip, starting at its presently tuned frequency, to a higher frequency by increasing the radio's intermediate frequency. The scan function stops at the next higher transmitting station frequency that is detected and received by the IC radio.
There are IC FM radios having the forward (band-up) scan function available in the marketplace. Known FM radio chips include the TDA7088T, manufactured by Philips Semiconductors (The Netherlands), and the SC1088, manufactured by Hangzhou Silan Microelectronics Joint-Stock Co., Ltd. (Taiwan). The SC1088 and TDA7088T are each bipolar technology integrated circuits used for mono-channel portable radios. Each circuit comprises a frequency-lock-loop (FLL) system having an intermediate frequency of about 70 KHz. Selectivity is obtained from an active RC filter. For both these IC FM radios, electrical tuning is realized by a uni-directional (band-up) tuning function. The scanning circuit fast tunes the receiver and results in a very small waiting time for the radio to find the next higher occupied frequency.

Managing security and wireless signal detection


This invention provides methods for practical enzymatic conversion of GDP-mannose to GDP-fucose. These methods are useful for efficient synthesis of reactants used in the synthesis of fucosylated oligosaccharides.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the synthesis of oligosaccharides. In particular, it relates to improved enzymatic synthesis of GDP-fucose, which can be used in fucosylation reactions. The methods make possible the synthesis of complex fucosylated oligosaccharides in a single vessel using readily available starting materials.
2. Background
Increased understanding of the role of carbohydrates as recognition elements on the surface of cells has led to increased interest in the production of carbohydrate molecules of defined structure. For instance, compounds comprising the sialyl Lewis ligands, sialyl Lewisx and sialyl Lewisa are present in leukocyte and non-leukocyte cell lines that bind to receptors such as the ELAM-1 and GMP 140 receptors. Polley et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA, 88: 6224 (1991) and Phillips et al., Science, 250: 1130 (1990), see, also, U.S. Ser. No. 08/063,181.
Because of interest in making desired carbohydrate structures, glycosyltransferases and their role in enzyme-catalyzed synthesis of carbohydrates are presently being extensively studied. These enzymes exhibit high specificity and are useful in forming carbohydrate structures of defined sequence. Consequently, glycosyltransferases are increasingly used as enzymatic catalysts in synthesis of a number of carbohydrates used for therapeutic and other purposes.
In the application of enzymes to the field of synthetic carbohydrate chemistry, the use of glycosyltransferases for enzymatic synthesis of carbohydrate offers advantages over chemical methods due to the virtually complete stereoselectivity and linkage specificity offered by the enzymes (Ito et al., Pure Appl. Chem., 65:753 (1993); and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,352,670, and 5,374,541). However, the commercial-scale production of carbohydrate compounds is often complicated by the cost and difficulty in obtaining reactants that are used in the enzymatic and chemical synthesis of the carbohydrates.
Improved methods for enzymatic synthesis of carbohydrate compounds, and precursors used in these syntheses, would advance the production of a number of beneficial compounds. The present invention fulfills these and other needs.
The present invention provides methods, expression vectors, and reaction mixtures that are useful for the efficient production of fucosylated oligosaccharides. The invention provides ways by which nucleotide sugars such as GDP-fucose can be formed relatively inexpensively.
In a first embodiment, the invention provides expression vectors that include a promoter operably linked to a nucleic acid that encodes a prokaryotic enzyme that has both an epimerase and a reductase activity. These two activities catalyze the conversion of GDP-4-keto-6-deoxymannose to GDP-fucose.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a reaction mixture for synthesizing GDP-fucose. The reaction mixture includes GDP-4-keto-6-deoxymannose, NADPH, and a prokaryotic enzyme that has both an epimerase and a reductase activity. The prokaryotic enzyme can catalyze the conversion of GDP-4-keto-6-deoxymannose to GDP-fucose. In a presently preferred embodiment, the GDP-4-keto-6-deoxymannose is formed by: a) providing a reaction mixture that comprises GDP-mannose, GDP-mannose-4,6-dehydratase, and NADP+; and b) incubating the reaction mixture for a sufficient time to convert at least about 90% of the GDP-mannose to GDP-4-keto-6-deoxymannose.
Another embodiment of the invention provides methods for the enzymatic conversion of GDP-mannose to GDP-fucose. These methods involve:
a) providing a reaction mixture that comprises GDP-mannose, GDP-mannose 4,6-dehydratase, and NADP+:
b) incubating the reaction mixture for a sufficient time to convert at least about 90% of the GDP-mannose to GDP-4-keto-6-deoxymannose;
c) adding to the reaction mixture one or more polypeptides having GDP-4-keto-6-deoxymannose 3,5-epimerase and GDP-4-keto-6-galactose reductase activities; and
d) incubating the reaction mixture for a sufficient time to convert the GDP-4-keto-6-deoxymannose to GDP-fucose.
Also provided are methods for enzymatic synthesis of a fucosylated oligosaccharide. These methods involve transferring a fucose from the GDP-fucose produced by the methods of the invention to an acceptor saccharide. This can be accomplished by the following additional steps: e) adding a fucosyltransferase and the acceptor saccharide to the GDP-4-keto-6-deoxymannose produced in step b) or to the GDP-fucose produced in step d); and f) incubating a reaction mixture for a sufficient time to transfer the fucose from the GDP-fucose to the acceptor saccharide.
Additional embodiments provide methods by which one can generate GDP-fucose starting from mannose. These methods involve the use of an enzymatic system for converting mannose into GDP-mannose, which is then converted to GDP-fucose using the above methods. The conversion of mannose to GDP-mannose involves the following enzymes: hexokinase, which converts mannose to mannose-6-phosphate; phosphomannomutase, which converts the mannose-6-phosphate to mannose-1-phosphate; and GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylase, which converts the mannose-1-phosphate to GDP-mannose.
Also provided by the invention are methods for the synthesis of a fucosylated oligosaccharide in which efficiency-enhancing steps are used. The methods involve contacting an acceptor saccharide with a fucosylation reaction mixture that comprises GDP-fucose and a fucosyltransferase which transfers fucose from the GDP-fucose to provide said fucosylated oligosaccharide, wherein the efficiency of said fucosylation is enhanced by one or more efficiency-enhancing steps selected from the group consisting of:
1) forming said GDP-fucose by enzymatic conversion of GDP-mannose to GDP-fucose by:
a) providing a reaction mixture that comprises GDP-mannose, GDP-mannose 4,6-dehydratase, and NADP+:
b) incubating the reaction mixture for a sufficient time to convert at least about 90% of the GDP-mannose to GDP-4-keto-6-deoxymannose;
c) adding to the product of step b) one or more polypeptides having GDP-4-keto-6-deoxymannose 3,5-epimerase and GDP-4-keto-6-galactose reductase activities; and
d) incubating the reaction mixture for a sufficient time to convert the GDP-4-keto-6-deoxymannose to GDP-fucose;
2) adding pyruvate kinase and a substrate for the pyruvate kinase to the fucosylation reaction mixture, wherein GDP produced as a result of the transfer of fucose from the GDP-fucose is converted to GTP; and
3) conducting the fucosylation in a reaction medium that comprises a soluble divalent metal cation, wherein said medium is supplemented with said soluble divalent metal cation to maintain the concentration of said divalent metal cation between about 2 mM and about 75 mM.

Enzymatic conversion of GDP-mannose to GDP-fucose


There is described a method for monitoring the load condition of a variable speed engine. Said method shows a determination of an actual speed and an actual load moment during operation. A warning signal is emitted when the actual load moment remains outside a monitoring range, predetermined depending on the speed, for the duration of a predetermined delayed reaction time.

As a rule, a variable speed engine operates against a mechanical load moment, which varies with a speed, which is determined in particular by a function of the speed of the engine. At present, such an engine generally features a comparator, which sets off a warning when the load moment of an engine exceeds a warning limit value. When the load moment of an engine for example increases quadratically with the speed, then at high speed correspondingly high load moments occur, according to which the warning limit value must be adjusted. As a consequence, in the case of a comparatively low speed of an engine, a considerable deviation from the load moment is often not detected because the load moment does not exceed the warning limit value that has been set for high speeds.

