The present disclosure relates to a method, apparatus, and storage medium for displaying a shortcut operation panel, and belongs to the field of terminal technologies. The method includes: displaying, by a terminal having a folding display screen, a user interface of a target application in a home screen, wherein the home screen is part of a folding display screen; and when an auxiliary screen is in an expanded state, displaying a shortcut operation panel on the auxiliary screen. The auxiliary screen is part of the folding display screen. The shortcut operation panel comprises an icon of at least one shortcut operation function related to the target application.

With the recent development of the terminal, the user's operation on the terminal is more and more convenient.
In the related art, the user may slide down from the top of the screen of a mobile phone, and then a shortcut operation panel appears on the screen. Icons of a plurality of shortcut operations functions are displayed on the shortcut operation panel. For example, the shortcut operation function may be used to enable a wireless connection, enable mobile data, turn on positioning, turn on Bluetooth, set silent mode, turn on the flashlight, etc. By clicking the icon of the shortcut operation function by the user, the corresponding system program or application software can be quickly launched.

Method, apparatus and storage medium for displaying shortcut operation panel

Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd.


To accurately obtain fluorescence intensity in a variable passband. Provided is a fluorescence observation apparatus including an excitation light source that emits excitation light; a Fabry-Perot resonator including a variable passband in which the wavelength of light that passes therethrough changes with changes in distance between the surfaces of optical members opposing each other with a distance therebetween, a fixed passband in which the wavelength of light that passes therethrough does not change irrespective of changes in the distance between the surfaces, and a transition band therebetween; an excitation-light cut filter that blocks passage of the excitation light; a band cut filter having a cut-off band including the transition band and not including the wavelength of the excitation light; and a photodetector that detects fluorescence that has passed through the Fabry-Perot resonator, the excitation-light cut filter, and the band cut filter.

A fluorescence endoscope apparatus disclosed in Patent Citation 1 is known as an example of fluorescence observation apparatuses.
In endoscopic observation, observing an autofluorescence image is useful for diagnosing and observing a lesion because information of tissue different from that in a reflected image can be obtained. Observing autofluorescence, that is, tissue-derived fluorescence, has the advantage that the state of the lesion can be observed based on changes of the tissue.
To perform a diagnosis using autofluorescence, it is preferable to obtain fluorescence in a porphyrin-derived fluorescence region of 630 to 650 nm and fluorescence in a collagen-derived fluorescence region of 450 to 550 nm and to calculate and display the ratio thereof (for example, refer to Patent Citation 2).
Patent Citation 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2006-187598
Patent Citation 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. Hei 9-308604


The photographing device includes an optical lens, a photographing unit for taking an image of a subject imaged through the optical lens and a light quantity adjustment unit for partially adjusting a light quantity of the image of the subject. The light quantity adjustment unit is provided in an optical path of light carrying the image of the subject and between the optical lens and the photographing unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photographing device for taking a photo of an image having a large light quantity ratio while a light quantity adjustment is partially made, and particularly to a photographing device, such as a digital still camera or a digital video camera, using an image pickup element, such as a CCD (charge coupled device), capable of suitably recording an image having a large light quantity ratio.
2. Description of the Related Art
At present, as a device for recording an image, a digital still camera, a video camera or the like is used in a wide range. In such a digital still camera or a video camera, a CCD image pickup element for outputting an output signal on the basis of the quantity of electric charge stored in response to the quantity of light received in a definite time, a CMOS image pickup element, or the like is mainly used, and the obtained output signal is A/D converted, so that an image can be digitized. Although this CCD image pickup element or the like generates a large output signal substantially in proportion to an increase of light quantity within a predetermined range, in the case of a predetermined light quantity or less, an output signal value corresponding to variation of the light quantity can not be obtained and an almost constant output signal value is outputted. Also in the case of exceeding a predetermined light quantity, an output signal corresponding to variation of the light quantity cannot be obtained and an almost constant output signal value is outputted.
That is, there is a limit in the range (dynamic range) of light quantity in which the quantity of storage electric charge substantially proportional to the quantity of light received by the CCD image pickup element or the like is generated, and there is a case where light quantity exceeding the dynamic range or below the dynamic range is received by the CCD image pickup element or the like, as in a backlight scene or a stroboscopic scene.
Thus, in the case where the backlight scene in which the light quantity of a main subject is insufficient against a background is photographed by using the CCD image pickup element or the like, the main subject to be photographed becomes a dark portion (shadow) or the background becomes a bright portion (highlight) in a photographed image, thus leading to dull shadow or washed-out highlight. In the case of the stroboscopic scene, the main subject becomes a bright portion (highlight) or the background becomes a dark portion (shadow), thus leading to dull shadow or washed-out highlight.
Incidentally, in the case where a print output image is outputted by printing an image which has a large light quantity ratio such as a backlight scene or a stroboscopic scene, and is recorded on a photosensitive material such as a film, to a printing paper, in order to prevent dull shadow or washed-out highlight in a part of the image, a well-known dodging processing is performed in an image processing device to reproduce a suitable image. Besides, also in a digital image reproducing device in which an image recorded on a photosensitive material such as a film is photoelectrically read to form digital image data and the digital image data is subjected to digital image processing to output as a print, a similar technique is proposed.
For example, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 10-13680 proposes an image processing device and an image processing method for giving an effect of conventionally well-known dodging processing by performing image processing of a digital image in which an intermediate density portion of the image is not changed, but a low density portion of the image and a high density portion thereof are independently compressed or expanded.
However, in the foregoing image processing device and the image processing method, after recording is once made on an image recording medium such as a film, an adjustment is made through the image processing. It is impossible to directly process a scene to be photographed before it is photoelectrically read.
Besides, since such an image processing device is very expensive, although a trader who receives a request for print output can possess it, it is very difficult for an individual to possess it.
Then, in a digital still camera or a video camera using a CCD image pickup element or the like, there is desired a photographing device in which before a scene to be photographed is photoelectrically read, light quantity is adjusted in response to a dynamic range of the CCD image pickup element or the like to take an image.
Under such circumstances, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 7-298276 proposes a multi-plate image pickup device in which when an image is photoelectrically picked up by a CCD image pickup element or the like, incident light carrying an image to be read is divided to change a ratio of incident light quantity and the light is received by the image pickup element. According to that, when the image pickup element receives the divided incident light, the light quantity can be separately adjusted, so that photographing with a wide dynamic range becomes possible.
However, since this image pickup device must include a plurality of image pickup elements corresponding to the respective divided incident lights, a device for dividing the incident light, a device for synthesizing images read by the respective image pickup elements, and the like, there are problems that the image pickup device itself becomes complicated, a cost becomes high, and a time required for processing image data becomes long.

Photographing device with light quantity adjustment


A safety device for preventing uncontrolled burning in wick-fed liquid fuel burners of the type where a removable tank (60) feeds a fuel chamber (40), which supplies the fuel to a wick (54), via a sump opening in the upper surface of the chamber (40). A plate (32) in the removable tank (60) contains a seat (90) and a needle (76), which, in conjunction with a compartment (80), a float (88), a lever (82), and an orifice (34), restrict fuel egress from the tank. A fill tube (44) traverses the plate. An opening (104) in the plate, along with a face (102) attached to an arm (96), allows air egress from a chamber (30) in the tank during fueling of the tank, but prevents fuel egress from the chamber when the tank is inserted in the burner. Fuel flow through the plate (32) is regulated by the movement of a float (88) attached to a lever (82), which is operatively connected to a needle (76) and a seat (90). Fuel flows through a seat (90) into a compartment (80), and begins to egress through an orifice (34). Fuel accumulates in that compartment (80), urging a float (88) and a lever (82) upward causing a needle (76) to move upward, reducing the flow through a seat (90). An equilibrium is established, in which the flow rate through a seat (90) equals that through an orifice (34). This flow rate is not affected by the depth of the fuel above the plate (32), nor by the pressure in the tank (60).

This invention is an improvement over the inventions of several earlier applications, to-wit:
Ser. No. 08/130,290, filed 1993 Oct. 4, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,185, granted 1994 Aug. 16 in the names of Richard W. Henderson and George R. Lightsey;
Ser. No. 08/247,925, filed 1994 May 23, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,595, granted 1994 Oct. 10, in the name of Richard W. Henderson;
Ser. No. 08/297,048, filed 1994 Sep. 30, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,370, granted 1995 Apr. 25, in the name of Richard W. Henderson;
Ser. No. 08/365,804, filed 1994 Dec. 29, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,470, granted 1996 Aug. 27, in the name of Richard W. Henderson;
Ser. No. 08/514,583, filed 1995 Aug. 14, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,468, granted 1997 Sep. 2, in the name of Richard W. Henderson.
Ser. No. 08/559,922, filed 1995 Nov. 17, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,865, granted 1996 Sep. 3, in the names of Richard W. Henderson and Samuel R. Henderson;
Ser. No. 08/684,131, filed 1996 Jul 19, in the name of Richard W. Henderson; and
Ser. No. 08/684,132, filed 1996 Jul. 19, in the name of Richard W. Henderson; and
Ser. No. 08/829,037, filed 1997 Mar. 31, in the names of Richard W. Henderson and Kerryl L. Henderson.

