An electrical signal cable assembly includes an electrical cable having opposing first and second ends connected to first and second electrical connectors respectively, and wherein the cable includes at least three wire members arranged in a non-interlaced configuration. Each wire member may include at least one metallic conductor and a respective individual insulating layer thereon. Each of the metallic conductors, in turn, may include at least one of silver and copper at a purity of greater than about 90 percent. An overall insulating layer may surround the three wire members to retain them in position without requiring braiding. In addition, the overall insulating layer and the individual plastic insulating layer are preferably transparent to show a metallic color of the metallic conductors therethrough.

The present invention relates to electrical signal cables, and, more particularly, to a high performance electrical signal cable assembly and associated manufacturing methods.
Overtime home entertainment systems have grown increasingly better in terms of performance. Users have grown accustomed to high quality audio and video. Indeed, audiophiles and videophiles expect continuing improvements in the underlying technology to thereby yield improvements in the replication of audio and/or video entertainment.
An audio and/or video system may typically include a signal source, such as DVD player, etc. which generates signals based upon very accurate digital encoding. This digital coding may be converted into a low level analog signal, for example, to be delivered to a downstream power amplifier or switcher, for example. Certain signal sources may also transmit the signals in a digital form.
A cable assembly including a pair of connectors and a length of multiconductor cable is typically used to connect the audio and/or video signal source to the downstream power amplifier or signal switcher. The signals traveling along the cable may be effected by external noise sources, such as broadcast transmitters, wireless telephones, cellular telephones, etc. Internal material resistance may also effect the signals. Noise and distortion caused by the cable assembly become more significant as the quality and performance of the other related components continues to improve.
Relatively high performance cables including expensive conductor alloys and balanced configurations have been developed. The balanced configurations attempt to avoid the distortion which may occur in unbalanced systems, such as based on coaxial technology which include an overall shield surrounding one or more interior conductors. A coaxial cable may also have a relatively high capacitance and series inductance also leading to signal distortion.
An example of a high performance balanced cable is offered by Kimble Kable under the model designations AGDL and KCAG. The cables include three wire members arranged in a braided or interlaced construction. Each wire member may include a copper or silver conductor, and its own insulation layer. Various insulating materials including Teflon(trademark), polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, silicone and others may be used. The braided arrangement is intended to keep the wire members together.
Unfortunately, one difficulty with the braided arrangement is that the braids may have a tendency to separate, especially adjacent the connectors. This makes handling more difficult and may adversely effect electrical performance. In addition, the cables require relatively complex braiding machinery which adds to the expense of the finished cable assembly.
In view of the foregoing background, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a high quality cable assembly that avoids wire member separation at the connectors, and which is more readily manufactured than conventional braided cables.
This and other objects, features and advantages in accordance with the present invention are provided by an electrical signal cable assembly including an electrical cable having opposing first and second ends connected to first and second electrical connectors respectively, and wherein the cable includes at least three wire members arranged in a non-interlaced configuration. More particularly, each wire member may comprise at least one metallic conductor and a respective individual insulating layer thereon. Each of the metallic conductors, in turn, may comprise at least one of silver and copper at a purity of greater than about 90 percent. Moreover, at overall insulating layer preferably surrounds the three wire members to retain them in position without requiring braiding. In addition, the overall insulating layer and the individual insulating layers are preferably transparent to show a metallic color of the metallic conductors therethrough.
In one embodiment, the non-interlaced configuration may comprise a helical configuration. Of course, the helical configuration may include portions with opposing rotational directions. In one class of embodiments, the at least three wire members comprises three wire members with centers defining vertices of an imaginary equilateral triangle at a given position along the cable.
The at least one metallic conductor of each wire member may comprise a single metallic conductor. Alternately, the at least one metallic conductor of each wire member may include a stranded metallic conductor.
The at least one metallic conductor of at least one wire member may comprise silver, such as silver at a purity of at least about 99.7 percent. Similarly, the at least one metallic conductor of at least one wire member may comprise copper. The copper may also be a relatively high purity of at least about 99.7 percent. Of course, both types of metal can be used in other cable embodiments.
The overall insulating layer may be directly on the three wire members so that the cable is devoid of a conductive shield. Accordingly, the cable retains its electrically balanced nature, and manufacturing is simplified.
Each of the individual insulating layers may comprise polytetrafluoroethylene, or Teflon(copyright), for example. The overall insulating layer may comprise polyvinyl chloride. Other plastics may also be used. The overall insulating layer may have a generally round outer shape which facilitates manufacturing and which may also make installation easier.
A method aspect of the invention is for making an electrical signal cable assembly. The method may include forming at least three wire members each comprising at least one metallic conductor and a respective individual transparent insulating layer thereon. Each of the metallic conductors may comprise at least one of silver and copper at a purity of greater than about 90 percent. The method may also include arranging the three wire members in a non-interlaced configuration, and forming an overall transparent insulating layer surrounding the three wire members to define an electrical cable. Also the method may include connecting first and second electrical connectors to respective opposing first and second ends of the electrical cable.

Electrical signal cable assembly including transparent insulating layers and associated methods


A system for processing video segments is disclosed. The system includes a descriptor instantiator for creating a descriptor and ascribing at least one value thereto for a corresponding video segment. The system also includes a video constructor for assembling an output video production from at least two video segments, including means for selecting the at least two video segments according to values of at least one descriptor corresponding to the at least two video segments and means for sequencing the at least two video segments according to values of at least one descriptor corresponding to the at least two video segments.

Today's non-linear video editors emerged from conventional editing methods such as film cutting and linear dub-editing using video players. These tools are well suited to scenarios where the desired result is a single, high-quality video production. It is not possible, however, to view multiple editing alternatives of a video production quickly using these tools, which is an impediment particularly to novice video editors. A video production novice therefore is forced either to "make do" with whatever the novice may create quickly or to spend a lot of time exploring alternatives.
A number of trends are creating a need for a radically different video production tool. One such trend is seen in the rapid growth of the amount of video material being shot or recorded, particularly video material shot by non-professionals. Technological developments or breakthroughs resulting in products such as Digital Video (DV) cameras mean that more and more video material are shot or recorded in digital format and of professional or near-professional technical quality. However, the cost of editing this type of video material using traditional tools is prohibitive in many cases.
Another trend is seen in the extension of the video material viewing paradigm beyond familiar broadcast and VCR paradigms. Viewers want increasing control over video material being watched, for how long, in what sequence, etc. This trend is particularly true for non-fiction video material in educational and professional environments. This trend also implies that there is a growing need to make bodies of video material available in multiple forms, for example, in video productions of different lengths, with different emphases, aimed at different audience demographics, etc.
Yet another trend is seen in the exponentially increasing availability of the amount of video material available in digital format and on the Internet. This trend drives a growing need for effective description of video material by using descriptors, so that video material appropriate to a particular purpose may be retrieved from a large body of available video material through the use of descriptors. There is great interest in the area of video material description today driving standardization efforts such as the Moving Pictures Experts Group's (MPEG) effort in relation to an MPEG-7 standard. However, a major challenge faces such efforts, and this challenge arises from two complementary facts. Firstly, descriptors automatically extracted from video material using signal analysis of the video material and therefore associated with such video material tend to lack semantic power because these descriptors are too low-level to be useful to and meaningful in the ordinary context so as to be understood by most users. Secondly, although semantically powerful descriptors may be associated with video material by being manually entered using a video production tool, this process is tedious and time-consuming and therefore the process may not be cost-effective in many applications.
Hence, there is clearly a need for a video production tool that addresses at least one of the foregoing trends.


