A scanning and targeting system (100) interconnects a plurality of radio channel units (203) in a single trunk group with a plurality of antennas (202), each radio channel unit (203) having a receive section and a transmit section and the scanning and targeting system dynamically connecting the receive section of each one of the radio channel units with any one of the plurality of antennas which, on average during a sampling period, has the strongest received signal strength of RF signals at the operating frequency of the radio channel unit, and the scanning and targeting system dynamically interconnecting the transmit section of each of the plurality of radio channel units with any one of the plurality of antennas which, on average during the sampling period, is best suited for transmitting RF signals at the operating frequency of the radio channel unit in a direction corresponding to the desired destination for the transmitted RF signals.

In a typical land mobile radio system, such as a mobile cellular telephone system or personal communications network (PCN), a plurality of cells are defined which make up the system. Each cell is a geographically defined area wherein communications are handled by a land mobile radio base site (cell site) for mobile units operating within the boundaries of the cell. Although these cells are often represented as hexagons in cell design schemes, in reality, due to terrain and the presence of buildings and other structures, the actual boundary of a cell may have an irregular shape.
As is well known in the art, cell layouts are typically characterized by a frequency reuse pattern where a number of different frequency sets are defined. Each cell uses a particular frequency set, and the cell layout is designed to provide the maximum separation between cells using the same frequency set so as to minimize interference.
As a mobile unit travels along a path that passes from one cell to another, a handoff occurs from one cell site to another. The handoff action is controlled by a mobile telephone switching office (MTSO). A handoff command is typically generated when the signal received at a cell site from a mobile unit falls below a preselected signal strength thus indicating that the mobile unit is at a cell boundary. As the mobile unit passes from one cell to another, the MTSO instructs the cell which the mobile unit is entering to begin transmitting at a frequency which is different from the frequency which was being transmitted by the cell which the mobile unit is leaving. This procedure is repeated as the mobile unit travels from cell to cell.
A mobile unit typically contains a control unit, a transceiver, and an antenna system. Each cell site typically includes control means, a plurality of radio channel units (radios), a power plant, a data terminal, and antennas. The MTSO provides coordination for all of the cell sites and contains suitable processing and switching means. The communication links between the MTSO and the various cell sites are typically microwave, T carriers, or optical fiber, and carry both voice and control data between the cell sites and the MTSO. The MTSO that controls the cell sites also normally provides connectivity to nationwide telephone networks.
It is generally required, depending on the location of the cell site within a cell, that the cell site antennas provide coverage for communications over 360.degree. of azimuth in order to effectively cover the corresponding geographic area. Typically, the 360.degree. of azimuth is divided into a number of smaller sectors, and antennas having a directional beam are provided to service each sector, each antenna having a beamwidth corresponding to the azimuth of the sector. For example, if three sectors are defined, each sector is provided with a pair of antennas each having a beamwidth of 120.degree..
In the above described land mobile radio base site, each radio channel unit is a transceiver, having a transmit section and a receive section, able to transmit and receive RF signals, respectively. The transmit section of each radio channel unit is directly connected to one antenna within one of the sectors for the transmission of RF signals, and the receive section is directly connected to both antennas in the sector for the receipt of RF signals. All of the radio channel units connected to a particular pair of antennas within a sector are grouped together. For example, in a land mobile radio base site having 60 radio channel units and 3 pairs of antennas in three 120.degree. sectors, the radio channel units are divided into three groups of 20, with all of the radio channel units within a group being connected to the same antenna pair. The group of radio channel units assigned to a pair of antenna is call a "trunk group".
When a mobile unit transmits a call request, the request is received by a cell site, and the cell site selects the best directive antenna for the voice channel to use. At the same time, the cell site sends a request to the MTSO via a high-speed data-link. The MTSO selects an appropriate voice channel for the call, and directs the cell site to act on the selection through the best directive antenna and one of the radio channel units in the antenna's trunk group. The MTSO also acts on the call request by making the appropriate connection with a telephone network.
When the mobile unit is traveling from one cell to another, a handoff occurs as described above. When the mobile unit is traveling within a cell, all of the antennas within the cell receive signal levels, but not necessarily the voice signals from the mobile unit. Only the antenna within the sector where the call was established (where the received signal level was the strongest) will transmit and receive signals to the mobile unit. When the mobile unit moves within the cell so that another sector receives the strongest signal, the system turns off the radio channel unit in the weaker sector and turns on a radio channel unit in the stronger sector such that the call is serviced by a new radio channel unit and antenna pair in a different sector within the cell. Typically, this change within a cell is handled solely by the base site control means, and the MTSO is not involved.
Usage capacity for a cell site is defined as the percentage of total available air time which can be statistically used over a given period of time. In the above described base site having 60 radio channel units, the total available air time during a one hour period is 60 units.times.60 minutes=3600 minutes, and the usage capacity is the percentage of that 3600 minutes which, statistically, can be used in a one hour period. The usage capacity will be less than 100% based on numerous factors, but most importantly based on the probability that all of the radio channel units in a given trunk group will be busy. A field of mathematics called "queuing theory" teaches that the usage capacity of a trunk group increases non-linearly with the number of radios in the trunk group. See, e.g., Bert et al., Data Networks 2nd Edition, pages 174-179. Therefore, it is desirable to avoid a large number of small trunk groups because they are relatively inefficient as compared to a smaller number of large trunk groups.
It is well known in the art that the transmission and reception of RF signals from a base site may be improved by using directional antenna having a narrow beamwidth, e.g., 30.degree. as opposed to 120.degree.. This improvement is due to a number of factors. A first important factor is a reduction in interference. Since energy is primarily transmitted in the known direction, i.e., the narrow beamwidth of the antenna, the base site produces much less RF interference for mobile units outside of the antenna's beam. Additionally, since the base site receives energy primarily from the direction of the mobile unit, the reception of undesired signals is greatly reduced. Therefore, increased directivety of an antenna allows interference reduction in both directions.
In addition to reduced interference, an improvement in geographic coverage is attained. Geographic coverage relates to the geographic area surrounding the base site wherein the magnitude of an RF signal transmitted from the base site and received by a mobile unit is strong enough to overcome the electrical noise present in the mobile unit's receiver by a predetermined amount. The amount is typically 17 dB, e.g., the signal received at the mobile unit from the base site must exceed the noise floor of the receiver by 17 dB. The directivety and gain of an antenna are related to its vertical and azimuthal beamwidths. For an omni-directional antenna, e.g., an antenna having a 360.degree. beamwidth, the antenna gain can only be increased by narrowing its vertical beamwidth. Such omni-directional antennas have a typical maximum gain of around 10 to 12 dB relative to an isotropic (spherical) radiator. With sector antennas having beamwidths of between 90.degree. and 120.degree., the achievable gains are around 15 dB with respect to an isotropic radiator. Using narrow beamwidth antenna, e.g., 15.degree. to 30.degree. beamwidths, gains of around 26 dB relative to an isotropic radiator are achievable. From the above it can be seen that narrow beamwidth antennas provide the significant advantage of improved geographical coverage with respect to antenna having a wider beamwidth.
In prior art systems, the advantages of using narrow beamwidth antennas must be balanced against the loss in usage capacity of using a large number of small trunk groups (associated with narrow beamwidth antennas). The present invention provides a solution to this problem by providing for the interconnection of any radio channel unit in a large trunk group with any beam of a plurality of antennas.

Radio signal scanning and targeting system for use in land mobile radio base sites


The present disclosure discloses a method and an electronic device enabling panoramic photography. The method includes: obtaining a first operation; determining whether the first operation meets a first predetermined condition, so as to obtain a first determination result; obtaining parameter information of the electronic device by the sensing unit, when the first determination result is used for representing that the first operation meets the first predetermined condition; further determining whether the parameter information meets a second predetermined condition, so as to obtain a second determination result; controlling the electronic device to enter into the panoramic photography mode, when the second determination result represents that the parameter information meets the second predetermined condition. The method may be applied to enabling the panoramic photography.

A viewing range of a normal camera is limited, i.e., one shot image may only cover a scene within a fixed range.
In order that the captured image may cover a scene within a larger range, a camera application in the electronic device may be configured with a panoramic photography mode, i.e., in which a scene of a larger angle (e.g. 360°) may be captured in one image. Particularly, a user may select the panoramic photography mode after the photography application is started; keep pressing a shutter key and move the electronic device for photographing, when the panoramic photography mode is selected and the photographing is determined to be started; and release the shutter key after the photographing is finished. Thus, a panoramic image may be obtained.
During the panoramic photographing procedure as described above, the inventor found at least problems as follows.
When the electronic device is used for photographing, the panoramic photographing procedure may be entered only if the panoramic photography mode is selected, which adds a usage step for the user and reduces the user experience.

Methods and electronic devices enabling panoramic photography


Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, implementing and using techniques for managing database table schema evolution. It is detected whether any columns in a source table have been renamed since a previous archiving process. A set of table changes is generated for the renamed columns. It is detected whether any possible naming collisions exist in the set of table changes. If a possible naming collision is detected, a temporary rename is created for the renamed column. The set of table changes, including any created temporary renames, is sorted.

