A signal amplifier and an integrated circuit capable of obtaining a high gain and high output in a wide range. The signal amplifier includes a pre-stage circuit for inputting a signal from outside and a post-stage circuit for amplifying the signal output from the pre-stage circuit and outputting it. The input impedance of the pre-stage circuit and the output impedance of the post-stage circuit are set so as to match with an external impedance within a frequency range of one digit or above. The output impedance of the pre-stage circuit and the input impedance of the post-stage circuit are set so as to match with an impedance lower than the output impedance of the post-stage circuit.

Recently, with a need for highly sophisticated information signal processing, an integrated circuit capable of processing signals in a wider range is required. Particularly, in an optical communication system, the transfer rate is remarkably increased, and transfer rates of 2.4 gigabits per second (Gbps) and 10 Gbps are practically used. Besides, research and development have been intensively carried out for a transfer rate equal to or more than 40 Gbps. Since the signals multiplexed in such an optical communication system have a frequency component ranging from several tens of kiloherz (kHz) to several tens of gigaherz (GHz), a signal amplifier for use with a transceiver is required to have a wide-band and flat gain from several tens of kiloherz to several tens of gigaherz.
Furthermore, a circuit to drive an external modulator used in a transmitter and a circuit to directly drive a laser diode in an optical system require a maximum amplitude of six volt, and a high power output as well as aforementioned wide-band and flat gain characteristic are needed. As a wide-band signal amplifier, a traveling-wave amplifier (traveling-wave amplifier circuit) as shown in FIG. 1 has been reported (A Monolithic Gas 1-13 GHz Traveling-Wave Amplifier IEEE Trans., Vol. MTT-30, No. 7, July 1982, pp. 976-981). In FIG. 1, the numeral 51 denotes an input terminal, 52 denotes an output terminal, 57 denotes a field-effect transistor (hereinafter referred to as "FET"), 58 denotes an input terminal of the FET 57, 59 denotes an output terminal of the FET 57, 60 denotes a ground terminal of the FET 57, 61 denotes an input-side terminating resistor, 62 denotes an output-side terminating resistor, 63 and 64 denote distributed constant lines, and 65 denotes a phase adjusting line.
In the traveling-wave amplifier configured in this way, each of the distributed constant lines 63 and gate-source capacitance Cgs of each FET 57 arranged adjacent thereto constitute a pseudo distributed constant line having characteristic impedance Zg, and the pseudo distributed constant lines construct an input-side coupling circuit 66 together with the input-side terminating resistor 61. Additionally, drain-source capacitance Cds of each FET 57, each phase adjusting line 65, and each distributed constant line 64 form a pseudo distributed line, and the pseudo distributed lines form an output-side coupling circuit 67 together with the output-side terminating resistor 62.
Next, description will be given of operation of the traveling-wave amplifier of this kind. A signal received via the input terminal 51 propagates through each distributed constant line 63 in a direction to the input-side terminating resistor 61. Most signals propagating as described above are sequentially distributed to the respective FETs 57 to be amplified. On the other hand, unrequired signals not distributed to the FETs 57 are absorbed by the resistor 61. Therefore, the input-side coupling circuit 66 configured as above can in general obtain a good input reflection property in a wide band without using a matching circuit.
On the other hand, the signal received by each FET 57 is amplified according to a gate width of the FET 57 and then propagates through each phase adjusting line 65 and each distributed constant line 64 toward the output terminal 52. Moreover, since the respective propagation paths from the input terminal 51 to the output terminal 52 are selected to have an equal electric length, the signals amplified by the FETs 57 are sequentially combined with each other by the output-side coupling circuit 67 to be delivered to the output terminal 52. Thanks to the configuration of the circuit 67 described above, a good reflection property can be obtained in a wide band as on the input side.
As a general method to increase the power output from the traveling-wave amplifier of this type, there can be considered a method to increase the number of periodically disposed FETs 57 and a method to increase the gate width of each FET 57. Furthermore, the gain G of the traveling-wave amplifier of this type is approximately expressed as follows:
                    G        ≈                                                            g                m                2                                                          n                2                                                          Z                g                2                                      4                                                        (                              1                -                                                                            a                      g                                                                                l                      g                                                            n                                    2                                            )                        2                                              [                  Expression                                                              1                ]            wherein, αg is an attenuation constant per unitary length of the gate-side circuit, lg is a gate-side line length per unitary cell of the FET 57, Zg is characteristic impedance of the gate-side line, n is the number of FETs 57.
According to the expression, if the number n of FETs 57 is not increased and an expression below is satisfied, the gain G is not increased.
                    n        >                  l                                    a              g                                                  l              g                                                          [                  Expression                                                              2                ]
Therefore, even if the number of FETs 57 is increased, the gain G is not increased, and the power output from the traveling-wave amplifier does not become higher as a result.
Furthermore, when the gate width of each FET 57 is increased, the gate-source capacitor Cgs is increased and the cut-off frequency of the traveling-wave amplifier lowers, and hence a wide-band output cannot be obtained.
To solve the problem of this kind, Japanese Patent Application laid open No. HEI4-145712 has disclosed a traveling-wave amplifier as shown in FIG. 2. In this connection, the same constituent components of FIG. 2 as those of the traveling-wave amplifier shown in FIG. 1 are assigned with the same reference numerals and description thereof will be avoided.
In FIG. 2, the numeral 76 represents an input-side impedance matching circuit, 77 represents an input-side transmission line, 78 represents an output-side transmission line, and 79 represents an output-side impedance matching circuit. The matching circuit 76 is a circuit which matches external impedance (e.g., 50 ohm (Ω)) on an external input line side with a composite line impedance of the traveling-wave amplifier and which outputs therefrom an input signal from the external input line side without reflection of the input signal. The circuit 76 includes, for example, a 900 micrometer (μm) long matching line having 25 Ω. The input-side transmission line 77 is connected to the input-side impedance matching circuit 76.
The transmission line 77 includes a distributed constant line 73 (e.g., an 80 μm long line with a characteristic impedance of 35 Ω) and an input-side terminating resistor 71 (e.g., 8 Ω) and is linked with an FET 57.
The output-side transmission line 78 includes a distributed constant line 74 (e.g., an 80 μm long line with a characteristic impedance of 45 Ω) and an output-side terminating resistor 72 (e.g., 20 Ω) and is coupled with an output-side impedance matching circuit 79.
The matching circuit 79 is a circuit which matches external impedance (e.g., 50 Ω) on the external output line side with composite line impedance on the output side of the traveling-wave amplifier and which includes, for example, a 600 μm long, 25 Ω matching line.
According to an advantage of the traveling-wave amplifier shown in FIG. 2, since the composite line characteristic impedance on each of the input and output sides is set according to the gate width of the FET 57 to be lower than the external impedance, the gate width of the FET 57 which can be added for each unitary transmission length can be increased and it is hence possible to increase the power output of the traveling-wave amplifier.
FIG. 3 is a graph showing frequency characteristics of a gain (S11), input reflection (S21), and output reflection (S22) of the traveling-wave amplifier shown in FIG. 2. As can be seen from FIG. 3, the gain G (S11), the input reflection (S21), and the output reflection (S22) each have good characteristics in a band from about 20 GHz to about 30 GHz.


An optical grating has a multiplicity of parallel diffraction structures, which are arranged on a support defining a base face. Each structure has a blaze flank that is inclined substantially at the Littrow angle with respect to the base face, and a back flank. Both flanks together form a reflection layer which comprises a reflective base layer and a transparent protective layer that is connected to the base layer and covers it. The protective layer on the blaze flank and the protective layer on the back flank are made of the same material. The thicknesses of the protective layers on the blaze flank and on the back flank, however, are different.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical gratings and to optical arrangements comprising such gratings. The invention furthermore relates to a method for manufacturing such optical gratings.
2. Description of Related Art
Optical gratings are required to have an optimized performance for many optical applications. To date, optimal performance was synonymous with maximization of the reflection efficiency since, according to the classical approach, this also entails minimization of the absorption losses of the incident light in the grating. An optimized reflection efficiency makes it possible to achieve an intended output light power with a low input light power, which reduces the demands on the light source. Minimizing the absorption in the optical grating leads to an improvement in the long-term stability of the optical grating, since the thermal load on it due to the incident light power is reduced.

Optical arrangement, optical grating and method for the manufacture of such an optical grating


The present invention relates generally to dispensing system configured for dispensing food product. The device includes a fluid container in fluid communication with a conduit having a compressible portion which is associable with a pumping mechanism for pumping a fluid therethrough. The compression portion contains an upstream uni-directional valve and a downstream uni-directional valve, so that when the compression portion is resiliently compressed, fluid is forced through the downstream valve, and upon decompression, fluid is drawn through the upstream valve. The present invention also relates to a method for dispensing a food product.

Food dispensing systems have been regularly used in office, restaurant, and convenience store settings. Desirable characteristics of these systems include that the dispensing systems are easy to operate and maintain by the user and provide a hygienic and aesthetically pleasing interface for the user during operation. Some dispensers are adaptable to dispense a variety of food products.
Typical dispensing systems have been found to be lacking in one of these areas. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,826 discloses a food dispenser that requires the user to clean parts of the dispenser each time a new food container is loaded within the dispenser. Specifically, after the food container is empty, food product remains in the portioning arrangement and the food product tube. Food product must be cleaned out of these parts in order to avoid contamination with the food product in the new food container, which can be different from the previous food product. Moreover, the dispensing mechanism requires that manual force be applied to the spring-biased lid each time food product is dispensed.
Also, European Patent EP0067466 discloses a food dispenser that is limited to dispensing a food product from a single container. The reference teaches a metering device used to dispense food portions from a food container.
Thus, there is a need for a dispensing system that can be easily loaded with one or more food containers in a reliable and efficient manner that is preferably easy to keep in a hygienic condition.

