In one embodiment, an integrated circuit antenna array includes: a substrate, a plurality of first antennas adjacent a first side of the substrate; and an RF network adjacent a second side of the substrate, the RF feed network coupling to a distributed plurality of amplifiers integrated with the substrate and to a distributed plurality of phase-shifters also integrated with the substrate, each phase shifter being associated with a receptor to receive a beam-forming command, wherein each receptor is configured to receive the beam-forming command through either a near-field coupling or a far-field coupling.

U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 11/182,344 and 11/141,283 disclose an integrated beamforming array that may be denoted as a "wafer scale antenna module" in that the antennas, beamforming electronics such as phase-shifters or amplitude-shifters, and feed network may all be integrated with a wafer scale semiconductor substrate. In these wafer scale antenna modules, an RF signal to be transmitted is driven into the feed network, which may be a co-planar waveguide (CPW) network or any other suitable transmission network. Distributed amplifiers within the feed network provide high gain to the transmitted RF signal, which may then be phase-shifted and/or amplitude-shifted such that a resulting RF signal propagated from the antennas coupled to the feed network is steered in a desired direction. Alternatively, the distributed amplifiers within the transmission network may form a distributed oscillator as discussed in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/536,625, filed Sep. 28, 2006, the contents of which are incorporated by reference. A received RF signal from the antennas arrayed on the wafer scale semiconductor substrate may be similarly phase-shifted and/or amplitude-shifted as desired and driven using distributed amplification through the same feed network used for transmission or a separate receive network. Because the resulting beam steering is electronically controlled yet formed using conventional semiconductor processes, such wafer scale antenna modules offer low cost design yet achieve state of the art gain and beam steering performance. Moreover, because the attached IF or baseband processing stage sees a single RF port (for either transmission or reception), only a single analog-to-digital converter is necessary. In contrast, conventional beamforming systems perform their beam steering in the IF or baseband domain which thus requires multiple channels be maintained in these domains. For example, suppose the antenna array is controlled in quadrants such that a first quadrant is to have a first phase, a second quadrant to have a second phase, and so on. A baseband or IF beam steering system must then have four channels supported for these four phases, thereby requiring four analog-to-digital converters. At high data rates, such systems must then perform massively parallel analog-to-digital conversion, which is expensive or simply unachievable at high data rates.
A similar wafer scale approach is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,982,670, the contents of which are incorporated by reference. In this approach, the semiconductor substrate includes a plurality of integrated antenna circuits. Each integrated antenna circuit includes an oscillator coupled to one or more antennas. Thus, in such a wafer scale approach there is no need for the complication of a feed network with distributed amplification because the RF signal is being generated locally within each integrated antenna circuit. However, the integrated antenna circuits need to be synchronized to each other. This synchronization may occur through reception at each integrated antenna circuit of a synchronizing signal from an integrated waveguide such as disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/536,625, filed Sep. 28, 2006, the contents of which are incorporated by reference.
Regardless of whether a wafer scale antenna module is formed using an RF feed network with distributed amplification or an array of integrated antenna circuits having oscillators, the beamforming commands need to be distributed to the phase-shifters and/or amplitude shifters that are integrated into the semiconductor substrate. These commands may be distributed across the substrate using photolithography to form appropriate conductive traces, but such traces complicate the circuit layout and may interfere electromagnetically with other signal distributions. To avoid such complications, a command distribution scheme that may be denoted as a "coupling array mesh" was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,870,670 that may electromagnetically couple through, for example, the far field. However, a far field coupling requires an antenna array to receive the beamforming commands (and also synchronization signals in the case of an integrated antenna circuit WSAM embodiment).
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for improved wafer scale antenna module beamforming command distribution schemes.

Control of an integrated beamforming array using near-field-coupled or far-field-coupled commands


A sample tube is washed by inserting a suction tube from an open end of the sample tube having a closed end, and circulating washing liquid supplied from an upper side of the closed end of the sample tube over an exterior and in an interior of the sample tube to suck and discharge the liquid through the suction tube. The sample tube is washed by providing a holder for holding the sample tube in a manner that the open end of the sample tube having a closed end, the suction tube of which upper end side is inserted to the sample tube and of which lower end side is supported by the holder, and a washing liquid receiving tube arranged around the sample tube, and by circulating the washing liquid supplied from the upper side of the closed portion of the sample tube over the exterior and in the interior of the sample tube to suck and discharge the liquid through the suction tube. On the other hand, the sample tube is dried by circulating air over the exterior and in the interior of the sample tube after the washing.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for washing a test tube for washing and drying a sample tube (glass test tube), such as an NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) tube used in a laboratory (research institute) of colleges, hospitals, and various plants.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a prior art, blowing-type washing is performed, wherein an interior of a test tube is washed by blowing washing liquid from a nozzle into the interior of a sample tube (test tube) standing upside down. In another prior art, an interior of a glass tube is washed by supplying washing liquid from a nozzle into the interior of the tube formed in unit length. (For example, patent reference 1: Publication Number H5-208177)

Method for washing a sample tube and its washing apparatus


An identification, tracking and recovery system includes a central database for electronically storing unique and relevant information of a plurality of gemstones to assist with the recovery of lost or stolen gemstones. The information of each gemstone is stored as a gemstone entry in the database which includes the characteristics of the gemstone, a unique identification number inscribed into a surface of the gemstone by a laser, and personal information of the owner of the gemstone. A user interface enables a user to communicate with a processor which stores and retrieves the relevant information from the database in accordance with an algorithm. The user interface may be located remotely from the database which is located at a central headquarters. The processor is capable of cross-referencing the information of the stored gemstone entry to enable retrieval of a gemstone entry based on any known information, such as the diamond identification number and information pertaining to owner of the gemstone. In addition, the user may flag the gemstone entry of a lost or stolen gemstone to easily identify the status of the ownership of the gemstone and also enable the system. The flagged gemstone entries may then be retrieved to generate a report that lists all of the lost or stolen gemstones stored in the database.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tracking and recovery system and more particularly to a gemstone identification, tracking and recovery system including a database for storing the characteristics of a gemstone, a unique identification number and personal information of the owner of the gemstone to enable a user to cross-reference this information, and identify and track the ownership of the gemstone or provide information about the gemstone to aid with the recovery of the gemstone should it become stolen or lost.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the case of precious gemstones such as diamonds, there exists a need for a simple, reliable method by which the identity of a gemstone can be determined to enable the gemstone to be recovered if lost or stolen. The most common problem with recovering a gemstone is accurately identifying the gemstone. Even if the gemstone is known to be stolen or lost, the finder of the gemstone must be able to accurately identify its owner. This problem is of particular concern to insurance companies, in that gemstones are often insured and it has been difficult to identify the stolen gemstone even if it is recovered. Insurance companies in the past have also been subject to fraudulent claims. Furthermore, police often request jewelers to identify gemstones to help the police resolve cases and typically the jeweler can be of no assistance because there is no easy way to accurately identify the gemstone.
A system that assists with the identification, tracking and recovery of the gemstone is would significantly reduce the trade of stolen gemstones and therefore, would be of great interest to insurance companies, police departments, jewelers and purchasers which all have an interest in recovering stolen or lost gemstones. Such a system would also greatly increase consumer confidence in the trade of gemstones. Despite various methods of identifying and tracking gemstones, the recovery of gemstones still remains a problem.
A number of methods of identifying a gemstone are currently available. One such method, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,124,935 to Wallner et al., includes a system for providing an optical fingerprint of a gemstone whereby a laser beam is focused onto a gemstone and its optical response is recorded onto a recording medium, preferably a photographic medium. This system provides a unique fingerprint of the gemstone which is reproducible and provides sufficient proof to identify a gemstone. However, the device that generates the optical fingerprint is very complex and expensive to manufacture. For this system to be effective, it would require an optical device to be placed at every location that need to identify a gemstone, such as police stations and jewelry stores. Even if a jeweler had this optical device, it would be the jeweler's responsibility to record all optical fingerprints before the gemstones left the store in order for the system to be effective. This system is not, however, practical considering the cost of each device and extra personnel, time and training needed to operate the optical devices. In the alternative the gemstone may be delivered to a facility for optical scanning. Even after generating an optical fingerprint, an expert is still required to analyze the optical fingerprint with others on file to identify the owner of the gemstone. Either way this method is not conducive to easily identifying and matching a missing gemstone to its owner.
Another method of identifying gemstones is the use of X-ray topography to generate a unique fingerprint of the gemstone. This method is also very complex and expensive to manufacture, and requires an expert to evaluate and compare the fingerprint to other recorded fingerprints to verify the identity of the gemstone.
Another method of identifying a gemstone is the etching of a number or other indicia onto a surface of the gemstone using a laser. The number is inscribed small enough so as to not detract from the quality or brilliance of the gemstone, but can be easily "read" with a common magnifying tool used by jewelers, police, gemstone purchasers and insurance companies.
Once the gemstone can be uniquely identifiable, a holder of a lost or stolen gem requires a method of determining the owner of the identified gemstone. U.S. Pat. No. 5,124,935 to Wallner et al. shows a gemstone identifying and tracking system that stores optical fingerprints of stolen gemstones in a central database. Gemstones that are reported to the central database as being stolen or lost are then compared electronically using software to match the fingerprint of the stolen or lost gemstone to its records of fingerprints of gemstones reported as stolen or lost. The software then narrows the possible matches of the stolen gemstone to a small number of fingerprints. An expert then analyzes the results and provides an opinion of which fingerprint is an identical match. The need of an expert to positively identify the gemstone as stolen or lost and the need for an optical device at each jeweler store and police station renders this system impractical for wide spread use.

