The present invention provides a method for producing preparations comprising soluble arabinoxylans as co-products of ethanol production through fermentation of whole-grain cereals. The method results in preparations that are highly enriched in soluble arabinoxylans, which can be used as a food, beverage, or feed ingredients.

Ethanol is widely used in potable alcoholic beverages, as a solvent for extraction or chemical synthesis, or as a fuel additive or straight fuel. Alcohol is mainly produced through fermentation by yeast of plant-derived material that is rich in carbohydrates. Starch-rich grains of cereals, including but not limited to wheat, corn, barley, rye, rice, oats, triticale, spelt, sorghum, or pearl millet, can be used as a starting material for ethanol production. The processing of cereals for ethanol production generates co-products, such as for instance dried distillers grain and solubles (DDGS), which are used as low-value animal feed or burned to recover heat energy. There is a need for diversification of the co-products of ethanol production, especially co-products with a high added value.
Cereals contain 5-10% of arabinoxylan, which together with starch, cellulose and β-glucan constitute the most abundant cereal carbohydrates. Arabinoxylan comprises a main chain of β-1,4-linked D-xylopyranosyl units to which O-2 and/or O-3 α-L-arabino-furanosyl units are linked (Gruppen et al. 1992). In a typical arabinoxylan, unsubstituted, monosubstituted and disubstituted xylose residues occur (see FIG. 1). In addition, the arabinose side chains can be covalently linked to acetyl, methylglucuronic acid, or feruloyl substituents, the latter being capable to form ferulic acid dimer cross-links. Arabinoxylans in cereals are either water-extractable or water-unextractable (Gruppen et al. 1992; Courtin and Delcour, 2001). Water-unextractable arabinoxylans (WU-AX) can be partially solubilised under alkaline conditions or by using enzymes, such as endoxylanases. WU-AX bind large amounts of water. The water-extractable arabinoxylans (WE-AX) have very high molecular masses (up to 800,000 Dalton) depending on the source and extraction method, and have an extraordinary viscosity forming potential. Arabinoxylans can not be fermented by standard strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and therefore do not contribute to the production of ethanol by fermentation of cereals.
Arabinoxylo-oligosaccharides (AXOS), oligosaccharides derived from arabinoxylan, have been shown to exert prebiotic properties and could therefore be an interesting co-product of ethanol production. Prebiotics are compounds, usually non-glucosidic oligosaccharides, that can not be digested by enzymes of the upper gastro-intestinal tract but are fermented selectively by some types of intestinal bacteria in the large intestine (Gibson and Roberfroid, 1995; Roberfroid, 1988; Van Loo, 2004). The presence of prebiotics in the diet causes a shift in the composition of the intestinal bacterial population, typically characterised by a relative increase in Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species. This shift in the microbiota of the intestine is associated with improved overall health, reduced gut infections, increased levels of intestinal short chain fatty acids, better absorption of minerals, and suppression of colon cancer initiation (Van Loo, 2004). A preparation consisting predominantly of AXOS with a degree of polymerisation (DP) of 3-5 (arabinosylxylobiose, arabinosylxylotriose, arabinosylxylotetraose, and diarabinosylxylotetraose) has been shown to exert prebiotic effects and to increase the levels of Bifidobacteria in the intestines of rats and mice (Yamada et al., 1993). It has further been demonstrated that AXOS preparations with an average DP ranging between 5 and 50 have particularly strong prebiotic properties, as evidenced by tests performed on chickens, rats and humans (WO06/002495). AXOS have also been shown to improve the growth performance and food utilisation of monogastric animals (WO03/015533). AXOS-containing preparations can therefore find wide uses as ingredients for food, beverage and feed products.
Up to now no economically viable method for the production of AXOS has been developed. The method developed by Yamada et al. (1993) involves chemical extraction of arabinoxylan using a concentrated alkaline solution, followed by neutralisation, removal of the salts, enzymic hydrolysis with endoxylanase, and chromatography on a carbon column (Yamada et al., 1993). The main drawback of this method is that the alkaline extraction of arabinoxylan is environment-unfriendly, and requires costly removal of the minerals by extensive dialysis or ultrafiltration before enzymic hydrolysis can be performed. Another method to produce AXOS involves hydrothermal autohydrolysis of hardwood or brewery spent grain. In this method a suspension of plant material is heated in a special reactor at 150-190° C. for 20-60 min (EP 0265970B1; Kabel et al., 2002; Carvalheiro et al., 2004). The drawback of this method is that, due to the high reaction temperature, side products are produced that are undesirable for food purposes, such as furfural, hydroxymethylfurfural and levulinic acid (Carvalheiro et al., 2004). Other methods have used endoxylanase enzymes to solubilise AXOS from WU-AX, in particular from cereal bran which is known to be rich in WU-AX (Delcour et al. 1999). Several related procedures have been described in which bran is first treated with an alpha amylase to convert starch in soluble maltodextrins, whereafter AXOS is released from the insoluble fraction through the action of endoxylanase (Maes et al 2004; Swennen et al. 2006; WO2006/027529). Patent US2002/0037331 teaches a method to extract AXOS from bran consisting of extrusion followed by treatment with endoxylanase and amylase, further followed by ultrafiltration. The drawback of bran-based methods are the relatively low recovery of AXOS and the low value of the abundantly generated co-products. The present invention provides a method allowing the co-production of AXOS in an ethanol production process using arabinoxylan-containing cereal material as feedstock. The method according to the present invention comprises the exposure of the cereal material to an appropriate endoxylanase enzymatic activity in order to solubilise a substantial portion of the water-unextractable arabinoxylans comprised therein. The co-production of ethanol and AXOS has the advantage that it allows a more efficient use of the infrastructure, energy input and raw materials, while providing an AXOS preparation suitable for use as a food or animal feed additive. Moreover, the co-production of AXOS according to the present invention has no negative impact on the yield of the ethanol production.
The most commonly used method for production of ethanol from cereals is the so-called dry milling process. In this process whole grains are used as an input, in contrast to the wet milling process which uses purified starch or starch-rich endosperm. The steps in conventional dry milling include (FIG. 2):                Milling: grinding of the whole grains to obtain a fine powder.        Mashing: mixing of the milled grain with water to obtain a mash or slurry.        Liquefaction: conversion of the starch to maltodextrins by addition of an alpha-amylase enzyme to the mash, by which the mash is turned into a so-called "liquefied mash".        Saccharification: conversion of the maltodextrins in the liquefied mash to glucose and maltose by addition of an amyloglucosidase or glucoamylase enzyme, by which the liquefied mash is turned into a saccharified mash. Typically, an enzyme preparation comprising endoxylanase activity is added prior to or during the saccharification. Alternatively, said enzyme preparation is added at the start of the fermentation step.        Fermentation: conversion of the glucose and maltose in the saccharified mash to ethanol and carbon dioxide through the action of a microorganism, e.g. the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, by which the saccharified mash is turned into a fermented mash. Most often fermentation is done concurrently with saccharification in a process called simultaneous saccharification and fermentation or SSF. In some processes, liquefaction, saccharification and fermentation are performed concurrently using special enzyme blends such as STARGEN™ from the company Genencor.        Distillation: separation of ethanol from the aqueous phase. The remaining slurry consisting of aqueous phase and solids is called "whole stillage". The resulting ethanol fraction can be further dehydrated to remove residual water, or otherwise further refined.        Centrifugation: separation of the whole stillage into a solid fraction, called "distillers wet grains", and a soluble fraction, called "thin stillage".        Evaporation: concentration of the thin stillage to obtain a so-called "condensed thin stillage" or "condensed distillers solubles".        Drying: drying of the wet grains to obtain "distillers dried grains (DDG)", or drying of a mixture of distillers wet grains and condensed distillers solubles to obtain "distillers dried grains and solubles (DDGS)".
Further information on ethanol production processes be can be found in e.g. Lyons et al (1995) and Ward and Singh (2002). Recently, it is considered to also use bran or bran rich material, such as shorts, as a starting material instead or in combination with whole grains in the bioethanol production. Any of such starting materials are suitable for the purpose of the present invention.
Xylanases are sometimes used in ethanol production, and such enzymes are either added to the mash after liquefaction, during fermentation, or to the whole stillage or thin stillage. The purpose of the addition of xylanases is to reduce the viscosity of the slurries and liquids, and hence to allow increasing the gravity of slurries, facilitating pumping and to increase the efficiency of heat transfer (WO02/38786; WO2004/087889, Sorensen et al. 2006). Since viscosity in cereals is conferred by WE-AX and not by WU-AX (Meuser et al. 1986), the xylanases used in a conventional cereal based ethanol production process are either endoxylanases with a high selectivity for WE-AX, or exoxylanases, such as beta-xylosidases. This practice does not allow the solubilisation of a significant amount of water-unextractable arabinoxylans and hence does not result in the isolation of soluble arabinoxylans with an acceptable yield.

Method for making soluble arabinoxylans as co-product of fermentation of whole-grain cereals


An apparatus and method for the improving of ski jump safety comprises a first detector for detecting a skier entering a jump site, wherein the first detector produces a first signal, a second detector for detecting the skier exiting the jump site, wherein the second detector produces a second signal, a processor for processing the first signal and the second signal, wherein the processor produces a message signal, and a communicator for communicating the message signal to a next skier. Also, an apparatus and method for the improving of ski jump safety comprises an exit detector for detecting a skier exiting a jump site, wherein said exit detector produces an exit signal, and a signaller for signalling said exit signal to a next skier.

