Exemplary systems and methods certify a partner product for use with an originally developed product. A certification agent within a partner computing system transmits, to a certification server that is external to the partner computing system, an indication that the certification agent is ready to run a certification test of a partner product. The certification agent is configured to run the certification test. The certification agent is communicatively coupled to a testbed operating within the partner computing system and in which the partner product is to be tested. The certification agent receives, from the external certification server, an instruction to implement at least a portion of the certification test. In response to receiving the instruction, the certification agent initiates the portion of the certification test within testbed.

A developer of an original software or hardware product will often invite partner developers ("partners") to develop compatible software and/or hardware products ("partner products") intended to add features and/or functions to the original product or provide a platform or supporting functionality for the original product. The original developer, partners, and end-users who purchase a partner product all want to be assured that the partner product interoperates with the original product. "Certification" of a partner product is a process by which a partner product is tested against standards set by the original product developer to ensure that the partner product interoperates with the original product. Certification comprises testing the interoperation of the partner product with the original product by subjecting the partner product to one or more certification tests.
Current methods of certification of partner products are performed by a partner downloading a software-based certification testing tool and configuring the testing tool for use with the particular partner product and the particular original product for which certification is sought. Configuration of the certification testing tool involves downloading different software plug-ins into the certification testing tool. A different configuration of the certification testing tool may be needed for each partner product and each original product being certified. The partner downloads a test framework for a particular partner product into the certification testing tool. To test a different partner product, a different version of the test framework than the previously downloaded version of the test framework may need to be downloaded depending upon the partner product being certified for use and depending on the original product.
The certification testing system, user interface, and test control logic all reside within the partner computing system. If the partner certification test user discovers a problem during the execution of a certification test, the user will need to call the original developer for assistance, describe the problem as best he can, and try to resolve the issue over the phone or by uploading a test log file.
After a certification test of a partner product has completed, the partner uploads the test log files to the original developer. If the certification process comprises additional tests, then the above certification test process is repeated for each certification test. When all required certification tests are completed, the partner then requests certification of the partner product for use with the original product. The original developer reviews the test log files. If the original developer finds that the results in the test log files indicate that the partner product meets the certification standards for use with the original product, the original developer will issue an indication of certification of the partner product to the partner.
This certification process is repeated for each version of the original developer's product for which the partner wishes to obtain certification. The certification process is also repeated for each particular partner product, and for each version of that product, for which the partner wishes to obtain certification of the partner product. For example, if the original developer has developed a cloud computing file management system having multiple versions, and the partner is a maker of hard disk drives with varying functionalities, the partner would repeat the certification process for each hard disk drive for each of the multiple versions of the cloud computing file management system. A partner may have a certification program manager for one or more types of partner products to be certified. Unless each partner certification test user prepares individual reports, the partner certification program manager will have little or no insight into the progress of certification of the partner's various products being certified. Similarly, an original developer will often have a certification program manager for a broad portion of one or more original products. This broad portion of products may encompass several different partner products and/or multiple versions of the original developer's product. Again, because certification processes are performed within the partner computing system and dependent upon uploaded logs/test results from the partner, the original developer certification program manager will have little or no insight into the progress of certification of partner products for which the original developer certification program manager is responsible.

Ecosystem certification of a partner product


A system, method and implantable medical for providing switched power while providing transcutaneous telemetry communication with an implanted medical device having an internal power source. An electronics module is adapted to supply the therapeutic output to the patient. A telemetry module is configured for transcutaneous telemetry communication. The telemetry module obtains power from the telemetry signal during transcutaneous telemetry communication.

Implantable medical devices for producing a therapeutic result in a patient are well known. Examples of such implantable medical devices include implantable drug infusion pumps, implantable neurostimulators, implantable cardioverters, implantable cardiac pacemakers, implantable defibrillators and cochlear implants. Some of these devices, if not all, and other devices either provide an electrical output or otherwise contain electrical circuitry to perform their intended function.
It is common for implantable medical devices, including implantable medical devices providing an electrical therapeutic output, to utilize transcutaneous telemetry to transfer information to and from the implanted medical device. Information typically transferred to an implanted medical device includes transferring instructions or programs to the implanted medical device from an external device such as an external programmer. Information typically transferred from an implanted medical includes information regarding the status and/or performance of the implanted medical device.
Typical telemetry communication involves analog electrical components which sometimes operate at greater voltages and/or greater currents than digital circuits. Thus, telemetry modules and associated circuitry often provide a significant drain on power resources of implantable medical devices.

Switched power using telemetry in an implantable medical device


A wiring portion has first and second write conductors, first and second read conductors, and an insulating layer. The first write conductor, first and second read conductors, and second write conductor are arranged three-dimensionally at different height levels in the thickness direction of the insulating layer, in a cross section extending in the width direction of the wiring portion. The distance from the first write conductor to the first read conductor is equal to the distance from the first write conductor to the second read conductor. The distance from the second write conductor to the first read conductor is equal to the distance from the second write conductor to the second read conductor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disc drive suspension incorporated in an information processor, such as a personal computer.
2. Description of the Related Art
A hard disc drive (HDD) that is used to record in or read data from a rotating disc has a disc drive suspension on the distal end portion of an actuator arm. A head section that includes a slider is provided on the distal end portion of the suspension. When the disc rotates, the slider slightly lifts above the surface of the disc, whereupon an air bearing is formed between the disc and the slider.
The disc drive suspension comprises a load beam section, a flexure fixed thereon, etc. The slider is mounted on the distal end of the flexure. There are flexures of various forms that are based on required specifications. One such flexure is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,796,552.
A wiring portion 1 of a conventional wired flexure shown in FIG. 10 includes a metal base 2 formed of a thin stainless-steel sheet, an insulating layer 3 formed of polyimide on the metal base 2, a pair of write conductors W1 and W2 and a pair of read conductors R1 and R2 extending along the insulating layer 3, etc. The respective one ends of the write conductors W1 and W2 and the read conductors R1 and R2 are connected electrically to terminals (e.g., MR element terminals) of the slider. The respective other ends of the write conductors W1 and W2 and the read conductors R1 and R2 are connected electrically to write and read electric circuits (not shown).
As write current flows through the write conductors W1 and W2, some of its energy may possibly be induced in the read conductors R1 and R2. As shown in FIG. 10, for example, an electric or magnetic field (indicated by electric force lines F) that is generated in the write conductors W1 and W2 exerts a greater influence on the read conductor R1 that is located closer to the write conductors W1 and W2 than on the other read conductor R2. Thus, a greater induced electromotive force is generated in the one read conductor R1 than in the other read conductor R2, so that a potential difference is caused between the read conductors R1 and R2.
The potential difference arouses the problem of cross talk. Depending on its level, cross talk may deteriorate or even ruin an MR element of the head section and the like. With the increase of the recording density of modern discs, in particular, the head section is liable to be susceptible to cross talk. Therefore, cross talk should be minimized.
The difference between the influences of the electric or magnetic field in the write conductors W1 and W2 on the read conductors R1 and R2 can be reduced by increasing a distance S from the write conductors W1 and W2 to the read conductors R1 and R2. Thus, if the distance S can be increased, influences of the write conductors W1 and W2 on the read conductors R1 and R2 are reduced, so that the difference in potential between the read conductors R1 and R2 is lessened.
However, the wiring portion 1 is restricted in size and its width is expected to be reduced these days, in particular, so that it is hard to increase the distance S. In the disc drive suspension of which the wiring portion must be narrowed, therefore, the cross talk characteristic sometimes must inevitably be neglected in some measure.

Disc drive suspension including a wired flexure with conductors arranged to reduce crosstalk


A curved optical device includes a pair of initially flat opposed flexible substrates that may have a fluid material with spacers disbursed therein disposed between the pair of substrates and sealed. The substrates have a uniform controlled distance therebetween. The substrates are permanently curved by applying heat and pressure with a mold while maintaining the controlled distance therebetween. The fluid material may be a liquid crystal to provide the optical device with enhanced optical properties.