Food dispenser with pump for dispensing from a plurality of sources


The present invention relates to methods and apparatuses for establishing a routing path in a multi-hop network. The methods comprises (a) transmitting a notification message associated with communication problem to neighboring nodes, (b) deriving approaching characteristics of a communication problem-causing element from the notification message, and (c) establishing a routing path based on the approaching characteristics of the communication problem-causing element. With the methods and apparatuses, it is possible to determine a path that is expected to experience a communication problem based on the approaching characteristics of a communication problem-causing element and to adaptively establish a reliable routing path.

Multi-hop routing technology in a network composed of a plurality of communication devices (nodes) is intended to ensure a transmission path from a departure point to a destination in order to transmit data. Since a communication problem-causing element, such as jamming, interrupts the communication of nodes within a predetermined range over a network, a transmission path cannot fulfill its role of transferring data normally when the nodes are included in the transmission path.
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a conventional method of establishing a routing path in a multi-hop network in the event of a communication problem.
In FIG. 1, a routing path 120 that was established before the occurrence of a communication problem is illustrated.
A communication problem area 100 formed by a jammer 110, that is, a communication problem-causing element, is illustrated, and the direction of movement 111 of the jammer 110, that is, a communication problem-causing element, is also illustrated.
As shown in FIG. 1, in a multi-hop network, when a preset routing path experiences a communication problem, it is determined that some nodes included in the routing path experience the communication problem through the exchange of control messages on a routing protocol, and thus a new routing path is established. Here, a node that is experiencing a communication problem is automatically excluded from a routing path because the node does not receive a control message from a neighboring node. That is, a new routing path is established using normal nodes after the passage of a predetermined time in accordance with the operating rules of a predetermined routing protocol, and therefore normal data exchange can be performed between a departure node and a destination node.
However, the damage is not confined to the temporary interruption of data transmission, and the situation becomes more serious because the newly established routing path will not play its role again in a network in which the communication problem-causing element has mobility or there is the mobility of nodes. The reason for this is that a link and nodes that are affected by the communication problem-causing element continuously vary in the mobile environment.
In FIG. 1, the routing path 130 that has been automatically reestablished so that the nodes that are experiencing the communication problem can be avoided is illustrated. As can be seen from FIG. 1, although the routing path 130 is currently set as a path along which communication is possible, it can be easily expected in light of the direction of movement 111 of the jammer 110 that the reestablished routing path 130 will belong to the communication problem area 100 and thus cannot play its role.
The repeated destruction of such routing paths brings about the phenomenon of the interruption of data transmission, thereby resulting in a considerable decrease in the data rate and in great damage to the operation of an application requiring real-time capability.

Method and apparatus for establishing routing path in multi-hop network

Ajou University Industry-Academic Cooperation


Various embodiments are disclosed of a failure detection system for a solid-state data storage system that can experience difficulties, such as system failure or loss of data integrity, when it runs out of spare storage locations. Spare storage locations can be used by a solid-state data storage system to replace storage locations that have become defective. In one embodiment, a count is kept of the available spare storage locations in a system, or sub-system, and when the amount of available spare locations drops to a threshold value, an action can be taken to avoid the consequences of an impending failure. In other embodiments, the available spare storage locations are monitored by keeping track of the percentage of initially available spare locations still remaining, by keeping track of the rate of new spare locations being used, or by other techniques. In various embodiments, the early failure detection system responds to detection of a possible impending failure by taking one or more of a variety of actions, including, for example, sending an alert notification, enabling additional storage capacity, copying portions of the data stored in the system to other secure storage locations, shutting the system down, and taking no action.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for managing defects in a digital data storage system. More particularly, the invention relates to systems and methods for early failure detection on memory devices such as Flash EEPROM devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer systems typically include magnetic disk drives for the mass storage of data. Although magnetic disk drives are relatively inexpensive, they are bulky and contain high-precision mechanical parts. As a consequence, magnetic disk drives are prone to reliability problems, and as such are treated with a high level of care. In addition, magnetic disk drives consume significant quantities of power. These disadvantages limit the size and portability of computer systems that use magnetic disks, as well as their overall durability.
As demand has grown for computer devices that provide large amounts of storage capacity along with durability, reliability, and easy portability, attention has turned to solid-state memory as an alternative or supplement to magnetic disk drives. Solid-state storage devices, such as those employing Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) and Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), require lower power and are more durable than magnetic disk drives, but are also more expensive and are volatile, requiring constant power to maintain their memory. As a result, DRAM and SRAM devices are typically utilized in computer systems as temporary storage in addition to magnetic disk drives.
Another type of solid-state storage device is a Flash EEPROM device (hereinafter referred to as flash memory). Flash memory exhibits the advantages of DRAM and SRAM, while also providing the benefit of being non-volatile, which is to say that a flash memory device retains the data stored in its memory even in the absence of a power source. For this reason, for many applications, it is desirable to replace conventional magnetic disk drives in computer systems with flash memory devices.
One characteristic of some forms of non-volatile solid-state memory is that storage locations that already hold data are typically erased before they re-written. Thus, a write operation to such a memory location is in fact an erase/write operation, also known as an erase/write cycle. This characteristic stands in contrast to magnetic storage media in which the act of re-writing to a location automatically writes over whatever data was originally stored in the location, with no need for an explicit erase operation.
Another characteristic of some forms of non-volatile solid-state memory is that repeated erase/write operations can cause the physical medium of the memory to deteriorate, as, for example, due to Time-Dependent-Dielectric-Breakdown (TDDB). Because of this characteristic deterioration, non-volatile solid-state storage systems can typically execute a finite number of erase/write operations in a given storage location before developing a defect in the storage location. One method for managing operation of a data storage system in the face of these defects is the practice of setting aside a quantity of alternate storage locations to replace storage locations that become defective. Such alternate storage locations are known as spare storage locations or "spares" locations. Thus, when a storage location defect is detected during a write operation, the data that was intended for storage in the now-defective location can be written instead to a "spares" location, and future operations intended for the now-defective location can be re-directed to the new spares location. With this method of defect recovery, as long as a sufficient number of spares locations have been set aside to accommodate the defects that occur, the system may continue to operate without interruption in spite of the occurrence of defects.
When a defect occurs and no free spares locations remain to serve as alternate data storage locations, the storage system can fail. Endurance is a term used to denote the cumulative number of erase/write cycles before a device fails. Reprogrammable non-volatile memories, such as flash memory, have a failure rate associated with endurance that is best represented by a classical "bathtub curve." In other words, if the failure rate is drawn as a curve that changes over the lifetime of a memory device, the curve will resemble a bathtub shape. The bathtub curve can be broken down into three segments: a short, initially high, but steeply decreasing segment, sometimes called the "infant mortality phase" during which failures caused by manufacturing defects appear early in the life of a device and quickly decrease in frequency; a long, flat, low segment that represents the normal operating life of a memory device with few failures; and a short, steeply increasing segment, sometimes called the "wear-out phase," when stress caused by cumulative erase/write cycles increasingly causes failures to occur. Thus, towards the end of a device's life span, deterioration can occur rapidly.
Often, when a storage system fails, the data contained in the storage system is partially or completely lost. In applications where a high value is placed on continued data integrity, storage systems prone to such data loss may not be acceptable, in spite of any other advantages that they may offer. For instance, a high degree of data integrity is desirable in a data storage systems that is used in a router to hold copies of the router's configuration table, which can grow to massive size for a very large router. A high degree of data integrity is also desirable in data storage systems used to hold temporary copies of the data being transferred through a router. In this instance, ensuring a high level of data integrity is complicated by the fact that a very high number of erase/write operations are executed during the operation of such an application.
A challenge faced by reliability engineers is how to monitor a device's ability to cope with defects and to predict a device's failure so that data loss due to unanticipated system failures does not occur.

System and method for early detection of failure of a solid-state data storage system


A system of calculating a payload weight, the system including: a first sensor configured to assist in determining an actuator load associated with a ram, the ram being connected to a lifting member; and a calibration module configured to retrieve a calibration factor based on movement of the ram, the calibration factor being applied to the actuator load to thereby provide an adjusted actuator load; wherein the payload weight is calculated based on the adjusted actuator load.

Reference to background art herein is not to be construed as an admission that such art constitutes common general knowledge in Australia or elsewhere.
Hydraulic operated equipment is commonly used for conveniently moving payloads. However, when payload weight is overestimated in, for example, an excavator bucket, the excavator bucket may be underloaded. This decreases productivity as a user may have to make further trips to complete a task. On the other hand, when payload weight is underestimated, this may increase the risk of failure for the excavator due to overloading. Similarly, underestimating payload weight may cause overloading of downstream equipment (i.e. trucks, conveyors etc.) when the payload is delivered thereto. This may cause failure or shutdown of the downstream equipment, which again decreases productivity.
Payload weight in an excavator may be calculated by calculating the force associated with a hydraulic ram. The force associated with the hydraulic ram may be calculated by taking pressure readings at a point in a hydraulic circuit that supplies the hydraulic ram. However, errors are introduced into this method by, for instance, hydraulic losses created in the hydraulic circuit components between the pressure measurement and the ram. Furthermore, the hydraulic losses vary with the viscosity of the hydraulic fluid and the viscosity for a particular hydraulic fluid varies with its temperature.
In addition, due to the frictional effects within the cylinder of the hydraulic ram, the pressure measured therein does not exactly correlate to the force associated with the hydraulic ram. These errors translate to errors in payload calculations.