Over the past fifteen years, a number of mountain sports—primarily downhill skiing and snowboarding, but also ski boarding, telemark skiing and others—have seen tremendous increases in the number of new participants in the youth and young adult age categories, which has forced ski centres to modify their terrain offerings to satisfy this growing market. One aspect of ski centre terrain modification has been the creation of the "terrain park". Terrain parks, which comprise a variety of elements including jumps, spines, halfpipes, quarterpipes, boxes and handrails, among others, are commonplace at most North American resorts today, and vary in size from just a few elements to approximately one hundred elements per park. With the exception of the handrails and boxes, almost all terrain park elements are built entirely from snow. In some cases, ski centres may have individual elements outside of a designated terrain park in random locations on ski trails. In other cases, ski centres may have officially-sanctioned freestyle aerial sites, from which skiers train in various competitive freestyle disciplines. The common thread for ski resorts that have terrain parks, random elements and/or freestyle aerial sites is that they almost always contain jumps of some shape or form.
With respect to specific jumps and jump sites as a whole, the most common form is that of the "table top". Table tops essentially comprise a takeoff, a flat "table" area in the middle, and a landing. Other jump sites that are common in terrain parks and that are similar to table top jumps include "big air" jumps and "gap" jumps. Sometimes, rails, boxes or other features are incorporated into a jump site. On freestyle aerial sites, the jumps are known as either "floaters" or "kickers".
Depending on the jump size, skiers, snowboarders, ski boarders, telemarkers and other mountain enthusiasts (hereinafter collectively "skiers") catch varying degrees of air from the jumps. Often, these jumps are considerably large and can supply a skier with over 50 feet of air. Further, because the takeoff structures are usually somewhat tall, and the respective landing areas located below a knoll, a skier who is uphill and waiting to use the jump will not be able to see whether the preceding skier has vacated the landing area. As a result of crashing skiers, as well as uninformed terrain park users who wander into inappropriate locations, it is common that skiers do not vacate landing areas quickly. Accordingly, a skier who unknowingly proceeds to use a jump despite there still being someone in the landing area may collide with that person and cause serious injury or death to that person and/or themselves.
Although U.S. Pat. No. 4,089,057 and French Patent No. 2,706,317 deal with automated detection systems in relation to skiers, up until now, there has never been an automated means for improving the safety surrounding ski jump sites. At certain high-traffic ski centres across North America, terrain parks have been staffed with employees who act as "spotters" for jump users. These spotters position themselves on the jump site in a suitable location so as to see whether the landing area is clear and safe for the next skier. In the event that the landing area is not clear, the spotter will signal to the skiers who are uphill from the jump site to wait until the landing area has been cleared, at which time the spotter will provide an "all-clear" signal. Unfortunately, very few ski centres have the resources to employ such spotters. Similarly, those resorts that do employ spotters often are not able to afford to supply a spotter for each of the many jumps throughout their respective terrain parks. Further, spotters are human, and as such may be distracted or fail to pay attention while a jump is in use, thus creating the potential for a serious accident.
There is, thus, a need for an automated system that improves the safety surrounding ski jumps.

Apparatus and method for improving ski jump safety


A synchronizer has a 1-field memory and a reset signal generator. The reset signal generator receives a write sync. signal to control the 1-field memory and outputs a write reset signal which adjusts the timing for writing according to a read sync. signal. An image signal written into the 1-field memory in accordance with the timing determined by the write reset signal is thus synchronized with the timing for reading.

This invention relates to a synchronizer and a synchronizing method for matching a sync. signal in an input image signal input to a 1-field memory to a reference sync. signal.
Conventionally, there have been two types of synchronizers, one of which is a synchronizer based on a 2-field memory system wherein input image signals are sequentially stored and then output two fields (1 frame) by two fields, the other of which is a synchronizer based on a 1-field memory system wherein image signals are sequentially stored to be output one field by one field. In the synchronizer of the aforesaid 1-field system, sometimes parity of an input side of a 1-field memory may be different from that of an output side (display side) thereof, due to accumulated lag in synchronism between input and output on the basis of aborting or repeatedly reading a specified field of the input image signal. In other words, inversion of scanning lines generated between the input image signals and the output image signals is prevented by delaying a field having become an odd number field anew by 1H (horizontal scanning period) when data from the 1-field memory is read. If inversion occurs, scanning lines of even fields in input image signals and those of odd fields therein are displayed upside down to lose continuity of an original picture. This is very inconvenient. This is due to a NTSC (National Television System Committee) system wherein 1 frame consisting of an odd number of scanning lines (525 lines) is displayed as 2 fields by means of interlace scanning.
A synchronizer of the 1-field memory system detects parity of each field in an input image signal and displays an image signal read from a 1-field memory by 1H (horizontal scan period) according to a result of this detection to prevent inversion of the scanning lines.
That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the conventional synchronizer using a 1-field memory writes an input image signal S.sub.o into the 1-field memory 1 according to a write reset signal RST.sub.W and a system clock 4fsc1 having a frequency of 4 times of a color sub-carrier on the input side, and outputs the written image signal via a parity determination circuit 3 according to a read reset signal RST.sub.R and a system clock 4fsc2 on the output side.
Herein, parity of each field in the input image signal from the aforesaid parity determination circuit 3 is checked, and if parity of a field on the input side does not coincide with that on the output side, the image signal is output through a 1H delay circuit according to a result of this checking.
Thus, in a conventional synchronizer, it is necessary to check whether an odd number field or an even number field of an input image signal should be written, and whether a result of this checking coincide with parity of a field of output signal or not, so that a very complicated system is required to do various types of detection.
In the case of a synchronizer of the 2-field memory system, a required memory capacity is very large, and the price is very expensive. Also in the case of a synchronizer of the 1-field memory system, parity of each field in an input image signal must be checked, so that the system becomes very complicated, and furthermore it is necessary to arrange a parity checking circuit to check coincidence between a result of this detection and parity of each field on the output side (display side).

1-Field memory synchronizer and synchronizing method


A method of configuring a tuner includes sampling a radio frequency and measuring at least one signal quality metric for the sampled frequency. It is determined whether there is co-channel interference on the sampled frequency based on the measurement of the at least one signal quality metric. The sampled frequency is selected as an operational frequency for the tuner if it was determined in the determining step that there is an absence of co-channel interference on the sampled frequency.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods for operating radios for use in vehicles, and, more particularly, to methods for avoiding tuning into frequencies having poor signal quality in radios for use in vehicles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Co-channel interference in radio head units occurs when two or more stations with different audio content broadcast on the same frequency. Co-channel interference may be more likely to occur in adverse weather conditions (e.g., high pressure weather conditions) in which signals that would normally exit through the atmosphere instead get reflected back down to earth by the troposphere. This in particular applies to Amplitude Modulated (AM) signals. Co-channel interference may also occur due to poor network frequency planning by broadcasters, resulting in re-use of frequencies in a localized area.
The difficulty presented by co-channel interference is how to properly recognize the co-channel situation and avert it in a radio head unit. Aftermarket and OEM DSP chip solutions for radio head units support co-channel detection logic for only AM and not FM. This can explain why many OEM and aftermarket radios currently in the market exhibit an inability to recognize co-channel interference during normal operations like FM Autoseek and FM station list update.
FM Autoseek involves jumping to frequencies in the spectrum starting from a presently tuned-in station until a station is reached that meets criteria for acceptable field strength. FM Station list is a feature where the tuner scans the entire band and populates a station list with stations that meet the quality criteria, such as field strength. Co-channel interference negatively affects the listening audio quality experience by radio head unit end users, especially during FM radio operations, such as FM Station List and FM Autoseek operations.
A model FM MPX signal is shown in FIG. 1. Here it is noted that the stereo signal consists of signals bandlimited to 15 kHz. The FM MPX signal is backward compatible with FM mono receivers such that the mono receivers will only utilize the baseband (L+R). Stereo FM decoders however utilize both the baseband (L+R) and the (L−R) components which are double side band modulated about the 38 kHz carrier. For example, in Europe the frequency deviation is typically +/−22.5 kHz. When combined with the modulated audio (up to ±15 kHz), this translates to 37.5 kHz peak deviation, or 75 kHz (37.5 kHz doubled) when considering both negative and positive modulation about the carrier frequency, which is in accordance with the 100 kHz frequency step in European countries. Likewise, in the United States where the deviation is +/−75 kHz, this adds up to 75 kHz+15 kHz=90 kHz peak deviation, or 180 kHz (90 kHz doubled) when considering both negative and positive modulation about the carrier frequency, which is in accordance with the 200 kHz spacing between stations in the United States.
When a radio head unit is tuned to a frequency having co-channel interference, the FM MPX signal is tainted due to having two separate signals riding on each other, i.e., superimposed on each other. Each of the two signals has a separate audio content, which results in the decoder misconstruing the signal as having severe multipath and ultrasonic noise. However, the characteristic phenomenon that arises both in the laboratory and in the field is that co-channel interference results in high field strength (typically above 40 dBuV), but the signal is tainted in that the signal has high multipath and/or ultrasonic noise due to the destruction of the FM MPX signal.
The above-described co-channel interference scenario is different from normal cases of multipath wherein the field strength varies in accordance with the multipath's destructive and constructive effects. In the case of co-channel interference, the field strength experiences constructive superimposition and the signal exhibits high multipath activity since the FM MPX signal is "destroyed".
Accordingly, what is neither anticipated nor obvious in view of the prior art is a method of avoiding tuning into an FM frequency on which co-channel interference is present.

