Embodiments are directed to a method of forming portions of a fin-type field effect transistor (FinFET). The method includes forming at least one fin, and forming a dielectric layer over at least a portion of the at least one fin. The method further includes forming a work function layer over at least a portion of the dielectric layer. The method further includes forming a source region or a drain region adjacent the at least one fin, and performing an anneal operation, wherein the anneal operation anneals the dielectric layer and either the source region or the drain region, and wherein the work function layer provides a protection function to the at least a portion of the dielectric layer during the anneal operation.

The present disclosure relates in general to semiconductor device structures and their fabrication. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to the fabrication of a fin-type field effect transistor (FinFET) using a high-k and p-type work function metal first fabrication process that improves, inter alia, source/drain activation annealing and dielectric reliability annealing.
Typical semiconductor devices are formed using active regions of a wafer. The active regions are defined by isolation regions used to separate and electrically isolate adjacent semiconductor devices. For example, in an integrated circuit having a plurality of metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs), each MOSFET has a source and a drain that are formed in an active region of a semiconductor layer by implanting n-type or p-type impurities in the layer of semiconductor material. Disposed between the source and the drain is a channel (or body) region. Disposed above the body region is a gate electrode. The gate electrode and the body are spaced apart by a gate dielectric layer.
One particularly advantageous type of MOSFET is known generally as a fin-type field effect transistor (FinFET). FIG. 1A depicts a three-dimensional view of an exemplary FinFET 100, which includes a shallow trench isolation (STI) region 104 for isolation of active areas from one another. The basic electrical layout and mode of operation of FinFET 100 do not differ significantly from a traditional field effect transistor. FinFET 100 includes a semiconductor substrate 102, local STI region 104, a fin 106, and a gate 114 having a gate oxide layer (not shown) between the gate and the fin, configured and arranged as shown. Fin 106 includes a source region 108, a drain region 110 and a channel region 112, wherein gate 114 extends over the top and sides of channel region 112. For ease of illustration, a single fin is shown in FIG. 1. In practice, FinFET devices are fabricated having multiple fins formed on local STI region 104 and substrate 102. Substrate 102 may be silicon, and local STI region 104 may be an oxide (e.g., SiO2). Fin 106 may be silicon. Gate 114 controls the source to drain current flow (labeled ELECTRICITY FLOW in FIG. 1). In contrast to a planar MOSFET, however, source 108, drain 110 and channel 112 are built as a three-dimensional bar on top of local STI region 104 and semiconductor substrate 102. The three-dimensional bar is the aforementioned "fin 106," which serves as the body of the device. The gate electrode is then wrapped over the top and sides of the fin, and the portion of the fin that is under the gate electrode functions as the channel. The source and drain regions are the portions of the fin on either side of the channel that are not under the gate electrode. The source and drain regions may be suitably doped to produce the desired FET polarity, as is known in the art. The dimensions of the fin establish the effective channel length for the transistor.
Transistors have been made with silicon dioxide gate dielectrics and poly-silicon gate conductors for decades. However, as transistors have decreased in size, gate dielectric thickness has scaled below 2 nanometers, which increases tunneling leakage currents and power consumption and reduces device reliability. Replacing the silicon dioxide gate dielectric with a high-k material having a high dielectric constant (k) in comparison to silicon dioxide allows increases gate capacitance without the associated leakage effects. Suitable high-k materials include hafnium silicate, zirconium silicate, hafnium dioxide and zirconium dioxide, typically deposited using atomic layer deposition.
Replacing the silicon dioxide gate dielectric with another material adds complexity to the fabrication process. For example, implementing the gate dielectric based on high-k oxides of hafnium requires the poly-silicon gate material to be replaced with a metal that interfaces better with the high-k dielectric. Accordingly, the poly-silicon gate must be etched out and replaced with metal. The metal-gate may be formed before or after the source and drain regions. Forming the metal gate last (i.e., after formation of the source and drain regions) is known generally as a replacement metal gate (RMG) process flow.
Known process flows for the metal gate formation involves independently optimized complex stacks of thin work-function metals topped by a bulk conductor layer. Additionally, a typical fabrication process flow includes multiple annealing operations, including, for example, a high-k post-deposition anneal (PDA), a high temperature anneal applied to the high-k dielectric to improve reliability, and a high temperature source drain anneal applied to the doped source and drain regions to activate these regions.

High-k and p-type work function metal first fabrication process having improved annealing process flows

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A method and apparatus for assigning IP addresses to occupants in a communications system chassis with an Ethernet backplane and at least one internal chassis occupant, comprising receiving a request for an IP address from a component, determining whether the component is an internal chassis occupant, if the component is an internal chassis occupant, assigning an IP address to the component.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the assigning of IP addresses to internal components of a modular network system.
2. The Background Art
The widespread use and acceptance of the Internet has generated much excitement, particularly among those who see advantages in networking their voice and data communications in an Integrated Communications System ("ICS"). The ICS is often comprised of a manufacturer's proprietary system. Thus in order to set up and maintain the ICS, a computer network specialist trained and certified in the manufacturer's proprietary system is needed. Due to the nature and importance of keeping the computer network online and working properly, the computer network specialist is often a permanent employee of the business entity installing and maintaining the ICS.
An ICS system 100 known in the art is shown in FIG. 1 and includes an ICS chassis 110 including at least one internet router 116 known in the art. The user 120, usually a trained and certified computer network specialist, sets up and configures the ICS 110 which typically may involve the selecting the proper network and router cards for the ICS chassis 110, the assigning of IP addresses for the various components within the ICS chassis, and the verifying of proper communication between the ICS chassis and various hardware components such as IP telephones, personal computers, and IP video.
Once the ICS chassis is properly configured, a vendor 140 may communicate with both the user 120 and the ICS 110 using a network such as the Internet 130. Once so connected, the vendor 140 may remotely assist the user 120 in the configuration and trouble shooting of the ICS 110.
However, small to medium size businesses typically cannot afford to have a computer network specialist on staff full time.
Hence, there is a need for an ICS that can automatically configure itself without the need for a computer network specialist.
One aspect of an automatic configuration is the assigning of IP addresses to the internal occupants of the ICS chassis 110.
A problem is known in the automatic configuration of the ICS in that since the ICS may be a part of a Local Area Network ("LAN"), other components operatively coupled to the LAN but not part of the ICS chassis may also be assigned an IP address. If an external component is assigned an IP address by the ICS, then the ICS may interfere with the operation of other devices on the network, such as another ICS 7750
Although having an on-site computer network specialist may not present a problem to large business enterprises, small to medium sized business often cannot justify the cost of hiring a dedicated computer network specialist to maintain an ICS. In order to provide a low cost and effective ICS for small to midsize businesses, an ICS is desired that does not require a highly trained computer network specialist to be on staff with that business. In order to automatically configure the internal chassis occupants, the ICS must be able to differentiate internal chassis occupants from network components external to the ICS, and assign an IP address to the internal chassis occupants and not to the external components.

Controlling the response domain of a bootP/DHCP server by using network physical topology information


A regeneratable adsorber for adsorbing adsorbable contaminates from a fluid stream containing same is disclosed. The adsorber includes an adsorber housing in which there is a fluid stream inlet and a fluid stream outlet. The adsorber also includes a plurality of adsorber chambers which are arranged in an indexable wheel configuration. Each chamber includes an electrically conductive adsorbent, such as a monolithic activated carbon, a set of electrical conductors in contact with the adsorbent, and an inlet and outlet. A chamber is either in contact with a source of contaminate fluid or a desorbent fluid used to regenerate the adsorber. The adsorber includes selectively indexed chambers for adsorption or desorption to provide continuous contaminate adsorption and regeneration.

Methods and apparatus for the removal of adsorbable contaminants, in particular, volatile organic compounds ("VOC") from air streams are very well known. Typical of such systems is the use of activated carbon for the removal of VOCs and the use of a heated regeneration gas for desorbing the adsorbed VOCs from the adsorbent. To provide a substantially continuous removal process, at least two adsorber vessels are used in which one adsorber is adsorbing the VOCs from the gas stream while the other adsorber is being regenerated for use. In some cases more than two vessels are used to enhance the continuity of the system's performance.
The apparatus and methods of the prior art that are used for VOC removal from the commercial gas stream provide satisfactory removal rates. However, these processes require the use of large stationary systems with high flow rates of hot desorption (regenerative) gases. Many require the use of external combustion means to heat the desorption gases to facilitate the desorption process, often with inefficient thermal transfer to the adsorbent. These systems also require large processing equipment to handle the large flow of gases to recover or oxidize the solvents/VOCs removed from the adsorbent.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for the efficient removal of VOCs, other organic contaminates and adsorbable materials from fluid streams using reduced desorbent fluid flows. It is a further object of the invention to provide apparatus for the removal of contaminates which can be made portable and capable of being attached to point sources of contaminate generation. It is yet a further object of the invention to provide an apparatus which is capable of continuous adsorption and removal of VOCs and other adsorbable contaminates with substantially simultaneous regeneration of the adsorbent using reduced flows of desorbent fluids without external heating means to achieve high thermal desorption efficiency.

Method and apparatus for continuous adsorption of adsorbable contaminates and adsorber regeneration


A polarization key is disclosed for installation in an electrical connector on a backplane circuit board. The key has a tongue portion for insertion into the connector, engaging the resiliently biased contacts of the connector. A tab portion of the key projects outwardly from the connector to prevent the insertion of another circuit board therein unless the other circuit board is properly slotted to mate with the key. A pair of legs extend from the tab portion of the key along the outside of the connector to enter holes provided in the backplane circuit board.