Gemstons identification tracking and recovery system


A training apparatus and method of use for guiding and improving the forehand, backhand and other strokes of a table tennis player by forcing the hand travel in the correct trajectory to strike the ball. The apparatus includes a waist and a chest belt, or a wide belt, to position a vertical rigid rod support to which the training guide is mounted. The training guide includes a plate that can be adjusted in 6 degrees of freedom via a universal joint. There are two universal joints between the plate and the vertical rod support strapped to the player's torso. The position, orientation and the angle of the plate can be adjusted by the player via the two universal joints as required. The training apparatus improves the paddle stroke trajectory by guiding the hand such that the ball is returned to the opposing player bouncing off the table.

Training devices have been developed for sports such as tennis and golf to improve the player's game and technique. But none of these devices can be effectively applied to the game of table tennis. In table tennis the trajectory of the arm motion and the paddle angle determines the ability of the player to properly return the ball on to the table within a very short period of time. Since the ball is usually advancing toward the player with a very high rotational and/or translational velocity, improper paddle stroke angle and arm motion can have the spinning ball bounce off in an undesired direction, off the table tennis board.
Therefore there is a need for a training apparatus that can properly guide a table tennis player to the proper arm motion and paddle stroke angle such that the fast/slow approaching spinning ball can be effectively returned every time within the confines of the table tennis board.


An image capturing device includes an image capturing unit, a fitting member, and a cover member. The image capturing unit captures a plurality of unit images having parallax by using a lens array having a plurality of unit lenses, and a prism. The fitting member is provided with a mounting portion upon which said prism is mounted. The cover member is put onto the fitting member from its side which faces the mounting portion. The mounting portion has a shape which, in the state in which the prism is mounted, grips two contiguous faces of the prism. And the cover member has a pair of claws which, when the cover member is put onto the fitting member, squeeze two contiguous faces of the prism which is mounted to the mounting portion.

The present invention relates to an image capturing device which captures a plurality of unit images having parallax by using prisms.
In the prior art, there is a per se known type of image capturing device in which a plurality of unit images having parallax are captured by using a lens array which has a plurality of unit lenses and at least a prism. With this type of image capturing device, a light beam which is incident upon the prism and is refracted or reflected, and a light beam which is not incident upon the prism, are each incident upon a corresponding one of the unit lenses. Each of the unit lenses projects a light beam upon a corresponding region of a light reception element. And this image capturing device detects the parallax between the unit images which are obtained from the light beams. Then, the image capturing device generates an image signal corresponding to a panorama image by combining together the compound images on the basis of the parallax which has been detected.
With this type of image capturing device, a prism fitting construction in which the prism is pressed into a lens barrel to which the lens is fitted is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2007-041121. With this prism fitting construction, a trigger lever is provided within the lens barrel, and a pressure projection is provided at the tip end portion of this trigger lever. And, when the prism is pressed into the lens barrel, this pressure projection presses against one face of the prism, and receiving surfaces provided within the lens barrel press against both of its other two faces. By doing this, the prism is fixed within the lens barrel.
However, with this prism fitting construction disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2007-041121, it is necessary to provide the trigger lever and the pressure projection within the lens barrel. Due to this, the manufacturing cost of the image capturing device is increased, because the number of components is increased and the manufacturing process becomes complicated.
Thus the object of the present invention is to provide an image capturing device which can prevent increase of the cost of manufacture.


A pair of paint rollers are respectively rotatably mounted to a pair of parallel, spaced apart axle members that form a part of a rigid frame. A rigid clip rod at the center of the frame is releasably engaged by a clip member that is pivotally secured to a handle-receiving socket member at the leading end of an elongate handle which is held by a painter when paint is applied to a preselected surface. The pivotal attachment allows pivotal movement between the clip member and hence the frame and the longitudinal axis of the elongate handle in a first plane. The clip rod is cylindrical and is captured by the clip member when the clip member is in a position of repose, but the cylindrical surface allows the frame member to pivot with respect to the clip member and hence the elongate handle in a second plane that is normal to the first plane. A lock member is slideably mounted on the leading end of the socket member. It does not interfere with the pivotal movement in the first plane when in a retracted position, but it disable the pivotal movement in the first plane when in an extended position.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to devices that apply paint to preselected surfaces. More particularly, it relates to a paint roller construction having two parallel rollers that are mounted to an elongate handle for pivotal movement in two planes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Paint rollers are more efficient at delivering paint to a paintable surface than paint brushes, but conventional paint rollers are subject to an important drawback that renders them unsuitable for use in some applications.
Specifically, corners and certain hard-to-reach surfaces such as areas around doors, windows, fireplaces, and the like are often difficult to paint when using a conventional roller. Moreover, structures such as cathedral ceilings or other surfaces that include unusual angles are also difficult to paint with conventional rollers. As a result, many painters use rollers for large surfaces lacking obstructions and angles but revert to brushes when it is necessary to apply paint in a corner, on surfaces that meet at an angle other than ninety degrees, or around an obstruction. This is unacceptable, because it requires a painter to take both rollers and brushes to a job. Moreover, the use of brushes slows down the job and such use should therefor be minimized.
What is needed, then, is a paint roller construction that can be precisely maneuvered into corners or other angled surfaces and around windows and other obstructions.
However, in view of the art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in this art how the needed improvements could be provided.

Paint roller construction having two degrees of freedom


A method of manufacturing a field effect transistor with a dual-spacer structure. A substrate having a first device region and a second device region is provided. The first device region comprises a first gate formed over the substrate and the second device region comprises a second gate formed over the substrate. A first dielectric layer is formed over the substrate. A second dielectric layer is formed on the first dielectric layer. A portion of the second dielectric layer is removed to expose a portion of the first dielectric layer in the second device region. A portion of the remaining second dielectric layer is removed to form a first spacer on the second dielectric layer on the sidewall of the first gate. A portion of the first dielectric layer is removed to form a second spacer on the sidewall of the second gate. The first spacer and the remaining second dielectric layer between the first spacer and the first gate together form a third spacer.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a field effect transistor (FET). More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a FET with a dual-spacer structure.
2. Description of Related Art
When the integration of the device is increased, the energy consumption of the NMOS becomes a main problem in producing and designing integrated circuit by using NMOS as a basic element. Therefore, the COMS with a low-energy-consumption advantage is used to replace NMOS and to be a main element in manufacturing the devices.
However, because different type dopants with different diffusion rate, such as the diffusion rate of the P-type dopants is faster than that of the N-type dopants, the dopant diffusion in each source/drain region is uneven at the annual step in the formation of the source/drain region in the coexist P-type FET and N-type FET. Since the dopant diffusion of each source/drain region result is unequal, the short channel effect happens in the P-type FET when the source/drain region in N-type FET is not yet formed.
In order to improve the unequal diffusion rate mentioned above, different types of dopants with different dosage are used in the implantation process to adjust the diffusion rate of different types of dopants. Nevertheless, it is difficult to accurately control this diffusion-rate adjustment so that the shape of the source/drain region cannot be well controlled.
The invention provides a method of manufacturing a field effect transistor with a dual-spacer structure. A substrate having a first device region and a second device region is provided. The first device region comprises a first gate formed over the substrate and the second device region comprises a second gate formed over the substrate. A first dielectric layer is formed over the substrate. A second dielectric layer is formed on the first dielectric layer. A portion of the second dielectric layer is removed to expose a portion of the first dielectric layer in the second device region. A portion of the remaining second dielectric layer is removed to form a first spacer on the second dielectric layer on the sidewall of the first gate. A portion of the first dielectric layer is removed to form a second spacer on the sidewall of the second gate. The first spacer and the remaining second dielectric layer between the first spacer and the first gate together form a third spacer.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