One critical aspect of many optical elements is the curvature of the surface of the element. Indeed, refractive lenses derive their ability to converge or diverge light rays from the difference in curvature of their front and rear surfaces. Similarly, the focal plane of curved mirrors is determined by the mirror curvature. For most lenses and mirror applications, the surfaces in question have a spherical shape. One exception to this are lenses for correcting astigmatism which have a curvature that is a combination of spherical and cylindrical surfaces. The key feature of all these elements is that they have two-dimensional surfaces and, therefore, they have two principle curvatures. For example, a flat surface has both curvatures equal to zero. A cylindrical surface has one curvature zero while the other curvature is non-zero. A toroidal surface has both curvatures nonzero and non-equal and sphere may be defined as a special subsection where both curvatures are equal to one another and are non-zero. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the most general optical elements, are constructed using surfaces for which both curvatures are non-zero and non-equal. Accordingly, those skilled in the art refer to these types of elements as doubly curved. Furthermore, if the curvature also changes along a given direction, the curvature is complex. For the purposes of this application, doubly and complex may be used interchangeably.
The most common optical element is the vision-correction lens used in spectacles. For all but the most severe prescriptions, these lenses are meniscus lenses, in which both surfaces are doubly curved. Corrective lenses may be fabricated having one surface doubly curved and the other flat, but this construction is undesirable since it can lead to undesired optical distortions in addition to esthetic reasons. In addition to vision correction, spectacles with doubly curved lenses are worn to protect the eyes from sunlight, glare, and foreign objects, and as fashion accessories. Other types of eyewear having doubly curved surfaces are goggles, visors, and helmet face plates. Other examples of doubly curved surfaces which light must pass either through or reflect from are windshields, glass block windows, automobile headlamps, skylights, and other optical devices and elements.
For many applications, it is common to coat additional layer or layers onto the surface of an optical element. The layer or layers provide additional functionality, such as light transmission control, anti-reflective properties or scratch resistance. Accordingly, each additional layer acts as an optical element in its own right and when it is attached to another element, the result is a compound element. There are a variety of methods for coating an optical element including vacuum deposition and liquid coating followed by curing. An alternative method is to affix a solid layer to the lens. This provides a cost effective method for achieving the desired functionality. For example, one may create a pair of "mirrored sunglasses" by affixing aluminized Mylar® onto the lenses of an ordinary pair of glasses. Another example is affixing a polarizer to a lens in polarized sunglasses. However, various difficulties arise when attempting to manufacture optical elements where one of these layers has been is attached to a doubly curved surface especially if the layer to be affixed to the doubly curved surface is initially flat. It is quickly seen that unless the initially flat Mylar® is either stretched or cut, it cannot be conformally attached to the doubly curved lens surface. Alternatively, the initially flat layer may be affixed by changing the state of the layer material during the affixing process. If the layer is softened, or even melted and affixed to the state, it can be conformally attached. Obviously, the resulting compound optical element must then be operated at a temperature lower than the temperature at which the layer was affixed.
Although affixing a homogenous solid layers in the manner described above has been accomplished, many more difficulties arise when it is desired to affix multiple layers to an optical element, especially if their thicknesses are to be controlled to better than a micron. Further, this task has been thought impossible if one of the layers affixed is a fluid at the operating temperature. Currently, there are no devices in the market where a fluid with a uniform, micron-sized thickness is affixed to a solid curved layer. If a fluid layer is successfully affixed to a curved surface, a number of applications will become possible. One example of such a device would be a liquid crystal lens based on U.S. Pat. No. 6,239,778, which is incorporated herein by reference.
There have been many unsuccessful attempts to achieve this task since if successful, that would allow use of technologies such as liquid crystals for electronically controllable light transmission. To date, there are no such devices in the market due to the tight tolerances required. One attempt at solving this problem is to employ doubly curved half-lenses which are separated by spacers of the desired gap distance. However, due to the small cell gaps that are required for such devices—on the order of microns—it is difficult to properly align both lenses while maintaining the required gap distance over the entire area of the lenses. The problem is compounded by the presence of electrodes which can result in electrical shorts by micron sized variations in the thickness. Furthermore, if the proper gap spacing is not maintained within less than a micron, the desired optical properties are unattainable. And it is has been found to be quite difficult to properly shape the outer surfaces of such devices so that they conform to the shape of adjacent optical elements. Due to the failure with pre-shaped substrates, the concept of thermoforming a flat multilayered structure where one layer is a fluid has thought to be impossible.
Therefore, there is a need for a device and a method of making it in which two layers are separated from one another by a controlled distance. In other words, this controlled distance provides a gap between the two optical layers and this gap, extending over the area of the optical element, creates an encapsulated volume. This encapsulated volume may be occupied by a fluid substance or substances that perform desired optical, protective, or other functions. If the layers to be affixed to the curved substrate are layers of a liquid crystal device, the resulting compound optical element could, for example, have electronically controllable light transmission. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that maintaining the gap in such devices is critical to ensure correct operation.

Doubly curved optical device for eyewear and method for making the same


An electronic device with high outcoupling efficiency or a high light-trapping effect is provided.

Light-emitting elements (organic EL elements) that use organic compounds and utilize electroluminescence (EL) and electronic devices such as organic solar cells have been put to practical use. The basic structure of such electronic devices is a structure in which a semiconductor layer containing an organic compound is interposed between a pair of electrodes.
Such electronic devices are lightweight, flexible, and highly designed. The electronic devices have various advantages, for example, coating process is possible, and thus their research and development have actively proceeded. In particular, light-emitting elements are of self-light-emitting type, and have advantages such as high visibility and no need for backlight when used for pixels of a display; accordingly, the light-emitting elements are suitable as flat panel display elements.
In such an electronic device, an organic semiconductor layer obtained by thinning an organic compound is mainly formed, and the organic compound and the layer structure significantly affect the organic semiconductor element; thus, selection of the organic compound and the layer structure is important. Moreover, in an electronic device that emits or absorbs light, such as an organic solar cell or an organic EL element, it is important that outcoupling efficiency and a light-trapping effect be high.
Various methods for improving the outcoupling efficiency of an organic EL element have been proposed. For example, in Patent Document 1, the outcoupling efficiency is improved by formation of unevenness on part of an electrode or an EL layer.

Electronic device, light-emitting device, electronic appliance, and lighting device

Abstract: The electronic device includes a first layer and a second layer between a first electrode and a second electrode, the first layer is included between the first electrode and the second layer, the first layer includes a first organic compound and a first substance, the refractive index of a thin film of the first organic compound is higher than or equal to 1 and lower than or equal to 1.75, the first substance has an electron-accepting property, and the second layer has a function of emitting or absorbing light.


Using carrier having a template nucleic acid strand immobilized thereon, a probe nucleic acid strand is synthesized along the template strand, and the synthesized probe strand is immobilized on a separate substrate by utilizing an electric field to thereby manufacture a nucleic acid strand immobilized array simply and at low costs. By constructing the substrate of the array formed of an electrode, a DNA array enabling electric detection of DNAs can be obtained.

The present invention relates to a method for producing a nucleic acid immobilized carrier in which many nucleic acid probes having prescribed nucleotide sequences different from each other are immobilized on a substrate.
Genetic screening technologies using a DNA array have recently attracted remarkable attention (Beattie et al. 1993, Fodor et al. 1991, Khrapko et al. 1989, Southern et al. 1994). This DNA array comprises a carrier which carries 101 to 105 types of DNA probes differing in sequence, said probes being immobilized on the surface of a glass substrate or silicon substrate which is several centimeters by several centimeters square. The DNA array greatly contributes to recent development of genetic analysis technologies. The outline of its principle is summarized as follows.
First, on the DNA array, the DNA probe is reacted with a sample gene which is labeled with a fluorescent dye, radioactive isotope (RI) or the like, thereby to be coupled by hybridization with the sample gene which has a sequence complementary to that of the DNA probe. This ensures that when the sample gene has a sequence complementary to that of the DNA probe on the array, a signal derived from the label is obtained at a specific position on the array. Therefore, if the sequence and position of the DNA probe immobilized on the substrate is known in advance, nucleotide sequences existing in the sample gene can be examined in a simple manner. Also, if the DNA array is used, only one test makes it possible to obtain much information concerning nucleotide sequences. This is the reason why the DNA array is not limited to the gene screening technologies but is expected as sequencing technologies (Pease et al. 1994, Parinov et al. 1996).
On the other hand, with regard to the immobilization of a DNA probe to the substrate, two methods have been reported: (1) a method in which a DNA strand of a DNA probe is extended every single nucleotide one by one on the substrate (U.S. Pat. No. 5,889,165) and (2) a method in which a DNA probe synthesized in advance is immobilized to the substrate (U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,522). In the former method, DNA probes differing in sequence can be immobilized every 20xc3x9720 xcexcm at intervals of 100 xc3x85 on the substrate surface which is xc2xd by xc2xd inches square by utilizing the photolithographic technique, and therefore probe density of about 4xc3x97105 types of probe can be achieved (Chee et al. 1996). Because a patterning of about 0.1 xcexcm width is becoming possible at present by the photolithographic techniques, there is the possibility that probes are more integrated in the future. On the other hand, although the latter method has the problem that it is necessary to prepare many types of probe in advance and the degree of integration of probes is lower than that of the former method (every 60xc3x9760 xcexcm at intervals of 120 xcexcm), the latter method is superior in reaction efficiency because the probe can be immobilized three-dimensionally in a gel matrix (Guschin et al. 1997). Also, the latter method in which probes are immobilized three-dimensionally in a porous silicon rather than the gel has been reported (Beattie et al. 1995).
As outlined above, the DNA array has, for instance, an advantage that plural data are obtained in one assay. However, because complicated reaction control is required in the production of the DNA array, the conventional DNA array was highly expensive.
The present invention has been made to solve the aforementioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to improve the conventional techniques used to produce a DNA array, thereby enabling to provide a nucleic acid immobilized carrier which has high cost performance, simplicity and sensitivity.
In the present invention, in order to attain the above objects, by using a first nucleic acid strand immobilized on a first substrate as so-called template, a second nucleic acid strand which is used as a probe nucleic acid strand is synthesized, and then, the resulting second nucleic acid strand is transferred to and immobilized on a second substrate by making use of an electric field, thereby producing a nucleic acid immobilized carrier.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for producing a nucleic acid immobilized carrier provided with a second nucleic acid strand of a predetermined sequence immobilized on, the method comprising the steps of:
preparing a first nucleic acid immobilized carrier which has a first nucleic acid strand immobilized on a first substrate, the first nucleic acid strand having a nucleotide sequence complementary to that of the second nucleic acid strand;
synthesizing a second nucleic acid strand along the first nucleic acid strand in a nucleic acid synthesizing solution, the second nucleic acid strand having a nucleotide sequence complementary to that of the first nucleic acid;
disposing a second substrate such that the second substrate faces toward one side of the first substrate, on which sides the first nucleic acid strand are immobilized; and
applying an electric field directed toward the first substrate from the second substrate to cause migration of the second nucleic acid strand, which has been synthesized along the first nucleic acid strand, onto the surface of the second substrate, thereby effecting immobilization of the second nucleic acid strand on the surface of the second substrate.
In the present invention, a pair of electrodes is used as means of applying the electric field. The electrodes are used by respectively disposing them outside of the first and the second substrates. Alternatively, instead of using the electrode separated from the substrate, the electrode and the substrate may be integrated into a composite electrode, which can be made by coating the first substrate and/or the second substrate with a conductive film.
In the present invention, a plurality of the first and the second nucleic acid strands may be used. In this case, although the nucleic acid strands may have the same sequences, it is preferable that these strands have a different sequence, respectively. In this case, when the composite electrode is used, it is preferred that the surface of the conductive film is divided into plural electrode regions by using insulation patterns, and a different nucleic acid probe strand is immobilized in each electrode region. Alternatively, different nucleic acid strand may be immobilized on the same electrode.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.