This invention relates to a polarization key for use with an electrical connector such as a circuit board edge connector.
In a typical electronic assembly, a number of circuit boards containing various circuits each plug into a separate multi-contact connector mounted on a backplane board. The backplane board interconnects the multi-contact connectors and thereby interconnects the circuit boards plugged into the connectors. It has been found to be useful in such an arrangement to use polarization keys which prevent a circuit board from being plugged into the wrong backplane connector by mistake. Such a polarization key is fitted at a selected location among the multiple contacts of a connector so that it will coincide with a gap or slot at the edge of the proper circuit board upon insertion. If the wrong circuit board is presented to the backplane connector, the key and gap will not coincide, thereby preventing the circuit board from being inserted.
One problem with a polarization key is the method of fastening it into the backplane connector, namely soldering the key to contacts of the connector. This is a procedure requiring some care. Moreover, if the key is ever to be moved, the contacts to which it was soldered are unfit for ordinary connector use.
Some conventional polarization keys have the drawback that they occupy more than one pair of backplane contacts, thereby eliminating additional contacts from electrical connector operation. It is an additional disadvantage of some conventional polarization keys that they are fabricated of plastic and are thereby too fragile for the use intended.
An additional disadvantage of conventional polarization keys arises from the particular environment in which they are used. For example, if it is desired to insert a circuit card into a backplane connector between two large circuit cards already installed, then the backplane connector may be virtually hidden from view before the insertion and completely hidden during the insertion. As a result, the insertion is carried out by feel. Conventional index keys often produce the result that the circuit card being inserted is blocked at a very small distance before the connector pads of the card engage the contacts of the backplane connector. In this circumstance, the person inserting the card may assume that he is encountering merely the insertion resistance of the mating connectors. Accordingly, he may push hard on the card being inserted and break the key or damage one or both of the connectors.

Polarization key for electrical connector


A system for generating synonyms of a search query includes a database for storing session logs including query data and a processor configured to execute computer-readable instructions for tying the search query to a category, analyzing query data of session logs to formulate groups of synonym candidates, selecting one of groups containing a synonym candidate that matches the search query, and filtering the selected group by tying each candidate of the selected group to a respective category, comparing the category of the search query with the category of each of the candidates of the selected group, and removing at least one candidate from the selected group to form a set of synonyms with each synonym being tied to a category that is common with the category of the search query. A method and one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media for generating synonyms of a search query are also disclosed.

Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce where goods and/or services can be bought, purchased, and/or traded using the Internet. For example, the goods and/or services may be located online by entering a search query into a web search engine, and allowing the search engine to search the Internet for the goods and/or services identified in the search query.
Web search engines typically rely on text matching for locating relevant goods and/or services on the Internet. However, in some instances, multiple users may formulate different search queries when looking for the same good and/or service. For example, a first user may formulate the search query "mattresses" when searching for a mattress, while a second user may formulate the search query "beds" when searching for a mattress. Since the search engine may not recognize the term "beds" as being synonymous with a mattress, the search engine may then recall and/or locate goods and/or services which are irrelevant to a mattress, such as bed frames, bedroom furniture, hotel rooms, etc.
Current methods of generating synonyms for a search query have utilized various out-of-the-box ontology technologies, which are typically formulated to generate synonyms of known products and/or services. However, such ontology technologies may not be able to recognize specific brand names, specific product names, and/or retail-specific jargon. Therefore, the ontology technology alone may not be able to generate most, if not all suitable synonyms for a search query.
Current methods of generating synonyms for a search query may also or alternatively analyze session logs for reformulating search queries. While suitable for head queries, analyzing query logs for query reformulation alone may not be as effective for generating usable synonyms for tail queries which may be due, at least in part, to lower online traffic and less available information for query reformulation.
The present disclosure is aimed at solving the problems identified above.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System, method, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for generating synonyms of a search query


The present invention relates to the field of drug delivery. More specifically, the invention relates to the preparation and use of a bacteriophage conjugated through a labile/non labile linker or directly to at least 1,000 therapeutic drug molecules such that the drug molecules are conjugated to the outer surface of the bacteriophage. The bacteriophage optionally displays on its coat a ligand that endows it with specificity towards target cells. Thus, there is provided a targeted, high-capacity drug delivery system useful for the treatment of various pathological conditions.

