Methods for controlling complementary dual displays for use with an electronic device are presented including: sending a video signal to a first display, wherein the first display is a low resolution, high frame rate display; displaying the video signal on the first display; and printing a frame of the video signal to a second display, wherein the second display is a high resolution, low frame rate display, the printing including, loading a portion of a current frame of the video signal into a frame buffer, and displaying the current frame of the video signal to a second display, such that a high resolution static image is displayed on the second display.

Portable electronic devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), cellular phones, portable digital media players, and the like are becoming ubiquitous in modern technological societies. These devices offer specialized functionality in form factors small enough to carry in a pocket or some other small carrying bag. At least one reason why these types of devices are so popular is because display technology, which provides a convenient user interface, has advanced to a point where relatively small form factors are efficient and inexpensive. Indeed, even the most inexpensive portable electronic devices now include high frame rate color displays. However, conventional displays are not without some disadvantages.
Typically, a PDA may include a low resolution, high frequency (LRHF) display for displaying user selected information. One example of an LRHF display is a liquid crystal display (LCD). LCDs have many desirable characteristics including high frame rates which provide for a satisfying visual experience when rapidly switching between screens or when scrolling across a screen. However, high frame rates may, in some examples, sacrifice resolution. As an example, typical LCDs are configured to display images at a resolution of 130 pixels per inch (PPI) or less, which may result in "blocky" looking text and images. In those examples, small print may become difficult or impossible to read. In addition, readability may be affected by adverse ambient lighting conditions. Users of PDAs are familiar with the poor readability of LCDs under bright light or direct sunlight. In some examples, shading the screen or moving to a darker environment may be necessary to read an LCD.
In order to overcome the shortcomings of an LCD, high resolution, low frequency (HRLF) displays may be utilized instead of an LCD. One example of an HRLF display is and electronic paper display (EPD). EPDs utilize a material called electronic ink and are commercially available under the trade name E INK®. EPDs are ideally suited for flexible display applications due to their thin form factor and inherent flexibility. EPDs provide an image stable reflective display technology that uses ultra-low power but is easily read under any lighting condition including direct sunlight. In addition, EPDs provide a high resolution display and unlike LCDs, an image on an EPD looks the same from all viewing angles. Further, EPDs will not distort when touched or flexed, making EPDs the ideal display medium for flexible displays and portable devices. EPDs however, cannot, in many examples, completely replace LCDs. At least one reason is because EPDs typically have a low frame rate. As noted above, conventional LCDs are typically configured with high frame rates, which may serve to enhance a user's viewing experience especially when rapidly scrolling through multiple displays. In addition, using a mouse requires high frame rates so that the mouse pointer appears to have smooth movement across a screen.
It may, therefore, be desirable to provide a complementary display to conventional portable electronic device displays which provides a highly readable display that overcomes harsh ambient light conditions and that does not overly diminish battery life. As such, methods for controlling complementary dual displays are provided herein.

Electronic devices having complementary dual displays


Device for lifting of a paper sheet stack to a loading head of a printing machine where the paper sheets are deposited in a stack and taken off from at its top. The device is provided with a NON-STOP loader with a supporting grillage (6) formed of bars and an auxiliary lifting device for this grillage (6). The supporting grillage (6) is in contact with an extractable rear lifting beam (3) of an auxiliary stack (4). By one of its ends the extractable rear lifting beam (4) of the auxiliary stack (4) is mounted in the lifting device, which is placed on the non-serviced machine side and it is secured against pulling out. The other end of the extractable rear lifting beam (3), auxiliary stack (4), which is on the operator's side of the machine is loose. After use the device against pulling out is released and deposited somewhere outside the machine so that it does not hamper the operator in providing normal loader functions.

In printing machines, the paper sheet stack is lifted gradually according to the sheets taken off by means of a lifting device to a loading head. The loading head takes off individual sheets of paper from the top level of the stack and moves them further, usually to a conveyer belt. The lifting device is usually provided with a board on which a stack of paper sheets is resting. The board is moved upwards by means of brackets that are lifted by a chain. The brackets are guided in guiding bars so as to keep the top surface of the stack at the working level of the loading head. In the past, it was necessary to stop the machine first and then to fill a new stack of paper sheets. Thereby, the printing process was regularly interrupted and a time loss was caused when a new paper sheet stack was being filled. This time loss was further increased in case of a repeated printing machine set-up at the printing process re-start. An improvement was brought by the device called NON-STOP loader. This loader allows refilling of a new paper sheet stack having a limited lower height. It is not necessary to interrupt the printing process of the printing machine and there are no time losses in printing orders of a large number of copies. Use of a NON-STOP loader is generally known and manufacturers of printing machines deliver it as a supplementary device to the loading device for take-off and transport of paper sheets into a printing machine.
Apart from the lifting device of the main paper sheet stack, the NON-STOP loader is usually provided with an auxiliary lifting device having an independent lifting chain, guiding elements and lifting elements. It makes possible to take over the lifting function of the main stack at a sufficient time reserve before the take-off of the last paper sheets from the main sheets stack; e.g. by putting a system of bars making a grillage under the remnant of the main stack. Without interrupting the sheets take-off at the top surface of the auxiliary stack, the board with the main stack can be moved down to the bottom level. The board is refilled again with a new paper sheet stack having a height, which is just below the bottom edge level of the lifting beam of the auxiliary stack of the NON-STOP loader. Thereafter, the board with a new main stack is lifted upwards. When it arrives to the top, under the upper auxiliary stack, it supports the grillage formed by bars from the bottom and takes over the lifting of the auxiliary stack After the supporting bars of the grillage have been removed, the board with the main stack continues in lifting of the whole stack. This stack is now composed of the remnant of the original stack, which is now the auxiliary one, and of a new main one, which is beneath.
The lifting device of the auxiliary stack is formed by a front beam and a rear beam that serve in supporting and lifting the bottom bars of the auxiliary stack. The bars are suspended on chains. Movement of the chains is synchronised for the front and the rear beams of the auxiliary stack. However, it is independent of the main stack lifting device chain movement. The guiding bars of the front beam and of the rear beam of the auxiliary stack are situated in front of the auxiliary stack and behind it, outside the plan of the main stack bearing board. Therefore, the guiding bars have to be fixed to the front side of the machine at the loading head. If the guiding bars are fixed directly on the machine frame on both sides, it is on the operator's side and the other side, then the machine frame reaches behind the verge of the main stack board. The guiding bars can be fixed also by means of a special structure, which is an integral part of the machine in the so equipped machines and reaches again behind the verge of the main stack board in the direction out of the machine. This placing of beams guiding exactly on the operator's side makes a free and barrier-free movement of an operator during paper loading and machine set-up impossible, and this even in spite of the fact that this rear beam of the NON-STOP loader is dismounted from the bearing chains suspensions when not in use. The prolonged machine frame is disadvantageous also because it limits movement of an operator both around the paper stack and around the loading head and above them.

Device for lifting of paper sheet stack to the loading head of a printing machine


A self-service terminal, such as an automated teller machine (12), is described. The terminal (12) has a display (52), and includes means (44,84) for accessing a mobile portal (30), whereby the terminal (12) is operable to retrieve information adapted for viewing on a portable device, and to present at least some of the retrieved information to a user on the display (52). The terminal (12) may also include a printer (56) for providing a user with a printed version of some of the information presented on the display (52). A network of self-service terminals is also described.