Method for producing nucleic acid strand immobilized carrier


A system and a method for optical access of the surface of an optical disk (or another moving media information storage device) with a very short seek time is presented. The system uses two-dimensional deflection of a light (typically laser) beam. The beam reaches a stationary lenslet array, where, at a particular moment, it intercepts a single lenslet. The lenslet focuses the beam to a spot on the information storage surface of the disk. For reading information, the beam is reflected through the lenslet. Taking advantage of the "cat-eye" retro-reflection principle, only one detector (or very few detectors) is needed. Since only one spot at the surface is illuminated at any given moment, this spot gets most of the laser's light, allowing sufficient power concentration when needed for writing information on the disk.

The present invention relates to an optical scanning method and apparatus for directing and moving a spot or pattern of light, typically from a laser, across a line or an area on some given surface, for example, to access an area on a surface that moves linearly or angularly. The invention is particularly applicable to provide a rapid random-access optical scanner and method for optical disk data storage, and is therefore described below with respect to this application.
Optical disk data storage involves a number of somewhat conflicting requirements, including:
1. Fast Random-Access: In such data storage, the scanned line is not accessed in an orderly way, e.g., sequentially or predefined non-sequentially, but rather in a random manner known only during the actual operation of the system; random-access requires that the time to reach a requested point must be as short as possible (preferably around a millisecond or less).
2. High Resolution: That is, the size of the light spot formed by the scanning system (or, for some applications, the finest details in the pattern projected by the system) must be as small as possible, typically of the order-of-magnitude of the wavelength of the light; the precision of the scanning (the precision in the location of the spot) must be comparable with the spot size.
3. Large Space-Bandwith-Product: That is, the total number of points accessible by the scanning system should be large; this number roughly equals the length of the scan line divided by the spot size (a typical value should be at least in the thousands).
In addition, for some key applications, such as R/W (read/erase/write) and WORM (write-once read-many) optical computer disk systems, it is necessary to have:
4. High Light Power Concentration: That is, it must be possible to have enough energy delivered to a spot in a short time to affect a "write" operation.
For such R/W and WORM applications, it is desirable to focus most of the available laser beam power into a single spot for the "write" operation. Techniques for accomplishing this by illuminating many spots simultaneously (parallel access). or by optically encoding the data over an area on the disc (such as holographic storage). are described in a number of prior publications, including: Ph. Marachand. A. V. Krishnamoorthy, K. S. Urquhardt, P. Ambs, S. Esener and S. H. Lee, "Motionless Head for Parallel Readout Optical Disk," SPIE/IST Symp. on Electronic Imaging Science and Technology, February 1992, San Jose. Calif., published in Proc. SPIE, vol. 1662 (SPIE, Bellingham Wash., 1992); V. A. Ivanov, B. S. Kiselyov, A. L. Mikaelian and D. E. Okonov, "Optoelectronic Neuroprocessor Based on Holographic Disk Memory," Optical Memory and Neural Networks, vol. 1, pp. 55-62 (1992).
The standard solution is to put the entire laser/optics assembly (or most of it) at the end of a movable arm, just as is done today with magnetic heads for magnetic computer disks, and earlier with mechanical stylus pick-ups in phonograph players. However, laser/optics assemblies are heavier than magnetic disk heads. Therefore they cannot be accelerated and moved as quickly since the inertia of an object to rotation is proportional to the square of the distance of its mass from the center of rotation. As a result, optical disk systems are usually slower than magnetic disk ones.
Because light beams can be focussed and steered at a distance, it would be preferable to use a movable mirror (or some other beam steering device) away from the scanned surface and to keep the laser and most of the optics stationary. However, the combination of requirements 2 and 3 above, and the physical laws of optical diffraction, would dictate a rather large and heavy mirror. Such a mirror cannot be accelerated quickly and would therefore be incompatible with the fast random-access requirement 1.
There is thus an urgent need for a high resolution optical scanning method and apparatus which provide fast random-access, comparable to or better than that of a non-optical magnetic disk scanning system.

Two-dimensional random access scanner for optical disks


A mobile station subscriber can access data from an informational database and have it forwarded to a desired destination. A database associated with the informational database maintains subscriber profiles. When the informational database receives a data request, it uses a mobile station identifier to acquire subscriber profile information. Using that profile information, the requested data is forwarded to a destination designated in the profile in a SMS format.

The present invention is directed to a method for wireless retrieval of information. More particularly, the invention is directed to a method of providing data from an information database in response to a request from a mobile station on a wireless network.
It is known in the prior art that an information service provider can establish a database which can be accessed by subscribers to obtain particular desired information. Such information might include news, weather, traffic, etc. One configuration for providing such information to a subscriber is illustrated in FIG. 1A. In that configuration a subscriber computer 100 is connected via modem 101 to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) 1 and through that network to a database service provider 102. A subscriber at computer 100 can generate queries or requests that are transmitted to the database service provider which then provides a response back to the subscriber.
While this configuration can be helpful to a subscriber who has a computer and a connection to the PSTN, access to these informational databases or information service providers is otherwise still somewhat limited.
In today""s world the use of wireless communications continues to expand at a rapid pace. More and more people have cellular phones which provide them with mobile communication in an ever expanding wireless environment. However, at present there is no configuration in the wireless environment that facilitates the access of a database of an information service provider via a mobile station.
It is known that with the enhanced functionality available to mobile stations, such as prescribed by a protocol referred to as IS-136, message packets can be sent to a wireless communication devices operating within the protocol. In particular, this type of messaging is referred to as a Short Messaging Service (SMS).
FIG. 1B illustrates a known wireless arrangement for providing short messages in accordance with the IS-136 protocol. In that arrangement a mobile station 110 is in wireless communication with a base station 120. The base station is coupled to a mobile switching center (MSC) 130. A message center (MC) 146 is coupled to the MSC 130. The message center stores messages for mobile units and may use a personal identification number (PIN) that is associated with a given subscriber to correlate messages and subscribers. The message center then forwards the messages to the designated mobile station via MSC 130 and base station 120 in a format known as the Short Message Services (SMS) Format. This format is well known in the art and is described in the IS-136 protocol.
To date, no one has explored how implementation of the Short Messaging Service could enhance the ability of a subscriber to retrieve information.
The present invention provides a system and method for facilitating access to informational databases from a mobile station. In one embodiment, a subscriber uses a mobile station to place a call via the wireless network and a PSTN to an information service provider. An identification of the mobile station, such as a calling number ID is also forwarded to the information service provider. That provider can then use the calling number ID to retrieve a user personal identification number (PIN) or user identification number. The subscriber then, via activation of keys on the keypad of the mobile station, makes selections of the particular pieces of information which are desired. Subsequently, the database information service provider constructs a message containing the desired data and the appropriate PIN or user identification number and forwards that to a message center. The message center then forwards the data from the information service provider in accordance with the Short Message Service format.
As a consequence of this arrangement, a mobile station has the flexibility to request data from a database service provider and have the data sent directly to the mobile station using a messaging technique which is now available.