An apparatus for supporting a variable number of objects, such as books or CDs, on a shelf unit includes two or more relatively movable support members having surfaces defining substantially opposed planes of support for supporting the objects, and a constant force spring operably connecting the two support members to support the variable number of objects therebetween. The apparatus can include: a track section affixable parallel to a shelf unit; at least one constant force spring; at least one slidable track element constrained for longitudinal movement along the track section, the slidable track element being operably connected to the constant force spring; and/or at least one support member defining a plane of support for the objects connected to the slidable track element. The support member, which is movable due to its connection to the slidable track element, is capable of retaining at least one book or other object between the support member and a second support member, which can be part of the existing shelf unit or a fixed or movable support member having a surface defining an opposed plane of support for an opposite end of the objects downwardly suspended from the track section. To aid in operability, a rate of travel governor, lock member and handle can be provided.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for supporting a variable number of objects, such as books, CDs or the like, on a shelf unit. In particular, the apparatus includes two or more relatively movable members comprising opposed surface defining planes of support biased toward one another to support the variable number of objects therebetween.
Although numerous relatively movable biased bookends are known in the art, there are problems with existing structures. Shelving comes in several lengths, varying from a foot in length to ten or more feet. Known spring-loaded bookends have a fairly limited travel distance and are not capable of the degree of travel flexibility necessary to accommodate use with large shelves. In any shelf, two extreme conditions could occur: the shelf could be nearly full of books or it could be nearly empty. As the length of the shelf increases, so must the travel of the bookend if these extreme conditions are to be met. Known spring-loaded bookends are not capable of meeting these conditions for long book shelves and oftentimes not even for short shelves. A reason for this is in the spring element used. Tension/compression springs have a large dead space in order to provide a low change in force constant. That is, they must have a large number of coils, which occupy a large area of space when contracted. Thus, with such a construction, it is difficult to accommodate a very small number of books due to the dead space and difficult to accommodate a large number of books with the spring fully extended because maintaining the spring extended for long periods of time can result in spring fatigue and failure.
Another problem with spring-loaded bookends is a clearance problem associated with some shelving. Often shelving is sized to accommodate a certain size of book. Although some shelving may allow greater tolerances, other shelving has small tolerances in dimensions such as overall height between shelves, or in shelf depth relative to the size of books being shelved. As such, an add-on bookend needs to have small dimensions to allow use of the largest possible height and number of books or other objects being supported. However, some bookends fail to accomplish this.
Additionally, known spring-loaded bookends have no structure provided that can control, stop or govern the amount of force applied. Tension/compression springs have varying force based on the amount of extension due to the non-linear nature inherent in such springs. Moreover, known bookends have no mechanisms provided to govern or control the rate/time of return travel. As such, known adjustable, spring-loaded bookends can be awkward or even unsafe to operate due to rapid retraction. Additionally, some bookends have inconsistent retraction due to varying application force caused by use of a non-linear spring force that applies more force at some positions of extension/retraction than other positions (i.e., more or less force is applied at extreme end positions than intermediate positions).
Moreover, while some bookends have end stops that define the ends of travel, known spring-loaded bookends are not capable of adjustably locking the bookend at intermediate positions, such as to facilitate easy book removal or addition.
A particular known bookend is the Bookworm.TM. made by Helix, Ltd. of England. This bookend consists of one L-shaped member riveted to a constant force spring with a large diameter. The bookend is placed on a horizontal surface and contains one or a few books or other objects between the L-shaped member and the large diameter coil. However, several problems still exist with such a device. First, the device cannot accommodate a large number of books as an unfixed structure like this is increasingly unstable the larger the extension. Second, the large diameter coil takes up a substantial amount of space, thus reducing the capacity of the shelf unit. Third, as the spring itself serves as a support surface, the Bookworm.TM. is limited to use with objects having a limited range of heights, as taller or shorter ones may not be adequately supported by the coil of the spring. Moreover, as the constant force spring is unwound, the effective height of the end support is reduced. Fourth, the bookworm is difficult to operate as both hands are necessary to extend the structure to add additional objects. Fifth, the Bookworm is provided as a support structure with wide dimensions to contain books, etc. within its own structure by closing gaps on itself and is not concerned with use in conjunction with an existing bookshelf.
There is a need for an adjustable apparatus that can support a variable number of objects, such as books, and overcome the deficiencies of the prior art.

Adjustable support apparatus such as adjustable bookends


A system for measuring and recording DC electric field data at multiple locations using field mill sensors having periodically exposed sensing electrodes to provide cyclic signals, relating to the field amplitude and polarity, which are demodulated by phase synchronous detection to provide measurement of the field at an indicator which is calibrated and checked by intermittently applying to a rotor electrode a DC voltage determine calibration data for sensor indicators. Phase and frequency adjusting circuits control sensor motor/rotor speed and the signals generated for optimum polarity and amplitude measurement. Motor speed is controlled to minimize effects of external noise. Contamination degradation of sense electrode insulators is measured by comparing output signals as the rotor is changed between rotating and stopped conditions. Metal modulator parts are finished with extremely smooth polished surfaces. A central computer communicates with all remote sensors to record data and to monitor and control system operation and to provide appropriate alarms related to electric field intensities and to the operating condition of the sensors.

The present invention relates to an electric field measuring system used primarily for measuring electric fields in the atmosphere in outdoor environments, but the features are likely to find application in other applications where the measurement and study of low frequency electric fields is desired. This invention is intended to improve the sensitivity and accuracy of electric field measurement and improve the use of computer equipment to perform a greater variety of management, maintenance, equipment and environment warnings and achieve improved design of field sensing components. Throughout this specification there will be reference to an overall system of several separately located sensors. The term sensor is used to refer to a complete hardware device and circuitry therefor for one sensing location which is often referred to as a field mill or field meter. Reference herein to sensing head is directed principally to the arrangement of plural cooperating electrodes which directly interface with the lines of force of the electric field. Because the fields are essentially DC fields, the sensing head typically embodies a mechanical modulating device and the sensor embodies demodulation to provide an output signal indicating both amplitude and sign of the field being measured.


A process for decolorizing and demineralizing a sugar solution without the need for using cation exchange resins or activated carbon. The process includes the steps of contacting the sugar solution with a macroporous polymeric adsorbent having cationic functional sites to decolorize and demineralize the sugar solution, and contacting the sugar solution with an anion exchange resin to further demineralize the sugar solution.

Decolorization and demineralization are important steps in refining sugar solutions. Traditionally, sugar solutions have been decolorized and demineralized in a three-step process. The first step involves decolorizing the sugar solution with carbon adsorbents such as activated carbon. The sugar solution is then demineralized by removing cationic and anionic impurities in the second and third steps, respectively. The second step is carried out with a cation exchange resin, and the third step is carried out with an anion exchange resin.
Unfortunately, using activated carbon to decolorize sugar solutions has some drawbacks. One drawback is that activated carbon presents serious handling problems. Since activated carbon particles are very fine, they create clouds of dust when being transferred. This poses a health concern for workers who come into contact with the clouds. Moreover, the particles are very abrasive. Consequently, they have a tendency to wear down equipment relatively quickly.
As a result of the problems associated with using activated carbon, efforts have been made to find an adsorbent having an adsorptive capacity similar to that of activated carbon, but without its drawbacks. One such effort is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,332 wherein it is proposed to substitute activated carbon with a certain macroporous copolymer adsorbent for decolorizing sugar solutions. It is said that the adsorbent employed therein can be as effective as carbon in adsorbing or removing color bodies from sugar solutions.
While the process described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,332 has advantages, namely the elimination of the need for activated carbon, the process also has drawbacks. For example, like processes which use activated carbon, the process requires three steps to purify a sugar solution. There is no mention in the patent of a desire to obtain a more cost-effective or efficient process for purifying sugar solutions, particularly, one that performs both decolorization and demineralization in a fewer number of steps. Thus, there is an ongoing need in the art for a more efficient, cheaper, and simpler process for purifying sugar solutions.

Advanced Separation Technologies Incorporated


Image data is analyzed line by line to identify pixels having similar color and edge characteristics. The pixels on one line are linked to pixels on another line, if they share similar characteristics. The linked pixels are then grouped together in regions and the average color of the region is calculated. An image map is generated that identifies the regions to which the pixels belong, along with a final table of the regions appearing in the image.

1. Field of Invention
This invention is directed to organizing image data into regions having similar color characteristics.
2. Related Art
Documents scanned at high resolutions typically require very large amounts of storage space. Furthermore, a large volume of image data requires substantially more time and bandwidth to manipulate, such as transferring over a local or wide area network, over an intranet, an extranet or the Internet, or other distributed networks.
Documents, upon being scanned using a scanner or the like, are typically defined using an RGB color space, i.e., in raw RGB format. However, rather than being stored in this raw scanned RGB format, the document image data is typically subjected to some form of data compression to reduce its volume, thus avoiding the high costs of storing such scanned RGB document image data.
Lossless run-length compression schemes, such as Lempel-Ziv (LZ) or Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW), do not perform particularly well on scanned image data or, in general, image data having smoothly varying low-spatial frequencies such as gradients and/or natural pictorial data, while lossy methods such as JPEG, work fairly well on smoothly varying continuous tone image data. However, lossy methods generally do not work particularly well on binary text and/or line art image data, or, in general, on any high spatial frequency image data containing sharp edges or color transitions, for example.

Systems and methods for connecting regions image data having similar characteristics


The present invention provides compounds and pharmaceutical compositions of a peptidomimetic ligand, e.g. LLP2A, conjugated with a bisphosphonate drug, e.g. Alendronate. The compounds and pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention are useful in the treatment of osteoporosis and for the promotion of bone growth due to their specificity for the α4β1 integrin on mesenchymal stem cells and for the surface of bone.