The present invention relates to a self-service terminal (SST) and to a network of SSTs. In particular, the invention relates to an automated teller machine (ATM).
SSTs are public access devices that are typically located in publicly accessible areas, and are operated by a large number of different users. One type of SST is an ATM. ATMs are installed in a large number of countries world-wide and provide users with a convenient source of cash.
A number of factors have contributed to mass-market adoption of ATMs. These include:                an intuitive and simple ATM user-interface, typically comprising an encrypting keypad, a display, function display keys (FDKs) for selecting options presented on a screen on the display, and the application flow (that is, information displayed on a screen in response to user input);        ubiquity of ATM networks (over 850,000 ATMs are deployed world-wide), which provides high availability of ATMs;        development of a large and broadly-held card base (over a billion cards in circulation can be used to access ATMs); and        a limited set of transactions, typically comprising cash dispensing, balance inquiry, deposits, and funds transfer.
These features have created what may be called "the 60-second experience" (that is, a user expects that no-one will spend more than one minute at an ATM). Thus, a user associates ATMs with a fast and convenient source of cash.
A disadvantage associated with ATMs, however, is that the technologies and features that provide these benefits have also made it difficult for ATM owners and network operators to introduce new functions and information.
Most ATMs use hierarchical communications protocols that dictate the exact communications path that any given transaction will take, which makes an ATM network and individual ATMs within that network vulnerable to any failure that occurs in that path. In particular, a failure in any "switch" in the network could stop the operation of all the ATMs in the ATM network. A "switch" is the hardware and software that route a transaction entered at an ATM to a host computer system holding account data relating to the person requesting the transaction.
To offset the vulnerability of the ATM network to a single point of failure, all the components in an ATM network are designed to be "fault-tolerant" and the switch software is extensively tested before any new functions are introduced. The costs of introducing any new service or function can be high, because of the extensive testing that has to be performed, and because many of the components used in an ATM network use proprietary technology that is not shared across the computer and communications industries more broadly.
The advent of the Internet is changing both the technical and consumer landscape for ATM owners and network operators. At a technical level, Internet technologies and features such as TCP/IP, the World Wide Web (hereinafter referred to as the 'Web'), and Web servers, give ATM owners and network operators a potential alternative to the conventional ATM hierarchical architecture.
An ATM network based on Internet technologies could be just as secure and reliable as a traditional ATM network, but have lower operating costs and be more amenable to the introduction of new functions. An Internet-based ATM network would also be reliable because it would have no single point of failure. The inherent "peer-to-peer" nature of the Internet means that any ATM or server that failed would not affect the service provided by the remaining servers and ATMs in the network.
Network operating costs would also be lower because the network would be based on standard technologies used throughout the computer and communications industry, rather than on proprietary technologies supported by a small number of controlling firms and sold in relatively small volumes.
An Internet-based ATM network would be amenable to rapid and inexpensive introduction of new functions, because doing so would not adversely affect the reliability of the network or require the use of proprietary technologies or the co-operation of any controlling firms.
At a user level, the advent of the Internet has changed user expectations about the availability of information. The large number of Web users has stimulated "content providers" (where a "content provider" is any person or firm with information that can be distributed over the Web). As a result, users now expect any information that can be rendered in digital format to be made available via the Web, for example, news, weather, maps, photos, email, tickets, money, and such like. When information is digitized and stored or sent via the Internet, it becomes "Internet content".
Increasingly, users also expect their Internet content to be personalized, to reflect their habits and preferences. Some Internet content is delivered to all users identically, subject only to variations imposed by differences in particular Web browsers (that is, two different types of Web browser may render the same information slightly differently on a display). Thus, a generic (un-personalized) Web page would present the same type and format of information to every person who visits that Web page, in a similar way to a billboard that presents the same information to every viewer.
Personalization, however, enables the selection and presentation of Internet content to be varied according to the user. At any given Web site where personalization is used, one user may receive different content, presented differently, than another user. In some cases personalization results from conscious choices made by the user, for content, layout, or both, as in MyYahoo! (trade mark). In other cases personalization results from the content owner's analysis of information collected about the user, so that the content owner (or Web site owner) tailors the user's Web site experience in a manner that the content owner believes most useful. This may be achieved, for example, using a customer relationship management software package.
There has also been an emergence of mobile wireless data services to cater for the needs of users having portable wireless devices, such as cellular telephones. Due to the screen size, keypad, and bandwidth limitations associated with conventional cellular telephones, PC Web content must be formatted specially for these devices. Protocols and technologies (such as wireless application protocol (WAP) and i-Mode) have been developed to enable portable devices to access the PC Web, and to ensure that Internet content is optimally rendered for delivery to handheld devices.
Internet content providers are developing "WAP sites", which are to WAP what PC Web sites are to the PC Web. These WAP sites (or similar sites using protocols other than WAP) have destinations marked with a unique address, so that users enter this address into their microbrowser (installed in the portable device) to connect to the WAP site using wireless transmission and obtain news, stock quotes, entertainment, and other information formatted for portable devices having small displays.
Operators, content providers, and others are developing "mobile portals" such as Yahoo Mobile (trade mark) and Vizzavi (trade mark), that are similar to the well-known portals on the PC Web—AOL (trade mark), Yahoo! (trade mark), Wanadoo (trade mark), and such like. Furthermore, these PC Web portals are positioning themselves to become mobile portals, so that people who use the PC version will be able to bring appropriate aspects of that experience to their wireless device.
ATM owners and network operators are therefore serving a mass market that, due to the PC Web and wireless technologies, is coming to expect convenient access to a large range and quantity of information. The ATM industry, however, has not been very successful in putting these technologies to work in a way that either reduces cost or delivers a new or better experience to users. Wireless technologies have been used in existing ATM networks, to enable ATM deployment on riverboats and other locations where a landline is unavailable or not cost effective to install. This approach gives ATM owners more flexibility in deployment and redeployment, but does not significantly reduce the total cost of operation (indeed, the cost in some cases may be higher) or deliver any new functions.
There are a number of different approaches to provide Web content on ATMs.
One approach is to add a PC Web browser to an ATM and connect the browser to new kinds of content. The conventional ATM network remains intact for delivering traditional content and functions (mainly cash-dispensing), but adds news, weather, stock quotes, and other content from the PC Web, all knit together seamlessly from the user's vantage. This approach provides some new functions (whichever PC Web content the ATM owner chooses to obtain), but is not personalized to the user, does not reduce operating cost for the ATM owner, is typically costly and time-consuming to implement because each network that requires Web-enablement is a custom development, and there is the risk that any changes to the source web sites will adversely affect the new functions on the ATM. For example, if an ATM owner connects to XYZ web site, and incorporates the XYZ content into an ATM screen as a new function, and later XYZ changes its Web site in some manner, the new function at the ATM might no longer work.
All PC Web sites assume the user has a large display, a full alpha-numeric keyboard, a mouse, more or less complete privacy, and as much time to spend browsing as is desired. ATMs, by contrast, present a generally smaller display, a nine-key keypad, typically eight function display keys, no mouse, a semi-public or public environment, and a user expectation for the 60-second experience.
A fundamental problem is that to regard an ATM as though it is a PC alienates users; yet to take content designed for the PC and repackage it for the ATM is time-consuming and expensive.
Yet another approach to provide Web content on an ATM tailors PC Web content to fit the ATM experience but does so as a dedicated proprietary ATM portal to configure ATM content for presentation and navigation on an ATM within an ATM network. A proprietary ATM portal company may make technical and business alliances with a content provider, such as an event ticketing company, and integrate that content provider's PC Web site with the ATM portal company's own proprietary software and server. The ATM portal company may then deliver that PC Web content via an existing ATM network to ATMs whose owners install the ATM portal company's client-level software. This approach ensures that the content will comply with the user-interface of the ATM and may be relatively inexpensive for the ATM owner to deploy, but is not personalized to the user, does not lower the ATM owner's total operating costs, and depends on the ATM portal company's ability to sign alliance agreements with content providers and ATM owners.
There is therefore a need:                to deliver Web content to an ATM at low cost to the ATM owner while preserving the 60-second experience and other aspects of the user interface that ATM users expect;        to provide an ATM with Web content that is personalized for a user so that the Web content emulates the Web content of the user's wireless device; and        to reduce the total cost of operation of ATM networks.


This invention provides a substrate structure capable of controlling the threshold voltage of a MOS transistor independently of the substrate concentration and easily suppressing a short channel effect caused by reducing the channel length. A first nanosilicon film formed from nanosilicon grains having the same grain size is formed on a silicon oxide film on the surface of a silicon substrate. A silicon nitride film is formed on the first nanosilicon film. Then, a second nanosilicon film having an average grain size different from that of the first nanosilicon film is formed. A semiconductor circuit device is formed on a thus manufactured nanosilicon semiconductor substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nanosilicon semiconductor substrate manufacturing method and a semiconductor circuit device using a nanosilicon semiconductor substrate manufactured by the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a semiconductor circuit device is formed on a silicon substrate having a single-crystal structure. A threshold voltage (VT) of a MOS transistor formed on the substrate is changed by, for example, executing ion implantation to forcibly dope the silicon substrate under a gate region with an impurity (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-47782). The "threshold voltage" indicates a gate voltage, and normally, VT at which a drain current starts flowing in a MOS transistor.
The ion implantation also suppresses a short channel effect that takes place when the channel length (gate length) of the MOS transistor decreases (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-216333). The "short channel effect" indicates a degradation phenomenon in a MOS transistor characteristic which occurs when microfabrication increases the electric field applied between the drain and source, extends the space-charge layer (depletion layer) near the drain, and shortens the actual channel length.
A power MOS transistor formed on a silicon substrate sometimes employs a vertical transistor structure which flows a channel current (drain current) in a direction perpendicular to the wafer surface. To do this, an opening is formed at a predetermined position of the silicon substrate by dry etching so that the silicon on the inner surface of the opening serves as a channel.
A conventional MOS transistor formed on a silicon single-crystal substrate adopts a method of doping a channel region with an impurity by ion implantation to control the threshold voltage and prevent the short channel effect caused by reducing the channel length. That is, the MOS transistor uses a method of increasing the impurity concentration in the channel region. For example, without voltage application, a depletion layer width W of a p-n junction formed between a silicon substrate and the source or drain of an n-channel MOS transistor is given by W ∞ (Eg/NB)1/2 here Eg is the bandgap energy, and NB is the substrate concentration. Ion implantation used to suppress the short channel effect increases the substrate concentration NB and decreases the depletion layer width W. The threshold voltage (VT) is given by VT ∞ (NB)1/2. Hence, a desired threshold voltage is obtained by controlling the substrate concentration NB. However, since the impurity amount (dose) of ion implantation has an upper limit, the threshold voltage (VT) cannot be more than a predetermined value. For this reason, the depletion layer width W cannot be less than a predetermined value, either.
The above-described impurity doping in the channel region by ion implantation requires activation of the doping impurity and annealing for recovering damage upon ion implantation. However, when the channel length of the MOS transistor is very short, it is necessary to prevent the source and drain diffusion layers from spreading. For this purpose, the annealing temperature must be low. At a low annealing temperature, the ion-implanted layer cannot sufficiently recover from the damage, resulting in degradation of the transistor such as a decrease in the mobility of electrical charges that move through the channel.
It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-described problem which arises when a conventional silicon MOS transistor is microfabricated.
In the power MOS transistor having the above-described vertical structure, it is very difficult to change the threshold voltage by implanting ions into the vertical channel portion of the vertical transistor. It is therefore impossible to control the threshold voltage by ion implantation. The threshold voltage is determined by the initial impurity concentration of the silicon substrate.
It is therefore another object of the present invention to control the threshold voltage of a power MOS transistor having the above-described vertical structure independently of the substrate concentration.