Method and apparatus for co-channel interference detection in a radio

Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America, division of Panasonic Corporation of North America


The invention relates to a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WIMAX) network comprising at least one base station and at least one terminal. Said at least one base station, to send a signal to said at least one terminal, is able to split said signal into a plurality of WIMAX signals and send simultaneously said WIMAX signals through a plurality of channels with different frequency frames and wherein said at least one terminal is able to receive and process simultaneously said plurality of WIMAX signals.

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communication system, and more particularly to Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WIMAX) network.
A WIMAX network is a wireless digital communication system providing broadband wireless access (BWA). A WIMAX network comprises two core components: a base station (BS) and a mobile subscriber station (MSS) or terminal. A base station and one or more terminals can form a cell with a point to multi-point (P2MP) structure. On air, the base station controls activity within the cell, including access to the medium by any terminal, allocations to achieve quality of service (QoS), and admission to the network based on network security mechanisms. Multiple base stations can be configured to form a cellular wireless network. The cell radius in a WIMAX cellular network can be a few miles so that WIMAX technology allows larger distance transmissions as well as higher bit rates than WIFI technology. Nevertheless, bit rate needs are always bigger and solutions to cope with the increase of network traffic will have to be found. Assuming that technological progress will provide base stations and terminals with higher processing power, the problem will be to adapt these enhanced base stations and terminals with already existing WIMAX network infrastructure (access and core) to provide WIMAX networks with improved performances.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an overall WIMAX network with improved performances.

Equipment and method for improving worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WIMAX) network capacity


A hydraulic control device includes a first oil path; a second oil path; a third oil path; an engagement pressure generation unit; a signal pressure generation unit; and an internal pressure switching unit that switches between a non-reduced pressure state where locking occurs due to the signal pressure inputted and a source pressure is outputted unchanged as internal pressure to the first oil path, and a reduced pressure state where the signal pressure is not inputted and a hydraulic pressure is regulated to a constant pressure from the source pressure, based on a feedback pressure of the internal pressure and an urging force of a first urging unit, and outputted as the internal pressure to the first oil path.

The present invention relates to a hydraulic control device for a starting device.
An automatic transmission mounted in a vehicle such as an automobile typically includes a torque converter as a starting device. The torque converter uses hydraulic transmission between an engine and an automatic speed change mechanism, for example, when starting, to absorb rotational differences between a driving wheel in a stationary state and an engine in a rotating state, and to transmit a driving force. Recently, such a torque converter includes a lock-up clutch that locks up an output shaft of the engine and an input shaft of the automatic speed change mechanism so as to reduce a transmission loss that accompanies a hydraulic transmission.
In such a lock-up clutch, which is conventionally proposed as a multi-plate type, the inside of a torque converter case is structured so as to be separated into a hydraulic oil chamber for the lock-up clutch and a transmission oil chamber in which a hydraulic transmission portion is arranged (see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2001-173764).
The lock-up clutch is structured so that, when hydraulic pressure is supplied to the hydraulic oil chamber and the hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic oil chamber rises above the hydraulic pressure in the transmission oil chamber, a piston is pressed to drive and a friction plate is engaged; thus setting the lock-up clutch to lock-up on. In addition, when the hydraulic pressure is supplied to the transmission oil chamber and the hydraulic pressure in the transmission oil chamber rises above the hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic oil chamber, the piston is pressed in a reverse direction; thus setting the lock-up clutch to lock-up off.

Hydraulic control device for starting device


A method of treating movement disorders comprises administering to a human or animal subject in need of treatment a therapeutically effective amount of at least one compound according to the following formula:

