Methods of ranking formation stabilizer performance are described. The methods include obtaining drill cuttings from a subterranean formation, grinding and sieving the drill cuttings to a particle size larger than 200 mesh, adding a formation stabilizer solution to the ground and sieved drill cuttings to form a mixture, agitating the mixture, and measuring turbidity of the agitated mixture.

The present invention relates generally to methods of ranking various formation stabilization treatments based on their ability to minimize formation damage using turbidity measurements of formation cuttings in different formation stabilizer solutions.
Maintaining wellbore stability is an important issue in the oil and gas industry. When a well is drilled, the formation around the wellbore must sustain the load that was previously taken by the removed formation. As a result, an increase in stress around the wellbore is produced. Wellbore stability is not only a mechanical problem. The interaction of chemicals in the treatment fluid with the formation also influences wellbore stability. There are various chemicals in the treatment fluid that can physically and chemically interact with the formations.
For example, formations containing clays are prone to water-sensitivity, which can cause damage to the formation through swelling, softening, and/or generation of migrating fines. The stability of the fracture-face of a formation depends on the sensitivity of the formation to water and other oilfield fluid components such as those used in fracturing. Fracture-face instability can result in proppant embedment, fines release, delamination, and extrusion. All of these can significantly reduce fracture permeability and decrease oil production.
Clays in the formation can swell, disperse, disintegrate or otherwise become disrupted in the presence of aqueous fluids. The swelling or dispersion of clays can significantly reduce the permeability of a formation and reduce mechanical strength of the formation. Some clays, in the presence of aqueous solutions, will expand and be disrupted to the extent that they become unconsolidated and produce particles that migrate into pore throats in the formation/proppant packs and reduce permeability/conductivity of the formation/fracture. In addition, many shales and/or clays are reactive with fresh water, resulting in ion exchange and absorption of aqueous fluids leading to loss of hardness of the rock in the formation.
Current approaches to determining formation stability involve examining rock mechanical properties using tests like the Quad cell embedment test or the Brinell hardness test to determine the best formation stabilizer to use in a formation. These traditional tests, however, require capital-intensive equipment, well-trained lab personnel, and core samples from each well at different depths. Obtaining core samples for each well and each zone of interest is typically very difficult. This problem is exacerbated by clay-rich layers being unstable for good core samples.
Typically formation stabilizers like inorganic salts and other cationic molecules are used to mitigate damage of water-sensitive formations caused due to the interaction of clays and/or other formation materials with aqueous fluids. However, there are no methods to efficiently and quickly determine the performance of formation stabilizers. Moreover, shales are highly heterogeneous formations which require specific formation stabilizers depending on the formation mineralogy.
Thus, there is a continuing need for improved methods for determining an optimum formation stabilizer for use in subterranean formations.


A power controller which includes a boost pre-regulator receiving power from a power source providing an input voltage and an input current, and having compensation networks which are dynamically adjusted for power level, the pre-regulator providing power factor correction to maintain a total harmonic distortion of the input current of 2-3% at full power, and less than 5% at all power levels, while the input voltage is anywhere within the range of 95 to 265 VAC; and a forward converter receiving control from a current-mode controller which is in turn under the control of the boost pre-regulator, in order to achieve substantially constant duty cycle of the forward converter over the entire range of power levels.

This invention relates generally to power regulation and conversion.
When designing power controllers for use in supplying power to a load, solutions to specific problems must be provided before such devices achieve practicality. A first problem is safety. Unless the device isolates the power source from the load, there is an unacceptable risk of electric shock during use. Thus, a given solution must result in sufficient isolation for safety, while providing adequate power to the load.
A second problem is correction for power factor and total harmonic distortion (THD). When power is obtained from a public power grid, power factor must be corrected to prevent large amounts of power which do not register on electric meters from being converted into second third, fifth and higher order haromonics which reflect back into the power grid causing large amounts of THD. Third, sixth, ninth, etc. harmonics heat neutral conductors in wiring and electrical panels, and the primary windings of utility pole or vault transformers and, over time, damage this costly equipment. Second, fifth, eighth etc. harmonics cause counter-rotating magnetic fields in electric motors so they draw more power to do less work, again leading eventually to costly equipment failures.
A third problem is compatibility of the device with different load voltages. Many devices are limited to use where the load voltage remains within a narrow range and thus are not flexible enough to be used in applications where the load voltage does not fall within that range.
Thus, there is a continuing need for power controllers which provide electrical isolation between a load and a power source while still providing adequate power to the load and power factor correction over a wide range of load voltages.
According to the present invention, a power regulation and conversion device is provided. Such a device has particular applicability when incorporated into a battery charger (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,087,802 and 6,204,630, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety) but may also be advantageously used to supply power to other types of loads as well. The provided device includes a boost pre-regulator receiving power from a power source providing an input voltage and an input current, and having compensation networks which are dynamically adjusted for power level, the pre-regulator providing power factor correction to maintain a total harmonic distortion of the input current of 2-3% at full power, and less than 5% at all power levels, while the input voltage is anywhere within the range of 95 to 265 VAC; and a forward converter receiving control from a current-mode controller which is in turn under the control of the boost pre-regulator, in order to achieve substantially constant duty cycle of the forward converter over the entire range of power levels. Alternative embodiments may utilize a single converter to perform both boost pre-regulation and forward conversion on a time-share basis, may provide power factor correction to maintain a power factor of at least 99.9%, and may include a connector sized and dimensioned to electrically couple The power controller to a power source providing an input voltage and input current to the boost pre-regulator.

Power controller utilizing power factor correction


There is provided a session apparatus that enables the user to freely start and enjoy a music session with another session apparatus without being restricted by a time the session should be started. A session apparatus is connected to at least one other session apparatus via a communication network in order to perform a music session with the other session apparatus. Reproduction data to be reproduced simultaneously with reproduction data received from the other session apparatuses is generated and transmitted to the other session apparatus. The reproduction data received from the other session apparatus is delayed by a period of time required for the received reproduction data to be reproduced in synchronism with the generated reproduction data, for simultaneous reproduction of the delayed reproduction data and the generated reproduction data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a session apparatus that performs a music session with another session apparatus connected thereto via a communication network in real time, a control method for the session apparatus, and a program for implementing the control method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a session apparatus is known which performs a music session with another session apparatus connected thereto via a communication network in real time.
A conventional session apparatus of this kind is disclosed e.g. in the "Minutes of Proceedings of ICMC 97, pp. 446-449, 1997", which starts performance simultaneously with another session apparatus, and performs a music session in synchronism with information of performance given a predetermined time period earlier that in the present performance of its own, which is transmitted from the other session apparatus, thereby eliminating a deviation in timing between the performances due to network delay.
In the above session apparatus, however, to perform a session with the other session apparatus, it is necessary to start performance simultaneously with the other session apparatus, and hence it is impossible for the users of the individual session apparatuses to freely start the music session without being restricted by a time when the session should be started.

Session apparatus, control method therefor, and program for implementing the control method


A three-phase two-level power electronics assembly is disclosed in one form including a thermally conductive base plate, a heat dissipation unit, mounted on a first face of the base plate, connectors for three-phase AC output, chopper DC outputs, and two poles of a DC link, and a set of power electronics devices mounted on a second face of the base plate, whereby the power electronic devices are arranged within the three-phase two-level power electronics assembly in rows to provide a three phase AC output as well as chopper DC outputs and connected to the respective connectors, whereby the rows connected to the three-phase AC output and the rows connected to the chopper DC outputs are alternately arranged on the base plate. Also disclosed is a power converter, in particular a static power converter, having at least one three-phase two-level power electronics assembly as specified above.

