A method and a system for rectifying a distorted fingerprint are provided. The method includes following steps. A feature of a distorted fingerprint is extracted, a reference distorted fingerprint whose feature is matched with the feature of the distorted fingerprint is searched for in a reference distorted fingerprint database, a dense distortion field of the reference distorted fingerprint is obtained in the reference distorted fingerprint database and the distorted fingerprint is rectified to a normal one according to the dense distortion field of the reference distorted fingerprint.

Distortion of fingerprint is one of the important factors resulting in a false non-match, which may cause a bad effect on fingerprint applications, especially on a personal identification. Reasons for the fingerprint distortion are shown as follows: 1) a finger skin has an elasticity; 2) the finger is not flat; 3) during a fingerprint collection, a collector may use a lateral force or torque, and particularly when the lateral force or torque is too large, the fingerprint may be distorted severely.
There are four common methods for processing a distorted fingerprint in prior art.
A) A fingerprint sensor is reasonably designed and the collector is required to operate reasonably. However, this method has following defects: 1) the fingerprint which has been collected cannot be processed; 2) in practice, the collector should collect the fingerprints according to strict steps, which results in the low efficiency; 3) a distorted fingerprint resulted from a distortion of the skin itself (for example, the skin becomes wrinkled after putting it into water for a while) cannot be dealt with.
B) A hardware device is used to detect the distortion. For example, a pressure sensor is disposed under the collecting plane of a fingerprint collection instrument. The method has following defects: 1) a specific pressure sensor is required, which increases the cost of the hardware device; 2) the distorted fingerprint which has been collected using traditional sensors cannot be processed; 3) a distorted fingerprint resulted from a distortion of the skin itself cannot be dealt with.
C) A software device is used to detect the distortion. It is determined whether the fingerprint is distorted via a statistical learning method according to the difference in appearance between the distorted fingerprint and the normal fingerprint. However, with this method, the distorted fingerprint can only be detected, but cannot be matched to the normal fingerprint.
D) A certain distortion is allowed during the matching stage. A threshold for the distortion is set in the fingerprint matching algorithm, and in order to deal with the severe distortion, the threshold should be large enough. However, minutiae which should not be matched with each other may be matched with each other due to the large threshold, such that the similarity between the unmatched fingerprint pairs is increased.
A distortion rectification refers to converting the distorted fingerprint into the normal fingerprint. The distortion rectification is more complex than the distortion detection, because the distortion detection only needs to predict a two-valued variable but the distortion rectification needs to predict a distorted field which is a high dimensional vector, although the distortion rectification and the distortion detection have the same input (i.e., a fingerprint image). Therefore, it is difficult for the distortion rectification, and an effective method has not been proposed so far.

Method and system for rectifying distorted fingerprint


A method for establishing a hydrological cycle in a closed ecological system is disclosed. The hydrological cycle results in the establishment of a variety of different micro-environments which simulate micro-environments of Earth. The hydrological cycle further results in the establishment of a symbiotic interrelation of organisms in that are established within the different micro-environments, where the wastes generated by organisms of one micro-environment are removed by organisms of a second environment and are used as nutrients. This biological purification of the water maintains the purity and functionality of the water for continual use within the closed ecological system.

The Earth comprises a biosphere in which micro-organisms, plants, and animals, including humans, exist in a more-or-less steady state. However, the amount of pollution introduced into the environment of the Earth is increasing, and the natural ability of the environment to dilute and detoxify this pollution is becoming overwhelmed. The pollution of the Earth's environment is leading to the extinction of many species of wildlife and may prove to threaten the survival of all life forms on Earth unless a means of detoxifying and recycling pollutants, created by man at an ever-increasing rate, is found and implemented.
Moreover, as man ventures beyond the bounds of Earth and into space or to the depths of the oceans, life support systems will necessarily have to be transported with him. The resources that go with man will be limited and not readily replaced. Therefore, it will be necessary to recycle these resources and to prevent an accumulation of pollutants generated within the closed environments.
It is desirable to provide a microcosm of Earth's environment, to study the interaction of components of the environment and a variety of forms of pollution that are generated on a daily basis, and to develop techniques for influencing our environment in a positive manner. Such studies are impossible, or difficult at best, in the open system provided on Earth, since matter is exchanged between the Earth's and the study's environments. This exchange results in a dilution of the pollutants that are generated by the study and, also, introduces extraneous pollutants from the surrounding atmosphere. To adequately test and evaluate the procedures for coping with the pollution generated by day-to-day life, it is desirable to provide a system that is completely enclosed. The enclosed environment prevents matter from being exchanged between the study and the Earth's environment. Since the environment is enclosed, and is of very limited volume, matter within the environment has to be recycled and detoxified, to prevent a rapid corruption of the air and water of the enclosed environment or the need to continually dedicate an ever-increasing portion of the enclosed environment to the storage of useless trash.
Currently, a completely contained ecological system, referred to as Biosphere 2, is being established near Oracle, Ariz. The system completely encloses about one hectare of land and about 175,000 cubic meters of space, isolated from the Earth's environment by an impermeable skin so that no matter is transferred.
Biosphere 2 is intended to be as complete a simulation of the Earth's environment as possible, and, therefore, the diversity of the micro-environments that exist on Earth are duplicated within Biosphere 2. As a result of this diversity of micro-environments, a suitable ecosystem for the growth of the numerous organisms selected from these micro-environments, including man, is also provided.
An essential component of the environment of Earth and, therefore, Biosphere 2 is water. Water acts as a means of transporting pollutants or nutrients away from a region where they are created, diluting them, and carrying them to other regions, where they can be detoxified or used as sustenance for other organisms. The aqueous components of Biosphere 2 consists of saltwater, freshwater, and potable water. Each of these water systems provides a suitable micro-environment for the establishment of a variety of organisms, including man. Nutrients/pollutants that accumulate in one micro-environment, by the actions of the organisms present in that micro-environment, can be transported to another micro-environment, where they are removed by the different organisms that are present.
As well as distribution of nutrients and dilution of pollutants, water circulation is necessary to aerate the water and prevent stagnation. This water circulation therefore provides the general conditions suitable to foster the growth of a wide variety of diverse organisms.
Water within Biosphere 2 is limited and, therefore, must be recycled. It is important that water be appropriately treated, decontaminated, or purified at each step within the complete water cycle. For example, saltwater must be desalted before it is introduced into a freshwater micro-environment, and waste water and sewage must be purified and decontaminated before the water can be reused, thus preventing the possible accumulation and spread of pathogenic organisms.
The treatment, decontamination, and purification of water in this closed environment, therefore, provide a model for water purification and recycling in the environment of Earth and for the establishment of extraterrestrial or undersea colonies or other closed systems.
The operation of Biosphere 2 demonstrates the feasibility and efficiency of such methodologies.

Hydrological system for a closed ecological system


A data processing system includes a first storage system including a first host and a first storage subsystem. The first host has access to a first copy manager that is operable to manage a data replication operation. A second storage system includes a second host and a second storage subsystem. The second host has access to a second copy manager that is operable to manage a data replication operation. A first communication link is coupled to the first storage system and the second storage system to exchange management information between the first and second storage systems in order to manage the data replication operation. A data transfer path is configured to transfer data stored in the first storage subsystem to the second storage subsystem and replicate the data of the first storage subsystem in the second storage subsystem. The data transfer path is different from the first communication link.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology where data stored in a first storage system is replicated in a second storage system.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, in order to offer a continuing service to customers at all times, a technology relating to remote replication has become important, so that a data processing system offers storage service even when a primary storage system experiences a failure. U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,480 to Mohan discloses a technology where information in the first information processing system is replicated in a second information processing system. In Mohan, a computer included in a first information processing system (hereinafter, "primary host") coupled to a disk array device (hereinafter, "primary disk array device") transmits data stored in the primary disk array device to a disk array device (hereinafter, "secondary disk array device") included in a second information processing system through a communication line and a computer included in the secondary information processing system (hereinafter, "secondary host").
On the other hand, due to development of computer networks, information processing systems owned by business enterprises become more complicated. As a result, the requirement for collective management of apparatuses connected to a network is increasing. As a technology satisfying such a demand, there has been devised a technology called virtualization where a plurality of storage subsystems connected with one another through a network, such as a Fibre Channel or the Internet, are managed collectively and are provided to the user as a virtually single or plural storage subsystems. Thereby, the user of the information processing system can use the plurality of storage subsystems as if it were a single storage subsystem.
As used herein, the term "storage subsystem" refers to the storage apparatus such as a hard disk drive, an aggregate of a plurality of hard disk drives, a disk array device wherein a control unit controls a plurality of hard disk drives, etc.
As used herein, the term "storage system" and "site" both refers to the system comprised of one or more host computers and one or more storage subsystems connected to them.
A host computer may be referred to as "host".
A storage device may be referred to as "storage".