Method for manufacturing dual-spacer structure


An epoxy resin composition can be used for forming a film having excellent water-repellency on a substrate surface. The epoxy resin composition contains (a) an epoxy resin having at least two alicyclic epoxy groups, at least one perfluoroalkyl group having 6 to 12 carbon atoms, and at least one alkylsiloxane group and (b) a cationic polymerization catalyst. The alicyclic epoxy groups and the perfluoroalkyl group are present in branched chains of the epoxy resin, and the alkylsiloxane group is present in the main chain of the epoxy resin.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a curing epoxy resin composition which permits water repellent and ink-repellent surface treatment. Particularly, the present invention relates to an epoxy resin composition capable of forming a film pattern by ultraviolet irradiation, a surface treatment method using the resin composition, a liquid-jet recording head subjected to ink-repellent treatment with the epoxy resin composition, and a liquid-jet recording apparatus using the liquid-jet recording head.
2. Description of the Related Art
In various fields, a method of applying a water-repellent coating to a member required to have water resistance and ink repellency to obtain these properties is generally known, and resin materials and coating materials used for the method have been developed. For example, films of fluoropolyolefin and a fluororesin coating material having perfluoro groups are thermally and chemically stable, excellent in weather resistance, water resistance, chemical resistance, solvent resistance, etc., and further excellent in release property, abrasion resistance and water repellency; such films are widely used for various applications.
Meanwhile, a liquid-jet recording head adapted to discharge liquid droplets such as ink droplets through discharge nozzles and cause them to adhere to a recording medium such as a sheet of paper so as to record or form an image thereon has only recently been required to be able to discharge smaller liquid droplets, be driven with a higher driving frequency, and have a larger number of nozzles in order to improve recording properties. Therefore, a treatment for maintaining the nozzle surface in a clear state becomes more important. However, it is difficult to selectively treat the surface of a nozzle or precisely treat the surface in the form of a pattern using any existing material which avoids ink adhesion. This is because first, a material mainly comprising a compound having a photosensitive functional group must be used as a surface treatment material for treating the surface in the form of a pattern so that the material has characteristics like photoresist suitable for pattern treatment; however, it is very difficult to design the molecule of such a compound so that the compound has water repellency and ink repellency at the same time.
Second, if the nozzle surface can be treated with an existing fluorocarbon material, a film structure must be designed so as to maintain the properties of the surface for a long period of time. A material permitting such a pattern surface treatment having the above-described properties is extremely valuable for surface treatment of an ink-jet print head, as described below.
Namely, in an ink-jet recording system in which an ink is ejected as droplets, the discharge orifice (nozzle) is preferably designed to have the following characteristics:
(1) The residual ink of ink columns having turned into droplets is immediately held back into the nozzle.
(2) The ink droplets adhering to the nozzle surface can be readily wiped off by a cleaning operation.
(3) The nozzle surface has excellent scratch resistance against the cleaning operation and paper transfer.
(4) In repeated formation of droplets and ink refilling, a meniscus is formed on the nozzle surface (refer to reference numeral 23 in FIG. 1).
(5) The discharge direction is normal to the meniscus.
(6) Even with an ink having low surface tension or under low-negative pressure, the interfacial tension, i.e., the contact angle, is sufficient to form the meniscus.
The above-noted characteristics are required for the discharge orifice because if a recording liquid such as an ink adheres to the periphery of the orifice, the discharge (flying) direction of the ink droplets discharged from the orifice deviates, making it impossible to print highly accurately and directly degrade the printing performance. In order to prevent adhesion of the ink to the vicinity of the discharge orifice, which causes a deviation in the discharge direction, a method is known in which the surface of the discharge orifice is subjected to water-repellent treatment.
For example, a method of ink-repellent treatment with a polymer having fluoroacetyl groups and silazane groups is known as prior art relating to the above-described surface treatment (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-39944). On the other hand, as a result of the increasing demand for sophisticated printers utilizing liquid-jet recording systems for recording images, the recording liquid to be used for such recording systems is also required to show sophisticated characteristics. More often, the recording liquid to be used for such recording systems is chemically regulated to be basic with a pH value of 7 to 11 in order to further improve dissolution stability and dispersion stability of contents, and thus a structural material highly resistant against alkali and hydrolysis must be used for a printer member.
However, when a recording liquid containing a polar organic solvent or a recording liquid showing such a high pH value is used, a water-repellent agent applied for treating the surface of the discharge orifice in order to satisfy the above requirements can damage the film forming property of the agent and the tight adhesion of the agent to the surface of the discharge orifice as it comes into contact with the solvent of the recording liquid, particularly the polar organic solvent of the recording liquid. Then, the coat of the water-repellent agent can be peeled off to decrease the water repellency of the surface.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Composition of perfluoroalkyl group-containing alkylsiloxy cycloaliphatic epoxy resin


A Chalaropsis lysozyme (Lysozyme Ch) is provided which has a corrected amino acid sequence and which can be utilized to prepare recombinant proteins having higher activity than those proteins using the incorrect sequence. Methods are also provided to reduce immunogenicity or increase half-life of the lysozyme. The lysozyme Ch of the present invention will be extremely useful in killing bacteria, particularly resistance strains such as MRSA and VISA, and the enzyme can be utilized in a variety of settings wherein bacterial infection has been a particular problem such as the hospital setting or in veterinary applications, and can also be used as an effective means of combating bioterror agents.

For many years, antibiotics have been used to combat bacterial infection, most commonly in the hospital setting, and have thus become an integral part of our lives. Since the discovery of penicillin by Dr. Alexander Fleming in 1928, many generations of β-lactam antibiotics which target the cell wall synthesis pathway have been introduced. However, since the introduction of β-lactam antibiotics, over the years bacteria have developed significant resistance. The earliest resistance of S. aureus and other bacteria comes from a family of proteins called penicillinases, which have the capability of binding penicillins, hydrolyzing the β-lactam ring, thus rendering the inactivity of the antibiotics.
One such bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, commonly found in hospital settings on the skin and inside the noses of humans and animals, has quickly evolved into a "super-bug". Previously, methicillin, a semi-synthetic penicillin derivative, was designed to have a rigid β-lactam ring and to disrupt the cell wall synthesis pathway of these bacteria. However, resistance from S. aureus began to appear just one year after Methicillin's introduction, and Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) have quickly spread to hospitals worldwide where there is an alarmingly high prevalence of these bacteria. It is thought that this bacterial resistance arises from the acquisition of the mecA gene via horizontal transfer from an unidentified species. The mecA gene encodes a new penicillin-binding protein (PBP2a), which has unusually low β-lactam affinity and remains active to allow cell wall synthesis even at normally lethal antibiotics concentrations. As MRSAs are resistant to other classes of antibiotics, glycopeptides such as vancomycin emerged as the possible last defense against MRSA infections. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, scientists and clinicians have now recognized the appearance of a vancomycin-resistant MRSA strain (also referred to as Vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus or VISA), first in Japan in 1996, and subsequently in the United States, France, Korea, South Africa and Scotland, and this further emphasizes the urgent need for new and more effective antibiotics which would be harder for bacteria to overcome and develop resistance against
The problems presented by bacteria and other pathogenic agents have become more dangerous since Sep. 11, 2001 and the anthrax scare in the fall of 2001, and bioterrorism has become a serious concern of our nation and the world. In fact, S. aureus was identified by CDC as a level 2 bioterrorism threat, due to the lethal toxicity from the Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B. Bacteria such as S. aureus also affect other industries such as milk production in that the inflammatory infection of S. aureus in cows' mammary glands, Mastitis, causes them to produce poor-quality milk that can not be made into cheese, butter or yogurt. This costs the dairy industry an estimated $1.7 billion in the United States alone.
One avenue for fighting and treating bacterial infection that has been studied over the years has been the use of lysozymes. Lysozymes are enzymes which attack bacteria by cleaving their oligosaccharide backbone of the cell walls, a mechanism different from the β-lactams, and many bacteria have been observed to have difficulties developing resistance for it. One particular type of enzyme, the Lysozyme from fungi of the species Chalaropsis, which is known as Chalaropsis lysozyme, or Lysozyme Ch, and which is a N,O-diacetylmuramidase, has the ability to kill S. aureus and has previously been thought of as a good agent to be used in antibacterial agents. It can also be developed as an early detection method of staphylococcal contaminations or infections, and this family of Lysozymes has been shown to significantly reduce the total number of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria when applied in meat products, including Clostricium Botulinum, identified by CDC as the number two bioterrorism threat, second to smallpox. It is thought that the action of Lysozymes cleave the oligosaccharide backbone of the bacterial cell wall, resulting a weakened cell wall and eventual cell lysis and death. Lysozyme Ch, produced extracellularly by the fungus Chalaropsis species, is unusual among Lysozymes by having both β-1,4-N-acetylmuramidase and β-1,4-N,6-O-diacetylmuramidase activities. The later activity accounts for its ability to kill S. aureus whose cell walls contain 6-O acetylated peptidoglycans such as N,6-O-diacetylmuramic acid, and recent studies with an enzyme of bacteriophage γ, PlyG, being highly effective for killing B. anthracis, demonstrate the achievability of anti-bacterial Lysozymes. Moreover, the bacteria did not develop a resistance even after being treated with chemicals which normally increase the percentage of mutants resistant to standard antibiotics.
The present inventors have now determined that although the sequence of Lysozyme was published, this actual sequence is wrong. Accordingly, if one tried to generate recombinant lysozyme using the previously published sequence, it would not have the activity of the correct sequence. It is thus a highly desirable object to obtain the correct sequence of Lysozyme Ch so as to be able to use this protein as a solution to the ever growing problem of bacterial infections such as MRSA and VISA. It thus remains a highly desirable object to be able to provide a Lysozyme Ch of maximal antibacterial activity so as to develop more effective methods of treating and preventing the spread of bacteria which will be of great importance in hospitals, veterinary medicine, and in the fight against bioterrorism.