Osteoporosis is a disease of increased bone fragility that results from estrogen deficiency and aging. It is a major public health problem with nearly 50% of Caucasian women and 25% of Caucasian men at risk for an osteoporotic fracture in their lifetimes (Publication from National Osteoporosis Foundation). Accordingly, osteoporosis represents a significant health concern.
A decrease in the number of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in the bone marrow with aging leads to reduced osteogenesis and may be the most important factor responsible for reduced bone formation and increase bone fragility (Heersche, J. N., C. G. Bellows, and Y. Ishida, J Prosthet Dent, 1998, 79(1): p. 14-6; Ettinger, M. P., Arch Intern Med, 2003. 163(18): p. 2237-46). Currently, nearly all of the treatments for osteoporosis reduce bone loss by decreasing osteoclastic bone resorption and thereby preventing the further breakdown of bone. Importantly, this class of drugs does not restore the lost bone structure. Therapeutic modalities that target bone formation by either increasing the number and or the activity of osteoblasts may be a more attractive approach that will enhance bone formation and promote bone regeneration. Although bone regeneration by induction of osteogenesis from MSCs is a rational strategy to treat osteoporosis, systemic infusions of MSCs in vivo has failed to promote an osteogenic response in bone due to the inability of MSCs to migrate to the bone surface which is a major clinical problem for MSC transplantation (Gao, J., et al., Cells Tissues Organs, 2001. 169(1): p. 12-20; Meyerrose, T. E., et al., Stem Cells, 2007, 25(1): p. 220-7). In addition, engraftment of the MSCs requires donor ablation using chemotherapy and/or radiation which may result in concomitant damage to endogenous mesenchymal cells (Bacigalupo, A., Best Pract Res Clin Haematol, 2004, 17(3): p. 387-99).
Cell adhesion is a process by which cells associate with each other, migrate towards a specific target, or localize within the extracellular matrix. Cell adhesion constitutes one of the fundamental mechanisms underlying numerous biological phenomena. Investigations into the molecular basis for cell adhesion have revealed that various cell surface macromolecules, collectively known as cell adhesion molecules or receptors, mediate cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. For example, members of the integrin family of cell surface receptors mediate cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions and regulate cell motility, migration, survival, and proliferation (Hynes, Cell, 69: 11-25 (1992); Hynes, Cell, 1110:673-687 (2002)). Integrins are non-covalent heterodimeric complexes consisting of two subunits, α and β. There are at least 18 different α subunits and at least 8 different β subunits.
Mesenchymal stem cells within the bone marrow have a multi-lineage potential and represent a mixture of precursors for mesenchymal-derived cell types including osteoblasts, chondrocytes and adipocytes (Owen, M. et al., Ciba Found Symp, 1988, 136: p. 42-60; Bruder, S. P., et al., J Cell Biochem, 1994, 56(3): p. 283-94; Prockop, D. J., Science, 1997, 276(5309): p. 71-4). Bone cells at all maturation stages rely heavily on cell-matrix and cell-cell interactions (Mukherjee, S., et al., J Clin Invest, 2008, 118(2): p. 491-504; Grzesik, W. J. and P. G. Robey, J Bone Miner Res, 1994, 9(4): p. 487-96; Vukicevic, S., et al., Cell, 1990, 63(2): p. 437-45; Mbalaviele, G., et al., J Bone Miner Res, 2006, 21(12): p. 1821-7). Bone marrow is the site where the committed osteoblast progenitors reside, and the osteogenic differentiation is the default pathway for MSC lineage commitment (Halleux, C., et al., J Musculoskelet Neuronal Interact, 2001, 2(1): p. 71-6; Muraglia, A., et al., J Cell Sci, 2000, 113 (Pt 7): p. 1161-6). Mobilization of the osteoblastic progenitors to the bone surface is a critical step for the osteoblasts to mature and form mineralized tissue (Adams, G. B., et al., Nature, 2006, 439(7076): p. 599-603; Chen, X. D., et al., J Bone Miner Res, 2007, 22(12): p. 1943-56). Once the osteoblastic progenitors are "directed" to the bone surface, they synthesize a range of proteins including osteocalcin, osteopontin, bone sialoprotein, osteonectin, collagen-I and fibronectin that will further enhance the adhesion and maturation of osteoblasts (Gronthos, S., et al., Periodontol 2000, 2006, 41: p. 188-95; Gronthos, S., et al., Bone, 2001, 28(2): p. 174-81; Gronthos, S., et al., J Bone Miner Res, 1997, 12(8): p. 1189-97). These interactions are largely mediated by transmembrane integrin receptors that primarily utilize an arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD) sequence to identify and bind to specific ligands. MSCs express integrins α1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 11, CD51 (integrin αV), and CD29 (integrins β1) (Brooke, G., et al., Stem Cells Dev, 2008). Integrins α1β1, α2β1, αvβ1, αvβ5, α5β1 and α4β1 are reported to be expressed in the osteoblastic cells (Grzesik, W. J. and Robey, P. G., J Bone Miner Res, 1994, 9(4): p. 487-96; Gronthos, S., et al., Bone, 2001, 28(2): p. 174-81; Gronthos, S., et al., J Bone Miner Res, 1997. 12(8): p. 1189-97; Cowles, E. A., L. L. Brailey, and G. A. Gronowicz, J Biomed Mater Res, 2000, 52(4): p. 725-37). Overexpression of α4 Integrin on MSCs has been reported to increase homing of the MSCs to bone (Mukherjee, S., et al., J Clin Invest, 2008, 118(2): p. 491-504).
Bisphosphonates are widely used for the treatment of osteoporosis. This class of drugs is also used as a "vehicle" for delivering bone-targeted drugs to osseous tissue as prodrugs based on their biphosphonic moiety. Bisphosphonates have been used to deliver sustained release diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug to bone in rats (Hirabayashi, H., et al., J Control Release, 2001, 70(1-2): p. 183-91). The bisphosphonate dose needed for this drug-delivery purpose is usually 10-100 fold lower than the doses needed for the treatments of osteoporosis, hypocalcaemia, Paget's disease or metastatic bone cancer.
It is well-understood that bone formation is beneficial for the treatment of a wide variety of disparate disorders in mammals including simple aging, bone degeneration and osteoporosis, fracture healing, fusion or arthrodesis, osteogenesis imperfecta, etc., as well as for successful installation of various medical orthopedic and periodontal implants such as screws, rods, titanium cage for spinal fusion, hip joints, knee joint, ankle joints, shoulder joints, dental plates and rods, etc.
Increasing bone mineralization to treat conditions characterized at least in part by increased bone resorption, such as osteopenia, bone fractures, osteoporosis, arthritis, tumor metastases, Paget's disease and other metabolic bone disorders, using cathepsin K inhibitors and TGF-beta binding proteins, etc., are well-known as shown by U.S. Publication No. 2004/0235728 to Selwyn Aubrey Stoch, published Nov. 25, 2004, and Mary E. Brunkow et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,489,445 and U.S. Publication No. 2004/0009535, published Jan. 15, 2004. In the Brunkow '445 patent and '535 publication, the TGF-beta binding proteins include Sost polypeptide (full length and short peptide) antibodies that interfere with the interaction between the TGF-beta binding protein sclerostin and a TGF-beta superfamily member, and in particular a bone morphogenic protein. In the Brunkow '445 patent a novel family of human TGF-beta binding proteins and nucleic acids encoding them are recited. The protein binds to at least human bone morphogenic protein-5 and human bone morphogenic protein-6. The aforementioned diseases are due to a systemic loss of bone mineral and thus the administration of the antibody therapeutic is for the systemic (whole body) increase in bone mineral density.
U.S. Publication No. 2006/0165799, published Jul. 27, 2006, teaches a bone-filling composition for stimulating bone-formation and bone-consolidation comprising biocompatible calcium sulfate and viscous biopolymers. The composition is intended to be administered into the missing part of injured bone without diffusing to surrounding organs.
U.S. Publication No. 2005/025604, published Nov. 17, 2005, shows induction of bone formation by mechanically inducing an increase in osteoblast activity and elevating systemic blood concentration of a bone anabolic agent, including optionally elevating systemic blood concentration of an antiresorptive agent.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,576,175, issued Aug. 18, 2009, shows α4β1 integrin ligands that display high binding affinity, specificity, and stability. The ligands comprise a peptide having n independently selected amino acids, wherein at least one amino acid is an unnatural amino acid or a D-amino acid, and wherein n is an integer of from 3 to 20.
U.S. Publication No. 2010/0021379, published Jan. 28, 2010, shows antibody conjugates comprising a targeting agent covalently attached to an antibody or fragment thereof. The targeting agent includes a ligand comprising a peptide or peptidomimetic specific for an integrin receptor such as the α4β1 integrin.
What is needed in the art is new compositions and methods for treating osteoporosis and promoting bone growth. Surprisingly, the present invention meets these and other needs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

LLP2A-bisphosphonate conjugates for osteoporosis treatment

THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA


A drive device for movable structural component units, e.g. for a window lifter in motor vehicles, has a reversible electric motor and a control device for switching on the motor with predetermined rotating direction from its rotor shaft at a switch-on command. In order to manage with the lowest possible drive output and to keep the characteristic lines to be maintained by the motor within the narrowest possible range, both the motor and the structural component unit itself are constructed so as to be without friction and active self-locking is provided to keep the structural component unit in its movement end positions. For this purpose a sensor detects rotational movements of the rotor shaft from the movement end position and the control device is connected with an evaluating unit which evaluates the sensor signals and generates a switch-on command in a rotating direction opposite the rotational movement of the rotor shaft.

The invention is based on a drive device for movable structural component units, particularly in vehicles, such as window lifters, sliding-roof actuators, mirror adjusters and the like.
More particularly, it relates to a drive device for movable structural component units, which has a reversible electric motor with a rotor shaft driveable in two rotating directions, and a control device for switching on the motor in a predetermined rotating direction of the rotor shaft at switch-on command.
An example of such a drive device for movable structural component units is an electric-motor window lifter in which the desired actuating process of the side window panes of the vehicle can be triggered by actuating one of two selection switches for "window closing" and "window opening". The triggered process of "window closing" or "window opening" runs automatically as long as the respective selection switch remains actuated and is interrupted when the end position is reached by opening an end switch. The end switches have already been replaced in modern systems by electronics with Hall sensors which switch off the drive motor when the end position is reached or when there is an obstacle in the window movement path (jamming protection).
To prevent the window pane from opening automatically, e.g. due to inherent weight or shaking, it is necessary for the drive device or the structural component unit to be self-locking, which is brought about in practice by great friction in the drive motor or in the window lifter system. However, this has substantial disadvantages. On the one hand, the desired friction can be reproduced in the manufacturing process only within a very great range of dispersion, so that the drive output of the drive motor must be designed to be substantially greater than would be necessary in the isolated case in order to protect functioning. On the other hand, higher drive outputs require a correspondingly more extensive layout of lines, fuse protection, battery capacity, etc.

Drive device for movable structural component units


AlGaInP system laser device (24) and AlGaAs system laser device (26) are arranged so that respective stripes (28, 30) are parallel to each other. The AlGaInP system laser device (24) is placed to (011) plane (22b) side from the centerline of the substrate and the AlGaAs system laser device (26) is placed to the (0{overscore (1)}{overscore (1)}) plane (22a) side from the centerline of the substrate when viewed from the main emitting plane (01{overscore (1)}) (22c) side of laser light. Substrate (22) is an off substrate and inclines from the (0{overscore (1)}{overscore (1)}) plane (22a) toward the (011) plane (22b) with respect to the (100) plane at a certain angle (θ off) within the range of 2 degrees and 15 degrees. Optical axis L1 of the AlGaInP system laser device (24) is parallel to optical axis L2 of the AlGaAs system laser device (26) and approaches at an angle of about 0.5 degrees.