This invention relates to efficient management and storage of data objects within databases. Database applications typically evolve over time. Changes are made to support new features, and old features are deleted. Changes to a database application typically require changing database objects. For example, database tables can be changed by adding or deleting columns, views can be modified to support changes in the table shape, and even whole tables can be added or deleted. The changes that occur to an application's database tables over time are typically referred to as database table schema evolution.
Database table schema evolution can cause problems in a data archiving tool because repeated runs of an archiving specification use the same set of tables over time. In the course of setting up an initial archive run, a specification is created that records the column information for all the tables that are to be archived. This set of tables is typically known as an "archive unit." The recorded column information is needed for validation checks on the initial archiving run and on all later archiving runs. The validation checks ensure that the proper number, name, and column types, as well as other information, exist in the source tables prior to each archiving run.
One of the key purposes of a data archiving tool is to use the tool to preserve information over a long period of time. As a result, it is likely that the schemas of the tables will require changes, as other applications that use those tables change over time, thereby requiring that the tables evolve.
Various data archiving tools, such as the DB2 Data Archive Expert tool by International Business Machines of Armonk, N.Y., permit users to add new columns to existing source tables, but do not permit any other changes to be made to the source tables. Adding the capability in data archiving tools for users to rename columns in the source tables, either independently or in conjunction with adding further columns to the source tables, can lead to various problems unless special considerations are made. For example, the addition or renaming of columns could cause a naming collision if the detected changes are applied serially to the corresponding target archive tables.
One such case is illustrated in FIGS. 1A-F. Assume, for example, that a user starts with a three-column table, TAB1, as illustrated in FIG. 1A. On the first run, the selected source data from TAB1 is archived to a target archive table, ARCHTAB1. ARCHTAB1 has the same three columns as TAB1, plus additional columns that store information specific to the archiving tool (for example, archive timestamp and sequence information). Over time, the following updates are applied to the table in the order shown:    1. COL2 is renamed to COL2X, resulting in the table shown in FIG. 1B.    2. COL3 is renamed to COL3X, resulting in the table shown in FIG. 1C.    3. COL1 is renamed to COL2, resulting in the table shown in FIG. 1D.    4. COL2X is renamed to COL1, resulting in the table shown in FIG. 1E.    5. A new column COL3 is added to the table, resulting in the table shown in FIG. 1F.
If at this point, the user were to run the archive specification again, the data would either be archived to the wrong columns (assuming only name is considered and that the types of all three columns are the same), or the archive run would fail. Thus, there is a need for improved schema evolution.

Handling column renaming as part of schema evolution in a data archiving tool

International Business Machines Corporation


To provide a method of assisting in the design of a vehicular suspension by allowing definition points inherent in suspensions to be easily recognized regardless of the different types and mechanisms thereof, and allowing specification values to be simply entered at the definition points. A method of assisting in the design of a vehicular suspension to generate a simulation model for a suspension using a CAD system includes the steps of indicating a suspension to be designed, opening a specification value entering window for entering specification values inherent in the indicated suspension, entering specification values at definition points inherent in the indicated suspension in the specification value entering window, and generating a simulation model based on the specification values at the definition points.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of assisting the design of a vehicular suspension to generate a simulation model for a suspension using a CAD system. In particular, the present invention is directed to a method of assisting the design of a vehicular suspension by easily entering specification values at predetermined definition points irrespectively of the type, mechanism, etc. of the suspension.
2. Description of Background Art
There has previously been proposed a design assisting system for hypothetically assembling a three-dimensional model of an object to be designed on a computer before a prototype of the object is actually made. In this system, it is detected whether components of the object interfere with each other or not for the convenience of the designer in order to confirm the suitability of the layout of the components of the object.
In order to produce an accurate three-dimensional model, it is necessary to enter spatial coordinates of major parts of the three-dimensional model and accurately define operating points thereof. If the three-dimensional model is fixed, since the positions and number of definition points whose coordinates are to be entered are evident, the numerical values are entered from a ten key pad on a keyboard or the like.
It is assumed that the conventional design assisting system is applied to the designing of a vehicular suspension. As well known in the art, vehicular suspensions include those for use on two-wheeled vehicles and those for use on four-wheeled vehicles. Vehicular suspensions are available in a plurality of types including a strut type, a (double) wishbone type, a trailing arm type, and a multi-link type. Furthermore, suspensions of one type have different mechanisms depending on whether they are applied to drive wheels or driven wheels. In addition, depending on whether the vehicular suspensions are applied to steerable wheels or not, different types and mechanisms for suspensions result in different positions and different numbers of definition points whose spatial coordinates are to be entered. In view of this, the operator cannot immediately recognize the positions and number of definition points whose spatial coordinates are to be entered. The operator needs expenditure of time and labor to enter the spatial coordinates, and may not enter all of the spatial coordinates correctly.

Method of assisting the design of a vehicular suspension


For a CVT (3) a regulating system is proposed in which a corrector is located upstream of the control path. The disturbances and non-linearities in the control path (28) are taken into account in the corrector, via a mathematical model, so that the regulator can be designed as a simple PID regulator.

Continuously variable automatic transmissions (hereinafter called "CVT") are comprised of the following units: a start unit, a forward/reverse gear unit, a variator, an intermediate shaft, a differential, and hydraulic and electronic control devices. The variator, in turn, is comprised of a first cone disc pair disposed on the input side and having a hydraulic adjustment unit, a second cone disc pair disposed on the output side and having a hydraulic adjustment unit and a continuously variable part which moves between the cone disc pairs. The first cone disc pair comprises one cone disc, stationary in an axial direction, and one movable cone disc. The movable cone disc placed on the input side is hereinafter designated as the primary disc. The second cone disc pair likewise comprises a cone disc, stationary in an axial direction, and one movable cone disc. The cone disc situated on the output side is hereinafter designated as the secondary disc. The axial position of the primary disc here determines the moving radius of the continuously variable part and thus the ratio of the CVT. The axial position of the secondary disc determines the contact pressure of secondary disc/continuously variable part and thus the capacity for torque transmission. The primary and secondary discs are adjusted by the pressure level in the respective hydraulic adjustment units. These pressure levels are determined by the electronic control device with the aid of an electromagnetic pressure regulator, which is in the hydraulic control device. In such a CVT, the ratio is usually regulated. The engine performance desired by a driver, or the ratio or pressure level, for example, are selected as set point variables. In connection with this a control loop was disclosed in EP-A-0 565 144. In the control loop shown therein, a desired pressure level is a set point variable. The value to be controlled, in turn, corresponds to an actual pressure level. An electromagnetic pressure regulator or the variator represents the control path. The error results from the comparison between the value to be controlled and the set point variable. The error is the input variable for a regulator. Different disturbances act upon the control path, here, the variator. Disturbances are, for example, the speed of the primary and secondary discs, the pressure level in the adjustment space of the secondary disc, and the power ratio of the primary disc to the secondary disc. The later, in turn, is a function of the torque to be transmitted, of the ratio, and of the power of the secondary disc. The disturbances and the existing non-linearities must be compensated for in the regulator. The prior art thus has the disadvantage that a disturbance modulation and a non-linear regulator must be used. These regulator structures are known to be very complex and difficult to tune.

Regulating system for a continuously variable transmission (CVT)


With a method for heating in particular milk or milk foam, in which the milk or the milk/air mixture is conveyed through a passage opening and hot steam is conveyed through at least one steam line transversely into this passage opening. The passage opening and the at least one inlet opening opening transversely into the steam line, the steam pressure in this and the pressure and the pressure in the passage opening with flowing milk or milk/air mixture are so coordinated that the hot steam at the at least one transverse inlet opening condenses in the passage opening directly on contact with the milk or the milk/air mixture. Consequently the additional energy produced by the phase change from steam to condensate water is transmitted directly as heat to the heat in the milk or the milk/air mixture.

In a known device according to the published document DE-OS 38 38 235, a supply of steam is arranged by means of a steam inlet nozzle, directed transversely into an elongated chamber, through which milk is supplied in the direction of its longitudinal axis by means of a piston pump. In addition, a flow restrictor is provided at the outlet end of this chamber, such that the milk in the chamber remains in contact with the injected steam so as to extend the heat exchange between it and the steam for sufficient time for it to reach the specified milk temperature. Thus, with the steam injected radially or tangential into the chamber, turbulence is generated, amplifying the exchange of heat. In practice, however, it has emerged that, with the generation of turbulence, the milk is not heated rapidly enough and optimum milk foam formation is not achieved.


The present disclosure relates to detergent compositions comprising subtilase variants exhibiting improved stability and/or improved wash performance in liquid detergent and methods for obtaining such detergent compositions. The variants are suitable for use in e.g. cleaning or detergent compositions, such as laundry detergent compositions and dish wash compositions, including automatic dish wash compositions.