Targeted Therapy
Targeted drug delivery is a powerful technology which holds numerous potential advantages over conventional drug formulations. Methods for controlling the action of a drug in a specific temporal and spatial distribution, so as to direct its action to the desired target organ or cell, are currently being investigated to achieve increased safety and decreased side effects, increased bioavailability of the drug, improved dosage forms and administration schedules, and overall increased efficiency of the treatment. Since the development of methods of producing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) by
Kδhler and Milstein, and the initial clinical trials of antibody therapy in cancer patients, there has been progress in antibody-based therapeutics, particularly in oncology. Early clinical trials with murine achieved biological effects principally by inducing immune effector functions (complement-dependent cytotoxicity, and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity), which had the potential for therapeutic effect with minimal toxicity, as compared with standard chemotherapy. The range of possible therapeutic approaches with mAb targeted therapy was similarly impressive, with the possible selective delivery of isotopes, drugs, toxins and other cytotoxic materials to tumors by linking these agents to tumor targeting mAbs. Subsequent trials in a wide range of tumor systems with numerous constructs, however, demonstrated the limitations of murine antibodies regarding immunogenicity and the development of human anti-mouse antibody responses, (White et al., 2001) and demonstrated that the effective targeting and treatment of most solid tumors may not be achieved successfully with murine constructs.
Recent developments in the fields of protein engineering and particularly in antibody engineering techniques have led to the production of improved targeting moieties, such as humanized mAb constructs, recombinant antibody fragments such as single-chain antibodies (scFvs), short peptides, non-antibody ligand-binding proteins and even non proteinaceous molecules such as carbohydrates. Still, targeted therapy is mostly focused on cancer, with limited attention to immune system and autoimmune disorders.
Immunoconjugates are bifunctional molecules that consist of a "targeting" domain that localizes in tumors coupled to a therapeutic moiety (Benhar and Pastan, 1997). Immunoconjugates, in the broadest definition, may utilize mAb, mAb fragments, hormones, peptides or growth factors to selectively localize cytotoxic drugs, plant and bacterial toxins, enzymes, radionuclide, photosensitizers, or cytokines to antigens expressed on tumor cells or on cells of the tumor neovasculature (White et al., 2001).
Another approach for controlling drug delivery includes targeted drug activation, i.e. the use of prodrugs, wherein the drug composition is inactive when administered, but is converted to active form in vivo through exposure to a particular physiologic environment or metabolic process. In some cases, the drug is linked to a masking moiety rendering it inactive, by means of a linker that can be, for example, acid-labile or enzyme-cleavable (Ulbrich and Subr, 2004). Examples for the use of this approach are WO 00/33888 and US 2004/014652.
Other approaches for controlling drug delivery include the use of carriers, such as liposomes, microspheres and dendrimers, to alter the physico-chemical qualities of a drug, thus controlling its distribution and half-life.
These and other studies possess several advantages over the use of traditional drug formulations, but each methodology is limited by its own shortcomings, aside from technical challenges related to tissue penetration, stability and immunogenicity. For example, the extent to which drug disposition can be controlled through nonselective mechanisms, such as carriers and prodrugs, is limited. In addition, the drug carrying capacity of existing targeted therapies is a key issue in their potency, as some of the putative targeted molecules are only expressed in a limited copy number on the target cell.
Thus, attempts at providing targeted drug delivery methods combining the benefits of the different approaches are being made. For example, conjugation schemes, such as the use of dendrimers and branched linkers were devised to maximize the drug payload per targeting molecule that binds a target site. Other approaches include directed micelles, liposomes or polymers (see, for example, WO 03/035611, WO 00/53236, US 2004/11648 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,387,397), some of them utilizing viral components for target recognition and/or structural purposes (Felnerova et al., 2004, Garcea et al., 2004). However, despite the recent advances made in the field of targeted drug delivery, the need remains for developing new effective target-specific drug delivery methods.
Drug Resistant Bacteria
The increasing development of bacterial resistance to traditional antibiotics has reached alarming levels, thus necessitating the strong need to develop new antimicrobial agents. The use of antimicrobial drugs for prophylactic or therapeutic purposes in humans, or for veterinary or agricultural purposes, has provided the selective pressure favoring the survival and spread of resistant organisms. Because of more intensive antibiotic use in hospitals as compared with the community, higher rates of resistance are noted in hospital pathogens, especially in the intensive care unit where infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria are increasing.
Attempts at discovering totally new agents effective in the treatment of bacterial disease caused by resistant organisms are currently being made. The large majority of marketed antibacterials have been targeted against the bacterial cell wall or macromolecular biosynthesis (DNA, RNA or protein). Bacteria have, however, developed defenses, either by mutation or by acquiring new genes from other bacteria.
These defenses have included acquiring enzymes to deactivate the drugs, alteration in permeability of cell walls, efflux proteins to pump antibacterial rapidly out of cells and alteration of target molecules in order to protect them against attack by antibacterials. However, for the first time in several years, new classes of compounds designed to avoid defined resistance mechanisms are undergoing clinical evaluation. Classical short-term approaches include chemical modification of existing agents to improve potency or spectrum. Long-term approaches are relying on bacterial and phage genomics to discover new antibiotics that attack new protein targets which are essential to bacterial survival and therefore with no known resistance. The rationale of such approaches is that the only certain way to avoid encountering previously generated resistance is to seek new antibiotic targets.
In both traditional and newly developed antibiotics, the target selectivity lies in the drug itself, in its ability to affect a mechanism that is unique to the target microorganism and absent in its host. As a result, a vast number of potent drugs have been excluded from use as therapeutics due to low selectivity, i.e. toxicity to the host as well as to the pathogen.
Therapeutic Use of Bacteriophages
Bacteriophages (phages) are a phylum of viruses that infect bacteria, and are distinct from plant or animal viruses. Upon infection of a corresponding host bacterium, the phages may undergo a "lytic" life cycle, a "lysogenic" life cycle that can potentially become lytic, or a "non-lytic" life cycle. Virulent Phages replicate through the lytic cycle, causing lysis of the host bacterial cell as a normal part of their life cycles. Temperate phages can undergo either a "lysogenic" life cycle, in which the phage may be integrated into the bacterial host DNA to persist as a prophage, or replicate by means of the lytic life cycle and cause lysis of the host bacterium. The natural capability of phages to selectively infect a host bacterium and to kill it is the basic concept upon which "phage therapy" was built. Phage therapy was pioneered by D'herelle, who recognized bacteriophages as epizootic infections of bacteria Phages were almost immediately deployed for antibacterial therapy and prophylaxis by D'herelle, and later on by others. Although many early phage therapy trials were reported successful, and many of the major pharmaceutical firms sold phage preparations (e.g., Parke-Davis and Lilly in the United States), there were also failures. The early trials of bacteriophage therapy for infectious diseases were thus confounded, because the biological nature of bacteriophage was poorly understood. Therefore, the advent of antibiotics resulted in the absence of rigorous evaluations of phage therapy until very recently. However, recent laboratory and animal studies, exploiting current understandings of phage biology, suggest that phages may be useful as antibacterial agents in certain conditions (reviewed in Summers, 2001).
The therapeutic application of phages as antibacterial agents is still impeded by several factors: (i) the failure to recognize the relatively narrow host range of phages; (ii) the presence of toxins in crude phage lysates; and (iii) a lack of appreciation for the capacity of mammalian host defense systems, particularly the organs of the reticuloendothelial system, to remove phage particles from the circulatory system (Merril et al., 1996). Solutions to the latter problem were proposed in the form of selecting long-circulating phage mutants that escape or even repel the host defense system (Merril et al., 1996) or modifying the phage coat with i.e. polyethylene glycol to "shield it" from host defense surveillance mechanisms (US patent application 2004/0161431).
To date, most attempts at anti bacterial phage therapy still rely on the exquisite specificity of phages to infect (and kill) a unique host bacterium (for example U.S. Pat. No. 6,485,902, PCT application WO 2004/052274 and references therein), although a few attempts at creating bacteriophages with a broader host spectrum as an anti-bacterial therapy have been reported (US 2002/0044922 and US 2003/216338).
WO 2004/062677 discloses compositions for treating a bacterial biofilm, comprising a first bacteriophage that is capable of infecting a bacterium within said biofilm, and a first polysaccharide lyase enzyme that is capable of degrading a polysaccharide within said biofilm. The composition preferably further comprises a pharmaceutically-acceptable antimicrobial agent, and may also include a DNase.
The growing use of bacteriophages as molecular biology tools has led to the development of another therapeutic use for phages, namely phage-mediated gene delivery to mammalian cells. This technology was developed following discoveries by several groups that identified "internalizing phages" while searching for cell-surface molecules that could be used as targets in targeted immunotherapy. Antibodies that bind cell surface receptors in a manner whereby they are endocytosed are useful molecules for the delivery of drugs, toxins, or DNA into the cytosol of mammalian cells for therapeutic applications. Traditionally, internalizing antibodies have been identified by screening hybridomas. Several groups turned to phage display as an alternative approach. In a pioneering work from the Marks group, an anti ErbB2 antibody was used to determine the feasibility of directly selecting internalizing antibodies from phage libraries and to identify the most efficient display format. Using a known antibody in a scFv format, displayed monovalently on a phagemid, they demonstrated that anti-ErbB2 phage antibodies can undergo receptor-mediated endocytosis. This study also defined the role of affinity, valency, and display format on the efficiency of phage endocytosis and identified the factors that led to the greatest enrichment for internalization. This work demonstrated that phages displaying bivalent scFvs (diabodies) or multiple copies of the scFv were more efficiently endocytosed than phage displaying monomeric scFv (Becerril et al., 1999).
Subsequent studies have further demonstrated the use of internalizing phages as gene delivery vessels. Vectors based on filamentous phages, lambdoid phages or phagemids, carrying antibodies or ligands of mammalian internalizing cell surface receptors, have been reported (see, for example, Kassner et al., 1999, Poul and Marks, 1999, Larocca and Baird, 2001, Larocca et al., 2001, Urbanelli et al., 2001, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,451,527, 6,448,083, and International Application WO 98/05344).
Additional phage-based therapeutic approaches use whole phage particles for vaccination. Initially, phage lysates were used as immunogens with the aim of eliciting immune response against components of the phage bacterial host that are present in the lysate. Following the utilization of phage display for the identification of antibody epitopes and mimotopes, several groups used the peptide-displaying phages as immunogens to elicit an immune response against the original pathogen or diseased tissue from which the epitope originated, which met with limited success (Meola et al., 1995; Bastien et al., 1997; Delmastro et al., 1997; Phalipon et al., 1997; Menendez et al., 2001). With the advent of DNA vaccination, phages were adapted as carriers of DNA for similar purposes. This fledgling field was developed as an outgrowth of phage-mediated gene delivery approaches following the identification of cell-internalizing phages (Becerril et al., 1999; Poul and Marks, 1999; Poul et al., 2000). Recent studies have shown that bacteriophage-mediated DNA vaccination consistently gave better antibody responses when compared to naked DNA. Although a strong antibody response was also seen against the carrier phage coat proteins, this may actually enhance the efficiency of the delivery system, since the formation of immune complexes should more effectively target APCs following boosting (Clark and March, 2004, WO 02/076498, US 2004/0121974).
Several reports disclose bacteriophages linked to haptens for experimental purposes. For example, Haimovich and colleagues (Haimovich and Sela, 1969; Sulica et al., 1971) report the generation of protein-bacteriophage conjugates useful in detection of antibodies and antigens. These studies did not teach or disclose pharmaceutical compositions comprising protein-bacteriophage conjugates.
Other studies disclose particles of bacteriophage components that contain or enclose drugs for therapeutic uses. Brown et al. (2002) discloses a virus-like particle comprising recombinant MS2 coat proteins and a toxin molecule conjugated to an RNA molecule. U.S. Pat. No. 6,159,728 discloses a delivery system comprising a capsid formed from a coat protein of a bacteriophage selected from the group consisting of MS-2, R17, fr, GA, Qβ, and SP and a foreign moiety enclosed in the capsid, wherein the foreign moiety is of a size sufficiently small to be enclosed in the capsid and wherein the foreign moiety is linked to a RNA sequence comprising a translational operator of the bacteriophage, which translational operator binds to the coat protein during formation of the capsid.
However, none of the background art discloses pharmaceutical compositions having high drug-binding ratios on bacteriophage-based drug carriers suitable for targeted drug delivery. The development of an efficient, high-capacity system for drug delivery would be highly advantageous in the treatment of various diseases, such as cancer, bacterial and viral infections and any disease expressing specific and targetable markers.


A composition in the form of a dry pourable powder cure premix composition for inclusion in a halogen-containing vulcanizable polymer composition, comprising a thioester derivative of 2,5-dimercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole crosslinking agent, glycerin and a pourable siliceous finely divided filler. The composition is useful for controlling premature curing of vulcanizable halogen-containing polymer compounds.

In the production of vulcanized halogen-containing polymer, the use of mercapto compounds as crosslinking agents, and the use of various other additives to improve curing speed, strength and stability of the vulcanizates are known. See the hereinafter referred to patents, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. Vulcanization by these conventional techniques tends to be erratic and not reproducible if a mixed uncured composition has been stored. Scorching of the fresh unvulcanized (green) material takes place during storage, even at room temperature, which affects the cure conditions required to manufacture useful parts.
Scorching is thought to be the premature start of the curing reaction, including some crosslinking, which affects subsequent curing of the material. This may reduce the cure time to the point where the compound cures before the part is properly molded. Scorched compound may be partially gelled and have a higher viscosity than unscorched compound. This may reduce flow so that molds cannot be filled completely. Often improperly cured products must be discarded.
It has been observed that differences in water content of the compositions appear to be largely responsible for the scorching. Water may be absorbed by the green compositions from humidity in the air, or by inclusion in the individual ingredients, notably carbon black. Such vulcanizable compositions absorb water in normal storage, usually in an amount ranging from about 0.05% to about 2% by weight depending on the relative humidity and the length of storage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,510 describes the use of broad classes of derivatives of 2,5-dimercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole as crosslinking agents for halogen-containing polymers to produce vulcanizates of increased strength and stability.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,288,576 discloses the use as the crosslinking agent of 2,5-dimercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole in the presence of certain basic materials to produce vulcanizates of good stability.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,482,681 shows the use of a crosslinking system for halogen-containing polymers made up of a polymercapto compound or an ester derivative thereof as the crosslinking agent, a basic material and a hydrated salt to increase the rate of crosslinking.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,147 discloses curable compositions comprising chlorinated polyethylene, a polymercapto compound, an aliphatic polyhydroxy compound, an inorganic acid acceptor and an initiator which is an amine, or a quaternary ammonium salt or a quaternary phosphonium salt. Aliphatic polyhydroxy alcohols mentioned include 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-propanediol, ethylene glycol, glycerol, 1,2-propanediol, dipentaerythritol and pentaerythritol.

Dry pourable powder premix composition for inclusion in a halogen-containing vulcanizable polymer composition comprising thioester derivative of 2,5-dimercapto-1,2,4-thiadiazole crosslinking agent, glycerin and finely divided material


The present invention relates to transformed plants with an altered terpene content, preferably over-accumulating a mono- or sesqui-terpene. By transformation of plants with genes encoding terpene synthases (TS), and prenyl transferases (PRT), plants accumulating at least 1000 ng/per g of fresh leaf of a specific terpene were obtained. The present invention provides an advantageous system for production of terpenes in that any desired mono- or sesqui-terpene at the choice of the skilled person can be produced in plants. Preferably, the transformed plants contain at least one recombinant plastid targeted TS and PRT.

Terpenes and terpenoids are found in most organisms. Their important commercial value, which is constantly increasing, is linked to the diverse range of bioactivities and functionalities encompassed by different terpenes. Accordingly, many vitamins, hormones, insect repellents, drugs, flavors and fragrances are found amongst this very large class of compounds, which all are made starting from units of 5 carbons called isoprene units.
Terpenes can be classified by the number of isoprene units present in their structure: monoterpenes (C10), sesquiterpenes (C15), diterpenes (C20), triterpenes (C30), tetraterpenes (C40) and polyterpenes (Cn, n equal to or greater than 45 carbons). The plant kingdom contains a high diversity of mono- and sesquiterpenes representing thousands of different structures.
The chemical synthesis of higher terpenes such as sesqui- and diterpenes is very complex and environmentally acceptable processes for their preparation have not yet been realized. Therefore, it is a first objective of the present invention to provide methods for efficiently producing or accumulating specific terpenes while avoiding multiple-step chemical synthesis.
Studies on the biosynthetic pathway of terpenes revealed that the common C5-precursor to all terpenes is isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP). Two distinct pathways for IPP biosynthesis coexist in the plants. The mevalonate pathway (MVA) is found in the cytosol in association with the endoplasmic reticulum and the non-mevalonate pathway, also called deoxyxylulose or methyl-D-erythritol phosphate pathway (DOXP/MEP) is found in the plastids of higher plants. The starting products, the enzymes involved and the catalysed reactions are different in both pathways, and, in the cells of higher plants they operate in parallel and complement each other. Accordingly, the MVA pathway in the cytoplasm is responsible for the biosynthesis of sterols, sesquiterpenes, and polyterpenes, whereas the plastid (MEP pathway) provides C5-units for the synthesis of monoterpenes, diterpenes, for example kaurene (C20), and polyterpenes, for example carotenoids (C40) and plastoquinone-9 (C45).
Following the synthesis of IPP, it is repetitively condensed by prenyl transferases (PRT) to form the acyclic prenyl diphosphate terpene precursors for each class of terpenes, that is, geranyl-diphosphate (GPP) for the monoterpenes, farnesyl-diphosphate (FPP) for the sesquiterpenes, geranylgeranyl-diphosphate (GGPP) for the diterpenes. These precursors in turn serve as substrate for the terpene synthases or cyclases, which are specific for each class of terpene, e.g. monoterpene, sesquiterpene or diterpene synthases. Terpene synthases can catalyze complex multiple step cyclizations to form the large diversity of carbon skeleton of the terpene compounds.
Attempts have been made to isolate specific terpene synthases and WO 2004/031376 reports the isolation of the genes encoding cubebol, valencene and germacrene synthases. When E. coli cells were transformed with plasmids containing these genes, the corresponding fragrance compounds could be found in the cultivating medium. Generally, in view prior art concerned with heterologous expression of terpene synthases, it is an objective to provide means and methods for accumulating specific terpenes in still higher amounts.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,619, U.S. Pat. No. 5,365,017, U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,126 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,126 processes for increasing squalene and sterol accumulation in transgenic plants are disclosed. These references, however, are silent as to how the accumulation of other classes of terpenes, such as mono-sesqui- and diterpenes could be increased.
The preparation of transgenic plants is also the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 6,841,717, which relates to genes associated with the MEP-pathway. This reference teaches a DNA molecule encoding an HMBPP-Synthase (GCPE protein), which was linked to a chloroplast transit peptide and was thus used to produce a transgenic plant. While this reference deals with the accumulation of tocopherol substrates, it is silent how other terpene compounds can effectively be accumulated.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,653,530 a method for increasing carotenoid production in seed is disclosed, in which a host plant is transformed with nucleic acid sequence of Erwinia uredora encoding a phytoene synthase.
WO 00/22150 discloses methods creating or enhancing resistance to insects in plants by expressing the monoterpenes synthases limonene-, carveol and S-linool synthases in plants transformed with nucleotide sequences encoding these enzymes.
WO 02/33060 A2 discloses nucleic acid sequences and methods for producing plants and seeds having altered tocopherol content and compositions.
In WO 91/13078 DNA sequences encoding various enzymes of Erwinia herbicola are disclosed. Transformed host organisms producing GGPP and various carotenoids are also mentioned.
EP 1 063 297 provides cDNA sequences coding for farnesyl diphosphate synthase and transgenic plants expressing heterologous farnesyl diphosphate synthase.
WO 02/064764 discloses isolated or recombinent nucleic acid sequences capable of synthesizing a monoterpene linalool and/or a sesquiterpene nerolidol when contacted with the respective precursor. In example 11, the difficulty of producing sesquiterpenes in transgenic plants is acknowledged, and no concrete results in this respect are presented.
Similarly, in a publication of Aharoni et al. "Terpenoid Metabolism in Wild-Type and Transgenic Arabidobsis Plants", the Plant cell, Vol. 15, 2866-2884, only very low levels of nerolidol were synthesized by linalool/nerolidol synthase targeted to the plastids.
The present inventors address the problem of producing or accumulating a specific, selected terpene. Preferably, a method is provided, which is suitable to produce not only a pre-determined, but any terpene of interest. The objective is thus to provide a system which allows, for example, the accumulation of any of the above-indicated sesquiterpenes, such as cubebol, valencene, germacrene, patchoulol, but which is also suitable to accumulate other terpenes. This problem has so far not been solved by the prior art, the latter basically suggesting recombinant organisms having modified properties in the MVA or MEP pathway, and observing that certain terpene end products get accumulated.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide means for generating any selected terpene, preferably a sesquiterpene, in a stereochemically pure form and with a reliable and cost effective production platform.
An important problem addressed by the present inventors is the increased accumulation of a selected terpene, preferably a sesquiterpene, in plants. In the prior art, yields of a maximum of about 10 μg terpene per g fresh weight plant material are reported. In particular with respect to sesquiterpenes, accumulation remains particularly low, in general in the order of micro-grams or below. It is thus an objective of the present invention to provide a possibility of accumulating more significant amounts of any terpene at the choice of the skilled person in a plant, and in particular of a sesquiterpene. Preferably, the plant can easily be cultivated. It is a further objective to accumulate the terpene in plant organs that provide a high biomass with respect to the total weight of the adult plant.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide plants accumulating sufficient amounts of terpenes for inhibiting growth of plant pathogens and attack by herbivores.

Transformed plants accumulating terpenes

University of Kentucky Research Foundation


A magnetic recording medium which comprises a base material and a magnetic layer provided on its surface, said magnetic layer comprising metallic magnetic particles, a binder and a salt of lanolin fatty acid wherein the oxidation resistance of the metallic magnetic particles is highly improved and the metallic magnetic particles are in a good dispersion state so that the magnetic recording medium shows an increased maximum magnetic flux density is disclosed.

The present invention relates to an improvement in a magnetic recording medium such as a magnetic recording tape or a magnetic recording disc using metallic particles as magnetic particles for the magnetic layer.
The purpose of this invention is to provide a magnetic recording medium having a magnetic layer comprising metallic magnetic particles of high oxidation resistance in a good dispersion state.
Metallic magnetic particles such as metallic iron particles are generally obtainable by reducing metallic oxide particles while heating and, in comparison with metallic oxide magnetic particles, have excellent magnetic performances such as high coercive force (Hc). Thus, the development of a magnetic recording medium using metallic magnetic particles as the magnetic recording element in the future is highly expected. Since, however, metallic magnetic particles are apt to be readily oxidized, they are oxidized with oxygen in the air even in a state being contained in a magnetic layer. With the progress of the oxidation, the magnetic characteristics of the magnetic recording medium such as maximum magnetic flux density (Bs) are lowered, whereby a problem is caused on the stability of the magnetic performances on the storage as well as the use. Further, in comparison with metallic oxide magnetic particles, metallic magnetic particles are apt to cause cohesion on preparation of a magnetic coating composition therewith so that their good dispersion state in the magnetic layer is hardly achieved. Thus, excellent electro-magnetic transducing characteristics such as high sensitivity and high S/N ratio, which are required for a magnetic recording medium, can not be obtained.
In order to overcome the above disadvantages present in the metallic magnetic particles, attempts have been made to improve the oxidation resistance and dispersion state of the magnetic layer by incorporating appropriate additives such as surfactants (e.g. sodium stearate) into the magnetic coating composition. However, these attempts have not produced a satisfactory result.


The present application discloses a shift register unit circuit including an input port for receiving an input signal, an output port for outputting a gate driving signal, a first clock input port for receiving a first clock signal, a second clock input port for receiving a second clock signal, a pull-up node, a first pull-down node, a second pull-down node, a pull-up control sub-circuit connected to the input port and the pull-up node, a pull-up sub-circuit connected to the first clock input port and the pull-up node, a pull-down control sub-circuit connected to the first clock input port, a pull-down sub-circuit connected to the first pull-down node and the second pull-down node, a reset sub-circuit receiving a reset signal to control the potential level at the second pull-down node, and an initialization sub-circuit configured to receive an enabling signal for pulling-down the potential level at the second pull-down node.

Image display apparatuses include a driver for controlling image display in each of a plurality of pixels. The driver is a transistor-based circuit including a gate driving circuit and a data driving circuit. The gate driving circuit is primarily formed by cascading multiple units of shift register circuits. Each shift register unit outputs a gate driving signal to one of a plurality of gate lines of pixel transistors. The gate driving signals from the gate driving circuit scan through gate lines row by row, controlling each row of transistors to be in on/off states. The gate drive circuit can be integrated into a gate on array (GOA) circuit, which can be formed directly in the array substrate of the display panel.

Shift register unit, gate drive circuit having the same, and driving method thereof

BEIJING BOE DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A system for measuring a liquid sample comprising biological material, the system comprising an integrating light collector for collecting light and for at least partially containing the sample; a light source for introducing light in the integrating light collector; a signal generator or modulator configured to cause a known modulation of the light output by the light source; a phase-sensitive detector for detecting scattered light in the integrating light collector; at least one of an exit port to allow un-scattered light to exit the integrating light collector, a beam dump, or a baffle arranged to absorb unscattered light; and a processor configured to analyse the detected modulated light to determine changes in the detected modulated light as a function of time thereby to determine at least one of: drug susceptibility of the biological material; a change in a number of cells in the sample; a change in cell state; a change in the biological material.

Classic spectrophotometers can be used to determine optical properties of bacteria using absorption or scattering. Absorption spectrophotometers can be used to measure the relative absorbance of a sample. Absorbance is measured by comparing the intensity of light entering a sample with the intensity of light exiting the sample. A drop in light intensity indicates a quantity of light has been absorbed. This can be displayed as an arbitrary figure, typically an optical density. This can lead to an accurate count of the number of cells present in a sample.
Scattering spectrophotometers usually comprise an intense light source, such as a laser or a very bright incandescent source, and a monochromator. Light is incident on a sample and is scattered at different angles. Detectors placed at discrete intervals around a chamber collect the scattered light. Collected light in the side scattering region can be used to obtain information about granularity and light collected in the forward scattering region can be used to obtain information about the size of the particles. Overall intensity of the scattered light gives a turbidity reading and an indication of the number of particles present. In scattering spectrophotometers for measuring bacteria, the typical wavelength of the light source is 600 nm. This wavelength is the most scattered and least absorbed by a number of organic materials, such as DNA, proteins, cytochromes.
Flow cytometers can also determine properties of a sample of interest. When a sheath-flow of index matched liquid flows through a narrow tube, the liquid acts to reduce the lumen of the tube forcing cells in the liquid to pass through the tube individually. This facilitates cell counting. Laser light incident on the narrow tube is scattered as individual cells pass through. Side and forward scattering data can be recorded to give information about the size and granularity of the cells under study. Thousands of cells can pass through the beam and be measured in this way in a few seconds and in very little liquid. Whilst cytometers are useful in some applications, they are sophisticated machines that require extensive training of an operator. Safe operation also requires a regular input of reagents and this contributes to on-going running costs. The interpretation of data produced can also prove challenging.
Another method for measuring concentration of suspended particles in a liquid or gas is nephelometry. Nephelometers can be configured to use integrating spheres. In such a configuration, light is incident on a sample and may be scattered by particles in the sample before entering the integrating sphere. The scattered light is then reflected and diffused inside the integrating sphere before being detected at an exit port of the sphere. Unscattered light passes straight through the sphere and is not collected.

University Court of the University of St Andrews


When a metal cap film is provided on an electric fuse, the break-ability of the electric fuse is reduced. A semiconductor device 1 includes interconnects 10, an electric fuse 20 and metal cap films 30. Both of the interconnects 10 and the electric fuse 20 are composed of Cu. The interconnects 10 and the electric fuse 20 are provided in the same layer in the interconnect layer 40. The metal cap films 30 are provided only on the interconnects 10 and not provided on the electric fuse 20.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing thereof.
2. Related Art
FIG. 7 is a perspective view, showing a conventional semiconductor device. A semiconductor device 100 includes an interconnect 101, a dummy interconnect 102 and an electric fuse 103. The electric fuse 103 is formed as a portion of the interconnect 101. The interconnect 101, the dummy interconnect 102 and the electric fuse 103 are composed of copper (Cu). Further, a metal cap film 104 is formed over the interconnect 101, the dummy interconnect 102 and the electric fuse 103.
In addition to above, conventional technologies related to the present invention are disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2005-522055 for International Application, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H09-69607 (1995) and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-79156.
Since a resistance for electromigration (EM) in the interconnect 101 (EM resistance) is enhanced by providing the metal cap film 104 in this way, an improved reliability of the interconnect 101 can be achieved. However, this brings a disadvantage in the operation of the electric fuse 103. More specifically, the presence of the metal cap film 104 on the electric fuse 103 provides an increased EM resistance, resulting in that the electric fuse 103 is difficult to cut.

Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing same


In a method of recovering data representing terrain height from a synthetic aperture radar system the phase data is unwrapped by a Gauss-Seidel relaxation technique applied to a least squares differential equation in a multigrid algorithm. In the multigrid algorithm the problem represented by the least squares equation is transferred to successively coarser grids to more quickly remove the low frequency components of error. The resulting interim solutions determined on the coarser grids are then transferred successively back to the finer grids to converge on the finest grid of the grid array.

This invention relates to a synthetic aperture radar system (SAR) for recovering data representing terrain height and generating an image thereof and, more particularly, to a system with improved capability of unwrapping the interference pattern provided by two co-registered SAR images. In an interferometric synthetic aperture radar system (IFSAR), complex-valued data representing two SAR images of the same terrain from slightly different angles are collected, processed and then registered, wherein the two images are spatially aligned. One component of the complex-valued data will be the phase of the received radar signals. The data representing the two images are combined pixel by pixel to generate an interference pattern from the images representing the pixel-wise phase differences of the registered images. The resulting phase difference data is proportional to the terrain height in modulo form wherein the modulus is the wavelength of the IFSAR system. In other words, the phase difference data of the combined image is the terrain height remainder after subtracting the multiple of the modulus from the amplitude of terrain height.
The unwrapping of the data representing the interference pattern is the conversion of this data into pixel data representing terrain height.
When there are no noise or aliasing effects in the phase data, phase unwrapping can be carried out by a simple and straight forward manner by a simple integration procedure in which the partial derivatives of the phase data are extracted and then integrated along vertical and horizontal lines. In practice, however, noise and aliasing effects are common in IFSAR data and if a simple integration is applied to IFSAR data corrupted by noise, the resulting data and image produced won't even approximate terrain height because the phase inconsistencies caused by the noise are propagated and accumulated in the integration procedure.
Prior to the present invention, phase unwrapping has been carried out by a least squares unwrapping technique. The least squares approach to phase unwrapping obtains an unwrapped solution by minimizing the differences between the discrete partial derivatives of the (wrapped) phase data and the discrete partial derivatives of the unwrapped solution. Given the wrapped phase .PSI..sub.ij defined on a rectangular grid defined by 0.ltoreq.i.ltoreq.M and 0.ltoreq.j.ltoreq.N, an unwrapped solution .phi..sub.ij on the same grid is sought. The partial derivatives of the unwrapped phase data are defined to be the row and column differences EQU .DELTA..sup.x.sub.ij =.PSI..sub.ij -.PSI..sub.i-1,j, .DELTA..sup.y.sub.ij =.PSI..sub.ij -.PSI..sub.i,j-1. (1)
These differences must be computed as wrapped phase differences, in which the value 2.pi. is added or subtracted as necessary to ensure the differences lie in the interval (-.pi.,.pi.]. The differences are defined at the boundaries of the grid by means of the "boundary conditions" EQU .DELTA..sup.x.sub.0j =-.DELTA..sup.x.sub.1j, .DELTA..sup.y.sub.i0 =-.DELTA..sup.y.sub.i1, .DELTA..sup.x.sub.M+1,j =-.DELTA..sup.x.sub.Mj, .DELTA..sup.y.sub.i,N+1 =-.DELTA..sup.y.sub.iN. (2)
The boundary conditions are essential for guaranteeing a unique solution to the partial differential equation which is derived as Eq. (4) below.
The differences between the partial derivatives of the solution .phi..sub.ij and the partial derivatives defined by Eq. (2) must be minimized. Differentiating the sum EQU .SIGMA..sub.i,j (.phi..sub.ij -.phi..sub.i-1,j -.DELTA..sup.x.sub.ij).sup.2 +.SIGMA..sub.i,j (.phi..sub.ij -.phi..sub.i,j-1 -.DELTA..sup.y.sub.ij).sup.2 ( 3)
with respect to .phi..sub.ij and setting the result equal to zero yields the equation EQU (.phi..sub.i+1,j -2.phi..sub.ij +.phi..sub.i-1,j)+(.phi..sub.ij+1 -2.phi..sub.ij +.phi..sub.i,j-1)=.rho..sub.ij, (4)
where the function .rho..sub.ij is defined by EQU .rho..sub.ij =.DELTA..sup.x.sub.i+1,j -.DELTA..sup.x.sub.ij +.DELTA..sup.y.sub.i,j+1 -.DELTA..sup.y.sub.ij. (5)
The values of the solution array .rho..sub.ij at the boundaries are defined by the boundary conditions EQU .phi..sub.-1,j =.phi..sub.1j, .phi..sub.i,-1 =.phi..sub.i1, .phi..sub.M+1,j =.phi..sub.M-1,j, .phi..sub.i,N+1 =.phi..sub.1,N-1. (6)
The classical method for solving Eq. (4) is called Gauss-Seidel relaxation. In this method, one initializes the solution array .rho..sub.ij to zero and then performs the following updates in an iterative fashion: EQU .phi..sub.ij =[.phi..sub.i+1,j +.phi..sub.i-1,j +.phi..sub.i,j+1 .phi..sub.i,j-1)-.rho..sub.ij ]/4. (7)
In the iteration, each value of .phi..sub.ij in the grid is computed in sequence using the current neighboring values of .phi..sub.ij and the known value of .rho..sub.ij computed from the phase data and the process is repeated until convergence occurs. The Gauss-Seidel relaxation is not a practical method of solving Eq. (4) because of its extremely slow convergence.
Due to its particular form, Eq. (4) can be solved directly (i.e., noniteratively) by means of Fourier techniques rather than Gauss-Seidel relaxation. After an appropriate "mirror reflection" operation, the FFT of the array .rho..sub.ij can be computed, the result divided by an appropriate function of cosines, and the inverse FFT of the result computed to yield the unwrapped solution. Alternatively, discrete cosine transforms can be used more efficiently in place of the FFT's since no mirror reflection is required.
A primary disadvantage of least squares phase unwrapping is that it unwraps through the phase inconsistencies rather than around them. This disadvantage can be remedied with the introduction of weighting values. When certain phase values are known to be corrupt due to noise, aliasing or other degradations, the corrupted phase values should be zero-weighted so they do not affect the unwrapping. In practice, there is provided an array of weighting values 0.ltoreq.w.sub.ij .ltoreq.1 that correspond to the given phase data. The least squares problem then becomes a weighted least squares problem, and the quantity to be minimized becomes EQU .SIGMA..sub.i,j w.sup.x.sub.ij (.phi..sub.ij -.phi..sub.i-1,j -.DELTA..sup.x.sub.ij).sup.2 +.SIGMA..sub.i,j w.sup.y.sub.ij (.phi..sub.ij-.phi..sub.i,j-1 -.DELTA..sup.y.sub.ij).sup.2 (8)
where w.sup.x.sub.ij and w.sup.y.sub.ij are defined by EQU w.sup.x.sub.j =min(w.sub.ij.sup.2, w.sub.i-1,j.sup.2) w.sup.y.sub.ij =min(w.sub.ij.sup.2, w.sub.i,j-1.sup.2). (9)
The least squares solution .phi..sub.ij to this problem is defined by the equation EQU w.sup.x.sub.i+1,j (.phi..sub.i+1,j -.phi..sub.ij)-.sub.w.sup.x.sub.ij (.phi..sub.ij -.phi..sub.i-1,j)+w.sup.y.sub.i,j+1 (.phi..sub.i,j-1 -.phi..sub.ij)-w.sup.y.sub.ij (.phi..sub.ij -.phi..sub.i,j-1)=.rho..sub.ij,(10)
where .rho..sub.ij is defined by EQU .rho..sub.ij =w.sup.x.sub.i+1,j .DELTA..sup.x.sub.i+1,j +w.sup.y.sub.i,j+1 .DELTA..sup.y.sub.i,j+1 -w.sup.x.sub.ij .DELTA..sup.x.sub.ij -w.sup.y.sub.ij .DELTA..sup.y.sub.ij. (11)
Equation (10), unlike the unweighted least squares equation (4), cannot be solved directly. It must be solved iteratively.
The classical Gauss-Seidel relaxation method solves this equation by iterating on the following equation: EQU .phi..sub.ij =(w.sup.x.sub.i+1,j .phi..sub.i+1,j +w.sup.x.sub.ij .phi..sub.i-1,j +w.sup.y.sub.i,j+1 .phi..sub.i,j+1 +w.sup.y.sub.ij .phi..sub.i,j-1 -.rho..sub.ij)/v.sub.ij, (12)
where v.sub.ij is defined by EQU v.sub.ij =w.sup.x.sub.i+1j w.sup.x.sub.ij +w.sup.y.sub.i,j+1 +w.sup.y.sub.ij. (13)
As in the unweighted case, the Gauss-Seidel method converges too slowly to be of practical use.
In an article entitled "Robust Two-Dimensional Weighted and Unweighted Phase Unwrapping that Uses Fast Transforms and Iterative Methods" by D. C. Ghiglia and L. A. Romero in the Journal of Optical Society of America, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 107-117, there is described a Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient method for solving the weighted least squares phase unwrapping problem. This method is an iterative technique that solves the weighted least squares unwrapping problem defined by equation (10) and speeds up the convergence of the algorithm.

Method of generating visual representation of terrain height from SAR data employing multigrid analysis


A full-face shield having spectacle openings which mate with the rims of eyeglass spectacles is disclosed. The shield is a continuous lightweight plastic shield which has two eye socket openings which form a press fit about the external rim of the spectacles. The shield is thus held in place by its fit upon the spectacles which are then worn by a person desiring to use the shield. The shield is generally disposable when contaminated but can be sterilized and is readily removed from the spectacles, which are usually cleaned before having another fresh shield attached to them.

Face shields to protect various medical personnel, particularly dentists or medical technicians and the like, from being contacted with infectious liquids are commonly worn.
Face shields presently in existence are of several types. One type hooks onto a pair of spectacles and is a face shield for the portion of the face from the eyebrows down. Such a shield is a continuous sheet of plastic without any openings and the wearer must look not only through the lenses of the spectacles, but also through the plastic sheet Another type of shield is one which attaches to a visor which is worn with a headband, and the shield may be lowered and raised much like a welder's mask.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,753 to Viesca discloses a face shield which is a continuous sheet of plastic without any openings in it which has attachment hooks to hook over the upper rim of a pair of spectacles. A wearer of this mask must look through both the lenses of the spectacles and the plastic material in the mask. This particular mask does not protect against liquid materials which may spray or splash over the top of the mask and drop into the eyes.
A visor-supported plastic shield for dentists is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,701,965 to Landis. Because of the curved surface of the shield, some optical distortion is very likely to occur. Another type of a mask is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,310,812 to Gaisser. This mask is a flexible sheet of plastic cut in a kidney configuration so that it may be bent about the face with a pair of elastic loops at either side looped over the ears and held in place. This mask does not protect the nose and mouth regions.
Another safety mask is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,298,031 to Morgan. This mask is a two-part mask in which a pair of goggles similar to ski goggles has a sheet of plastic hinged to the goggles so that the plastic may be pulled down to protect the nose and other facial regions. The plastic sheet has cut-out areas so that the only vision area is through the goggles. The goggles are held on the head by a strap, and there is sufficient room underneath the goggles to permit anyone needing corrective lenses to wear glasses or spectacles underneath the goggles. The plastic shield is pinned on either side of the goggles to form a hinge. The shield may be swung up and down to protect the lower part of the face.
Other face shields are illustrated in patents to Burstyn, U.S. Pat. No. 1,582,164; DuBois, U.S. Pat. No. 2,774,970; Atha, U.S. Pat. No. 2,978,709; and LaRoche, U.S. Pat. No. 1,279,884.
The LaRoche patent illustrates a gauze-type, partial-face mask depending from a pair of spectacles, while the face shield of Atha is a full-face shield having a "window area" in front of the eyes. The Atha shield depends from a carrier headband.
The DuBois shield is a continuous, flexible full-face plastic shield which detachably mounts on a pair of lugs projecting forward of the temples on a spectacle-like frame which holds the shield in place. Vision is through the flexible plastic shield and spectacle frames do not have means for holding lenses.
The Burstyn shield is mounted somewhat similarly to the Atha shield, i.e., to a pair of spectacle temples which are permanently fixed directly to the shield. The Burstyn shield is a partial-face shield which has its upper edge at about eye level of the wearer. A pair of crescent shaped cut-outs (recesses) are made in the upper edge of the shield. Semi-circular frames are permanently mounted to the shield so that lenses of glass may be removably fitted within the semi-circular frames. While the device provides vision through glass lenses, it has temples mounted to the shield and not to the glass lenses which are connected to a bridge and are removable from the shield. Also, the shield does not extend above the eyes. The manner of removing the lenses by pulling them upward from the semi-circular frame would preclude the shield from being simply extended upwardly. The pair of lenses are specially constructed with a lifting bar (bridge) formed in a bow-shape above and between the glass lenses so the lenses could be removed from the shield without removing the shield from the face of the user.


A semiconductor device is disclosed that can operate utilizing thermoelectric concepts. According to an embodiment, the semiconductor device can comprise: a source/drain conductor formed of a line of metal material on a substrate; a first gate conductor formed of a second line of metal material; and a second gate conductor formed of a third line of metal material, wherein the first gate conductor is disposed adjacent a first portion of the source/drain conductor at one end of the source/drain conductor and the second gate conductor is disposed spaced apart from the first gate conductor and adjacent a second portion of the source/drain conductor at the other end of the source/drain conductor. By applying current to the first gate conductor and the second gate conductor, current can be supplied from the one end of the source/drain conductor to the other end of the source/drain conductor.

As the high integration of a semiconductor device progresses, a size of the gate/source/drain electrodes of a MOS transistor is reduced, resulting in a reduction in channel length. When the channel length is reduced, short channel effects (SCE) and reverse short channel effects (RSCE) are generated so that it is very difficult to control the threshold voltage of the transistor.
Also, since the driving voltage is relatively high over the size of the high integrated semiconductor device, electrons implanted from the source are severely accelerated due to the potential gradient state of the drain, and hot carriers are generated at the vicinity of the drain. A lightly doped drain (LDD) has been introduced in the art to improve the structural vulnerability of the semiconductor device.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a semiconductor device having a LDD structure in accordance with the related art.
Referring to FIG. 1, an active region of a substrate 10 is defined by a device isolating layer, and a gate electrode 13 of a polysilicon material and a gate insulating film 12 are patterned.
Then, the active regions at both sides of the gate electrode 13 are implanted with ions to form an LDD region 14. A sidewall spacer 18 of a silicon dioxide (SiO2) material is formed at sides of the gate electrode 13.
The sidewall spacers 18 can be formed with spacers 15 of a silicon nitride (SiN) material, wherein the sidewall spacer 18 functions a role of mitigating interlayer stress and improving adhesion between the spacer 15 and the gate electrode 13.
Finally, the active regions at both sides of the spacer 15 can be implanted with ions to form a source region 16 and a drain region 17.
When forming the spacer 15 and sidewall spacer 18, deposition, etching, and cleaning processes are performed, resulting in a complicated procedure and increased manufacturing time and cost.
Also, the deposition process for forming the spacer 15 is performed at a high temperature for a long time so that the distribution of the ions implanted into the LDD region 14 occurs, which may degrade the characteristics of the device.
That is, when forming the LDD region 14, the ions, such as B and BF, are implanted and are diffused toward the edge of the channel region by the heat treatment process when forming the spacer 15.
Therefore, the LDD region 14 is extended into the semiconductor substrate below the edge of the gate electrode 13. If the overlap of the LDD region 14 and the gate electrode 13 occurs, the overlap capacitance of the gate-drain is increased and the RC delay is increased so that the electrical characteristics of the semiconductor device, including operating speed, are degraded.
Since the semiconductor device includes the implant layers, such as the source region, the drain region, and the LDD region, there is a limitation for minimizing the size of the semiconductor device. In addition, there are problems in several processes, and there is a limitation for improving operation reliability.


Carbapenems of the formula ##STR1## are useful antibacterial agents.

The present invention relates to antibacterial agents of the carbapenem class, in which the 2-position sidechain is characterized by a 3-pyridine moiety, substituted by various substituents, as described in more detail further below.
Thienamycin was an early carbapenem antibacterial agent having a broad spectrum; it has the following formula: ##STR2## Later, N-formimidoyl thienamycin was discovered; it has the formula: ##STR3##
The 2-(3-pyridyl)carbapenems of the present invention are not characterized by a broad antibacterial spectrum such as that of thienamycin or N-formimidoyl thienamycin. Rather their spectrum of activity is largely limited to gram positive microorganisms, especially methicillin resistant Stphylococcus aureus (MRSA), methicillin resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE), and methicillin resistant coagulase negative Staphylococci (MRCNS), and some gram negative organisms. The antibacterial compounds of the present invention thus comprise an important contribution to therapy of these difficult to control pathogens. Moreover, there is an increasing need for agents effective against such pathogens (MRSA/MRCNS) which are at the same time safe, i.e., free from undesirable toxic side effects. No .beta.-lactam antibacterial has yet been found which meets these requirements. And, the current agent of choice, vancomycin, a glycopeptide antibacterial, is experiencing an ever increasing amount of resistance in the MRSA/MRCNS pathogens.
More recently, carbapenem antibacterial agents have been described which have a 2-substituent which is an aryl moiety optionally substituted by, e.g., aminomethyl and substituted aminomethyl. These agents are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,543,257 and 4,260,627 and have the formula: ##STR4##
A related patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,669, by L. Cama and B. G. Christensen describes the unsubstituted 2-(4- and 2-pyridyl)-carbapenems: ##STR5## as having broad spectrum antibacterial activity. The patent generically claims substituted 2-heteroaryl-carbapenems, which includes a substituted pyridine. The compounds of the present invention, substituted 2-(3-pyridyl)carbapenems are not specifically disclosed in this reference nor does the patent report these 2-heteroaryl-carbapenem compounds as having anti-methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) activity. The 2-(5-substituted-3-pyridyl)carbapenems of the present invention with a select group of substituents at 5-position of pyridine nucleus have been found to impart surprisingly high anti-MRSA activity.
EP-A-0277 743 describes a particular class of compounds of the formula: ##STR6## but this limited teaching in no way suggests the totally different compounds of the present invention, nor their surprisingly better anti-MRSA/MRCNS activity.


An apparatus for quantizing the phase of a speech signal using a perceptual weighting function and a method therefor are provided. The apparatus for quantizing the phase of a speech signal using a perceptual weighting function includes a phase information extractor for obtaining the phase of each harmonic frequency in a speech signal represented by the discrete sum of periodic signals having different harmonic frequency components, a quantization noise shaping unit for controlling the amount of quantization noise of each phase using a perceptual weighting function, which makes quantization noise less than a predetermined just noticeable difference (JND) of the phase, a quantization bit assigner for assigning quantization bits to each phase according to the controlled amount of quantization noise, and a scalar quantizer for quantizing each phase by the assigned quantization bits. It is possible to improve the quality of encoded speech by quantizing phase information using a perceptual weighting function.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to quantization of the phase of a speech signal, and more particularly, to an apparatus for quantizing the phase of a speech signal using a perceptual weighting function and a method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is essential to refer to the perceptual characteristics of the human auditory to system with respect to the spectrum of a speech signal in speech encoding systems. However, little attention has been paid to the perceptual characteristics of phase information. Recently, some interesting research addressing the importance of the perceptual characteristics of phase information in a speech signal has been conducted. It has been shown that humans"" ability to distinguish different phase spectra is better than is often assumed.
In an apparatus for processing information on the phase of a speech signal disclosed in application Ser. No. 09/571,417 filed by the present applicant, a criterion was proposed to determine perceptually irrelevant phase information in a stationary section of a speech signal in the context of frequency domain representation of the speech signal. For harmonic signals, the criterion leads to the xe2x80x9ccritical phase frequencyxe2x80x9d, below which phase information is irrelevant to the perceived quality of the signal. As mentioned above, the speech signal phase information processing apparatus for distinguishing an important phase component was provided considering human auditory characteristics, so that the phase component of the speech signal is selectively coded or composed. However, there remain many problems to be solved in order to more effectively quantize the phase information.
One of them is how to effectively quantize the phase information above the critical phase frequency using the perceptual characteristics. In the present invention, use of the perceptual characteristics of the human auditory system for quantizing the phase of the speech signal will be provided.
To solve the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for quantizing the phase of a speech signal, which is capable of improving the quality of encoded speech by quantizing phase information using a perceptual weighting function, which makes phase quantization noise of a speech signal less than a predetermined just noticeable difference (JND) of phase, and a method therefor.
Accordingly, to achieve the above object, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for quantizing the phase of a speech signal using a perceptual weighting function, comprising a phase information extractor for obtaining the phase of each harmonic frequency in a speech signal represented by the discrete sum of periodic signals having different harmonic frequency components, a quantization noise shaping unit for controlling the amount of quantization noise of each phase using a perceptual weighting function, which makes quantization noise less than a predetermined just noticeable difference (JND) of the phase, a quantization bit assigner for assigning quantization bits to each phase according to the controlled amount of quantization noise, and a scalar quantizer for quantizing each phase by the assigned quantization bits.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided another apparatus for quantizing the phase of a speech signal using a perceptual weighting function, comprising a phase information extractor for obtaining the phase of each harmonic frequency in a speech signal represented by the discrete sum of periodic signals having different harmonic frequency components, a perceptual weighting function calculator for calculating a perceptual weighting function using a result obtained by measuring the JND of the phase at each harmonic frequency for a harmonic tone having the fundamental frequency of the speech signal, a comparator for comparing a previously provided quantization estimation codebook with each phase by applying the perceptual weighting function, and a minimum value detector for detecting the minimum value among comparison values sequentially obtained from the comparator and outputting the index of the quantization estimation code book corresponding to the minimum value.
To achieve the above object, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for quantizing the phase of a speech signal using a perceptual weighting function, comprising the steps of (a) obtaining the phase of each harmonic frequency in a speech signal represented by the discrete sum of periodic signals having different harmonic frequency components, (b) calculating a perceptual weighting function using a result obtained by the JND of the phase at each harmonic frequency for a harmonic tone having the fundamental frequency of the speech signal, (c) controlling the amount of quantization noise of each phase by calculating the amount of quantization noise from the perceptual weighting function of each phase, (d) assigning quantization bits to each phase according to the controlled amount of quantization noise, and (e) quantizing each phase by the assigned quantization bits.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for quantizing the phase of a speech signal using a perceptual weighting function, comprising the steps of (a) obtaining the phase of each harmonic frequency in a speech signal represented by the discrete sum of periodic signals having different harmonic frequency components, (b) calculating a perceptual weighting function using the result obtained by measuring the JND of a phase at each harmonic frequency for a harmonic tone having the fundamental frequency of the speech signal, (c) comparing a previously provided quantization estimation code book with each phase by applying the perceptual weighting function, and (d) detecting the minimum value among the comparison values sequentially obtained in the step (d) and outputting the index of the quantization estimation code book corresponding to the minimum value.

Apparatus for quantizing phase of speech signal using perceptual weighting function and method therefor


A switch control circuit includes a first pin connected to a first voltage, and a second pin connected to another end of a first resistor including an end connected to the first pin and a first capacitor. In the switch control circuit, at least two of first dead time information, second dead time information, and a protection mode are set by using a multi-voltage of the second pin. The first dead time information is information about a dead time of a first switch and a second switch controlling power supply, the second dead time information is information about a dead time for synchronous rectification, and the protection mode includes an auto-restart mode and a latch mode.

(a) Field
Embodiments relates to a switch control circuit and a power supply device including the same.
(b) Description of the Related Art
A general controller includes pins corresponding to required functions. For example, a pin for setting a dead time, a pin for setting a protection mode, and a pin for remote controlling are provided in the controller.
When the number of required functions is increased, the number of pins is increased, and thus a size of a control IC is increased and a production cost is increased.

Switch control circuit including multipin to set dead time information and/or protection mode

SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC


Devices, systems and methods are described which control blood pressure, nervous system activity, and neurohormonal activity by activating baroreceptors. By selectively and controllably activating baroreceptors, the present invention reduces excessive blood pressure, sympathetic nervous system activity and neurohormonal activity, thereby minimizing their deleterious effects on the heart, vasculature and other organs and tissues. A baroreceptor activation device is positioned near a low-pressure baroreceptor, preferably in the venous system, heart, or pulmonary vasculature.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to medical devices and methods of use for the treatment and/or management of cardiovascular, renal, and neurological disorders. Specifically, the present invention relates to devices and methods for controlling the low-pressure baroreflex system for the treatment and/or management of cardiovascular, renal, and neurological disorders.
Cardiovascular disease is a major contributor to patient illness and mortality. It also is a primary driver of health care expenditure, costing more than $326 billion each year in the United States. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a major cardiovascular disorder that is estimated to affect over 50 million people in the United Sates alone. Hypertension occurs when the body's smaller blood vessels (arterioles) constrict, causing an increase in blood pressure. Because the blood vessels constrict, the heart must work harder to maintain blood flow at the higher pressures. Although the body may tolerate short periods of increased blood pressure, sustained hypertension may eventually result in damage to multiple body organs, including the kidneys, brain, eyes and other tissues, causing a variety of maladies associated therewith.
Heart failure is the final common expression of a variety of cardiovascular disorders, including ischemic heart disease. It is characterized by an inability of the heart to pump enough blood to meet the body's needs and results in fatigue, reduced exercise capacity and poor survival. It is estimated that approximately 5,000,000 people in the United States suffer from heart failure, directly leading to 39,000 deaths per year and contributing to another 225,000 deaths per year. Heart failure results in the activation of a number of body systems to compensate for the heart's inability to pump sufficient blood. Many of these responses are mediated by an increase in the level of activation of the sympathetic nervous system, as well as by activation of multiple other neurohormonal responses. Generally speaking, this sympathetic nervous system activation signals the heart to increase heart rate and force of contraction to increase the cardiac output; it signals the kidneys to expand the blood volume by retaining sodium and water; and it signals the arterioles to constrict to elevate the blood pressure. The cardiac, renal and vascular responses increase the workload of the heart, further accelerating myocardial damage and exacerbating the heart failure state. Accordingly, it is desirable to reduce the level of sympathetic nervous system activation in order to stop or at least minimize this vicious cycle and thereby treat or manage the heart failure.
A number of drug treatments have been proposed for the management of hypertension, heart failure and other cardiovascular disorders. These include vasodilators to reduce the blood pressure and ease the workload of the heart, diuretics to reduce fluid overload, inhibitors and blocking agents of the body's neurohormonal responses, and other medicaments. Various surgical procedures have also been proposed for these maladies. For example, heart transplantation has been proposed for patients who suffer from severe, refractory heart failure. Alternatively, an implantable medical device such as a ventricular assist device (VAD) may be implanted in the chest to increase the pumping action of the heart. Alternatively, an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) may be used for maintaining heart function for short periods of time, but typically no longer than one month. Other surgical procedures are available as well. No one drug, surgical procedure, or assist system, however, has provided a complete solution to the problems of hypertension and heart failure.
For these reasons, it would be desirable to provide alternative and improved methods for treating hypertension, heart failure, and other cardiovascular, neurological, and renal disorders. Such methods and systems should allow for treatment of patients where other therapies have failed or are unavailable, such as heart transplantation. It would be further desirable if the methods could lessen or eliminate the need for chronic drug use in at least some patients. Additionally, it would be desirable if the methods and systems were mechanically simple and inherently reliable, in contrast to complex mechanical systems such as VAD's, IABP's, and the like.
One particularly promising approach for improving the treatment of hypertension, heart failure, and other cardiovascular and renal disorders is described in published PCT Application No. WO 02/026314, which claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/671,850, which is the parent of the present application. The full disclosures of both WO 02/026314 and U.S. Ser. No. 09/671,850, are incorporated herein by reference. WO 02/026314 describes the direct activation of baroreceptors for inducing changes in a patient's baroreflex system to control blood pressure and other patient functions. The prior applications are particularly directed at the activation of the baroreceptors present in the carotid sinus and the aortic arch. Both the carotid sinus and aortic arch are on the high-pressure or arterial side of the patient's vasculature. They are referred to as high-pressure since pressures in the systemic arterial circulation are higher than those in the veins and pulmonary circulation. Activation of the high-pressure baroreceptors can send signals to the brain that cause reflex alterations in nervous system function which result in changes in activity of target organs, including the heart, vasculature, kidneys, and the like, typically to maintain homeostasis.
While highly promising, the need to implant electrodes or other effectors on the arterial or high-pressure side of the vasculature may be disadvantageous in some respects. Arteries and other vessels on the high-pressure side of the vasculature are at risk of damage, and implantation of an electrode on or in the carotid sinus or aortic arch requires more care, and improper device implantation on the arterial side presents a small risk of arterial thromboembolism which in turn can cause stroke and other organ damage. Some arterial locations can also cause unwanted tissue or nerve stimulation due to current leakage.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide improved methods and systems for artificial and selective activation of a patient's baroreflex system in order to achieve a variety of therapeutic objectives, including the control of hypertension, renal function, heart failure, and the treatment of other cardiovascular. and neurological disorders. It would be particularly desirable if such methods and systems did not require intervention on the arterial or high-pressure side of a patient's vasculature, thus lessening the risk to the patient of arterial damage and damage resulting from thromboembolism or hemorrhage. At least some of these objectives will be met by the inventions described hereinafter.
2. Description of the Background Art
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,073,048 and 6,178,349, each having a common invention with the present application, describe the stimulation of nerves to regulate the heart, vasculature, and other body systems. Nerve stimulation for other purposes is described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,292,695 B1 and 5,700,282. Publications describing baropacing of the carotid arteries for controlling hypertension include Neufeld et al. (1965) Israel J. Med. Sci 1:630-632; Bilgutay et al., Proc. Baroreceptors and Hypertension, Dayton, Ohio, Nov. 16-17, 1965, pp 425-437; Bilgutary and Lillehei (1966) Am. J. Cariol. 17:663-667; and Itoh (1972) Jap. Heart J. 13: 136-149. Publications which describe the existence of baroreceptors and/or related receptors in the venous vasculature and atria include Goldberger et al. (1999) J. Neuro. Meth. 91:109-114; Kostreva and Pontus (1993) Am. J. Physiol. 265:G15-G20; Coleridge et al. (1973) Circ. Res. 23:87-97; Mifflin and Kunze (1982) Circ. Res. 51:241-249; and Schaurte et al. (2000) J. Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 11:64-69.

Devices and methods for cardiovascular reflex control


Embodiments relate to a user interface for building queries. The user may select a source or sources to be queried, and establish any number of desirable and undesirable criteria to filter the source or sources. The result set may be named with an identifier. Additional queries may be built that use previous queries as sources. The interface for building queries may be used in conjunction with electronic discovery software or document review software to filter relevant documents.

Electronic communication is now the primary way most business employees communicate with one another. Text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and electronic mail (e-mail) allow users to communicate and collaborate without the delay imposed by traditional paper-based communication. E-mails and other electronic communications are a significant source of documents used as evidence in administrative proceedings, litigations, and other court proceedings. Electronic discovery tools are used in the majority of court actions to locate potentially relevant documentation.
Electronic discovery tools often store documents used in litigation and other proceedings in a database. In order to retrieve results from the database, database queries and searches are used to extract sets of electronic documents and other materials that satisfy specified search criteria for further review and analysis.


A center lens for collecting light in a center range and left/right lenses for collecting light in left/right ranges are supported in one plane to form center and left/right unit images. A microprocessor combines the unit images into a wide-angle image. The left/right optical lenses are placed on left-right direction line parallel to the wide-angle direction, while the center lens is placed distant from the left/right lenses above the direction line. Prisms are placed in front of the left/right lenses, and a toroidal lens to vertically modify the light path for light convergence onto each lens is placed in front of the prisms. The toroidal lens has a vertically curved surface having an axis coinciding with the direction line, and a horizontally cured surface having an axis coinciding with a vertical line passing through the center lens. This device can obtain a wide-angle image with a vertically large picture angle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wide-angle compound-eye imaging device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wide-angle compound-eye imaging device with a wide field of view is known in which light entering in a wide-angle capture range is collected by multiple optical lenses in predetermined divided or shared angular ranges in the direction from left to right in the wide field of view or wide-angle capture range (hereafter referred to simply as wide-angle direction), and unit images formed by the optical lenses in the respective angular ranges are combined into a wide-angle capture image as disclosed in e.g. Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication 2007-288569. In such compound-eye imaging device, the optical lenses are placed from left to right (left, center and right) in the wide-angle direction, while a prism is placed in front of each left and right optical lens to share each left and right angular range to bend a path of light entering in each left and right capture range. This allows that the optical lens used to share each left, center and right angular range has a capture range e.g. as small as 40° (degrees) so as to capture an image in a capture range of 120° (degrees) without distortion.
The compound-eye imaging device of this patent publication makes it possible to easily obtain a distortion-free wide-angle or panoramic image with a picture angle of maximum about 180° (degrees) from left to right in the wide-angle direction. However, the picture angle from up to down, which is in a direction perpendicular to the wide-angle direction, is limited by the capture angle (i.e. convergence angle) specific to each optical lens. For example, if each optical lens used has a specific capture angle of 40°, it is only possible to obtain an image with a picture angle as small as 40° from up to down in the direction perpendicular to the wide-angle direction. Note here that it is generally understood that the maximum allowable limit of the picture angle of an image to be captured by one optical lens without distortion is about 60°.
Thus, in order to allow each of the optical lenses to have a specific capture angle larger than 60° (degrees), each optical lens is required to be formed of a combined lens consisting of two or more lenses. However, in a compound-eye imaging device, each optical lens is normally formed very small (as small as a few millimeters, for example), so that the provision of the combined lens makes it difficult to manufacture the compound-eye imaging device, and increases its cost. If, on the other hand, each optical lens is formed large, the size or volume of the resultant compound-eye imaging device becomes large. This reduces the advantage of small size which the compound-eye imaging device basically has.
Besides, another compound-eye imaging device is known in which multiple optical lenses are used to form each unit image so as to allow respective unit images to be those with different picture angles as disclosed in e.g. Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication 2005-338505. However, this does not solve the problems described above.