In the semiconductor light emitting device area, recently, a laser diode (LD) (hereinafter it calls a multi-wavelength laser) having a plurality of light emitting elements with different emission wavelengths on a common substrate has been actively developed.
The multi-wavelength laser is used for a light source of an optical disc apparatus, for instance. Generally, the semiconductor laser light with a wavelength of 780 nm band is used for reproducing CDs (Compact Disk) and for recording/reproducing writable optical discs such as CD-R (CD Recordable), CD-RW (CD Rewritable) and MD (Mini Disk) in the optical disc apparatus. In addition, the semiconductor laser light with a wavelength of 650 nm band is used for recording/reproducing DVDs (Digital Versatile Disks). Accordingly, mounting the above-described multi-wavelength laser on the optical disc apparatus enables to record/reproduce any existing plural kinds of optical discs.
As an example of such a multi-wavelength laser, a so-called monolithic two-wavelength laser diode in which two laser diodes with different emission wavelengths are mounted on one chip has been proposed. By using the monolithic two-wavelength laser diode for a common light source for reproducing/recording process in the DVD and the CD, it is possible to miniaturize an optical pickup and to simplify the adjustment of optical system.
A laser diode comprising an AlGaInP system red semiconductor laser device (hereinafter it refers to AlGaInP laser device) as a light source for the DVD and an AlGaAs system red semiconductor laser device (hereinafter it refers to AlGaAs laser device) as a light source for the CD is cited as the above-described two-wavelength laser diode.
FIGS. 7A and 7B show an example of a configuration of the two-wavelength laser diode. FIG. 7A shows a planar structure thereof and FIG. 7B shows a cross sectional structure thereof taken along the line II—II in FIG. 7A. FIGS. 7A and 7B are viewed from the main emitting plane side of the laser light. A two-wavelength laser diode 10 comprises a common substrate 11 made of GaAs, and an AlGaInP laser device 12 and an AlGaAs laser device 13 which are formed on the substrate 11. The substrate 11 is a so-called off substrate in which both sides thereof incline at a certain angle (off angle) with respect to the crystal axis direction. Here, both sides of the substrate 11 incline in a counterclockwise direction, that is, from a (0{overscore (1)}{overscore (1)}) plane 11a toward a (011) plane 11b with respect to the crystal plane (100) when viewed from a main emitting plane (0{overscore (1)}1) 11c.
The off substrate suppresses the formation of natural superlattice to the laser devices 12 and 13 grown from the substrate and shortens the oscillation wavelength of the laser devices 12 and 13.
The AlGaInP laser device 12 is a red light emitting element having a oscillation wavelength of 650 nm and comprises an AlGaInP lower cladding layer, an active layer, an AlGaInP upper cladding layer, a GaInP layer, a GaAs contact layer and the like on the substrate 11 sequentially. The upper part of the AlGaInP laser device 12 is an air edge laser stripe 14 formed with current blocking regions 17 made of insulating layer on both sides thereof. On the other hand, the AlGaAs laser device 13 is a red light emitting element having a oscillation wavelength of 780 nm and comprises an AlGaAs lower cladding layer, an active layer, an AlGaAs upper cladding layer, a GaAs contact layer and the like on the substrate 11 sequentially. The upper part of the AlGaAs laser device 13 is a buried laser stripe 15 formed with an ion implantation layer made of B+ ion on both sides thereof.
The AlGaInP laser device 12 and the AlGaAs laser device 13 are placed so that the laser stripes 14 and 15 are parallel to each other. The AlGaInP laser device 12 is placed on the (0{overscore (1)}{overscore (1)}) plane 11a side from the centerline of the substrate and the AlGaAs laser device 13 is placed on the (011) plane 11b side from the centerline of the substrate, when viewed from the main emitting plane (0{overscore (1)}1) 11c of the laser light. The distance S of the centerlines of the laser stripes 14 and 15 is 120 μm.
As can be seen from FIG. 8, in the above-mentioned two-wavelength laser diode, an optical axis L1 of the AlGaInP laser device 12 and an optical axis L2 of the AlGaAs laser device 13 are deviated by the distance S viewed from the main emitting plane side.
Accordingly, when using the two-wavelength laser diode for a common light source for a reproducing/recording apparatus of DVD and CD, the switching a common optical system between the AlGaInP laser device and the AlGaAs laser device, that is, alignment of each optical axis with respect to the common optical system is required to read and rewrite in the DVD and the CD.
In order to align the optical axes of the AlGaInP laser device and the AlGaAs laser device with respect to the common optical system, the lens of the common optical system needs to be relatively shifted. The shift amount is preferably minimized in terms of the miniaturization of the entire apparatus. Therefore, in the conventional two-wavelength laser diode, the laser stripes 14 and 15 are placed to make the main emitting position of the laser light of the AlGaInP laser device 12 and the AlGaAs laser device 13 approach each other.
However, although two devices are placed so that the laser stripes 14 and 15 approach in the conventional two-wavelength laser diode, a certain isolation area is required and therefore, it has been difficult to further reduce the distance S between two devices.
Although the reasons will be described hereinafter, even two devices approach as close as possible, the optical axis L1 of the AlGaInP laser device 12 is deviated outside a central axis 14a of the laser stripe 14, so the distance between the optical axis L1 and the optical axis L2 becomes large, as shown in FIG. 8. This causes a problem that the shift amount of lens of the common optical system is larger than the distance S between the devices.
The present invention has been achieved in view of the above problems. It is a first object of the invention to provide a semiconductor light emitting device capable of reduction of the distance between the optical axes of two light emitting elements to minimize the shift amount of lens of the common optical system when used for the optical disc apparatus, and of miniaturization of the optical disc apparatus.
It is a second object of the invention to provide an optical disc apparatus capable of minimizing the shift amount of lens of the common optical system by using the semiconductor light emitting device of the present invention, thereby miniaturizing the optical disc apparatus.

Semiconductor light emitting device and optical disc apparatus using the same


The present invention relates to a production method for thermochromatic glass in which use is made of a low-temperature metal vapor deposition process, and to thermochromatic glass obtained thereby. More specifically, the invention relates to: a production method for thermochromatic glass in which a low-temperature metal-vapor-deposition process is used in order to effect the vapor deposition of a metal for forming a thermochromatic metal oxide and then subsequently a heat treatment is carried out, such that the processing efficiency is high and the reliability of the thermochromatic characteristics of the glass produced by the method is outstanding; and to thermochromatic glass obtained by means of the method.

A thermochromatic glass has variable light transmittance depending upon ambient temperature, and decreases sunlight transmittance at high temperature to prevent external energy from being introduced into an interior, while increasing the sunlight transmittance at low temperature to promote introduction of external energy into the interior.
Thus, cooling load of a building is reduced at high temperature conditions, and heating load is reduced by a heating effect of natural lighting at low temperature conditions, thereby enabling efficient conservation of energy.
Such a thermochromatic glass is generally produced by coating a surface of glass with a thin film of vanadium dioxide (VO2).
Vanadium dioxide has high light transmittance due to characteristics of a semiconductor having a monoclinic structure at low temperature, and is converted into an orthorhombic structure having metallic characteristics and decreases in light transmittance, as temperature increases.
However, vanadium is a transition metal and thus vanadium dioxide has various polymorphs such as V2O3, V2O5, V2O7, etc. Thus, it is important to achieve clear formation of a crystal phase of vanadium dioxide having thermochromatic characteristics at low temperature.
To this end, as disclosed in US Patent Publication No. 4,400,412 and International Publication No. WO2008/009967, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using a gaseous metal precursor is typically used to smoothly form a thin film of vanadium dioxide among a plurality of polymorphs. In addition, it is necessary for this process to heat a glass substrate up to a temperature of 400° C. to 700° C. while depositing a thin film.
Sputtering is generally used in order to achieve stable production of a large-area coating glass for buildings.
However, since the coating glass for buildings using a large-area glass substrate employs continuous deposition using an in-line sputter, it is difficult to heat the glass substrate during deposition and sputtering is generally performed at low temperature. This is because heating of a large-area glass substrate having several tens of square meters can cause not only a technical problem in that the glass substrate can be broken by thermal shock, but also subordinate problems in that energy is excessively consumed and a large amount of carbon dioxide is emitted.
Such process difficulty limits commercialization of the thermochromatic glass.
Therefore, there is a need for a technique capable of clearly forming a crystal phase of vanadium dioxide while stably performing low-temperature metal vapor deposition without any problem.

Production method for thermochromatic glass in which use is made of a low-temperature metal-vapour-deposition process, and thermochromatic glass obtained thereby


An optical trap and method for measuring both transverse and longitudinal forces on a trapped particle. Laser light sources generate first and second light beams that are focused to the trap region in a counter-propagating manner for trapping the particle. Detectors measure changes in power deflections of the light beams leaving the trap region, and changes in power concentrations of the light beams leaving the trap region. A processor calculates the transverse forces on the particle based upon the measured changes in the power deflections of the light beams, and calculates the longitudinal forces on the particle based upon the measured changes in the power concentrations of the light beams. A single beam optical trap and method are also disclosed, where the second optical beam is generated by a reflection of the first optical beam off of the trapped particle.