Nanosilicon semiconductor substrate manufacturing method and semiconductor circuit device using nanosilicon semiconductor substrate manufactured by the method


Techniques for manufacturing miniaturized diaphragm pumps using additive manufacturing techniques, such as polyjet printing, are provided, as are the pumps and systems that result from using such techniques to produce the pumps. The provided pumps include a compression chamber that has a first surface, a second opposed surface, and a conical outer wall that extends between the first surface and the second surface and that has a bowed configuration in which the outer wall has a generally concave shape. A diaphragm is disposed proximate to the compression chamber, and the pump also includes one or more valves that control the flow of fluid between the compression chamber and one more fluid ports. Fluid can be selectively vacuumed into and exhausted out of the compression chambers. Various manufacturing techniques for fabricating the pumps are also provided.

A very exciting research thrust in microtechnology is the development of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) that use a supply of gases at typically precise flow rates and pressure levels. These systems are sometimes referred to as miniaturized analytical instruments, and are used in a variety of fields, including but not limited to mass spectroscopy. Such systems often utilize vacuum pumps to operate them because the pump(s) can create and maintain vacuum at a given flow rate. Some such vacuum pumps include positive displacement pumps, which exploit gas compressibility to create and maintain vacuum. Such pumps use active and/or passive valves to compress pockets of gas at low pressure to higher, e.g., atmospheric, pressure using a variable volume, i.e., compression chamber. Positive displacement pumps are adequate for creating and supporting low vacuum (e.g., down to Torr level), and as roughing pump in combination with other kinds of pumps to reach lower pressure. A diaphragm pump is a kind of positive displacement pump in which changes in volume of the compression chamber are caused by the displacements of a flexible membrane.
As the desire for miniaturized diaphragm pumps, and miniaturized pumps more generally, has increased, efforts to manufacture such MEMS-style pumps have also increased. Many attempts to manufacture miniaturized diaphragm pumps have relied upon microfabrication as the primary process for manufacturing. While miniaturized pumps (diaphragm and otherwise) can be produced using microfabrication, this manufacturing technique results in a number of complications or otherwise undesirable results. For example, pumps formed by microfabrication often result in pumps having a ratio of dead volume to total pump volume that is significant (e.g., twenty percent or greater), which can lead to pressure drops in the pumps that negatively impact their performance (i.e., the vacuum generation capabilities of the pumps are limited). Pumps formed by microfabrication often have undesirable flow rates, which can be due to large hydraulic resistances of the hydraulic network, small compression chambers actuated at a slow pace, and/or significant valve leak rates. Still further, using microfabrication to build miniaturized diaphragm pumps can be expensive and time-consuming, which makes them incompatible with low-cost applications, such as prototyping, miniature roughing pump applications of all sorts including sampling pumps, metering pumps, packaging pumps, pick and place pumps, backing pumps for high vacuum pumps used on thin film deposition and etch equipment, analytical equipment, surface science equipment, and mass spectroscopy equipment.
To the extent other fabrication techniques besides microfabrication have been utilized for microfluidic devices, these techniques often only use a single material to create the device. This is even the case for devices that include monolithically integrated actuators, e.g., valves. The use of a single material for other printing techniques is likely because of the limitations in those fabrication techniques and the difficult nature of trying to utilize multiple materials when fabricating a small device.
Accordingly, there is a need for techniques for fabricating miniaturized pumps, such as miniaturized diaphragm pumps, that allow for low cost, rapid fabrication for the purposes of prototyping and/or more permanent fabrication, while also allowing for the fabrication of devices that include multiple materials. The techniques should result in pumps that provide good pressure values or vacuums and flow rates, while being leak-tight.

Vacuum pumps and methods of manufacturing the same


A lifting device having parallel double screw rods includes a motor, a first transmission and a second transmission. The first transmission includes a screw rod driven by the motor and a telescopic tube assembly threadedly connected to the screw rod and linearly movable relative to the screw rod. The distal end of the telescopic tube assembly is fixedly connected on a connecting piece. The second transmission is provided at one side of the first transmission and parallel thereto. Further, the second transmission includes a sleeve driven by the motor to rotate, a telescopic tube assembly accommodated within the sleeve and axially movable relative to the sleeve, and a screw rod threadedly connected to the telescopic tube assembly and linearly movable relative to the telescopic tube assembly. The distal end of the telescopic tube assembly is connected to the connecting piece. With the above arrangement, each screw rod is interchangeable and the cost can be reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lifting device having parallel double screw rods, and in particular to a lifting device mounted in the electric table or electric bed.
2. Description of Prior Art
Conventionally, a lifting device is provided within a two-stage sliding unit and then connected to an electric table or electric bed, so that the higher or lower position of the electric table or electric bed can be adjusted. Since the total length of the extension of the lifting device does not exceed the sum of two sliding units and the total length of the retraction is not lower than the length of any one longer sliding unit, the extension and retraction stroke that is possibly achieved is limited and thus cannot satisfy the requirement for a larger adjusting space in the existing market. Therefore, there is proposed a multiple-stage (such as three-stage or four-stage) sliding unit. In addition to have a larger amount of extension and a shorter amount of retraction than those of the two-stage sliding unit, the moving speed of extension or retraction of the multiple-stage sliding unit is also faster. Thus, it is an important issue for those skilled in this art to provide a connecting structure having a lifting device and a multiple-stage sliding unit.
In a conventional lifting device having a screw rod, as disclosed in EP1230872, the three-stage lifting device comprises a driving means, a first transmission means and a second transmission means. The first transmission means comprises a cylindrical screw rod and a nut driven by the driving means. The inside and outside of the cylindrical screw rod are provided with inner and outer threads, respectively. The outer thread is threadedly connected to the nut. The second transmission means and the first transmission means are provided in series. The second transmission means has a pillared screw rod threadedly connected with the inner thread of the cylindrical screw rod, so that the cylindrical screw rod can move linearly relative to the nut and the cylindrical screw rod at the same time. Further, with the transmission of the driving means, each sliding unit can slide relative to each other.
However, in practical use, the conventional lifting device of screw rod has still some problems as follows. Since the primary members such as the cylindrical screw rod and the pillared screw rod are manufactured separately, those elements cannot be interchangeable, so that the total cost of the elements cannot be reduced efficiently. Further, the inside and outside of the cylindrical screw rod are provided with threads, the machining process is very complicated and difficult. Also, after the machining process, it is not easy to perform the heat treatment to obtain a good surface hardness. As a result, it is very fast to generate wear between the cylindrical screw rod and the pillared screw rod, causing the increase in the subsequent cost for maintenance and inconvenience in use.
In view of the above, the inventor proposes the present invention to overcome the above problems based on his expert experiences and deliberate researches.

Lifting device having parallel double screw rods


The invention is directed to a composition comprising a) compound (A) being characterized by at least the following features: comprising a backbone unit (U) comprising a tricylclic hydrocarbon moiety, two spacer units (S) each comprising a hydrocarbon chain (G) being directly connected to the backbone unit (U) via an urethane moiety, and at least two reactive groups (M) being connected to the hydrocarbon chain (G) via an ester linkage, with (G) being a non-branched hydrocarbon chain having a length of at least 3 carbon atoms, (G) not comprising ether moieties, and (M) being selected from acroyl and methacroyl, b) initiator (B) and c) optionally filler (C), the composition being a dental composition.

Volume shrinkage of curable compositions during the curing process is known since a long time. Especially, in the dental area, this can cause problems as e.g. a gap might be formed between the cured composition and the wall of the tooth cavity. This might lead to an infection of the remaining tooth structure. Various attempts were undertaken to address this problem.
US 2009/0036565 relates to dental composites based on (meth)acrylates, exhibiting a proportion of TCD (i.e. tricyclo[5.2.1.02,6]decane-3/4,8/9-diyl) derived monomers, wherein the quotient of flexural strength/shrinkage tension is at least 35.
US 2008/0167399 relates to dental composites comprising a crosslinking agent formed from acrylates and a certain TCD urethane structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,601,767 B2 relates to a composite material containing i.a. a monomer component comprising a mixture of Bis-GMA or TCD-di-HEMA or TCD-DiHEA, UDMA and TEDMA.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,827 relates to certain (meth)acrylate acid derivatives of tricyclodecanes comprising a X—Y—O—CO—C(R5)=CH2 unit with X being a divalent bridge member from the group —O—CO—NH— and —N(R6)-CO—NH— and Y denoting a certain divalent bridge member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,828 describes (meth)acrylic acid derivatives of tricyclodecanes which may comprise one or two units having the formula —X—Y—CO—CR5-CH═CH2, with X being a divalent bridge comprising the group —NH—CO—O— or NH—CO—NR6- and Y being a linear or branched hydrocarbon chain which has 2 to 10 carbon atoms.
However, there is still room for improvement especially with regard to the requirements to be fulfilled with respect to modern dental materials.
Thus, there is still a need for an improved dental composition, which can be used inter alia as a restorative or temporary or long term crown and bridge material.

