A living body data detector equipped with a fitting belt which does not deviate in position, does not fall down and does not press the chest even when taking exercise while fitting it on is provided. A living body data detector comprises a fitting belt having a pair of shoulder belt portions that is, a left shoulder belt portion and a right shoulder belt portion, a pair of electrode portions attached to the fitting belt, and a living body signal detector portion connected to the pair of electrode portions through connection cables, and attached to the fitting belt. The left shoulder belt portion and the right shoulder belt portion are forming an intersected coupling portion on the back side of the user. A living body signal detector portion is attached to the intersected coupling portion. The left shoulder belt portion is provided with an expansion portion and a separable coupling means, and the right shoulder belt portion is provided with an expansion portion and a separable coupling means.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a living body data detector including a detector circuit that detects living body signals by processing signals generating across a pair of electrodes attached to a fitting belt, and a transmitter circuit for transmitting the living body signal data. The living body data detector constitutes a living body data measuring device together with a living body data display which displays the living body data upon receiving the living body signal data.
2. Description of the Related Art
A heart beat measuring instrument is a representative example of the living body data measuring device, and is, usually, constituted by a heart beat detector having a detector circuit for detecting heart beat signals by processing a cardiac potential generating across a pair of chest electrodes attached to a chest belt and a radio transmitter circuit for transmitting the heart beat signals, and a wristwatch type electronic timepiece including a radio receiver unit for receiving the heart beat signals, a heart beat operation circuit for calculating the heart rate by processing the heart beat signals, and a display circuit for displaying the heart rate.
Heart beat measuring instruments equipped with a chest belt have been disclosed in JP-A-6-245913, JP-A-2002-143110, JP-A-10-155753 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,474.
In these conventional heart beat measuring instruments, the chest belt itself has a width wider than that of a trouser belt but basically has the same structure. However, despite its decreased size and reduced weight, the heart beat measuring instrument mounted on the chest belt has a weight comparable to about that of a general wristwatch body. This is because the heart beat measuring instrument is constituted by having various electronic parts, a mechanical part, a cell and a casing for holding them. Therefore, when the conventional heart beat measuring instrument equipped with the chest belt is fitted to the human body, the position tended to be deviated due to the weight of the heart beat measuring instrument.
If it is attempted to prevent the deviation in position, the length-adjusting means must be operated to strongly fasten the chest belt so as to be fitted to the human body. However, the chest belt that is fitted by being strongly tightened presses the chest of the user causing such a problem that upon wearing the belt the user finds it uncomfortable being pressed and uneasy to breath. Another problem is that the electrode portions for detecting the cardiac potential must be brought into direct contact with the human body, and the living body data detector such as the heart beat measuring instrument that uses the chest belt must be fitted prior to wearing the clothing.


In various example embodiments, a system and method for an electronic commerce file system are provided. In example embodiments, a selection of an item contained in a folder of an electronic commerce file system is received. The item is offered for sale by an electronic commerce provider, and the electronic commerce file system resides locally on a client device. Based on a type of the folder, a set of actions are provided for selection, with the set of actions to be performed with respect to the item. A selection of an action to be performed with respect to the item is received. The action is performed with respect to the item, with the action being performed between the electronic commerce file system and the electronic commerce provider via a network.

Electronic commerce today generally consists of commerce transacted on a website of an Internet retailer. Users are able to search and browse for items presented on web pages and can purchase items by placing them in a virtual shopping cart maintained on the Internet retailer website for check out. Recent advances have extended electronic commerce to mobile devices, where users may use apps to transact electronic commerce. Despite the recent advances, users generally still must access a website or app to conduct electronic commerce transactions.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Updating of stored item data via a remote computing system


An image sensor device includes a semiconductor substrate having a front side and a backside. A first dielectric layer is on the front side of the semiconductor substrate. A metal pad is in the first dielectric layer. A second dielectric layer is over the first dielectric layer and on the front side of the semiconductor substrate. An opening penetrates through the semiconductor substrate from the backside of the semiconductor substrate, wherein the opening includes a first portion extending to expose a portion of the metal pad and a second portion extending to expose a portion of the second dielectric layer. A metal layer is formed in the first portion and the second portion of the opening.

Backside illumination (BSI) image sensor chips are replacing front side illumination sensor chips for their higher efficiency in capturing photons. In the formation of the BSI image sensor chips, image sensors and logic circuits are formed on a silicon substrate of a wafer, followed by the formation of an interconnect structure on a front side of the silicon chip. The interconnect structure includes a plurality of metal layers including bottom metal layer M1 through top metal layer Mtop.
The wafer is then flipped over. A backside grinding is performed on the silicon substrate from the backside of the silicon substrate. A buffer oxide layer may be formed over the back surface of the remaining silicon substrate, and a first opening is formed to extend from the buffer oxide layer to stop at a shallow-trench isolation (STI) pad that is formed in the silicon substrate. A second opening is then formed inside the first opening to further etch the STI pad and the interlayer dielectric (ILD) that is directly under the etched portion of the STI pad, so that a metal pad in the bottom metal layer M1 is exposed. The second opening is smaller than the first opening. An aluminum copper pad is then formed in the first and the second openings and electrically coupled to the metal pad in metal layer M1. The aluminum copper pad may be used for bonding to the BSI chip.
It was found that conventional bond structures may suffer from film peeling during ball shearing tests. The metal pad in the bottom metal layer M1, which metal pad is bonded to the aluminum copper pad, may delaminate from the underlying etch stop layer. The peeling may be caused by the inferior adhesion between the metal pad and the etch stop layer, which is typically formed of silicon carbide.

Pad structures formed in double openings in dielectric layers

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


A transmit control system using in-band tones for activating and deactivating one or more remote sites. The transmit control system detecting energy in two or more spectral regions to determine if the signal received is a harmonic signal or a signalling tone to prevent accidental deactivation of the transmitter system. In one application, a modified Goertzel algorithm is employed by a digital signal processor to provide tone detection and a two stage detection provides controlled switching in noisy environments.

There has been a growing interest in the use of repeater based systems for a variety of radio frequency communications. Advanced repeater systems must coordinate communications between a number of repeaters. The repeaters may be linked together using a variety of inter-repeater communications means. A remote subscriber, such as a mobile radio user, will request a channel to transmit information to other subscribers and other services connected to the repeater system. The repeater system manages the channels and provides a free channel to the calling subscriber.
However, such systems must orchestrate transmissions by each repeater. This is especially important in broadcast situations where a subscriber is communicating to a number of repeaters for rebroadcast to other subscribers in the system. It is inefficient to leave the repeater transmitters on when there is no information to transmit. Therefore, to service each subscriber rapidly, the transmitters should be activated in a reasonably short amount of time to prevent delays in access to the repeater system. Furthermore, it is desirable to activate the transmitters without supplying an additional control line to each repeater. Communications which are conducted over the repeater system must not be misinterpreted for control signals to the transmitters to ensure that the subscribers cannot accidentally disable the transmit control system.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a transmit control system which provides rapid activation of a number of transmitters. The transmit control system should use efficient control means to provide control to the separate transmitters. The transmit control system also should provide safeguard against accidental activation or deactivation of the transmitters in the system.

Transmit control system using in-band tone signalling

Transcrypt International/E. F. Johnson Company


The vacuum control port at the control chamber of a fuel pressure regulator is an injection molded plastic member that can be formed with an angle. A flange is provided as a seating surface for an annular seal ring. The member extends into a tube formed in the regulator control chamber and is secured thereto.

Fuel pressure regulators of the type to which the invention relates comprise a control chamber to which intake manifold vacuum is communicated. A vacuum port is provided on the fuel pressure regulator housing for the control chamber so that a conduit through which the vacuum is conveyed can be connected to the fuel pressure regulator. Various embodiments of fuel pressure regulators typically include one of the following three constructions for the vacuum port.
In a first construction, the vacuum port is formed integrally with a metal housing cover by a deep drawing process. This approach is reliable and cost-efficient, but can be used only when the vacuum port is a straight tube that is parallel to the main axis of the regulator. Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,076,320 and 5,163,468 disclose fuel pressure regulators embodying this construction. Unfortunately, it is not possible to use this approach when the vacuum port must be non-parallel to the regulator main axis, such as when the vacuum port is in a radially facing portion of the cover like the cover's sidewall, or else when it contains a bend.
In a second construction, the vacuum port is a separate metal fitting that is assembled to a metal housing cover by a procedure such as brazing. This construction is more costly than the first due to the fact that there are two separate parts (the cover and the fitting) that must be processed and the fact that a brazing operation must be conducted. When the fitting must be located in the cover sidewall, the process of joining the cover to the base of the housing is made more complicated since the fitting must be brazed to the cover before the cover is joined to the base, and the presence of the fitting on the cover can be accommodated only by using more complicated tools to join the cover and base.
A third construction is like the second except that a metal spin welding process, rather than brazing, is used.
The present invention relates to a new and unique pressure regulator of the aforementioned type which allows the vacuum port to be an injection-molded part made of suitable plastic and readily mounted on a housing cover by means of relatively inexpensive equipment. The parts, equipment, and the process are cost-efficient. Principles of the invention enable a variety of different port configurations to be realized, and often to be used with a common housing cover. The various features, advantages, and benefits of the invention will appear in the ensuing detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment, which concludes with a number of claims defining the inventive principles. The description is accompanied by a drawing which discloses the best mode contemplated at this time for carrying out the invention.

Pressure regulator with plastic vacuum fitting


Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to chimeric antibodies which specifically bind to Borrelia decorin-binding protein A (DbpA) antigens and compositions or kits comprising such antibodies. The disclosure further relates to use of such antibodies in the detection of Borrelia sp. in samples, e.g., biological samples such as human blood and/or tissues of deer, ticks and other carriers of Borrelia. Embodiments of the disclosure further relate to diagnosis and/or therapy of Lyme disease using the chimeric antibodies and/or compositions containing the chimeric antibodies.

Lyme disease (LD), which is caused by infection with the tick-borne spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, is a common vector-borne disease in North America (Shapiro et al., N Engl J Med., 370, 1724-1731, 2014). Although North American LD is attributable to B. burgdorferi, European and in Asian LD may be additionally caused by B. afzelii, B. garinii, and other species related to B. burgdorferi. In highly endemic regions of the United States, the annual incidence of infection may be as high as 1-3% with a cumulative prevalence as high as 7-15% (Tugwell et al., Ann Intern Med., 127, 1109-1123, 1997). In Europe, the highest incidence was reported in southern Sweden at about 0.46% (Sykes et al., J Public Health (Oxf), 39, 74-81, 2017).
Difficulties in diagnosis have long complicated the treatment of LD, as the bite of an infected tick may go unnoticed by the patient, and the clinical manifestations of LD can significantly vary amongst diagnosed patients (Steere et al., J. Clin. Invest. 113, 1093-1101, 2004). In the majority of cases, the diagnosis of confirmed early Lyme disease is based on identification of the hallmark erythema migrans (EM) rash, which may occur in isolation or in conjunction with viral-like symptoms such as fever, malaise, fatigue, and generalized achiness. However, since these primary symptoms are also associated with other viral infections, misdiagnosis is common. Moreover, about 16% of the patients do not present any primary symptoms (Steere et al., Am J Med., 114, 58-62, 2003). These misdiagnosed and/or undiagnosed subjects are at grave risk of developing severe secondary complications, including, systemic harm to integumentary, musculoskeletal, neurologic, and cardiovascular systems.
Additionally, although antibiotic therapy (e.g., i.v. ceftriaxone followed by oral doxycycline) is highly effective, especially if administered in the early stages of LD, serious complications can result from false diagnoses (Lantos et al., Infect Dis Clin North Am., 29, 325-340, 2015). There is no commercially available vaccine for human LD, so the development of accurate, sensitive laboratory diagnosis is an important goal of LD research.
Currently available commercial assays in the United States are either based on whole bacteria cell extracts, such as the ELISA and immunoblotting assays, or on a single antigen ELISA (Aguero-Rosenfeld, Clin. Microbiol. Rev., 18, 484-509, 2005). The whole cell assays are usually used as a two-tiered test. First, a more sensitive, typically a whole cell ELISA, is used. This is followed by the more specific Western blot, if the ELISA is positive or equivocal (Marques et al., Infect Dis Clin North Am., 29, 295-307, 2015). Together these assays have served for years as the standard for serodiagnosis, but there remain trade-offs between sensitivity and specificity to minimize false-positive results. One drawback of the two-tiered, sequential test procedure is the time it takes and the greater expense for two assays. Another problem with whole cell assays is a lack of standardization between tests of different manufacturers. The variables include different strains of B. burgdorferi that are used, different conditions for cultivating the organisms, and different methods for identifying the key antigens on blots.
Assays based on detection of antigens, such as the flagellin protein FlaB, or combinations of recombinant proteins have been used in literature. Current laboratory based serologic assays employ the C6 ELISA or a two-tier test comprised of C6, whole-cell or recombinant antigen ELISA followed by Western blot containing a number of B. burgdorferi antigens such as VlsE, p100, p66, p58, p45, p41, p39, p30/31, p28 and p18. The sensitivity of these assays varies between 35-56% for early stage I, 73-77% for early stage II and 96-100% for late stage III disease (Nayak et al., Sci Rep., 6, 35069, 2016). However, only 10 to 50% of patients with culture confirmed very early localized LD (e.g., EM rash<7 days) presented a detectable antibody response. To overcome these drawbacks, lab-on-chip (LOC) microfluidic devices utilizing a plurality of antigens have been developed (Nayak et al., supra; OPKO Health, Inc, Miami, Fla., USA). However, the sensitivity and specificity achieved with such LOC systems provides marginal improvement over existing assays (84% and 92%, respectively).
Accordingly, there is an urgent need for new or improved compositions and systems for the diagnosis and therapy of Lyme disease. Ideally, such diagnostic compositions can be easily deployed in point-of-care instruments and systems for the testing of samples for Borrelia antigens with improved sensitivity and specificity compared to existing products.


A multi-spectral super-pixel photodetector for detecting four or more different bands of infrared radiation is described. The super-pixel photodetector includes two or more sub-pixel photodetectors, each of which includes a diffractive resonant optical cavity that resonates at two or more infrared radiation bands of interest. By detecting infrared radiation at two or more different applied biases and by generating a spectral response curve for each of the sub-pixel photodetectors at each of these biases, the response to each of the individual bands of infrared radiation can be calculated. The response to each band of infrared radiation can be found by deconvolving the response at each bias. The super-pixel photodetector finds use in military and medical imaging applications and can cover a broad portion of the infrared spectrum.

In the field of infrared (IR) imaging, the current objective is to provide high pixel count imagers at low cost with high performance. InSb, HgCdTe and quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP) technologies have demonstrated high performance large area imagers. Each of these technologies has various strengths and weaknesses. InSb photodetectors offer high performance, ease of fabrication, and operation at wavelengths of less than 5 μm, but must be cooled to approximately 80 K. HgCdTe photodetectors can be designed to operate in the important long wavelength IR (LWIR) band corresponding to a wavelength range of 8 to 12 μm and the middle wavelength IR (MWIR) band corresponding to a wavelength range of 3 to 5 μm. HgCdTe photodetectors require very tight tolerances in material and fabrication uniformity, especially in the LWIR band, to ensure high performance. QWIP photodetectors have been demonstrated in both the MWIR and LWIR band. Because of the maturity of the GaAs/AlGaAs material system used in QWIP photodetectors, tight tolerances in both material and fabrication uniformity are readily obtained. QWIP photodetector sensitivity is generally lower than that achieved by InSb or HgCdTe photodetectors in their respective wavelength bands.
Multi-spectral detection is increasingly desirable as a method to increase the probability of detection under various environments. As an example, objects that are only slightly above room temperature, such as a person, are most easily detected in the LWIR corresponding to the peak IR radiation emission band for near room temperature objects. In contrast, a hot object, such as an automobile exhaust pipe, can be readily detected in the MWIR corresponding to the peak IR radiation emission band for objects having a temperature of more than 600 K. Thus, a system that provides high performance with either of these objects should be sensitive to both wavelength bands.
In military applications, it is possible to camouflage an object such that the object emits little radiation in a particular portion of the IR spectrum. A multi-spectral photodetector with appropriately selected sensing wavelengths therefore provides a means of detecting objects that have been camouflaged in this manner.
Additional applications may use multi-spectral photodetectors for discriminating one object from another. As two objects at different temperatures emit different amounts of IR radiation at different wavelengths, a multi-spectral photodetector can more readily discriminate between the objects. As an example, two identical cars may be parked next to each other. If one has recently been driven while the second has not been operated for several hours, a multi-spectral detector could readily sense the subtle differences in emissivities corresponding to temperature differences of less than a degree.
Medical applications can also benefit from the additional discrimination that can be achieved with a multi-spectral photodetector. In particular, detection of cancerous lesions using infrared imaging has shown great promise. The sensitivity of such systems can be increased by imaging at two or more wavelengths to remove any artifacts in the image, such as might be caused by birthmarks, scars, tattoos, etc. The use of two or more wavelengths will also increase sensitivity as smaller temperature differences can be detected.
Sensitivity in these applications can be increased still further by using multi-spectral photodetectors that are sensitive to four or more wavelengths. An imager produced using such multi-spectral photodetectors is effectively an imaging spectrometer. Imaging spectrometers have additional applications including earth imaging and remote sensing. An earth imaging application with an imaging spectrometer can be used to readily detect crop diseases. A military application that would benefit from an imaging spectrometer is mine detection in which earth, disturbed by the placement of a mine, can be readily sensed.
Conventional IR detector technologies have proven difficult to adapt to this current demand for multi-spectral detection. As noted above, high performance single band detectors and imaging arrays have been demonstrated using HgCdTe, InSb and QWIP technologies. Of these, multi-spectral detection has been demonstrated only with the HgCdTe and QWIP technologies. The multi-spectral HgCdTe photodetectors demonstrated to date have excellent performance, but the arrays suffer significantly from both non-uniformity in the HgCdTe material and the fabrication process. While multi-spectral QWIP photodetectors do not place as stringent requirements upon the starting material, the fabrication process has similarly proven to be challenging. Further, both IR detector technologies have suffered from reduced performance in multi-spectral photodetectors in comparison to single band performance. Lastly, operation in more than one wavelength band has generally required at least one additional electrical connection between the photodetector and the external electronics for each wavelength band.
A hyper-spectral IR radiation detector using QWIP photodetector technology is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,990 to Claiborne et al. The disclosed hyper-spectral IR radiation detector uses a linear array of QWIP photodetectors, each absorbing a different wavelength band. To collect information in each of the wavelength bands, the disclosed hyper-spectral IR radiation detector must be scanned across the target. This detection method suffers from possible movement by the target resulting in a loss of spatial registration. Further, as a potentially large number of QWIP photodetectors must be scanned across the image, the resultant information will suffer from a loss of temporal registration as well.
In view of the desirability of multi-spectral IR photodetectors for applications such as an imaging spectrometer, there exists a need for a design that places fewer and/or less stringent requirements upon the starting material and/or the fabrication process. Such photodetectors should also be highly producible. It is also desirable to develop a photodetector technology that requires fewer electrical connections between each photodetector and the external electronics. Furthermore, it is desirable to readily change from detecting in one group of wavelength bands to another group of wavelength bands, even alternating consecutive images between two or more groups of wavelength bands.

Multi-spectral infrared super-pixel photodetector and imager


A seat assembly may include a seat, a first bladder assembly connected to the seat, a second bladder assembly connected to the seat, and/or an electrical control unit (ECU) configured to independently control the first bladder assembly and the second bladder assembly. The ECU may be configured to maintain a level of inflation of the first bladder assembly to provide a hugging effect to a user of the seat while inflating and deflating the second bladder assembly to guide breathing of said user.

This background description is set forth below for the purpose of providing context only. Therefore, any aspect of this background description, to the extent that it does not otherwise qualify as prior art, is neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the instant disclosure.
Some seat assemblies may not be comfortable, may not provide sufficient functionality, may not be configured to monitor the breathing pattern of a user, and/or may not be configured to reduce irregularities in sensed biomedical information. For example and without limitation, some seat assemblies may not be configured to provide a relaxing effect to normalize/regulate breathing via one or more bladder assemblies.
There is a desire for solutions/options that minimize or eliminate one or more challenges or shortcomings of seat assemblies. The foregoing discussion is intended only to illustrate examples of the present field and is not a disavowal of scope.


The number of masks and photolithography processes used in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device are reduced. A first conductive film is formed over a substrate; a first insulating film is formed over the first conductive film; a semiconductor film is formed over the first insulating film; a semiconductor film including a channel region is formed by etching part of the semiconductor film; a second insulating film is formed over the semiconductor film; a mask is formed over the second insulating film; a first portion of the second insulating film that overlaps the semiconductor film and second portions of the first insulating film and the second insulating film that do not overlap the semiconductor film are removed with the use of the mask; the mask is removed; and a second conductive film electrically connected to the semiconductor film is formed over at least part of the second insulating film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, transistors that are formed using a semiconductor thin film having a thickness of several nanometers to several hundreds of nanometers over a substrate having an insulating surface such as a glass substrate have been attracting attentions. Transistors are widely used for electronic devices such as ICs (integrated circuits) and electro-optical devices. In addition, transistors are used as switching elements of active matrix display devices typified by liquid crystal display devices and active matrix light-emitting devices typified by light-emitting devices including organic electroluminescence (EL) elements.
The ranges of uses of such an active matrix display device and such a light-emitting device are expanding, and demands for larger screen size, higher definition, and higher aperture ratio are increasing. In addition, these devices are required to have high reliability, and production methods of these devices are required to provide high yield and to have low production cost.
A reduction in the number of photolithography processes in manufacture of transistors for an active matrix display device and an active matrix light-emitting device is important for cost reduction. For example, one photomask for the eighth generation glass substrate costs tens of millions of yen, and one photomask for the tenth generation glass substrate or the eleventh generation glass substrate costs hundreds of millions of yen. Moreover, even when only one photolithography step is added in the manufacturing process, the number of steps relating to the photolithography step is significantly increased. Therefore, many techniques for reducing the number of photolithography processes have been developed.
As typical means for reducing the number of photolithography processes in a manufacturing process of a transistor, a technique using a multi-tone mask (also called a half-tone mask or a gray-tone mask) is widely known. As examples of the known technique for reducing the number of manufacturing steps by using a multi-tone mask, Patent Documents 1 to 3 are given.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2012-178545
Patent Document 2: Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2011-155303
Patent Document 3: Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2009-124124

Method for manufacturing semiconductor device

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A bed with controllable components, including switches or motors of a motor-adjustable lying surface of the bed or an external interface for controlling components outside the bed via control signals, comprises: a first operating unit to operate at least one of the components, wherein the first operating unit comprises a first interface to transmit first control signals via a wire; a second operating unit to operate at least one of the components, wherein the second operating unit comprises a second interface for the wireless transmission of communication signals; and a control system to receive the first control signals from the first operating unit and to receive the communication signals from the second operating unit, wherein the control system is configured to prioritize operation of a component within or outside the bed with the first operating unit over operation of the component with the second operating unit.

For medical beds, in particular, it is known that a variety of settings of a lying surface of the bed are accomplished with the aid of motors. In many beds, the height of the lying surface can be adjusted by motors. Individual elements of the lying surface can similarly be adjusted, for example a backrest, a thigh support or a lower leg support. It is also known that the inclination of the lying surface can be changed with the aid of motors. It is furthermore known that lights are connected to the bed. These can be reading lamps or under-bed lighting, among other things. It would moreover also be possible to control other components of the bed, or even external components. The external components can be a lamp, blinds or a roller blind, a door opener, for example, or something else.
To control the motors and the other components, the beds have control systems that comprise one or more operating units and a control unit. Via the operating units, a user, be it a bed occupant, be it a nurse, can generate control signals, which are relayed to the control unit via a wire or a wireless or infrared channel. The operating units comprise the necessary interfaces to accomplish this. The control unit too comprises one or, if appropriate, a plurality of interfaces to read the control signals into the control unit and to control actuators, for example switches or the like, in accordance with the control signals. These actuators then close electric circuits, for example, whereby the controlled motor or motors or other components are put into operation to adjust the bed according to the control signals.
In most of the known beds, the operating units are connected to the control units via wires. There are also some beds, however, that have remote controls as operating units, which are connected to the control units via a wireless channel.
Some beds have both a wired first operating unit and a wireless remote control as the second operating unit to perform adjustments on the bed.
If a plurality of operating units is provided in a bed, it is in principle possible that control signals for controlling different components, for example motors, or for controlling identical components with contradictory commands, for example motors in different directions, are generated by two users and relayed to the control unit. Depending on the origin of the control signals, these are referred to in the following as first or second control signals, even if they are formed according to the same specifications of a standard.
If the control signals received by a control unit contradict one another, this contradiction has to be eliminated so that there is no damage to the control system, the components, in particular the motors, and to the bed as a whole.

Bed having a control system comprising a control unit and a control unit having interfaces for a wireless transmission of control signals


Methods and systems are provided for diagnosing degradation and/or alteration in an evaporative emission control system of a vehicle. In one example, a method may include, during a refueling, monitoring a fuel tank pressure and a fuel fill level, and detecting a presence or an absence of a fuel vapor canister of the EVAP system based on a change in fuel tank pressure with an increase in fuel level.

Vehicles may include a fuel system connected to an evaporative emission control (EVAP) system, wherein a fuel tank of the fuel system may be fluidically coupled to one or more fuel vapor canisters of the EVAP system for filtering and venting fuel vapors from the fuel tank. In order to reduce emissions and comply with regulations, fuel vapors from the fuel tank are stored in the fuel vapor canister of the EVAP system. Fuel vapor stored in the canisters may be periodically and opportunistically purged to the engine cylinders. Over time and use, the fuel vapor canister may be degraded or damaged and may need to be replaced. However, replacing such canisters may be considerably expensive. In absence of an operational fuel vapor canister, fuel vapor may no longer be stored in the EVAP system and may be released to the atmosphere, thereby increasing undesired emissions.
Several attempts have been recognized to identify degradations such as leaks in an EVAP system. One example approach is shown by Reddy et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,321,727. Therein, the EVAP system may be diagnosed during an engine-off condition. Fuel tank temperature, pressure data, and fuel level data is analyzed over a period of time. The EVAP system may be sealed and the changes in system pressure may be analyzed over another time period as the fuel cools by heat loss to detect the vacuum that will occur if the system has no leak. In this way, an engine off natural vacuum test may be carried out to detect degradation of the EVAP system.
However, the inventors herein have recognized potential issues with such systems. In certain situations, after removing a faulted canister, instead of replacing the faulted canister, to save parts costs, it is known to tamper or alter the EVAP system in a way such that there are no detectable leaks in the system. As one example, even though the diagnostic method described by Reddy et al. can detect a leak in the EVAP system or absence of a fuel vapor canister, Reddy et al. does not show a method to detect tampering of the canister instead of replacement. As an example, the canister may be replaced with a straight tube (connecting the fuel vapor line directly to atmosphere) which would allow fuel vapor to escape to the atmosphere. Further, if the fuel vapor canister gets plugged, it may not be possible to further load the canister with fuel vapor which may result in undesirable emissions levels.
In one example, the issues described above may be addressed by a method for an engine in a vehicle, comprising: detecting a presence or an absence of a fuel vapor canister of an evaporative emissions control (EVAP) system based on a change in fuel tank pressure with an increase in fuel level. In this way, by detecting absence of fuel vapor canister even when a leak is not detectable by other diagnostic methods, robustness of EVAP system diagnostics may be improved.
As one example, during a refueling event, fuel vapor generated in the fuel tank is routed to the fuel vapor canister by opening a fuel tank isolation valve. During loading of the canister, a fuel fill level and a change in fuel tank pressure may be monitored. A fuel fill rate may be estimated as a function of a time to refill the fuel tank to capacity. A change in fuel tank pressure relative to the fill rate may be monitored for a threshold duration and compared to one or more pre-calibrated thresholds. If the change in fuel tank pressure relative to the fill rate is lower than a first threshold, it may be inferred that the fuel vapor canister is missing and has been replaced with a straight tube. If the change in fuel tank pressure relative to the fill rate is higher than a second threshold and refueling is shut-off, it may be inferred that the canister may be plugged and/or degraded. If the change in fuel tank pressure relative to the fill rate follows a pre-calibrated curve, it may be inferred that the canister is present and fully functional. For engines including multiple canisters, the change in fuel tank pressure relative to the fill rate may be compared to different pre-calibrated curves to infer if one or more canisters are missing and replaced with straight tubes.
In this way, by monitoring change in fuel tank pressure during refueling, it is possible to identify if one or more fuel vapor canisters are missing even if EVAP system diagnostics do not detect any leaks in the system. The technical effect of identifying missing canisters is that it is possible to detect tampering in vehicle engines, and adjust vehicle operation for suitable mitigation. By undertaking suitable mitigating actions, degradation of emissions quality may be reduced. Overall, by using existing engine components for complete EVAP system diagnostics, robustness of the EVAP system may be improved and emissions compliance may be maintained.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.

Methods and systems for evaporative emission control system diagnostics


A performance monitor configured to count memory transactions and to issue an interrupt to the computer system if the monitor detects a specified number of transactions associated with a particular segment of the physical address space of the system. The monitor includes an interface suitable for coupling to an interconnect network of a computer system and configured to extract physical address information from a transaction traversing the interconnect network, a translation module adapted for associating the extracted physical address with one of a plurality of memory blocks and, in response thereto, incrementing a memory block counter corresponding to the memory block, and an interrupt unit configured to assert an interrupt if the block counter exceeds a predetermined value. The interface unit is configurable to selectively monitor either incoming or outgoing transactions and the translation unit preferably includes a plurality of region filters each comprising one or more of the memory blocks. In the preferred embodiment, the plurality of block counters are implemented with a random access memory device. In one embodiment useful for simulating operation of the system and for checking the design of the performance monitor, the monitor further includes a transaction generator coupled to the interconnect network and configured to issue specified remote memory transactions at specified intervals if a monitor enable bit of the performance monitor is disabled. In one embodiment, the transaction generator is configurable to issue either outgoing transactions or incoming transactions.

1. Field of the Present Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of computer systems and more particularly to the monitoring of memory performance in a non-uniform memory architecture system.
2. History of Related Art
The use of multiple processors to improve the performance of a computer system is well known. In a typical arrangement, a plurality of processors are coupled to a system memory via a common bus referred to herein as the system or local bus. The use of a single bus ultimately limits the ability to improve performance by adding additional processors because, after a certain point, the limiting factor in the performance of a multiprocessor system is the bandwidth of the system bus. Generally speaking, the system bus bandwidth is typically saturated after a relatively small number of processors have been attached to the bus. Incorporating additional processors beyond this number generally results in little if any performance improvement.
Distributed memory systems have been proposed and implemented to combat the bandwidth limitations of single bus systems. In a distributed memory system, two or more single bus systems referred to as nodes are connected to form a larger system. Each node typically includes its own local memory. One example of a distributed memory system is referred to as a non-uniform memory architecture (NUMA) system. A NUMA system is comprised of multiple nodes, each of which may include its own processors, local memory, and corresponding system bus. The memory of each node is accessible to each other node via a high speed interconnect network that links the various nodes. The use of multiple system busses (one for each node) enables NUMA systems to employ additional processors without incurring the system bus bandwidth limitation experienced by single bus systems. Thus, NUMA systems are more suitably adapted for scaling than conventional systems.
In a NUMA system, the time required to access system memory is a function of the memory address because accessing memory local to a node is faster than accessing memory residing on a remote node. In contrast, access time is essentially independent of the memory address in conventional SMP designs. Software optimized for use on conventional machines may perform inefficiently on a NUMA system if the software generates a large percentage of remote memory accesses when executed on the NUMA system. The potential for performance improvement offered by scaleable NUMA systems may be partially offset or entirely negated if, for example, the paging scheme employed by the NUMA system allocates a code segment of the software to the physical memory of one node and a data segment that is frequently accessed by the processors of another node. Due to variations in memory architecture implementation, paging mechanisms, caching policies, program behavior, etc., tuning or optimizing of any given NUMA system is most efficiently achieved with empirically gathered memory transaction data. Accordingly, mechanisms designed to monitor memory transactions in NUMA systems are of considerable interest to the designers and manufacturers of such systems.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a performance monitor configured to count and categorize memory transactions in a computer system. In one embodiment, the monitor is connected directly to the computer system""s interconnect network. In an alternative embodiment, the monitor may be connected to the system bus of a node on the computer system. The monitor may be suitably implemented with commercially available programmable gate arrays and packaged as a circuit board that includes connector sockets suitable for permitting the monitor to tap into the interconnect network. In an embodiment in which the monitor is coupled to the interconnect network, the monitor may include a I/O interface for communicating with the computer system via a standard I/O bus such as a PCI bus. In an embodiment in which the monitor resides on a system bus, direct communication with the computer may be achieved via the system bus thereby eliminating the need for an I/O bus interface.
Broadly speaking, a first application of the invention emphasizing the ability to separately monitor concurrently executing programs contemplates a computer system comprised of a local node including at least one processor coupled to its local memory via a local bus of the local node. A remote node of the system includes at least one processor coupled to a memory local to the remote node via a local bus of the remote node. An interconnect network couples the remote node to the local node such that the processor of the local node can access memory local to the remote node and the processor of the remote node can access memory local to the local node. The system further includes a performance monitor including an interface coupled to the interconnect network and configured to extract, at a minimum, physical address information from a transaction traversing the interconnect network, a filter module adapted for associating the physical address with one of multiple memory blocks, and an address mapping module configured to associate the appropriate memory block with one or more access counters. The performance monitor is preferably configured such that each access counter is associated with a memory region owned by a program thereby providing means for counting memory transactions associated with the program.
The first application of the invention further contemplates a performance monitor that includes an interface, a filter module, and an address mapping module. The interface is suitable for coupling to an interconnect network of a computer system or to a system bus of a node within the computer system depending upon the location of the monitor. The interconnect network links a local node of the system with at least one remote node. The interface is configured to extract, at a minimum, physical address information from a transaction traversing the network or bus to which the monitor is coupled. In addition to physical address information, other pertinent information such as transaction type information and node identification information may be contained in and extracted from the transaction. The filter module associates the physical address with one of several memory blocks, where each memory block corresponds to a contiguous portion of the system""s physical address space. The address mapping module associates the identified memory block with one or more access counters and increments each of the associated access counters where each access counter corresponds to one of multiple concurrently executing programs. The association between the selected memory block and the access counters is facilitated by a pointer field corresponding to each memory block.
In one embodiment of the performance monitor, the interface unit may be configured, such as by the appropriate setting of a direction selection bit in a performance monitor status register, to selectively monitor either incoming or outgoing transactions. In another suitable arrangement, the monitor is configured to monitor both incoming and outgoing transactions simultaneously. In one embodiment, the filter module includes a stage comprised of multiple region filters that are adapted to receive pertinent transaction information including the transaction""s physical address information. Typically, each of the region filters is associated with a contiguous region of the system""s physical address space. In response to receiving the pertinent information, each of the region filters output a signal that indicates whether the transaction fulfills a set of criteria corresponding to the filter. The pertinent information may include, for example, transaction type information and node identification information in addition to the transaction""s physical address information. Correspondingly, the criteria for each filter may include transaction type criteria and node identification criteria as well as physical address criteria. In one embodiment, each region filter includes a match register and a mask register that cooperatively define the criteria corresponding to the filter. The programming of the region filter registers is preferably achieved via a programming interface that couples the registers of the performance monitor to a communication bus. In embodiments in which the monitor resides on the system""s interconnect network, a standard I/O bus such as a PCI bus may be employed as the communication bus while, in embodiments in which the monitor resides on the system bus, the system bus itself may suitably provide the means for communication with the monitor.
In the preferred embodiment, each memory region is further divided into one or more of the memory blocks. In this embodiment, region descriptors including a block number field indicating the number of the memory blocks in the region and a block size field indicating the size of each memory block are utilized. Each memory block is associated with a corresponding block counter adapted to increment if the transaction attributes (i.e., address, type, node id) match the corresponding region filter criteria and the transaction""s address lies within the memory block corresponding to the block counter. In the preferred embodiment, each memory block is associated with a pointer field. The contents of the pointer field identify one or more access counters that are associated with the memory block. When a memory block counter is incremented, the address mapping module utilizes the pointer field to increment the access counter(s) associated with the memory block. The pointer fields and access counters provide a mechanism for accumulating transaction information from discontiguous physical memory regions into a single counter thereby providing means for counting transactions associated with a particular virtual memory space. In an embodiment suitable for signaling the system upon the occurrence of certain specified conditions, the performance monitor may suitably include an interrupt unit configured, in conjunction with an interrupt mask of the region descriptor, to issue a hardware interrupt if any of the memory block counters in the region reaches a threshold value.
The first application of the present invention still further contemplates a method of monitoring performance of a computer system. One or more programs are executed on a computer system that includes two or more nodes (including at least a local node and a remote node) coupled together via an interconnect network. Physical address information is then extracted from transactions traversing the interconnect network and associated with one of the memory blocks based upon predefined memory block boundaries. The identified memory block is then associated with at least one of a plurality of access counters. The appropriate access counters are then incremented. Preferably, the step of defining the memory blocks includes defining boundaries for a plurality of physical address regions and further defining the number and size of multiple memory blocks within each of the regions. In one embodiment, the method includes a step in which incoming or outgoing transactions are selected for monitoring, preferably by setting an appropriate bit in a status register of the performance monitor. The associating of the selected memory block with the access counters preferably includes interpreting a pointer field corresponding to the memory block, where the pointer field indicates which of the access counters are associated with the memory block. In one embodiment, the method further includes issuing an interrupt if any of the access counters exceeds a specified threshold value.
A second application of the present invention contemplates a performance monitor configured to count memory transactions and to issue an interrupt to the computer system if the monitor detects a specified number of transactions associated with a particular segment of the physical address space of the system. This embodiment of the invention includes an interface suitable for coupling to an interconnect network of a computer system and configured to extract, at a minimum, physical address information from a transaction traversing the interconnect network. The monitor further includes a filter module adapted for associating the extracted physical address with one of a plurality of memory blocks and, in response thereto, incrementing a memory block counter corresponding to the memory block. An interrupt unit of the monitor is configured to assert an interrupt if the block counter exceeds a predetermined value. In the same manner as the application of the invention discussed above, one embodiment of the interface unit is configurable to selectively monitor either incoming or outgoing transactions and the translation unit preferably includes a plurality of region filters each comprising one or more of the memory blocks. In the preferred embodiment, the plurality of block counters are implemented with an array of random access memory device such as an array of static RAMs. Each of the block counters is associated with a programmable interrupt disable bit operable to prevent the interrupt unit from asserting an interrupt corresponding to the associated block counter.
In one embodiment useful for simulating operation of the system and for checking the design of the performance monitor, the monitor further includes a transaction generator coupled to the interconnect network and designed to issue specified remote memory transactions at specified intervals if the transaction generator is enabled. In one embodiment, the enabling of the transaction generator and the performance monitor are controlled by a common bit such that the transaction generator is enabled whenever the performance monitor is disabled. In one embodiment, the transaction generator is configurable to issue either incoming or outgoing transactions.
The second application of the present invention still further contemplates a computer system that includes a local node, at least one remote node, an interconnect network coupling the remote node to the local node, and a performance monitor. The performance monitor includes an interface unit configured to extract, at a minimum, physical address information from transactions on the interconnect network and a filter module that is designed to associate the transaction""s physical address with one of a plurality of memory blocks and increment a block counter corresponding to the memory block. The monitor further includes an interrupt unit configured to assert an interrupt if the block counter exceeds a predetermined value. The filter module preferably includes a plurality of region filters that are adapted to receive a transaction""s physical address information. Each of the region filters is associated with a memory region and each memory region is comprised of one or more of the memory blocks. The size and number of memory blocks within a given region is programmably alterable in the preferred embodiment. In one embodiment, the computer system is configured to respond to the interrupt by subdividing the memory blocks of the region associated with the interrupt into smaller memory blocks prior to obtaining additional performance monitor data thereby providing means for gathering increasingly detailed information about increasingly smaller portions of the physical address space. In another embodiment emphasizing dynamic performance improvement, the computer system operating software is configured to respond to the interrupt by migrating the contents of the memory block responsible for triggering the interrupt to physical address space located on a different node in an effort to find a physical home for the memory block contents that produces a minimum number of remote access. The system may further include a transaction generator coupled to the interconnect network and operable to issue specified interconnect transactions at specified intervals if the performance monitor is enabled.
The second application of the present invention still further contemplates a method of monitoring performance of a computer system in which, initially, physical address boundaries are defined for a plurality of memory blocks. Physical address information is then extracted from transactions traversing an interconnect network of the computer system. The physical address is then associated with one of the memory blocks and a memory block counter corresponding to memory block is then incremented. An interrupt is then asserted if the block counter exceeds a specified value. In a presently preferred embodiment, the step of defining the memory blocks includes defining one or more memory regions by programming one or more base address fields of corresponding region descriptors and dividing the memory region into the memory blocks by programming block sizes and block counts for each of the region descriptors. In one embodiment, the contents of the memory block responsible for the interrupt are migrated to a different node in response to the interrupt. In another embodiment, the memory block responsible for the interrupt is subdivided into smaller memory blocks in response to the interrupt and prior to performing additional monitoring.

Efficient identification of candidate pages and dynamic response in a NUMA computer

International Business Machines Corporation


Provided is a thermal conduction sheet, including graphite particles (A) of at least one kind selected from the group consisting of flake-shaped particles, ellipsoidal particles, and rod-shaped particles, in which: when the graphite particles (A) are flake-shaped particles, a planar direction of the graphite particles (A) is oriented in a thickness direction of the thermal conduction sheet, when the graphite particles (A) are ellipsoidal particles, a major axis direction of the graphite particles (A) is oriented in the thickness direction of the thermal conduction sheet, when the graphite particles (A) are rod-like particles, a longitudinal direction of the graphite particles (A) is oriented in the thickness direction of the thermal conduction sheet, the thermal conduction sheet has an elastic modulus of 1.4 MPa or less under a compression stress of 0.1 MPa at 150° C., and the thermal conduction sheet has a tack strength of 5.0 N·mm or higher at 25° C.

In recent years, in conjunction with the increasing wiring density of multilayer wiring boards, increasing wiring density in semiconductor packages, increasing mounting density of electronic components, and increasing heat generation per unit area due to the increased integration of semiconductor devices and the like, improved heat dissipation has been desired for semiconductor devices.
Commonly used semiconductor packages such as central processing units (CPUs) have a configuration in which a thermally conductive material, such as a thermal conduction sheet or grease, is disposed between a heat generating element such as a semiconductor chip and a heat dissipating element made of aluminum, copper or the like, and tightly adhered thereto, to allow heat dissipation.
To improve the heat dissipation property, thermal conduction sheets are required to have high thermal conductivity. For the purpose of improving the thermal conductivity of a thermal conduction sheet, a variety of thermally conductive composite material compositions and molded articles thereof, in which graphite powder having a high thermal conductivity is blended in a matrix material, have been proposed.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a rubber composition containing artificial graphite having a particle size of from 1 μm to 20 μm. Patent Document 2 discloses a silicone rubber composition containing, as a filler, a spherical graphite having a crystalline interplanar spacing of 0.33 nm to 0.34 nm.
Further, Patent Document 3 discloses a heat dissipation sheet in which anisotropic graphite powder is oriented in a specific direction in a binder component thereby improving the heat dissipation property. Moreover, Patent Document 4 discloses a thermal conduction sheet in which graphite particles are oriented in the thickness direction of the thermal conduction sheet to improve the thermal conductivity.

Thermal conduction sheet and heat dissipating device including thermal conduction sheet


An automobile airbag device having a lid in an instrument panel body, where the instrument panel body faces an airbag pop-out area, the lid for airbag expansion is formed into the instrument panel body by a hinge section and a splitting section of thinned thicknesses. There is an opening formed by breaking of the splitting section and swinging of the lid about the hinge section where an airbag which expands from airbag device body can push through around the opening. There is a reinforcement bracket which is proximate to the inner side of the lid.

The present invention relates to an automobile airbag device. In particular, the present invention relates to an airbag device enclosure lid for an airbag body placed at a specified location behind an instrument panel body. The instrument panel body includes an airbag pop-out area with a lid for airbag expansion.
Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown an example of the prior art which is the type described in Japanese laid open patent number 63-101255. As can be seen by the figure, there is an instrument panel 1 which includes a base 11 of synthetic resin having an airbag pop-out opening 2. A middle layer 12 is formed from a foam body. Middle layer 12 has a coating 13 on its surface. These three layers that include base 11, middle layer 12, and coating 13, are constructed into a single body.
Airbag pop-out opening 2 has an approximate rectangular shape, having three sides of its perimeter formed in base 11 by channel areas 11 a having a thinned thickness and a remaining side 11c. Airbag pop-out opening 2 has a projection 11b, formed in base 11, which lies along each side of thinned area 11a and which projects in a direction towards middle layer 12. Airbag pop-out opening 2 also has a woven cloth 14 inside middle layer 12 and which covers thinned area 11c.
Behind instrument panel 1 opposite to airbag pop-out opening 2, there is placed an airbag device body (not shown). When the airbag is expanded by an inflator which is housed inside the airbag device body, the expansion pressure splits each of the frangible sides of thinned areas 11a. Projections 11b on thinned areas 11a ruptures through middle layer 12 and coating 13, thereby allowing expanding airbag to emerge from behind instrument panel 1. Referring to the lower part of the figure, the airbag expands, using thinned area 11c and woven cloth 14 as a hinge. Airbag pop-out opening 2 opens up, and the airbag expands into the interior of the automobile.
The number of types of materials and the number of production steps needed to make the conventional airbag device in the instrument panel are many because, in the prior art, the cross-sectional structure of instrument panel 1 is made from a combination of three layers. As a result, there is a problem with high cost.
Woven cloth 14 is placed inside middle layer 12 as a reinforcement for thinned area 11c. When foaming material is injected and molded into middle layer 12, the foam expansion ratio is likely to be uneven. Thus there is a problem due to the unevenness of adhesive strength of woven cloth 14 inside middle layer 12.
There is concern for a problem thought inherent to instrument panel bodies formed from a single layer. That is, the problem of deformation of any structures formed from thinning of the single layer. A lid that is formed behind the instrument panel body can be deformed by an impact to or by pressure on the surface of the instrument panel, thereby distorting the lid.


Items to be distributed and transported are separated into at least two categories, based on the shape of the items. Distribution and transportation functions are performed within a system comprising a plurality of Origin Facility/Destination Facility and Network Control Points, with each ODF being assigned to a single NCP. Each ODF, in turn, is assigned one or more geographic area. Items arrive at an ODF, are distributed and then transported to the assigned NCP for further distribution, and then transported to a second ODF for final distribution.

In fiscal year 2000, the United States Postal Service delivered approximately 208 billion pieces of mail. The average daily volume of mail delivered during fiscal year 2000 was 500 million pieces.
At present, the process of delivering the mail is a relatively complicated one. That process can be broken down into two components: (a) transportation and (b) distribution. The term "transportation" as used herein is intended to refer to the nodes and routes, which define the flow of mail (or other objects) between plants/processing facilities (or other sorting points). Transportation includes the inter-plant transportation network and the plant to delivery unit networks. (A delivery unit is a post office, station or branch that has mail delivery functions to the point of final delivery for a mail item.) It does not include activity within the plants themselves.
The term "distribution" as used herein refers to the combination of equipment, processes and plants that sort mail (or other objects). Distribution generally takes place between the point at which originating mail is picked up from its point of origin and the point at which it reaches its point of final delivery. The distribution of mail is assisted by the use of five and preferably nine digit ZIP codes, which refer to defined geographic areas.
It must also be noted that mail items come in varying shapes. Examples of current mail shapes include flat-size, letter-size, parcels, and outsides. Currently, plants process more or less all shapes of mail. However, because mail-processing equipment is generally shape-specific; i.e., can only process one shape of mail item, it is inefficient to locate in each plant every type of processing equipment. Nevertheless, currently, transportation of mail is organized according to mail class, rather than according to mail shape.
A need continually exists to improve and further optimize the transportation and distribution process where a large number of objects must be processed, including particularly in one example a large number of mail objects. Such improvement should rely, among other things, on the use of shape-based criteria in organizing the transportation of mail items (or the like) between plants and their distribution within plants.

Method and system for distributing and transporting large numbers of items


A sensor-chip includes a sensor-portion having at least a metal-layer deposited on a surface of a dielectric-plate. A fluorescent-label binding-substance in an amount corresponding to the amount of a detection-target-substance in a liquid-sample binds onto the sensor-portion. The amount of the detection-target-substance is detected based on the amount of light generated by excitation of a fluorescent-label in the fluorescent-label binding-substance. A fluorescent-substance the charge state of which changes in the liquid-sample according to the pH of the liquid-sample, and which contains a plurality of fluorescent-dye-molecules enclosed by a material that transmits fluorescence output from the fluorescent-dye-molecules, is used as the fluorescent-label. With the fluorescent-label binding-substance bound to the sensor-portion, the fluorescent-label is attracted to the sensor-portion by adjusting the pH of the sample-liquid to neutralize the charge state of the fluorescent-substance, thereby attracting the fluorescent-label onto the sensor-portion. In this state, the amount of the detection-target-substance is detected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a detection method, a detection apparatus, a sample cell for detection and a kit for detection to detect a substance to be detected (a detection target substance) in a sample.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in the field of bio-measurement and the like, a fluorescence detection method is widely used as a highly accurate and easy measurement method. In the fluorescence detection method, a sample that is presumed to contain a detection target substance that outputs fluorescence by being excited by irradiation with light having a specific wavelength is irradiated with excitation light having the specific wavelength. At this time, fluorescence is detected to confirm the presence of the detection target substance. Further, when the detection target substance is not a phosphor (fluorescent substance), a substance that has been labeled with a fluorescent dye and that specifically binds to the detection target substance is placed in contact with the sample. Then, fluorescence from the fluorescent dye is detected in a manner similar to the aforementioned method, thereby confirming the presence of the bond between the detection target substance and the substance that specifically binds to the detection target substance. In other words, presence of the detection target substance is confirmed, and this method is widely used.
In bio-measurement, an assay is performed, for example, by using a sandwich method, a competition method or the like. In the sandwich method, when an antigen, as a detection target substance, contained in a sample needs to be detected, a primary antibody that specifically binds to the detection target substance is immobilized on a substrate (base), and a sample is supplied onto the substrate to make the detection target substance specifically bind to the primary antibody. Further, a secondary antibody to which a fluorescent label has been attached, and that specifically binds to the detection target substance, is added to make the secondary antibody bind to the detection target substance. Accordingly, a so-called sandwich structure of (primary antibody)-(detection target substance)-(secondary antibody) is formed, and fluorescence from the fluorescent label attached to the secondary antibody is detected. In the competition method, a competitive secondary antibody that competes with the detection target substance, and that specifically binds to a primary antibody, and to which a fluorescent label has been attached, binds to the primary antibody in such a manner to compete with the detection target substance. Further, fluorescence from the competitive secondary antibody that has bound to the primary antibody is detected.
When the assay is performed as described above, an evanescent fluorescence method has been proposed. In the evanescent fluorescence method, fluorescence is excited by evanescent light to detect fluorescence only from the secondary antibody that has bound, through the detection target substance, to the primary antibody immobilized on the substrate, or fluorescence only from the competitive secondary antibody that has directly bound to the primary antibody. In the evanescent fluorescence method, fluorescence excited by evanescent waves that extend from the surface of the substrate is detected. The evanescent waves are generated by making excitation light that totally reflects on the surface of the substrate enter the substrate from the back side of the substrate.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-077338 (Patent Literature 1) proposes an evanescent fluorescence method. In the evanescent fluorescence method disclosed in Patent Literature 1, instead of immobilizing the primary antibody on the substrate, a bound product (bound substance) of (primary reaction body)-(detection target substance)-(secondary reaction body) is formed in liquid phase. Further, the bound product is localized in an area to which the evanescent waves extend, and fluorescence from the bound product is detected. Specifically, the primary reaction body that includes a primary antibody and a magnetic material and the secondary reaction body that includes a fluorescent substance and the secondary antibody are bound to the detection target substance to obtain the bound product. The magnetic material contained in the primary reaction body is attracted by a magnet, and the bound product is localized.
Meanwhile, in the evanescent fluorescent method, methods using electric-field enhancement effects by plasmon resonance are proposed to improve the sensitivity of detection in U.S. Pat. No. 6,194,223 (Patent Literature 2), M. M. L. M Vareiro et al., "Surface Plasmon Fluorescence Measurements of Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin: Role of Antibody Orientation in Obtaining Enhanced Sensitivity and Limit of Detection", Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 77, pp. 2426-2431, 2005 (Non-Patent Literature 1), and the like. In a surface plasmon enhancement fluorescence method, a metal layer is provided on the substrate, and excitation light is caused to enter the interface between the substrate and the metal layer from the back side of the substrate at an angle greater than or equal to a total reflection angle to generate surface plasmon resonance in the metal layer. Further, fluorescent signals are enhanced by the electric field enhancement action of the surface plasmons to improve the S/N (signal to noise) ratio.
Similarly, in the evanescent fluorescence method, a method using electric field enhancement effects by a waveguide mode is proposed in Spring 2007, the Japan Society of Applied Physics, Collection of Presentation Abstracts, No. 3, p. 1378 (Non-Patent Literature 2). In this optical waveguide mode enhanced fluorescence spectroscopy (OWF), a metal layer and an optical waveguide layer including a dielectric and the like are sequentially formed on the substrate. Further, excitation light is caused to enter the substrate from the back side of the substrate at an angle that is greater than or equal to the total reflection angle to induce an optical waveguide mode in the optical waveguide layer by irradiation with the excitation light. Further, fluorescent signals are enhanced by the electric field enhancement effect by the optical waveguide mode.
Further, Specification of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20050053974 (Patent Literature 3) and T. Liebermann and W. Knoll, "Surface-plasmon field-enhanced fluorescence spectroscopy", Colloids and Surfaces A, Vol. 171, pp. 115-130, 2000 (Non-Patent Literature 3) propose a method for extracting radiation light (SPCE: Surface Plasmon-Coupled Emission) from the prism side. In the method, instead of detecting fluorescence output from a fluorescent label excited in the electric field enhanced by surface plasmons, the fluorescence newly induces surface plasmons in the metal layer, and radiation light by the newly induced plasmons is extracted from the prism side.
As described above, in bio-measurement or the like, various kinds of methods have been proposed as a method for detecting the detection target substance. In the methods, plasmon resonance or an optical waveguide mode is induced by irradiation with excitation light, and a fluorescent label is excited in an electric field enhanced by the plasmon resonance or the optical waveguide mode, and the fluorescence is directly or indirectly detected.
Further, in surface plasmon resonance measurement apparatuses, methods for increasing the concentration of detection target substance in a region on the sensor portion, the region to which evanescent waves extend from the sensor portion, are proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9 (1997)-257702 (Patent Literature 4), Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-085770 (Patent Literature 5), and the like. In Patent Literature 4, Patent Literature 5 and the like, voltage is applied to a sample to attract the detection target substance to the sensor portion, and measurement is performed. In these methods, the pH (potential of hydrogen) of a buffer solution is adjusted to adjust the charge state of a detection target substance, such as protein and nucleic acid. Further, voltage is applied in a state in which the detection target substance is positively or negatively electrified, thereby attracting the detection target substance to the sensor portion.
The method for localizing the detection target substance by application of voltage can achieve a certain effect. Further, Patent Literature 4 describes that in surface plasmon resonance measurement apparatuses, when the detection target substance is attracted to a region within approximately 100 nm from the sensor portion, which the evanescent waves reach, it is possible to reduce the variation in signals.
However, since both of the size and the charge of the detection target substance are small, the attraction effect by application of voltage is weaker than Brown motion of the detection target substance. Therefore, it is difficult to efficiently attract the detection target substance to the surface of the sensor portion. Further, it is necessary to provide a means for applying voltage to the liquid sample. Therefore, there is a problem that the structure of the apparatus becomes complicated.
Further, the electric field enhancement effects by surface plasmon resonance and optical guide mode sharply attenuate as a distance from the surface of the metal layer or the optical waveguide layer increases. Therefore, there is a problem that when the distances from the surface to the fluorescent labels even slightly change, signals from the fluorescent labels become different from each other, and varied. Hence, it is necessary to attract the fluorescent labels within a range of approximately 50 nm from the surface.
For example, FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram illustrating an apparatus for detecting fluorescence by an electric field enhancement effect by surface plasmon resonance. In FIG. 20, the vicinity of a sensor portion of the apparatus is illustrated. A gold film (thin-film, coating or layer) 102 is deposited on a surface of a prism (substrate) 101. Further, primary antibody B1 is immobilized on the gold film 102. When a sandwich assay is performed, fluorescence from a fluorescent label (fluorescent dye molecule f in this case) attached to labeling secondary antibody B2 is detected. The labeling secondary antibody B2 binds to the primary antibody B1 through antigen A. Excitation light is caused to enter the interface between the prism 101 and the gold film 102 at an angle greater than or equal to the total reflection angle to excite surface plasmons on the surface of the gold film 102. Accordingly, the electric field on the surface of the gold film 102 is enhanced. The fluorescent label (fluorescent dye molecule) f is excited in the enhanced electric field, and fluorescence is output. In FIG. 20, the graph shows distance-dependent characteristic of the strength (magnitude) of the electric field, the distance being measured from the surface of the sensor portion (surface of the gold film). As the graph shows, the strength of the electric field sharply decreases as the distance from the surface increases.
At this time, the maximum distance from the surface of the sensor portion to the fluorescent label f of the labeling secondary antibody is approximately 50 nm. When the distance from the surface of the sensor portion is approximately 50 nm, the intensity of fluorescence attenuates by 30% or more. Further, the primary antibody B1 is not always immobilized upright on the surface of the sensor portion, and the primary antibody B1 may fall along the surface by the flow of liquid, a three-dimensional obstacle or the like, and be immobilized in a lying or inclined state. Consequently, the distance from the surface of the fluorescent label f to the surface of the sensor portion is varied, and the intensity of the signal is varied.

Detection method, detection apparatus, and sample cell and kit for detection


A data retrieval system provides data to a user of a client computer connected to multiple data stores and multiple other computers. A request for data is received at the client computer. The request is forwarded from the client computer to a server computer and intercepted at a reverse proxy caching connection. An attempt is made to locate the data at a data store at the reverse proxy caching connection. If the data is not found the request is forwarded to the server computer. In order to provide data to a user. A user interface is provided. Initially, data elements associated with a grouping of data elements are identified. Then, a subset of the selected data elements are selected based on weights associated with the data elements, without selecting more than a specified number of data elements that are associated with a same sub-category.

The Internet is a collection of computer networks that exchange information via Internet protocols, including, but not limited to, User Data Protocol (UDP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), or Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Via its networks, the Internet computer network enables many users in different locations to access information stored in data stores (e.g., databases) stored in different locations.
The World Wide Web (i.e., the "WWW" or the "Web") is a hypertext information and communication system used on the Internet computer network with data communications operating according to a client/server model. Typically, a Web client computer will request data stored in data stores from a Web server computer, at which Web server software resides. The Web server software interacts with an interface, which is connected to the data stores. These computer programs residing at the Web server computer will retrieve the data and transmit the data to the client computer. The data can be any type of information, including database data, static data, HTML data, or dynamically generated data.
A web site is a location on the Web. A web site may have one or more web pages. A web page is a document with a unique Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Typically, the first page of a web site is referred to as its home page. A Web browser, which is a software application, is used to locate and retrieve web pages.
With the fast growing popularity of the Internet and the World Wide Web (also known as "WWW" or the "Web"), there is also a fast growing demand for providing entertainment via the Web.
Some conventional systems provide customized media streams to users at client computers from server computers. In particular, a user at the client computer may specify preferences for media items. Then, a server computer may retrieve selected media files and concatenate them together to create a "stream". In this manner, a media stream is customized.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional system. A client computer 100 is connected to a streaming server computer 110 via the Internet 120. The client computer 100 has an embedded media player 102 that can play customized media streams. For example, the media player 102 can play video via video component 104 or play audio via audio component 106. The streaming server computer 110 is connected to a media database 112 containing media files (e.g., M1, M3, M5, and M9) and to a playlist database 114 containing playlists 116 (e.g., P1, P2, and P3). A playlist is a list of media items (e.g., songs).
When a user at the client computer 100 makes a request access a customized media stream, the request is passed to the streaming server computer 110 via Internet protocols. The streaming server computer 110 retrieves a playlist 116 from a playlist database 114 based on user specified preferences. For example, the playlist may reference media files M1, M5, M9, and M3, in that order. The streaming server computer 110, which is format dependent, retrieves these media files from the media database 112 and concatenates the media files to create a customized media stream 118 for transmission to the client computer 100. The client computer 100 then uses the media player 102 to play the customized media stream 118 (e.g., M1, M5, M9, M3).
There are many inefficiencies in this system. For example, typically, conventional systems occupy CPU resources and network resources while the customized media stream is being played. Also, conventional systems typically require different software for working with data in different formats (e.g., a RealPlayer® G2 media player, a Windows® Media Player media player, or a QuickTime® media player). (RealPlayer is a registered trademark of RealNetworks Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Windows Media is a trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. QuickTime is a registered trademark of Apple Computers Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.)
Thus, there is a need in the art for an improved technique for providing data to users via a network, such as the Internet.


A preferred process for degassing a mold piece includes inserting the mold piece into an internal volume within a canister, sealing the internal volume, drawing a vacuum in the internal volume, and introducing into the internal volume a gaseous fluid suitable for degassing the mold piece.

Soft contact lenses are typically formed using a two-piece mold composed of a front mold half and a back mold half. The front and back mold halves are positioned so that they are spaced apart in a predetermined relationship. A monomeric material in liquid form is introduced in the gap between the front and back mold halves. The monomeric material, upon curing, forms the contact lens. The front and back mold halves are configured to shape the lens in a particular manner, so that the lens possesses optical properties that produce a desired vision correction in the end user.
The curing of the monomeric material is inhibited in the presence of oxygen. Hence, soft contact lenses are typically manufactured in an environment that is substantially free of oxygen. In addition, oxygen can permeate into the plastic material from which the front and back curves are formed, if the front and back mold halves are exposed to air. The oxygen needs to be removed from the front and back mold halves prior to use. The process by which the oxygen is removed is commonly known as "degassing."
Front and back mold halves are typically manufactured by injection molding. The front and back mold halves are usually produced in batches, or lots, with each lot corresponding to a lens shape providing a particular vision correction. The lots may be stored after manufacture, until needed in the production process.
The lots of front and back curves are usually exposed to the ambient environment during storage. Hence, each lot needs to be degassed prior to use. Degassing is commonly performed by placing the front and back mold halves in a vacuum chamber, and subjecting the front and back curves to a relatively high vacuum, such as one Torr or greater, for a prolonged period such as eight to twelve hours.
Degassing using a vacuum chamber can be disadvantageous because additional lots cannot be placed in the vacuum chamber without interrupting any ongoing degassing operations. Interrupting a degassing operation before completion usually necessitates restarting the degassing operation from the beginning. Hence, multiple vacuum chambers, each with attendant start-up and operating costs, may be needed to conduct degassing operations on a substantially continuous basis.
The degassed front and back mold halves may be temporarily stored in nitrogen-filled containers until needed on the production line. These containers typically lose nitrogen through leakage and additional nitrogen may need to be supplied to each container on a continuous basis. The nitrogen supply line associated with each container is usually coupled to the container using relatively expensive fittings. Moreover, it can be difficult or impossible to determine whether an adequate nitrogen charge is being maintained in the container during storage.
Consequently, a need exists for a device and a method for degassing front and back mold halves on a substantially continuous basis, and for storing the degassed front and back mold halves in a cost-effective manner that minimizes the potential for the front and back mold halves to be exposed to oxygen.

Devices and processes for performing degassing operations


Methods and compositions for cell-specific expression of genes are provided. The invention utilizes the endothelin-1 promoter and promoter elements to direct expression of heterologous genes in endothelial cells. The promoters and elements are useful for directing cell-specific expression of therapies for vascular and cardiovascular diseases.

The endothelium is found in lymphatic vessels, blood vessels, and the lining of the heart (endocardium). The circulatory system is lined with a thin layer of endothelial cells, extending from the heart through the arteries into the capillaries and back again through the veins. Thus, the endothelium plays an important role in vascular function.
The vascular endothelium is believed to play a key role in thrombosis, thrombolysis, lymphocyte homing, soft tissue inflammation and modulation of the immune response. Endothelial cells also play a major role in capillary transport, the regulation of plasma lipids as well as the control of hemostastis.
The recent characterization of the potent peptide vasoconstrictor endothelin-1 (ET-1) has expanded the understanding of the role of the endothelium in the regulation of vascular tone. Endothelin-1 is a 21 amino acid potent vasoconstrictor and growth factor produced by vascular endothelial cells. The vasoconstrictor is derived from amino acids 53-73 of a 203-amino acid precursor, preproendothelin (Bloch et al., J. Biol. Chem. 264:18156-18161 (1989)). The potent vasopressor has a prolonged duration of action. It induces mitogenesis and increases the expression of protooncogenes in vascular smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts, and mesangial cells. Other actions attributed to ET-1 include causing the release of atrial natriuretic factor from atrial cardiocytes in culture and inhibiting the release of renin from glomeruli. The effects of ET-1 on vascular smooth muscle cells implicate it in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and hypertension. Thus, knowledge about the regulation of ET-1 gene expression is fundamental to the understanding of the role of the peptide in vascular disease processes. (See Inoue et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86:2863-2867 (1989); Yanagisawa et al., Nature 332:411-415 (1988); Komura et al., FEBS Lett. 238:249-252 (1988); and Takuwa et al., J. Biol. Chem. 264:7856-7861 (1989).
During cellular differentiation, different cell types acquire the ability to stably express characteristic sets of genes. The molecular mechanism by which this occurs is poorly understood. In particular, little is known about the mechanisms of expression of endothelial cell-specific genes.
Accordingly, the ability to control gene regulation within the endothelial cells provides the opportunity for modulating vascular and cardiovascular systems.


Two-component developer includes positively chargeable toner and a carrier. The carrier is formed of a carrier core and a coating layer that covers the carrier core. The coating layer includes one or more types of fluorine-containing resin selected from the group consisting of fluorine containing polyimide resin and fluorine containing polyamide-imide resin. The positively chargeable toner includes binder resin and a charge control agent. A content of the charge control agent is 1.0% by mass or higher and 5.0% by mass or lower relative to a mass of the toner.

The present disclosure relates to two-component developer.
In general, in electrophotography, after the surface of a photosensitive drum is electrostatically charged by corona charging or the like, exposure using a laser or the like is performed to form an electrostatic latent image. Then, the formed electrostatic latent image is developed with toner to form a toner image. Further, the formed toner image is transferred to a recording medium, thereby obtaining a high-quality image. In forming the toner image, toner particles (toner base particles) with an average particle diameter of 5 μm or larger and 10 μm or smaller are used usually. Such toner base particles can be obtained through mixing of binder resin, such as thermoplastic resin with colorant, a charge control agent, a releasing agent, etc., kneading, pulverization, and classification. Further, in order to provide fluidity and suitable electrostatic charging characteristics to the toner and to enhance the ability to clean the toner from the photosensitive drum, inorganic particulates of silica, titanium oxide, or the like are externally added to the toner base particles.
As development processes using the toner, there are known one-component development process using the toner solely as developer (one-component developer) and tow-component development process using developer obtained by mixing the toner and a carrier (two-component developer). In the two-component development process using the two-component developer, the carrier charges the toner by frictional charging and plays a role in toner conveyance. For this reason, the two-component development process has an advantage that charging characteristics and conveyability of the toner can be relatively stable in the beginning of image formation.
For the two-component developer used in the two-component development process, a carrier is used of which carrier core is covered with a coating layer formed with a coating agent, such as acrylic resin, silicone-based resin, and epoxy-based resin. However, where high coverage rate printing using two-component developer including such a carrier is performed for a long period of time, an external additive (external additive attached to toner surface or external additive separated from toner) and the carrier may abrade each other in a development device to cause the coating layer that covers the carrier core to peel off and to cause the external additive separated from the toner to adhere to the surface of the coating layer. Peeling off of the coating layer or adhesion of the external additive may lead to impairment of the power of the carrier for toner charge. Accordingly, fogging may tend to be caused in image formation using the above two-component developer.
In view of the forgoing, two-component developer has been proposed which uses a carrier covered with resin including polyamide-imide resin for the purpose of preventing the coating layer from peeling off from the carrier core. In addition, two-component developer has been proposed which includes a carrier with a coating layer to which fluororesin is added for the purpose of preventing the external additive separated from the toner from adhering to the surface of the carrier.


A joist support and joist assembly for use in a decking structure, the joist support and joist being adapted to be fitted together in an assembled position, the joist support including a support body which includes a base wall having a bottom side and a top side, two spaced apart side walls extending from the base wall away from the top side thereof so as to provide a channel having an open top and opposed spaced apart open ends, the channel when in use being configured so as to at least partially receive a joist therein such that an outer side of a bottom wall of the joist lies adjacent the top side of the base wall of the joist support.

Decks come in many shapes and sizes. Some decks are high off the ground, and some decks are low to the ground. Some decks are attached to houses and some decks are freestanding. Some decks are built for large public areas, whilst many are located in private areas of an individual's property. In light of the many applications, there are many known methods for building a deck.
Typically, decking structures or systems for use in decks or decking are constructed using a combination of posts, bearers and joists. However, in some instances, for example, when decking is being constructed above a concrete slab or in patio or balcony areas, there is little or no room for traditional posts, bearers, and/or conventional joists. In such instances, a builder or installer must work with the available space. This may result in less than desirable building practices, particularly where timber is laid directly onto concrete. One problem associated with laying timber directly onto concrete is that there is no room for moisture to escape, thus moisture may be absorbed by the timber which, in turn, causes premature decomposition of the timber.