System and method of calculating a payload weight


A method of manufacturing a wiring board, includes forming an interconnect layer on a first insulating layer, roughening a surface of the interconnect layer, not in contact with the first insulating layer, to form concavo-convex portions, forming a bond enhancing film on the concavo-convex portions, partially removing the bond enhancing film, using an acid solution, and forming a second insulating layer on the first insulating layer, to cover the interconnect layer.

In a wiring board including an insulating layer that covers an interconnect layer, it is important from the viewpoint of improving the reliability of the wiring board, to improve the bonding strength (or adhesion) between the interconnect layer and the insulating layer. For this reason, various techniques are being studied to improve the bonding strength between the interconnect layer and the insulating layer.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-109111 describes a technique that obtains a chemical bonding strength by coating a liquid that includes a silane compound on a surface of the interconnect layer on which the insulating layer is laminated, thereafter drying for 5 minutes or less at a temperature of 25° C. to 100° C., and then washing and fixing the silane compound to form a coating (or film).
However, because a physical bond is used together with the chemical bond, the surface of the interconnect layer may be roughened. In this case, even when a technique similar to the above is used, it is difficult to form a uniform coating along irregularities (or concavo-convex portions) formed at the surface of the interconnect layer. In other words, a portion of the coating may not bond to the irregular (or concavo-convex) surface of the interconnect layer, and the coating may partially become excessively thick on the irregular surface of the interconnect layer. In such cases, a sufficiently strong bond cannot be obtained between the interconnect layer and the insulating layer.


The invention relates to the manufacture of a pasta filata cheese comprising a moisture content of at least about 55% by weight, a solids-non-fat content of up to about 45% by weight, the solids-non-fat comprising at least about 70% by weight protein, the protein comprising at least about 65% by weight casein, and a mineral content comprising a total divalent cation content of about 25 to about 75 mMol of divalent cations/100 g casein, and a total monovalent cation content of about 100 to about 250 mMol monovalent cations/100 g casein, and a total cation content of about 150 to about 300 mMol total cations/100 g casein.

Mozzarella and pasta filata cheeses are widely used in many food and food service applications, such as being baked on pizzas. These applications particularly favour mozzarella shredded to produce small particles, that then are frozen to become "individually quick frozen" (IQF) cheeses.
Traditional mozzarella and pasta filata cheeses may be currently produced to high moisture contents, particularly when made with buffalo milk. However, such cheeses shred or grate very poorly. The inability to shred properly prevents the manufacture of suitable pizza cheese with high moisture contents, or moisture contents significantly exceeding 55%.
Traditionally made mozzarella and pasta filata cheeses also require an initial aging period lasting at least several weeks before developing the desired functionality in baked foods, such as pizza. Some of these functional properties include providing the desired melting properties, stretch, colour when molten and then while cooling, tenderness while chewing, blister formation, fat release, moisture release (syneresis) and loss by evaporation or (eliminating or limiting) soaking into the pizza crust. Once aging produces the desired functional characteristics, traditional mozzarella and pasta filata cheeses then rapidly lose these characteristics with additional aging. Therefore, the useful lifespan of fully functional mozzarella and pasta filata cheese for baking applications is quite short.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved or alternative pasta filata cheese.
In this specification, where reference has been made to external sources of information, including patent specifications and other documents, this is generally for the purpose of providing a context for discussing the features of the present invention. Unless stated otherwise, reference to such sources of information is not to be construed, in any jurisdiction, as an admission that such sources of information are prior art or form part of the common general knowledge in the art.


A method and apparatus for effecting multi-party teleconferencing that avoids the need for tandem vocoding of packet based information from conference call participants. In particular, the teleconferencing bridge infrastructure utilizes packet tagging of encoded packets with a tag as well as adaptive scheduling of bandwidth to transmit packet based information to the end user call participants. Decoding is accomplished at each end user based on information included within the tag such that an appropriate decoding algorithm is selected for the packet-based audio information thereby avoiding tandem vocoding.

The present invention relates to an apparatus in method for a implementing a packet based teleconferencing bridge and, more particularly, to a teleconferencing bridge that avoids vocoding for packet-based communications.
In teleconferencing applications, typically a teleconferencing bridge is used to combine all received audio sources into a single audio source prior to transmission to destination points (i.e., the end user participating in a teleconference call). In the past, most teleconferencing bridges have received audio sources from public switched telephone network (PSTN) utilizing compressed pulse code modulated (PCM) format. With the rapid deployment, however, of mobile and Internet telephony, increasingly larger number of conference call participants present their audio source to the teleconferencing bridge in the form of a speech packet rather than in a compressed PCM formnat. Conventional bridges, however, simply decode all packets received from mobile or voice over IP (VoIP) users and sum them to produce a single audio source. Moreover, if there are any PSTN landline callers connected to the teleconferencing bridge, their compressed PCM speech samples are expanded and subsequently added to the single audio source so as to produce a final single audio source, which is, in turn, subsequently encoded for transmission to a packet based destination or, alternatively, may be PCM compressed for a landline destination point. The packet based destination points (e.g., mobile or Internet users), however, experience compromised speech quality due to the decode-encode-decode process, also known as tandem vocoding. Additionally, this tandem vocoding increases the round trip delay for the transmission of speech packets.
Attempts in the prior art to mitigate this compromised speech quality due to tandem vocoding have included utilizing a state machine that gives priority to active speech packets based on the speech rate of the packet from a multitude of received speech packets. An underlying assumption of this methodology is that one conferencing participant will be active in the span of several speech frames. If all or a number of the parties are talking simultaneously, however, the methodology will introduce packet loss. Additionally, voice quality in terms of maintaining the continuity of respective background noises when switching from one priority party to another may be annoying and lead to listener fatigue.
Another technique known in the prior art attempts to alleviate the associated problems of the above-described prior art methodology. This technique consists of allowing multiple decoders to run at the destination point and tying each decoder into a separate mobile supplemental channel (i.e., one decoder per supplemental channel). If a new participant wants to join a conference call, however, the infrastructure must free up an additional supplemental channel to add to the existing pool of supplemental channels, thereby utilizing greater system resources. Furthermore, it is required that all vocoders be of the same type. Hence, this technique in the prior art is very taxing on resources of the infrastructure and has less flexibility as all decoders must be of the same type.

Apparatus and method for implementing a packet based teleconference bridge


An information recording medium 101 includes: a transparent substrate 109 having a first surface A and a second surface B opposite to the first surface A; reflectance reduction means 110 provided on the first surface A of the transparent substrate 109; and an information recording layer 120 provided on the second surface B of the transparent substrate 109.

