There may be provided a method of decoding a received set of encoded data representing information that has been compressed, the method comprising: obtaining, a set of attribute indicators from the data set, each indicator of the set of indicators is associated with a subset of the data set; and, decoding a plurality of subsets of the data set, comprising: retrieving decoding parameters for each subset according to the attribute indicator associated with each subset; and, decoding each subset according to the retrieved decoding parameters for each subset.

When transmitting, or storing, image and video data it is particularly advantageous to reduce the size of the data. Techniques for encoding and decoding such data are varied and well known. Contemporary techniques provide a compromise between processing efficiency, data quality and data compression.
Images are typically represented digitally by representing the colours of an image by a set of components each having a value. For example, the colours of an image can be represented using an RGB colour model or the YCbCr colour space where each pixel of an image is represented by three different values.
To compress the data, planes of the image are usually first split into blocks of data elements, such as blocks of 8×8 pixels, and each block undergoes a domain transformation. Examples include discrete cosine transform and wavelet transform. As is well known in the art, transformation coding is used to capture correlation structures in the data.
The transformed data is then quantized to represent the large set of values using a smaller set of values and then typically undergoes a further compression step, such as entropy coding. Entropy coding utilises frequently occurring values or sequences of values within a data set in order to reduce the volume of data. For example, an entropy coding technique compresses the digital data by representing frequently occurring patterns with few bits and rarely occurring patterns with many bits.
The efficacy of each step depends on the outcome of the previous step. That is, the transformation and quantisation processes are designed to make the next step in the process more effective. For example, overall compression can be made more effective if the transform and quantisation processes represent the values of the image with frequently occurring symbols or groups of symbols so that the entropy coding step is more effectual.
The output of the entropy coding operation is thus a stream of data and the decoding operation is performed in a mirrored manner to the encoding operation. First the stream of data is decoded to recreate the information. To generate a series of blocks, the stream is divided and mapped to a plane of data using an inverse of the process used at the encoder and the blocks are then arranged in their location in the plane according to the order in which the blocks were received in the stream. For example, in a typical JPEG algorithm the blocks are arranged in a in left to right, top to bottom pattern and within each block coefficients are arranged in a zig-zag or serpentine pattern. The blocks are then de-quantised. The blocks are then domain transformed using, for example a wavelet or discrete cosine transformation.
Such entropy techniques utilise global statistics for the data to identify the most likely symbols and encode these symbols efficiently. In order to decode an entropy encoded data set it is a requirement to also specify the statistics used to encode the data. Such statistics are normally sent in the form of metadata which is typically incompressible. This results in an overhead in the process which must be considered. Whilst it is possible to further subdivide the data to be encoded into smaller and smaller sets, to do so results in an increase in the metadata overhead. As such it is important to ensure that the growth in metadata required to describe the data is not greater than the savings made by utilising the enhanced entropy encoding, which results in a tradeoff.
Some known codecs, such as AVC, will subdivide a frame of data into blocks and will vary the size of the blocks and will calculate statistics for the variable sized blocks. Such statistics may then be used in the encoding process. However, due to the metadata overhead associated with the statistics, again there exists a tradeoff between the amount of statistics and the cost associated with the provision of such statistics.
There remains difficulty in optimising the decoding process for example to take advantage of parallel decoding optimisations or separate decoding of subsets of the stream. Each block is concatenated with the other blocks and sent as one stream and therefore to accurately install each transformed block in the correct location in the plane each of the previous blocks must have been decoded sequentially from the combined stream—the order of the blocks as they appear in the stream dictates the location of the block in the grid.
Similarly, to search for and access each block in a stream to allow for parallel or separate decoding is not possible without decoding the previous blocks. Imagine some kind of boundary symbol between blocks. Then one wouldn't be able to search for a desired block, but the system would be able to search for a block (one can not say which one; one can just grab a boundary symbol guaranteed to be used for no other reason) and access the block. Additionally, some entropy encoding algorithms will conflate the blocks such that they can't be separated unless the entire steam is decoded in one entropy decoding operation. Alternatively, if each of the parts of the stream have a variable length (in most coding algorithms) identifying suitable boundaries in the data to enable separating the stream into subsets is difficult without compromising compression, further reinforcing the need for sequential decoding.
To implement parallel processing, it has previously been proposed to divide the image data into multiple parts and combine compressed streams. An alternative approach that has been proposed is to scan the compressed stream for boundaries in the encoded data or alternatively insert markers in the stream with predefined codes to aid the scanning process. None of the proposed approaches have been shown to be optimal.
It has been previously proposed to encode data in a hierarchical manner so as to reduce the overall data size of a signal. In such encoding techniques, residual data (i.e. the data required to correct low quality information present in a base layer) is used in progressively higher levels of quality. Such a hierarchical technique is described in WO 2013/171173 which proposes a tiered hierarchy of renditions of a signal. In this proposed technique, a base layer of quality represents the image at a first resolution and subsequent layers in the tiered hierarchy are residual data or adjustment layers necessary for the decoding side to reconstruct the image at a higher resolution. Techniques are proposed in this WO 2013/171173 which structure the data in each layer to exploit correlation in the residual layers to reduce information entropy by transforming a block of values into a set of directional components. Each layer in this hierarchical technique, particularly each residual layer, is often a comparatively sparse data set having many zero value elements.
The concept of a hierarchical, tiered data structure is also disclosed in earlier filed patent application GB1812407.3 and WO2013/171173. Both of GB1812407.3 and WO2013/171173 are incorporated by reference.
It has previously been proposed to store sparse matrices using quadtrees. The techniques build a tree to store the spatial structure of the matrix. When considering any possible implementation of the known formats for reconstructing images using sparse matrices, each requires intensive memory usage. Each of the known formats that demonstrate efficiency gains require a large amount of data to be stored in memory to properly reconstruct the locations and values of the data in a matrix.
It remains a goal of industry to reduce the size of image and video data stored or transmitted and to reduce the processing time and memory utilisation of encoding or decoding sparse data sets in image reconstruction.

Methods and apparatuses for hierarchically encoding and decoding a bytestream


An OTP anti-fuse memory array without additional selectors and a manufacturing method are provided. Embodiments include forming wells of a first polarity in a substrate, forming a bitline of the first polarity in each well, and forming plural metal gates across each bitline, wherein no source/drain regions are formed between the metal gates.

Today's consumer electronic and wireless markets are under heavy pressure to reduce costs, increase performance, minimize power consumption and increase security. Configurability and programmability, which are accomplished with OTP memories, are the key enablers to achieving these goals.
Electrical fuse (eFuse) technology is a one-time programmable memory that is programmed by forcing a high current density through a conductor link to completely rupture it or make its resistance significantly higher. FIG. 1 shows a conventional eFuse 101 after programming. The eFuse is typically formed from a polysilicon layer 103, over an oxide layer 105, on substrate 107, with a passivation layer 109 over the polysilicon layer. The polysilicon layer may include cobalt or nickel silicide on top, and the fuse is programmed by an electromigration mechanism, in which electron momentum pushes the silicide atoms out of the conductor link along the direction of electron flow. Debris and shards 111 remain after programming. However, CMOS technology has advanced to metal gates at 32 nanometer technology nodes and beyond. Therefore, eFuses based on polysilicon (and silicide) are no longer available. Thin metal fuses can be utilized instead, but they require a much larger programming current as a draw-back. Further, all e-fuses require an extra mask and extra process steps (such as thin-film deposition and etch) and are large in size.
An antifuse is the opposite of an eFuse. The circuit is open (i.e., high resistance) at the start and is programmed to close (or short) the circuit by applying electrical stress that creates a low resistance conductive path. In the prior art, a hard gate oxide breakdown is used as the one-time programmable non-volatile memory mechanism. FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional 2-transistor (2-T) antifuse bitcell. As shown, one transistor servers as the anti eFuse with logic poly program gate (WLP) 201 and another transistor serves as the selector transistor 203 are formed over gate oxide 205 and oxide 207 (typically thicker than 205), respectively, over substrate 209, with spacers 211 on opposite sides of each gate. N+ region 213 is formed in N-type lightly doped drain (NLDD) region 215 in the substrate between the two gates, and a bit line contact 217 is formed over another N+ region on the opposite side of selector transistor 203. The breakdown is intended by applying a high voltage on WLP 201, so that the gate oxide breakdown can occur between gate 201 and NLDD region 215. Before the breakdown, the gate oxide isolates the gate and the source like a capacitor, and after breakdown, it behaves like a resistor between the gate and the source.
However, programming a 2-T antifuse can result in the oxide breaking down in one of three areas, the transistor channel 219 (below the gate), from the gate to the NLDD region (shown at 221), and from the gate to a halo (leakage reduction) implant region (shown at 223). Oxide breakdown to the channel is the desirable mechanism, since it results in a more uniform and tighter current distribution for the programmed bit cells. Breakdown to the NLDD region produces a resistive path from the gate to the substrate and a low-threshold voltage (Vt) tail, resulting in a current spread across bit cells in the array. Breakdown to the halo implant produces a high-Vt tail and results in a second peak of cell current for programmed cells. Thus, the three regions in a 2T structure produce a multi-modal current spread for bit cells.
FIG. 3 illustrates another known antifuse, a metal gate antifuse including 1T1C bitcell. Adverting to FIG. 3, the capacitor based antifuse includes an N+ metal gate 301 formed with a thin high-k dielectric layer 303 and N+ source/drain regions 305 in Nwell 307 of substrate 309, with access transistor 311 connected to a row. When a programming voltage is applied to the gate, breakdown can occur between the gate and either the N+ region or the Nwell, and a high reading current is sensed. The main drawback of the 1T1C bitcell is that the access transistor includes a thick oxide, such that the transistor is bulky and occupies significant silicon area.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, selected wordline 401 is biased with Vread, and selected bitline 403 is biased as ground, for reading bit 405 (at the cross point of the selected wordline and bitline), and other unselected wordlines and bitlines 407 are floating. For a selected bit (at an intersection of a wordline and a bitline) at high resistance, little current will flow from the wordline to the bitline, and for the selected bit at low resistance, a large current will flow from the wordline to the bitline. Therefore, if selected bit 405 is at high resistance and unselected bits 409 have a low resistance status, a current (called a sneak current) will flow along the arrows in the picture, bypassing the selected bit. This current does not tell us information about the selected bit and would lead to misread of the bit 405.
To prevent sneak currents in a simple cross-point memory array, a select transistor is required for each bit. Since two transistors are still needed for one bit, this antifuse is area inefficient. Attempts have been made to utilize diodes for such cross-point memory arrays to prevent sneak current, as illustrated in FIG. 5. Specifically, memory element 501, including top electrode 503, bottom electrode 505, and memory layer 507 sandwiched between 503 and 505, is formed with diode 509 at each intersection of a wordline 511 and a bitline 513. However, diodes incur process complexity and/or area penalty.
A need therefore exists for methodology enabling manufacture of an area-efficient, low power, high-performance, reliable OTP memory which is compatible with CMOS system-on-chip (SOC) technology, and the resulting device.