In the detergent industry, enzymes have for many decades been implemented in washing formulations. Enzymes used in such formulations comprise proteases, lipases, amylases, cellulases, mannosidases as well as other enzymes or mixtures thereof. Commercially the most important enzymes are proteases.
A wild type subtilase that have been used in laundry is the BLAP protease disclosed in WO 91/02792.
An increasing number of commercially used proteases are protein engineered variants of naturally occurring wild type proteases Everlase®, Relase®, Ovozyme®, Polarzyme®, Liquanase®, Liquanase Ultra® and Kannase® (Novozymes a/s), Purafast®, Purafect OXP®, FN3®, FN4© and Excellase® (Genencor International, Inc.). Further, a number of variants are described in the art, such as in WO2004/041979 (NOVOZYMES A/S) which describes subtilase variants exhibiting alterations relative to the parent subtilase in e.g. wash performance, thermal stability, stability during wash or catalytic activity. The variants are suitable for use in e.g. cleaning or detergent compositions.
Variants of the BLAP protease and suitable for use in cleaning or detergent compositions have been disclosed in e.g. EP 701 605.
WO99/57155 discloses detergent enzymes such as proteases modified by attachment of a cellulose binding domain to the enzymes. It is suggested that binding the detergent enzymes such as protease to textile containing cellulose would enhance wash performance.
However, various factors make further improvement of the proteases advantageous. In particular liquid detergent compositions remain a challenge for many detergent proteases and loss of activity during storage remains a problem for many good detergent proteases. Thus despite the intensive research in protease development there remains a need for new and improved proteases that have a satisfactory wash performance and increased stability in detergent compositions.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Detergent composition comprising subtilase variants


A process for preparing a polycrystalline semiconductor thin film transistor wherein a non-singlecrystalline semiconductor formed on a transparent insulating substrate is annealed by laser beams, such process comprising forming a gate insulation layer and a gate electrode on the non-singlecrystalline semiconductor; implanting impurity ions into a source-drain region of the semiconductor wherein the gate electrode is used as a mask, and irradiating laser beams from the rear surface side of the transparent insulating substrate to thereby polycrystallize the non-singlecrystalline semiconductor under the gate electrode or improve the crystallinity of the semiconductor without causing the non-singlecrystalline semiconductor in a completely molten state.

Recently, there has been actively developed thin film transistors (TFT's) for the purpose of the application of them to image display devices for plane type displays. While polycrystalline semiconductor TFTs have advantages of high performance, high reliability and so on in comparison with those which use an amorphous semiconductor thin film, they are disadvantageous in that a high temperature is required to form a thin film. Accordingly, studies on and the application of a technique of crystallization of amorphous TFTs obtained by irradiating laser beams, which unnecessitates high temperature processing for the production of polycrystalline semiconductor thin films, have been actively conducted.
An attempt of reducing unwanted capacitance between the gate and the drain of a TFT in order to improve the operating speed has been made. In this case, a method of forming a gate electrode (hereinbelow, referred to as a gate) in a self-aligning manner with respect to a source electrode (hereinbelow, referred to as a source) and a drain electrode (hereinbelow, referred to as a drain) is remarkably effective.
A conventional process of forming a polycrystalline TFT with use of laser beams wherein a source-drain region is formed in a self-aligning manner with respect to the gate by an ion implantation method will be described with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3a is a cross-sectional view showing the initial stage of the conventional process for preparing the TFT, and FIG. 3b is a cross-sectional view showing the stage next to the stage as shown in FIG. 3a.
First of all, a passivation film 42 and an amorphous semiconductor layer 43 are deposited on an insulating substrate 41. Then, laser beams are irradiated on the laminated article to form a polycrystalline portion in the amorphous semiconductor layer 43. A pattern of polycrystalline semiconductor thin film 46 is formed on the passivation layer 42 by a photolithography method. A gate insulating film 44 and an electric conductive material 45 which serves as the gate electrode are deposited on the polycrystalline semiconductor thin film 46. Again, a pattern of gate is formed on the electric conductive material 45 by the photolithography method. In this case, the gate insulating film is etched to have the same pattern as the gate. Impurity ions are doped in the polycrystalline semiconductor layer 46 by the ion implantation method while the gate is used as a mask, followed by heat treating to effect impurity ion activation, whereby the source-drain region is formed. Further, an interlayer insulating film is formed on the source-drain region, and contact holes are formed in it. Thus, the source and the drain are respectively formed on the contact holes.
Such a conventional method wherein the impurity ions are activated by the heat treatment has the following disadvantage. Namely, when a material having good processability and a low heat resistance, such as glass, is used as the substrate, the material can not be heated at a sufficiently high temperature for the activation of the impurity ions, hence, the resistance in the source-drain region can not sufficiently be reduced. Further, a demand of using a material having good heat resistance such as quartz (which, on the other hand, deteriorates processability) in order to obtain a heat treatment of a sufficiently high temperature, is contrary to a demand of using a substrate having a large surface area. Accordingly, the conventional technique is insufficient to realize a display having a large surface area and to prepare a plurality of thin film products from a single substrate having a large surface area in order to reduce the manufacturing cost.

Process for preparing a polycrystalline semiconductor thin film transistor


Automatically identifying an electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) is described. A receiver device receives wireless signals from EVSEs, where each wireless signal includes an identifier that is associated with the one of the EVSEs from which that wireless signal is received. The receiver device records signal strength values of the wireless signals and determines, based on the recorded signal strength values, which of the EVSEs is closest to the receiver device. The receiver device initiates a request for an action at the EVSE determined to be closest to the receiver device.

Public charging stations for electric vehicles (sometimes referred to as electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE)) include one or more charging ports that may be locked when not in use. Conventionally, a user may unlock the charging port in a few ways. For instance, some charging stations are designed to read an NFC/RFID tag of a user (e.g., the user waives the NFC/RFID tag to the station), perform an authorization process to determine whether charging is authorized, and unlock the charging port if authorized. As another example, some charging stations include an identifier (e.g., a QR code or other barcode) that a user can read with a smartphone and transmit to a server for authorization (e.g., based on the user identifier and possibly the station identifier) and if authorized, the charging port is unlocked. As another example, a user can use an application (e.g., a smartphone app) to find and name match the station they are parked at from a group of similarly looking and named stations and press a button to initiate the authorization and unlocking process.

Automatically identifying an intended electric vehicle supply equipment


Dosage units consist of an autologous cell therapy product composed of fibroblasts grown for each individual to be treated. The suspension of autologous fibroblasts, grown from a biopsy of each individual's own skin using current good manufacturing practices (CGMP), and standard tissue culture procedures, is supplied in vials containing cryopreserved fibroblasts or precursors thereof, having a purity of at least 98% fibroblasts and a viability of at least 85%, for administration of from one to six mL, preferably two mL, of cells at a concentration of from 1.0-2.0×107 cells/mL. When injected into the nasolabial fold wrinkles (creases on the sides of the nose that extend to the corners of the mouth), the autologous fibroblasts are thought to increase the synthesis of extracellular matrix components, including collagen, reducing the severity of these wrinkles. Dosage and timing of administration have been demonstrated to be critical to achieving clinically significant outcomes.

As described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,591,444, 5,660,850, 5,665,372, and 5,858,390, cosmetic and aesthetic defects in the skin of a subject can be corrected by the injection of a suspension of autologous dermal fibroblasts into the dermis and subcutaneous tissue subadjacent to the defect. Typical defects that can be corrected by this method include rhytids, stretch marks, depressed scars, cutaneous depressions of non-traumatic origin, scaring from acne vulgaris, and hypoplasia of the lip. The cells are histocompatible with the subject, preferably derived by culture of a biopsy specimen taken from the subject, and have been expanded by passage in a cell culture system.
The injection of a material (an "injectate") into the body, and particularly into the face, to create an aesthetic result dates to the close of the nineteenth century. For example, the injection of paraffin to correct facial contour defects enjoyed a brief period of acceptance in the years prior to World War I. However, complications and the unsatisfactory nature of the long-term results caused the practice to be abandoned. The availability of injectable silicone gave rise to a virtual repetition of these events beginning in the early 1960s. Specially manufactured "medical grade" silicone solutions, e.g., Dow Corning MDX 4.4011, have been used on an experimental basis in a number of approved test centers in the United States. Complications, such as local and systemic reactions to the silicone, migration of the injectate, and local tissue break down, have limited the use of silicone injections. The poor results obtained by the injection of non-biological materials prompted attempts to use foreign proteins, particularly bovine collagen, as an injectate. Although unprocessed bovine collagen is too immunogenic for injection into humans, the removal by enzymatic degradation of C- and N-terminal peptides of bovine collagen yields a material ("atelocollagen") that can be used in limited quantities if patients are pre-screened to exclude those patients who are immunoreactive. Although used widely, the material was associated with the development of anti-bovine antibodies in about 90% of subjects and with overt immunologic complications in about 1-3% of subjects. DeLustro, F., et al., 1987, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery 79:581. Atelocollagen in solution proved to be less than completely satisfactory because the material was absorbed in a relatively short time by the subject from the site of injection without replacement by host material. Residence in the body was increased by glutaraldehyde cross-linking, followed by filtration and shearing by passage through fine mesh. The increased and irregular viscosity rendered the material too difficult to use, however. Human collagen for injection that is derived entirely from a sample of the subjects own tissue is available but there is no evidence that human collagen injections are any more persistent than bovine collagen injections.
These problems were overcome through the development of the autologous fibroblast preparations. However, having a solution to a problem is not the same as having a product which is stable to store in defined dosages that have been validated by trial and error and confirmed by clinical trials, and which have been manufactured and packaged in compliance with the requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide defined dosage unit formulations of autologous dermal fibroblasts for injection into patients for the repair and long term augmentation of skin defects.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide dosage unit formulation that contain stem cells, precursor cells or partially differentiated cells that can be used for the repair and long term augmentation of skin defects.