Device for preventing flareup in liquid-fuel burners by providing constant-rate fuel flow from removable fuel tank


A mechanism for mechanically coupling a driving source and a driven member. The mechanism includes a first member coupled to the driving source and a second member coupled to the driven member. A resilient member exerts a force to bring the first and second members into pressure contact at a contact surface. A vibration is excited in the contact surface of the first member to produce a levitation force, based on an ultrasonic levitation, acting upon the second member. Frictional force between the first member and the second member is changed depending on the levitation force, thereby changing power transmitted between the first member and the second member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power transmitting mechanism and a power transmitting method for switching over a transmission state of power from the driving side to the driven side.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is known a power transmitting mechanism, such as a clutch, for transmitting power generated by a power generating source, such as a motor, to a driven member.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-181072, for example, discloses a power transmission mechanism in which a flywheel is fixed to a rotary shaft of a power generating source and a center hub having a friction disk fitted to the hub is fixed to a rotary shaft of a driven member. The friction disk is brought into pressure contact with the flywheel through a spring arranged in a circumferential form, whereby torque generated from the power generating source is transmitted to the driven member with frictional force developed between the flywheel and the friction disk. The spring is supported by a cover, and a part of the spring on the outer peripheral side with respect to a supported portion presses the friction disk through a pressure plate. When a part of the spring on the inner peripheral side with respect to the supported portion is moved toward the flywheel, the part of the spring on the outer peripheral side with respect to the supported portion is moved away from the flywheel. Hence, the pressure contact between the friction disk and the flywheel is released and transmission of the torque is interrupted.
There is also known an electromagnetic clutch for switching over transmission and non-transmission of torque by using electromagnetic force. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-048155, for example, discloses an electromagnetic clutch in which an output portion of a power generating source and a rotor are coupled to each other through a belt, and a hub rotating in union with an armature is fixed to a rotary shaft of a driven member. By exciting stator disposed inside the rotor having a C-shaped (or channel-like) section, the armature and the rotor are attracted to contact with each other, whereupon torque generated from the power generating source is transmitted to the driven member. By releasing the stator from the excited state, the electromagnetic force disappears and the armature and the rotor are separated from each other by spring force of a leaf spring member. Hence, transmission of the torque is interrupted.
However, those power transmission mechanisms have a limit in reducing the size because they require a large number of parts and have a complicated structure.
More specifically, the power transmitting mechanism as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-181072 requires a mechanical arrangement for moving the part of the spring on the inner peripheral side toward the flywheel when the clutch is decoupled, thus resulting in a complicated structure and a larger size.
In the power transmitting mechanism as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-048155, the clutch can be coupled by easily exciting the stator with energization of an electromagnetic coil contained inside the stator. However, problems arise in that response is poor because of attraction with excitation of the electromagnetic coil, and consumption of electricity is large because attraction force overcoming the load is required during transmission of power.

Power transmitting mechanism and power transmitting method


Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device including a low-voltage MOS transistor and a high-voltage MOS transistor. The present method includes a low-voltage well implantation process on a semiconductor substrate to form a first well in a first region of the substrate and a second well in a second region of the substrate; forming first and second gate oxide layers and first and second gate electrodes in the first and second regions, respectively; forming a first photoresist pattern to expose the first region; forming a first LDD region in the first region exposed by the first photoresist pattern and the first gate electrode; removing the first photoresist pattern; forming a second photoresist pattern to expose the second region; forming a second LDD region in the second region exposed by the second photoresist pattern and the second gate electrode; performing a compensational implantation on the second region to adjust a well concentration for the high-voltage MOS transistor; and removing the second photoresist pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing method. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor in a semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional MOS transistor manufacturing method comprises: forming isolation layers in a semiconductor substrate; forming a gate oxide layer and a poly-silicon layer on the substrate; patterning the gate oxide layer and the poly-silicon layer to form a gate electrode; and implanting impurities in the substrate beside the gate electrode to form source and drain regions.
According to the trend of high-integration and low source power in semiconductor devices, the dimension and the driving voltage of the MOS transistor are decreasing more and more. Recently, semiconductor devices operated under at least two different-valued driving sources in one chip have been developed. For example, a semiconductor chip in use of a cellular phone includes a low-voltage MOS transistor operated under a relatively low driving voltage of about 1.2V, and a high-voltage MOS transistor operated under a relatively high driving voltage of about 3.3V.
FIGS. 1a to 1e are cross-sectional views illustrating a method for manufacturing MOS transistors in a semiconductor substrate, according to a conventional art. Referring to these drawings, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device including a low-voltage MOS transistor and a high-voltage MOS transistor will be explained in detail. Here, reference symbols A and B indicate a region for a low-voltage MOS transistor, and a region for a high-voltage MOS transistor, respectively.
As shown in FIG. 1a, isolation layers 12 are formed in a semiconductor substrate 10, e.g., a silicon substrate, according to a shallow trench isolation (STI) process. Then, a photoresist pattern 14 is formed on the semiconductor substrate 10 including the isolation layers 12, using a photolithography process, to expose the low-voltage MOS transistor region A. Using a well implantation process, conductive impurities are implanted in the substrate 10 of the low-voltage MOS transistor region A to form a first well 16. For example, in the case of a N-channel MOS (NMOS) transistor, the well implantation is performed under conditions comprising boron (B) ions as a first conductivity type of impurity (i.e., P-type impurity), an implantation energy of 260 KeV, and a dose of 2E13 ions/cm2. Alternatively, in the case of a P-channel MOS (PMOS) transistor, the well implantation is performed under conditions comprising phosphorus (P) ions as a second conductivity type of impurity (i.e., N-type impurity), an implantation energy of 500 KeV, and a dose of 1E13 ions/cm2, or comprising arsenic (As) ions as a second conductivity type of impurity, an implantation energy of 100 KeV, and a dose of 3.5E12 ions/cm2. After then, the photoresist pattern 14 is removed using an ashing process.
As shown in FIG. 1b, a photoresist pattern 18 is formed, using a photolithography process, to expose the high-voltage MOS transistor region B. Using a well implantation process, conductive impurities are implanted in the substrate 10 of the high-voltage MOS transistor region B to form a second well 20. For example, in the case of a NMOS transistor, the second well implantation is preferably performed under conditions comprising boron (B) ions as a first conductivity type of impurity, an implantation energy of 260 KeV, and a dose of 2E13 ions/cm2. Similarly, in the case of a PMOS transistor, the second well implantation is preferably performed under conditions comprising phosphorus (P) ions as a second conductivity type of impurity, an implantation energy of 500 KeV, and a dose of 1E13 ions/cm2. After then, the photoresist pattern 18 is removed using an ashing process.
Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 1c, the semiconductor substrate 10, comprising the first well 16 and the second well 20, undergoes a thermal oxidation process, thus a gate oxide layer is formed thereon. Then, a doped poly-silicon layer is deposited on the gate oxide layer. The doped poly-silicon layer and the gate oxide layer are patterned by a dry etching process using a gate mask, thus forming gate electrodes 24 and gate oxide layer patterns 22 on the first and second wells 16 and 20, respectively.
Next, as shown in FIG. 1d, a photoresist pattern 26 is formed on the semiconductor substrate 10 to expose the low-voltage MOS transistor region A. Using an implantation process for a lightly doped drain (LDD) structure, impurities are implanted in the substrate 10 exposed by the gate electrode 24 in the low-voltage MOS transistor region A, thus forming a first LDD region 28. Here, the conductivity type of the LDD structure is opposite to the conductivity type of the well region. For example, in the first LDD implantation for a NMOS transistor, B or BF2 ions as a first conductivity type of impurity are implanted under conditions comprising an implantation energy of 50 KeV and a dose of about 2.3E13 ions/cm2, and continuously As ions as a second conductivity type of impurity are implanted under conditions comprising an implantation energy of 3 KeV and a dose of 9.6E14 ions/cm2. In the first LDD implantation for a PMOS transistor, As ions as a second conductivity type of impurity are implanted under conditions comprising an implantation energy of 60 KeV and a dose of 2.7E13 ions/cm2, and continuously B ions as a first conductivity type of impurity are implanted under conditions comprising an implantation energy of 2.5 KeV and a dose of 5.2E14 ions/cm2. After then, the photoresist pattern 26 is removed using an ashing process.
Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 1e, a photoresist pattern 30 is formed on the substrate 10, using a photolithography process, to expose the high-voltage MOS transistor region B. Using a LDD implantation process, conductive impurities are implanted in the substrate 10 exposed by the gate electrode 24 of the high-voltage MOS transistor region B to form a second LDD region 32. For example, in the second LDD implantation for a NMOS transistor, As ions as a second conductivity type of impurity are implanted under conditions comprising an implantation energy of 50 KeV and a dose of about 1E13 ions/cm2, and continuously P ions as a second conductivity type of impurity are implanted under conditions comprising an implantation energy of 40 KeV and a dose of 2E13 ions/cm2. Similarly, in the second LDD implantation for a PMOS transistor, B or BF2 ions as a first conductivity type of impurity are implanted under conditions comprising an implantation energy of 5 KeV and a dose of 1.5E14 ions/cm2. After then, the photoresist pattern 30 is removed using an ashing process.
Next, a silicon nitride layer (not shown), as an insulating layer, is thinly formed on the entire surface of the resultant structure, and then it is etched back to form spacers at the sides of the gate electrodes 24. In addition, an implantation process is performed on the low-voltage MOS transistor region A and the high-voltage MOS transistor region B, respectively, thus forming source/drain regions for a low-voltage MOS transistor and a high-voltage MOS transistor.
However, the above-described conventional method needs a number of masks for photoresist patterns in use of forming wells, LDD regions, and source/drain regions, which results in loss of productivity and increase of production costs.