Embedded selector-less one-time programmable non-volatile memory


Methods for preparing an antibody are provided with the method including incorporating 3-bromo-4-hydroxy-benzoic acid into a protein to form an antigen, immunizing a mammalian host with the antigen, and recovering an antibody having an affinity for the antigen from the host. Antibodies having a binding affinity for a monohalotyrosine are provided as well as composition comprising an antibody bound with monohalotyrosine. Compositions comprising a protein having a 3-bromo-4-hydroxy-benzoic acid moiety are also provided. Methods for evaluating the severity of asthma are provide with the methods including analyzing sputum of a patient using an antibody having a binding affinity for monohalotyrosine, and measuring the amount of antibody bound to protein. Methods for determining eosinophil activity in bodily fluid are also provided with the methods including exposing bodily fluid to an antibody having a binding affinity for monohalotyrosine, and measuring the amount of bound antibody to determine the eosinophil activity.

Asthma is a common disease that is characterized by an episodic narrowing of the airways. It is a major public health concern that affects about 23 million adults in the United States. Infiltration of activated eosinophils into the bronchioli is believed to be a primary cause of asthma. Eosinophil counts and the presence of secreted eosinophil granular proteins such as Eosinophil Peroxidase (EPO) in sputum and lung biopsy samples are indicators of the severity of asthma. Bromotyrosine protein modifications are increased in asthma patients due to EPO, which catalyzes the formation of hypobromite and the subsequent formation of bromotyrosine. Previous studies that used gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection found that 3-bromotyrosine and 3,5-dibromotyrosine were significantly elevated in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and sputum samples from asthmatics, respectively. Studies on the role of brominated proteins in asthma have been limited by the lack of a rapid, simple method to monitor bromotyrosine levels in biofluids.

Compositions, antibodies, asthma diagnosis methods, and methods for preparing antibodies


Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a method of treating a tubular string using a pigtrain. In one embodiment, a method of treating a tubular string includes injecting working fluid between a lead pig and a trail pig of a pigtrain. A bypass pig of the pigtrain is in a first position between the lead pig and trail pig and closer to the lead pig. The method further includes injecting propellant behind the trail pig, thereby driving the pigtrain through the tubular string. The bypass pig gradually moves from the first position to a second position closer to the trail pig, thereby agitating the working fluid.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a method of treating a tubular string using a pigtrain.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pipeline pigs are propelled by fluid pressure through the interior of pipelines to clean wax, sludge, scale, debris, and other materials from the inner surfaces of the pipeline. Pipeline pigs may also be used to fill a pipeline with water for hydrotesting and remove the water once testing is finished. Pipeline pigs may also be used to verify tolerances of the pipeline and inspect for corrosion. Pipeline pigs may also be used to remove accumulated liquids or solids in pipelines. Pipeline pigs may also be used to separate different types of fluids which may be traveling through the same pipeline.
For certain levels of pipeline cleanliness, it is necessary to employ detergent, such as a surfactant and/or an acidic solution. Such a method is discussed and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,842, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The '842 patent discloses launching a pigtrain having a lead pig 72, a trail pig 72, and an acidizing fluid 74 positioned between the pigs through a pipeline 10 back and forth until a determination is made that a inner surface of the pipeline is sufficiently clean. The trail pig 72 is propelled using pressurized air supplied via the launcher.

Method of treating a tubular string using a pigtrain


This invention relates to a test pattern structure comprising a test pattern structure for endurance test of a flash memory device comprising: at least three active regions formed on a semiconductor substrate, each active region being isolated by a field oxide film; a common drain region formed on each active region, respectively; source regions formed on left and right sides of the common drain region in each active region, respectively; a first common floating gate formed along left side of each common drain region; a second common floating gate formed along right side of each common drain region; a control gate overlapped with the first and second floating gates, respectively and connected from each other at both ends of the first and second floating gates; a select gate formed over the common drain region, the source regions and the control gate in each active region, respectively; and metal wires connected to the common drain region, the source regions and the control gate in each active region, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a test pattern structure for endurance test of a flash memory device. In particular, it relates to a test pattern structure that can confirm which function of program, erasure or read is related to degradation of characteristics of the flash memory device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A flash memory device such as a flash EEPROM has both functions of program and erasure. The flash EEPROM must maintain its characteristics although both functions of program and erasure are repeatedly performed. However, as program and erasure operations are performed many times, the characteristics of the flash EEPROM is degraded. Hence, to improve endurance reliability, it is required to find the reason for degradation of characteristics of the flash EEPROM.
In the prior art, to confirm cycling endurance characteristics of program and erasure functions, program and erasure operations are repeatedly performed using a test pattern having a same construct as a pattern of a main chip cell. Since such a test pattern can only confirm the degradation of characteristics of the flash EEPROM, there is disadvantage in that it can not confirm which function of program, erasure or read is related to degradation of characteristics of the flash EEPROM.

Test pattern structure for endurance test of a flash memory device

Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd.


The present invention pertains to a method of applying surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) with a plurality of balls for treating surfaces of metallic alloys under a set of specific conditions in order to obtain a metal substrate with high yield strength and hardness, low cytotoxicity, high cytocompability and hemocompatibility suitable for medical implant. The plurality of balls used in the present invention comprises 316L stainless steel balls or zirconium oxide (ZrO2) balls.

Lattices are commonly used as light-weight structures due to their inherent cavities. Examples of these structures are truss bridges, stadiums' framework roofs and telescope supporters. In the simple two-dimensional (2D) space, the common periodic lattices are constructed from the geometrical shapes of regular polygons such as equilateral triangle, square and regular hexagon. See FIG. 1 (Ashby and Gibson, 1997; Fleck el al., 2010).
Nevertheless, in some cases, the mechanical properties of the lattices such as tensile strength, hardness, or ductility are not able to fulfill the requirements in certain applications.
Stainless steel 316L is a traditional material that can be utilized for fabricating cardiovascular stents due to an excellent combination of mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. However, in comparison with some other metallic biomaterials for stents (e.g. cobalt chromium alloy, Co—Cr), 316L SS is still inferior in terms of yield strength and hardness, hence the strut thickness of 316L SS stents (˜150 μm) should be much thicker than that of Co—Cr stents (˜90 μm) to meet the mechanical requirements. Metallic stents are foreign matters to human body, the targeted vessel could be re-narrowing after the long-term intervention due to the adverse tissue reactions such as inflammations and immunological rejections. It is demonstrated by patient outcomes that stents with thicker struts result in higher restenosis rates compared to those with thinner struts. Moreover, the thick struts of stents will compromise the flexibility, thus the track of stents through the guide catheter and through the tortuous anatomy of the coronary arteries will be more difficult. There are other problems in existing metallic stents such as potential toxic Ni release, relatively high cytotoxicity, low cytocompatibility to certain cell type (e.g. endothelial cells), and low hemocompatibility.
CN101899554A disclosed a NiTi alloy which is treated with plasma nitriding followed by surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) to improve the hardness of the NiTi alloy. Although plasma nitriding treatment was shown to improve the hardness of NiTi alloy in CN101899554A, plasma nitriding will cause unwanted effects on other metallic alloys, especially stainless steel because of the high content of iron in stainless steel which becomes unstable after plasma nitriding. Plasma nitriding also increase the Ni release from those metallic alloys, which is unfavorable to the cell growth and tissue regeneration around an implantable medical device such as stent made of those metallic alloys.
Therefore, a 316L SS alloy with a higher yield strength and hardness, reduced Ni release, relatively lower cytotoxicity, higher cytocompatibility to endothelial cells, and improved hemocompatibility as an ideal biomaterial for fabricating implantable medical device is needed.