Dental composition, method of producing and use thereof


A system and method for consolidating used nuclear fuel rods using tools operably suspendable in a recess containing the used nuclear fuel rods. The systems and methods safely consolidate the used nuclear fuel rods in containers.

Storage and disposal of spent or used nuclear fuel is an ongoing concern for nuclear utilities. Currently, nuclear utilities are placing used nuclear fuel rods in dry storage canisters for on-site storage. The canister designs have evolved over the years into a small, high-capacity storage canister that minimizes impact on power production, such as reduced loading, lifting, transport activities, while holding more used nuclear fuel rods.
Containers are being designed to permit interim on-site storage, transportation, and ultimate disposal/long-term storage in a repository. However, it will be necessary to break down and consolidate nuclear fuel assemblies. That is, non-fuel bearing components (i.e. structural components) must be separated from used nuclear fuel rods to permit high-density packaging of the fuel rods in the containers. There is a need for a system and method for safely consolidating the used nuclear fuel rods in such containers at a sufficient output rate in order for such consolidating to be viable.

System and method for consolidating used nuclear fuel

National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC


The present invention describes an algorithm for the assignment of channels used by access points (APs) in wireless LANs in a dynamic way in order to achieve the best performance. The assignment of channels is based on a procedure in which an AP is passively listening on the other channels during idle time. The AP is calculating the optimal channel with the least interference and sharing. If the AP experiences too much disturbance, it will decide to switch to the calculated optimal channel.

Wireless local area networks (LANs) have been developed as an enhanced replacement for wired LANs. In a wireless LAN for data-communication a plurality of (mobile) network stations (e.g., personal computers, telecommunication devices, etc.) are present that are capable of wireless communication. As compared to wired LANs, data-communication in a wireless LAN can be more versatile, due to the flexibility of the arrangement of network stations in the area covered by the LAN, and due to the absence of cabling connections.
Wireless LANs are generally implemented according to the standard as defined by the ISO/IEC 8802–11 international standard (IEEE 802.11). IEEE 802.11 describes a standard for wireless LAN systems that will operate in the 2.4–2.5 GHz ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) band. This ISM band is available worldwide and allows unlicensed operation for spread spectrum systems. For both the US and Europe, the 2,400–2,483.5 MHz band has been allocated, while for some other countries, such as Japan, another part of the 2.4–2.5 GHz ISM band has been assigned. The IEEE 802.11 standard focuses on the MAC (medium access control) and PHY (physical layer) protocols for AP based networks and ad-hoc networks.
In AP based wireless networks, the stations within a group or cell can communicate only directly to the AP. This AP forwards messages to the destination station within the same cell or through the wired distribution system to another AP, from which such messages arrive finally at the destination station. In ad-hoc networks, the stations operate on a peer-to-peer level and there is no AP or (wired) distribution system.
The 802.11 standard supports three PHY protocols: DSSS (direct sequence spread spectrum), FHSS (frequency hopping spread spectrum), and infrared with PPM (pulse position modulation). All these three PHYs provide bit rates of 1 and 2 Mbit/s. Furthermore, IEEE 802.11 includes extensions 11a and 11b which allow for additional higher bit rates: Extension 11b provides bit rates 5.5 and 11 Mbit/s as well as the basic DSSS bit rates of 1 and 2 Mbit/s within the same 2.4–2.5 GHz ISM band. Extension 11a provides a high bit rate OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing modulation) PHY standard providing bit rates in the range of 6 to 54 Mbit/s in the 5 GHz band.
The IEEE 802.11 basic MAC protocol allows interoperability between compatible PHYs through the use of the CSMA/CA (carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance) protocol and a random back-off time following a busy medium condition. The IEEE 802.11 CSMA/CA protocol is designed to reduce the collision probability between multiple stations accessing the medium at the same time. Therefore, a defer and random back-off arrangement is used to resolve medium contention conflicts. The defer decision is based on a configuration entity called the defer threshold (R_defer). When a carrier signal level is observed above the R_defer level, a network station holds up a pending transmission request. If the observed level is below the R_defer, a network transmission is allowed to start communicating with its associated access point.
In addition, the IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol defines special functional behaviour for fragmentation of packets, medium reservation via RTS/CTS (request-to-send/clear-to-send) polling interaction and point co-ordination (for time-bounded services).
Moreover, the IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol defines Beacon frames sent at regular intervals by the AP to allow stations to monitor the presence of the AP.
The IEEE 802.11 standard defines two types of MAC mechanisms: PCF (point co-ordination function) which provides contention free frame transfer whereas DCF (distributed co-ordination function) provides contention based frame transfer. Both these MAC mechanisms can operate together. This is done by dividing the time between two beacons into a contention free part (PCF) and a contention part (DCF). The CFP (Contention Free Period) repetition interval is a fixed length which includes both the contention free period as well as contention period. See also FIG. 59 in the IEEE 802.11 standard.
The IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol also gives a set of management frames including Probe Request frames, which are sent by a station and are followed by Probe Response frames sent by an available AP. This protocol allows a station to actively scan for APs operating on other frequency channels and for the APs to show to the stations what parameter settings the APs are using. In 802.11 AP-based wireless LANs the network stations normally associate to an AP that is the best received and the nearest and has a corresponding network name.
Every DSSS AP operates on one channel. The number of channels depends on the regulatory domain in which the wireless LAN is used (e.g. 11 channels in the U.S. in the 2.4 GHz band). This number can be found in ISO/IEC 8802-11, ANSI/IEEE Std 802.11 Edition 1999-00-00. Overlapping cells using different channels can operate simultaneously without interference if the channel distance is at least 3. Non-overlapping cells can always use the same channels simultaneously without interference. Channel assignment can be dynamic or fixed. Dynamic channel assignment is preferable, as the environment itself is dynamic as well.
In [Kamerman, December 1999] dynamic assignment of channels is called dynamic frequency selection (DFS). The aim of the DFS algorithm is to dynamically assign channels in a wireless LAN in such a way that the best performance is achieved. Performance can be expressed in terms of throughput, delay and fairness. An AP with dynamic frequency selection is able to switch its channel in order to obtain a better operating channel. It will usually choose a channel with less interference and channel sharing than that on the current channel. An AP will scan on all channels to determine which channel frequencies are in use and what receive levels and load factors occur in neighbour cells. During a scan of a channel the AP sends a Probe Request frame to evoke a Probe Response from all APs tuned to the same channel and within radio range. The Probe Response packet carries information on load factor from each AP on the channel in question.
By scanning over all channels, an AP assembles a table with an entry for each channel. Each entry contains receive level, the load factor as reported in the Probe Response packet and the measured noise level. The receive level stored in the table is the level at which the Probe Response packet is received from another AP active operating on the channel in question. The said table is used in a DFS algorithm as described in [Kamerman, December 1999].
The strategy of the DFS algorithm described in [Kamerman, December 1999] expects responding APs to send load information in the Probe Responses, which is not standard (IEEE 802.11) compliant. So it is very likely that this load information will never be obtained from APs made by other manufacturers. Therefore it does not solve the problem of unlicensed spectrum. Secondly, waiting for the Probe Requests can take up to 50 ms if the other AP is very busy. This situation is highly undesirable especially if the AP sending the Probe Request is highly loaded. The load at the AP sending the Probe Request is not taken into account while periodic scanning. Thirdly, the strategy as described in [Kamerman, 1999] lacks a strategy about when to change channels. Changing channels is done periodically but this might not be necessary at all. Finally, in the DFS algorithm mentioned above, a fixed scan interval of 1 hour is used. This is a very long time and a lot of changes in circumstances can take place. A microwave oven could come on and go off within that time, causing a decrease in throughput of an AP. On the other hand, if the scanning interval is reduced to a very small value, the AP could be scanning for most of the time causing again a decrease in throughput. The problem lies in the fixed scan interval and the fact that all channels are scanned one after the other.