Method for monitoring the load condition of an engine and corresponding device


There is disclosed a method, and the apparatus useful in the method, for the treatment of water in which the treatment unit is formed of a vessel having a treatment chamber with interior surfaces formed entirely of a nonferrous metal, preferably of copper and/or brass. Within the treatment chamber is suspended an electrode subassembly of copper cathodes and a sacrificial magnesium anode, formed of copper and magnesium plates which are oriented in substantially parallel array, spaced apart by a plurality of electrically conductive spacing elements.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for treatment of water and, in particular, to an improved method and apparatus for treatment of water with an electrolytic cell having a sacrificial magnesium anode.
1. Brief Statement of the Prior Art
The chemical treatment of water which contains calcium and magnesium carbonates and bicarbonates, commonly referred as hardness, is widely practiced to reduce scaling and corrosion of the water handling equipment. While it has been known for some time that water can be treated by passing the water over an electrolytic cell formed of a sacrificial magnesium anode and a copper cathode, the treatment has been met with limited success. U.S. Pat. No. 3,342,712, discloses an early attempt to develop an efficient method and apparatus for this treatment. In my prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,739, I have disclosed an improved method and apparatus for treatment of water with a magnesium and copper electrolytic cell having electrode assemblies of magnesium and copper plates separated by thin spacers, in an attempt to provide extended electrode surfaces which would resist polarization. In such apparatus, the electrolytic cell has been suspended or mounted within a mild or stainless steel treatment vessel.
The treatment of water with magnesium invariably has resulted in the formation of soft, flocculent precipitates of calcium. These precipitates are non-adhesive and typically have accumulated within the vessel housing the electrolytic cell, requiring frequent, usually monthly, cleaning and backflushing with water to remove the precipitates. During the monthly servicing, the electrode assembly has also been replaced to clean polarizing coatings from the electrode surfaces.
As disclosed in my aforementioned patent, the electrolytic cell is formed of alternating magnesium and copper plates which are assembled by a fastener such as a brass bolt which is passed through aligned holes in the plates, using brass washers interspaced between the plates to maintain the plates in a spaced apart parallel array. During the monthly cleaning and repair of the electrolytic cells assembled in this fashion, many of the magnesium anodes required replacement because of abnormal enlargement of the holes in the plates. This prevented efficient utilization of the sacrificial magnesium anodes. Further, the magnesium consumption in these electrolytic cells was quite substantial; a typical single household installation consuming about one pound of magnesium per month.

Method and apparatus for treatment of water


A method for determining whether an acknowledgement received by a user equipment from an external device is a forced acknowledgement. The method including transmitting a set of data stored in an uplink buffer to an external device, receiving an acknowledgement from the external device, determining if the acknowledgement received from the external device was a forced acknowledgement and flushing out an uplink buffer if determined that the acknowledgement was not a forced acknowledgement. The determining the acknowledgement is a forced acknowledgment being based on whether an uplink retransmission collides with one or more scheduled transmission times, a Physical Hybrid-ARQ Indicator Channel (PHICH) falls between gap measurements and an uplink retransmission collides with one of the gap measurements or a TTI bundling retransmission collides with a gap measurement. If the acknowledgement is not a forced acknowledgment, a set of data stored in the uplink buffer is retransmitted to the external device.

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various communication services, such as: voice, video, packet data, circuit-switched info, broadcast, messaging services, and so on. A typical wireless communication system, or network, can provide multiple users access to one or more shared resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). These systems can be multiple-access systems that are capable of supporting communication for multiple terminals by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple-access systems include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, and so on.
In LTE, any data transmission requires that the smartphone is in 'high power' Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state. With all data applications there are often short moments when no data is sent or received and during those moments connected state discontinuous reception (DRX) can save energy. Connected state DRX (C-DRX) cyclically wakes up and shuts down the receiver circuits in order to save energy.
In LTE, C-DRX allows the user equipment (UE) to periodically sleep and not continuously decode the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). Similarly, for VoLTE type of applications, the enhanced Node B (eNB) can allocate resources in a semi-persistent scheduling fashion (SPS). Those resources are available periodically and no additional signaling is required. This is particularly useful for applications such as voice.
In cellular systems and 3GPP, a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ), which is a combination of forward error coding (FEC) and retransmission mechanism, is used to obtain data communication reliability. As per current 3GPP specifications, in case of uplink (UL) HARQ, the UE needs to stay awake in order to monitor PHICH for all configured retransmissions. The HARQ is then breaking the C-DRX cycle/pattern of ON/OFF period of time, which is impacting the battery life of an UE.
In the current 3GPP standards, in the case where the UE receives an ACK in PHICH, the UE will keep the data in the HARQ buffer. The UE will flush the HARQ buffer only if the maximum number of transmissions has been reached (i.e., an ACK alone is not sufficient to flush the HARQ buffer). Even in the case of C-DRX, the UE has to monitor all the PDCCH opportunities for the number of HARQ transmissions that are configured (e.g., 4 or 5). Even in good conditions, after the UE receives an ACK, the UE is required to stay awake till all possible PDCCH opportunities corresponding to the potential HARQ transmission have been monitored which increases UE wake time and hence reduce the UE's battery life.
Therefore, there is a need for techniques to avoid staying awake when it is not necessary.

Method and apparatus for flushing uplink HARQ buffer in C-DRX mode


The present invention concerns a low nitrogen oxides generating combustion apparatus and a low nitrogen oxides generating combustion method. The apparatus and method of the present invention, the effect of self-induced exhaust gas recirculation can be obtained to the maximum extent, and the lower flame temperature and the lower oxygen concentration assure remarkably low NOx generation.