Movement Disorders
Movement disorders include a wide variety of disease states and physiological conditions. Non-limiting examples include various dyskinesias such as tremor, dystonia, chorea, athetosis, tic disorders, blepharospasm, as well as hemiballysmus, myoclonus, focal dystonias, such as writer's cramp and torticollis, restless leg syndrome and asterixis. These excessive or otherwise abnormal involuntary movements may vary significantly in rate, frequency, periodicity and progressionary character. Such movements may be seen in sometimes overlapping disorders such as Parkinson's disease; essential tremor, a.k.a. benign tremor or familial tremor; tic disorders, e.g. Tourette's syndrome; idiopathic dystonia (inducing writer's cramp), progressive supranuclear palsy and Wilson's disease. Movement disorders are different from seizure disorders in that movement disorders are often suppressible, they often subside or are absent during sleep and are distractable and not associated with the loss of consciousness.
Tremor is the most common of all movement disorders. Tremor is defined as an involuntary rhythmic, oscillatory movement about a joint produced by contractions of reciprocally innervated agonist/antagonist muscles, and is repetitive and regular in frequency. (Essential Tremor: A Practical Guide to Evaluation, Diagnosis, and Treatment, Clinician, Vol. 19 (No. 2), pgs. 1-15, 2001). It also ranks as one of the most debilitating symptoms in all of neurology. For example, the presence of even mild tremor in the upper extremities can make even the simplest of tasks impossible to perform. (Wasielewski P. G. et al., Pharmacologic Treatment of Tremor, Movement Disorders, Vol. 13, Supplement 3, 1998, pp 90-100). Essential tremor and tremor associated with Parkinson's disease are the most common types of tremor encountered in clinical practice. (Wasielewski P. G. et al., Pharmacologic Treatment of Tremor, Movement Disorders, Vol. 13, Supplement 3, 1998, pp 90- 100).
Essential tremor is the most common form of tremor and of all movement disorders and perhaps the most common primary neurological disorder. Estimates of the prevalence in the elderly population range from 1 to 22%, with 1-2% being a conservative number. (Findley L. J., Epidemiology and Genetics of Essential Tremor, Neurology, 2000, 54 (Suppl. 4), S8-S13). While often a minor problem and unassociated with other disease (hence the term "benign tremor or benign essential tremor"), it causes significant motor impairment for many individuals. In its classic form, it is a tremor involving the upper extremities and/or the head. Usually, it has a frequency of 5-8 Hz, is absent with rest, presents with a sustained posture and is not significantly exacerbated by movement. (Marsden C D. Origins of Normal and Pathological Tremor in Movement Disorders: Tremor. Eds. L. J. Findley and R. Capildeo, New York. Oxford University Press, 1984, pp. 37-84).
The cause and pathophysiology of essential tremor remain unknown. No pathologic substrate has been demonstrated in autopsy studies. Positron emission tomography (PET) studies of glucose metabolism and blood flow have demonstrated only general findings of increased activity in the brain stem (medulla), thalamus, cerebellum, striatum and sensorimotor cortex.
Parkinson's disease is a progressive disorder with a prevalence of 1-2% in people over the age of 50. It has a worldwide distribution and has no gender preference. Unlike essential tremor, untreated Parkinson's disease is life shortening. Symptoms of the disease include (1) shaking of the hands, arms, legs or feet while the patient is resting (the shaking may be more noticeable on one side of the body, and it may affect the hands more than the feet, the shaking often stops, however, as soon as the patient moves his limbs); (2) slowness of movement or a brief, temporary delay in movement; (3) difficulty in maintaining one's balance; (4) rigidity or stiffness of the patient's limbs; (5) facial masking (a still facial expression with fewer blinks of the eyes); (6) difficulty in speech; (7) difficulty swallowing; and (8) chorea and dystonic posturing, particularly as a side effect of treatment with dopaminergic agents. As the Parkinson's disease progresses, patients may be forced to work fewer hours and cut back on their activity level. Simple tasks become more of a challenge, and they may need some help from family and friends. Patients may find that using a wheelchair helps them move around more easily, and they may need help with daily activities.
Current Treatment of Movement Disorders
1. Treatment of Essential Tremor
Alcohol remains the most effective single agent for treatment of essential tremor. Estimates of patients responsive to alcohol range from 50-90%. (Koller, W. C., Hristove, A., Brin, M. Pharmacologic Treatment of Essential Tremor. Neurology 2000; 54 (Suppl 4), pp. S30-S38.) Its effect may be dramatic in some individuals. However, the half-life of alcohol is brief and the side effects are numerous.
Beta-adrenergic receptor blocking agents such as propranolol have also been widely used for over 30 years. However, even when beneficial, the clinical response is variable and incomplete. Moreover, beta-adrenergic blockers are probably of no benefit in 50% or more of patients.
The anticonvulsant primidone has been demonstrated to be effective in a significant subpopulation of patients. Comparative studies of primidone and beta-blocking agents variously report either therapeutic equivalency or slightly greater efficacy for primidone. Primidone, unlike beta-blocking drugs, will completely suppress tremor in some patients. (Findley, L. J., Cleeves, L., Caletti, S. Primidone in Essential Tremor of the Hands and Head: A Double Blind Controlled Clinical Study. J Neurol Neurosurg Psych, 1985, 48, pp. 911-915.) Primidone, however, produces a high incidence of side effects. Furthermore, primidone has little or no effect on head tremor, even in patients with a positive response of the limbs. Primidone is converted into two active metabolites, phenobarbital and phenylethylmalonamide (PEMA). PEMA has been found to have no anti-tremor effect.
Phenobarbital has some anti-tremor effect, but not as prominent as primidone or beta-blocking agents, particularly when the patients are assessed in terms of functional improvement. (Findley, L. J. The Pharmacology of Essential Tremor in Movement Disorders 2nd Edition. Morsden, C. D., Fahn S, Longdong : Butterworths, 1987. As detailed below, phenobarbital has sedative effects and can suppress respiration.
There have been brief reports of newer anticonvulsant drugs, particularly gabapentin, providing a benefit in treatment of essential tremor. (See Gironell, A., Kulisevsky, J., Lopez-Villegas, D., Hernandez, G., Pascual-Sedano, B., A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Comparative Trial of Gabapentin and Propanolol in Essential Tremor. Arch. Neurol., 1999, 56, pp. 475-480.) None of these other agents, however, have gained wide use for this indication, presumably because of their neurological side effects and/or limited efficacy. Methazolamide, a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor, has been reported to be of some benefit. (Meunter, M. D., Daube, J. R., Caviness, J. N., Miller, P. M. Treatment of Essential Tremor with Methazolamide. Mayo Clinic Proc, 1991, 66, pp. 991-997.) However, primidone and propranolol are the only two prescription drugs with proven efficacy in general clinical practice. Louis, E. D., N. Eng. J. Med., 345, (12), 2001, pp.887-891.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,281,207 to Richter et al. discloses methods of combating movement disorders such as tremor by administering mirtazapine.
Surgical treatment of severe disabling essential tremor is sometimes useful. This has most commonly involved thalamotomy (lesioning of the thalamus) and, more recently, the use of surgically implanted electrodes. These procedures however have considerable potential morbidity.
Therefore, there exists a need for a method of treating essential tremor and other movement disorders having minimal adverse side effects, high tolerance, and significant effectiveness.
2. Treatment of Parkinson's Disease
The most widely recognized drug for the treatment of Parkinson's disease is levodopa, a medication that is converted into dopamine when it crosses into the brain. Levodopa reduces the symptoms of this disease because dopamine is the chemical that is necessary for human muscles to function normally. It is called a replacement drug because it replaces dopamine. For most patients with Parkinson's disease, levodopa provides significant improvement in many symptoms, including tremor. However, the therapeutic benefits of this drug usually last for only a limited period of time. After about 3 to 5 years of treatment, levodopa becomes less effective in reducing symptoms in most patients. At times the patient can move around easily or with slight tremor and rigidity, and at other times the patient has difficulty with movement, as if the medicine is "wearing off." For this reason, doctors try to keep the dose of levodopa as low as possible or may not begin treatment with levodopa until the symptoms can no longer be managed by other means. (Lang, A. E. et al., N. Eng. J. Med., 339 (16), 1998, pp. 1130-1143).
The side effects of levodopa include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, rapid heart rate, and lowered blood pressure when a person stands from a sitting position. To reduce these side effects, levodopa is often prescribed in combination with carbidopa, and this drug combination is marketed under the trademark Sinemet™ (Bristol-Myers Squibb). The carbidopa in Sinemet™ prevents levodopa from being metabolized in the stomach and liver, so more of the levodopa can get to the brain, which permits administration of a smaller dose of levodopa or alternatively increases the effectiveness of a given administered dose of levodopa. Even though carbidopa helps to reduce the side effects of levodopa, many patients who take Sinemet™ may still experience nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite when they begin taking it or after their dosage is increased. Other side effects of carbidopa/levodopa combination medications include dry mouth, daytime sleepiness, nervousness, vivid dreams, insomnia, and a form of motor fluctuation called dyskinesia, characterized by involuntary writhing movements. Sometimes dyskinesia results when the dosage of the medication is too high.
Another group of medications for Parkinson's Disease is dopamine agonists. Dopamine agonists are drugs that stimulate the parts of the human brain that normally respond to dopamine. In effect, the brain "thinks" it is receiving dopamine, so these drugs help satisfy the brain's need for dopamine. The most commonly used dopamine agonists in the United States include Parlodel™ (bromocriptine, Novartis), Permax™ (pergolide mesylate, Amarin), MIRAPEX™ (pramipexole hydrochloride, Pharmacia & Upjohn) and Requip™ (ropinirole, GlaxoSmithKline). Parlodel™ and Permax™ are synthetic derivatives of a chemical called "ergot". The side effects are similar to those of levodopa: nausea, vomiting, confusion, hallucinations, lightheadedness and fainting. A rare side effect known as fibrosis (membrane lining of body organs can become thickened or scarred) has also been reported. MIRAPEX™ has been shown to be effective in treating the symptoms of early disease without levodopa. During the advanced stages, taking MIRAPEX™ in combination with levodopa may reduce the dose of levodopa that is needed. The use of MIRAPEX™ can cause drowsiness and the possibility of suddenly falling asleep during daily activities, which could result in an accident while driving. The most common side effects of MIRAPEX™ are nausea, sleeplessness, constipation, involuntary movement, sleepiness, dizziness upon standing, and hallucinations.
Another group of medications for Parkinson's Disease is catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitors (e.g., Tasmarm™ (tolcapone, Roche Laboratories) and Comtan™ (entacapone, Novartis)). COMT is one of two enzymes that break down levodopa before the brain converts it into dopamine. When the COMT enzyme is blocked by the COMT inhibitors, dopamine stays in the brain for a longer period of time. COMT inhibitors are usually taken with levodopa. The most common side effects reported by patients who have taken COMT inhibitors include unusually vivid dreams or visual hallucinations, nausea, difficulty in sleeping, daytime drowsiness, headache, and excessive involuntary movements. In addition, in 1998 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported that Tasmar™ can cause liver damage, so now doctors are advised to monitor their patients who are taking this drug on a regular basis to make sure their liver is functioning normally.
Anticholinergics have also been used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Before doctors begin treating Parkinson's disease patients with levodopa, they may prescribe anticholinergic drugs such as Artane™ to relieve symptoms. When the brain cannot get enough dopamine, it produces increased quantities of a chemical called acetylcholine, and too much acetylcholine causes tremor and rigidity in patients. Anticholinergic drugs block the effect of acetylcholine, so they are effective in reducing tremor and rigidity in patients. Anticholinergics are not usually prescribed for long periods of time because of the side effects they cause in patients, which include dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, difficulty in urinating, confusion, and hallucinations.
Dopamine is broken down in the brain by an enzyme called monoamine oxidase (MAO). Hence, selegiline and other MAO inhibitors help the brain make the most of the dopamine that is still being produced and/or dopamine that is being supplied to the brain by other drugs. When a Parkinson's disease patient takes an MAO inhibitor, it slows down the progress of this enzyme, which increases the amount of dopamine that is available to the brain. The side effects of selegiline include heartburn, loss of appetite, nausea, dry mouth, dizziness, constipation, and insomnia.
Anti-viral agents such as Symmetrel™ (amantadine, Endo Labs) provide mild relief of Parkinson's symptoms in newly-diagnosed patients. It has been used to treat this disease for many years, but even today, medical researchers and doctors aren't really sure how it works in the human brain. Unfortunately, it tends to cause insomnia and daytime fatigue, and other side effects that have been reported include red or purple skin blotches (often on the patient's legs), swelling of the feet, anxiety, dizziness, difficulty in urinating, and hallucinations. (Lang, A. E. et al., N. Eng. J. Med., 339 (16), 1998, pp. 1130-1143).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,281,207 to Richter et al. discloses methods of combating movement disorder such as Parkinson's disease by administering mirtazapine.
Surgery can dramatically reduce symptoms for some patients in the advanced stages of Parkinson's disease. Doctors may suggest surgery as an option for such patients because they have been taking combinations of drugs over a long period of time, and those drugs have become less and less effective. A pallidectomy or pallidotomy is a surgical procedure in which a lesion is created in a specific area of the brain (globus pallidus) to help restore the balance required for normal motion. The majority of patients who have had this surgery have gained immediate, significant improvements in their ability to function, and those benefits have lasted for at least a year. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has also been used by physicians as a preferred alternative to a pallidotomy. Although these surgical approaches have produced some desirable results, the long-term effects of such surgeries for Parkinson's patients are not yet known. Therefore, doctors generally reserve these as last resort treatments for their patients. (Lang, A. E. et al., N. Eng. J. Med, 339 (16), 1998, pp. 1130-1143).
In view of the above, there exists a need for a method of treating movement disorders that are either symptoms of or associated with Parkinson's disease or not using an active agent having minimal adverse side effects, high tolerance, and significant effectiveness.
Barbituric Acid Derivatives
1. Sedating Barbituric Acid Derivatives
Barbiturates (or barbituric acid derivatives) have been developed and have been used as the primary drugs for the treatment of insomnia for many years. Barbiturates depress both the respiratory drive and the mechanisms responsible for the rhythmic character of respiration. (Goodman & Gilman's, The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, Chapter 17, 9th Edition, McGraw-Hill). They have been implicated in thousands of deaths due to accidental (or deliberate) ingestion (resulting in homicide, suicide or accidental death) since they are associated with serious, often fatal, central nervous system (CNS) depressive effects following acute overdosage. Barbiturates have been chronically abused by a substantial portion of the population. When coadministered with other drugs, barbituatates may interact with them with a potentially lethal outcome. Currently or previously clinically employed barbiturates include amobarbital, barbital, butabarbital, and hexobarbital, mephobarbital, pentobarbital, phenobarbital, secobarbital, thiamylal, and thiopental. Barbiturates with a short to intermediate duration of action (e.g., amobarbital, butabarbital, pentobarbital, secobarbital, and vibarbital) are used as sedative-hypnotics. Phenobarbital is used as an anticonvulsant for the treatment of seizure disorders. Ultrashort-acting barbiturates (e.g., thiamylal and thiopental) can be used as anesthetics. (Craig, C. R. and Stitzel R. E., Modern Pharmacology, Chapter IV, 2nd Edition, 1986, Little, Brown and Company, Boston/Toronto).
As mentioned above, sedative barbiturates such as phenobarbital have been found to have some anti-tremor effect. However, its effectiveness is severely limited by its strong side effects.
2. Non-Sedating Barbituric Acid Derivatives
U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,056 ("the '056 Patent") to Levitt et al. discloses novel oxopyrimidine derivatives of the general formula