Application of the newly developed technology in stainless steel for biomedical implant

NANO AND ADVANCED MATERIALS INSTITUTE LIMITED


The present invention provides a method for preparing aqueous extracts of vegetals, particularly of plants, which comprises the steps of a) decontamination of the plant, b) comminuting the plant, c) treatment of the comminuted plant with a laser radiation, d) suspension of the mixture obtained in step c) in water, e) maceration of the suspension obtained in step d), and f) separation of the resulting liquid. The invention also provides the compositions obtained by the present method, some of which find application in medicine, particularly in the treatment of immune-suppressant diseases such as cancer, tuberculosis, influenza, common cold and AIDS, or in the treatment of viral diseases such as hepatitis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for preparing aqueous extracts of plants and to the aqueous extracts thus obtained, some of which find application in medicine, particularly in the treatment of immune suppressant diseases or in the treatment of viral diseases.
2. Description of the Related Art
Plants and, in general, vegetals, remain an important source of active compositions and compounds employed in medicine. New plants, new compounds present in plants or even modifications of compounds present in plants are of potential interest to the phitochemical industry.
The methods employed in the extraction of the components of vegetals and plants are of great importance regarding not only the yields of the compounds to be obtained, but also the chemical nature of the compounds which can in fact be gained.
The usual methods employed in the phitochemical industry are based on the extraction of the comminuted plant or vegetal with water or steam, with organic solvents, or with mixtures of water and organic solvents such as water and alcohols. The inclusion of a maceration step is also well known in the art. Finally, the separation of the aqueous extract from the solid phase can be effected by conventional methods such as decantation, centrifugation or filtration. Additional chemical treatments to modify the structure of the compounds present in the plants can also be effected. See Dr. Pio Font Quer, "Medicinal Plants. The updated Discorides" Ed. Labor, S.A., 12th Edition, 1990.
The French patent FR 2733419 ("the '419 patent") describes the preparation of extracts of a mixture of at least three different plants selected from the genus Geranium, Plantago and Calendula by steeping 300-400 g of fresh Geranium robertanium leaves, 10-50 g of dried Plantago lanceolata leaves and 10-50 g dried Calendula officinalis leaves in 3 l. of water at 15-30° C. for 3-15 days. According to the '419 patent, the composition thus obtained can be used in the treatment of cancer. However, these extracts produce non-satisfactory activity, as reflected in the examples below.
The European patent application EP 0 934 746 A ("the '746 application") discloses the preparation of an aqueous extract of plants from the genus Geranium and Plantago as well as from the species Calendula officinalis, in which these extracts are obtained from the following amounts in grams of these plants in water: 10 to 60 of dried Geranium sibiricun or 300 to 360 of fresh Geranium sibiricum, 10 to 60 of dried Plantago lanceolata, and 10 to 60 of dried Calendula Officinalis in 300 grams of water. The method for producing these aqueous extracts comprises macerating the comminuted plants in water before press-filtering the mixture and submitting it to a centrifugal treatment. According to the '746 application, this extract may be used in oncological practice as part of a cancer therapeutic program. However, these extracts produce non-satisfactory activity as reflected in the examples below.
There is, thus, a need for methods of preparing alternative extracts of plants which can be used as therapeutic agents, and which eventually can provide access to new compounds.

Process for preparing aqueous extracts of plants and extracts so obtained


Survival risk insurance is a method of transferring the financial consequences associated with the risk that deaths occurring within a specified period of time in a selected group of insured lives will be less in number than the expected number of deaths or less in amount than the expected amount of death benefits paid. More particularly, one entity, the Coverage Recipient, can transfer a financial risk that the actual number of deaths or the actual amount of death benefits paid during a specified period relative to a selected group of insured lives will be less than the expected deaths or the expected amount of death benefits paid to another entity, the Coverage Provider, for the payment of an appropriate premium based on the method of this invention.