Remote e copy system and a remote copy method utilizing multiple virtualization apparatuses


A solid-state imaging device, and a camera provided with this device, that can output high quality images at high speed are realized by preventing improper OB clamping in a solid-state imaging device that performs pixel mixing in the horizontal direction. Vertical final stages, which are the transfer stages closest to a horizontal transfer component 4, are provided with provided with independent transfer electrodes V3-1, V3-2, V3-3, V6-1, V5-2, and V5-3 that are independent of other columns in a region between the horizontal transfer component and an effective pixel region, and a common transfer electrode that is common to all of the columns in the region between the horizontal transfer component 4 and the OB region. Further, in the vertical final stages, the entire region between the OB region and the horizontal transfer component, or the region minus openings formed for the wiring of V3-1 and V5-1 in the columns closest to the effective pixel region, is covered with a light blocking film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state imaging device that converts received light into electrical signals and outputs them as video signals.
2. Description of Related Art
Solid-state imaging devices that convert received light into electric signals and output them as video signals have been known before now. Digital cameras that display images on the basis of video signals obtained from these solid-state imaging devices also have been known. Recent years have seen the need for better image quality and functionality in cameras featuring such solid-state imaging devices, and there has been growing demand for higher pixel density.
In an effort to raise the speed at which video signals are outputted in such solid-state imaging devices in order to achieve a moving picture display, for example, a drive method has been proposed in the past in which the number of pixels included in an output video signal is reduced by thinning out the pixels from which signal charges are read.
For example, JP 2004-180284A and 2005-166826A disclose a construction in which last transfer stages (split transfer components), which are the transfer stages of vertical transfer components that are closest to a horizontal transfer component, have identical transfer electrode configurations repeated every m (m is an integer of 2 or greater) columns, and vertical final stages of columns other than one of the m columns, or the vertical final stages of all the columns, are each provided with an independent transfer electrode that is independent of other columns so that an operation of transferring from the vertical final stages to the horizontal transfer component is controlled independently of the other columns. With this construction, the transfer from the vertical transfer components to the horizontal transfer component is combined with the transfer in the horizontal direction by the horizontal transfer component, which allows the pixel output to be rearranged or mixed as desired, and affords faster output of video signals.
FIG. 33 is a cross-sectional view of the structure of the split transfer component disclosed in the above-mentioned JP 2005-166826A. This split transfer component has a drive electrode with a two-layer structure comprising a first layer of polysilicon (not shown) laminated with a second layer of polysilicon 260, a first wiring 270, which is an aluminum layer that also serves to block light from the vertical transfer components (not shown), a second wiring 280 that is formed from tungsten and also serves as a light blocking film, and a contact plug 290 that electrically connects the first wiring 270 and the second polysilicon layer 260.
However, with the construction shown in FIG. 33, in the region directly under the OB region (the region between the horizontal transfer component and the OB region provided to the left and right of the effective pixel region), light leaks in from the gaps between the plug 290 and the second wiring 280, which is a problem in that it causes improper OB clamping.

Solid-state imaging device with OB region and camera provided with the same


Efficient measuring of protein solubility with the use of a precipitating agent as crystallization parameter; and production of a high-quality protein crystal with the use of a solubility curve obtained by the measuring. Protein crystal is disposed, and the surrounding thereof is filled with a protein solution. Not only is the concentration of precipitating agent in the protein solution increased but also the interference fringes of the protein solution around the crystal are observed, and in which of dissolution, growth and equilibrium the condition of crystal resides is judged from the interference fringes. The protein concentration of protein solution is simultaneously measured, and the solubility, of protein is determined from the observation results of interference fringes together with the measured protein concentration and precipitating agent concentration. Further, a solubility curve is prepared, and a protein crystal is produced through controlling of supersaturation condition.

The twenty first century is said to be an era of life science. In the life science, proteins have attracted much attention in the post-genome generation and it is important to clear the three-dimensional structures of the proteins with an atom resolution level in order to clarify the correlations between the structure and function of proteins.
In particular, proteins such as enzymes and receptors are main targets of medicines, so that the information on the three-dimensional structures of proteins is important for drug design in the development of medicines.
One of the most frequently used method for analyzing the three-dimensional structure of proteins is X-ray crystal structure analysis. To perform this, a high-quality single crystal must be made.
Use of a crystal of a higher quality without lattice defects enables analyses with a higher precision. At present, however, it is difficult to obtain a high-quality single crystal of a protein. This is a bottle neck in the structure analysis of proteins.
In particular, it is very important to measure the solubility of a protein, which is a basic data for producing protein crystals. In actuality, however, the measurement of solubility of proteins has scarcely been performed since much sample is necessary to do so and it takes a few weeks to a few months to obtain results.
In recent years, methods that allow measurement of solubilities using a relative small amount of sample in a short time have been developed. Such methods include, for example, an optical interference method involving use of a two-beam interferometer (cf., Non-patent documents 1 to 3), a scintillation method, and a microcolumn method.
However, these methods require proteins in an amount of 100 mg or more, even if they are a little amount, by finally getting solubility curves.
<Technology for Producing Protein Crystals>
At present, typical examples of the technology for producing protein crystals include a vapor diffusion method that involves use of the concentration of a protein and the concentration of a precipitating agent as crystallization parameters and a dialysis method that involves use of the concentration of a precipitating agent as a crystallization parameter.
(Vapor Diffusion Method)
This is a method of producing protein crystals by setting a high-concentration protein solution to which a precipitating agent is added, in the form of small droplets in a sealed vessel, filling a salt solution adjusted to a predetermined concentration, which defines the evaporation rate of water, usually, the concentration of which is approximately double the concentration of the precipitating agent in the initial protein solution, and gradually evaporating water from the droplets of the protein solution to precipitate and grow protein crystals in the droplets.
Known methods of this type include a sitting drop method and a hanging drop method. Both the methods have defects. For example, it is difficult to control the amount of water evaporated from the droplets and in addition oxidation denaturation of proteins tends to proceed due to contact of the protein solution with a layer of air.
(Dialysis Method)
This is a method using a semipermeable membrane. Specific examples thereof include a method using a button-shaped cell having small chambers (hereafter, also referred to as "microcell") and a semipermeable membrane. This is a method of producing protein crystals by charging a small amount, for example, 5 μl of a protein solution adjusted its concentration (containing a precipitating agent in advance if desired) into the small chambers of the cell, sealing the openings of the small chambers with a semipermeable membrane, and immersing the cell in a salt solution with a high concentration to gradually increase the salt concentration in the protein solution in the small chambers by utilizing the phenomenon of dialysis diffusion, thereby precipitating and growing protein crystals in the small chambers.
With the above-mentioned methods, once the apparatus is set, it is only necessary to wait until crystals are generated and grown, it is thus difficult to control the growth of the crystals positively.
Besides, the known methods for producing protein crystals include a batch method that involves preparing a protein solution with a supersaturated state from the beginning and allowing the protein solution to stand to anticipate to generate and grow crystals and a liquid-liquid diffusion method that involves mixing a protein solution and a salt solution by diffusion of solutes to produce crystals. However, it is difficult for the methods that have been ever developed to control the degree of supersaturation that is important for preparing high-quality protein crystals.
<Document Name>
    Non-patent document 1: G. Sazaki, et al., J. Crystal Growth, 169(1996)355    Non-patent document 2: G. Sazaki, et al., J. Crystal Growth, 169(1999)204    Non-patent document 3: K. Ninomiya, et al., J. Crystal Growth, 222(2001)311

Method of measuring protein solubility, process for producing crystal and apparatus therefor


A multi-antenna signaling scheme, system and method for passive or low-powered RF devices, such as a radio frequency identification tag, are herein described. In one embodiment, the presently disclosed subject matter discloses a Retrodirective Array Phase Modulator which is configured to allow RFID tags to return higher-powered signals with higher data rates back to an RFID interrogator or reader unit. In some configurations, pattern strobing is used which is an array-based transmission technique for stepping or sweeping an RF waveform through space so that passive radio devices may more efficiently harvest energy without increasing transmit power. In some configurations, the presently disclosed subject matter may also use a Staggered Pattern Charge Collector to boost the collection of microwave power.