Method of wireless retrieval of information


A data-processing apparatus 1 that can provide information related to broadcast contents, whether it is receiving broadcast signals or not. In the data-processing apparatus 1, the setting means 13 sets the frequencies of broadcast signals the apparatus 1 can receive in the area where it is used, and allocates the receiving channels to the frequencies set. The information representing the relation between the frequencies and the receiving channels is recorded, as preset information, in the preset-information storing device 14. On the basis of the preset information, the broadcast-signal receiving means 11 receives a broadcast signal of a specific frequency that the user has selected. The broadcast-signal reproducing means 12 reproduces the broadcast signal the means 11 has received. The control means 15 causes the display means 17 to display a list of the broadcast stations that corresponds to the frequencies set in the preset information. When the user selects any one of the broadcast stations, the communications control means 16 acquires the information related to the broadcast contents that the broadcast station selected discloses on a network. The control means 15 makes the display means 17 display the information related to the broadcast contents.

Hitherto known are data-processing apparatuses that receive broadcast signals transmitted from radio stations and television stations. Each data-processing apparatus demodulates the broadcast signals, enabling a user to listen to a program such as music and to review the broadcast contents information that the broadcast station discloses on the Internet. Among the broadcast contents information are: the tile of the music broadcast in the program, the player of the music, the name or number of the compact disc (CD) in which the music is recorded.
The frequencies at which each broadcast station transmits signals are assigned to various receiving areas (in which the same program can be received on the same channel), one frequency to one receiving area. This is because signals transmitted at a specific frequency can be received in a limited area. In other words, the program broadcast at a frequency cannot be received in different areas. This is why any data-processing apparatus designed to receive the broadcast signals has a tuner-preset function (hereinafter referred to as "preset function"). Having this function, the data-processing apparatus can automatically set the receiving channel for the area in which it is located. A user of the data-processing apparatus activates the preset function when he or she starts using the data-processing apparatus or moves into a new receiving area. The receiving channel for the new area is thereby set.
Audio playback apparatuses are known, which are installed in moving bodies such as automobiles and which receive broadcast signals while moving from one receiving area to another. The audio playback apparatus identifies the receiving area on the basis of the position information it acquires from the global positioning system (GPS). Then, it automatically sets the receiving channel assigned to the receiving area. (Such an audio playback apparatus is disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. Laid-Open Publication No. 8-5392, paragraphs [0006] to [0012], FIG. 1.)
The user of the data-processing apparatus may select the channel that the preset function has set. He or she can then listen to the program being presented by the desired broadcast station. At this time, the data-processing apparatus identifies the broadcast station from which it is receiving signals. The apparatus acquires the information about the contents being broadcast by the broadcast station through the Internet. The information about the broadcast contents may be displayed by a display. Then, the user can review the information about the contents broadcast by the broadcast station from which the apparatus is receiving signals, while listening to the program being broadcast.
With the conventional data-processing apparatus, however, the information that the user can review is limited to the information about the contents being broadcast from the broadcast station selected.
Hitherto, the data-processing apparatus acquires the information about the contents being broadcast, exclusively from the broadcast station that the user has selected. To acquire the information about the contents being broadcast, the apparatus detects the frequency of the broadcast signal it is receiving, refers to a table of broadcast stations against the frequency detected, thereby identifying the broadcast station. Since the broadcast station is thus automatically identified, the user need not select the broadcast station. However, the user must select any other broadcast station in order to review the information about the contents that the other station broadcasts. The user also needs to select a broadcast station when the apparatus is not receiving signals broadcast from this station, in order to review the information about the contents that the station broadcasts.
To enable the user to select a broadcast station to review the information about the contents broadcast by the broadcast station, no matter whether the apparatus is receiving or not receiving signals from the broadcast station, the display needs to display a list of all stations covering all areas. This list is so large that it is troublesome for the user much to find the station he or she wants. The more stations the list shows, the longer the time the user spends to find and select the desired station.
With the conventional data-processing apparatus, the user must take much trouble to select the broadcast station he or she wants. Thus, the user cannot review the information about the contents being broadcast from the broadcast stations other than the station that is transmitting the signals the data-processing apparatus is receiving. Therefore, the data-processing apparatus is not so useful.

Information processing device, information processing method, and information processing program


A headlight for vehicles includes a headlight insert with a reflector and a light source inserted in the reflector, a holder mountable on a vehicle part and supporting the headlight insert so that the headlight insert is turnable about a horizontal axis relative to the holder for orientation of a light bundle emitted from the headlight insert, an adjusting screw cooperating with an adjusting element and actuatable to turn the headlight insert about the horizontal axis and a releasable mounting element for mounting the headlight insert at least directly on the holder. The adjusting screw being held on the holder rotatably and axially non-displaceably and the adjusting element being held on the holder axially displaceably and non-rotatably. The headlight insert being mounted on the adjusting element by the mounting element and the headlight unit being turnable back about the horizontal axis from the holder when the mounting element is released so that the light source is accessible from a front side of the holder.

The present invention relates to a headlight for vehicles.
Headlights for vehicles are known in the art. One of such headlights is disclosed in the German patent document DE 19 30 76 B2. This headlight has a headlight insert with a reflector and a light source arranged in it. The headlight insert is supported on a holder which is mounted on a vehicle part. The headlight insert is turnable about the horizontal axis for orientation of the light bundle emitted from it. The headlight also has an adjusting device with an adjusting screw arranged on an upper edge region of the headlight insert and cooperating with an adjusting element which is screwed on it. The adjusting screw is held on the headlight insert rotatably and axially non-displaceably, and the adjusting element forms a part of the holder which is mounted on the vehicle part by a releasable mounting element. The mounting element is formed as a U-shaped leaf spring which is connected by its one leg to the adjusting element and by its another leg to the vehicle part. During mounting of the headlight on the vehicle part, it is inserted on its lower region which forms the horizontal turning axis into the holder, and inserted with its upper edge region to the mounting element on the vehicle part. Then the headlight insert is turned by an actuation of the adjusting screw from the rear side of the headlight about the horizontal axis in a turning region which is sufficient for the orientation of the light bundle and at the same time is limited. It is necessary to provide on the vehicle a sufficient mounting space at the rear side of the headlight for arranging the adjusting screw and for its actuation. The mounting element is arranged freely between the headlight insert and the vehicle and relatively easily deformable, so that the connection of the headlight insert with the vehicle part can be displaced under certain conditions in the event of the occurrence of forces acting on the headlight insert, by a deformation of the mounting element, so that the orientation of the light bundle emitted by the headlight is no longer correct. However, the space which is available for mounting of the headlight in the vehicles is limited. The headlight moreover must be accessible from its rear side for an exchange of the light source. This also requires a great space at the rear side of the headlight, since otherwise the headlight must be completely dismounted which is very expensive.


The invention relates to a disinfection process comprising the feed materials H2O2 and NO2− and a mixing step and a distribution step, wherein the mixing step and the distribution step (during which each point on the surface being disinfected is wetted with a solution of active substance) are implemented during a processing period ZA. An exposure step follows, in which the distributed solution of active substance acts upon the surface in contact with the solution of active substance during an exposure period ZE. In this process, the maximum NO2− concentration during the mixing step is of 300 mM, and the time-integrated reaction rate W is represented during the exposure period ZE by the integral formula (I), where k1 denotes the pH-value-dependent speed constant of the reaction between H2O2 and NO2− and the pH value of the solution of active substance before it contacts the surface being disinfected lies in the range of 2.1≤pH≤6.8. The invention also relates to a device for providing the solution of active substance.