Method for manufacturing MOS transistor of semiconductor device


An electromagnetic missile launcher is disclosed that provides greater flexibility for use with a variety of missile types and also provides potentially higher performance and efficiency as compared to prior-art electromagnetic missile launchers.

During launch of a missile that contains a chemical booster, a thrust-providing plume of exhaust gas is generated. The exhaust gas is extremely hot (in excess of 5000° F.) and very erosive due to the presence of metallic particulates. Booster-assisted launch, which is typically referred to as "hot launch," has a number of drawbacks, including:                heating of the launch platform, which creates a readily-identifiable thermal signature;        obscuring the visibility and/or temporarily blinding missile-launch personnel;        impairing radar systems in the vicinity of the launch platform due to the presence of the metallic particulates in the missile exhaust; and        the difficulty of adequately venting the exhaust gas from relatively larger missiles, which, in comparison with smaller missiles, is relatively hotter and more voluminous.
To address these problems, "cold launch" technologies are being developed. One promising cold-launch technology is the electromagnetic missile launcher. In current electromagnetic missile launchers, plural, independently-addressable, preformed coils are stacked around a cylindrical launch tube. During a typical electromagnetic launch, electric current is sequenced through these coils to accelerate an armature that is located within the launch tube. The moving armature propels a missile to launch velocity.
Although prior-art electromagnetic launchers effectively address the problems of hot launch, they suffer from other drawbacks. In particular, prior-art electromagnetic launchers have relatively low propulsion efficiency. Furthermore, some prior-art electromagnetic missile launchers are relatively inflexible in that they have essentially no ability to accommodate missiles that vary from a design diameter. In addition, the weight, size, reliability, and complexity of prior-art electromagnetic launchers are negatively impacted by the manner in which they are fabricated.

Unitary electro magnetic coil launch tube


A tie-high, tie-low circuit having a tie-high output and a tie-low output comprises a regenerative device to be coupled with both the tie-high and the tie-low outputs, and at least a PMOS device and a NMOS device to be coupled respectively with a high voltage and a low voltage. A diode, a NMOS device, and a PMOS device are used as regenerative devices in three examples. These three examples exhibit improved electrostatic discharge (ESD) tolerance.

The present invention relates generally to integrated circuit designs, and more particularly to designs with higher electrostatic discharge tolerances that can be used to tie-high or tie-low an unused IC input.
An integrated circuit (IC) application does not always require all of its inputs to be used. The inputs that are not used should advantageously be locked in a single, stable logic state, and should not be left floating, because inputs having unpredictable or intermediate logic states may have unpredictable and unrepeatable influences on logic outcomes. This is a major issue that IC designers strive to eliminate.
For stability, therefore, small circuits are inserted into ICs. The small circuits have at least two outputs: one that is always high and another that is always low. These circuits are then used to tie IC inputs to either a high state or a low state. By implementing these circuits, inputs that are not used are locked in a single, stable logic state.
However, various issues exist in the conventional designs of these circuits. For example, many of these circuits comprise at least four transistors, which take up valuable real estate in ICs and may require additional, costly production steps. As another example, some of the designs of these circuits comprise three transistors, but such designs typically exhibit limited tolerance to electrostatic discharge (ESD).
Therefore, desirable in the art of integrated circuit designs are improved designs with smaller circuits having increased ESD tolerance that can be used to tie-high or tie-low an unused IC input.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company


In measuring the angle of inclination of a liquid crystal projector with respect to the screen for automatically adjusting a trapezoidal distortion, the calculation of the angle of inclination by determining the distance from the screen using a distance sensor conventionally requires a high distance measurement accuracy and hence an expensive distance sensor. According to the invention, a distance sensor is rotated and the level of the wave reflected from it is observed. The angle of inclination with respect to the screen is detected from the rotational angle associated with the maximum value of the level of the reflected wave thereby to correct the trapezoidal distortion. In this way, the trapezoidal distortion can be adjusted automatically using an inexpensive distance sensor.

The present invention relates to a projection-type display apparatus such as a liquid crystal projector, or in particular to the correction of a trapezoidal distortion.
In recent years, conferences are often held for a presentation, in which the presentation data prepared in a personal computer are projected on a presentation screen in an enlarged form using a liquid crystal projector or the like without being distributed to attendants.
In an enlarged projection using a liquid crystal projector, the projection screen is generally displayed without any distortion when the image is projected from the front of the screen, i.e. from the direction perpendicular to the screen surface. In the case where the image is projected in a direction not perpendicular to the screen surface, on the other hand, the projection screen is displayed in distorted form. This distortion is generally called a trapezoidal distortion. The trapezoidal distortion is corrected by either an optical method or an electrical method. The optical method is not widely used as it is structurally limited and expensive. In the electrical method which is generally used now, on the other hand, the trapezoidal distortion is corrected by digitally processing the video signal and distorting the image reversely. In most cases using the electrical method, the user has so far manually adjusted the image while watching the distorted screen. However, a method for conducting the image adjustment automatically is reported (for example, JP-A-2000-122617).
According to the aforementioned patent publication, the trapezoidal distortion is automatically corrected by detecting the distance to the screen using a plurality of distance sensors and determining the angle of inclination between the screen and the display apparatus based on the result of detection.


For systems integration, an information published about an application programming interface (API) of a service is parsed to extract a pattern from the information. the pattern is compared with a stored pattern in a repository, wherein the stored pattern corresponds to a known API. When the pattern matches the stored pattern within a threshold degree of match, a conclusion is made that the API of the service is the known API. A collector code module is selected where the collector code module is configured to call the known API. The collector code module is sequenced in an integration sequence, to call the known API. A forwarder code module is also sequence din the integration sequence to forward a data output of the service to a consumer application.

A customer, such as a business entity, operates their data processing systems and the applications therein to provide certain features and functions to their users. In providing such functions, the customer's system generates data, consume data, and use services provided by other systems and applications.
For example, a service provider to a customer may furnish systems and applications that provide a specialized functionality. A customer's system interfaces with a service provider's system to utilize that specialized functionality in the course of providing the customer's features and function to the customer's users.
System integration is the process of enabling a customer's system to utilize a service provider's system towards this end. Often, technologists with in depth knowledge of the customer's system and the service provider's system are tasked with coding and implementing components that enable the system integration.
In a typical customer's data processing environment, it is not uncommon to see dozens of service provider systems from different service providers providing different specialized functionalities or services. Furthermore, it is also not uncommon to find different customers implementing their features and functions differently, creating data differently, and consuming data differently from a model used by a service provider.
To accommodate these variations in customer environments, many service providers implement their functionalities or services in such a way that they can be customized according to a customer's unique needs. The variability in customer environments, the numerosity of service providers, and the variety of customizations of the functionalities or services make the integration a custom implementation at each customer. Not only this, but the variety of skills and deep knowledge of each environment, customer data and functions, and services and functionalities available from various service providers require an ever-changing set of skills and knowledge that have to be brought together for each integration solution.