Examples of conventionally known optical discs to/from which information is recorded/reproduced include CDs, DVDs, etc. When recording/reproducing information to/from a conventional optical disc, an incident angle of light incident on a surface of the optical disc does not have a great value.
FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary configuration including a conventional optical disc 508 and an optical head 513 for recording/reproducing information to/from the optical disc 508. The optical head 513 includes a radiation source 501, a beam splitter 502, a collimating lens 503, an objective lens 506, a hologram 511, and a photodetector 512.
When reproducing information recorded on the optical disc 508, a light beam emitted by the radiation source 501 is transmitted through the beam splitter 502 and rendered into a parallel beam by the collimating lens 503. The parallel beam enters the objective lens 506 and is converged on an information recording layer 711 of the optical disc 508.
Generally, a semiconductor laser is used as the radiation source 501. An emission wavelength of the semiconductor laser is in the range of about 780 nm to about 810 nm when the optical disc 508 is a CD and in the range of about 630 nm to about 670 nm when the optical disc 508 is a DVD.
The light beam is reflected by the information recording layer 711 and transmitted, again, through the objective lens 506 and the collimating lens 503. Then, the light beam is reflected by the beam splitter 502 to enter the photodetector 512. In the photodetector 512, an information signal representing information recorded on the optical disc 508 and a servo signal for tracking are retrieved from the light beam.
FIG. 8 illustrates a light beam 701 incident on the optical disc 508. The light beam 701 includes light 708 vertically incident (i.e., an incident angle is 0°) on a surface of the optical disc 508 and lights 707 and 709 incident on the optical disc 508 at an incident angle α. The light beam 701 is converged on the information recording layer 711 to form a light spot 712.
In recent years, for the purpose of recording multimedia data including large-sized dynamic image data or the like, there has been a demand to increase the density of information to be recorded to the optical disc 508. One method for increasing the density of information to be recorded to the optical disc 508 is to reduce the size of the light spot 712 to be formed on the information recording layer 711.
The diameter φ of the light spot 712 is represented by the following expression (1):φ=k·λ/(NA)  (1),where is λ wavelength of the light beam 701 (i.e., wavelengths of lights 707, 708, and 709), k is a constant, and NA is a numerical aperture of the objective lens 506 (FIG. 7). Constant k is determined according to light distribution at an entrance pupil. Constant k is small when the light distribution at the entrance pupil is uniform, and constant k is large when the light distribution at the entrance pupil is not uniform (e.g., light around the periphery of the entrance pupil is weaker than that in a central portion of the entrance pupil).
As can be appreciated from expression (1), in order to reduce the size of the light spot 712, it is necessary to: (1) increase the numerical aperture NA of the objective lens; (2) uniformly distribute light over the entrance pupil to reduce constant k; or (3) reduce wavelength λ of the light beam.
The wavelength λ of the light beam 701 is determined based on an emission wavelength of the radiation source (e.g., a semiconductor laser) 501 (shown in FIG. 7). In recent years, a semiconductor laser having a short emission wavelength, such as a blue semiconductor laser, is used to reduce the size of a light spot based on the above-mentioned method (3). However, in the case of a conventional optical disc, when the numerical aperture NA of the objective lens is increased, the maximum possible incident angle of light incident on a surface of the optical disc becomes large, and thus a reflectance for the light becomes large, so that light distribution at the entrance pupil cannot be uniform.
FIG. 9 shows a relationship between an incident angle of light incident on the conventional optical disc 508 (FIG. 8) and a reflectance for the light reflected from a surface of the optical disc. In FIG. 9, dependence of a reflectance on an incident angle is shown with respect to each of S-polarized light (indicated by S in the figure) and P-polarized light (indicated by P in the figure). Note that the P-polarized light refers to polarized light having an electric vector parallel to a cross section of incidence (i.e., a plane including a normal line of a plane on which light is incident and the incident light), and the S-polarized light refers to polarized light having an electric vector perpendicular to the cross section of incidence.
From FIG. 9, even when the S- and P-polarized lights have the same incident angle, respective reflectances for the S- and P-polarized lights are different from each other. Light incident on the objective lens 506 (FIG. 7) is generally circularly polarized light, and thus an average reflectance for the light beam 701 shown in FIG. 8 from the surface of the optical disc 508 corresponds to an intermediate value (shown as (S+P)/2 in the figure) between the reflectances for the S- and P-polarized lights. Hereinafter, a reflectance for light refers to the intermediate value ((S+P)/2) between the reflectances for the S- and P-polarized lights unless otherwise indicated.
FIG. 9 shows that reflectances for the P- and S-polarized lights are approximately 0% and 20%, respectively, when the incident angle is in the vicinity of 58°. Note that the maximum possible incident angle and the numerical aperture NA of the objective lens 506 are related to each other such that the maximum possible incident angle is increased along with an increase of the numerical aperture NA of the objective lens 506. The maximum possible incident angle α=58.2° corresponds to the numerical aperture NA=0.85 of the objective lens 506.
It is appreciated that in the case of the conventional optical disc 508, when the numerical aperture NA of the objective lens 506 (FIG. 7) is increased (e.g., when the numerical aperture NA is increased to such an extent that the incident angle is greater than 45°), the average reflectance indicated as (S+P)/2 in the figure is abruptly increased. A large reflectance means that light transmitted through the optical disc 508 and reaching the light spot 712 is weak. Accordingly, in the case of the conventional optical disc 508, when the numerical aperture NA of the objective lens 506 (FIG. 7) is increased, light around the periphery of the entrance pupil (e.g., light having entered the optical disc 508 at the maximum possible incident angle α and reached the light spot 712) becomes weak. Weakening of light around the periphery of the entrance pupil is equivalent to a relative increase of a value of constant k in the above expression (1). Accordingly, an effect of reducing the size of the light spot 712 cannot be achieved, regardless of the increased numerical aperture NA.
As described above, with a conventional optical disc, the light spot cannot be sufficiently small, and thus it is not possible to increase a recording density of information.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problem and an objective thereof is to provide an information recording medium capable of increasing the recording density of information. Another objective of the present invention is to provide an information recording/reproducing apparatus using the same information recording medium.

Information recording medium and information recording/reproducing apparatus to increase recording density

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A vehicular powertrain includes a throttle controlled engine and a power take-off system for driving external loads. A power take-off control executed in a first processor seeks to have engine control authority in accordance with operator invoked switch states including an enable switch and set switches. Power take-off switch data is provided to a second processor to determine the power take-off system status and provide an integrity diagnosis of the power take-off system.

Vehicular power take-off (PTO) systems are known which provide for a mechanical output from an internal combustion engine or portion of the vehicle drivetrain to drive accessory loads such as electrical generators or mechanical or hydraulic apparatus including hydraulic pumps for providing a source of pressurized working fluid to hydraulically powered apparatus. PTO is operator invoked generally in accordance with one or more selected engine speed settings. PTO engine speed settings may also be incremented or decremented or changed at predetermined rates to a new set speed. Speed control of the engine ultimately depends upon the engine torque required to provide the needed PTO torque requirements at the selected set speed. Torque is generally a function of intake air ingested by the internal combustion engine and intake air is controlled by throttling.
PTO is typically enabled and speed settings selected at an operator interface, such as a control console located within a passenger compartment or remote therefrom, such as in a basket of a personnel extension boom, having conventional switch, button or lever inputs to enable the PTO system and indicate the operator intentions. Redundant sets of control switches are not uncommon. The various operator interface inputs are conveyed to an engine controller for effecting set speeds through throttle controls responsive to such inputs. Engine controls have conventionally acted directly upon the inputs to effect throttle changes in accordance with the inputs.


A plasma display panel includes a plurality of row electrodes defining rows of a screen. The row electrodes are arranged at intervals so that adjacent row electrodes are capable of serving as an electrode pair for generating a surface discharge. Each of the row electrodes includes a belt-shaped base extending along the full length of the screen in a direction of the rows and protrusions extending from the base toward an adjacent row electrode in every column.

This application is related to Japanese application No. HEI 10(1998)-287424 filed on Oct. 9, 1998, whose priority is claimed under 35 USC xc2xa7119, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display panel (PDP) of a surface-discharge type and a display device using the same.
PDPs have become widely used for television monitors, video monitors for computers and the like since color display became practical with PDPs. For further spread of the PDPs, structures suitable for high definition are being developed.
2. Description of Related Art
Three-electrode AC surface-discharge PDPs are commercialized as color display devices. Here, the surface-discharge structure means a structure in which a first main electrode and a second main electrode are arranged in parallel on an inner surface of one of paired substrates (referred to as a first substrate). The first and second main electrodes serve as a positive electrode and a negative electrode alternately in AC drive for sustaining a light-emitting state by use of wall charge. With this structure, fluorescent layers for color display can be disposed on a second substrate opposed to the first substrate having the main electrodes disposed thereon, thereby to be kept at a distance from the main electrodes. Thereby, the deterioration of the fluorescent layers due to ion impact at electric discharges can be reduced for longer life of PDPs. Since the main electrodes extend in the same direction as row electrodes defining rows of a screen, the surface-discharge PDPs need third electrodes (column electrodes) for selecting cells on the rows and barrier ribs for partitioning a discharge space for every column. The main electrodes are each in the shape of a linear belt extending along the full width of the screen. As regards arrangement of the barrier ribs, a stripe pattern in which the barrier ribs are arranged in the shape of linear belts in plan view is superior from the view point of productivity to a mesh pattern in which the barrier ribs separates the cells individually.
In a typical configuration of the three-electrode structure, a pair of main electrodes is arranged on every row of the screen. The distance between the two main electrodes of each row (referred to as a surface-discharge gap) is set about several tens of microns so that discharges are generated by application of a voltage of about 150 to 200 volts. On the other hand, the distance between the main electrodes on adjacent rows (referred to as a reverse slit) is set sufficiently larger than (about several times as large as) the surface-discharge gap in order to prevent unnecessary discharges across the rows and reduce electrostatic capacity. In other words, the interval between the main electrodes on a row is different from that between the main electrodes on adjacent rows. With this typical configuration, since the reverse gap does not contribute to light emission, the use of the screen is limited and is disadvantageous in brightness. Also, it is different to realize higher definition through reduction of a pitch between rows (row pitch).
There is conventionally proposed a technique wherein an arrangement of electrodes is adopted wherein N+1 main electrodes (N is the number of rows) are equidistantly disposed and two adjacent rows serve as an electrode pair for generating a surface discharge (illustrated in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI 2(1990)-220330) and a frame is divided into an odd-numbered field and an even-numbered field which are time-sequentially displayed (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI 9(1997)-160525). In this arrangement of electrodes, each main electrode except the ones on both ends makes electrode pairs with the main electrodes on both sides thereof in the direction of arrangement. That is, the main electrode is used for displaying both the odd-numbered fields and the even-numbered fields. The main electrodes on the ends each form an electrode pair with the main electrode on one side in the direction of arrangement. Only odd-numbered rows are used for displaying the odd-numbered field and only even-number rows are used for displaying the even-numbered field. For example, for sustaining the light-emitting state in the odd-number field, voltages of the same phase are applied to the main electrodes defining rows which are not used for display in this field (in this case, even-numbered rows). Thereby interference of discharges between the odd-numbered rows and the even-numbered rows can be reduced without need to provide barrier ribs between the rows.
With the above-described setting of the phrase of drive voltages, although unnecessary surface discharges can be prevented on the rows not used for display, discharges on the rows used for display expand toward adjacent rows, i.e., the rows not used for display. Accordingly, resolution in the direction of the columns (vertical resolution) is impaired.
An object of the present invention is to prevent the expansion of discharges in the column direction to improve the resolution.
The present invention provides a plasma display panel comprising a plurality of row electrodes defining rows of a screen, the row electrodes being arranged at intervals so that adjacent row electrodes are capable of serving as an electrode pair for generating a surface discharge, wherein each of the row electrodes includes a belt-shaped base extending along the full length of the screen in a direction of the rows and protrusions extending from the base toward an adjacent row electrode in every column.
In the present invention, the plan-view shape of the main electrodes disposed equidistantly is the shape of linear belts of constant width having partial cut-offs in such a manner that all cells have an equal electrode area. Since an electric field is not generated at a cut-off portion, the discharge produced on one side of the main electrode can be prevented from expanding to the other side thereof. Because the area of the electrode decreases by the area of the cutoff, discharge current decreases, so that a drive circuit is less burdened. Decline in brightness with the decrease of the discharge current can be compensated by raising the frequency of drive voltage for sustaining light emission.