The field of radio frequency identification ("RFID") devices has shown that it is possible to exchange data with UHF or microwave devices, e.g. an RFID tag, that have little or no on-board power supply. RFID tags are often used to track inventory and to determine the location of objects. For example, a department store may place an RFID tag on a piece of clothing. An RFID interrogator may be placed at the entrance and/or exit of the department store. If the RFID tag indicates that the clothing has not been purchased, upon interrogation by the RFID interrogator, an alarm may sound when the article of clothing passes by the interrogator, thus helping to reduce theft.
There are two types of RFID tags: passive and active. An active RFID tag has an on-board power supply and transmits data stored on the tag to a receiving station. These types of tags are typically used when a local power supply is available and, because these tags are typically more expensive than passive RFID tags, when cost of each tag is not the primary factor. Passive RFID tags may or may not have an onboard power supply. The primary difference between the active and passive RFID tag is that the passive RFID tag employs backscatter signal modulation to reflect back a data signal when interrogated by an RFID interrogator, whereas the active RFID tag transmits according to preprogrammed schema and uses an RF transmission chain to create and send its data signal. The active RFID tag may also be configured to transmit a data signal when interrogated.

Multi-antenna signaling scheme for low-powered or passive radio communications


The present invention relates to presentation of content to mobile users. In the method, data associated with presentation of content is transmitted from a communication system, the data including information regarding an event. The data is received at mobile user equipment and stored in a memory of the mobile user equipment. In response to the event, presentation of the content is triggered. The presentation is based on the data stored in the memory of the mobile user equipment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to provision of services to mobile users, and more particularly, to presentation of content to mobile users by means of a mobile communication system. The content is presented by means of mobile user equipment which receives the required data from a transmitter of the mobile communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A mobile communication system can be seen as a facility that enables a mobile user to communicate with one or more other entities such as another user equipment and/or nodes implemented within the communication system. A typical mobile communication system provides mobility by means of wireless communication between mobile user equipment and transceiver elements of the communication system. The mobile user equipment may be served by base stations of a mobile telecommunication network, such as a public land mobile network (PLMN). The mobile user may move from a base station of the mobile network to another base station. The mobile communication systems may also allow the mobile user to roam in mobile networks other than that to which the mobile user subscribes to. A mobile user may also be served by communication satellites of a satellite based mobile communication system.
The mobile users may be provided with a possibility to use various services, and the communication may comprise communication of data that relates to provision of a service. The services are typically provided by entities referred to as service providers. The services provided for a user may comprise any service than can be provisioned by means of the communication system. For example, a mobile user may be provided with a possibility to make and receive calls, to browse a data network (e.g. the Internet), to send and receive emails or other text messages, to receive various types of content from a server entity (e.g. video data or other image or audio data), to attend chat rooms, to use various other value added services such as the presence service, location based services, or to attend games, competitions, voting services, and so on. This specification concentrates to provisioning mobile user equipment with data based on which a mobile user can be presented content such as audio presentations, visual presentation or audiovisual presentations and so on. The audiovisual presentations are often referenced to by the term 'multimedia'.
The service providers may provide services based on different service architectures. For example, the service provision may be based, without being limited to these, on a third generation (3G) multimedia service architecture, an intelligent network (IN) architecture, a service node based architecture, or any other service architecture. In some service architectures the service provisioning is at least partially handled by means of the user equipment.
A possibility is to 'push' data to the user equipment. That is, the service provider sends data to user equipment without being especially requested by the user to do so. The data push may be triggered at the network side e.g. periodically or in response to an event triggering the data transmission. Push type services are typically used for broadcasting of advertisements, general announcements, news and so on to mobile users.
Users may also participate by means of the mobile user equipment in various types of interactive services such as game and quiz shows. These shows are typically presented to the user by radio or TV programs. The communication and participation has traditionally been handled with voice calls. In more recent applications short message service (SMS) has been utilized for the provisioning of interactivity.
It is possible to provide the content by means of the push services. However, the content that is wished to be presented for the users may be such that it requires more data to be transmitted than is possible, for example, by means of the SMS. The recent proposals to overcome this problem include use of all IP (Internet Protocol) networks for the interactive services. The all IP networks enable the users to receive more content data. The enhanced content is sometimes referenced to as 'rich content'.
The current definitions in different types of push services define the mechanism how to subscribe and deliver the content to the end users. For example, session initiation protocol (SIP) push content data transmission enables transmission of substantial amount of data. The SIP push content data can also be pushed to a plurality of users.
However, the Inventor has found that although the basic mechanism may already be in place, the proposals may still not work satisfactorily in all occasions, especially when considering the capacity limitations of the mobile communication systems.
More particularly, the inventor has found that provision of a service for a mobile user may require transmission of such amounts of content data that this cannot be conveniently done in real-time, i.e. when the user actually uses the service. Content data may need to be delivered to a substantial number of mobile users at the same time, e.g. during a TV or radio program, thus setting substantial capacity requirements for the data transmission system. It may not even be possible in all networks to push content data to a large number of mobile users within a substantially short period of time. The capacity limitations may become even more an issue when more services are made available for mobile users. Furthermore, the capacity limitations are worsened by the fact that the number of mobile user equipment subscribing to modern mobile data communication systems offering possibilities for a wide range of new type of services increases rapidly.
Thus, in order to be able to extend the push service to enable better and more flexible service offering for various services such as interactive services (e.g. games, quiz shows, mass events) and so on, an improved data provisioning functionality may be needed.


The invention is disclosed a method for promptly protecting a voice coil motor in an optical disk drive. A step (A) allows a data signal processor (DSP) to execute a protect module of the voice coil motor every preset time interval. In a step (B), the DSP executes following further steps during executing the protect module. A step (b1) reads tracking error (TE)/focusing error (FE) and determines if the TE/FE is over a safety range. A step (b2) starts a gain decrease operation of a signal amplifier if the TE/FE in step (b1) has been over the safety range for more than the first preset number of times so as to lower the control current outputting to the voice coil motor. A step (b3) starts an operation of speed reduction and a low current operation of a controller to secure the voice coil motor being safe if the TE/FE in step (b1) has been over the safety range for more than a second preset number of times.

Control for the conventional voice coil motor in an optical disk drive is referenced with current limit information of the voice coil motor and the optical disk drive designer can assign gain value in accordance with an ideal object value with which the voice coil motor can operate safely so as to apply for designing the controller directly. The voice coil motor of this type of optical disk drive is apt to create over current and results in being burned out due to related factors such as signal correction difference, controller design difference, optical disk drive worn-out difference, environment difference and component damage because of not complying a hazard value of component signal restriction and due to the voice coil motor being abrasive wear after being used a long period of time by the user. Hence, the optical disk drive is unable to work normally.

Method and optical disk drive for promptly protecting voice coil motor thereof from over current


A detection circuit and a detection method for liquid crystal display are provided. The detection circuit comprises gate driver for providing row scan signal to liquid crystal cell to be detected; signal source for providing polarity inversion signal to source driver, polarity inversion signal comprises continuous high level signal and continuous low level signal; source driver for performing digital-analog conversion on received display data signal according to preset reference voltage and polarity inversion signal, generating pixel voltage signal, and sending pixel voltage signal to liquid crystal cell to be detected, polarity inversion mode formed by pixel voltage signal is column inversion mode. The polarity inversion mode of column inversion, formed by pixel voltage signal in technical solution makes white dot of damaged area of alignment film is more prominent during detection process, so it would be easy for the operator to recognize it and avoid the issue of missing detection.