Wireless LAN with dynamic channel selection


A method for recording data on an optical recording medium includes the step of receiving data to be written and control data. The control data includes status information to indicate whether or not an other sector within a block in which a sector is included is valid. The data is written in an other sector within the block. The method further includes determining whether to perform an error certification process based on the control data, and writing the data based on the result of determining step.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rewritable optical recording medium system, and more particularly, to device and method for recording data on a rewritable optical recording medium.
2. Background of the Invention
In general, there are rewritable compact disc (CD-RW) and rewritable digital versatile disc (DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, DVD+RW) in optical recording mediums, particularly, in optical disks, which are rewritable freely and repetitively. In those rewritable optical disks, information writing/reading thereto/therefrom are made repetitively as the nature of use of the optical disk is. The repetitive write/read of information causes a change of a mixing ratio of a recording layer mixture provided for recording the information from an initial mixing ratio, which leads to lose initial properties of the mixture, that causes an error occurred in writing/reading information, which is called degradation. Areas of the degradation are turned up as defective areas when formatting, or write or read command for the optical disk is carried out. Other than the degradation, defective areas on the rewritable optical disk are caused by scratch on a surface, dusts, and/or from production defects. Therefore, in order to prevent writing/reading data to/from the defective areas formed by the foregoing causes, management of the defective areas is required. To do this, as shown in FIG. 1, DMAs (Defect Management Areas) are provided in lead-in areas and in lead-out areas of the optical recording medium for managing the defective areas on the optical recording medium. And, data areas are managed in zones, each having a user area for use in actual writing of data and a spare area for use in a case of defect occurrence in the user area. Or alternatively, the spare area may be assigned to a portion of the data area, i.e., to top or bottom. In general, there are four DMAs provided in one disk (for example, a DVD-RAM), two in the lead-in area and the other two in the lead-out area. As management of the DMAs are important, the same data is repeatedly written in the four DMAs for protection of data. Each DMA has two blocks having 32 sectors in total, i.e., one block has 16 sectors. A first block of each DMA (called as DDS/PDL block) includes a DDS (Disk Definition Structure) and a PDL (Primary Defect List), and a second block (called as SDL block) of each DMA includes an SDL (Secondary Defect List). The PDL is a primary defective data storage portion and the SDL is a secondary defective data storage portion. In general, the PDL is in storage of entries of defects occurred in a disk fabrication process and all defective sectors identified in formatting, i.e., initializing and re-initializing, of the disk. Each entry has an entry type and a sector number corresponding to a defective sector. On the other hand, the SDL, listed in block units, is in storage of entries of defective areas occurred after the formatting, or defective areas which can not be stored in the PDL during the formatting. Each SDL entry has one area in storage of a sector number of a first sector in a block having a defective sector occurred therein and the other area in storage of a sector number of a first sector in a spare block which will replace the defective block. The defective areas (i.e., defective sectors or defective blocks) in the data area are replaced with good areas, according to a slipping replacement algorithm or linear replacement algorithm.
Referring to FIG. 2A, in the slipping replacement which is applicable to a case when a defective area is listed on the PDL, if the defective sector listed on the PDL is present in the user area on which an actual data is to be written, the defective sector is skipped, and instead, the defective sector is replaced with a good sector next to the defective sector in writing a data. Consequently, the user area on which the data is being written is pushed backward, to occupy the spare area as much as the skipped defective sector, at the end.
And, referring to FIG. 2B, in the linear replacement which is applicable to a case when a defective area is listed on the SDL, if there is a defective block listed on the SDL present in the user area or in the spare area, the defective block is replaced with block units of replacement areas assigned to the spare area in writing the data. In this instance, though a PSN (Physical Sector Number) assigned to the defective block is not changed, an LSN (Logical Sector Number) is transferred to the replacement block, together with the data. This linear replacement is effective in non-realtime writing/reading a data.
FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram showing one example of a related art rewritable optical recording disk recording/reproduction device, provided with an optical disk 301, an optical pickup 302, a RF and servo error generating part 303, a data processing part 304, an interface 305, a servo controller 306, a focus servo driver 307, a tracking servo driver 308, and a microcomputer 309 for controlling the above components. There is a host 100 connected to the interface 305 of the optical disk recording/reproducing medium for exchange of commands and data. In this instance, the host 100, one of PC (Personal Computer), supports the optical disk recording/reproducing device.
A signal track of the foregoing optical disk 301 in FIG. 3 has a land and a groove, wherein data can be recorded/reproduce, not only on the land or in the groove, but also on both of the land and the groove. In this instance, under the control of the servo controller 306, the optical pick up directs an optical beam focused by an objective lens to the signal track of the optical disk 301, and an optical beam reflected at a signal recording surface to an optical detector (not shown) for detecting a focus error and a tracking error after focusing the optical beam to the objective lens, again. The optical detector has a plurality of optical detecting elements, each for providing an electric signal proportional to an amount of light incident thereto to the RF and servo error generating part 303, which combines the electric signals to produce a RF signal required for reproduction of a data, and a tracking error signal TE and a focus error signal FE, both required for servo control, and the like. The RF signal is provided to the data processing part 304 for reproduction, and servo error signals, such as FE and TE, are provided to the servo controller 306. The data processing part 304 encodes a data to be written into a recording pulses required by the optical disk 301 and provides to the optical pickup 302, or restores the RF signal into an original data. The servo controller 306 processes the focus error signal FE to provide a driving signal to the focus servo driver 307, and processes the tracking error signal TE to provide a driving signal to the tracking servo driver 308 for tracking control. The focus servo driver 307 drives a focus actuator in the optical pickup to move the optical pickup in up and down directions, for following up the optical disk as the optical disk turns. The tracking servo driver 308. The tracking servo driver 308 drives a tracking actuator in the optical pickup 302 to move the optical pickup 302 in a radial direction, for correcting a position of the beam, to follow up a required track. In the meantime, the host 100 transfers recording/reproduction command to the microcomputer 309 through the interface 305, data to be written to the data processing part 304, and receives a reproduced data. The microcomputer 309 controls the data processing part 304, the interface 305 and the servo controller 306 in response to the write/read command from the host. That is, provided that a data to be written is occurred, the host 100 transfers the data to be written to the optical disk recording/reproducing device, together with a write command. The data to be written may be an A/V data (for example, a movie and the like) requiring a real time recording, or a PC data (for example, a control data or a document file)requiring no real time recording.
FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a related art write command format. The data to be written of being the PC data or the A/V data may be informed to the optical disk recording/reproducing device either by using a write command, or by means of a separate agreement between the host and the optical disk recording/reproducing device. In this instance, the A/V data is written in block units, and the PC data is written in block units or in sector units, which is designated in the write command. The optical disk recording/reproducing device writes the data through a RMW (Read-Modify-Write) process if the data to be written is the PC data in sector units, without fail. That is, a block in which a sector the PC data is to be written therein is read, to check an error, for writing the data in the sector if there is no error in the sector, or after the error is corrected if the error can be corrected. The error correction is carried out in block units. If there is an error in the block, but impossible to correct, or the block is not read at all, no data is written in the block. That is, the data writing is failed. In this instance, after making an error report to the host 100, the optical disk recording/reproducing device writes the data again through the above process after receiving another area assigned by the host 100, or makes a linear replacement to the spare area. On the other hand, the optical disk recording/reproducing device writes the data with, or without the RMW process, i.e., without verification, if the data to be written is the PC data in block units. In this instance, the optical disk recording/reproducing device writes no data in areas with defects by using the PDL and the SDL, which is information indicating defective optical disk. That is, physical sectors recorded on the PDL is skipped in the writing, and physical blocks recorded on the SDL are replaced with replacement blocks assigned to the spare area in writing. The optical disk recording/reproducing device writes the data in the assigned block directly without the RMW process, if the data to be written is the ANV data. Therefore, the data is written in a defective sector included in the assigned block as it is. That is, in this instance too, though the physical sectors recorded on the PDL are skipped in the writing, the physical blocks registered on the SDL are either skipped or have data written thereon as they are. And, though not registered on the SDL, a block having an error in a PID (Physical Identification) which indicates a sector address is taken as a defective block and registers on the SDL, either to skip the block or have data written thereon.
In the meantime, when it is intended to rewrite a PC data on a particular sector in a block having a data written therein directly without the RMW process, the particular sector is subjected to the RMW process, which increases a probability of occurrence of a writing failure of the PC data, particularly, when the PC data is to be written in a particular sector in a block having an A/V data written thereon. And, an error processing, such as this data writing failure, causes a case when no data is written on a sector a data is required to be written therein without fail.

Method for recording data on optical recording medium


Methods are provided for altering levels of syndecan within a cell. The methods include enhancing syndecan expression via administration of growth factors, preventing suppression of syndecan expression via administration of anti-steroid agents, and altering syndecan biochemistry within the cell. The methods are used to induce or maintain cellular differentiation, and to decrease the growth of malignant cells. Application of the methods to the treatment of patients, including humans, is provided. A syndecan enhancer element, novel proteins that activate the enhancer element, non-human transgenic animals comprising this enhancer element linked to a structural gene, and the use of this enhancer element to regulate the expression of syndecan and other genes are also provided. The enhancer element can also be used to target expression of a gene to wound sites.