Adaptive integration flow using automated service discovery

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A combustion process is described, suitable for use in piston internal combustion engines, wherein two separate mixtures are used, one fuel leaner and one fuel richer than the minimum ignition delay mixture ratio. When the richer mixture is injected into the leaner mixture, interdiffusion creates zones readily compression ignitable. Burning is thusly initiated, which subsequently completes the combustion of the combined air fuel mixture. Very fuel lean overall mixture ratios can be utilized in this way to reduce undesirable exhaust emissions and to increase engine efficiency.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of combustion processes for piston internal combustion engines, and particularly for such engines using compression ignition to initiate the burning of the principal air fuel mixture.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In addition to conventional diesel engines, some natural gas engines also use compression ignition to initiate the burning of the air fuel mixture. In these natural gas engines, a very fuel lean mixture of natural gas in air is the principal air fuel mixture for the engine. This lean principal mixture is difficult to ignite with a conventional electric spark and, when thusly spark ignited, burns slowly, thus reducing the engine efficiency. Liquid diesel fuel can be injected into the highly compressed lean principal mixture and the compression ignition of this injected diesel fuel ignites the lean principal mixture at many different places. By thusly starting burning at many places, the burning of the lean principal mixture can be completed in a short time interval and hence with good engine efficiency. In this way lean principal natural gas in air mixtures can be used efficiently and are known to have lower emissions of some undesirable exhaust components than stoichiometric mixtures.
All prior art compression ignition engines inject a liquid fuel into the engine combustion chamber. After injection and atomization a portion of the liquid fuel evaporates and diffuses into the surrounding air or natural gas in air mixture. In consequence almost the entire range of air to fuel ratios is created in separate regions surrounding the injected and atomized liquid fuel. Some of these separate regions will have an air to fuel ratio at which the compression ignition delay time is a minimum and these will be the regions first to ignite. Burning is thus initiated in these regions whose air to fuel ratio is that for minimum compression ignition delay time. Burning progresses from these first to ignite regions into those other regions containing both evaporated fuel and air as needed to sustain burning. Those liquid fuel portions, unevaporated at the time of initiation of burning, will thus become surrounded with very high temperature burned gases largely devoid of oxygen. These initially unevaporated liquid fuel portions will subsequently evaporate quickly, and be heated to a high temperature, but will have difficulty finding the oxygen needed for burnup. In consequence these fuel portions are partially converted to soot which is very slow to burn. While some of this soot will subsequently burn slowly within the engine, other soot portions will survive unburned into the engine exhaust as undesirable smoke emissions. Such exhaust smoke is undesirable, not only as being unsightly, but also as causing reduced engine efficiency, since not all fuel is burned. Additionally these soot particles aggravate the engine exhaust odor problem by absorbing, and hence concentrating, odor creating exhaust components, such as formaldehyde.
It would be very desirable to devise a compression ignition process, for use in internal combustion engines, which produced little or no soot.
3. Definitions
The term compression ignition combustion process is used herein and in the claims to mean a process wherein a mixture of air and fuel is sufficiently compressed that it self ignites, in one or more regions, without an external ignition source, and combustion can be initiated in this way.
The term piston internal combustion engine is used herein and in the claims to mean an internal combustion engine of the piston and cylinder type, or equivalent, such as the Wankel engine type, and comprising a variable volume chamber enclosed by the piston and cylinder. Gases contained within this variable volume chamber are alternately compressed and expanded as the chamber volume is decreased and increased. A piston internal combustion engine can be of the two strokes per cycle type or of the four strokes per cycle type. Additional details of piston internal combustion engines are described in the background portion of my earlier filed application entitled, "Displacer Jet Igniter", Ser. No. 08/368,093, FILED Jan. 3, 1995, and this material is incorporated herein by reference thereto.
The term, principal air fuel mixture, fuel leaner than the minimum compression ignition delay time fuel air ratio, herein and in the claims, encompasses such mixtures containing fuel, and also air to which no fuel has been added.

Combustion process for compression ignition engines


The invention provides a fusion protein comprising the Plasmodium merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP1) and the Plasmodium apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA-1), the encoding DNA sequence, the vector containing the sequence, the host cell containing the vector, and the genetic engineering method for preparing the fusion protein and the usage for producing anti-malarial vaccine. The AMA-1/MSP1 fusion protein of the present invention has excellent immunogenicity and can cause an effective immune response against Plasmodium in individuals.

Malaria is one of the most ancient infectious diseases that still has strong impact upon human health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 40% of the world's population are still under the threat of malaria, which has been distributed to more than 100 countries. Today, there are about 300–500 million malaria cases every year, of which about 3 million die from it. Moreover, because of the emergence and quick spread diffusion of drug resistance by plasmodia and mosquito vector, malaria has not been effectively controlled. On the contrary, it is likely to stage a comeback. Thus the expansion of a global project to control malaria has become one of the emphatic study fields of WHO in the new century.
People can depend upon or expect to achieve breakthrough in controlling malaria through three main pathways: anti-malaria drugs, malaria vaccines and mosquito vector control. However, anti-malaria drugs and mosquito vector control are facing great difficulties and challenges, which have been the result of the emergence and spread of drug resistance of plasmodia and mosquito. Although the malaria vaccine with application value has not become visible at present, it is still generally believed that the development of malaria vaccine is an important pathway for human beings to control and even eradicate malaria.
Many studies have indicated that the prevention of malaria could be achieved through the development of effective vaccines. For example, volunteers immunized by inactivated sporozoit could be completely protected against subsequent challenge of Plasmodium falciparum. Also, the mouse immunized by murine Plasmodium recombinant antigen could be completely protected against subsequent infection attacks from homogenous Plasmodium. In addition, epidemiological studies on malaria also demonstrates that the population dying from malaria is mainly those having no immunity against malaria, e.g. children living in malaria endemic areas and population from malaria non-endemic areas entering malaria endemic areas, while adults in malaria endemic areas seldom die of it. If inoculating these people having no specific immunity with effective vaccines, it could be expected that the specific immunity could be induced similar to that of the adults from malaria endemic areas, and thus the objective to prevent malaria and reduce malaria mortality can be achieved. Hence, the development of malaria vaccines has become the hot topic in the world nowadays.
In the development of malaria vaccines, the studies upon two candidate vaccines have ever been widely noticed, and one of which is anti-sporozoit vaccine. This vaccine could induce immunity to inhibit invasion of sporozoit into hepatic cells. However, subsequent clinical trials do not show good efficacy. According to the analysis, the vaccine could just generate immunity against sporozoit, but even if only a few sporozoit escapes the immune attack of the vaccine and survive, they could invade hepatic cells and develop and proliferate to generate thousands of merozoites enough to cause disease in hosts. The other one is SPf66 polyvalence synthetic peptide vaccine. This vaccine is a 45-peptide polymer made of three 10-peptide epitopes separately linked through hydrophobic amino acids (Patarroyo, M. E., et al., Induction of protective immunity against experimental infection with malaria Suing Synthetic peptides, Nature; 328: 629, 1987). This vaccine achieved good immune protection against challenge of Plasmodium falciparum in Aotus monkeys. However, an ideal clinical protection has not been achieved in the subsequent clinical trials in Africa, South-east Asia and Latin America, and thus no applicable value was established. The reason of failure of this vaccine may lie in the fact that SPf 66 only has 45 peptides. In such a short, chained peptide sequence, there may not be T cell epitopes enough for most individual MHC molecules to bind, which results in the prevention of antigen presentation.
Although the studies on malaria vaccines using biotechnology have been conducted for about 20 years, a vaccine with application value has yet to become available. It can be seen that the breakthrough in malaria vaccines still calls for further confirmation on the candidate antigens providing protection against malaria, clarification on the immunological mechanism of protection effect, and establishment of new strategies about malaria vaccine development.
Thus, it is urgently required in the art to develop effective immunogens and related vaccines against malaria.

Preparation and usage of plasmodium fusion antigen


The present invention is an apparatus and method of providing notification of a content change of a web page. The method includes the steps of transmitting a request from a first electronic system to a second electronic system for a quotient value indicative of the content change, transmitting the quotient value from the second electronic system to the first electronic system, comparing the quotient value to a predetermined value to determine whether a threshold is triggered, and notifying the first electronic system of the content change if the threshold is triggered.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the world wide web. More particularly, the present invention relates to providing update notification of Web page content or location changes.
2. Description of Related Art
The World Wide Web ("Web") is a massive collection of Web pages that are linked together by the Internet, the worlds largest public network. With the Web and the Internet, a user has access to a wealth of diverse and, in many instances, volatile information at his fingertips.
Today, the main piece of software used for connecting to and displaying Web pages on a client is called a Web browser. The main function of a Web browser is to interpret the information received from a Web page and display it on a computer monitor. Most of today's Web browsers have a feature called bookmark (or favorites). This feature allows a user to tag (or save) the address or Uniform Resource Locator ("URL") of a favorite Web page and add a short description of the Web page in an address book. The next time the user wants to connect to his favorite Web page, he selects the Web page from the address book without having to remember or type in the address. Thus, the bookmark feature gives the user a quick way of connecting to his favorite Web page.
However, with Web pages often being constantly updated with new information, there is no feature or mechanism that provides an indication of whether, when, or how much the contents of a Web page has changed. This is important because a user will want the most updated information of a Web page that he has saved or cached. The only way to determine whether a Web page has changed or changed significantly is to download the Web page. This may be a formidable task if the user wants to update several favorite Web pages saved or cached because the user has to download each Web page manually and determine whether the Web page has changed significantly enough to replace the old version.
Therefore, there is a need in the technology for an apparatus and method of providing update notification of Web page content or location changes using existing mechanisms.

URL bookmark update notification of page content or location changes


System and methods are described for optimizing exhaust flow rate and temperature during specified operational periods warm-up and keep-warm conditions, by minimizing or maximizing heat flux during those specified operational periods.