Life insurance companies, through the issuance of life insurance policies, accept a transfer of the risk of adverse financial consequences which would be created when an insured life dies. Typically, the death of an individual creates adverse financial consequences for those who depend on future income or work contributions lost as a result of the individual's death. A life insurance policy is typically purchased to provide a beneficiary with a death benefit payment. The purpose of the death benefit payment is to provide the beneficiary with the means to offset, at least in part, the financial strain created by the unexpected or untimely early death of the insured.
Life insurance pricing (that is, the determination of the premium charged by the insurance company for the acceptance of a stated death benefit risk) is based on a number of factors for which assumptions are made including: mortality, interest, expenses (including taxes), and policy persistency. Policy persistency is the probability that the owner of a life insurance policy will choose to keep the policy in force by paying the premiums required as per the terms of the insurance contract. A policyholder who does not persist is said to have lapsed. An assumption with respect to lapse rates is typically the way persistency is incorporated into pricing calculations. Pricing assumptions are made prior to the issuance of a life insurance policy and are made relative to an entire class of insured lives and not with respect to individual insureds.
A number of different sets of pricing assumptions may be used. Assumption sets may vary by mortality class, type of distribution used, or by other characteristics commonly used to distinguish between classes of insured lives in the insurance industry. For example, different mortality assumptions may be applied to males versus females or to non-smokers versus smokers. Those skilled in the art are well aware of the fact that many other mortality class distinctions exist or are possible.
Also, different expense assumptions may be applied in different marketing situations. For example, insurance offered directly to the consumer in a direct marketing distribution channel versus insurance offered through a traditional agent based distribution channel will have different expense assumptions applied to reflect the different expected costs in these different marketing channels.
The interest rate assumptions used in pricing are important because they provide an adjustment for the timing differences between when cash goes into and out of the pricing calculations.
Persistency or lapse assumptions affect pricing calculations by creating an expectation with respect to the occurrence of cash flows which are dependent on the insurance policy being in force or effect.
When an individual insured applies for life insurance, an underwriting process is applied. The underwriting process determines, the appropriate premium or underwriting class for the applicant based on an evaluation of the applicant's mortality characteristics and life expectancy. This is based in part on expertise the underwriter derived from prior training or experience. Life expectancy is the average number of years individuals in the same underwriting class can be expected to live. Maximum life expectancy is the highest age to which an individual in the underwriting class can be expected to live.
A life insurance policy may provide for some change in assumptions after the policy is issued. Such changes would modify the current charges or credits provided for in the policy for a class of insureds. These changes would result in a change in the overall cost of the life insurance for each insured in the same class of insureds. Such changes can only be justified by changes in experience after issue for the whole class to which an insured belongs and can only be applied to all insurance policies in the class. Typically the range of change allowed in a life insurance policy is limited by minimum or maximum guarantees made in the life insurance contract or policy relative to each assumption that may be changed.
One type of life insurance policy contains an endowment feature. This type of life insurance policy is called an endowment policy. With respect to such life insurance, the insurance company would pay an amount called the endowment benefit to the insured on the endowment date, for example age 65, if the insured survived to that date. Because of changes in the way life insurance is taxed by the US federal government, endowment policies of this sort are, typically, no longer offered as there are adverse tax consequences associated with life insurance policies that endow prior to age 95.
The assumptions used in pricing a life insurance policy include an assumption regarding the maximum life expectancy of the lives insured. For many currently issued life insurance policies, this maximum life expectancy has been assumed to be age 100. More recent mortality tables used for life insurance pricing purposes are beginning to recognize longer maximum life expectancies, for example, age 120. These longer maximum life expectancies are made possible by improvements in health care and a general improvement in the health of the insured life population. Mortality tables developed for purposes other than life insurance pricing may have found it convenient to make assumptions regarding the maximum life expectancy different from age 100. For example, annuity products may use mortality tables for pricing purposes with a maximum life expectancy greater than age 100.
This maximum life expectancy age is often referred to as the maturity age for the life insurance policy. Any insured who survives to the end of this period can be thought of as reaching the ultimate endowment age. Typically, life insurance companies will make the death benefit of the life insurance policy available in some way to insureds who survive to the maturity age. One alternative is to pay an amount equal to the death benefit at the maturity age directly to the insured as an endowment benefit on the maturity date. Another alternative is for the insurance company to hold such a maturity age endowment benefit in an interest bearing account until such time as the insured actually dies. Then the benefit is paid as a death benefit. This later alternative is used to potentially avoid the possible adverse tax consequences associated with paying the death benefit to the insured before the insured actually died.
In the past, the value in a life insurance policy was determined only by the contractual terms of the life insurance policy and confined to the relationship the owner of the policy had with the insurance company providing it. Recently, however, secondary markets for life insurance policies have developed in which a life insurance policy is purchased or the right to receive the death benefit is assigned to a third party by the owner of the policy in exchange for a fee or purchase price.
Examples of the operation of secondary markets can be seen in the life settlement market and viaticals. These markets involve life insurance policies on insured lives who become impaired after their policies were originally issued. In these markets, life insurance policies are purchased by third parties (that is, neither the owner of the policy nor the insurance company issuing the policy) or assigned to third parties for a fee or payment of some sort. For such payment the third party receives the right to receive the policy death benefit when the insured dies.
An impaired life is an insured life who develops an impairment after the life insurance policy was originally issued which reduces his or her life expectancy. An impairment is any medical condition affecting the health status of the insured life which results in a higher mortality rate for the insured life than was reflected in the original mortality assumption made for the underwriting class the insured was assigned to when the insurance policy was issued. Because of the impairment acquired after original issuance of the policy, the likelihood of an earlier than expected death claim is increased. This situation may make life insurance policies covering such impaired lives worth more than the cash surrender value provided by the contractual terms of the policies.
The cash surrender value of a life insurance policy is the amount of money the life insurance company that issued the policy is willing to pay if the policy is lapsed or surrendered. A life insurance policy is lapsed if the owner of the policy stops paying the premiums required to keep the policy in force per the terms of the life insurance contract. For a typical term life insurance policy or whole life insurance policy, the policy lapses when the owner stops paying the contractually required premiums. A whole life insurance policy may have a cash value at the time it lapses which can be surrendered and paid to the policy owner in cash or applied by the policy owner under one of the nonforfeiture options contained in the policy contract.
For a universal life or variable universal life insurance policy with a flexible premium structure, the policy lapses when the cash value of the policy becomes insufficient to cover the insurance related charges specified in the policy contract. Typically this occurs because the policy owner has not made premium payments prior to the lapse sufficient to keep the policy cash value large enough to cover said charges.
A life insurance policy can be surrendered by an owner who voluntarily agrees to terminate the life insurance protection provided by the policy in exchange for the payment of the policy's cash surrender value. A life insurance policy's cash surrender value is the cash value of the policy defined in the life insurance contract adjusted for any amounts owed by the owner to the insurance company (for example, policy loans) or any additional amounts owed by the insurance company to the owner (for example, dividends). For universal and variable universal life insurance forms of insurance there may also be specifically stated surrender charges which are deducted to determine the cash surrender value.
Life insurance benefits may also be assigned to third parties in insurance marketing programs in which life insurance is used as a funding mechanism by a benefit plan sponsor. The benefit plan sponsor is a third party which pays for or in some other fashion enables benefits related to the life or health of an individual or individuals. The benefits provided by the benefit plan sponsor consist of cash payments designed to fund health, retirement, or death needs. Funding mechanisms which utilize life insurance benefits rely either on the cash values built up within a set of life insurance policies or the life insurance policies' death benefits to meet funding requirements for a benefit plan.
Several benefit plans have been funded with the expectation of full or partial funding cost recovery via anticipated or expected death benefit proceeds from the life insurance policies. When death benefit proceeds are used to reduce or recover the cost attributable to benefit plans, it is important that the death proceeds be received in a predictable manner based on a set of mortality assumptions chosen by the benefit plan sponsor. Such chosen mortality assumptions, however, are often inaccurate due to the fact that the actual mortality experience for a selected group is difficult to determine because, generally, such data is not publicized by the insurance companies or reinsurance companies that collect the data.
Many benefit plans involving the use of life insurance policies as a funding vehicle do not take into account changes in the health status of the insured lives after the insurance policies were issued. That is, they do not rely for their value on the insured life becoming impaired. In order for life insurance policies to be an effective funding tool in programs in which death proceeds are the funding source, however, the death benefits actually received must be reasonably close to the death benefits expected based on the mortality assumptions used to set up the program.
It is well recognized that for the financial products created by the use of life insurance death proceeds as a funding vehicle, adverse financial consequences are created if the actual mortality experience of the lives insured under the life insurance policies being used is better than assumed. That is, adverse financial consequences are created for the third parties if the insured lives, as a group, live longer than expected. This can occur, for example, if a financial product is created by the purchase of a pool of life insurance policies insuring a group of insureds who have lives that are impaired at the time of purchase but who ultimately as a group live longer than expected. The investors providing the cash used to make these purchases are expecting a return on the money they have invested. The return the investors receive is derived from the death benefits that are paid on the life insurance policies that were purchased with the cash they provided. This return is expected to consist of the return of their invested principal plus an investment return. The amount of the investment return or income the investors receive is dependent on the amount and timing of the actual death benefit proceeds received from the group of policies purchased. A purchase price value is calculated for the policies being purchased which is based on mortality assumptions from which the timing and amount of expected future death proceeds can be projected. In addition, other expense and risk charge assumptions are typically made in order to determine a final purchase price for such life insurance policies.
Since it is the death proceeds of the group of policies purchased which provide the revenue to pay back the investors their principal and a return on their investment, the actual death proceeds must be reasonably close to the expected death proceeds in amount and timing for the expected investment return to be realized. In a life settlement transaction, the investors would experience adverse financial consequences if the insured lives experienced better mortality as a group than the mortality assumption used to determine the purchase price for the policies.
Another example of when a set of insureds living longer than expected would have adverse financial consequences for a third party beneficiary, would be a situation in which a benefit plan's funding was dependent on the actual death proceeds from a life insurance policy or group of life insurance policies for which the insured or insureds health was not impaired. The benefit plan sponsor anticipates receiving life insurance policy benefits in an expected manner with respect to timing and amount. Such expectation would be based on the assumed level of mortality used in establishing the benefit plan's funding. Death benefit proceeds received by the plan sponsor later than expected, in lower amounts, or not at all would result in adverse financial consequences to the benefit plan sponsor since this would result in the benefit plan being under funded.
The financial risk that a third party beneficiary faces from a set of insured lives living longer than expected is referred to herein as a "survival risk". There is a need for a method of insuring against the adverse financial consequences of survival risk.
Given the variety of benefit programs in the insurance industry which are based on the inherent tax advantages attributable to the payment of death benefit proceeds and rely on the timely payment of death benefit proceeds according to projections based on reasonable mortality assumptions, it would be desirable to have an insurance product under which the risk of survival and the adverse financial consequences of survival longer than expected could be transferred from one entity to another entity willing to accept that survival risk for a premium.


An arrangement for a sailing boat which exhibits a jib furling system (2) comprising a sail furling part (5) extending between the hull and mast of the boat, which sail furling part is rotatably driven by means of a manually actuated operating line (6) which drives a drive part (7) that is connected to the aforementioned sail furling part (5) to achieve furling of the foresail around the aforementioned rotatable sail furling part (5), and so that unfurling of the sail from the aforementioned sail furling part (5) is possible. A gear (9) is arranged between the aforementioned drive part (7) and the rotatable sail furling part (5). The gear (9) is provided with devices to enable gearing to be obtained between the aforementioned drive part (7) and the rotatable sail furling part (5).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an arrangement for a sailing boat which exhibits a jib furling system comprising a sail furling part extending between the hull and mast of the boat, which sail furling part is rotatably driven by means of a manually actuated operating line which drives a drive part that is connected to the aforementioned sail furling part to achieve furling of the foresail around the aforementioned rotatable sail furling part, and so that unfurling of the sail from the aforementioned sail furling part is possible, in conjunction with which a planetary gear is arranged between the aforementioned drive part and the rotatable sail furling part, which planetary gear is provided with devices to permit gearing to be achieved between the aforementioned drive part and the rotatable sail furling part.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Jib furling gear on boats is already known from the middle of the 1970s. In view of the constant increase in the size of boats, there is an increasing need to be able to handle the large foresails and similar sails which they carry, and which it is wished to furl onto and unfurl manually from the associated sail furling part, in spite of the fact that increasingly great force is required for this purpose.
An attempt has been made to solve the aforementioned problem of the force required by increasing the width of the winding drum. This has resulted in a restriction in the space available on deck, however, which is not advantageous given the wish to retain the largest possible free space on deck at the bows in order, amongst other things, not to obstruct free passage to and from the boat.
The jib furling drive arrangement previously disclosed in DE 3001527 A1 comprises a planetary gear. A planetary gear accommodated internally in a drive part executed as a line pulley is supported mounted on a radially extending disc-shaped flange, which is securely attached to a sleeve capable of rotating externally about a stay. The previously disclosed arrangement is complicated, however, and does not permit simple assembly and dismantling of the constituent parts. A clamping arrangement for stays or wires is also difficult to accommodate internally within the arrangement.
The principal object of the present invention is, therefore, in the first instance, to make available an arrangement of the aforementioned kind with which it is possible to solve the aforementioned problems simply and effectively.