This invention is in the field of cancer biology and therapy. Specifically, the invention is directed to methods for altering the differentiated state of a cell by altering syndecan-1 expression. The method allows for the normalization of the growth rate and differentiation state of malignant cells, and is based on the stimulation of syndecan-1 expression in the malignant cells. Re-expression of syndecan-1 in such malignant cells promotes their normal differentiated phenotype and prevents their formation into tumors. This method may also be applied to normal cells to maintain their expression of genes characteristic of the differentiated state, e.g., the method may be used to prevent baldness by maintaining keratin production.
In addition, the invention is directed to transcription regulatory elements associated with the syndecan-1 gene, such as the FGF-inducible Response Element (FiRE) and to the use of these transcription regulatory elements for controlling gene expression. The FiRE can also be used to target expression of a reporter gene to wound sites in vivo.
Cell surface proteoglycans play an important role in the regulation of cell behavior (Ruoslahti et al., Cell 64:867-869 (1991)). Through their covalently bound glycosaminoglycan side chains, such proteoglycans can bind various extracellular effector molecules (Jalkanen, et al., in Receptors for Extracellular Matrix, J. MacDonald and R. Mecham, eds., Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 1-37 (1991)). One central challenge in proteoglycan biology is to understand the biological consequences which result from the binding of different effector molecules to cell surface proteoglycans. It is important to determine the intracellular responses triggered by effector binding and how these responses lead to altered cellular behavior. One way to investigate these matters is to create biological models which are dependent on the expression of specific proteoglycans.
Syndecan-1 is the best characterized cell surface proteoglycan (Saunders et al., J. Cell Biol. 108:1547-1556(1989); Mali et al., J. Biol. Chem. 265:6884-6889 (1990)). It was originally isolated from mouse mammary epithelial (NMuMG) cells as a hybrid proteoglycan containing both heparan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycan side chains (Rapraeger et al., J. Biol. Chem. 260:11046-11052 (1985)). Recent studies have revealed its expression, not only on epithelial cells but also on differentiating fibroblasts of developing tooth (Thesleff et al., Dev. Biol. 129:565-572 (1988); Vainio et al., J. Cell Biol. 108:1945-1964 (1989)), on endothelial cells of sprouting capillaries (Elenius et al., J. Cell Biol. 114:585-596 (1991)) and on the surface of lymphocyte subpopulations (Sanderson et al., Cell Regul. 1:27-35 (1989)). This suggests that syndecan-1 function can vary from one cell type to another. Syndecan belongs to a family of proteoglycans with conserved plasma membrane and cytoplasmic domains but with dissimilar ectodomains (Mali et al., J. Biol. Chem. 265:6884-6889 (1990)). The conserved structure of syndecans suggests that it could participate in signal transduction through the plasma membrane.
Syndecan-1 binds several extracellular effector molecules but does so in a selective manner. For example, syndecan binds interstitial collagens and fibronectin but does not bind vitronectin or laminin (Koda et al., J. Biol. Chem. 260:8156-8162 (1985)); Saunders et al., J. Cell Biol. 106:423-430 (1988); Elenius et al., J. Biol. Chem. 265:17837-17843 (1990)). Moreover, syndecan-1 isolated from tooth mesenchyme has revealed selective binding to tenascin not observed for syndecan from NMuMG cells (Salmivirta et al., J. Biol. Chem. 266:7733-7739 (1991)). This suggests that variations in syndecan glycosylation alters the binding properties of syndecan. Polymorphism of syndecan-1 glycosylation has also been observed in simple and stratified epithelia (Sanderson et al., Proc. Natl. Acad Sci. USA 85:9562-9566 (1988)); but whether these changes also reflect altered ligand recognition by syndecan remains unknown. Syndecan-1 also binds growth factors, such as basic fibroblast growth factor (Kiefer et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87:6985-6989 (1990); Elenius et al., J. Biol. Chem. 267:6435-6441 (1992)).
Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are a family of heparin-binding peptides comprising 9 known members. Basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2 or bFGF) is synthesized by, and acts on various cell types and tissues. In vitro, it is a strong mitogen for cells of mesodermal origin, can modulate cell motility and differentiation, is a potent angiogenic factor, and potentiates neovascularization in vivo (Burgess and Magiac, Ann. Rev. Biochem. 58:575-606 (1989); Mason, Cell 78:547-552 (1994)). Keratinocyte growth factor (FGF-7 or KGF) is produced solely by cells of mesodermal origin. FGF-7 is proliferative for various epithelial cells (Basilico and Moscatelli, Adv. Cancer Res. 59:115-65 (1992); Rubin et al., Cell Biol. Int. 19:399-411 (1995)), and is also an important mediator of hair follicle growth and differentiation (Danilenko et al., Am. J. Pathol. 147:145-54 (1995); Guo et al., Genes and Develop. 10:165-75 (1996)). Both FGF-2 and FGF-7 are involved in wound healing, where they act as both autocrinic and paracrinic factors. In wounded skin FGF-2 is found in fibroblasts and endothelial cells. This growth factor stimulates proliferation of most cell types involved in wound healing, e.g., keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and vascular and capillary endothelial cells (Bennett et al., Am. J. Surg. 165:728-737 (1993)). FGF-7, which is synthesized only by fibroblasts and is induced during wound healing (Wemer et al., Science 266:819-22 (1994); Werner et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 89:6898-6900 (1992), and acts as a paracrinic factor on keratinocytes, inducing their proliferation and migration (Bennett et al., supra). FGF-7 is important for normal wound reepithelialization (Werner et al. (1994), supra). However, recent data with FGF-7 knockout mice indicate that KGF may not be required for normal wound healing (Guo et al., Genes and Develop. 10:165-175 (1996).
Growth factors are involved in the initiation, control, and termination processes of wound healing in an autocrinic and paracrinic manner. FGF-2 is produced by fibroblasts and is also found in association with extracellular matrix and basement membranes where it can be released by proteolytic activity. FGF-2 enhances the accumulation and proliferation of fibroblasts, keratinocytes, endothelial cells, and macrophages. In animal models it induces neovascularization, cell migration, and granulation tissue formation. It has been shown to accelerate wound healing in several different situations, e.g., incisions, burns, and diabetic wounds (See Bennett and Schulz, Am. J. Surg. 165: 728-737 (1993)).
Several AP-1 regulated genes are expressed during wound healing. Fos is rapidly activated on the wound healing edge (Martin and Nobes, Mech. Dev. 38: 209-215 (1992)). Jun may also be activated during wounding or wounding induced tumorigenesis (Marshall et al., Virology 188(1): 373-379 (1992). Cancerous cells are also known to be able to activate the AP-1 complex, and c-fos is required for malignant tumor progression (Saez et al., Cell 82:721-732 (1995)).
Yayon and coworkers (Yayon et al., Cell 64:841-848 (1991)) and Rapraeger and coworkers (Rapraeger et al., Science 252:1705-1708 (1991)) have shown that heparin-like molecules are required for the binding of FGF-2 to its high affinity receptor, indicating that syndecan-like molecules can also modulate the growth factor response. It has been observed that heparin is required for oligomerization of FGF-1 molecules leading to FGFR dimerization or further oligomerization and further signaling (Spivak-Kroizman et al., Cell 79:1015-24 (1994); Ornitz et al., Mol. Cell Biol. 12:240-47 (1992)). Several mechanisms, for both negative and positive regulation for FGF action by proteoglycans have been postulated (Schlessinger et al., Cell 83:357-360 (1995)). Syndecan-1 (Saunders et al., J. Cell Biol. 107:1199-1205 (1989)), can simultaneously bind FGF-2 and extracellular matrix molecules and this complex is able to promote DNA synthesis in 3T3 cells (Salmivirta et al., J. Biol. Chem. 267:17606-17610 (1992)).
However, it has also been reported that different heparin sequences can either activate or inhibit FGF-2 function (Guimond et al., J. Biol. Chem. 268:23906-23914 (1993)) and that the composition and length of syndecan side chains vary in a cell and tissue dependent manner (Sanderson and Bemfield, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:9562-9566 (1989)); Rapraeger, J. Cell Biol. 109:2509-2518 (1989)); Salmivirta et al., J. Biol. Chem. 267:17606-17610 (1991)). Negative regulation of FGF action by syndecan-1 has also been reported (Mali et al., J. Biol. Chem. 268:24251-24258 (1993)); Aviezer et al., J. Biol. Chem. 269:114-121 (1994)), which may be due to the glycosaminoglycan side chain modification or different stochiometric ratios of FGFR and its co-receptor.
FGF-2 induces the transcription of number of genes encoding transcription factors, components of cytoskeleton, and ribosomal components (Burgess and Magiac, supra). For various growth factors and cytokines the inducible downtream transcriptional mechanisms are well characterized.
Several growth factors can elicit immediate early responses after receptor activation. For example, epidermal growth factor (EGF) and platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) induce, via the ras/ERK pathway, the ternary complex factor. The ternary complex factor acts together with the serum response factor to activate the serum response element (SRE) (Hill and Treisman, EMBO J. 14:5037-5047 (1995)). The cAMP response element (CRE) bound by CRE binding protein (CREB) homodimer, or as heterodimers in association with members of the ATF family, are also under the influence of growth factors, e.g., EGF, PDGF, and FGF-2. EGF and PDGF, with various cytokines, are also able to induce activation of signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT), which are activated by Janus Kinases (JAKs) and act on the sis-inducible element (SIE) or the interferon stimulated response element (IRSE) (Hill and Treisman, Cell 80:199-211 (1995); Karin, Cur. Op. Cell Biol. 6:415-424 (1994)). Transforming growth factor alpha (TGFxcex1) can activate nFkB.
FGF-2 and -7 both signal by binding to different cell surface tyrosine kinase receptors. However, no clear response element has been previously described for FGF and the signal receiving transcription factors remain to be discovered. FGF-2 can also be localized to the nucleus, where it is supposed to activate transcription (Nakiniski et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci USA 89:5216-5220 (1992); Bouche et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84:6770-6774 (1987)) as does FGF-1 (Wiedloche et al., Cell 76:1039-1051 (1994)). Accumulating evidence indicates that FGFs activate the MEF-MAP kinase pathway downstream from FGFR activation, via ras and raf (Umbhauser et al., Nature 376:58-62 (1995)). However, other signal transduction pathways also might contribute to FGF signaling, including a phospholipid-C driven pathway (Mason, Cell 78:547-552 (1994)).
Synergistic action of FGF-2 and cAMP by c-Jun and ATF-3 transcription factors at CRE has also been reported (Tan et al., Mol. Cell Biol. 14:7546-7556 (1994)). However, FGF was a poor activator of transcription without cAMP, indicating that besides FGF this type of FGF induced gene activation requires other extracellular signaling molecules. The SER of a-actin promoter, but not the fos promoter, has been proposed to be another target for FGF-2 induced gene activation in a cell culture model of cardiac myocytes (Parker et al., J. Biol. Chem. 267: 3343-3350 (1992)). For FGF induced negative regulation, one established gene element is the E-box motif, which binds myogenic basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors known to be inhibited by FGF-2. Proteins of the MyoD family: MyoD, myogenin, Myf5, and MRF, bind E-box elements in regulatory regions of various myogenic genes and are responsible for the terminal differentiation of myoblasts to myocytes (Edmondson and Olson, J. Biol. Chem. 268:755-758 (1993)).
The FGF-2 signaling effect seems to be dependent on its molecular weight. Different forms of FGF-2 are created in cells by alternative splicing. The low molecular weight form can induce cell migration, but does not have the mitogenic or proliferative potential of the high molecular forms (Bikfalvi et al., J. Cell Biol. 129:233-243 (1995)). The different molecular forms thus seem to use different signaling pathways.
The fact that cell surface proteoglycans can bind both growth factors and matrix components suggests that proteoglycans play a role in regulating, both temporally (timing of expression) and spatially (precise localization), growth promotion by immobilizing effector molecules to the vicinity of cell-matrix interactions. This is supported by the pattern of syndecan-1 expression during development which follows morphogenetic, rather than histological, patterns (Thesleff et al., Dev. Biol. 129:565-572 (1988); Vainio et al., J. Cell Biol. 108:1945-1954(1989); and Vainio et al., Dev. Biol. 134:382-391 (1989)), and by the observation that syndecan expression is localized to sites of active proliferation (Elenius et al., J. Cell Biol. 114:585-596 (1991) and Vainio et al., Dev. Biol. 147:322-333 (1991)).
In simple epithelium, syndecan-1 is polarized to baso-lateral surfaces where it co-localizes with actin rich cytofilaments (Rapraeger et al., J. Cell Biol. 103:3683-2696 (1986)). Upon rounding, syndecan-1 is shed from the cell surface by proteolytic cleavage of the core protein at the cell surface, a process which separates the matrix binding ectodomain from the membrane domain (Jalkanen et al., J. Cell Biol. 105:3087-3096 (1987)). In this way, syndecan-1 has been proposed to be involved in the maintenance of epithelial morphology. When mouse mammary tumor cells (S115) are induced to change their morphology from an epithelial to a more fibroblastic or fusiform phenotype, syndecan-1 expression is lost (Leppxc3xa4 et al., Cell Regul. 2:1-11 (1991)). This loss has been found to occur in other cell types undergoing transformation (Inki et al., Am. J. Pathol. 139:1333-1340 (1991); Inki et al., Lab. Invest. 66:314-323 (1992)) suggesting that the loss of syndecan-1 expression is a common characteristic of malignant transformation.
The present invention is directed to a method for altering the differentiated state of a host cell by altering its expression of syndecan-1. The invention is also directed to a method for inducing and regulating syndecan-1 expression, especially in cells which exhibit a malignant phenotype, regardless of the origin of transformation.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to a treatment for suppressing tumor growth in a patient in need of such treatment, by the administration of a composition comprised of efficacious amounts of one or more agents that stimulate syndecan-1 synthesis in the tumor cells of such patient.
The invention is also directed to the DNA encoding enhancer and suppressor elements of the syndecan-1 gene and to the use of these elements for regulating heterologous gene expression. The vectors and host cells which incorporate DNA sequences containing the syndecan enhancer or suppressor are also encompassed by the invention. Methods of expressing a standard or heterologous gene comprising activating the syndecan enhancer element are also provided.
In addition, the invention is directed to a method for enhancing syndecan-1 expression in a host cell by activating the enhancer element of the syndecan-1 gene.
The invention is also directed to a method for enhancing syndecan-1 expression in malignant cells, by preventing suppression of syndecan gene transcription.
The invention is also directed to a biochemical method for the inactivation of suppressors of syndecan-1 gene expression in malignant cells.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to a method for stimulating cellular differentiation by enhancing syndecan-l expression in both malignant and normal cells.
The invention is also directed to a method for stimulating cellular proliferation and differentiation, thus promoting tissue regeneration, especially in processes such as wound healing, by enhancing syndecan-1 expression.
This invention also relates to an enhancer element of the syndecan-1 gene having about 280 nucleotides. In addition, this invention relates to nuclear proteins that bind to the syndecan enhancer element causing enhancer activation, to the binding sites for these nuclear proteins on the syndecan enhancer, and to a complex of these nuclear proteins bound to the syndecan enhancer element. In particular embodiments of this invention, this nuclear protein is FIN-1, AP-1, or USF. In more specific embodiments, one or more of these proteins are in an oligomeric form, such as a dimer.
The invention further relates to a method of targeting expression of a gene product to cutaneous wounds using a construct comprising the syndecan enhancer gene operably linked to the gene of interest. Non-human transgenic animals comprising the syndecan enhancer operably linked to the gene of interest inserted into this germ line are also provided.
In another aspect, this invention relates to a method of activating or enhancing syndecan-1 expression in malignant cells by activating the syndecan enhancer element. In specific embodiments of this invention, the enhancer element is activated by FIN-1.
Further features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from a detailed consideration of the following description of the subject invention when taken together with the accompanying drawings.