Plasma display panel with various electrode projection configurations


An electrical connector includes a connector terminal, a housing formed with a slider groove, and a retainer locking the connector terminal and preventing the connector terminal from being released by sliding from the unlocking position to the locking position. The retainer includes a basal end housed in the slider groove, and a projection projecting from the basal end toward the opening of an engagement hole. The basal end is formed with an operation hole in which an operating jig that changes the position of the retainer between the locking position and the unlocking position is inserted. The projection is formed with a guide portion that guides the insertion of the operating jig in the operation hole.

Connector terminals are housed in the terminal housing rooms formed in a housing. The connector terminals are prevented from coming loose by lances which are formed in the terminals housing rooms and which lock the connector terminals. However, downsizing of electrical connector is now advancing, and there is a tendency that the holding force for the connector terminals by the lances alone may become inadequate. Hence, the housing is provided with a retainer, and the connector terminals are doubly locked, thereby enhancing the holding force for the connector terminals.
The electrical connectors that doubly lock the connector terminals are disclosed in, for example, Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No. S62-64076 (Patent Literature 1), Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No. 2001-43925 (Patent Literature 2), and Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No. 2000-208195 (Patent Literature 3).
The electrical connector disclosed in Patent Literature 1, as illustrated in FIG. 23 of the present application, have a stopper lever member 3b and a locking lever member 8b. The stopper lever member 3b is engaged with the connection terminal 2b provided in the housing 1b. The locking lever member 8b extends from the backward side of the housing 1b toward the forward side thereof, and has the front end that is a free end 9b. A user pushes a pushing end 11b to spread the locking lever members 8b outwardly. Thereby, the free end 9b of the locking lever member 8b is engaged with a locking pawl 7b of the connection terminal 2b.
The electrical connector disclosed in Patent Literature 2, as illustrated in FIGS. 24-25 of the present application, includes a mail terminal holder 103A, a female terminal holder 105A, and a female terminal locking 104A. The female terminal locking 104A is slidable in X-direction and X′ direction.
As shown in FIG. 25 of the present application, the flexible stopper piece 1012 of the female terminal 102A is locked with the engagement tier 1040c. Further, when the user slides the female terminal locking 104A, the vertical wall 1033 of the female terminal locking 104A and the vertical portion 1031a of the frame 31 are engaged with the shoulder portion 1019 of the female terminal 102A, and thus the female terminal 102A is locked.
The electrical connector disclosed in Patent Literature 3, as illustrated in FIG. 26 of the present application, has a side retainer 1130. The side retainer 1130 is slideable between the tentative locking position and the final locking position where the male terminal fitting 111 is engageable.
The slide of the side retainer 1130 is performed by inserting a jig in the operating portion 1135 formed in the side retainer 1130.
According to the electrical connector disclosed in Patent Literature 1, however, when downsizing of the electrical connector advances, the engagement hole of the housing is also downsized. Hence, the fitting work between the locking lever members 8b with the pushing member 10b being held becomes difficult. In addition, when the connection terminal 2b is pulled hard in the pull-out direction, depending on the warpage condition of the locking lever member 8b, the locking of the connection terminal 2b may be released.
In addition, according to the electrical connector disclosed in Patent Literature 2, likewise, when downsizing of the electrical connector advances, the operation lever 1036 becomes tiny, making the user difficult to slide the female terminal locking 104A while holding the operation lever 1036.
Still further, according to the electrical connector disclosed in Patent Literature 3, when the jig is inserted in the retainer, a contact portion of the male terminal fitting 111 and the internal face of the engagement recess 1112 of the outer housing 1110 may be damaged.


This invention relates to the synthesis of novel cationic, amphiphilic lipids and their application as gene transfer vehicles in vitro and in vivo. For this a series of different lipids (diglycerides, steroids) were synthesized by modification with variable cationic molecules (amino acids, biogenic amines). Compounds of this kind are, due to their capability of producing complexes with polynucleotides (DNA, RNA, Antisense oligonucleotides, ribozymes etc) suitable as vectors for gene transfer (transfection).

The invention relates to cationic lipids of the general formula I,
whereby n can be =2,3,4,6,8 and m can be =3,6,8 and where R1 represents H, CH3, CH2CH2OH; R2 represents H, CH3, CH2CH2OH, (CH2)3N+(R1)3, R3 represents a straight chain, saturated or unsaturated aliphatic group C7-C21, Z represents CH2, O, NH, Y represents CH2, O, NH and X represents Cl, Br, I, CH3COO, CF3COO;
cationic lipids of the formula II,
whereby R1 represents an aliphatic, aromatic or heteroaliphatic xcex1-carbon atom substituent of the xcex1-amino acids glycine, alanine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, proline, hydroxyproline, serine, threonine, cysteine, cystine, methionine, tryptophane, arginine, lysine, ornithine, histidine, and R2 represents a straight chain saturated or unsaturated aliphatic group C7-C21, X=Cl, Br, I, CH3COO, CF3COO, Y=CH2, O, NH and Z=CH2, O, NH;
cationic lipids of the general formula III,
whereby R1 represents H, CH3, (CH2)3NH2+Xxe2x88x92(CH2)3NH3+Xxe2x88x92; R3=H, (CH2)3NH3+Xxe2x88x92, and R2 a straight chain saturated or unsaturated aliphatic group C7-C21 and X=Cl, Br, I, CH3COO, CF3COO;
cationic lipids of the general formula IV,
whereby n can be 1-4 and R represents a straight chain, saturated or unsaturated aliphatic group C7-C21, Y represents CH2, O, NH, Z represents CH2, O, NH and X represents Cl, Br, I, CH3COO, CF3COO;
cationic lipids of the general formula V,
whereby n can be =2,3,4,6,8 and m can be =2,3,6,8 and R1 represents H, CH3, CH2CH2OH; R2 represents H, CH3, CH2CH2OH, (CH2)3N+(R1)3 and X represents Cl, Br, I, CH3COO, CF3COO;
cationic lipids of the general formula VI,
whereby R1 represents H, CH3, (CH2)3NH2+Xxe2x88x92(CH2)3NH3+Xxe2x88x92, (CH2)3NH3+Xxe2x88x92, R2 represents H, (CH2)3NH3+Xxe2x88x92 and X represents Cl, Br, I, CH3COO, CF3COO;
cationic lipids of the general formula VII,
whereby m can be =2-6 and Y represents a group N(R)3+Xxe2x88x92 in which R represents H, CH3, (CH2)2OH or a group NHxe2x80x94C(NH2+Xxe2x88x92)NH2 in which X represents Cl, Br, I, CH3COO, CF3COO;
cationic lipids of the general formula VIII,
whereby Y represents a group N(R)3+Xxe2x88x92 in which R represents H, CH3, (CH2)2OH or a group NHxe2x80x94C(NH2+Xxe2x88x92)NH2 in which X represents Cl, Br, I, CH3COO, CF3COO;
cationic lipids of the general formulas IX and X,
whereby n can be =3,4,6,8 and m can be =2,3,6,8 and R1 represents H, CH3, CH2CH2OH; R2 represents H, CH3, CH2CH2OH, (CH2)3N+(R1)3, R represents H, CH3, (CH2)2OH, Y represents a carbonyl group (xe2x95x90O (estrone)) or a hydroxy group OH (estradiol), Z represents a group N(R)3+Xxe2x88x92 in which R represents H, CH3, (CH2)2OH or a group NHxe2x80x94C(NH2+Xxe2x88x92)NH2 and whereby X represents Cl, Br, I, CH3COO, CF3COO.
Cationic lipids of the general formulas I-X are suitable reagents for liposomal gene transfer (transfection). Applications for such transfection reagents are in medicine and gene technology. The delivery of genetic material into eukaryotic cells is a fundamental method for studies of biological functions and of increasing importance for the gene therapeutic treatment of various diseases whereby tumours have to be mentioned foremost. One differentiates thereby between biological, physical and physicoxe2x80x94chemical methods for the transfer of DNA, RNA and proteins into target cells [Wagner J, Madry, H., Reszka, R (1995). In vivo gene transfer: focus on the kidney. Nephrol. Dial. Transplant 10:1801-1807 Zhu J, Zhang L, Hanisch U-K, Feigner P L, Reszka R (1996). In vivo gene therapy of experimental brain tumors by continuous administration of DNA-liposome complexes. Gene Therapy 3: 472-476, Kiehntopf, M., Brach M A and Hermann F (1995). Gentherapie in der Onkologie: Perspektiven, Chancen und Risiken. Onkologie 18 (Sonderheft): 16-26]. Physics methods like electroporation and micro injection are only suitable for ex vivo and in vitro transfer. The so-called xe2x80x9cJetxe2x80x9dxe2x80x94injection method can be used in addition also for the in vivo gene transfer (liver, skin). Physicoxe2x80x94chemical methods like the calcium phosphate precipitation technique (cpp) or DEAE-dextrane transfection are limited to in vitro and ex vivo applications.
Retroviral gene transfer using virus producing cells, as presently being tested in a series of clinical trials (phase I/II) is characterised by a relatively long lasting, however, relatively low-gene expression in the dividing cells. Problematic in the retroviral gene transfer are mainly the development of a specific immuno answer against the implanted, virus producing helper cells, the possible generation of replication competent viruses and the danger of activating cellular oncogenes or, possibly, the deactivation of suppressor genes as a result of the accidental localisation of gene insertion. The comprehensive, required cell biological and medicinal preparational work and the expensive safety measures lead to high expected costs in the clinical applications of retro viral gene transfer.
Vectors based on adenoviruses are also attractive gene transfer vehicles. They achieve high transfection rates also in non dividing tissue. However, since the DNA here is not integrated into the genome, the duration of the expression of the foreign gene is limited and the repeated application in vivo is hampered by the strong and specific immuno answer of the host organism during repeated applications.
In contrast, the liposomal gene transfer has gained in recent years in importance also for applications in vivo. The gene constructs can either be encapsulated in liposomes or are associated to their membranes. Liposomal preparations are characterised by facile handling, low immuno reaction and thus the possibility for repeated applications leading to reduced risks both for applicant and xe2x80x9creceiverxe2x80x9d (patient). The application of immuno liposomes as transport vehicles for genetic material is still at a very early stage.
Another also quite interesting approach constitutes the use of fusogenic liposomes which carry in their interior a complex formed by DNA and nuclear protein (HMG I) [Kaneda, Iwai, K., Uchida, T(1989). Increased expression of DNA cointroduced with nuclear protein in adult rat liver Science 243, 375-378, Kaneda Y, Kato, K., Nakanishi, M., Uchida, T. (1996) Introduction of plasmid DNA and nuclear protein into cells by using erythrocyte ghosts, liposomes, and Sendai virus. Methods-Enzymol. 221:317-327].
For a number of years now cationic liposomes are applied successfully for the transfer of DNA (Felgner P L, Gadek T R, Holm M et al. (1987). Lipofection: a highly efficient, lipid-mediated DNA transfection procedure. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 84:7413-7417, Felgner J H, Kumar R, Sridhar C N et al. (1994). Enhanced gene delivery and mechanism studies with a novel series of cationic lipid formulations. J Biol Chem 269:2550-2561), antisense-oligomers, proteins and ribozymes. By electrostatic interaction DNA is associated with the membrane of the liposomes and transfected into the cell by a mechanism which up to now is only incompletely understood. The transfection rate in vitro is thereby dependent on the specific cell line, however comparable with the efficacy of retroviral gene transfer. Presently the first cationic liposome/DNA/complexes [DMRIE/DOPE und DOTMA/DOPE (Lipofectin, Gibco BRL USA) sowie DC-Chol/DOPE] are in a clinical phase I/II trial (Gao, X., Huang, L (1995) Cationic liposome-mediated gene transfer. Gene Therapy 2:710-722)
Cationic, amphiphilic molecules, consisting of a lipid moiety (steroidal or diglyceride skeleton) and a positive head group (ammonium ion) are capable to form liposomes, either spontaneously or after addition of a helper lipid like dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE).
Via electrostatic interactions DNA is associated with the liposome membranes and delivered into the cell by a mechanism which up to now is only incompletely understood.
In order to achieve a highly efficient gene transfer both in vitro and in vivo the cationic lipids employed for the generation of liposomes should fulfill the following criteria:
1. They should be non-toxic, fully biodegradable and should not cause any immuno reaction
2. They should form complexes with DNA with high efficacy, should protect DNA against degradation and should show high transfection rates
3. They should transfect cells receptor specific
4. They should be accessible by synthesis easily and in larger quantities
Both the methods for synthesis of cationic lipids and the molecules themselves as described in the literature so far display a number of disadvantages. Thus the synthesis of the commercial transfection reagents such as DOTMA (Lipofektin), DOGS und DOSPA requires numerous reaction steps several of which display only very low yields. In addition they require for their purification tedious column chromatographic procedures.
In many compounds such as DOTMA, DMRIE und DOSPA the cationic head groups are connected with long chain fatty alcohols via ether linkages which cause a reduced biodegradability and thus high toxicity of these molecules.
Basis for this invention was the task to find novel cationic lipids which wouldxe2x80x94in comparison with known materialsxe2x80x94display higher gene transfer rates and at the same time lower toxicities. Further basis for this invention was the task to develop procedures by which the syntheses of these cationic lipids can be achieved in a few reaction steps and with high yields. These tasks were solved in accordance with the claims I-IX. With the novel cationic lipids having the general formulas I-XI compounds are made available which fulfill the criteria summarized above. Thus in FIGS. 2-6 it is demonstrated with several tumour cell lines that the liposomes prepared from the lipids SP-Chol, O-Chol, Put-Chol and DOSGA together with the helper lipid dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) (in the described molar ratios) are transfecting in the absence of serum with higher efficacy as compared to DC-CholDOPE vesicles.
Using the rat colon carcinoma cell line CC531 (FIG. 3) SP-Chol and O-Chol/DOPE are transfecting with significantly higher efficacy in presence of 5% serum as compared to DC-Chol/DOPE.
Particularly surprising are the high transfection rates shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 which were found with the use of DOSGA/DOPE liposomes in presence of 5% serum with human and rat glioblastoma cell lines (N 64, F 98). SP-CholDOPE liposomes have also been proven to be highly suited in serum containing media for the transfection of human breast tumour cell lines (MaTu) (FIG. 1).
Classification of the lipids:
The synthesis of the invented compounds is carried out according to the added Schemes.
Scheme I describes the procedure for the synthesis of novel cationic lipids with 1,3-diglyceride backbone to which the cationic head group is attached via a carboxylate spacer.
Scheme II describes the procedure for the syntheses of 1,3-diglyceride modified amino acids.
Scheme III describes the procedure for the syntheses of 1,3-diglyceride modified guanidinium derivatives.
Scheme IV describes the procedure for the syntheses of novel cholesterol derivatives with biogenic amines as cationic head groups.
Scheme V describes the procedure for the syntheses of amino acid modified cholesterol derivatives.
Scheme VI describes the procedure for the syntheses of glucosamine modified cholesterol derivatives.
Scheme VII describes the procedure for the syntheses of cationic modified estradiol derivatives.
Scheme VIII describes the procedure for the syntheses of cationic modified estrone derivatives.
In summary, it can be stated that it is now possible by using the described procedures to synthesize under cost effective conditions and by employing low cost chemicals transfection reagents which display unexpectedly high transfection rates and a good biodegradability.

Cationic amphiphiles for liposomal gene transfer

Max-Delbrxc3xcck-Centrum fxc3xcr Molekulare Medizin


A tension-leg platform anchoring system is used to tether the columns of a floating platform to the seabed and restrict movement of the entire platform. The tension-leg platform anchoring system includes a topside and a plurality of anchored floating supports. The topside provides a deck for supporting workers and equipment. The anchored floating supports are used to keep the topside afloat and limit movement. The anchored floating support includes a column, at least one mooring assembly, and an anchor. The column is connected to the topside and is used to keep the tension-leg platform afloat. The mooring assembly includes a column coupler, a first tendon, and an anchor coupler, which are used together to tether the column to the anchor. The column coupler is tethered to the anchor coupler through the first tendon, which is connected to the column by the column coupler.

Offshore platforms, used for oil and natural gas production and a number of other utilities are often susceptible to wind, wave, and current forces. As a result, such platforms must overcome such forces in order to maintain a relatively fixed position. It is important that the floating structure remain stable throughout its operation so that it is safe for people to work on the structure and so that the structure can function properly. Traditional catenary moorings typically consist of freely hanging lines that connect a floating structure to anchors, or piles, on the seabed, positioned at some distance from the floating structure. Steel-linked chain and wire rope have conventionally been used. These lines form a catenary shape and rely on an increase or decrease in line tension as the lines lift off or settle on the seafloor. This is needed to produce a restoring force as the surface platform is displaced by the environment. Because the restoring force provided by the traditional mooring system is generally small, the floating platform experiences all six degree of freedom motions.
Another type of mooring system uses tendons and is typically used in Tension-Leg Platforms (TLP). The mooring system is made up of a set of tension legs, or tendons, which attach to the platform and connect to a template or foundation on the seafloor. The foundation is held in place by piles either driven or sucked into the seafloor. This method dampens the vertical and rotational motions of the platform, but allows for horizontal movements. Tendons are typically steel tubes with dimensions of 2-3 foot in diameter with up to 3 inches of wall thickness, and lengths which depend on the water depth. Because of the excessive loads from wave, wind and current actions, tubular tendon components have to be manufactured by special technique with high cost materials such as titanium.
The two existing mooring systems fail to completely limit the movements of a floating platform and do so in a cost-effective manner. Accordingly, there is a present need for simple and inexpensive method for effectively anchoring a floating platform to the seabed. The present invention uses tendons which may be made from one or more wire cables or chains to tether the columns of a platform to the seabed. Each of the tendons are tensioned between the column and the anchor to limit motions of the platform in all directions.