1. Field of the Invention
The embodiments of present invention relate to a detection circuit and a detection method for a liquid crystal display.
2. Discussion of the Background
In the structure of a liquid crystal display, an alignment film may control liquid crystal molecules to produce optical rotation, wherein its orientation angle and pre-tilt angle are critical conditions enabling the liquid crystal molecules to produce optical rotation. The manufacture procedure of the alignment film includes the processes of coating and rubbing alignment film, bubbles generated in coating process and broken after rubbing process and rubbing scratches caused by particles and foreign matters and so on during the rubbing process would cause the alignment film being partially damaged, as illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is an illustrative diagram of the alignment film formed after the rubbing process, alignment film 2 is formed on a pixel area 1 of a substrate in FIG. 1. The pixel area 1 comprises 9 sub-pixels, alignment film damage 3 occurs on the alignment film of some of sub-pixels in the pixel area 1. In case of damage to the alignment film, the normal orientation angle and pre-tilt angle of the alignment film no longer exist, which causes turbulence to the liquid crystal molecules, so that the liquid crystal molecules could not produce optical rotation effect controlled by the voltage on both ends of the pixels electrode as in the normal situation, thus resulting in the light leaking phenomenon, which would cause abnormal display in the damaged area of the alignment film, and white dot occurs.
As to the detection of the white dot in the damaged area of the alignment film, it is generally achieved through the detection for the liquid crystal cell after the cell assembly process, as illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is an illustrative diagram of the structure of a circuit for detecting cell in the prior art. Said circuit includes a timing controller 4, a source driver 5 and a gate driver 6. The timing controller 4, as a core component for a display drive, usually is user customized chip, which could output various signals to the source driver 5, such as a frame ON signal, a column clock pulse signal and a polarity inversion signal. The polarity inversion signal could act as a role of preventing liquid crystal molecules from aging and reducing crosstalk interference of the signals between the adjacent pixels in display driving. The timing controller 4 outputs the polarity inversion signal to the source driver 5, the display data signal to be displayed in the cell 7 to be detected also enters into source driver 5, which performs the digital-analogue conversion on the display data signal according to the preset reference voltage and polarity inversion signal, generates pixel voltage signal and outputs the pixel voltage signal to the cell 7 to be detected, and it would be under the control of the row scan signal output by gate driver 6 in outputting the pixel voltage signal to the cell 7 to be detected, the pixel electrode of each pixel in the cell 7 to be detected receives a pixel voltage signal generated by source driver 5 according to polarity inversion signal and display data signal. In particular, polarity inversion signal could control the polarity of the pixel voltage signal, thus the cell 7 to be detected forms different polarity inversion modes, such as two rows inversion mode and single row inversion mode, and so on. FIG. 3 is an illustrative diagram of the two rows inversion mode in the prior art, and FIG. 4 is an illustrative diagram of the single row inversion mode in the prior art. As illustrated in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the row inversion mode shown in FIG. 3 is two rows inversion mode, namely, the pixel voltage signal received by the cell to be detected is a signal whose polarity changes once every other two rows; the row inversion mode shown in FIG. 4 is single row inversion mode, namely, the pixel voltage signal received by the cell to be detected is a signal whose polarity changes once every other one row; meanwhile, because the polarity of each pixel shown in FIG. 4 is contrary to the polarity of the adjacent pixel thereof, in this situation, the polarity inversion mode shown in FIG. 4 can also be referred to as dot inversion mode. Reference could be made to FIG. 5 with respect to the control to the polarity of pixel voltage signal by the polarity inversion signal. FIG. 5 is an illustrative diagram of wave of the input polarity inversion signal vs. the wave of the output pixel voltage signal, wherein, the polarity inversion signal is a periodical square wave signal, which could control the polarity of pixel voltage signal, so as to form the two rows inversion mode of FIG. 3. When the input polarity inversion signal is a signal with a high level, the output is pixel voltage signal with positive polarity, i.e., pixel voltage signal having a voltage value higher than the common electrode signal; when the input polarity inversion signal is a signal with a low level, the output is pixel voltage signal with negative polarity, i.e., pixel voltage signal having a voltage value lower than the common electrode signal.
However, because the damage to the alignment film normally happens in a very small area, such as in the area of the 9 sub-pixel shown in FIG. 1, and there are glutinosity effect or crosstalk interference of the signals between liquid crystal molecules in said area and liquid crystal molecules of the surrounding normal areas, and the selectivities to the light through the upper and lower polarization sheets (the polarization directions are orthogonal), there is a problem that it is difficult to discriminate the display effects of the damaged area of the alignment film and the normal area, for example, it is difficult to discriminate the display effects of the damaged area and the normal area under the above described two rows polarity inversion mode and single row polarity inversion mode. Therefore, in the detection process, it is difficult for the operator to recognize the white dot of the damaged area of alignment film, and missing detection easily occurs.

Detection circuit and method for a liquid crystal display

BEIJING BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A semantic attractor memory uses an evolving neural network architecture and learning rules derived from the study of human language acquisition and change to store, process and retrieve information. The architecture is based on multiple layer channels, with random connections from one layer to the next. One or more layers are devoted to processing input information. At least one processing layer is provided. One or more layers are devoted to processing outputs and feedback is provided from the outputs back to the processing layer or layers. Inputs from parallel channels are also provided to the one or more processing layers. With the exception of the feedback loop and central processing layers, the network is feedforward unless it is employed in a hybrid back-propagation configuration. The learning rules are based on non-stationary statistical processes, such as the Polya process or the processes leading to Bose-Einstein statistics, again derived from considerations of human language acquisition. The invention provides rapid, unsupervised processing of complex data sets, such as imagery or continuous human speech, and a means to capture successful processing or pattern classification constellations for implementation in other networks.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to field of neural networks, and in particular to a neural network architecture and method which utilizes Bose-Einstein statistics or Polya modeling to capture a process.
2. Related Art
Neural networks have been known and used in the prior art in computer applications which require complex and/or extensive processing. Such applications include, e.g., pattern recognition and image and voice processing. In these applications, neural networks have been known to provide greatly increased processing power and speed over conventional computer architectures. Several approaches to neural networking exist and can be distinguished from one another by their different architectures. Specifically, the approaches of the prior art can be distinguished by the numbers of layers and the interconnections within and between them, the learning rules applied to each node in the network, and whether or not the architecture is capable of supervised or unsupervised learning.
A neural network is said to be "supervised" if it requires a formal training phase where output values are "clamped" to a training set. In other words, such networks require a "teacher," something not necessarily found in nature. Unsupervised networks are desireable precisely for this reason. They are capable of processing data without requiring a preset training set or discrete training phase. Biological neural networks are unsupervised, and any attempt to emulate them should aspire to this capability. Of the following approaches, the Boltzmann/Cauchy and Hidden Markov models are supervised networks and the remainder are unsupervised networks.
At least eight principal types of feedback systems, also called backpropagation models, have been identified in the prior art. The Additive Grossberg model uses one layer with lateral inhibitions. The learning rule is based on a sigmoid curve and updates using a steepest ascent calculation. The Shunting Grossberg is similar, with an added gain control feature to control learning rates. Adaptive Resonance Theory models use two layers, with on-center/off-surround lateral feedback and sigmoid learning curves. The Discrete Autocorrelator model uses a single layer, recurrent lateral feedback, and a step function learning curve. The Continuous Hopfield model uses a single layer, recurrent lateral feedback, and a sigmoid learning curve. Bi-Directional Associative Memory uses two layers, with each element in the first connected to each layer in the second, and a ramp learning curve. Adaptive Bi-Directional Associative Memory uses two layers, each element in the first connected to each in the second, and the Cohen-Grossberg memory function. This also exists in a competitive version. Finally, the Temporal Associative Memory uses two layers, with each element in the first connected to each element in the second, and an exponential step learning function.
At least eight principal types of feedforward systems have been identified. The Learning Matrix uses two layers, with each element in the first connected to each element in the second, and a modified step learning function. Drive-Reinforcement uses two layers, with each element in the first connected to each in the second, and a ramp learning function. The Sparse Distributed Memory model uses three layers, with random connections from the first to the second layer, and a step learning function. Linear Associative Memory models use two layers, with each element in the first layer connected to each element in the second, and a matrix outer product to calculate learning updates. The Optimal Linear Associative Memory model uses a single layer, with each element connected to each of the others, and a matrix pseudo-inverse learning function. Fuzzy Associative Memory uses two layers, with each element in the first connected to each element in the second, and a step learning function. This particular model can only store one pair of correlates at a time. The Learning Vector Quantizer uses two layers, with each element in the first connected to each in the second, negative lateral connections from each element in the second layer with all the others in the second layer, and positive feedback from each second layer element to itself. This model uses a modified step learning curve, which varies as the inverse of time. The Counterpropagation model uses three layers, with each element in the first connected to each in the second, each element in the second connected to each in the third, and negative lateral connections from each element in the second layer to each of the rest, with positive feedback from each element in the second layer to itself. This also uses a learning curve varying inversely with time.
Boltzmann/Cauchy models use random distributions for the learning curve. The use of random distributions to affect learning is advantageous because use of the distributions permits emulation of complex statistical ensembles. Thus, imposing the distributions imposes behavioral characteristics which arise from complex systems the model networks are intended to emulate. However, the Botzmann/Cauchy networks are capable only of supervised learning. And, these models have proven to be undesirably slow in many applications.
Hidden Markov models rely on a hybrid architecture, generally of feedforward elements and a recurrent network sub-component, all in parallel. These typically have three layers, but certain embodiments have had as many as five. A fairly typical example employs three layers, a softmax leaning rule (i.e., the Boltzmann distribution) and a gradient descent algorithm. Other examples use a three-layer hybrid architecture and a gamma memory function, rather than the usual mixed Gaussian. The gamma distribution is convenient in Bayesian analysis, also common to neural network research, and is the continuous version of the negative-binomial distribution. However, the underlying process for this model is a stationary one. That is, the probability distribution is the same at time t and time t+.DELTA.t for all .DELTA.t.
Studies of language change and studies of visual and acoustic processing in mammals have been used in the prior art to identify the mechanisms of neural processing for purposes of creating neural network architectures. For example, it has been noted that mammalian visual processing seems to be accomplished by feed-forward mechanisms which amplify successes. Such processing has been modeled by calculating Gaussian expectations and by using measures of mutual information in noisy networks. It has further been noted that such models provide self-organizing feature-detectors.
Similarly, it has been noted in the prior art that acoustic processing in mammals, particularly bats, proceeds in parallel columns of neurons, where feed-forward mechanisms and the separation and convergence of the signal produce sophisticated, topically organized feature detectors.