The present invention relates to a DNA sequencing method using a nucleoside triphosphate with a fluorescent blocking group on its 3′-OH end as a reversible terminator. Further, the present invention relates to sequencing-by-synthesis method using the mono-modified reversible terminator (MRT), the novel nucleotide monomer having a reversible fluorescent blocking group removable chemically or enzymatically at its 3′-OH end. The sequencing method of the present invention facilitates sequencing of bases inserted by terminating extension of a nucleotide chain by the nucleotide monomer and then detecting fluorescence signal from 3′-OH end. At this time, after analyzing the fluorescence signal, the blocking group conjugated to the 3′-OH end can be effectively removed, indicating that a free 3′-OH functional group can be successfully restored, so that the next monomer insertion is possible, making continuous sequencing possible.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is drawn to a nucleoside triphosphate (3′-O-FL-dNTP) having a fluorescent 3′-O-blocking group which is chemically removable and a DNA sequencing method (sequencing-by-synthesis) using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
By virtue of successful result of the Human Genome Project (HGP) recently completed, information of human genome could be obtained. Although this information contains common sequences of the human genome, it does not present individual variation in the genome. To acquire information of complete individual genomes, personal genomes have to be analyzed. Since the haploid human genome occupies approximately 3 billion DNA base pairs, if the capillary electrophoresis-based Sanger method, which has been widely used for DNA sequencing so far, is used for sequencing of a personal genome, the similar cost and time as required for the completion of the HGP will be needed to obtain information of the individual genome (G. M Church et al., Nature Reviews, 2004, 5, 335-344). Since 2004, the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI, USA) has supported the development of technologies enabling whole genome sequencing of each individual with remarkably reduced costs, particularly at a cost of 100,000 dollars in a short term and 1,000 dollars in the long term. As a result, sequencing platforms capable of performing whole gemome sequencing of an individual at a cost of about 50,000 dollars are now commercialized. These machines are based on two major technologies, a pyrosequencing and a sequencing-by-synthesis (SBS). GS TLX Titanium series machine provided by 454 Life Sciences, a Roche Company is based on the pyrosequencing technology. It is possible to analyze 400-600 million bases for 10 hours and to analyze comparatively long chains (approximately 200 nucleotides) at once. However, Genome Analyzer provided by Solexa, Inc. is based on the SBS technology.
The sequencing-by-synthesis (SBS) which is directly related to the present invention, uses fluorescently labeled nucleotides. Particularly, according to the technology, each nucleotide is incorporated into a DNA primer by polymerases and then fluorescent signal from the nucleotide is detected to identify base of the nucleotide and the complementary base can be analyzed at the same time (see FIG. 2).
Nucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs) used for the SBS are basically dual-modified reversible terminators (DRTs), which are modified dNTPs having a reversible blocking group on the 3′-OH moiety (3′-O-blocking group) and a fluorophore on the base (see Figure, left). At this time, 4 bases (A, T, G, and C) are labeled with different fluorophores emitting lights of different wavelengths. A target DNA is used as a template for the polymerization using such modified dNTPs. Then, a nucleotide is once incorporated into a primer chain by DNA polymerases, the other dNTPs cannot be incorporated into the chain because of 3′-O-blocking group of the incorporated nucleotide. Then, the fluorescence of the fluorophore conjugated to the base of the incorporated nucleotide is detected to identify base of the incorporated nucleotide, leading to the analysis of the complementary nucleotide sequence of the template chain. When the fluorophore and the 3′-O-blocking group are removed, a free 3′-OH functional group is recovered, so that the next nucleotide can be incorporated. The base of the incorporated nucleotide can be identified by the same manner as described above, resulting in sequencing the template chain. This step by step sequencing is called 'sequencing-by-synthesis (SBS)'.
The dual-modified reversible terminators (DRTs) used for commercial SBS has a fluorescent group connected to a base via an acetylene linker. In that case, even though a 3′-O-blocking group and a fluorescent group are removed after DRT insertion and sequencing, the linker part connecting the fluorescent group to the base still remains. This remnant is called a molecular scar. As the sequencing progresses, a newly polymerized chain contains more molecular scars. Since such an accumulation of molecular scars reduces the activity and fidelity of polymerases later on, resulting in limiting the number of sequenced bases. Because of this problem, the SBS is known to have relatively short read-length ca. 25-35 bases, compared with pyrosequencing-based methods. Thus, this limit might increase chances of errors in profiling polynucleotides fragments when a long polynucleotide, which is cut into several short fragments for SBS, is analyzed.
There are two important factors to successfully perform the SBS. First, a polymerase capable of incorporating a DRT with almost perfect efficiency is required. Second, the fluorophore connected to a base and the 3′-O-blocking group have to be removed with almost perfect efficiency in aqueous solution without damaging DNA. Natural DNA polymerases have been evolved for long time so as to receive dNTPs having free 3′-OH selectively. Therefore, they do not accept a substrate when it has a blocking group at 3′-OH. In the earlier study, Sarfati et al. reported in 1994 that dNTPs having 3′-O-ester anthranylic blocking groups were incorporated in a DNA chain by many polymerases (AMV reverse transcriptase, Taq DNA polymerase, and Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase I) and then a free 3′-OH functional group could be recovered by cutting off ester bond using esterase to continue polymerization (Sarfati et al, Gene, 1994, 148: 1-6). In the same year, M. L. Metzker, et al. reported that they could observe the insertion of dNTPs having a 3′-OH group conjugated with different blocking groups by the action of polymerases (AMV reverse transcriptase, M-MuLV reverse transcriptase, Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase I, Sequenase, Bst DNA polymerase, AmpliTaq DNA polymerase, Vent(exo-) DNA polymerase, rTth DNA polymerase, and Pfu(exo-) DNA polymerase) and as a result, dNTPs having a 3′-O-methyl group and a 3′-O-(2-nitrobenzyl) group could be inserted via some of polymerases to terminate polymerization temporarily (M. L. Metzker et al., Nucleic Acids Research, 1994, 22: 4259-4267). However, those prior arts are not suitable to be used in the SBS with respect to efficiency and fidelity for the continuous polymerization.
The reason why dNTPs having a bulky 3′-O-blocking group cannot be accepted as a reaction substrate by polymerases might be explained by narrow space for the 3′-OH group in the active sites of natural polymerases (Burgess et al. A Chemistry European Journal, 1999, 5: 951-960). To generally perform the SBS using dNTPs having a 3′-O-blocking group, a suitably modified polymerase having a larger space surrounding the 3′-OH group in its active site is needed. Recently, professor Ju's group at Columbia University performed the SBS using 3′-O-allylated dNTPs and 3′-O-aziomethylated dNTPs (Seo et al. PNAS, 2005, 102: 5926-5931; Guo et al. PNAS, 2008, 105: 9145-9150). To insert such nucleotides having 3′-O-blcking groups, the above group used a modified DNA polymerase obtained from the strain collected from an Eastern Pacific crater (Southworth et al. PNAS, 1996, 93: 5281-5285). This modified DNA polymerase is now commercially available under the brand name of 'Therminator II' provided by New England Biolabs, Inc. Kwiatkowski et al. of Helicos Biosciences Corp. designed 3′-O-hydrocarbyldithiomethyl dNTPs for the SBS (Kwiatkowski et al., 2007, US20077279563), and Parce et al. of Caliper Life Sciences, Inc. used a blocking group containing a phosphate group or a carbamate group (Parce et al., 2006, US20067105300).
If, instead of DRTs, the SBS could utilize mono-modified reversible terminators (MRTs), in which the reversible blocking group on the 3′-OH group played a dual role as a fluorescence-signal reporter as well as a reversible terminator, fluorescent labels on nucleobases would no longer be needed. The MRTs could then be transformed back into the natural state without residual molecular scars after removal of the fluorescent blocking groups from 3′-OH moieties (see FIG. 1, right). However, this principal of sequencing using MRTs and conventional polymerases has not been realized yet.
The present inventors completed the present invention by confirming that the SBS can be successfully carried out by the processes of 1) designing a MRT having a chemical structure playing a role as a blocking group as well as capable of emitting a fluorescence-signal in its 3′-OH group not in its base, and 2) inserting the MRT using conventional polymerases→sequencing by the recognition of fluorescence signal of a 3′-0-fluorescent blocking group→removing the fluorescent blocking group→the second insertion of the MRT (see FIG. 2).

3′-o-fluorescently modified nucleotides and uses thereof

Korea Institute of Science and Technology


In an aircraft having an aircraft tracking system (ATS), the aircraft being a monitoring aircraft, the monitoring aircraft interrogates target aircraft in the vicinity of the monitoring aircraft in order to determine potentially dangerous situations. The target aircraft responds to the interrogations with parameter information which includes identification (ID). A method of interrogating the target aircraft comprises the steps of receiving unsolicited signals from the target aircraft in the vicinity of the monitoring aircraft. The received unsolicited signals are received by the monitoring aircraft at a first power level. Based on the first power level of the received unsolicited signals, the monitoring aircraft interrogates the target aircraft with a first interrogation signal. The first interrogation signal is transmitted at a second power level, the second power level being based on the first power level of the received unsolicited signal, thereby minimizing interference in the environment and optimizing receipt of the first interrogation signal by the target aircraft.