Such three-phase two-level power electronics assemblies commonly have a design comprising a thermally conductive base plate with two faces. On a first face of the base plate, a heat dissipation unit is mounted, and a set of power electronic devices is mounted on a second face of the base plate. The power electronic devices are typically arranged within the three-phase two-level power electronics assembly in rows according to their functions to form logical entities located closely on the base plate.
According to a typical usage of the three-phase two-level power electronics assemblies, connectors for a three phase AC output as well as two chopper DC outputs are provided, as well as connectors for two poles of a DC link. Such a design of the three-phase two-level power electronics assembly is e.g. used in power converters, in particular in static power converters. The power converters, in particular static power converters, are often built as compact and integrated systems to reach high possible performances with increased voltages and switching frequencies. A typical usage of such power converters is in the area of transportation, e.g. in electrically driven locomotives and trains as well as electric railcars or power coaches. In this area, the power converter is often referred to as traction converter.
For the use e.g. in the power converters, the power electronic devices are typically arranged in half-bridges according to their functions, whereby each half-bridge implements a switching function. As discussed here, the power electronic devices are connected to provide a three phase AC output as well as chopper DC outputs at the respective connectors. Because of needs e.g. for electrical connections, the half-bridges are typically arranged in parallel rows on the second face of the base plate.
The power electronic devices refer to electronic components comprising at least one power semiconductor. The power semiconductors typically comprise power diodes and/or power transistors, in particular Insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBT). In simple implementations, the power electronic devices comprise IGBTs and power diode, which are chosen and arranged according to the functions of the half-bridges, and which are directly mounted on the base plate. However, depending on in particular voltage and/or current carrying capabilities, it can be required to combine multiple of these power semiconductors in parallel and/or in series. Accordingly, the power semiconductors can be provided in power semiconductor modules, which can be mounted as power electronic devices.
The power semiconductor modules can be formed depending on their functions by different groups of power semiconductors. For Example IGBT modules and diode modules are known in the Art, whereby the IGBT modules comprise IGBTs and power diodes, and the diode modules comprise power diodes. Furthermore, the IGBT modules can implement different functionality depending on the type, number, arrangement, or others of the IGBTs. In a typical design of power semiconductor modules, the power semiconductor modules can be provided as single, double or six packs modules depending on the number of implemented switches. Still further, it is also possible to combine different power semiconductor modules and provide these combined power semiconductor modules as power electronic devices.
In order to operate the power electronic devices, in particular the power transistors, the three-phase two-level power electronics assembly comprises at least one control connector, typically provided as gate connector.
The two poles of the DC link are connected with a common DC bus for the positive and negative pole. The DC link serves as power source for the three-phase two-level power electronics assembly. Hence, the two poles of the DC link are connected to the power electronic devices.
In the area of power electronics, heating is usually an important issue. Heat is generated by the power semiconductors and also by resistive components, or the power semiconductor modules comprising these components. In particular in air-cooled three-phase two-level power electronics assemblies, heating of the components can limit its function and lifetime. Hence, when excessive heating occurs, the power semiconductor devices can be altered and destroyed before end of their designated lifetime. This also increases maintenance of the devices, where the power semiconductor devices are employed. Typically, e.g. in a power converter, multiple power semiconductor devices are used. The failure of already one of the power semiconductor devices can make the entire device unusable. Accordingly, a device with numerous power semiconductor devices has typically a low reliability and requires frequent maintenance.
To dissipate heat, the power semiconductors are typically mounted directly on the base plate. Accordingly, heat generated in the electrical components can be directly dissipated from the second face of the base plate through the base plate to its first face and the heat dissipation unit mounted thereon.
It is also known in the Art to provide cooling mechanisms in order to obtain an adequate availability of the power semiconductor devices and an increased life cycle. A powerful cooling mechanism is water cooling, which requires an installation of a full water circulation circuit, and which is therefore not suitable for all installations. Also in other cases it can be preferred not to use water-cooling. However, when using water cooling, heating can usually be controlled in an efficient and powerful way, which allows high integration of three-phase two-level power electronics assemblies.
In the case of air-cooled three-phase two-level power electronics assemblies, the heat dissipation unit usually comprises cooling rips. To enhance cooling efficiency, fresh air can be provisioned to the three-phase two-level power electronics assemblies. However, a desired integration cannot always be achieved because of insufficient dissipation of generated heat.

Heat dissipation in power electronic assemblies


To provide a chain tensioner capable of constantly applying an appropriate pressing force under any situations including high-speed, high-load operation, at the start of an engine, and normal range operation, without an increase in size or amount of oil consumption. A check valve unit 150 is disposed between an oil pressure chamber 101 and an oil supply part 103. A second oil pressure chamber 102 is formed between an outer circumferential surface of a plunger 120 and a cylindrical surface 113 of a plunger bore 111, into which oil leaking from the oil pressure chamber 101 flows and whose volume increases as the plunger 120 retracts. Further provided is a relief valve unit 130 that releases oil when the pressure of the second oil pressure chamber 102 reaches or exceeds a predetermined high level.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chain tensioner that includes a tensioner body having a cylindrical plunger bore with one open end, a cylindrical plunger slidably inserted in the plunger bore, and biasing means accommodated inside an oil pressure chamber formed between the plunger bore and the plunger such as to freely expand and contract and to urge the plunger in an advancing direction, and that maintains appropriate tension of a chain.
2. Description of the Related Art
It has been common practice to use a chain tensioner for maintaining appropriate tension of a chain. For example, a chain guide mechanism has been known, which slidably guides, by means of a guide shoe, a transmission chain such as an endless roller chain passing over respective sprockets of a crankshaft and a cam shaft inside an engine room, and which uses a chain tensioner to press a pivoting chain guide having the guide shoe to maintain appropriate tension.
A chain guide mechanism is configured as shown in FIG. 5, for example, wherein a pivoting chain guide G1 and a fixed chain guide G2 guide an endless timing chain CH passing over a drive sprocket S1 of a crankshaft and a pair of driven sprockets S2 and S3 of cam shafts inside an engine room.
The fixed chain guide G2 is fixed in position in the engine room, with two mounting shafts B1 and B2, while the pivoting chain guide G1 is attached such as to be pivotable around the mounting shaft B0 in the plane in which the timing chain CH runs in the engine room.
A chain tensioner 500 presses the pivoting chain guide G1 and thereby maintains the tension of the timing chain CH at an appropriate level as well as reduces its vibration.
The known chain tensioner 500 used in such a chain guide mechanism includes, for example, as shown schematically in FIG. 6, a tensioner body 510 having a cylindrical plunger bore 511 with one open end, a cylindrical plunger 520 inserted in the plunger bore 511 to freely slide against a cylindrical surface 513 of the plunger bore 511, and means for biasing the plunger 520 in an advancing direction from the plunger bore 511.
The biasing means is formed by a coil spring 540 accommodated inside a cylindrical recess 521 in the cylindrical plunger 520 and compressed between the plunger and a bottom part 512 of the plunger bore 511.
Oil is supplied from an oil supply hole 514 formed in the plunger bore 511, so that an oil pressure chamber 501 formed between the plunger bore 511 and the plunger 520 is filled with the oil, which oil urges the plunger 520 in the advancing direction. A check valve 550 (schematically shown as a check ball) stops the oil from flowing out from the oil supply hole 514.
As the plunger 520 thereby reciprocates, the oil flows through a small gap between the plunger 520 and the plunger bore 511, and the flow resistance provides the damping effect of slowing down the reciprocal movement of the plunger 520.


Methods, systems, and apparatus that filters noise within a signal collected by a detector assembly. The detector assembly includes a first semiconductor layer of a first type configured to receive a photon. The detector assembly includes a second semiconductor layer of a second type. The second semiconductor layer is formed above the first semiconductor layer. The first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer are configured to collect a signal. The detector assembly includes an interface layer including an insulator portion for filtering noise. The interface layer is formed on the second semiconductor layer. The detector assembly includes a metal contact layer formed on the interface layer. The interface layer is configured to capacitively couple the first semiconductor layer and second semiconductor layer with the metal contact layer.

1. Field
This specification relates to a system for reducing or eliminating noise within a detector assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mercury-Cadmium-Telluride Focal Plane Arrays (MCT FPAs) are used for space applications. FPAs are used to capture light or photons from terrestrial bodies to produce digital images. The FPAs detect light or photons and collect the photocharge into pixels using electric fields created by a p-n junction in each pixel. The p-n junction is connected to a read-out integrated circuit (ROIC) which outputs an analog or digital signal. If the signal is an analog signal, the analog signal is converted into a digital value using an analog-to-digital converter. Noise is introduced when capturing photons to create digital images. Various types of noise introduced by the devices and processes to digitize images include readout noise, Johnson noise, photon noise and dark noise.
Noise affects a signal by, for example, adding and/or subtracting from the signal and/or introducing errors that cause incorrect results. By affecting the signal, noise causes the MCT FPA to produce a lower quality digital image.


The present invention provides a method for the purification of 227Th from a mixture comprising 227Th and 223Ra, said method comprising: i) preparing a first solution comprising a mixture of 227Th and 223Ra ions dissolved in an aqueous solution of first mineral acid; ii) loading said first solution onto a strong base anion exchange resin; iii) eluting 223Ra from said strong base anion exchange resin using a second mineral acid in an aqueous solution; iv) optionally rinsing said strong base anion exchange resin using a first aqueous medium; v) eluting 227Th from said strong base anion exchange resin using a third mineral acid in an aqueous solution whereby to generate a second solution comprising 227Th. The invention further provides a purified 227Th solution, a corresponding pharmaceutical formulation and methods of treatment of neoplastic disease.