The biocidal effect of the reaction products of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and nitrite (NO2) with the addition of an acid is already known in the literature. It is also known in the literature that a variety of reactive species, including peroxynitrous acid (ONOOH) and its acid residual ion peroxinitrite (ONOO−), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), hydroxyl radicals (OH) and hydroperoxyl radicals (HO2) are formed by this reaction (FIG. 1). Peroxynitrous acid in particular is assumed in the literature to be a strong biocide, but has a very short life span of only 0.8 s, which makes its use as a disinfectant problematic, since a minimum period of action must be observed to kill a sufficiently large number of pathogens.H2O2+NO2−→reaction products  (1)
The reaction rate of the reaction (1) depends on the pH of the solution and has been investigated in various studies (Anbar & Taube, 1954; Damschen & Martin, 1983; E. Halfpenny, 1952; Lee & Lind, 1986; Lukes et al., 2015; Vione et al., 2003). The intermediate steps of the reaction (1) are not known in detail. In (Vione et al., 2003), the reactionsH2O2+H3O+↔H3O2++H2O  (2)NO2−+H3O+↔HNO2+H2O  (3)H3O2++HNO2→ONOOH+H3O+  (4)are proposed as intermediate steps for reaction (1) as a possible formation pathway for ONOOH.
FIG. 1 shows a selection of chemical processes which, according to a chemical model created in the course of the invention, lead to the formation of reactive species as a result of the mixing of H2O2 and NO2−.
But at the same time, also nitrogen oxides (NOx) dissolved in water are produced by the reaction of H2O2 and NO2−. NOx are malodorous and hazardous gases. It is also known that NOx are not highly soluble in liquids and can therefore outgas from liquids. This outgassing is particularly relevant in liquid films with a large surface area. In contrast to the smaller liquid surfaces in suspension experiments, outgassing is a factor to be considered when disinfecting real surfaces and therefore makes it more difficult to use the reaction (1) for disinfection.
It has been described in the literature that mixtures of NO2− and H2O2 are antimicrobially active and can lead to a significant reduction of microorganisms in suspension when exposed for several hours (Jiang & Yuan, 2013) or more than 15 minutes (Heaselgrave, Andrew, & Kilvington, 2010). It is assumed that ONOOH is an important component for the decontamination effect. Other antimicrobially active species, such as NO, NO2, OH, and HO2, are formed by the reaction of H2O2 and NO2−. It is also known that the mixing of NO2 and an acid also leads to a sporicidal effect (Szabo, Adcock, & Rice, 2014). From these studies it is known that an acidification of the suspension for decontamination with NO2− or a mixture of H2O2 and NO2− has a beneficial effect on the disinfection effect.
The work of Heaselgrave, Andrew, & Kilvington, 2010 proposes a combination of H2O2 and NO2− to disinfect contact lenses. In this paper the authors use a disinfecting solution containing 171 mmol H2O2 and 29 mmol NO2− at a pH of 5. The shortest exposure time that the authors state in order to obtain a disinfecting effect is 18 minutes. For surface disinfection and particularly for hygienic hand disinfection, this exposure time would not be satisfactory. A more effective procedure can be achieved trivially by increasing the concentrations of NO2− and H2O2. The present invention, however, is directed towards a method which, with a limited use of NO2−, enables the killing of non-enveloped viruses and bacterial spores in a likewise strongly limited time and in which no long-lasting toxicity is given.
In this context, a method is optimal with regard to the use of resources, which, under given conditions, shows the highest possible efficiency, wherein the efficiency is to be understood as a quotient of the respective effectiveness and the theoretically maximum achievable efficacy.
Lukes et al 2015 also describes the use of hydrogen peroxide and nitrite for disinfection. An experimental setup at a pH of 3.3 with 200 μM H2O2 and 90 μM NO2− is described. Here, too, the necessary exposure time is several hours.
The same applies to WO 2011/134010 A1, which describes the use of acidified NO2− in waste water over a period of one hour to several days.
In Ikawa et al, 2016, a disinfection method is described in which water is treated with plasma and then a bacterial suspension is added. The disinfecting effect is due to the reactive species created by the plasma. According to the study, mainly peroxynitric acid is formed here. The disinfection method of Kitano et al. is also described for surfaces in US 20170172149. It is also based on the disinfecting effect of a mixture of peroxide and nitrite. However, peroxynitric acid is formed as a disinfecting species, which is produced at pH values below 2 (pH=0). Particularly the acidic range (pH=0) is very important for the formation of the disinfecting species, so that it is sometimes necessary to raise the pH value again afterwards (to pH=4.8) in order to be able to disinfect pH-sensitive surfaces. The half-life of the disinfectant species, peroxynitric acid, is stated to be about 10 minutes at room temperature, in other documents (Lammel et al., 1990) about 3 minutes at room temperature. The disinfectant species in the present invention, on the other hand, decompose at room temperature in a much shorter time (half-lives of approx. 1 s), so that it can be excluded that these are the same active substances.
All the above-mentioned studies refer to the reduction of microorganisms in suspension using longer exposure times, particularly longer than 15 minutes. To our knowledge, however, there is no known process in which a disinfecting effect by mixing H2O2 and NO2− already occurs within a few minutes or seconds and in which disinfection does not take place in suspension but on surfaces.
Therefore, the method described in the following aims at the decontamination of surfaces by means of mixtures of NO2− and H2O2 in a very short time, wherein an active solution is formed by mixing NO2− and H2O2, and is applied and/or distributed on a surface in a distribution step or spreads there by diffusion.

Disinfection method using a disinfection agent formed in situ by reaction of H

LEIBNIZ-INSTITUT FÜR PLASMAFORSCHUNG UND TECHNOLOGIE E.V.


An emergency escape device is composed of a cap, a cylindrical main body, a conical movable body, and a rope. The cap is provided with an operation pin and a plurality of movable handles capable of triggering the operation pin so as to actuate the escape device. The main body is provided therein with a conical receiving hole for disposing movably the conical movable body. The rope is wound around the conical movable body such that the rope is in contact with the inner wall of the conical receiving hole of the main body. The moving speed of the escape device is dependent on the extent of the friction between the rope and the inner wall of the conical receiving hole of the main body. The top end of the rope is fastened with a safety hook engageable with a fixed object located in a building. The main body is provided with a plurality of retainers for holding carriers intended for use in carrying escapees.

The high-rise buildings are generally provided with various devices for evacuating the occupants of the high-rise buildings in case of fire. One of such devices is the descending device, which is often arranged at the comers of the buildings. The descending device comprises a rope to carry a person to safety in case of fire. The descending device is mounted at the corner of the building so as to prevent the rope of the device from being severed by the corner of the building when the device is in operation. It is very likely that the fire may break out in an area contiguous to the corner of the building to block the access to the descending device.
In addition, such a conventional emergency escape device as described above is defective in design in that the descending speed of the device can not be adjusted by a user, and that the descending motion can not be halted at will by the user.

Adjustable descending device for emergency escape


A method and apparatus for power augmentation in gas turbine cycles is provided that efficiently provides at least air and preferably both steam and air injection. In an embodiment of the invention, an air injection compressor is driven with steam used for gas turbine injection prior to its injection into the gas turbine. In addition to power output, the thermodynamic efficiency is improved in simple cycle turbine power plants with the disclosed method and apparatus.

The present invention relates to power augmentation in gas turbine cycles and, more particularly, to an innovative method and system for efficiently combining steam and air injection for gas turbine power augmentation.
It is known that water or steam may be injected into a gas turbine at various points within a cycle to increase the mass flow of motive fluid to augment gas turbine power. However, the maximum amount of steam injection is limited. For example, there is a limit to the amount of steam which may be added into the combustion reaction zone in the liner because of degradation of the combustion process. Indeed, typically the total moisture entering the combustor is limited to 3.5-5% by weight of air flow, which limits the power augmentation capability with steam injection alone.
The use of an external motor driven compressor to inject air and increase gas turbine power output has also been proposed as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,934,063 and 6,038,849. However, the motor power driving the air injection compressor becomes a significant auxiliary load in such systems.
A need remains for a method and system whereby gas turbine power output can be increased while eliminating the auxiliary power load of an air injection compressor.
The invention relates to a cycle in which steam is generated with the gas turbine exhaust energy, for example in a once through or drum boiler, at a pressure higher than required for steam injection, and in which this high pressure steam is expanded through a back pressure steam turbine which then drives an air injection compressor. The steam exhausted from the steam turbine can then be mixed with the air injection compressor discharge prior to injection into the combustion system of the gas turbine.
The cycle as proposed above thus eliminates the auxiliary motor load of an auxiliary air injection compressor, resulting in a cycle design with better power output and thermodynamic efficiency compared to a steam injection cycle, air injection cycle with motor driven compressor, or a combination thereof.
Accordingly, the invention is embodied in a gas turbine cycle comprising a gas turbine system including a compressor for compressing air, a combustion system for receiving compressed air from the compressor and a turbine for converting the energy of the combustion mixture into work; a heat recovery system for receiving exhaust gas from the gas turbine; a steam turbine; a first flow path for water and/or steam at elevated pressure including a first heat exchange flow path disposed in heat exchange relation to the exhaust gas flowing through the heat recovery system, thereby to produce superheated steam therein, and a superheated steam flow path for flowing the superheated steam to the steam turbine for converting the energy of the superheated steam into work; an auxiliary compressor operatively coupled to the steam turbine for being driven thereby to compress air to generate injection air at elevated pressure; and a flow path for the injection air, the injection air flow path being operatively coupled to at least one of the gas turbine compressor discharge and the combustion system of the gas turbine for increasing the mass flow of fluid thereinto. In an exemplary embodiment, there is also a flow path for steam exhausted from the steam turbine that is operatively coupled to at least one of the gas turbine compressor discharge and the combustion system of the gas turbine for increasing the mass flow of fluid thereinto.
In one embodiment, the injection air flow path includes a second heat exchange flow path disposed in heat exchange relation to the heat recovery system for heating the injection air.
As a further feature of one embodiment of the invention, the exhaust steam flow path is operatively coupled to the injection air flow path for mixing the exhaust steam with the injection air. Most preferably, the steam and air are mixed downstream of the second heat exchange flow path.
The invention is further embodied in a method of augmenting power generation with a gas turbine that comprises providing a gas turbine system including a compressor for compressing air, a combustion system for receiving compressed air from the compressor and a turbine for converting the energy of the combustion mixture that leaves the combustion system into work; heating at least one of water and steam at elevated pressure with exhaust gas from the gas turbine to produce superheated steam at elevated pressure; flowing said superheated steam to a steam turbine to convert the energy of the superheated steam into work; driving an auxiliary compressor with said steam turbine thereby to compress air to generate injection air at elevated pressure; and flowing said injection air to and injecting said injection air into at least one of the gas turbine compressor discharge and the combustion system of the gas turbine for increasing the mass flow of fluid thereinto.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises flowing steam exhausted from said steam turbine to at least one of the gas turbine compressor discharge and the combustion system of the gas turbine for increasing the mass flow of fluid thereinto. Advantageously, the exhaust steam is mixed with the injection air. Furthermore, the injection air may be heated with exhaust gas from the gas turbine, most preferably before it is mixed with the exhaust steam.