The regulations against the emission of NOx caused by combustion are intensified year after year, and very active scientific experimentation has been conducted to decrease NOx emissions. The NOx generated by combustion includes fuel NOx, prompt NOx and thermal NOx. Among these types of NOx, thermal NOx is produced as the nitrogen molecules in combustion air are oxidized in a high temperature atmosphere, and is highly dependent on temperature. At higher combustion temperatures, NOx production increases sharply. Thermal NOx is produced without fail if the combustion gas contains nitrogen molecules, and especially when a hydrocarbon-based fuel is burned, the NOx emitted is mostly thermal NOx. A number of methods for decreasing NOx have been proposed, including multi-stage combustion methods, exhaust gas recirculation methods, lean combustion methods, etc., and it has also been proposed to combine these methods in many ways.
In multi-stage combustion methods, the fuel or combustion air is divided for combustion in two or more stages, which is intended to achieve low NOx combustion by keeping the flame temperature low, or by keeping the oxygen concentration low. The problem here is that the use of these multi-stage combustion methods necessitates the use of a complicated burner.
The exhaust gas recirculation methods are intended to lower the flame temperature or lower the oxygen concentration by mixing part of the combustion gas with the combustion air or fuel, and includes forced exhaust gas recirculation methods and self-induced exhaust gas recirculation methods.
The forced exhaust gas recirculation methods which use a recirculation duct and blower to forcibly mix part of the combustion gas with the combustion air or fuel are the most general methods used. In the self-induced exhaust gas recirculation methods, a specially devised burner is used to let combustion air flow or fuel flow encapture the combustion gas for mixing to achieve the effect of exhaust gas recirculation by the jet entrainment or encapturement. The self-induced exhaust gas recirculation methods have an advantage in that the effect of exhaust gas recirculation can be obtained without forcibly recirculating the combustion gas, and is free from the complication of the multi-stage combustion methods that the fuel or combustion air is divided into a plurality of lines.
A burner using a self-induced exhaust gas recirculation method is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 87-17506, and many other burners use the self-induced exhaust gas recirculation methods. However, these methods are limited in the capability to decrease NOx, and further technical development is necessary to meet the latest severe NOx regulations.
Combustion methods developed to maximize the advantage of self-induced exhaust gas recirculation are proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 89-300103 and 91-91601, and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 77-61545. These combustion methods are characterized in that combustion air flow and fuel flow are separately and independently injected into a furnace with a burner without any flame stabilizing mechanism, to maximize the effect of self-induced exhaust gas recirculation.
In this configuration, the flame is not stabilized in the burner, but is formed at a lifted position, and combustion begins after part of the combustion gas in the furnace has been sufficiently entrained or encaptured by the fuel flow or combustion air flow. In these combustion methods, the flame is a gentle diffusion flame, but since there is no flame stabilizing mechanism, stable ignition cannot be achieved without a high temperature. Therefore, even though the methods are suitable for high temperature furnaces such as heating furnaces and melting furnaces, they have problems in that the amount of unburned combustibles increases and a larger furnace must be used for perfect combustion, when they are applied to boilers and low temperature heating furnaces.
Another method for decreasing thermal NOx is to use a premixed flame. Premixed combustion at a high excess air ratio can significantly decrease NOx, but since excessive air increases in the combustion at a high excess air ratio, the efficiencies of combustion and heat transfer greatly decline. Furthermore, the premixed flame is poor in stability.
A method of decreasing thermal Nox by combining the premixed combustion with the effect of self-induced exhaust gas recirculation has been proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 91-175211. In this combustion method, a flame specially devised stabilizer is used, and part of the low temperature combustion gas is mixed with a premixture before the premixture initiates combustion, to lower the flame temperature, or to lower the oxygen concentration, for decreasing NOx. This combustion method and apparatus also has problems observed with other premixed type burners, such that an air-fuel mixer is necessary to generate a premixture for premixed combustion. Since a premixture within inflammable limits is used, the flame may go back into the burner or mixer.
Furthermore, there is a problem that since part of the combustion gas is mixed with an inflammable premixture, ignition occurs immediately after the mixing between the premixture and the combustion gas if the mixed combustion gas is high in temperature, barring the effect of self-induced exhaust gas recirculation. Therefore, the flame stabilizer must be specially devised to ensure that the premixture is not ignited when the premixture and part of the combustion gas are mixed.
As described above, self-induced exhaust gas recirculation methods have advantages in that the burner can be simple and low NOx combustion is possible, compared with other low NOx combustion methods such as multi-stage combustion methods and lean premixed combustion methods. In the combustion methods for decreasing thermal NOx by using self-induced exhaust gas recirculation, if the self-induced exhaust gas recirculation is used to the maximum extent for the diffusion flame, the operative temperature range in the furnace is limited, and the usable combustion equipment is also very limited. Moreover, the application of self-induced exhaust gas recirculation to the premixed flame has the problem of flame stability peculiar to the premixed combustion like the back combustion, and disadvantageously requires a more specifically devised flame stabilizer.

Low nitrogen oxides generating combustion method and apparatus


A programmable controller network system having station data for each of a number of remote stations set in a response frame of a test frame in an initial cycle. The station data is then sent in the initial cycle to the programmable controller and link data including the number of remote modules, the type of input/output to and from each remote module, and the number of input or output data units is automatically set.

The communicating function of the PLC in the network system for a programmable controller in which the PLC having a communicating function and other communicating device (remote module) are connected to each other through the transmission path is divided into two types of communications such as communications with an input/output unit (described as a remote I/O module hereinafter) having only ON/OFF data and communications with a remote terminal unit (described as a remote terminal module hereinafter) having ON/OFF data and processing data.
Generally, in the former type of communications (remote I/O module), even the input and output units located at a remote site have a configuration in which data is fixed by each station and is communicated without determining a type of input/output unit (indicating an input unit, an output unit, and an I/O mixed unit) and a type of data units (indicating 16 data units, 32 data units, and 64 data units) so that it is not required to especially grasp these link data in the PLC side.
In the latter type of communications (remote terminal module), a remote station itself has various types of data including ON/OFF data, processing data, and message data, so that, in a case where efficiency of the network is considered, it is required to check a connecting state of the remote station in a master station (PLC).
Accordingly, in the network system for a programmable controller including therein a remote terminal module, link data such as a number of stations for connection and a number of input/output data is required to be set in the PLC.
Conventionally, for setting the link data, such measures as those described below are taken;
firstly, a switch for setting is provided in the master station; PA1 secondly, a specified area is provided in a device memory in the master station; PA1 thirdly, a transfer command for link data is programmed anew therein, and the link data is set according to a ladder program; and PA1 fourthly, specified parameters for the data are provided therein.
However, in the first setting system, a switch for setting has to be provided therein, so that upsizing and higher price of the device are inevitable, in the second and fourth setting systems, a particular area for linking is provided therein, so that increase of a memory capacity required is inevitable, and the particular area for linking is provided therein if the connection to a remote station is possible in a case where the area has not yet been connected thereto, so that an unnecessary processing time is disadvantageously added to the original processing time. Accordingly, a processing speed is reduced due to communications with a non-connected area.
The third setting system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. SHO 61-137444 is required to execute a ladder program, so that increase of a step capacity required for the ladder program incorporated in the PLC can not be prevented, and if the ladder program is not set in the stand-by state for running even after a power is turned ON, the network is not established, and for this reason, data communications between communicating devices can not be established.

Network system for a programmable controller


A method for artificially changing the composition of phospholipids produced by cells is disclosed. According to the method of the invention, the host cell is transformed with a recombinant DNA having an antisense gene of phospholipase D gene, which antisense gene is expressed in the host cell to produce a mRNA that hybridizes with mRNA of phospholipase D gene in the host cell thereby inhibiting expression of the phospholipase D gene.

Phospholipids are naturally occurring nonionic surface active agents which are valuable in the field of foods, medicines and production of various materials. Phospholipids are mainly produced from biological materials, and the composition of the phospholipids is one of the elements which determine the quality of the material.
The factor which participates in the determination of the composition of phospholipids is unknown and no methods by which the composition of phospholipids is changed by genetic engineering process have been reported.

Method of changing the composition of the phospholipid produced by the living body and recombinant vector therefor


A chainsaw may include a guide bar, a cutting chain and a driving unit arranged to drive the cutting chain around the guide bar. The guide bar defines a first longitudinal axis extending along a center of the guide bar. The chainsaw further comprising a handle section for carrying and operating the chainsaw, wherein the handle section includes a control portion disposed on the upper side of the chainsaw. The control portion in turn includes a throttle lever for controlling the speed of the driving unit and the control portion has a left and a right side. The control portion defines a second longitudinal axis substantially extending along an upper side of at least a part of the control portion. An angle, A, between the first and the second longitudinal axes is between 14° and 45°.

Top handle chainsaws are sometimes held and guided by the one hand holding the control portion while the operator only secures his hold with the other hand. Acting forces on the chainsaw produces tilt movements which must be compensated for by an appropriate effort of the hand holding the control portion in order to keep the chainsaw in a neutral position. This causes a considerable load on the wrist of the operator. U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,492 teaches a chainsaw provided with a housing portion arranged as a support for the heel of the hand which decreases the effort for holding the chainsaw in a neutral position despite tilt movements in a forward direction of the chainsaw. However, FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,492 shows that the part of the housing portion that functions as said support for the heel of the hand is a sharp edge, which is not very comfortable to the heel of the hand.
Furthermore, many users experience that the control portion of a top handle chainsaw does not provide for an ergonomic grip. Also, a problem has been that the control portion of the chainsaw rotates in the hand of the operator such that the operator has difficulty to hold the chainsaw in a desired inclined position. Also, many users experience that the wrist of the hand holding the control portion is often extensively bent while operating the chainsaw, which has proved to be unfavourable. Also, control portions of conventional top handle chainsaws do not fit various sizes of hands, and a bad fit may cause a worse control of the chainsaw and ergonomic disadvantages.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A deployable reflector of the invention includes connection members that bridge plural extendable structures constituting a deployable truss structure and connect portions corresponding to nodes of a buckling mode occurring in the extendable structures when a surface cable system is given tension, with portions corresponding to antinodes thereof. The surface cable system includes an internal surface cable system and a circumferential surface cable system connected to the outer circumference thereof. A cable used for the internal surface cable system is high in stiffness and small in ratio of length variation to tension variation. A cable used for the circumferential surface cable system is lower in stiffness and smaller in ratio of the tension variation to the length variation than that used for the internal surface cable system. Given tension by the deployable truss structure via the circumferential surface cable system, the internal surface cable system forms predetermined surface shape.

To transport a deployable antenna mounted on an artificial satellite or the like to space, a rocket such as an Ariane rocket, or H-IIA is used as a transporting unit. However, the payload shroud of a rocket is restricted. Therefore, to transport a large deployable antenna, it is accommodated in a rocket in a small, folded state and is deployed after the rocket reaches space. Among deployable reflectors constituting such a deployable antenna, exemplified is one that is a combination of plural fundamental structures and can form a large deployable antenna depending on the number of fundamental structures.
FIG. 13 shows the configuration of a conventional deployable reflector in which part (a) is a perspective view showing the entire configuration of the deployable reflector and part (b) is an exploded perspective view showing an exemplary fundamental structure of the deployable reflector. As shown in the figure, the fundamental structure of the deployable reflector is composed of an integrated system of cables 100 with metallic meshes, stand-offs 105, and a deployable truss structure 106. Attached to the deployable truss structure 106 via the stand-offs 105, the integrated system of cables 100 with metallic meshes assumes a polyhedron so that the surface of the deployable reflector approximates a parabolic shape. The deployable truss structure 106 is deployable and foldable. The deployable truss structure 106 in a deployed state keeps the stand-offs 105 at predetermined positions, whereby the integrated system of cables 100 is rendered in a tense state and a predetermined parabolic shape is formed.
FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view showing the details of the integrated system of cables 100. As shown in the figure, the integrated system of cables is decomposed into a surface cable system 101, metallic meshes 102, tie cables 103, and a back cable system 104.
The metallic meshes 102 are attached to the surface cable system 101 and the individual connecting points of the surface cable system 101 are lowered (as viewed in the figure) by the tie cables 103, whereby a predetermined polyhedral shape is formed. To give tension to the tie cables 103, the back cable system 104 is disposed on the opposite side of the tie cables 103 to the surface cable system 101.
To obtain a predetermined surface shape, during manufacturing process, the cable lengths are adjusted while the shape of the surface cable system 101 is measured, whereby a predetermined surface shape is obtained when the stand-offs 105 are located at predetermined positions.
FIG. 15 illustrates a procedure for forming a surface shape with predetermined accuracy in manufacturing process of the conventional deployable reflector. As shown in the figure, to obtain a predetermined surface shape in manufacturing process, work of adjusting the cable lengths of the tie cables 103 while measuring the shape in a state that a reflector surface is stretched by giving tension to the surface cable system 101 and the back cable system 104 so that they are pulled outward is repeated until the surface shape is formed with predetermined accuracy. For example, if part of the surface cable system 101 is deviated upward from the intended parabolic surface when a shape is measured during manufacturing process, that part of the surface cable system 101 is lowered by shortening related tie cables 103, whereby the shape is changed to come closer to the predetermined shape. The shape is determined by the tensile states of the cables, and the tensile states vary when a certain cable is shortened. Therefore, the predetermined shape cannot be obtained merely by a single adjustment. In view of this, work of measuring deviations by a shape measurement and adjusting the lengths of the tie cables 103 for individual connecting points 110 is repeated, whereby the cable sections of the surface cable system 101 are adjusted so as to be located at predetermined positions and the predetermined shape is achieved.
To facilitate adjustments, the tie cables 103 extend in the direction that traverses the surface cable system 101 so that adjustment of each tie cable length causes a large variation at its connecting point in the surface shape. The surface cable system 101 is made of a cable that is low in stiffness and is relatively large in the ratio of the length variation to the tension variation, and the back cable system 104 is made of a cable that is high in stiffness and is small in the ratio of the length variation to the tension variation. As a result, as shown in FIG. 15, when the length of a tie cable 103 is changed, the positions of the surface cable system 101 connected to the tie cable 103 are mainly changed.
FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing the configuration of another conventional deployable reflector. In the figure, an integrated system of cables 201 is made of a cable that is high in stiffness and is small in the ratio of the length variation to the tension variation, and is supported by support cables 202 that are low in stiffness and is relatively large in the ratio of the length variation to the tension variation. The support cables 202 are attached to an inflatable membrane 203, and the integrated system of cables 201 is rendered tense in a state that the inflatable membrane 203 is expanded by, for example, injunction of air.
FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a further conventional deployable reflector. FIG. 18 is an exploded perspective view showing individual components of this conventional deployable reflector. As shown in the figures, the deployable reflector is composed of an integrated system of cables 100 that functions as an antenna reflection surface and a deployable truss structure 106 as a frame structure. The integrated system of cables 100 is composed of a surface cable system 101, metallic meshes 102, tie cables 103, and a back cable system 104, and is supported by the deployable truss structure 106 via plural stand-offs 105.
The deployable truss structure 106 is composed of eight planar linkages 107 each of which assumes a trapezoidal shape. The planar linkages 107 share a central shaft member 108 and are disposed radially around the central shaft member 108 so as to form the same angles. The deployable truss structure 106 can be folded or deployed by sliding a slide hinge 109 in the axial direction of the central shaft member 108 (disclosed in "A Modular Cable-Mesh Deployable Structure for Large Scale Satellite Communication Antennas", by Akira Meguro, Jin Mitsugi, and Kazuhide Ando, The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers B-II Fascicle "Small Special Issue on Next-generation Satellite Communication Technologies," The transactions of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, B-II, Vol. j76-B-II, No. 5, 1993, pp. 476–484).
For expansion/contraction driving of the planar linkages, annular cables are used that are disposed around the deployable truss structure. Movably connected to tip portions of the respective planar linkages, these cables extend or contract the planar linkages in a synchronized manner by adjusting the cable take-up lengths by rotation of a motor.
Incidentally, the integrated system of cables 100 of the conventional deployable reflectors is made of a pliable, flexible cable and cannot maintain an antenna reflection surface shape on its own. Therefore, the top plane of the deployable truss structure 106 is formed into an approximated spherical shape that approximates a parabolic surface with minimum errors and the integrated system of cables 100 is attached to the deployable truss structure 106 from above via the stand-offs 105, whereby a parabolic surface shape of the integrated system of cables 100 is maintained.
However, with this method, the shape of the integrated system of cables 100 strongly depends on the shape of the deployable truss structure 106. Therefore, for the integrated system of cables 100 to have a highly accurate reflector surface, it is necessary that the deployable truss structure 106 be rigid enough to sustain the tension of the integrated system of cables 100. However, to increase the stiffness of the deployable truss structure 106, it is necessary to make the individual members constituting the deployable truss thicker, which raises a problem of increase in total weight.
Further, in the conventional deployable reflectors, the positions of the stand-offs 105 which supports the integrated system of cables 100 by giving tension thereto vary due to such factors as thermal distortion of the deployable truss structure 106 and repeatability of its deployed shape. As a result, the balance state of the integrated system of cables 100 varies and lengths of the individual cable sections and therefore the shapes vary. The sensitivity to deformation of the support portion is thus high, and hence it is necessary to form the support structure with high accuracy. In particular, since the back cable system is made of a cable that is high in stiffness and is small in the ratio of the length variation to the tension variation from the viewpoint of ease of adjustment, slight variations in the positions of the stand-offs cause large tension variations. The tension variations of the individual cable sections in a balanced state cause length variations of the surface cable system, resulting in a problem that the surface shape of the surface cable system varies greatly.
On the other hand, in the conventional deployable reflector using the inflatable membrane, the inflatable membrane is made of a thin film so as to be deployable and foldable. Therefore, the inflatable membrane is easily deformed by the tension for stretching the reflector surface. Further, it is very difficult to predict behavior of a film-like structure and hence it is difficult to predict positional deviations with respect to a distant antenna feeder. This means a problem that it is difficult to allow the conventional deployable reflector to function as a reflector.
In particular, where a reflector is constructed by using an inflatable membrane, the positions of the reflector surface are not determined correctly in a state that the membrane is expanded. Further, since there is influence of gravity on the ground, it is important to predict a shape analytically taking the zero-gravity state in satellite orbit and other factors into consideration. However, according to the current analysis techniques, it is very difficult to predict a membrane shape with high accuracy. In particular, although the deployable reflector itself needs to be supported in a certain way, a problem remains that when the membrane is supported it is difficult to predict a positional relationship between the support positions and the reflector surface.
An object of the present invention is to realize a deployable reflector that is lighter and larger than conventional ones as well as a deployable reflector in which the deformation sensitivity of a reflector surface to displacements of support positions of a deployable truss structure that supports an integrated system of cables by giving tension thereto can be lowered and bending moment that is generated to give tension to the integrated system of cables and acts on the deployable truss structure can be reduced.

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation


A remote access unit (RAU) apparatus, coupled to a central station (CS) of an RoF network through at least one optical fiber, and which RAU apparatus includes at least one antenna, includes: first and second antenna ports coupled to the at least one antenna; first and second optical fiber ports coupled to the at least one optical fiber; a first coupler for decoupling a first downstream signal of a first duplexing method and a second downstream signal of a second duplexing method, which are input through the first optical fiber port; a circulator for outputting the first downstream signal input from the first coupler to the first antenna port and outputting a first upstream signal of the first duplexing method input from the first antenna port to the second optical fiber port; and a second coupler for outputting the second downstream signal input from the first coupler to the second antenna port and outputting a second upstream signal of the second duplexing method input from the second antenna port to the second optical fiber port.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a network for wireless communication, and in particular, to a radio-over-fiber (RoF) network in which a central station (CS) is coupled to at least one remote access unit (RAU) using at least one optical fiber.
2. Description of the Related Art
When various wireless communication services, such as second generation (2G), third generation (3G) wireless local area network (WLAN), and portable Internet are provided in a certain area, a plurality of remote access units (RAUs) for supporting the various wireless communication services and a space for the RAUs are required. Thus, schemes for providing various services using a single RAU have been suggested. Using these schemes, the number of RAUs and the number of repeaters can be reduced. Herein, such a repeater amplifies an attenuated signal by being installed between a central station (CS) and an RAU.
Conventional duplexing methods of separating a downstream signal and an upstream signal in a wireless communication network include a frequency division duplexing (FDD) method of assigning different frequencies to downstream and upstream signals and a time division duplexing (TDD) method of assigning different time slots to downstream and upstream signals. To share an RAU, a structure for supporting these different duplexing methods is required.
FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a conventional radio-over-fiber (RoF) network 100. Referring to FIG. 1, the RoF network 100 includes a CS 110 and an RAU 140 coupled to the CS 110 through first and second optical fibers 130 and 135.
The CS 110 includes an electric-to-optical converter (E/O) 120 for converting an electrical signal to an optical signal and an optical-to-electric converter (O/E) 125 for converting an optical signal to an electrical signal.
The E/O 120 is coupled to the first optical fiber 130. The E/O 120 electric-to-optical converts an input first downstream electrical signal SD1 of the TDD method to a first downstream optical signal, electric-to-optical 120 converts an input second downstream electrical signal SD2 of the FDD method to a second downstream optical signal, and outputs the first and second downstream optical signals to the first optical fiber 130.
The O/E 125 is coupled to the second optical fiber 135 and receives a first upstream optical signal of the TDD method and a second upstream optical signal of the FDD method from the second optical fiber 135. The O/E 125 optical-to-electric converts the first upstream optical signal to a first upstream electrical signal SU1 and the second upstream optical signal to a second upstream electrical signal SU2. Herein, different time slots are assigned to the first downstream and first upstream electrical signals SD1 and SU1, and the first downstream and first upstream electrical signals SD1 and SU1 have the same frequency. The frequency of the first downstream and first upstream electrical signals SD1 and SU1, a frequency of the second downstream electrical signal SD2, and a frequency of the second upstream electrical signal SU2 are different from each other.
The RAU 140 includes an O/E 150 for converting an optical signal to an electrical signal, an E/O 175 for converting an electrical signal to an optical signal, a high power amplifier (HPA) 155 for amplifying an input electrical signal with a high gain, a low noise amplifier (LNA) 170 for amplifying an input electrical signal with low noise, a frequency independent circulator (CIR) 160 for performing signal coupling, and an antenna 165.
The O/E 150 is coupled to the first optical fiber 130 and receives the first and second downstream optical signals from the first optical fiber 130. The O/E 150 optical-to-electric converts the first and second downstream optical signals to first and second downstream electrical signals.
One end of the HPA 155 is coupled to the O/E 150, and the other end is coupled to the CIR 160. The HPA 155 amplifies each of the first and second downstream electrical signals input from the O/E 150.
The CIR 160 includes first to third ports, the first port coupled to the HPA 155, the second port coupled to the antenna 165, and the third port coupled to the LNA 170. The CIR 160 outputs the first and second downstream electrical signals input from the HPA 155 through the first port to the antenna 165 through the second port and outputs first and second upstream electrical signals input from the antenna 165 through the second port to the LNA 170 through the third port.
The antenna 165 transmits an electronic wave corresponding to the first and second downstream electrical signals input from the CIR 160 to the air and generates first and second upstream electrical signals by receiving an electronic wave from the air.
One end of the LNA 170 is coupled to the third port of the CIR 160, and the other end is coupled to the E/O 175. The LNA 170 amplifies each of the first and second upstream electrical signals input from the CIR 160.
One end of the E/O 175 is coupled to the LNA 170, and the other end is coupled to the second optical fiber 135. The E/O 175 electric-to-optical converts the first and second upstream electrical signals input from the LNA 170 to first and second upstream optical signals and outputs the first and second upstream optical signals to the second optical fiber 135.
However, the conventional RoF network 100 described above has problems described below.
Since the CIR 160 has a low separation rate, a case where a portion of the first and second downstream electrical signals input from the HPA 155 through the first port is leaked to the LNA 170 through the third port occurs often. In addition, if an error occurs in impedance matching between the antenna 165 and the CIR 160, a portion of the first and second downstream electrical signals output to the antenna 165 through the second port of the CIR 160 may be reflected by the antenna 165 and re-input to the CIR 160 through the second port of the CIR 160.
In addition, since propagation loss in the air is great, power of the first and second upstream electrical signals generated by the antenna 165 are much lower than power of the leaked or reflected noise signal.
Thus, in the above-described cases, quality of the second upstream electrical signal may be significantly degraded. That is, the leaked or reflected noise signal may saturate the LNA 170 or make the E/O 175 malfunction. In the case of the first upstream electrical signal, since a time slot different from a time slot of the first downstream electrical signal is assigned to the first upstream electrical signal, the first upstream electrical signal is not significantly affected by the leaked or reflected noise signal.

Remote access unit and radio-over-fiber network using same


A control method for a self-driving vehicle provided with an engine as a driving source, comprising: determining whether or not coast stop is executed in accordance with required driving force of the vehicle, the coast stop being for automatically stopping the engine during the vehicle traveling at speed not more than predetermined vehicle speed; setting the required driving force so that an intervehicular distance between the host vehicle and a preceding vehicle becomes closer to a predetermined distance under presence of the preceding vehicle in front of the host vehicle; predicting a behavior of the preceding vehicle from a situation in front of the preceding vehicle under presence of the preceding vehicle; and prohibiting release of the coast stop for the engine during an automatic stop when future deceleration of the preceding vehicle is predicted in response to an expansion of the intervehicular distance.