Specific cell killing can be essential for the successful treatment of a variety of diseases in mammalian subjects. Typical examples of this are in the treatment of malignant diseases such as sarcomas and carcinomas. However the selective elimination of certain cell types can also play a key role in the treatment of many other diseases, especially immunological, hyperplastic and/or other neoplastic diseases.
The most common methods of selective treatment are currently surgery, chemotherapy and external beam irradiation. Targeted endo-radionuclide therapy is, however, a promising and developing area with the potential to deliver highly cytotoxic radiation to unwanted cell types. The most common forms of radiopharmaceutical currently authorised for use in humans employ beta-emitting and/or gamma-emitting radionuclides. There has, however, been a recent surge in interest in the use of alpha-emitting radionuclides in therapy because of their potential for more specific cell killing. One alpha-emitting nuclide in particular, radium-223 (223Ra) has proven remarkably effective, particularly for the treatment of diseases associated with the bone and bone-surface. Additional alpha-emitters are also being actively investigated and one isotope of particular interest is the alpha-emitter thorium-227.
The radiation range of typical alpha emitters in physiological surroundings is generally less than 100 micrometers, the equivalent of only a few cell diameters. This makes these nuclei well suited for the treatment of tumours, including micrometastases, because little of the radiated energy will pass beyond the target cells and thus damage to surrounding healthy tissue might be minimised (see Feinendegen et al., Radiat Res 148:195-201 (1997)). In contrast, a beta particle has a range of 1 mm or more in water (see Wilbur, Antibody Immunocon Radiopharm 4: 85-96 (1991)).
The energy of alpha-particle radiation is high compared to beta particles, gamma rays and X-rays, typically being 5-8 MeV, or 5 to 10 times that of a beta particle and 20 or more times the energy of a gamma ray. Thus, this deposition of a large amount of energy over a very short distance gives α-radiation an exceptionally high linear energy transfer (LET), high relative biological efficacy (RBE) and low oxygen enhancement ratio (OER) compared to gamma and beta radiation (see Hall, "Radiobiology for the radiologist", Fifth edition, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia Pa., USA, 2000). These properties explain the exceptional cytotoxicity of alpha emitting radionuclides and also impose stringent demands on the level of purity required where an isotope is to be administered internally. This is especially the case where any contaminants may also be alpha-emitters, and most particularly where long half-life alpha emitters may be present, since these can potentially be retained in the body and cause significant damage over an extended period of time. Whether long or short half-life, however, radiochemical purity should be as high as reasonably feasible and contamination with non-targeted radionuclides should be minimised.
The radioactive decay chain from 227Ac, generates 227Th and then leads to 223Ra and further radioactive isotopes. The first three isotopes in this chain are shown in FIG. 3. The table shows the element, molecular weight (Mw), decay mode (mode) and Half-life (in years (y) or days (d)) for 227Th and the isotopes preceding and following it. Preparation of 227Th can begin from 227Ac, which is itself found only in traces in uranium ores, being part of the natural decay chain originating at 235U. One ton of uranium ore contains about a tenth of a gram of actinium and thus although 227Ac is found naturally, it is more commonly made by the neutron irradiation of 226Ra in a nuclear reactor.
It can be seen in FIG. 3 that 227Ac, with a half-life of over 20 years, is a very dangerous potential contaminant with regard to preparing 227Th from the decay chain for pharmaceutical use. Even once the 227Ac is removed or reduced to a safe level, however, 227Th will continue to decay to 223Ra with a half-life of just under 19 days. Since 223Ra is an alkaline earth metal it will not easily be coordinated by ligands designed for thorium or other actinides. This 223Ra then forms the beginning of a potentially uncontrolled (untargeted) decay chain including 4 alpha-decays and 2 beta-decays before reaching stable 207Pb. These are illustrated in the table below:
Nuclide227Th223Ra219Rn215Po211Pb211Bi207Tl207Pb½-life18.7 d11.4 d4.0 s1.8 ms36.1 m2.2 m4.8 mstableα-energy/6.155.646.757.396.55MeVβ-energy1.371.42(max)/MeVEnergy %17.516.019.121.03.918.64.0
It is evident from the above two decay tables that 223Ra cannot be entirely eliminated from any preparation of 227Th because the latter will constantly be decaying and generating the former. It is clear, however, that more than 25 MeV in radiated energy will be released from the decay of each 223Ra nucleus administered to a patient, before that nucleus reaches a stable isotope. It is also probable that such 223Ra will not be bound and targeted by the systems of chelation and specific binding designed to transport 227Th to its site of action, due to the differing chemical nature of the two elements. Therefore, for the purpose of targeted cell killing, maximising the therapeutic effect and minimising side-effects, it is important that as much 223Ra as realistically possible should be removed from any 227Th preparation prior to administration.
Separation of 227Th from 223Ra could be carried out quickly and conveniently in a radiological laboratory such as at the site of generation by decay of 227Ac. However, this would not always be possible and may not achieve the desired result effectively because the resulting purified 227Th must then be transported to the site of administration. If this site of use is remote from the site of origin of the 227Th then a further build-up of 223Ra will occur during storage and transport.
In view of the above, it would be a considerable advantage to provide a robust and effective method of purifying 227Th from contaminant 223Ra which could be carried out at a location, such as a centralized location, from which the purified 227Th can reach the site of administration significantly more quickly than the half-life of the isotope. Where the purified isotope will be stored from some time (e.g. 12 to 60 hours) then the method should preferably provide a very high degree of removal of 223Ra so that only radium caused by unavoidable in-growth is administered to the subject without any significant increase due to residual impurity. Alternatively, purification may take place at or close to the point-of-care, at or shortly before the time of administration utilising a simple method that would not require extensive training and experience to carry out. It would be a further advantage if this method could be implemented with a simple group of reagents and items of apparatus, which could be supplied for such a contemporaneous preparation, optionally in the form of a kit. In either embodiment, the method should be robust, reliable and effective, since the resulting purified 227Th may be used directly in pharmaceutical preparation.
Previously known preparations for 227Th have generally been for laboratory use and/or not tested for purity to pharmaceutical standards. In WO2004/091668, for example, 227Th was prepared by anion exchange from a single column and used for experimental purposes without validation of the purity. The primary aim of separation in most preparative methods for 227Th has been the removal of the long-lived 227Ac parent isotope. Methods have not previously been devised or optimised for removal of 223Ra which has grown-in in a 227Th sample previously purified from 227Ac. Furthermore, there are few, if any, documented methods for preparing pharmaceutical standard 227Th that conform to or are suitable for conforming to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) principles. It would be an advantage to provide an effective and reliable method that could readily be validated and documented in accordance with GMP working practices.
Brief Description of the Invention
The present inventors have now established that a quick and simple purification procedure may be used to remove 223Ra and its daughter isotopes from a preparation of 227Th using a single strong base anion exchange resin. In this way, a 227Th solution of very high radiochemical purity may be produced while providing a number of desirable advantages in the method.
In a first aspect, the present invention therefore provides a method for the purification of 227Th from a mixture comprising 227Th and 223Ra, said method comprising:                i) preparing a first solution comprising a mixture of 227Th and 223Ra ions dissolved in an aqueous solution of first mineral acid;        ii) loading said first solution onto a strong base anion exchange resin;        iii) eluting 223Ra from said strong base anion exchange resin using a second mineral acid in an aqueous solution;        iv) optionally rinsings said strong base anion exchange resin using a first aqueous medium;        v) eluting 227Th from said strong base anion exchange resin using a third mineral acid in an aqueous solution whereby to generate a second solution comprising 227Th.
The process will optionally and preferably also include at least one of the following further steps, each generally conducted after steps i) to v) above:                vi) assaying for the 227Th content of said second solution;        vii) evaporating the liquid from said second solution;        viii) forming at least one radiopharmaceutical from at least a portion of the 227Th contained in said second solution;        ix) sterile filtering said radiopharmaceutical.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a solution or other sample of 227Th comprising less than 10 KBq, preferably less than 5 KBq (e.g. less than 2 KBq) 223Ra per 1 MBq 227Th. Such a solution is optionally formed or formable by any of the methods herein described, and is preferably formed or formable by the preferred methods herein described. Correspondingly, the methods of the invention are preferably for the formation of a solution of 227Th comprising less than 10 KBq, preferably less than 5 KBq 223Ra per 1 MBq 227Th. A corresponding pharmaceutical preparation is also provided, which may be sterile and may comprise at least one complexing agent (especially for 227Th), at least one targeting agent (e.g. conjugated to said complexing agent), and optionally at least one pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent.
In a still further aspect, the invention also provides a kit (typically a kit for carrying out a method of the invention) comprising a mixture of 227Th and 223Ra, a first mineral acid, a strong base anion exchange resin, a second mineral acid, a first aqueous medium, and a third mineral acid. The kit may further comprise container closures, adapters, syringes, needles, evaporation tubing kit and/or a sterile filter. The mixture of 227Th and 223Ra (as with the first solution in other aspects of the invention) will typically also comprise further 223Ra daughter products. Such a mixture may be the result of radioactive decay of purified or partially purified 227Th during storage and/transportation.


A support brace for a musical instrument such as a base trombone has a flexible band which is configured to be wrapped around a user's wrist and hand. The band has an upwardly extending first pocket which contains a first reinforcement member. Straps extend from the band and employ hook and loop fastener material to adjustably retain the band on the user's wrist and hand. An elliptical support knob extends outwardly from the band and is configured to receive and support a horizontal tube portion of the musical instrument. A first fastener with a head extends through the first reinforcement member and the band and is secured to the support knob, thereby joining the knob to the reinforcement member so that forces applied to the support knob are carried to the first reinforcement member. The instrument height can be adjusted by rotating and securing in place the elliptical support knob.