Chalaropsis lysozyme protein and its method of use in anti-bacterial applications


An article with a silica-based film that contains an organic material and has excellent mechanical strength. This article includes a substrate and an organic-inorganic composite film that is formed on the surface of the substrate. The organic-inorganic composite film contains silica as its main component. A value of (0.19A+0.03) or lower (A denotes the film thickness [μm]) is obtained through X-ray diffraction analysis on the organic-inorganic composite film, with the X-ray incident angle being fixed at 1° with respect to the surface of the organic-inorganic composite film, when the intensity of a peak at a diffraction angle of 3° to 10° is standardized using the intensity of a halo pattern peak at a diffraction angle of 20° to 30°. A value of 0.25 or lower is obtained through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis on the organic-inorganic composite film, when the intensity of a peak at around 950 cm−1 based on a Si—OH group is standardized using the intensity of a peak at around 1100 cm−1 based on a Si—O—Si bond.

Generally, glass materials are hard and also can be used in the form of films that coat substrates. However, when employing a melting method, a high temperature treatment is necessary to obtain a vitreous film. This limits the materials that the substrates and coating films can contain.
The sol-gel process is a process of obtaining an oxide in a solid state by: using a solution of an organic or inorganic compound of metal as a starting material; rendering the solution into a sol in which fine particles of metal oxides or hydroxides have dissolved through the hydrolysis reaction and polycondensation reaction of the compound contained in the solution; further gelling and solidifying the sol; and heating this gel.
The sol-gel process allows vitreous films to be produced at lower temperatures. A processes of forming silica-based films by the sol-gel process is disclosed in JP11(1999)-269657A, for example.
Generally, the silica-based films formed by the sol-gel process have lower mechanical strength than that of vitreous films obtained by the melting method.
JP11(1999)-269657A discloses a process for producing a silica-based film by applying an alcohol solution that is used as a coating solution to a substrate. The alcohol solution contains 0.010 to 3 wt %, in terms of silica, of at least one selected from silicon alkoxide and hydrolysate thereof (including partial hydrolysate), 0.0010 to 1.0N of acid, and 0 to 10 wt % of water.
The silica-based film obtained by this process has strength to an extent that allows the film to withstand the dry abrasion test. It probably cannot be said that the silica-based film has sufficiently high strength, but it has high mechanical strength for a film obtained by the sol-gel process. However, in the case of the silica-based film that can be formed by the process disclosed in JP11(1999)-269657A, the thickness thereof is limited to 250 nm maximum when consideration is given to obtaining an appearance that is good enough for practical use. The thickness of the silica-based film that is formed by the sol-gel process is generally around 100 to 200 nm.
It is possible to thicken the silica-based film by applying the coating solution multiple times to form a multiple layer. However, this may deteriorate the adhesion between the surfaces of each layer, reducing the abrasion resistance of the silica-based film. Another problem is that the process for producing the silica-based film becomes more complex.
Consequently, it is difficult to obtain a silica-based film that has a thickness exceeding 250 nm and has excellent mechanical strength.
A technique of forming an organic-inorganic composite film by the sol-gel process has been proposed. The film contains an inorganic material and an organic material that are composited. The sol-gel process is characterized by film formation that is carried out at a lower temperature. Accordingly, it allows a silica-based film containing an organic material to be formed. Organic-inorganic composite films that are formed by the sol-gel process are disclosed in JP3 (1991)-212451A, JP3 (1991)-56535A, and JP2002-338304A, for example.
In order to improve the mechanical strength of the silica-based film that is formed by the sol-gel process, it is desirable to heat-treat the silica-based film at 450° C. or higher. However, when an organic-inorganic composite film is heat-treated at a high temperature of this level, the organic material in the film will decompose. The restriction that the film must be heat-treated at a temperature in the range that does not cause the organic material to decompose limits the improvement in mechanical strength of the film to be formed, not only in the sol-gel process but also in the liquid-phase film formation methods other than that. Hence, it has been considered that it is difficult to form a silica-based film that has excellent mechanical strength when the film contains an organic material.

Article with organic-inorganic composite film


An installed base data hub for centrally managing information about the installed customer base of an enterprise is disclosed. According to one embodiment, an installed base data hub comprises a data repository configured to store installed base data, the installed base data including first information representative of at least one customer of the enterprise and second information representative of one or more products purchased by the customer. The hub further includes a data librarian configured to cleanse the installed base data, a security module configured to manage access to the data repository, a subscription interface configured to enable one or more of a plurality of spoke systems to read data from the repository, and a publication interface configured to enable one or more of the plurality of spoke systems to write data into the repository. In various embodiments, at least one of the spoke systems is external to the enterprise.

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to data management, and more particularly relate to an installed base data hub for centrally managing information about the installed customer base of a business or enterprise.
A data hub, or master data management ("MDM") solution, is a collection of software and/or hardware components that enables a business or enterprise (i.e., source enterprise) to maintain a single, "master" source of data that is accessible across multiple, heterogeneous information management systems. Currently, software vendors such as Oracle Corporation and IBM offer two types of data hubs: a "Customer" hub and a "Product" hub. These hubs provide a centralized view of a source enterprise's customer and product data respectively. However, the software industry has thus far failed to provide a solution for centrally managing the intersection of information between customers and products—in other words, the installed customer base.
The management of installed base data has become increasingly important in recent years as companies have moved to out-sourcing various customer-related business functions (e.g., product service, sales, etc.) to third-party partners. In many instances, these partners rely on installed base information to carry out their jobs. For example, a product manufacturer may employ a number of external contractors to provide warranty service for the different types and configurations of products that it sells. The contractors may, in turn, employ a number of subcontractors to provide service for specific subcomponents of a product. Each contractor or subcontractor in this multi-tiered network needs access to consistent and up-to-date installed base information (e.g., customer names, addresses, warranty terms, part/model/serial numbers of products sold/deployed/installed, etc.) to properly service the manufacturer's customers.
A manufacturer may also work with a number of reselling partners to sell its products through various retail channels. In this case, the reselling partners may wish to leverage installed base information to accurately identify the demographics of the manufacturer's installed customer base and target marketing and/or up-selling campaigns accordingly.
To address the foregoing needs, many external partners maintain a mirrored copy of a manufacturer's installed base data in their own information management systems. However, this approach is problematic for several reasons. First, it is inefficient because it doubles the amount of processing and memory resources required to maintain a single set of data (i.e., the installed base data). Second, it is cumbersome because it requires a partner to synchronize it's mirrored installed base data with the manufacturer's master data on a periodic basis. Even with frequent synchronizations, there may be situations where the partner's mirrored data is stale, possibly leading to processing errors and a degraded quality of service to customers.
Another solution is to create a proprietary, point-to-point interface between the information management systems of a partner and manufacturer. For instance, the partner and manufacturer may contract with a developer to develop a custom interface that will enable their systems to intercommunicate. Unfortunately, the creation of custom interfaces is generally a slow process as the developer must design and test the interface for the specific systems being connected. Such interfaces are also fragile, in that modifications to either system (e.g., updating versions of software) may break the communication path until such time as modifications to the interface are made. Further, a point-to-point interface is specific to the particular partner for which it is developed, and thus cannot be leveraged by all external partners interested in accessing and updating the manufacturer's installed base data.