Method and system for gas turbine power augmentation


Cell binding agent-drug conjugates comprising hydrophilic linkers, and methods of using such linkers and conjugates are provided.

Targeted therapies have been the much focused in the pharmaceutical research and development for many years. They are a cornerstone of "precision medicine" (President Barack Obama, State of the Union Address, Jan. 20, 2015, www.whitehouse.gov/precisionmedicine) that uses specific information about a person's tumor to help diagnose, plan treatment, find out how well treatment is working, or make a prognosis (F. S. Collins, New Engl. J. Med. 2015; 372:793-795). So far many different targeted therapies have been approved for use in cancer treatment by US FDA, European EMA and Chinese CFDA. These therapies include hormone therapies, signal transduction inhibitors, gene expression modulator, apoptosis inducer, angiogenesis inhibitor, immunotherapies, and toxin delivery molecules. The hormone therapies act by preventing the body from producing the hormones or by interfering with the action of the hormones, which in turn can slow or stop the growth of hormone-sensitive tumors. Signal transduction inhibitors block a cell responds to signals from its environment, in particular, prevent the ability of cancer cells to multiply quickly and invade other tissues. Gene expression modulator can modify the function of proteins that play a role in controlling gene expression. Apoptosis inducers cause cancer cells to undergo a process of controlled cell death. Angiogenesis inhibitors block the growth of new blood vessels to tumors (a process called tumor angiogenesis). Immunotherapies trigger the immune system to destroy cancer cells. Most immunotherapies are monoclonal antibodies that recognize specific molecules on the surface of cancer cells. Toxin delivery molecules use a transport vehicle/method to deliver a toxin drug specifically to the cancer cells.
The much promising approach that has been studied extensively during the past three decades is the toxin delivery molecules. There are several systemic deliveries of chemotherapeutical drugs for targeted treatment of tumor: Heat-activated targeted drug delivery; Tissue-selective drug delivery for cancer using carrier-mediated transport systems; Tumor-activated prodrug therapy for targeted delivery of chemotherapy; Pressure-induced filtration of drug across vessels to tumor; Promoting selective permeation of the anticancer agent into the tumor; Two-step targeting using a bispecific antibody; Site-specific delivery by an antibody conjugate; And light-activation of macromolecules. Many carriers have been studied in different forms or in special formulations for the target delivery of anticancer drugs, such as Albumin-based drug carriers; Carbohydrate-enhanced chemotherapy; Proteins and peptides based drug carriers; Fatty acids as targeting vectors linked to active drugs; Microsphere carriers; Monoclonal antibodies as carriers; Vitamins, e.g. folates as carriers; Nanoparticle carriers; Liposome carriers, e. g. pegylated liposomes (enclosed in a polyethylene glycol bilayer); Polyethylene glycol (PEG) carriers; Single-chain antigen-binding molecule carriers; Polymeric micelle carriers; Lipoprotein-based drug carriers; Dendrimers; etc. Ideally the delivery vehicle has to be site-specific, non-toxic, biocompatible, non-immunogenic, and biodegradable (Scott, R; et al (2008) Expert Opin. Drug Deli. 5, 459) and avoid recognition by the host's defense mechanisms (Saltzman, W.; (2008). "Drug delivery systems" Access Science. McGraw-Hill Co.). For this criterion, using a monoclonal antibody (mAb) as a delivery vehicle for chemotherapeutical drugs has been much successful. By combining the unique targeting capabilities of monoclonal antibodies with the cancer-killing ability of cytotoxic drugs, the antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) allow sensitive discrimination between healthy and diseased tissue (ADC Review, J. Antibody-drug Conjugates,—Jun. 1, 2013). Beside the successful market approval of ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM) in 2013 and Brentuximab vedotin in 2011 by US FDA, there are over 40 different ADC drugs currently in clinical trials in USA (www.clinicaltrials.gov). But there are still many challenges among ADC development, such as the linker selection for improvement of the therapeutic index, mAbs linked to a careful selection of the targets, a better understanding of the mechanism of action, and the management and understanding of ADC off-target toxicities. It has been known that the linker between the delivery vehicles, in particular, an antibodies and the cell-killing toxins plays a critical role in the development of targeted drug delivery systems, as the nature of the linker significantly affects the potency, selectivity and the pharmacokinetics of the resulting conjugates (Zhao, R. Y. et al (2011) J. Med. Chem. 54, 3606; Acchionea, M. et al (2012) mAbs, 4, 362; Doronina, S. et al, (2006) Bioconjug Chem, 17, 114; Hamann, P. et al. (2005) Bioconjug Chem. 16, 346). So far, four types of linkers had often been used for preparation of cell binding agent-drug conjugates that have entered the clinic: (a) acid-labile linkers, exploiting the acidic endosomal and lysosomal intracellular microenvironment; (b) linkers cleavable by lysosomal proteases; (c) chemically stable thioether linkers that release a lysyl adduct after proteolytic degradation of the antibody inside the cell; and (d) disulfide-containing linkers, which are cleaved upon exposure to an intracellular thiol (Zhao, R. Y. et al, 2011 J. Med. Chem. 36, 5404).
Conjugates of cell-binding agents with drugs or modified chemical compounds via different types of linkers have been described (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,680,338, 5,122,368, 5,141,648, 5,208,020, 5,416,064; 5,475,092, 5,543,390, 5,563,250 5,585,499, 5,880,270, 6,214,345, 6,436,931, 6,372,738, 6,340,701, 6,989,452, 7,129,261, 7,375,078, 7,498,302, 7,507,420, 7,691,962, 7,910,594, 7,968,586, 7,989,434, 7,994,135, 7,999,083, 8,153,768, 8,236,319, WO2014080251, Zhao, R.; et al, (2011) J. Med. Chem. 36, 5404; Doronina, S.; et al, (2006) Bioconjug Chem, 17, 114; Hamann, P.; et al. (2005) Bioconjug Chem. 16, 346). Typically, in these conjugates, the cell-binding agents are first modified with a bifunctional agent such as SPDP (N-succinimidyl 3-(2-pyridyldithio) propionate), SMPDP (N-succinimidyl 4-methyl-4-(2-pyridyldithio) pentanoate), SPDB (N-succinimidyl 4-(2-pyridyldithio) butanoate), or SMCC (succinimidyl-4-(N-maleimidomethyl) cyclohexane-1-carboxylate), to introduce an active disulfide or a maleimido moiety. Reaction with a thiol-containing cytotoxic drug provides a conjugate in which the cell-binding agent, such as a monoclonal antibody, and drug are linked via disulfide bonds or thioether bonds.
However, the use of the cell binding molecule-drug conjugates, such as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), in developing therapies for a wide variety of cancers has been limited both by the availability of specific targeting agents (carriers) as well as the conjugation methodologies which result in the formation of protein aggregates when the amount of the drugs that are conjugated to the carrier (i.e., the drug loading) is increased. Normally the tendency for cytotoxic drug conjugates to aggregate is especially problematic when the conjugation reactions are performed with the hydrophobic linkers. Since higher drug loading increases the inherent potency of the conjugate, it is desirable to have as much drug loaded on the carrier as is consistent with retaining the affinity of the carrier protein. The presence of aggregated protein, which may be nonspecifically toxic and immunogenic, and therefore must be removed for therapeutic applications, makes the scale-up process for the production of these conjugates more difficult and decreases the yield of the products.
We have invented a series of hydrophilic linkers containing phosphinate, sulfonyl, and/or sulfoxide groups which can improve methods for conjugating cytotoxic drugs to a carrier (cell binding molecules) in high a drug loading without aggregation (PCT/IB2012/056700 and PCT/CN2014/072769). Here we describe the extending innovation of the hydrophilic linkers for better conjugation, much conditional drug release, loading with two different kinds of drugs or molecules per a linker, and/or linking with a pair of sites of a cell binding molecule per a linker for specific or better conjugation.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Linkers for conjugation of cell-binding molecules


Disclosed is a secure and adaptive waveforms multiplexing system in advanced-level wireless communication systems (such as 5G and beyond systems).