The present invention relates to support braces in general, and more particularly to hand-worn braces which facilitate the use of particular implements.
Some musical instruments, such as the trombone and the base trombone, require the performer to carry a portion of the instrument's weight on one hand, while the other hand is left free to manipulate the instrument. Especially with the base trombone, extended support of the instrument can place a strain on the player's wrist, and can lead to fatigue which in turn can compromise the quality of the performance.
A number of attachments to a conventional trombone have been developed to allow the trombone tubing to be more readily gripped or to rest more comfortably on the player's hand. Yet these devices are attached to the trombone itself, and cannot give support to the player's wrist, which must be free to readily separate from the instrument
What is needed is an aid to players of heavy instruments which gives additional support to the weight of the instrument while reducing the performer's wrist fatigue.


A photodiode for detecting photons comprising a substrate; first semiconducting region suitable for forming a contact thereon; a first contact; a second semiconducting region comprising an absorption region for the photons and being formed of a semiconductor having one or more of a high surface recombination velocity or a high interface recombination velocity; a second contact operatively associated with the second region; the first semiconducting region and the second semiconducting region forming a first interface; the second semiconducting region being configured such that reverse biasing the photodiode between the first and second contacts results in the absorption region having a portion depleted of electrical carriers and an undepleted portion at the reverse bias point of operation; the undepleted portion being smaller than the absorption depth for photons; whereby the depletion results in the creation of an electric field and photogenerated carriers are collected by drift; and a method of making.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to photodetectors and methods for making such photodetectors.
II. Description of Related Art
In avalanche photodiodes (APDs) or photodetectors, incoming light is used to generate carriers (i.e., free electrons or holes) that are collected as current. Semiconductor materials are selected for photodiodes based upon the wavelength range of the radiation that is desired to be utilized or detected. APDs are operated at high reverse-bias voltages where avalanche multiplication takes place. The multiplication of carriers in the high electric field depletion region in these structures gives rise to internal current gain. In linear mode operation, the output photo-induced current within the APD is linearly proportional to the illuminating photon flux, with the level of gain increasing with reverse bias. Importantly, the dark current that flows through the APD also tends to increase with increasing reverse bias. When biased sufficiently above the breakdown voltage, commonly referred to as excess bias, the APD can have sufficient internal gain so that an incident photon can induce a large and self-sustaining avalanche. This operating scheme is often referred to as Geiger mode and the diode along with enabling circuitry may be referred to as a single photon-counting avalanche photodiode (SPAD). In this mode, a non-photogenerated carrier may also be excited leading to avalanche current that is referred to as a dark count. In practice, the detection efficiency and dark count rate for the SPAD increase with increasing excess bias.
High sensitivity deep ultraviolet (DUV) photodetectors operating at wavelengths shorter than 280 nm are useful for various applications, including chemical and biological identification, optical wireless communications, and UV sensing systems. Often, these applications require very low light level or single photon detection and, as a result, photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) are widely used. However, in addition to being large and fragile, PMTs require the use of expensive filters to limit the bandwidth of detection. While APDs can be more compact, lower cost and more rugged than the commonly used PMTs, commercially available devices such as silicon (Si) single photon counting APDs (SPADs) have poor DUV single photon detection efficiency.
Group III-nitride avalanche detectors can presumably be widely functional between 200 nm and 1900 nm (i.e. infrared to ultraviolet radiation). Aluminum gallium nitride (AlxGa1-xN) photodetectors can take advantage of a sharp and tunable direct band gap to achieve high external quantum efficiency and avalanche multiplication in AlxGa1-xN based p-i-n diodes has been reported. See, e.g., L. Sun, J. Chen. J. Li, H. Jiang, "AlGaN Solar-blind Avalanche Photodiodes With High Multiplication Gain," Appl. Phys. Lett., 97, (191103) (2010) and P. Suvarna, M. Tungare, J. M. Leathersich, P. Agnihotri, F. Shahedipour-Sandvik, L. D. Bell, and S. Nikzad, "Design and Growth of Visible-Blind and Solar-Blind III-N APDs on Sapphire Substrates," J. Electron. Mater. 42, 854 (2013)), both of which are herein incorporated by reference.
However, this approach is limited by the difficulty in doping high AlN mole fraction alloys p-type, and a very large breakdown electric field for high AlN mole fraction that implies higher voltage operation and greater susceptibility to dark current associated with defects in the material. Therefore, a need remains for low cost, compact, high sensitivity, low dark current/dark count rate photodetectors operating in the ultraviolet spectrum.
Silicon Carbide (SiC) photodetectors have emerged as an attractive candidate for DUV pin photodetectors and APDs due to their very low dark currents, small k factor, and high gain. State-of-the-art SiC APDs employing a recessed top window exhibit peak quantum efficiency (QE) of 60% at 268 nm and k factor of ˜0.1, and dark current of 90 pA at a gain of 1000. See, X. Bai, X. Guo, D. C. Mcintosh, H. Liu, and J. C. Campbell, "High Detection Sensitivity of Ultraviolet 4H-SiC Avalanche Photodiodes", IEEE J. Quantum Electron 43, 1159 (2007), herein incorporated by reference. These dark currents are more than three orders of magnitude lower than what has been reported for AlxGa1-xN based APDs. See, e.g., L. Sun, J. Chen, J. Li, H. Jiang, "AlGaN Solar-blind Avalanche Photodiodes With High Multiplication Gain," Appl. Phys. Lett., 97, (191103) (2010), herein incorporated by reference. However, the responsivity of these devices diminishes at wavelengths shorter than 260 nm due to increasing absorption and carrier generation in the illuminated doped layer of this device and the short effective diffusion length of minority carriers in this region in the presence of a high density of surface states through which these photogenerated carriers recombine.
In general, the short wavelength response in pin detectors associated with detection of photons having energies much greater than the band gap of a semiconductor having a high density of surface states is hindered by the absorption of these photons near the surface of the heavily doped illuminated layer (p- or n-type). As a result, photo-generated carriers are trapped by surface band bending and are lost to surface recombination; the carrier transport in this layer may be characterized as diffusion, associated with the spatial gradient in photogenerated carriers, with a significantly reduced diffusion length for minority carriers over what would be expected in the bulk that can be described as a shorter effective diffusion length.
A number of groups have explored Schottky and metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) 4H-SiC photodetectors to address this issue by enabling more efficient collection of carriers through photogeneration of these carriers primarily within the depletion region of the device. A. Sciuto, et al., "High responsivity 4H-SiC Schottky UV photodiodes based on the pinch-off surface effect," Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 081111 (2006) (herein incorporated by reference), report a peak QE of 29% at 255 nm for vertical Schottky diodes fabricated on n-type 4H-SiC using the pinch-off surface effect to increase the direct optical absorption area in the detector. X. Xin, F. Yan, T. W. Koeth, C. Joseph, J. Hu, J. Wu, and J. H. Zhao: "Demonstration of 4H-SiC UV single photon counting avalanche photodiode," Electron. Lett., 41 1192 (2005) (herein incorporated by reference) reported large-area, 2×2 mm, n-4H-SiC Schottky diodes with QE of ˜20% at 200 nm. However, high efficiency single photon counting capable-APDs at wavelengths shorter than 260 nm have not been demonstrated to date. One challenge has been to realize a device design that mitigates the effects of surface recombination in these devices while maintaining sufficiently low dark currents at high bias to allow avalanche breakdown.
Therefore, a need remains for low cost, compact, high sensitivity, low dark current/dark count rate photodetectors that operate in the ultraviolet spectrum.

Enhanced deep ultraviolet photodetector and method thereof

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


A collapsible catheter is provided for irrigation or aspiration of the urinary bladder with fluid. The catheter consists of a pair of telescoping collapsible hollow elastomeric tubes which form an opening at the proximal end. A drainage opening is provided at the distal end. The catheter is stiffened by inserting fluid between the tubes through a valve. A balloon is provided to hold the catheter in place in a patient.