JP2004-204747 discloses a technology that stops fuel supply to an engine and stops the engine automatically when a vehicle is decelerating as a brake pedal is depressed by a driver. Therefore, an unnecessary fuel consumption is suppressed during the deceleration, and it is thus possible to reduce a fuel consumption.

Control method and control device for automated vehicle


A magnetic memory according to an embodiment includes at least one MTJ element, the MTJ element including: a magnetic multilayer structure including a first magnetic layer in which a direction of magnetization is fixed, a second magnetic layer in which a direction of magnetization is changeable, and a tunnel barrier layer located between the first and second magnetic layers; a first electrode provided on a first surface of the magnetic multilayer structure; a second electrode provided on a second surface of the magnetic multilayer structure; an insulating film provided on a side surface of the magnetic multilayer structure; and a control electrode provided on the side surface of the magnetic multilayer structure with the insulating film located therebetween, a voltage being applied to the control electrode in a read operation, which increases an energy barrier for changing the magnetization of the second magnetic layer.

Magnetoresistive random access memories (MRAMs) use magnetization switching. Spin transfer torque MRAMs employing a spin transfer torque writing method operate at a high speed, can be highly integrated, and have high durability. Thus, such MRAMs are expected to be general-purpose nonvolatile random access memories.
Magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) elements are used as storage elements of the spin transfer torque MRAMs. An MTJ element includes a storage layer having a magnetic layer in which the direction of magnetization can be switched by a write operation of the memory, a reference layer having a magnetic layer in which the direction of magnetization is fixed to one direction, and a tunnel barrier layer located between the storage layer and the reference layer to form a tunnel barrier. The electric resistance of the MTJ element switches between a low-resistance state and a high-resistance state when a current flows in a direction perpendicular to the film plane of the MTJ element depending on whether the magnetizations of the storage layer and of the reference layer are parallel or antiparallel to each other. Data (information) can be read from the MTJ element using the difference in resistance between the parallel state and the antiparallel state.
The spin transfer torque writing is performed by causing a current to flow in a direction perpendicular to the film plane of the MTJ element to switch the direction of magnetization of the storage layer. For example, in order to switch the direction of magnetization from the antiparallel state to the parallel state, a current is caused to flow so that electrons flow from the reference layer to the storage layer. The direction of the current is opposite to the direction of the electrons, from the storage layer to the reference layer. As a result, the spin transfer torque acts on the magnetization of the storage layer to turn to the direction parallel to the direction of magnetization of the reference layer. If the current has an intensity of a predetermined threshold value, the direction of magnetization of the storage layer can be switched. On the contrary, in order to switch the direction of magnetization from the parallel state to the antiparallel state, a current is caused to flow so that electrons flow from the storage layer to the reference layer. In this case, the spin transfer torque acts on the magnetization of the storage layer to turn to the direction antiparallel to the direction of magnetization of the reference layer. By changing the direction of electrons in such a manner, data can be rewritten.
A resistive random access memory employing spin transfer torque writing applies an electric current to the MTJ element through a common path in a read operation and a write operation. This leads to potential data-rewriting in read operations, read disturb. In order to avoid the risk of read disturb, a method is used in which a read current flowing through the MTJ element in a read operation is set to be lower than a write current flowing in a write operation. The probability of occurrence of read disturb can be reduced by this technique. However, decreasing the read current would lead to decreasing the read sensitivity. For this reason, the value of the read current that can be practically used has a lower limit.
In order to avoid read disturb, a method is proposed in which the probability of occurrence of read disturb is reduced by setting the pulse width of read current to be narrower than that of write current. The pulse width of write current in a memory required to operate at a high rate, however, should be reduced, and therefore the pulse width of read current should be reduced further. Since the pulse width of read current has a lower limit due to the read sensitivity and a problem of delay in current pulse caused by wiring, it is rather difficult to set the pulse width of the read pulse narrower than that of the write pulse.


Embodiments of the present invention include a system for stabilizing a rear view image. The system comprises a camera for capturing a rear view image, wherein the rear view image comprises elements located outside of a passenger vehicle and located behind the passenger vehicle. The system further comprises a motion detector for determining a relative movement between two or more objects e.g., the driver's head and an object within the vehicle. The system further includes an electronic image stabilizer for adjusting the rear view image according to the relative movement and a display device for displaying a stabilized rear view image.

Rear view mirrors are an essential safety component that can be found in virtually every passenger vehicle. A rear view mirror provides an image of elements behind the vehicle. A driver can glance at the rear view mirror to check for hazards behind the vehicle without actually turning his/her head around. A rear view mirror is a safe and convenient tool for checking the surroundings of a passenger vehicle while maintaining concentration on the front view of the vehicle.
Typically, a rear view mirror is mounted to or near the top of the windshield of a passenger vehicle. At times, vibrations transmitted through the mirror itself can distort the image in the rear view mirror. These vibrations can come from uneven surfaces on the road, noise from the vehicle itself, noise from the radio, etc. The vibrations can be so severe that the rear view image becomes blurred, which diminishes the usefulness of the rear view mirror.
Also, motion of the vehicle can cause the driver's head and body to move. This motion combined with the rear view mirror vibration described above, can significantly blur and distort the projected rear view image.

System and method for stabilizing a rear view image


A small, rugged photomultiplier tube is achieved by closely spacing a large area avalanche "photodetector" with respect to a photocathode in an opaque casing having a window for incident light. The photocathode and the avalanche photodetector have comparable areas and are closely spaced. The avalanche photodetector includes a PN junction which as to be close to the surface of the detector to maximize the response to electrons and reduce any direct response to light. The need for an electrostatic lens to focus electrons onto the small target characteristic of prior art photomultiplier tubes is obviated.

Photomultiplier tubes are well known in the art. Such a tube includes a housing with a window through which light is admitted. A photocathode is combined with the tube window to provide an incident surface operative to convert incident photons to electrons. The electrons enter an electric field which moves the electrons to a target responsive to the electrons to generate a pulse.
Although a variety of targets have been used in photomultiplier tubes, gain has been limited to 10 with a single stage tube. Moreover, all targets have been quite small compared to the area of the photocathode. Thus, the distance between the target and the photocathode has been necessarily been large and an electric field has been necessary to focus the electrons on the target. The result has been that photomultiplier tubes are larger and heavier.
The photocathode for a photomultiplier tube comprises a transparent substrate such as glass, with a film of a material such as cesium, potassium, aluminum or antimony or various mixtures, thereof as is well understood in the art. The film has to be uniform to permit faithful transfer of an incident image. The film is produced by evaporation from, for example, antimony leads.
There are two common methods for producing the film. The first is called the "transfer" method where the tube, absent the photocathode is maintained in a vacuum with the glass substrate positioned beside the tube in the vacuum. Antimony beads are heated to cause the film to form and the completed photocathode is cemented in place over the target without breaking the vacuum.
The Second method is the "in place" method where the glass substrate is in position within the tube and antimony beads, near the target, are heated to provide the required film. The large separation required in prior art tubes between the photocathode and the target permits the "straight line" evaporation required to produce a uniform film.


Provided is a seal ring that has low-leakage characteristics and low-friction characteristics and can improve the drive loss of the automatic transmission of an automobile to thereby contribute to an improvement in the fuel consumption of the automobile. The seal ring is attached to a shaft groove formed on the outer peripheral surface of a shaft. A plurality of peripherally spaced recessed sections are formed on at least the inner peripheral side of a contact side-surface. Inner walls are provided on the inner peripheral side of the recessed sections, and oil introduction openings that open on an inner peripheral surface are provided on the inner peripheral side of the recessed sections. The inner walls may be provided on opposite peripheral sides of the recessed sections but may be provided only on the rear side in the rotation direction.