The present invention relates to a method of aircraft traffic indication, and more particularly, to a method of aircraft traffic acquisition and surveillance utilizing minimum interrogation power thereby reducing RF interference and increasing the surveillance coverage.
The increased demands placed on the aircraft flight deck as a result of more complex technology, ever increasing aircraft traffic, and increased demands for safety has brought about a requirement for monitoring of aircraft traffic in a vicinity of an aircraft (intruder aircraft) that includes automatic identification of potential threats to the monitoring aircraft. As a result, aircraft can have transponders associated therewith that, in response to appropriate electromagnetic interrogation signals induce responding electromagnetic signals that provide information with respect to the range, altitude, and bearing of the interrogated aircraft. Certain traffic control system transponders, e.g., the Mode S system, include target identification as part of the information imposed on the responding electromagnetic signals. For these Mode S systems, the identification of the path or track of the responding aircraft is relatively simple, involving time dependent positions and altitudes of an identified aircraft. Similarly, extrapolations or extensions of aircraft tracks can be relatively simple. The operation of aircraft collision avoidance apparatus is governed by the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) for Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) Airborne Equipment manual document number RTCA/DO185.
When TCAS equipped aircraft operate in high density traffic areas, the rf environment can become crowded in the frequency band in which the TCAS and air traffic control (ATC) interrogators and transponders operate. Presently, most acquisition and tracking interrogations are transmitted at power levels that are much higher than necessary. These unnecessarily high power levels contribute to the crowded airwave condition and interference levels in the atmosphere.
Thus there is a need to provide a method which provides for reliable acquisition and tracking of these intruder aircraft without substantially contributing to the rf interference of the environment. The present invention provides a method which uses the received power level and angle of arrival of squitters (periodic unsolicited identity transmissions), altitude fruit (responses to interrogations from interrogators other than own aircraft), or tracking replies to measure the reply path loss, estimate the transmission path loss, and determine the antenna direction, and power level at which the subsequent interrogation should be transmitted. Because this interrogation technique significantly reduces the average TCAS transmitted power, it reduces the need for use of interference limiting procedures. This concept is also very useful in maintaining a larger TCAS surveillance volume relative to using the current algorithms in high traffic density areas. This interrogation technique further increases the safety of the TCAS system. If the low power interrogations are not successful, the intruder is re-interrogated with a power level that is equal to or greater than that used in previous methods. Thus, TCAS may track threatening intruders using this method that it may have missed using the previous methods but it will not miss any intruders it would have tracked using previous methods.

Method of improved initial transmission of acquisition and tracking interrogations in an aircraft tracking system


A handlebar gear shifter includes a sleeve rotatably mounted to the handlebar from which a support plate extends. An L-shaped mediate member has an end pivotally connected on the support plate and a first cable has one end thereof engaged with a recess in the sleeve and the other end of the first cable is engaged with the mediate member. A second cable is connected between the mediate member and a derailleur mechanism. A C-shaped member having notches is connected to the handlebar and a spring member is engaged with the sleeve. An index member is biased by the spring member and removably engaged with one of the notches. The mediate member is pivoted by rotating the sleeve which pulls the first cable, and the second cable is pulled together with the mediate member to shift the gear.

The present invention relates to a gear shifter on a handlebar for pulling or releasing a derailleur cable of a bicycle derailleur mechanism of bicycle.
A conventional gear shifting device generally is connected on the handle assembly and located between two handlebars. A derailleur cable extends from the gear shifting device and is connected to a derailleur mechanism so that when the derailleur cable is pulled, the position of the chain and the gears is changed. However, the user has to remove his/her hand from the handlebar to the shifting device, and the removal of the hand could result in unstable for controlling the bicycle. Besides, the user usually watches the operation of the gear shifting device during pulling the derailleur cable so as to make sure what gear is actually engaged with the chain. This removes the eyes of the user from the road and is dangerous for road safety.
The present invention intends to provide a gear shifter on handlebar and the derailleur cable is pulled or released simply by rotating the handlebar.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a handlebar gear shifter and comprises a tubular handlebar having a support plate extending from an end of the handlebar. A sleeve is rotatably mounted to the handlebar and a recess is defined in an end of the sleeve. A mediate member has an end pivotally connected on the support plate. A first cable has one end thereof engaged with the recess and the other end of the first cable is engaged with the mediate member. A second cable has an end thereof connected to the mediate member and the other end of the second cable is connected to a derailleur mechanism. A C-shaped member having notches is connected to the handlebar. A spring member is engaged with the sleeve and an index member is biased by the spring member. The index member is removably engaged with one of the notches.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a gear shifter on the handlebar and which pulls the derailleur cable by rotating the shifter.
The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

Gear shifter on handlebar for operating bicycle derailleur mechanism


A catheter and methods are provided for inserting at least portions thereof into a vessel, cavity, or tissue of a human body to thereby provide manipulation of a distal portion of the catheter when positioned within a vessel, cavity, or tissue. The catheter preferably has a module which includes an elongate tube having at least one lumen extending from a distal end to a proximal end of the tube, a module interface connected to the proximal end of the tube, and a deflector connected to the tube for deflecting the distal portion of the elongate tube. A handle detachably connects to the module and is configured to be readily held in the hand of a user. The handle has a body which includes a wall positioned in and extending transversely across distal portions of the body. The wall has an outer surface thereof defining an exterior portion of the body and a first cavity formed within the body. Preferably, the body detachably and coextensively connects to the module interface through the outer surface of the wall. A controller is connected to the body and detachably connects to the deflector of the module for responsively controlling the deflector to thereby manipulate distal portions of the elongate tube. The controller and the deflector connect to define a unitary catheter manipulator extending from the first cavity, through the wall, and to the tube for manipulating a distal portion of the catheter when positioned within a vessel, cavity, or tissue.

Various commercially available endoscopes and steerable catheters exist for introducing a variety of surgical tools, fluids, and other materials such as radiographic contrast materials, angioplasty balloons, fiber optic scopes, laser lights, and cutting instruments into the vessels, cavities, or tissue of a human body. Also, various techniques and systems have been developed for guiding or steering the catheters or endoscopes in body vessels or cavities for use with these tools, fluids, and other materials. Therapeutic or diagnostic treatments may be made by inserting surgical instruments or fluid through a working channel or lumen of a catheter.
Catheters conventionally include a conduit or flexible tube for inserting into a cavity, duct, or vessel of the human body to allow fluids to pass therethrough or to allow instruments to be inserted through the tube. Catheters also have been developed with steering mechanisms to guide or manipulate the catheter such as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,950 by Schmitt et al. titled "Medical Instrument." Endoscopes are generally tools used to view within a portion of the anatomy through an open end of a tube. Flexible endoscopes have been constructed for use within "tube-like" portions or cavities of the anatomy (e.g., arteries, ureters, common bile duct). Endoscopes have been designed for the user to look directly through an objective lens or in conjunction with video cameras attached remotely to the scope for viewing a portion of the human body. Rod lens systems also have been used with some endoscopes to view images. In other endoscopes, the image is gathered at the distal end by a lens and transferred to a proximal objective lens using fiber optic bundles.
During use in medical procedures, endoscopes and steerable catheters are exposed to various viruses, bacteria, and harmful disease carrying media. These viruses and bacteria can be trapped in the endoscope or steerable catheter, particularly in lumens and transferred to subsequent patients or users. During use of these medical devices, microbes have also been trapped inside patient materials that remain in the endoscopes and become coated with lubricants and various organic materials in the endoscope. If not effectively eliminated, these materials can and have been transferred to other patients or medical personnel through subsequent use of the endoscope or steerable catheter. In the human body, enzymes and digestive processes work to release these internally trapped microbes from the lubricant coatings. These harmful microbes can infect the subsequent patients or medical personnel with dangerous or deadly diseases.
Sterilization methods have been employed on reusable medical devices, including various endoscopes and steerable catheters, in an attempt to disinfect and eliminate viruses and bacteria for subsequent use of the devices. For example, glutaraldehyde has been used to treat reusable endoscopes. Also, heat sterilization and other chemical disinfection have been employed to attempt to sterilize internally contaminated medical devices. Some endoscopes and steerable catheters contain very small and narrow working channels or lumens for performing intricate medical procedures. These small or narrow working channels or lumens are difficult to clean and sterilize. Further, research has shown that, in spite of attempts to sterilize endoscopes, endoscope lubricants can shield viruses, including HIV, from high-level disinfection. Disease transmissions have been documented for endoscopes used in diagnostic and surgical procedures even after treatment with chemicals such as glutaraldehyde. The instances of epidemics of various diseases, including new and old diseases, are rising due to the increasing density of human population and frequency of human contact. At the same time, the effectiveness of certain antibiotics is diminishing and the numbers of individuals with increased susceptibility to disease is on the increase. Technological advances have also increased the frequency of use of medical instruments which are difficult to clean, yet are not disposable. These factors have produced an environment where the likelihood of infection caused by passing disease causing viruses, bacteria, or other matter is rapidly increasing.
In addition to the problem of infection and transmission of disease, prior endoscopes and catheters by virtue of their design and materials have been intended for prolonged, repeated use. The precision of manipulation and movement in endoscopes and steerable catheters is essential for conducting the complicated medical procedures and diagnostics generally employed by such devices. Some repeated use endoscopes and steerable catheters have contained steering mechanisms to manipulate the endoscopes within the human body. These mechanisms have been complicated and required precision calibration. Further, these devices have also had to withstand sterilization with heat or chemicals. To accomplish these objectives, reusable endoscopes and steerable catheters have been made of steel or other durable metals which are costly.
To maintain integrity and precision, endoscopes and steerable catheters have generally been designed as intended for repeated, prolonged use. In spite of being designed for repeated use, however, these scopes such as laparoscopes, require replacement much more frequently than other visualization equipment such as cameras or light sources. A typical replacement cycle is one to two years. In high volume surgery centers, some scopes require replacement after a few weeks or months due to damage from mishandling or dropping. Repairing these endoscopes is also costly. The requirement of sterilization also adds additional cost to each medical procedure requiring additional chemicals and equipment.
Limited attempts have been made to provide a detachable reusable endoscope. One repeated use detachable-end endoscope with a detachable flexible shaft is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,148 by Sosnowski et al. titled "Deflectable-End Endoscope With Detachable Flexible Shaft." This patent describes a flexible shaft assembly which connects to a handle subassembly to form an endoscope. The handle subassembly includes a hollow female bayonet connector which couples with a male connector in the shaft subassembly. The endoscope described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,148 by Sosnowski has a central opening extending from a proximal end to the distal end of the endoscope. A lens is positioned within the opening to provide appropriate magnification for an operator to manually view the distal end of the endoscope. This endoscope is also intended for reuse as both the shaft subassembly and handle subassembly are provided with watertight seals to prevent a compromise of internal components resulting from usage and sterilizations. The shaft subassembly, however, as described above, has some of the sterilization failures of previous technology and provides an awkward and inefficient manner for viewing the distal end of the endoscope.
In addition to the issues of disease transmission and disposability, numerous endoscopes have been designed which are bulky or difficult to use, requiring numerous hands or personnel. Hand-held catheters have been developed to provide the control and manipulation of the catheter for simultaneous use with surgical tools, fiber optic scopes, and fluids needed for medical operations, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,299 by Snoke et al. titled "Steerable Catheter." Many medical procedures, however, require passage of relatively straight instruments into the human body at an angle difficult to actuate relative to the position of the portion of the medical device in the medical practitioner's hand.
As stated, none of the prior catheter or endoscope systems utilized fiber optic imaging systems to view within a human body. These systems required the use of an endoscope or catheter in conjunction with an external camera for transmitting images from within a human body to an external monitor. These external cameras occupied limited space in the operating or examination rooms and were susceptible to breakage or contamination. Still further, these cameras needed to be designed to withstand required direct sterilization.
Charged-coupled devices ("CCD's") have been proposed for use with endoscopes allowing direct image capture at the distal tip of an endoscope. Such systems conventionally place a camera chip at the distal end of a scope such as a laparoscope are referred to as a "chip-on-a-stick." These chip-on-a-stick devices are used in conjunction with an external camera connected to the scope by a cable. These chip-on-a-stick devices have several problems associated with them. For example, the scope may become contaminated during a procedure and sterilization often cannot be adequately performed on the device because of the presence of the CCD chip. This CCD chip also makes the scope somewhat expensive, especially where contamination occurs and sterilization is not possible without damaging the chip.
In chip-on-a-stick systems, the chip-on-a-stick generally would not be susceptible to sterilization at the tip of the endoscope because the camera chip is positioned on or around the tip. These external cameras also require space in shipping and storage. Prior endoscopes or steerable catheters which utilized fiber optic technology also often had an external focus mechanism associated with the external camera. This would require the practitioner to look or reach away from the area of the procedure to focus the image being viewed within the human body.

Steerable catheter having disposable module and sterilizable handle and method of connecting same


The present disclosure provides augmented reality methods and systems where two or more component optical images are optically overlaid via one or more beam splitters to form composite optical images. In some embodiments a second component optical image is an electronic optical image (an image from an electronically controlled emission source) while the first component optical image is one of a physical optical image (an image of a physical object from which diffuse reflection occurs), an electronic optical image, an emission optical image (an image from a non-electronic source that emits radiation), or a hybrid optical image (composed of at least two of a physical optical image, and electronic optical image, or an emission optical image). In some embodiments the first and second component optical images are used to provide feedback concerning the quality of the overlaying and appropriate correction factors to improve the overlay quality.

Augmented reality (AR) is a term that is applied to composite optical images and methods and systems for producing those composite optical images wherein the composite optical images are typically composed of component optical images, one of which is typically an image of a physical or real object or scene while another component optical image is computer or electronically created, placed, modified, or manipulated to provide an enhanced or alternative understanding of the physical object or scene.
A need exists in AR methods and systems for forming composite optical images using optical merging of component optical images with improvements in overlaying of the optical component optical images.

Augmented reality methods and systems including optical merging of a plurality of component optical images


A semiconductor device (100T, 100B) includes: a substrate (30); a first metal layer (10) supported on the substrate (30), the first metal layer (10) including a plurality of first wires (12); an insulating layer (70) provided on the first metal layer (10); a second metal layer (20) provided on the insulating layer (70), the second metal layer (20) including a plurality of second wires (22); an insulative protection layer (80) covering part of each of the plurality of second wires (22), and an electrically-conductive layer (90) provided on the insulative protection layer (80). In a cross section including a boundary between a first region (R1) in which the insulative protection layer (80) is provided and a second region (R2) in which the insulative protection layer (80) is not provided, a surface of the insulating layer (70) which is on the insulative protection layer (80) side has a step between two of the second wires which adjoin each other.

Display devices which have an active matrix substrate in which a switching element is provided for each pixel, such as liquid crystal display devices, have been widely used. An active matrix substrate which includes thin film transistors (hereinafter, "TFT(s)") as the switching elements is referred to as a TFT substrate. A TFT substrate for use in a liquid crystal display device includes, for example, a glass substrate, a plurality of TFTs supported on the glass substrate, a plurality of gate wires and a plurality of source wires, and a plurality of pixel electrodes in a matrix arrangement. The plurality of gate wires are arranged so as to extend in, for example, a row direction of the display plane. The plurality of source wires are arranged so as to extend in, for example, a column direction of the display plane. The gate electrode, source electrode, and drain electrode of each TFT are electrically coupled to a gate wire, a source wire, and a pixel electrode, respectively.
Liquid crystal display devices are known which have such a configuration that pixel electrodes are arranged on an insulating film that covers TFTs, gate wires, and source wires, wherein the pixel aperture ratio is improved by adjusting the thickness and/or dielectric constant of the insulating film and reducing a parasitic capacitance formed by overlap of an edge portion of the pixel electrode with the gate wires and/or the source wires (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4). In such a liquid crystal display device, the insulating film is typically made of an organic insulative material. This is because organic insulative materials advantageously have lower dielectric constants and/or are better for formation of a thick film than inorganic insulative materials.
However, formation of a relatively-thick insulating film leads to the following problems.
A display region which is formed by the pixels that are in a matrix arrangement on the TFT substrate is surrounded by a non-display region (which is referred to as "frame region"). In some cases, terminal portions and even a driving circuit portion are provided in the frame region in addition to a seal portion that is for adhering together two substrates (TFT substrate and counter substrate) which are arranged so as to oppose each other via a liquid crystal layer. In such a configuration, the insulating film is provided over generally the entirety of the display region but is not provided at least over the terminal portions of the frame region. Thus, over the TFT substrate, there are a region in which the insulating film is provided and a region in which the insulating film is not provided. If the insulating film is thick, a relatively-large step is formed.
Accordingly, in the process of forming a pixel electrode by patterning an electrically-conductive film deposited on the insulating film, part of the electrically-conductive film remains near the edge of the insulating film so that a short circuit can sometimes occur between wires (gate wires and/or source wires) which adjoin each other. This is attributed to the fact that the thickness of a resist mask used for patterning of the electrically-conductive film is greater on the bottom side of the step of the insulating film than on the top side so that the resist mask remains. A portion of the resist mask which is thus remaining although it should have been removed after development is referred to as "resist residue".
Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose that the pattern of the insulating film has a portion extending between wires in the frame region such that occurrence of a resist residue in the vicinity of the edge of the insulating film is suppressed. Patent Documents 3 and 4 suggest that the edge of the insulating film is configured so as not to have a steep slope angle such that occurrence of a resist residue in the vicinity of the edge of the insulating film is suppressed.

Semiconductor device including substrate which is used in display devices


A sensing device includes a sample loading chamber configured to receive a sample, a detection antibody drying or lyophilization chamber configured to receive a first portion of the sample, one or more substrate drying or lyophilization chambers configured to receive a second portion of the sample, and one or more reaction chambers connected to the detection antibody drying or lyophilization chamber and the one or more substrate drying or lyophilization chambers. The detection antibody drying or lyophilization chamber and one or more substrate drying or lyophilization chambers are placed in parallel between the sample loading chamber and the one or more reaction chambers.