Most vehicles in operation today are powered by internal combustion (IC) engines. Internal combustion engines typically have multiple cylinders or other working chambers where combustion occurs. The power generated by the engine depends on the amount of fuel and air that is delivered to each working chamber. The engine must be operated over a wide range of operating speeds and torque output loads to accommodate the needs of everyday driving.
There are two basic types of IC engines; spark ignition engines and compression ignition engines. In the former combustion is initiated by a spark and in the latter by a temperature increase associated with compressing a working chamber charge. Compression ignition engines may be further classified as stratified charge compression ignition engines (e.g., most conventional Diesel engines, and abbreviated as SCCI), premixed charge compression ignition (PCCI), reactivity controlled compression ignition (RCCI), gasoline compression ignition engines (GCI or GCIE), and homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI). Some, particularly older, Diesel engines generally do not use a throttle to control air flow into the engine. Spark ignition engines are generally operated with a stoichiometric fuel/air ratio and have their output torque controlled by controlling the mass air charge (MAC) in a working chamber. Mass air charge is generally controlled using a throttle to reduce the intake manifold absolute pressure (MAP). Compression ignition engines typically control the engine output by controlling the amount of fuel injected (hence changing the air/fuel stoichiometry), not air flow through the engine. Engine output torque is reduced by adding less fuel to the air entering the working chamber, i.e. running the engine leaner. For example, a Diesel engine may typically operate with air/fuel ratios of 20 to 55 compared to a stoichiometric air/fuel ratio of approximately 14.5.
Fuel efficiency of internal combustion engines can be substantially improved by varying the engine displacement. This allows for the full torque to be available when required, yet can significantly reduce pumping losses and improve thermal efficiency by using a smaller displacement when full torque is not required. The most common method today of implementing a variable displacement engine is to deactivate a group of cylinders substantially simultaneously. In this approach the intake and exhaust valves associated with the deactivated cylinders are kept closed and no fuel is injected when it is desired to skip a combustion event. For example, an 8 cylinder variable displacement engine may deactivate half of the cylinders (i.e. 4 cylinders) so that it is operating using only the remaining 4 cylinders. Commercially available variable displacement engines available today typically support only two or at most three displacements.
Another engine control approach that varies the effective displacement of an engine is referred to as "skip fire" engine control. In general, skip fire engine control contemplates selectively skipping the firing of certain cylinders during selected firing opportunities. Thus, a particular cylinder may be fired during one engine cycle and then skipped during the next engine cycle and selectively skipped or fired during the next. In this manner, even finer control of the effective engine displacement is possible. For example, firing every third cylinder in a 4 cylinder engine would provide an effective reduction to ⅓rd of the full engine displacement, which is a fractional displacement that is not obtainable by simply deactivating a set of cylinders to create an even firing pattern.
Both spark ignition and compression ignition engines require emission control systems including one or more aftertreatment elements to limit emission of undesirable pollutants that are combustion byproducts. Catalytic converters and particulate filters are two common aftertreatment elements. Spark ignition engines generally use a 3-way catalyst that both oxidizes unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide and reduces nitrous oxides (NOx). These catalysts require that on average the engine combustions be at or near a stoichiometric air/fuel ratio, so that both oxidation and reduction reactions can occur in the catalytic converter. Since compression ignition engines generally run lean, they cannot rely solely on a conventional 3-way catalyst to meet emissions regulations. Instead they use another type of aftertreatment device to reduce NOx emissions. These aftertreatment devices may use catalysts, lean NOx traps, and selective catalyst reduction (SCR) to reduce nitrous oxides to molecular nitrogen. The most common SCR system adds a urea/water mixture to the engine exhaust prior to the engine exhaust flowing through a SCR based catalytic converter. In the SCR element the urea breaks down into ammonia, which reacts with nitrous oxides in the SCR to form molecular nitrogen (N2) and water (H2O). Additionally, Diesel engines often require a particulate filter to reduce soot emissions.
To successfully limit engine emissions all aftertreatment system elements need to operate in a certain elevated temperature range to function more efficiently. Since 3-way catalysts are used in spark ignition engines where the engine air flow is controlled, it is relatively easy to maintain a sufficiently elevated engine exhaust temperature, in the range of 400 C, to facilitate efficient pollutant removal in a 3-way catalyst. Maintaining adequate exhaust gas temperature in a lean burn engine is more difficult, since exhaust temperatures are reduced by excess air flowing through the engine. There is a need for improved methods and apparatus capable of controlling the exhaust gas temperature of a lean burn engine over a wide range of engine operating conditions.

Lean burn internal combustion engine exhaust gas control


A nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery of the invention has a positive electrode having a positive electrode active material, a negative electrode, and a nonaqueous electrolyte having electrolyte salt in a nonaqueous solvent. The electric potential of the positive electrode active material is 4.4 to 4.6 V relative to lithium, and the nonaqueous electrolyte contains a compound expressed by structural formula (I) below. The quantity of compound added is preferably 0.1% to 2% by mass. Also, the positive electrode active material preferably comprises a mixture of a lithium-cobalt composite oxide which is LiCoO2 containing at least both zirconium and magnesium and a lithium-manganese-nickel composite oxide that has a layer structure and contains at least both manganese and nickel. Thanks to such structure, a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery can be provided that is charged to charging termination potential of 4.4 to 4.6 V relative to lithium and that has enhanced overcharging safety.

With the rapid spread of portable electronic equipment, the specifications required of the batteries used in such equipment have become more stringent with every year, and there is particular requirement for batteries that are compact and thin, have high capacity and superior cycling characteristics, and give stable performance. In the field of secondary batteries, attention is focusing on nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries, which have high energy density compared with other batteries. These nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries are winning an increasingly large share of the secondary battery market.
In the equipment that uses such nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries, the space for housing the battery is often square (flattened box shape), so that the nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery used is often formed so as to be square and to have its generating elements housed in a square case. An example of such a square nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery will now be described using the accompanying drawing. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a related art square nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery, cut in the longitudinal direction. This nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery 10 has a flattened electrode roll 14 in which a positive electrode plate 11 and a negative electrode plate 12 are rolled up with separators 13 interposed therebetween, and which is housed inside a square battery case 15. The battery case 15 is sealed by a sealing plate 16. The electrode roll 14 is rolled so that the positive electrode plate 11 is located on the outermost circumference and is exposed. The exposed, outer-circumference positive electrode plate 11 contacts directly, and thus is electrically coupled, with the inner surface of the battery case 15, which serves also as a positive electrode terminal. The negative electrode plate 12 is electrically coupled via a collector 19 to a negative electrode terminal 18 that is installed in the center of the sealing plate 16 with an insulator 17 interposed.
Since the battery case 15 is electrically coupled to the positive electrode plate 11, an insulating spacer 20 is inserted between the top end of the electrode roll 14 and the sealing plate 16, thereby electrically insulating the negative electrode plate 12 from the battery case 15, in order to prevent short circuiting between the negative electrode plate 12 and the battery case 15. To fabricate this square nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery, the electrode roll 14 is inserted inside the battery case 15, then the sealing plate 16 is laser-welded over the open portion of the battery case 15, a nonaqueous electrolyte is poured in through an electrolyte pouring hole 21, and the electrolyte pouring hole 21 is sealed. Such a square nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery wastes little space when used, and has the excellent advantages of high battery performance and high battery reliability.
The negative electrode active materials that are widely used in such square nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries are graphite, amorphous carbon and other carbonaceous materials, which, while having discharge potential rivaling that of lithium metals and lithium compounds, are not prone to dendrite growth, and therefore are high in safety and have superior initial efficiency and good potential flatness, as well as the excellent quality of high density.
As regards the positive electrode active materials, it is known that using a lithium composite oxide such as LiCoO2, LiNiO2, LiMnO2, LiMn2O4 or LiFeO2 in combination with a negative electrode constituted of a carbon material will give a high energy density 4 V class nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery. Of these, LiCoO2 is in frequent use because it provides various battery characteristics that are superior to those provided by the others.
For the nonaqueous electrolyte's nonaqueous solvent, use is made of carbonate, lactone, ether or ester, either singly or in a mixture of two or more. Of these, carbonate, which has high permittivity and high electrolyte ion conductivity, is in particularly frequent use.
In the event of overcharging or short-circuiting, the nonaqueous electrolyte of such nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries will reach high temperatures, which may result in generation of gas, or in swelling, ignition or explosion of the battery, etc. Accordingly, various additives are used simultaneously in combination with the nonaqueous electrolyte in order to assure safety. In JP-2004-214139-A for example, an electrolyte is disclosed in which a cyclic carbonate ester—an unsaturated hydrocarbon—is used as the nonaqueous solvent, and the additive that is added to assure safety in the event of overcharging contains at least one of the set composed of cyclohexylbenzene (CHB) and its derivatives, and at least one of the set composed of vinylene carbonate (VC), vinyl ethylene carbonate, and their derivatives.
Also, JP-2004-349131-A discloses a nonaqueous electrolyte to which an aromatic compound given by chemical formula (II) below is added as an additive for preventing overcharging.
[Chemical Formula 4]
(where: R1 and R2 represent alkyl groups that are each separated and may have substitutional groups, or else R1 and R2 are bonded to each other and form hydrocarbon rings that may have substitutional groups. Ring A may have substitutional groups, and at least one of the carbon atoms adjacent to the carbon atom with which R1R2CH— bonds must have a substitutional group.) Also, JP-2003-272700-A discloses that when a pentafluorophenol compound given by chemical formula (III) below is added to the nonaqueous electrolyte, a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery is obtained that has superior cycling characteristics and charging/storing characteristics and whose 50-cycle discharge capacity maintenance rate is 88% or higher.[Chemical Formula 5]
(where: R represents a substitutional group selected from a set composed of an alkyl carbonyl group with carbon number 2 to 12, an alkoxycarbonyl group with carbon number 2 to 12, an aryloxy carbonyl group with carbon number 7 to 18, and an alkane sulfonyl group with carbon number 1 to 12. At least one of the hydrogen atoms possessed by such a substitutional group may be substituted with a halogen atom or an aryl group with carbon number 6 to 18.)
Further, JP-A-2004-519829 discloses that when pentafluoroanisol or other fluorobenzene composition such as given by chemical formula (IV) below is added to the nonaqueous electrolyte, a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery is obtained that has a large reversible fraction and high cycling life.
[Chemical Formula 6]
(where: R1 and R2 are separated and are hydrogen, halogen or another electron attracting withdrawing substituent or electron donating substituent. If R1 is a non-halogen electron withdrawing substituent, R2 must be an electron donating substituent.)
With the higher performance levels of portable equipment in recent years, further enhancement of secondary battery capacity has come to be expected of such nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries as well. Commonly known means of meeting such demand are to use higher-density electrode materials, to use thin films for the current collectors and separators, etc., and to use high charging voltage for the battery voltage. Of these means, the use of higher-density electrode materials and the use of thin films for the collectors and separators pose major problems of lowered productivity. By contrast, the use of high charging voltage for the battery voltage has minimal impact on productivity and enables high capacity to be achieved, and therefore will be an essential technique for the future development of high capacity batteries.
For example, in a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery that uses as its positive electrode active material a lithium-containing transition metal oxide such as the aforementioned lithium cobalt oxide LiCoO2, and as its negative electrode active material a carbon material, the charging voltage is usually 4.1 to 4.2 V (the potential of the positive electrode active material being 4.2 to 4.3 V relative to lithium) when combined with the negative electrode active material of graphite or other carbon material. With such charging condition, only 50% to 60% of the theoretical capacity of the positive electrode can be utilized. Thus, if the charging voltage can be rendered higher, it will be possible to utilize 70% or more of the theoretical capacity of the positive electrode, thereby rendering the battery high-capacity and high-energy density.
In order to obtain a positive electrode active material that could stably achieve a high charging voltage, the present applicant engaged repeatedly in various investigations, and as a result developed a new nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery that uses as its positive electrode active material a mixture of lithium cobalt oxide with a dissimilar element added, plus layered lithium manganese-nickel oxide, and that has been disclosed already in JP-2005-317499-A. With the positive electrode active material of the nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery disclosed in JP-2005-317499-A, structural stability at high voltage (up to 4.5 V) is enhanced by the addition of at least Zr and Mg as dissimilar elements to the lithium cobalt oxide, and furthermore safety is assured through the presence of layered lithium manganese-nickel oxide, which has high thermal stability under high voltage, in the mixture. By combining a positive electrode that uses such positive electrode active material with a negative electrode having negative electrode active material constituted of carbon material, there is obtained a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery that is chargeable at high charging voltage of 4.3 to 4.5 V (charging termination potential being 4.4 to 4.6 V relative to lithium).
However, when the charging voltage is made high, as in the nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery disclosed in JP-2005-317499-A, it is not possible to use overcharging protection additives such as biphenyl (BP) or CHB which have been widely used with related art 4.2 V charging voltage lithium batteries, because such additives would decompose and give rise to side reactions during normal use. Accordingly, in related art high charging voltage nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries, a heat-sensing protective element has been installed to assure safety in the event of overcharging.
In order to assure safety in the event of overcharging of the high charging voltage nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery, it will be necessary to add a compound that has decomposition potential higher than that of BP or CHB, and that moreover has properties that will deactivate the battery before abnormality develops. Besides effects due to overcharging, it will also be important that no adverse effects are exerted on the battery characteristics during normal use.

Nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery, nonaqueous electrolyte, and charging method therefor

Abstract: [Chemical Formula 1]


An information processing apparatus includes: a power mode information storage unit that stores power mode information indicating whether a power mode of an electronic apparatus is a first power mode in which at least a first communication unit is operable or a second power mode in which the first communication unit is not operable and a second communication unit is operable; an update unit that updates the power mode information; a determination unit that refers to the power mode information and determines the power mode; a first acquisition unit that, if the power mode is the first power mode, obtains state information from the electronic apparatus via the first communication unit; a state information storage unit that stores the state information; and a second acquisition unit that, if the power mode is the second power mode, obtains the state information from the state information storage unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, and a computer program product.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some image forming apparatuses including a first communication unit and a second communication unit that consumes less power than the first communication unit can switch between a normal power mode and a power saving mode. In the normal power mode, the first and second communication units are operable. In the power saving mode, the first communication unit is not operable and the second communication unit is operable. Such an image forming apparatus accepts a normal power mode return instruction from a host apparatus by using its second communication unit in the power saving mode, and returns to the normal power mode. The image forming apparatus then receives a print job from the host apparatus by using the first communication unit, and performs printing (for example, see Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2009-129242).
According to such a technique, no power is supplied to the first communication unit in the power saving mode. This can further reduce the power consumption in the power saving mode.
The host apparatus sometimes performs communication with an electronic apparatus to check whether the electronic apparatus is in a state capable of predetermined processing.
According to the foregoing conventional technique, if the electronic apparatus is in the power saving mode, the host apparatus needs to return the electronic apparatus to the normal power mode to communicate with the electronic apparatus and check whether the electronic apparatus is in a state capable of predetermined processing. The checking thus increases the power consumption of the electronic apparatus.
In view of the foregoing circumstances, there is a need to provide an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, and a computer program product which can check whether an electronic apparatus is in a state capable of predetermined processing while keeping the power consumption of the electronic apparatus suppressed.

Information processing apparatus, information processing system, and computer program product


The present invention provides a bag having closure strips and a slider, and including a marker strip for preventing manipulation of the slider prior to the marker strip being ruptured, wherein said marker strip is formed integrally with a wall of the bag and includes a single-use adhesive zone designed to fix it in its in-use position on the opposite wall of the bag.

Nowadays, most such bags are fitted with a slider designed to facilitate opening and closing the bags, respectively by separating and engaging closure strips.
In conventional manner, such sliders essentially define two channels receiving respective ones of the two closure strips, the channels being separated by a middle partition that is positioned between the two strips, or being associated with equivalent means adapted to act on the strips. The two channels converge towards each other at one end of the slider and diverge from each other towards the opposite end thereof.
Thus, depending on the direction in which the slider is moved, it tends either to move the strips towards each other and bring them into engagement so as to close the bag, or else to move them apart so as to open the bag.
Furthermore, at present, there exists a strong demand for a system that can be used to show whether or not such a bag has been opened for the first time.
Such first-opening markers that are available on the market are generally in the form of a web placed inside the closure strips and interconnecting the two walls of the bag, the web being designed to be ruptured on first opening, e.g. as described in document FR-A-2 546 481.
Proposals have also been made for packaging bags with closure strips, a slider associated therewith, and a marker strip placed on the path of the slider and designed to be ruptured by the slider on first opening.
In document FR-A-2 817 843, the Applicant has proposed a variant of such bags in which the marker strip is of two colors, presenting different colors respectively on its inside and outside faces.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Packaging bags having slider-controlled closure strips


Described herein are compositions and methods of use of anti-pancreatic cancer antibodies or fragments thereof, such as murine, chimeric, humanized or human PAM4 antibodies. The subject antibodies show a number of novel and useful diagnostic characteristics, such as binding with high specificity to pancreatic and other cancers, but not to normal pancreatic tissues and binding to a high percentage of early stage pancreatic cancers. In preferred embodiments, the antibodies bind to pancreatic cancer mucins. The antibodies and fragments are of use for the detection and diagnosis of early stage pancreatic cancer. In preferred embodiments, the anti-pancreatic cancer antibodies can be used for immunoassay of serum samples, wherein the immunoassay can detect a marker for early stage pancreatic cancer in serum. More preferably, the serum is extracted with an organic phase, such as butanol, before immunoassay.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the use of anti-pancreatic cancer antibodies that bind with high selectivity to pancreatic cancer cells to detect and/or diagnose pancreatic adenocarcinoma, preferably at the earliest stages of the disease. More preferably, antibody-based assays are capable of detecting about 85% or more of pancreatic adenocarcinomas, with a false positive rate of 5% or less for healthy controls. In particular embodiments, the methods and compositions can be used to detect and/or diagnose pancreatic adenocarcinoma by screening serum samples from subjects and preferably can detect 60% or more of stage I pancreatic cancers and 80% or more of stage II cancers by serum sample analysis.
In preferred embodiments, the anti-pancreatic cancer antibody competes for binding to pancreatic cancer mucin with a PAM4 antibody comprising the light chain variable region complementarity-determining region (CDR) sequences CDR1 (SASSSVSSSYLY, SEQ ID NO:1); CDR2 (STSNLAS, SEQ ID NO:2); and CDR3 (HQWNRYPYT, SEQ ID NO:3); and the heavy chain CDR sequences CDR1 (SYVLH, SEQ ID NO:4); CDR2 (YINPYNDGTQYNEKFKG, SEQ ID NO:5) and CDR3 (GFGGSYGFAY, SEQ ID NO:6). Most preferably, the anti-pancreatic cancer antibody is a humanized PAM4 (hPAM4) antibody comprising the light chain CDR sequences CDR1 (SASSSVSSSYLY, SEQ ID NO:1); CDR2 (STSNLAS, SEQ ID NO:2); and CDR3 (HQWNRYPYT, SEQ ID NO:3); and the heavy chain CDR sequences CDR1 (SYVLH, SEQ ID NO:4); CDR2 (YINPYNDGTQYNEKFKG, SEQ ID NO:5) and CDR3 (GFGGSYGFAY, SEQ ID NO:6), along with human antibody framework (FR) and constant region sequences.
2. Related Art
Pancreatic cancer is a malignant growth of the pancreas that mainly occurs in the cells of the pancreatic ducts. This disease is the ninth most common form of cancer, yet it is the fourth and fifth leading cause of cancer deaths in men and women, respectively. Cancer of the pancreas is almost always fatal, with a five-year survival rate that is less than 3%.
The most common symptoms of pancreatic cancer include jaundice, abdominal pain, and weight loss, which, together with other presenting factors, are nonspecific in nature. Thus, diagnosing pancreatic cancer at an early stage of tumor growth is often difficult and requires extensive diagnostic work-up, often times including exploratory surgery. Endoscopic ultrasonography and computed tomography are the best noninvasive means available today for diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. However, reliable detection of small tumors, as well as differentiation of pancreatic cancer from focal pancreatitis, is difficult. The vast majority of patients with pancreatic cancer are presently diagnosed at a late stage when the tumor has already extended outside of the capsule to invade surrounding organs and/or has metastasized extensively. Gold et al., Crit. Rev. Oncology/Hematology, 39:147-54 (2001). Late detection of the disease is common, and early pancreatic cancer diagnosis is rare in the clinical setting. This is significant, since late detection of pancreatic cancer results in low survival rate.
Current treatment procedures available for pancreatic cancer have not led to a cure, or to a substantially improved survival time. Surgical resection has been the only modality that offers a chance at survival. However, due to a large tumor burden, only 10% to 25% of patients are candidates for "curative resection." For those patients undergoing a surgical treatment, the five-year survival rate is still poor, averaging only about 10%.
Early detection and diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, as well as appropriate staging of the disease, would provide an increased survival advantage. A number of laboratories have attempted to develop a diagnostic procedure based upon the release of a tumor-associated marker into the bloodstream, as well as detection of the marker substance within biopsy specimens. The best previously-characterized tumor associated marker for pancreatic cancer has been the immunoassay for CA19.9. Elevated levels of this sialylated Lea epitope structure were found in 70% of pancreatic cancer patients but were not found in any of the focal pancreatitis specimens examined. However, CA19.9 levels were found to be elevated in a number of other malignant and benign conditions, and currently the assay cannot be used for diagnosis. The assay is useful for monitoring, with continued increase in CA19.9 serum levels after surgery being indicative of a poor prognosis. Many other monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) have been reported with immunoassays for diagnosis in varying stages of development. These include but are not limited to DUPAN2, SPAN1, B72.3, Ia3, and various anti-CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen, or CEACAM5) antibodies.
Antibodies, in particular MAbs and engineered antibodies or antibody fragments, have been tested widely and shown to be of value in detection and treatment of various human disorders, including cancers, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, inflammatory diseases, and cardiovascular diseases [Filpula and McGuire, Exp. Opin. Ther. Patents (1999) 9: 231-245]. The clinical utility of an antibody or an antibody-derived agent is primarily dependent on its ability to bind to a specific targeted antigen associated with a particular disorder. Selectivity is valuable for delivering a diagnostic or therapeutic agent, such as drugs, toxins, cytokines, hormones, hormone antagonists, enzymes, enzyme inhibitors, oligonucleotides, growth factors, radionuclides, angiogenesis inhibitors or metals, to a target location during the detection and treatment phases of a human disorder, particularly if the diagnostic or therapeutic agent is toxic to normal tissue in the body. Radiolabeled antibodies have been used with some success in numerous malignancies, including ovarian cancer, colon cancer, medullary thyroid cancer, and lymphomas. This technology may also prove useful for pancreatic cancer. However, previously reported antibodies against pancreatic cancer antigens have not been successfully employed to date for the effective therapy or early detection and/or diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
There remains a need in the art for antibodies that exhibit high selectivity for pancreatic cancer and other types of cancers, compared to normal pancreatic tissues and other normal tissues. In particular, there remains a need for antibodies that perform as a useful diagnostic and/or therapeutic tool for pancreatic cancer, preferably at the earliest stages of the disease, and that exhibit enhanced uptake at targeted antigens, decreased binding to constituents in the blood of healthy individuals and thereby also optimal protection of normal tissues and cells from toxic therapeutic agents when these are conjugated to such antibodies. Use of such antibodies to detect pancreatic cancer-associated antigens in body fluids, particularly blood, can enable improved earlier diagnosis of this disease, so long as it differentiates well from benign diseases, and can also be used for monitoring response to therapy and potentially also to enhance prognosis by indicating disease burden.

Detection of early-stage pancreatic adenocarcinoma


A free standing perimeter net system is disclosed. The perimeter net system is comprised of a support arm, a support cable, an uplift brace, at least one net system brace, a back plate, a pivot, a vertical support, a strut, and a pair of strut brackets. These components work together to allow a safety net system to easily be installed around a structure without directly attaching to the structure. The support arm rotates between an open and a closed position on the pivot. This configuration allows the net, which is attached to the support arm, to be deployed at various angles. When the support arm rotates, the uplift brace also adjusts and aids in securing the support arm and net in the desired position. The vertical support couples the net system to the building or structure via the back plate and strut. The net system braces are also attached to the vertical support and provide added rigidity to the net system.

The present invention relates generally to an apparatus used for maintaining a safe work environment, more particularly, to an apparatus that comprises a net system that maintains a safe work area for construction crews, members of the public, and property that are near a building undergoing construction or renovations. Specifically, the present invention utilizes a safety net system that is free standing and includes an adjustable support arm that can rotate between an open and closed position for maintenance on the net, protection of the net system in inclement weather, and added protection of the crew members, members of the public, and property.
A crew maintaining, renovating, or constructing a high-rise building or structure must deal with many hazards in the work environment. Members of the crew on the ground and in the air must be constantly aware of their surroundings to prevent injuries from falls or falling objects. Additionally, the public on the premises of a construction project must be aware of potentially hazardous situations, such as dropped objects falling from above that could cause bodily injury or property damage.
One way to ensure protection of the crew, public, and property is to install a safety net system that surrounds the perimeter of a building or structure near the area where objects may fall. However, it may be difficult to install a safety net system to a building or structure where there are no protrusions on the building, such as parapets, balconies, windows, or beams, from which a safety net system can be attached with a mounting bracket or clamp. The difficulty in installing the net system can result in a hazardous condition for the crew members, the public and property. Because a safety net system can be difficult or unfeasible to install on some buildings or structures, the crew may not take the time to install a safety net system causing the potential for serious injury or damage to result.
The present invention provides crew members with an easy and secure way to install a safety net system that is free standing, meaning that it does not require attachment to building or structure protrusions. The present invention is a perimeter net system that includes a vertical support, a support arm, an uplift brace, and at least one net system brace. Attached to the support arm is a net that catches falling objects when the support arm is in the open position and is repaired and protected against inclement weather conditions when the support arm is in the closed position. The vertical support of the perimeter net system attaches to the building or structure under construction and provides support to the support arm, uplift brace, and net system brace. The uplift brace is also connected to the support arm and adjusts as the support arm rotates. The uplift brace is secured when the support arm is at the desired angle. The net system braces are rigid and provide support to keep the net system from inadvertently shifting or moving.
Currently, there are devices that use nets attached to buildings or structures to protect people working on maintenance or construction crews, the members of the public, and property on the ground that could be damaged by falling objects. However, each of these devices suffers from several disadvantages. First, the devices can only be installed on buildings or structures with protrusions, such as balconies, beams, windows, or parapets. The current devices are not free standing. Second, the devices are difficult to assemble. The devices contain many parts and require a difficult multi-step process to install.
Presently, there is no net system that is free standing and easy to install. For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a device that would allow construction crews to easily install a free standing net system around a building or structure.


An embedded system optimally operates with minimal power consumption without sacrificing performance. Power consumption can be reduced by independently and dynamically controlling multiple power partitions, wherein components within a partition can have the same power profile. States of operation can be programmably defined in a table and enforced using hardware. Voltages in the table can be dynamically updated during a runtime of the system using a timing feedback module, which is connected to a critical path in a partition. The timing feedback module can output a vector that indicates the timing margin for that critical path. Using this timing margin, software can increase or decrease the voltage to optimize power consumption of that partition.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an embedded system having designated power partitions, wherein the voltage of each partition in each state can be independently controlled, thereby facilitating power reduction in the embedded system.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The power consumption of a system is related to its capacitance, clock frequency (frequency), and power supply voltage (voltage). Specifically, the power consumption is proportional to its capacitance and frequency, and the square of its voltage (i.e. dynamic power=C*V2*f). Changing the capacitance is process dependent (i.e. a product of manufacturing) and thus is not controllable by the end users of the system. Therefore, end users of the system can attempt to change the frequency and the voltage to reduce overall power consumption.
For example, end users can change the frequency and the voltage based on the functions required by the system. Generally, the higher the frequency needed, the higher the voltage needed to sustain that frequency. It logically follows that the lower the frequency needed, the lower the voltage needed to sustain that frequency. A divided digital clock can be used to change the frequency substantially simultaneously with a command. However, a predetermined period of time is needed to switch the voltage. Therefore, a control circuit can be used to issue a voltage change command before the frequency change command, thereby ensuring an optimal frequency and voltage for the system at any point in time. U.S. Published Patent Application 2004/0090808, entitled "Power-Supply Voltage Frequency Control Circuit", published on May 13, 2004, describes such a control circuit.
Typically, software is used to determine when to make a voltage and frequency change. Unfortunately, because a number of applications may be running on the operating system at any one time wherein each application may have different requirements, software may not know the optimal time to make the voltage and frequency change. Therefore, taking into account a worst-case scenario, software may opt to use a high voltage and frequency for the system, thereby undesirably increasing power consumption.
An increasing number of integrated circuits (ICs) include a set of functionalities tailored for a specific application. An exemplary application could be to implement a device in a wireless local area network (WLAN). These types of ICs are referred to in the industry as "embedded systems". These functionalities, although supporting a specific application, may require significantly different voltages and/or frequencies. Therefore, a need arises for a system and method of providing optimal power profiles to an embedded system.

Reducing power consumption in embedded systems by controlling voltage based on system state and partition designation


The present disclosure provides advantageous systems and methods for identifying molecular vulnerabilities in biological pathways and networks. The present disclosure generally involves conceptualizing a disease/disorder at the molecular level as a faulty physiological system, wherein one or more molecules in the complex intracellular signaling network are dysfunctional. This is accomplished by modeling a given physiological system as a digital logic circuit. More particularly, in exemplarily embodiments, binary logic equations are derived by analyzing the interactions between the input and output nodes of a target biological system. These equations are then used to produce a digital circuit representation for the system. Once a digital circuit representation is created, this circuit may advantageously be analyzed, using fault analysis techniques, in order to determine the vulnerability levels of the molecules of the targeted system.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to the field of molecular biology medicine. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for studying biological networks and for computing molecular vulnerabilities in connection with such networks and pathways. The present disclosure implicates a wide range of applications including, but not limited to, drug research/development, disease diagnosis, gene therapy, and the like.
2. Background Art
Over the past few decades, a large amount of information has been collected regarding the function of individual signaling and other types of molecules. Many detailed individual molecular mechanisms are now known which regulate cellular function. In recent years, system biologists have started to integrate these individual interactions and components, and to analyze the properties and functions that emerge from these complex biological systems (The News Staff, 2005).
Each cell in the human body includes many biomolecules which interact with each other through an extensive network of cellular pathways. (Papin et al., 2005; Klipp et al, 2005; Gomperts et al., 2002) Accordingly, dysfunction of any such biomolecules may interfere with the efficacy and efficiency of signal transduction within the network. Such dysfunction may consequently result in a cell transitioning from a normal state of cellular function (physiological condition) to a diseased state (pathological condition). (Finkel and Gutkind, 2003)
In the case of some hereditary human diseases, such as ataxia, anemia, chorea, Huntington's disease, neurofibromatosis, polycystic kidney disease, etc., a single isolated gene is known to instigate development of the pathology. However, in the case of some of the most prevalent and incurable human diseases, such as neurodegenerative/psychiatric brain disorders and cancer, the pathology can not be linked to a single gene. In such complex trait disorders, it is not clear which molecules have causative effects, and how much each molecule may contribute to the development of the pathology. Thus, in such disorders, the main cause of pathology is typically unknown or poorly understood, thus hindering and complicating diagnosis/treatment of the pathology.
On the other hand, the disease possibly results from the dysfunction of several molecules of different pathways. Therefore, studying such pathways and, more particularly, identifying and isolating those molecular components with the greatest ability to disrupt such pathways, may advantageously provide valuable insights into the development of a disorder and possible treatment options.
Despite efforts to date, a need remains for effective and reliable systems and methods for identifying molecular vulnerabilities in relation to known biological pathways. Such systems and methods—if developed—would necessarily implicate a wide range of applications, e.g., relating to both disease diagnosis and treatment. More specifically, systems and methods are needed which advantageously model biological pathways, e.g., as digital logic circuits, and then use such models to pinpoint molecules most likely to adversely effect cellular pathways and to thereby cause disease. These and other needs are satisfied by the systems and methods disclosed herein.

Systems and methods for fault diagnosis in molecular networks


When relatively hard Au bump electrodes are mass-produced by electrolytic plating while ensuring usually required properties such as a non-glossy property and shape-flatness, combination of conditions, such as low liquid temperature, high current density, and low concentration of added Tl (thallium) that is an adjuvant, will be selected by itself. However, in such conditions, there is a problem that it is difficult to maintain the Tl concentration in a plating solution and, when the Tl concentration is reduced, defective appearance of the Au bump electrodes is generated by anomalous deposition. Conventionally, there has been no means to directly monitor minute Tl concentration and the Tl concentration has been controlled by analyzing the plating solution periodically. However, this can not prevent generation of a lot of defective products. One invention of the present application relates to detecting the added amount of Tl in the plating solution by monitoring the voltage applied to the plating solution in formation of bump electrodes by an electrolytic Au plating using a non-cyan based plating solution according to the manufacturing method of a semiconductor integrated circuit device.

The present invention relates to a bump formation technology in a manufacturing method of a semiconductor integrated circuit device (or a semiconductor device), in particular it relates to a technology that is effective for application to a gold (Au) bump formation technology.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-291242 (Patent Document 1), with regard to formation of Au bumps over a semiconductor chip to be supplied for an assembling process, such as TCP (Tape Carrier Package), COF (Chip On Film or Chip On Flex), or COG (Chip On Glass), a technology, in which, in order to form an Au plated layer having relatively larger grains, the temperature and the thallium (Tl) concentration of a gold sulfite based (non-cyan based) plating solution are set to be relatively higher, has been disclosed.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-322037 (Patent Document 2), with regard to formation of Au bumps over a semiconductor chip, a technology, in which, in order to form Au bumps having relatively lower hardness and good looking shapes, the temperature and the Tl concentration of the gold sulfite based (non-cyan based) plating solution are set to be relatively higher, has been disclosed.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-114476 (Patent Document 3) or US Patent Application Publication No. US 2009/0117730 (Patent Document 4), with regard to formation of Au bumps over a semiconductor chip, a technology for preventing protrusions due to deposits in a plating cup from being generated over bump electrodes has been disclosed.

Manufacturing method of semiconductor integrated circuit device


A catalytic converter having a pair of catalytic converter members disposed in a housing. A pair of catalytic converter members is disposed within the housing along a longitudinal axis of the housing. A annular structure is disposed within the housing between the pair of catalytic converter members, such annular structure having a hollow inner region disposed along the longitudinal axis to enable exhaust gases introduced into the housing to pass from a frontal one of the pair of catalytic converter members, though the hollow region of the annular structure, to a rearward one of the pair of catalytic converter members. The annular structure terminates at a front edge and rear edge. The front edge engages a rear, outer peripheral portion of the frontal one of pair of catalytic converter members and the rear edge engages a frontal, outer peripheral portion of the rearward one of the pair of catalytic converter members.

As is known in the art, current production automotive vehicles have internal combustion engines that have catalytic converters to reduce emissions of regulated gases. The regulated gases include hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and oxides of nitrogen. The catalytic converter contains various catalysts that react with the exhaust gases to convert them into other gases.
One catalytic converter is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,639 issued Jul. 14, 1981, inventors Tadokoro et al. Such patent describes a catalytic converter having a pair of catalytic members (i.e., a front member and a rear member) with an annular spacer ring therebetween. Exhaust gases pass from the front member through the hollow portion of the ring and then through the rear member. An oxygen sensor is disposed in the hollow portion of the hollow annular ring for measuring the amount of oxygen in the exhaust. The spacer ring has tabs or pawls that projected within the hollow portion of the ring to abut and contact the surfaces of the pair of catalytic members and thereby hold the catalyst members in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the catalytic converter.