Dosage unit formulations of autologous dermal fibroblasts


A metal-to-metal antifuse is disposed between two metal interconnect layers in an integrated circuit. An insulating layer is disposed above a lower metal interconnect layer. The insulating layer includes a via formed therethrough containing a tungsten plug in electrical contact with the lower metal interconnect layer. An antifuse material layer comprising amorphous carbon is disposed above the upper surface of the tungsten plug. The antifuse material layer is disposed between adhesion-promoting layers. A layer of a barrier metal, consisting of either tantalum or tantalum nitride, is disposed over the antifuse layer to form an upper electrode of the antifuse. An oxide or tungsten hard mask provides high etch selectivity and the possibility to etch barrier metals without affecting the dielectric constant value and mechanical properties of the antifuse.

The present application relates to metal-to-metal antifuses fabricated using carbon-containing antifuse layers, and more particularly, to programming metal-to-metal antifuses that are fabricated using carbon-containing antifuse layers.
Metal-to-metal antifuses are well known in the art. These devices are formed above a semiconductor substrate, usually between two metal interconnect layers in an integrated circuit and comprises an antifuse material layer sandwiched between a pair of lower and upper conductive electrodes, each electrode in electrical contact with one of the two metal interconnect layers.
Numerous materials have been proposed for use as antifuse material layers in above-substrate antifuses. Such materials include amorphous silicon or an alloy thereof, poly silicon, crystalline carbon, silicon, germanium, chalcogenide elements.
The integration of copper and low −K dielectric are regarded among other materials as a promising use for reducing the resistance/capacitance delay (RC delay). To prevent copper diffusion and to help adhesion, a thin barrier layer is desirable between the antifuse material layer and the metal layer. A titanium nitride (TiN) barrier layer, presently in use with an amorphous silicon antifuse layer at a low programming current, for example below 1 milliAmp (mA), has a very high resistance and is nonlinear. For example, the resistance for an amorphous silicon antifuse layer having a TiN barrier layer for a programming current below 1 mA can be many thousands or ten thousands of ohms and may be non-linear (i.e., acting like a diode). The TiN barrier layer, used with a carbon base antifuse at low programming current (i.e., below 5 mA) when compared to a TiN barrier layer used with an amorphous silicon layer, has considerably lower resistance of about 2000 ohms at about 1.0 mA and about 300 to about 500 ohms at about 5 mA, and, in both cases, is linear.
Hence, there is a need for a barrier metal layer for an antifuse that has a low resistance at a low programming current and a good switching character ratio.

Switching ratio and on-state resistance of an antifuse programmed below 5 mA and having a Ta or TaN barrier metal layer


A subsystem (200) is provided at least Direct Memory Access (DMA) device (220) utilized to provide instructions to facilitate the operation of a subsystem processor (210). In one embodiment, a system level processor (102) initiates the provision of instructions for a subsystem (210). The DMA device may be additionally or alternatively utilized to provide data transfer capabilities to a plurality of data channels in a subsystem (200). The DMA device processes channels in a time limited manner to ensure that data is processed in a manner appropriate for time critical data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of integrated circuits. More specifically, the present invention relates to the provision of multi-channel data transfer services and a boot architecture using a DMA in a subsystem of a system on a chip (SOC) design.
2. Background Information
Advances in integrated circuit technology have led to the birth and proliferation of a wide variety of integrated circuits, including but not limited to application specific integrated circuits, micro-controllers, digital signal processors, general purpose microprocessors, and network processors. Recent advances have also led to the birth of what is known as "system on a chip" or SOC. In these designs, frequently they are composed of multiple smaller designs combined to form a complex SOC design.
In the operation of these smaller designs, or subsystems, a subsystem processor will be responsible for the function of the subsystem. Such a subsystem processor will typically have in its address space instructions to operate the subsystem processor. During the initialization process of a subsystem in a SOC, frequently it is desirable to have a system level processor provide the instructions that operate the subsystem processor. The provision of the instructions to operate the subsystem processor should be done in as efficient a manner as possible.
Frequently today's SOC designs comprise subsystems that are transferring data that must be delivered in a time sensitive manner. Examples of such time sensitive data include voice and video data. In the processing of such data, frequently Direct Memory Access (DMA) devices are used to relieve the subsystem processor of the data transfer task. In designing such a subsystem, the design of such DMA devices should be done in as efficient a manner as possible.
Thus, any architectural improvement to the subsystem to increase efficiency of such provision is desirable.

Subsystem boot and peripheral data transfer architecture for a subsystem of a system-on- chip


Disclosed herein is a newly-identified DNA sequence from Neisseria gonorrhoeae designated GC3. Also disclosed are methods, oligonucleotide probes, amplification primers, and kits for the species-specific detection of N. gonorrhoeae. Preferably, N. gonorrhoeae is detected by amplifying the N. gonorrhoeae nucleic acids using the disclosed amplification primers, and then detecting the amplified nucleic acids. In a more preferred embodiment, N. gonorrhoeae nucleic acids are amplified and detected by thermophilic strand displacement amplification (tSDA). Also preferred are methods for detecting N. gonorrhoeae that are employed in conjunction with methods for detecting other sexually-transmitted pathogens, in particular, Chlamydia trachomatis.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae, also called gonococci ("GC"), is the causative agent of gonorrhea. It is also one of the most prevalent sexually-transmitted bacterial pathogens worldwide; over 3 million cases are reported annually in the United States alone. GC invades and colonizes the mucosal surfaces of the urethra, cervix, rectum, throat and conjunctiva. GC is extremely sensitive to desiccation and temperature changes, and is almost exclusively transmitted by direct mucosal contact, such as during sexual intercourse. The sensitivity of the organism to drying and temperature changes has been problematic for diagnostic methods, particularly in less developed countries where specimens often need to be stored for long periods of time and/or transported to a diagnostic laboratory prior to analysis. Brock, BIOLOGY OF MICROORGANISMS 515-16 (3d ed., 1979); Jephcott, Genitourin. Med. 73, 245 (1997).
Gonorrhea remains a significant health problem worldwide, even in countries in which effective drug treatment is readily available. The symptomology of gonorrhea differs between infected males and females. In men, GC is most often manifested by a painful infection of the urethral canal. By contrast, in women, GC infection is often asymptomatic or causes only a mild vaginitis. Even in asymptomatic women, however, GC infection may result in pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy. Asymptomatic female carriers may unintentionally spread the disease to their sexual partners and their newborns as the baby passes through the cervix and vaginal canal. Infants born to GC-infected women have an increased incidence of conjunctivitis and pneumonia. Iwen et al., J. Clin. Microbiol. 33, 2587 (1995). Early, rapid and inexpensive methods of identifying GC infection in potential carriers is essential to curbing the spread of this pathogen. Brock, BIOLOGY OF MICROORGANISMS 591-92 (3d ed., 1979); Crotchfelt et al., J. Clin. Microbiol. 35, 1536 (1997), Herrmann et al., J. Clin. Microbiol. 34, 2548(1996).
Conventional methods of identifying GC include gram staining, colony morphology, growth on selective media, and cytochrome oxidase testing. GC colonies are characterized as gram-negative, oxidase-positive, diplococci. Organisms from presumptively identified colonies of GC are frequently confirmed by sugar fermentation, fluorescent antibody staining, and/or coagglutination. Brock, BIOLOGY OF MICROORGANISMS (3d ed., 1979). However, such culture procedures are laborious, time consuming, and limited by the low viability of GC samples. Rapid and early identification of GC is desirable, especially in asymptomatic individuals, to slow the spread of the disease. In addition, because of the poor viability of stored GC specimens, diagnostic methods that avoid the culturing of viable organisms are advantageous.
To obviate the problems attendant to conventional diagnosis of GC, there have been attempts to develop nucleic acid based diagnostic methods for identifying GC.
Nucleic acid based diagnostic assays, such as Southern hybridization, offer rapid means of identifying microorganisms, usually in less than one day. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods are even more sensitive and can sometimes provide results within hours. However, nucleic acid based methodologies are often fraught with drawbacks. Most of these methods are costly, are available for only a few species of microorganisms, and can resolve only one species per sample tested. Moreover, nucleic acid based assays require the development of oligonucleotide probes or primers that are specific for the microorganism of interest.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,638 to Rossau et al. teaches a method of identifying GC using a probe directed to a rRNA sequence. See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,271 to Barns et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,389,515 to Chmelo et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,606 to Stern et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,173,401 to Wolff et al. As many as 10,000 copies of the rRNA genes are present in bacteria; thus, diagnostic methods based on detection of the GC rRNA genes take advantage of this naturally-occurring amplification. American Society for Microbiology, DIAGNOSTIC MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY: PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS (D. H. Persing et al., eds., 1993). In addition, the 16S or 23S rRNA genes are frequently used for probe development because variable regions exist within these highly conserved genes that can be used for species-specific detection. However, for certain organisms it may not be possible to derive highly specific and sensitive probes from the 16S and 23S rRNA genes, for instance, because their evolutionary nucleic acid sequence conservation is too high. Another consequence of the conserved character of these genes is that the differentiation of two organisms is often based on only one or a few mismatches in the target sequence, which puts constrains on the stringency of the hybridization. A slight deviation from these conditions might result in misidentification.
Totten et al., J. Infectious Diseases 148, 462 (1983), teaches a method of identifying GC in clinical specimens by detecting the "cryptic plasmid" commonly associated with GC. However, not all strains of GC contain the cryptic plasmid. The presence of this plasmid in different GC strains is highly variable, ranging from about 40% to about 96%, depending on geographic location. Thus, this identification method is of limited utility.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,536 to Miyada et al. teaches a method for detecting GC using a nucleic acid probe. The probe was identified after subtractive hybridization of GC DNA by N. meningitidis DNA.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,355 to Birkenmeyer et al. concerns oligonucleotide primers and probes for detecting GC by PCR amplification. The disclosed probes and PCR primers are directed to the pil E gene, which encodes the predominant surface antigen of GC.
Stary et al., J. Clin. Microbiol. 35, 239 (1997), discloses a method for identifying GC based on ligase chain reaction (LCR) amplification of a target sequence within the opa I gene. Buimer et al., J. Clin. Microbiol. 34, 2395 (1996), concerns a diagnostic test for simultaneously detecting both GC and Chlamydia trachomatis by LCR amplification using one set of primers directed against the opa genes of GC and a second set of primers targeting the C. trachomatis endogenous plasmid. Crotchfelt et al., J. Clin. Microbiol. 35, 1536 (1997) and Iwen et al., J. Clin. Microbiol. 33, 2587 (1995), provide assays for simultaneous detection of GC and C trachomatis by PCR coamplification and rRNA hybridization, respectively.
Notwithstanding the investigations described above, there remains a need in the art for rapid, accurate and sensitive methods for the identification of GC.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae specific DNA fragment--GC3