Considerable progress has been made in wireless communication systems over the past decade. New communication protocols (such as 3G and 4G) have emerged upon developing technology. In recent years, a new communication protocol enabling much faster data transfer than the said communication protocols have emerged. This protocol called as 5G may make persons in bad faith—who take advantage of security vulnerabilities—work easier while it provides a data transfer rate much higher than a conventional rate for users. A secure and fast wireless data transfer system is needed. In addition to this, adaptation problems of sent data have shown up with increase of diversity of electronic devices. It is required to develop an adaptive wireless communication protocol in order that the receiver side can receive the sent data efficiently.
Current wireless data transfer technologies use fixed waveforms at both receiver and transmitter sides. Although OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) method overcomes the problem of inter-symbol interference caused by a frequency selective channel in broad-band wireless communication systems, this method confronts two major problems. Firstly, it results in a static, non-optimal transceiver design, where the Tx/Rx pulses are fixed and do not adapt to the channel variations, leading to error rate performance and efficiency limitation. Moreover, all CP-OFDM based waveforms discard the CP part of the signal at the receiver side before the FFT transform process, resulting in a loss of the leaked signal energy and non-optimal design, whereas in ZP-OFDM, the ZP part of the signal is cut along with the noise and added to the beginning part of the OFDM signal, making its performance like CP-OFDM. In the disclosed invention, the leaked signal energy is collected optimally by extracting, from the channel of the legitimate user, basis function transforms (i.e. waveforms), which are longer than that used at the transmitter by the channel spread length, resulting in a reliability enhancement, which increases with the channel length increase. Secondly, wireless networks being used in public areas are vulnerable to malicious use and they lead to security vulnerability. In the disclosed invention, physical layer security is provided by using channel-based transformation instead of Fourier transform, which is used in most OFDM-based waveforms. Thus, instead of using fixed exponential-basis functions as in OFDM, new basis functions, which are extracted from and adaptive to the channel of the legitimate user are used to modulate and demodulate the data symbols securely. Consequently, security becomes an inherent property of the inventive design, rather being an add-on to system, which may cause complexity and overhead in the system design. When problems of current wireless communication technologies are addressed, a wireless communication system which is secure and can adapt inter-channels is needed.
The Korean patent document no. KR20080085321, an application in the state of the art, discloses a distribution method which can be adapted in orthogonal frequency distribution systems.
The United States patent document no. US2009219803, another application in the state of the art, discloses an orthogonal frequency distributed wireless communication system having frequency selective channel and a channel compensation method.
The United States patent document no. U.S. Pat. No. 9,014,665, discloses a method for communication includes generating one or more data streams for transmission to respective target receivers, and one or more jamming streams.
The United States patent document no. US2010265999, discloses a wireless radio transceiver system configured to transmit and receive a communications signal waveform having a time division multiple access physical layer structure and which includes a sequence of orthogonal frequency division multiple access symbols.
The United States patent document no. US2014153723, discloses system, device and method of physical layer security which is operable to transform user data in accordance with security characteristics and to process the transformed data into a format suitable for the communication channel and further operable to transmit the processed data onto the communication channel.
The United States patent document no. U.S. Pat. No. 8,433,894, discloses a method and an apparatus for performing physical layer security operation.

Secure and adaptive orthogonal division waveforms multiplexing system using channel-based transformation


A tricycle crank structure comprises a wheel axle, a pair of cranks and a pair of pedals. The wheel axle is provided with a pair of non-circular sectional holes at respective ends. The inner wall of each hole is provided with a recess. Each crank has one end pivotally connected to the pedal and another end provided with a connecting section. The connecting section is provided with a tenon to engage with the recess of the hole for quick mounting and dismounting. Each hole may be provided with a pair of through holes, and each crank is provided with an elastic clip for connection.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tricycle crank structure, in particular to a crank structure that is capable of a quick release.
2. Description of the Related Prior Art
A conventional tricycle crank structure has the crank directly mounted to a front wheel with pedals thereon for a toddler to ride. However, before the toddler learns how to ride the pedals, he/she usually pushes the tricycle with his/her feet on the ground to move. During the time, the crank will keep turning the pedals, which may hit the toddler's feet. Thus a design was derived to make the tricycle without cranks and pedals.
After couple weeks, when the toddler is ready to ride the tricycle, the tricycle has to be modified to mount the crank and pedal back to its wheel. This increases the cost of the tricycle and is also complicated.


The present invention provides an aqueous intermediate coating composition comprising:                (A) a resin containing hydroxyl and carboxyl groups with a hydroxyl value of 100 to 200 mg KOH/g and an acid value of 20 to 50 mg KOH/g;        (B) at least one curing agent selected from the group consisting of melamine resins and blocked polyisocyanate compounds; and        (C) flat pigment particles;        the molecular weight distribution of a curable resin component comprising component (A) and component (B) including from 30 to 50% by weight of a component with a molecular weight of less than 1,000, and 10% by weight or less of a component with a molecular weight exceeding 100,000;        the proportion of component (C) being from 2 to 15 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the resin component; and        when the intermediate coating composition is applied to an undercoating film, pre-dried at 100° C. for 30 minutes and then heat-cured at 145° C. for 30 minutes, the film thickness shrinkage percentage of the cured coating film being 20% or less based on the film thickness of the coating film after pre-drying.

In recent years, environmental problems have become an issue of great concern on a global scale. In the automotive industry, environmental protection measures have been actively promoted in manufacturing processes. In automotive manufacturing processes, reducing the amount of released volatile organic compounds (VOC) has become a particularly urgent task.
The outer panels, etc., of automobile bodies are usually coated with a multilayer coating film comprising an undercoating film, an intermediate coating film and a topcoating film to impart corrosion resistance and a beautiful appearance. Of these coats, the undercoating film is formed by applying an aqueous coating composition such as a cationic electrodeposition coating composition, etc. To reduce the amount of VOCs, the use of aqueous intermediate and top coating compositions for forming intermediate and top coating films, respectively, has been actively promoted.
An aqueous intermediate coating composition is required to form a coating film with excellent smoothness, masking slight unevenness on the surface of an undercoating film such as an electrodeposition coating film, etc. An intermediate coating film is usually formed by applying an intermediate coating composition on an undercoating film, and subsequently conducting the steps of pre-drying and curing by heating. The pre-drying step volatilizes and dries out a medium such as water, an organic solvent, etc., contained in a composition. The step of curing by heating first uses heat to melt a deposited coating composition to allow it to flow, followed by a curing reaction to obtain a cured coating film.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-294148 proposes, as an aqueous intermediate coating composition that exhibits good background hiding properties, an aqueous intermediate coating composition comprising a polyester resin containing carboxyl groups and an alkyl-etherified melamine resin whose mononuclear triazine content is 50% by weight or more, and whose degree of polymerization is 2.5 or less. However, since this aqueous intermediate coating composition does not exhibit sufficient heat flow properties for a deposited coating film, the background hiding properties are reduced, resulting in the formation of a coating film with unsatisfactory smoothness.
In order to solve the above-described problems, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-105257 discloses an intermediate coating composition of a similar component composition, in which the hiding properties are improved by reducing the viscosity of the deposited coating composition, and delaying the curing initiation time to obtain better heat flow properties. However, even with this coating composition, satisfactory background hiding properties, and by extension, a smoother surface, cannot be obtained in the coating film.

Aqueous intermediate coating composition and method for forming multilayer coating film

Abstract: The invention also provides a method for forming a multilayer coating film using the aqueous intermediate coating composition.


A MOS semiconductor device includes a substrate having a first region with a Si(110) surface and a second region with a Si(100) surface, a p-channel MOSFET formed in the first region, and an n-channel MOSFET formed in the second region. The p-channel MOSFET including a first silicide layer formed on source/drain regions, and containing N atoms at an areal density of 8.5×1013 to 8.5×1014 cm−2, and F atoms at an areal density of less than 5.0×1012 cm−2. The n-channel MOSFET including a second silicide layer formed on a source/drain regions, and containing F atoms at an areal density of not less than 5.0×1013 cm−2.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a MOS semiconductor device having a p-channel MOSFET (p-MOSFET) and n-channel MOSFET (n-MOSFET) formed on different crystal planes, and a method of fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
To increase the operating speed of a complementary MOSFET (C-MOSFET) having both a p-MOSFET and n-MOSFET formed on a single-crystal Si substrate, the mobilities of carriers flowing through channel portions must be kept high. However, the crystal plane on which the highest carrier (i.e., hole) mobility can be achieved for the p-MOSFET is different from the crystal plane on which the highest carrier (i.e., electron) mobility can be obtained for the n-MOSFET. That is, for a Si substrate, a surface crystal plane which achieves the maximum electron mobility is (100), whereas a surface crystal plane which achieves the maximum hole mobility is (110) (H. Irie et al., IEDM Tech. Dig. pp. 225-228, 2004). Thus, simultaneous optimization of the operation speeds of both types of the MOSFETs is unattainable if one uses the single-crystal Si substrate (which has a unique and definite surface crystal orientation). Accordingly, the high-speed operation of the entire C-MOSFET function must be significantly compromised on the conventional single-crystal Si substrate, no matter which crystal plane the substrate surface is oriented to.
Recently, therefore, to increase the operating speed of MOSFETs of the both polarities in a C-MOSFET circuit, a method called Direct Substrate Bonding (DSB) is proposed, where a thin crystalline Si layer having different crystal orientation from a host crystal Si substrate is directly bonded to the substrate surface (C. Sung et al., IEDM Tech. Dig. pp. 235-238, 2005). Subsequent selective amorphization of specific regions and consequent re-crystallization of the amorphized regions converts the surface orientation of the intended regions to the one identical to the host Si substrate (i.e., the surface orientation different from that of the thin surface crystalline Si layer). In this way, by forming both (100) and (110) surface planes on a complex Si substrate (DSB substrate), the method maximizes the mobilities of MOSFETs of the two polarities simultaneously.
On the other hand, shrinking dimensions of C-MOSFETs requires commensurate shallowing of the junctions in the source/drain regions. Of course, in order to counter the increase of the electrical resistance of the source/drain regions associated with these ever-shallowing source/drain junctions and also to ensure the high-speed device operation, silicidation (i.e., a compound formation between metallic material and silicon) of source/drain regions is an indispensable option for LSI fabrication.
Unfortunately, however, application of the silicide technique to the DSB substrate comes to encounter difficult problems. Since a thin crystalline Si layer having different crystal orientation from the host Si substrate is directly bonded to the substrate, naturally, substantial amounts of crystal defects associated with the lattice mismatching are formed at the shallow bonding plane just below the substrate surface (i.e., close to the pn junctions of the source/drain region). The presence of the crystal defects greatly promotes diffusion of metal atoms (transient enhanced diffusion). Accordingly, metal atoms released from the silicide layer rapidly diffuse and readily reach the pn junctions of the source/drain regions. Because the metal atoms can form gap states in the Si substrate and constitute efficient generation-recombination (GR) centers, the metallic outburst induced by the crystal defects at the shallow bonding plane generates significant leakage current and eventually impair the proper function of the C-MOSFET devices formed on the DSB substrate.
Even an elevated source/drain structure may not provide much help to alleviate this problem. The thickness of a Si layer to be additionally formed by the selective Si growth technique depends on the surface orientation of the substrates. Thus, on the DSB substrate, the thickness comes to change in accordance with the polarity of the MOSFET. Resulting non-uniform and inhomogeneous Si layer necessitates excessive formation of the additional Si layer to secure minimum thickness of the elevated source/drain Si layer. The excessive formation of the additional Si layer leads to an unduly thick layer almost equal to the height of a gate electrode, which is totally intolerable in terms of an unacceptable increase of the capacitive coupling between source/drain regions and the gate electrode. Of course, thinner Si layer formation in a region adjacent to the gate electrode greatly spoils the original intention of leakage suppression by increasing the thickness of the source/drain electrodes.
As described above, the conventional method which increases the operating speed of a C-MOSFET by using a DSB substrate has the problem that the diffusion of metal atoms released from the silicide layer causes significant junction leakage. In addition, even when an elevated source/drain structure is formed in order to solve this problem, uniform and homogeneous film formation is extremely difficult. Therefore, the effective leakage suppression cannot be achieved without forming an intolerably thick Si layers by the selective Si growth.