Syndecan enhancer element and syndecan stimulation of cellular differentiation


A scanning laser microscope is provided which includes at least one laser light source for emitting laser light, a plurality of modulating sections for adjusting the laser light emitted from each laser light source, a storage section for storing delay time information on an input/output of each modulating section, and signal production section for producing a driving signal to drive at least one modulating section selected from the plurality of modulating sections based on the delay time information of the at least one selected modulating section. The delay time information includes information on a response time from a start of driving to development of a function of each modulating section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scanning laser microscope.
2. Description of the Related Art
Scanning laser microscopes are capable of optically slicing samples such as living cells and tissues without damaging the samples, and obtaining a plurality of two-dimensional tomogram images to obtain three-dimensional images from the plurality of two-dimensional tomogram images.
In the scanning laser microscope which observes a living sample, a fluorescent reagent or fluorescent protein introduced into the sample is irradiated with laser light, and fluorescence is measured from the sample and formed into an image. In this case, when a plurality of types of fluorescent reagents or fluorescent proteins are introduced into the sample, it is possible to observe a plurality of chemical substances in the cell. To excite these types of fluorescent substances, excitation laser light having a plurality of wavelengths is necessary.
On the other hand, a color degradation phenomenon occurs in which a fluorescent amount from the fluorescent substance decreases with elapse of an irradiation time of the excitation light. To solve the problem, a method has heretofore been proposed in which unnecessary excitation light is interrupted to prevent the color degradation as much as possible in the scanning laser microscope.
For example, in an optical path, a shutter or an optical filter is mechanically inserted, or an acoustooptic device (AOTF, AOD, AOM, etc.) described in a document (AKIS P. GOUTZOULIS and DENNIS R. PAPE, DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF ACOUSTO-OPTIC DEVICES, Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1994, pp. 246-259) and shown in FIG. 9, EOM or the like is inserted. Accordingly, in accordance with an irradiation position, an intensity of laser light is adjusted, and the wavelength is selected in a set procedure, and the laser light having a desired wavelength and intensity can be applied only to a desired portion. As shown in FIG. 9, the acoustooptic device is capable of producing sound waves therein by an electric signal from the outside to make a refractive index change in the device. The refractive index change makes it possible that transmittance of incident light is controlled.
When data is obtained in a time series by use of a plurality of laser wavelengths, a plurality of modulating sections need to be used in performing the control. However, in this case, when a plurality of modulating sections are driven with a single synchronous signal, a difference is made in a response time from when the electric signal is supplied to the acoustooptic device until the function (change of the refractive index) is developed, that is, a delay time by a difference of the type of the acoustooptic device. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, an actual laser irradiation position 82 shifts from a laser irradiation position 81 to be irradiated by a user in each modulating section.


Embodiments of the present invention provide for execution of a protocol in a multi-processor network device. In one embodiment, a hash function is applied to one or more fields of the data packet header to determine a unique index. A hash table is then queried, whereby data indicating one or more threads corresponding to said unique index is extracted. An available thread of execution, which has previously handled packet in the same receive stream, may thus be selected from a pool of threads. The selected thread of execution is then dispatched to provide for receive processing of the present data packet.

Referring to FIG. 1, a diagram of a network device, in accordance with the conventional art, is shown. As depicted in FIG. 1, the network device 110 (e.g. computer, workstation, server, or the like) comprises one or more interface modules 120, one or more protocol stacks 130, and one or more applications 140. The interface module 120 provides for receipt of data packets 150 transmitted on a communication channel 160. The protocol stack 130 provides for processing of the data packets 150 destined for the application 140. The application 140 (e.g., database systems, text editors, games, and the like) provides users with various functions.
Each data packet 150 is comprised of a header 170 and a payload 180. The interface module 120 acquires each data packet 150 and stores it in a buffer. The interface module 120 generates an interrupt upon acquiring a data packet 150. An operating system of the network device 110 catches the interrupt and spins off a thread of execution to handle the interrupt. The thread of execution provides for execution of the protocol stack 130. The interrupt therefore causes the protocol stack 130 to receive the data packet and provide for routing and flow control. The thread of execution then delivers the payload 180 of the data packet 150 to the destination application 140 in accordance with the processing of the header 170.
The protocol stack 130 provides a network communication protocol, such as the transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) suite, or the like. Such network communication protocols typically provide a flow control layer. The flow control layer keeps track of data packets to assure reliable delivery to an intended destination application. It includes explicit and acknowledged connection initiation and termination, reliable in-order unduplicated delivery of data, and out of band indication of urgent data. The network communication protocol also typically provides an addressing and routing layer. The addressing and routing layer includes host-to-host addressing and routing of data packets, data packet fragmentation, and re-assembly. The network communication protocol also typically provides a network layer. The network layer provides access to and transmission of data across the communication channel 160.
The one or more applications and each instance of the protocol stack may be provided for by a plurality of processors. Each processor may be utilized to provide for receipt of any given packet. However, data locality of information and instructions utilized for receive processing is not maintained when any given packet may be processed by any given processor. As a result, a high degree of cache trashing occurs. Alternatively, the receive processing may be provided for by a given processor. However, dedicated processing of data packets by a given processor may cause one processor to suffer from a high degree of utilization, while other processors are idle.
Thus, there is a continued need for a network communication method providing for efficient processor utilization and reduced cache trashing in a multi-processor network device. The method should also be capable of providing for increased network throughput.


