ATP-sensitive K.sup.+ channel modulating compounds are incorporated into ophthalmically acceptable carriers for administration to the eye in order to affect intraocular pressure. Such formulations including compounds which inhibit the channel are particularly suitable for treating glaucoma and other disorders related to elevated intraocular pressure. Such formulation which potentiates the channel are particularly suitable for treating hypotonia and other depressed intraocular pressure conditions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to compositions and methods for lowering intraocular pressure and more particularly to the administration of inhibitors of ATP-sensitive K.sup.+ channel to the eye to lower intraocular pressure for the treatment of glaucoma.
Glaucoma is an ocular disorder that is often manifested as an elevated intraocular pressure. It is presently believed that such elevated pressure results from inadequate transport of the intraocular fluid from the anterior chamber, resulting in a detrimental pressure increase. If left untreated, glaucoma will eventually lead to loss of vision in the affected eye. Current treatment methods include forming small laser penetrations in the eye to release excess pressure, as well as the use of systemic and topical drugs for lowering intraocular pressure. Of particular interest to the present invention, topically applied drugs for the treatment of glaucoma include pilocarpine, a cholinergic; timolol maleate, a .beta.-adrenergic receptor blocking agent; epinephrine, an .alpha.- and .beta.-adrenergic receptor agonist; dipivefrin, a pro drug of epinephrine; and demecarium bromide, a cholinesterase inhibitor. While these drugs are generally effective, they can have significant adverse side effects, even when administered topically. Topical administration to the eye results in significant absorption leading to such undesirable systemic effects.
Elevated intraocular pressure can be caused by other conditions as well, such as impaired intraocular fluid transport caused by eye surgery, including surgery for glaucoma. No drugs are presently available for surgical implement of the intraocular fluid outflow.
Below normal intraocular pressure can also be a concern. Such reduced intraocular pressure can be caused by a variety of conditions, such as surgery for glaucoma, retinal detachment, uveitis, and the like. No drugs are presently available for the treatment of low intraocular pressure.
Therefore it would be desirable to provide additional drugs useful for the control of intraocular pressure, particularly for the treatment of glaucoma and other disorders related to elevated intraocular pressure, where such drugs have fewer or reduced side effects when compared to present drugs when topically applied. Drugs for the treatment of surgically induced elevated intraocular pressure as well as low (depressed) intraocular pressure would also be desirable. Such drugs should be safe, relatively non-toxic, and be amenable to incorporation in carriers and vehicles suitable for administration to the eye, either topically, by injection, or by ocular insert. These and other objectives will be met by the methods and compositions of the present invention, as described in more detail hereinafter.
2. Description of the Background Art
Compounds having various channel blocking activities, including inhibition of the ATP-sensitive K.sup.+ channel, have shown the ability to lower intraocular pressure, e.g. labetalol (an .alpha.- and .beta.-adrenergic blocker; Kogure et al. (1981) Arch. Int. Pharm. Ther. 250:109-122); phentolamine (an .alpha.-adrenergic blocker; Belmonte et al. (1987) Invest. Optal. Vis. Sci. 28:1649-1654); and antazoline (an H1-blocker; Krupin et al. (1980) Ophthal. 87:1167-1172). Quinine (a non-selective potassium channel blocker) has been suggested (without supporting data) as lowering intraocular pressure (U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,807 to Cherksey). U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,820, to Ashton suggests the use of certain carbonoy and oxycarbonyl derivatives of biphenylmethylamines for the treatment of hypertension and related disorders such as glaucoma. The Ashton compounds in some instances may contain an--(SO.sub.2 --NH--CO)--substituent group.
French patent application 2 585 574 describes the use of 4-phenyl-1,4-dihdro-pyridines for the treatment of glaucoma. The use of antihypertensive drugs for the treatment of glaucoma is suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,698 and published European applications 175 266; 180 994; and 235 544. The use of anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of glaucoma is suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,151. The use of potassium channel openers for the treatment of glaucoma is suggested in WO 89/10757. The use of dopamine-responsive agonists for the treatment of glaucoma is suggested in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,722,933 and 4,657,925. The use of certain receptor agonists for the treatment of glaucoma is suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,846 and published European applications 329 903; 403 360; and 086 126. The use of tricyclic benzo fused compounds for the treatment of glaucoma is suggested in published European application 090 516. The use of angiotensin II receptor antagonists for the treatment of glaucoma is suggested in published European application 403 158. The use of inhibitors of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors for the treatment of glaucoma is suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,689 and WO 86/00896. The use of .alpha.2 antagonists for the treatment of glaucoma is suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,202 and published European application 080 779. The use of .beta.-blockers for the treatment of glaucoma is suggested in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,003,115; 4,897,412; 4,935,422; 4,661,513; 4,647,590; 5,061,714; 4,990,668; 4,760,085; 4,766,151; 4,642,311; 4,582,855; 4,994,464; 4,897,417; 4,697,022; 4,526,893; published European applications 089 037; 437 030; 113 910; 087 378; and published PCT applications WO 87/03583; 87/03584; 83/00043. The use of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors for the treatment of glaucoma is suggested in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,975,447; 4,914,111; 4,636,515; 4,975,448; 4,542,152; 5,039,802; 4,847,289; 4,894,390; and published European application 130 109. Other compositions and methods for treating glaucoma are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,112,820; 4,871,742; 4,923,877; 4,346,106; 4,746,676; 5,134,146; 4,826,869; 5,075,323; 4,309,432; 4,906,467; 5,049,587; 5,013,837; 4,902,696; 4,559,361; 4,644,007; 5,034,406; 4,847,269; 4,001,132; 4,629,730; 459 568; Published PCT applications WO/06111; WO 90/02124; European patent publications 370 852; 132 190; 189 801; 338 507; Japanese patent publications 1-246220; 2-262518; French patent publication 2 593 395; Belgian patent publication 885.496.
EP 467 710 suggests that ATP-sensitive potassium channel blockers, such as sulfonyl urea and quinine, may be used to treat Parkinson's disease. EP 171 331 teaches quinine compositions. EP 467 709 (equivalent to U.S. Pat. No. 5,281,599) teaches the use of sulfonyl urea compounds for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. GB 2 177 913 teaches quinine compositions. WO 94/02142 teaches compositions including a sulfonyl urea moiety for treating hypertension.

Methods and compositions for ATP-sensitive K.sup.+ channel inhibition for lowering intraocular pressure


A seat belt anchoring system for a vehicle seat includes an anchor for seat belt webbing having a mounting portion positionable with respect to the seat to face rearward and rigidly securable with respect to the seat from behind the seat. The anchor also has a belt retaining portion angled with respect to the mounting portion so that it is operatively connectable with the seat belt webbing outboard of the seat. A method of installing a seat belt system is also provided.

Vehicles typically include seat restraints such as three-point seat belt webbing anchored generally at shoulder height, and on both sides of a seat. A lower outboard seat belt anchor is typically located outboard of the seat and is secured to the seat or to the floor. Securing the lower outboard seat belt lap anchor is often difficult because clearances between the seat and the vehicle body frame are insufficient for tool accessibility without adjusting the position of the seat. For instance, a center pillar (B-pillar) is typically adjacent to the outboard side of the seat. An assembly tool such as a bolt driver is frequently too large to fit between the seat and the center pillar, especially when pillar trim and/or floor trim is installed. Accordingly, when installing a lap anchor, an assembler typically must adjust the longitudinal position of the seat to allow clearance for the tool in order to access the anchor.