A system and method to provide emergency call access in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems without compromising network security. The system and method enables VoIP emergency signal detection at a user device, and transmission of the VoIP emergency signal from the user node to a network server node through the use of data encapsulation and decapsulation (or “tunneling”), allowing VoIP data routing via an IP transport layer regardless of access or network security restrictions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for emergency access in Voice over Internet Protocol systems (VoIP), allowing limited communication connections when access is not otherwise authorized. Specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method for recognizing 911 emergency call requests and establishing and controlling a limited connection between the requesting device and server.
2. Description of the Related Art
A predominant goal of 911 access is the ubiquitous availability to emergency services. For both existing wired and wireless telephony services, 911 access is mandated from any device that has access to service, regardless of the user's subscription status or service restrictions.
For a wired telephone, when there is dial-tone present the network must permit a 911 call to be made. In the case of wireless telephones, if the handset can "see" the wireless system, the system must permit the handset to generate a 911 call. Both of these situations result as both networks can readily detect a request for a 911 call or a location specific Enhanced 911 (E911) call.
For Voice over Internet Protocol services (VoIP), providing 911 access without regard for service status is much more difficult. As can be appreciated by one skilled in the art, Voice over Internet Protocol is a communication technique for transmitting ordinary telephone calls over the Internet using packet-linked routes. A VoIP system captures, packetizes, and transports telephone conversations over a network, such as the Internet, which was originally designed to transport computer-generated data. However, because services such as VoIP are packet-based and use a layered protocol, VoIP communication systems require a software application on the device, such as a personal computer, to enable the device to make a call, and an IP services layer at the network to transport the call. The VoIP application can use one of several different signaling protocols, such as H.323, SIP, or Megaco, to initiate a 911 call and, as a consequence, a request for a 911 call may become embedded in a high-level protocol, which is not easily detected by the IP transport layer.
In providing 911 access, a VoIP client and IP services are assumed to be available and usable at the user device. Any additional capabilities required by the 911 service, such as user identification or caller location for enhanced 911 service (E911), are assumed to be provided by the VoIP client. Further details regarding E911 caller location services are set forth in IETF document entitled "Providing Emergency Call Services For SIP-Based Internet Telephony", Jul. 13, 2000, the entire content being incorporated herein by reference.
The initial identification of 911 calls at a user device may involve the use of a special key on the user device, indicating a 911 call when pressed, or a predetermined key sequence, indicating a 911 call. Further details regarding identifying 911 calls at a user device are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,005 entitled "Systems and Methods For Identifying Emergency Calls In Radio Communication Systems", issued Jun. 6, 2000, the entire content being incorporated herein by reference.
Once a VoIP system 911 call is successfully initiated, existing call switching mechanisms can be used to complete the call. In most cases, a 911 call is merely switched from the IP network to a PSTN network for completion. Details regarding switching VoIP system 911 calls to PSTN networks are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,065 entitled "Apparatus For A Voice Over IP (VoIP) Telephony Gateway And Methods For Use Therein", issued Mar. 26, 2002, the entire content being incorporated herein by reference.
Providing VoIP system 911 call access without regard for service status may require bypassing multiple layers of security and access control in the network. For example, a device may have physical access to a network, such as a LAN, WAN or wireless system, but may not be authorized for IP services over the connection. Even if the device does have IP services available, it may not be authorized for access to the requested VoIP services or equipment. Arbitrary bypasses to security and access controls can be made to allow access, however, this can expose the network to theft of services or other potential attacks.
Accordingly, a need exists for a system and method for 911 access in Voice over IP systems in which 911 call requests are detected and restriction controls may be bypassed without compromising network security.

System and method to provide 911 access in voice over internet protocol systems without compromising network security


A roller press includes a housing to which upper and lower rollers are coupled. A crank handle is coupled to at least one of the upper and lower rollers. Rotation of the crank handle causes rotation of the rollers. Two doors that provide die support surfaces are coupled to the housing and are moveable between a closed position and an open position. A suction member is coupled to the bottom of the housing. The suction member is actuated by movement of the doors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to die presses used with dies for forming paper cut out patters, and more particular to a roller-type die machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Die cuts are preformed pieces of paper or other die cuttable materials that are cut into a desired shape. For example, die cuts are often available in various shapes such as teddy bears, hearts, stars, etc. Multiple die cuts are usually packaged together for consumer purchase and may include die cuts formed from various colors of paper.
The die cuts are formed by pressing a blade, which has been formed into the desired shape, against a sheet of paper or any other cuttable material to cut or punch out a section of the paper or other material corresponding to the shape of the blade. Traditionally, the blade was partially embedded in a block of wood, the blade/block apparatus commonly referred to as a "die." Later, systems for holding the blade in a block of plastic were developed such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,965, incorporated herein by this reference. Subsequently, other die making technologies have been developed such as dies manufactured by chemical etching processes.
With each type of die has generally come a new type of machine for pressing the die against the medium to be cut. For example, when the plastic dies previously discussed were first introduced, the corresponding machine employed a lever mechanism to impart sufficient pressure against the die so as to press the blade of the die through the paper to be cut. In general, such machines were relatively bulky. As the dies became thinner and thus more compact, more compact machines were also developed. In particular, with the use of chemical etched dies, a roller-type machine was developed in which the die and paper to be cut were pulled between a pair of rollers operated by a crank handle. The roller-type machines were generally more compact than the previous lever-type machines since they did not require the use of a platen that was at least the size of the die being used for cutting. A typical roller press is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/127,434, Publication No. US20050253324A1, herein incorporated by this reference.
Because of the large footprint of the lever-type systems, such machines did not typically require a mechanism for securing the machine to a work surface. Moreover, such machines maintained support of the die and medium being cut throughout the cutting process. Conversely, the smaller crank operated machines are less stable, given their relatively smaller footprint when operating the machine. As such, there is typically a need for a mechanism for holding the machine to a work surface. In addition, because the machines were made to be more compact, the machines do not laterally support for the die and medium during the cutting process.
Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a die cutting machine that is easy to operate, laterally supports the die and medium while cutting manufacture, and is easily secured to a work surface during operation.
These and other advantages will become apparent from a reading of the following summary of the invention and description of the preferred embodiments in accordance with the principles of the present invention.


Trick play and/or editing is applied to an original data stream, for example an MP3 data stream which includes headers and signal data interspersed with each other. Each header specifies a distance to a subsequent header, each header corresponding to a frame of signal data, the header being associated with a pointer that points a starting point of the signal data for that frame relative to the header. Before applying trick play, the original data stream is converted into an intermediate data stream of the same type as the original stream. During conversion, the starting points of the frames are moved to predetermined positions relative the associate headers and the headers are modified to create additional space between the headers so that the frames fit between headers.

The MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 Layer III (MP3) formats (ISO/IEC 11172-3 and ISO/IEC 13818-3) are used extensively for representing compressed audio information. Compression reduces the bit rate of the audio information: the number of bits needed to represent a time interval of the audio information. In general, the MP3 format supports various reduction rates, depending on the required bit rate.
The MP3 audio information is transported in a data stream that contains headers at specific intervals. Each header is associated with a frame describing a predetermined number of samples of audio data in compressed form. The header indicates information about the data in the frame, such as the sample frequency of the data in the frame and the bit rate.
The interval between successive headers is a predetermined function of information in the header. MP3 compatible decoders are enabled to find each header using the header-distance determined from the preceding header.
However, the actual number of bits needed to represent a frame can deviate from the space available in the interval between the headers. This is because with MP3 the amount of information that is needed to encode audio information can vary from frame to frame.
To cope with these deviations MP3 allows frames to start at a variable offset relative to the headers. Thus, space left over between headers by preceding frames can be used for data of the subsequent frame. MP3 provides for a pointer associated with each header. The pointer indicates the start of data of the frame associated with the header relative to the position of the header. As a result a frame of data can start at a variable position preceding the associated header in space left over by a preceding frame. Exceptionally, the pointer can be zero, so that the data starts immediately after the frame. Thus, the position of the start of the data relative to the position of the header depends on the audio content encoded by the data stream.
To decode these frames MP3 decoders store as a minimum a predetermined amount of data preceding the header (512 bytes, excluding headers and side information of previous frames) in a buffer memory to allow the decoder to access the frame data once the pointer has been received.
It has been found that the presence of frame data outside the area between the corresponding frame header and the subsequent header impedes efficient implementation of functions like trick play (fast forward play etc.) and/or editing in MP3. For a fast forward function for example, one would like to skip frames so that only data from between selected pairs of headers is stored. However, this is insufficient for decoding because the pointers of the selected headers might point back to data that has not been stored. Similarly, to insert data during editing, one cannot simply start from an arbitrary header without having to load data preceding that header.
As a result, relatively complicated decoders are needed to support trick play and/or editing. In the extreme, it may be necessary to decompress the data perform these functions and compress the data again, which is very inefficient in terms of complexity and quality.