A method and apparatus for tuning and matching extremely small sample coils with very low inductance for use in magnetic resonance experiments conducted at low frequencies. A circuit is disclosed that is appropriate for performing measurements in fields where magnetic resonance is beneficially utilized. The circuit has a microcoil, an adjustable tuning capacitance, and added inductance in the form of a tuning inductor. The microcoil is an electrical coil having an inductance of about 25 nanohenries (nH) or less. Because additional inductance is purposefully added, the capacitance required for resonance and apparatus function is proportionally and helpfully reduced. The apparatus and method permit the resonant circuit and the magnet to be made extremely small, which is crucial for new applications in portable magnetic resonance imaging, for example.

1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
The present invention relates to resonant electrical circuits containing inductors and capacitors, particularly when the inductance is very low and the circuit must resonate at a low frequency. More specifically, this disclosure is directed to a method for tuning and matching extremely small sample coils with very low inductance for use in magnetic resonance experiments conducted at low frequencies.
2. Background Art
Magnetic resonance experiments and procedures typically are performed using an electrically resonant circuit, with a coil (inductor L) wrapped around a sample to be evaluated, and a capacitor (capacitance C) connected to the coil to form a series or parallel resonant LC circuit. The frequency at which the electrical resonance must occur is determined by the strength of the magnetic field used, as well as the properties of the nucleus (or electron) being studied.
The arts of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) recently have advanced in the field of sample miniaturization. Miniature sample magnetic resonance systems employ very small sample coils. Such small coils allow NMR experiments on, for example, mass-limited samples or highly localized MRI information. The use of small coils, which have low inductance, in electrically resonant circuits becomes increasingly difficult as the size of the coil is reduced and/or the required resonance frequency is reduced. The resonance frequency is typically low for miniaturized experiments, when a small, weak permanent magnet is used. To date, NMR and MRI experiments at low frequencies (below 100 MHz) have been performed with "millicoils" or "mini-coils" of relatively large size. Experiments using very small coils have always been carried out at relatively much higher frequencies. In contrast, the invention disclosed hereinafter allows the use of the smallest possible coils in NMR and MRI procedures carried out at the lowest possible frequencies.
Very small coils for use in NMR spectroscopy at relatively high frequencies have been described previously.
T. L. Peck, et al., were among the first to extend the analysis of coil circuit performance in magnetic resonance to very small coils. They identified the signal-to-noise ratio advantage of small diameter coils for samples with limited volume. A Peck, et al. study, conducted at 4.7 Tesla (200 MHz), was of small coils with diameters ranging from 0.050 mm to 0.860 mm and larger. However, even with their smallest coil, which had an inductance of only 4 nH, Peck, et al. did not face the challenge of resonating a very small coil at a very low frequency. Their tuning circuit layout discussion focused on the lengths of the leads of their small coil, although they discuss only the resistance of these leads, and not their stray inductance. Peck, et al., did not use a tuning inductor. T. L. Peck, R. L. Magin, and P. C. Lauterbur, "Design and Analysis of Microcoils for NMR Microscopy," J. Magn. Reson. 108, 114-124 (1995).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,788,061 to Sweedler, et al., appears to describe an NMR apparatus with a sample holder having a containment region that holds a volume of less than about 1 microliters of the analyte sample, and a coil which encloses the containment region of the analyte sample holder and the contained sample. The coil is operatively associated with the analyte sample in the containment region of the sample holder, such that the coil can transmit and/or receive energy from the analyte sample in the containment region. This '061 patent contemplates operation of the system at very high frequencies, and mentions a sample of volume <10 microliters and magnets less than 50 kg. However, even though small coil usage in mico-NMR applications at low magnetic field are discussed in the '061 patent, no reference is made to resonance tuning. The '061 patent describes experiments carried out in a magnetic field of 7 Tesla, corresponding to a resonance frequency of 300 MHz. Hence, Sweedler, et al. did not confront the problem of resonating a small coil at low frequency.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,684,401 to Peck, et al., appears to teach compensation of magnetic susceptibility variation in NMR microspectroscopy detection coils. The disclosed apparatus does not employ a tuning inductor. When discussing a tuning circuit, the '401 patent concedes that their preference to move the tuning capacitance physically away from the small coil will result in a degradation of electrical performance. This concession follows convention, which teaches that extra "lead," or "stray" inductance is to be avoided.
Seeber, et al., explored microcoil performance experimentally, using a field of 9 Tesla (383 MHz). While they used coils as small at 0.020 mm in diameter, their tuning circuits evidently never contained a tuning inductor, as their high operating frequency made this unnecessary. Seeber, et al., attempted to reduce stray inductance by placing very small capacitors as close as possible to the coils. They also made an extensive, systematic study of the deleterious effects of stray inductance. D. A. Seeber, R. L. Cooper, L. Ciobanu, and C. H. Pennington, "Design and testing of high sensitivity microreceiver coil apparatus for nuclear magnetic resonance and imaging," Rev. Sci. Inst., 72, 2171 (2001).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,915 to Hurd seems to teach a field-frequency lock system for an MRI system that includes a small coil and resonant sample located to sense changes in the polarizing magnetic field. The apparatus is operated at a high frequency of 205 MHz. Changes are detected as a shift in frequency of the NMR signal produced by the resonant sample, and the frequency shift is used to compensate the MRI system. This patent deals with moderately large coils for use at moderately high frequency and does not seem to require any special tuning schemes beyond the traditional.
The prior art examples listed above suggest that the challenge of resonating a very small coil (<20 nH) at low frequencies (<100 MHz) has not been faced because the work has all been carried out in strong magnetic fields, and has involved 1H nuclei.
Moresi and Magin describe a low field NMR system using a permanent magnet operating at 0.6 T (25.5 MHz), and discuss motivations for assembling a small system using a permanent magnet. Moresi, et al., purport to that show a system can perform NMR by providing a sample coil with diameter 4 mm and inductance 168 nH. With such a relatively large coil, they faced no particular challenge in building a resonance circuit, thus employed a conventional circuit design. G. Moresi and R. L. Magin, "Miniature permanent magnet for table-top NMR," Concept. Magn. Reson. 19B, 35-43 (2003).
Goloshefsky, et al., discuss small-coil-based NMR and MRI systems for industrial applications, and the advantages of using very small coils. Goloshefsky et al.'s system operates at a low magnetic field of 0.6 Tesla, corresponding to an operating frequency of around 25.5 MHz. However, their coils are relatively very large (two flat spirals, each with outer diameter 3.5 mm), with a large enough inductance (81 nH) that they can resonate in the traditional manner without significant difficulty. A. G. Goloshevsky, J. H. Walton, M. V. Shutov, J. S. de Ropp, S. D. Collins, M. J. McCarthy, "Development of low field nuclear magnetic resonance microcoils," Rev. Sci. Inst. 76, 024101 (2005).
Sorli, et al., describe the design and construction of a planar small coil system for operation at 2 Tesla (85 MHz). They point out that very small coils have the potential for integration with microfluidic "lab-on-a-chip" devices. The coil of the Sorli, et al. system is rather large (0.5 mm on a side), and they describe their resonance circuit as "conventional." B. Sorli, J. F. Chateaux, M. Pitival, H. Chahboune, B. Favre, A. Briguet, P. Morin, "Micro-spectrometer for NMR: Analysis of small quantities in vitro," Meas. Sci. Technol. 15, 877-880 (2004).
The three immediately previous publications, concerning the use of so-called "microcoils" to perform NMR at low frequency, utilized relatively large (˜1 mm diameter, L≧100 nH) coils. Another particularly active area of application of small coils at relatively low frequency is in MRI, where the typical magnetic field strength is 1.5 Tesla, yielding a resonance frequency of about 64 MHz. The following publications are representative of efforts in this general area.
U.S. Patent App. Publication No 2005/0245814 to Anderson, et al., appears to disclose a method for determining the position and/or orientation of a catheter or other interventional access device or surgical probe using phase patterns in a magnetic resonance (MR) signal. The process employs a large coil (4 mm outside diameter), said to operate at about 1.5 Tesla (˜64 MHz). There is no apparent reference to any resonance tuning procedures for the coils.
Published International Patent Publication No. WO2005026762, to Weiss, appears to show an MR process for locating a medical instrument with a very small coil attached thereto in the examination volume of an MR device. The coil is part of a resonant circuit matched to the resonant frequency of the MR device and having no external controls. According to the disclosure, the small coil is part of a resonant circuit tuned to the resonant frequency of the MR device, which circuit is unconnected to any of the other components of the MR device. However, the does not appear to be any detailed teaching of a tuning method or of the magnetic filed used.
European Patent EP1304581 to Gleich shows a method for localizing an object, preferably a medical instrument, introduced into a body. The object is in the examination volume of an MR device, which evaluates the interaction between an electromagnetic resonant circuit, mounted on the object, and an RF field applied in the MR device for nuclear magnetization of the body. While an extremely small coil is used in the resonance circuit, no description is provided of a method or means for tuning.
International Patent Publication No. WO0173460 to Fuderer, et al., offers an interventional magnetic resonance method utilizing a very small coil. The method purports to enable localization of an interventional instrument by detection of magnetic resonance signals from the surroundings of the small coil under the influence of magnetic field gradients. The disclosure focuses on localization method through micro-NMR, but does not include any tuning references or frequency details.
Canadian Patent CA2342047 to Raghavan, et al., shows a device, such as a medical device, having a distribution of "microcoils" (pairs) that may be used within an organism under MRI visualization. At least one or each microcoil of the opposed pair of microcoils has at least a region where a diameter circumscribed by a first winding is greater than the diameter circumscribed by at least one complete second winding, especially an adjacent winding displaced from the first winding along an axis or core of the medical device or an axis of the microcoil. The second winding is nearer to or farther from an intermediate region between the microcoils that define the pair of microcoils. The device description does not include references or details regarding the frequency or the tuning procedure. The preferred coils have relatively large diameters between 1 mm and 4 mm.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,512,941 to Weiss, et al., discloses a device and method for exciting the nuclear magnetization in a limited volume of an object to be examined, utilizing a very small coil which is present in the volume and is attached, for example, to an interventional instrument during the formation of a magnetic resonance image of the object to be examined. However, no tuning of the coil is described.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,397,094 to Luedeke, et al., teaches an MR method which utilizes a very small coil without connection leads which causes a change in phase of an external RF magnetic field in its direct vicinity within an object to be examined. This increase apparently can be used to localize the coil, to image the direct vicinity, or to track the propagation of a liquid flow passing through the direct vicinity. However, no tuning of the microcoil is described.
Accordingly, the prior art apparently makes no reference to the difficulty of resonating very small coils at low frequencies. All coils with inductances comparable to 25 nH have been utilized, it is believed, at frequencies of 200 MHz and above. Coils used at 64 MHz or less have all been large, with diameters on the scale of millimeters, with inductances exceeding 80 nH. The particular challenge of resonating the smallest coils at low frequencies has not been faced, and therefore it previously has not been solved.
The challenge has also not been anticipated because those skilled in the art likely would apply the conventional solution to resonating a small coil at low frequency, that is, by simply increasing the capacitance. The problem with such an approach is that resonating a 10 nH inductor at 40 MHz, for example, would require a capacitor of value of 1580 pF. Since the electrical resonance frequency must match the magnetic resonance frequency, the capacitance must be adjustable. An adjustable capacitor of value above 1000 pF would be physically very large. An alternative is to use both a fixed-value capacitor of small physical size but large capacitance together with a physically small adjustable capacitance. The drawback of this perceived solution is a dramatic reduction in the range of capacitance adjustability.
The historical development of the art relating to the optimization of detector coil performance in magnetic resonance experiments is helpfully revealed in the seminal publication by D. I. Hoult and R. E. Richards, "The SNR of the NMR Experiment," J. Magn. Reson. 24, 71 (1976). Hoult and Richards highlight the then-state-of-the-art understanding of coil performance (exemplified by their first reference: A. Abragam, Principles of Nuclear Magnetism, Oxford University Press, pp. 71-83 (1961)), by identifying shortcomings in the known art and proposing a more fundamental, general, and accurate approach to understanding the performance of detector coils.
The state-of-the-art prior to the 1976 Hoult and Richards publication expressed coil performance in terms of coil volume, sample filling factor (the fraction of the coil volume occupied by the sample in the usual situation where there is a single coil used as the NMR sample coil), coil inductance, and resonant circuit quality factor ("Q factor"), among other concepts. The conventional wisdom with regard to sample filling factor was to maximize the sample's "exposure" to the radiofrequency magnetic field generated by all parts of the resonance circuit. This meant, for example, minimizing the lengths of wires connecting the coil to the rest of the resonant circuit in order not to generate "wasted" fields.
Hoult and Richards developed an approach based on concepts more closely tied to the physics of the detection process. They utilized the Principle of Reciprocity to rigorously calculate the strength of the signal that would be detected, and ascribing the electrical noise that serves to obscure the desired signal to various details of the experiment. The end result of Hoult and Richards' efforts was an equation for calculating detector coil performance that is better grounded in fundamental principles than previous approaches. Specifically, their result is expressed in terms of the coil's efficiency in producing magnetic field at the sample location (defined as the field produced per unit current in the coil) and the resistance in the resonant circuit. Taking this result as a guide for designing detector coils and circuits, a researcher in the art is inexorably led to the conclusion that the best design maximizes the magnetic field intensity generated by a unit current in the coil, divided by the square root of the circuit resistance. A practical realization of this criterion is to minimize the time required to tip the spins by, say, 90 degrees, the so-called "90-degree pulse."These design goals are equivalent to maximizing the Q-factor, inductance, filling factor, etc., only for a simple solenoid that is full of the sample and is a part of a compact resonant circuit—the usual case for NMR/MRI. In the general case, one must use the Hoult and Richards criterion, and not the older approach. This fact seems to have remained unrecognized prior to the present disclosure, even in the extension of the Hoult and Richards methodology to the regime of very small detector coils presented by Peck, et al. T. L. Peck, et al., "Design and Analysis of Microcoils for NMR Microscopy," J. Magn. Reson. B 108, 114 (1995).
An adverse aspect of the Hoult and Richards approach is that the concepts used to describe coil performance are abstract and somewhat difficult to measure for many practitioners. The conceptual units of the previous approach of Abragam, for example, are more concrete and readily measured. Ideas like inductance, volume, filling factor, Q-factor, etc. are understood from introductory-level physics or radio technology, and there are inexpensive instruments to measure these quantities and simple methods for calculating them. Hoult and Richards recognized the conceptual value of the other approach, and showed in an appendix how their result could be used to derive the Abragam-style result, under the assumption that the filling factor was maximized. Significantly, while the Hoult and Richards result can be used to derive the Abragam-style result, the reverse is not true. The Hoult and Richards result is more general.
Thus, it is believed that the early formulation of coil performance in terms of inductance, volume, filling factor, and Q-factor have seen continued use in the art of magnetic resonance, and Abragam's book remains a popular reference in the field. The fact that the Abragam-style approach dominates current thinking is readily seen in the literature, including references mentioned hereinabove. Evidently, the Hoult and Richards result did not succeed in altering the standard methodology for designing optimal detector coils for magnetic resonance experiments, because the early formulation works for the vast majority of NMR/MRI applications. Indeed, when the Hoult and Richards article is cited in the literature, it is often used to support the notion that filling factor should be maximized, which is a misinterpretation of the result given in their appendix. From this it is evident that concepts such as the filling factor, Q-factor, etc. are highly misleading when it comes to building optimized detector coils.
The present invention was developed against the foregoing background. The present approach is contrary to prior art teaching, because the prior art has not recognized the full implications of the Hoult and Richards result. This disclosure provides a solution for tuning small inductances at low frequencies that is much more convenient than the conventional approaches. Beyond convenience, the disclosed apparatus and method permits the resonant circuit and the magnet to be made very small, which is crucial for new applications in portable MRI, for example.

Tuning low-inductance coils at low frequencies


The invention describes a web-like element (2;3) comprising an upper layer (5; 7) and a lower layer (6; 8) or an intermediate layer which are held apart from one another vertically by longitudinal ribs. At least the upper layer (5; 7) is formed from several strip-like webs (16-19; 20-24) with a rectangular cross section which run parallel to one another on the longitudinal ribs and lie with their flat sides in a common plane. The strip-like webs (16-19; 20-24) are arranged at right angles to the longitudinal axis or the longitudinal ribs and/or in longitudinal direction with equal spacing (14).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a web-like element, a connecting arrangement between two web-like elements. and a method for producing such a web-like element.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An interlocking connection system with interlocking elements is known from WO-A1-89/08201 and the patent derived therefrom EP-B1-0 364 521, which comprises two connecting arrangements in strip form which are provided respectively on a so-called interlocking side with a plurality of at least partly elastically deformable interlocking elements. The individual interlocking elements of the connecting arrangement are here formed by ribs arranged vertically relative to a layer which are provided with elastically deformable lips which stand out on both sides of the ribs, in order thus to form narrowings of smaller dimension than the span of the lips of a given rib between the lips of two consecutive ribs. Here the two connecting arrangements are designed respectively in one piece and the connection of the individual connecting arrangements is made only by an elastic deformation of the elastic lips projecting over the ribs.
From U.S. Pat. No. 4,070,515 a web-like element is known which comprises an upper layer and a lower layer whereby the upper layer is formed from individual segments which are arranged and held spaced apart from one another by individual rib parts. Here the upper layer comprises several strip-like or panel-like web parts with a rectangular cross section which are arranged parallel to one another on the rib parts and lie with their flat sides in a common plane. At right angles to the longitudinal axis or the rib parts the web are arranged with equal spacing.
Furthermore, web-like elements are already known for example for light weight cores in skis--according to DD-A 235 048--in which a corrugated cardboard-type structure is used whereby an upper and a lower layer are connected by a corrugated intermediate layer and the two layers are held a prespecified distance apart by the longitudinal ribs of the corrugated layer. A similar panel made of corrugated cardboard is also known for example from DE-A 28 36 617.

Web-like element and connecting arrangement between two web-like elements


A method for authenticating a telecommunications terminal having an identity module includes: storing a first private key, a first public key and a first signature, the first signature being based on signing the first public key using a second private key; generating identity information and a second signature, the second signature being based on signing the identity information using the first private key; transmitting the first public key, the identity information, and the first and second signatures to a server device; verifying, by the server device, the authenticity of the first public key using a second public key; and verifying, by the server device, the authenticity of the identity information using the verified first public key. The identity information includes International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) information.

In the use of Internet services, the problem of user authentication or authentication of users frequently occurs. It is not presently possible to identify users of a service on the Internet in a secure manner. The recently introduced electronic identity card is a first step in this direction, but it requires the purchase of a read device for the NFC-based data transmission used. This purchase is not worthwhile if the customer wishes to use a service sporadically. Furthermore, the electronic identity card will not be globally available for some time.
In addition, it may be appropriate for a mobile operator not to identify a customer by name and address, but rather using the IMSI information allocated to the customer, i.e. the IMSI number (IMSI=International Mobile Subscriber Identification), since this is also used, where appropriate, as an identity feature in the billing systems.
Furthermore, a potential customer of an Internet service is always faced with the problem of allocation of usernames and passwords, insofar as the Internet service is to be able to be used again at a later time.
Insofar as a customer with a mobile terminal, i.e. a telecommunication terminal which comprises or contains an identity module, is registered in the telecommunication network of a mobile operator, it is easily possible for the mobile operator to identify the customer, since the mobile operator controls all network elements of the telecommunication network. The allocated IP address, for example, can thus be used as an identification feature.
However, if the mobile operator wishes to offer services outside its closed network (in order, for example, to keep security-critical components out of the inner core network, or to be able to offer a service not only to customers, but also to non-customers), the same problems occur which an external service provider also has.
Asymmetric cryptographic methods are known from the prior art, in which each of the communicating parties has a key pair which consists of a secret part (private key) and a non-secret part (public key). The public key allows anyone (i.e. a third party who knows the public key) to encrypt data for the owner of the private key. The private key allows its owner to decrypt data with the public key. The private key furthermore allows the owner to sign data, wherein a third party who knows the public key can check the signature generated in this way. For this purpose, the data are encrypted by the owner of the private key with the private key. The public key then allows the third party to verify the authenticity of these data signed (i.e. encrypted) with the private key by decrypting the data with the public key and comparing them with similarly transferred data in clear text. In contrast to a symmetric cryptographic method, the communicating parties do not have to know a common secret key.

Authenticating a telecommunication terminal in a telecommunication network


An electrical plug (1) for connection to a jack (2), comprises, a plug portion (3) of termination of a coaxial cable, a coupling ring (4), a grip member (6) moveable over the coupling ring (4) and adapted to snap over a catch (8) at a forward end of the coupling ring (4), a portion of the coupling ring (4) being inwardly deflectable by the grip member (6), and a portion (10) on the coupling ring (4) that locks against the external diameter of the jack (2).

Externally threaded connectors, such as UHF jacks, are known in the art. A coaxial cable is terminated with a UHF plug having a threaded coupling ring for connection to the jack.
In an assembly line of a factory, a turning motion to effect threading the coupling ring onto the jack is time consuming. A threaded connection can be rotated excessively without a positive feel or a torque limiting feature that occurs when the connection of the plug and jack are secure. A need has arisen for an electrical plug that can be connected securely with an externally threaded UHF connector without a need for a turning motion for causing the plug to turn onto the threads of the UHF connector. A further requirement of the factory environment is for an electrical plug that has a positive feel to indicate a secure connection to a threaded connector.
Connectors that are mated with a push on movement include, a connector disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,606, wherein, spring fingers on an electrical connector encircle and radially grip a mating connector. An electrical connector according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,859, includes a cup shaped front end for encircling a mating electrical connector.

Snap on plug connector for a UHF connector


Systems and methods of analyzing the performance of a conservation system for improving the performance of an electrical power delivery system are disclosed. In one implementation, the system receives first observation information indicative of the performance of the conservation system in a first mode, and second observation information indicative of the performance of the conservation system in a second mode. The system generates a first model of the performance of the conservation system in the first mode based on the first observation information, and a second model of the performance of the conservation system in the second mode based on the second observation information. The system determines first controlled performance information indicative of the performance of the conservation system in the first mode based on the first model, and second controlled performance information indicative of the performance of the conservation system in the second mode based on the second model.

The following section is presented for informational purposes only, and should not be considered as an admission that any of the material found in this section is prior art to the present application.
In various applications, it is advantageous to apply conservation systems and methods to the operation of an electrical power distribution system. For example, conservation voltage reduction (CVR) is a reduction of energy consumption resulting from a reduction of feeder voltage. Some implementations of CVR schemes contain one or both of two fundamental components: reactive power compensation and voltage optimization. Reactive power compensation may be achieved through the operation of shunt capacitors in order to maintain the power factor at the substation transformer within a prescribed band. Voltage optimization may be achieved through the operation of substation voltage regulators in order to regulate the voltage at specific End of Line (EOL) points within a prescribed range. In this way the peak load is reduced and the overall energy consumption is reduced.
In some embodiments, CVR operates by saving electrical energy by operating electric distribution systems at voltages in the lower portions of a range of allowable levels, thereby improving the efficiency of many electric utilization devices. Many if not all utilization devices operate more efficiently in the lower portion of their designed voltage range. If those devices, motors, drives, electronic power supplies, transformers, lighting systems, etc. are applied properly, that is if they are not undersized for their application, virtually all will operate more efficiently. Conservation Voltage Regulation Factor (CVRf) is a measure of energy conservation when voltage optimization is implemented. CVRf=ΔE %/ΔV % where ΔE % is the percent of energy reduced and ΔV % is the percent voltage reduction.
Another conservation technique is volt/VAR optimization (VVO). VVO may be implemented in "smart grid" systems, where information regarding the electrical power distribution system (e.g., acquired using an automated metering infrastructure) is processed and used to control, e.g., capacitor banks and voltage regulation in a coordinated manner to provide optimal voltage and reactive power usage.
Exemplary CVR and VVO systems are available under the AdaptiVolt™ product line from Utilidata, Inc.

System and method for estimating performance metrics of conservation voltage reduction (CVR) systems and VOLT/VAR optimization systems


Method, apparatus and computer program product for transaction resolution in a system comprising a transaction manager, a plurality of resource managers and a connection distributor for distributing transaction requests from the transaction manager amongst the plurality of resource managers. The transaction manager is allocated a first resource manager via which to conduct its transactions and the first resource manager has a transaction resolution queue associated with it. The system also comprises an asynchronous messaging infrastructure able to transmit messages originating at the transaction manager to the transaction resolution queue. The resource managers may comprise part of the asynchronous messaging infrastructure. Responsive to a failure between the transaction manager and the first resource manager, state data is received from the transaction manager at a second resource manager, the state data being addressed to the transaction resolution queue. The state data is delivered to the transaction resolution queue using the asynchronous messaging infrastructure.

In computer systems which are configured as server clusters and are accessed by client computers over TCP/IP connections, a common approach to workload balancing is to distribute connections from client computers to the computers in a server cluster.
It is possible to include software in each client computer which is able to select a server at random from a set of available servers. However, it is often preferred that connection distribution is managed by a specialised intermediary computer. Thus as shown in FIG. 1, a client computer 10, 20, 30, 40 connects first to a connection distributor 50 which selects a server 65, 70, 75, 80 from the available servers in server cluster 60 and redirects the client's connection to the selected server computer 70.
A variety of connection distribution systems, often called IP-sprayers, are available. Several examples are listed in HACC: An Architecture for Cluster-Based Web Servers atwww.eecs.harvard.edu/˜margo/papers/nt99-hacc/paper.html.
A particular problem with this type of configuration arises when the client computer is using distributed two-phase commit transactions. A transaction manager (either running on the client or in communication with the client) is responsible for co-ordinating the client's requests in the form of transactions.
If a failure occurs while a transaction is in-doubt then transactional recovery (forward completion or roll back of the in-doubt transaction) requires the transaction manager at the client end to communicate with the server instance having in-doubt transactions. If the client attempts to reconnect through the connection distributor, it may however connect to a different server instance.
A variety of techniques can be used to alleviate this problem. These include:    (i) The client can check that it has reconnected to the right server instance. If not, it can disconnect and try again repeatedly until (hopefully) it eventually strikes lucky.            There are a number of obvious disadvantages with this, including:        If the server cluster contains a large number of server instances, the retry process may take an unacceptably long time and/or use an unacceptable amount of resource. This is particularly true if the server restart is delayed—for example, while failed hardware is replaced; and        If the server instance has been deleted, the retry process will continue fruitlessly forever.            (ii) The client can obtain connection details (host and port) for the            server instance when asking a server to process a transaction. When a failure occurs, the client can reconnect directly to the required server instance, bypassing the connection distributor.        This does not work in some situations, for example:        The installation might not permit direct connection to a server instance;        A failed server instance might restart on a different machine (with a different host/port); and        There is no obvious way for the client to know if the server instance has been deleted (in which case the client must abandon attempts to reconnect).            (iii) The connection distributor can be given transactional awareness or other affinity-type capabilities so that it can provide reconnection to the failed server instance.            This approach has disadvantages that include:        It requires the customer to use a proprietary connection distributor. This is likely to restrict severely the appeal of such a solution;        It requires the connection distributor to include potentially complex and highly specific "knowledge" of the systems using it. For example, the way a particular server instance can be identified is (in general) specific to that service and the protocol used to connect to the server; and        The client still faces the same problems mentioned above if restarting the server takes a long time or if the server instance never gets restarted.

Method, apparatus and computer program product for transaction recovery

International Business Machines Corporation


A laser generates a collimated laser beam which passes through a lens off-axis. The beam is focused at a focal plane on a substrate surface. A first position sensitive detector receives the laser beam reflected from the substrate surface through the lens to generate a first signal proportional to lateral beam offset. A beam splitter may be provided to direct a portion of the laser beam before passing through the lens toward a second position sensitive detector to generate a second signal proportional to laser beam pointing instability. Apparatus computes the difference between the first and second signals, the difference being a defocused error signal. It is preferred that the first position sensitive detector be located at a distance from the lens that is at least twice the lens focal length.

This invention relates to an autofocus technique and more particularly to an autofocus methodology for use with fluorescence scanners.
In laser fluorescence scanning it is critical to eliminate as much as possible fluorescence (and scattering) from materials other than the surface-bound nucleic acids which have been tagged with fluorescing molecules. One method for reducing such background from sources outside the detection plane is the use of depth discrimination. In such a system, signals outside a detection plane are substantially minimized. The system, however, must make sure to keep the detection plane at the peak of the sensitivity vs. depth curve. If the system fails to keep the detection plane at the peak of the sensitivity vs. depth curve there will be a non-uniformity of the scanned images. Thus, in order to improve performance in fluorescence scanning, a need exists for focusing with good precision onto the plane that has a fixed (preferably zero) distance from the surface of the substrate being scanned.
In one aspect, the invention is an autofocus apparatus including a laser for generating a collimated laser beam. A lens is positioned to receive the laser beam off-axis and to focus the beam at a fixed focal plane at a substrate surface. A first position sensitive detector receives the laser beam reflected from the substrate surface through the lens to generate a first signal proportional to lateral beam offset. A beam splitter may direct a portion of the laser beam before passing through the lens toward a second position sensitive detector to generate a second signal proportional (except for possible offsets) to laser beam pointing errors. In this case, additional apparatus may be used to compute the difference of the positions from the first and second position sensitive detectors, which will be (except for possible offsets) proportional to the defocus error signal corrected for laser pointing error. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, this defocus error signal can be used in a control loop to reduce this error signal to achieve autofocus. In one embodiment, an offset is added so that the system will focus on a plane that differs from the substrate surface. It is preferred that the first position sensitive detector and the second position sensitive detector be located approximately the same total distance from the laser.


Buried arc welding is employed to fuse together a first component, a second component, and a third component or an underlying portion of the second component, the first and second components in butting relationship along a butting joint and the third component or underlying portion of the second component lying beneath the butting joint.

It is known to make integrally backed square butt joints by gas metal arc welding. Two or three metal components are joined by this process. When three components are joined, two of them are placed in an abutting relationship along an abutting joint, with the third component lying behind the abutting joint. All three are then fused into a single weldment. When two components are joined, the first component of the two is placed in an abutting relationship with a first portion of the second component along an abutting joint, with a second portion of the second component lying behind the abutting joint.
A specific application is to make a bulkhead or deck by butt welding sheets or plates to each other, with stiffening elements, i.e. studs or joists, backing up the butt welded elements, behind the butt welded joints.
FIG. 1 shows a prior art arrangement 10 for making such a weldment. A first component 12 and a second component 14 are placed over a third component 16 with a joint gap 18 between the first component 12 and the second component 14. The components are then secured in that position. A consumable metal electrode 19 is placed over joint gap 18, electrode 19 being of a composition metallurgically compatible with component 12, component 14 and component 16. Typically, electrode 19 has a composition similar to the compositions of component 12, component 14 and component 16.
An electric potential is applied between electrode 19 and the components 12, 14 and 16. An arc is then initiated between electrode 19 and the components 12, 14 and 16. Molten metal from electrode 19, is superheated in the arc and is accelerated towards the joint gap 18, fusing with portions of components 12, 14 and 16. Depending upon the thickness of the joint, multiple passes may be required to build up a plurality of weld beads filling joint gap 18 and thus joining components 12, 14 and 16. A significant expense of this type of welding is that a sufficient quantity of the consumable electrode 19 must be supplied to fill joint gap 18. In addition, the extra number of weld passes and the associated increase in the amount of weld metal and welding heat input per linear length can lead to extra weld induced distortion of the weldment.
FIG. 2 illustrates a prior art arrangement 20 for making an integrally backed square butt joint comprising a first component 12 and a second component 22, the second component 22 having an abutting portion 24 and an underlying portion 26; which underlies first component 12. As before, a joint gap 18 is provided to facilitate welding of component 12 to component 22.
FIG. 3 illustrates a prior art arrangement 30 for making an integrally backed square butt joint comprising first component 32, second component 34 and third component 16, third component 16 underlying first component 32 and second component 34. Arrangement 30 provides a V-shaped joint gap 38 which facilitates the welding process.
FIG. 4 illustrates another prior art arrangement 40 which is for making an integrally backed square butt joint comprising first component 32 and second component 42. Second component 42 includes an abutting portion 44 and an underlying portion 46. As before, arrangement 40 provides a V-shaped joint gap 38 which facilitates the welding process. A significant expense of these prior arrangements having a V-shaped joint gap is due to the requirement for joint preparation, by machining or cutting.
Also, for all of these prior art arrangements, a sufficient quantity of the consumable electrode 19 and welding power must be supplied to fill the joint gap, 18 or 38. Also, welding-induced distortion may occur due to the large amount of metal that must be filled into the joint gap, 18 or 38. Furthermore, a rather wide weld bead results from either of these arrangements.

Buried arc welding of integrally backed square butt joints


A method for identifying a loading bay at a facility to which a vehicle is reversing, the method including determining, at a sensor apparatus connected with the vehicle, that the vehicle is reversing; capturing an image of the loading bay; and determining, from the image, the loading bay at the facility to which the vehicle is reversing.

When trailers are backed into loading bays, they face several challenges related to location and driver awareness. One problem occurs with the status of the doors on a truck or trailer. In particular, doors on the truck or trailer may not be secured properly and thus be only partially open. During reversing maneuvers, such unsecured doors may be damaged.
Further, it is sometimes desirable for fleet tracking purposes, cargo management purposes and/or facility management purposes to know the location of a vehicle or trailer. Knowing the location of the trailer or vehicle while it is backing up to a loading or unloading facility is sometimes problematic. Specifically, during the backing up into the loading bay, if an overhang exists over the loading bay, this may obscure GPS readings and make it impossible for the trailer to report its location.
Further, even without an overhang, loading bay doors are often very close together and therefore an accurate location of the trailer with regard to the particular loading bay that the trailer has backed into may not be readily apparent.

Method and system for rear status detection