Seat belt anchoring system and method of installing a seat belt system


A method of fabricating a transistor in a semiconductor device includes forming a gate structure over a substrate, forming a first trench by etching the substrate on either side of the gate structure to a first depth, ion-implanting dopants of a first conductivity type to form a source/drain region in the substrate on the side of the gate structure with the first trench, etching the substrate on the side of the gate structure with the first trench to a second depth larger than the first depth to form a second trench, and growing an epitaxial layer within the second trench.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor fabrication technology, and more particularly, to a method of fabricating a transistor for use in a semiconductor device.
As semiconductor devices are being highly integrated, one of important issues is to fabricate transistors that can ensure a high current drivability and a short channel margin even at small dimensions.
Recently, extensive studies have been conducted to increase carrier mobility in order to ensure a high current drivability. Carrier mobility may be increased by applying a certain stress to a channel region defined under a gate, leading to improving current characteristic of transistors. To this end, various transistor structures and fabrication methods thereof have been proposed, and one such example is illustrated in FIGS. 1A to 1D.
FIGS. 1A to 1D are cross-sectional views explaining a structure of a conventional PMOS transistor and a fabrication method thereof.
Referring to FIG. 1A, a device isolation layer 11 is formed on a substrate 10 to define an active region.
A gate pattern 12 having a stacked structure of a gate insulation layer, a gate electrode and a gate hard mask is formed on the substrate 10, and a gate spacer 13 is formed on a sidewall of the gate pattern 12.
Referring to FIG. 1B, the substrate 10 on either side of the gate spacer 13 is etched to a certain depth to form a trench T. Reference numeral 11A represents an etched device isolation layer.
Referring to FIG. 1C, an epitaxial layer 14 is grown within the trench T by using a sidewall and/or bottom of the trench T as a seed layer.
The epitaxial layer 14 is used to apply a stress to the channel region of the substrate 10. In the case of the PMOS transistor, a compression stress is applied in a direction parallel to the channel region in order to increase the mobility of majority carriers, i.e., holes. Thus, the epitaxial layer 14 is formed of a material having a larger lattice constant than the substrate 10. For example, when the substrate 10 is a Si substrate, the epitaxial layer 14 may be a SiGe epitaxial layer.
Referring to FIG. 1D, an initial source/drain region 15 is formed by ion implantation of P-type dopants such as boron (B).
Referring to FIG. 1E, a thermal treatment is performed for dopant activation. As a result, the dopants are diffused to form a final source/drain region 15A. In this manner, a PMOS transistor having a structure of FIG. 1E is completed.
However, there are the following limitations on the structure of the conventional PMOS transistor and the fabrication method thereof.
When the epitaxial layer 14 such as SiGe is grown, it is grown not uniformly but in a convex shape (see FIGS. 1C to 1E). Due to the shape of the epitaxial layer 14, the dopants for forming the source/drain region in a subsequent process are relatively more ion-implanted into edges of the gate pattern 12 than other positions (see FIG. 1D). From the profile of the final source/drain region 15A when the dopants are diffused by the subsequent thermal treatment, it can be seen that lateral diffusion of the dopants is so active that the side of the final source/drain region 15A penetrates even under the gate pattern 12, whereas the bottom of the final source/drain region 15A is relatively shallow.
If the side of the final source/drain region 15A penetrates even under the gate pattern 12, the short channel margin of the transistor is degraded and, in particular, Drain Induced Barrier Lowering (DIBL) is degraded.
Furthermore, if the bottom of the final source/drain region 15A is shallow, leakage current characteristic is degraded due to interface defect between the substrate 10 and the epitaxial layer 14.
Therefore, there is a need for a method of fabricating a new transistor capable of solving the above-mentioned limitations.

Method of fabricating transistor for semiconductor device


An antenna (10) suitable for receiving circularly polarized RF signals from a satellite is integrated with a window (12) of a vehicle (14), such as a roof window (12). The antenna (10) includes a patch element (18) disposed adjacent to the window (12). Radiating strips (26) forming at least one dipole pair are disposed below the patch element (18) and connectable to a transmission line. A coupling element (20) surrounds the radiating strips (26) and a dielectric layer (38) is sandwiched between the patch element (18) and the radiating strips (26). A ground plane (36) is also disposed below the radiating strip (26). A conductive casing (46) perpendicularly surrounds the antenna (10) elements while electrically connecting the ground plane (36) to the coupling element (20) such that the radiating strips (26) are generally disposed within a cavity (24).

1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to antennas. Particularly, the subject invention relates to microstrip antennas for circular polarization applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
Antennas for receiving signals from a satellite, such as Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service (SDARS) signals, are well known in the art. These antennas are routinely carried on vehicles for use with the vehicle's radio receiver. Typically, these antennas are mounted on a metallic roof of the vehicle such that the roof acts as a ground plane for the antenna. Furthermore, these antennas often have a bulky appearance that is not aesthetically pleasing from the outside of the vehicle.
Many modern vehicles incorporate glass into their roof. The amount of glass used can range from a typical sunroof that provides glass over a small portion of the vehicle roof to a panoramic-style glass that spans the entire roof area of the vehicle. Unfortunately, the use of glass in vehicle roof structures reduces the amount of sheet metal that can be used as a ground plane for a satellite antenna. As such, typical satellite antennas suffer from lower performance when disposed on glass.
Therefore, there remains an opportunity for an antenna that may be integrated with glass, such as a glass roof of a vehicle, for receiving signals from a satellite.


In a medical or dental laser instrument (1), especially for tooth root canal treatments, having a preferably rod-shaped hand piece (2), a connection part (3) by means of which the hand piece (2) can be connected to a supply line (4), a first light guide (5) that extends longitudinally through the supply line (4) and the connection part (3) to the hand piece (2), a second light guide (7) arranged in the front end region of the laser instrument, the rear end of the second light guide (7) being arranged coaxially with respect to the front end of the first light guide (5), and a coupling device (8) for coupling the laser light bundle leaving the first light guide (5) to the second light guide (7), the said second light guide (7) has a larger numerical aperture than the first light guide (5).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a medical or dental laser instrument, especially for tooth root canal treatments.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
A laser instrument of this type is generally known and is described for example in DE 40 38 809 C1 and in DE 42 33 744 A1.
The laser instrument according to DE 40 38 809 C1 has a second light guide at its front end that is laterally spaced from the laser instrument. Several second light guides of different cross-sectional size are associated with the laser instrument, one of which second light guides has such a small diameter that it is suitable for use in dental root canal treatment. In this known arrangement the coupling into the second light guide is effected by means of a prism that reflects the laser beams back sideways into the second light guide. An axially adjustable lens is arranged between the first light guide and the prism, the axial adjustment of the lens enabling the cross-sectional size of the laser light bundle to be matched to the respective cross-sectional size of the second light guide.
DE 42 33 744 A1 discloses a laser instrument with three light guides arranged in succession in the longitudinal direction, between each of which guides is arranged a coupling device with two lenses. In this known arrangement the middle light guide is curved. In this way it is possible to arrange the front light guide at an angle to the mid axis of the laser instrument without having to provide a deflecting device for the laser light bundle. The ends of the light guides in each case lie coaxially relative to one another in the region of the coupling devices.
The utility of a laser instrument depends among other things on the output of the laser beam bundle leaving the free end of the second light guide. In this connection an essential requirement is to guide the laser beam bundle with as little loss as possible in the light guides and to couple it to the coupling devices. In order to achieve this the numerical aperture of the light guides must not fall below a specific value. Failing this the highest possible degree of total reflection in the light guides will not be ensured as soon as the opening angle of the light cone to be transmitted exceeds the limiting angle of the light guide, which corresponds to the numerical aperture of the light guide.

Medical or dental laser instrument, especially for dental root canal treatments


An optical system includes a first lens unit having a negative refractive power and a second lens unit having a positive refractive power. The second lens unit includes a front lens unit, a stop, and a rear lens unit. The front lens unit includes a biconvex positive lens located closest to the image side. A back focus during focusing on an infinitely-distant object point (BF), a focal length of the entire optical system (f), a focal length of the positive lens of the front lens unit located closest to the image side (fp), a focal length of the front lens unit (f2a), a refractive power of a surface of the rear lens unit located closest to the object side (φf), and a refractive power of the entire optical system (φ) satisfy the following conditions:1.0<BF/f<3.00.1<fp/f2a<0.50.7<|φf/φ|<1.5.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a photographic optical system (shooting optical system) of an image pickup apparatus, such as a silver-halide film camera, a digital still camera, a video camera, or a digital video camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is desired by the market that a photographic optical system used for a single-lens reflex digital camera or a single-lens reflex film camera has a wide angle of view and a long back focus. In this regard, as a photographic optical system having a wide angle of view and a long back focus, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 06-082689 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-287031 each discuss a retrofocus type photographic optical system.
A retrofocus type photographic optical system generally has an asymmetrical lens configuration. More specifically, such a retrofocus type photographic optical system includes a lens unit having a negative refractive power in front of an aperture stop (at a position in the photographic optical system closer to an object side) and a lens unit having a positive refractive power behind the aperture stop (at a position in the photographic optical system closer to an image side). The conventional photographic optical system discussed in each of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 06-082689 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-287031 implements a photographic optical system having a wide angle of view and a long back focus.
In a conventional photographic optical system, if an absolute value of the negative refractive power of the front lens unit becomes large, the amount of various aberrations occurring therein may become large. In particular, in a retrofocus type photographic optical system, the wider the angle of view becomes, the more asymmetrical the arrangement of the refractive powers may become. Therefore, in this case, a large amount of various aberrations, such as coma, astigmatism, and spherical aberration, may arise.
For example, in a conventional retrofocus type photographic optical system whose shooting angle of view is about 84° and whose F number is 1.4, a large amount of spherical aberration may occur in the front lens unit having a negative refractive power and the rear lens unit having a positive refractive power, which is located behind the aperture stop. Accordingly, in such a conventional photographic optical system, it is very difficult to effectively and balancedly correct various aberrations, such as spherical aberration.
In order to solve such a problem, it is useful to locate a lens having a strong positive refractive power in front of the aperture stop at a position distant therefrom. With this configuration, negative spherical aberrations occurring in the front lens unit having a negative refractive power and the rear lens unit having a positive refractive power located behind the aperture stop can be corrected.
However, if a lens having a strong positive refractive power is located distant from the aperture stop, the height of incidence of an off-axis light flux into the positive lens may become high. As a result, spherical aberration can be corrected. However, the amount of various aberrations, such as coma and astigmatism, occurring in the lens unit may be increased. Accordingly, in this case, it is difficult to obtain a high-quality image throughout the image plane.