A disk type record playback device having a wobble signal extracting bandpass filter for controlling a filter's center frequency according to a frequency follow-up control loop including a dummy filter identical in configuration to a filter to be controlled, and a phase comparator is capable of controlling the center frequency of the bandpass filter with satisfactory accuracy. A frequency variable lowpass filter is provided in a preceding stage of the phase comparator constituting a frequency follow-up circuit and supplies a signal obtained by eliminating harmonic components from a frequency follow-up clock signal to the phase comparator. A cutoff frequency of the lowpass filter is changed in cooperation with a center frequency of the bandpass filter, based on a signal outputted from the frequency follow-up control loop.

The present invention relates to a frequency control technology of a filter circuit, and to a technology effective if applied to a case in which the frequency of a filter to be controlled is controlled by a PLL loop including a dummy filter identical in configuration to the filter, e.g., a technology effective if applied to a wobble signal extracting circuit used in a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) device.
In a disk type record playback device like a DVD-RAM (Random Access Memory), there have heretofore been known rotation control called a CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) system which makes constant a velocity, i.e., a linear velocity of a pickup relative to a disk to thereby perform read/write, and rotation control called a CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) system which makes constant a rotational velocity of a disk regardless of the position of a pickup to thereby perform read/write.
The device having adopted the CLV system has an advantage in that while the rotation control becomes complex because the rotational velocity of the disk must be changed according to a track position of the pickup in order to make the linear velocity of the pickup constant, a processing speed at a data processing circuit like a DSP (Data Processor) for processing a read signal may be constant, thus making it possible to simplify a signal processing system.
On the other hand, in the device having adopted the CAV system, the rotation control becomes simple because the rotational velocity of the disk may be controlled constant regardless of a track position of the pickup. However, since the relative velocity of the pickup, i.e., the frequency of a read signal changes depending on the position of the pickup in a diameter direction, the signal-processing speed at the data processing circuit must be changed and hence a signal processing system becomes complex.
As a recordable/reproducible optical disk, there has heretofore been known one formed with wobble defined as an index for swelling or waving an information recording track of a disk surface to thereby fetch out position information. In a DVD device which effects record/playback on a disk having wobble, a rough area of a track or a sector or the like is determined or judged based on address information pre-written in the disk, and a detailed recording position is detected by the wobble, whereby such control as to write data therein is performed.
In order to detect the wobble on the disk surface and thereby generate a clock signal in the DVD device of such a control system, a signal read from a pickup is passed through a bandpass filter to remove noise and thereafter digitized by a comparator or the like, thereby generating the corresponding clock signal. In order to accurately detect the wobble, the bandpass filter that extracts a wobble signal from the read signal is required to have a narrow-band filter characteristic.
Meanwhile, in an optical disk type record playback device, the rotational velocity of a disk might be changed stepwise like an equi- or same-speed or a quad-speed. Since the frequency of the wobble signal varies depending on a double-speed mode, there is a need to switchably set the center frequency of the bandpass filter according to the double-speed mode. As a control system for changing the center frequency of the bandpass filter, there has heretofore been proposed a system for controlling an intermediate frequency of a bandpass filter by a frequency follow-up control loop including a dummy filter identical in configuration to a filter to be controlled, and a phase comparator (see, for example, a patent document 1 shown below).
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-231726

Semiconductor integrated circuit and medium record playback device


The present invention relates to a credit index, a system and method for structuring a credit index, a system and method for operating a credit index, and a system and method for determining the liquidity of a credit.

Various mechanisms exist for tracking a broad market using a subset of the available financial instruments. Such mechanisms include "indexes" (i.e., dynamic subsets) of the financial instruments and "baskets" (i.e., static subsets) of the financial instruments. The markets may typically include capital markets (wherein the market is tracked using an index of stocks, for example) and credit markets (wherein the market is tracked using an index of bonds, for example). For the purposes of the present application, the term "credit" is intended to include, but not be limited to, a bond, a bank loan, and/or a credit derivative (e.g., a swap).
For example, a number of conventional stock indices exist (e.g., the S&P 500, the Russell 2000, and the Russell 1000) which include a subset of stocks chosen to track a relatively large universe of stocks (e.g., small cap stocks, mid cap stocks, or large cap stocks). These conventional stock indices are typically priced on a continuous basis. More particularly, such conventional stock indices are typically priced on a real time or quasi-real time basis.
Further, there exist conventional credit indices that include a subset of credits chosen to track a relatively large universe of credits. Such a relatively large universe of credits may comprise all investment grade credits in a given market or all high yield credits in a given market, for example. These conventional credit indices are typically priced either: 1) once per month; or 2) more frequently using "matrix pricing" (wherein the pricing is carried out using a derived pricing mechanism). While the timeliness of the pricing may be improved by including fewer credits in the index (thus enabling more frequent pricing using more up-to-date data), the accuracy of the tracking of the broad market by the conventional credit index has traditionally suffered (i.e., as fewer credits are included in the index the tracking error has traditionally increased). Further still, some these conventional credit indices are not typically readily tradable in a widespread (e.g., public) market, at least in part because the underlying credits are not typically "liquid".
Among those benefits and improvements that have been disclosed, other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures. The figures constitute a part of this specification and include illustrative embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.

Credit index, a system and method for structuring a credit index, and a system and method for operating a credit index


The subject invention provides a method of preparing an allylic amine having the structure: ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3, R.sub.4 and R.sub.5 are each independently hydrogen, halogen, cyano, nitro, linear or branched chain alkyl, aryl, etc.; wherein each alkyl or arylalkyl if present is independently unsubstituted or substituted by fluoro, cyano, nitro, linear or branched chain acyl, dialkylamino, etc.; wherein each aryl if present is independently unsubstituted or substituted by fluoro, cyano, nitro, linear or branched chain alkyl, arylmercapto, etc.; and wherein each of R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3, R.sub.4 and R.sub.5 optionally is covalently bonded linking pairwise a suitable atom from each to form from 0 to about 10 rings, wherein each ring contains between about four and about twelve atoms, using disubstituted sulfur diimides prepared in situ. Also provided are methods of preparing cyclic allylic amines in which allylic double bonds are endocyclic and exocyclic.

Throughout this application, citations for various publications are provided in the text. The disclosures of these publications are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference into this application in order to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains.
This invention relates to the field of allylic amination. More particularly, the invention relates to a simple procedure for directly preparing allylic amines from allylic compounds.
The subject invention provides a simple, efficient and inexpensive procedure for introducing an amino functionality into the allylic position of alkenes. The procedure is related to one developed by Kresze, et al. (Kresze, G., Munsterer, H., J. Org. Chem. 1983, 48, 3561). The subject invention shows how N,N'-bis-(alkoxy-carbonyl)sulfur diimides can be prepared easily, and how to overcome the large variability in yields of alkyl N-sulfinylcarbamates obtained when alkyl carbamates are combined with thionyl chloride in pyridine.
The problem considered is that while N,N'-bis(methoxycarbonyl)sulfur diimide (1) has considerable benefit as a reagent to effect allylic aminations, e.g. FIG. 3 (Kresze, G., Munsterer, H., J. Org. Chem. 1983, 48, 3561), its preparation (FIG. 1), which calls for the manipulation of chlorine in both steps, is troublesome. Kresze, G., Braxmeier, H., Munsterer, H., Organic Synthesis; Wiley: New York, 1993; Collect. Vol. 8, p 427; Levchenko, E. S., Ballon, Ya, G., Kirsanov, A. V., J. Org. Chem. USSR (Engl. Transl.) 1967, 3, 2014. Thus, if diimide 1 could be obtained more easily, its usefulness for synthesis would increase significantly. The benefit of the scheme shown in FIG. 3 is the facility with which aqueous base removes residual groups from the nitrogen that is introduced, an advantage shared with a more lengthy procedure of Whitesell and Yaser that uses N-sulfinylcarbamates (Whitesell, J. K., Yaser, H. K., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1991, 113, 3526) but not with those that effect allylic aminations by using reagents such as TsN.dbd.Se.dbd.NTs (Sharpless, K. B., Hori, T., Truesdale, L. K., Dietrich, C. O., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1976, 98, 269), TsN.dbd.S.dbd.NTs (Sharpless, K. B., Hori, T., J. Org. Chem. 1976, 41, 176; Singer, S. P., Sharpless, K. B., J. Org. Chem. 1978, 43, 1448), PhSO.sub.2 NSO (Deleris, G., Dunogues, J., Gadras, A., Tetrahedron, 1988, 44, 4243), CH.sub.3 --OCON.dbd.NCOOCH.sub.3 plus SnCl.sub.4 (Brimble, M. A. Heathcock, C. H., J. Org. Chem. 1993, 58, 5261), AcNO (Keck, G. E., Webb, R. B., Yates, J. B., Tetrahedron, 1981, 37, 4007), and PhNHOH combined with transition-metal catalysts. (For example, see, Johannsen, M., J.o slashed.rgensen, K. A., J. Org. Chem. 1994, 59, 214.) The leaving groups attached to nitrogen (ArSO.sub.2, NHCO.sub.2 CH.sub.3 or OH plus either Ac or Ph) are not readily removed by hydrolysis.
The amination method disclosed herein is useful for the preparation of biologically active allylic amines. An important application includes the synthesIs of certain allylic amine inhibitors of squalene epoxidase, which have powerful antifungal properties, and are useful in combatting fungal infections. Petraniy, G., Ryder, N. S., Stutz, A., Science (Washington, D.C.), 224, 1239 (1984). Accordingly, the subject method provides a route to prepare SF86-327, a powerful inhibitor of fungal squalene epoxidase. Petraniy, supra.

The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York