wherein R1 and R2 may be the same or different and are each hydrogen or lower alkyl optionally substituted by lower alkoxy, and R3 and R4 may be the same or different and are each phenyl optionally substituted by lower alkyl or halogen, provided that when R1 and R2 are both hydrogen, R3 and R4 are each substituted phenyl. The '056 Patent discloses that these compounds are useful as anticonvulsants, and antianxiety agents and as muscle relaxants. According to the '056 Patent, animals given such compounds continue to behave normally and do not show any observable effects on locomotion, escape behavior or feeding behavior. The '056 Patent further elaborates that the compounds disclosed therein are useful in treating mammals for strain and stress conditions and nervous dysfunctions such as convulsions, seizure, muscle stiffness, nervous strain and anxiety. The '056 Patent does not mention or suggest that such compounds can be used to treat any movement disorders.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,093,820 ("the '820 Patent") to Gutman et al. discloses that alkoxyalkylated ureide compounds such as N-methoxymethyl ethosuximide, N-methoxymethyl glutethimide, and N-methoxymethyl-5,5-diphenylbarbituric acid are also useful in treating convulsions, seizures, muscle stiffness, or anxiety. Again, the '820 Patent doses not mention or suggest that any of these compounds can be used to treat any movement disorders.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method of treating movement disorders using barbituric acid derivatives

Abstract: wherein R3 and R4 are each independently selected from the group consisting of lower alkyl, phenyl and lower alkyl substituted phenyl, and R1 and R2 are each independently either a hydrogen atom or a radical of the formula

Abstract: wherein R5 and R6 are each independently selected from the group consisting of H, lower alkyl, phenyl and lower alkyl substituted phenyl, its pharmaceutically acceptable salts, prodrugs, and metabolites thereof.


In a current driver, a gate of a first generating transistor, gates of K driving transistors, and a gate of a second generating transistor are connected to a gate line in this order. A first differential amplifier outputs a voltage determined according to the difference between a voltage from a first supply node and a voltage at the drain of the first generating transistor. A second differential amplifier outputs a voltage determined according to the difference between a voltage from a second supply node and a voltage at the drain of the second generating transistor. The gate of the first generating transistor receives the output of the first differential amplifier. The gate of the second generating transistor receives the output of the second differential amplifier.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a current driver and specifically to a current driver used as a display driver for an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) panel, or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
<Structure of Conventional Current Driver>
FIG. 11 shows a general structure of a conventional current driver 20. The conventional current driver 20 is referenced to reference current Iref as an input from the outside (e.g., from a current supply). The conventional current driver 20 includes a setting reference transistor T201L, supply reference transistors T201RA and T201RB, transistors T202L, T202RA and T202RB for cascode connection (hereinafter, "cascode connection transistor(s)"), bias voltage generating transistors T204A and T204B, and K driving transistors T205-1 to T205-K (K is a natural number).
The setting reference transistor T201L is connected between a power supply node and the cascode connection transistor T202L, and the gate and drain of the setting reference transistor T201L are connected to each other. The cascode connection transistor T202L is connected between the setting reference transistor T201L and an input/output terminal N201, and the gate and drain of the cascode connection transistor T202L are connected to each other.
The supply reference transistor T201RA is connected between the power supply node and the cascode connection transistor T202RA, and the gate of the supply reference transistor T201RA is connected to the gate of the setting reference transistor T201L. The cascode connection transistor T202RA is connected between the supply reference transistor T201RA and a bias voltage generation transistor T204A, and the gate of the cascode connection transistor T202RA is connected to the gate of the cascode connection transistor T202L. The bias voltage generation transistor T204A is connected between the cascode connection transistor T202RA and a ground node, and the gate and drain of the bias voltage generation transistor T204A are connected to each other.
The supply reference transistor T201RB is connected between the power supply node and the cascode connection transistor T202RB, and the gate of the supply reference transistor T201RB is connected to the gate of the setting reference transistor T201L. The cascode connection transistor T202RB is connected between the supply reference transistor T201RB and the bias voltage generating transistor T204B, and the gate of the cascode connection transistor T202RB is connected to the gate of the cascode connection transistor T202L. The bias voltage generating transistor T204B is connected between the cascode connection transistor T202RB and the ground node, and the gate and drain of the bias voltage generating transistor T204B are connected to each other.
The gate of the bias voltage generation transistor T204A and the gate of the bias voltage generating transistor T204B are connected to a bias voltage line G204. The bias voltage line G204 has a resistance value per unit length, which is represented as "wire resistance R".
Each of the driving transistors T205-1 to T205-K is connected between an output node OUT, from which output current Iout is output, and the ground node. The gate of each of the driving transistors T205-1 to T205-K is connected to a bias voltage line G204 at an arbitrary position. The driving transistors T205-1 to T205-K are continuously placed such that the driving transistor T205-1 and the driving transistor T205-K are physically most distant from each other. The driving transistor T205-1 and the bias voltage generation transistor T204A are placed in the vicinity of each other. The driving transistor T205-K and the bias voltage generation transistor T204B are placed in the vicinity of each other.
The setting reference transistor T201L, the supply reference transistors T201RA and T201RB, the cascode connection transistors T202L, T202RA and T202RB, the bias voltage generating transistors T204A and T204B, and the driving transistors T205-1 to T205-K are each formed by one or more transistors.
<Conventional Operation>
Next, an operation of the current driver 20 shown in FIG. 11 is described.
First, a current mirror which is formed by the setting reference transistor T201L, the supply reference transistors T201RA and T201RB, and the bias voltage generating transistors T204A and T204B generates bias voltage VbiasA at the gate of the bias voltage generation transistor T204A and bias voltage VbiasB at the gate of the bias voltage generation transistor T204B. Bias voltage VbiasA has a voltage value determined according to the current value of reference current Iref and the transistor characteristic of the bias voltage generation transistor T204A (the relationship between the voltage value of the gate voltage applied at the gate and the current value of the drain current). Bias voltage VbiasB has a voltage value determined according to the current value of reference current Iref and the transistor characteristic of the bias voltage generation transistor T204B.
<Relationship Between Gate Line G204 and Driving Transistors>
The driving transistor T205-1 and the driving transistor T205-K are physically distant from each other and have different transistor characteristics. Therefore, in some cases, the driving transistor T205-1 and the driving transistor T205-K need to have different gate voltages in order to allow currents of the same magnitude to flow therethrough. In general, the transistor characteristics of the driving transistors T205-1 to T205-K linearly vary over the gate line G204.
When the bias voltage generation transistor T204A is placed in the vicinity of the driving transistor T205-1 and the bias voltage generation transistor T204B is placed in the vicinity of the driving transistor T205-K, the transistor characteristics of the transistors become closer. With such an arrangement, bias voltage VbiasA which has a voltage value suitable to the characteristic of the driving transistor T205-1 and bias voltage VbiasB which has a voltage value suitable to the characteristic of the driving transistor T205-K can be generated.
The gate line G204, which has wire resistance R, has a potential obtained by linear interpolation between bias voltage VbiasA and bias voltage VbiasB applied at the both ends of the gate line G204. Thus, output current Iout, which has a current value determined according to the linearly-interpolated potential of the gate line G204, flows through each of the driving transistors T205-1 to T205-K connected to the gate line G204. Therefore, the variation in the transistor characteristic of the driving transistors T205-1 to T205-K and the linearly-changing potential of the gate line are canceled. Thus, output currents Iout flowing through the driving transistors T205-1 to T205-K have the same current value.
However, in the conventional current driver, the gate and drain of the bias voltage generation transistor T204A are connected to each other, and the gate and drain of the bias voltage generation transistor T204B are connected to each other. The gate of the bias voltage generation transistor T204A and the gate of the bias voltage generation transistor T204B are connected by the bias voltage line which has wire resistance R. Therefore, if the voltage value of bias voltage VbiasA and the voltage value of bias voltage VbiasB are different, current ΔIdr which is determined according to the voltage difference flows through the gate line G204. Thus, for example, if the voltage value of bias voltage VbiasA is smaller than the voltage value of bias voltage VbiasB, the current flowing through the bias voltage generation transistor T204B is drain current Idrs flowing from the setting reference transistor T201RB minus current ΔIdr flowing through the gate line G204 (Idrs−ΔIdr), and the current flowing through the bias voltage generation transistor T204A is drain current Idrs from the setting reference transistor T201RA plus current ΔIdr flowing through the gate line G204 (Idrs+ΔIdr). Thus, due to an error generated between the current flowing through the bias voltage generation transistor T204A and the current flowing through the bias voltage generation transistor T204B, there is a possibility that the voltage values of bias voltages VbiasA and VbiasB cannot be set at appropriate values.
In this case, although current ΔIdr flowing through the gate line G204 is decreased by increasing wire resistance R of the gate line G204, the influence of capacitance coupling of the driving transistors T205-1 to T205-K increases.

Current driver, data driver, and display device

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The present invention relates to a system, apparatus, and process to reduce the oxidized mercury in an exhaust gas to elemental mercury and to prevent its reoxidation by congeneric components in the exhaust gas prior to the photometric measurement of said elemental mercury. In the process, the sample stream flows through a reactor heated to preferably about 800.degree. C. in which a stream of hydrogen is introduced directly into a hot portion thereof. The congeneric oxidized mercury species, i.e, HgCl.sub.2, and HgO are thermally reduced quantitatively to elemental mercury. The hydrogen reacts in situ with oxygen to form water vapor and with chlorine to form hydrochloride gas. The hydrochloride gas is effectively absorbed by the water vapor and consequently prevents the reoxidation of elemental mercury. The concentration of total mercury in a stream can then be determined by the intensity of radiation absorbed by a UV spectrometer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus and process for its operation which prevents the reoxidation of elemental mercury in gaseous matrices containing oxidizing compounds following the thermal reduction of oxidized mercury to elemental mercury. Such gaseous matrices are found, for example, in exhaust emissions of coal-fired boilers or incinerators. In particular, the apparatus, process and operation of the present invention may be employed in the analysis of total mercury in continuous emissions monitors used for regulatory compliance or process control measurements.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various approaches in the development of continuous emissions monitors (CEMs) for mercury measurement in flue gas emissions to determine the elemental mercury therein, Hg(O), have included both a UV photometric method and an Atomic Absorption method. These methods detect and measure amounts of elemental or reduced mercury, Hg(O), at excitation wave lengths of 254 nm but unfortunately, any oxidized species of mercury therein cannot likewise be measured. In order to measure total mercury, the oxidized mercury species state must first be reduced to Hg(O). The predominant form of oxidized mercury existing in the flue gas coal fired combustors, waste combustors, and incinerators is HgCl.sub.2 C. S. Krivanek, III, Journal of Hazardous Materials, 47 (1996) Mercury Control Technologies for MWC's: The Unanswered Questions, pp. 119-136! and IEA Coal Research, Mercury Emissions and Effects--The Role of Coal!. By measuring the elemental mercury concentration in a gaseous matrix prior to and subsequent to a mercury reduction process, the total mercury concentration and the distribution of oxidized and reduced mercury can be determined. The determination of this distribution is essential to the development of effective mercury control options for gaseous emissions and can have value to effective process quality control. As used herein, the terms "elemental mercury," "metallic mercury," "reduced mercury" and "Hg(O)" all mean and refer to the same form of mercury.
Typically, in order to measure the total mercury concentration of a sample by laboratory analysis, the reduction of oxidized mercury involves the mixing of a gas or liquid sample with reducing solutions prior to measurement of Hg(0). In the development of on-line continuous emissions monitors (CEMs) for mercury measurement in the exhaust gasses of flue stacks, several instrument manufacturers have incorporated reducing solutions into their on-line processes. These devices rely on reducing solutions such as sodium hydroboride solution, stannous chloride solution or other reducing solutions to convert oxidized mercury to Hg(O) prior to measurement by a detector such as a ultraviolet (UV) or atomic absorption (AA) detector. An obvious disadvantage to this type of instrument design is that it requires frequent solution replenishment.
For continuous on-line measurement, a dry mercury reduction method is preferable to a wet one, since there are fewer maintenance requirements which, in turn, translates to a more reliable technique. Thermal reduction of oxidized mercury is such an alternative dry method, it being reported in the open literature that oxidized mercury can easily be reduced at temperatures of about 800.degree. C. However, a gaseous exhaust from a coal-fired boiler or incinerator may oftentimes contain oxidizing agents that can and will reoxidize the thermally reduced mercury before a mercury measurement can be effected.
The fossil-fueled and waste combustion industries generate gaseous mixtures which typically contain compounds such as NOx, O.sub.2, H.sub.2 O, CO.sub.2, and CO. Other gases such as SO.sub.2, HCl, Cl.sub.2, H.sub.2 S and NH.sub.3 and volatile metals and organics also may be present depending on the type of fuel combusted. Flue gases resulting from operation of coal combustors typically contain O.sub.2, CO.sub.2, CO, NO, NO.sub.2, SO.sub.2, HCl, N.sub.2 O, H.sub.2 O and mercury species as well as many trace components. Work leading to the instant invention determined that, of the components, supra, which are typically found in flue gas which have the greatest effect on the reoxidation of elemental mercury are, hydrochloride gas and oxygen. Furthermore, hydrochloride gas has the greatest effect on the reoxidation of mercury. Furthermore, it was found that the presence of oxygen in admixture with HCl gas acts to enhance the hydrochloride effect on elemental mercury oxidation.
The effect of hydrochloride on the reoxidation of elemental mercury upon thermal reduction is also reported by Wang, Xiao and Lindqvist, "Water, Air and Soil Pollution" 80: 1217-1226, 1995. They used crushed quartz chips to fill a quartz cell and thereafter heated their cell to 850.degree.-900.degree. C. to reduce Hg (II) in a gaseous stream. They also found the addition of HCl to the gaseous matrix negated the converter effect. Their approach to counter the HCl effect was to fill the converter with basic materials. Filling the quartz converter cell with a layer of soda lime or sodium carbonate or of crushed quartz treated with NaOH solution did improve the overall conversion efficiency by reacting the basic materials filling the conversion tube with hydrochloride (HCl) gas and preventing the reoxidation of elemental mercury. The effectiveness of this approach was limited however due to the severe corrosive nature of the basic solids and the high temperatures necessary for the conversion which they reported destroyed their converter cells within two days.
In view of the consideration and problems, supra, it should be appreciated by those skilled in this art that there is a definite need for a simple, reliable method to accurately measure and speciate mercury in the exhaust streams of flue stacks in real time at various waste and fossil-fueled combustors to measure mercury emissions and assist in identifying effective control technologies.

Determination of total mercury in exhaust gases


To provide a phosphor having an emission characteristic such that a peak wavelength of light emission is in a range from 580 to 680 nm, and having a high emission intensity, and having a flat excitation band with high efficiency for excitation light in a broad wavelength range from ultraviolet to visible light (wavelength range from 250 nm to 550 nm). For example, Ca3N2(2N), AlN(3N), Si3N4(3N), Eu2O3(3N) are prepared, and after weighing and mixing a predetermined amount of each raw material, raw materials are fired at 1500° C. for 6 hours, thus obtaining the phosphor including a product phase expressed by a composition formula CaAlSiN3:Eu and having an X-ray diffraction pattern satisfying a predetermined pattern.

At present, a discharge type fluorescent lamp and an incandescent bulb used as the illumination device involve problems that a harmful substance such as mercury is contained, and life span is short. However, in recent years, a high luminescence LED emitting light of near ultraviolet/ultraviolet to blue color has been developed in sequence, and the white LED illumination for the practical application of the next generation has been actively studied and developed, by combining the light of ultraviolet to blue color generated from the LED, and a phosphor having an excitation band in a range from ultraviolet to blue color. When the white LED illumination is put to practical use, since efficiency of converting electric energy into light is improved, less heat is generated and it is constituted of a semiconductor device and the phosphor, the white LED has advantages of good life span without burn-out of a filament as is seen in a conventional incandescent bulb, being strong against vibration and repeated on/off operation, and having no harmful substance such as mercury contained therein, thus realizing an ideal illumination device. Further, by utilizing the aforementioned characteristic, the aforementioned white LED is noted as a backlight for a liquid crystal display which replaces a CCFL (cold-cathode tube) other than as illumination.
Here, in order to obtain a white light by combining the aforementioned LED and the phosphor, generally two systems are considered. In one of such systems, white light emission is obtained by combining a blue light emitting LED and a yellow light emitting phosphor (such as YAG:Ce) which emits yellow color by receiving and excited by the blue light emission, and by a principle of mixed state of lights of blue light emission and yellow light emission.
In another system, the white light emission is obtained, by combining a near ultraviolet/ultraviolet light emitting LED, a red (R) light emitting phosphor by receiving and excited by the near ultraviolet/ultraviolet light emission, a green (G) light emitting phosphor, a blue (B) light emitting phosphor, and others, and using a mixed state of the lights of the R, G, B and others emitted from the phosphor. A method of obtaining the white light emission by the lights of the R, G, B and others has wide applications, because an arbitrary light emission color other than the white light can be obtained depending on a combination and a mixing ratio of each phosphor of the R, G, B and others. As the phosphors used in the aforementioned usage, examples are given such as Y2O2S:Eu, La2O2S:Eu, 3.5MgO.0.5MgF2.GeO2:Mn, (La, Mn, Sm)2O2S.Ga2O3:Eu as the red phosphor, ZnS:Cu, Al, SrAl2O4:Eu, BAM:Eu, Mn as the green phosphor, and BAM:Eu, Sr5(PO4)3Cl:Eu, ZnS:Ag, Cl, (Sr, Ca, Ba, mg)10(PO4)6Cl:Eu as the blue phosphor. Then, by combining the phosphors of the R, G, B, and others with a light emitting part such as the near ultraviolet/ultraviolet light emitting LED, a light source and an illumination device such as an LED emitting white light or the light with desired emission color can be obtained.
However, in the white LED illumination obtained by combining the blue LED and the yellow phosphor (YAG:Ce), the light emission on the longer wavelength side of a visible light becomes insufficient, thus emitting the light with slightly bluish white emission color, and the white light emission with slightly reddish white color like an electric bulb can not be obtained.
In addition, in the white LED illumination obtained by combining the near ultraviolet/ultraviolet LED and the phosphor of R, G, B, and others, the red phosphor out of three color phosphors has a deteriorated excitation efficiency, thereby exhibiting low emission efficiency, compared to other phosphors. Therefore, the mixing ratio of only red phosphor must be increased and the phosphor for improving luminance becomes thereby insufficient, making it impossible to obtain white color with high luminance. Further, a problem involved therein is that the aforementioned red phosphor has a sharp emission spectrum, thereby exhibiting deteriorated color rendering property.
Further, from the viewpoint of improving the emission efficiency of the light emitting element and the phosphor, in the case of the aforementioned YAG:Ce yellow phosphor, the YAG:Ce yellow phosphor is in an excitation range with high efficiency when it is caused to emit light by using blue light emitted from the blue LED, whereby an excellent yellow light emission can be obtained. However, when it is caused to emit light by using the near ultraviolet/ultraviolet light emitted from the near ultraviolet/ultraviolet LED, the YAG:Ce yellow phosphor is out of the excitation range with high efficiency, and therefore an adequate light emission can not be obtained. This means that the excitation range with high efficiency is narrow for the YAG:Ce yellow phosphor.
Then, the problem that the excitation range with high efficiency is narrow for the YAG:Ce yellow phosphor involves a situation such that a wavelength balance of blue color and yellow color is lost, because the emission wavelength of the blue LED is out of an optimal excitation range of the YAG:Ce yellow phosphor by the deviation of an emission wavelength caused by the deviation of the light emitting elements during manufacturing the blue LED even in a case of light emission by using the blue light emitted from the aforementioned blue LED. When the aforementioned situation occurs, the problem involved therein is that a color tone of the white light which is obtained by synthesizing the blue light and the yellow light is changed. Here, in manufacturing the LED, it is difficult to prevent the deviation of the light emitting elements in the present circumstances. Therefore, in order to prevent the change of the color tone, the phosphor having characteristics of a broad and flat excitation band is desired.
Therefore, recently, an oxynitride glass phosphor having an excellent excitation band on the longer wavelength side and capable of obtaining an emission peak with a broad half value width (for example, see patent document 1), and a sialon-based phosphor (for example see patent documents 2 and 3), and a silicon nitride-based phosphor containing nitrogen (for example, see patent documents 4 and 5) are reported. Then, the phosphor containing the nitrogen has a larger ratio of covalent bond than an oxide phosphor, and therefore has an excellent excitation band in the light with the wavelength of 400 nm or more, gathering attention as a white LED phosphor. However, such a phosphor fails in reaching a satisfactory level in the present circumstances.    (Patent document 1) Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2001-214162    (Patent document 2) Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2003-336059    (Patent document 3) Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2003-124527    (Patent document 4) Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2003-515655    (Patent document 5) Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2003-277746

Phosphor and manufacturing method for the same, and light source


A document referencing system and method for operation are disclosed. The system encompasses an application for use on a standalone computing device housing a device library, which may be used in concert with a system library. The application may also collect references from external sources upon request, and may add these references to the system or device libraries. The device library is periodically updated by the application through connection to the system library. The application also provides a novel interface for searching for and identifying references housed within either the device or system libraries. The application also comprises software for detecting citations to external references within a document, and for reformatting the document to contain links to those external references as they exist in either the device or system libraries.

Many fields of research and many professional disciplines rely upon original writing that is heavily supported by citation or reference to prior writings. Such citations are often essential in order to provide credibility to the points raised in the original writing. The weight or importance of the cited references may dictate how well the reader will accept the premise being posited in the original writing. In other instances, references to other data sources are provided to the reader to assist the reader in further investigating the point raised or the topic discussed. Whether provided as footnotes, endnotes, or embedded within the text of the original writing document, citations form a critical part of professional writing across numerous fields such as, for instance, legal, medical, engineering, science, and even various business disciplines. In fact, the practice is commonplace in any discipline where a body of written knowledge has been created and is publicly available such that it may be referenced.
As a reader of original writing in such professional disciplines, it is quite often necessary to investigate the cited references. For example, someone conducting research may require more information about a topic than is provided in the original writing, and may want to review some of the cited materials to gain a more full understanding. In other cases, the reader may want to verify the accuracy of the citation, or to determine if the citation actually supports the premise in the original writing for which it is being used. Traditionally, the public availability of reference materials was through a physical library. If a source was cited in a document and a reader wanted to evaluate that source, the reader would need to obtain a physical copy of the source, such as from a research library. As the Internet has evolved, the text of many cited references may be accessed over a computer network. In some cases, the references may be found posted on publicly available websites. In other cases, they may be obtained through paid subscription services from privately managed reference consolidation databases, such as those maintained by LEXIS and WESTLAW.
Though Internet searching and reference consolidation databases have made it much easier to obtain and review cited references, it can still be a formidable and expensive task. First, at a minimum, a robust Internet connection is required to locate the references. Such connections are now almost universal in the workplace through desktop computers, but mobile connectivity through wireless devices may be unavailable at times or cost prohibitive. For example, if an Internet connection is available at all during airline flight, it is through an expensive and inefficient airlink service. Even on the ground, many remote areas have little or no wireless connectivity. Still other areas, such as certain public buildings, may employ devices to purposefully block wireless Internet connections. Furthermore, because most research is done via desktop, the websites available to access reference consolidation databases are poorly adapted for interface with handheld devices having smaller screen displays. Navigating and executing complex searches with a mobile device on the standard content websites can be difficult or impossible as those websites are set up. Where mobile-specific websites are available, functionality and content is severely limited.
Even where desktops are available or connectivity is not a concern, the process of obtaining the cited references for review is cumbersome and inefficient. First, the reader must identify the citations within the original writing and must manually type or paste them into a search field. With luck, the reference may be found in its entirety on the public Internet. More likely, however, the searcher will only waste valuable time concluding that this is not the case. The searcher must then log into a fee-based reference consolidation database such as LEXIS or WESTLAW and conduct a search for the reference. Though the reference may be available through such services, there is further cost and time involved in locating it. This expense of time and money must then be multiplied by the number of citations within the document that the reader chooses to pursue or evaluate. In addition, once a reader has resorted to a paid subscription service, there is no way to know what related resources may also be available for free on the Internet. For example, a search on a fee-based reference consolidation database for a cited reference that is unavailable on the public Internet may lead the searcher to other related references offered through the fee-based database that are publicly available on the Internet. Furthermore, searches conducted through services such as LEXIS and WESTLAW are limited to the material within the libraries they manage and update. They do not dynamically search the larger internet to pull in relevant content, such as, for instance, from Internet blog websites.


There is disclosed a method of filtering semen comprising admixing Sephadex beads of about 40 to 120 microns in diameter in the column of a semen filtering device having openings at both ends with a media, permitting the beads to hydrate, expand, and settle in the column to form a multi-layer filter having passages of predetermined sizes therebetween permitting passage therethrough of motile spermatozoa, adding to the multi-layer filter a washed semen specimen suspended in a liquid media suitable for use with semen, and recovering the semen that pass through the filter.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a particular method of processing semen and filtering it through a filtration column for the purpose of selectively increasing the number of motile and morphologically normal spermatozoa in the filtrate. The column contains a filter device comprised of a disc made of standard insulate and numerous dehydrated Sephadex (a dry soluble powder composed of microscopic beads which are synthetic, organic compounds derived from the polysaccharides dextran) beads, 40 to 120 microns in diameter, that lay on top of the insulate disc. When hydrated with standard laboratory media, the beads expand and settle, forming a multi-layer filter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Several methods have been proposed wherein semen can be processed to increase the quality and quantity of the spermatozoa population in a semen sample, thereby increasing the probability of success when the semen sample is used for Artificial Insemination (AI), In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), and related clinical techniques. Among these methods are washing and storing spermatozoa in media, and the "rise" or "swim up" procedure, a technique that takes advantage of the swimming abilities of a small percentage of spermatozoa within a population. See e.g. Russell and Rogers, J. Androl., 8:25-33, 1987.
None of these methods are simple and short and all of them are susceptible to technician error and accident. However, these disadvantages are overcome by the present invention, which provides for a simple apparatus and procedure that enhances normal morphologic spermatozoa forms and increases the number of motile spermatozoa. Semen that is processed and filtered in accordance with this invention demonstrates qualitative and quantitative spermatozoa characteristics that are as good or better than any other semen processing method. Data from tests made on the procedure and apparatus claimed in this invention are set forth in Table 1, which is attached hereto.


Fast, bright inorganic scintillators at room temperature are based on radiative electron-hole recombination in direct-gap semiconductors, e.g. CdS and ZnO. The direct-gap semiconductor is codoped with two different impurity atoms to convert the semiconductor to a fast, high luminosity scintillator. The codopant scheme is based on dopant band to dopant trap recombination. One dopant provides a significant concentration of carriers of one type (electrons or holes) and the other dopant traps carriers of the other type. Examples include CdS:In,Te; CdS:In,Ag; CdS:In,Na; ZnO:Ga,P; ZnO:Ga,N; ZnO:Ga,S; and GaN:Ge,Mg.

The invention relates to scintillators, and more particularly to fast, bright inorganic scintillators based on direct-gap semiconductors.
Inorganic scintillators have been used as radiation detectors for x-rays, gamma rays, and neutrons, for over a century. The history of inorganic scintillators is described in S. E. Derenzo et al., "The Quest for the Ideal Inorganic Scintillator," Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 505 (2003) 111-117, which is herein incorporated by reference.
Table I lists the best available prior art scintillators and compares them to the ideal.
TABLE IPropertiesBGONd:T1BaF2LSOLaBr3:CeIdealphotoelectric fraction*0.4220.127.116.110.14>0.43Density188.8.131.52.45.3>7Photon/MeV8,20040,0001,80020,00061,000>100,000Energy resolution**13%6%10%11%3%<3%Decay time (ns)300230<14035<1Photons/ns/MeV***2618020005001750>100,000*σphoto/(σphoto + σCompton) at 511 keV**fwhm at 511 keV***Photons/ns/MeV* = (photons/MeV)/(decay time)
FIG. 1 shows the physical processes active in the various common prior art scintillators. These include self-trapped excitonic scintillators such as BaF2; scintillators with activator ions such as NaI(Tl), CsI(Tl), LSO (Lu2SiO5:Ce), and LaBr3:Ce: self-activated scintillators such as BGO (Bi4Ge3O12); and core-valence scintillators such as BaF2. Certain phosphors have ultra-fast decay times, e.g. 0.7 ns for ZnO:Ga and 0.2 ns for CdS:In. Unfortunately, no known inorganic scintillator is both bright and fast.
Direct-gap semiconductors are fast, luminous scintillators when cooled to cryogenic temperatures, but have greatly reduced luminosity at room temperature due to carrier trapping on non-radiative centers (crystal defects and impurities). The need for cryogenic temperatures limits their use. A scintillator that is bright and fast at room temperature is desired.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is able to measure the concentration of labeled compounds in the human body as a function of time and is an efficient and accurate method for measuring regional biochemical and physiological functions. It has been useful for the study of heart disease, brain disease, and cancer. However, PET has been limited by the timing and energy resolution of available scintillators. A scintillator with properties close to the fundamental limits of 1 ns decay time, 200 ps fwhm timing resolution, and 3% fwhm energy resolution would substantially improve PET performance. Thus a new inorganic scintillator for detecting 511 keV photons with exceptional detection efficiency (like BGO), response time (1 ns), and energy resolution (3% fwhm) would allow septaless time-of-flight PET to be achieved. Fast bright scintillators could also enable an efficient time-of-flight gamma detector useful in other fields, such as nuclear physics, high energy physics, and astrophysics.

Codoped direct-gap semiconductor scintillators

The Regents of the University of California


A surface-treating agent for carbon black comprising an amino-containing low molecular weight diene polymer which comprises a trunk chain of a low molecular weight diene polymer having a molecular weight of 1,000 to 100,000 and having side chains containing amino groups in an amount of 0.25 to 20 mole % per the diene unit of the trunk chain with the exception as to the ends of the trunk chain. The carbon black surface-treated with the surface-treating agent of the present invention is blended with a matrix polymer such as a diene rubber. The obtained rubber composition is superior in processability, mechanical properties and low fuel consumption and is useful, for example, for use with tires.

Hitherto, carbon black is employed widely as a filler for reinforcing plastics or rubbers.
In recent years, high properties such as high abrasion resistance are required for rubbers, and thus carbon black having a large specific surface area and high reinforcing ability has been blended with rubbers.
However carbon black having a large specific surface area are difficult to bond with a rubber component in rubber compositions, and thus the carbon black particles tend to aggregate with each other. As a result, it is not easy to uniformly disperse carbon black into the rubber component and under ordinary processing conditions, the desired reinforcing effect cannot be obtained. Also, if it is tried to disperse carbon black uniformly in rubber, a large amount of energy for kneading is required, which lowers productivity.
Particularly in the field of tires, low fuel consumption (low loss tangent) is required. If carbon black having a large specific surface area is blended with rubber to improve the mechanical strength of tires, the loss tangent (tan .delta.) of the tire becomes large and fuel consumption is increased.
For improving dispersibility of the carbon black having a large specific surface area into a rubber component, a method for modifying the surface of the carbon black particles has been proposed and has been partially practiced.
For example, in JP-B-5643/1970, JP-B-24462/1983, JP-B-30417/1968 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,282,719, there is proposed that the aggregation force between the carbon black particles is reduced by the addition of oily materials or high molecular materials. According to the proposal, however, there is less effect in the case where the carbon black having a large specific surface area are used, and an improvement in the mechanical properties and low fuel consumption of the tire cannot be satisfied at the same time.
Also, in JP-A-250042/1987, JP-A-250073/1987, JP-A-152165/1989 and JP-A-284564/1989, for example, there is proposed that in view of polar groups such as hydroxyl group, carboxyl group and carbonyl group on the surface of carbon black particles having a large specific surface area, dispersibility into a matrix polymer is improved by surface-treating with a compound having an affinity for these polar groups.
According to the descriptions of JP-A-250042/1989 and JP-A-250073/1989, the surface of the carbon black particles is treated with an amine compound which is an antioxidant for rubber, and dispersibility of the carbon black is improved, and the mechanical properties of the obtained rubber is also improved to some extent. The affinity to the matrix polymer is, however, insufficient and, further, low fuel consumption required in the tire field is also insufficent.
According to the descriptions of JP-A-152165/1989 and JP-A-284564/1989, the carbon black particles are surface-treated with a saturated high molecular weight compound containing a functional group which has an affinity to the polar groups on the surface of carbon black, and it has been tried to improve the affinity to the matrix polymer through the saturated high molecular chain portion. However, these technologies utilize the chemical affinity of the saturated high molecular weight portion to the matrix polymer and there is no chemical bonding with the matrix polymer such as rubber. Therefore, the bonding strength with the matrix polymer sometimes becomes insufficent and, particularly in the field of tires, it is difficult to improve low fuel consumption (to decrease loss tangent).
Further, there is proposed to bond chemically a high molecular weight compound with the matrix polymer such as rubber in JP-A-100730/1994. However, the compound has a functional group only at one end of the molecular chain, and thus an improved effect cannot be obtained.
As a result of the inventors' investigation of the above-mentioned prior art and their intensive study, it has been found that the following properties are necessary for a surface-treating agent for carbon black, which is superior in reinforcing ability, dispersibility and processability and has strong bonding strength to the matrix polymer such as rubber.
(1) Having a functional group which interacts with the acidic functional group on the surface of the carbon black particles and can bond with the carbon black particles.
(2) Increasing the number of the functional groups in order to obtain a strong interaction with carbon black.
(3) Having a reactive portion which produces a strong bonding with the matrix polymer such as a diene rubber.
(4) The reactive portion of (3) is not reactive during the process such as the kneading step, from the viewpoint of processability.
(5) The entire molecular weight being relatively low from the viewpoint of reactivity with carbon black.
Further, the present inventors have discovered an amino-containing low molecular weight diene polymer as a surface-treating agent and have completed the present invention by utilizing this polymer.


The invention relates to a head support (10, 100) for operating tables, comprising a rotatably mounted first holding element (12) for surrounding a first side of a patient's head receivable in a receiving area (32) and an also rotatably mounted second holding element (14) for surrounding a second side of the head. The two holding elements (12, 14) are coupled to each other in a coupling area by means of a coupling element (16) such that when one of the holding elements (12, 14) is rotated, the coupling element (16) also rotates the other holding element (12, 14). Between the coupling area and the receiving area (32) a stationarily arranged supporting element (33) for supporting the head receivable in the receiving area (32) is provided.

During surgeries in the shoulder area the patient is usually supported lying on the back on the operating table. For supporting the head a head support is attached to the operating table by means of which a secure fixing of the head during the surgery shall take place to guarantee thus a secure performance of the surgery being as low risk as possible for the patient.
From Document US 2002 0169460 A1 a head support is known comprising two holding elements, each laterally surrounding the patient's head which are coupled to each other in a coupling area. To this end, an arcuate oblong hole is provided in one of the two holding elements, in which a pin connected to the other holding element is guided. Thus it is achieved that when opening or closing one of the holding elements, the other holding element is also rotated along and is thus also opened or closed. One problematic aspect of this coupling is that the coupling via the oblong hole and the pin is relatively unstable and can easily get caught and a synchronous opening and closing is not ensured. Another problematic aspect is that the patient's back of the head, which is arranged in the area of the coupling, can easily get caught which may cause injuries.
Further head supports are known from Documents U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,186 A, U.S. Pat. No. 2,535,559 A, U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,572 A, WO 0066059 A3, U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,748 A, WO 0149223 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 7,263,733 B2, US 20110035882 A1 and EP 1219276 B1.


An optical communication module in which an incident or emergent end of an optical fiber can be easily and precisely aligned with a light-emitting element or a light-receiving element. The optical communication module includes a base block that has a first surface and a second surface located opposite to the first surface, a microelement such as a light emitting element or a light-receiving element that contacts the first surface. The second surface includes an optical-fiber guide hole, and the microelement contacting the first surface and an optical-fiber received in the optical-fiber guide hole are separated by an intervening portion of the base block.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an optical communication module, an optical-communication-module production method, and an electronic device.
2. Description of Related Art
In the related art, optical communication to transmit laser light using an optical fiber is performed. Semiconductor lasers are used as light-emitting elements serving as light sources in optical communication. While edge-emitting lasers that emit light from a side face obtained by cutting a wafer are used in the related art as the light-emitting elements, vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL) to emit light from a semiconductor surface are also used in the related art. Moreover, optical communication modules in which an optical fiber, and an light-emitting element or a light-receiving element are combined, are used in the related art.

Optical communication module with particular fiber guide hole, optical-communication-module production method, and electronic device