The object of the present invention is to provide a hard coating composition for a metal substrate, including a film-forming resin component which contains a urethane (meth)acrylate obtained by reacting a polyisocyanate compound, a polyol, and a (meth)acrylate monomer having a hydroxyl group, wherein the polyisocyanate compound is hydrogenated xylylene diisocyanate and/or dicyclohexylmethane diisocyanate.

As building materials, vehicle members, etc., those formed of a metal substrate such as aluminum are widely used. On the surface of such materials, a hard coat is frequently formed in order to impart abrasion resistance and rust resistance.
As examples of such a coating composition used therein, heat-curing types of coating compositions disclosed by Patent Documents 1 to 3 can be mentioned in general.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-265858.
Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-192980.
Patent Document 3: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-292881.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Hard coating composition for metal substrate


A cutting device includes a body and a cutting blade assembly. The cutting blade assembly includes a cutting blade having a cutting edge and is reciprocally secured to the body. Movement of the cutting blade assembly from a retracted position to an engaged position causes the cutting edge to engage a line, such as a monofilament trimmer line, to cut the line to a desired length. Tension may be created in the line prior to cutting by positioning the line in a non-linear trough in the body.

Monofilament lines are well known in the art and include strings made from a single fiber. Exemplary monofilament lines include vegetation trimmer or cutting lines, pulling lines, fishing lines and utility lines. The monofilament lines may be made from single component filaments or from multi-component filaments, and may be produced by a variety of methods such as, for example, molding, extruding and/or spinning. Many monofilament lines are made from polymeric materials. Typically, monofilament lines are produced and packaged in bulk form. Thus, a continuous line of single or multi-component filament is wound or otherwise positioned into a container or package designed to hold the monofilament line. Therefore, cutting the line is the responsibility of the user when it is necessary to cut the line to length for the intended use.
Packaging of the monofilament lines may be provided in a wide variety of forms, but typically involves winding the line onto a spool or within a container. The spool or container may be adapted to maintain the line in an organized, wound configuration and to allow for easy removal of a portion of the line from the package. A common type of container used in packaging monofilament lines is known as a "donut package" due to the shape of the wound monofilament line within the package. The package and the line packaged within it may be in the form of a donut.
Conventional string trimmers or weed cutting apparatuses utilized a portion of a monofilament line wound around a spool in the head of the trimmer. This length is typically 15 to 50 feet. However, string trimmers and weed cutting devices have increasingly employed fixed line heads in which a relatively short length of line, typically between 6 to 18 inches, are inserted into the heads of the trimmers. In response, manufacturers of monofilament trimmer line have begun producing some trimmer line prepackaged in relatively short lengths suitable for use in newer string trimmers and weed cutting devices. Production of monofilament line in these short lengths increases both the cost and complexity of the manufacturing process, which results in higher costs to consumers. However, where monofilament trimmer line is provided in longer lengths, a user must use an auxiliary cutting device to create the necessary shorter lengths for use in some newer string trimmers. This reliance on auxiliary cutting devices is also not ideal as many common cutting devices (e.g., scissors, utility blades) are not particularly suited for cutting monofilament lines, especially those having larger diameters.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,908,953 discloses a cutting tool attached to a package for wound line. The package and cutting tool are intended to alleviate the need for prepackaged monofilament line of relatively short lengths as well as reliance upon auxiliary cutting devices not particularly suited for cutting the trimmer line. However, the disclosed cutting tool suffers from its own disadvantages. The actuating mechanism of the cutting tool results in a downward force acting on the trimmer line packaging. This downward force is likely to cause damage to the packaging containing the remaining trimmer line. In addition, the plastics used to form conventional packaging do not always provide a stable surface for application of the force necessary to cut the line, depending on the thickness of the plastic.
Thus, there is a need for an improved cutting device for monofilament trimmer line that alleviates one or more of the deficiencies of the prior art.


Methods and systems for providing. In an example, the computing device may be configured to receive vehicle information including identification information of a vehicle and/or information describing condition of the vehicle. The computing device also may be configured to match the vehicle information to content of a vehicle repair database so as to identify repair information relating to the vehicle. The computing device further may be configured to receive geographic information identifying a geographic location relating to the vehicle. The computing device also may be configured to provide, to a communication network, a subset of the identified repair information based on the geographic information. The service advisor may be able to access the subset of the identified repair information on a display device coupled to the computing device.

Modern vehicles include electronic control modules and diagnostic systems for monitoring the status of associated vehicle equipment. Information conveyed by the diagnostic systems has become more standardized, assisting in the evaluation of vehicle conditions and identifying appropriate repair procedures.
A diagnostic tool may be connected to a Data Link Connector (DLC) to retrieve diagnostic trouble code(s) or DTC associated with a malfunction or problem that the vehicle is experiencing. A technician can use the retrieved DTC to look up information relating to the malfunction. The technician may look up the information in a repair manual or database storing information associated with the DTC to identify the malfunction or a possible component failure corresponding to the DTC.

Methods and systems for providing vehicle repair information


Disclosed herein are novel carborane hydroxamic acid matrix metalloproteinase (“MMP”) inhibitors and agents bearing borane-containing moieties and methods for their use in treating or preventing a disease, such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. In particular, disclosed herein are compounds of Formula (I) and pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof: Formula (I) wherein the substituents are as described.

Matrix metalloproteinases ("MMPs") are a family of zinc-dependent endopeptidases that are involved in the remodeling and degradation of all components of the extracellular matrix ("ECM"). Birkedal-Hansen et. al., Critical Reviews in Oral Biology and Medicine 4(2):197-250 (1993). MMP enzymes play a key role in normal development, morphogenesis, bone remodeling, wound healing, and angiogenesis. However, inappropriately high MMP activity has been implicated in a number of disease states, such as tumor growth and metastasis, and in the degradation of articular cartilage in arthritis. Martel-Pelletier et. al Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology 15(5):805-829 (2001). In particular, MMPs are known to be overexpressed in tumors and articular cartilage in patients suffering from rheumatoid and osteoarthritis enzymes.
MMP inhibitors have been extensively explored to halt disease progression resulting from exaggerated matrix remodeling mediated by MMPs. Fisher et al., Cancer and Metastasis Reviews, 25(1):115 (2006); Becker et al., Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 53:6653-6680 (2010); Becker et al., J. Med. Chem. 48:6713-6730 (2005). These inhibitors also have been used for the imaging of cancer cells because they can bind tightly to MMP receptors. Freskos et al., Bioorg Med Chem Lett 23:5566-5570 (2013). However, known MMP inhibitors only halt angiogenesis, growth, and metastasis, and must be dosed longer term for inhibitory efficacy. Furthermore, MMP inhibitors still do not directly kill cancer cells, and can lead to the Muscular Skeletal Syndrome (MSS) with longer-term dosing. Fingletonn, Semin Cell Dev Biol. 19(1):61-68 (2008).
Carboranes are boron cage molecules that have found use in the treatment of diseases, including various cancers and rheumatoid arthritis most notably through boron neutron capture therapy ("BCNT") and boron neutron capture synovectomy ("BNCS"), respectively. See Valliant et. al., Coord. Chem. Rev 232:173-230 (2002). BNCT is a useful binary cancer treatment, in which a drug containing 10B atoms is selectively transported into tumor cells and then irradiated with thermal neutrons. A 10B nucleus adsorbs a neutron to form an excited 11B nucleus, which undergoes decay via fission to emit an α-particle (4He2+) as well as a 7Li3+ ion, both with high kinetic energy. These highly charged particles can damage the surrounding tissue. Because these particles have a range of only about one cell diameter (5-9 μm), the radiation damage is limited to the cell in which they arise, thus avoiding damage to the surrounding tissue. Gao et al., Pure Appl.Chem. 87:123-134 (2015). Therefore, BNCT is a potentially promising and precise treatment for cancers.
Current clinically used BNCT drugs (e.g., boronophenylalanine, sodium borocaptate and sodium decahydrodecaborate), however, are deficient in that they are neither tumor-specific nor accumulate homogeneously in tumor cells. Ramachandran Future Med. Chem. 5(6):705-714 (2013). Additional BNCT drugs under development are summarized in Barth et al., Radiation Oncology 7:146 (2012). These compounds, like the BNCT drugs in clinical investigations, suffer from a low density of boron atoms (i.e., low neutron-capture cross section), an inability to localize at a tumor site, a lack of bioavailability, poor metabolic stability, and/or an inability to measure drug concentration in a tumor.
Accordingly, there is a need for new therapeutics having superior specificity and selectivity to treat cancer and chronic inflammation, such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis caused by abnormally high MMP activity.

Carborane hydroxamic acid matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors and agents for boron neutron capture therapy