A sheet conveying device includes a metal feed roller driven by a drive source and a plastic pinch roller pressed against the feed roller. A sheet is held between the feed roller and the pinch roller, to convey the sheet to a recording unit. An elastic ring having a high wear resistance is fitted over a part of an outer surface of the pinch roller in a width direction of the pinch roller. Accordingly, the elastic deformation of the elastic ring reduces or absorbs load (impact) that causes a rear end of the sheet to flick or spring and the improper sheet feeding, when the rear end of the sheet passes through a nip portion between the feed roller and the pinch roller. Thus, variances in the sheet feeding amounts and the poor image formation are prevented.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a sheet conveying device, for use in an image forming apparatus, that conveys sheets to a recording unit, by holding the sheets between a feed roller and a pinch roller.
2. Description of Related Art
Printing devices, such as ink jet printers, are provided with sheet conveying devices for conveying sheets mounted on a sheet cassette one by one to a recording or printing unit. The sheet conveying device includes a metal feed roller that is driven by a drive source to rotate, and a plastic pinch roller pressed against the feed roller. The sheet is held between the feed roller and the pinch roller and conveyed to the recording unit.
To increase a printing accuracy of the printing devices, an accuracy of a sheet conveyance with the sheet conveying device needs to be increased. Especially, the ink jet printers that perform printing in high dot density, require the higher sheet conveying accuracy.
To increase an accuracy of a sheet conveying speed, the pinch roller and the feed roller of the sheet conveying device need to be firmly and uniformly pressed against each other to prevent improper sheet feeding. To achieve this, for example, Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. 9-142691 discloses a plurality of roller holders that rotatably support the pinch roller at one end thereof and springs that urges the roller holder at rear side ends thereof.
Recently, a margin at an end of the sheet tends to be reduced, so that distance between a printing portion and a nip portion between the feed roller and the pinch roller need to be reduced.
However, reduction of the distance between the printing portion and the nip portion is physically limited. As the distance between the printing portion and the nip portion becomes shorter, the pinch roller needs to be supported to press the feed roller firmly. In the sheet conveying device having the pinch roller and the feed roller pressed firmly against each other, a rear end of the sheet being conveyed flicks or springs due to an impact applied when the rear end of the sheet passes through the nip portion between the pinch roller and the feed roller. This causes improper sheet feeding or variances in sheet feeding amounts, resulting in poor image formation.


Systems and techniques to manage work related procedures. In general, in one implementation, the techniques include providing a user-interface with a user-selectable list of work-items, each work-item having metadata describing a predefined user-selectable list of guided procedures associated with the work-item, receiving a response that includes a selected work-item and selected guided procedures, and triggering the selected guided procedures associated with the selected work-item.

The following description relates to information management, for example, techniques for linking work-related guided procedures with work items.
Knowledge sharing is considered a relatively important tool for a user to achieve a high level of productivity. Many users of conventional business systems may find it difficult to access information and/or tools required to perform a task. For example, the most relevant knowledge required by a user may be stored in documents, or in the head of another user or employee. Moreover, even if a user finds the information it is typically difficult to start an effective collaboration to perform a task or project. For example, administrative assistants may need to coordinate several activities to prepare for a customer visit, or a manager may need to access multiple information sources to complete a compensation plan for one or more user, etc. These type of activities may involve a relatively large number of tasks to complete, sometimes in a specific sequence and/or combination. Regardless of whether the tasks need to be completed regularly (e.g., daily, weekly) or just occasionally, a user of a database system may need to access several executable tools (e.g., executable applications) and retrieve information from various sources (e.g., data stored on a computer, or computer network). In a conventional work system, many tools and/or processes may have only one owner. Therefore, when multiple participants require that tool and/or process to complete a task, it is important that participants of a team are able to collaborate. Moreover, the tracking of completion of activities related to a collaborative project is important to ensure that all tasks related to the project are processed and completed in a timely fashion.

System and methods for user-customizable enterprise workflow management


A composition for making a contact includes a nickel-cobalt alloy containing 1% by weight or more to less than 20% by weight of cobalt, and 0.002 part by weight or more to 0.1 part by weight or less of sulfur with respect to 100 parts by weight of the nickel-cobalt alloy. The composition has an average particle size of 0.07 μm or larger to 0.35 μm or smaller.