Method and apparatus for neural networking using semantic attractor architecture


A system is provided for measurement data management in a distributed environment. The system comprises at least one storage system adapted to obtain raw measurement data or intermediate results from at least one measurement site via a network. In addition, the system further comprises a database, operatively connected to the said storage system, adapted to be accessed remotely by the measurement site via the network. The storage system or the measurement site is further adapted to perform successive processing steps on the raw measurement data along a process chain in order to generate measurement results, whereby associating metadata with the raw measurement data and with the measurement results. In this context, the metadata associated with each measurement result of the successive processing steps is provided with a new reference as well as a reference to the reference of the measurement result from the preceding processing step.

Generally, network based data processing allows for convenient, mobile and collaborated data management especially for handling extremely large amounts of data and information. In the case of processing a high volume of measurement data, the utilization of networked computing power can be advantageous from either a customer or a production manager point of view. It is further beneficial that the measurement data or their subsequent processed results can be accessed by a remote user and can be processed off-line. The networked storage additionally provides for a greater number of flexibility for data management in terms of public storage option, private storage option or a hybrid storage of the foregoing options.
For example, the document WO 2019/048481 A1 shows methods for organizing and processing data in a cloud environment that utilize encrypted meta data blocks reflecting information about objects of interest represented by the data content. Upon the decryption of the encrypted meta data blocks, they are fused into new meta data blocks if a criterion regarding the object of interest is fulfilled. Furthermore, a block chain is used in order to store the data content. However, the data processing is limited to the generation of meta data since the fusion nodes do not generate new data chunks. In case of measurement data, they are generally processed along a number of intermediate steps thereby generating intermediate results, which are required to be traced along with the raw measurement data. Furthermore, storing data content in a chain requires significant data management resources.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a system and a method to mitigate the above limitations and to offer an effective and reliable scheme for measurement data management in a networked or distributed environment.

System and method for measurement data management in a distributed environment


In response to receiving a read request for target data, an external address of the target data is obtained from the read request, which is an address unmapped to a storage system; hit information of the target data in cache of the storage system is determined based on the external address; and based on the hit information, an address from the external address and an internal address for providing the target data is determined. The internal address is determined based on the external address and a mapping relationship. Therefore, it can shorten the data access path, accelerate the responding speed for the data access request, and allow the cache to prefetch the data more efficiently.

A computer storage system typically leverages a layered structure, i.e., it organizes data input/output (I/O) stacks with a layered driver model. In a storage system, a cache is often used to store data probably to be requested for in the future, so that response time of read requests for a host is shorter, i.e., a user may obtain target data more rapidly.
However, in a legacy storage system, a cache is typically located under a mapping layer, and this causes a longer I/O path of an operation for target data and increases latency of I/O response. Since the mapping layer maps the address of data, I/O mode may be altered, so that it is difficult to prefetch user data for a cache effectively. In addition, because the user data and metadata for storing an address mapping relationship have their own characteristics respectively, storing the two in the cache in a mixed way makes it difficult to apply respective management algorithms for these characteristics, thereby reducing the efficiency of the cache.

Method, apparatus and computer program product for managing data access


A method of forming a power MOSFET having a substrate of a first conductivity type and a body region of a second conductivity type. The method includes the steps of forming a gate region of a pre-determined pattern and with a plurality of gate elements partially covering the substrate. The gate element has a stepped cross-sectional profile with a thicker portion and a thinner portion. The thicker portion is adapted to substantially prevent passage of impurities therethrough into the substrate during the impurities implantation step. The thinner portion is adapted to allow partial passage of impurities therethrough during the impurities implantation step. Impurities are implanted into the substrate from the gate region side of the substrate to form a body region of the second conductivity type. After the impurities implantation step, a step-profiled body region, having a shallow body region and a deep body region, is formed in the substrate with impurities also present underneath pre-determined regions of the gate elements.

Power MOSFETs (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors) are widely used and can be found in many electronic devices and apparatus. Well-known applications of power MOSFETs include, for example, power management and DC/DC conversion for desktop and notebook computers, portable devices and automotive electronics. Power MOSFETs are typically used as switching devices in such applications for controlling power delivery from the power source to the load. As a switching device, it is highly desirable to have minimal power loss across the device during power transfer. To achieve this, the on-resistance of a power MOSFET should be as low as possible. When translated into power MOSFET device design, a small cell pitch, that is, a small distance between adjacent cells, is highly desirable since a power MOSFET device typically comprises a plurality of transistor cells connected in parallel in order to meet with the large current requirements.
In the description below and throughout the specification, the terms "MOSFET" and "power MOSFET" are used interchangely to mean a power MOSFET to the extent appropriate and where the context permits. Planar VDMOS (Vertical Double-Diffused MOS) transistors are one of the most popular conventional power MOSFETs in which the channel is formed first by body implantation and then by lateral diffusion of dopants or impurities underneath the polycrystalline silicon ("polysilicon" or "poly" in short) gate at high temperature (around 1100° C. to 1150° C.) and with a long thermal cycle (around 90 to 300 minutes). Since the channel is formed by diffusion, the channel length needs to be long enough to have sustainable charges for a stable threshold voltage.
On the other hand, formation of a long channel length by lateral diffusion at high temperature and long thermal cycle means that the body-junction will have to be driven deeper and this will result in a deeper body-junction. A deeper body-junction consumes more lateral spacing between two adjacent body regions and also causes a more severe JFET (Junction Field Effect Transistor) effect. Aggravated JFET effect could induce early pinch-off in the area between the adjacent body-junctions and will degrade the device's on-state resistance. In addition, a power MOSFET with a deep body-junction also requires a thicker epitaxial ("epi") layer in order to maintain the same blocking voltage. However, a thicker epi layer will result in a higher on-state resistance.
To alleviate undesirable JFET effect for a low on-resistance, an increase in cell size and a decrease in packing density seem inevitable. However, this translates into a higher chip cost. In addition, the typical square cell design of a planar VDMOS leads to a three-dimensional diffusion problem at the cell corners. This diffusion problem is primarily a result of a lower lateral diffusion rate of the impurity, which is typically about 20% lower than the vertical diffusion rate. Furthermore, as a result of t he known spreading effect at the cell corners, the diffusion rate of the impurities at the cell corners is even lower, at only around 50% of the lateral diffusion rate. This lower diffusion rate is even more severe for P-type impurities. Because of this lower diffusion rate, the channel length at the cell corners will become shorter and will lead to early punch-through breakdown of the channel at the square cell corners. As a result, the power MOSFET device may have a pre-mature breakdown due to shorter channel lengths at the cell corners.
Hence, it will be beneficial if there can be provided improved power MOSFETs and methods or processes for making same, which alleviate shortcomings of conventional MOSFETs or conventional methods of making same.


Modified Powdered Mass for treatment of soils and loose building materials containing caustic lime and/or calcareous hydraulic binders and a modification component, where the modification component consists of linear olefins containing 10 to 24 carbon atoms, alone or in their mutual combination, or in mixture with their isomers.

Powdered caustic lime has been still used for treatment and stabilization of soils in different branches of the building industry. The application of caustic lime itself produces high level of dustiness, which adversely influences agricultural crops, soils, as well as the environment on site and in its surroundings. The mentioned disadvantages have been partially removed by he use of modified lime pursuant to PCT WO98/23705 which contains, besides caustic lime, also a liquid additive (modification component) consisting of polyolefins, alkanes and cycloalkanes. Modified lime is prepared by adding the above-mentioned liquid additives to caustic lime, or to the hydraulic binder, or even during grinding caustic lime or the hydraulic binder. The technology of application of modified lime is utilized especially in construction of road and highways, railways and railway corridors, in construction of airport aprons, parking lots, embankments and tunnels. PCT WO98/23705 mentions the use of white mineral oil, which is the mixture of alkanes and cycloalkanes in the volume of 68% and 32%, respectively, its average molecular weight is 340 to 360 and its kinematic viscosity at 40° C. is 15 cP. The use of polyolefins, especially poly-α-olefins and poly-intra-olefins is further stated here. The disadvantage of these additives, that are known up to now, is especially their low biological degradability and slightly worse ability of dust particles dispersion.