In recent years, there is a demand to reduce the drive loss of the automatic transmission of an automobile, in order to improve the fuel consumption of the automobile. For the purpose of hydraulic sealing, a seal ring is attached to the automatic transmission. However, the friction loss of the seal ring leads to the drive loss of the automatic transmission. Therefore, one important task is to reduce the friction of the seal ring. In addition, the capacity of an oil pump of the automatic transmission is a significant factor that causes the drive loss, and therefore there is a demand to reduce the amount of oil leakage from the seal ring to thereby reduce the capacity of the oil pump. To reduce the drive loss of the automatic transmission to thereby improve the fuel consumption of the automobile, it is necessary for the seal ring to have low-friction characteristics and low-leakage characteristics.
FIG. 1 shows the basic structure of a hydraulic circuit using a seal ring. The seal ring 1 is attached to a shaft groove (ring groove) 4 formed on the outer peripheral surface of a shaft 2 and disposed on opposite axial sides of a hydraulic passage 3. Hydraulic oil supplied from the hydraulic passage 3 is received by the pressure-receiving side-surface 11 and inner peripheral surface 12 of the seal ring. The outer peripheral surface 13 of the seal ring is in contact with the inner surface of a housing 5, and the contact side-surface 14 of the seal ring is in contact with a side surface of the shaft groove 4. The hydraulic pressure is thereby sealed. Generally, the shaft 2 is rotatable, and the housing 5 is stationary. However, a combination of a stationary shaft and a rotatable housing may be used.
A method generally used to reduce the friction (friction loss) of a seal ring is to reduce a pressurizing load for pressing the contact side-surface of the seal ring that serves as a principal sliding surface against the ring groove. More specifically, a seal ring having a cross-sectional shape that allows the pressure of supplied oil to act between the contact side-surface of the seal ring and the ring groove is used to reduce the pressurizing load by the action of a cancelling load.
Patent Literature 1 discloses a method of reducing a pressurizing load by using a seal ring including side surfaces forming a tapered shape having an axial width that decreases from an outer peripheral side toward an inner peripheral side. With this configuration, a cancelling load is generated between a ring groove and a side surface of the seal ring. The tapered shape formed by the side surfaces can significantly reduce the pressurizing load and is currently known as the shape of a seal ring that can minimize friction.
Patent Literature 2 discloses a seal ring including: peripherally spaced recessed sections (pockets) 6 formed at least on the inner peripheral side of a contact side-surface; and pillar sections 7 disposed between the recessed sections 6, as shown in FIG. 2(A). As shown in FIGS. 2(B) and 2(C), each recessed section 6 includes: a deepest inclined portion 51 formed such that the axial width (thickness) of the seal ring decreases in an inner peripheral direction; and converging portions 52 that are located on opposite peripheral sides of the deepest inclined portion 51 and converge toward the innermost peripheral points of adjacent pillar sections 7. In this configuration, when the seal ring rotates, the oil filling the recessed sections 6 is squeezed along inclined surfaces of converging portions 52, and a lift 60 is thereby generated. In addition, hydraulic pressure acts on the recessed sections 6 on the contact side-surface. This causes a pressing load reduction effect (cancelling pressure 61), and friction is thereby reduced. In the seal ring in Patent Literature 2, a side surface of the seal ring is in surface contact with the ring groove and slides thereon, as shown in FIG. 2(D). Therefore, no leakage passage is formed in a gap of the abutment joint of the seal ring, and low-leakage characteristics are thereby obtained.
In the seal ring in Patent Literature 1, the sliding contact between a side surface of the seal ring and the ring groove is line contact, and the circular sliding line is located on the gap of the abutment joint of the seal ring. This causes a problem in that the oil leaks from the gap of the abutment joint. Although the use of the recessed sections in Patent Literature 2 allows a reduction in friction, the degree of reduction is lower than that in the seal ring in Patent Literature 1. Therefore, there is a demand to further reduce the friction.


The present invention relates a novel composition for preventing or treating hepatitis C virus, regulating the phosphorylation of a replicase. More specifically, it is possible to prevent or treat hepatitis C using a novel PRK2 inhibitor discovered through structure modeling, and to prevent or treat hepatitis C, particularly, interferon-insensitive hepatitis C through coadministration of an Hsp90 inhibitor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel composition for preventing or treating hepatitis C virus capable of effectively inhibiting replication of virus by regulating stability and activity of kinase involved in phosphorylation of replicase of hepatitis C virus.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the major etiologic agents of non-A and non-B hepatitis. More than 170 million people worldwide are chronically infected with HCV. Persistent HCV infection establishes a chronic hepatitis that can lead to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Further, the combined administration of IFN-α injection with ribavirin currently used as the standard HCV therapy is limited in use due to its serious side effects. Furthermore, IFN-α is effective in less than about 50% of genotype 1 HCV-infected patients. Therefore, various therapeutic options have been under investigation in order to develop effective and specific therapies with the least toxicity.
The HCV has a positive-sense single stranded RNA genome of approximately 9.6 kb, which consists of one long open reading frame (ORF) flanked by untranslated regions (UTRs) at both the 5′ and 3′ ends of the genome. The ORF encodes a single polyprotein that is proteolytically processed by cellular and viral proteases into at least 10 functional viral proteins, including both structural and nonstuructural proteins. A HCV NS5B protein of 65 kDa, responsible for RdRp (RNA-dependent RNA polymerase) activity, is the key enzyme essential for HCV RNA replication.
According to preceding research, it was found that viral RNA polymerase is phosphorylated by PRK2 (protein kinase C-related kinase 2) and inhibition of PRK2 activity by a PRK2 inhibitor leads to effective inhibition of HCV replication.
Meanwhile, heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) protects various cellular client proteins from proteasomal degradation through interactions with the cellular client proteins and also exhibits additional functions. The Hsp90 was identified as a host factor essential for maturation of viral protein. Recently, it was proved that the Hsp90 forms a trimeric complex with HCV NS5A and FKBP9, a cyclophilin family immunophilin, to regulate HCV RNA replication. Furthermore, it was found that as Hsp90 inhibitors, 17-AAG (17-allyaminogeldanamycin) and 17-DMAG (17-(dimethylaminoethylamino)-17-demethoxygeldanamycin), which are analogues of geldanamycin as a benzoquinone ansamycin antibiotic, inhibit HCV replication in cellular-based assays using HCV replicons and in HCV-infected chimeric mice with trans-humanized liver. However, a precise role of the Hsp90 in HCV replication remains unknown. The Hsp90 helps folding of various client proteins. One of its putative clients is PDK1 (3-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1). However, destabilization of the PDK1 was not observed in breast cancer lines, suggesting a cell-type dependent differential regulation of the PDK1 stability by Hsp90 inhibition.
It was proved by the present inventors that the PDK1 is an upstream kinase of PRK2 and the PRK2 is a cellular kinase responsible for HCV NS5B phosphorylation. Thus, the present inventors completed the present invention by analyzing whether Hsp90 inhibition leads to an inhibitory effect on HCV replication by affecting the phosphorylation of the NS5B protein.

Composition for treating hepatitis C virus, regulating phosphorylation of replicase

Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, Yonsei University


A data synchronization unit including first flip-flops, operating on a first clock domain and a reset of a second clock domain, sampling data from the first clock domain; a second flip-flop, operating in the first clock domain, sampling a request signal when enabled by a request pulse; a request signal path configured to delay the request signal by a first delay and to generate an enable signal for recirculation multiplexers in accordance with the delayed request signal; a reset signal synchronization path configured to delay the reset signal of the first clock domain by a second delay, wherein the second delay is shorter than the first delay; and multiplexers having first inputs for receiving outputs of the recirculation multiplexers, a second input for receiving a reset value of a programmable register, the multiplexers being configured to selectively output signals at inputs to outputs.