Technical Field
The present invention relates to compositions for making contacts, contacts made therewith, and methods for making contacts. More specifically, the present invention relates to: a composition for making a contact which composition contains a predetermined amount of cobalt and a predetermined amount of sulfur and has a predetermined average particle size, thereby making it possible to achieve a short-stroke contact that exhibits a high Young's modulus; a contact made therewith; and a method for making a contact.
Related Art
Connectors are widely used to attach and detach an electronic part, a cable, or the like to and from another part for mutual exchange of electrical power, a signal, or the like between the parts or between the part and the cable. A connector includes: a housing constituted by an insulator such as resin; and a contact constituted by metal.
Such a contact needs to be pressed against a conductive member of a part to which it is connected, such as an electrode of a battery, so as to be in touch (sliding contact) with the conductive member. In order to maintain the touch, the contact is required to elastically deform in resistance to a load being applied to the contact along with the touch and, when the load has been removed, elastically deform to return to the state in which it had been before the application of the load.
FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an example of a contact of a common battery connector. (a) of FIG. 5 shows a state in which no load is being applied, and (b) of FIG. 5 shows a state in which a load is being applied.
In FIG. 5, a contact 200 includes: a retaining section 201, which is fixed by an insulator; a contact section 202, which makes sliding contact with a conductive member; and an elastic deformation section 203, which connects the retaining section and the contact section to each other and which is elastically deformable. The contact 200 is connected to a conductive member 204.
Sliding contact of the contact section 202 with the conductive member 204 causes a load to be applied to the elastic deformation section 203, with the result that, as shown in (b) of FIG. 5, the elastic deformation section 203 elastically deforms. The larger the amount of displacement of the elastic deformation section 203 along with the application of the load is, i.e., the longer the stroke is, the larger the force of contact between the contact 200 and the conductive member 204 is.
In recent years, there has been an expansion in battery capacity of multifunctional portable phones (smartphones) that use a variety of applications, and there has been an increase in battery size accordingly. However, as opposed to such an expansion in battery size, there has been a demand for a reduction in size of portable phones. Therefore, there has been a demand for reductions in height and size of connectors that connect batteries and substrates.
As mentioned above, the longer the stroke is, the larger the force of contact between the contact and a conductive member is. However, for a reduction in height of the connector, it is necessary to ensure contact force with the stroke made shorter. In this specification, the stroke for achieving necessary and sufficient contact force required of the contact is referred to as "short stroke".
For a short stroke, i.e. for necessary and sufficient contact force with a small stroke, it is necessary for the contact to be constituted by a material having a high Young's modulus.
Repetition of attachment and detachment of a contact causes the stress of a load to go beyond the acceptable range of stress, with the result that the contact is damaged by fatigue. Therefore, it is necessary to limit the stress of a load to the acceptable range of stress or lower. In order for the stress of a load to fall within the acceptable range of stress, it is necessary for the material constituting the contact to have a high 0.2% proof stress.
Further, since the contact is used in applications where it is necessary to pass an electric current through the contact, a high conductivity is required. A low conductivity results in generation of heat due to power loss, thus making it impossible to pass an electric current. Further, from a point of view of energy conservation, a reduction in power loss is required.
Further, since the contact becomes lower in conductivity by rusting over time, the contact is required to have a certain degree of corrosion resistance.
There is a phenomenon known as "copper damage", in which a metal such as copper or cobalt degrades a resin such as polyimide by reacting with the resin. Since the retaining section of a contact is usually composed mainly of resin, an occurrence of copper damage invites damage to the retaining section, thus making it impossible to achieve necessary and sufficient contact force.
Therefore, a contact that can cause copper damage to occur imposes a limitation on the types of resin that can be used, and as such, cannot be extended to versatile applications.
Patent Literature 1 discloses a contact formed into a spiral shape by using an electroformed layer made of a copper-tin (Cu—Sn) alloy having a tin composition ratio of 5 at % or greater to 25 at % or less. The contact disclosed in Patent Literature 1 has its tin composition ratio adjusted so that a high 0.2% proof stress and a high conductivity can be achieved.
However, as will be confirmed below in Comparative Example 7 by the inventors of the present invention, the copper-tin alloy has a low Young's modulus. Therefore, the contact disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is thought to be in a spiral shape with a large stroke for the purpose of achieving necessary and sufficient contact force.
Further, Patent Literature 2 discloses an elastic contact maker formed by using an electroformed layer made of a nickel-cobalt (NiCo) alloy having its cobalt composition ratio adjusted to 1 at % or greater to 30 at % or less and having its average particle size adjusted to 20 nm or smaller.
The contact maker disclosed in Patent Literature 2 has both its cobalt composition ratio and its particle size adjusted so that a high 0.2% proof stress (yield stress) can be achieved.
However, the contact maker disclosed in Patent Literature 2 must have an average particle size adjusted to 20 nm or smaller. As will be confirmed below in Comparative Example 5 by the inventors of the present invention that the conductivity of a composition for making a contact which composition has an average particle size of 60 nm is low, the conductivity of the elastic contact maker is thought to be similarly low.
Therefore, the elastic contact maker disclosed in Patent Literature 2 is thought to be limited exclusively to a special application, as in the case of semiconductor inspection equipment, in which a high conductivity is not required.

Contact and electronic component using the same


A golf ball mold body having a plurality of mold parts with a parting surface defining a parting line along an equator and removably mating to form a cavity having an inner wall with dimple-forming protrusions, and a support pin extendable into and retractable from the cavity, the support pin extending into the cavity to support a center sphere. An end face of the support pin defines a portion of the cavity inner wall when the support pin is retracted. The support pin has a shape satisfying certain conditions, and the support pin and mold body have a gap therebetween set within a specific range. The invention minimizes formation of uneven flash caused by deflection or shifting of support pins, appearance defects caused by damage to the cavity inner wall and contamination by rubbing debris, and the life of the mold is extended.

The present invention relates to a golf ball mold and a golf ball manufacturing method which may be suitably used for molding golf balls composed of a core encased by a cover of one, two or more layers, particularly for forming an outermost cover layer having a plurality of dimples formed on the surface thereof.
In recent years, there has been a strong desire for various performance attributes in golf balls, including not only distance, but also controllability, durability and feel on impact. Satisfying all of these attributes with only one type of material is generally difficult. Hence, the customary practice is to provide the ball with a structure in which a solid core formed of rubber, resin or the like, or a wound core, is encased by a cover of one, two or more layers, each layer having a particular function. In other words, efforts have been made to achieve a performance which addresses the needs of the player, such as a desire primarily for distance or for controllability, by adjusting the number and thickness of the above layers, and also by adjusting the formulations, etc. of the materials making up the respective layers.
An injection-molding method is typically used to form the outermost layer of a golf ball having such a structure. Specifically, use is made of a method in which a core or a sphere (referred to below as a "center sphere") composed of such a core encased by one or more intermediate layer (a layer other than the outermost cover layer) is placed in the cavity of a given mold, and a cover-forming material is injected between the center sphere and the inner wall of the cavity. In this case, when the outermost layer is formed, numerous dimples are formed at the same time by numerous dimple-forming protrusions which have been provided on the inner wall of the cavity.
Up until now, molds having the structure shown in FIG. 22 have commonly been used when producing golf balls by the above process. FIG. 22, which is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a golf ball mold according to the prior art, depicts the state prior to injection of the cover-forming material into the cavity.
In FIG. 22, a conventional mold 10 is equipped with a mold body 20 having an upper mold half 20a and a lower mold half 20b which split at a parting surface that defines a parting line PL at a golf ball equator and removably mate to form a cavity 3 having an inner wall with numerous dimple-forming protrusions thereon, and support pins 40 which can be extended and retracted within pin insertion holes 50 that communicate with the cavity 3. The support pins 40, each of which is provided on an end face thereof with a single dimple-forming protrusion, extend into the cavity to support a center sphere 31. When the support pins 40 are in the retracted state, the end faces thereof define a portion of the inner wall of the cavity 3. Moreover, although not shown here, each support pin 40 has a circular cross-section, and three pins each are provided in the upper mold half 20a and the lower mold half 20b, for a total of six pins, so as to be spaced at given intervals at positions having 120 degree rotational symmetry about poles Q of the cavity 3 as the center.
In the above mold 10, runners 60 and resin injection ports 70 having openings of given surface areas are formed along the parting surface of the mold body 20 in such a way as to inject, between the inner wall of the cavity 3 and the center sphere 31, a known cover-forming material from a known injection molding machine (not shown). Next, together with injection of the cover-forming material, the support pins 40 that were extended into the cavity 3 are retracted, after which cooling is carried out, thereby completing formation of the cover. The dimples at the positions of the support pins 40 are formed at this time by the dimple-forming protrusions that have been formed on the end faces of the support pins. Gases within the cavity 3 are discharged through gaps arranged at given intervals that have been provided between the support pins 40 and the pin insertion holes.
However, when the center sphere 31 is placed in the mold 10 and the upper and lower mold halves are closed, the support pins 40 are often subjected to excessive forces, causing them to deflect or shift. In such cases, the support pins 40 move away from the center of their respective pin insertion holes 50, causing the gap between each pin and its hole to become uneven. Hence, during molding, material entry is concentrated at places where the gap between the two is wide, as a result of which flash forms unevenly on the surface of the molded ball. When uneven flash forms on the ball's surface, uniformly trimming the overall ball is not easy, making a clean appearance difficult to obtain. Moreover, this may also lead to a loss of dimple uniformity and ultimately have an adverse effect on flight symmetry.
Moreover, because strong chafing arises at specific places owing to contact between the support pin 40 and the pin insertion hole 50, at the off-center position of the pin 40, rubbing debris tends to form. When molding cycles are repeated in such a state, the rubbing debris that has formed may enter into the cavity 3 and ultimately contaminate the molded ball. Moreover, due to chafing between the support pins 40 and the mold body 20, abrasion of the inner wall side of the cavity 3 occurs, which may give rise to appearance defects in the molded ball.
Hence, problems caused by shifting of the support pins and abrasion can have a major influence on the quality of the finished product and on the maintenance period and life of the mold, and are thus a concern that directly impacts the cost of the product.
In order to resolve such problems relating to appearance defects and the like, JP-A 2002-542067 (and the corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,881), U.S. Pat. No. 7,341,687, JP-A 08-300403 and JP-A 2005-143610 disclose molds wherein the venting of gases near the poles of the mold cavity is improved by providing gas-venting pins in the mold body and in large-diameter support pins. However, the gas-venting pins and the support pins in such molds must be separately fabricated, resulting in additional costs. Moreover, such molds do not resolve the above problems caused by abrasion.
In this way, various modifications have hitherto been made to golf ball molds in order to improve the golf ball moldability and the mold life, but a fundamental solution has yet to be found for the above problems. Accordingly, for the sake of further enhancing golf ball moldability and mold life, and thus achieving further improvement in quality and lower costs, there has existed a desire for a novel approach which is capable of resolving the above problems.