A urinary bladder tube is used on patients who are unable to urinate. There are many causes of the inability to urinate. Frequently, surgery or other invasive procedures produce such an effect. Generally, the origin of such a condition differs with age and gender. For example, the inability to urinate in men is commonly caused by a blockage of the urethra passageway by an enlargening prostate. In females, the condition may occur after delivery of a baby. And, in small children, a congenital abnormality obstructing the bladder neck or urethra can produce the condition.
After major surgery, it is advantageous to continuously drain the bladder. Continuous drainage of the bladder is also preferred where medical conditions dictate the necessity of monitoring a patient's urine output. It is well known that close measurement of urine output provides a direct correlation to kidney functions and careful monitoring allows one to identify and prevent kidney failure.
It is important to drain the bladder by an indwelling catheter after prostate or bladder surgery. An indwelling Foley type catheter is usually the catheter of choice. U.S. Pat. No. 5,300,022 to Klapper et al and incorporated herein, shows an improvement over the Foley catheter by providing a second lumen for continuous delivery of a sterile irrigating solution directly into the bladder, and preventing any mixture with the main drainage lumen, thus avoiding any reintroduction of harmful bacteria into the bladder during irrigation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,701,162 issued to Rosenberg and incorporated herein, shows a Foley catheter with two lumens, one for drainage and one for inflation of the balloon. Having separate lumens for drainage and inflation is common in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,379, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a Foley catheter having a balloon portion and a lubricated resilient sleeve. U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,770, which is incorporated herein by reference, shows a dual lumen system and balloon Foley catheter for releasing a bactericidal agent. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,755 which is incorporated therein by reference, shows a Foley urinary catheter with a dual membrane delivery system that allows bactericidal agents to diffuse into the urinary tract.
One thing is clear in the prior art of Foley urinary catheters: none of them teach a collapsible device.
An indwelling catheter drains the bladder and diverts the urine from the wound. Moreover, the bladder can be either continuously irrigated with a three way Foley catheter or hand irrigated at discrete moments when desired. In the three way catheter, one port used is connected to a large fluid reservoir and the other port is used for drainage of the returned fluid. The speed of irrigation can be controlled by different mechanisms or different pumps.
In certain patients the bladder must be drained for many years, as in patients with spinal cord lesions. If the bladder is not drained, the pressure inside it will build up and obstruct the kidneys. Continuous kidney obstruction could end in renal failure and death in only a few weeks. Furthermore, the catheter is used to clear blockages and constrictions of the urinary tract.
Therefore, the use of indwelling catheter is very important and could be life saving.
However, there are many serious draw backs to the stiff indwelling catheter. First, it is painful and certain patients cannot tolerate the catheter. Second, a stiff hollow indwelling catheter invites micro-organisms to invade the bladder and kidneys which may cause a serious infection. Third, for patients who are unable to tolerate the stiff catheter, a hole in the bladder must be created to drain the bladder directly through the anterior abdominal wall. This is a serious procedure and exposes the patient to unnecessary risks of other complications.
Thus, it would be ideal if a Foley catheter was stiff enough to be introduced, but collapsed after insertion. The urethra is naturally in a state of collapse at rest. The present invention The pain or will mimic the urethra's physiological status.
reduced. In discomfort from an indwelling catheter will be
infection is addition, the incidence of bladder or kidney minimized.


A multicamera panoramic imaging system having no parallax. In an example, the multicamera panoramic imaging system includes multiple discrete, imaging systems disposed in a side-by-side array, wherein a field of view of each discrete, imaging systems is conjoined with a field of view of each adjacent discrete imaging system, further wherein a stencil of chief rays at the edge of the field of view of any one of the discrete imaging systems will be substantially parallel to a stencil of chief rays at the edge of the field of view of any adjacent ones of the discrete imaging systems such that all of the substantially parallel stencils of chief rays appear to converge to a common point when viewed from object space. A method for forming an image of an object having no parallax.

Field of the Invention
Aspects and embodiments of the invention are most generally directed to an optical imaging system, methods pertaining thereto, and applications thereof; more particularly to a panoramic optical imaging system, methods pertaining thereto, and applications thereof; and, most particularly to a panoramic optical imaging system that has zero or substantially no parallax, methods pertaining thereto, and applications thereof.
Description of Related Art
Current 360 degree systems without parallax employ an arrangement of mirrors to scan the image and are limited by an imaging speed of 10 frames per second (fps). Google uses a 360 degree camera with refractive lenses developed by Immersive Media to capture photos for its Streetview software. The photos must be post-processed and corrected for parallax, costing time, which reduces Google's ability to scale its Streetview initiatives. Fisheye lenses provide wide angle imaging but at the cost of high distortion. Distortion is the physical result of mapping a large spherical object onto a small flat image plane.
Some companies have developed optical systems to simplify the process of taking a panoramic image. Rather than rotating the camera to get multiple shots, all of the photos are captured simultaneously with many cameras imaging different parts of the scene. Immersive Media and Greypoint Imaging have developed single shot 360 degree cameras that are available for varying price tags between $10,000 and $100,000. Both companies develop software to automatically correct for the artifacts (parallax) created in the image and offer a better solution than panoramas captured by one camera, e.g., the iPhone camera. The software, however, is not perfect and many artifacts still exist in the images. Anecdotally, Google, had one person carry a Dodeca 360 camera (offered by Immersive Media) around the Grand Canyon, and had to employ programmers to correct the images frame by frame for the artifacts induced by parallax.
Parallax and the Chief Rays of an Optical System
Parallax is defined as "the effect whereby the position or direction of an object appears to differ when viewed from different positions, e.g., through the viewfinder and the lens of a camera." Parallax is created as a result of stitching together images from multiple cameras, each with its own unique perspective of the world.
Referring to FIG. 1, the chief ray of an optical system is the meridional ray that starts at the edge of an object, crosses the center of the optical axis at the aperture stop, and ends at the edge of the image at the detector. Thus the chief ray defines the size of an image.
The chief ray plays a critical role in the parallax created by stitching together multiple images. FIG. 2 illustrates two optical systems (cameras) side by side. For the lens unit on top, the square, triangle and rectangle are mapped to the same point in the image, whereas for the lens unit on bottom they are mapped to three distinct points as shown. In the top imaging system, they are imaged by the same chief ray, whereas for the bottom imaging system, they are imaged by three distinct chief rays. When combining the two images in FIG. 3, parallax would occur and an image as shown in FIG. 4 would result.
The search for an algorithm that can correct for parallax has been going on for many years. Many solutions have been developed but even with the most sophisticated algorithms to date, artifacts are still left in panoramic images. For some, this may not be a problem as software engineers can be hired to fix the images frame by frame; however, for the general consumer this option of correcting each image is not feasible. A better solution is needed that effectively corrects for parallax before such a system can be made available to the consumer market. It is preferable to solve the problem of reducing parallax in an image optically, rather than computationally.
Current designs created for single shot panoramic imaging suffer from parallax because they are created from imaging systems with overlapping fields of view. FIG. 5 is taken from U.S. Pat. No. 2,696,758. This figure illustrates how parallax is created in the 360 degree imaging systems available today. The field of views overlap and a triangle that appears at the edge of the FOV for the bottom lens system will appear at around 0.707 times the FOV in the imaging system on top. Thus, the triangle is mapped to different image points for each camera. On the bottom it is mapped to the full FOV (the edge of the image).
The inventor has thus recognized the advantages and benefits of a panoramic imaging system and associated methods in which there is no parallax, and where the parallax is eliminated optically rather than by post-processing software. Such a system would have applications including providing a scalable way to map the streets of the planet; allowing for the creation of virtual tours, both of cities and of private institutions; high frame-rate video surveillance; military applications including drone and tank technology; an alternative for fisheye lenses which provide wide angle imaging at the cost of high distortion.