A conventional two flip-flop synchronizer 100 is used for synchronizing a single bit level signal Sig1 as is shown in FIG. 1. Flip-flop A 105 operates in the clock A domain 107 and flip-flops B1 110 and B2 112 operate in the clock B domain 114. Clock A domain 107 and clock B domain 114 are asynchronous clock domains. Flip-flop A 105 receives the input signal Sig1 at the "D" input and is clocked by the first clock signal CLK1 at the clock input. The input signal Sig1 is transferred to the "Q" output of flip-flop A 105 by the action of the first clock signal CLKA as is known in the art. Flip-flops B1 110 and B2 112 are clocked by the second clock signal CLKB, and the output signal at the "Q" output of flip-flop A 105 is serially transferred through each of flip-flops B1 110 and B2 112 to the final "Q" output at output node 120.
FIG. 2A shows a first timing diagram 200 of the exemplary conventional synchronizer 100 shown in FIG. 1. Waveforms associated with the CLKA signal (trace 205), the "Q" output of flip-flop A (trace 207), the CLKB signal (trace 209), the "Q" output of flip-flop B1 (trace 211), and the "Q" output of flip-flop B2 (trace 213) are shown. There is a probability that while sampling the input "D" input by flip-flop B1 in the CLKB clock domain, the "Q" output of flip-flop B1 may go into metastable state 215. But during the one clock cycle period of the CLKB clock signal associated with the metastable state 215, the output "Q" output of flip-flop B1 may settle to some stable value (in the case shown in FIG. 2A, the stable value is a logic one value). The output of flip-flop B2 can also go to metastable state if flip-flop B1 does not settle to a stable value during the one clock cycle period associated with the metastable state 215, but the probability for flip-flop B2 to be metastable for a complete clock cycle is very close to zero.
If the frequency of CLKB is too high, the output of flip-flop B1 may not settle to a stable value by the time that flip-flop B2 samples the output of flip-flop B1. In such a situation, a three flip-flop synchronizer may be used in place of the two flip-flop synchronizer to allow more time for the metastable signal to stabilize.
FIG. 2B illustrates a second timing diagram 250 associated with the exemplary convention synchronizer 100 of FIG. 1. Waveforms associated with the CLKA signal (trace 255), the "Q" output of flip-flop A (trace 257), the CLKB signal (trace 259), the "Q" output of flip-flop B1 (trace 261), and the "Q" output of flip-flop B2 (trace 263) are shown. Timing diagram 250 illustrates a phenomenon associated with multi-flip-flop synchronizers referred to as cycle uncertainty. In cycle uncertainty, an additional clock cycle of the destination clock may be needed to synchronize a source signal (the output of flip-flop A 105) to the destination clock domain. Cycle uncertainty may be dependent upon whether or not the output of an intermediate flip-flop settles to a correct logic value. As shown in FIG. 2A, two active clock edges of the destination clock are required to synchronize the source signal in the destination clock domain. This is because the output of flip-flop B1 110 settled to the correct logic level 1 after metastable state 215. However, as shown in FIG. 2B, the output of flip-flop B1 110 settled to an incorrect logic level 0 after metastable state 265. Due to this incorrect behavior, an extra destination clock cycle is needed to synchronize the source signal in the destination clock domain. Therefore, there is uncertainty regarding synchronization requiring two clock cycles or three clock cycles of the destination clock.

Methods and apparatus for data synchronization in systems having multiple clock and reset domains


The disclosed technology is generally directed towards communicating whether a small deployed (e.g., millimeter wave 5G) cell is capable of operating as a self-backhaul device and can thereby operate as a relay node for another network device's backhaul (e.g., integrated access and backhaul) traffic. Data communicated between network devices, such as an attribute in in the CellAccessRelatedInfo information element of the system information block (e.g., a SIB type 1) message, can be used to convey the self-backhaul capability information. The network device that is searching for a self-backhaul cell evaluates the self-backhaul data of another cell, along with other selection criteria, to determine if the other cell can serve as a backhaul link; if the criteria is met, that other cell is selected, otherwise another cell is searched for such a capability.

To meet the huge demand for data centric applications, Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) systems and systems that employ one or more aspects of the specifications of the Fourth Generation (4G) standard for wireless communications are being extended to a Fifth Generation (5G) standard for wireless communications. 5G needs to support various applications including Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), mission critical, and Ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) applications. In general, Ultra reliability and low latency is a significant feature of a 5G network, but significant bandwidth is needed.
A high level of densification of small cells with millimeter wave (mmW) Transmit and Receive Points (TRPs) and self-backhaul are among the technology advances of 5G to meet the bandwidth demand. To achieve a highly reliable 5G network, improving the transport availability of millimeter wave mmW TRPs is needed. For example, via Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB), one mmW cell can serve as a relay node for backhaul traffic to one or more other cells. However, not every mmW cell is required to serve as such a relay node.

Integrated access and backhaul link selection


A system includes telephone and packet-switched network interfaces and a translator. The translator receives messages. Outgoing messages originate from a multiple-function peripheral (MFP) and are received via a transfer agent (TA). Outgoing e-mail messages include an attached file in an image file format. The translator removes and delivers the attachment in facsimile format. Incoming fax messages are attached to an e-mail message. The TA receives and relays the e-mail message to an identified MFP, which discards the e-mail message and prints the attachment. A method for processing fax messages includes associating an identifier with a MFP, receiving a fax intended for the MFP, generating an e-mail message with an attachment representing the fax and communicating the e-mail message to a transfer agent that relays the e-mail to the MFP, which discards the e-mail body and prints the attachment.

Facsimile (fax) technology has been a successful means to transmit documents electronically. With the emergence of publicly accessible data networks and electronic mail (e-mail) applications, it appeared as though that fax communications would be rapidly replaced by e-mail. However, it is now clear that the two technologies will co-exist for a while.
In a deployment of fax machines in an office environment equipped with Internet access, a fax server is connected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) by one or more dedicated lines, such as T1/E1. As observed from the perspective of the fax server, the PSTN is both the source of incoming faxes as well as the destination for outgoing faxes. The fax server is also connected to a packet-switched network, which provides connections to users. In this way, the fax server provides desktop faxing capabilities via various e-mail applications. The fax server can also used to provide fax-back transaction confirmation, fax broadcasting or automated form processing.
The fax server uses specialized interface circuits for converting the fax information communicated by the users. When a document arrives at the fax server, the fax server converts the document into a format that is suitable for transmission over the PSTN. Thereafter, the fax server sends the converted document over the PSTN via its dedicated interface circuits. Conversely, for a fax arriving at the fax server, the fax server identifies the destination user, converts the incoming fax transmission into a format suitable for delivery to the destination user, and sends the converted document to the destination user over the internal IP network.
In a common enterprise, the users are not only connected to the fax server via the internal internet protocol (IP) network, but are also connected to an internetworking gateway, which connects the internal IP network to the Internet. The gateway allows a user to communicate electronically with other parties connected to the Internet. Such electronic communications may include store-and-forward messages (e.g., e-mail), real time one-way communications (e.g., live TV), real time two-way communications (e.g., Internet telephony, etc.).
The gateway is typically connected to an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The connection between the gateway and the ISP or the PSTN is typically established via dedicated T1/E1 lines or in some cases optical fiber, similar to the connection between the fax server and the PSTN.
It is apparent that a first set of dedicated T1/E1 lines are required to provide fax functionality and a second set of dedicated T1/E1 lines or other data transmission media are required to provide Internet access. The use of two sets of dedicated data transmission media is expensive to maintain and, moreover, it is possible to experience the situation in which either set of lines is idle while the other set is being used at its maximum capacity. In such a situation, the capacity of the underused set of lines goes to waste. The requirement for dedicated hardware for interfacing with the PSTN translates into a further non-negligible expense for the enterprise.
Multiple-function peripheral devices enable various combinations of fax, print, copy, and scan-to-store functionality to end users. The manufacturers of these multiple-function peripherals have also successfully integrated the functionality of scanning and communicating a document as an attachment in an e-mail message by integrating network interfaces or adapters. These systems require an operator of the multiple-function peripheral to enter a destination e-mail address. Even when the destination address has been entered and stored in an electronic address book, accessing the address book, locating and selecting the destination address is time consuming.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to develop systems and methods that overcome these shortcomings in the integration and flexibility of fax and e-mail functionality.

Systems and methods for communicating documents