In recent years there has been a large demand in the development of simplified point-of-care testing (POCT) systems to rapidly detect the presence of a target biomarker in biological fluids for the diagnosis of diseases in resource limited settings. Developing reliable diagnostic tests that can be used at the point-of-care can result in earlier disease diagnosis, improved patient treatment, and more efficient outbreak prevention. An ideal point-of-care diagnostic system should consist of disposable cheap cartridges, a small volume of test sample, minimum human intervention and easily interpretable results. Lab-on-a-chip devices have several advantages over conventional immunodiagnostics methods, including fast and efficient separation of various analytes (from small ions to large biomolecules), providing a feasible method for conducting numerous experiments in parallel while consuming little reagent and achieving even better results. Other major advantages for microfluidic assays are miniaturization, small sample volume, portability, rapid detection time and higher sensitivity.
The limit of detection (LOD) of the POCT devices can be largely improved if enzyme-based signal amplification, commonly used for conventional Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), is implemented in POCT devices. However, most of the research studies reported for implementing immunoassays in microfluidic format still involve multiple liquid handling steps including critical pipetting performed by trained personals which is a hindrance for the development of autonomous POCT systems. The user intervention can be minimized in sample-to-answer systems, in which the user needs only to put the sample in the system to get analytical answers without further intervention.
Standard commercially available assays mostly use optical detection methods like luminescence, fluorescence or absorbance. Therefore, to develop lab-on-a-chip (LOC) based POCT platforms with performance comparable to commercially available gold standard assay procedures optical detection methods are preferable. Several high sensitive completely integrated "sample-to-answer" LOC based POCT platforms have been developed which employs either absorbance (colorimetric) or fluorescence-based detection methods. However, most colorimetric and fluorescence detection systems lack either the desired sensitivity or are complicated to develop as they require some excitation mechanisms.
Another high sensitive detection method used for conventional ELISA is the chemiluminescence. Chemiluminescent signal is generated as light by the release of energy (photon) due to a chemical reaction. Unlike absorbance, colorimetric or fluorescent measurements, ELISA reagents typically contribute little or no native background chemiluminescent signal. Detection of chemiluminescent optical signal is relatively simple as it requires only a photomultiplier or photodiode and the associated electronics. The lack of inherent background and the ability to easily measure very low and very high light intensities with simple instrumentation provide a large potential dynamic range of measurement in case of chemiluminescence based assays.
Monitoring potential health hazards in workers exposed to airborne respirable nano or micro particles at worksites is an important issue and can help in early diagnosis and save lives. Many workers in work environments that involve mining, hydraulic fracturing or fracking, drilling and construction are routinely exposed to airborne respirable nano or micro particles. Inhalation of respirable nano or micro particles can cause lung cancer, pneumoconiosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and is considered as one of the most significant occupational health problems. Early detection and biomonitoring of pulmonary responses to respirable nano or micro particle exposure, such as lung inflammation and oxidative stress as well as early identification of on-set of any pulmonary diseases in workers, are of great importance. The currently available diagnostic procedures to identify lung inflammation and pulmonary diseases in patients are based on chest radiography and conventional laboratory-based immunoassays for analyzing the pulmonary disease biomarkers which are highly sensitive and useful. However, the conventional diagnostic methods may not allow frequent monitoring of samples from exposed workers due to the time-consuming nature of testing, multiple handling procedures and need for trained personnel. For successful on-site biomonitoring, new methods are required that are portable and can provide reliable data quickly and accurately. Thus, there has been a large demand for the development of a low cost, field-portable functional LOC based POCT diagnostic method that can provide data quickly and accurately at the work sites.
Therefore, a need exist for developing POCT platform comprised of disposable thermoplastic polymer based functional LOC and chemiluminescent based portable analyzer for high sensitive biomarker detection.

Methods and applications of on-chip dried or lyophilized chemiluminescence substrate reagents


An apparatus is provided that includes a laser that produces light at a first wavelength, an optical element that converts the light at the first wavelength received at an input end thereof into light at a second wavelength, and an optical interface proximate the input end of the optical element that directs light at the second wavelength through the optical element toward an output end of the optical element.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure herein relates generally to apparatus and method for producing visible light using laser emission.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of display systems, such as televisions and projectors, utilize light illumination systems to project images on display media. Image brightness is a useful metric in such display systems. The brightness can limit the size of a projected image and can be a factor in how well the image can be seen in high levels of ambient light. One approach to increasing brightness of a display has been to employ solid-state lasers. Conventional solid-state lasers typically emit light in infrared (IR) wavelengths. A frequency-multiplying optical element converts the IR laser emissions into visible light, such as red, green, or blue light, depending on the initial frequency or wavelength of the IR laser emissions. The resulting visible light may then be used to illuminate optical elements, such as a digital micromirror device (DMD) or a spatial light modulator (SLM) of the projection display system.
Often a filter, such as a Volume Bragg Grating (VBG), at the exit end of the frequency-multiplying element is used to pass a wavelength of narrowband (red, blue or green) light corresponding to the wavelength conversion properties of the frequency-multiplying element. Such a filter is aligned to reflect IR back to the relatively small aperture of the laser. A second filter at the interface between the laser and the frequency-multiplying element polarizes the light and passes the IR light. The second filter also is utilized to reflect the visible light back emission out of the frequency-multiplying element and the optical resonant cavity, which results in the use of additional optical and mechanical components that are relatively precisely aligned. The overall output efficiency of such systems can be relatively low. Accordingly, there is a need to provide an improved laser illumination system.

Apparatus and method for producing light using laser emission


A method and apparatus for steering location requests to a serving one of a plurality of possible location positioning devices. A location request may be steered base on an emergency status of the location request, whether or not the subscriber device has a valid data plan established, based on the device type of the wireless device, or based on the type of application running on the wireless device. A location request may also be steered to a fallback location device if a steering to a primary selected location device fails and sufficient time remains to locate via the fallback location device.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to wireless communications. More specifically it relates to provision of location information for wireless devices.
2. Background of the Related Art
TCS produces wireless data communications technology solutions that require proven high levels of reliability. TCS' wireless data offerings include secure deployable communication systems and engineered satellite-based services; location-based wireless and VoIP Enhanced 9-1-1 services; messaging and location service infrastructure for wireless operators; and commercial location applications, like traffic and navigation, using the precise location of a wireless device.
TCS' location-based products include Xypoint® Location Platform, Xypoint® Reference Network, Xypoint® Assistance Data Server, and Xypoint® SUPL Server. Missing from the portfolio of products is a component that provides managed control over the delivery of mobile device location information to external systems.


A holder for the frame of a printing screen is connected to an adjustment plate which, in turn, is mounted on a support arm assembly. The support arm assembly swings the holder up and down, toward and away from a printing platen. The adjustment plate has elongated slots for receiving eccentric lugs of manually rotatable cam members. The adjustment plate is normally fixed to the screen holder by a locking mechanism, but the locking mechanism is releasable so that the cam members can be rotated to effect a desired adjustment of the plate and the associated holder to achieve a desired registration of the printing screen relative to the printing platen. The support arm assembly also is adjustable to change the angle of the screen relative to the platen when the screen is lowered.

Multistation silk screen printing systems have two or more printing platens spaced around a stand. A turntable is mounted on the stand and carries two or more screen holders for swinging from one platen to the next. Separate screens are clamped in the holders. Each screen can be used for printing a specific color at each platen. It is important that the screens register with the printing platens precisely so that the finished print is well defined, rather than having the colors overlap or otherwise not be properly delimited. In conventional equipment, obtaining such precise registration requires adjustment of the positions of the screens in their holders.

Fine adjustment mechanism for screen printing machines


Pliers for removing paint from a jig-eye hole, including a first plier having a first handle and first jaw. The first jaw includes a tooth extending from the end. A second plier is connected to the first plier and has a second handle and a second jaw including an invagination at the end. When the jig-eye hole is registered with the invagination, and the first handle and second handle are rotated closer together, the tooth is inserted into the jig-eye hole for paint removal. Preferably, the first handle section has a hollow handle and a retractable threader in the handle. The pliers may include a tool module. The tool module forms structure for removable connection with the invagination on the handle end. The tool module includes a retractable tool, such as a fishing line threader or hone so that the tool may be extended and used by the fisherman.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improved pliers for a fisherman. More particularly, it is directed to pliers for removing paint from a jig-eye line attachment hole as well as providing modular tools encased on the handles.
2. Description of Related Art
Fishermen often use a lead-headed jig for fishing. The jig typically includes an eye with a hole for threading fishing line to attach the jig. The jig-eye presents two common problems: first, the hole in the jig-eye is usually filled with paint remaining from the process of painting the jig and second, once the paint is removed, the hole is small and therefore difficult to thread with the fishing line.
The first problem (i.e. removing the paint from the jig-eye hole) has been addressed several times. One representative patent is U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,649 (Simpson). As seen at FIG. 2 and described at column 4, lines 25-47, the jig-eye 22 is aligned in jig-eye recess 20 and then pin 32 is brought downward (by squeezing the plier handles together) so that pin 32 penetrates the jig-eye hole, thus removing any paint therein.
The problem with this technique is that it is inconvenient because the jig-eye must be precisely aligned with recess 20 and at an orthogonal angle to the pliers. In other words, good vision and a great deal of manual dexterity is required for the alignment.
Furthermore, once the paint has been removed, the pliers of U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,649 provide no convenient method for threading the jig-eye with a fishing line, so even greater manual dexterity and eyesight is required at that stage. Experienced fishermen will appreciate that tasks requiring manual dexterity and vision become more problematic when sitting or standing in a boat. Other problems include impaired eyesight, boat movement, impaired dexterity, ambient lighting and wind.
Thus there is a need for a fisherman's pliers which allow for easy removal of paint from a jig-eye hole and also convenient threading of the hole once the paint has been removed. In addition, pliers which include replaceable, modular tools (such as a threader or hook hone) would also provide additional convenience.