Devices for optically trapping small particles are better known as "optical traps" or "optical tweezers". The technique relies on the forces created by one or more laser beams that are refracted by a microscopic object in order to trap, levitate and move that object. By focusing a laser beam though a microscope objective lens down to a very small spot (focal region), particles with high indices of refraction, such as glass, plastic, or oil droplets, are attracted to the intense regions of the beam and can be permanently trapped at the beam's focal region. Biologists are considerably interested in optical traps because minute forces can be measured with sub-picoNewton accuracy on the trapped object. Since such small forces are not accessible by conventional techniques such as scanning-force-microscopy, optical traps have become a major investigation tool in biology.
One (preferred) method to measure such forces includes capturing and analyzing the light after interacting with the particle and computing the change in momentum flux of the light due to interaction with the particle. Capturing all the light exiting the optical trap can be difficult, given that a single-beam trap needs highly marginal rays in order to trap efficiently, but even a high numerical-aperture (NA) lens may not accept all these rays when they have interacted with the particle and are deflected farther off the optic axis. In such a case, it can be difficult to capture and analyze all the light leaving the optical trap. Therefore, to address this issue, dual beam optical traps have been developed. Conventional counter-propagating beam optical traps have been used to trap particles, and measure extremely small transverse forces imparted on those particles. See for example, "Optical tweezers system measuring the change in light momentum flux", Rev. Sci. Instrum., Vol. 73, No. 6, June 2002. Dual-beam traps are also better than single-beam traps for trapping particles with higher refractive indices.
One drawback to conventional momentum-sensing optical traps, and in particular dual beam counter-propagating optical traps, is that they only detect and measure transverse forces on the particle (x and y directions). Conventional optical traps do not detect and measure axial forces on the particle (z direction). Additionally, counter-propagating optical traps can be difficult to align, that is, to bring the two beam foci together at a common point.
There is a need for an optical trap system (and method) that measures all three components of external forces, and that is easy align.

Light-force sensor and method for measuring axial optical-trap forces from changes in light momentum along an optic axis

The Regents of the University of California


It is intended to provide a technique of separately forming thin-film transistors disposed in a peripheral circuit area and those disposed in a pixel area in accordance with characteristics required therefor in a manufacturing process of semiconductor devices to constitute a liquid crystal display device. In an annealing step by laser light illumination, laser light is selectively applied to a semiconductor thin-film by partially masking it. For example, to illuminate the peripheral circuit area and the pixel area with laser light under different conditions in manufacture of an active matrix liquid crystal display device, laser light is applied at necessary illumination energy densities by using a mask. In this manner, a crystalline silicon film having a necessary degree of crystallinity in a selective manner can be obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device laser processing method used in such steps as crystallization, annealing, etc. of a semiconductor material. In particular, the present invention relates to a semiconductor device laser processing method used in a manufacturing method of a liquid crystal display device that uses thin-film transistors.
2. Description of the Related Art
In active matrix liquid crystal display devices, there is known a configuration in which a pixel area for displaying a video image and peripheral circuits for driving pixels are integrated on a single transparent substrate. In general, a glass substrate is used for a liquid crystal display.
In the pixel area, a large number of pixels are arranged in a matrix form and thin-film transistors are connected to the respective pixels. Constituted of thin-film transistors, the peripheral circuits control values of currents to flow through the thin-film transistors connected to the respective pixels.
In the pixel area, each pixel has a role of holding information that is sent from the peripheral driving circuits, and cannot attain that role unless the thin-film transistor connected to the pixel has a sufficiently small off-current. Further, if the off-current of the thin-film transistor largely varies from one pixel to another, even when receiving the same information from the peripheral driving circuits, the pixels display it differently. On the other hand, in the peripheral circuits, the thin-film transistor is required to have a large mobility. With a larger mobility, the circuit configuration can be made simpler and the display device is allowed to operate faster.
As described above, different characteristics are required for thin-film transistors in the peripheral circuits and those in the pixel area, even if they are formed on the same substrate. Thin-film transistors in the pixel area are not required to have a large mobility, but are required to have small off-currents that are uniform in the pixel area. Conversely, as for thin-film transistors in the peripheral circuits, the mobility has priority over the off-current characteristic; that is, they are required to have a large mobility.
In recent years, mainly for the following reason, extensive studies have been made of the temperature reduction in semiconductor device manufacturing processes. In liquid crystal electro-optical devices, the display portion needs to transmit light, and therefore needs to use a glass substrate, which is inexpensive and highly workable. However, glass substrates cannot withstand a high-temperature (1,000.degree. C. or higher) heat treatment. Therefore, the conventional IC manufacturing technology using a silicon wafer cannot be applied directly to liquid crystal electro-optical devices.
The techniques in thin-film transistor manufacturing processes which should attain temperature reduction are techniques for improving the thin-film transistor characteristics.
(1) Crystallizing amorphous components included in a semiconductor material or an amorphous semiconductor material itself.
(2) Recovering the crystallinity of a semiconductor material that was originally crystalline but has been lowered in crystallinity by ion implantation.
(3) Improving the crystallinity of a semiconductor material that is insufficient in crystallinity.
Conventionally, thermal annealing is employed for the above purposes. That is, where silicon is used as a semiconductor material, crystallization of an amorphous material, recovering of crystallinity, improvement of crystallinity, and the like are performed by annealing a subject material at 600 to 1,100.degree. C. for 0.1 to 48 hours.
In general, as the thermal annealing is performed at a higher temperature, the processing time can be made shorter and the crystallization effects become remarkable. However, at a temperature lower than 500.degree. C., the thermal annealing has almost no effect. Therefore, from the viewpoint of the temperature reduction of a process, it is now necessary to replace a thermal annealing step with a step that is based on another technique.
The annealing technique of laser light illumination is now attracting much attention as a technique for replacing the thermal annealing. This is because the laser annealing can apply, in the form of laser light, as high energy as in the case of the thermal annealing to a restricted portion which requires annealing; that is, it is not necessary to expose the entire substrate to a high-temperature atmosphere.
Generally two methods of laser light illumination have been proposed. In a first method, a spot-like beam is applied to a semiconductor material by using a CW laser such as an argon ion laser. When a spot-like beam is applied to a semiconductor material, due to a difference in the energy profile of the beam and movement of the beam, the semiconductor material is melted and then gradually solidified, i.e., crystallized.
In a second method, a pulsed oscillation laser such as an excimer laser is used. A pulse laser light of a high energy density is applied to a semiconductor material, whereupon the semiconductor material is melted instantaneously and then solidified, i.e., crystallized.

Laser processing method of semiconductor device

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A valve unit for a fluid working machine comprise a valve having a valve member (and optionally a valve seat), a valve actuator coupled to the valve member, and an electronic actuator controller which is integral to the valve unit and configured to actively control the valve actuator to thereby control the valve member.

It is known in the art to provide fluid working machines in which the flow of working fluid into and out of working chambers of cyclically varying volume (e.g. piston cylinder arrangement) is selected on each cycle of working chamber volume by actively controlling the opening or closing of at least one electronically controlled valve, to select the net displacement of working fluid by the working chamber on each cycle of working chamber volume.
This is known, for example, from EP 0361927 (Salter and Rampen) in which a low pressure valve (LPV) which regulates the flow of working fluid between a working chamber and a low pressure manifold is actively controlled to enable a pump to carry out either an active cycle or an inactive cycle. EP 0494236 (Salter and Rampen) developed this concept and introduced an actively controlled high pressure valve (HPV) which regulates the flow of working fluid between a working chamber and a high pressure manifold, enabling a motor to carry out either an active cycle or an inactive cycle and also enabling a fluid working machine to carry out either pumping or motoring cycles.
By active cycles we refer to cycles of working chamber volume which lead to a net displacement of working fluid from the low pressure manifold to the high pressure manifold, or vice versa. By inactive cycles, we refer to cycles of working chamber volume in which there is no net displacement of working fluid between the low and high pressure manifolds. Inactive cycles such as those described in EP 0361927 and EP 0494236 involve a working chamber receiving working fluid from the low pressure manifold and venting the same amount of working fluid back to the low pressure manifold, so that there is no net displacement of working fluid, although it is also known (e.g. from WO 2007/088380, Stein and Caldwell) to carry out an inactive cycle by keeping a working chamber sealed throughout a cycle of working chamber volume, from one minimum of working chamber volume until the next, so that there is no flow to or from any manifold.
In machines of this type, the LPV is actively controlled to select between active and inactive cycles, and in some embodiments to control the fraction of maximum stroke volume which is displaced during active cycles. In order to enable active control, each LPV is electronically controlled and has a valve actuator, typically a solenoid, which is coupled to a valve member. A solenoid may for example act on an armature which is coupled to the valve member (without necessarily being rigidly connected) through a valve stem. The HPV is also typically actively controlled in which case it also has an electronically controlled valve actuator, typically a solenoid, which is coupled to a valve member. However, in the case of a pump, the HPV can be operated in a solely passive way, for example, it may be a normally closed, pressure openable check valve.
By active control we include the possibility of a valve being actively opened, actively closed, actively held open or actively held closed. A valve may be biased open (normally open) or closed (normally closed). An actively controlled valve may also move passively in some circumstances, for example by flow forces or pressure difference rather than by the actuator force. For example, a LPV may be actively closed by the valve actuator but open passively when the pressure in a cylinder drops below the pressure in the low pressure manifold. Changes to the active control of a valve may for example include increasing the current through or voltage across solenoid, to open or close a valve, or to change the biasing of a valve member (e.g. to hold a valve member open or closed against a pressure differential which would otherwise close or open it).
In order to control the net displacement of a working chamber, the valve actuators of the respective LPV (and for motoring also the HPV) are actively controlled to regulate whether the valve members move (or are held open) during individual cycles of working chamber volume, and also when they move within the individual cycles. In particular, the valve actuators are controlled to determine whether each cycle is an active or inactive cycle. In some embodiments, the net displacement of active cycles is also selected on a cycle by cycle basis. The pattern of active and inactive cycles is selected so that the resulting displacement of the working chambers closely follows a target. The target displacement may change rapidly and as displacement decisions are made frequently, the actual displacement of the machine can vary very rapidly. Hence this type of machine can rapidly vary displacement and shaft torque, while operating in an energy efficient way. Examples of algorithms which can be employed to select active and inactive cycles to meet a target demand in this type of machine are, for example, disclosed in WO 2015/040360 (Caldwell et al.) and WO 2011/104549 (Rampen and Laird).
In machines of the prior art, a central machine controller transmits signals to each valve actuator to select between active and inactive cycles and to control valve opening. A central machine controller may need to change a current transmitted to a valve actuator several times during a cycle, for example, a current transmitted to a solenoid actuator might initially be zero, then increased to a predetermined value at a specific time during a cycle of working chamber volume (e.g. to actively close an LPV), then changed to being switched rapidly between a predetermined level and zero (pulse wave modulation) to reduce energy consumption (e.g. to hold an LPV closed may require less power than the initial step of closing the LPV) and then the current may be switched to zero again.
These arrangements can therefore lead to a high volume and complexity of wiring in a pump and/or motor and the present invention aims to address this. The volume and complexity of wiring would be further increased if sensors, with their required connecting wires, were added to the valves. The volume of wiring increases the weight of the complete assembly, and also increases the package space as well as presenting a technical challenge if valves are to be located close together. It can also be technically challenging to create (and repair) complex wiring looms.
Therefore the invention seeks to simplify and reduce the bulk of the wiring of valves in fluid working machines of this type.
An additional factor is that in my implementations, any solution must operate in 90+ degrees Celsius hot oil, and have sufficient mechanical strength to withstand oil flow forces and vibration.
It is known to integrate electronics into proportional flow valves which are valves which are configured to hold a valve member at a position intermediate open and closed and to regulate the extent of opening. However, such proportional flow valves are not relevant to machines of the type described above as they are designed to be held partially open and the valve members move too slowly.