Golf ball mold and golf ball manufacturing method


In combination with a pipe (213), a clamp (201) is provided which supports the pipe in a fixed position with respect to a substrate. The clamp includes first (203) and second (205) bands, wherein each of the first and second bands has an arcuate portion (209) and first and second terminal portions (211), and wherein the arcuate portions of the first and second bands are disposed in opposing relation around the surface of the pipe. A first fastener (207) extends through the first terminal portions of the first and second bands, and a second fastener extends through the second terminal portions of the first and second bands. A thermal insulator (233) is disposed between the first fastener and the first terminal portions of the first and second bands, and between the second fastener and the second terminal portions of the first and second bands.

Many semiconductor processes, such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes, are implemented in processing chambers that are equipped with various conduits for the inlet and egress of gaseous materials. In such a process, a series of inlet conduits are typically provided for the delivery of a mixture of gases (which may include reactants, precursors and/or the components of the desired atmosphere within the chamber) to the chamber. Similarly, one or more outlet conduits are typically provided to allow reaction byproducts and outflow gases to be exhausted from the chamber.
Each outlet conduit is typically in fluidic communication with a pump, which creates a flow of gas out of the reaction chamber and to an exhaust line for exhaust abatement. The exhaust from a processing chamber is frequently at elevated temperatures, most commonly within the range of 50-180° C. Consequently, large diameter galvanized steel piping is often the material of choice for the exhaust conduit. Redundant exhaust conduit is often provided to allow for routine maintenance on the line without necessitating process shutdown.
Many of the gaseous materials utilized in semiconductor processing, such as tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), boron trichloride (BCl3), aluminum chloride (AlCl3), chlorine trifluoride (ClF3) and dichlorosilane (DCS), are capable of undergoing phase changes between room temperature and the processing temperatures commonly utilized in processing chambers. Consequently, in order to prevent these materials from condensing or liquefying in the foreline (the segment of the outlet conduit between the reaction chamber and the pump), it is important to maintain this portion of the outlet conduit at a temperature similar to that of the processing chamber. This is frequently accomplished by thermally insulating the foreline and/or equipping it with one or more heater elements. For example, Watlow (League City, Tex.) provides a line of heater jackets which consist of an insulating material and a heating element, and which may be utilized for this purpose.
It is typically necessary or desirable to mount the outlet conduit in a semiconductor fabrication plant to a ceiling, wall, floor, or other substrate. Due to the significant weight of the conduit, a mounting rail is commonly used for this purpose, and the conduit is attached to the mounting plate with a series of rigid clamps. Various clamps have been developed in the art for this purpose.
One clamp known to the art is depicted in FIG. 1. The clamp 101 depicted therein, which is available commercially from Tyco Products (Wayne, Mich.) under the trade name UNISTRUT®, comprises a split body 103 with an aperture 105 defined therein through which a pipe (not shown) extends. The body 103 of the clamp 101 includes opposing flanges 107 and a bolt 109 that extends through a threaded aperture provided in each flange 107. As the bolt is tightened, the split body 103 tightens about the pipe, thus holding the clamp rigidly in place. The clamp 101 is further equipped with opposing arms 111 which extend from the base of the clamp 101, and which allow the clamp to be supported from a series of rails or struts that may be affixed to a ceiling, wall, floor, or other suitable substrate.


Without using any drawing command of a commercially available OS or library, screen information that will be screen elements has preliminarily been registered in a screen information database, and based on a touch position information detected by a touch position detecting section, a request control of a display screen or generation of a plant operation information is executed, as well as a registered screen information is fetched from the screen information database to generate a display screen and a process data of a plant that is linked to the display screen is read via a network.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of arrangement of a conventional display control unit (plant monitoring control system) that enables the monitoring and control operation of a plant using a touch panel.
The conventional display control unit illustrated in FIG. 4 is the one disclosed in the Japanese Patent Publication (unexamined) No. 139020/1994 (Patent Document 1), the display control unit including a control unit 47 acting to control various control equipments (plant equipments) for use in power plants, industrial or chemical plants or the like, as well as comprising a display 41 displaying the state of the plant equipments, a touch panel detector 42 to be added to an operation control screen, being a display screen of the display 41, and a display computer 46 acting to control the display 41 based on the output from the touch panel detector 42 and the output from the control unit 47, and in this display control unit there is provided a touch panel detector control section 43 acting to possess a database outputting a control signal that shows which position of the touch panel detector 42 corresponds to which positional information of, e.g., various control equipments being displayed on the display 41 so as to output a control signal to the control unit 47 based on the touch position of the touch panel.
In the conventional display control unit illustrated in FIG. 4, a plant operator (operator), while looking at an operation control screen displayed on the display 41 by the display computer 46, touches a predetermined position of the touch panel detector 42 to make an operation.
The touch panel detector control section 43 inputs "touch position information (actually, coordinate position data) that the plant operator touches" from the touch panel detector 42 and "operation screen information that is currently displayed on the display 41".
Subsequently, based on such information, the control signal corresponding to such information is searched with the use of stored database to be outputted to the control unit 47. The control unit 47, based on this control signal, controls a variety of control equipments of the plant.
In this manner, due to that the output processing (instruction of operation control) of a control signal with respect to a control unit conventionally conducted by a display computer is conducted at the touch panel detector control unit 43, the load on the display computer can be reduced.
Furthermore, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Publication (unexamined) No. 139020/1996 discloses also an arrangement in which a plurality of systems each being made up of the above-mentioned display 41, touch panel detector 42, touch panel detector control unit 43 and display computer 46 are provided, and each touch panel detector control unit 43 and each display computer 46 of each system make an output to the control unit 47 via a control signal information network 48, as well as each display computer 46 of each system makes an output to the control unit 47 via a communication network 48.
Owing to such arrangement, this display control unit is applicable to a large-scale system requiring a plurality of displays.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Publication (unexamined) No. 139020/1996 (FIG. 1, paragraph 0008)


In a coaxial connector, a body part includes an upper surface, a bottom surface, a side surface, and a hole provided in the upper surface so that a substantially rodlike probe is to be inserted therein from an upper side. A fixed terminal is fixed to the body part. A movable terminal includes a lead portion disposed on the side surface, a fixed portion bent relative to the lead portion to extend in a horizontal direction and fixed to the body part, and a leaf spring portion bent relative to the lead portion to extend in the horizontal direction and contacting the fixed terminal from a lower side. The leaf spring portion is separated from the fixed terminal when pressed down by the probe.

For example, Japanese Patent No. 4442719 discloses a coaxial connector. FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a coaxial connector 500 described in Japanese Patent No. 4442719. In FIG. 9, a vertical direction is defined as a z-axis direction, a direction in which a movable terminal 508 and a fixed terminal 510 are arranged is defined as an x-axis direction, and a direction orthogonal to the x-axis direction and the z-axis direction is defined as a y-axis direction.
As illustrated in FIG. 9, the coaxial connector 500 includes an external terminal 502, an upper case 504, a lower case 506, a movable terminal 508, and a fixed terminal 510. The external terminal 502 is formed of a conductive material, and is kept at a ground potential. The upper case 504 and the lower case 506 are formed of an insulating material such as resin, and constitute a body part of the coaxial connector 500. The external terminal 502, the upper case 504, and the lower case 506 are stacked in this order from a +z-axis direction side toward the −z-axis direction side.
The movable terminal 508 and the fixed terminal 510 are disposed between the upper case 504 and the lower case 506. The movable terminal 508 contacts the fixed terminal 510 from a lower side. When an unillustrated probe is inserted through a hole provided in the upper case 504, it presses the movable terminal 508 down. The movable terminal 508 and the fixed terminal 510 are thereby separated from each other.
In the coaxial connector 500 described in Japanese Patent No. 4442719, it is difficult to achieve both enhancement of durability of the movable terminal 508 and size reduction of the coaxial connector 500. More specifically, when the movable terminal 508 is pressed by the probe, it elastically deforms and separates from the fixed terminal 510. To enhance durability of the movable terminal 508, it is preferable to increase the amount by which the movable terminal 508 can be displaced by elastic deformation. Therefore, it is desirable that the movable terminal 508 is long. However, when the length of the movable terminal 508 is increased, the size of the coaxial connector 500 is increased.