Imaging system, method, and applications


The replacement of the bass-bar which is traditionally installed on the underside of the top-plate of a cello or double-bass and substituting a more elastic suspension system of radiating bars. In one arrangement, the bass-bar is replaced by a short support-bar located under the bass-foot of the bridge and has an arch cut at its midpoint in alignment with the bridge and a set of four fan-braces radiate outward at an angle to the alignment axis of the support-bar and are firmly glued to the sides of the support-bar with the fan-braces distributing the static load borne by the support-bar over the whole area of the top-plate. In another arrangement, the traditional bass-bar is replaced by a pair of tapered vibration-bars which cross in an integrally glued cross-lap joint with the region of crossing being provided with a slight arch-cut profile with the load from the X-brace region thus being spread over the entire top-plate of the instrument.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to improvements in stringed musical instruments and more particularly the replacement of the bass-bar which is traditionally installed on the underside of the top-plate of a cello or double bass and substituting a more elastic suspension system of radiating bars. In one arrangement, the bass-bar is replaced by a short support-bar located under the bass-foot of the bridge and has an arch cut at its midpoint in alignment with the bridge and a set of four fan-braces radiate outward at an angle to the alignment axis of the support-bar and are firmly glued to the sides of the support-bar with the fan-braces distributing the static load borne by the support-bar over the whole area of the top-plate. In another arrangement, the traditional bass-bar is replaced by a pair of tapered vibration-bars which cross in an integrally glued cross-lap joint with the region of crossing being provided with a slight arch-cut profile with the load from the X-brace region thus being spread over the entire top-plate of the instrument.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the violin family of instruments, aside from all other similarities of form and construction and differences of dimension and shape, there are two crucial acoustical or vibrational elements in common: the sound-post, and the bass-bar.
The sound-post is a dowel of wood wedged between the top-plate and the back, and is located near (but not under) the treble-foot of the bridge. Apparently, this member has its origins in antiquity, and originally had a structural-support function, as it appears to have been disposed symmetrically near the bridge, supporting thin instrument tops against collapse under strong tension applied to the bridge.
In the violin family it was discovered that by setting the post with special tongs or forceps near the treble-foot of the bridge, but somewhat behind it toward the string tail-piece, the most brilliant treble tones would ensue. Location of the sound-post is thus a critical adjustment on the part of the luthier.
It is commonly said that the purpose of the sound-post is to transmit vibrations of the top-plate to the back-plate of the instrument (allegedly for sound enhancement). This is a false appraisal, and if it had been correct, a more efficient placement of the sound-post could be considered to be directly under the treble-foot of the bridge--a location which kills upper register response. Giltay, a Dutch engineer-physicist who did extensive research on violins, proved experimentally that the sound-post creates a null-point or node for high-frequency top-plate vibration. This is exactly analogous to playing harmonics on a string by tapping with the finger a nodal point on a string. Thus, a high frequency, small circular zone is created, with the treble-foot at a maximum (antinode) of vibration, and the sound-post at a node or null-point vibration. This is a local top-plate tuning-in of high frequency plate modes. No modification of sound-post structure is contemplated in this invention.
A century before Stradivari the efficacy of a "bass bar" was accidentally discovered by Gasparo da Salo. He found that a ridge of wood centered under the bass-foot of the bridge and extending the full length of the underside of the top-plate greatly enhanced the bass response of a violin. Stradivari glued in a spruce bass bar instead of carving a ridge of wood in the underside of the top-plate. This made it possible to replace the bass bar and to modify it. As steel strings replaced gut, and string tension and bridge pressure rose, the violin bass bar of today became twice as high as that of Stradivari's time. In applying the bass bar to the viola, cello and string bass, progressively sturdier bass bars were introduced, until a veritable fence-picket appears as the bass bar in the cello and string bass (bass viol).
The virtuoso musician perceives an increasing deficiency in low-register tones as one goes up the series violin-viola-cello-bass: the low fundamental is missing or quenched in the bass register. The result is progressively a "drier" or more nasal tone, with upper partials dominating.
If we study the desired function of the bass bar and its actual action, we can diagnose the source of its deficiency. Without a bass bar the bass-foot of the bridge would drive local vibrations of the top-plate, emphasizing the high harmonics of the string vibration. A bass bar is then introduced to couple the local bridge motion over an extended region of the top-plate, so that low-frequency components of the string vibration could be coupled.
The contradiction then exists that the bass bar is highest and therefore stiffest just at the point (under the bass-foot of the bridge) where the amplitude of motion should be greatest.
For the violin and viola, I previously introduced arch-cuts in the bass bar centered under the bass-foot of the bridge. This arch-cut then permits flexing of the bass bar at its center, but still supporting string tension, and now more efficiently coupling bridge motion to full top-plate motion. The result was that for violins, and especially for violas, unplayable student instruments became fairly decent, and the low register was much enriched, especially in the viola. Long-term tests under full string tension showed no perceptible top failure. An unexpected dividend was the improvement of the overall range of the instrument, especially the treble. The arched bass bar evidently does function to strengthen fundamental components of each note.
For the string-bass (bass viol) and also cello, because of their much greater dimension, another engineering physics design element is introduced here. A mere arch-cut in the heavy bass bar of these instruments would do little to reduce the mass and general stiffening effected by those heavy bars. My fan-bracing design uses a short, arched support-bar which imparts some flexibility and a greatly reduced mass. This short bar should result in a more rapid action of greater amplitude. The principal change is in the introduction of fan-bracing as highly flexible coupling-bars attached to the short support-bar. The overall effect should be a coupling array which facilitates high-amplitude bass-register vibrations to be spread over the full length of the top-plate. The true bass fundamental should then be reinforced.
A Belgian engineer-physicist who studied violin mechano-acoustics states that the violin design problem is one which no engineer has faced: a highly flexible, dynamic design (for good sound production) simultaneously with a very stiff, static characteristic (for support of high string tension and consequent bridge force load). I believe that the fan-bracing design introduced permits the sustaining of a high bridge load and at the same time permits greatly improved low-frequency response by a more responsive all-top-plate motion.
I have also introduced an X-bracing system to replace the traditional bass-bar in a cello and double bass in which a pair of tapered vibration bars cross in an integrally glued cross lap joint which supports the static load with the load from the X-brace region being spread over the entire top-plate which also is believed to permit greatly improved low frequency response by a more responsive all top-plate motion.

Fan-bracing and X-bracing for cello and double bass


In one embodiment, a method includes causing a building model for a modeled building to be presented on a client computer. The building model includes a three-dimensional scene. The three-dimensional scene includes an individual rendering of at least selected building components for the modeled building. The method further includes permitting a user of the client computer to perform a virtual walkthrough of the three-dimensional scene. In addition, the method includes receiving a user change to the three-dimensional scene via a graphical user interface (GUI) component. Furthermore, the method includes dynamically changing the building model in accordance with the user change. The dynamically changing includes individually modifying an appearance of at least one building component of the at least selected building components in the three-dimensional scene.

Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to building-information modeling (BIM) and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to systems and methods for modeling, visualizing, analyzing, and interacting with digital models of buildings and building products.
History of Related Art
Building information modeling (BIM) is generally a process of generating and managing building data for a building such as, for example, an office tower. BIM may include use of three-dimensional modeling software that takes into account, for example, building geometry, spatial relationships, and quantities and specification properties of various building components. BIM may involve modeling, for example, product norms of the various building components. The product norms may be extracted, for example, from specifications.
One advantage of BIM is that it typically results in increased information sharing among architects, engineers, contractors, and customers. Consequently, BIM encourages more frequent and more effective interaction among stakeholders in a building-construction process. As BIM becomes more prevalent, architects, engineers, contractors, and customers increasingly desire more robust BIM solutions that enable, for example, real-time, accurate modeling and the potential to develop analytical insights about the performance of a building before building construction begins.
Particular difficulties are associated with modeling, for example, a building envelope. The building envelope typically includes, for example, a foundation, roof, walls, doors, and windows. From both aesthetic and engineering standpoints, the efficacy of the building envelope varies greatly based on, for example, building site, geography, weather, and other factors. Product norms are therefore often inaccurate and insufficient bases for modeling a building envelope.

System and method for modeling buildings and building products


Wavelength division multiplexed Sagnac distributed sensor systems that allow the determination of the position and amplitude of a frequency dependent environmental effect acting on the optical path of Sagnac loops. The sensor includes two Sagnac interferometers operating at different wavelengths and having optically spaced combining couplers and optical loops which include as portions thereof, the optical path. The outputs of the Sagnac interferometers are summed to determine the relative amplitude of the sensed effect and compared to determine its position on the optical path.

In many applications, such as aerospace structures, it is desired to include a sensor system distributed along the structure to enable position and magnitude sensing of environmental effects in real time. This allows active damping of space structures and load monitoring and alleviation of aircraft structures to be built. The use of optical fibers as sensing elements is particularly desirable as they are light, tough and can be placed in or on a structure with a minimum of cost and degradation. These applications are discussed by E. Udd, in, "Fiber Optic Smart Structures", Fiber Optic Sensors: An Introduction for Engineers and Scientists edited by E. Udd, Wiley, (1991). Dakin et al in, "A Novel Distributed Optical Fibre Sensing System Enabling Location of Disturbances in a Sagnac Loop Interferometer", SPIE Vol. 838 Fiber Optic and Laser Sensors V (1987) pp. 325-326, describes a distributed fiber optic sensor based on the combination of a Sagnac interferometer and a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The Sagnac interferometer has a position dependent response as described by E. Udd in, "Acoustic Sensor Based on the Sagnac Interferometer", Proceedings of SPIE, Vol. 425, 1983, pp. 90-95. Dakin et al showed that by combining the output of the Sagnac interferometer in response to a frequency dependent environmental effect along with the response of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (see A. Dandridge, "The Mach-Zehnder and Michelson Interferometer" in Fiber Optic Sensor and Introduction for Engineers and Scientists, edited by E. Udd, Wiley (1991)) and normalizing the result, the position and location of a frequency dependent environmental effect along an optical fiber could be determined.
One of the major disadvantages of the Dakin et al approach is that the requirements on the light source for optimum performance of a Mach-Zehnder and Sagnac interferometer are diametrically opposed. Specifically, a high performance Mach-Zehnder interferometer needs a long coherence length light source that is often very susceptible to feed back while the Sagnac interferometer performs best with a low coherence length light source. While it is possible to reduce these problems by redesigning the Dakin et al distributed sensor using wavelength division multiplexing techniques and an isolator, it is also possible to design a distributed sensor based solely on the Sagnac interferometer as described by E. Udd in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,898,468, 4,976,507 and 5,046,848.


Disclosed are three buss carts designed for holding glassware, silverware, and dishes removed from tables in a bussing process. Also disclosed is a combination cart that allows a table to be cleared by one person. A glassware cart includes a basin, which drains into a holding tank, for dumping liquid from glassware before the glassware is placed in tubs stored on the cart. A silverware cart includes separate trays, each containing a presoak solution, for each type of silverware. A dish cart includes a plurality of trays for holding a large number of dishes, and has a central chute to allow food leftovers to be directed into a scrap trap. A liquid holding tank below the scrap trap catches any liquid from the dishes, and allows the dishes to be pre-rinsed before they are removed from the cart. The combination cart includes the features from the other carts.

In most restaurants today, bussing of tables is performed by removing the dishes, glassware, and silverware from the table, placing these in a plastic tub along with the leftover food soil and liquids. The tub is then taken to the dishroom, and the person washing dishes then sorts the dishware, glassware, silverware, scrapes the soil from these items, pre-rinses the items, and places them into the dish machine for washing.
Often, however, food soil is left on the items and they are simply placed into the dish machine. This happens because the person operating the dish machine is overloaded, giving them no time for proper scraping and sorting. This results in the water in the dish tank being extremely dirty, breakage occurs, and the dishes, glasses and silverware contain soil when they leave the dish machine.
The problem is more severe in banquet operations where several hundred tables may be cleared. The glasses are often placed in glass racks with liquids remaining in the glasses. The dishes and silverware sit in buss tubs for several hours, causing the soil to harden, before being washed in the dish machine.
It is thus apparent that there is a need in the art for an improved method and apparatus which allows dishes, glasses and silverware to be prepared for the dish machine when tables are bussed. There is another need for an apparatus and system that allows liquids to be removed from glasses at the time a table is bussed. There is a further need for such an apparatus and system that allows silverware to be placed in a presoak solution to prevent soil from hardening on the silverware before it is placed in the dish machine. Yet another need is for an apparatus that collects food soil from dishes and allows the dishes to be easily pre-rinsed. A still further need is for a system an apparatus that provides a combination apparatus or cart to perform these functions. The present invention meets these and other needs.

Multiple function dish, glass and silverware cart


Embodiments relate to a semiconductor device and a method for fabricating the same. According to embodiments, a semiconductor device may include a metal film spaced from a semiconductor substrate at a predetermined interval and in which a plurality of etching holes are formed. A bottom metal pattern disposed on and/or over a space between the semiconductor substrate and metal film and top metal pattern formed on and/or over the bottom metal pattern may be provided. A pillar may be formed on and/or over the semiconductor substrate and may support one side of a low surface of the bottom metal pattern. A pad may be formed on and/or over the semiconductor substrate, and an air layer corresponding to the bottom metal pattern may be inserted therein. According to embodiments, a pyro-electric switch transistor using a bi-metal with different coefficients of thermal expansion may be provided.

Information and communication technologies have rapidly increased and information media, such as computers and the like, may become more popular. Hence, semiconductor apparatuses may be increasingly developed. In addition, semiconductor devices may be more highly integrated in view of a functional aspect. Accordingly, various methods have been studied and developed to reduce a feature size of individual devices formed on and/or over a substrate and to maximize a performance of a device.
A related art method for fabricating a semiconductor device may manufacture a switch transistor having turn-on and turn-off functions using movement of electrons according to a tunneling effect. Such a method, however, may require many process steps, which may reduce yields.

Semiconductor device and method for fabricating the same


There is provided an electronic device that includes a housing including six sides at right angles to each other, a first side of the six sides including an opening, a first backplane arranged on a second side so as to oppose to the opening, a second backplane arranged on a third side adjacent to the second side, a circuit board which is inserted toward the first backplane through the opening to be coupled with both of the first backplane and the second backplane with use of a plurality of connectors, the circuit board including a specified corner, and a guide. The guide is configured to shift the circuit board toward the second backplane while the specified corner slides with contacting a portion of the guide which is arranged on a fourth side of the six sides opposed to the third side.

In electronic devices such as servers and communication devices, daughter boards, which are circuit boards removably mounted in housings, have connectors concentrated at the front ends of the daughter boards in a direction in which the daughter boards are inserted. With this structure, since signal wires are routed through backplanes, which are boards disposed on surfaces of the housings toward which the daughter boards are inserted, the length of signal paths is increased. Also with this structure, the density of wiring on the daughter boards is increased, thereby increasing the number of daughter boards used in an electronic device and, accordingly, increasing the cost of the electronic devices.
In order to overcome these drawbacks, connectors are provided on a plurality of edges of the daughter board. When the daughter board has connectors on the plurality of edges thereof, the backplanes, which are boards on the housing side, are provided corresponding to the edges of the daughter board where the connectors are disposed.
When an electronic device has a plurality of backplanes connected to the plurality of edges of a daughter board as described above, the length of wiring on the daughter board from electronic components to the connectors may be decreased. This is useful for high-speed communication of a large number of signals. The above-described electronic device also allows the density of wiring on the daughter board to be decreased.
Specifically, the above-described connection structure uses a three-dimensional mounting structure in which backplanes are disposed on both side surfaces of the daughter board, or uses a structure in which a daughter board having been inserted into a housing is moved perpendicularly to the plane of the daughter board to connect the connectors on the backplane and the daughter board to each other. These connectors are disposed so as to be engageable in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the daughter board.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publications No. 2006-164627, No. 50-119282, and No. 2002-223085 are examples of related art.

Electronic device and connection structure for circuit board


A muffler for a large caliber gun having a gun tube includes a transition section fitted around the gun tube and engaging the gun tube for preventing the escape of residual combustion gases caused by the firing of a projectile by the gun. Attached to the transition section is at least one pressure vessel which defines a pressure chamber for containing residual combustion gases and attenuating pressure waves. A vent stack is coupled to the pressure vessel at a port of the pressure chamber, and an exhaust blower is disposed in the vent stack for removing residual combustion gases from the pressure chamber between firings. A valve, disposed in the vent stack between the pressure chamber and the exhaust blower, closes during firings of the gun and opens between firings for permitting the exhaust blower to remove residual combustion gases from the pressure chamber. At least one orifice plate, which is disposed in the pressure chamber and is adjustable relative to the pressure vessel, serves to attenuate pressure waves. Preferably, there are two pressure vessels, including a main pressure vessel and an extension pressure vessel, disposed in series with one another.

Due to the increased population in the world, the noise generated by the testing of large caliber weapon systems in communities located near testing facilities of such weapon systems is becoming an increasing problem. As a result of this concern in noise, there has been a need for a gun muffler to attenuate the generated noise level. Preferably, such a gun muffler should be able to rapidly and safely attenuate the noise generated by the firing of a projectile by a large caliber gun.


A rake having multiple rows of tines in alternating rows alternate in a lateral position and are spaced from each other sidewise. In a preferred embodiment, the rows of tines are so spaced that the tines of one row are individually offset with respect to the tines in the next adjacent row and thus are located substantially between the tines of the next row.

A leading manufacturer of garden tools reports its biggest selling item is the garden rake. The traditional garden rakes are designed for raking lawns to remove grass clippings, twigs and leaves. To minimize digging into the soil, the tines are flexible wires or strips of metal, bamboo and plastic, the ends contoured to cradle the raked objects as the rakes are stroked back and forth. The old fashion rakes with rigid wooden spokes or steel spikes are relegated to smoothing the surfaces of earth in garden areas. These are unsuitable for lawns or cut grass.
Rakes with flexible steel tines, a network of wires or steel strips have replaced rakes with shaped bamboo pieces largely because these provide longer service, and cause less damage when raking tender shoots. Rakes made of plastic are popular because they are low in cost by being pressed or molded in one piece. The design of rakes as a whole has been simply to accommodate the action of the tines. The rest of the rake is merely support for the tines.
Manufacturers of plastic rakes have directed their attention to making rakes with elements of tougher plastic. Thus, a wide assortment of plastic rakes are available. The emphasis on applying the new technologies, which are built around plastic materials, are well known. Very little thought appears to have been focused on making a more efficient rake; that is on making the tines do their job more efficiently. An example of one place where a more efficient rake is needed is where one is required to rake off small materials, particularly gravel or cut stone, from a grassy lawn. The presently designed rakes are inefficient in trapping and moving these small objects forward.
Anyone who has had a great deal of experience when confronted with the job of raking small objects has developed strategies to make the raking job better. One way is to change the angle of the stroke from directly back and forth to raking at an oblique angle. This alternative, of angling the tines, causes the apparent gap between the tines to be decreased. Therefore, by operating in this manner, fewer strokes are needed to dig out and move small objects resting on grass. This pattern of raking is useful when a few objects necessitate removal.
It is clear that there is a relationship between the efficiency of movement of the objects being raked and the energy necessary to move the rake through each sweeping cycle. The rake performs its function because of the resiliency of the tines. That is, the sweeping motion of the rake along the ground causes the tines to be bent, by the resistance of the ground, away from the direction of sweeping. As the end of each sweep is reached, and the rake is somewhat lifted from the ground, the resistance of the tines is slackened, and the tines spring back to their normal position. This springing action is the most important component in moving the material being raked in the direction of sweeping.
It will also be clear that, as the tines spring forward, some of the material being swept will pass laterally off the tines, will move into the space between the tines, and will therefore not be subjected to the springing action of the tines. Therefore these pieces of material will not be swept forward. If more tines are included in the same width of rake, or if wider tines are provided, there will be less space between the tines, and the sweeping efficiency will necessarily be greater.
However, if the tines are made wider, they will be less flexible, which will make for lower sweeping efficiency. From this point of view, the ultimate rake is therefore a hoe, which has a single "tine" over its entire width. It will be clear that a hoe is not an efficient tool for the raking of small objects, such as pebbles or grass clippings, from a lawn or the like.
In either case, within a given width of rake, it is known that there is a best balance between the width of the individual tines, the number of tines, and the spacing of the tines which will give the most efficient raking for a given amount of input raking energy. Manufacturers of rakes which are commercially available more or less recognize these parameters.
In many popular versions of rake design, the rakes are equipped with one of two configurations of extended tines. In one design, a number of tines, wires, or strands are bonded together at one end, and the opposite ends are extended fan-shape. The open spaces between the extremities of the bound pieces are anchored by straps or rods. These are usually placed below the point where the end pieces are bunched or bundled together and joined to a suitable handle. The open spaces at the extremities of the tines often vary from about 1 to 11/2 inches.
Another arrangement, which often finds application along with the use of steel tines or strips, is to extend all of these tines generally parallel from a single header. In this manner, as many as 24 tines can be attached to 20" header. The tines may be about 10 inches long, and the extremities anchored by a cross-strap to maintain end spacings of about 1 inch. The assembly, or header and the attached tines, is held in a fixed position by straps extending from the header to the yoke where the rake handle is installed.
In any of the usual configurations of rakes, the tines may be relatively straight or may have their ends curved so as to point in the general direction in which it is intended for the rake to move the small materials being raked. The angle of the curved ends makes for greater efficiency in springing the material being raked forward, but, of course has the detriment that it takes more energy on the part of the user to bend the curved tine tip than it would to bend a flat tine tip.
Persons with raking experience recognize the essential differences between a rake with a fan shaped tine assembly, and one where the tines (sometimes about 10 inches in length) extend generally parallel from a single unitized header. Between these two extreme shapes, are some fan shaped units molded of plastic, and others molded as to cause the tines to extend in a generally parallel configuration from a single header or manifold.