MOS semiconductor device and method of fabricating the same


There is provided a thermal management apparatus for use with a vehicle comprising: a chassis in thermal contact with one or more first components that require thermal management and one or more second components that require thermal management, wherein the chassis is configured to transfer heat from the one or more first components to the one or more second components.

High altitude long endurance (HALE) unmanned aircraft have been devised. These typically have long wingspans and low drag to improve their ability to operate efficiently for weeks or months at altitudes in excess of 15 km. In some examples, HALE aircraft include one or more payloads comprising electronic components, such as sensors.
Operating at relatively low speeds and at high altitudes, airflow over the aircraft's surfaces is low. Therefore, it is difficult to effectively remove heat generated by electronic components. In some examples, the components have different operating temperature ranges and so it can be difficult to ensure that each of the components are working within their operating temperature range.
It would not be appropriate to fit an air conditioning unit or an arrangement of pumps and/or fans to a vehicle with stringent weight requirements, such as a HALE aircraft or a racing car.
Therefore, there is a need for a lightweight means for managing heat for one or more components.


Methods and computer program products for decomposing and etching a circuit pattern layout are provided. The methods may include decomposing a circuit pattern layout into a first sub-pattern and second sub-pattern, where the decomposing includes: identifying, from the circuit pattern layout, a design line and a design via location associated with the design line; forming a first pattern line for the first sub-pattern corresponding to a first portion of the design line, and a second pattern line for the second sub-pattern corresponding to a second portion of the design line, with the first and second pattern lines overlapping at the design via location in an overlay of the first sub-pattern with the second sub-pattern. The first sub-pattern may be etched in a first circuit structure layer and the second sub-pattern etched in a second circuit structure layer, the etching at least partially forming a via at the design via location.

In fabricating integrated circuits (ICs) or semiconductor devices, the density of components continues to increase to achieve greater functionality and reduced manufacturing costs. Advanced patterning and etching techniques that allow existing tools to fabricate such smaller and more densely packed circuit structure components have been developed, such as double patterning or multiple patterning techniques. Double and multiple patterning techniques generally involve decomposing a circuit pattern layout into two or more sub-patterns that a fabrication tool can accurately form on a circuit structure layer, and may also include patterning connecting vias that connect a circuit structure layer to lower layers of the circuit structure, such as connecting one metallization layer to a lower metallization layer. Double and multiple patterning techniques generally require numerous steps of material layer deposition, masking, patterning, etching, and layer removal, so that each sub-pattern to be formed in a double/multiple patterning process represents significant costs in materials and fabrication time. Improved double and multiple patterning techniques that can reduce such costs and fabrication time thus continue to be developed.

Methods for circuit pattern layout decomposition


A valve unit of an internal combustion engine is accommodated in a space between a cylinder head and a rocker cover. The valve unit comprises a camshaft, a variable valve operating mechanism, a sensor, and a retaining member. The camshaft is provided with a cam for each cylinder. The variable valve operating mechanism receives a displacement of the cam, outputs a valve drive output, and continuously variable-controls the valve drive output in accordance with a rotational displacement of a control shaft provided substantially in parallel with the camshaft. The sensor detects the rotational displacement of the control shaft. The retaining member retains the camshaft, the variable valve operating mechanism, and the sensor. The retaining member expose the sensor to the out side of the rocker cover thereby to fix the camshaft, the variable valve operating mechanism, and the sensor to the cylinder head.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a valve unit of an internal combustion engine in which a valve characteristic of an intake valve or an exhaust valve is continuously controlled.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a valve unit of a multicylinder reciprocating engine (internal combustion engine) mounted on an automobile, in order to reduce fuel consumption by exhaust gas measures or by improving pumping loss, a variable valve in which a characteristic of an intake valve (or an exhaust valve) is continuously and variably controlled is incorporated in a head part of a cylinder head covered with a rocker cover.
In most variable valve units, a structure is used in which a characteristic of an intake valve, e.g., an opening/closing timing or a valve lift amount is continuously varied by a rotational displacement of a control shaft received from a cam. A variable valve unit of this type is disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2005-299536.
In most methods of installing such a variable valve unit, a method is used in which, a cylinder head is mounted on a cylinder block on a main line for assembling engines, and each part of the variable valve unit is attached to each corresponding section of the cylinder head, thereby assembling the entire variable valve unit.
In recent times, in order to increase production efficiency of the main line, on the main line, work in which only camshafts and valves are attached to a cylinder head is performed. On a sub-line separate from the main line, a method is used in which a variable valve unit constituting a part of a cylinder head from a camshaft to a valve is modularized.
That is, only the variable valve unit, which is troublesome in assembly, is modularized on the sub-line, the modularized variable valve unit is returned to the main line, and the variable valve unit is attached to a cylinder head (which is already equipped with camshafts and valves). By doing so, a measure is used in which a working process taking much time is reduced on the main line. Assembling methods of such a type are disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2005-299536 and Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2005-299538.
Incidentally, the variable valve unit is required to continuously control valves of cylinders in accordance with the same valve characteristic so that a set performance can be exhibited in any operational state of an engine. For that purpose, the variable valve unit is required to undergo adjustment work for adjusting a valve drive output in accordance with a cam profile of each cam for each cylinder, thereby eliminating variation between cylinders.
However, in the above adjustment for eliminating variation between cylinders, troublesome and considerably time-consuming fine adjustment work for making relationships between cams and parts of the variable valve unit for receiving the cams with respect to the respective cylinders so that the continuously variable valve characteristic can be appropriately exhibited is required.
Particularly, in the technique disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2005-299536, a contrivance is employed in which an adjustment mechanism is incorporated in the variable valve unit, the adjustment mechanism having a structure in which a position of a part for receiving a cam is made adjustable, thereby facilitating the adjustment work. For this reason, the adjustment work can be performed only after the variable valve unit provided with parts for receiving cams of a camshaft is attached to the cylinder head provided with camshafts. Therefore, on the main line for assembling engines, considerably time-consuming adjustment work (adjustment for eliminating variation between cylinders) is still required, which is a factor for causing stagnation of the main line.
Furthermore, in the adjustment for eliminating variation between cylinders, not only simply making positional relationships between cams and parts for receiving the cams uniform, but also making uniform the valve characteristics on the basis of the continuously variable control shaft is needed. Accordingly, work for attaching a sensor for detecting a rotational displacement of the control shaft, and work for adjusting the sensor is required on the main line. Such work is also a factor causing stagnation of the main line. Particularly, the sensor is an important part for continuously and variably controlling the valve characteristic. Therefore, the attaching of the sensor must be performed in consideration of maintenance because maintenance of the sensor is required in a state where the assembly of the engine is finished or after the engine is completed as a product. Considering these requirements, considerably difficult problems must be solved to eliminate the stagnation of the main line.

Valve unit of internal combustion engine

Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha