A processor includes a first cache memory and a bus unit in some embodiments. The bus unit includes a plurality of buffers and is operable to allocate a selected buffer of a plurality of buffers for a fill request associated with a first cache line to be stored in a first cache memory, load fill data from the first cache line into the selected buffer, and transfer the fill data to the first cache memory in parallel with storing eviction data for an evicted cache line from the first cache memory in the selected buffer.

The disclosed subject matter relates generally to computing devices having cache memories and, more particularly, to a merging eviction and fill buffers for cache line transactions.
A typical computer system includes a memory hierarchy to obtain a relatively high level of performance at a relatively low cost. Instructions of different software programs are typically stored on a relatively large but slow non-volatile storage unit (e.g., a disk drive unit). When a user selects one of the programs for execution, the instructions of the selected program are copied into a main memory, and a processor (e.g., a central processing unit or CPU) obtains the instructions of the selected program from the main memory. Some portions of the data are also loaded into cache memories of the processor or processors in the system. A cache memory is a smaller and faster memory that stores copies of instructions and/or data that are expected to be used relatively frequently. For example, central processing units (CPUs) are generally associated with a cache or a hierarchy of cache memory elements. Processors other than CPUs, such as, for example, graphics processing units (GPUs) and others, are also known to use caches.
The cache memory closest to the processor core is typically referred to as the L1 cache. A L2 cache may be located on a different die than the processor and L1 cache, and it may be shared across multiple processor cores. Due to the limited size of the L1 cache it is sometimes necessary to evict a cache line residing in the L1 cache to make room for a cache line being added. Evicted cache lines are sent to the L2 cache, which is typically larger than the L1 cache.
To handle cache fills and evictions are plurality of data fill buffers and data eviction buffers are typically employed. Data fill buffers hold the data fills before they can be sent to the cache. The cache fill port may not always be available. For example, the fill port may be servicing an older fill transaction. Hence, the data fill buffers allow data to be temporarily buffered prior to scheduling the line fill into the cache. A fill request can only be sent to the L2 cache if a free data fill buffer is present. A miss in the L1 cache and subsequent fill may also require a different line to be evicted out of the L1 cache. The data eviction buffers hold the evictions before the evicted data can be sent out to the L2 cache. These cache evictions are triggered by the fills or external probes from other cores.
For a 64 byte cache line, each fill transaction puts 64 bytes worth of line data into the cache in a sequence of four consecutive (16 byte) beats. Since a cache fill can cause another line to be evicted out of the cache, the fill is sent only when a free eviction buffer is present to hold the evicted data, if necessary. The victim data is written out from the cache concurrent to the incoming fill, i.e., each incoming 16 byte fill beat on the fill port causes the victim line's corresponding 16 byte chunk to be evicted out on the read port.
The performance of the cache is directly related to having a sufficient number of fill and eviction buffers to handle the cache traffic. If not enough buffers are present, bottlenecks can occur. However, the buffers consume an appreciable amount of real estate on the die and also consume power. Thus, there is direct tradeoff between performance and real estate and power consumption.
This section of this document is intended to introduce various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the disclosed subject matter described and/or claimed below. This section provides background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the disclosed subject matter. It should be understood that the statements in this section of this document are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art. The disclosed subject matter is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.

Merging eviction and fill buffers for cache line transactions


A method and kit are provided for growing eucaryotic cells using a hydrolyzate of a protein material containing peptides and free amino acids. The hydrolyzed protein material contains L-glutamine, preferably in an amount of greater than 20 percent by weight. Ninety percent by weight of the hydrolyzed protein material is less than 1,000 kD in molecular weight. The free amino acid level is less than 20 percent by weight and the average peptide length is less than 20 amino acids.

(1). Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel method and kit for proliferation, propagation, maintaining and culturing of eucaryotic cells. In particular the present invention relates to the use of a protein hydrolysate, prepared using one or more hydrolytic enzymes as a basis of a medium for eucaryotic cells.
(2). Description of Related Art
Existing media for eucaryotic cells (culture media) in general comprise mixtures of amino acids, vitamins, carbohydrates and minerals. Culture media contain relatively large amounts of the amino acid L-glutamine. Typically L-glutamine is used in a cell culture medium at a concentration of about 2 mM. L-glutamine is an important energy source in proliferating eucaryotic cells and it also serves as both a carbon and a nitrogen source, especially for purine and pyrimidine synthesis.
The use of L-glutamine as an energy source in cultured mammalian cells proceeds via deamidation of L-glutamine by glutaminase to yield glutamate and ammonia. Glutamate then undergoes transamination to produce .alpha.-ketoglutaric acid which is incorporated into the energy yielding Krebbs tricarboxylic acid cycle.
The incorporation of L-glutamine in a liquid cell culture medium however suffers from the disadvantage that L-glutamine is not stable in the free amino acid form. It is well known to those skilled in the art that it rapidly decomposes into ammonia and pyroglutamic acid. Recently Heeneman et al (J. Immunological methods, 116, 85-91 (1991)) found that as a consequence of this decomposition all tested commercial media contained significantly less L-glutamine than prescribed. In addition, Heeneman et al point to the fact that the formed ammonia can be toxic to cultured cells.
When L-glutamine is incorporated in a peptide it does not decompose. It is stable provided that the L-glutamine residue is not present at the amino terminal side since at this position the L-glutamine residue can decompose into a pyroglutamic acid residue and ammonia. Peptide material containing L-glutamine residues can be obtained via the hydrolysis of suitable proteins or can be prepared synthetically.
There is abundant prior art on the hydrolysis of protein but mainly the use in food products or the use in media to grow micro-organisms is described. In general two types of protein hydrolysates can be distinguished: (1) hydrolysates comprising peptides with a chain length above about 15 amino acids and a relatively low level of free amino acids (below 10%); and (2) hydrolysates comprising peptides with a chain length below 15 amino acids and a relatively high level of free amino acids (about 15% or more).
Hydrolysates from the first group are in food applications mainly used as functional ingredients to aerate or emulsify. It is well known that for optimal functionality peptides with 15-50 amino acids residues are required. The presence of free amino acids should be avoided as these give an unwanted savory taste and smell to the product. Consequently these type of hydrolysates comprise peptides with a chain length well above 15 amino acids and a level of free amino acids below about 10%. To our knowledge hydrolysates from this group do not find an application in media to culture eucaryotic cells.
Hydrolysates from the second group are in food applications mainly used in infant and clinical formulae where a low allergenicity is required. Another preferred characteristic of these products is a reduced bitterness. In both cases the product should contain small peptides and this is achieved via the use of enzyme preparations having both endo- and exo-peptidase activity. As a consequence of the action of the exopeptidases the amount of free amino acids is strongly increased to levels of about 15% or higher.
In the fermentation industries only those hydrolysates from the second group are used which have high amounts of free amino acids (20% and preferably higher). In this case the hydrolysates are used as a relatively cheap source of free amino acids. Protein hydrolysates with a high level of free amino acids however also suffer from the disadvantage that the free glutamine decomposes into pyro-glutamic acid and the toxic ammonia and thus are not very well suited for application in cell culture media.
The prior art (e.g. Animal Cell Culture, A practical approach, second edition, ISBN 0-19-963213-8) describes the use of lactalbumin hydrolysates (prepared with pancreatin which contains both endo- and exopeptidase activity) or other peptones (hydrolysates with a very high level of free amino acids) in cell tissue culture media, but only as supplements and not as the main source of glutamine or other amino acids.
The application of synthetic peptides containing glutamine residues to our knowledge is commercially unattractive due to the very limited availability of such peptides and their relatively high price.
To our knowledge there is no description in the prior art of the use in cell culture media of larger peptides (in the form of protein hydrolysates) or intact proteins containing glutamine residues as the main or only source of glutamine and other amino acids.

Kit for in vitro cell growth of eucaryotes using low molecular weight peptides containing L-glutamine

Quest International Flavors & Food Ingredients Co., division of Indopco, Inc.


A metal vapor discharge lamp whose near-infrared radiation is stronger than a conventional high-pressure discharge lamp, a projector utilizing this discharge lamp, and a metal vapor discharge lamp lighting device are disclosed. The metal vapor discharge lamp comprises a refractory light-transmitting hermetic vessel, a pair of electrode fixed to the hermetic vessel, and a discharge medium sealed in the hermetic vessel and containing a halide and a rare gas. Most of the light irradiated when the discharge lamp is in the ON state has near-infrared wavelengths (750–1100 nm).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a metal vapor discharge lamp for mainly performing near-infrared radiation, a projector equipped with the lamp, and a lighting device for metal vapor discharge lamps.
2. Description of the Related Art
For security during the night, recording of comings and goings of visitors and/or monitoring/detection of intruders is now being performed.
Such monitoring or detection is realized by photographing subjects or objects using, for example, a CCD camera. To photograph them, near-infrared radiation, which cannot be sensed by human beings, is widely utilized, since if visible light is used, the existence of a camera can be known, and the light may be dazzling and make them feel uncomfortable.
If an electric bulb is used as the light source, much near-infrared light is irradiated but the efficiency of visible light is lower than discharge lamps. Further, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKOKU Publication No. 4-70736, for example, discloses a near-infrared illuminator and photographing device for security that use a low-pressure rare gas discharge lamp for emitting a large amount of near-infrared light, the kind of rare gas in the lamp and its sealed pressure being suitably set.
The low-pressure rare-gas discharge lamp of this publication employs a relatively long glass bulb. Therefore, when this lamp is used as a near-infrared illuminator or in a near-infrared photographing device, if it is fixed in a certain position indoors or outdoors, no problems will occur. However, if the lamp is used in a mobile unit, such as a vehicle, it disadvantageously requires a large space. Further, if the lamp uses coiled thin filaments as electrodes, the filaments may be easily broken since they do not show a high resistance against impact or vibration. This means that stable light emission cannot be expected for a long time.
The inventors of the present application have recently paid attention to a metal vapor discharge lamp used as a headlamp for, for example, vehicles. This lamp emits a large amount of near-infrared light and can be made as small as an electric bulb.
More specifically, halogen lamps are generally used as headlamps for vehicles in order to enhance the forward visibility for safety during the night or in tunnels. However, high-pressure metal vapor discharge lamps, such as metal halide lamps of a short arc type, have recently been employed, which emit light of a higher intensity and larger quantity than halogen lamps and have electrodes of a high resistance against impact or vibration.
Traffic accidents during the night between vehicles and pedestrians are not decreased, although those between vehicles are decreasing. Therefore, there is a demand for a means that enables drivers to quickly see pedestrians and avoid accidents. Metal vapor discharge lamps can illuminate a larger area than conventional halogen lamps since the former lamps emit higher intensity light, thereby enabling drivers to have a higher visibility and show a quicker response.
However, illuminating a larger area brightly means that pedestrians may be dazzled and feel uncomfortable even at a distance.
In light of this, there is a need for a high-pressure metal vapor discharge lamp used as, for example, the headlamp of a vehicle or a monitor lamp in a banking facility, which can irradiate pedestrians or customers with near-infrared light and visible light of moderate intensity.

Metal vapor discharge lamp, floodlight projector and metal vapor discharge lamp lighting device

Toshiba Lighting & Technology Corporation


There is provided herein a system and method for adapting high resolution input material to display specifications of a particular display device, thereby ensuring that the high quality of the input material is preserved as best as possible in the final video work. The instant invention is an improvement over traditional media editing programs, in that controls are provided to ensure the quality of the final product. Additionally specific movement effects selectable when working with still images are also separately monitored by the instant invention to ensure an efficient application of these effects, thereby preserving the visual quality of the material.

The term "High Definition" is often used in connection with HDTV and is generally associated with a better picture quality than was available via the older broadcast standards such as PAL or NTSC. The improved quality is achieved by using higher picture resolutions and also a higher bit transmission rate as compared with older television standards. Terms such as 720p and 1080i are often used to describe the high definition TV formats, with 720p referring to a picture with 720 vertical lines, each with 1280 pixels horizontally which amounts to a resolution of 1280×720 pixels. The "p" suffix in the 720p format indicates that progressive scanning is used, which means that each scan includes every line for a complete picture (i.e., the picture is not interlaced). Similarly, the 1080i format corresponds to a picture with 1080 vertical lines, each with 1920 pixels horizontally, which translates to a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels. The 1080i format utilizes interlaced scanning, which alternates sending odd lines and even scan lines. As compared to the standard 525 lines of resolution used in the United States or the 625 lines used in Europe, high definition TV delivers a much cleaner, sharper and better picture.
The trend toward higher resolution images has also found its way into the computer display industry, with high definition in this context generally referring to resolutions that are higher than the so called standard personal computer resolutions. Standard PC resolutions might be, for example, 1024×768 pixels or 1280×1024 pixels. Of course, in the last few years personal computers have become multimedia centres and users expect their computers to be able to create, display, edit, and process a wide variety of multimedia data formats including, for example, video data, music data, photo data, etc.
Concomitant with an increase in raw computer processing power that has been the trend in recent years, users have seen a broadening in the sorts of devices that can create and play digital (multimedia) content. Traditional sources of digital input (e.g., digital still cameras, scanners, digital movie cameras, digitized analog photographs/video clips, etc.) have been enhanced to provide additional multimedia content (e.g., digital still cameras can now take movies and record audio) and new capabilities have been added to devices that have not traditionally been used as multimedia data sources (e.g., digital photos may be obtained from cellular phones, PDAs, etc.). Of course, even consumer-level digital cameras have resolutions that are far beyond—and in a different aspect ratio than—the 1080i HD standard. For example, a 4 megapixel camera produces a digital image with dimension of about 2200 by 1700 pixels at full resolution. The situation is similar with respect to some digital video cameras and the resolution discrepancy between digital cameras and the standard HD formats will likely only get worse as the resolution of those devices continues to increase.
Of course, improvements in peripheral technology would be of little practical importance to a consumer if these digital devices could not be easily interconnected with a personal computer. Interconnectivity requires, of course, an appropriate hardware interface as well as software to read and store the digital data taken from the originating device.
These advances in technology, however, have left the average consumer with the perplexing and difficult task of combining together digital multimedia files from a variety of different sources, each of which was potentially acquired at a different resolution. Further, the consumer that desires to create high definition video output is faced with the difficult task of determining exactly how digital images that were taken at a variety of different resolutions (e.g., 2272×1704 pixels or 2816×2112 pixels) are to be resized and/or cropped to make such images compatible with one of the HD standards. Further, in order to produce the best possible movie product the creator will need to be knowledgeable as to which of the current HD standards will be used to view the completed work or, minimally, the resolution of the intended viewing device. Thus, the best quality movie will be one that takes into consideration both the HD standard and the specification of the available display device(s).
Of course, this sort of detailed knowledge may not be readily available to the hobbyist end user. Video display technology has complicated the matter even further. For example in recent years digitalisation has become common place in the field of the display devices with displays such as TFT displays, digital TVs, and digital projectors reaching broad distribution by virtue of their quality and steadily decreasing prices. Since, a TFT display directly controls each pixel in the display, devices such as this are really only suitable for use at a single predefined resolution if the best possible image/display quality is desired. At other non-preferred resolutions, the image that is presented to the viewer will be of less than optimal quality because it is an interpolated (or edited) version of the original.
Thus, the user who wants to create a work from high resolution input material that is visually attractive to a subsequent viewer will want to know the preferred resolution of the viewer's display device or, in the case of the HD broadcast standards, which standard to apply (e.g., 720p or 1080i). Further, the user will also need to understand and select the aspect ratio of the output material since, for example, most digital photo devices produce photographs in an aspect ratio of 4:3, which those of ordinary skill in the art will understand to mean that the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the image are in the ratio of 4 to 3. However, high definition displays are usually best suited for display of materials that have an aspect ratio of 16:9. Still further, the novice user will need to understand the difference between interlaced and non-interlaced displays—and whether the intended display device is capable of displaying same—in order to create the best possible video product.
Finally, many casual users will not be familiar with the sorts of decisions that may need to be made when a digital still photo (or video clip) is edited or where special effects are applied thereto. That is, many users do not understand that digital effects such as zooming, panning, scrolling, scaling, etc., must be performed at the resolution of the intended output device if the best possible product is to be obtained. For example, it is generally desirable not to zoom into an image beyond the point where the pixel ratio is in excess of 1:1 because of the degraded image that results (e.g., blockiness or "pixelation" can be created in the image in an attempt to fill the screen). However, this degradation can be de-emphasised by using interpolation (rather than replication) if the user knows enough to select this option. Even so, the user may not realize that even though the on-screen appearance during editing of a video work is acceptable, the final product (because of its higher resolution) might not be. Similarly, when digital effects and transitions are applied, the output must be at a resolution that is commensurate with that of the display medium if the result is to be the most pleasing.
As a consequence, the user who desires to create the best possible video work is confronted with a wide variety of technical options, the correct selections of which may be beyond his or her experience or training. In such a circumstance the user may very well be overwhelmed with the technical details and make parameter choices that yield an inferior movie which, in turn, can lead to frustration with the process.
Thus what is needed is a method that releases the user from the need to specify each of a host of settings when creating high definition output material from high definition input material so that the output preserves the high quality of the input, at least in so far as that is possible.
Heretofore, as is well known in the media editing industry, there has been a need for an invention to address and solve the above-described problems. Accordingly it should now be recognized, as was recognized by the present inventors, that there exists, and has existed for some time, a very real need for a system and method that would assist a user in creating high definition video works from sources of different resolutions, aspect ratios, etc. and which does not exhibit the limitations of prior art systems and methods.
Before proceeding to a description of the present invention, however, it should be noted and remembered that the description of the invention which follows, together with the accompanying drawings, should not be construed as limiting the invention to the examples (or preferred embodiments) shown and described. This is so because those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains will be able to devise other forms of the invention within the ambit of the appended claims.

System and method for automatic creation of device specific high definition material


A hybrid vehicle has, on a driveline, an engine, a motor/generator, a clutch and driving wheels, and transmits a driving force from the engine to the driving wheels through the motor/generator and the engaged clutch and brings a drive load that is applied to the engine from the driving wheels to a no-load state by disengagement of the clutch. A control apparatus of the hybrid vehicle has a racing control section which, when an accelerator depression operation is done in a state in which the engine is in the no-load state, in a case where a torque absorption restriction condition that restricts torque absorption by the motor/generator with an engine torque being a power-generation torque is satisfied, restricts an rotation speed of the engine.

In related art techniques, in a hybrid vehicle provided with the motor/generator at an output shaft of the engine for getting torque assistance, upon an engine stall start or an engine racing, the torque assistance by the motor/generator is forbidden. With this operation, decrease in voltage of battery etc. is prevented, thereby bringing improvement in fuel economy of the engine (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Here, "racing" used in the present specification indicates engine racing or engine rpm surge in which when the accelerator depression operation is done in the state in which the engine is in the no-load state at the time of acceleration including the vehicle start, an engine rotation speed (an engine rpm) increases according to the accelerator depression operation.


The present invention relates to the modification of galactomannans present in the green coffee bean by reducing the endogenous level of α-D-galactosidase activity. In particular, the present invention pertains to a plant cell with reduced α-D-galactosidase activity and to a plant harboring such a plant cell.

The present invention relates to the modification of galactomannans present in green coffee beans by reducing the endogenous level of α-D-galactosidase activity. In particular the present invention pertains to a plant cell having a reduced α-D-galactosidase activity and to a plant harboring such a plant cell.
In coffee grains, cell wall polysaccharides account for approximately 48% of mature coffee bean dry weight, and of these, mannans represent approximately half. These polysaccharides are essentially insoluble in purified form and have very low galactose branching (Bradbury and Haliday, J. agric. Food Chem. 38 (1990), 389–392). Mannan polymers are acknowledged to be the main reason for the large losses of original green coffee weight encountered during preparation of soluble coffee drinks. The losses occur either when insoluble material remains as sediments during initial extraction or when precipitates and gels form during storage of coffee liquors. Mannans have also been shown to be the principal component responsible for cloudiness and precipitation during standing of coffee beverages.
In some plants, the degree of galactose branching on the mannan chains has been found to partially depend on the activity of the α-D-galactosidase (EC 22.214.171.124). This enzyme is capable of releasing α-1,6-linked galactose units from galactomannans stored in plant seed storage tissue or maturation (Buckeridge and Dietrich, Plant Sci. 117 (1996), 33–43). In addition, the accumulation of galactomannans having a very low galactose/mannose ratio in some plant endosperms or cotyledon tissues has been shown to correlate to peak α-D-galactosidase activity during maturation of these tissues and to the hardening and drying thereof (Kontos and Spyropoulos, Plant Physiol. Biochem. 34 (1996), 787–793).
α-D-galatosidases activity has also been associated with the capacity to remove galactose residues, i.e., α-1,6-linked to galactomannan polysaccharides, which brings about a decreased solubility of these polymers (McCleary, Carb. Res. 92 (1981), 269–285). Furthermore, the removal of galactose side chains from galactomannans seems to increase the capacity thereof to interact with other polysaccharides, e.g., xanthans in guar, with a concomitant formation of complex gel. Galactose branching on coffee grain mannans decreases from approximately 40% in young grains to the low level found in the mature grains during maturation. Concurrently, α-D-galactosidase enzyme activity increases during coffee grain maturation.
The coffee α-D-galactosidase cDNA has been cloned (Zhu and Goldstein, Gene 140 (1994), 227–231). According to the information derived therefrom, the mature coffee bean α-D-galactosidase is presumed to be composed of 363 amino acids and is synthesized as a pre-proenzyme of 420 residues. Following biosynthesis, two protease cleavages then remove a secretion signal (38 residues) and another signal peptide (19 residues) to produce the protein exhibiting the N-terminal amino acid sequence characteristic of the active enzyme.
In view of the known effects of galactomannans on the preparation and/or storability of soluble coffee, there is a need in the art to improve this situation. More specifically, there is a need to provide an improved method for preparing soluble coffee while concurrently obviating the drawbacks known when storing coffee liquors.

Coffee plant with reduced α-D-galactosidase activity


An antigen is shown to be associated with prostate cancer, and is useful for new methods and compositions for diagnosing or treating prostate cancer. This is particularly useful for individuals with prostate cancer who test negative for Prostate Specific Antigen. Additionally, this is useful for distinguishing between benign prostate disease and prostate cancer in a patient diagnosed or presenting with prostate dysfunction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the detection or treatment of cancer, and more specifically, prostate cancer. In particular, an antigen is shown to be associated with prostate cancer, and is useful for new methods and compositions for diagnosing or treating prostate cancer including in individuals with prostate cancer who test negative for Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA).
2. Description of the Related Art
Each year over 300,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the U.S. alone. It is the most prevalent form of cancer for men of all races. Both the incidence of prostate cancer and its associated mortality have been increasing over the past ten years. It is estimated that about 50-65% of the prostate cancer is localized, 9-17% has spread to an area near the prostate and 20-25% has metastasized to other parts of the body. Screening for prostate cancer is primarily by PSA (a blood test for Prostate Specific Antigen) and DRE (Digital Rectal Exam) testing. Confirmation of cancer is by biopsy. Treatment options depend on disease progression and include surgery, radiation and hormonal manipulation. Chemotherapy has not proven to be successful in the past, but is being tested in combination with other treatments.
As noted above, prostate cancer is currently detected by screening for prostate specific antigen (PSA) and a digital rectal exam (DRE). Neither methodology can differentiate between benign disease and cancer. The failure to differentiate can result, for example, in exposure of patients with benign disease to treatments that are unnecessary and have side effects (e.g., impotency). Moreover, it is estimated that PSA testing misses 20%-30% of all individuals with cancer. There is a clear need for a diagnostic with better sensitivity and specificity.
Furthermore, there is a critical need for therapies that can target prostate cancer cells. Ideally, these types of treatments would have application to both early stage, confined prostate cancer as well as in the treatment of metastatic disease.
In addition, an objective, quantitative measurement of the biochemical target by either demonstrating prostate cancer cell expression and/or measurement in patient specimens would expedite all phases of the therapeutic development, regulatory approval process as well as provide a rationale to stratify patients into more effective treatment groups.
Due to the difficulties in the current approaches to the detection and treatment of prostate cancer, there is a need in the art for improved methods and compositions. The present invention fulfills this need, and further provides other related advantages.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Detection and treatment of prostate cancer


A high resolution scintillation camera includes a scintillator which generates scintillation light having a light amount proportional to the energy value of incident radiation at the radiation incident position. The generated scintillation light is supplied to several of a plurality of photodetectors forming a detector array. These photodetectors output electrical signals proportional to the supplied light amounts, respectively. The output electrical signals are supplied to a selector to select a photodetector arranged at the radiation incident position and a plurality of photodetectors adjacent to this photodetector. A detection unit detects the radiation incident position on the scintillator on the basis of output signals from a plurality of segments of each photodetector selected by the selector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scintillation camera for picking up a radioisotope (RI) distribution image in an object under test on an RI dosage.
2. Related Background Art
A scintillation camera for picking up an RI distribution image in an object under test is described in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,515. This apparatus measures the interaction position of radiation irradiated on a scintillator.

Scintillation camera using a photomultiplier having a plurality of anodes


A submersible electric pump includes a housing adapted to be submerged within a fluid to be pumped having apertures extending therethrough. An electric motor stator is positioned within the housing in communication with the apertures and is adapted to be in contact with the fluid. Inner and outer pump rotors are positioned within the housing in meshed engagement with one another to pump fluid when rotated. A plurality of permanent magnets are fixed for rotation with the outer rotor.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
A number of electric pumps have been disclosed combining an electric motor and a gerotor pump. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,156,623 describes an electric motor and a gerotor pump that are usable separately or in combination with one another. While this concept may provide a pumping function, redundancies exist, possibly negatively effecting the cost, size and weight of the fluid pump.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 7,314,352 describes a pump having an integrated electric motor. The electric motor includes a stator having a core with a plurality of ring-shaped steel plates and a wire coil wound about the core. The plates and coil are encapsulated within a block of resin. Unfortunately, the resin spaces the stator apart from permanent magnets of the motor armature a distance greater than desired. Motor efficiency decreases as the distance between the stator and armature increases. Furthermore, use of the resin increases the challenge of controlling the end face clearances of the rotating components due to the difficulty of machining the resin. Accordingly, a need in the art exists for an improved fully submersible integrated electric oil pump.

Submersible electric pump having a shaft with spaced apart shoulders


A high voltage laterally double-diffused metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) stricture is characterized as follows: the second source electrode metal layer connected to the first source electrode metal layer protrudes out of a certain length relative to the first source electrode metal layer of the source electrode region connected thereto. The second drain electrode metal layer connected to the first drain electrode metal layer protrudes out of a certain length relative to the first drain electrode metal layer of the drain electrode region. The protruded length overlaps more portions of the drift layer than the first source electrode metal layer and the first drain electrode metal layer disposed below, to reduce the electric field concentration of the gate electrode interface or the interface between the N+ type drain electrode layer and the N-type extended drift layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a semiconductor structure, especially to a high voltage laterally double-diffused metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) structure.
2. Related Art
In general the high voltage laterally double-diffused metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) structure is a semiconductor structure operated in the high voltage range of 20–700V. It can easily be integrated on a single chip and manufactured in CMOS or BiCMOS process, and is used for accelerating the processing of control, logic and power switching.
For the high voltage LDMOS structure, the surface layer of the junction of its drain electrode tends to generate a high intensity electric field, therefore its breakdown voltage frequently is not capable of meeting the actual requirements. In view of this problem, numerous methods have been utilized to avoid the occurrence of the above-mentioned situation, so as to raise the breakdown voltage. For example, please refer to FIG. 1, which shows the cross section of a conventional high voltage MOS structure. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional MOS structure includes: a P-type substrate 1, a N+ type drain electrode layer 3, a P-type layer 4, a N-type extended drift layer 5, a source electrode 6, a drain electrode 7, insulator layers 8,8′,8″, a gate electrode 9, field plate layers 6′,7′, and the field plate layers 6′,7′ and additional field plate layer 10.
In the above-mentioned structure, the N-type extended drift layer 5 and the field plate layer 6′ are used to avoid the generation of the field concentration on the edge of the gate electrode 9, and field plate layers 7′, 10 are used to reduce the field concentration for the interface between the N+ type drain electrode layer 3 and N-type extended drift layer 5.
In addition, please refer to FIG. 2, which shows one of the several MOS structures as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,959. In this structure, the field plate layers 6′,7′,10′ on different layers are disposed in interleaving arrangement and are utilized to shield the N-type extended drift layer 5, thus to further reduce the electric field concentration.
From the above example, it is evident that one of the urgent problems pending to be solved is how to reduce the field concentration generated by the gate electrode interface or the interface between the N+ type drain electrode layer 3 and the N-type extended drift layer 5, so as to obtain a high voltage LDMOS structure, having a high breakdown voltage and low on resistance.

High voltage laterally double-diffused metal oxide semiconductor


A method is provided of reconstructing imaging signals in a biological medium on the basis of experimental measurements perturbed by movements, implementing measurements representative of the movements, at least one model of movement including movement parameters, and an imaging sampling grid, which method furthermore includes steps of (i) constructing a movement sampling grid by selecting a restricted set of points on the basis of the imaging sampling grid, and (ii) calculation of movement parameters by inverting a linear system at the points of the movement sampling grid. Devices implementing the method are also disclosed.

There are a number of imaging techniques that make it possible to obtain information with two-dimensional (2D) and/or three-dimensional (3D) representations of the interior of a biological organism. This information can be representative of structures and/or biological functions of this organism.
These imaging techniques are non-limitatively grouped together under the name of medical imaging techniques. The biological organism imaged, living or dead, human or non-human, is non-limitatively called the subject.
Certain techniques, such as for example nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed X-ray tomography scanning and positron emission tomography (PET), require sequential acquisitions of data sometimes over long periods of time. The images are then reconstructed by calculation on the basis of these data.
The reconstruction of the images can be significantly degraded by the subject's movements during acquisition, insofar as the structures imaged become deformed over time. This problem is encountered for example during acquisitions of MRI images in the region of the heart or thorax, in particular because of heartbeats and respiratory movements.
It is known to measure these physiological movements during the acquisitions, by means of additional sensors (electrocardiograms, accelerometers, pneumatic belts, etc.) and/or specific acquisition sequences of the imaging system (echo-navigators, partial MRI imaging images) in order to take them into account in the imaging data acquisition and/or processing processes.
According to certain known techniques, the measurements of physiological movements are used to synchronize the acquisitions with these movements. These techniques are however limited to the processing of periodic movements (heartbeats) within fairly restrictive limits.
According to other known techniques, the measurements of perturbations (movements, etc.) are used to generate models of deformations incorporated in the calculation of the images.
In particular, document WO 2009/098371 is known, which describes a method for reconstructing a signal or an image in a medical imaging device on the basis of perturbed measurements.
This method describes the use of a model of the perturbations, such as for example a parametric model describing the elastic physiological movements on the basis of experimental data originating from movement sensors, which is constructed so as to include the perturbations in the problem of reconstruction of the signal. The parametric model describing the perturbations is coupled with a parametric model simulating the signal without perturbation to be reconstructed. These two models are jointly optimized in an iterative process.
A method as described in WO 2009/098371 requires the resolution of linear systems, one of which models the movements, by means of iterative optimization algorithms.
When a linear equation is solved, two problems can be posed:                The large number of unknowns, leading to optimization convergence difficulties;        The use of an explicit regularization, which can distort the convergence of the algorithm.
The number of unknowns can be particularly high in a parametric model describing the perturbations or movements. It is necessary to evaluate the different components of the displacement due to each independent physiological movement, for each voxel. The number of unknowns in the linear system is therefore for example the following: size of the image×number of degrees of freedom of movement×number of physiological sensors. For example, for an image of size 256×256, with 2 directions of displacement (X and Y) and for 4 physiological movements (thoracic and abdominal respiration and their derivatives), the algorithm must find approximately 500,000 unknowns. If it is now desired to carry out the same processing on 3D data, for a volume of size 256×256×64, with 3 directions of displacement (X, Y and Z) and for 4 physiological movements, the algorithm must find more than 50 million unknowns.
With a linear optimization algorithm, the greater the number of unknowns, the more difficult the convergence of the optimization (long calculation times, convergence towards local minima, numerical instability and inaccuracy of the solution, etc.). The problem so arises for 2D reconstructions with a fine spatial resolution or also with a description of the physiological movement with numerous components. The problem also arises very rapidly for 3D reconstructions.
The problem in general comprises more independent unknowns than independent input data. It can be more or less ill-posed within the meaning of Hadamard's definition. When a problem is ill-posed, it may have several solutions. Some can sometimes even be erroneous.
In order to facilitate the convergence of a linear optimization algorithm, the principle of regularization is often used. This consists of applying an additional constraint to the solution of a problem in order to limit the number of solutions to those that are realistic. For example, a regularization can consist of limiting the displacements solely to those that are relatively smooth or regular (for example by applying constraints to the gradients of a displacement field).
Thus, when an explicit regularization is used, the solution of the linear system is that which both corresponds to the linear equation, and complies with the constraint of explicit regularization.
The constraint used to regularize the optimization of the movement models consists of limiting the displacements solely to those that are relatively smooth or regular (by applying constraints to the gradients of the displacement field). But if this constraint is actually verified within a tissue, this is not necessarily the case at the interface between the organs. These can for example slide against each other. Locally, the movement model then no longer verifies the regularization constraint.
In other words, with the explicit regularization method as found in the prior art, the compromise that must be made between the convergence capacity and the accuracy of the solution is highly detrimental.
An object of the present invention is to propose a method for modelling physiological movements that can be utilized in the context of medical imaging data processing and solves the problems mentioned, in particular concerning the number of unknowns and convergence.
Another object of the present invention is to propose a method for processing medical imaging data, in particular MRI, capable of taking the patient's movements into account.
Another object of the present invention is to propose a method for processing medical imaging data, in particular MRI, which can be implemented in the context of 3D imaging.

Method of reconstructing a signal in medical imaging on the basis of perturbed experimental measurements, and medical imaging device implementing this method


A display panel, a manufacturing method thereof, and a display device are disclosed. The display panel includes: a base substrate, provided with a terminal and a terminal protection layer pattern; the terminal protection layer pattern includes a first shielding region and a first opening region, an orthographic projection of the first shielding region on the base substrate and an orthographic projection of the terminal on the base substrate have an overlapping region, the overlapping region is located at an edge of the orthographic projection of the terminal on the base substrate, and an orthographic projection of the first opening region on the base substrate is located in the orthographic projection of the terminal on the base substrate.

A display panel generally includes a base substrate and a terminal disposed on the base substrate. After the manufacture of the display panel is completed, it is generally needed to connect the terminal in the display panel with an external control assembly to control a display function of the display panel through the control assembly.

Display panel, manufacturing method of display panel, and display device


The invention provides a load detecting system comprising a core (83) of magnetostrictive material, a coil (85) disposed in the vicinity of the core, and a load detecting circuit (10) connected to the coil (85) for detecting the magnitude of a load acting on the core (83). The load detecting circuit (10) comprises an exciting circuit (102) for passing an a.c. detecting current through the coil (85), a pulse current generating circuit (103) for passing through the coil a detection preparing current having a current value greater than the maximum value of the detecting current, a change-over circuit (104) for effecting a change-over between the exciting circuit (102) and the pulse current generating circuit (103) to pass the detecting current through the coil after passing the detection preparing current therethrough, and a microcomputer (100) for deriving the magnitude of the load acting on the magnetostrictive element based on an impedance variation produced in the coil during the period of passage of the detecting current through the coil.

Magnetostrictive elements have such a property that the element has its magnetic permeability varied and is deformed by the variation of the magnetic permeability when subjected to a magnetic field by passing current through a coil disposed in the vicinity of the element. The magnetostrictive element is used as an actuator or oscillator since the amount of deformation and the stress produced due to the deformation are great.
Conversely when the magnetostrictive element is deformed by applying an external force thereto, the element has its magnetic permeability altered by the deformation. For example, JP-U No. 1-105834(1989) discloses a load sensor for detecting the magnitude of an external force by utilizing these characteristics. The sensor comprises a magnetostrictive element, two primary coils provided around the element, and a secondary coil magnetically coupled to one of the primary coils by the magnetostrictive element to provide a differential transformer for detecting a load acting on the magnetostrictive element.
The load sensor is seviceable as a high-sensitivity sensor since great variations in electrical impedance are available in the load detecting range owing to the characteristics of the magnetostrictive element.
Although adapted to realize high sensitivity, such a load sensor has the problem of being great in hysteresis because the magnetostrictive element itself has great energy of crystal magnetic anisotropy to thereby impair the accuracy of detection.
Especially when the load sensor is to be used for washing machines, there is a need to measure the combined weight of laundry weighing hundreds of grams to several kilograms and water of tens of kilograms. Accordingly, the sensor must have a broad load detecting range, whereas the sensor has the problem that the influence of hysteresis markedly appears in the range of small loads to be measured, consequently making it impossible to obtain sufficiently high accuracy of detection.
An object of the present invention is to provide a load detecting system comprising a magnetostrictive element which is reduced in the influence of hysteresis thereof to accurately detect the load acting thereon, and an automatic washing machine having such a highly accurate load detecting system.

Load detecting system and automatic washing machine equipped with the system


The application discloses monomers based on bisphenols with pendent reactive azido groups. The application further provides a process for preparation of bisphenol monomers with pendent reactive azido groups which are used further for preparing polymers with pendent reactive functional groups and graft copolymer.

Polymers synthesized by step growth polymerizations find notable applications in textiles, the automobile industry, coatings and so on. The industrial applications mainly depend on the chemical nature of the starting components and on the industrial process. Nevertheless, for more specific applications, many of these polymers are limited in scope because of the lack of functionalities on the backbone for further modification and tailoring.
Bisphenols are an important class of difunctional monomers which find applications in the preparation of a host of high performance polymers such as polycarbonates, polyesters, polyether sulfones, polyether ether ketones, epoxy resins, etc. US Patent Application Publication No. 20070191606 discloses novel 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)alkylonium salts of formula (1):
wherein n=1 to 37, X=Cl, Br, BF4, OTf, or NTf2, M=trialkylphosphonium, triarylphosphonium, triaryl-alkylphosphonium, ammonium or substituted cylic amidinium radical selected from the group containing pyrrole, imidazole, thiazole, oxazole, pyridine, pyrimidine, quinoline, isoquiniline, indole, purine, benzimidazole, benzothiaozole, benzoxazole, pyrazine, quinoxaline, quinozoline, acridine, phenazine, imidazopyridine and dipyridyl.
It is believed that the potential applications of polymers could be greatly broadened with the incorporation of pendent groups onto the polymer backbone. Towards this end, difunctional monomers containing pendent reactive groups which are compatible under polymerization conditions are highly desirable. The introduction of pendent reactive functional groups into these polymers via utilization of bisphenols containing appropriate functional groups is of great interest as pendent functional groups offer the possibility of synthesis of graft copolymers comprising polycondensate and polyvinyl segments. Such graft copolymers are potentially useful as blend compatibilizers and so on.
Therefore there is a need in the art to provide more monomers based on bisphenols with pendent reactive functional groups, so that these can afford preparation of high performance polymers.

2, 2′-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) alkyl azides and process for the preparation thereof

COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC & INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH


A computing device can detect that a first call has taken place on a desk phone, which triggers recording of location-specific information indicating a location of the computing device. The location-specific information can be established as the base of the desk phone. Later, the computing device can again record location-specific information indicating a current location of the computing device and compare the current location of the computing device with the location-specific information for the location of the desk phone. When the current location of the computing device is substantially the same as the location of the desk phone, the computing device can enable computer telephony integration (CTI) controls on the computing device to control the desk phone.

A feature of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones is that they can be controlled from applications on a computing device such as a laptop or mobile phone. Such services are called computer-telephony integration (CTI). A user can select a contact on their computing device but have the call connected on their desk phone. Likewise, a user can answer a call using an interface on their computing device, but have the call connected through their desk phone. In some cases, a user can transfer a call that is connected through their desk phone to a mobile phone or other computing device if the user needs to leave their desk.

Variable phone selection options based on location


The present disclosure relates to a power cable joint system capable of minimizing expansion, deformation or damage of a metal sheath restoration layer, which is formed of a material such as lead sheath, due to internal expansion due to heat generated in an intermediate connection part of the power cable joint system.

Power cables that are used to supply power may be divided into a paper-insulated cable impregnated with insulating oil and an XPLE cable according to a material of an insulating layer outside a conductor.
Power cables may be connected using a joint box or the like according to a length of cables to be laid. A joint box of a power cable impregnated with insulating oil may be configured in the form of a housing with a protective copper tube and the like.
Power cables may be connected at a middle connection point through the joint box and a considerable amount of time is required therefor.
When power cables are laid at the sea bottom, the power cables are laid using a ship for laying cables and power-cable intermediate connection may be also performed using the ship for laying cables.
Specifically, when submarine power cables are connected through the joint box, the submarine cables cannot be wound around a turntable of the ship or the like because the joint box is large in volume and is not flexible, and thus should be intermediately connected in the ship in units of unit lengths and thereafter laid at the sea bottom, thereby significantly increasing time and costs.
In order to solve this problem, recently, the study and application of a flexible joint structure (hereinafter referred to as "flexible joint") are being increased in the field of submarine cables.
The flexible joint refers to a connection structure that is different from a general joint box, has an outer diameter substantially the same as that of a cable and is bendable freely.
When the flexible joint or the like is applied, the outer diameter and flexibility of the flexible joint are similar to those of a cable and thus cables that are connected may be laid by being continuously wound around the turntable of a ship for laying submarine cables.
FIG. 6 illustrates an internal structure of an intermediate connection part 200 for flexible connection of a pair of power cables.
A pair of power cables may be connected through the intermediate connection part 200 in a state in which conductors 11, inner semiconducting layers (not shown), cable insulating layers 14, outer semiconducting layers 16, metal sheaths 22, metal strip layers 26, etc. are exposed and ends of the pair of power cables face each other. The intermediate connection part 200 may include: a conductor connection part 210 for connecting ends of a pair of the conductors 11 by welding or a conductor sleeve 212, a reinforcing insulating layer 250 surrounding the conductor connection part 210 and the cable insulating layers 14, an outer semiconducting restoration layer 216 surrounding the reinforcing insulating layer 250, a metal sheath restoration layer 222 covering an outer side of the outer semiconducting restoration layer 216, a metal strip restoration layer 226 provided outside the metal sheath restoration layer 222, an outer sheath restoration layer 228 provided outside the metal strip restoration layer 226, an armor restoration layer 300 provided outside the outer sheath restoration layer 228, and the like.
The armor restoration layer 300 of the intermediate connection part 200 is a component needed when the power cable 100 includes an armor 30 and is laid at the sea bottom. When the armor 30 of the power cable is omitted, the power cable may be an underground power cable and the armor restoration layer 300 of the intermediate connection part 200 may be omitted.
The reinforcing insulating layer 250, the outer semiconducting restoration layer 216, the metal sheath restoration layer 222, the metal strip restoration layer 226, the outer sheath restoration layer 228, and the armor restoration layer 300 may be formed of materials that are the same as or similar to those of the cable insulating layers 14, the outer semiconducting layers 16, the metal sheaths 22, the metal strip restoration layers 26, the outer sheaths 28, and the armors 30 of the power cables 100a and 100b.
The reinforcing insulating layer 250, the outer semiconducting restoration layer 216, and the metal strip restoration layer 226 among the reinforcing insulating layer 250, the outer semiconducting restoration layer 216, the metal sheath restoration layer 222, and the metal strip restoration layer 226 of the intermediate connection part 200, excluding the metal sheath restoration layer 222, may be restored by spirally cross-winding insulating paper, a semiconductive tape, a metal strip, or the like by the same method as the components of the power cable corresponding thereto.
The metal sheaths 22 of the power cables 100a and 100b are sealing means for preventing the permeation of foreign substances such as moisture into the power cables 100a and 100b and the loss of insulating oil, and may be formed of a material such as a thin lead sheath.
Thus, because it is difficult to ensure sealing the metal sheath restoration layer 222, for restoring the metal sheath 22, against the inner pressure of the insulating oil, the metal sheath restoration layer 222 cannot be restored by spirally cross-winding a lead sheath or the like and may be formed by first disposing a lead sheath tube corresponding to a length of the intermediate connection part 200 on a side of the pair of power cables 100a and 100b to be connected, restoring the outer semiconducting restoration layer 216 and the like, moving the lead sheath tube to a position of the intermediate connection part 200, performing tube reduction on the lead sheath tube, and soldering the lead sheath tube and an end of the metal sheath 22 to form a lead sheath 2221.
After the restoring of the metal sheath restoration layer 222 is completed, a metal strip is cross-wound to restore the metal strip restoration layer 226 and the outer sheath restoration layer 228 and the armor restoration layer 300 may be sequentially restored outside the metal strip restoration layer 226 to complete the intermediate connection part 200 in the form of a flexible joint.
In the case of the intermediate connection part 200 in the form of flexible joint, it is possible to connect the intermediate connection part 200 at a factory but a clearance or void may occur between inner layers of the intermediate connection part 200 during restoring of a power cable connection part similar to the configuration of a power cable.
As described above, the metal sheath restoration layer 222 is formed of the lead sheath tube or the like, and is disposed on one of the power cables 100a and 100b before restoring the conductor connection part 210, the reinforcing insulating layer 250, the outer semiconducting restoration layer 216, etc., and moved and fixed on the position of the intermediate connection part 200 after connection and restoration of the conductor connection part 210, the reinforcing insulating layer 250, the outer semiconducting restoration layer 216, etc.
Therefore, a certain degree of tolerance is required for an inner diameter of the lead sheath tube, and even when the metal sheath restoration layer 222 is completed by fixing the lead sheath tube on the metal sheaths 22 of the power cables 100a and 100b and contracting the lead sheath tube using a roller or the like, the lead sheath tube cannot be formed in close contact with the outer semiconducting restoration layer 16 and the like, unlike the metal sheaths 22 of the power cables 100a and 100b.
Therefore, there may be a gap g or cracks between the metal sheath restoration layer 222 and the outer semiconducting restoration layer 216, and when the insulating oil is gathered via the gap g or cracks during the use of the power cables 100a and 100b and temperature of the insulating oil increases and the insulating oil expands due to heat generated during operation of the power cables 100a and 100b, a flow rate of the insulating oil increases and at the same time, the metal sheath restoration layer 222 may easily swell.
In addition, the metal strip restoration layer 226 is provided outside the metal sheath restoration layer 222. The metal strip restoration layer 226 may be restored by a method of cross-winding metal strips or the like but a width and thickness of the metal strips are large, and thus, the lead sheath used to form the metal sheath 22 may easily deform according to a shape of the metal strip restoration layer 226 (e.g., irregularities due to a gap 2261g between metal strips as illustrated in FIG. 3) or the like when the metal sheath restoration layer 222 expands, and stress may be concentrated on a bent portion of the intermediate connection part 200 when the intermediate connection part 200 is repeatedly bent.


The present invention provides a method of operating a base station transmitter. The method includes providing a cellular downlink synchronization signal having primary and secondary portions, wherein the primary portion employs a corresponding one of a plurality of different primary signals allocated to adjoining transmission cells. The method also includes further providing cell-specific information in the secondary portion and transmitting the cellular downlink synchronization signal. In one embodiment, the primary portion explicitly indicates a partial cell identification information and the remaining cell identification information is carried in the secondary portion. In another embodiment, the plurality of different primary signals are simply used to avoid the channel mismatch effect. The present invention also provides a method of operating user equipment. The method includes receiving a cellular downlink synchronization signal having primary and secondary portions wherein the timing acquisition is performed in conjunction with the primary synchronization sequence index detection via the primary portion. In addition, the secondary portion provides cell-specific parameters and identifying and extracting the secondary portion.

In a cellular network, such as one employing orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), each cell employs a base station that communicates with user equipment, such as a cell phone, a laptop, or a PDA, that is actively located within its cell. When the user equipment is first turned on, it has to do an initial cell search in order to be connected to the cellular network. This involves a downlink synchronization process between the base station and the user equipment wherein the base station sends a synchronization signal to the user equipment. The synchronization signal is typically known as the synchronization preamble in the IEEE 802.16e or synchronization channel (SCH) in the 3GPP WCDMA/HSDPA.
During initial cell search, the user equipment establishes timing and frequency offset parameters. Timing involves knowing where to sample the start of the synchronization frame and associated symbols. Frequency offset involves determining the mismatch between the controlling oscillator at the base station and the local oscillator in the user equipment.
Depending on the quality of the local oscillator, the frequency offset may be large and require considerable search time as well as additional algorithms to accommodate. This effect is exacerbated if the user equipment is moving at car or train speeds. In addition to timing and frequency considerations, some information that is specific to the initial cell, such as physical cell identification (Cell ID), has to be acquired. Since downlink synchronization involves several operations, the design and procedure of downlink synchronization shall attempt to minimize the receiver complexity and time required for cell search. To aid the complexity reduction, the synchronization signal may consist of two portions: the primary and secondary synchronization signals. The primary signal is typically used for timing and frequency acquisition whereas the secondary signal is typically used to acquire the Cell ID and other cell-specific information. Unlike the secondary signal, the primary signal is typically common to all cells. The primary synchronization signal carries the primary synchronization sequence. To ensure competitive performance, the primary synchronization signal is used to obtain the channel estimates necessary for decoding the cell-specific information in the secondary signal via coherent detection.
As the moving user equipment approaches a cell boundary between two adjoining cells, it performs a neighboring cell search in preparation to handover its activation from the initial cell to the neighboring cell. During this time, it receives information from two or more base stations. When the base stations employ a common primary sequence, this common signal causes a mismatch between the channel experienced by the cell-specific transmissions and the transmitted primary signal for the user equipment. This mismatch is severe especially for terminals at the cell edges where each of the terminals receives two equally strong and overlapping channels from two significant base stations. Another problem associated with a common primary synchronization sequence is the timing mismatch between the channel experienced by the primary sequence and the cell-specific data transmission. In this case, the timing obtained from the primary sequence may result in performance degradation when used to demodulate a cell-specific data transmission. This phenomenon occurs especially in a tightly synchronized network, such as those deployed in the USA and Japan, and has become increasingly popular with medium to large cell radius. In addition, advanced cellular OFDM systems such as the 3GPP E-UTRA (enhanced UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access) or Long-term Evolution (LTE) accommodate the use of single frequency network (SFN) for the enhanced multimedia broadcast and multicast systems (E-MBMS) which heavily relies upon network synchronization. While this phenomenon is also relevant to the initial cell search, it is particularly problematic for the neighboring cell search as the operating signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the neighboring cell search is considerably lower. This performance reduction translates to larger cell search time, which may result in higher disconnect probability upon handover.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is an enhanced way to accomplish initial and neighboring cell searches.

Downlink synchronization channel and methods for cellular systems


An air guide device for a vehicle has: a static carrier, which is installable via installation brackets on a body structure of the vehicle, which are connected at a first portion to the body structure and at a second portion to a carrier; an air guide displaceable relative to the static carrier between a retracted rest position and a deployed operating position; a kinematic link arrangement, which has multiple links via which the air guide is displaceable relative to the carrier, wherein the links of the kinematic link arrangement are mounted on first installation brackets; and an adjusting motor, which acts on the kinematic link arrangement for the purposes of displacing the air guide relative to the carrier. The adjusting motor is mounted on a second installation bracket. The carrier, which is made of plastic, is connected by a clip connection to the installation brackets, which comprise plastic or metal.

DE 10 2010 000 634 A1 has disclosed a vehicle having an air guide device designed as a rear spoiler module. The air guide device can be installed by means of a carrier part, referred to as installation carrier, on a body structure of the vehicle. The carrier part holds a spoiler which is displaceable by means of an adjusting motor between a retracted rest position and a deployed operating position. The air guide device is a preassembled unit, wherein the carrier part is mounted in centered fashion on the body by means of centering elements.
DE 10 2014 118 496 A1 has disclosed a further air guide device for a vehicle, which is arranged in a rear-end region of the vehicle. The air guide device disclosed in said document has an air guide element which is in the form of a spoiler and which is displaceable by means of an adjusting motor between a rest position and an operating position. A joint arrangement serves for the displacement of the air guide element, which joint arrangement extends through passage openings of a lower shell, wherein the adjusting motor engages and said joint arrangement for the purposes of displacing the air guide element.
DE 10 2009 033 695 A1 has disclosed a rear-end region of a motor vehicle, in the case of which a spoiler drive of an air guide device is installed on a carrier bracket, which in turn is fastened to a body structure of the motor vehicle. The carrier bracket is fitted or held on holding rails by means of a plug-type connection, wherein the holding rails are installed on the body structure.

Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft


In one embodiment, a video stream is received, and a spatially distinct region of a frame in the received video stream to be modified is identified, the spatially distinct region of the frame being encoded separately from any other region in the frame. A segment of the spatially distinct region of the frame to be modified is extracted. The extracted segment of the spatially distinct region is modified. The extracted segment of the spatially distinct region into a single-segment spatially distinct region is encoded. A network abstraction layer (NAL) header is associated with the encoded single-segment spatially distinct region. The encoded single-segment spatially distinct region and its associated NAL header is inserted into the received video stream following the identified spatially distinct region of the frame to be modified. Related methods, systems and apparatus are also described.

Video watermarks are useful for a variety of purposes in the domain of pay television, such as to allow a watermark detector to identify the creator of a video, the operator broadcasting the video, or even the identity of the subscriber receiving the video. The latter is known as forensic watermarking and can serve to identify a traitor, i.e. a legitimate subscriber of a pay TV service who is leaking the stolen video content, and, for example, streaming the stolen video content online.
Traditionally in pay TV systems, if a watermark is meant to be a forensic watermark encoding the identity of an end user, it would be natural to perform embedding of the watermark into the video in the user's client device, for instance, a set top box (STB). Typically, the STB has limited computational power and other restrictions that prevent it from embedding certain kinds of strong watermarks (i.e., imperceptible, resilient, high-capacity etc.) into videos it displays. Therefore, there is a need to embed forensic watermarks at the video headend, prior to releasing the video from the video headend. To do this, the video headend typically broadcasts multiple versions of sections of the video, each of the versions being visually slightly different from each other.
H.264 and H.265 video encoders typically use the Context-based Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding (CABAC) entropy encoding system for the entropy coding layer of macroblock-level syntax elements. CABAC is a highly stateful, very adaptive entropy layer that can encode similar streams of syntax elements into significantly differing bitstreams because of how CABAC adapts its context models as it processes the input streams. In other words, even if two frames of video differ in just a single syntax element (such as a prediction mode of one macroblock, a coefficient in the residual of a certain macroblock etc.), the resulting post-CABAC bitstream typically completely differs, from the point in which the syntax elements differ until the CABAC engine is reset, according to the video encoding standard. Because of the stateful nature of CABAC it is challenging to embed a watermark into the video stream as long as the CABAC engine is not reset (which does not typically happen during decoding of a slice, the slice typically comprising a whole picture).

Framework for embedding data in encoded video


A current mirror circuit is provided that has a feedback loop that includes a current mirror that provides base current compensation to the bases of the input and output transistors of the current mirror circuit. By employing a current mirror in the feedback loop to provide base current compensation, the minimum power supply voltage of the current mirror circuit is very low, typically less than or equal to about 1.5 V.

A current mirror circuit is a circuit that mirrors, or copies, the current flowing in one active device of the circuit in another active device of the circuit while keeping the output current of the circuit constant regardless of the output load. A wide variety of current mirror circuits exist. FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of basic bipolar junction transistor (BJT) current mirror circuit. Ideally, the output current Iout is equal to the input current Iref times the ratio of Q2/Q1. However, the base currents of BJTs Q1 and Q2 are also drawn from Iref, which reduces the effective Iref. As a result, the output current Iout is smaller than expected. When BJT Q2 is large, or there are a greater number of output transistors connected in parallel, the error of Iout is significantly large.
FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a BJT current mirror circuit that employs a third BJT Q3 to perform base current compensation. With the exception that the base current of BJT Q3 is drawn from the input current Iref, all base currents come from the emitter of BJT Q3 so that the Iout error is almost negligible. The feedback loop stability is compensated by capacitor Cf. However, the minimum power supply voltage, VDD, has to be greater than two times of the bipolar base-emitter voltage plus the saturation voltage of the current source Iref. In general, the power supply voltage VDD should be greater than ˜2.2 V. Therefore, this circuit generally is not suitable for low voltage (i.e., less than about 1.8 volt (V) operation.
FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a current mirror circuit that employs an N metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (NMOS) to perform base current compensation. The BJT Q3 shown in FIG. 2 is replaced by NMOS M3 in FIG. 3. The NMOS transistor does not draw any current from input current Iref, and therefore there is no Iout error caused by base currents. As in the circuit of FIG. 2, the feedback loop stability in the circuit of FIG. 3 is compensated by capacitor Cf. All base currents are provided by NMOS M3. The minimum power supply voltage VDD needs to be greater than the bipolar base-emitter voltage plus the gate-source voltage of NMOS M3 plus the saturation voltage of the current source Iref. The result is similar to the above one in that this circuit is also not suitable for low voltage (i.e., less than about 1.8 V) operation.
Accordingly, a need exists for a current mirror circuit that is capable of low-voltage operation.

Low-voltage current mirror circuit and method

Avago Technologies General IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


An automatic gain control circuit of an amplifier 1 having a gain control function is provided with a signal-to-noise detection circuit 2 which detects a signal-to-noise ratio of an output signal and an AGC setting circuit 3 which sets the gain of the amplifier 1. The AGC setting circuit 3 determines the AGC gain according to the level of an input signal and the signal-to-noise ratio detected by the signal-to-noise ratio detection circuit 2. In a region where there is a large AGC gain and where the signal-to-noise ratio is reduced by the AGC circuit, the level of an output signal is increased so as to render the signal-to-noise ratio of the output signal constant. Even if an input electric field is reduced by a fading phenomenon and if there is an increase in the AGC gain, there is prevented a decrease in the signal-to-noise ratio due to an increase in the noise floor stemming from the AGC circuit itself, thereby preventing deterioration of the receiving sensitivity of the automatic gain control circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic gain control circuit which amplifies an analog signal while automatically controlling the gain of the signal, and more particularly, to an automatic gain control circuit which is used for mobile communication and which constantly maintains a signal-to-noise ratio of an output signal (a ratio of an output signal to noise).
2. Description of the Related Art
An automatic gain control circuit such as that described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei-4-037334 is known as an existing automatic gain control circuit. FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the existing automatic gain control circuit. An input IF signal is amplified by an amplifier 1 having a gain control function, and the thus-amplified signal is output to a demodulation circuit from an output terminal of the amplifier. At this time, part of the output from the amplifier 1 is input to an AGC detection circuit 6, and an AGC setting circuit 3 sets for the amplifier 1 a gain corresponding to the level of the output signal detected by the AGC detection circuit 6. If the level of the output signal is high, the automatic gain control circuit is controlled so as to reduce the gain of the amplifier 1, rendering the level of the output signal constant.
However, the foregoing configuration of the existing automatic gain control circuit is capable of constantly maintaining the level of the signal output but is impossible to constantly maintain a ratio of an output signal to noise (i.e., a signal-to-noise ratio). Since there is an increase in an AGC gain and the noise floor of the automatic gain control circuit, the ratio of an output signal to noise (i.e., a signal-to-noise ratio) of the output signal is deteriorated, as a result of which a bit error rate (BER) of the output signal is also deteriorated.
In mobile communication, as compared with a mean level, a receiving level changes as great as +10 dB or more to -30 dB or less. For this reason, in a case where the existing automatic gain control circuit is applied to mobile communication, a conversion level of the automatic gain control circuit is determined, in consideration of variations in the receiving level both in positive and negative ranges due to a fading phenomenon. If there is a drop in the receiving level in excess of the range of control of the automatic gain control circuit, the output signal is decreased, thereby deteriorating the ratio of the output signal to noise (i.e., the signal-to-noise ratio). This in turn deteriorates the bit error rate (BER) of the output signal at the time of a strong electric field fading phenomenon.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A lead acid storage battery and improved method of bonding battery cell terminal posts to cover bushings is disclosed. The battery cell terminal posts are made of lead alloy material and the cover bushings are made of solder alloy material having a significantly lower melting point than the terminal posts. The bushings are bonded to the terminal posts by heating the terminal posts and bushings to a temperature above the melting point of the material of the bushing, but below the melting point of the material of the post, to effect a secure and leak proof connection without melting of the terminal posts and with lesser chance for damage to the plastic cover. The plastic cover further includes integrally formed annular mold sections in the form of upstanding bosses which completely surround respective bushings and posts to contain melted material of the bushing during the heating operation and to form the terminals into final shape.

In the manufacture of lead acid industrial and automotive storage batteries, it is customary to mold lead bushings in the plastic cover of the battery and to thereafter fuse the bushings to posts of the battery cell assemblies. Typically both the posts and bushings must be heated to temperatures above their melting points such that there is a fusion of the materials of the two components.
It has long been the practice to melt the ends of the posts and bushings by means of manually operated acetylene torches. Not only does such manual acetylene torch burning of the posts and bushings fail to lend itself to use in fully automated battery production lines, the quality and depth of the fused areas cannot be uniformly controlled. Moreover, particular care must be taken in not melting or otherwise damaging the portion of the plastic cover immediately adjacent the bushing, which can render the battery defective or sufficiently weaken the seal and support between the plastic cover and bushings as to create a potentially dangerous condition during use of the battery. Such acetylene torch burning, furthermore, is tedious and potentially harmful to the working environment, and it is difficult to control the flow of melted lead, resulting in unsightly irregularities in the surfaces of the finished battery terminals.
While various proposals have been made for automatically fusing battery terminal posts and cover bushings by means of acetylene torch heating, tungsten inert gas welding, electrical resistance heating, and electrical induction heating, such proposals all have faced various drawbacks, including the inability to obtain reliable fusion depths within the requisite processing time, undesirable melting of the cover about the bushings, unacceptable appearance of the finished terminals, or the necessity for utilizing auxiliary molds to control melted lead and achieve acceptable terminal appearance.


The invention relates to a distribution device for fluid product, comprising a reservoir (1), containing the fluid product and a propellant gas, a valve (10), with a valve body (11) and a throttle valve (12), sliding within said valve body (11), between a rest position and a distribution position. Said reservoir (1) is rigid and made from a high-performance synthetic material resistant to the pressure of the propellant gas, sad material having a low permeability to water and oxygen.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a distribution device for fluid product, and more specifically to an aerosol type device for distributing a fluid product by means of propellant gas.
2. Description of the Related Art
Aerosol devices generally include a reservoir or can, made in metal, notably in aluminium. A valve, which may be a metering valve, is attached, generally crimped on the neck of the reservoir by means of an attachment ring or capsule, in this case a crimping ring. The reservoir contains a fluid product and a propellant gas, notably liquefied gas, so that the contents of the reservoir is pressurized. When the user actuates the valve, expansion of the propellant gas causes the product to be expelled through said valve. The metal and more particularly the aluminium reservoirs have a certain number of drawbacks. It is difficult or even impossible to produce complex shapes of reservoirs at reasonable costs, on the one hand. Moreover, the use of metal should be considered as undesirable from an ecological point of view. The machines for manufacturing and assembling such aluminium reservoirs are also complicated and costly.


The present invention provides a process for preparing (7Z)-7-tricosene of the following formula (3): the process comprising a step of subjecting a nucleophilic reagent, (8Z)-8-pentadecenyl compound of the following general formula (1), wherein M1 represents Li, MgZ1, CuZ1 or CuLiZ1, wherein Z1 represents a halogen atom or an (8Z)-8-pentadecenyl group, to a coupling reaction with a 1-halooctane compound of the following general formula (2), wherein X1 represents a halogen atom, to produce (7Z)-7-tricosene (3).

Peach fruit moth is a serious pest against Rosaeeae fruits such as apples and peaches. Larvae of peach fruit moth eat and penetrate into the fruits, so that a damage tolerance level is low. Insecticides do not easily reach the larvae which already penetrated into the fruits, which makes it difficult to control the larvae. At present, the national government is making efforts to increase export of Japanese foodstuffs, and the volume of the exported fruits such as apples and peaches is increasing. If larvae of the peach fruit moth are found in export inspection in Japan, the Taiwan authority, for instance, prohibits export from a packaging facility where such fruits were packaged. In addition, on a first occasion where larvae of the peach fruit moth are found in import inspection in Taiwan during an exportation period, export from the relevant prefecture is prohibited; and on a second occasion, export from all over Japan is prohibited. This provisional prohibition is not lifted until an improvement plan is submitted to the Taiwan authority and the authority approves it. As described above, it is necessary to almost completely control the peach fruit moth for exportation of fruits. Accordingly, communication disruption agents with sex pheromones is carried out for the control of the peach fruit moth in addition to the control by insecticides in the areas of peach production, such as Fukushima Prefecture, Yamanashi Prefecture and Okayama Prefecture.
It has been revealed that the sex pheromone of the peach fruit moth is a mixture of (13Z)-13-eicosen-10-one and (7Z)-7-tricosene in a weight ratio of 19:81 (Patent Literature 1, mentioned below). Processes for producing (7Z)-7-tricosene have been reported, such as, for example, a synthesis by a coupling reaction between (7Z)-7-tridecenylmagnesium chloride and 1-bromodecane (Patent Literature 1), a synthesis by a coupling reaction between (4Z)-4-undecenylmagnesium bromide and 1-bromododecane (Non-Patent Literature 1, mentioned below), a synthesis by a coupling reaction between 1-octyn-1-yllithium and 1-bromopentadecane, followed by catalytic reduction using a palladium catalyst (Non-Patent Literature 2, mentioned below).


A hair iron that can set hairstyles by heating and spraying a treatment agent comprises a pair of holding parts (1, 1); each having heating block (2), the surface of which acts as a holding surface (7); at least one holding part (1) containing liquid container (5), liquid holder (4) that brings the liquid in liquid container (5) in contact with heating block (2) as the liquid in liquid container (5) is transferred to heating block (2), and steam path (19) that sprays from holding surface (7) the steam generated as the liquid transferred from inside liquid container (5) is heated by the contact surface with heating block (2) of liquid holder (4). Hair is held between the holding surfaces (7, 7) of the pair of holding parts (1, 1), and under the action of the steam sprayed from the steam path (19), the hairstyle is set. In this hair iron (40), the liquid container (5) is set on the side of the heating block (2) opposite to the holding surface (7), and at the same time, the liquid holder (4) is set between the heating block (2) and the liquid container (5).

Hair irons usually comprise a pair of holding parts that are equipped with heating blocks and that are hinged at one end, where at least one of the holding parts has a steam spraying means. The hair is held between the opposing surfaces of the pair of holding parts so that it can be set to the desired hairstyle with heat and steam.
As described in Japanese Patent Early Publication [kokai] No. 2000-157322, etc., the conventional steam spraying means has a liquid container at the end of a holding part. One end of the liquid holder, such as a piece of felt, is in contact with the liquid in the liquid container, while the other end of the liquid holder is in contact with a heating block. In this constitution, the liquid that has been transferred by the liquid holder to the heating block evaporates, and steam is sprayed from the holding surface of the holding part.
In the aforementioned conventional hair iron, the liquid container is located closer to the end of the holding part than the heating block, and the other end of the liquid holder that has one end in contact with the liquid container is in contact with a heater inside the heating block that is held by the other end of the liquid holder. Consequently, in the liquid holder, the liquid in the portion farther from the liquid container is more difficult to transfer, and it is thus impossible to generate steam uniformly from the various portions of the liquid holder in contact with the heating block.


Disclosed are a magnetic roller damping device and an implementing method thereof. The device includes a magnetic roller and a magnetic damping mechanism. The magnetic roller includes a first multipole magnet that includes at least one pair of magnetic poles with opposite polarities. The magnetic damping mechanism uses a magnetic damping magnet or metal attractable to the first multipole magnet, the magnetic damping magnet or metal is positioned in a magnetic field of the first multipole magnet, and a distance between the magnetic damping magnet or metal and the magnetic roller is adjustable.

Rollers are widely used in the market of handwriting tablets. The rollers are generally used for continuous data adjustment, which are very convenient and intuitive to use. However, each user has different requirements on roller smoothness (i.e., resistance). At present, a roller commonly used in a handwriting device is a mechanical roller which is driven to rotate through frictional resistance. To meet different requirements on roller smoothness, existing mechanical roller needs to use different materials, which is inflexible and not highly universal. In addition, the mechanical roller may suffer from frictional loss due to the existence of the frictional resistance, reducing the service life of the roller.

Magnetic roller damping device and implementing method thereof


A feed-through for feeding electric power to a submerged pump installed in a tank for cryogenic liquefied gases such as (LNG) liquefied natural gas and (LPG) liquefied propane gas. In the feed-through, a bushing made of an insulating material is inserted in the bushing insertion hole of a flange, and a conductor is inserted in the hollow part of the bushing. A gap between the flange and each end of the bushing insertion hole and a gap between each end of the bushing and the conductor are sealed airtight by seal members. A through-hole is formed in the wall of the bushing, and a space part communicating with the through-hole is formed in the flange. The pressure in the space part of the flange is detected by a pressure detector.

Conventionally, a feed-through configured as shown in FIG. 4 is used as a feed-through for feeding electric power to a submerged pump installed in a tank for cryogenic liquefied gas, such as LNG and LPG (refer to, for example, Patent Literatures 1 to 4). In a feed-through 10 in FIG. 4, a ceramic bushing 16 (only two bushings are shown in FIG. 4) is inserted into each of three bushing insertion holes 14 on a stainless steel, disc-shaped flange (partitioning flange) 12. A conductor 18 is inserted into a hollow portion of the bushing 16. Gaps between the flange 12 and each end of the bushing insertion holes 14 are hermetically sealed by sealing sections that are sealing members 24 and 26, such as bellows. Gaps between both ends of the bushings 16 and the conductor 18 are sealed by sealing sections that are sealing members 24 and 26, such as bellows.
The feed-through 10 of the example is fixed onto an LNG tank by, for example, the flange 12 being layered onto an upper end flange section of a pump housing pipe projecting outwards from an upper wall of the LNG tank, and hermetically fixed. In this state, in the feed-through 10, a low temperature side terminal 28 is inserted into the pump housing pipe, and a low temperature cable is connected to the low temperature side terminal 28. An ordinary cable is connected to an external air side terminal 30 that is outside. As a result, electric power can be fed to the submerged pump housed within the pump housing pipe of the LNG tank, via the cable, the feed-through 10, and the low temperature cable.    Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. Heisei 8-338596    Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. Heisei 10-116529    Patent Literature 3: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. Heisei 10-116530    Patent Literature 4: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2002-340295

Furukawa Electric Industrial Cable Co., Ltd.