Valve for fluid working machine, fluid working machine and method of operation


A system and method for providing a multimodal list of transceiver devices to a remote terminal is disclosed. A positioning unit determines a location of a remote terminal. A processor identifies transceivers for communicating in at least a first communication mode and a second communication mode according to the location of the remote terminal. The processor retrieves information about the identified transceivers from a database and generates a multimodal list. The processor causes a transceiver to transmit the multimodal list of transceiver devices to the remote terminal using a communication mode of the remote terminal.

This disclosure relates in general to communication systems and, more specifically, but not by way of limitation, to identifying communication resources based upon a location of a communication device.
Mobile devices with more than one communication mode have proliferated in the marketplace. Cellular phones, for example, may contain one transceiver for exchanging voice and data communications with a cellular base station and another transceiver for communicating with a WiFi™ access point. Some phones offer many more communication modes. To determine the access points within communication range of the phone can take time and processing power and impede the ability to move between access points.
Conventional mobile devices may receive a list of surrounding base stations from a serving base station. This list enables the mobile device to change positions without interrupting service. However, the list is limited to information about base stations owned by a particular service provider or those owned by the service provider's roaming partners. Moreover, information contained in the list may be limited to a specific communication mode of the mobile device.

Location-aware multimodal communication system


Aspects of the invention provide a driving circuit of an electro-optical panel that can include a plurality of power lines, a signal line, a driving device, and a protective circuit. The driving device can drive the electro-optical panel based on powers supplied from a power-supply circuit through the plurality of power lines and various signals input through the signal line. The protective circuit is provided between at least two power lines among the plurality of power lines, to which powers of different potentials are supplied, and can include an electrical path for dissipating static applied to one of the two power lines to the other. Accordingly, the driving circuit can increase resistance to static of an electro-optical apparatus, such as a liquid crystal apparatus.

1. Field of Invention
Aspects of the invention relate to a driving circuit for driving an electro-optical panel, such as a liquid crystal panel, a method for protecting the same, an electro-optical apparatus, such as a liquid crystal apparatus, including the electro-optical panel and the driving circuit, and an electronic apparatus, such as a liquid crystal projector, including the electro-optical apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
This type of driving circuit can be incorporated into a substrate of an electro-optical panel so as to serve as an internal circuit for driving scanning lines and data lines by using externally supplied power, or is attached to the substrate so as to serve as an external IC circuit. Such a driving circuit may be deteriorated or destroyed for various reasons: temperature, humidity and mechanical impact during a mounting or assembling step in a process of manufacturing the driving circuit or an electro-optical apparatus including the same, at shipment or while being stored, and while the product is being used after shipment. In particular, a problem is destruction caused by a stress of electrostatic discharge, i.e., electrostatic destruction, which occurs while the electro-optical apparatus is being assembled or transported. While the driving circuit or the electro-optical apparatus is being assembled, static is generated around the circuit or apparatus. When the static is applied to wiring connected to the driving circuit, the driving circuit is deteriorated or destroyed. As a result, manufacturing yield reduces and breakdown of products after shipment occurs.
In order to prevent such deterioration and destruction of the driving circuit caused by static, a protective circuit can be provided for a signal path through which a signal is input/output in the driving circuit. See, for example, Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No. 3-54475, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-231345, Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Registration Application Publication No. 64-3827, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-22024, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-303431. More specifically, the protective circuit can be provided as an input protective circuit for an input terminal, to which various signals including clock signals, inversion clock signals, and start pulses are input from the outside of the driving circuit. Alternatively, the protective circuit can be provided as an output protective circuit for an output terminal, through which various signals including scanning signals and end pulses are output to the outside of the driving circuit.
Since the above-described driving circuit is driven by a power-supply voltage, the driving circuit can be provided with a power line serving as a power-supplying path for supplying the power-supply voltage, as well as the above-described signal path. On the other hand, the above-described protective circuit is provided for the input/output terminals for various signals including clock signals, but the protective circuit is not provided for the power-supplying path. Therefore, in this driving circuit, the resistance of an internal circuit to static, which may be applied to the power-supplying path while the electro-optical apparatus is being assembled or transported, is weak. As a result, the driving circuit may be deteriorated or destructed by static applied to the power-supplying path.
Particularly, if the wiring capacitance in the power line is large, this problem may not become evident. However, as a pixel pitch becomes smaller or as a driving frequency becomes higher under a recent requirement for improvement in image quality, the above-described problem will become increasingly serious due to a decrease in the wiring capacitance of the power line.

Driving circuit, method for protecting the same, electro-optical apparatus, and electronic apparatus


Polymeric cyanoborane is volatilized, decomposed by thermal or microwave plasma energy, and deposited on a substrate as an amorphous film containing boron, nitrogen and carbon. Residual carbon present in the film is removed by ammonia treatment at an increased temperature, producing an adherent, essentially stoichiometric boron nitride film.

Boron nitride (BN) is a compound of increasing importance for a variety of technological applications that take advantage of the beneficial properties of this material, such as its chemical inertness, high melting point, low density, high resistivity, high thermal conductivity and, in the case of the cubic form, an exceptionally high hardness. Additional applications, particularly in electronic devices, have been found for this material when applied as a thin film such as protective coatings, dielectric layers, diffusion sources, heat dissipation coatings, passivation layers, photoconductors, diffusion masks, wear resistant coatings, etc. Boron nitride films are deposited, with difficulty, on a variety of substrates by CVD, plasma enhanced CVD (PECVD), sputtering, electron beam evaporation, and ion beam deposition methods. Independent sources of a boron-containing species and a nitrogen-containing species are generally required for these methods.
Conventional methods of depositing films of BN require the use of flowing streams of a boron source such as boron trichloride or diborane and a nitrogen source such as ammonia into a hot reactor containing the substrate to be coated. The preparation of stoichiometric BN films requires close control of the ratio of reactant gases introduced into the deposition zone of the reactor. Complex metering equipment of expensive and/or hazardous materials are required. The quality of the resulting coatings is difficult to control and dependent on a highly accurate feeding of the appropriate proportions of reacting gases. These methods are generally not efficient, creating the need for trapping, disposal or recycling of unreacted feed material or gaseous by-products produced in the hot zone. Some methods require the use of microwaves to generate plasmas to enhance the rates of the reactions.
Two recent review articles, A. Lipp, et al., Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 5, (1989), 3-9, and S. P. S. Arya, et al., Thin Solid Films, 157, (1988), 267-282, describe preparation methods, properties, and applications of boron nitride films as well as a general description of the preparation, properties and applications of hexagonal boron nitride.

Method of chemical vapor deposition of boron nitride using polymeric cyanoborane


The present invention provides methods and apparatus which permit the in-process, in-situ, substantially real time measurement of the actual thickness of a surface layer of a work piece, e.g., a semiconductor wafer. A probe is disposed proximate to the outer perimeter of a polishing pad on a CMP table such that the probe establishes optical contact with the wafer surface as a portion of the wafer extends beyond the outer perimeter of the polishing pad. A nozzle may be provided to apply a stream of compressed air at the disk surface under inspection to thereby remove excess slurry from the local region of the workpiece being inspected. A broad band light source is employed in conjunction with a fiber optic cable to direct light at the wafer surface. A bifurcated probe is employed such that the light applied to the workpiece surface is reflected back to and captured by a corresponding optical sensor connected to a fiber optic cable. The captured reflected light received by the receptor sensor and fiber optic cable assembly is applied to a photospectrum meter which analyzes the reflected light. An output signal from the photospectrum meter is transmitted to a processor which includes a smart algorithm configured to calculate the thickness of the surface layer. Alternatively, the reflective characteristics of the semiconductor layers may affect the nature of the reflected signal; changes in the reflected signal can be detected to indicate when a metallic layer has been removed from an oxide layer.