Partnership of Dietz, Ferrara and Gilman


A pneumatic tire has a sidewall rubber insert axially inward of at least one carcass ply. Such insert may, for example, be an apex extending radially outward from the bead core region of the tire into the tire sidewall. Alternatively, it may be positioned higher in the sidewall portion of the tire and away from the bead core. Such insert is a rubber composition containing a dispersion of an ultra high molecular weight polyethylene and a dispersion of a starch composite.

It is sometimes desired to provide a tire having a sidewall of a relatively high stiffness to enhance a tire's handling, for example its cornering stability, when mounted on a rigid rim as a part of a wheel of a vehicle. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,024,901 and 4,067,373.
Often, a resin is added to an apex portion of a tire sidewall to make it stiffer. However, addition of a resin for such purpose, while increasing hardness for the rubber composition, may also adversely affect the rubber composition's other desirable properties such as, for example, its rebound and permanent set properties.
Another method of increasing hardness for a tire apex is to increase its reinforcing filler content (e.g.: its carbon black content). However, increasing the carbon black content for such rubber composition, while increasing its hardness, may adversely affect physical properties such as, for example, its hysteresis and, therefore, its heat build-up property and also may disadvantageously increase its stiffness softening with strain history property.
The stiffness softening property relates to a comparative difference (e.g.: a reduction) between a first force (MPa) needed for application of about a one percent shear strain at 100.degree. C. to the rubber sample and a second force (MPa) needed for the same shear strain; wherein an intermediate and significantly greater shear strain (e.g.: about a 50 percent shear strain) is applied to the sample with an accompanying relaxation of the sample to its original size after each of said first and intermediate shear strain applications. If there is only a minimal, if any, decrease in the second force, then it may be said that there is little, if any, stiffness softening of the cured rubber sample.
In practice, a low stiffness softening of the rubber composition for the insert is desired.
In the description of this invention, a stiffness of a cured rubber composition is a characteristic similar to modulus in a sense that it is measured in terms of MPa and relates to a force required to obtain a prescribed strain, or elongation, of a rubber composition.
In practice, it is desired that a rubber composition for the insert have a relatively high stiffness, or modulus, at an elongation of 100 percent. While of a somewhat lesser significance, it is also desired that it also have a relatively high modulus at a larger elongation of 300 percent.
For this invention, variation in methodology of increasing stiffness for a tire sidewall insert is desired.
In particular, it is desired herein to provide a tire with a sidewall having an insert which has a relatively high hardness represented as having a Shore D hardness (23.degree. C.) in a range of about 35 to about 50, yet also having a Hot Rebound value at 100.degree. C. of about 65 to about 80 in order to reduce heat generation in the rubber composition under working conditions as a tire sidewall insert.
In practice, for the relatively hard rubber compositions for the insert of this invention, the hardness values may be desired to be recited in terms of a Shore D hardness rather than a Shore A hardness.
Historically, a tire is a composite of numerous components each serving a specific and unique function and cooperatively functioning to produce a desired tire performance. In one aspect, a tire carcass may contain one or more reinforcing carcass plies. A carcass ply is typically a continuous layer of rubber-coated parallel cords which extend from bead to bead and functions as a reinforcing element of the tire. The plies are usually turned up around the bead, thereby locking the bead into the carcass. Such carcass reinforcing plies are well known to those having skill in such art.
In one aspect of the invention, a tire sidewall insert may be a tire apex. The term "apex" as used herein refers to a rubber wedge located primarily in the lower sidewall region extending radially outward from the tire's bead core into the sidewall of the tire, usually between a carcass ply and its turn-up portion. An apex portion of a tire is well known to those skilled in such art.


The present invention provides a display device, back plate element for backlight module and manufacturing mold for splicing parts. The back plate element includes at least two splicing parts and the splicing parts are disposed on the same side of optical component of backlight module. Splicing part has splicing unit for connecting another splicing part. Through adjusting the number of splicing parts, the side length of back plate elements can be adjusted to side length of optical component. The back plate element can be disassembled to reduce the transport volume. A plurality of splicing parts can be manufactured with the same manufacturing mold. As such, the present invention can achieve mold sharing and reduce mold cost.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of liquid crystal displaying techniques, and in particular to a display device, back plate element and splicing parts of backlight module, and manufacturing mold for splicing parts thereof.
2. The Related Arts
Liquid crystal display device is common equipment. As widely known, the liquid crystal display device comprises backlight module and liquid crystal panel, wherein the backlight module usually comprises optical component and back plate elements.
In known manufacturing techniques, specific manufacturing mold is required for making related part; therefore, different shapes or sizes of parts need to use different molds. For example, 15-inche and 19-inch liquid crystal display devices will need different back plate elements, which require different manufacturing molds to manufacture. As the variety of the liquid crystal display devices increases, different molds must be prepared, which results in not only inconvenience to the manufacturing process but also an increase in manufacturing cost.
In addition, in the current manufacturing process, back plate element is usually monolithically manufactured. Thus, the costs of transport and storage are both increased.

Display device, back plate element and splicing parts of backlight module and manufacturing mold for splicing parts thereof

Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.


A method and apparatus of adaptive image and video coding including an alternative transform other than the discrete cosine transform (DCT) and discrete sine transform (DST) type VII (DST-VII) are disclosed. For at least one block size belonging to the size group, a transform from multiple transforms comprising an alternative transform in addition to DCT and DST-VII is selected and applied to a current block. The alternative transform may correspond to DCT type IV (DCT-IV) or DST type IV (DST-IV).

The Discrete Cosine Transform type two (DCT-II) is often used in signal processing, especially for lossy data compression, due to its strong "energy compaction" property. For image and video compression, the DCT without explicitly referring to a specific type implies the DCT-II. In the DCT-II representation, most of the signal information tends to be concentrated in a few low-frequency components. For signals based on certain limits of Markov processes, the DCT-II is approaching the Karhunen-Loève transform, which is optimal in decorrelating the underlying signals to obtain a most energy-compact representation.
The N-point DCT of the signal f[n] is defined as in (1).
                                                                        f                ^                            DCT                                                  [              k              ]                                =                                    λ              k                                                  2                              N                                                                                ∑                                  n                  =                  0                                                  N                  -                  1                                                                                f                                                        [                    n                    ]                                                                                cos                                                        [                                                                                k                                                                                π                                                N                                                                                (                                                  n                          +                                                      1                            2                                                                          )                                                              ]                                                                                ,                                                    k          =          0                ,        1        ,        2        ,        …                                          ,                  N          -          1                ,                              λ            k                    =                      {                                                                                2                                              -                        0.5                                                              ,                                                                                k                    =                    0                                                                                1                    ,                                                                                k                    ≠                    0                                                                                (        1        )
In video coding, such as the state-of-the-art international video coding standard HEVC (high efficiency video coding), DCT is also used for its "energy compaction" property. FIG. 1 shows the block diagram of a video encoder utilizing transform coding. First, the original frame subtracts its prediction (Intra- or Inter-prediction) using an adder (110) and results in residual signal. In practice, the residual is often formed on a block by block basis. Second, the transform (120), such as DCT, is applied to the residual signal (i.e., prediction error) to obtain transform coefficients as output. Then the transform coefficients are quantized using a quantizer (130), which may cause signal distortion. Finally the quantized coefficients are entropy coded using an entropy coder (140) into a bitstream. In video coding standards, a picture may be partitioned into different units for different processing. For example, in high efficient video coding (HEVC), a picture is partitioned into coding tree units (CTUs) for applying a set of coding parameters. The CTU may be further partitioned into coding units (CUs). Each CU may be partitioned into one or more prediction units (PUs) to apply prediction (e.g., Inter- or Intra-prediction). The prediction residual for each CU is partitioned into transform units (TUs) to apply transform (e.g., DCT). In video coding, a picture may also be divided into multiple slices for packing compressed data or applying adaptive coding control.
In the current HEVC, the Discrete Sine Transform type seven (DST-VII) is used for 4×4 luma Intra-predicted residual, and DCT is used for all the other cases. It is desirable to improve the performance by incorporating other suited transforms to match characteristics of the underlying residual signals.

Method of alternative transform for data compression