Modified powdered mass for treatment of soils and loose building materials


A seat slide device for a vehicle includes a lower rail, an upper rail movable relative to the lower rail and a lock member for restricting the relative movement of the upper and lower rails. The restriction of the relative movement can be released and the lock-released position can be retained. The seat slide device further includes a memory piece detachably engaged with the lower rail and provided in a direction separating from the lower rail and engaging therewith when a seatback is reclined forward, wherein the memory piece is moved in association with the movement of the upper rail by retaining the memory piece at the receiving portion and the shaped portion when the memory piece is separated from the lower rail and wherein the memory piece is engaged with the lower rail at the engaging portion when the memory piece is engaged with the lower rail.

In the conventional seat slide device as explained above, the memory retaining runner on the lower rail moves in association with the movement of the upper rail upon normal seat slide operation. Accordingly, if some obstacles, such as for example, a bolt for fastening the lower rail to the floor exists on the moving track of the memory retaining runner, the movement of the runner is restricted by the bolt to restrict also the movement of the upper
A need thus exists for a seat slide device, which is not susceptible to the drawback, mentioned above.


Semiconductor wafers with profiled edges, are produced with decreased losses due to edge or other damage by separating a semiconductor wafer from a crystal; profiling the edge in a profile producing step wherein the edge is mechanically machined to a profile that is true to scale with respect to a predefined target profile; mechanically machining the wafer to reduce the a thickness of the semiconductor wafer; and machining the edge profile to acquire the target profile.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for producing a semiconductor wafer with a profiled edge, in which the semiconductor wafer is separated from a crystal and subjected to further machining steps.
2. Background Art
The invention relates, in particular, to a method for producing a semiconductor wafer which serves as a substrate wafer for electronic circuits, for example a semiconductor wafer composed of silicon or a compound semiconductor or else a semiconductor wafer which is constructed in layered fashion and comprises at least one layer composed of semiconductor material. The production of such semiconductor wafers constitutes a particular challenge since they have to meet extremely stringent requirements not only with regard to the purity of the material used but also with regard to form and flatness.
Customary machining steps devoted to shaping the semiconductor wafer after separation from a crystal aim to give the semiconductor wafer a form which is distinguished, in particular, by a profiled edge and sides that are opposite one another in plane-parallel fashion. A machining step that produces an edge profile is necessary because the edge is particularly susceptible to breaking in the non-machined state and a semiconductor wafer can be damaged even by slight pressure and/or temperature loadings in the edge region. The shaping machining steps include, besides an edge profile producing step, in particular lapping and grinding of the sides. The two mechanical machining steps mentioned last can be employed together, lapping followed by grinding, or in such a way that only one of the two machining steps is performed. The grinding of the side can be subdivided into rough and fine grinding steps depending on the grit of the abrasive grain used. Furthermore, the grinding may be restricted to one side of the semiconductor wafer or encompass both sides of the semiconductor wafer. If both sides are to be ground, then this can be carried out successively or in one step. DE 10 2004 005 702 A1 describes a double-side grinding machine having double spindles and a method carried out with this machine in which both sides of a semiconductor wafer are ground simultaneously. The semiconductor wafer is guided in a free-floating and rotating fashion between two mutually opposite grinding discs and is held in position by a guide ring (rotor ring) surrounding it. The rotary movement of the semiconductor wafer is brought about for example by a notch finger, which engages in an orientation notch on the circumference of the semiconductor wafer, or by a friction belt which partly encloses the semiconductor wafer on the circumference. A prerequisite for the undisturbed rotary movement is that the semiconductor wafer is round, that is to say has a circular circumference.
Semiconductor wafers in which the orientation of the crystal lattice deviates slightly from the orientation of the crystal from which they were separated have advantageous properties which become apparent particularly in thermal treatments and methods in which layers are deposited on the semiconductor wafer. In accordance with DE 199 54 349 A1, semiconductor wafers with misorientation are obtained if the semiconductor wafers are not separated perpendicular to the crystal axis, but rather at an angle that deviates therefrom and corresponds to that of the intended misorientation. Elliptically shaped semiconductor wafers are obtained from a crystal having a uniform diameter ground in round fashion. Owing to this shape, such a semiconductor wafer initially cannot be subjected to a mechanical machining of the sides by simultaneous grinding of the sides. A comparatively complicated possibility for avoiding this problem consists, for example, in separating the misoriented semiconductor wafers from a crystal having an elliptical cross-sectional area which is dimensioned in such a way that round semiconductor wafers arise during separation.
The machining step that produces an edge profile may be effected before or after the mechanical machining of the sides of the semiconductor wafer. What is disadvantageous with regard to a machining step that does not produce the edge profile until after the sides of the semiconductor wafer have been mechanically machined is that the edge is so sensitive in the unmachined state that the semiconductor wafer often does not withstand the mechanical machining of the sides without being damaged in the process. A semiconductor wafer with a profiled edge still remains sensitive, however, even though serious damage such as edge chips and cracks is less common. Therefore, it is likewise disadvantageous if the edge profile is produced before the mechanical machining takes place, because later damage to the edge can no longer be completely repaired.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,066,565 describes a method in which the edge profile is produced in two separate mechanical machining steps, between which the mechanical machining of the sides of the semiconductor wafer is provided. In the first of the two steps, the edge is chamfered at the sides, part of the edge remaining unmachined. The aim of this method is to stabilize the edge by means of the first rough machining such that serious damage is avoided in the subsequent side grinding step, which aims to retain the symmetry of the semiconductor wafer with regard to a horizontal reflection plane. What is disadvantageous about this method is that the edge of the semiconductor wafer has, during the mechanical machining of the sides, a region that has not yet been machined and is therefore particularly sensitive, and, as a result, is not protected much better than if the edge machining had not taken place at all.

Method for producing a semiconductor wafer with profiled edge


The present invention is directed to a method of identifying an acetyltransferase substrate in a sample that includes the steps of: (a) contacting the sample with (i) a reagent comprising a thiol-containing compound, a halo-acetyl-CoA or a halo-acetyl-pantetheine, and (ii) an acetyltransferase, under conditions suitable for acetyltransferase enzyme activity, and (b) identifying a substrate that has formed a base-stable covalent bond to the reagent, wherein the reagent is labeled with a label and/or the acetyltransferase is labeled with an affinity tag, and the substrate is the acetyltransferase substrate.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to enzyme assays. More specifically, the invention is directed to novel assays for acetyltransferases and acetyltransferase substrates.
(2) Description of the Related Art
References Cited                Polevoda and Sherman, 2003, J. Mol. Biol. 325:595-622.        Roth et al., 2001, Annu. Rev. Biochem. 70:81-120.
Acetyltransferases are enzymes that catalyze the transfer of the acetyl moiety from acetyl-CoA to their cognate substrates. These can be small molecule metabolites, antibiotics or proteins. The reaction mechanism can occur in two different ways: the direct transfer of the acetyl group from acetyl-CoA to the substrate, or initial transfer of the acetyl group from acetyl-CoA to an enzyme group on the acetyltransferase to generate the acetyl-enzyme, and subsequent transfer of the acetyl group from the acetyl-enzyme to the substrate. Both of these mechanisms have been demonstrated.
The N-acetylation of proteins by acetyltransferases is a rapidly developing area of cell signaling and regulation. These reactions are important in lifespan, transcriptional regulation, protein stability and drug resistance. Although rapid progress has been made in certain areas, the complete complement of substrates or targets for both procaryotic and eucaryotic acetyltransferases is presently unknown. In particular, bacterial genomes contain many open reading frames identified as members of the GNAT family of N-acetyltransferases (between 18 and 60, depending on the organism).
Improved methods for isolating and identifying acetyltransferases and acetyltransferase substrates are thus needed. The present invention satisfies that need.

Method for identifying acetyltransferase substrates

Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University


A system for recovery of hydrocarbons or thermal energy from host-rock fotions bearing coal, oil-shale, tar-sands or oil by use of a hydrologic cell which conveys a reacting fluid under pressure to a source-aquifer, thereafter extracting thermal energy or hydrocarbons from said host-rock, moving said hydrocarbons or thermal energy to said sink-aquifer and then removing the hydrocarbons or thermal energy to the surface for ultimate use.

This invention relates to the recovery of hydrocarbons and to the recovery of energy from carbon or hydrocarbon-bearing rocks.
Coal and lignite are normally mined by excavation and oil is produced by drilling oil-bearing rocks. With the depletion of worldwide reserves of liquid-fuel hydrocarbon, there has been much effort to extract hydrocarbon from oil-shales, coals, tar-sands and other carbon and hydrocarbon-bearing rocks. Those rocks can be excavated and subsequently retorted, distilled, or hydrogenated. Processes are known for chemical processing of oil-shales, coals, tar-sands, etc., in factories. The intensive costs of mining and processing make such processes uneconomical as long as liquid-fuel can be obtained cheaply. Furthermore, the environmental problems caused by the mining of large volumes of oil-shale and tar-sands make mining unacceptable.
Current in-situ methods have the advantage of protecting the environment. Technology for in-situ recovery of hydrocarbons from oil-shale, tar-sands, and coal, and for secondary recovery of hydrocarbons from oil-bearing beds have been developed during the last several decades. Hundreds of patents have been issued using processes such as:
(1) Processes to enhance the porosity and permeability of hydrocarbon and carbon-bearing formations so that hydrocarbons could flow or be pumped out from underground. The methods include (a) hydrofracturing, (b) blasting, and (c) undercutting over a large area to cause the collapse of the overlaying deposit into the excavation, or a combination of those; PA1 (2) Processes to inject fluid into injection wells, and thus to provide a hydrodynamic potential to force the injected fluid to displace the hydrocarbons in oil-bearing beds so that the latter can flow into production-wells and then be removed. A most common method of this type of process is secondary recovery by water-flooding; PA1 (3) Processes to provide a heat source such as steam-flooding, or by other means to increase the underground temperature and thus to lower the viscosity of hydrocarbons in oil-bearing beds, tar-sand, or coal sufficiently to flow or be pumped out from underground. The methods are commonly called thermal-stimulations; and PA1 (4) Processes to inject fluid into injection wells, to provide a hydrodynamic potential to force the injected fluid into contact with the carbon or hydrocarbon-bearing rock, producing hydrocarbons which can flow into production wells and be removed.
Current in-situ methods use one or a combination of these processes. Methods for recovering carbonaceous materials from oil-shales, collectively known as "shale-burning" are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,661,423, 4,106,814, 4,109,719, 4,147,389, 4,151,877, 4,158,467 and DE 4,153,110. These are methods of in-situ retorting using a combination of processes (1) and (2). None of the methods are economical at the present, and are not in commercial use.
Other in-situ methods such as steam-flooding, thermal-stimulation, gasification of coal, hydrogenation of tar-sand, in-situ combustion, etc. represent other combinations of those processes (e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,085,803, 4,089,373, 4,089,374, 4,093,027, 4,088,188, 4,099,568, 4,099,783, 4,114,688, 4,133,384, 4,148,359, 4,149,595, 4,476,932, 4,574,884, 4,598,770, 4,896,345, 5,207,271, 5,360,068 and Int. Publ. No. WO 95/06093). All of those methods require the injection of fluid or insertion of a heat source, via injection wells, directly into the carbon or hydrocarbon-bearing formations and they prescribe the production of hydrocarbons (or hot gases) from production wells. Commonly the wells are vertically drilled into a hydrocarbon-bearing formation, and fluid or heat flows horizontally from well to well. The movement from a point source in the injection well laterally to a production well describes a linear path and such injection methods have a low efficiency when a large part of the host-rock is by-passed.
Methods to increase the efficiency of in-situ methods by drilling wells horizontally or in a direction parallel to a hydrocarbon-bearing formation such as tar-sand or coal, are suggested by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,410,216, 4,116,275, 4,598,770, 4,610,303, and 5,626,191. Such orientation provides a line source for fluid or heat energy which can penetrate into the surface(s) around the borehole. The shortcoming of the methods is the limited penetration into the hydrocarbon-bearing formation, so that a plurality of holes have to be drilled. Also there is no systematic control of the fluid or heat-flow, its rate, its penetration, etc., or of the condition of in-situ physical conditions, such as temperature, and rate of chemical reaction.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,779 suggested that fluid can be induced to flow from one porous and permeable formation vertically into another porous and permeable formation. However, the method cannot be used unless at least a pair of such formations are present. Also the efficacy of the process is limited by the relatively low permeability of natural formations.
An "in-situ chemical-reactor for recovery of metals or purification of salts" is disclosed in our co-pending patent appln. Ser. No. 08/852,327 filed May 7, 1997.
It is an object of the present invention to improve the previously described in-situ reactor and to facilitate physical and chemical changes in coal (including lignites), oil-shale, tar-sand, and other carbonaceous deposits to produce hydrocarbons after the hydrocarbons in those deposits have been made less viscous, or to produce thermal energy in the form of hot combustion products, which can be recovered and converted into other forms of energy, such as electricity.

Hydrologic cells for recovery of hydrocarbons or thermal energy from coal, oil-shale, tar-sands and oil-bearing formations

Tarim Associates for Scientific Mineral and Oil Exploration AG


A method for inhibiting decomposition and/or degradation of an implantation polymeric material in the living body, which comprises allowing dipyridamole and/or a salt or a derivative thereof as an active component to exist in the vicinity of an implantation polymeric material implanted in the living body; an inhibitor effective for inhibiting biological decomposition and/or degradation of a polymeric material implanted in the living body, which comprises dipyridamole and/or a salt or a derivative thereof as an active component; and an implantation polymeric material which contains dipyridamole and/or a salt or a derivative thereof as an active component.

In view of the rapid progress in the development of medical techniques in recent years, a variety of medical devices are currently implanted in the living body for a prolonged period. In particular, polymeric materials have been actively developed as materials for implantation in the living body (to be referred to as "implantation material" or "implantation polymeric material" hereinafter), because their mechanical properties are closer to those of biological components than those of metals, ceramics and the like. Polymeric materials can be processed easily and exhibit properties such as anti-thrombogenetic activity, biocompatibility and the like. Of these polymeric materials, elastic materials such as segmented polyurethane are preferably used in artificial blood vessels, artificial hearts, insulation coatings of pacemaker leads and the like because of their excellent mechanical properties and high compatibility with biological tissues.
In spite of these excellent properties as implantation materials, the long-term stability of polymeric materials in the living body is inferior to that of other materials because polymeric materials are apt to decompose or degradate in the living body, thus causing problems such as decrease in the mechanical strength, eluation of decomposed compounds and the like. Also, in the case of elastic, soft or hydrophilic materials, they have flexible polymer chains and, as a result, have a higher possibility of degradation and decomposition in comparison with hard materials. Decomposition and degradation in the living body depends also on the shape of the material and increases when the material has a large surface area. As a consequence, when polymeric materials are made into thin film, porous and similar implantation materials making use of their flexibility, it is highly probable that the degree of the decomposition and degradation of the resulting implants is high.
To date, a method for effectively inhibiting biological decomposition and degradation of polymeric materials has not been found, thus preventing the full utilization of the benefits of polymeric materials.

Method for inhibiting biological degradation of implantation polymeric material, inhibitor thereof and implantation polymeric material containing the inhibitor