The production of integrated circuits begins with the creation of high-quality semiconductor wafers. During the wafer fabrication process, the wafers may undergo multiple masking, etching, and dielectric and conductor deposition processes. Because of the highprecision required in the production of these integrated circuits, an extremely flat surface is generally needed on at least one side of the semiconductor wafer to ensure proper accuracy and performance of the microelectronic structures being created on the wafer surface. As the size of the integrated circuits continues to decrease and the density of microstructures on an integrated circuit increases, the need for precise wafer surfaces becomes more important. Therefore, between each processing step, it is usually necessary to polish or planarize the surface of the wafer to obtain the flattest surface possible.
For a discussion of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) processes and apparatus, see, for example, Arai, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,348, issued February, 1989; Arai, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,614, issued March, 1992; Karlsrud et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,732, issued July, 1994; Karlsrud, U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,196, issued March, 1996; and Karlsrud et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,199, issued March, 1996.
Such polishing is well known in the art and generally includes attaching one side of the wafer to a flat surface of a wafer carrier or chuck and pressing the other side of the wafer against a flat polishing surface. In general, the polishing surface comprises a horizontal polishing pad that has an exposed abrasive surface of, for example, cerium oxide, aluminum oxide, fumed/precipitated silica or other particulate abrasives. Polishing pads can be formed of various materials, as is known in the art, and which are available commercially. Typically, the polishing pad may be a blown polyurethane, such as the IC and GS series of polishing pads available from Rodel Products Corporation in Scottsdale, Ariz. The hardness and density of the polishing pad depends on the material that is to be polished.
During the polishing or planarization process, the workpiece or wafer is typically pressed against the polishing pad surface while the pad rotates about its vertical axis. In addition, to improve the polishing effectiveness, the wafer may also be rotated about its vertical axis and oscillated back and forth over the surface of the polishing pad. It is well known that polishing pads tend to wear unevenly during the polishing operation, causing surface irregularities to develop on the pad. To ensure consistent and accurate planarization and polishing of all workpieces, it is desirable to remove these irregularities.
A well prepared polishing pad facilitates the uniform, high-precision planarization of workpieces. This is particularly important when polishing down the metallic layers to reach the oxide layer on a semiconductor wafer during the manufacture of integrated circuit chips.
Presently known methods for measuring the thickness of an oxide layer on a semiconductor wafer involve measuring the total thickness of an applied oxide layer, determining the desired thickness of the oxide layer after planarization, calculating the pressure to be applied during the polishing or planarization process, and further calculating the approximate time required to remove a predetermined amount of oxide layer for a given pressure and slurry combination. Once the desired removal rate (often expressed in angstroms per minute) is ascertained, a statistical inference is employed to determine the approximate amount of time to remove a desired amount of material. After the wafers have undergone planarization for an amount of time calculated to remove a desired thickness of the oxide layer, the workpieces are removed from the machine and the actual thickness of the oxide layer is measured, for example, through the use of laser interferometric techniques. If it is determined that the oxide layer is still too thick after initial planarization, the workpieces must be reinstalled onto the CMP machine for further oxide layer removal. If, on the other hand, an excessive amount of oxide layer has been removed, it may be necessary to scrap the disks, resulting in substantial unnecessary costs.
Further, the methods of calculating oxide layer thicknesses currently known in the art are principally useful for non-patterned wafers, and generally do not work well on wafers having a substantially repeating surface pattern.
Other techniques may be employed to determine when the layer of tungsten, or other metallic material, has been removed from the oxide layer. Prior art methodologies detect the change in polishing pad motor current, which typically changes in response to the exposure of different semiconductor layers. However, this technique is of limited utility where different slurries and other consumable sets are used during the polishing process. In particular, false trigger may result from an increase or decrease in the surface friction caused by a change in the slurry characteristics rather than by a change in the exposed layer composition. False triggers may also be caused by noise inherent in the polishing system.
Accordingly, a technique is needed which accurately measures the oxide layer (and particularly the end point) thickness which overcomes the shortcoming of the prior art. In addition, a technique is needed which accurately detects the removal of a conductor or semiconductor layer from the oxide substrate layer.

Methods and apparatus for detecting removal of thin film layers during planarization


The present invention relates to non-hormonal compositions and methods for inducing a condition of aspermia, azoospermia, or severe oligozoospermia in the male subject such that these compositions and methods for administering the same may be used as male contraception. Embodiments of the present invention may comprise a composition comprising an alpha-1-adrenoreceptor antagonist, such as (R)-silodosin, for daily administration to a male subject. The compositions and related methods may further include pharmaceutically acceptable carriers. The present invention further includes formulations which allow for a delay such that delayed or missed dose(s) do not nullify the contraceptive effect of the treatment regimen. Such compositions and methods may also avoid the side effects associated with typical formulations of alpha-1-adrenoreceptor antagonists.

Although pharmaceutical compositions and methods for female contraception have been well known in the art for decades, the same cannot be said for male contraception. The high demand for such a product is based upon the individual needs of each male subject, and may include, for example, the desire or need to reduce the burden of oral hormonal contraception on any female partner, or to minimize the possibility of failures associated with female contraception. Notwithstanding this demand, development of contraceptive pharmaceutical compositions and methods for men has proven to be a major medical challenge.
Currently, the majority of available contraception methods are female contraceptives. Few options exist for men wishing to assume the birth control responsibility, which amount mainly to the use of prophylactics, such as condoms. The numerous draw-backs of condoms are well known in the field, and include both potential for failure (i.e., breaking or improper use) as well as a decrease in sexual sensation. Another contraceptive option available to men is the surgical option of having a vasectomy, a procedure in which the male vas deferens are severed and then tied or sealed in a manner so as to prevent sperm from entering into the urethra. A vasectomy is typically considered to be a permanent method of sterilization, and is not easily reversed, and so is not a viable option for any male subject who wishes to have children at any point in the future.
In light of this, efforts have been made to find a safe, effective, hormone-based, or chemical-based reversible contraceptive for males. Historically, most therapeutic targets have been hormonal and therefore likely to have intolerable sexual, behavioral, physiological, and psychological side effects, such as loss of sexual desire, loss of virility (e.g. erectile dysfunction, breast tenderness and growth of breast tissue, shrinkage of testicles and penis or loss of muscle mass), depression, possible suicidal thoughts, decreased mental sharpness, weight gain, fatigue or hot flashes. Nieschlag et al. discloses that hormonal methods of male contraception offer the advantages of high-reversibility and efficacy. In male hormonal contraception, the suppression of spermatogenesis is sought through the suppression of the gonadotropins luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) to undetectable levels within the endocrine feedback mechanism operating between the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus. Disadvantageously, suppression of these gonadotropins also induces symptoms related to androgen deficiency (Nieschlag et al., Testosterone: Action, Deficiency, Substitution, Springer-Verlag, 1998, 513-528). Thus male contraceptive methods seeking to suppress FSH and LH may result in a depletion of intratesticular testosterone and cessation of spermatogenesis, whilst substituting peripheral testosterone with another androgen. The substitute androgen typically is testosterone itself.
The male urinary smooth muscles contain high densities of alpha-1-adrenoceptors and several alpha-1-adrenoceptor subtypes have been identified, namely alpha-1a, alpha-1b and alpha-1 d-adrenoceptor subtypes. The alpha-1a-adrenoceptor subtype has been described to be predominant in the human prostate and is present in the male reproductive tract tissues (testis, epididymis, seminal vesicle and prostate) (Patrão et al, MHR-BASIC SCIENCE OF REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE, 2008, 14 (2), 85-96).
Hormonal contraceptive methods have other drawbacks as well, including, for example, the requirement of high dosage amounts (Guerin et al, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ANDROLOGY, 1988, 11 (3), 187-199) and frequent injection schedules (World Health Organization Task Force on Methods for the Regulation of Male Fertility, FERTIL. STERIL., 1996, 65(4), 821-829 ("WHO Task Force 1996").
Meriggiola et al. describe the association of testosterone enanthate (100 mg/week by intramuscular route) and the progestins cyproterone acetate (112.5 or 25 mg/day by oral route). The low dose regimen was ineffective in the suppression of spermatogenesis and the high dose regimen led to significant decreases in hemoglobin and hematocrit (indicative of red blood cell count?), as shown in Meriggiola et al., HUMAN REPRODUCTION, (1998) 13(5) 1225-1229.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,644 discloses the simultaneous use of an androgen and an estrogen, both compounds being separately implanted subcutaneously in two distinct slow release capsules. Reversible male infertility is observed in rats but no data in humans are provided.
Guerin et al. disclose a method inhibiting spermatogenesis in men comprising the step of administering testosterone percutaneously or orally and the progestin norethisterone acetate orally. Guerin et al., INT'L J. ANDROLOGY, (1988), 11 (3) 187-199. However, high doses of each component were required to achieve azoospermia and several female partners had elevated plasma levels of testosterone. In addition, two among twelve subjects exhibited a partial restoration of sperm count.
The World Health Organization published the results of a large multicenter contraceptive study in which healthy men received 200 mg testosterone enanthate weekly by intramuscular injection for 6 months. The low pregnancy rates were promising, but the frequent injection schedule was a problem. WHO Task Force 1996.
EP 1 267 885 discloses the use of norethisterone derivative possessing both androgenic and estrogenic properties in combination with a testosterone ester in a non-oral formulation. The formulation comprising norethisterone enanthate and testosterone undecanoate, is administered by intramuscular injection every 6 weeks to maintain the contraceptive effect.
In a clinical trial conducted with a norethisterone enanthate (1000 mg)-testosterone undecanoate (200 mg) intramuscular formulation, Kamischke A. et al demonstrated that the highest azoospermia rate was achieved 8 weeks after the end of the 24-week treatment period (Kamischke A. et al., J. CLIN. ENDOCRINOL. METAB., (2001). 86(1), 303-309).
A further multicenter study in which patients received intramuscular injections of 200-mg norethisterone enanthate combined with 1000-mg testosterone undecanoate, administered every 8 weeks showed that the study regimen led to near-complete and reversible suppression of spermatogenesis. The contraceptive efficacy was relatively good compared with other reversible methods available for men but the study was prematurely stopped because of adverse events (mood disorders, pain at the injection site and increased libido). Behre H M et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab (2016) 101:4779-4788.
Turner L et al. disclose a hormonal male contraception using four 200-mg (ie, 800 mg) intramuscular implants of testosterone administered every 6 or 4 months and one 300-mg medoxyprogesterone acetate subcutaneous depot administered every 4 or 3 months. Sperm density fell rapidly, but the method was ineffective in 3.6% of men. The dosing regimen with testosterone administration every 6 months did not maintain the contraceptive effect all along the treatment while the administration every 4 months did. A total of 11% of men discontinued the treatment for problems with pellets (dislike implants; extrusion; pain) and 5.5% for medical reasons (androgen deficiency, mood fluctuation). (Turner L. et al., J. CLIN. ENDOCRINOL. METAB., (2003) 88(10) 4659-4667.
Homonnai Z T et al. describe that phenoxybenzamine (PBZ), administered in doses up to 20 mg/day, causes aspermia following male orgasm. In 2 to 3 days, PBZ blocks ejaculation and this is fully reversed with the cessation of treatment. Homonnai Z T et al., CONTRACEPTION, (1984).29(5) 479-491. PBZ is currently approved to control episodes of hypertension and sweating associated with pheochromocytoma. Its ability to decrease blood pressure may be an issue to develop PBZ as a contraceptive.
WO 2008/087421 discloses compounds of the following formula:
wherein Ar1, Ar2, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, n and p are as defined in WO 2008/087421, useful for male contraception by reduction or prevention of the emission of sperm. After administration of one of these compounds, the volume of sperm emitted during orgasm is reduced by at least 50% which is insufficient to constitute a contraceptive effect.
It is clear that development of a male contraceptive is a major medical challenge and there is still a need for an effective reversible male contraceptive.
This invention aims at providing compositions and methods for male contraception using a non-hormonal molecule, thereby avoiding the side effects linked to the use of hormones, especially sexual, behavioral, physiological, and psychological side effects associated with hormonal treatments. The contraceptive method of the invention may be enteral, particularly oral, buccal or sublingual, and can be self-administered. The contraception method of this invention presents a lengthened contraceptive effect, particularly after the first two administrations of the composition. Oral, buccal, sublingual or transdermal administration may be discretely carried out without need for any external device. The compositions and methods of the invention further ensure convenience and reversibility.
Alpha-1-adrenoreceptor (or "adrenoceptor") antagonists (also known as alpha-1 blockers or alpha-adrenergic blocking agents) make up a class of drugs that block α1-adrenergic receptors in arteries, smooth muscles, and central nervous system tissues. When administered in humans, they prevent the hormone norepinephrine from tightening the muscles in the walls of smaller arteries and veins, which causes the vessels to remain open and relaxed. This improves blood flow and lowers blood pressure. Because alpha blockers also relax other muscles throughout the body, these medications can help improve urine flow in older men with prostate problems such as Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia ("BPH").
For example, the alpha-1-adrenoreceptor antagonist tamsulosin is sold commercially as tamsulosin hydrochloride ((−)-(R)-5-[2-[[2-(o-Ethoxyphenoxy) ethyl]amino]propyl]-2-methoxybenzenesulfonamide, monohydrochloride) under the trade name, e.g., Flomax® for the treatment of BPH. Wang et al. reported a dose dependent decrease in the volume of semen after a single dose of 0.4 or 0.8 mg of tamsulosin (Wang J et al., Assessment of Tamsulosin as a Potential Male Contraceptive in Healthy Volunteers. UROLOGY (2012) 80: 614-617). The volume of semen was evaluated 4 to 6 hours after dosing. An ejaculation was reached with the 0.8-mg dose, and the authors reported that "functional sperm count was significantly reduced. Side effects including discomfort on ejaculation were reported by some subjects.
Silodosin, also known as (−)-(R)-1-(3-hydroxypropyl)-5-[2-[[2-[2-(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)phenoxy]ethyl]amino]propyl]indoline-7-carboxamide, is a highly selective alpha-1a-adrenoreceptor antagonist that is also currently known and used in the treatment of BPH. Currently, it is marketed and sold as a BPH treatment under the brand name Rapaflo®. In vitro studies in humans have proved the uroselectivity of silodosin, which affects the contraction of the prostatic smooth muscle (Moriyama N, Akiyama K, Murata S, et al., KMD-3213, a novel alpha1A-adrenoceptor antagonist, potently inhibits the functional alpha1-adrenoceptor in human prostate. EUR J PHARMACOL. 1997; 331(1):39-42) (Akiyama K, Tatemichi S, Katayama S, et al. Relationship between prostatic alpha(1)-adrenoceptor binding and reduction in intraurethral pressure following continuous infusion of KMD-3213 in rats. PHARMACOLOGY. 2002; 64(3): 140-147), to be greater than that of other alpha-1 blockers, such as tamsulosin and naftopidil (Tatemichi S, Tomiyama Y, Maruyama I, et al. Uroselectivity in male dogs of silodosin (KMD-3213), a novel drug for the obstructive component of benign prostatic hyperplasia. NEUROUROL URODYN. 2006; 25(7):792-799. discussion 800-801).
One side effect of silodosin, when administered in amounts to treat BPH, is retrograde ejaculation (RE), also known as a decrease or absence of semen during ejaculation. For example, Sakata K. et al. demonstrated that the administration of silodosin at 4 mg twice a day induced ejaculatory disorder at a high incidence (K. Sakata et al., BMC Urology 2012, 12:29). Kobayashi et al. reported that 4 mg silodosin given twice a day for 3 days, induced a complete lack of seminal emission on healthy volunteers (Kobayashi et al., International Journal of Impotence Research 2009, 21, 306-310). Kobayashi et al. also show a 100% rate of discomfort upon ejaculation for male subjects treated with silodosin (Kobayashi K, et al. Inhibition of seminal emission is the main cause of anejaculation induced by a new highly selective α1A-blocker in normal volunteers. J. SEX MED (2008) 5:2185-2190), while Shimizu et al. report a decrease in quality of orgasm (Shimizu F, et al. Impact of dry ejaculation caused by highly selective alpha1A-blocker: randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover pilot study in healthy volunteer men. J. SEX MED. (2010) 7(3):1277-83). Other studies show a decrease in erectile function (Bozkurt O, et al. Silodosin causes impaired ejaculation and enlargement of seminal vesicles in sexually active men treated for lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia. UROLOGY (2015) 85(5):1085-9) and sexual desire (Capogrosso P, et al. Effects of silodosin on sexual function—realistic picture from the everyday clinical practice. ANDROLOGY (2015) 3:1076-1081).
Additionally, the effect of the alpha-1a blockers on the ejaculatory function is known to be dose-dependent (see e.g., Hisasue S I, et al. Ejaculatory disorder caused by alpha-1 adrenoceptor antagonists is not retrograde ejaculation but a loss of seminal emission. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF UROLOGY (2006) 13:1311-1316).
In the prior art, Bhat et al (INDIAN JOURNAL OF UROLOGY (2018) 34(5): S7) reported a study aiming at evaluating the efficacy of silodosine 8 mg as on-demand, reversible, male oral contraceptive. The study was carried out in several parts. In a first part, participants received silodosine 8 mg for 7 days and were evaluated 2 hours after intake (the results were: no spermatozoa in the semen and post-analysis urine). In a second part, Day 8 to 15, they received placebo (the result was: no information in the first two days, normal semen analysis from day 2 of placebo). In a third part, during 6 months, they had on demand silodosine 8 mg, sporadically, prior to the sexual intercourse. At that time, they were not evaluated and the study states that no unintended pregnancy was reported. Bhat et al reports an on-demand male contraception. However, Bhat et al does not fulfill the needs of the subjects who ask for a safe contraceptive method ensuring a continuous contraceptive effect, where they are confident that they are not exposed to a fertility risk.
Presently, however, no treatment profile has been developed that would allow for daily contraceptive use, as well as a regular (preferably 24 hour) duration of action allowing a daily, continuous use. Ideally, for the purposes of establishing familiarity and compliance in male subjects, such a treatment profile would resemble female hormonal contraceptive pills, for example, that the pills are to be administered at the same time every day. Such a treatment profile would also include some of the benefits associated with female hormonal contraceptive pills, namely, that a subject's failure to take one pill for as long as twenty-four hour period does not impact the contraceptive effect. Still further, there would also be beneficial differences between female hormonal contraceptives and the non-hormonal male contraceptives described herein. For example, women's hormonal contraceptives are typically provided in 28-day supply, including three weeks of "active" pills that contain the hormone or hormones necessary to prevent pregnancy, and one week of placebo pills, administered to allow the female subject to experience menstruation-like withdrawal bleeding.
Accordingly, it would be desirable for a non-hormonal composition and method for providing male contraception, which would allow for the features and benefits as described herein. Such compositions and methods would not impact the erectile function, sexual desire, ejaculation, and quality of orgasm, of the male subject nor induce undesirable side effects that would discourage male subjects from using it. Also such compositions and methods would show sufficient contraception efficacy so that the female partner will not want to use backup contraception of her own.

Non-hormonal compositions and methods for male contraception