Optical system and image pickup apparatus using the same


An arcade game pick-up device for use with hollow cylindrical targets that can be picked-up by applying a suction force to the bottom of the target, the pick-up device having a suction means and a control for reducing the tolerance between an impeding structure and the upper wall of the target to control the win percentage.

Crane-type or "claw machine" arcade games are popular amusement devices often provided in game arcades, stores, or other public places. In these types of games, prize objects are provided within the game itself and are viewable by a player through transparent glass enclosure or the like. Upon the insertion of a coin or other monetary input into the game, the player controls a mechanical claw or pick-up device with a joystick, buttons, toggle switch, or other control to maneuver the pick-up device over a prize. The claw or pick-up device is then lowered toward the prize upon activation either automatically by a controller such as a computer or manually by the player, depending on the particular game. The claw or pick-up device is then either automatically opened when it reaches the level of the prizes or is opened under the player's control. After a predetermined amount of time, the claw may be automatically closed and elevated. Depending upon the claw's proximity and position with respect to the prize, the claw may or may not be able to grasp a prize and hold onto the prize as the claw is raised. The controller then moves the claw or pick-up device over to a dispensing container and opens the claw, allowing the prize (if any is held) to drop into the dispensing chute and to be guided through the dispenser to an opening accessible to the player. In a common implementation, a sensor within the dispenser detects whether a prize has been won by the player. After the claw is opened over the dispenser, the controller moves the claw to its original starting position and waits for another insertion of the coin (unless the player is provided with multiple tries).
The prizes that the operator of a claw-type crane game can provide in the game are usually limited in selection due to the limitations of a mechanical claw. Since the claw must surround an object to be able to pick it up, most prizes in a claw-type crane game have been limited to plush animals, stuffed dolls, or other soft, rough-surfaced merchandise that can be surrounded and grabbed by the claw fingers and raised from the supporting surface. Usually, flat, smooth or thin objects are not able to be picked up and held by the claw. However, a large number of flat, smooth, and thin objects are desirable to used as prizes in a crane-type game, such as smooth-surfaced spheres or eggshell containers, boxes, gumballs, cups, bulbs, trading cards, etc. Players desire to win these types of items and operators desire to provide them; however, the standard claw type mechanism cannot be used to pick them up.
One solution to the inability of claw-type cranes to pick up these objects is to provide a different type of pick-up device. One type of device that is used is a vacuum device that uses air suction to grab and hold an object. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,772 of Glaser (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), a vacuum embodiment of a crane pick-up game is disclosed in which a vacuum motor is suspended from a string and concealed by a facade or enclosure. The player may move the motor and lower the motor towards a field of prizes similarly to the claw in claw-type crane games. A spinning fan within the motor creates a suction force that is used to pick up and hold prizes. An orifice with a screen is used to prevent items from being sucked into the orifice. Prizes captured and held by the suction are dispensed to the player through a dispenser.
More recent vacuum crane games have improved on the concept and made the game more challenging. In my U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,374 (also incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), a vacuum crane game is disclosed wherein the vacuum head is used to pick up one of the prizes using a suction force that is provided by a vacuum pump coupled to the vacuum head by a hose and located away from the vacuum head. Moving the pumping apparatus away from the crane head mechanism provides greater maneuverability than previous devices that carried the pumping equipment at the crane head. In general, the vacuum crane game is characterized by a vacuum pick up device positioned above the prize or target area and may be moved along a horizontal axis above the prize area. The pick up device includes a vacuum head that may be raised and lowered toward a turntable in a z-direction. The vacuum head is operative to pick up one of the prizes using a suction force that is provided by a vacuum pump coupled to the vacuum head by a hose. The vacuum pump is located away from the vacuum head to allow the vacuum head to move without interference. The player may control the movement of the pick up device to position the vacuum head over the prize area at a desired position, lower the vacuum head, and pick up a prize using the suction force. The pick up device is moved to a dispenser area and the suction force is removed to allow the prize to be dispensed to the player. The disclosure of my '374 patent is incorporated fully herein by reference. In another embodiment, the vacuum head may be moved in both x- and y-directions above the prize area and the turntable is omitted. Also, the vacuum can be created by a plunger type suction device, but a vacuum hose connection is preferable in some cases because disengagement is easily accomplished by turning off the vacuum.
With vacuum crane games, it is desirable to provide prizes having smooth continuous surfaces such that a seal can be formed by the vacuum head against the prize. Without a complete seal, the vacuum head cannot effectively apply suction to the prize sufficiently to enable the prize to be lifted out of the prize bin. As a consequence, prizes such as jewelry, trading cards, candy, and toys are typically enclosed in transparent or opaque spheroids such as spheres and egg-shaped plastic containers. Such spheroids will have exteriors that meet the requirement of smooth, continuous surfaces allowing the vacuum head to make complete, sealing contact. An example of this type of prize collection for a vacuum crane game can be found in my U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,881, entitled "Crane Game with Prize Redistribution Mechanism" and incorporated herein fully by reference.
The present inventor is the named inventor of many other popular crane-type arcade games found in today's arcades. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,272,082, entitled "Coin Projecting Amusement Device," discloses an amusement wherein coins may be controllably deposited by the player on a playing surface having a multiplicity of surface interruption means thereon. A vertical dam translates over at least a portion of said playing surface and pushes said deposited coins against a random pattern of accumulated coins, causing some of said accumulated coins to fall over an edge into a collecting and counting means. This game is marketed and sold under the trademark "Wedges and Ledges." U.S. Pat. No. 4,303,248, also invented by the present inventor, discloses an amusement game where coins are dropped onto a flat surface over which a vertical dam is horizontally translated. The vertical dam translates over a portion of the flat surface and drops a certain of the accumulated coins over the edge. As the coins drop over the edge, they are collected in a counting chute to be synchronously counted in a memory which is then unloaded to vend out a corresponding number of tokens.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,585 also discloses an amusement apparatus in which a player controls a pushing device to push items off of a playing field. A moveable surface is driven in a first pre-determined path and the pusher device is moveable in a linear path traverse to the path travel of the moveable surface. A delivery passage at one end of the path of the pusher device is arranged to deliver any item swept off the surface to a retrieval bin. U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,045 is directed to an amusement device comprised of a pair of spaced apart elongate members defining a track, and a rolling member for rolling along that track under control of an operator. The elongate members are spaced a fixed distance apart at their first ends establishing the normal home position of the rolling member. The opposite, second ends of the elongate members are moveable relative to one another to adjust their spacing and to control the movement of the rolling member along the track. The operator controls the separation of the elongate member so that the rolling member can roll from its home position to the opposite end of the track without falling between the opening separating the elongate members.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,865 discloses a rotary arcade game including a turn table having a central aperture. Prizes are positioned on the surface of the turn table and moved by a pivoting arm member operated by the player. The player attempts to manipulate an arm member to push prizes into a collection pocket where they are detected and dispensed to the player. U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,374 is directed to a crane game using a vacuum to selectively pick up prizes within a bin. The prizes are arrayed on a rotating turn table, and the player manipulates a vacuum pick up device linearly along a radial direction of the turn table to pick up prizes below. U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,429 discloses another crane game using a video screen for displaying images. A maneuverable sensor contacts the display screen to select prizes displayed thereon. U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,519 discloses an arcade game including a directing mechanism for aiming a game piece such as a token. U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,881 discloses a crane game with a prize redistribution mechanism for dispersing prizes to a substantially level configuration. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,770,001 discloses a vacuum crane game with targets having beaded portions that vary the difficulty of acquiring said targets.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,991,230 discloses an amusement device in the form of an arcade game that comprises a rotating playing field arrayed with targets at the perimeter. Using a projectile such as a token or coin, the player drops the projectile into a chute in an attempt to knock down the targets on the rotating playing field. If the player knocks over a target with the projectile, the target is recognized by a detector and then returned to its original position for subsequent play.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,168,702 invented by the present inventor discloses an arcade type amusement device wherein a projectile such as a token is aimed at a target via a guidance mechanism such as an elongate chute. A deflector may be used to alter the path of the projectile, where the deflector is intermittently present along the trajectory of the projectile so as to require timing to engage the deflector. Upon a successful strike of the target, a ball is released down a helical track toward a rotating playing field interspersed with holes assigned various values. When a ball reaches the rotating playing field, it will rebound and roll until it falls within one of said holes, whereupon a point value is awarded based on the particular value of the hole. The player may receiver redemption tickets or points based on the point value awarded.
The foregoing illustrate arcade type games credited to the present inventor. The games are predominantly skill-based with an element of luck woven into the overall operation of the games. However, the advent of the vacuum crane has led to the ability to include prizes of higher value, which in turn attracts more customers and more profit for the owner of the games. However, with greater value prizes comes the need to more accurately control the win percentage of the games to prevent the games from being won too easily. The present invention addresses this need.


A method for quantitatively measuring lateral continuity at a specified subsurface location from seismic data. The seismic data trace nearest to the specified location is designated as the reference trace. Next, all data traces falling within a specified distance from the reference trace are extracted from the data, and one or more statistics which measure the similarity between each trace and the reference trace are calculated. Only the portions of the traces falling within the target formation are considered. Preferably, the statistics should permit comparison of both the temporal and atemporal behaviors of the traces. The results are compared to objective significance tests to determine whether each trace is the same as or different from the reference trace.

In the oil and gas industry, seismic prospecting techniques are commonly used to aid in the search for and evaluation of subterranean hydrocarbon deposits. In seismic prospecting, an energy source is used to generate a seismic signal which propagates into the earth and is at least partially reflected by subsurface seismic reflectors (i.e., interfaces between underground formations having different elastic properties). The reflections are detected and measured by seismic receivers located at or near the surface of the earth, in an overlying body of water, or at known depths in boreholes, and the resulting seismic data may be processed to yield information relating to the subsurface formations.
The goal of all seismic data processing is to extract from the seismic data as much information as possible regarding the subsurface formations. Early seismic data processing efforts were directed primarily toward the development of methods for determining the geologic structure of the subsurface formations, and methods have been developed which permit geologic structure to be determined with a great deal of accuracy. More recently, however, substantial efforts have been directed toward the development of methods for using seismic data to determine the nature and geologic history of sedimentary rocks and their depositional environments. This is the field of seismic stratigraphy.
Seismic facies analysis is a subdivision of seismic stratigraphy used for regional stratigraphic interpretation. Seismic facies analysis examines the seismic character of a group of reflections to aid in defining the depositional environment, lithology, and geologic history of a seismic facies unit (i.e., a three-dimensional unit of seismic reflections whose characteristics differ from those of adjacent units). As used herein, "seismic character" means any recognizable aspect of a seismic event (e.g., a change in dominant frequency). In other words, the character of a seismic event is the waveshape which distinguishes it from other seismic events. Background information on seismic facies analysis may be found in Sheriff, R. E., 1980, Seismic Stratigraphy, published by International Human Resources Development Corporation, Boston, Mass., pp. 85-116.
Reflection character analysis is another subdivision of seismic stratigraphy which attempts to relate lateral trace-to-trace changes in waveshape to changes in the stratigraphy or interstitial pore fluid of a subsurface formation. These changes are typically in the amplitude, polarity, frequency, seismic velocity, or thickness (i.e., the interval between seismic events) of the reflected wave. Background information on reflection character analysis may be found in Sheriff, supra, pp. 161-183.
One property of seismic data which is useful in seismic stratigraphy is the continuity of the data. As used in connection with the present invention, "continuity" means the maximum lateral distance from a specified location and in a specified azimuthal direction for which the reflection character of a seismic event is essentially unchanged. Knowledge of the lateral continuity around any location is useful for a variety of purposes including, without limitation, checking the reliability of the related seismic interpretation, characterizing the subsurface stratigraphic interval in terms of its seismic facies, assisting in the placement of wells, and assessing the size and determining the volume of hydrocarbons-in-place for the region around an existing well or a proposed new well location.
Unfortunately, heretofore seismic reflection continuity has typically been estimated visually, either on standard displays of seismic data or on instantaneous phase displays. Although several methods have been proposed, there are currently no known methods for quantitatively measuring seismic reflection continuity for a stratigraphic interval which take into account the fact that both the shape and the amplitude of the signals must be considered in determining continuity, the local character of continuity (i.e., that continuity should be measured with respect to a specific location), or the angular (azimuthal) dependence of continuity.
One method which was previously proposed for quantitatively measuring seismic continuity is described in Lu, S. Y. and Cheng, Y. C., 1990, "An iterative approach to seismic skeletonization," Geophysics, vol. 55, pp. 1312-1320. This method attempted to develop pattern recognition algorithms for skeletonizing seismic reflection events. The skeletons of the seismic reflections were then used to measure the average skeletonized seismic reflection length for a window of traces along a 2D seismic line within a stratigraphic sequence. The resulting measure, however, was a window-averaged measure which necessarily depends on the choice of window width. This method does not consider the amplitude similarity of the data and does not recognize either the angular dependence of continuity or its local nature.
Another method which has been proposed for quantitatively measuring seismic continuity uses lateral variations in the spectral coefficient of coherence as a measure of continuity. See, Gibson, B. S. and Levander, A. R., 1990, "Apparent layering in common-midpoint stacked images of two-dimensionally heterogeneous targets," Geophysics, vol. 55, pp. 1466-1477 and Gibson, B. S., 1991, "Analysis of lateral coherency in wide-angle seismic images of heterogeneous targets," Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 96, pp. 10261-10273. This method was originally developed for use with prestack seismic data, but could be generalized for use with stacked data. According to this method, the spectral coefficient of coherence, which is a function of frequency, is defined for a specified window. The coefficient is actually an average measure of the similarity of the seismic signals within the window and, therefore, necessarily depends on the choice of window width. Again, this method does not take into account the amplitude similarity of the data, the angular dependence of continuity, or the local nature of continuity. Moreover, the frequency dependence of coherence requires application of Fourier transformations to the seismic data, and because of the limitations of Fourier analysis for short time windows, this method is reliable only for seismic intervals much thicker than typically encountered.
The semblance coefficient has been proposed as a measure of lateral changes in seismic facies. See, Vossler, D. A., 1989, "Automatic delineation of lateral facies changes in clastic environments," Proceedings of the 59th Annual International Meeting, Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Paper SI 5.4, pp. 803-804, Tulsa, Okla. Although usually applied to prestack seismic data, this method could be generalized to stacked data to measure continuity. However, as with the coefficient of coherence, semblance is calculated for a specified window and, accordingly, necessarily depends on the choice of window width. Therefore, semblance does not measure a trace-to-trace geometric length having a specified azimuthal direction, but rather a property of the selected data window.
Finally, variogram analysis is another type of analysis which could be used to measure seismic continuity. The range of the variogram, i.e., the distance at which the spatial correlation vanishes along a given direction, is often mentioned as a measure of the "continuity distance" for the analyzed variable, and could be used as a spatial measure of continuity. However, the range of a variogram is an average value since it does not correspond to any specific location. Further, when seismic intervals of varying thicknesses are considered, as is often the case, the seismic signal for any given trace must be represented by a selected attribute. The variogram analysis is then applied to the selected attribute to estimate the continuity along a chosen direction. The resulting distance would be a reliable approximation of seismic continuity only to the degree that the selected attribute is a complete descriptor of the seismic character of the interval. If the selected attribute is not representative of the seismic character of the interval, then the result of the variogram analysis is not an accurate measure of seismic continuity.
From the foregoing discussion, it is apparent that there is a need for a reliable method for quantitatively estimating the lateral continuity of the seismic reflection character around any given location. The present invention satisfies this need.

Method for measuring lateral continuity at a specified subsurface location from seismic data


A method, system, and computer program product for database application migration. The method commences upon executing a foreign application, the foreign application emits SQL statements of a foreign SQL dialect that is incompatible with the SQL dialect of a native database system. The system configures a communication session to intercept the foreign SQL statements before the foreign SQL statements are received by the SQL parser of the native database system; and, while the foreign application is waiting for query results, the system translates the foreign dialect query statements into native SQL compatible with the native database system. The method further performs translating a return code from the native database system into a return code compatible with the foreign application. Configuring the database session connection comprises establishing a translation profile to translate foreign dialect SQL into native SQL, and to translate native SQL query return codes into foreign dialect return codes.

The commercial importance of a high-performance and high-capacity database systems has resulted in a rapid proliferation of approaches by multiple vendors to supply high-performance and high-capacity database solutions. Over time, however, some of the plethora of approaches are amalgamated into fewer approaches. For example, users of multiple database systems in an enterprise may coalesce into fewer or even a single database system for ongoing operations. Or, one enterprise using a particular vendor's database system may be acquired and/or merged into another (e.g., larger) enterprise using a different vendor's database system. In many cases persistent data from one database system can be migrated into various forms of persistent data of another database system. Unfortunately, differing approaches by multiple vendors has resulted in a proliferation of dialects of SQL languages. Still, the strong need to coalesce multiple database systems into fewer or even a single database system for ongoing operations coupled with the very expensive and intractable technique of manual translation has precipitated vendor development of various techniques intended to facilitate coalescing activities.
In an environment having a source database with source applications (e.g., a foreign environment) that need to be coalesced into a target database (e.g., a native environment), several fully- or partially-automated techniques have been proposed and used singly and in combination, for example:                Manually recompile the foreign applications under the native environment.        Manually translate the foreign SQL language constructs into native SQL language constructs.        Manually or semi-automatically translate the foreign database data itself into a corresponding native database.
Yet, the foregoing techniques cover only some of the possible origins of foreign SQL language statements. For example, foreign applications may assemble queries during run-time—such queries are available nowhere in complete form until run-time, so it cannot be known until run-time that there is such a query to be translated. Worse, legacy implementations cover only some of the possible constructs of foreign SQL language statements. Thus the legacy techniques to coalesce are in need of improvements, at least to provide fully- or partially-automated techniques for translating foreign SQL language statements into native SQL language statements (e.g., for translating foreign SQL into native SQL) regardless of the origin and regardless of the nature of the constructs of foreign SQL language statements.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved approach.


Horizontal and vertical registration errors in a color television camera are automatically error corrected by detecting registration errors in live scenes. Each error is associated with the preselected region of the raster in which it was detected. The errors are separately collected for each region. An error waveform is generated from collected error values. The past history of registration errors is also used. A correction waveform is generated to correct the registration error by minimizing the error waveform. This automatic registration system is microprocessor controlled.

A raster registration system for a television camera is provided in which an error waveform is utilized to develop a correction waveform for reducing the misregistration of the rasters.
Color television cameras generally include two or more image pickup devices (image forming tubes or charge coupled device (CCD) arrays) for developing separate video signals representative of component colors of a scene being viewed by the camera. Accurate registration or synchronization of the video signals produced by a color television camera is important so that the signals simultaneously convey information related to the same portion of an image.
Camera registration has traditionally been accomplished by adding linear combinations of predetermined waveforms to best approximate the registration error of the camera. The weighting coefficients for these waveforms are entered by a technician who dials in varying amounts of the different waveforms while the camera is aimed at a test chart. These waveforms are then used to modify the deflection signals applied to the imaging devices to bring the signals provided by the various devices into alignment.
This manual approach and many automatic approaches typically require the use of calibration charts to construct the data set used for on-air correction. Automatic registration systems have been developed which automatically converge on the optimal set of adjustments while the camera is aimed at the test chart. This typically involves developing an output video waveform from each image pickup device by capturing images of the test chart and comparing the phase or time displacement of the resultant video waveforms with those produced by the other image pickup devices.
In other words, many known automatic registration systems require the use of a special registration setup chart to enable a predetermined pattern of figures to be imaged onto the various pickup devices of the camera, and registration is performed as part of the normal camera setup procedure prior to going on-air. As the pattern is scanned, transitions in the video signals associated with the edges of the figures are compared, and correction signals are applied to the scan circuits of the camera so that corresponding transitions in the different video signals occur simultaneously. The correct operation of the many systems is dependent upon the existence of video signal transitions in predetermined regions of the raster, and, in some cases, upon transitions between full black and full white levels. Over a period of time, however, registration can change, because of changes in temperature or voltage, or because of drift in electrical circuits, and the camera must be taken off-air to readjust the registration.
If zoom, focus and iris adjustments are taken into account, as they must be for lens chromatic aberration correction, an extremely tedious and time-consuming setup procedure is necessary to build the registration data set for all the possible combinations of lens settings. Thus, for this application, a system which builds its error data set from typical scene material is desirable.
Another approach which uses on-air measurement divides the raster into many zones, and then stores, in memory, the errors for each zone as they are detected. The correction waveforms are updated as data becomes available. While this method solves the problem of setting up the camera, it requires a very large memory to store all of the errors in each of the zones for all of the various zoom, focus, and iris positions. An automatic registration correction system requiring a large memory for storing all of the errors in each of the zones is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,916, entitled "Automatic On-Air Registration System and Method for Color TV Camera", which is hereby incorporated by reference for its teachings on automatic correction of registration errors.
Although there are automatic registration system that operate on-air to correct registration errors, those systems have limited capability or other disadvantages which limit their usefulness. Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,003, entitled "Raster Registration System for a Television Camera", and U.S. Pat. No. 4,316,257, entitled "Dynamic Modification of Spatial Distortion Correction Capabilities of Scintillation Camera", which are hereby incorporated by reference for their teachings on correction of camera registration errors. Thus, it is desirable to provide improved systems and methods that are capable of operating on-air with actual scenes to automatically detect and correct registration errors in signals produced by color television cameras.

Registration correction waveform determination method and system for a television camera

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


An endless elastomeric vacuum sweeper belt for use in a vacuum sweeper having a diamond pattern drive surface. A first set of ribs project inwardly in a substantially diagonal direction along the drive surface of the belt. A second set of ribs project inwardly along the drive surface of the belt in a substantially diagonal direction opposite the direction of the first set of ribs. The first and set second set of ribs together define a diamond-like pattern on the drive surface as well as a number of particle recesses for the temporary collection of matter. Each rib includes knife-like edge portions to increase the traction of the belt on a drive surface by cutting, loosening and expelling foreign matter lodged between the belt drive surface and the rotation member and/or the drive source of the vacuum sweeper.

Elastomeric endless power transmission belts are well known and widely used in apparatus such as yarn-processing machines, combustion engines, and vacuum sweepers. Historically, drive belts were made from leather or cloth belting sewn together at the ends to define an endless loop. Over time, more elastic and less expensive materials, i.e. synthetic rubber, has been substituted for leather and cloth in the manufacture of drive belts.
Modern vacuum sweeper belts are typically cylindrical or rectilinear in shape to maximize the surface of the belt which drivingly engages the brush roll of the sweeper. The belt drive surface is usually smooth, unperforated and free of any traction enhancing features. One historical problem with the design of vacuum sweeper drive belts is caused by the collection of dirt, hair carpet fibers and other foreign matter on the brush roll during operation of the sweeper. The matter works its way between the drive surface of the belt and the bunch roll reducing the traction, and increasing the slippage, of the drive belt on the brush roll. The reduced traction results in slower revolutions of the brush roll during sweeper operation, significantly decreasing the volume of dirt and other matter picked up by the sweeper.
A variety of drive belts have been designed to overcome specific problems with the apparatus on which they are deployed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,615 discloses a drive belt having rhomboidally or trapezoidally shaped teeth disposed on the belt drive surface which operates without creating the siren-like noise characteristic of toothed belts.
The apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,129,553 is designed to prevent the accumulation of lint on a spindle drive tape during the operation of yarn-processing machines by passing the drive surface of the tape over an idler roll having knurled surface. The knurled surface and the centrifugal force of the idler roll contact to remove lint from the tape surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,912,722 discloses a drafting apron having a plurality of ribs disposed on the apron drive surface. The ribs extend diagonally along the inner surface of the apron to define a criss-cross diamond-like pattern on the inner surface of the apron.
None of the aforementioned belt features have been applied to vacuum sweeper drive belts to improve belt traction on the vacuum brush roll to eliminate the negative effects of unwanted matter accumulation on the roll.


Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, are provided for a case join. In one aspect, there is provided method, which may include receiving a query for a predefined view that is configured to inhibit modification; detecting whether the predefined view includes a database table extended to include an additional column; and generating, in response to the query, a view based on a case join, when the predefined view includes the database table extended to include the additional column. Related apparatus, systems, methods, and articles are also described.

Database queries have become increasingly complex. As a consequence, some queries (and/or other database operations) or views may be provided to an end-user in a pre-configured form that is not readily modifiable by an end-user. Although this provides convenience to the end-user, it may reduce flexibility. An example of this is a predetermined view, such as a sales revenue view, in a current quarter for product X. The predetermined view represents a common query on a database that can be preconfigured by the database system developer, for example, and not readily modifiable by the end-user. This predetermined view may provide a certain view that can be presented at a user interface but not modifiable by the end-user.


A nucleic acid construct that includes (i) a first nucleic acid sequence encoding TNF alpha; (ii) a second nucleic acid sequence encoding a Diphtheria toxin; and (iii) at least one additional nucleic acid sequence of a cancer specific promoter. The TNF alpha and Diphtheria toxin encoding sequences are under an expression control of the cancer specific promoter. Also provided are construct systems and methods and uses of same.

The present invention relates to nucleic acid constructs, pharmaceutical compositions and methods of using such constructs for treating cancer.
Neoplasia is a process that occurs in cancer, by which the normal controlling mechanisms that regulate cell growth and differentiation are impaired, resulting in progressive growth. This impairment of control mechanisms allows a tumor to enlarge and occupy spaces in vital areas of the body. If the tumor invades surrounding tissue and is transported to distant sites (metastases) it will likely result in death of the individual.
The desired goal of cancer therapy is to kill cancer cells preferentially, without having a deleterious effect on normal cells. Several methods have been used in an attempt to reach this goal, including surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
Surgery was the first cancer treatment available, and still plays a major role in diagnosis, staging, and treatment of cancer, and may be the primary treatment for early cancers. However, although surgery may be an effective way to cure tumors confined to a particular site, these tumors may not be curable by resection due to micrometastatic disease outside the tumor field. Any cancer showing a level of metastasis effectively cannot be cured through surgery alone.
Radiation therapy is another local (nonsystemic) form of treatment used for the control of localized cancers. Many normal cells have a higher capacity for intercellular repair than neoplastic cells, rendering them less sensitive to radiation damage. Radiation therapy relies on this difference between neoplastic and normal cells in susceptibility to damage by radiation, and the ability of normal organs to continue to function well if they are only segmentally damaged. Thus, the success of radiation therapy depends upon the sensitivity of tissue surrounding the tumor to radiation therapy. Radiation therapy is associated with side effects that depend in part upon the site of administration, and include fatigue, local skin reactions, nausea and vomiting. In addition, radiation therapy is mutagenic, carcinogenic and teratogenic, and may place the patient at risk of developing secondary tumors.
Other types of local therapy have been explored, including local hyperthermia, photoradiation therapy and interstitial radiation. Unfortunately, these approaches have been met with only moderate success.
Local treatments, such as radiation therapy and surgery, offer a way of reducing the tumor mass in regions of the body that is accessible through surgical techniques or high doses of radiation therapy. However, more effective local therapies with fewer side effects are needed. Moreover, these treatments are not applicable to the destruction of widely disseminated or circulating tumor cells eventually found in most cancer patients. To combat the spread of tumor cells, systemic therapies are used.
One such systemic treatment is chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is the main treatment for disseminated, malignant cancers. However, chemotherapeutic agents are limited in their effectiveness for treating many cancer types, including many common solid tumors. This failure is in part due to the intrinsic or acquired drug resistance of many tumor cells. Another drawback to the use of chemotherapeutic agents is their severe side effects. These include bone marrow suppression, nausea, vomiting, hair loss, and ulcerations in the mouth. Clearly, new approaches are needed to enhance the efficiency with which a chemotherapeutic agent can kill malignant tumor cells, while at the same time avoiding systemic toxicity.
Because it is unlikely that gene transfer reaches every cell of a cancer, DNA based therapy approaches are thought to require the induction of a 'bystander' effect. An interesting and novel approach for this purpose is cytokine DNA based therapy. In particular, use of TNF-α seems an attractive strategy to prevent for example, bladder tumor recurrence after transurethral resection.
TNF-α is a multifunctional and immunoregulatory cytokine that exhibits direct tumor cell cytotoxicity, possesses antiangiogenetic properties, and enhances antitumor immunity by activating immune cells such as dendritic cells and T cells. Induction of TNF-α is thought to be partly responsible for the effect of BCG immunotherapy in the prevention of TCC recurrences (1,2) and recombinant cytokine therapy has—in principle—proved efficacious for bladder cancer (3). However, systemic delivery of the TNF-alpha protein has had limited success clinically because of severe dose limiting toxic effects.
This limitation can be overcome by the use of a gene delivery approach, combined with a tumor specific promoter to express TNF-α in the tumor tissue, optionally together with a tumor specific expression of a toxin.
H19 was the first human imprinted non protein-coding gene to be identified showing expression of only the maternal allele (Rachmilewitz et al, 1992; Zhang and Tycko, 1992). It is also imprinted in mice (Bartolomei et al, 1991). H19 was mapped on the short arm of chromosome 11, band 15.5, homologous to a region of murine chromosome 7 (Leibovitch et al, 1991). It belongs to a group of genes that very likely does not code for a protein product (Brannan et al, 1990).
Studies of various tumors have demonstrated a re-expression or an over-expression of the H19 gene when compared to healthy tissues. Moreover in cancers of different etiologies and lineages, aberrant expression in allelic pattern was observed in some cases. While H19 shows mono-allelic expression in most tissues throughout development, with the exception of germ cells at certain stages of maturation, and in extra-villous trophoblasts, bi-allelic expression of this gene, referred as "relaxation of imprinting" or LOI, have been found in an increasing number of cancers, for example, hepatocellular carcinoma, liver neoplasms of albumin SV40 T antigen-transgenic rats, lung adenocarcinoma, esophageal, ovarian, rhabdomyosarcoma, cervical, bladder, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, colorectal, uterus and in testicular germ cell tumors. Today nearly 30 types of cancers show dysregulated expression of H19 gene as compared to healthy tissues, with or without LOI. For recent review see (Matouk et al, 2005).
It was also shown that H19 over-expression of ectopic origin conferred a proliferative advantage for breast epithelial cells in a soft agar assay and in several combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice (Lottin et al, 2002). In tumors formed by the injection of cells of a choriocarcinoma-derived cell line (JEG-3), and a bladder carcinoma cell line (T24P), the H19 level is very high when compared to the level of H19 in cells before injection (Rachmilewitz et al, 1995; Elkin et al, 1995; Lustig-Yariv et al, 1997).
Moreover, certain known carcinogens upregulate the expression of the H19 gene. A dramatic elevation of H19 RNA levels was detected in the airway epithelium of smokers without loss of imprinting (LOI) (Kaplan et al, 2003). BBN (N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl nitrosamine, a known carcinogen of the bladder) also induces the expression of H19 gene in the rat model of bladder cancer (Elkin et al, 1998; Ariel et al, 2004). Likewise, Diethylnitrosamine (a known carcinogen of the liver) induces the expression of H19 in a mice model of hepatocellular carcinoma (Graveel et al, 2001).
The specific expression of H19 gene in cancer cells has prompted its use in clinical applications for diagnosing cancer.
Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 5,955,273 to the present inventors teaches the use of H19 gene as a tumor specific marker.
PCT Pub. No. WO 9524503 teaches the detection of malignancies and their grading with a H19 gene probe by in-situ hybridization—useful for detecting presence/absence of malignancy in pediatric Wilms' Tumor.
PCT Pub. No. WO 04024957 teaches detecting cancer or the presence of residual cancer cells or micro-metastasis by detecting the presence of H119 RNA in the specimen.
The use of H19 promoter for specifically expressing cytotoxic agents in cancer cells has been suggested in PCT Pub. No. WO9918195 which teaches the specific expression of heterologous sequences, particularly genes encoding cytotoxic products, in tumor cells under the control of regulatory transcriptional sequences (e.g., H19 promoter).
To date cancer-specific gene therapy using TNFα and diphtheria toxin A under a cancer specific promoter has never been suggested or attempted.

Nucleic acid constructs, pharmaceutical compositions and methods of using same for treating cancer

Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem


An anti-snooping device for doors to apartments comprising a locking mechanism and a relatively low-strength, "tamperproof" seal capable of engaging the locking mechanism, the locking mechanism being capable of disengagement without, however, compromising the "tamperproof" seal. The invention's preferred embodiment is a chain door lock in which one of the chain's links has been replaced by a coded, colored, plastic, "tamperproof" seal. To enter the apartment, the apartment dweller uses, first, her door key and then, second, the key to or, alternately, the combination of, the anti-snooping device. Entry by anyone else must be effected by breaking the "tamperproof" seal or by breaking or successfully picking the anti-snooping device's lock.

This invention relates generally to door security devices, and more particularly it relates to a novel type of seal door lock. The present invention provides a solution to the apartment dweller's dilemma: how to guarantee freedom of entry to building maintenance personnel to make unscheduled, but necessary repairs while at the same time deterring snooping and wrongful entry by persons with privileged access to the apartment dweller's door key.
An ordinary seal lock is inconvenient for this purpose, because the seal must generally be replaced after each authorized entry. Few apartment dwellers will want such a fussy device.
On the other hand, a seal lock whose appearance is quite unfamiliar, or one that involves a mechanical linkage without provision for a visually obvious, breakable seal, may seem to a management agent to be a serious obstacle to entry. In an emergency, time may be lost looking for a hacksaw, and a liability may thus be incurred by the apartment dweller.

Anti-snooping device for apartment dwellers


An applicator for eradicating or removing transparent or translucent emphasizing inks, particularly from a paper surface, wherein the emphasizing ink has been used over permanent ink or a printed surface to emphasize such surface or an area and which applicator comprises a container, a liquid bleaching agent in the container for the emphasizing ink and means on one end of the container, such as a felt tip or roller, to apply a thin film of the liquid bleaching agent to the emphasizing ink and to effect the eradication or removal thereof without substantially affecting the removal or eradication of the underlying ink or printed material which has been emphasized. A method of eradicating transparent ink markings from a surface, such as a paper surface, which method comprises applying a liquid bleaching agent over the ink marked portion of the surface to be eradicated to chemically bleach and eradicate the ink material so marked without substantially affecting any printed ink or print on the underlying surface.

Many brand names and varieties of markers exist for the purpose of emphasizing printed or written material and to designate particular areas on paper surfaces. For example, one such commercial type of marker is produced by Carter's Ink Company and is known by the trade name HIGHLIGHTER.RTM..
Typically, these emphasizing markers use pastel or fluorescent shades of transparent or translucent inks or dyes which are water-based and non-pigmented. Such highlighting inks and dyes are generally applied by rubbing a liquid saturated felt tipped applicator across or around the paper surface which is to be emphasized and generally over the permanent type of ink marking to be emphasized. The paper surfaces typically are photocopies, books, drawings, newsprint, documents or other similar papers having rather permanent type ink or print thereon.
Highlighting is so easy to apply that it is often overused, mistakes are easy to make and most unfortunately many of the colors reproduce as gray shaded areas on photocopies of highlighted surfaces. It is therefore highly desirable to provide a means to erase, eradicate or otherwise remove the emphasizing inks or dyes from paper or other surfaces with little or no affect to the underlying printed, written or photocopied text and without substantial damage to the paper or other surfaces.

Emphasizing ink removing applicator and ink removal method


The object of the present invention is to provide a thermoreversible recording medium which possesses not only such an excellent property that the electrostatic charge on the thermoreversible recording medium can be prevented and the curling of the thermoreversible recording medium caused by repeating heating for the printing and erasing of the thermoreversible recording medium can be also prevented, but also an excellent conveyability which is not affected by repeating the use of the thermoreversible recording medium and by an using condition thereof. For attaining the object, the present invention provides a thermoreversible recording medium comprising a support, a thermosensitive layer disposed on the support which reversibly changes the color depending on the temperature, a protective layer disposed on the thermosensitive layer, and a back layer disposed on a surface of the support which is opposite to another surface of the support on which the thermosensitive layer is disposed, wherein the back layer comprises a needle-like conductive filler.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermoreversible recording medium which possesses an excellent property that accumulation of electrostatic charge on the thermoreversible recording medium may be prevented and the curling of the thermoreversible recording medium caused by repeated heating for printing and erasing of the thermoreversible recording medium also may be prevented, and in addition possesses an excellent conveyability which is not affected by repeated use of the thermoreversible recording medium and by a condition of use thereof, and also relates to a thermoreversible recording label, a thermoreversible recording member, an image processing apparatus and a process which employ the thermoreversible recording medium respectively.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a thermoreversible recording medium (hereinafter, sometimes referred as "reversible thermosensitive recording medium" or "recording medium") on which a temporary image may be formed and the formed image may be also erased, when the image is not necessary more, attracts much attention. As a representative example of such cording media, a thermoreversible recording medium produced by dispersing a color developer, such as an organic phosphorus compound, aliphatic carboylic acid compound and phenol compound which contain a long-chain aliphatic hydrocarbon group and a coloring agent, such as a leuco dye in a resin composition, is well-known (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) Nos. 5-124360 and 6-210954).
Many of such thermoreversible recording media comprise PET film having a magnetic recording layer as a support and are used commercially as a material for mainly a point card. On the other hand, many methods for producing a thermoreversible recording medium are proposed, wherein the thermoreversible recording medium is produced by laminating a multi-layer unit in which a thermoreversible recording layer is disposed on a surface of a thin support and an adhesive layer is disposed on another surface of the support, on various kinds of substrates with applying heat or pressure. A multi-layer unit comprises a thermoreversible recording layer, a thin support and an adhesive layer, wherein a thermoreversible recording layer is disposed on a surface of the support and the adhesive layer is disposed on another reverse surface of the support (see JP-A Nos. 2000-94866, 2000-251042, 2001-63228 and 2002-103654).
However, in these proposed methods, examples of the above-noted substrates included substrates for optical memory, contact type IC, non-contact type IC and magnetic recording and since these substrates were mostly very thick, the size of cards produced by using these substrates was limited and the application purpose of these cards was also limited. In other words, these cards were not suitable for an enter-exit ticket, stickers for containers of frozen foods, industrial products and various medicines, and wide screens indicating various informations for controls of product distribution and production process.
Therefore, for above-noted application purposes, a thermoreversible recording medium having a size of "sheet size" which is larger than card size is necessary to be used. Here, "sheet size" means a size which is larger than card size (54 mm×85 mm).
When the above-noted thermoreversible recording medium is used as a sheet, the size of the recording medium becomes larger than the size of a point card or a card made of a thick substrate. Accordingly, when such a thermoreversible recording medium is conveyed by the printer, the recording medium becomes easily electrostatically charged by the contact of a recording medium with another recording medium or with a conveying roller of the printer and a static charge accumulated on a thermoreversible recording medium becomes larger, because of a larger contacting area of a thermoreversible recording medium with another thermoreversible recording medium or with a conveying roller of the printer. As a result, thermoreversible recording media stick to each other and the thermoreversible recording medium may be difficultly conveyed by the printer. On the other hand, a thermoreversible recording medium having a large size poses a problem that since the thermoreversible recording medium is shrunk by repeating the printing and erasing by heating, the curling is caused on the thermoreversible recording medium and a large curling may cause a defect in conveyance of the thermoreversible recording medium.
There is reported a thermoreversible recording medium in which an anti-static effect thereof is improved for solving the above-noted problem. For example, in JP-A No. 11-254822, there is proposed a thermoreversible recording medium having a surface resistance of 1×1013 ohm/square or less (measured at 20° C. and under a relative humidity of 65%) and a surface static friction coefficient of 0.65 or less. However, in this proposal, the thermoreversible recording medium has a lower surface resistance measured under a low humidity and particularly with respect to a thermoreversible recording medium having a surface resistance of 1×1011 ohm/square or less, disadvantage is caused in that since the static charge cannot be satisfactorily removed from the thermoreversible recording medium under a low humidity and the thermoreversible recording medium is charged by repeating the printing and erasing under a low humidity, thermoreversible recording media stick to each other in the printer and then, a defect in conveyance of the thermoreversible recording medium is caused. There is posed also a problem that the curling on the thermoreversible recording medium becomes larger by repeating the use of the thermoreversible recording medium and it results also in a defect in conveyance of the thermoreversible recording medium.
In JP-A No.10-250239, there is proposed a thermoreversible recording medium comprising conductive particles having a shortest diameter of 1 μm or less. In this proposal, a less amount of dust attaches to the thermoreversible recording medium, however there is neither disclosed nor suggested a description with respect to a surface form of the thermoreversible recording medium and when thermoreversible recording media having a surface which is mentioned in the proposal are piled in the printer, they may be difficultly conveyed by a paper feeding roll in the printer. As a result, sheets of thermoreversible recording media cannot be separated into an individual sheet and then, the conveyablity of the thermoreversible recording medium is impaired in the printer. In addition, the proposed thermoreversible recording medium poses a problem that during repeating the printing and erasing of the thermoreversible recording medium, the curling is caused by heating for the printing and erasing and the conveyablity of the thermoreversible recording medium is impaired in the printer.
Further, in JP-A No.11-91243, there is proposed a thermoreversible recording medium comprising at least one layer comprised of particles of a conductive metal oxide semi-conductor, wherein the particle is a conductive pigment coated with tin oxide. However, it is the same as mentioned in JP-A No.10-250239 above that there is no description with respect to a surface form of the thermoreversible recording medium in the proposal and when thermoreversible recording media having a surface which is mentioned in the proposal are piled in the printer, they may be difficultly conveyed by a paper feeding roll in the printer. As a result, sheets of thermoreversible recording media may not be separated into an individual sheet and then, the conveyablity of the thermoreversible recording medium is impaired in the printer. In addition, the proposed thermoreversible recording medium poses a problem that during repeating the printing and erasing of the thermoreversible recording medium, the curling is caused by heating for the printing and erasing and the conveyablity of the thermoreversible recording medium is impaired in the printer.
In other fields, as a method for imparting an anti-static function to the thermoreversible recording medium, for example, a heat transfer receiving sheet comprising a conductive needle-like crystal is proposed (see JP-A No.11-78255). However, when the method of this proposal is applied to the thermoreversible recording medium, a satisfactory anti-static function of the thermoreversible recording medium cannot be obtained and there is reported no example for forming an anti-static layer on the most outer surface of the thermoreversible recording medium. In this case, the conveyablity of the thermoreversible recording medium is also unsatisfactory. Moreover, in this proposal, during repeating the printing and erasing, disadvantage is caused in that thermoreversible recording media stick to each other and multi feeding of the recording media is caused. Further, in this proposal, the curling of the thermoreversible recording medium cannot be satisfactorily prevented and during repeating the printing and erasing by heating, the curling becomes larger. As a result, there is posed a problem that a defect in the conveyance is caused.
For preventing the curling, there is proposed a thermoreversible recording medium comprising a protective layer (the surface) and a back layer (the reverse surface) (the both layers are made of a ultraviolet-curable resin), wherein a kinetic coefficient of friction between the protective layer and the back layer is 0.3 or more and a kinetic coefficient of friction between 2 protective layers is 0.3 or less (see JP-A No.8-187941). By this proposal, the curling can be effectively prevented; however, the thermoreversible recording medium of this proposal is charged during repeating the printing and erasing and thermoreversible recording media stick to each other, thereby resulting in a defect in the conveyance. Further, during repeating the printing and erasing, to the thermoreversible recording medium heat and pressure are applied by a thermal head and heat is applied by an erasing unit; accordingly the surface property of the thermoreversible recording medium is so changed that a defect in conveyance thereof may be induced. In addition, when thermoreversible recording media are set into the printer in such a wrong setting order that the reverse surface of a thermoreversible recording medium faces to the reverse surface of another thermoreversible recording medium, a kinetic coefficient of friction between a surface and another surface differs from a kinetic coefficient of friction between a reverse surface and another reverse surface and as a result, disadvantage is caused in that a defect in conveyance of the thermoreversible recording medium may be induced.
As noted above, there are a method for preventing the electrostatic charge and a method for preventing the curling individually; however a thermoreversible recording medium which possesses not only such an excellent property that both the electrostatic charge and the curling can be prevented, but also an excellent conveyability which is not affected by repeating the use of the thermoreversible recording medium and by an using condition thereof, and a related technique thereto have not been attained yet.

Thermoreversible recording medium, thermoreversible recording label and thermoreversible recording member, and, image processing apparatus and image processing method


A skate comprising a foot enclosure with a ball region and a heel region includes a first hanger set coupled to the foot enclosure adjacent the ball region, and a second hanger set coupled to the foot enclosure adjacent the heel region. The skate further includes a plurality of wheels corresponding in number to the hangers of the first and second hanger sets wherein the wheels are rotatably and angularly coupled to the corresponding hangers. The skate may be customizable in that the hangers may be selectively and removably coupled to the foot enclosure. A method for customizing a wheel arrangement on a skate is also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a skate and preferably to an in-line skate having angularly mounted wheels. Preferably, the wheel arrangement and wheel mounting design allow the skate to be customizable and optimally angled to the skating surface. Axle force distribution, wheel hanger design and mounting plate configuration improve performance of the skate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Skates having a plurality of wheels aligned in-line on a common vertical plane are known. Typically, an in-line roller skate includes a one piece frame with parallel axle apertures formed through the frame. Axles for the wheels are disposed in the apertures along the one piece frame. In this way, all wheels are disposed in a similar vertical angular configuration. Some embodiments of in-line skates position the wheels of a skate at varying vertical heights. Some also include quick release features of the wheels.
In-line skates have the advantage over conventional roller skates of having the feel and behavior associated with ice skates. Several attempts have been made to improve performance of the in-line skate.
A skate wherein the wheels are angularly mounted to the skate is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,940 ('940 patent) that describes an in-line skate having wheels disposed in an angular relationship to the vertical plane. The wheels are affixed in a consistently even, closely spaced, relationship along one longitudinal axis. In one embodiment, an intermediate wheel is inclined in an opposite direction with respect to at least two angularly disposed wheels for allowing overlap between the wheels and making it possible to mount more wheels on the skate than is possible with conventional vertical in-line wheel mounting. This is referred to as a V-line skate. Alternatively, the wheels may be mounted so that they are angled in the same direction.
In the '940 patent, the mounting plate has a length shorter than the sole of the boot for attaching the closely spaced wheels to the bottom of the skate. Mounting brackets have a cantilevered support for a single wheel with the upper part of the bracket being permanently attached to the mounting plate. An axle is attached to the mounting bracket and a wheel attached to the axle. Reversal of wheel angle is effected by turning the mounting plate end for end and reinstalling the mounting plate on the boot.
The skate described in the '940 patent has at least the shortcomings that permanent hanger brackets prevent easy customization of the skate. Also, the mounting brackets and axle can contact the skating surface during extreme angulation of the skate towards the skating surface resulting in an unrecoverable slide. In addition, the alignment of closely spaced wheels along a singular common longitudinal axis on a shortened plate results in a shortened wheel base and instability of the skate.
It is desirable to provide a skate which can be easily and readily customized by the skater and can provide improved performance characteristics of the skate including during angulation of the skate towards the skating surface.

Customizable skate with removable wheel hangers


An apparatus for generating a high frequency audio signal that includes an analyzer for analyzing an input signal to determine a transient information adaptively. Additionally a spectral converter is provided for converting the input signal into an input spectral representation. A spectral processor processes the input spectral representation to generate a processed spectral representation including values for higher frequencies than the input spectral representation. A time converter is configured for converting the processed spectral representation to a time representation, wherein the spectral converter or the time converter are controllable to perform a frequency domain oversampling for the first portion of the input signal having the transient information associated and to not perform the frequency domain oversampling for the second portion of the input signal not having the associated transient information.

The present invention relates to coding of audio signals, and in particular to high frequency reconstruction methods including a frequency domain transposer such as a harmonic transposer.
Conventionally, there are several methods for high frequency reconstruction using harmonic transposition, or time-stretching or similar. One method used is based on phase vocoders. These operate under the principle of doing a frequency analysis with sufficiently high frequency resolution, and the signal modification in the frequency domain prior to synthesizing the signal. The time-stretch or transposition depends on the combination of analysis window, analysis window stride, synthesis window, synthesis window stride, as well as phase adjustments of the analyzed signal.
One of the problem that inevitably exists with these methods is the contradiction between the needed frequency resolution in order to get a high quality transposition for stationary sounds, and the transient response of the system for transient sounds.
An algorithm which employs phase vocoders as, for example, described in M. Puckette. Phase-locked Vocoder. IEEE ASSP Conference on Applications of Signal Processing to Audio and Acoustics, Mohonk 1995.", Röbel, A.: Transient detection and preservation in the phase vocoder; citeseer.ist.psu.edu/679246.html; Laroche L., Dolson M.: "Improved phase vocoder timescale modification of audio", IEEE Trans. Speech and Audio Processing, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 323-332 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,549,884 Laroche, J. & Dolson, M.: Phase-vocoder pitch-shifting for the patch generation, has been presented in Frederik Nagel, Sascha Disch, "A harmonic bandwidth extension method for audio codecs," ICASSP International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing, IEEE CNF, Taipei, Taiwan, April 2009. However, this method called "harmonic bandwidth extension" (HBE) is prone to quality degradations of transients contained in the audio signal, as described in Frederik Nagel, Sascha Disch, Nikolaus Rettelbach, "A phase vocoder driven bandwidth extension method with novel transient handling for audio codecs," 126th AES Convention, Munich, Germany, May 2009, since vertical coherence over subbands is not guaranteed to be preserved in the standard phase vocoder algorithm and, moreover, the re-calculation of the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) phases has to be performed on isolated time blocks of a transform implicitly assuming circular periodicity.
It is known that specifically two kinds of artifacts due to the block based phase vocoder processing can be observed. These, in particular, are dispersion of the waveform and temporal aliasing due to temporal cyclic convolution effects of the signal due to the application of newly calculated phases.
In other words, because of the application of a phase modification on the spectral values of the audio signal in the BWE algorithm, a transient contained in a block of the audio signal may be wrapped around the block, i.e., cyclically convolved back into the block. This results in temporal aliasing and, consequently, leads to a degradation of the audio signal.
Therefore, methods for a special treatment for signal parts containing transients should be employed. However, especially since the BWE algorithm is performed on the decoder side of a codec chain, computational complexity is a serious issue. Accordingly, measures against the just-mentioned audio signal degradation should not come at the price of a largely increased computational complexity.

Apparatus and method for generating a high frequency audio signal using adaptive oversampling

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.