Kanegafuchi Kagaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha


Techniques detect bootkits resident on a computer by detecting a change or attempted change to contents of boot locations (e.g., the master boot record) of persistent storage, which may evidence a resident bootkit. Some embodiments may monitor computer operations seeking to change the content of boot locations of persistent storage, where the monitored operations may include API calls performing, for example, WRITE, READ or APPEND operations with respect to the contents of the boot locations. Other embodiments may generate a baseline hash of the contents of the boot locations at a first point of time and a hash snapshot of the boot locations at a second point of time, and compare the baseline hash and hash snapshot where any difference between the two hash values constitutes evidence of a resident bootkit.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to computer security and more particularly to detecting malicious software operating in computers and other digital devices.
2. Related Art
Malicious software, or malware for short, may include any program or file that is harmful by design to a computer. Malware includes computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, adware, spyware, and any programming that gathers information about a computer or its user or otherwise operates without permission. Owners of the computers are often unaware that these programs have been added to their computers and are often similarly unaware of their function.
Malicious network content is a type of malware distributed over a network via websites, e.g., servers operating on a network according to Hypertext Transfer Protocol ("HTTP") or other well-known standard. Malicious network content distributed in this manner may be actively downloaded and installed on a computer, without the approval or knowledge of its user, simply by the computer accessing the website hosting the malicious network content (the "malicious website"). Malicious network content may be embedded within objects associated with web pages hosted by the malicious website. Malicious network content may also enter a computer on receipt or opening of email. For example, email may contain an attachment, such as a PDF document, with embedded malicious executable programs. Furthermore, malicious content may exist in files contained in a computer memory or storage device, having infected those files through any of a variety of attack vectors.
Various processes and devices have been employed to prevent the problems associated with malicious content. For example, computers often run antivirus scanning software that scans a particular computer for viruses and other forms of malware. The scanning typically involves automatic detection of a match between content stored on the computer (or attached media) and a library or database of signatures of known malware. The scanning may be initiated manually or based on a schedule specified by a user or system administrator associated with the particular computer. Unfortunately, by the time malware is detected by the scanning software, some damage on the computer or loss of privacy may have already occurred, and the malware may have propagated from the infected computer to other computers. Additionally, it may take days or weeks for new signatures to be manually created, the scanning signature library updated and received for use by the scanning software, and the new signatures employed in new scans.
Moreover, anti-virus scanning utilities may have limited effectiveness to protect against all exploits by polymorphic malware. Polymorphic malware has the capability to mutate to defeat the signature match process while keeping its original malicious capabilities intact. Signatures generated to identify one form of a polymorphic virus may not match against a mutated form. Thus polymorphic malware is often referred to as a family of virus rather than a single virus, and improved antivirus techniques to identify such malware families is desirable.
Another type of malware detection solution employs virtual environments to replay content within a sandbox established by virtual machines (VMs) that simulates a target operating environment. Such solutions monitor the behavior of content during execution to detect anomalies and other activity that may signal the presence of malware. One such system sold by FireEye, Inc., the assignee of the present patent application, employs a two-phase malware detection approach to detect malware contained in network traffic monitored in real-time. In a first or "static" phase, a heuristic is applied to network traffic to identify and filter packets that appear suspicious in that they exhibit characteristics associated with malware. In a second or "dynamic" phase, the suspicious packets (and typically only the suspicious packets) are replayed within one or more virtual machines. For example, if a user is trying to download a file over a network, the file is extracted from the network traffic and analyzed in the virtual machine using an instance of a browser to load the suspicious packets. The results of the analysis constitute monitored behaviors of the suspicious packets, which may indicate that the file should be classified as malicious. The two-phase malware detection solution may detect numerous types of malware, and even malware missed by other commercially available approaches. The two-phase malware detection solution may also achieve a significant reduction of false positives relative to such other commercially available approaches. Otherwise, dealing with a large number of false positives in malware detection may needlessly slow or interfere with download of network content or receipt of email, for example. This two-phase approach has even proven successful against many types of polymorphic malware and other forms of advanced persistent threats.
In some instances, malware may take the form of a bootkit, also known as a kernel rootkit. As used herein, the term 'bootkit' refers to malicious code that installs itself in a boot record of the kernel of an operating system of a compromised computer without the knowledge or authority of the infected computer's user. The infected boot record may be the master boot record, partition boot record, boot loader, or volume boot record. A bootkit may actively hide its presence from administrators by subverting standard operating system functionality. Moreover, a bootkit is inherently hard to detect because it may be executed before the operating system and may subvert operating system functionality to hide its presence. For example, bootkits may be able to hook and bypass operating system routines, initialization (processor mode switch), and security checks (integrity, code-signed, etc.). Bootkits may create a hidden file system within the infected computer, in which it can hide other malware and/or copies of infected files.
Generally speaking, a bootkit functions at a fundamental level of operation of a computer, associated with the kernel of its operating system. Known operating systems communicate with an external device such as a disk controller, peripheral device and other hardware through the use of an electronic signal called an interrupt. For example, when an application sends a system call seeking to read or write to a hard disk, it issues an interrupt. Then, an interrupt handler function of the operating system normally handles and completes the interrupt. A bootkit installed in the operating system may hook (intercept) the interrupt and/or related kernel functions in order to modify the way the interrupt is handled. The bootkit may place an internal address in the system service descriptor table (SSDT) of a Windows® operating system or the system call table (SCT) of a Linux® operating system in order to handle an interrupt itself instead of the original handler. Indeed, a bootkit may modify data structures in a Windows' kernel using a method known as direct kernel object modification (DKOM). This can permit the bootkit to rewrite a portion of code of the operating system, for example, when the kernel loads to handle the interrupt. The rewritten code may allow the bootkit to bypass or modify integrity testing and other security protection mechanisms, and even bypass advanced operating protection systems, such as patch guard, and thereby remain concealed. Even full disk encryption is to no avail in protecting a compromised computer since, even if all other data on a boot-up drive is encrypted, the boot sequence located in the master boot record typically cannot be encrypted.
It has been suggested that a defense against bootkit attacks is the prevention of unauthorized physical access to the system, but this is impractical in today's networked world. Moreover, virus scanning and next generation firewall technology have not prevented advanced forms of bootkits from gaining access to operating system kernels. Recently, operating systems themselves have incorporated counter-measures to thwart the threat of bootkits. For example, 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows implement mandatory signing of all kernel-level drivers in order to make it more difficult for untrusted code to execute with the highest privileges in a computer, and implement kernel patch protection. However, bootkits are also rapidly evolving to circumvent such counter-measures.
Further enhancement to malware detection effectiveness is desirable of course, particularly as malware developers continue to create new forms of exploits, including more sophisticated bootkits, which can have potentially serious impact on computer and network infrastructure.

Detecting bootkits resident on compromised computers


A high strength, high temperature resistant roundsling for use as a restraint safety device. The roundsling uses a blend of fibers having characteristics of high strength, improved heat resistance, low weight, and improved handibility, as compared to roundslings assembled from non-blended fibers. Use of the roundslings of the present invention to secure sections of pipeline systems, will assist to maintain safety and reduce failure conditions in such pipeline systems that are subject to higher pressures and elevated temperatures. An exemplary and preferred range of the fiber blend for the inventive roundsling device are within a range of 30-70% Para-Aramid fibers and 70-30% LCP fibers, respectively. An exemplary embodiment of the present invention that has been tested is a roundsling manufactured to include a blend of fibers within the approximate range of 55-65% Para-Aramid and 45-35% LCP.

In oil and gas pipeline systems, it is often necessary to heat the material or fluid being transported through the pipeline, or to heat certain sections of the pipeline, in order to assist in the transmission of the material fluid through the pipeline. In addition to the potential higher heat conditions, the material and fluids being transmitted through these types of pipelines may be under high pressure conditions. Such pipelines have inherent "weak links" at juncture locations, including at any bends or elbows including in the pipeline system. Moreover, it is known that at such pipeline system bends, or elbows, stresses tend to be higher, and weaknesses may develop over time due to natural system usage and wear and tear. Due to the potential higher system pressures, and higher material temperatures, if a failure in the pipeline structure occurs, such failures could be dangerous to personnel or equipment located near any failure point. Manufacturers and operators of such pipeline systems have incorporated and used various safety designs and precautions to minimize damage or injuries that may occur should a system failure occur. As illustrated in FIG. 1, one solution has been to wrap a rope or sling device around the pipeline system to act as a restraint should there be a pipeline system failure.
By way of example, currently, restraint assemblies are often wrapped around the bended sections of the pipelines to hold the pipe sections together should a failure occur. U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,457, issued to Hayes et al. (the "'457 patent"), describes a safety restraint assembly for high pressure flow lines where short, rib tethers are wrapped around the pipeline near the ends of each section of pipe, and the long tethers are linked end-to-end to form a continuous spine, that is threaded through all the rib tethers. The spine is then anchored at each of its terminal ends to anchoring structures.
A continuous chain of long tethers, as disclosed in the '457 patent, that are looped together will typically result in a bulky and heavy bandage structure. Such a cumbersome, heavy and/or bulky bandage device will create handling and operation difficulties in wrapping the bandage device around the pipeline system and, in particular, in wrapping the bandage device around the bends and curves along the pipeline systems.
Moreover, where such bandage or restraint devices are manufactured using current heat resistant materials, such devices are generally heavier and bulkier because of the physical properties (i.e., density and lack of flexibility) of such heat resistant materials. Further, as is known by those skilled in the art, for many current heat resistant materials, once they are exposed to higher temperatures, the strength of such materials may be compromised after the material is cooled, which in turn reduces the strength of the material and bandage device the material is being used within. In other words, after being exposed to higher temperatures and then being cooled, the bandage device may not be able to withstand the high heat of the pipeline and high pressure as the material or fluids move through the pipelines.
One potential solution to this problem with current bandage or restraint devices is to increase the number of fibers or strands used to manufacture the restraint device or assembly. By increasing the number of fibers or strands, the bulk of the restraint device is increased, which exacerbates the handibility issues described above.
Another potential solution is to simply replace the restraint device after they may have been exposed to higher temperatures. Not only does this not address the bulk or handibility issues, such a solution is both costly and time consuming.
Accordingly, there is a need in the technology or art for bandage or restraint devices or applications that can be used with pipeline systems to maintain safety and reduce failure conditions in such pipeline systems subject to higher pressures and elevated temperatures. Specifically, there is a need for a heat resistant, high strength restraint device that is able to maintain its strength, but does not require added fibers or strands, or added weight and bulk to the restraint device.

High strength, high temperature resistant roundsling for use as a pipeline restraining device