A hood shield for motor vehicles and the like comprises a layer of flexible, magnetically impregnated material to which is contiguously bonded a soft emulsion layer, the whole being cut in the general shape of a vehicle hood and including V-shaped cuts along the rearward edge thereof to facilitate placement onto a vehicle hood without bunching. Elongate edge trim material, including an inner flap thereof to facilitate imposition of a forced fit, is used to hold together the outer edge of the hood shield and the outer edge of the hood. Closing of the hood holds said edge trim material with enclosed hood shield edge against the remainder of the vehicle thereby inhibiting theft of the device.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the protection of the hoods of motor vehicles from rock damage, insects, and the like. More specifically, the invention relates to a hood cover or shield adapted to fit over a vehicle hood, wherein the cover or shield is held in place by a magnetic force in direct contact with the outer surface of the hood, and by an edge trim device between the front and side peripheries of the hood and the car body so as to require the shield to conform to the curvature of the hood, while also preventing theft.
2. Background Information
The hoods of motor vehicles, and particularly the surface paint thereof, are subject to road damage by way of flying rocks or insects or the like, wherein damage may be caused either by way of dents arising from direct physical impact of rocks, pieces of wood, or other types of road debris that act as missiles, or by chemical action caused by the remains of insects that have impacted onto the paint surface. As a means of avoiding such damage, various "bug deflectors" and the like have been conceived, some such devices consisting either of a single curved or bent board-like structure, or pairs of board-like structures, often arranged in a "V" centered near to the front center of the hood and sloping backwards both outwardly and vertically so as to deflect upwards and outwards the stream of air passing by the vehicle hood. The means for mounting such structures may involve brackets or the like that extend under the hood, together with short struts or "feet" that are placed against the hood surface. Among the consequences of using such devices are aerodynamic loss, since the device serves as an obstacle to the laminar flow for which vehicle hoods are designed. In addition, the "feet" of such devices tend to collect grit, leaves, twigs, acidic road components, or insect pieces in the vicinity thereof, so that instead of protecting the hood the device may in fact have helped to cause damage thereto, i.e., by concentrating in particular spots the very elements that can cause hood and paint damage. Ordinary vehicle vibration will also cause any such "feet" to rub against the hood surface and cause wear thereon.
Another type of hood protection device is found in the "bra", by which is meant a flexible soft felt backing sheet (used to protect the painted surface) overlaid by vinyl and cut to the shape of a hood, said device being held in place by elastic cords that have hooks at the distal ends thereof that are placed beneath the hood, some of such devices also being adapted to cover over portions of the grill, front bumper, and fenders. Also, "snaps" may be disposed as parts of the bra in the vicinity of the wheel wells, the material of the bra being bent around to the interior of the wheel well so as to permit attaching such snaps to complementary snap members mounted therein, or "L-shaped" connectors or tabs may also be used. Although such devices may be effective in preventing or at least minimizing damage caused by actual impacts of rocks and the like, a major characteristic of such devices is that very little "seal" is provided around the perimeter of the bra; hence grit and the like tend to accumulate between the bra and the hood surface, whereupon the normal vibratory movements of the bra relative to the hood will again increase the amount of paint damage that can be caused. Moreover, the tendency of the soft felt backing material to absorb and retain moisture and fine grit renders the bra very difficult to be cleaned of such damaging components, and without very frequent and thorough cleaning such moisture and grit will themselves cause significant paint damage. In addition, since such devices are typically attached by cords and hooks that are easily accessible, these devices are subject to being stolen.
What is needed and would be useful, therefore, is a hood protection device that avoids some or all of the aforementioned disadvantages, while yet providing a useful degree of protection to the hood surface. In view of the minimal occurrence of rock or chemical damage relative to the plastic-like materials in typical use now for bumper or bumper covers and grills, and similar lesser damage to fenders in view of their flexible structure and their partial shielding by the headlight and turning light structures, such a protection device may be adapted for use solely or at least predominantly in relation to the hood surface, and particularly the front portion thereof, said front portion constituting approximately 90 percent of the vehicle surface below the windshield that is likely to sustain such damage. Such a protection device need not cover the entirety of the hood surface, inasmuch as rocks and other debris that are thrown up from a road surface do not typically reach above the lower "nose" portion of the hood, and higher flying insects that are not impacted by that nose portion are more likely to impinge upon the windshield than on the remaining hood surface.


[Object] To provide an image processing device, an image processing method, and an image processing program that make it possible to perform an appropriate operation according to a procedure.

In recent years, optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been increasingly used in eye-related surgery. The OCT is a technique that irradiates a surgical-target eye with near-infrared light, reconstructs a reflected wave due to respective ocular tissues, and generates an image, and this makes it possible to acquire cross-sectional information such as a cross-sectional image of a specific cross section (refer to, for example, Patent Literature 1).
It is often the case that surgery (such as Descemet's stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty) is constituted of a plurality of sequentially performed procedures (for example, after creating a wound, inserting a graft, and then removing a space), and in many cases, appropriate methods for acquiring and presenting cross-sectional information during surgery as well as an appropriate method for presenting a graphical user interface (GUI) related to treatment during surgery differ depending on a procedure.

Image processing device, image processing method, and image processing program

Abstract: [Solving Means] An image processing device according to the present technology includes: an image recognition section that performs an image recognition with respect to a front image that is a captured image of an eye; a display information generator that generates display information; and a controller that controls at least one of a cross-sectional information acquisition section or the display information generator according to a selected procedure, the cross-sectional information acquisition section acquiring cross-sectional information regarding a cross section of an eye.


The present invention relates to a 2-hydroxyarylamide derivative or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, a preparation method thereof, and a pharmaceutical composition for preventing or treating cancer comprising the same as an active ingredient. The 2-hydroxyarylamide derivative prepared by the present invention is excellent in the inhibition of the activity of TMPRSS4 serine protease and the suppression of the infiltration of TMPRSS4-expressed cancer cells, and thus can be useful as a composition for preventing or treating cancer by inhibiting TMPRSS4 over-expressed in cancer cells, particularly, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, or stomach cancer cells.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the method for treatment of cancer using 2-hydroxyarylamide derivative or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the clinical treatment of cancer patients, side effects accompanied particularly by chemo-therapy and radio-therapy are the major problem. So, it is an urgent request to develop an anticancer agent to reduce side effects accompanied by chemo-therapy. If only the gene products only expressed or specifically over-expressed in cancer cells are identified and if their expressions are inhibited without destroying cell differentiation or cell metabolism in normal cells, an anticancer agent that kills cancer cells specifically without destroying normal cells would be developed based on that. Thus, it is regarded as a promising method for the development of an anticancer agent having excellent therapeutic effect with less side effects to identify a protein expressed by an oncogene or a tumor suppressor gene inducing abnormal functioning of signal transduction pathway so as to convert the malfunctioning signal transduction pathway into normal functioning one.
In particular, the importance of a protease as a tumor and cancer related factor is increased day by day. Cell growth, angiogenesis, infiltration, migration, metastasis, survival, expansion, and progression of cancer cells are all mediated by signal transduction control system and proteolytic activities of various proteases. One of the most peculiar phenomenon is degradation and remodeling of extracellular matrix composing intercellular space matrix and basement membrane by unregulated protease. Cancer cells infiltrate into the neighboring tissues locally and far away by the said system. Infiltration and metastasis of cancer cells are clinically very important factors to determine the treatment prognosis of cancer patients.
Infiltration of cancer cells composed of three serial steps of adhesion, degradation of basement membrane, and migration is essential not only for metastasis but also for angiogenesis. For example in metastasis, cancer cell infiltration is inevitable process for cancer cells to migrate into blood stream or to other tissues through blood stream. Precisely, cancer cells are adhered on the adhesion molecule expressed on basement membrane and then induce the secretion of various proteases to decompose the basement membrane thereon, leading to the migration through the broken basement membrane. Marimastat, the inhibitor belonging to matrix metalloproteinase family, which is involved in the protein decomposition essential for cell infiltration, has been known to inhibit metastasis and angiogenesis as well by inhibiting cancer cell infiltration.
Therefore, protease can regulate cancer cell metastasis and those genes involved in the same can be used as cancer prognostic markers, suggesting that protease or those genes involved in the same are important targets of cancer treatment. The most representative metastasis related proteins are MMPs (matrix metalloproteinases), cathepsin B, cathepsin D, and serine protease including uPA (urokinase plasminogen activator) (non-patent reference 1). Among many proteases, TMPRSS4 has recently been identified in its biological functions to cancer (non-patent reference 2). According to the recent reports, TMPRSS4 is an important mediator for infiltration, metastasis, migration, and adhesion as well as EMP (epithelial mesenchymal transition) in human epithelial cancer cells. It has been pointed therefore that TMPRSS4 has a great potential as a target of cancer treatment. Nevertheless, studies on TMPRSS4 are not plenty enough. Considering the great potential of TMPRSS4 as a powerful and independent prognostic marker and as a target for the development of an inhibitor of infiltration and metastasis, it is also important to develop TMPRSS4 inhibitor as an anticancer target.
TMPRSS4 gene is also over-expressed in malignant thyroid neoplasms. Therefore, The gene is proposed as a diagnostic and prognostic marker in such types of cancer (non-patent references 3 and 4).
Up to date, various compositions for treating cancer have been studied, which have been mainly focused on the inhibition of cancer specific marker. However, the studies on TMPRSS4 considered as a target of cancer treatment have not been actively undergoing.
The present inventors have studied to develop an anticancer agent to inhibit metastasis by suppressing cancer cell infiltration by inhibiting TMPRSS4 over-expressed specifically in cancer cells. In the course of the study, the inventors prepared a 2-hydroxyarylamide derivative and confirmed that the compound had excellent effect of inhibiting TMPRSS4, leading to the completion of this invention.

2-hydroxyarylamide derivative or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, preparation method thereof, and pharmaceutical composition for preventing or treating cancer containing same as active ingredient

Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology